A/n

Okay, here is the next Phase. I hope you enjoy it!


Phase 75: Searching for a Path

October 15th, 73 C.E.


The attempted Junius Seven drop had scared many on Earth when it had been noticed. It had been impossible to miss with the colony mass becoming clearly visible to the naked eye as it drew closer to Earth. Leaders around the world watched and worried about what could happen if something the size of Junius Seven collided with Earth. Major political leaders both from the Alliance and the Federation did put out statements when the ruins had began moving toward Earth, saying attempts were being made to change its course. The fear of the ruins of Junius Seven potentially striking Earth spread quickly through Earth's population. The impact alone would be a cataclysm, and what would follow in its wake would be likely just as bad should the large mass strike the planet. History made it clear that objects from space hitting Earth didn't end well for those that lived on the planet. Thus, seeing the ruins draw ever closer to Earth increased the fear of the general public.

When the ruin was split into two, there was some relief but not a great deal as both parts were still dangerous. It did thwart a single mass hitting Earth, yet the debris and the two large masses could cause serious destruction. The announcements to the public were grave as a danger of this magnitude hadn't been faced since the end of the Alliance-PLANT war. Most news broadcasts told the truth uncensored and as was known, the simple fact that the ruin of Junius Seven was hurtling towards Earth in what had been confirmed as a collision course. Panic from the masses was marginally contained, but the fear of the inhabitance of the world was evident everywhere.

Nevertheless, the general narrative was kept to the ruins heading toward Earth. It was also stated that there was a force working feverishly to break down the ruins enough to prevent large pieces from striking the planet. The non-Alliance media talked about the force far more than the Alliance funded networks who just mentioned the point. The further breakdown soon followed after the first split, which inspired hope that disaster could potentially be avoided. The media were doing all they could to get current information on the ongoing situation. Some of them were spreading wild theories about how the ruins could've been sent toward Earth. The conspiracy theories only fed fuel to the fears many were experiencing. The Alliance sponsored media were the main source of the unproven theories they were spreading.

The majority of the mass that had been the colony ruins sailed in paths that would miss colliding with Earth itself. However, while the breakdown of the ruins did divert the possibility of mass destruction for Earth, it didn't avoid affects completely. Debris did enter Earth's atmosphere, and some burned up in it, but other chunks did not. There were still groups of fragments from Junius Seven that descended through the atmosphere and those mostly ranged above and below the equator. After calculations were made as to the general zones of impact, warnings were sent before the rocks began their journey down toward the planet's surface. Attempts to evacuate people from the danger zones were immediately undertaken. Those close to the danger zones were moved to shelters which had been built in case of a cataclysm. Others watched and held their breath as they began viewing the fragments rain down from the skies appearing to be as fire.

The world was shaken as the first group of fragments crashed down in the Euros Coalition in the area that the city of Athens and affected the immediate surrounding area. Close to the same time, a collection of fragments struck made a spread across the southern parts of the North African Community and the northern areas of the South African Union causing damage to several settlements. Those areas were but the first to experience the space rocks impacting. They were followed by the Atlantic Federation, specifically along its east coast, more the northern half of the coastline. The rain of debris was heavy in the areas of the city of Philadelphia as well as Quebec City to the north. Also, fragment groups from Junius Seven came slamming down in the area of the shared border between the Republic, the Equatorial Union, and the Eurasian Federation. And lastly, several fragment collections splashed down in the oceans of the world, mostly coming down around the equator longitudes both to the north and to the south.

As debris began hitting the oceans and land around the equator in the western hemisphere, the world shuttered. Earthquakes started shortly after the impacts began occurring. Those were followed quickly but growing waves in the oceans near the impact sites. The waves rapidly became tsunami-type waves surging outward from the impact zones. The scope of the damage zones was expanded with the tsunami waves being seen along with the earthquakes. Further evacuations were quickly mounted from the newly effected areas. The disaster was quickly becoming one on a global scale, though not as much as if the ruins had struck directly. The level of panic increased for the general public as the global response kept changing and adapting to the situation. The Federation nations contained and managed the panic of the general public. On the other hand, the Alliance and ZAFT territory had more trouble with the people panicking in response to the disaster.

Among the places affected by the growing disaster, the orphanage on the Marshall Islands had received an evacuation order from Orb's government. All the adults had been listening to the broadcast of what was going on above in space. Caridad and Malchio were concerned with the event of the ruins being sent at Earth. Malchio knew the event itself while bad wouldn't end with debris likely impacting Earth's surface. The radicals in the Alliance wouldn't allow this event to be put behind Humanity anytime soon. No, they would use this as a justification to move toward another war with ZAFT and potentially the Federation. And sadly, there were enough radicals to ensure war would very likely come in the near future. It meant the time of fragile peace would be coming to an end and not in the way many wanted it to with more stable peace.

Andrew and Aisha had seen the news and had gone to what they could access with the Federation's Information Network. What they found out wasn't encouraging to either of them, but about what they expected. The media had said a force was working on breaking down the ruins and that was correct. Andrew would guess ZAFT was using meteor breakers to attempt to break the mass down to be smaller. He also assumed the Federation was assisting in the said breakdown. The Federation stood to lose as much if not more than the Alliance did on Earth if it was struck by the ruins. But even with all the efforts expended, it would unlikely be enough to save Earth from any debris impacting the surface. The fact of the matter was those at the orphanage would have to take shelter quickly. Calculations that Andrew could find showed waves would hit the Marshall Islands. The orphanage itself would probably be wiped away from the coming tsunami waves. The shelter would protect them from the coming disaster with how it was constructed.

Andrew told Malchio of the concerns he had and suggested they have all at the orphanage move to the shelter it had. Malchio knew the wisdom of what Andrew suggested with moving all to the shelter. The growing disaster would reach them soon enough and if they weren't in the shelter, it wouldn't end well. There was still some time before the tsunami waves reached the Marshall Islands which could be used to prepare. Andrew and his partner had always thought about protecting those at the orphanage, Malchio had seen that. There was no reason for that to change now with disaster coming their way. Thus, Malchio told Caridad to start gathering the children so they could all move to the shelter. The kids would question why they needed to go to the shelter like they did with the drills they did occasionally. But some of them wouldn't understand what was coming and time was of the essence.

As the children were being gathered together, Lacus noticed Kira was missing from the adults that were around the orphanage. The news of Junius Seven's ruins heading had been saddening for her. The ruins were the monument of a tragedy, they shouldn't be used to cause a potentially worse event. The Junius Seven Recovery Project had she thought helped the majority move forward from the Bloody Valentine. The victims had been returned to their families so there could be closure for them. However, for the ruins to be sent toward Earth said there were enough that hadn't moved on from the Bloody Valentine. The issue as Lacus saw it was those who had sent the ruins toward Earth either didn't understand what they were doing or didn't care about the consequences. There would be those that would twist this event into somehow ZAFT being involved and that it had been intentional. That would lead to the Alliance pushing for another war and attack the PLANTs.

With debris impacting on Earth's surface, Kira would be trying to figure out why it was happening. And there was little doubt Kira had seen at least some of the news, enough he would be aware the ruins of Junius Seven were heading for Earth. He would need to go to the shelter as well as the rest would. Thus, Lacus went looking for Kira as she hadn't seen him since a little after breakfast. There were usually three reasons for her not to see Kira during the day; he was playing with a group of the kids, he'd gone out for a short walk or something had him concerned and thinking. And out of the three, the last was the most likely to be the reason Kira wasn't around the rest of the adults. It had been happening more often lately and Lacus was becoming more concerned in the last week, since Tyler had come by. Something about that conversation had hit Kira and had him going off thinking by himself more.

At the same time, Kira was in a grove of trees that was on the cliff overlooking the beach. It was a place he'd found months ago which was quiet and rarely got foot traffic around it. That made it a place Kira could come to think and not be interrupted by others whether accidental or intentional. He had a lot on his mind lately with what Tyler had said and what was going on. Conflict was building and evidence pointed toward a war being the intended result by those encouraging it. And with the ruins of Junius Seven hurdling toward Earth, it would likely be the tipping point that Tyler implied could start a war.

Kira had hoped the Alliance-PLANT War had taught enough people to make another come on unlikely in his lifetime. But it wasn't appearing to be the case that he would be able to avoid fighting and potentially killing other people. Should the effects of the ruins push for a war as was probable, then war would quickly spread. Kira wouldn't let any attack Lacus or those at the Orphanage. However, he didn't want to get into the Freedom again and start shooting others as enemy soldiers. Kira had tried to put that behind him and not be forced to take up weapons again and have more blood on his hands. He wasn't like Tyler and Athrun, Kira wasn't a soldier and so didn't like to kill others. And while he knew his friends didn't like killing others either, they had been trained to put those feelings aside and do it when required. Kira had not had such training and so it was hard to kill when such came up for him. The future was looking bleaker the more that Kira thought about it. War was extremely likely to happen and that would in turn force him to take up arms again.

Lacus was searching for Kira and didn't find him anywhere in the orphanage. That left the property around the complex as to where Kira could be located. She knew that Kira was worried about what Tyler had said, but she hadn't thought it was to a concerning extent. Lacus also knew Kira was worried about Tyler and Athrun's well-being with the conflict occurring. Tyler was still working with the Federation's Military, but it sounded like Tyler's duties had changed somewhat. He apparently wasn't necessarily on the front lines of the conflict but did go there still with where he was assigned. That meant Tyler's job still had elements of danger that could threaten his life which Kira, nor she wanted. Athrun had been around Cagalli but that hadn't kept him out of danger according to what Cagalli had said when she'd visited recently. And apparently, Athrun was considering doing something else to help put down the conflict. What Athrun could do to achieve that, Lacus couldn't say but it still concerned her.

