Prolouge
It has been a time of relative peace, marked by the end of the Second Bloody Valentine War. The Blue Cosmos is shattered and hunted down relentlessly and the Earth Alliance, PLANTS, and the Orb Union have finally settled down after years of bloodshed to work towards a peaceful future for all.
Scarred by the war, the shattered countries try to rebuild and restart their lives, confident that the days of war are at an end. Yet appearances are deceiving, as every Natural and Coordinator is about to find out. It is not just the Blue Cosmos that lurk in the shadows that pose the greatest threat to the peace, but a force far more powerful has been lying in wait. A storm is coming, and no one even knows it.
CE71
Asteroid base Praxium
Junius 7 debris field
Praxium was just one of many asteroids flung out of a nearby asteroid belt that came to rest at the ruins of Junius 7 when collision with the dead colony forced it to stop. There wasn't anything extraordinary about it and its irregular shape did nothing to make it stand out from among the field of debris.
Converted to a base of operations for ZAFT intelligence, Consisting of long hallways lined by many rooms and a hangar, the structure of the base was unremarkable. For a few months, as ZAFT enjoyed military supremacy the base was relatively safe from attack. Then came Operation Spitbreak. From then on, things went downhill for ZAFT as they lost region after region before being driven off earth altogether. As OMNI pushed on to Aprillius One, the hammer of OMNI's military might fell on Praxium.
The constant trembling of the ceiling brought tiles onto the heads of the base's occupants, fuelling further panic with sirens wailing their baleful warning of the ongoing assault. Refugees and soldiers alike rushed to shelters and battle stations, the hallways becoming a miasma of colours as uniformed soldiers pushed through civilians wearing clothes of various colours fleeing in all directions.
Civilians huddled in the shelters, hoping that they would be safe and the invaders repulsed. The soldiers knew better than to let notions of salvation cloud their minds, but the situation demanded an immediate answer and so they spoke not a word of the inevitable end as they rushed to meet the incoming threat. There would be no relief, no hope of stopping this attack. The fate of the asteroid base was sealed the moment the attack started.
CE71
Asteroid Base Praxium CIC
Junius 7 debris field
"Keep trying damn it", the base commander roared at the communications officer as bright flashes from beyond the viewport lit the CIC. Though he knew that even the closest ZAFT patrol would not make it in time, someone had to know what had happened here. Happened... the commander thought bitterly as he thought on the past tense of the word. There really was no way they could survive, it was all a matter of time.
"Sir! Two more of our mobile suits have been destroyed", the radar operator shouted above the din of explosions rocking the base. The commander grimaced and growled. That left 5 more GINNs and GUAIZs. It was time.
"Start purging the base data! We can't let them get our intel", the commander shouted and the security officers entered the codes without question, years of training kicking in instantly. The fight was lost and everyone knew it, but they would be damned if they let Blue Cosmos get any information out of them.
The commander walked to the view port as he watched the last GINN drive its sword into the chest of a strike dagger and tore another apart with its 76mm machine gun. The resistance was short lived as a beam rifle shot from a strike dagger struck its chest, detonating the unit's reactor, and with it died the last hope of resistance.
Strike daggers flew straight into the defenceless hangar bay, securing it for transports filled with OMNI troops fanatical to the cause of Blue Cosmos. The troops disgorged from the landing ramp and charged the doors.
The first rank fell in a mist of blood as ZAFT troops at the door tried to contain and repel the invaders. For a minute, it looked possible. But as the casualties mounted, the OMNI troops were able to get to the doorway and force them to retreat down the hallway. As the invaders continued to land troops and spread further into the base, they were met with fierce resistance everywhere. Still, their numbers told and they had many to spare, the defenders didn't.
As they rounded a corner, an OMNI soldier appeared and raised his assault rifle, only to have a pistol round rip through his chest. The trooper's face twisted in agony as he fell. The commander cursed as more soldiers appeared behind, attracted by the gunfire. He had to get the boy out somehow, who knew what they would do to him.
As he ran, he cast a sidelong glance at the boy and his guilt worked up I'm his heart. He never truly approved the experimentation on him but he had orders, now he had a chance to make things right.
Distracted, he didn't see the three soldiers ahead of him until it was too late. The three OMNI troopers fired on full auto, rifle rounds speeding towards the two. The rounds never hit, the three troopers stood in shock as the bullets floated in mid-air as though time had stopped in front of the boy and his outstretched palm, before the boy flicked his wrist and the bullets continued their previously stalled velocity, in the opposite direction. The OMNI troopers spasmed and dropped as the rounds slammed into them.
The commander dragged the boy onwards, chased by more hostiles. Opening a blast door, he fired off at the encroaching invaders and led the boy to what appeared to be a life pod bay. A single lifepod dominated the room. It was the size of a GINN, larger than any other pod in the room and unlike its smaller brethren, it was specially made to travel great distances and had landing coordinates preset into the CPU. The boy had to get to the place, ZAFT was not safe. There was only one explanation for the OMNI incursion... someone on top had betrayed them.
With the war swinging in the Earth Alliance's favour, the fall of ZAFT would seal the boy's fate. Cruel as it was, he had to survive to continue the fight against the Blue Cosmos, but he would have the tools, he just needed to get to that safe haven set into the pod's CPU. Dodging bullets, the commander hurled the boy into the safety of the pod and tried to follow him through. A sharp pain made him gasp and collapse on the deck, the pain spreading from his right leg from a round. As he stared at the boy, he knew he wouldn't make it. The boy would have to soldier on alone. The commander pulled out his palm-sized tablet, initiating the launch sequence.
The pod's doors closed shut and 10 seconds later, fired away into space, evading its pursuers through the sacrifice of the commander, who pinned the enemy down long enough before bullets tore into his body. His last sight was the pod speeding away with what could well be ZAFT's last hope against Blue Cosmos, space debris masking it from radar and flying towards its destination, before his world faded to black.