Sergeant Faye gulped, and her whole body tensed.
Shizuka on the other hand, just looked between Sergeant Faye and Muka with a look of confusion on her face.
She had no idea what this "decision" Muka was referring to even was, due to her having been unconscious in another room during Faye's and Muka's previous discussion.
A tense silence filled the throne room that persisted for several moments.
Muka turned to look at Shizuka.
"But, before I announce my decision, I feel you should be aware of just how serious your presence here is, Hikiko Shizuka," she replied.
Shizuka narrowed her eyes.
"Under normal circumstances, any Human who learns of our existence, let alone the existence of the Settlement has three choices," Muka continued. "Either be Turned, have their memories erased…or executed."
Shizuka's hands tightened into fists.
Her whole body stiffened, now on edge from the last part of Muka's statement.
There was a brief silence.
"It is for that reason that the knowledge of you standing before me will not leave this room,' she replied.
Muka looked from side to side, giving each of the other Vampires a hard look that could be perceived despite the fact that the only visible part of her face under her mask was her glowing, red eyes.
"Is that understood?" she asked in a serious tone.
Sergeant Faye immediately bowed.
"Yes, my Leader," she replied.
There was a pause, and then all of the other Vampires standing on either side of Muka also bowed their heads.
"Yes, my Leader!" They all chorused.
Muka nodded in approval, before turning back to Sergeant Faye.
"Faye Dallum," she replied in an authoritative voice, causing Faye to straighten back up and look at Muka. "For the crime of bringing a Human to the Vampire Settlement…I have decided to overlook it at this time."
Muka turned her gaze to look at Shizuka.
"I have deemed that this girl is trustworthy enough to keep our secret," she replied. "Plus, knowing what she has witnessed, and even more so, seeing who her brother is, it is more than likely that she would have found out…eventually."
Sergeant Faye let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you, my Leader," she replied, bowing again.
Although, the other Vampires seemed…less as enthusiastic, with many of them letting out "Tch"s of annoyance under their breath.
Muka turned back to Sergeant Faye.
"Now that this matter is settled," she replied. "Do you have anything else to report? I mean, on top of discovering that this 'Quinn Talen' was a Turned Vampire."
Sergeant Faye nodded.
"Yes, my Leader," she replied.
She reached into her breastpocket and began fishing for something.
However, a moment later, she froze.
She remained still for a moment, as if she was trying to re-assess her current actions.
After a moment, she seemed to have made her mind, as she went back to fishing through her pocket.
Eventually, she pulled out a metal thumb drive.
Sergeant Faye looked up at Muka.
"Leader Muka, I took the opportunity to observe the 'Talen' boy and his 'group' during their training session today," she replied. "I had the recordings on the System deleted, while my main reasoning for observing today was to ensure the boy didn't reveal anything he shouldn't have, as two out of the six are still unaware of our existence, but he…used an attack that I am still as of this point unsure if it has anything to do with the Vampires. The only remaining copy of the security footage remains on this thumb drive."
Shizuka's head snapped over towards Sergeant Faye.
'Looks like she made a back-up before she started giving that private the third-degree,' she thought.
Sergeant Faye's face instantly fell.
"However, I am…unsure if this thumb drive is…compatible with the Vampire Settlement's systems," she replied, a tone of regret in her voice.
Shizuka let out an amused snort.
"What, are the Vampires…behind the times?" she asked jokingly.
Sergeant Faye turned to her with a serious look.
"Actually, it's the complete opposite, Shizuka," she replied. "Our technology is so old and archaic, that I am unsure if this thumbdrive will be accepted by it"
Shizuka's look of amusement melted away into a look of pure shock.
She couldn't believe what Sergeant Faye was saying, especially seeing as how their level of technology had skyrocketed after…"salvaging" the Dalki's technology during the war.
"Wait, what?!" Shizuka sputtered.
Sergeant Faye's eyes narrowed.
"You'll see what I mean when we return to the base," she replied.
Back up on her throne, Muka's gauntlet touched the spot on her helmet where her mouth would be.
"Hmm, you may have a point," she replied, causing the two Sergeants to turn back to her. "Our technology is significantly advanced compared to the level you Humans possess. Trying to plug that thumb drive into one of our computers would most likely cause it to not even be accepted."
Sergeant Faye's head drooped, and her hand clutched around the thumb drive.
"I feared as much," she replied.
She was about to place the thumb drive back into her breast pocket, when Muka spoke up again.
"However, there…may be a way," she replied.
Sergeant Faye looked up at her in surprise.
"What do you mean, my Leader?" she asked in confusion.
Muka remained silent for a moment.
"There is one family in the Settlement that…might still possess that level of technology," she replied. "Among the 13 families, there was always one family that seemed to possess a certain…interest in the technology used by you Humans. The 10th Family."
Sergeant Faye tilted her head in confusion.
"But, leader Muka, didn't you just say that the 10th Family currently doesn't have a leader?" she asked.
"That doesn't mean that there isn't anyone in charge of it," she replied. "Surely this 'military base' of yours has people of lower command who take over when your leader is…indisposed."
Sergeant Faye thought about Muka's words for a moment.
She had a point.
Head-General Paul was away from the base on a near-frequent basis, with usually, the remaining Generals and Sergeants keeping things running.
"I…see," Sergeant Faye replied.
It was then that Muka rose up from her throne.
Seeing her actions, everyone in the room turned to her.
"I need to go write a letter in my office," she replied, her gaze shifting from one person to the next in the room. "I shall return momentarily."
The people in the room all watched as Muka walked across the room, and out the doors.
Their eyes remained locked on the now-closed doors moments later Muka had shut them behind her, her footsteps getting quieter and quieter, as she got further away from the throne room.
After a moment, Shizuka and Sergeant Faye turned to each other.
"I believe somebody promised me an explanation," she replied with an amused smirk.
Sergeant Faye smiled.
"I did," she replied. "Seeing as how we have a moment to ourselves for the time-being, I'll tell you what really happened on that 'Failed Salvage Mission'."
***
Elsewhere in the castle, Muka made her up the stairs, and down the hall into her personal office, where she usually took care of all the paperwork she was responsible for as the Leader of the 9th Family.
Once inside and the door bolted shut, she removed both her helmet, and both of her gauntlets.
Muka made her way over towards her desk, and took a seat.
Opening up one of the drawers on her desk, she pulled out both a blank sheet of paper, as well as a nib-tipped, black pen.
'You'd think that with how advanced the Settlement is, there'd be a way to just send a message from castle to castle digitally in the blink of an eye,' she thought.
Technically, there was such a way, using the 8th Family's "Telepathy" Ability.
But seeing as how Muka wanted to keep the rest of the Vampire Families unaware of Faye's existence until absolutely necessary, that option was out.
Muka had no idea if the Telepathy Ability simply acted as a conduit, passing one mental message to another, or if the user of the Ability could hear everything being said.
And since this message involved the 10th Family, it was vital that as few people knew about the exact contents of the message as possible.
Muka brought the nib-tip of the pen down to the paper, and began to write.
Vampire Knight Edward, I have news regarding the fate of your lost Leader. If you wish to know more, please make your way to the 9th Family Castle as soon as possible. Additionally, I will be requiring a device capable of both playing and transmitting digital information, that is compatible with Human-level technology.
Muka Fortuna, Leader of the Ninth Family