Reid agreed to the communication, and soon, Patrick Zala's image appeared on the large screen of the Aries' bridge.
From his background and the shaky footage, it seed Patrick was still in space, likely above Carpentaria Base, communicating via relayed laser signals—just as Reid had guessed.
While Reid observed Patrick, Patrick was naturally observing Reid as well. The first thing that caught his eye was the glaring presence of the Zala Team standing behind Reid.
Before initiating the call, Patrick had never imagined that his own son and the sons of several trusted subordinates would be on Reid's ship. This was far from good news.
These four alone were enough to make Patrick hesitate. He wasn't insane yet—this was his own son, after all. And even if he were to disregard his son, if anything happened to the others because of his actions, his subordinates would revolt.
So Patrick's first words weren't directed at Reid but instead spoken with unusual sternness to the four behind him:
"Athrun, you need to explain to
why your team is aboard Reid Isaac's ship."
The interaction between Athrun and Patrick imdiately revealed the nature of their father-son relationship.
Athrun stood ramrod straight, saluting as if addressing a superior officer, and reported:
"Chairman Zala, our team infiltrated Orb to gather intelligence on Dawn Company and the Archangel. We encountered Reid Isaac and his associates in Orb. After being recognized, we had no choice but to leave Orb's territory under Reid Isaac's escort."
Hearing this report, Patrick was left speechless. Getting caught during an infiltration mission was downright embarrassing. However, since he was currently communicating with Reid, now wasn't the ti to reprimand his son. So Patrick could only say sternly:
"Understood. Submit a detailed mission report upon returning to Carpentaria. I will personally review it alongside other Defense Committee mbers."
Patrick might as well have spelled it out—the "Defense Committee mbers" he referred to were the parents of these four. Instantly, the faces of the Zala Team mbers twitched, like schoolchildren who had ssed up and were about to have their parents called in.
After finishing, Patrick turned to Reid and said:
"Reid Isaac, I have questions for you."
Reid was exasperated by Patrick's tone. He wasn't one of Patrick's subordinates—what was with this attitude?
So Reid fired back directly:
"Chairman Patrick, it seems I have no obligation to answer your questions."
Patrick didn't imdiately fly into a rage but instead delivered a cold threat:
"You can refuse to answer now. But I can't guarantee what PLANT might do without certain answers."
Reid thought to himself, Patrick, you haven't even taken power yet—what right do you have to threaten ? If you dare, make attacking
your first act after taking office. Let's see if you can keep that freshly ward Chairman's seat after your first wave of forces gets wiped out.
So Reid replied nonchalantly:
"Heh. Feel free to do as you wish, Chairman Patrick. Your dissatisfaction with
isn't new—one or two questions won't change anything. If you want to fight, then fight. Do you think I'm afraid of you? Why don't you test whether I can tear a chunk out of ZAFT while also breaking one of your bones?"
After speaking, Reid glanced at the awkward expressions on the faces of the four n behind him and continued,
"Of course, if Chairman Patrick wants to fight right now, the four young gentlen from your Military Committee will have to stay with
for a while.
Rest assured, I won't use them to threaten you—I'll simply detain them. After all, by then, they won't be citizens of a friendly nation but enemy soldiers."
Reid's words were technically flawless, but Patrick knew he was being threatened—though not directly with the four n. Instead, Reid was leveraging the potential infighting among his own hardliners.
For PLANT, a war with the New Misurugi Republic was entirely unnecessary. The Republic had remained neutral, yet they were being provoked. On top of that, with Athrun and the others detained, figures like Ezalia Joule—who already commanded military forces—would undoubtedly slam their fists on his desk in protest.
Suppressing his anger, Patrick softened his tone and said,
"At least hear my questions before deciding whether to answer them."
Without giving Reid a chance to retort, he imdiately pressed on,
"First, both I and Siegel want to know—what's the deal with this ship you sailed out from the East Asian Republic? And why did you help them develop Mobile Suits?"
Reid imdiately recognized Patrick's attempt to trap him and countered,
"Chairman Patrick, don't go spreading baseless accusations. The East Asian Republic's Mobile Suits were independently developed—they have nothing to do with . Don't pin everything on , or the East Asian Republic might sue
for patent infringent. Besides, I've warned both you and Chairman Siegel before—don't underestimate the Earth Alliance's military-industrial capabilities. If I can develop Mobile Suits, so can they.
As for the Aries, it was just a standard military procurent deal. There are only a handful of nations in the Earth Sphere capable of independently building warships. Given our limited resources, is it really so surprising that we commissioned another country to construct one?"
Reid had prepared his justification for openly having the East Asian Republic build his warship—because, quite simply, as a neutral nation, there was no rule forbidding him from owning one.
In truth, if any neutral nation in the world ordered a warship from an Earth Alliance country, PLANT would dismiss it as worthless intel. The real concern wasn't the procurent itself—it was the suspicion that the New Misurugi Republic had secretly allied with the Earth Alliance.
So Patrick didn't press further on whether Reid had helped develop the East Asian Republic's Mobile Suits. Without the Republic openly admitting it, PLANT had no evidence—only baseless speculation.
Instead, Patrick shifted focus back to the warship.
"Reid Isaac, you're well aware of the relationship between PLANT and the Earth Alliance. Purchasing a warship from one of their mber states makes it hard not to suspect you're colluding with them."
Reid laughed at this and replied bluntly,
"Chairman Patrick, that's rich—wasn't it you who facilitated this deal in the first place?"
Reid's words left Athrun and the other three behind him stunned. They never expected Reid would blatantly lie to Patrick's face like this.
Patrick's face turned livid, and he exploded with curses:
"Bullshit! When did I ever facilitate arms deals between you and the Earth Alliance? If you're going to make excuses, at least co up with a better one!"
