West Virginia. Atlantic Federation. April 13th, 70 CE. Third Person POV.
In Year 9 of the Cosmic Era, the company Vault-Tech, a subsidiary of Azrael Arms which at the time was headed by Samuel Azrael, was created. Vault-Tech was a company that was met with the specific goal of catering to the renewed fear of nuclear warfare which had arisen due to the Kashmir Exchange which saw the end of the Reconstruction War with exchange of tactical and strategic nukes between Eurasia, East Asia, and the Equatorial Union. The newly founded Atlantic Federation may have been able to escape the majority of the Reconstruction War by focusing on the Americas with limited interventions in Africa, but what it could not escape was the power of an ICBM. While nuclear defense satellites had been recently created, their range was not perfect and holes could always be made in the umbrella, thus the federal government decided to heavily revamp its nuclear bunker system so that if a Second Reconstruction War were to break out, or even worse a true Third World War, the Atlantic Federation could survive.
The Atlantic Federation contracted Vault-Tech with Trillions of dollars worth of contracts to create a comprehensive nuclear defense system for the federal government to survive and perhaps reclaim America in the aftermath of a total nuclear holocaust. Over 300 "Vaults" were created across the United States, with at least one for each state government, that would ensure the continuation of the Atlantic Federation in a time of societal collapse. In addition to the Vaults, next-generation military bases called "Cosmic Forts" which contained underground citadels for self-sufficiency and arms production in case of isolation during total war, were created by Vault-Tech to act as front-line bases and strongholds in the event of war, the prime example of this was Fort Seward in Alaska which stood as the main shield against Eurasian defense.
With the success of the Vaults , ambitious projects were designed which would spread the system further to a National Vault System upon which hundreds of thousands if not millions of vaults would be created which could house the entirety of the Atlantic Federation's population would be housed and survive nuclear war or some other natural disaster. While genuine progress was made in the goal, public vaults were only constructed in the low thousands and mostly for urban areas. The main reason the goal was never completed was due to exponentially rising costs with the price tag for a total completion of the Vaults being in the Quadrillions, something that the economy could not afford. In addition, as the Cosmic Era went on and the risks of nuclear war, or any nuclear war decreased with each year, Atlantean taxpayers demanded that their politicians stop funding Vaults which in their point of view would do nothing but collect dust, and instead fund more relevant matters such as social security, healthcare, or defense.
While the NVS was never completed, it did not mean that Vault-Tech's mission was. There were plenty of the rich who wanted private bunkers to ride out the apocalypse in luxury, and there were millions more survivalists who would pay anything to accomplish their life's goal, opening the market for smaller, cheaper, and more utilitarian bunker systems. Once the market for the disaster-phobic began to dry, Vault-Tech found other markets by using the technology and skills it had developed in the creation of the Vaults to other types of construction.
There were two particular markets that Vault-Tech found major success in, which would allow it to rise to a position of power within the Fortune 1000. The first was the construction of the Lunar Cities for both the Atlantic Federation and South Africa, granting Vault-Tech hundreds of billions in profits and allowing it firsthand experience in the near-infinite treasure of an industry that was space mining. The other was the cosmic forts.
All of this experience and knowledge meant that Vault-Tech could build whatever they wished underground and with the right money, could create a paradise that would survive the end of the world. As such, it was no surprise that in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia existed a secret vault, two kilometers under the earth and 63 square kilometers. This underground fortress had recently seen its first use with the rapid move-in of several VIP's, guarded by two regiments of the Atlantic Federation Army. These persons of interest were not members of the government however, rather they were powerful plutocrats who had for nearly two hundred years with various levels of failure and success, attempted to guide the United States and later Atlantic Federation to global dominance through every victory possible. These were the men and women of LOGOS, not the true power behind the Atlantic Federation, but the force behind its creation.
LOGOS originally went by the name of Majestic 12, being created by executive order in 1947 by President Harry Truman with MJ-12 being born with under a masquerade of being a hoax of a committee dedicated towards the recovery and research of alien spacecraft. In reality, the committee was a gathering of the leaders of America's twelve largest industries with the purpose of coordinating with the federal government to ensure that America would remain economically robust and ensure the Cold War was won through culture and trade.
The reason Harry Truman created such a shadow organization was because he was afraid. While the United States appeared to be on top of the world, the Soviet Union had betrayed the Western Allies and were working as fast as possible to convert the Eastern European states into their puppets. Chiang Kai-Shek was showing cracks that would strengthen Mao and the Communists. Many colonies were being infected with Communism. While Truman was confident that America could win any conflict against the Soviet Union, it was not an absolute, especially with how the mighty Third Reich was dealt the death blow by Stalin despite the near-destruction of the Soviet Union. Truman knew that the main attraction for Communism was due to the working people feeling that they were so oppressed by Capitalism, Democracy, and Monarchy that Communism was the only option for salvation. As such, in order to prevent the creation of an elitist state where Communism would become popular, as it had been in Russia and China, Truman thought it would be best to have the corporations work with the government to ensure that the American people got their fair share instead of being unduly exploited to the point of revolution. Truman's second reason for creating Majestic-12 was so that he could coordinate with Wall Street to ensure that the third world developed extensive links to America through trade and cultural exchanges that siding with the Soviets would be unacceptable to the people of the neutral nations.
