A/N: Sorry my my absence, but I'm back now. Turns out a lot of my theories and things have been correct in one way or another, be it how Ein's interaction with the Kimaris/Vidar works or even something mundane like Gaelio being scarred (I just went for the most obvious target, his abdomen, rather than the smaller target of his face), so it's been decently vindicating that I essentially got it right the first time around.
Now, onto the story.
"Gaelio Bauduin..."
His name is said with some amazement when Gaelio stands before the remaining members of the Seven Stars, in truth the Five Stars with the death of Carta and McGillis most recently. Gallus and Rustal aren't surprised by Gaelio's reappearance, but Elek Falk, Nemo Baklazan, and Iok Kujan all have their differing levels of surprise to the news. Iok was overjoyed to learn that the comrade he had come to be indebted to was none other than Gaelio Bauduin, seeing him as a righteous vanquisher of McGillis Fareed, while both Elek Falk and Nemo Baklazan are left more stolid over all of this news and less revealing of their thoughts.
Standing before the five others in a room separate from their normal meeting chamber, one which resembled a courtroom with the ascetics of Gjallarhorn, Gaelio bows gracefully towards them, "It is good to be back after so long."
Baklazan, the one leading the matter, clears his throat, "This is an important matter, Specialist Major Bauduin. Please take it seriously."
Because of his relationship with Gallus and his work with Rustal and Iok, they will not hold the same sway in this proceeding as they otherwise might: they would be biased one way or another, so the two impartial members of the Seven Stars are left to truly decide Gaelio's punishment, if any, for his attack upon McGillis Fareed.
"Of course, Lord Baklazan. I understand the severity of the situation and will treat it as I ought."
This being said, the evidence was entirely in his favor, and so any unjust judgment made would reflect poorly upon both of their families as an obvious power-play against the Bauduin Family. While that accusation would be levied against Gaelio himself in this instance for killing McGillis, that he had a recording of McGillis admitting to his crimes where he sought to betray Gjallarhorn from within and bring about revolutionary change would negate that since all Gaelio did was prevent McGillis from leading a large scale rebellion.
If anything, Gaelio would likely be promoted and commended in the end as doing so would benefit those remaining. It would not exactly be that simple, but that was where it would boil down to at the end of the day.
Julieta though...that would be another case entirely.
"Julieta Juris. Will you testify to what happened on Mars between yourself, Gaelio Bauduin, and the supposed traitors McGillis Fareed and Isurugi Camice?"
After Gaelio's initial hearing was over, Julieta was lead in next and had to face the exact same panel. In this instance only Iok and Rustal were to sit out of the judgment, as Gallus did not have a sufficient connection (known, at least) to Julieta to keep him from partaking. Her new position as Gaelio's bodyguard rose some question at first, but it was decided ultimately that this was too new a development and he knew her too little for it to effect his judgment.
On the way in, Gaelio gave Julieta a wink, as if signalling that his portion went well. Julieta hoped that hers would go similarly, and so gave her rehearsed accounting of the events on Mars that were completely factual and did not diverge from the official record of the events. After telling them of the events as robotically as she could, Falk, the very fat member of the Seven Stars who had brown hair, speaks up.
"What is the relationship between you and Gaelio Bauduin?"
Julieta keeps her voice even and posture rigid as she speaks the truth in a way that would not reflect poorly upon her, "I am presently the subordinate of Lord Bauduin and his sworn protector. At the time of the incident, he was someone else, however."
She was presently his subordinate and he was someone other than Gaelio Bauduin when the incident occurred...it just left out the details of her present agreement with him to possibly be married come the end of a three month trial period of them having a personal relationship.
Baklazan, the skinny old man who sat on the council, was next to speak, "Someone else...you mean the identity crafted for him by the leader of the Arianrhod Fleet, your former superior, Lord Rustal Elion? This so called 'Vidar'?"
Rustal grins in his seat with the others above the rest of the room, elevated as their status dictated. It was amusing to him that just because he was not allowed to directly weigh in on the proceeding that he was being treated as if he were actually not there.
Julieta confirms the assertion of Baklazan, "Yes, my Lord. I knew him only as Vidar until he revealed himself to Lord Fareed on Mars."
"Did you suspect his identity at any time?"
There hints, yes, but conventional logic of Gaelio Bauduin being dead actually kept Julieta from reaching that conclusion.
"From what I had learned prior I knew only that Lord Fareed had wronged him in some way previously and posed a present threat to someone he still cared for. I learned that he knew that McGillis played some part in the downfall of Lady Issue, and seemed to hold it against him. From this, I believed him to be a retainer of hers who survived the attack of the criminal organization Tekkadan and sought revenge upon McGillis in return. In retrospect, his identity as Gaelio Bauduin seems obvious, though I as well as many others believed him to have died at Edmonton."
