List of Cosmic Era factions
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This is a list of fictional nations and factions from the Cosmic Era (CE) timeline of the Gundam anime metaseries.
In the future Cosmic Era, nations and states of today's Earth have evolved into a number of political superblocs. There are also numerous political factions.
Contents |
[edit] Earth Alliance
The Earth Alliance is the group of anti-ZAFT superstates on Earth. It is made up of four political entities: the "Atlantic Federation", the "Eurasian Federation", the "Republic of East Asia" and the "South African Union". The Earth Alliance also conquered the PLANT-friendly United States of South America, with its member states now engaged in a revolution to regain their independence. The Earth Alliance was officially founded as a result of the "Alaska Declaration" on 7 February CE 70. The combined military forces of the Earth Alliance are called "OMNI Enforcer", but are more frequently simply called the Earth Forces (Chikyuu Gun). The Earth Alliance is headed by a moderate Secretary-General, but the real leaders of the Earth Alliance are Blue Cosmos and its Logos benefactors.
The Earth Alliance and ZAFT started war on 11 February CE 70 after the EA's predecessor, the United Nations was wiped out by a terrorist attack in the Tragedy of Copernicus on 5 February. On 14 February, the Earth Alliance used nuclear weapons to destroy the PLANT colony at Junius Seven, in what became known as the Bloody Valentine incident.
Unlike the Earth Federation of the Universal Century era which was a relatively unified body, the Earth Alliance is more of a loose international military confederation of entities that are often working at cross purposes to each other. It is not uncommon for each of the factions to not reveal the key workings of their weapon and armor technologies with their erstwhile allies - when the Atlantic Federation battleship Archangel docked at the Eurasian military base Artemis, the commander attempted to acquire by force both the ship and its GAT-X105 Strike mobile suit contingent in order to acquire the secret behind their designs. Later, when the Earth Alliance headquarters, JOSH-A in Alaska, controlled by the Atlantic Federation, was mostly abandoned as a trap for ZAFT's invasion forces, the token defense force left behind as "bait" (completely unaware of the trap) consisted almost entirely of Eurasian troops.
The Earth Alliance developed several important military innovations during the war: the second-generation Mobile Operating System, Phase Shift armor, Lightwave Barrier, beam weaponry and the Mirage Colloid stealth system.
In the wake of the Junius Seven colony drop disaster (Operation: Break The World by the Coordinator terrorists) in CE 73, the Earth Alliance declared war again on ZAFT, on the grounds that the drop represented the true intentions of the Coordinators toward Naturals, and the Earth Alliance intends to wipe out the PLANTs and with them the Coordinators once and for all. However, the initial attempt to destroy the PLANTs with nuclear missiles resulted in a disastrous defeat when ZAFT's Neutron Stampeder destroyed an Earth Alliance task force with a single shot.
Popular support for the Earth Alliance was weakened after PLANT Chairman Gilbert Durandal exposed the Logos, the organization behind the Earth Alliance's Blue Cosmos rulers and vowed that ZAFT will destroy Logos and Blue Cosmos once and for all.
After the destruction of Logos and Blue Cosmos, the Earth Alliance along with some ZAFT forces defect to the forces of Terminal to end the Second Bloody Valentine War.
[edit] Member nations
[edit] Atlantic Federation
The Atlantic Federation is the largest and most powerful member of the Earth Alliance. Although allied against ZAFT, the Atlantic and Eurasian Federations have long been rivals, and a strong undercurrent of mistrust remains between them. The Atlantic Federation is a superstate successor of the United States of America, and the Organization of American States which comprise what once were Canada and Mexico (plus Great Britain and Ireland), and the islands in the Gulf of Mexico. Its capital is Washington DC and its President still lives and works at the White House.
The Atlantic Federation provides the largest segment of the Earth Alliance's military, and pioneered the efforts to develop advanced mobile suits to counter those of ZAFT. The Atlantic Federation also has broader and deeper anti-Coordinator sentiment than the rest of the Earth Alliance, and has been more thoroughly infiltrated by Blue Cosmos because of its power. While the Atlantic Federation solidified its position as the dominant force in the Earth Alliance with its large mobile suits force which tried to hold the Earth Alliance together, the heavy losses it suffered in the final months of the war could provide the Eurasian Federation the opportunity it has been waiting for to supersede them as the leaders of the Earth Alliance.
The Atlantic Federation attacked and annexed the United States of South America in the pretense of fighting ZAFT during CE 70. After the cease-fire at Jachin Due, however, the United States of South America rebelled against the Atlantic Federation. The most prominent member of this rebellion was former Earth Alliance ace Edward Harrelson, also known as "Ed the Ripper". The Atlantic Federation gained Central America after the Bloody Valentine War.[citation needed]
[edit] Eurasian Federation
The Eurasian Federation is a member of the Earth Alliance, second only to the Atlantic Federation in power and influence. The Eurasian Federation is a fusion of the European Union (minus Great Britain and Ireland) with Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and the former USSR. Although allied against ZAFT, the Eurasian and Atlantic Federations have long been rivals, and a strong undercurrent of mistrust remains between them.
Compared to the Atlantic Federation, the Eurasians are not strongly controlled by Blue Cosmos and are more tolerant of Coordinators in their own ranks. When the Archangel was docked in Eurasian Federation base Artemis, base commander Garcia made an offer to Kira Yamato that the Eurasians would protect him from his own people (Coordinators) if he would help them, something a Blue Cosmos member would never do. Another example is Special Operative Canard Pars, who was allowed to work for the Eurasians in exchange for his life. While the Atlantic Federation, and with them Blue Cosmos, also used Coordinators, their so called "Combat Coordinators" were mentally controlled by the Atlantic Federation. The only Coordinators not mentally controlled by the Atlantic Federation that were in the Atlantic Federation ranks were the young ones of the first generation who were born in the Atlantic Federation in the last years before the "Coordinator ban" was reinstated, because they have no reason to betray them, also they have some dislike toward the PLANTs and view them as cowards. Blue Cosmos had some sort of deal in place, where if they serve in the military and do not betray the Atlantic Federation, Blue Cosmos will not annoy them or their families or kill them. Canard Pars was not controlled mentally, though was placed in handcuffs because of his abilities and short temper. Garcia has also said that he hates Coordinators like Canard, but not Coordinators as a whole. Further examples include the hiring of Serpent Tail Mercenary, Gai Murakumo, who is also a Coordinator, into the ranks of the Eurasian Federation military. As a result, an assumption can be made that Eurasian Federation does not care if a person is a Coordinator or a Natural - all that matters is that the person is on their side.
The Eurasian Federation resents its inferior position to the Atlantic Federation, which has been exacerbated by the Atlantic Federation's successful development of mobile suits. Eventually, the Eurasian Federation produces newer, even more advanced mobile suits of its own, such as the CAT1-X Hyperion series. The two rivals were evenly matched as a result; while Atlantic Federation completely outnumbered the Eurasian Federation, the Eursians had technologically superior weapons. With the heavy losses the Atlantic Federation suffered in the last months of the war, the Eurasian Federation's influence in the Earth Alliance seemed poised to grow. After the first war they lost large amounts of territory to the Equatorial Union and ZAFT controlled African Community.
