Chapter Nine: Pureblood Hospitality
Kallen was kind of the new girl in the Student Council.
Lelouch and Rivalz had gone off to get Nina, who Kallen had hardly met. Meanwhile, Shirley and Milly were at the soup kitchen. Kallen was thus left handing out pamphlets, a job that many people not in the Student Council were doing. The Swim Club was operating on its own without Shirley.
For the first time in a long time, Kallen wanted to be part of a Britannian group. And she was shut out. Sure, it was perfectly reasonable; she hadn't known them nearly as long. But it hurt, in a way, and Kallen resolved not to make the same mistake twice.
But that wasn't an option right now.
So instead, Kallen finished up and headed for the Pureblood HQ. It turned out to be a huge building in the shadow of the governor's palace. Entering into a shiny white room, Kallen kept her meek appearance. Then she told herself what she had to become.
Kallen Stadtfeld would not pass if she were a meek girl. She had to become something else.
A nationalist. Kallen thought about the members of the Student Council and how she respected them. Then she imagined having that respect for Britannia. Of wanting to be a knightmare pilot for them instead of the resistance. Kallen Stadtfeld must admire Villetta Nu and think of her as a role model. She must be ashamed of her heritage, a deep, dark secret she wanted to compensate for.
"Excuse me, is this the Pureblood Faction HQ?" asked Kallen, trying to adopt her new persona. She ended up staying pretty meek, though.
"Yes, that's correct," said the woman. "Can I help you?"
"I'm Kallen Stadtfeld, can I talk to Villetta Nu?" asked Kallen.
"Kallen Stadtfeld?" asked the woman. "You're expected. She should be in her office now. Just head on up the stairs, and it's your third one to the left."
Kallen nodded meekly and reflected this was a habit that was harder to shake. Her persona as Kallen Stadtfeld was real, and it couldn't just be swapped out at the drop of a hat. She had to make her mask transition into the real thing.
Scaling up the stares, Kallen Stadtfeld hoped Villetta wouldn't be busy. Or worse, what if Ms. Nu had forgotten all about her? She didn't want that. Walking up the stairs, she came to the office door and saw before her a number of people her own age. All of them were boys, and they were clustered in the halls, talking.
"Anyway, so there I was, and the girl was putting up resistance, even though she really wanted. The elevens have a word for it, tsundere right," said one. "Anyway, so I tell her I'm the son of a Baron, and I'm about to give her some orders-"
They trailed off as they saw Kallen.
Kallen Kozuki would have flared up. But Kallen Stadtfeld was a doormat and a little scared of them. And as they eyed her up and down, Kallen felt frozen in place.
"Well, look, whose walked in?" said one.
"I'm here to apply to join the Purebloods," said Kallen, hoping she didn't have to break character her. "If you'll excuse me."
"Why don't you stick around with us, and we'll give you a grand tour?" said one.
"No, thank you," said Kallen, hurrying on.
To her surprise, the boys shrugged it off and didn't follow. It was almost disappointing. If they'd tried to do something horrible, it would be a welcome reminder. And being reminded of how horrible the Purebloods were. Instead, they seemed to be genuinely offering her a tour.
Coming to an office labeled 'Lady Nu', Kallen knocked.
"Yes, come in," said Villetta's voice on the other end.
Kallen stepped through the door and saw Villetta was sitting at a computer typing. One of her long, shapely legs was crooked over one knee. She smiled as she looked up. "I was hoping you'd accept my invitation, Kallen."
"I had to finish the rounds for my friends," said Stadtfeld, sitting down and crossing her legs. "They had me handing out pamphlets while they handled a group project."
"You seemed like you were a bit of an outlier," noted Villetta.
"Well, they've all been part of the Student Council for years, while I only just joined," noted Kallen. "And somebody has to do the work, especially with Nina just getting out of the hospital.
"Her wrist got hurt in an incident." Best not to mention Milner at all.
