I don't own anything except Ken DiFalco, his subordinates, and Sophia DiFalco

I also do not own the Odin; it is Deathzealot's creation, and the credit is his, not mine

Millenia Crescent does not belong to me either; she is the creation of arekuruu-inabikari-no-She

Also, all references to characters and events from the Equatorial Union Civil War are property of Ominae; for further information, see his story "Rebellion"

Morgenroete Harbor, Gym, December 7th, C.E. 73
"True success in war requires more than book knowledge," the trench coat-clad soldier noted, sitting cross-legged on an exercise mat. "You can study a book for as long as you like, memorize all the facts in them, but that alone will not make you a formidable soldier."

Shinn Asuka, looking –and feeling- somewhat uncomfortable in a similar posture, tilted his head. "What do you mean, Commander?" he asked, frowning slightly.

"Knowledge is worthless without the ability to execute your intentions," Ken DiFalco replied, Cyclops-like gaze meeting the younger man's levelly. "Also, a book cannot teach you how to deal with new situations; the training you receive in a classroom only conveys generalities. That leads to the qualities that I believe are most important to a soldier."

As the two conversed, Millenia Crescent leaned against one wall of the gym, looking on with a trace of amusement. Minerva had been in Orb nearly two months now, and in that time, her former teacher had apparently taken on the hotheaded pilot as personal project, as though determined to mold him into a true soldier… or warrior, as the case may be. Exactly what the ace's motives were, Millenia couldn't say… but she did approve of anything that made Shinn more likely to obey orders in the heat of battle.

Sessions like this had become routine. As Minerva would have little use for pilots –or most of the rest of her crew- until they finally left Orb, Talia Gladys had chosen to be generous with her subordinates' schedules, giving them greater than average leave time, as well as most of the day off. With a war coming, and little to do to help with repairs, she wanted her crew well-rested before departing… and so Shinn Asuka spent many of his off-hours absorbing the wisdom of his hero, first with simple, dogged hero worship, and now with intense concentration.

"So what are those qualities?" Shinn asked now, eyes intent.

"Experience," Ken said promptly. "First through live exercises, then actual combat; if you survive that, you learn how a real battle can go, and you then begin to obtain the second quality: adaptability. The ability to cope with unexpected situations, ones not covered in any training manual. The third is patience: rushing into battle is a tactic reserved only for the most desperate situations. Otherwise, wait for your moment, and never strike before you're ready." He was counting off the numbers as he spoke, and now he ticked off a fourth point. "Fourth: an agile mind. It allows you to outthink the enemy, plan and react. This cannot be taught; either you can think on your feet or you can't. It can be learned, to an extent, but the potential must be there from birth. And fifth: discipline."

Shinn's eyes narrowed, noticing the emphasis his mentor placed on the last point. Is he trying to tell me something? he wondered. It was entirely possible; the one thing they truly disagreed on was Orb, and by extension the country's nobility. Shinn had begun to think Ken had something of a point, but even now he held fast to the belief that his family's death was preventable, were it not for the Orb government and the Athha family in particular.

"Discipline?" he finally repeated, when the ace said no more.

"Discipline," Ken confirmed. "The fifth, and possibly most important, of the essential mental traits for a true soldier. The ability to control your own emotions, think and act with a cool head, and carry out orders without hesitation. Except under very specific circumstances, with very rare abilities, uncontrolled anger will get you nowhere on the battlefield except dead. I've seen it happen before. And with discipline, you can truly know yourself… and that is, in the final analysis, the most important quality." He closed his eye, and recited, "'So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will win hundred times in hundred battles. If you know only yourself, but not your opponent, you win one and lose the next. If you do not know yourself or your enemy, you will always lose.'"

"Sun Tzu," Millenia interjected. "You always were fond of him, weren't you, Falcon." It was a statement, not a question… which, coming from any ZAFT officer who'd served during Ken's time in the organization, wasn't a surprise.

"The man's teachings still hold true today," Ken pointed out. "I follow my own 'Art of War', but his writings remain the basis of any strategist's or tactician's training. Speaking of which…" He uncoiled himself and stood, extricating himself from the lotus position with an ease Shinn envied, as he did the same. The ace made it look easy; Shinn felt aches from protesting joints, unused to the posture the older pilot took for granted.

Millenia raised an eyebrow. "Looking to give him a practical demonstration, Falcon?"

He nodded. "If you don't mind, I could use your assistance for a moment. You and Leanne are the only practitioners skilled enough for the task, and since she happens to be at HQ currently…"

She smiled, stepping away from the wall. "My pleasure, old friend."

Shinn glanced between the two, mildly confused. "…What's going on?"

"I'm going to give you a practical example of some of the things we've been discussing, Shinn," Ken answered, stepping to within a few paces of Millenia. "You'll understand in a moment. Millenia," he went on, bowing slightly, "if you could repeat the attack you attempted two months ago…?"

"Of course," she replied, bowing as well; she knew quite well what he was talking about. "Try not to cut off my head with that fancy move, though, will you? I'm not sure decapitation by sword-wielding lunatic is covered in my warranty."

Huh? Shinn blinked, confused by the apparent in-joke… and then his commander moved.

Drawing her blade with almost frightening speed, Millenia Crescent charged forward, and launched herself a meter and a half in the air, bringing the katana down in a brutal chop, angling slightly to her right…

Griever hissed out of her scabbard, coming to a point just above Ken's head, and then swept down at a slight angle to the left, forcing Millenia's blade down prematurely, then arced up –again moving left- and caught her wrist with the flat of the blade, forcing her to drop her own weapon.

And, as before, Griever brushed up past Millenia's arm, flashed to the right, and stopped right against her neck… all in the space of perhaps half a second.

"You're as fast as ever," Millenia said conversationally, as the ace pulled back. She then bent down to pick up her own fallen weapon. "And that was in honor of…?"

"Had I completed the attack," Ken said, directing his answer toward Shinn, "it would've taken off her right arm, and then her head, forming an inverted triangle pattern."

Shinn frowned. "The point being…?" he began, not yet understanding the point of the exercise.

"That was the most difficult –and most lethal- technique in the Ganryu school of kenjustu," the ace answered obliquely. "The Swallow Reversal is, at the least, a disabling attack; had she changed her position on the way down, the first strike could easily have taken off her left arm, instead of deflecting her blade. Had she moved aside after that, she might've spared both arms, but lost her head anyway. Under some circumstances, the Tsubame Gaeshi can be avoided by retreating; under these, however, the technique is unstoppable. Millenia's own momentum prevented her from evading the strike completely. No matter what she did, she would've been out of the fight regardless."

"No argument there," Millenia said dryly. "That move covers every axis; the only evasion is backwards, and inertia precludes that when the enemy has committed to an attack, the way I had." She tilted her head. "I'm guessing, though, that there's a catch, since you never even tried to teach it to your own students."

Ken nodded. "It's extremely difficult to pull off," he explained. "Properly executed, the Swallow Reversal is, under those circumstances, unstoppable… but while no movement of hers could change the outcome, my own actions had to be precise. Each situation is unique: you don't just cut a triangle pattern in the air, you have to adjust your cuts to match the exact positions of your enemy's anatomy. I would've done that differently against someone with any other body structure, or if she'd moved just slightly differently. That is what makes it so difficult to master. Oh, you need to be extremely fast to perform it, and half enough strength to force the blade through bone with a single blow, but those are par for the course for any serious student." And, he didn't add, a trivial matter for a cyborg. "The hard part is learning that adjustment. It takes years of practice to train those adjustments into your mind, to act without conscious though in such a complex manner… which is why currently only two practitioners of the Ganryu school are able to perform it: myself… and my own master."

"Explains a lot," Millenia mused. "The odd thing is, I would've expected you to have tried that against Nightwing, during Break The World."

He shook his head. "No mobile suit can perform the Tsubame Gaeshi," he said, quiet certainty in his voice. "It requires a command input speed even Coordinators cannot achieve, and a level of fine control no operating system can possibly grant, by the very nature of mobile suit controls."

"Okay," Shinn said in exasperation, breaking into the conversation again, "I can understand all that. What I don't understand is why you showed that to me again."

Ken turned back to the youth. "It was a demonstration of several of the factors I was just speaking of, Shinn. Experience allowed me to perform the technique; adaptability allowed the strike to connect. It took patience to wait for her to commit to an attack… and discipline to hold my own strike, despite the peril, until the precise moment that it would be most effective."

In point of fact, that was not his only motivation for that choice of example… and he was quite sure that, while Shinn might've been oblivious to it, Millenia most certainly was not. She knew him well enough to catch the implicit message in his display… and his reference to the fact that only two Ganryu school swordsmen could perform that technique.

As Shinn mulled over the words, Millenia watched Ken carefully. You really think we might become enemies again, don't you, Falcon, she thought sadly. Two years ago, we never even ran into each other while you fought ZAFT, but you obviously know that it wouldn't end so easily this time… Well, then, I'll just have to make sure we don't come into conflict, won't I?

Shinn glanced up, unaware of his commander's musings, and turned to Ken. "I think I understand what you're saying, Commander," he began, "but there's still something-"

He was interrupted by the gym's door opening, and a man in the silver-trimmed gray of Section Nine walked briskly into the room. "Boss," Tom Delaney said, without preamble, "I think we have a problem. There's something you should see."

Ken looked at him sharply, and began walking even as he pulled a combat headset from a trench coat pocket, fitting it into place over his right ear. "What's the matter?" he asked sharply. "New movement from the Earth Alliance?"

Tom shook his head, following his commander back toward the door. "No movement yet, no," he replied, "but they have finally issued an official response to the PLANTs, in regards to Break The World."

"About time," the Demon Lord grunted, as they disappeared out the door. "Only took them two months…"

Millenia sighed, watching them go. "Well," she said to the air, "it sounds like things are finally about to get moving again… and with Minerva still almost two months from combat readiness."

Shinn looked over at her, his expression unreadable. "What do you think is going on, Commander?"

"Probably demands that the Supreme Council will never give in to," she replied wearily. "It's the same old story, really. Almost four years ago now, they framed us for the Copernicus bombing, after handing us a list of demands that would've dropped our standard of living even more… and then had the temerity to declare war on us for something they arranged. I guess the cycle is about to repeat itself again…"

The black-haired pilot clenched a fist. "Those bastards," he whispered. "They really do want to start a new war… Are they insane? Didn't they learn anything from the last war? Last time, they thought it would be over in weeks, but it lasted almost two years… and ZAFT was a lot weaker then."

Millenia closed her eyes. "Unfortunately," she said softly, "I think they have learned something. They found out the hard way how mobile suits can mean all the difference on the modern battlefield… and I think they realize that none of their Dagger designs have ever quite matched up to the equivalent ZAFT mass-production models. No, Shinn, I have a feeling they've come up with something new… and they're almost ready to spring it on us."

PLANTs, Aprilius One, Supreme Council Chamber
"In the wake of the horrific terrorist attack called by some 'Break The World', it has taken the Atlantic Federation, and the rest of the Earth Alliance, much deliberation to finally come to a conclusion," Atlantic Federation President Albert Copeland announced on the screen. "This is, after all, the most serious attack ever to strike the Earth, dwarfing even the terrible acts of the Bloody Valentine War. At last, however, we have come to a conclusion… one which, considering the identities of the terrorists, was probably inevitable."

There was a stir among the members of the PLANT Supreme Council, as those words registered. Only four of them had been on the Council during the War, but they all remembered it too well; they knew what the Earth politician had to be leading up to.

"Before I state our position," Copeland continued, "I must stress that, at this time, nothing has been proven against the PLANTs themselves. Their continued status, however, will depend on their response to this message… for my advisors, the other leaders of the Earth Alliance, and I myself have been forced to conclude that the PLANTs bear at least some responsibility for this incident. Therefore, leaders of the PLANT colonies, I now say this: in order to prove your innocence in this matter, you must now turn over the terrorists responsible for this atrocity, compensate the people of Earth for their losses, disarm and dissolve the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty… and all members of the Supreme Council must resign." Copeland stared into the camera, as though glaring directly at those that he addressed. "In recognition of the time involved with several of these conditions, you have two months to carry them out… but if you do not comply within those two months, drastic measures will be taken. The people of Earth deserve no less, ladies and gentlemen."

