Disclaimer: Still don’t own it

Athrun frowned as he studied the display in front of him.

Sitting in his new office aboard the Minerva, the ZAFT Commander was looking at the latest reports of the war with the Earth Alliance.

It wasn’t looking good.

Whatever advantage ZAFT once held was now gone. The support of the people had dissipated when ZAFT had launched the failed attack on Daedalus and had gone back the Earth Alliance. All the territory the PLANTs had gained were now under siege from heavy Alliance forces and ZAFT’s offensives were not working because they had encountered more Destroys on the battlefield which were being used for defensive purposes in Eastern Europe.

There were also the reports of a new EA ship that was wreaking havoc on ZAFT forces in Africa. From what Athrun could tell, the EA was using a new type of warship that apparently resembled the Archangel and that it deployed a new Gundam team. It seemed that the EA had taken a cue from ZAFT in regards to the Minerva and his team.

If he had the time and military strength, Athrun knew that he could probably bring down the menace without resorting to using the Minerva, since it was undergoing a repairs still. However, the ZAFT Commander had neither to spare is conducting such a venture.

As the new Assistant Chief of Staff for all ZAFT forces on Earth, it was Athrun’s job to come up with new strategies and battle plans for ZAFT’s terrestrial forces. It seemed now that he had inherited quite a mess since no one had calculated such a vast change in the status of the war.

The door suddenly opened and Meyrin appeared with two cups of coffee in her hands. The young woman had been assigned as his secretary and Athrun had to admit that she was excellent at the job. Whenever he needed something, she got it for him with no questions asked.

“Thank you Meyrin,” said Athrun, giving her a soft smile as he took the coffee cup from her.

“You’re welcome Commander,” Meyrin said, taking a sip from her own beverage.

“How’s the mood out there?” the FAITH member asked. It had been a while since he had interacted with the rest of the crew.

“Tense; it started out as grim when all the offensives the EA was conducting against us were announced. The mood worsened when that footage of what happened near Warsaw was leaked to the news,” answered the red-head with a grimace.

Athrun nodded and once again cursed the one who had done the deed. The footage showed how ZAFT forces, which launched an offensive to seize Warsaw’s major production centers, was slaughtered by a Destroy Gundam. The scene had morally damaged the crew of the Minerva, who had faced the monstrosity before, and the thought of facing more of those things had spooked a lot of people.

“Well there is a strong possibility that we are going to have to fight a Destroy sometime in the future; we are the only unit who has successfully engaged a Destroy and lived to tell about it,” explained Athrun, taking a seat. Meyrin took a seat in the chair opposite of him and the desk.

“But it was the Freedom that took the thing down in Berlin,” argued the red-head.

“Yes; we do know now how to take down one thanks to Kira,” the ZAFT Commander said.

“I guess you are happy that he is still alive,” stated Meyrin. Athrun leaned back in his chair and sighed.

“Truthfully, yeah I am; I am just afraid on what will happen if we encounter him on the battlefield,” Athrun said sadly.

“Do you think that’s going to happen? Orb is a neutral nation now and I doubt they will be entering the war anytime soon,” Meyrin said.

“I would agree if it weren’t for the fact that Cagalli is building up the nation’s military. I know that she would never ally with us after what happened but I am afraid that Orb might reenter the Earth Alliance,” the FAITH member said.

“That wouldn’t be good; especially with this new EA leader,” said the young woman.

Athrun nodded and admitted that his friend had done a masterful job in not only rebuilding the Alliance militarily, but politically as well. Though the Republic of East Asia was technically no longer a member and was neutral, the rest of the Alliance members were doing well without them and were working very well together; which was funny given the animosity between the Atlantic and Eurasian Federation. Overall, the EA was fighting as one entity which was not good for ZAFT.

“I discovered something when I was online last night,” said Meyrin, changing the subject.

“You really need to stop doing that; we are supposed to be in a communications blackout except for official reasons because of the heightened security,” chastened the young man.

