After Nein's mobile suit disabled the Graze that came to steal Barbatos, Reid had also completely disarmed Gaelio Bauduin's two mobile suits.
Reid paid no mind to the Barbatos situation. That Graze was a Gjallarhorn mobile suit repaired by Tekkadan. To distinguish it, they had modified some of its armor and called it the Graze Custom, piloted by Akihiro Altland.
In their current state, Barbatos and the Graze Custom couldn't do anything drastic. However, he had to be wary of Orga, who had already rendezvoused with the Isaribi. Reid wouldn't be surprised if he ordered the Isaribi to ram them.
And what about the Aukus Group's ship, you ask? Those bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong had sensed something was wrong after the Blade Angel easily defeated the four Grazes and had promptly fled.
Thus, Reid piloted the Blade Angel toward the two mobile suits of Gaelio Bauduin, which could only lie there like corpses, preparing to deal with the two young masters inside first.
Perhaps because Reid hadn't delivered a fatal blow in order to keep the suits intact, McGillis had misunderstood. Or perhaps it was a moment of quick-wittedness. He directly connected to the Blade Angel Gundam via Laser Communication and said, "Friend, there may be some misunderstanding between us. I am McGillis Fareed of the Fareed family, one of the Seven Stars. Beside me is the eldest son of the Bauduin family, who are also part of the Seven Stars, Gaelio Bauduin. We can talk."
Reid didn't respond. He was perfectly clear on their identities. However, in a Gundam Universe without supernatural abilities, so-called noble bloodlines meant nothing in the face of a bullet.
At the very least, the bloodline of a so-called Seven Stars scion couldn't help them survive a bullet to the head.
Seeing that announcing his name was useless and that the unknown Mobile Suit was still approaching, its hand already reaching out, McGillis spoke again. "Killing us will bring you no benefit. On the contrary, if you let us live, you can gain much more."
Hearing this, Reid was somewhat tempted. Although the Mobile Suit battles in the Iron-Blooded Orphans universe weren't flashy due to the lack of Beam Weapons, the gritty, manly robot combat was more prominent. (Which is why the author still doesn't understand why they let Okada Mari, who is more suited to writing romance dramas, be the scriptwriter for IBO.)
However, besides Gundams, the IBO universe had another rather perverse piece of technology.
After Gjallarhorn re-established order in the Earth Sphere, they recognized that the Alaya-Vijnana System's capabilities could become a spark for rebellion (because even someone from the lowest rungs of society, as long as they survived the surgery, could become a qualified MS Pilot). Therefore, they deliberately spread the idea that "using machinery on the human body is taboo" while vigorously developing regenerative medical technology.
As a result, the medical technology in the IBO universe surpassed that of all traditional Gundam Universes. The use of prosthetic limbs was nonexistent in society. Ein Dalton, who had lost more than half his body, could be kept alive for a long time with just tissue fluid. It was truly perverse that he could even survive having the remaining half of his upper body fully integrated into the EB-AX2 Graze Ein.
However, even if Reid wanted to get his hands on such a top-tier Medical Pod, he had no idea where to find one. In the story, IBO's medical technology was just part of the background, with no mention of where anything was.
And even if he found one, Reid wouldn't know how to dismantle it. One could imagine that trying to forcibly pry such a sophisticated piece of medical equipment away with a Mobile Suit would surely damage it.
If the damage was too severe, the Factory Module wouldn't be able to analyze its original technology from a piece of scrap metal.
Therefore, Reid had the Blade Angel halt its outstretched hand and spoke, "Interesting. Can you really give me anything?"
McGillis knew immediately that the lure of profit was working and quickly replied, "Of course. You can name your price. The Seven Stars can procure most things in the world."
Hearing this, Reid didn't directly ask for a Medical Pod. Instead, he connected to Gaelio's mobile suit, creating a three-way communication channel, and asked, "Does this young master Bauduin feel the same way?"
Gaelio was currently sulking. He didn't want to submit to this MS Pilot whose name he didn't even know.
But Gaelio didn't want to die either, so while his friend was fighting for their survival, he could only remain silent.
However, now that the MS Pilot was asking him directly, his pride wouldn't allow him to back down. He gritted his teeth and said, "If you're going to kill me, then kill me. I will not bring shame to my family."
McGillis had known this would be trouble the moment Reid asked Gaelio. How could he not know his friend's personality?
