The Shattered Mosaic

by Juubi-K

A single choice can change the course of history. So Zero discovers, when Princess Euphemia is assassinated during the opening ceremony of the Special Autonomous Region. Now his plans are in chaos, and the world will take a new and unexpected course. The mosaic is shattered, and he must somehow reassemble it.

9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

The petty man is eager to make boasts, yet desires that others should believe in him. He enthusiastically engages in deception, yet wants others to have affection for him. He conducts himself like an animal, yet wants others to think well of him.

Xun Kuang

Special Autonomous Region, Area 11, October 2017

Kallen shivered.

The entrance lobby to the hospital was quiet and peaceful; remarkably so, compared to what she had seen on the way in. There had been ambulances racing in and out, along with vans, trucks, cars, many with red or green crosses hastily painted on their sides and roofs. All of them heading in and out of the hospital's four casualty entrances; dropping off their human cargo, before hurrying away to bring yet more.

This, of course, was the visitor entrance. And having been designed and built by Britannians, it was suitably grandiose. The walls were a sterile white, tinged with jade. There were even reflecting pools lining the path to the doorway; which were somehow still working in spite of everything.

But it was as she stepped inside, and saw the wall directly opposite the main door, that she finally saw a reminder of the world outside.

On it was a great crest, a Rod of Asclepius in green, flanked by paulownia flowers; the chosen symbol of the SAR medical service. Over it was a hastily-altered sign, in Japanese and English.

PRINCESS EUPHEMIA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL

The sight of it was enough to make her sigh. Euphemia had hardly been dead three, or was it four days, and already she was being memorialized. Kallen supposed she shouldn't be surprised, considering everything that had happened. But a part of her still found it hard to take. In life she had become a symbol of hope, of the chance of a future. In death she was becoming a symbol of love, of loss, of bittersweet anguish.

She shook her head. No time to dwell on it. She didn't have long, certainly not half as long as she would have liked. Zero would wait up for her, she knew, but she had no intention of keeping him waiting; not with what was coming.

She looked around. There were two long information desks, set to either side of the entrance hall, along with a selection of self-service screens, none of which appeared to be working. Only one of the desks was manned.

"Can I help you?" the young woman, a girl really, asked politely as Kallen stepped up.

"I am Captain Kozuki," Kallen introduced herself. "I'm here to see Kaname Ougi, of the Black Knights."

"One moment please."

The girl set to work at her computer; with the slow, hesitant typing of someone still not quite used to what she was doing. She looked very young and very tired, and though she wore a nurse's smock and cap, there was no nametag.

A volunteer, most likely. Just another person who had stepped forward, desperate to do something, anything to help. A well-meaning volunteer, being slowly worn down.

"Yes, Kaname Ougi," she said. "Room 432, on the fourth floor, Sumire wing, on the left."

She gestured towards a wide corridor leading away to the left. On the lintel overhead, clearly visible, were signs indicating the Sumire, Sakura, and Ume wings.

And in both English and Japanese too. Had that been Euphemia's idea, naming the wings like that?

"Thank you."

She set off on her way, heading down the corridor, following the signs until she reached the Sumire wing.

Then, at last, the façade of order disappeared.

The walls of the main corridor were lined with the wounded, sitting propped against the wall or lying flat on the floor. Almost all were wrapped in bandages, and all looked drained, or sickly. Some had intravenous drips on improvised stands, and some had limbs missing.

One or two glanced up at her as they passed, but beyond that there was no reaction. It was all so quiet, all so calm; almost obscenely so.

Kallen could not stop herself from glancing into the wards as she passed. They were all packed too, and those on the beds looked even worse-off than those outside. All of them were festooned with tubes or hooked up to devices, or both. Some were completely covered in bandages, and more than a few were missing legs or arms.

When there was only one functioning hospital in the entire prefecture, you had to be pretty bad-off to get a bed.

There were no children, at least. She could see only men among the patients, and many of them wore uniforms or fatigues of some kind or another. Any children would have gone to the Princess Victoria Foundation hospital next door.

A good thing. She wasn't sure she could have coped with a sight like that, not in the state she was in.

Eventually she reached the private rooms, and began counting her way along the corridor.

Room 432. Floor 4, Room 32. All perfectly logical, really.

"I'm coming in," she called out, her voice strangely hoarse, as the door slid open.

The room was small and sparsely-furnished, dominated by a large hospital bed. On it lay Kaname Ougi, seemingly asleep.

Kallen watched him, a lump rising in her throat, as the door slid shut behind him. He was clearly alive, but he was on a drip, and his face looked pale and drawn.

Then suddenly he blinked, and his eyes settled on her.

"Kallen?" he wheezed, and Kallen's heart leapt as his face lit up. "It's…it's so good to see you."

"It's good to see you too," replied Kallen, tears welling in her eyes. "Kaname-san…I was afraid you might…"

Kaname smiled a weary, indulgent smile. Kallen wished she could have brought some flowers, but there were none to be had anywhere.

"Well, I'm not dead yet as you can see," Kaname mused. "They got the bullet out, and the doctor said I'll be fine in another week or so. Can't say I'll mind getting out of this place."

"Ougi, what happened?" Kallen took the chair next to his bed. "I kept hearing something about a woman; that they found her in the Ashford academy grounds."

She stared at Kanamei, desperate for an answer. But Ougi could not meet her gaze. He seemed to shrink, somehow. And there was a terrible pain in his eyes.

"Do you…do you remember that night, when I asked you how to take a woman's clothes off?"

Kallen was confused, and then she remembered.

"You don't mean…"

"Her real name was Villetta Nu," Kaname went on, looking down at his feet. "A Britannian officer. At Yokosuka, I found her on the rocks on the waterfront. She was wounded and dying, and I couldn't just leave her there. I took her back to my apartment and treated her wound. She recovered, but she lost her memory."

Kallen was amazed. When he had made that strange call, asking her how to take a woman's clothes off, she had thought it was some kind of joke. Certainly it had been out of character for Kaname Ougi, whom she'd known since she was about five years old.

"I called her Chigusa," he went on, sounding confused. "I guessed she was a soldier, from the callus on her thumb. But she had no iD, and she was in civilian clothes. I didn't know what to do with her, and…well…"

He trailed off. Kallen felt her own thumbs with her fingers, and there indeed was that callus; the stigma of a devicer, of one who spent countless hours at the controls of a knightmare frame.

"She was so…sweet, and so, well, ladylike. She started cooking for me, and cleaning up my apartment. I didn't know what to say, or do about it. When I went to the Ashford academy festival, she came along, and she said she didn't mind being seen with me."

"I saw her," Kallen spoke up, remembering. "She had dark skin, and teal hair?"

Kaname nodded.

"I thought that, with the special zone and everything, we could be together," he went on. "I know it's crazy, and what I did feels so wrong…but I honestly didn't know what else to do. i…I'm no good at stuff like this, I never have been. i…never meant her any harm."

Kallen's heart ached. Plenty of people would see him as a traitor, or at least a fool, or maybe even a pervert. But Kallen knew that none of those labels were true.

Well, maybe he was a fool. He certainly wasn't a traitor, and he was the least perverted man she had ever known, with the possible exception of Lelouch or Suzaku. But he had always been awkward somehow, lacking in some indefinable quality that let other people sail through life like nothing could ever go wrong. He had never been any good with girls when he was young, before the war. Her child-self had even teased him about it.

"You need to be cooler, big brother Kaname!"

Yes, he had been Kaname-nii back then. Her big brother Naoto's best and possibly only friend. Her mother had always treated him like her own son, and to her child-self, categorising him as her second big brother had only seemed logical.

It pained her to see him like this. Even when Naoto hadn't come back from that mission, he hadn't been like this. She had never seen him so…ashamed.

"Anyway, she turned up at Ashford academy, while I was seeing to your friend, Nina Einstein. The girl was building a radcon bomb."

Kallen's heart clenched again, and not just for Nina.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. She had some stuff from a hospital, the stuff they use in x-ray machines and the like. No idea where she got it from. Didn't they teach you kids about those things? About the Russo-European war?"

They had, but not much. Radiation contaminator weapons had indeed been used in that war, along with vortex bombs, poison gas, and countless other horrors she didn't care to think about. As far as school was concerned, it was all proof of Britannia's moral superiority over the corrupt and degenerate societies willing to build such things. Kallen had not bothered to say just what she thought of that.

But Nina? Had Nina really been that far gone? Had she really been willing to condemn half the settlement, including her friends and classmates, to an agonising death?

Had she loved Euphemia that much?

"I don't know what she was thinking," she admitted sadly. "She must've snapped."

"Next thing I know, she's there," Kaname went on. "And she was herself again. She…she hated me. Really hated me."

He fell silent. And the shame was still there.

"It wasn't your fault," insisted Kallen. "You never did anything wrong. I know you didn't."

"Thank you, Kallen."

They sat in awkward silence. This wasn't how Kallen had wanted it to go. She could only hope he felt a little better for getting it all off his chest. And it seemed like he might, at that.

"I keep hearing things, from the soldiers outside," he said suddenly. "What's been happening with the war? How's it going?"

"Oh, well, we're winning, I think," Kallen replied, forcing a smile. "The Chinese Federation bombarded the Britannian bases, and landed troops on Kyushu and Hokkaido. We've pretty much got the Britannians bottled up in Kansai, and loads of our guys are heading down there all the time."

"Kansai…" Kaname looked pensive. "Yeah, Zero reckoned that might happen. How's he holding up?"

Kallen barely stopped herself from blushing. A part of her wanted to tell him about Lelouch, and what had happened on Kaminejima, but there was no way she could do that.

"He's been working hard," she said. "It seems like we've been everywhere, running around all over the place. Speeches, meetings, putting down holdouts, that kind of thing."

"Keep an eye on him," Kaname said, in a warning tone. "He's the micromanaging kind, and he'll wear himself out if he keeps it going for too long."

There had been a time when such words would have worried Kallen, or at least unsettled her. To some extent they still did, but not because she didn't want to believe that Zero was human, with human vulnerabilities. She knew the truth of that, just as she didn't know how much sleep Lelouch had gotten over the past days. He claimed that he had slept, but she hadn't seen him all the time. What was to say he wasn't sitting up all night, pouring over the reports, cooking up some desperate plan to save an increasingly desperate situation.

A situation of which Kaname apparently knew nothing.

"As for the war, well, we're winning, I think," she said, with more confidence than she felt. "We've pushed the Britannians back to Nagoya and Echizen, or thereabouts. The Popular Front guys have made it as far as the Yura River. We've got the Britannians boxed into Kansai."

"Those guys?" Kaname looked uncertain. "So, the Chinese really are helping us?"

"Well…kinda…" Kallen's already forced smile turned into an awkward grimace. "They bombed all those bases, and landed troops on Hokkaido and Kyushu. And we've got a new guy, Li Xingke, helping us out. But then they turned around and said they're working with the Britannians to restore order or something."

"So…they're not helping us?"

"Well, they're not actually attacking us." Kallen sighed. "Look, I don't get it either, and I know Zero's worried about it. Kyoto's in on it too, well, the NAC says it is. Kyoto says they're still with us, but the NAC says they're still fighting for the Britannians."

