Realizing she had misunderstood Lu Tianming, Cagalli's face flushed with embarrassment. She felt momentarily flustered, unsure of what to say.
Lu Tianming simply shrugged, not particularly bothered by her sudden intrusion. Instead, he found himself curious about Cagalli's current attire.
"That outfit suits you quite well—much better than before."
"Sh-shut up! Who asked for your opinion!"
Cagalli huffed with tsundere pride, though inwardly she felt a flicker of pleasure at the compliment. Her thoughts then shifted, and she looked at Lu Tianming with newfound curiosity.
"Since you knew her identity, why did you bring her here? Most people here are from ZAFT... they'd be more likely to recognize Lacus than I was."
"Yes, I'm quite curious about that too."
Andrew chimed in, turning an inquisitive gaze toward Lu Tianming.
"You didn't bring Lacus here just to draw me out... What were you really thinking when you brought her along?"
At this, Lu Tianming and Lacus exchanged a knowing glance. Lu Tianming gave a slight nod, as if granting silent permission.
Lacus stepped out from behind Aisha, her expression solemn as she declared:
"Mr. Lu and I came here to ask you to join us in ending this war."
Seeing Lacus step forward personally, Andrew was taken aback... Had Lu Tianming intended to keep Lacus in the background while doing the persuading himself, Andrew would likely have treated it as little more than a joke.
But with Lacus herself taking the stage... the weight of the matter felt entirely different.
The reason was simple—Lacus's political influence was far too potent.
He had no doubt that if this scene were recorded and shown to his troops, many would have their loyalty shaken, with some potentially defecting outright.
Andrew leaned forward slightly, his gaze intensifying.
"Ending this war is no simple task... Besides, Miss Lacus's ship, the Archangel, belongs to the Earth Alliance, doesn't it? Asking me to betray PLANT and join the Earth Alliance... I might not mind personally, but the soldiers under my command would hardly agree."
"Without their allegiance, recruiting me alone wouldn't do you much good, would it?"
"There's something I need to correct—joining us doesn't necessarily mean joining the Earth Alliance, much less betraying PLANT."
Lu Tianming interjected, addressing Andrew's misconception.
"Oh? So you want me to help you join ZAFT instead?"
Andrew raised an eyebrow. Though he said this, he sensed that Lu Tianming's plan was far more complex.
He could feel it... this young man's ambition was anything but simple submission to any single faction.
"We don't intend to side with any one faction to help them achieve victory... Whether the Earth Alliance or ZAFT wins, the outcome won't be pretty."
"Either Naturals gain hegemony and overwhelm Coordinators, or Coordinators end up oppressing Naturals in return."
"Even if peace is achieved under such circumstances, it would merely be temporary stability formed under coercion. When the oppressing side grows complacent due to peace, or the oppressed side accumulates enough strength to resist, this temporary stability will shatter, and war will inevitably repeat itself."
"This is not the outcome we wish to see."
Lacus gently pressed her hands to her chest, her gaze and voice tinged with sorrow, as if witnessing the endless chain of wars unfolding before her eyes.
Cagalli, having previously debated with Lacus, was somewhat prepared and not overly surprised by Lacus's speech and depth of understanding.
But Aisha was taken aback... She had assumed Lacus was merely a princess raised in a greenhouse, an idealist naively dreaming of peace.
She never imagined Lacus could engage in such profound reflection.
Andrew nodded calmly and continued along Lacus's line of thought:
"In that case... what do you plan to do? Fight alone and preach peace wherever you go?"
"Oh, wait—that might be prying into your plans. Let me rephrase."
He caught himself mid-sentence, realizing the impropriety of his question, paused to reconsider, and then spoke again:
"Who do you intend to defeat, and who do you hope to win over?"
"To defeat Blue Cosmos, to defeat Patrick Zala, to defeat all those profiteering classes who seek to benefit from war."
Lu Tianming met Andrew's gaze unflinchingly, his tone steady and resolute, his eyes blazing with fiery determination.
"As for those we aim to win over, it could be the Clyne Faction, certain individuals within the Earth Alliance, nations like ORB attempting to remain neutral, or soldiers and civilians on both sides who wish to cease meaningless slaughter."
"In short, everyone who yearns for peace over war is someone we seek to rally."
"Soldiers unwilling to continue fighting... Had you said this a few days earlier, I might not have felt much, but now, of all times..."
Andrew seemed to latch onto a key phrase, shaking his head with a light chuckle.
