While there are several small divergences, this is where things start to change on a large scale as a result of Thomas.
-----------------------------------------------------
"There's definitely something going on," Thomas muttered as he looked out of the bridge window at the Archangel's dock.
Maria sighed. "How is it," she asked with a familiar feeling of impending disaster, "that the only places that feel remotely safe these days are those where the Earth Alliance has no authority?"
"Probably because the Earth Alliance seems to be working for those Blue Cosmos idiots," Thomas muttered. "Some of the officers I've listened to - Sutherland for example - are spouting that philosophy chapter and verse. Plus the military leadership seems intent on bleeding units from the Eurasian Federation against ZAFT and husbanding units from the Atlantic Federation..."
"But most of the units being sent to Panama are from the Atlantic Federation," Maria protested weakly. "And that has to be ZAFT's next major target."
"Yeah," he said. "And it makes sense - but they know that we know that, and in their place I'd be more inclined to hit other targets that have been stripped to reinforce Panama. South America's wide open and they never wanted anything to do with the Alliance anyway. Or they could knock the South African Union or East Asia out of the war entirely. It would be something of an effort, but it would buy them time to build up more forces before they hit Panama. It depends how worried they are about the Earth Alliance's mobile suits."
"But we're..." Maria groaned. "I suppose we don't have the only mobile suits any more, do we?"
"Rumour has it," Thomas confirmed, "that a mass-produced mobile suit based on the Strike Aile and the Duel has been deployed in Atlantic Federation units. It was only a matter of time really. They've had much longer to work on this than Kira did when we were in Orb, and they're probably about as good as Orb's suits."
Thomas growled softly under his breath as he prowled the halls of JOSH-A. He had a feeling that Jericho might have been more appropriate name - the walls felt like they could come crumbling down at any moment. The halls were empty and room after room was vacant. Thousands of soldiers, an army of surprising potence, were guarding an empty shell. He knew the smell of this, he'd seen it used by masters, he'd even held the line a couple of times around a hollow target.
It was how Cagalli had used Kira and the Strike when they met again in the desert.
This was a trap.
The Archangel - and all the units stationed around the command post - were goats.
But what was the trap?
He could see it in his mind. ZAFT moving in, pushing past a resolute and valiant defense no doubt, entering the base... and then...
What?
There are a few disadvantages to being a technological illiterate, he observed grimly. All these high tech weapons. Nukes? But they weren't supposed to work, were they?
Well, no use having a dog and barking for himself, he grinned (wolfishly, of course). No one else was using these fine communication devices. His shadow grew in height and he perched himself in one empty chair to peck with two fingers at the keyboard, remembering how Kuzzey had manipulated his controls.
"Archangel, this is Doctor Finn," he hissed into the microphone. "Kuzzey, can you hear me?"
Aboard the Archangel, it was Mirialla rather than Kuzzey who manned the board. While docked they only needed a half-watch and there was no need for her usual position now as they were... without mobile armour or mobile suits for her to command.
"Doctor Finn?" she exclaimed as she hear the quiet voice. "What are you doing on that channel?"
"Breaking some rules," came the reply. "Sorry to rush you, Mirialla, but I'm a little over my head with some of this technology stuff. Are any of the military types around?"
The girl smiled a little wanly and turned to Arnold Neumann, who was sitting at the pilot's postion. "Ensign, the Doctor needs some help."
"What can I do for you?" Arnold asked once he was patched into the call.
"I need to talk about weapons," the older man explained. "I'm in the main command centre and I think we're being screwed over. I understand that nukes down't work because of those Neutron Jam things, but are is there anything else the brass could use to take out the base and anyone is a sizeable radius? A couple of miles or something?"
The young officer frowned. "Not really, the only... well, I suppose they could use a Cyclops again - sort of a gamma radiation emitter - it worked on the Moon. But that would be insane, they'd be wiping out everyone in the defence groups, as well as themselves."
