A/n
Okay, sorry this took so long, I will explain more in the closing notes. Still, enjoy the Phase!
Phase 83: The Spear of Twilight
October 24th, 73 C.E.
ZAFT's Gibraltar Base
Darkness and fully fell by the time the Minerva came to be in visual range of ZAFT's Gibraltar base. The journey the Minerva made from Asgard had taken longer than the initial trip to the Federation base had required. But then, Talia hadn't pushed for the Minerva to "hurry" as she had to get to Asgard yesterday. The journey had been a quiet one overall which Talia wouldn't complain about. The off the books mission to retrieve the Impulse and Shinn had been anything but quiet before its conclusion. Talia was still working to wrap her head around the Minerva fighting alongside the Federation. Truthfully, she had never imagined the Minerva would be in such a position.
The assault that OMNI had made on Asgard wasn't like any of the reports which ZAFT intel had gotten on the Alliance's previous attempts against the Federation's stronghold. ZAFT had known the Alliance had tried to attack and take Asgard from the Federation before their last assault. From what Talia had heard and read, the Alliance's previous attempts had all ended in spectacular failure. Supposedly, each of those attacks had been different, likely to test Asgard's defensive capabilities and if they could be circumvented. ZAFT had made a few tries to see what Asgard was capable of when attacked. There had been no more luck than the Alliance had with those attempts. And after assisting with Asgard's defense, Talia had seen the potential reasons as to why previous attacks against Asgard had failed in the spectacular fashions they had.
The base that was the Federation's military headquarters on Earth was a stronghold. From what Talia had been able to tell, it was designed to be so when constructed years ago. And the Federation hadn't sat by and left the base as it had been constructed. The Federation had constantly been improving their standing, and Asgard was no different. The base's fixed defenses were made up of artillery which was clearly with purpose. The positioning and types of defensive guns/turrets were strategic and tactically sound. They had effectively pounded at the OMNI fleet and had worn them down slowly but surely while keeping the enemy at a distance. There were also fixed defenses to counter air and underwater by what Talia had seen. It explained some of the information from ZAFT intel about subs having "serious issues" investigating Asgard. All of that wasn't exactly surprising to Talia, more just filling holes which made the lack of information ZAFT had on the base.
However, there had been a few unexpected things which the Minerva had encountered while helping Asgard in its defense. The one which Talia was concerned about was that Asgard had what appeared to be orbital cannons. Such a thing had never been seen, but attempts by the Alliance were in the works according to ZAFT intelligence to develop orbital drop countermeasures. Yet, the Alliance had no success in designing and constructing something to counter orbital drops. It had been assumed that the Federation had been developing such an idea as well, more for the Alliance than ZAFT. But to see a working orbital countermeasure concerned Talia and she doubted she would be the only one to be worried. Those orbital cannons could just as easily be used against ZAFT entry capsules and vessels as they had been against OMNI. And if Asgard had cannons like that, it was a matter of time for them to pop up at other Federation bases.
The other thing on the Federation side which Talia had noticed was their mass-production models which they were using. Before going to Asgard, Talia had heard loose rumors about the Federation's mass-production earth-based mobile suits. The Federation was still utilizing their advantage with their transformation abilities they employed with mobile suits. They had beam weaponry used by their mass-productions models, much like ZAFT did with their ZAKUs. However, unlike the ZAKUs, the Federation had built-in atmospheric flight systems to their mass-production models. The Federation also used proprietary weapons which was effective against laminated armor. From Shinn's debrief, he said it was some kind of "vibrating" blade but could give little more detail. Then, Aila and Matt had mentioned they had seen "signs" the Federation mass-production models could have phase shift armor of some kind. It would make logical sense for the Federation to add phase shift armor to the technological advantage they held.
Then there had been what OMNI had done and brought to assault Asgard, which concerned Talia. She intended to report what OMNI had used in their assault, even if Talia wouldn't be able to say much about Asgard. The three stolen Gundams had been there, Talia was confident about that from what Matt and Aila had mentioned. Matt had gone against the Abyss and seen the Chaos. Aila had only seen the Chaos but agreed with Matt that if one was there, all three would be. That the Alliance had sent the stolen Gundams which said they wouldn't hesitate in using them in their campaign. Talia wanted to say that the stolen Gundams had pressed against Asgard's defenses. The second-generation series ZAFT had constructed had been geared toward gaining some ground to be able to match the Federation. However, there hadn't been a lot of evidence to support the hope that Talia had seen or heard.
Nevertheless, the Federation had seemed to be prepared for the Gundams along with OMNI's assault. The Federation had some Gundam-types on their side which had clashed with the stolen machines. Yet, so had Federation mass-production models and not been whipped as was expected with Gundam-types. Granted, the mass-production models went against Gundams in teams, but they had more success than ZAFT and OMNI didn't against Gundams. Both Aila and Matt had mentioned several things they had observed during the assault which they had told her afterward. The things which they had mentioned to Talia had been concerning in a few ways. It had made her glad that Arthur hadn't heard them as he could've made it public to the ship and Talia didn't want that right now.
The first piece came from what Matt said which had involved the Abyss specifically. The Abyss had been around and attacking from the ocean's surface and likely below it throughout the assault. However, after Matt had been fighting it, the Abyss was "dragged" underwater at some point during the battle. Matt had mentioned some sort of "chain and hook" had come out of the water and wrapped around the Abyss before pulling into the water. That would suggest the Federation had aquatic mobile suits of some sort. Before this, it was more assumed that ZAFT had the advantage with such a thing with the multiple models for underwater operations. Yet, apparently, the Federation had changed that with their own aquatic mobile suits which had unknown abilities. There had been rumors the Federation could've developed aquatic mobile weapons during the Alliance-PLANT War. But ZAFT intel hadn't been able to confirm or deny the rumors which had come out. What Matt had seen gave credence that the Federation had aquatic mobile suits they could use. Yet, there was no solid evidence which could make that seen as fact.
The second thing which Aila and Matt had told Talia had involved the Chaos which had its own set of questions and issues. The Chaos had been spotted with a red Gundam on it while in its Mobile armor mode. The Federation "Gundam" had been in control, being able to direct the Chaos to go where it wanted. That exploit was problematic since it showed that ZAFT Gundam development had things it needed to address. If that had been all, then Talia wouldn't be as concerned as she was from what her two best pilots had told her. What worried Talia was the Federation Gundam had somehow made the Chaos fire its multi-phased beam cannon at an ally. For there to be a way for a Gundam's weapon to fire without input from the pilot was beyond concerning. That was more so with not knowing how the idea had been done. Without knowing what had been exploited, it would be difficult to put in a defense against the idea. Talia would mention the point to higher-ups, but she couldn't say if it would be taken seriously enough to help improve Gundam development.
The assault had been harsh enough to be concerning for more than just the Federation. If ZAFT had seen anything of the battle, they would want more information about what had happened. Talia would be interested in hearing what ZAFT could say about the Federation's responses to the assault on Asgard. She couldn't see things staying the same with what the Alliance had tried to do. And with the Minerva off the books currently, there had been no communication from ZAFT as of yet. Talia knew there would be none until the ship returned to Gibraltar, but that didn't make the silence any nicer. Arthur had said they should at least report to Gibraltar that the Minerva was okay. But Talia had said it wouldn't do much as they wouldn't acknowledge any communication from the Minerva until it came into range of Gibraltar. Talia expected there would be news for the Minerva the moment it came back to base.
Talia had Meyrin reach out to Gibraltar's port control so the Minerva could come back into dock. Meyrin relayed that the same dock which the Minerva had been in was the dock they would be assigned. The Minerva swung around before backing into the flooded dry dock. Talia told Arthur to transmit the damage report so the remaining repairs could be started and/or finished as quickly as possible. Meyrin told Talia that the commander on duty wanted her to go and report to them immediately. So, Talia left the Minerva's command in his hands while she would be away. Talia told Arthur that the remaining repairs needed to be completed before the Spear of Twilight operation started. Then, Talia headed to the airlock so she could go and do the needed accounting and reporting. She only hoped that it would be to Commander Hersey as the man would understand and was aware of what the Minerva had gone out to do. To her good fortune, Talia discovered that it was her old trainer and first mission commander that she would be speaking with.
Commander Hersey was in his office going over things when he was told the Minerva was coming back into dock. It had been over twenty-four hours since the Minerva had set out for Asgard. There had been no word from them, but none were listening for the Minerva as they were off the books, until the ship had come into visual range. He'd been confident that Gladys would manage to get back her missing pilot and mobile suit whatever it took. But the time it had taken for the Minerva to get back strongly suggested that things hadn't been simple. So, Hersey was curious about what had taken the time the Minerva had used to get back. Yet, that was only one issue that Hersey had been dealing with since the Minerva left. Hersey had been looking into the behavior which Gladys had alleged the night watch had been doing. On the official record, the night watch was doing great, but that wasn't true when one questioned those who worked at the same time they did. The interviews that Hersey had done had produced much the same information Gladys had given him.
Commander Hersey was brought out of his thoughts when a knock came at his door. He ordered whoever it was to come in as he finished the paragraph he had been reading. When he looked up, Hersey found Talia Gladys coming into his office. "Gladys," Hersey stated, "Good to see you and the Minerva made it back from your journey." Hersey gestured to the chair in front of his desk for Talia to take it so they could have a conversation. Talia did as her old mission commander directed before he continued, "I assume things didn't go as you had hoped exactly since you took longer than just popping in and picking up a pilot and machine. So, what happened, Gladys?"
