The Devils Reaper

by Derain von Harken

If having Geass sped up Lelouchs schedule considerably what was it? An alternate war fic where Lelouch began his scheming from the moment he made his oath. So that by the time he meets C.C he has a lot more resources and a lot more help than it appears. Not to mention one extremely ruthless henchman who dresses up as (and acts like) a horseman of the apocalypse. Death.

26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

History is full of trainwrecks, who thought they knew exactly where the inevitable was headed.

The black knights

Area 11, Western coastline, 2AM, 2017 ATB

Through the night a small flock of aircraft moved through an ocean of cloud. The transports carried their cargo of humans and war material moving in a shifting formation designed to confuse any radar coverage that might still be functioning. As they passed a designated point, four of them detached from the group heading away into the murk. The rest remained shadowing the centre of the formation like dolphins at play alongside a whale.

The Kaze hauler was shaped like a bizarre fusion of ship, plane and giant cargo container. The prow of the craft was curved like a greek trireme a concave curve coming to a sharpened ram. and a pair of quadlinked cannons pointed out from where the eyes would have been painted. A thin armoured glass slit was all that revealed its cockpit.
As it parted the mists it looked all the more like an ocean going vessel. The top deck was covered with sealed metal crates bound within heavy cages. The reaper lay flat its wings furled up and its limbs and body held by securing chains and clamps.

As they passed above the cloud layer the rest of the ship became visible. Along the sides and corners of the flying craft, could be seen missile batteries, point defence lasers and CIWS guns. Two bay doors lay along each side wide enough to admit a truck. Heavy thrusters bracketed each side of the doors making occasional bursts of flame as they adjusted the ships course.. The Kazes defences had been designed to repel the aerial armadas of Brittania. To fight off mass missile barrages and fighter attacks as it deployed troops to the surface. Or considerably less pleasant ordnance. Smaller bay doors ran along the underside as well.

The rear of the craft ended like that of a cargo truck a ramp that lay flush with the angled rear section when raised.

Of course this ship was an impossibility. This many tons of metal should not be flying through the air without a dirigible frame , enormous wings and jet engines . Its blunt boxy angular construction seemed even more crude when compared to the smooth organic shapes of the transports flying alongside it. It was if the laws of aerodynamics and aviation construction had just received a sharp kick to the testicles.

Through gaps in the clouds you could see the ground far below. Bright spots of fires and explosions marking a series of hit and run raids against Brittanian sensor stations.

At present the entirety of its internal hold was devoted to carrying the Apocalypse tank. Inside power cables had been linked to ports on the supertanks hull allowing the war machines reactors to add their energy to the counter gravitic field keeping its transport aloft. Heavy bracing claws had locked onto the machines hull. And even as work crews wearing simple orange jumpsuits scrambled to assess the damage, the black knights stood on the tank and drank sake.

"Kambai" there was little room to move with the tank taking up almost all of the hold. Tamaki sat on an intact corner turret flinging back his drink. Sohni with her helmet off was chatting with her squad. Ohgi and War were both tearing into a pair of roast chickens from the transports galley at the same time War was downing an enormous tankard of ale.

Zero was holding a glass as well albeit only for forms sake. Meanwhile The Lady Kami was listening to Kent Sugiyama, the blue haired male from Ohgi's original group playing a Spanish guitar.

Tamaki paused in his drinking to ask. "Hey Shinigami why are the bottoms of all the sake cups magnetised? Huh Shinigami, where did he go?"

On the top of the Kaze the reaper lay deactivated and bound by mooring chains. Shinigami knelt in prayer on the edge of one of the storage cages looking out across the ocean of starlit clouds as the wind blew his hair behind him. Of course it was a deceptive image. If he wasn't wearing power armour magnetically anchored to the floor he could have been blown off the roof.