Thomas growled under his breath. "You'd better to go to battle stations then. There's no one here at all - I think the defense groups are just bait to suck ZAFT into the area of effect of one of those Cyclops gizmos."
"But why would ZAFT attack here? Aren't they heading for Panama?"
A siren went off and even Thomas could decipher the reports that suddenly began appearing on the map displays in the command centre."
"Forget I said anything," Arnold said and sounded the alarm aboard the Archangel.
"Why should we listen to you?" asked the man on the end of the communications link. "Yiu admit yourself that you're a renegade."
Thomas snorted. "Renegade from who? Never mind." He gestured at the display he knew would be visible behind him. "Use your own eyes then. The units defending JOSH-A are almost without exception units of your military - and that red line they're within? That's the radius of effect for the cyclops array buried under JOSH-A. If it's activated - and it's slaved to a remote control someplace a long way away - then a rather large fraction of your military will be obliterated."
"What you're suggesting is that the Atlantic Federation would massacre our troops," the Prime Minister of the Eurasian Federation. "They have no reason to do that. We've joined forces under the banner of the Earth Alliance."
"The same way that the United States of South America joined forces?" Thomas asked sweetly.
The USSA had tried to stay neutral in the war, much as Orb had. The minute ZAFT forces started to land in Africa and Oceania, the Atlantic Federation had annexed their southern neighbour in the name of the Earth Alliance.
"Face it, Prime Minister," Thomas said earnestly. "ZAFT aren't saints by any means, but OMNI is just a pretext for the Altantic Federation's conquest of the Earth. How long do you think you'll stay independent if half your forces are wiped out over here? You don't have the new technology being deployed - all the mobile suits belong to units that the Atlantic Federation formed. And try comparing the list of their senior commanders to that of officers suspected of sympathising with Blue Cosmos. Do you really want a terrorist organisation focused on genocide to be running the world?"
The Prime Minister broke eye contact, looking at other outside Thomas's field of vision. The muttering in the background wouldn't have normally been audible without sophisticated audio filtering. The command centre probably had such gear of course, but Thomas couldn't begun to work out how to use it. Fortunately, nature had equipped him with rather better ears than most realised. From some of the comments he was hearing, factionalism was alive and well inside the Earth Alliance.
"That's all very well," the Prime Minister picked up the conversation as if had never broken off. "But even if I accept what you're saying, what can we do. We're in a shooting war with the PLANTs. We can't just... 'stop fighting'."
"No?" Thomas said with a smile. "I rather think that you can. Or are you going to write off a rather large number of your country men - whose commanders, I should add, are getting this transmission piped to their command posts?"
The Prime Minister was far too experienced as a politician to wince at that revelation. He had no way of knowing that Thomas was lying. "I am sure they understand that ZAFT will need more than words to convince them not to shoot at our troops."
"Probably," Thomas agreed. "Rumour has it that Rau Le Croissant is in command. I've spoken to him, and frankly I think he's a sociopath."
"Don't you mean Creuset?"
"I can never wrap my mouth around that word," Thomas admitted. "Anyway, the appointment of a loony like that says worrying things about how desperate ZAFT is - and I might point out, if they have a way to switch off the N-Cancellers then they could be dropping nukes on everyone rather easily if they get pushed too far. I'd rather not see any more nuclear explosions, if you don't mind. I've been to Junius Seven and it's not a pretty sight."
There were worried sounds coming from around the Prime Minister now. "What do you suggest," he said sourly.
"There remains a faction within the PLANTs Supreme Council who are still loyal to Siegel Clyne," Thomas said simply. "I have some contacts there and if we can buy a little time, I believe we can convince them to accept you as neutral. You'd have to make some concessions... but do you really think that you can take control of the PLANTs now? If you recognise them as a sovereign state and hand over a few members of Blue Cosmos - don't pretend that you don't know how to lay hands on them, Prime Minister - then they can be reasoned with."
"General," Thomas said, cutting into the canned responses being spat out from the command centre.
"Thank god somebody's there!" the soldier on the other responded. "We're preparing for battle, but we can't possibly stop what's being thrown at us. ZAFT are committing more mobile suits than I've ever seen in one place."
