Chapter 69: Creuset Temporarily Exits, G-Series Development Data Obtained
During the period of intrigue between Reid, the Archangel, and the Eurasian Federation within Artemis Fortress, Creuset's squad stationed outside was also engaged in intense brainstorming.
Just like in the original storyline, shortly after the Archangel entered Artemis Fortress, Creuset received a summons order from PLANT's homeland to appear before the Council.
Creuset had stirred up quite a storm this time. After Noin successfully received the refugees, she naturally reported to their homeland about ZAFT's attack on the Colony Satellite which led to Ange and Reid's disappearance. Une immediately issued an extremely stern protest through PLANT's Star Palace office and began actively contacting the three major governing countries of the Earth Alliance.
PLANT was completely caught off guard. For the members of the Supreme Council, their reactions went something like this:
Day 1: Creuset's team discovered that Heliopolis might have a secret Atlantic Federation factory developing new Mobile Suits? Investigate! Turn the Colony Satellite upside down if you have to, but find out what's going on!
Morning of Day 2: What! Heliopolis was destroyed? By Creuset's team? How many casualties? You don't know? What the hell are you doing!!
Afternoon of Day 2: What! Creuset's team reports that Reid Isaac and Princess Angelise boarded an Atlantic Federation ship? There was an exchange of fire? And now they've escaped with the Atlantic Federation's ship?
Not long after, the New Misurugi Republic filed a protest? Because their national leaders went missing due to Creuset squad's attack? Wait, was the New Misurugi Republic dragged into this by Creuset's team? Get them back here immediately to explain!!
In short, Creuset needed to personally appear before the Council for debriefing this time. Whether he would face a court-martial or receive a light punishment depended entirely on how well he could explain himself.
Creuset knew that without finding a powerful backer this time, it would be difficult to get through this crisis. The destruction of Heliopolis was no small matter - space colonists would naturally feel sympathy for the destruction of a Colony Satellite. There were undoubtedly many within PLANT's military and civilian population demanding his punishment.
Moreover, the attack on the New Misurugi Republic couldn't be covered up. A simple check of the CGUE's records would reveal everything.
Creuset understood clearly that deleting records would only be a self-exposing bluff. Even if all members involved in the battle kept silent, Reid could still release his recorded footage later, which would spell disaster. If the council members felt deceived, they would only punish him more severely. It would be better to admit upfront that he had suspected the New Misurugi Republic's involvement and was merely testing them.
Thus, the charge of attacking political leaders of a friendly neutral nation would stick. Following the original plot, Creuset took Athrun back to PLANT for debriefing. Athrun was a key participant in this incident, being the only second-generation coordinator who actually fought inside Heliopolis.
Furthermore, Athrun's father was the Chairman of the Defense Committee. Creuset knew that Patrick Zala had never held favorable views toward Reid Isaac or the New Misurugi Republic, having advocated for controlling the Republic's national power in several meetings.
However, the New Misurugi Republic was simply too small to effectively control its national power. Moreover, it was at least nominally a neutral nation, so the Council had consistently rejected Patrick Zala's proposal.
Now was a perfect opportunity. Patrick Zala would never abandon Athrun Zala, which meant Reid could extricate himself from the situation and use this chance to join the core faction of Patrick Zala's supporters. (Fun fact: Creuset wasn't originally part of the Zala faction in PLANT; in fact, he had close ties to the genetic research institute under the jurisdiction of the Clyne faction.)
Thus, Creuset ordered the two Laurasia-class ships searching along the [Heliopolis—Star Palace Colony Satellite] route to return to Artemis Fortress. The Gamov would continue pursuing the Archangel as the temporary flagship, while he took Athrun and the damaged Vesalius back to PLANT.
After Creuset left, Selman, the captain of the Gamov, could only stare at the impenetrable Artemis Fortress—harder to crack than a turtle's shell—and call a tactical meeting with Yzak, Dearka, and Nicol (the only three Red Coats on board). He knew they absolutely couldn't repeat what had happened with the East Asian Republic. The Atlantic Federation's Mobile Suits had already surpassed ZAFT's current models by a generation. Even if mass production at this level wasn't feasible, the mere presence of a few more such units on the battlefield would inevitably put ZAFT at a disadvantage in localized engagements.
The first half of the meeting played out just like in the original. Captain Selman described how impregnable Artemis Fortress's defenses were—after all, the Photon Wave Barrier truly blocked both physical and beam attacks. Unless the attacking energy exceeded the barrier's limits, anyone facing this "turtle shell" would be left helpless.
