Chapter I

Phil Zavey lay nestled in between the covers of his bed, completely oblivious to the world around him. It was Saturday morning. He didn't have to work today, and he was glad. The weather was supposed to be gray and rainy all throughout the week, and though he himself was a fan of rainy weather, it was not something he wanted to be out prodding corpses in. He turned over onto his side away from his nightstand and lay motionless for only a few seconds before the phone rang. He did nothing at first, then let it ring a second time before pulling the covers over his head in hopes that it would go away. When it rang a third time, he groaned and uncovered his head, turned over and fumbled around before his had hand came to grasp the phone. He slowly brought the receiver to his ear and spoke. "This is Zavey."

"Rise and shine Phil."

"Good morning, Dearka." he said groggily. On the other end of the line was his friend and fellow police officer, Dearka Elthman.

"Good morning, although you may not think so in a few seconds. We found a body in Glenn Park by the lake and we need you down here."

"It's my day off, can't you find someone else?" moaned the half-awake policeman.

"We tried, but the department is a bit tied up right now. The Securitate's been running our ass ragged."

"With what?" asked Phil in reply.

"Oh, the same old bullshit about rooting out dissident elements. They're pulling out regular officers to find possible threats for the upcoming celebration."

"They don't have the manpower to handle it themselves?"

"I'm not gonna' ask questions, it's much safer that way. Well, like I said, there's no one else."

"Alright, alright. I'll be down there as soon as possible."

"See ya' then." replied Dearka.

"Yeah. See ya'."

Zavey hung up the phone and swung his legs over to the edge of the bed. He yawned and rubbed his eyes, then sat for a few moments thinking as he watched the view from outside his apartment window. He was 27, a veteran soldier, and now an experienced homicide detective in the ZAFT military police, working on Aprilius Auxilium. He often thought it was something to be proud, an impressive resume for someone of his age. Then again, he also thought it may be too much for someone of his age. Wherever his feelings lay right now, they had to take a back seat to business. There was someone dead in the park, and he had to go help out. The officer hopped out of bed, yawned a second time, and then headed for his shower.

After a quick shower, Zavey put on his percolator and then walked over to his bedroom to put on his uniform. Military police wore the standard pattern ZAFT military uniform, but with several differences. Their tunics had open breast lapels with which they wore a tie, and they were issued cross straps with their belts that went over the right shoulder. They were also given peaked caps they were supposed to wear all the time. The colors for their uniforms were black for the shoulders, and dark, forest green for the body while the cap had a black crown and green peak. Their boots were also black. Zavey had just finished zipping up his when he heard the percolator finish dripping. He gathered his cap, briefcase, and pistol and went into the kitchen.

Pouring himself a cup of coffee, Zavey turned on the television that sat on the counter. He flipped to the news, having it come on just as the anchor was finishing another story.

"…which leaves just little over a year until the project is completed. Of course the biggest news of the day is the upcoming celebration of the tenth anniversary of Operation Spit Break, the invasion of Panama which ultimately led to total victory for ZAFT in the Third World War. This celebration also marks the highly anticipated peacemaking visit from Prime Minister Athha of the Earth Alliance. Promising that she wishes to make peace between the PLANTS and Earth, she has agreed to work with our glorious leader Patrick Zala to finally put down Blue Cosmos. Through his inspiring leadership, the supreme councilmen…"

"Ehhh," he moaned bitterly as he switched off the TV. He was wise enough to never publicly display his distaste for Zala, but he had to be careful. Sometimes his colleagues thought of him as being asocial and rather impudent. He finished his coffee, put on his cap and stepped out the door and proceeded to lock it. To his dismay, the phone rang just as he was about to step away. He shook his head and waited until the answering machine came on, then walked away without hearing who it was. I'll check it when I get back he thought.

After descending two flights of stairs, Zavey came to his exit. He stopped momentarily to check his mailbox before stepping out into the light rain. His police car was parked on the side of building, to which he walked slowly and deliberately. He turned the corner and came upon his gull-winged vehicle, unlocking the doors to and entering it with his automatic remote. Pulling out, and headed for Glenn Park.

Glenn Park was only a fifteen-minute drive from Aprilus. It lay out on the fringes of the city and was actually part of the barrier that separated the residential homes and businesses from the military academy. Zavey hummed to himself as he pulled off the freeway and onto a rural country road that eventually led to the park. He drove slowly along the dirt road until he eventually saw another police car and an ambulance parked by the lakeside. He pulled off the road and right up the lake, putting his car into park and then turning off the ignition. Dearka looked up from the body which was presently bing poked, prodded, and generally examined in a very careful manner by a pair of gloved forensic pathologists, and began walking over to greet his friend. Phil stepped out of his car and walked under the yellow police barrier while Dearka stopped to greet him. "You're right. This isn't a good morning." said Phil to his partner. "Alright, let's cut the artificial hellos and get straight down to business. What are specifics?"

"Hello to you too, sunshine. Okay, male coordinator, about 50 years of age. Found naked, washed up on the shores of the lake. By the looks of it, he's been in the water for a few hours."

"Any identification?"

"None. John Doe. Wait until after the autopsy." replied Dearka.

"Cause of death?"

"Unknown. He's has lesions on various parts of the body and there's some unidentified foam around the rim of his mouth Wait…"

"Until after the autopsy." the pair said in unison. "Any witnesses?"

"Yes, two. They're students from the academy. They've been taken into protective custody."

"Alright. Let's get him down to the lab. I'll oversee, you get back the HQ and start interviewing those two students."

"Alright, see yah there. We'll get a cup of coffee."

"You're buying." Replied Phil somewhat enthusiastically. Dearka walked back over to his car, pulled out and drove off. The other detective walked slowly back to his car and placed his briefcase on the seat. He then turned back and walked over to the crime scene, then stood and looked for a few moments at the body. "Got anymore gloves?" he asked one of the forensic scientists.

"Some over in the back of the ambulance." he replied. Zavey sauntered over and helped himself to a large box marked LATEX GLOVES 150. He grabbed himself a pair and leaned against the truck as he proceeded to slip them on. "Okay," he said as he pulled the second one on and pulled it tight. "Let's get this nasty little business over with."


The Securitate is Patrick Zala's personal, secret police force. Very much like the Gestapo in Nazi Germany or the KGB in Soviet Russia.

As the war between the coordinators and naturals was on a global scale, it was officially declared the WWIII in CE 78.