Phase 4: Aprilius One
Designated Holding Room, Nazca Class ZAFT Space Destroyer, The Vesalius, 4 February CE 71, 0900 hrs
Three days later…
The Vesalius enters the spaceport as it reaches Aprilius One. Commander Le Creuset and Yzak enter the holding room to speak with Flay. "Good morning, Miss Allster. How are you so far?" Commander Le Creuset asks Flay as he greets her.
"I'm fine, sir." Flay replies while avoiding looking at Commander Le Creuset.
"That's great to hear, Miss Allster. We have arrived at Aprilius One and will disembark from this ship at 1000 hrs. Before that, you are required to wear a set of Green ZAFT Outer Uniform before leaving this ship. Hence, Ensign Joule will give you a set of it and instruct you about how to do a ZAFT military salute," Commander Le Creuset directs Yzak to pass the uniform to Flay.
"Ensign Joule, once you have done with Miss Allster. Both of you meet me at the ship's entrance before we leave. I'm heading off to my personal room to get my things." Commander Le Creuset notifies Yzak before leaving.
"Yes, sir." Yzak acknowledges before looking at Flay.
"Miss, this is a set of the female variant of Green ZAFT Outer Uniform. It comes with a skirt, main outer uniform, a green cap and a pair of ZAFT black boots. You just wear it over your inner uniform," Yzak instructs as he passes the Outer Uniform set to Flay.
"I will wait for you outside, Miss Allster. Once you have finished wearing the outer uniform and take all your belongings with you, please look for me, as I need to teach you how to do a ZAFT military salute," Yzak informs Flay before leaving the room.
As she looks at the set of Green ZAFT Outer Uniform, Flay resents that she has to wear a military uniform that is mostly worn by Coordinators only. Since she is in the Coordinators' homeworld, it would be in the best interest that Flay follows instructions from ZAFT officials if she wants to avoid getting into trouble.
Without further ado, Flay quickly puts on the main outer uniform, followed by the skirt and the rest of the outer uniform set. Soon, she puts on the pair of ZAFT black boots before putting the green cap on her head as the finishing touch.
Once Flay finishes wearing the Outer Uniform set, she takes a quick look in the mirror to ensure she wears it correctly. After checking that she wore the Outer Uniform set correctly, Flay takes her personal bag and the amenity bag in case she needs it for use while staying in the PLANTs temporarily.
Then she leaves the holding room as Yzak is waiting outside for her.
Passageway, Nazca Class ZAFT Space Destroyer, The Vesalius, 4 February CE 71, 0935 hrs
"I'm ready to leave, sir," Flay informs Yzak upon closing the door. Yzak nods in acknowledgement and looks at her as he is about to tell her something.
"Miss Allster, you are not wearing the Green cap correctly," Yzak says as he helps Flay to rearrange the cap correctly based on ZAFT's military standards. "There, that's how a ZAFT soldier should wear the cap properly. By the way, why are you carrying the amenity bag?"
"Well Ensign Joule, since I'm going to be in the PLANTs for a while, I need it for my basic needs. I'm unsure if ZAFT Headquarters will provide me with these items." Flay explains.
"Just leave it in the room. They will provide you with basic amenities at ZAFT Headquarters," Yzak informs Flay to leave the amenity bag in the room.
Flay nods and she opens the door of the holding room to put the amenity bag on the floor beside the door before closing it.
"Now I'm going to teach you how to do a proper ZAFT military salute, so please observe carefully," Yzak says as he teaches Flay on how to do a proper ZAFT military salute.
Near the Ship's Entrance, Nazca Class ZAFT Space Destroyer, The Vesalius, 4 February CE 71, 0950 hrs
After teaching Flay on how to do a proper ZAFT military salute, both she and Yzak arrive at the ship's entrance to meet up with Commander Le Creuset. To their surprise, they see Rusty is there as well. "Hey Rusty, I thought you are still in the infirmary recovering from your injury?"
"Well Yzak, Doctor Cordell told me I'm ready for discharge yesterday, but my arm still needs some time for recovery. Anyway, Commander Le Creuset asks me to accompany him today to ZAFT Headquarters," Rusty says.
"By the way, why is this damn dumb Natural lady following us?" Rusty resents seeing Flay following them.
