Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or any of its Canon Characters.
AN: Here we go :)
General Katase felt a distinct, solemn heaviness. There was no script for what he was about to do. It had to work, for if it did not, the victory they had stolen at Narita will have been nothing more than a seven year extension on Japan's execution date.
Luna had done everything she could to make it as clear as possible; this was the one and only chance they had to avoid a shooting war, and the unthinkable devastation that would follow as the home islands became a three way killing ground between the JLF, Britannia, and China. And the JLF simply did not have the resources to win that fight, they both knew that with certainty.
Fear was not something he was used to associating with Luna vi Britannia, but it was seeping through in her voice for the duration of their conversation a few hours prior. She knew exactly what would happen if it came to war: The JLF would inflict substantial, disproportionately high casualties and damage on the Britannian forces, but they had no way to reinforce and replace losses to any meaningful extent.
A sustained military campaign against either Britannia or China was a losing proposition, to be even remotely considered under the most dire of circumstances. Size really did matter, and the JLF was just too small to win a real war against superpowers ruling and third and a fifth of the planet respectively.
With the death of Clovis, the floor had fallen out from under them, with the hope of a peaceful solution just barely hanging on. But Luna refused to give up. While she could definitely win decisive battles with the forces the JLF had available, In any such scenario, rapid short term victories would always be followed by long term defeat as supplies ran low and casualties wore down their combat power.
The reality on the ground dictated that the only path to any meaningful Japanese victory would be to defeat their enemies without fighting. To that end, Katase was willing to bet everything on Luna, because without her they had absolutely no other path toward such an outcome. But if it worked, Sun Tzu would be proud.
And so, Katase set about attacking the task of informing a Japanese army that they would be taking over the country in a relatively peaceful fashion to support the return of a Britannian princess that had been their secret benefactor all along.
It would require precise spin to pull off in a way that would minimize doubt and discontent, but the truth was self evident. Luna's eager offering of information led to the Miracle of Narita, her enormous funding and support fueled their growth into a force that could man for man, machine for machine, call itself superior to Britannia's armies. In quality, at least
Luna vi Britannia had, through her love and devotion to the people of this battered nation, forged a path forward from what would have otherwise undoubtedly been their end. She kept the spark alive, until the day would come to light their future.
For better or worse, that day had come, and she stood ready to sacrifice even more for them. The JLF would be there when she needed them, he would make it certain.
Katase chuckled behind his desk as he thought about it. She was just too charismatic, too inspiring to doubt. Selling her vision would be the easy part. The real challenge would come later.
Cornelia li Britannia stepped onto the bridge of the HMAS Deucalion with three hours of sleep and a fresh mug of military black coffee. She looked out over the vast blue of the Indian Ocean, and over at her escorts, flying two and two on either side. So far, they were making good time on their course toward Area 11. She would definitely need more than one coffee before the morning was over.
The last thirty or so hours had been an exercise in controlled chaos, as Angel Division was pulled from their positions and replaced by reserve units with great haste. In the interest of squeezing out every bit of speed possible in order to meet Schneizel's deadline, arrangements had been made to leave much of the division's equipment behind for use by their replacements. A second operation, scheduled to arrive in Tokyo at the same time by sea, would ferry new equipment to Area 11 from the RBN Pacific Fleet's base at Pearl Harbor.
Cornelia had taken the opportunity into requisitioning as many upgrades as she could given the limited notice. Her units would arrive in Area 11 with newer, factory mint gear, not the refurbished crap that was deemed "acceptable for deployment" that they were given in the Middle East.
If she had one fault, it would be that she could get too attached to her troops, this division in particular. Logically, the equipment they were using was more than good enough, but it was not the best, not the safest, not the most reliable gear available. Those that followed their warrior princess into combat were some of the bravest in the Empire, and they deserved to be the best equipped.
From what the Second Princess knew of the situation in Area 11, they would most certainly need the enhancements. Reports indicated that the natives were becoming fairly proficient at disabling or outright killing Britannian vehicles, many of which in use in Area 11 dated back to the initial invasion. Although seven years did not seem like a long time in the grander scale, substantial advancements in military technology had been made and were starting to see combat deployments.
To make matters even worse for them, the thus far secretive Japan Liberation Front were known to hold a technological advantage over the empire, at least in terms of their vehicles and aircraft. Although she did not believe for a moment that they could have developed such things themselves, that did not change the fact that they were still a rebel group equipped with a substantial number of ultra modern weapons.
That simple fact greatly irritated her. Anyone that had served under Cornelia would be quick to say that she was one of those rare commanders that genuinely cared about her soldiers, from the elite pilots down to the rank and file infantrymen. She simply would not be willing to accept sending her loyal soldiers into battle against savage Eleven rebels with inferior equipment if there was any possible alternative. Other, less loyal units perhaps, but not her own.
Satisfied that the coffee had sufficiently cooled, she stopped thinking about logistics issues and downed half the mug at once. It was a start.
Area 11 was a bloody mess at the moment. There had thus far been no official communications from Pendragon as to who the new viceroy would be, although a few candidates quickly came to mind, herself being at the top of the list considering her immediate redeployment.
In the meantime, Jeremiah Gottwald was doing a surprisingly good job filling in the role on short notice. Despite Clovis's assassination, Gottwald had kept the government running, and even upped the pressure on the Blood of the Samurai. The terrorists were taking casualties on a daily basis, and she liked his tone on making a public spectacle out of it. Vengeance was being dished out immediately, and everybody knew it. There was even a slim chance that Gottwald himself could gain the position given his success so far. At a glance, Cornelia felt inclined to support that idea, assuming he could keep up this level of performance.