"There's high winds making normal speech or ambient noise impossible. Not enough direct light to cast a shadow. Still I would have expected to detect the physical vibrations set off by armoured boots magclamping to the deck. At least before you got within three meters of me." He turned around. "You're very light on your feet Mrs Kouzuki."

Kallen had donned her crimson suit of power armour to come out onto the roof. "You designed the stealth features on this armour Death. Surprised I can use them so well on you?"

"Ah is that a testament to my genius or a remark on me underestimating how well you use it?"

"You can't tell?"

"One of the problems with using voice modulators and radio is they can really mess up the inflection of speech. It can be very hard to detect nuance."

"You're not partying with the others?"

"I prefer solitude after a battle besides what would we talk about? I've never been much of a party person. Eventually people ask me to talk to them. Either I bore myself with inanity or I talk about subjects that actually interest me. After a while everyone gets confused and walks away. That or they start looking sick and run away.

"Everyone's drinking up a storm down there."

"Hah since I can't reveal my identity yet, I wouldn't be able to drink or eat. Besides I have no need to watch War get into a drinking contest tonight. He always wins. That's what happens when you give someone a mechanically enhanced liver. I prefer this. I treasure these quiet moments before and after the battle. No fighting just sailing through the clouds." He chuckled. "How many can say they offered their prayers to God while sailing through the vault of heaven this way?"

"It is beautiful." Kallen looked out over the edge below them she could see the coastline as the Kaze passed above the sea.

The reaper turned his head. "Aye and any moment our enemy could come barrelling out of the sky at us. There is no safety in this war only degrees of danger"

"With that attitude why stand out here?"

"Haven't you wondered why there is no weapons on top, look up." Kallen squinted, did the air just above the top of the reaper looked slightly bent? As they passed through a cloud the vapour hit that bent and shot away behind them at speed.

"What is that?"

"Gravitic impeller band there's another one below us. We activate them when we're away from the ground. They're stressed gravitic fields that propel us forwards. This way we can leave more of the hull free on the plus side anything physical that approaches us from above and below gets deflected away behind us. Useful protection against enemy AA. Not perfect though. A high powered round delivered at close range could make it through or any energy weapon for that matter. Plus since I'm fairly certain no one else has developed gravitic sensors, completely undetectable."

"Gravity manipulation it's incredible. I imagine that if you cut one band and not the other we'd end up spinning end over end."

"Why yes."

"But wouldn't increasing the gravitic power make the barrier completely impervious?"

"The gravitic wedge is proportionate to speed and acceleration. In order to be strong enough to completely deflect any attack we'd be going so fast we'd all turn to paste against the hull. And that's if I could generate enough power, which our generators aren't up to yet. Plus we can't completely encircle the ship with it."

"So you like to talk about science. Anything else?"

"Combat. Tell me how was the Guren?"

"Magnificent. I felt like I was born to pilot it. The cockpit design was more comfortable too."

"You certainly put it through its paces. I reviewed the combat data. I've seen knightmares dodge, but I've never seen one dance until today." Luthur had actually lost his breath a bit as he watched. Kallen had unleashed destruction and violent death with such pure grace. It had been the most beautiful terror Luthur had ever witnessed. "You are truly an artist of War Kallen Kouzuki"

"Thank you." Kallen wasn't blushing because she couldn't quite figure out if death was just admiring her skillls or if he was possibly trying to be …

"Oh don't thank me I didn't design a piece of that war machine. You'll probably meet the one who did though. She is ... interesting."

And back to war machines we go "She made this flying machine too then?"

"Oh no that was me. I discovered the secrets of gravitic field manipulation. More than ten years ago really. "Should there come a day we understand gravity as we do fire it will be as monumental a transformation of mankind as the discovery of the latter."

"Arthur Kenneth Klerk engineer, theoretical physicist and futurist 1947 the slovensk conference."

"You've read Arthur K Klerk?" Luthurs skeletal mask turned to regard her

"Read all Seven of his main journals. Plus everything he's written. Including supremacy."