Then Nicol added that the Blitz Gundam's Mirage Colloid System could infiltrate the fortress's exterior when the Photon Wave Barrier was down and destroy the light-wave generator.
As a result, just like in the original, the Gamov withdrew beyond visual range of Artemis Fortress and hid within the debris field.
But just as the operation was about to commence, the Gamov's long-range telescopes observed a sudden surge of Moebius units around Artemis Fortress, forming a tightly coordinated patrol alongside armed Mistral engineering vehicles. They began circling in near-seamless saturation coverage.
Captain Selman immediately halted the operation, calling the three back into the meeting room. Spreading out the star chart, he said,
"Nicol, the situation has changed. If Artemis Fortress's patrols are this tight, even if you infiltrate the surface, destroying the light-wave generator will be extremely difficult—and exceptionally dangerous. Even with Phase Shift Armor, the sheer impact from multiple physical hits could be fatal. Remember, during the time it takes for our Mobile Suits to reach Artemis Fortress, you'll be completely isolated."
After Selman finished, Nicol still seemed reluctant, insisting,
"Captain Selman, I can hit and run. Those Moebius units alone won't be able to stop the Blitz."
Seeing Nicol's persistence, Yzak—uncharacteristically refraining from snapping—added with a grim expression,
"Nicol, don't forget that Reid Isaac and Angelise Ikaruga Misurugi are also inside that fortress. If even one of them shows up, you won't be able to handle them alone. So reckless infiltration isn't an option."
When Yzak said this, his good friend Dearka looked at him with an expression as if he'd seen a ghost, his face practically screaming, "Bro, since when did you start using your brain?"
Yzak clearly read Dearka's expression and immediately flew into a rage, roaring:
"Bastard! What's with that look?! Do you think I can't analyze a battlefield?!"
Not wanting to argue further with his volatile friend, Dearka wisely turned away with a smile, feigning ignorance.
Fortunately, Nicol, acting as the peacemaker of this second-generation squad, stepped in to defuse the situation. Cutting off Yzak's interrogation of Dearka's attitude, he thoughtfully remarked:
"That complicates things. Yzak's right—I alone can't handle Princess Angelise, and there's also that Reid Isaac who defeated you in one round... But none of your mobile suits have stealth capabilities. How do we infiltrate while ensuring backup support? It's contradictory."
Yzak shot Nicol an exasperated look, as if to say, "When did this kid learn to throw shade?" But considering Nicol's personality, he likely hadn't meant it sarcastically. Suppressing his anger, Yzak replied:
"Simple. A fortress this size must require frequent resupply. When the next supply ship arrives, we'll attack it and let it flee back to the fortress. You can stealth under the transport ship—that way we'll get close to the fortress, and you can slip inside."
"Once you're in, just disable one or two wave emitters to create gaps in the energy barrier. We'll be able to reinforce you immediately. But this plan requires our full team. The three of us alone aren't enough. Reid Isaac is a despicable coward—he'll always gang up rather than fight fair. I suspect the tightened patrols around this fortress are his doing."
If Reid could hear Yzak's analysis now, he'd probably sigh, "Did getting tricked by me finally wake this kid up? Normally, he'd just charge at me roaring in blind rage next time we meet."
Truthfully, despite his temper, Yzak had always been sharp. In the original timeline, there was a reason he rose to White Uniform while Dearka remained his subordinate. Yzak's meltdown over Kira stemmed from knowing the Strike's pilot was a complete rookie—his pride couldn't stomach nearly being killed by an amateur.
But Reid posed no such issue. Having gained some renown in PLANT, especially after taking down four GINNs single-handedly during the Heliopolis ambush, Reid's reputation was well-earned. Losing to him was something Yzak could rationalize, allowing him to maintain analytical calm.
However, while Yzak remained composed, Reid was currently sweating bullets for a simple reason: how to convince his girlfriend—who could flatten him in a few moves—to approve him sharing a room overnight with two young women. The situation was urgent.
To be fair, Ange wasn't unreasonable. She knew if Reid had sent Flay and Miriallia away to discuss this privately, he couldn't possibly be planning anything unfaithful—unless he had a death wish.
However, as a woman, Ange admitted she could feel jealous too. Even though she was royalty and knew her father and brother had mistresses back in her original world, when it came to her own situation, she still couldn't help feeling somewhat resentful.
Reid was truly wronged here. His intention to take Murrue and Bargiruel out tonight was genuinely for business purposes, while also further lowering Gerard Garcia's guard.