“I know; but this was important since I overheard another crewman talking about it and wanted to confirm what she said,” defended Meyrin.

“What is it?” asked Athrun, shaking his head and was glad that the young woman was such a good hacker since if she was caught; he doubted that he could get her off.

“Meer has disappeared from public,” informed the red-head, surprising Athrun. She was the only one he had told about the fake Lacus.

“What do you mean?” asked an alarmed Athrun, sitting up.

“That she has failed to make a single public appearance since her last concert. From what I was able to gather, Meer has not been seen at all on Earth or in the PLANTs,” Meyrin explained.

“That’s not good; I hope she is alright,” said a worried Athrun. While he did not feelings of love for Meer, he was concerned for her as a friend.

“Do you want me to make some subtle inquiries?” asked the young woman.

“Yes; just be careful since something might be up,” ordered the FAITH member.

“No problem; I am a master hacker after all,” stated Meyrin, standing up and leaving the room. Before she left, Meyrin turned her head and smiled at him before she left the room. Athrun went back to work.

As she headed back to her quarters, Meyrin hummed happily to herself. Not only was she happy that she was Athrun’s assistant, but that he had such trust in her as well.

She would do anything for him no matter what.

Nichos sat back as the screens in front of him lit up one by one, revealing a face on it.

Seated in his private office deep underground of Heavens Base, he was alone in the room. The lights had been completely turned off, shrouding the room in darkness except for the lit monitors on the wall.

“Well it’s been a while since we have all been in contact like this,” stated Nichos to the people on the monitors.

“That’s understandable seeing on how we have all been busy,” said Natasha Cherenko, her thick Russian accent echoing in the room.

“True, but everything has been progressing according to plan,” said Sai.

“Which is impressive given the number of obstacles we have in our path,” stated Obali. He was currently back located back in the South African Union.

“Which might increase if we are not careful,” said Yavin Seiran. Nichos always found it amusing that the young man was always moody no matter what and that his bleach blond hair would make him stand out in any crowd he was in.

“I agree, but we should be proud of our accomplishments,” interject Fllay, annoyed by Yavin’s disposition.

“Which is why we are holding this meeting; what is the status of Jaburo?” Director Ayanami asked, looking at Sai.

“We are done with all the construction and are awaiting the stockpiles of supplies and personnel. The defenses are also ready and so we can go online whenever you are ready. The South American Government has been very helpful as well,” informed young man.

“Excellent; Jaburo is not needed for now so just keep stockpiling what the base needs. How is the team doing?” asked the EA leader.

“They are adjusting comfortably; they have converted one of the assembly lines to construct the Strike Liberty. The training of the pilots is also going well according to the science team,” Sai said.

“From what I have seen, it is an impressive mobile suit. I have to congratulate you on being able to get the info on the Strike Freedom for the design of the Strike Liberty Yavin,” applauded Natasha. The woman had long dark hair and was in her forties; though one could not tell since she was quite beautiful.

“Unlike my father and brother, I have far better contacts inside Athha’s camp so getting a hold of the Strike Freedoms specs was not that difficult. Though what we have was done by actual scans of the Gundam,” informed the Nobleman.

“It was still impressive; are you having any problems from your tomboy princess?” asked Fllay with a smirk.

“She has no illusions about me and I believe that she sees me as a potential threat. However, we are getting along since she needs me in order to run the country,” stated Yavin.

“Will she be a hindrance when we initiate the final phase of the plan?” asked Nichos.

“Depends on the state of world events; I cannot give a definite answer right now,” the young man answered.

“Well I am happy to report that everything is going very well on my end,” Fllay stated with a smile.

“Have the Equatorial Union eating out of your hand?” teased Sai.

“Just about; I believe that they will be ready by the time the plan becomes in motion,” stated the red-head.

“Well that is good; what about the Republic of East Asia?” asked Natasha.

“My influence in their military is growing as well as their sympathy for the Alliance. The only problem is the political leadership at the moment,” informed Fllay.

