October 1st, UC 0078. Texas, Autonomous Republic of Loum/Side 5. Sayla Mass POV
With the Texas colony existing as a recreational colony to model the old American Wild West West, most of the restaurants that were present within the colony were likewise modeled after towns of the late 19th century American frontier, at least in architecture. The style of food that most of these establishments served were a mixture of American barbecue and southern American. It was here at one of these establishments, the Gun Barrel, that Sayla Mass took her lunch break on this day after working the morning shift in Texas' general hospital.
Walking through the saloon style doors, Sayla took a deep whiff of the place and let off a soft smile. While it wasn't the most healthy food that she could eat, the place had a nice comfortable atmosphere where you could hang around and relax for hours on end. It was a small social spot for Texas' youth due to its highly rated cuisine as well as a small recreational section where people could play pool, shoot darts, or play poker games.
It had once been a favorite of her brother Edouard Mass, or rather, Casval Deikun, mostly due to a small love that he accumulated for the pies that the Gun Barrel had served.
'Casval. Why couldn't you have stayed with me and started a new life?' Sayla thought, momentarily longing for her deceased brother. As quickly as it came, Sayla did her best to shake her thoughts away, wanting to continue moving on as she had for the past couple of years. In some ways, it was a good thing that Char refused to return. For as much as it pained his parents, having him around would only fill Sayla with further pain for her brother.
Shaking off the memories, Artesia made her way to the bar to order a small lunch. She was met with a rotund black man who had a heavy salt and pepper beard adorning his face, a look which along with his cowboy apparel made him quite distinctive.
"Sayla! How have you been, I haven't seen you in nearly a month! Don't tell me you found someplace new?" The man, Benjamin Lamar, the owner of the restaurant and its resident bartender said, bringing a slight smile to Sayla's face.
"No, I've just been busy with my internship. I love the work, but it doesn't have the best schedule so every day I have to go in at a different time for long hours. Most days whenever I'm done, I just want to get back home and pass out." Artesia said, referencing her current work as a provisional nurse for the colony's main hospital, an experience which she hoped would get her into Miranda University, Loum's premier college and a school with a good medical program.
"That's right, you going to be a doctor now aren't ya. Man, I remember when you were just a tiny pint begging her daddy for a scoop of ice-cream, now you're going to go out there and save lives. Time sure flies by." Benjamin said.
"It sure does." Sayla said, nostalgia laced in her voice, longing for simpler days of her childhood as Artesia Deikun.
An unfortunate reminder of said past came blaring on the bar's television screen, with Sayla noticing what was playing. When she did, a deep scowl formed on her face.
"The Federation has refused to grant the Sides neither sovereignty nor representation, denying our right to of citizenship and establishing an elite oligarchy to have total control over the many. The Federation maintains complete apathy to the wellbeing of their citizens after their exile, abandoning the colonies in poverty, with the national colonies of the Sides existing solely for exploitation. The Federation-" Said the boisterous voice of Gihren Zabi, a man whose family was the cause of Sayla's misfortune, and possibly the death of her brother.
"What's going on?" Sayla asked, her once warm voice taking on a cold tone, something Benjamin noticed.
"Oh that, Gihren Zabi is reading out a Declaration of Independence, Side 3's finally doing it, they're going to break from the Federation entirely." Benjamin said.
"So they really went through with it, huh?" Sayla said. Her outward voice was neutral but inside of her was a flurry of emotions on the development. There had been a large amount of rumors and speculation within the Earth sphere this past month that Side 3 was moving towards total independence, something that Sayla was well aware about yet choose to ignore in order to focus on her career and taking care of her adoptive father, Don Teabloo Mass.
Unlike Casval who became radicalized by Jimba Ral and a hardcore Contolist before he died, Sayla wanted absolutely nothing to do with Zeon. Everything her father had built over his great career had been removed or warped into some twisted image by Degwin and his children. By now Side 3 existed as nothing more than a plaything for the Zabi's, her father's legacy and image only being used as a bastardization to further Gihren's propaganda. Anything remotely related to Zeon only brought Sayla a great amount of pain. Sometimes she wished that Side 3 would just disappear entirely, allowing her to move on with her life and start anew with no strings attached.
"Yeah, Degwin's got some balls, I'll say that. I'm just worried about how Loum's going to take this, we've got plenty of crazies spread throughout the colonies and within days they'll probably start marching in the streets and demand for independence or joining Zeon. I think it's all a bit silly in my opinion. Things are working out just fine and having lots of nations around will only bring pointless conflict. My Dad fought in the Unification Wars and some of the stories he gave about life in those tin pot third world countries were absolutely horrifying." Benjamin said, then stopping due to noticing Sayla's bad mood.