During the colony drop of Junius Seven, the Eurasian Federation suffered heavily, with severe damage to many historical cities including Rome, London (part of the Atlantic Federation), Prague and Athens. Rome and Athens were hit especially hard; the Basilica of St. Peter and the Acropolis were both destroyed by debris hits.
At the beginning of the subsequent second Earth Alliance-PLANT war, many factions within the Eurasian Federation sought to withdraw from the Earth Alliance, which resulted in Atlantic Federation forces being deployed against those states. They did not have the support of the Eurasian main forces and thus were quickly defeated. It is also unknown that how many or which Eurasian states were against the war. The Atlantic Federation, at the command of Blue Cosmos/Logos, used the GFAS-X1 Destroy to maintain control of Eurasia, which led to even stronger anti-Atlantic and anti-Alliance sentiment in Eurasia due to the near destruction of Berlin and other smaller cities by the Destroy.
The Eurasian Federation is lead by a federal council representing the various nations in Eurasia.
[edit] Republic of East Asia
The Republic of East Asia is a federation consisting of the present-day nations of the People's Republic of China, Japan, possibly Mongolia, the Korean peninsula (North and South) with Taiwan; and is the third largest power of the Earth Alliance. Its capital is Nanjing, its spaceport at Kaoshiung, Taiwan was captured by ZAFT forces during the Bloody Valentine War. During this war it joins the Atlantic Federation and Eurasian Federation in the Earth Alliance against the forces of ZAFT. At the end of the first war, Kaoshiung was returned to East Asia.
After the Chairman of PLANT Supreme Council Gilbert Durandal revealed the existence of Logos, in the later part of the Second Bloody Valentine War, the Republic of East Asia separated from the Earth Alliance and allied themselves with ZAFT. When the Minerva returned to Gibraltar a large part of their fleet can be seen.
However most of the fleet was destroyed later in the first wave against Logos stronghold Heaven's Base in Iceland. Judging from their positions in that attack it seems likely that ZAFT used them as shields to test the enemy's attack power.
[edit] South African Union
The South African Union is a member of the Earth Alliance, but is virtually powerless other than its possession of the Victoria mass driver. At the end of the first war the South African Union controls most of Africa. The South African Union is a puppet of the Atlantic Federation.
[edit] United States of South America
A nation that governed much of Central and South America, this federation cooperated with the Atlantic Federation to build Porta Panama. Due to conflicts of interests, the USSA was more pro-ZAFT and covertly aided and traded with the PLANTs while the sponsor nations had various sanctions put on PLANT. At the beginning of the Bloody Valentine War, the USSA did not join OMNI and the Atlantic Federation had to invade and take over the USSA to mobilize it against ZAFT. After the First Bloody Valentine War ended, the United States of South America fought for independence, resulting in the South American War of Independence. The most prominent figure of this war was Edward Harrelson, an Earth Alliance defector, who was critically wounded in his last battle against Earth Alliance pilot Rena Imelia. When the Junius Seven Treaty was negotiated, the United States of South America became independent again but it no longer occupies Central America anymore. However, when the second war started the United States of South America allied itself with the Earth Alliance voluntarily.
[edit] OMNI Enforcer
Oppose Militancy and Neutralize Invasion (OMNI) Enforcer is the name of the Earth Alliance's military force, and is more commonly known as the Earth Alliance Forces, or simply Earth Forces.[1] Unlike ZAFT, the military of OMNI Enforcer is tightly organized on a traditional model. Many top officers of OMNI Enforcer, mostly those from the Atlantic Federation (which dominates the Earth Alliance after the disastrous Battle of JOSH-A) are also members of the Blue Cosmos anti-Coordinator group.
OMNI Enforcer's space fleet is large and well-equipped, though their warships are slightly outdated compared to ZAFT's powerful fleet. Their mobile weapons until the Battle of Porta Panama are primarily limited to the Moebius mobile armor, a distinctly outdated design. Five Moebius MAs are required, on average, to engage a single ZGMF-1017 GINN with any significant chance of victory.[citation needed] At and after Porta Panama, the Earth Alliance quickly replaces the Moebius with the GAT-01 Strike Dagger and related mobile suit models, redressing the balance and turning the tide against ZAFT.
Known OMNI Enforcer space fleets are the 3rd Fleet, (decimated during the Battle of Endymion), the 5th and 6th Fleets (intercepted by ZAFT during the First Battle of Jachin Due), 8th Fleet (decimated during the Battle of Orbit) and the 7th Fleet (decimated during the Second Battle of Jachin Due). It is reasonable to assume that additional fleets exist to fill numbers 1 to 8 and maybe more.
[edit] Ranks
| Rank Structure | |
| OMNI Enforcer uses a Japanese style rank system, officer ranks being shown by colored bands on a member's uniform (taking the form of yellow bands with no, one or two blue tabs at the bottom). Enlisted ranks appear not to be designated, NCO ranks are designated with square devices. Civilian auxiliary members do not wear rank tabs. Some rank insignia in the officer chart are conjectural, based on other rank insignia in a common pattern.
Nine officer, three NCO and three enlisted ranks are known; it is not known if other enlisted or NCO ranks exist or if any warrant officer ranks exist in OMNI Enforcer. In addition, the term "Kanchou" applies to the officer in charge of a ship, and can roughly be translated as captain, not to be confused with the military rank of Captain. Murrue Ramius is often referred to as "Ramius-kanchou" rather than "Ramius-taii" as her rank would suggest. There also seems to be slight color differences between the OMNI Enforcer uniforms of the Alantic Federation and the Eurasian Federation. While the officers of the Atlantic Federation wear white, Eurasian Federation officers seem to have a bluish tint to their uniforms.  |
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Officer
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NCO
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[edit] Blue Cosmos/Logos
- "For the preservation of our Blue and Pure World! (青き清浄なる世界のために [Aoki seijō naru sekai no tame ni!])" – Motto of Blue Cosmos
Blue Cosmos is the most radical of the anti-Coordinator activist groups formed by resentful Naturals and is the ruling force behind the Earth Alliance.
Though the political opinions of the Earth Alliance senior leadership generally varied, some of the Atlantic Federation leadership were Blue Cosmos members, and after the elimination of enough of the Eurasian military at the Battle of JOSH-A for policy change, Blue Cosmos controlled Alliance OMNI Enforcer by default. After this point, the Earth Alliance's war effort changed from one of conquest to one of extermination, a change that a Patrick Zala-led ZAFT was only too happy to emulate.
Blue Cosmos was originally an environmental pressure group, but after George Glenn revealed his secret in CE 15, they changed their emphasis to terrorizing and killing Coordinators. They are willing to eliminate the Coordinators entirely, even if numerous lives are lost in the process. They are not above using Coordinators as puppets to destroy their own kind.[citation needed] Many of the top echelon of Blue Cosmos, including its leader Muruta Azrael, were killed during the Second Battle of Jachin Due.
