In a secret meeting room at the National Comprehensive Laboratory of the Star Palace Colony Satellite, Elvira Hill and Tem Ray were staring at Reid with expressions that clearly said they thought he was an idiot.
The reason was simple: Reid had just shared his plans and requirements for a new Mobile Suit. Since Nami was still in school and couldn't attend the meeting, only the three of them were present.
With no need to worry about saving face for Reid in front of outsiders, the discussion proceeded purely as an academic debate on the feasibility of constructing the MS he proposed. Elvira Hill and Tem Ray were in complete agreement—Reid's demands were nothing more than a pipe dream, utterly unrealistic.
The problem wasn't the request for the Mobile Suit to freely enter and exit Earth's atmosphere. No, the real issue was his demand that the unit maintain speeds close to the first cosmic velocity during normal combat operations.
7.9 kilometers per second. In the vast emptiness of space, that might be manageable. But trying to sustain such speeds in the chaos of a battlefield or the steel jungles of a city? Unless you had superpowers, it was impossible. No machinery could support reactions at that level.
Human reflexes were even worse. This was Elvira Hill's field of expertise—no matter how fast the mind processed, the human body simply couldn't keep up. The physical limit was around 100 milliseconds, and by the time the pilot's commands translated into the Mobile Suit's movements, a full second would have passed.
As for full mental control? Even if it were theoretically possible, could mechanical transmission really outpace the human body?
It was an impossibility. The mechanical response of an MS would always be slower than human reflexes. Assuming the unit could react in 500 milliseconds, at the first cosmic velocity, it would have already traveled nearly four kilometers—guaranteeing collisions with enemy Mobile Suits or motherships on the battlefield.
In a city? Forget it. Half a second would be enough to plow through dozens of buildings.
After some thought, Reid had to concede. Maintaining such speeds in combat was indeed asking too much. He sighed and asked,
"Alright, I admit that was wishful thinking. So, with our current technology, what's the fastest achievable mobility speed for an MS?"
It had been two days since Reid's return, and Elvira Hill had already reviewed the data on the Psycommu System and Bio-Sensor System.
After some calculations with Tem Ray—filling several pages with formulas—they finally answered:
"Commander Reid, the main limiting factors for MS mobility speed are still human and mechanical response times. Based on our calculations, we believe we can integrate the mental control module from the Psycommu System with the data pre-reading function of the Bio-Sensor System, combined with a learning computer that records the pilot's operational habits.
"With these technologies working together, the controllable speed of an MS could theoretically reach 1,000 meters per second in a straight-line dash—close to Mach 3.
"Of course, that's the theoretical maximum. We haven't accounted for the number and thrust of attitude adjustment thrusters for directional changes, so the actual speed would be lower. Short-range evasion speeds would drop off drastically.
"And in urban environments, this dash speed would have to be significantly reduced. The more complex the terrain, the harder it is to maintain high speeds—that's just basic physics."
Moreover, the detection and control programs of the Mobile Suit must undergo significant modifications, which essentially means developing a dedicated OS from scratch. We still need Nami to take a look at it; she is more professional than both of us in MS programming.
As for the design of a single unit leaving the atmosphere that you mentioned, Captain Reid, the output of the Ultra-Compact Nuclear Fusion Reactor can easily reach the standard with continuous acceleration.
In principle, as long as the two Bit Rocket Boosters of the NT-X Gundam are modified and combined with the Lambda Driver to form a streamlined Physical Interference Layer, the NT-X Gundam can freely enter and exit the atmosphere. The Immortal Aegis can also achieve the same result by removing some armaments to make space for enhancing the boosters."
Upon hearing this, Reid immediately began tapping his fingers on the table, lost in thought.
To be honest, the performance of the current NT-X Gundam is sufficient for the Alaska Campaign. He only needs to rescue the Archangel; it's not like he's going to confront ZAFT head-on.
Moreover, without his interference, Kira would likely still be able to obtain the Freedom Gundam from Lacus. With him paving the way, Reid's pressure is actually not that great.
However, Reid still wants to create a new Mobile Suit because he is not the type to just rescue the Archangel and then wash his hands of it. If he allows the Archangel to act as it does in the original story, it would be troublesome if Murrue and the others get brainwashed by Uzumi.
Therefore, Reid plans to have Orb repair the Archangel in exchange for a promise to launch it into space using the Mass Driver.