"If it bothers you that much Sayla I can change the channel. I just had it on because no matter how stupid it is, it's important history going on right now. However, I don't want any of my customers to have their appetite ruined by a Fascist." Benjamin offered.
Sayla let off a soft smile to show she appreciated the kind words, "It's alright, I was merely thinking of Char and how he hasn't been around in a couple of years. You can keep it going if you want, I'll just tune it out." She said, making an effort to put more energy into her voice while using Char's absence as a convenient excuse.
If she started showing visibly strong feelings toward Zeon, then people around her would begin to question her attitude and try to look into why she behaved in such a manner. It lead to questions about the past that she wanted absolutely nothing to do with.
Accepting her reasoning, Benjamin decided to back off of the topic, then taking her order and bringing her a glass of water.
For a period of time, Sayla did her best to tune out Gihren's speech, making small talk with Benjamin and focus her attention on anything other than the television set. Despite her best efforts, Sayla kept on drifting back to the screen, each of Gihren's proclamations making bold strikes at her heart.
If only she had been born under different circumstances. If only the name Zeon Zum Deikun meant nothing to humanity and Contolism was little more than a silly word. If only her father hadn't died at his prime, if only the Zabi family hadn't taken advantage of his death to sieze total power. If only Casval had stayed by her side. If only...
"With this signing, I declare the Principality of Zeon and its citizens to be forever independent and free, from now until the end of time! SIEG ZEON!" Came Degwin's voice, officially making Side 3 a De Facto independent state.
Loud cheers and jubilation met Degwin's proclamation, within the restaurant she could even hear a few Nationalists acting rambunctious and offering a Sieg Zeon to the Sovereign who was tens of thousands of kilometers away.
Accepting that the past no longer existed, Sayla raised her glass towards the television and spoke in soft melancholy, "Sieg Zeon."
Within less than a second, Sayla's entire world fell to white with her heart and soul burning as if they were on fire. Her glass fell out of her hand, shattering on the wooden floor in dozens of pieces with water and ice spread all over. Sayla, who was leaning back slightly, fell out of the bar stool and onto the floor with a hard thump.
"Aaaguahugh!" Sayla screeched in pure agony, shaking on the floor as her body fell into a fit of multiple spasms. Benjamin and a few of the nearby patrons rushed to help her, but there was nothing they could do, for Sayla's pain, like tens of millions of others within the Earth sphere, was spiritual. This pain was caused by an extraordinary event which would see a nation soon transported across space and time.
When the pain finally stopped for Sayla, she awoke and found herself not within the Gun Barrel, rather standing right before Casval's grave, somehow being transported kilometers across the colony within mere seconds.
Sayla remained frozen for several seconds, unsure of what was going on until she heard a voice speak softly behind her. "Artesia?"
Hearing a name that was long dead to her, Sayla quickly turned around and found herself face to face with a tall man in a red Zeon uniform, a black and gold cape flying against the wind while a white utility belt clung to his body with various tools. The man's face was one deathly familiar to her, one with striking blonde hair and blue eyes.
At first, Artesia thought that Char had returned, that he had somehow visited Casval's grave and brought her here. However, her awakening Newtype abilities allowed her a deep glimpse into the soul of the man before her, one with whom she had a deep familial bond that had been dead for several years, only to be reignited by a miracle.
"Casval?"
April 1st, CE 70. ZSFS Troy. Char Aznable POV
"ARTES-!" Char shouted, awakening strongly with cold sweat running down his body, accompanied by heavy breathing. It was only due to his advanced spatial perception allowing his senses to take notice of his immediate environment as a medical bay within a Zeon Musai, that Char didn't dare to complete the name of his beloved sister, one who he had chosen to sever all ties with in his pursuit of vengeance.
Deeply believing that their conversation was entirely real and that he had spoken directly to his younger sister once more, Char reached out with his abilities and attempted to contact her, their time together confirming Char's theories that Artesia, just like him, was a Newtype.
While Char knew that he was tens of thousands of kilometers away from Loum, in an entirely different Lagrange Point due to being stationed with the Solomon fleet, he had a good feeling that his attempt could work. When he had collapsed in pain during a maintenance check on his Zaku-II, Char felt his latent abilities increase tremendously. He felt himself radiate a strong aura that while not as powerful as Lalah's, had closed the gap between him and herself in an incredible leap. If Artesia's abilities had somehow exploded during their contact, then surely she would be able to receive him as well?
His soul reached out into the vast void of space, desperately attempting to search and reach out for his sister. He tried to concentrate in L1, where the Texas colony was supposed to be. However, he found no traces of Artesia, instead being met with millions of foreign souls who were completely alien to Char.