She was a through and through career army woman, not a politician, and she dearly wished it would stay that way. Cornelia had absolutely no interest in doing 'princess like things', which would be required in such a role. She would take a bloody trench on the front line of hell over a ballroom any day.
Official duties and problems aside, there were still other issues waiting for her on the islands. Chief among them, the Eleven that her younger sister was associating herself with. It would not be as easy to solve as it appeared at first glance.
Suzaku Kururugi, the son the the natives' last elected leader of all things, had gained a bit of standing for himself. Since it was publically known that he and Euphemia, together wielding prototype flying knightmare frames built by Schneizel's Camelot unit, had played an instrumental part in driving back the terrorists so close to their school, the media was showering the pair with praise.
Even more challenging was his near flawless military record, apparently justified meteoric promotions by Gottwald, and his position with Camelot. There was little she could use other than his race to hold against him, and even that avenue had holes in it as he was the model Honorary Britannian. She could not help but secretly admit that if he were born Britannian, she would be congratulating Euphemia on finding a worthy partner, not thinking of ways to discredit him.
Cornelia sighed, pushing the problems away for a moment, only to realize that the rest of her coffee had vanished from the mug as her thoughts wandered. She turned to go get another, only to find that it had already arrived.
"You know me too well, Guilford." She smiled at the timely arrival of her knight, wielding extra coffee in each hand.
"After nine years, I would be worried if I didn't, your highness." He smiled back at his princess.
"Nine years..." Cornelia wondered aloud at how short it had all felt. She could still remember clearly the day she had met him as a fresh captain that had just been assigned to Empress Marianne's guard. She had been effectively ordered to obtain a knight of honor as a member of the royal family serving in an active duty military role. First Lieutenant Gilbert Guilford had caught her eye, and she never once regretted taking him in. He had met or exceeded every expectation she had ever set for him, kept his promises, and made more than a few wishes come true.
"Seven and a half years since we've been to Area 11." He recalled.
"I'm glad we're going back. There has never been anything in my life that I need to finish more. 'Missing, presumed dead by enemy action', is no fate for a princess. My sisters deserve to be found." Cornelia recalled her own poorly contained fury at being ordered to leave after the invasion.
"I have no doubt that it's a mystery that can be solved, as long as we keep trying, and I don't believe for a moment that you would ever give up on them." He reassured.
"I don't care if we have to upturn every square centimeter of those islands, I will find my sisters, and I will bring them home. I swear it, Guilford." Cornelia gripped the mug tighter just thinking about it.
With a thunderous, reverberant cascade of blended together booms that shattered the peaceful silence of night, three thousand carefully placed demolition charges exploded in perfect sequence along the side of what appeared to be an ordinary mountain in Hokkaido, triggering a controlled landslide into the valley below. The intended effect, watched up close by hundreds of JLF personnel through the safety of a luminous pink energy shield, was to clear a path from their underground shipyard to the outside world. As the dust slowly subsided, the first photons of natural light found their way into the hollowed out mountain.
As soon as it was deemed safe, construction workers, knightmare frames, and tanks fitted with moved their vehicles forward into the channel to clear the loose debris, and quickly assemble the supporting structures that would keep the entrance secure from collapse. In a few hours, the monstrously powerful vessel that had been assembled within would be unleashed.
But the JLF could not wait for such preparations to be completed, as much as they would have liked to. There was simply no time left. And so, the largest planned operation in in their history, either of the JLF itself, or the JSDF before them, would have to begin before their flagship was freed from its earthen lair.
From all across the northern island, tens of thousands of troops emerged from hidden bases. Dozens of heavy transport aircraft and their fighter escorts took to the sky from concealed runways, while advance squads of knightmare frames rushed to capture the vital chain of bridges linking Hokkaido to Honshu that the Britannians had been so kind as to construct after the invasion, the only direct link between the islands.
Within hours, JLF forces would seize control of critical infrastructure across the home islands, with the specific intent of forcing the Holy Britannian Empire to accept that it was no longer the uncontested power in Japan that it had been since the invasion.
Major population centers, with the sole exception of Tokyo itself, were notably absent from the long list of objectives. After all, Britannia invaded Japan for their vast sakuradite reserves, showing little care for anything else the islands had on offer. With the mines and cross country transportation networks under control of the JLF, Britannia would either have to come to the table, or dangerously over stretch their military to pull together enough troops for a second invasion, something that China would certainly not just sit back and watch from their bases on Kyushu. In an ironic sense, they were relying on the threat of one apocalyptic event to avoid several of them.
All across Honshu, JLF airborne forces were the first to deploy, and also to reach their targets. Heavy transport aircraft came in low and began deploying troops, knightmare frames, and armored vehicles at economically important locations across the central island.
Their mission objectives were relatively simple: One, defend their assigned targets from any attacks by the Blood of the Samurai remnants, or any other hostile forces. Two, overshadow the Britannian garrisons as the most visible military force on the ground. Three, break existing stereotypes by being friendly, unobstructive, and helpful wherever possible. In short, seize the moral high ground, and hold it. That was the critical part.
These mission parameters were not designed as a forceful occupation of enemy held territory, but rather as a way to establish a sense of legitimacy and jumpstart a hearts and minds campaign in support of Luna vi Britannia's lightning takeover in Tokyo. The intent pushed by JLF leadership was to stop being the secretive force hiding in the northern mountains, and to take a visible role across Japan.
