Pendragon D.R, the Capital of the Holy Britannian Empire, is situated on the west bank of the Colorado River in the Mojave Desert. It is built on top of the town of Meadows, in the Dukedom of Nevada after the capital was moved from Alexandria, District Royal (Now Alexandria, Virginia). Construction began in the early twentieth century with its completion just after the Emblem of Blood period, making it the crown jewel of Charles (III) di Britannia coronation. The district covers a twenty by twenty mile square in the centre of the County of Clark and is under the direct control of the Emperor, though it effectively run by the Pendragon Administrative Council, a board of directors, each handpicked every year by the reigning monarch. The city has a wide range of attractions, the most notable and technologically impressive being the Darwinian Gardens that surround the main palace off of the St Darwin Street Ring Road. This large man-made park is fed directly from Lake Mead and from the surrounding hills of Goodsprings and Mount Charleston.

Pendragon D.R, Encyclopaedia Britannia.

C1: Smile

Odysseus eu Britannia wasn't an idiot by any stretch of the imagination. He had more common sense, civility and about at least four times as many brain cells than half of the imperial court. Though he knew was seen as an emotional dimwit, it's hard not to when you are surrounded by brothers and sisters with heads that could rival that of the late Einstein on their shoulders. He didn't have Cornelia's ability to plan, strategize and improvise battles, Schneizel's impossible diplomatic and leadership skills, or Guinevere's scary proficiency in intrigue, whispers and manipulation. It was no wonder why that he, the first-born and crown prince of Britannia was practically a laughing stock when compared to his family.

He sat on his seat, in a quaint office in his eu Britannia familial home, signing off another piece of legislation that had been passed through parliament. As much as his brother, Schneizel, may be the Prime Minister of the House of Commons, there were checks and balances in place to make sure there the PM couldn't take to much power, such as being both the Chancellor of Britannia, the head of the House of Lords, and the Steward of Britannia, which was Odysseus' job, the acting head of state and voice of the Emperor.

The study that he worked in was, by Royal standards, pretty bland. He wasn't Clovis after all. Sure all of it was fine craftsmanship, but he opted out of the gold leafing and bejewelled accessories that the la Britannia prince went for. The room itself wasn't too large either compared to the other study's in the eu Britannian home, the Janus Villa. Odysseus felt after all, that the three-level office that he was first offered when he was sixteen was more a library than a place of work. At least his, by no means small, office had some personality and felt like 'his' space to work in. It also had the added benefit of making any stuck up noble feel out humbled by the prince, which provided wonders for keeping them in their place and for him to get his way.

He set down a mug of, now cold, coffee on his workplace and closed down his computer for the day. It was only three in the afternoon and he had to make haste to the Cabinet meeting in central Pendragon, glancing at his watch he sighed. "I'm going to be late." The Cabinet meeting consisted of the Prime Minister, the Chancellor, the Marshal of the Army, the Marshal of the Air Force, the Admiral of the Fleet, the Steward, and a number of First Ministers of the numerous departments and ministries of HM Government, from Education, to Housing and Development, to Area Development. As the Steward of Britannia, he didn't really have any power and usually was there making sure none of the Members of Cabinet were at each other's throats.

Since this was practically a familial visit, Odysseus had opted for his Coast Guard Officer's Dress, rather than deal with the over the top clothing royals tended to wear. In all honesty, he would have gone to the meeting in jeans and T-Shirt, but that would be 'improper'. Getting into the driver's side of his car, a simple black four-by-four, he waited for his knight of honour, Karan Neiderstein, slip in next to him. "Your Royal Highness, I still insist that I drive."

"You know, Karan, that I don't care. It's literally twenty minutes down the road, and remember, you're the better shot." He shot her a sly smile. "Don't look at me like that, you know it's true." She gave him a doubting look. "Okay, okay… I'll let you drive back, deal?"

She sighed before radioing the rest of the guard. "Both the convoy and the decoys say they are good to go."

"Tell them to move out."

"This is Kilo-Actual to all units, move at will." She said, letting go of the Push To Talk button. "Put on your seat belt sir."