"That's to be expected, Kaname replied. "Kyoto are hedging their bets. It's what they've always done. They're helping us, but they want to make it look like they're actually loyal to Britannia, just in case it all goes wrong."

"But why?" Kallen was incredulous. "Why would Britannia forgive them after all this?"

"Self-delusion, really," mused Kaname, his tone grim. "They tell themselves that Britannia will forgive them so long as they can save face, because they have to believe that they're indispensable; that Britannia can't run Japan without them. The one can't be true without the other, and if neither of them are true, then they have nothing. Nothing that Britannia can't take away, anyway. And that's too much for them to take."

Kallen did not reply. His words made sense, as they always did, but they worried her for all that. She had all but grown up with the idea that the Kyoto Houses were the shadow government, the real rulers of Japan, who always got their way no matter what happened. The idea that they might be delusional, even fallible, actually frightened her.

"Naoto would probably be happy about that," she mused, desperate for something to say. "He never liked those Kyoto guys, the old order."

"You're right, he didn't." Kaname smiled, as if at a fond memory. "We waited so long for this, for the day the old farts finally got thrown down. Sometimes I think some people were glad of the Britannians, if only for that."

Kallen didn't care for that notion, not one little bit. She didn't want to believe that people, her people, could have been that desperate. To be so angry, so full of despair, that they would dance amid the ashes of their own country, just to see people they hated ruined, or made to suffer.

And what of those who saw them dance? What of those who had lost everything, and saw others with smiles on their faces?

"Kallen?" Kaname looked worried. "Kallen, what's wrong?"

Kallen blinked, then realised there was a tear running down her cheek.

"Ougi…I…" She trailed off and sniffed, cuffing at her cheek. "I just…"

"What happened?"

Kallen saw the look in his eyes. She didn't want to tell him. How could she tell him? Surely that was the last thing he needed while he was sick in bed.

But how could she not tell him? When there were so many other things she could never, ever tell him?

"Kaname-nii…" The word slipped out, before she could stop it. She sniffed again, as her heart clenched at the memory.

She cleared her throat, trying to master herself. The look in his eyes made her want to cry almost as much as what she had seen. It was almost like seeing Naoto again.

"After Tokyo settlement fell…things started happening." Her felt like it was trying to close up, to trap the words inside. "People…people went crazy. It was like…like they were on drugs or something. They went…totally nuts."

She paused, glancing at Kaname. Still that look.

"It wasn't just partying," she went on. "They started…they started attacking people. Not just Britannians, but our people too. Their own people. They started…killing."

The tears came again, as the visions rose to assail her.

"We went to Minobu, to get mom out of the hospital," she went on, forcing out the words. "When we got there, the place was in chaos. Everything was wrecked, and there were people charging around blowing things up and setting them on fire, and killing anybody who stood up to them."

She gulped, forcing down the lump in her throat. No going back now.

"We got mom and some of the patients out okay…but there was…there were people in there, going after the patients. I had to shoot one…and Benio-chan shot another one."

"Benio," Kaname mused. "Was that…that girl with the twin-tails?"

"Yes, her." Kallen almost sobbed as she remembered the look on Benio's face, the eyes wide with terror, and bright with shame, the gun clutched in shaking hands.

"Mom's fine," she went on, trying to keep things positive. "And Benio-chan's with her, in my quarters over in the HQ. They're getting along really well."

That much was true. Her mother and Benio had been living in her quarters at the Black Knights HQ; in the town's middle school building. They had taken a real shine to one-another, and she and they had all gotten along quite happily.

Except when Benio had those nightmares. The ones that had her thrashing and screaming, crying for her dead parents, or pleading that she didn't mean it or didn't want to kill. There had been nothing to do but hold her, to try and calm her down. Her mother had been there too, rubbing Benio's back, whispering kind words in her halting, damaged voice, all the while smiling that old, familiar smile.

Kallen was afraid she would be annoyed with Benio for causing such trouble, or jealous of all the affection her mother lavished on her. But she wasn't, not at all. And that surprised her more than a little. It all just felt…right somehow. Almost as if they were…a family.

"I'm glad, Kallen," Kaname said, smiling gently. "I really am."

That was worse. That gentle, sad smile. She couldn't bear it. She couldn't…

"Why?" She let out a sob, and the tears came again. "Why did they do it? How could they do it?"

"Kallen…"

"I believed in them! I believed we were better than that!" She covered her eyes, but the tears kept on flowing. "I didn't used to like Honourary Britannians either! But…but they didn't deserve that!"

She lowered her hand, looking at Kaname through tear-blurred eyes. The smile was gone, replaced with a look of pain, like a father with a child he didn't know how to comfort.

"I was afraid that would happen," he said. "So was Naoto. I talked about it with Zero and Kirihara-sama a bit, but we couldn't think of a way to stop it, at least not completely."

"But why?" The question came out as an anguished cry. "How could they do it? To their own people? Our people? We're supposed to be a…!"

She trailed off, as she realised she didn't know what the right word was. A people? A nation? A family even? Was that what they were supposed to be?

"They're just people, Kallen," Kaname said, wearily. "People who lost everything, and spent seven years scratching a living in the rubble of their own country, and being killed like rats when the Britannians wanted more land. All the while, they saw people like themselves becoming Honourary Britannians, and having food to eat and roofs over their heads, and schools for their kids to go to."

"But they were just trying to survive!" wailed Kallen, remembering that young man selling hot-dogs in Tokyo settlement, who endured kickings from bored Britannian youths, and spent his nights in refrain-fuelled fantasies, remembering the life he had once known.

"I know, Kallen." Kaname looked so very tired. "But that's not how the people out in the ruins see it. They've suffered, and they feel betrayed. And those feelings have been building up and building up for all these years. I guess what happened to Euphemia was the final straw."

Kallen couldn't think of anything to say. A part of her knew he was right, that it really was as simple as that. Subject people to seven years of misery, and at least some of them were bound to go bad. Or at least, all that pent-up rage and grief and shame would have to get out somehow.

"Euphemia…" she mused. "I thought she was just some doll princess, with no power and no clue. But she really did it. She really tried…and she died for it. They…they loved her."

"She gave them hope," said Kaname, with a sigh. "She made them believe that things didn't have to be this way. That there was a way out that didn't involve killing people. She made them believe that she cared, and I think she really did. To have all that and lose it…it's enough to drive anyone insane."

They sat in silence for a while, neither knowing what to say.

"We're heading down to Nagoya today," Kallen said eventually. "Zero wants to end this soon. If we can break through there, then it'll all be over."

"I'll be glad of that, Kallen."

"I'm…I'm really glad you're alive, Kaname…" Kallen went on, her smile coming back as tears pricked at her eyes once again. "I'm really glad. I thought, for a while…"

"Thank you, Kallen." Kaname smiled. "I want to live through this. I want to see the new day, and the peace."

"I want that too."

(X)

Echizen, Fukui Prefecture

The map table was working, at last.

Major General Kyoshiroh Tohdoh, commander of the 1st Corps of the Free Japan Army, glared down at the map table, and the image currently on it. It showed Tsuruga Settlement, and the land immediately around it; right down to Lake Biwa.

Tsuruga Settlement, that had once been the port city of Tsuruga. The city that sat right on the narrow point between the coast and Lake Biwa, and through which the coast roads and railway lines ran. Little wonder that the Britannians had turned it into a settlement, and based a substantial garrison there. It effectively blocked the direct route from Fukui or Gifu through to Kyoto.

And there was no other route. He could not swing south and go via Nagahama; not with Nagoya settlement still holding out. Besides, Zero's instructions were clear, as was his plan. By taking Tsuruga, he could push west and link up with the Popular Front forces, or else swing south and take Kyoto. Zero had left that choice in his hands.

Except it wasn't in his hands. And Zero had known that it wasn't. If he went west to help the PF forces, the Britannian forces there would collapse for sure. There was a better than average chance that a PF column would reach Kyoto first.

He clenched his fist. He didn't want it to be important. He didn't want politics to get in the way of military matters; not when so much was at stake. But there was nothing he could do about it. Kyoto was Kyoto, and with Tokyo in ruins it was the nation's capital once again. Whomsoever entered first, whomsoever put his banners there, would be the true liberator of Japan; regardless of the practicalities. As in the old times, to take Kyoto was to take Japan. And the Six Houses of Kyoto did not want a horde of Chinese-backed leftists rolling through their city.

That meant Tsuruga, and then Obama, then south to Kyoto. And the Popular Front would fight its own battles.

"Major General."

He looked up. It was Nagisa Chiba, the only female member of his reassembled Shisei-ken. She stood to attention, right hand at her brow in the military salute. It was strangely good to see it, as it was good to see her again. Even in that repaired Britannian MCV, he felt like he was in an actual military command centre, surrounded by soldiers who understood discipline, and their duty.

He felt like he had come home.

"Yes?"

"The unit commanders have arrived, Major General."

"Good. Have them come straight up. What of the others?"

"Urabe and Asahina have just got back from their recon. Senba is down in the knightmare bay."

"Send them all straight up."

"Yes, Major General."

She saluted, and left the chamber. Kyoshiroh retuned his attention to the map table. He had hoped to talk to Urabe and Asahina before the other commanders arrived, but there was no time. What they had to say would be for all to hear.

He stood in his place, receiving the salutes as they entered the chamber. Colonel Ichiro Kodai of the 1st Brigade, White Sash Brigade. With him was his second-in-command, Major Ryuichi Kusakabe, and a young woman with long brown hair and a stern manner; introduced as Major Yui Takamura, commander of the White Sashes' knightmare squadron.

After them came Colonel Maho Nishizumi of 2nd Brigade Kuromori, and her second-in-command, Major Erika Itsumi. Then there was Colonel Daisuke Kuroda, of the 4th Brigade, and his second-in-command Major Furuhata, neither of whom Kyoshiroh knew well. Following after them in turn was Colonel Hajime Amada of the 1st Artillery Battalion, and then Colonel Yuuto Tachibana, 1st Fukui Brigade.

And then came Urabe and Asahina, still in the g-force suits Rakshata had provided all those months ago, and Senba, who had been occupying himself making sure the knightmare bay was in proper working order. The mechanisms had been retooled to manage their Gekka knightmares, and the last thing any of them wanted was a malfunction at an awkward moment.

"Comrades," Kyoshiroh greeted them. "The next stage of the campaign is about to begin. Our objective is Tsuruga, and then Obama, then Kyoto."

They understood his meaning, they could tell. Even disciplined soldiers like Kodai, Kusakabe, and Takamura, and old sweats like Amada, had difficulty hiding their excitement. They hoped to be the ones who would roll into Kyoto, finally liberating Japan's ancient capital, and ending the war at last.

"Lieutenants Urabe and Asahina have just returned from their recon," he went on. "Tell us what you know."

Urabe stepped forward, seemingly heedless of the eyes upon him.

