Author's Note: Just a little interlude to keep you tiding over for a couple of weeks…enjoy.
Look at my profile for my writing schedule. BEFORE you ask me in a review or a PM!
Disclaimer: Code Geass isn't mine.
Beta'd by BigCC
"Kallen." - Speech
'Lelouch.' – Thoughts/mental communication
"{Die.}" - Geass Command
"Halt!" - Loudspeaker
"Roger." - Radio/Walkie-talkie
Interlude: Galeschin's Pilot
Two Days Before the Ashford Assassination
Arena Hanger, Area 11 Administration Building
"I'll admit, it's an impressive-looking machine when you get up close." Cornelia mused absently, looking up at the sea-green Knightmare as the observing group approached. While it lacked the sheer, intimidating bulk of either the Sutherland or Gloucester, the sleek lines and sharp curves of the machine still managed to cut an intimidating figure, even when powered off.
"Agreed, your Highness. It's a bit of a deviation from the standard aesthetic of modern Knightmares, but I think that only adds to its appeal in a certain way." Guilford agreed with a slight nod, before looking curiously at Duke Ashford. "Though I am curious about the choice of colour, it's not one I've seen associated with any Britannian Knightmare development before."
Lord Ashford looked up from where he chatting absently with Euphie as their group moved toward the resting form of his company's latest development. Jeremiah had already left the group after the demonstration had ended, citing his own mission that he needed to return to. Cornelia, knowing the man's dedication to finding her lost siblings, had easily dismissed him while the remainder of the group had moved to get a closer look at the Prototype Frame, as well as meet its mysterious pilot.
"Sea-green was my dear wife Marie's favourite colour, Sir Guilford." Reuben offered absently, a small, fond smile appearing on his lips as he recalled more pleasant memories. "And Galeschin was her favourite character from Le Morte d'Arthur, minor character though he was. The name is derived from Galvariun, a name in Gwallt Euryn, a Welsh Arthurian text, which means 'golden haired'. She would always tell me that she imagined me as the knight in question. Though as Galeschin got rescued by Lancelot on no less than two occasions, I honestly could never tell if she was teasing me or not."
"I think she was, Lord Ashford, though I'm sure it was all in good fun." Euphie offered with a smile towards the old man. It was obvious to her that the old man had dearly loved his deceased wife and still missed her.
"So, are you going to introduce us to this mysterious pilot of yours, Reuben?" the Viceroy asked, trying to draw the man out of his memories. The death of Marie Ashford had been a tragedy, made only greater by the fact she never lived to meet her granddaughter.
Besides, she wanted to meet the pilot who had managed to copy her mentor's style so exactly.
"Ah, yes. Of course." the older man nodded, coming back to the present and addressed the Galeschin and its pilot. "Out you come now."
The cockpit opened up and a seat was pushed out, swiftly followed by a cable. Down the now-extended cable, wearing a white pilot suit emblazoned with the fleur-de-lis symbol of the Ashford Family in black, and carrying a removable data drive in one hand, was a grinning Milly Ashford.
"Hi everyone! Enjoy the show?" the Ashford Heiress called cheekily, smirking as she saw the gobsmacked expression of her audience, the only exception being her grandfather, who shook his head indulgently at his grandchild's shenanigans.
"M-Milly? You were the one piloting the Galeschin?" Euphie asked incredulously.
"Hmmm…yup." the girl replied nonchalantly, holding up the drive in her hand. "Thanks to this little beauty."
"And that is?" Cornelia asked, curiously.
"That, my dear Princess, is the Knightmare And Pilot Tactical Emulation and Learning System, or KAPTELS for short." Reuben said proudly. "It was designed to be used as a training tool to help in instructing newer Knightmare Pilots in already established styles of Knightmare Combat. Using a sufficient amount of combat data from numerous engagements, it can train and guide the movements of the pilot of whatever Knightmare they are piloting to closely match the data. In this case, Milly was using the combat data of Lady Marianne herself. Sadly, the device isn't yet ready for its intended use, since, in order to use it effectively, a pilot needs at least a 75% synchronization rate with both the Knightmare they're piloting and with the combat data they're using. Milly is right on the cut-off point with the Galeschin, at 75.34% Synchronization; just enough to make it move and fight well, but nothing too spectacular, while her ratio with Lady Marianne's combat data is at about 77%."
"Incredible." the purplette shook her head in amazement. "With the sync levels of that level, she was able to fight that well. That is a truly impressive device you have there, Reuben."
"Indeed. I have not seen Coup de Vitesse performed that well aside from in footage of Lady Marianne's battles in the Ganymede." Guilford agreed.
"My thanks, Sir Guilford." Milly smiled. "Truthfully, I'm still not as good with a Knightmare as I'd like, particularly not one like this big bucket of bolts. I personally prefer long and mid-ranged combat when it comes to combat load-outs, rather than the close-range fighting the Galeschin specializes in.
"Hm, I believe that's young David's speciality as well?" Cornelia asked Guilford.
"Yes, princess. David specializes in using sniper rifles and other long-range weapons in his Gloucester." the Knight replied, the pair referring to David T. Darlton, one of Andreas Darlton's adopted sons, a former Honorary Britannian from Area 7.
