A/N: Thank you all for those who reviewed, but I will ask that you please not spoil parts of the game as this goes more for you omegadramon2. It was very upsetting, but as for the rest of you guys, I very much appreciate the reviews.
I have closed the polls deciding polls are useless for pairings and I am just going to see how it goes and determine who best works with Lelouch depending on events of the story.
Right now Lelouch fights the biggest pirate fleet assembled in recent memory, but after this, it's no more easy mode for Lelouch as this just a prelude to the coming war.
Chapter 8
Oath of Rebellion
Captain Kidd wasted no time making his way down to the hanger where the captain of the last arriving pirate ship was bringing aboard the Black Knight member they had captured. This was a stroke of good luck on their part especially if they could squeeze information leading to where the Black Knights were hiding at. If they were successful in getting such information they could take the fight straight to the Black Knights and eliminate them in one fell swoop and not going around blowing up random settlements until they came looking for him.
We'll have the element of surprise on our side which will allow us to maximize the damage we can inflict upon them. Miguel Kidd thought with an evil smirk on his face.
It didn't take long for him to reach the hanger where he was just in time to see two of his men secure the prisoner the pirates from the other ship had brought. He approached the captain of the vessel who had captured the Black Knight member. He was slightly older than he was with cybernetic red eye replacing his original eye he had lost. He had a bald head with a long black beard with a massive set build wearing a black trench coat with a dirty white shirt underneath with black pants and boots.
"So you are the captain who captured the Black Knight member here?" Kidd inquired approaching the man while he was talking to one of Kidd's own subordinates.
"Yes, I am Captain Marcus, the captain of the Drunken Dancer." Marcus greeted with a surprisingly amount of politeness from his fellow pirate.
"I understand you captured a member of the Black Knights?"
"Aye, we did," Marcus said looking back at the burse and beaten Black Knight, "He was a tough one to capture. The rest of his fellows committed suicide to avoid interrogation. We got lucky with him, but we had to watch him very closely because he made attempts to kill himself."
"How did you capture him?"
"We found out we have squealer in our ranks, so we followed him and tracked him to a bar on Tydaria. He was meeting with some Black Knights after we docked there to conduct the…usual business," Marcus said which Kidd understood was Marcus was meeting with the corrupt members of the Mining Union to plan some raids which would help them disgrace those in their way of getting a higher position.
So it wasn't unheard of for rising executives or the Mining Union to hire pirates to raid some transports being handled by a rival executive, but rarely anyone got caught for it.
"When we attacked all hell broke loose, but I think a stray grenade we threw knocked that guy against a wall knocking him out. But before he woke up we made damn sure he couldn't suicide himself like his comrades did," Marcus explained before giving Miguel a fake tooth he presumably removed from the prisoner which contained a potent poison hidden within.
"Excellent work, so why bring him to me?"
"Well our boys weren't able to convince him to talk, but seeing how your reputation for breaking people to get information out of them is legendary, I thought we get a professional." The breaded pirate captain said gesturing to the burses and cuts the captured Black Knight was covered in. "He's a tough son of a bitch I'll give him that, but…I didn't want to get too rough and lose our only lead."
Kidd considered this for a moment before gazing over the injuries the Black Knight member had before concluding that Marcus and his men had conducted their own interrogation while being mindful to avoid accidentally killing him. It seemed too good to be true, but Kidd knew that Black Knight member was their best chance at finding Zero.
"Alright, I'll get him to talk," Kidd said cracking his knuckles in his hands as a cruel smile appeared on his face.
Elsewhere in the Neutral Rim, more specifically a more remote part of it was a massive space station built out of components from older space stations and ship docks. This included parts from wrecked ships creating a haven in the middle of space for pirates and various other low-lives who sought to hide from the more civilized galaxy at large. Inside one of these bars, a young woman in her early twenties with long black hair tied into a long top-knot ponytail with a fair skin complexion and green eyes was sitting down at the bar.
She wore a simple white shirt with black pants, combat boots, and a yellow jacket.
"Icari Isidolde," Jeremiah said after walking up the woman who sat at one of the seedy bars of Lost Haven space station, "I am here on behalf of the wrinkly old maid."
Icari stopped drinking the bottle of liquor she had in her hand before looking over her shoulder at the cyborg, although wrinkly old maid could be seen as some kind of insult, Icari knew it meant something more.
"So you're the one he told me to keep an eye out for?"
"Yes, but I am not sure how much he told you about the proposal we put forth?"
"He didn't say much and thought it was best I met with your boss," Icari replied although she didn't know who Jeremiah worked for she did know that he was someone else both parties were acquainted with and had recommended Icari to them.
"I see," Jeremiah appeared thoughtful for a moment before asking, "then could you come with me then."
Drinking what remained in the bottle before slamming down on the bar counter Icari got up off the stole, "Well lead the way."
Jeremiah led Icari to one of the many hangers within the space station where it was currently under a tight lockdown by armed men who were with Jeremiah. They found a small transport ship docked in the hanger where the blue-haired cyborg gestured for Icari to follow him aboard. Upon reaching the bridge, Icari came face to face with Zero who made his presence known by turning the captain's chair he sat in to face the woman before him.
"Icari Isidolde," Zero began as Lelouch eyed the woman underneath wondering if this was the person recommended to him, "Admiral Grey tells me you are one of the best mercenaries and assassins in the Neutral Rim."