Giving an accurate summary of what had transpired with the Minerva over the time it had left Gibraltar and come back wasn't the issue. It was believing it as Talia would've questioned the story if she hadn't lived it. That didn't mean that Talia regretted any of the decisions she'd made in order to get Shinn and the Impulse back. It was just that relations with the Federation were so unknown overall that working with their military was not normal. "Honestly, sir," Talia began, "I'm trying to wrap my head around what occurred. The Minerva traveled to the Federation's Asgard base to retrieve our missing pilot and Gundam as intended." Talia then gave a general summary of what the Minerva had gone through while away from Gibraltar.
Hersey listened to Gladys's summary of what had befallen the Minerva while it was off the books. What had been an ideally a simple matter even if off the books had turned into something entirely unexpected. That the Minerva had become involved with the Alliance's assault on the Federation's Asgard base would be questionable if the ship hadn't been off the books. Gibraltar had only seen a few signs of the battle the Alliance had initiated. ZAFT intelligence had done what they could to find out what was going on but had only gotten general facts.
What Gladys was telling Hersey was filling some of the holes which ZAFT intel had not been able to get info for. Gladys didn't know any more than any in ZAFT did why the Alliance had chosen to attack Asgard. However, in the end it didn't matter what the Alliance's reasons were for their actions. The Minerva stepping in to help the Federation defend their headquarters made sense to Hersey as Gladys explained it. He would've made the same logical decision to help the Federation with the goal of ending the battle sooner and retrieving what they had gone there for. And from what the woman was saying, the Minerva had done ZAFT proud in its performance against the Alliance during the fight. Hersey would challenge any ship captain to do differently than Gladys and still honestly claim they made the better decision and get the same results.
There were a few points which Hersey was curious about in Gladys's accounting. The woman had seen things which the Federation had used to push the Alliance back which ZAFT hadn't known about. Not that Hersey would accuse others of not knowing about things another faction didn't mention. But the ground-to-orbit cannons were worrisome as they could counter ZAFT drop forces just as they had the Alliance's forces. It was unlikely to come to that while ZAFT wasn't at odds with the Federation, but Hersey knew that could change in the future. Then, the Minerva had also got the closest look at current Federation mass-production model mobile suit technology. And from what Gladys was saying, the Federation had, as expected, improved the tech that went into their mass-production machines. The information Gladys was giving even from an off the books mission was valuable. Hersey knew there had been several worrisome rumors about potential new developments in Federation tech. He'd heard a number of them from others he kept in contact with. ZAFT intel was suggesting that the Federation had taken what had come from the Alliance's "G-Project" and further developed them. And it was said the Federation got all of the fruits from that project where ZAFT had not.
Once Gladys finished her summary, Hersey didn't say anything for a few minutes. Talia waited for what would come from her old mission commander. She valued the man's opinion as he wasn't quick to judge what others did. But finally, Commander Hersey spoke, "Let me first say Gladys, applaud your decision with having the Minerva step into the fight and helping the Federation defend their base. I would've made the same choice as you were it me in your position." Talia was glad to hear the man agreed with her decision as it was a compliment from him. She couldn't say if the view would be shared by those on the National Defense Committee. But as the Minerva had been off the books, they would likely not make much if any comment on what Talia and the Minerva had done while around Asgard. "Thank you, sir," Talia replied, "It means a lot to me for you to say you agree with my decision. I've been wondering if what I've been choosing has been the best way to go."
For an officer to question what decisions they were making were the best was all well good in Hersey's opinion. It was natural to wonder if what decision you made was the best possible, but that was different than questioning every choice that came up. Hersey knew that younger officers were being scrutinized by those on the National Defense Committee. He disagreed with them doing that as it wasn't far for those younger officers. The majority of ZAFT commanding officers earned their positions and ranks, Hersey was confident in that. Their age shouldn't be held against them by others who hadn't done the same job they were doing. Thus, Hersey sighed, "Concerned with what the Defense Committee could say about the decisions you've been making, Gladys," he questioned. Talia's gaze fell a bit, "Am I that obvious, sir?"
Hersey knew Gladys wasn't the only "young" officer that the Defense Committee had been hard on lately. There were a few which fell into that group which Hersey could think of off the top of his head. Nicol Amalfi was another which was a frequent target of the Committee by what Hersey was to understand. The young man didn't let that affect his choices, much to his credit, but not everyone could be like that. "The Defense Committee has been coming down hard on younger officers as of late by what I hear," Hersey admitted. "Many of us veteran commanders have been voicing our disagreement of that being done." Hersey paused thinking of what would be the best thing to say to Gladys to have her keep making the decisions she was. The woman's decision-making was sound and shouldn't be questioned by others which didn't have experience on the battlefield. "Don't worry about what the Committee says," he continued. "Just make sure you can justify what you decide to the loved ones of those under your command, that is what counts the most."
While the summary from Gladys was great, there were more pressing matters to move on to which were important. The Spear of Twilight operation was looming ahead which would mostly involve those at Gibraltar and Carpentaria. And with the Alliance's assault on the Federation's Asgard base, the operation's timetables had been accelerated in response. Currently, the operation was to take place in the coming day in the late morning at around 1000 hours or so. The Minerva was expected to participate in the operation just as any around Gibraltar. From what Gladys said, the Minerva was getting its needed repairs worked on right now. But the woman would need to be informed the new timetables and the expectations that came with them. "While I'm grateful for the summary, Gladys," Hersey began, "There is business to get to which is looming ahead. Due to the Alliance's assault on the Federation's Asgard base, the Spear of Twilight operation's timetables have changed."
Talia had figured with what the Alliance had done around Asgard that ZAFT would change plans and move forward with operations that were in the works. The Alliance had shown they were pressing forward with whatever agenda they had in mind, regardless of what others would think of them. The Federation was able to stand against the Alliance's actions on Earth as they had prepared for the point. ZAFT had been working toward being in a solid defensible position on Earth as well. However, the fortifying of positions wasn't done yet, for it had been planned to be done within the next six months. Yet the Alliance going on the offensive, that had changed the need to taking the time to solidify ZAFT's position. "I'm not surprised that the timetables have been changed for the operation," Talia remarked. "So, then, when is the Spear of Twilight operation taking place? It was around a week out the last I heard."
Originally, the Spear of Twilight operation had been set for the first of November by the National Defense Committee. However, now it was set for October twenty-fifth at around 1000 hours. The Minerva had been out of the loop while it had been away, so they wouldn't know of the accelerated timetable change. "It is set to occur tomorrow at 1000 hours," Hersey stated. "Our forces are already on the move toward Earth to position themselves in orbit to drop reinforcements to us and Carpentaria."
Talia blinked at what Commander Hersey had just told her. She had expected the operation to be moved up a day or two, not essentially a week. Talia hadn't thought forces could be gathered quickly enough to push the operation forward that much. Granted, with the attempted strike on the homeland would've gotten things moving more than they had been before. However, Talia just hadn't expected the National Defense Committee to get things in order and moving as fast as they had. "Things are moving that quickly," Talia asked. "I was told that gathering and moving forces into position would take days if not the full week." Hersey shrugged, "The Alliance making a move against Asgard apparently shook enough on the Committee to get things moving faster and more efficiently."
Talia listened to Commander Hersey as he gave her the rundown of how the Spear of Twilight operation was supposed to go. The operation would be "straightforward" in the sense of what was expected to happen. Allies would position themselves about both Gibraltar and Carpentaria to drop reinforcements down to the bases. Reinforcement to ZAFT bases weren't new, but it was normally done at a slower rate over time, so it didn't draw serious notice of the Alliance or the Federation. The difference with the operation was going to drop much larger numbers of reinforcements to the two main ZAFT bases. Forces would be distributed from Gibraltar and Carpentaria after the operation to other ZAFT positions. However, the issue with the operation was it would draw the notice of the Alliance if the movement for it hadn't already. Even with the losses the Alliance had suffered from their assault on Asgard, that wouldn't stop them from trying to disrupt the operation Talia would bet. But the Spear of Twilight operation was seen as a necessity for ZAFT to maintain their positions on Earth.
The Minerva would be participating in the operation as the rest of those at Gibraltar would. The remaining repairs on the Minerva would be completed before the start time of the operation. Aves had assured Talia the needed work on the Minerva's mobile suits would be finished before sunrise. So, Talia had no issue with the Minerva working on the Spear of Twilight operation as it sounded like orders which was coming down. It had been an expectation before the Minerva had gone off to Asgard to pick up the Impulse and Shinn. The problem that Talia saw was ZAFT was moving things forward at a quickening pace which concerned her. The signs which had been popping up in the last month or two had been pointing in a worrisome direction. The Alliance was pushing for conflict and gearing things toward another war. It made Talia wonder if the Alliance had learned nothing from the Alliance-PLANT War. Or perhaps, the radicals in the Alliance hadn't gotten enough or what they wanted from the war that they were willing to start another. Talia couldn't say what the reasons could be the Alliance were doing what they were.
