After Rau Le Creuset's full-channel broadcast ended, the crew of the Archangel exchanged uneasy glances, unsure of what to do next.
Murrue, having regained some composure, looked at the still-smoking bow of the Montgomery nearby and decisively ordered,
"Signal the return to ship. The battlefield is unfavorable to us now—cease fire immediately."
Hearing this, Reid also spoke over the squad comms:
"Agreed. Strike, Green Astray, and Flags, return to the ship. Murrue, remember to notify the Moebius units to land on the Archangel as well. I'll find a way to make ZAFT pull back first."
With that, Reid switched to a full-channel broadcast and declared:
"We can cease fire, but ZAFT's fleet must retreat beyond main cannon range. Rau Le Creuset, both Princess Angelise and I were dragged into this war by you. I have zero trust in you. To prevent any 'accidental misfires' from your rookie pilots, kindly withdraw first."
Reid's words earned another irritated "Tch" from Creuset, as he had indeed guessed his scheme. Creuset had planned to ambush the Archangel with a main cannon strike the moment the Empress Custom Flag was transferred during the prisoner exchange—as long as he didn't attack the New Misurugi Republic's ships, he could justify attacking the Archangel with any excuse later.
But even with his plan exposed, Creuset wasn't about to back down easily. He retorted:
"Mr. Reid, if we retreat beyond main cannon range, what's to stop the Archangel from fleeing? You wouldn't be trying to give them an escape route, would you?"
Reid almost laughed—Creuset was right, but he was the one with the upper hand now. Only ten GINNs remained, and with the Black Tri-Stars' help, they could wipe them all out.
Even if Ange's machine was at a disadvantage, she could still keep Athrun in check and prevent him from causing trouble.
Not to mention, the dozen or so Moebius units launched earlier by the Montgomery, Bernard, and Raul were still operational. With the Green Astray and Strike switching to artillery configuration, ZAFT's four defenseless motherships would either retreat or sink.
So Reid replied with absolute confidence:
"Not retreating? Then I'll blast your main cannons first and ask PLANT what the hell they're thinking. Pointing your guns at me shows zero sincerity for a ceasefire. And right now, I don't see any explanation from PLANT either."
Reid's words left Creuset no room to maneuver. He knew full well that continuing the fight would only end in his defeat. Seeing Reid's unyielding stance, he reluctantly conceded:
"Fine, we'll withdraw. But Commander Reid, can the New Misurugi Republic guarantee they won't assist the Archangel's escape afterward?"
Reid agreed without hesitation—he couldn't afford to give Creuset any leverage.
"Of course. Once my people are back on our ships, the Atlantic Federation's vessels are none of my concern. Though let's not forget—I only ended up on the Archangel because of your meddling. If you're looking for someone to blame for this mess, look in the mirror."
Creuset could only scoff at Reid's theatrics—it was like he'd barely brushed his arm, yet Reid had flown back ten meters, writhing in 'agony.' Now he was stuck dealing with the fallout.
However, Creuset realized he could only be blackmailed at this point—after all, from others' perspective, he was clearly in the wrong. He should have investigated Reid Isaac more thoroughly before dragging him into this mess.
Gritting his teeth, Creuset could only reply,
"Fine. I hope Captain Reid keeps his word. We're withdrawing."
With that, all three Nazca-class ships fired recall signal flares, retrieving their Mobile Suits.
Reid watched as the four ZAFT vessels retreated to a safe distance, ensuring there was enough reaction time in case of a surprise attack. He ordered the Black Tri-Stars to stand guard outside before returning to the Archangel.
The moment he disembarked from his Mobile Suit, Reid headed straight for the bridge. He needed to brief Murrue and Bargiruel—after all, he still intended to fulfill his contract, albeit indirectly.
But upon entering the bridge, he found Ange, Mu, and Kira already there.
Flay was hunched over the CIC communications station, anxiously speaking with George Allster. From the sound of George's voice, it seemed that while Montgomery had been disabled, the bridge crew was still alive.
Ignoring Flay, whose tear-streaked face remained unwashed, Reid addressed Murrue and Bargiruel directly.
"Captain, Vice-Captain—this will be the last time I address you as such. You heard the conversation earlier. Ange, myself, and the people of the New Misurugi Republic must withdraw now."
He continued, "But don't worry. I won't break the contract I signed—the penalty would cost me a fortune. You'll depart first, and I guarantee I'll hold them off for at least an hour. If you push full speed toward the 8th Fleet, you should rendezvous before the Nazca-class ships catch up."
Then, half-jokingly but half-seriously, he added, "Oh, and don't forget to transfer the payment once you meet up with the fleet. Otherwise, I might just drag you both back to the New Misurugi Republic for some unpaid labor."
