Code Geass is owned by JNN, Sunrise, and Namco Bandai respectively in it's original Content.
Any and all Fictional Names added to this Fic are owned by their respective owners. Which is Sunrise and Namco Bandai. These will be referred to as Cameos, Appearances, and Additional Cast Members. All subjects that relate to other fictional sources of entertainment are owned by their respective owners.
Any and All names of people that have, had, or will, relate to any reader; Know that these are inspired by historical events and characters. This is in no way shape or form a way to depict people that once were alive in the past of the Anno Domini Timeline.
This is an Inspired work of fiction.
As you know, Thank you to How-Not-To-Do-Something for being my Beta/Editor. I appreciate them a lot.
Word Count: 12,600
Chapter 10: All the World's a Stage
"It seems it was too much of me to believe you'd trust independent land surveyors."
Julius turned to greet the older gentleman across from him. In his hands were stacks of records and papers the man referenced beforehand. "My apologies Mr. Anderson; Correct data and information must be thoroughly checked twice and thrice. After working with us for a number of years, I believe you had considered it routine by now."
"And? Your findings?" The man raised a brow, swirling a glass of golden liquid as light glinted off it from the open window where they were seated.
"You and your company will have no complaints from me." He responded in full, "You have yourself a deal."
"Excellent!" The older gentleman smiled wide, teeth showing to picture the image of a content investor before a look of confusion graced his face, "Although I wonder; What purpose do you have in earning the rights of barren land? You could easily have purchased an already partially excavated mining facility for your uses. Uranium and Thorium are potently dangerous while having very little applications."
"My company has decided to move into the vertical integration into my various products."
The businessman hummed, "Last I recall they are for medical applications and glass production. Intriguing as they might be; It's well known outside of chemist circles that Uranium and Thorium are known to have adverse side effects. I'm told it's akin to being poisoned. Surely you would not want the metals for such a thing? It's immoral, not to mention it can violate the Treaty of Manila regarding chemical weapons on the battlefield."
Julius had the audacity to look shocked by the blatant remark, "I would never have thought of such an idea to use them in such a manner. My designs have never included such materials for such purposes. Be assured."
The Australian laughed. "That does put me at ease. The Australian Protectorate has very little in a way of protecting its citizens outside of the Article 5 Defense Oath with the Britannian Mainland."
A guard in the man's employ opened the door for him to exit. Julius followed decorum in fashion to greet him as the man continued. "We've constantly had issues with Britannian and Chinese patrol groups for our trade goods."
A situation that was looking more and more commonplace he recalled. While moving money and products within the Empire posed no issues, Julius had been getting setbacks upon setbacks in other countries. He admitted, "We've had similar issues as well, including the unusual delays in the EU."
"Perhaps they are intimidated by you." A vicious smile came off the man, earning an equal response from the boy.
"Intimidated? Improbable. If I were them, there'd be more pressing matters." He scoffed good naturedly.
That much was true. The EU had a lot on their plate. Whilst contained, civil unrest sprouted like wildfire as independent media broadcasted under the radar. Multiple representatives voiced their concern openly as the image of a Unified Council shattered into minor opposing factions.
The signs led to a General named Smilias gradually gaining a following.
"Indeed. Euro-Britannia has become incredibly active as of late."
Julius nodded, "Euro-Britannia existed since the revolutions against nobility all across Europe. I wouldn't worry about it; as far as I recall, they still have little power in the grand scheme."
The two groups shook hands to seal the deal with a payment of Thirty-four Million Britannian Pounds Sterling, a steal if Julius had anything to say about it. He suppressed the desire to laugh as he left the offices of the Britannian Embassy in Australia and just before he reached the front door, a government worker cut off his route.
"Mr. Kingsley, if you'd be so kind as to follow me."
Julius waved for his guards to follow and asked, "Does there seem to be a problem?"
"Not in the usual sense." He answered vaguely, "There are some papers that require clarification. It concerns the farmlands being introduced with these 'intellicrops.'"
"Lead the way."
He took a couple flights of stairs to the fifth floor. Julius hummed as a pair of non descript security guards converged into their path, followed by gesturing for his own guards to wait outside a plain wooden door. The worker opened it for him and he went in without complaint.
To his right was a flat wall, and to his left held a barrier to imitate a corridor for six or seven feet ahead. His view was soon greeted by an older gentleman sitting across a small table, with its lights dimmed to medium. He scanned the windows to see its curtains closed. It made for a foreboding atmosphere.
"Prime Minister Robert Menzies, what a predictive surprise." Julius greeted, taking a seat.
Menzies chuckled into his glass tea, "Predictive... Yes it is."
"There are no issues with my intellicrops, are there?" His question earned the shake of a head. Before they continued, Julius noted that the room was sparse from a distinct lack of monitoring equipment. He smirked, "Then forgive me for being frank. Am I on this country's watch list?"
That earned a sincere laugh, "Mr. Kingsley, a man of your stature. It'd be criminally negligent to not have you on some sort of list."
He tapped a finger before speaking, "Then to brass tacks. Quid Pro Quo."
"I'm glad we think alike." Menzies agreed, "My office has been notified on the various changes of land ownership and increased movement of your employees. Australia as you know has certain requirements of tasks that need to be performed beforehand, in order to facilitate these changes and approvals."
"Yes. King's Field wishes to purchase five hundred hectares of land situated in the Northern Territory." Julius clarified.
"Your desire is to create the mining facilities of Uranium and Thorium. King's Field will then be responsible for the refinement and transportation of these materials in secure containers using the Elysium High-Velocity Maglevs to the coast and then out of the nation."
Julius nodded, "Correct."
"These materials are highly dangerous. One wrong move may damage surrounding areas and lives. But you know this already." The Prime Minister continued, "I am willing to fast track your requisitions and speed up the process. However; No doubt you've noticed the... increased number of Britannian movements in the Northern Pacific and the Bering Sea. A few tabloids are claiming it as war preparations, but I don't put stock in such nonsense. Nonetheless, the Australian Protectorate enjoys a rather high degree of autonomy compared to the rest of the Empire. Anything which threatens that status is my concern."
"I see." He started, mind churning over the information that was given.
Australia had an incredibly special sort of status in the world. A Protectorate under the Holy Britannian Empire, yet autonomous enough to have its own type of bureaucracy. A poor country that started off as a prison colony. Inhospitable enough that potential nobles and investors steered away from it, leading into a lackluster immigration rate.
Coal; Iron, Nickel, Oil, Natural Gas? The mainland had plenty of existing resources, and if not, it was in other areas. There was hardly any sakuradite to speak of. To say nothing of the land itself.
Nature's Victory. The nickname that the Empire, and the rest of the world gave to this country. The one place in the world that Human strength lost. Too much effort for too little return. Australian advancement was stalled for hundreds of years.
A backwater, yet an important one. The only thing worth mentioning was its strategic importance when it concerned the Pacific. The resuppy, maintenance, and retrofits for the Britannian Fleet for Area Eleven, Russian coast, and nearly all of Southeast Asia needed Australia.
"Have you and your military thought of such countermeasures in case of a sudden invasion from the Chinese? The Britannian military manufactured an incredibly high number of Glasgows during its first stint after the Japanese Invasion. Have you thought of acquiring some for your nation?" Julius asked.
"While that poses as a sound idea, one which many of my generals agree with. I am of a different opinion." Menzies shook his head.
Julius raised his brow, interesting. "Oh?"
"Why should Australia obtain the second best to protect its people, when the modern Da Vinci has such a sterling reputation in Canberra?"
"You flatter me," He played along. It was no doubt King's Field's very existence spearheaded Australia into being a rising export power. Much needed financing, engineers and general labor flooded the country like ants out of a hill. In turn for his support and eventual control over major slices of their public sector, the administration naturally gave them a large berth.