"Ah, I see," said Villetta, closing a window. "Well, why don't I show you around." And she stood up, Kallen followed suit. As Villetta brushed aside her silver ponytail, Kallen thought she was really beautiful.
Not something she should focus on.
Villetta led them out, and as they did, Kallen looked over to the teenagers from before. "What about those guys out there?"
"Newer members of the Purebloods, don't pay them any heed," said Villetta. "They have absolutely no idea what it is we really do here."
"And what's that?" asked Kallen.
"Well, the obvious for a start," said Villetta. "We run combat missions with the Britannian military. And we have numerous veterans on our payroll. But the Pureblood Branch in Area 11 is actually progressive."
"You were founded on the basis of the racial superiority of Britannians," noted Kallen.
"And what is a Britannian, Kallen? Is it an inhabitant of the Empire?" asked Villetta, turning to brush a strand of red hair away and cup her cheek.
"No, there are a lot of numbers," said Kallen, Stadftfeld liking the feeling.
"Is it a specific race?" asked Villetta.
"...Well, Britannian was founded from the Americas. It was the surviving royals after Napoleon took Britain," said Kallen. "But, I guess not. I mean, a lot of people arrived from Ireland who were declared Britannian citizens. There are people of French descent, English descent, Dutch, all of them became citizens."
"Exactly," said Villetta, taking the hand away. "You might as well say that all 'white people' are one race. As if all Russians, Englishmen, Dutch, French, and many more shared a common identity. But they don't." And she kept walking.
"Couldn't the same argument apply to the numbers?" asked Kallen. "Numbers are assigned by location. If Chinese immigrants bear a son here, he's an eleven. Even if no one in Japan would ever consider him Japanese.
"They don't have a common culture, but we lump them together under the same umbrella."
"What's your point?" asked Villetta.
"Wouldn't Britannia be able to go after its enemies more efficiently? I mean, if they knew who they were fighting?" said Kallen. "The Chinese will use different tactics from Russians or Italians.
"I feel like the number system is a weakness that could be exploited." That was it. Stadtfeld would have Kozuki's opinions for pro-Britannian reasons.
"Well, I'm not the person you should talk to about that," said Villetta. "How would you like to be tested in a knightmare?"
"Me?" asked Kallen, surprised and sounding flustered. "So quickly?"
"Obviously, we're not going to put you in a real knightmare," said Villetta. "I meant a simulation to see how you do."
"Oh right," said Kallen. "I've sort of practiced with those, and I'm pretty good."
Villetta laughed at that. "Everyone is 'pretty good' until they run into an expert. I recommend getting used to disappointment, or you won't make it anywhere here.
"Follow me."
They walked and went down an elevator for a few minutes. Eventually, they came to a hanger. It had a huge ceiling. A variety of knightmare frames were around, all of them polished and well maintained. Kallen noticed a large passageway and a train car on rails.
"What is the train car for?" asked Kallen.
"Most knightmare frames are transported by train," said Villetta. "It takes a lot less fuel. We ship the Southerlands wherever they need to on rails. The pilots then meet them en route."
"What if there aren't any trains?" asked Kallen.
"Then we used air transportation or went through the wilds," said Villetta. "Though we usually only do airdrops in small squads. It takes a huge amount of fuel."
And then Kewell approached, scowling. Kallen controlled her hate for him, remembering that her family was on terms. He waved off some of his men. "Villetta, what are you doing out here?"
"Lord Kewell, here I thought you'd be pleased to see me," said Villetta. "Certainly, Ms. Stadtfeld has told you?"
Kewell looked to Kallen, then Villleta quickly and seemed to be calculating. "Told me what?"
"This is Kallen Stadtfeld; she's looking to join the Purebloods," said Villetta. "I was hoping to run her through some knightmare tests."
"Kallen Stadtfeld?" asked Kewell, moving forward to offer a hand. "I believe you were too sick to attend the party."
