The Earth Sphere Peace Accord was scheduled to be signed on February 14th, leaving just over a month for preparations.
What preparations? Preparations to suppress domestic opposition across all nations.
After finalizing the signing date, the accord's contents were "quietly" leaked. The purpose was to acclimate the public through unverified disruptive information, preventing outright chaos once the accord was publicly signed.
Moreover, extremist opponents were bound to cause trouble before the signing. When that happened, they would be imprisoned or eliminated as necessary to prevent them from truly impacting the accord's signing and implementation.
Once the news leaked, the outcome was predictable.
Looking at this accord, one might mistakenly think the previous war involved the New Misurugi Kingdom single-handedly taking on four powers—the Atlantic Federation, East Asian Republic, Eurasian Federation, and PLANT—and beating them all.
Otherwise, why would everyone be imposing restrictions while also ceding military bases and colony satellites to the New Misurugi Kingdom?
The public didn't understand the generational gap in New Particle Technology. To them, while the New Misurugi Kingdom wasn't weak, there was no need for such subservience.
The only acceptable territorial concession in the terms was the Eurasian Federation returning the former Misurugi Empire's port city, as that land originally belonged to the New Misurugi Kingdom.
Of course, PLANT's populace had no issue with their Supreme Council making concessions to the New Misurugi Kingdom, as they had personally experienced the kingdom's strength.
However, many in PLANT were deeply dissatisfied with the Supreme Council tying its own hands for peace, viewing it as self-restriction that gave the Earth Alliance a chance to narrow the technological gap.
Some extreme anti-ceasefire factions even accused the current Supreme Council of treason.
In the East Asian Republic, while the public also didn't fully understand, discussions were limited to private conversations.
Under state control, no public intellectuals or media dared to stir up trouble, so civil unrest was avoided. Moreover, PLANT was effectively compensating the East Asian Republic with Nova Colony, making it a one-for-one colony satellite exchange, with other restrictions applying equally to all.
In the Eurasian Federation, many took to the streets to protest—not against ceding cities and colony satellites to the New Misurugi Kingdom, but against the government agreeing to let PLANT's Gibraltar Base remain operational.
After all, the Gibraltar Base controlled the Mediterranean's exit to the Atlantic, effectively gripping the Eurasian Federation by the throat.
How could they tolerate their own country surrendering its throat to another nation, especially a former enemy? They had to protest. The current government officials must have taken bribes from PLANT; otherwise, how could they agree to such an outrageous condition?
If the Eurasian Federation was like this, there was no need to even mention the Atlantic Federation, which had the strongest anti-PLANT and anti-New Misurugi Kingdom sentiments.
The Atlantic Federation's populace had one demand: the current federal government must step down.
As for who would take over or what they would do afterward, the people declared they didn't care—the traitors had to go first.
However, while the other four nations in the Earth Sphere were in turmoil, the New Misurugi Kingdom remained peaceful.
As the apparent beneficiaries of the accord, former Australian residents who had only recently become citizens of the New Misurugi Kingdom swelled with pride, looking down on people from other nations with an almost arrogant disdain.
However, while the populace could afford such pride, the government could not.
Une swiftly cracked down on the restlessness within the government with decisive measures.
Just a few days later, Reid, in his capacity as Chairman of the Military Committee, summoned Mu and Jane Houston.
Given the formal setting of the Military Committee Chairman's office, Reid was unusually stern this time. He handed a document to the two and stated, "Colonel Mu, Colonel Jane, I have a mission for you. You may review the materials first."
Seeing Reid's formal demeanor, Mu and Jane did not dare delay and immediately began examining the documents.
Mu then remarked with some surprise, "This information details some officers from PLANT's Zala Faction... and mercenaries?"
Reid nodded gravely. "Yes, these individuals are all dangerous elements. I've received intelligence that they intend to disrupt the signing of the Earth Sphere Peace Accord through assassinations and terrorist acts."
Reid was aware that in the original timeline, the ceasefire signing on the Junius 7 wreckage had been sabotaged once, directly causing the accord to be postponed until March 10. This time, however, Reid had no intention of dealing with such complications. He planned to strike preemptively—monitoring these individuals while significantly enhancing security to ensure the accord proceeded smoothly.
Yet, to demonstrate their commitment to peace, all parties had agreed not to bring large forces to the Junius 7 wreckage for the peace accord signing. Therefore, Reid prepared multiple contingencies, with Mu and Jane Houston serving as one layer of insurance.
