New chapter is up is up! Note: I do not own Chris, Liz, or Johanna Dante, Ian, Saul, or Diana Kessel, John Alaric, the 11th Fleet, Treize Zabiarov, Gyunei Ridden, Reccoa Schnieder, or the machines listed for the remaining members of the Le Creuset team, as they are Akatsuki_Leader13's and are used with his permission as such. I also do not own Xander Alexis, as he belongs to Mordalfus Grae. Nor do I own Matrin Nightengale, as he is Meteorthunder3's OC. I only own Tao White, Akira, Nishikama, Nisha and Taikyu Itsuno, Preisdent Marie Hilson, Gai Tatsuni, NASA/NAZAFT, the Presidential Murasame, the Raptor, the Dax, Wing, Traverse, and Z.A.M. Gundams, and the colony of New Juneau.

Animefan0930: No spoilers~! XD

CT7567Rules: You will see where Chris and Patrick are soon enough. :3

KentLinuxStadfelt: Ugh... No reminders of a certain nut in power please... And no, no groups will be made. Sorry. ^^'

Titanic X: Glad you like it. :3

Guest DCDGojira: It's here now~! :3

Note to all readers: I am going to ask those who have an account to sign in and leave a review in order to know who is leaving it, or at least to put their account name on the review so I know who is sending it. If you want to sign in and leave a review, then feel free to do so. But if not, then at least put your account name at the top so I can see who you are. If you do not have an account, then feel free to leave a review anyway. Just no outright hatred of the story please.


Cosmic Era 72. One and half years of grim war between Earth and PLANTs ended following the space battle at Jachin Due. The two sides forged a peace treaty amid the ruins of Junius Seven. A place of unprecedented tragedy during the war. The former enemies pledged themselves to work for mutual understanding and to make every effort possible to maintain peace. As a result, the world once more on the path of stability.


Phase Eight: Junction

A black convertible raced along the ocean-side road. The sun was slowly setting, casting everything with reddish-orange light. But Athrun's mind was elsewhere. He needed to see someone.

If wasn't long before he spotted a group of children playing on the beach. With them, were a pink haired young woman and a brown haired young man. Athrun stopped his car and climbed out. Immediately, the children rushed towards him, bombarding Athrun with questions.

"Hey, it's Athrun!"

"Hi Athrun!"

"You went somewhere, right?"

"Where did you go?"

"Where's Cagalli?"

"Welcome back, Athrun." Lacus greeted as she and Kira reached the group. "It's good to see that you're alright."

"Same here." Athrun replied, returning the smile. "I heard you're staying with Flay and everyone else after your house washed away."

"Yeah. A big wave came and smashed it to pieces." one boy said.

"All our toys are gone." a girl added in a sad tone.

"Houses can be rebuilt and toys replaced." Lacus said to the children. "Kira and Athrun want to talk for a bit, so why don't we play some games while they go out for a drive."

The children cheered and Lacus led them back to the beach, leaving Kira and Athrun alone. "So how's Cagalli doing?" Kira asked.

"She's buried under a mountain of work at the Parliament Building, as is her father." Athrun answered as the two of them sat entered the car. A moment later, they took off down the road.

"Everyone already knows who was behind the drop, right?" Athrun asked.

Kira nodded. "Yeah."

"One of them spoke to me. 'Have you forgotten about the innocent lives thrown away here?! You're living in a damn dream world! Laughing with the butchers who caused this!'" Athrun said, repeating the words of the dead fanatic.

"So you fought." Kira commented.

"Yeah… I went there to help with the data probe set up on Junius Seven and they were there, waiting for us." Athrun answered. "Whether they stayed to stop anyone from preventing the drop or were planning to ride it all the way down, I don't know."

The two were silent for a few minutes. "Do you remember that day in ORB, during the war, when I asked you what we really should be fighting against? And you said that we'd find the answer together." Athrun said as they pulled into the yard of the Allster Estate. "But I still haven't found it…"

Kira put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "You'll find it in time, Athrun."

Athrun smiled a bit. "Well, I did find a reason to keep Junius Seven from falling. My friends were down here."


Morgenroete Dry-Dock 1-B

The Next Morning

"We should be able to leave the hull repairs for the Morgenroete crews, but I want our crews to handle all of the internal repairs." Talia said to Chief Abes as they inspected the Minerva.

Abes nodded. "Of course Captain."

"Since they're lending us their aid and supplies, you be able to get the worse of the damage repaired."

"But Captain, are you really sure that this okay?" Arthur asked. "Resupplying is fine, but I feel that we should wait until we reach Carpentaria before we make repairs."

"I know what you're trying to say, but what if something happened out there?" Talia replied.

"Yes. After all, you don't want to risk the safety of ship to preserve its secrecy." A female Morgenroete worker said as she approached the group. "It can be taxing for a Commander of ship, especially a battleship, if their ship isn't in top working order."

"And you are?" Talia asked.

"Beg your pardon. I'm Maria Burns of Shipbuilding Department B. I'm charge of the crew helping with the resupplying and repairs." the brown haired woman answered, extending her hand to Talia.

Talia shook her hand. "I'm Captain Talia Gladys. It's nice to meet you."

"I've heard that the Minerva has yet to have an official launch, but despite that, this ship has something of a history already." Maria commented as the two of them walked towards a lift.

The two stepped onto a lift. The platform rose up, allowing them a view of the entire hanger and the Minerva. "Unfortunately, yes. I wasn't expecting something like this happen." Talia shrugged her shoulders and continued. "But I guess it can't be helped. It's just how things turned out. And that's true about everything. You have no idea what will happen in the future. And I believe that now more than ever."

"I feel the same way." Maria replied.

"I have the feeling that ORB really isn't in the position to seen lending aid to a ZAFT ship at this moment." Talia commented as she stared out at the repair efforts being done to the Minerva.

