Above Orb in geostationary orbit, the fleet led by Reid visited the space station [Heaven's Base] constructed by Orb.
[Heaven's Base] was the terminal of the orbital elevator built by Orb in CE 58.
It should be noted that Earth's first mass driver was designed and constructed as early as CE 17.
The purpose of building mass drivers was to facilitate large-scale space development, allowing Earth to rapidly transport materials into space.
The orbital elevator was essentially a space elevator, created with the same goal as mass drivers—to accelerate the transportation of goods between Earth and space.
However, the costs of the two were incomparable. The construction cost, difficulty, and time required for an orbital elevator far exceeded those of a mass driver.
Moreover, in terms of speed and scale for delivering items into space, the orbital elevator was completely outmatched by mass drivers.
Mass drivers could effortlessly launch cosmic battleships—even those without flight capabilities—directly into space.
In contrast, the orbital elevator couldn't even lift large cargo containers or heavier items, relying instead on multiple small, lightweight shipments.
As a result, when it came to large-scale space logistics, the orbital elevator was utterly outperformed by mass drivers.
The only advantage of the orbital elevator was providing a stable transport channel for fragile, precision components between space and Earth.
For example, delicate electronic equipment produced in PLANT was prone to damage when transported back to Earth via space shuttles during the early days of unstable cosmic battleships. In such cases, the more stable orbital elevator was necessary.
Thus, several major nations on Earth had their own orbital elevators and corresponding space stations.
However, seeing such infrastructure in a small nation like Orb was baffling. How big was Orb, after all? Building a mass driver was understandable—given its favorable geographical location, it could assist other nations in transporting goods and earn some revenue.
But constructing an orbital elevator? Reid could only praise them for having the ambition of a "great power," insisting on having everything the major nations did, no matter the cost.
One could only say that Dawn Company's arms sales must have been lucrative enough—otherwise, a small nation like Orb couldn't afford such extravagance from its leaders.
Due to low utilization, the space station was eventually expanded to include an arms factory, primarily producing equipment for Orb—especially foam metal armor, which required a zero-gravity manufacturing environment. The finished products were then shipped to the homeland via transport vessels. As a result, the space station evolved into a small fortress, even capable of manufacturing Mobile Suits.
Currently, [Heaven's Base] was under the control of the Sahaku family—or more accurately, it was ruled solely by Rondo Mina Sahaku. Though not yet independent, she was effectively the station's nominal queen.
However, a space station was still just a space station. Despite Orb's later expansions to include an arms factory, the interior remained cramped.
Of the eight ships Reid brought, only four could dock inside, while the rest had to remain on standby outside. The living quarters were extremely confined—prioritizing space for the factory meant they couldn't compare to a Colony Satellite, let alone the Artemis Fortress, which was several times more spacious.
Yet Mina seemed to be doing well here. When Reid met her, he didn't sense any significant exhaustion in her demeanor.
Of course, it was also possible that the situation had deteriorated further over the past few days, but she was no longer anxious. She simply expressed exhaustion—let it all end.
Naturally, the first words Mina spoke after she and Reid sat down were:
"Reid, in your opinion, is there still any hope for Orb?"
Reid shook his head without hesitation and replied,
"Mina, we've already gone over this in our private discussions before.
If you insist on hearing a way for Orb to avoid war, the only option now is for Orb to immediately join the Earth Alliance. If joining the Atlantic Federation is absolutely unacceptable, then aligning with the East Asian Republic or the Eurasian Federation would also work. As long as Orb doesn't remain neutral or side with PLANT, even if the Atlantic Federation mobilizes its forces to Orb's doorstep, they'd have no choice but to grit their teeth and withdraw.
Given Orb's strategic value, if it unconditionally joins the East Asian Republic or the Eurasian Federation, both nations would still pressure the Atlantic Federation to back off."
Hearing this, Mina fell silent. If Orb had to join the Earth Alliance, the best time to do so would have been earlier, by aligning with the Atlantic Federation. After all, Orb had long-standing cooperation with them, and relations were relatively amicable.
Back then, joining the Atlantic Federation would have likely allowed Orb's Five Noble Families to retain power, with the only condition being sending troops to assist in fighting ZAFT.
But now, Uzumi had thoroughly angered the Atlantic Federation. If Orb surrendered at this point, dismemberment would be inevitable.
