JOSH-A Base, Alaska, May 12, Cosmic Era 71 – In one of the tensest moments of the war between the Earth Alliance and ZAFT, the combat vessel Archangel, under the command of Captain Murrue Ramius, finally arrived at the strategic stronghold of JOSH-A, deep within Alliance territory. The arrival followed a long and harrowing journey marked by relentless battles and human losses, signifying a pivotal moment for both the crew and the direction of the war itself.
However, it was within the walls of the Archangel that one of the day’s most emotionally charged and morally complex scenes unfolded: young communications officer Miriallia Haw performed a compassionate act that defied hatred and military logic by saving the life of ZAFT prisoner Dearka Elsman when he was attacked by the civilian Flay Allster. Meanwhile, far from the battlefield, pilot Kira Yamato awoke under the care of Lacus Clyne, a singer and underground political figure who had chosen to defy her own government in pursuit of peace.
This convergence of events would leave a lasting mark, altering perceptions of enemies and allies alike and opening a human rift in a war dominated by steel and fire.
Arrival in Alaska: A Promise of Shelter Amid Suspicion
After weeks of constant movement and skirmishes with ZAFT forces, the Archangel reached the JOSH-A Base seeking refuge, information, and support from the Alliance. The base—an underground fortress and strategic nerve center for Earth’s military—had long served as an unbreachable stronghold. For the ship’s battle-weary and internally divided crew, it seemed at last to offer a moment of rest.
Captain Ramius, accompanied by Lieutenant Natarle Badgiruel, requested docking permission and was received with formal courtesy—though not without suspicion. Within Alliance high command, questions had begun to circulate about the Archangel's autonomous actions, particularly its controversial decision to take on civilians and captured—or ambiguous—ZAFT personnel.
Among them was Dearka Elsman, a high-ranking ZAFT pilot taken prisoner during a prior engagement. He had been allowed limited freedom within the ship’s hangar under guard. His presence, however, became a flashpoint the moment the ship docked.
Dearka and the Quiet Redemption
It was in this context that an extraordinary incident took place. Flay Allster, a civilian who had survived the destruction of Heliopolis and witnessed the devastation caused by ZAFT’s coordinated attacks, stormed the hangar with a weapon in hand, determined to carry out what she saw as personal justice. Her target: Dearka.
Flay’s motivations were deeply personal and, to many, entirely understandable. She had lost her father in the bombing of the Alliance headquarters and had seen her closest friends die. Yet at the critical moment—just as she raised the gun—she was stopped by Miriallia Haw.
Miriallia, who had also lost her fiancé to a ZAFT attack, carried similar reasons for hatred. And yet it was her choice that prevailed: in an act of profound humanity, she placed herself between Flay and Dearka, preventing bloodshed. Her action stunned not only Flay, but Dearka himself, who until then had believed his life hung by a hostile thread.
Miriallia offered no lofty speeches. Her gaze—filled with pain but resolute—was enough to convey that even in the depths of war, justice must not be confused with vengeance. In that moment, she upheld the value of life, challenging the brutal logic of the battlefield.
Eyewitness accounts say Dearka remained silent for hours afterward, seated against the hangar wall, reflecting deeply. For the first time, the proud ZAFT pilot was seen not as an enemy, but as someone silently reconsidering the beliefs that had guided him.
Kira Yamato: The Return of a Fallen Soldier
Meanwhile, in a remote and undisclosed location east of Copernicus, young pilot Kira Yamato regained consciousness after a devastating duel with Athrun Zala, his former friend turned enemy. The battle between them—piloting the Strike and Aegis mobile suits—had ended in the destruction of both units, and Kira had been presumed dead by his own crew.
His survival was due to Lacus Clyne, the singer and political dissident daughter of Siegel Clyne, one of PLANT’s most influential leaders. Lacus, having witnessed the suffering brought by war, secretly took Kira in, disobeying orders from the Supreme Council and risking her public status to protect him.
During his recovery, Kira discovered a truth he had never seen before: ZAFT civilians also suffered and mourned. Lacus spoke not of enemies, but of people; not of victory, but of the possibility of reconciliation. In this new environment, the young Coordinator began to rethink his purpose—not just as a mobile suit pilot, but as a person.
His bond with Lacus, born of shared pain and mutual understanding, deepened over the days that followed. With her gentle but firm voice, Lacus planted the idea in Kira that peace was not a fantasy, but a choice—that even those created for war, like Coordinators, could reject the path imposed on them.
A Day That Reconfigured the War
The Archangel's arrival in Alaska, Miriallia’s intervention, and Kira’s recovery under Lacus’s care all occurred on the same day, in different places, yet linked by a common thread: the rebellion of conscience over doctrine. In every instance, the protagonists chose to act not according to orders or hatred, but according to an inner moral compass, defying the narrative the war had imposed on them.
For the Alliance high command, the day also marked the beginning of growing scrutiny toward the Archangel. Captain Ramius and her crew had demonstrated an independent mindset—effective in combat, but increasingly uncomfortable to military leadership. There were rumors that the ship might soon be seen not as a strategic asset, but as a symbol of internal dissent.
In PLANT, news began to circulate that Lacus Clyne was harboring an enemy pilot. The revelation caused political ripples. The Supreme Council, led by Patrick Zala—Athrun’s father—moved quickly to discredit her. But among the youth and certain civilian sectors, Lacus’s image was evolving. No longer just a pop star, she was becoming a voice of peace—a symbol of resistance against senseless violence.
The war between ZAFT and the Earth Alliance would not end anytime soon. But May 12, C.E. 71, would be remembered as the day when, amid steel and hatred, a few souls chose another path. Miriallia saved the life of someone she was meant to hate. Flay, though consumed by grief, did not pull the trigger. Dearka began to question his convictions. Kira awoke to a new way of seeing the world. And Lacus, with a single act, placed herself at the heart of a quiet redemption that would shape the course of history.