With Heliopolis collapsing, the battle naturally couldn't continue. Massive amounts of gas from the Colony Satellite were sucked into space, instantly forming countless tornadoes that churned the interior like a washing machine.
No mobile suit could maintain stability in such conditions, and even the NT-X was swept away by the turbulent currents.
Fortunately, the Luna Titanium Alloy was sturdy enough—both the NT-X and Ange's Flag had a high chance of surviving unscathed. The Moebius Zero, however, was another story. When Reid spotted it, its Gun Barrels were already damaged, clearly struck by debris swirling inside the Colony Satellite.
So Reid lent a hand, cradling the Moebius Zero in his mobile suit's arms and shielding it with his Shield. He couldn't afford to lose Mu, the Archangel's primary combat asset.
Thankfully, the violent turbulence ca and went quickly. But Reid's luck seed to take a turn for the worse—the chaotic winds inside the Colony Satellite hurled the NT-X Gundam, still clutching the Moebius Zero, straight out into the void of space.
After a brutal tumble, Reid finally stabilized his mobile suit before he could get sick from the spinning. Glancing at the Moebius Zero in his grasp, he decided to check if Mu's brains had been thoroughly scrambled. Fighting off his own dizziness, he opened a comms channel and asked,
"Mu, you alive? If so, make a sound."
The only response he got was a retching noise.
Reid couldn't help but laugh, his own nausea fading slightly as he teased,
"Tell
you didn't puke in your helt. Make sure you shower when we get back—stay the hell away from
otherwise."
Mu, still gritting his teeth against the nausea, shot back,
"You bastard. The first thing I'm doing when we get back is hugging you—just to thank you for saving . That way, your precious princess will keep her distance from you."
Reid knew Mu was fine if he still had the energy to banter. He switched to the Archangel's frequency and called out,
"Archangel, this is Reid Isaac. You guys alright? I can't see your position from here—need a guide."
It was a routine check, but all he heard in response was static.
He must've been thrown far from the Archangel. With the Colony Satellite breaking apart, debris and specialized tals from the military factories were floating everywhere—materials that naturally interfered with comms signals. Combined with ZAFT's warti jamming, communications were in terrible shape.
As for thermal radar? The screen was flooded with heat signatures from escape pods. Unless the Archangel fired up its main engines, Reid would have to spot it with his own eyes.
He turned back to Mu.
"Mu, what's your mobile suit's status? Still combat-ready?"
A series of button presses ca through the comms before Mu answered,
"Linear Cannon's intact. Only one Wired Pod's operational. Thrusters are fine. But in this ss of floating wreckage? Don't expect much from ."
Reid had to agree. The Moebius Zero's lateral mobility was useless in a debris field this dense.
"Alright, then don't move on your own. I'll just hold you like a pistol."
After speaking, he imdiately activated the thrusters and flew toward the center of the Colony Satellite wreckage. The Archangel was large and heavy enough, with stronger propulsion than a Mobile Suit, making it less likely to be thrown outward. By searching inside the Colony Satellite, he was bound to find it eventually.
However, it seed Reid had run out of luck. Just after flying into the debris field of the Colony Satellite cluster, he didn't encounter the Archangel—instead, he ca across the Aegis. But the Aegis was also dragging a burden. It was holding onto a heavily dented and scorched GINN with one hand, most likely the one piloted by Miguel Aiman.
Since ZAFT's ships were positioned on the outer edges of the Colony Satellite, both of them were flying from the inside out.
The NT-X Gundam and the Aegis spotted each other almost simultaneously, raising their guns at one another—yet neither fired.
Reid felt there was no point in lingering here, so he directly opened a laser comm link and said,
"Pilot of the Aegis, how about a temporary ceasefire? We both need to return our comrades to our motherships. There's no need to fight here. Also, what's your na? Judging by your performance on the battlefield, you know Kira, don't you?"
Reid deliberately asked Athrun's na—after all, from Athrun's perspective, Reid had never introduced himself before. It would be strange if Reid called him by na outright. Moreover, Reid was fairly certain Athrun would agree to this request; he wasn't the type to seek unnecessary conflict.
Sure enough, Athrun answered almost without hesitation,
"Fine. My na is Athrun. Athrun Zala."
Seeing that Athrun was still reasonable, Reid relaxed and continued,
"Let's each retreat behind a large piece of debris and then part ways. Though I suspect we'll fight again later. By the way, let
ask you sothing—does your father, Patrick, often speak ill of ?"