For the next forty years, Majestic-12 worked as intended. While they were not a perfect organization, as evidenced by the tumultuous 60's and 70's, they prevented the United States from experiencing a Second Great Depression thanks to their innovation, reformed labor practices, and coordination with each administration on the handling of the economy. With every decade, American GDP grew to new heights while the United States became the world's cultural hegemon. When the Cold War ended, it appeared that Majestic-12 had done its job and as such they should naturally disband, but MJ-12 fought any attempt to dissolve from both George H.W Bush and Bill Clinton.
In their early history, MJ12 had grown to become an incredibly close knit organization, a sort of brotherhood of the greats of Capitalism. While some industries had fallen and others rose due to the passage of time, the bonds remained, creating a close social circle of the country's rich who wished to help one another expand their wealth and power, to achieve their wildest dreams and make America just a little bit better, their way. Since Majestic-12 had no hard power within Washington and had only done good for the nation, both Bush and Clinton relented with their crusade and Majestic was allowed to continue. With the end of the Cold War, their focus was switched to the continuation of Pax Americana with economic supremacy and cultural domination.
Perhaps in another world MJ12 could have continued to have been a benign rich men's club, a strange facet of Cold War history that would have had little tangible effect on the world besides being a mass partnership of Wall Street. Perhaps MJ12 could have voluntarily disbanded due to a lack of need. For the better or worse, such a path was not taken in the timeline that would eventually become the Cosmic Era. For the 21st century occurred, and everything changed.
At the start of the millennium, it appeared that there was an End of History, with Western Liberalism being the natural end point of mankind and an onward march of progress would be all that was left in humanity's tale. A large part of this played to the hyperpower role of the United States, set to be the world's protector and guide to the Western Liberal Utopia. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be.
Within the first two decades, the United States went from being Pax Americanna to a nation that was well on its way to being a Sick Man. There was not a single event that caused this downward decline, but several poor paths that set America astray. The disastrous War on Terror under President Dick Cheney, the tremendous surge in wealth inequality and class conflict, race and identity wars, the great schism of the Left and Right, the battle to define America's identity and past, constant interactions with a world that seemed to tire of America, the rise of superpowers such as China and Eurasia, the new generation burdened with the sins and debt of their grandparents, environmental decay, the seeming absence of the American dream. These and many more put America on a downward spiral to a hateful division as tears in the union threatened to destroy it. While America was still powerful, they were soon to be eclipsed by other nations and in a crisis of identity it seemed that the 21st century would be America's downfall.
Throughout this chaotic period, Majestic 12 watched with concerned attention. They had acted within their mandate and remained a cooperative group to advance American interests and keep the United States on the right path. Yet with their restraint came mob madness from all walks of life and each corner of the spectrum. Perhaps this was only a temporary age of grief and conflict and the United States would emerge stronger than ever before, but many believed the end was near in the early 21st century. Faced with the loss of their nation, Majestic 12 decided a drastic change was needed, the creation of a new world order that would retain American supremacy and create a new culture to save the nation from itself. What the 21st century needed was a logical new world order.
In the late 2010's, Majestic 12 rebranded itself as LOGOS, a cabal dedicated towards guiding America onto a logical path to greatness. Whereas Majestic 12 kindly pushed people towards the path best fit for the nation, LOGOS took direct action and seized hard power to protect the nation they loved. Using the wealth of their members, LOGOS first inserted itself into Washington politics to guide the capitol away from the growing radicalism on both parties and give America logical leadership for the good of all. While LOGOS was never so all-powerful that the federal government was a powerless puppet, they were the largest force in Washington and with their influence, came a new direction in domestic and foreign politics, no matter which party won, that pushed America towards the better path.
Not content with stabilizing the nation, LOGOS looked outwards and sought to punish all enemies of the United States who had brought them so low after their rightful victory and End of History, at the same time seeking to correct the globe by abolishing the current international system whose multi-polar flaws had scarred America through one manor or another. LOGOS gained allies in most of the world's nations and with their wealth guided the global economy and geopolitics on a grand opera of their creation. The end result was the Reconstruction War, the greatest war in human history. While the war was not 100% of LOGOS' doing and its many campaigns along with the final peace occurred in a manner greatly different than what was hoped for, most of the primary goals were achieved and it was LOGOS who lit the spark.
The most important action taken by LOGOS at the start of the Cosmic Era was their heavy hand in the creation of an artificial union of nations which would act as the spiritual successor to the United States and become the architect of the Cosmic Era, the Atlantic Federation. It was during this time that LOGOS was most in control of Washington, helping the Second Founding Fathers create the new nation and push them to keep out of the Reconstruction War with exception for particular interventions. This path made the Atlantic Federation the most powerful nation at the start of the Cosmic Era, the author of a new world order which would lead humanity towards a future of its desire.
Unfortunately for LOGOS, such a path was not to be. Their creation of a Second Age of Nationalism prevented the other superstates from being faithful actors in their play, causing the division of Anno Domini to carry over, only this time with fewer players. Washington and the American people in this new and exciting age began to gradually grow out of LOGOS' reach, with their once powerful puppeteering heavily reduced and the cabal unable to shift society as they pleased. The organic creation of new social movements and acts of God such as the S1 virus ruined the most carefully laid plains. Then there was the greatest wrench in the LOGOS machine, Coordinators. By existing, George Glenn had thrown humanity towards societal disorder so great that there was no way LOGOS could possibly control and create certain paths as they had previously. The genetic Pandora's Box created new schisms and ensured that no one group could control humanity's destiny when an individual had the mind and strength of gods.