And so it begins, Gilbert Durandal thought to himself, keeping his face impassive as the Council members exchanged glances in silence. With that ultimatum, they've locked themselves into the path that will inevitably lead to the opportunity to institute the Destiny Plan… and perhaps, along the way, they'll successfully remove my greatest problem…

And if Section Nine does survive the Earth Alliance's initial attempts to dispose of them, I suppose I'll have to use Crescent and Asuka after all. Either way, the road is open at last…

It was Orson White, representative of Sextilis City –who had also served on the Council during the Bloody Valentine War- who first broke the silence. "This is outrageous!" he barked angrily. "This is the same kind of garbage they fed Orb two years ago; and while they say nothing about revoking our hard-won autonomy, this demand that we all resign and disarm ZAFT is clearly a step in that direction!"

Alan Clarzec, the new representative of Februarius City, fidgeted, frowning deeply. "This is indeed outrageous," he said, much more quietly than his colleague, "but still… they have the power to back up these demands. If we refuse to comply, the consequences…"

"Don't be ridiculous, Alan," Louise Leitner, longtime representative of Junius City –including during the Bloody Valentine Tragedy- snapped. "I can't believe any one of us would seriously consider giving in to this preposterous ultimatum! Don't we all remember Junius Seven?" she demanded. "They declared war on us just before that, if you'll recall; the only provocation we ever gave them was simply being Coordinators… and protesting the intolerable quotas and limitations they placed on us. They destroyed the Mandelbrot and her convoy; they initiated the Blockade of 69… and they arranged the terrorist attack that killed off the United Nations Secretary General and General Assembly, in the Tragedy of Copernicus, and then framed us for it as a pretext for war!"

Ricardo Orff, of Martius City, flinched back from the woman's irate tirade. "Pardon me," he ventured, "but I thought it was never proven that it was the Earth Alliance that arranged the incident. There was some suggestion of extremist Coordinator groups…"

Parnell Jesek, longtime Councilman from November City, openly scoffed at the idea. "You weren't there during the hearings, Ricardo," he pointed out calmly. "Louise and I were, as were Orson and Ali. Immediately following the incident, the Montague team was recalled for the inquiry, and the man Commander Montague put in charge of arranging security for Chairman Clyne's arrival, no less a person than Commander DiFalco himself, testified before this Council. He gave a clear, concise report on his observations, and subsequent, personal examination of the bombing site, and his conclusion, in his professional opinion, was that Blue Cosmos was responsible. Now, unless you're prepared to suggest that Commander DiFalco was either incompetent or outright lying, I believe we can rule out anything but a deliberate frame-up."

"When you put it that way…" Orff allowed cautiously.

"Still," Eduardo Lee, of Maius City, put in with a frown, "what are we going to do about this? They've given us two months to comply, but I'm not sure even that will be enough, whatever we decide to do."

"It will be enough," Leitner declared, "to fully mobilize ZAFT in the defense of the PLANTs." She turned a challenging gaze on Durandal. "Mister Chairman, I hereby ask, on behalf of the citizens of Junius City, the dead of murdered Junius Seven, and the entire population of the PLANTs, that ZAFT be mobilized, and granted a larger budget, in defense of the Homeland."

"I concur," White said promptly. "We all know, even if some of us would rather not admit it, that all capitulation will bring about is a delay in our deaths. Eventually, the elements of Blue Cosmos remaining the Earth Alliance hierarchy will succeed in ordering our destruction, and if we disarm ZAFT, we will stand no chance at all. I say we make our stand now, Your Excellency."

"Agreed," Junuarius City's Ali Kasim interjected, tone firm. "Not only would giving in merely delay the inevitable… but it would also throw away the sacrifices of the thousands of ZAFT soldiers who gave their lives for the autonomy –and survival- we enjoy today. I would not have their lives be in vain, and neither, I believe, would any of us."

Interesting dichotomy, Durandal thought to himself. He affected an air of careful consideration, as even the more reluctant members of the Council began to nod. Those who were only recently elected are hesitant, while those who were in office during the War –and so know firsthand of what they speak- are firm in their positions. Instead of inexperienced leaders acting in reckless ignorance, we have war-hardened veterans who know full well the risks ahead, and embracing them anyway…

He knew better than to speak his actual thoughts on the matter, of course; just as he knew that now was not the time to voice his true intentions. They are for the good of all, but they need time to realize that… so for now, I'll tell them exactly what they want to hear.

"This is a dangerous path you suggest," he said quietly, turning to face them all. "Preparing ourselves so openly for war risks repeating the destruction of two years ago; mobilizing ZAFT could simply provoke them."

"They're already in motion, Your Excellency," White pointed out grimly. "We know there's been increased activity at Arzachel… and whatever they may care to say about it, we also know that it was the Earth Alliance behind the attack on Armory One, and the interference with Minerva's attempt to stop Break The World."

"Orson's right," Leitner interjected. "And besides," she added, with grim humor, "one of their demands is that we hand over the terrorists responsible for Break The World. Considering that they're dead, we've already failed in our negotiations, before they've even begun."

Durandal closed his eyes with a sigh. "I would still like to find a peaceful resolution to this crisis," he said at length, "but as you say, that may not be possible… and the Bloody Valentine Tragedy is still fresh in the minds of our citizens. In all probably many, if not most, would agree with you… so, all things considered, it appears we have no choice."

Leitner looked at him shrewdly. "Then the motion is approved, Your Excellency?"

He nodded, manner suddenly decisive. "Yes, it is. ZAFT is hereby directed to mobilize, and is authorized to begin taking whatever measures necessary to protect the Homeland."

Section Nine Local Headquarters, Orb Union, Situation Room
Ken shook his head in utter disgust, as Copeland finished his broadcast. "Bastards," he remarked, almost conversationally. "Still, I suppose it was inevitable that they'd react this way. I'm only surprised that it took them this long to reach a decision."

"Public opinion is more divided this time around, Boss," Tom pointed out, standing at his leader's right shoulder. "Support for the original War was overwhelming, since the PLANTs' refusal to ship any more resources to Earth was putting a big dent in the sponsor nations' economies. And, of course, the people hadn't truly seen what a war of such scale would be like."

Section Nine's leader nodded thoughtfully. "So what changed?" Acknowledged strategist he might be, Ken nonetheless knew his understanding of civilians and public opinion was rather lacking in comparison to his thorough knowledge of the military mindset.

"Muruta Azrael, for one," Rick Chung supplied, standing at the controls to the huge wall display. "Maybe you don't realize this, Major, but Azrael was out of control even for an Earth Alliance partisan. He got away with his nuclear attack in Africa because of the obvious military implications; that diversion allowed him to retake Victoria, after all. The earlier attack on Orb, on the other hand, raised more than a few eyebrows."

"I remember that," Murrue Ramius put in, stepping into the room. "At the time, we weren't sure whether or not Azrael could get away with further nuclear attacks; it was the cause of quite a bit of concern for us."

Ken quickly turned to her. "Murrue! This is a pleasant surprise." Giving her a quick hug, he added, "Shouldn't you be teaching about now?"

"It's Saturday, Ken," she informed him with a laugh. "You do remember what the weekend is, don't you?"

The ace blinked, then rubbed his eyepatch sheepishly. "Right, right… Sorry. You know how it gets in the busier times."

"Yes, I do know," Murrue murmured, suddenly somber. "And if this isn't a 'busy' time, I don't know what is…"

She'd not arrived in time to watch the broadcast, but she'd heard the salient points on her car radio on the way to the HQ building… and so she knew full well what had to be going through her fiancé's mind. Well, she reminded herself, I knew something like this would be coming from the moment Chairwoman Canaver sold us on this scheme… and even now, much as I'd like to, I can't deny that it was the sensible thing to do. At the time, Ken was the only real choice to lead the unit, and even now, only Rau Le Creuset could really handle it in his place… and it'll be some time yet before anyone is prepared to trust him in that role…

The uneasy silence lasted for several minutes, until Rick gently cleared his throat. "In actual fact, Murrue," he told his old teacher, "he couldn't have gotten away with another nuclear strike. Orb had even his cronies in the Earth Alliance cabinet concerned; public opinion was getting even more restless than that. Had he tried anything more, at least on Earth itself, they'd have demanded his head. I know my own countrymen weren't happy, and for once they weren't alone in that."

"That fits with some of the other bits of data we've picked up," Leanne Eldridge noted, standing at Ken's left shoulder. "I hear people thought Azrael went a bit overboard with the attempted destruction of the PLANTs."

"A bit," Rick agreed. "If he'd pulled everything off without a hitch, he might've even gotten away with it… but my sources tell me he was doomed from the moment Fourth Fleet went up."

Ken nodded in understanding. "The price of victory was too high," he mused. "Over two thousand people died in that one strike, combine that with the other losses we –and ZAFT- inflicted on them, and the final cost to the Earth Forces was somewhere around ten thousand…"

"Right," the Equatorial Union native confirmed. "Had Azrael made it home alive, he likely would've been executed by his own people over that fiasco; he got overzealous, and paid for it. As it was, the military quietly began a Board of Inquiry into the incident, and only spared Admiral Hamilton a posthumous court martial because they deemed he had only done what he could to salvage the bad situation Azrael put him in. His son, I think, escaped notice on the strength of his low rank, his tertiary position as a pilot, and the fact that he's surprisingly good at his job."

"I noticed," Ken said dryly, and turned his thoughts inward for a time.

This is it, he thought. The outbreak of a new war… I've been expecting it, but that doesn't make it much easier. I know I'll be pulled into again, if only because we're going to need every good pilot we can get our hands on… but that's for later. For now… All right. High probability of a new nuclear strike. Logos is ruthless enough to try it, and they can probably manipulate public opinion enough to get away with it, if only barely. And if the PLANTs fall, even Orb will be sucked under in short order…

"All right," the Demon Lord said finally. "Leanne, get word to HQ to prepare Asmodeus for another trip; if the Earth Forces do attack, I want to give them all the help we can. Just one thing, though: tell them to offload all of Asmodeus' nuclear warheads."

"Got it, Boss," the Gray Demon acknowledged, and quickly departed the room.

"Why no nukes?" Murrue asked curiously, after Leanne had gone. "I'd think you'd want all the firepower you can get, under the circumstances."

Ken shook his head. "A hunch, Murrue. ZAFT is bound to anticipate a nuclear attack, and if they do, I don't want our people caught in any countermeasure they might've cooked up." Now fully into "decisive commander mode" –as Mu had once put it- he turned to his other surviving Demon. "Tom, what's the Eldridge's status?"

Tom shook his head. "Not happening, Boss," he answered, correctly interpreting his boss's question. "She's nowhere near completion. By the time she can fight, the opening moves of the new war will be long over."

The Demon Lord closed his eye. "I see," he murmured. "Then all we can do… is pray that ZAFT really does have something new up their sleeves…"

Orb Union, Morgenroete Harbor, Minerva, Officer's Lounge, December 8th, C.E. 73
"You guys hear the news?" Lunamaria Hawke asked of the compartment in general. "About the Earth Alliance's ultimatum?"

"Yes," Rey Za Burrel answered quietly, sitting in one corner of the compartment. "I heard the Captain and Mr. Trine talking about it earlier. I suppose they've finally decided to make their move…"

It hadn't taken more than a few hours for the news to reach the Minerva's crew. A few of them had been out exploring Orb, but most had been in position to catch repeats of Copeland's broadcast… and their reactions were uniform in disgust.