"As you can see, the terrain round there is mostly mountains," he said. "The Britannians have defensive outposts at every village or open spot from Tsuruga down to Lake Biwa, especially along the roads. They've got the Hokuriku railway tunnel blocked at the mouth, by Sokugan temple, but the local guys have control up to about five hundred metres in. They've also got control of all the road tunnels south of Tsuruga, which means they're almost certainly bomb-rigged. The Fukui guys have forward bases at Itsuhata, Habara, and Yogo Kogen, which they're using to harass the Britannians, but the Britannians are harassing back. Their own line runs from Akasaki down to Kashimagari, then down to Oga and Sosogi. Anything in-between is no-man's land."

"Do you concur with his assessment, Colonel Tachibana?" asked Kyoshiroh, turning his attention to the younger man. His fighters knew the region better than most of those present, so it was only right to include him.

"Yes, Major General," replied Tachibana. "We've been able to maintain a presence throughout the area, but only with small infantry units. For motor vehicles, we must have the roads."

"Indeed."

Kyoshiroh regarded him for a moment. Yuuto Tachibana was not the sort of man he would have regarded as soldier material. He had a pleasant, big-brotherly sort of air about him, with soft brown hair hanging down to his chin. His fatigues were store-bought, in sharp contrast to the neat, green uniforms of the others, and his webbing looked like it had been improvised out of hiking gear.

But for all that, he was doing a reasonable job of running the 1st Fukui Brigade; a mix of hardened resistance fighters and new volunteers, who did not always see eye-to-eye. Kyoshiroh had learned, the hard way, that what worked with disciplined soldiers did not work well, if at all, with such amateurs. They had to be treated with a certain consideration, a certain restraint. Someone like Tachibana, who could keep them in order and understand the needs of their regular allies, was indispensable.

"We must begin the attack within the next six hours," he said, addressing them all. "And we must take Tsuruga by the end of the day. We dare not drag this conflict on longer, and only by taking Kyoto can we hope to end it. The Britannians have not yet reinforced their Kansai redoubt as expected, but it could happen at any time. There can be no further delays."

He knew that they understood, and that they wondered as he did. Why were the Britannians taking so long to reinforce? There were Britannian warships still out there, and they were still launching air attacks, but at least some additional troops should have arrived by now.

He might have put it down to fear of the Chinese, had he not heard what Zero told him. Something he had shared with his Four Holy Swords, but dared not share with any of the others. There was no telling what they might say or do.

He couldn't make much sense of it himself. The Britannians and the Chinese working together with the NAC? What was that supposed to mean? And if they were, then why had the Britannians still not landed more troops?

No time for that now.

"With the Britannians guarding the road tunnels, only two viable routes remain," he went on. "The coast road, and the Hokuriku railway line. The Britannians are no doubt expecting an attack along the coast road, though they will maintain knightmares and mechanized infantry in reserve in case of unexpected developments. Their assault guns, if they have any, will be kept for the artillery role."

A quick pause, to let it all sink in.

"This will be our strategy," he said, firmly. "The attack will open with air strikes, care of our allies, on the Britannian forward positions. This will alert the enemy to our attack, but will not indicate our intended route; thus forcing them either to reinforce everywhere or do nothing."

He turned to Tachibana.

"Colonel Tachibana, your troops in the mountains nearby must then converge on these outposts, attacking and taking them if at all possible. Otherwise they must remain hidden, and keep us informed of any Britannian movements. In the meantime, you will send all your motorized formations south to the Yanagase tunnel entrances, along with any other units in the immediate area."

He touched his finger to the map table, drawing it down the road to illustrate his orders.

"You may engage and destroy any Britannian forces in the immediate area, but only enter the tunnels with utmost caution. The Britannians will likely send mechanised infantry and possibly knightmares to reinforce the tunnels. You must occupy them for as long as possible."

He paused, regarding the younger man, waiting for him to respond.

"Major General," he said. "Are we decoys in this?"

"Unfortunately so," Kyoshiroh replied. "Yours are the lightest and fastest troops apart from Major Takamura's knightmares, and the only formation remotely suitable for a feint."

It was as much sympathy as he could bring himself to express.

"We can do it, Major General," replied Tachibana, calmly. "But if the Britannians hit us from the south, my troops probably won't be able to hold them. Our nearest reinforcements would be 6th brigade, up here at Tochonoki." He pointed at the map to illustrate his point."

"You must make that judgement yourself, colonel. If the enemy forces are overwhelming then you must withdraw, but hold them for as long as you can. In the meantime, you must guard the tunnel mouths and distract the Britannians. If you feel able, you may attempt to take the tunnels, but do so with caution. They will almost certainly be bomb-rigged."

"I understand, Major General."

Kyoshiroh could only hope that he did.

"The main attack will consist of the White Sash brigade's mechanized infantry, advancing along the coast road from Itsuhata," he said. "2nd brigade's sensha will accompany them, and their infantry battalions will stand in immediate reserve. Colonel Amada's artillery will open the attack, laying smoke and bombarding Akasaki itself. The objective is the Mariyama area here, and the attack must be carried out with absolute speed and force. It must not stop before Maruyama unless absolutely necessary. Colonel Kodai will have overall command."

Kodai nodded grimly. If Nishizumi objected, she made no show of it.

"The second thrust will take place down this road, past the Sukunahikona shrine," he went on, pointing to the map location. "It will be carried out by 4th brigade. Their mission is to bypass the blocked tunnels and ideally secure them, before pushing on into Kashimagari itself. From this position, we will be able to push into Tsuruga from the north-east, bypassing the northern defences. This attack must not fail, and the Britannians will do all they can to prevent its success."

Indeed they would. To some extent, Kyoshiroh was counting on it. Anything to divide their forces further.

"Major General, this will be difficult," Kodai said. "Even with the improvements the Britannians made, the road will be narrow. We can send two sensha or APCs abreast, but no more."

"It will be difficult," Kyoshiroh agreed. "But no other way is possible. For only one other avenue of attack remains."

He returned his attention to Tachibana.

"Colonel, what is the current situation in the Hokuriku tunnel?"

"We tried to secure the tunnel on the night of the uprising, Major General," replied Tachibana. "But the Britannians forced us back. They blocked the tunnel with some freight wagons loaded with concrete blocks, which they use as a fort. We've got a train about five hundred metres from them, as the lieutenant said, and we harass them from there. From what they saw, it doesn't look like they've planted any bombs."

Kyoshiroh could imagine few worse places to fight than a tunnel, especially a long one. The Britannians had widened and reinforced the Hokuriku tunnel, as they had done with all the road and rail tunnels in Japan, but it would still be dark, narrow, claustrophobic, with little room to manoeuvre.

"The final avenue of attack will be the Hokuriku tunnel," he said. "The armoured train Iron Storm will carry out the attack, accompanied by Major Takamura and her knightmares. They will secure the tunnel mouth long enough to allow the train to move through, and then await further orders."

He paused, and saw the look on Kodai and Kusakabe's faces. They weren't exactly gaping, but he could tell that they were surprised, and not best pleased.

"Major General," Kodai spoke up. "I understand your plan, but if you take Major Takamura's squadron, we'll be vulnerable."

"Yes sir," Kusakabe cut in. "The Britannians could send knightmares over the cliffs at us. We'll have no protection."

"So much for the pride of the mechanized infantry," sneered Major Itsumi, with a confident smirk. "You've got us for protection."

Kusakabe bristled, and Kyoshiroh's heart sank. He had been half-expecting trouble, but had thought it would be over Tachibana. But he was just standing there looking unsettled.

"Unlike you, major," Kusakabe almost spat the title. "I've seen what happens when knightmares get in among sensha. It's not a pretty sight, Major Itsumi."

Kyoshiroh had seen it too; back in 2010, during the Britannian invasion. He had seen the sensha and APCs advancing in their neat formations, the Glasgows storming at them through shot and shell, swarming around them and among them, blasting them at point-blank range. He had seen the neat formations crumble, the crews overwhelmed, panicking, the command-and-control breaking down. He had wondered if facing the Mongols had been like that.

It wasn't that the troops were cowards, or lacking. They had no combat experience to be sure, but they were well-trained, and well-disciplined. And plenty of other soldiers in other armies had fallen apart in the face of Knightmare Shock, at least back then when it was new and terrifying. What gave knightmares their power was not their speed or firepower, and definitely not their resilience; which was distinctly lacking. It had been their ability, by landspinner, slash harken, and the agility of their humanoid bodies, to conquer terrain that would have defeated any conventional vehicle. They could come from any direction, from angles from which no sensha or APC could approach. Soldiers who thought their flanks secure found themselves blindsided; their flanks turned, their rear echelons overrun, even as they threw back wave after wave of attackers to their front.

But of course, that was Britannia's way, these days. Cull the weak from the herd, that the worthy might prosper. Sacrifice whole divisions in frontal attacks to pin the enemy in place, while the knightmares ran wild.

"Armoured warfare has come a long way in seven years, major," retorted Itsumi. "We can handle their tin soldiers."

"You'll get us all killed!" growled Kusakabe.

"Shokun!" pleaded Tachibana, making the worst move he could possibly make. "This isn't the time!"

"Shut up, amateur!" barked Kusakabe, rounding on the hapless youth. "You don't belong here!"

"Yeah," added Itsumi, giving him a particularly arrogant smirk. "Why don't you just go home to your pretty wife and give her a belly rub. She looks like she could use it!"

Tachibana bristled, and Kyoshiroh could not blame him. He had met Tsukasa Tachibana, who was indeed a very pretty young wife, and six months pregnant with their first child. Despite this, she insisted on helping out around the 1st brigade's HQ, making the older women worry. Being picked on for being a militia commander among professional soldiers was one thing; having his wife insulted was a step too far.

"Kindly moderate your conduct, Miss Itsumi," Yui Takamura cut in, glowering coldly at Itsumi. "It is unbecoming of an officer."

"Excuse me!" snapped Itsumi, rounding on her. "I'm not taking that from a…!"

"Enough!"

Kyoshiroh's barked command rang across the chamber like a gunshot. It ended the argument there and then. He glowered at them for a moment, letting his will hammer them down. He did not have time for this!

"I will not tolerate this sort of disorder in officers under my command," he said, his tone cold and grim. "I will not tolerate indiscipline in soldiers under my command. I will not endure my subordinates bickering like teenagers!"

He let the words hang. He could see the look Colonel Amada was giving him. He had been waiting for this, Kyoshiroh knew. In his day, such disorder would not have happened. And he had no doubt been wondering whether Miracle Tohdoh, a younger man than himself, was truly fit for such high command.

Perhaps this would convince him. He could only hope.

"Colonel Kodai, Colonel Nishizumi," he said, fixing them both with his eyes. "I understand that the situation has not been conducive to military discipline or etiquette up to now. I understand the need for compromise, for a loosening of standards. But among ourselves, those days are over. Military discipline and military etiquette are hereby restored, and will be adhered-to."

There was no need to say any more. They understood what he meant. Their respective subordinates would answer for their ill-conduct, and what that involved was up to their judgement. He had to trust them at least that far.

