Shortly after Reid led his team away from the airspace over Lake Victoria, their Mobile Suits were suddenly enveloped by teleportation codes. In the next moment, everyone and their Mobile Suits had returned to their original positions inside the Balkis before the crossing.
This was the system's Forced Teleportation Return. Fortunately, the system was somewhat considerate this time—it automatically shut down all Mobile Suits upon return. Otherwise, being teleported back into the Granshaio's Hangar while flying at high speed would have guaranteed the hangar being completely wrecked.
After confirming their return to the CE universe, Reid checked the system's assessment module.
The entry for the "AEU's New MS Presentation" now showed as completed, with a recorded World Change Fluctuation Value of 4.301% at the end.
The next line displayed a new mission node: Celestial Being's intervention in the military exercises between the Republic of Moralia and the AEU.
After reading the second mission, Reid couldn't help but complain,
"Seriously? The second battle and it's already on this scale?"
There was no helping it. The military exercises between the Republic of Moralia and the AEU were specifically designed in the original story to lure Celestial Being into intervening. Officially, they claimed to be deploying 130 Mobile Suits for the exercises, but in the anime, just the parade square in front of the military headquarters alone had 528 Mobile Suits lined up and ready for deployment (22 per row, 24 rows in total—counted by the author from the anime).
This didn't even account for the naval forces or the scattered Mobile Suits from Moralia's private PMCs (Private Military Companies).
In reality, the original battle likely involved around 500 to nearly 600 Mobile Suits from both sides.
(There's a minor inconsistency here, as later it's stated that losing 73 Mobile Suits meant "over half" were destroyed. However, after the battle, Sumeragi Lee Noriega estimated enemy casualties at over 500. Since Celestial Being primarily targeted Mobile Suits and rarely destroyed buildings, the casualties had to be MS Pilots.
The author naturally chose the higher number here. By this point, Celestial Being had already proven their combat capabilities by destroying the Human Reform League's base in Ceylon and the Mobile Suits of both local factions. Sending just over a hundred Mobile Suits would've been suicidal—the AEU wasn't that foolish, and they knew how to estimate combat strength.)
In other words, even without counting the invading units, the sheer number of Mobile Suits in this battle was intimidating. After all, Reid only had one ship—the Granshaio. Even if packed to the brim with Mobile Dolls, it could only carry a little over a hundred Mobile Suits unless Reid dismantled the small factory inside to free up storage space.
But Reid didn't actually need to modify the Granshaio that drastically. After all, in the original story, Celestial Being's four Gundams successfully cut through the Republic of Moralia, proving just how vast the performance gap was between their Mobile Suits and the enemy's.
Meanwhile, Reid's Mobile Suits had been tested in actual combat—each pilot could hold their own against Setsuna's Exia in a one-on-one fight without losing. This was referred to as "One-Gundam Capability." Some of the stronger members of the team even reached "Three-Gundam" or "Five-Gundam" levels.
That said, the rewards from the assessment mission were meager—only the G-Coins earned from shooting down five Tallgeese units.
At least the invading Mobile Suits dropped some tech. Unfortunately, Reid already had all the Tallgeese technology, so the only thing of value this time was the Wing Pack.
The "Feathers" that made up the wings of the Wing Pack were also constructed from AC Gundanium Alloy. Not only did they resemble feathers in appearance, but their structure was also modeled after avian feathers.
Moreover, these feathers utilize cutting-edge nanotechnology. The heat-resistant, impact-absorbing feather-shaped materials can memorize the shape and positional parameters of each section when deployed, allowing them to compensate for one another.
All of this is controlled via nanotechnology. It's fair to say that these feathers maximize the properties of AC Gundanium Alloy while maintaining an aesthetic beauty akin to artwork.
Of course, the feathers are designed to self-destruct upon impact or detach under extreme heat to protect the main wings and the Mobile Suit. When layered, their defensive capabilities are top-tier.
The sub-wings have been specially reinforced for propulsion. Even if both main wings are lost, mobility and flight performance remain largely unaffected.
However, this backpack isn't without flaws. Unlike in animations, these feathers don't regenerate—once damaged or lost, they're gone for good.
The Tallgeese Wing's backpack, wrecked by Hermes Zero, was left completely featherless. As the saying goes, a plucked phoenix is no better than a chicken. The Wing Pack looks majestic when intact, but once stripped of its feathers, it's downright ugly.
