Murrue was momentarily stunned before remembering—a group of civilians had passed by earlier while fleeing, nearly being taken hostage by ZAFT forces.
She initially intended to issue direct orders, but after a moment's consideration, she rephrased her question:
"What would you suggest we do?"
"Bring them under our management."
Lu Tianming seemed prepared as he gave his answer.
"First, they've already seen the classified Gundams... I mean the G-series MS. We can't simply let them leave."
"Second, nearly all shelters in the space colony are at full capacity. As military personnel, we have a duty not to abandon them here."
"Third, we need manpower to collect Strike's remaining equipment. Just the two of us might not be enough, so having them assist would be helpful."
Hearing Lu Tianming's judgment and reasoning, Murrue couldn't help but look at him with surprise in her eyes.
It wasn't that his words were particularly unusual... but rather how thoroughly he had considered everything in such a short time, which truly exceeded Murrue's expectations.
While she would have reached the same conclusion herself, by comparison... she had only thought of the first point initially.
Maintaining her composure, she cleared her throat lightly and replied:
"Well, I was thinking the same... let's proceed as you suggested."
Lu Tianming nodded and was about to power down Strike when he suddenly heard Xia Chuan's somewhat lewd chuckle in his ear:
"Pupils slightly dilated, eyebrows slightly raised, breathing rate increased... Don't be fooled by her calm response just now. She's actually quite taken with your words~"
Since when did you become so detail-oriented after turning into a Gundam...
Lu Tianming sighed inwardly. He knew the initial observations might be accurate, but the part about her being "taken" was pure nonsense from this idiot.
It's not like he was some kind of succubus—how could a single sentence make someone fall for him? Most likely, his earlier statement had just surprised Murrue somewhat.
Ignoring Xia Chuan, Lu Tianming immediately maneuvered Strike into a kneeling position before descending from the cockpit with Murrue, approaching the group of stunned and bewildered teenagers led by Kira.
————————
"Hey Kira, looks like someone's coming down from that MS."
In Kira's group, a boy named Tolle pointed at the kneeling Strike and its gradually opening cockpit.
"...They're not going to do anything to us, are they?"
The girl named Miriallia beside Tolle expressed concern. Having lived in peaceful times, facing this kind of war machinery they'd only seen on television naturally made them nervous.
"Probably not. After all, we're civilians from Heliopolis—we're neutral."
"Maybe they're here to rescue us? We might be able to ask them if there are any available shelters left..."
"Speaking of which, are they from ZAFT or the Earth Alliance Forces? If they're from the Alliance, how are they operating MS? I thought only Coordinators could pilot them..."
"Who knows..."
The small group of five was chattering noisily until Lu Tianming and Murrue approached, at which point they fell silent.
"Um... excuse me, is there something you need?"
Sai, who wore glasses, took a deep breath upon seeing the two approach, mustered his courage, and stepped forward to inquire.
"My name is Murrue Ramius, an officer of the Earth Alliance Forces. Considering the current combat situation, I hope that for the time being, all of you can cooperate and move together with us."
"Co... cooperate and move together?"
Sai's voice trembled slightly, and he anxiously pressed further:
"Does that mean... you don't intend to let us leave? We're civilians, after all. There's no reason for us to be dragged into this war, right?"
Perhaps emboldened by Sai, Tolle and another boy named Katz chimed in as well:
"Yeah, that's right! We're neutral!"
Murrue frowned and was about to reach for the firearm at her waist to intimidate them when Lu Tianming gestured for her to hold back. He stepped forward first and said:
"The purpose of cooperating and moving together is not to drag you into the war, but to fulfill our duty as soldiers—to do everything we can to ensure your right to life as civilians."
"At the moment, all the shelters are either destroyed or full. Even if I didn't propose cooperating and moving together... you'd have nowhere to go. It's better to gather here, where with the protection of an MS, your chances of survival will be higher."
"If you can assist us with post-battle repairs and temporarily cooperate, we'll also be in a better position to call for aid on your behalf, right?"
"Well... that does make sense..."
Sai and the others, who had been resisting just moments before, suddenly found themselves at a loss for how to refuse after hearing Lu Tianming's words.
The group exchanged uncertain glances, likely realizing that there really was no other option at the moment. They then turned back, somewhat awkwardly scratching their heads:
"So... what do you need us to do?"
Seeing that they had hesitantly accepted after a moment's thought, Lu Tianming immediately raised an eyebrow and shot Murrue a meaningful look.
The message was clear—See, some things don't always require force to accomplish.
As he made the gesture, he also took a step back to make room for Murrue—after all, in terms of military rank, she was the one with the authority to issue orders.
Murrue looked at Lu Tianming with a hint of surprise in her eyes... Even though he was just a private first class, he spoke with the tone of an official.
Moreover, after Lu Tianming's smooth handling of the situation, it made her, as the superior, seem somewhat ineffective.
Suppressing her inner frustration, Murrue took a deep breath and began directing the young men and women to start preparing the Strike.
Sai, Katz, and the others were gradually assigned their respective tasks. When it was Kira's turn, Lu Tianming thought for a moment and tentatively asked:
"Kira Yamato, if I'm not mistaken... you're a student of Professor Kato, right?"
Professor Kato was Kira's mentor during his time at Heliopolis... Lu Tianming recalled that in the original story, Kira had been summoned by this Professor Kato at the very beginning.
Lu Tianming's original self actually had no connection to him, but by bringing up the name now, he intended to use it to build rapport with Kira.
"Huh? You know Professor Kato?"
Kira's reaction was indeed different upon hearing this name. He lifted his head to look at Lu Tianming, his gaze shifting from previous wariness to a hint of friendliness.
He clearly had the expression of encountering an old acquaintance in a foreign land. Seeing that Lu Tianming knew his professor's name, his guard naturally relaxed.
After all, in his eyes, Lu Tianming was most likely the professor's acquaintance... and should be trustworthy.
Instead of answering directly, Lu Tianming simply smiled and pointed to the Strike Gundam behind him as he continued:
"I've heard your programming skills are quite good, and you're a Coordinator... When I was piloting this thing earlier, I noticed its OS is somewhat outdated. I was wondering if you could help optimize it?"