Seiren Manor. Yolofat. Orb Union. April 11th, 70 CE. Unato Ema Seiren POV.
"Erwin, I just finished going over the transfers. All 80 Trillion Dollars have been deposited and secured. The other families have bought into the reasoning of panic for Uroboros and no one is investigating."
"Very good Unato. If all goes to plan then the money should gradually be returned to their national origins within two to three years. However, after April Fools I think it's safe to say that we should never be arrogant again. I'm giving you permission to use 10 Trillion of the dollars to further LOGOS and Blue Cosmos' agendas independently. You are also allowed to use it for personal projects, but some value must be attached to them. Send me the receipts of every transaction on a monthly basis."
"Of course." Immensely relieved that the task at hand was over, Unato nearly collapsed in his chair, breathing a great sigh of relief with a nice feeling of euphoria at the tension within him for the past week collapsing. With the completion of the task, the adrenaline was starting to wear off and Unato lowered his sunglases and rubbed his severely bloodshot eyes. Turning around in curiosity, he noticed that his window was near pitch black aside from low lighting that surrounding his home. This shocked him as when he entered the room it was nine in the morning. Checking the time it was past ten at night.
"Thank you once again my friend for your hard work. These are desperate times and with the homeland falling into chaos, your contributions are more critical than ever. When the rest of the world is collapsing, it's good to know that the Majestic 12 can has a strong ally and partner in paradise." Erwin Ritter flattered.
"Speaking of, when the next opening on the council occurs, would it be possible that with all of my critical contributions, that you would put my name into consideration for membership?" Unato asked in a rather uncharacteristically forward manner. Normally he wouldn't be so open with his ambitions, but he was severely tired and with his brain having little rest, it made him speak what was on his mind and request one of his greatest ambitions, to rise to the ranks of the Majestic 12 of LOGOS and become one of the hidden architects and rulers of the Earth sphere.
The image on Unato's monitor showed him sighing heavily, not a good sign if there ever was one. "You know the rules, there's never been a non-American or non-Atlantean whose risen to the Majestic 12." Unato sourly frowned at the answer. "However-" Erwin began, raising the spirit of the noble, "There have been other candidates outside of the Federation in recent years who nearly got the final confirmation for ascension. Recent events have shown the need for our organization to have better cohesion across international lines. I can't say a majority would support your ascension at the moment, but there are a who are open to the idea such as McWilliams and Djibril. Give me time to make them more open to the idea, and perhaps at the next vacancy, especially if you go above and beyond the call of duty during this crisis, I may be able to get you a spot on the council. Mockelberg isn't going to live forever. And Muruta hasn't shaped our vision as well as we had hoped."
Erwin's statement brought great inner glee within Unato, though his face soured at the thought of the blond brat. "Speaking of, tell the boy that I request a meeting with him soon. I have been attempting to contact him since two days ago and he has not answered."
"Oh, what is this about?" Erwin asked.
"I want an understanding about the near future of Blue Cosmos' operations within Orb." Unato explained.
"Has there been some sort of incident lately? Besides, political and social affairs are Stanek and Brown's spheres respectively. Shouldn't you speak with Yashiro anyways since he's the head of Orb's branch?"
"There hasn't been any noticeable incidents, yet. I have spoken with Yashiro, she's not the issue, it's those under her. From what my people inside the Orb branch have been telling me, there's a lot of great unrest throughout and many are clamoring that they take action and begin a revolution to purify Orb and throw the Sahakus and Keitamuras out of power. There's already a wave of general unrest and thousands of arrest being made in the past two weeks due to violence on both sides. Not to mention there's going to be a rally at the capitol tomorrow."
"There is? I wasn't made aware of anything." Erwin said in surprise.
"It's a very impromptu one. It was sparked by one of the Lieutenants on social media and they already have 50,000 supporters who pledge to show up and growing. It's meant to rally the Houses to take action against the ongoing genocide on Earth that was inflicted by ZAFT, the creation of democracy, a Natural Labor rights law, and numerous other manifestos and agendas. The point I'm trying to make is I want a clear understanding of the greater Blue Cosmso plans for Orb and whether or not I'm going to have to take part in them or be prepared for the fallout. I want Orb to be blue and pure, but we can't do so at this critical juncture when ZAFT is hanging a Damocles Sword over the planet, we have no idea what the hell Zeon and the Zabis are planning, and the economy is going to complete hell. We need time to enact our plans through logic, not act without restraint or care."
"Come now Unato, the situation go out of control."
"Junius Seven." Unato said, those two words being a singular and extremely powerful argument over the unpredictability of Blue Cosmos.
Erwin sighed nodded in understanding. "Hmmm, I see your point. I'll alert Muruta and if he continues to refuse, I'll force the issue. If you don't have anything else you'd like to discuss, I need to tend to other matters. Goodbye Unato."
"Goodbye Erwin." Within half a second the screen flashed to black then displayed Unato's regular wallpaper of a Pacific coral reef.
With his duties finished, Unato climbed slowly from his chair, his bones and muscles stiffening from the lack of mobility. Unato stretched slowly to relief the pain. He then went to a nearby cabinet and poured himself a glass of Scotch. Unato lit himself a Cuban cigar then went out to the balcony of his room study with the Cigar in one hand and glass in another. Unato huffed out a cloud into the clear and warm Pacific night sky, and took a shot of the Scotch to relieve the stress that he had recently been under.
It was already a difficult task to live each day as one of the five ruling Oligarchs of Orb, having the fate of the seven million citizens of his nation in his hands and do his best to continue to shelter them against the Imperialistic Cosmic Era that had destroyed far more powerful nations who existed for centuries prior. Being a member of a clandestine clique of plutocrats who actively had to shepherd the Cosmic Era onto a path of logic and greatness was a stress agent that most likely took a few years off of Unato's lifespan. Still, he wouldn't trade his current position and power in LOGOS for anything.
'The current situation is not the best, but if my House and Orb is to survive in the long run, then we need LOGOS.' Unato reminded himself.
Up til now the only reason Orb had survived the Cosmic Era was because it was regarded mostly as an amusing oddity in the new century of geopolitics than any true threat or target. To the rest of the world, Orb was simply that speck of a nation with beautiful beaches and a damn good place to commit tax evasion. The previous generation of Orb's rulers after having managed to create a new nation from nothing under the rule of their parents, sought to make Orb into a great country, a nation that was strong enough to stand equal to the great powers of the Cosmic Era and a place which would act as a majestic bastion for the Japan of Anno Domini to survive into the Cosmic Era. Various plans were put in place to ensure such a future, with Orb openly accepting Coordinators while they were shunned by the rest of the world, taking a Libertarian approach to science and industry to attract the corporate and intellectual leaders of the world, and spending most of their fortune on establishing a presence in space.
