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. Jack Carson and the Defender Gundams are property of CT7567Rules and not mine. 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.

Wolf's Child: Soon, just please be patient. :3

CT7567Rules: All will be revealed in time. :3

Titanic X: Glad you like it. :3

Guest DCDGojira: I have read the two stories in question. They are very good. :3

Just a Crazy Man: Glad you liked it. :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 Eleven: Battle Anew

Washington D.C.

White House

Athrun Zala stood outside the massive gates with the sun shining down on him. He was waiting on being let in, and soon, the Secret Service was at the gates to let him in.

"You had best make this meeting short. The president has a meeting in an hour." Agent Williams said as he let the young man in.

Athrun nodded as he followed the agents down to the main hall of the White House. The massive doors opened, revealing the president standing there. She was just as Athrun had imagined her. Brown hair hung over her green eyes slightly, and she was late thirties to early forties in his mind. Her outfit was a khaki suit with a white shirt and a red tie.

"I see you arrived with no trouble." President Hilson replied.

The Coordinator nodded as he bowed. "Yes, ma'am."

She waved him to follow her to the Oval Office. "So, what is your reason for being here?" she asked as he sat down in front of her.

"I…I just want to know what NASA's stance is, mainly on the idea of war. The PLANTs want to go to war considering what happened, but the Chairman wants to avoid a war. So, what is NASA planning to do?" Athrun asked.

President Hilson sighed before she leaned back in her chair. "That is a good question. Given what nearly happened, some of NASA's citizens are calling for an attack on the PLANTs while others are calling for an attack on the Earth Alliance for nearly nuking the PLANTs twice. Personally, I have no idea of what NASA should do. If anything though, we should focus on the recovery of the nation. Given that the PLANTs did not suffer damage like Earth did, it is only natural that the PLANTs would want to use this as an excuse and an opportunity to strike back. Now NASA does not want to get involved in another war. I do not wish to see NASA suffer another invasion. But with the Earth Alliance claiming the PLANTs did the drop of Junius Seven and the PLANTs wanting to prevent another nuclear attack by attacking the damaged nations again, there is no doubt that another war would begin."

"That is what the Chairman said." Athrun replied. "But he does not understand what is going to happen! He is going to use force again! Fighting is not the answer! You have to stop this!"

The president just listened as Athrun shook. "We would lose all that we gained! Nothing would have changed! Only more lives would be lost! This can't go on!"

"I understand that completely. Unlike what most believe, NASA is more than willing to try and bring about peace. But not fighting is almost impossible. There will always be war, no matter what we do. War is a part of the human nature, and war is what allows us to survive. It is sad, yes, but that is the reality of life." The president said as she looked into Athrun's emerald eyes.

Athrun looked back at her. "Then why? Why avoid using words?"

"I did not say that. I did not say that words would be effective as well. In fact, it is the opposite. I said that avoiding fighting was almost impossible. I did not say that it was impossible. Words can be effective as well as weapons, but both have to be used effectively to prevent war. If a nation without weapons tries to prevent war, then the combatants would attack that nation, which would be unable to defend itself, and that nation would fall. Now say the United States tries to prevent war with words. The two sides might try to plan an attack, but we would be able to use weapons to attack both sides to get them to agree to a truce."

The Coordinator was puzzled over her words. "But what does that have to do with avoiding war and using words?"

President Hilson sighed. "Look, NASA is more than willing to bring about peace. What I am trying to say is that only the people of each side can decide what the best course of action to take is. If it is war that they want, then it is war that they will get. If it is negotiations that they want, then it is negotiations that they will get. No one can decide that for them, just like it is your decision on what to do."

"What do you mean?"

"What happened up there, with the terrorists that dropped the colony, was not your fault. You could not stop them from doing that, just as you could not stop your father's friend from taking the path that he took. That was his decision alone. You are not his son, so there is no reason for you to carry his guilt. If anything, you should be carrying pride, as your father was able to prevent the radicals from getting their way." The president explained. "Blaming yourself for being unable to prevent others from going down a certain path is a character weakness. One you need to learn to overcome. You are a great person, Athrun. You just have to learn to work past that."

Athrun just stared at her. "But-"

"No. You are your own person, just as Chairman Wu was. True, you followed his orders, but you were able to see past his words eventually, and moved on to find your own purpose for fighting. Only you can decide your own path, and how to use your strength."

"I know I am not Wu's son! I just want to stop this war from getting like the last one!" Athrun shot back.

"Well then, perhaps you should figure out what is the best way to handle this from your past experiences." The president replied.

"I don't know how to do that!" Athrun screamed back. "I just don't! I don't know why I should be fighting!"

President Hilson stopped and looked back at him. "Then let me ask you something Athrun. Why did you fight in the last war?"

Athrun seemed to be taken aback by the question. "I… I don't really know to be honest. I just fought. I had someone close to me I wanted to protect, and I didn't want to see more lives lost needlessly…"

The president nodded. "I see. Then, let me ask you this. What do you want to do now?"

"I… I want to prevent more lives being lost. I… I… I didn't want to see humanity wiped out, okay?! That is why I fought! I fought to prevent Rau le Creuset from getting his way! Who was he to judge humanity like that?! He was just a madman! That's all he was!" Athrun exclaimed at last. "I wasn't going to sit back and let him get his way!"

President Hilson smirked at the response. "Then there you go. That was your reason for fighting. You wanted humanity to reach for a new tomorrow. But you were willing to fight to make that happen. Fighting for a future you desire is not a bad thing. Rather, a future grasped with blood-stained hands is better than a future that is grasped with only words. Often times, the future fought for is a good one. Not always, but it is still more often than not the better future."

Athrun looked up, her words suddenly making sense. "You mean, using words to avoid war is not supposed to be done alone. Fighting is needed to show you mean business, more often than not."

"Yes."

Looking down, Athrun realized that she was right in many ways. Lacus's words stuck out to him, but at the same time, when mixed with the president's words, they made a lot more sense.

With that, the president let Athrun leave as he pondered her words. Perhaps it was time for his decision…


Orb Parliament Building

The Next Day

"What?! You can't be serious!" Cagalli said, horrified at their decision. "I don't care what you're saying, there's no way that my father or I will agree to the signing of a treaty with Advanced European Union."

Things were turning against Cagalli's wishes. She had hoped that she could have convinced at least a few of the major members of the government to side with her against the treaty. Unfortunately, those she had spoken to were refusing to change their stance. Most were supporting Unato and Yuna. Samuel's words once again rang through her mind.

'Unfortunately, your father's aid's sacrifice has left us in a difficult position. Most of his supporters sacrificed themselves alongside him, leaving only political enemies left.'

Cagalli hadn't realized just how true those words were until now.

"But Representative-" Unato started.

"Did you all forget what they did to ORB in that last war?! Or what they have done in the past few days?!" Cagalli loudly asked, bordering shouting at him. "A unilateral declaration of war and the use of nuclear weapons!"

