After Reid finished speaking, taking advantage of his Mobile Suit's speed, he proactively attacked the next wave of ZAFT forces attempting to besiege the Archangel.
Since Reid's identity wasn't exposed and this was the Hermes Zero's first appearance, he showed no mercy toward ZAFT whatsoever.
ZAFT's internal comms were probably screaming, "New Earth Alliance MS spotted! Extremely fast! Request immediate backup!"
After Reid cleared out the ZAFT forces surrounding the Archangel, Murrue successfully established communication with both the East Asian Republic Commander and the Eurasian Federation Commander.
The Eurasian Federation Commander at the Alaska Base stared wide-eyed at Reid—he was an old acquaintance. It was none other than Major Bidarf, former head of security at Artemis Fortress.
No, not Major anymore—Colonel now. Bidarf asked in shock, "Reid! What are you doing at the Alaska Base?"
At that moment, ZAFT was mobilizing troops to surround the Hermes Zero with overwhelming numbers. Temporarily free from combat, Reid replied with equal surprise, "Major Bidarf? No, Colonel. So you got promoted after returning home!"
Bidarf indicated he had no time to chat about his promotion—truthfully, he'd been sidelined by his own country. Only due to some remaining family influence was he "promoted" to this remote Alaska post, out of sight and out of mind.
The East Asian Republic Commander also had little patience for small talk. Reid had only been at the Alaska Base for a day when ZAFT—originally targeting Panama—suddenly attacked. And the Atlantic Federation forces had mysteriously vanished. (Given the time elapsed, the East Asian Republic had surely sent scouts to investigate the rear.)
This made the East Asian Republic Commander deeply suspicious of Reid's role in these events. If Reid hadn't stayed put, the Commander might have already mentally convicted him.
Thus, the East Asian Republic Commander gruffly demanded, "Mr. Reid, explain why you're contacting us now. We're at war—I've no time for old comrades reminiscing. And wasn't Ms. Murrue supposed to be under arrest?"
Reid thought—typical East Asian Republic high-ranking officer, always putting on an act. This questioning of Murrue's status actually helped dispel Colonel Bidarf's suspicions about the East Asian Republic bringing Reid in.
But the Commander had a point—this wasn't the time for reunions. Reid's expression turned serious as he said, "Gentlemen, let me show you something. These are photos I accidentally took while infiltrating the base—proof of the Atlantic Federation's secrets beneath Alaska Base. Also, it appears they've left only sacrificial pawns behind while evacuating everyone else."
With that, Reid transmitted images of the Cyclops System and the completely empty central command room.
After seeing the photos, both the East Asian Republic Commander and Colonel Bidarf turned ashen. Neither were fools—they immediately recognized the Atlantic Federation's treachery.
At this moment, the suspicions in the East Asian Republic Commander's mind finally dissipated, because the Cyclops System was definitely not something that could be built in just a day or two. Moreover, if Reid had known about the system's existence beforehand, he would never have come here. One careless move, and he'd be finished here.
Reid wasn't the type to throw his life away for a lover. Judging from his combat style since his service in the Eurasian Federation until now, he was actually very cautious about preserving his own life.
Suppressing the urge to unleash six thousand years of accumulated "elegant language" at the Atlantic Federation, the East Asian Republic Commander decisively said:
"The Cyclops System... No, we don't know when the Atlantic Federation will detonate it. We must break through immediately!!"
Reid indicated that this was precisely his goal and replied:
"It probably won't be detonated anytime soon. The Atlantic Federation's main target is still ZAFT—we're all just sacrificial offerings. So unless the war drags on too long and they fear you'll discover what's hidden beneath the base, they likely won't activate the Cyclops System until the base gates are heavily breached."
Hearing this, the East Asian Republic Commander's eyes lit up, and he said:
"That makes sense. So we actually still have some time to prepare?"
Unfortunately, as soon as the Commander finished speaking, Colonel Bidarufu said helplessly:
"I'm afraid we don't have much time left. My position is about to fall. We'll be overrun soon, and our surface fleet has suffered heavy losses. Very few will be able to break through."
With Colonel Bidarufu's words, the East Asian Republic Commander realized they were already in a hopeless situation—hardly anyone could truly escape.
Gritting his teeth, the Commander viciously declared:
"Damn it, we'll save as many as we can. I'll lead the heavy units that can't retreat to draw ZAFT's attention! Once those who can withdraw have done so, immediately pull the remaining forces back into the base for urban combat! Let those ZAFT bastards die with me!!!"