"I understand, General," Thomas assured him. "The radio transmission is a deception. Things are a little disordered here - there was a panic I'm afraid, but we're getting things sorted out now. We're going have to delegate a lot to the field commanders, so proceed on the assumption that there will be no further orders - I could be cut off at any moment."
"Understood... sir," the General replied and then frowned at the lack of insignia on Thomas's uniform jacket. "May I ask your authority?"
"Zeta-Zeta-Zero-Zero-Eight-Three," Thoams replied, praying that the Prime Minister had given him the right code. Judging by the wide eyed response, he had. That code was the highest emergency and signified emergency executive authority by the Prime Minister. "I've been breveted to Marshal for the duration, General. I'm afraid my uniform didn't survive the.... incident we had here."
"I understand, sir." For the first time, the 'sir' was said with genuine respect.
"I'm ordering a retreat, regrouping thirty miles inland. We'll be evacuating non-combatants by air - sector commanders are responsible for clearing the area. The flanks will conduct retreats - fighting only iof need be - directly away from JOSH-A selecting their routes at their own discretion. Central Sectors will load all anti-air and anti-armour teams onto the ships in harbour immediately, before withdrawing as fast as they can to the east, I repeat, to the east. Do *not* try to enter JOSH-A, we're setting traps and evacuating ourselves. Don't stop for anything. Devil take the hindmost I'm afraid."
"All air and sea assets will be launching as soon as your men are aboard, to break up the ZAFT forces - we're hoping we can push them back long enough to complete demolition work and deny them the facility. Command for that little job will be from the Archangel - Commander Ramius has assured us of complete co-operation, unlike the rest of the Atlanty's."
The General frowned. "Are you sure of that, sir? There was the incident with Artemis..."
"It's no mere luck that she managed to get her ship out of that," Thomas snapped, with heat that surprised even him. "The base commander was lucky he got fragged before we court-martial him for letting ZAFT get inside the umbrella perimeter."
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.
-----------------------------------------------------
"There's definitely something going on," Thomas muttered as he looked out of the bridge window at the Archangel's dock.
Maria sighed. "How is it," she asked with a familiar feeling of impending disaster, "that the only places that feel remotely safe these days are those where the Earth Alliance has no authority?"
"Probably because the Earth Alliance seems to be working for those Blue Cosmos idiots," Thomas muttered. "Some of the officers I've listened to - Sutherland for example - are spouting that philosophy chapter and verse. Plus the military leadership seems intent on bleeding units from the Eurasian Federation against ZAFT and husbanding units from the Atlantic Federation..."
"But most of the units being sent to Panama are from the Atlantic Federation," Maria protested weakly. "And that has to be ZAFT's next major target."
"Yeah," he said. "And it makes sense - but they know that we know that, and in their place I'd be more inclined to hit other targets that have been stripped to reinforce Panama. South America's wide open and they never wanted anything to do with the Alliance anyway. Or they could knock the South African Union or East Asia out of the war entirely. It would be something of an effort, but it would buy them time to build up more forces before they hit Panama. It depends how worried they are about the Earth Alliance's mobile suits."
"But we're..." Maria groaned. "I suppose we don't have the only mobile suits any more, do we?"
"Rumour has it," Thomas confirmed, "that a mass-produced mobile suit based on the Strike Aile and the Duel has been deployed in Atlantic Federation units. It was only a matter of time really. They've had much longer to work on this than Kira did when we were in Orb, and they're probably about as good as Orb's suits."
Thomas growled softly under his breath as he prowled the halls of JOSH-A. He had a feeling that Jericho might have been more appropriate name - the walls felt like they could come crumbling down at any moment. The halls were empty and room after room was vacant. Thousands of soldiers, an army of surprising potence, were guarding an empty shell. He knew the smell of this, he'd seen it used by masters, he'd even held the line a couple of times around a hollow target.
It was how Cagalli had used Kira and the Strike when they met again in the desert.