He made every attempt to connect to Artesia, to reach out to her one more time and be in her presence, if only for a second. However, Char was met with absolutely nothing, due to both his lack of training in his abilities as well as his soul attempting to adjust to the new reality that he found himself there. While Char could feel the presence of thousands of Newtypes within the fleet, his sister was completely lost to him. It was as if Char was staring at an open ocean, only to be met with open waters and no signs of life.
When the medics had reached Char Aznable, they found the Troy's MS leader to be overwhelmed in grief, his face burning nearly as red as his uniform while tears stained his medical gown and the bed he was on. It was a startling sight for those on the ship who knew of Lieutenant Char Aznable as a highly composed and stoic figure.
While Char had no definitive proof, he knew deep within his heart that his sister Artesia was no forever lost to him. Mere distance no longer separated the children of Zeon Zum Deikun, instead the two were divided by the realms of space and time. Char had entered a brave new world, while Sayla had been left behind.
April 1st, CE 70. Zeon Roayal Palace. Zum City, Principality of Zeon. Garma Zabi POV
After the Zabi family had been appraised of the situation within Side 3 with Degwin declaring martial law over the Principality, Garma was sent by his father into Zum City to help the garrison along with the Zum City police department to maintain order. While there was little that Garma could do as a single individual to help contain the riots and restore law and order, the visible presence of a Zabi helping the military and police to restore order would help bring a sense of calmness to the colony, preventing an escalation of anarchy.
For the most part, Garma's participation worked to its intended effect. Seeing the youngest Zabi prince lead and the field and on some cases work personally to defuse potential crises raised the morale of the Army and Police a great deal, energizing them to work quickly to get the colony back in order.
Fortunately for Garma, the situation was far from being as bad as it could be. Instead of all waking up at the same time, the denizens of Zum City seemed to regain unconsciousness at differing intervals, allowing the Army to deal with the worst outbreaks rather quickly and then install a system of damage control to ensure that those who would wake up would do so calmly and without violent restraint.
Most of Zum City's population had been watching the Declaration, so there were few terrible accidents caused by people falling into unconsciousness. That didn't mean that there were none as Garma had encountered a few ugly incidents where some cars had ran into each other or in buildings, but they were far less than what should have happened if the Event occurred on an average day meaning that casualties were in the hundreds and not thousands or tens of thousands.
Lastly, the fears of a general breakdown in social order fortunately did not happen as most people had enough common sense to not destroy their city and inflict harm on their neighbors. Oh there were opportunists who took the lack of law enforcement to commence looting, though most of these individuals were either caught or would soon be caught thanks to surveillance.
At the moment, Garma was giving a personal report on his activities to Degwin within his personal office in the Royal Palace. By now some semblance of normality had been achieved and with no word on the Far Side Fleet moving to conquer Zeon, Degwin had moved outside of the bunker and had resumed leadership in the Palace along with Gihren; Kycillia heading to the OSS to help install order within the colonies. By now most of the Army and ZCPD had regained consciousness, so Garma's presence was no longer needed, hence him returning to Degwin.
"You did good work Garma. You acted as a true Prince of Zeon and showed the people that we shall stay by their side in times of crisis." Degwin praised.
"Thank you father!" Garma said, beaming at the compliment that his father gave him, all signs of fatigue fading from the young Zabi.
With the death of his mother Naliss at his birth, Garma had always clung tightly to Degwin with his father reciprocating in a close bond that he did not develop with any of Garma's older siblings, largely spoiling his youngest, though in a sweet rather than in a rotten manner. Garma had always idolized Degwin and from a young age had sworn to himself that he would do anything to become just as great of a man as his father, the man who guided Zeon after Deikun's untimely passing and uplifted them from the harsh tyranny of gravity to the guiding light of all Spacenoids.
"I must say I am rather surprised though that we did not suffer some great catastrophe at the hospitals, I would think that there would be thousands of patients who would've been lost in critical surgery." Degwin said in confusion.
"I was just as surprised as well father, though it is a rather fortunate that so many lives were spared." Garma said, with Degwin nodding in return.
Since he was a child Garma had been deathly afraid of anything to do with medical care, his mother dying in child birth, Sasro dying from complications of his wounds in his assassination, and his elder siblings mother Alice dying from radiation poisoning. So many Zabis had died in the hospital that it made the building a rather dreary place for Garma to visit, even if he was getting something as simple as a flu shot. At one point in his childhood, Garma had heavily considered becoming a doctor, to prevent what happened to his family from happening to so many others. However his family's ambition and his drive to follow in his father's footsteps had Garma choose to make a career in the Army. At the very least he was satisfied that under Zabi rule healthcare within Side 3 had risen greatly in quality in the past decade.