The majority of their farms, factories, and even their infrastructure was under Julius' control. The Australian people had no choice but to accept him, and in turn, he made it so that Australia had very little reason to hate him. After all; the majority of the Britannian Areas' near extinct luxury goods (Such as Japan's Kobe and Wagyu) migrated to Australian Farms, making the country's earnings skyrocket.
"Quite so, but I also speak the truth. A man of your talents can provide for our defense needs far better than distant Pendragon, whose eyes are focused in Europe and the Middle East as of late."
Effectively abandoning all of Australia in all but name aside from naval support? He refrained from uttering so, "And coincidentally, such defenses are different from what the Empire is familiar with."
"...what exactly are you implying Mr Kingsley?"
Julius leaned back in his chair and answered, swirling his own cup of tea, "I just find it odd the Protectorate would happily jump for new technologies when there's perfectly serviceable units filling warehouses across the empire. It seems a bit strange from an outside perspective."
"While that is true, I hope I can enlighten you on this." Prime Minister Menzies explained, "While Australia has slowly become an important piece on the board of international relations; We have very little ability to defend ourselves. True, the majority of our military might relies on the Empire's soldiers and our armies are incredibly small and under equipped. I fear the day when Britannia may bite more than they can chew."
Julius shifted his weight. What was he getting at?
"The Empire's spread thin all around the world. Most of their units are focused around the eastern shores of Africa and the Middle East. Area Eleven's surrounding territory is consistently contested such as the territory of Indochina trade border-lines monthly. Fourteen and Fifteen are tentatively controlled and Korea is disputed with the Chinese."
He raised a brow, "I fail to understand what you are trying to say, Prime Minister."
"Do not misinterpret my words. We know we have been considered a failed colony for hundreds of years. Yet Britannia has not abandoned us. True, the majority is militarily focused, but we weren't thrown to the wolves. It is not simply loyalty that keeps us with Britannia, it is the wish to be able to defend ourselves when the day comes. A large number of my own countrymen are also part of the Britannian military."
"Australia does not wish to be independent." Julius guessed.
The Prime Minister stressed, "The Australian people do not believe that dividing Britannia will lead to greater pursuits. As such, I believe advancing our status within the empire will lead us to being more than simple words on a piece of legal paper."
As if he was in on the joke, Menzies raised his cup as if it were for a toast, "It's almost as though there is a want for the world to be a single entity."
Julius refused to comment. It only served to allow the Prime Minister to continue on.
"We do not have any strict requirements for the adoption of defensive machinery, but that does not mean anything will do."
"Of course." He responded quickly enough, "But you must understand. You're backing a horse without a history. I could easily lose this wager of mine with Rakshata Chawla and the Britannian Military."
The prime minister scoffed, "I doubt it. I also don't doubt these materials you want to mine will lead to another breakthrough that will turn this world upside down."
Julius imitated a sigh, "It seems that I cannot stop you. What does Australia require?"
"Something that will secure the nation's security for some time. Versatility to be used on Land, Sea and Air, moderately costly and easy enough to field on short notice. The rest of the design choices fall upon you."
A spark glinted in his eye. "Well then."
0000
"Sister! What a glorious occasion to see you in my humble territory!"
The moment the grouping of eight women of different statuses, ages and positions walked down the stairs of their private jet, a handsome man with blonde hair that fell right behind his shoulders appeared before them. This was Clovis la Britannia, the half-brother of the girl standing at the center.
Everyone else acted as if they were searching for unknown threats, surrounding the girl like bodyguards and for some, it was certainly the case. Euphiema li Britannia was the Third Princess of the Britannian Imperial Family, Half-sister to Clovis himself.
"Yes uh... humble. It's good to see you too, brother." Euphiemia replied awkwardly. A long look at the situation revealed an expensive jet behind them, flashy clothes everywhere, very private airfield, glamorous limo, the list went on. At least the greeting party was simple; just her brother and a general by his side. His royal guard were nowhere to be found.
"Originally I wanted to prepare a whole gala for you to enjoy~ But alas, Cornelia doesn't want you to debut into the world at large until you at least finished your schooling. That mother-hen!" Her brother complained, a tick appeared on her head when her sister was mentioned, so true. Clovis continued with a flair for the dramatic, acting conspiratorial as he bowed, "That's besides my opinion; Might I as to inquire whom these lovely young ladies are? I hadn't known you'd walk with an entourage~ Did one of our sisters or the noble girls spark an idea?"
Surrounding her at arm's length were four women, and surrounding them were three more. They wore what seemed to be standard officer's uniforms belonging to the military with a few added and removed touches for each outfit. What sparkled interest and commanded a gasp out of Clovis were the three blindingly gold and white coloration from the older females.
Dorothea Ernst, Nonette Enneagram, Monica Krushevsky; Knights of the Round.
The princess grimaced, "...Nelia"
"Ahh..." Clovis' shock loosened up, if only just a tad as he hastily answered, "I am deeply sorry."
With the moment ignored for the sake of everyone involved, they were quickly escorted to the main limousine, and with a wave from her brother's hand; the car sped off into parts she assumed would be the Viceroy's palace. Along the way, Euphiemia gazed out at the settlement. It was more than she hoped for.
Tokyo was almost a sign of modern beauty. Art pieces dotted the city right next to open parks and tastefully designed buildings to make something that could put most of the mainland to shame. Clovis certainly had a hand in it, no doubt about that.
"Since we shan't have a party, or a dinner to catch up as it will garner attention. I've decided to change it up a bit." Euphemia turned to the sound of her brother, rarely one of the few times hands without a glass of wine and an honest smile on his face.
Excitement bloomed, finally, a chance to walk around and not worry about everyone breathing down her neck! "What do you have in mind?"
Clovis cleared his throat, "First! I'd like to know; Why exactly are three Knights of the Round escorting you sister? B-but if it's something of national importance-"
He quickly corrected himself however, Knights of the Round were beholden to no one except the mandate of the Emperor. Not even his children could sway them.
The knight of nine dragged the princess's head to her shoulder, a common occurrence for the woman's easy going nature. Nonette smirked, "You don't need to worry about a single thing! Little Nelly was oh so worried about her darling sister, so much so that she asked for a favor."
"Truly?"
"I'm here for Refuge, Rest, and Relaxation!" Nonette said, pointing to the two others. "Oh these two as well."
The knight of four turned her head with a huff. Euphiemia stifled a nervous laugh when the woman grumbled, "Unlike you, Enneagram; I will adhere to the favor Princess Cornelia put on you."
"Such a spoiled sport. Don't you think, Monica?" Nonette said airily.
Everyone turned to the last remaining Knight of the Round when she didn't respond. The blonde kept her head away from the group, eyes glued outside the window. The woman seemed completely focused on something else.
"Monica?"
Said blonde quickly replied, flustered, "Huh? Oh-uh, yes."
"Lady Krushevsky, is something not to your liking?" Clovis sounded justifiably concerned.
The prince's inquiry earned a shake of the knight's head, "Not at all! It's just… I expected a bit more unease in the air when it came to the territory. It has the largest and highest rate of crime and terrorism in the Empire."
"That's the entire reason why sister assigned these additional four as my royal guards to be." Euphiemia glumly stated, waving to the quartet stationed at the doors of the limo.
The four women were incredibly young. Each one at a glance none would have ever believed them to be soldiers aside from the clothing they wore. Clovis scanned the quartet just as he recalled where he'd seen them before.
Of course! The Valkyrie Squadron, Clovis thought. Cornelia's original elite squad of knights aside from Darlton and her knight, Guiliford. There had been rumors of The Knight of Ten, Luciano Bradley wanting to commandeer the squad has his personal attack dogs. It seemed that Cornelia thought otherwise and moved them to accompany Euphiemia. There were other rumors as well that shouted OSI or some other unsavory Britannian organization all around them before and after they were under Cornelia's command.