Such efforts did pull up Orb from the bottom of the CE ladderwith the nation for the first time having power and pride, but their rise from irrelevancy was also a curse. By taking such actions to make their nation great, Orb had planted a target on their flag by transforming themselves from a curiosity towards a tool to be used in the Second Cold War. Orb's position in geopolitics shifted to being a fancy weapon for the superstates to use against each other. For some nations who could not establish clear control over Orb such as East Asia and Eurasia, plans were made to either annex Orb or destroy its power.
In this volatile time, Unato's father Shigeru was approached by LOGOS. They offered him a chance to join LOGOS and act as their representative and head of operations within Orb. In return for enforcing the will of the Majestic 12 within Orb, Orb would be sheltered from the Cold War with its sovereignty and power guaranteed while the Seirens would have access to the power and resources of LOGOS. With an offer that he couldn't refuse, Shigeru fully accepted and since the late 40's House Seiren had been a secret card-carrying member of LOGOS.
Until recently such a relationship, while having its share of negatives, had been a high boon for the Seirens. It had kept Orb unmolested from the Cold War and the PLANT conflict despite Orb having a high inclusion for Coordinators and a colony in space. Unato's time as the head of his House had seen the Seiren wealth and power only on the rise with him in a position to soon eclipse the Athha's and Sahakus.
Now? Now House Seiren was in a dangerous position as they were backing a losing horse in the Alliance, Blue Cosmos, and LOGOS with PLANT's domination in the ongoing war along with the new wild card that was Zeon. Decades of planning, all thrown down the drain in a couple of days.
'Though with every age of chaos comes opportunity.' Unato mused. Even if LOGOS was on the path of downfall, perhaps Unato could use the power entrusted to him by Erwin along with Orb playing to Zeon in diplomacy to give a substantial shot of power to Orb and have them no longer in a position of eternal subservience, but true strength. True, it would be trading one master for another, and until the Alliance truly fell, Unato wanted to do everything in his power to ensure their victory and prevent Coordinator domination, but for now he could at least take comfort in the knowledge that Orb's fall was not destined.
After about ten minutes of winding down, Unato felt most of the immediate stress from his job winding down. Having nothing else to do, he resolved to go to bed early and then deal with the mess that was going to be the Heliopolis Conference tomorrow.
As Unato was traversing down the halls of his estate, he ran into his son and only child Yuna. "Evening Father." Yuna greeted, walking in a speedy fashion with an excited pep in his step.
"Evening." Unato simply responded. He was about to continue to his room, until in the corner of the eye he fully observed Yuna's attire. Unato stopped and turned around, grabbing his son by the collar. "Boy, what are you wearing?" Unato questioned.
The fashion in question was an outfit that consisted of baggy purple and black striped pants with Yuna wearing a leather jacket of the reverse color scheme with his house's emblem emblazed on the back. The boy also wore a dark blue and plain t-shirt. His purple hair was heavily gelled and he reeked of expensive cologne.
"What? I'm just wearing casual?" Yuna questioned.
"I don't find fault son with what you're wearing, it's why you're wearing it. Those clothes aren't exactly fit for a night at home." Unato said.
"Yeah, cause I'm going to a party." Yuna informed, with Unato's brows furrowing in confusion.
"A party? When were you going to inform me of this?"
"I asked you three weeks ago Father." Yuna said, with Unato sighing in exasperation. A major flaw of his son was that Yuna would ask Unato for permission or inform him of events and activities, and if Unato responded positively, Yuna would act upon his desires when he wanted to without further discussing with Unato or informing him when the time would come.
"I may have given permission three weeks ago, but the times have changed. We have just implemented a ration policy until June, the stock market is dead with the economy falling, and we have the mess of the Heliopolis Conference with Zeon and the war in a little more than a week. We have to maintain a strong image to the public, one that won't occur if you go out partying without a care in the world. Whose party is this anyways?"
"Satoru's." Yuna answered nonchalantly. Unato's annoyance increased tenfold with that answer.
"Then you most definitely not got to that party!" Unato declared, with Yuna's face turning to one of shock and horror. "That boy is a bad enough of an influence on you, but anytime he hosts something he always goes overboard and performs some stupid stunt that becomes the laughingstock of the tabloids. If his father wasn't the chairman of the Heliopolis University, then I wouldn't let you go anywhere near him."
"But father! It's his 21st birthday, we had so much planned!" Yuna whined petulantly, acting more like a child through his display of puppy eyes than the grown man he was.
"If Satoru didn't make any cuts to his plans, which I doubt he did, then his house is going to be a carnival while the planet's in the midst of collapse. If you're caught there then all of Orb will be given an image that the heir of House Seiren cares more about having a good time than attending to the crisis."
"Come on, there's nothing illegal going on and it's not like I've been active in the government since April Fools. Besides, who cares for the opinion of sheep, it's my freedom to do as I want." Yuna protested.
"As long as you live in this house boy, you do as I say!" Unato growled, shutting up Yuna. "Son, we are at a critical juncture within not only Orb's history, but human history! The actions we take within the coming months will decide the fortune of this House for generations to come. Everything we do, each small affair, has grave consequences, especially in public opinion. We can either shape Orb with a popular mandate, or run into unnecessary conflict against the other houses without public backing. Who would you rather be in this time? The Sahaku twins who already are major leaders in our defense forces and the space industry? or that carefree brat Cagali who obsesses over being a tomboy over her duties? What kind of noble do you want to be?" Unato demanded.
Seeing that he clearly wouldn't win, Unato turned around and stormed off to his room, "Fine, if you want to be a control freak and prevent me from having fun, then I'll stay!" Yuna said with anger laced in his voice, moving too quickly out of view before Unato could talk with him further, with a distant bang of a door slam being heard as an echo.
Unato sighed with heavy tiredness and annoyance when alone. "What am I going to do with that boy?" He asked himself. Since Unato had divorced Yuna's mother and took sole custody of Yuna, he preferred to have a rather free reign with his son and let him stand on his own with many freedoms, subtly pushing him towards the best paths of leadership. This action was taken due to Unato having a strict and firm education from his father which while turning him into a competent statesman, robbed him of a normal and joyful childhood.
He wanted his son to be free from the burdens and heavy stress of his duties, let him find his own way and once he matured into a man, bring him under his wing and slowly delve responsibilities of the House to Yuna until such a time where Unato could comfortably retire. Yet as shown by his son's lack of maturity and abhorrence of heavy work in recent years, such a style of parenting was slowly backfiring, making his son a spoiled noble how would rather enjoy the luxuries of his station than do the duties necessary to create such luxuries through the success and the acquisition of power.
While Unato could safely take comfort that his son was at least academically highly intelligent and when forced to perform his duties did them with some measure of competence, far beyond Cagali Athha who publicly showed her loathing of her station despite being adopted into greatness from nothing, Yuna lacked ambition and the skills necessary to perform deeds of high greatness. As much as Unato disliked the Sahaku twins for being Coordinators, he respected their hunger for power and capabilities to succeed in their hunt. Although this was only possible because of their genes, it made them the most ready of the next generation of nobles to take power in Orb.
'If only I could have heirs who were half as competent as Degwin's brood.' Unato lamented.