LOGOS believed that Coordinators were the worst event in human history, one that prevented them from ever retaining their role as Earth's logical shepherds. They would be proven wrong when on April 1st, the Principality of Zeon came into existence.
Such an impossible miracle was the task at hand that the Majestic 12 of LOGOS, its highest council of authority and leadership of equals, were discussing at the moment, deep within the bowels of the West Virginian Vault 0. In Vault 0, twelve of the most powerful figures in the world gathered to discuss their future, one which now included the Principality of Zeon.
The scene in question was taking place in a exquisitely furnished billiards parlor within the vault. Within the parlor, smoke from cigars was in the air with the plutocrats partaking in a fine selection of liquor and high-end snacks, a very cliché scene. If one were to look past the tropes displayed, then they would be very intimidated by the collection of power gathered. The network of those within the room amounted to a total 9 Trillion Atlantic Dollars with those who were underneath the council within the greater LOGOS cabal gave tens of Trillions of more wealth to the mighty financial arsenal at their display.
LOGOS was not an all-powerful, all-knowing organization who could cause events to happen at their will and completely within their designs, the disaster of Uroboros proved how weak their reach and will was, but they were an entity that could greatly change global affairs with their decisions. Which made the current meeting highly important.
"Muruta, how goes the front-lines of the war?" Asked Erwin Ritter, head of Ritter Financial, the world's largest banking and investment firm with Ritter, and with it came the distinction of being the world's first Trillionaire, one of 21 at the moment. Erwin was the leader of LOGOS, being granted the position of Chief Officer.
The young blonde in question snarled slightly in disgust at the mention of the ongoing disaster of a war that should have been a quick and painless victory for Naturals. Muruta Azrael, CEO of Azrael Arms and its many subsidiaries, taking a heavy draw of his cigar and blowing out a large cloud to deal with the frustration of the Alliance's current disaster. Curiously for the man, Muruta had a glass of cider accompanying him instead of his usual brands of liquor, rarely consuming alcohol due recently due to the heavy headaches a single glass could cause him.
"The Patchworkers and the race-traitors on Earth are trying desperately to break through Eurasian and South African lines to try and gain major footholds before the ceasefire. While they are gaining ground by the hour, both Eurasia and South Africa have largely stabilized things and all fronts have only given about an average of 50 kilometers to the enemy. The Air battles are dying down, most likely so pilots won't get caught behind enemy lines when the cease fire happens. Most ships are heading back to port, Oceania in particular is silent, though with all the damage they've done they don't need to sortie for months. Space is as quiet as can be, the only ships moving are Zeon and Orb. Unless those space rats got another superweapon up their sleeve, the ceasefire should proceed on schedule." Muruta commented.
The reason why Muruta Azrael was able to bring such information despite him being a civilian was due to his unique position as the head of the Military Wing of Blue Cosmos. Contrary to popular belief, Blue Cosmos was not a uniform monolith of an organization. The movement was formally through public and secret division into dozens of cliques and sub-organizations. Unofficially, there were four main wings. The Military, Social, Political, and Terror Wing. Muruta Azrael as the CEO of the largest arms manufacturing company in the world was chosen as head of the Military Wing the previous year due to his induction into LOGOS and the political maneuverings of his uncle Bruno which allowed him to be head of the military Wing. Due to LOGOS and Blue Cosmos' strategy of isolating the majority of Coordinators to the PLANTs and defeating them in open warfare to prove Natural superiority once and for all, Muruta was the De Facto leader of Blue Cosmos, though De Jure he was merely first among equals and if he tried to rule Blue Cosmos as an autocrat he would meet a brutal demise. Why was LOGOS able to control Blue Cosmos as such?
It's because LOGOS was responsible for the founding of Blue Cosmos, or at least the modern version of it.
No matter what, a Natural supremacist organization, or multiple groups would have arisen in response to George Glenn's revelation. In a time where humanity was still in conflict over one's skin, language, heritage, and faith; having altered genes designed for perfection was only going to create conflict. All Blue Cosmos did was concentrate the fear and hatred of Coordinators into a single ideology with the mobilization and means to enact said ideology upon the world. The true reason that LOGOS created such a group was not due to simple fear of Coordinators, but it did play a large factor, rather it was for a sick and oxymoronic purpose, to end racism.
One of the many faults of late America was its increasing division on racial lines. Radicals on both sides pushed America to a nation where being American had to deal with how one envisioned a society of race. Either you would erase the entirety of the past to create a forced narrative that spawns conflict upon false equality, or you would ignore the genuine evils of your nation to retreat into an nostalgia-driven false utopia and unknowingly contribute to the evils which you claim do not exist. In order to save America from both sides and create a post-racial society, not only did LOGOS need to get rid of old identities and eliminate the war to control the past, but they needed an enemy to rally behind that was so vile, that Americans would forget their racial prejudices and coexist in peace. What a better target to unite whites, blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, and all manner of traditional racial and ethnic groups who called America their home than to target a new breed of human that supposedly sought to dominate and conquer all of them?