It was around ten minutes after she started her search that Lacus found Kira. He was in a small grove of trees that overlooked the beach a short distance away from the orphanage. Kira was looking up at the sky. And when Lacus gazed in the same direction, she gasped as she saw the orange lines made from the debris that was falling through the atmosphere. It brought on a new wave of sadness to Lacus, seeing undisputable proof that there were those that wouldn't allow peace to stand any longer. Lacus turned back to Kira and could tell by Kira's distant expression that he wasn't really looking in the direction he was facing. He was lost in his thoughts, and she knew it. Lacus approached slowly, studying Kira who didn't seem to notice her coming up to him. Yet, Lacus knew there wasn't the time to let Kira come out of his thoughts. The affects from the impacts were coming toward the Marshall Islands. They needed to get to the shelter before the tsunami waves struck the island. She put a hand on Kira's shoulder, "Kira."

Kira heard Lacus's voice and snapped out of his thoughts. He glanced to his left and saw Lacus standing there. He knew disaster was coming soon enough, but there should still be time for him to get to the shelter. That was the only reason he could think of for his girlfriend to come looking for him right now. "Lacus," he questioned, "what are you doing here?" Lacus's hold on Kira's shoulder tightened, "We need to get to the shelter. Mr. Waltfeld says, we have less than twenty minutes before the first high waves will crash into the island." Kira hadn't thought things had moved that quickly already. It said he'd been lost in his thoughts for longer than he figured he had been. Kira nodded in response, "Sorry, I guess I was lost in my thoughts for longer than I planned to be."

The two rose and began jogging toward the orphanage. The shelter entrance was inside the orphanage itself. When they reached the complex, Kira glanced behind and saw the first signs of the ocean drawing back from the shoreline. The two of them had to reach the shelter quickly before the waves hit the shore and started inland. Kira waved Lacus inside and pushed her to start running toward the shelter entrance. The two ran down the main hallway toward the back room the entrance was set in. Lacus went straight for the control panel for the heavy shelter door and had it open. Then she and Kira moved inside and had the outer door close and lock before the inner door slid open. All the orphanage's inhabitants were there already. The kids were clearly scared of what was going on.

Andrew was relieved to see Lacus and Kira having made it to the shelter in time before the tsunami waves should hit the island. He got up and went over, closing the inner shelter door and making sure the shelter was secured. Once the shelter was secured, he took his seat next to Aisha and waited for the storm to come. It was minutes later the shelter began shaking, which frightened the children. There were booms and crashes that followed the shaking. All but Andrew and Aisha worked to keep the kids calm as the shaking and noise continued. Andrew assumed the waves had slammed into the shoreline and surged further inland. It was unlikely that the orphanage would be standing when they exited the shelter. A solid hour went by as the crashing and shaking kept going. Another hour passed as things began dying down and silence started settling in.

It was a half an hour more before Andrew and Aisha agreed it had been quiet long enough to be safe to peek outside. The two told the others in the shelter to stay there while they made sure it was okay to come out. Andrew and Aisha opened the inner door and entered the anteroom and closed the door behind them. When the outer door slid open, the two could only stare at what was in front of them. There was nothing but wreckage left of the orphanage, debris was littered everywhere. The tsunami waves had crushed and smashed all the structure as they had passed. They turned to see the entrance to the shelter was battered but had made it through the storm as had been expected. The orphanage would have to be completely rebuilt after the debris was cleared. Things appeared safe enough for the kids to be able to come out. They would have to be watched around the debris, so they didn't hurt themselves, but that was doable. Andrew and Aisha turned back to the shelter door and reentered the area to tell of what they had found.

All the inhabitants of the orphanage left the shelter and could only stare at what had been their home. Some of the kids were crying at the orphanage being gone from the waves. Kira gazed sadly over what had been the orphanage. He knew the buildings that had made it up could be rebuilt and the items inside replaced. However, the feeling of having one's home taken from them still hurt. Kira had a feeling when Cagalli heard the orphanage had been swept away by the tsunami waves, she would want to help. She did love the kids here and had said to Kira that she wanted to help them when she could. And yet, Kira felt Cagalli would be busy with the other parts of Orb which had been affected by the waves.

However, with the debris hitting Earth, there was so much more that had to be considered. Those that had sent the ruins at Earth had likely been few, but the damage they had done would be felt for years if not longer. They would be remembered for being Coordinators and not for their motivation or anything more than their genetic type. It brought bad memories from the previous war that Kira wished to forget what had happened during that timeframe. The hatred which had fueled the Alliance-PLANT War had been ridiculous but effective at pushing people. And Kira was seeing the signs of that same kind of hatred popping up, even if in the background and not in the open yet. Kira wished that human beings were quicker to forgive others and not turn to hatred and other nasty emotions. But he had seen humanity tended to be stubborn and hold on to memories of horrible events which translated into poisonous grudges. No, Kira was sure this event would be what would be used to justify starting another war and bring back the same kind of horrible things that had come with the previous conflict.

Lacus gazed over the wreckage and debris that had been the orphanage. There was nothing left of the place she had been calling home for close to two years after disappearing from the public eye. She was glad those who had lived with her at the orphanage were okay, but all they had was gone. If it were just that, Lacus wouldn't be as hurt and worried as she was. The damage was horrible, but that some would use it for their own purposes was worse. The growing conflict would worsen with this event, Lacus knew that to be the truth. And what was worse still was the coming war would draw innocent people into the conflict and cause death and destruction that it would bring.

While the kids were crying about the orphanage being destroyed, Andrew and Aisha were looking ahead. The orphanage could be rebuilt, there was no question about that so the complex being washed away was not a world ending thing. However, what had caused the tsunami waves that had destroyed the orphanage would not be let go. The few who had sent the ruins of Junius Seven at Earth regardless of what they had intended had created a nightmarish scenario. Who they were wouldn't be remembered in history or what would come. No, the thing that would be said about them would be them being Coordinators. The Alliance would use that fact to stoke the fires of hate and push toward another war. The homeland was still a target of the radicals of the Alliance and the anti-Coordinator types. Available evidence stated there had been plans and attempts to go after the PLANTs even after the Alliance-PLANT War had ended.

At the same time, around the world people were told the disasters from the debris impacting had died down. After being told that, they began coming out from the shelters they had retreated to so that they could weather the disaster. What met the sight of many caused them to just stare unable to process what they saw. The damage from the fragments impacting was extensive in the danger zones that had been drawn. Earth may not have suffered the worst scenario possible, but it had taken a beating and was still reeling and would be for a time going forward. The resulting disasters that had come from the space rocks impacting did far more destruction than the initial impacts. Property had been ruined or wiped away from the earthquakes and extreme storms and waves that accompanied them. Many now had no place to call home or go because of the "ripples" that had come around due to Junius Seven's ruins coming to Earth.

The people around the world began weeping for what had occurred. The losses that had come both of property and of life were horrendous. The lives of those that had been either in the immediate impact zones or close by had been ended quickly. Those that hadn't reached the shelters in time were missing and presumed dead. All of the loss brought back reminders of past horrors from the Alliance-PLANT War and what had led up to it. The war was supposed to have ended a few years ago and the human race move forward. However, the memories brought back amplified the standing pain and hurt caused by the colony drop. It caused many to question why such a thing had happened at all. Sending the Junius Seven ruins at Earth made so little sense to any on Earth. And that was truer after the Junius Seven Recovery Project had been completed close to a year ago.

As the search for answers began, it was within a week of the ruins coming to Earth that took a turn. That came in the form of news being released from an "unnamed" source, saying those "responsible" for the ruins being dropped were Coordinators. The first reaction to that "news" was confusion as there was little evidence given to support the point. However, agents within the Alliance worked hard to push the narrative as the truth. Within another week, the general public minus Federation citizens believed the claim Coordinators had dropped the ruins on Earth. It fueled the hatred that had been growing of Naturals of Coordinators. The outcry against Coordinators became much louder. The lashing out by some groups made against Coordinators on Earth came just as swiftly.

For many Coordinators, they fled from the hatred against them. Death threats were lobbed at them left and right so much it quickly became dangerous for them to ignore such. Most Coordinators escaped those threatening them, taking haven within member nations of the Federation. The "mass exodus" to Federation territory by Coordinators was received by those who had threatened them in two ways. The first way was satisfaction on forcing the "space monsters" out of their lands. The other was displeasure since it would make attacking said Coordinators much more difficult.

The Alliance wasn't so foolish to believe the Federation would hand over Coordinators to them upon demand. The Federation had shown no sign of change of its standing or behavior since the Alliance-PLANT War. They held to their "principles" of equality for all humans regardless of genetic type. Those that fled to the Federation and asked for asylum became out of reach to the Alliance the majority of the time. The Alliance had been trying to figure out ways around the Federation's cursed standing and principles but hadn't had success in that escapade. However, OMNI and the Alliance's leadership had been planning to deal with the Federation with the coming conflict. The Federation couldn't be left alone and hope they wouldn't interfere with plans the Alliance had. They would need to be handled preferably before ZAFT was fought.

While the Alliance was stoking the flames of hatred, the Federation was preparing for the coming war. The Coordinators that had come to the Federation begging for asylum to protect themselves from the death threats sent their way were granted. That did have the Alliance "requesting" or really demanding Coordinators be handed over. The reasoning for the demands was Coordinators had sent Junius Seven's ruins at Earth. The impact of the debris had done horrible damage to the planet and so Coordinators had to be held accountable. The reply to that demand was the accusation was unjust since only a few had caused the disaster, not the whole genetic type. The reply wasn't accepted by the Alliance and renewed demands were sent and any answer similar to the first was ignored.

With it being made clear the Alliance was putting up a façade to justify their actions, the Federation's military began taking action. They rapidly cracked down heavily on any that attacked or bullied Coordinators without due cause within the borders of Federation territory. Federation soldiers made it clear that there would be no tolerance for anti-Coordinator behavior even with the current climate. When some used the "excuse" that Coordinators were to blame for the ruin debris dropping to Earth, that was dismissed. It was stated clearly that a few Coordinators caused the disaster, but that didn't mean all other Coordinators wanted the event to happen. Any argument to the contrary wasn't allowed to be forced upon Federation citizens and the soldiers made sure of that. The Federation's actions and response to the anti-Coordinator sediment held fast and unmovable.