“If Durandal moves forward with his Destiny Plan, then we might now have to worry about that,” said Nichos.

“He still hasn’t told the Council about it,” stated Evelyn Canaver, the newest member of the organization. She was the younger sister of former PLANT Councilwoman Eileen Canaver and had taken her sister’s spot on the Council.

“Oh? Not even a subtle mention?” asked Sai.

“No, at least not to the whole Council; there are a few members who are quite loyal to him so there is the chance that they know about it,” informed the Councilwoman.

“Has Gilbert tried to win your support yet?” asked Nichos.

“No; neither has Yzak Joule’s little faction as well. Neither one of them are not yet sure what to make of me since I am still new,” said the young woman. Her green eyes and brown hair made the woman look exotic, which a few men found attractive.

“Well do your best to stay neutral for now; you are our hope for our plans for the PLANTs,” stated Obali.

“I am doing my best; I might be able to win support as long as the PLANT population believes that they will be treated as equals in our new Federation. I have a question though; why did you kidnap Meer Campbell?” asked Evelyn, looking straight at Nichos. The other leaders looked at him in surprise as well.

“Her loss would be a major blow to Durandal, which has benefited for far too long with his fake Lacus,” said the EA leader with a frown.

“Is she still alive? While she is probably a willing pawn of the man, I don’t believe she deserves to die,” said the Councilwoman.

“I would not go to all that trouble to grab the woman if I wanted her dead. She is quite safe here in the Heavens Base,” assured the Director.

“Already bedding her?” asked Fllay with a smirk.

“No actually; I found out some unfortunate things about the girl which might be the reason why Durandal has such an influence over her,” sated Nichos.

“And that is?” asked Yavin.

“She is one of my kind,” informed the Director with a scowl.

There was silence in the room as the members all mentally took in what the statement meant. They all knew what Nichos was as well as the PLANTs dirty little secret.

“How bad is she?” asked a concerned Natasha.

“Not too bad all things considered; her genetic structure is in a lot better condition than most of my kind. Durandal though had Meer addicted to some medication that were no longer necessary so that he could control the young woman,” informed Nichos, now angry. His rage was shared by the rest of the members.

“That man needs to go when we go through with our plans,” said Yavin with conviction.

“Agreed,” said Evelyn, not sure how she was going to keep her face straight when the next Council meeting took place.

“All in time my friends; may we continue this next week?” asked Nichos. There were nods all around and everyone said their goodbyes. Once the final screen went black, Nichos stood up and stretched as the lights came back on.

Instead of leaving the room through the front door, he went to a hidden door located in the back of the office. Opening it, he continued down a long hallway until he reached another door that led to a private room. Walking inside, he closed the door behind him and headed to the queen sized bed at the back of the room.

Both Yu Fan and Yu Lan were standing by the side of the bed, trying to comfort the young woman who was lying down and in pain. Nodding that they could leave, the bodyguards left to get some rest.

Taking a seat on the bed, he put his hand gently on the young woman to comfort her. She was shaking all over and her voice cracked as she spoke.

“It hurts so much,” said Meer, tears in her eyes.

“I know my dear; just a little bit longer and you will be free from that leash Durandal had you on,” said Nichos as smoothly as possible.

“Promise?” asked Meer, her voice barely a whisper.

“I promise; I won’t leave your side until it happens,” stated the young man with conviction.

As he held her close, Nichos did his best to hide his anger at the injustice of the situation. He swore that he would make Durandal pay for his crimes as well as the ones who killed his father.

Justice would be served, one way or another.

Author’s Note: This chapter was supposed to have been released a couple of weeks ago. However, due to a computer error, stupid Window’s updates, the chapter was deleted and I hade to rewrite it.

Hopefully you enjoyed this update and hope it had shed some light on our new faction. This update also marks the start of the Meer/OC pairing.

Next update will be in September and will feature several battles between the EA and ZAFT. It will be a type if intermission chapter for the next one.

Please R&R!