Now there was a truly powerful dynasty. Unato had mixed thoughts on Degwin as a man and ruler, but he highly respected and was secretly jealous of Degwin's skills in parenting. The Zabi family had only been in rule of Zeon for a decade and already Degwin had secured the legacy of his House for generations to come thanks to his monopolizing the government through the insertion of his children into the major halls of power and the success that came from it.
Gihren by all accounts appeared to take just as much credit as his father for Zeons' success and rise despite their isolation, if not more depending upon how much power he truly controlled in government. From first impressions, Gihren appeared to have more skill in administration than most of Earth's heads of state in the last century. He could make for a strong ally of Orb, but he looked to be a dangerous beast that would not be easy to control.
Both Dozle and Garma had proven themselves as skilled military leaders with their respective victories at Solomon and Granada. If ZAFT and the entire Alliance were to go to total war with Zeon, Unato would hedge his bets on Dozle leading Zeon to victory. With the second Zabi already in total control of the military, Garma was likely to enter into another area soon, and based on his relative success in setting up relations with Orb, he would most likely become the diplomat of the family. So far the youngest Zabi didn't appear to be the second coming of Kissenger, but he had potential.
Then there was the only daughter of Degwin, Kycillia Zabi. Kycillia reminded Unato in many respects of Mina Sahaku, a mixture of beauty and poison that could handle power well. The Zabis boasted on how Kycillia had eliminated all major forms of crime during her time as Director of State Security, but based on their authoritarian character she also appeared to be a major factor in keeping the Zabi autocracy alive and strong. Perhaps in time Orb Intellegence would reveal that the Principality was a house of cards with opposition movements soon to rise and topple them, but based on the cult-like behavior of its citizens, Unato doubted this.
History had repeatedly proven how much monarchy was a gamble of an institution with Vegas-like stakes, with a nation either living in a golden age or brought to ruin based off of the character of a single man or woman, or collection of people who obtained power through birth. Orb had been able to combat this problem due to the sharing of power between the Houses and how the system made each family be a check and balance off of each other, requiring cooperation and compromise for the best results. The Zabis? They made autocracy work, it was something that Unato dearly wished to practice in Orb one day.
For now, it would not be. He had much work to do with Yuna if he was to make him into a truly great successor, and unlike Uzumi he would not resort to adoption to bolster his House as Unato believed that blood should come first. If Yuna failed, then it meant that Unato failed and no matter what he did in life his legacy would be tarnished. Before the year began, this was not an issue as Unato still had a good couple of decades left on Earth and he could take his time in guiding his son. Now, with the solar system entering into a titanic age of change thanks to the war of the Alliance and PLANTs along with Zeon, he needed to fastrack his plans of education.
As Unato prepared himself for sleep, he made a silent prayer to the Shinto gods that he would succeed in steering his son on the right path. Perhaps the Heliopolis Conference would be Yuna's chance to start taking things seriously and begin to grow as a leader, he dearly hoped so.
For the past seventy years, House Seiren had existed in prosperous mediocrity, merely performing the role of Bankers of Orb and silently nudging world affairs with no great visible impact or notice from humanity. Now, with the end of the old world present and birth of a new Cosmic Era, it was time to write a new story of the meteoric rise of House Seiren. A grand opera that Unato had every intention of writing.
Athha Manor. Yolofat. Orb Union. April 13th, 70 CE. Uzumi Nara Attha POV
"-The Principality of Zeon graciously accepts the offer of the Orb Union and shall participate in the proposed peace talks which shall talk place within the Orb colony of Heliopolis in Lagrange 3. We agree to all of the terms presented to us by Chief Executive Uzumi Nara Athha and as of this moment I am currently looking into a list of highly qualified men and women who shall act as our representatives in the conference. With the inexcusable hostility presented to our nation through ignorance and fear upon our arrival in the Cosmic Era, it is my pleasure to have created a strong working relationship with the Orb Union, a kind and respectful nation that exhibits a case of moral integrity that was completely absent from the Earth of Universal Century. I promise you, citizens of Zeon, that we shall walk out of this conference with treaties that not only recognize our victories over PLANT and East Asia, but establish a just peace that shall see Zeon integrated into this brave new world as sovereign equals to the established nation, granting us was denied by the Earth Federation; independence, self-rule, and benevolent coexistence with the people's of Earth." Said Degwin Sodo Zabi, standing behind a wooden podium where he unvieled Zeon's agreement to participate in the Heliopolis Conference before Zeon's major news outlets, with a flurry of dozens of questions following after.
Uzumi had been watching Degwin's speech on his phone, with him currently lounging on one of the fine leather chairs that were present in the great library of the manor. Of course, as the Chief Executive of Orb and host of the peace talks, Uzumi had already known Degwin and by extension Zeon's answer with him receiving a confirmation the previous day. The reason he was watching Degwin's announcement was to see how he informed his citizens of the affair and what kind of narrative he was crafting for how Zeon would participate and what they would seek out when given a seat at the table.
So far Uzumi had been moderately pleased. While Degwin's speech had been filled with the Nationalist chest-thumping that sadly seemed to be a requirement of Zeon's political culture, with affirmations of the great and glorious victories over ZAFT, the Alliance, and Federation in what was increasingly called the First Contact War, Degwin seemed to be making these calls more as an oral hook to catch the attention of his audience and establish that a coming peace was just and adequate as Zeon had already established its victory. To Uzumi's relief, Degwin's address lacked the fiery and bombastic calls for domination and total victory that his son Gihren expressed nonstop since the achievement of the victories, showing that Zeon through diplomacy would act in a restrained and civilized manner than the image of Fascistic hunger that their culture presented. While Uzumi did not think that the coming conference would be an easy trial, Degwin's handling of the situation and lack of escalation or retaliation against those who had been at war with Zeon, gave Uzumi some hope that Zeon's miraculous entrance into the Cosmic Era would end with a good future for both the new nation and the native nations. Not to mention if he could integrate Zeon into the Cosmic Era, then perhaps he could work with the Principality to establish a lasting peace between the Earth Alliance and PLANTs, ending the wars of race and hate that plagued the Cosmic Era since its inception and moving humanity towards a more enlightened and harmonious future.
No matter what, at least Uzumi could go into the Heliopolis Conference content in the knowledge that no matter the outcome, Orb was secure domestically, leaving him free to act as peacemaker.
Thanks to the abundant supply of geothermal energy in the Yalafath archipelago, along with an extensive solar array to handle the excess desires of Orb's populace, Orb's energy sector was completely unaffected by the ongoing N-Jammer crisis. While Orb as an import-majority nation could have been crippled by the virtual shutdown of global trade, Uzumi had been able to swiftly form emergency trade deals with the Equatorial Union and Oceania that provided Orb with a minimum amount of food and raw materials to prevent a collapse, with the added bonus of Heliopolis' asteroid mining with a quota of one refined per month, Orb would not see its citizens starve or be deprived of consumer products, though there would be a rationing system in place along with a major spike in the national sales tax, preventing Orb's famous luxury goods and services from being used.