Gaelio Bauduin was naive and simple-minded, like a clear spring in the already corrupted Gjallarhorn.
But he was also stubborn, placing great importance on so-called honor and bloodline.
Of course, it wasn't that McGillis didn't value honor; he just knew that honor had its time and place. On Mars, refusing to yield to an unknown enemy for the sake of so-called family honor was meaningless. People wouldn't remember him for it.
So McGillis quickly tried to smooth things over for his friend. "I can stay as your hostage. Let Gaelio go. He is my dearest friend, and I trust he will definitely use what you want to rescue me."
McGillis's words truly moved Gaelio.
From Gaelio Bauduin's perspective, McGillis was debasing himself to preserve his own honor.
If the enemy MS Pilot let him go, then Gaelio Bauduin would not have been captured. The only one taken captive would be McGillis Fareed.
And even if he fulfilled the unknown pilot's demands, it would be framed as him sacrificing his own interests to save his friend.
For a moment, Gaelio couldn't bear to see his friend suffer such a great humiliation for his sake and murmured, "McGillis, this is too much of a..."
Before Gaelio could finish, McGillis, fearing he would say something defiant like "death before dishonor" and provoke the person holding their lives in his hands, cut him off. "Gaelio, my mind is made up. Say no more. Just remember to come and save me."
Gaelio couldn't say much more at this point and could only give a simple reply. "Alright. I will definitely save you."
Reid watched the entire scene of profound brotherhood play out before speaking.
Reid actually understood McGillis's intentions. He knew that even if Gaelio was a little scared, his mouth would never admit it.
So, to save his own life and achieve his dreams, McGillis had volunteered to stay as a hostage, knowing his friend would never abandon him.
Moreover, Reid suspected that McGillis had a hidden motive: by staying as a hostage, he could get closer to Reid and find a way to use him for his own purposes.
However, Reid had to admit that the plan McGillis was proposing was indeed beneficial to him. He said, "Interesting. In that case, McGillis Fareed, I will take you with me.
Gaelio Bauduin, bring the complete set of Gjallarhorn's best Medical Pod equipment and related medicines to Tekkadan's headquarters in exchange for him. I know there's one on Mars.
You have only 12 hours. Gjallarhorn publicly released images of what this thing looks like on the network when it was delivered to Mars. The price for trying to fool me or exceeding the time limit will be you having to use a real Medical Pod to try and save your friend's shattered body."
After speaking, Reid had the Blade Angel's Funnel Blade slice open the cockpit of McGillis's Schwalbe Graze. He then pried open the cockpit and used the Lambda Driver to form a protective sphere, which he held in the mobile suit's left hand.
To intimidate Gaelio, Reid had the system retrieve McGillis's Schwalbe Graze right in front of them, then said, "Young Master Bauduin, you can send a distress signal to the transport ship observing from the rear to come and rescue you."
Without waiting for Gaelio's reply, Reid used the electromagnetic whip on his right arm to bind the legs of Gundam Barbatos and the Graze Custom together and began towing them toward the Isaribi. There was still a negotiation waiting for him.
Meanwhile, chaos had erupted aboard the Isaribi after Akihiro Altland's attempt to rescue Mikazuki failed, getting himself captured in the process.
Togo Millonin, tied up and curled into a ball on the bridge, was shouting, "Retreat! Retreat now! You've lost both Mobile Suits! If we don't retreat, we're all going to die!"
Normally, if Togo Millonin yelled like this, the other members of Tekkadan would have already punched him to shut him up.
But now, no one made a move, because deep down, they all felt that what Togo Millonin said was right.
However, since Orga, their leader, hadn't spoken, and because they were unwilling to easily give up on Mikazuki and Akihiro, they simply remained silent.
In truth, how could Orga not know that the situation was lost? If he didn't retreat, once that mysterious MS was free, the lives of everyone on his ship would be in the enemy's hands.
But the thought of abandoning Mikazuki was worse than death for Orga.
Mikazuki trusted him so much, yet he would be abandoning him. Orga felt he could never speak of honor and loyalty again; the very words coming from his mouth would be an insult to them.
While Orga was agonizing over the decision, Reid accepted McGillis's terms. With McGillis in his left hand and towing Barbatos and the Graze Custom with his right, he flew toward the Isaribi.
Orga was so engrossed in frantically weighing the pros and cons that he didn't even notice one of the Schwalbe Grazes was missing.