Vino Dupre and Yolant Kent, however, looked quite interesting; having been buried in Minerva's repairs, they'd not gotten as much detail as their fellows had. "I heard something about it," Vino said with a frown, "but none of the details. Just how bad is it?"

"Bad, Vino," Luna's sister Meyrin told him, looking worried. "Captain Gladys had me send a message to the Homeland about it, and I was there when we got a reply. The Earth Alliance wants ZAFT to be disarmed, for the PLANTs to give monetary compensation to the survivors of Break The World, and hand over the perpetrators, and for the entire Supreme Council to resign."

"That's crazy!" Yolant protested. "If we disarm ZAFT, the PLANTs are helpless… and we couldn't hand over Sato's terrorists if we wanted to! They all died, and the Earth Alliance knows it!" "They don't care, Yolant," Shinn Asuka said flatly, leaning against the bulkhead next to the compartment's hatch. "They don't even care that there's no way we can pay compensation to the families of billions of people, or about the chaos getting rid of the Supreme Council would cause. Don't you get it by now? All they want is to destroy the PLANTs. These demands are just a way of justifying it."

Heads nodded all around at that. None of them had been in ZAFT when the War ended, but except for Shinn they'd all been in the PLANTs during it. The machinations of the Earth Alliance were nothing new to them; none of them were surprised that nothing had truly changed since the Junius Treaty's ratification.

"So no matter what happens," Luna said softly, gazing at the deck, "there's going to be war, isn't there? And then… we're going to be right in the middle of it."

"That's the Major's guess," Shinn agreed. "Section Nine believes the Earth Alliance is already mobilizing, and will attack within minutes of the deadline passing in February."

Rey glanced up, eyes narrow. "Section Nine's been wrong before," he pointed out quietly. "They didn't expect the attack on Armory One, remember."

"There's a difference between missing a sneak attack and predicting all-out war, Rey," Impulse's pilot shot back. "The Major's made a living at anticipating the enemy's strategy for almost six years now; and while he's missed a few things, he's also got a good record for following major trends. And besides, it doesn't take ZAFT's greatest ace to see where things are going, does it?" He shook his head. "Those bastards… it's just like two years ago…"

Meyrin glanced worriedly from one pilot to the next. "But what are we supposed to do, if they declare war?" she asked anxiously. "We've been through a few skirmishes, sure, but not full-scale battles. Until a couple of months ago, we'd never even been in combat at all…"

"No one starts out as a veteran, Meyrin," Shinn told her, expression softening uncharacteristically. "The Major taught me that much. If we keep our eyes open, and think before we act, we'll be fine. I know we can handle this." For emphasis, he slammed his right fist into his left palm, and smiled grimly.

Meyrin leaned back in her chair, reassured… but Rey Za Burrel's eyes narrowed even further, scrutinizing his fellow pilot. He's starting to come out of his shell, he thought to himself. I haven't seen him that open before… and he's calmer about the Earth Forces than he used to be. That will make him more effective on the battlefield… but potentially harder to control. The Major… I'd better suggest to Gil that DiFalco be removed as soon as possible. Shinn is becoming more useful to us through DiFalco's tutelage, but if left alone he might turn Shinn into too much of a free-thinker. If that happens before we're ready, the consequences to the Destiny Plan could be… He shook his head minutely. Commander Crescent is the answer. We just need to see to it that she does what's necessary…

The Moon, Arzachel Base, Mobile Suit Hangar, January 4th, C.E. 74
"Typical of the PLANTs," Lieutenant Commander Jonas Pike remarked to his commander. "Stubborn to the end…"

"It's how they've always operated," newly-promoted Commander Allen C. Hamilton agreed. "They were stubborn when the sponsor nations started pressing them for higher quotas, and they were stubborn when we blew up one of their colonies. It's in their nature, I suppose…"

"Not real bright of them, if you ask me," Lieutenant (Senior Grade) Oscar "Scar" Goldberg said with a snort. "Don't they know they're just going to get blasted back into the Stone Age if they keep up this meaningless resistance?"

"Don't underestimate them, Scar," Hamilton said sharply. "I've fought Coordinators in a lot of different battles now, and I can tell you that they don't go down that easily. The War lasted nineteen months, despite our numerical superiority. They're tenacious, skilled, and innovative; take them lightly and neither you nor Nova will survive this battle, understood?"

"Of course, Commander," Goldberg said promptly; and if there was still an edge of disbelief in his tone, Hamilton chose to let it pass… this time.

The trio of pilots stood before two of the Project Zeta mobile suits; having been completed a month earlier, and undergone numerous field tests since, their final month of testing was to take place on the Moon and in open space… before they participated in Operation Fatman.

Little had changed in the designs since Hamilton had first shown them to Neo Roanoke; the only change in equipment loadout was the use of Variable, instead of standard, phase-shift armor. That change had not slowed construction much, and now the completed models were finally in the hands of their designated pilots.

Jonas Pike had been assigned to Gat-X506 Sigma; his cool, steady precision with mobile suit weaponry made him a natural to handle the all-purpose mobile suit, leaving his younger colleague to the machine's less accurate brother. In his hands, Sigma had acquitted itself well in exercises, and had become known for its colors space-black with white trim.

Where Pike was cool, unflappable, and an excellent marksman –with little interest in the genetic differences of the war, being more concerned with ideology- Scar Goldberg could've been designed as his exact antithesis. Excitable, temperamental, and possessing all the tactical subtlety of a bull wearing a corset, he was known for being a phenomenally bad shot with any weapon that came his way. Capable of missing with anything up to and including self-guided missiles, those he served with often joked –only half-humorously- that Goldberg couldn't hit a moon if he was standing on it. His teammates resolutely maintained that if, by some miracle, he correctly aimed a weapon, it would promptly be discovered that he was pointing the wrong end of it at the enemy, and instead kill himself.

Therefore, of course, he had been assigned GAT-X507 Nova. Hamilton had briefly argued against it… until Vice Admiral Taggart had informed him it was because even Goldberg would have difficulty failing to hit something with a nuclear bomb.

He still held some reservations as to whether Goldberg would remember to point it at the PLANTs instead of at himself, but Hamilton accepted the decision anyway.

Although, of course, he was intensely grateful his own Zeta would not be ready till after Operation Fatman. If nothing else, he thought to himself, I'd rather not have to fly alongside that riotous paint scheme any sooner than I have to.

The first thing Goldberg had done, after climbing aboard Nova, was to alter its VPS to a veritable all-out brawl of color, a camouflage pattern made mostly out of orange, black, and neon yellow. Hamilton was uncertain if this was to show his utter contempt for anyone foolish enough to challenge a mobile suit equipped with a nuclear bazooka… or an attempt to blind any unwary adversaries with the calamitous clash of color.

Maybe both, he reasoned. I nearly dropped dead on the spot myself, seeing that for the first time…

Shaking off thoughts of the relative merits of the pilots, he returned his attention to the present. "Something both of you should be aware of," Hamilton informed the pair. "If the PLANTs choose to fight, there's a good chance Section Nine will engage, as well; we know DiFalco is connected to them, and their raid on Greenland last year shows quite clearly where their sympathies lie. Now, I somehow doubt that will include the Preybird, but stay on your guard anyway. Their pilots won't be like other Coordinators you've faced in the past; the 'Major' obviously chose his personnel, especially his pilots, very carefully indeed."

"Not to mention," Pike mused, "the small fact that they have nuclear weapons, too."

"Yes," Hamilton agreed, "there's that, too… which, taken together, is why I'm going to be running you both through some very nasty simulations for the next month. We're going to take a worst case scenario –fighting Asmodeus, Odin, and both of DiFalco's surviving subordinates, among others- and run it until either you two drop, or you find a way to survive consistently." He lowered his voice, glancing around briefly to make sure no one was in earshot. "That, gentlemen, does not necessarily mean by blasting your way through everything in sight. If it comes down to a truly rough situation, I expect you to retreat immediately. Your units are more valuable in other theaters than in this nuclear strike."

Goldberg looked at him in incomprehension, causing Hamilton to once again regret that such a skilled pilot had to be so dense in other areas, but Pike slowly nodded. "Even against orders from Lord Djibril, Sir?" he asked quietly… with the air of someone confirming what he already suspected.

"That's right," Project Zeta's lead pilot said flatly. "If there are any repercussions, I'll take responsibility… and contact Admiral Sykes directly. I'm afraid my estimation of Lord Djibril's military expertise is… somewhat less than my estimation of Azrael." He shook his head. "Azrael was too concerned about the genetic conflict, just as Djibril, but at least he was smart enough to let his fleet commanders fight their own battles. He gave objectives, and occasionally strategies, but he had some idea of his limitations. Djibril…"

"Concur," Pike said simply. "Commander, may I speak freely?"

Hamilton nodded. "Go ahead. I've no use for subordinates who blindly follow their commander's lead."

"In that case, Sir, I must respectfully suggest that this nuclear attack is a bad idea," Sigma's pilot said bluntly. "It's been tried twice before; by now, ZAFT would have to be full of rock-brained idiots not to have come up with some kind of contingency plan."

The commander once again glanced around for potential eavesdroppers, then lowered his voice even further. "For what it's worth, Jonas, I happen to agree with you. So does Admiral Taggart, and, I suspect, Admiral Sykes. Unfortunately, Lord Djibril –and, to a lesser extent, President Copeland- is adamant about this. He wants the PLANTs obliterated, and he wants them obliterated now. I suspect it's a combination of bigotry and a subconscious fear of being subjected to the same ridicule as Azrael, for not ending the war fast enough."

"Then that's what we'll do," Goldberg said firmly, slamming a fist into his palm. "We'll be in and out in no more than two hours… less than that, if Admiral Kimmer's people are on the ball."

Hamilton sighed inwardly. Brilliant at maneuvers, competent up close… but as ignorant of politics and strategy as he is of how to aim. Well, I can always hope that Escher painting of a color scheme will give his enemies seizures.

"That's essentially the idea, Scar," he said aloud, noting with amusement Pike's stifled snort at Goldberg's naivety. "And that's why I'm going to put you through those sims. By the time you're to deploy, I want it to be their worst-case scenario, not yours."

Atmosphere Above Orb Union, ZAFT Trans-Atmospheric Transport, January 6th, C.E. 74
"I still can't quite believe they're letting us go down to Earth at a time like this," Dearka Elsman, sitting in the transport's pilot's seat, remarked to his copilot. "Going on leave for a full month… Okay, I can understand why Yzak went along with it, but I can't figure out why the higher-ups allowed it."

Miriallia Haw, Dearka's copilot –having taken flying lessons since the previous war- and girlfriend, shrugged. "Maybe they're confident the attack won't happen until you get back? I mean, Chairman Durandal does seem pretty sure of himself… And Ken was one of ZAFT's top people, a few years back. Maybe they figure his wedding is important enough to justify it."

The blonde-haired pilot shook his head. "Who knows? But I don't think they're expecting the Earth Forces to hold off on the attack till we get back; if they did, I don't think they'd have ordered me to take the Buster with me."

To that, the war correspondent had no answer. She, too, was puzzled by the stipulation in the orders granting Dearka leave to attend his best friend's wedding in Orb; it had been a long time since Dearka had flown GAT-X103 Buster, even in exercises, because of the G-weapon's nuclear reactor. With the signing of the Junius Treaty, the machine had been promptly placed into storage, reactor powered down, while Dearka himself was assigned a new ZAKU Warrior.

He'd flown that ZAKU, in Gunner configuration, in the unofficial first battles of the new war, and had

fully expected to remain with it, at least until war was formally declared; after all, while the Earth Sphere in general tolerated Orb's clandestine retention of ZGMF-X10A Freedom, they would be far less lenient about ZAFT using nuclear-powered mobile suits.

Instead, however, Chairman Durandal had discretely instructed Dearka to take the Buster out of storage, and load it onto the transport he was flying to Orb… with authorization to full reactivate it at his discretion.

