Work Text:
Timeline: Samurai
Challenge: Knight (number 14)
As the stars twinkled above the quiet city, the protectors of the city lay in bed, most asleep, but for Z Delgado, sleep was not so easy to obtain. For one, Cruger was suffering a bout of insomnia, and was prone to aimlessly wandering the halls under the guise of ‘patrolling’. Either way, it kept her confined to her bed, and not closer to Jack Landors.
With a small sigh born of frustration, she rolled over, clutching her second pillow to her chest. It was a small comfort, but still better than nothing. Annoyed at the direction her train of though was going, she thought back on the battle of the day. Not many could say that they had visited Koyoto, Japan. Granted, it was under the duties of a ranger, but still. And besides the battle, she got to see a side of Jack that had been slowly forming since he had joined the team.
Jack had always done the right thing, even back on the streets. The stealing was their own misguided sense to help, so she considered it doing the right thing. She idly remembered a night when, a few boxes down, an elder alien was coughing violently, he slipped into a drugstore and slipped back out with a bottle of cold medicine for her. He didn’t know her, but he knew the punishment if he was found.
But that was Jack. So it really didn’t surprise her when their leader let Bridge track down the samurai with his developing powers. It would never have occurred to him to deny the enthusiastic ranger the ability to help.
Biting back a yawn, Z stretched for a moment, then relaxing and turning over again. She remembered reading somewhere about a code of chivalry that knights used to follow, and, in an attempt to quiet her mind to sleep, set about remembering the 9 points.
There was justice, of course…Jack always did his best to make sure there was justice. Too bad for them, the citizens always seemed to think that the street rats were less then deserving of justice. But that never dissuaded them from the fierce loyalty to their fellow comrades, which wasn’t loyalty another point on the code?
Courage was another easy one, and one that seemed to abound here at Space Patrol Delta Academy. Thinking of her teammates, each and every one of them had courage in plenty. They also had a lot of faith that they would win each battle, and protect the city. But that faith was carefully balanced with humility…although Bridge, Jack and herself seemed to have a bit more than Syd or Sky. Regardless, the three points seemed to balance and depend on one another, like the team was learning to.
Z snuggled under her blankets a bit more, her mind winding down, but still determined to remember the last couple of points. Her mind drifted back to the battle, and she remembered with stunning clarity the prowess that Jack had battled with. That they all had. They all put in extra hours training, knowing that it would help them defeat their enemies, and defend their city.
Nobility was one, but it was tricky. Too many remembered nobility as purity of bloodline, not purity of heart and soul, which was the true meaning to any knight. She snorted softly in the darkness. No wonder the knights eventually died out, with corruption tainting their ideals.
As her eyes started to close, she remembered the last one. Generosity. As she finally slid into the dreamworld, she laughed as she watched Cruger knight Jack with his Shadow Saber, deeming him worthy.