Gundam Seed: The Federation ver 2

by Blackshadow999

Different telling of Gundam Seed. With the conflict between Naturals and Coordinators getting worse as time passes, some nations have banded together and formed the organization known as the Human Federation. Will the Federation be able to help bring peace or will the hatred between Naturals and Coordinators destroy everything and bring extinction of humanity? Cover by Saddle Patch

51. Phase 51 Descent into a Waking Nightmare

A/n

Okay here is Phase 51, and I'll say right now, don't read the original for a bit as it won't be the same as it. But on to the formality that I do every few phase. I do not own anything from the Gundam Universe that I use in my story, as much as I would love to. I only take credit for my characters and musings. If they come across as based on characters from other places, it isn't meant to be, just a coincidence. With that out of the way, I hope you readers enjoy the Phase.

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Phase 51: Descent into a Waking Nightmare

July 20th, 71 CE

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PLANTs, L5

The day after the head and deputy of the Justice Department were relieved of duty, Patrick got to work. He gave orders to Section 2 to raid the ZAFT Administration office complex which did the day-to-day work of ZAFT. The goal was to apprehend Treize for his resistance and arrest him before putting him away in prison. The sooner Treize was out of the picture, the better things would be for those actually working to bring the war to the needed conclusion. Treize had his chance to help with the point and had been dragging his feet and not following the reasonable orders from the Defense Committee. The final straw had been Treize questioning Creuset when there were far more important things to be done. Thus, it was time the man stepped aside to allow others who could do what was needed to work. While Section 2 went about his orders, Patrick attended to his duties on the Council, not worrying about he results. He expected Section 2 to get the task done proficiently as they normally did. They were given tasks not trusted to others and would get the task done no matter what it required to complete.

The efforts finish the war had been delayed which had made things messy as of late. However, due to the efforts of those like Patrick and those loyal to the cause of saving Coordinators, things were getting back on track. Lotoths was out of the way, meant her interference chasing after certain individuals would be gone. The woman had been plaguing and slowing down ZAFT operations with her pursuit of those that had been doing undercover work. Messages sent to them to get on task and not interfere with the war efforts over the last few months had gone ignored. So, Lotoths's removal had been required, and it had just taken time to get it to happen. Others on the Council had been against removing the woman from her position. Their argument had been that Lotoths helped governmental affairs move smoothly. Ultimately, Patrick just had to make an executive order to override the council and get the job done.

GENESIS's construction was scheduled to be completed in the next month to be tested then declared operational. There had been some minor delays, but those had been overcome, and the schedule had been kept. The first target for the weapon would be the Alliance's Ptolemaeus lunar base and that would be the real test of GENESIS. Patrick was confident that the destruction of OMNI's lunar HQ would not just deal a serious blow but send a message to the Alliance. The message was to be "their end was nigh," and there would be nothing they could do to stop it. ZAFT had nuclear technology, which had giving them the needed advantage to end this foolish war.

Of course, the end of the Earth Alliance would be the end of the war, only a step toward that goal. Once the Alliance was exterminated, ZAFT would need to move onto the Federation and handle them in the same general way. There were those on the Defense Committee and some within ZAFT who had made their opinions known. They were "convinced" the Federation wouldn't fall to the methods used against the Alliance. Patrick and those he delegated to waved off such nonsense. The Federation would fall to nuclear weapons as there was no defense or counter to such technology. The Federation didn't have nuclear tech themselves from what ZAFT intel had stated and they had looked into the point. Thus, it would be a matter of time for the Federation to be dealt with and the war brought to an end once and for all.

True, there still were those like Eileen Canaver, Ali Kasim, and those on the Committees they chaired who spoke out against the direction Patrick had things going. They kept saying there were better ways to end the war in peace without having to exterminate the Alliance and the Federation. They had the backing of their committees which is why they had enough of a voice to cause a pause within the Council. But they were the minority of the Supreme Council, so they couldn't go against Patrick when he made a decision. The Judicial Committee chair sometimes sided with the two but normally was with the majority. So, essentially, the Supreme Council was under Patrick's control and followed his lead.

If current plans worked as they should, the Alliance would be wiped out by the end of the year. Once that was done, ZAFT could get down to deal with the Federation and finish purifying the human species. Estimates said the Federation would take a year or two for ZAFT to deal with using all their forces including the estimated enlistment that would come after the Alliance's defeat. However, nuclear technology should be cut down to less time. The use of GENESIS on their "member nations" would get things rolling in the right direction. It would also be used to handle the Federation's space fleets. Once Naturals became history as was proper, peace would reign. Coordinators would have the world and the colonies to work with and expand.

After the day's council meeting, Patrick was in a fair mood with so many things going the proper way. But then, the head of Section 2 came and reported to Patrick on their assignment he'd given them. According to what Patrick was told, things hadn't gone as they should've with the raid on the ZAFT Administration office complex. When Section 2 arrived, the complex had been completely empty, not a soul had been found. The offices should've had staff working as normal, but the whole place had been silent. Section 2 had searched the whole complex, including Treize's office. The complex had been "cleaned" by what Section 2 iterated, and had been done well. All relevant files had been taken, and everything looked too clean and generically set up to seem things were fine. The one reporting said the general consensus was Treize, and the administration staff had been aware of the coming raid for some time. They had taken everything of value and left no hints about where they had gone to be found.

Section 2 had moved from there to search the dock the Salong would be in, but had the same luck as at the office complex. The dock and its control facilities had been deserted, and no clues as to when the ship had vanished. The dock control records had been deeply scrubbed and left nothing to work with. The signs were clear that others had assisted Treize in escaping pursuers and detection. Even checking with ZAFT patrols gave no information as to where or when Treize had left the PLANTs. None questioned about Treize's disappearance had given helpful data to explain what few signs had been found. Thus, Section 2 had no way to catch Treize or even figure out where he could've gone at the current time.

Patrick was angry Treize had slipped away without any knowing or reporting the activity. The man shouldn't have been able to escape without any being the wiser. The Defense Committee should've known of the Salong's departure as they would with any ship, but they claimed to be aware of anything to do with it. Any security footage had been either corrupted or scrubbed, so it was unviewable to any. All signs pointed to Treize planning his escape ahead and managed to do so better than expected. The man vanishing was troublesome as it was obvious Treize had some working with and for him. But on the other hand, Treize was now out of the picture, so wouldn't interfere directly, which was something good to work with. So, Patrick instead vented his frustration by putting in the work to discredit Treize as much as he could. It would lay groundwork to prevent Treize from doing more within ZAFT.

There was uncertainty in the days that followed the shutdown of the Justice Department and the raid on the ZAFT command offices. Rumors of the ongoing war were cycling around the public sphere. Whispers were surfacing about how the Alliance could be building nuclear weapons again. The fear of another nuclear strike against the PLANTs grew among the general public. The attempts from the governing body to calm the fears met with little success. Whispers about nuclear weapons wouldn't go away no matter how hard the public relations tried to dismiss such fears as baseless rumor and gossip. The public unrest worsened when Chairman Zala announced Treize was a traitor to the PLANTs. The details the chairman gave by which he accused Treize didn't help his case or policies.

The Chairman painted a picture of lies about the unofficial Leader of ZAFT's military, which went contrary to his well-known reputation. The claims of Treize being a traitor were met with mixed reactions from the public. One side defended Treize for all he'd done for the homeland over the years. The other side of those that believed the Chairman's claims about Treize cried out against the other. Those who believed Treize was innocent defended him by shouting all the good Treize had done for ZAFT and the PLANTs. Treize's defenders had no shortage of material to use to show Treize had done much in order to protect the PLANTs. The man's military record was a shining example and had little bad things to say about him. While those who believed Lanus Treize was a traitor countered the facts that defended him with the lies fed to them by the government. Overall, the argument brought chaos and turmoil to the PLANTs, divided the citizens, and made it worse. And the Chairman's announcement acted as a tipping point for other problems to come on for the PLANTs.

The issues that this caused for the Supreme Council didn't just come with the citizens of the PLANTs being divided on the issue of Lanus Treize. The workload had grown heavy right after the Justice Department shut down. The work which normally went to the Justice Department shifted to being worked by other committees. And that was on top of their increased duties due to the orders of Chairman Zala. Then, the National Defense Committee began seeing signs that a growing portion of the military forces was no longer listening to those on the committee or any other government members. Dissension quickly began growing within the government itself with current events happening. Yet, even with all of this resulting from the public announcement of Lanus Treize being a criminal, Patrick Zala didn't seem to notice this growing problem.

Nonetheless, the news of the war on Earth dragged down any potential morale boost gained by the ousting of Treize. The reports coming in from ZAFT forces stationed on Earth didn't instill confidence, the opposite really. With the Earth Alliance gaining access to mobile suits, they had been getting bolder as time passed. Their attempts against the Federation hadn't been fruitful, but that wasn't the case with ZAFT. Their most recent action was to attack the Carpentaria base in the Oceanic Union, and in the end, the Alliance pushed back ZAFT forces. As a result, the Earth Alliance had gained a second Mass driver to use. All of this caused the war between ZAFT and the Earth Alliance to get bloodier and more gruesome with each passing day.

