Chapter 24 The Big Spender Arrives—No, the "Sugar Daddy" Arrives 

On the second day of PLANT's visit to the New Misurugi Republic, the Earth Alliance's massive transport ship arrived as scheduled.

Yes, unlike PLANT's small shuttle, the Earth Alliance brought a colossal transport vessel one-third the size of a military mothership. Of course, this transport was unarmed—it was simply that large because they had brought so many people.

At first glance, Reid almost thought the Earth Alliance had organized a massive tourist group, with George Allster, the Undersecretary of Atlantic Federation Affairs, as the tour leader.

However, when the Fifth Fleet escorted this transport, they clashed briefly with the five Nazca-class ships protecting Patrick. Three Drake-class escorts were destroyed, and over a hundred Moebius units were shot down. Meanwhile, ZAFT's elite forces only suffered damage to about a dozen GINNs—all successfully recovered, with no pilot casualties.

This was the inevitable outcome when the Earth Alliance's regular forces faced ZAFT's most elite units. To ensure the safety of Siegel and Patrick, half of the MS pilots on those five Nazca-class ships were Red Coats, piloting GOUFs as squadron leaders, while the remaining Green Coats were also top-tier soldiers. Such results were only natural.

This was the first act Reid had asked PLANT to perform—to make the Earth Alliance believe that PLANT was extremely reluctant to let them engage with the New Misurugi Republic.

The battle, however, was only a brief skirmish. Reid personally took to the battlefield in a Union Flag, first charging in as an MA before transforming into MS mode and intercepting several missiles mid-flight. Then, over open comms, he accused ZAFT of violating diplomatic protocols.

In the end, ZAFT pretended to receive orders from command and, under Reid's pressure, reluctantly agreed to allow only one transport ship through while blocking all other vessels.

Thus, despite trembling in fear, the Earth Alliance delegation had no choice but to board an unarmed transport and cross ZAFT's defensive line.

Reid escorted the transport all the way to Star Palace. Through the monitors, he could practically feel the excitement radiating from the ship—its windows were packed with people, many with eager, gleaming eyes.

So when the transport safely docked and Reid descended to greet the delegation, George Allster was unbelievably deferential—so much so that one might mistake Reid for a head of state.

But this was still part of the act. Reid had deliberately kept Angie from attending the reception for the Earth Alliance delegation. After all, the original Misurugi Empire had ostensibly been undermined by certain Eurasian Federation politicians exploiting the food crisis, leading to the monarchy's overthrow.

Moreover, Reid wanted the Earth Alliance to sense internal divisions within the New Misurugi Republic regarding their presence. This way, they would lower their guard around factions perceived as pro-Earth Alliance, making future negotiations smoother.

As for Angie's absence from the welcoming ceremony, George Allster quickly rationalized it. After all, as Reid had explained, PLANT's Defense Committee Chairman was present—someone of his rank simply couldn't compare in importance.

However, Reid's official identity was merely the leader of a mercenary group. It took quite some time to explain before the Earth Alliance delegation finally grasped the relationship between Reid and Ange.

Fortunately, once the delegation learned that Reid was the designer and chief engineer of the Union Flag, they became even more enthusiastic. Technical directors from various military-industrial enterprises came to greet him, turning what was supposed to be a welcoming ceremony into an impromptu technical seminar on the Union Flag.

With the system's assistance and by brushing off many details as classified, Reid managed to avoid exposure.

After all, those specialized topics were beyond the comprehension of non-experts, who couldn't even name the terms correctly. For instance, the actual diplomats from the three major federations didn't understand a single word but kept nodding in agreement on the sidelines, praising Reid's expertise.

But Reid couldn't afford to waste time here with these engineers. Seeing that he had successfully baffled them, he grabbed a megaphone from a nearby honor guard member and shouted like a real tour guide:

"Alright, everyone has seen enough of the port, right? Princess Angelise is currently accompanying PLANT's Military Chairman Patrick Zala to watch a simulated battle between the Union Flag and the GINN. Please cooperate with our staff to disarm, then follow me to the training grounds."