"Right, well, I've undertaken some new treatments. So I should be fine," said Kallen, shifting beneath his gaze.
"What brings you down here?" asked Villetta.
"We've received reports that the elevens have gotten their hands on a lot of bibles," said Kewell. "There is concern that the spread of any religion might incite them to become dangerous, especially with the mystery Glasgow that keeps seizing our supplies.
"We're all going to be doing a lot of patrol duty soon." Then he looked to Kallen. "Is this ill girl really worth our time?"
"It's my time," said Villetta.
"Then, by all means, waste it," said Kewell before walking past.
Kallen looked to Villetta. "I've seen Lord Kewell before. Why does he dislike you?"
"Kewell is an old style of pureblood," said Villetta. "He objects to my presence. And more to me, having a position of prominence. Now come on, I'll find you an inactive knightmare."
It turned out that inactive knightmares were kept on hand regularly. Kallen was raised up into one by wire. As she looked around, she couldn't help but feel impressed. Someone had set this place up really well. But, getting into the cockpit, she looked at these slick, well-made controls. Kallen tried to control her excitement. This was such a cool setup.
"Alright, now, do you have a general idea of the layout?" asked Villetta from behind.
"Yeah, just give me a second to start things up..." said Kallen, looking for the key switch. It wasn't there, though. "Uh, where's the key switch."
"Lower down," said Villetta, leaning forward to point to it. In the process, her breasts were pressed against Kallen's back. Their cheeks were almost touching. "No to the side, the side key was phased out with the Southerland. I'm surprised you hadn't seen that in the simulations you did."
"Maybe I got an outdated one," said Kallen.
Activating the key switch, it still didn't start.
"Did you unlock the safeties?" asked Villetta.
"Oh, right," said Kallen. Were safeties a thing? She found them and turned them off. "Sorry, I haven't done this for a while."
"Believe me, you should be glad they exist," said Villetta. "Back when Glasgow's were the main knightmare frame, there were no safeties. A couple of people accidentally pressed the wrong button and drove into the sea. They ended up drowning."
Villetta backed off, and the cockpit shut.
"Why don't we start the simulation," said Villetta. "We'll start with a stationary target. Can you take these down?"
The cockpit showed an image of a target range. Kallen checked her machine, moved it around, and saw the targets. Speeding forward, she smashed one, kicked another, and broke the last in half.
"Done," said Kallen.
"...You were supposed to shoot it," said Villetta. "I mean, there's no rule against hand-to-hand combat or anything. But, try using a gun. The autotargeting system should help you."
The screen reset, and Kallen shrugged. Aiming with the gun proved a bit harder, but she managed to line the sights up and blow them up. Villetta tried moving targets next, and then Kallen was taught to do the same with slash harkens.
The wires threw forward a steel weapon that cleaved through them.
"Beginners luck," said Villetta. "I wouldn't get used to it.
"Want to try an obstacle course?"
"You know it," said Kallen, who was beginning to enjoy herself.
It was ridiculously easy, actually. It had been designed for newbies, and Kallen wasn't one. She rapidly shot past the meager obstacles at top speed. The sensation of driving down a city street in a knightmare was amazing without fear of being seen. At last, she finished it.
Villetta seemed impressed. "Alright, want to try something harder?"
"Definitely," said Kallen.
"Alright, I'm going to throw a lot of moving objects at you," said Villetta as the screen changed. "Your goal is to get to the designated coordinates in time.
"How're ten minutes."
"Give me five," said Kallen, who was feeling confident.
"Your funeral," said Villetta, but she was laughing.
Kallen was having fun despite herself.
One challenge after another was thrown at her in the knightmare, and Kallen was able to ace each one. Now and then, she'd fail a challenge, but she never made the same mistake twice. When she succeeded, she succeeded big. Villetta upped the ante on the training courses, and Kallen kept beating it anyway.