Talia thanked Commander Hersey for listening to her summary and telling her of the current situation at Gibraltar. She then made her way back to the Minerva to see what still needed to be done for the ship to be readied for the operation in less twenty-four hours. Talia could think of a few things which would have to be seen to, like the repairs and the like. Arthur was already seeing to the repairs while Talia had been reporting to Commander Hersey. The last Talia had heard, Aves had set shifts for his mechanics so the work on the mobile suits would be done when he claimed. So, if things worked out as they were going, the Minerva should be ready slightly before the operation was set to begin.
When Talia arrived at the dock the Minerva was in, she found Gibraltar's mechanics were already working on the ship. The dock was well lit with the floodlights dry docks were equipped with around the base. Talia walked up the gangway and came back onto the Minerva and headed toward the bridge. She wanted to confer with Arthur and tell him what she'd been told by Commander Hersey. When she got to the bridge, she found Arthur at his stations, looking over data going across his screen. "Sorry for leaving you with overseeing the Minerva's condition while I went to report," Talia greeted. "Did the one over the mechanics working on the ship give you an estimation on how long they will need to do the work?"
Arthur glanced over his shoulder and found Captain Gladys. She had gone to report to Gibraltar's higher-ups a little over an hour ago. He hadn't minded being in charge of the Minerva while the captain had gone off. Most of the crew had gone to their quarters. Aves and his people were the ones that were still working that Arthur knew about. Gibraltar's workers were quick to get to the repairs even with it being as late in the evening it was. They assured Arthur the work would be done as quickly as possible. The assurance was nice, but Arthur had wondered why they had been as insistent as they had been. Arthur could only guess there was some sort of unsaid motivation that drove them. He hoped that Talia may have some idea what could be going on to have the feel with the workers as focused as it seemed. "Don't worry about leaving me in charge of the ship, ma'am," Arthur answered. "The head of the workers said they should have repairs done in the next few hours. But how did the report go?"
Talia shrugged, "About as good as I could've expected," she returned. "However, by what I was told, the Spear of Twilight operation has been moved up with the Alliance assaulting Asgard." Arthur didn't like what the captain was saying, for it implied there was more to the point other than the upcoming operation had been moved up. With the Alliance's assault on the Federation's Asgard base, Arthur had figured ZAFT would have a response to it in some way. But he hadn't given much thought as to what ZAFT would do with the Alliance pushing for conflict as they were. So, Arthur hesitated before he spoke, "You say that the Spear of Twilight operation has been moved up, captain. When it is scheduled for now and what does that mean for the Minerva?"
From what Commander Hersey had told Talia, the operation was set for the next day at 1000 hours. It sounded like Gibraltar was already working to be ready for the operation in less than twelve hours from current time. The Minerva was expected to participate in the operation with the rest of Gibraltar's forces. The needed repairs should be done before the operation started, so Talia wasn't worried about that. "The operation is scheduled for tomorrow to begin at 1000," Talia answered. "As you said, the repairs should be done before then, so the ship should be ready for service when the operation begins. The operation tactics are still the same as I've heard from Gibraltar's command. So, if you could give our pilots the rundown before 0930 hours, that would be appreciated."
Meanwhile, the PLANTs' National Defense Committee were busy with getting things into place for the Spear of Twilight operation. The original plan had allowed for another week to get things into position for the operation before it started. However, with the Alliance's recent actions of assaulting the Federation's Asgard base, views had changed. The Alliance had shown they had become bold enough that previous assumptions of what they may do couldn't be counted on anymore. They were pushing conflict toward a war, that had been a message which had come with their attempted nuclear strike on the PLANTs. It had only been confirmed with the Alliance assaulting the Federation's earth-based headquarters.
When the assault on Asgard had come to light, an emergency meeting of the PLANTs' Supreme Council was called. Gilbert could tell there was an air of worry and panic the moment he walked into the council chamber. He had been informed about the Alliance assaulting Asgard shortly after the Alliance started their attack. Gilbert had been a tad surprised that the Alliance would choose to attack the Federation's headquarters on Earth. Of all the things which the Alliance could do to advance their position and plans whatever they may be, attacking the strongest enemy base didn't make sense to him. While the Alliance may be foolish in the choices they made, they didn't tend to be stupid from what Gilbert had seen. Even with the Federation helping stop the Alliance's nuclear strike didn't translate to the Alliance hitting their stronghold which was Asgard. Gilbert had ZAFT intelligence working on trying to get info that could explain why the Alliance had assaulted Asgard. Yet, they had nothing thus far to show which could help in explaining the Alliance's actions.
The reason that Gilbert wanted an explanation was the Alliance had essentially broken any treaty they had with ZAFT and the Federation in the last month or so. There hadn't been a great deal of trust between the Alliance leadership and other political leaders as of late. However, the small amount there had been shattered by this point. Gilbert was sure those in control of the Alliance would know that. What had him concerned was whoever was in charge of the Alliance didn't seem to care they were at odd and against the other two factions of Humanity. The Alliance did seem to have prepared for a war before they had started attacking in the open. That begged the question as to how long those running the Alliance had been planning their movements ahead? There had been little sign that the Alliance had been readying for a war they planned to start before now. For the Alliance to be able to plan such in secret was more than concerning for several reasons.
Yet, while an explanation for why the Alliance had turned its military forces to the Federation would be nice, it wasn't necessary for ZAFT moving forward with its own plans. The Alliance's movements merely proved that ZAFT needed to reinforce their positions on Earth as soon as possible. If Asgard wasn't off the table for the Alliance to try and take, then there was nowhere that was safe from Alliance attacks. Gibraltar and Carpentaria's defenses had to be solidified before the Alliance could assault either base. The two bases would act as distribution points to other ZAFT positions on Earth for reinforcement. That was what the Spear of Twilight operation had been planned for. The need for reinforcement on Earth had been building which had translated into the proposal for the operation from the National Defense Committee. It was meant to be a "defensive" measure in response to the attempted strike against the PLANTs. It was not symbolizing ZAFT agreeing to the war that the Alliance seemed to want. That had been a little over a month ago, but much had changed in that time frame. And with the change in the Alliance, the timetables had to shift for the operation to be as effective as possible.
Gilbert had already told the Defense Committee the week before to get forces that would drop down gathered. It had been to prepare for the operation's original timetable, but then the Alliance had attacked Asgard. The Defense Committee had been scrambling to get things together for a sooner operation date. Gilbert had to applaud those on the committee as they had pulled off what had been seen as a monumental task in the time frame they had. Those involved in the operation were already on their way toward Earth even as the meeting was being assembled. The haste which had been required had made the wish to not draw the Alliance's attention impossible. ZAFT intel already had reported that OMNI forces were gathering in their territories near Gibraltar and Carpentaria. Those Alliance fleets would be working to intercept descending forces, but there was nothing which could prevent that now.
Gilbert called the emergency council meeting to order and laid out what had happened recently. There were worried responses to the information of the Alliance assaulting the Federation's Asgard base. There were demands for more information about the assault, but Gilbert couldn't give anything since ZAFT intel hadn't been able to provide any info on the battle. All that ZAFT had was long-distant views and general guesses as to what was going on. There had been a rumor the Minerva had gone in that direction, but there had been no confirmation of that. Gilbert would love to talk to Talia and see if the rumors were true, but there wasn't the time for that. Instead, Gilbert had to work on calming the other members of the council with recent events. Their concerns were understandable as the fears of the Alliance beginning a terror campaign to lead humanity into another war. From the Alliance's actions, it certainly did appear that if they weren't stopped or resisted, they would terrorize those that didn't conform to their views.
As the Supreme Council meeting was going on, ZAFT forces came into sight of Earth. The acceleration of the operation had already been approved by the National Defense Committee. Reinforcement to ZAFT positions were essential and needed to happen sooner rather than later. And with the failed assault the Alliance had made on the Federation's Asgard base, their military forces would be weakened. The temporary weakness of OMNI provided an opportunity for ZAFT to have the highest chances of success with getting as much reinforcement they could down to Earth. The more forces that ZAFT got down to Gibraltar and Carpentaria, the better ZAFT could solidify other positions held on Earth against the Alliance. That would allow ZAFT to better response against the Alliance both defensively and hamper their efforts to have gains on Earth.
ZAFT vessels split off into two groups as they closed in on Earth and were coming into orbit. One group was heading to be above Gibraltar which was one of the planned drop points for reinforcements. The other group moved to be over the Oceania Union so they could descend down to the Carpentaria base. Each vessel had their own assigned drop position to release their drop capsules. Calculations had been made by those in ZAFT and on the Defense Committee for the best deployment possible. Alliance counterattacks had been factored into the deployment strategy. Gibraltar would be facing Alliance forces from the Eurasian Federation to the east of the base. They would also face some from the Atlantic Federation even after the loss the Alliance had suffered against Asgard. Carpentaria would have to counter Alliance forces from both the southern African Union including the Victoria Base and the west part of the Atlantic Federation. It was assumed the Alliance wouldn't let ZAFT reinforce their positions without a fight to stop such.
All the pilots involved in the drop part of the operation down to Earth had volunteered for the mission to reinforce their allies. They all knew the dangers they would face during the descent to Gibraltar and Carpentaria. The Alliance would fire at them the moment those descending came into range, there was no doubt about that. Thus, the descent would be an active defensive thing for all ZAFT pilots. Allies at Gibraltar and Carpentaria would do what they could to help those descending to Earth. Those in command at both bases had assured the National Defense Committee they would be ready to help allies to land at the bases the best they were able. So, the operation was as set as it possibly could be with what ZAFT could do ahead of it.