An amused grin appeared on Icari's face, "well now I wasn't expecting this. So you and the Admiral know each other huh?"
"You could say that."
Few people knew, with Lelouch being among those few who knew, that Admiral Grey had been in contact with Icari contracting her services as both a mercenary and assassin to deal with problems the Solar Alliance couldn't deal with or were beyond their reach. The growing threat of PACT was one of these problems, but other groups had warranted elimination by the admiral. Lelouch had been told by Admiral Grey that if he needed someone capable he was advised to seek out Icari because besides being a capable assassin and gun-for-hire Icari could hack through security systems and breaking into highly secured locations.
"Admiral Grey suggested I should reach out to you if I had something that someone of your skill set could help me with and could also deal a huge blow to PACT."
"Really," Icari said as her eyes narrowed in interest, "I am listening…"
"Are you aware that PACT has been paying off various pirate groups lately to cause havoc in the Neutral Rim?"
"No, I wasn't…" Icari said as Lelouch observed her fists tighten in response.
"Recently they have paid a small army of pirates being led by Captain Kidd to hunt me down and destroy my organization, but we're not going to let that happen," Lelouch explained before proceeding to tell Icari of her intended role. "I have a task that I require you and my chief engineer to carry out. I'll supply you with a ship and everything you need, but we need help getting through the security along with any other trouble along the way."
"So what do you have in mind then?"
The following day the amassed pirate fleet was cursing through wrap heading for the site of the Black Knight's base of operations. After spending hours interrogating their prisoner to its position, although the prisoner died as a result of the interrogation he lasted just enough to learn the location of where the Black Knights were based out of. Captain Kidd was grinning evilly as he was sure to get the drop on Zero and his one ship, which only widened as he and his amassed pirate force came out of wrap. Aside from his flagship the rest of his fleet consisted of two dozen pirate destroyers, eighteen pirate warthogs and at least fourteen pirate carriers filled to capacity with eight Ryders each.
The Black Knights won't know what hit them and with my army, we'll wipe them out, and I'll be rich. Kidd thought triumphantly as he closed in on the asteroid field where the Black Knights had established themselves inside an old mining asteroid.
The asteroid belt the pirate fleet had arrived at was known as the Luarica Asteroid Belt which was a near Ryuvia Prime. At one time during the Holy Ryuvian Empire the asteroid belt was mined for precious and rare gemstones and metals found in the asteroids, but centuries of mining from both the Holy Ryuvian Empire and then the New Empire before finally exhausting the asteroids leaving hundreds of mined and hallowed out asteroids.
During the war between the New Empire and Solar Alliance, the asteroid belt following their abandonment by the New Empire sought pirates and various criminal elements using them as bases but eventually began moving towards more remote and far-flung locations finding them more ideal leaving the asteroids abandoned once again. There were rumors some pirates had used them as a base, but then they were found out by bounty hunters who flushed them out and dealt with them, but right now Miguel was convinced that Zero was using the asteroid belt as a base.
"Captain we just detected a ship on the edge of the asteroid belt heading in," a rugged crewmember shouted bringing up on the primary monitor an image of Zero's ship heading into the asteroid.
"Follow it, but keep a safe distance we don't want to tip them off that we are here," Kidd ordered as he intended to launch a surprise attack. After his ambush, he would use superior numbers to overwhelm them before they have a chance to fight back allowing them to hopefully capture as many of their machines and their ship intact as possible for his sponsors.
As he and his fleet entered the asteroid while taking care to keep their sensors on the ship. Although they lost visual of the vessel through all of the debris and asteroids floating around, they were able to track its projected course as it was heading for one of the larger asteroids that had been used as one of the primary bases for refining and shipping off all collected ore and gems found.
Not a bad choice for a base, the asteroids provide camouflage that asteroid has everything including a hanger for vessels and even Ryders you can use. Kidd thought as something of an off-hand compliment to his quarry, but as far as he was concerned, he had made a mistake keeping such loose-lipped men in his ranks.
"Begin deploying our Ryders and have them hold onto our ships so we can quickly launch them against the Black Knights before they have a chance to counterattack."
"Aye, sir…" A crewmember replied before passing along his orders to the other ships in his sizeable pirate fleet.
The carriers began launching their Ryders as many of them took to standing on the hulls of the warthogs and destroyers that could allow a Ryder while the rest traveled alongside the fleet as they moved through the asteroid heading straight for the base they tracked Zero's ship to be hiding within.
Once they were in range, six of the pirate destroyers quickly surrounded the base followed by five Warthogs joining them in their surrounding the supposed headquarters of the Black Knights, which interestingly enough showed no signs of attempted resistance. The Ryders that had accompanied the Warthogs swarmed into the base, but to their shock, there was nothing inside the station.
"Captain, we see no signs of the Black Knight ship?" One of the pirate Ryders reported.
"That can't be right we tracked it here!" Kidd shouted over the open communication channel.
"Hold on sir we found something," Another pirate Ryder pilot reported before stepping around a large stack of empty shipping crates used by long-range transport ships. He found twelve thermonuclear bombs tied together with a device linking them together flashing red. "Oh…my god…"
Before the pirate could say anymore a grinning Lelouch while sitting aboard the bridge of his ship pushed the detonator through the remote he held in his hand.