"Lady Cagalli, that's why we have to form an alliance with them! It's to keep ORB safe." Unato replied.

"But they are the ones who are endangering the safety of the world! Why should we sign a treaty with them?! And what about-"

Yuna rose from his seat and spoke, cutting her off. "Chief Representative, I would like to ask you to stop with these childish arguments and consider things for a moment. The reason we're doing this is because they're that kind of alliance."

"But-"

"The AEU's methods are indeed aggressive. Well please excuse me for saying this, but we all already know that. So we don't need you to remind us of that fact." Yuna said, his tone condescending. "I must ask, what are you suggesting that we instead, Representative? If we reject this treaty, we will be the only nation of Earth not a part of the Earth Alliance. We'll be alone on the entire planet. If something happens to us, no other nation on the planet would be willing to aid us. Should we call the PLANTs and isolate ourselves further?"

Cagalli shook her head. "No! And besides, NASA is also aggressive as well, aren't they? If we had to choose between the AEU and NASA, which would you choose to be allied with?" she snarled back.

Yuna was taken aback by her words. "Well… I… we… uh…"

"Well, which would you choose?" Cagalli pressed, making her father stare at her words.

Yuna was unsure of how to answer that, but he decided to try anyway. "The AEU?"

Cagalli just growled at him. "Is that so? So you don't care about ORB after all? How selfish can you be?! You call me childish, but you go and ally with the very alliance that attacked us! NASA did nothing of the sort and many nations including the AEU fear them. So if we should be allied with any alliance, it should be NASA, not the AEU."

"We should ally ourselves with NASA. No one on Earth would dare to threaten us, and the PLANTs would not dare attack an ally of NASA." Cagalli answered.

"Then you would see this nation burn like Lord Hali did." One official said disrespectfully.

Images of the Earth Alliance's attack on ORB during the last mind filled her mind. Cagalli slammed her hand on the table. "I never said that!"

Unato was dumbfounded to say the least. In one swift sentence, she had not only shot down his plan to join forces with the AEU, but she had also offered the alternative, which was for its part, better than his plan. It not only guaranteed ORB's safety, but it also prevented the nation from being attacked by both the PLANTs and the AEU.

"This nation burned once before. We cannot allow it to happen again." Unato said. "Before you go on about tradition, justice and what is right, I want you to know that you considered our nation and its people first, Representative. Not only that, you offered an alternative to the treaty with the AEU. I must say, I am impressed. However, even if we were to ally with NASA, what's to say that they would not turn around and ally with the AEU?"

Cagalli held her tongue in check. "If anything, NASA will support our rights as a sovereign nation. And besides, the AEU and NASA are not exactly on the best of terms at the moment, so it is highly unlikely that they would ally with them anyway."

"Still, even with your offer of an alternative, we will stay on target with the treaty with the AEU."

Cagalli sighed in defeat. So much for that plan…

Then she remembered something. In certain times, the Chief Representative of the ORB Union could override the council! "Well, if that is the case, then I have something to say." Cagalli said as she looked up, her amber eyes hard.

"Under the ORB constitution, the Chief Representative can overrule the Council, correct?" she asked.

Unato nodded, wondering what she was getting at. "Yes, in practice yes, but it has never been done before."

Cagalli looked back at him. "Well, this time, I am pulling rank on you all!" she said. "In recent events, ORB constitution clause Seven, Article three states that the Chief Representative can overrule the Council's decisions if the best interests of ORB are at stake. In light of this desire to join the AEU's alliance, I am invoking that ruling!"

Many stared at her words. Cagalli smirked as she saw Yuna gulp in nervousness. "Therefore, your decision to join the Earth Alliance is overruled and we are joining NASA."

Unato growled as he stared at the young woman in charge of ORB. She had not only invoked the ruling that gave ORB's ruling family its power, but there was no way to override that ruling once invoked. This would not go well with his contact.

Moments later, the meeting ended. The government officials, their assistants and advisors filed out of the room. While most went off in one direction, an exhausted Cagalli headed in the opposite direction.

"Cagalli!" Yuna called out, approaching her. "Are you alright? You seem tired."

"I'm fine." She quietly answered.

"I'm sorry about earlier, but when we're in there, I have to make my opinion known." Yuna added, wrapping an arm over her shoulder. "But I did not expect you to invoke that particular ruling."

"It's alright. It's your job and I know that I'm still inexperienced at things." Cagalli said in a smirking, tired tone. "I'm sure the ministers are all cowering at me now."

"Don't worry about. They all understand. This particular problem is just too big for you to handle by yourself." Yuna said, trying to reassure her. "Mashimar wasn't trying to insult Lord Hali and Lord Uzumi. He's just worried that as his daughter, you might try to do the same thing. Though you already did."

"I know."

Yuna directed her towards a nearby chair. "You should take a rest." He commented, setting her down on the chair. "Would you like something to drink, or maybe something to eat?"

"No thanks. I'm fine."

"Look at you." Yuna said, brushing some of her hair from her face. "I know things are hard right now and a lot of things are weighting down you down right now. But don't worry. I'll always be there for you." He then delivered a kiss to her forehead.

Cagalli's hand reached out for her forehead, allowing Yuna to see Athrun's ring. He knew who had given her that ring. Though his face didn't show, he was angry. How dare that 'boy' from the PLANTs try to take away his Cagalli!

No matter. They'd just have to accelerate things and have the wedding sooner than originally planned. Yuna smiled. "I'll be back in a little bit Cagalli. I need to discuss some things with my father."

Yuna rose up and walked away, leaving Cagalli alone, though not for long.

Flay emerged from her hiding place, approaching Cagalli. "You shouldn't let that little weasel or his father, get to you Cagalli."

Cagalli looked up at the red haired young woman. "Flay. I-"

"Weasel? That's an insult to weasels. He's far below them." Samuel said, surprising both girls.

Flay shrugged. "Well, he's some kind of large rodent." she said, earning a chuckle from Samuel. "But the point is, don't worry about Yuna and the others. Make the decision that you feel is right. We will all support regardless of what decision you make."

Even Lord Uzumi laughed a bit.

Cagalli sighed. She knew they were trying to keep her spirits up, but it wasn't working. Everything was falling apart. Unato and much of the government had been trying to force ORB into the Alliance, against the beliefs of ORB. But at the same time, if they didn't, they would find themselves being attacked again. Yet, if ORB joined NASA in an alliance, then ORB would not be attacked. "I want to keep ORB neutral, but what if by doing that, ORB is attacked again?" she said, fighting back tears. At least she still had that ruling to fall back on…

"Cagalli, if you spend your time worrying about what-ifs, you'll never able to do anything because you're plagued by so many doubts and fears." Her father said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "What-ifs are only what-ifs. They could happen just as easily as they could not happen. Stand firm and make a decision, because I assure that while this is the first true crisis you have faced as the leader of ORB, it will not be the last."


Djibril's Bunker

Djibril was pleased. Everything was going according to plan. With Gibraltar and Carpentaria under Alliance surveillance, ZAFT's presence on Earth was nearly finished. But they had a few loose ends to tie up first before they could finish things off in space. Fortunately, such matters would be easily dealt with.

