Disclaimer: Still don't own any of it
Jakarta was burning.
Though the area where she was currently was located was safe at the moment, Fllay could visibly see the fires that consumed most of the city. The sky was bright and orange, despite the fact that it was late at night, and blotted out the stars.
As she continued to stare out the window, the number of protesters at the gates of the Government Offices was continuing to grow. The large crowd was acting peaceful at the moment, but when the flood of rioters arrived it would get ugly.
There were troops on the inside of the perimeter, ready for any type of action and they were backed up by an assortment of military vehicles. It was a small force though with most of the military in the city trying to quell the violence.
In the six days since the Earth Alliance had entered Equatorial Union territory and destroyed ZAFT's Lagash Base, the nation has been rocked with civil unrest. Mass riots and protests have erupted in every major city from New Delhi to Jakarta, leaving mass chaos in their wake.
Most of the anger was directed at ZAFT and the Equatorial Union Government for having the secret base within the country's borders. The EU's citizens were outraged that the Government had involved them in the war without their knowledge or approval.
There were few protesters who had sided with ZAFT and took to the streets to show their support. However, they were very little in number and clashes with other protesters had gotten violent. Many had been killed and the death toll was growing by the hour as supporters of the EA, who had taken to the streets themselves, continued to clash with ZAFT supporters.
It was equally chaotic within the EU Government. Very few within the Gov actually knew about the ZAFT base and were secret supporters of ZAFT despite the Equatorial Union's neutrality. Those very same supporters had fled when the violence started.
The EU President had found out about the base along with the rest of the nation, which made things worse for him because it left him no time to prepare himself for what was to come. Just recently elected, he was still on shaky ground due to problems with the EU economy, which was becoming unstable due to loss of business to the growing economic partnership between the PLANTs and the Republic of East Asia.
The only bright spot was that the military, though very small in size, was firmly behind him and undivided. General Abhay, head of the military, had used the armed forces accordingly and had dispatched troops to the hot spots. The nation's full force of sixty-five Strike Daggers, left over from the last war, was out in the field as well.
"Miss Allster" greeted a voice from behind Fllay. Turing her wheelchair to the source of the voice, she saw General Abhay had arrived in full military dress. Fllay was dressed in a white pair of slacks with a red overcoat that matched her hair.
Tall and dark skinned, the man haled from the northern region of what was once India. Though he was fairly young, Fllay could see that the man was haggard and his uniform a little worn. She knew that the last six days have been stressful for the General and she wondered if he had gotten any sleep at all.
"Good evening General; I hope that my arrival is not a burden" said Fllay as politely as possible. She wanted to offer her help without alienating the man.
"Not at all; I'll escort you to the President" said the General, leading the way as Fllay wheeled her way from behind the man. Seres had accompanied the woman and was right behind Fllay.
After a minute, the three came to a pair of large double doors that were guarded by a pair of soldiers armed with rifles. Saluting the man, they then opened the door to a large conference room in which the trio entered. The room was quite large with a long rectangular table in the center and a large screen on the far right wall. The entire room was painted brown and the ceiling was white because of the plaster.
Fllay spotted President Datu at the end of the table, looking over paperwork as the room bustled about around him with various ministers talking on their phones while their assistants held out paperwork. He was fifty years of age which showed because if the grey hair on his head. He was also very short and stocky. His eyesight was somewhat poor and had to wear glasses all the time.
As she wheeled her way towards the EU leader, Datu looked up and smiled at Fllay as she approached. Fllay could see relieved glint in his eyes to her arrival as he stood up to greet the woman. Abhay took up a position behind his President, looking at the reports on the table.
"Ms. Allster, I am very happy to see you" said President Datu, extending his hand.
"Thank you Mr. President" said Fllay, taking the hand to shake it.
"I hope that you were not hindered too much on your way here" said Datu after sitting back down. Fllay could see that the man was even more haggard than Abhay.
"Not too much trouble; my escort managed to find a safe route here" said the red-head.
"That is good; things are starting to get worse" said the man, taking a drink of what Fllay presumed was alcohol.
"I can see that; I am here to offer what ever help you need to absolve this crisis" informed Fllay. Datu's eyes lit up at that and Abhay even looked somewhat relieved.