Nevertheless, the Federation's response and standing didn't stop many screeching for Coordinators to pay for the ruins hitting Earth. The screams for retribution kept increasing from those in the Alliance. Such was encouraged in the background by those in control of the Alliance. Agents of the Alliance and their "funders" quickly spread the idea of retaliation against the Federation should be sought. The justification for that was they were sheltering the monsters who wanted to drop the ruins of a colony onto Earth. The other "target" that was inserted into the hatred-fueled public was the PLANTs. That would make sure ZAFT was blamed for the ruin drop and conflict would move towards war.

The Alliance's efforts were dampened somewhat by the response from the PLANTs. It was in the week that debris impacted Earth that Chairman Gilbert Durandal and the other representatives from the PLANTs communicated with those on Earth. They stated their wish was to help and assistance to all of those that had been affected by the falling of Junius Seven. They admitted there had been a rouge group that had caused the incident and they had been former ZAFT soldiers. However, their views weren't in anyway shared by the PLANTs or ZAFT as they wanted peace with Earth. The offer of assistance made keeping the story of Coordinators being responsible for the disasters harder. Agents of the Alliance and their funders had to do more work to keep the hatred of Coordinators going.

The Federation and ZAFT did exchange ideas of what could be done to prevent such an event as the ruins dropping on Earth does not happen again. The Alliance silently refused to participate in the "planning" of disaster prevention. The two factions discussed what possibilities there were and out of that came two ideas. The first point that was brought up was moving what was left of the ruins out of range of Earth. It was suggested that such be done with other large masses that were orbiting in the Debris Belt. ZAFT said they had a "device" that could do the task in storage. From what was said, it was what the GENESIS used by Chairman Zala had been developed from. There would need to be some equipment attached to the masses for the use of "GENESIS Alpha" but that was more a matter of work and time.

The Federation suggested that a group that tended to ally itself with them known as the Junk Guild assist in the task. They had mentioned GENESIS Alpha as they had apparently been unofficially working with some in ZAFT to maintain the device. The Junk Guild leader assured both ZAFT and the Federation it was designed for launching ships or large objects extremely long distances. It had been tested once by the Junk Guild which ZAFT hadn't recorded back during the war. The targets would be moved toward the Asteroid Belt which would be out of reach of any that would use them in a threatening manner. Thus, plans were set to use GENESIS Alpha to move large debris including what was left of Junius Seven beyond reach of dangerous individuals and groups.

The second idea discussed in the exchange was a potential long-term recovery plan for Earth. The impact of the debris had caused devastation, there was no argument about that. It would likely take months for immediate needs to be handled and years to have Earth make a "full" recovery. Durandal stated ZAFT and the PLANTs wanted to assist as they could in the recovery of Earth. He promised the PLANTs would send humanitarian aid to the states of the Earth Alliance and the member nations of the Federation. If Earth could be directed back toward the way it had been moving, war could potentially be avoided. Another war would make the sacrifices made before now meaningless and Gilbert didn't want that to happen.

Gilbert felt he was at fault to an extent with the rouge group sending the ruins of Junius Seven at Earth. They had been former ZAFT soldiers which ZAFT should've been keeping an eye on. Treize had done a "sweep" of ZAFT before he retired, apparently to make sure there were no signs of dissonance. Gilbert had put it to the National Defense Committee to keep that up after Treize had honorably bowed out of ZAFT. However, apparently, enough had been missed that had brought on the event that had created this issue. Thus, Gilbert wanted to make up for his and others' mistakes that had led to the ruins being sent toward Earth. It was also to the benefit of the PLANTs for Earth to be peaceful and not experience conflict.

Toward the end of the week of the occurrence of the debris hitting Earth, Athrun contacted Kira. He wanted to make sure that he and those with him were alright after the disasters had past. The other thing that Athrun wanted to talk with Kira about a decision he was about to make. Athrun was seriously considering joining back up with ZAFT to attempt to help curb the conflict from becoming a war. The ruins being dropped down to Earth could and likely would be used to try and ignite a war between the factions. Athrun didn't want to see what the Alliance-PLANT War had done to humanity come about again. Kira agreed to meet with Athrun with him coming to the Marshall Islands. Kira had mentioned the location wouldn't be by the orphanage as it had been destroyed by the tsunami waves. He did assure Athrun all who had lived at the orphanage were okay as they had gotten to the shelter they had. But for the time it would take for the orphanage to be rebuilt, its inhabitants were living at another place.

Kira told Athrun those who had lived at the orphanage were being put up by one of the residences on the island whose place had weathered the disasters. It took twenty minutes to reach the large house Kira had told him about. Athrun had planned to talk to Kira sooner, but things had been busy for him with Cagalli's schedule picking up lately. The ruin drop had changed a lot of things for both him and Cagalli. Cagalli was busy with Orb government stuff, so couldn't come out to see Kira and the rest herself. Athrun knew she wanted to, but her duties wouldn't allow the point for the near future. Thus, Cagalli had tasked him to go and check on Kira and those from the orphanage. Athrun had no issue with the job, but he'd seen how stressed Cagalli had been and that was worrisome.

Athrun traveled to the collection of islands close to Orb's mainland which Kira and the others from the orphanage had gone to live after the disasters. Athrun tried to visit the orphanage when he could make the time. It was both to check on Kira and Lacus, and to see how the kids were doing. Because of that, the kids had become fond of him, much like they had Tyler when he got around. Honestly, the kids had seen and experienced things that no child should have to go through, both from the Alliance-PLANT war and this most recent incident. But then the ruins falling occurred making things harder for all. Much of what Athrun had seen with Orb's mainland had been minimized from the disasters' effects. However, as Athrun passed some of the islands in Orb's territory, the scope of the damage from the waves and debris impacts became clearer. The land the transport passed had been brutalized by the tsunami waves caused by the ruin debris falling to Earth. Pain filled Athrun's heart at seeing the wreckage or the signs of structures missing from where they had been.

The transport's pilot informed Athrun their destination was coming up with the next island. Athrun looked out his window and saw the island Kira had mentioned coming up. The roads had been ripped up or broken from what Athrun could see. The "airfield" which the main island had was still partly where it should be, but the buildings that had been around the landing area were gone. Most of the "houses" that had been spread around the island were either wrecked or just gone much like the roads. Athrun had expected what he was seeing with what Kira had described to him when they had talked. However, it still hurt to see the damage firsthand even from the air as the transport was circling the island before landing. The transport landed and from there, Athrun got into an all-terrain vehicle which would be the only vehicle that could traverse the island in its current state. The route he took was longer than it would normally take to reach where the orphanage. It was due to the main roads were out in several places which required Athrun to take detours.

Kira spotted the vehicle pulling up to the property he and the rest from the orphanage were staying at while their home was being rebuilt. Kira had talked with Tyler yesterday and the subject had revolved around the ruins falling to Earth. Tyler had admitted he had been called upon to participate in the operation to handle the Junius Seven ruins. According to him, the operation had been complicated for a couple of reasons. ZAFT had been doing all they could to stop the ruins. Federation media had said something along those lines, so Kira had figured that was the case. However, the Alliance media hadn't said anything about that as they spread conspiracies. The two major factors in the operation were the "rouge" ZAFT group that were the instigators and the Alliance group that had come onto the scene.

The rouge group had hindered the work to break down the ruins before it got too close to Earth. From what Tyler said, the pilots hadn't been normal or average even by ZAFT standard. His friend implied the enemy pilots had been experts. That would suggest there were worrisome dissonance among ZAFT that had concerning influence. Then there was the Alliance group which had interfered needlessly. Tyler mentioned the Alliance group was the same one he'd encountered around Lagrange 4. What Tyler had said about the group while around the orphanage had been bad. Kira didn't expect the group to be any better around the ruins. Apparently, Tyler and Sakura who had been around at the time had whipped those from the Alliance group. In the end, the combined efforts of ZAFT and the Federation had minimized the effects of the ruins falling to Earth as much as they could. Kira knew the ruins falling could've been much worse than it had ended out being when the impacts had begun. Athrun was exiting the car before Kira began making his way toward his friend. Kira hoped that Athrun might be able to shed some light on what Orb's government was doing to help with things. With Athrun being around Cagalli more than Kira was, he tended to know more about Orb's responses than Kira did.

Athrun glanced toward the group of kids in the grassy area by the house they were staying at. Lacus was with them seemingly keeping them organized as she could. Kira had already looked Athrun's way and was approaching. It didn't take long for the kids to notice that Athrun was there. They raced over to Athrun calling his name before they surrounded him. The kids instantly began peppering him with question after question about where he had been and what he'd been doing. Athrun smiled as the kids chattered away around him. He couldn't understand what they were all saying as they were talking over each other.

Lacus had chased after the kids when one shouted, they saw someone coming up to the house. That had gotten the others to form into a group that quickly raced toward the road. She had followed them wondering who it was that was visiting. As she got closer to the kids, Lacus did spot none other than Athrun being surrounded by the children. Lacus reached the children, she did what she could to calm them down and not pester Athrun. It was always nice when Athrun visited, spotty as it tended to be. From what Lacus had heard from him, Athrun was kept busy helping Cagalli. She could only imagine Cagalli was even busier with the recent disasters that had befallen Earth. Orb's government would be bogged down with disaster recovery, repairing damage, and rebuilding what couldn't be repaired.

As the kids were chatting away, Athrun heard some of them talking about their experience of hunkering down in the orphanage's shelter. Athrun picked up on how some of them had been scared as they had been herded to the shelter. He could only imagine how sacred the children had to have been when the adults had been leading them to the shelter. The things they could've been told couldn't have made a great deal of sense to them with what had been going on. They wouldn't been evacuated to the shelter before the towering waves became visible from the orphanage. The kids told him about the shaking that had come with the crashes they heard while in the shelter. With the children's age range while a sizable gap didn't have any in their late adolescent, thus would be hard-pressed to understand the disasters going on at the time.

