Cosmic Era 72. After a year and a half, the war between Earth and the PLANTs ended with the battle at Jachin Due. By mutual agreement, the two sides promised to strive for peace and reconciliation in a treaty signed at Junius Seven, the site of a past tragedy. It was meant to be the first step in restoring stability to the world. However, hostility between the Coordinators and Naturals ran deep, and incidents continued to flare up.
"Father… Mother… Mayu…!" a young man muttered before he screamed into the sky.
Shinn Asuka of Orb lost his family in the previous war, when Orb became a battleground. Hating war more than anyone, Shinn joined ZAFT in a search for power. He was determined to never lose anyone he cared for again.
Armory One was an industrial PLANT colony. Amongst the ZAFT forces attending the launch of the new battleship Minerva was the pilot Shinn Asuka. A top student at the military academy, Shinn was wearing the red uniform of the elite. He had been selected to pilot ZAFT's latest weapon.
At the same time, Orb leader Cagalli Yula Athha was paying an unofficial visit to Armory One to meet with PLANT Supreme Council Chairman, Gilbert Durandal. Cagalli was escorted by her bodyguard, Athrun Zala, who fled to Orb after the last war and now went by the name Alex. Cagalli was furious about the fact that Orb technology and human resources had been co-opted by the ZAFT military after the war.
"When Orb was invaded, we welcomed your refugee compatriots warmly." Durandal said. "Now that those refugees have chosen to stay with us, can we stop them from using the technology they are familiar with?"
"Too much power will incite more war!" Cagalli said.
"On the contrary, Princess. We need power because war is unavoidable." Durandal said.
The pair could not find common ground. Soon enough, both their fears proved real when a new conflict arose. The Earth Alliance special forces team Phantom Pain attacked Armory One in order to steal ZAFT's newly developed Mobile Suits. The attackers made off with three of the four new suits, leaving the base in chaos.
Shinn rushed to join in the battle in the remaining suit, the Impulse Gundam. To protect Cagalli, Athrun jumped into the cockpit of a nearby ZAKU Warrior, and sent a distress signal to some familiar compatriots.
"I won't let you die in this place!" Athrun declared as he headed out. "The Earth Forces!? What are they doing here!?"
"Athrun!" Cagalli called out.
"I'm way ahead of you. Let's break through and get to safety, quick!" Athrun said as he spotted a blonde haired girl in a suit. "Are those ZAFT's new Mobile Suits!? That must be what they were after."
"What's this!? They're quick off the mark! Take that!" the girl said as she charged at Athrun, who blocked. "Damn!"
"Disengage! That's enough, Stella!" a green haired man said. However, Athrun was able to get the drop on her and push her back.
"Damn!" Stella said as she attacked, only to be blocked by the appearing Wildcat and Frost Gundams.
"The Wildcat Gundam…? Barbara, you're here!" Athrun said. "And...who are you?"
"You're Athrun Zala, correct?" David's voice rang out from the Frost Gundam. "Cheetah and her compatriots have told us quite a bit about you."
"And you must be David Ishihara. She told us about you." Athrun said.
"Though, I kind of wished we met under different circumstances. We seem to be in quite a fix right now." Cheetah said.
"Damn it… Get out of my way!" Stella said as she drew a laser sword and charged, only for David to draw his own laser sword and clash with Stella.
"Stella!" the green haired man called out as he headed towards her.
"Sting!" Stella called out.
"There's another one!" Cheetah said. Soon parts of a Mobile Suit flew by and assembled as it landed on the ground.
"Why are you doing this?" Shinn asked. "Do you people want another war!?"
"What's going on here? They never mentioned a machine like that." Sting said.
"There were only supposed to be three new Mobile Suits! We didn't plan for this. Damn Neo...:" another young man said.
"We better deal with these guys! We don't want them coming after us!" Sting said.
"You just want their heads as souvenirs? Not cool!" the young man said.
"I've got your back, Shinn! Do whatever it takes to capture them!" a blonde haired young man said.
"No way I'm letting them best me!" Stella said.
"Go ahead and get yourself killed, then! I'll tell Neo you said goodbye!" Auel said.
"That's enough from you, Auel! You're not helping!" Sting shouted back.
"Me…? Die? No… No… No. NonononoNONONO!" Stella panicked as she pulled back.
"Well, that wasn't a nice thing to say to your comrade." David said as he flew after Auel.
"Hey! What the heck is it to you? You're the enemy, right? Why would someone like you give a damn how the enemy treats their allies?!" Auel asked as David blocked and started to decimate him.
"Because it means the difference between a supporting working relationship, and using each other as tools." David said.