"Ah the one where a country that's obsessed with having super advanced weapons loses to the one who make regular weaponry that's more primitive but they know works and they can make a lot of."

"Yeah possible moral in that one." Kallen stopped as she realised the sheer weirdness of her situation. Here she was in powered armour on a flying craft shaped like a greek trireme discussing science fiction and the applications of anti gravity with a death obsessed cyborg. It was just as well her helmet covered her expression because Death went on as normal.

" I'm glad someone among the knights isn't going all starry eyed over our toys. You are very intelligent Kallen. Good, the last thing we can afford is for any of us to fall prey to the same arrogant belief that all our recently deceased enemies suffered."

"How did you conceal test flying these things?"

"Many ways sometimes by making sure people have the wrong idea about what they actually saw. Back in the earlier days outside of Japan we've been responsible for more than a few UFO stories. Including alien abductions. Actually one time we dressed up as aliens so no one would believe the luckless idiots who actually saw us. We don't want our enemy realising we actually do have an airforce after all."

"You telling me that the Black knights dressed up as little green men?" Kallen was suspicious in her previous training sessions she had come to the realisation that Shinigamis sense of humour was … unique.
"Actually we painted ourselves blue and were very tall, green was too generic."

"Well that's an interesting secret."

"They get better." Luthur paused. "You are one of our most accomplished pilots and shall be at the forefront of many operations. You and Ohgi shall most likely be raised higher in an understanding of our secrets than the others. The more you learn the more will still be there to learn."

"Tamaki too?"

"Good grief no. Oh wait you were kidding right?"

"Yes."

The plain mask of death chuckled. Then he went silent and looked straight at her. "It will get darker from here Kallen. Friendly warning. There are secrets that will be revealed to you that may shock you, some may horrify you. The reason we are so unflinching on the number of things we will not do is because it is a very small number." There was a long period of awkward silence followed by a moment of total grey as they passed through a cloudbank. "I might have ruined the cheerful mood there. Sorry about that."

A brief electronic ping came up in their ears and Kallen accessed her HUD to see a message sent from the ships cockpit. "Well we're nearing our landing so we should get inside want to give me a tour?"

As they closed the entry hatch above them and descended a ladder Luthur started talking

"Kazes are built to be modular the basic frame is the same we can reengineer the internal hold to carry Nobuseri, Knightmares, aircraft, tanks anything we want. This can be a miniature aircraft carrier, a troop transport, a machine shop even a mobile hospital."

While the hold was huge the main section at the front of the flying ship consisted of narrow passageways. Or at least narrow from the perspective of people in power armour. Kallen looked up to see a number of pipes running above her head. "What are those for?"

"Superconducting materials are needed to build military grade gravity manipulators. Our supply of sakuradite is very limited. So we don't use sakuradite in the kaze's gravity impellers. We use an artificial superconductor here instead. It's a pain in the neck to create, takes up three times as much space and it has to be kept below room temperature to maintain superconductivity thus all the coolant lines."

"You invented that as well I suppose?"

"No the EU did. We have a rather circuitous trading relationship with them. Before you ask right now I can't tell what we gave them in return for it."

"This ship does look a bit less uhm elegant than your other stuff."

"Don't mince words Kallen this thing is a flying brick. When you have gravity control you can screw the laws of aerodynamics. Hehehhe. The other ships make themselves lighter with counter grav but still use jet thrusters to propel themselves so we have to make them more smooth."

They entered the cockpit where the ships pilots were. Both of them wore black flightsuits with full cover helmets and oxygen masks. Linked into the ships noosphere kallen could see the digital holograms they were manipulating. It looked like they were adjusting levers and keypads of pure light. But to anyone else it would have appeared they were manipulating the air above a blank metal surface. The only physical controls that could be seen were the flight sticks they were holding onto.

