On the seventh day since the New Misurugi Republic officially settled in Australia, Reid was swamped with work building the future capital, Star Palace City, when he received an urgent communication from Une in Canberra.
These past few days, Reid had been sincerely grateful for the wired network PLANT had laid across Australia, remarking how convenient it was to have internet access. Many tasks no longer required him to make trips in person, nor did he have to wait minutes for a reply like waiting for a goddess's text message, unsure whether the message had even been delivered.
However, after video-calling Une, Reid realized he might still need to leave Star Palace City once.
Because the first thing Une said was:
"Reid, you need to come to Canberra. Envoys from the East Asian Republic and the Eurasian Federation have arrived, and they specifically asked to see you.
Also, the Barge has sent intel—they've observed a large number of supply ship-like vessels coming and going from the Atlantic Federation's Pacific Fleet near Orb since the day before yesterday.
And from the Moon, a fleet is returning to Earth under the pretext of routine patrol. That fleet is likely under the Atlantic Federation's command."
Hearing this, Reid could roughly guess the stance of the Earth Alliance's three major powers toward him now. The East Asian Republic and the Eurasian Federation clearly wanted further talks, while the Atlantic Federation was undoubtedly preparing to act.
Still, the behavior of the Earth Alliance's three major powers didn't surprise Reid. Back when he and Une had drafted the Show Sword Plan, they had already anticipated the reactions of Earth's three great nations.
In truth, if Reid had occupied a territory on Earth as large as Orb's—or even three or four times larger—the three major powers of the Earth Alliance would likely have welcomed it with open arms.
Because that would have limited the New Misurugi Republic's ability to develop rapidly due to its small territory, making the three powers feel the new republic was still under their control—and that extracting technology from it in the future would be even easier.
But with the New Misurugi Republic having absorbed the Oceania Union, and given the technology Reid now possessed, a buffer period of six months to a year would be enough for the nation to achieve full self-sufficiency in resources. After that, it was inevitable that it would soar to become Earth's fourth major power.
None of the three major nations wanted an extra guest at a table originally meant for three, so their dissatisfaction was understandable.
But dissatisfaction aside, the only one in a hurry to act right now seemed to be the Atlantic Federation—the one that had never liked reasoning things out.
Or perhaps, the Atlantic Federation believed that fists were the ultimate reasoning—that unless they were beaten into submission, no one had the right to sit at the negotiation table.
After a few seconds of thought, Reid remembered that there was still an island near Orb with the Heaven's Base orbital elevator that could be utilized. So he said to Une:
"Une, first reassure the envoys from the East Asian Republic and the Eurasian Federation. Ask them to wait a little longer—I'll talk to them after driving off the Atlantic Federation. By then, the discussions will be much smoother and more harmonious.
As for the patrol fleet from the Moon... tell Brian Eno to directly turn the Barge's main cannons toward that fleet. But unless they enter standard warship firing range or deploy Mobile Suits to provoke us first, don't fire.
However, if that fleet attacks first or gets too close, don't hold back—blast them away with a single shot."
As for the issues on Orb's side, I have no interest in waiting for others to strike first. A fleet of twenty ships mixed with Argama-class and Constellation-class vessels, plus the two hundred Union Flag Automatic Soldiers and sixty Kapool Automatic Soldiers I've secretly built here over the past few days, will be more than enough to deal with the Atlantic Federation's Pacific Fleet.
By the way, transfer Flay to my side as well. The Psycommu Gundam MKⅢ is perfect for clearing out the riffraff.
Besides, the Atlantic Federation dismantled Orb's coastal defenses during their attack, which conveniently makes it easier for me to take the island.
"Strike first to avoid a hundred blows later. This time, we have to hit the Atlantic Federation hard so they don't think we're easy prey."
Une had no objections to the first half of Reid's plan, but she disagreed with the idea of proactively attacking the Atlantic Federation's Pacific Fleet. She said,
"Reid, if we take the initiative to attack the Atlantic Federation's Pacific Fleet, won't we be handing them a justification? Public opinion will turn heavily against us."
Hearing this, Reid realized Une had misunderstood and quickly clarified,
"No, I didn't explain clearly earlier. I don't plan to attack the Atlantic Federation's Pacific Fleet directly. Instead, I'll move our forces beneath Heaven's Base.
That area isn't under the Atlantic Federation's control. Conveniently, I also need to find Rondo Mina Sahaku and make her honor her bet. We're short on mid-level administrators right now, and her people can fill some of those gaps."
