Reid's words left Murrue deeply conflicted. The strange phenomenon they had witnessed couldn't have been fake—everyone on the bridge had seen it. Moreover, Reid's sudden rush into the Junius Seven wreckage was bizarre in itself.
So Murrue countered directly:
"Reid, perhaps you should explain first why you suddenly charged into the Junius Seven wreckage. And was that green light your doing?"
Reid understood why Murrue was being so thorough. As the ship's captain, she couldn't afford to gamble with her crew's safety, especially when Kira's group of friends—none of whom were professional soldiers—would soon be heading out to collect water.
But explaining Newtype phenomena to Murrue clearly wasn't something that could be done in a few words. Even if Reid told the truth, he'd likely be dismissed as delusional.
So Reid decided to improvise, quickly fabricating an excuse:
"My apologies. I entered the wreckage because my mobile suit's systems malfunctioned—it seemed to be affected by some strange particle interference. As for that aurora-like phenomenon, I suspect it was caused by those unknown particles reacting with various metals in the debris field as they passed through the ruins, refracting light in a manner similar to an aurora."
Truth be told, anyone with a high school education would find Reid's explanation unbelievable. Coincidentally, every officer on the Archangel's bridge held at least a university degree. As for Kira's friends, they were all top students at Heliopolis College.
Bargiruel grew visibly displeased with Reid's straight-faced lies and interjected over the comms:
"Reid, this isn't the time for jokes. No one knows what's happening here. We're collecting water to survive—if it's contaminated by unknown substances, what's the point of retrieving it?"
Understanding Bargiruel's concerns, Reid proposed an alternative:
"Alright then, how about this—I'll bring back an ice sample. The ship must have equipment to test for radiation and such. We can decide whether to proceed with water collection after running tests. Sound reasonable?"
This proposal seemed sensible enough, so Murrue agreed. She genuinely wanted to resolve their water supply issue here—otherwise, the Archangel would have no choice but to become a ship full of alcoholics just to survive.
However, when Reid piloted the NT-X Gundam back to the hangar, he was speechless to find everyone clad in hazmat suits, wielding powerful disinfectant sprays capable of corroding human skin on contact.
After exiting the NT-X Gundam, Reid in his pilot suit endured a thorough dousing with the potent disinfectant spray. The volatile liquid evaporated quickly enough, though Murdock the mechanic made sure to empty an entire canister onto Reid's flight suit.
Ultimately, tests confirmed the ice sample was just ordinary space-exposed ice—completely free of unusual radiation. With minimal processing, the melted water would be perfectly drinkable.
With these results, and after Murrue had teams repeatedly scan the ship's exterior for any abnormal radiation (finding none), the Archangel followed the original plan: dispatching all available personnel to collect ice. Teams were also sent to explore the ruined city within the Junius Seven wreckage, searching for usable supplies.
At this moment, the task for Reid and the other Mobile Suit pilots shifted to transporting large ice blocks or clearing paths for the Work Pods. If any debris happened to fly toward a Work Pod, the MS also had to intercept it, since none of the Archangel's Work Pods were armed.
However, just as Reid was juggling the roles of laborer, security guard, and pathfinder, the inevitable happened—an explosion suddenly erupted in the direction where the Strike was stationed.
Though Reid already knew what had occurred, he still asked,
"Rookie, what happened? There was an explosion on your end. Did you trigger something by accident?"
Thanks to Reid's protection along the way, Kira hadn't directly killed anyone since leaving Heliopolis. This time, however, to save Dalida and the others piloting the Mistral, he was forced to ambush and destroy the original high-mobility Recon ZINN from the story.
Realizing he had just taken a life, Kira's voice trembled as he replied,
"Mr. Reid... I just took down a Recon ZINN... I think I killed someone..."
Reid understood how Kira felt. The first time he had killed someone, he had been so sickened that he couldn't eat properly for a whole day, and his hands shook the next time he held a gun.
So Reid didn't berate Kira too harshly. Besides, he knew this Super Coordinator was a natural-born soldier who would quickly adapt. He simply said calmly,
"Understood. First, check if there are any other enemies nearby. I'm heading over now."
"Relax. Killing an enemy is the first step to shedding your rookie status. Sooner or later, every soldier on the battlefield reaches this point."
Kira didn't respond—likely still processing his emotions.
Reid didn't press him. For now, he just needed to get there.
When he arrived, he saw the Strike holding a life pod, waiting to rendezvous with him.
The Kira on the one-way comm display no longer showed the trembling unease of someone who had just killed for the first time. Instead, he looked like a child who had picked up a stray puppy or kitten and was begging his parents to keep it. Yet, in Reid's perception, the lingering resentment of the GINN pilot Kira had destroyed hadn't even fully dissipated.
Still, Kira knew that if he brought the life pod back, he'd get an earful from the vice-captain once she returned. So he decided to ask Reid for help first.
Reid knew exactly who was inside that pod. After his Newtype abilities awakened, he could sense the person inside had an unusually powerful mental presence—stronger, in terms of sheer mental intensity, than even Kira, the Super Coordinator.