"It seems that congratulations are in order, Djibril." Mr. Lorne said.

"Yes. ZAFT is on the run. Now all we need is the final strike to finish them off." Mr. Hoffesommer commented.

"Hold it there. There are still plenty of scattered ZAFT forces on Earth. They could pose a major problem for us, as well as that new warship of theirs." Mr. Gradenko said. "They dealt with first before we strike the PLANTs again."

"Indeed. I couldn't agree more. But all we need to do is destroy ZAFT's newest warship. Sinking that ship will be crushing blow to ZAFT's morale while showing the world and the PLANTs our dominance." Djibril said with a smirk. "Which is why I've seen to it that a portion of the fleet watching Carpentaria will move to intercept the ship when it leaves ORB. In fact, I've even sent one of the Zamza-Zahs that proved so effective in testing with that fleet. That ship will not survive and then we can finish this whole matter once and for all."


Aprilius One

"Soldiers of ZAFT, people of the PLANTs, I know that you are all feeling angry and upset over recent events: The Earth Alliance's rapid declaration of war on us, their attack on the PLANTs, the Alliance's willingness to use nuclear weapons. The past few days have been truly frightening for us all. I understand your feelings. I know how overwhelming it is. I know that many of you would like nothing more than to lash out at the Earth Alliance for what they've done. But we must not let our emotions control us. For if we do, I fear that we will find ourselves walking the same dark path we all took during the last war, the path that nearly destroyed everything."

"None of us in PLANTs wished for this war or wish for it to continue. But at the same time we will not sit back while our homes are threatened. That is why we must only take up our arms only to protect ourselves. The Earth Alliance is not a sinister alliance seeking to wipe out every last Coordinator. Nor are the people of Earth Coordinator-hating savages. They are human beings just as we are. Like many of us, they are angry and upset over what has happened and lashing out with those feelings against anyone that they feel is to blame. They are not evil, just misguided."

"That is why we must keep our hearts and minds clear during these troubled times. We must remain the voice of reason. That is why I have ordered the ZAFT military to take only defensive actions until this conflict can be brought to a peaceful resolution. ZAFT will only take steps to protect the PLANTs and its own forces. We will not seek to conquer territories of Earth."

"These were the Chairman's words at his press conference earlier today. When asked what exactly he meant, the Chairman-"

Durandal turned off the screen, cutting off the news broadcast and turned to his chess board. Operation Reclaimer would soon start. It angered him that Djibril had so easily turned the tables on him and put ZAFT in a dangerous position. No matter, he had already repositioned his pieces to counter Djibril's latest move. Truthfully, Djibril wasn't much of a concern to him. Once the war had reached the right stage, he would reveal LOGOS and that would take care of him. It was Lacus Clyne and Kira Yamato that worried him, as well as the president of NASA. They were the unknowns in his plans. The wisest strategy was to remove the unknowns before they became a threat.

"The Black Knight serves the Black King. The White Knight protects the White Queen. And the Red Knight stands alone, unsure of himself." he mused.

"Again with the chess metaphors. You know, they are becoming quite tiresome Chairman." a voice said as the image of Le Creuset appeared.

"Agreed." Durandal greeted, his tone neutral. "I do not appreciate NASA's actions. I believe that they will be a threat in the future."

The masked man's fingers entwined each other and he set his chin on his fingers. "That is true. And that will need to be taken care of." he replied. "They were a real threat in the last war, mainly when their leader's agent took out Azrael."

"I highly doubt that." Durandal said, reaching for the nearest chess piece.

"Oh, it is true. The agent did take him out herself, which was quite a feat for someone of her status."

Durandal's hand stopped. He had been searching for the Songstress for quite a while with little success. There were only a handful of places that she could be hiding, both on Earth and in space. And yet, she continued to elude him. "I know where the Songstress is thanks to a spy in ORB."

"But how do you know that she is unguarded?" Le Creuset said, a clear smug tone in his masked voice. "That is the one unknown."

"Yes, but they are probably just untrained Naturals, aside from Kira Yamato that is."

"And that is the problem."

Durandal sighed. "No. It is not the only problem. There are also rumors of more pilots around her, but I do not know who at the moment."

"That will be handled easily by those forces then, no doubt."


The Minerva

ORB Territorial Waters

Captain Gladys sat in her chair, watching the horizon as the Minerva sailed towards Carpentaria. Behind the Minerva was an ORB escort fleet, there to make sure they left ORB's territory without incident. Talia knew that the situation in ORB was delicate at the moment. Every other nation on the planet had joined the Earth Alliance and the pressure on ORB to join the Alliance was growing. Truthfully, she would have left ORB a day or two ago, when much of the Minerva's repairs had been completed. But blockading of Carpentaria left them stranded in ORB.

Talia said a silent prayer for her ship and the Operation they would soon be taking apart in. Operation Reclaimer was risky. They all knew that. It had the potential to destroy much of ZAFT's fighting strength if it failed. But at the same time, it was a bold move. While the Alliance had blocked Gibraltar and Carpentaria, they had damaged both bases, including their defensive systems. As a result, neither base currently had adequate defenses beyond the naval fleets parked at each base. If they attacked now, they could quickly overwhelm the mobile suits on the ground and force the fleets to retreat from bases or risk losing their ships as well. And in the end, they only needed to take one of the two bases for it to be considered a success.

It was a gamble. They wagering nearly they had. If it succeeded, then they will have bought ZAFT some time to regroup and open up a front on Earth. If it failed, ZAFT was finished.


Pilot Briefing Room

"Just before our forces drop from above, we will attack from the sea, splitting their forces. The Minerva will attack from the east while a group of Vosgulov-class subs that weren't at Carpentaria during the attack, will strike from the north." Rey said, explaining the Operation to his fellow pilots. "Hopefully, this will give our forces an opening to exploit, allowing them to recapture the base. Of course, they're also hoping that the Alliance commanders can't resist the thought of sinking ZAFT's newest warship and send much of their forces after us."

"I hate to sound negative, but if they move to attack us, we'll be outnumbered and likely cut off from the rest of our forces." Luna pointed out. "We're only one ship. Do they really think they that we can defeat such a force on our own?"

"I must agree. This op sounds very risky. The whole thing could fall apart very easily." Shinn added.

"Yes, but we have little choice in the matter. We're almost completely on our own here regardless." Rey replied. "Even if we have the Berserker of JOSH-A with us."

They all knew what he meant. Along with their orders, a notice had been sent, informing them that a more experienced mobile suit commander was coming to take over command of the Minerva's pilots. Needless to say, they had been less than relieved that their time without a commander was coming to an end. If of course, they survived and ZAFT recaptured Carpentaria.

"It all comes down to timing." Heero said as everyone there looked at him. "If this operation is not done with the right timing, then it could fall apart. That is why we need to act in accordance with the plans."