"You didn't even slow down," said Villetta. "And you've beaten several records.
"You are a natural. That simulator you used must not have been so bad after all. Care for something more challenging?"
"Why not? I can do this all day," said Kallen.
"Alright," said Villetta. "How about a battlefield simulation. Say, landing on the beaches of Area 11, before the invasion?"
Kallen opened her mouth to agree instantly before she blinked. Villetta wanted her to simulate the conquest of Japan. "What?"
"Something wrong?" asked Villetta.
"No, I just... I kind of thought Clovis wanted to downplay that," said Kallen quickly. "Y'know, liberating the enlightened nation and all that."
"We're not really big on political correctness," said Villetta. "It's a useful simulation for rookie pilots. Tends to put them in their place when they're fresh from acing the tests."
"Right, sounds like fun," said Kallen, who didn't want to deviate from Stadtfeld.
"Fun, huh?" asked Villetta. "Alright, here's the deal. You start the simulation on an air transport moving toward the enemy beach. You choose when you drop off. Just press the button when the time comes.
"Your objective is to route the Japanese force. Actually, this simulation is based on my knightmare data. You're seeing things from my position on the board.
"Starting... now."
Kallen now saw a vision of the conquest of Japan. She'd seen this beach once, from afar, watching it with her Mother. She'd been so confident the Japanese would triumph. At least until the Britannians mowed them down. The tanks had been destroyed, the defenses were blown out. And wave after wave of Britannian forces landed, taking Tokyo in a day.
Nothing could stand before them.
And now, she looked at the images from the opposite perspective. Kallen was watching as her knightmare neared the beach. Machine guns and artillery were firing, and tanks were gathering to stop them. Other knightmares were nearby.
It was something out of a knightmare.
"This is..." Kallen managed to say. "Very lifelike."
"Oh yeah, it was actually put together using footage," said Villetta. "All knightmares have recorded feed of everything they do while operational. So their performance can be judged."
"So, the Emperor is always watching," said Kallen as she neared the beach.
"In a manner of speaking," said Villetta.
Kallen's nerves started to fray, but she reminded herself it was just a simulation. Ace this, and she'd impress Villetta even more. She could use her influence to help the resistance a lot. Waiting, she saw herself go over the land and released.
Her knightmare fell, dropped down onto its feet. Then the sand gave way as she tried to speed forward, and she sank into the mud. A moment later, a tank turned toward her and fired. Then the screen went blank.
'Mission failed.' Said red letters.
"What the..." Kallen blinked.
"And you are stalled. Mission over," said Villetta, opening the cockpit. "The real thing's not so easy, is it?"
"I don't get it," said Kallen standing up and hitting her head. "Ow. What did I do wrong?"
"You landed in the shallows of the sea instead of on the beach," said Villetta. "The Glasgow did badly in wet sand because of its sheer weight. Several of our knightmares suffered that exact fate.
"The Japanese tanks made mincemeat of them."
Kallen stepped out of the cockpit and began to scale down the wire with Villetta. Their proximity was something she tried to ignore. "I thought tanks were completely ineffective against knightmares?"
Villetta smiled. "Knightmares are lighter and much more maneuverable than tanks. But they can still be taken down by anti-armor weaponry. And if you want to get really technical, tanks actually have a much heavier attack.
"Any standard infantry knightmare would be shredded by one, provided they landed a hit.
"Why don't we call your first test a success."
"But the tanks," said Kallen. "The Japanese military had huge numbers of tanks. We made complete mincemeat out of them. How is it possible that it was such a walkover?"
"Britannians are just better. We are the master race," said Villetta as they stepped off.
"Okay, but I meant, what were we innately superior to them at that?" asked Kallen.
"It's a good question," said Villetta. "The short answer is that the Japanese had no military allies. For decades they'd stuck to their splendid isolation. They'd used Sakuradite to play one side against another. And since they had the only major supply, all they had to do was cut it off.
