Reid had secluded himself in the Factory Module for another three days—a sight so commonplace that the diplomatic corps stationed at the Star Palace Colony Satellite barely batted an eye.
To the foreign envoys, ever since the Star Palace Colony Satellite had stabilized its operations, Reid Isaac was either in seclusion or on his way to seclusion whenever he wasn't traveling abroad.
Thus, even within the internal circles of various nations—including PLANT's Patrick—Reid was acknowledged as a diligent man whose achievements owed as much to hard work as they did to innate talent.
This perception also made the New Misurugi Republic's endless stream of new Mobile Suit models seem less surprising. After all, apart from the Union Flag, the Republic's most mass-produced model, the Kampfer, had only three units so far (the Assault GM Dominion hadn't been officially deployed yet, and the Automated Soldier Heretic Jinn remained hidden in the satellite's secret docks). None of these had yet to ruffle the sensitive nerves of other nations.
Three days later, when Reid emerged from his seclusion with a thick technical manual in hand and sought out Elvira Hill and Tem Ray, the New Misurugi Republic's first officially named development project was finalized.
Dubbed the [Hermes Project], its goal was to create a Mobile Suit with acceleration and mobility capabilities that would surpass all others.
Of course, Reid knew that in the Cosmic Era universe, the Deep Space Survey and Development Organization (D.S.S.D) would eventually develop an interstellar exploration system called the Starlight Transmitter. Designed specifically for deep-space exploration, its acceleration performance was downright monstrous when energy reserves were sufficient.
No matter what kind of Mobile Suit he developed now, once the Starlight Transmitter was completed, traditional rocket propulsion would become obsolete. The Starlight Transmitter's cost efficiency and spatial utilization were simply superior—a technological paradigm shift that no amount of human resistance could prevent.
But Reid had already used his connections to investigate this neutral organization. At present, the Starlight Transmitter's development was still in its earliest system-construction phase. The internal name "Starlight Transmitter" hadn't even been coined yet, and Selene McGriff had only just joined the project.
This was why the [Hermes Project] was designed as a series. The Mobile Suit developed this time was merely the first generation—destined to be either retrofitted or outright replaced by newer models in the future.
To legally acquire the Starlight Transmitter system, Reid promptly had Une inject a massive sum of funding into the D.S.S.D.
With the Earth Alliance and PLANT locked in a bloody war, most nations had funneled their budgets into military-industrial expansion, leaving no fiscal surplus to invest in neutral research organizations like the D.S.S.D. The organization had long been mired in financial crisis—so severe that even basic sustenance was a struggle. Its researchers had no choice but to serve as technical consultants for various nations to subsidize their work.
The New Misurugi Republic's willingness to become their new financial savior was nothing short of a miracle. Neither the Earth Alliance nor PLANT objected—after all, without the Republic's funding, their prior investments in the D.S.S.D. might have gone up in smoke.
It's worth noting that although this organization has developed some technologies beneficial for space exploration, overall, it's still a constant money pit.
Moreover, the New Misurugi Republic is willing to funnel funds into neutral organizations like the Deep Space Survey and Development Agency (D.S.S.D), which puts both the Earth Alliance and PLANT at ease—at least they can be sure the New Misurugi Republic won't use this money to spring any surprises on them.
Thus, the New Misurugi Republic smoothly became one of the major behind-the-scenes shareholders of D.S.S.D. Now, during shareholder meetings, they can openly sit at the same table with the three nations of the Earth Alliance and PLANT.
However, the glory didn't extend to the Hermes Project, which still needed to get off the ground.
Based on the blueprints submitted by Elvira Hill and Tem Ray, Reid first made a show of dragging out a cockpit that had been prepared in advance—one that could be used immediately after minor modifications (and had just been manufactured by the Factory Module).
Elvira Hill then took Flay along for testing. Judging by the mechanical transmission efficiency, Elvira Hill's design was a resounding success—unsurprising for someone who independently developed the Coupling System Cockpit.
The main issue with the cockpit now lay in the programming. Nami was on standby, continuously adjusting the program to match the test results.
Seeing that Elvira Hill's cockpit development was progressing smoothly, Reid took Tem Ray's submitted blueprints, ready to debate their merits.
The moment Reid laid eyes on Tem Ray's blueprints, he nearly exclaimed—wasn't this the Delta Gundam?
While the Delta Gundam was indeed developed by absorbing Zeta Gundam's technology into the Hyaku-Shiki, Tem Ray had no knowledge of the Delta Gundam's existence. Yet, he had produced a strikingly similar design. Did this mean the Delta Gundam's design was inherently logical?
Admittedly, the Delta Gundam wasn't lacking in aesthetics, and Reid had no objections to its appearance. However, he took major issue with the Mobile Suit's proposed equipment.
To ensure mobility, Tem Ray had abandoned most of the cutting-edge tech.
