Chapter 14: G-Invasion Module
The completion of the first phase of the main mission was certainly cause for celebration, but Reid had no time to rejoice—nor even to consider how to approach the second phase of the main mission. He didn't spare a thought for the captured crew or subsequent communications with PLANT either. All his attention was focused on the two newly unlocked modules.
To be precise, Reid was fixated on the G-Invasion Module, as the Base Building Module was exactly what it sounded like. Now, Reid could use the resources at hand to construct buildings directly within the Colony Satellite.
The system provided blueprints for every conceivable structure Reid could imagine, ranging from roadside public restrooms to industrial factories capable of producing Mobile Suits and mothership-class vessels. It even specified that constructing these buildings would come with a sufficient number of skilled native inhabitants assigned by the system.
For example, building a police station would allocate over thirty native police officers, while constructing a hospital would assign nurses and doctors according to its size. Factories would also come equipped with basic workers and essential machinery.
However, based on the current native population of the Colony Satellite, Reid couldn't expect these assigned personnel to be particularly capable. They would merely be competent enough to perform their basic duties. As for any tasks requiring intellectual development, the natives were entirely incapable.
Thus, Reid merely skimmed through the Base Building Module's introduction and set it aside for later discussion with Angie and Noin once they finished their tasks.
Next was the main attraction of the newly unlocked modules—the G-Invasion Module.
According to the system's brief explanation, this module allowed Reid to pilot a Mobile Suit or lead a force to directly intervene in specific timeframes of other worlds where humanoid MS battles were taking place, participating in certain events.
Three events would refresh each time, with the list updating only after completing the main mission. During this period, Reid could choose to enter at any time. Of course, the module wasn't mandatory—the system assured him there would be no penalties for not using it at all.
However, the duration of stay after intervention depended on the specific event, and only by examining the details of each event could Reid determine how long he could remain.
Currently, the system panel displayed three events, all set between UC0079 and UC0080.
-
UC0079, Southeast Asian Rainforest: The Mining Town vs. Zeon's Large MA Battle
-
UC0079, The Battle of Solomon
-
UC0080, SIDE6 Colony Satellite: Zeon's Cyclops Team's Gundam Destruction Operation
At a glance, Reid recognized all three events. The first was the final battle of MS 08th Team, featuring the iconic "Tiger King's True Man" arc and the climactic annihilation of the Apsalus (MA).
The second needed no introduction—the infamous Battle of Solomon, a pivotal conflict in the One Year War. The Earth Federation first unleashed the large-scale Solar Ray System, a devastating map-wide weapon, blasting a breach into the Solomon Fortress. Then, they flooded the base with an overwhelming swarm of GMs and Iron Balls, crushing the fortress's defenses through sheer numbers.
This battle saw the participation of the "White Devil" Amuro Ray in his early days, piloting the RX-78-2 Gundam. Zeon also deployed the colossal MA, the Big Zam.
The third incident was a small-scale battle at a neutral Colony Satellite, involving only a limited number of Mobile Suits from both the Earth Federation and Zeon forces. Dubbed the "War in the Pocket," it was the simplest of the three events.
Reid was well aware of the background and combatants for all three incidents, but the current problem was that he had no idea how the system would deploy him onto the battlefield.
What if the system played tricks and dropped him into the middle of the battlefield without any identity? He'd end up being attacked by both sides simultaneously. Moreover, he had no clue whether there would be missions after intervention or how to return.
Aside from the system's brief introduction, the only information Reid could gather was that by clicking on an event, he could see how many people and what kind of Mobile Suits he could bring along.
For example, all three missions had a basic requirement of only allowing C-rank or higher Mobile Suits to participate.
The final battle of the MS Squad 08 permitted him to bring two additional system-summoned individuals to form an MS Squad.
The Battle of Solomon allowed him to bring a fully equipped mothership, with as many people and Mobile Suits as he wanted—as long as the MS met the standards. Of course, all personnel had to be summoned by the system.
The War in the Pocket, however, only allowed Reid to enter alone with a single Mobile Suit.
From this, it was clear that the system had set a difficulty gradient among the three missions: the War in the Pocket was the easiest, MS Squad 08 was intermediate, and the Battle of Solomon was the hardest.
Truthfully, Reid dismissed the idea of intervening in the Battle of Solomon at first glance—where would he even get a mothership? Even if he reached the next phase of the main storyline, he had no confidence in acquiring a military-grade mothership.
Sure, he had just captured a ZAFT Laurasia-class Battleship, but he didn't even have professional crew members. Reid, Angie, and Noin were all MS pilot templates—if they boarded a mothership, they could only serve as the captain, gunner, or communications officer at best.
If he relied on the system to summon a full crew, how many people would that take? Even if basic maintenance and repair personnel could be recruited from the local population, how many summons would he need to gather enough specialists for the rest of the ship?
And if he had that many summons to spare, wouldn't it be better to summon more pilots and Mobile Suits to strengthen his armed forces instead? Investing in mothership personnel was not something he could afford in the early stages.
With the Battle of Solomon ruled out, only the MS Squad 08 and the War in the Pocket remained. Reid agonized over whether to scout the War in the Pocket alone first or bring Angie and Noin to reap rewards in MS Squad 08.
Given Angie's combat prowess, paired with the Union Flag—already specialized in aerial combat—this battle might actually be safer for him.
Deep down, Reid really wanted to choose the MS Squad 08 mission outright because of the sheer number of Mobile Suits involved. If every kill counted toward G-Coins, the potential rewards here far outweighed those of the War in the Pocket.
But Reid also realized he couldn't just coast on Angie's strength while he stayed in the rear, strategizing and giving orders.
After all, he was the system's host. What if there was a mandatory high-difficulty solo mission in the future? He'd be doomed on the spot.
After much deliberation, Reid decided to try out the G-Invasion Module in the War in the Pocket first—to figure out how it worked before anything else.
Of course, not right now. His MS piloting rating was only at beginner level—he couldn't possibly fight solely in MA mode within Colony Satellite SIDE6.
He'd need to train until his MS operation rating reached elite level before entering. Through Angie's performance in this battle, Reid had come to understand the purpose of having piloting ability ratings that exceeded standard specifications.
High-rated pilots could perform many counterintuitive, regulation-breaking maneuvers with lower-tier mobile suits without excessively damaging the units. For instance, Reid could execute high-speed emergency stops followed by 90-degree rapid descents when piloting the Moebius. But he couldn't do the same with the Union Flag, not even in MA mode.
Yet Angie could. During her battleship assault, the way she pushed the engines to their limits—if Reid had tried that, the engines would've overloaded and exploded within seconds. These small techniques represented the greatest distinction between pilot ranks. In actual combat, this translated to a qualitative gap in combat effectiveness even when both sides were using identical units.
(End of Chapter)