After this outburst, the Commander's expression softened slightly as he turned to Reid:
"Mr. Reid, I know you must have a way to escape. Deliver a final message back home for me. Tell them... I'm sorry to my parents, my wife, and my son. But for our nation, this sacrifice is necessary..."
As the Commander finished his last words, Colonel Bidarufu directly sent Reid several Eurasian Federation bank account numbers and passwords, along with five names. He then said:
"Reid, I'm not leaving either. I can't bear the shame of having the base I guard fall to ZAFT twice. I don't trust my relatives or the Eurasian Federation's higher-ups. Keep this recording safe as my will. Distribute my assets evenly among the five people I've listed—they're my second wife and four children."
Seeing both men resolved to die, Reid didn't try to persuade them otherwise. Given the current state of the East Asian Republic and Eurasian Federation forces, it was indeed impossible for everyone to escape.
So Reid simply saluted from his cockpit in acknowledgment, indicating he had received their final messages.
After exchanging salutes with the East Asian Republic and Colonel Bidarufu, the communication was abruptly terminated. Both parties had final preparations to make for those attempting the breakout—their last duties.
Once the call ended, Reid took a moment to steady his emotions. Watching two resolute men march toward their deaths left a bitter taste in his mouth. Such was war...
He then addressed everyone aboard the Archangel directly:
"You all heard it. The Archangel must break through now. But every one of you will be branded as deserters.
You have a choice: continue following Murrue's command, and after escaping, I'll arrange for your citizenship in the New Misurugi Republic—or stay here and die. The decision is yours."
Reid's words essentially forced the Archangel's crew to choose defection to the New Misurugi Republic. After all, there wasn't a single officer left aboard (Murrue had been stripped of her rank after conviction). How much was the Atlantic Federation paying them to die here?
Besides, once they reached the New Misurugi Republic, as veterans who fought alongside Reid, they could at least retire with the rank of lieutenant.
Unsurprisingly, no one on the Archangel objected. Seeing this, Murrue immediately issued orders:
"Good. Since we're all in agreement, the Archangel will abandon the main gate defense. Notify the remaining Atlantic Federation escorts to follow us! Hard to port, full speed ahead—break through the left bay!"
With that, the Archangel set sail.
But it was glaringly obvious that the ship no longer held command authority in the eyes of the surrounding forces—there wasn't a single officer left aboard.
The escort ships froze momentarily, likely assuming the rookies on the Archangel had cracked under the pressure of war and were fleeing.
However, they quickly caught on and followed the Archangel's lead.
Those left behind by the Atlantic Federation were mostly the military's undesirables or members of minor factions marked for purging.
In the original timeline, after the Alaska campaign, the Atlantic Federation's military became almost entirely dominated by Blue Cosmos. This meant that by now, opposition factions had been thoroughly purged, leaving only Blue Cosmos-aligned neutrals.
So, expecting unwavering loyalty from the Atlantic Federation troops stationed at Alaska Base was futile. While they wouldn't dare desert outright due to military discipline, following the Archangel's escape was another matter. Typically, only the ringleaders faced severe punishment—followers might just be discharged. With survival on the line, that was a negligible price.
From ZAFT's perspective, the Archangel, led by a new-model Mobile Suit, was actually charging straight at them in a counterattack!
Not only that, but the East Asian Republic forces seemed to have gone berserk, desperately tying down ZAFT's main forces. They even ignored nearby Mobile Suits and fired indiscriminately at the waters where ZAFT's Voskhod-class large submarine motherships were positioned—regardless of accuracy.
ZAFT's forces besieging the East Asian Republic were momentarily stunned. The enemy now appeared utterly indifferent to casualties.
The battlefield commander, observing from a distance, immediately ordered several Voskhod-class ships to reposition, fearing the East Asian Republic's reckless bombardment might conceal some deeper scheme.
Thus, the East Asian Republic's waterline was forcibly opened, creating a passage to the open sea.
Soon after, ZAFT discovered that this gap had been quickly occupied by Eurasian Federation forces—or more accurately, by fleeing Eurasian Federation troops.
From ZAFT's perspective, the Eurasian Federation's frontline had been fragmented, and command had broken down. While some units stubbornly held the gates, others had outright fled—now even retreating into the East Asian Republic's defensive lines.
But the ZAFT commander quickly realized something was amiss when remnants of the East Asian Republic's surface fleet merged with these fleeing Eurasian Federation forces, and together, they immediately broke out of the encirclement.
Now the ZAFT commander understood: the East Asian Republic and the Eurasian Federation, seeing the battle turning against them, had decided to let some "high-ranking officials' children" escape first.