"From the testimonies I had received from the hospitals, apparently many of the medical staff, especially the surgery teams, woke up within minutes of the event occurring. This allowed them to recover quickly and make sure that any lost time didn't impact the patients. Even the maternity wards made it through unscathed." Garma said, his stomach feeling queasy at the mention of childbirth, an event that took his mother's life at the cost of his own.
"That is rather fortunate." Degwin said, ending the subject due to the knowledge of his son's unease within the medical world, something Garma was rather thankful for.
"However father, there was something...strange that seemed to happen in the event besides millions of people passing out." Garma said.
"What do you mean?" Degwin asked.
"I encountered a few cases myself, but it appears that for several people, when they awoke they found their family and loved ones suddenly appearing right next to them in their homes. Family and loved ones who at the time of the Event were supposed to be in the other Sides, the moon, or even Earth." Garma said. It was a statement that he would find ludicrous or impossible if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes.
"You're saying that these people just appeared out of thin air and into their homes?"
Garma nodded. "It sounds like some sort of cheap magic trick but that's what occurred. The police got several emergency calls stating that some impostor showed up in their house, yet in all of the cases I encountered, these were legitimate. No matter what these mystery people were doing at the time of the Declaration, at one moment they were somewhere tens of thousands of kilometers across the Earth sphere, and in the next moment after closing their eyes, they find themselves in their homes surrounded by their families." Garma said, growing incredibly uneasy when he noticed Degwin's attitude, as if Garma's words were confirming something Degwin already knew.
"Garma, at this point I have received dozens of reports from across the colonies. All of them share a similar occurrence to what you had just said." Degwin said, shocking Garma.
"So this isn't an isolated incident? Millions of people are just popping into their homes across the colonies?!" Garma asked in disbelief, Degwin nodding in confirmation.
"It's not the only...bizarre event that we have observed. Remember how I said that we may have been transported to another world?" Degwin asked, Garma nodding in response. At the time and up til now, Garma had just believed it to be the Federation hacking into Side 3's satellites. Such a miraculous event couldn't possibly have happened. Right?
"It seems that from the information that we have collected at this point, my theory is becoming more true by the minute. Several hours ago, Admiral Lutjens at Pezun had contacted me of what had occured at L4. It appears that Sides 2 and 6 have been replaced by a collection of seven colonies. All of these belong to a nation called the Republic of East Asia, a nation whose Admiral, Lutjens made contact with and confirmed that this is not our Earth sphere.
Communications that have been intercepted across the near side of Luna and what is supposed to be Side 5 have revealed a state of affairs that are completely alien to what we are supposed to expect from Loum and the Lunar cities. Several mentions are made to some sort of an Earth Alliance and an ongoing war taking place near Earth orbit.
We have received a report from Axis and it appears that Jupiter, or I should rather say, the Jupiter sphere, is completely gone. The planet is still where it should be, however the Jupiter sphere along with many of the Belt colonies have completely disappeared." Degwin said.
With each word that came out of his father's mouth, Garma began to grow more pale and feel ill. All of these were impossibilities that simply shouldn't exist, yet it appeared that the entire solar system outside of Side 3 had been reshaped within less than a day.
"Lastly is an incident that took place near the Kudelia colony. A Musai called the Brunswick intercepted a cargo freighter coming from Jupiter that appeared to be violating the No Fly Zone that I had ordered. The ship, called the Raifuku Maru, was escorted by the Brunswick to Kudelia where it along with its crew were interred. From what the local State Security detachment along with Customs reported, the ship's crew seemed to be spouting nonsense, claiming that they were from a Pacific nation named Orb and that they were on a return voyage from trading with the Martian states. Then, two hours ago, Solomon and Pezun received this message." Degwin said, motioning Garma to his computer where Degwin played a video.
Within moments, an image propped up showing an elderly Asian man sitting at a desk. The man was wearing a maroon suit (a rather gaudy fashion choice in Garma's opinion) and sported a brown, but graying, goatee with long hair that flowed down his back. The man seemed to be middle aged, at least around a decade younger than Degwin.
"To the unknown asteroids within L4 and L5, my name is Uzumi Nara Athha, Chief Representative of the Orb Union. I am sending this message to you in the belief that you are connected to the unknown closed colonies within L2. Hours ago, a ship called the ZSFS Brunswick, a green cruiser similar to the hundreds within your fleets, detained an Orb freighter, the SS Raifuku Maru, and escorted her to a Kudelia colony. This action is a violation of Orb's sovereignty, however it is one which I believe to be of misunderstanding rather than malice. We bear no ill will towards your nation, Orb is a peaceful country and we wish to be neutral in all affairs. All I simply ask is for the safe return of the Raifuku Maru and its crew.