Additionally, this nanotechnology-equipped Wing Pack is exorbitantly expensive in the system shop. Reid lacks the capability to manufacture AC Gundanium Alloy into feathers (mainly due to insufficient nanotechnology proficiency).
Gundanium Alloy itself is already costly to procure, and self-production doesn't reduce expenses much.
Still, nanotechnology holds research value—after all, the Psycho-Frame in the UC universe also relies on it. Better to study it now than regret later.
Thus, the only elements from this mission truly beneficial to the New Miserly Kingdom's development are the nanotechnology and the GN Particles secretly collected by the Granshaow during wartime.
After a brief debriefing, Elvira Hill, Tem Ray, and Nami returned home with the technology and GN Particles. Reid decided to delay the next mission for over half a month, allowing time for research now that GN Particle samples had been obtained. Future operations wouldn't require scientists on-site.
Reid mused that if research hit a dead end, they could always hijack a GN Drive for study—then return it during the next mission.
With nothing urgent on his plate, Reid led Noin and the team in live-fire drills near Earth's debris belt, thoroughly intimidating the nations causing trouble for the New Miserly Kingdom.
Upon returning, domestic espionage activities had ceased entirely—no one wanted to give the kingdom an excuse to retaliate.
Yet Reid's respite was short-lived. A certain "little troublemaker" (his words) had decided to take up permanent residence in the New Miserly Kingdom.
This troublemaker was none other than Lacus. Since Reid exposed Terminal's existence, she'd avoided him entirely.
When the Eternal departed PLANT, it escorted the fleet to Earth's debris belt before parting ways—leaving behind the Freedom, Justice, and Savior Mobile Suits.
Just like in the original timeline, Freedom now rests in Orb's underground base on the Isle of Dawn, while Kira lives in seclusion nearby. This time, however, Murrue isn't with him—only his parents and the later-arriving Andrew Bartfeld tend to him.
To be honest, Reid was quite surprised when he heard the news. Andrew Bartfeld was supposed to be Lacus's bodyguard, so why had he appeared before Lacus herself?
Moreover, Reid's reconnaissance team stationed in the asteroid belt of the Third Space Zone had yet to observe the Eternal or any other ships entering or exiting. It was likely that the Eternal hadn't returned to Terminal's factory at all and was instead hiding at another of Terminal's space outposts.
Mu and the Brave Gundam were currently in Canberra. Praya Reveley's genetic illness was incurable, and even with the best medical care, she had at most two months left to live.
So Mu stayed at the hospital with Praya Reveley, determined to accompany her through her final days.
Naturally, the Brave Gundam was left behind at a secret military base in Canberra. Mu paid no attention to it whatsoever, and it seemed that even after Praya Reveley's eventual passing, he had no intention of taking the mobile suit with him.
Athrun, as in the original timeline, remained in Orb under the alias Alex Dino, serving as Cagalli's bodyguard.
As for the Justice Gundam, this time it was spared from Athrun's self-destruction. However, due to the sensitivity of the Anti-Neutron Jammer, Orb didn't dare to keep two nuclear-powered mobile suits, so it was also stored at the secret military base in Canberra.
But unlike the original timeline, Athrun actually had a choice this time. Because he and Lacus had informed PLANT in advance about the Earth Alliance's nuclear weapons, and the members of the PLANT Council could clearly see that they had a good relationship with Reid, the temporary PLANT Council didn't give them any trouble.
All previous charges of treason were dropped, and even the inheritances of the Zala and Clyne families remained untouched. If they returned, they could reclaim their family legacies and live comfortably, even entering politics directly thanks to their fathers' reputations in PLANT.
Reid had actually advised Athrun to return to PLANT and take over the remnants of the Zala faction. Despite Athrun's opposition to Patrick Zala during the war, from the perspective of the surviving elders of the Zala faction, this had been a clash of ideals between the patriarch and his heir. Since Athrun had won, he was entitled to inherit the faction.
Unfortunately, Athrun chose love over power. He didn't understand the necessity of the Zala faction as hardliners within PLANT, believing that inheriting it would mean continuing his father's legacy of opposing the Earth Alliance. Unwilling to reignite conflict, Athrun naturally refused, leaving the Zala faction leaderless and exploited by various forces, just as in the original timeline. (By the time of the movie, the Zala faction still held considerable military power within ZAFT, so Athrun truly prioritized love over power.)
As for Lacus, she had no intention of returning to PLANT either.