"Hmm?"
Lu Tianming was puzzled by Andrew's remark. He didn't recall any special events occurring around this time in the original timeline.
Seeing Lu Tianming's confusion, Andrew waved a hand and took a sip of coffee:
"Since we've spoken this much, I might as well share some inside information."
"I don't know if you've received any news—a couple of days ago, ZAFT amassed a large force and launched a concentrated assault on your Alaska base, under the codename 'Operation Spitbreak.'"
"That's the Earth Alliance's supreme headquarters... Taking it would have dealt a severe blow to the Earth Alliance."
"But unexpectedly, they somehow obtained intelligence about our attack and had prepared something called the 'Cyclops' in advance. They activated it just as ZAFT forces fully entered the battlefield, wiping out most of the troops we had dispatched."
"You probably weren't on site, so it's hard to grasp... According to the surviving footage, MS units were exploding one after another across the sky like firecrackers. Almost none within the attack radius survived."
"Some soldiers conducting ground operations were completely exposed to the assault - their bodies directly vaporized into crimson mist, leaving no remains behind."
"Only those who reacted slowly enough to not yet enter the battlefield managed to escape... But having witnessed so many comrades die, they've all developed psychological issues to varying degrees."
At this point, Andrew let out a deep sigh. Just watching the surviving recordings had made him feel the horror of that scene... He couldn't even imagine what the survivors who witnessed it firsthand must be feeling.
Lu Tianming was also shocked upon hearing this. In the original timeline, Operation Spitbreak occurred much later... By that time, the Strike Suit had already been bombed by 2887 for who knows how long, and even the Freedom had been completed and transferred to Kira.
The famous scene in SEED where Freedom comes to the rescue originated from that battle.
Now, with the Archangel having just descended not long ago, Operation Spitbreak had already broken out... Could this be the impact of their interference with the plot?
Thinking about it, it made sense. Lacus's "death" and the enhanced threat of the Strike Suit allowed the hawkish Zala faction to replace the Clyne faction more quickly, taking control of the council and naturally enabling them to launch such large-scale operations earlier.
...However, this time there was no Freedom coming to the rescue, no one to inform those present about the existence of the Cyclops System.
Therefore, the casualty rates among both the Eurasian Federation soldiers stationed in Alaska and the ZAFT forces deployed there were even more terrifying than in the original timeline, reaching almost complete annihilation.
The only beneficiaries were probably the Atlantic Federation higher-ups who had transferred their forces early.
"Because of this incident, anti-war sentiment within the ZAFT Forces has reached unprecedented levels... Even though Patrick's side is using this to strengthen their narrative of hatred through propaganda, they haven't been able to completely suppress these feelings."
"Perhaps some people might actually be drawn to your cause."
Andrew sighed with emotion. Maybe this was fate? Before this incident, trying to reverse the pure hatred would have been quite difficult.
But now... there might actually be a chance.
"So, Mr. Andrew—"
Hearing the note of agreement in Andrew's words, Lacus's eyes flashed with hope.
From his tone, it seemed Mr. Andrew was considering it?
But then Andrew shook his head and stood up:
"I'm sorry, but for now at least, I'm still a ZAFT soldier. No matter what foolish things those above do... carrying out their orders is my duty, my mission."
He spread his hands, shrugged, and said with a regretful expression.
While he agreed with Lu Tianming's plan and supported his ideals... the responsibility of a soldier weighed equally on his shoulders.
He knew this might seem somewhat stubborn, but... he truly couldn't bring himself to willfully abandon his mission and responsibility to leave.
"Until my mission is complete, I won't be joining you."
"And have you thought about how you'll... leave?"
Andrew's lips curled slightly as he spoke with sudden meaningfulness.
"What do you mean?"
Cagalli's heart jumped - from the Desert Tiger's words... she sensed a hint of threat.
"Exactly what it sounds like. After all, from our respective positions, we're still enemies... If I wanted to keep you here, could you escape?"
Andrew chuckled lightly and calmly drew the pistol from his waist, pointing it at Cagalli.
Cagalli's eyes widened in surprise - she hadn't expected the Desert Tiger to pull such a move so suddenly.
"Hey—don't just stand there watching, do something!"
Seeing Lu Tianming remain completely unmoved, Cagalli urged anxiously.
You're the only one among us three with any combat capability right now... how can you have no reaction at all!
"Don't worry... since I decided to come, I naturally prepared an escape route."
