The scene shifts to the bridge of the Argama. After Reid and Haman's team departed, everyone looked worriedly at Char, who had just been "humiliated."
Yet Char simply raised his head silently, put on his sunglasses, and calmly said:
"If achieving our goals were this easy, it'd be too good to be true..."
With that, his expression turned serious as he turned to Bright Noa and asked:
"Captain Bright, are you certain that Dr. Tem Ray we just saw was the real one?"
Bright pondered for a moment before nodding: "As unbelievable as it sounds, this Dr. Tem Ray is identical to the one in my memories, down to his speech patterns. If I had to point out any difference, he seems much healthier now. He used to smoke heavily, making his voice sound muffled, but now it's clear, and there's no trace of cigarette smell on him."
Char nodded thoughtfully, his expression one of disbelief: "Same here. Gaia, Ortega, and Mash look exactly as they did back then—as if they'd time-traveled from 0079. Even more unbelievable is that they've started caring about their appearance. That's something unimaginable for them back in the day."
Bright hesitated before asking Char: "So... you suspect all four of them are imposters?"
Char shook his head immediately: "No. I'm just uncertain about their authenticity. After all, I never saw the bodies of Gaia, Ortega, or Mash back then."
Bright sighed in agreement: "Same here. I never saw Dr. Tem Ray's body either—just heard he supposedly died from falling down the stairs and breaking his neck. Though Amuro should have seen the body, since he was the one who identified it. Still, I'm now inclined to believe there was something fishy about Dr. Tem Ray's death. A fatal fall down the stairs sounds too convenient. In hindsight, it was probably a body double or some poor soul who'd been surgically altered."
Char rubbed his temples with a pained expression before adding: "And then there's the man who led them here. I could sense his overwhelming presence. Kamille felt it too, right?"
Kamille, who had been listening, nodded emphatically: "Yes. I heard Haman call him Mr. Reid. He gave me the impression of a lion lazily basking in the sun—completely non-threatening, yet impossible to ignore."
Char now fully recognized that this Mr. Reid was another formidable Newtype. Suddenly, he recalled (thanks to the system's influence) that this man did exist in his memories. Slapping his thigh, he exclaimed: "Now I remember! The captain of Zeon's most secretive special forces unit—their youngest colonel, Reid Isaac! He never retreated to Axis. Instead, he remained in Earth's sphere... and survived all this time!"
As Char revealed Reid's identity, Bright also seemed to connect the dots: "If that's the case, then the Black Tri-Stars and Dr. Tem Ray surviving suddenly seems plausible. Zeon's secret forces, huh? Looks like this unit was quite active in the shadows during the war."
With that, Bright pulled up footage of the Mystic Lightning in the hangar and the Blitz Gundam on the external deck, continuing...
"No wonder these two Mobile Suits bear resemblance to the Gundam. It seems Dr. Tem Ray hasn't lost his touch."
"Kaiser (Argama's communications officer), check if the remaining three unidentified Mobile Suits have any records of similar predecessors."
After a quick search, Kaiser soon found the information and reported,
"Captain, indeed there are. These three Mobile Suits closely resemble the Zeon special forces units that infiltrated Side 6 and engaged the Gray Phantom in 0080. They're likely their successors."
With Kaiser's words, everything about Reid fell into place for Bright Noa and Char. They couldn't help but marvel at the cunning of Reid, the most enigmatic leader of Zeon's secret forces, who had managed to remain hidden within the Earth Sphere until now, only surfacing with Neo Zeon's return.
Moreover, it seemed he hadn't just been lying low all these years—he must have built a secret organization with considerable military production capabilities.
The discussion about Reid on the Argama's bridge ended there. Though Char and Bright Noa exchanged further details, attributing numerous unresolved incidents from around the One Year War to Reid, no new information about him was uncovered.
In the end, Bright had to halt the discussion—there was nothing more to be gleaned for now. The Argama still had to feign an attack on Gryps II to create an opening for the Gwadan to destroy the Colony Laser Cannon.
Of course, neither Bright nor Char could have anticipated that while the Argama was preparing for battle en route to Gryps II, Reid was sweating profusely as he watched two women locked in a standoff before him.
Here's how it happened: Haman had requested to inspect the configuration of Reid's ship, the Aries, and Reid agreed.
Though the Aries' maximum Mobile Suit capacity was eight, that didn't mean the hangar could only fit eight units—it simply had eight Mobile Suit Hangar bays.