Not that I'm complaining, Dearka mused, guiding the craft through reentry. I'll take the Buster over that ZAKU any day; better armed, better armored, and more maneuverable… but why let me take it while the Junius Treaty is still in effect? And, more importantly… why let me go when war is so obviously imminent?

"The only thing I can come up with," Dearka said slowly, several minutes into reentry, "is that they don't think I'll be needed. Now, with Shiho's CGUE DEEP Arms and Yzak's Duel to hold the fort, I guess I can kind of understand that… if I were flying just another ZAKU. Since I've got Buster with me, though, it kinda makes me wonder."

"…Maybe they've got a new weapon that they haven't bothered telling most of the teams about yet?" Mir suggested hesitantly. "Something they expect to even the odds between ZAFT and the Earth Forces, maybe some weapon that's still classified?"

He shrugged. "Could be, I guess; and if I were Falcon, I could probably just call up somebody at R&D and get some answers. Since I can't, though, I have to wing it." He scratched his head, with the hand not busy steering them through reentry turbulence. "I guess it's also possible that they think Minerva could use some extra help, in the event of an attack on them. After all, they've just got two ZAKUs, Strike Noir, and the Impulse; not half bad, but kind of puny compared to the sheer might the Alliance could chuck at them… especially with Nightwing and whatever that psycho Hamilton's been cooking up."

Mir reached across and gripped her boyfriend's shoulder. "Whatever it is," she said quietly, "we're not going to figure it out by ourselves. We'll be in Orb when whatever's coming comes, so we might as well just ride it out, huh? Focus on Ken's wedding; that's the best news we've had in a while."

Dearka smiled. "Yeah, I guess you got a point… I gotta say, though, I was kinda surprised when he finally decided to settle down… especially with Murrue Ramius. It took him so long to put Laura's death behind him that I was starting to think he'd never find someone else…" He chuckled, shaking his head. "Guess I was wrong about that. But man… Murrue Ramius? That's still just so weird…"

Section Nine Local Headquarters, Orb Union, Situation Room
In the dimly-lit room, the soldier known –in this place- as the Major watched the wall-filling display impassively. So, he thought to himself, it's beginning… Even as they talk about giving the PLANTs time to consider the ultimatum and then comply with its stipulations, the Earth Alliance prepares to attack no matter the answer…

"It's confirmed, Major," Rick Chung said from behind him, interrupting the pilot's reverie. "Lieutenant Commander Cateau called it in from HQ: Arzachel is definitely buzzing with activity… and so is Daedalus, though she can't figure out why."

Ken waved a hand dismissively. "Daedalus is irrelevant; that's on the dark side of the Moon, out of line of sight for the PLANTs. Also, their main lunar operations are at Arzachel. We'll examine Daedalus' activities when the attack is past."

"Roger that." Rick handed his boss a folder. "Here's the data on Arzachel it looks like they've dug deep into their old nuclear stockpiles for this one, Sir. I just don't see that they could've built that many new nuclear warheads in the time since the deadline was first announced."

"No," the Major murmured, "probably not; even with nuclear power plants online again, it takes time to gather that much weapons-grade uranium and plutonium. Not to mention tritium, if they're using fusion weapons…"

Trailing off, he turned his attention to the reconnaissance photos discrete surveillance by one Nicol Amalfi –and his stealthy mobile suit- had brought back to Section Nine's orbital base. Let's see… Looks like the Earth Alliance isn't too concerned about other people seeing what they're doing right now, eh? But then, they probably don't realize anyone can get close enough to see this much detail. Raiden's continued existence isn't that well known…

On the other hand, Ken realized, it was possible they did suspect… and simply didn't care. The sheer weight of forces he could see on the Moon's surface indicated that they didn't have much reason to be worried. After all, the PLANTs wouldn't dare venture near there just now, and we're still such a small group compared to any proper military, so…

He swore viciously under his breath, eye narrowing as he gazed intently at the last two photos.

"So, you see it too, eh, Major?" Rick said with a humorless smile. "I thought you'd be, ah, interested in that; I sure was, when Commander Cateau sent the report down."

"Yes, I'd say I'm interested," Ken said grimly, staring at the imagery. "I can't say those mobile suits surprise me much; it's been three months since Hamilton flew that prototype against us. But this…" He shook his head, grappling with the implications of the final photo. "Three new Archangel-class ships? The one we found months ago at L1, and two more at Arzachel?"

The other man nodded grimly. "I'm afraid so, Major. Nicol got close enough to see them with his own eyes; as far as he could tell, they were the real thing. On the bright side, though," he added, nodding at the photos, "it doesn't look like they're planning to use them in the upcoming attack. There's no sign they're loading any nuclear weapons on the Archangels."

Lucky for all of us, Ken thought to himself, frowning fractionally. The last thing we need is nuclear-armed Archangel-class ships… but then of course Hamilton didn't use them two years ago…

The Major sighed. "It doesn't really matter," he said quietly. "They don't need them."

Rick tilted his head. "So Archangel-class ships really are that dangerous, then," he said quietly. "Just how bad is it, Major? The Earth Alliance didn't deploy any against the EURM…"

Ken rubbed his eyepatch in thought. "They're as dangerous as they come," he said after a moment's thought. "Bogey One would've been eaten alive by just one Archangel. For that matter, we nearly were, both at Mendel and at Second Jachin. Jim Hamilton was smart and crafty, and he knew what his ship was capable of. Azrael was no slouch either, and between the two of them, it took me nearly getting blown up, Murrue lashing out in revenge, and Kira getting very, very angry to take down Dominion. It could've gone the other way all too easily…" He shook his head. "We need to speed up construction of the Eldridge, if we can. The forces we've got simply won't be enough…"

Silence descended on the room for a time, broken only by the occasional keystrokes of Section Nine analysts and controllers working at various computers. Both of the higher-ranking officers ignored the quiet sound, instead reflecting on their latest encounters with the Earth Forces.

For Rick Chung, it had been in the raid on the Phantom Pain base in Greenland; he'd led the ground element there, escorted by a trio of Section Nine pilots in Murasames the organization had bought from Orb. He'd been in a position then to take note of the improvements in the Earth Alliance's mobile suit designs, both in mass-produced models –the new Dagger Ls, as well as two of the older 105 Daggers- and their new G-weapon, the Strike Noir.

Rick had personally flown the GAT-X105E to the waiting Section Nine transport, and during that brief flight he'd come to realize the Earth Forces were learning from the mistakes they'd made in the previous war… and from the way the EURM had humiliated them in the Equatorial Union Civil War.

Likewise, Ken's own latest clash with the Earth Alliance had left him uneasy. Battling against the man who had identified himself as Neo Roanoke, flying Preybird's dark twin Nightwing, had been a sobering experience. He'd come away from that fight with a strategic victory… but a tactical draw. The Phantom Pain pilot had been far better than most pilots Ken had fought… and so, for the first time in a long time, someone had fought against Ken DiFalco and gotten away with an intact mobile suit.

All that led to Ken's new determination to build up Section Nine's forces. The Eldridge –named not for the still-living Gray Demon, but rather for the ship from the infamous Philadelphia Experiment- was only the tip of the iceberg…

"Major?" one of the analysts called, breaking the ominous quiet. "There's a ZAFT transport shuttle coming down from orbit; it's scheduled to land in about ten minutes."

Ken glanced over at the man. "And you're telling me this because…?"

The analyst looked sheepish. "Sorry, Sir. I just thought you'd like to know that the shuttle's pilot is reported to be one Dearka Elsman, with Miriallia Haw as copilot."

"Dearka and Miriallia?" Ken repeating, blinking in surprise. "What are they… oh, of course." He smiled faintly. "I forgot; Dearka did say he thought they'd be able to make it in time for the wedding… Rick," the Major said, turning to the other pilot, "I'd like you to hold the fort here for now. I've got to go greet a couple of old friends."

"No problem, Major," Rick acknowledged, with a small smile of his own. "Besides, it's not like there's a war on yet; you can take a day off every now and then, without everything blowing up in your face."

Ken merely waved a hand as he departed, trench coat fluttering behind him… but as he left, in the back of his mind he knew that "yet" was the operative word…

Orb Union, Kaguya Island Spaceport
By the time Ken had completed the circuitous routing necessary to conceal his point of origin –and thus his double life- and arrived at the newly-built Kaguya Spaceport, the transport was already on final approach to one of the huge main runways.

He watched it come down with a critical eye, noting how well the pilot flew. Hm… they didn't pick an ordinary pilot to bring Dearka to Earth; there aren't that many that can handle a big bird like that so well… In fact, that looks like Dearka's style. He chuckled inwardly. Just like me, or any other pilot: hates to be in any position but the pilot's seat…

Then, as the shuttle touched down, he took a closer look at it, and frowned minutely. Wait a second… that's no personnel transport. That's built to carry mobile suits. What under the sun is he bringing with him, and why?

Climbing out of his car, Ken flashed his civilian ID at the spaceport guard station and walked on through the terminal, heading straight for the tarmac. Even in his civilian identity, his connections in Orb's government permitted him a certain freedom of movement, which he shamelessly used now in his haste to greet his friends.

The shuttle had come to a complete stop by the time Ken crossed the terminal and exited onto the tarmac, and by the time he neared the shuttle itself, its hatch opened, disgorging a blonde-haired man in ZAFT red, followed closely by a brunette woman in civilian clothing, with a camera slung around her neck. They were both looking around intently, clearly searching for someone in particular.

Ken ended the search with a wave of his hand. "Over here, amigos," he called, raising his voice to be heard over the engine noise of an inbound military VTOL.

Dearka Elsman immediately altered course, striding quickly toward his friend, grinning broadly.. "There you are, you old pirate," he greeted, and clapped Ken's shoulder the moment he was in reach. "I was wondering if you'd be able to fit us into your busy schedule!"

Miriallia Haw shook her head, smiling fondly. "C'mon, Dearka, this is Ken we're talking about; he could probably rearrange a battle if he had to." Dearka stepped aside as she moved forward, and she gave the ace a quick hug. "Nice to see you again, Ken."

"Likewise, Miriallia," Ken said with a small smile of his own, and returned the embrace before stepping back. "I haven't seen you two much in a while now. How are things going up in the PLANTs?" As he spoke, he gestured for them to accompany him back through the spaceport terminal.

Dearka shrugged. "Could be worse," he admitted, falling into step at his friend's side, one arm wrapped around Mir's waist. "Break The World had everybody off-balance for a month or so, but things calmed down pretty fast… at least until the Earth Alliance's ultimatum."

"It put Yzak in a bad mood for days," Mir recalled. "It was all Shiho could do to keep him from destroying half the breakable objects on the ship."

Ken allowed himself a faint smile, unsurprised. Shiho Hahnenfuss had, once upon a time, been a member of the Gray Demons, and still bore the gray feathers on her uniform collar; she was also more than casually interested in her current team commander, though Yzak Joule remained blissfully ignorant of the matter. Even with his ignorance, though, she had perhaps more of a calming effect on him than even Dearka did.

"So she managed to calm him down, did she?" Ken mused now. "Somehow, I'm not surprised…"

"Well," Dearka said slowly, "that wasn't the final straw. What really did it was one notation in the orders granting me leave to come to Earth for the wedding."

The ace looked at him sharply. "Care to explain that, amigo?"

His friend took a deep breath. "Falcon… that transport is also carrying the Buster."

Ken's eye narrowed instantly, as he took in the unexpected information. The Buster… one of only five nuclear-powered machines left over from the War not to be under Section Nine jurisdiction, and thus still subject to the provisions of the Junius Treaty. If Dearka was ordered to take it out of storage…

"I think, amigo," he said softly, "you should fill me in on what's been happening up in space lately…"

Earth Alliance Forces Archangel-class Mobile Assault Ship Ophanim, Bridge, February 9th, C.E. 74
Vice Admiral Cyril Kimmer idly tapped his fingers on the armrest of his chair, watching as the specs on the main display slowly refined themselves into recognizable shapes: spaceborne hourglasses, with reflective panels attached to their centers.