In a blinding flash the Ryders were vaporized in a powerful thermonuclear explosion that destroyed the base sending debris in multiple directions, but within seconds other asteroids that had been hollowed out through extensive mining erupted into blinding flashes.
They had also been stocked with thermonuclear bombs.
Lelouch resisted the urge to laugh in triumph because he knew that the fight was just getting started, but he knew he had dealt Kidd's fleet a devastating blow.
The nuclear explosions aren't the only thing you have to worry about.
Not all of Kidd's ships were caught in the nuclear blast because some had been lucky enough to be outside the blast radius, but Lelouch had accounted for that possibility which was why he had placed each set of bombs inside the asteroid mines themselves converting them to large claymore mines in a sense.
Not only do you have to worry about being caught in a thermonuclear explosion, but you have debris and fragments to worry about.
True to his words some pirate Ryders, destroyers, carriers, and warthogs were being showered by rock fragments, metal, and parts of the ships caught in the initial blasts. The fact that most pirate vessels were just ships cobbled together with as many weapons it could carry around a fusion core having been mostly scavenged from junk heaps. The fact their Ryders were not professionally designed and maintained was another problem.
The casualties of their Ryders alone were horrific thanks to all of the debris flying around and ships trying to escape the blasts only worsened the situation. By the time the chaos began to settle Miguel Kidd was dismayed to see what had been the most significant pirate fleet assembled in recent history had been reduced to six warthogs, ten pirate destroyers, two carriers, and two dozen Ryders.
"This…this was A GOD DAMN TRAP!" Miguel Kidd roared realizing his folly, but how Zero knew they were coming was what baffled him as the whole situation seemed to him that the Black Knights had been expecting him and had more than enough time to get ready for him.
It's not possible Zero shouldn't have known this quickly.
"Captain we got incoming!" A crewmember shouted a proximity alarm began sounding in the bridge as Lelouch's vessel was charging towards the pirate ships picking off a warthog with its initial pass by using its rail cannons before shooting down a pirate Ryder unfortunate enough to be in his flight path at the time.
"ALL BATTERIES OPEN FIRE BEFORE IT CAN DROP ITS RYDERS!" Kidd roared losing all composure and restraint as he was more determined than ever to kill Zero.
Suddenly another ship belonging to Kidd's fleet erupted into flames as another vessel just like the one Lelouch commanded was conducting its own charge, but seconds later another one was detected sinking two of his carriers on its first attack run. The pirate captain went pale realizing Zero's forces didn't consist of one ship and a few Ryders. Within moments Ryders were being picked off by sniper fire thanks to the new BKR-03S Cherubim being piloted by Domingo Clark.
He had also made good use of his machine's ECM capabilities to ensure the enemy did not realize the traps set for them nor did they recognize the ship they thought was Zero was, in reality, nothing more than Domingo feeding their sensors false information. The use of a decoy missile that was launched into the asteroid field also helped weave a convincing illusion that they were following Zero to his base.
The battle was soon joined by three Attia Ryders and eleven Knight units plus a particular commander's prototype designed to be Zero's personal machine which would serve as a base when his own Ryder could be built and completed. Lloyd wanted to collect fresh data from Lelouch's involvements and runs on the battlefield to fine-tune the machine more appropriately for him since all of his previous battle in a Knightmare Frame happened on Earth, not in space.
It was based on the BKR-01M Knight, but it had more armor and thrusters designed more for Lelouch's use while testing a new and improved variant of the Druid system analysis complex for Lelouch's usage. It included an artificial intelligence to assist Lelouch with more advance advanced combat analysis and ECM which were also being based on those used by the BKR-03S Cherubim.
His weapon of choice was a rifle similar to the one used by the Lancelot Albion but modified and enlarged for use by a Ryder while the backpack of Lelouch's unit carried two MSV swords.
"A king must lead so that his subordinates can follow," Lelouch exclaimed proudly before commanding, "Excalibur, Dominion, Avalon, and Oberon will continue using hit and run attacks to keep their ships on the defensive. P1 through P8 will all work together to pick off the remaining Ryders with R1 and R2 providing support fire."
"Yes, sir!" The Black Knights said together as they proceeded to carry out their orders as the Excalibur-class ships continued to pick off and attack the pirate ships engaging them while their remaining Ryders faced the Black Knight Ryders with the Attia and Cherubim providing support with intense firepower and pierce sniper shots coupled with ECM support.
The Knight units rushed the pirate Ryders as they fired shots from their arm-mounted lasers while using their shields in a desperate effort to protect themselves. The Black Knight Ryders outmaneuvered the slower pirate Ryders before some well placed laser shots from, the better-trained pirates destroyed the two Ryders. Two pirate bombers among the surviving enemy Ryders tried to shoot down the passing Excalibur ships, but a sniper shot picked off one before an MSV blade from a Knight destroyed it sending its pilot to meet his maker.
The Pirate Warthogs were trying to line up a clear shot; however, the asteroids and debris around them made it difficult but not impossible. Until one warthog lined up a shot before letting its anti-ship rockets fly towards one of the Excalibur-class ships the Oberon, but thankfully the Dominion managed to shoot them down while the Oberon narrowly used a giant asteroid as a quick shield as it flew pass it at the right moment.
On the bridge of his flagship, Captain Kidd watched with growing horror as his own forces were being torn apart by the Black Knights who not only laid a trap for them but had more ships and Ryders than they thought.