ZAFT Military Headquarters

Aprilius One

Defense Chairman Ian Kessel watched from the balcony of ZAFT central command center as officers rushed to finish the final preparations before the start of the Operation. Everything hinged on their success today.

"Sir. All battle groups are in position." an officer said.

Ian nodded. There was one final thing that must be done before the start of the Operation. The men and women needed to be fired before going into battle. He remembered something that he had heard once. 'Tell a soldier he cannot win and he's already lost. But make a soldier believe he cannot lose, and he will achieve victory in even the most impossible of battles'. Ian turned to the officer. "Patch me through to them." he said.

The man nodded, typing a command into his console.

"Soldiers of ZAFT, the Alliance has us in a difficult position." Ian said to the fleets. "But if they think that we are beaten, they are gravely mistaken. The Earth Forces proclaim that they have achieved a major victory in their opening move; that they have broken us and have us on the run, but they wrong. Despite the losses we have suffered, our military is still strong. Our fighting spirit is bruised, but still strong. And today, we will show them that it takes a lot more than that to break ZAFT's spirit. In addition, many of our comrades are stranded on Earth with nowhere to go and surrounded by enemies. Are we to leave them to their fates? No! A true ZAFT soldier would never leave a man behind!"

"The Alliance believes that we wouldn't dare strike to defend our bases. That we would be too afraid of leaving the PLANTs exposed to another attack. Today, we are going to show them how wrong they are. Right now, the Alliance forces surrounding Carpentaria and Gibraltar sitting around, laughing at the meager feat they accomplished by attacking and blockading two undermanned bases. We will strike at their forces, showing them just how strong we are and retake what is rightfully ours, proclaiming in one voice that we aren't defeated yet!" Ian shouted. "Remember that you are soldiers of ZAFT and that today is our day of victory!"

People in the command center began to cheer and clap at his words. Ian had given men and women of ZAFT a temporary boost in morale. Hopefully, it would help push them into victory.

"Commence Operation Reclaimer!"

The engines of Nazca-class and Laurasia-class warships ignited, sending the ships towards the Alliance fleets. The hanger doors of ZAFT and Earth Alliance ships opened and the first of their mobile suits were quickly launched, heading towards each other as the warships began to fire their cannons. The first phase of Operation Reclaimer had begun.


The Minerva

"Captain! We're receiving a message from the Alexandria." Meyrin called out. "A sizable portion of the Alliance fleet surrounding Carpentaria has left and is heading towards the ORB border!"

Arthur gasped. "What?! But why? Wouldn't they be staying to defend Carpentaria?"

"Not necessarily." Talia said. "The attack in space has just started. They may have started leaving before that."

"But why?" Arthur asked.

"I would have to say, us." the Captain answered. "And I don't think that it's a coincidence that they're heading for ORB as we're leaving ORB."

"But that would mean that…"

"Yes." Talia said, leaving it at that. "Inform the pilots. We're going to be seeing combat sooner than expected. Bring the ship up to Level One Battlestations. Tell the Alexandria and the rest of the fleet to launch the attack without us."


The Mess Hall

Heero had just sat down and started eating a quick meal when the alarms went off.

"All hands, report to Level One Battlestations! I repeat, all hands, report to Level One Battlestations!" Meyrin said over the intercom.

"Damn…" Heero cursed as he dropped his fork and rushed to an intercom panel. "Meyrin, what's going on?"

"An Alliance fleet has left Carpentaria and is heading towards us."

Heero growled again. It didn't take a genius to figure out what that fleet was gunning for. "How long until they reach us?"

"Fifteen minutes at the most." Meyrin answered.

Heero hit the wall in frustration. It would just be them against the fleet. They couldn't retreat to ORB. Firstly, he suspected that someone in the ORB government leaked their departure to the Earth Alliance and he doubted that they could stay any longer in ORB. Second, if they fled, the fleet would just return to reinforce Carpentaria. Their only option was to fight.

The Berserker of JOSH-A left the mess hall, running towards the hanger and determined to protect the Minerva and its crew.


The battles in space, and around Gibraltar and Carpentaria had quickly grown intense. ZAFT fought with an unparalleled determination against the more numerous Alliance forces. The pilots of the Earth Alliance found themselves being steadily pushed back by their attackers. For every ZAFT mobile suit that they shot down, they lost several of their own mobile suits in the process.

Shiho roared, running her sword through a Windam. A pair of Daggers fired on her. Shiho sidestepped the shots and fired her cannons at the pair, destroying them. "Come on!" she shouted. "We've cleared a path of the drop fleet. But we need to keep them away from the fleet. This will all be for nothing if they're destroyed!"

She then took off, heading towards a cluster of Alliance forces, the nearby ZAKU HM Types following after her. Many of the ZAKUs drew their tomahawks or other melee weapons as raced towards the Daggers and Windams. The Alliance mobile suits fired, but the speed of the ZAKUs was too great for them to be able to hit more than a few of them. The ZAKUs tore through the Windams and Daggers, slashing and firing at them as they raced past them. Shiho cleaved a Dagger from left shoulder to right waist. Matthews brought his tomahawk down on Windam, slicing it in half. Leo primed at a grenade and threw at a Windam and a Dagger. It exploded, destroying the Dagger and crippling the Windam. Alex fired her rifle as she flew past, taking down a Windam and two Daggers. Will tackled a Windam, slamming his shield into the mobile suit, pushing it back. The Earth pilot drew a beam saber, but before he could strike, Will swung his tomahawk, embedding it in the head of the Windam, surprising the pilot. Will pulled the axe out and swung down again as the Windam pilot managed to swing his weapon as well. Most of Will's shield was sliced off, but his axe cut open a deep gash along the Windam's chest, taking out the cockpit.

The ZAKUs then set their sights on an Agamemnon-class and two Nelson-class battleships. "Leo, Will, take the Nelson on the right. Matthews, Alex, you're on other Nelson. Max, Donnel, you're with me on the Agamemnon."

"Yes sir." the pilots replied, breaking off towards their targets.

But they didn't get a chance to attack as at that moment, a trio of black and purple ZAKUs appeared, racing behind the three warships. The lead ZAKU was armed with a normal beam assault rifle, picking off any Alliance mobile suits that crossed their path while her two partners were armed with heavy beam cannons and were firing at the engines of the warships. The beams tore into the engines of each ship, triggering a chain reaction and destroying them.

Lisa DeCosta surveyed the battlefield from her ZAKU Phantom HM Type. They were pushing them back, but barely. A ZAKU gunned down a pair of Daggers just before a Windam drove a beam saber into its back. A Gunner ZAKU aimed at the underbelly of a Nelson-class, only to be shot from side by a Windam. A Blaze ZAKU Phantom shot down a Dagger and two Windams, but as he was replacing his rifle's battery, a pair of Windams ambushed him, running their beams sabers through the ZAKUs front and back.

Lisa knew the line could buckle at any minute. They had to launch the pods now, before it was too late. "Korriban, this is Commander DeCosta, status report now."

