After Lacus's cringe-inducing pink Mobile Suit came two more conventional units.
Mu and Jane Houston only stayed because they saw these two Mobile Suits—otherwise, they'd rather be shot than pilot a deathly barbie-pink Mobile Suit with bows like Lacus's.
Were they planning to kill enemies by making them laugh to death on the battlefield?
The group approached the next Mobile Suit, and Reid introduced:
"This is our nation's next-generation mass-production series. This one is a prototype—the Ghost Jegan F."
After Reid finished, Mu looked at the Mobile Suit and asked doubtfully:
"Ghost? Wasn't the Mirage Colloid System banned? Is this Mobile Suit violating regulations?"
Hearing this, Reid rolled his eyes at Mu and retorted:
"Would I violate a treaty I signed myself?
Don't worry, although this Mobile Suit has a stealth system, it has nothing to do with the Mirage Colloid System. To be precise, most of the stealth-capable Mobile Suits you've seen me use didn't employ the Mirage Colloid System but a new technology called the Electronic Camouflage System. You just mistook it for the Mirage Colloid System."
Reid's explanation made everything click for Mu, who slapped his hands together and said:
"No wonder! We've been guessing for ages how you solved the Mirage Colloid detachment issue without any results. So you weren't even using the Mirage Colloid System, Reid.
Haha, the Earth Alliance and PLANT lost out big time. That treaty banning the Mirage Colloid System was completely pointless."
Reid could only shake his head slightly. The Lambda Driver System was top secret, not even Mu could know about it, so there was no need to explain the Mirage Colloid System's situation.
Moreover, the Electronic Camouflage System was just the beginning, so he continued:
"Don't interrupt; I haven't finished introducing this Mobile Suit yet.
Like the previous Assault GM Dominion, this unit can be equipped with almost all of our military's universal weapons and has multiple interchangeable backpacks, including the Dragoons Backpack that you're skilled with, Mu.
The armor uses the latest Electromagnetic Armor technology. You can think of Electromagnetic Armor as an upgraded version of Phase Shift Armor. It's not as strong against physical defense as Phase Shift Armor—it can't withstand damage from high-power Anti-ship Missiles—but its resistance to Beam weapons is greatly enhanced. The Beam Rifles of the Atlantic Federation's Strike Daggers won't deal any damage to it.
However, this F-type unit in front of you has an additional sniper system, suitable for ultra-long-range sniping.
By the way, this Mobile Suit uses a Minovsky Particle Fusion Engine. This type of engine will be revealed after the Earth Sphere Peace Accord is signed. But it still needs to be kept confidential for this month."
Upon hearing this, Mu and Jane Houston's jaws dropped wide open, clearly shocked.
After a moment of stunned silence, Mu exclaimed in surprise again:
"Wait, let me process this. Reid, is it really appropriate for you to mention such a monumental breakthrough in controlled nuclear fusion so casually?"
Seeing this, Reid rolled his eyes at Mu again and calmly replied:
"It's no big deal, Mu. You're too easily rattled. Look at Lacus and Athrun—they're not reacting much."
At Reid's words, Lacus and Athrun could only smile wryly.
Were they calm? Not at all. They just already knew about Reid's breakthrough in controlled nuclear fusion.
It must be understood that the two had kept Reid's secret all this time. The restrictions on Anti-Neutron Jammers in the Earth Sphere Peace Accord were essentially meaningless—even knowing about them, they hadn't alerted PLANT. Even Terminal was unaware that Reid possessed controlled nuclear fusion.
Kira was in the same position—Orb still didn't know that Reid had achieved a breakthrough in controlled nuclear fusion technology.
Because of this, Reid still trusted Lacus, Athrun, and Kira quite a bit. At the very least, they had proven through their actions that they weren't the type to betray friends.
Mu could guess some things from Lacus and Athrun's expressions, so he didn't press further.
As for the Electromagnetic Armor, while it was impressive for surpassing Phase Shift Armor, it paled in comparison to controlled nuclear fusion.
So Mu looked at the Mobile Suit next to the Ghost Jegan F and asked:
"What about this one? It looks similar to the Ghost Jegan F but with thicker armor. So is this one designed for assault and breaking through formations?"
Seeing Mu change the subject on his own, Reid took the opportunity to follow along. He walked over to the Mobile Suit behind them and said to Jane Houston:
"Colonel Jane, this is the unit configured for you.