"Oh shit. Sorry." He clicked in, turned on the key and set off down St Darwin Street towards Henderson Street, the second most important place in Pendragon after the Imperial Palace. It was one of the three centres of non-royal power in Britannia, along with the Judiciary on East Clark Street and Parliament of Stewart Avenue. Henderson Street housed most of the Governmental buildings. He glanced at the dashboard as he made through the setting sun. "Well, Cornelia is going to be pissed. 'Odysseus, why are you always late' she'd say. Well maybe is our loving brother didn't have me give me a forest of paperwork I wouldn't have to deal with this."

"I bet Schnizel would make some comment about how being an officer of the Coast Guard should mean you'd be used to this. Then Cornelia would say that the Coast Guard isn't a real branch of the military."

"You know, I've taken an active roll in drug busts, without the relative safety of a nightmare."

"I know, remember that one when we were busting that ship off the coast of Cuba, in Area three?"

"Well, you should take some credit."

"You took point, leading us through a sinking ship with Three's shooting at us from all angles. "

"True."

"They were good times, eh? Kicking ass throughout the Gulf."

"If you call getting shot at by the Cartel's fun. Sure why not." He slipped off the motorway and dropped down a gear before coming to a red light. Henderson was just around the corner, coming out of from the lights, he moved across the roundabout.

Suddenly everything was a blur.

Odysseus felt dizzy, sort of like coming off a roller coaster, but a hell of a lot more painful. Slowly coming back to reality he saw his airbags had deployed. He fiddled around for the door handle, slipping out of the car. He gripped the frame and looked back to see a semi truck had smacked the back of his car. Looking across to the passenger side, he saw Karan still out of it. "Bollocks." Slipping into the footwell, he removed his Personal Defence Weapon, a German K-18 automatic pistol, and a first aid kit. The car was all spun around and a number of the rest of his convoy were, given the sound of gunfire, in the middle of a firefight. Gripping the edge of the vehicle, he hobbled around to see a number of men in green uniforms filing out the back of the semi. They were clearly not Britannian.

He kept low and assessed the situation. He should stay behind the car; it was made to be bullet resistant to small arms fire. He knew there was a flak vest and helmet on the back seat. Should put that on and check if Karan is okay. He muttered slipping back in and getting his armour on. His knight groaned awake. That's a good sign.

"Hey there Karan…" He tapped her shoulder.

"Odysseus!" She shouted, suddenly waking up properly. "Shit…" She winced, grabbing the lower left of her torso. In a slight daze, she looked over to see her charge unclipping her from her seat and pulling her out of the driver's door on the right side of the car. She fell out onto soft grass of the roundabout's middle.

"Hey, hang in there." He pulled up to check the side she was holding. "There's no blood. That's a good start." He ducked reflexively as a bullet ricocheted off of the bonnets. He grabbed the radio from her person, pressing the PTT. "This is Papa-one-one, to Kilo-one, I need a sitrep, over."

"Kilo-two here, Terrorists got Kilo-one, sir. They hit Ten Henderson Street too sir. Over."

"Shit. Did everyone get out? Over."

"No idea sir. We're on the way… Kilo-two out."

Odysseus moved to the side of the car, he propped Karan up against the glass. With the pistol raised, a terrorist turned around the corner, only to be shot by the prince who grabbed the assault rifle on the terrorist's still warm body. A quick glance showed it was, in fact, a Japanese knockoff of the SA-10 A2 bullpup rifle. He crawled to the corner and popped around the corner, getting a good look at the situation. He saw a small group of the terrorists start running up towards him. Gabbing a grenade off the Japanese man's body. He pulled the pin, let the fly handle drop and blindly threw it behind him.

"Sir, I'm coming around the front of the car, don't shoot. Copy."

"Copy. Over." A man in grey urban camouflage fatigues came around the corner. "Lieutenant Cooper. Cover the rear. I'll carry the Dame."

"Yes, my lord."

The prince looped his knight's arm around his shoulder and began dragging her towards the gates at Henderson Street, which was lit up by the burning rubble of the Cabinet building. There were members of the District Royal Metropolitan Police armed with Springfield SA-15's A1's. Lieutenant Cooper hung back in a low walking stance, creeping backwards shooting at anything that threatened his prince. Both Karan and Odysseus hobbled as quickly as possible to the gate. A number of police officers were waving for him to get inside the gate's boundaries laying his knight down against the blast door. With the assault rifle still around his neck, the prince brought it up. "Kilo-two! Get your ass in here. Providing covering fire."