"Well, that may be true, but it's like you said. We have no way of knowing what will happen in the future. So all we can do is live in the present and do what we think is right." Maria turned to Talia. "And if we find out it was all a mistake, that's when we'll moan and cry about it. And then we'll go on to the next thing."

Talia smiled and turned to the woman. "Yes. You're right."


The Athha Residence

Athrun sat, watching the various news reports on his laptop as he finished his breakfast. The whole situation was mess. Chairman Durandal and ZAFT were trying to apologize and distance themselves from the terrorists while many people from the Alliance were hurt and angry about the devastation that had befallen Earth. Needless to say, tensions between ZAFT and the Earth Alliance were running high. At the moment, a single wrong move could spark another war.

"Good morning Athrun." Cagalli called out as she entered the room, pulling her arm through the sleeve of her maroon coat. "I'm sorry about yesterday. All of the meetings were running late and I-"

"Don't worry about it. I understand." he replied, turning to Cagalli. "So what's ORB's stance on this situation?"

Cagalli didn't say anything, but her face spoke volumes. "I see."

"I don't think it can be helped, given the way the world is moving. Although nowhere near as bad as other places, ORB did suffer damage." Cagalli said, turning towards one of the windows. "I understand what the Prime Minister and the others are saying. But sharing everyone's pain doesn't mean we have to join those screaming for vengeance."

"I'm going to the PLANTs." Athrun announced.

Needless to say, Cagalli was stunned. "What?! Why?"

"I feel bad leaving when ORB is like this but I just can't sit here and do nothing."

"But Athrun, that's-"

"I'm worried about the situation in the PLANTs." "With a man like Chairman Durandal in charge, I don't expect the PLANTs to take the worst possible path, but there are still those out there who believe in my father's comrade's words. I want to speak with the Chairman, and see if there's something I can do to help out. Whether it's as Athrun Zala or Alex, I have to try. If another war breaks out between the PLANTs and Earth, then what have we been working for this whole time? It will have all been for nothing. I want to help prevent people like them from coming back."


Later

Heero walked down the streets of ORB, people waving to the famed Berserker of JOSH-A as he passed by them. He waved back, but his face showed no emotion like always.

The Natural made his way to Morgenroete, where people were working on his machine.

"Hey Heero!" Chief Erica Simmons said as she made her way over to him.

"Hn."

The two of them walked towards where Wing Zero was under maintenance. "We decided to take the time to check up on Wing Zero, if you don't mind."

"As long as they did not touch the cockpit." Heero replied.

Erica smiled. "We know better."

"Good."

The wings were partially opened, revealing the interior workings. "There were no real problems with the engines, but a fuel line was gummed up, so we cleaned it out."

"I see."

It would be awhile before he left for the Minerva it appeared…


Later

Athrun watched as his Heli arrived. Cagalli stood behind him, unsure of what to say. Athrun turned around to face her. "I know about you and Yuna, but that doesn't mean I like it…" he said, reaching into his pocket.

His other hand reached out and grabbed Cagalli's left hand. Athrun pulled out a ring from his pocket and slid it onto her ring finger. But it wasn't just any ring. It was a wedding ring.

Cagalli was left dumbstruck, staring at the ring in disbelief. "What?"

Athrun looked away, his cheeks turning red. Cagalli blushed as well, searching for the right thing to say. Ultimately, she said something true to her nature. "This isn't the way to give a girl a ring!"

"Sorry." Athrun replied.

Cagalli, her body being overwhelmed by the multitude of emotions she was feeling now, started to tremble. Athrun reached out and hugged her. Cagalli's body stopped and for a moment, they stood there in each other's arms. Then the two kissed.

But all good things come to an end. Athrun pulled away from her. "Be careful and keep in touch, Athrun." Cagalli said.

"You too, Cagalli. Everything will work out in the end." Athrun replied before heading for his ride.


Elsewhere

Shinn had eventually decided to leave the Minerva for a while. He had been lost in his thoughts and memories, not paying attention to where he was headed. After what had happened, Shinn had never wanted to set foot on ORB again. Being here again, only brought back the pain. Why the hell had the Atthas been so insistent on fighting a battle that they could have never won? Why hadn't they just submitted to the Earth Alliance and save countless lives? Oh yeah. The Earth Alliance would have killed him all because he was a Coordinator. It just didn't make any sense to him. Why had those Earth Forces done this?!

Shinn was pulled from his thoughts when he realized where he was. The place here he had lost his mother. But it had changed since that time. A paved path, a number of flower gardens along said path, benches, and statue-like pillar sat at the end. No one would be able to tell what it looked like before. Expect for Shinn. All he could see was his sister and father being captured by the Earth Forces, his mother dead. He wanted to scream, to yell at the heavens for what they had taken from him.

Shinn pulled out his sister's phone and played the message again. "Hi! This is Mayu. I can't come to the phone right now. Please leave a message after the beep."

Not wanting to stay here any longer, Shinn turned to leave but stopped when noticed something he had missed. Atop a cliff overlooking the ocean was what appeared to be a tombstone and a young man was stand before it. As Shinn approached him, he turned to face him. "Is this a memorial to the dead?" Shinn asked.

"Yes." the young man replied. "This is my first time seeing it myself. I had always met to come here, but…" He shook his head. "The flowers have started to bloom; unfortunately, they'll be bit by the spray from the breaking waves and wither."

"Perhaps it means they can't be deceived." Shinn bitterly commented as the sounds of a woman singing filled the air.

The older teen gave him a funny look as Shinn continued. "No matter how beautiful a flower blooms, people won't hesitate to step on it."

"What?" the confused teen asked as a pink haired girl walked up to him.

Shinn sighed. "I sorry for saying something weird like that." he said before he started walking away.


PLANT Supreme Council Chambers

A Few Days Later

"These demands are ridiculous! Why in the world are they demanding that we arrest the terrorist group and hand them over? Don't they realize that they're dead?" Alan Clarzec exclaimed.