How did this happen? Where did their forces come from? Kidd thought while trying in vain to desperately comprehend where everything went wrong.
"Captain what do we do we just lost another destroyer!" A crewman shouted frantically before another announced adding to the fear-filled tension on the bridge, although of all of the ships Kidd's flagship was the only one weathering the storm so far.
"We just lost two more Warthogs and three more bombers."
"Get us out of here," Kidd began slowly before fear and panic finally overtook him, "GET US FUCKING OUT OF HERE BEFORE WE'RE KILLED!"
"Uh yes, captain…" the crewmember replied as he quickly began moving the Queen Mary's Revenge as he sought to escape the asteroid intending to perform an enemy spool up of their warp drives.
"Zero the Queen Mary's Revenge is attempting to flee the battlefield." A crewmember from the bridge of an Excalibur-class ship announced.
"So cowardly running away eh," Lelouch replied before giving orders, "units closet to it, intercept it!"
The Queen Mary's Revenge used its rail cannons to shoot their way out of the asteroid field while firing missiles to keep opposing Ryders at bay. Its shields were still holding against the onslaught of energy fire from the Excalibur-class vessels. They fired their own kinetic weapons at it which inflicted some damage along its hull, but unlike the other pirate vessels the Queen Mary's Revenge was better built and was actually equipped for heavy combat.
Lelouch grinned maliciously as he began rapidly typing in commands on the keyboard controls he drew from the armrests of his cockpit. Your ship may have better armor than the average pirate vessel, but with all of your damage, I doubt you can defend against this.
"Captain we have a problem!" A crew member shouted as the engines of the Queen Mary's Revenge suddenly shut down followed by the whole ship shutting down leaving communications operational. "We just lost control…our systems are being hacked from an outside source."
"I call check…" Lelouch replied smugly before signaling for his men to attack the ship with everything they had as the Avalon struck the engines of the Queen Mary's Revenge destroying them with its Hardon Cannons crippling the vessel.
With its weapons and defense systems offline it was easy prey now for the Excalibur class ships as they hammered away at it with the vessel breaching fire and atmosphere.
Lelouch in his own unit flew up to the ship hovering over the location where he suspected where the bridge was.
"Checkmate," Lelouch announced leveling his machine's Super VARIS rifle at the ship as it converted into Hardon Blaster mode to deliver the finishing blow, "I win…"
A single blast of crimson energy tore into the sinking pirate ship, which ripped through the bridge deep within the vessel itself vaporizing Captain Kidd and his bridge crew. Lelouch and his forces pulled away before the Queen Mary's Revenge exploded signaling the end of the famed pirate ship.
"With their leader dead all we have to do is mop up the survivors," Lelouch commanded as he saw that his forces were slowly wiping out the last of the pirate fleet, although they had some ships and Ryders left they lacked the weapons to adequately challenge his troops.
"I am sure Lloyd will appreciate the combat data from this battle to further the development of our Ryders." Lelouch mused as the battle would eventually reach its conclusion, but seeing how well the fight was proceeding for him reminded him of his first battle at Shinjuku Ghetto years ago.
I can't recall a time a battle has gone this well for me.
Either because Lelouch tempted fate or as if on cue an unexpected problem arose.
"Zero we have detected an unknown contact entering the asteroid field?"
The call came from a pilot of a Knight Ryder as it had been chasing down some Ryders trying to flee the battlefield, but they got as far as the edge of the battlefield before being taken out by the superior machine piloted by their pursuer.
"How many?"
"Just one…it's a Ryder, but I can't tell what it is or who it belongs to." The Black Knight pilot of one of his Ryders replied causing Lelouch to experience some déjà vu.
"Send me an image…" Lelouch ordered before the pilot transmitted a photo of the approaching Ryder he spotted entering the asteroid field.
It was black with red trim and colors, but upon seeing it, Lelouch knew it wasn't a pirate Ryder because the machine didn't look like something someone salvaged from a junkyard or picked up off the Black Market. Its appearance didn't match any Ryder he had seen before as it had the shape and body of a Ryder, but on its left shoulder was a large missile pod with a built-in shield and its left arm had a built-in katana style blade for melee combat. It had four-barrel pulse gun mounted on its right shoulder while its right limb had a built in large laser rifle.
"I order you to withdraw…do you understand me…withdraw now!" Lelouch ordered realizing the unknown Ryder was going to be trouble as he remembered how the battle for Shinjuku Ghetto went for him when the Lancelot appeared, so the former Emperor was worried he was facing a possible repeat of history.
"Sir…it's coming for me!" The pilot replied sounding panicked as the black and red Ryder quickly attacked the unfortunate man, but either caught off guard by his luck of having never faced an enemy until now capable of standing against his Ryder or lack of skill he was swiftly cut down.
"Attention all forces we have an unknown approaching the battlefield its Ryder of an unknown type and affiliation is unknown," Lelouch ordered quickly while trying to formulate a plan before the unknown machine arrives on the battlefield.
This isn't going to end like Shinjuku did with the Lancelot winning a tactical victory over me.
