The Value of the Pink Songstress

"So we have to get her first."

May 17, C.E. 71. Earth's low orbit, inclination forty-two degrees.

The reconnaissance vessel Xuanwu Three was a six-thousand-ton East Asian light frigate, designed with stealth as its priority and firepower second.

Captain Chen Linhai stood in the cramped CIC compartment. On the main screen before him, a green point of light blinked slowly. That was the target escape pod.

"Captain, target distance is twelve hundred kilometers. Relative velocity, 0.7 kilometers per second. Based on the current corrected trajectory, it will enter recovery range in thirty-six minutes."

Chen Linhai nodded and pressed the button on the communications panel marked with the highest security classification.

"Director, this is Chen Linhai reporting. Target confirmed: escape pod number PLT-C-479, registered to the PLANT civilian passenger transport system. One life sign, vitals stable. Docking and recovery are expected to be completed in thirty-six minutes."

Lin Yuan's voice came through the encrypted channel.

"Cut off the escape pod's emergency beacon the moment it is recovered. Don't let anyone know who picked her up."

"Director, forgive me for speaking out of turn. If someone from the Clyne family is really inside, PLANT will demand to know where she went. Under what grounds are we holding her?"

"Humanitarian rescue. A PLANT citizen was left drifting in an escape pod in neutral space, and the East Asian Republic carried out a rescue operation on humanitarian grounds. No further explanation is needed."

Chen Linhai rubbed the back of his neck.

"Director, what I don't understand is this: is a singing girl really worth deploying a reconnaissance vessel over?"

The rhythm of fingers tapping a desk came through the channel. Twice.

"Chen Linhai, she is not merely a singing girl. She is Siegel Clyne's daughter, the symbol of PLANT's moderate political core. In the Coordinator world, her name is more useful than any military commander's."

Chen Linhai asked no more questions.

Thirty-four minutes later, the escape pod was firmly gripped by Xuanwu Three's mechanical arm.

The beacon was cut off within three seconds.

Chen Linhai stood outside the airlock door, watching the maintenance crew pry open the escape pod's outer access panel.

The hatch sprang open.

A smell of recycled air and disinfectant wafted out.

A girl sat inside.

Her long pink hair drifted slightly in the zero-gravity environment, and her hands rested quietly folded on her knees. She wore a light-colored dress, no shoes, only the emergency slippers provided in the pod.

She raised her head and looked at Chen Linhai and the three armed security officers outside the airlock.

She did not scream. She did not panic.

She even gave a slight nod.

"May I ask whose ship this is?"

Before Chen Linhai could answer, Sheng Lan's voice came through his earpiece.

"Captain, has her identity been confirmed?"

Chen Linhai stared at that face.

Everyone in PLANT knew that face.

"Confirmed. Lacus Clyne."

Four hours later, Lacus was transferred to Xuanwu Three's medical bay.

Sheng Lan conducted the preliminary questioning through a remote video link.

Lacus's voice traveled through the screen to the communications terminal at the 811 Institute. Her tone was calm, her wording so polite it was almost diplomatic.

"I am an ordinary PLANT citizen. I was separated from the main cabin due to a transport accident. I thank East Asia for rescuing me. If possible, I hope to contact my family in PLANT as soon as possible."

Sheng Lan looked into those pinkish-purple eyes on the screen and tapped the edge of her terminal once.

"Miss Clyne, under what circumstances did the transport ship encounter its accident?"

Lacus's smile did not change.

"I am not very clear on the details. I was in the rest cabin at the time when the evacuation alarm suddenly sounded."

Sheng Lan brought up the timestamp on her terminal but did not show it to Lacus.

"Director, she is avoiding the question. The timing of the Zala Faction's raid on the Clyne rally perfectly matches the timing of her ejection. She can't possibly not know what happened."

Lin Yuan did not appear on the remote video feed.

His voice was heard only through Sheng Lan's earpiece.