"On top of that, they're demanding reparations, that we dismantle our military, dissolve our current government, and the placement of Alliance inspectors on the Supreme Council." Louise Leitner added. "There's no way that they can actually believe that we'll accept these demands."

"Perhaps, but they aren't all that different from the demands that we made of them after the Bloody Valentine." Ian Kessel commented. "They're lashing out at us just as we lashed out at them. It wasn't right back then and it isn't right now."

"It's garbage. They just want to start a war while making us look like we're stubborn and unreasonable." George Adaman said.

"It's more of their warmongering and bigotry." Neu Kazaefsky said with a sneer. "If this didn't happen, they would have found another reason to start a war."

"Well then, what are you proposing that we should do? Attack them before they attack us?" Ian asked.

"Maybe we should. They want to attack us anyway. So let's hit them before they can hit us."

Those words sparked an argument between many of the Council members. Some were supporting the idea, others were opposing it. Durandal found himself struggling to maintain order on the Council. "Please! Council members; please calm down!" he yelled, breaking up the fighting.

Everyone fell silent. "I understand how you all feel, but if we rise to their bait, history will repeat itself." Durandal said. "No matter what the Alliance says, we need to strive to find a diplomatic solution. If we don't, the people who have perished in the last war will have died in vain." He turned to Ian and Louise. "Now I believe the two of you have a report on the investigation into the terrorist group."

Ian nodded. "As you know, the Justice Department and the Nation Defense Committee have been working together to investigate the terrorist group responsible for the Junius Seven drop, and what we've found, and more importantly, haven't found, is shocking. From com-chatter recordings, we've managed to identify several members of the group. They're all ex-ZAFT. More specifically, they're soldiers who lost loved ones in the Bloody Valentine, or those that we noted as strong supporters of the late Hong Fa Wu. But worse than that, this was not an isolated incident. We've received reports from Earth that there were terrorist cells hidden across the Earth in case the colony drop failed to destroy the planet. In the aftermath of the drop, they attacked cities all across the planet. The most disturbing incident had happened in Fortaleza." he said, pushing a button on his table. "We've gotten a hold of a copy of a recording sent to a number of news networks in the area."

On the screens in the room, a trio of children appeared. The oldest of whom was around ten or eleven years old.

"My father's name is Alphonse Ross. My mother's name is Katrina Ross." the boy spoke. "They were both doctors. And they were murdered by Naturals, because they were Coordinators. The Naturals are nothing but savages. It's their fault for the war and everything else. But now we are going to get our revenge. Death to the Naturals! Death to Blue Cosmos!"

Many of Council members were stunned by the child's words. "A GINN was piloted into the city and started firing. Killing several dozen innocent civilians before a single Earth Forces soldier in a tank shot it down." Louise quietly explained. "Inside the cockpit were those three children. Dead."

Many of the members looked sick. "You mean…"

"Yes. A group of children, the oldest of whom was ten, got a hold of GINN so they could kill as many Naturals as they could." Ian shook his head. "Madness. Absolute madness." He sighed and rubbed his temples for a moment. "As I've said, we've begun a preliminary investigation into this group. We've identified these children. As the boy said, they were orphaned during the war when their parents, whom working for the Red Cross, were killed. It's unknown whether they were killed because they were Coordinators or were caught in the crossfire of a battle. How those children managed to reach Earth and got a hold of that GINN, we don't know. Likely, they were picked up by these terrorists to use as fodder."

Images of older ZAFT mobile suits engaging in combat appeared on the screens. "As for their weaponry, unlike the forces at Junius Seven, it all appears to be older models that have been modified. Mainly old GINNs, BuCUEs and ZuOOTs. A typical of any guerilla force. But the pilots at Junius Seven were using our newest GINN High Maneuver Type model. A machine they should not have been able to acquire in such numbers. We've done an inventory of those machines we have in use and in storage. Just over a dozen are missing, compared to the estimated four dozen they had. As to the Flare Motors, we've searched our records as well as the records of IDB, the manufacturer of those Motors, and according to those records, they shouldn't exist. There have been no reports of missing or stolen Flare Motors. Currently, we have men doing a visual count to confirm the records. When we have the results, we'll report them to you."

"Do you have any theories on where those machines came from?" Helena Chang asked.

Ian sighed again. "The only theory I have it that is… that they had help from someone powerful or a group of such people. Either in the upper echelons of ZAFT's military, the heads of IDB, or… anyone sitting at this table."

"That is a very serious accusation, Mr. Kessel."

"I know, Chairman. I desperately wish that we're wrong. But there was a conspiracy to drop Junius Seven and the ringleaders weren't the men and women at Junius Seven, they were here, sitting back and watching the disaster play out. There's no other way for them to have gotten all that equipment without us noticing."

"But why? What possible motive could they have to do this?" Ali Kasim asked.

"To succeed were Hong Fa Wu failed. To wipe out every last Natural and damn us all to extinction." Ian answered. "Needless to say, we must throw everything we have into finding those behind 'Break the World' and hand them over the Alliance to stand trial for crimes against humanity. It's the only way that we can stop all of this."

"So you're accusing one of us of helping those lunatics?"

"I'm saying that someone helped them drop Junius Seven. And yes, possibly one of us."

"All the more reason for us not to rush in." Durandal said. "Those responsible for what happened want a war. They want us to fight the Alliance, to finish what men like Hong Fa Wu started. We must continue to try to resolve this diplomatically while we try to uncover this conspiracy. But right now, I am heading down to Earth to talk with the President of the United States."

Helena Chang frowned at what had been found. She might not be a high-ranked councilor, but she did have ties to those who did have access to such sensitive information.

NASA would want to hear about this…


Washington D.C.

President Hilson was waiting as the shuttle carrying the chairman of the PLANTs landed at the airport of the nation's capital a few hours later.