"The Excalibur, Avalon, and Oberon will assist P2, P4, P6, R1, R2, and P7 in mopping up the pirates while the rest of you on me," Lelouch commanded. The units he didn't name as part of the mop-up crew joined their commander near the burnt out wreck of the Queen Mary's Revenge. "We don't know what to expect from this Ryder expect its capabilities are a match for our machines and possibly more so R1 and R2 will hold back and provide support fire while the rest of you cover me. The Dominion will hold back and provide support once we have engaged the enemy."
"Zero what of my orders?" Domingo asked over an open communication channel.
"Wait for a clean shot, but after we have pinned it because from what I suspect so far the pilot and machine are quick." Lelouch expecting the pilot and the machine to be competent otherwise why would it come all the way out here alone. "But I also want you to keep an eye out for any other hostiles. I can't believe that just one machine came out here to challenge us."
"Understood sir…" Domingo replied before moving his machine to find a better vantage point.
"Here it comes!" Lelouch replied as the unknown Ryder accelerated to attack speed before rushing right at them.
Just as Lelouch feared the machine was surprisingly nimble despite the armaments built into its shoulders and its rifle. Two Knight Units switched to melee combat using their lances before the Attia units fired missiles to provide cover fire for them, but the unknown enemy machine shot them down using its pulse gun before meeting the Knight units in melee combat.
During the clash, Lelouch attempted to hack into the enemy machine as he had been able to do against the Queen Mary's Revenge, but to his shock and growing concern he was unable to do so.
"Activate recording measures," Lelouch replied imputing a command into his control console as the internal A.I. of his machine spoke.
"Recording engaged…observing style and searching for a pattern."
I hope it won't come to this, but I hope this will work as Lloyd promised it would.
Lelouch joined his fellow Black Knights in providing support fire to the two brave members of the Black Knights who sought to engage the unknown machine in melee combat. The enemy Ryder backed away avoiding any further melee engagements to avoid being shot at by the other Black Knights, so the black Ryder responded by firing its missiles at its melee attackers.
The Knight units fired their machine cannons to shoot down the missiles, but the unknown enemy machine gunned down one of them with its pulse guns before evading a retaliation shot from his fellow Black Knights.
"DAN!" One of the pilots cried out for losing a second comrade against their unknown foe.
"Keep pressing your attacks the enemy will make a mistake if we keep the pressure on!" Lelouch ordered as he and the rest of the Black Knights continued their efforts to face the unknown Ryder, but ever since it broke away from melee combat with two of the Knight units before they lost one, it began using the asteroids for cover.
It knows there is a sniper out there looking for a clean shot, so it's trying to avoid staying in the open for too long.
"How much longer?" Lelouch asked the A.I. support of his machine.
"Still scanning…"
Lelouch was hoping it wouldn't come to him using that, primarily since it wasn't adequately tested yet. Still, the battle began to worsen for him as the quick and nimble movements of the unknown Ryder allowed it to evade everything they shot at it.
Are skills and speed are similar to Suzaku's in the Lancelot even through the fighting style is different. Lelouch thought while studying the ability and speed his foe was using which was defiantly a visible indication that his adversary was not only experienced but possessing very exceptional reflexes and instincts. A quick shot from the black Ryder's laser rifle claimed another Knight Ryder before a shot destroyed an Attia much to the shock of Lelouch.
One Knight Unit tried to rush the unknown Ryder, but he met his end by being cleaved in half by the unknown enemy.
Damn it that is the fourth one we lost so far.
Lelouch continued trying to line up a good shot, but his foe was moving too quickly to line up a clear shot. Two more Knight Units used their lances to engage the unknown Ryder as they tried to attack it from behind and in front at the same time. The Ryder defeated the first one firing both missiles and its shoulder mounted pulse gun at point-blank range destroying the Black Knight machine before quickly turning around to parry the lance-wielding Ryder before the unknown enemy claimed another life.
The last Attia unit that had joined Lelouch's group to stop the unknown enemy attacked with missiles and Hardon Cannon shots, but the black and red machine skillfully dodged every attack while using its pulse gun to shoot down the missiles.
"Countermeasures ready…" The A.I. of Lelouch's machine announced.
"Finally," Lelouch said while weighing his options, but after seeing the black and red Ryder rush and impale the Attia unit through the stomach killing its pilot the former Emperor made up his mind, "activate combat countermeasures engaging A.I. combat support."
This time Lelouch rushed the black and red Ryder intending to engage it head-on, which was seen as an act of suicide by his comrades.
However aware of how questionable Lelouch's piloting skills was Lloyd had devised what he hoped would be a helpful remedy should Lelouch find himself facing a more skilled enemy pilot in combat to avoid what nearly happened to him during the final battle with his last machine aboard the Damocles.
"Dominion, listen carefully to me," Lelouch said over an open communication channel as he laid out a counterattack that he hoped would turn the tide in their favor.
Lelouch much to the surprise of his men dodged the first laser shot and the second one that came afterward. Drawing both MSV swords from the back unit of his command unit Lelouch engaged the unknown Ryder in combat pushing it back as it only had one sword to defend itself with. To everyone's growing surprise Lelouch was matching their enemy blow for blow.
It's working so far thanks to the Druid's AI having scanned and analyzed the attacks of the unknown Ryder allowing my own machine to help me anticipate my enemy's movements, but this isn't something I should rely on for long. Lelouch reason as he put power into the thrusters of his machine to push the unknown Ryder towards the burnt-out wreck of the Queen Mary's Revenge. Either the enemy Ryder realized what Lelouch intended or didn't want to be pushed out into the open the unknown Ryder began pushing back as they got in range of the wreck.
