Reid spent an entire day inside the Factory Module of Star Palace City in Australia after returning from the Full Metal Panic world before daring to resurface.
The main reason was that Reid still wasn't sure how much Codename: Amelia S had recovered.
In the game, even if Codename: Amelia S fully broke through her seal, her combat prowess wasn't overwhelmingly powerful. The Haphas Evil Type was strong, yes, but only slightly stronger than the final protagonist Mobile Suits from various Gundam worlds (excluding outliers like the ELS 00 Qan[T] and the Turn A Gundam from Dark History). Her special abilities were limited to world-hopping and summoning characters and Mobile Suits from other worlds.
Leaving aside world-hopping—a remnant of her past as a G Generation System administrator—it was heavily restricted. Without coordinates or guidance, she couldn't go anywhere.
As for summoning, it wasn't even a reliable ability. The summoned individuals weren't under her control, and their loyalty couldn't be guaranteed. In the game, there were instances where summoned forces directly attacked Codename: Amelia S.
Simply put, if the game's protagonist team hadn't been fooled by Codename: Amelia S into attacking the G Generation System and destroying the GNC-666 Barbatos Lupus—the firewall system's manifestation—she would never have had the chance to seize control of the G Generation System and become the final boss.
Now, it was clear that Codename: Amelia S intended to repeat the same trick—manipulating those she had contact with to defeat her, capture her, and find a way to absorb the system in her possession.
That was why Reid stayed inside the Factory Module. It was an alternate space created by the system, not part of the Cosmic Era universe. Even if Codename: Amelia S followed him here, she wouldn't be able to directly invade the CE universe.
Fortunately, the worst-case scenario didn't materialize. Since nothing happened in a full day, it was likely that Codename: Amelia S couldn't track him—or that Teletha had followed him through the crossing.
Reid finally returned to the surface and asked the Xia sisters, who were on guard duty, if anything unusual had happened during his day of seclusion.
The Xia sisters didn't question why he asked and simply relayed what they knew.
The New Miserly Kingdom was operating normally. Reid disappearing into the Factory Module for two or three days was nothing unusual—Ange and the others were used to it, so no one batted an eye. They all carried on with their business. No other nations on Earth were causing trouble, and the citizens weren't stirring up unrest. In short, Australia was peaceful.
Still, to be safe, Reid stayed in Star Palace City for three more days. Only after confirming that everything remained normal did he dare to proceed with the next G Invasion campaign.
During this time, Reid didn't dare to use the three ten-roll summons he had earned from defeating the Behemoth, fearing the system might pull something—like forcibly delivering Teletha, whom he couldn't resolve, through a summon.
So, he decided to save his Merit Points until after completing the remaining two trips to the A.C. universe.
Uncertain of what surprises Codename: Amelia S might have in store for him during the Mobile Suit hijacking battle at Resource Satellite MO-V in A.C. 195, Reid prepared to bring some equipment along for this crossing.
During the defense battle of the Star Palace Colony Satellite, Reid prepared to carry a Large Minovsky Particle Dispersal Device directly in his Mobile Suit's hands for the crossing. It had already been confirmed in the previous crossing to the AC universe that Minovsky Particles had a remarkable effect on the Mobile Suits of that universe.
The Hermes Zero, to ensure its high mobility and the functionality of the Destroyer Beam Cannon on its back, had to use small Nuclear Fusion Engines—one in the Mobile Suit and another in the flight pack. There was no way to replace them with Minovsky Reactors.
So this time, they could only rely on the Large Minovsky Particle Dispersal Device to disrupt the battlefield. Fortunately, the factory on the Barge could now produce them directly, making them standard military consumables.
Of course, Reid didn't forget to bring Small EMP Bombs—the ultimate tool for capturing enemy Mobile Suits. He still wanted to seize the Gemini Gundam in this battle. The PX System, which enhanced human reflexes and predictive abilities, wasn't very useful for Newtypes, but it would be a great help for pilots like the Black Tri-Stars—and even Ange could benefit from it.
At the same time, Reid also prepared some doomsday weapons, such as nukes—nukes, and more nukes.
In the CE universe, nuclear technology was easy to obtain. Due to the Neutron Jammer, nukes had become useless, and the Anti-Neutron Jammer wasn't widely known. Reid easily acquired one from the black market and fed it to the Factory Module, unlocking the option to purchase nukes in the system store.
If things truly went south, Reid could always cosplay as Shinn, the "Nuclear Sword Immortal." With his current G-Coin reserves, how many nukes could he buy for a full-scale bombardment?
After all preparations were complete, Reid mentally prepared himself for the possibility of being ambushed by Amelia S immediately after crossing. He selected the Gundam Heist battle at Resource Satellite MO-V in A.C. 195, remaining unaffiliated with any faction.