At 1800 Colonial Standard, a small flotilla of three Izumo battlecruisers shall be sent from our colony Heliopolis in L3 to your colonies in L2. We have no wish to start a conflict, merely to have the cruisers escort the Raifuku Maru safely to Heliopolis to avoid the dangers of the war. The head of this flotilla shall be an Orb officer who is authorized to engage in diplomatic negotiations.
If you are truly connected to this unknown nation, then I request that a message be sent to the L2 colonies as soon as possible for peaceful contact. Please reply as soon as possible in order to avoid any misunderstandings." The video then ended, freezing in place with the man at his desk.
Garma looked towards Degwin in shock, his father wearing a completely neutral expression, most likely due to having already gone through the message already.
"So we truly are in another world?" Garma asked, Degwin nodded slowly.
"To quote a classic film, We're not in Kansas anymore. We're still trying to comprehend the information that's coming in, but while the physical solar system and the rest of the galaxy is the same, it appears that the Earth sphere as we know is entirely different. I don't know how, but Zeon, along with the far side of the moon, Solomon, and Pezun have been transported to what appears to be a different timeline. From what little we know so far, it appears that in this timeline, called the Cosmic Era, there was neither a Third World War nor was there an Earth Federation. The Earth is still divided into nation-states, though it appears to be less than a dozen in comparison to the two hundred nations that make up the Federation.
Space colonization is far limited with only less than two hundred colonies in existence while humanity has never colonized past the Belt. Mars seems to be terraformed much like in the Universal Century, though it appears there is some 'Wild West' era with dozens of independent ventures founding their own states on the fourth planet. Lastly it appears that there's some sort of great controversy regarding genetic manipulation and people called Coordinators. I don't know the full detail, but these appear to be a sub-species of humans who have been genetically engineered inside of the womb to become superior beings." Degwin said, an exasperated look on his face showing that even he was still trying to comprehend what was going on.
Feeling overwhelmed, Garma collapsed into a leather chair in front of Degwin. "I think I need a drink father." Garma said, receiving a laugh from Degwin in response.
"I as well son. Most of this information that we have learned comes from the East Asians in L4, a nation that appears to be an expanded China. The transmission that we received is from a nation called Orb, a microstate within the Pacific that seems to be an economic powerhouse and the Switzerland of this timeline, as they are rather notorious for their total neutrality and pacifism."
"Orb? That's a rather queer name for a nation. It would be like if we called ourselves the Cube Republic." Garma said.
"I agree with you, though I haven't had a chance to read into the complete history of any of these nations, so who knows why they came up with such a strange name. The transmission was sent to us by Dozle and Lutjens, so we'll be moving to deal with this matter shortly." Degwin said.
"Speaking of father, what about those weird hourglasses in L5, are they a threat to Dozle?" Garma asked, concerned for his brother's safety.
"I have no idea. From what the East Asians told us, those hourglasses are a nation called PLANT, a colonial side inhabited by those Coordinators who are currently in a rebellion against their sponsor nations, the Earth Alliance." Degwin said, noticing Garma growing rather uneasy at the parallels between PLANT and Zeon, "I know what it sounds like, but we can't rush into any conflict without knowing why these people are fighting. Dozle has been trying to contact PLANT, but none of Solomon's transmissions can reach the colonies and they've made no effort to open up communications while their fleets are hugging their colonies."
"Are we going to initiate contact with this new Earth sphere father?" Garma asked, surprised when Degwin shook his head.
"As much as I would like to, we are in an extremely vulnerable position due to being completely cut off from all economic ties with the old Earth sphere. I have closed the stock markets for now, but when they do open we'll most likely be hit with a deep recession as the people panic about being thrust into a new world. Millions of people are still unconscious from the Event, and we still have the Far Side fleet and cities to contend with. Those are the ones I fear the most as who knows how these people will act when they find out they are cut off from Earth. If we are to formally introduce ourselves into this Cosmic Era, we must do so as a powerful and indivisible nation. No weakness must be presented to these Earthnoid states, they must treat us as an equal or else it shall mean war."
"Are we not going to let the people know about this father?"
"Word shall eventually spread, so this is going to be impossible to contain. For now I have ordered a media blackout and for State Security to obtain direct control of all communications satellites. If the domestic situation is secure within the next 48 hours, then I shall announce our new state of affairs to the nation, and then hopefully proceed with a formal first contact with the Earthnoids. However, we still have the matter of the Raifuku Maru to deal with, and that is where you come in Garma."
"Me?" Garma asked, sitting straight and alert while receiving a nod from Degwin.
"From what I have gathered, Orb is a nation with no hard power and a miniscule presence in space. Still, that does not give us the right to treat another sovereign nation with such disrespect and I would rather give a good first impression to our new neighbors. Garma, I want you to travel to Kudelia and meet with the crew of the ship, personally ensure that they have been treated well and they do not have any strong grudges with us. From there you shall handle direct negotiations with this Orb flotilla and ensure the safe return of the Raifuku Maru to Orb."