About time we got this show on the road, the Atlantic Federation native thought disgustedly. Only took them four months to finally get the ball rolling… That Copeland is far too cautious for his own good, or ours.

Kimmer recalled the endless hours of arguments between Copeland and Djibril that had led to this point. Djibril had advocated an attack as soon as all forces were in readiness, and Admiral Sykes had backed him; Azrael, Sutherland, and Webster, on the other hand, had been more inclined to accept Copeland's argument: that to attack before the ultimatum's deadline had passed would be to lose all credibility with the world in general.

He snorted, remembering Djibril's accusation –probably accurate- that Copeland had been afraid of Orb… and how the revelation of Project Zeta's successes had finally convinced the "old men" to at least make sure the fleet was close enough to the PLANTs to engage within minutes of the deadline expiring.

"Too bad Admiral Novak isn't here, though," Kimmer mused, mostly to himself. "Ophanim and Kyriotite should be more than enough, especially with Nova and Sigma, but still…"

"With any luck, we shouldn't even be getting into the fighting ourselves at all, Admiral," Ophanim's captain, Andre Lewis, pointed out. "We're just the decoys, after all; and there's not much sense in getting the Fleet Commander too close to the line of fire if it can be helped."

"Point, Andre," Kimmer conceded unwillingly. "Still, I can't say I've ever liked playing the decoy, or leading from the rear… and having commanded Battleship Squadron 17 in Fifth Fleet during Second Jachin, I have a certain skepticism regarding the viability of another nuclear attack."

Lewis frowned. "All due respect, Sir, but that was thanks to the presence of GENESIS and True ZAFT's METEOR units. I don't think we're likely to encounter either one today, with GENESIS' plans destroyed and True ZAFT long gone."

"Perhaps not," the admiral said quietly, "but nonetheless… Well, I guess this is what I get for wishing for the attack: at the last minute, I start getting cold feet." He chuckled quietly. "Anyway, forget about it, Andre. I'm probably just being paranoid."

"Probably so, Sir," Lewis agreed. He could afford to be frank with Kimmer; he'd been the CO of Kimmer's last flagship, the Nelson-class battleship Achilles, before becoming Kimmer's flag captain on Ophanim. Their working relationship went back several years now, giving Lewis a certain amount of leeway when dealing with his admiral.

Their mutual recollections were interrupted a few minutes later by Ophanim's helmsman, Lieutenant (Senior Grade) Roger Simpson. "We'll be within range of the PLANTs in five minutes, Captain," he reported.

"Fourth Fleet confirms, Captain," Communications Officer Lieutenant Lyle Ogden added. "All ships reporting nearing preplanned positions."

Lewis nodded. "Thank you, gentlemen." He glanced over at Kimmer. "Admiral?"

"The word is given, Captain Lewis," Kimmer replied formally. "Initiate combat operations."

PLANTs, Aprilius One, Supreme Council Chairman's Office
The instant alarms began blaring throughout the colony, Gilbert Durandal had a fair idea of what was going on. So, he thought to himself, it begins… right on schedule. Well, at least the Earth Forces are punctual, if nothing else.

ZAFT's reply to the Earth Alliance's ultimatum had been utter silence. At the insistence of the Supreme Council, Louise Leitner chief among them, the PLANTs had effectively cut off contact with the Earth Alliance, going about their own business in silence. In that way, they had made it clear they considered the ultimatum beneath their notice.

And they had spent the time since then making certain they could survive the coming attack.

As Durandal anticipated, it wasn't long before a ZAFT staff officer entered his office, face taut. "Your Excellency," Peter Williams, officer in charge of Aprilius One's defenses, began formally, "I must inform you that an Earth Alliance fleet has just reached Lagrange Point 5, and is refusing to respond to any attempts at communication."

The Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council merely sat there for several moments, to all appearances taking in the news; and, in fact, appearances weren't too far off. The curtain is risen, he mused, and the next act has begun… and here is where we must begin to tread carefully. If we act incautiously, the Earth Alliance could actually succeed, and all will be for naught…

"Do you have any count on their numbers?" he said at length, maintaining his outward calm.

"Three Agamemnons," Williams replied grimly, "a dozen Nelsons, and twenty-four Drakes. Also, a number of Dagger-type mobile suits have been launched; we don't have an accurate count on them yet. It appears that the Earth Alliance's entire First Fleet is here. Also, fragments of intercepted radio transmissions make reference to Fourth Fleet, as well; we're not clear if it's actually in the area, however."

Durandal nodded thoughtfully. "I see… Instruct all ZAFT forces to deploy immediately; I leave their exact orders to your discretion, Peter. And," he added, "in case the Fourth Fleet is here… order the Marie Curie to charge the new system; we may need it at any moment."

"At once, Your Excellency," Williams acknowledged with a respectful nod. With a crisp salute, he left the room, rushing to begin the defense against the hostile fleets.

After he'd gone, Durandal smiled to himself. "Yes," he murmured, "the next move in the game has been made… but for good or ill, I wonder? If they have made the mistake of bringing nuclear weapons with them, this battle will be a short one." His smiled widened fractionally. "The Marie Curie… appropriate that a ship named for the woman who paved the way for the Manhattan Project, then refused to participate, should strike a blow against the descendents of that project…"

Despite the gravity of the situation –which even he could affect little, until the battle was over- Durandal was pleased with the progress of his plan… but even so, he had to wonder what his old friend would've thought of the whole matter. Knowing Rau, he would wonder why I was even bothering to try to save this world… He, too, wanted to end the suffering –if only because of his own- but he had such very different ideas…

There was, of course, one other matter to consider. Section Nine was the one party in the conflict that he was uncertain as to his ability to predict; it had been difficult enough when he was ignorant of "the Major's" identity, but knowing that the organization was led by Ken DiFalco actually made it worse. His ultimate objective was plain, but his methods could reach a level of deviousness that surpassed Durandal's own…

Voltaire, Hangar
Within minutes of the alarms beginning to blare throughout every ship and military facility at Lagrange Point 5, Commander Yzak Joule had already changed into his flightsuit, and reached his mobile suit in record time.

"What I'd give to have Dearka here," he muttered under his breath, as he strapped into the machine's seat and began an abbreviated preflight checklist. "Going on leave to attend Commander DiFalco's wedding… Nice timing, Dearka."

"Could be worse, Commander," His acting second in command said, from her own unit. "At least you've got the Duel, eh? No matter what new toys the Earth Forces may have, I doubt they've got much that can stand up to you."

"Maybe not, Shiho," Yzak grunted, "but you know what your old boss would say to that: quantity has a quality all its own."

"Can't have everything," Shiho Hahnenfuss replied cheerfully.

His only reply was another grunt, but he had to admit there was a grain of truth in her words. Switching from the ZAKU Phantom back to his trusty GAT-X102 Duel had been a veritably liberating experience for the silver-haired pilot; the ZAKU line were decent machines, but they didn't even come close to matching the nuclear-powered prowess of the surviving G-weapons.

As he powered up his faithful old machine, part of Yzak's mind reflected on the changes Duel had gone through since its construction, three years before. Originally the most basic of the six Heliopolis-built mobile suits, it had quickly been upgraded with an assault shroud, giving it much-needed additional armor, space mobility, and weaponry, in the form of a railgun and missile pod. Then, after he joined True ZAFT, Morgenroete had added a nuclear reactor and folding wings, granting Duel unlimited range and atmospheric flight capability.

Now, having been hastily refitted in preparation for this very battle, Duel boasted current-generation beam sabers, rifle, and shield, while its shoulder-mounted railgun had been replaced with a Balaena plasma cannon, and a pair of machine cannon turrets had been added to the wings.

Still, Yzak groused to himself, I wish Dearka hadn't gone on leave now of all times…

Shaking his head, he finished his preflight, and brought his intercom connection with the bridge alive. "This is Yzak Joule," he reported, "X102 Duel, launching!"

Ophanim, Bridge
"They're taking the bait so far, Sir," Andre Lewis said quietly, watching the ZAFT ships emerge from various docks and small space stations, with mobile suits already deploying from their hangars. "Classic ZAFT defensive pattern; no sign they've detected Fourth Fleet yet."

"Yes," Admiral Kimmer grunted, not yet reassured. "We'd better hope it stays that way; I'd rather we not have to rebuild Fourth Fleet from scratch… again."

Lewis winced at the rancor in his admiral's voice, but he didn't dispute the sentiment; he, too, recalled the horrible losses taken by the Earth Alliance in the previous war. Fourth Fleet had been the most egregious loss, with virtually every ship wiped in a single moment by GENESIS, but it had hardly been the only one. The main reason the Earth Alliance had signed the Junius Treaty in the first place, Lewis knew, was because the many battles in orbit had left them with exactly one surviving fleet. While a fair number of individual ships had survived Second Jachin, only Sixth Fleet had remained as a cohesive unit, leaving the Earth Alliance rebuilding its fleets for most of the two and a half year interval.

But now, Lewis thought, we are ready again… and if I can't help wondering at least a little if Admiral Kimmer is right, I still believe that we can win this battle, if we play our cards right…

"First ZAFT ships entering effective range of First Fleet, Captain," Ophanim's detection officer, Lieutenant Michael Garibaldi, reported. "Numerous ZAKUs incoming at high speed."

"Understood," Lewis responded calmly. "Keep me apprised." Ophanim's orders, straight from Admiral Sykes, were clear: the ship was to avoid action until the battle was fully joined, in order to maximize the ship's element of surprise. "Lieutenant Ogden, what's Kyriotite's status?"

"Holding position with Fourth Fleet, Sir," Ogden replied. "They report no sign of being detected, and are ready to deploy Sigma and Nova at any time."

The captain nodded. "Excellent. Lieutenant O'Malley," he said, turning to Ophanim's fire-control officer, "begin charging positron banks, and prepare to fire on my-"

He never finished the command, as Garibaldi suddenly broke into his order. "Status change!" he barked, evident surprise warring with professional calm. "Heat signature relay from Eisenhower shows nuclear reactor signature launching from a Nazca-class!"

Lewis' head snapped around, his eyes wide, but Kimmer beat him to the punch. "Nuclear reactor?" he snapped, turning in his own chair. "Can you identify the reading?"

"Checking against known heat signatures now, Admiral," Garibaldi replied, typing at his console with furious haste. "Confirmed! Reactor heat signature is a match with the profile of post-refit GAT-X102 Duel!"

"Joule," Lewis said grimly, swearing under his breath. "Admiral, that's-"

"I know," Kimmer cut him off. "Duel was piloted by Yzak Joule, one of True ZAFT's survivors who returned to ZAFT. We should've anticipated that they'd bring Duel back as soon as the Junius Treaty became a moot point." He drew a deep breath. "All right, then. We'll keep Nova in reserve until Fourth Fleet is ready to strike –I don't trust Goldberg not to get trigger-happy- but instruct Kyriotite to launch Pike immediately."

"Understood, Sir," Ogden acknowledged, and began speaking rapidly into his headset.

"Well," Lewis murmured to his admiral, "it looks like you were right to be suspicious, Admiral. Think they have anything else up their sleeves?"

"At this point, Andre," Kimmer admitted, "I wouldn't be at all surprised."

Lagrange Point 5, Near PLANTs
It was, perhaps, fitting that the first battle of the Second Bloody Valentine War should be fought near the drifting fragments of the asteroid fortress Jachin Due. The final battle of the last War had been fought there, and so it was fitting that the Second Battle of Jachin Due would be followed by the Third.

Unlike the Second, however, Third Jachin began not with nuclear missiles flying everywhere, but with a conventional slugging match. ZAFT Nazcas and Laurasias plowed straight toward Earth Alliance Agamemnons, Nelsons, and Drakes, while GuAIZ Rs and ZAKUs clashed head-on with the many and varied Dagger variants favored by Earth.

