Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed Destiny or Gundam 00, both are owned by Sunrise.

Collision

Prologue

"Is that it? The deep space exploration ship, Celestial Being?"

Accompanied by a pair of Baikal Class Cruisers, the battleship Volga cruised towards a gigantic vessel, hanging relatively motionless in space behind the Moon at La Grange 2. Brigadier General Kati Mannequin narrowed her eyes at the exploration ship slowly growing through the Volga's bridge windows, and remembered the last time she had seen the ship in person.

Two years ago…during the final battle with A-Laws, and the group of rogue Innovades calling themselves 'the Innovators'. However, the words of the Volga's captain just now held meaning in themselves.

"Advancing into deep space?" Mannequin thought. "To think that Celestial Being's founder, Aeolia Schenberg, was already planning for such a thing over two hundred years ago…"

"General," one bridge officer began. "We've received a status update from the interception force on the derelict that entered the Earth Sphere."

"Show it on the screen." The general ordered.

As the data appeared on the tactical display, Mannequin studied it for a few moments. "Very well," she finally said. "Have them use GN Missiles as per Plan D3. Just alter the derelict's course."

"Yes, sir."

The bridge doors chose that moment to hiss open, allowing a redhead in a pilot suit to enter the bridge. "Colonel!" First Lieutenant Patrick Colasour, Mannequin's husband, cheerfully began as he floated into sight.

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Mannequin immediately snapped. "Ever since I've been promoted, it's general, not colonel!"

"S-sorry."

Mannequin stared at her husband sternly before getting to her feet with a sigh. "Come with me," she said. "I'll have you escort me."

"Understood!"

Mannequin turned to the Volga's captain. "I'll leave the flagship to you." She said.

"Understood." The captain said with a salute, and followed by Patrick, Mannequin floated out of the bridge.

Making their way through the ship to the hangar, the general and her husband boarded a shuttle to take them to the Celestial Being. Patrick piloted the shuttle himself, and accompanied Mannequin as she boarded the exploration ship, where they were greeted by an honor guard of several EFF officers.

"It's an honor to have you aboard, General Mannequin." The ranking officer said as Mannequin ordered them at ease.

"Is it possible for a quick inspection of the ship?" she asked.

"Of course."

"…our biggest problem is the sheer size of the ship." The officer said about half an hour later, as he led Mannequin and Patrick down a corridor. "At present, we only have about seventy per cent of the ship under our direct control."

Passing a large window, they paused to look into a gigantic, darkened room, data scrolling and flashing on holographic screens lining the walls, while a massive computer sphere glowed in the middle of the room. "What's this?" Patrick asked.

"It's the quantum operating system, Veda." The officer answered, and then Patrick was blinking as he noticed several redheaded technicians at work in the room.

"What the…they all have the same faces!" he said in surprise.

"Those are the Innovades, Veda's bio-terminals." The officer answered, Patrick looking at him in confusion.

"Innovades?" he echoed.

The officer nodded. "Veda uses them to collect information on the world, and to maintain itself." He said, and looking back at Veda through the window. "Seven years ago, Celestial Being was only able to conduct its armed interventions with Veda backing them up. And now, we too are reaping the benefits of this system."

Patrick looked uncertain, while Mannequin remained carefully neutral. After a few more moments regarding Veda and its Innovades, the inspection continued, and finally ended at a specially-equipped room.

Darkened, the room's only sources of light were the holographic screens projected upwards from consoles manned by Innovade officers, while medical and other scientific personnel manned other stations along the walls. A seat surrounded by specialized sensor equipment was in the middle of the room, on which sat a man wearing a custom pilot suit.

"Over here, please." The officer said, leading Mannequin and Patrick into the room.

Making her way across the room, the general silently regarded the pilot for a few moments. "So it's you, then." She finally said. "The one Veda has confirmed to be an actual Innovator."

The pilot stayed silent. "What's wrong?" Patrick snapped. "Answer the colonel!"

"…it's general."

"S-sorry."

"Captain Descartes Shaman," the pilot finally said. "They say I'm an Innovator…"

"You sound skeptical." The general observed.

Shaman smiled while adjusting a piece of equipment around his neck. "Well," he said. "All it means is I'm a glorified lab rat."

There was silence for a moment, and then Patrick was turning to Mannequin. "So," he began. "What's an Innovator?"

Mannequin looked at him with an expression of mild shock on her face. "You don't know even that?" he asked.

"S-sorry."

"Simply put," an Innovade officer began while approaching. "An Innovator is an evolved Human. Through the use of quantum brainwaves, they have superior analytical abilities and spatial awareness compared to baseline Humans, and by using GN Particles as a catalyst, can use those same quantum brainwaves for telepathic communication. Furthermore, due to changes in their cellular makeup, in theory they can live for twice as long."

"…I still don't really get it." Patrick said after a moment, while Mannequin turned to the other officer.

"Weren't the appearance of the Innovators also part of Aeolia Schenberg's plan?" she asked.

The officer's expression turned serious. "From what I can understand," he said. "That does seem to be the case."

"Report from the interception force," one of the Innovades manning the room's consoles spoke up. "The derelict has…"

The man broke off as the room erupted in chaos. Shaman and the Innovades cried out in pain, the former writhing in his chair and the latter collapsing to the floor, all clutching their heads in agony. Screens flashed red and alarms began to sound.

"What's happening?" Mannequin demanded as Patrick pushed her back, protectively behind him.

"I-I don't know." The officer from earlier said, but then all three baseline Humans were gasping in shock as Shaman raised his head, eyes glowing a dark gold and flashing with minute touches of the rainbow.

"I can…feel…the universe…time and space…tearing…what…is this?"