"Are you sure that I am the best person for this assignment father?" Garma said, unsure that he was so fit to handle first contact with a nation that didn't exist a day ago. Surely Gihren or Kycillia would be best suited for the task, they were always better than Garma.
In response, Degwin got out of his chair and walked to Garma, placing his right hand on Garma's left shoulder. "Garma, you are a prince of Zeon, a son of House Zabi. I want to show this Orb that we shall treat them with respect, and what better way than to send my son? Make no mistake, this exchange is crucial to what the Earthnoid states think of us. With the Federation ceasing to exist, we are now and shall forever be an independent nation. I would rather us integrate peacefully into this new Earth sphere than have the lives of millions of sons and daughters of Zeon perish in a war brought about by misunderstanding. This mission needs to be a success, and I have every faith that you are more than up to the task Garma. Go forward my son, and let history remember you as the man who helped to push Zeon into this new Earth sphere."
Garma felt tears well up in his eyes, proud that his father believed in himself so strongly. He shot up to attention and gave a salute to Degwin. "I won't let you down father! For the glory of Zeon I shall complete my mission and make sure that this first contact goes perfectly. Sieg Zeon!"
After some further time spent going over the details of Garma's trip, the young prince made his way out of Degwin's office on a journey to the space port where he would take a shuttle to the Great Degwin, and from there travel to Kudelia to meet the Raifuku Maru.
On his way outside of the palace, Garma's thoughts strayed to his best friend, Char Aznable. From what he knew of Char, he had parents within Side 5 who he had become estranged with over the years. Unless Char was lucky enough to have his parents be teleported to Side 3, then it meant that they still remained in the Universal Century, an entire reality separate from the new one Zeon found itself in.
Garma hoped that if such was the case that his best friend would manage to pull through okay. Garma vowed that the next time he saw Char that he would help him in any way he could.
April 1st, CE 70. 1200 Colonial Standard. PLANT Capitol. Aprilius One. PLANT. Patrick Zala POV
For those who passed by Defense Chairman Patrick Zala in the halls of the PLANT Capitol, they would notice something slightly unsettling about his demeanor. For the first time in two months, Patrick Zala was sporting a wide smile, happy and gleeful as can be. The reason for this was due to the news that Operation Uroboros was a complete success, most of the Alliance Orbital Fleet having been wiped out while the Alliance on Earth was slowly beginning to lose a supermajority of their power with the shutdown of the nuclear fission plants.
From this news one thing was absolutely clear to Patrick, the end of the war was near and by the end of the month PLANT would have independence and total victory.
Originally Patrick had no intention of using the N-Jammers in such a brutal manner as to cause most of Earth's population to lose their power. He had standards and knew fully that Coordinators would not only suffer from the loss of power, but also become targets of retaliation. All he had planned to do was to use it to defend the PLANTs, wipe out the Alliance fleets, and cut off Earth from the moon, forcing the Alliance to sue for peace. This had been Patrick's plan for victory when the Alaska Declaration was produced.
Then Lenore Zala was murdered in the nuking of Junius Seven, taking away Patrick's wife, the mother of his son, his entire world was gone in mere seconds. All because of the damned Naturals.
All his life Patrick had known loss and hardship. When he was a teenager his parents were brutally murdered by Blue Cosmos thugs in a targeted hit on their house, Patrick only surviving due to going out to party with his friends. This forced him to survive alone, living as an outcast in his own home, struggling to get by on a daily basis until the PLANTs were constructed, with him shipping out to Aprilius as one of its first laborers.
In the colonies Patrick had found a new circle of friends, his first day having him bump into a young Scandinavian idealist who would become someone that Patrick had for a long time considered to be a brother in all but blood. He made a home for himself in PLANT, becoming part of a community that was born with the same genes that he had, free to live as they pleased. It was in the PLANTs that Patrick had found love, started a family, and became a new man.
Despite all the wonderful things that happened to him in the PLANTs, it was far from a wonderful life. Despite being exiled to space, the persecution of the Naturals refused to end, exporting their reign of terror to the PLANTs, his fellow Coordinators being attacked on a daily basis for trying to live their lives in the hourglasses that they had been imprisoned in. The heavy regulations and authoritarian control of the sponsor nations through the UN PLANT Army made any possibility of forming a quality of life near equal to Earth impossible. After their great forefather, George Glenn, was assassinated in 53, any possibility of reconciliation and peaceful coexistence went out the door, forcing Patrick to take action by founding ZAFT, the instrument of PLANTs preservation.