However, Reid could also tell that Lacus inside was afraid.
And that made sense. No matter how extraordinary Lacus was, she was still just a sixteen-year-old girl. Being cast adrift alone in space with an uncertain future—anyone would be scared.
Looking at Kira, who had fatefully picked up Lacus, Reid could only smile wryly and say,
"Fine. Hand the life pod over to me. I'll take the blame for this. But—this is the last time! Rookie, I was worried you'd be traumatized after your first kill, but you're still in the mood to pick up strays. Guess you don't need my concern after all. Still, since I'm taking the heat, you'd better write up an incident report later. I'll need it to fend off the vice-captain."
Kira brightened immediately and handed over the life pod, promising,
"Got it, Mr. Reid. I'll write the report as soon as we get back."
Reid nodded, took the escape pod, and said,
"Alright, you continue the patrol. I'll take this back to the Archangel first."
With that, Reid maneuvered the NT-X Gundam around and left without another word.
His actions were deliberate, with the same goal as sabotaging Kira and Flay's relationship.
At this stage, Kira was far too easy to manipulate. A little care and kindness were usually enough to make him comply with any request. If Kira also believed you had good morals, he would go all out to help you.
As for Lacus and Kira's official pairing, Reid could only say that during SEED Destiny, he wouldn't dare make assumptions—after all, the two had spent two years together on Kojima Island, and it was natural for young people to develop feelings.
But now, in CE 71, during the SEED era, Lacus couldn't possibly have any special feelings for Kira. The environment she grew up in and the responsibilities that fell upon her after Siegel's death made it impossible for her to easily fall for someone she barely knew.
Her helping Kira in SEED could barely be justified as him being Athrun's friend and someone who had aided her once.
But handing the Freedom Gundam to Kira, whom she had only known for a few months, and then throwing herself at him?
Reid could only interpret it as Lacus already recognizing Kira's value and wanting to tie this Super Coordinator to the Clyne Faction's cause.
So, for now, Reid was doing his best and leaving the rest to fate.
Just as with Kira, he decided to treat Lacus as normally as possible. But he couldn't let her passive ability skyrocket Kira's favorability with just a few words—at least not during this brief stay on the Archangel.
However, when Reid returned to the Archangel, the first thing he had to face was Murrue's questioning.
"Reid, I thought only Kira had a habit of picking up random things. Why are you doing this too? This ship isn't a refugee vessel. And that escape pod looks like a standard PLANT model, doesn't it?"
Knowing he was in the wrong, Reid could only awkwardly reply,
"It's just… I don't want Junius Seven to claim any more lives than it already has."
Murrue thought it over and realized his reasoning was understandable. She nodded in reluctant agreement.
"Fine. One sheep or a whole flock, it makes no difference now. The Archangel's already packed with refugees—a few more won't change anything. You can bring it aboard."
In truth, Murrue had no idea who was inside that escape pod. If she had, she would've told Reid to toss it back out—after all, PLANT would never abandon one of their own drifting in space.
But by the time Murdock and the mechanics opened the pod, it was too late for regrets. And due to their trust in Reid, none of the officers—Murrue, Bargiruel, or Mu—were present for the unsealing.
Just like in the original timeline, Lacus didn't emerge immediately. Instead, she sent out her Haro first—if the people outside intended to shoot, she wouldn't be the first to die.
Once the Haro confirmed it was safe, Lacus immediately slipped into performance mode. No matter who was outside, she put on a radiant smile, floating out as she cheerfully said,
"Thank you. I appreciate your hard work."
Reid found himself utterly speechless as he watched the young lady feign surprise. While his Newtype abilities couldn't read minds, they allowed him to perceive emotions with precision. Right now, Lacus Clyne was at most thirty percent surprised—and that surprise was only because she'd seen him. The remaining seventy percent was likely sixty percent calmness mixed with ten percent unease.
So Reid didn't let Lacus continue her performance. Her natural charm had no effect on him after his awakening, and even before that, he had always been highly wary of this young lady.
Instead, Reid caught Lacus and steadied her on her feet before deliberately remarking,
"Honestly, what a treasure we've picked up. Lacus Clyne, daughter of Siegel Clyne. I suppose you already know me—Reid Isaac. Nice to meet you."
This time, Lacus didn't pretend not to recognize Reid. After all, whether his reputation was good or bad, Reid was something of a celebrity in PLANT.
So she nodded earnestly and replied with feigned innocence,
"Yes, of course I know Mr. Reid. My father often mentions you. So... is this ship from the New Misurugi Republic? Thank you for saving me."
Reid could only sigh inwardly at her words. Despite her young age, this girl had already mastered the art of lying through her teeth. With so many people around him wearing Earth Alliance uniforms, she still had the nerve to ask if this was a New Misurugi Republic ship. Clearly, she was either deliberately provoking or setting up for something else.
But this was an open scheme, and Reid had no choice but to answer honestly. However, he wasn't about to let her have the upper hand.
"Miss Lacus, this is an Atlantic Federation ship. Due to ZAFT's attack, Princess Angelise and I had no choice but to seek refuge here. In principle, my situation isn't much different from yours right now. Ah, never mind—just follow me."
