The SEED of Tomorrow

By Lord Raa


Disclaim-me-do: Why is the Milka cow lilac?


Chapter 3


The diplomatic channels were ablaze with communiques, something no-one in the political classes of either the Earth Alliance of ZAFT had seen in a long time.

It started with the rumour that Chairman Zala's son was a hostage aboard an Earth Alliance ship. That lead to the suggestion that there could be a negotiated peace deal to see the return of the Zala scion.

The High Command of the Earth Alliance military sat around their table, knowing that commodities and futures brokers started to get wind of this potential change in the conflict and now the financial markets were starting to stir.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it seems that we have been handed a gift from the gods in this conflict. We have Patrick Zala's son aboard the Archangel," a Vice Admiral said.

"The Archangel is stuck inside Heliopolis thanks to the damage to the docks," Rear Admiral Haliburton added. "He might as well be in orbit around Jupiter for all good it's going to do us."

"A controlled burst from the Archangel's beam weapons could-" Captain Sutherland started to suggest.

"Could bring the whole colony down around their heads," Haliburton interrupted. "Not to mention that we still don't know how many civilians we need to evacuate. To not do anything to protect those neutral civilians would be a crime."

"Yes, yes, thank you, Rear Admiral Haliburton," the Vice Admiral said, acknowledging the importance of keeping non-combatants alive. "My point is this, we can use this to negotiate a ceasefire, maybe even an end to the war."

"How do we know that ZAFT will honour any agreement once Zala gets his son back?" a voice called out.

"Think of what they'd risk if they broke the treaty – everyone would see that they're not to be trusted. That has serious implications. Besides, no-one here is saying that we're going to disarm as part of any treaty. We'll be able to keep them in check."

"How?" Sutherland asked. He hated Coordinators. It was human nature to distrust the unknown, but how could you ever trust something that wasn't natural?

"Just because we've ceased hostilities, it doesn't mean we've shut down the armaments factories. It'll be a pause to that will allow us to catch our breaths and redeploy where we need to. Short of one side annihilating the other, our best hope for peace is a negotiated settlement."

There were murmurs of both agreement and dissent at the Vice Admiral's words.

"I agree," Captain Sutherland nodded. "It will prove that we're better than them."

That comment reeked of a Blue Cosmos propaganda leaflet, but it was correct. One could not engineer compassion and magnanimity into a human being.

"Then we will send the message that we're willing to negotiate a ceasefire and a peace treaty with ZAFT."


Siegel Clyne had been Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council until December of 70, CE. He had planned to see out his term as Chairman, but after the sudden death of his wife, he stepped down to spend more time with his daughter, Lacus.

Despite his retirement, he was kept abreast of political events and used as an advisor to the current Chairman, Patrick Zala and the rest of the Supreme Council.

He sat in on the Council meeting where they discussed the new message from the Earth Alliance.

"So, they want to negotiate a peace treaty?" Eileen Canaver asked rhetorically. "I suppose it makes sense. They know they've lost three of their new mobile suits, so they're on the back foot."

"They have my son," Patrick Zala said sternly.

"Both sides have people's sons," Jeremy Maxwell countered. "We never considered negotiating a peace treaty before."

"You don't understand," the Chairman replied, standing up and slamming a fist onto the table. "I didn't order Le Creuset to stand down because Athrun is my child."

The rest of the Council stared at Patrick in confusion. He adjusted his uniform.

"Athrun is not just the product of a genetic union between me and my wife, Lenore. Need I remind you that he is the fiancé of Lacus Clyne? Siegel, would you see your daughter in tears because we failed to negotiate her fiancé's return out of pride?"

"No," Siegel answered. "But I would be selfish to put my family's happiness over the future of ZAFT."

"True. And I am not suggesting that we break any treaty we sign once we get Athrun back."

"Then what are you suggesting, Chairman?" Herman Gould asked. "From one reading of their communique, they're only willing to return him upon signing a peace treaty, not just a ceasefire. And if we're not careful, they'll make outrageous demands thinking that Athrun is the most important thing to ZAFT."

Patrick clenched his fist. If only the fools on the Council knew what he did... If only he could tell them about Ulen Hibiki's work on the "Ultimate Coordinator"... Then they could see the glorious future that awaited them...

He needed to get Athrun back to a ZAFT lab and soon. If Hibiki was to be believed, then Athrun would be the cure to their problems.