Currently, Fllay ran a conglomerate of several companies that spread throughout the Equatorial Union, the Republic of East Asia, and the United States of South America. The conglomerate was run by her mother and her family before Fllay took it over after the first war. The large business empire was mostly composed agricultural and mineral resource centers; however, she also had an arms manufacturer which was controlled by the organization she belonged to.
"What are you offering?" asked the EU President.
"As you know, I have a private security force which protects my business interests abroad and here as well. I offer their support in this present crisis" informed the handicapped woman. Both men looked at each other before staring at the woman.
"What you are offering my nation is considerable; I have heard rumors about this private force of yours and its capabilities. I hope this is not too much trouble for you" said the President, trying to keep the relief out of his voice.
"It is not too much trouble at all; with our combined force, we could quell this current crisis and restore order to your nation" stated Fllay with a smile.
"What do you have at the moment; these forces of yours have to be spread our throughout your other business sites" said General Abhay in a neutral tone. However, Fllay could see in the man's eyes that his military seriously needed help in suppressing the rioters.
"At the moment, twenty-five mobile suits and five-hundred troops; I know the force seems small but they are well trained and very well equipped" informed the red head.
"They will be a welcomed addition to our military in this emergency; when can you deploy them?" asked the General, who now seemed to be taking over.
"Right now; I believe that we should secure the capital before moving to the other major cities" said Fllay, turning her head to Seres. The bodyguard nodded her head and spoke into her mouth piece.
"I agree; I will alert our forces to expect yours" said Abhay, walking away to use the phone to inform his
"That may help things but it won't solve the immediate problem" said the EU President, looking at the wall screen which showed a new report of the crisis.
"I agree with that assessment Mr. President; maybe its time to speak with the people directly and appeal to them" said Fllay.
"I have tried that already but it didn't work" stated Datu.
"With great respect Mr. President, just asking the citizens to remain calm was not nearly enough. What you have to do is explain to the people that you had nothing to do with the construction of Lagash and was unaware that it was within the Equatorial Union's borders. You need to tell the people that you were much a victim in this as they were in this ZAFT conspiracy" said the red head.
"But that will make me look weak" said Datu in protest.
"Yes but now is not time for foolish pride if you want to retain power and bring order to your nation. What also you need to do is inform the people of the real culprits in this crisis and that they have all fled. Then you ask them to help you and your remaining Government track down these traitors. You have to appeal to their patriotism Datu and tell them that this violence is pointless" stated Fllay as serious as she could.
"But won't the people see that as a smokescreen?" asked the EU leader, not fully convinced.
"If it was a lie, yes; but everything you tell them will be true in a way. You need to shift blame to ZAFT and their cohorts. I would also advise opening a dialogue with the EA to assure them of your nation's continued neutrality" answered Fllay, assuring the man.
The EU President nodded and called over his speech writer. As the two conversed, Fllay watched on screen as reporters showed new mobile suits arriving in Jakarta to support the EU military. The orange-clad Methusses arrived in their mobile armor modes and switched to mobile suit modes when they arrived to support a trio of Strike Daggers.
Fllay knew that she had now a permanent place within the EU Government. After the present crisis was absolved, she knew that the EU would realize that upgrading their military was in the best interest of their nation. The EU would then turn to her in for help in that matter. President Datu would also use her as one of his main advisers as well which gave her even more power.
She hated having to manipulate the EU like that. It reminded her of her crime in manipulating Kira to fight for her in the first war. Fllay knew though that it was for the greater good and she would atone for the crime later. She had to do what she needed to do in order to advance the organization's plans or all would be lost.
Fllay had her children's future to think of.
……………………………………………………………………………………………
Nichos looked up at the row Destroy Gundams.
"You know when I first saw the blueprints to these things, I considered them a waste of resources and construction time" said the Director, not taking his eyes off the mammoth suits.
"What changed?" asked Obali, standing next to the EA leader and also staring at the Destroys.
"The footage of the one used at Berlin; I admit that I was in a state of shock and awe at seeing it in action" answered Director Ayanami.
"Is that why you ordered their continued production?" asked the EA Intelligence head, looking at the younger man.
"Yes; they also have great value in defensive operations as well. Which is why I have them dispersed throughout Eastern Europe and South Africa" said Nichos.