The reaction of Orb to severe escalation in the Alliance-PLANT war was mixed, but far from Uzumi's worst fears of a helter skelter race war being carried out. ZAFT had received heavy condemnation from a majority of both the Natural and Coordinator communities. While Orb's Coordinators had been highly sympathetic to the PLANTs since the war began, the collapse of the global economy and taking hostage of most of the global population through a lack of energy, with tens of millions estimated to be dead already, had killed most public support for PLANT with major Coordinator leaders with the exception of House Keitamura demanding that Orb continue its total neutrality with calls for intervention or high support for PLANT dying. In regards to those favorable for the Alliance, the people of Orb did not see a general shift to the concept of an alliance due to the history of hostility of the Superstates towards Orb along with Bloody Valentine still being fresh in the minds of the people, but sympathy was generally on the rise with calls of humanitarian aid when possible. No major political, corporate, or social leaders had called for joining the Alliance, which was good for Orb's neutrality. Well, almost no leaders.
The Orb wing of Blue Cosmos, which had been tolerated due to the lack of major hate crimes or extensive persecution as present in the Atlantic Federation or East Asia, had been mobilizing with high intensity, with protests and calls for action taking place both in the public sphere and on social media. Sporadic incidents had broken out with public disturbances and impromptu fights between Blue Cosmos members and Coordinators or pro-Coordinator Naturals had broken out, but these affairs were for the most part quickly dealt with by the police and most incidents involved low levels of harassment, the death and injury toll only being kept at 13 and 66 respectively, which was good numbers for a crisis of this magnitude with passions running high.
While Blue Cosmos was acting at its most powerful within Orb since its arrival to the nation, the impromptu rally yesterday of 70,000 people at Tokyo Square being a reminder of their presence in Orb, Uzumi had been working with Koto to keep their activities contained along with being on the lookout for any attempt at oranized unrest or a coup, which so far had been absent. In regards to the whole of Orb, Blue Cosmos was still low in membership and power with 88,000 reported members, most of whom being disgruntled blue collar laborers or radicalized intellectuals with little hard power, but there was some slight worry in how the public membership had shot up from a reported 74,000 before April 1st. It was an issue that Uzumi would have to deal with, but Blue Cosmos was not an immediate threat.
Then there was the general public reaction to Zeon's existence. If Uzumi had to thank Zeon for anything, it was keeping the people of Orb united in these dark times. Without a third party that was equal in power to both the Alliance and ZAFT, then the isolated Orb might turn on each other to decide which side of the war was righteous and which Orb should join in support if the people were radically motivated enough. Zeon's existence kept the people of Orb, both Natural and Coordinator, united through the motivation of fear and anxiety at this new leviathan that was parked on the far side of the moon.
It was here that Uzumi's fruitful dealings with Zeon and Orb earning the distinction of being the first nation of the Cosmic Era to greet them in peace and establish cordial relations worked well for him. Uzumi's success so far and his taking charge of guiding Zeon into the club of nations of the Cosmic Era rallied the people of Orb to him, raising his approval ratings to record numbers and giving him a relatively free hand to do as he wished in the short term, leaving him undistracted in his pursuit of integrating Zeon and hopefully ending the war between the Alliance and ZAFT.
Overall the general mood towards of Orb towards Zeon was a heavy mixture of excitement and caution. The playing of a sci-fi plot of another nation crossing space and time to their reality had Orb's citizens near completely focused on all information and news regarding Zeon by the day. With access to Zeon's internet, Orb news and social media completely ignored all affairs that didn't involve the Alliance-PLANT War with everyone absorbing as much information as they could on Zeon's culture and history, and that of the greater Universal Century. While there was some hope in Orb for peaceful relations and future friendship with Zeon, to create a new standing with a potential superpower that would balance out the Imperialist Superstates, there was a greater sense of worry and caution. Degwin may sugarcoat it as much as he would like, but it was plain to Uzumi that Zeon was a Fascist state, with the main redeeming quality that for now that he knew of, there was no organized persecution of a traditional racial, ethnic, or religious group compared to the historical authoritarians, with Zeon's Fascism having an almost humanist quality. Uzumi was well aware of the criticism other nations had towards Orb, that it was a plutocratic oligarchy with no democratic representation whatsoever and power monopolized by the Five Houses, but Uzumi could refute and take pride that Orb had a series of strong Civil Rights that the Houses could never infringe upon and that since its inception it had governed in a Libertarian manner that respected the freedoms of its citizens. Even if Degwin's rule was as truly benign as he claimed, Zeon was still a Fascistic monarchy with all power concentrated in the Zabis and no restrictions for actions.
Still, for all of Zeon's countless flaws in its culture and governance, at least Uzumi could take comfort that in foreign affairs they performed as rational actors and outside of some disagreements in diplomacy, and their rather extreme aggression towards the remnant of the Earth Federation, they had interacted with Orb with full respect of sovereignty, something that was above and beyond the history of the superstates in the Cosmic Era's previous history. Thanks to this and Orb's acquired status as the middleman between Zeon and the rest of the Earth Sphere, Orb for the first time since its inception had a level of soft power that placed it at the top of the international community with a purpose beyond playing a friendly host between two feuding states or being a buffer economy in the Cold War. Uzumi had been able to use this to get the other nations to recognize Zeon and cease an end to the ongoing fighting to participate Heliopolis where they would hopefully form relations with Zeon and bring peace to the Earth sphere. The only major issue throughout had been the African Community, who had to be brought to the table kicking and screaming over ending their aggression, with Uzumi largely having to thank PLANT and Oceania for their eventual submission.
It was because of the current international situation, and the role of high responsibility that Uzumi had thrusted upon himself as peacemaker, he was currently in the grand library of the Athha Manor, researching the various great peace conferences of modern history such as Vienna, Versailles, Yalu, Paris, Sevastapool, etc. Uzumi wanted to learn just what went right and what went wrong at these conferences that contributed either to the creation of a lasting peace, preparing materials for the flames of war, or both. As much as Uzumi was an idealist, he knew that even in the best case scenarios of Heliopolis' outcome, there would undoubtedly be a negative legacy or series of legacies resulting from it which could create a great conflict or multiple conflicts down the line. As such, Uzumi had to make sure that he could either limit the magnitude of failure resulting from Heliopolis, or create a strong international system that when the next great crisis or conflict arose, that it could be swiftly and peacefully dealt with.
'Lion of Orb, it is time to see if I can truly earn that title or if I will be become this century's Chamberlain.' Uzumi lamented.
He may have been referred to as a Lion both domestically and abroad with varying degrees of affection and respect, but it was not because of any great deeds of peace or progress enacted by Uzumi. Within Orb he was mainly known as the Lion for limiting foreign influence and standing up for Orb's values against the Superstates, allowing Orb to continue to exist in splendid isolation but never becoming the agent of great change and prosperity that others saw him as. Abroad he was known as the Lion for mediating peace between the Superstates with humility and silent strength, though this was heavily exaggerated with his main role being the hosting of such talks and getting all parties to talk to each other, while forces in their nations prompted such great change. It was an effort that Uzumi considered to notbe too proud of as he had been unable to stop the Cold War, or the series of events that lead to the Alliance-ZAFT War.