Hearing that Reid wasn't planning to provoke the Atlantic Federation outright, Une glanced at the map and saw Heaven's Base's orbital elevator location. Her eyes lit up.
There was no denying it—Reid was cunning. Heaven's Base's orbital elevator was right next to Orb. If the Atlantic Federation's Pacific Fleet dared to ignore Reid's forces and provoke Australia, their retreat would be instantly cut off.
And if they tried to deal with Reid first, the court of public opinion would side with them. After all, if Reid was just going to Heaven's Base to flirt with a girl, was it really the Atlantic Federation's business to interfere?
Warships? No, those were just props for wooing. Didn't rich playboys usually show off with a fleet of luxury cars?
Well, this guy was even more extravagant—what was wrong with flexing his wealth with warships?
Even if the Atlantic Federation stayed put, Reid could still join the fight as a volunteer under the pretext of helping Rondo Mina Sahaku restore Orb's sovereignty. No one would have much to say about that.
With that in mind, Une stopped objecting. After all, the Xia sisters were always by Reid's side, so she didn't have to worry about him being isolated on the battlefield.
Once the strategic plan was settled, Une quickly ended the call. She still had to placate the envoys from the East Asian Republic and the Eurasian Federation. Maybe she could compensate them later by showing them a documentary—Reid's battlefield footage after the fighting started would be perfect.
As for Reid, he dispatched two Antietam-class freighters to transport the Kapools. The Union Flags could fly there on their own.
As for Star Palace City, which was still under construction, leaving a few dozen Mass-Produced GM Astrays for defense would suffice. After all, to outsiders, this base had just started construction and held little value—no one would bother investigating it.
Moreover, even if someone did come, this place is entirely populated by natives. The moment a non-native appears, they'd be a spy and could be arrested immediately. It's not like anyone would pilot a Mobile Suit here to spy, right?
After arranging the still-nascent Star Palace City, Reid set off in grand fashion aboard the Hermes Zero, escorted by the Mystic Lightning, NT-X, and over two hundred Union Flags.
No one would suspect the sudden appearance of so many Union Flags under Reid's command. Over the past few days, countless cargo containers had been openly unloaded from the Balkiel Mobile Fortress—ostensibly filled with construction materials for the Construction Modules.
But outsiders didn't know that. Those containers could easily conceal over two hundred Union Flags. Besides, Reid had initially disguised Star Palace City as a temporary airfield. Spies would likely mistake it for the New Misurugi Republic's temporary Mobile Suit transit point in northern Australia.
After rendezvousing with the fleet off the northeastern coast, Reid headed straight for Orb.
Truth be told, the moment the New Misurugi Republic's fleet mobilized, the attention of all three nations in the Earth Alliance zeroed in on Reid.
The Atlantic Federation's Pacific Fleet stationed in Orb was particularly startled, protesting that they weren't ready yet. How could the New Misurugi Republic strike first?
The commander of this Pacific Fleet was Rear Admiral Dreiss, whom Reid had met once before. Over the past few days, Dreiss had been analyzing battle reports of the New Misurugi Republic's campaign against the Oceania Union. He concluded that without diverting forces to deal with the Balkiel Mobile Fortress in synchronous orbit, victory was impossible.
The moment his forces assembled, the Balkiel's main cannon could obliterate his fleet in a single shot. As for dispersing his forces? That would just feed them to the New Misurugi Republic's Mobile Suits, which were numerous and backed by coastal defenses. Without numerical superiority, breaking through their lines was unthinkable.
As for the remaining high-ranking Atlantic Federation contacts within the former Oceania Union, Lady Une had already purged most of them. The few survivors had surrendered, offering up the bulk of their assets as proof of their compliance, begging for mercy.
Thus, barely ten nautical miles into Reid's approach toward Orb, he received a protest from the Atlantic Federation, condemning the New Misurugi Republic's fleet for "invading" their territorial waters.
Reid checked the nautical charts—he was clearly in international waters. Moreover, the Atlantic Federation hadn't publicly declared Orb's annexation, instead propping up a puppet government from one of Orb's minor noble families.
He outright dismissed the protest, telling the Atlantic Federation to review their territorial maps before lodging complaints.
Half an hour later, Orb's puppet government issued its own protest, warning that if the New Misurugi Republic's fleet encroached further, they would request the Atlantic Federation's intervention to expel them.
Not wanting to give them any rhetorical ammunition, Reid formally responded, stating that his fleet would remain in international waters en route to Heaven's Base—the orbital elevator, which had seceded from Orb and was no longer under their jurisdiction.
