Chairman Zala and Rau Le Creuset

January 26, CE 71, approximately 10:00 AM standard time.

White-clad captain Rau Le Creuset was in his private quarters aboard the Nazca-class high-speed combat ship Vesalius, communicating with his superior, Chairman Patrick Zala, the leader of ZAFT, who was far away at the home base of Plant in L5.

"I have already received confirmation of your situation from Dr. Gilbert Durandal. Do not worry; your achievements during the Battle of the World Tree have sufficiently proven your loyalty to Plant. For a mere nobody to cast aspersions and expect ZAFT to hand over a recipient of the Nebula Medal—what a pipe dream. I hope you will continue to serve as a Coordinator, leading the Creuset Team to fight for Plant and ZAFT!"

"I am grateful for your trust, Chairman Zala. I, Creuset, shall use this broken body to fight for you until the very last moment."

Faced with Patrick Zala's reassurance, Creuset offered a solemn declaration, yet he knew in his heart that he could never again command the absolute trust of Patrick Zala as he once had. While he would continue to lead the Creuset Team, he suspected that excuses would soon be made to reassign the second-generation red-clad pilots—Athrun, Yzak, Nicol, and Dearka. The justification was already at hand, given that Rusty Mackenzie, the son of Committee Member Jeremy Maxwell, had sacrificed his life in this operation. Furthermore, considering the "Celestial Being" arrest warrant, the Creuset Team was clearly no longer the optimal choice for the training of those second-generation elites.

Regardless, at least ZAFT, under Chairman Zala's control, was still willing to provide him sanctuary, meaning his previous efforts had not been entirely in vain. However, it seemed he would now have to find a way to make contact with Logos... that accursed "Celestial Being"!

Though these thoughts raced through his mind, Creuset maintained a perfectly composed expression on his overly mature face—revealed after he had removed his mask to show sincerity—as Patrick Zala's voice continued to emanate from the other side of the transmission.

"Now, regarding the 'Heliopolis Collapse' incident: while there were indeed some irregularities in the details, I approve of your on-site decision-making overall. Those wretched Naturals, secretly designing such high-performance mobile suits—it only confirms that we must continue this war. And Orb, too; they claim neutrality while developing mobile suits for the Earth Alliance and engaging in thievery themselves. How dare they point fingers at us!"

"Your words are absolute, Chairman. Furthermore, this 'Celestial Being' is highly suspicious. I was acting under your orders to investigate the Earth Alliance's secret construction base near L3, which is why I had the appropriate personnel on hand to seize the 'G' series when the intelligence from Heliopolis arrived. All of this is thanks to your far-sighted planning and command. Conversely, the sudden and timely arrival of 'Celestial Being' is riddled with doubts; they couldn't even bother to choose a better excuse."

After echoing Patrick Zala's sentiments, Creuset proceeded to shift the blame onto Luther. Judging by Patrick Zala's response, he was clearly pleased by Creuset's flattery and held significant dissatisfaction toward the perspective of "Celestial Being"—that is, Luther.

"Hmph, 'Celestial Being,' 'Innovator,' and 'precognitive abilities'—the old tricks of illegal religious charlatans. To think someone would dare use such things in front of us in this day and age; it is laughable. Regardless, you must prepare well. The Earth Alliance, with its undying desire to destroy us, has developed such powerful mobile suits; how can we afford to stagnate?"

"Understood, Chairman. But how should we handle the possibility that the pilots of the Strike Gundam and the 'Purple Beetle' are Coordinators?"

Despite Patrick Zala's misunderstanding regarding "Innovators," Creuset, who had personal combat experience against Luther, had no intention of clarifying the matter. Instead, he used the opportunity to inquire about how to handle the pilot situation in the report to the Supreme Council—or, more accurately, to probe Patrick Zala's true intentions.

"That Luther Deikun claims to be an Innovator, does he not? Then report it exactly as he said. As for the Strike Gundam, there is no doubt it is being piloted by a Natural, which is why we must respond with all our might. Is that not so?"

"Your words are perfectly correct, Chairman. The Earth Alliance has already developed high-performance mobile weapons usable by Naturals. For the future of all Coordinators, we must also give our all."

Seeing that Creuset grasped his meaning, Patrick Zala nodded in satisfaction.

"In short, if the war does not end in victory, it is meaningless. The capture of the Kaohsiung Spaceport as part of Operation Ouroboros is complete. Thanks to Waltfeld's efforts, the Victoria Spaceport has been isolated for over half a year and should be easily conquered next. Once the troops finish refitting, we will strike in one breath to take the Panama Spaceport, and the victory of us Coordinators will be beyond doubt! Because of this, neither 'Celestial Being' nor that long-legged ship called the 'Archangel' must be allowed to reach the lunar base, let alone Earth! Once you have finished dealing with the Council, you must prepare immediately to pursue both parties!"

"Yes! I, Creuset, will surely bring you victory this time, for ZAFT!"

After listening once more to Chairman Zala's grand strategy, Creuset naturally offered a firm declaration, prompting a reciprocal response from the Chairman.

"Indeed, for ZAFT!"

"However, Chairman Zala, this battle has fully demonstrated the enemy's combat power. Whether it is the 'Long-legs' or 'Celestial Being,' relying solely on Ginn units is becoming difficult to manage. Furthermore, Orb has its own spaceport. Although they claim neutrality, the situation at Heliopolis proves that since it is a nation dominated by Naturals on Earth, we must remain vigilant."

Faced with Creuset's "laying out the facts and difficulties," Patrick Zala fell into a momentary silence. He pondered for a while before responding to Creuset.

"You are quite right about Orb; we must indeed be vigilant. As for combat power, since the data has been extracted, these Earth Alliance mobile suits will be temporarily assigned to you. Furthermore, the new mass-produced GuAIZ, which was still in development, requires a redesign due to these units; the few early-production GuAIZ units that are essentially complete will also be handed over to you. I will coordinate other teams to support you as needed based on the actual combat situation. That should be enough firepower, should it not? But Creuset, you understand, don't you?"

"Yes, Chairman Zala. I will never let the sacrifices of Rusty and the others be in vain! These Earth Alliance units are equipped with Phase Shift Armor; let us make good use of them."

Seeing from Creuset's reply that he understood his intent, Chairman Zala nodded with satisfaction. After exchanging a few more points, the busy Chairman Patrick Zala cut the transmission.