Battle of Astarte Valley Part 1

Character Bios

Reinhard von Musel

Reinhard's family is from Germany, but they immigrated to Britannia when he was young. He lived with his father and his sister, Annerose. A few years later, after meeting and befriendingKircheis, Annerose gains the attention of the emperor, who takes her as one of his consorts.

He becomes determined to join the military, to one day overthrow the government and ensure that no one will lose their family like he did.

At this point in time, Reinhard is a commander.

He is assigned to lead a 10,000 soldier army for a battle in Astarte Valley, which is north of Area 10 (Indochina)

Siegfried Kircheis

Kircheis was a Britannian native, and met Reinhard soon after he emigrated from Germany. He came to idolize his friend, and grew to care deeply for his sister Annerose, who treated him as a brother, just like Reinhard.

After Annerose was forced to move to the Imperial Palace, he chose to follow Reinhard and apply at The Holy Britannian Officer Academy of Terneuzen, which was located south of Pendragon.

Currently, he is an assistant-commander, serving directly under Reinhard.

Oskar von Reuenthal

A military officer and a native of Britannia.

He attended The Holy Britannian Officer Academy of Terneuzen, and was both Reinhard's and Kircheis' senior.

He was in the same graduating class of Mittermeyer and Yang Wen-li.

Because of his heterochromatic eyes (two different colored eyes), he was known as "Odd Eyes" Reuenthal.

After graduating, he served in many minor battles, where he earned a reputation of having a keen eye for both strategy and tactics, but also deep ambitions.

Those ambitions made it difficult for him to rise through the ranks, so he eventually had himself transferred under Reinhard's command once he achieved the rank of commander.

Before he was reassigned, Reuenthal was a sub-commander in the Reinhard army. He is currently on temporary paid leave.

Wolfgang Mittermeyer

A military officer and a native of Britannia.

He attended The Holy Britannian Officer Academy of Terneuzen, and was both Reinhard's and Kircheis' senior.

He was in the same graduating class of Reuenthal and Yang Wen-li.

After graduating, he served in many minor battles, where he earned a reputation for blindingly fast assaults and troop movements. Because of this, he was known as the "Gale Wolf".

He was also not able to rise through the ranks as fast as someone of his ability should have, and it might have been because of his close relationship with fellow officer Reuenthal.

Before he was reassigned, Mittermeyer was a sub-commander in the Reinhard army. He is currently on temporary paid leave.

General Terms and Locations

Area 10: Generally located around Indochina.

Area 16: Generally located around the Korean Peninsula.

Pendragon: Capital of the Holy Britannian Empire

Chapter 1

In an unassuming location, around the border between the Chinese Federation and the Holy Britannian Empire, specifically near Area 10, a battle would soon begin. The Chinese Federation was planning on making a push into Britannian territory, in an attempt to shift the local balance of power in their favor.

Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, this would be the stage where one young Britannian officer will climb the ranks, and make history.

Area 10 (Indochina): City Library Private Room

Before the battle began, Reinhard von Musel and Siegfried Kircheis outlined their general strategy and discussed how useful their new sub-commanders would be during the battle. They were sitting in the back of a quiet library, both casually sipping on glasses of wine.

Reinhard begins, saying "The nobles taken all of our limbs, haven't they Kircheis?" Kircheis smiles and says "Yes, sir Reinhard. They have provided us with other officers, but we will need to gauge their cooperativeness." Reinhard laughs and says "It doesn't matter. None of them have the guts to disregard our orders, at least not directly."

Kircheis placed one of the dossiers onto the table, and explains "The first officer is Jeremiah Gottwald. He seems to be a member of the purist movement back on the mainland." Reinhard scowls, saying "Fools… A person's blood does not determine their competence. If only more people in this blasted empire realized this." Kircheis nods, and continues, saying "It seems like this is a bit of a demotion for him, although it doesn't say exactly what his last assignment was. They might have sent him here to see him fail, just like with us."

Reinhard swirls his wine glass, and says "If he has ambition, and a bit of talent, he might lead a good front line force. And the others?" Kircheis says "The rest seem to be fairly unremarkable, although two others do stand out, for different reasons. The first is Adalbert von Fahrenheit, who is a young officer. The other is 'Succumbed to Theory' Staden." Reinhard pauses, and says "Fahrenheit could be an asset, but that old fool Staden will surely get in the way. Oh well."

After that exchange, the young officers felt satisfied with their preparation for the coming battle. Their strategy was already planned out, and they only needed to relay that plan to their subordinate officers at the battle briefing.

Area 10 (Indochina): Local Bar

In a different part of the same town, young officer Jeremiah Gottwald was drinking away his sorrows as his trusted friend and right-hand, Villetta Nu, consoled him. Villetta says, "Lord Jeremiah, you cannot blame yourself! No one could have predicted that assault on the manor!" Jeremiah sighs and says "No, if I was more diligent, she would have never died… I failed in my sole duty…" Villetta replies, saying "You'll have a chance to make up for it, but you must protest this assignment! There's no chance for a Britannian victory, and you will surely be killed!"