"Hmm, yes. Sad to say, but most of the current Knightmare designs are geared almost explicitly toward urban combat and close-range firefights. Most need quite a bit of tweaking to really suit a specialized sniper." Reuben put in thoughtfully. "Hopefully once our Knightmare Development and Manufacturing branches are off the ground, Ashford Industries will be able to offer up some better alternatives. I'm personally interested in offering up an alternative to the upcoming 5th Generation Portman II Submersible Knightmare Frame. While I'm certain that it'll be an improvement on its predecessor in some way, I'd personally prefer our naval forces not rely on something that is little more than a mobile torpedo launcher."
"Ha!" Cornelia let out a sharp, sarcastic bark of laughter at that. "The Portman is an outdated piece of scrap that should have been replaced when we discarded the Glasgow in favour of the Sutherland. I've seen the schematics that have been submitted for the pre-production models of the Portman II and you're right, they're little more than a mobile torpedo platform. If you can give my naval forces a better alternative, then you'll find the Crown an eager and happy customer as long as I'm in command."
"I'm sorry, but why wasn't the Portman upgraded and replaced when we advanced to the Sutherlands?" Euphie asked curiously. Cornelia had little to do with the naval forces, mostly concentrating on directly overseeing the land forces and leaving the navy to a set of trusted, seasoned Admirals.
"A rather wretched mix of politics, military culture, and industrial contracting I am afraid, Your Highness." Guilford explained, rolling his eyes in exasperation at the situation. "It's the the first and third points in this case, which are closely linked. When the Portman was first rolled out, the Empire contracted Waterflower Heavy Industries, run by the Bloom Family on the Homeland's west coast, to handle production of the Portman Knightmare Frames for the navy. The Blooms had offered an excellent price in exchange for the contract lasting for either ten years or until the Portman had been declared obsolete. Thanks to the fact that almost no other nation in the world has been able to face Britannia on open water since the Knightmare was developed, the Portman, despite being only a Fourth Generation Frame, is still, technically, not obsolete."
"I'm…honestly surprised Father would permit this kind of thing to weaken Britannia for so long." Euphie offered, blinking in surprise.
"Believe me, should His Majesty have ever considered the Portman to be holding back Britannia's advancement, he would have personally declared them obsolete by royal decree and torn apart the contract then and there." Cornelia snorted out. "But, as Guilford said, no country has since challenged our naval superiority, so Father has been content to let sleeping dogs lie rather for the time being. Besides, with the near-complete phasing out of all 4th Gen machines in the military, the Portman's days are already numbered; hence why the Blooms have finally started work on a successor model. I doubt the Portman will be in use for more than a year more before they're replaced by whichever new model catches the Crown's attention."
"A small sub-clause in the contract granted the Bloom Family and Waterflower Heavy Industries the right to produce any direct successor machine if the Portman was replaced before the end of the contract came, so they have exclusive rights to developing the Portman II." Guilford shook his head. "When the contract was signed, it wasn't expected that the Fourth Generation of Knightmares would become obsolescent so quickly; the time between the First, Second and Third Generations were substantial, lasting across over thirty years between them. Then the EU and Chinese Federation started building Panzer Hummels and Gun-Ru en-masse, requiring that we advance quickly, which produced the Sutherland only two years after the Fourth Generation was created."
"Using the work that the Ashford Family put in since the Second Generation." Milly added, slightly bitter about the fall of her family from grace.
"Very true, the Ashford Family was both integral and vital to the development of Knightmares." Cornelia acknowledged. "Without the efforts of your family, the Third Generation would have taken decades longer to develop. For that, you should never have been exiled. Reuben, remind me how close you are to making Limited and Mass production version of the Galeschin?"
"The Limited Production version, which is tentatively named the Budick, is approximately half a year to eight months away from being complete." Reuben stated confidently. "The Mass Production version, codenamed the Nentres, will be another six to ten months after that if all goes well."
"Hm. Then once the Budick is completed, I will place a large order with you for my Battalion, so that Imperial favour falls on your family once more." the Chief General of the Imperial Army stated. "That should accelerate your eventual return to the nobility by a fair amount."
"Thank you, Viceroy." Reuben bowed to her. "I promise you, the Ashford Family shall not disappoint you."
"I know that you won't." the purplette replied with a nod. "Now, I believe lunch is in order, and I want your opinions on how well the Galeschin handles, Millicent; if Lord Asplund proves to be too much of a perfectionist, I may be piloting a derivative of it rather than the Lancelot in the future…"
That made Milly crack a slightly evil smile. "Oh, that would just make him fume."
"Why do you think I suggested it?" Cornelia snorted. "The man's a genius, there is no doubt about that, but I'm afraid that his ego has gotten rather overinflated as of late. I believe it needs a good popping or two, and I'll gladly be the one to remind him he's not the only inventor in the world. It's well past time that man realizes he's nowhere near indispensable."
As the group of high-ranked people left the area, Reuben smiled to himself as he let Euphemia and Milly chat. Everything was going according to plan. Lelouch had successfully anticipated quite a bit of the happenings today; now all he needed to do was worry about Melisande's reaction…