The two men continued onto their destination, heading deeper into the underground factory complex of Heavens Base. This area of the base contained highly classified material and was off limits except for a select few. Instead of normal soldiers, elite Special Forces guarded this section of the base.
Jennifer Wayne saw Directors Ayanami and Obali from a distance as she kneeled on the shoulder of the prototype mobile suit being worked by her and the rest of her team.
The youngest member of the team, she was only fifteen and considered a child genius. Standing at five-feet tall and very skinny, she had long blond hair and blue eyes; a trait given to her by her parents when she was birthed a Coordinator. Her parents were Naturals who were farmers at Sextilis Seven.
Three years ago, Jennifer's parents were murdered by supporters of Patrick Zala who accused the pair of being spies. Jennifer was attending an engineering school at the time and when she learned of her parent's death, demanded justice. However, her cries went unheard and the girl left the PLANTs in anger.
She had longed sought revenge against ZAFT for the murder of her parents and was recruited by the organization that saw her talents. She was placed into the MS development team and respected by its members. She was also extremely loyal to Nichos Ayanami, whom she looked up to.
Swinging herself down to the catwalk, she and the rest her team greeted the Director and his companion as they arrived.
"Wow, so this is it" said Nichos looking up at the new suit in admiration.
"Yes Sir; May I present the GAT-05 Strike Liberty" said Dr. Robbins, head of the development team.
"I have to admit that I agree with your assessment; it does look like a Strike Freedom clone" stated Obali.
The EA was able to acquire the plans to the Gundam through their spies in Orb. The Gundam itself could not be replicated due to the fact that it was specifically designed for Kira Yamato, so the EA handed the plans off to their primary engineering team. In the month since they received the plans, the team had managed to design and build their own scaled-down version that could be mass produced.
"It only has maybe half the firepower of the original SF bit is still the most advanced mass produced MS in the Earth Sphere. Unlike the Gundam though, it is battery powered and the pilot can only use two DRAGOONS" informed the elderly engineer.
"So only Coordinators can pilot it" stated Obali with a frown.
"No; anyone can thanks to Ms. Wayne here. Her neural interface system not only allows for high performance by the pilot but to also successfully utilize the DRAGOONs without the use of drugs or genetic enhancements" informed Dr. Robbins, motioning to the young girl.
"So it is superior to anything that ZAFT currently has?" asked Ayanami.
"Yes; it is far more maneuverable than a Zaku Warrior or any other mass produced ZAFT machine as well as housing more firepower. It is also a lot faster as well" informed an unnamed member of the team.
"Excellent; are we ready for mass production?" asked Nichos, smiling at Jennifer who sheepishly smiled back.
"Yes; however we advise full training for the pilots before sending them out onto the battlefield" said another member of the team.
"Very well then; I'll leave the training and construction up to your team when you arrive at your new location" said the EA leader, startling the assembled engineers and scientists.
"What do you mean Director?" asked Jennifer, clearly confused.
"I am moving you and your entire team to a safer location; you are my principle development team and I want each of you safe" said Nichos in an attempt to assure them.
"Where are we going sir?" asked Robbins, somewhat appreciative of the praise they were all given.
"There is a new facility in South America that is top secret. You will be stationed there and will be given whatever resources you need. I want this suit mass produced and pilots trained as quickly as you can" ordered Director Ayanami, stressing the importance of the task.
"You can count on us sir" said Jennifer in full confidence as the rest of her peers nodded in agreement.
Jennifer was the only one who secretly knew of Nichos Ayanami's and his organization's Unification Initiative. She had discovered it accidentally when she hacked the files because of her paranoia when she was first brought into the organization. She vowed that she would do her part to ensure the plan's success.
What ever the cost.
Author's Note: Here is my gift to end the year and I hope you guys enjoyed the update. I am not sure when the next one will be up but it will be after the next chapter of Ghosts and the update to one of my Eva fics.
I hope the politics of the chapter wasn't too much of a bore and hope you enjoyed it. If this seems a little OOC of Fllay, keep in mind this is four years after the events GS.
Next update will feature Meer who will have a much bigger role in this fic. Also expect to see Nova as well and I am sorry that she wasn't in this chapter. She will be in the next one, I promise!
Please R&R!