"Ensign Mackenzie, higher ups officers ordered us to deliver Miss Allster to headquarters," Commander Le Creuset sharply rebukes Rusty. "I know you dislike her for being a Natural, but we have orders to follow." .
Reluctantly, Rusty acknowledges his commander's orders and turns his head away as he refuses to look at Flay.
"Alright, we are ready to depart." Commander Le Creuset speaks. "We shall head straight into ZAFT Headquarters. Some members of the Supreme Council would like to see you, Miss Allster." .
Flay's anxiety arose upon hearing that some of the Supreme Council members wanting to meet her. She remembers her father told her that the Supreme Council members were monsters who dislike Naturals and look down on them.
"Will I be safe when we reach there?" Flay asks fearfully.
"Don't feel so uneasy, Miss Allster. No one wishes you harm when we arrive at ZAFT Headquarters. So please follow us to the vehicle," Commander Le Creuset tells Flay.
"Just follow what my commander tells you, stupid Natural!" Yzak berates Flay.
Left without a choice, Flay reluctantly leaves the ship with Yzak, Rusty, and Commander Le Creuset before boarding a vehicle that will bring them to ZAFT Headquarters.
Outer Ring Expressway (AE1), City of Aprilius One, PLANTs, 4 February CE 71, 1010 hrs
As the vehicle speeds down the expressway, Flay turns her face to the window to see what a PLANT's city looks like. To her surprise, she sees beautiful and gleaming skyscrapers standing beside the elevated expressway while trees and beautiful gardens beside these tall buildings. Unlike the cities from the Atlantic Federation, which were dull and old-fashioned, the PLANTs' cities look more fit for the modern world and are more vibrant.
Flay recalls that her father told her stories about how Coordinators living in the PLANTs were faring worse than Naturals living on Earth. She even remembers during one of the Anti-Coordinator programs, she sees the pictures where PLANTs' cities look like run-down buildings while its inhabitants are starving.
Flay wonders why her father and Blue Cosmos continue to hate Coordinators so much when they are good at building cities and invent things. Was it because of jealousy that led to racism and hate against Coordinators? Flay was keen to find out.
Hence, Flay concludes that if only Naturals don't hate Coordinators, her home nation, the Atlantic Federation would become stronger and richer than other nations on Earth.
However, the chance of having a peaceful co-existence with Naturals and Coordinators is long gone. When Junius Seven got destroyed using a nuclear rocket by the EA forces, it caused the Bloody Valentine War till this day and both sides were not willing to end the war. Now, Flay can only hope that the Supreme Council members won't show any Anti-Natural hatred or bias against her when she meets them later.
Drop-off point, Main Building, ZAFT Headquarters, City of Aprilius One, PLANTs, 4 February CE 71, 1040 hrs
Thirty minutes later…
The vehicle came to a stop as it arrived at the main building of ZAFT Headquarters. Flay shows signs of visible panic as she thinks which of the Supreme Council members will see her. She hopes it is not Patrick Zala or Ezalia Joule, since they have a reputation of detesting Naturals the most.
"Miss Allster, are you panicking?" Commander Le Creuset asks.
"Sorry, I nearly got a nervous breakdown," Flay timidly replies. To show that she is not afraid of meeting influential Coordinators from the Supreme Council, Flay recomposes herself to be more calm before alighting the vehicle.
Upon alighting, Flay suddenly trips, but luckily, Yzak grabs Flay's hands before she falls to the ground completely. "It seems you have a phobia or something. Try not to panic when you meet the Supreme Council members later," Yzak advises, as he helps Flay to stand properly.
Flay nods while looking at the ground, feeling scared. She can only hope that nothing bad shall happen to her when she faces the Supreme Council members later.
"I will inform my mother about your situation before she meets you. At least you don't need to be fearful of her when she talks to you later," Yzak assures Flay.
"Thank you, Ensign Joule." Flay softly thanks Yzak for helping to ease her fear. Even though he's a Coordinator serving for the ZAFT forces and having a tendency to dislike Naturals, Flay was glad that Yzak is still human enough to address her fears.
