Well, this may not be something I should be discussing with soldiers like you.
But deciding to take the path to end a war, not to fight...
...is much harder than deciding to go to war.
I think that it's important to establish a situation where we can avoid fighting.
But if the enemy proves to be a threat, it can't be helped.
Unless we fight when there is a need to fight...
...we won't be able to protect anything. Not even ourselves.
People living normally and peacefully should be protected!
The war started when I was twelve.
There was fighting between an alliance of Naturals led by the Earth Forces...
...and the ZAFT Forces, made up of Coordinators living in the PLANTs.
Naturals and Coordinators had always been at odds.
But one day, all hell broke loose when the Earth Forces fired a nuclear missile...
...at Junius Seven, one of the PLANTs where Coordinators lived.
The disagreement between the two sides quickly grew into a major war.
But to those of us who lived in Orb, a neutral nation on Earth...
...all this was something happening in far away countries and outer space.
Proceed slowly. Archangel, take off!
There! Fall!
It's fast! Get behind it, Athrun!
Why? Why are you here?
That's what I wanna know! What are you doing in that thing?
I remember hearing on the news and being surprised...
...that Orb's Space Colony Heliopolis was attacked and destroyed by ZAFT.
But not much changed in our daily lives.
Hey! Mayu!
Come back here!
My major concerns were, as always, when the latest game would be on sale...
...or how I'd get my folks to buy it for me...
...or that my sister would probably wanna play too, and what a drag that would be.
That's about all I had to worry about.
The Orb Union, which we called home, was an island nation located in the Pacific Ocean.
Although it was small, it was wealthy...
...thanks to its role as a leading nation in technology.
I think its advantages in technology had to do with its policy on Coordinators.
Unlike other nations, they accepted us, as long as we supported the nation's ideals.
Dad and mom both said they moved to Orb because they liked that.
There are Coordinators who prefer not to live out in space, after all.
So why are you with ZAFT?
Why are you taking part in the war?
I won't let you sink the Archangel!
Stop it!
We wish to leave the fleet and enter descent sequence at once! Please authorize!
What?!
Phase three! Releasing ablative gel!
Entering atmosphere!
Don't do it! On that shuttle are...
Orb will not invade another nation...
...will not allow another nation to invade...
...and will not intervene in the conflicts of other nations.
Although the war seemed to be getting more and more intense...
...Dad said that Orb would maintain its ideals and not get involved.
Take this!
Mom would say that the way Naturals and Coordinators lived together in this nation...
...was the best... or rather, it was the only way.
So how are winners and losers determined?
At what point do we put an end to it?
When every single enemy has been destroyed?
Sure, there is a subtle difference between a Coordinator and a Natural...
...and it would be a lie to say that Orb had no problems of its own...
But eliminating the cause of a deadly disease before birth...
...or making the body stronger, or changing it so it can do so much more...
Those aren't bad things, are they?
Mayu, Dad, Mom and I... we were all Coordinators...
...but we were normal people.
We weren't monsters that people should be allowed to label as "bad".
But there were people in this world who called us "evil".
But you guys can do so much more than we can. From birth.
So we ended up having a war.
And the war only added fuel to people's hatred towards one another.
What a terrible situation. Really.
What are you doing, Dearka? Stop that ship, already!
One time, there was a battle just outside Orb.
Lord Uzumi.
They said something about an Earth Forces battleship...
...being chased by ZAFT into Orb territory.
That really caught our attention.
There was a bit of panic in the air as we all sat glued to our TV sets...
...watching with concern as things unfolded.
There's an Orb fleet along the border of their territorial waters!
We're too close to their territory! Bear port fifteen!
The live broadcast that aired seemed much different from the news we usually got.
I remember being a little nervous as I watched.
Now, there's nothing we can do but enter their territory.
Don't worry. The Orb Second Escort Fleet is very skilled with artillery.
They'll do just fine.
But it eventually came to an end.
After that, while still somewhat restless over what had happened...
...we went back to our usual lives.
To us, the war was nothing more than that.
With this Operation, I strongly wish...
...that this war will come to a quick end.
With the hopes that this will lead to true freedom and justice.
Operation Spit Break! Commence!
Legged ship! Today's your final day!
Captain!
I strongly hope that this sacrifice will lead this war to a quick end.
For the preservation of our blue and pure world.
But eventually...
...the Earth Forces' Alaska Headquarters...
...was annihilated during a major ZAFT operation.
Then the Panama Base was wiped out.
Before we knew it, the war had arrived on our doorstep.
Huh?
Because they're... neutral?
That's not right, is it?
People are risking their lives in this fight against humankind's enemy.
What a farce!
Dad explained that the Earth Forces were saying some stupid things...
...to try and get Orb to help them since the tide of war was turning in favor of ZAFT.
All because Orb had something that the Earth Forces wanted more than anything.
And then suddenly, the unbelievable happened.
It's time!
Dad!
Darling!
It's all right. Their targets are likely the military facilities. Hurry, Shinn!
Mayu! Come on!
Oh, no! My mobile phone!
Never mind that!
No!!
Are you all right?
Mom, I'm thirsty.
Oh, my. Where'd I put the water?
I wonder where this ship is headed?
This is ZAFT Special Forces agent... Athrun Zala!
