Kira's words were a major misstep in the eyes of others. Anyone familiar with Reid's background knew the Junius Seven incident wasn't sothing he should be held responsible for.
It was just like the Cyclops Self-Destruction Plan at the Alaska Base. The crew of the Archangel had known nothing about it beforehand—should they be blad for surviving the disaster and held accountable for the explosion?
So before Reid could even respond, Sai grabbed Kira and said in a low voice,
"Kira, what are you saying? Mr. Reid was clearly dragged into the Junius Seven incident!"
Kira quickly realized his mistake. He was one of the few who knew the truth (Reid had shared his experiences as a story during his first days on the Archangel, precisely to avoid misunderstandings among the younger crew).
Once he recognized his error, Kira wasn't the type to stubbornly cling to his pride. He lowered his head and said,
"Mr. Reid, that's not what I ant... I'm sorry!"
Reid actually didn't take it too hard. He had long since co to terms with what happened at Junius Seven. After all, the lingering souls of those 243,721 people had catalyzed the awakening of his Newtype abilities, and he had personally experienced their final monts.
From a taphysical standpoint, Reid had now reconciled with those souls and carried the "power" they had entrusted to him.
So he brushed off Kira's remark lightly.
"It's fine, Kira. I know how bad my reputation is among certain people in PLANT. As for Lacus... never mind. Seeing how you are, I won't say too much about her in front of you."
But then, his expression turned serious as he continued,
"However, Kira, what's with you only targeting weapons and primary sensors when attacking enemies? You don't actually believe that as long as you don't kill them directly, you're not responsible for their deaths, do you?"
Kira answered firmly without hesitation,
"That's right, Mr. Reid. I don't want to kill anyone again. Even if you think it would've been better to finish them off, I refuse to do it."
Reid was at a loss. He couldn't exactly say, "War is about killing"—while objectively true, it clashed with most people's moral sensibilities.
It was an unspoken reality, but voicing it would only invite criticism.
So instead, he turned to Murrue and said,
"Murrue, pull up so battlefield footage from the Archangel's records later. Let Kira see how many of the people he 'spared' actually survived. I don't even know how to comnt on this kind of behavior—it just prolongs soldiers' suffering before death."
"Let's head back to the ship. The Fallout Ash is getting heavier, and staying out here too long will just give us respiratory problems."
Kira accepted this. Reviewing the actual consequences of his actions was reasonable. After all, Miss Lacus had urged him to find a path to peace—he should reflect more on the process and outcos of his choices.
But before that, he still had sothing to say. He took another step forward, nearly face-to-face with Reid, scrutinizing his every micro-expression as he asked,
"Mr. Reid, I have a question for you..."
Reid also knew what Kira wanted to ask, but he indicated he didn't want to discuss it outside. Moreover, he thought, "Why are you standing so close, Kira? If you want to get intimate, go find Athrun!" So before Kira could finish speaking, Reid grabbed him, spun him around, and pushed him toward the Freedom Gundam, saying:
"Save your questions for when we're back on the ship. Didn't you hear
say staying here any longer could give us respiratory diseases? You're the only Coordinator here—the rest of us are still vulnerable! Just take the Freedom Gundam back to the ship first. Don't worry, I know what's on it better than you do."
After that, Reid turned to the others on the Archangel and added:
"Don't touch Kira's Freedom Gundam just yet. There's an extrely sensitive piece of technology on it. If anyone sses with it, Kira will really lose his temper."
At that mont, Kira could only feel Reid's overwhelming strength—he couldn't resist at all. Internally, he thought, "No wonder Mr. Reid is married to Miss Ange. He's got that sa freakish strength."
Still, Reid wasn't wrong. Kira realized he had indeed overlooked the respiratory health of the others.
As for the Freedom Gundam, Kira actually believed Reid knew what was on it.
Lacus had repeatedly emphasized that unless Reid could predict the future, he must have an intelligence network spanning the entire Earth sphere. Yet, despite the four major Earth powers searching for a year, they hadn't uncovered any useful information.
