Once Reid decided on the future direction of the war, he immediately gathered the assessment mission's expeditionary force.
Of course, Neil Dylandy, Lichtendahl Tsery, and Christina Sierra also formed a "family visit" team, preparing to go back and report that they were safe.
In addition, Reid dismantled the hangar in the Gran Chaos originally used for storing the Mass-Produced GM Astrays, along with a portion of the engineering area, and placed Veda Unit 2 directly inside the warship.
Reid's objective was clear. He predicted that upon his reappearance, Ribbons would inevitably use the Veda he now fully controlled to wage electronic warfare.
As long as Celestial Being's Veda initiated an intrusion, Hoshino Ruri and Nein, who possessed equivalent computing power, would not lose. At the very least, they would be able to probe the general area where the Celestial Being was hiding, preparing for the trouble he would cause them in a future mission.
Normally, with the Hermes Zero having entered the Hall of Fame and its special systems removed for a major external overhaul, Reid should have designed a new Mobile Suit for himself. However, he had been busy with the war preparations and lacked inspiration, so he hadn't designed a new one. He planned to pilot the Gundam Artemis for this mission.
With the initial preparations complete, Reid once again initiated the transmigration from within the modified Gran Chaos.
In the next second, the Gran Chaos was transported to an unknown sea.
Upon arriving at the new location, Hoshino Ruri immediately reported, "Position confirmed. Former Human Reform League's South Asia region. The location of the Earth Federation's anti-government forces containment prison has been confirmed, five kilometers directly ahead."
After Hoshino Ruri finished, Neil, inside the Dark Hunter Gundam, called up the ship's external surveillance feed and grumbled, "We're back just like that? And four years have passed. It doesn't feel real at all."
Christina, temporarily reprising her old role as a CIC operator, rapidly manipulated the ship's computer. "We really are back," she replied as she looked at the screen. "Many of the accounts I left on the internet haven't been deleted, and it's true that four years have passed. It's just that, even though the Earth Federation was established, the Earth somehow feels even more chaotic."
Hearing Christina's words, Reid interjected, "This is the result of forcibly unifying the globe through sheer military power. With so many ethnicities, cultures, and factions on Earth, it's not so easy to make everyone let go of their prejudices and relinquish the power in their hands."
Reid's words were a bit profound, and no one else on the bridge could respond. Lichtendahl changed the subject. "Chairman, you said we'd run into Celestial Being on every mission. So will they come this time too?"
Reid nodded and replied with a smile, "Naturally. Christina should have already found out that Allelujah Haptism is being held in that containment facility. Lichtendahl, move the ship onto land first. Something is about to fall from the sky. Also, the old rules apply for this mission: we don't make a move until the Otherworld Entanglement appears. If you want to catch up with old friends, wait a bit. There will be a chance."
With Reid's order given, the others naturally had no objections, including the three former Celestial Being members. Since they were already back in their original world, they weren't in a rush to report their safety to their former comrades. After all, everyone had thought they were dead for four years.
And Celestial Being did not keep Reid and the others waiting long.
Not long after the Gran Chaos moved over the land with its Obscurant Umbrella System active, the Ptolemy II came roaring down, its GN Field engaged. It plummeted from high altitude like a meteor, firing a shot at the Earth Federation's anti-government forces containment prison as it descended at high speed, announcing its arrival.
This location had been deliberately exposed to Celestial Being by the Earth Federation's special security force, A-Laws. Their goal was to lure them out with a former comrade after the Gundams reappeared and then annihilate them.
Therefore, a Guyana-class Land Battleship that had long been in position nearby (it could actually fly, just not very fast) immediately opened fire on the plummeting Ptolemy II.
However, the Ptolemy II showed no signs of decelerating, even as it neared the ground.
Trying to hit a target falling from space at high speed with a fixed-trajectory GN Beam Cannon from the side was a fool's errand.
And so, the Ptolemy II truly did crash into the ocean like a meteor, throwing up a water column hundreds of meters high and bringing a small tsunami to the nearby prison.
Watching this classic scene, Reid couldn't help but applaud in praise. "Using the GN Field to negate the impact of a super-high-speed collision with the water's surface ensures a rapid descent while also stunning the enemy, preventing them from immediately attacking the submerged target. At the same time, the tsunami disrupts the prison's defensive formation and draws most of their attention, allowing the Gundams, which already detached after entering the atmosphere, to launch a surprise attack. A reckless plan that kills three birds with one stone."
