Bogotá, South America. After the joint ZAFT and South American Union forces retreated, the city was occupied by the Atlantic Federation and subsequently used as a base of operations for their offensive into the southwestern regions of South America.
However, since the arrival of the Minerva, ZAFT's front line had been steadily pushing back, and they would soon be at the gates of Bogotá once more.
The man Reid was looking for, Neo Roanoke, was stationed here, leading the new Three young aces.
In truth, Reid found this ZAFT counterattack rather strange.
Because based on the Minerva's combat strength alone, even if the Atlantic Federation's current warships weren't as advanced as the Minerva, it was still just a single ship.
The outcome of the battlefield still depended on Mobile Suit combat. Even if Heine and his two comrades, who had been nearly thrashed near the Junius 7 wreckage, were spurred on by their shame to strive for improvement, it would be an exceptional performance for them just to tie down Neo Roanoke and the new Three young aces. How could they possibly be counterattacking?
Although intelligence reports indicated that the Minerva had brought a group of elite aces when it descended to Earth.
But Reid wondered what kind of elite aces could possibly compensate for the combat power gap created by the Minerva's loss of Athrun and Shinn, especially when the opposing Neo Roanoke was clearly much stronger than his original counterpart.
However, after entering South America and slowly making his way to the front lines while rescuing civilians, Reid learned from the ZAFT garrisons stationed in the cities along the way that the elite aces the Minerva had brought were, in fact, four Special Flame Tigers clad in what looked like medieval knight armor.
It was these four Special Flame Tigers that held back the Exass Aegis, Chaos, Gaia, and Abyss, allowing the Minerva's Heine team to focus on dealing with the grunts. That was how they had pushed the front line all the way back.
Since entering South America, Reid had been in disguise, wearing a full-face mask and using a voice modulator to make his voice sound more like a middle-aged man's. He then stayed behind Lacus, acting as her guard alongside Shinn.
Therefore, when the ZAFT soldiers spoke with Lacus, their faces beaming with honor, they didn't shy away from this strange man at all.
After all, wasn't it perfectly normal for Miss Lacus to have a guard who looked like he wasn't to be trifled with?
And Reid was a very competent guard. After all, the work of rescuing refugees wasn't always met with grateful thanks.
A crowd of refugees who had been starving for days was far more troublesome than an armed group like bandits when they saw relief supplies.
The latter could just be shot down, while the former had to be handled with as little harm as possible.
Once refugees descended into a chaotic scramble for supplies, the men among them certainly wouldn't mind snatching the female members of the rescue team as part of the loot. And Lacus didn't have many people who could maintain order.
So Reid, the guard, truly had to perform the feat of single-handedly knocking down dozens of refugees whose eyes were glowing red with the intent to snatch food.
Still, with his skills, Reid was more than capable of taking down dozens of malnourished refugees bare-handed. So the journey was more or less uneventful, and the group arrived safely at the ZAFT frontline base near Bogotá.
According to the communications between Lacus and PLANT, several small towns around the city had a large number of civilians in need of rescue, and ZAFT clearly had no time to care about their survival.
Moreover, Durandal had repeatedly ordered not to harm civilians, so ZAFT found these civilians, whom they couldn't touch but had nowhere to send, to be an exceptional nuisance.
They knew the Atlantic Federation must have spies hiding among these civilians, passing on information.
So when Lacus proposed to go to the front lines to evacuate the civilians, the frontline ZAFT forces agreed with both hands raised.
Thus, after the Pink Cross and the Antietam-class ship transporting the civilians arrived at the frontline base, ZAFT immediately sent people to welcome Lacus.
However, when Reid saw the welcoming party of four from a distance, he instantly understood why the front line could be pushed back as soon as the Minerva arrived.
Orphee Lam Tao, Shura Serpente, Ingrid Tradoll, and Griffin Arbalest (the other Coordinators were all under 16 and couldn't be on the battlefield). Durandal had brought Aura's Coordinators over to be his muscle.
But on second thought, Aura had already shown her face in the New Misurugi Kingdom. After her de-aged state was exposed, a whole bunch of people were coveting her.
Although Aura herself had no desire to become what she was now, since she had stepped into the limelight, she had to face the covetous gazes of old men from various financial groups lurking in the shadows.
Under these circumstances, it was perfectly normal for Aura to seek refuge with Durandal. She might even be wholeheartedly helping Durandal perfect the Destiny System right now.
Besides, the birth of Newtypes had utterly outclassed Aura's Coordinators, making everything about them seem like a shoddy version of a Newtype. So it was natural for Aura to be willing to let them go in exchange for a place to stay.