As twisted as the methods to achieve such a goal were, it worked. By the start of the war, most the Atlantic Federation was a true post-racial society that welcomed all colors and tongues within its borders. The evils of the past from all narratives and ideologies were acknowledged and injustice was stricken down whenever present. All it cost was to swap their persecution of each other to a new group of innocents. The Atlantic Federation killed racism with racism, creating a whole new breed of issues that would plague the nation for generations.
As for where LOGOS and Blue Cosmos stood right now in their relationship? On the surface it was one of master and servant, but reality was far more messy with both groups warping each other in vision and direction, with their combined fates being thrown into a new ocean with Zeon's existence.
Satisfied that the war was under control, Erwin brought up the other main issue concerning the Atlantic Federation and greater Earth Alliance's survival, "How's the energy crisis being handled?"
"The states that do have a majority or plurality of electrical production uninterrupted have now established stable rationing systems. The Canadian states are mostly self-sufficient with the exception of Onatrio and the Maritime States. The Hoover Dam along with existing solar arrays have kept California, Nevada, and Arizona established. Work is being done on spreading power networks to Lower California, Oregon, Washington, and New Mexico to gain full control of the Pacific and connect to Texas. Speaking of which, Texas has now fully connected power save for a few rural counties, but it's in little position to share besides the border towns. Greenland and Iceland have not been affected. Work is being done to extend the TVA's reach and by late May or June the Upper South should regain power. The Northern Mexican states are doing their best to ration. Everywhere else, it's a free-for-all anarchy with the exception of anywhere that's a dozen miles within a military base." Said the CEO of the ASE Corporation, Antonio Cortez, who looked to be a combination of wrath and gloom due to his unique position.
The ASE Corporation, or more formally Atlantic Sovereign Energy, was a corporation that was the merger of Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, and British Petroleum at the start of the Cosmic Era. As such, they held a near-monopoly on energy production in the Atlantic Federation due to their ownership of a majority of nuclear fission plants and supermajority control of petrochemical and chemical production. While Atlas had worked extensively with the Defense Department to protect the national energy grid during times of war, nothing they could have done would have prepared them for Uroboros. Now it was up to Cortes and his company along with the State Department to save the nation, especially if LOGOS was still set on the war.
Erwin nodded grimly, giving a look of sympathy to Cortes. "Well, half our nation having energy is better than none. At least here we can survive and rebuild." Erwin commented, though the truth was far more brutal as an actual half the control regaining energy production would practically be a miracle if it was done by year's end without Zeon's involvement. "Now, in regards to-" Erwin began.
"Oh for the love of, can we cut the formalities. Yes there are issues that need to be dealt with, but nothing immediate. What we do need to focus on is the trans-dimensional behemoth that'll make its formal appearance in nine days. Either we gain Zeon as a weapon to wipe out the Patchworkers, or the Cosmic-born Naturals shall be driven to extinction." Said Lord Noah Djibril, CEO of Djibril Pharmaceuticals, more commonly known by his peers as only Lord Djibril.
Djibril is the second-newest and second-youngest member of LOGOS, with Muruta Azrael beating him in both categories. The man came from a line of Jewish nobles who were raised during the Victorian Era, then continued to rise within British society up til the Cosmic Era, with House Djibril being one of the last noble houses to be elevated by King William V. Out of all of LOGOS, Djibril possessed the most devotion towards the victory of Blue Cosmos, even more than Muruta who had other ambitions and duties than to Blue Cosmos. With control over his company, Djibril could practically alter the medical laws of the Federation as he saw fit, doing his best to maintain the AF's purity and use his corporation's resources to perform rather illicit tactics to combat the Coordinator threat.
Erwin gave a harsh glare to Djibril for being interrupted, but the latter was unphased or ignorant of his leader's displeasure. "I was getting to that Djibril, but since you have brought it up, how shall we deal with this miracle nation that has thrown our solar system into chaos?" Erwin proposed. For the past week LOGOS had been aware of Zeon's existence, but they had not actively discussed what to do with the Spacenoid state due to a desire for each member to be as well informed of the unknown nation as possible and to not get too invested in particular plans if the chaos of the first few days after what was increasingly referred to as the Miracle continued to occur.
The room was silent for half a minute, each player seizing each other up to guess their responses and wait for a proposal. Whoever spoke first would set the tone of the conversation and their support or defeat could shift the tide towards how LOGOS dealt with Zeon. It was a careful game, as this was perhaps the most important choice LOGOS would make since their creation of Blue Cosmos.
It was Larry McWilliams, CEO of the Atlas Group, a real estate investment and construction conglomerate, who broke the ice. "Can't we just simply co-opt the Zabis into LOGOS like how we did with the Seirens and a good number of enemy corporations? Sure they are superior to us now, but once we get back to peacetime, LOGOS' combined resources will force them to join us or else they'll decay economically."