As a result, the ZAFT commander dispatched only a small squad of DINNs to pursue these fleeing troops. After all, a bunch of runaway "privileged kids" weren't worth serious attention—his strategic objective was to capture the Earth Alliance Forces' headquarters and annihilate its defenders.
At the same time, the ZAFT commander had come to suspect that the Archangel wasn't launching a counterattack but attempting to break through and escape.
He immediately ordered all nearby forces to focus their full efforts on surrounding and destroying the Archangel, even pulling part of the Beam MS unit from the East Asian Republic front.
After all, this commander couldn't afford to let that ship slip away again. The Archangel's escape from North Africa all the way back to the Alaska Base, costing ZAFT the lives of two Defense Council members' children along the way, had already left ZAFT's Earth forces utterly humiliated in front of their space counterparts.
ZAFT's all-out assault immediately put pressure on Reid and the Archangel.
The Hermes Zero itself wasn't in much danger—given Reid's current skill level, even if swarmed by ZAFT's MS units, they were basically just lining up to be shot down. Given enough time, he could kite them indefinitely and wipe them all out.
But ZAFT was determined to shoot down the Hermes Zero. Sixty to seventy MS units swarmed Reid, physically blocking his path with their Mobile Suits, while reinforcements continued pouring in—clearly intending to overwhelm the Hermes Zero through sheer numbers.
Though the Hermes Zero couldn't possibly be taken down by mere DINNs, the sheer volume kept Reid too busy cutting down enemies to support the Archangel.
Meanwhile, while the Archangel's combat effectiveness had greatly improved under Murrue's command, its prior damage hadn't magically healed. It simply couldn't withstand the remaining ZAFT MS units' concentrated assault.
Just as Reid prepared to create distance and use the Destroyer Beam Cannon from his backpack to clear the MS units surrounding both him and the Archangel in one sweep—
Multiple beams and electromagnetic cannon fire suddenly rained down from above the Archangel, all striking the attacking MS units' arms and heads, instantly disabling them.
(Cue epic BGM here)
A Mobile Suit—primarily blue and white with a black cockpit and ten active aerodynamic wings on its back—descended directly in front of the Archangel's bridge.
Then, a familiar voice came through the Archangel's comms:
"This is Kira Yamato. I'll cover you. Now, retreat and withdraw immediately!"
It must be said that since Kira arrived second this time, the impact on the Archangel's crew wasn't as great—at least the savior aura from the original story was absent.
Only Kira's close friends were overjoyed and excited. Miriallia immediately responded,
"Kira! Is it really you? You're alive... thank goodness..."
Seeing the arrival of CE universe's greatest battlefield "troublemaker," Reid spoke up directly to avoid the tragedy of being ambushed by friendly forces:
"Freedom Gundam... So you went to PLANT, Kira. Heh, interesting. But the Archangel can't retreat now. The Atlantic Federation has deployed the Cyclops System beneath the Alaska Base, preparing for a self-destruct operation. If we don't get at least ten kilometers away from the base, everyone here will die!!"
The moment Reid spoke, Kira was also surprised. During his recovery on PLANT, Lacus had told him many stories about Reid, giving him a deeper understanding of the man who had once guided him.
So when Reid immediately recognized the Freedom Gundam, Kira wasn't shocked at all. And when Reid claimed the Cyclops System was buried beneath Alaska Base, Kira believed him instantly.
Thus, under the stunned gazes of the Archangel's crew, Kira maneuvered the Freedom Gundam to a higher altitude, activated the multi-lock system, and deployed all weapon ports—beginning the first step of his legendary signature move: the Rainbow Beam Barrage.
It had to be admitted—Freedom's crowd-clearing ability was indeed superior to the Hermes Zero when not using the Destroyer Beam Cannon.
Even the M100 "Whale" Plasma Convergence Beam Cannon, a high-energy beam weapon, could fire in rapid succession thanks to power regulation (a little-known fact: no one else could rapid-fire this cannon—Kira had rewritten its program, sacrificing range and power to achieve segmented beam output for continuous fire).
The ZAFT Mobile Suit forces besieging the Archangel were instantly left missing limbs and heads. Then, Kira broadcasted on all channels with full amplifier power:
"Attention, ZAFT and Federation forces. The Alaska Base is about to activate the Cyclops System for self-destruction! Both armies must cease hostilities and evacuate immediately!
I repeat, the Alaska Base is about to activate the Cyclops System for self-destruction! Both armies must cease hostilities and evacuate immediately!"