One who was considerably obvious as to her alias that screamed codename, Lily Thevalley, a bubbly happy-go-lucky acting girl with orange hair and two clippings on her parted side. Another, an Elsa Weiss, a green haired woman in a tastefully fine curved bob (if Clovis had to say so himself) looked completely the opposite to her compatriot. Cold, Calculating, and uncomfortable with the very clothes she wore. They had been rumored to be genetically engineered supersoldiers or clones, but Clovis didn't put much stock into it. Not unless he wanted a face to face meet with the Emperor.
Aside from the Orangette and the Green haired women, the others were equally as renowned. Liliana Vergamon, top of her class at the Academy at Norfolk. Earning her status through sheer will and talent while the other was equally as skilled in addition to the blueblood in her veins. Plus Marika Soresi, sister to one of his middle to upper officers at the capitol building.
But, there was one thing bothering the prince. "So you haven't set it in stone?"
Euphiemia grumbled, "I didn't think I'd need anything like a security detail. No one even knows who I am."
"Your sister's just being overprotective. Heavens know I'd be the same to Laila. To be honest; Area Eleven isn't as bad as it's being depicted back home. Everything's going up and up since a few years ago." Clovis soothed. He sympathized with her, but he empathized with Cornelia more.
Nonette hollered as her legs swung up and down her seat. "Yeah, that balls of steel high-roller!"
"Julius Kingsey is the most suspicious of all." quickly concluded by Monica.
The last of the three Knights of the Rounds, Dorothea, narrowed her eyes out into the distance as she added, "All the more reason to be concerned. Nevertheless, one could say without him, Area Eleven wouldn't be this well off."
"What are you implying?"
The dark skinned woman pierced her gaze at the prince, "It's a simple fact that your Highness isn't as well versed in politicking or administration as your siblings."
"Clovis isn't that bad. Look at what he's done to the settlement." Euphiemia was quick to defend her brother. True, the man wasn't a talented statesman, but he tried nonetheless and his Area didn't warrant concern by the mainland. However even that was giving the man too much credit. Clovis was a peacetime leader as shown by his contributions to the city, the strife outside Tokyo settlement's walls were less than stellar. Thus, Dorothea countered so.
"With the financial backbone of Kingsley's tithes. It was about time this administration cleaned house, half of your support personnel pocketed your own money."
"Bartley and I took care of it."
The large man admitted, "Indeed. I truly had not realized the severity of the situation, the traitors had hidden their actions well. For that, I am ashamed; however, now his highness can focus upon his projects that will benefit the empire as a whole."
Euphiemia couldn't stand the rigid silence and tried her best to not glare at the knight at fault. She quickly changed the subject, turning Bartley's frown turn into a beaming grin. "C-Clovis, what were you thinking about doing again?"
"Ahh, Yes! I was thinking, how about giving you a chance to stretch your wings. Say, a tour."
"The settlement?" Just when she was about to get her hopes up, Clovis shook his head.
"Something better if I do say so myself. Proof of the Area's progress compared to the other, previously attained territories."
Even better! Euphiemia thought. A chance to have fun and explore instead of being watched by countless servants, maids and bodyguards during her daily routine. "That sounds fun! What do you think girls?"
"I'm up for it." The Knight beside her smirked as she shrugged. "Actual R&R, maybe some time at the beach. Monica, Dorothea, I won't accept a no. That goes for you four as well, Valkyrie Squad."
"Sure!" Lily jubilantly agreed as the rest nodded as well.
"If the Princess is so elated about it, I will have to follow." Euphiemia nervously laughed. She didn't voice her apologetic thoughts of essentially forcing everyone onto her own wants. Something her sister would have scolded her for if she did. In the end, she gave her guards a grateful smile before turning to her half-brother again. "Brother, Are you sure you're up for it? You're the Viceroy, everyone knows your face."
"Could the Viceroy of Area Eleven be the type to offer tours? Does he flee from administration to peruse the city?" Dorothea snarked.
"Of course not! I completed my accounts up to this point!" Clovis looked affronted by the notion from the Knight of Four and continued, "I've prepared disguises! And for the guide, I have the perfect candidate."
"I certainly hope you didn't pick an Honorary to be our guide. Despite their oath and clear transition into Britannian life, many sympathisers fall through the cracks." Marika responded, her duty of protecting the princess was taken seriously. The prince only smirked in response as the limo slowed to a stop.
"We're just in luck! There are many Britannians with the habit of collecting trinkets and such from conquered areas. The same kind that fancy certain aspects of pre-war life. One such is a First Lieutenant of our Third Auxiliary Division."
As if just on que the figure of a man with blond hair appeared outside their window as they stopped. He stood tall in his officer's uniform as he saluted. "Lieutenant Graham Aker here as ordered!"
"Come in!" Clovis invited.
The moment the Lieutenant passed his head through the doorway, he looked as if he had a heart attack. He managed to pull himself together to salute again, "Your Highness!"
"I have a mission for you. One that perfectly suits your specialities."
Graham raised a brow, confused. "Sir?"
"None of that posh formal talk. Being frank and relaxed is integral to the mission."
"I still haven't been read in yet… sir. May I ask what this mission is?"
"That one is easy." Clovis started, standing up to raise his arms happily. "You are going to be our tour guide."
A wallow of dread crept over him as quickly as the prompt from the prince came. "Tour… guide?"
0000
"Just a little more…" Kallen Kozuki uttered to herself restlessly. It had taken her months to get the right parts to construct the needed supercomputer to even start. No one trusted any fully operational or even partially disassembled unit made from the Europeans, Britannians or from the company who were making their countrymen work on. Someone of her expertise knew the backdoors and insecurities that made up the majority of the world's electronics.
That was probably why it took so long, she wondered. The moment she came into base camp with that flash drive in her hands, Naoto had a big fight with her about messing with something bigger than just helping the rest of the japanese. It was only thanks to Ohgi being the group's cool head followed by a lengthy discussion with the rest of the team that they decided to keep the drive, until they were able to pawn it off to Kyoto or the Japanese Liberation Front. Kallen didn't like that, but had to admit that they were one of the smaller, less well equipped resistance groups out there.
Till they were able to get in contact with Kyoto or the JLF, Kallen was allowed to try and get into the drive since they found out it wasn't installed with a 'self destruct' feature. She had to hand it to Kingsley and his people; they sure did everything in their power to protect their data, but just shy of making contingencies of file destruction and corruption algorithms. Was it arrogance? Or was it something as easy as 'backups make easy marks?'
"Almost got it," Kallen uttered again in the dark room of her makeshift server/supercomputer array. The whole group scoured the ghettos for any working parts from pre-invasion japan to make what she was staring at right now. They boarded up the whole room in a faraday cage under the stationed wireless jammer in case of Britannian patrols, and covered the base with heat shields in preparation for thermal imaging scouts. They could only resort to using the best CPU at the time of Japan's downfall with 64 processors running in tandem with dozens of other equally powerful processors in a five by five storage room with the best coolers, RAM, workhorse drives, SSDs and HVAC vents they could find. It warmed up the base to a blistering thirty degrees on a bad day, but it was working. They were getting somewhere.
"Just one more encryption bypass." she hoped. They were so close, almost at the finish line.
"Kallen!" She turned to see her brother outside the server room door with a pair of outsiders with him. She narrowed her eyes, one of her hands slowly moving to the pistol set on the table next to her keyboard. She didn't reach for it since Naoto was there so that meant these newcomers were cleared, but she didn't trust them just yet.
"I see, the desperation of the old brings the child into a sea of war and bloodshed. How bland."
Especially since one of them was a green haired european.
"Some patriots are more enthusiastic than others, Miss CC."
