Reid wasn't entirely clear about the battle situation at Boaz Fortress, as he was still peacefully clearing the navigation route.
Just as Reid had predicted, most of the Solar Ray Systems along the way were decoys. PLANT had even cut corners by using scrap metal molds that couldn't even deploy, simply left there to intimidate.
Of course, there were real ones too. Reid encountered three genuine systems along the way—one placed right in the middle of the path and two at critical turns along the route.
Had he charged ahead recklessly, these three systems would have given him quite the surprise, especially since ZAFT's Recon ZINNs frequently patrolled near the fleet.
However, these Recon ZINNs didn't conduct close-range reconnaissance. They usually stayed tens of thousands of miles away, using cameras to confirm the New Miserly Kingdom fleet's position and check whether they had entered the attack range of the real Solar Ray Systems before retreating.
This made it nearly impossible for Reid to capture any prisoners. The moment the New Miserly Kingdom fleet sent out Mobile Suits in pursuit, the enemy would immediately flee into asteroid fields or space debris.
Considering their current location was dangerously close to PLANT's homeland, Reid had no intention of letting his pursuit forces get ambushed in complex terrain.
He didn't want to experience a repeat of what he had done to ZAFT's fleet during the Star Palace Colony Satellite battle—only this time, on the receiving end.
Thus, the New Miserly Kingdom fleet proceeded cautiously, clearing the path step by step without any rush.
Reid was certain ZAFT currently had no spare forces to deal with him. As for the Earth Alliance fleet being defeated in two or three days? If ZAFT had that kind of strength, they wouldn't be on the defensive right now.
Using Genesis to wipe out the Earth Alliance fleet was even more unlikely—unless Patrick Zala was ruthless enough to use Boaz Fortress itself as bait, placing it directly in Genesis' line of fire.
Three days later, the painstakingly slow New Miserly Kingdom fleet finally arrived near PLANT's homeland and faced off against the ZAFT forces defending the area.
However, Reid couldn't help but laugh at the defensive fleet before him—just over twenty Laurasia-class battleships, with GINNs as their primary Mobile Suits. It felt like a single concentrated push could break through and penetrate deep into PLANT's territory.
But Reid had no intention of doing so. He had already promised the three nations of the Earth Alliance that he wouldn't participate in the division of PLANT's interests, so he certainly wouldn't waste effort helping the Earth Alliance conquer PLANT's homeland.
After all, the New Miserly Kingdom hadn't even fully digested Australia yet. Trying to swallow part of PLANT as well would be overreaching—like a snake attempting to devour an elephant.
The Gundam series had a prime example of this: Tekkadan in Iron-Blooded Orphans expanded too quickly, wanting everything without understanding compromise, ultimately leading them to be dragged along by circumstances straight into ruin.
So, once Reid reached PLANT's vicinity, he merely put on a show—deploying Mobile Dolls to exchange meaningless gunfire with the defenders, just enough to fool the Earth Alliance. There was no real attack.
Of course, Reid wasn't here just to spectate. He planned to first assess how the battle at Boaz Fortress was progressing before taking further action.
But before his reconnaissance units could even be deployed, a communication from the Three Ships Alliance arrived.
Lacus was clearly getting anxious. The Archangel, Eternal, and Kusanagi were still hiding in the asteroid belt on the other side of PLANT. Using her connections within PLANT, she took a shuttle directly through PLANT's territory to find Reid.
Naturally, Reid personally went to meet Lacus with Ange in tow. After all, she should have detailed knowledge about the situation at Boaz Fortress, saving him the trouble of sending reconnaissance teams.
However, when Reid saw Lacus in the tactical conference room, he noticed she looked extremely exhausted, with dark circles under her eyes that even makeup couldn't conceal.
So instead of immediately asking for intel after sitting down, Reid expressed concern first:
"Lacus, I think you need some rest. Let me arrange a room for you—get a few hours of sleep before we talk. I'm in no hurry."
Reid genuinely cared about Lacus, but she clearly wasn't in the mood to rest. She stood up and said directly:
"Reid, Boaz Fortress fell this morning. The Earth Alliance is regrouping its forces and will likely launch a full-scale assault on PLANT's homeland tomorrow. There's no time—I have to return immediately after we finish talking."
Hearing this, Reid was somewhat surprised. He wasn't shocked that the Earth Alliance could take Boaz Fortress, but doing it in just three days was unexpectedly fast.
Reid didn't believe Lacus would share intel about Genesis with the Earth Alliance while withholding the fact that they had unlocked nuclear weapons from PLANT.