"Dominion…open fire!" Lelouch commanded at that instant as the Dominion fired, although the unknown machine was expecting the shots aimed at it the Dominion wasn't shooting at the unknown Ryder.
It was aiming for the wreckage of the Queen Mary's Revenge.
The attacks of the Excalibur-class vessel hit its mark causing the ship to explode for a second time sending shrapnel scattering as the wreck blew apart reducing it to almost nothing. The back of the unknown Ryder sustained damage from being near the explosion while acting as an unintended shield for Lelouch.
With its thrusters damaged Lelouch began fighting back with more ferocity before his enemy has a chance to recover, but his foe proved remarkably resilient because despite the damage it was still putting up a fight. Then finally a sniper shot destroyed the shoulder mounted missile pack of the unknown Ryder creating an opening for Lelouch to shoot off the head of his enemy's machine with its shoulder mounted autocannons before cutting off the arms of the unknown Ryder.
With his foe, disabled Lelouch quickly backed away fearing the enemy might try to self-destruct to take him out.
"Sir we have detected that the enemy machine has been completely disabled." The captain of the Dominion called over an open comm.
"Good work Captain Rose your shots were well placed. Have one of our units tow in the unit and pull the pilot out, but take them to take every precaution in dealing with whoever it is." Lelouch said deciding to keep his distance.
"Understood sir and I just received word from the Avalon that the last of the pirates have been eliminated," Captain Ross added before asking, "Shall I recall our forces?"
"Yes," Lelouch said quickly while cautiously checking his surroundings with his machine, "gather up our people and let's get out of here but make sure all evidence of our machines are destroyed."
As Lelouch flew back towards the Excalibur, he couldn't help, but wonder at that moment. I hope Jeremiah, Lloyd, and Icari are having better luck.
As Lelouch and the majority of the Black Knights dealt with Captain Kidd and his pirate fleet, Lelouch assigned Jeremiah to act as an overseer for Icari's mission with Lloyd to solve their problems of funding. Thanks to information they obtained from their sMarcusper agents including the pirates Lelouch had placed under his Geass to use as a proxy to deliver the so-called captive Black Knight. In truth, Lelouch had put a criminal who had the unfortunate luck of running afoul of him under the influence of Geass brainwashing him into a member of the Black Knights but carefully indoctrinated to give up information leading them to the asteroid field where Lelouch prepared his trap for Kidd's fleet.
Those pirates, while aboard Kidd's flagship, used a remote hacking terminal to infiltrate the Queen Mary's Revenge where information revealing where Kidd kept the funds he was receiving from PACT at.
Icari stood with Lloyd as she used a small computer to hack into a security terminal inside a dark alley on the planet of Ilo where Captain Kidd was storing his amassed fortune. Jeremiah kept an eye on Icari and Lloyd from an opposite alleyway across the street of the semi-deserted street in the seedy part of town with a detachment of Black Knights ready to provide armed assistance if they encountered opposition.
"I am almost in," Icari said as Lloyd kept a watchful vigilance, "just give me a few more seconds."
"I am not picking up anyone so keep going."
A clicking sound was heard before a hidden passageway leading into a seemingly abandoned and condemned building. Thanks to Lloyd and Icari were able to track the location where Captain Kidd hid his wealth using the information the Geass pirates Lelouch had unknowingly recruited to provide the information he needed and to help lead Kidd and his fleet right into his trap.
"Nicely done my dear." Lloyd complimented as Icari head into the passageway followed by Lloyd after he signaled for Jeremiah and the others that the path was clear.
Icari brushed the comment off, "save the compliments for later this was just the easy part."
As if to prove Icari right as soon as Lloyd and she entered inside they were met by over a dozen armed men. Icari quickly ducked behind the stairway leading out of the underground base before hurling a grenade at the guards while pulling out and assembling an assault rifle she had disassembled and smuggled within her jacket. Lloyd merely stood his ground before bullets fired off from the armed pirates that recovered began bouncing off his personal energy shield.
"Here is a party favor for you people," Lloyd replied lazily as he extended his left arm before the palm of his hand split open expelling shurikens being propelled at high speeds. He stuck one guard in the face before hitting another in the neck, but at this moment Jeremiah entered the underground passageway as his own bullet resistance attire allowed him to run in and strike down two more of the armed pirate thugs. Icari joined the fray mowing down those who were left with machine gun fire.
"I am sure we'll be seeing more resistance up ahead," Jeremiah commented before he nodded to one of the Black Knight's accompanying him to give Icari her preferred weapons of choice a katana and a wakizashi. She quickly shouldered the assault rifle over her left shoulder before taking her favorite blades into her hands.
"No shit Sherlock!" Icari snapped before joining Jeremiah in taking point knowing that probably ahead some of their opposition would likely be carrying personal energy shields of their own.
Ever since the use of guns over the sword had become more widespread in this age of interstellar travel new ways of protecting oneself from a gun has seen advancements as well leading to the development of personal energy shields to protect a wearer from any projectile weapon. This, in turn, led to a resurgent of swords being used as a preferred combat weapon for some since energy shields could not defect melee weapons like swords as they were meant to stop kinetic projectiles traveling at a certain speed otherwise movement and interacting with the environment would become problematic for the wearer.