"You bastard… What the hell could you possibly know about that?" Auel asked.
"...More than you might think." David said as he soundly defeated Auel just as Cheetah took down Sting.
"Don't let them get away. The raiders are bound to be backed by a larger force." the ship's commander said. "We can't risk losing the Impulse too! Launch the Minerva! Defend the ship, Lunamaria!"
The ship managed to launch up into space, where Shinn, David and Cheetah were locked in battle with Earth Alliance forces.
"You've got this, Shinn. I'll go ahead and keep an eye out for enemy reinforcements!" the blonde young man said.
"No need for that. Because we're on the job." a voice said as Sectonia and Mayumi were deployed.
"A new warship and undocumented Mobile Suits? My preparations weren't thorough enough." a man in a mask said. "Time to make our move! Keep it simple, okay?"
"Look who we have here… Get ready, everyone! Try not to let the enemy near the Minerva!" the commander said.
"The Minerva? Why is it called that?" Cheetah asked.
"Why it was named after you, of course. The unsung hero of the Bloody Valentine War." the commander said.
"More like out of spite. I was your enemy, after all." Cheetah said.
"Yes, yes, I suppose you were. But Yzak put in a good word about you, you know." the commander said. "Prove your worth by clearing the enemies here."
"Fine, fine, I suppose that's the best thing to do." Cheetah said. "I'm not going to make any guarantees, however."
"Does that mean they tricked us!?" a girl named Lunamaria said.
"This is Orb representative Cagalli Yula Athha. I am her assistant, Alex Dino." Athrun said. "We were meeting the Chairman when the attack occurred. We took a Mobile suit, as there was no time to take refuge."
"You are cleared to board. We're in pursuit of the stolen machines." the commander said.
"This shouldn't have happened in the first place! The enemy got away with this far too easily!" Shinn said.
"So, do we smash them this time, or take them alive?" Auel asked.
"Either way, this should be fun." Sting said.
"These two again?" Mayumi asked.
"Oho, those are different Suits from last time. But it's all the same once they are blown to bits!" Auel said.
"They're heading straight for us! Mayumi, get ready!" Sectonia said as she drew the laser sword from her Queen Bee Gundam as she charged at the Abyss Gundam.
"Bah, they've come to bother us again. Ah well, more toys to play with!" Auel said as he clashed with Sectonia. "At least put up a good fight, okay!? Until we smash you to pieces!"
"Oh, you'll get more than a good fight from me!" Sectonia said as she struck at Auel.
"Chaos, Gaia, and Abyss… They've got some nerve, doing this is stolen Mobile Suits!" Shinn said. Upon Sectonia and Mayumi defeating Auel and Sting, they see the two blondes clash with each other.
"Who's piloting the white baldy!?" the man asked. "Time to add these Suits to our collection!"
"Guys! If you don't focus, you'll be a sitting duck! This is no ordinary foe!" the boy said.
"We're well aware, don't you worry." Cheetah said. "This scent… Why does it smell like I've seen him before…?"
"Cheetah! Focus!" David said, blocking an attack for her before they came together and defeated the man.
"So exhilarating. I look forward to crossing paths with all of you again." the man said as he retreated.
In the face of the combined defense of Shinn, Cheetah, and the Brave Adventurers, Neo Roanoke, the Phantom Pain commander, gave up on capturing the Impulse Gundam and ordered a retreat. The Minerva went into immediate pursuit. Aboard the ship was Durandal, who had been evacuated there, as well as Cagalli and Athrun. During the pursuit, Cagalli pointed out that the power Durandal pursued turned against him. However, Shinn did not believe in Cagalli's idealism.
"Fine words were always your family's specialty!" Shinn said. "We believed in our country; we believed in you, but you betrayed us in the end! When you were preaching about Orb's ideals, did you ever stop to think who would have to die for them!?"
Countless people died in the name of Orb's ideals. Cagalli was forced to face the truth by one of her own people. At the same time, Durandal challenged Athrun for taking a false name and trying to flee the war.
"Your name is who you are. A man who uses a false name…" Durandal said. "If a man's name is fake, doesn't that make him a fake, too? Well, Alex? Or should I say, Athrun Zala?"
Meanwhile, Rey Za Burrel, a fellow pilot of Shinn's, along with Cheetah, recalled the strange feeling they both experienced when they faced Neo. In Cheetah's case, it was as though she had seen him somewhere before. In Rey's case, the way he and Neo could sense each other across the battlefield was similar to the spatial awareness that Mu La Flaga and Rau Le Creuset once shared.
Eventually, the fierce resistance of Phantom Pain forced the Minerva to abandon the pursuit, but then, more startling news arrived…