The Federation was the only factor in the operation which the National Defense Committee couldn't plan for nor predict. With the Alliance's attack on Asgard, the Federation were no ally of the Alliance and wouldn't be until there was serious change with those who controlled the Earth Alliance overall. The Federation had been locking down their borders since the attack to the Alliance, especially its military forces. However, it was hard to predict how far the Federation would go to "punish" the Alliance for their actions. The Federation had always been unpredictable to some degree, none denied that. But it was at times like this after the Federation had been directly attacked which it was the most difficult to say how the faction would respond to those who had assaulted them. The Federation could just keep the Alliance from coming at them, or they could actively attack them. The National Defense Committee couldn't accurately say if the Federation would step in with Alliance forces being so close to their territories. Or if they merely would observe and just make sure the Alliance didn't cross territorial lines.
Other ZAFT ships were patrolling while the vessels which would drop forces moved into positions. OMNI could still try to interfere with the operation at this stage if there was any assumption that ZAFT had an advantage over them. Once all drop vessels confirmed they were in their designated positions, it was reported to the lead ship for the operation. The lead ship for the Spear of Twilight operation was the single Gondwana class ZAFT had constructed thus far. The green light was given for the release of the entry capsules before they started detaching and falling toward Earth's surface. The initial descent through the upper atmosphere was "routine" with the process of an entry capsule doing what it was designed. The first half of the descent wasn't where the issues would be, rather the second half was where things would become complicated.
At Gibraltar, the morning had dawned beautifully, though it went unnoticed by those around the ZAFT base. Final preparations had been made with an air of building tension with the upcoming operation. All the Vosgulov class subs had been readied for deployment shortly before the operation would officially begin. It was expected the Alliance would do what they could to interfere with the Spear of Twilight operation. Alliance forces had been spotted appearing around Suez a little over an hour before the operation was scheduled. That suggested the Alliance had figured out the operation would take place soon, which had been a real possibility.
The Minerva had been made ready for the operation much as the other vessels at Gibraltar. Talia had ordered all crew to be at ready stations by no later than 0930 hours. There was to be no exceptions for any of the crew with how high a priority the Spear of Twilight operation was set to be by the National Defense Committee. She had left delivering the general plan of the operation to the Minerva's pilot to Arthur. It was supposed to be his duty to convey orders and brief the pilots of the ship. Talia had just taken that job with Asgard as she had pulled the ship into that mess. Aila and Matt would be able to get the other three organized properly in the time remaining before the operation.
Arthur had done the briefing for the Minerva's pilots as was his duty as the deputy's. All pilot from Gibraltar were to help their allies descending from orbit. With the Alliance already supposedly moving into positions to intercept the descending forces, any help would get more allies to land safely. Thus, he had told Aila and Matt all the information the Minerva had received about the expectation of the operation. He could only end with wishing them luck out on the field as the expectations were ugly. The Alliance was going to fight hard to stop as many ZAFT machines as they could from reaching the ground. That would include those that would be assisting the ZAFT descending forces. Arthur didn't kid himself that the Minerva's suits would be in the line of fire about as much as any other in the operation.
Aila had been hearing rumors, bits and pieces of facts, and gossip about the Spear of Twilight operation. What she had heard hadn't been very comforting of what was likely ahead in the operation. The reinforcements that would descend would be very helpful for countering what the Alliance would likely try in the near future. And the more that landed safely, the better position to counter dangerous Alliance actions ZAFT could be in. However, Aila couldn't see the Alliance doing nothing to stop ZAFT getting reinforcements to the ground. And from what Arthur had said, all the mobile suits which could be sent out from Gibraltar would be hampering OMNI's efforts to stop descending forces. That included those from the Minerva of course, which put them in the line of fire. It wasn't being in the line of fire of the Alliance which concerned Aila, it was the desperation OMNI was fighting with.
The Alliance had lost in their assault against Asgard, losing a notable number of forces in the process. That would lead to fighting desperately which made an enemy potentially more dangerous. Historical facts made it clear that a wounded or defeated enemy was often more dangerous than one that wasn't. And Aila felt the Alliance was so desperate for a win that they would do things they weren't normally inclined to do. Aila was sure that Matt understood the risk the Alliance was for the moment after the loss they had taken. But she wasn't as sure that Rey, Luna, and Shinn comprehended how reckless the Alliance would fight for the moment. And Aila didn't want to have to oversee the funeral of any of those under her because of not taking things seriously enough.
As team lead, Aila had explained things the best she could to the three younger pilots the Minerva had. She also gave out assignments of suits and equipment for the operation as well. Matt had volunteered to take the ZAKU Blaze to use in the operation, leaving Aila to work with the Osiris. Luna would have her ZAKU with the Gunner Wizard on a Guul which had been supplied by Gibraltar. Rey would use his ZAKU Phantom with the Blaze set and a Guul. That left Shinn to use the Impulse which Aila told him it would be best to use the Force Silhouette for the operation. That plan was the best that Aila could think of with the time there was before the operation.
Time crept forward toward the set time for the Spear of Twilight operation to start. At the designated time, ZAFT forces began deploying and descending through the atmosphere. The action was noticed by the systems that the Alliance had put in place for detection of things entering Earth's atmosphere alerted them to ZAFT's activities. The movement of ZAFT forces toward Earth had been spotted by OMNI recon teams days ago. That report had been given to OMNI top brass and Alliance leaders. They in turn had ordered all available forces including what was left from the assault on Asgard to head out to be around the suspected drop zones. OMNI intel predicted that ZAFT would be dropping reinforcements to their two main bases on Earth, Gibraltar and Carpentaria. Thus, OMNI forces were sent to the western end of the Mediterranean Sea and north of the Oceana Union to intercept ZAFT forces descending to Earth.
The failure of the assault on the Federation's Asgard base was still fresh in the Alliance's mind. The loss had been harsher than expected and there had been little gain for the Alliance from the operation. If anything, it had made any chance to force the Federation into helping in the fight against ZAFT more unlikely in the future. The Alliance's leadership had tried to play off the failure of the operation against Asgard since it happened. The loss of forces had hit OMNI hard and would take time to rebuild for the operation the Alliance had in mind in the near future. But their narrations weren't having the impact they had before the attempted nuclear strike against the PLANTs. Yet, the propaganda spreaders were hard at work and what they were spreading was sticking within the Alliance well enough that the radicals held control.
Should ZAFT be allowed to get reinforcements down to Earth, it would only spell out hardship and thwarting of Alliance plans. ZAFT would use the extra forces to solidify their positions all over the world. This would include places that the Alliance were working on taking control from ZAFT currently. Overall, it would strengthen ZAFT's foothold on Earth and push the Alliance more onto a defensive position. The war that the leaders of the Alliance were pushing for would slow and potentially stall efforts from the Alliance. It would make the efforts that had been put forth in the last two years almost meaningless. The Earth Alliance would be forced back to a standing of acceptance of sharing power at best or being forced to listen to others at worse. That was seen as far more unacceptable than fighting and losing in the end.
When the alerts came in from the detection systems, scramble orders were given to the OMNI interception forces. Windams launched themselves off carriers all equipped with jet sets for atmospheric flight. Any ZAFT machines destroyed were that much less that ZAFT could use to compromise Alliance plans. So, intercepting them was the top-most priority for OMNI as it would make or break the Alliance's near future. Thus, all the OMNI pilot were well-aware of the stakes in the emergency interception operation which was being done. The safety of the Alliance and its future would be at risk should ZAFT succeed.
The capsules sailed out of the Thermosphere with their heat shielding on the capsules having been mostly spent protecting those inside. That left the capsules with the medium strength armor plating to counter potential early interception attempts. The armor locks twisted and blasted out, allowing the armor panels to release and fly up and out of the way. That left the frames which had held the ZAKUs in the capsules. As the capsules opened, revealing the suits within, the ZAKUs leaned forward letting the frames break away from them. The ZAFT pilot had been instructed to try to keep in loose groups to attempt to counter Alliance interception. And the Alliance began shooting shortly after the first groups of ZAKUs came out of their capsules.
As expected, the Earth Alliance sent forces to intercept ZAFT's landing forces descending towards their bases. Mobile suits from both Carpentaria and Gibraltar readied themselves to lift off to help their allies. Sirens rang out around Carpentaria, signaling for mobile suits there to lift off and assist their allies land safely. All the available machines at Carpentaria launched off, DINNs and CGUEs leading the way for those that had to use Guuls for atmospheric combat. OMNI forces to the northeast were already taking off from their Spengler class carriers as Carpentaria forces were taking to the air. Vessels at Gibraltar had already headed out from the base's docks before allies had started descending. They just came into range of the Alliance when they began firing at the descending ZAFT forces. Mobile suits stationed at Gibraltar lifted off as alarms told of the Spear of Twilight operation being initiated. OMNI was already shooting at the falling ZAFT forces as those from Gibraltar approached the OMNI fleet.
The Minerva was among the vessels which had headed out from Gibraltar. The ship had all its offensive options out and ready for use as it closed the distance between it and the OMNI ships shooting at its allies. Talia could see things were already quickly getting nasty with OMNI attacking ZAFT's descending forces. She'd figured that the Alliance would be somewhat more desperate after their loss around Asgard. But seeing the point was different than just expecting one's enemy fighting recklessly. Talia could only assume this would be yet another long day for the Minerva and its crew, much as the battle to defend Asgard. She'd hoped for a moderate break for the ship and its crew before getting back to work. However, it was clear that was wishful thinking on her part and would unlikely happen in the near future. The Minerva was making a reputation of being a frontline symbol of ZAFT's best efforts from what Talia had seen. And there was little reason that would be changing that Talia was seeing any sign of.