Unfortunately, this did not affect Blue Cosmos in any meaningful way - Cagalli Yula Athha's visit to ZAFT at the start of Gundam SEED Destiny is due in large part to pressure on the Orb Union from the Atlantic Federation, which is still partially controlled by Blue Cosmos, under the control of its new leader, Lord Djibril. In addition, there are growing evidences that Blue Cosmos may be nothing more than a catspaw for a shadowy military-industrial organization known only as Logos.
However one Logos member, Matias Aducarf, betrayed his comrades and submitted information on Logos to Gilbert Durandal. With this information, PLANT Chairman Gilbert Durandal held a speech in which he revealed the existence of Logos to the entire world and afterwards, he declared that he planned to completely destroy this organization. Afterwards, ZAFT launched a campaign to destroy Logos and Blue Cosmos once and for all. Many people on Earth also started to attack the homes of Logos members and many of them were either murdered or forced to flee. They made their unsuccessful last stand against ZAFT/Alliance forces attacking Heaven's Base, their headquarters in Iceland. After the battle, Lord Djibril (the last remaining known member) fled to the Orb Union and afterwards to the Daedalus lunar base. From there he attacked PLANT with the superweapon Requiem in order to destroy the PLANT Supreme Council, however when the Minerva attacked, he was forced to flee on the Girty Lue. But before he could escape the ship was shot down by Rey Za Burrel, which also killed Djibril and thus the last remaining Logos member.
It is obvious that Blue Cosmos/Logos conducted far more inhuman genetic modifications (to unwilling, kidnapped and/or drafted children, no less) than the process of creating Coordinators. The Extended laboratory at Lodonia was ZAFT's gruesome evidence to reveal Logos and that its "Puritan" view of genetic modification was blind and one-sided for unlike embryo modification, the Extended process literally killed numerous children and scientists. The children were not merely trained as their brains were also removed, altered then placed back in. In short, there was some truth to Durandal's anti-Logos speech and that they, much more so than the Coordinators, were the true inhuman monsters.
[edit] Phantom Pain
Phantom Pain is a private army organized by the Blue Cosmos that operates under Logos, Blue Cosmos' supreme governing organization. Their official name is the 81st Autonomous Mobile Group (known as the 81st Independent Mobile Battalion in the Japanese version) of the Earth Alliance.
Phantom Pain is started to provide the Blue Cosmos with organized military strength, and is composed mainly of the best Alliance personnel and equipment. When goods and personnel are requested by Phantom Pain, the Earth Alliance is expected to respond and accommodate the request without delay. This allows Phantom Pain to obtain needed supplies, even though they fall only under the command of Logos and their representatives, and no others.[citation needed] Even with this arrangement, the Phantom Pain remains shrouded in mystery even among many Earth Alliance leaders.
They are funded behind the scenes by the Blue Cosmos and utilize technology illegal according to the Treaty of Junius, like Mirage Colloid. Known assets under Phantom Pain's control include at least three Mirage Colloid-equipped battleships, such as the Girty Lue, with a TS-MA4F Exus, a personalized GAT-04 Windam, the stolen ZAFT units ZGMF-X24S Chaos, ZGMF-X88S Gaia, ZGMF-X31S Abyss; the RGX-00 Testament, RGX-04 Proto Saviour, one GFAS-X1 Destroy and its supporting battleship, and the GAT-X1022 Blu Duel, GAT-X103AP Verde Buster, and GAT-X105E Strike Noir, with those supplemented with several squadrons of GAT-04 Windams and GAT-01A2R Slaughter Daggers.
- Members of Phantom Pain include Matisse Aducarf, Sven Cal Bayan, Mudie Holcroft, Shams Coza, Neo Roanoke, Stella Loussier, Sting Oakley, and Auel Neider.
[edit] PLANT
In the Cosmic Era, the present-day United Nations funded the idea of constructing new space colonies originally as manufacturing and research facilities. Known as PLANTs (Productive Location Ally on Nexus Technology)[2] these hourglass shaped colonies were primarily manned by Coordinators. Over time, they became a haven and eventually the permanent home of the vast majority of the Coordinator population, fleeing persecution and when the war begin, they became an independent nation. The PLANTs are divided into 12 groups known as "cities," each one named for a month of the Roman Calendar (i.e. Aprilius, Junius).
It should be noted that, in CE 73, the signification of the acronym PLANT has been changed to People Liberation Acting Nation of Technology.[3]
The government of the PLANT cities is the PLANT Supreme Council on Aprilius One and their military is Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty or ZAFT for short. The PLANTs are described as one nation by some characters, but they are in fact several different nations (each PLANT city can be considered an independent nation) united in their common heritage and the need for protection. The word "PLANT" is actually sometimes used to referred to all the PLANTs as a whole (again as if they were a single nation), and the term ZAFT is also used to (incorrectly) describe the PLANTs. Lacus Clyne was quick to point out the distinction between the PLANTs, as being the overall name of the various colonies and its primarily civilian inhabitants, and the military arm, ZAFT, when she was brought aboard the Archangel.
Each city originally incorporated ten hourglass-shaped PLANTs, for a total of 120. But on February 14, CE 70, the spacefleet of the Earth Alliance fired a nuclear warhead at the Junius Seven PLANT, destroying it and killing 243,721 civilians, in what later became known as the Bloody Valentine Tragedy. From that point, and until CE 74 there are PLANTs located at L5. As of late CE 73, there is at least one PLANT located at L4, Armory One, a ZAFT military base.
In CE 74 Lord Djibril attacks PLANT with the superweapon Requiem in an attempt to destroy Aprilius One. However, because of the intervention of the Joule Squad, the beam misses its target and instead directly hit Januarius 1 to 4 and caused December 7 and 8 to collapse, leading to the death of a few million Coordinators.
[edit] PLANT Supreme Council
The PLANT Supreme Council is an executive committee of twelve elected members, each representing a sector (or "city") of the groupings of the PLANTs. Each member is also assigned to one of five committees (Judicial, Administrative, Legislative, Diplomatic, and National Defense), each with its own chair. The committees are governed overall by the Supreme Council Chair. The PLANT Supreme Council was originally formed several years before the Bloody Valentine War to deal with the directorate of PLANT-sponsored nations.
The make up of the PLANT Supreme Council as of the beginning of the Bloody Valentine War of CE 71 is as follows on the chart below, with a roughly evenly split political division of the Moderate Faction (led by Siegel Clyne and Eileen Canaver) and the Radical Faction (led by Patrick Zala and Ezalia Joule). Siegel Clyne is later replaced by Patrick Zala as Supreme Council Chair.
During this time, Siegel Clyne, frustrated by the extremist actions of his successor, secretly allowed his daughter, Lacus Clyne to entrust Kira Yamato with the ZGMF-X10A Freedom. The Clyne family was forced into hiding with the act of treason drawn against them; Eileen Canaver was left in charge of the Moderate Faction and Patrick Zala quickly ordered the arrest of the members of the Moderate Faction and those associated with the Clyne family, triggering an underground civil war in the PLANTs between the radicals and the moderates.
Following the conclusion of the First Bloody Valentine War, Eileen Canaver leads the arrest of Ezalia Joule and the members of the Radical Faction and becomes the acting head of the PLANT Provisionary Council, consisting of the members of the Moderate Faction.