To an untrained observer, the battle would've seemed total chaos. As the two sides finally entered range of each other, a Nazca was almost instantly blown apart as it met an Agamemnon; the latter's powerful high-energy beam cannons smashed emerald lances deep into the ZAFT ship's hull, shattering armor as they went. A dozen crewmen were vaporized by the energy bolts themselves, while thirty more were shredded by two-meter-long metal splinters formed of shattered bulkheads… and then the destructive light reached the engine room.

The Nazca's pulsed-fusion reactor chamber was breached, and raw plasma turned the entire ship into an incandescent blob of free-floating hydrogen.

The Agamemnon didn't enjoy her victory for long. A pair of Laurasia-class frigates swiftly turned their own full armament on the Earth Alliance ship, and the severe pounding soon tore her to shreds and molten armor.

Elsewhere, groups of mobile suits crashed into each other like Medieval armies on an ancient battlefield. Battling like giant, mechanical knights, these modern-day jousters fought with weapons of coherent light and hypervelocity projectiles, tearing into each other with a destructive intensity unknown before the advent of directed energy weapons and magnetic-acceleration technology.

One outdated GuAIZ R, meeting with a pair of Dagger Ls, managed to ram its shield-mounted beam saber into one of them, the crimson energy blade melting straight through to the cockpit; the Earth Forces mobile suit drifted for a moment, falling away from the saber… and blew apart in a shower of flame and shrapnel.

The other Dagger pilot clenched his hands on his controls in anger. "Why, you-!" Spinning away from the GuAIZ R's attempt to pump railgun slugs into him, he snapped up his rifle, tightened his finger on the trigger-

A pair of emerald bolts slammed into him from his right, blasting off the Dagger's torso in a veritable eruption of molten metal.

The blue mobile suit that had rescued the endangered GuAIZ R saluted it with one of its beam cannons. "Nice thrust," Shiho Hahnenfuss, piloting ZAFT's only remaining CGUE DEEP Arms, complemented. "Just watch out for the wingmen next time, got it?"

"Will do, Ma'am," the rattled GuAIZ pilot promised, and boosted back toward his own team.

"Nice shot, Shiho," Yzak remarked, as she returned to her position at Duel's side. "I guess keeping your old machine wasn't such a bad idea after all." Pausing briefly, he snapped his plasma cannon into firing position, pulled the trigger, and sent a bolt scorching across space into an old-model Buster Dagger, melting a two-meter hole through its torso. It failed to explode, but it was out of the fight, drifting away with no one at the controls.

Shiho smiled. "You doubted me, Commander? Just because it's old doesn't make it useless; you won't find me trading up until it falls apart around me."

Yzak snorted. "You mean like your old boss has happen a lot? Well, whatever." He spun Duel around, spread its wings, and charged off for the busiest battle area he could find.

Shiho shook her head, following in his wake. Same old Yzak, she thought fondly. Not as fiery, but definitely just as glad to find a good fight… Well, at least we won't be bored.

PLANTs, Junius Eight, Private Estate
Watching on a monitor in his home –accessing military data courtesy of the arrangements of one Kenneth DiFalco- a blonde-haired, mustachioed man in his late forties sighed deeply, observing the carnage going on outside the colony where he made his home.

So this is what it's come to, Rear Admiral (retired) Lewis C. Halberton thought sadly. We drove them off two years ago, but now that they've rebuilt their strength, they've come back for another try… Is this cycle endless? Sparky and so many others sacrificed their lives to end it last time, only for the menace to come back again so soon…

It was enough to make Eighth Fleet's former commanding officer feel every year of his age and then some. Still in the prime of his life, he felt weary, having seen so much death and destruction in the pursuit of one war's end, only to see the whole thing begin again less than three years after he retired.

Halberton had at one time thought his retirement would be peaceful. Having done his part, first for the Earth Alliance and then with True ZAFT, he'd left Odin in Jason Chance's capable hands, and settled in the PLANTs to enjoy his post-military life in relative safety. The PLANTs had welcomed him, in light of his actions with Odin –ZAFT's point of contention being over Ken DiFalco personally, not his organization- and so he'd been content for a time.

Now, the wily former admiral was not so sure he could remain where he was. If nothing else, he thought to himself, it appears that the PLANTs are no longer quite so safe; if Fourth Fleet isn't hiding out there somewhere, I'll be much surprised… and even without that, I'm sure this won't be the end of it. As long as hostilities continue, the Alliance will try again, and again, to destroy the PLANTs entirely. And with Orb in the shape it's in, only ZAFT and Section Nine block their path; compared to the Earth Alliance's numbers, even ZAFT's quality advantage will only get them so far…

Halberton winced then, watching as Sledgehammer missiles from a Nelson-class battered a Nazca into scrap metal. ZAFT was giving as good as it got, especially in the mobile suit conflicts, but if this kept up, even a victory would be merely Pyrrhic. It probably wasn't obvious even to the trained soldiers involved in the battle –too deep in the trees to see the forest, so to speak- but looking at it from the outside, Halberton saw the trends…

Before he could retreat even deeper into melancholy, however, something new, just appearing at the edge of the battle zone, caught his attention… and Lewis Halberton smiled.

Orb Union, DiFalco Residence, Roof
Night had fallen over Orb, leaving the starry sky plainly visible to anyone who cared to look… and on that night, Ken DiFalco and Murrue Ramius cared very much. Gazing up at the inky, star-studded blackness, they watched not the bright points from many light-years away, but rather much closer, brighter, short-lived flashes… and occasional blooms of fire.

The pair used binoculars to view the lightshow; while insufficiently powerful for true detail at a distance of 384,403 kilometers, they were capable of far greater magnification than equivalent devices from times past… powerful enough for the two trained soldiers to recognize much of what was going on. They couldn't see more than a fraction of the battle area at any given time, but their roving gazes gave them a fair sense of the big picture. And a battle it most certainly was…

"So," Ken whispered, "it's begun… the world's new nightmare…"

"Yes," Murrue agreed softly. "So far, this rivals even the first assault in the last War. The last time I saw such a thing was Second Jachin. I guess they've rebuilt since then…" She paused then, seeing a brighter flash bloom, then fade. "What was…?"

"Laurasia," Ken replied tautly. "Something got her reactor; that was a fusion bottle failing." He sighed. "Nobody got off her alive, I can tell you that…"

They fell into silence for several minutes, unconsciously moving closer together, as the lights continued to streak across the night sky. The fiery plumes of fire that appeared every few moments made Ken increasingly tense, and the silence grew more uneasy as seconds ticked past.

"I should be up there," he whispered at length. "This battle… I should be part of it, defending the PLANTs with the others…"

Murrue sighed, slid her free arm around his back. "You have other responsibilities now, Ken," she reminded him quietly. "You made that choice two years ago, when Chairwoman Canaver asked you to lead Section Nine. The defense of the PLANTs… is up to others now."

He sighed. "Yeah, you're right…" His voice trailed off, as something else caught his attention. "Wait. That's…"

Lagrange Point 5, Near PLANTs
"Bastards!" Yzak growled, watching a ZAKU vanish in a puff of vaporized armor, struck dead on by an Agamemnon's main guns. "There's no end to these slimy-!"

"Look at it this way, Commander," Shiho advised, smiling tightly. "They just brought one of their fleet flagships into range. That wasn't very bright of them… but then I suppose they still haven't realized quite what they're dealing with."

After pausing to slice an errant Dagger L in half, Yzak turned back to his acting XO, and smiled slowly himself. "Think you can take her down, Shiho?"

"Well," she replied, watching as her CGUE DEEP Arms' cannons' charge went up toward full power, "Victor used one to take out the Montgomery, three years ago; she was a Nelson-class, so I figure I've got a good chance of frying an Agamemnon, if I play my cards right…"

They both knew it would be a very good thing if she succeeded. The Earth Alliance had begun the battle with the initiative on their side, and ZAFT had been unable to gain the momentum themselves; they fought valiantly, but while the majority of their mobile suits far outmatched the Alliance's, the fact was that they were on the defensive, and the Earth Forces' survivors of Second Jachin had passed on lessons to new recruits on how to survive engagements with ZAFT.

Yzak, dropping instinctively into a guard position for his wingman, glanced tensely around, searching for threats that could stop Shiho from unleashing the full power of her primary weapons. Spotting a quartet of Dagger Ls coming too close, he bared his teeth in a snarl, and opened up with his beam rifle, grenade launcher, plasma cannon, and missile pod.

The barrage of fire was far more devastating than the Earth Forces pilots had counted on. They knew Duel was there, but they also knew it dated back to the Heliopolis-based G-weapon project, from three years before; the idea of such an antiquated machine being a genuine threat didn't even enter their heads.

Unfortunately for them, they reckoned without Yzak Joule's total familiarity with his beloved machine.

The first Dagger suffered the lightest damage, as an emerald dart smashed in through the cockpit hatch and out through the verniers, leaving shrapnel and molten metal in its wake, along with bloody mist that had once been a pilot; while it drifted lifelessly away, the second was struck by the grenade. The explosive lodged in the Dagger's pelvis, and before the horrified pilot could do anything about it, it detonated, blasting off all four of the Dagger's limbs and reducing the torso to free-floating hydrogen and high-velocity debris.

The third barely had time to cry out before the plasma bolt took his machine in the face, converting its head and upper body into molten metal mist. The cockpit was untouched by the actual blast… but the raw thermal bloom superheated the air inside, touching off a firestorm that lasted just long enough to reduce the pilot to cinders… just as the missiles smashed headlong into his partner, lighting off a momentary volcano of barely-recognizable parts, flames, and semi-molten shrapnel.

That threat thoroughly demolished, Yzak smirked, spun Duel around in search of more targets… and nearly exploded himself, as a powerful red-orange blast nearly smote him from the skies.

He and Shiho both whirled, just in time to catch sight of a new machine bearing down on them. Overall black with white trim, a trio of radiator fins protruding from each shoulder, and a pair of rifles in its hands, with cables connecting them to its back, something about it seemed to veritably ooze threat and menace.

"Shiho, get back!" Yzak snapped, raising his own rifle. "I don't know what that is, but I don't think a DEEP Arms should be anywhere near it!"

"Roger that," Shiho agreed unwillingly. She knew he was right –her machine had never been intended to face off against even older "G-type" mobile suits, let alone a new model- but she hated having to leave the battle to others, for any reason. "I'll head off and help the Compton team."

"Good idea." The silver-haired pilot's gaze was fixed on the new Earth Alliance model, even as he added, "And good luck."

"I think you're the one who's going to be needing the luck," she retorted, and kicked in her verniers. Spinning the DEEP Arms around, she departed the area at high speed.

"Smart," the new pilot observed, watching Shiho go. "Ineffective, of course, were I to choose to engage her… but I think I've got a more important target right here in front of me. Your machine violates the Junius Treaty, after all."

"And yours doesn't?" Yzak retorted. "Don't try to tell me that rifle of yours doesn't have nuclear power behind it; any battery would run out after only a few shots from that."

"Hm… good point." Inside the machine's cockpit, the pilot shrugged. "In any case, the Treaty is moot now, isn't it? The decision has been made to finally wipe out the PLANTs, so there's no point in having diplomatic relations with them. Kind of hard to have diplomacy with scattered wreckage."

"You and what army?" Duel's pilot snarled, and opened fire.

"You really have no idea, do you?" the enemy mused, boosting left faster than Yzak expected. "My name is Jonas Pike, my machine is GAT-X506 Sigma… and your antiquated G-weapon is no match for the latest product of Preybird-based technologies."

Preybird-based? Yzak thought, suddenly even more tense. Just like that Nightwing thing from Break The World… That's not good!

With a snarl, he threw Duel to one side as Sigma opened up with its rifles, allowing the high-energy bolts to scorch harmlessly past, then opened up with his own rifle and plasma cannon, firing off emerald and red-orange bolts as fast as his weapons could cycle.