Things hadn't improved for the orphanage's kids when they emerged from the shelter once the disasters died down. The orphanage had been washed and wiped away from where it had been. There had been parts of the foundation remaining where it had been, but none of the structure had survived. The wreckage had been strewn over the property and beyond of what had made up the orphanage. Athrun could only imagine what the kids had to have been going through at seeing such things. The place they had known as home had been destroyed. The only thing they had likely been told was it would be rebuilt and nothing more. The rebuild would take weeks at best, more likely months, and years at worst. The situation the kids and the others who had lived at the orphanage were facing was horrible. And yet, Athrun knew there were many that were in a similar position due to the disasters that had come from the ruins falling to Earth.

Lacus managed to get the kids to give Athrun some space after a few minutes. She assumed Athrun and Kira would want to talk to each other about things. That would be best done without the kids around to via for attention from the two of them. Athrun observed Lacus leading the children away from him and Kira. On the other hand, Kira focused on Athrun after one more look at Lacus and the children. Lacus was good enough to keep the kids' attention from straying without his help. And Kira felt that Athrun had something important with how he'd worded the need for a talk when he'd called. "So, then, Athrun," Kira began. "You mentioned there was something you wanted to talk about when you called. It sounded serious but I couldn't say any better than that."

There was a lot that Athrun wanted to say and get off his chest. The "heart-to-heart" he'd had with Tyler had certainly helped Athrun. However, the ruins falling had reminded him that his current circumstances weren't as he would like entirely. Athrun loved Cagalli and would love to stay by her for the rest of his life if it could be peaceful. And yet, conflict was approaching rapidly from what Athrun could tell so peace would disappear soon enough. Athrun wanted to do something to help the conflict as quickly as possible. But he couldn't see that happening effectively if he remained around Cagalli all the time.

Athrun had considered what options Tyler had laid out before him during their conversation. With the talents that Athrun had, being a mobile suit pilot and working against those that were promoting war was the best he could come up with. The consideration of whether to join with ZAFT or the Federation had Athrun thinking for days. Both sides had their pros and cons to working with them. ZAFT had come far from the place it had been in while Chairman Zala had taken control of it. He felt as Tyler had said, ZAFT would be more than willing to wipe his record to have him come back to the organization. And Athrun wouldn't say no to working with some of those he knew and were his friends. On the other side of the choice, Athrun had done a bit of research into what working with the Federation would involve. First, his skills would be put to great use if not the most effective use they could be put to. Athrun would get to work with those like Tyler which he was all for doing in the dark times which were coming. He would also likely get amazing training that would only improve his skills. The equipment that Athrun would be given to use would be beyond state of the art that the other two factions would be using with the Federation's technological advantage.

In the end of his contemplation, Athrun had come to the conclusion him working with ZAFT would have the best potential results. It would allow him to keep an eye on ZAFT if it started going in a direction that could be bad. Plus, it would permit Athrun to try and have coordination between the Federation and ZAFT. If that could happen, then the Alliance would be in a much harsher position to do anything from. That could make the difference from a war being quickly brought to an end or it dragging out for years as the last one had. Thus, Athrun focused on Kira and nodded, "Yeah," he replied. But then paused, gathering his thoughts before continuing, "Kira, do you remember the subject that Tye, you, and I talked about before the end of the war?"

Kira remembered the subject that Athrun was referring to with the question. Athrun had started the original conversation that had sparked the discussion that had come up a few times. Athrun had put it asking what they should be fighting for. However, Tye had been the one of their trio that had defined the subject of the discussion the best. In essence, that had been when Humanity faced the "darkness" it had within it, how would the conflict end. It was one of the questions that defined the "soul" of the human race. The question coincided with another serious question which was "did humans have goodness within them by nature." It was a valid question back at the time and was becoming more so with recent events. Kira hadn't thought much about it since going into hiding with the war's end with Lacus. Yet, the general subject and the questions that came with it hadn't completely left Kira's mind. Kira nodded slowly, "As I recall, you asked what we should be fighting against," he replied. "Tye put it more when facing the darkness that plagues humanity comes out, do we fight or accept it."

Tyler had put the subject best among the three of them. Tye may say he didn't have the same "gift" his mother did with words. However, Athrun firmly believed that Tyler had his moments where he could give pearls of wisdom like his mother did. Tyler had made several valid points in the subject when it had been discussed. The "darkness" that Tyler had referred to was the evil some within humanity heeded, such as selfishness, hatred, and enforced domination. Tyler had said the darkness would likely plague the human race forever. But he believed it could be ignored and dismissed to a corner if humanity could find something to occupy and involve it heavily for a long time. Athrun agreed with what Tyler had said about the evils humanity had to deal with from its own. And he wanted to believe what Tyler said could help the human race move forward was true. However, with the conflict building again, it was hard to be confident that anything could break the cycle of hatred humanity seemed to be stuck in. "Yes, and that has been coming back to mind with the conflicts that have been building," Athrun remarked. He frowned at thoughts concerning the Alliance pushing for a war as they were. "It just seems we are heading to be heading for the same place which sparked the discussion."

Kira's concern had been growing with the news in the last month or two with the "unfortunate events" which had occurred. He wasn't so blind to miss the subtle signs that humanity was heading in the direction of another war. It also brought back to mind the agreement that Athrun, Tye and Kira had made during the war. They had said they would go searching for answers to the questions they had together. Kira going into hiding had delayed the agreed upon journey. Then Tyler's service in the Federation's Military also made such a search difficult. Kira put a hand to his chin which had a frown, "We agreed that the three of us would look for the answer to that together," he mused. "Things had made such an idea more difficult to make happen admittedly. With Lacus and me going into hiding, we can't just start appearing in public as that could attract unwanted attention. Then Tye has been busy with his military service and the Federation had been busy with what the Alliance has been doing by what he says. So, things haven't worked out for us to search for any answers to the questions we brought up." Kira trailed off not knowing what else he could say for the point.

Athrun knew his two best friends were busy or had things that prevented them from doing what they had agreed to. He didn't blame either of them, they had responsibilities they had to see to like other people did. And Athrun didn't want to call out Kira about this. That's not what he wanted to talk about in this conversation. Athrun's gaze feel toward the ground, "I haven't been able to find the answers either even with the years that have gone by. When I asked Tyler for advice, he said that seeing the need for change is a step forward to start with," Athrun said. "And that is kind of what I wanted to talk about with you."

With Tyler having been around recently, it was entirely possible that Athrun had the opportunity to talk with him before he left. But Tyler hadn't said anything to the effect he had given advice to Athrun about something. Yet, Tyler was the type to listen and not tell another's secrets to others. It was why it was so trustworthy, he didn't talk about others' business unless he felt there was a valid reason to. Then, the advice of needing change being a step forward was definitely something Tyler would say. Tye was always about not focusing on the past and looking toward the future. "That sounds like something he would say," Kira replied. "He has always been the kind to say look forward and not back." Kira stopped, finding himself agreeing with Tyler's reasoning as he normally did. "And I find myself agreeing with Tyler's sediments as they have merit."

Tyler had said more than just looking forward even if that had been the general message he'd been giving to Athrun. "Yes, he said something to that effect," Athrun returned. "He said I needed to look at my priorities and use my talents to defend what I believe in." Athrun paused as he remembered Tyler insisting on him not telling Cagalli about the advice not coming from him. He understood why Tyler wouldn't want Cagalli to suspect he had prodded Athrun into a different path. The two clashed on some subjects and Athrun was definitely one of those. Athrun intended to have a talk with Cagalli before he left. He wanted to explain why he had decided to go and fight to help humanity not face another long war. However, Athrun didn't know if she would listen to what he would convey. "I would also ask you not mention this conversation to Cagalli," Athrun continued. "I will talk to her about his personally."

Kira realized that Athrun was likely going to leave Orb and Cagalli for a time. Cagalli liked Athrun, Kira hadn't missed that with the two. But as long as Kira had known Athrun, his friend didn't do things without thinking hard about decisions he made. "I take it that you're coming to some sort of decision that will take you away from Orb for a while," Kira questioned. Athrun nodded in response, to which Kira continued, "I kind of wondered if that wouldn't happen at some point. With the news I've been hearing lately, conflict is coming unfortunately." Kira stopped and exhaled heavily, "I promised myself that I would not take more lives when the war ended. That I would find ways to save them instead as my way of atonement for those I killed. But I've been thinking that perhaps it might be better for me to go back on that promise and jump in to help things be better."

Athrun couldn't help but smile at the display of Kira's kind heart. His friend had never wanted to get involved in the Alliance-PLANT War, he'd been pushed into it. Kira had never wanted to kill anyone, and Athrun could sympathize with that. It was why Athrun hadn't said anything to Kira going into hiding with Lacus and vanishing from the public eye. His friend had done things that were extremely hard for a non-trained soldier, he had earned peace for himself. "I don't blame you for wanting to get away from battlefields, Kira," Athrun commented. "You were never a soldier, you were just forced into that to protect your friends." Athrun paused for a moment, "Wanting to protect others isn't wrong and so, I understand your wish. If we could live in a world where fighting wasn't necessary, that would be wonderful."

Kira would love nothing more than to see the kind of world that fighting wasn't necessary. However, he wasn't so naïve to think such a world would come to exist as things were. The human race was an imperfect species that was a work in progress. It would likely be the case for humanity's whole existence. Thus, a "perfect" world was an impossibility to see. You couldn't make a perfect place with imperfect beings, it simple couldn't logically be done. "I would love to see such a world that you describe, Athrun," Kira replied. "However, such a world is an impossibility as things are right now. You can't make a perfect thing with imperfect people. History has proven that over and over."