Just before dawn, as the lead JLF units were reaching their farthest destinations, local Britannian commanders had already received fresh orders from their superiors in Tokyo that they and the rapidly advancing Japanese forces were a legitimate military organization acting under the full authority of the new Viceroy.
Translation: they were on the same side now, and to openly disagree with that statement would be considered an act of mutiny. As there were no competing claims for control of Area 11, there were no clear fault lines to fall on. It would have been one thing for a rival royal or high tier noble to give conflicting orders, but as everyone in the country that could do so was supporting the interim government's position, dissenters had no solid ground to stand on. They did the only thing they could, and followed orders like soldiers that did not want to end up on the wrong end of a firing squad.
By first light that morning, JLF units had occupied the countryside and many smaller towns of Area 11, with Britannian troops being the visible force only in Britannian populated urban centers and in their own bases. As of 0800 hours, no less than ten forward operating bases and outposts were under construction to support the mass deployment.
By 1000 hours, it was abundantly clear that any attempt by Britannian troops to dislodge the Japanese would be futile, as their forces were just too intermingled across the country. The battle lines, were they to be drawn, would have been swiss cheese, not a solid border between them. That would be more compounded by the increasing deployment of heavier armored units by land over the coming days.
In all, it was quite possibly the most bloodless invasion in history. The advanced force that had evolved from the remnants of Japan's military had emerged from their northern strongholds to establish a presence all across the country, and managed to do so without firing a shot.
That did not, of course, mean that it was all sunshine and roses when both sides met in the field. There had been quite a few angry, even mildly violent confrontations with Britannian military and police units, but the clear orders from the top for both sides to hold fire held, barely in places, but it did hold.
However, in primarily Japanese populated areas, the initial reaction was shock and disbelief at the sight of heavily armed Japanese troops marching into their towns and ruins without open warfare breaking out around them. A wave of uncontained celebration broke out soon afterward.
To an uninformed observer, some of the scenes produced by the JLF's return would appear as a victory parade for a liberating army that had vanquished imperial control of the home islands. However, few on the ground, military or civilian, understood the political complexity of what was actually happening. All they knew was that seeing the return of proud soldiers wearing beautiful red circles on their uniforms was a sign of change; that the future may not be hopeless after all.
At precisely 1032 hours that morning, the construction teams in Hokkaido finished their task of reinforcing the new entrance to the underground facility that had become known to the base personnel as the Dragon's Lair. At 1045 hours, both groundside and shipboard crews finished their extensive preflight checks, and moments thereafter the order to launch was given.
At 1051 hours, long lines of float units along the ship's ventral surfaces began to power up, changing from a cold dark grey, to light purple, and finally to bright, vibrant pink as they charged to the minimum power level to raise the ship five meters off the ground. Additional float systems along the rear facing angles of the ship activated seconds later, providing forward thrust.
Slowly, steadily, the massive vessel moved ahead, until it began to emerge from the mountain, and into the open air; a blade emerging from the earth. At a glance, one could be forgiven for thinking that this was some sort of alien dreadnought for how large and different it was to every other airship ever constructed. Shaped like a massive, dark grey convex kite, with long, sharp angular lines, many in the JLF likened the design to the business end of a giant kunai.
However, to the thousands of sailors and soldiers aboard, the kilometer long flying fortress was more than just a warship, or even a castle in the sky. It was as much a statement as it was a weapon; a tale told by the light of her engines and the thunder of her guns, that their story was far from over. The grand vessel's name, elegantly inscribed in the wings of the stylized white dragon pattern spanning the forward third of the ship, was Hiryu.
The time had come, and much sooner than she would have liked. Never would have been preferable, but fate had other plans, much to her detriment. Luna vi Britannia pondered the twists fate always seemed to throw at her, as she suited up in a faithful reproduction of the image that, in a previous life, had led to power, disaster, and eventually death. While there would be no Zero, no masked miracle maker, the visage that had once been Zero still held a special place in her heart. After all, the ultimate purpose and fate of Zero was to destroy the world, and in doing so create a better one.
What she was about to do may not be on the same scale as seizing control of Britannia through Geass, but it was still a step in the same general direction: to bring down the current world order and replace it with something better.
It would, however, upset the balance of power in East Asia, and likely provoke a not so friendly response from Pendragon. She certainly could not imagine Charles being happy with his biggest source of sakuradite being hijacked. But would it lead to an actual war? Luna was willing to bet not, as long as the sakuradite kept flowing, of course.
All told, this was a terribly risky plan of action, dripping with desperation, but it was the next best thing without Clovis. All she had to do now was execute, and hope her luck held up.
She went to pick up the iconic helmet; the mask that defied an empire, lead a revolution, and destroyed the world, only to create it anew. Luna paused as her gloved fingers touched the faceplate of the flawless recreation, roughly in the same spot that the blood of the Demon Emperor had been smeared on it. She hovered there for a few seconds, and then turned away.
The outfit was good, bold, and certainly dramatic, but it was that mask itself that was Zero. It ultimately came down to who was going to walk out of this room, Luna vi Britannia, a princess returned from death to save a nation, or Zero, the faceless miracle maker and champion of the powerless?
After a few moments, she let go of it; the the mask and what it represented. Zero had served its purpose. It was now Suzaku's fate to wear that mask as the guardian of the world Lelouch had died for. It was not needed here; it did not belong here, and she could think of no good reasons to change that.
Kallen Kouzuki took another sip of her warm tea, unlike Tamaki beside her who always seemed to have a bottle of something alcoholic. She, and the rest of the cell, had calmed down a bit over the past two weeks.