A prepared PLANT would have countermeasures ready to intercept nuclear strikes, preventing the original scenario where they were wiped out in a single wave of nukes.
During the Nova Defense War, ZAFT's space forces and the East Asian Republic fought for a full month before it ended.
This time, the Earth Alliance was attacking without the previous technological gap in equipment.
But Boaz Fortress was a military stronghold—unlike Nova, which was just a Colony Satellite during the Nova Defense War. Their defensive capabilities were incomparable.
Moreover, for ZAFT, there was no retreat. If Boaz Fortress fell, the Earth Alliance would have a clear path straight to PLANT's homeland.
So Reid had always assumed this battle would last at least a week. If ZAFT played their cards right, they might even hold out for half a month or longer.
The Earth Alliance would have to grind through all of ZAFT's defensive fleets and outer forces to claim victory.
Reid quickly pressed Lacus for details—what trick had the Earth Alliance pulled to take Boaz Fortress in just three days?
Lacus had clearly come to seek Reid's advice, so she held nothing back, explaining exactly how the Earth Alliance achieved such a swift victory.
After hearing her out, Reid had only one thought: when it came to ruthlessness, the Atlantic Federation took the crown—against both their enemies and themselves.
Yes, the rapid fall of Boaz Fortress ultimately came down to the Atlantic Federation's doing.
After the Three Ships Alliance's first intervention was repelled by the combined efforts of ZAFT and the Earth Alliance, the Atlantic Federation doubled down on their hidden munitions strategy—sacrificing their own soldiers' lives, using them as expendable terrorists.
The Atlantic Federation had completely turned nuclear weapons into conventional arms, using them to rapidly reduce the numbers of the defensive fleet shielded by Boaz Fortress's firepower. They even removed the nuclear markings, mixing the warheads among ordinary missiles fired at Mobile Suit formations. Moreover, they altered the detonation mechanism to trigger upon outer armor breach.
When ZAFT's Mobile Suits encountered these missiles and detonated them prematurely as usual, they inadvertently triggered a full-yield nuclear explosion.
This often meant two or three nearby ZAFT squads were instantly swallowed by the nuclear blast. If the explosion occurred close enough to a warship, the vessel would suffer as well.
Despite the Covenant Gundam exhausting all its firepower, it couldn't intercept every nuclear missile—especially now that volleys of missiles were being launched indiscriminately, making it impossible to distinguish which were nuclear. Every single one had to be intercepted. How could a single MPFM Multi-Purpose Multi-Use Flight Pack possibly intercept all the missiles fired by the Earth Alliance's numerous warships?
Meanwhile, the East Asian Republic and the Eurasian Federation weren't idle either. Attacking from different directions, they not only dispersed Boaz Fortress's defending forces but also focused on depleting their combat strength.
Thus, by the second day, Boaz Fortress's forces had been nearly wiped out by nuclear strikes. Soon after, the Earth Alliance systematically neutralized the fortress's outer gun emplacements, leaving it defenseless as nuclear warheads struck directly, breaching its defenses.
Fortunately, by then, the Atlantic Federation had exhausted its entire nuclear arsenal, turning the final day into a fortress assault.
This was where the East Asian Republic's Black Tortoise Gundam excelled. ZAFT's remaining forces retreated step by step within the fortress.
In the end, Boaz Fortress's commander ordered the last combat-capable units to withdraw to the homeland while the wounded held off the Earth Alliance's forces. Once the survivors had evacuated, the fortress was detonated.
The battle had been brutal. The Atlantic Federation's swift annihilation of ZAFT's fleet came at the cost of devastating Mobile Suit losses. While their warships remained largely intact, at least two-thirds of them were effectively stripped of their carrier-based units.
The East Asian Republic also suffered heavy losses from Boaz Fortress's self-destruction. As the primary force in the subsequent assault, according to Lacus, the Azure Dragon Gundam had avoided the landing operation, but the Black Tortoise Gundam had only a single-digit number of units returning. The exact losses among the Celestial Soldiers and Celestial Generals were unknown, but at least one-third of the East Asian Republic's Mobile Suit forces had been wiped out.
Ironically, the Eurasian Federation, the least equipped of the three major powers, suffered the lightest losses. Their outdated technology limited them to fire support roles, with most casualties occurring during the second day's skirmishes with ZAFT's fleet.
They had barely committed any forces to the landing operation. Though their commanders surely still felt the sting, their losses paled in comparison to the other two factions.