Many members of the PLANT Supreme Council are also parents of elite mobile suit pilots in ZAFT, such as Tad Elsman, Ezalia Joule, Yuri Amalfi, and Patrick Zala, whose children are under the command of Rau Le Creuset onboard the newly constructed Nazca-class ship Vesalius during the First Bloody Valentine War.
| Council Member | Representing | Committee Assignment | Political Faction | Academic Specialty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ali Kasim | Januarius City | Legislative Committee Chair | Moderate | Microengineering |
| Tad Elsman | Februarius City | Administrative Committee Member | Neutral/Moderate | Biochemistry |
| Ezalia Joule | Martius City | National Defense Committee Member | Radical | Aerospace Engineering |
| Siegel Clyne | Aprilius City | Supreme Council Chair | Moderate | Space Life Sciences |
| Yuri Amalfi | Maius City | National Defense Committee Member | Moderate | Mechanical Engineering |
| Louise Leitner | Junius City | Judicial Committee Chair | Radical | Agricultural Engineering |
| Jeremy Maxwell | Quintilis City | Legislative Committee Member | Radical | Chemistry |
| Orson White | Sextilis City | Administrative Committee Chair | Neutral/Radical | Particle Physics |
| Eileen Canaver | September City | Diplomatic Committee Chair | Moderate | Information Science |
| Herman Gould | October City | National Defense Committee Member | Radical | Political Science |
| Parnell Jesek | November City | Judicial Committee Member | Neutral/Moderate | Industrial Engineering |
| Patrick Zala | December City | National Defense Committee Chair | Radical | Historical Structures |
As of CE 73, Eileen Canaver retired from her position as PLANT Supreme Chair and an almost entirely new PLANT Supreme Council has been elected. Gilbert Durandal is the new PLANT Supreme Chair along with other newly elected representatives: Alan Clarzec, Ricardo Orff, Eduardo Lee, George Adaman, Crister Oberge, Neu Kazaefsky, and Takao Schreiber. Returning members consist of Ali Kasim of Januarius City, Louise Leitner of Junius City, Orson White of Sextilis City, and Parnell Jesek of November City.
[edit] ZAFT
ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty) is a political, economic, and military alliance of PLANT colonies. Specifically, ZAFT usually refers to the military side of organization. It was originally formed as a political organisation known as the Zodiac Alliance by Siegel Clyne and Patrick Zala in CE 50, to peacefully fight for the rights and independence of Coordinators. This follows in the rather curious Gundam tradition of naming the space colony military with a "Z" (Zeon, from early Universal Century, and the Zanscare Empire of Victory Gundam) or "Zodiac" within its acronym (such as Gundam Wing's Organization of the Zodiac (OZ)). The Zodiac Alliance was renamed "ZAFT" in CE 65, but became a military organisation only three years later.
ZAFT is well-equipped with Nazca-class and Laurasia-class warships in space, Lesseps-class and Petrie-class vessels on land, and Vosgulov-class submarines at sea.
ZAFT fights the Earth Alliance to a standstill in the Bloody Valentine War of Cosmic Era 70-71. During mid CE 71 Patrick Zala, who blames all Naturals for the death of his wife in the Bloody Valentine Tragedy, becomes leader of not only ZAFT but also of PLANT and effectively removes the moderate faction of the PLANT Supreme Council. Zala plans to wipe out all human life on Earth, eliminating, he believes, Naturals who are the cause of all warfare and establish Coordinators as the master race, a "new humanity".
Following the Junius Seven colony drop disaster, the Earth Alliance demands that ZAFT demilitarize and its government disperse; the obvious refusal results in the second war between ZAFT and Earth in four years. Earth support for ZAFT greatly increased after PLANT Chairman Gilbert Durandal's famous anti-Logos/Blue Cosmos speech that was broadcast throughout the PLANTS and Earth. Even though ZAFT and the Three Ships Alliance joined forces and fought together against Earth Alliance forces, they remain enemies until the end of the war.
ZAFT has consistently proven itself to be on the cutting edge of nuclear technology, producing the Neutron Jammer, the Neutron Jammer Canceller, the Neutron Stampeder, and the GENESIS cannon. In addition, they developed the Deuterion Beam Energy Transfer System, which allows a battleship to recharge its mobile suits' batteries without them having to return to the ship.
[edit] Ranks
ZAFT's military is organized as a militia rather than the Earth Alliance's OMNI Enforcer military force, using positional titles as ranks rather than more traditional ones. In addition, command is assigned based on personal connections as skill - it is made clear at several points that a large part of why Athrun Zala is given field command of the four elite pilots of Le Creuset team on Earth is because of his father's position. Some of the common descriptive terms and/or titles used are:
Kanchō: Captain, the officer in charge of a particular military vessel, such as a battleship, a land carrier, or a submarine.
Taichō: Commander, given charge of one of ZAFT's teams, which are frequently formed, dissolved, and rearranged. The team is identified by the name of its leader, hence "Le Creuset team", "Zala team", and "Joule team". A commander will usually be given control of one or more vessels, whether space, land, or sea-based, and/or a number of mobile suits. He or she will be responsible for developing the appropriate strategies to use those resources to carry out the tasks assigned to him or her by the Gichō, or chairperson.
[edit] Uniforms
Uniforms are also color coded, based on an individual's military achievement, position, and/or responsibility to date. (It should be noted that most pilots and commanding officers have longer uniforms than regular soldiers, regardless of uniform color.)
Green: Worn by common soldiers, technicians, or mobilesuit pilots. They designate that the personnel has completed standard training up to their expectations. These troops usually receive only about half year of training.
Olive: Worn by soldiers in ground combat situations.
Bright green: Worn by mechanics only.
Red: Worn by top graduates from ZAFT's military academy. ZAFT Red members wear red uniforms to display their elite status.[4] Although they are respected, soldiers who wear red do not necessarily have higher positions than their green-clad comrades.
Black: Worn by the ship captains and executive officers or officers with high level of responsibility. This is also the color worn by ZAFT officers attached to or assisting ranking government officials.
Yellow: A custom variation of the olive ground combat soldier uniform. Andrew Waltfeld appears to be the only one who wears this color uniform. Later, he is shown wearing a yellow variation of the white uniform.
White: Worn by senior or ranking ZAFT commanders or high-ranking ZAFT officials. Standard white uniforms are worn by senior ship captains who are in command of larger and more powerful capital ships, although they are still considered equivalent in rank to other ship captains. Added devices or denotations on the uniform increases the bearer's level of seniority, importance, and/or responsibility.
Purple: Worn by members of the PLANT Defense Council and bureaucrats associated with ZAFT. Once again added devices or denotations on the uniform represent the bearer's level of seniority, importance, and/or responsibility.
