The news that Orb had obtained two Minovsky Particle Fusion Reactors was jointly announced by the officials of both the New Misurugi Kingdom and Orb.
Regardless of whether the Orb government admitted it or not (in reality, only Cagalli refused to admit it), in the eyes of the various nations of the Earth Sphere, Orb was now a subordinate of the New Misurugi Kingdom.
However, the New Misurugi Kingdom was the kind of big brother that didn't like to meddle in affairs. It only guaranteed Orb's security and the stability of its government, concerning itself with nothing else.
This was actually directly related to Cagalli's immaturity.
In Cagalli's eyes, Orb was still a neutral nation, and there was no question of it being a vassal to the New Misurugi Kingdom.
Although the reason she could sit so securely in her position as Orb's Chief Representative was due to Reid's backing, Cagalli insisted that Orb was a neutral nation.
Reid was also aware of Cagalli's extreme lack of political acumen, so he didn't object to her insistence on Orb's neutrality. As long as the rest of the Orb government knew who the real boss was, it was fine.
Moreover, Reid had analyzed Orb's situation with Ange and Une.
Une expressed that Orb calling itself a neutral nation was actually advantageous for the New Misurugi Kingdom. Many things could be done by Orb under the banner of neutrality, and even if things went south, the Kingdom could easily extricate itself.
Reid's original plan for Orb was to serve as a buffer zone between the New Misurugi Kingdom and the Atlantic Federation, so naturally, he wouldn't object.
However, since Cagalli insisted that Orb was a neutral nation, she couldn't expect the New Misurugi Kingdom to provide substantial aid for Orb's reconstruction.
In reality, the New Misurugi Kingdom only provided humanitarian-level assistance for Orb's reconstruction. The rest was accomplished using the national assets left behind by the previous generation.
Several months had passed, and Orb's reconstruction was more or less complete; even the Mass Driver had been repaired.
However, the problem of its finances being unable to cover expenditures was now laid bare before Cagalli.
As an island nation, Orb relied almost entirely on external purchases for food and various industrial raw materials. These were hard expenses; failing to pay meant people would starve.
Orb's economic pillars had always been arms manufacturing and the production of some high-precision parts and equipment. At most, one could also count the freight fees collected for transporting materials into space for other neutral nations using its Mass Driver.
But the current situation was that Orb had been destroyed once. Its former partners for high-precision parts had long since found other factories for contract manufacturing in the past few months, and it would take some time for that business to return.
The Mass Driver had only just been rebuilt, and now there was a new competitor stealing its business.
This competitor was, naturally, the New Misurugi Kingdom.
With Orb's Dawn Company completely rebuilt, the New Misurugi Kingdom's new Carpentaria Base had also naturally completed its reconstruction.
It was worth noting that the New Misurugi Kingdom did not use the new Carpentaria Base purely as a military installation, but opened it to the world as a semi-commercial port.
In any case, many places in northern Australia were suitable for building Mass Drivers. Thus, Une changed the name "New Carpentaria Base" to "Carpentaria City" after less than a week, a clear sign of their intention to build a new port metropolis.
A port city capable of operating a Mass Driver—the whole world remarked that the New Misurugi Kingdom was indeed wealthy and extravagant.
One had to remember that the other few Mass Drivers on Earth were guarded like precious treasures, surrounded by layer upon layer of military restricted zones.
Just look at the Atlantic Federation, which was still desperately holding onto the yet-to-be-rebuilt Panama Base, because in their eyes, the cost of selecting a new site and building a new Mass Driver was too great.
Therefore, the moment Carpentaria City opened, it snatched away all of the Orb Dawn Company's Mass Driver business.
After all, Orb simply couldn't offer a deep-water port and supporting facilities on the same level as Carpentaria. Its national power was also no match for the New Misurugi Kingdom's. From a commercial perspective, Orb's Mass Driver was utterly crushed from every angle.
So, with Orb having lost two major sources of foreign exchange, what was the situation with its last pillar, the arms industry?
It was, naturally, a complete mess.
Orb originally held an absolute advantage in the mid-to-low-end arms market and often made achievements in the high-end market as well. The Dawn Company's reputation as the fifth-largest arms dealer in the Earth Sphere was not just empty talk.
But now, with the advent of the Mobile Suit era, the mid-range arms market was flooded with a massive number of GINNs and Strike Daggers.
PLANT and the Atlantic Federation were well aware that the GINN and Strike Dagger were Mobile Suits that would be completely obsolete in future wars.
Furthermore, the signing of the Earth Sphere Peace Accord required both sides to drastically reduce their military equipment.
Naturally, these obsolete products flowed into the arms market to recoup some costs.
Although the GINN and Strike Dagger were pure cannon fodder in the later stages of the last war, they were still absolute mainstays in regional conflicts.
After all, both models had been tested and tempered by war, boasting excellent practicality and stability.
In places like Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia, a faction with just three to five Mobile Suits could dominate a small city, as tanks were still the primary fighting force in those regions.