"This operation will be difficult," he said. He gained nothing by denying it. "Had I more knightmares available, I would have assigned them to all four offensives. But I do not, and what we have must suffice. I say to you again, this operation must succeed, and it must succeed today."

He paused, regarding them all.

"Will there be anything else?" he asked.

"With respect Major General, there is one thing," spoke up Colonel Amada. The older man had not spoken all through the meeting, and Kyoshiroh had wondered if he ever would. "Your plan depends on the enemy splitting his forces in the face of a possible outflanking. What is to stop him simply blowing the tunnels as a precaution? It would solve most of his problems."

He had half-suspected that someone would bring it up. In truth, he was quite glad of it.

"That possibility cannot be eliminated," he replied. "But I have good reason to believe that it will not happen, because I know who the enemy commander is."

He was not inclined to like Diethard Reid, let alone trust him. But Kyoshiroh owed him for this one.

"The enemy commander," he went on, after a short pause, "is confirmed to be General Frederick Waterford. He has been the regional commander for this area for the past five years. He has a reputation for competence and good sense, but he has little combat experience. Among other things, he has been responsible for the expansion and improvement of all local transport infrastructure, including the roads, railways, and their tunnels."

Another little pause for effect.

"Such a man will play by the book," he said. "He will do what on the face of it seems sensible, in light of the evidence we see fit to give him. He will also be reluctant to destroy the fruits of his own labour; if only because doing so will greatly complicate any future counter-offensive. Also, even if he is a fair-minded man, he cannot entirely escape the influence of prejudice, especially when it is penned right into Britannia's own intelligence handbooks."

He paused again, noting the mild confusion in their eyes.

"The Britannians believe that we are a nation of lunatics," he went on. "They think our idea of a good time is charging stark-naked at our enemies screaming banzai at the tops of our lungs."

He paused, letting them snigger a little.

"What they have seen in the uprising so far will only confirm that prejudice. I have seen the fury of our people, and the zeal with which our volunteers and militia have fought. If Waterford gets word of a substantial concentration of militia around the southern tunnels, he will have little choice but to assume that Colonel Tachibana means to charge down those tunnels and capture them, even at the risk of being buried alive."

He did not mention that it had happened elsewhere. It did not bear thinking about.

"Therefore, he will reinforce the tunnels. He will also reinforce Kashimagari. But if we time our moves correctly, then we can catch his forces out of position. If Major Takamura can force the tunnel, with the Iron Storm, he will be at the very least be forced to send what knightmares he can spare to stop them. This will gave the coastal attack a fighting chance."

He straightened up, looking over them all one last time.

"That will be all. Return to your units. You will receive further instructions soon. Good luck, everyone."

He snapped his heels together and saluted. They all did likewise.

It was on.

(X)

Seto Ghetto, on the outskirts of Nagoya Settlement

As the train pulled into the station, the crowds roared.

With his face safely concealed behind his Zero mask, Lelouch took a long breath, trying to master himself. The roaring of the crowds was so loud, loud enough that even La Marseillaise blaring over the tannoys was barely audible. The crowd outside the carriage windows undulated, flowing back and forth like waves against a cliff, barely held back by the arms-linked cordon of black-uniformed Black Knights. He could see the banners they were carrying; Japanese hinomaru, prefectural flags, city flags, plain white banners with slogans emblazoned on them. Their faces were bright with joy, hope, hysteria.

"I wasn't expecting that many," he mused aloud. "Or so enthusiastic."

"Don't sell yourself short, Zero," retorted Tamaki, his old smirk back in place. "You made it all possible."

In spite of everything, Lelouch was rather glad of that smirk. Like a lot of his fellow Black Knights, Tamaki had been downhearted since the events at Minobu. But the delivery of Ougi's best wishes via Kallen, and word that he was expected to fully recover, had lifted his spirits somewhat. No doubt all this excitement was lifting them yet further.

All of them, to look at their faces, their eyes. The old hope, the old optimism, had finally started to return.

"Have we heard from Yoshida?" he asked. With his fire support squadron having been effectively destroyed at Tokyo Settlement, Toru Yoshida had been at a loose end. To take his mind off it, Zero had sent him on ahead to Tajimi to make sure everything was ready. He had seemed to relish the task, or at least the trust and confidence it implied.

"Yes, Zero," Yoshitaka spoke up. "He's outside with the cars, ready to take us to our command centre. There's a couple of militia commanders on the platform, and he asked could you say something nice to them, and address the crowd."

"Fishing for compliments already," sneered Tamaki. "They wanna be seen with you, Zero. There could be at last a mayorship in it, once the war's over."

"Perhaps."

The thought did not appeal to him, but it was probably true. The various militia commanders who had emerged across Japan, answering his call, fell into two categories. They were either significant resistance fighters who had managed not to be killed, or else were local leaders who enjoyed the confidence of ordinary people; enough so to influence the local resistance. Either variety might have political ambitions of one sort or another, and being seen with Zero was unlikely to be damaging for those ambitions.

There was nothing he could do about it.

"All right, everybody ready," he said, as the train clunked to a halt. "We're on."

The door clicked open, and Lelouch paused to let Kallen go first. Then he stepped out.

The sound of the crowd hit him like a wave. It was all he could do not to fllnch, to keep his movements light and easy as he stepped onto the platform. Ahead of him stood a tall Japanese man, clad in an approximation of a military uniform, surrounded by a similarly-dressed entourage.

"Zero, welcome to Aichi Prefecture," the man greeted him, bowing politely. "I am General Takashi Sugita, of the 1st Aichi Division. I have the honour to command the militia forces besieging Nagoya."

"Thank you, general." Lelouch clasped his proffered hand. "I would speak with you all, but perhaps somewhere quieter."

It was a reasonable enough request. The cheering was so loud that he could barely hear a word Sugita was saying.

"Before we go, Zero, would you do us the honour of addressing the people?" Sugita asked, smiling too much. "They have waited so long for you to come."

Lelouch looked over the crowd, choosing his moment.

"Of course. With your permission."

He stepped away from Sugita and his entourage, sweeping along the platform as the Marseillaise entered its final bars. Amid the final flourish, he clambered onto a set of buffers and turned to face the crowd, hands raised in triumph. Their adulation washed over him, hammering at his ears even through the mask. He could see their eyes, feel their adoration, their hope, their yearning.

He was enjoying it. Too much.

"Friends!" he called out, his helmet's speaker booming over the station concourse. "Japanese! The Black Knights are here! We heard have heard your cries, and we have come!"

He paused, as the crowd roared.

"To the east and the west, Japan is free! From the east and the west come your comrades, fellow warriors coming to fight!"

Another pause, as the crowd roared even louder. He could see guns being thrust into the air.

"Only Kansai, to the west, remains under the Britannian jackboot! Even now, Major General Tohdoh, the Miraculous Tohdoh, the Miracle-worker of Itsukushima, readies the army of Japan in the north! The soldiers of Japan rally to him, their banners flying, ready to follow him into the fire! Friends, can we do less than the same! Can we in the south do less?"

The crowd roared again, and there was a hard edge to it this time. An edge of bloodlust, of violence.

"Friends, your Zero is here! I have come with my Black Knights, and together we will join the battle! We will take this mighty city of Nagoya, and the way to Kyoto will be open! Together, there is no battle we cannot win! There is no fortress we cannot storm! Together, we will open the gates to victory!"

He fell silent, letting the crowds cheer.

"Go now, friends! Rejoin your comrades! Look to your arms and your leaders! May the Gods smile on you! Long live Japan!"

He paused a moment longer, letting the chants wash over him.

Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero! Zero!

He clambered down, and let his Black Knights form up around him, as he moved slowly and easily to the exit; waving rakishly all the while.

"What a crowd!" gasped Tamaki, as they reached the station foyer. "I've never seen anything like it!"

"This way, Zero," Yoshitaka called out, leading the way across the foyer to where a convoy of black cars and black-painted technicals were waiting.

Their ride was fortunately brief, taking them along a few streets and into the parking lot of what had once been a TV station. They hurried inside, to where a meeting room had been prepared for them; a hologram projector set up on the table.

Lelouch took the seat at the head of the table, where the map's keypad was, and where someone had put a particularly large chair. Kallen sat down to his right, and the others took seats around the table. Sugiyama, Yoshitaka, Inoue, Tamaki, Yoshida, and Diethard; the most senior of his remaining Black Knights. Xingke, who had kept to himself since they left the SAR, took a seat also.

"Friends, we must turn to the matter at hand," Lelouch began. "Tohdoh is expecting to begin his attack on Tsuruga within the next few hours. We must begin our own operation as soon as possible."

He tapped at the keypad, bringing the projector online. The map showed the area around Nagoya, including the defence line running from Nagoya settlement through to Nagahama, and Lake Biwa just beyond it. The formations were set out too, conveniently coloured blue for Japanese, gold for Chinese, and red for Britannians.

"The enemy has at least twenty brigades manning its defensive zone from Nagoya to Nagahama," he said. "The lynchpin of the defence is Nagoya itself, where the mobile reserves are based. Our militia forces have succeeded in taking the Nishio, Okazaki, Toyota, and Tajimi ghettoes, but the rest remain in Britannian hands, and all subsequent attacks have failed."

He paused a moment, letting them take it all in.

"Our attack will involve two operations," he went on. "The first is a full-scale attack against the Kakamigahara and Seki ghettoes. The infantry will carry out the main attack, and motorised units will exploit any breakthroughs. Their ultimate objective is to take Gifu and Ogaki ghettoes, and then ultimately Nagahama. Our Black Knights commandoes and armoured trains will provide support. Sugiyama, as commander of the Special Forces division, you shall have command of our commando units. Yoshitaka, I want you to command the assault trains, and Yoshida to command the artillery trains. Inoue will be in charge of supply and logistics."

All four nodded. Yoshitaka and Yoshida were not ideal for their roles, but he didn't have much choice. Yoshitaka had lost his unit at Tokyo settlement, but he understood infantry operations well enough to be able to support Sugiyama. Yoshitaka, who had lost his fire support squadron at Tokyo, was the nearest thing he had to an artillery commander.

"I have already prepared detailed instructions for the militia leaders, and for yourselves. You must all follow these instructions, and maintain the attack for as long as possible. Withdraw and retrench if casualties become too heavy."

He turned to Tamaki, who was sitting there looking slightly hangdog; as if he feared he would get nothing this time.

"Tamaki, I am appointing you to the role of Morale Officer, and President of the Mess Committee," he said. "Do you feel able to handle this role?"

"Well, uh…" Tamaki looked confused. "I'd do anything you for you, Zero. But…what exactly does that involve?"

"It means you're in charge of keeping everyone happy," Sugiyama cut in. "Food, drink, entertainment, the general mood. Isn't that right, Zero?"

"In essence, yes," confirmed Lelouch. "You will also have a specific role in this operation. I have prepared a set of recorded speeches and musical tracks, which you will play at specific points during the operation. Otherwise, use your own judgement."

"So I'm the DJ too?" asked Tamaki, grinning. "Sounds great!"

