Seeing Reid say this, Orga could only suppress the thoughts brewing in his mind for the time being. With the two Mobile Suits captured, the pilot on the other side was probably planning to drag them all the way down to Mars. (He still hadn't noticed that the several Grazes were gone.)
The Barbatos's Gundam Frame could probably withstand a direct atmospheric entry into Mars, but its outer armor couldn't. If Mikazuki was dragged into the Martian atmosphere just like this, he would surely die.
As for the Graze Custom, Orga figured the enemy pilot just considered it a bonus; if it broke, it broke.
So, Orga immediately dispatched Space-Type Mobile Workers to bring the two pilots back to the Isaribi.
Reid had seen the original story and knew that both Mikazuki and Akihiro were properly wearing their space suits, so he wasn't worried about them dying on the spot when their cockpits were opened.
Reid knew that although Mikazuki was small, he was all substance (a man who could perform the Gundam-shake even with half his body paralyzed), so he constantly monitored his mental state. The moment there was the slightest sign of him waking up, Reid would give him another jolt of electricity.
This resulted in the Graze Custom, which was tied to the Barbatos, suffering an undeserved disaster. The Graze Custom wasn't equipped with the Alaya-Vijnana System, so Akihiro wasn't knocked unconscious by the electricity like Mikazuki. However, when he was rescued, the tough guy was twitching and foaming at the mouth, his face contorted.
Still, the fact that the two of them had kept their lives was already an act of extra mercy from Reid, so Orga couldn't say much.
Moreover, to intimidate Orga, Reid repeated his old trick and recovered the Gundam Barbatos and the Graze Custom on the spot.
This shocked the members of Tekkadan into silence. All they knew was that whether it was technology or magic, the MS pilot on the other side was truly someone not to be trifled with.
Of course, not everyone was in awe of the unknown, like McGillis, who was inside the Blade Angel's left-hand λ Driver Protective Sphere.
This was the second time he had seen this mysterious pilot make a Mobile Suit vanish into thin air. He was even beginning to suspect that the person inside this MS was an alien who was just using technology to imitate a human voice, which was why they refused to show their face.
But he soon had no time to consider such questions.
After Orga sent people to retrieve Mikazuki and Akihiro, Reid immediately had Nein move the Isaribi to a new position to prepare for landing on Mars.
According to the data Nein found on the ship's server, although the Isaribi lacked atmospheric entry capability, it could still perform a soft landing. After all, if the ship needed to make an emergency landing on a planet, this function could be a lifesaver.
The only catch was that it would later need a rocket to launch the ship back into space, and the cost of that would be enough to dock the ship in a spaceport for seven or eight years.
So, this function was basically never used and was kept only as a form of insurance.
Of course, the Isaribi's data contained the detailed coordinates of Tekkadan's headquarters, which saved Reid the trouble of having to look for it.
However, as the Blade Angel began its descent toward Mars, McGillis truly started to panic.
He suspected the MS pilot might have forgotten he was still being held in its hand. Why else would it just start "falling" straight toward Mars?
Unfortunately, the communication equipment in his space suit lacked the ability for physical transmission, let alone connecting to the Blade Angel's communication channel in a GN Particle environment.
So, McGillis could only watch as he, trapped within an invisible "air wall," plummeted into the Martian atmosphere along with the Mobile Suit.
McGillis was so desperate that he had already started recording his last words on his space suit's recording device. After all, in all the years humanity had been in space, no one had ever accomplished the feat of falling from outer space to a planet wearing only a space suit and surviving.
Of course, in reality, Reid wasn't going to let McGillis die. He was someone who could be exchanged for a whole set of top-tier Regenerative Medical Pods; everyone in Tekkadan could die, but he couldn't.
The Blade Angel was equipped with a GN Drive, so entering the Martian atmosphere only required activating its GN Field. The Lambda Driver's full power could be dedicated to protecting McGillis, ensuring he would survive the high temperatures of atmospheric friction.
Furthermore, the GN Drive's anti-gravity effect made the Mobile Suit's descent speed controllable, further guaranteeing McGillis's safety.
Reid's move was intended to scare McGillis half to death, to frighten him so much that he wouldn't dare try any funny business for the remaining twelve hours.