Meanwhile, Azrael returned to Earth after returning to Ptolemaeus on the Dominion. He had ordered a shuttle to Earth after having the storage disk's contents copied by those at Ptolemaeus. The base could start producing the device and then get to making nuclear weapons to use. Azrael took the original disk with him on the shuttle as he would give it to his colleagues. It would show them he wasn't useless, as they claimed and implied. For Azrael had acquired the device that would give the Alliance nuclear technology back. It had been over four years since the technology was stolen from them via the April Fools Crisis.

But now, the Alliance had it back, and it was high time it was put to use. With nuclear weapons, OMNI could end the war, which should've ended a month after the Bloody Valentine. The attack on Junius Seven was to be followed up with a nuclear bombardment of the rest of the PLANTs. Junius Seven had merely been a trial run on nuclear attacks on colonies. But the N-Jammers had destroyed that plan so completely that it had screwed over the Alliance for a while. Yet, that was in the past now, and things could be put right at last. Some would be against using nuclear technology for weapons, but they were in the minority. Their urging to use it to help those suffering from the energy crisis could be seen later.

The other things about needing nuclear weapons for the Alliance had to do with ZAFT having the same technology. Azrael had no doubt ZAFT was working on their own version of a nuclear weapon. It wouldn't be a warhead, the memory of Junius Seven would ensure that. But the point was ZAFT would have a weapon they would use against Earth. Those like Zala would demand Naturals die so Coordinators could take over. That had to be stopped for the survival of the human race as it was meant to be. Thus, the Alliance needed to mass-produce nuclear weapons and use them to wipe out Coordinators before they could do the same to Naturals.

Azrael smiled as the shuttle landed at one of the secret locations the Alliance's general Council met at. The retaking of Victoria and the acquisition of the n-jammer cancellers gave the Alliance a real chance to win the war. Granted, the losses OMNI suffered against the Federation had caused setbacks. It was frustrating the Federation had been taking down the Orbital Fleets. The fleets would be needed to deliver nukes to the PLANTs successfully. The fewer there were, the lower the chances of firing nuclear weapons at the Coordinators to exterminate them. So plans would have to be accelerated so they could have the best success possible.

Azrael was escorted after exiting the shuttle to the meeting room as the conference was to take place soon. He assumed the meeting would be for planning the nuclear strikes on the PLANTs. It was the logical next step for the Alliance to take to end this war properly. The rest of ZAFT could be hunted down and handled when the PLANT colonies were destroyed. Once ZAFT was dealt with, the Alliance could move to get the Federation in line and order. The Federation needed to clean out the Coordinators that infected them. The Alliance would ensure the infection would be removed properly whether those in the Federation liked it or not. Peace would come after the Federation fell into line, and the human race would move forward as it was meant to be.

Azrael was told that OMNI had taken Carpentaria from ZAFT along the way to the conference room. It was a real win for OMNI to force ZAFT out of a base they had held for years. Since its establishment, ZAFT's Carpentaria had been a thorn in the Alliance's side. It had been a threat and led to the downfall of Victoria, so it had been a blight on the Alliance. Several attempts had been made to oust ZAFT from Carpentaria during the war, but all had failed. But at last, it sounded like OMNI had done the job and forced ZAFT out, and the Pacific was effectively under Alliance control except within Federation-controlled territory. Plus, it gave the Alliance now had two of the five mass drivers of the world.

Azrael entered the conference room, took his seat, and waited for the rest of the Council to arrive. Once all members arrived, the meeting began with a summary of recent events. The taken of Victoria and Carpentaria had helped the war and given the Alliance two mass drivers to replace the loss of Panama. There was mention of the attacks on the Federation and those failures. Glares were sent Azrael's way during that subject, which he ignored. The news of the loss of Orbital Fleets was met with panicked and angry reactions. It was clear to even Azrael that the Orbital Fleets being destroyed was the Federation's response to the attacks on them. There came the point where all were silent and looked to Azrael for his answer to events. Azrael cleared his throat, "I admit," he began, "Things didn't go smoothly, and mistakes did occur." He took out the disk and inserted it into the terminal at his spot at the table. "To apologize, allow me to present this data which will help us turn things around."

On the main screen in the room came the file which displayed the designs of the n-jammer canceller. There were gasps from many around the table at the file being shown to the room at large. Yet, Azrael continued, "With this device which I managed to acquire from the enemy, we have access to nuclear technology once again, ladies and gentlemen." Azrael smiled and shrugged, "This will be able to solve many of our standing problems, I don't doubt. Surely, most here would agree that nuclear technology is sorely needed to help in the war and the citizens of the Earth Alliance." The head of the Council hummed, "You say you acquired this, Azrael," he started, "Where and how?"

Azrael didn't want to say his "contact" he'd been using for the "unique" information he'd been getting. Creuset hadn't mentioned anything as to what the man wanted the Alliance to do. All he'd said was he "wanted fools to learn hard lessons," and no more detail than that. Honestly, Azrael hadn't cared what the line had meant, as the info Creuset had provided had been amazing. "I encountered a double agent recently," Azrael stated. "They made an offer tempting enough that I humored them. Thus far, their information has paid off, and this file is an example of what I have gotten from them." Azrael paused for a moment, "Does it really matter where the file came from, Chairman? This device is necessary for the Alliance to make a difference for itself, do you not agree?"

The Chairman of the Alliance's general Council was forced to pause at Azrael's question. Personally, the Chairman had never liked Azrael. He was impulsive and reckless, which mix never ended well for those involved. The standing problems with the Federation were a perfect example of the point. Azrael had prodded them and gotten their ire to be directed at the Alliance. OMNI was still dealing with the fallout from Azrael's actions. The man should be punished for his actions, and any other would be without question. However, Azrael had offered one of the select few things that the Alliance couldn't ignore as a gift to look the other way with his actions.

Nuclear technology being taken and denied to the Alliance had caused the energy crisis. The quality of life of Alliance citizens was low on average. That alone drove many to move to Federation territory, giving them strength. With nuclear power possible again, the energy crisis could effectively be ended, and the life of Alliance citizens could improve. That could improve confidence in OMNI, which is sorely needed now with how the war was going. However, the Chairman also knew those like Azrael would demand focus be on producing nuclear weapons instead of the energy crisis. "While I agree nuclear technology is sorely needed," he began, "I doubt it is for the ideas you would have in mind."

The meeting then turned to what nuclear technology would be prioritized for. One of the first suggestions was to build nuclear weapons, though Azrael wasn't the one to put that forth. Azrael knew it would be best not to bring up nukes, and he was already in enough trouble with the Federation problems. There was also the other suggestion of using nuclear tech to solve the ongoing energy crisis. And as the debate continued, the suggestions divided were split evenly down the middle. Azrael didn't like the majority of the Council that didn't support nuclear weapons. But he could see a way he could spin things to get what he wanted out of this. "Chairman, if I might speak," Azrael remarked. He was given the go-ahead to continue, and he did so, "The energy crisis is indeed a serious issue. I doubt any here will argue that point. Our citizens are suffering from the actions of ZAFT done years ago. The claim of the n-jammers saving us from nuclear war has rung hollow with how those in Alliance states have suffered."

Azrael put on a sorrowful expression to portray his point of the suffering of the Alliance citizens. He would use that to get nuclear weapons still being worked on. The war ending was the end goal, and that would help the citizens as well. "Using the N-jammer cancellers to build nuclear power plants is all well and good. I fully support this endeavor as I expect all of us on the Council will." Azrael titled his head, "But say we do just build power plants with this gift we've been given, does that solve our standing issues? ZAFT could come and destroy them and kill many, which would be a real tragedy. So, wouldn't putting nuclear technology into the efforts of ending the war as well not be more proficient?"

"That's not what is being suggested," another man said.

The Chairman could see what Azrael was attempting to do with his comments and questions. The man was trying to get nukes built to be able to use against the PLANTs, and he just passed that off as "ending the war." Many had come before Azrael claiming the same about nuclear weapons and using them, ending the issue with ZAFT. However, none mentioned the point that a nuclear strike on a PLANT colony had started the whole war. Plus, if Azrael went with the enemy file, ZAFT had the same device and likely was already employing it. Should OMNI fire nuclear weapons at the PLANTs, nothing stopped them from using the same on Earth. Nuclear weapons use would only escalate the war and put people in danger. "You should recall, Azrael, it was a nuclear strike on a colony that started this whole war in the first place. The reason the n-jammers were invented and deployed on Earth," the Chairman reasoned. "Then, you claim you got the file from an enemy agent. That means ZAFT has the same device and likely has or will have nuclear weapons. If we use them on the PLANTs, there is no guarantee ZAFT wouldn't respond in kind and use them on Earth."