Such a bold declaration was met with an audible snort by Justine Lee, CEO of the Samsung Group. "I think you are either underestimating Zeon or are far too arrogant about our power, especially in this state. If this was done before the war, maybe we could get them to approach the table as equals. But now? With our economy a mutilated beached whale with the Alliance getting decimated against ZAFT and their stock of technologies which were thought impossible to us? If we were going all in, Zeon has a royal flush while we're playing go-fish. Leaving aside the sheer industrial and trade supremacy that Zeon is currently maintaining, they are far too ideologically foreign to us for a successful assimilation like your examples?"
"How so?" Larry asked, taking a sip of wine in curiosity.
Justin leaned on a nearby pool table, swiftly picking off solids one by one. "In all of your examples, the targets were people or entities that were powerful but small enough that we could dominate them in open conflict, or had a lack of will or ideology that would make them naturally opposed to us. The Seirens may run one of the world's largest banks, but they are an equal to four other Houses in Orb's government with little hard power while having been consistently lead by power hungry new bloods since Orb's creation. They agreed to join us because we're their ticket to sitting at the high table. Then we have the Corps joined us due to our creation of the Cosmic Economy and their priority of profits over allegiance to their flags, though as shown by companies such as Actaeon, we've failed to subvert a majority of corps in Eurasia and East Asia due to nationalistic pride, thus creating the Cold War instead of the entire Earth being the Federation's vassals." Justin pointed out, with Muruta frowning at the mention of his chief rival in Eurasia.
"Compare this to the Zabi family. We have a man who arose from being the leader of a spaceport's union to becoming the autocrat of his nation and perhaps the most powerful person in his old timeline. All of his children have gained high positions of power in government and the state is monopolized to their will, complimentary with an unofficial cult to that Deikun nutjob that Degwin is the heir to. Also they aren't exactly shy of either owning or being a plurality holder of their main corporations, so there goes allying with Zeon's private sphere. Lastly we have their constant spouting of Contolism, their Nationalist creed which created a fusion culture that sought to seperate and be superior to Earth. In short, the Zabi's are totalitarians who want power and control with no signs of limits to their greed. If they were a weaker state we could make them useful tools, but as it stands now with them becoming the overnight superpower, they'll laugh at us if we try to coerce them. It'd be like a pack of hyenas trying to make a lion their slave." Lee said, then cleanly shooting the eight ball into a corner pocket.
"That's a rather bleak scenario you've crafted." Erwin commented.
"I'm not crafting anything, I'm just stating the truth. We can either pretend to have any level of control over the situation like those morons in Beijing or Aprilius, or we can acknowledge that for once in the past seventy years we are no longer the apex predator in the solar system. If we delude ourselves into thinking we're their equals, then we're on a nosedive to suicide." Lee flatly explained.
Erwin let out a large huff of smoke and cradled the headache that he was forming from having to deal with the reality that Justin just stated, but one that he had been wanting so damn hard to think it was mostly false and there was some hope that they could use the old playbook. Such hopes were nonexistent, in fact they were no longer playing the same game entirely.
"Can we just agree no matter how we decide to handle Zeon, that we will under no circumstances reveal our existence to the Principality?" Said Bruno Azrael, the uncle to Muruta Azrael and COO of Azrael Arms. Bruno and his nephew were a rather unique case within LOGOS as both men were leaders of the same industry, not to mention the same corporation, and they were the only members of the Majestic Council to be related by blood. The reasoning for this was due to the political maneuverings of Bruno within LOGOS in the past decade, moving pieces around the board so that when a seat opened, Muruta would be able to fill that spot while Bruno retained his position, with power further being held by the Azrael duo thanks to Muruta's leadership of Blue Cosmos while Bruno was in charge of the direction of the military-industrial complex.
A few heads nodded in agreement to Bruno's question though the rest were confused. "Why would we still keep ourselves secret, and are you referring to in totality? While most heads of state don't know of our existence, we have middlemen in all of Earth's governments who either cooperate with us or pass information. If we don't produce an in with Zeon at this juncture when they are neutral to the rest of the world, then we may never gain a foot in the door, especially with them being a dictatorship." Said Celestine Groht, CEO of Groht Manufacturing.
Bruno moved to join Lee at the pool table, setting up the balls inside a racket for a new round. "The reason I am suggesting to do so is because at this juncture we would be presenting a target on our backs for Zeon. They must already have a low opinion of the Atlantic Federation via our association with East Asia through the Alliance, not to mention our "Oppression" of the Plants."
"Those space monsters deserve to be crushed under our boot, Uncle!" Muruta protested passionately, with Djirbil also looking incensed at the language that Bruno used.
Bruno glared harshly at his nephew with his usual stern mask of disapproval that he had used many times in the past on Muruta, causing the younger Azrael to back down. "I'm not saying that our policies towards the PLANTs are wrong, it's just that if we take the genetics out of the equation we have a situation very similar to what Zeon describes the plight of the UC Spacenoids to be. While Zeon is not pro-Coordination, their history has no overt hostility to genetic manipulation besides cloning, so most Zeon citizens could be in heavy sympathy towards the PLANTs. There's also our organization's unique composition to consider. I don't know how much the rest of you have read the Zabi's speeches, but I've poured over a lot of them and while the Zabi's are no Marxists, they make constant references to the "Earthborn Elite" and their hated Earth Federation being a "Rich Man's Club". If the Zabis believe in what they are preaching then they'll instantly be hostile to us from first contact by ideology, the situation with the PLANTs already puts us in a bad light, if they happen to be sympathetic to Coordination, then we're done for." Bruno reasoned, with many LOGOS members agreeing with his logic.
