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The Foundation Conflict is the main conflict of the animated film Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom. It was orchestrated in May, C.E. 75 by the Kingdom of Foundation in their plan to utilize the late PLANT Supreme Council Chairman Gilbert Durandal's Destiny Plan to make Coordinators the supreme ruler over the Naturals.

Prelude[]

During the Second Alliance-PLANT War, PLANT Supreme Council Chairman Gilbert Durandal revealed the existence of the secret organization Logos, which led to the collapse of the Earth Alliance. During this time, a small part of the Eurasian Federation broke away and intended to secede into their own nation. Despite the Eurasian Federation's attempt to reclaim the nation, it failed and would become the Kingdom of Foundation. Under the rule of the "young" Aura Maha Khyber, the kingdom would be like the Orb Union, a place where Naturals and Coordinators lived in peace and unity.

However, this was a facade for something much worse deep down. In actuality, Aura was actually much older than she claimed to be, having worked with Durandal to create the Accords, Coordinators with enhanced physical and psychic abilities, designed by them to rule humanity. Despite the world's rejection of Durandal's Destiny Plan, Aura implemented it within the kingdom, and dissidents were brutally prosecuted or killed.

The Conflict[]

Eldore Incident - (May 17, C.E. 75)[]

In C.E.75, Foundation invited Compass and the Eurasian Federation to undertake a joint operation to eliminate Blue Cosmos remnants from Eurasia in the vicinity of the town of Eldore, with the LCAM-01XA Archangel and the LHM-BB03S Millennium representing Compass' combat assets. The operation would involve Compass leading the charge against Blue Cosmos, with Foundation defending their settlements in the rear, and the Eurasians on guard against incursions into their own territory. The Eurasians held a stipulation that no Compass or Foundation forces would cross into Eurasian territory.

During the operation, Foundation Prime Minister Orphee Lam Tao secretly initiated his plans to discredit Compass by using the Accords' abilities on Kira Yamato. Due to Kira's depressed mental state at the time, he was immediately overcome by the Black Knight Squad's telepathic mind control powers and was made to hallucinate that he saw Blue Cosmos' leader, Colonel Michael, escaping into Eurasian territory. With Kira violating Eurasian airspace to chase after the illusion and attack Eurasian forces, Orphee used this as his chance to manipulate Lacus Clyne back in Foundation headquarters to send a group to take down the seemingly now-rogue Kira, and when she regretfully consented, the Black Knights were deployed to destroy the STTS-909 Rising Freedom Gundam.

While two of the Black Knights and Foundation Defense Secretary Shura Serpentine intercepted Kira to destroy him, the remaining Black Knights infiltrated behind Eurasian lines and hijacked the Eurasian nuclear missile launchers, programming them to send a delayed launch towards specific targets. When the Archangel spotted the Black Knights' suspicious activities, the two Black Knights in charge of the nukes ambushed the Archangel, managing to sink the legendary ship through sudden yet overwhelming firepower all after Archangel captain Murrue Ramius called to abandon ship. Shinn Asuka and his STTS-808 Immortal Justice Gundam were intercepted by two Black Knights when he tried to investigate and was also defeated in combat, though he was saved by comrade Hilda Harken and her ZGMF-2027/A GYAN Strom. Mu La Flaga in a damaged STTS/F-400 Murasame Kai then rescued his lover Murrue from the smoking Archangel deck.

Kira was overcome by Shura's NOG-M1A1 Shi-ve.A, and the disabled Rising Freedom was further immobilized by fellow Compass pilot Agnes Giebenrath and her custom-colored GYAN Strom, who had secretly changed her allegiance to Foundation due to Shura's wiles. However, Athrun Zala appeared in his ZGMF-MM07 Z'Gok to save Kira, keeping both Shura and Agnes at bay before he evacuated Kira. Meanwhile, the Eurasian nuclear missiles were launched, with two being fired toward the Foundation's capital Ishtaria. One of the missiles was intercepted and destroyed by Lunamaria Hawke's ZGMF-2025/F GELGOOG Menace, but the other missile slipped through due to its distance, forcing Lunamaria and the Millennium to submerge underwater to escape the blast as the capital is destroyed. The third missile headed to Eldore, killing Colonel Michael, destroying the entire area, the remnants of Blue Cosmos and leaving the fate of Compass uncertain to the world at large.