There were mutters of agreement to what the Chairman said to the Council. While Azrael knew the man had a point with ZAFT having the canceller like they now did, that was more reason to produce weapons. It was better to shoot at your enemy first so they couldn't fire back at you, it was a proven methodology. Azrael didn't get a chance to counter the Chairman as another man spoke up. "Because of your bungled actions with the Federation, we are suffering right now, Azrael. The seaborne fleets have suffered losses, and three Orbital Fleets have been destroyed. You have forced us to have to fight against ZAFT and the Federation at the same time now. And yet, you say that position isn't harsh enough to struggle with? We should have OMNI go and stir up even more trouble attacking the PLANTs. That would require throwing all we have left of the Orbital Fleets at most of ZAFT's fighting force."

Azrael hadn't liked the news about the Orbital Fleets being attacked and destroyed. It did make attacking the PLANTs harder, and even he couldn't deny that. It made it clear that the Federation would be a problem that would have to be dealt with. Azrael felt nuclear weapons would be needed more against the Federation than ZAFT. Such enforced the point of the need for nuclear technology to be used within OMNI. It would be needed to be applied and used in as many ways as possible. Azrael doubted he was the only one who felt nuclear technology would have to be employed in OMNI. But perhaps, if Azrael toned back his insistence on attacking the PLANTs back, then the Council would be more willing to approve nuclear tech being used by the military. Azrael held up his hands in admittance, "I admit, mistakes were made," he replied. "You have a point, striking the PLANTs at this point would unlikely go well." Azrael sunk back into his seat, portraying his surrender to the Council, "The energy crisis is important. Forgive me for implying otherwise, for we are here for our citizens first and foremost. However, if I might suggest one thing," he posed.

There was silence to Azrael's last line, which he'd hoped for since it opened the floor for his suggestion. "As you said, Chairman, ZAFT has this device themselves. I wouldn't doubt they are employing it in military development." Azrael shrugged and gained a worried expression, "Imagine ZAFT producing a nuclear-powered mobile suit to use against our soldiers. Does that not worry any of you? I'm certainly concerned for our troops having to face such a thing with inferior equipment." There were murmurings of worried agreement at the possibility Azrael suggested. But he kept going bringing up footage of the Freedom in the battle against Orb. "My fellow council members, I'm sorry to say such a concerning possibility is already real as this footage shows." All turned to watch the footage of the Freedom fighting against OMNI forces as Azrael continued. "Evidence strongly suggests that ZAFT produced this mobile suit, and its performance is impossible with current battery technology. Thus, the only logical conclusion is it has a nuclear reactor giving it superiority. Would all of you be okay with sending our soldiers against mobile weapons such as this one?"

"This is proof," another at the table said, "ZAFT is already developing mobile suits with nuclear technology." Azrael nodded, "I'm afraid so, ladies and gentlemen. Do we not owe it to our soldiers to give them the best equipment the Alliance can develop to fight this morphing threat? As I care for the men and women that fight for the Alliance, I would say it is our responsibility to do so for them." The muttering around the table told the Chairman he would be outvoted in this. And the vote which was taken proved the point, and nuclear tech development with OMNI was approved. Azrael had a small smile as the vote result was announced, for he had gotten his wish. Granted, Azrael would like to see a nuclear strike against the PLANTs sooner rather than later. However, he could wait for a period for others to come around to the idea. Plus, nuclear tech development would help in different ways, likely improving the eventual strike's success. Better mobile suits for OMNI would certainly help against ZAFT forces who would try and stop the nuclear attack. And who could say that further development with nuclear technology could make a more efficient nuclear weapon to use in exterminating Coordinators?

With that idea in mind, Azrael volunteered to return to Ptolemaeus and watch over the nuclear development. So, he boarded a shuttle which took him back into space to observe his plans make progress. Azrael was in a much better mood now with plans in motion that would get to his goal of Coordinator extermination. When he got to the Ptolemaeus Lunar Base, he delivered the orders to start nuclear development with R&D and production. The refitting of ships there to be able to carry nuclear missiles was begun in earnest. At the same time, OMNI R&D got to work developing nuclear tech for use in ships and mobile suits. While Azrael's plans had experienced some steps back, overall, it was still moving forward, which counted to him. He would personally see that at least one nuclear warhead hit one of the PLANTs, he preferred to see much more. But patience rewarded those that practiced it, and Azrael knew that, so he would wait.

Months passed, with the war becoming small fights and tension building on Earth and in space. ZAFT secured their territory and tightened their patrols, keeping the Alliance quiet. As busy as ZAFT's lunar and home fleet were, strange things were popping up. But those running ZAFT began to notice some forces weren't "following orders" as they were being specifically given. Ships weren't reporting in as often as they were supposed to, while some were just missing. The point was getting worse with each passing week. The Defense Committee was being given the reports, but little was being done to look into it. Chairman Zala stated it was of no real concern if some were deserting.

Meanwhile, the Federation's space forces had effectively made ways to cut down to two paths to the Earth Sphere. The Alliance had one route they used, while ZAFT had one themselves. They either disappeared or were searched heavily by Federation forces if any strayed. It essentially had the Federation in charge of traffic flow in space between the moon, the colonies, and Earth itself. The Alliance and ZAFT grumbled about the Federation's actions but got no specific reply as to why it was being done. However, it cut fighting in space to a bare minimum in a way the war hadn't seen before.

The fighting on Earth between the Alliance and ZAFT continued. ZAFT was having issues after losing Carpentaria holding their territory. The Oceania Union was slipping from ZAFT-controlled to the Alliance having ownership slowly but surely. Gibraltar was helping ZAFT hold onto the African Community. The Federation tightened its borders and would allow no military forces to cross them anymore. ZAFT's Gibraltar base was on edge since it was right next to Federation territory. The only explanation given by the Federation was they had been defending themselves since being attacked. However, Federation sea fleet patrols had increased, much to the concern of ZAFT and the ire of OMNI.

For the Federation, they had increased its surveillance of the other factions after the Alliance's attacks. The war was becoming worse with each passing week, affecting the member nations. Thus, vigilance was enforced for the whole Federation's military. The fall of Carpentaria to the Alliance upped tension within the Federation as it gave the Alliance a foothold in the Pacific, worryingly close to the member nations. And none in the Federation's leadership expected the Alliance to leave them alone for very long. So, patrols of the Earthbound fleets were doubled and tightened.

From intelligence which came toward the end of August, the Federation did discover a fleet had been assembled at Victoria. On the first of September, the OMNI fleet headed out and headed around the southern tip of Africa. It became clear to the Federation's military that OMNI would make a strike against one of two places from the intel. OMNI would either attack Federation Earth HQ at Asgard, or they would strike the Euros Coalition for their mass driver. With the size of the fleet, it was unlikely OMNI would attack Asgard since it wouldn't succeed. Thus, it was accepted that OMNI would attempt to take the Chronos mass driver. The assumption was confirmed when the Alliance fleet turned and entered the Mediterranean Sea.

The current day dawned as the view of the southwestern coastline of the Federation's Euros Coalition came to the sight of the large Alliance fleet. The mission they had was riddled with dangers to them for the majority of the journey. The fleet's mission was to break through whatever defenses the Federation had around Rome and take control of the mass driver. It sounded simple on the face of it, but the Federation had proved going against it was anything but. Those in command of the fleet had been studying the three previous attempts made to seize Federation territory, specifically the endeavors to take the other mass drivers that the Federation controlled in both the Republic and Orb. The captain of the fleet did not agree with the members of the current Earth Alliance leadership. The Federation and its military were not to be taken lightly, that was a mistake that came with a heavy price. The attacks on the three Federation member nations in the Pacific Ocean were proof of that, and the Euros Coalition was seen as the strong power of the Atlantic Ocean by most. And the destruction of the Orbital Fleets just enforced the point the Federation was not to be underestimated.

All attempts to overtake the Federation territory that faced the Pacific had failed. One of the major issues the Alliance faced was emphasized by footage from the previous attacks. The Federation's defenses for their territory were not visible until it was used. It was unlikely there would be any different kind of setup to defend the Coalition's coastline facing the Mediterranean. So, the fleet was essentially going in blind to what they would face in trying to take the mass driver.

The only good thing going for the Alliance's Fifth Seaborne Fleet was that they hadn't met any Federation forces yet. It could mean the Federation forces at Asgard wouldn't pursue them in time to stop the strike. The Federation's Asgard base was their most powerful and housed a lot of their forces. The base took up the whole island, which had been called Iceland before the Reconstruction War. That base had stood in the way of the Earth Forces doing anything in the area of the Euros Coalition. Every single assault made on that base never got to the island itself and always came with terrible losses. Not even the Fifth Fleet would stand a chance against it right now. It was the reason the route around Africa's southern tip was chosen rather than going east and supplying at the Atlantic Federation first. Avoiding Asgard would give a chance to strike at the Federation without sacrificing a fleet to try. So, the fleet sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar and continued onward toward Rome.

ZAFT forces didn't miss the Alliance fleet cruising by their Gibraltar base. The size alone was concerning, but the fleet just passed by. ZAFT had been on high alert the moment the fleet was detected. But they were puzzled OMNI didn't assault the Gibraltar base. With the fall of Carpentaria, it was assumed the Alliance would attack Gibraltar after regrouping enough. So, for them to pass Gibraltar by was beyond odd when they had every reason to attack. The only explanation that any could come up with was the Alliance had set its sites on the Federation. All long-range detection and spying equipment had been directed at the Federation's mass driver area when that had been suggested.