Athrun blinked at what his friend had just said, for it was so out of character for Kira. Kira's naïveté should've made him just wish for a perfect world and not realize such couldn't be done. Sure, Athrun had seen there were times, rare as they were, that Kira would have "moments" of clarity as people did. It made Athrun hope for a brief moment that Kira was moving forward from his naïveté. However, reality set in and he accepted this was just one of those "hiccups" which occurred sometimes with Kira. Athrun and Tyler had been trying to rid Kira of his naïveté for years now and had never had success. Athrun didn't see why that would change even with Lacus helping them in the task. "I wouldn't argue on that, Kira," Athrun remarked. "But onto what I'm here to actually talk about. I've been thinking seriously about what Tyler said in employing my skills the best I can. And I decided to go back to the PLANTs and enlist with ZAFT to help deal with the growing conflict."

Kira figured that Athrun would get involved to minimize the conflict that was growing. That was classic Athrun, help make things better for everyone the best he could. Yet, going back to ZAFT was somewhat concerning to Kira. ZAFT had "required" his friend to do things he didn't agree with nor want to do in the first place. It was possible the organization could do the same thing again and potentially pit Athrun against Tyler. Kira didn't want to believe such would happen again. ZAFT had changed into something far better than it had devolved to during the latter parts of the war. He wanted to believe it would continue on the better path it had set out on, but there was no guarantee of that. "That is your choice to make, Athrun," Kira stated. "And if you think that is the best place to help, then I would support you in this." Kira placed a hand on Athrun's shoulder, "Just remember to not be a stranger around here. I know for one that Cagalli would miss you as will I. However, I will not hound you as she likely will if you don't give her a good explanation about this."

Athrun knew he would have to give Cagalli an explanation about his decision, and he planned to do that. He just felt Cagalli wouldn't take it anywhere near as calmly as Kira was when they had the conversation. It was one of the reasons he had come to see Kira first, to see how his decision would go over with one that would accept it. And Athrun had no intention of falling out of contact with his friends. That had caused a portion of the problems that had occurred in the Alliance-PLANT War which Athrun had faced. The lack of communication had pitted him against his best friends and Athrun wouldn't let that happen again. Thus, Kira and Athrun parted ways after that on good terms. Kira went after Lacus to help her with managing the kids as he normally tried to do. On the other hand, Athrun got back into the vehicle he used to get to the spot and heading back to the airfield.

Athrun returned to Orb's mainland so he could find Cagalli and have the needed conversation. When Athrun went to Cagalli's place, he was told that she was currently in meetings with the Representative Council. It wasn't a surprise that was the case, the disasters had made more work for the council. They were working on disaster recovery as were the other Federation member nations. When Athrun would leave would be up to him since he would make a meeting with the appropriate people along the way to the PLANTs. So, Athrun had no issue waiting for Cagalli to get back to the house.

As Athrun waited for Cagalli to return, he looked through news feeds to get a better picture of things as they stood. He might know the general response of the Federation, but little else for the moment. From what Athrun had heard, the areas around the equator were where the debris had struck, and the feeds confirmed that. It meant at least the Federation's Euros Coalition would've been affected in the first wave of disasters. However, there had also been debris strikes in the Atlantic Federation, the African Community, and the Eurasian Federation too. Harsh as that first wave had been for the nations affected, the resulting second wave had been worse. The earthquakes and tsunami waves had done more damage than the debris hitting Earth. Those would take more time to rebuild from that the falling debris Athrun was sure. The Federation's leaders were already working hard on the recovery efforts. And they were supposedly coordinating with one another to speed such along as they could. Athrun couldn't help but respect the Federation coming together during times of hardship as they did. It may be expected of them as they had shown the behavior often enough, but it was still something to see.

The point also served as a stark reminder to Athrun of the differences between faction priorities. The Federation put its people first, period, full stop, no arguments. The Federation's reputation was founded upon that priority. Their principles were based around that founding focus which earned them the loyalty of their citizens. On the other hand, where the Federation seemed to represent all the good and desirable qualities humanity had, the Alliance was the opposite. The Alliance was almost everything the Federation was not with them, seeming to show most of humanity's faults with those they heeded. And yet, the Alliance wanted everything the Federation had, but do none of the work the Federation had done to achieve it. ZAFT had been a flip-flop of the two, going back and forth from one side to the other over time.

It was mid-afternoon when Cagalli arrived back at the house from the council business she had been involved in. The solid slew of ongoing meetings which had been taking place for the last week had been tiring. Cagalli had been required to attend most of them with her position on the council. They had been long and tedious, more than they normally were due to recent events. Governmental business that wasn't critical was put aside for disaster recovery. Not that Cagalli disagreed with doing such, but just talking about disaster recovery had been taking a toll. But the average ten-hour or more days were wearing her down.

Cagalli understood the need for all of the discussion that had been going on. Orb's recovery had been discussed and laid out practically so it would be completed in a timely manner. Orb would get to its feet in a reasonable amount of time and move forward. Cagalli was all onboard for that kind of business and would do it whenever called upon. It was the aiding and helping other nations which wore Cagalli with the numerous talks about that. She knew the welfare of the world as a whole was important and wouldn't argue that point. And Cagalli had no issue with Orb sending aid and help to the other member nations of the Federation. The Euros Coalition had been hit hard along its southern part from debris impacts, so did need assistance. She knew they wouldn't use resources for other potential things like some would. Thus, Cagalli had no issue with the discussions about aiding Federation nations.

Her issue with the discussions the council had been having was the suggestion of extending assistance to the Earth Alliance and its member states. And it wasn't providing for the member states that Cagalli saw a problem with. The disasters had done damage all over without bias to which faction a nation belonged to. So, the Atlantic and Eurasian Federations along with parts of the South African Union had taken beatings from debris and tsunami waves. There was definitely needs for the Alliance's member states. Her hesitation and concern came with the Alliance's leadership. If resources were given to them, they would unlike distributed to those who needed them. The narrative they had been spreading about Coordinators being responsible for the ruins falling to Earth was an example to Cagalli. The Alliance's leadership was more interested in sowing unrest and hatred.

Cagalli had brought that point up with the council and a little more than half of the representatives had agreed with her. However, there had been those like Unato Seiran, who seemed to be the leader of those that wanted to "help" the Alliance. The man had influence being a member of the Seiran Family, but the idea had been put down by the majority of the other representatives including Cagalli's father. In fact, it had been Unato who had suggested "working" with the Atlantic Federation and through them the Alliance. Cagalli was worried about Unato and those that followed him might try to do more than help the Alliance. None on the "pro-Alliance" representatives said the idea outright that they could want to side with them, but neither did they deny such. If not for her father and uncle, Cagalli felt Orb would be in a much more precarious position. There was a difference between giving aid and potentially allying with another. Sharing in the grief of the losses incurred was good in Cagalli's view but agreeing with the cries of retribution was not helpful to anyone.

Some of the meetings had slid to being arguments between Unato and her father, and Cagalli saw them as arguments, not debates. The reason Cagalli would call the "talks" between her father and Unato arguments, was Unato didn't actively listen to what her father would say. Unato would simply push for working with the Alliance, though he would specifically put it as "helping" them. Unato had been quiet about the idea before yet had brought it up from time to time. From what her uncle Homura had said to Cagalli, Unato had been among the few against Orb joining the Human Federation. That group had been quiet with the prosperity that had come to Orb since its induction into the Federation. It was worrisome that there could be potential dissension in the council.

Nevertheless, Cagalli's stress and worries were lifted from her when she came home and found Athrun waiting for her. Any opportunity Cagalli could spend with Athrun was enjoyable for her. So, it was a wonderful surprise to see him there to greet and listen to her when she returned. He was normally busy with other things while she was doing council business. She couldn't stop the smile that came to her face, "Athrun, what a nice surprise," Cagalli greeted. "You didn't say that you would be coming by today that I can recall. Of course, you're always welcome." Cagalli paused with thoughts of the ongoing council business coming to mind. "I'm sorry if you had to wait long, the meetings," she hesitated for a moment, "went longer than they normally do. There has been an amount more to talk about with the disasters that happened recently."

It was clear to Athrun Cagalli was stressed from the council business she'd been participating in. With all the talking and planning on disaster recovery, there would be some debate Athrun imagine. And the Federation wasn't alone with needing to look into disaster recovery in their territory. Debris falling had hit Alliance areas too and so their citizens would be hurting and needing help too. Athrun was sure the Federation would be inclined to help those in need regardless of faction. However, those leading the Alliance had been and likely still were more than willing to take advantage of a bad situation if it benefited them. So, he didn't blame Cagalli for seeming tired or getting back later than she would normally. Thus, Athrun waved a hand in dismissal, "It's fine Cagalli," he assured her. "I understand that you're busy with the results of recent events. With the colony drop, the leaders of Orb are working hard to ease tensions and help the victims of the disasters that followed, yourself included." Athrun paused for a moment before he asked the question that was on his mind, "So, what is Orb's standing with how things are currently?"

Cagalli sunk into the nearest chair feeling the unfortunately familiar tiredness she had gotten to know. She was glad Athrun was so understanding with her duties as he was. The council and he governing staff were being stretched thin and it was taking a toll. Cagalli knew she wasn't the only one who had little in the idea of a break other than the few short periods of sleep in the week or more that had gone by since the ruins fell. She slept in the office she had around Orb's governing complex like several did. Thus, getting back to the house that was her home had been harder with recent events.

Nevertheless, Cagalli sighed at the question Athrun asked as it was a complicated one and was becoming more so the longer she thought about it. The council meetings at first had been fruitful in the planning which had been made to help in disaster recovery. But then Unato had steered things to other subjects in some meetings. That had devolved into half of the meetings discussing a potential truce with the Earth Alliance. Those discussions quickly became heated, especially between her father and Unato. Cagalli's father was firm in saying aiding Alliance member states was perfectly reasonable when going through valid channels. However, he drew a line when a truce was suggested and wouldn't let the discussion stray over said like much if at all. On the other hand, Unato had been insisting on working with the Alliance's leadership to help their member states instead of going through other channels. It made Cagalli wonder if Unato was involved in some way with the Alliance with the insistence of working with them. However, there was no solid evidence to say Unato was connected to the Earth Alliance that had been brought to the Council. And Cagalli didn't want to accuse a member from one of the noble families of potential treason and defection to a potential enemy without unquestionable proof of such an act.