Custom colored pilot suits: Any mobile suit pilot in the ZAFT forces that proves him or her self in combat are allowed to have a custom color pilot suit. These pilots have no distinct rank but are usually better than their counter-parts. For example, Rey wore a white pilot suit, however he was not above the command of Talia and still had to follow commands like regular green pilot suit soldiers. Another example is Andrew Waltfeld. He was known as the Desert Tiger, and wore a special tiger-stripped orange pilot suit. While fellow submarine commander Marco Morassim wore the regular green pilot suit. Waltfeld was above the command of most other commanders and generals at the time. Usually, the custom pilot suit also came with a custom mobile suit. Heine had an orange coloured ZAKU Phantom and GOUF Ignited to match his pilot suit, Lunamaria remained with her red pilot suit and had her ZAKU repainted in the same color and hue. Miguel Aiman wore a standard green pilot suit, but had a custom painted and custom modified GINN of his own. Waltfeld had a special BuCUE armed with fangs and claws made to match his "tiger" outfit and an orange colored LaGOWE, complete with beam "fangs" and "claws". Nearly all FAITH members have their own custom colored suits (both pilot and mobile suit). Other examples also exist.
[edit] FAITH
FAITH (Fast Acting Integrate Tactical Headquarters) is an elite subset of ZAFT personnel that have remarkable war records and certain character traits. They are appointed by the PLANT council or the Chairman, to whom they are solely answerable. Their authority is above those of Squadron Commanders, and can presumably give strategic orders on the spot or override any orders given to them by anyone other than the Council.
FAITH members wear badges resembling a white wing emerging from a golden elliptical orb.
Known members of FAITH include: Heine Westenfluss, Athrun Zala, Talia Gladys, Shinn Asuka, and Rey Za Burrel.
[edit] Terrestrial nations allied to ZAFT
[edit] Oceania Union
The Oceania Union is a nation composed primarily of Australia and New Zealand. The Oceania Union is allied with ZAFT, and one of ZAFT's two primary military bases on Earth, Carpentaria, is located there. At the signing of the Junius Treaty, all national boundaries were restored to their pre-war status, however, one of the conditions of the Treaty required ZAFT to pull their terrestrial forces back to the areas around their two major bases, Carpentaria and Gibraltar. As a result of this, independent regions within ZAFTs two allies (Oceania and the African Community) emerge. For two years these areas remain independent of both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance, but eventually join the Earth Alliance after the Break the World incident. In Oceania's case, the independent region (and later Earth Alliance member) is New Zealand.
[edit] African Community
The African Community is a loosely-affiliated group of nations and tribes in the northern sections of Africa, the African Community is one of only two nations on Earth openly allied with PLANT, though there are resistance movements, including Desert Dawn. Supposedly its territory includes Gibraltar, where ZAFT's second main military base is located. At the signing of the Junius Treaty, all national boundaries were restored to their pre-war status, however, one of the conditions of the Treaty required ZAFT to pull their terrestrial forces back to the areas around their two major bases, Carpentaria and Gibraltar. As a result of this, independent regions within ZAFTs two allies (Oceania and the African Community) emerge. For two years these areas remain independent of both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance, but eventually join the Earth Alliance after the Break the World incident.
[edit] Neutral entities
[edit] Orb Union
- "Orb will not attack another nation, will not allow another nation to attack them, and will not intervene in the conflicts of other nations." – Motto of Orb
The Orb Union (also known as the United Emirates of Orb or Aube in the Del Rey manga) is a small Pacific island nation, located to the east of New Guinea which has a tradition of neutrality and thus is neutral in the war between the Earth Alliance and ZAFT. [5] The nation itself is composed of five cities. Orb's government consists of both an elected legislature and an aristocracy of five noble families (most notably the Athha, Sahaku, and Seiran families) and its head of state is entitled "Representative", perhaps implying his or her position as representing the will of both the citizenry and the nobility. The nation has a mixed population of both Naturals and Coordinators. Because of this, Orb has a non-discrimination policy against Coordinators.
Though small, Orb is both wealthy and militarily powerful, and the local arms maker Morgenroete, Inc. is one of the world's top producers of advanced weaponry. Like ZAFT, Orb has a head start on the mobile suit production, but development was slowed due to their inability to program a working mobile suit operating system until Orb secures Kira Yamato's technical cooperation to complete it. Additionally unusual for the country's small size, Orb has a considerable presence in space, including the space colony Heliopolis, the space fortress "Ame-no-Mihashira" ("Pillar of Heaven"), at least four Izumo-class battleships, and the Kaguya mass driver located on Onogoro Island.
Because of Orb's relative political and economic stablity and stance as a neutral nation, it is known as the "Land of Peace", which is used as the title of the 25th episode of Gundam Seed. The novelisation of the Gundam Seed series, the titles the third volume "Country of Peace" (平和 の国 Heiwa no Kuni) refers in reference to Orb.
[edit] First Bloody Valentine War
At the start of the war, the chief representative of Orb's government is Uzumi Nara Athha, who declares the nation's neutrality in the conflict. Despite this, the Sahaku family sponsors Morgenroete's efforts to assist the Atlantic Federation in the development of their mobile suit prototypes behind the backs of Representative Athha and the other representatives of Orb.
Unfortunately, the Earth Alliance does not respect that neutrality as the war progressed, and conquers Orb in CE 71, resulting in the death of Representative Athha and many high ranked politicians. Orb's remaining forces, including the Izumo-class battleship Kusanagi and the defecting Earth Alliance assault ship Archangel, escape to space under the command of his daughter Cagalli Yula Athha, and join forces with the stolen ZAFT warship Eternal to form the Three Ships Alliance, which would play a critical role during the end of the war. When the Treaty of Junius 7 was signed, Orb and all nations who were forced to join the Atlantic Federation, returned to their neutrality.
[edit] Second Bloody Valentine War
After the Break the World Incident, the Seiran noble family gains control of Parliament and ends Orb's neutrality by having Orb willingly aligns itself with the Earth Alliance and the Seirans form a secret alliance with Logos leader, Lord Djibril. However, the Seiran family is unable to gain the full support of the military, which remains loyal to the Athha family, and the military becomes weakened as a result of its low opinion of the Seirans and lack of motivation and morale to fight. Chief Representative Cagalli Yula Athha is abducted soon afterward by her brother and the crew of the Archangel during her wedding to Yuna Roma Seiran, the son of Prime Minister Unato Ema Seiran.
Despite personal sentiments, Commander Todaka is promoted to Colonel and chosen to lead the Orb expeditionary fleet in the nation's first active support of the Earth Alliance at Crete. In hopes of saving the Orb military, Cagalli appears on the battlefield with the Archangel and orders Orb to retreat; her authority is subverted by Yuna, who declares Cagalli is an imposter, in order to ensure the troops do not abandon the Earth Alliance forces. The effort ends in a disaster when the flagship Takemikazuchi and most of the other ships present are sunk. Colonel Todaka orders the Takemikazuchi abandoned and remains behind to go down with his ship. After the Battle of Crete, many of the surviving members of the Orb expeditionary fleet join the crew of the Archangel, including Todaka's second in command Lieutenant Amagi, who becomes the Archangel's new executive officer.