An hour later, the puppet government fired back, insisting that Heaven's Base had always been Orb's sovereign territory and that Rondo Mina Sahaku's declaration of independence was illegal and unrecognized!!
Then, regarding this issue, Reid directly replied, "The Atlantic Federation previously explicitly recognized the independence of Heaven's Base." (Because at that time, Rondo Gina Sahaku was working for the Earth Alliance, both the Atlantic Federation and the Eurasian Federation had acknowledged Heaven's Base's independence.)
After Reid's response, the Orb provisional government fell completely silent, and no further messages came until Reid arrived at Heaven's Base.
However, Reid no longer had time to debate with Orb's current puppet government. As they approached the island where Heaven's Base's orbital elevator was located, they could immediately see the island lined with blue-painted M1 Astrays (not the M1A Astray, which was a space-exclusive model and couldn't withstand its own weight in Earth's environment). Standing at the forefront was the Astray Gold Frame Amatsu Mina.
Seeing this, Reid understood that Mina had personally come to "welcome" him, likely to ascertain the purpose of his large-scale military arrival.
So Reid ordered the fleet to halt temporarily and piloted the Hermes Zero alone, breaking formation to fly toward the island where Heaven's Base's orbital elevator stood.
Mina, equally perceptive, also flew out solo in the Astray Gold Frame Amatsu Mina, confronting the Hermes Zero mid-air.
Naturally, neither side raised their weapons during this standoff.
Reid, believing that as the man he should initiate the conversation, connected via laser communication to the Astray Gold Frame Amatsu Mina and said:
"Mina, do you know I'm here to help Orb expel the Atlantic Federation's forces? So, have you brought your troops to assist me?"
Mina instantly grasped Reid's implication—he was using her as an excuse.
She inwardly sighed in relief. Although she hadn't seriously thought Reid was here to seize Heaven's Base, the pressure of such a massive fleet approaching was still considerable.
With a smile, she replied, "Oh? For free? Since when are you so generous?"
Reid immediately recognized that Mina was already tempted and responded, "Free of charge. After all, I already promised that old fox Uzumi I'd help Cagalli reclaim her nation. But Mina, don't forget our bet—you'll need to honor it."
Hearing this, Mina felt a twinge of genuine emotion. The New Misurugi Republic had now annexed the entire Oceania Union, and yet Reid was still inviting her to join. His sincerity was undeniable—if she agreed, the Sahaku Family's future status in the New Misurugi Republic would hardly be inferior to what it had been in Orb.
However, Mina still held affection for Orb and replied, "Fine, I'll honor the bet. But our wager only covers me and my faction. Many at Heaven's Base are loyal to Orb—they aren't under my command but merely support my vision of restoring the true Orb.
"So, Reid, you must let these people return to Orb. Additionally, Heaven's Base belongs to the restored Orb—you can't forcibly occupy it."
Reid saw no issue with this. Those loyal to Orb wouldn't work diligently even if recruited and might defect back to Orb in the future.
As for Heaven's Base, while useful, it wasn't indispensable. Compared to that, Mina herself was far more valuable.
Without hesitation, Reid replied,
"Fine, but agreeing to these terms means you'll be working for me alone for the rest of your life. You don't have a problem with that, do you?"
As Reid spoke, he activated the system's recruitment function.
Hearing his words, Mina understood that Reid needed a commitment—otherwise, why would he offer her such favorable terms? It seemed she really would have to devote herself to him now. At that moment, the system's confirmation prompt echoed clearly in Mina's mind.
Unlike Flay and Murrue, who hadn't noticed the notification at all, Mina distinctly heard a voice asking whether she was willing to obey Reid Isaac's commands from now on and never betray him.
But Mina, ever the overthinker, immediately suspected Reid of pulling some clever trick—creating this auditory illusion to make himself appear more imposing and divine.
So, thinking herself shrewd, she replied outright:
"Sure, of course I don't mind. After all, you're being so sincere, Reid. It'd be downright ungrateful of me to refuse."
Seeing the recruitment succeed, Reid chuckled. He could already see Mina's loyalty rating—62 at the start, much better than he'd expected. Playfully, he added:
"Exactly. If you'd refused just now, I would've dragged you back and taken my time molding you into shape. Heaven's Base doesn't matter—but Rondo Mina Sahaku? I'm claiming her."
Mina suddenly felt her mindset shift. If anyone else had dared tease her like this, she would've shot them on the spot. But with Reid... well, fine. Let him have his little verbal victory. Still, if he ever wanted her to truly give herself to him, he'd have to make it official first.
(End of Chapter)