The Alliance fleet moved towards the first collection of islands in the sea. The islands had been known as the Balearic Islands before the Reconstruction War. None lived on the islands anymore; they had unmanned sensor equipment the Federation had installed years before. And the sensor and detection outposts sent an alert to the military command center in Rome. It confirmed the Alliance's attack was inbound, so preparations were sped up for the Federation. Tension was running high as such an attack hadn't happened before. It had been assumed it would come from the Suez Canal since the Alliance controlled that. However, there were still defenses if ZAFT were to make an attempt to take the mass driver as well.

The fleet didn't slow their approach to their target, which had become visible in the distance. And it wasn't the fleet leaders who wondered if there would be a response to their approach, but rather what it would be. Thus far, there had been no sign of any Federation reaction or response to the Fifth Fleet. No radio chatter was heard on any channel sweep made by ship com officers. They even checked civilian channels and found them strangely silent. The "quiet" and "calm" only increased the feeling of foreboding and impending gloom. And the longer there was no visible reaction or radio chatter, the more uneasy the fleet as a whole became. The attacks on the Pacific-facing Federation nations had started similar to this. The difference between those events and this one was that the warning message was absent. Apparently, the Federation didn't see a reason to give a warning any longer with what the Alliance had done.

Mobile suits on both sides were a given in this battle, as the previous attacks made clear. The Federation had their own mobile suits and knew how to use them effectively against the Alliance. And in recent weeks, the Federation had proven their suits could hold their own and push ZAFT around hard. Their mass-production model design was nothing to scoff at. OMNI had been studying footage and what information they could find on the Federation's suits. And while they may not have beam rifles as Daggers did, their weapons still made them serious concern. Their blades could slice through laminated armor without much issue, better than GINN swords. They also had flight systems built into the units rather than having it as "optional" equipment as the Daggers did.

The Federation also had custom-designed machines alongside their mass-production models. And the intel OMNI had made it obvious the custom models had at least elements of the G-Project. There were the characteristics of what were being called "Gundam-types." Not only that, but from the data that came from the previous attacks, they had phase-shift armor and other weapons based on the fruits of the G-Project. It showed the Federation had gotten all the data of the G-project while the Alliance had gotten most of it. The Federation mobile suit designs were frustratingly impressive, including their custom ones. And that was offset by the skills of their pilots, which was better than even ZAFT had on average.

As the Alliance fleet closed the distance and drew closer to the Chronos mass driver, the Federation personnel were busy at Rome's military command center. The event was known to be coming for more than twenty-four hours with the Fleet's course. The radio channels used had been switched to encrypted channels, and civilian channels were silenced. Civilians had been evacuated from the general area of Rome the moment it was assumed OMNI would attack. They had all been sent inland away from the possible battle zone. All that stayed were military personnel and essential operators for the needed infrastructure.

When the fleet passed one of the outer sensor lines, those in charge of Rome gave the order to sink the mass driver. Chronos was uniquely designed to be able to have the tracks submerged in sections into the sea. It only left the port and the tracks on land reachable but unusable and unassailable by others. It was the defensive measure Chronos had against attempts to overtake it and wrench control from the Federation. It was a rare thing that had ever happened, but the Alliance had forced the need. The end of the mass driver swung downward to be flat with the water as the rest of the track. The mechanisms that locked the sections together disengaged before the sections began sinking into the water. Both the Alliance and ZAFT noticed the mass driver sinking into the sea. It was unexpected as no mass driver was known to be able to "sink" for its protection. The defending forces were expected to do what was needed to protect a mass driver and prevent others from taking or destroying it.

The Alliance fleet commander's concern grew at seeing the mass driver sink into the sea. If the Federation had planned and designed their mass driver to have a protective measure built into it, he could only imagine what defenses there were. There were still no signs of any defensive guns or means visible to the fleet or anything detected by sensors. Not even mobile suits signals were showing up yet from anywhere on the land the Alliance could scan. The outlook for the operation to take the mass driver looked more troublesome the closer it came to battle.

At Rome's Federation's military command center, personnel were working to prepare the defense network for deployment. The network included defensive guns, projectiles and beams, missiles, and an interception system. The network as a whole was referred to as the "Sentinel Defense Network." It was the unique system the Euros Coalition had to defend its Mediterranean coastlines. What made it different from the other member nations employed was its control system. The system scientists said it was a serious step towards artificial intelligence. It could learn as it went and modify itself with the situations it was used in. The control of the automated defenses was left to Sentinel's control. The system was given orders that it would carry out to the best of its capabilities.

All the defensive guns and equipment were built into hidden locations when not in use, as was standard for the Federation. The mentality was used so that the Alliance and ZAFT couldn't plan ahead for an attack effectively. Neither faction had attempted to assault the Chronos area before now. But with the Alliance approaching, they would be the ones that would test the system fully. Estimations gave very good prospects for the ousting of OMNI's fleet.

The guns and interception systems were set along the western coastline of the Leeian peninsula. It was formerly known as the Italian peninsula before the Reconstruction War. Then for the west-facing part of the system, equipment was set on the three smaller islands close to the peninsula. West of the peninsula, the two larger islands, the center had been known as Sardinia while the northern was previously named Corsica Pre-Reconstruction War were where the forward line of defense. The two islands had most of the guns and interceptors to stop any coming from the west. The southern island and large of the two that had been called Sicily provided the same basic function and setup for the south. The heavier guns were on the sides of the islands facing away from the mass driver, while the interception system equipment was on the nearer side.

The guns employed included positron cannons, plasma turrets, beam cannons, railguns, and a long-range artillery cannon. There were four positron cannons, two on each of the western islands. The northern island's cannons were placed in the Gulf of Sagone and the other in the Ajaccio Gulf. On the western island, one positron cannon was on a cape of land called the Caccia Cape at the northwestern part of the island. The other cannon was set on a small landmass off the southwestern end of the island, which had once been called St. Peter's Island. The single long-range artillery cannon was located in the Gulf of Oristano and contained in an underwater complex that would rise up and out of the water to be used. The 100cm cannon was made up of a swiveling turret with a fifty-meter-long barrel, and the cannon fired large shells that varied in type. Along the rest of the western shoreline of both islands was a mixture of either caliber twin-barreled turrets, plasma turrets, duel railguns, beam cannons, and multi-barreled CIWS guns. Each plasma turret was a double-barreled heavy plasma cannon connected to a pivoting platform by the support frame. Then on the island's east side was an array of gatling guns and laser interception guns.

There was much the same set along the peninsula's coastline, minus the positron cannons and artillery. But in addition, there were a number of fields that housed batteries of multi-ranged missiles. And all these weapons were made and developed by the "Koovos" Weapons Development Complex in the Coalition. That was only the fixed defenses, for there were also the Federation had stationed mobile suits for the Euros Coalition's protection. Those were readying to fly out and halt the advance of the Earth Forces towards their land.

The Federation's military command planned to have mobile suits on the coastline in defensive postures. They would prevent OMNI machines from landing on the coast and potentially getting a foothold. Others would be sent to seek out carriers of enemy units to drop in with a flyover. If the Alliance could be halted and not have their mobile suits make landfall, then Federation forces could push them back. And if the ships could be halted, Sentinel could take them down with the defensive guns. That was the general plan for the Federation: stop OMNI from advancing and then wear them down. With the Federation's position, the battle should go smoothly and end with OMNI losing in their attempt.

As the Alliance fleet passed another sensor perimeter, Sentinel had all defenses rise to active positions. The system also established active secure links to the Federation's Information Network. Satellites over the general area in orbit adjusted and began feeding information actively to Sentinel. The satellite data allowed those in Rome's command center and Sentinel to see the Alliance's movements in real-time. Sentinel was quickly computing the data and putting it together into usable images which could be displayed holographically for commanding officers. The man in charge of the military command was at the holographic display table with his officers on either side of him. There was chatter from those at the consoles as they worked on communicating orders to defending forces. All were focused on their assigned tasks as the Alliance kept approaching. The colonel exhaled and focused on the task at hand, "Sentinel, status of defensive standing," he stated flatly.

Sentinel processed the question and rapidly calculated the proper response to be given. The procedure was followed as protocol and policy laid out by Federation's military rules and guidelines. Mobile suit pilots were readying for scramble orders to be given by military command. Communication from Asgard and Coalition central military ops command had come to a decision and had passed it to Rome's command center. Thus, the actions and expectations going forward were made clear. "Chronos has been lowered to submerged position and secured. Live secure links with the information network have been established and encrypted. All defense systems have been switched to active mode in preparation for interception. Mobile suit squadrons are in their final stages of preparation," Sentinel responded in its mechanical baritone voice, which lacked any emotional tones. "Communications from Asgard and Euros Central Command state they have determined conflict with the Alliance is unavoidable. They have given the go-ahead to defending forces to engage at will."

