After flying away from the flagship of the Pacific Fleet where Muruta Azrael was stationed, Reid didn't head straight for the evacuation point. Instead, he flew toward the coastal area defended by the Archangel.
Without the support of Strike and Buster this time, the Archangel should have been in a tougher spot than in the original timeline. After all, Freedom was clearly too busy putting out fires everywhere to spare any attention for the Archangel.
So Reid figured he ought to check on them. If things looked bad, he'd advise Murrue to retreat early. In any case, he had brought down large rockets this time—his own ships needed to return to space, after all.
However, as Reid flew closer, he found the Archangel in much better shape than he had expected.
First of all, Buster had still managed to break free. Murrue had likely decided that taking Dearka as a prisoner back to the Star Palace Colony Satellite would be more trouble than it was worth, so she had released him, just like in the original timeline.
Clearly, Miriallia had still made contact with Dearka, and her kindness had moved him. (Author's note: Dearka probably thought, "My buddy killed your boyfriend, but since my buddy's already engaged, it's only fair that I step in myself, right?")
Thus, everything had reverted to the original course—a doomed, ill-fated romance had begun, and Dearka had started providing cover for the Archangel.
The combat effectiveness of the Archangel with and without Mobile Suit support was on entirely different levels. Moreover, since they didn't have to face the assault of the Three Young Aces this time, both the Archangel and Buster were free to pour firepower into the Strike Daggers and Atlantic Federation fighters. The surrounding escort ships had also suffered almost no losses, and for the moment, the Atlantic Federation couldn't even get close to the defensive zone the Archangel was responsible for.
Seeing this, Reid stopped worrying about the Archangel. The fall of Orb wouldn't be changed by the success of a single battlefield. In fact, aside from the Archangel's defensive zone, the Atlantic Federation's encirclement had already landed at other points. This was why Freedom had to rush around putting out fires everywhere—and it was on the verge of being too late, as Orb's coastal defenses had already been completely destroyed, drastically reducing their firepower.
While observing the Archangel, Reid also noticed a certain "spectator" silently watching Freedom from high above.
Naturally, this was the Justice Gundam, standing atop its crimson "Auspicious Cloud." In the original timeline, it had descended suddenly to turn the tide of battle.
This time, however, Athrun clearly had no intention of joining the fight. Since Freedom, though busy, wasn't in any real danger, Athrun had plenty of time to agonize over his decision.
Still, Reid felt that Freedom and Justice teaming up against Strike Daggers would be downright bullying. So he decided to have a proper chat with Athrun first, letting Orb's military experience a bit more of the Atlantic Federation's might.
Thus, while Athrun sat in the Justice Gundam, his emotions in turmoil as he stared down at Freedom below—agonizing over how to even start the conversation, like a lovestruck boy struggling to confess his feelings—he suddenly felt the Mobile Suit shudder. The left shoulder sensor showed something had landed on it, and an unidentified heat signature appeared on the rear left.
Athrun was the top graduate of a proper military academy—one without any "padding" in its standards. Instinctively, he reflexively reached for his beam saber, ready to strike first and ask questions later.
Fortunately, Reid spoke up in time, transmitting his voice physically:
"Athrun Zala, don't act rashly. It's me, Reid Isaac."
Hearing Reid's voice, Athrun immediately halted his movement and asked in surprise,
"Mr. Reid…? Is this the Mirage Colloid System?"
Reid remained nonchalant, keeping the invisibility active as he replied,
"Obviously. You're familiar with the Mirage Colloid System."
The moment he finished speaking, Reid regretted it slightly. Mentioning the Mirage Colloid System had clearly reminded Athrun of Nicol. He could sense Athrun's emotions suddenly turning overwhelmingly sorrowful.
So, Reid had no choice but to deactivate the Mirage Colloid System first, lest Athrun be overwhelmed by painful memories. Then he asked,
"Athrun, I've noticed you've been observing here for a long time. Gathering intel? If I'm not mistaken, the reason you're here is because your father sent you to destroy and recover the Freedom Gundam, right?"
"You're hesitating… Lacus must have said something to you, didn't she? You're lost now."
By this point, Athrun had grown numb to Reid's seemingly clairvoyant ability—as if he had read the script. No wonder his father had always warned him to be wary of Reid. Was this what they called a mind as sharp as a demon's?