As for the other two options—the East Asian Republic wouldn't harm civilians, but once they took control, the first targets would undoubtedly be Orb's founding families.
Don't be fooled by the East Asian Republic's usual friendly demeanor—their grudges could last centuries.
The saying goes, 'Revenge is a dish best served cold,' but for the East Asian Republic, national and familial vendettas could be settled anytime, no matter how long it took. The key was ensuring total annihilation.
After all, this nation had an ancient tradition of exterminating entire bloodlines.
So, as a high-ranking official of Orb, if given the choice, Mina wouldn't pick the East Asian Republic either. They would never truly safeguard the interests of Orb's Five Noble Families—at most, offering empty promises while slowly bleeding them dry.
Then there was the Eurasian Federation. After some thought, Mina decided not to dwell on them—it would be impolite to say too much.
After a long silence, Mina asked again,
"Then, Reid, what exactly are you planning to do this time?"
Reid didn't hide his intentions and answered with a smile,
"I've spoken privately with Uzumi before. I promised him that when Orb is inevitably dragged into war, I would evacuate civilians.
See those transport ships I brought? Aside from food supplies, they're loaded with rockets for shuttles to ascend into space. I'll take three ships directly to Earth for humanitarian relief in Orb. Everyone rescued will be transferred to the other two transports.
Afterward, I'll take them to the Star Palace Colony Satellite. If Orb is ever restored in the future, they'll have the freedom to choose whether to return."
Reid wasn't lying—he had brought a hundred Assault GM Dominions with him. His flagship would carry the specialized units, while the other two ships could accommodate sixteen each.
An Antietam-class Freighter could carry thirty Mobile Suits, so three ships would be more than enough to transport the remaining units with space to spare.
However, some forces must remain in space as a precaution, so Reid only planned to bring eighty Mobile Suits down to Orb, leaving twenty behind to guard the two Antietam-class Freighters carrying Orb refugees in orbit.
The space vacated by the three Antietam-class Freighters descending to Earth would naturally be filled with large rockets. While large shuttle ships didn't need auxiliary equipment to land on Earth, they still required assistance to return to space. After all, Reid couldn't count on Orb lending him their Mass Driver.
Though Reid didn't say it outright, he might as well have admitted he intended to poach Orb's population.
After all, the promise of giving people the choice to return to Orb was just empty words.
Mina was certain that when the time came, only those who couldn't make it in the Star Palace Colony Satellite would return.
Once Orb fell, its former citizens' faith in the nation would plummet to rock bottom. Those living normal lives elsewhere wouldn't return.
In the original timeline, Cagalli's participation in the Three Ships Alliance and her significant contributions to ending the war had restored the refugees' confidence in Orb, leading many to return.
Had Cagalli merely relied on the war's end and the Atlantic Federation's international pressure to restore Orb (an Orb without Dawn Company or high-tech talent wouldn't even be worth scraps), she might have faced an empty nation.
Even if Reid had stated his intentions outright, Mina had no grounds to stop or criticize him.
From a universal values perspective, Reid was cleaning up after Orb's leaders, minimizing the impact of their mistakes on civilians.
So Mina could only sigh and ask again:
"Fine, this is the only way now. But Reid, is our bet still on?"
Hearing this, Reid knew Mina might be thinking of hitching a ride to advance her own goals. Little did she know he'd already promised to help Cagalli restore Orb. She'd likely end up losing both her leverage (herself) and her gains.
So Reid replied directly:
"Of course the bet stands. I'm looking forward to putting you to good use later."
Mina felt a slight relief when Reid confirmed the bet was still on.
Truthfully, Reid had misjudged her. If she truly joined his side, Mina wouldn't scheme to exploit his resources.
At most, she'd use her influence to leverage his power and "retrieve" Orb refugees scattered across other nations to rebuild Orb. That would fulfill her obligations, after which she could focus on climbing the ranks in the New Misurugi Republic.
With that, their discussion concluded. Reid did bring the food Mina had requested, but he didn't take her money.
Instead, the funds were used to rent Heaven's Base's orbital elevator. This would allow Orb civilians to be quickly transported to space via Heaven's Base before transferring to the Antietam-class Freighters.