Sentinel had confirmed defenses were as ready as could be made at this time. It also gave the message from Earth-based HQ and Euros Central Command that other avenues had failed to deter. Then for them to authorize combat with the "engage at will" simply said there was no avoiding OMNI's attack and to not hold back. So, with that in mind, the colonel moved on to the next collection of information that would assist in defending Rome against OMNI. "What information have you acquired on the Alliance fleet coming our way," he asked. "It is best if we know the size and compliment, we are working against."

Sentinel quickly gathered the needed data needed for the stated question. Informants around Victoria's network had sent in a general makeup of the fleet. With the general data, the name of the ships led to information on the crews and equipment the fleet had to work with. The information also included the name of the fleet commander, fleet compliment, and reoccurring tactics the fleet tended to use on missions. After the information was processed and organized, Sentinel answered the question given to it. "The fleet is identified as OMNI Enforcer's Fifth Seaborne Fleet. It consists of thirty-nine vessels; ten Spengler-class Carriers, ten Arkansas-class vessels, nine Des Moines-class vessels, and ten Fraser-class vessels. The flagship of the fleet is designated as the Henry Johnson. According to available information, it is under the command of Captain Christopher Robinson," Sentinel iterated. "Known tactics the fleet historically use employ swarming tactics to overwhelm enemy forces. Captain Robinson is known for being upfront and straightforward in battle according to Alliance records."

The colonel didn't like they would be fighting against OMNI's largest seaborne fleet in the coming battle. It wouldn't change the results in the end, just make the journey to get to it longer and harder. Defending forces wouldn't back down even in the face of hardship. "And approximate timeframe for the Alliance fleet to come into firing range," the colonel posed. Sentinel gave an instant response, "The fleet approaching the outer defense perimeter will reach firing range in thirty-two minutes forty-five seconds. The ETA will be adjusted if the course or speed of the fleet changes."

All in the operation room heard Sentinel's timeframe for the enemy fleet being in weapons' range. It motivated all there to work harder to protect their homeland from the coming invaders. Not just the soldiers that would be fighting on the field but those that would support them in the battle. The faith Sentinel would effectively halt and wear down the Alliance fleet was solid. The mobile suits and the ground forces would pick up the slack from there and finish things up. However, the Alliance had become so aggressive recently that predictable behavior was much less expected from them.

As the thirty minutes went by with the Alliance fleet closing in, both sides felt the tension climbing. The Federation was readying themselves to fight for their home and keep the Alliance from obtaining their goals. On the other hand, the Alliance fleet was growing more worried about the lack of any response from the Federation. They were starting to detect signals on the islands, likely defensive equipment. However, there were no details as to what the equipment was. Looking through telescopic devices made it seem the equipment was guns, but not a much better view of it. The continuing silence on radio channels only worried ship captains more. It was feeling more and more like the fleet was being led into a trap of some kind.

The tension was broken inside Rome's command center when Sentinel made the expected announcement. "Alliance fleet has come into effective firing range," Sentinel stated. "All defending forces have reported in as ready for deployment to the field." There was a slight pause, "Awaiting orders."

There was no turning back or avoiding what needed to be done any longer. Thus, the colonel took a deep breath and shook his head, "Then let's get to this." The man glanced at his officers, "Defending squadrons are to scramble and move to defensive position. They are to prevent OMNI from making landfall, and if they manage it, they are to be eliminated." The colonel faced the table again, "Sentinel, commence interception procedures for the hostile force approaching. Use Protocol Alpha for prioritizing targets. Alliance forces cannot reach effective deployment range for their mobile suits."

Sentinel processed the order, accessing the stated protocol to be used in interception. Protocol Alpha would have interception prioritize the carriers first to stop mobile weapon use. The Alliance Spengler classes were in the center of the enemy fleet, so other ships would have to be dealt with to reach the priority targets. Rapid calculations were made, and a flexible strategy was formed. "Acknowledged," Sentinel replied, "commencing hostile force interception."

The largest screen changed from showing the location and status of the defense network to showing the Earth Forces fleet as they approached. Each ship was now identified by its class and even displayed its name in the Alliance fleet. The holo-display in front of the colonel went fuzzy before showing a closer view of the Alliance fleet. Lines began being drawn from defenses to the first line of ships. The lines used satellite data to connect the defensive guns to the ship targeted. Right after the data was entered, Sentinel had the guns turning to point at their designated target. Then began the barrage, which was kicked off by the artillery cannon. The cannon aimed at the group of lead Arkansas-class ships and fired the high-yield explosive shell it was loaded with. The shot hit the forwardmost vessel and caused an explosion that threw shrapnel in all directions.

As the defensive guns opened up, fighter jet squadrons started taking off from their airfields. The jets quickly transformed and landed in the designated defensive positions, waiting for the Alliance to send their mobile suits out. The ground forces inched forward so they had a clear line of sight to fire upon incoming enemy forces. The Alliance fleet was forced to separate a bit as the artillery cannon kept firing at them from the larger of the two islands. The fleet commander ordered ships to spread out so enemy defenses would have difficulty taking down multiple targets. Robinson also told the Spenglars to start getting closer to the coast so they could deploy mobile suits. The Federation wouldn't give them a straight shot to be close enough to get mobiles directly to their enemy's military command. The burden would be getting suits to make landfall and then making their way to the enemy command structure.

This mission to take the enemy command position would be a battle of attrition. OMNI machines would have to make their way through enemy territory. The Federation would be shooting at them the whole way, not making the approach easy. However, the Alliance leadership insisted there was a need for a victory against the Federation. It didn't make sense with success OMNI was finally having against ZAFT. Fighting ZAFT and the Federation was foolish, and much of OMNI's top brass would agree with that. But orders were orders right now, so questioning them was not helpful as those that did were relieved of duty lately.

The Alliance fleet broke up their formation and separated as the artillery kept firing upon them. And yet, as they drew closer, other guns joined the barrage slowing the fleet's approach. The positron cannons were problematic as they could bring a ship to a direct halt via ripping a hole in the hull, letting in water. Robinson's hopes were falling as the fleet was coming to a grinding pace. The carriers from Victoria should be arriving from the south soon, but they may get no support from the fleet as planned. The Spenglers were kept out of the line of fire, yet it came at the cost of the frontline vessels. And the closer the fleet got to the peninsula the mass driver was built on, other guns joined the barrage and slowed the fleet further.

The Alliance's situation worsened after getting in firing range of the peninsula. The Alliance were being battered and shot at, which was bad enough under any circumstance. However, it was being done with an uncannily high amount of accuracy, which was too good to be normal. None in the Alliance fleet could explain how the Federation's defenses were hitting so accurately. Nevertheless, the advancement of the Alliance fleet had gotten the Spengler classes close enough to the coastline to send out mobile suits to the mainland. Other ships fired off flares and other missiles to blind any satellite looking down.

Once the Federation's sensors and probably methods of watching things were blind, the Daggers lifted off and formed groups of four as they headed towards the coastline. Each group had a command Dagger, a Non-Strike model with three Strike Daggers with Aile packs attached. The groups flew towards the Pisa Coastline, where there was a small urban area they could establish a foothold and head down the coast south to Rome. Once on land, the suits would be on their own, and the ships would back off a bit to let the ground teams work. When the suits got to Rome, they could get the defenses to lighten up and let the ships come in to help. Transports would come in from the south and drop teams around Rome to get started. And as the island defenses were focusing on the ships rather than the mobile suits, the Alliances deployment was not hampered at first. Some suits were shot down by the interceptions guns, but not a great deal, so most got into sight of the shoreline. Robinson ordered the fleet to pull back and out from the barrage of the Federation after seeing the first Daggers landing.

The Dagger teams regrouped in the city area before moving southward to the end. The force commander scanned the land ahead in the direction they were heading. There were fields and empty roads, no signs of any waiting for them. The whole setup didn't feel right at all. Not only had the Federation let them reach the mainland, which they hadn't in previous attacks, but none of them were also waiting to meet them. Granted, there was still one major city OMNI would have to pass through along the coast to get to Rome, so Federation forces could be waiting there. Then there was a military base at a lake outside of Rome itself they would have to deal with too.

With things as they stood, the ground leader decided they would wait until nightfall to move out from their position. He relayed that to the Fleet as the failure of the ground teams would make the whole mission a bust. Robinson agreed with the ground team leader and so got in contact with the transports. He told them not to fly over Rome but on the east side of the peninsula and then head west and drop reinforcements and supplies to the ground teams. Those at the city of Pisa quickly worked to secure the city and post watches to make sure they weren't taken by surprise by Federation forces.

As the Alliance fleet pulled back, those in Rome's command center held their breaths. The fleet was falling back too quickly to be trusted as the Alliance gave up. They had blinded sensors for a few minutes, and satellites couldn't accurately see what was going on either. And the colonel in charge didn't like such had happened, not with the Alliance being as unpredictable as they were. It was possible, and they probably got in a force of mobile suits during that short period. The shoreline from Rome to Grosseto had defending forces set on it during the fight, so any enemies would be spotted. However, if OMNI went further north than sixty kilometers of Grosseto, they might have had mobile suits on land. Enemies marching from the north hadn't been planned for heavily with this attack. The possibility worried the colonel so much he ordered one of his officers to get in contact with those at Grosseto. He wanted them on alert and sent recon to scan the coastline for signs of enemy forces. In the meantime, the Rome command center remained on alert, and Sentinel was kept active just in case the Alliance fleet returned.

