"Yeah, what a... coincidence."
Murrue clearly hadn't expected Lu Tianming to notice her. After being called out, she gave an awkward cough and stepped out from around the corner.
Although Lu Tianming called it a "coincidence," Murrue could tell he had already realized she came specifically to find him. Rather than making excuses, she decided to be straightforward:
"Actually, I came looking for you because I was worried you might be upset about what happened with Flay and wanted to check on you."
Murrue trailed off, unsure how to continue. "You seem fine and don't need comforting"? She felt she couldn't say something like that, nor could she make that judgment.
Even though Lu Tianming was now smiling as if nothing had happened... that was precisely what worried her.
His emotional shift... was somewhat frightening.
"What happened with Flay... was indeed quite unpleasant."
Seeing her hesitation, Lu Tianming waved his hand dismissively. He could tell Murrue had something else to discuss, and Flay was just a pretext. Considering neither the setting nor the atmosphere was suitable, he thought for a moment before suggesting with a smile:
"Speaking of which, I haven't eaten anything since the last sortie... If you don't mind, Captain, why don't we continue this conversation over a meal in the cafeteria?"
————————————
The cafeteria wasn't serving meals at this hour, so there were few people around. However, since Murrue and Lu Tianming had come personally, the staff could still provide food. They each filled a plate and found a seat in the cafeteria.
"So, how do you plan to handle the situation with Flay?"
After sitting down, Lu Tianming initiated the conversation. His casual yet slightly serious gaze swept over Murrue, making her feel as if he were some high-ranking official and she was delivering a work report during a meal.
Suppressing this strange feeling, Murrue answered truthfully:
"Tolle and Sai found a room to place her in for now. The door has a password lock—we're going to keep her confined for a few days so she can reflect on her actions."
Since Flay was only a volunteer soldier, the Military Court procedures didn't apply to her. Confinement was the only available punishment at the moment.
Lu Tianming wasn't particularly concerned about this arrangement. After all, he had already carried out the most crucial part of the correction himself. What happened afterward was beyond his consideration.
"I'm sorry... Tianming. What happened this time was my failure as Captain. If I had followed your advice and obeyed the Vanguard fleet's instructions, we wouldn't be in such a mess now."
Murrue let out a long sigh and apologized sincerely. Although leaving immediately wouldn't have prevented George Allster's death, Flay wouldn't have had the chance to cause such a scene. Lu Tianming wouldn't have had to deal with such distress after fighting a desperate battle.
In her heart, she believed this situation occurred entirely due to her poor judgment as Captain.
"It's fine. After all, I returned safely, didn't I? Plus, we managed to save so many allies—I'm actually quite happy about that."
Lu Tianming waved his hand dismissively. What was done was done—he wasn't the type to dwell on past grievances.
At the very least... through his efforts this time, the crews of two battleships and the entire bridge personnel of the Montgomery had survived. That was what satisfied him most.
Though the number might not be large... he had genuinely altered fate, changing the destinies of those who should have died in the original timeline, snatching them back from the jaws of death.
But the more Lu Tianming seemed to care, the more Murrue blamed herself. Seeing that Murrue was getting stuck in her thoughts, Lu Tianming shrugged helplessly and changed the subject:
"Although we successfully repelled the Vesalius this time... I assume we've also been exposed to ZAFT's surveillance, haven't we?"
"So what's the plan now? Continue heading toward the Eighth Fleet with the remaining two allied warships?"
Lu Tianming spread his hands and continued questioning. According to his memories, there should be another battle before formally meeting the Eighth Fleet... Though it sounded harsh, if those two remaining allied warships continued tagging along, the difficulty would significantly increase when real combat erupted.
After all, the recent battle had proven that Earth Alliance warships... couldn't even match the combat capability of a basic GINN.
When Lu Tianming single-handedly restrained and even suppressed the Aegis, the three allied warships had nearly been destroyed by GINN units—that alone spoke volumes.
"Certainly not."
Murrue shook her head and waved her hand. Not only would she disagree, but the crews of the two rescued warships wouldn't approve either.
They knew perfectly well who was responsible for their survival until now—these people wouldn't have the audacity to further trouble the Archangel.
Moreover... there indeed existed a route with lower risks.
"Based on preliminary discussions, we plan to transfer the previously rescued civilians to these two warships. They'll take the lower-risk route back to the Eighth Fleet, where shuttle arrangements will be made to send them to Earth."
"Our side will continue along the standard route, bearing any risks ourselves as usual."
Here, Murrue paused briefly before adding:
"But whether the Archangel takes the lower-risk route or the civilian-carrying warships do... remains undecided."
The debate was straightforward: having the valuable Archangel take the safer route prioritized strategic value, while having the civilian ships go reflected concern for civilian lives. As for why not simply keep the civilians aboard the Archangel—it was about risk distribution.
Lu Tianming had little interest in such trivial details. If anything, he felt... whichever route the Archangel took would inevitably face higher risks.
"Anyway... we only have a short distance left to our destination. Finally, we can properly look forward to it."
Murrue smiled at Lu Tianming. In her eyes... once they reached the Eighth Fleet, Lu Tianming could truly get some proper rest.
"The Eighth Fleet, huh..."
Lu Tianming muttered the name and sighed helplessly. Murrue thought reaching there would be the end... but in his eyes, arriving at the Eighth Fleet was far from the conclusion—not even the beginning of the end, merely the end of the beginning.
However, regarding the Eighth Fleet, he now had another important matter to discuss with Murrue:
"By the way... after we rendezvous with the Eighth Fleet, I hope you can keep Lacus's situation concealed."
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