"Not the first time I've heard the line, boy." The other man only glared at the woman as he crossed his arms.
Kallen raised a brow, "Naoto, who are they?"
"Kyoto responded." Naoto started. The other brother gestured to introduce the two and stepped forward, "They're offering support in exchange for the drive."
"Depending on what's in the drive, Kozuki-san."
Naoto turned back to glare at the offending Kyoto official, "That wasn't what was agreed with The Six Houses."
"But it is mine." The man spat back, his nose turned up from the resistance member. "If you have a problem with it-"
"I do."
Kallen watched her brother storm past the man as the now known CC raised a brow in amusement. These were the people that they were going to hand off the flash drive to? She didn't like it one bit. She hesitated for a moment before locking up the entryway into the faraday cage before following her brother outside.
The base was filled and not with just their small group. A veritable army of men in black suits with a battle rifle stood at prime defensive areas around the main room, and Kallen's skin crawled. Ohgi and the others stood by the main garage door, fully open with an expensive looking limousine parked right outside followed by another large group of armed guards.
"Wait-" The man called out petulantly only for Naoto to ignore him in favor of walking straight up to the window of the limo.
"He's outside. You're only here to make sure the place is safe."
"You don't know that. We never had informed you any of the heads of Kyoto would even appear."
"No. You didn't." Naoto agreed, knocking on the window of said limo with confidence. "But I'm not ignorant."
The window scrolled down to reveal an aging bald man, a man everyone knew existed and a man Naoto's group never expected to be part of Kyoto. The guards quickly scanned their surroundings as another motioned an unspoken question. Taizo Kirihara shook his head and the men relaxed into a ready stance. Naoto looked as if he were about to choke on his own words, Kallen and the rest followed suit.
Taizo Kirihara, also known as Kirihara the Traitor. The founder of Kirihara Industries and one of the first to kowtow to the Britannians when they began to set up shop in ruined Japan. Taizo was the the biggest major supporter of Britannia when they invaded; supporting various troops after the war, prepared and shipped supplies and foodstuffs to Britannian troops, destroyed the various natural mountains of Warusawa, Arakawa-Naka, Hijiri and Fuji, all for the sake of mining out Sakuradite for the Britannian government.
"Hahaha. I see my reputation precedes me." Taizo Kirihara said with a grim laugh. The door was quietly opened as he stepped out into the base with a cane in his hands. "You didn't think any old person was supporting the resistance did you?"
"We've always had theories." Naoto responded dumbly. "Mostly it all ended with European or Chinese powers proxying our resistance to give their nations breathing room."
"Yes, that does have merit." Taizo said with a nod of his head. The elder glared at the official and with a flick of his wrist a guard pulled the man into a hold and shoved him into the limo in his place. "But the main support has always been the Six Houses. A smart man like you would figure out the other houses already."
The members of Naoto's resistance gave the powerful man a wide berth.
"This doesn't leave this building, understand?" Kirihara stressed.
The small time leader nodded earnestly, "Of course, Kirihara-sama."
"Were you able to break into that flash drive?"
Kallen sucked a breath, she couldn't believe it! They were escorting the Taizo Kirihara, now a member of the Kyoto Six Houses. A backbone of nearly all of the Japanese resistance! Weapons, food, medical supplies, intelligence and knightmares! The list could go on but that was besides the point. They followed to escort the old man to the server room where the drive was stashed as her brother continued. "We've been trying, used everything we could find at our disposal. Kallen's been our best at cracking code for a while now, but even then it's been difficult."
"We only need a little bit more time." she immediately claimed, taking a step ahead of the rest the moment the door came into view. It opened to reveal the screen continuously running as the European watched with interest. "The last key is giving us trouble but surely-"
Just as she was about finished, a beep rang from the computer screen. The group turned to see the images of dozens if not hundreds of file folders appear, each one perfectly labeled and arranged.
"It seems that we may be getting somewhere." Kirihara muttered, grasping his chin as he walked forward, "May I?"
Naoto dumbly nodded, "Of course."
Many of them couldn't help but watch Kirihara stride up to the keyboard, inputting various commands and search logs as he looked over the files with a critical eye. Some didn't seem all that important for their situation. Sure the files had countless pages upon pages of results, tests, diagrams and other things but they didn't strike a cord that resonated with the resistance.
That was until Kirihara reached down to the bottom, hidden behind invisible folders under benign naming conventions.
"What the-" Sugiyama couldn't help but gasp as the first entry made it to their eyes.
CC off to the side smirked, "Well, well."
"Naoto Kozuki!"
The resistance cell stood at attention from Taizo Kirihara's voice, minds still reeling from what they encountered. King's Field, and subsequently, Julius Kingley could shake the world. And that would be a death kneel to any resistance regardless of who or what they'd be fighting for.
"Hai!"
"Kyoto will contact you and your group in the future." he started. His eyes narrowed as the man ejected the flash drive into his hands to pocket it. "Stay low."
"But sir, what is Kyoto going to do?"
Kirihara eyed the european, letting the woman take the lead. "This is big, and that means everyone is going to be involved."
"The JLF?" Kallen asked quietly. She shuddered as Taizo Kirihara gave them the most bloodthirsty grin any human could ever see.
"Everyone."
0000
"Aston Martin?" Graham Aker uttered, resisting a cringe as he barely stopped from smacking his palm to his face. The Lieutenant sighed as he watched the entourage of his 'secret mission'. The worst kind of escort he could possibly endure landed right on his lap, and it was his entire fault!
"Bayerische Motoren," The tired man said to his royal highness. Graham watched as the wheels in the prince's mind churned into a visible smirk.
"Euro car lines. A bold move considering the political climate."
"It'll be fine, your- James" Graham corrected. James. James; That was the name Clovis wanted to be called when they left the base. The royal wanted to give his sister a tour, and most likely a statement to deter any chances of the Knights of the Rounds from taking over for subjugating any resistance. Graham refrained from mentioning the thought as he continued, "They'll never suspect royalty be cruising in these."
It didn't take long for General Bartley to requisition a fleet of European branded cars, all lined up to give the entourage a view as they finalize a decision. Graham couldn't help but rub his brow as they argued over which to use. He had expected the Royals to do so, but instead found out Princess Euphiemia's guards took the initiative followed by the Knights of the Round. The Royals however were incredibly quiet in the whole affair. Especially as the Princess looked as if she was enjoying herself as she watched her guards.
Must be newly formed, Graham thought, groaning, "Those clothes though…"
"Aren't they good?" He shook his head at the prince.
"Too good. The kind that not normal commoners would use."
Clovis looked completely aghast, gesturing his clothes, feeling them between his fingers as he spoke, "But from what I understand plenty of them wear these at Gabbana."
"Those are advertisements!" Graham practically shouted in protest. He sighed heavily, remembering the only people these royals ever spoke to about clothing or anything at all were at social gatherings filled to the brim with people at or close to their stations. Rich fatcats, nobles, tailors, artists, the list went on. In fact the sole person that could remotely be the standard of opulence was the first born princess, and that woman was labeled the Marie Antoinette of their nation. The most wasteful member of the Britannian line that spent much of her personal and the national wealth (until she was restricted) on the most extravagant monuments, clothing, buildings… anything that could be bought or made.
"So we pretend to be rich, but not royalty?" Clovis expressed in confusion which earned a nod from the Lieutenant.
"Essentially. Because honestly? There's no way we can pass ourselves off as commoners."
"I can!" Euphiemia called out with a happy expression clad under just barely acceptable level quality for a disguise.
Graham stared for a few seconds, letting his next words come in a deadpan for full effect, "Ha, no you cannot."
The Princess was impossible for a completely different reason! She was sheltered, supervised by another for every waking second of her entire life! Her hands and feet, let alone skin and face were utterly smooth. No scars, no calluses, not even a single sun tan, spot, blemish or pimple; Unmarred by the natural difficulties of day to day life. Anyone with an ounce of knowledge could tell the girl was raised with a silver spoon.