The door hissed open, and Chairman Durandal made his way down to her.

"Sorry for calling a meeting at such short notice, Chairman." She said as soon as the two of them were in her limo, the famed Beast.

"It's not a problem at all." Chairman Durandal replied. "But I am wondering why you made that announcement to the planet and the PLANTs."

President Hilson blushed. "I was acting the way any world leader should." She replied.

"I see. Well, no harm done. Personally, I felt the Meteor Breakers would have been effective, but your method was just as good if not better."

"So you say."

"True, but your method was a bit extreme if I may say so myself."

"…"

The president was silent for a few minutes before she spoke again. "I just wish that I had not had to resort to doing such a thing." She replied. "But we were left no real choice in the end. It was either that or have humanity become extinct."

The chairman just nodded. "I completely understand the circumstances." He replied in a smooth tone that made President Hilson's hair stand on end.

"Considering the consequences of what would happen if nothing was done, it seemed better to be criticized for blowing up a war memorial than being responsible for not saving countless lives." The president said as the two reached the White House.

"It was only one of two choices, and I had to go with the one that yielded less lives lost."

Chairman Durandal then asked her another question. "So, have there been any results from your investigation yet?"

The president shook her head. "None. We have only found basic information, such as who the terrorists were, who they worked for, you name it. But what they all had in common was the fact they were ex-ZAFT or fanatics of Hong Fa Wu, but you probably came to that conclusion as well, am I right?"

"Indeed you are. I just wish I had more information to share at this time." Chairman Durandal sighed as he looked out the window.

"Well, we did find more terrorist cells that were previously unknown of, including at least ten here in the US alone. We did break them up, though, so we have some people to question in the coming months." She continued, making the Chairman of the PLANTs look back at her in surprise.

"R-Really…You work fast." He noted as she smirked back.

"Well, NASA is an alliance that gets things done." President Hilson replied with a smirk.

They arrived at the White House, and she left the Beast. "I'm sorry to cut the visit short, Chairman, but I am insisting you head back to the PLANTs before things get worse down here. It's for your own safety."

"I see. Very well, then. It was a nice visit while it lasted."

"Have a safe flight, Chairman."


PLANTs

Chairman Durandal arrived back at the PLANTs a few hours later, his mission complete. The NASA alliance seemed to be clean of working with Djibril, so that ruled them out as a threat to him and the PLANTs.

Still, he had to be wary of the president herself. She was a potential threat, after all…


Unknown location

Several forms were seated in a large room, observing the aftermath of the Break the World Attempt as many were now calling it.

Around two hundred shadowed people could be seen in the dim light. Many of them were far older than the requirements for their positions allowed.

Still, not one of them made a sound as the screen shifted to show the affected nations, which was every nation on Earth. It was to be expected though, considering the size of the colony that had been dropped.

"With this, the world has plunged into war once more…" the lead form mused as he looked over the reports that were coming in via the Internet. "The human race has still not learned from the years of war, has it?"

"No, it has not. But we did declare neutrality on every issue thus far. So I see no need for us to get involved." Another form replied.

"Agreed. We once led the world, but now the world has shown that it can get along just fine without us." A third form added.

"Yes. It is best that we stay out of all affairs from now on." The first form agreed.


Washington D.C.

President Hilson looked over the data that was still coming in from the affected areas of the nation and the alliance. The numbers were not good, and it appeared that there were too many injured, dying and dead for the hospitals and makeshift medical centers to take on. The Army was becoming overwhelmed with the larger than acceptable numbers, meaning that there were far too many wounded, and dead, for the doctors, nurses, and medics to handle.

They needed help, and she knew it.

Looking back at the flag of the United States, she wondered briefly if they would be willing to help, but recalling their declaration of neutrality on all matters, she scowled.

Of all the times to be neutral, it just had to be now!

The U.S. president was more than tempted to make a trip down to their safe little complex and barge in and scold them. But that would not work, as there were too many guards there for her to slip by.

Even with her abilities and years in special ops, she knew that she had limits, and sneaking into the old United Nations complex was beyond even her skills.

And that aside, all nations were forbidden from even contacting them, or even mentioning their name. The president groaned as she leaned back in her chair in the Oval Office.

Just like everyone else, she had to struggle to get the debris cleaned up, get the injured treated, dead buried, and rebuild the devastated areas on her own. There was no international help this time, as every nation was on their own.

Closing her eyes, President Hilson reflected on when there had been an international bond between the nations of Earth, and when it had not been survival of the fittest. Back then, people had been more willing to help one another out, and there had been less hatred around the world. People were actually willing to help one another out, instead of desiring to help only themselves out.

'What happened to international cooperation? What happened to people helping each other out? And what happened to the leadership that once guided the world? Oh. That's right. The leadership decided to become neutral on all issues and while they stood by, the rest of the world fell into hatred and distrust, with everyone caring only about themselves.' She thought bitterly.

"Maybe…it's time for the leadership to come out of neutrality and become the guiding force of the world once more…?" she wondered.

It seemed highly unlikely, even now…but not if her plan worked.

The president opened her eyes once more and stood up, walking over to a bookshelf that held her personal collection of reading material, mainly history books.

Taking one out, President Hilson plopped it down on her desk and opened it up to a certain page. On that page was an image of a blue flag that was once waving above every embassy around the world, a flag that had been the symbol of the guiding leadership that had been formed after the Second World War back in the A.D. Era, the flag of the United Nations.

She frowned as she looked at the old United Nations complex that was shown. Every flag of every nation was shown flying proudly in the breeze, but now, there was no such thing. Every flagpole there was bare, no flags flying above it except for the single flag that was their own.

It had been a colorful, cheerful place when the flags were all flying, but now, it was blank save for that single splash of blue flying above the buildings. The many colors of the world were gone, giving the place an empty feeling.

She reflected on the many times she had been driven past there, only to see the empty flagpoles. She had gotten an empty, almost uncaring kind of feel from the place just by looking at it.