After PLANT council chairman Durandal's speech concerning Logos and the attack on Heaven's Base, Lord Djibril flees to Orb to find sanctuary with the Seiran family. ZAFT launches a surprise attack to capture Lord Djibril, leaving most of Orb's civilian population uninformed and Orb's military unable to counter with an effective defence. Cagalli returns to Orb in time to turn the tide of the battle and regains control of the military after ordering Yuna's immediate arrest at the National Defence Headquarters. ZAFT is driven back by the Orb military, with support from the Archangel and its allies. However, Lord Djibril flees Orb before he is captured and escapes into space and ZAFT is forced to withdraw.
With the deaths of the Seirans and Orb politicians during the battle, Cagalli is able to regain her position as the Representative of Orb and asserts the nation's position to oppose Durandal's Destiny Plan. Orb, supported by the Kingdom of Scandinavia, the Atlantic Federation, and dissenting ZAFT forces, move the battle into space in order to stop Durandal from using the superweapons Messiah and Requiem (acquired after the death of Lord Djibril) to destroy all opposition to his Destiny Plan. Following Durandal's death and the destruction of Requiem, Orb forms a peaceful relationship with the PLANTs.
[edit] Military ranks and uniforms
Orb's military ranks are structured similar in hierarchy as OMNI Enforcer.
- Note: The English dub of Gundam SEED Destiny uses naval ranks when it comes to military in space ships.
[edit] Kingdom of Scandinavia
The Kingdom of Scandinavia is the largest of the neutral nations, it composes of the old Earth nations of Sweden, Norway and Finland (but not Denmark, which is traditionally considered a Scandinavian nation as the name of the Kingdom refers to the Scandinavian Peninsula). The Kingdom of Scandinavia is the birth place of former PLANT Supreme Council Chairman Siegel Clyne. The Kingdom of Scandinavia originally chooses to remain neutral in the conflict, but eventually bows to pressure from the Atlantic Federation and joins the Earth Alliance. After the signing of the Junius Treaty, which was committed by Scandinavian Prime Minister, the Kingdom of Scandinavia returns to its neutral status.
At the beginning of the Second Bloody Valentine War, the Kingdom of Scandinavia agrees to rejoin the Earth Alliance after again coming under pressure from the Atlantic Federation. However, their true loyalties seem to lie with Orb and the Terminal organization, which is proven when the nation lets the Archangel hide underwater at the coast of Scandinavia. Only the Prime Minister and his advisers knew of this. This is further proven after Durandal's announcement of his Destiny Plan, as the Kingdom of Scandinavia, together with the Orb Union and the Atlantic Federation, rejects the plan.
[edit] Equatorial Union
The Equatorial Union is a union of weak Equatorial nations in Southeast Asia such as India, Philippines, Indonesia, and some other countries. The Equatorial Union is largely neutral because its military is not worth incorporating into the Earth Alliance, with no space forces and no mobile weapons. However, after the Atlantic Federation places significant pressure on all the neutral nations, the Equatorial Union does indeed join the Earth Alliance. After the signing of the Junius Treaty, the Equatorial Union returns to its neutral status. After the first war they had gained land from Eurasia and at the beginning of the second war they joined OMNI probably to prevent a war with Eurasia, however, they may have seceded from the Earth Alliance during the strife and instability within Eurasia.
[edit] DSSD
DSSD (Deep Space Survey and Development Organization) is a neutral organization established for the purpose of "advancing the frontier" from survey and development of regions beyond the orbit of Mars. The Earth Alliance, PLANT and the other Neutral Nations all participated in its establishment. There are bases within both Earth Alliance and PLANT. Their Technology Development Center and launch base, F.E., is located on the outskirts of Fortaleza, South America. They aim for the advancement of nations, religions and races. They are the creators of the GSX-401FW Stargazer, a mobile suit intended for space exploration. Oddly enough, DSSD apparently does not have access to a mass driver for launching deep space missions even though mass drivers are much more practical than the traditional shuttle rocket system used by DSSD. However, this is understandable, as other nations may not trust the DSSD enough to allow them to utilize their mass drivers.
[edit] Independent factions
[edit] Clyne Faction
The Clyne Faction started as the collection of PLANT politicians loyal to the ideals of Siegel Clyne, leader of the PLANT moderate faction. However, as the political situation in the PLANTs took a dark turn, the group switched to being an underground rebel faction composed of normal civilians and ZAFT soldiers, spawned as a result of Patrick Zala's extremist genocidal policies towards the Naturals. The Clyne Faction was initially commanded by former PLANT Chairman Siegel Clyne, but after his assassination, his daughter, Lacus Clyne, took over. Another prominent figure was Andrew Waltfeld, a much-decorated ZAFT commander.
Their first major actions were the theft of the ZGMF-X10A Freedom and soon after the hijacking of the newest ZAFT capital ship, Eternal, which was coincidentally assigned under the command of Andrew Waltfeld by ZAFT. Even though Zala is in charge of ZAFT and uses it to try and crush the Clyne Faction, the ease in which the Clyne Faction managed to steal the Freedom and the swift hijacking of the Eternal later on highlights the fact that the Clyne Faction likely has a considerable number of supporters within ZAFT as well.
[edit] Three Ships Alliance
The Three Ships Alliance was formed near the end of the Bloody Valentine War as a resistance force dedicated to ending the war. It consisted of the members of the Clyne Faction who had stolen the ZAFT support vessel Eternal, survivors from the Earth Alliance invasion of Orb aboard the Orb battleship Kusanagi, and the crew of the Earth Alliance assault ship Archangel. The Three Ships Alliance takes up residence in an abandoned space colony for a little over two months, and then sets out to prevent the Earth Alliance and PLANT from annihilating each other. The Three Ships Alliance was instrumental in preventing an Earth Alliance nuclear assault on the PLANT colonies, and in preventing PLANT from using the GENESIS Superweapon from irradiating the Earth.
After the Bloody Valentine War, the Three Ships Alliance (composed of the Clyne Faction, moderate elements of the Earth Alliance, and remnants of the Orb military) was changed into a covert moderate military and political organization once again operating under the Clyne Faction name. This new faction received aid from the independent intelligence group Terminal, strengthened in numbers and technology thanks to defecting Earth Alliance and ZAFT officers and appears to have thoroughly infiltrated the military command structure of every major faction.[citation needed] It is also implied that Terminal has very well-placed intelligence sources as information about current events such as the Minerva's departure time and the Destroy's rampage across Western Eurasia were received and sent to the proper people within a very short amount of time. And thanks to backing from the Orb Union, Terminal became one of the world's main political and military organizations, although its influence can be called discreet, even subversive[citation needed]. Spawned for the same reasons as the Three Ships Alliance, to achieve and maintain peace and stability between Coordinators and Naturals; the Clyne Faction was lead by Lacus Clyne on the political side and Kira Yamato on the military end.
Despite considerable military expansion by ZAFT and the Atlantic Federation (the strongest member of the Earth Alliance), Terminal too developed advanced military hardware with its large industrial base, which includes a secret underwater base and a mobile suit factory hidden in an asteroid. The ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom, ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice, and ZGMF-XX09T DOM Trooper, all of which were made by Terminal from technology originally developed by ZAFT, are generally on-par or even superior to their ZAFT and Earth Alliance counterparts. Towards the end of the Second Bloody Valentine War, Terminal and Terminal-allied forces consisted of one Archangel Class, one Eternal Class, three Izumo Class, two to three Agamemmnon Class, at least four Nelson Class, at least two Drake Class, at least two Nazca Class and at least two Laurasia Class warships. Their mobile suit forces were spearheaded by the Strike Freedom, Infinite Justice, Akatsuki, Gaia, and three DOM Troopers. The main body of their mobile suits were dozens of Murasame, Dagger-L and Windam mobile suits.