Can you hear me, Freedom?
Kira Yamato, I presume.
Athrun.
I'm sure you realize by now...
It's only a matter of time before Orb is lost.
Wh-What are you saying, father?
Our people have been evacuated. There are other means to support them.
We'll take over from here.
But even if we were to lose Orb, there are things we must never lose.
What's taking you so long! Hurry up!
But...
We have our responsibilities, and you have yours!
If we're left without anyone to carry out our hopes, we're finished!
Why can't you understand that?!
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
Athrun!
Right!
Father! Father!!
The seeds have flown. We've succeeded.
We won't let Orb and this world...
...fall into the hands of those bastards!
Captain Todaka!
Onogoro... Kaguya and Morgenroete!
What?!
All the lords, including Lord Uzumi stayed behind, and...
Will not invade another nation...
...will not allow another nation to invade...
...will not intervene in the conflicts of other nations...
There's a reason that we of Orb have been able to make this our ideal...
...and maintain it in an age of numerous changes.
It is because we believe it to be...
...the most basic and important component...
...of the framework we human beings call a nation.
Now, as we face this situation, I still believe this to be true.
The Earth Forces threaten to attack us unless we join their camp.
However, we are unable to abide by the rules they have set out.
Captain Todaka?
I'm glad that at least you are safe.
I'm sure that your family feels that way too.
Nuclear warheads aren't something you collect...
...just to look at. They're powerful weapons.
We must use the weapons we have.
We spent good money making these so that we can use them, right?
Wh-What's this enormous heat source?!
Nukes...
We mustn't allow a single nuclear missile to hit the PLANTs.
If the blade of light stabs through those who have no reason to be stabbed...
...it will only lead to endless tears and hatred once more.
METEORs, lift off.
We cannot afford to leave that thing out there!
Captain!
Evade!
We can't! It's too late!
I seem to have a knack for making the impossible possible...
Murrue Ramius, fire!!
Fire!!
And that's why your existence cannot be permitted!
Let me make it clear...
My strengths aren't the only thing that make me who I am!
FLAY!!
We've got to fire again! Before they have a chance to fire back!
The enemy must be annihilated! Don't you understand that?
This is a day of revelation for everyone!
I won't allow it!
Who do you suppose has continued to lead things to this conclusion?!
So what?!
ATHRUN!!
C-Cagalli.
You mustn't!
Stop running away!
It's more of a battle to continue living!
There's a world I want to protect!
And then the center stage of the war moved into space...
...got worse, and eventually came to an end.
Having lost my family and with no place to go...
...I did what that Orb officer who helped me recommended and arranged for me.
I went alone to the PLANTs.
I never wanted to go back to Orb again.
Soon, the world came together and agreed to a peace treaty.
But after giving it a lot of thought, I decided to join the military.
I was saddened by the fact that I lacked the necessary strength.
And I couldn't come to terms with why my family...
...had to be blown away in an instant.
Maybe Orb was able to maintain its ideals...
...but that didn't protect my family.
Arthur! Where is he?!
Why is this happening? Do you guys wanna start another war?!
It's better if a war never gets started.
Why are such things necessary in the first place?! Why now?!
We made a pledge not to repeat the tragedies of the past!
We were committed to following a path that we could proceed along hand in hand!
Idealism has always been a specialty of the Athhas, hasn't it?!
But it won't help us in the long run, will it?!
What?! Junius Seven is moving?
But how?!
Is it really on a collision course with Earth?
So is that the way you people from ZAFT think?!
We went through that war! And we all suffered!
And finally, under Chairman Durandal's administration...
...things seemed to be changing! Is that not the case?!
What good will it do to talk about ideals...
...without even taking a good look at the reality surrounding us?
Trivial? I won't allow anyone to call it trivial!
And unrelated?! You're wrong on that account as well!
My family was killed because of the Athhas!
We believed in the nation, and we believed in your so-called ideals.
And in the end, my family was killed at Onogoro!
That's why I will never believe you!
And I will never believe the nation of Orb!
I'll never believe any of your idealism again!
When you said you'd protect the nation's justice...
...did you ever stop to think how many lives would be lost...
...as a result of your insistence?!
Hi! Mayu here! I'm sorry. I can't talk to you right now!
Birdy.
Is it... a cenotaph?
Looks like it.
Perhaps it means they can't be fooled.
No matter how beautiful the flowers are, people will wipe them out again anyway.
What?
Even if Orb survives, and flowers bloom there once again...
...Mayu, dad, and mom will never come back.
Outbreak of war?! No way!
Nobody can stop this war.
This is a warning to the ZAFT warship Minerva.
You are approaching the territory of the Orb Union.
Our nation will not permit your ship to enter our waters.
Turn back at once.
What?!
Orb's seriously attacking us!
Shit!
I won't... I won't be defeated by something like this!
Therefore, I will fight.
I will fight, and this time...
...I will protect everything that is important to me.
The today that one knows is different from the tomorrow that one doesn't know.
The things that happen always leave something behind in everyone's heart.
And no one can know what untidy form it will be woven into.
If the encounter on the ocean is fate, then what is its meaning?
Next, on Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny...
..."Wandering Eyes".
Run down that path of dreams, Gaia!