If Uzumi succeeded here, then he could finally fulfill his dreams of making the world a better place and set a strong and good example for how humanity could move forward through coexistence and tolerance in the next phase of the Cosmic Era. Pushing all of them towards an enlightened future.
"Hey Father, you wanted to see me?" Asked his adopted daughter and only child, Cagali.
Uzumi looked up from the book he had been reading and smiled at Cagali's entrance, finding her presence a much needed break from his inner turmoil and stress in personally preparing for the conference, even if the purpose of their talk did involve responsibility. With his duties as Chief Representative, it was a necessary burden. With his duties as Cagali's father, it was a joyful labor that he could be proud in.
"Yes Cagali, come take a seat." His daughter did as he asked and sat down on a chair next to him, made with high quality leather and tropical wood through import from South America. Uzumi noticed her slight caution and nervousness as she positioned herself. "Don't worry my child, you aren't in trouble, I merely wished to have a talk about your future, not because of what you have done, but because of something you need to do."
"Okay..." Cagali replied in confusion and hesitation. Wanting to set the subject, Uzumi spoke plainly to his daughter.
"Cagali, when you collapsed and had gone comatose on April Fools, it was one of the darkest moments of my life. For a time I thought that I was going to lose you." Uzumi began.
Cagali reached out and hugged her father's arm, eyes showing concern. "But Father, I'm fine now and I haven't been sick since then. Everyone else who collapsed on April Fools is fine, at least those that we know of in Orb." Cagali stated.
It was true, fortunately since the first of April where the entire world changed in a single day, no one who had mysteriously collapsed on the stroke of Midnight at Zeon's appearence had died in relation to said event. While Uzumi had not been able to gain information on any such occurences in most of the world, Oceania, PLANT, and Zeon had confirmed no similar cases, giving Uzumi hope that Cagali could live a long life.
Uzumi gave his daughter an assuring smile. "I know that Cagali, and I am glad for your good health, but the experience, along with the massive changes of the world since then, has kept me thinking, primarily on my own mortality."
"Father..."Cagali began, though stopped when Uzumi raised his hand up silently to let him continue, with the blonde acquiesing.
"No I have no intention of leaving this world anytime soon, and even with the demands of my job I have still kept in great shape all these years. However, the world we live in is one that is quickly losing all sense of stability and reason. Since the end of the Reconstruction War, we only had the occasional megastorm and the S2 virus to worry about affecting society at large. Now we have an apocalyptic race war between the Alliance and ZAFT, most of the planet is without power, the global economy is in ruins, some supernatural phenomena has affected yourself and tens of millions of others, and we have a new nation that just popped into existence from another reality. At this point anything can happen in the future, and what Orb needs now more than ever is strong leadership. Depending upon how things go, I may not be able to stand as the Head of our House in the times ahead."
Cagali's body language shifted from one of concern to fear and apprehension at Uzumi's last sentence. She pulled away from contact with Uzumi and gripped the arms of her chair, eyes shifting between himself and the exit, not wanting to participate in a conversation that she had done numerous times in recent years. "Father, I don't-"
"Cagali, listen to me." Uzumi sternly said in a rare tone of authority that he rarely used on Cagali. Such a tone got Cagali to settle down slightly and give Uzumi her full attention. Uzumi didn't want to be this forceful with his daughter, and he had no intentions of forcing her rise, but this needed to happen now.
"Cagali, I know that you are scared of assuming your responsibilities as a Princess of Orb, most especially with the lack of freedoms that are associated with the role and image. It's because of such conditions forced upon Homura and I from your grandfather that I allowed you to have a relatively laxed upbringing, so that you could be happy first and foremost and experience your childhood fully before becoming an active noble. However, the times are changing and I need you at my side, both to provide the people of Orb with the best guidance they deserve and to balance out the ambitions of the other Houses. Then there's the death of the old world order and this new geopolitical scene being crafted by Zeon. I'll do my best to lead Orb through this coming storm and act as our House Head for many years to come, but should the worst come, I want you to be strong and stand on your own, to be the best Noble you can be instead of being swallowed whole by the position."
Miraculously, unlike his previous attempts to reach out to Cagali which all ended out in failure with her rebuking her adopted status as a princess, Cagali seemed to visibly acquise to his demands, with a slight, though begrudging, nod of her head. Perhaps it was the chaos that was engulfing the outside world, perhaps it was her own near death experience, maybe Uzumi's words finally worked their magic touch. Whatever the reason, she was finally cooperating and Uzumi couldn't be happier.
'I know you can do good Cagali. You just need to embrace who you are instead of running away.' Uzumi silently encouraged.
"I...I understand father. But, does it have to be right now? I'm nowhere near ready to be an active noble, and I'm far too young, I'm just about to turn 15. Can I at least wait another year, until I'm of the age where normal kids would have graduated high school. If I'm given hard power right now, I'll just screw up." Cagali pleaded.
Uzumi sighed as it seemed that Cagali was still resistant, but at least some progress was being made here with her bargaining instead of outright denial.
'I can work with this.'
"Cagali, I have no intention of rushing your responsibilities. You're not going to become the Minister of Agriculture tomorrow." Uzumi assured, with Cagali sighing in relief. "What I want to do is to gradually familiarize yourself with my responsibilities and the greater workings of our government and the international system. I'll slowly teach you in one field that you need to be familiar and competent in, and once you have mastered that we'll move onto a new assignment. This will include a mixture of both high education, and field work with some minor responsibilities. This will happen over a decade, until we reach a point where you are experienced enough to take a leadership position in one of our sectors or the bureaucracy, and that you may be able to assume leadership of our house, should the worst happen."
Cagali's face showed one of conflict. On the one hand she was very receptive to the current offer, but on the other, her fears and anxieties still plagued her. "That sounds reasonable. But can it still wait until I at least turn 16, that way I can finish my standard education like any other kid?"
While other parents like Unato or Koto would keep a firm stance and refuse any concessions, Uzumi found this compromise very much agreeable. "That sounds acceptable. If you needed to immediately assert yourself within Orb politics in the next year, then things would truly be bad. However, while I'll still allow you most of your freedoms and standard education, I would like you to work on official assignments for myself during that time. Nothing too major, just minor postings of authority that will give you your first taste of politics and governance."
"Really Father?"
"It won't be too bad. Think of it as an internship or part-time job, something that many normal kids your age do." Uzumi said, using Cagali's own logic of normality against her, with Cagali sagging in defeat and nodding to his request.
"Ok, I'll do it."
Uzumi visibly brightened with a wide smile at his success. "Wonderful. Your first assignment will begin in a week, at Heliopolis."
Cagali jumped slightly in alarm. "Heliopolis? But that'll determine peace between the Alliance and ZAFT and integrating Zeon into the Earth sphere! I thought you said you were going to give me simple jobs to start off with?!" Cagali questioned with a look of betrayal.