In non-combat conditions, adding one Qubeley wasn't an issue.
Naturally, the Gaza-C escorting the Qubeley had to remain on standby outside the ship. The Aries' deck couldn't accommodate eight Gaza-Cs either, so it was better to keep none aboard and have them all on external patrol.
Upon returning to the Aries, the first thing Haman saw upon disembarking was the hangar filled with Gundams.
She had thought it was already outrageous that Reid brought two Gundams and three clearly high-performance mass-produced units, only to find three more Gundams stashed in the hangar.
At least from appearances, the three units piloted by the Black Tri-Stars looked the most like budget models.
This left Haman, whose Neo Zeon currently had only one operational Qubeley, green with envy. (During the ZZ era, Neo Zeon had acquired the Anaheim Electronics' Mobile Suit allocations originally meant for the Titans, along with some of the Titans' legacy, leading to a steady stream of new units.)
Reid didn't mind letting Haman linger in the hangar—she didn't have X-ray vision or the Sharingan. There was no way she could uncover the secrets of his Mobile Suits just by looking.
However, Reid had been in the hangar for too long, and when Ange heard he had brought the young female leader of their allied faction aboard, her curiosity got the better of her. She promptly gathered her people and headed to the hangar to find Reid.
Then Haman was dumbfounded once again. After mutual introductions, she realized that half of the eight MS pilots Reid had brought were women. The only male MS pilots she'd seen were the Black Tri-Stars and Reid himself. Truly, women hold up half the sky.
At this moment, Reid couldn't tell whether Haman's surprise stemmed from the Mobile Suits or the high number of women in his team. After completing introductions, they stood aside silently, letting the girls communicate freely.
Actually, Ange had already sensed something off about Haman. Ever since Reid introduced her and Noin as his wives, this leader of their allied forces had shown unusual interest in their backgrounds, persistently asking about how they met Reid and fell in love with him. She kept addressing them as "sister" with excessive enthusiasm.
Reid still hadn't noticed anything amiss. To him, it seemed perfectly normal for a 21-year-old girl to be interested in romance topics, especially since this was her first meeting with Ange and the others. Unlike Lacus, who could chat happily with a Haro that only knew a couple of phrases, Haman clearly didn't know what common topics to discuss. Naturally, Reid—being their only connection—became the main subject, especially since Haman had just arrived in Earth's sphere and knew little about current gossip.
As for the "sister" address, Reid assumed Haman probably wanted Ange and Noin to whisper favorable words in his ear later. After all, he'd explicitly stated they weren't just wives but also comrades-in-arms with decision-making power.
Had others been able to read Reid's thoughts, they would've rolled their eyes—except perhaps Xia Yufang and Xia Yulan.
To any observant woman, Haman's intentions were glaringly obvious. Even the relatively less perceptive Noin could tell this battle commander seemed interested in seducing her husband, let alone the sharp-eyed Une.
Ange, feeling like a dragon whose territory had been invaded, was already plotting how to keep this vixen away from Reid. She wasn't generous enough to share her husband with just any woman.
Now Reid noticed something was wrong—Ange's emotional fluctuations clearly indicated suppressed anger directed at Haman.
Yet outwardly, Ange maintained perfect composure, her smile as warm as spring breeze, making Reid briefly doubt his perception.
But the next moment, Ange revealed her claws. She proudly told Haman: "How did we grow closer? It felt natural since we were always together. If I had to name our most frequent pre-romance interaction... would combat training count? Not to boast, but Reid still can't beat me." She even flexed her deceptively slender but supernaturally strong arm.
Haman took the bait. Smiling, she said: "Oh, combat training? I'm good at that too! Sister Ange, since we have time now, shall we spar?"
Reid nearly had a heart attack upon hearing this. Spar with Ange? Lady, within three seconds I'd be kneeling begging you not to die, lest we lose this battle campaign outright.
Before Ange could respond, Reid interjected with a stern expression:
"Miss Haman, now is not the time for sparring. We'll be executing a combat mission soon. If either you or Ange gets injured now, it will affect the upcoming battle. Don't say you'll both hold back—we shouldn't even risk such accidents at this point."
When Reid got serious, especially in front of outsiders, Ange would always listen to him. Besides, he wasn't wrong.
Still, Ange mentally noted this against Reid. Though he probably hadn't realized Miss Haman's intentions, shouldn't he be punished for attracting attention like this?