His smirk was back, and Lelouch was glad of it. Like a lot of the Black Knights, Tamaki had been downhearted since the dreadful events at Minobu. But Kallen had brought Ougi's best wishes, and news that he was on the mend, his mood had perked up noticeably.

"For the second part of the operation, I, Kallen, and Xingke will head south to Gamagori incognito," Lelouch went on, bracing himself. "Sugiyama has seniority, so he will have overall command. You must give every possible impression that I am still here. I prepared Tamaki's mix tape for that very reason."

The good mood vanished. Eyes widened, and even Diethard and Xingke looked dubious.

"Zero, what are you planning?" Sugiyama asked, looking unsettled. "We need you here to command. With you here, we can pull this off."

"Even with me here, it is very unlikely that the assault will succeed," replied Lelouch. "Unfortunately, it is absolutely necessary. My sources on the inside have confirmed that Calares is in personal command. He will not ignore such an attack, as it would threaten to cut off his northern supply and reinforcement route. Without that route, even if he was willing, he would not be able to reinforce Tsuruga in time. Also, the other mission requires my personal attention if it is to succeed."

He paused, staring them down. They were unsettled, maybe even suspicious, and he could hardly blame them; not after what had happened at Tokyo settlement.

"I know that this is not ideal," he said. "I know that my plans are unconventional, and do not appear to make sense. I know I have taken your trust for granted. But I tell you now, there is no other way. If he were available, I would leave Ougi in charge here, but he is not. I have absolute confidence in all of you, and I know you will succeed."

They seemed to accept the situation, though he could tell they were unhappy.

"Xingke," he said, turning to him. "Can we expect air support for this mission?"

"Two squadrons are now assigned to Major General Tohdoh," Xingke replied mildly. "And two more are available for immediate action, Zero."

"Will you and your team be able to assist me for this mission?"

"Yes Zero, without fail."

"Very good, thank you Xingke."

He ignored the looks being sent Xingke's way. The others were getting used to him, but they still didn't entirely trust him.

"And that's another thing!" Tamaki cut in. "What the heck's going on with this so-called alliance? One minute the Chinese are helping us, the next minute they say they're working with the Britannians to put us down, but they don't actually do it! What the hell, Zero?"

All eyes were back on him. Lelouch could hardly blame them. That little development had been tormenting them ever since Minobu, when they had first learned of the strange new alliance between Britannia and the Chinese Federation; one that supposedly involved the two of them cooperating to restore order in Japan. By all rights, the Chinese Federation and Britannia should have been slaughtering the rebels between them.

Except they weren't. The Chinese had taken Kyushu and Hokkaido islands, and were evacuating Britannian troops and civilians. Meanwhile, old Chinese Dongfeng fighters in Japanese colours were flying from airbases in the far east and west of Honshu island, striking at Britannian targets. On top of that, the Chinese-backed rebel forces had seemingly fled from Kyushu to Honshu, and had advanced across it towards the Kansai redoubt; crushing Britannian forces as they went.

Meanwhile, Britannia was seemingly doing little or nothing about it. They had four battlecarrier battlegroups operating in proximity to Japan – though carefully avoiding the Chinese glacier fortresses and their fleets – launching missile and air attacks. But these had struck primarily at the settlements, as well as industrial complexes and mining facilities. At the same time, Chinese aircraft were supposedly bombarding rebel forces, yet their bombs landed on empty fields and mountainsides most of the time.

It made no sense. It made no sense to them, and it didn't make much more sense to Lelouch. It was as if the Britannians had already given up, and had cut a deal with the Chinese to put on a show.

It made no sense. No sense at all.

Unless…

"Britannia is overstretched," he said, with as much authority as he could manage. "The advances in Africa and Europe have stalled, and it is likely that Euro-Britannia will have to be bailed out. Also, our campaign will already have wrought considerable damage on the Britannian economy. Clearly, the Britannians are fighting in such a manner as to conserve resources while not provoking the Chinese Federation in any way."

A pause, to let them take it in. They still looked uncertain, unhappy.

"With all due respect to Xingke, we cannot be certain of the Grand Eunuchs' intentions," he went on. "We must consider the possibility that they are exploiting the situation in order to take Japan for themselves."

"If that's the case," Sugiyama spoke up. "Then why is he here?"

Their eyes again. Their eyes on him, boring into him, as if they were trying to burn through his mask and see his true face. The one thing he could never allow them to do.

He glanced at Xingke. Xingke just sat there, as he always did; looking emotionless, as he always did.

"Xingke is here because I trust him," he said, with feeling. "As I trust all of you."

It was a cruel thing to say. A cruel way to deceive those to whom he could never, ever show his face. Crueller yet, to turn their distrust into a means of shaming them.

And Kallen's eyes told him that she knew what he had done.

"As I said, I will be taking Xingke and his team along with me," he said, changing the subject. "When we reach Gamagori, we will meet with Rakshata and board the submarine, which has been unloading supplies from India. We will then move into Nagoya bay, and launch a combined torpedo and missile attack against the settlement. Calares will assume that this is in support of the attack, but some of the torpedoes have been programmed to strike the sluice gates under the waterfront."

He tapped the keypad again, the map zooming in on the city and changing to a view of the tunnels under it.

"These main tunnels here," he gestured at the four largest tunnels," are the city's primary storm drains. Their size and capacity are considerable, due to the large number of rivers in the surrounding area, and the consequent threat of flooding. Each one is equipped with a hydroelectric generator, and links into the wider water supply and sewage system. With the sluice gates destroyed, our team will enter the tunnels using equipment Rakshata has provided, and from there take control of the primary pumping station. From there, we will re-program the pumps, and use them to destroy the water-supply system. Nagoya settlement will be left without water, sewage, and a substantial proportion of its electricity."

More lies. More half-truths. But he dared not tell them the entirety of his plan. There were too many things they could not be allowed to know. At least not yet.

"Your plan is bold, Zero, but risky," Xingke commented cautiously. "Nevertheless, I have given my word, and I am at your disposal."

"If anyone can pull it off, Zero can!" declared Tamaki, his smirk returned.

"That will be all for now," Lelouch ordered. "Diethard has the dossiers with your specific orders. Tamaki, we must discuss your role."

(X)

Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture

Almost time.

Major Yui Tachibana took a long, slow breath. The cockpit of her officer's Burai was familiar and comfortable; but in the darkness of the tunnel, with no light except the glow of her instruments, it felt narrow, constraining.

Her screens were in nightvision mode, but there wasn't much to see. Since she and her knightmares had crept up alongside the militia's train, there had been nothing to do but wait. As large and impressive as the tunnelwas, it could not entertain for long.

The only other things to look at were the tiny shapes of the militia fighters, darting back and forth along the tunnel between the train and their forward position further down the tunnel. From there, they kept an eye on the Britannian troops guarding the tunnel mouth, harassing them and preventing them from planting explosives. Their desperate back-and-forth battle, up and down the tunnel, had dragged on for days.

"Major, is there any word from the Iron Storm?" asked Captain Shimako Kai, her second-in-command. "It must be about time now."

"None, Captain," replied Yui.

They could receive messages from the armoured train Iron Storm thanks to a signal booster aboard the militia train next to them. They could only communicate with the Iron Storm itself, which was sitting just inside the other tunnel mouth, but it was better than nothing.

"What's taking them so long?" complained Lieutenant Aki Iwami, a member of her command squad. "I'm getting claustrophobic down here!"

"You're not the only one," added Lieutenant Izumi Noto, also of her command squad. "Tunnels are no place for knightmares."

"This is the mission we were given," cut in Lieutenant Kazusa Yamashiro, third and last member of her command squad. "And we alone can carry it out. I see no reason to complain."

Yui glanced at her comm screen, taking in their faces. Shimako, with her long dark hair and bright smile. Aki, with that boyishly short haircut, and a personality to match. Izumi, her eyes haunted behind her glasses. And Kazusa, her usual icy self.

They were the only ones left. All that remained of her classmates as the Kyoto Military School, her friends.

"It's all right, Izumi," Shimako said, smiling warmly. "We're going to make it. All of us."

"Yeah, don't you dare go and die on us now!" Aki cut in. "Not when we're this close!"

"I won't die," insisted Izumi, her eyes flashing with a determination that belied her appearance. "I can't face him, not just yet."

Yui sighed. How long had it been since those innocent days? Back when Izumi's hair had been in twin-tails, and they had all dreamed of being soldiers; maybe even of piloting mecha. Back when they ate their lunches under the trees in the school garden, talking about who was seeing whom, or which teacher was being especially troublesome, or even about Naoto Kozuki's podcasts.

Then Britannia came. And Japan had burned. And Izumi's boyfriend, the one they had teased her mercilessly about, had not returned.

Looking back, it seemed so silly. They had been a high school couple, their relationship as likely to end in tears as to actually go anywhere. But it Izumi it was something eternal, something pure; the great might-have-been of her life. Even if she lived on, and found someone else, she would always carry him with her, always wonder what might have been.

That was the way of things. That was what it meant to survive.

"Keep it together, Izumi!" barked Kazusa, glowering. "And no going crazy like the last time!"

Izumi glowered, but did not reply. She was a capable pilot, but known to be unstable at times. Yui had kept her close for that very reason, but it meant her chances of a unit command were slim.

"Now now, Lieutenant Yamashiro," Shimako interjected, still smiling. "You're hardly in a position to criticize."

"With respect, Captain," retorted Kazusa. "We don't need her going Nagashino on us."

"You just want to get back to Kyoto!" declared Aki with a smirk. "To your precious Ayumu-chan!"

Kazusa went a furious shade of red, and the others burst out laughing; even Izumi.

"In fact, why don't you just die here?" Aki went on. "And we'll keep Ayumu-chan all to ourselves!"

"Ayumu-chan to comb my hair!" declared Shimako excitedly.

"Ayumu-chan to pour my tea!" added Aki.

"Ayumu-chan to tie my obi!" cut in Izumi, her good humour returned.

"Shut up!" snapped Kazusa, losing her temper. "Leave Ayumu out of this!"

Yui sighed.

Ayumu was, on the face of it, a pretty young maid and hostess in one of Kyoto's better inns. The proprietress was Ayumu's formidable grandmother, a retired geisha who was never too busy to take an interest in younger members of her old calling. Ayumu was not a geisha, but pretty, good-natured, as comfortable in a maid outfit as a kimono, and skilled in such tasks as pouring tea, combing hair, and generally being pleasant company. So much so, that for the past two years Kazusa had been taking more and more opportunities to spend time with Ayumu. That in itself had been enough to get tongues wagging; enough so that Yui had felt it necessary to do a few checks, just to make sure Ayumu didn't have any dark secrets.

There were no dark secrets. Ayumu was not a spy, or a con artist, or anything like that. Ayumu was merely not what Ayumu appeared to be; a fact that had come out by accident, when they had followed Kazusa to the inn one evening, and caught the pair having a tender moment.

Yui honestly did not mind it. Indeed, she was surprised by how little she minded it. After everything she had seen and done, it just didn't seem all that important, let alone shocking. And if Kazusa had found comfort with Ayumu, or maybe even a measure of happiness, then who was she to condemn?

