Rear Admiral Dreiss was frowning on his flagship as he observed the deteriorating battle situation on the electronic sand table.
To be honest, the New Misurugi Republic's decision to launch a surprise attack at dawn didn't come as a complete surprise to Rear Admiral Dreiss.
Reid Isaac had formal military training from the academy, so it wasn't strange for him to possess this level of tactical capability. In fact, what was surprising was that Reid—known for his cunning and deceit—had chosen such a "straightforward" battle strategy.
Rear Admiral Dreiss had initially expected Reid to deploy Mobile Suits equipped with the Mirage Colloid System for a direct decapitation strike on the command center. That's why he hadn't stayed in the port's command building but remained aboard the Pacific Fleet's flagship on the water, with numerous ambush forces hidden around the harbor.
However, Rear Admiral Dreiss hadn't anticipated losing air and naval superiority so quickly.
Losing air superiority was somewhat understandable. The moment Dreiss learned that the New Misurugi Republic had brought at least two hundred Union Flags this time, he knew air dominance was already lost.
This was also the fault of those clueless Congress elites interfering with military decisions. They had insisted that the New Misurugi Republic's forces were entirely space-drop units this time, claiming that their main combat units—the Mass-Produced GM Astrays and Strike Daggers—couldn't fly, so fighter jets alone would suffice for air superiority.
After all, the Atlantic Federation had completely abandoned further development of the Union Flag series. They had even mothballed all previously purchased units due to alleged "technical flaws" in the New Misurugi Republic's provided technology (Major arms dealers: If we don't mothball them, who'll fund our atmospheric flight MS development?).
Yet the newly developed Seize Aerial Strike Prototype still hadn't been finalized, let alone mass-produced. This forced them to fight aerial battles with outdated fighters against Union Flags—no wonder they lost air superiority.
After losing air control, Rear Admiral Dreiss consoled himself that his Pacific Fleet still had some anti-air capabilities. Moreover, he had numerous Strike Daggers lying in ambush onshore and the Atlantic Federation's most advanced Underwater MS in the sea. As long as naval superiority held, the battle could still be fought.
Unfortunately, this hope was shattered within fifteen minutes.
When sixty previously unseen Underwater MS from the New Misurugi Republic appeared, Rear Admiral Dreiss's heart skipped a beat. He cursed the domestic intelligence services—weren't they supposed to be mostly Mass-Produced GM Astrays from space drops?
The Union Flags were understandable—they were "vintage" models for the New Misurugi Republic, so bringing out old stock made sense.
But where did these unknown Underwater MS come from? Hadn't ZAFT's Guerrilla and ZOno units taught those Congress elites enough painful lessons?
Fortunately, the next moment brought good news. The New Misurugi Republic, famous for its superior Mobile Suit performance, finally met its Waterloo.
The Forbidden Blue and Abyssal Forbidden performed exceptionally well in combat. The New Misurugi Republic's Underwater MS couldn't even scratch these two models and were being slaughtered one-sidedly.
Sadly, Rear Admiral Dreiss's good mood ended abruptly after ten minutes—then plummeted, plummeted, plummeted, plummeted straight to rock bottom.
As Reid piloted the Hermes Zero into the sea, the signals from the Abyssal Forbidden vanished entirely within minutes.
Rear Admiral Dreiss could tolerate this—after all, the performance of the custom Mobile Suits developed by Reid Isaac had always been absurd.
But for a single MS to churn up such a massive whirlpool underwater—wasn't that bordering on the fantastical? His Pacific Fleet had to scramble to avoid the vortex, completely disrupting their formation. And you couldn't expect ships to maintain proper anti-air defenses amidst turbulence of this magnitude.
The disarray in their formation meant that when the New Misurugi Republic's twenty-plus warships arrived, just one volley of beam cannon fire blasted a gap through the Pacific Fleet's defensive line. The ensuing missile barrage then crippled or outright destroyed countless vessels.
Then, Rear Admiral Dreiss watched as a 40-meter-tall giant MS, flanked by dozens of Orb's blue-painted M1 Astrays, drifted straight into the harbor—shielded by the same Photon Wave Barrier as the Artemis Fortress, shrugging off their missiles and beams like they were nothing.
Dreiss found it hard to comprehend how a 40-meter-tall MS could fly with just a handful of thrusters. Had Reid Isaac somehow integrated a warship-grade levitation system into this thing?
And equipping an MS with a Photon Wave Barrier? That was just shameless. Truly, Reid Isaac's MS design philosophy was unmistakably Eurasian Federation—another turtle-shelled monstrosity.
However, the moment the Psycommu Gundam MKⅢ touched down, Dreiss no longer thought of it as a turtle.
Because the instant Flay landed, she activated the multi-lock system and began demolition work.
High-energy long-range beam cannons, the Flame God's Ultra-High Impulse Cannon, the Siren Beast's Multiple Array Phase Energy Cannon—all fired at once. The Strike Dagger units defending the harbor were annihilated in an instant.