The Britannian military had largely pulled back to concentrate their forces in the cities, undoubtedly a reaction to the series of suicidally direct assaults and raids by the Blood of the Samurai. However, in doing so, they took the pressure off the few other scattered groups that were just trying to survive, not go die in a blaze of glory.
And a blaze of glory it most certainly was for Kusakabe's fanatics in Tokyo. In their last desperate strike on the capital, they had been utterly slaughtered by the defending imperial forces. No prisoners had been taken as those that had managed to survive the initial attacks were hunted down by vengeful Britannian Army forces. But their blood had purchased something once thought nearly unattainable: the death of a prince. Although the actual fighter that fired the fatal shots would likely remain unknown, lost forever to the fog of war, the Blood of the Samurai had been the ones to do it.
The media firestorm that followed had been entertaining, if nothing else, to Kallen and her group. After all, they had plenty of time to sit around a screen and watch the events in the capital unfold. While Ohgi and a few of his remaining external contacts were working on establishing a line of communications with the JLF, hurry up and wait became the game once more. Certainly a soldier's past time. And so, the small group of seemingly unemployed freedom fighters without a mission became Hi-TV regulars. This night, however, was to be very different.
They turned on the old TV to find Diethard Ried covering some sort of press conference in the capital. The first few minutes went on as anyone would have expected: Acting Consul Jeremiah Gottwald directing an invective tirade against the Blood of the Samurai for the assassination of Clovis, calling for unity in trying times, and vowing that the terrorist threat would be solved in short order.
In general, it was what could be considered normal for the situation, if anyone could truly call the assassination of a prince normal. One thing, however, really stuck out at Kallen: In nearly twenty minutes, Gottwald did not once regurgitate the usual xenophobic, anti Japanese rhetoric that they had all come to expect.
Sure, he was directing plenty of hate toward "terrorists", but they were very specific "terrorists", with no blanket statements against "Elevens" Instead, he gave a few hints that the late Viceroy's recent, unexpected and unprecedented string of pro Japanese legislation would continue on without him. That was surprising to hear, considering the extremely tense situation on Honshu. The death of Clovis should have outright torpedoed that line of thought in their Britannian rulers.
However, in his long monologue, Jeremiah did not yet answer the one question that everybody wanted to know: who was going to be leading the new administration? Jeremiah's position as the head of the colonial government was intended to be temporary, and he had not yet made any moves that conclusively indicated that he wanted to secure his position at the top for the long term.
"Hey guys, anyone else getting the feeling that Jerry's just stalling? Something definitely feels off about this." Kallen asked her comrades gathered around.
"Whatcha mean? This sounds pretty normal for a Brit big wig." Tamaki sent back with his decidedly ordinary ignorance.
"Look at the audience, it's the who's who of the rich and powerful Britannians in Japan. There's no way he summoned them all to the palace just to give another speech." Ohgi added in, taking a closer look himself.
"And he's going well out of his way to specifically blame Kusakabe and Friends for killing Clovis, not the rest of Japan along with them." Kallen added.
"Whatever it is, something strange is definitely going on." Ohgi agreed with her.
"Shh, quiet." Inoue told them, grabbing the controls to increase the volume. Jeremiah Gottwald's voice intensified in the room. They watched intently, as the buildup hit a high point.
"...someone of extraordinary ability to lead us through these darkest of days, with the presence and strength of will to face the herculean challenges arrayed against us, and crush them without hesitation.
I am proud to announce that my final action as acting head of the colonial government is to conduct the transfer of power to this noble soul, having defied death and rewritten fate itself to rise from her early grave and appear before you in this solemn hour." Jeremiah went on, almost as if he was performing a magic summoning ritual.
Suddenly, the great double doors at the rear of the hall burst open, the summoning completed. Heads turned to the rear. There was nothing at first, then a lone figure appeared, slowly ascending the stairs into view of those inside that had turned around. She was dressed in a striking, elegant outfit of black, violet, and gold trim, its crimson lined cape fluttering with every advancing step. All cameras within the hall that had line of sight focused to witness this new arrival.
Five steps behind, four more figures appeared, and they were nothing like the first. They were soldiers; not an honor guard wearing dress uniforms as was a common sight to the nobility, but fully armed and armored shock troops, faces hidden behind the wide opaque visors of their full helmets. Faceless beings armed and dressed for war.
As four became eight, twelve, sixteen, and twenty, it became visible that the woman marching into the hall was being accompanied by four long columns of warriors, all marching in perfect unison behind her. When they reached the hall, the outer columns smoothly split off to either side, taking positions around the perimeter of the room that completely surrounded the occupants. They did not speak, and moved with near mechanical precision.
She marched down the central aisle as the room quickly filled with her soldiers, trying not to show a grin at the level of fear radiating from those seated around her. What was happening? Who were these people? Behind her, she heard the double doors shut once more, indicating that all two hundred had entered the room.
But that was not the worst of it, for there was one seemingly minor detail that left the occupants deathly silent. The uniforms of the indistinguishable men and women holding the assault weapons were proudly adorned with a very familiar red circle upon a white rectangle. Even worse, the palace guard, although outnumbered ten to one, did not seem even the slightest bit surprised. They knew this was going to happen. The realization that this was not an unplanned interruption spread through the occupants with unchecked virulence. One could almost see the perceived temperature of the room plummet with every step forward.
The sound of marching boots against the marble floor were all that could be heard as she reached the front of the room and ascended the steps to join Jeremiah and Princess Euphemia on the stage. Even Diethard Ried had no commentary to add, the sights and sounds themselves told the story better than he or anyone else could describe.