And now, Reid was telling everyone not to touch the Freedom Gundam.
So Kira figured as long as Reid didn't try to climb into the Freedom Gundam's cockpit himself, everything would be fine. He obediently piloted the mobile suit back to the Archangel.
Eager to hear Reid's thoughts on peace, Kira rushed back to question him the mont he parked the Freedom Gundam.
Reid, however, was on the bridge preparing to announce their next move, so he let Kira ask first.
Unable to think of anything else, Kira went straight to the point:
"Mr. Reid, I just want to ask—how do you view this war? To end it, what must we fight against?
Who is our true enemy? And how do we defeat them?"
Reid found the question unbearably abstract—the kind that, no matter how you explained it, would devolve into baseless sophistry. If anyone could actually answer it, they'd be a god in the truest sense.
To counter an abstract concept, you had to fight fire with fire. Reid walked up to Kira, pointed at his left chest, and said bluntly:
"The root of war? It's this."
Kira wasn't stupid—he understood imdiately—but still asked with slight confusion:
"You an… the root of war is the human heart?"
Reid nodded, then walked to the center of the bridge, spreading his arms and slowly turning in place as he continued:
"Yes, the human heart. The very nature of our species."
After saying this, Reid fixed his gaze on Kira, unleashing the full pressure of a Newtype, and added solemnly:
"Kira, when you have ti, study human history. The East Asian Republic has an old saying: 'Use the past as a mirror to understand rise and fall.' The wars humanity fights now have happened before—only, back then, limited productivity kept them from spreading globally, let alone across the entire Earth sphere."
Everyone, you must have heard from various sources that the current war stems from the conflict between two races: Naturals and Coordinators.
But what I want to say is this—Naturals and Coordinators are both human. What fuels this conflict is always the unequal distribution of benefits.
As the Coordinators claim, a fully gene-adjusted Coordinator surpasses Naturals in every fundantal aspect of human capability. The fertility issue only manifests in second-generation Coordinators, where both parents are Coordinators.
Given their overwhelming superiority, Coordinators will naturally, over ti, occupy all the upper echelons of society, blocking the path of progress for the poor and non-Coordinators. Just like in ancient Europe, nobility was nobility by birth—only they had the ans and privilege to pursue knowledge. Unless the nation was thrown into upheaval, commoners remained commoners for life, with no chance of upward mobility.
So, from a historical perspective, the rebellion of Naturals and the war between the two sides were inevitable."
Reid's words made Kira's eyes light up. He had never studied history, but he understood the reasoning. He quickly asked,
"Right! So, Mr. Reid, how did people in the past solve this problem?"
Reid could only shake his head and reply helplessly,
"Increased productivity and the sharing of knowledge. These directly eroded the absolute advantage of the upper class, opening up paths for advancent. The conflict naturally diminished."
Kira's expression darkened instantly upon hearing this. He responded,
"Then wouldn't that an turning all Naturals into Coordinators...? That's completely impossible."
Reid agreed, replying,
"Indeed, it's impossible. Moreover, third-generation Coordinators face unsolvable fertility issues. If all of humanity beca Coordinators, within a century or two of prosperity, we'd beco rare—or even extinct—because we couldn't reproduce."
Kira slamd his fist against the wall and roared,
"Damn it! So there's still no solution?!"
Seeing this, Reid tossed out another "vague" possibility, saying,
"Well, not necessarily. As I just said, the core conflict between Naturals and Coordinators is that Coordinators naturally dominate the upper strata of society due to their superior traits, while Naturals—barring negligible exceptions—lose their chances for advancent.
So, the solution is to expand those opportunities. In principle, humanity is still confined to the solar system, barely reaching beyond Jupiter's orbit. But if we truly expanded beyond the solar system, the current social structure would shift. The Coordinator population would be too small to monopolize all the upper tiers, and the conflict between Naturals and Coordinators would ease instantly, becoming a long-term latent issue. The current war would end quickly."