Athrun was baffled by this question. At this point, Patrick hadn't yet descended into full madness, so he hadn't told Athrun that Reid was their family's sworn enemy or anything like that. However, he had warned Athrun to be cautious if he ever encountered Reid Isaac, as he was cunning.
Thus, Athrun could only reply carefully,
"No, my father actually speaks quite highly of you."
Reid imdiately understood that Patrick hadn't poisoned Athrun's impression of him. As for the "high praise," he took it with a grain of salt. Patrick Zala not badmouthing him was already a miracle—expecting complints would be naive.
So Reid simply chuckled and replied,
"Alright then. Let's retreat now. Goodbye, Athrun Zala."
With that, Reid maneuvered his machine behind a large piece of Colony Satellite debris, and Athrun did the sa.
After parting peacefully with the Aegis, Reid didn't encounter any more complications. Flying deeper inside, he soon found the Archangel.
At the sa ti, he also spotted the Strike. Just like in the original tiline, Kira had awakened his junk dealer instincts and retrieved a powerless Colony Satellite escape pod.
At this close range, communications were naturally functional again. Bargiruel's anxious voice soon ca through the team channel:
"Captain Reid, are you unhard? You have the Moebius Zero—what happened to Captain Flaga?"
Now that the battle had temporarily ended, Reid was in the mood for jokes and casually replied,
"I'm fine. Captain Flaga just stinks a bit—he'll be okay after a shower. Second Lieutenant Natarle, you and the captain should just stay away from him until he's cleaned up. By the way, has Ange returned yet?"
The mont Reid said this, Mu couldn't hold back anymore and cut into the comms, protesting loudly,
"Reid, stop talking about irrelevant things!!!"
Hearing Mu's vigorous retort, Natarle knew he was unhard and sighed in relief before replying,
"Princess Angelise wasn't carried too far by the air currents—she was the first one back. You all should return to the ship as soon as possible. We need to quickly decide on our next course of action."
"Also, I'd appreciate it if you could help teach Kira so regulations later. He brought back an escape pod from the Colony Satellite."
Reid was montarily speechless at Natarle's request. You're the ones who detained him—why should I be the one to educate him? Do you really see
as the MS Squad leader in the military now?
Still, Reid didn't refuse. Right now, Kira was just a student suddenly dragged into war, not the future "One-Man Army." There was no conflict between them, so Reid tried to treat him normally—no need to sour their relationship. Just handle him like any other rookie.
So, Reid piloted the NT-X Gundam back to the Archangel as usual, set down the Moebius Zero, and disembarked. Imdiately, he instructed the crew he had brought along:
"Recharge the unit imdiately—fast as you can."
Reid couldn't afford to delay. Right now, the NT-X Gundam's five batteries were all below a quarter capacity. There was no way it could sustain another high-intensity battle.
Fortunately, they still had ti. The collapse of the Colony Satellite had bought the Archangel so breathing room. ZAFT ships wouldn't dare recklessly enter the debris field now—they couldn't even locate the Archangel's position. Charging in blindly would an taking a direct hit from the 225cm main cannon and getting obliterated on the spot. Plus, their Mobile Suits needed to resupply anyway.
However, a small issue that could disrupt the Archangel's internal unity soon erged.
Just as Reid stepped out of his unit and Ange floated over to check on him, the escape pod Kira had retrieved was opened. The Heliopolis refugees inside needed to be released and assigned quarters aboard the ship.
As if it were Kira's inescapable fate, Flay Allster was inside that very escape pod.
This was actually Reid's first ti seeing the girl who would deeply influence Kira in person (he couldn't have gotten a good look at her during the industrial academy assembly—not with a whole crowd of students listening below).
There was no denying it—Flay Allster had the face of a goddess, paired with the youthful innocence unique to a teenage girl. For a 16-year-old student, her figure was already on par with a well-endowed adult. No wonder she had Kira completely smitten.
But because Reid took a few extra glances at Flay, the princess in front of him grew displeased. She lightly jabbed his chest a few tis, her tone sour as she said,
"Huh? So this is your type, Reid? She is quite pretty. Want
to go ask who she is for you?"
Though Ange wasn't putting any real force behind her pokes, Reid knew that if he didn't respond carefully, he'd probably get hit. So, he imdiately put on a righteous front and played dumb, retorting,
"Ange, what are you talking about? Haven't you seen the intel from the Atlantic Federation? This girl is the daughter of George Allster, the forr Deputy Secretary of the Atlantic Federation who visited us before."