But she could not protect Kazusa from being mercilessly teased about it. Nor would she, even if she could. This was something she would have to endure, something she had to learn to deal with. If she couldn't deal with a little banter without exploding, she would never be able to command troops in battle. Soldiers could never respect an officer with no self-control.

"Ayumu-chan to call me onee-sama!"

"Shut up!"

Yui dismissed the comm screen with a touch of a button. She had more important things to worry about.

Her brow furrowed, as she saw something on her screen. A strange flickering down the middle. She tapped it with her finger, but it was still there. She thought of turning on her headlamps, but the glow could visible further down the tunnel.

"Everyone," she said. "Does anyone else see anything?"

"See what, Major?" Shimako asked, as the argument died down.

"Something on my screen," Yui said. "Something down the middle."

"I see it too," Izumi cut in. "I think it's dust falling from the roof."

"Me too!" Aki added. "What does it mean?"

"The bombardment must have started," Yui mused. "Captain Kai, give the order."

"Yes Major. All units stand to. The bombardment has started."

She could hear the grinding and clatter as the fifty knightmares under her command readied themselves. Behind her lips she gritted her teeth, willing her pounding heart to slow, to settle, as she waited for the order.

A light on her comm screen. It was from the Iron Storm, far back up the tunnel.

"Takamura."

"Orders from HQ…". The voice was slurred by the signal transfer, but clear enough. "Begin the attack."

"Understood."

Yui took one last breath.

"White Sashes! Follow me!"

She pressed down her pedals, her Burai leaping forward. She sped along the tunnel, eyes fixed on her forward screen, and the ever-growing glare of sunlight as they rounded the long curve. She switched off her nightvision, letting the glare guide her.

Then she saw it. The light of the tunnel mouth, and the dark shapes within it. She could see a set of railway wagons up ahead, loaded up with heavy concrete blocks. She saw heads pop up from behind them, the flashes of gunfire.

"Frag rounds! On top!" she ordered, shoving her feet down hard on the pedals. Her Burai leapt sideways, from the left-hand tracks to the right. Kazusa accelerated into her place, aiming her rifle at the wagons. The grenade launcher fired, hurling a fragmentation grenade up and over the wagons. The round detonated, and Yui could see the bodies being thrown about like ragdolls. She advanced, passing the wagon, and saw that there was another one just up ahead, with a diagonal gap between them.

For a moment she was confused. Why had they left a gap?

Unless...

She slewed hard to the right, barely avoiding the Shot Lancer as it thrust for her heart. As the head slashed past, she brought up her rifle, firing one-handed at point-blank range. The 20mm rounds tore into the Sutherland's plastron, hurling it back against the tunnel wall.

But another one was there, its own Shot Lancer at the ready. Yui dodged, keying frantically for her chainsword. The heavy last thrust, and she grabbed it with her gun arm, driving her Burai around as hard as she could. The Sutherland, then recovered, but her chainsword was out; the teeth glowing red as they raced around the blade. She slashed, its left arm falling away and taking the lance with it. As the Sutherland fell back, she swung a mighty backslash, slicing through the plastron. The Sutherland toppled over, then exploded; the blast hurling her back against the wagon and almost throwing her to the ground.

Izumi was right. Tunnels were no place to fight. She could hardly see, hardly move.

An impact threw her against her restraints, warning lights flashing on the monitor. She turned, and saw two more Sutherlands standing on the track outside the tunnel; one firing, the other levelling its rifle. Cursing herself, Yui moved, charging out of the tunnel and into the sunlight, straight at the nearest Sutherland. The blue knightmare tried to dodge, but Yui flashed past, catching it in the chest with her chainsword. The Sutherland fell, and she turned hard, ballast flying as her landspinners shrieked and crunched. She brought up her rifle, and the second Sutherland exploded.

Kazusa's Burai came to a halt beside her, rifle barrel smoking.

"Do you need assistance, Major?" There was just a hint of satisfaction on her tone."

"Not for the moment, Major," Yui replied, with a confidence she did not feel. Her screen showed no serious damage, fortunately.

"Everyone okay?" asked Aki, as she pulled up nearby. "That was easier than I thought!"

"Yes, too easy," replied Yui. She looked around,. To her left was Sokugan temple with a few buildings surround it, and the Tanigushi neighbourhood just beyond. To her right was an open area, leading down to the Kinome river. The right-hand freight train was clearly visible, and had a shunting locomotive at the end. In front the railway stretched away towards Tsuruga, with a road overpass crossing it.

This was wrong. It should not have been this easy. Her instincts were…

"Look out!" Aki brought up her rifle and fired, sending a stream of 20mm rounds into the upper floor of the nearest temple building. Kazusa added a frag grenade, and the upper floor blew out. Yui winced as she saw grey-clad bodies tumbling away and falling out of sight.

"Bastards had their heads down!" Aki snarled. "They'll be all around us!'

"Get as many out as you can!" Yui ordered, mastering herself. Form a skirmish line! Aki, watch the overpass!"

"Right!"

Yu turned back towards the tunnel. Shimako and Izumi had emerged, followed by a couple more Burais from the 1st company.

"Shimako, what's taking so long?" she demanded, as Izumi stepped off the track and levelled her G-cannon.

"It's the wagons, Major," replied Shimako. "There's only a small gap! And we can't move the wagons."

Yui gritted her teeth. Between the weight of the concrete and the parking brakes, those wagons would not move easily. Time to see about that shunter.

"Aki, Shimako, keep watch!" she ordered. "The rest, take defensive formation around the tunnel mouth! Kazusa, with me!"

As the knightmares around her moved into position, she walked her Burai over to the shunter. It was painted orange, with the Elevenrail logo on its flank. A quick look on her thermograph revealed a figure cowering inside.

"You in there!" ordered Kazusa, tapping on the cab with one enormous finger. "Show yourself!"

Slowly, a middle-aged man emerged into view, clearly terrified out of his mind.

"I'm not with the Britannians!" he called out, looking from one to the other of the Burais looming over him. "It's just a job!"

He was obviously afraid he would be killed as a collaborator. He was not wrong to be.

"Doesn't matter!" Kazusa called back. "Just move these wagons back out of the way!"

"All right! Just a minute!" The driver turned to his controls. Yui watched as he brought the shunter online, shaking hands flying over the controls.

A blur passed through the cab. It was all Yui could do to jump back as the shunter exploded. The blast threw her back, almost toppling her over.

"Caliburn! Up head!" It was Aki. "About five hundred metres! Out in the fields!"

Yui studied herself, and followed Aki's warning. Her HUD responded, as Aki sent a waypoint via datalink. Yui focussed on it, what looked like a couple of buildings, just in time to see a Caliburn assault gun roll back out of sight.

"Izumi, take out that assault gun!" she barked. "Kazusa, try and cut the parking brakes! Shimako, get a team to move this train!"

She left Shimako to her work as Izumi lined up her shot. She fired, and the building blew apart. Yui fixed her eyes on it, looking for some sign of a hit.

None. The explosion should have been bigger.

"Knightmares! On the overpass!" called out Aki. Yui looked, and sure enough she could see the blue shapes racing up the overpass from the south.

"1st company! Form skirmish line ahead! Destroy them!"

The Burais complied, moving past her and forming up. Aki was already firing, her rifle sending short, tight bursts towards the nearest Sutherlands. Yui saw one go down, but the rest kept coming, spreading out along the overpass while some began to jump down. Those on the overpass began firing, filling the air with bright tracer rounds.

"1st company, as fast as you can!" Yui called out, turning her attention back to the tunnel. The Burais were emerging one at a time, coming out on their landspinners, then stepping off the rails and crunching their way over the ballast. Yui wanted to snarl at them to hurry up, but she knew it was pointless. There was just no way to get them out faster.

Unless…

"Shimako! Where are you with the train?"

"2nd company's lining up to push," replied Shimako, sounding a lot calmer than Yui felt. "We just need the brakes off."

"I'm working on it!" snapped Kazusa. Her Burai was kneeling by the wagons, her glowing chainsword inserted next to a wheel, smoke rising where it cut metal. A moment later, the brake block fell away with a clatter, and Kazusa drew back her blade.

"Keep it up! Shimako, get Captain Morishima to send some Burais down here and start unloading the wagons!"

"Yes m…"

Something whooshed past, so loud it drowned out Shimako's response. Then came a crump, so loud it made her ears ring even inside her Burai. Yui turned, and saw the crater in the hillside next to the track, a small avalanche of mud and rocks tumbling down into the already heavily damaged temple complex.

"Crap crap crap!" yelled Aki. "They're trying to bring the hillside down on us!"

"Izumi, keep it up!" Yui turned to Izumi, and saw that her g-cannon was reloading. "Don't let him aim!"

"Right!"

Yui followed her line of sight, straining her eyes for some sign of the Caliburn. But her eyes did no better than her sensors. He was nowhere in sight.

"He's using the dead ground," she thought. "Out in the fields maybe? Or heading south?"

She could just make out the straggle of small buildings, just north of the overpass' exit ramp. If Sutherlands had come from that direction, their base was almost certainly down there. It would make sense for the Caliburn to head in that direction, to get out of danger and rejoin its comrades.

Except…

"Izumi, watch the fields," she ordered. "He won't stray far from the wreckage."

"Yes major!"

A risk, but a necessary one. He would have to stay there if he wanted a clear shot at the tunnel mouth. If Yui had guessed right, he would not abandon so vital a post.

At least, not until some help arrived.

"Captain Motomiya, what's your situation?" She couldn't see much to her left; the battle having moved into Taniguchi itself.

"We've got them bogged down in here!" replied Motomiya. "But they're hitting us hard!"

"Hold them as long as you can," Yui ordered, glancing back towards the tunnel. "I want 2nd company out here as soon as 1st company is all out. Watch the north road, and get those wagons moving!"

Two of 2nd company's Burais, recognizable by their markings, were already at the wagons; picking up the heavy concrete blocks and tossing them off the track. Not an elegant approach, but a necessary one if those wagons were to be moved.

"1st company, all out!" called a voice over the comm. Yui watched as more 2nd company Burais began to emerge, taking up position along the train. She watched, with a little pride, as they moved around the train without having to be told, careful not to clog up the track.

She looked to the north. The road to Miyamadera was clear, so far. But the Britannians had to know they were there, by now. And beyond the hill there hung a pall of smoke, round about where Mariyama ought to be. Clearly the bombardment had gone ahead, but she couldn't hear any firing; at least nothing like a full bombardment.

A thump, to the north-west. She looked, and saw a pillar of smoke rising from Tsuruga. There was a crack, and a thump; then another, and another.

Counterbattery fire. She should have expected that. Amada knew what he was doing. He wouldn't have been so stupid as to keep on mass-firing, not when up against Britannians. He would have fired as long as he dared, then split up his guns for counterbattery fire. Fire, move, fire, move; rinse and repeat until one side or the other gave up or got clobbered by something else.

The downside was that she couldn't expect much artillery support any time soon. Amada would need every gun he had to keep the Britannians occupied. The more Caliburns they assigned to counterbattery fire, the fewer they had for direct fire support.