It bothered her to no end. To just merely look at the many empty flagpoles around the complex alone was hard for her, but to imagine many flags of all colors, shapes, and sizes flying above those buildings was impossible. To one who saw the pictures, it appeared to be an impressive sight to see all those many colored flags flying in one location. But in real-life, it was impossible to see because no one had seen it in person, not since that day they had become neutral on all issues.

'I would love to see all those flags flying in one spot one day…' she thought as she looked at the image again.

The door to the Oval Office opened with a hiss, John Keller entering the room.

"Ma'am?"

President Hilson whirled around, only to see her defense secretary standing there. "Oh. Defense Secretary Keller. Sorry about that. I was just looking at one of my old history books." She said as she closed said book.

Keller walked over, only to see the image of the UN flag on the cover. "'History of the United Nations'?"

The president sighed. "Yes, I was looking at that."

"Why?"

President Hilson looked out her windows at the smoke still rising from the affected areas of NASA. "We can't handle the cleanup and rebuilding alone. There needs to be international help." She said.

Keller just looked at her. "You know that it won't happen. Not with the United Nations being neutral the way it is now."

"I know that. But we still need the help."

"…"

Keller was silent before he spoke up again. "We won't be receiving aid from them, no matter how bad things get. You need to face the facts. The world will never receive aid from them, or be guided by their leadership ever again."

"I wouldn't have become president if I sat back and did nothing, right?"

"Yes, but-"

"And I would not have eliminated Azrael if I had been doing nothing, right?"

"Yes…but…"

President Hilson faced her defense secretary. "If I can eliminate Azrael with an agent, then I think I can convince the UN to stop being so neutral all the time."

"But you need more political experience before you can even think of doing something like that! They are the world's most experienced leaders! They know how politics work! The UN will not just listen to anyone! It needs to be someone of high political experience!" Keller protested.

"I may not be of high political experience, but I do know how politics work! So I feel that I am quite qualified to try and convince them otherwise." The president snarled back. "However, I will not be alone in this endeavor. I will have Warson, Gonzalez, and Vice-President Young to back me up this time. The UN will become active once more, one way or another."

"Very well then." Keller sighed. He was getting too old for this…

Just then, the president shut the door to her office and looked at him. "You came at the right time, Defense Secretary Keller." Keller looked at her with a confused look.

"Why?"

President Hilson faced him with a serious look on her face. "What I am about to tell you, you cannot reveal to anyone, you understand?"

Keller nodded, surprised at the sudden seriousness in her eyes. "Yes, ma'am."

President Hilson sighed as she then looked into his eyes directly. "President Gonzalez, Prime Minister Warson, Vice-President Young, and I all have a plan to bring the UN back and out of neutrality."

Keller felt his body flood with shock. "You mean…you weren't kidding?!"

"Would I kid about something like that, John?" President Hilson retorted.

He sighed. She did have a point.

"You're right. Okay, so what is the plan?"

Her smirk told him all he needed to know…


New Juneau

Many were stunned at the announcement the Earth Alliance had made. Demanding that the PLANTs disband the council and submit to the Earth Alliance leadership was going too far. And to make things even worse, New Juneau was being told to give up its statehood!

To the people in the colony, it was an insult on their rights as a sovereign nation's state. And what was worse, they were being treated as though they were responsible for the attack, even though the colony had sent the data to the missile silos on Earth after receiving it from the Data Probes that had been used in order to stop the descent of the remains of Junius Seven.

Naturals and Coordinators who lived in New Juneau were demanding to be allowed to fight, but NAZAFT, which ran the colony, refused to allow them to go into combat. They were not just a PLANT; they were also a U.S. State. And if their home nation was not under attack, then they were not allowed to fight.

Aki' was one of those who was on stand-by in case of an attack on the PLANTs. He floated around the pilot's lounge, helmet in hand as he drifted around the room. Tao was sitting in one of the chairs, her helmet floating beside her.

Her pilot suit was dark grey and black with white chest armor. The torso was dark grey, with black sides, dark grey upper arms and black lower arms. The upper legs were dark grey while the lower legs were black. White gloves and boots completed her outfit. Her helmet was the same as Aki's, but dark grey instead.

The top of Tao's pilot suit was open slightly, revealing the white skin-tight skirt underneath it. She looked back at the screen, which was showing the combat data for the EA and ZAFT. Both were getting closer to each other, which was not good for any of them.

"We may have to go out into combat soon." Tao murmured as she stared at the screen.

Aki' just sighed. "I know. I just wish that we did not have to go out there like this."

Tao merely nodded.

The rest of the NAZAFT pilots were also in the pilot's lounge, either sitting, drifting or standing while waiting for the orders to deploy into combat.

This was not going to be good for anyone involved. If anything, more lives were going to be lost, all for a mere misunderstanding.

Still, all they could do was fight to defend their home unless a better option presented itself, and that was looking more and more unlikely as time passed…


ZAFT Super Carrier, the Gondwana

A Few Days Later

Yzak and Dearka stepped off the elevator and onto the Gondwana's bridge and tactical control center. A group of ZAFT officers had started to gather in the tactical control center, waiting for the briefing to start.

The fleet had suffered serious casualties. Both the Loki and the Einherjar were in dry-dock for repairs. The Odin, the flagship of the fleet, had been so badly damaged that it was beyond saving. The ship had been scuttled and the Commander had transferred her flag to the Baldur, leaving Yzak and his team without a ship, like the teams of the Loki and the Einherjar. In the short term, the three teams had been transferred to the Gondwana until new ships were made available or their ships had been repaired.

"Yzak! Dearka!" a familiar voice called.

Both aces turned. It was Nicol and Saul, both wearing their old Red Coat uniforms. "Saul, Nicol, what are you doing here?" Dearka asked.

"What do you think? We got freaking reactivated." Saul grumbled.