"Commander, we're almost in position for the drop. ETA four minutes." the Korriban's comm officer replied.

Lisa scowled. "I don't think we can hold out for that long. If they launch now, will they still reach Carpentaria?"

"Barely ma'am. At least a third would land at least several kilometers south of Carpentaria."

A Windam rushed at Lisa with a beam saber, the ZAFT commander raise her rifle and fired, destroying the machine. "Then launch them now!" she ordered as two more Windams headed for her.


"All teams, commencing premature orbital drop in one hundred seconds. All attack teams, move to defensive positions. I repeat…"

Saul groaned inside the cockpit of his ZAKU. "I'm going to hate this."

"Suck it up. We're going to be dropping into battle." Yzak barked.

"Easy for you to say. I can't stand atmospheric entry." Saul shot back. "It always ties my stomach into knots."

Dearka raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Still?"

"Orbital drop commencing in sixty seconds. All teams prepare for drop."

"That's not something you just get over. You try having your stomach brutally twisted and then pulled inside out and we'll see how much you like it." Saul shot back.

"I said suck it up!" Yzak snapped. "This mission is of vital importance! We need to reinforce the defense of Carpentaria before the Alliance can attack the PLANTs again. And you better believe that they will use nukes again against the PLANTs if we don't open up a front on Earth."

"I'm not an idiot. I know how important this mission is Yzak." Saul said in a serious tone. "But that doesn't suddenly mean that I'm going instantly stop hating orbital drops."

"5… 4… 3… 2… 1… 0. Commencing drop."

The pods were released, heading down towards the Earth. Daggers and Windams opened fire on the pods. Most were blocked by the shields of the ZAKUs and GuAIZs, but a few got through, destroying some of the pods. Most, however, safely entered the atmosphere.

Shiho turned to the falling drop pods and pulled her sword up into a saluting gesture. "Good luck sirs." she said.

Commander Kessel had divided the 11th Autonomous Fleet in half, leading one half to Earth including Yzak, where they would continue to operate until further notice while Lisa DeCosta was in command of the half remaining in space, herself included, to battle Alliance in space, and to keep an eye on certain interests.

After a few minutes of heat and turbulence, the pods had finished their atmospheric entry and sailed down towards Carpentaria. "Gah… I hate this. I really, really hate this." Saul weakly said.

"Quit complaining. We're through the worst of it." Yzak snapped.

"Get ready, everyone. We're almost there." Commander Kessel said over the comm. "Pop your hatches in five… four… three… two… Now!"

The small explosive pins in the hatches fired, opening the pods and releasing their ZAKUs. Jet Striker equipped Daggers and Windams appeared, heading towards the falling ZAFT mobile suits. "Lock and load people." Diana said. "Don't hold back what so ever, because none of us are going home unless we take Carpentaria from the Alliance. For ZAFT and the PLANTs!"

"For ZAFT and the PLANTs!" many of the pilots echoed as they started firing.

The battle for Carpentaria had begun.


Gibraltar Drop Site

"We've entered the drop zone. All teams, prepare for combat drop in one hundred seconds. I repeat…"

"Commander, are sure that you want to drop equipped with a Slash Pack. Wouldn't a Blaze Pack be more suited for an orbital drop?" Harr Hathaway asked as they waited in their drop pod.

Hathaway was the new member of the team and the sole survivor of his last team. His team had been stationed at Solomon in the last battle. His entire team had been wiped out by the mobile suits of Bogey-1. By pure luck more than anything else, he had been among the handful of survivors. Afterwards, he had been assigned to replace the only loss the Voltaire's mobile suit team had suffered. Which meant that he still had a great deal to learn about the team and its commander.

"Don't worry." the Commander replied. "As I've told you before, I'll be fine. Besides, it's too late now to change Packs."

"But the Slash Pack may not have enough thruster power for a safe landing."

"Duly noted, but I'll be fine."

"5… 4… 3… 2… 1… 0. Commencing drop."

The pod shuddered as the clamps holding it in place, disengaged and the pod's boosters ignited. The pod dropped, along with numerous other pods. The pod shook as it was hit by the shockwave of a nearby explosion. "We've been knocked off course!" Harr exclaimed.

"Already correcting." Heine replied in calm, almost bored tone, firing the pod's secondary boosters, designed for course changes and corrections. "You really need to learn to loosen up a little, Rookie." The four pilots felt the pod shift, moving back towards its correct path. "Flight path corrected. You're far too tense Rookie."

"Cut the chatter." the Commander said.

A moment later, the pod started to shake and heat up as it entered the atmosphere. Minutes later, they had completed their entry and were heading for Gibraltar. Like at Carpentaria, Alliance mobile suits were taking off to intercept them. "Alright everyone, this is it. We must reinforce the defense of Gibraltar. The hopes of ZAFT as well as everyone living in the PLANTs are upon us. And we are not going to let them down." the Commander said over the radio. "Prepare to pop your hatches."

"The calm before battle. The most peaceful moment of existence." the Commander said to himself. "And the longest as well as the shortest moment before storm of battle rages."

Their pod opened, releasing the ZAKUs. The green ZAKU Phantom pulled out its two tomahawks as the other ZAKUs opened fire with their rifles at the approaching Daggers and Windams. A Dagger fired at the Phantom, but the mobile suit pulled to the left as it fired, dodging the shot and activating its thrusters. The Phantom sliced through the Dagger and then brought its axes through two more. Then the ZAKU spun as it fell, its tomahawks slicing a trio of Daggers that were too close together. A Windam appeared, firing at the ZAKU. The ZAKU slammed into the Windam, causing it to fall with the ZAFT mobile suit on top of it. The Windam pilot pulled up his rifle, intending to shoot the ZAKU. "A superior mobile suit doesn't ensure victory." the Commander said, slicing off the Windam's arms at the elbow.

The Commander then threw his tomahawks, hitting another Windam and a Dagger and destroying them. He drew his rifle that had been secured to the front of his hip armor for the drop and started firing as the two mobile suits fell.

"You're crazy! We're both going to die!" the Windam pilot frantically shouted, pushing his thrusters to maximum, trying to save himself.

But the Commander ignored him as he rode the Windam down to Earth. He already had his landing all planned out. The ZAKU moved its legs, shifting the Windam and their angle of descent. It wasn't long until they reached the right position. The Commander pushed his thrusters to their limit, pushing off the Windam. The damaged mobile suit was propelled downwards and crashed into an Alliance ship while the ZAKU hit the water of the ocean. A moment later, the ZAKU leaped from the water, landing on the deck of an Alliance carrier as it drew its Falx beam axe. The Commander swung the axe down, cutting through the bridge of the ship. He then took off, heading towards another Alliance naval warship, gunning down a pair of Daggers with his Gatling guns as he moved.

At Windam fired at Harr's ZAKU, but Harr pulled up his shield, blocking the shots before he returned the fire, blowing off the Windam's left leg and left wing of its Jet Striker. But a fair amount of his attention was elsewhere. He couldn't believe what he had just seen. The man was an Ace…No, a Super Ace. "Unbelievable… I've never seen anyone pilot a mobile suit like that."

