He knew that there were too many decisions to make.
As they left the fortress behind, Galacta Knight cut through any Demon Beasts stupid enough to get within range of his lance. There weren't many now as the battlefield emptied; the few monsters that the trio encountered were dealt with easily enough, as those remaining were already too weak to put up much of a challenge. Considering the fact that the trio was coming from behind enemy lines, the fact that there was no one really there to stop them carried quite a bit of weight. Galacta Knight allowed himself a smirk; finally, one battle had gone right.
Once across the emptying field, he led the group to a smaller starship among the massive fleet the GSA had assembled for the invasion. This ship was new and sleek, if a bit beat up from the recent battle. Her intended cargo of soldiers consisted of veteran Star Warriors - an elite ship for her elite passengers. The moment the trio climbed up the landing, Sir Arthur bowed to his superiors and hurried off to deposit the Demon Beast as Galacta Knight had instructed.
Once the squire was out of earshot, Yamikage turned to the Knight. The latter, however, waved off the question before it was asked. "For the time being, don't speak to anyone of what we found; the Demon Beast, the documents, the - well, you know. Go on and check on those under your command, we'll speak at length later."
The ninja was silent for a moment, almost in defiance - it was clear he wanted to ask a question or protest - but eventually bowed. "Yes, sir." Without another word, he turned and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Galacta Knight hovered back outside. The fortress was grounded on a small, barren planet - in fact, the fortress itself was half as big as the land it occupied. What little land there was between the GSA's starships and Nightmare's base was littered with corpses, and medics dug through piles of bodies to find any hint of the living. The battle had been a much needed victory, though Galacta Knight wondered if they would have enough soldiers for the next. Of course, the same could be said for Nightmare though his misfortune was compounded by the fact that it had been a crushing defeat. And now, even one of his most valuable Demon Beasts was gone.
The Star Warrior-Demon Beast...
Galacta Knight contemplated the options as he pulled together the soldiers able to join him for another sweep of the fortress. There were no records of such a creature existing before; this blue-haired child seemed to be the very first. That was the one available fact. The implications of this fact were many and complicated; how had Nightmare created such a thing, how powerful was it, were there more, was it mindless or capable of choice, and had Nightmare actually allowed it to be taken so as to become a mole in the GSA's highest ranks? There were even more questions, but Galacta Knight considered those the more important.
As for the last question, the Knight decided to treat the situation as if it were so. After all, what other purpose would such a Demon Beast have? Of course it was a spy. But... the GSA couldn't kill the thing. After all, it could be used to their advantage, and it was very likely quite powerful. The creature was a valuable asset for either side, and now it was left to decide for which one.
That creature was the top priority, but it wasn't the only thing worthy of note in Nightmare's base. Yamikage had found a small, heart-shape glass-like shard among the vaults of the fortress. And, though Galacta Knight couldn't quite explain why, the Knight had felt intensely drawn to it and had tucked it into a pouch on a whim. Nightmare couldn't have possibly made it - for one thing, it didn't have Nightmare's emblem on it, and the semi-deity put the damn marker on everything he created - as the shard radiated a feeling of compassion. The Knight had felt compelled to act kinder since he'd picked it up; otherwise, he might have followed Yamikage's suggestion to kill the little creature. He couldn't think of a reason that Nightmare would have to create such an object; surely Nightmare didn't even know the what compassion was.
Galacta Knight sighed and tucked the heart shard back into his pocket. It would need to be taken to another General before proceeding any farther with it. However, he could think of some solutions for how to handle the child in the meantime.
It wasn't until the early morning that Galacta Knight finished his immediate duties and was finally able to return to the Starship Aurora and his personal cabin. He entered clumsily, allowed his armor to litter the floor, and curled into a nest of pillows to fall into a dreamless sleep.
The Knight woke hours later when a little hand tugged on his horn. He tried to ignore it, but when the tugging persisted, Galacta Knight finally deigned to slide one scarlet eye open.
The lighting in the room indicated the afternoon. He saw that his armor was strewed across the floor where he'd left it that morning; he'd need to wash it and either put it on himself or a mannequin. The only change in the room was a that small child, barely past the toddling stage, shyly perched on the edge of the bed. The boy brushed blue fringe from his face and revealed curious, pale yellow eyes.
Galacta Knight stared in dumb bewilderment before remembering the child as the GSA's prize from the raid the night before. Huh... the child looked somehow different in the light, a little more...human?
He pulled himself up into a sitting position and met the child's eyes; the boy stared back for a moment, but then lowered his gaze. Finally, the Knight spoke, "What are you doing in here?" His voice was oddly raspy.
The child, meanwhile, didn't seem to have a voice at all. He just furrowed his eyebrows in what was maybe slight worry or confusion, but managed to smile a bit. Galacta Knight wondered if he was capable of speaking.
When a voice answered, it wasn't the child's. A cautious "Hey, kiddo, are you in here- " sounded as Sir Arthur peeped through the door. His eyes widened when he saw that Galacta Knight was already awake. The younger squire smiled timidly and tried a greeting. "Ah, good afternoon, sir. I trust you slept well?"