Of course, Reid actually wants to take advantage of Orb, such as offering to help rescue people if something happens to Orb in the future or assisting in restoring the nation as conditions.
In this case, it becomes very necessary to showcase their strength again, especially since Reid cannot dangle the Sword of Damocles over Orb this time.
Thus, Reid decisively stated, "We still need to build a new type of MS. After all, we currently have no base on Earth. We can't always rely on borrowing other people's Rocket Propellers or Mass Drivers for trips to and from Earth.
Even if the warship is temporarily inconvenient for back-and-forth trips to Earth, the MS must be capable of making those trips to intervene in events occurring on Earth.
As for the modifications to the NT-X and the Immortal Aegis, let's first look at the design plans before deciding whether to proceed with the modifications."
With Reid making the decision, Elvira Hill and Tem Ray naturally would not oppose it. Coincidentally, Elvira Hill also wanted to try using the Psycommu System to create a new Mind Resonance Cockpit. This Mobile Suit would be perfect for testing the pilot's mental wave reading and transmission functions.
Elvira Hill nodded while tapping her chin with a ballpoint pen, thinking aloud, "Hmm, if we are going to build a new Mobile Suit, I should be able to provide the initial draft of the cockpit design within three days. Then we can first build the cockpit for the mental conduction experiment. By the way, the MS test pilot has already been assigned to the lab a couple of days ago. That kid has high mental strength and sensitivity, so he will be quite useful."
Upon hearing this, Reid became sensitive to the fact that Elvira Hill was going to conduct a mental conduction experiment for the cockpit. It's worth noting that anyone whom Elvira Hill considers to have mental strength is a rare talent, all potential Newtypes. He cannot let her waste such a valuable resource.
So, following Elvira Hill's words, Reid asked, "Oh, has the test pilot already been assigned? Who is it?"
Elvira Hill didn't realize Reid was already considering transferring this mentally gifted pilot away and answered directly:
"Princess Angelise and Guard Captain Noin personally delivered her yesterday—a girl named Flay Allster. They said she's completed soldier training but her Mobile Suit piloting skills are still rough. However, she has high mental strength and is one of our own. So they assigned her to my lab as an MS test pilot."
Hearing it was Flay, Reid immediately abandoned any thought of transferring her.
Come to think of it, Flay had been recruited by him nearly two months ago. Completing soldier training so quickly—she must have truly channeled her hatred into motivation. He'd make time to see her later.
Pretending to approve, Reid nodded and replied:
"Flay does have remarkable mental aptitude. Elvira, you should mentor her more and let her handle additional tests."
Then Reid turned to Tem Ray:
"Dr. Minovsky, since Dr. Hill is handling the cockpit design, I'll leave the Mobile Suit development to you."
Tem Ray nodded in response:
"Naturally. Coincidentally, I've been thinking the Zeta Gundam's transformation mechanism is overly complex. Its transformation design seems modified from the Hyaku Shiki's frame. Combining it with the X200 frame, I've conceived a new approach. This unit will allow direct implementation."
"Commander, I can deliver preliminary designs in about three days. But the retrofit designs for the NT-X and Immortal Aegis will have to wait until after the new unit is completed."
Reid agreed that three days was acceptable and prioritizing the new Mobile Suit made sense, then adjourned the meeting.
After leaving the conference room, Reid followed the lab's native staff to locate Flay training in the simulator pod.
Her training scenario pitted a Base Astray Gundam against ZAFT's Red Uniform GINN in solo asteroid belt combat.
Through external monitors, Reid observed Flay's entire demeanor inside the simulator had transformed.
Though her appearance remained largely unchanged—just her long hair tied back in a ponytail—her expression and gaze had grown sharp and capable. The traces of her former aristocratic student persona had nearly vanished.
Like a lion cub already developing teeth and claws—not yet threatening, but baring fangs nonetheless—the early makings of a future apex predator were evident.
Reid then remotely checked Flay's status panel through the cockpit interface and was pleasantly surprised. Two months ago when recruited, none of Flay's pilot attributes except Awakening had exceeded 50 points.
Close combat, defense and reflexes at least registered double digits, while shooting—something she'd never practiced—remained in single digits.
Now every stat, including Awakening Value, had broken 100.
Pilot attributes are easiest to improve at lower levels—like raising a test score from 0 to 60 in elementary school. Anyone not completely slacking off can achieve this by following the curriculum. Further progress requires genuine effort.