"Before we go in," Commander Le Creuset says. "Ensign Joule and Ensign Mackenzie will accompany me to meet Chairman Clyne and Councilman Zala. As for you, Miss Allster. You will head to a meeting room where Councilwoman Joule will meet you instead." .
"Sir, can I please have a word with Councilwoman Joule before she sees Miss Allster? I have to talk to her about Miss Allster," Yzak requests.
"Request granted. But don't be too long since you have to accompany me to see Chairman Clyne and the others." Commander Le Creuset allows Yzak to have a quick conversation with her mother about Flay.
"Thank you, sir!" Yzak salutes at Commander Le Creuset while thanking him. At the same, Commander Le Creuset looks at Flay as he tells her something. "Alright, it's time for us to go into the main building. Miss Allster, a ZAFT soldier, will escort you to a meeting room to meet Councilwoman Joule first. Once the meeting is over, they will escort you back to the reception area to meet us." .
Flay acknowledges it by giving a small nod and soon she follows them into the main building.
Meeting room, Main Building, ZAFT Headquarters, City of Aprilius One, PLANTs, 4 February CE 71, 1100 hrs
After being escorted to a small meeting room in the main building, Flay sits on a chair, nervously waiting for Ezalia to come into the room to see her. Even though Yzak assures her earlier that her mother won't speak to her negatively, Flay worries about what if Ezalia spews hatred against her for being a Natural later?
At this moment, the door of the small meeting room opens and a silver-haired lady walks in. "You must be Flay Allster," the lady calls out Flay's full name as she approaches the table.
"That's correct," Flay replies. "You must be Ezalia Joule." .
"Yes Miss Allster, I'm Ezalia Joule or you can call me Councilwoman Joule. My son Yzak, has spoken to me earlier about your current situation." Ezalia pauses before continuing. "However, I don't think the Supreme Council will send you home so soon." .
"As you can see, Miss Allster. You come from the renowned Allster family of the Atlantic Federation. Also, your father, George Allster, is one of the high-ranking officials of Blue Cosmos. Hence, it will be more likely that the Supreme Council would detain you for further questioning," Ezalia informs Flay.
"Will they prosecute me just because my father is a high-ranking Blue Cosmos official?" Flay asks with anxiety.
"That is up to Chairman Clyne and Councilman Zala to decide once the Supreme Council fully investigates your background fully." Ezalia answers while a small smile appears on her face. "If you really want to go home quickly, you better cooperate well with us, dirty Blue Natural," Ezalia let out a slur before issuing a warning. "Try any dirty tricks against us and I will ensure that you will never return home again." .
This hits Flay so hard that her heart is throbbing. Even though she knows Ezalia may say something bad about her, she never expects Ezalia would hate her so much by blackmailing her.
Realizing the only way to fight for her freedom is to obey their orders, Flay reluctantly asks Ezalia what she should do to earn their trust first. "Councilman Joule, so what should I do to gain your trust?" Flay reluctantly asks, with tears flowing down on her cheek.
Satisfied by Flay's response, Ezalia's smile disappears from her face as she gets serious while speaking. "Alright then Natural," Ezalia begins. "Before I question you, let me read out your rights." .
As Ezalia reads out her rights, Flay's fear returns once again as she feels Ezalia is planning to use this meeting as an opportunity to exploit her through her weakness.
After informing her rights as a civilian POW under ZAFT's wartime regulations, Ezalia questions Flay with the first question. "Miss Allster, do you know your father was involved in activities that are against Coordinators in the past?"
This surprises Flay, as she never thought that her father would stoop so low to commit deplorable crimes against Coordinators. Even though she has heard her father express disdain towards Coordinators. She never sees him preaching for the extermination of the said race.
"No, at all Councilwoman Joule. All I know is he taught me that Coordinators are an evil race and sent me to Anti-Coordinators programs run by Blue Cosmos to be indoctrinated with Anti-Coordinator ideology," Flay answers cautiously.
"It seems your father has kept secrets from you, Miss Allster. I have all the evidence right here to tell you the truth about your father." Ezalia waves the envelope in her hand. "I will fully describe what your father really did." .
This revelation only alarms Flay as she wonders what horrendous crimes her father committed against Coordinators. Will she accept the truth or be in denial? Only Flay herself can make the right choice.
To be continued…
End of Phase 4