The Ghost Jegan M, just as Mu said, has heavier armor than the F-type, so its speed and agility are lower. But its defensive performance is better. For example, that high-powered Anti-ship Missile I mentioned earlier—the F-type would be nearly half-destroyed after taking one hit, but your unit can withstand at least three.
However, I don't recommend you try it, since the shockwaves are still unavoidable.
In terms of armaments and equipment, the two units are quite similar, but I customized a Giant Beam Scythe specifically for you, which can serve as your signature weapon.
Additionally, this unit's head detector has been specialized, integrating advanced detection equipment like thermal, metal sensing, and electromagnetic induction. Paired with a powerful AI, this unit even has a certain degree of see-through capability. You'll understand how it works once you actually use it."
Hearing this, Jane Houston sighed and rubbed her forehead.
Using a giant scythe as her signature weapon—Jane felt that the Chairman of the Military Committee must have some serious misconceptions about her preferences.
After all, the Forbidden Blue used a trident. Just because it was the successor to the Forbidden Gundam didn't mean she liked using giant scythes.
But Jane wasn't as familiar with Reid as Mu was, so she didn't voice her complaints aloud. She simply nodded slightly, thinking to herself that she just wouldn't equip the scythe later. She could always choose her armaments before sorties anyway.
Seeing that Jane seemed quite satisfied with the unit, Mu proactively invited her:
"Colonel Jane, how about a simulation battle after the unit adjustments are done? It seems we won't be able to conduct live combat with this unit and others for a while."
Jane didn't overthink it. As a renowned ace from the early days of the Atlantic Federation war, Mu was certainly qualified to spar with her in simulations. Plus, since they were on this mission together, understanding each other's combat habits was necessary.
But Reid sensed that Mu had ulterior motives—he was trying to flirt.
Still, Reid pretended not to notice. If Mu wanted to flirt with Jane Houston, let him. They were all on the same side now—no harm in keeping things in the family.
The Mobile Suit introduction should have ended here through normal procedure, but Reid noticed Athrun constantly glancing enviously at the two Ghost Jegans. Clearly, his hands were itching without a Mobile Suit to pilot.
So Reid said with a laugh:
"Athrun, you don't need to envy Mu and Jane. Your Justice Gundam is also sealed in this warehouse. You can take it whenever you want."
Upon hearing this, Athrun immediately shook his head and replied with a bitter smile:
"The Justice Gundam shouldn't reappear at this time. After all, it was developed by ZAFT under my father's leadership. Moreover, after the last war, this machine is too conspicuous and unsuitable for my current work."
Reid initially wanted to say "That's simple, just wrap it in a Gouf."
But then it occurred to him that he didn't actually have a Gouf Mobile Suit, and a Gouf large enough to cover the Justice Gundam would need to be at least 20 meters tall - that would be way too big.
So Reid remembered a technical verification unit he had previously built and decided to put this scrap to good use. Turning around, he said:
"In that case, since everyone else has a Mobile Suit, it wouldn't be right for you to go without. I still have a technical verification unit here - you can take this one."
After speaking, Reid left Lacus, Mu, and Jane Houston behind, taking only Athrun to another warehouse.
As soon as Athrun entered the warehouse, he saw a non-humanoid mecha standing nearby that was "three times larger than a normal MS" (it looked big mainly because of its long tail, though its height was only about 20 meters). He instantly exclaimed:
"My god, is this... a dragon!?"
Reid nodded directly and began his explanation:
"Yes, I suddenly got the idea to try developing a non-humanoid MS skeleton. The result is the Dragon Skeleton used by the Dragon-type MS before you.
Since the skeleton was developed, I naturally built it in the direction of a dragon, eventually creating this unnamed MS you see now."
Athrun looked speechlessly at Reid, thinking that Reid truly lived up to being a top MS researcher with the backing of an entire nation, able to freely allocate resources to develop Mobile Suits.
This Dragon-type MS was actually developed just on a whim.
Seeing Athrun's look that said "spoiled rich kid," Reid insisted this was genuinely a technical verification unit and continued:
"But don't worry about the armament. The external armor is Electromagnetic Armor, and it also has an Electronic Camouflage System. The tail uses a special flexible structure that can be whipped at enemies, with a thermal triple-edged spike at the tip.
Both the foot claws and hand claws can extend Beam Blades for close combat, while the horns on its head and wings are high-frequency physical blades - you could say its entire body is a weapon.