After all, Gerard Garcia now believed he had leverage over Reid, which would surely make him relax his vigilance. He might even ease surveillance over the Archangel crew, since in his eyes, Reid had already "compromised" Murrue and Bargiruel, hadn't he?
The process of Reid coaxing Ange wasn't worth detailing. In the end, Reid was thrown out of the room—punishment for forcibly kissing Ange. There was no helping it; making Ange flustered was the only way to avoid her iron fists.
Besides, the fact that he was merely thrown out rather than left groaning on the floor proved Ange had tacitly approved his nighttime plans.
Before leaving, Reid quickly reopened the door and handed Ange a military communicator with a small display screen—exchanged from the system (these were standard in Mobile Suits; he'd just dismantled one to exchange). He told her to contact him anytime during the night, then made his escape before she could shoo him away again.
After leaving Ange's temporary quarters, Reid initially wanted to catch up with some old friends. But before he could find anyone, someone secretly slipped him a hard drive containing all the data Gerard Garcia had ordered copied from the Archangel's database.
With the drive in hand, Reid abandoned his reunion plans and immediately returned to the Archangel, where he requested three military-grade laptops from the Artemis Fortress engineers.
Since Gerard Garcia had already instructed that Reid could access non-classified supplies, acquiring the computers was effortless.
Reid then returned to the NT-X Gundam's cockpit and connected the hard drive.
His current inspection wasn't about the data itself—once brought to the Factory Module, the system could automatically extract all information regardless of encryption. The Atlantic Federation's G Project achievements were already in his grasp; swallowing them was just a formality now, making decryption efforts unnecessary.
Reid's real objective was to examine the hard drive's default ports and historical IP records from its original installed programs. Gerard Garcia had delivered the drive so quickly that its original programs must still be intact. This was a drive meant for the Artemis Fortress's main server—its default connection ports and IP would match those currently used by the fortress's primary server.
With this information and the engineers' access codes later, Reid could freely enter the Artemis Fortress's main server whenever he wished.
Sure enough, within minutes of searching, Reid found exactly what he needed. After recording the details, he shut down the computer.
He then stashed the hard drive containing the Archangel's data behind a panel in the NT-X Gundam's cockpit. After all, if the Gundam's cockpit got destroyed, he'd likely be dead anyway—where the data was stored wouldn't matter then.
After delivering the materials, Reid found Jocuri and handed over the three military-grade mobile computers that had arrived, instructing him to place them in the room Gerard Garcia had arranged for him and connect them to the room's network.
He then asked Jocuri to arrange for a guard to escort him to where the detained Archangel trio were being held.
The process went smoothly. Though Jocuri was only a staff sergeant, he had enough authority to handle such minor tasks reliably. Soon, Reid was led to the room where the Archangel trio were imprisoned.
However, two people were already at the door—Flay and Miriallia, whom Reid had earlier sent away. While shopping, Ange had picked up some feminine necessities for Murrue and Bargiruel, so the two had come to deliver them.
But the guards insisted on inspecting the items, which triggered Flay's aristocratic temper. After all, the purchases included undergarments, and she couldn't stand the thought of strange men rummaging through them before they were worn.
Naturally, Reid sided with those close to him rather than reason. Seeing the conflict escalate, and recognizing that these guards were likely Gerard Garcia's trusted subordinates—people he wasn't familiar with—he decisively intervened.
"Since when have male soldiers at Artemis Fortress taken an interest in women's clothing and cosmetics?" he remarked. "I've only been gone a year, and now you're all getting this bold?"
The moment Reid spoke, the two guards snapped to attention and saluted.
"Captain Reid, we were just following standard procedure. We meant no offense."
Reid looked at them with a smile.
"Is that so? Well, I'm going in now. Do you need to search me too?"
The soldier who had escorted Reid quickly whispered something to the two guards. They gave Reid a long look before responding.
"That won't be necessary. You may enter at any time."
Reid nodded and turned to Flay and Miriallia with a gentle expression.
"Alright, hand the things over. I'll deliver them to the captain and vice-captain. You two should hurry back to Ange and stay with her from now on. This is a military fortress—don't wander around."
The two heeded his words, especially Flay, who always played the obedient girl in front of Reid.
Once they had left, Reid pushed the door open and stepped inside, announcing theatrically:
"Hey, Murrue, Bargiruel, did you miss me? Now, come with me. Let's go do something… pleasantly stimulating."