Heine fired his rifle, taking out a Dagger's Jet Striker, sending falling. He chuckled as he picked off another. "The Commander is one of the best pilots ZAFT has. The things he can do with a ZAKU are well above what most pilots could hope to achieve with even the most powerful mobile suits." he said. "In fact, he even turned down one of those new prototypes they were building at Armory One because he felt that it would be too easy with one of those machines. No challenge in it for a warrior like him."

"Well, I guess I won't underestimate Commander Wilson ever again." Harr said as the green ZAKU landed on another carrier as a large door on its deck opened up, a large crab-like mobile armor rising up from the hanger.

"Hmm… This should be interesting." the Commander commented, raising his Falx axe as the Zamza-Zah pulled out its pincer claws.


Washington D.C.

President Hilson watched the rescue crews pull out more survivors before her com-line beeped.

"Ma'am. It's ZAFT. They're attempting to reinforce the defenses of their two bases here on Earth!" Defense Secretary Keller said as his image appeared on the Oval Office screen.

"They're what?!" This was not the news she had been expecting to hear at all. "Are you sure?"

"The data has not lied so far." The defense secretary replied.

She looked back at the White House lawn, with the American Flag flying above it. Many things seemed to be happening all at once. The Earth Forces trying to claim the two ZAFT bases, ZAFT trying to protect those bases, all while NASA was trying to recover and clean up from the colony drop.

There was just no way that NASA could just ignore that! It did not help that there was no international aid from the United Nations either.

This was not good…

While she had a meeting to attend to with Warson and Gonzalez, Vice-President Young would be meeting with the AEU representative who was coming. President Hilson hoped he could drive the rep off before he got wind of the meeting.


Washington D.C.

Three hours later

Vice-President Young was waiting as the AEU representative entered the White House Oval Office. He watched as the man sat down, his eyes looking him over.

"I see you made it with no time to waste." he noted as the man pulled out some paperwork.

"Yes, well, you know how it is." The representative replied. "Now, can we get on with the meeting?"

The vice-president just narrowed his eyes at his comment. "I see… so, you say that you wish to try and restore a relationship with NASA, is that right?" he asked.

"Yes, that is correct." The man replied as he set down the papers. "I feel that it would be beneficial to all if you were to create a relationship, or alliance, with the AEU…"

"The president recently had a meeting with the British Prime Minister, so there might be something for us there…"

The U.S. vice-president looked over the paperwork as soon as the other man handed it to him. "It would, of course, be required by the AEU leadership that you allow us to use some of your bases, for a fee that you set of course, and those bases are expected to be, of course, as per treaty requirements, Coordinator-free."

That prompted Vice-President Young look up at the man. His face was neutral, but his body language spoke volumes about what he thought of the plan. "So, that's it, huh?" he growled as she stood up. "You want to create an alliance with us, just to drive out our Coordinator soldiers who, by the way, are entitled to serve their country without fear of discrimination, from their home bases where they have been stationed, as living, breathing HUMAN soldiers?! Well, you can FORGET the alliance!" he snarled as he ripped up the papers right in front of the representative's eyes.

"There is no way that we will allow such a thing to happen again. ESPECIALLY after the JOSH-A stunt you guys pulled!" Vice-President Young snapped as he glared at the man. "Now get out before I call the Secret Service down here."

The man left before he could even reach for the phone, which made him smirk. 'Fastest time any AEU representative has left. Not a bad record…' he thought with amusement.

He then sat down and pulled out a report on the AEU movements. They had recently been detected moving towards the borders of NASA, but he shook his head when he read that the movements were in fact false. When would the AEU ever learn that NASA was not some weak power anymore?

The U.S. leader put the report away, and looked at the American Flag in the office. This was going to be harder than he had thought…


AEU

Few hours later

The representative made his way into the office of the LOGOs/Blue Cosmos leader, worried about what he would say now that he had returned without the papers that would have told of an alliance with NASA.

"Well, how did it go?" the leader asked. The representative looked towards his boss, who was shrouded in shadows.

"Not very well… he rejected the offer as soon as I mentioned the treaty requirements." The representative replied.

The leader growled. "So, he turned down our offer… what a waste of time and money, sending you over there. Still, you tried at least, so that accounts for something I suppose. Either way, the disappointment you brought me is not in your favor. But, as I am willing to let you try once more with another alliance, I will let you live."

The first man was relieved, but also very scared. Maybe he would flee to the HRL when his job was over with.

He ran out of the room, the leader smirking at his actions. "Too easy… too easy…"


En route to Gibraltar…

The USS Bill Clinton sped towards the Gibraltar base where ZAFT was fighting to try and get to the base to try and reinforce the defenses. So far ZAFT was doing rather well against the enemy, but that could change at any moment. Hence why NASA was getting involved.

"All units prepare for launch! Repeat, all units prepare for launch!" the launch controller said as he brought up the first Raptor. The grey machine moved into position on the catapult, which then sent the machine into the air. Looking like an older plane from the past, it was really an advanced mobile suit in disguise.

Several other Raptors followed right after the first, just as Windams began to fly in and attack the newer units. A Windam pilot tried to shoot down a Raptor, but it then, to the shock of the EA pilot, turned into a new machine! The NASA pilot drew out two beam sabers and slashed the Windam into pieces. The enemy machine blew up, catching the attention of the other EA forces.

Now the fight was on!


The Constitution descended on the EA forces that were advancing towards the two ZAFT bases, unseen by all. Tao smirked. "Now we can even things out. Prepare to fire! Freedom's Light cannons and Valiants, aim and target!"

Outside the ship, the unseen weapons moved into position.

"Cannons and Valiants locked on." Aisha reported.

"Then fire!" Tao ordered.

The weapons fired on command. Each blast was seen, but the sources of the blasts were unseen, making EA pilots and crews scramble around to try and find the attackers.

Constitution's guns fired again and again, striking down several Windams before the ship was fired on by an EA ship. Of course, due to the new armor, the shots went wide because the officers could not see the NAZAFT ship. The NASA vessel turned on the Earth Forces ship, which was then fired upon by the unseen enemy. Several shots hit, taking out the engines and causing the EA ship to founder.

Tao was now serious, her eyes holding a look that only her father had had before her. "Aisha, prepare to fire five Helldart missiles from the rear. We're being followed by three ships."

The five missile tubes opened up, only for five flashes to cover them. The missiles reached their targets, the three ships blowing up before any could fire on them.

"Aisha, you're in charge. The pilots are heading out." Tao said as she stood up, heading down to the pilot room. "Yes, ma'am."


All the pilots of the invisible ship were in the hanger less than ten minutes later. Each machine was prepared for combat, and ready to go.

The catapult doors opened up on both catapults. The Wing was lowered into its launcher while in fighter jet form. "Wing, you are clear for launch." Aisha said over the com-line.