Starting from absolute zero, reaching triple digits across all attributes in two months was impressive—likely matching Earth Alliance's average Strike Dagger grunts. Apparently Ange's Arsenal Training Method truly worked.
However, Flay's piloting skills for MS and MA were indeed subpar, merely proficient—a true grunt template. No wonder Ange had assigned her to the lab as a test pilot first. If she went to the battlefield now, she would only be cannon fodder.
Yet, relegating her to guard patrol duty would be a waste of Flay's efforts and talents. Serving as a test pilot for Elvira Hill was just right—after all, Elvira's experiments focused more on psychological aspects, with lower demands on Mobile Suit operation.
At this moment, Flay had already failed the simulation. Fighting ZAFT's Red Coats was still too early for her. The Base Astray Gundam and the GINN didn't have a significant performance gap. If Flay could win with her current stats, it would prove she had exceptional tactical talent.
But clearly, Flay lacked tactical aptitude—after all, in the original story, she wasn't even a competent "green tea" girl. What kind of manipulative girl directly offers her body to tie down her target? They're supposed to exploit the target's affection through repeated push-and-pull to maximize gains.
Flay, having lost the simulated battle, seemed accustomed to her failures. Expressionless, she stepped out of the simulator cockpit, ready to review the footage for analysis.
Then she spotted Reid outside and flashed a look of surprise before immediately straightening up and saluting.
"Captain Reid!!"
Reid, noting Flay's loyalty—now at 67 after Ange's training—returned the salute with a smile.
"At ease, Flay. I heard you completed soldier training, so I came to check on you. It seems you've matured a lot compared to two months ago."
Flay pursed her lips at his words. Apparently, those two months had been quite painful—just the mention made her struggle to keep her composure.
But in the end, she spoke firmly.
"For my goal, my current progress isn't fast enough."
Then, as if deciding something, she straightened up again and said seriously,
"Captain, I want to go to a real battlefield—even if it's just suppressing bandits. I believe only the tempering of actual combat can rapidly improve my skills. Please."
With that, she bowed deeply at a perfect 90-degree angle.
Reid understood her thoughts but didn't support them. She was already growing quickly—pushing further would be forcing things.
So he responded just as seriously.
"Denied. Flay, don't think Ange assigned you to the lab because she deemed you incompetent and wanted to keep you in a safe rear position.
This is the national laboratory—the birthplace of cutting-edge technology. The test Mobile Suits you'll soon face are the most advanced, with far greater operational difficulty than the Astray or GINN.
If you can hone yourself here, even ZAFT's Red Coats won't be your match afterward.
But rewards come with risks. If you think accidents are too likely here, I can transfer you to the Colony Satellite's security forces instead."
Flay's eyes lit up at that—clearly, she didn't want to leave. Still bent over, she raised her head playfully and asked,
"Really?"
Reid immediately retracted his earlier judgment about Flay being fully mature. It seemed Ange hadn't completely erased her innate nature—this was how a sixteen-year-old girl should behave.
With a sigh, he replied,
"I don't lie to kids. Here, you'll indeed have access to the most advanced MS and can refine your skills."
Only then did Flay straighten up, smiling.
"That puts my mind at ease. Your Highness Ange has always been the kindest to me. Commander Reid, I'll go review the simulation records now. See you later."
With that, Flay completely ignored Reid and immediately ran to the computer to pull up the combat simulation logs.
Reid could only smile wryly at this. That girl Flay never truly saw him as her sworn allegiance—in her eyes, she'd always been loyal to Ange.
But Reid couldn't be bothered to correct her. Being loyal to Ange was essentially being loyal to him anyway. With the system's restrictions in place, she couldn't possibly betray him regardless. So Reid quietly equipped Flay with the "Unyielding" skill. Her mentality in the original story had been a major flaw, and this skill would perfectly compensate for that weakness.
Moreover, Reid noticed that if Flay continued training like this, she'd become excellent pilot material for the Psycho Gundam. Her combat abilities might genuinely prove useful in the future.
After assigning Flay's skill, Reid turned and left the lab. He needed to research the tech tree in the engineering module himself to see what new MS technologies might be applicable.
After all, Elvira Hill and Tem Ray couldn't possibly memorize every technical specification. The lab database contained far too many uncategorized technologies, let alone having any proper search functionality. So the task of finding and sorting through these technologies still fell to Reid personally.
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