She would just have to make do, at least for…

"Firing!" Izumi fired again, her shot blasting yet another hole out of a large building out in the fields. An instant later there was another crash, as another crater was blasted in the hillside.

It was working, so far. He couldn't aim properly with Izumi tracking him. All he could do was harass. Until…

"Look out on the right!"

Yui snapped her head round, just in time to see a line of APCs emerging from the Miyamadera road; guns blazing. One of 2nd company's Burais went down, but the rest were firing, peppering the APCs with 20mm rounds. An anti-tank round followed, and the lead APC blew apart, the one behind barrelling into the wreckage and the other two screeching to a halt. But instead of pulling back, they stayed where they were, downing another Burai and keeping up a hail of fire.

Yui was momentarily confused. What were they thinking, charging out like that?

Unless..

"Watch the hillsides! Watch for infantry!"

Some of the Burais turned their guns on the tree-covered hillside. Yui's heart clenched as she made out the movements in the undergrowth. Then came a whoosh, and a tiny black shape accelerating away from the trees; a trail of smoke barely visible behind it.

Yui opened her mouth to shout a warning, but too late; as the rocket slammed into one of the Burais. The knightmare blew apart, and the others opened upon the hillside. Their gunfire ripped into the trees, sending clouds of shredded wood and undergrowth up in all directions. Yui saw grey-clad bodied tumbling, vanishing out of sight.

"Firing!"

She heard Izumi's g-cannon fire, and an instant later, the explosion.

"That's a hit!" yelled Aki. "Scratch one assault gun!"

Yui looked. The building in the fields had been blasted to rubble, and she could just make out the remnants of a Caliburn assault gun. Izumi's shot must have hit the battery pack.

"Well shot, Izumi!" she called out. Then her blood ran cold, as she saw the flicker of movement behind the ruins.

"Incoming, up ahead!"

She zoomed in her camera, and gritted her teeth as she saw them clearly. Four APCs standing line-abreast, soldiers piling out and forming up ahead of them. Two Caliburns followed on, moving out alongside them, railguns lowered in direct-fire mode.

"Enemy armour, to the west!" she yelled, heart hammering. "3rd squadron, form line ahead! Fire smoke rounds!"

As the 3rd squadron's Burais moved up, Yui's mind raced. She needed the Iron Storm now, but the wagons were still in the way. If only…

"Kazusa!"

"Brakes are off!" yelled Kazusa, her Burai standing up.

"All right! Third company, skirmish line to the north! Second company, get those wagons rolling!"

The second company Burais crowded around the wagons, the third company Burais moving to take their place. But Yui's eyes were on the approaching enemy, away across the fields. There were four Caliburns now, and yet more APCs, with more troops unloading. She had one chance to survive this. Just one chance…

The landspinners growled, hurling ballast behind them. Slowly, but surely, the wagons began to move. Creaking and groaning they rolled, picking up speed. The smoke rounds erupted, shrouding the Britannians in billowing white. It wouldn't hold them for long, but it might buy her some time. Just a minute. Even a few seconds.

"Command squad, fall in with me!'

She stepped onto the track and lowered her landspinners, accelerating after the wagons. Over the small bridge, under the overpass, and along the tracks. To her left were the fields, the ruins still smoking, to her right a hillside, then the Yoza neighbourhood. On and on they rolled, the seconds counting down, her heart hammering like a drum; every moment expecting the enemy to emerge from the smoke, and blast them all to pieces.

"All right! Let go and form line!"

2nd company obeyed, splitting away from the wagons and forming a skirmish line. The wagons rolled on, axle boxes sparking, racing away at a remarkable speed.

The clouds billowed, and a Caliburn emerged, then another, on the road right next to the tracks. Yui watched, heart leaping, as one of them turned its turret to the wagons and fired. The short tore through the wagons, ripping the first one apart and sending the others jack-knifing around it, tumbling through the air and crashing to the ground; concrete blocks flying everywhere. One of them hit one of the Caliburns, hurling it end-over end and crashing into a house.

"Second company!" Yui's heart erupted. "Rain fire on them!"

The surviving Caliburn was rolling back, its turret rotating towards them. One of the Burais fired, its AT round catching the Caliburn under the turret, blowing it off. The others were firing too, spraying 20mm rounds and frag grenades at the infantry as they emerged from the dissipating smoke. Men fell, and APCs blew apart, but those remaining fired back. One of her Burais exploded, another ejected, and another, and another.

And still they came on. Yui could see them, advancing along the roads towards them. APCs and troops on foot, more and more of them. And on her scanner screen below, friendly icons winked out, one after another.

She gritted her teeth, and readied her rifle. They would have to fall back, slowly, moving and firing, as the Britannians came at them like a wave. Their blood was up, and they were fighting like men possessed. No amount of firepower, or death it seemed, would deter them. If she could only…

The road ahead of her erupted, the explosions washing over her like a gust of wind. Yui looked behind, and her heart leapt to see the black shape of the Iron Storm on the tracks behind them, just outside the overpass. The turret guns fired, and the mortars further back lobbed round after round. In front of her, the Britannians were dying; the APCs blasted apart, the grey-clad bodies hurled left and right.

And then silence. Stillness. The only movement the billowing of smoke, and the dance of the flames.

"Second company!" Yui ordered, her voice hoarse. "Fall back to the overpass!"

Had they succeeded? Had they won?

Yui waited, watching, as the second company fell back; gathering up the downed pilots and lugging any knightmares that could still move. Her body felt as heavy as lead, her head as if it were about to explode.

Then there were none. There was only her, staring into the sea of fire that had once been a suburb, a ghetto. She had no idea if anyone had even been in there when the battle started.

And she didn't want to know.

"Major…" It was Kazusa. "Major, are you all right?"

Yui blinked.

"I'm fine, Lieutenant." She felt so very tired. "I'm fine."

(X)

Nagoya Settlement, Aichi Prefecture

Gilbert Guilford had to fight to keep his face straight.

As the elevator rushed him up to the command centre, he had what would have been, under better circumstances, a fine view of the settlement. It was smaller than Tokyo settlement, but still impressive. He could see the tall silver towers, some of them pock-marked by artillery strikes, and the glittering lights marking out the settlement limits. Beyond that lay the ghettoes, where the enemy were.

A flash drew his eye. An explosion, somewhere in one of the outer precincts. The defenders' assault guns had been duelling on-and-off with the enemy artillery for the past few hours; though the fire had slackened noticeably.

He couldn't see much from up there. Had they got one of the Caliburns? Or had they just flattened another street? Had there been anyone down there?

At least he couldn't hear anything up there. He couldn't hear the gunfire, or the flames, or the weeping. Just the hum of the elevator, shielding him from the darkness.

The door slid open. He stepped out, and strode along the corridor, lined as it had been before with armed guards. When he reached the double-doors of the command centre, the guard seemed to take an inordinately long time to check his ID, and get permission to let him in. It probably wasn't deliberate, but it felt that way.

Inside, the command centre was much as it had been before. Tired-looking subaltern officers manned the duty stations, and Interim-Viceroy Calares stood at the main map table in the centre of the floor. He was glaring down at it, with his usual glare.

Gilbert waited. He waited for at least five minutes, though it felt like forever

"Captain Guilford," Calares eventually said, straightening up from the map table. "Are you aware of why I have summoned you here?"

"I am not, my lord," Gilbert replied. "Do you have orders for me?"

Calares turned to face him, and it was all Gilbert could do not to shudder. The look in his eyes was like nothing he had ever seen before.

"You have been harassing my officers," he said, his tone icy cold and thick with menace. "You have sought information on matters that do not concern you. Worse yet, you have attempted to contact his Highness Prince Schneizel directly."

Gilbert felt sick. He wasn't all that surprised that his rank-pulling around the bureau had been found out. But his desperate communique to the palace? He had been sure it was a secure channel!

"My lord, I am Knight of Honour to her Imperial Highness Princess Cornelia, who at this time remains the Vicereine of Area 11. As her Imperial Highness' representative, it is my right and duty to be informed of all matters. As for my private communication, I was seeking information as to her highness' condition and wishes."

Once, ranking generals would have quailed at such words; or at least treated him politely. Now, in that place, and with that man standing there, it just sounded arrogant. Foolish even.

"You are a jumped-up flunky, interfering in matters that do not concern you," retorted Calares. "You think, because you have paid court to princesses, and done their foolish bidding, that this entitles you to a place in the chain of command."

Gilbert bristled. To be endlessly insulted by this man was one thing. But to have Princess Cornelia spoken-of in that tone…

"Because of you, and people like you, this area is in chaos," Calares went on. "And now you have the gall to undermine my command further. You are…"

"Viceroy! Report from the sentry line!"

Calares rounded on the hapless comm officer. The unfortunate man paled, but mastered himself.

"What is it?" he demanded.

"It's the enemy, my lord. They're making another broadcast."

Calares straightened up. There was a strange, cold look in his eyes.

"Activate external receivers," he ordered. "Let's hear it."

The speakers crackled, and a voice began to speak. A voice that made Gilbert's blood run cold.

"…like a mighty wave, that shall sweep away the enemies of humanity! Those who take power and abuse it! Those who imprison the world in a past of their own dark imagining! Those who exploit and deceive humanity for their own profit and pleasure! Japanese, you have arisen! Japanese, you have broken the power of Britannia! Japanese, let us set the world ablaze! Together!"

Zero. Always Zero. Always that voice, haunting his nightmares, hovering like a shadow over his soul.

"He's here," Calares growled. "Zero has come to Nagoya."

He straightened up, that cold light bright in his eyes.

"Orders off to all line formations. Positions to be held to the last man. All further orders will be issued from this command centre by courier. All other communications of any kind are to be ignored."

He paused, glaring around the command centre, until the bewildered officers set to work. Then he returned his attention to Gilbert.

"Nothing to say, Captain?" he sneered. "After you have made such efforts to be informed? After you have sought to undermine and steal my position?"

Gilbert could not believe what he was hearing. Was Calares just being childish? Or was he really that paranoid? Were the stories about his time in Area Eight true?

"My lord, your orders will make it extremely difficult for the troops to fight effectively," he said. "Also, General Waterford is being forced out of Tsuruga. If he is not reinforced, Tohdoh will break through into northern Kansai and take Kyoto, rendering our position untenable."

Calares gave him that look again. Gilbert met his gaze, but through the corners of his eyes looked out for any sign of support from the staff officers. There was none. Some were glancing their way, but most were keeping their heads firmly down. Clearly they were used to Calares.

"Zero is known to be able to infiltrate and interfere with our communications networks," replied Calares. "Which do you find more believable? That some washed-up Eleven and his half-baked militia are defeating General Waterford's forces? Or that Zero has sent a false communication to lure our troops out of position?"

So he was that paranoid. He would leave Waterford and his troops to fend for themselves, rather than risk one of Zero's tricks. Such paranoia had doubtless served Calares well in Area Eight, where telling friend from enemy had been hard enough at the best of times. But in a combat situation, there could be no place for it.

"My lord, your paranoia risks defeat!"