Falk nods along with this, having believed the same and remembering the condolences he offered Gallus at the time, "Can you identify for us the person you believe Lord Fareed was placing in danger during this time period?"
"I believe it to be Almiria Bauduin, his sister who was until recently engaged to McGillis. I have since learned that McGillis told Gaelio while betraying him that he would 'take care of' Almiria, which can be construed as a threat given his intentions to marry an underage child."
Baklazan speaks up again, "Please refrain from hearsay."
Julieta shook her head, for it was not hearsay actually, "The damaged Kimaris Trooper had information from its battle which Rustal Elion compiled at the time of Edmonton. I have heard the recordings to corroborate what I have heard since the incident."
Baklazan squints his eyes at Julieta, moving on from his attempt to hurt her testimony, "At the time of the Mars incident you fought a member of the Seven Stars without knowing if the accusations held against them were true. Why?"
"I trusted Lord Bauduin, and McGillis did not flatly reject his claims, leading me to believe them to be true. Given this betrayal of Gjallarhorn, it was justified to remove the traitor who was conspiring with forces who have opposed us in the past."
Falk balked at her statement, "Whether it was justified will remain for us to see, Julieta Juris of the Arianrhod Fleet."
Silent mostly until then to keep from adding fuel to the fire of the suspicions of his family's relationship to Julieta, Gallus does speak up to divert the subject to another topic concerning what happened on Mars which had to be discussed, "Miss Juris, we have come to understand that you have also come to defeat a Mobile Armor."
It was a lead-in to the topic of the possible Order she obtained, something which seemed to make Baklazan and Falk bristle, while Iok and Rustal seemed supportive. While Julieta and Iok had not gotten along previously, her actions saving him on Mars have made him far friendlier towards her and she has spent the time since in his good graces. As such, when prompted he had testified on her behalf earlier when going over certain events, as had Rustal, even though both only were asked about objective matters for the most part, with Rustal being asked additionally of her personal traits to which he praised her loyalty.
While she was being offered the topic on a silver platter, Julieta humbly bowed her head and deflected the distinction placed upon her, for in truth she did not believe the credit lay solely with her, "With the aid of Lord Bauduin I defeated the Mobile Armor known as Hashmal."
Baklazan brings up a contradiction between her statement and Gaelio's before her, "He has told us that you deserve the credit for its defeat. Is this true?"
Julieta continued to act humbly, though it was humbleness born of feeling like she did not entirely deserve something rather than normal modesty, "Yes, though I believe the honor belongs with Lord Rustal or Lord Bauduin rather than a normal soldier such as myself."
Falk shakes his head at her statement, brushing aside her thoughts in the face of the reality of the situation, "Gjallarhorn has traditions which we do not break. You defeated the Mobile Armor, which means that the Order belongs with you."
Baklazan nods in agreement, though he does not sound entirely pleased, "The Seven Stars have recently lost the last of the bloodline belonging to the Issue family. While their power has rested in the Fareed family since the passing of Carta Issue, we are still investigating McGillis Fareed's actions and this leaves us without a seventh house."
Gallus nods towards the other two before turning to face Julieta with the smile he was well known for possessing, "Given the traditions of Gjallarhorn, we offer you a position among our ranks as Julieta of the house Juris, should you first be cleared of all charges concerning the death of McGillis Fareed."
Julieta of House Juris...and then, maybe, Bauduin.
The thought makes her blush, though fortunately for her the bowed position she was in hides this from the others.
"I do not know what to say, my Lords."
Baklazan notices her hesitance however and addresses it, "Do you wish for this distinction? If you would not like to possess such a responsibility you do not need to."
"I..."
She was a soldier at heart, someone who did as she was told and carried out those orders to the best of her ability. To be a leader would be to be the one giving those orders, and that was not something she was entirely sure she was ready for.
However...it could mean possessing far more power than she ever could as a mere soldier. It would be a sacrifice of herself, but one which could aid those she cared for.
Standing as tall as she could, Julieta stares at the Seven Stars council looking down upon her fiercely as she adopts a far more authoritative voice.
"I accept."
After her own first and only hearing for the day, Julieta leaves unhindered and is led by Gaelio over to a private room that has been fashioned for him during his stay on Earth. Once the door is closed and they are sufficiently inside of the office with closed windows, Gaelio grabs Julieta by the hips and lifts her up into a deep kiss, which Julieta cuts off with a hand and starts to object when Gaelio rolls his eyes at her.
"Don't worry, no-one can see or hear us here. I learned how to sweep for surveillance bugs when I was a part of the Gjallarhorn Inquisition."