She knew Unato and her father butted heads on some issues often enough in council meetings. They represented essentially two different sides of the government Orb was run by. Her father was the leader of the more progressive side while Unato was the conservative. Cagalli saw the wisdom of having differing views and opinions in government. They ideally kept one another from becoming extreme and doing damage to the nation. It took a long moment for Cagalli to gather her thoughts, but once she had, she spoke. "As you said, the council has been busy with recovery efforts from the ruins falling. Tension may be high with some, but in Orb, they're manageable for the moment. Reasonable and practical plans have been made to speed the recovery along." Cagalli paused as she was coming to the "arguments" that had been coming up with Unato's suggestions. "I know Orb and the other member nations of the Federation aren't the only ones affected by the ruins falling. The leaders of Orb and its citizens can sympathize and understand the pain and grief that came from the disasters. Sharing in the grief is fine and I agree with helping others through hard times."

When Cagalli had stopped, Athrun became more concerned as it sounded like she was struggling with something. It sounded like Cagalli had been stressing the planning of disaster recovery Orb's council had been doing. He would be surprised if those working on that weren't stressed as there was so much to do. However, it seemed there was more than just the planning that was bugging Cagalli. Yet, instead of interrupting her by asking what was bothering her, Athrun stayed silent and waited. Cagalli continued, "Yet, sharing the grief and helping in moving on shouldn't mean we acknowledge and join those who scream for revenge and retribution for the event. Doing that would go against many of our core beliefs that Orb has in common with the rest of the Human Federation."

Athrun hadn't missed the Federation's media mentioning some within the Alliance were crying for vengeance. He'd looked at a broadcast from the Alliance and found the Federation media was putting the idea mildly. The radicals in the Alliance who were in positions that had influence and power were manipulating people. That much had been clear to Athrun and he felt such would only get worse given time. With what Tyler had said to him, war was coming to humanity soon enough. It would only take one event to push the point Tyler had said and Athrun felt the ruins falling fit that bill. He knew that the hatred between Natural-types and Coordinators never had gone away after the Alliance-PLANT War ended. If anything, then the hatred and what it brought with it was still around and had been merely smoldering. The Federation had made attempts to put out the flames of hatred but hadn't been all that successful with it.

The same signs which had led to the Alliance-PLANT War's beginning were cropping up. The acts that were because of the hatred had started occurring from the shadows. However, now they were beginning to come out into the public eye. That would escalate tension and bring on a war sooner rather than later. The news feeds had been getting that point across quite well to Athrun, the demands from the public for 'justice' and vengeance were getting worse over time. This brought Athrun to the reason that he had come to see Cagalli, to say farewell and explain his decision of going to ZAFT before leaving for the PLANTs. He would love to stay by Cagalli's side, but with conflict building toward war, that wasn't the best decision to achieve what he wanted. "You're not wrong, Cagalli," Athrun admitted. "Those leading the Alliance will likely take any aid given to them and use it for other things than what it was intended for." Ahrun paused, took a breath and got out what he wanted to tell Cagalli. "Cagalli, I've been thinking hard about how I can help, and came to the decision to go back to the PLANTs."

Cagalli had been about to continue with venting about the council meetings when Athrun had spoken. His agreement had been encouraging for her to keep going and relieve the stress that had been weighing her down. However, then the last line went over her head. She took a moment to process what Athrun had said and went over the last piece he'd said. As she repeated it in her mind, her eyes widened. Athrun was saying he was going to leave and fight in the growing conflict. Cagalli didn't want Athrun to leave Orb. He helped her so much even if it didn't appear to be. He listened to her when no one else did and that helped her sanity. Athrun kept Yuna away from her the majority of the time and words couldn't properly say how grateful she was for him doing that.

Yuna was a stuck-up idiot that thought he was the best thing the world had since the Cosmic Era began. He'd used his family's and more his father's influence to get to where he was. He was an "advisor" to the council but not an elected member. There were rumors that the Seiran family could be trying to rig things to get Yuna on the Council, but no evidence had been found of that. And calling Yuna an advisor was more a joke than a fitting title. He more echoed his father's arguing points and then provided ridiculous "evidence" that would be flimsy at best, outright lies at worse. There had even been a vote to expel Yuna from the Council meetings and not have him work in government. Unato and a few others had prevented that by the slimmest or margins. That was the forced time Cagalli had to spend around Yuna and didn't have a say in. The other part which made dealing with Yuna more than unpleasant was the "arranged marriage" that existed between him and her.

The arrangement had been made when they had been children by their parents, though mostly Unato pushing for it. Cagalli had heard all the foolish arguments made to keep the idea on when she would challenge it. Bloodline was the most used in the arguments and the other were the "benefits" that would come out of it. Cagalli technically wasn't of the Athha bloodline since she was adopted. Sure, her father had made it clear that she was his daughter in all ways that mattered, but the bloodline argument shouldn't hold up. Then Cagalli couldn't help but shake her head at thinking about the so-called benefits the Seirans claimed would come. In truth, the benefits would be mostly for them and few for anyone else. They wanted the influence the Athha name had achieved over the years Cagalli's father and uncle had been on the Council. They also wanted the trust Orb's citizens had in the Athha name which the Seiran name lacked.

Athrun had provided a means to get Yuna to not visit when Cagalli was not working with the council. At first it had felt like Cagalli was taking advantage of Athrun, using him to repel Yuna. However, Athrun had told her several times he had no issue getting Yuna to go away. the gifts Yuna would have delivered to her were ridiculous, and she smiled when Athrun threw them out or put them to better use elsewhere. He then would give her something simple but knew she would like, which made her happy. If Athrun left, then when Yuna learned of it, Cagalli was sure the idiot would renew his "attempts" to impress and woo her. So, Cagalli's head whipped around to have her staring at him, "Wait, what," she exclaimed, "What do you mean you're leaving for the PLANTs?"

Athrun hesitated for a moment, "To be completely honest, I really don't wish to leave Orb with things as they are currently. If there was an effective way I could help around here to end the conflict, I would stay in a heartbeat." Athrun stopped for a moment again, "However, there aren't things around here I can do with the skills I have. And I can't just sit around and do nothing like it feels like I've been doing lately." Athrun held up his hands, "I'm not saying helping you isn't fulfilling, Cagalli, it has been wonderful. But I don't want to see Humanity be engulfed by a war like the last one. That being said, after doing some serious thinking, I've come to the decision that the best choice for me is going to ZAFT for the time being. Yet, I didn't want to go without telling you first and explaining my reasons."

Cagalli had seen the signs Athrun had been thinking hard about something lately, though she hadn't been able to determine what it had been. However, he should've discussed potentially leaving sooner than this. It sounded like he'd made his decision without any input from her, and that didn't sit the best with her. She knew Athrun had the right as any human being did to make decisions for themselves. But she would've hoped he'd come to her about a subject such as this as it affected them both. "But Athrun," Cagalli started protesting, "Where did this even come from?"

Athrun knew Cagalli would question his decision to leave and head for the PLANTs. It hadn't been a simple or easy decision for him to make. But he felt going to help handle the conflict was the best thing he could do. He intended to return once the embers of war were put out and make things official between Cagalli and himself. Athrun leaned forward and took ahold of Cagalli's shoulders, "I know this may seem sudden," he replied. "But I don't believe I can sit around here and do nothing any longer as things stand anymore. I need to do something to help Humanity not go down the path it was during the war." Athrun stopped ordering his thoughts and how he wanted to convey them to Cagalli. "The newsfeeds that come to Orb don't give the full picture of what could be ahead. I'm aware that is the case, but they give a grim and hauntingly familiar image. This is similar to how the Alliance-PLANT War began and if unchanged will likely lead to a similar future. The world and the colonies are still recovering from the war, they are not ready for another one."

It wasn't that Cagalli disagreed with Athrun and his reasons for leaving, she just didn't want him to go. Cagalli was having an internal battle, a fight between her wanting Athrun to stay and yet, she didn't want to appear to be controlling him. She loved him so much that she feared losing him in the coming conflict. However, she knew Athrun wouldn't just standby and watch as things happened, he wasn't that kind of person. She would miss him terribly if he went, and the chance of not seeing him again weighed on her heart. "A-Are you sure about this Athrun," Cagalli asked. "I don't doubt if we look harder, we could find something you could do." Athrun knew Cagalli would try to dissuade him from his decision. But he was firm in what he would do now to help handle the conflict and prevent darkness from engulfing humanity. "I'm worried about what could happen with the feelings going around," Athrun continued. "There are those that are stoking the flames of hatred to get people to demand conflict to happen. I may not be able to change things on my own but working with others a difference can be made. I will help protect the peace that lives were lost and sacrificed for during the war. And perhaps help curtail such things being repeated another time."

Cagalli had nothing she could say in response to Athrun's logic he was using for his decision. She understood and agreed with it at heart even if she didn't like that it would separate them. Cagalli wanted to believe peace was still possible for the world and the colonies even with the building conflict. War never solved disagreements or differing views, it only caused misery and suffering to many. And yet, Athrun had a point that things were aligning with how the Alliance-PLANT War had begun and flowed. It was beyond worrisome the path Humanity was facing right now with recent events. "Athrun," Cagalli uttered, "Why the PLANTs, and why ZAFT?"

Athrun still believed that within ZAFT, he could help the efforts to bring peace and potentially avert a war from occurring. With ZAFT having someone like Chairman Durandal leading it, it would work in that goal. If the Federation and ZAFT could coordinate with each other, then maybe they could stop the Alliance before it brought a war on. However, from what Tyler said, those that had caused the ruins to fall to Earth, they were following the ideas of Chairman Zala. Athrun felt somewhat responsible for what that monster had done in making the war worse than it had been before. He didn't want his father to be remembered for the destruction the monster had brought to humanity. "With Chairman Durandal at its head, I doubt the PLANTs would do something drastic against Earth," Athrun stated firmly. He clenched his fists, "But the ones that made Junius Seven fall were following the ideals the monster Chairman Zala. I will not let my father's legacy be one of destruction, not after hearing what he did before being lost. As long as there's a chance to stop things from descending into something like the Alliance-PLANT war again, I need to try."