"Emergency report from Veda!" an Innovade shouted in a pained voice, Mannequin and her companions turning in his direction. The man's eyes were glowing as well, though compared to Shaman his irises were a bright gold and showed more rainbow touches. "Based on information from the orbital elevators' high orbit stations' sensor arrays, the derelict has vanished and has been replaced by a huge, unknown mass!"

"What?" Mannequin demanded.

"How?" the other officer likewise demanded.

"Unknown," the Innovade replied. "There is insufficient data to currently establish a viable hypothesis."

"Confirmation from the interception force." Another Innovade said. "Furthermore, the mass is headed for the Earth, and much more quickly than the derelict."

"It's been confirmed by Veda as well!"

"WHAT?"

"SETSUNA!"

Feldt's shout of alarm had eyes turning to the Innovator as he burst into the Ptolemaios' bridge, breathing hard and eyes glowing. "Can we access the high orbit stations' sensor arrays through Veda?" he asked.

"What?"

"Can we?" Setsuna F. Seiei urgently demanded.

Feldt Grace blinked, and then her eyes hardened as she turned back to her console. "I'll see if we can." She said.

"Please do. And hurry."

As Feldt typed away at her console, Sumeragi Li Noriega looked at Setsuna in concern. "Do you sense something?" she asked, mentally preparing herself for another vague, nondescript response as they'd been steadily getting from the pilot over the past two years. To her pleasant surprise, Setsuna gave a straightforward answer.

"Yeah," Setsuna said with a grim tone and expression. "Just now…I felt…heard…sensed…it was like…like the universe…time and space were being…torn."

"Torn?" Sumeragi echoed.

"But how?" Lasse Aeon asked.

"…I don't know." Setsuna said. "And there's something else as well. Something…not quite right, but I'm not sure how…it makes me feel uneasy…"

"I have it." Feldt said. "With assistance from Veda, we can access the high orbit stations' sensor arrays."

"Can you focus on L5?" Setsuna asked.

"Please wait…I have it. Displaying on the main screen now."

Eyes turned to the screen, and then expressions of surprise went up as something could clearly be seen at L5. "What are those?" Lasse asked.

"Maximum magnification." Sumeragi ordered, and Feldt complied.

The image shifted, revealing a cluster of glassy, hourglass-shaped constructs, with solar panels extending from their midsections. "Space colonies?" Lasse asked incredulously.

"I've never seen space colonies like those before." Mileina Vashti said.

"Neither have I." Sumeragi said. "And…where could they have come from? Space colonies do not just appear out of nowhere."

Eyes turned to Setsuna, but he shook his head. "I don't know either." He said, before narrowing his eyes at the space colonies. "But I do know one thing. Wherever those are from, however they came to be there, they're the ones which caused what I sensed just now, one way or another."

The other members of the Ptolemaios crew looked at each other in concern, while Setsuna continued to stare at the screen. "At the very least though," Setsuna thought. "That…alien, flickering or something, that's been around for over a year is gone. But…I'm not sure if this is any better…when those arrived…"

"We've received an emergency update from Veda!" Feldt suddenly said with a sharp note of alarm. "A large object of undetermined origin and nature is on a collision course with the Earth!"

"What?" the word came from all around.

"Displaying on the main screen." Feldt said, and the main screen shifted again, showing a large, broken mass headed for the Earth. "The Federation Forces are already scrambling from the high orbit stations, either to divert or destroy the object."

"We should go on standby, just in case." Lasse said.

"Yes, I think so too." Sumeragi said with a thoughtful tone, and stroking her chin. "And just in case as well, after this is done, we should get Allelujah and Marie back here as well."

"Agreed." Setsuna said with a nod, and the rest of the crew nodded as well.

"Should I send a message to Mister Haptism and Miss Peries to inform them of such?" Mileina asked.

"Please do." Sumeragi said.

"Right away!"

"Setsuna," Sumeragi said. "You and Lockon standby in your units. We might only have your Custom Flag and the Dynames Repair with us right now, but if we have to, we need to do everything we can."

Setsuna nodded, and turned to leave the bridge. The rest of the bridge crew hurried to their stations, but even as the door slid open, Setsuna paused in the doorway. "Feldt," he began.

"Yes?" the young woman said, turning her head in surprise.

Setsuna stayed silent for a few moments, and then glanced at her. "Sorry." He said.

Feldt blinked, and then smiling, nodded. "It's alright." She said.

Setsuna nodded back, and then left the bridge. "What was that all about?" Lasse asked as the door closed and Feldt turned back to her station.

"I'm not really sure." Feldt said. "But…I think…everything's going to be alright now."

"…Mister Seiei's been really quiet and worried for some time now." Mileina wondered. "I wonder…did he sense something?"

"Well, I imagine he did." Lasse said. "Maybe he sensed whatever this is coming…and now that it's finally here, I guess…it's a weight off his shoulders. He doesn't have to worry about something he knows is going to happen but can't really understand, or something like that."

"That's probably it." Sumeragi said with a nod. "In any case, we don't have much time. We'll use Trans-AM to get from L3 to Earth Orbit as soon as possible. Lasse…"

"I'm already on it." The reply came, and within moments Ptolemaois was changing course. And in another moment, the ship began to glow red, and with the flickering of afterimages, sped off towards the Earth.

A/N

Well, the movie's plot is effectively derailed with this. Yes, the ELS won't be attacking Earth this time, since I've replaced them with PLANT from shortly after the start of Gundam Seed Destiny.

Timeline is…immediately after the attack on Armory One, and the skirmishes outside, but before the Junius Seven Colony Drop.

That said…it doesn't mean the ELS are gone. They just got sent to the Cosmic Era. Fun times for the Earth Alliance and other nations there, methink.