"Akira Nishikama, Wing, launching!" Aki' cried as the Wing took off into the skies.

The Diver was next, now in its sub form. "Diver, clear to launch."

"Tao White, Diver, launching!" Tao shouted as the Diver was catapulted into the sea with a splash.

The rest of the former ZAFT pilots also launched, their GINNs now customized in NASA/NAZAFT colors with some NASA tech as well.

As Akira flew around in the Wing, several Windams followed. He unleashed the wing-mounted guns, but the bullets did little against the armor of the EA machines. Growling, Aki' decided to unleash the Hell-fire mini-missiles, which packed more power than the vulcan guns alone.

The small warheads homed in on three Windams, which blew up upon impact with the volatile weapons. As debris rained down, the Wing flew out from the smoke, unharmed by the aftershock of each explosion.

Under the water, Tao was dodging underwater explosions from depth charges. Of course, there were several other units with her, the new Dax units. Each was armed with four torpedo tubes, while the Diver had dual missile launchers for underwater operations. With four Dax units beside her, Tao proceeded to open fire on an EA ship, which suffered fatal damage in the ensuing explosion. The torpedoes had hit.

Beside her, the Dax units opened fire with their torpedoes as well, each underwater missile hitting the targeted EA ship. Of course, each targeted ship had been hit by four torpedoes instead of just one, so that ensured a total loss.

Up above the underwater combat, the Bill Clinton had launched a new unit, but one that was of a more advanced design. Ensign Derek Lockheed flew around, his Raptor dodging the blows of three Windams before he fired on each, taking out the head section with little to no trouble. But he was fired upon as well, the blasts hitting his machine, but the reinforced armor held up.

Growling, Ensign Lockheed fired on the Windam that had hit his unit, three shots missing before the fourth pierced the cockpit. The machine blew up in a fireball.

"Damn it… When will this end?" he snarled as he dodged a blow from a beam saber.

ZAFT's pilots were more than stunned to see NASA's machines helping them. At least, they appeared to be of NASA origins. But any help that was useful was welcome. Yzak dodged several shots from Windams, only for said machines to be taken out by a trio of the new machines, the ones that could become planes anyway.

"All units, do not fire on the new units. They are of NASA origin according to the NASA ships in the area."

The ZAFT pilots obeyed the order, all more than relieved at the help they were getting. But it was not going to be easy, as the Earth Forces outnumbered even NASA's fleet.


Pentagon

Keller observed the fighting that was taking place, thanks to the direct line feeds that were being shown by the naval fleet in the area. NASA's new machines were holding up well so far, which was not bad considering this was the first time the new units had seen any combat at all.

Even the new, more advanced Raptor was doing well, given that it had not seen combat before either. Still, there were many unknowns, and the developers of the new units were not sure how long each could last under combat stress.

Given that this was the first time new units were being used without further testing, it was a gamble that NASA had to take. In fact, taking such a risk was unheard of for them! NASA normally relied on even more testing before such units could be deployed! But, under combat conditions, there could be flaws that would be noticed and fixed following the combat's end.

So it was a dual-edged sword. And if used right, NASA could gain even more of an edge over the EA and ZAFT.

The Natural walked over to the window, the sun shining brightly. His home was now in combat once more, and it was to help out ZAFT, even though the two groups were no longer allies. Of course, it was in the American nature to help out others, so it was expected for them to help ZAFT out in its time of need, such as now.

As Keller glanced back at the screen showing the Operation Reclaimer, he could see the EA machines were going down in high numbers, but even the new units were being shot down. But, under NASA military protocol, if a Raptor was shot down, the pilot had to arm the self-destruct and then promptly eject afterwards. That way, no EA or ZAFT officers could retrieve the remains of the downed NASA MS. And with each Raptor having a nuclear reactor, that was ensured beyond belief.

He smiled to himself, knowing that NASA now had a MS that was even more feared than the famed Traverse units…


Gibraltar base

A Windam pilot dodged a Raptor's beam shots, only to have the arms of his unit sliced off by another. "Damn it! These machines are even worse than those Traverse units, and those are tough enough!" he cried before his machine blew up.

As the Raptors continued to dominate the skies above the battle zone, a lucky shot by a Windam hit the tail end of a Raptor. As the MS began to go down, the pilot armed the self-destruct, and then ejected. The cockpit canopy blew off and she was shot into the sky quickly in a blaze of fire before the damaged Raptor exploded due to the reactor being overloaded. Nothing of the formidable MS remained, save for the pilot now under a lone parachute.

The Raptor pilot managed to land near a ship that was docked, a NASA ship to be exact, and was brought onboard for medical treatment.

Meanwhile, the battle continued to rage all around them. EA ships were being sunk by the Dax units as well as the Diver, and Windams were being shot down by the ZAFT machines as well as the Raptor and Wing MS's. The new NASA machines were proving to be even more formidable against the Windams, which were of the same generation.

Of course, the Windams lacked nuclear fusion reactors as the power source, and they did not have the Gundanium armor that the Raptors had. So that gave the Raptors a big edge over the EA units.

And that edge was what allowed the NASA forces to fight back more effectively than if they had only the Traverse units.

NASA was now a real threat…


Undisclosed location

The forms in the darkened room all observed what was happening with interest to say the least, but none were interested in helping, not when the world did not need them. The rest of the nations, save for the five currently trying to keep the world at peace, was still waging war.

"So… ZAFT is now under attack…" the lead form mused.

The German representative just growled. "Yes, we all know that…" he snarled. "We are all aware of what is happening because you just wish to observe the world only…"

"And you have a problem with that?" the leader asked. "Because if you do, then you can always leave and be under attack…"

"I would rather be under attack than dealing with your stubbornness issues and your cowardice!" the German shouted back. Many gasps could be heard. "All you do is muse about world affairs when we should be helping the world, NOT HIDING FROM IT!"

The leader just brushed him off. "Yes, yes, I know all that. Now, take your seat…"

The German representative just growled and left for his room that he was now confined to. This was just not his day…


White House

Vice-President Young was sitting in his office when President Hilson came on the line, her fellow leaders coming up on the monitor as well.

"How are you holding up?" She asked as the NASA VP just snorted.

"Fine, if you consider having dealt with an AEU representative a good day." He retorted as the United States winced over the screen.

"Ah…That bad, eh?"

"More than you know." Vice-President Young replied. "Anyway, we have a mission to take care of."

"Si. The public front is the main issue here. Keeping the PLANTs in the dark about this, as well as the Earth Forces, is our priority." The Mexican leader, President Gonzalez, agreed.

"So, what should we say?" Vice-President Young asked.

"Well, why don't we just announce the President and Prime Minister are to head out to the AEU as soon as possible to meet for an aid treaty?" President Gonzalez asked.

"I think we can work with that. The meeting is coming up soon, anyway." Prime Minister Warson agreed.

The NASA VP nodded. "Well, that was the original plan…" He noted as Gonzalez smirked. "Okay. As soon as the Reclaimer operation is over, we will do just that."