This was a trap.
The Archangel - and all the units stationed around the command post - were goats.
But what was the trap?
He could see it in his mind. ZAFT moving in, pushing past a resolute and valiant defense no doubt, entering the base... and then...
What?
There are a few disadvantages to being a technological illiterate, he observed grimly. All these high tech weapons. Nukes? But they weren't supposed to work, were they?
Well, no use having a dog and barking for himself, he grinned (wolfishly, of course). No one else was using these fine communication devices. His shadow grew in height and he perched himself in one empty chair to peck with two fingers at the keyboard, remembering how Kuzzey had manipulated his controls.
"Archangel, this is Doctor Finn," he hissed into the microphone. "Kuzzey, can you hear me?"
Aboard the Archangel, it was Mirialla rather than Kuzzey who manned the board. While docked they only needed a half-watch and there was no need for her usual position now as they were... without mobile armour or mobile suits for her to command.
"Doctor Finn?" she exclaimed as she hear the quiet voice. "What are you doing on that channel?"
"Breaking some rules," came the reply. "Sorry to rush you, Mirialla, but I'm a little over my head with some of this technology stuff. Are any of the military types around?"
The girl smiled a little wanly and turned to Arnold Neumann, who was sitting at the pilot's postion. "Ensign, the Doctor needs some help."
"What can I do for you?" Arnold asked once he was patched into the call.
"I need to talk about weapons," the older man explained. "I'm in the main command centre and I think we're being screwed over. I understand that nukes down't work because of those Neutron Jam things, but are is there anything else the brass could use to take out the base and anyone is a sizeable radius? A couple of miles or something?"
The young officer frowned. "Not really, the only... well, I suppose they could use a Cyclops again - sort of a gamma radiation emitter - it worked on the Moon. But that would be insane, they'd be wiping out everyone in the defence groups, as well as themselves."
Thomas growled under his breath. "You'd better to go to battle stations then. There's no one here at all - I think the defense groups are just bait to suck ZAFT into the area of effect of one of those Cyclops gizmos."
"But why would ZAFT attack here? Aren't they heading for Panama?"
A siren went off and even Thomas could decipher the reports that suddenly began appearing on the map displays in the command centre."
"Forget I said anything," Arnold said and sounded the alarm aboard the Archangel.
"Why should we listen to you?" asked the man on the end of the communications link. "Yiu admit yourself that you're a renegade."
Thomas snorted. "Renegade from who? Never mind." He gestured at the display he knew would be visible behind him. "Use your own eyes then. The units defending JOSH-A are almost without exception units of your military - and that red line they're within? That's the radius of effect for the cyclops array buried under JOSH-A. If it's activated - and it's slaved to a remote control someplace a long way away - then a rather large fraction of your military will be obliterated."
"What you're suggesting is that the Atlantic Federation would massacre our troops," the Prime Minister of the Eurasian Federation. "They have no reason to do that. We've joined forces under the banner of the Earth Alliance."
"The same way that the United States of South America joined forces?" Thomas asked sweetly.
The USSA had tried to stay neutral in the war, much as Orb had. The minute ZAFT forces started to land in Africa and Oceania, the Atlantic Federation had annexed their southern neighbour in the name of the Earth Alliance.
"Face it, Prime Minister," Thomas said earnestly. "ZAFT aren't saints by any means, but OMNI is just a pretext for the Altantic Federation's conquest of the Earth. How long do you think you'll stay independent if half your forces are wiped out over here? You don't have the new technology being deployed - all the mobile suits belong to units that the Atlantic Federation formed. And try comparing the list of their senior commanders to that of officers suspected of sympathising with Blue Cosmos. Do you really want a terrorist organisation focused on genocide to be running the world?"
The Prime Minister broke eye contact, looking at other outside Thomas's field of vision. The muttering in the background wouldn't have normally been audible without sophisticated audio filtering. The command centre probably had such gear of course, but Thomas couldn't begun to work out how to use it. Fortunately, nature had equipped him with rather better ears than most realised. From some of the comments he was hearing, factionalism was alive and well inside the Earth Alliance.
