It is the year CE 78. The First and Second Bloody Valentine Wars combined had caused the largest loss of life the world had ever seen since the Reconstruction, with the advent of the mobile suit, the N Jammer, genetic engineering, and large-scale deployment of weapons of mass destruction. Now, three years after the greatest wars of the century, the entire Earth Sphere has seen a state of relative equilibrium, with the great powers of the world deciding to have discussions on the negotiating table instead of taking it into fight. However, tensions remain high, and after almost four years of peace, people are still on edge.
The Atlantic Federation, after losing its major leadership in the form of Joseph Copeland, sustained several coups, however due to the timely but unlikely intervention of the United States of South America, the Atlantic Federation has stayed relevant on the world stage. The EA itself was disbanded, and the Equatorial Union, African Unity, and Republic of East Asia declared secession from the EA, forming their own respective states and trying to succeed on their own. With the events of Logos and their manipulations brought out to the world, and the Coordinator issue more accepted all over the world, a minor Coordinator boom has started thanks to more and more families opting to have Coordinator children.
The Eurasian Federation, however, was not as lucky as the rest of the old Earth Alliance states. Due to the disastrous Foundation Conflict causing the nuking of Moscow, the Federation's capital city, multiple swathes of the Eurasian Federation's territories have been split due to infighting and revolution, and multiple warlords have tried to carve their own kingdom from the Eurasian Federation's bloated carcass. The Foundation's destruction itself caused a massive power vacuum, one which no single entity has yet to fill, with the Kingdom of Scandinavia strictly keeping to its neutral position, though still providing much welcome aid to the displaced civilians of the Eurasian Federation.
The PLANTs, under the leadership of their Supreme Council and the guidance of now Supreme Chairwoman Ezalia Joule, have begun expanding the number of PLANTs since the end of the Second Valentine War, with the first of the new colonies starting construction. A baby boom is predicted to occur with the second generation Coordinator families, despite the problems of conceiving for the second and third generations still a looming specter for any family that wants to have children. The PLANTs are still quite expensive places to visit and formally migrate, so immigration from the Earth is still moving at a snail's pace. Ezalia Joule's term as the Chairwoman of the Supreme Council is fast ending, and with no interest in renewing her term, all Coordinators are on edge to see what the next Supreme Chairwoman would bring to the table. As for Yzak, Shiho, Dearka, Shinn, and Lunamaria, all members of ZAFT's mobile suit corps as instructors, aces, and high-ranking officers, peace was a well-deserved respite from both wars, with more focus on rebuilding rather than war.
Orb itself has gone into a period of rapid growth, with further development not in space, but in the depths of the sea. Taking data on both the Archangel and their own space colony prototypes, the underwater colony, Launsina, was established in CE 77, and is now open for tentative colonization. It also houses a division of Morgenroete, which was the primary corporation who developed Launsina. Cagalli Yula Athha is still the Chief Representative, with the watchful eyes of Ledonir Kisaka guarding her safety, as well as insight from Athrun Zala, helping Cagalli go through the turbulent post-war period. On Morgenroete's side, Murrue Ramius and Mu La Flaga have taken jobs as both warship and mobile weapon designer/test pilot, respectively, and they have started, along with Erica Simmons, to develop the next generation of Orb's new machines, including ones for their allies in space.
Despite the idyllic and peaceful mood of the years post CE 74, there is still a need for a silent paramilitary group dedicated to protecting the world, much like the old Clyne Faction, the ODR, and the Three Ships Alliance. Publicly, this group is known as Terminal, which has now absorbed both members of the Junk Guild, the remains of the Deep Space Survey Development organization, and what remained of COMPASS after the disastrous Foundation Conflict. Known more for their humanitarian efforts, Terminal has been active worldwide, helping war-torn areas recover and sending supplies and much needed relief all over the world. Privately, Terminal has the secret support and funding of both ZAFT and Orb, with the military hardware and know-how to take care of any unstable hotspot. Andrew Waltfeld, Martin DaCosta, and the majority of COMPASS' personnel, have gone up to space to help manage Terminal, with its new influx of recruits from both the EA, Orb, and ZAFT.
As for COMPASS, due to the disastrous Foundation Conflict, the organization, though made with the best of interests, was formally disbanded, with most of its resources being absorbed into Terminal. Public opinion of Lacus Clyne, despite her heroic efforts to take down Requiem and dismantle the Foundation, was at an all-time low right after the conflict, due to the actions of the Foundation outing her as an Accord. For the two major leaders of COMPASS, Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne, both who've ended up keeping a low profile, being out of the limelight and not in the thick of another major conflict, saw the situation less as a burden, and more as a well-deserved vacation/honeymoon from handling the war. However, the two have yet to fully disengage from current and past events, and while the two have been keeping themselves out of the public eye, they have been busy at work both directing Terminal, looking for more details about Ultimate Coordinators and Accords, and in Lacus' case, ironing out the United Solar Confederacy of States' first charter, with all the other leaders of the world.
COMPASS' disbandment, though sudden due to the Foundation Conflict, showed the benefits of a unilateral organization that represented the entire world's interests, and gave the entire world a preview on how people from all nations could work together to a common goal. With Earth and the PLANTs now at peace, a group tasked to avoid the tragedies of the Valentine Wars was conceived. Similar to the United Nations of old, and spearheaded by Lacus Clyne and Cagalli Yula Athha, the USCS was designed to smooth out disagreements between the different power blocs, create a unifying body that regulates the interactions between Naturals and Coordinators all throughout the Earth Sphere, and avoid incidents like the Bloody Valentine Wars and the Foundation Conflict from happening once more. As a more tempered and holistic approach to unity all over the Earth Sphere, the USCS charter, released in CE 77 after the Copernicus space conference, was met with cautious optimism and hope for the future.
However, all is not well beyond the Earth Sphere. The Martian colonies were established prior to CE 58, as a safe haven for Naturals and Coordinators to avoid the war. Some colonies, during the chaos of the Bloody Valentine Wars, have opted to secede from their home countries, and in some instances, their home countries have ceased to exist during the conflict. Due to the chaos of the Valentine Wars, the Martian colonies have called themselves sovereign states, yet some in the Earth, especially in the Atlantic Federation and the Republic of Eastasia, beg to differ, calling them upstart unruly colonies.
In a dramatic twist of irony that many current political analysts and scholars do not fail to chuckle at, a number of Martian settlements have declared their intentions to not join the USCS, pointing out their voices would be discredited by the highly Earth-centric power blocs, most of which have time and time again demonstrated their "superiority" versus the Martian populace. Even the PLANTs have failed to encourage the Martian settlements to consider the USCS. In response to the inroads of the PLANTs and the Earth into Mars, several political movements have arisen.
The largest and most belligerent of these political movements, calling itself the Ares Party, has begun to call for Martian sovereignty, unity, and autonomy in the different colonies. Spearheaded by a charismatic individual known as Armin Vesser, one of the heads of a Martian colony, the Ares Party's ideals have started to gain traction within the different colonies. Demonstrations all over the Martian settlements started erupting when legislation and plans of the USCS were first drafted, and in the months after the announcement, they have just increased in intensity, with some protesters becoming violent against government officials.
Now at CE 78, in the days before the inauguration of the first USCS charter, the entire Earth Sphere faces a bright future, looking forward to expanding from the Solar System and beyond in a new era of peace. However, despite this bright future, there are still embers of conflict present, and with the USCS referendum about to begin, a single spark would be able to start a fire capable of burning the entire Solar System down...