At the refugee settlement, Cagalli was leading members of the resistance organization to visit civilians who had lost their homes one by one, distributing basic living supplies.
Meanwhile, Lacus had attracted a group of children with her beautiful singing voice, surrounding her as they either sang along or stared mesmerized at her performance.
She looked exactly like a kindergarten teacher.
Watching Lacus skillfully entertaining the children, Badgiruel sighed with some emotion:
"No wonder Lacus has gained such fame in PLANT... Her singing truly brings peace to the heart, as if allowing a brief escape from the war."
Previously, she had thought Lacus's reputation was solely due to her father's political influence, but now she realized that wasn't entirely the case.
At the very least, Lacus's unique and captivating voice must have played a significant role. Especially after becoming accustomed to the sounds of artillery and battle cries, hearing her sing again felt like listening to celestial music that temporarily cleared the mind, nourishing hearts parched by the ravages of war.
"But this is ultimately just a momentary respite. When the song ends, those who must go to battle will still have to go. Singing alone can never bring true peace."
Lu Tianming sighed softly. He didn't deny that Lacus's voice was refreshing to the heart, but that alone wasn't enough.
Unless the sparks of war were extinguished at their source, they would continue to reignite again and again.
"True peace... Is this what you want to achieve by uniting with Lacus?"
Badgiruel paused thoughtfully for a moment before asking.
"...More or less, but the combined strength of Lacus and myself isn't enough."
Lu Tianming nodded, then seemed to meaningfully glance toward the direction of the Desert Tiger's city, feeling a sense of anticipation growing within him.
"Speaking of which, what did your leadership meeting cover earlier?"
Lu Tianming waved his hand, changing the subject—although he hadn't attended the meeting himself due to slacking off, that didn't mean he wasn't concerned about its contents... If he could get a concise summary directly from Badgiruel now, he'd be quite happy to listen.
"We briefly discussed the overall war situation, then talked about both sides' specific needs—our side requires military supplies, while they need living essentials. So in the coming days, we plan to cooperate in infiltrating enemy-occupied territory to acquire the resources both sides need through black market trade."
Badgiruel nodded and spoke without reservation.
Rather than being unguarded... it would be more accurate to say that Lu Tianming should have known these details anyway.
After all, aboard the Archangel, while his official position wasn't Captain, in every other aspect he was practically no different from one.
Even direct orders from the Captain might not carry as much weight as his words.
"At the time, they also wanted to hire you as a guard to protect that girl named Cagalli during her procurement of living supplies..."
Badgiruel sighed. At the time, the leaders of the resistance organization had clearly mistaken Lu Tianming for some obedient pawn who would follow orders without question, repeatedly emphasizing their desire to secure his protection.
"So how did you respond?"
"How did we respond... Of course, we didn't agree directly. We said we needed to consult your opinion before making a decision. Without your permission, we wouldn't interfere with your actions."
Badgiruel shook her head. She understood the importance of this distinction.
"I actually intended to ask for your opinion as soon as we returned... but right after we got back to the Archangel, we ran into Lacus, and before I knew it, we ended up here."
At this point, Badgiruel sighed with a headache... She felt as though she had been swept along by the current and inexplicably ended up in this situation.
"So, back to the point, are you going?"
"Sure, I've been cooped up in space for so long... it's about time I see some living people."
Lu Tianming shrugged with a smile. If he missed this opportunity, who knew when he'd get another chance to stroll around a normal city.
Besides, this trip into the city had some other purposes as well.
Thinking of this, Lu Tianming cleared his throat and asked:
"Is there any flexibility in the selection of the team for this outing?"
"Small daily supplies will likely be purchased by you and Cagalli... Though it's called purchasing, it's more like accompanying that young lady on a shopping trip."
"On my end, I'll be going with a group including the enemy leader Seibu Ashman for formal procurement, mainly focusing on water sources and MS components... They say you can buy anything in the black market here, though I'm not sure if that's true."
"Major changes would be difficult, but inserting one or two people shouldn't be a problem—do you have any ideas?"
Badgiruel briefly explained the situation. Although the roster was mostly set, if it was Lu Tianming's request, they could still try to accommodate it.
"Take Kira along for the supplies procurement. He's the core of our logistics team now... Bringing him to the black market might help us pick up some good items."
"...Reasonable."
Badgiruel nodded. This request was quite reasonable. Kira was indeed the top expert in maintenance and development on the Archangel... Even Sergeant Murdoch had somewhat taken a backseat due to Kira's overwhelming competence.
Bringing such a talent along might really help them secure a lot of supplies.
"And also... for my part, I plan to bring Lacus."
After a moment of consideration, Lu Tianming's tone grew more serious as he continued.
When she heard this request, Badgiruel didn't immediately grasp what was happening... but she quickly understood.
Was Lu Tianming... planning to use Lacus's influence in PLANT to act as a persuader?
Unlike Lacus, she hadn't had deeper exchanges or discussions with Lu Tianming and didn't know his true intentions. But based on the available conditions, she could more or less guess.
She didn't actually oppose this idea; she was just worried... wouldn't it be too dangerous?
She looked up at Lu Tianming, about to voice her concerns, but when she saw the determined look in his eyes, she couldn't bring herself to refuse.
"...Understood. I'll help arrange the personnel transfers, but remember - be careful."
——————————————
In the hangar at that moment, Flay was anxiously glancing left and right, fine beads of sweat on her forehead indicating she had been searching for something for quite some time.
After searching for a long while, she wiped the sweat from her forehead in resignation and looked toward Kira, who was fully immersed in his work. With a tired tone, she asked:
"Kira, have you seen Mr. Lu?"
"Ah... are you looking for Mr. Lu too?"
Hearing Flay's question, Kira looked up curiously and asked in return.
That word "too" made Flay's heart sink... Had someone beaten her to it before she arrived?
Could it be that Lacus was getting ahead again?
However, before she could finish her thoughts, Kira continued:
"Mr. Lu just went with Miss Cagalli to visit the refugees. Oh, and Lieutenant Commander Badgiruel and Miss Lacus are with them too."
Hearing Kira's shocking words, Flay instantly froze in place.
No, no, no... that's too many people!
It was bad enough that Lacus and that blonde girl from the resistance were there... but even Lieutenant Commander Badgiruel was with them?
Noticing the increasing number of women around Lu Tianming, Flay felt a sense of urgency well up inside her.
She had originally thought Lu Tianming showed preference toward Lacus, assuming he was just another fool easily swayed by beauty... She had planned to use her own charms to try and manipulate him, making him a weapon for her revenge.
But given the current situation, if things continued like this, not only would her plan to use her charms to control him be in question - she might not even get the chance to try.
...It seemed her plan needed some adjustments.
Flay gently bit her lower lip. As determination rose in her heart, a desperate plan fully formed in her mind.
A slight smile curled at the corner of her mouth as she looked up "kindly" at Kira, her tone carrying a hint of mystery:
"Kira, there's something... I wonder if you could help me make it using parts from the hangar?"
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