Julieta blushes, feeling bad now that she doubted his competence, "Oh..."
If no-one could see or listen to them though...
Gaelio chuckles into her lips as she acts now as the aggressor and returns the kiss he had first given her, easing into her position by wrapping her legs around him to keep from falling while he shifts his hands up from her rear to being around her abdomen.
The "making out" session does not last too long, however, as a knock on the door leads to Gaelio letting go of Julieta. Had they been in outer space, she would have just drifted away from him, but instead Julieta tumbled off of him and only landed with some grace thanks to her acrobatic skills. The landing still hurt her rear, and so she glares up at Gaelio as he helps her up and they both go to the door.
Julieta learns soon that his sudden reaction came from knowing precisely whose knock that was: his father's. And like a teenaged boy caught having sex by a parent, Gaelio panicked, even though he was older and doing far less scandalous of an action.
Gallus is let inside the room, and once he is in the main area of the large office he grins at his son and Julieta smugly.
"I apologize if you were guarding my son's lips when I interrupted, I only wished to pass along some information."
While Gaelio keeps his calm, Julieta blushes and tries to deny his statement, "I d-don't know what you mean, sir."
Gallus laughs as he looks around the office now fondly, "Miss Juris, I was young once and in love. Part of why I acquired this specific room for my son is that I have fond memories spending time between meetings with my wife here. I have had it tested, and someone screaming cannot even be heard next door from this place."
Gaelio has his face in his palm, while Julieta is left to wonder why such a thing would even be worth testing, "Why would you have that tested?"
Gallus starts to speak, but stops just as he does so to try and mull over how he could tell this poor, naive woman why such information was useful, and also why he was sure now Gaelio would likely burn the furniture even though it had changed since the time Gallus last used it with his wife.
Gaelio clearing his throat is the last hint Julieta needs that it is a matter pertaining to something vulgar, "Oh...m...my apologies for..."
Given his good humored nature Gallus laughs the incident off and pats a hand on his son's shoulder, "I was going to ask if either of you required a meal after today's affair, but I am afraid my poor son will likely not be hungry for quite some time now."
"Father, I walked in on you and mother eighty seven times as a child. I can get over it," Gaelio sighs in response to his father's joke at his expense.
"In any case, I won't bother you two with details about the hearings now after the hours you spent in them, but I did wish to pass along some other information."
That catches both Gaelio and Julieta's attention, with Gaelio being the one to ask his father further about it.
"Oh? What is it?"
Gallus sighs as he thinks back to the message he received from an old friend, "Iznario Fareed has contacted me today and wishes to use what favors he has with me to help him be reinstated as the head of the Fareed family. He seeks to use McGillis' disgrace to gain favor, saying that McGillis framed him wrongfully as a part of his scheming."
"I see..." Gaelio contemplates the matter for a moment before slowly coming to nod, not in agreement so much as in observance of his responding to the idea, "Lord Fareed always did treat me well when I knew him...I cannot begrudge him using McGillis' downfall to restore himself, given how McGillis betrayed him as well, but he was found to be actually guilty of violating Gjallarhorn rules and regulations. Even if some of it was obfuscation on McGillis' part, Iznario still would be disgraced."
His father nods back and lets out a heavy breath, "He was always a good friend to me, or else I would never have allowed you to befriend that devil of a child of his. McGillis has lived up to his status as a bastard, and it is a shame Iznario did not have a legitimate heir who could have taken the mantle of being his successor to the Fareed family name."
That was something Gaelio had always wondered about, McGillis and where he came from, but his friend had been decidedly quiet about the subject and it was not something he pressed upon previously. Now, perhaps, would be a time to indulge himself in whoever McGillis' mother was and the background behind his 'friend' which produced the monster he would become. Perhaps by learning more about McGillis Gaelio could come to understand him and his betrayal better, rather than the sudden non-sequitur it had been.
Gallus continues to speak still with a heavy voice, "Without him, each of the houses is stronger, so there will be pushback from the others even if I do entertain his request. I just wished to let you know of this change in affairs, as he is really pushing to take back his place now as the top official of Gjallarhorn."
Taking this new information into account, Gaelio lets out a heavy breath as well as he comes to agree with his father's assessment, "Thank you, Father."
Julieta was less sure what this all meant, but she supposed it would soon be her business too who and who wasn't a Seven Star member. As the topic comes to a close however Gallus turns to leave, waving the other two goodbye.
"I will leave you two be now, for I have a follow-up meeting with the other Seven Stars that I ought to be preparing for."
With him gone, Julieta asks Gaelio something that has been hanging on her mind.
"Do you think today went well?"
Gaelio shrugs as he leans against a wall in the office, "Given the evidence in our favor, the chances are that we will be cleared of any wrongdoing, though it may take some time to become official."