[edit] History
[edit] CE 71
After stealing the Eternal, the Clyne Faction was joined by Orb's remaining military forces aboard the Izumo-class battleship Kusanagi, and the defected Earth Alliance assault ship Archangel. Both the newest ZAFT mobile suit units, the stolen Freedom and ZGMF-X09A Justice, had already joined the Archangel, but were soon transferred to the Eternal, which was equipped with the METEOR System, specifically built for those two units. However, thanks to the assistance of Reverend Malchio, the Three Ships Alliance was able to make contact with several peace-seeking groups in Orb and the EA, and the rest of the Clyne Faction headquartered in the PLANTs. Also, the group received a tender ship, the ReHOME, complements of Reverend Malchio and the Junk Guild.
The new rogue faction became known as the Three Ships Alliance and secretly headquartered on the abandoned Mendel colony. Their purpose was to put an end to the war which was rapidly growing beyond all control, as both the Earth Alliance (now under the control of Blue Cosmos) and ZAFT (under the command of Patrick Zala and his radical extremist faction) now believed that genocide was the only way to achieve victory.
This small fleet succeeded in saving the PLANT colonies from the Earth Alliance's initial nuclear assault, and Earth from the ZAFT's superweapon GENESIS. The Bloody Valentine War came to an end with the help of the Three Ships Alliance, which managed to counteract the threats on the civilian population and put an end to the war, in September, Cosmic Era 71.
[edit] CE 73
After the war, the TSA went again underground. The Eternal and Archangel were hidden, and most of the crews moved to Orb, under pseudonyms. After the Second Bloody Valentine War, new factions of Orb's government manipulated it into joining the Earth Alliance, and the Clyne Faction members in Orb took the Archangel and Freedom (both hidden in secret facilities in Orb) and fled. While the Eternal had a quiet role in the war to date, the Archangel actively tried to intervene in EA-ZAFT battles that involved the Orb fleet, with Cagalli Yula Athha trying to appeal to the Orb soldiers to leave the battle. Though the Archangel was joined by a large number of Orb officers and pilots from the sunken Orb carrier Takemikazuchi, ultimately their attempts failed and their interventionist policies have created tension between both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT, and they have undoubtedly caused chaos on the battlefield.
Seeing that the Clyne Faction would not be able to achieve their objectives alone, Lacus Clyne relocated to the newly created Terminal organization and its covert orbital factory to oversee its operations. Under her supervision, Terminal constructed new advanced mobile suits - the ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice, and ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom, as well as the obtaining of the ZGMF-X88S Gaia, and the obtaining and completion of the three prototype ZGMF-XX09T DOM Trooper units.
At a later stage in the war, the Archangel and ZAFT's battleship Minerva joined forces and fought together against the Earth Alliance's prototype mobile fortress, the GFAS-X1 Destroy. However, ZAFT chairman Gilbert Durandal, fearing the Clyne Faction's potential interference in his plans, declared them to be an enemy of ZAFT and justifying their decision by citing the group's numerous interferences in ZAFT battles. The Minerva later participated in Operation "Angel Down", with the objective of destroying the Archangel. During this conflict, Minerva fired its positron cannon on the fleeing Archangel, and Impulse was able to defeat Freedom with the clever tactics of its pilot Shinn Asuka using Kira Yamato's unwillingness to kill, as the Freedom's pilot. However, the Archangel managed to survive despite being badly damaged while the Freedom was destroyed. Kira Yamato, was saved by Cagalli in the MBF-02 Strike Rouge and the Archangel then continues en route to Orb. The Archangel finally arrives at Orb, where it is repaired in a secret base by Morgenroete.
ZAFT discovered the presence of the Terminal Factory (which also hid the Eternal) and sent a force of three Nazca class battleships to attack it. With the ZGMF-X88S Gaia the only functional mobile suit (and piloted by Andrew Waltfeld), the factory was heavily out-numbered so Eternal in an attempt to draw the ZAFT forces away from it, and prepared to drop the newly-completed ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice and ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom towards Orb should the ship be lost. Fortunately, Kira Yamato arrived in the MBF-02 Strike Rouge via an orbital booster and, after taking possession of the ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom, defeated all of the pursuing ZAFT forces.
A short time later, during ZAFT's assault on Orb (codenamed Operation Fury), the Archangel participated in the defense of Orb. Meanwhile, Kira Yamato in the ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom departed the Eternal and made an unassisted re-entry to help in the battle, while towing the ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice (which was being "ridden" by Lacus Clyne) on order to deliver it to Athrun Zala. The three ZGMF-XX09T DOM Trooper units also participated, arriving from the Eternal via an orbital drop pod. Together with the Archangel, the Eternal's mobile suits successfully defended Orb. After Cagalli regained control over Orb, the crew of the Archangel were formally included into the Orb military. After Durandal exposes his Destiny Plan, The Orb space fleet (including the Archangel, the Kusanagi, and two of the Kusanagi's sister ships), the Eternal, and Terminal-supporting ships from both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance, along with the Kusanagi's sister ships, set out to oppose Durandal's Destiny Plan.
The group once again had the distinction of helping to end the war, when the ORB-01 Akatsuki and ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justice destroyed the Requiem superweapon, and the ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom destroyed the Messiah mobile space fortress.
[edit] Non-governmental organizations
[edit] Morgenroete
Morgenroete Incorporated (its name is German for "dawn") is a semi-nationalized military contractor based in the Orb Union, with facilities in both the Orb Union proper and at the Orb-owned space colony of Heliopolis. Though part of the neutral nation of Orb, Morgenroete had been secretly collaborating with the Atlantic Federation in its work on new prototype mobile weapons called Gundams under the sponsorship of the Sahaku noble family during the Bloody Valentine War. During construction, Morgenroete did steal intelligence on the prototypes which was used in their own Astray program, but it cost Orb its space colony of Heliopolis when a ZAFT commando team entered and escaped with four of the five G-units built.
Beam weapons, second-generation mobile suit operating systems, the Lohengrin positron blaster cannon (later adapted by ZAFT as the Tannhäuser installed in the bow of the assault ship Minerva), Variable Phase Shift Armor and the Mirage Colloid cloaking device were all developed at Morgenroete either entirely or in part during the war or immediately after, partly under the aegis of chief designer Erica Simmons. More esoteric technologies were also developed at Morgenroete under the aegis of the Sahaku twins, including energy-draining weaponry.
[edit] Desert Dawn
The Desert Dawn is a resistance group in ZAFT-occupied Northern Africa.[6] The group is led by Sahib Ashman and its members are recruited from nearby towns like Tassil, Moula, and the city of Banadiya.[6] They were assisted by the Archangel to free North Africa from ZAFT control.