Murrue and Bargiruel didn't dwell on his teasing. Murrue even managed a smile and said,
"Of course. You've worked hard this whole journey. With all the money you've made, you're treating us next time we meet."
Reid naturally didn't refuse something as trivial as treating them to a meal. Then, glancing at Flay, he added,
"By the way, hurry up and retrieve Montgomery's crew. I won't be meeting with Vice-Minister George—pass along my regards for me."
Reid avoided seeing George Allster because he didn't want the man clinging to him, insisting on following him back to the New Misurugi Republic. The last thing he needed was to bring along an Atlantic Federation deputy foreign minister.
However, George clearly overheard Reid's words and immediately raised his voice.
"Wait, Mr. Reid! It's fine if you don't see me, but if you're leaving, please take Flay with you!"
Reid frowned slightly at George's request. Taking Flay along wasn't a big deal—the Atlantic Federation deputy foreign minister didn't hold as much influence as one might think. But since it was George making the request, Reid had to consider whether there was some political motive behind it.
As Reid hesitated, George, relying on his experience, seemed to guess his thoughts and quickly clarified,
"Captain Reid, rest assured—I have no ulterior motives. I'm only asking you to take Flay because I know the Archangel will face more battles ahead. It's too dangerous for her to stay aboard. This is just a father's plea."
Since George Allster had put it that way, Reid naturally couldn't refuse. Flay was quite obedient in front of Ange, and at the very least, she could serve as eye candy. Moreover, in the Gundam universe, those capable of Nude Floating all had Newtype potential. If Flay could train a bit, she might not be too weak.
Coincidentally, Ange was familiar with Arzenal's training regimen for female soldiers. As long as Flay could endure it, her future strength wouldn't be too shabby.
So Reid immediately spoke with utmost seriousness:
"In that case, Murrue, have all the refugees Kira picked up earlier board my ship. Let's not make any special exceptions."
After saying this, Reid spotted Kira and quickly added:
"However, Kira, Sai, and Miriallia—you can't come with me. You're volunteers for the Atlantic Federation. Leaving before your discharge would make you deserters."
Reid's words instantly darkened the expressions of Sai and the others, as they hadn't expected volunteering to affect their ability to disembark.
What they didn't know was that Reid was deliberately leaving them behind. Mere volunteers—aside from Kira—could easily be taken away with any number of excuses, such as being dispatched to the New Misurugi Republic's ship for training.
But if Sai and the others weren't on the Archangel, whether the ship could struggle its way back to the Alaska base after descending to Earth would be another matter. Unless the system assigned him another unavoidable main mission, Reid had no intention of interfering with the Archangel's battles on Earth.
Thus, Reid had no choice but to let Sai and the others suffer a bit more. At least this time, he wouldn't have to endure Kira cuckolding him right in front of his face—he ought to be grateful for that.
Murrue naturally had no objections to Reid's proposal, and Bargiruel was even more in favor. She'd be thrilled to have fewer irrelevant people on board.
So, Reid began arranging the evacuation from the Archangel.
However, when Reid prepared to move the Green Astray, Mu refused. He knew the Green Astray belonged to the New Misurugi Republic, but after piloting it with the Air Combat Pack, he truly didn't want to go back to the Union Flag—the latter's controls were far more difficult than the Green Astray's.
Thus, Mu clung stubbornly to the Green Astray's ankle hydraulic pipe, refusing to let go no matter what, acting like a complete rogue toward Reid.
Reid was both amused and exasperated. While he had obtained the Green Astray's manufacturing data and the Natural OS program developed with Kira's help, the foam metal processing techniques wouldn't be in the Green Astray's database. He needed to take the unit back to the Factory Module to analyze the technology.
So Reid showed everyone how to deal with a rogue. In short: step back and let Ange handle it.
Sure enough, Mu quickly backed down when he saw Ange cracking her knuckles and warming up. The princess could absolutely force his arms open—and might accidentally break them in the process.
Of course, Reid didn't leave the Archangel completely empty-handed. He left behind all the weapons originally discovered with the Green Astray, which the Strike could also equip.
In the end, Reid returned to the New Misurugi Republic's Laurasia-class ship, bringing along the oblivious Lacus.
However, Lacus was quite clever. After being let out of the room, she pieced together most of the situation from the subtle clues in the conversations outside and the expressions of the Archangel's crew. Upon arriving at the bridge of the Laurasia-class ship belonging to the New Misurugi Republic and meeting Noin, she glanced at the nearly invisible Nazca-class battleship in the distance before turning to Reid and asking directly:
"Mr. Reid, are you planning to send me back to PLANT?"