When orders came to Grosseto's military command, they read over what had come from Rome. The commander running things at the city, Nuear, looked over the information before waving over one of his officers. "Rome thinks enemy forces may have snuck in north of here," Commander Nuear said. "Put together a recon team to check if there are signs of that being true. Send them to Livorno to look over the coast, but make sure they understand to not draw attention." The commander sighed, "If Rome's assumption is correct, then we will have enemy forces coming our way." The officer nodded and ran off to do what they were told. Nuear walked over to the woman that was his second-in-command, "Frean." The woman had been looking over force deployment on a display when she heard her name called. When Lieutenant Frean turned, she found her commander approaching her, "Yes, Commander?"

Nuear closed the distance, "I want you to change deployments of our forces," he stated. "We need to strengthen the northern barricade asap."

Lieutenant Frean blinked, "May I ask why, sir," she asked. "Word is the enemy fleet is falling back. Should we not be on the shoreline to make sure the Alliance doesn't sneak forces in?"

Nuear rubbed the back of his head, "Rome seems to think that enemy forces may have landed north of us. I've already told Mitus put together a recon team to check if there is anything to the concern. If Rome is correct, I wouldn't be surprised if OMNI forces attack us after nightfall."

Frean didn't like what Nuear suggested with OMNI forces possibly landing north. If they had, they would head south to Rome and try and take control. The Alliance would go for Rome's command center and either take over or destroy the Sentinel node there. Were the node destroyed, the defenses which had been used to force the Alliance back would be less effective, if usable at all. Their automation was a double-edged sword, they were good at the job but would fail without the control system. Thus, Federation defending forces couldn't allow OMNI to invade Rome, or else Chronos would be lost, and the Alliance would have a foothold. So, Frean nodded, "I see your point, sir," she replied, "I will change deployment to have the north better covered."

The day passed quietly, which was surprising with how it had started. However, the recon team sent from Grosseto reached Livorno as they had been ordered to. They found, looking towards Pisa, that OMNI had established a camp there and had been fortified. The team quickly returned to Grosseto and reported what they had seen. Nuear was concerned at the recon team's report about the OMNI forces they had found. The number of mobile suits was worrisome as it could threaten the Grosseto forward base should OMNI be smart about its attack. The mobile suits and ground forces at Grosseto were up to defend against a small to medium-sized enemy group. However, the size the recon team suggested at Pisa was more than a medium-sized group. Nuear sent a message back to Rome with what the recon team had found. Rome said they would send what forces they could but may not make it until nightfall.

The OMNI force which occupied the city of Pisa stayed where they were, waiting for nightfall to come. Transports came in the late afternoon and landed just outside the city with reinforcement and supplies for the OMNI forces there. When night fell, the army of Daggers moved out of Pisa and headed down the coast. They were divided into two large groups of forty-two mobile suits each. One group used the mountain roads that lead towards the city of Grosseto, while the other used the seaside roads. The approach of OMNI was slow but steady towards the Federation barricade. The ground forces leader knew if any rushed ahead, they would be killed by Federation forces.

Those at Grosseto got help from the Braccoano Lake garrison just as night fell. The help was put to the northern and western barricades to keep watch. The assumption was that OMNI would either come from the west using the coastal roads from Pisa or the mountain rounds from the north. Nuear was talking with the company leader over those that came from the garrison when there was a flare above the mountain road. Another flare appeared to the west from the seaside roads. That was followed by explosions occurring at the barricades and shouts from soldiers. Nuear ran to the command post and shouted orders to have mobile suits move out to help hold the barricade walls.

OMNI forces surged forward from the roads they had traveled down toward the barrier walls around the city. They had a slight advantage with attacking under cover of darkness, pushing it for what it was worth. It appeared that Federation forces would hold their position for around ten minutes, but then the western barricade was breached. Nuear could tell OMNI would overrun Grosseto, and if the Federation forces stayed, they would be slaughtered. They needed to fall back and regroup with allies at the Braccoano Lake garrison, where better defenses and more force were needed to hold that position. Thus, Commander Nuear ordered a tactical retreat with mobile suits doing what they could to cover it.

The OMNI pilots took heart as they saw the Federation forces falling back to the south of the city. It was the first time most of them had seen Federation military forces backing off. True, they had overwhelmed them in their position, which was giving them a victory, but that didn't change the fact. OMNI had beaten Federation forces when they were defending a position that hadn't happened before notable. It proved that the Federation wasn't unbeatable as it had seemed before now. Teamwork would be required to defeat the Federation, among other things, but it was possible. OMNI didn't pursue the Federation forces though some wanted to. The ground forces leader knew they would need to resupply and regroup before advancing south.

Federation forces retreated from Grosseto and reached the Braccoano Lake garrison just before dawn. The loss of Grosseto was not helpful as OMNI was making problematic progress toward Rome. The garrison was the major defense standing between OMNI and them, having potential victory and obtaining Chronos. As that was the case, more defending forces were sent to the garrison. On one transport came two machines that had several turning heads and staring. By this point, most soldiers had heard rumors about "Gundam-type" mobile suits and their capabilities. And it was clear that the two machines making their way toward the nearest hangar were Gundams.

The Longinus and Atlas had been sent from the Republic when the attack on the Coalition had been announced. And the two pilots were told shortly after their arrival that defending forces had been forced to pull back from a forward position. The OMNI force held the city of Grosseto to the north, which had been the forward position. It was an expectation that OMNI would advance and come against the garrison given a bit of time. But with Gundams here, the chances of repelling OMNI went up a sizable amount. Watches were increased at the forward fortification to have a warning when OMNI would come.

Discussions of strategy were quickly called for while preparations were made for enemy forces. The sun reached the top of it, signaling the start of midday, and things had been quiet. The tension of those at the base was high with OMNI's taking of Grosseto. Those in command had stated that OMNI would be coming their way and ready. The waiting for enemy forces to come and attack was making soldiers antsy. This was the first fighting that the Euros Coalition had seen with OMNI since the Alliance had been formed. And while the Federation soldiers were ready to give their lives to defend their homeland, being slaughtered was still undesirable.

Tactics for defense were being debated, and which would be best to employ against OMNI. But the discussion was interrupted by a soldier racing into the conference room, calling that enemy forces had been spotted. Orders were given for mobile suits to head out to battle oncoming OMNI forces. The ground vehicles moved forward into position and began firing upon the oncoming Daggers. Federation mobile suits made their way to the forward defense line and lept over the barrier wall. Defending forces were met with the sight of a little around eighty Daggers closing in on the base. The clash of mobile suits quickly started right before the base's forward barrier wall.

The pilots who came with the Longinus and Atlas headed to their suits to board them. Both knew the Federation couldn't afford to lose the base to enemy forces. OMNI couldn't get to Rome and reach the Sentinel node. They could compromise the Coalition's entire defense network if they got access to the node. So, this was bigger than keeping Chronos from the Alliance, and it was the protection of the Coalition. The Atlas and Longinus moved out from the docks they were in once their pilots entered them. Explosions were going off in the air, and the battle picked up speed and intensity as the two Gundams headed toward the frontline. The two lept over the barrier wall and took in the ongoing fighting. The fight between OMNI and Federation defending forces was getting messy quickly. But the Gundam pilots rapidly identified the leaders OMNI had driving this attack. They both shifted their machines into quadraped mode and activated their phase shift armor before they landed on the ground.

The OMNI leader heard rumblings of their being two "odd" machines having just appeared. Some said the two had lept over the wall and that the two looked a lot like ZAFT BuCUEs. And the Leader quickly spotted the two others were talking about and admitted they looked quite similar to BuCUEs. The orange one had what looked like thrusters on the sides and a collection of weapons on its back. The collection looked to be made up of two gatling guns and a heavy rifle of some sort. The blue unit had a similar form: a backpack setup with two cannons and thrusters attached. Their coloration was odd as it didn't match what the Federation machines used. But the Leader had two subleaders focus on the two newcomers and handled them before the problem became.

The Longinus kept moving forward as some enemy suits turned toward it and countered. The pilot deployed its Homura deflectors which caused beams to bounce off before hitting the Longinus. The deflection caught OMNI points off-guard as the Federation wasn't known to have that kind of tech in their arsenal yet. The Longinus began using its gatling guns to pepper its enemy, but they raised their shield and blocked the attacks. The Longinus shifted back into its suit mode and took out one of its boomerang blades. The beam blade ignited before the Longinus sliced through one of the Daggers destroying the machine.