Jeremiah finishes his drink, and looks into Villetta's eyes, and says "No… If my punishment for failing my lady is to perish at this battle, then so be it. If I can die as a loyal Britannian soldier, then maybe I can greet her in the next life without shame." Jeremiah gets up and shakes Villetta's hand, before saying "Thank you for everything Villetta. It was an honor fighting beside you."

As Jeremiah leaves the bar, Villetta holds back her tears, as she mumbles "Please, you can't die yet Jeremiah! Please…" Jeremiah walked into his temporary apartment, and further mentally prepared himself for the coming battle.

Pendragon: Braunschweig Mansion

In this noble house, a few high profile Britannian figures were meeting. Otho von Braunschweig, a duke and the head of one of Britannia's most powerful noble families, Flegel, a baron and Braunschweig's nephew, and Gregor von Muckenberger, a general of the Britannian Army and the head of military affairs around Area 10, were meeting in private.

Duke Braunschweig ushered his servants to refill his guests' glasses, and said "I'm happy you could make it, General Muckenberger. I hope everything is to your liking?" General Muckenberger takes a drink of his wine, and says "Of course, and I'm glad we can discuss our mutual issue." Baron Flegel smiles and says "Yes, we all do have similar issues with that blonde brat. It would be for the best to have him eliminated earlier than later." General Muckenberger nods and says "I have no desire to have a 'Commander of the Skirts', under my command. Area 10 is a delicate territory, and inexperienced fools need to be weeded out."

Duke Braunschweig laughs and says "Right, right! I still can't believe the Emperor gave him such a high position at his age, with so little real accomplishments. No matter what he says, the Emperor is surely playing favorites because his sister is a favored concubine…" But General Muckenberger adds, saying "But, how were you able to influence the brat's officer staff so much? That is something beyond even my influence." Baron Flegel smirks and says "Even a man like Prince Schneizel understands the value of my uncle owing him a favor."

General Muckenberger nearly drops his glass, and says "You were able to influence the Prime Minister himself? I'm impressed." Duke Braunschweig laughs and says "Please! We merely met for a drink and dinner, and I just told him of my worries. He was more than willing to pull a few strings for me. He's a smart man, and he realizes that we high nobles can be just as useful as the royal family themselves."

Once they finished their drinks and conversation, General Muckenberger excused himself and said "I must thank you both for your hospitality and help with this issue. I will take my leave now, as I need to board a flight reach Area 10 before the battle begins." After General Muckenberger left, Duke Braunschweig and Baron Flegel talked among themselves.

Pendragon: Local Officer's Cafe

In this high class, military café, two of Reinhard's loyal subordinates were discussing his latest deployment. They were Oskar von Reuenthal and Wolfgang Mittermeyer, and they were both removed from Reinhard's force without their consent.

As they shared a bottle of whiskey, Reuenthal says "Do you think he has what it takes to seize victory without us?" Mittermeyer drinks some of his glass, and says "Of course. He broke all of our past records at the academy, and his grasp at tactics and strategy is something to behold." Reuenthal nods and says "That is true. Even Yang vouched for his abilities, although now that we've served with him on the actual field of battle, we know as well."

Mittermeyer, as if he just remembered something, said "Ah, speaking of Yang, did you hear what he did in El Facil, in Area 16." Reuenthal nods and says "Yes, I heard he saved the whole town during a Chinese Federation assault. They're calling him 'The Hero of El Facil'". Reuenthal then laughs and adds, "I'm sure he hates the extra attention…"

Mittermeyer laughs and well, and says "Knowing him, I'm sure you're right. We should visit him soon, now that we have some time off. It's been a few years since we last spent time with him." Reuenthal nods and says "You're right. It would be good to see our classmate again. And besides, he's an excellent drinking partner."

Mittermeyer finishes his glass, and says "You've got that right." Then he adds, "And I guess we can only hope that Reinhard pulls through, and shocks those idiot nobles in the process." After that statement, Reuenthal refills their glasses, and they make a toast, as he says "Seeing those nobles panicked would be a good enough reward in of itself."

Soon, the gears of time slowly moved closer to the day of the Battle of Astarte Valley, and no one could predict how the outcome would affect the state of the world, or the various onlookers.

NOTES

I hope you all enjoy this story. Legend of the Galactic Heroes might be my personal favorite series ever, and I really wanted to try and work the characters and events into the general story and world of Code Geass.

I'm looking forward to when more LOGH characters get introduced (Bittenfeld!), and interact with the Code Geass characters.

And the reference to Yang Wen-li and El Facil will be explored more fully after the Astarte Valley arc finishes.

And for an update on Taki and Mitsuha's Bizarre Adventure, I've been distracted with other things, but I'll get back to it eventually!