Hearing Reid's words, Ange's jealousy instantly dissipated. If she was the daughter of a foreign dignitary, it made sense for Reid to glance at her a few more tis. And most likely, his mind wasn't plotting anything about the girl herself—but rather about her father.
However, Kira's reaction upon seeing Flay was far more intense than Reid's. With the assistance of the chanical bird [Tori] that Athrun had given him, Flay imdiately rushed toward Kira—the only person she recognized in this unfamiliar environnt.
But Reid actually didn't want Kira to interact too much with this Flay. When he first watched SEED, he simply found this young lady utterly detestable—abandoning her boyfriend, manipulating Kira's feelings, and worst of all, trying to reconcile with her ex after Kira went missing.
Yet as an adult, rewatching the SEED remaster gave Reid a different perspective on her actions. One could only say that, after losing her father's protection, this young lady took things to extres. Though he still found her behavior contemptible, he could at least understand it a little.
Reid decided to intervene. Too much contact between these two would only hurt each other—better to nip it in the bud and let Kira give up from the start.
So, just as the two were about to et, Reid deliberately spoke up:
"Kira Yamato, not bad for your first sortie. But picking up random things isn't a good habit. The vice-captain asked
to have a word with you—co with
for a mont."
His words imdiately drew everyone's attention. The mont Flay saw Reid and Ange, she used Kira's body as a springboard, pivoting ninety degrees off his shoulder to face Reid, and exclaid excitedly:
"Your Highness Ange is here too! This is wonderful, just wonderful!"
As she spoke, she lunged toward Ange for a hug.
If this had been a man, even if Reid didn't throw a punch, Ange would have kicked them flying.
But since this was the daughter of an acquaintance, Ange didn't outright reject her. Besides, the admiration on Flay's face was genuine. Ange was just a bit exasperated—but she still caught Flay and steadied her.
Flay was overjoyed at hugging her idol, only then rembering Reid standing beside Ange. She bowed politely and said:
"Mr. Reid, it's a pleasure to et you. My father often speaks of you, always full of praise. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself—I'm Flay Allster, daughter of George Allster, Deputy Secretary of the Atlantic Federation."
Naturally, Reid wouldn't lash out at soone offering courtesy, especially when Flay was being so polite to him. He smiled and replied:
"Miss Flay, hello. Never thought I'd run into an acquaintance's daughter in a place like this. You must have been frightened, but you're safe for now. Ange, why don't you chat with Flay? I need to take Kira to finish the vice-captain's task."
With that, Reid imdiately floated over to Kira, pulling the visibly dejected boy toward the railing on the other side of the hangar and into the pilot's lounge.
Once inside, Reid grabbed two cans of Space Energy Drink from the fridge and tossed one to Kira, saying:
"Alright, rookie, wipe that gloomy look off your face. So I interrupted your chance to talk to your goddess—no need to wear your heart on your sleeve like that. You need to replenish energy after a battle. Drink up."
Kira blushed at Reid's words and quickly retorted,
"I wasn't sulking because I didn't get to talk to Flay..."
But halfway through his rebuttal, even Kira realized how unconvincing he sounded and promptly changed his tone.
"Mr. Reid, could you please not call
'rookie'... I have a na."
Reid shot Kira a sidelong glance and replied bluntly,
"Kid, you don't understand the cruelty of war. People around you keep changing, and those who get swapped out are usually gone for good. That's why squads give each other nicknas. Because humans—once they start calling others by their real nas—they rember. And having too many dead nas in your head isn't a good thing. Carrying that weight will crush you eventually."
"Newbies like you? Your codena is 'rookie' until I decide you've got what it takes to survive the battlefield. But if you don't like 'rookie,' I can call you 'chicken' (Ki)—special treatnt just for you."
Kira was montarily speechless, thinking "chicken" was even worse than "rookie." But seeing Reid's dead-serious expression, he didn't argue further—after all, the man was a true veteran.
Reid, noticing Kira's silence, grinned and continued,
"Alright, rookie. The vice-captain told
to chew you out, but I don't see the point. For soone on their first battlefield, you're the best pilot I've seen. Military discipline? You weren't even a proper soldier to begin with. And I'm not one now either, so what's there to lecture? Let's just chat and pretend we're doing sothing."
Kira relaxed as he watched Reid's laid-back attitude. This Mr. Reid was actually pretty kind—he didn't dislike him.
However, Reid's slacking didn't last long. The restroom intercom buzzed, and when he answered, it was Bargiruel again.
"Captain Reid, the strategy eting is about to start. Please co to the bridge. We don't have much ti to discuss—hurry."
Reviews
All reviews (0)