For years Patrick had played by the rules, bowing to the flimsy excuse of taking the moral highground, following Siegel's naive agenda to counter the Naturals with peaceful opposition every step of the way. When Patrick formed ZAFT, he formed it as a defensive militia, a force that shall only strike when attacked. All of this was absolutely meaningless in the end when Lenore was nuked into oblivion, no body left for him and Athrun to bury.
Patrick swore that he would avenge his wife, that her death would not be meaningless and would instead be a righteous cause for him to deliver retribution to the Naturals. With the success of Operation Uroboros, he was one step closer to honoring her memory completely.
Patrick marched into the council chambers with great stride, his fellow councilmen all being in attendance at his request. There was an exhausted look on each of their faces, this being due to mental fatigue in stress rather than physical exhaustion as a Coordinator could go days without sleep in comparison to a Natural.
"Everyone, I bring to you glorious news. Operation Uroboros is a complete success." Patrick said with great confidence, causing the council to erupt to total jubilation, shouts of joy and a few wild hollers greeting the good tidings. Well, almost everybody. Reactions varied widely with Ezalia proudly shouting "Victory is ours!" while Eileen gave an energized round of applause with a smile on her face. The only one who didn't celebrate was Siegel, adorning a somber, though outwardly neutral mood.
Siegel's attitude caused Patrick's face to warp from a smile to a brief frown. They had struck an unrecoverable blow on the Alliance with the victims of Junius Seven avenged and Siegel acted like this was a tragedy?!
'You've always had too big of a bleeding heart Sieg.' Patrick grimaced. No matter what atrocities the Naturals inflicted upon them, Siegel could never hold an ounce of hate for those loathsome people. A Blue Cosmos member could probably murder Lacus in front of him and Siegel would not dare to avenge her. At the very least he allowed Uroboros to proceed, showing to Patrick that his friend would at least do what his duty required of him. He could respect that much.
"From the report that Admiral Singh has sent, at minimum 3,000 Alliance ships have been destroyed with over 20,000 mobile armors lost as well. A tenth of the Alliance fleet has been eradicated while as we speak, Central Asia is being targeted with N-Jammers. Everything has gone according to our greatest expectations." Patrick said, prompting more celebrations from the council.
When the cheers had died down, Siegel was the first to ruin the atmosphere. "What were our losses in the operation Chairman Zala?" He asked, causing everyone to quiet down at the remembrance of the lives lost in the operation.
Once upon a time, Patrick and Siegel had referred to each other casually with their first names in meetings. Nowadays, they would always address one another as Chairman Clyne and Chairman Zala unless they were engaged in personal conversations outside of council business. It was a sign of how far things had fallen between the once brothers.
'Something that would never have happened if he dropped his delusions of peace.' Patrick lamented.
We lost a total of 64 ships with a collection of 77 ships suffering varied degrees of damage. Altogether 471 mobile suits were lost in the exchange. Even still, this is a 50 to 1 ratio that has seen the absolute destruction of the Orbital fleet. Every one of our soldiers lost was worth it." Patrick said. He could've sworn though that he heard Siegel whisper "Was it?". Patrick was about to demand a clarification, though this was prevented by Parnel Jesek addressing him.
"What about the stealth fleet? Now that Uroboros is a confirmed success, how shall we deal with them?" He asked. The entire council looked to him, giving Patrick the floor to respond.
"With the complete success of Uroboros, it is undeniable that the stealth fleets are worthless and will face no fate but annihilation against our forces. As such, I have drafted a battle plan that with the council's approval, shall see this force eliminated within the next 24 hours. What I propose is to send a fleet of 130 ships to face the stealth fleet head on and destroy their composition. This force shall be led under ZAFT Whitecoat Keishiro Fukuyama who shall act as provisional Admiral."
Patrick did his best to hid his annoyance when he said Keishiro's rank. This whole color coded ranking system was nothing but asinine garbage that belonged in a cliche science fiction story. ZAFT could have been properly organized with legitimate ranks, but NOOO! Siegel wanted ZAFT to be a militia force to defend themselves. It should be an organization that prides in the individuality of its servicemen, not a proper military force as PLANT would have no need for one after victory.
Such thoughts were the height of foolishness. The Natural's irrational hatred would not die after the end of the war, they would always be jealous of the Coordinator's genetic superiority and would stop at nothing to annihilate them. There would always be war and ZAFT would have to reform into a proper military sooner or later, it was inevitable.
"What about the mobile suits? Surely their involvement will give a boost to the Alliance's performance and cause more losses for us, especially with a greater inferiority in numbers than Uroboros." Yuri protested.
"The stealth fleet's mobile suits may appear to be modeled off of the GINN, but in the hands of Naturals they will be little more than a bi-plane to a fighter jet. Tests with Natural freelancers on the GINN as well as information from our sources inside Morgenroete show that Naturals are simply incompatible with the mecha. Their inferior biology makes them unfit to fight in a humanoid machine as they can barely get it moving while our pilots can become experts with little training. Even if these mobile suits are somehow superior, an impossibility to be sure, the inferiority of the Natural's piloting skills will make them nothing but target for our pilots." Patrick explained.