"There's no fucking way..." Kallen stared wide eyed at the screen. Her brain was having serious difficulty processing what the data coming through her optic nerves. Heavily armed Japanese soldiers were standing in the Viceroy's Palace in Tokyo, and nobody was dying, nobody was killing. It was so surreal that it was hard to believe that what she was seeing was actually happening.
"Kallen, either you're not hallucinating, or we all are." Nakata absently spoke from behind them.
The gathering sat and watched, at first, simply awestruck at the troops entering the room. Once they had managed to swallow that what they were seeing was actually true, their attention quickly centered on the lone figure advancing toward the stage down the center isle. They had not the slightest clue as to who she was, or why a clearly Britannian woman was the one leading apparently Japanese troops. But they all knew that they were about to find out.
Kallen Kouzuki, and those around her, were just a few among tens of millions in Japan, and far, far more in Britannia, and all around the world, that watched in shocked, anticipatory silence as the unknown woman came to stand behind the podium, relegating the Acting Consul of Area 11 and Princess Euphemia li Britannia to easily forgotten stage ornamentation as she quite literally stole the show. She stood still for a moment, eying the crowd before her, and then began to speak, her voice flowing throughout the room.
"I stand here to address you tonight because of a great injustice; a litany of human suffering, written volume by volume in the blood of the murdered. I speak of course, of the tragedy we have come to know as Area 11." She began, finally getting a response beyond silent shock from the no longer voluntary Britannian audience.
"Eight long years ago, this was the beating heart of a thriving, vibrant civilization. Japan was the very image of an ideal society: a world leader in science, technology, and medicine, and a compassionate population with no desire to plague her neighbors with the disease of war. A center of innovation, cooperation, and peaceful advancement.
Exiled and discarded, these once peaceful islands became my home. Those were happy days, spent oblivious to the impending apocalypse that would arrive on the morning of the fourth of August. Looking back, it seems inevitable that Japan was destined to burn in the pursuit of ever more wealth and power, yet nobody wanted to believe it would happen. We paid dearly for our naivety and foolishness.
My sister was murdered that morning; she was just one among hundreds of thousands of innocent victims incinerated as missiles rained down upon us without warning. Millions more would join them in the inferno that followed as a great peaceful nation was butchered alive in one of the most senseless acts of indiscriminate slaughter this world has ever known.
The embers of that catastrophe still simmer to this day, and now are being stirred by belligerent forces, such as Josui Kusakabe and his so called Blood of the Samurai, that are determined to set these islands alight once more.
Kusakabe would claim his followers to be freedom fighters out to resist the Britannian occupation of Japan, yet their actions prove to be no different from those that led us here. They do not care about the people they claim to be fighting for, not for their lives, their continuous suffering, or their futures.
These terrorists have only one desire: more war, more death, and more pain. It is what they were built on, in the devastation following the invasion. It is what they and their organizations need to keep going, and continue their tireless crusade of evil.
They do not fear our hatred, out disgust, nor the weapons we raise against them. No, they have only one fear: peace. Prosperity and stability are toxic concepts to them. Anything that improves the lives of the common people is anathema to them, for terror and desperation are the lifeblood that drives the victimized into their ranks out of the feeling that they have truly lost everything, and have nothing else to live for. Such monsters rage against the truth of the world, and through their actions seek to breathe reality into their nightmares.
I refuse to allow my home to be destroyed yet again. Not by the Chinese Federation, not by the Holy Britannian Empire, and certainly not by packs of feral beasts with guns and explosives.
Two days ago, Third Prince Clovis la Britannia was assassinated, not by the good people of Japan, but by Eleven savages that reject the present, clinging on to the memory of their dead state, and refusing to accept the fact that the Japan they once knew will never return into being. And so they lash out at the undeniable fact that Japan is now a part of the Holy Britannian Empire. The Second Pacific War happened, and nothing they do can rewind time.
What Kusakabe, and those of like mind want, is for the suffering of the common people under Britannian rule to increase to such a level as to drive them to terrorism, to armed rebellion, and so bring in new recruits to replace the enormous losses they have taken from our combined assaults..." She continued on, enrapturing the world with her words.
A few hundred kilometers south west of Tokyo, the crew of Logres class battleship HMS Deucalion, as well has her four escorting Caerleon class cruisers, were also watching the events unfolding in their destination, with satellite feeds keeping them just as up to date as the rest of the world.
On the lead vessel, the unexpected sound of suddenly shattered ceramic and escaping coffee broke the relative silence as the speech played out live one of the bridge's larger screens. Princess Cornelia, for all her steadfast composure, had let a mug slip from her hand.
Although the mystery speaker had yet to identify herself, the Second Princess immediately knew who she was watching. Her face and voice, although certainly aged since she last saw her, were an unmistakable visage that had haunted her for years. Cornelia's mind was, for the first time in living memory, completely paralyzed with powerful conflicting feelings.
There was absolutely no question in either her mind or heart, that her lost, supposedly deceased sister was no longer lost, and certainly not dead. Part of her wanted to explode with happiness. It was complete and total vindication for holding on to hope that she had truly survived the , that initial reaction was swiftly countered by what the logical bits in her head were processing about the scene.
One, Luna vi Britannia was in the middle of executing what was obviously some kind of takeover of the colonial government, only hours before she was due to arrive there herself.
Two, although there were few good shots of the soldiers that she had brought with her, the non-resistance from the palace guardsmen present, as well as the complete lack of surprise from Jeremiah Gottwald and Euphie, who were standing near her, spoke volumes about what was actually happening.