Once in range of the fighting, the Minerva had its mobile suits head out to help their allies. Aila and Matt were out of the catapults first. A Guul shot out after the Osiris which Matt's ZAKU Blaze jumped to and locked into it. Luna and Rey launched out after Aila and Matt landing on the Minerva's upper deck to wait for their Guuls to fly out. Shinn took off with the Core Splendor, the flyers following him with the Force Silhouette bringing up the rear. The pilots from the Minerva saw ahead that the Alliance was already working to take down their allies descending from orbit. And the fighting was already becoming messy between ZAFT landing forces and the OMNI forces trying to intercept them. Shinn gazed ahead at the fighting and was reminded somewhat of the Alliance's assault on Asgard. There weren't as much when it came to numbers on OMNI's side, but it was still a sizable number of Windams fighting.
As the fighting was going on, there was a close watch being kept by the Federation's military forces stationed in the Euros Coalition. After the Alliance's assault on Asgard, policy had been changed to not allow any Alliance military forces within Federation territory. The issue wasn't ZAFT sending down landing forces down to Carpentaria and Gibraltar as the Federation viewed it. Nor was it OMNI positioning themselves to intercept the ZAFT landing forces, for that was their business between the two factions. The Federation's military forces had no intention of interfering or helping either side of ZAFT's operation. What the other two factions did, which didn't involve innocent bystanders, didn't tend to involve the Federation's military. The Alliance may have pulled the Federation in their coming war, but that didn't mean they would be taking the offensive stance that the Alliance seemed to want.
However, with ZAFT's landing forces coming down in areas extremely close to Federation's territorial lines, that brought up issues. OMNI forces were not permitted to cross into Federation territory until policy changed, and it was unlikely to do so in the future. It wouldn't matter if OMNI forces strayed into Federation territory by "accident" or intentional. Should any OMNI ships or mobile suits cross the territorial line into Federation territory, then they would be treated as hostile targets and would be fired upon. Thus, why the Federation's military forces in the Euros Coalition were out along the shorelines watching ZAFT and OMNI fighting. They were all at the ready to leap into action should OMNI forces crossed the territorial line and responding properly. Standing orders were to shoot down any OMNI forces that crossed territorial lines regardless of what their reasons why could be. The Alliance had brought the stance on themselves by assaulting Asgard, now they had to face the consequences.
Back with ZAFT, those from the Minerva reached OMNI's interception forces along with other from Gibraltar. The non-Minerva suits quickly engaged OMNI's Windams, drawing attention to themselves and off their descending allies. The five Minerva suits split apart and grouped with other allies and helped draw attention away from ZAFT landing forces. Aila and Matt joined two squads of DINNs being led by CGUEs. Rey joined up with a different team of DINNs after separating from his comrades. Lunamaria stuck around the Impulse which moved into being with a different team made up of DINNs and ZAKUs. The Windams quickly began defending against Gibraltar's forces. It was the aim of Gibraltar's forces so they could help as many of their comrades as possible get down to Gibraltar in one piece and alive.
Nevertheless, as the fighting between ZAFT and OMNI continued, something odd began happening. Some of OMNI's Windam were shot at, but it didn't appear to be from ZAFT forces. Aila had glanced around to see what could've shot the Windams as it had been clear it wasn't ZAFT forces. It was as the next Windam was shot that Aila was able to follow the beam to its source. She saw what appeared to be Federation mobile suits in their aircraft modes striking from a distance. The presence of the Federation wasn't odd in itself, not with how close the battle was to their Euros Coalition. However, them shooting at the Alliance was weird to Aila as the Federation's military wasn't involving themselves in the Spear of Twilight operation. That had been the information from Gibraltar's command center before all headed out to help their allies.
Yet, it certainly appeared the Federation forces were shooting at OMNI's Windams. But it almost seemed random for the targets picked which didn't make sense. The Federation's military weren't ones that targeted others at random, their past actions made that clear. Aila tried studying further as she kept fighting trying to figure out what the Federation were doing. And over the next five minutes, there seemed to be a pattern which Aila was starting to see. It appeared that only when OMNI moved a certain direction for a time did the Federation fire upon the Windams. The direction was toward the Euros Coalition which implied the Federation's actions has something to do with OMNI coming "too close" in some way. Aila felt there was more to what the Federation was doing, but she couldn't comprehend what they could be thinking.
Aila wasn't the only one of the ZAFT side which had noticed the "odd behavior" from the Federation military forces. Talia was another who had caught the unusual behavior from Federation military forces. There had been expectation that the Federation would stay out of the Spear of Twilight operation in general. ZAFT's plan to reinforce and solidify their positions on Earth was no business of the Federation nor had they shown any interest in what ZAFT was doing. And with the Federation seeming to be attacking OMNI forces at random, Talia couldn't help but wonder what they were thinking. The Federation wasn't the type to waste time on frivolous actions. Thus, random attacks weren't the style expected from the Federation's military forces.
Matt also took note of the Federation shooting at some of OMNI's Windams on the battlefield. He didn't believe the attacks from the Federation were random with OMNI. Matt was sure there was some kind of pattern to it even if he couldn't figure it out. The fact that the battle was taking place in the Mediterranean Sea which part of it was technically part of the Federation's Euros Coalition did stick in Matt's mind. However, fights between ZAFT and OMNI had taken place in the sea before now and the Federation hadn't gotten involved. So, Matt couldn't figure out why the Federation would be attacking some of the Windams and not others. It didn't make sense with the facts as they were for the Federation to do what they were. However, it was Aila who first asked the question in some minds, and it was done through Meyrin. "Minerva," Aila began, "can you provide any more relevant information as to why the Federation are attacking some of OMNI's forces? I highly doubt they are shooting at random Windams just because they can. And I am sure it isn't to help us or our allies to land safely as nice as they would be."
Talia had been listening to Aila as the communications between the Minerva's suits had been on the bridge speakers. She didn't disagree with Aila's assessment that the Federation wasn't helping ZAFT with their operation. The Federation's odd behavior didn't fit them or what was expected of them as of late. And the quick glance over the battlefield that Talia had done hadn't brought anything to light which could explain why the Federation was doing what they were. The Federation attacking some of OMNI could play a part in the Spear of Twilight operation by the end. Talia picked up her captain's phone and connected it to the channel the Osiris was using, "Unfortunately, we do not have more information which could help. Gibraltar is also scratching their heads as to why the Federation are shooting at some of OMNI's mobile suits. You're not the only one who has noticed the odd behavior of the Federation's military forces. Some of the sub captains are also questioning the point too, Aila."
While ZAFT was questioning why the Federation was seemingly randomly attacking some Windams, OMNI was getting frustrated. ZAFT forces from Gibraltar hampering the Alliance's interception response were bad enough to deal with. Should ZAFT's operation to get landing forces down to Earth, it would make future plans of the Alliance more difficult. It was much the same story around ZAFT's Carpentaria base off the Oceania Union's coast. ZAFT sending out forces from their main bases on Earth had been expected by OMNI top brass. And the interception missions had planned for that the best possible to counter that. Things had been going about as well as could be expected with ZAFT trying to get landing forces down. Some of ZAFT's newer mass-production model ZAKUs were getting to the ships they had sent from their bases. Yet, it wasn't as much if the interception mission OMNI was doing wasn't being done.
Nevertheless, what hadn't been planned for was the Federation stepping in and attacking some of the Windams. There had been no warning or sign that the Federation would interfere with the interception mission. And yet, there were reports both with the fleet in the Mediterranean Sea and those around Carpentaria the Federation was attacking some of the Windams. There seemed to be no pattern with the Federation's attacks on the Windams that could be identified. However, whatever the reason could be didn't matter, the Federation's interference was unwelcome. And not only was it unwelcome, but it was also making an already difficult situation even more problematic for OMNI. With the Federation's attacks, it was giving ZAFT some wiggle room to get more of their forces down to Earth to work with.
For those dealing with ZAFT's landing forces coming down around the Mediterranean Sea, they ordered a ship to move and see if they could help the Windams being shot at by the Federation. If the Federation's forces could be shewed away for a bit, then OMNI could focus back on ZAFT's landing forces. What issue the Federation had with OMNI they were insisting on didn't matter at the moment. OMNI just needed their interference to be pushed back for long enough to deal with ZAFT's landing forces and their allies. Alliance politicians could do the digging for what set the Federation off to interfere with operations against ZAFT. So, the fleet commander ordered two Arkansas class cruisers to move to assist the Windams being shot at by the Federation forces.
The movement of the two Arkansas cruisers was observed by those in charge of the Euros Coalition stationed Federation military forces. The attacking of OMNI Windams which crossed the territorial lines hadn't delivered the message it was done for. The consequences of the Alliance's assault on Asgard were OMNI forces wouldn't allowed for any reason to cross into Federation territory until further notice. That message had been sent to the Alliance general council. But it seemed the message had gone ignored by those in control of the Alliance with them still going about their business "as usual." Thus, any Windam that had strayed into Federation territory was treated as an enemy target and shot at. ZAFT may be working on their operation, but that wasn't of current interest for the Federation. So, the two OMNI ships were watched as they approached the territorial line which divided Alliance and Federation territory.