Icari was uniquely gifted with a sword preferring them over guns most of the time, so much so that even her own custom Ryder reflected this.
The group made their way through the hallway which began to lead deeper underground into a more extensive complex, but as expected they ran into more armed resistance along the way. Unlike the previous guards, most of them were equipped with energy shields making bullets useless against them, but against the blades used by Icari and Jeremiah as the latter activated his concealed sword within his right forearm.
With the Black Knight followers providing cover fire Jeremiah and Icari rushed their opposition dodging gunfire along the way with Jeremiah using himself to shield Icari's approach since his armored clothing provided idea protection against bullets. Once they were in range, Jeremiah cleaved down two at once by slashing open their throats as their shields couldn't stop his blade. Icari joined in attacking the armed gunmen with an impressive feat of swordplay and agility at dodging the enemy's attempts to shoot her.
She stabbed one in the stomach with her sword before slashing open the throat of another with her wakizashi before skillfully using both blades to cut down another pirate.
"I hope that is it for them," Icari said after killing the last soldier, although usually, this would have brought Captain Kidd back to this planet to deal with those breaking in or at least hunting them down thanks to having a live feed from this hidden safe house he had with his ship. However, he was more likely to be dead at this point, so there was no fear for a reappraisal.
"We should hurry and find his office," Jeremiah ordered as he and the rest of their group hurried through the rest of the underground bunker until with Icari's help after bypassed the security doors that sealed away Captain Kidd's private chambers allowing them full access.
As one would expect of such a pirate of Miguel Kidd's reputation, he had a well-decorated room and an office filled with the most exquisite things credits could buy or steal considering his occupation, but Icari found his tastes questionable at best.
"What a tacky office he has," Icari commented shaking his head at the bright red wallpaper and the gold trimmed stylish furniture around them.
"Time for us to go to work kiddo!" Lloyd replied in his usual off-hand fashion much to Icari's annoyance.
"Who are you calling kiddo?"
Ignoring the retort, Lloyd went to work sitting down behind Kidd's desk before bringing up his computer as a holographic screen activated before him upon the table top. As Lloyd turned on the computer terminal, Icari was pulling in her own portable computer ready to assist Lloyd as part of the plan.
"So all of his financial records are kept here, and even money transfers are also conducted here, but still I didn't expect him to be so cautious about his money," Jeremiah commented.
Jeremiah and Lelouch discovered through their investigation that Miguel Kidd didn't trust his crew and whenever money was concerned all transfers and payments were done electronically as part of a precaution to protect his wealth.
Because of his reputation, Kidd could not apparently walk into a bank so he had likely set up some accounts under some false identities and set it all up so he could manage those accounts from this computer terminal within his private safe house on Ilo. Keeping all of his money in one place like an underground vault was silly for anyone to actually do.
"Ok I am ready," Icari said as she was hooked up and ready, "so it's your turn now."
"Right, so here we go," Lloyd said as his right hand opened up as some wires slithered out before connecting to the computer terminal linking the scientist's mind directly to the computer.
At that moment Icari and Lloyd both went to work hacking into Kidd's personal bank accounts while at the same time they were hacking his records and histories of money transfers for the last three years to see where all of the money he received from PACT has been going. Icari was struggling to keep up and continue hacking and bypassing security, but Lloyd seemingly had no trouble at all.
Ten tense minutes passed before Lloyd disconnected himself with a big grin on his face.
"Well the Black Knights are now stinking rich, and that means I got plenty of credits to help me towards those new projects I got in mind," Lloyd said before laughing while every credit the pirate had was being wired to different accounts to then be routed to accounts controlled by the Black Knights. Pleased with himself Lloyd turned to Icari, "how did it go for you?"
"It was harder for me, but I got everything," Icari said as she was borrowing over all of the files and records they recovered. "Holy shit…the people he paid off on behalf of those PACT bastards to weaken their worlds and block any bills towards improving their defense. Not to mention there is some blackmail material here he has been using too."
"Master Zero is going to have a field day with this information," Jeremiah replied with a smirk on his face pleased at the success of the mission so far, but his one regret is that he couldn't be with Zero as he dealt with Captain Kidd himself despite the plan being certain to succeed. "But we should leave before the authorities come along. I am sure the pirates probably paid them off to leave this area alone, but someone will come once word gets out that Captain Kidd is dead."
"Right we should get the hell out of here."
"That is fine by me just as long as we return as soon as possible so I can begin getting those new projects going."
Aboard the Excalibur, as the victorious Black Knights were conducting a series of wrap jumps to different locations to shake any possible pursuers before returning to base after they are sure there was no way for the enemy to track them. Two arms guards stood at attention as Lelouch dressed in his full attire as Zero wearing his trademark mask entered the brig to meet the pilot they had captured from the unknown machine.
Lelouch had almost expected many things from the prisoner, but what he saw surprised him.
Standing behind the transparent door that was strong enough to withstand an anti-tank shell was a young woman who was at least five foot two standing shorter than Lelouch by almost seven inches. When she was first pulled from the machine, she had been wearing a form-fitting black and red trimmed pilot suit, which has been switched out by the female guards for a white prisoner jumpsuit complete with a restraint collar. She had a petite build with periwinkle-blue hair, sapphire eyes, and a slightly pale skin complexion.