"Yeah. We just got here." Nicol added. "And guess what, we've been assigned to your team, Yzak."

Both were surprised by this. "You're kidding." Yzak said.

"I wish." Saul replied in a depressed tone. "Working under you is gonna be a pain in ass, Scarface. Worse, it's a big pay cut for me. Do you know the kinda money I was making at IDB? A lot more than what I made as a soldier."

Yzak ignored him. "I assume you've both been assigned mobile suits already."

"Yeah. My sister said something about having some machines from storage brought up for us." Saul answered. "Though it won't be as good as my Surge."

Admiral Rebecca Kessel appeared, approaching the large holo-map in the center of the area. All of the ZAFT officers snapped to attention. Kessel returned the salute. "At ease." she said. "As you all know, talks between ZAFT and the Earth Alliance have deteriorated. They have demanded that the PLANT Supreme Council be dissolved before midnight tonight and they run the PLANTs until those within ZAFT that helped the terrorists are found and arrested. Naturally, such a demand is unacceptable and now we have an Alliance fleet coming to threaten us with force. Hopefully, that will be just for show, to intimidate us into surrendering. But if not, we will be prepared for them."

The holo-map activated. The moon, the PLANTs, Solomon Base and the Gondwana appeared. A cluster of red triangles left the moon, leaving a red trail as they advanced towards the PLANTs.

"As you can see here, the EA fleet is taking the long way to the PLANTs, going around our Solomon Base, so they can strike at the PLANTs directly. In response, we are setting up a defensive line here, with Solomon at one end and the Gondwana at the other." A line of green triangles appeared in front of the PLANTs, forming a line from Solomon to the Gondwana. "Our objective is simple; defend the PLANTs no matter the cost. As always, we are outnumbered. Our estimates put the number at two to one in their favor. However, our new ZAKUs are superior to their Dagger Ls, which should help us with their numbers."

"But the main concern we have with this force is not their numbers, but rather what their ultimate objective is. The last two times the PLANTs themselves saw fighting, nuclear weapons were used. Needless to say, the threat is very real. I want everyone out there to keep their eyes open for anything suspicious and to report it immediately. I'm hoping that I'm just being paranoid, but we can't take any chances. Good luck out there, ladies and gentlemen. And all pray that this whole affair ends quickly."


Over the next few hours, the ZAFT warships formed a defensive line, blocking the path of the Earth Alliance counterparts. The Alliance fleet stopped just outside of the maximum firing range of both fleets, and like the ZAFT forces, waiting for the clock to run down to zero.

Everyone was tense, waiting for the clock to reach midnight. Some were praying that this whole affair would end peacefully before then. Others, not so much. Some were scared to go into battle; others were mentally preparing themselves for it. The people of Earth, the Moon and the PLANTs were watching on. Like those in the fleets, there were many different feelings being felt amongst them. Some were angry and wanted to lash out at the other side. Some were worried about family and friends serving in the military. Others prayed that it would end peacefully, without fighting. And a few, a small few, watched on eagerly for ensuing conflict.

It was the calm before the storm. And it would not last.

The clock struck midnight. The peace had ended.

The Alliance warships started to deploy their Dagger Ls as ZAFT ZAKUs and GuAIZ Rs were launched in response. Warships began to advance, firing their main cannons at the opposing warships.

The war had begun.


Washington D.C.

President Hilson could see the flashes of combat in space above her home. The fighting had begun, and there was nothing that could stop the two sides from fighting unless NASA got involved. But there had been no need so far.

She could only hope that there was no need for the alliance to get involved in the war, especially since they were still recovering from the Break the World incident.

And getting involved in another war would take its toll on the three nations, which were affected by the drop of Junius Seven. It would tax their economies greatly, perhaps to even the point of no return when it came to the debt.

That she wished to avoid, no matter what…

Not to mention she had a plan in motion already…


Unknown location…

The members of NASA's armed forces moved around the corridors of the spacecraft, the many chambers becoming active once more. As a Coordinator drifted by a room, he peered in. What he saw was nothing short of shocking. Inside, there were many human-like forms in pods. Several of them even looked alike.

"Wow… just who and what are these?" he asked.

Another member of the same unit also looked in. "I believe that you found the Innovade chamber." She replied. "They are artificial humans created to run and gather data for Veda apparently."

"Well then, shouldn't we be able to wake up these Innovades?"

His superior shook her head. "No. It looks like they are still growing, so we leave them be for now."

The duo continued on, leaving the Innovade chamber alone.


Elsewhere, a woman peered into a massive engine room. It was void of any generators, but that could easily be remedied with a large group of nuclear fusion reactors and engines. Given how NASA was skilled at using and building such reactors, it would be easy to do such a massive task.

"Nuclear fusion reactors needed, engines in need of construction and shipment soon." She noted as she looked over what would be needed. The woman moved away from the window, heading into the main chamber where Veda was kept.

There were many others working on the quantum supercomputer, but she only drifted up to one of the people on station there.

"Sir. I have news on what would be needed to get this ship truly up and running." The woman said as she saluted.

The man in charge looked at her and nodded. "Very well, sergeant. Let's hear what you have."

The woman nodded. "Yes, sir. From what I observed in the engine room, we will be needing at least five nuclear fusion reactors and the same number of engines. But that is just a rough guesstimate on the actual number. We might need even more, but we can't tell at the moment. Once we get Veda up and fully online, we should be able to fully determine how many reactors we will need for sure."

Her superior just nodded. "I see. Good work."

"Thank you, sir."

As the woman left, the man in charge looked back at the massive computer screen behind him. Data flowed over it, giving away the fact that Veda was still functional, if not on stand-by. 'Soon, we will have Veda up and running again. And then we can work on finding out what is the cause of this new war, but that will be harder than it looks.'