The Federation vessel patrolling the shoreline kept a sharp eye on the two approaching OMNI vessels. As they got close to the territorial divide, the closest Dolphes classes trained their main turret guns on the Arkansas cruisers. On the coast, defensive guns had risen up and deployed to active status before pointing at the coming enemy ships. There was also a missile battery which came from underground and swiveled to be aiming in the direction of OMNI forces. The battery was loaded with SM9 Eagle missiles which were the successors to the SM7 hawk missiles. It would be up to OMNI whether the shoreline defenses were employed against them. It would happen should their ships cross the territorial line and they come into range.
It was around a minute after the Arkansas cruisers crossed into Federation territory that the Dolphes classes opened fired on them. Only the first shots were meant to be warning shots for the OMNI vessels. The Alliance had declared war on the Federation whether they had intended to or not. They now had to face the consequences of having the Federation as an enemy. They would be given civility to the point they would be warned of the most basic things before being treated as a hostile force. Crossing territorial lines was not going to be taken lightly or allowed without a proper response. If it took the Alliance multiple incidents to understand the point they had gotten themselves into, then so be it.
Those in command of the two Arkansas vessels were surprised when they were fired upon by Federation ships a short distance away. Their actions didn't make sense as OMNI hadn't done anything to them around here. They were forced to scramble to counter the incoming attacks on them. It was but a moment for the two OMNI vessels who had moved to help allies that they were forced into the same position as the Windams they had come to help. The Arkansas classes may have more updated weaponry, but it was being countered by the opposing forces attacking them. And when some of the Federation's mobile suits began attacking the Arkansas classes, things only got harder.
Aila had been watching off and on the Federation's attacks on OMNI forces while the ZAFT operation was going on. She still was having trouble figuring out why the Federation was striking some Windams and not others. The only thing which stood out was the Windams which were attacked by the Federation seemed to be closer to the Euros Coalition side of the sea. That suggested the Federation's actions could have something to do with territory, but that still seemed an odd explanation. Then again, getting much of any explanation for the Federation's actions was a rare thing. It was a major part of what made the Federation as mysterious as it was seen, the lack of explanation for what they did.
It was after two OMNI cruisers broke off from the main enemy fleet heading for the area where the Windams were being shot at by the Federation that Aila witnessed something even stranger. Much like the Windams being attacked by the Federation, the two OMNI cruisers were fired upon by what appeared to be the vessels in the Federation's patrol. The two OMNI ships came under fire only after they seemed to get "close enough" to the Federation's side of the Mediterranean Sea. It lent credence to the idea that the Federation was attacking some of OMNI due to some sort of territorial reason. But that was still an unusual reason for the Federation to do what they were, it wasn't their normal style.
However, as Aila thought about recent events, she wondered if this could be a potential change/response to the Alliance assaulting Asgard. It was never if there would be responses from the Federation in relation to the Alliance for their attack on Asgard. As far as Aila had heard, ZAFT intel hadn't been able to gather much information on what the Federation had been doing about the Alliance since Asgard. But locking down their borders would certainly be reasonable for the Federation to do. And to treat the Alliance's OMNI forces as hostile targets within their borders would make general sense. There was a way to strengthen that assumption that Aila could think of. She got back on a channel to the Minerva, "Minerva, can you look and see if the two OMNI cruisers which are under attack by the Federation are in neutral or Federation territory?"
Arthur turned to gaze at Talia, hoping she may have an idea as to what Aila could be getting at. What she was asking didn't really have much to do with the ongoing operation as far as Arthur could think of. "What does that have to do with anything," Arthur inquired. "The Federation attacking some of the OMNI forces doesn't affect us or the operation." While Arthur had a point, Talia was curious as to what Aila was trying to confirm or dismiss. As long as Talia had known Aila, she'd found that the female pilot had quite the intuition. And it sounded like Aila had an idea for why the Federation appeared to be striking at some of OMNI and not others. Talia glanced over at Burt, "Are the enemy ships that Aila is referring to in neutral territory or not, Burt," she questioned. "If we can determine why the Federation is attacking OMNI, perhaps we can predict them in the future."
Burt found the two OMNI cruisers that Miss Lakeen had been referring to before the captain had asked her question. He had been curious as well about what Miss Lakeen was getting at with asking about the specific OMNI vessels. And when he looked closely at where the two OMNI cruisers were positioned, Burt had to blink. The two ships were on the Federation side of the territorial line which divided the Mediterranean Sea. That fact would've normally been nothing to worry about for any before now. The Federation, while sticklers about their territory, they didn't shoot at those from the other two factions for just crossing the border. So, that the Federation was attacking those that seemed to cross the border to their side was a seriously worrisome change. "They are on the Federation side of the border line, ma'am," Burt replied. "It appears like the Windams which are being shot at look to be there as well."
The answer was about what Talia expected from Burt with what Aila had asked. The actions of the Federation could be explained as a potential response to the Alliance's assault on Asgard. ZAFT intelligence hadn't been able to get accurate information on what the Federation had been doing in response to the Alliance's assault that Talia had heard. But locking down their borders would make sense for the Federation after the assault. However, for that to go to attacking OMNI should they cross into Federation territory seemed a tad extreme for the Federation's normal behavior. Although Talia couldn't deny it would certainly be a stark message for the Federation to send to the Alliance. It would say to the Alliance their warmongering behavior wouldn't be tolerated by the Federation. "If this is the change that comes from pushing the Federation hard, then it is certainly concerning," Talia muttered to herself. She then picked up her phone, "Aila, I would say your assumption is on point. Have our mobile suits move forward with that in mind. I doubt the Federation would fire upon ZAFT at this point, but I would rather not risk the idea to find out right now."
Talia knew it would be best if the message was spread around that ZAFT do what they could not to cross the border into Federation territory for the time being. She didn't think the Federation would attack ZAFT at this time, but Talia couldn't guarantee that assumption. She didn't want to have the Minerva or others take the risk right now to test the Federation's patience. Thus, Talia put her phone down and turned to Arthur, "Arthur, see if you can get the message to our allies that it is best, we stick to the neutral side of the border as we are able. The Federation may have reason to attack OMNI forces, I think it is in our best interest not to give them one to potentially attack ZAFT."
Arthur didn't like what the captain was implying about the Federation being on edge enough to attack others who simply crossed into their territory. The Alliance's assault on Asgard had been messy, even before the Minerva had arrived and certainly had become so after the Minerva had stepped into it. But for the Federation to lash out at the Alliance for stepping into their territory seemed kind of extreme for them. However, ZAFT didn't have anywhere near as bad a standing with the Federation as the Alliance did. So, ZAFT should be okay during the ongoing operation as the Federation had little to no reason to attack them. Yet, Arthur saw the logic that Talia was going with, and he agreed with it. "Understood ma'am," Arthur answered, "I'll pass along the message."
The battle between ZAFT and OMNI kept going even with the Federation striking OMNI forces that crossed into their territory. It was close to an hour before ZAFT's landing forces that had descended down got to their allies. Not all of ZAFT's landing forces had made it to their allies. The two OMNI fleets which were position in opposition to Carpentaria and Gibraltar had managed to take down some of ZAFT's landing forces. But more than sixty-five percent of ZAFT's landing forces had made it through the Alliance's attempts to stop them. ZAFT did note the Federation's behavior during the operation with them attacking some OMNI forces. Some reports detailed that it seemed the Federation was attacking OMNI forces that came into their territory. However, there wasn't enough solid data to confirm if that was the reason the Federation had been attacking some of OMNI's forces. ZAFT's landing forces were brought by their allies to Gibraltar and Carpentaria.
In the days after Operation "Spear of Twilight" took place, the current tensions calmed somewhat around Earth. And while tensions calmed a bit, that didn't improve circumstances in general for ZAFT. The reinforcements from the operation were certainly appreciated as they did help. Many which landed on Earth were sent to other ZAFT bases and controlled territories from Carpentaria and Gibraltar. This was done as had been planned to reinforce and solidify ZAFT's positions on Earth. The reasoning for this was to prepare for what the Alliance would do next, and it was even more important now than before.
The Alliance had proven in the last few weeks that its standing and general behavior had changed from what it had been. The attack on Armory One and then their blaming of the PLANTs for the Break the World Incident had been the first public signs of that. OMNI's attempted nuclear strike had ignited the flames of conflict. Their assault on the Federation at their Asgard base fanned the flames. It was becoming clear that another war was on the horizon in the very near future. ZAFT wanted to be as prepared as possible for what the Alliance would do and counter it. And it wasn't just for their citizens that ZAFT was making sure their defense and response was as ready as it could be. It was also for the innocent bystanders who could be caught in the crossfire.
With the operation being over, the communications black out was finally lifted among ZAFT bases. The blackout had been in place, so the Alliance didn't potentially get wind of the Spear of Twilight operation before it was in motion. Granted, the Alliance had scrambled what forces they could to intercept the descending forces. However, it had been less than if the Alliance had been aware of the operation and had time to prepare a counterattack. But with the blackout gone, those on Earth within ZAFT could contact their loved ones living among the PLANTs. And many of the ZAFT personnel didn't waste the chance to communicate with their families.