Empress Marianne's eternally loyal palace guardsman and her second favorite sister, just behind Nunnally, were obviously in on it. There could be no doubt that they both must have known about Luna's survival, and kept it from her. Cornelia did not quite know what to feel about that assumption that she strongly believed to be true. It was not quite betrayal, but it had the same sting. After all, if Euphie and Gottwald did not trust her enough to give word of Luna's survival, did anyone aside from Guilford?
A moment later, she snapped out of it. The useless speculation would get her nowhere. What she needed was to get to Tokyo and shine some very bright lights on this whole mess. But first, she had to know what to expect upon arrival. Cornelia tasked the Deucalion's communications officers with putting together a situation report.
As the live coverage of Tokyo continued in the background, Cornelia's attention returned to the broadcast as the speaker's verbal onslaught against the Blood of the Samurai ended with some very clear threats against their leader. Yet she continued on.
"The deplorable actions of these terrorists have left us at a crossroads; a choice that we must now make between two very different futures.
We could respond with our own unrestrained violence, and in doing so give them what they seek: a full continuation to the cycle of hatred, and write the next chapter of Area 11 in blood. The terrorists would be destroyed in the reprisal, but so would any doubt that we are anything but the same evil on a grander scale.
The alternative is the path of restraint. We know who murdered Prince Clovis, but more importantly, we know who did not. This attack has stoked great anger across the Empire, and we must strike those responsible, but we must not allow that rage to strike for us. To quote Lord Waldstein, 'Strength that knows no boundaries is merely violence.'" Luna continued her speech from Tokyo.
Cornelia listed on in a surreal mix of fascination and awe as her sister returned from the dead with a passionate speech that was certain to drive a lightning bolt into the Empire. The decadent nobility, Purists, and even the upper classes in general would undoubtedly have a very negative view of this.
Commoners and Numbers, however, would likely flock to her. She was radiating power and charisma, wielding words seemingly aimed to attack the divides and stereotypes of Britannian society, but most importantly, her confidence was intoxicating. By morning she would be famous, infamous, and everything in between. After all, surprise and shock value were crucial force multipliers, both in war and politics. She had gained all the initiative she could possibly want, and it would be her next move that set the new course.
"My name is Luna vi Britannia, and we are the Imperial Japanese Army." She put her arms out, gesturing to the four columns of soldiers standing proudly at attention.
"I am your new Viceroy, and together, we shall break this cycle of hate and violence. The people of Japan, Japanese and Britannian alike, will know peace and prosperity once again. I swear, that through gentle kindness and force of arms in equal measure, these beautiful islands will be restored.
To all the terrorists and criminals watching and listening, you have twenty four hours to put down your weapons and turn yourselves in, if you wish to have a future. Those that refuse this generous offer shall find no mercy in me. "
She stared them down, not just into the camera for the world to see, but each and every one of the Britannian elites that were crammed into the room. She looked for their reactions, and more importantly, those that had little to show on their faces. With a bit of luck, and lot of pressure, perhaps she could prevent them from mounting any real resistance. Some may even become allies once the pieces settle.
"That can't be right, ensign, check it again." A lieutenant commander standing a couple meters away from Cornelia asked one of his men at a bridge console. The Princess's attention returned once more to the crew of her ship.
"I have sir, three times, and there have been no substantial changes. Do we know if our escort cruisers are getting the same readings?"
"Contact the Arclite and the Warhound, and confirm if their sensors are picking up the same crap. It better be an equipment malfunction." The officer grumbled, not liking where this was going.
"Right away, sir!"
"Is something wrong, commander?" Cornelia asked with a hollow voice, still reeling from the last half hour, as her attention was drawn away from the broadcast once more.
"Equipment failure, your highness. At least that's what I hope it is. Radar is giving some strange readings. We're confirming with our escorts just in case." He reported.
"Hope? I find it odd that you would hope for our sensors to be malfunctioning, commander." Cornelia wondered at his choice of words. She suddenly had a bad feeling about this.
"Your highness, our sensors are picking up something absolutely massive moving toward the Tokyo Settlement from the north. The anomaly is moving at a steady, subsonic speed, at a constant altitude of approximately five kilometers."
"How massive are we talking about?" Cornelia asked, immediately worried about what the implications could be.
"Well...the radar signature suggests it's approximately a kilometer long, about four hundred meters across at its widest point, and shaped like a dagger or arrowhead. If it's real, the Deucalion is puny by comparison. It probably outmasses our whole battlegroup." He explained nervously.
Instantly, the gears started turning in her head. Constant speed, uniform shape, appearing out of nowhere toward the capital of Area 11 at the exact moment an unexpected transfer of power was occurring...there was only one logical conclusion.
"It's a ship..." Cornelia spoke after a moment, her voice transmitting complete awe at its size.
"Your highness, all of our cruisers are reporting the same radar signature. The anomaly is still BVR, sensor confirmation only, it's either a real contact, or our systems are compromised to an outrageous degree."
"We're not taking any chances. Get the crew to battle stations in ten minutes, and run a full check of all systems. I want our guns charged and ready as we approach. We can be sure whoever's flying that monstrosity will be doing the same." Cornelia instructed them.
All around her, the bridge crew broke out of their state of calm, and began to move. They ran active checks on all of the Deucalion's systems, in order of importance.
This was bad, they all could feel it. Combat airships had only returned to the skies in their modern form a few years ago, and Britannia had over 95% of all known examples. The Chinese had managed to copy the basics, but their first test craft were small and believed to be poorly armed. The EU did not even have a functioning prototype. As such, there had been no real world instances of airship to airship combat. Cornelia, as confident as she was at most things, was internally quite worried about potentially having to put poorly understood theory into practice.