Hearing Reid identify these individuals as threats to the peace accord, both Mu and Jane Houston grasped the severity of the situation.
Just as they were about to accept the mission and inquire further, the phone in Reid's office rang.
Answering it, Reid received a notification from the secretariat that his second layer of insurance had arrived.
He gestured for Mu and Jane Houston to wait momentarily, intending to brief everyone together once the second insurance arrived.
This second insurance naturally referred to Lacus and Athrun.
Despite their busy schedules, both had come immediately upon receiving Reid's formal summons.
Upon entering the office, Reid provided them with the same materials given to Mu and Jane Houston and offered an explanation.
Athrun's expression shifted instantly upon hearing this; he gripped the documents so tightly they crumpled. After a moment to compose himself, he stated, "Understood, Chairman Reid. Whatever plan you have, I will fully cooperate to ensure the peace accord is signed."
Reid then addressed the four before him: "It's straightforward. I cannot move against these people before they act, as the New Misurugi Kingdom is under too much scrutiny (the actual reason being that Une's intelligence network isn't fully operational yet, limiting us to the intelligence we have). Therefore, we need Terminal's assistance this time.
If possible, ensure those mercenaries end up in prison or the hospital for various reasons before the accord is signed.
Athrun, I know Lacus is helping you establish Terminal's second intelligence agency. How about entrusting this task to you?"
Athrun nodded, his expression resolute. "No problem. I'll thoroughly investigate these mercenaries' backgrounds. If they have serious criminal records, we can arrest them and hand them over to the countries that issued their warrants—we might even collect some reward money."
"If they don't currently have an active criminal record, I'll find a way to have them hospitalized with some injuries."
Seeing Athrun agree, Reid turned to Lacus and said,
"Lacus, I recall our first meeting was near the wreckage of Junius 7."
Lacus didn't understand why Reid was bringing this up now but still replied with a smile,
"Yes, I was there as a representative of the Junius 7 Memorial Group when our spacecraft was attacked by the Earth Alliance. Fortunately, you later rescued me."
At this point, Reid felt somewhat awkward. It was actually Kira who had saved Lacus back then, but Reid had taken credit to prevent Kira and Lacus from forming a bond too early.
However, Reid kept his thoughts to himself and continued,
"Right, so this time I plan to have you perform another memorial service during the peace treaty signing, singing the song of peace at the scene."
Lacus was somewhat surprised by this. She hadn't expected Reid to assign her such a task, so she asked curiously,
"I have no problem with the memorial service or singing, but how does this relate to the attack?"
Reid then revealed a mischievous grin and said,
"Of course it's to reasonably bring Mobile Suits into the venue.
I'll prepare an unarmed Mobile Suit for you to use as a performance tool.
While it won't have weapons, it will be fully equipped with defensive systems. The Brave Gundam's Dragoons Defense Shield will be installed, along with an Automatic Machine Soldier System to help control the Mobile Suit for evasion and shield deployment.
Moreover, I'll equip it with the latest Psychic Wave Diffusion Device (a budget version of the See-Through Device combined with a Psychic Amplifier, paired with GN Particle tanks and Lacus's powerful psychic abilities, creating a small-scale 'chat room'), allowing your song to directly resonate in people's minds within a certain range.
However, this system hasn't been publicly disclosed yet. You'll essentially be a test subject... oh, no, a little pink test subject."
Reid's malicious description made Lacus feel annoyed again, though she knew he was joking and wouldn't give her a Mobile Suit that hadn't undergone safety inspections.
The system that could make her songs play directly in people's minds sounded quite abnormal. But considering it came from Reid, and that Elvira Hill - the author of the paper "Theoretical Research on New Particles Converting Tactile Signals into Psychic Signals" - was under his command, it wasn't really surprising.
Lacus also understood that she would serve as the final safeguard. If enemies actually broke through to where the signing delegation was, her Mobile Suit could deploy shields to protect everyone and buy time for support forces.
So Lacus nodded and said,
"I understand. In that case, I have no objections."
Seeing Lacus agree, Reid smiled and said,
"That Mobile Suit will also be your payment for the singing performance. You can take it with you afterward. It will ensure your safety when you venture into battlefields in the future, and you can use it to sing and comfort refugees."
