Uzumi's words were filled with fighting spirit and passion, sounding like those of a hardened veteran, but Lu Tianming knew better.
What he intended to do was far from simple.
"You might think I want to destroy the Mass Driver, cut off my own arms, make ORB appear harmless in the eyes of the Earth Alliance and ZAFT, and thus restore our neutral status... right?"
He laughed wryly before Tianming could even speak. After all, this was exactly what Cagalli had thought upon hearing his plan.
But his intentions went beyond that... or rather, were far more insane.
"I believe ORB's Lion would never do something so foolish."
Tianming shook his head. Having knowledge of the original story, he naturally understood Uzumi's true intentions.
"...Before actually demolishing the Mass Driver, you must have other preparations, don't you?"
"Oh? It seems... you've already guessed?"
Uzumi raised an eyebrow. Tianming's response indicated he had likely deduced his real plan.
He couldn't help but look at Tianming with admiration... truly worthy of being Cagalli's 'teacher', his thinking was indeed far more developed than his foolish daughter's.
No... Cagalli couldn't really be called foolish anymore. Her mindset had matured significantly since she first left.
She just lacked sufficient experience to support her judgment.
"? What? What are you two talking about?"
Cagalli was confused. Wasn't her father following the plan he had initially described?
What did he mean... there were things to do before the demolition? What needed to be done?
"Tianming, please explain."
Uzumi looked at Tianming, his tone carrying a hint of request.
Tianming nodded and replied with a smile:
"The Mass Driver is just bait... bait to lure the Earth Alliance and ZAFT forces into ORB's territory, or within a certain range."
"Once they enter this range, you'll activate some pre-prepared weapon to carry out a self-destruct or similar destructive strike, recreating the Alaska incident and dealing heavy damage to both sides."
"Before that, what needs to be done is probably to send ORB's hopes—namely the Archangel, Home, and parts of ORB's local forces—into space, preserving them as a final hope."
"Of course, ORB's civilians would also be evacuated in advance, scattered across the world in small groups."
"I believe Mr. Uzumi intends to entrust hope to the younger generation while destroying himself along with the obstacles of the old era... am I right?"
After hearing Tianming's explanation, Uzumi nodded with satisfaction, his eyes showing even more fondness for the young man.
This child actually managed to guess what he was thinking... Cagalli really found a good 'teacher'.
But what he didn't expect was that Tianming suddenly changed the subject:
"But I must say... Mr. Uzumi, this is completely an irresponsible decision made after you gave up thinking and tried to take the easy way out.His gaze was serious, his tone was filled with reproach without any concealment.
Faced with this young man's surprisingly blunt criticism, Uzumi wasn't angry but rather... taken aback.
Because Uzumi inexplicably had a premonition that Lu Tianming might have seen and discovered something even he himself hadn't noticed.
"Mr. Lu, what makes you say that?"
He sat upright, his tone carrying a hint of respectful inquiry.
"First, have you considered the future direction of the ORB forces you're sending into space?"
The forces being sent into space were likely the battleship from the Three Ships Alliance... but since this battleship hadn't been publicly revealed yet, Lu Tianming simply referred to them as ORB forces.
Hearing this question, Uzumi felt a sudden shock of realization, as if he too had become aware of this issue.
"If ORB does this, the ORB forces launched into space will likely face bounties from both the Alliance and ZAFT, meaning they'll face endless pursuit and interception in space."
"After their resources are depleted, they won't be able to freely travel to various space colonies for supplies - after all, most colonies are under the jurisdiction of these two factions."
"Even if there are occasional resource satellites from other neutral nations like Heliopolis, they wouldn't dare to assist you... first, because the required military resources are too substantial, and second, due to pressure from both the Alliance and ZAFT."
"This way, if the battleship you throw into space can't end the war in the shortest time possible, it will become a space vagrant... a pure wanderer even worse off than junk dealers."
As Lu Tianming gradually spoke these words, the half-doubtful, half-expectant expressions on Cagalli and Uzumi's faces gradually turned to horror.
Indeed... throwing them into space might temporarily avoid immediate trouble, but for prolonged operations, it would be completely disadvantageous.
This would cause them to lose their only supply point so far.
"Secondly, let's talk about ORB's civilians... can you really guarantee their safety by doing this?"
Lu Tianming asked mercilessly, pointing directly at the heart of the problem.
You can call for them to evacuate, but will there really be no casualties during the actual evacuation process?
Shinn Asuka: You're talking nonsense.
Moreover, compared to the original situation, ORB's civilians would face an even more important and increasingly severe problem.
That is - extreme racial sentiment.
It must be understood that ORB's civilian population consists of mixed Coordinators and Naturals, with some even forming families and having children together.
What kind of treatment would such families... receive if they fell under the jurisdiction of Blue Cosmos or PLANT?
Needless to say, life certainly wouldn't be good.
The former only considers Naturals as human, extremely fearing and hating the existence of Coordinators. The latter is equally arrogant, believing only Coordinators should exist in the world.
If Coordinators fall under Blue Cosmos' jurisdiction, or conversely, if Naturals enter PLANT's territory, or if mixed families like those mentioned above appear...
The persecution and harm these people would suffer might be even more terrifying than what the war itself would bring.
Both Cagalli and her father frowned deeply - Lu Tianming's words weren't alarmist but rather a very realistic concern.
Looking back now, Lu Tianming's earlier harsh criticism of Uzumi's defeatist attitude was actually quite justified when you think about it.
But Uzumi truly had no better options—caught between internal strife and external threats, this was the only solution he could devise.
...However, that was his own approach.
Now standing before Tianming, Uzumi clung to him like a lifeline and solemnly inquired:
"Then, in your opinion, how should ORB respond to this crisis?"
A confident smirk tugged at Tianming's lips as he replied:
"Simple. Whether it's the Alliance or ZAFT... just eliminate them all. Problem solved."