With that, Reid grabbed the Haro floating beside Lacus, covering its camera, and led the way. He planned to find a room to settle her in before notifying Murrue that he had brought back a massive headache.
Sure enough, when Reid contacted the bridge using the room's communicator, Murrue's voice was loud enough to pierce his eardrums.
"What?! You're telling me the life pod you picked up contains the daughter of PLANT's current chairman, Lacus Clyne?! Good grief—just keep an eye on her for now! I'll have Bargiruel and Mu return immediately!"
At this point, Reid could only comply and watch over Lacus.
However, he wasn't optimistic about Murrue, Bargiruel, or Mu getting anything useful out of her. As a Coordinator, Lacus naturally possessed an aura that made people inclined to believe her words. Unless her statements clashed drastically with the listener's beliefs, she could easily lead them in circles.
Add to that her talent for playing the innocent, and Reid could already picture Murrue, Bargiruel, and Mu being completely manipulated by her.
True to his expectations, when Bargiruel and Mu rushed back in a hurry, their combined questioning—along with Murrue's—yielded nothing beyond confirming that she was Siegel Clyne's daughter.
The only information they extracted was that she had been visiting Junius Seven for a memorial ceremony marking the one-year anniversary of the tragedy. On the way, she was attacked by Earth Alliance forces, and after the crew stuffed her into a life pod, she claimed to remember nothing else.
Finally, Murrue had no other choice. It was unrealistic to stuff Lacus back into the escape pod and jettison her into space now. If anything happened to this young lady, the Archangel would be accused of murdering the daughter of PLANT's chairman.
Although the Atlantic Federation and PLANT were enemies, PLANT wouldn't target a few lieutenants individually. But being branded as murderers of the chairman's daughter would be an entirely different matter. Once the state machinery was mobilized to hunt down a few insignificant enemy individuals, death would be inevitable.
So, adhering to the principle of "finder's keeper," and considering Reid's status as a neutral citizen was quite useful in this scenario, Murrue directly handed Lacus's custody over to Reid.
There was only one requirement: to keep this young lady in her room and prevent her from wandering around. As for how to handle her, Murrue didn't dare make the decision herself. She decided to let the higher-ups in the Earth Alliance figure it out once they regrouped with the main forces.
After Murrue and the others left, Reid could only stare helplessly at Lacus, who was hugging her Haro and acting cute.
However, Lacus's attempts at cuteness had no effect on him. She still fit the image of a 16-year-old girl, her body not yet fully developed, so for Reid, who preferred mature women, her allure was diminished.
Moreover, after awakening as a Newtype, Reid's mental resistance had significantly increased, rendering Lacus's innate ability to win favor completely ineffective.
Reid extended his hand and said,
"Alright, Miss Lacus, you'll have to stay in this room for a while. Also, please hand over the Haro you're holding."
Lacus had already realized what Reid intended to do, so she hugged the Haro tighter, continuing to bat her big eyes with a pleading look, feigning innocence as she asked,
"Oh, Mr. Reid, how did you know this little one is called Haro? He's my friend. Could you please not confiscate him?"
As before, Reid held a deep prejudice against Lacus and was immune to her charms. He replied coldly,
"I know it's called Haro because it keeps saying 'Haro, Haro' nonstop. And I'm not confiscating it—I'm checking its programming.
When I held it earlier, I could tell its weight wasn't right. This isn't the weight a smart toy should have, so I need to inspect whether it has any unauthorized functions.
Don't worry, I can independently develop Mobile Suit Operating Systems. I won't break your toy. Of course, that's assuming it's just a toy."
Having heard this, Lacus knew that continuing to act would only make her look foolish. For once, she dropped her facade, pouting in genuine displeasure as she handed the Haro to Reid, saying,
"You're so mean, Mr. Reid. Here's Haro, but you have to promise not to break him. Otherwise, you'll have to replace him with a new one!"
This time, Reid sensed Lacus's genuine emotions and smiled as he replied,
"I promise. After removing any unauthorized functions, I'll return it to you. If I break it, I'll compensate you tenfold—no, ten times over."
With that, Reid took the Haro and left the room where Lacus was being held. He found a computer, hacked into the Haro, and deleted all the spyware, signal-jamming programs, and video-recording functions before returning it to Lacus.
At this point, the Haro could still hold simple conversations with Lacus, but it could no longer see, so it couldn't hop around freely anymore.
So Lacus dropped the act of pretending to be cute and directly demanded that Reid compensate her with ten Haros.
Reid responded that even if he gave her ten Haros, he would still remove the recording function. He didn't want Lacus secretly recording anything and ending up with a reputation for bullying a little girl.
However, Reid did compromise a little. He later provided Lacus with a military-grade laptop that had its network card and Ethernet port completely removed. It was preloaded with drawing, audio recording, and other tools to keep her entertained, since this time she couldn't rely on the Haro's door-opening ability to wander around freely.
Kira also didn't have access to her room. At least aboard the Archangel, the original CP from the series probably wouldn't get many chances to meet, let alone exchange more than a few words.
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