Shinn wasn't one of those that was in a rush to reach out to his family. He'd gotten that chance earlier thanks to Commander McGregor making those arrangements while he'd been on the Normandy. But he could certainly understand the wish to talk to loved ones and family which others in ZAFT were rushing to do. The talk he'd gotten with his family had been a good one for Shinn. He'd assured them he was fine even though he hadn't been away from the Minerva at the time. His mother had been worried when Shinn had mentioned he was away from the Minerva, but he had promised her he was safe. That had of course been before the Alliance's assault on Asgard had come up. But the battle was unlikely public knowledge other than the Alliance had tried attacking Asgard, few other details beyond that.
The other part of the conversation Shinn had with his family back at the time had involved him piloting a mobile suit for ZAFT. Shinn had originally signed up to be a pilot when enlisting in ZAFT. Yet with his written test scores, he hadn't been sure he would be assigned a red suit rather than a green. He felt that his practical score was what had saved him from be relegated to being a ZAFT green. That much he'd mentioned to his family, more in passing than anything else. However, when he had mentioned he had been piloting a Gundam-type for a little while, his sister Mayu's excitement had taken over. He'd tried saying it was more a temporary thing, but Mayu wouldn't let him say that. Mayu had just gone on saying how cool it was for her brother to be a "Gundam pilot" for ZAFT. It had been even harder for Shinn to correct the point when his sister says how proud she would be telling her friends that Shinn was using a Gundam.
Nevertheless, Shinn expected that him piloting the Impulse would soon come to an end. Aila had recovered from what had happened to her around Armory One. Shinn didn't kid himself with the wish of him remaining the Impulse's pilot. With Aila's health better, she would more than likely go back to being the Impulse's pilot. Mr. Dems would be put as the primary pilot for the Osiris as had been originally planned by his and Aila's words. And so, Shinn would be back to working with a ZAKU and being a backup Gundam pilot as the situation required. Not that Shinn had an issue with piloting a ZAKU or anything, the model was fine and worked for most situations. But working with a Gundam had been a real "eye-opening" experience for him. It had been like Shinn could fully stretch his skills in a way he hadn't known he could before. Shinn couldn't help but wonder if he would get the chance to work with a Gundam again and stretch himself like the Impulse had allowed him to do. Shinn headed back to the quarters that he shared with Rey so he could perhaps relax and maybe get some sleep while waiting for the Minerva got new orders. Rey was out, Shinn recalled him saying that he was going to Gibraltar for the day. So, he entered their quarters and took a seat at the desk thinking on what was ahead for him in the near future.
At the same time, Aila was looking for Shinn so she could inform him of Talia's decision on his position as a pilot. Talia had made the decision to have Shinn as one of the Gundam pilots in the "rotation" which Aila and Matt had been a part of. Since Talia was busy with other things, Aila had volunteered to inform Shinn of the change in his standing. However, after the Minerva and the other Gibraltar forces returned to the base, things had become chaotic. There had been a communications blackout in place for a little over two weeks before the Spear of Twilight operation. But now the operation was completed, the blackout had been lifted so that ZAFT personnel could reach out to their loved ones. Yet the blackout being lifted had caused an amount of the chaos which was going around the Gibraltar base. And because of that chaos, it had become harder to find specific individuals. At least, Aila hadn't seen Shinn among those rushing to use communication lines like most had been.
Nevertheless, Aila wanted to inform Shinn of the change in his piloting status for the Minerva. Matt was helping Arthur manage the flood of requests for a line out to the PLANTs while Aila was searching for Shinn. The change was essentially a promotion for Shinn, and he should be told of it. Shinn did really deserve the position of Gundam pilot in Aila's opinion. He had proven he had the skills and the resolve needed and expected of a Gundam pilot. It was sad that those on the National Defense Committee hadn't noticed the potential Shinn had. Either that or they didn't see him worth the time to give him so he could develop his potential. Regardless of which it could be, Shinn would be given the opportunity to pilot a Gundam going forward. She couldn't say how Captain McGregor would get the National Defense Committee to not step in, but Aila felt the guy would follow through on what he said. That thought didn't make Aila not wonder what McGregor could possibly do to get the National Defense Committee to leave Shinn alone.
It was ten minutes later that Aila had come to the door to the quarters that Shinn shared with Rey. It was one of the last places that Aila hadn't checked for the young man around the Minerva. There was no record of Shinn leaving the ship to go inside the Gibraltar base since the Minerva had returned. Thus, it was extremely likely Shinn hadn't left the ship when others had after the Minerva got back to Gibraltar. Rey had gone into Gibraltar so he wouldn't be around the ship or in his quarters. That meant if Shinn was in their quarters, it would just be him. That would work out as Aila felt Shinn should be the first among the other pilots to know of the change in his position. So, Aila knocked on the door to the double regular crew quarters and waited.
Shinn glanced up when he heard the knock on the door. He wondered who would be coming by at this time. With the Minerva in dock, about half the crew had disembarked and gone into Gibraltar as far as Shinn was aware. So, there would be few that would come by that Shinn could think of. Rey was the one that was called upon more often than Shinn, so most came to see him. Not that Shinn had a problem with that, Rey had better people skills and helped people more which had many coming to him. Shinn did try to do what he could to help, but his attempts were more on smaller things. Plus, Shinn didn't have the "connections" that Rey seemed to have to use to help with "odd" circumstances. Anyone could glance at the duty records to see Rey was off the Minerva currently. Thus, Shinn couldn't think of a reason anyone would have to come and see him. So, Shinn got up from the desk and went to the door to see who it could be knocking.
When the door opened, Shinn was kind of shocked to see Aila standing there. Shinn couldn't come up with a reason Aila had come to see him. He hadn't done anything wrong that he could think of recently. As the team lead for the Minerva, Aila was also responsible for general behavior correction with the pilots. However, Shinn felt that his behavior and performance had been great. His time away from the Minerva had been different but none on the Normandy had said anything to imply Shinn's behavior needed to be changed. The debrief that Shinn had with Captain Gladys had gone fine by what he had seen. The captain had said his behavior while away had been "exemplary." So, Shinn couldn't figure out a reason for Aila to be here to see him at this time. "Oh, hey Aila," Shinn greeted, "What brings you to see me?"
Aila could tell Shinn seemed to be confused with her visit. She was here to bring him what most would see as good news with the "promotion" to Gundam pilot. But with how "reserved" Shinn had shown himself to be when not in the cockpit, Aila could understand how this may appear to him. She wondered if it was his reservedness was one of the things which had the National Defense Committee not assigning Shinn to a Gundam-type. His skills and talents should've had those who scouted pilots overlook his age and inexperience. "There is no need to worry about my visit, Shinn," Aila remarked. "I'm not here to call you out on anything. Not with how your behavior had been exemplary while you've been away from the Minerva. I would assume the captain said something to that effect during your debrief." Aila paused for a moment, "How about we go in and have a seat and I'll tell you what I want to talk to you about?"
Shinn stepped aside to let Aila in before he headed for his bunk. It was to offer Aila the chair at the desk that Shinn took his bunk for a seat. Aila took the seat at the desk as Shinn was offering by taking a seat on his bunk. She faced Shinn who was looking toward the floor at the moment. Aila took a breath and began, "I say again Shinn, you're not in trouble. If anything, I am here to give you some good news." Shinn's head rose at hearing Aila say she was there to give him "good news." He couldn't think of anything that would be considered good news for him in the present or near future. If anything, the expected news he was faced with was being put back to one of the Minerva's ZAKUs rather than remaining with the Impulse. "Oh," Shinn replied, "And what news would that be, ma'am?"
Aila could see that Shinn didn't believe there was good news for him at the moment. She could sympathize with him after coming back to the Minerva. If not for the field promotion from Talia, Shinn would be put back with a mass-production ZAKU. That was a downturn from the Impulse which Shinn had been using. Should it be up to the National Defense Committee, that would be what Shinn would face. However, with what McGregor had promised to do, it gave the opportunity to Shinn to really be a Gundam pilot. "You're position as a pilot for the Minerva will change somewhat in a good way." Aila paused for a moment, "While I don't doubt you believe you'll go back to using a ZAKU, let be give you the rundown of the point. There may be times where you will pilot a ZAKU, you will actually be in the rotation to work with the Gundams the Minerva has."
Shinn blinked at hearing what Aila had just said about him being in the rotation for piloting a Gundam. That hadn't been what he'd been expecting to hear from Aila at all. Not to say that Shinn was against being in the "rotation" for piloting a Gundam if given the opportunity. It was far better than being assigned to a ZAKU with little to no chance of that changing for him in the foreseeable future. But Shinn's hope could be getting the better of him, so he wanted to make sure he'd heard correctly. "Did you just say I would be in the rotation to work with one of the Minerva's Gundams," he asked. Aila nodded in response, "You heard me correctly, Shinn," she answered. "You will be in the rotation with Matt and I to work with the Minerva's Gundams."
Shinn wasn't against being in the "line-up" for using one of the two Gundams that the Minerva had to work with right now. But he was still having trouble figuring out how someone like him was even being considered for anything more than a "backup Gundam pilot." Whether one became or was assigned as a Gundam pilot was determined by those on the National Defense Committee as far as Shinn understood. Shinn was under no illusion that his age and inexperience didn't help him with potentially being paired with a Gundam when it came to the National Defense Committee. He didn't see anything which would change his standing with the Committee that came to Shinn's mind. Even taking into account Shinn's time away from the Minerva around the Federation, he didn't think that would make a difference. From what Captain Gladys had said, his time away would be seen as "off-the-books" time and not be on his record. Thus, his work around Asgard wouldn't be able to help him in the eyes of the National Defense Committee.