She was well aware that Eileen Canaver now represented the Clyne faction in PLANT. If she returned, she would only resume her role as a songstress and propaganda tool, and might even be forced to relinquish control of Terminal. (The upper echelons of the Clyne faction were aware of Terminal's existence, which was why Durandal's special forces were able to locate the Eternal during SEED Destiny.)
Meanwhile, Lacus knew that Reid now held the initiative in determining whether the world would remain at peace. After arranging matters with the Terminal, she decisively came alone to the New Miserly Kingdom to apply for temporary residence.
When Reid learned of Lacus's arrival, he was visibly exasperated. By now, the Royal Palace in Star Palace City had been officially announced as completed, with Ange already having moved there, and Une's government was preparing to relocate as well.
Thus, when Lacus arrived, Reid dared not let her roam freely in the New Miserly Kingdom. Given her passive abilities, who knew how many followers she might recruit within the country?
As a result, Reid granted Lacus the treatment of a state guest, allowing her to stay temporarily in the Royal Palace—at least this way, he could keep tabs on her whereabouts.
But this was not a long-term solution. Only a week after Lacus moved in, Eileen Canaver paid a private visit, stating that although Lacus Clyne had lost her father, she remained the idol of all PLANT.
"Reid, even if you intend to take her in, you must give her a proper status. What kind of arrangement is this, keeping her in the Royal Palace without any public acknowledgment?"
Eileen Canaver, as someone who had watched Lacus grow up, declared she could not accept such a situation. She had come in a personal capacity to demand an answer from Reid: just how did he plan to handle Lacus? He had to give a clear answer.
Reid, of course, understood Eileen Canaver's intentions—she would be overjoyed if he actually took Lacus in.
This way, Lacus could never return to PLANT to inherit the Clyne Faction's influence, as her husband's family was now the de facto third-in-command (and the shadow first-in-command) of another nation.
Moreover, a union with Reid would create a semblance of alliance through marriage between PLANT and the New Miserly Kingdom. At the very least, PLANT wouldn't have to worry about the New Miserly Kingdom suddenly persecuting Coordinators—after all, Reid himself would have set the example by marrying a Coordinator.
However, taking her in was out of the question. Reid stated that he and Lacus had no romantic feelings for each other, and that she herself didn't truly know what she wanted—she was merely being pushed forward by the weight of her responsibilities.
So Reid turned the situation to his advantage. He openly admitted his oversight, apologized, and then relocated Lacus to a villa adjacent to the Royal Palace, granting her the freedom to move about as she pleased.
Currently, 99% of Star Palace City's residents were natives. Whatever Lacus did would be noticed.
And if she tried to "charm" the locals, the only outcome would be her concluding that the people here were strangely indifferent.
But just as Reid had settled Lacus, another piece of news arrived—the South American War of Independence had broken out ahead of schedule.
Yes, the war that originally erupted in November CE 71 had now begun in mid-October CE 71.
According to Une's investigation, PLANT had played no small part in fanning the flames.
The reason was simple: with the Oceania Union—PLANT's staunch ally—wiped out by the New Miserly Kingdom, PLANT no longer had any allies on Earth. Only the Gibraltar Base remained, struggling to hold on, with no one even delivering supplies.
Although the war had ceased, the Eurasian Federation refused to allow any PLANT supply ships into the Gibraltar base, citing the lack of a peace treaty and claiming PLANT vessels could not pass through their controlled space zones, airspace, or territorial waters.
They even subjected ordinary merchant ships passing near Gibraltar to repeated inspections to prevent anyone from smuggling food supplies to the ZAFT forces stationed there. It was clear they intended to starve the ZAFT troops out of Gibraltar and force their withdrawal.
However, the ZAFT Earth Forces at Gibraltar proved resilient. Freshwater shortages were resolved using seawater purification systems, while food shortages were managed through strict rationing. Some soldiers even took up fishing in the waters around Gibraltar to sustain themselves.
As a result, PLANT urgently needed an Earth-based ally willing to cooperate deeply and allow them to establish a base. The South American Union, which had already been destroyed for siding with PLANT, became the perfect choice.
Thus, PLANT funneled large quantities of weapons and outdated Mobile Suits to South America through junk dealers, significantly bolstering the resistance forces there.
Meanwhile, the Atlantic Federation was in a weakened state—they had Mobile Suits, but pitifully few pilots capable of operating them.
This directly led to widespread uprisings across South America, creating the impression that they didn't need any formal agreements to reclaim their independence on their own.
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