As the teleportation light flashed, Reid immediately activated the Lambda Driver's shield at full power, ready to absorb any potential impact.
But in reality, when the teleportation ended, Reid found himself drifting in an asteroid belt, surrounded only by rocks—no Mobile Suits in sight.
Still, Reid decided to stay cautious. He maneuvered into a concave-shaped asteroid, hiding in its hollow, then quickly swapped out a space-compatible drone from the system and sent it out to scout the surroundings for any potential ambushes.
Thanks to the interference-free environment of the AC universe, the drone completed its sweep without detecting any ambushes. However, not far from the asteroid belt, there was a white, triangular Mothership. Further ahead, a heavily armored Leo N, accompanied by ten black-and-purple (space-camouflaged) Leos, was using seemingly exaggerated firepower to herd an unarmed shuttle.
The shuttle was being driven toward a colony built on a massive asteroid—likely Resource Satellite MO-V.
From this, Reid could deduce the timeline: Gemini 02 Gundam hadn't appeared yet, and OZ's special forces, the Price Team, were still laying their trap.
But since no ambushes were detected, Reid naturally turned his attention to the mission rewards first.
The main Mobile Suits in this battle were naturally the OZX-GU01A Gemini 01 and OZX-GU02A Gemini 02 from MO-V, as well as the three modified Leos from OZ's special forces, the Price Team: the OZ-06MS-SS1 Leo S, OZ-06MS-SR2 Leo R, and OZ-06MS-SN3 Leo N.
Although there were many protagonist units in this battle, the actual rewards weren't particularly generous. Each Gemini Gundam kill was worth 20 Merit Points, while each of the three enhanced Leos was only worth 15 Merit Points.
This meant that even with double rewards, the maximum gain from this battle would be 170 Merit Points—less than what three Behemoths would yield.
Of course, there were more grunt units in this battle, but Reid had little appetite for those dozen or so Leos. The Price Team's mothership, the Eternal Peace-class battleship Granshaio, however, was quite appealing.
This battleship was specifically designed for special forces. It didn't have the exaggerated size of the Eternal Peace, and its firepower was average, but its speed and stealth capabilities (just needed a paint job) were excellent. The data copied from OZ's Barge didn't include this type of vessel, so capturing it to obtain the schematics would be worth trying.
The target was confirmed, but Reid wasn't in a hurry to act. The Gemini Gundams hadn't appeared yet—he could let the situation develop a bit longer.
While waiting, he could deploy some small camera drones and proximity flares in this asteroid belt.
The Minovsky Particle dispersal later wouldn't affect the recordings. Reid suspected that if Codename: Amelia S called in reinforcements to ambush him, they might drop in at the same location as his. These drones could capture footage of his opponents in the AC universe, which he could review after the battle. The flares would alert him to any unexpected arrivals, preventing him from being caught off guard by a long-range sneak attack.
After preparing everything, Gemini 02 from MO-V had already emerged to confront Leo N.
Knowing that Gemini 02 would soon be overwhelmed by the Price Team's Stardust Three Knights, Reid decided it was time to intervene.
The Hermes Zero, towing a Large Minovsky Particle Dispersal Device, burst out of the asteroid belt and charged straight toward the battlefield.
With such a brazen approach, both Gemini 02 and Leo N's functioning radars naturally detected it immediately.
Gemini 02's pilot, Oder Bernett, was baffled—where had this Gundam come from? To his knowledge, MO-V didn't have a third Gundam.
Meanwhile, Leo N's pilot, Boon Brooks, was delighted rather than alarmed at the sight of the Hermes Zero. He excitedly shouted over the Price Team's comms:
"Hey, everyone, check it out—fresh prey! Perfect, one for each of us now."
The rest of the Price Team had also spotted the Hermes Zero. Leo S's pilot, Ross Lantrow, responded:
"Brooks, while one-on-one duels are more chivalrous, we're here on a mission. Issue a warning to that intruding MS first. If it keeps approaching, we'll shoot it down."
As the leader of the Stardust Three Knights, no one opposed Ross Lantrow's orders.
Therefore, Reid, piloting the Hermes Zero, immediately received a warning from the Granshaio, stating that the OZ Special Forces Price Team was conducting operations in this space zone and that any unauthorized Mobile Suits approaching would be shot down.
Reid naturally ignored these warnings. He was the hunter—how could he retreat just because his prey bared its teeth?
In response to the warning, Reid hurled the Large Minovsky Particle Dispersal Device in his hand toward the Granshaio and charged straight into the battlefield between Gemini 02 and the Leo N.