Graham spoke as he stroked his chin, "Close will be... Evergreen or something around that price range. We're driving a car around that level of class afterall."
"But they have no soul!"
The shout earned him a frown and a grit of the teeth, "I'm sorry, your highness. It's what any non-noble has to live with"
"I feel for the commoners!"
Clovis' over dramatic flailings made it so Graham rubbed his brow in attempts to stop an inevitable migraine. He breathed to keep himself calm, firmly ignoring the pairs of snickers that came from the side. He didn't want to try and figure out which of the knights or royal guards who outranked him were enjoying themselves.
Thankfully, a large van (basically an RV) which could fit all of them rolled up, and with a gesture from a guard they slowly piled themselves into the obviously luxurious vehicle.
"So, what was that about blending in?" Graham slumped.
Despite the obvious price tag of over a few hundred thousand pounds, Clovis was outright horrified, "Such poor people, do they even have country homes?"
Graham tried very hard not to smack his face onto the steering wheel. He couldn't help but snark, "Britannian royalty problems, such a shame you need to use a high end civilian car."
"I know! It's downright awful." Clovis bemoaned with no sense of irony.
It did nothing more than make his growing migraine worse!
"I've decided!" Clovis yelled, pumping his fist inside his seat. The group turned to watch the upcoming 'entertainment', mostly to enjoy at the Lieutenant's expense.
Graham corrected, asking, "Clo- James?"
"I'm going to start an affordable fashion brand! Even these people need to become beautiful for their social events!"
"... Yes... James," He sighed in defeat, ignoring him as he turned to watch outside the window. Furthermore, he chose not to pay attention to the scene behind in the back with the princess and her guards.
"Sorry that I took you away from your position."
"Think nothing of it Your... E-Euphie." Marika corrected herself as she sat beside the princess to cover her flank. She continued when Euphemia didn't seem to have a convincing expression. "We originally had reservations on being scouted by the Vampire of Britannia himself."
Euphie still believed she should speak on the behalf of her sister, "But still, you... were enthusiastic about being in the frontlines."
"Events of the past. Think nothing of it," Liliana interrupted with a smile. With a stealthy elbow hit on her other teammates, the Valkyrie squad were successful in making sure the princess didn't feel too guilty about the whole affair. Cornelia was their superior officer and she was the one that felt that a full complement of guards was needed for the sheltered girl.
Throughout all the events taking place, the Knights of the Round looked at the interior with a scrutinizing eye. Nonette rolled her eyes, complaining. "... Can't we use a limo?"
"It is a bit... cramped," Dorothea added, "This is a civilian vehicle, no armor of any kind."
"It's only going to be used to get to the station."
That got everyone's attention, especially Euphemia as she showed a completely different face as the others, excited and happy as she asked, "Station?"
"Train station," Graham explained, slowly backing the van away from it's parking spot as the people behind him had shocked expressions. Clovis looked downright horrified.
"We will use a train..."
How else!? Graham thought. They wanted a tour, not a damn curated inspection those officers had behind closed doors. With great effort in control and to not anger the obviously more important and more powerful figures in the car, Graham quickly made an excuse based on their distaste for the vehicle they had to use. "Would you like to be in the van the entire time?"
The silence was a great change of pace as Graham drove them to the newly created train station or Maglev that reached six hundred kilometers per hour. He would have preferred to keep them in Tokyo proper, but Clovis had asked for him specifically to guide them through the lives of their subjects. And that included the Japanese, or Japanese-Britannians as some honoraries were starting to call themselves.
They parked the van in a lot just outside the station of Akihabara and thankfully with the help of liberal use of makeup, hair dye and 'commoner level' clothing, none of them stood out of the area, aside from the obvious beauty the women were and that they were Britannians. Thankfully, it was Akihabara. Sure it was most likely the place that held the most exploitation of Japanese residual culture but it did allow the mingling of Britannian and non-britannian alike.
Graham quickly corralled the entourage to leave Akihabara and got themselves on an upper-class suite on the Maglev bound for Yokohama station. The real experience was away from the tourist traps.
They got food during the trip and thankfully none of them made a complaint; In fact princess Euphiemia was thoroughly enjoying everything happening to her while Clovis hummed with interest at the tastefully designed lunchboxes, or Ekiben as Graham wanted to inform them.
It just had to be his luck then the Knight of the Round and the Princess' guard gave any Honorary the stink eye when they came to service them in food and drink. Graham sighed, if only Japan fought to the bitter end in the war.
Yokohama was nothing like its pre-war era as the scars of destruction and ruin buildings were still prominent in the outskirts, but over the years of increased industry and the new wealth the area had, half of the city was slowly revitalizing itself.
They spent a few hours perusing the sights, walking along the walkways as they gazed out into the beach, ate at restaurants and window shopped at a few establishments Graham thought were safe enough for high profile targets. Ergo establishments with yard (Britanniam inspired Scotland Yard) patrols and high Britannian traffic.
Graham knew that Clovis was a patron of cultural items of significance. No one really wanted to call it out that he was a fob or a man about town lest they get punished, but he thought it could be a good idea to have the man experience old Japanese arts and fashion.
Surprisingly Clovis wasn't like many other Britannians, or Guenievre the first princess. He was a bear in the woods the moment they stepped foot into the small store off the seaside front. As the disguised guards stood around awkwardly and the princess looked at everything with curiosity, Clovis jumped into the thick of it inspecting every bit of fabric, etching of embroidery and by god smelled to check for color dyes in the clothes. The Honorary that was the face of the storefront looked flabbergasted as she stared at the Britannian man run his mouth about how the dyes were natural and the stitching was exquisite despite the quality of cloth.
"The pattern work is something to be desired but is expected when it comes to this kind of fabric." Clovis mused rubbing a piece of clothing together between his fingers as he continued, "These Eleven Kimonos are quite extravagant regardless. I adore it."
"Good sir, if you would like I can lead your attention to the men's clothing," A manager rushed to cover the cashier using the stereotypical brown nosing to not insult a Britannian in an indigeonous establishment. Whether Clovis recognized it or not he didn't show it and instead widened his eyes.
"You're telling me this embroidery is for women?" Clovis started, excited. "Dear sister! Come here, I must color coordinate! The stroke of inspiration calls to me!"
As she was rudely pulled by her half-brother's hand to the stack of fabric, for once Graham smiled that something during the mission went as intended. Then he started to sweat when Clovis started to call for more and more pieces of clothing as the man used the poor girl as a display piece.
It mayhaps had taken hours and the cashier counter was getting flooded when Graham noticed the strained expressions of the knights. Might as well go the extra mile and converse, he thought.
"Is something wrong my lady?"
The knight of twelve pursed her lips but said nothing only for the knight of four to speak up, "This administration is allowing Elevens to keep their culture? I turned a blind eye when it came to food but I had thought areas upheld the national policy when it came to conquered areas."
"Now now," Graham said with his hands raised up, "You're telling me you've never seen anyone in the mainland wear a kilt?"
Dorothea couldn't say much to refute it as the knight of nine spoke, noncommittal, "It's regional, Lieutenant."
That raised a brow, a bit double standard in Graham's opinion but he didn't have the power or the influence to address it directly. "I'm honestly surprised. I don't remember anywhere in the mainland did they outlaw the expression of cultures and clothing from the indigeonious population let alone the afro-britannians that came from africa."
Nonette whistled as she stood between him and the knight of four before she skewered him with a hidden blade, "You've got guts Lieutenant."
"Just speaking my Emperor given right of freedom of opinion, Lady Enneagram." Graham shrugged. "I'm just speaking of all the old holidays and festivals of my teenage years. Hell I remember people wearing Matavuvale for Adamu back in high school. Lets not forget the Red Earth Festival every year in Oklahoma Province."