Athrun led Cagalli to a side door which opened to a garden the house had. The garden should be empty of people for the day as the gardener would be coming tomorrow and didn't show up every day. There was one more thing that Athrun wanted to tell Cagalli before he headed out. And it was something he knew he should've told her some time ago but hadn't done so. He knew leaving would give an opportunity to Yuna and Athrun didn't like that at all. Thus far, the fool that was Cagalli's "fiancée" was persistent and Athrun knew that from how many times he had sent the guy away. That persistence both irritated Athrun and worried him should he not be around. Athrun wanted to believe Kira when he said Yuna was spoiled but harmless, but he couldn't. It wouldn't surprise him if Yuna used Athrun's absence to trick Cagalli somehow and convince her to go to him. Athrun would have Kira keep an eye on things. And Cagalli should go to Kira if there were questions about himself while he was away. So, Yuna shouldn't have any success with Cagalli while he was away, but Athrun couldn't help but worry. "Look, I know about the whole situation between you and Yuna Seiran is far from ideal," he said. Cagalli looked at Athrun with an unhappy expression as he kept going, "I have made some preparations to discourage him in pursuing you. Kira will help you with that, so go to him if you have any questions."

Cagalli still didn't like Athrun leaving since, as he said Yuna would try to attract her attention. Not that Cagalli intended to give that idiot any of her attention. She would make it clear to the house staff to not let Yuna in for any of the excuses he could come up with. Hopefully, that combined with Athrun's preparations, Yuna would take a hint finally and leave her alone. And it sounded like Kira would have a way to contact Athrun if she needed that. That wouldn't be the same as having Athrun around her as she liked that more. It had kept the engagement at bay even with Yuna pushing for it to go forward. "You've helped me keep that idiot at bay," Cagalli mumbled. "I hope he doesn't push more with you gone. I've said no to him, but he doesn't accept that, you've been a deterrent against Yuna."

"Oh, I'm well-aware that Yuna is frustrated by me," Athrun said with a slight smile. "And I won't deny that I have enjoyed sending Yuna away in different ways. His persistence is quite irritating as he won't take a hint that you want nothing to do with him." Cagalli was about to say something, but Athrun spoke over her, "I know the engagement is a family arrangement. I have had experience of the idea myself, so I know how it works. And I can only imagine when your father agreed to the arrangement, he hoped Yuna would improve, but he hasn't. If anything, I would say he is likely worse, but not knowing how he was when younger, I can't say for sure." Athrun paused and took a deep breath, "Yet, even with all the preparation I've done and the help I know Kira will give you, that doesn't mean I have to accept the engagement or like it."

Cagalli could tell Athrun was beyond frustrated with what Yuna had been doing. And Athrun had gotten creative in his methods of sending Yuna away. Some of them had been somewhat nasty, but with the receiver being Yuna, Cagalli hadn't said anything to Athrun about it. But she'd been trying to get out of the engagement, and it sounded like Athrun had been searching for methods to do that too. She appreciated Athrun working to help her out of the situation she was in, it was really sweet of him. It was one of the smaller things he did which few if any saw, including herself, to make her life just a little brighter. She would've said she was grateful for his efforts, and she would stand firm in refusing Yuna while he was away, but never got the chance to. Yet, before she could speak, Athrun caught her right hand with one hand and his other went into a pocket.

Cagalli was trying to understand what Athrun was doing when she felt something slip onto her right hand. When she glanced down at her right hand, she froze at seeing a ring on her ring-finger. The ring was silver, had a red stone on it, and was quite beautiful. Cagalli could only stare for a moment, taking in the ring and the implications it came with. Her eyes widened after a moment before her gaze snapped back up to Athrun. "W-What is this Athrun," she stuttered, unable to for proper words at this completely unexpected gesture. Athrun said nothing in reply to the question, just felt his cheeks turning red. It was the first unmistakable sign of his feelings for Cagalli. And it was one that was a huge step for him, and he hoped for Cagalli as well. When Athrun said nothing, Cagalli couldn't stay silent with her cheeks turning red, "Giving a ring to someone isn't something you just spring on them!"

While she may have been reacting with shock, Cagalli was extremely glad they were in the house's garden. It was one of the few places one could get reasonable privacy during the day. And Cagalli wanted this experience to be uninterrupted. Internally, she was jumping with the utmost joy filling her heart. Any stress and frustration she'd had when getting back to the house had disappeared at this gesture. If Athrun was saying with the ring what she thought he was, this would be one of the happiest days of her life. Heck, she had to resist the strong urge to pounce on Athrun, hugging and kissing him while saying yes over and over to his unsaid question the ring put out. Yes, Cagalli had secretly hoped and been hinting non-verbally to Athrun to tell her how he felt when it came to her. She had come so close to just asking if he had feelings for her as she did for him. But she had been worried that he might not love her like she did him, so hadn't pushed the point for the last year or more. However, if the ring and its position was anything to judge by, then Athrun loved her as she did him.

Athrun had been watching the expressions crossing Cagalli's face to get a hint as to her reaction to his ring. The first was shock, which he expected from the gesture. The next was questioning him if he actually meant something more with the ring. Athrun gave her a smile to that expression, "I know springing this on you out the blue may not be the best," Athrun stopped then continued, "But I wanted to say something before I headed out to fight for peace. The ring will have to stand for the words I can't say just yet." Athrun may not have said the three special words that would've made this day the best in her life as she would've loved to hear. Yet, she would accept his gesture as him saying he loved her which she had wanted more than anything else from him. Being with him for the rest of their lives was a dream for Cagalli, and even if it was unlikely right now, she still wanted to believe it could be possible. "This gesture is more than I could ask for right now, Athrun," Cagalli said, her voice wavering a little with the sheer joy filled her.

The happiness Athrun felt at understanding Cagalli acknowledged his feelings for her couldn't be said properly with words. All he could think to do was wrap his arms around Cagalli and draw her to him and kiss her. Cagalli was shocked again when Athrun drew her close and kissed her as she hadn't expected him to do that. But joy and indescribable warmth filled her along with tears of joy coming from her eyes. She didn't want this moment to end, so wonderful it was to her. All the problems that had been plaguing her had vanished with the kiss and all that she wanted was to stay with Athrun a little longer. When the kiss broke, Athrun kept Cagalli close, "I promise I will return to you," he assured. "And when I get back, we will find a way to get you out of the engagement with Yuna. I will not let him have you, for you're far too good for him, far more than you are for me." Cagalli leaned against Athrun, and cried tears of joy. She didn't have words to say how much she loved Athrun. She would hold him to his promise of coming back. That would provide her hope to stand fast against Yuna and tell him to get the hell away from her. She would tell him she was taken, and he wasn't the one who had her heart.

Athrun spend the rest of the day and evening with Cagalli, who was in a far better mood than before. The next morning, he did give a farewell before he boarded the heli that would take him to the spaceport. The Heli made the journey to the spaceport delivering Athrun to the shuttle that would take him up into space. He was left in his thoughts of what was ahead of him. Athrun didn't expect the fight for peace to be an easy thing. Things of worth rarely were easy to obtain, it was what made them valuable. He fully intended to leave ZAFT after this conflict and return to Cagalli. They could offer him a lot of things, but none of that would compare to a life with Cagalli. Those were his final thoughts as the shuttle took off and he quickly dropped off to sleep.

A/n

And I'll leave off there and pick up in the next Phase. Now, onto the highlights and pointing out of things I do at the end of a Phase. So, the first scene where we are going over the aftereffects of the ruins dropping toward Earth. In canon, the damage was more widespread than it is in my story. In my telling, the debris hitting is more focused by not bound to the areas around the equator. The effects the debris has is less than it is in canon by a degree, make no mistake. More damage is done from the disasters that come as a result of the debris than the debris impacting itself. I want that made clear so it sets the stage for what I discuss next.

The next part of the scene is in Orb around the orphanage Kira and co live at. I know in canon we only see before the disasters hit the place, so I went into details we don't get in canon. Now there is some warning for those at the orphanage as most did get around the world. And I want to highlight that the ones who take charge with serious situations come up are Andrew and Aisha. Those two having been soldiers and commanded forces, their skills are obvious the best for this kind of job. However, the two aren't the official leader(s) of the orphanage, which is still technically Reverend Malchio. As for the shelter the orphanage has, it was there for disasters, but also should something bad come around for Kira or Lacus. And I would also state the Freedom isn't at this orphanage, but it will be at the next one. For those that would ask, the Freedom has been rebuilt at this point but is secretly stored at Morgenroete at this point in time.

The other thing about this part of the first scene I would point out is Kira's view at this time. Remember, Kira isn't a soldier like Athrun was or Tyler is, but he found in the Alliance-PLANT War. However, unlike in canon, Kira isn't the complete "pacificist" that he was at this time in Destiny. He is still willing to fight if he is forced to in order to protect those important to him, which of course comes into play later. I would also point out that while his naïveté is still present, it doesn't make him as blind to things as before. Kira can see the conflict looming in the near future and understands war is a likely coming to the human race again.

Moving on to the next scene, what happened to the orphanage wasn't a one-off or even uncommon from the disasters. While the ruins hitting in heavier masses had been averted, the fragments much like in canon take their toll on Earth combined with the disasters that followed. Yet, again like in canon, there were those that took advantage of the event to advance their own interests. Yes, I'm referring to Logos and the radicals in the Alliance. In the story, the hatred is needed as much as I disagree with it. It is also realistic if you ask me for some to incite fear and hate after a tragedy happens. And I would say it has been established by this point that the Alliance has already fallen to radicals controlling it, whether from the background or otherwise. The real difference between Destiny and the Alliance-PLANT War time is Logos is brought into this.