This ti, Reid was proposing a real, viable solution. If humanity in the Cosmic Era could expand beyond the solar system, there would be no large-scale internal conflicts threatening racial extinction for at least four or five hundred years.
This gave Kira a glimr of hope, but he still sighed and said,
"That's a solution, sure, but technological breakthroughs aren't that easy..."
Reid shrugged and stated bluntly,
"If you want to resolve the conflict between two factions without investing ti, then the only option is for one side to eliminate the other."
The conflict between Naturals and Coordinators didn't accumulate overnight. If you truly want an instant solution, you'd need to encounter a massive threat capable of wiping out both sides simultaneously—like aliens suddenly invading or sothing similar.
In that scenario, Naturals and Coordinators would undoubtedly set aside all their differences to face the external threat together for survival.
This is clearly explained in history books. Almost all ethnic groups, when embroiled in internal strife, imdiately unite upon discovering an external enemy invasion. Whether they can win is another matter, but internal conflicts are generally put aside first."
Reid was once again spouting nonsense. To prevent humanity from destroying itself through mutual slaughter, should we go looking for aliens who could actually annihilate humanity? Was this supposed to showcase human diversity?
Kira couldn't even be bothered to discuss this topic further and cut straight to the point:
"Ah, so Mr. Reid, you believe the current war between the Earth Alliance and PLANT has no imdiate solution and can only end when one side completely eliminates the other?"
Even if Reid truly thought so, he couldn't say it outright. He shook his head and replied,
"Definitely not unsolvable, but it's certainly not sothing a few of us can figure out on our own. This is an issue concerning all of humanity, and it requires an answer from everyone.
As for
right now, I'll focus on what I can do in the present—to carve out a peaceful sanctuary for those I love, those who love , and those who follow . Other problems can be tackled when I have the capability.
So, Kira, it's the sa for you. Lacus asked you to find a path to peace, but that ans you first need to gather like-minded people to search together. Don't shoulder everything alone in so self-sacrificial gesture.
Moreover, seeking peace on the battlefield by refusing to kill is, I can tell you plainly, a mistake. It's the kind of mistake where the very people you spare won't even feel grateful.
But I won't dismiss your desire to avoid harming lives. How to balance this is sothing you'll have to think through carefully. Oh, and if you really can't figure it out, don't bottle it up—talk to a friend. Sotis, your brain suddenly clicks on its own."
Having said that, Reid ignored Kira's furrowed brow and turned to the others.
"Alright, let's wrap up the big-picture discussion for now. Let's talk about the practical problems we're facing.
Everyone, you can no longer return to the Atlantic Federation—or even the Earth Alliance. I promised you identities in the New Misurugi Republic.
But right now, the top priority is getting you all into space.
So, I've decided to send the Archangel to Orb first. I'll negotiate with Orb to have them repair the Archangel and use their mass driver to launch it into space. Any objections?"
The crew of the Archangel were still sowhat lost at this point, desperately needing a guide. In the original tiline, it was Uzumi who gave Murrue and the others a path forward, convincing them to willingly fight for Orb's vision of peace.
Now, that guide had beco Reid. His earlier speech wasn't just for Kira alone. Though no concrete conclusions or results were reached, everyone on the Archangel's bridge now understood that Reid had seriously considered the road ahead.
Moreover, the line—"to carve out a peaceful sanctuary for those I love, those who love , and those who follow "—was incredibly appealing. By joining Reid's side, they too would beco part of the sanctuary he sought to create.
So Reid's suggestion was t with no objections at all. Everyone had been to Orb, and the people there were quite friendly. It was indeed the best choice for the Archangel, which currently had nowhere else to go.
As for Kira, he was originally from Orb, with both his parents still there. There was absolutely no reason for him to refuse going to Orb first to think things over calmly.
Reviews
All reviews (0)