(Because of this dumping, all nations in the Earth Sphere completed their transition to Mobile Suits. By the timeline of the movie, the national defense of the small countries supported by Compass was still using GINNs and Strike Daggers.)
Therefore, Orb couldn't squeeze into the mid-range arms market at all. The M1 Astray was a minor player in the last war, and it didn't have a significant advantage over the Strike Dagger, while being considerably more expensive.
As for the low-end MS market, Orb wanted to cry just thinking about it, because the Mobile Suit currently dominating the low-end market was the MWF-JG71 Resta, also known as the "Civilian Astray."
However, although this Mobile Suit was called an Astray, it was a new model developed by the Junk Guild based on M1 Astray data obtained while supporting the Three Ships Alliance. Forty percent of its parts were directly interchangeable with the M1 Astray; only its head was replaced with one from the Dagger Series.
But the Resta's construction cost was much lower than the M1 Astray's because it was designed as a Mobile Suit for engineering work, allowing for further reductions in armor and mobility.
However, with a slight modification to the interfaces on its hands, this Mobile Suit could use a Beam Rifle. Even without modification, it could pick up a GINN's heavy machine gun and instantly transform into an armed MS.
So, the Junk Guild had essentially used Orb's technology to seize the low-end arms market share that should have belonged to Orb.
And Orb could only suffer in silence, because it was impossible to apply for an international patent for the technology used to build the M1 Astray, as that would be equivalent to publicly disclosing the technology of its own national defense Mobile Suit.
This incident directly led to Orb having to replace the M1 Astray, even in the face of financial difficulties, because the Mobile Suit no longer held any secrets from the outside world.
Competition for the remaining firearms, missiles, and the like was extremely fierce, so much so that no one was making much money.
As for the final high-end arms market, did Orb even have any high-end Mobile Suits to sell right now? Even if they dragged out the Akatsuki, others would just say the machine was flashy but impractical. (At least, before it demonstrated its ability to withstand Requiem's beam, most Gundam fans felt its cost-performance ratio was too low for its price.)
So, Orb's current financial situation was one of zero foreign exchange income and a torrential outflow of expenses. No matter how deep its coffers were, they couldn't withstand such a drain.
Therefore, under such dire financial circumstances and with her subordinates practically forcing her hand, Cagalli could only agree to the Dawn Company's plan to resume arms trade with the help of the New Misurugi Kingdom. This meant handing the New Misurugi Kingdom a rope that could one day be used to strangle Orb.
Thus, Erika Simmons, who was on the verge of becoming the head of the Dawn Company, had arrived in the New Misurugi Kingdom early on and had witnessed the public unveiling of the Minovsky Particle Fusion Reactor from start to finish.
Erika Simmons keenly sensed that this was Orb's opportunity and immediately applied to purchase them.
Since Une had long since received Erika Simmons's relevant application, while Reid was deliberately avoiding the three Earth Alliance nations and PLANT, the two of them had formulated several plans based on how the situation would unfold.
After confirming the progress of PLANT's Minovsky Particle research and finishing the meeting with the foreign ministers of the four powers, Reid immediately arranged a meeting with Erika Simmons.
Reid's attitude toward Erika Simmons, a mature woman he was already quite familiar with, was relatively relaxed.
After Erika Simmons entered the office, Reid dispensed with the pleasantries and directly opened the office refrigerator.
"Ms. Simmons, what would you like to drink? Coffee, cola, or the tea on the table?"
Seeing how friendly Reid was, Erika Simmons immediately felt that things would go well today and smiled.
"Coffee will be fine."
Reid liked his drinks iced. If not for the unfortunate implications of iced tea, he might have even served some iced cold-brew tea at certain meetings.
But in his own office, there was no need for such formalities. Reid directly handed Erika Simmons a can of iced coffee.
After they sat down, Reid took Erika Simmons's application from a drawer, looked at her, and said, "Ms. Simmons, I can understand why Orb wants Minovsky Particle Fusion Reactors. But for you to propose a purchase when the three Earth Alliance nations and PLANT didn't even dare to is truly surprising."
Hearing this, Erika Simmons smiled and replied directly, "Is it that surprising? The Orb Dawn Company is currently in no position to cooperate with your country on researching the Minovsky Particle Fusion Reactor, so naturally, we have to purchase them. We can't just expect to get them for free, can we?"
Reid chuckled at her response. It seemed Erika Simmons had a clearer head than the three Earth Alliance nations and PLANT.
Indeed, they had all proposed technical cooperation with the intention of trying to get the technology for free. Of course, it was just a feeler; after all, it cost nothing to try.
So Reid nodded and said seriously, "I like your straightforwardness. However, there's a problem with this application. For something like a Minovsky Particle Fusion Reactor, even if external purchases are allowed, their use must be restricted. You need to first tell me how many you intend to purchase and for what purpose."