At Reid's words, Christina, who was on good terms with Sumeragi, naturally chimed in with a smile, "That's Miss Sumeragi's style. But Chairman, how could you tell the Gundams left the ship after entering the atmosphere?"
Just as Christina's voice fell, the Seraphim Gundam and 00 Gundam descended from the sky. However, all the firepower of the Guyana-class Land Battleship was now directed at the submerged Ptolemy II, resulting in only sporadic anti-air fire being directed at the two Gundams.
At the same time, Hoshino Ruri also located the Cherudim Gundam, which was already lying in ambush on a distant cliff, preparing to snipe. She projected the image onto the bridge screen.
The moment Neil saw the Cherudim Gundam, he immediately asked, "That's the successor to the Dynames, right? It's already been deployed for battle? Who's the pilot? Could it be Lasse Aeon?"
Reid, of course, knew who the pilot was, but he didn't tell Neil directly. Instead, he said, "Neil, don't be hasty. When you make your appearance, you can just ask who the pilot is yourself. For now, let's just keep watching the show."
While the people on the Gran Chaos were talking, Setsuna had already piloted the 00 Gundam into the prison. The Seraphim Gundam had activated its GN Field, acting as a fixed turret and shield to protect both Mobile Suits.
Of course, A-Laws' Mobile Suits also launched from the Guyana-class Land Battleship. However, Reid was surprised to discover a Mobile Suit among them that he didn't recognize.
To be precise, this Mobile Suit clearly resembled the GM series, but it wasn't a GM from another universe. It felt like it had been modified from a GM.
Reid quickly had Hoshino Ruri investigate what was going on with this Mobile Suit and received an answer that made him not know whether to laugh or cry.
This Mobile Suit was a copy created from the wreckage of the Mass-Produced GM Astray that he had left behind in space during the final battle of Celestial Being's destruction four years ago.
Since Reid had destroyed all the large pieces of wreckage before he left, the Earth Federation had only managed to obtain some metal fragments. However, they had reverse-engineered the Foam Metal formula from these fragments.
After in-depth research, the Earth Federation labs here had used Foam Metal Technology to greatly reduce the weight of the E-Carbon. Then, using the appearance of the Mass-Produced GM Astray from video recordings, they had created this Mobile Suit, whose design clashed jarringly with the other A-Laws Aheads.
However, this Mobile Suit's firepower was clearly not weak. The two Large GN Cannons on its back and the GN Missile pods on its body gave it far superior firepower to the Ahead, putting immense pressure on the Seraphim Gundam.
Unfortunately, there was only one of these Mobile Suits, and with timely support from the Cherudim, Setsuna still completed his mission in time.
The Arios Gundam was also launched and soon joined the battle against A-Laws. Subsequently, the 00 Gundam reactivated. With that, A-Laws was forced to retreat, and Sumeragi's planned mission was considered complete.
However, this was an assessment mission node given by the system. Things would never end so simply.
Just as the three Gundams flew into the sky, a thick layer of clouds suddenly appeared, completely blocking the sunlight and plunging the entire area into darkness.
At the same time, several enormous Sea Dragon Twisters instantly whipped up on the ocean's surface, accompanied by a massive whirlpool.
The Ptolemy II, deep beneath the sea, struggled with all its might to keep from being dragged into the whirlpool by the chaotic currents.
Feldt, the CIC operator, looked at the various parameters displayed on the system and couldn't help but exclaim, "This unscientific energy fluctuation... it's an Otherworld Entanglement!"
Kati Mannequin, in the Guyana-class Land Battleship, reached the same conclusion. Her mouth fell open as she murmured, "Otherworld Entanglement... It's been gone for four years, and now this phenomenon has reappeared with the return of the Celestial Being Gundams? Does that mean the SDP will reappear as well?"
Kati Mannequin's judgment was not wrong.
Soon, a black, portal-like space appeared in the center of the ocean whirlpool, and several Mobile Suits flew out of it.
Reid took one look and knew the system was messing with him again.
MSW-004 Full Armor Akahabak Gundam, RX-110NT-1 Kapooly Muninn, MSS-008 Swan Gundam, Z Plus A1 (Amuro Ray's custom unit), FA-010A FAZZ, and MSA-0011(Ext) Ex-S Gundam.