Let me discuss Logos and its involvement and why it makes a difference in this part of my story. So, canon implies Logos is the main "funders" of the Alliance by the time 73 CE rolls around. I would not dispute that though I say and stand by Logos establishing their "influence" on and over the Alliance started earlier than that. They have something loosely like the Federation's Information Network, but no where near as proficient a model of the idea. Logos has "agents" all over the place whether paid or dedicated to the cause Logos has. Logos's claws are deeply intertwined in the Alliance, and I say that for a reason. Not all in the Alliance are Coordinator hating individuals, which will be shown later on. But Logos has established an environment of fear to go against them to control others. The threat of pulling funding and "bad things" happening to those that are against Logos is much like a mafia would have. That is the comparison I would compare Logos to, being a large mafia, keep that in mind going forward.

Now, back to what Logos did with the results of the ruin fragments hitting Earth. From the Girty Lue, Logos got images of the fighting between ZAFT and the rouge group before the ruins were broken up. We know the rouge group wasn't with ZAFT even if they were made up from former ZAFT personnel and equipment. That isn't the point and doesn't matter for Logos. They of course twisted those facts into what they wanted to work with for their narrative. The narrative was that Coordinators weren't just at fault for the fragments hitting Earth but had fully intended it as an attack on Earth itself. And like how propaganda works, the narrative was pushed hard through news networks to the general public. The lack of evidence is waved off while the narrative as news networks are paid to just put it out and not question it.

Of course, the narrative is sent to the Federation by agents of Logos, though it doesn't go far. I'm not saying the Federation's media is controlled in the respect of what they put out. The Federation has freedom of the press, but unlike what the United States has for you readers that are US citizens, there are rules the Federation press has to follow. There are standards and protocols that are followed to check information and verify it with evidence so that disinformation doesn't spread. Thus, in this case, the Alliance's or rather Logos's narrative was quickly proven false through those standards and protocols the Federation has. It shows the foresight the Federation had with the spread of disinformation using the media that was propaganda.

As the result of the narrative, Coordinators that didn't already live within ZAFT or Federation territory were "bullied" to put it mildly. It was more a mass exodus forced by the hatred others stoked into a frenzy. I for one can't blame said Coordinators for running for their lives with the death threats lobbed at them. For most of them aside from those on the African continent ran to the Federation nations as they were the closest to Alliance territory. And of course, the Federation didn't reject or deport those who escaped Alliance threats. Those in control of the Alliance may have wanted Coordinators to leave their territory, they didn't want the Federation to take them in. Thus, the Alliance doesn't openly threaten the Federation and cry to hand over those who had run to them, but they still hiss threats. This also gives the opportunity to once again for the Federation to show the principles they hold to.

The Federation's response while expected, doesn't stop the Alliance for pushing conflict which will lead to war soon enough. The turning to the PLANTs and ZAFT will be more for the next Phase, but I want to at least mention it. Meanwhile, the Federation is working on preparing for the coming war. Yes, they are aware the Alliance and those that side with them are pushing towards what would become a war. The Federation isn't so foolish to not see what the Alliance's action before the fragments hitting Earth was going to lead to. By this point I would hope you readers understand the Federation is the faction, which those in canon that stood up to ZAFT and the Alliance became. This it the overall "what if" this story is based upon, and I find so fascinating to write about. Granted, they had advantages like technology and their information network, but that isn't what sets the Federation apart from the other two. It is their view of humanity and dedication to their principles and citizens above all else which make them different. I know some would say Durandal would fit into such a thing, but I would argue differently. Durandal WAS that way and I don't deny that. However, by the time Destiny comes, he is already working on the Destiny Plan, which goes against what the Federation stands for. I will likely touch on this later on in more detail, but I don't want to spoil things to come.

Back to what the Alliance was doing after the fragments hit Earth. Logos agents use the response from the Federation to plant the idea of retaliation against the Federation in the minds of Alliance citizens and soldiers. Their justification is ridiculous to those of us that see the conflict for what it really is. The Federation is being made into a target of hate which the coming war requires to fuel it. However, those efforts are dampened by the response of cooperation of the PLANTs' Supreme Council and the Federation. It is hard to pin hate onto those that want to help those who have suffered tragedy.

The plans that ZAFT and the Federation come up with for preventative measures I came up with after some research. GENESIS Alpha is a real thing in the Gundam SEED in the universe. In canon, it is used to try and avert the ruins from falling, but in mine it is employed for a different purpose. I imply the Junk Guild works with the Federation as collaborators, and that isn't entirely wrong. They are allies but not a part of the Federation's military since they work with them from time to time. I would say they are like an outside consulting group that the Federation employs with odd jobs they would have difficulty handling for one reason or another. I stated this with "other" third parties in this universe perhaps being in a similar collaborator position with the Federation.

Next, I would highlight Gilbert's mention of Treize and that which is talked about after. As I already said, Treize "retired" from ZAFT, which we know was a transition to the Federation's military. However, before Treize left ZAFT, he had specific things done in preparation of potential issues coming up. One of those was to search for those who could've been sympathetic to Chairman Zala's views. Treize's OZI is still around even if he isn't. They operate undercover in ZAFT and still report to him directly even if it hasn't been mentioned yet. Gilbert knows Treize did some things before leaving, but not everything. He knows of the sweep Treize had done for dangerous individuals that could do what the rouge group did. Gilbert had that continued in the hopes of preventing the ruins dropping or something like that event from happening. Yet, Gilbert will admit when he fails at some things and tries to make up for it by working to fix things the best he can.

Let shift to the final scene, as there are things which I want to talk about. The conversation between Athrun and Kira is self-explanatory so I will not be covering that. The part with Athrun and Cagalli is what I will focus on. Now, I know there are fans of the Athrun and Cagalli pairing, I'm one myself. So, for those that want Athrun paired with another or the same with Cagalli, sorry not going to happen. These two are going to be a couple and end out together, not to spoil things too much, but that's the truth. And this scene was written to give them the spotlight that Kira and Lacus get more often. I'm not going to mention Tyler and Sakura in relation to this as they are their own thing.

Anyways, let me get into what view Cagalli gives as it does give us an important point I want to highlight. Now, Orb's principles align with the Federation's but that doesn't mean they don't have their own. It wasn't apparent during the Alliance-PLANT War, but it will be more in open view during this half of the story. I'm talking about the division in Orb's governing council which Uzumi and others are on. So, there are two "factions" of the council, the pro-Federation side and the pro-Alliance one to give them names. Of course, Uzumi, Homura, and Cagalli are on the pro-Federation side, while those like Unato and Yuna Seiran are on the pro-Alliance side. I use this to explain one of the main disagreements and differing views there is between Uzumi and Unato. They are both members of Orb "nobility" which gives them influence and power to an extent. With Cagalli being on the Council, she can see her father in a different light she hadn't seen before.

Cagalli's view of the subject matter is telling. The Federation is willing to send aid to those affected by the disasters, as long as said aid is used for that idea and not redirected to other things. Thus, the Federation does see Alliance citizens as people and will help such in need, which differs from the radicals in the Alliance and Logos. It is why the Federation has specific channels for aid to go through which are monitored to prevent abuse and misuse. As we know, Unato is working somewhat with the Alliance even if it isn't mentioned yet. That is the reason why Unato insists Orb not use those channels, to get aid to the Alliance and it not necessarily go to citizens in need. And yet, the Federation is willing to give aid, it of course disagrees with the Alliance's view in uniting against ZAFT and holding them to blame for the disasters. Cagalli sees the wisdom in giving aid but not doing any kind of truce with the Alliance. The Alliance is trying to unite the "world" so they can control it and turn it against the PLANTs.

Athrun isn't ignorant to the going ons between the Federation and the Alliance. He may not know about the political side as much as Cagalli does, but others parts of what was happening. Athrun had the Federation's media to get information from and his limited access to the Information Network. Plus, Athrun had taken implications from things which Tyler had told him before this. He knows the Alliance is moving toward a war and was pushing to involve all the factions in it. So, he knows war is likely ahead and wants to do what he can to mitigate the war's effects. Athrun also sees, the similarities between current events and what had led up to the Alliance-PLANT War. Which leads to the reason that Athrun had come to sense Cagalli at that point. He loves Cagalli, even if he hasn't said that to her directly. Athrun would love nothing more than to stay with her if it would help. It was why Tyler's offer to join the Federation's military was so tempting. However, I have my reasons as to why Athrun will go to ZAFT until later.

The other thing I want to point out is the stuff about Yuna and the engagement he has with Cagalli. Yes, there is the arranged marriage between Cagalli and Yuna is in this story like it is in canon. It is a family arrangement which has "soured" since its establishment. However, there isn't a legal means at this time to dismiss the arrangement as it requires both sides agreeing to it. It is because of that which Yuna can still hold the arrangement over her since some of you readers have asked me. Yes, Yuna is still the spoiled brat he was in canon, but he will be a little different which I won't spoil just yet. Athrun has been blocking Yuna's attempts to get closer to Cagalli much to the fool's ire.

The last thing I would like to point out from this Phase, is the final part which so many have been wanting. I gave you the scene with Kira and Lacus admit their feelings and kiss. And so you had to suspect I would give you one for Athrun and Cagalli, and so I deliver it. These two aren't as bad as Kira and Lacus can be with beating about the bush, but they took their time. The ring is Athrun's way of saying for the moment he loves Cagalli. And it is also a way to send a message to Yuna that Cagalli is not his. Cagalli couldn't be happier with Athrun's gesture as she had been wanting something to say there was something between them. And to top off the scene, the two smooch which was something many of us wanted. This will come up in later phases I assure you but I won't reveal more than that to not spoil what is to come.

In conclusion, I hope you readers enjoyed this phase which is more a filler than action. I promise action is come for the next few phases. The next one has action and there will be more to come from what I'm planning. I'm sorry the ending notes are long for this Phase, they just sometimes end out being so. As always, some of you take the time to write a review and tell me what you think of this phase and/or story. I appreciate all those that do take the time to write them, and I do read them even if I don't answer right away. I take criticism and comments as they come. The next phase is on track for the moment and is titled: "Igniting the Flames." Peach out until the next Phase!