As for ranged weapons, there are two Beam Cannons on each arm, and a 580mm "Siren Beast" Multiple Phase Energy Cannon on the lower body.
Of course, there are issues too. This unit was built relatively early and uses an Anti-Neutron Jammer Nuclear Engine. But since Terminal isn't an official organization, using Anti-Neutron Jammers shouldn't be a problem.
Another issue is that this machine is very difficult to operate. Even with AI assistance, non-humanoid mecha don't conform to human movement habits.
Even if we tried to use it as a Mobile Doll, the attack patterns and movement modules for the dragon form would all need to be completely reconfigured - too much trouble. So this unit ultimately became a failed product that I stored here."
Reid's words were half-truths. First, it was true that this Mobile Suit served as a technical prototype. Having obtained the dragon-type frame, Reid naturally wanted to assemble a Mobile Suit during his free time.
However, Reid's initial idea was to create a mechanical Godzilla for fun—after all, deploying a monster universe mecha in a Gundam setting seemed quite thrilling.
Unfortunately, the dragon-type frame couldn't support Godzilla's bulky physique, so he had to abandon the idea.
Thus, Reid modified the Mobile Suit into a Western-style dragon, resulting in the machine before them.
Of course, Reid initially used a miniature nuclear fusion reactor. It was only yesterday, when considering whether to repurpose this machine for someone else, that he replaced it with an Anti-Neutron Jammer Nuclear Engine.
Actually, Reid hadn't yet decided to give this Mobile Suit to Athrun at the time. He simply considered that this machine couldn't openly operate under the New Misurugi Kingdom's banner in the future, which is why he didn't install a Minovsky Particle Fusion Engine but opted for the Anti-Neutron Jammer Nuclear Engine instead. (A battery-powered Mobile Suit would require frequent recharging, making it unsuitable.)
Fortunately, although Athrun considered Reid's development of this dragon-type Mobile Suit wasteful, he had to admit that dragon-type mechas appealed to masculine aesthetics.
Especially since Athrun was only seventeen this year—what boy that age could resist the chance to pilot a dragon?
So Athrun almost immediately declared that he should be able to handle this Mobile Suit.
(Internally, Athrun thought: Even if he couldn't master it initially, he'd train until he could.)
Naturally, Reid didn't question Athrun's capabilities—after all, he was officially recognized as the most skilled Mobile Suit pilot.
Thus, Reid transferred all four Mobile Suits to the underground secret training base and let Lacus and the others handle things themselves.
Reid remained quite busy these days with numerous press conferences to attend.
As for Mu's intense envy upon seeing the dragon-shaped mecha—he'd abandon any notion of piloting this type of machine once he tried operating it himself.
Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, it was February 14, CE72.
During this period, besides the ongoing high discussions about the Earth Sphere Peace Accord, there were claims from Africa, South America, and South Asia about sightings of a red dragon (Athrun had modified the paint scheme).
Some mercenaries even reported being severely injured and hospitalized after alleged dragon attacks.
However, these injuries all turned out to be normal impact wounds. The only case with animal bite marks was verified to likely be from the victim's own German Shepherd.
Therefore, governments paid little attention, though certain interested parties noticed that many injured were mercenaries they had hired.
Moreover, many mercenaries had inexplicably exposed their whereabouts and been captured.
By now, those attempting to sabotage the Earth Sphere Peace Accord realized their plans might have been compromised.
Still, these people were fanatics—even if their entire plan landed on various national security agency desks, they wouldn't abandon it.
Additionally, Athrun could only target mercenaries operating on Earth, and Reid's provided list didn't cover all involved personnel.
So the attack plans continued advancing.
However, Reid's two other safeguards were successfully deployed.
Mu and Jane Houston piloting the New Misurugi Kingdom's new mass-production models for perimeter security was standard procedure.
Each of the five signatory nations holds the authority to deploy security personnel, though these Mobile Suits are required to mutually monitor one another to ensure none approach the signing venue, primarily operating to secure the perimeter.
As for Lacus's Diva Gundam, after a thorough review of its systems and armaments by representatives of the five nations, it was naturally granted clearance.
After all, Lacus's identity makes her particularly suited to offer solace to the spirits of Junius 7 at this time, and selecting this location for the peace treaty signing inherently carried similar sentiments.
(End of Chapter)