Hearing this, Lacus naturally accepted gladly. Reid was finding excuses to care about her safety, and she should accept this goodwill.
With Lacus settled, Reid turned to Mu and Jane Houston again, saying,
"Colonel Mu, Colonel Jane. You'll also receive new Mobile Suits. I'll have you responsible for patrolling the areas around the conference venue and personnel screening. If you spot any suspicious Mobile Suits, don't hesitate - shoot them down immediately."
Mu and Jane Houston naturally had no objections.
After seeing everyone was settled, Reid stood up and said:
"Alright, that's the initial task assignment. Lacus, Colonel Mu, Colonel Jane, I'll take you to receive your Mobile Suits. Athrun, you can come along too if you'd like."
Since Reid had extended the invitation, Athrun didn't hesitate, as he was genuinely curious about what unconventional modifications Reid had prepared for Lacus.
The four of them followed Reid into the underground warehouse and fell into stunned silence at the sight of the exceptionally eye-catching "Mobile Suit" before them.
It was an MS oozing femininity and drenched in pink, with four sensors on its head and waist-length pink metal "hair" (actually heat dissipators) flowing behind them.
The unit's height was also smaller than a standard Mobile Suit, standing just over 12 meters tall, giving it a rather petite appearance.
The backpack on its back was shaped like a bow, with two dangling "ribbons" that served as wired funnels. Although it was a Battery-Powered Mobile Suit, since it lacked energy-intensive weaponry and only featured TPS Armor, it could sustain its Photon Wave Barrier for a reasonable duration.
Moreover, Reid had drastically modified the Gundam's face. Those unfamiliar with Lacus would simply find it strange, but anyone who knew her would immediately recognize that the face was modeled after hers—though it still looked quite odd.
Upon seeing this Mobile Suit, Lacus became unusually agitated, her face instantly flushing bright red—whether from embarrassment or shame was unclear.
Then, disregarding the others present, Lacus completely abandoned her composure and began pounding Reid's back with her pink fists while complaining:
"Reid, how could you create such a Mobile Suit... Ugh... It's too... too embarrassing~~~"
Reid remarked that Lacus's fists felt too light even for a back massage, so he responded nonchalantly:
"I modified it according to your style. I originally wanted to shape the external armor to resemble your usual clothing, but it ended up making the unit look too bulky, so we had to settle for this version.
But don't worry, this Mobile Suit may be small but it's fully equipped. I've named it Super Lacus!!"
The moment Reid uttered this name, everyone burst into laughter, including Athrun.
Mu added fuel to the fire while laughing:
"Hahaha, Miss Lacus... haha... I really didn't mean to laugh. Truly, haha... We're professionally trained to suppress laughter, unless it's impossible to hold back."
Lacus was thoroughly provoked by the laughter and shot a vacant yet dangerous glare toward Reid.
Sensing the danger, Reid could only awkwardly say:
"If you're not satisfied with this name, Lacus, we can change it. It can be changed."
Lacus also realized there wasn't much she could do to Reid, so she mustered all her strength to stomp on his foot and said fiercely:
"Then how about renaming it Diva Gundam?"
Reid thought that although Lacus's weight couldn't possibly hurt him, it was better to play along for now, so he immediately nodded:
"Of course, no problem. It's your Mobile Suit, you have naming rights too."
Truth be told, if Lacus had any knowledge of MS design herself, she would have insisted on completely redesigning this unit's appearance.
Especially the face—it was far too embarrassing.
But for now, Lacus had no choice but to accept it. After the Universal Backpack Green Dyne incident, she already knew Reid's aesthetic sense could sometimes go off track. This Mobile Suit was clearly one of those deviations.
Unbeknownst to Lacus, when this Mobile Suit activates, it emits a pink particle glow (containing no Minovsky Particles or GN Particles—it's all special effects), causing the skirt armor to extend outward into a skirt composed of light curtains.
When activating the Psycommu system, there are also armor-bursting effects on the face, and the GN Particles from the bow on the back (actually GN Particle storage tanks that require replenishment after depletion, serving as a limitation for Lacus's use of the Psycommu Diffusion System) create an aura reminiscent of Super Saiyan Blue mode.
Reid found these effects acceptable and planned to surprise Lacus with them.
He only hoped that when Lacus later saw her live broadcast footage playing worldwide, she wouldn't be so embarrassed that she dug a hole with her toes to crawl into.
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