"While you are generally correct Bruno, one thing going for us is that outside of the exile of our Coordinator citizens, the space colonies have always had a high standard of living. Sure some goods and services are either expensive or absent, but outside of that the quality of life is the same as Earth and we don't have anything akin to the East Asian ghettoes. That's a decent card in the Atlantic Federation's favor." Spoke Donna Washington, the CEO of AstroAtlantic, the premier corporation for engineering, transportation, and development in outer space. Donna also occupied a unique position in LOGOS as the only woman and Black Atlantean of the Majestic Council.
Bruno nodded to Donna's observation. "Because of that Zeon is most likely to in the best of scenarios act neutral with the Atlantic Federation. Once this crisis is done, we should push for the colonies to gain statehood status, something that will deflect criticism of the PLANT policies and make Zeon more inclined to work with us since we involve our Spacenoids in the rule of our country whereas their Earth Federation denied suffrage. Overall my point is that for now we must interact with Zeon through middle men and support the Atlantic Federation's diplomacy and strengthening of relations with Zeon. Once things have cooled down after this war and the Atlantic Federation has regained a position of strength, alongside us getting a clear understanding of the Zabis and perhaps getting one of them to work with us, then we reveal ourselves, but we can't do so now." Bruno said, then breaking the table with his striking of the cue ball, scattering the pool balls.
Muruta gripped his glass tightly due to his anger at the limitations of the situation, with him being put in a position with a lack of power for the first time since childhood. He coolly poured himself a refill, though he was handling himself far better than Djibril who displayed looked upon the group with a nasty glare, isolating himself in one of the room's corners.
"While we can't subvert Zeon like we have done with the rest of the Alliance, we must do everything in our power to make them an official ally to the Earth Alliance and give us the weapons we need to wipe out the PLANTs. Zeon proved that Naturals can be superiors to Coordinators, and now we can definitively put them in their place and keep the Earth pure for eternity." Muruta stated, something which only Djibril seemed to only be roused by, as the rest of the room only nodded in slight agreement or were annoyed by the impromptu speech of passion in such a time of crisis.
"I've been thinking...wouldn't it be best for us to make peace at this time?" Said Duncan Luis Mockelberg, Chairman of Mockelberg AgriCorp.
While such a sentiment was in the minds of some of the LOGOS members, it surprised all of them that Mockelberg would dare to make such an open question at this time. Both Muruta and Djibril were outraged at the concept. While Muruta merely snarled and gripped his chair tightly, Djibril went a step further and flew his glass on the ground in anger. He moved forward and appeared as if he were on the verge of striking Mockelberg, only to be stopped by the forceful intervention of Lee and Cortez.
"What the fuck did you say you race traitor?!" Demanded Djibril, only being put back by increasing force of his fellow LOGOS members as Celestine and Graham joined in keeping him at bay.
A loud smack on the floor was produced by the tapping of Erwin's cane. "That's enough Djibril! We are a gathering of civilized men, we settle our disputes with words, not fists. No matter one's opinion, it's no excuse for assault. If you want to let loose then fine, but by doing so you'll be kicked out of the bunker." Erwin threatened.
Djibril backed down at Erwin's words and returned to his seat with a petulant huff. Muruta more visibly calmed down and was doing his best to show that he wouldn't take any action. Through his unknown gift, he knew that Erwin would make well on his threat. He was also gravely unsettled by his friend's actions, as he felt hard killing intent from Djibril.
To his credit, Mockelberg appeared to be unphased by the ordeal. "I am not suggesting that we surrender unconditionally to the PLANTs and give them whatever they want. If we do so then the battle for the solar system shall be lost forever and we'll only have Zeon to rely on for the salvation of Naturals. All I am suggesting is a cease fire one of 5-10 years at the most. Unless Zeon agrees to completely enter the Alliance as a full member and lend us their mobile suits and nukes, which they have no reason to, then it'll be extremely difficult to defeat ZAFT, even if Zeon gives us access to the blueprints of their Minovsky reactors and Zakus. By the time we win, our economies will have gone through such levels of destruction that it'll make the Great Depressions look like minor bumps in the stock market. Tens, hundreds of millions, maybe over a billion on Earth may be dead. Let us make peace now, recover from the disaster of the N-Jammers, and once we have upgraded our military and the Earth is protected from further superweapons, then we restart the war and subjugate the PLANTs, all it shall have cost is lost prestige and a few years of PLANT having their precious independence."
To the surprise of the two card-carrying members of Blue Cosmos, Mockelberg's plan seemed to carry much support as roughly half of LOGOS showed either visible or verbal agreement with Mockelberg. Panicking at the sudden shift, Muruta tried to retake control of the situation. "While your plan does have merit Duncan, it relies on the Coordinators doing nothing with their new freedom. If we give them even a year of peace, they'll build newer and deadlier superweapons that far surpass the N-Jammer's effects. Hell, they may be on the verge of making an N-Jammer for nuclear fusion, the power to turn off the sun! We were foolish enough to believe that sheer numbers could simply take them down, and in our lax approach they were able to destroy physics. As much as it will leave deep scars upon the Earth, our crusade is necessary and must not stop until we have them under the heel of our boot."