The enemy suit revealing it was not a BuCUE, but a mobile suit was bad enough for the Daggers trying to dispatch it. However, the suit's appearance also strongly implied it was one of the new "Gundam-type" classifications. The classification of "Gundam" came about shortly after the G-Machines had become public knowledge. They had proven through ZAFT's use such a classification referred to a dangerous and unique mobile suit. Thus, any with a similar head section and framework tended to be classified as "Gundams" and regarded warily. The Federation had already revealed in previous attacks against them they had "Gundam" units of their own. If the Federation had sent some of their Gundams, then OMNI would be hard-pressed to get through this base to Rome. To prove the concern OMNI had with the Gundam that they had discovered, the blue unit also shifted, showing it was a Gundam.

The Atlas began employing its railguns and beam cannons to mow down enemy units. It quickly added its Lowus 100mm duel ram cannon to the mix after the cannons began mowing. The Longinus had a boomerang blade in one hand and its rifle in the other and were taking out Dagger after Dagger. Federation defenders surged forward and assisted the two Gundams against the Daggers. OMNI's advance was halted, and they were forced to defend themselves from Federation forces. The Dagger force leader knew that time was running out as the Fifth Fleet would be on its approach back to assault Rome again.

While the battle dragged on with the Daggers going against the Federation, the Fifth fleet slowly made their way toward Rome. The mobile suits teams that had been deployed should've been making their way to Rome and disabling the defenses the Federation had. There had been no word from the Dagger teams yet, but the Federation was likely scrambling communications. It was hoped the Daggers would've made it to Rome or were close to doing so the Fleet could support them. The mobile suits and vessels working together could finish the mission up and have control of the Euros Coalition's mass driver. However, the explosions and signs of battle a short distance from Rome weren't encouraging to Captain Robinson. It more said plans had come against issues, and the Federation was resisting and holding its own. The Fifth Fleet changed course to have a more northern approach so it could assist the Daggers.

The defenses that had blocked the fleet before rose to active position as the OMNI fleet changed its course. But the shift of the enemy fleet did make it so some of the defensive guns wouldn't be able to strike them effectively. Sentinel suggested another option to Rome's command center. Using the Roman coastal missile batteries would assist in compensating for the guns that couldn't be used. The batteries were currently loaded with SM7 Hawk missile or Swarm Missile 7, ready to launch. SM7 missiles were designed as two-stage weapons where the first was used to get the payload in range of the target, and the second stage would do the damage. Upon reaching the optimal range, the missile would use its optical sensor to lock in targets. Then it would deploy micro missiles using the targeting data from the optical sensor to fly at chosen targets. The swarm missile would keep the fleets busy and unable to help their mobile suit forces. That would give the defending forces at the Braccoano Lake garrison time to handle OMNI forces. Recent reports said those at the garrison were making progress on pushing enemy machines back. However, they needed more time uninterrupted to finish the job of blocking OMNI and stopping them from reaching Rome.

The battle at the Braccoano Lake garrison continued, but some of the Daggers by the coast reported the Fifth fleet was approaching. The fleet could help get Federation forces to back off a bit, so resupply could be done. There were still about sixty Daggers left from the group that made the initial attack on Grosseto. It was more than had been expected to reach this far, and it gave them a chance to beat the Federation. A victory against the Federation on their turf would be a morale booster greater than JOSH-A could've hoped. The Dagger leader ordered all to start moving toward the coast so they could be in a better position to resupply. When resupply was done, another push could be made, and the Federation would be on the defensive then. If enough of the Federation's mass-production models could be taken out, more focus could be done on the Gundams. Gundams weren't undefeatable, the war had already proven that, but thus far, only another Gundam had been able to take down another. Yet, this battle could show that Gundams would fall like any other mobile suit if enough opponents rushed them.

The Fifth Fleet did manage to get closer to the shoreline than the day before, but they were being hammered. They still got into shortwave radio range and contacted the Dagger group leader. The status update Robinson got was both encouraging and worrisome. That the Daggers had reached where they had was amazing since it was unlikely at the outset. However, they had been halted, and there were two confirmed Gundams on the Federation's side. The Daggers needed resupply soon enough to continue pushing forward, and staggering would be necessary. If it weren't staggered, the Federation would overwhelm them, and the attempt to reach Rome and take the mass driver would be over. And a few minutes later, the Fifth Fleet Spanglers got into range to do the resupply. Daggers closest to the coasts began lifting off and returning to the Spanglers to repair and resupply.

Nevertheless, hopes of hanging in OMNI had changed when missile batteries popped up along the shoreline to the south. Moments after, the batteries came up to the active position, and they swiveled to aim at the Fifth Fleet. The closer batteries tilted downward while others further should point more upward. The batteries flipped their tube flaps open and launched their SM7 missiles into the air. The missile launch was detected by the ships of the Fifth Fleet, and all but the Spanglers turned their CWIS guns to intercept. However, the range of the CWIS made them be less accurate as the missiles climbed into the sky over the fleet. All the missiles shortly reached the top of their launching arc before their optical sensor quickly took in the vessels as targets. A few seconds later, the central third of the missiles ejected the outer panels revealing racks of the micro missile. The racks pivoted out to have the micro missiles aiming at fifty degrees perpendicular to the missile body. The micro missiles zoomed out and then adjusted their courses to align with the path to their assigned targets.

Reports coming into Robinson about missiles launching from batteries on the coastline hadn't been good. All but the Spanglers had changed over to intercept the incoming missiles so the resupply could continue. However, then the missile had detached pieces, and the multiple signals multiplied by a factor of twelve due to swarms of missiles coming from the larger ones. Robinson knew the number of missiles coming at the fleet would be extremely hard to intercept before they struck ships. Even if the Spanglers joined in, the results wouldn't change enough to prevent vessels from being struck by the projectiles. As Robinson watched, explosions of missiles were intercepted, but missiles kept getting closer to the ships defending the south. He frowned as the Arkansas, Des Moines, and Fraser classes were engulfed by explosions as missiles hit them. The other thing the missiles did was affect the approach of the Daggers coming to resupply and turn it into a gauntlet.

The Henry Johnson's com-officer began reporting the ships sinking or out of commission to Captain Robinson. And by what was being said, the majority of the southern defending line of the fleet had been decimated. The chances of the Fifth Fleet and its mobile weapon forces succeeding at taking Rome were fading. There still was small hope for OMNI to win this fight if the Daggers could force back the Federation forces they were fighting currently. Should the Federation fire no more missiles like they just did, then losses could be minimized. There was little other option for the Fifth Fleet, as retreating now would allow the Federation to slaughter them with the defenses they had. Either the fleet succeeded, or it would go down trying to was all that could be done with things as they were.

The Longinus's pilot finished blasting a Dagger when they noticed some of the Daggers were leaving. After some observation, it was clear the enemy was falling back to their carriers to resupply. Should the enemy repair and resupply, that would force defending forces onto the defensive until they ended out doing the same. In the end, the Federation would outlast OMNI since reinforcements were en route from a large base north of the peninsula. But if the close of this battle required reinforcements to finish it, many lives would have been lost before that occurred. So, the best thing to do was stop the enemy from resupplying. The pilot reported their observations of OMNI's actions to the garrison commander so they could get to what needed to be done. The Longinus attempted to do the job by sniping Daggers flying toward their carriers. However, they weren't given a chance to stand and use their SNIPER-T system to get a good lock on targets.

The garrison commander grabbed binoculars after hearing the message from the Longinus. He scanned the bay the enemy fleet was coming towards and found the Gundam pilot was right. The enemy was indeed heading back to their carriers to no doubt resupply. Should the enemy resupply and return to the battle, it would pressure defending forces. Reinforcements were still over an hour out from being able to help those at the garrison, keeping OMNI at bay. Asgard had sent vessels to help, but they hadn't arrived yet to get the Alliance fleet to back off and not help their allies. Thus, if enemy resupply could be halted, it would help defenders hold out for long enough to either push the enemy back or reinforcements to arrive to assist. So, the garrison commander ordered some of the Valkeryires to move to hinder and possibly stop enemy units from leaving the battle.

The Dagger leader quickly saw the Federation was shifting to stop resupply efforts that they were doing. It wasn't stopping the process completely but slowing it down and dispatching Daggers as they attempted to get back to Spangler classes. There had been a barrage of missiles on the fleet, which had taken down ships by the radio chatter. But the Spanglers could still resupply machines that reached them, which was the goal. This mission had become either succeed or die trying to. The Dagger leader knew they wouldn't do it at all if they didn't breach the garrison soon. No doubt, Federation reinforcements were on the way to help their allies. When they reached here, the Federation would win this campaign if OMNI wasn't taking Rome's command center. Thus, there needed to be a heavy push in the next half an hour, or prospects of winning would fade to next to nothing.

Resupplies of Daggers were being rushed as much as they could be on the Spanglers. It was not said but understood that getting Daggers back on the field was the only hope OMNI had to win this campaign. The Federation was in a tight position which was almost unheard of in the war until now. This was the first time that OMNI had the Federation on the ropes. The Federation had been seen as unmovable and unassailable until now. Whatever came their way, they had handled it cleanly and like it was nothing to worry about. But now, the Federation was vulnerable, and OMNI could get an advantage and get a victory. And with the losses of Orbital Fleets, the Alliance needed a serious boost to morale, and beating the Federation would definitely do that.