Pentagon

John Keller looked back at the images of the United Nations complex mounted on his office wall. All of the world leaders were smiling in it, a contrast to the UN of the present, where there were no world leaders even visible. One held the world leaders in front of the complex, all smiling and grinning, with some even doing silly gestures or faces, while the second one held only an empty section, where there was a noticeable lack of world leaders, if one could call having no people in the picture a picture at all.

The first one was from when the new era's calendar had begun, and the second was from two years ago. One was of a peaceful and accepting era, while the other was from an era of hatred and distrust. No one was willing to become trusting of others unless it was for personal gain.

"Survival of the fittest rules this era, and yet, back then, the world was even stronger than it is today…" the Defense Secretary mused as he glanced at the rain falling out the Pentagon's windows. The U.S. flag was hanging there, the gentle breeze moving it ever so slightly. The sound of sirens still wailing only reminded him of the fact that even Washington D.C. was affected by the colony drop's remains. The flashing lights whizzed by his window, showing one of countless ambulances speeding towards the nearest hospital, which was probably only one of countless suffering from an overflowing patient load.

Hotels and even the senatorial offices had been converted into makeshift hospitals, but even then, there were not enough medical personnel to go around and check every patient. There was a lack of skilled doctors and nurses, and even with the military medical personnel, there was still a large shortage.

The older Natural wondered if he should go out and try to help the injured and affected people of the city. Shaking his head, he knew that he could not, as he had a job to do to ensure the nation's safety. Keller sighed as he heard the slight rumble of thunder in the distance.

Rain continued to fall, making his feelings of sadness even more pronounced. No one in the city deserved to suffer the drop of Junius Seven. Hell, no one on the PLANET deserved such a fate. It was only be pure luck that NASA had been able to destroy the colony remains at all. They had just managed to hit the colony remains in just the right spot, and that had been even harder to achieve. If they had been off by a few millimeters in any direction, then the colony ruins would have been unable to be stopped.

No one seemed to care about the affected, well…Keller shook his head. How could they know if that was even true? Wasn't it the duty of the governments of the different nations to help the people, even if they were not strong enough to survive? That much was true, but how much aid would the governments provide? Would it be just a little bit, which would lead to countless others suffering when they did not need to? Or would each government go all out to provide as much aid as they possibly could? He knew that NASA was doing the latter, but how many governments were doing the former? That he wanted to know.

Even in the aftermath, people were still suffering from the effects. People were still dying from injuries, forcing the death toll to rise even more. And there were who knew how many people without homes, and even more without power. The exact number would never be known until the clean-up was complete.

Both Naturals and Coordinators were suffering needlessly. No one group deserved to live on almost nothing. It was even worse in Quebec, which was up in Canada. There were even more people lacking homes and power than in Washington D.C. alone. Prime Minister Warson had his hands full, and even the U.S. was unable to send aid due to being affected by the colony drop as well.

Soldiers of the U.S. military were spread all around the nation, even those who had been abroad previously had been called back to help out with the clean-up and restoration of NASA's affected areas. It was not enough though, as the rebuilding would take perhaps years before it was fully recovered and no trace of debris would remain.

The reality of the events of the past few days had yet to sink in, so it felt like it was all just one big dream that he would never wake up from. Keller just wanted to wake up and find it was all a dream, and a bad one at that. But as he looked out the window of his office again, just as an ambulance went by, the reality finally hit home. Keller felt a sudden pang of sadness well up inside him as a hidden dam burst. Tears began to flow out at a rapid pace, making the older man sink to his knees on the floor. His hands shaking, Keller reached for his face, only to find it wet from his tears. Finally, a sob burst out of him, bringing home the reality of what had happened.

Countless people had died! All DIED! And for what?! An act of revenge?! What had those people on the planet done to deserve such a thing and fate?! It was not right! Keller cried as he laid his head down on his desk. The Defense Secretary just wanted it to be a dream, a nightmare, ANYTHING else but reality. But reality it was, and it was not going to end anytime soon…

The Natural looked up as the rain increased in pace. The low rumble of thunder echoed across the sky, the light of his office being a small beacon of hope for those still without power and a home. Keller could see countless civilians, medical personnel, law enforcement, and military personnel all assembling outside the Pentagon. The massive flag of the United States that hung limply was now waving at a faster pace, with everyone outside saluting it. Keller also saluted, knowing that it was the one symbol that kept them all going in the crisis. It was the one thing they all had in common, the one thing that drew them together to help one another.

And maybe it was the only thing that drew the world together in times of crisis. But Keller doubted that Blue Cosmos would let the other world governments help out the citizens without permission. It was ironic because the United Nations did not need to give the world governments permission when they had been in command of the world leadership.

Now, Blue Cosmos was in control, and they decided on who lived and died, well, to an extent that is. True, the group did not actually run the nations, but they influenced the leaders of each nation with such power that it seemed they were in control. They were far different from the United Nations in both rule and world influence.

Keller closed his eyes and sighed. If only the United Nations was back in control…

Then he sat up, his eyes snapping open. What if they were back in control? Blue Cosmos might have control of the industries, but it was the United Nations that held the real power. World governments were far different from corporate entities. They actually made and passed laws, and the United Nations was what settled disputes against other nations.

The older man realized at that point that the UN also was what put sanctions in place, whether economic or military. It also was the group that could determine if Coordinators were truly 'Space Monsters' or if they were truly human. This was because it would be a truly unbiased entity if they got involved.

The idea was appealing to him, but he was certain that the UN would not heed the request of even the U.S. president herself. After all, even the HRL leaders had been denied the opportunity to talk to them, so why would the UN listen to NASA? Unless the President's plan worked, they wouldn't heed their pleas.

Keller looked away from the window and glanced at his desk, where there was a photo of him and his family. His daughter had red hair with yellow eyes while his son had black hair and grey eyes. Both were Coordinators, and even though he was working with the U.S. government, he had to hide this for their safety.

Just what would it take for the world to accept the Coordinators?