Moscow Tragedy - (May 24, C.E. 75)[]

Following the Foundation's false flag attack on its capital, Orphee made a public broadcast in space denouncing the Naturals as a whole, while falsely claiming Lacus has willingly joined them and calling all Coordinators to side with Foundation. Using the nuclear strike on Ishtaria as a pretext, he ordered the complete destruction of Moscow, the Eurasian Federation's capital, using the rebuilt Requiem. Following Moscow's obliteration, Orphee issued an ultimatum to all Earth nations: disarm and implement the Destiny Plan in five days, or face annihilation from Requiem.

PLANT Coup d'état - (May 24, C.E. 75)[]

As Orphee issued his ultimatum to all Earth nations, ZAFT Commander Hari Jagannath, Chairman of the PLANT National Defense Committee, launched a Foundation-backed coup d'état to overthrow the PLANT Supreme Council, though he failed to capture Supreme Council Chairman Walter de Lament, who successfully escaped with several Intelligence Division officers led by Commander Yzak Joule into the FFMH-Y101 Eternal. The Intelligence Division guaranteed de Lament's safety and decided to hide in asteroid Boaz, where they obtained the ZGMF-103HD Lightning Buster Gundam and ZGMF-1027M Duel Blitz Gundam, the upgraded versions of Yzak and Dearka Elsman's GAT-X102 Duel Gundam and GAT-X103 Buster Gundam respectively.

Attack on the Requiem Relay - (May 24, C.E. 75)[]

Millennium Hijacking - (May 25, C.E. 75)[]

For the other Compass personnel to rescue Lacus Clyne, the Eldore Incident survivors enacted a plan to "steal" the Millennium and with the help of Erica Simmons, Lunamaria, Shinn, and Kira received the upgraded ZGMF-56E2 Impulse Gundam Spec II, ZGMF/A-42S2 Destiny Gundam Spec II, and ZGMF/A-262B Strike Freedom Gundam Type II, respectively. According to her, these machines were entrusted by Cagalli Yula Athha for testing of a new fusion reactor and, with the expection of the Impulse, they have been upgraded with the latest monitor type for the cockpits but the mobile suits' armaments were basically the same. Kira, Murrue, Shinn, and Hilda went underwater and used grappling hooks to attach on the Millennium and then enter the ship while Meyrin Hawke via the AMGS-X18P Cavalier Aifrid hacked the ship with an injection virus attack to get the crew to disembark. However, ship captain Alexei Konoe and technical officer Albert Heinlein were well aware of the the hijackers' plans and exactly knew who the hijackers were. When Kira and Murrue stormed their way into the bridge, executive officer Arthur Trine put up his hands in fear, but Alexei and Albert were unfazed by the events. Albert remarked that Kira was late by two minutes compared to his calculations, while Alexei just turned around facing Murrue, which shocked her as he found out it was their doing and later on remark that there was no need for the guns and underwater submarine suits as preparation was completed. While Lunamaria stood guard with her gun drawn out, Shinn sneaked behind her and tried to disarm her only to be thrown to the ground instead and forced to reveal that it was him the whole to prevent things from escalating. Although Lunamaria was relieved to hear that Shinn was alive, she later slapped Shinn and called him an idiot as she though he was dead before hugging him tightly. Hilda will later see Shinn and Lunamaria reunite.