Nevertheless, by the way that Aila had worded her reply, Shinn wondered if it meant he may be expected to use the Osiris and/or the Impulse. Shinn wasn't as familiar with the Osiris as he was with the Impulse. Not that Shinn felt he couldn't learn and work with the Osiris, he would just need the time to do that. But his "training" from Aila had been for the Impulse and not the other Gundams which had been assigned to the Minerva. More training and simulated training for him and Rey were meant to take place when the Minerva had been originally scheduled to ship out. The plan had been that the other primary Gundam pilots would give pointers and time to Shinn and Rey while the Minerva was not on active duty. Thus, Shinn and Rey would be able to pilot any of the Minerva's Gundams if called upon. The theft had wrecked that plan and made it moot with only the Osiris and Impulse on the Minerva. There had been primary Gundam pilots to machines with Aila injured around Armory One. Yet now there were three in the "rotation" and two machines to use, so one would be in a ZAKU during combat.
A/n
That is where I'll leave off for this Phase. Let me start off with my apology with the timeframe and an announcement for this story. I'm sorry this Phase took so long, life has been hectic for me as of late. Because of that continuing for the foreseeable future, I will update this story as I can, but it won't be as regular as it has been. I apologize in advance for that, but I would rather be honest than promise things that I can't hold myself to. I make this clear, this story is NOT dead in any way. It is just that having the time to sit down and write is harder to come by for me right now.
Let's move on to the highlights and explanations for this Phase. Overall, this phase was a "filler" for the Minerva's journey from Asgard to just before canon's episode 17. I know that is out of order of what canon establishes, but my story is not canon so I can rearrange events as I see fit. But let's get to the details and scenes which I want to go over with you readers. The first scene which has the Minerva arriving at Gibraltar as s couple of points I want to expand upon, let's start with Talia's recounting. Remember, the Minerva is returning from an "off the books" task it headed out upon. With that in mind, nothing they did around Asgard will ever be admitted officially by those in ZAFT.
That doesn't mean the Alliance's assault on Asgard isn't worrisome to those like Talia and the implications that come with it. As was stated in the last Phase, the things which those on the Minerva had seen were concerning. The view of Federation technology and equipment is something that ZAFT really hasn't gotten before the assault on Asgard. Talia and others on the Minerva notice that the Federation have means to combat Gundams more effectively than ZAFT and the Alliance do. The other big thing is the change in the Alliance's behavior in attacking the Federation. That change in behavior is important, so I see the need to repeat the point as it plays into the coming on of the war.
Upon returning to Gibraltar after what went down at Asgard, Talia and some others notice there is more tension than when they left. Talia of course goes and reports to those at Gibraltar which luckily is the same one she talked to before the Minerva left. The reporting scene does have a few things I want to point out for you readers. I want to start with a character point with Talia Gladys which I believe is often skewed over in canon. She is honest and doesn't sugar code things when reporting what happens with the Minerva. It may be an expectation of her as a captain, but I still think it is an important quality to notice nonetheless. The next point is more an implication mentioned which it what Gibraltar saw of the Alliance's assault. Parts of the assault would be visible from a distance, like the ground to orbit cannons' shots. However, ZAFT forces couldn't get close enough to get creditable information on the battle. With Talia's report, Hersey is able to put together a loose picture of what had happened around Asgard.
From the perspective of ZAFT, the Alliance's assault was bad, but there was more to the point than it just being bad. The fact that the Alliance would attack the Federation, let alone their Asgard base is more than worrisome. However, with not being able to get very close to the base, they couldn't see the battle that well. Thus, Talia's report is valuable for ZAFT as it is from a view that they didn't have at all. I would point out that it is implied ZAFT isn't waving off the chance they may have to go against the Federation's military at some point in the future. So, any information upon the Federation's level of technology is welcome to ZAFT. I also wanted to show there are those that would support Talia's decisions with the Minerva going to Asgard. Remember, with Treize gone, the thoughts and choices of the higher ups is far less clear. But on to the other half of the conversation which is about ZAFT's Spear of Twilight operation.
So, the Spear of Twilight operations as was in canon, is for reinforcing ZAFT positions on Earth. It was planned before the attack by the Alliance on Asgard, but that assault shows a change in behavior which is taken into account. For the operation, there are two main drop points as you readers heard, which were Gibraltar and Carpentaria. And with the Alliance being more active, the need to get the reinforcements down to Earth for ZAFT before counters can be put in place is the motivation to accelerate the operation. Thus, Talia is being informed of the operation being pushed forward as the Minerva hadn't been in the loop going to Asgard. She may have expected the operation to move forward with the assault on Asgard, but not as quick as it was. The Minerva is expected to participate in the operation as it was before of course.
Moving onto the next scene with the Supreme council, as there is some stuff with that which I want to highlight. I want to point out in this scene something about Gilbert Durandal. I know he is seen as a manipulating punk in canon, but I ask you to not be so quick to think he is the same in my story. I say canon misses this point but I don't want to think Gilbert started out as a manipulator. He had principles he held to before the war did what it did. And in my story, Gilbert is also a student of Tyler's father and very much respected Lance Blass. Put simply, Gilbert isn't an idiot or an individual like Djibril is at this point in time, he is smarter than most give him credit for, especially canon. As an example, Gilbert can see the behind-the-scenes things which the public normally doesn't and applies logical thinking to that. He isn't like Chairman Zala and reactionary and blinded by hate.
Now, moving to the actual Spear of Twilight operation which is around a third of this Phase. ZAFT knows the importance of the operation. Reinforcements are required to solidify ZAFT positions on Earth to counter the Alliance there. The end of the Alliance-PLANT War may have restored territory to what it had been, but that doesn't mean the Alliance hasn't been eyeing gaining more territory for themselves. Thus, the PLANTs' National Defense Committee pushed for the operation to ready ZAFT for the conflict. The flip side of this or the Alliance's side, enemy forces getting reinforcement. The Alliance doesn't want ZAFT to get more force to work with on Earth. And to prevent any ZAFT forces slipping down to Earth without OMNI knowing about it, there were sensor equipment put in place after the Alliance-PLANT War. With the Alliance losing against the Federation, they aren't about to let ZAFT get a better position for themselves. So, the Alliance was quick to move to counter ZAFT dropping forces. ZAFT forces from both the bases head out to help their drop forces to get past the Alliance forces of course.
I want to point out the Federation's response in this battle. I know those who had read up to this point aren't surprised with what the Federation did. It should be established fact that the Federation doesn't wave off attacks on them regardless who does it. The Alliance assaulted Asgard, and it failed, but there was more fallout from that. Whether the Alliance officially didn't declare war on the Federation, their attack on Asgard essentially declared war on the Federation. Thus, the Federation isn't about to let OMNI forces in their territory and do nothing about it. However, I would remind you readers, the Federation doesn't state reasons why they do things to the other factions if there isn't a valid reason to do so. ZAFT notices the Federation attacking some of OMNI's mobile suits and later on ships.
I wanted to move to the last scene in the Phase. I want to point out Shinn's "view" of the current situation. I don't think that any would question Shinn is a skilled pilot, but ZAFT has their way of testing and judging such. Shinn's written test scores weren't the best, I won't lie about that. But his practical test scores made up for the written scores. And remember, Shinn was assigned to the Minerva as a "backup" pilot for Gundams, not a primary one. We know that is going to change, but Shinn isn't aware of that yet. So, he is going on the assumption Aila would go back to being the Impulse's pilot while Matt will use the Osiris. Thus, he would go back to using a ZAKU during combat as far as he knows. However, I would point out the experience and change in perspective Shinn has gotten piloting the Impulse. He was able to use his skills more than he had been in a ZAKU. That is a sign of a potential Gundam pilot. Then we move to the conversation between Shinn and Aila which change things for Shinn.
But before I get to the conversation, I want to touch on Aila's view as she is looking for Shinn. She has seen the potential Shinn has even if higher ups have not seen the really find Shinn truly is. You readers understand Shinn is a heck of a pilot, but remember, the number of Gundams are limited per faction, so pilots are chosen carefully. Aila hasn't forgotten about Talia saying Tyler would do something to make sure the Committee would not interfere. But she doesn't know Tyler's ability to get things done as we do. Yet, she can't help but wonder what Tyler can do to help Shinn not be struck down by the committee. Now, back to the conversation between the two. Aila tells Shinn that he will be in the Gundam rotation. That implies more than you readers may think on the face of it. That does mean Shinn may in future use the Osiris, I'm toying around with the idea currently. However, that can mean he can be put to a ZAKU as well, so don't be snarling at me should that happen in future.
In conclusion for this Phase, I apologize again for it taking so long. I also echo this story will unfortunately not be updated regularly as it has been for the time being due to the lack of time for me to write right now. Life is just hectic and just won't allow me to write as I would like at this time. As always, I ask some of you readers to take the time and write a review and tell me what you think of this Phase and story, ask questions, or give constructive suggestions how to improve my writing and this story. I am working on the next phase, I assure you, I just can't say how long it will take right now. Peace out until the next phase!