Thus, He Kui officially joined Winslet's company. His identity was now secure, with a fabricated backstory of a talented, self-taught prodigy with a somewhat withdrawn personality.
"By the way, sis, your jamming device was pretty amazing too," Lasse mentioned, after settling the quiet and reserved He Kui into a guest room.
"What do you mean?" He Kui asked.
"The jammer!" Lasse quickly recounted the incident at the mechanical pet store.
"That person is... interesting," Winslet mused, thinking deeply. A talent of this level, appearing in such a remote area and wearing a mask that hid her face, seemed unusual. However, her abilities were undeniable, and she clearly had no money to her name.
Winslet decided he would monitor her closely. Reporting her to Orb wouldn't bring him much benefit—if the Morgenroete Corporation seized her, he would lose a valuable resource.
On the other side of the world, in South America, He Kui had just finished tuning up Elena's system.
"This is amazing! It's so much faster!" Elena exclaimed, maneuvering the Short Dagger back to the hangar.
"Just don't push too far forward in combat," He Kui advised.
"Oh? Is A worried about me?" Elena teased as she climbed out of the cockpit. Watching her confident stance, He Kui remembered her bold marriage proposal. Others had called her the fiercest warrior in the region, and her skill seemed to justify that title. With the system upgrade, her piloting had reached elite Green Coat levels, rivaling some of his own team members.
He Kui's wrist communicator started to buzz. There was only one person who would contact him this way—the President. With a slight nod, he accepted the call.
"Miss A, I haven't had a chance to thank you for your help in the Panama defense," said President Rodriguez, a warm smile softening his hardened expression.
"I was just doing my duty," He Kui replied.
It was true, after all; as a mercenary, this was his job. Rodriguez's protection had allowed him to avoid ZAFT's capture attempts, granting him the opportunity for activities like the interview with Leroux.
"That may be, but it remains a fact that your efforts protected our base." Rodriguez shifted topics smoothly. "What's the status of the two units you downed?"
"They're intact, mostly. Except for the central control components, everything else is in good condition."
Rodriguez looked at him with a slightly scrutinizing gaze. A multipurpose operator who could upgrade systems and repair machines—it was an invaluable combination.
"If we could fully master this technology…" he thought. It would secure South America, and perhaps even more.
This was why ZAFT had agreed to observe rather than capture He Kui. If he were truly an engineered soldier willing to die at any time, capturing him would be pointless.
Rodriguez cleared his throat, focusing on the main reason he had called. "Regarding the fabrication equipment you requested, we've located some in the industrial zone. May I ask, are you capable of manufacturing mobile suits?"
"I can handle simple designs," He Kui replied.
The definition of "simple" was subjective, of course—most standard models would be manageable, but producing something like the Freedom would be out of reach without antimatter-deflecting tech or advanced materials.
"I understand. Do you think you could reproduce another Strike Gundam?"
"You should be aware we don't have many specialized units in South America. At the moment, just the elite MS piloted by Edward is covering Brazil, which has been quite challenging."
As for PLANT's support, they weren't about to station Gundams here. They had already reached their limit in supplying GuAIZ Rs and GINNs.
"Given our current materials, I could manage one more unit," He Kui said. "However, as for spare parts…"
"Not a problem," Rodriguez said confidently. "We can produce standard parts at our factories."
"Understood," He Kui replied, not needing to press the issue further.
"However, transforming mechanisms are complex, and standard operators will struggle to handle them."
"Could you improve the automation for transformations? In addition to payment for building the Gundam, we're prepared to offer…" Rodriguez held up two fingers. "Two million PLANT currency."
"...I'll do my best."
The payment was tempting enough. Two million was more than sufficient for him to purchase an abundance of supplies.
"That will be enough," Rodriguez said, visibly relaxing.
"There is one more issue. The Atlantic Federation might attempt to interfere in our internal conflicts, hoping to keep us bogged down here," he continued.
"Bogged down?" He Kui glanced outside at the towering mass driver. "Isn't that their main target?"
"Not just ours. Orb, East Asia, and Victoria also have mass drivers," Rodriguez explained. "The Atlantic Federation has pressured East Asia multiple times to secure their mass driver, but East Asia hasn't taken them seriously. They wouldn't dare risk an escalation with East Asia when they haven't even defeated us."
Rodriguez chuckled bitterly, his gaze lingering on the mass driver with a mixture of admiration and frustration. In his eyes was a flicker of envy. A strong nation wouldn't be easily manipulated.
South America's apparent struggle for survival masked deeper internal and external threats. And who was to say PLANT wouldn't one day become another Atlantic Federation?
Meanwhile, He Kui processed another piece of information from Rodriguez. It seemed that Orb could become the Federation's next target.
Rodriguez observed He Kui's thoughtful expression, interpreting it as contemplation of his next move. He had mentioned Orb strategically.
"So, once the unit is complete, I'd like to assign you to a temporary special ops team for deployment to Brazil to support Edward's forces. If the mission succeeds, we'll add a bonus of fifty million."
The pay for combat was notably lower than tech work, but fifty million still surpassed standard mercenary rates.
"When's the deployment?"
"One week from now."
"Understood."
With
that, He Kui returned to his cockpit and secured Aegis inside, ready for what was to come.