All Compass major sponsors received news that the Millennium was hijacked. While the crew on the bridge of the Millennium would discuss how they would get their way up to space and rescue Lacus, they loaded in the three new Gundams onto the ship, together with all three recolored Silhouette Packs for the Impulse Spec II and numerous prototype advanced railguns. However, an Orb fleet went ahead to "try and stop" the Millennium from escaping. Not long after, Orphee would contact Cagalli saying that Orb has ignored their warning that Orb is next to be targeted by Requiem. After Orphee completely ignored her pleas, she would later order for the evacuation of all the people of Orb and they only have ten minutes to have everything settled and done. While the Foundation prepares Requiem to fire at Orb, Kira used the International Rescue Channel aboard the Millennium to contact them. Shocking most of the Foundation's leadership, Kira would later mock them for their failed attempt to kill him and that they used the bombing of their capital as an excuse to get rid of him. He would then tell them that they have lost and what they did will be exposed to the world. Seeing and hearing all these, Queen Aura got enraged and ordered that Requiem to target the Millennium instead at the last minute, which the Millennium barely evaded, thanks to the use of breaking to evade then going full speed to launch into space.

Lacus Clyne Rescue Operation[]

After concluding that Lacus Clyne was being held against her will by Orphee and the Foundation inside the Artemis fortress, Kira and several Compass allies secretly infiltrated the rebuilt fortress (in a similar form to how ZAFT red coat Nicol Amalfi and his GAT-X207 Blitz Gundam did four years prior) by using the Mirage Colloid Stealth System in the Cavalier Aifrid. When Shura launched in the Shi-ve.A to engage the Strike Freedom Type II in combat, now piloted by Athrun, the Cavalier Aifrid entered undetected through the opening the lightwave barrier defenses.

Once inside Artemis, the Cavalier Aifrid proceeded to open fire on a Baldr-class ship in dock while Kira, Ledonir Kisaka, and several Compass soldiers disembarked on foot and killed several dock guards all while Meyrin was hacking access to the security system, allowing her to close bulkheads and sever communications inside and out. Soon after, they released several of Lacus' Haros into the ventilation system, who proceeded to fill the station with knockout gas, save for Lacus' room, causing Queen Aura and almost all Foundation personnel to fall unconscious. Only Black Knight Squad pilot Ingrid Tradoll managed to avoid being gassed due to her wearing a pilot suit with her helmet visor closed so that the gas attack wouldn't affect her, before she proceeded to take Lacus hostage once Kira located her through Birdy's counterpart Blue's quantum network. After rescuing Lacus, the Cavalier Aifrid recovered the extraction team and proceeded to disable the lightwave barrier, after which they escaped, while Shura was forced to return to Artemis.

Battle of Requiem[]

Simultaneously with the rescue mission, the Millennium set course for the Moon and engaged the Foundation fleet defending Requiem. Before entering combat, Murrue ordered the "Badgiruel Tactic" and had several missiles cold-launched behind their path. Once in range of the Foundation fleet, the Millennium coated itself in heat-and shock-proof crystalline armor, allowing it to withstand the beam firing from the Foundation's ships. Once the Millennium broke past the Foundation fleet and their ships turned around to continue their attack, the cold missiles were activated and struck the Foundation's ships from the rear, destroying several vessels.

Afterwards, Shinn, along with Lunamaria and Hilda launched from the Millennium to engage the Foundation mobile suits. Shinn on his ZGMF/A-42S2 Destiny Gundam Spec II engaged the four Black Knights - Redelard Tradoll, Daniel Harper, Liu Shenqiang, Griffin Arbalest, and their NOG-M4F Black Knight Squad Rud-ro.A mobile suits, while Lunamaria fought against Agnes Giebenrath and her GYAN Strom, while Hilda, now with Luna's GELGOOG Menace, proceeded with covering the Millennium against other mobile suits. The Black Knights, being confident of their achievements on their last encounter, were surprised to learn that they can't read Shinn's movement whom he stated that he's more capable of handling them now that he's piloting the Destiny once again. He made it more difficult for them to shoot him down once he activated his SEED Mode as he proceeded to slug them and dismembering the right hand of Liu Shenqiang's NOG-M4F Rud-ro.A.