So Athrun stopped hiding it and answered directly,
"You're mostly right, Mr. Reid. By the way… can I ask you something? What do you fight for?"
Reid nearly sighed in exasperation. Lacus, must you use the same script every time you manipulate people? Next time we meet, are you going to pull this on me too?
But no matter how many times this question was asked, Reid had only one answer—because he had no doubts in his heart.
So he simply replied calmly,
"Kira asked me the same thing. My answer is: I fight for those who love me and those who follow me."
This answer was flawless no matter how one looked at it. Athrun wasn't the type to nitpick, so he didn't argue. Instead, he fell silent for a moment before asking again,
"Then, Mr. Reid… have you ever hesitated about killing your enemies?"
Reid nearly scoffed. Athrun, have you lived such a sheltered life that you'd even ask this? So he answered bluntly,
"A stupid question. If they're enemies, what's the issue with killing them? My kindness is reserved only for the innocent and ordinary people. If someone stands against me as an enemy, yet I still show them mercy—how pathetic is that? Do you expect your enemies to show you kindness?"
Athrun was once again left speechless by Reid's retort. He felt Reid's words were wrong and wanted to argue, but he didn't know where to start.
Sensing Athrun's turmoil, Reid said,
"Alright, stop overthinking it. Brooding alone usually doesn't solve anything. Come with me first—I'm conducting humanitarian aid, evacuating Orb's civilians."
"Why don't you see for yourself how civilians feel about war before questioning whether killing enemies should give you pause?"
"At any rate, it's clear you don't want to carry out the mission to destroy the Freedom Gundam. If you want to talk to Kira, I'll take you to him after the battle."
"Judging by the current situation, Orb can hold out for at least another day. The Atlantic Federation will withdraw once they're exhausted."
Athrun observed the battlefield below and felt Reid made sense. So he replied,
"Then I'll trouble you, Mr. Reid."
Seeing how compliant Athrun was, Reid had the Mystic Lightning pat the Justice's shoulder before turning his mobile suit around. Switching to laser communication, he added—
"No need for formalities, but I'll need you to temporarily pose as one of our pilots. Follow me."
With that, Reid directly piloted his Mobile Suit toward the retreat point, with Athrun obediently following behind.
Upon seeing the retreat point—where a line of vehicles stretched for kilometers along the highway—Reid deliberately slowed his flight speed, allowing Athrun to observe carefully.
Reid's purpose was simple: to show Athrun the significance of soldiers fighting on the battlefield.
Because if soldiers didn't fight, civilians would end up like the people of Orb now—either trembling under artillery fire or desperately fleeing, even if the future ahead was entirely unknown.
As they approached the line, Reid noticed scattered shell craters on the road behind the queue, surrounded by large bloodstains and over ten corpses. Most likely, stray bullets from earlier battles with the Atlantic Federation had reached here.
At the roadside, a few people were gathered around an injured person, administering emergency aid. From the camera feed, Reid could see the medics' hands covered in blood—the patient was likely suffering severe blood loss.
At the same time, Reid recognized the wailing relative of the injured. Wasn't that Shinn Asuka, only 14 years old now? He had specifically instructed his subordinates to watch out for this name, yet it seemed Shinn had an uncanny ability to attract artillery fire—even while waiting in line, he'd been hit.
Reid immediately turned to Athrun and said,
"Athrun, there are injured civilians below. I need to check on them first. Wait here for a moment."
With that, Reid maneuvered the Mystic Lightning to descend.
Athrun, being reasonable and understanding the urgency of saving lives, replied,
"No problem, Mr. Reid. Go ahead—I'll keep watch from here."
He then piloted the Justice Gundam to follow the Mystic Lightning down.
Upon landing, Reid crouched his Mobile Suit, retrieved a first-aid kit from the cockpit, and jumped down. He called out to the people below,
"I have strong hemostatic spray here. Does anyone need it?"
The descent of the massive Mystic Lightning had naturally drawn attention. At Reid's words, Shinn Asuka rushed forward, sobbing,
"Yes! My sister needs it! Soldier, please save Mayu! Save Mayu! Mom and Dad were both killed by the explosion... If Mayu dies too... I... I—" He broke down into tears.
Looking at the childlike "little bird" that was Shinn now, Reid found him rather endearing. Hatred truly twisted people—in the original timeline of Cosmic Era 73, Shinn's impulsive, hot-tempered, and childish behavior had been far from likable.