To his surprise, Pike didn't bother to dodge this time. He instead let his left-hand rifle retract to its mounting… and snapped up the now-free arm, as a barrier of pure energy formed in front of it, expanding from a generator on the forearm.

Beam and plasma bolts that would've destroyed Sigma in a heartbeat simply spattered against the energy shield, and Pike laughed quietly. "Weren't expecting that, were you, Duel? Look, compadre, that outdated frame of yours simply isn't good enough anymore. Case in point…"

Even as Yzak altered his aim to compensate for the beam shield's presence, Sigma's right arm came up, and a narrow, tightly-focused bolt of fire leapt from the rifle directly into Duel's shield… which promptly blasted into a million pieces, instantly transforming from a solid –and modern- defensive device into anti-beam coated shrapnel.

Yzak stared in complete disbelief at the scattered fragments of his shield. "That's… impossible," he whispered. "He destroyed an anti-beam shield with one shot…?" Fists clenching on his controls, he snatched out his left-hand beam saber. "I don't know who you are, or how you can do that, but now you're going down, Pike!"

Duel's verniers went to full power, sending the machine into a high-speed charge at Sigma, and Pike sighed. "Not very bright, friend," he murmured, shaking his head. "You're just hastening your own death…" With another sigh, he sighted in his Variable Speed Beam Rifle again, squeezed the trigger…

And the Agamemnon Shiho had been targeting earlier was struck amidships by twin columns of azure-edged orange fire, started to break apart along its spine, and blew apart in a titanic explosion of plasma and debris.

Pike spun around, Duel forgotten in an instant. "What the devil-?!"

"Attention, all Earth Alliance forces," a new voice blared over the radio. "This is the Mobile Assault Ship Asmodeus, Captain Ron Foreman speaking. It's my duty to inform you that ZAFT is currently supported by Section Nine, and that by order of the Major, I can and will destroy any Earth Alliance varmints that don't depart this area immediately."

Even Yzak Joule, normally irritated by third party intervention, pumped a fist at the sight of the slate-gray Archangel-class ship that had just entered the fray. He knew that ship well, and though she wouldn't turn the tide of battle all by herself, she'd be a welcome addition to the defenders.

"Section Nine," Pike hissed angrily. "So, those interlopers did turn up… Not for long!" Setting his VSBRs to their tightest focus, he took aim-

And received a kick to the back of the head, sending Sigma tumbling away. "Not happening, pal," the pilot of the newly-arrived 105 Dagger –equipped with Gunbarrel Striker- informed Pike. "And watch your back next time, if you don't want to get fried."

Sigma's verniers blasted violently, correcting the tumble with bone-bruising force. Inside its cockpit, Pike glared at the new arrival… but at the sight of the Gunbarrel pack, he checked his instinctive response. It doesn't give him every advantage, he thought angrily, but it gives him enough, especially with Joule almost certainly starting to adapt… Bastards. Time to retreat for now.

Sigma spun around again, and its main thrusters glowed brightly. "Don't think this is over," Pike snarled, kicking his machine away from the fight. "We'll meet again!"

"Bastard," Yzak muttered under his breath, then turned to the 105 Dagger. "So what took you so long, Morgan? He almost fried me!"

Morgan Chevalier chuckled. "And if he hadn't come that close, Yzak, you'd be telling me I shouldn't have come at all, right? Well, for your information, we were busy up till now; we ran into a batch of stragglers, and had quite a time getting rid of them before they could warn the rest of the Fleet about us."

"Hmph. Well," Yzak allowed, "I'll let it go this time… but don't let it happen again!" Then he frowned, looking at the Dagger in puzzlement. "But what are you doing flying that thing? I thought Section Nine contracted MMI to build a new mass-production model for you people."

"We did," Morgan acknowledged. "In fact, both X51A prototypes are in Asmodeus' hangar as we speak; we picked them up before we entered the battle. Unfortunately, I've never even flown one in test flights, only simulations. I wasn't about to risk my tail in something I wasn't even sure would work. So, I'm afraid Fianna's combat debut won't be today."

Yzak grunted, but didn't dispute the point. He'd done quite well in Duel the first time he'd flown it, and as far as he knew it had never been test-flown, either… but then Duel wasn't nearly as complex as the units Maius Military Industries was now constructing.

"Well," he said after a moment, "at least you're here, and that bastard Pike and his freakish machine are gone. Mind giving us a hand mopping up the rest of them?"

Morgan grinned, and deployed his gunbarrels in an outward spiral. "My pleasure, Commander Joule."

Ophanim, Bridge
"The Asmodeus," Admiral Kimmer grated. "And Morgan Chevalier; I recognize his 105 Dagger. It figures that Section Nine would stick their noses into this one…"

"It looks like they've officially thrown in their lot with ZAFT," Lewis mused. "Not entirely unexpected… but not necessarily smart of them, either. They have to know what kind of a political mess they'll be in once Orb signs the treaty."

Kimmer took a deep, steadying breath. "They may not realize the full peril they're in," he said slowly. "By now, they may well know we have new Archangel-class ships, but I doubt they realize how far we've gone in planning for their removal." He shook his head. "In any case, as you said, Andre, this wasn't entirely unexpected, and Admiral Sykes' orders did take this possibility into account."

Lewis nodded. "Then we begin Phase II?"

"Precisely," the admiral confirmed. "At once."

"Understood." Ophanim's CO looked over his shoulder. "Lieutenant Ogden, inform Fourth Fleet that they're to engage at once; and instruct Kyriotite to launch Nova as soon as they're in engagement range of the targets."

"Aye aye, Sir," Ogden acknowledged, and began passing the orders through his headset. "Ophanim to Kyriotite: new fleet orders. Disengage Dead Zone and begin Fourth Fleet attack run. Prepare Nova for launch as soon as engagement range is reached."

"Captain Stiles here. Kyriotite acknowledges, Ophanim. Estimated engagement range in five minutes."

Within thirty seconds, the heretofore concealed Fourth Fleet deactivated the Dead Zone jamming system –once used to ambush True ZAFT, and also to confuse matters at Second Jachin, both times quite effectively- brought their engines fully online, and set course directly for the PLANTs… along with their deadly cargo.

Another thirty seconds after that, the first of Fourth Fleet's mobile suits began to launch: GAT-04 Windams, many equipped with heavy missile launchers. They would serve as the first strike, protected by other Windams, while the Nelson and Drake-class ships made their way into range.

As they began to advance, Kimmer watched the countdown to engagement range, and finally nodded to himself. "Captain Lewis," he said formally, "I believe it is time to pull Ophanim back. Signal BatRon 3 to follow us; we leave the rest to the forward elements, and to Fourth Fleet."

"Right away, Sir," Lewis acknowledged. "Lieutenant Ogden, pass the word, please."

"Roger that, Captain."

With Fourth Fleet underway, the battle would soon be entering the final phase.

PLANTs, Aprilius One, Supreme Council Chairman's Office
When Peter Williams came back into his office at a brisk walk, Durandal knew the battle was coming to a head. He'd been expecting it since Asmodeus made its appearance; the only curiosity was how long it had taken for things to get moving.

"A new development, Peter?" he said without preamble.

"Yes, Your Excellency," Williams confirmed tautly. "It seems the Fourth Fleet is indeed here; they were using the full Dead Zone jamming effect to conceal their presence until now. A few minutes ago, they deactivated their jamming, and are now on course for the PLANTs themselves. So far, they've already deployed two dozen mobile suits, of the type Bogey One was observed to launch a prototype of in the wake of the Armory One incident; approximately half are armed with nuclear weapons, and we believe their ships are also carrying nuclear missiles."

Durandal nodded gravely. "A full nuclear attack force, as we anticipated… Anything unexpected in their loadout?"

"Yes, Your Excellency, I'm afraid so. We had observed what appeared to be an Archangel-class mobile assault ship directing First Fleet's actions from the rear of their formation; that appears to be pulling back now… but we've confirmed an Archangel-class leading Fourth Fleet."

The Chairman nodded once more, thinking deeply. So… now we have three confirmed Archangel-class ships in their rebuilt fleet; two here, and one holding position at L1… They have indeed been planning this for some time, then. Still, I perceive that the PLANTs are not their only objective. If we were, they would've deployed all their forces against us. Which means… I'm not the only one actively planning for Section Nine's eventual removal. He hid a smile, knowing that Williams would not have understood his amusement. Major DiFalco certainly has made a lot of enemies, hasn't he? I have to wonder if he'll even survive long enough for Millenia Crescent's role to come into play…

"All right, then," Durandal said quietly; only seconds had passed since Williams' last statement. "Instruct Marie Curie to active the Neutron Stampeder as soon as the entirety of Fourth Fleet is in range of the effect."

"That runs the risk of some missiles being launched from the forward elements, Your Excellency," Williams warned. "If they get too close…"

"It's a risk we have to take," the Chairman said regretfully. "We can let First Fleet go, but Fourth must be crushed decisively. There's simply no other option, so long as they remain the Alliance's primary nuclear strike force. However…" He paused. "We can, perhaps, minimize the risk. Contact Asmodeus, and request they act as point defense for the PLANTs."

Williams pursed his lips in thought, then nodded sharply. "Good idea, Sir. I'll get right on it. And while I'm at it, I'll instruct the Joule team to aid them; Commander Joule is currently cooperating quite effectively with the Section Nine 105 Dagger."

"Then get to it, Peter," Durandal ordered. "There's no time to waste."

"At once, Your Excellency!"

Lagrange Point 5, Near PLANTs
"…Roger that," Yzak acknowledged. "I'll be there." Switching from his link to Voltaire –over which he'd just received his new orders- to his link with Morgan, he began, "I just received priority orders, Morgan: until Marie Curie is ready to fire, the Joule team will be defending the PLANTs from incoming nuclear missiles. Chairman Durandal requests that you and Asmodeus lend support, as well."

Morgan didn't hesitate, despite having no idea what the Marie Curie was. "You've got my support. Captain Foreman?"

"Standing orders for this battle are to cooperate with ZAFT's requests for assistance," Foreman said simply. "We're on it."

As the two pilots watched, the Asmodeus moved into position between the PLANTs and Fourth Fleet, all weapons deployed. Her last battle had been Second Jachin, facing off against a nuclear-armed opponent; it seemed only fitting that her new battle be Third Jachin, facing the same weapons, from the same fleet.

It wasn't long before Asmodeus' guns started firing, targeting any ship unwary enough to enter her reach, and Duel accompanied Morgan's 105 Dagger in a looping course to intercept the mobile suits.

"So what are those things, anyway?" Morgan wondered aloud, as they neared the first batch of Windams. "The Major mentioned running into one of them, but I've never seen them before myself. Something new the Alliance whipped up?"

"Seems to be," Yzak confirmed. "Jim Hamilton's son was flying a prototype of them four months ago; it looks like they've used the time since then to build a lot more." He scowled. "What makes things even worse is that it looks suspiciously like a ZAFT unit from the War, ZGMF-X12A Testament. According to records recovered after the War –Zala's old records- it was being constructed at the GENESIS Alpha facility, so it should've been destroyed when Dearka and I blew the place…"

"And if it wasn't, then it's something we need to look into," Morgan mused. "Well, for now, how about we just blow them up?"

"Good idea," Duel's pilot concurred, and opened fire.

Ophanim, Bridge
"Well," Lewis mused, "this is new. Don't people normally engage hostile nuclear forces? I mean, at Jachin they came straight for us; they didn't turn tail and run."

"It is peculiar," Kimmer agreed. "Perhaps they think they have something up their sleeves… but what? It's not like Section Nine is going to suddenly come out of the woodwork and attack us; if they had numbers like that, we'd have seen them long since." He shook his head. "Something doesn't add up, Andre."

Ophanim's captain certainly concurred in that. The only nuclear attack either of them had ever participated in was Second Jachin, but it was enough for them to have a fairly good idea of what a defending force normally did when faced with nuclear weapons. Back then, ZAFT, aided by True ZAFT's METEOR-equipped mobile suits, had immediately gone to intercept the incoming missiles.

