Pre-notes: I know I'm probably not the only one doing an August 10 fic. I hope this isn't as big a mess as I think it is ^^;
(Date last edited: 2010/8/10 11:00am JST)
Disclaimer: Code Geass belongs to Sunrise, Inc.
August 9, 2010atb 1100H, on a road departing California Base
Gino Weinberg stared forlornly at the many aircraft that turned smaller and smaller as they flew westward away from him.
They were supposed to board a plane and go on his first ever flight out of the mainland.
To Hawaii!
For some reason all private flights were canceled, and they only found out when they were about to check their bags. The whole place was swarming with Knights boarding flagships. Then they flew away practically the same second the doors closed.
He had looked forward to this trip for all of two months (that's one-sixth of one-eighth his whole life!), and now he was going home disappointed. How come the Knights get to fly, he thought. We got here first. How come they got to cut in line?
August 10, 2010atb 03:26am, Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo
Kallen Kouzuki got out of bed to check on the brand-new yukata for the third time since the stroke of midnight.
Her father bought it for her on their way home from the airport. She would be wearing it in the festival in the morning.
Her father was finally home. They were finally together and would be enjoying an their first day as a family since forever. They would be rounding the booths, winning prizes, later eat some takoyaki (with lots of mayonnaise, of course), then finally watch the fireworks. After tomorrow she would have a photograph of herself together with her father, and, finally, the other kids at school would stop teasing her about her "fake" red hair. It would soon be her turn to make fun of them when they twisted their tongues trying pronouncing her new family name.
She decided that it would be the happiest day of her life.
August 9, 2010atb 4:42pm, elsewhere in Mainland Britannia
Milly Ashford did her best to console her grandfather's friend's granddaughter.
The bespectacled girl had never been comfortable with change, and they both just heard that they would be moving to a foreign land. It really shouldn't have been a big deal, if they didn't instantly turn poor, if their schoolmates didn't suddenly begin to shun them, or even if they didn't begin hearing their mothers cry every night.
Milly herself wanted to cry - she was going through the same things, after all - but she was quite aware that there was very little that they were beyond her control.
She decided to do whatever she could for those who would need her help, and Nina was as good a start as any.
August 10, 2010atb 6:00am, Kururugi Temple Grounds
After making sure his sister was still fast asleep, Lelouch vi Britannia tiptoed to where they have kept the injured bird they were nursing back to health.
He and Suzaku found the little fellow near the sunflowers, apparently a subject for target practice to the local boys and their slingshots. When they brought it home with them, he had told Nunnally that it probably just hit a lamppost; he knew she would be saddened at the thought of boys hurting innocent birds just for fun. She also didn't need to know there weren't any lampposts anywhere near the sunflowers.
Later today, they'd be commandeering a vehicle to return to that spot and let the bird fly. Already he had planned the distraction they needed, along with backup plans in case their bodyguards made a different move from what he first predicted.
He had decided that, this time, he would do everything to prevent a death from senseless acts.
August 9, 2010atb, 5:00pm, the Imperial Hospital
The mother of Anya Alstreim thanked the doctor more out of politeness than out of real gratitude.
Yet again, Anya found herself in a strange place without any memory of how she got there. This had occurred often enough that her mother attached a GPS device in all of her dresses. The doctor - the best in the Empire - could not offer any explanation to it; and could only suggest exercises that would help improve her memory.
Anya herself was frightened. It all began when she last went to that nice lady's house, but she never returned to that place. They said that something terrible happened when she was last there, but she could remember none of it.
Already she was having a hard time recalling that nice lady's face. Her name, she never did remember, except that she was told to call her "Your Highness". The names of her children, she could still recall, and they were her friends.
And she was suddenly afraid she'd forget them as well.
August 10, 2010atb 10:17am, Kururugi Temple Grounds
Suzaku Kururugi thought his friend worried too much.
It had to be the thousandth time he was asked if he was sure he knew how to drive a car. At the same time it would be the thousandth time that he was reminded that everything counted on that part of their plan.
For a smart kid, he was pretty stupid, Suzaku thought. He even saw me at it a few times!
Real life couldn't be that different from a video game.
...could it?
August 9, 2010atb, 1900H, New Jersey Base
Jeremiah Gottwald kicked at his bunker in frustration.
These past few months he had been doing nothing but work to prove he was fit for better assignments. While he did fail in his duty when Queen Marianne as assassinated, being assigned in this remote, tranquil, boring base provided no opportunity to redeem himself. His requests for reassignment were probably rejected as soon as his name was read.
I'd rather they threw me out with the Prince and Princess, he thought, but he was still a Noble; and the Empire could not afford to waste precious assets on disowned royal half-bloods.
He snickered. Right.
After quickly changing out of uniform, he grabbed his coat and practically thundered to the nearest bar. He needed a drink.
August 9, 2010atb, 10:00pm, Various Locations in Mainland Britannia
In a logic his young mind can come up with, Gino Weinberg made a decision: Fine, I'll be a Knight when I grow up!
Taking care to make sure two photographs would not be erased, Anya Alstreim promised: I won't ever forget you, Lelouch, Nunnally.
"It will be alright, Nina," Milly Ashford assured her friend as they were both told to go to bed. "Everything will be alright."
August 10, 2010atb, 3:00pm, Various Locations in Japan
Kallen Kouzuki laughed when some cotton candy got stuck in her brother's hair. Ah, the hazards of giving your little sister a piggyback ride!
Suzaku Kururugi climbed the small hill as easily as always. Piece of cake!
Lelouch vi Britannia, well, his strength gave out halfway as usual.
Then the air strikes began.
Weeks later, 0900H, California Base
The assembly of which Jeremiah Gottwald was part of cheered loudly when news of Japan's surrender was announced to them.
The world's last independent nation in the Pacific was now a part of the Empire.
The nearly all of the world's Sakuradite was now in their control.
Britannia would only grow greater with this new conquest.
But Jeremiah Gottwald did not cheer.
He finally made it in a position to make a difference, but his prince was dead.
He was too late.
After-notes: A footnote of sorts. Based on the Stage 0.543 audio drama, the invasion started in the afternoon of August 10 in Japan. Based on the light novel Red Tracks, Kallen's family were moving out of Izu to Tokyo in the summer of 2010, on the day of the peach encounter with Suzaku and Lelouch. There was no exact time period in canon when Japan officially surrendered, so I took the liberty of assuming "in a matter of several hours" considering the difference in weaponry. Of course, there's Tohdoh's miracle to consider, but I thought they could have resisted Britannia even after the surrender was announced.
2010/8/10 - Edited to correct a couple of points noted by reviewers MisterSP and sakurahanaalice, namely the part about Milly and the final part with Jeremiah. Thanks very much for pointing them out!
Thank you for reading!