Upon rescuing Lacus at the hands of the Foundation, Kira Yamato boarded the Strike Freedom Type II to support the Orb Fleet while Lacus, Athrun, Meyrin, and the rest of the extraction team returned to the Millennium. Orphee decided to use Requiem to fire at Orb once again as a form of retaliation of Kira's actions. However, it soon failed when Mu in the ORB-01 Akatsuki Gundam equipped with the A-GXQ754/V2 Zeus Silhouette emerged from cloaking and used the Zeus Silhouette's linear cannon to destroy the first relay station and deflected Requiem's beam back to it - also destroying some Nazca-class ships in the process. The Orb fleet then officially emerged from being Mirage Colloid-cloaked and initiated to attack the Foundation forces that is stationed around Requiem. Orphee then orders his men to replace the destroyed relay station.

Soon after, Lacus successfully boarded the Millennium and started a broadcast announcing the lies of the Foundation and their ploy to enact the Destiny Plan, which she firmly stated that she would never support. Meanwhile, Kira, who was assisting the advance of the Orb fleet, was interrupted by Shura and his Shi-ve.A. Chairman de Lament was also busy quelling the coup and had formally ordered the rest of the rogue ZAFT forces to return and stop assisting the Foundation. However, Commander Jagannath resisted the order and continued to battle the Millennium, Yzak and Dearka then appeared with the METEOR-equipped Duel Blitz and Lightning Buster, respectively, and stated the Chairman's orders. Yzak and Jagannath had an exchange of words, but the latter was determined with his resolved objective, while the former was disgusted with his mindset.

Afterwards, Orphee and Ingrid suited up and boarded the NOG-M2D1/E Cal-re.A to confront Kira who was now busy fighting Shura. With the announcement successful, Lacus then donned her new pilot suit and sortied out in the now-complete MDE262S Proud Defender support craft bound for Kira, escorted by Athrun's Z'Gok and Meyrin's Cavalier Aifrid Unit-02. Kira would then get overwhelmed by Orphee, Shura, and Ingrid's coordinated attacks as Orphee continuously insults Kira at the process. Due to Kira being overwhelmed, the Strike Freedom Type II gets damaged, then eventually overheats, crashing onto Messiah's wreckage, its Variable Phase Shift Armor shuts down not long after. Shura then fires Shi-ve.A's needle finisher, but then Athrun arrives and shielded Kira yet again, sacrificing the Z'Gok in the process. To the Black Knights' surprise, the ZGMF-X191M2 ∞ Justice Gundam Type II emerges from the explosion with its Volantes sub-flight lifter docking with the revealed Gundam afterwards, Athrun then deals with Shura to even the playing field. Amidst the stunning reveal, Kira hastily took off from the lunar surface, then proceeded to begin docking with Lacus and the Proud Defender. As the Strike Freedom Type II ejects its damaged Super DRAGOON backpack, Albert back at the Millennium was assisting with the docking sequence. Orphee ordered then Ingrid to fire all Cal-re.A's weapons and AMO-01 Ziggurat support crafts to destroy the vulnerable Freedom and eliminate Kira, but as the docking was completed, the ZGMF/A-262PD-P Mighty Strike Freedom Gundam deployed its nanoparticle shield to absorb the missile explosions and beam attacks, successfully saving Kira and Lacus. Unable to control his feelings and being rejected on sight, Orphee ordered Ingrid once again to target the revived Freedom with the Ziggurats hiding behind Messiah. These attacks, however, failed as Lacus entered Kira's cockpit and used the Mighty Strike Freedom's Multi Lock-on System and unleashed a massive electric surge, which also jammed Cal-re.A's "Sahasrabhuja" pods, remote weapons similar to DRAGOONs. Kira then asks permission to Lacus and used the Disruptor weapon in the Mighty Strike Freedom's head crest to slice up the Messiah and destroying the Ziggurat assault pods behind it. Meanwhile, Commander Jagannath ordered his ship to ram the Millennium but ultimately failed after Dearka and Yzak intervened and destroyed his ship, killing him with it.