"Get Athrun back. We will honour any reasonable treaty, but we cannot disarm. Not with those Luddites in Blue Cosmos threatening our very existence," the Chairman said. He stood up and took on fearsome expression. "If they harm my son, I will rain down a fury upon them that will scare the Devil himself from Hell. Use those words."

"Yes, sir," Eileen Canaver nodded. She knew just who to pick from the Diplomatic Corps to make this happen.


Rau Le Creuset started to pace in his quarters as he processed the developments from the fallout of his mission to steal the Gundams.

Rectification was never going to be an easy task, but the imminent ceasefire certainly complicated matters. Peace would mean that the numbers didn't add up. At least, not yet and certainly without some other intervening factor.

The blonde man pondered the change of heart from Chairman Zala. While it wasn't doubted that Patrick Zala wanted his son to live, he had often deliberately put a distance between himself and Athrun. Nepotism hadn't ever seemed like something Patrick Zala approved of.

So if Athrun wasn't being groomed for politics, what was it that motivated the Chairman? He risked a great deal calling for peace talks like this; the Earth Alliance held a significant advantage as things stood.

The Naturals liked to think that they could maintain the moral high ground, so the Earth Alliance would not threaten to execute Athrun Zala. Some in their ranks would consider it. But then, some in their ranks would think that the death of a Coordinator would help them win the war.

"One less potential enemy" and all that.

Blue Cosmos were idiots. Bigots fuelled by the politics of envy and their inability to grasp great ideas and greater ideals. They were an evolutionary dead end and their continued existence reflected poorly on humanity.

Rau had heard about the threat to unleash a furious retribution upon Earth if something happened to Athrun and he believed it. In fact, he was counting on it. It wouldn't do for the Chairman of the Supreme Council to allow his son to be killed without retribution and if he unleashed the fury that sprang to mind, countless Naturals on Earth would perish.

But Rau knew that he couldn't break the ceasefire or the potential treaty without looking like a traitor. He had spent too long working too hard to be picked up for disloyalty now. He would have to go along with the official ZAFT guidelines, but that was OK. He was patient. His shortened telomeres might mean he could expect an early death, but he could plan ahead with the best of them. A few months preparing while the targets of Rectification decided what they wanted was just the thing he needed.

But there was something in this apparent change of heart that seemed wrong to the blonde pilot. There was more to this situation than met the eyes. If only he still had access to the work of Ulen Hibiki, then he would know more about Athrun Zala's potential.


Athrun attempted to rest in his cell awaiting news about his captivity. He half expected to be ransomed off for a fortune in gold or some other valuable commodity. Not that he expected his father to pay it.

He also wondered if ZAFT would launch a rescue mission. His former teammates, Dearka Elsman, Yzak Joule and Nichol Amarfi would volunteer for such a mission. He missed them.

Until a few months ago, they were all under the command of Rau Le Creuset. Then there had been some reassignments that confused everyone. Not one of the former team had any disciplinary problems. They were all competent pilots with a number of kills each. But for some reason, the team had been broken up and only Athrun and Rusty had remained under the command or Rau Le Creuset.

If Dearka, Yzak and Nichol had all been there, things would have turned out differently. They would have gotten away with all of the G-Weapons. Rusty would still be alive.

"Rusty…" the Coordinator mused. He felt his eyes moisten at the loss of a comrade in arms. He knew he could expect death at any time when on a mission, but to see someone killed like that was traumatising.

Almost as traumatising as the way he saw his old friend, Kira Yamato, killed.

Athrun shuddered at the memory of seeing someone barely two metres away from him being crushed to death by a mobile suit. That it was the same mobile suit that killed Rusty and those three civilians angered him.

Sure, there had been a measure of revenge when he'd climbed inside the Strike Gundam, but it boggled the mind to think that a traitor could get onto someone like Rau Le Creuset's team.

The door opened and in walked Mu La Flaga and Murrue Ramius.

"Athrun Zala, we have some news for you," Murrue explained.

"Oh?" the Coordinator asked, rising from his cot.

"There's good news and bad news. The good news is that when the dock is repaired in the next 17 hours, we should be able to leave Heliopolis without any problems."

"And the bad?"

"You're going to be a guest of the Earth Alliance for some time. It seems that your father has called some talks to negotiate a peace treaty. It's also how we're able to get out of here, there's a ceasefire due to take effect tomorrow."

"So, I'm a bargaining chip?" the Coordinator asked, feeling dehumanised by the news about his future. He let out a sigh and looked at the hitherto silent blonde. "I guess that it could be worse. Anything else to tell me?"