"I've decided! I will create and support budding Eleven Tailors!" Clovis' voice cut through the gaining tension like a hot knife through butter. The group that was charged to secure and tour the royals respectively turned to see the Prince clutch his heart in a dramatic fashion. "Truly the most double sided blade of necessity which drives creativity can limit that very creativity! The talents of our subjects are being squandered by limited opportunities! I must speak with Bartley before the day's end about industry loans and grants for our honoraries!"
"We thank you kindly for the positive thoughts, dear patron!"
"Pay the dear lady's establishment, Graham!" Said lieutenant stared at the knight's of the round huff or shrug amusedly at the scene before he went to do as ordered. He'd be compensated later under discretionary funds or some sort, of that he was sure of it.
By the time the cash register dinged and he was handed the receipt, Graham already planned for the next few locations. A quick jaunt at the beach, some fun by the nearby restored amusement park and a dinner at an Izakaya, hopefully the regional Pubs would be a source of relaxation to the Knights and give the royals a moment of commoner life. He had a great place in mind to-
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*KRRRRRRRRRCH*
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The explosion scratched at their ears followed by a series of smaller detonations that kicked the military enlisted training into overdrive. The royals were roughly thrown behind the bodies of Princess Euphiemia's royal guards to be as the Knights of the Round and Graham scanned the area for threats.
"What was that?" Princess Euphemia stuttered as she got up from the ground, sirens coming from various yardsmen and fire departments raced passed the roads to a far off location.
Dorothea chambered a round into her service pistol, "An attack?"
"Terrorists?" Monica followed quickly behind. Thankfully a pedestrian looked up into the sky and pointed. Other civilians did the same with an air that didn't suggest panic of any sort.
"Over by the sea. Smoke is coming from the Kanegawa Airfield!"
"Was it another explosion?"
"It was bigger this time compared to the others, I wonder what's wrong."
"Mr. Kingley is on a strict timetable. What? He's got two or three more months to finish his Gloucester-killer while the mainland has years."
"My my," Clovis said, quickly recovering himself as he looked over the horizon followed by everyone else. "That Kingsley fellow must be sweating to have a test of some sort when he's not even in the area."
"Your highness, you know of this?" Marika whispered quickly to the royal under her breath. The royal nodded quickly.
"Why yes. The reports came to me when there had been false alarms of terrorist attacks in the Kanegawa area a few weeks ago might I add. I sent a few investigators to take a look and they came back with no results. I left it at that when Kingsley's people spoke about private property, trade secrets and other such excuses every company in the mainland uses to keep their actions away from the competition."
"Do you mind if we take a look, Your highness?" Nonette asked, smirking with a wink. The other Knights of the Round nodded with her as they looked to the prince.
"What? I don't have any authority over you and I certainly don't have much probable cause to investigate."
Dorothea quickly refuted, "You have three Knights of the Round and we don't want to leave your royal highnesses without extra security if this was an actual attack."
Clovis frowned at the predicament as it seemed his relaxation was going to be cancelled for the time being. "Fine, fine. But only if my sister agrees."
"Yes, of course! People could be hurt, we need to get there and coordinate with any first responders that enter." Euphiemia responded without a stutter and the group ran to the airfield.
When they got there a group of civilians and police were blocked from entering by a group of security guards. "Please, step back. King's Field has everything perfectly under control."
"Which one of you is in charge here?" Dorothea's voice rang out through the clearing as they got closer to the situation at hand. Graham had to give the guard's some leeway as they frowned at them. The appearance of officials let alone knights of the round was improbable to predict.
They were just doing their jobs. It did however give the lieutenant a moment of enjoyment when the knight of four swung her arm wide and brought out her personal badge and watched the guards sweat under their helmets. From then on everyone gave them a wide berth as they got closer.
"I'm sorry, even if you are a Knight of the Round, we cannot let you in unless you have a writ from the crown." The guard shook his head as he denied the knight. Graham had to give it to them, these employees of Kingsley were already cream of the crop. They didn't cower or backed off the moment Dorothea tried to shove her Emperor given powers through a checkpoint. These were professionals and if this was anyone or anyplace else, he'd applaud the training they went through.
"Then what about me?" Monica immediately raised her own badge for the guards to see and he could hear them gulping.
Whispers from bystanders grew as Nonnette snickered at the display only to join in with her own badge. "Make it three Knights of the Round."
The guard sucked a breath and immediately called in their radio for support. Quickly enough and thankfully to the polite waiting for the Knights, a superior walked out of the gate to assess the situation.
"I'm sorry for inconveniencing you but there is truly nothing overtly dangerous that will spill out into the city. We can't simply let you in even if you are members of the Round. There's a procedure for these things." The guard, a captain by the badge on his shoulder followed by a distinctive emblem that radiated the PMC vibe of Kingsley's private army sparkled from the sun, "Area Eleven is not considered a war zone nor do you have a writ from the crown. We are not obliged to allow you entry."
We can't respond with force but you will have to kill us to get in was the basic gist of what he was saying. The audacity actually gave the KoR pause as Dorothea huffed with amusement and Monica giggled behind her hand.
"Well, I'm here. No need to get your clothing soaked in blood." Prince Clovis walked out as he waved his hand for the guards to recognize him. Too bad they did have a writ form the crown, in verbal form in front of them. The captain sucked in a breath as Clovis finished cleaning his face from the makeup and brought out his seal of Viceroyship. "Now, may you be so kind as to let us all in?"
The guards could do nothing but slowly step aside to open the gates. The captain quickly followed them with others as an escort as he shouted into his radio. No one missed it, "Alert! Alert! Prince Clovis has come to inspect the Airfield. Knights Four, Nine and Twelve of the Rounds have followed him. This is not a drill! Quarantine all essential locations, Close off secondary and tertiary facilities. Everything that isn't nailed down gets a tarp! We cannot allow confidential material to be stolen for our competitors!"
"You dare!" Marika of Euphie's royal guard called out, insulted. The captain eyed them with an apologetic nod.
"Company policy my lady. Mr. Kingsley has a bet to win and he's been giving it his all, think nothing of it."
It was so rare to see someone so professional, Graham noted. The group decided to leave it as they walked. The path was a straight shot out into the field and what was at the center was a sight to behold.
"Woah~" Euphie gasped, covering her mouth with her hands as the Royal guards looked on with amazement. Monica uttered a 'wow' as Nonette made an impressive whistle despite the scene before them.
"So this is the rumored Gloucester buster?" Dorothea asked, looking at it with a critical eye.
It looked nothing like a knightmare. There was no humped back. There was no factsphere. Every knight worth their salt knew Glasgows and Sutherlands were back heavy, top heavy too. They had specific training on how to stand and walk with knightmares in the Britannian military or else they'd fall flat on their asses like newborn babes. How to stand up from laying on the ground, how to walk, how to motion and pivot the legs when they used the landspinners. They had days of arduous training to understand how to use the motion of velocity and gravity to their advantage else they were sitting ducks. This knightmare had nothing of that. In fact it looked...
"Human," Prince Clovis breathed airly. Graham nodded silent as he stared. Somehow the knightmare's image spoke to him, it sparked a flame that he didn't think would exist in a knightmare or any piece of machinery. It looked like it could conquer battlefields and rush towards its enemy in a blaze of glory.
If Glasgows and Sutherlands looked like pieces of a high-schooler's clay project then Kingsley's knightmare was an Adonis statue from ancient Greece. The knightmare was at least a meter or two taller than Britannian models as it kneeled down like it awaited knighting. The head brought the image of warriors of an ancient age, of men that armored themselves from head to toe and fought on grassy fields of battle; the knights and centurions with their plumed helmets. Smoke and fire bellowed out from the tightly packed shoulder armor and back as various fire crew worked to seize the flame into submission. As the group got closer they noticed a large number of people working on breaking apart the metal plating that surrounded its chest.