"She is testing us. A sixteen-year-old girl, rescued by an unfamiliar force, whose first reaction is neither tears nor panic but a flawless diplomatic statement."

Sheng Lan muted her microphone.

"How does the director intend to handle her?"

"I'll speak with her personally. Arrange a private communications room. Leave only the recording function of the translation software. No third person present."

Twenty minutes later, the screens in the communications room connected.

Lin Yuan sat in a chair in an analysis room at the 811 Institute. Behind him was an undecorated gray metal wall.

Lacus sat in a temporary living room converted from Xuanwu Three's medical bay, with a glass of water before her.

She looked at Lin Yuan on the screen, her smile impeccably maintained.

"You are the one who makes the decisions."

"Yes."

"May I ask your name?"

"Lin Yuan. Special Equipment Bureau of the East Asian Republic."

"Mr. Lin Yuan, thank you for saving me."

Lin Yuan rested his hand on the desk and did not respond to the pleasantries.

"Miss Clyne, you know that your father's rally was raided by members of the Zala Faction. You know you were deliberately ejected, most likely at your father's arrangement. And you know that PLANT's current political situation means you cannot return."

Lacus's smile narrowed by a degree.

It did not disappear. It changed from a social curve into an observant one.

"Mr. Lin Yuan is very direct."

"I don't have time to beat around the bush. You have two choices now. First, I send you back to PLANT. The Zala Faction will place you under house arrest in the name of protection and turn your name into an ornament for their legitimacy."

Lacus lightly traced a finger around the rim of her glass.

"And the second?"

"Remain under East Asia's protection. No public announcement, no exposure. Wait until you have decided for yourself what you want to do next."

"Until I decide, will you keep protecting me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Lin Yuan's fingers paused on the desktop for a beat.

"Because your value lies not in your ability to sing. It lies in the fact that when you stand on a particular side and speak, one-third of all PLANT will listen. In peacetime, that ability is entertainment. In wartime, it is a weapon."

Lacus's gaze rested on Lin Yuan's face for three seconds.

She lifted the glass, took a sip, and set it down.

"Mr. Lin Yuan, you are a very candid person. Most people would first tell me they wanted to protect peace, then slowly reveal their true purpose. You put your purpose first."

"I have no interest in lying to someone born into a political family. You were taught from childhood to recognize lies. Deceiving you would be a waste of time."

Lacus's smile opened slightly again.

"Then I will be candid as well."

She withdrew her hand from the glass and placed it on her knee.

"I know my father's rally was attacked. I know he had me ejected. I also know Chairman Zala is pushing a plan that will lead to the deaths of many people."

Lin Yuan's fingers did not move.

"But what I am not sure about is..."

Lacus's voice softened by half a degree.

"Did you save me for peace, or for a bargaining chip?"

Only the low hum of the equipment remained in the communications room.

Lin Yuan looked into those pinkish-purple eyes on the screen and fell silent for four seconds.

"Both."

Lacus did not look away.

"What if those two goals conflict one day?"

Lin Yuan withdrew his fingers from the desk and rested them on the armrest.

"Miss Clyne, if that day comes, you may ask me in person. But before then, I will show you a few things."

"What things?"

"Records of Blue Cosmos's massacres of Coordinator children. A summary of the designs for the world-ending weapon the Zala Faction is building. And the last political message your father sent three days before he was raided."

Lacus's fingers tightened on her knee for an instant, then relaxed.

"Why show me these things?"

Lin Yuan stood and prepared to end the call.

"Because you may continue believing in kindness. But you cannot demand that others pay a blood tax for your kindness. Think it through before coming to speak with me again."

Before the screen went dark, Lacus's voice delivered one final sentence through the terminal.

"Mr. Lin Yuan, what if I disagree with your methods after I have seen them?"

Lin Yuan's hand stopped over the terminal switch.

"Then you can tell me your method. If it is better than mine, I'll listen to you."