Lu Tianming smiled faintly, answering not just Cagalli but Andrew as well.
At the same time, as if sensing something, he took the sunglasses from his pocket and put them back on.
Andrew raised an eyebrow, curious about what Lu Tianming planned to do... when suddenly a soldier burst through the door in a panic, reporting breathlessly:
"It's... it's terrible! The Strike Suit is riding a Flight Platform, flying straight toward us!"
"What?!"
Hearing this, not just Andrew... even Cagalli was shocked.
Wasn't Lu Tianming the Strike Suit's pilot? How could he... operate the Gundam to come here without being in the cockpit?!
"What should we do? If we use the ship's cannons to intercept, we might still make it..."
"No need, relay my orders - ignore that Gundam."
"Besides... it's probably too late now anyway."
Hearing his subordinate's question, Andrew immediately waved his hand... though he didn't know how the Gundam had slipped through, since it had managed to get this far, interception would likely be useless now.
Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, a tremendous roar sounded outside.
Through the living room's floor-to-ceiling windows, they could see... the pure white Strike Suit descending from the sky, landing in the courtyard with a superhero-style landing.
"It's hero time!"
Xia Chuan's voice, which he thought sounded incredibly cool, rang out nearby, and then Lu Tianming saw the rising Strike Suit punch through the floor-to-ceiling window, reaching into the living room.
Not bad - this time he didn't make me call him daddy, which counts as significant moral improvement for this guy.
Sighing lightly in his heart, Lu Tianming steadied his emotions and turned to Andrew with a smile:
"Though a bit reckless... this is our escape route, in short."
Watching Lu Tianming retreat completely into the cockpit with one person under each arm, Andrew sighed deeply and remarked with profound feeling:
"That descent-from-the-sky escape method is really cool... no wonder this kid was so composed - he was just putting on a show."
Come to think of it, all three of them entered the cockpit together just now... given the limited space in an MS's single-person cockpit, the situation must have been extremely crowded.
Well, this kid's got it good.
"Since you like it so much, how about I bring LaGowe to support you next time you're being chased and bombed by resistance groups?"
Seeing the hint of envy in Andrew's eyes, Aisha immediately chuckled and joked.
"Sounds good, but speaking of which..."
Watching the Strike Suit ride off on some unknown platform, Andrew withdrew his gaze and looked down at the shattered floor-to-ceiling window in the reception hall, sighing lightly.
"...we should still figure out how to deal with this window first."
————————————————————
After returning to the Archangel, Lu Tianming escorted Lacus and Cagalli back to the ground, then remained in the cockpit himself.
Xia Chuan's automatic sortie earlier required some excuse to cover it up—Lu Tianming's lingering in the Strike Suit served as the pretext of 'appeasing the Machine Spirit.'
Though in a sense... he really was appeasing it right now.
"By the way, how exactly did you avoid detection by the battleship earlier?"
Lu Tianming asked curiously while typing on the keyboard. Logically, battleships came equipped with radar... The fact that Xia Chuan could stealthily approach until almost reaching the Desert Tiger's mansion before being discovered really puzzled him.
"Radar interference coating... Have you forgotten we installed that thing before?"
Xia Chuan replied as if looking at an idiot, feeling quite proud after his earlier display, somewhat arrogant about his skills.
This so-called radar interference coating had been installed back when they left Heliopolis—during the encirclement by the Aegis, Blitz, and Duel, it had delayed their targeting locks and caught them off guard.
But later, probably gaining experience, those guys all started manual aiming, and combined with wear and tear during combat, the coating naturally lost its significance.
This time it worked effectively, allowing the Strike Suit to remain undetected by radar for a long time, partly because the coating was reapplied during recent maintenance, and also because radar itself wasn't very reliable under neutron interference.
Reminded by Xia Chuan, Lu Tianming nodded thoughtfully, recalling this overlooked detail.
With his doubts resolved, Lu Tianming didn't say more and continued typing on the keyboard.
Seeing Lu Tianming suddenly so focused, Xia Chuan grew curious about what he was doing:
"What are you typing on that keyboard? And why connected to my computer?"
"Organizing the relevant data collected by the synced glasses."
Lu Tianming answered without stopping his typing.
"Actually, besides giving you a cyber tour, building this thing was also a testbed for a certain technology."
"Oh?"
Xia Chuan's curiosity was piqued, and he asked eagerly:
"Tell me more, tell me more."