"Physical shockwaves and power surges can destroy flight controls. But these digital holograms keep working as long as the main computer functions and if the computer is down there's no point having working controls anyway. There's stlll redundant physical controls under the panelling in any case. "

One of the pilots turned around. "We are approaching orientation turnover point sir. Preparing to increase internal field alignment for the primary hold."

Kallen spoke over a radio link to Luthur "Why is he doing that?"

"Well we can't make too many grav plates so the only part of this thing with internal gravity control is the central hold."

"But what does orientation turnover point even mean?"

"It means strap in." Kallen obeyed as Luthur bound himself into the chair with heavy metallic clasps and then tapped the side of his helm as he connected to the ships intercom. "Hear this all persons outside the central hold strap in and ensure there is no loose materials. This vessel is about to perform a vertical descent." Along the sides of the ship the missile batteries retracted behind metal panels and computer scans of the ships systems confirmed that all main doors and bulkheads were sealed.

In the main hold everyone stopped "What's that mean Zero?"

Zero's voice had a slightly malicious air to it as he replied. "Shift external side cameras to primary view screen." A large digital screen at the forward end of the hold switched to an external view of the Kaze. The black knights looked on in puzzlement.

They all felt their stomachs lurch as the transport came to stop then reorientated so that it was at 90 degrees to the surface of the water facing down. But even then everything in the main hold was still being pulled towards the floor. Some of the knights experiencing a bizarre sense of vertigo as the two competing gravity fields pulled on their brains.

"Whaatt?"

Then it accelerated straight down into the ocean. "Arghhhhhh."

"We're going to crash."

The transport smacked right into the ocean surface creating small waves before vanishing utterly. Then when it was underwater searchlights came on in the prow of the ship. As they sailed down through the murk the black knights looked with some concern at the heavy sealed doors at the back of the transport. Meanwhile in the cockpit Kallen and Luthur was having a laugh looking at a recording of Tamaki's face as they realised the ship was heading into the water.

As the ship descended further into the darkness it began to level out. Then the viewscreen showed only crude curved stone and fish darting past. Eventually the image became bare concrete walls with red lights illuminating the passageway. They surfaced. Salt water streaming off the Kaze's hull in the harsh brightness of artificial floodlamps.

Zero's voice rang with pride as it echoed around the central hold. "Welcome to Kuroshio submersible base. Last operational stronghold of the Japanese Royal Navy."

They had emerged into an underground cavern in front of them there were five docks jutting out into the water and two of them had black painted submarines docked there. At the far wall was a raised control centre with open glass windows looking across the docks. The ceiling was covered in cables and the moving forms of cranes. And hanging next to either side of the control booth were banners. They bore the symbol of the rising sun with the distorted silver trident of the black knights at its centre. Marching across the concrete floor were men in the dark blue uniform of the defunct Japanese navy. The Kaze turned around and backed into a reinforced section of docks. Across from the dock entrance large metal bay doors leading deeper into the base opened. The main ramp lowered and the black knights looked out in awe at the scale of their masters secrecy.

A voice came over the intercom. "Forces form parade line." With military precision two lines of soldiers in black samurai armour formed up flanking the exit ramp. Standing there stunned speechless it became clear to Ohgi and his group what the rest of the world was finally learning. They weren't just a rebellion or well equipped resistance group. The Black knights were a true army and they were part of it.

Meanwhile Zero and lady Kami were standing completely still as the Apocalypse slowly rumbled down the ramp. It looked like they were silent but in fact she was holding a conversation with him over a secure line.

"Zero You had the chance to kill her why didn't you take it and don't look like that. I am aware that taking her alive would be a great victory as well as provide valuable intelligence."

"Indeed she has knowledge I must have. If you understand the reasons then why are we having this argument?"

"What could she possibly know that justifies her escaping to take control of the situation. If she was lost, the nation would be in utter chaos. I've studied her military record Zero. She's lost battles before but never a war. Do you really believe you'll catch her at such a moment of vulnerability again?"

"She will die when I demand it and not before. We are allies Lady Kami but i am in command of this army."