Without hesitation, Reid stepped forward with the medical kit and handed it to the doctor crouched beside Mayu Asuka, saying,
"This has disinfectants, bandages, strong hemostatic spray, and even adrenaline. Use whatever you need."
The middle-aged man treating Mayu took the kit gratefully.
"Thank you. As a veterinarian, this is my first time treating a human, and I didn't have enough supplies... Thank goodness you noticed us."
Reid observed Mayu's massive laceration—stretching from her left upper ribs to her right lower abdomen. He guessed it was caused by shrapnel or debris from the explosion. The wound was deep; it was unclear whether internal organs were damaged. But the most immediate threat was the severe blood loss.
So Reid didn't care whether this emergency doctor—whose actual profession was veterinarian—was qualified or not, and directly said:
"This child needs an emergency blood transfusion. Doctor, after using the hemostatic spray to coagulate the blood, quickly suture the wound with the Medical Pod's stitching thread. She needs to be transferred to a more professional medical facility for treatment."
After speaking, Reid turned to Shinn Asuka and asked:
"Young man, what's your sister's blood type?"
Shinn Asuka immediately replied:
"Type A. Mayu and I are both Type A. If you need blood, just use mine. Please, I beg you, save Mayu!"
Reid nodded, took out his communicator, and instructed the Aries, docked on the sea surface, to prepare the emergency room. He ignored Shinn's blood donation request and instead notified the patrol team to retrieve blood from nearby hospital blood banks. He specifically reminded them to be polite when communicating and not to take too much blood.
Currently, Orb's hospitals likely still had some immobile patients, elderly, and doctors who had disregarded their own safety. He wasn't worried the soldiers wouldn't find the blood banks—given the medical ethics of the doctors who remained, they probably wouldn't refuse soldiers taking blood to save lives.
Fortunately, the veterinarian was quite skilled at suturing wounds. Though the stitches were a bit messy, Mayu Asuka's wound was quickly closed.
Reid then picked up Mayu Asuka and said to Shinn:
"I'll take your sister to the ship at the rear for treatment. My cockpit can't fit another person. You can ride on the hand of that Mobile Suit over there to follow us."
After speaking, Reid turned to the Justice Gundam and said:
"Athrun, do me a favor. First, help me secure this injured person into my cockpit, then let these civilians ride on Justice Gundam's hand and escort them to the rear, alright?"
Athrun naturally wouldn't refuse such a life-saving task. He immediately responded via external speakers:
"No problem. Lives are at stake."
With that, Justice Gundam's hand flattened on the ground, and Reid stepped onto it while carrying Mayu Asuka.
Athrun's piloting skills were excellent—Justice Gundam's hand carried the two steadily to the cockpit hatch of the Phantom Raid.
After securing Mayu Asuka inside, Reid called down:
"Uncle Veterinarian, bring your family along too. Your suturing skills are a valuable talent."
Without waiting for the kind-hearted vet—who had helped Mayu despite the queue—to express his surprise, Reid closed the cockpit hatch and took off, prioritizing Mayu's transfer to the rear.
As for the protests and commotion from those still in line, the personnel maintaining order would handle it.
After all, absolute fairness didn't exist in this world. Reid was only this proactive in treating Mayu Asuka because he recognized Shinn's potential.
Otherwise, given Reid's battlefield-hardened mindset, he might have just muttered, "Such is fate. Reincarnate in a truly peaceful country next time," before flying off without a second thought.
Fortunately, during the time the veterinarian spent suturing Mayu's wound, the emergency room and blood supply had been prepared. The moment Mayu arrived on the Aries, she was rushed into the emergency room.
With the medical technology of the Cosmic Era universe, such a laceration would heal normally as long as there was no severe internal organ damage and the blood supply was restored. Barring any complications, Mayu Asuka's life was now saved.
Moreover, after the Justice Gundam delivered Athrun and the veterinarian's family, Athrun also disembarked from the Mobile Suit, allowing Kira and Athrun to meet two years ahead of schedule.
As for the veterinarian's family, they originally didn't meet the New Misurugi Republic's criteria for recruiting technical personnel. But as they say, good deeds bring good rewards—Reid directly arranged for them to board the next wave of shuttle ships heading to the two Tietan-class cargo vessels in space. In the future, they would also become citizens of the New Misurugi Republic.