"What about the fortress? What will happen to it when we deal with the enemy fleet?" Asked Ali Kasim.
"After we eliminate the fleet, we shall demand the surrender of the fortress. If they do so, then I would like to request for it to be converted to ZAFT's control so that it can be our primary citadel in L5. If we also manage to convert Jachin Due, then this gives us two fortresses to guard our borders, ensuring that the Alliance shall never get anywhere close to an attack." Patrick responded.
"And if they refuse to surrender?" Ali asked.
"In that scenario, in order to avoid the bloodshed of close quarters combat that would surely claim the lives of many of our soldiers, I would like to request the deployment of our nuclear arsenal to eliminate the fortress." Patrick said calmly, prompting a small collection of horrified gasps from the rest of the council.
"Patrick that is too far, with the N-Jammer we don't need to escalate with nuclear warfare!" Siegel responded, prompting a snarl from Patrick.
"Escalate, ESCALATE?! We already escalated this conflict when we wiped out a majority of the Earth's energy grid!" Patrick shouted back, causing Siegel to back down in reminder of what he had approved. "We must send a strong message to the Alliance that we will not tolerate their further presence in L5. That asteroid is a disgusting mockery to the tragedy of Junius Seven, and if they choose not to surrender, then we must eliminate it."
"Still, to use the same weapons that caused Bloody Valentine..."Eileen said.
"THIS IS NOTHING LIKE BLOODY VALENTINE!" Patrick yelled, infuriated that she would dare compare a legitimate military strike to the massacre that took Lenore away from him and Athrun. "The Atlantic Federation butchered 250,000 of our citizens under the pretense of a false flag. This is a nuclear strike on a military target, one that shall only take place in the event that they refuse to surrender. We have every right to use nukes here, it is time to give the Naturals a taste of their own medicine!" Patrick proclaimed, setting off a flurry of furious debate on the ethics of using nuclear warfare.
After a half an hour of debate, approval for what was dubbed Operation Midway was given. While most of Patrick's plan remained intact, approval for the usage of nuclear weapons was strictly forbidden thanks to Siegel's influence as well as the psychological stigma of many of the councilmen towards such weapons, something that caused the existing animosity between the two friends to rise further. In the end, all that mattered to Patrick was that he was given approval and that within 24 hours the asteroid and the stealth fleet would be wiped out.
If only Patrick had known that he would be picking a fight with the Titan of Zeon, Dozle Zabi.
A/N: Just so you guys are all aware, Sayla is remaining in the Universal Century and she wasn't transported along with Zeon since she was at Side 5. Her conversation with Char will be revealed later in a future chapter focused on him. As for whether Sayla will meet Char again like Dozle and Mineva, the possibility remains open. For now, Char has lost his last remaining family and is now in an alien world. Whether or not Char continues on his quest and succeed in striking down the Zabis, or his fate is altered drastically by the Cosmic Era pulling him into new directions shall be explored as we journey our way through Cosmic Crusade.
Next we have Garma being sent by Degwin to deal with the Raifuku Maru and make contact with Orb. I know to some of the readers that it may seem rushed to have Degwin and the Zabis just accept that they're now in another solar system, but I didn't want to waste multiple chaters about miscommunication and the Zabis being perplexed about the world around them. So officially, the Zabis now that they're in the Cosmic Era, but Degwin is not going to reveal it to Side 3 and the rest of the Earth sphere yet as he wants to make sure Zeon is united and strong while he doesn't want to rush actions towards the CE states without knowing who they are. This is going to have major repercussions for the next couple of chapters.
Out of all the Gundam antagonists, Patrick has always been one of the more interesting to me as he's not a generic evil dictator who wants to conquer all and he doesn't have some ludicrous ideology he wants to impart on the world. Rather, Patrick's path is one caused by him being a victim throughout his life of the persecution placed upon him as a Coordinator. Unlike most Gundam villains, Patrick was directly hurt by the other faction with the brutal death of his wife Lenore, sending him from a presumably strict hardliner to a genocidal maniac. In some ways this turned Patrick into someone who was more extreme than Gihren as Patrick wanted to wipe out all life on Earth and render it a burning rock. Patrick's journey shall be a main focus of this fic and in later chapters we'll explore whether he will be able to rise up or continue his downward spiral. As they say, the path to hell is paved with good intentions.
Next chapter we shall receive an answer on the Alliance's response to Uroboros and Zeon, as well as the final prelude before ZAFT and Zeon's official first contact at Solomon. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more!