"And then we're done?"
He grins at her naive question, knowing that they were nowhere close to being done, "Far from it. This incident will be used in the future by those who seek to oppose us. A permanent mark against the two of us for, after all, we did act in a questionable manner which resulted in the death of a member of the Seven Stars. How can we be trusted, even if we are cleared of wrongdoing?"
This makes Julieta frown, though at least it seems they will not be punished for their actions. Julieta would despise being court-martialed for taking action against a traitor, even if that traitor happened to be a member of the Seven Stars.
That topic covered though, Julieta inquires about something else that has been on her mind since she had been told she would be receiving a place among the Seven Stars.
"If we get married what would happen to my 'House'?"
Gaelio laughs at her sudden change in topic, "It would become a part of my own, more well-established family. They would fuse, in essence, to become stronger. You would, however, still have a place on the Seven Stars council since you would still represent your own power."
Julieta nods to this, though says nothing further on the matter. She still had to wrap her head around the whole situation and had to spend time comprehending it. Said comprehension was cut short when Gaelio straightened his posture and stopped leaning on the wall, as if he was about to go somewhere.
"Where are you going?"
Captured by fleeting whimsy, Gaelio admits his destination to his lover, "To see a friend. I talk to him every day, and I have not had the opportunity yet today, so I may as well before we are made busy with other affairs."
It took a moment for her to sift through what he said, but Julieta came to realize quickly that he was speaking of his friend, Ein, who had saved his life on numerous occasions and now was inside of his mobile suit.
Gaelio grins as he notices Julieta fall into step right beside him on the way out.
"Coming, are we?"
"It's my duty to come. I am your subordinate and sworn bodyguard now, after all."
Gaelio smirking amusedly at her makes Julieta frown, as she picks up that she has made him want to laugh and he's restraining himself.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing," Gaelio lied, still grinning down at her.
Julieta prods his chest with a finger, her face now in a childish pout, "You're making fun of me, aren't you?"
Gaelio took her hand softly and held it in his own as he lowered himself down to kiss her on the forehead, "I just find it amusing that you think you need to come up with a reason to just come with me," she blushes as he pulls her into his chest and hugs her, "Julieta, I wish to share my life with you, I am not going to hide a dear friend from you. You're more than welcome to come as Julieta the woman I love rather than Julieta the soldier whose job it is to protect me."
Feeling cozy in his warm embrace, Julieta leans her head against him while now grinning herself, "Then I shall go as both."
That brings him to actually laugh, and she smiles up at him as he appreciates her oddness, and soon the two are on their way again and leave the office behind. As they do so, Julieta finds herself relieved to see Gaelio showing such emotion, as she has seen how cold he has become after his near death at the hands of McGillis, but now...now he seemed fine, better even, around her.
He didn't say it verbally, but Julieta got a feeling that maybe just like how she lived to serve Rustal Elion as his subordinate, maybe now...well, maybe Gaelio found a renewed sense of purpose and life in her.
As Gaelio began to lead Julieta to where his mobile suit is they are interrupted almost instantaneously once again by someone with purple hair.
"Big brother!"
Gaelio tilts his head, not remembering bringing his sister along with them as she rushes up to him and hugs him around the waist, "Almiria, what are you doing here?"
Almiria's voice is one of worry, of fear, as she explains herself, "I asked Father if I could come see you after your hearing and he said you were here. Is everything going to be okay? Father wouldn't tell me..."
No, things were not okay yet, for there was still a lot of politics at play and there would be for quite some time, but Gaelio was not about to ruin his sister's mood further and make her worry about that sort of thing so he rustled her hair with a hand while he used the other to hug her back.
"Yes, it will. You don't need to cry anymore, Almiria."
Julieta notices that Gaelio's uniform is growing wet where Almiria is pressing her eyes up against on his abdomen, and it makes Julieta feel bad to see the nice girl so distraught. She was genuinely worried that her brother might have been in trouble...
"I miss Macky..."
"I know you do. I miss who I thought he was too, but, alas, he never truly existed."
His voice reveals the mixture of feelings he has on the matter, in one part revealing his pain, and in another revealing his cold anger at having been betrayed by someone he trusted his life with.
Still, he did not want to make his sister cry any further, and so he forces a smile and invites her to come join him and Julieta.
"Almiria, why don't you come with me and Julieta? We're going to see a friend of mine. I can't promise it'll cheer you up, but I owe this friend my life."
This information surprises her, but Almiria readily agrees, eager to meet such a good friend of her brother's.
Julieta, on the other hand, was bracing herself for her first meeting with Ein Dalton and whatever that might entail.
A/N: Thank you for reading, and if you have any thoughts they would be most appreciated in the reviews below.