Using Gundarium Alloy as the primary material was fine. Since the design required frequent atmospheric re-entry, scrapping the anti-beam coating was also acceptable (as atmospheric friction would wear it away anyway). Without the Internal Heat Cycle Frame, removing the Mirage Colloid System was likewise justified.
Phase Shift Armor paired with an Ultra-Compact Nuclear Fusion Reactor would render the Mobile Suit immune to most physical weapons in the Cosmic Era, but the significant weight increase led to its removal. Reid could tolerate this—after all, Gundarium Alloy's defensive capabilities were already absurd. Only large-scale railgun direct hits or Anti-ship Missiles could deal meaningful damage.
Adding large thrusters to the back, enlarging the attitude adjuster nozzles on both sides, and incorporating shoulder vents similar to the Byarlant Custom were also grudgingly accepted, given the necessity for high-speed maneuverability.
But equipping the Mobile Suit with only a High-Energy Beam Gatling Gun built into the right forearm, two Beam Sabers and a twin missile launcher hidden in the left forearm—wasn't that going too far? Not even a Shield was included?
Tim Ray had a strong preference for designing Mobile Suits tailored to specific roles, a trait evident in his development of the Assault GM Dominion with its "Tank-Healer-DPS" trio of backpacks and his modifications to the Amazing Kampfer, transforming it entirely into a high-speed fire support unit.
So when Reid initially proposed a Mobile Suit primarily focused on high-speed assault to engage enemies at close range, Tim Ray argued, "Why would such a unit even need high-powered long-range weapons?"
When Reid approached him, Tim confidently declared:
"Commander, for an assault Mobile Suit, just charge straight at the enemy. The high-energy Beam Gatling Gun built into the right forearm is more than enough. This weapon compresses beam rounds for devastating mid-to-close range firepower—even AC universe's Gundarium Alloy would be shredded within seconds.
For melee, a Beam Saber suffices. If you really need to take out a mothership, just fire an anti-ship missile at the bridge once you've closed the distance. Who needs a Beam Rifle?
As for a shield—since it can't block anti-beam coating anyway, and atmospheric entry relies on Lambda Driver physical interference to form a Fluid Shroud, this unit's transformation mode uses the Wing Gundam's simplified system. Removing the shield speeds up transformation and further reduces weight.
If we add what you're suggesting, the MA Mode's speed won't hit Mach 3."
Reid felt veins popping on his forehead. This was the Mobile Suit he would be piloting—was Tim Ray treating him like a suicide squad member?
So Reid firmly insisted:
"No. The Beam Rifle and shield stay. But I have a new shield tech—no physical shield required. Calculate how much speed we'd lose if we add a Beam Rifle and a high-output Beam Cannon like the Wing Gundam's Buster Beam Rifle."
With that, Reid transmitted the selected technical files from the lab database to Tim Ray.
Tim looked them over—Reid's proposed tech was primarily for the shield, dubbed the [Light-Wave Defense Miniaturization Theory].
This theory was something Reid had uncovered from the tech tree. Since all prerequisite technologies were already unlocked, it could be implemented immediately.
The so-called [Light-Wave Defense Miniaturization Theory] involved condensing Mirage Colloid within a small area to form a Beam Shield.
Reid had long acquired the foundational light-wave defense generation tech from Artemis Fortress. The basic principle used Mirage Colloid to contain beams, creating a non-physical, force-field-type defense with beam-based shielding.
The necessary containment tech for miniaturization was supplemented by the I-Field Generator from the Gundam TR-6·[Hazel II].
While the I-Field emitter was designed for Minovsky particle containment, Minovsky particles and Mirage Colloid were both high-energy particles, sharing some containment principles—thus completing the Beam Shield's technological requirements.
Beam Shields weren't exactly groundbreaking for CE universe inhabitants. By this point, the CAT1-X1/3 Hyperion Gundam Unit 1 had already been completed. Reid couldn't even claim to be the first to introduce compact Beam Shield tech.
However, the advantages of the Beam Shield were too significant. Thanks to the presence of Mirage Colloid, ordinary lighter-grade Beam Sabers from the CE universe couldn't penetrate this shield. Only next-generation Beam Sabers with Mirage Colloid constraints could potentially break through via particle counteraction (Beam Sabers with insufficient Mirage Colloid output efficiency would still be useless). Moreover, this shield also provided excellent defense against physical attacks.
At the same time, the weight difference between a Beam Shield generator and a physical shield—even one made of Gundarium Alloy in the AC universe—was still measured in tons.
Of course, the biggest issue with Beam Shields was their energy consumption, but for Mobile Suits equipped with Ultra-Compact Nuclear Fusion Reactors, this wasn't a problem at all.
Thus, after only brief consideration, Tem Ray agreed to the proposal of equipping the Mobile Suit with a Beam Shield.
