Then don't even mention the relative part if it's not there. Say, "He's there to see someone special by the name of Ellone. She's there to be protected from issues outside our control, and we think the moonbase might be better than keeping her on the planet right now." The game could even go, "Hey, instead of our president, who is kinda...sorta...not the best at this sort of stuff, why don't your team go?"
Serves multiple purposes. Sets up reasons the mention the moon, who and why they are up there in the first place (ties together the fact she joins Esthar in an earlier scene, keeping Ellone away from Galbadia's earthbound forces, gives the party reason to even travel there, and then serves the Squall/Rinoa plot a bit more). They even put over the threat of Ultimecia more, considering she's able to do all this through magical/sorceress bullshit, outwitting Esthar's protection plan. You also refer to Laguna as a bit of a goof, but don't outright say it. By most accounts, a lot of the people in authority in FF8 aren't the smartest of people
A 3-5 minute bit of extra dialogue can go a long way. Again, FF8 is not unique to this, (tying Cloud's weirdness to all of Hojo's sciece and Sephiroth's mindfuckery, Garland/Necron, etc in FF9). Compared to all that, FFX's approach just felt way more digestible, fleshed out and understandable. Like they took time to close a lot of loopholes and provide justifications for any callbacks and such.
Then again, comparing FFX to anything is problematic. That game was a masterclass of not too much, not too little, but everything makes sense in the end, bonkers as it is.
"Evening caress, Always yearning, I must confess, The stars aren't burning"
Copernicus - Candlemass