A Hostage Situation
With the news that someone else would be appointed as the new Sub-Viceroy, Princess Cornelia slinks back into a nearby chair and says "I must offer my apologies to the both of you. I truly planned on appointing you two myself…"
Yang merely smiles and says "Don't worry about it Your Highness. It makes me feel better that even the royal family can be impeded by bureaucratic meddling…"
Guilford begins to grumble to himself while saying "You really are taking this well Yang. Who would interfere with Her Highness…?"
Reinhard scratches his chin in response, as he says "There are plenty of people, but the most likely in my eyes would be an influential noble. They do always seem to be in competition with the royal family…"
Yang nods and adds, saying "Also, this would be a way to bolster their wealth. This place will become highly profitable as soon as things stabilize, and having someone loyal to them would be valuable."
When Princess Cornelia hears that, she narrows her eyes and says "I welcome them to try their schemes on me…" But then she smiles and says "I will speak with Schneizel and have you both transferred under my direct command, though I wish for you to act independently of me if necessary. As long as this new Sub-Viceroy cannot interfere with you…"
Soon after that, the new Sub-Viceroy arrives in Area 11, so Princess Cornelia brings Reinhard and Yang into her own office to meet him…
As they waited, a blonde haired man who looked to be in his early 40s entered the room, before smiling and saying "I didn't expect to have an audience… My name is Job Trunicht, and I was the former Defense Chair in Pendragon, but now I was assigned here as the new Sub-Viceroy. I look forward to working with you, Your Highness…"
Princess Cornelia simply nods and says "Good. I expect you to work hard here, Mr. Trunicht."
Trunicht quietly laughs in response and says "Of course, of course…" He then surveys the room, before saying "I must apologize, but I'm fairly busy today, so I will need to leave. It was a pleasure meeting you all…"
Following that, Trunicht leaves as quickly as he entered, while the rest of them continued to talk…
Now that Trunicht was gone, Princess Cornelia sighs and says "I have my doubts that he will be of much help… But allow me to contact Prince Schneizel in the meantime. You both are dismissed…"
They both nod, before leaving and returning to their own offices…
Around the same time, Zero's 'Headquarters'
Currently, Lelouch, Kallen, Ohgi, and Tamaki were hiding out in an abandoned building, which was acting as their hideout for the moment. And since their first plan was only partially successful, they needed to make a decisive move soon.
Lelouch begins, saying "We need allies. My Geass can only take us so far, and it's difficult to plan things out with only the four of us."
Ohgi nods and says "I agree. The Japanese Liberation Front would be a good choice, but we'd need to prove our value to them first."
Tamaki scratches his head in response while saying "How the hell are we supposed to do that? We don't have a lot of equipment to use…"
When Kallen hears that, she folds her arms and says "As long as I have a Knightmare Frame, I'll fight my hardest! You have a plan, don't you Lelouch?"
He nods and says "Roughly… From what I've read, the JLF are somewhat divided in how they wish to proceed. It also seems like the extremists have fewer numbers. I don't doubt that in their zeal they will drag innocents into their schemes, even Japanese people. If that happens, we should publicly oppose them."
Tamaki tilts his head in confusion and says "But aren't we extremists too?"
Lelouch smiles and says "True, but I believe we could make more progress if we present ourselves as noble freedom fighters, for anyone harmed by Britannia's tyranny."
Ohgi starts to tap his chin while saying "You make a good point, Lelouch. There's gotta be some Britannians who were also wronged by the government…"
Lelouch nods again, before saying "Exactly. I say we wait for now, but I doubt we will need to wait long. I'm sure those guys will be all too eager to demonstrate their strength…"
Now that their plans were set, Kallen grabs Lelouch by the shoulder and says "With that out of the way, let's train! Our leader can't appear weak in front of the JLF or the Britannians…"
Lelouch frantically shakes his head while saying "My strengths are mental, not physical! This is not necessary!"
Tamaki laughs and says "Aww come on Lelouch… Don't be such a wimp…"
Ohgi then smiles and says "Would you like to join them?"
Tamaki suddenly takes a step back, while saying "Umm… I… I should check on our supplies. Can't be too careful!"
Ohgi just sighs to himself, glad that everyone seemed to be getting along, while hoping that their next operation would be a complete success…
The Next Morning, Ashford Academy
A few members of the student council, specifically Milly, Shirley, and Nina, were planning to taking a trip out to Lake Kawaguchi. After an hour long train ride, they arrive at a nearby hotel, wanting to get an early lunch in.
As they sat down and prepared to order, a group of soldiers from the JLF stormed the building, as their apparent leader ordered for all of the patrons to be apprehended. Among the prisoners was a young pink haired girl wearing inconspicuous glasses and a hat, who looked particularly concerned about the situation.
Once they were gathered up, the leader stands in front of them and says "My name is Josui Kusakabe. We do not plan to harm you, but you will all be our hostages. As long as we get the resources we need from the government, you will be released. Resist, and you will be shown no mercy…"
After that, they announce their intentions to the public, hoping that word will spread and that their operation will be a success. When Princess Cornelia learns of this, she gathers her officers and the Sub-Viceroy in order to formulate the best plan to free the hostages and arrest the terrorists. Lelouch and his group also learn of the situation through underground channels, so they plan out how they should proceed and make a name for themselves.
Soon, all of Area 11 would wait with baited breath for how this hostage situation would proceed, as it could have dire ramifications for the whole country...
Notes
A bit of a shorter chapter this time, but I just wanted to get this one out. I'll try to make the next one a bit longer. Thanks for the recent reviews/follows/favorites!