Ange decided she'd make Reid "pay the dues" after the battle when they rested. After all, his stamina and physical condition had improved dramatically—three or five rounds wouldn't drain him.
But Ange's willingness to back down didn't mean Haman would. She tried to persuade Reid, saying confidently:
"Reid, don't worry. A simple spar won't cause injuries. It might even help warm us up for the coming fight."
Seeing Haman still courting trouble, Reid ignored proper social distance between genders and pulled her close, whispering in her ear:
"Stop. I'm trying to save you. Ange can easily tie two-centimeter-thick steel bars into knots barehanded. Unless you're made of iron, you won't survive one punch."
If anyone else had said this, Haman wouldn't have believed it. Miss Ange didn't look like someone with extraordinary strength at all.
But her Newtype senses told her Reid was genuinely concerned for her, and his words didn't seem like a lie.
Then Haman realized—Ange had been part of a secret unit. She might have undergone physical enhancements, granting her inhuman strength.
With that thought, Haman's enthusiasm waned. She had no desire to lie bedridden for months over a petty rivalry.
Yet backing down outright was impossible—she hadn't even probed anything yet.
So Haman turned to Ange again and proposed:
"Since Reid insists, Sister Ange, if hand-to-hand is off the table, how about an MS simulator match? I came here to evaluate your ship's capabilities anyway. Why not send a representative to let me experience Zeon's secret unit piloting skills firsthand?"
This request was harder for Reid to refuse. Worse, both Ange and Noin were giving him odd looks—it seemed defending Haman had landed him in a minefield.
Reid felt utterly wronged, so he decisively abandoned the instigating Haman, saying:
"A simulation battle is fine—we just need to link the MS cockpit systems. Our representative will be..."
He'd planned to spare Haman some embarrassment by sending Xia Yulan. Her NT-X Gundam might be slightly inferior to the Qubeley's performance (and he'd forbid her Lambda Driver), but she could hold her own long enough to demonstrate their strength. In a simulation where Newtype senses barely mattered, she might even defeat Haman given the chance.
This was textbook "playing cards with the boss"—showing competence without humiliating them.
But before Reid could finish, Ange cut in:
"No need to deliberate. Of course it'll be me. Miss Haman, any objections?"
Of course Haman had no issues—she was eager for Ange to accept the challenge. She had already figured out that Ange was the dominant wife among Reid's two spouses, and defeating her would prove her own superiority.
Reid watched Ange, whose back seemed to radiate the aura of a roaring dragon, and could only sigh helplessly. He decided to stay out of it—if Haman was digging her own grave, so be it.
But things didn't end there. On their way to the hangar, Ange and Haman immediately launched into pre-battle trash talk.
Haman started with a veiled sneer:
"Sister Ange, my Qubeley uses the most cutting-edge technology from Axis. Should we impose some restrictions? After all, I should respect my elders and be kind to the young."
This was a jab at Ange's age. Due to the system's settings, she was only a year younger than Reid.
Ange couldn't let this insult slide, but she remembered Reid's warning not to casually reveal the Mobile Suit's special systems in unofficial battles. Since she couldn't counter with the machine's specs, she had to resort to personal attacks like Haman.
"It's fine, Miss Haman. Your elder sister here is broad-minded—I won't mind even if I lose. But don't you start crying if you lose, alright?"
As she spoke, Ange deliberately accentuated her ample bust.
Frankly, Ange won this round hands down. While Haman had a good figure, she was still slender and youthful, only 21 years old with room to grow.
Ange, on the other hand, was already a young matron, naturally well-endowed and further enhanced by Reid's... attentions, making her curves even more pronounced.
So, like any woman who lost in this department, Haman muttered under her breath, "What's so great about a couple lumps of fat?" and quickly changed the subject to attack Ange from another angle.
For instance, Haman shed her queenly demeanor and adopted a soft, innocent tone:
"Sister Ange, you're so strong—if you lose, you won't punch through the cockpit, will you?"
"And if Sister Ange loses, don't get mad at me, okay? I'd be so scared~"
Truth be told, when it came to verbal sparring, Ange was no match for Haman. She was more straightforward by nature, so the trash-talking round ultimately went to Haman.
But Reid could sense that by the time Ange boarded the Immortal Aegis, her rage meter was already maxed out. He suspected their duel would likely be measured in seconds, with the Qubeley ending up in at least eight pieces by the end of the simulation.