The Knight didn't answer but instead watched as the child let himself slide off the edge of the bed and pattered over to the young soldier. The boy raised his arms, obviously wanting to be held; Arthur obliged and scooped the child up. Galacta Knight raised an eyebrow. It'd been only a few hours since they found the creature; how had gotten Arthur attached so quickly?
Arthur may have blushed at the look. "Ah, sorry for disturbing you, sir... I'll take him elsewhere..."
"How long have you been letting that kid run around?" Galacta Knight kept his voice flat but was distinctively annoyed at the other Star Warrior's carelessness. Although, in Arthur's defense, Galacta Knight had only ordered Yamikage to secrecy; he'd just expected that Arthur, as lower in rank, wouldn't involve himself any further unless ordered to. Now, however, this seemed not to be the case. "We don't exactly have clearance to let him do anything, much less explore. Understand?"
Arthur nodded and replied with a solemn, "Yes, sir."
Galacta Knight sighed. Stars, he was tired. "I told you to take him to Popopo. Why isn't he with her?"
Arthur chewed the inside of his mouth; Galacta Knight could see it from here and decided that the younger man needed a mask if he couldn't hide his expressions himself. "I did, sir... She took care of him last night, and she's busy now, so I'm taking care of him."
The Knight finally climbed out of his warm bed and began picking his armor off the floor. He noticed the child studying him intently, but ignored it. Arthur continued to stand at the door, silently awaiting either orders or a dismissal.
"Where is Popopo now?" Galacta Knight abruptly asked.
Arthur blinked in confusion for a moment before responding. "At the infirmary, sir." Seeing his superior's expression, he quickly added, "She isn't hurt; I think she's checking supplies or helping the wounded."
Galacta Knight nodded absently as he slipped his armor and mask back on. "Right. Well, I need you to stay in here with that child while I go talk to her. Make sure he doesn't wander off this time."
Arthur nodded somewhat sulkily. "Yes, sir."
Galacta Knight caught Popopo as she was making her way back to her room.
"Good afternoon," she chirped, blue-grey eyes shining. "Did you just wake up?"
The Knight nodded groggily. "Popopo, did Arthur bring that child to you?"
Popopo raised an eyebrow, but her answer was no less cheerful than before. "Yup. He's such a cutie! Where did he come from, though? And what did you want me to do with him - just care for him?"
The Knight waved his hand in a 'follow me' gesture, not wanting to speak about it where they could be overheard. He wasn't sure if the secrecy was strictly necessary, but it couldn't hurt. Popopo's room was closer, so they stopped in there. Galacta Knight absentmindedly preened his feathers with his fingers as he began to speak. "We found that child last night in one of Nightmare's vaults. It's a Demon Beast, but also a Star Warrior. I'm guessing that Nightmare created it to infiltrate us, but I didn't kill it because I thought there was a chance we could persuade it to turn to our side."
Popopo was quiet for a moment. When she spoke, her tone was somewhat irritated. "Well, you might want to start your persuasion by calling the child a 'he,' not an 'it.'" She sighed in response to her companion's bewildered reaction. "If you keep treating people like objects, they won't be very keen to help you."
He eyed her critically and barely kept himself from arrogantly declaring that he didn't need help. That's why he was speaking to her in the first place, wasn't it?
"We'll never be sure of his actual allegiance; he could tear us apart from the inside... We can't really trust anything from Nightmare." She sounded somewhat sad as she said this, though Galacta Knight had no idea why.
The Knight shuffled his wings. "I thought of that. Is there any way he could be...purified? Perhaps at..."
Popopo caught on. "The Fountain of Dreams? The holy water kills Demon Beasts, though - part Star Warrior or not, it still might kill him."
Galacta Knight shrugged. "If we go through with it and it works, then we've gained another Star Warrior, which will by very convenient, as our numbers have been dwindling as it is. If it doesn't work and he dies, well, that's an advantage we never expected to have anyway."
The girl seemed shocked. "You'd just... let a child die?"
"Well, yes." Rather blunt, but what answer did she want? ...Hadn't Arthur said something along those lines earlier? Galacta Knight made a mental note that people put more value on children, though he wasn't sure why, and that he might pretend to do the same.
Popopo didn't seem to notice his confusion. She stared at him with open disapproval, perhaps the only person who could look at Galacta Knight so disrespectfully and not get struck down for it. But when her disapproval stirred no real reaction in the Knight, she sighed yet again and dropped the matter for a more important one. "Well, I guess we'll have to take him to the Fountain, then."
Galacta Knight nodded. "Excellent. I'll go speak with the General and get permission. Arthur has the boy in my room, would you mind keeping them out of sight?"
Popopo smiled. She always looked adorable when that smile was sincere, and the Knight felt himself smiling back. "Of course. You can always count on me."
AN: Build up, exposition chapter. Next will have a little more storyline in it. Thank you for waiting~