Then came the heated debate between Tem Ray and Reid regarding the Beam Rifle and Beam Cannon.
According to Tem Ray, these two weapons couldn't be retracted into the Mobile Suit. Forcing them to be externally mounted would be manageable in space, but within Earth's atmosphere—even when cruising in MA Mode—the safe speed would plummet to 500 meters per second. The main issue was that Beam Weapons traveling at supersonic speeds with exposed barrels would inevitably experience phenomena similar to cavitation effects. This would cause massive internal damage to the Beam Rifle/Cannon, potentially leading to instant barrel explosions upon firing.
This problem had no solution. While the barrel could be made of Gundarium Alloy from the AC universe, the internal components couldn't. Those parts would fail immediately under supersonic cavitation effects.
Reid then proposed a crude solution: simply block the muzzle of the gun/cannon. At least in Earth's environment, this would prevent cavitation effects from forming inside the barrel during high-speed flight.
Admittedly, Reid's method was indeed crude, but Tem Ray had no counterargument. As long as they could accept the weapons being completely unusable during supersonic flight and the hassle of having to open the cover every time they were used in MS Mode, this was technically a workable solution.
Thus, Tem Ray ultimately compromised, though he replaced the Beam Rifle with an Electromagnetic Rifle—not a hollow structure like the Union Flag's, but one resembling the Long-Range Beam Rifle in appearance.
When not in use, the Electromagnetic Bullet inside would be constrained at the muzzle. A small retractable mechanism in the barrel wall would secure the ammunition while leaving a small section exposed, effectively blocking the muzzle and creating a streamlined physical structure.
When firing, the first bullet would simply be discarded, allowing subsequent bullets to be fired normally. Sacrificing a few bullets to ensure the weapon's readiness at all times was a worthwhile trade-off.
As for the cannon Reid requested, it was mounted on the Mobile Suit's backpack. This backpack had a dual-layer structure: the lower part housed a large thruster, while the upper part, similar to Justice's flight unit, could detach from the Mobile Suit in aircraft form. It could either be used as a foot platform or flown ahead to serve as a gun mount.
Due to this design, the Wing Gundam's transformation mode was no longer feasible.
In MA Mode, the aircraft structure would need to shift forward, with the Mobile Suit lying flat. The Electromagnetic Rifle would then be mounted where the aircraft structure originally was and transformed accordingly.
Reid simply placed a conical cover over the cannon's muzzle. When needed, the cover could be flipped downward. It was somewhat ugly, but practical.
However, Tem Ray relentlessly criticized the design as unreasonable. This Mobile Suit was supposed to rely on high mobility to defeat opponents, yet when using this cannon, the Mobile Suit couldn't move too quickly. From a design perspective, it completely missed the point.
But Reid remained adamant, believing Tem Ray was too fixated on the Mobile Suit's intended role. Upon closer consideration, a massive cannon capable of moving at three times the speed of sound—one that could obliterate nearly half a city in a single shot—was an immense deterrent. Reid's enemies would likely lose sleep just knowing about it.
In the end, the first prototype of this Mobile Suit, the [Hermes Zero], was constructed according to specifications.
(Imagine the shoulder armor thickened and enlarged, with two large thrusters added.)
Three days later, Elvira Hill completed the beta version of the psychomu cockpit. Reid hastily assembled the Mobile Suit and installed the cockpit. Fully geared up, he immediately began testing the unit.
Given its extreme speed, testing inside the Colony Satellite was out of the question.
So Reid loaded the Mobile Suit onto a mining transport ship and took it to the asteroid belt in the L3 Space Zone for testing.
After clearing a large area at the center of the asteroid belt and donning every possible buffer suit, Reid eagerly commenced the test.
The moment the Mobile Suit activated, within seconds, it slammed straight into an asteroid. Fortunately, the unit's Fortitude held up, and Reid's physical resilience was high enough—resulting in a world where only the asteroid suffered damage.
Upon investigation, the cause was Reid's neural reflexes being too fast. While Flay possessed strong mental capabilities, there was a qualitative gap compared to Reid. The sensitivity was simply too high—a slight nudge on the thruster lever sent the Mobile Suit hurtling forward.
With the issue identified, adjustments followed. Over the next half-month, Reid and the development team continuously fine-tuned the Mobile Suit. The primary challenge was the psychomu cockpit's control over the unit. Elvira Hill was still unfamiliar with the psychowave remote weapon control system, particularly the settings for the telekinetically controlled flight cannons.
In short, these two weeks marked Reid's highest "crash" rate since his debut—over a dozen incidents in total. The [Hermes Zero] was even damaged twice when Reid attempted triple-speed maneuvers, requiring repairs back at base.
Thankfully, Reid himself was quite resilient and recovered quickly. The worst injury was a minor concussion from one crash, and he was back on his feet after just two days of rest.
(End of Chapter)