In summary, while the Earth Alliance's warship losses were minimal, their Mobile Suit forces had been decimated, necessitating urgent reinforcements.
Fortunately, the entire supply line was now unobstructed. Within a day, resupply ships from both the Moon and Earth would deliver the first wave of reinforcements.
And it went without saying—the Atlantic Federation would undoubtedly replenish its nuclear strike teams, possibly with even greater numbers than those deployed at Boaz Fortress.
Then would come the Earth Alliance's full-scale assault on PLANT's homeland.
It could be said that PLANT was truly in imminent danger now. The situation was even worse than in the original timeline after Boaz Fortress fell, as their only retreat route had been cut off by Reid's forces.
The remaining ZAFT forces in PLANT were already severely depleted, forcing Patrick Zala to mobilize the previously conservative faction's troops.
This was why Lacus could traverse PLANT to find him during such tense times—the conservative faction had contributed significantly to making this possible.
Moreover, the New Miserly Kingdom's overtly performative battles upon reaching PLANT's homeland had led the released conservative councilors to believe negotiations might be possible with them.
Lacus had also conveyed Reid's demands to the conservatives. Naturally, the conservative councilors wholeheartedly supported the idea of removing Patrick Zala from power, and sealing away Genesis-related technology afterward wouldn't be an issue either.
Thus, Lacus' visit also carried the task of relaying messages from PLANT's conservative councilors.
After hearing this, Reid remained silent for a long time, running simulations of possible future developments in his mind before finally speaking:
"Lacus, there's no problem with PLANT's conservative councilors wanting to negotiate. But as I've said before—I'll only begin talks when Patrick Zala steps down and Genesis is destroyed.
And don't try to fool me by claiming PLANT hasn't actually built Genesis. The fact that hardliners haven't forced Patrick Zala to resign at this stage of the war proves they absolutely have a trump card.
The reason we haven't seen Genesis yet is likely because they've been using the Mirage Colloid System throughout its construction. PLANT has no shortage of nuclear energy—they can certainly support such a high-cost project.
So when the Earth Alliance attacks PLANT's homeland, I'll take action too.
However, I can promise not to attack PLANT's homeland from the rear. As long as those twenty-plus Laurasia-class battleships and their escort Mobile Suits don't come after me, I'll pretend not to see them—I'll just send a few Mobile Dolls to keep up the performance.
As for my target, I might as well tell you: I'll attack Jachin Due Fortress directly.
I have intelligence that Patrick Zala is in the fortress. If necessary, I'll invite him to enjoy ocean views from a New Miserly Kingdom seaside villa... for the rest of his life."
Hearing this, Lacus didn't refute Reid's words. It was clear Reid was sparing Patrick Zala's life only out of consideration for Athrun—a life sentence was already extraordinary leniency. She nodded and said:
"Understood. I'll relay your requirements, Reid."
After speaking, Lacus suddenly seemed somewhat awkward, looking like she wanted to say something but was too embarrassed to speak.
Reid could tell Lacus was genuinely uncomfortable now—like a child who knew they'd done wrong but didn't know how to admit it due to pride.
So Reid took the initiative: "Lacus, if you have more questions, ask them now. There won't be time once the fighting starts."
Hearing this, Lacus sighed and asked somewhat dejectedly: "Reid... as a third party intervening in the battlefield, is it really inadvisable to try persuading them to stop the war?"
Reid responded decisively: "If it's like the scenario you described earlier—intervening when both sides are fighting most fiercely—then of course it's inadvisable."
Upon hearing this, Lacus realized that Reid wasn't objecting to intervention itself, but rather criticizing the timing. Her eyes lit up as she asked:
"So when would be the appropriate time to intervene?"
Reid answered without hesitation:
"Intervene when others need help the most. At least then, those being helped won't turn against you."
"As for advocating peace, both sides must first have the conditions and willingness for peace."
"If you intervene when both sides are locked in fierce combat with no clear winner, people might think you're just trying to take advantage. Then both sides would turn against you."
Lacus nodded thoughtfully and asked again:
"So when would both sides have the conditions and willingness for peace?"
Reid knew the answer to this question. Both sides would only have the conditions and willingness for peace when they were too exhausted to continue fighting and had no choice but to seek temporary peace. Could anyone really expect one side to suddenly develop a benevolent desire for peace when they held the upper hand?
However, he couldn't give this answer directly to Lacus. Instead, he responded cryptically:
"Determining that timing is your task to figure out. You already know my conditions for peace. As for PLANT and the Earth Alliance, that depends on your efforts."
(End of chapter)