The Granshaio had no idea what the large mechanical device in the Hermes Zero's hand was. Seeing this unknown object thrown toward the ship, they immediately destroyed it on sight.
Then, in the next second, the explosion of the Large Minovsky Particle Dispersal Device instantly turned the surrounding space zone into a high-density Minovsky Particle environment. Communications between Mobile Suits and ships were instantly severed. Aside from thermal and optical sensors, all other radar systems failed, and targeting functions reliant on radar assistance malfunctioned.
Oder Bernett and Boon Brooks were truly dumbfounded this time. With communications cut off, neither of them had any further instructions.
However, the unknown Mobile Suit, after discarding the strange device, immediately rushed toward them at an extremely high speed. It was clear this was no friendly approach.
Without needing to communicate, both Oder Bernett and Boon Brooks raised their weapons toward the Hermes Zero.
Gemini 02's Beam Cannon and the Leo N's Shoulder Machine Cannon fired at the Hermes Zero.
The space-painted Leos brought by the Leo N, though unable to receive commands due to the communication blackout, saw the Leo N firing at the Hermes Zero and naturally raised their equipped Beam Rifles to focus fire on the Hermes Zero.
Unfortunately, the high-density Minovsky Particle environment was extremely unfavorable for all Mobile Suits in AC space. The malfunctioning targeting systems meant that none of the shots could even be called "outlining the target"—they were more like airballs in basketball, missing entirely.
The radar estimated that even if the Hermes Zero charged straight ahead, none of these attacks would hit it, let alone the fact that it wasn't a stationary target—it could dodge and evade.
Thus, Reid effortlessly broke into the battlefield.
As per his usual strategy, clearing the mobs came first. The space-painted Leos here were all equipped with Beam Rifles. Though not particularly powerful, they could still damage his Mobile Suit.
So, once those space-painted Leos entered the effective range of his Electromagnetic Rifle, Reid began his grim reaping.
These Leos were merely repainted, not specially modified like the Stardust Knights. With Reid's current marksmanship, there was no chance of missing. The speed at which the Leos exploded depended solely on how fast Reid pulled the trigger. In an instant, the battlefield was illuminated by the explosions of Leos.
Meanwhile, the Hermes Zero, bathed in this light, charged toward the Leo N and Gemini 02 like the Reaper itself.
Oder Bernett wasn't naive enough to think Reid was an ally just because he was attacking the Leos. To be precise, after Lady Une's approval, the MO-V Colony Satellite had nominally joined OZ, and they considered themselves part of OZ.
Thus, Gemini 02 raised its weapon again and fired at the Hermes Zero.
This time, Reid sensed a hint of threat from Gemini 02's attack and evaded it with a preemptive dodge.
And indeed, Gemini 02's Beam Cannon did not miss its mark.
Reid inwardly praised upon seeing this:
"Oder Bernett's reaction is indeed quick. Seeing the Mobile Suit's auxiliary targeting malfunction, he decisively switched to manual optical aiming. You have to understand, even the five Gundam pilots from the Meteor Project were momentarily confused when facing high-density Minovsky Particle environments. Of course, this was also related to those five Gundam pilots being too accustomed to bullying weaker opponents in the early stages."
However, those familiar with Reid knew that when he mentally complimented you while you stood as his opponent, it meant he acknowledged your combat capabilities - and that all sorts of underhanded tactics would follow.
Thus, after Hermes Zero dodged, seeing the sluggish Leo N couldn't keep up with its movements, it first fired a shot at Gemini 02. The electromagnetic bullet was blocked by Gemini 02's raised shield.
But this was exactly Reid's intention. When Oder Bernett prepared to aim again, he noticed a round object appearing before the opposing MS.
It was a large flash grenade Reid had just purchased from the G-Coins store - originally designed for warships to detonate at close range, specifically to dazzle enemy MS cameras and prevent bridge sniping.
Completely unprepared, Oder Bernett took the full brunt of this high-intensity flash. Needing to use optical equipment to target Hermes Zero, the sudden flash nearly blinded him.
Tears streamed uncontrollably from Oder Bernett's eyes, making proper aiming impossible.
Seizing the opportunity, Reid charged forward and detonated an EMP bomb right in front of Gemini 02.
The Gemini 02 Gundam, lacking EMP protection, instantly shut down.
With Gemini 02 Gundam dealt with, the Leo N became much easier to handle.
Reid had no intention of capturing the Leo N - its performance was inferior to even the Tallgeese, and its heavy armor made it particularly sluggish.
However, Reid needed to use the Leo N as bait for its teammates, so instead of destroying it, he closed in and, leveraging his overwhelming mobility, severed all four limbs of the Leo N. After all, only the cockpit needed to remain intact for fishing purposes.
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