"I thought you said that Zeon proved that Naturals were definitively superior, Muruta?" Questioned Donna in a taunting tone, giving Muruta a good mix of shame and irritation.
"While Zeon showed that Naturals on their own can go far beyond that of the Coordinators, I'd rather not like to be proven wrong and risk our species' survival on a gamble of hubris. Like I said, we did that once, and we paid the price on April Fools. Were it not for the divine appearance of Zeon, we'd be well on our way to becoming slaves."
"Another thing to consider on why we must make peace now is the question of morale. We've been pretty damn lucky getting the near entirety of the Atlantic Federation to become so highly against Coordination and turn Blue Cosmos into the weapon it is today. We had many close calls throughout the Cosmic Era for the adoption of Coordination as well. As it stands we might be able to continue fighting for the short term, turning the people's pain and sorrow into rage, but how long can we maintain such a fire? Will the people still want to defeat the PLANTs when they are starving, when they have no access to heating or cooling, when they are unable to receive medicine necessary for their health? Unless we somehow manage to position the war as a slow rise from the ashes with plenty of victories mixed in defeat, then I don't think we'll be able to get to the position of supremacy versus ZAFT without a revolt." Cautioned Lucas Koehler, Chairman of the Walt Disney Company.
"The people will endure whatever is inflicted upon them so long as they are fighting for a righteous cause. The Soviets suffered the burning of their nation and deaths of tens of millions and they were the ones to conquer Berlin. China was raped and pillaged by Japan for near a decade and they stood defiant til Hiroshima. Vietnam had millions die and was in a state of total war for thirty years and they overpowered America. No true Atlantean will let this crime go unanswered, everyone will fight and sacrifice to the end." Djibril passionately argued.
"You're forgetting Djibril that there are just as many cases in history where the people have forced peace due to the inability to handle prolonged war. The West European revolts caused the EU to fold to Eurasia despite the fact that France and Britain had yet to use their nuclear silos. The Russian Empire fell because it's people desired bread and peace despite the fact that victory in the West was inevitable. Fascist Italy was overthrown by their own people because the dream of Imperialism was not worth their devastation. Even in the Universal Century, we had the anti-Communist revolts of 1995 that helped to bring their third world war to a quicker conclusion." Donna argued.
"Not to mention Americans are an extremely fickle people, with the Canadians and British being included in various scenarios. We've never gone in a total war since the Second World War, and nearly every time we've gone to war since then where we displayed clear supremacy over the enemy with the homeland never once coming into danger, and yet we back down. Our quality was far superior to Mao's China in Korea and Eisenhower backed down and was hailed as a hero and wise leader, even by the founders. America loses only a fraction of the blood in Vietnam that they did in World War II over a decade, and half the country screams bloody murder and wants their sons home. We had clear supremacy over Sudan, Iraq, and Yemen with no major battlefield losses and a fraction of the death of Vietnam, and still the military was labelled as evil conquerors and just a hundred men dying per month sent the nation into hysteria." Said Duncan.
"But we overcame that cultural weakness and won the wars in Latin America and Africa. The people of the Cosmic Era are far more sturdier and dutiful then those spineless cowards of Anno Dominni. We transformed the Federation's culture into one that will sacrifice everything it takes to create a blue pure world. There will be no surrender, no revolts, only victory!" Exclaimed Djibril.
"Yet all of this is rendered moot if Zeon chooses not to ally us or support us in any way, making it an impossibility to obtain victory." Erwin pointed out, raising Djibril's blood pressure with vains bulging once more.
A heated debate followed for the next several hours, a debate which only resulted in an understanding that there would be no more fighting or planning over how the war was to be conducted until they got a definitive answer from Zeon on their stance. If Zeon fully joined the Alliance or at least agreed to share technology, then LOGOS would start their newest version of the Grand Plan to center on the endgame of the PLANTs. If Zeon refused to help the Alliance in any way at all...while it wasn't said, in most members minds existed the thought of how to proceed after surrender. Until such a time, LOGOS could not get heated over pure hypotheticals.
One by one, each member of the Majestic Council left the parlor room to tend to various personal affairs or discuss the meeting in their own personal cliques. The last two people in the room were Muruta and Djibril, the latter stewing in his fury at the situation while the former wished to speak with his friend on the latest developments in Blue Cosmos and plans on how to spread the organization to Zeon.
Before he did so, Azrael checked an email on his phone. During which, he heard Djirbil venting.
"Those fucking cowards! We are this close to purifying the human race and they choose to let those abominations get away with victory at their time of supremacy. Muruta was an idiot, choosing to only nuke one of the PLANTs when he should have turned them all into Stardust. Now it's too late! If proper decisions are not being taken soon, I shall have to clean house."
Muruta walked down to his phone and walked to Djibril with worry over what he had heard. He placed a hand on his friend's shoulder to calm him down. "Djibril, I agree with you that they are blind and it's a fool's errand to make peace with the PLANTs for even a second, but they are just scared. They've lived in comfort all their lives and the second struggle and sacrifice is necessary, they want to quit. We'll turn them around, there's no need to turn Stalin on our companions. As for Junius, I had to do what I must at the time. We were this close to having Wallace declare war on Blue Cosmos from the fallout. With hindsight I would have nuked them all, but what's done is done."