Uzumi grasped Cagali's shoulder firmly to bring her down from an emotional state. "Calm down Cagali, you're not going to be acting as one of our ambassadors and I don't expect you to write any treaties. History will not look upon you as responsible for the conference's success or failures. I mainly want you to act as my shadow, observing my mediation of the events and how the other nations participate. It's a high-stakes introduction to be sure, but it'll give you valuable experience in foreign affairs and a front row seat into the creation of the new world order. Outside of observing, the only duties that would be required of you would be minor staff work, assisting myself in organizing documents and resources, and odd jobs at the discretion of my staff who will help integrate you into the routine of foreign affairs."
Cagali seemed to finally settle at his explanation. "So, it's just going to be myself watching you and paperwork?"
Uzumi nodded. "Precisely. The other Houses will have their heirs present, and some will be given varying degrees of authority in representing Orb and organizing the conference. You won't be expected to negotiate with Degwin Zabi or anything like that. I'll do all the hard work, you'll just be watching history unfold."
Cagali relaxed fully, letting the details of her coming responsibility sink in. "I'll do it. Is there anything else you need of me father?"
Uzumi shook his head. "No, just get ready for dinner." Cagali nodded and made her way to exit the library, though perhaps a little too quickly to Uzumi's observation. As she just left the room, Uzumi called out to her, remembering something.
"What is it father?"
"Cagali, have you had any strange dreams or experiences since waking up from your coma?"
Cagali looked puzzled at the question. "No, I've been fine. Why? Has something been happening to the other people like me?"
"Well...no, not really. I'm just concerned for you is all."
"I'm fine Father, don't worry." Cagali then dashed out of the room, most likely wanting to avoid more talks of responsibility and being a princess today.
Uzumi stared at the entrance in conflict. On the one hand, he was glad that his fears were for nothing and none of Cagali's dark origins were coming to haunt her. On the other, it still left him with unanswered questions on if she was truly aware of Kira's existence, or if he her. And if the twins were aware of each other, did that mean that groups or individuals were?
Uzumi shook his head. 'It's nothing, let it go. The masquerade has worked well so far, no reason it'll break in the future.'
Sahaku Manor. Yolofat. Orb Union. April 14th, 70 CE. Koto Sahaku POV.
"Understand the procedure now? Just stop a few of their machines, and radios, and telephones and lawnmowers. Throw them into darkness for a few hours, and then sit back and watch the pattern." "And this pattern is always the same?" "With few variations. They pick the most dangerous enemies they can find, and its themselves. All we need to do is sit back and watch." "And I take it this place, this Maple Street, is not unique?" "By no means, the world is full of Maple Streets, and we'll go from one to the other and let them destroy themselves. One to the other, one to the other, one to the other." 'The world is indeed full of Maple Streets.'
In the famous episode, residents of an average American suburb known as Maple Street were caught as victims of a sudden blackout that coincided with what appeared to be a meteor strike. Throughout the blackout, the usually calm and peaceful neighbors were forced to interact with one another, with small hidden tensions coming to the fray as strange electrical activities made each neighbor appear not as they seem. When a young boy proposed a wild theory that this was the prelude to an alien invasion through infiltration, Maple Street would turn on one another in viscous conflict, setting the downfall of the neighborhood as the true aliens watched on with amusement.
In the years afterword, Maple Street like many of the Twilight Zone episodes, would be taught as a cautionary tale on its theme of paranoia and the human tendency to find scapegoats in times of crisis to release frustrations on, yet the episode like the show wasn't taken too seriously as at the end of the day it was a work of fantastical fiction which would never occur in the real world.
Yet just two weeks earlier, the Cosmic Era experienced its very own Maple Street with Uroboros and the arrival of Zeon.
The sudden loss of power derived from the N-Jammer which impossibly halted nuclear fission, made both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT believe anything was possible. The sudden appearance of an alien nation prompted the leaders of East Asia and ZAFT into action through fear and paranoia that Zeon was a superweapon of the other side. They recklessly charged into battle under the belief that they would righteously be eliminating the enemy, only for their actions to lead to their demise as Zeon easily swatted both grand fleets.
Now the world order which had governed the solar system for the past sixty years was dead. The reigning Big Three Superpowers were crippled, and PLANT which was on the verge of asserting itself as the master nation of the Earth sphere now found itself becoming neighbors with the shark that was Zeon, who now laid ownership to half the moon, L2, and L4. Times were changing and anything was possible. Among one of those possibilities, was a future that Koto intended for Orb to rise and become among the ruling club of Superpowers, under Sahaku leadership of course.
'Father, Grandfather, I'll fulfill your dreams and bring eternal glory to the Sahaku legacy, at last.'
As Rod Sterling finished the last of his monologue, a few soft knocks came from his bedroom door. "Who is it?"
"It's Mina." Said the soft and velvet voice of his eldest and only daughter, Rondo Mina Sahaku.
"Come in, I'm awake." Answered Koto.
The door softly opened and in walked Mina, dressed in a violet velvet nightgown. The expression of both father and daughter, two normally stoic and highly sophisticated people, softened incredibly at seeing each other, a pure expression of familial love in the usually cutthroat life of the Orb oligarchy.
Mina silently climbed onto the bed, with Koto shifting slightly to make room for her. "Did you take your pills, father?"
Koto smiled and playfully rolled his eyes, "Yes, yes. You don't need to remind me every night, I never go to bed without them."
"Yet you do forget every now and then, if it wasn't for my constant reminders then you would never be as diligent." Mina lightly chided, something Koto silently agreed with.
As a new episode of the Twilight Zone began, Mina introduced the true reason for her visit. "Father, what did you wish to discuss with me about Heliopolis?" She kindly asked.
A few hours ago, Koto had given his game plan of the activities of Orb and House Sahaku during the Heliopolis Conference, assigning duties to both Mina and Gina. To Mina, she was only given the "family" version of her duties, not the private version that her father entrusted only to her. For since both the twins had reached intellectual maturity and had become active in Orb politics, Koto would give his eldest and heir a set of instructions that were of far more responsibility and kept hidden from her younger brother Gina.
"Always so impatient my dear." Koto lightly chided as he leaned back into his pillow.
While Koto loved both of his children equally, he had to admit that out of the two that Mina was far more suitable to succeed him as the head of House Sahaku. Mina was the perfect representation of an iron fist in a velvet glove, a woman who could combine both ruthlessness and grace, balance wrath with magnanimity, and could waltz the dance of diplomacy while expressing firm control at statesmanship. While Gina was a skilled young man, he lacked the grace and poise of his sister. Gina solely wished to obtain victory through domination of anyone who was not Sahaku and was not nearly as masterful in social relations as Gina was. Gina's end goal of Orb dominating the world may have been right to Sahaku, but Gina would prefer to do it by having Orb win through brute strength and the destruction of all potential enemies instead of Koto's preference for a skilled symphony of politics that would see Orb crowned king of the Earth sphere with no opposition and wide support.