However, when the Tekkadan members reported the approach of the unknown MS, Orga no longer needed to agonize. It was useless now. At the Isaribi's speed, there was no way to shake off the unknown MS.
Moreover, since this MS was towing Barbatos and the Graze Custom toward them, it clearly had something to say. Orga felt there was still a chance to salvage the situation.
From the outside, Barbatos didn't look severely damaged. Knowing the characteristics of the Alaya-Vijnana System, Orga figured Mikazuki had probably just been knocked out by an electric shock.
If he could get Barbatos and Mikazuki back, then after a few days of rest and repairs to Barbatos, the mission to escort Kudelia to Earth could continue. Tekkadan's first mission wouldn't be a failure.
However, to prevent Orga from trying any desperate moves that a normal person wouldn't, Reid connected to their communications as he approached the Isaribi and immediately had Nein inject a virus to seize control of the ship.
Tekkadan was mostly composed of child soldiers who had barely attended a few days of school. The fact that they could operate the ship's systems at all was a testament to the high degree of automation in IBO's ships.
You want them to go into the system and prevent a virus intrusion? That was really asking too much of them.
So, after the communication line connected, Orga didn't hear Reid speak. Instead, a few seconds later, he heard several of the bridge operators say, drenched in sweat, "Orga, my system suddenly isn't working! It's not responding to my controls... I, I can't find the cause."
The helmsman, the radar operator, and the ship systems operator all reported the same problem. Even a fool would know the ship's systems had been hijacked.
Seeing the communication light was still on, Orga, with sweat beading on his forehead, steeled himself and walked over to the communications officer. He spoke into the microphone, "I don't know who you are! But we are now meat on your chopping block. Can you please identify yourself?"
Hearing Orga's words, Reid thought to himself that his success in gambling with his life in the early parts of the original story showed he had some talent.
Even with the situation so unfavorable for Tekkadan, Orga's voice betrayed no hint of weakness. He was like a tough, unyielding piece of meat, completely unafraid of death. He might as well have said, "Spit it out if you have something to say."
However, Reid did want to make a deal right now. Although he could find Tekkadan's headquarters after landing on Mars, find a way to copy the data, and then wait for Gaelio to make the trade, the original ending for Tekkadan was just too tragic. Without Barbatos now, the mission to escort Kudelia to Earth was definitely impossible.
That meant the fate of the Tekkadan members might change. Although their lives might get worse or they might disband on the spot, most of them should be able to survive.
So Reid spoke, "Commander Orga, you don't need to know my name. Right now, you only need to decide one thing. Lend me your Tekkadan headquarters and give me all the data on the Alaya-Vijnana surgery left behind by Chryse Guard Security, and I will return the pilots of these two Mobile Suits.
Of course, you can also choose to have a group reunion in the world of the dead. Make your choice."
Hearing this, Orga thought, what the hell is there to choose? It was just lending out the headquarters and giving away data on the Alaya-Vijnana surgery that was completely useless to him.
There was no need to hesitate when it could be exchanged for the lives of Mikazuki and Akihiro.
Orga immediately replied, "I choose to lend you the headquarters and give you the data," afraid that the MS pilot on the other end would go back on his word.
Seeing that Orga was sensible, Reid's tone softened slightly. "Very good. Send out your Space-Type Mobile Workers to retrieve your men. The two Mobile Suits are my spoils of war. As for this ship, I'm not interested in it. I'm only controlling it now to prevent you from doing anything irrational. I will restore your access later. You will descend to Mars with me."
Hearing Reid's words, Orga knew that Tekkadan's mission to escort Kudelia to Earth had definitely failed. Without Mobile Suits, there was no way to break through the blockades along the way with just one ship.
However, Orga knew he was in no position to bargain. He could only bring Mikazuki and the others back first, obey the unknown pilot's words, and then decide what to do based on the situation.
Thus, Orga could only make his tone as gentle as possible and say, "No problem. But won't you come aboard and descend to Mars with us? I see you're still holding a person in your mobile suit's hand. And how do you even know the name of a small fry like me?"
Reid knew Orga was inviting him onto the ship to see if he would get out of his mobile suit, giving them a chance to swarm him, or at the very least, to probe or confirm his identity.
But Reid wasn't going to give Orga the chance. He said sternly, "Hmph, don't get any funny ideas. Send your men out to retrieve them. If those two MS pilots aren't wearing their space suits, then they can only blame themselves for not following safety protocols. If they die, they deserve it."
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