Afterwards, Reid hovered over Orb for three days. To all Earthside inquiries, he gave the same response:
"I foresee an imminent humanitarian crisis on Earth. Out of humanitarian concern, I will intervene at the appropriate time to save civilians."
This justification was bulletproof. Even if the Atlantic Federation knew Reid intended to interfere in Orb's war, they couldn't argue against saving civilians.
After all, it touched on political correctness—something the Atlantic Federation's populace took seriously.
However, the reality is that since the April Fools' Day Crisis of CE70, humanitarian crises have occurred in every nation on Earth. Even among the three major powers of the Earth Alliance, there are places where people starve to death.
So the statement that "a humanitarian crisis is about to occur on Earth" is a joke—humanitarian crises are happening all the time.
The only difference is that the Atlantic Federation's own misdeeds once again worked in Reid's favor. As the saying goes, "A just cause gains great support, while an unjust one finds little."
The Atlantic Federation could forcibly push through the decision to attack Orb.
Though the East Asian Republic and the Eurasian Federation couldn't spare military resources, they bypassed the Atlantic Federation and also forcibly passed a resolution—welcoming Reid's humanitarian efforts on Earth under the banner of the Earth Alliance.
Moreover, the East Asian Republic and the Eurasian Federation provided a perfectly justifiable reason, stating that all nations on Earth were currently suffering, especially smaller countries.
Given that the New Misurugi Republic was willing to undertake humanitarian relief efforts within its capabilities, it should be encouraged and commended—or at the very least, not hindered.
Thus, the Atlantic Federation had no choice but to swallow this bitter pill. On June 14th, just as the Atlantic Federation's Pacific Fleet had forcibly entered Orb's territorial waters, trained their naval guns on the mainland, issued an ultimatum to Uzumi, and began encircling the nation—
The sky roared (literally, the sound of massive objects descending through atmospheric friction). Reid descended with three warships and three Antietam-class freighters, deploying defenses near the southeastern side of Orb, close to the ground terminal of the space elevator.
(Dawn Company and Orb's Ministry of Defense are located on the small island chain at the bottom of the map.
The side story doesn't specify the exact location of the space elevator's ground terminal in Orb. For logistical reasons related to transporting foam metal, I've set the ground terminal in Orb's southeastern region.)
Reid's move essentially punched a massive hole in the Atlantic Federation's encirclement. But since he held authorization from the Earth Alliance, the Atlantic Federation couldn't outright attack his fleet.
Moreover, Reid's forces weren't defenseless. Faced with dozens of beam rifle muzzles aimed at them, the Atlantic Federation officers sent to secure the area wisely chose discretion over valor—promptly retreating in disgrace.
Of course, in subsequent negotiations with the Atlantic Federation, Reid promised not to allow any of Orb's military units or political figures to escape through his territory. He also pledged to assist the Atlantic Federation in blockading Orb's waters to prevent interference from other factions.
At the same time, Reid managed to contact Uzumi of Orb. Seeing him again via video call, Uzumi looked visibly haggard.
Even without face-to-face perception, the anger and condemnation toward the Atlantic Federation were evident in Uzumi's eyes and words.
However, Uzumi hadn't completely lost his rationality. He quickly ordered Orb's civilians to gather in the southeastern region, ready to evacuate immediately if war broke out.
Reid couldn't quite understand Uzumi's reasoning. Why wait until the last moment? Reid had even secured the Atlantic Federation's tacit agreement—at the very least, they wouldn't interfere with civilian evacuations on June 14th.
Yet Uzumi insisted on waiting until the Atlantic Federation actually attacked before withdrawing. Was he still clinging to the hope that the Atlantic Federation wouldn't dare to strike?
In truth, Uzumi wasn't naive enough to believe the Atlantic Federation would spare him. He was simply keeping an extra layer of caution—against Reid himself.
Since Reid now had the time and manpower to carry out civilian evacuations, he could also afford to pull off some minor maneuvers.
Once the war began, Reid would have to ensure the evacuation routes remained unaffected by the conflict between both sides, leaving him no time for anything else.
Thus, time slowly passed until the early morning of June 15th. As the first rays of sunlight touched Orb, the Atlantic Federation launched the "Orb Liberation Operation."
Countless missiles and naval artillery shells streaked toward Orb's homeland alongside the dawn's light, and the nation of peace was finally engulfed in the flames of war.