The Earth Alliance delegation wasn't sensitive about disarming. Princess Angelise was a legitimate member of European royalty—no matter how small the country, European royals were still high society, attending exclusive gatherings even top politicians couldn't access. Europeans were very familiar with the disarmament protocol, and the East Asian Republic was even stricter, with civilian gun ownership banned. Only the Atlantic Federation delegates showed slight reluctance, but George Allster, well-versed in European royal customs, ordered his people to disarm, so no one dared disobey.

After smoothly collecting all the delegation's firearms, Reid escorted this "tour group" in a long convoy to the makeshift Mobile Suit training grounds, hastily set up on a barren field the day before.

Inside, a Mobile Suit military exercise was underway—Union Flags versus GINNs. This time, however, the GINN pilot wasn't Patrick's unlucky bodyguard but a temporarily released prisoner: Captain Legandre.

Legandre was quite baffled. After days of idle confinement, he was suddenly brought out and nearly had a heart attack upon seeing ZAFT's highest-ranking official, Patrick Zala.

Luckily, he soon learned it was just a simulated battle—a staged performance—and finally relaxed. Grateful, he thumped his chest and assured Reid that his acting would fool everyone, thanking him for the chance to meet the Chairman up close and redeem himself.

Reid, knowing this poor soul would inevitably be sent to the most dangerous frontlines by Patrick in the future, could only humor him now, urging him to perform well for a shot at promotion and fortune.

So when the Earth Alliance delegation entered the training grounds, they saw Noin piloting a Union Flag effortlessly "toying" with the GINN in the air.

And truth be told, Legandre's acting wasn't half bad. He pulled off several impressive maneuvers, but each time, the mobility gap between the GINN and the Union Flag ensured the training rounds missed by a mile.

After a "thrilling" Mobile Suit battle, the result was a regrettable defeat—only managing to inflict minor damage while exhausting all ammunition, against an opponent that remained unscathed.

Many in the Earth Alliance delegation watched the battle with tears in their eyes. Several who clearly held military positions nearly rushed over to Patrick in the distant stands, pointing at his nose to boast:

"Look, just look! This is the MS developed by us Naturals. Your Coordinators' GINNs are no match at all. You'll lose the war soon enough."

Patrick, a seasoned "veteran" in such matters, turned livid and berated Legendre harshly for the failed exercise. His roars could be heard halfway across the training field.

Once the scolding was over, Patrick promptly turned and left with his entourage.

After Patrick's departure, Angie finally "found time" to visit the Earth Alliance side. However, she now wore an air of indifference toward them, delivering a standard diplomatic spiel before instructing Reid to host the visiting delegation first, claiming she needed to discuss cooperation matters with Patrick later.

This left the Earth Alliance delegation in a frenzy, but Reid smoothly managed to calm these big spenders—no, these "generous sponsors"—addressing George Allster with:

"My apologies, Administrator Allster. Her Highness Ange has yet to recover from the tragedy of her parents and elder brother. Moreover, situated in space, even as a neutral nation, we cannot afford to provoke PLANT. That's also why, after our nation was attacked, we could only take ZAFT personnel as prisoners rather than execute them. I hope you can understand."

"By the way, you've all seen the MS demonstration. Shall we move to the conference room for further discussions? The New Misurugi Republic is in dire need of rebuilding, and I'm rather short on supplies."

George Allster, noticing Reid's clear pro-Earth Alliance stance and already well-versed in his background, could roughly guess the reasons behind it. Thus, he exceptionally gave Reid face, lightly brushing aside Ange's discourtesy. His priority now was to win Reid over—even if they couldn't obtain the Federation's flagship technology, luring Reid himself back would still count as a major achievement.

(End of Chapter)