Reid looked at Lacus. His Newtype senses told him that this young lady seemed to be in a state of having just started to enjoy herself only to be told it was time to go home. Sighing, he replied:
"Miss Lacus, don't tell me you don't want to go home yet."
Hearing this, Lacus's eyes lit up, and she nodded eagerly.
"I'd like to visit the New Misurugi Republic. Ange mentioned she has a large karaoke room there for singing with friends. I've never had the chance to sing like that with friends before—I want to go and have fun. Besides, the New Misurugi Republic is a friendly neutral nation. I can just send a message to PLANT to let them know I'm safe."
Reid couldn't help but recall that, in the anime, he'd never seen Lacus act this willful. Why was she suddenly being so stubborn with him? And that "karaoke room"—wasn't that something he'd recreated based on the karaoke bars from his past life? Since it was an old relic from a bygone era, people in this time found it novel instead.
But upon reflection, it made sense. Lacus was still young, and willfulness was natural at her age. She'd probably been suppressing it all this time in PLANT. Now that she'd met Ange, she was being led astray—after all, Ange could be incredibly stubborn herself, like how she'd punch him whenever she got jealous.
So Reid decided to toss this problem to Creuset on the other side. He needed to stall Creuset anyway, so why not let him deal with Lacus? Without saying another word, he turned and went to confirm the Archangel's escape timetable.
Seeing that Reid didn't object, Lacus assumed he had tacitly agreed. She obediently stood behind him and fell silent.
Thus, after coordinating with the Archangel and ordering them to turn around and flee at full speed, Reid commanded the helmsman to steer their ship straight toward the four ZAFT vessels.
Creuset had anticipated the Archangel's escape. The moment he saw it change course, he immediately ordered pursuit. When the New Misurugi Republic's ship charged toward him, a sinister grin crossed his face—now the other side wouldn't have a legitimate reason to interfere. If they dared to fire, he'd be the one in the right.
What Creuset didn't expect, however, was that the New Misurugi Republic's ship would send a communication request from such a distance.
He couldn't refuse it. Creuset also wanted to hear what Reid had to say this time.
But the moment the call connected, Creuset's face turned ashen—because there, standing behind Reid with a smile, was Lacus Clyne.
The instant he saw Lacus, Creuset understood exactly what Reid was up to. Now, he desperately wished he could turn back time by just one second—he would never have accepted this call. At least then, he could've fired a couple of shots to vent his frustration.
But with Lacus now on screen, the captains of all four ZAFT ships simultaneously bypassed Creuset's authority and ordered: "All weapons offline! Power down the battleships! Do not accidentally harm Miss Lacus, and do not provoke the New Misurugi Republic's personnel!"
To be honest, this was Reid's first time meeting Creuset in person. Their previous communications had been audio-only, so Reid didn't speak immediately, instead taking a moment to observe the big boss who had influenced Kira's entire life.
Feeling inexplicably scrutinized, Creuset had no choice but to initiate the conversation, speaking in an unusually deep voice:
"Mr. Reid, am I to understand that you're using Miss Lacus to force us to stand by while the Archangel makes its escape?"
Hearing this, Reid immediately denied it outright:
"Of course not, Creuset. While I may not think highly of you personally, I believe you should be thanking me right now.
Miss Lacus was picked up by the Archangel when they crossed the Circum-Terrestrial Debris Belt. The ship originally planned to hand her over to Earth Alliance higher-ups for political gain. Now I've brought her out and intend to return her to you. Isn't it a bit much to accuse me like this?"
Creuset listened, feeling his composure nearly shatter. How could someone be so shameless? The man was spinning lies without batting an eye.
But Creuset knew he couldn't lose his cool now, so he gritted his teeth and continued:
"Very well, my mistake. Thank you, Mr. Reid, for rescuing Miss Lacus. I'll send a shuttle to retrieve her immediately—that won't be a problem, will it?"
Reid chuckled and replied without hesitation:
"Of course not. Please take this little troublemaker away as soon as possible. She was just saying she wanted to come back to the New Misurugi Republic with me. Our humble nation can't possibly accommodate someone of her stature.
By the way, isn't Athrun Zala her fiancé? Have him come pick her up right away."
Reid's words made Lacus feel instantly betrayed. Her cheeks puffed up in anger as she protested:
"No! I'm not going back!"
The moment Lacus said this, chaos erupted on ZAFT's side. After all, Lacus was practically a national idol in PLANT—how could she suddenly act like she was about to run off with some outsider?
Unable to take it anymore, Athrun suddenly felt a tinge of green on his head and abruptly cut into the conversation:
"Reid Isaac! What have you done to Lacus?!"
Reid felt utterly wronged. Buddy, the one who'll cuckold you in the future is your official wife Kira—why are you yelling at me? He massaged his temples and said:
"Don't misunderstand. I haven't done anything. Miss Lacus, care to explain?"