"Eventually, they conducted some military operations against China, who were even weaker.
"The rape of Nangking and other atrocities ruined their reputation. It helped that at the time, we weren't invading anyone. So no one cared when Britannia wiped them off the map."
The matter-of-fact way Villetta was dismissing it hurt. Could Japan have really been that bad? No way, Villetta was probably just reciting propaganda. "Right, well, I know that it ruined their reputation, and I certainly wouldn't have helped them. But they must have realized they could be invaded?"
"Who knows?" asked Villetta. "All I know is that the Japanese resistance was tepid. When we arrived on the beach, they attacked us carelessly, and we easily outflanked them. After we destroyed their front ranks, Lord Jeremiah led us through their lines. We cut off their supply lines and crushed all resistance.
"By that time, we'd already received immense reinforcements. With the door wedged open, it was our battle to lose, and we didn't lose it. The Japanese, meanwhile, crumbled and fell into disarray."
This didn't seem to add up. Kallen decided to do some research when she got home. "What about the Miracle of Itsukushima?"
"The what?" asked Villetta.
How did she not know? It was a major victory. "Kyoshiro Tohdoh's major victory," said Kallen. "The one that got him the title 'Tohdoh of Miracles."
"Oh, that. Insignificant," Villetta. "A minor holding action that failed to achieve anything of note. The elevens hold it up as a miracle because they're desperate to get any kind of victory.
"They can't admit to their own, inherent, inferiority. So they scrape the bottom of the barrel for some example where they beat us."
Kallen didn't flare up, and it was a lot easier than it should have been. She was Kallen Stadtfeld right now. "What exactly happened?"
"I read some firsthand accounts of that battle," said Villetta. "Though it was a while ago.
"Kyroshiro Tohdoh was supposed to guard that area. He established a defensive position, dug his tanks and weapons in, and held out. The commander in that area was an idiot and launched a frontal assault without planning.
"The knightmares got bogged down in the oceans. And the troops coming behind them got shot to pieces. After they failed to achieve a beachhead, the winds kicked up, and the ships couldn't do any operations. About that time, Lord Jeremiah cut off Tohdoh's supply lines.
"So he withdrew in good order.
"We tried to intercept him, but his rearguard repulsed us. And we'd advanced so quickly the infantry couldn't keep up. The best of the Japanese fought the worst of Britannia. The result was a brief stalemate, followed by Britannian victory."
"So why do the elevens call him 'Tohdoh of Miracles?' That can't be the only reason," said Kallen. That Villetta had such a low opinion of Japan hurt, and she wanted her to acknowledge them. It was irrational, of course, but too late.
"Well, he managed to reorganize the Japanese Army into the JLF. We'll set up a series of mountain bases," said Villetta. "He also has contacts with Kyoto who are supplying his operations. Though that might have been Katase."
Kallen stared. "Wait, you know that Kyoto is supplying the JLF with weapons?!"
"Of course we know," said Villeta. "Everybody knows. You knew. It's an open secret."
"Then why haven't we had them tried and shot?!" said Kallen incredulously. Had she seriously suggested executing people who were on her side?
"You'd have to ask Prince Clovis or Bartley," said Villetta. "It has to do with politics and economics. Also, having Kyoto assists Clovis in keeping the elevens in line. It provides employment opportunities for Honorary Britannians. It's a kind of safety valve for unrest, as well as...
"Nevermind, it's complicated. Not our choice; we just follow orders.
"Is something wrong? You seem upset?"
Kallen shook her head. It didn't seem like Villetta knew why Clovis tolerated Kyoto. Kallen would have to learn. "It's nothing.
"I think I'm sure I want to join now. What kind of hours are we talking about?"
"Well, for a start," said Villetta. "We have to do a written exam. And after that a physical and-"
This was going to take a while.
Kallen hoped she could get back in time for the Student Council meeting. The soup kitchen reopened today.