Seeing Patrick's composure crack, Reid felt a surge of satisfaction and replied:
"Oh? Should I explain in detail to everyone how you, Chairman, facilitated my arms deals with the Earth Alliance?"
Without giving Patrick a chance to respond, Reid continued:
"The New Misurugi Republic once submitted an application to PLANT for various MS component orders. Despite PLANT being fully aware of our nation's independent MS production capabilities, your country rejected this order. The primary opposition ca from you, Military Chairman Patrick Zala."
"I recall the reason given to our nation at the ti was that ZAFT needed these components for the war effort, and all dostically produced parts should prioritize military supply, making exports impossible. This isn't sothing I'm fabricating, is it, Chairman Zala?"
By this point, Patrick understood exactly what Reid was implying—that he had restricted the New Misurugi Republic's developnt by refusing to sell military components and equipnt, forcing them to turn to the Earth Alliance. Thus, Patrick had indirectly facilitated the deal.
This logic was airtight. Patrick couldn't deny his publicly known actions and could only explain:
"That's true, but even now, I stand by that decision. Our military-industrial output barely ets our own needs—how could we spare any for neutral nations?"
This was precisely the answer Reid wanted. He spread his hands and said:
"Exactly. If PLANT won't sell to , of course I had to turn to the three nations of the Earth Alliance. Was I supposed to go to Orb, a country with such limited capacity? Among them, I chose the East Asian Republic, which has the best reputation. Is there a problem with that?"
Reid's words made even Athrun and the others behind him feel that Reid truly had no other choice in purchasing warships. PLANT had no grounds to criticize him.
Patrick knew he was in the wrong, but to justify attacking Reid before other council mbers, he was willing to twist logic and retorted:
"Of course there's a problem! Whether you paid or offered sothing else, you're still bolstering the Earth Alliance's strength. PLANT cannot tolerate that."
Reid was left speechless by Patrick's obstinacy. He imagined the four behind him—especially Athrun, who had likely never seen his father act so unreasonably—stunned.
Resorting to diplomatic language, Reid replied:
"Chairman Patrick Zala, my nation is a sovereign state. Though neutral, we retain the right to trade. If PLANT believes my dealings with the Earth Alliance strengthen them, then out of respect for Chairman Siegel, I can redirect future orders to PLANT. The question is—can PLANT actually fulfill them?"
Reid was deliberately saving face for Chairman Siegel here, since the chairman only had less than a week left in his position. Once Siegel was no longer chairman, Reid's words naturally wouldn't hold any weight.
However, what Reid didn't expect was Patrick flashing a triumphant smile at this mont and saying directly:
"Fine. Give the order to PLANT. We can build you one or two warships."
In that instant, Reid understood—Patrick hadn't co today to cause him trouble. In fact, Patrick had no intention of attacking the New Misurugi Republic anyti soon.
Patrick was here to pad his political achievents after becoming chairman—a large foreign trade order to prove he wasn't just good at war but also capable in administration.
The only thing was, Patrick absolutely refused to lower himself before Reid, hence this whole charade.
It sowhat reminded Reid of an internet joke from his past life, where a powerful nation said to a weaker one: "Go kneel over there, bro's gonna ask you a favor..."
Reid could only respond sowhat helplessly:
"Chairman Patrick, can you really make decisions on such orders? Matters like these usually require deliberation by PLANT's Supre Council, don't they?"
Patrick had already returned to his usual bureaucratic deanor and replied directly:
"Don't worry about that. If the New Misurugi Republic's order cos through and gets rejected, I'll never bring up the issue of you buying arms from the Earth Alliance again."
"You don't need to fear I'll go back on my word. After all, I'm a father—I won't break promises in front of my own son."
Seeing Patrick play the family card made Reid even more exasperated. Glancing at the ZAFT fleet putting on a show outside, and considering the massive material shortages for his super fleet, he could only say:
"Fine. I don't need military supplies—the New Misurugi Republic has enough warships for now. But we still have a huge tal deficit for new Colony Satellite construction. If PLANT can supply that, the order is yours."
Seeing Reid's resigned expression, Patrick imdiately felt this trip was worth it—Reid's discomfort was his satisfaction. He promptly agreed:
"Deal. It's settled then."
With that, Patrick ended the communication.
As soon as the call disconnected, the ZAFT forces outside withdrew instantly. Only one Voskhod-class remained floating on the water—likely left behind to retrieve Athrun and the other three.
Reid could only shake his head helplessly. This deal might not actually be a loss for him. It was just that the crafty old fox Patrick had maneuvered it into becoming his political capital, which grated on Reid imnsely.
But what's done was done. Reid had no intention of backing out—he'd take whatever tal supplies he could get. After all, these materials would ultimately be turned into weapons used against Patrick. In the end, Patrick was still funding his enemy.
Thinking this way, Reid felt slightly better. His battle with Patrick was inevitable. Even if Patrick didn't attack him, once Genesis was activated, Reid would have to go after him anyway.
Turning to Athrun and the others, Reid said:
"Alright, Athrun. You four can disembark here. Ti to go write your reports."
At this mont, Reid was poking at a sore spot. The expressions of Athrun and the other three instantly darkened, because it didn't take a genius to figure out they'd be scolded once they returned. This mission report wouldn't be easy to write.
Still, Athrun nodded and extended his hand, saying,
"Alright, Mr. Reid. Thank you for your hospitality during this short ti. I hope you'll have the chance to visit PLANT in the future."
Reid looked at the friendly Athrun and could only think to himself that he would have the opportunity to go to PLANT in the future—it was just that Athrun might not be able to return there by then.
But no matter what he thought, he certainly couldn't say that out loud. So Reid shook hands politely and replied, "Certainly, certainly."
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