"Then we'll see."
Three days after those words were spoken, PLANT responded.
May 22, C.E. 71, communications hub of the 811 Research Institute.
Sheng Lan spread an intercepted report across Lin Yuan's desk. Three dense lines of frequency codes marked in red covered the page.
"Director, over the past forty-eight hours, PLANT has issued search notices for Lacus Clyne on at least seven frequencies. The wording falls into two categories."
"What two categories?"
"The Klein Moderates are calling it a missing citizen notice, asking all parties to help confirm her safety. The Zala Faction is issuing security warnings, claiming Lacus may have been abducted by the Earth Alliance and ordering all ZAFT vessels to watch for unidentified escape pod trajectories during patrols."
Lin Yuan flipped to the second page of the report.
"Does the Zala Faction know she was ejected?"
"Uncertain. But they know they failed to capture Lacus during the raid on the gathering. By process of elimination, escape by ejection is the most reasonable conclusion."
Ye Qingluan's encrypted message appeared simultaneously on the desktop terminal. Sheng Lan opened it, and after scanning two lines, she lowered her voice.
"Director, Ye Qingluan intercepted an internal encrypted transmission from the PLANT Liaison Office on Earth. The Zala Faction Security Committee is investigating the orbital data of Lacus's escape pod. Their calculated drift range overlaps by thirty-one percent with the coordinates where Xuanwu Three carried out the interception."
"Thirty percent overlap isn't precise enough, but it's enough to put East Asia on their list of suspects."
"Yes. Also, the Atlantic Federation has made a move. Jonathan Pierce's news program ran a special report yesterday titled East Asia's Shadow Behind the Missing Coordinator Songstress Incident. No evidence, just insinuations."
Lin Yuan turned to the final page of the report, where Sheng Lan had handwritten her recommended response.
Three options.
First: use Lacus as a bargaining chip to obtain technological or political concessions from the PLANT Moderates.
Second: publicly notify PLANT of Lacus's safety in exchange for diplomatic goodwill.
Third: maintain the status quo, neither disclose nor return her, and wait for the right time.
Lin Yuan tapped the underline beneath the first option.
"Sheng Lan, who proposed the first one?"
"I did."
"Why?"
Sheng Lan straightened slightly.
"Director, the longer Lacus remains in our hands, the greater the risk of East Asia being accused of abducting a PLANT citizen. If we take the initiative before the risk escalates, we can secure substantive cooperation from the PLANT Moderates in technology or intelligence."
Lin Yuan closed the report.
"The logic isn't wrong. But you're calculating a short-term account."
Sheng Lan's pen stopped at the edge of her memorandum.
"What do you mean, Director?"
"Lacus Clyne isn't an ordinary hostage. She's the political symbol of the PLANT Moderates. Trading her for a batch of technical data would be like exchanging a card that could win wars for ten years for a one-off deal."
Sheng Lan opened a fresh page in her memorandum, her pen resting against the paper as she waited for him to continue.
"Her true value isn't in being traded. It's that when the PLANT Moderates need to rebuild their legitimacy, she is the only person with enough prestige and influence to step forward."
"Do you believe that time will come?"
"Patrick Zala is pushing to build a world-destroying weapon. His path has only two possible endings: either he succeeds in destroying Earth, or he fails and brings down the Zala Faction with him. No matter which outcome comes to pass, PLANT's Moderates will need someone to take charge of the aftermath."
Sheng Lan drew an arrow across the paper, from the present to a question mark.
"Then what do we do now? Ye Qingluan says the Zala Faction's investigation will narrow down the suspects within two weeks."
"Let Lacus speak for herself."
Sheng Lan looked up at Lin Yuan.
"She agreed?"
"I haven't asked her yet. But two days ago, she told me she was no longer just someone who had been rescued."
Lin Yuan pressed the encrypted switching key on the communications terminal and connected to Xuanwu Three.
Chen Linhai's voice came through first.
"Director, Lacus Clyne's mental state has remained stable these past three days. Terminal records show that she finished reviewing the entire second batch of materials. The last file she opened was the peace proposals her father had submitted and had rejected over the past five years."
"How did she react?"
"This morning, she sat motionless in the lounge for two hours. Then she used the internal comms to ask the medic for a cup of coffee. After drinking it, she asked me what frequencies East Asia's news broadcasting system used."
Lin Yuan's fingers paused against the edge of the desk.
"She asked about frequencies herself?"
"Yes."
Sheng Lan raised her head.
Lin Yuan connected to the lounge's communications channel.
Lacus's voice came from Xuanwu Three, her tone slightly heavier than it had been three days earlier.
"Mr. Lin Yuan."
"I heard you asked about news frequencies."
"Yes. I have an idea."
"Go on."
"If both PLANT and the Atlantic Federation are exploiting my disappearance, then the simplest countermeasure is for me to speak for myself."
Lin Yuan lightly tapped the desk twice with his fingers.
"What do you intend to say?"
"I will thank East Asia for rescuing me, state that I am voluntarily remaining under their protection, and call on all factions in PLANT not to use the search for me as an excuse to expand military operations."
"After you say that, the Zala Faction will label you a traitor bought by East Asia. Do you know what that means?"
Three seconds of silence filled the communications channel.
Lacus's voice sounded again.
"It means I can no longer go back and pretend nothing happened."
Lin Yuan said nothing.
Lacus continued.
"Mr. Lin Yuan, my father wrote peace proposals for five years, and every one of them was rejected. He opposed them in the gentlest way possible, and the result was a raid and his daughter's exile. Moderation isn't wrong, but moderation alone isn't enough."
Sheng Lan drew a line across her memorandum and added a solid dot at its end.
"Miss Clyne, are you certain?"
"I am."
Lin Yuan muted the channel and looked at Sheng Lan.
"Prepare the recording equipment. Let her write the statement herself. Don't change a single word for her."
Sheng Lan put away her memorandum. As she reached the door, she turned back and asked one question.
"Director, what if what she writes is unfavorable to East Asia?"
"Then we'll see what she writes. If what she writes carries more weight than I expected, then the thing I picked up isn't merely a card."
Sheng Lan pushed open the door.
"What is it?"
Lin Yuan switched the terminal's communications key back online.
"It's a key that can reshape PLANT's political landscape."
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