All six of these were Side Story Mecha. However, among them was an overly powerful Newtype.
The Z Plus A1. Reid was absolutely certain that Amuro Ray was piloting that orange and white Mobile Suit. He could feel the powerful Newtype fluctuations of a berserk Amuro even from a great distance.
Although Amuro during the Zeta era was in a relatively weaker period of his life after becoming a proficient MS pilot, he was still Amuro, no matter how weak.
Thus, Reid immediately gave the order, "Same as always, all units, sortie. Neil, Lichtendahl, Christina, if you three want to report your safety to Celestial Being, you'd best do it in the short time before the battle starts. It won't be suitable for chatting once the fighting begins. Also, be wary of the A-Laws' Mobile Suits. They might attack us directly this time. But don't be polite. If you are attacked, you are authorized to counterattack immediately. No need to hold back."
With that, Reid left the bridge to prepare to launch in the Gundam Artemis.
The moment Reid said they could contact Celestial Being, Christina immediately connected to their internal channel and said, "Hi, this is Christina. Did everyone miss me?"
Christina's action gave everyone on the Ptolemy II a huge shock.
The crew of the Ptolemy II was already in a state of surprise over the reappearance of the Otherworld Entanglement, but hearing the voice of a dead person was definitely more frightening.
However, Feldt, who had matured a lot over the past four years, suddenly realized something and immediately requested a video call.
With Hoshino Ruri's permission, Christina provided a split screen of herself, Lichtendahl, and Neil.
When all three of them appeared on the screen in the Ptolemy II's command room and on the screens of the several Gundams, everyone fell silent.
In the end, it was Neil who broke the ice. "Why is everyone so quiet? I thought I'd get a flood of tears this time. But is that Lyle piloting the new Dynames? You've grown up in four years."
At Neil's words, Tieria couldn't help but speak, though what he said was, "Lockon Stratos, I'm currently considering how many times to punch you when we meet later."
Neil just laughed and said seriously, "When I have the time, when we can really meet face-to-face, you can punch me as many times as you want. But it's probably not going to happen this time."
Hearing this, Setsuna also guessed the situation of these three people he had thought dead for four years, so he asked directly, "Lockon Stratos, Christina Sierra, Lichtendahl Tsery, have you three joined the SDP?"
Since Setsuna had asked, Christina naturally wouldn't hide it. She directly revealed what she was allowed to say. "It's been four years, and you're still so direct, Setsuna. But you guessed right. The three of us were recruited by Mr. Reid during that battle four years ago. He was so forceful back then. He said, 'Die in this cold universe, or submit to me, obey my commands, and I will grant you new life. The choice is yours.' I promised Feldt I wouldn't die, so of course, I could only choose to submit."
At that moment, Reid, who was eavesdropping on the entire conversation, suddenly had a constipated expression. This Christina was completely ruining his reputation. Although the general process was more or less correct, when had he ever said something so chuunibyou?
However, as annoyed as Reid was, he couldn't just interrupt and reveal that he was listening in. He could only endure it.
Hoshino Ruri and Nein, who were also listening in, saw Reid's frustrated but helpless expression and began to giggle.
Fortunately, Sumeragi on the Ptolemy II quickly replied. She was now genuinely crying. "Then why haven't we heard anything from you for four years? I thought you three were really dead. I blamed myself for so long... sob, it's so good that you're all alive."
Hearing Sumeragi's sobs, Christina quickly comforted her. "Miss Sumeragi, don't cry. It's not that we didn't want to let you know we were safe, but we had no way to contact you for the past four years. I can't tell you the specific details, and you shouldn't ask. In short, we're doing pretty well right now."
Hearing this, Sumeragi also guessed the situation. The organization behind the SDP must have restricted their activities.
However, this wasn't the right time to continue this discussion. She planned to have a good talk with Reid later to see if she could pay some price to buy the three of them out and grant them their freedom.
But even if Sumeragi didn't ask, someone else did. Lyle Dylandy asked directly, "Brother, are you unable to leave the SDP? Will you disappear again after this mission is over?"
Neil didn't hide it and admitted directly, "Yes, from now on, I can only work for Mr. Reid, so I won't appear before you unless necessary. This call was mainly to let you know we're safe. I'm sorry for making you think I was dead for four years."
(End of Chapter)