The Black Knight Squad executed their Synchro-Attack and targeted Shinn's mind yet it soon was repelled by Shinn's former lover Stella Loussier protecting him mentally. Shinn evades every attack of the Black Knights and deploying multiple Destiny Spec II afterimages to execute them one by one - Daniel, Liu, and Griffin lost their lives against Shinn while Redel was felled by Hilda to avenge Mars and Herbert's deaths during the Eldore Incident. Lunamaria also succeeded with disabling Agnes' ZGMF-2027/A GYAN Strom, sending it crashing to the lunar surface. The Millennium continues to assault Foundation's flagship BCI-183 Gullveig on its own while Lunamaria and Shinn went on to assault the Requiem. Athrun underhanded Shura afterwards with Cagalli's remote assist, destroying the Shi-ve.A successfully and also proceeded to assist Shinn and Lunamaria with their objective to destroy the superweapon.

The Requiem assault team composed of Shinn's Destiny Spec II, Athrun's ∞ Justice Type II, Lunamaria's ZGMF-56E2/α Force Impulse Gundam Spec II, Dearka's Lightning Buster, and Mu's Akatsuki went on to defeat more mobile suits on their way to Requiem, after Mu had delivered the Zeus Silhouette to Shinn and Dearka telling Lunamaria to dock with the METEOR 08. The Mighty Strike Freedom then severely damaged the Cal-re.A with another Disruptor shot, eventually impaling the side of Cal-re.A's cockpit with the Futsunomitama katana. Orphee and Ingrid then was killed from their mobile suit's explosion. The Millennium would then use its Goten heat ram to ravage Gullveig's portside, firing all its weapons to destroy the ship, and killed its crew and Queen Aura.

The Destiny Spec II, now with the A-GXQ754/V2 Zeus Silhouette, then fired its linear cannon and finally destroyed the Requiem (the superweapon which he ironically once protected during the Battle of Messiah) once and for all - signifying the end of the Foundation Conflict.

Aftermath[]

With both Foundation's leadership and Blue Cosmos' remnants effectively decimated and the threat of Requiem neutralized once more, all the allied ships launched signal flares ordering their mobile suits to return. Lunamaria would then rescue Agnes from the lunar surface, just like what Athrun did to her and Shinn at the aftermath of the Battle of Messiah. Shinn just looks over the two women. Not long after the battle's end, the Mighty Strike Freedom descends to Earth. Athrun, on the other hand, rejoins Cagalli on Earth as well, as the ∞ Justice Type II meets up with the Strike Rouge, with both Cavalier Aifrid Unit-02 and Unit 01 reuniting.

Athrun pulls out the Haumea stone that Cagalli gave him, as Cagalli shows Athrun the ring he gave her—both symbols of their love for each other. Meanwhile, Kira and Lacus landed the Mighty Strike Freedom on a beach in Orb where they stripped off their pilot suits and finally shared an intimate kiss.

It is unknown if there were survivors of the Foundation fleet and the ZAFT renegades, though it remains likely after the Mighty Strike Freedom just disabled several ships. Any members of the coup d'état faction in the PLANTs were either arrested, killed, sentenced, or executed for treason.

Lacus Clyne reflected that the opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. She admits that she doesn't know what the future holds, but she was confident that the love between two people could help them step into the unknown.

Since both the Eldore Incident and the Moscow Tragedy severely damaged Eurasian Federation's territories and capital, the ultimate fate of the Federation became unknown, but it is most likely that the remnants of the government now controls of what remains of the Eurasian Federation.

Despite suffering a significant blow during the Eldore Incident, Blue Cosmos would later resurface following the conflict, having been galvanized by the actions of the Accords.[1]

Notes & Trivia[]

Appearances[]

Movies

References[]

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