However, watching Orphee Lam Tao stride quickly towards Lacus with shining eyes, Reid felt a primal sense of displeasure.
Although he had never touched Lacus himself, the outside world already considered her his woman. Orphee Lam Tao's current behavior was an attempt to poach her from him.
One could only say that while Reid's words said no, his heart was very honest. At this moment, he clearly considered Lacus his woman.
So Reid took a step forward, shielding Lacus behind him, and said sternly, "Halt! State your identities!"
Reid had ample reason for doing this. None of these four Coordinators were wearing ZAFT uniforms, but rather their own distinct outfits, making them look like foreign mercenaries.
They did have FAITH Badges on their collars, but as a non-ZAFT individual, it was perfectly normal for him not to recognize a FAITH Badge.
To put these Coordinators in their place, Reid even activated his Psychic Power as he spoke.
The Coordinators' mind-reading was uncontrollable, active 24/7, but they needed to focus on a specific target to read their thoughts in detail.
So the moment Reid unleashed his Psychic Power, they felt as if a monster was roaring in their souls. They stopped in their tracks, broke out in a cold sweat, and every cell in their bodies screamed at them to run.
However, Aura's training had been quite good. Although each of them subconsciously took a step or half a step back, after they calmed down, the leader, Orphee Lam Tao, still bowed and said, "Pardon my rudeness. My name is Orphee Lam Tao. I am the officer sent to receive Miss Lacus."
Hearing this, Reid deliberately pretended not to know them and continued to ask sternly, "A ZAFT officer? Then why aren't you in uniform? I wasn't aware ZAFT had uniforms like the ones you're wearing."
Evidently, Reid's earlier display of power had made Orphee Lam Tao restrain his temper. He patiently showed the badge on his collar and explained, "We are FAITH, appointed by Chairman Durandal. The Chairman has granted us special permission to not wear uniforms while in the military. Miss Lacus should recognize this badge. She should be able to prove that I am not lying."
With the conversation at this point, Reid had no leverage and could only pretend to turn back to Lacus to confirm the information.
Since Reid was in front of her, blocking Orphee Lam Tao's Psychic Power, Lacus did not fall into a daze as she did in the original movie.
However, Reid's actions just now had surprised Lacus greatly. Because Lacus felt as if Reid was... being possessive?
Besides, how could Reid possibly not recognize a FAITH Badge? His actions just now must have been deliberate.
Lacus naturally wouldn't embarrass Reid here, so she decided to talk to him privately later. She played along, saying, "Yes, that is indeed a FAITH Badge, representing the trust of the PLANT Chairman. Privileges such as not wearing a uniform are possible."
After Lacus spoke, Reid naturally took the cue to back down, silently stepping behind Lacus again, but he did not retract his Psychic Power.
Now it was Orphee Lam Tao's turn to be awkward. He could only walk forward, bracing himself, the cold sweat on his back soaking through his clothes.
After finally reaching Lacus, Orphee Lam Tao extended his hand and said, "Miss Lacus, your guard has a very strong presence."
Lacus naturally wouldn't refuse such a formal handshake, so she extended her hand and said, "Please forgive him, Mr. Tao. My guard just looks a bit fierce."
Lacus clearly didn't realize what would happen when she took Orphee Lam Tao's hand. The moment they touched, she fell into a daze.
But Reid had been watching for this exact moment. He instantly linked with Lacus using his Newtype telepathic abilities.
Orphee Lam Tao had intended to use their naturally compatible psychic energies to charm Lacus, but he ended up crashing headfirst into Reid's Psychic Power, which had just connected. The result was predictable.
Orphee Lam Tao felt as if his head had slammed into a steel plate. He instantly saw stars, his head spinning. He couldn't even stand steady. His legs gave way, his hand went limp, and he plopped onto the ground.
Lacus also recovered from her momentary trance. For a split second, she had felt a strange, uncontrollable urge to embrace Orphee Lam Tao, but in the next instant, it was as if Reid was standing before her, and the strange feeling vanished.
When her consciousness returned, Lacus saw Orphee Lam Tao sitting on the ground, his face a mask of pain and terror.
Orphee Lam Tao's state startled the other three Coordinators, but only Ingrid Tradoll managed to overcome her instinctual fear. She rushed to Orphee Lam Tao's side, helped him up, and asked anxiously, "Orphee, what's wrong? You look terrible. Should I call a medic?"