"Si."

"Got it."

"Okay."


Pentagon

Keller, having overheard the call between the vice-president and the Mexican president, sighed. Of course this wasn't going to be an easy thing to pull off, but he had confidence that it could be done. His role though, was far more important. He was to keep the American people calm and informed as to what was going on with the world as well as with the results of the investigation thus far. So far, very little had been found save for those terrorist cells that had been broken up and now results were beginning to come in as far as he knew.

Ten people had been willing to talk, but they would not say the name of the one who had set them up to it. Either that, or they did not know who had set them up with the idea.

The potential idea for that made him shiver to say the least. The newest reports from the investigation team were on his desk and he began to read them over, his eyes narrowing as he gained more insight as to what was going on. 'So, someone put this many people up to it, and not one of them knows who. Either that… or they just refuse to say because it is a secret thing that shouldn't be revealed…'

As Defense Secretary Keller set down the report from Earth, he picked up the one on the investigation into why Junius Seven fell. 'Hmm… So far, the ones who dropped Junius Seven were ex-ZAFT as well as Wu followers. But that doesn't explain why they were using the newest ZAFT GINNs and how they got those Flare Motors. Still, there was someone behind it, and only someone from the PLANT government could get them those motors and the GINNs. But the question now is, who? Who could have gotten them those machines and motors?'

So far, the investigation into why Junius Seven fell was moving along quite nicely while the one into the terrorist cells within NASA and the U.S. had hit a snag. "One investigation moves along accordingly while the other stalls and hits a wall…" He murmured as he set the report down on his desk.

Looking over the numbers of GINNs that were reported at the remains of Junius Seven, he frowned to himself. 'No one should have been able to get them that many machines without them being noticed. This is just too coincidental to overlook. We need more information, and the only way to get that, is to gain access to the files of each arms maker in the PLANTs. That shouldn't be too hard to do, but we can't take a chance of someone finding out what we are really up to in the long run.'

Standing up, Keller made his way to his window that he looked out of again. His mind was wandering though, as it drifted to if the Chairman was really what he seemed to be.

Keller frowned to himself.

This war was getting worse and worse. But neither side was willing to go to the lengths that the previous war had last time, well, save for attacking the PLANTs with nukes twice in the beginning of the war. But again, that was attributed to a few crazies who thought all Coordinators were behind the drop. The upper echelon of the Earth Forces had not outright admitted that, but there was outrage, so that was a good sign that the Earth Forces were not as radical as in the last war.

But he knew that could change. Someone could turn things back onto the path the last war took. Should that happen though, NASA would be ready…


New Juneau

Corporal Carson watched as Operation Reclaimer commenced. He wanted to head down there so badly, and yet he could not, for he was assigned to receive the newest machine, the NAS-118-C Defender Gundam, when it was finally cleared for deployment, which would be in a few weeks. It wasn't hard to accept, but the fact NASA was working on a new MS that would be deployed soon, just a few weeks after their latest ones, was more of a surprise than anything, one, of course, that ZAFT and the EA were unaware of.

Casy came up next to him with a grin. "Can't wait to get out there in your new machine, eh?" She teased as Jack rolled his eyes and gave her a shove in response.

"Yeah, you know I can't, but the there are still a few weeks to go before it is able to be cleared for deployment." Jack retorted as he gave her a similar grin.

Sergeant Manson looked at Jack directly at his words. "Well, either way, we have a surprise that not even ZAFT knows about."

Jack laughed at her response. "That is true!"

Casy then turned serious. "Also... we had an incident regarding the 'Black Pizza Boxes'."

Jack froze as his laughter died down. "What...?"

"Someone destroyed some damaged armor plates from the GINNs we picked up, thinking they were the 'Pizza Boxes'." Casy explained. "However, because someone was trying to destroy parts that we need for this investigation, the security around the 'Black Pizza Boxes' has been upped."

"Did we get anything from the downloads?" Jack asked as Casy shrugged.

"How should I know? We're only the pick-up/clean-up crew, not the actual investigators." She replied as Jack looked down in thought.


In the investigation lab of New Juneau, the latest news on the Flight Data Recorders and the Cockpit Voice Recorders, the FDR and CVR, of the GINNs had made more progress. All CVRs had been downloaded and deciphered while the FDRs were halfway done. Jilia looked over the screen that showed space, including where the remains of Junius Seven had been. There were eight marks on there, signifying each GINN's former position at the start of the operation.

"Okay... so we have two GINNs around this central location, while two more were over towards the west of Junius Seven's remains. The other three were at the southern end of the colony's ruins, and the last one was up near the northeastern part of the colony's remains." Jilia noted with interest.

Thomas looked over the same information with a frown on his face. "Those are prime spots to place Flare Motors if I was one of those terrorists." He mused grimly.

As the two of them looked over the information, Jilia was looking for a pattern of some sort, anything to give away the location of a ship in the area or something similar.

Thomas was also looking for something along those lines, but he was the first one of their duo to realize something. Grabbing some files, Thomas flipped through to where the GINNs had been first detected before their FDRs had gone dormant. "Jilia!"

The Coordinator looked over at him in confusion. "What is it?" Jilia asked as she made her way over to her Natural comrade.

"Look here." Thomas said as he pointed at the files with the information on them. "Isn't this where the GINNs were launched from?"

"Yes, why?" Jilia asked, confused now. "The ship they were using would not have made any announcements that they were in war memorial airspace, would it?"

Thomas looked back at her. "That is true yes, but what we can do is see if New Juneau's receivers picked up any ships in the area within that day and timeframe." He explained. "If we can use the receivers, as each ship that enters the range of the receivers has to send out a ping to be picked up, then we could rule out which ships are behind it. Any ships that have not pinged the receivers will be considered suspect."

Jilia blinked. "You mean, if the receivers were not pinged and yet picked up the ship's ID frequency... then we can use that to figure out which ship was in the area and did not send out a ping?"

Thomas grinned. "Or, we could see if there are any unidentified pings, where a ship has cloaked or jammed its ID frequency and yet still sent out a ping. The pings are automatic, unable to be turned off. This allows us to keep a record of what ships are where, and what ships come and go from the colony."

At his words, Jilia grinned. "I see now! We can use the pings to ID a ship in the area!" Her grin grew wider. "The pings send out basic ID information, so even if the ID frequency is jammed or not broadcasted, we can still find the ship!"

Thomas grinned as well. "Exactly."

Jilia chuckled here. "Well, I guess I can alert the colony commander to what we have done and how far we have progressed in our investigation into the Junius Seven drop."

Her Natural colleague nodded, feeling somewhat elated they had finally made some progress on the investigation now.


Chapter is complete. Heero and the Minerva are under attack at ORB as Athrun meets with the President of the United States. Operation Reclaimer begins with NASA helping ZAFT out and the UN begins to fracture further concerning their neutrality stance. At the same time, the Junius Seven investigation, led by NASA, makes another breakthrough, but where will this one lead? Read on to find out! :3

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!