Erika Simmons was not surprised by Reid's question. The intended use on the application report was simply stated as "for self-use," which left far too much room for maneuvering.
However, in order to break the awkward stalemate in Orb's arms market, Erika Simmons had no intention of hiding its intended use. She stated directly, "That depends on how many Minovsky Particle Fusion Reactors your country can provide. In any case, one of them will be used for the new Mobile Suit being developed for Kira. That Mobile Suit will be the Dawn Company's advertisement to reopen the arms market, so we must ensure our technology can be adapted to the new era of engines. If there are any extra, they will be used for some applied research. If there are still more, they will be installed in newly developed military Mobile Suits."
Reid nodded. Using a Minovsky Particle Fusion Reactor for Kira's new Mobile Suit was not a problem. Reid was quite looking forward to this Mobile Suit that didn't exist in the original story. In any case, the most Orb would get were obsolete reactors from the Z era, and they would definitely be fitted with anti-tampering safeguards.
As for applied research, since they were giving them the reactors, the other party would certainly study them.
In fact, Reid and Une never intended to hold onto the Minovsky Particle Fusion Reactors and not release them at all.
Since they had proactively revealed the reactor, they naturally had to exchange it for sufficient benefits.
Therefore, Reid said seriously, "Ms. Simmons, the uses you've described are within the scope of cooperation. However, since this is a purchase, may I ask what Orb plans to offer as payment? Don't mention money. I'm fully aware of Orb's economic situation. If you were to pay with money, you would have to bankrupt the nation. If you fail to quickly reopen the arms market, your government will go bankrupt. That is not in our country's interest."
When Erika Simmons heard Reid didn't want money, she knew he must have his eyes on something else. She said, "Then what does Mr. Reid think would be a suitable payment from Orb?"
Reid didn't want to give anyone grounds for gossip. It was always better for others to offer something up themselves than for him to ask for it.
So Reid spread his hands and said, "That's Orb's problem. I don't know what you are willing to give."
Erika Simmons had actually guessed what the New Misurugi Kingdom wanted. Seeing that Reid wouldn't speak first, she said, "Orb can share the Dawn Company's arms channels. If needed, the Dawn Company can even act as a white-label manufacturer."
Upon hearing this, Reid broke into a decisive smile. This showed that Erika Simmons was much more astute than Cagalli.
How could the New Misurugi Kingdom not want to enter a market as profitable as the Earth Sphere's arms industry? It was just that, in the arms market, the New Misurugi Kingdom could still only sell Chobham Armor.
The problem the New Misurugi Kingdom faced was similar to Orb's: it had no way to break into the mid-to-low-end arms market.
And to enter the high-end market, the New Misurugi Kingdom would have to disclose a lot of new technology.
Reid was unwilling to give away too much technology, not even something like magnetic coating.
Of course, the New Misurugi Kingdom now had the additional option of selling Minovsky Particle Fusion Reactors.
But Reid would certainly not sell the latest reactors; he wasn't even willing to sell the Z-era ones.
If Reid were to sell any, it would only be the old reactors from the UC 0079 era.
However, those reactors were far inferior to the one displayed in the exhibition hall. Selling them directly would have buyers screaming "scammer." After all, even if an export version's performance was nerfed, you couldn't just downgrade a world-class fighting champion to the level of a charlatan martial arts master.
However, if Orb was the white-label manufacturer, there would be no problem. They could supply Orb with two genuine reactors—one for Kira's new Mobile Suit and one for the Dawn Company to study, with troops stationed there for protection.
Those garbage-tier reactors could then be sold at exorbitant prices under the guise of being the Dawn Company's research products. The other four powers wouldn't be so desperate as to actually start a war over a reactor.
As for the money, it would naturally be a 90/10 split. The Dawn Company getting a 10% cut for just lending its name was already an extra bonus from Reid. According to Une, they would be willing to pay for this deal, as the attached conditions would allow them to re-enter the arms industry.
Thus, Reid only had to briefly mention this idea to Erika Simmons, and she immediately understood his meaning.
The only issue was that the New Misurugi Kingdom would station troops at the Dawn Company under the pretext of protecting the Minovsky Particle Fusion Reactors.
But this cooperation would grant them a large number of Minovsky Particle Fusion Reactors. Even if they were the most basic of basic versions, it would be enough for Orb's research on Minovsky Particles to soar, putting them ahead of every other nation except the New Misurugi Kingdom.
As for the subsequent political pressure, Erika Simmons felt that Cagalli needed this kind of high-intensity training. Otherwise, how could she quickly grow into a qualified national leader?
Therefore, Erika Simmons immediately agreed to all of Reid's demands, stating that she would return to her country at once to persuade Cagalli.
Erika Simmons was highly efficient. She managed to convince Cagalli in a single day (upon hearing they could obtain nuclear fusion furnaces, Cagalli's proposal to oppose the stationing of troops was instantly vetoed by a coalition of the other families), and subsequently announced the cooperation to the entire world.