"Mar! Marlene! Can you hear me?" A redhead shouted to the side, struggling against a pair of engineers and guards as he tried to push through to the machine.
"Someone get me a fucking jaws of life!" The voice of a young man pierced through the cacophony as many other hands rushed to grab whatever tools were on hand.
"Mr. Kingsley?" Princess Euphiemia gasped, shocked at the person in question standing right next to the chest piece yell something so uncharacteristically like the person seen in public. The young man positioned himself with his feet at the crevices of what Graham could only guess as skirt plating, with a firm grip on a handle to the side of a blue-ish peak that jutted out of where a human's heart should be. Kingsley's clothes were rattled and ripped, marred with the oils, dust and grime that formed from the flames as he attempted to rip out broken pieces of metal, likely steel, from the places separating the chest from a green glass-like screen.
"I need precision cuts here, here and here. Quickly now!" Kingsley ordered the first responders to work as he turned to the redhead from earlier, "Breathe Ruido! I have her vital signs! She's fine right now and she's going to be fine the moment we get her out so pull yourself together! Your panicking isn't going to get her out faster!"
While harsh, that seemed to get the man in a better state of mind. Kingsley nodded before turning to the back of the knightmare ordering, "I wanted that fire out yesterday! Throw everything you got at it, We can build it back up again!"
Screeches of metal broke apart at the seams of the machine, while multiple engineers including Kingsley pushed and pulled the chunk out of the way. The hiss of hydraulics sounded off in everyone's ears as smoke bellowed out of the new hole. With the help of a medic, Kingsley reached in and pulled the form of a woman in a skintight suit out of the cockpit.
"Helmet's fine." Kingsley noted as the woman was being laid out on a stretcher. "Send her to the medical wing. And get Moreno on her stat!"
"Yes, sir."
"Urgh," Kingsley groaned with a hand on his head. By the time the medics pulled the woman to a carrier, the fire had died down. The redhead walked up to him with a look of remorse.
"Sorry Mr. Kingsley, It's my fault. Mar and I wanted to do the final tests on it to see-" His concern was interrupted by the hand of another man with a scruffy beard.
"It's my fault too. I was too stubborn thinking it would work and gave it the go ahead. We both agreed that the simulations gave it a good result with low chances of failures."
"It's alright Ian. No one's dead and thankfully you didn't test it with the core block or else we'd have a smear instead of a smoking wreak." Kingsley concluded before turning to the redhead. "Ruido, head over to Moreno; Your wife would probably like to have you as the first thing she sees when she opens her eyes."
Ruido chuckled to get the nerves off him, "She'd prefer our daughter as the first thing but I think she'll be fine with close second."
The group waited for the redhead to get a fair distance away before Kingsley cracked his shoulders. "I did not want the first thing to see when I got off my plane to be the testbed burning."
"With that as a performance, I don't think you'll be getting the right reaction when you showcase it Mr. Kingsley." Nonette's tease earned an incredibly quick switch in eye contact with the man in question. He scanned their group from front to back as his eye widened. He shifted his gaze from the knightmare to them and back in quick succession.
"Your highnesses and Knights of the Round? When did you get here?"
"You were preoccupied with the accident Julius," The man named Ian quickly informed his boss. "The guards couldn't stop them."
"Aside from giving us an experience of classic bureaucracy, we had initially come to inspect if something criminal was afoot." Clovis answered casually, "We were having such a wonderful day relaxing as commoners in fact before this accident. An explosion was it?"
"Could it have been sabotage?" Euphiemia asked the underlying question. "I had heard your Engineer say there was no chance of failure, Mr Ian was it?"
"Ian Vashti, Your highness." He said, bowing as decorum expected him to. Kingsley shook his head as he waved his hand in denial.
"Low chance of failure, not No chance of failure, your highness." he breathed deeply as if he was thinking incredibly hard about something, weighing out the pros and cons of what he was about to say. "I hope you and your entourage can keep this a secret until at least the end of the bet? This includes the Knights of the Round."
"I've got a bet on you anyway and saying something about this would ruin my odds." Nonnette mused, turning to her compatriots for their own answers.
Her words earned a silent scolding from the Knight of four as Dorothea thought a bit before answering, "While we are not held to any binding of secrets as we only answer to the Emperor, I suppose I can keep quiet for now. While it looks pleasing, I don't see it competing with the Gloucester if the results here speak for it."
"No doubt the revelation of this could ruin your reputation or skew the odds of this bet in a dishonorable manner… I can keep this quiet as well." Monica concluded, "I'm actually kind of curious if you can do what you claim to do."
"Seems that's the best I'll be able to get then." Kingsley admitted, looking over to the wreak besides them. "Lets restore her and have her join the displays."
"Display? Is this not the Gloucester buster?" Liliana of the royal guard asked, motioning at the machine. The others looked on with interest and while he wanted to keep his design secret, he acquiesced with a shake of his head.
"It is not my lady. This is merely a testbed that I had attempted to as they say, throw everything but the kitchen sink in it."
"How many of these did you actually make?"
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"Wow. Every major outfit with kills under their belt made it here." A man with a crazy look on his face with red hair and goatee stared at the crowd around him. The building they were in was an unassuming warehouse of some sort in an undisclosed region in the world. He eyed the people for threat assessment only to smirk condescendingly, "What's this? A pack of losers and eunuch boys are here too?"
"There's no need to antagonize them, Sachez." A young teenager with brown hair and violet eyes scolded the older man. He smirked before he was interrupted.
"Ali Al Sachez!"
Sazhez snapped his fingers, speaking back with a fierce grin, "Oh if if isn't a buncha fucking weak shit kids from Zilkhstan. Finally get your mouths outta those fakes tits of queen what's her face?"
"You will not speak of her Majesty in such a way, Ali Al Sachez. Enemy of the state!" The soldier marched up only to be blocked by his superior with a hand.
"He's just baiting us." The Zilkhstan representative, a woman with dark skin and darker hair noted.
"An enemy and an ally of convenience last I checked," he rebuked, unperturbed by the threat.
That's exactly what they were. A bunch of terrorists, freedom fighters, mercenaries and military wetworks all gathered together for some big ass op. Sachez noted the black expressionless figures that screamed EU spec ops or Britannian Pluton, which ones he didn't care since he was under contract with the OSI at the moment. Hell he raised a brow at the obvious Chinese Federation officer uniforms coupled with old Japanese ones in the mix with them. "What's the job? And why do we have Elevens that ran away when their country was invaded here? Don't tell me they're our clients?"
The Elevens in question were held back by the Chinese officers as a voice called out.
"The reward is enough for all of you to live the rest of your lives in luxury."
Sachez whistled at the thought of so many zeroes. "Wow, even Peace Mark's here."
"Must be big."
The woman nodded, "Yes, it is. I'm Miss X and I'll be relaying information for you now. The Target is the Gloucester vs Kingsley bet over Sri Lanka."
"Sri Lanka? I thought it was in New Delhi."
"That is why we're here." A slimy looking Eunuch from the Chinese Federation explained, walking up. "For the operation, we need as much chaos and discord as possible while having control over the proceedings. India is currently exercising some useless protests at the moment and we are using that as an excuse to change locations. The Britannians will agree."
"So? What do you get out of this?" Sachez asked, "In fact what do any of you get out of this? It's just one Knightmare, You and the EU representative over there is bound to fight over it."
"That isn't necessary." Miss X interrupted. "We've obtained new information from a reliable source of what Kingsley will field on that day."
"So? It's just another Knightmare and I doubt it'll compete."