After gaining this power, Flay's mindset had completely changed. She was utterly obsessed with the Psycommu Gundam MKⅢ's firepower.
This time, attacking the nation she once called home, Flay felt no hesitation. The Atlantic Federation's rush to declare her father dead and abandon search efforts had left her deeply resentful. For her, legally unleashing the Psycommu Gundam MKⅢ's wrath upon the Atlantic Federation was pure exhilaration.
Witnessing his harbor-deployed Strike Daggers wiped out so quickly, Rear Admiral Dreiss had no choice but to order the ambush forces hidden in the surrounding mountains to move out. Otherwise, his fleet would be trapped by this super-sized MS, sandwiched between it and the enemy mothership outside.
Yet Dreiss's orders now were nothing but desperate flailing. Under Hoshino Ruri's command, the fleet had already completed its encirclement of the Atlantic Federation's Pacific Fleet.
Mass-produced GM Astrays were being deployed in waves along the coast. And with the Hermes Zero emerging from the sea, dragging the Forbidden Blue's sole surviving cockpit—along with its captured pilot, Jane Houston—the Pacific Fleet's surface vessels now had to contend with Kapools attacking from underwater.
In other words, the Atlantic Federation's Pacific Fleet now faced a three-dimensional assault from the air, sea, and depths. This was no threat the Fraser-class, Des Moines-class, or Arkansas-class ships were equipped to handle.
Reid no longer needed to intervene in the subsequent battles. Once the Xia sisters launched, the numerical advantage of the Strike Daggers quickly vanished—the Psycommu Gundam MKⅢ was simply too effective at clearing out mobs in open terrain.
Strike Daggers hiding in the mountain valleys stood no chance against the combined might of the Mystic Lightning and the NT-X Gundam, inevitably meeting their explosive demise.
With the Strike Daggers scattered, the Atlantic Federation's Pacific Fleet was swiftly divided and overwhelmed.
After losing more than half of their ships, Rear Admiral Dreiss, seeing no hope of victory, resolutely chose to raise the white flag and surrender.
Yes, Rear Admiral Dreiss surrendered—because in his view, the New Misurugi Republic's assistance in helping Orb reclaim its homeland was primarily to prevent his fleet from later attacking the Australian mainland.
As long as he surrendered, the New Misurugi Republic had no reason to annihilate them completely. After all, he wasn't a Coordinator from PLANT—there were no fundamental conflicts between them.
Rear Admiral Dreiss's judgment was correct. As long as the Pacific Fleet didn't resist stubbornly, Reid had no intention of wiping them out. Capturing them and negotiating with the Atlantic Federation was far more advantageous.
Surely, the Atlantic Federation wouldn't abandon its own Pacific Fleet. Moreover, they couldn't possibly justify to their own citizens or non-PLANT-aligned nations a war against the New Misurugi Republic.
There was no way to twist the New Misurugi Republic's actions as aiding PLANT.
Thus, when the Atlantic Federation's Pacific Fleet fired surrender flares and raised white flags on all ships, Reid ordered his forces to cease their assault.
He then instructed Mina to oversee the surrender process with her forces from Heaven's Base.
The surrender proceeded smoothly. The moment the Pacific Fleet capitulated, Orb's provisional government voluntarily stepped down without needing to be forced out by Mina.
The Orb citizens who had been forcibly conscripted, as well as the military and police who had reluctantly obeyed the provisional government, quickly rallied under Mina's banner.
At noon on July 22, the Orb Union Emirates officially announced its restoration as a sovereign nation.
Simultaneously, Rondo Mina Sahaku delivered a nationwide address, declaring that she had fulfilled the final duty she could perform as an Orb citizen.
From this point onward, Rondo Mina Sahaku would withdraw the Sahaku Family's influence from Orb and join the New Misurugi Republic.
However, Orb would remain an independent nation, with its government to be inherited by Cagalli Yula Athha.
The New Misurugi Republic's protection would continue until Cagalli Yula Athha returned to Orb to assume the role of Prime Minister.
Mina's declaration sent shockwaves throughout Orb. After enduring a month of hardship, only to see the Sahaku Family—one of the Five Great Families—successfully restore Orb's sovereignty, the people were stunned that their savior would immediately abandon Orb and hand the Prime Ministership to the Athha Family, whose actions had nearly led to Orb's destruction.
It should be noted that Cagalli had not yet represented Orb in the battle to destroy Genesis. Her public image remained that of a down-to-earth yet somewhat erratic princess.
Thus, the people of Orb vehemently opposed Cagalli's succession as Prime Minister, demanding a public vote to elect Rondo Mina Sahak to lead Orb instead.
As for Mina's intention to join the New Misurugi Republic, the Orb citizens refused to accept it—Rondo Mina Sahaku was Orb's princess, not the New Misurugi Republic's.