[edit] Junk Guild
The Junk Guild is a non-governmental organization devoted to the upkeep, maintenance, and salvage of the technology forming the infrastructure of Cosmic Era society. Thanks to the work of Reverend Malchio, the Junk Guild has non-aggression treaties with all three major factions (Earth Alliance, ZAFT, and Orb) - any person or vessel that bears the emblem of the Junk Guild cannot be denied entry to any treaty signatory, as long as they obey the laws within (though they may be restricted as to where they may go - ZAFT, for example, does not allow Junk Guild members onto the PLANTs unless they are granted special permission.) The Junk Guild is rather decentralized - while there is an overseeing body that governs the Guild as a whole, most of the work is done by small teams of technicians who act independently.
Most Junk Guild teams spend their days either going through battlefields salvaging usable equipment or working under contract. Contracts can vary from salvage operations to repair to recovery of equipment. Large contracts may necessitate multiple Guild teams - it is not uncommon to see a large contingent of Guild techs working on major projects, such as the Giga-Float mobile mass driver. The Guild espouses non-violence - Guild techs will only fight to defend themselves, and even then will refrain from killing unless there is no other option.
Unlike the nations of the world, who prefer to standardize their equipment, Junk Guild equipment is an eclectic mix of whatever they can afford, repair, or salvage. It is not uncommon to see a Guild team using an assortment of repair pods and salvaged ZAFT mobile suits for work in space. Teams tend to stick with lightly armored and armed vessels as bases of operation in space, as they place a premium on cargo space as opposed to combat ability. On Earth, retrofitted military transports are often used - the Lesseps-class transport is popular with the Guild, thanks to its large cargo bay and ease of retrofitting for repair duties - the turrets on the top deck can easily be replaced with manipulator arms.
The Guild acquires new recruits from all walks of life, Natural and Coordinator alike. New recruits undergo basic training and indoctrination, then are sent to a team for on the job training. After a probationary period, the Guild then accepts the recruit as a Guild tech, and they are assigned to a team. Because Junk Techs tend to trust each other (lacking a reason to do otherwise), it is occasionally possible to infiltrate the Junk Guild, as Juri Wu Nien did in an attempt to steal the Red Frame. During the Bloody Valentine War, the Junk Guild team led by "The Professor" discovered the Astray project and recovered the MBF-P02 Astray Red Frame. It was later revealed that the discovery was in fact a result of the Professor's long-time friend Erica Simmons who had informed the Professor of the Astrays and asked her to recover them. The Professor's team was not informed of this until months later, when they entered Orb territorial waters and met with Dr. Simmons. Near the end of the war, Reverend Malchio made arrangements for the Junk Guild to aid the Three Ships Alliance in a non-combat capacity. The Junk Guild space vessel ReHOME served as a tender ship for the Three Ships Alliance until the end of the war.
[edit] Serpent Tail
The Serpent Tail is a mercenary group that uses Earth Alliance and ZAFT equipment to get the job done. They have always taken on a job by the highest bidder, and have almost always gotten the job done. Their leader is a Combat Coordinator named Gai Murakumo, who escaped from the Earth Alliance and broke free of his mental conditioning. Gai pilots one of the three Orb Astray prototypes, the rebuilt MBF-P03 Astray Blue Frame Second L, and is considered by many to be the deadliest warrior in the Earth Sphere. This mercenary company has no government whatsoever, and is split up into teams. Gai's team operates from either a captured Laurasia-class frigate or an unmarked civilian freighter, and his subordinates consist of fellow pilot and wingman Elijah Kiel, the ship's captain and intelligence operative Reed Wheeler, explosives expert and tactician Loretta Aja, and client liaison Kazahana Aja.
[edit] Aktaeon
Aktaeon Industries is Morgenroete's rival competitor. Aktaeon attempted to hire Serpent Tail mercenary Gai Murakumo to sell his MBF-P03 Gundam Astray Blue Frame's data, but Gai refuses. Aktaeon nearly forced Junk Guild member Lowe Guele to sell his MBF-P02 Gundam Astray Red Frame by luring him with a selection of mobile suits and mobile armors and trapping him, and his fellow Junk Guild members in a weapons testing room. Lowe escapes and forces the unnamed executive into paying what the Junk Guild brought. Aktaeon built its first mobile suit, Gel Fineto, equipped with the Mirage Colloid Virus Spreader in CE 71. In CE 73, Aktaeon was hired by the Atlantic Federation to upgrade the G-Project mobile suits designed and built by Morgenroete, into the GAT-X1022 Blue Duel, GAT-X103AP Verde Buster, GAT-X105E Strike Noir, GAT-X207SR Nero Blitz, and the GAT-X303AA Rosso Aegis. Actaeon is known for its bribery by attracting with huge sums of money.
[edit] Terminal
Terminal is a non-government affiliated organization which exchanges information with all parties, as well as performing some degree of intelligence evaluation. Although it can viewed as a benevolent underground organization, it seems to be simply a guild of information dealers. Quote from Mark Simmons (toysdream), Bandai's English script consultant for Gundam SEED and Gundam SEED Destiny: "While spear-headed by the Clyne Faction, Terminal has kept a low profile and remained neutral throughout the most of the second war." Terminal's agents operated all over the world and its information capabilities rival that of a national intelligence agency although much of their organization and operation still remains unknown. The only base known to be controlled by Terminal is a mobile suit factory & base hidden in an asteroid in a debris field.
[edit] Martius Arsenals
[edit] Maius Military Industries
[edit] Adukurf Mechano-Industries
Adukurf Mechano-Industries is a company specializing in the development of large scale mobile armors. It is run by a wealthy and mysterious industrialist known as Matias Adukurf who is associated with the Earth Alliance and Logos.
[edit] World Security Treaty Organization
The following nations were all members of the World Security Treaty Organization at its inception: Atlantic Federation, Eurasian Federation, Republic of East Asia, United States of South America, South African Union, Orb Union, Kingdom of Scandinavia and the Equatorial Union. Only the Oceania Union and African Community refused to join and remained loyal to the PLANTs.
[edit] GARM R&D
[edit] References
- ^ Cosmic Era organizations: OMNI Enforcer. GundamOfficial. Retrieved on 2007-06-01.
- ^ GundamOfficial :: Cosmic Era :: Glossary :: Miscellaneous Terms
- ^ GundamOfficial :: Cosmic Era :: Glossary :: Miscellaneous Terms
- ^ Cosmic Era miscellaneous terms: ZAFT Red. GundamOfficial. Retrieved on 2007-09-04.
- ^ http://www.gundamofficial.com/worlds/ce/background/images/earthmap_c.gif
- ^ a b GundamOfficial :: Cosmic Era :: Glossary :: Organizations
[edit] External links
- Cosmic Era Earth map displaying nations and alliances (at the beginning of Gundam SEED)
- Cosmic Era Earth map displaying ZAFT and Earth Alliance controlled bases (as of February 13, CE 71 [Gundam SEED episode 13])
- Cosmic Era Earth map displaying the Orb Union (at the beginning of Gundam SEED)
- Cosmic Era space map (at the beginning of Gundam SEED)
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