ORB

Lord Uzumi was sitting in his room, looking out at the stars that shone in the night sky. His home was now under pressure to join an alliance with the AEU, the very ones who had threatened his home time and time again. The only ones who seemed to be able to hold off the AEU were NASA anyway…

He closed his eyes and reflected on his old friend's sacrifice. The ORB leader had been prepared to give up his own life, and yet, Hali had instead. And now he was being accused of cowardice because of it. Not to mention most of ORB's real government had been killed in that blast as well…

The Natural stood up and made his way over to where the doors leading outside were shut. He leaned against them and stared at the stars. The fact that the new officials were in support of the Seirans was disturbing to say the least. It seemed that the Seirans were now holding most of the power, even though Cagalli was now in charge of the nation.

Lord Uzumi wondered if the Seirans had anything planned for ORB that was against their ideals. It was possible, considering that they wanted to have the AEU meddle in ORB's affairs. That made his blood pulse with anger, but there was little he could do about it anyway.

The idea of the Seirans having power brought him to Cagalli. Lord Uzumi sighed. Cagalli was in love with Alex Dino, or Athrun Zala as he was really known, and that made him happy. At the same time though, he was concerned about the arranged marriage between his daughter and Yuna. If Cagalli was in love with Athrun, then how would Yuna take it and what would he do to separate them?

That concerned him the most. In recent days, it seemed that Yuna was pushing himself onto Cagalli, even though she did not want it. That made Lord Uzumi mad, but also worried him. What would Yuna do if he pushed Cagalli into marrying him against her will, and he himself said no?

It was not a good sign. Yuna had made it clear in a private meeting that he wanted to marry Cagalli as soon as possible, even if she did not want it. He shuddered. A forced marriage… how would NASA take that if they found out?

Lord Uzumi vowed the NASA would not find out, but something told him that they would even if he hid it from the rest of the world as well. He sighed. Just what was going on, and how could he stop the Seirans' attempt at power? He did not know.


New Juneau

The colony of New Juneau was on alert for anything unusual, which was not that uncommon. The colony commander looked out the windows and at the images that were being transmitted from the powerful cameras outside the colony. Of course, New Juneau had the most powerful cameras of any nation's state or province in the world, so seeing objects from a far distance was no problem for them.

All cameras showed only empty space between them and the colonies, so it looked good on their end. But the enemy could appear at any time from anywhere in space. That was why the colony had all cameras hooked into the colony sensor arrays, which were in turn hooked into the command center of the colony itself. That way, if anything was detected that did not match any pattern in space, the sensors would go off and that would in turn set off the alarms in the colony.

It was not fail-proof, but it was the best they could do until a more up-to-date system could be devised.

She looked back at the people in the colony, living out their lives as normally as they could. The life of a colony inhabitant was just like that on Earth, but with some differences as well. But what never changed was the fact that people still needed to live their lives in safety. And Blue Cosmos was what was making that so hard.

It was not right, and she knew it… But that would change if the UN would stop being so neutral and stubborn. No one believed that they would come back into world affairs, but there were those that did believe that, even if they were now being called crazy as a result of that belief. It was strange, but it was also normal. People were entitled to believe in that if they wished, even if it was now considered just a dream.

But there was much more to it than just a dream…people were wanting the UN to return to power, if only to remove Blue Cosmos from the sleeper hold it had over the planet. People were desiring the group to return to take the terrorist group down. If people wanted that, then maybe there was still a chance at getting some sense into them, no matter how small…


Outer Space

In space near the battle zone of Junius Seven's remains, NASA ships and Mobile Suits were gathering up the remains of the GINNs in use by the attackers. A GM floated over to the remains of a GINN, only to see the torso was missing a very vital part, the flat plate that revealed its model, manufacturer, and serial number. Known as the 'Pizza Plate' because it was the size of a large pizza box, this plate was normally used to identify the GINN itself. But this time, it was missing.

"Home Base, this is Recovery 3. The GINN in question is missing the ID plate." The pilot of the GM reported.

"Recovery 3, this is Home Base. Is there any sign of it nearby?" The MS controller of the Nile asked.

"Negative. No sign of it is nearby." Recovery 3 replied. However, something else was nearby. "But we do have the Black Pizza Boxes in the area."

Upon hearing those words, the controller of the Nile's MS pilots spoke up. Those were what they had been looking for. "Retrieve those at once!"

"Yes, sir!" Recovery 3 replied before grabbing what looked like two random containers as well as an arm from the GINN, only to head back to the ship with the objects in question.

"Home Base, this is Recovery Leader. We have two more Black Pizza Boxes as well as more GINN debris. The ID plates are missing from the GINNs though." The lead GM pilot reported.

"Recovery Leader, this is Home Base. Bring in the debris and the Black Pizza Boxes. Any information we can glean from the debris will be of use." The MS controller of the Nile replied.

While this was going on, unseen forces were observing the recovery efforts, even intercepting the communications of the recovery crews and their mothership.

"Sir, the NASA forces are working on recovery, but they are only gathering up random pieces of debris, including pieces of importance that they have named Black Pizza Boxes." A hidden GINN reported.

"Keep an eye on them, but it seems NASA is just gathering up debris that they think may be of use. With the ID plates missing, there is no way a GINN could be traced. This 'investigation' is most likely a farce, only being done to give the people of Earth something to gnaw on." A masked voice ordered.

"Yes, sir..." The GINN pilot replied.


Chapter is complete. NASA finds itself in the middle of the new Bloody Valentine War, and the PLANTs are wanting to attack the Earth before the Earth Forces can attack them. The Minerva is in ORB undergoing repairs, and the new war has just begun.

Anyway, constructive criticism is appreciated as are reviews. Flames, AKA, hate-filled/spamming reviews as well as out-right hatred of the story, WILL be reported and/or deleted depending on if they are signed or not.

Anyway, read and review!