Valkyries were defending the garrison barrier wall, but some were working to stop Daggers from reaching the coast and lifting off. However, other Daggers were doing what they could to stop the hindrance to their resupply. The Atlas took up a position with the barrier wall defenders and used its cannons to take down enemy units. When a Dagger got close enough, it would sometimes use its rocket anchor to either grab the Dagger or impale it. Should the Dagger get impaled, it would explode, but if grabbed, the Atlas would swing it around and throw it into its fellows. The Longinus made its way toward the coast and began helping the Valkyries. It had its boomerang blades out slashing Daggers it got close enough to while using its gatling guns for enemies father away. The defending Federation forces dug in where they could to halt the Daggers' progress. But aircraft lifted off the OMNI vessels and flew over to assist the Daggers in their fight.

For around fifteen minutes, the battle continued in the way it had come. Daggers were slowly resupplying and then returning to the field to fight. Federation forces were pressed and unable to make much progress. Even with the Gundams on the Federation's side, the Federation couldn't push OMNI back. The Gundams helped keep the Daggers at bay and not breach the garrison's barrier wall. However, the Federation knew they would need to change their standing if this battle was to end with the least lives lost. Many soldiers had already given their lives in defense of the Coalition and the Federation as a whole. But the need for reinforcements couldn't be fulfilled soon enough to bring this to an end. However, the ships in the rear of the Fifth Fleet were attacked from behind. Robinson received a report that attacks were coming from the southwest and the sonar operator called enemy vessels were starting to appear. In the next few minutes, it was clear the group of Federation vessels sailing toward them were there to handle the fleet. It would shift OMNI to the defensive, which was the last thing they needed right now.

Back in Rome's command center, those there were glad to see help from Asgard arriving on site to help. The garrison defense was holding, but it was extremely difficult doing so. Should the garrison be breached, Rome would be in trouble as most of its defending forces were helping at the garrison barrier wall. If OMNI were to reach Rome, they could get to the Sentinel node, which would be a serious situation. With reinforcements here, the defensive lines could be formed and strengthened. The Alliance had been brought to a halt and hadn't been allowed to advance beyond the garrison. Yet, OMNI had proven their mass-production mobile suits were nothing to underestimate. They had also learned the value of teamwork which they had used to make it as far as they had. If not for those standing their ground at the garrison and some giving their lives, then OMNI would have been entering Rome by this point.

Sentinel was still feeding information for defending forces to keep things moving in a good direction for the Federation. Sentinel then received a message from Echowas that Mobile Suit Core squadrons were being deployed. "MSC special forces squadrons are being deployed via orbital drops through the atmosphere. Given entry vectors, they indicate that one group will land near the border between the Euros Coalition and the Eurasia Federation. The other group will land in the combat zone at the Braccoano Lake garrison." There was a pause as Sentinel received communications from the Asgard forces. "The lead Lapis class designated as the Jerico had communicated, they came from Asgard and will engage the Alliance Fifth Fleet." To hear that reinforcements were on the way was boosting morale alone. Knowing that help would be mobile suit core special forces pilots increased the boost. The Mobile Suit Core or the MSC was the Federation Military branch that was over training, use, and deployment of mobile suit forces. Their special forces consisted of veteran pilots and could outdo average pilots from both sides.

The Dagger teams were made aware things had become far worse when Federation space fighters descended from the sky and morphed over to mobile suits. The new units quickly helped the Federation forces, preventing the near breach of the barrier wall. With the garrison barrier wall being breached out of the question now, OMNI was forced to defend itself in a losing battle. There was supposed to be help from the Eurasia Federation, but they hadn't shown up, and it was unlikely they would make it in time. The work of pushing the Alliance back and out sped up with the MSC special forces on the battlefield. And any chance OMNI had was gone, and those there knew that without a doubt now. So when the offer of surrender was made, some Alliance personnel took the chance. On the other hand, others fought to the death and were killed in battle. The Alliance prisoners were taken elsewhere so they could be processed properly. They wouldn't be returned to the Alliance until the war ended. The Fifth Fleet was destroyed by defending forces before it could retreat, even when it didn't attempt to.

The damage done by Alliance forces would take time to recover from. Lives had been lost in defense of the peninsula from OMNI's assault. It showed that OMNI had become bold enough to do beyond crazy things and not care about throwing away lives. The confirmation of the revelation would need to be considered going forward for the Federation. Destroying their Orbital Fleets hadn't gotten the message of being wise over to the Alliance. It had messed things up, to be sure, from what the Information Network had been saying but not discouraged. Thus, more drastic measures would be needed to end the war the Alliance had started. And it wasn't only the Alliance that was the issue; it had been the major one for a while. ZAFT was also now an issue and became a serious one that couldn't be put off anymore as it had been. It would be up to the Federation to end the war and make sure the human race survived to see it.

A/n

I'll leave off there and pick up from there in the next Phase. Now onto the section that I highlight and explain things to you readers. Those readers that have read the original will have noticed this Phase is a big change. I tell you now that the next few phases will be an expansion of original phases 24 & 25. So, let me get down to the business I do in the closing notes. The first section with the PLANTs and such, I wanted to point out a few things. First, the chairman believes himself in control of things, and I say that as a premise. You readers know that Patrick Zala isn't in control as he thinks he is, but his view is what's being portrayed. Second, unlike as in canon, there is a division in the PLANTs and ZAFT which plays and will play a part going forward. There are "loyalists" to the Chairman, there are also those that aren't fanatical followers of Zala, then there are those that follow Treize. This is seen with Section 2 being Patrick's attack dogs to keep others in line with his views. Patrick isn't so blind to not see that Treize can stand up against him, and that others could follow him if given the opportunity. Patrick is a classic form of a fanatical dictator, with those around him either following him without question or being "taken care of."

The other thing I want to point out which I would assume some readers would question is that Patrick is fed information that enforces his view. Reality doesn't register to Patrick Zala at this point, if that isn't obvious. His obsession with GENESIS and using it to end the war was planted by those that want to see the end to the Alliance and later the Federation. He has been "assured" by those like Creuset the Alliance will cower after seeing GENESIS used. Thus, the man "doesn't" need to fear any response from either of the other two factions. And yes, Patrick intends to end the Alliance and then move to do the same to the Federation. Which again shows the "faulty" view that the chairman has of the war as it is. However, Patrick knows there are those around the PLANTs and even on the Council that will be against him.

Moving on to the scene with Azrael as it is telling more for what is implied rather than is said. Yes, he brings back N-Jammer Cancellers to the Alliance and that starts several things. However, in the general council meeting, not all are onboard with those like Azrael with the Alliance needing to nuke the PLANTs. I would remind you that the N-jammers caused not just a dark winter than lasted for a while for parts of the world, there was more to it than that. They caused the Alliance's energy crisis which got an amount of people to move to the Federation territory, just to name a few things. So on that council there are those that want to solve the energy crisis and those that want to nuke their enemies. I state that to set the stage for later events which I won't spoil. I also want to point out that Azrael for all his faults, he has learned patience and will practice it when it benefits him. Nor is Azrael above manipulating the emotions of others to go in the direction he wants.

Now, let me get into the meat of this phase, the battle around Rome. What was a section is not more than half a phase, which is the reason I said at the beginning of the Phase to not read the original version, you can now to see the difference. I decided to change this for a few reasons and I hope you liked the new take. So, in the original, the Alliance got owned hands down, and that is all well and good. I wanted to show that the Federation isn't unbeatable or "god-like". The Federation if you readers haven't noticed fight smarter and not harder. They use information and their tech superiority to their advantage as well as doing serious preparation. This Phase shows that even with all the prep, things can go badly for the "good guys." Plus, I got to show some of the tactics of the Federation, which were fun to do. Then, enough time has gone by that OMNI pilots aren't newbies that are using the new toys, so they have battle experience with mobile suits. The other thing I wanted to go into a bit more depth on was the Euros Coalition's defense network control, "Sentinel." The other point I wanted to highlight is the appearance and screen time of the Atlas and Longinus. I want to give some time to things I didn't in the original. If it isn't clear by now, I take time to design characters and mobile weapons and so I want to show my work off. Forgive me if is bores some of you, but lots of work and time go into story development, so humor me. Of course, in the end, the Federation still won but it came through effort and gave you readers a battle scene.

In conclusion, I believe this phase is better than what the original did. Please, if any of you agree or disagree, write a review and tell me and why you think what you do. I appreciate ever review I get for this story, it motivates me to keep it going. SO, if you enjoy it, tell me in a review and follow the story. A final thought to leave with you, the next few phases will make up what was phase 24 and 25 in the original. Thus, there will be changes and expansions, so don't expect things will be the same exactly as the original was. Sorry these closing notes are getting longer, but with so many changes I feel it necessary. The next phase is titled, "Gazing into Darkness" and will be out in two weeks hopeful. Until then peace out and stay safe as possible wherever you are!

DCDGojira

Glad you are liking the story, and I will consider doing a scene where Tyler's boss may find out about that type of thing, haven't decided yet.