Seeing Orphee Lam Tao, who had tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice, Reid was filled with contempt. Trying to dig at his wall, even trying to cuckold him. If the situation weren't inappropriate, Reid would have made sure this guy could only be "sisters" with Lacus from now on.
Although Reid was already thinking about how to make Orphee Lam Tao refer to himself and Lacus as sisters in the future, and let his other Coordinator "brothers" have some fun, his actual action was just to add insult to injury verbally.
"This Mr. Tao seems a bit weak. Young people should eat properly too, otherwise hypoglycemia doesn't care how young your body is. Chairman Durandal's trust shouldn't be betrayed by hypoglycemia. This lady, please take Mr. Tao to rest. We can wait on the ship for the next reception party."
With Reid's words, Lacus instantly understood that something must have just happened, otherwise Reid wouldn't be telling these people to leave. After all, one guide was enough, and there were still two others.
So Lacus said with a smile, "Yes, Mr. Tao, you should go and rest. I will contact the frontline commander, Captain Talia, to explain the situation."
After speaking, Lacus turned and returned to the Pink Cross, leaving the four Coordinators to stand in the wind.
Back on the warship, the moment the door closed, Shinn, who had been holding it in for a long time, blurted out, "Heavens, aren't PLANT's FAITH supposed to be the elite of the elite? I didn't know they could be so weak. This is the first time I've seen someone collapse from hypoglycemia just by shaking hands."
Reid looked speechlessly at Shinn, who genuinely believed Orphee Lam Tao had collapsed due to hypoglycemia. He could only say, "Shinn, go to the mess hall and get some water and sandwiches. Heaven knows when the next ZAFT reception party will arrive. We need to eat something, lest we also get weak-kneed from hypoglycemia."
Shinn was quite gullible. He had no idea Reid was trying to send him away and replied directly, "Roger, I'll go right away."
With that, Shinn hurried off towards the mess hall.
After Shinn was far enough away, Lacus looked at Reid and asked with a beaming smile, "So, shall we talk in your room or mine? Reid, you need to explain to me what just happened."
Reid nodded and said directly, "Let's go to your room. The captain's quarters (Andrew Waltfeld, who was commanding the ship, was the vice-captain) are soundproof, and people usually don't pass by."
Lacus didn't mind Reid going to her room, so she naturally had no objections.
After the two returned to the captain's quarters and sat down, Reid explained the whole story to Lacus, though he concealed the fact that Lacus and Orphee Lam Tao were naturally compatible. He only said that he had discovered Orphee Lam Tao's Psychic Power had a charming effect and that they didn't seem to be normal Coordinators.
With this explanation, Lacus immediately misunderstood that Orphee Lam Tao and the other three were products of some secret PLANT laboratory. But a man with a charming ability... that was truly disgusting.
One could only say that a few words from a jealousy-triggered Reid had caused Lacus's impression of Orphee Lam Tao to plummet to freezing point.
In the future, no matter what strange feelings Lacus might have for Orphee Lam Tao, she would assume it was him trying to charm her.
It should be known that Orphee Lam Tao's charm over Lacus was not absolute; Lacus could still resist it with her own consciousness.
Now, this guy would have no chance to take advantage of Lacus while her guard was down.
However, after the serious business was over, Lacus suddenly seemed to realize something. She walked up to Reid, took off his mask, and said with a grin, "So, you were so worked up just now, Reid. Were you jealous?"
Reid felt that Lacus's current posture and angle were a bit dangerous. Bogotá was near the equator, so the temperature outside was high, and Lacus was already dressed in relatively light clothing.
As she bent over now, her collar couldn't hide the scenery within.
To be honest, after two years of development, Lacus was no longer the girl who was far more cute than sexy.
Now that Lacus had some assets, as she bent over, Reid suddenly thought, those two water bags are so fair... no, they're two fair water bags.
And Lacus was clearly letting Reid's eyes wander deliberately. Even though her cheeks were flushed red with shyness, she didn't move.
So Reid decided this girl was playing with fire. He impulsively chose to recruit her, then asked, "Lacus, have you really decided to tie the rest of your life to me?"
Lacus knew Reid could communicate telepathically, so she didn't think much of the words that suddenly appeared in her mind. She just said with a smile, "Of course. I made that clear almost two years ago."
With Lacus's words, the recruitment was naturally complete.
In that case, Reid didn't hold back. He smoothly pulled Lacus into his arms and kissed her on the lips.
However, just as the deep kiss ended and Reid was preparing to scale new heights, the doorbell of the captain's quarters rang. Shinn's voice was left as a message outside.
"Chairman, Miss Lacus, I've brought the sandwiches and water."
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