The moment the words left his mouth, Reid regretted them. He could already sense the same mischievous delight from Lacus that she'd shown when provoking him earlier. With sudden solemnity, Lacus declared:
"Athrun, you've got it all wrong. Mr. Reid has been very kind to me. He only broke the Haro you gave me and locked me in a room for half a day. Don't worry—I've already become good friends with Princess Angelise. I'm not confined anymore."
Reid felt like dying on the spot. Was Lacus tattling on him for bullying her? This was definitely tattling, right?
Meanwhile, on ZAFT's side, Creuset and several captains caught the underlying tone. It seemed Miss Lacus hadn't suffered any mistreatment—in fact, she seemed to be getting along quite well with both Princess Angelise and Reid.
Seeing Reid's exasperated expression, Creuset found his mood lifting. Serves you right, Reid, for using Lacus to block my path—now you're reaping what you sowed.
However, the older officers could tell that Reid wasn't mistreating Lacus, but the younger ones couldn't stand it. Yzak and others, whose Mobile Suits had been destroyed, were already furious with Reid and couldn't hold back any longer. Yzak even used the Gamov's communication line to cut in and shout:
"Reid Isaac! Are you even a man? Bullying a little girl—what kind of skill is that?! If you've got the guts, fight me one-on-one without Mobile Suits!!"
Reid ignored Yzak's challenge. The kid wasn't stupid—he knew he couldn't win in a Mobile Suit battle, so he switched to hand-to-hand combat. If it had been his mother, Reid might have been interested, but Yzak himself? Not worth the effort.
So Reid skipped right past the topic and asked instead:
"So, which one of you is coming to pick up your princess? Dealing with one princess is already giving me a headache—two is just too much to handle."
As soon as Reid finished speaking, Athrun immediately responded:
"Enough. I'll come get Lacus. Just take her to the hangar."
But the moment Athrun spoke, Creuset cut in:
"No, Athrun. What if you get taken hostage too? If both the Chairman's daughter and the Military Commissioner's son are captured, we'll have a major crisis on our hands."
This was exactly the reaction Reid wanted. While he had no intention of actually taking Athrun hostage, he needed to keep them tangled in debate. So he deliberately taunted:
"Creuset, how dare you slander me out of thin air. Who else could escort this young lady back? Anyone else wouldn't dare even lay a finger on her—their status isn't high enough. Athrun is the only suitable choice."
With that, even the ship captains grew uncertain of Reid's intentions. While the New Misurugi Republic was unlikely to dare abduct Athrun, even a 1% risk wasn't something they could gamble on. If Athrun were taken hostage under their watch, they'd all be court-martialed upon their return.
And so, just as Reid had hoped, both sides fell into a drawn-out debate.
Some suggested Reid forcibly send Lacus over.
But Reid countered—what if the girl refused to leave? Was he supposed to carry her? Or were they giving him permission to take liberties?
Under Athrun's murderous glare, the person who proposed this idea quickly abandoned it.
Then Creuset suggested they just let Lacus and Reid return to the New Misurugi Republic while they continued pursuing the Archangel.
Before Reid could even respond, Athrun and the other second-generation Red Coats, along with the four ship captains, collectively opposed the idea. After all, their primary mission was to locate and retrieve Lacus.
When they hadn't found her yet, Creuset could convince the others to focus on the Archangel. But now that Lacus was in a foreign nation that couldn't guarantee her safety, there was no way they could let her go with the New Misurugi Republic
Especially this Reid Isaac had a way with dealing with the princess. If Miss Lacus really suffered any losses, could Creuset even shield himself from taking the bullet?
In the end, the two sides dragged on for nearly two hours. First, Nicol, who was less sensitive and had a better relationship with Lacus, came aboard to persuade her.
But Lacus had already secretly reached an agreement with Reid, promising to help him buy time on the condition that Reid would owe her a favor in the future.
Reid knew that Lacus's favor wouldn't be easy to repay, but considering she was a key figure in this world, it was worth establishing goodwill. After all, Lacus held significant influence in the future Terminal Organization.
So Reid agreed, then watched as Lacus ran to Ange, acting coquettish and seeking protection, leaving Nicol utterly helpless. Just seeing Ange reminded him of how his Blitz had been blown up like a ball by her, so he promptly backed down.
Eventually, all the second-generation elites came to Reid's side to pull people away (by then, three children of council members and military committee members had already gone over—one more Athrun wouldn't make much difference). Seeing that the time was about right, Lacus reluctantly let herself be taken away, effectively taking the blame for Reid stalling and keeping people around. This left Creuset with no grounds to pick a fight with Reid.
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