RAF officials and strategists were quite sure that any such engagement would come down to the effectiveness of the still very new Blaze Luminous shield systems, and the accuracy of long range railgun fire, followed up by a much closer engagement with conventional combat aircraft that would be sent to intercept the airships. After all, airships were huge and practically impossible to stealth, hence the shielding and defensive guns.
The problem was, the unknown contact approaching Tokyo was not a confirmed enemy craft. Cornelia couldn't just start sending volleys of kinetic rounds toward it from over two hundred kilometers away, without even knowing what it was, or who it belonged to. That already threw the expected scenario out the window.
Any engagement would likely take place within visual range, and that meant a type of close combat that few, if anyone, had seriously thought about. When your primary weapons were magnetic cannons that could launch fifty kilograms of metal off the planet, a few dozen kilometers at low altitude might as well be point blank range. It would be fast and brutal if it did come down to a shootout, assuming the enemy had similar armaments.
Cornelia forced her fears back through sheer willpower. She could not afford to lose any of her five airships, especially so with her troops embarked upon them. Considering that they were obviously visible on every radar within hundreds of kilometers, and they were not being shot at yet, there was a real chance that the unknown vessel was at the very least not immediately hostile. The best case scenario was if it was under Luna's control, since she didn't appear to be in the mood to start a shooting war.
The princess exhaled, knowing that there was little she could do at the moment aside from launch an extremely risky first strike against an unknown entity. The only good course of action was to wait for contact or more information, and so she did, as painful as the inactivity was. Everything she needed was in Tokyo, and there was nothing left to do but get there.
Footsteps echoed upon the cold stone floor as two figures walked side by side through a seemingly endless hall. At the far end, an ancient gateway awaited them, a gate not meant to be opened by any physical means.
This was their eighteenth trip to this otherworldly realm. Twice a year, the pair they would visit this place, that evoked such powerful memories and emotions.
As they reached their destination, the woman held her partner's hand with her right, and with her left touched the intricately carved patterns before them. The reaction was immediate, as the stone wall lit up with vibrant glowing lines. The world melted away, and when they opened their eyes, they stood upon a familiar platform with no defined entrance or exit, hovering in a space that seemed to defy reality.
They walked forward toward the first flight of stairs, eyes drawn to the shattered remnants of the apocalyptic weapon floating along in a lower orbit above the massive gas planet. Despite it's uncanny resemblance to Jupiter, they knew it was not. The Empire's powerful space telescopes had seen no such satellite or debris field in their observations. Also, viewing from this end did not reveal any of the planets or known constellations. This place, wherever it was, certainly did not reside in the Sol system. It probably did not reside in the universe as they knew it.
Suzaku Kururugi remembered the events of that fateful day as clearly as if they were still playing out before his eyes. Lelouch, despite having lost everything to Britannia and the Black Knights' betrayal, still chose to fight to the very end. He rejected the madness of Charles and Marianne, unleashing the unrestrained power of his Geass upon the Collective to save the future. His methods may have been honorless, monstrous, even outright evil at times, but his true goals were always noble. And he pursued them to the end, no matter the price.
He was the first person in history to conquer every nation on earth, wielding more power and influence than any that had come before. He became the Demon Emperor, plunging the world into despair. He showed them all how bad it could get, what a true monster could do; Hell ruled by a Devil King. Then he sacrificed it all without a moment of hesitation.
To most, his death was a moment of salvation. To the few that knew the truth, it left a painful void full of unanswered questions. It was in search of answers that Nunnally vi Britannia and Suzaku Kururugi returned to C's World again and again to commune with the dead, with a few notable exceptions.
There were only four that never once had appeared for them: Charles, Marianne, Lelouch, and CC. The first two had apparently been erased from existence as the Sword of Akasha was undone. It made sense, in a strange mystical way, that they were truly gone forever. In this realm, the power of Lelouch's Geass had been so absolute that his command disintegrated their souls. The latter pair, however, had died in the real world from physical injuries. So why had they never appeared in the Collective?
"They aren't coming back, you know. Lelouch and CC are long gone from this realm." An unknown female voice spoke from behind them. Suzaku was between the newly appeared girl and Nunnally in a flash, his longsword drawn and ready with inhuman speed.
"If you wish to harm me, Knight of Zero, you'll need one of those, fully functional, of course. Nothing less will do." She commented, gesturing off toward the shattered helical remnants of the conceptual weapon meant to be the final act of Ragnarok.
"Who are you?" Nunnally asked from behind Suzaku.
"The Collective Unconscious of Humanity, although you'll probably call me God, even though that's not entirely accurate." She spoke, ignoring the lethally sharp edge a few centimeters away.
"Why aren't they coming back? We've both been to this place enough to know that everyone ends up here when they die, returning to the Collective. Having a Geass does not change that." Suzaku asked her, lowering the sword.
"Because, Sir Knight, the story of Lelouch vi Britannia and CC has yet to end. The Witch and her Warlock make their own fate, and it is not their destiny to return to me."
"They're alive?" Nunnally asked in shock. Suzaku nearly lost his grip on his sword. They were dead, they had to be. He had personally inspected the bodies, both after Zero Requiem, and CC's final suicide. Their hearts were stopped, brain activity flatlined, and no evidence of Code could be found in either after death. There was simply no way they could have faked that.
"Yes, they are, but no longer on your world, and neither by their own design. I have sent them to another space, and another time. Lelouch has been tasked with solving a mystery so grand, it is even beyond my ability. Yet, together, I believe there is nothing that they cannot accomplish. Against those two, not even the deepest secrets of the universe shall remain unconquered forever." She explained with a grin.