"Want the details? Sure."
Hearing the impatience in Xia Chuan's tone, Lu Tianming smiled and replied.
He stopped typing, crossed his arms, curled his lips into a meaningful smile, and leaned back in his chair with a tactical posture.
"Call me 'Dad' first, then I'll tell you."
"Damn!"
The moment Xia Chuan saw Lu Tianming stop typing and start grinning, he knew this guy was up to no good.
Just as expected... To think he'd try to leverage this for seniority advantage, how utterly cunning...
But giving up just like that... Xia Chuan couldn't quite accept it. Lu Tianming's dismissive response earlier had only made him more curious.
He had a feeling this guy was definitely working on something big!
Suddenly, Xia Chuan had an epiphany - this guy was writing code inside his own cockpit, so why bother asking?
Just watch openly and legitimately!
He immediately prepared to pull up the feed on the computer screen, but Lu Tianming, as if having anticipated this, chuckled lightly and said.
"Don't bother looking, you wouldn't understand even if you did... How about giving up resistance and surrendering obediently?"
Damn! Outplayed by this guy again!
Seeing that Lu Tianming had predicted his move once more, Xia Chuan felt momentarily frustrated.
What made it even more frustrating was... he actually couldn't understand it.
It was rather embarrassing to admit - as a Machine Spirit, he didn't understand code as well as his own pilot, what a waste of computing power.
Seeing Xia Chuan so torn between curiosity and seniority dignity that he was about to crash, Lu Tianming stopped teasing him and came clean:
"Alright, alright... I'll stop teasing you. What I'm working on now is trying to create a consciousness relay terminal for you."
"Don't understand. Speak human language."
Xia Chuan was concise - he couldn't understand overly technical terms and indicated that Lu Tianming should explain in simpler, more accessible language.
"How do I translate this for you... Basically, I'm trying to find a way to liberate your consciousness from the Strike Suit. After all, you can't stay in this machine forever, right?"
Lu Tianming sighed lightly, speaking somewhat helplessly.
While everything seemed fine at the moment... when viewed from a longer time scale, problems would become apparent with Xia Chuan being confined to the Strike Suit's body.
If nothing else, combat capability alone was a major issue.
The speed of Mobile Suit updates in the CE era was ridiculously fast. The Strike Suit could dominate in the early stages of the original timeline, but as Earth Alliance's MS technology gradually advanced and PLANT gradually digested the G Series data, more and more new Mobile Suits would erupt like a geyser.
After the appearance of Earth's three enhanced units and Mobile Suits like Freedom and Justice, the original G Series Gundams basically lost their performance advantages... and were even at a disadvantage.
And if we extend the timeline to SEED-D, the Strike Suit's performance would be completely outclassed.
To put it bluntly, if they couldn't find a way to improve the Strike Suit's performance level, Xia Chuan would likely end up with warehouse management duty in the future - even though the link ability could somewhat compensate for the performance gap, this had its limits.
At the very least, without solving the energy problem, they couldn't fully utilize 100% of the resonance's capabilities.
Therefore, Lu Tianming was researching... researching how to liberate Xia Chuan's consciousness from the Strike Suit.
He didn't want to see his good brother end up like outdated equipment, thrown into a corner of the hangar to spend the rest of his days in lonely isolation.
"My current idea is... to transfer your consciousness into some carrier as a relay, then try to see if we can transfer it to other Mobile Suits. And these goggles are the important technical testbed for attempting consciousness transfer."
"Since the technology isn't mature yet, we didn't attempt to transfer your consciousness itself. Instead, we only experimented with inputting and outputting information to your consciousness through the link."
"However, this experiment went rather smoothly... The data even indicates that during the linking process, it could essentially be considered as part of your consciousness being transferred into these glasses."
"Based on this data, I'm currently attempting the next phase of technical experimentation - transferring part of your consciousness to a freely mobile intermediary carrier while keeping your primary consciousness intact."
Lu Tianming gradually slipped into professional terminology mode as he spoke, then suddenly paused as if remembering something before asking with a smile:
"...You'll be able to determine the form of the medium yourself when the time comes. Do you have any ideas?"
Xia Chuan had been listening somewhat confusedly until he finally heard something he could roughly understand.
The general meaning seemed to be... letting him design the shell for a new body?
After briefly comprehending Lu Tianming's request, he immediately answered without hesitation, as if he had already prepared for this.
"I want to be a Haro!"