Thus, amidst a vibrating, interwoven glow of red and green, McGillis could only cling desperately to the Blade Angel's hand as it plunged into the Martian atmosphere.
(When a GN Drive-equipped Mobile Suit enters the atmosphere, its GN Field still has to contend with atmospheric friction.)
McGillis didn't dare to look up until the Blade Angel's vibrations ceased. He then discovered that he had actually entered the Martian atmosphere alive.
Moreover, as the GN Drive's anti-gravity took effect, the Blade Angel's frame became exceptionally stable. McGillis could even press his head against the Lambda Driver's protective barrier and gaze into the distance.
The rest of the landing process went very smoothly. The Isaribi's soft landing was controlled by Nein; as long as the hardware itself didn't fail, there would be no mishaps during the descent.
Thus, the Isaribi and the Blade Angel landed intact on the tarmac of the Tekkadan base.
Looking at the Tekkadan headquarters, which now resembled an abandoned military base standing in the wilderness decades after the fall of humanity, Reid deeply felt that it was understandable why these Tekkadan guys dared to gamble with their lives.
After all, most of the members had been implanted with the Alaya-Vijnana System and were officially branded as Space Rats in the public eye. Their lives had basically hit rock bottom; a gamble might offer a chance to turn things around.
Unfortunately, when his own interests were involved, Reid's moral baseline was relatively low. Not killing them was already a blessing; he couldn't be bothered with what would happen to Tekkadan now that they had lost their chance to make a name for themselves.
After landing, Reid had the Blade Angel place McGillis from its left hand onto the ground and spoke through the external speakers.
"Master Fareed, you have a little over eleven hours left. Just make do here for now. You are not allowed to move more than 100 meters away from the Mobile Suit. If you do, you will die. I'll give you some water and food. As for needs like using the toilet, ask Tekkadan for a shovel and dig a hole."
McGillis knew he had no room to bargain. And after experiencing that "bungee jump" from space to Mars, he exclaimed with exceptional sincerity, "It feels good to be on solid ground again," and then, without any regard for his image, sat down on the dusty ground.
(Mobile Suits are equipped with sound-pickup devices that can transmit directly to the earpiece. The protagonist can also speak through the suit's external speakers, so don't ask why the protagonist can hear and converse so clearly from ten or twenty meters away.)
Reid didn't care in what posture McGillis stayed near the Mobile Suit; he wouldn't care even if he ran around naked.
Leaving Nein to watch McGillis, Reid shifted his attention to Tekkadan.
After landing, Orga had Mikazuki and Akihiro sent to the medical bay before walking toward the Blade Angel alone. He had too many questions to ask. Besides, his original plan was now a complete mess because of this unknown MS, and he needed to know what this guy planned to do next.
And Reid, watching Orga walk over while carefully controlling his expression to maintain a resolute and serious look, was also interested to hear what he had to say.
This invasion campaign wasn't much different from usual. He could stay for three days, which was plenty of time. The system's capture quota was eight Mobile Suits, and he had already captured seven, so he didn't need to go out of his way to find another one. Reid was quite idle.
As Orga approached, he merely glanced at the unknown Gjallarhorn officer who had just performed the feat of skydiving from space to a planet without a Mobile Suit, then shouted at the Blade Angel.
"Hey! We've landed at the base! What are your plans for us now?"
Hearing this, Reid had Nein confirm that no one was aiming a gun at them, then directly opened the cockpit, stepped out, took off his helmet, and looked down at Orga.
"No plans. The data security of this base is practically nonexistent. I'm already downloading the data on the Alaya-Vijnana surgery left behind by Chryse Guard Security. Next, I just need to borrow your base to complete the transaction with Gjallarhorn. As long as you don't think about causing me trouble, you can do whatever you want."
Reid stepped out of the cockpit to lower Orga's and McGillis's psychological defenses. He had scared them enough already; the two of them were probably already considering him an alien.
At this moment, as long as he confirmed he was human, the sudden shift from tension to relief would make the two of them relax instantly. In their eyes, at least they weren't negotiating with an unknown entity.
Sure enough, the moment Reid appeared, the taut nerves of both Orga and McGillis relaxed considerably.
Orga began to speak in a more relaxed tone. "Alright, then. I was going to ask if you needed food and water, but it seems you don't."
