Tribulations of War

by Roca Fella

As talks between the Earth Alliance and PLANT break down, a new conflict is in its beginning stages, the scale of which will even dwarf that of the first one. All the characters from the show will eventually make their way into this story.

1. The Seeds of War

-I own nothing of SEED

It has now been 4 months since the last battle of Yakin Duez in which the apocalyptic weapon,

known as GENESIS, was finally destroyed. Negotiations between PLANT and the Earth

Alliance, which began with such optimism and joy, have been reduced to a stand-still because of

the reluctance of both sides to made amends and sacrifices. The existence of Blue Cosmos

terrorists have impeded these talks multiple times, and the greatest crisis occurred after the said

group acquired 4 nuclear warheads and nearly successfully used them against several PLANT

colonies. It was only stopped at the last minute by an elite ZAFT team led by Yzak and Dearka,

the same pilots who stole two of the original Earth Gundams. In response to this, ZAFT

developed and deployed the Neutron Disrupter which once again, knocked out all nuclear

power on Earth, reigniting yet another energy crisis which was thought to be solved by the

Neutron Jammer Canceller. To maintain ZAFT's energy supply, the same scientists developed

the Neutron Disrupter Canceller which was shrouded by unprecedented secrecy. It is rumored

that all new ZAFT mobile suits are now outfitted with such a system, though because of the

secrecy, has been impossible to prove. This was obviously an issue of great contention during

the talks as the Earth Alliance accused PLANT of growing the seeds of yet another war while

PLANT asserted that it was merely protecting its citizens with the Neutron Disrupter. Tensions

have reached an all-time high and the military production for both factions has reverted back to

their wartime standards.

The Yakin Koel: Successor to the destroyed Yakin Duez

Admiral Lacow of the 4th ZAFT Fleet came off to others as a man not to be trifled with

and it was not only his imposing figure and the authoritative aura which surrounded him at all

times, which perpetuated this image. He was a proud man whose family, dating hundreds of

years, has proudly served with distinction in the armed forces. He was one to continue that

tradition and from his achievements in the first ZAFT-EA war, he has achieved more in the 20

years he's served in ZAFT's fleet, than most in his family tree. It was Lacow's well-earned

reputation which now placed him at the head of ZAFT's largest fleet and top mobile suit squad.

As he approached the hanger, one of the lieutenants glided over to him in the 0 G environment

and quickly snapped a sharp salute. "Sir! The units and pilots of which you requested have

arrived here." Lacow let out a rare smile at this and clapped the lieutenant on the shoulder in an

earnest display of happiness. "Well don't keep an old man waiting. Show me the instruments

which will reestablish our long overdue supremacy over these Natural bastards." The aging

Admiral was surprisingly nimble for his age, which was now pushing the 50's, and maintained his

short distance from the lieutenant as he led the Admiral through a myriad maze of tunnels and

passageways that made up the mighty fortress of Yakin Koel. The fortress itself was not only

very well defended with thousands of defensive artillery batteries dotting its surface, but was

designed to resist over a dozen direct nuclear strikes. A lesson that was learned from the

destruction of ZAFT's former super-fortress, BOAZ; the Earth Alliance had no intention to fight

fair and was more than willing to use its substantial nuclear arsenal to achieve its goals. As the

Admiral approached the gate to the hangar, the lieutenant quickly took his ID which hung from

his neck at all times and slid it across a scanner. The door quickly slid open and the Admiral was

greeted by the sight of countless ranks of Zaft's finest pilots and crewmen. Lacow quickly

returned their salute and sought out the two pilots he wanted to see the most. He quickly spotted

Yzak Joule and Dearka Elsmen, the ace Gundam pilots of the previous war. The imposing

Admiral glided his way to the pair while dismissing everyone else back to their duties. He landed

gracefully in front of the two and beckoned them to walk with him toward his office. "Now I

know that the two of you must be filled to the brim with questions as to why I have summoned

you here, but yet did not order your Gundams to come with you. All that will be answered when

I fully brief you on our mission here." Though legendary for being hot-headed and loud-

mouthed, both Dearka and Yzak held their tongues this time to pay respects to the man

regarded as one of the finest tacticians ever to command a warship. The trio made their way to

Lacow's office where he beckoned them to make themselves at home in the plush armchairs in

front of his desk. "Now as you two fully know, seeing that both of you have parents currently

serving in the ZAFT council, the negotiations are deteriorating at such a pace that war can begin

again in as little as two months. To prevent the Earth Alliance fleet from making inroads into

PLANT territory and seeing that our mightiest fortresses were destroyed by the dastardly use of

nuclear weapons by the Naturals, the ZAFT council has decided to build a series of new, even

stronger fortifications blocking entry of the space routes into PLANT. As the top pilots ZAFT

currently possesses, I would like you to protect the said fortresses until their completion." The

two pilots opened their mouths in shock and were about to protest this assignment when Lacow

quickly interrupted them, "I know that guard duty is nothing short of an insult to your abilities as

a pilot, but you have another mission in addition to this. In the event of the declaration of war,

you two are to take your Gundams and destroy the newly rebuilt Moon Base at once in a sneak

attack that will hopefully cripple the Earth Alliance's space fleet." The two pilots were now

gawking openly at this and Dearka quickly asserted, "With all due respect sir, but what you're

asking us to do is nothing short of impossible. My Buster Gundam has impressive artillery

capabilities and Duel has substantial firepower owning to its shoulder cannon, but it is nowhere

enough to destroy an entire base with dozens of warships and hundreds of mobile suits

defending it. Not to mention all the stationary defense systems on the base itself." Lacow was

now chuckling at the young pilot's words and replied, "Do you think we would really send you

out on such a mission with those Gundams? The Gundams you are going to pilot are more than

capable of achieving the task at hand, and I believe you are very familiar with the two designs."

Yzak juggled his memory before reaching a startling conclusion. "The only Gundams we've seen

with that level of firepower are Freedom and Justice Gundam." Lacow broke out in open

laughter at this, "Hahaha. You're certainly a sharp kid Yzak. I see that you've taken that

defining characteristic from your mother. We designed Freedom and Justice. Of course we're

going to make more of such a successful design! Why kill the goose that lays golden eggs?

Anyway, now to get back to the mission at hand. After evaluating your performances during the

first war, I have concluded that Dearka with his expertise with long range artillery, should take

the controls of Freedom Gundam, while Yzak with his reflexes and close range battle abilities,

should take advantage of Justice Gundam's superior close quarter performance. I will give you

more details of the mission once you reach the fortresses under construction. In the mean time,

get used to your new Gundams waiting in the Laurasia class Frigate you saw in the hangar.

Dismissed!" The two young veterans stood up and saluted the revered Admiral, before stepping

out of his office. Before Yzak exited, he looked back and asked, "Admiral. Do you really think

that we will resort to war once again?" The Admiral had a sad smile as he said, "There is little

chance of peace in times like these. Hopefully when ZAFT emerges victorious, your children will

witness a brighter future, but yes Yzak. It is only a matter of time that war rears its head yet

again and we are obligated to pick up weapons of destruction and use them to achieve peace."

With that, Yzak left and followed Dearka toward their new Gundams.

-Anyway sorry that this story seems so rushed and all. I promise that the next chapter will actually have some action in it. Until then, I hope you've enjoyed this one.