"Don't underestimate him." A European added. "Europe's been having trouble with Kingsley's corporations and growing political ties. He's been lobbying the rights to install medical facilities all around the EU states and it's stoking the flames of the moderates."
Factional warfare in the EU then was the unspoken thought. An Eleven officer quickly added with a dangerous tone. "We must remove his lead and grip over the region! He's soiled the culture of our Japanese with sweet lies and appropriation!"
"So you want to ruin the lives of your so called countrymen by destroying the only lifeline they have to the Britannians?" The European asked, not expecting an answer. "Long as our technological gap with the enemy closes, the EU will join in on this."
"The Chinese will certainly join as well. That brat has insulted us one too many times getting cozy with that Xinke."
The Zilkhstanian asked, "What about weapons, or are we going in without Knightmares?"
"The EU have misappropriated a series of newly designed Knightmares originally for one of their special units." At Miss X's words, the European nodded in confirmation. "Peace Mark has also acquired a series of Glasgow and Sutherland units for use from the Britannian surplus. They won't realize they're missing until the operation is done."
"Looks like we got ourselves a real op then," Sachez said, smiling. "What's the intel?"
At that, the chinese walked forward to speak, "The venue will have moderate to high security that includes a select number of regional militia from Sri Lanka whom we'll bribe for leeway and support and... Kingsley's private military. Britannia will have an increased number of guards as expected. Prince Schneizel will be attending including Princess Cornelia and Marrybell. This includes a small number of royal guards and knights."
"So we're assassinating them too?" A mercenary asked.
At that Miss X shook her head. "They aren't our priority target but you're free to attempt it if you get the chance."
"Sweet~"
"Might as well, we're running this as 'terrorists' anyway."
"The numbers aren't exact at the moment but we're expected to see a few dozen Knightmares from both loyal Militia and the Britannians. We'll steal the Gloucester right from under their nose as we seize their communications array and jam their radars." The woman from Peace Mark continued. "Kingsley will give us a bit of trouble but Peace Mark is willing to spare a couple of our technical specialists to work on his machines."
"What's wrong with them?"
"Paranoia. Kingsley has his machines running on incomplete operating systems. By our intel, Beta Ver 0.5, no Codename." Answered Miss X. "The man stated he has five machines to be put out for display purposes and they will not have any ammunition or weapons so we'll have to do a classic smash and grab. Plan A probably won't work as intended so we need to set up supply caches as you take them for a spin to secure an escape route."
"What about the actual knightmare that's going to be used?"
"Sadly we don't have any information on that. Kingsley's paranoia is real."
"Since Kingley has five, add the Gloucester and we have a total of six new machines. Even if Kingley's machines fail in defeating Britannia's new generation Knightmare it'll help any faction in their arms race with the empire."
"Nice." Sachez said to himself. "We're in."
0000
Breaking News! Riots and Civil Unrest in New Delhi spark concerns for the upcoming match between Kingsley and the World's leading Knightmare engineers. Chinese officials state the event will not be postponed and have put forward in moving the location to Sri Lanka. Prince Schnezial has agreed to the terms. Will Kingley agree with changing venues or will he back down?
"My Lord?" Jeremiah's voice broke the quiet of Julius' office. The Knight and his companion, Kewell watched their young lord study the newspaper on his desk.
"Something's wrong…" Julius muttered under his breath. He narrowed his eyes at the development, gritting his teeth as he stroked his chin.
Kewell thought to himself for a moment before responding, "What happened, My lord?"
It had taken a few minutes of waiting for Julius to think things through. Upon finishing he turned to his knights and asked, "Jeremiah, Kewell. It seems that I've lost the ability to micromanage too many things so far away. Can I poach you from the administration?"
"Of course!" Jeremiah answered without a second thought.
Beside him Kewell raised a critical point. "Was there a breach in security?"
Julius nodded, "We'll have to assume the worst. I'm unsure of the exact details however I do know many of my files, storage devices and physical materials have been gone missing for the past few weeks."
"Enemy competition? Or the work of terrorists or other nations?" Jeremiah cursed, "Damn those bastards!"
"I've looked over the material and I don't think they compromised my operations much. However I've realized I've started to increase my sphere of influence beyond my current stewardship." Their lord admitted with a scornful look out towards the window. "I've been so dogged on the bet and the prospects of getting my hands on the final pieces of my sister's cure that I'd ignored the other signs."
"Does that mean Lady Eirene will walk again!?"
"No, not yet. I've started research into this Geass phenomenon and it's given me new insights into the brain. I believe I have an option in fixing all her problems." Julius paused. "But I'm not sure! There are too many unknowns! Project ALICE can cause too many complications and… Time flows constantly, it doesn't care about the people who are struggling."
"My Lord?"
"If the king doesn't move, then his subjects won't follow." Julius uttered, turning to the knights in front of him. "I want the both of you to be under King's Field as soon as possible!"
Both knights quickly kneeled in quick acceptance. While some of their lord's plans were lost on them, they both knew the bigger picture and goal was clear as glass. They'd be read in when they had more time to spare.
"Kewell, you've handled yourself better with socialites and those of status. I hope to have you as my political representative and liaison, but not for long."
"Of course, My Lord!" The man chuckled, "Brown nosing with the den of vipers huh? I hope we don't get much of that."
"Jeremiah, I hope you don't mind helping me on cleaning the house?"
"No, my Lord," Jeremiah started, "I'll make sure every piece of filth and rat is removed from our ranks."
The knights couldn't stay long when they had duties for the Viceroy to perform, and so the two left Julius sitting in his office as the final rays of sunshine left the day behind. Julius breathed deeply as he leaned back on his chair, his eyes roaming over the view as he gazed in the general direction of Ashford Institute.
"The Tower. A representation of endurance and it's destruction. Your area of relative security starts wavering, the tower falls and its walls become too narrow." DS spoke in riddles as she walked closer, yet Julius paid her no mind. She leaned forward to rest her elbows on one of his armrests. "You know it's bait, a trap for something unexpected to occur."
"One doesn't need to consult a so-called collective unconscious with tarot cards to know the obvious." Julius rebuked, "I have very little options; I can only go and potentially wrap myself into games of which I have no desire to play. Schneizel can enjoy his battlefield all he wants. Or I refuse and most of my long term plans come with more obstacles than necessary."
"Does Julius Kingsley say that? Or does Lelouch Vi Britannia?" Responded the girl as she twisted herself to sit on the armrest.
He frowned, this one was a cat in human form and a gourmand no less. "Both, for I should make this turn of events into something that's beneficial."
"All men and women are naturally selfish. They label and categorize others into a series of us or them. Important or disposable. At times, the voice of one is worth a million and at others it's as worth equal to those around."
"They're merely human. No one is blameless, no one is at fault."
"Yes, Humanity. A curious existence." DS concluded, "Your work once revealed will change the world around you, The eyes of others will be glued onto your back."
"I suspected this would happen some day. I simply can't speak nonsense and leave it alone. I'd die by thousands of cuts if I do that."
"The ebb and flow of chaos and peace like the great depths of the ocean's waves. The world is simply destined for more chaos." DS leaned back as she watched out into the night. Her back pushed itself into Julius' shoulder without remorse.
"Lelouch?"
He grunted to find a better spot as he responded, "Yes?"
"Why do you think the moon shines so brightly?"
0000
Authors Notes:
Okay. This is a two parter. It's basically my finale that by the end of the next chapter it will be the start of R1 on the timeline. The canon has changed, and I think I'm going to officially announce this is on hiatus. I haven't been paying attention to this and I don't think I'm doing enough of a good job in writing the events that I want to unfold. I might continue this but I'm not sure when I believe I will. Just wanted to say this for anyone that honestly waited for the continuation of this.
Part 2 is currently being edited. I'll post it as soon as possible.
I apologize and thank you for sticking with this story.
Merry Post Christmas and an Early New Year.