dmims Chapter 24: Lux's "Pregnant Belly" and the Player's Scenario
Chapter 24: Lux's "Pregnant Belly" and the Player's Scenario
[Archangel, outside the isolation corridor]
The news of the imminent arrival of the Eighth Fleet did not bring the expected celebratory atmosphere to the Archangel. Instead, it was like a drop of boiling oil falling into ice water, creating a silent sizzling sound.
The crux of the problem lies behind this tightly closed isolation chamber door.
Frey Alster leaned against the wall with her arms crossed and an icy expression, two equally serious soldiers standing behind her. Her gaze was like the most precise calipers, meticulously measuring Kira Yamato before her, marking every hesitation and reluctance he showed as a measure of "weakness."
"Move aside, Frey." Kira's voice trembled slightly. He just wanted to see the pink-haired girl one more time and make sure she was alright.
"Get out of the way?" Frey let out a soft laugh, a laugh devoid of any warmth. "Kira, do you know who she is? She's the daughter of the ZAFT chairman, a walking political bargaining chip. She's our only shield for survival, our most valuable 'asset' for currying favor with the Union and seeking revenge for you and me."
The word "assets" pierced Kira's eardrums like an icicle.
He couldn't accept that a living, breathing person, someone who had comforted everyone with his songs, was being objectified and priced in this way.
Just as the two were about to clash, a lazy voice broke in.
"Oh dear, so irritable so early in the morning?" Ling Yu, a toothpick-shaped energy bar dangling from his lips, swaggered over, his gaze sweeping between Frey's hard profile and Kira's pained expression. "Quiet down, quiet down. It's a family conflict, oh no, it's a comradeship conflict, let's settle it behind closed doors. Kira, come with me, I'll show you a big treasure."
As he spoke, ignoring Frey's murderous glare, he grabbed Kira's shoulder and forcibly dragged him toward the hangar.
【Archangel, Hangar】
The Strike Gundam stood quietly on the maintenance rack, like a white deity listening to confessions.
Ling Yu helped Kira sit down on a toolbox, then skillfully climbed into the Strike's cockpit, fiddled with it for a moment, and then poked his head out with a sincere smile like a professional conman.
"Kira, I know you want to let her go." Ling Yu got straight to the point.
Kira looked up abruptly, his eyes filled with astonishment.
"Don't look at me like that, your little schemes are written all over your face." Ling Yu chuckled, then changed the subject, his tone becoming like a CEO analyzing a financial report. "But releasing people is an art, it's about maximizing profits. Releasing them directly is foolish. Handing them over to the approaching Eighth Fleet would be like giving away the 'original shares' we risked our lives to acquire. We have to do it ourselves."
He held up three fingers and began his "talking nonsense" performance.
"First, there's the 'brand value.' A Lux locked in a cage will only embolden those ZAFT mad dogs to attack us even more. But a Lux we 'humanitarianly release' is a living, breathing weapon! She'll tell the entire universe that we, the Archangel, are refined! Respectable! Unlike those soldiers who only know how to shoot. Sometimes, the human heart is more effective than a positron cannon."
"Secondly, it's called 'Investing in the Future.' Who is she? A songstress? An idol? Wrong! She's the future ZAFT Queen! Our investment of one energy bar now could potentially yield the return of an entire military factory in the future. By returning her to Aslan, you're not only repaying a favor, but also planting a seed of 'you owe me' in the future Queen's heart. That's called long-term holding, understand?"
"Thirdly, it's called 'tactical initiative.' When the Eighth Fleet arrives, we're 'taken over,' and all our actions are under their command. But before they arrive, we're free! By proactively returning personnel, we can choose the time and place ourselves. This is both a gesture of goodwill and a perfect baiting maneuver. We can see who's in command on the other side and how fast they react. Exchanging a 'peaceful' operation for valuable battlefield intelligence is a huge win!"
Kira was dumbfounded. He had never imagined that Ling Yu could analyze something so simple and well-intentioned into so many layers. The complex logic of war, in Ling Yu's words, became like a clear and straightforward business game.
"But... it's a military order..."
"Military orders are worthless!" Ling Yu tossed an encrypted communicator and a data disk from the cockpit. "This is the 'optimal handover route' I've planned for you."
It can perfectly avoid the Eighth Fleet's route and ZAFT patrols. The coordinates and channels are all there. Just tell Captain Murrue that you're going to launch a "deterrence patrol," and I'll handle the rest.
He winked at Kira, his smile full of "brother, I've got your back" bravado.
"Go, my ace. Show them what a 'technical adjustment' really is."
Kira held the cold equipment, looking at Ling Yu's unreliable face, yet the scales in his heart tipped in his favor for the first time ever.