"Allies should trust one another Zero. Also you must know the houses will want to meet with you directly. If I'm to maintain my status in the houses as the go between for our organisations i expect to be much better informed then they will.

Don't mistake me I want Japan to be free but if I ever come to believe that there's a more effective route than allying with you I will take it. Letting an enemy general escape and not explaining the reason why does not inspire trust."

"I have shown more trust to you than many others Lady Kami. You would be surprised I think at just how many have allied with me."

"I think not. Shall I start naming all of the groups you've been supporting or have infiltrated over the past two years? The blood of the samurai. White tigers. Red Ronin. You do seem to have a flair for the theatrical don't you? Please give us some credit we knew we weren't the only patrons of resistance groups in Japan. You may have kept your tier two operatives loyal but that doesn't mean there weren't plenty of others in all those factions who were quite prepared to hedge their bets. Once I knew what to look for in the informant reports identifying the particular command style you train your men in was easy."

"I see." Lelouch restrained himself from performing a face palm.

"Don't ever underestimate me Zero. A husband should have a better appreciation of his wife's qualities."

Zero paused "What?" His voice remained level but in his mind Lelouch was feeling utterly surprised at this complete change of subject.

"I've decided at some point in all this war, cunning and destruction you're going to marry me. I foresee it."

The voice of Zero remained calm and level across the radio frequency. "I believe you are pursuing this line of conversation to shock me into giving away more information. Lady Kami."
"And I think that you and I should play a game of poker some time."
Lelouch felt the stirrings of a deep suspicion and possibly dread in his mind. It couldn't really be her? Could it?

"Oh don't worry a man of your abilities must have equally impressive physical lusts. I don't expect you to give up your Green haired mistress Zero. Or any others you have."

Beneath his helmet Lelouch's face was going red. He was far more worldly than the false persona he used at Ashford implied. Even so he was having difficulty maintaining composure. Even Milly wasn't this direct. When he'd given her the encrypted link to his helmet com the idea she's use it for this had never occurred. He was just about to correct her assumptions before she spoke again.

"Besides where were you planning on keeping her prisoner anyway?"

And we're back to the original subject she is trying to rattle me. Just as well I wasn't going to conceal this bit of information.

"We have a secure facility for prisoners. Believe me I wasn't worried about her escaping us after capture."

The Warden

Area 11, The Deep roads, Black knight Military prison complex PURGATORY

From the perspective of the prisoners things were not going well. After waking up in chains the surviving soldiers of armoury barracks D-17 had been marched by men in black armour down a series of corridors. They had been forced to remove their clothing and don bright orange prison wear. Then they had continued onwards before emerging in a large chamber reminiscent of a courtyard. The roof was grey stone and up there on a balcony was the warden of the prison. She might be considered pretty if not for the scarring on her right face and the large incredibly obvious red bionic eye. The lenses seemed to focus and contract as the woman's harsh raspy voice came over the intercom.

"Welcome to purgatory Brittanians. I am Warden Greska and you are my prisoners."

The Brittanian army did not recruit idiots so most of the men and women there knew that now was not a tactically good time to show defiance. Most. "You have no authority to hold us you stinking eleven terrorahhhhhhhhhhh." The source of the words quickly became a incoherent twitching mess on the ground as one of the guards tazered him in the arse. While he flopped around on the floor some of his companions held him down to stop him from hurting himself

Greska sighed There's always one. " Now that the obligatory act of pointless and futile defiance is done let us proceed. You should be grateful we're treating you like prisoners of war. Unless you'd like us to duplicate Brittainan practices and put you all in straightjackets. Because obviously anyone who dares oppose Brittania must be insane." The scars on her face twisted her sneer into something almost inhuman. "Incidentally the next one who speaks out without me stating you have permission to speak freely will be tazered in a more sensitive area. We are not having a conversation Brittanians. In the event I ever want to hear words coming from your mouths I will demand it. "
She looked out at their faces. The truth is she wasn't sure if their stony silence was defiance or if some of them were still dazed from the complete surprise of their situation.

