Since Lacus's concert, they had grown even more fond of her, and by extension, their impression of Fred—who seemed to have whisked away their idol princess—was far from favorable.
"Miss Lacus would never fall for Freed!" Herbert gritted his teeth.
"Hard to say, but I think they'd make a good match."
"Match your sister!"
"Alright, get out of here now. There might still be surprises ahead!"
Listening to what felt like the umpteenth argument between the two, Haken cut them off impatiently.
"Captain, what do you think?" Mars seized the opportunity to ask, undeterred by Haken's tone.
"...Miss Lacus's choices are her own, but I believe she'll think things through carefully. She isn't the impulsive type," Haken replied wearily.
His words finally quieted the two down.
After all, Haken's reasoning was sound, and any further complaints seemed pointless. Continuing to argue would only come across as questioning Miss Lacus's judgment.
...
While Haken and the others were making a swift retreat, the young man and his team, who had been chased for quite some distance and lost several Mistrals along the way, finally managed to completely destroy the two transport ships pursuing them.
Though "completely destroyed" might be an overstatement—after their propulsion systems and weapons were disabled, the enemy ships chose to self-destruct.
Now, as Blue Cosmos surveyed the results of the battle, none of their earlier confidence remained.
Though they had aimed for a grand victory, this outcome could hardly be called an achievement.
"Captain, what do we do now...?" the adjutant asked dejectedly, his voice echoing the gloom that hung over the crew.
"Send the coordinates to the support team and have them flank the enemy," the young man ordered, though he held little hope.
Given how cunning the enemy commander was, they had likely already changed course.
"Everyone, you've worked hard. The fault lies with my poor command," the young man offered a word of encouragement, easing some of the tension on the bridge.
Several Blue Cosmos members stood up, their expressions filled with shame.
"How could this be Captain Barnes's fault? It's those cunning Coordinators!"
"Exactly!"
"Next time we meet, we'll make them pay in blood!"
The thought of their fallen comrades only fueled their anger.
"Thank you," Barnes sighed as he looked at his subordinates.
Just as his comrades had said, the enemy commander was indeed cunning—but in Barnes's eyes, that wasn't a criticism but a compliment.
From the very beginning, by sacrificing one transport ship, the enemy had lured them into a trap.
They thought they were catching the enemy in a jar, but in reality, they were the ones trapped.
The higher-ups had probably already evacuated, just like the two ships that had self-destructed moments ago. The explosions were so intense that not a shred of evidence would remain.
On the surface, the battle had seemed like a turn-based game, but in truth, it was more like a chess match—a constant back-and-forth of probing and testing.
In the end, both sides had gone all out, and Barnes's side had been outmaneuvered.
It was precisely under that terrifying firepower that their second team was instantly wiped out.
But where did those ambushers come from?
They had clearly been monitoring PLANT's home territory.
Did they have a secret base nearby?
Perhaps they could find some clues there.
Thinking of the scenes in the intelligence reports where their Blue Cosmos comrades were easily killed, the young man sighed with mixed emotions.
"I really want to see who it is... the enemy commander..."
As he thought this, a murderous intent erupted from the young man's originally calm eyes.
"Find him, and then kill him."
Such a person posed a huge threat to them.
Unfortunately, he was truly powerless at the moment.
He could only wait for the next opportunity to wipe them out completely...!
Having made up his mind, the young man clenched his fists even tighter.
...
On the other side, Fred had no idea that someone had already developed a murderous intent toward him. Even if he knew, he probably wouldn't care much.
After all, they were so far apart—it would be strange if the other side could actually find him.
Only a few people, led by Siegel, knew about his involvement.
So, at this moment, Fred wasn't worried at all. He simply watched as Wolf and the others successfully shook off their pursuers and let out a sigh of relief.
"Fortunately, you had a small base in that asteroid belt. Otherwise, we might have been in trouble this time."
Fred had guessed that the enemy might have an ambush, but he couldn't be sure how many people they had.
If it weren't for the three heavily modified battleships from Lacus's side, they would have been in serious trouble.
"It's just a shame that the base will probably have to self-destruct."
Overall, although they had taken out four Drake-class ships from the enemy's side, they had also lost three modified transport ships and a space station in return.
In terms of pure equipment loss ratio, they had actually lost.
However, considering the value of individual Coordinators, it was barely acceptable.
"It's fine. Besides, the retreat was our responsibility."
Lacus shook her head, her beautiful eyes fixed on Fred. Although she had some prior impressions of him, she wasn't too surprised by his command this time.
Still, seeing how smoothly the plan had gone, she couldn't help but feel a bit more admiration.
She couldn't speak for other areas, but at least in the field of command, Fred was undoubtedly the strongest within their Clyne Faction.
Of course, the same went for scientific research.
"We owe a lot to you this time, brother."
Lacus said sincerely.
"It's just a transaction."
In response to Fred's words, Lacus covered her mouth and chuckled lightly.
"Regarding the Mobile Suit development, we certainly won't forget."
"You can send us your research materials, and we'll grant you access to the satellite's internal control."
As she spoke, Lacus continued to watch him.
The latter part was fine, but the former—asking Fred to send them his materials—was a test of trust between both sides.
Whether Fred trusted them, and whether they were worthy of that trust.
This was a difficult decision.
When Lacus said this, she had already prepared for Fred to ponder it for a long time. However, reality once again exceeded her expectations.
The young man didn't hesitate much and simply nodded in agreement.
"Alright."
If you doubt someone, don't use them; if you use someone, don't doubt them.
Since he had already agreed to cooperate with them, he naturally anticipated this step.
Although Siegel might not be entirely trustworthy, as Lacus became an idol, Siegel gradually transferred some authority to her.
For Fred, Lacus was absolutely trustworthy.