"But... how should one use this power after obtaining it?"
Lacus continued asking, though unlike her previous pure curiosity... she now resembled more of a knowledge-seeking student as she pressed further.
Seeing Lacus pose this question, Lu Tianming smiled as if he had anticipated it:
"I wonder if you've noticed—consolidating this power itself is already using it."
Lacus didn't immediately grasp his meaning, pausing momentarily in confusion. Only after recalling Lu Tianming's earlier words did she seem to understand something and nodded.
As Lu Tianming had previously explained, a significant portion of this power's source came from the lower-ranking soldiers and civilians of ZAFT and the Earth Alliance.
These people essentially formed the foundation upon which ZAFT and the Earth Alliance existed. Consolidating their power and rallying them to their cause fundamentally meant gradually dismantling the strength of ZAFT and the Alliance.
To put it bluntly, this was cutting the problem at its root—directly shaking its very foundation.
Only now did Lacus realize that Lu Tianming's earlier words weren't merely describing ideals or painting a blueprint, but were actually pointing toward a practical path forward.
This understanding of war was something she had never encountered before. Influenced by her father, she had always believed that high-level mediation, peace talks, and negotiating balanced interests were the primary means to achieve peace.
Or alternatively, promoting peace to awaken people's inner consciousness, making them spontaneously resist war.
But after hearing Lu Tianming's explanation, she finally understood—no one truly volunteers to participate in war. Calling for their awakening was a joke from the start because war itself wasn't initiated by them, nor did they possess the power to spontaneously stop it.
"And when this power is truly consolidated, it means countless hearts have become one. Then we can proceed to the next phase—establishing a unified government."
"But after true peace is achieved, people will still have various conflicting ideas, won't they? The conflicts between Coordinators and Naturals, the tensions between Cosmic dwellers and Earthlings, the disparities between the strong and the weak... all the contradictions that once sparked war will inevitably resurface."
Lacus shook her head and continued. Just as Lu Tianming had said earlier, the Mobius loop of war... always quietly reappears.
"Of course, there will never be eternal peace in the world, just as there will never be eternal war."
Lu Tianming shrugged and said.
"But as long as this unified ideal has been realized once, people will strive to recreate it."
"Before the Cosmic Era (C.E. calendar), there existed a nation in Asia that experienced numerous wars throughout its thousands of years of history, with dynasties repeatedly changing hands. During this process, it naturally went through periods where unified dynasties fragmented into multiple separate regimes."
"Yet it always eventually returned to a unified state, precisely because someone had once unified the chaotic regimes across that land in the very beginning."
"Even if that regime only existed for a dozen years, merely a fleeting moment in thousands of years of civilization, it still influenced the mindset of everyone on that land—whenever there's an opportunity, a unified regime must be established."
"This is the meaning of unification. It doesn't matter if it doesn't last long. As humanity's first attempt after entering the cosmic calendar, failure is perfectly normal."
"But it must have existed... Only then will future generations not forget what a truly ideal world should look like."
Lu Tianming gazed directly at Lacus, openly expressing his thoughts about this world.
Seeing Lacus momentarily stunned with surprise, he lightened the mood with a self-deprecating smile:
"But then again, I'm just an ordinary Mobile Suit pilot... What's the point of knowing all this? It won't change anything."
"But if you really had the opportunity, you'd seize it, wouldn't you?"
This time Lacus didn't hesitate at all. Rather, she looked at Lu Tianming with certainty and made her judgment with a smile.
Lu Tianming was instead taken aback by Lacus's quick response. After pondering for a while, he decisively nodded:
"I would. Or rather, I definitely would."
"Is it because of... factors beyond yourself?"
Lacus leaned forward slightly, meeting Lu Tianming's gaze without reservation, as if trying to see deeper into the person before her.
This time Lu Tianming was truly at a loss for words... He was beginning to understand how frightening Lacus's intuition could be.
As if resigning himself to fate, he nodded, leaned back against the chair, and confessed frankly:
"Indeed, if it were just me, I'd be fine... With my current abilities, I could manage to get by in the Federation Army one way or another. If I lay low, my chances of survival wouldn't be bad."
"But one of my friends wouldn't fare as well. Even if it's just for his sake, I need to strive to do something."
Hearing Lu Tianming's words, Lacus surprisingly showed little reaction, even nodding as if she had expected this, and said softly:
"I thought as much."
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"...How did your conversation go?"
On the Archangel's Bridge, Mu looked at Lu Tianming who had just entered and instinctively asked.
As he posed the question, both Badgiruel and Murrue, who were working, seemed to pause momentarily, subtly paying attention to the situation.
"It was quite harmonious... Don't worry, I didn't leak any confidential information."
Lu Tianming anticipated Mu's concern, waved his hand, and continued:
"Speaking of which, how's the supply operation going?"
"The search for daily supplies is going relatively smoothly. We should be able to collect the expected amount in a little more time."
Mu responded accordingly, then after some thought, added with a somewhat troubled expression:
"As for those research materials you discussed with the maintenance team, you'll have to go ask them yourself. I don't recognize most of the materials they reported... But it seems we're still short of some items."
"Now we face a question: should we leave once we've collected the daily supplies, or continue exploring here a bit longer... What do you think?"
I don't really recognize most of those materials either...
Lu Tianming吐槽 internally, but outwardly he continued along with Mu's line of conversation:
"I think it's best not to delay too long. This place isn't completely safe after all. Lacus's disappearance will definitely attract an investigation from PLANT. Even if Patrick himself wants her dead here, they'll still go through the motions on the surface."
"If we run into those people by then, we'll be in trouble."
"To avoid complications... I suggest we gather our supplies and leave as quickly as possible."