" Here's the rules. You will be given basic sustenance, shelter and other vital requirements. You will never be forced to labour for us but those who participate in work gangs will receive better food and accommodation." She looked out at them all. "You are defiant now. You are all imagining that none of you would ever willingly lower yourselves into labouring for your captors. I assure when you begin to realise the futility of escape you will also see the pointlessness of refusing to serve. Your defiance achieves and means nothing to us.

You can try to escape, oh please do, entertainment down here is hard to come by. Of course any escape attempt and you'll be put in solitary for a week. That is for the first offence of course.

Seek escape you will be punished. Attack a guard you will be punished. Beyond that being military personnel I imagine you will maintain some modicum of discipline.

You remain our prisoners until such time as we coordinate a prisoner exchange and also to be blunt to discourage your superiors still at liberty from summarily executing any of our people. Once we show images of you as our captives it should at least encourage your masters to something resembling civilised behaviour.

Until that time you will not leave this place, you will not see the sun, you will not have any contact with the outside world. If any of you still harbour thoughts of succeeding in escape i suggest you speak to some of your comrades who have been here a lot longer than you. Some of them nearly a decade." Greska eyes swept the crowd. Disbelief, they thought she was lying. They were not cowed, not really, not yet. Greska had patience and she believed the best way of breaking someone's will was to do it slowly so they didn't always realise it was even happening. "In the event any of you are inclined to be especially and continuously uncooperative I will only remind you that purgatory is not hell. Purgatory is a realm of endless regret and dismal boredom that is just above hell. Here you can still have hope of one day leaving this place. If I send you to hell, that changes.

Authors note

Derian: What supersecret organisation would not have an underground submarine base? It's obligatory. Besides in the Canon I always wondered where they kept the submarine they got from Kyoto.

Lady Kami: So the prisoners are being kept in an actual prison?

Derain: What did you think we were going to do them?

Luthur: Yeah you'd almost think we were planning horrible evil experiments that will shock your perceptions of science and plunge horror into your very souls.

Lelouch: You're not helping here Luthur.

Derain: Before we progress there's a reason I'm doing all this gravity science talk. Being able to control gravity would be a scientific breakthrough of EPIC proportions. Gravity manipulation is used as an extremely popular convention in so many forms of sci fi. Movies, TV, books, comics. And nine times out of ten what's the only thing you see it being used for? Explaining why people don't float around on the spaceship. The spaceship.

Come on people. This is gravity, one of the fundamental forces of reality. Damn straight if we could figure out how to use it would make so many things possible. Nearly every technological advance the black knights have is related directly or indirectly to Luthur unlocking this one fundamental secret of physics. In fact I intend to show as many possible applications for gravity control as I can think of.

This is an area where you're going to see Luthur get rather full of himself. It's kind of frustrating for him. He sees himself as having outdone the guy who discovered fire and he can't tell anyone about it. His physics discussions with Nina are a kind of release valve for his need to talk about science when he's not with his colleague sin the hidden city cooking up who knows what. Kallen may not know as much about super physics but she's intelligent enough to be able to appreciate the applications of gravity control. Plus she's a great sparring partner. Of course he still hasn't quite grasped the concept of friendly non disturbing conversation.

Kallen: Yeah. Not really winning points in that department.

Milly: I am more interested in how things are going between Kami and Lelouch. Hehehe.

Lelouch: Milly what are you doing with that notebook.

Milly: I'm running a betting pool on your relationship with her. I've got long odds of you forming at minimum a love triangle with Kami and Shirley. Since we know Kami's fine with multiple partners and all. Oh ye of the manly lusts.

Shirley: Fifty on me getting Lelouch

Lelouch: Derain why did you even let her into the authors notes?

Milly: There is no safety from me mwahahahahahaha