Today, however… today, they were still taking out missiles –already, the Joule team alone had destroyed over a dozen- but they were only engaging enemies which entered a certain range. But… why would they be limiting themselves this way? Kimmer wondered. The closer they get, the less time they have to intercept, and the greater the chance of missing one or more…

Frowning deeply, he asked, "Has Nova gotten into the engagement zone yet?"

Garibaldi checked his instruments. "Barely, Admiral," he answered, bringing up the data for that region. "Is something wrong?"

"Possibly…" Kimmer thought for several more moments, then nodded sharply. "Lieutenant Ogden, instruct Goldberg to return to Kyriotite immediately. And have Kyriotite herself pull back a few kilometers. Something isn't right here."

"Right away, Sir," Ogden replied, and bent to his task.

Lewis glanced back at his admiral. "Recalling Nova?" he said, frowning. "I thought orders were…"

Kimmer waved a hand. "I know about orders, Andre, and I'd like to see Nova in action myself. Nonetheless, as arrogant as Hamilton can be, he's right about one thing: Sigma and Nova are too important to risk in an engagement like this, especially when my gut tells me-"

"Status change!" Garibaldi interrupted. "Detecting unknown radiation signature from a Nazca-class at the edge of ZAFT's defensive perimeter. It's directed toward Fourth Fleet, Admiral!"

"What?!" Lewis and Kimmer both faced forward… just in time to see space erupt.

Lagrange Point 5, Near PLANTs
"Urgh!" Yzak snarled, stabbing his beam saber into a Windam's cockpit. "There's no end to these things! Just how many nukes are there out here?!" Ripping his blade free, his other hand snapped up, and an emerald dart spat toward another Windam.

"Too many," Morgan grunted in reply, his gunbarrels spitting rapid-fire death at a third enemy. "I don't know how much longer we can keep this up," he added, as his target liquefied. "So far, we've kept them from launching missiles, but it's only a matter of time…"

They both wished they knew just what was supposed to happen now. Yzak had the impression that Marie Curie employed some kind of new weapon, but he didn't know what, and not knowing wasn't easing the load on his mind one bit. Even with the assistance of Asmodeus and Morgan's 105 Dagger, there were simply more targets than there were defenders in the zone they'd been ordered to restrict themselves to.

"We can't keep this up, Commander," Shiho said tautly, ripping her CGUE's laser blade diagonally through a Windam's torso. "Sooner or later, some of those missiles are going to get through; there's just too many of them for us to stop!"

Targeting another Windam with his new machine cannons, Yzak ripped off a burst of high-velocity tungsten penetrators. "I know that," he grunted, as the barrage peppered the Windam with dozens of holes all across its torso. "But we've got to hold out until whatever the top brass is working on comes off. No matter what, we can't miss any of those nukes!" Punctuating his statement, his target blew apart in a cloud of shrapnel.

"Just like Second Jachin," Morgan remarked, driving a blade of frozen fire into a Windam's head with his left hand. "Except these guys are a lot more maneuverable than those pathetic Moebiuses from the Peacemaker Force." He cursed then, and brought his shield around just in time to spatter a double-burst of emerald fire from another Windam. His target, meanwhile, tore itself free from his saber, and reversed course before he could finish it off. His Windam now headless, the Earth Alliance pilot knew better than to stick around.

A moment later, Shiho recoiled from a burst of emerald darts, then cursed as they tracked across... and smashed into her left beam cannon. Never intended to stand up to anything heavier than light projectile fire, the cannon's barrel melted under the onslaught, then snapped off, leaving nothing but a useless stump.

The Windam responsible for the deed continuing swinging its fire toward her, intending to finish her off; it was disabused by the idea only when a massive projectile from Asmodeus' port Valiant linear cannon smashed its torso off, leaving only the stumps of its legs drifting in space.

"That's it, this is out of control!" Morgan barked. "We're getting swarmed out here! Asmodeus-?"

"We're doing what we can, Morgan," Foreman answered; his grim tone indicated his own ship wasn't doing too well, either. "Maybe if the X51s were ready, it'd be different, but as it is-"

Another voice cut across that of Asmodeus' captain, speaking rapidly and in no uncertain terms. "All ZAFT and Section Nine units, clear area Charlie Omega immediately! Twenty seconds to Marie Curie deployment!"

"You heard the man," Yzak snapped, reversing thrust. "Let's get clear before whatever they're planning goes off!"

"No argument here, Commander," Shiho agreed sourly, glancing at the remains of her left beam cannon. "And remind me to requisition something with a shield when we get back, will you?"

He snorted. "Finally giving up the DEEP Arms?"

"If it's a choice between newfangled and dead, you bet," she said sardonically. "Maybe one of the 51s, after they get into production."

"Five seconds," Morgan interjected, using his gunbarrels' thrusters to accelerate his own retreat. "I'm beginning to think I know what's about to happen, so you should look away-"

Sheltered between two other Nazcas and a screen of ZAKU Warriors, Marie Curie finally triggered the massive, peculiar-looking device mounted on her hull... and space turned bright.

The Windams that Yzak, Shiho, and Morgan had been fighting moments earlier were the first casualties; those carrying nuclear missiles suddenly found themselves carrying nuclear explosions, as the vastly accelerated fission reactions brought about premature super-critical detonations within the warheads. The unfortunate machines carrying the weapons instantly vanished into the fireballs, consumed before the pilots even realized anything was happening.

Those flying the escort Windams had slightly more warning: they had an instant to recognize the eye-searing flashes, before they too were consumed in nuclear fire.

The invisible radiation, harmless to living creatures, spread rapidly through space, quickly reaching Fourth Fleet's warships. If anything, their deaths were even more spectacular than the mobile suits; in addition to carrying more nuclear warheads, they were powered by pulsed-fusion reactors, adding the brilliant flares of failing fusion bottles to the lightshow.

Two Drakes blew up in an instant; their deaths set off a Nelson directly astern of them before the Neutron Stampeder's effect even reached them, turning the ship into a blob of hydrogen.

Everywhere the effect reached nuclear weapons, the blooms of fire were repeated, and even Yzak was awed by the spectacular thermal blooms. "That's... that's..." Words failed him, English being inadequate to describe the carnage.

"And I thought Second Jachin was explosive," Morgan whispered. "But this... Yzak, Shiho, did either of you have any idea something like this existed?"

Shiho slowly shook her head. "No idea at all, Morgan," she replied distractedly, watching as ships continued to explode, reducing the Fourth Fleet ever more. "Top secret program, I guess; and after seeing this, I can understand why they didn't tell anybody about it."

The three pilots subsided into silence after that. A losing battle had, with the use of one ship, turned into a crushing victory, in which the Earth Alliance's greatest weapon had turned into its greatest liability. In the space of ten seconds, ZAFT ensured that the Third Battle of Jachin Due would go down in history as the most disastrous use of nuclear weapons in over two centuries of nuclear warfare.

Ophanim, Bridge
Watching Fourth Fleet's ships blow themselves apart one after another, Vice Admiral Cyril Kimmer gripped the armrests of his chair so tightly his knuckles turned white. Those ZAFT bastards, he thought, almost detached. No wonder they were pulling back... I knew something wasn't right, but I never expected them to be able to destroy an entire fleet with something as small as a Nazca-class destroyer...

"Sir..." Garibaldi said hesitantly. "I've... got complete numbers on Fourth Fleet's survivors."

Lewis waited for the admiral to respond; when Kimmer remained silent, simply staring at the main display, he quietly cleared his throat. "What've you got, Lieutenant?"

Garibaldi winced. "...One survivor, Sir. Just Kyriotite."

Dead silence filled the bridge, as the news sank in. Unsurprising, perhaps -the raw destruction clearly seen on the displays made the conclusion inevitable- but it was one thing to see it, and quite another to feel it.

At length, Lewis looked back at his admiral. "Well," he said quietly, "I guess you were right to order Nova back, Sir. If it had been anywhere near that effect..."

"Agreed," Kimmer said quietly, speaking again at last. "It would've been destroyed as well, before it could be deployed where it's most needed." He shook his head. "It was pointless to assign it to this operation in the first place. One more nuclear-armed machine would have been meaningless here, while its unexpected nuclear capability could come in handy in our next operation... as would the simple fact that it incorporates Preybird technology..."

"It'll at least please Lord Djibril," Lewis mused. "Fourth Fleet is virtually gone, but your judgment call saved two of our most important assets... What now, though, Sir? We... seem to have been routed, Admiral."

Kimmer sighed, now more drained than anything else. "Yes, Andre, I believe you're correct. Lieutenant Simpson, bring us around, and set course for Arzachel at once. Lieutenant Ogden, pass the word for Kyriotite and the rest of First Fleet to follow suit."

The two officers acknowledged, and the pitiful remnants of the largest concentration of Earth Alliance ships since Second Jachin came around in space, beginning their long trip toward Arzachel Base... and the undoubtedly unpleasant reactions of Kimmer's shadow superiors in Logos.

Orb Union, DiFalco Residence
At the last, Ken and Murrue both had to look away; even from nearly four hundred thousand kilometers away, the light of so many nuclear explosions was blinding.

More than that, though, it signaled to them that the battlefield had changed once again. From now on, nuclear attacks against the PLANTs themselves would be an act of insanity; due to the risk of other, similarly-armed ships being stationed elsewhere, the Earth Alliance's nuclear arsenal would be used very sparingly indeed.

That might've brought Ken DiFalco, once fanatical defender of the PLANTs, some comfort... had he not come face to face with a copy of Preybird only months earlier. That encounter had brought him to the realization that the Earth Forces had learned for more than he'd expected, in the interval between wars; they could no longer use nuclear weapons as effectively, but they would doubtless find a conventional alternative eventually.

Add to that the Seirans' efforts to bring Orb into the Earth Alliance...

"So," Murrue murmured, nearly ten minutes after the last explosions faded, "it's really begun again, hasn't it?"

"Yes," Ken agreed sadly. "The Earth Alliance has been stopped for now... but we both know it won't take them long to start a new offensive somewhere else. When that happens, it'll be the Bloody Valentine War all over again... except worse. Both sides have learned much from their last clash; the Earth Alliance understands the effectiveness of mobile suits, while ZAFT has finally countered the nuclear threat."

"A new arms race, in the middle of a new war..." She shook her head. "This is going to be ugly, Ken. And where do you fit into this?"

To her surprise, he actually smiled faintly. "That, Murrue, may be the only bright spot in this whole mess. Section Nine is a third-party group, with enough combat power to make it a real problem for either side to engage. The Earth Forces won't dare engage us if they can avoid it; it would require too great a distraction from the campaign against the PLANTs." Then his smile faded. "But conversely, we can do little to affect the big picture, for now..."

Silence reigned after that, as the pair returned their attention to the skies... and wondered where the new war would take them.

Author's note:
After two years of uneasy peace, war has finally returned, as the Earth Alliance mounts a massive attack on the PLANTs... only to be thwarted by the clever redirection of their own nuclear weapons. With new innovations on both sides, the new conflict's flames will be even harder to extinguish than those of the old...

Well, this chapter may be a touch late, but I hope the length somewhat makes up for it, as well as the battle; and yes, I know neither Sigma nor Nova got much screen time here. Kind of unavoidable, as I needed them both to survive -which would've been particularly difficult for Nova, considering its nuclear bazooka- and getting caught in the Neutron Stampeder's effect would've made that... difficult, to say the least. However, I assure you that they'll get their time in the sun very soon now...

Also, I realize I skipped over some important things with Dearka and Mir, most notably their encounter with Rau; fear not, it will be in the next chapter, as a flashback. It didn't really fit into the sequence of events here, so I'm going the flashback route out of necessity.

Well, I guess that's about it for this one; after this, it'll be time for another chapter of A Call to Arms. Until then, let me know how this one was. -Solid Shark