"My brother's...living another life? I'm glad. There's nobody that deserves a second chance more than him. Even with all the horrible things he did along the way, Lelouch only ever wanted to make the world a better place." Nunnally spoke, her eyes finding a very sudden reserve of tears to call upon.
"Is there any way we can contact them?" Suzaku asked, still somewhat dazed, as he re sheathed his blade.
"Not directly, no. I assume it may be possible if you are all accessing my inner realm at the same time, but it has never been attempted. However, time is a relative concept; it passes at different rates on your world and theirs', separated by different instances of reality. The chance of such a confluence occuring is miniscule." She responded.
"Please, did he...did my brother find that gentle world he gave his life searching for?" Nunnally asked the Collective. For a few moments, she stopped being empress, the peacekeeper of the world, and returned to her old self.
"It's hard to say in a way that a single mind can truly comprehend. The person you once knew as Lelouch vi Britannia has not remained static since dying on your world, as it was his greatest wish that such a fate never occur.
It is more right to say that both Lelouch and CC have moved on from who you remember them to be, continuing to grow and evolve in their new reality. So too, have their wishes and desires. In a sense, you can say that Lelouch found the paradise he wished for, since CC carried the knowledge of your success with her. You could also say that they found happiness as well, being very much in love and bound together for all eternity.
Of course, it's not all that simple. Your's is the world that has found the path of peace, one of only a precious few. On the other side, theirs' is a world waiting for the inevitable spark that sets it alight. Our loving couple has been busy building an army and usurping a government to their own purposes. Cutthroat politics, power plays, and the ever present threat of it all boiling over; you both should remember such a world well. But worry not, Oh Guardians of Zero Requiem, they are grandmasters of that game." The Collective's avatar went on and on, accompanied by a flair of wide arm gestures, as if conducting some great performance.
"Are you always so dramatic?" Suzaku asked her.
"I'd say I'm just eccentric, but there's a little bit of Shakespeare somewhere in here." She tapped around her chest repeatedly, as if looking for a specific point more dramatic than the rest.
"Now then, your majesty, sir knight, take a seat," She snapped her fingers and an imaginary couch of glowing blue mist appeared behind them. "And let me tell you ongoing tale of one Luna vi Britannia..."
THE CODEX
Imperial Japanese Air Ship Hiryu: Hiryu-class Assault Carrier
Length: 1057 meters (Convex Kite shaped)
Complement: 3500 minimum, 5700 fully combat ready, 16000 max with embarked ground forces.
Powerplant: Five nuclear fission reactors, uranium with sakuradite enhancements.
Engines: Integrated Float Systems along ventral, dorsal, and stern surfaces.
Shielding: Modular hardlight shielding "Absolute Defense System". Primary shield emitters can cover the full surface area of the ship. Secondary emitters with separate capacitors cover weapons, sensors, and engines in case of primary shield failure.
Special Weapon (Spinal Mount): REDACTED
Primary Weapon: 16x heavy electromagnetic cannons, 8 mounted port side, and 8 starboard. 50kg or 100kg solid metal projectiles can be fired at a range of mission specific velocities, allowing the main guns to engage a wide variety of targets. At maximum power, each gun can hit a target with a force equivalent of over five tons of TNT.
Secondary Weapon: 60x vertical launch missile tubes in armored dorsal bay. Tubes fed by autoloaders from internal magazines. Different missile types effective against air, land, and sea targets.
Tertiary Weapon: 30x 57mm multirole autocannon turrets. 20 ventrally mounted for ground attack.
Point Defense: 40x variable wavelength high energy pulse laser turrets. Arrayed in banks of five, with four dorsal and four ventral batteries. Effective against missiles, aircraft, and ballistic shells. Secondary capabilities against soft ground targets, infantry, and light vehicles.
Capacity: 200 flight capable knightmare frames, 48 VTOL capable fighter aircraft, 35 VTOL infantry dropships (remotely piloted), 20 heavy lift transport drones (remotely piloted).
Maximum Transport Capacity: One armored division (approx 10000 troops, 230 armored vehicles and knightmare frames)
Luna vi Britannia's answer to the threat posed by Britannian airships is to render them obsolete by skipping a generation entirely. The Hiryu significantly outperforms the Caerleon-class cruiser and the Logres-class battleship by every metric aside from unit cost. Utilizing the most advanced power plants, shield technology, and weapons systems on earth, this Japanese airship is designed to directly engage and destroy large enemy formations.
In addition to its capabilities as a direct combat unit, the Hiryu's massive internal hangar bays allow it to act as a mothership for a whole fleet of knightmare frames and fighter aircraft. At maximum capacity, the Hiryu can transport and deploy a full strength armored division directly into combat. However, these numbers of embarked forces push the ship to its limits, so a battalion strength element is the standard kept as a rapid deployment unit for ground operations.
Being the largest and most powerful warship ever built, its greatest weakness is the complexity and price tag. With an estimated cost of just over 58 billion pounds, the Hiryu is nearly five times more expensive than a Britannian Logres. This budget busting figure ensures that with near certainty, the Hiryu will remain the only ship of its class for at least a decade, if not longer, especially if the blueprints and design details remain secure.
(I am using the term Assault Carrier in the context of the Covenant's CAS Class ships as described in Halo, which is an extremely large and powerful battleship/carrier hybrid, not the modern surface navy definition, an evolved form of a light carrier made for amphibious support operations. Also, Hiryu is still only a third as big as Damocles, just for a sense of scale.)