[Archangel, changing room]
When Lux changed into her spacesuit and walked out of the locker room, Kira, who had come to meet her, was completely petrified.
Lux's spacesuit had an extremely unnatural, rounded bulge from her chest to her abdomen, making her look like... a woman who was six months pregnant.
"Um... Miss Lux, you..." Kira's face flushed red instantly, and he couldn't even speak properly.
Lux blinked her pure eyes, then patted her pregnant belly with a slightly troubled expression, making a muffled "plop" sound: "I can't help it, that pink dress is a gift from my dad, I can't throw it away."
There's nowhere else to put it, so I had to squeeze it in here for now. It's a bit cramped.
As she spoke, she even stuck out her "belly," as if adjusting the position of her expensive dress.
Kira felt like his CPU was about to burn out. He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the absurd thought in his mind that "the ZAFT princess has run away with her child, and I'm the one who's taking over," and turned around almost tragically.
"let's go."
[Outer space, specified coordinates]
Amidst the shattered wreckage of a colony, the white Strike Gundam and the red Aegis Gundam stand silently facing each other, separated by a distance of several hundred meters.
The Strike Gundam carefully pushed the escape pod it was carrying forward.
There was no communication, no shouting.
The Aegis Gundam silently extended its mechanical arm and took the escape pod.
Through the cockpit screen, Kira and Athrun's gazes collided in the void, and complex emotions flowed silently between them.
The next second, Kira didn't hesitate for a moment, and slammed the control stick. The Strike Gundam's engines roared to life, transforming into a streak of light and resolutely disappearing into the depths of the wreckage.
[ZAFT command ship "Gamov", bridge]
"Captain! We've spotted the attackers! They...they've brought Miss Lux back! Should we give chase immediately?" an excited subordinate reported.
On the bridge, a tall, upright man with icy eyes slowly raised his hand.
It was another "player," Xiao Ran.
He stared at the clean and efficient retreat trajectory of the Strike Gundam on the screen, a cold smile curving his lips.
"No need."
His voice wasn't loud, but it instantly silenced the entire bridge.
"The timing, the route, and the method were all flawless. During the window of opportunity just before the Eighth Fleet's arrival, they precisely extended a goodwill gesture to the Klein faction, simultaneously completing a risk-free tactical probe..." Xiao Ran's fingertips tapped lightly on the control panel.
"This isn't a decision a student soldier like Kira Yamato would make. There are my 'kin' on the Archangel. He's making political investments, laying the groundwork for the postwar era… Interesting."
He looked up and issued a new order: "The entire fleet retreats thirty kilometers and enters a state of silence. Send an encrypted report of this contact to Chairman Siegel Klein himself. Say that we saw 'the dawn of peace' on the Earth Force's ship."
He wanted to see where this "opponent," whom he had never met, would place his next move.
[Archangel, Temporary Data Analysis Room]
Ling Yu closed the door, whistled, and immediately opened his system panel.
The familiar mechanical sound now sounds like heavenly music.
[Ding! Pilot successfully guided a key plot point, significantly altering the fates of key characters Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne!]
[Hidden achievement completed: 'The Queen's Investor'!]
[Achievement rewards are being processed...]
[One can use: 3000 reward system points.]
[A Future-Useable Item: Congratulations! You have obtained a special story item: 'Lux's Communication Beacon'. A seemingly ordinary encrypted chip, it contains a one-time, untraceable quantum communication channel that can directly contact Lux K. Klein herself.]
[Note: A queen's promise is sometimes more valuable than a fleet. Of course, it might also earn you a simple "Thank you, you're a good person."]
[A transfer/trade item: Obtain key intelligence: 'Eighth Fleet "Mendel" route final confirmation briefing'.]
"Perfect!" Ling Yu was overjoyed. "Points in hand, a way to contact my long-term meal ticket, and I can use the Eighth Fleet's intelligence to exchange for more trust and authority from Captain Murrue! Three birds with one stone! I'm truly a business genius!"
[Archangel, Observation Deck]
The night was deep, and outside the porthole was a tranquil and magnificent sea of stars.
Ling Yu hummed an off-key tune, enjoying the moment of tranquility, until a cold voice rang out behind him.
Why let her go?
Frey appeared behind him unnoticed; her voice, piercing the silence of the deck, was filled with undisguised anger and bewilderment: "She's our only shield against ZAFT!"
Ling Yu slowly turned around, his face displaying a smile that Frey couldn't understand at all—a smile that was a mixture of pity and fanaticism.
He walked step by step to Frey, leaned close to her ear, and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, like a devil:
"A shield? Frey, your perspective is too narrow. I'm not letting a shield slip away..."
"I am placing a 'queen' on the chessboard of our future in advance."