Suspicious of the pilot Lelouch had a carefully conducted medical exam done while he recovered from the battle fearing she was carrying a bomb or some kind of virus, but what he found instead surprised both the doctor and him which did explain the combat performance she demonstrated.
"I am sure you know I have many questions for you, but what are you exactly? I know our medical examination of you revealed some interesting facts." Lelouch said carefully as he eyed the prisoner before him studying every movement and gesture she made.
What worried him was how calm and smug she was as she stood defiantly before him behind the glass with her arms crossed over her chest.
The young woman ignored the question asking instead, "So the famous Zero we finally meet."
Lelouch was annoyed by how she dodged the question but decided on a new approach.
"Who are you?"
"We are many, but I suppose if you want my specific designation then it's L7NN."
"L7NN then you are not human," Zero said as this confirmed what the doctor's initial report revealed, "why did you attack us?"
"We wanted to test your strength because we suspected Captain Kidd would not defeat you. If he failed we decided to use another way to test and measure your might," L7NN answered before asking as her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What we are curious about is how you managed to prepare such a trap for his fleet when surely you had too little time to have been made aware of one of your own getting captured unless."
When Zero didn't answer the young woman grinned.
"Or you had known it was going to happen and lured him into a trap, so did you sacrifice one of your own men?"
Lelouch remained silent as he thought about what the doctor had told him.
"That woman has a body physically superior to our own in every way, although I would need to conduct a more in-depth examination to be sure."
That could mean her mind probably has better information processing ability superior to an average human as well, which all together would explain her exceptional combat performance. Lelouch thought as his mind focused on the present before him.
"Then I assume you are with PACT then?" Lelouch replied sharply deciding to dodge the woman's question about how he pulled off his trap.
"We are PACT!"
"I see then," Lelouch said deciding to take a more direct approach, "you wanted to know how I set Captain Kidd up. Then I'll simply show you how I did it with a demonstration."
Lelouch's left hand pressed a button under his mask revealing his Geass empowered eye behind a slide back panel of his mask.
L7NN was shocked by the eye before realization dawned on her, "Your eye…the power of Geass, so that's it."
This bit surprised Lelouch stopping him from using his Geass on her.
How does she know about Geass?
At that moment something happened as the young woman began gripping her head as if someone was sliding a hot knife through it.
"What are you doing?" L7NN began, although Lelouch thought this was directed at him. However, upon observing the scene more carefully, he realized the woman was speaking to someone else. "Please don't do it…why…I…."
The girl let out a scream before collapsing onto the ground passing out clutching her head. The guards who had been standing with Lelouch were just as confused as he was about what happened. Lelouch typed in a few commands on his holo he wore on his wrist to check her vitals through the restraining collar around her neck.
She is still alive, but what happened to her?
Lelouch was left with more questions than answers now, but seeing that he wouldn't get any answers until either L7NN awakens he knew someone else he could ask in the meantime.
Deep within his private chambers on New Eden, as she contemplated recent events, Veniczar S. Arcadius was deep in thought especially since her plan to test Zero, and the Black Knights worked, but the loss of the pilot and the machine was unfortunate. She could have put up more resistance, but in the event, she was somehow defeated she was to allow herself to be captured so she could act as a beacon to lead her to Zero's base.
However, Arcadius's concerns about Zero were confirmed forcing a drastic action on her part.
"So the Demon Emperor and the man who first wore the mask of Zero has risen again," Arcadius mused before laughing which rose from soft laughing to near hysteric laughter as she continued to speak as the laughing slowly died down. "The man who held power to bend all who looked upon his eyes to his will and was said to be able to influence the gods themselves."
Arcadius regained her composure before activating her FTL communicator. Fontana's image materialized into view within moments as he bowed respectfully before his superior.
"Fontana we command that all preparations to invade the Neutral Rim are to be hastened quickly."
This surprised Fontana, but he suspected the reason behind this order.
"It's in regards to Zero?"
"Yes, he has proven to be far more of a dangerous element than we expected. Captain Kidd has failed us completely, so we command that all preparations for our invasion to be accelerated before the Black Knights have a chance to grow further in strength."
Fontana wanted to ask a question, but he knew it was best not to oppose Arcadius.
"I shall contact Cullen and relay your orders to him to speed up preparations, and I will contact you as soon as I have an update."
"Very good, you are dismissed," Arcadius replied deactivating FTL communication system causing his second-in-command's avatar to vanish.
"You may have defeated one of us Zero," Arcadius spoke as dozens of identical figures began moving in the shadows behind Arcadius, "but we are legion. We are the many, and you are the one…or Zero heh heh…"
Arcadius once again burst into maniacal laughter joined in perfect sync with the figures standing in the shadows.
A/N: yes this is the opposition Lelouch is facing, one who is many against the one who is…nothing in a literal sense, but there is more of a comparison which I'll reveal which makes Zero and Arcadius such perfect enemies for one another.
Each one is a superhuman designed with bodies vastly superior to humans with minds better at processing information than a state-of-the-art supercomputer. And there is more than one, so yeah the pirates were nothing compared to what PACT and Arcadius are going to throw at Lelouch.
We got to introduce Icari in this chapter, the Tsunade Mercenary.
On a side note, I was a little disappointed with the space battle, but at least the ground battle turned out a bit better, but I will work to improve.
Next chapter the war begins.