The guard walked back quicker, quickly slipping into the protective main gate. He tossed himself onto the floor. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." He said, quickly. "You all good, my lord?"

"Yes, how are the rest of the guard?"

"They are all in advantageous positions, slowly whittling down at the remnants of the enemy."

"You did well. Not bad for an RMAWP grad." Odysseus joked, trying to lighten the mood for himself more than anyone. He turned to one of the policemen. "What's the situation at number ten?"

"Not good. Her Highness li Britannia was about to enter the front door when a bomb went off. The rest of the Cabinet, apart from yourself and Her Highness, are believed dead. Sir."

"Where is she?"

"Number Eleven, getting medical attention, sir."

"Show me."

"Yes, my lord." The officer looked somewhat surprised by Odysseus's lack of emotion, the calming smile replaced by a thin line. Odysseus himself knew it was quite out of character for him. "You okay, sir?" He sighed and nodded. It wasn't the first time he had lost a sibling, and probably wouldn't be the last.

He, now in blood-stained dress blues, walked over to townhouse as the local security personnel attempting, poorly, to put out the flames of the Georgian style building. The panicking civilians running about the place attempting to get organised as the first prince walked forwards looking for the crimson coats of Cornelia's personal guards. He caught the eye of Darlton outside one of the boardrooms; he came to attention and saluted. "Your Royal Highness, Her Highness is inside. A word of warning about your sister… She is shaken."

"Thank you, Major General. At ease." He returned.

Walking into the room Guilford was seen wrapping the bloodied arm of a clearly shocked Cornelia. "Sister." He said kneeling down in front of her, he took off his helmet and placed it on the table, the purple eyes still gave a thousand yard stare. "Look at me…" She was clearly trying to keep it in, tears welling in her eyes, lips quivering, as a pair of snow-white hands gripped the knuckles of the armchair. He softly placed his hands on top as he kneeled down to make things easier for her. "Nellie… I know it's hard. But I'm here." He turned to Guilford. "Could I get a minute with my sister?"

"Yes, Your Royal Highness." He came to attention, as did the rest of the Glaston Knights before Guilford saluted and left the two royals together.

"Thank you." He nodded in return. Once all of her soldiers left, the kneeling Odysseus brought his sister into a hug. He could feel her racing heart as she came closer, with the door finally closed, the bottled up tears and emotions came spilling out. "This is good Cornelia, dont bottle anything up..."

"Dysse, Euphie was a hairs breath from losing me…"

"But she didn't, did she?"

"No, but…"

"Nellie, you are alive and kicking, aren't you?"

"Yes, but…" She stammered out.

"But nothing… You can go home and spend time with Euphie, in fact as the current head of government, I order you to do so."

"What about the letter…"

"You forget that that is my duty." He said, letting her rest back into the chair. "I'm the Steward, and we have to deal with this shitstorm tomorrow." He took off his jacket and wrapped it around her exposed shoulders. "Come on. I'll get Sergeant Cooper to drive you home and I'll come by and cook you and Euphie dinner."

He may not have had Cornelia's ability to plan, strategize and improvise battles, Schneizel's impossible diplomatic and leadership skills, or Guinevere's scary proficiency in intrigue, whispers and manipulation. It was no wonder why that he, the first-born and crown prince of Britannia was practically a laughing stock when compared to his family. He had his own type of genius, he was interpersonally intelligent, and he understood how to make people happy. The sad smile on his sister's face was enough to confirm that.

Odysseus eu Britannia wasn't an idiot by any stretch of the imagination.

A/N

This is about an AU as it can get... Schniezel and a number of other royals, nobles, and ministers get killed. Government is in chaos and it's going to have worldwide ramifications as the delicate balance of the Royal Court gets chucked out the window.

I was thinking about killing Cornelia too, but I now have some interesting possibilities to take her, like how she should deal with coming close to death, leaving Euphie nearly in the hands of the Emperor to use as he pleased. So many directions, so many possibilities.

This story, however, will be mainly focused on Odysseus, with the odd chapter deviation to expand the scope of the event. So I expect there should be some Cornelia, Lelouch and Suzaku points of view as well as many one-off ones. Who knows.

Adios Amigos

MDAM-FASEGold