The captain of the Earth Federation's most elite assault landing ship, the Gray Ghost, felt he must have neglected to pay respects to some deity before this mission—otherwise, why would so many things go wrong?
Originally, his ship's purpose in coming to Side 6 was to receive the secretly constructed Gundam Newtype-1 Gundam (Alex) and transport it to the frontlines for the Earth Federation's strongest pilot, the "White Devil" Amuro Ray.
But not long after arriving at Side 6, Zeon forces swarmed in like sharks drawn to blood.
This, however, was still manageable. After nearly a year of war between the Earth Federation and Zeon, the Federation's intelligence leaks were no secret. As captain, he had prepared for this.
What the Gray Ghost's captain couldn't accept was that while his opponents were formidable, his allies were utterly incompetent. Not only was the Alex Gundam's development delayed, but the shipment of its armaments was also late, leaving three Zeon ships now blockading Side 6.
Fortunately, Side 6's defensive forces were substantial, and Zeon's repeated assaults had failed to break through. But today, a new Zeon Mobile Suit suddenly appeared inside Side 6, while the three Zeon motherships outside launched a full-scale attack. The defending forces couldn't spare any troops to deal with the internal threat.
This forced the Gray Ghost, which was supposed to remain hidden, to personally engage the new Zeon unit.
Yet misfortune never comes alone. The Gray Ghost's captain never imagined that Zeon hadn't infiltrated just one new Mobile Suit—but two.
Just as he launched all seven of the ship's Mobile Suits to deal with the Zeon MS on the ground, the radar operator suddenly reported:
"Captain, an unidentified Mobile Suit has appeared directly ahead of us! Thermal signature analysis yields no match—another new model!"
As soon as the operator finished speaking, footage of the opposing MS appeared on the projection screen beside the captain's station.
At that moment, Reid was observing the battlefield, his optical screen flickering intermittently, the mono-eye behind it unmistakably visible. (Fun fact: The Union Flag is a mono-eye Mobile Suit.)
Seeing the iconic mono-eye feature, the Gray Ghost's captain immediately classified the unit as hostile. Though using heavy firepower inside a Colony Satellite risked collateral damage, at this close range, hesitation meant the Gray Ghost's destruction.
Under the captain's orders, the ship's twin 580mm main cannons rose and fired directly at the Mobile Suit before them.
Meanwhile, Reid's attention was primarily focused on the Kampfer below and the Mobile Suits deployed by the Pegasus-class battleship ahead.
The Pegasus-class captain was clearly unprofessional—without any suppressive fire, he had simply dropped the MS units straight down: three RGM-79SP Sniper II GMs, three RGM-79G GM Command Types, and one mass-produced Guncannon.
The mass-produced Guncannon was shredded by the Kampfer's ZUX-179 Shotgun before it even touched the ground.
Two of the three GM Command Types were obliterated mid-air by bazooka rockets, exploding into fiery debris.
In the end, only the three Sniper II GMs and one GM Command Type managed to land.
Reid watched with a pang of heartache—none of the Kampfer's takedowns counted toward his G-Coins.
But before he could dwell on it for long, the Mobile Suit's lock-on alarm blared to life.
Reacting swiftly, Reid didn't bother figuring out who had locked onto him—evading first was always the right call. Under his control, the Union Flag in MS mode instantly transformed into MA form, executing a signature atmospheric roll that flung it clear of its original position. It then climbed sharply to gain a better vantage point over the battlefield.
The maneuver was completed in the blink of an eye. Only when Reid had ascended near the central axis of the Colony Satellite did he dare glance downward, though it didn't take long to spot his attacker.
The Pegasus-class battleship before him had clearly joined the fray on short notice—its turrets hadn't even been raised in advance. By the time they were deployed, Reid was already long gone, leaving the ship's terrifyingly powerful cannons to blast nothing but air before their shots rained down on the Colony Satellite below, obliterating entire city blocks.
Now that he'd identified his assailant, Reid wasn't about to take hits without retaliation. Recalling that the landed Mobile Suits would soon be wiped out by the Kampfer, he knew there was no time left to dive down and compete for kills. Instead, this Pegasus-class mothership—the Gray Phantom, if he remembered right—would serve as compensation. Taking it down should be worth more than those seven MS units.
Without hesitation, Reid dove toward the Gray Phantom in MA mode, firing a charged Electromagnetic Cannon as an opening gambit.
Aboard the Gray Phantom, the captain was utterly stunned. This wasn't the Zeta Gundam era seven years later, where transformable units were commonplace. The appearance of a transformable machine now left the entire bridge crew gaping in silent shock.
Yet when Reid began his dive, the captain snapped back to reality and barked orders:
"Evasive maneuvers! Fire bow missiles! Deploy machine gun defensive barrage! Put distance between us and this unknown MA—no, this Unknown Transformable Mobile Suit—now!"
The captain's commands came just in time. Reid had aimed his Electromagnetic Cannon straight at the bridge, but the evasive action meant the shot only struck the left flight wing.
Though the explosion sheared the wing clean off, the ship's altitude within the Colony Satellite's low-gravity environment—coupled with the Minovsky Flight System—meant the damage wasn't enough to cause a crash.
Meanwhile, the Gray Phantom's missiles posed little threat to Reid. The Union Flag's 20mm machine guns were designed precisely for intercepting projectiles.
Without even reverting to MS mode, Reid executed a quick roll to the right, detonating two missiles with precise gunfire. The rest veered harmlessly off course, unable to reach him.
Plunging through the missile explosions' smoke screen in MA form, Reid transformed back into MS mode mid-descent.
Now directly above the Gray Phantom, he was perfectly positioned—out of reach of the ship's flank and ventral machine guns. The battleship desperately tried to bank sideways, attempting to bring Reid into its lateral firing arc.
But Reid had no intention of giving them the chance. Raising his rifle, he took aim at the bridge, ready to claim his first warship kill.
However, at that moment, the alarm signaling that Reid's mobile suit was locked on sounded again. Fully aware of the dangers of the battlefield, Reid decisively gave up this fleeting opportunity. He adjusted the thrusters to make his machine flip backward twice in a straight line.
Reid's judgment proved correct. Just as he completed the flip, two sniper beams streaked past his original position. This was covering fire from the GM Sniper II units on the surface below.
But dodging didn't mean Reid couldn't counterattack. After completing the flip, he immediately fired two Anti-ship Missiles at the support columns connecting the bridge to the main hull of the Gray Ghost. This improvised targeting was more reliable than trying to hit the relatively small bridge directly.
The two Anti-ship Missiles struck true below the Gray Ghost's bridge, their effectiveness exceeding expectations as they blasted clean through the hull, leaving two gaping holes.
Reid's luck held as the missiles clearly damaged some critical systems. Although the Gray Ghost didn't immediately crash, all its port and starboard machine guns ceased firing.
Seizing the advantage, Reid used the Gray Ghost as a shield, making it impossible for the GM Sniper II units on the Colony Satellite's surface to get a clear shot at him.
To be thorough, he then used his beam rifle to disable all remaining gun emplacements on his side before closing in on the ship. From an angle below, he took careful aim and blew apart the bridge with a single shot.
With its bridge destroyed, the Gray Ghost predictably lost all power and plummeted straight down to the Colony Satellite's surface, triggering a massive explosion upon impact.