It was because of these rather volatile qualities, that Koto preferred to have Gina perform in areas that would best suit his talents such as the military, while the more delicate matters of rulership and politics would be handle by Mina. Koto knew that Gina could become a strong noble, but only Mina was worthy to be the Head of House Sahaku.
"In terms of our plans with Zeon, there's nothing that I need you to work on at the moment as Zeon is of a heavy unknown and as such making too many complicated plans at this juncture would just be a waste of time. However, if possible perhaps you could maybe see if a marriage with House Zabi could be possible."
At his suggestion, Mina jerked her body off of her soft contact with her father, a scowl of betrayal on her face. "Father, I will not be made into a cattle prize, especially for Gihren, he's far too old for me." Gina hissed.
Like his father before him, Koto had tried to arrange marriages for both of his children to produce strong ties and ensure that each of the twins would have productive marriages with love and happiness. So far he had been failing due to a lack of suitable candidates and the flaws of his children. Gina was far too abrasive and his rather strong personality made him a turn off for the few potential suitors. Mina was a rather anxious sort at love, having rather idealistic views of romance and wanting to find marriage her way, yet at the same time being far too anxious and awkward in forming a relationship. She could manipulate anyone she desired in the realm of politics, but in love it was a complicated struggle.
Koto remained unphased by her outburst, knowing that some similar reaction was bound to come. "Peace my daughter, I am not forcing you into anything, I merely am requesting that if the opportunity arises, that perhaps you take it to benefit both our House and nation as the Zabis are the most powerful dynasty in our solar system at the moment. Besides, I never intended for a possible marriage between you and Gihren, I was referring to Garma Zabi." Koto lectured.
Mina's expression quickly softened and a faint pink hue of embarrassment formed on her cheecks. "Oh, I apologize then." She offered and then settled down, with Koto silently acknowledging. "I thought you were thinking of Gihren since he has the most power of the Zabis and through him we could achieve direct control of Zeon. I must admit though, Garma is quiet pleasing to the eyes. It's as if someone took all of Yuna's most disgusting traits and completely reversed them." Mina commented, with Koto laughing at the insult of Unato's son.
"No my daughter, I would never want a marriage between you and Gihren. When personal unions occur, there is always a loser from the relationship with one party either being abused and thrown out or annexed into the greater nation. There is no way we would survive such a relationship with Zeon. If you were to marry Garma however, there would be nothing but benefits. The young man has a cult of personality that nearly rivals his brother and father so you would have the complete adoration of Zeon's people. he is last in-line so we would have a claim on Zeon but wouldn't be enough of a threat for Gihren to take action. He has proven himself as both a diplomat and soldier, so he would likely be a valuable asset to the House. And if what half of Zeon's tabloids say of the man is true, then I think you two would work quite well together, though in the end, it's your choice and I'll only negotiate with Degwin for a betrothal if you feel it would work out." Koto said.
There was another reason that Koto didn't want a marriage with Gihren, because he didn't think it would be possible for any spouse of Gihren's to exist in such a marriage with anything resembling equality. Koto may have spoken to Gihren for what amounted to less than a day and over video calls, but from what he could observe of the man, he saw a dominating and authoritarian character that reminded him of Gina though with far superior charisma. Even if the Zabi's somehow agreed to such a marriage, there was no way Mina would find happiness or ever truly share power as an equal, she would just be a tool of Gihren's. While Koto had many plans of potential partnership with Gihren in the future, he would never go that far with the Prime Minister and heir of Zeon.
"Hopefully he's not a bigot, but if he is or he's undesirable, we can move on without such close ties to Zeon."
"Yes, speaking of, there are some concrete plans that I wish to share with you, not of Zeon but involving the fallout with the Heliopolis conference and their possible integration into the Earth sphere."
"Do tell, Father."
"Firstly, I'm going to attempt to use Heliopolis to build a foundation to usurp Uzumi as Chief Representative, with myself of course." Koto declared.
Hearing her father's words caused Mina to rise in alarm, and for good reason. While none of House Sahaku had fondness for Uzumi Nara Athha, with Koto seeing him as a naive fool who took Orb's founding philosophy which was created to pragmatically help them survive in the dangerous Cosmic Era and brainwash himself into believing it as an actual ideology, the Sahakus respected Uzumi for his lack ambitions and role as peacekeeper among the Houses, protecting the Sahakus as they plotted in the dark without fear of retribution due to Uzumi's trust and hands-off governance.
"Why would you do that, Father?" If Uzumi was removed then the quiet and balanced game of thrones between the Houses would erupt into a volatile shadow war.
"I wish to pursue such a course of action because it is the most necessary step for the rise of both our nation and House. With Zeon's existence and Operation Uroboros, the old world order is dead and for the first time in Orb's history, we have an opportunity to strike at those who have wronged us and place ourselves as masters of the planet. We cannot do such a task if Uzumi is still kept as Chief Representative and has the powers of his office. He would rather have us stagnate in neutral and pacifistic mediocrity while the world around us changes. If that happens we'll never have another chance to have Orb lead the world. He has to go if we are to end our policy of total neutrality and use Zeon as a vehicle for Orb's rise. If everything goes perfect, we can even return to our ancestral homeland, with a Sahaku sitting on the Chrysanthemum throne until the end of time." Koto preached.
Mina nodded, seeing the wisdom of her father's actions. "But can it be done? Assuming that the Heliopolis Conference does result in not only Zeon's integration but peace between the Alliance and PLANT? Then Uzumi would be hailed as one of humanity's greatest leaders and he'll have near-universal support from Orb's citizens. We couldn't possibly insert ourselves as the ruling House of Orb then unless we kill him." Mina warned, with Koto silently agreeing.
"I have no intentions for such a scenario, though I doubt it will come close to it. One way or another, Heliopolis will end in failure. Uzumi is many things, but he is not a messiah who can end racism and truly establish peace and equality between Naturals and Coordinators. If the First Coordiantor, George Glenn could not do so despite his preaching, and if such a messiah like Zeon Zum Deikun of the Universal Century failed to sway the hearts and minds of both Earth and a majority of their Spacenoids, then what hope does Uzumi have? Even if both the Alliance and PLANT are deadset on peace and we are unable to do anything to continue the war, such a peace will only be a ceasefire of 10 to 20 years at best."
"Like Versailles?" Mina questioned with Koto nodding.
"Exactly. Perhaps without Zeon then the Alliance would be forced to sign an unconditional surrender rigged entirely in PLANT's favor. But now with Zeon proving that Naturals can pilot mobile suits, and the miracle of their nuclear fusion and Minovsky physics, the Alliance has a fighting chance at victory. I suspect that even if their citizens yearn for peace, that the current leadership will not truly surrender until they are unable to keep contact with space. If they sign a treaty, it will only be so that they have enough time to recover their economies and integrate Zeon's MS and nuclear technology. Once they have done so, a second war will be launched until conquest is done."