"Rumour has it that the Chairman made quite the threat if you were harmed," Mu answered. "So it's in everyone's best interests if you don't do anything that endangers your life."

"Father said that? I guess I matter to him more than I thought…"Athrun looked surprised at knowledge his normally distant father threatened people over his safe return.

While Athrun hadn't been mistreated by Patrick, there was a distance that had seemed to grow over the years. He'd asked his mother about it before his graduation from the academy and she'd said it was to do with ensuring that his achievements were his alone and not due to his father's influence. It had felt strange at first, but now that he'd thought about it and seen several people promoted beyond their capabilities thanks to their parents, it made perfect sense.

And now it seemed that he'd done enough to warrant his father's approval and protection.

The Coordinator smiled.

"We will be checking in with the ZAFT diplomatic service to confirm that you're still alive and well in about twelve hours or so. They'll ask a few questions and demand proof of life. After that, we'll leave Heliopolis and head back to Earth," Murrue explained. "Is that OK?"

"It's fine. I won't try to escape and endanger everyone, you have my word on that."


The following day, ZAFT security services examined every frame of the footage the diplomatic corps proved them from their interview with Athrun Zala.

They looked for signs that he'd been interrogated or tortured for information. For any indication he had revealed military secrets or otherwise betrayed them. Their investigation included colour analysis for bruises being covered up or malnutrition, and body language and voice analysis for signs of duress.

They concluded that he wasn't being mistreated, but the was something in the footage that raised flags as to his well-being.

A few of the agents discussed the possibilities. It was clear that Athrun had seen or experienced something horrific recently, either the death of a friend or something unpleasant at the hands of the Earth Alliance forces he was with. He didn't seem to be in any pain when they made him move around, so he hadn't been physically tortured.

Captain Michael Warner handed his team's report to Patrick Zala.

"So, what's your opinion, Captain?" asked the Chairman.

"It's our considered opinion that Athrun Zala is in good physical condition. He has not been tortured or beaten by the Earth Alliance."

"But there's something not right with his eyes," Patrick commented as he flicked through the document.

"We think he's got some PTSD. It's possible that he saw some of his team killed in a particularly gruesome fashion before he was captured," the Captain answered.

The Chairman frowned. If Athrun was too psychologically damaged, his plan would fail. He looked on at a later still from the video interview and relaxed slightly. 'It's not as bad as I feared. Actually… Yes, this looks like just right…'

"Sir?"

"As it stands, Athrun Zala is in fine condition. We must keep him that way," Patrick stated matter-of-factly. "The negotiations aren't your remit, but you and your department will assist the Diplomatic Services in any way they ask. We have to strike the balance of bringing Athrun back to PLANT as soon as we can and not giving everything away in the treaty negotiations. Those are your instructions, go do what you have to."

"Sir," the intelligence operative saluted before returning to his department.

When he was alone, Patrick looked at the still where his son was smiling. 'Yes, just the right amount of vulnerability.'


The ceasefire had settled over the battlefields without too much trouble. Some of the more fanatical ZAFT troops had protested at first, but the threat of having to deal with Chairman Zala's wrath soon quelled any dissent. Apparently, the threat that he would rain down a fury the likes of which had never been seen before upon the Earth Alliance also suggested to the rank and file that the Chairman might just personally execute anyone who endangered his son's life.

Patrick Zala had merely smiled enigmatically when he'd heard this rumours, fuelling them further.

Lenore, his beloved wife, had wondered just how far her husband would be willing to go for the return of their son.

At the dinner table, she delicately broached the subject about this apparent change of heart over a chocolate soufflé.

"Patrick, how can I put this?" Lenore said, carefully scooping some of the delicate dessert with her spoon. "People are wondering about Athrun."

"He's my son," Patrick smiled. "Surely any father would do what he could to protect his son?"

"Al Da Flaga never cared for his son, Mu."

"He was a fanatic with a number of issues, Lenore, you know that. But point taken. Yes, I was a little distant during some of Athrun's formative years, but I wanted him to succeed because of the sweat on his own brow, not because he happened to be my son. Is that so bad?"

"No, not at all. I mean, history is littered with examples of what happens when someone inherits something they're not ready for. The Supreme Council, and probably most of the PLANT population, were wondering what brought on this threat to wipe humanity from the face of the Earth."

Patrick nodded. He placed his spoon in the now empty dish before him. "Athrun is… Well, shall we say that he's more than the sum of his parts?"

Lenore's eyes narrowed. "Just what are you saying?"

"It's a long story, one that began a number of years ago…"


To be continued…