Hearing this, Reid felt it was time to offer them a carrot. He said, "Get a portable toilet for Master Fareed. We can't really have him dig a hole to relieve himself. This is money for the toilet."
With that, Reid exchanged for a gold bar from the system, which fell from the empty air in front of Orga.
Orga's eyes nearly popped out. He picked up the gold and carefully confirmed it wasn't a hallucination.
Orga wasn't being greedy for money here; he was startled by the fact that gold could appear out of thin air.
But on second thought, if this mysterious person could make a Mobile Suit vanish, what was making a piece of gold appear? He shook his head and grumbled, "This gold bar is enough to build a luxury toilet. I don't have the change."
Reid heard this and laughed directly. "No need for change. I'm really not short on this stuff. Master Fareed should understand."
McGillis didn't know what to say at this point. A gold bar was naturally nothing to the Fareed family; losing one wouldn't be a heartache.
But the Fareed family wasn't so profligate as to give away gold bars for no reason. Could this mysterious person be plotting something involving this mercenary group that was escorting Kudelia?
In fact, Orga had the same thought. However, for someone like him who had always struggled at the bottom, it would be foolish not to take a freebie. After stowing the gold away, he spoke again. "Alright, I'll get the best portable toilet over here. By the way, are you sure you don't need us to prepare food and water?"
Hearing this, Reid thought, If I let you, Orga, prepare food and water, I'd be afraid it's poisoned or drugged. So he directly refused. "No need. I have plenty of that stuff too."
With that, Reid once again bought a few cans of food and water from the system and dropped them directly in front of McGillis.
Seeing this, Orga knew the other party definitely didn't need the low-quality food he could provide. He could only turn around to get the portable toilet first, and then consider Tekkadan's future.
Meanwhile, McGillis was studying the cans and water in front of him, trying to find out where they were produced by looking at the labels.
Unfortunately, while the items exchanged from the system were guaranteed in quality and quantity, they were all unlabeled products. The packaging only indicated what was inside, the final expiration date, and storage conditions, and nothing else.
So, after studying the materials and other things for a long time, McGillis couldn't figure out where this stuff was made.
He could only confirm that it was likely a human creation, not some alien imitation. After all, what alien would be bored enough to imitate Earth's canned meat and fruit?
Thus, after opening a can and eating his fill with the provided spoon, McGillis looked up at Reid and commented, "High-quality military-grade canned food. But how on earth did this get in front of me? Is this magic from a fairy tale?"
Reid was currently bored, analyzing the subtle differences between Mars's atmosphere, gravity, and Earth's, while simultaneously achieving the life goal of sunbathing on Mars for the first time.
Hearing McGillis's words, Reid bluffed, "Quantum Teleportation. By the way, why would a young master from one of the Seven Stars families believe in magic?"
McGillis, hearing the mysterious MS pilot actually respond to him, silently committed the phrase "Quantum Teleportation" to memory, planning to look for any traces of related research later. But aloud, he said, "Everyone has a childhood. Is it strange to think there was magic in the world when you were a kid?"
Reid was truly bored, so he replied, "Not strange. When I was a kid, I used to dream of transforming into a giant to fight monsters that might exist in space. It's just a pity that even with how far human civilization has come, we still haven't encountered any truly alien life. Scientists get excited for a long time just finding some unknown single-celled organisms."
McGillis was now certain that this mysterious MS pilot was human, and a romantic one at that, with a passion for space.
Of course, this was McGillis's misjudgment. Reid was just making idle chatter out of boredom. After all, it was confirmed that alien life did exist in the CE Universe, and the ELS currently hibernating near Jupiter in the AD Universe could also be considered alien life.
But while Reid was just chatting casually, McGillis was seriously pondering every word Reid said. And now that the conversation had started, McGillis was quite talkative, and he and Reid began to chat back and forth.
However, Reid didn't talk about his daily life or similar topics at all, only discussing the starry sky or space exploration. After chatting for a long time, he didn't even reveal his name.
McGillis knew this was normal. This mysterious person who possessed advanced technology was clearly not a big mouth who would spill everything after a short chat. As for revealing the truth about how objects appeared and disappeared, he probably thought he could make use of him.
Of course, McGillis wasn't afraid of being used, as long as he could also use the other party in return.
(End of Chapter)