Djibril slapped Azrael's hand away and looked at him in heavy discomfort. "What the hell are you going on about?"
Muruta stepped back in confusion. "I'm sorry for eavesdropping, but you were practically yelling across the room about how asinine the council was being, not to mention you criticized me for Junius Seven."
Djibril's face twisted into one of horror. "I never said any of that Muruta, I thought it."
Muruta was completely baffled at the statement. "Then you were probably thinking out loud and vented in excitement without noticing I was here."
Djibril became enraged at what Muruta was saying. "Are you trying to gaslight me Azrael? I did not say a goddamn word since the meeting end, I thought what you had just said, I did not vocalize anything!"
"Then how-"
"What the hell are you trying to pull here, trying to make yourself some sort of psychic?!"
Muruta huffed with annoyance. "I don't know what type of game you're pulling here Djibril. It's not like I'm mad at what you said and I agree with some parts. It's not my fault you can't keep control."
"Don't you dare continue with your gaslighting bullshit! How the hell did you know what I was thinking? Answer me!"
Rather than respond, Muruta turned around and walked out of the room, not bothering to continue the conversation as he figured that Djibril was probably drunk or had maybe consumed some kind of narcotic before the meeting that was making him paranoid and highly agitated at the any slight, real or imaginary.
For the rest of the day, Muruta could not continue on as if everything was normal however. Ever since April Fools, he had begun to experience strange sensations. Faint whispers from people he knew despite not being near them or seeing them speak. Flashes of light and electricity at times of tension. A uncanny understanding of his greater environment with high spatial awareness.
Muruta figured that the stress of the war and Zeon's existence was making his body weary and giving him alien sensations. However, what took place with Djibril just proved that something greater was going on.
Within a month Muruta would receive his answer. How he would react to the truth would change the Cosmic Era in ways that could not be seen.
A/N: With this chapter we gain our first insight into LOGOS, the penultimate antagonists of the Cosmic Era. Now to not keep a secret, I hate and loathe LOGOS, not because of who they are, but how they are written. LOGOS represents the worst of Gundam's writing in that they are a heavily warped, simplistic, and child-like perception of war as "The Big Evil Money Men want us to kill each other for profit!". It completely misses the nuances of both real-life war which is rarely ever fought for profit as it is nearly always fought for some form of ideology, not to mention the nuances of UC Gundam where Yoshiyuki Tomino wanted to write a story about how war is hell and there is great good and evil on both sides with everyone needing to come together and pursue peace if we are to advance. But in Seed? "Capitalism and America are the root of all evils!" I could at least tolerate LOGOS if they were a threat and made the plot exciting through its challenge, but they are pathetic morons who get their asses kicked all the way til the end. Thus, I decided to heavily revamp LOGOS and make them a more fleshed out and nuanced faction with some level of competency. Keep in mind they are still antagonists, but far more realistic in ideology and operation.
So to simplify the exposition earlier, LOGOS started out with benign intentions as a secret club of America's rich that used their resources to keep America prosperous and prevent a slide towards Communism. It worked, but LOGOS overtime gained too much power and had no action be taken against them by the government. When America began to decline in an age that heavily parallels our own, instead of trusting the people to sort things out, LOGOS turned full Illuminati and sought to create a perfect new world order. One with horrible methods, but benign intentions. Then George Glenn occured and everything changed. LOGOS as it is now are not "Merchants of Death", only two of their members, both Muruta Azrael and his uncle Bruno, are directly involved in the war industry and LOGOS' sole focus is not war. Rather they are a cabal split between acting as Gilded Age Tycoons who want to grow their power, American Nationalists who want to make their country the most powerful, and KKK-Nazis who want to keep Coordinators oppressed. LOGOS heavily fluctuated in its character leading up to the Bloody Valentine War, and Operation Uroboros was a major shift in its philosophy and direction, both in canon and Cosmic Crusade.
You may notice some odd things such as how Azrael and Djibril are not the undisputed leaders of a club of yes-men as fanon and Destiny make them out to be respectively. You may also notice some of the foggies who were present in Destiny appear to have spines and ideas beyond just "Kill all Coordinators and get rich". This is an intentional creative decision by me to show that LOGOS as it stands is an entirely different organization than what it was in both SEED and Destiny. I'm not saying Destiny didn't happen, rather they acted that way in Destiny because after two years of defeat and Coordinators proving themselves time and time again that they are the superior race, LOGOS gave up any pretense of independence in thought and became the moneymen of Blue Cosmos. How LOGOS became such a group, why the OC's present are missing in Destiny, and how the current power dynamics got to this point and beyond, will be explored greatly in the coming future.
Also, if you are confused on some of the names, except for the OC's, you can link each LOGOS member with a face by going to the Blue Cosmos/LOGOS section of the Gundam wiki where there's two images that point out the names of the LOGOS characters besides Djibril who were practically extras. The only character is Adam Vermilyea who is part of LOGOS but is not part of the Majestic Council (what I term the ruling leaders as seen in SEED) and did not join until before Destiny.
Thank you all for reading, and stay tuned for the next chapter where we look into the politics of Orb at this time.