"And with Uzumi's failure either at bringing peace to the Earth sphere or failing to bridge the gap between Natural and Coordinator and only laying the foundations for a second war, we can manipulate the passions of both our genetic populations and the other Houses in removing Uzumi for failing to perform an impossible deed."
Koto smiled and kissed his daughter lightly on the forehead, proud of her genius. "Exactly, and when Uzumi is removed, we will naturally be the only choice to assume power as the Head House due to our position as the perfect compromise, a Natural father and his Coordinator children. With our neutrality to the war and leadership of the Third Way movement, only we can be trusted with the reigns of power, and thus we will be free to lead Orb to fulfill it's natural destiny."
Mina smiled in approval. "Any other plans that need to be enacted besides taking down the 'Great Lion?"
"If Heliopolis results in the war continuing, I also wish to use the opportunity to bring the downfall of either House Keitamura or House Seiren, perhaps even both in the best case."
"My, such hatred for our peers Father." Mina said in light amusement.
"There's no hatred involved, it's simply a natural result of the radicalism of the current war. Whatever side wins shall cause the supporter of its enemy to fall. If the Alliance wins then we shall destroy the Keitamuras, if PLANT and ZAFT win then we shall bring down the Seirens. In the best case sceanrio of mutual destruction, we shall bring down both. For now, as long as ZAFT maintains its supremacy on the battlefield and the N-Jammers continue to hold a majority of the human race in starvation and lack of support, then we shall focus our efforts on the Keitamuras, portraying them as patrons of genocide and Coordinator supremacy. If the Alliances manages to turn the tide of the war and bring the PLANTs to heel, then we shall shift focus to the Seirens being Blue Cosmos supporters and enablers of Imperialism with Orb as the last true bastion of Coordination. However, I would much prefer to keep the Seirens death at a later juncture. For until we manage to usurp control of the banking sector, we need their money for most of our plans to come true."
"Understandable, but I beg of you father, don't place me in a room with that disgusting urchin more than necessary." Mina pleaded.
Koto chuckled, knowing all to well who she was referring to. "Don't worry my dear, I promise that you won't need to. If you do, just think of how gratifying his eventual downfall will be?" Koto asked, with Mina forming pleasing thoughts at the demise of the father and son.
As much as Koto would like to eliminate the Seirens from the picture, he knew it would be a hell of a challenge. Not because of the Seirens themselves, he could contend with them any day. No, it was due to their silent patrons, the Illuminati who created the Cosmic Era. Koto never interacted with them directly, but what he did know scared him deeply with their organization practically being the only thing that made him more afraid then death. If there was ever a blessing from both the ongoing war and Zeon's existence, was that both factors could hopefully be used to end those who lurked in the shadows and free the human race from their manipulations.
'Though with the current state of the economy, perhaps even I can be one of the many causes of their own downfall.' Koto thought.
"The last thing you need to be informed of is our House's coming involvement in the Stock Wars that is to rage thanks to Uroboros. With a supermajority of the Fortune 5000 soon to enter into bankruptcy, this is the best time to usurp control of the global economy and have our House become masters of the corporate sphere. I'm still formulating a concrete plan and the details are not necessary at the moment until we get a full picture of the damage sustained by the Alliance's corporate world along with the extraction of trade and financial concessions at Heliopolis, but by the year 80, I am confident that we can place Orb into a position as the center of the stock market and global exchange."
"Yesterday was the Age of the Dollar, tomorrow will be the Age of the Yen." Mina commented.
"I couldn't have worded it better myself Mina."
'Look down upon us all you want nations of the world. For soon, you shall gaze upon Orb as your master, your superior.'
A/N: Hello everyone, Kaiser Chris with another chapter of Cosmic Crusade. In this chapter we get an insight into the three main players of Orb from the anime and manga, and see how they are reacting to the changing world and what their plans are. First off we have a Seirens, who in the anime were a mess to say the least. Unato and Yuna are among the worst of Gundam's villains, with their incompetence and stupidity only being eclipsed by the walking disaster that is Djibril. The Seirens are an awful creation who unlike Tomino's high quality writing of the Zabis as the dangers of Nationalism and Fascism, the Seirens were instead a metaphor for Fukuda to bash modern Japan and any and all Japanese who were pro-American. Needless to say I will be writing the Seirens with far more nuance in my story, if my previous chapters were an indication of anything. As I envision them, Unato is a member of LOGOS and as of now holds onto the reigns of power firmly with him being somewhat competent at statesmanship, with big dreams of joining the big kids table that is Majestic 12, wanting to earn respect and power for his House. Unato sees LOGOS as the best method of obtaining power and ruling the world, mostly due to his heavy personal ties to both the organization and the Atlantic Federation. He is not the incompetent pushover that he was in Destiny, but he became that way due to his fear of Coordinators morphing into total paranoia and terror due to the end of SEED as well as his desire to not have Orb destroyed again, that made him a complete member of Blue Cosmos to bring an end to Coordinators, and to appease the people who he saw as having the power to destroy Orb at any moment. Yuna on the other hand...is incompetent but he can do Next we have Uzumi. Admittedly I hated Uzumi at first glance upon watching SEED due to him heavily resembling Relena and the Peacecrafts of Wing who I absolutely could not stand. But rewatching SEED and Destiny and consuming some of the Cosmic Era's EU made me respect him somewhat for his strength of convictions, desire not to involve Orb in the batshit insanity of the setting, and willingness to protect it when Orb is forced into the fight. Uzumi as I portray him is a heavy balance of both idealism and pragmatism. He wants to achieve an ideal world where racism ends and everyone can coexist with no more war, but he knows that he can't achieve such a utopia so he tries to do as best as possible. On Uzumi and Cagali, the two love each other but in the past Uzumi has failed greatly in preparing her for leadership and power, leading to Cagali's disastrous incompetence in Destiny with her likely to fail as head of Orb after the show. Her Cagali gets an early start on her duties due to her "near-death experience" which makes her more receptive to the idea. How will Cagali change from such an early shift? We'll see. Finally we have my favorite part of the chapter, the Sahakus. Admittedly I haven't personally consumed any of the Astray Manga as I have been unable to find an english version in stores or online. So I am going off of the wiki and lore videos on Youtube, so if anyone feels I'm off, especially on Mina's portrayal, feel free to criticize. On Koto's character, like I set him up in earlier chapters he is Orb's supreme Machiavellian, and while far more benevolent than Gina, he is not afraid to be ruthless and do what it takes to make Orb the most powerful nation on Earth, it's just that Koto prefers more subtle tactics with Orb ruling the world with control through soft power rather than Gina wishing to conquer it. Mina embodies many of the same traits as her father and thus the two are highly close, which will be a major part in the Sahaku story later on. Overall if I were to describe Koto, it would be Tywin Lannister without the pointless cruelty. Koto will do anything for his House and legacy, but if he can do so in a gentler and more quiet fashion then he can and will. Also for all of his faults, Koto is easily leagues above Tywin as a parent. We only have 3 more chapters in the reaction arc and next time shall focus on how the neutral nations of the Cosmic Era are failing. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more!