"That's all very well," the Prime Minister picked up the conversation as if had never broken off. "But even if I accept what you're saying, what can we do. We're in a shooting war with the PLANTs. We can't just... 'stop fighting'."
"No?" Thomas said with a smile. "I rather think that you can. Or are you going to write off a rather large number of your country men - whose commanders, I should add, are getting this transmission piped to their command posts?"
The Prime Minister was far too experienced as a politician to wince at that revelation. He had no way of knowing that Thomas was lying. "I am sure they understand that ZAFT will need more than words to convince them not to shoot at our troops."
"Probably," Thomas agreed. "Rumour has it that Rau Le Croissant is in command. I've spoken to him, and frankly I think he's a sociopath."
"Don't you mean Creuset?"
"I can never wrap my mouth around that word," Thomas admitted. "Anyway, the appointment of a loony like that says worrying things about how desperate ZAFT is - and I might point out, if they have a way to switch off the N-Cancellers then they could be dropping nukes on everyone rather easily if they get pushed too far. I'd rather not see any more nuclear explosions, if you don't mind. I've been to Junius Seven and it's not a pretty sight."
There were worried sounds coming from around the Prime Minister now. "What do you suggest," he said sourly.
"There remains a faction within the PLANTs Supreme Council who are still loyal to Siegel Clyne," Thomas said simply. "I have some contacts there and if we can buy a little time, I believe we can convince them to accept you as neutral. You'd have to make some concessions... but do you really think that you can take control of the PLANTs now? If you recognise them as a sovereign state and hand over a few members of Blue Cosmos - don't pretend that you don't know how to lay hands on them, Prime Minister - then they can be reasoned with."
"General," Thomas said, cutting into the canned responses being spat out from the command centre.
"Thank god somebody's there!" the soldier on the other responded. "We're preparing for battle, but we can't possibly stop what's being thrown at us. ZAFT are committing more mobile suits than I've ever seen in one place."
"I understand, General," Thomas assured him. "The radio transmission is a deception. Things are a little disordered here - there was a panic I'm afraid, but we're getting things sorted out now. We're going have to delegate a lot to the field commanders, so proceed on the assumption that there will be no further orders - I could be cut off at any moment."
"Understood... sir," the General replied and then frowned at the lack of insignia on Thomas's uniform jacket. "May I ask your authority?"
"Zeta-Zeta-Zero-Zero-Eight-Three," Thoams replied, praying that the Prime Minister had given him the right code. Judging by the wide eyed response, he had. That code was the highest emergency and signified emergency executive authority by the Prime Minister. "I've been breveted to Marshal for the duration, General. I'm afraid my uniform didn't survive the.... incident we had here."
"I understand, sir." For the first time, the 'sir' was said with genuine respect.
"I'm ordering a retreat, regrouping thirty miles inland. We'll be evacuating non-combatants by air - sector commanders are responsible for clearing the area. The flanks will conduct retreats - fighting only iof need be - directly away from JOSH-A selecting their routes at their own discretion. Central Sectors will load all anti-air and anti-armour teams onto the ships in harbour immediately, before withdrawing as fast as they can to the east, I repeat, to the east. Do *not* try to enter JOSH-A, we're setting traps and evacuating ourselves. Don't stop for anything. Devil take the hindmost I'm afraid."
"All air and sea assets will be launching as soon as your men are aboard, to break up the ZAFT forces - we're hoping we can push them back long enough to complete demolition work and deny them the facility. Command for that little job will be from the Archangel - Commander Ramius has assured us of complete co-operation, unlike the rest of the Atlanty's."
The General frowned. "Are you sure of that, sir? There was the incident with Artemis..."
"It's no mere luck that she managed to get her ship out of that," Thomas snapped, with heat that surprised even him. "The base commander was lucky he got fragged before we court-martial him for letting ZAFT get inside the umbrella perimeter."
D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.