Even though Mina's subordinates who chose to remain in Orb secretly leaked that the reason she took the Sahaku Family to join the New Misurugi Republic was essentially selling herself to secure the New Misurugi Republic's military intervention for Orb's restoration, the uproar still couldn't be quelled.
When Orb's citizens learned that Mina had "sold herself" to save Orb, they became even more unwilling to let her leave. Protest signs were raised all the way to Reid's doorstep.
A significant portion of Orb's mid-tier families openly declared that if the price for the New Misurugi Republic's intervention was an Orb princess, then Orb was willing to hand over Cagalli Yula Athha—and if that wasn't enough, they could throw in a few more noble daughters. "Mr. Reid, you already have several wives, so please don't ruin our Princess Mina."
Of course, Cagalli Yula Athha, the designated representative chief of the Orb Union Emirates, remained completely unaware that her own people had nearly sold her out. She was still in space with Lacus, investigating Genesis Alpha.
However, Reid paid no heed to Orb's public outcry. The New Misurugi Republic's forces were far more disciplined than the Atlantic Federation's (mainly because they were fewer in number and easier to control), and no troops ever set foot on the island.
Reid had given Mina plenty of time, and she was now busy negotiating prisoner exchanges with the Atlantic Federation, leaving her no opportunity to respond to Orb's citizens.
The Atlantic Federation had suffered a humiliating defeat this time—their massive Pacific Fleet had been crushed by Reid with just twenty warships.
By the time the fleet returning from the moon reached Earth's synchronous orbit, they found their mission meaningless. Without even daring to provoke the Barge, they fled to the other side of the planet to hide.
After all, the threat of the Barge Cannon loomed large. If the New Misurugi Republic truly grew displeased and ordered it to fire, the survival of this fleet would be left to fate.
As for the Atlantic Federation's homeland, Congress immediately clamored for retaliation upon learning of the Pacific Fleet's capture.
Yet their threats were all bark and no bite. The retaliation plans were outright rejected by the military-industrial conglomerates backing the Atlantic Federation.
The reasoning was simple—these conglomerates saw the potential for a new arms race. Eliminating the New Misurugi Republic would mean losing the very entity that could threaten the Atlantic Federation into launching such an arms race. Without arms races, how could the military-industrial sector thrive?
Moreover, public sentiment was against it. If the Atlantic Federation were to engage in an all-out war with the New Misurugi Republic now, PLANT would have to be left unchecked.
That would make it impossible to suppress domestic unrest, especially with the vast number of Blue Cosmos members who would undoubtedly push for Congress's impeachment.
Given the Atlantic Federation's political climate, their defeat in this skirmish with the New Misurugi Republic had to be swallowed in silence. Since no formal war had been declared, paying a price to ransom the Pacific Fleet would temporarily close the matter—any reckoning would have to wait for later.
Reid wasn't the least bit surprised by the Atlantic Federation's surrender. In fact, he barely paid attention to the negotiation process, leaving it entirely to Mina.
Reid was preoccupied with one thing: occupying the nearly uninhabited Isle of Dawn as a temporary base for his fleet while digging for the buried treasure beneath.
Yes, Reid was treasure hunting.
Deep beneath the Isle of Dawn lay an underwater dock base that concealed the mostly completed frame of the Akatsuki Gundam.
Of course, digging through the entire island would have been too conspicuous. Instead, Reid dispatched the remaining Kapools to meticulously search underwater for the hidden entrance to the seabed dock. Once located, they forcibly breached the dock to access the base from below. After securing the facility, they found the passage leading to the surface, allowing Reid to finally enter.
The operation proceeded smoothly—the base was guarded by only a dozen die-hard loyalists of the Athha family, none equipped with heavy weaponry.
Moreover, the defenders knew that detonating the base now would likely doom Orb entirely. Any casualties among New Misurugi Republic soldiers stationed on the island would trigger devastating retaliation beyond Orb's capacity to endure.
Thus, Reid successfully "unearthed" the treasure: the base housed all of Dawn Company's technological backups, which he gladly appropriated.
And in the deepest chamber—Uzumi's legendary golden legacy for Cagalli—the Akatsuki Gundam itself.
Reid confiscated the mobile suit without hesitation, intending to feed it to the Factory Module. While the Yata-no-Kagami Armor had numerous flaws, its beam-resistant capabilities were unparalleled.
Once the G-Coin store offered the armor, Reid planned to equip his custom machines with golden shield variants, phasing out standard beam shields.
As for Cagalli potentially learning about the Akatsuki from Erika Simmons and demanding its return—Reid figured returning the bare frame would suffice. Securing the technology was his priority.
He suspected Erika might even approach him privately, keeping it from Cagalli, whose impulsiveness remained problematic at this stage.
Thanks to reader Jili for the 333 Qidian Coin tip.
(End of chapter)