"No, captain, it ensures our survival!" Calares snapped back. "Prince Schneizel has ordered me to hold the Kansai redoubt at any cost. And if Tohdoh or Zero or anyone else seeks to enter Kyoto, the cost will be paid in full."

His mouth formed into a smirk that sent a shiver down Gilbert's spine.

"Lieutenant Imray," he said, turning to a nervous-looking subaltern. "How long before the missile reprogramming is complete?"

"At least two more hours, viceroy."

For a moment, Gilbert was puzzled. Missile reprogramming?

"Not good enough." The smirk vanished. "Get down there and hurry them up."

"Yes, my lord." Imray made to leave.

"Halt, lieutenant!"

Imray froze at Gilbert's barked command.

"Captain, this is becoming a habit," said Calares, his sneer returning. "Carry on, lieutenant."

"Stay where you are, lieutenant!"

Gilbert fixed his eyes on Calares. He would not back down. He would not look away. Not now that he knew what Calares meant.

"My lord, tell me that you are not doing what I think you are doing." A part of him wanted to plead, to beg. Anything to stop what he knew was going to happen. "Tell me that you have not lost your mind as well as your honour."

Calares did not so much as twitch. He actually looked pleased with himself.

"Guards, Captain Guilford is hereby placed under arrest," he said, his tone almost tripping with triumph. "Take him somewhere where he cannot tell tales. Also, the Glaston knights are to be placed under arrest too."

"My lord!" Gilbert began glancing around the room as two guards stepped forward and grabbed his arms. "My lord, this is insanity!"

But no voice was raised in his support. They could not even look him in the eye. Even Imray, who looked so young, just looked away.

There was no stopping this. There was nothing he could do.

"You will answer for this!" he snarled, as the guards arm-locked him. "You will answer to Princess Cornelia, and to his majesty!"

Calares just looked at him, with what he knew was contempt.

"I'm sorry, Gilbert," he said. "Princess Cornelia won't be playing with you anymore."

He nodded sharply, and the guards hauled Gilbert away.

(X)

Lieutenant James Imray paused, as Sir Gilbert Guilford was escorted out of the command centre. Calares turned back to the map table, and James knew there was nothing more to say.

He strode out through the main door, pausing in the foyer as the guards took Guilford to the side elevators; the ones leading down to the secure levels, and the cell blocks. Imray thought of following them, but instead chose to head to the main elevator, at the opposite end of the foyer. It would not do to get too close, not with things as they were.

The doors slid shut, and the elevator began its long journey down. He could see the gleaming silver cityscape of the settlement, and beyond it, the darkness of the ghetto. He could hear music playing, blaring from loudspeakers hidden somewhere in the black morass, dulled by distance and the translucent wall of the elevator shaft.

It took him a moment to recognize it. The March of Robert Bruce, not often played in Britannia. Slow, dignified, and somehow mournful. He wondered, for a moment, why the Elevens had chosen it.

As if he could ever understand them. Those who preferred the misery of the ghetto to the comforts of the settlement, and the opportunities of the empire beyond. Those who had preferred to suffer, and die, than accept a scrap of kindness from their country's conqueror.

A lot like this father, that way. His father, and the rest of his family; who had ignored Prince Charles zi Britannia's call, and remained loyal to the reigning Emperor; the man history would remember as Darien the Assassin, and whose very reign was declared false. The price had been his father's death amid the slaughter in the palace, and the ruin of what remained of his family. Titles revoked, lands taken, jobs lost, engagements broken off.

He alone had managed to escape. He had pleaded his case to Prince Schneizel, having heard of others doing so. His highness had helped him, put in a good word for him, allowing him to enter the Imperial military academy, and become an officer. But when his family had learned of his success, their response had been to disown him.

He had escaped, and they had disowned him. They had preferred poverty and rejection to redemption. They had preferred to live in squalor than admit they were wrong. Were the Elevens the same? Could they simply not live without pride? Was the right to call oneself Japanese worth dying for?

He didn't know. But he did know one thing. He owed Prince Schneizel everything. And if Prince Schneizel needed him to do something, he would do it.

He closed his eyes, glad of his solitude. In his mind's eye he could still see that pale, angelic face, that look of noble sorrow, those cold and regal eyes. He did not know what was truly behind those eyes, and he doubted there was anyone in the empire who truly did. But it did not matter. Prince Schneizel had asked, and he would give.

Give all. Give everything.

But now there was a problem. Calares had turned his paranoia and rage onto Sir Gilbert Guilford, and now he had been arrested. And soon enough, he would be joined by the Glaston knights; waiting down below in the knightmare hangar, blissfully unaware of the treachery about to be inflicted upon them.

He could not let them die. He knew the Glastons by reputation, and had served under Guilford since his arrival with Princess Cornelia a few months earlier. They were good knights, good officers, men of honour and decency, worthy to stand at Princess Cornelia's side. They did not deserve what Calares had in mind for them, or what he himself was doomed to inflict.

He had to save them. But if he tried, he risked endangering the mission. He could not fail Prince Schneizel, but if he did nothing, those men would die.

"Oh, Prince Schneizel," he whispered, amid the electric hum of the elevator, the music hanging in the air. "Why was it necessary? Why did you have to give me such a sad test?"

He opened his eyes. This was a test, and a test he would pass. If he had to risk the mission, he would find a way to save it. He had to try.

He reached into his pocket, and drew out his phone. He would have to work fast.

(X)

Nagoya Bay, Aichi Prefecture

Lelouch drew in a breath, as Kallen pulled the zip up the back of his wetsuit.

"How is it?" she asked, curtly.

"Like drowning in mud," he replied, with a levity that he did not much feel. "Nevertheless, I'm all set."

"Right."

Kallen turned away, and Lelouch suppressed a sigh. She had been like this ever since the meeting at Seto. Even now that they were on board the submarine, and on their way to Nagoya, her mood had not improved.

But for all that, he had kept her with him. He had let her in his private cabin, with the soundproofed walls, and which he checked for bugs every time he went in there. He had taken his mask off in front of her. Without CC, there was no one else he dared let in there, let alone see his face.

And in spite of everything…he liked having her around.

Kallen began reaching behind her back for her own wetsuit, her Black Knights jacket visible under it. Though she was easily at least as uncomfortable in the thick, heavy wetsuit as he was, the alternative was her underwear.

She hissed as she pulled at the zip. Lelouch stepped forward, took the zip, and pulled it up into place; then stepped back to take a look. The suit was shapeless and unappealing, making her look like some kind of vaguely-humaniform sea creature. That was as well, as it was a wetsuit designed by the Mahratta Confederate Navy for the use of its elite frogmen teams. Aesthetics, by whatever standard, had not come into it.

"Thanks," she said, with an air of reluctance.

"We should go," he said. "We should be in position now."

"Why?"

Something in the word, the tone of it, made Lelouch grit his teeth.

"Why what?" he asked, in a tone somewhat harsher than was appropriate. He did not have time for this.

"You're doing it again," Kallen growled. "You came up with this cockamamie plan and didn't tell anyone about it until the last minute. And on top of that, you outright lied to those people!"

"Kallen…"

"They think you're leading them!" Kallen rounded on him, eyes blazing. "They're fighting the Britannians, thinking you're in command, that you're gonna make all this work! But they're just a decoy! You're using them!"

Lelouch felt his gut clench. He had never thought he would ever be angry with Kallen, but there was no other word for it.

"Yes, Kallen," he almost spat the words. "I lied to them. And I am using them. And they will die."

That was the plain truth, as it had always been. He would not have denied it, even if he wanted to.

Kallen glared at him, her blue eyes angry and defiant. She had been biting her tongue, at least since the meeting at Seto; Lelouch was quite certain.

"I know that this is a war," she said, visibly restraining herself. "I knew this was going to be hard, that people would die. But that's not the point."

"Then what is?"

Kallen took a long breath.

"It looks like you don't care," she said, her voice hoarse with emotion. "It's like you don't care about them, about Japan. People are starting to wonder."

Lelouch felt a chill in his stomach. He had half-suspected that there would be doubts and questions; there always had been before. But hearing from Kallen like this…

"And what are they wondering?" he asked, unable to keep an edge of scorn from his tone. "Do they suppose I have some secret purpose? Or that I'll sell Japan out to the Chinese? Did they have some other possibility in mind?"

"You're not listening!" snapped Kallen. "It's not about practicalities! It's about feelings!"

She paused again, mastering herself.

"Naoto wasn't half as smart as you," she said. "But he always listened to us, always asked for our opinions. He didn't always do what we wanted, but he asked. We couldn't do all that much, but we were a team, all together. We'd have done anything for him, and we knew he would do anything for us."

Lelouch knew what she was saying. But he felt no better for it.

"What would you have me do, Kallen?" he asked, half-rhetorically. "I am what I am. I don't know how to be anyone else."

"I'm not saying you have to be touchy-feely or anything," insisted Kallen. "But that felt really cold. You just unloaded that whole plan on us, and then you took Xingke along but left them there. That hurts, Lelouch. It really feels like you don't care about them or Japan."

A part of Lelouch wanted to spit, or scream. He didn't want to have to care about them, or about their country. He didn't want to have to attend to their emotional needs, when there were so many things that needed doing. He didn't have time for this.

"And what do you think, Kallen? What do you feel about all this?"

He half-expected her to snap at him again. But she didn't.

"That day in Tokyo, when we helped that hotdog guy, and we talked about Japan being in the empire," she said, a little awkwardly. "You said that you couldn't blame people for becoming Honourary Britannians, and I slapped you for it."

Lelouch remembered. He was surprised at how vividly he remembered.

"What you said, hurt," Kallen went on. "It reminded me of my mother, and what she had done. It wasn't until we found her in that refrain den that I finally realised why she had done it. It wasn't weakness, or greed, or some pathetic need to be near my father. It was…it was for my sake. She did it to be near me."

She paused, drawing a breath.

"I know you did the same for Nunnally," she continued. "You didn't like it at Ashford Academy. You were bored, unfulfilled, uninterested. I could tell, because that's how I felt a lot of the time. And I know Milly drove you up the wall. But Nunnally was happy there, so you put up with it."

Lelouch's heart clenched. Never, not even with Suzaku, had anything like this ever happened. CC had always seen right through him, but she had never expressed it quite like this; not in a way that made him feel like this.

"I know this country means something to you," she said. "Something about us struck a chord with you. I know that, but I'm the only one who knows. The others don't. They don't understand. If you don't start including them more…they'll get the wrong idea."

Would they?

It was a possibility Lelouch had long considered, though he had not seriously believed it could happen; at least not after Narita. Could the Black Knights turn on him? Or might they just lose interest, and drift away once the war was done?

He hadn't thought about it. He hadn't considered much beyond the work of liberating Japan; for that had been work enough to keep him occupied for a lifetime. But now it was almost done, and his plans had never been limited to Japan.

Lelouch sighed. It was time to come clean.

"Even if I could do that, there would be no point," he said. "Most of them won't be here much longer."

Kallen's eyes widened in surprise. She hadn't been expecting that one.

"What're you talking about?" Her bewilderment turned to anger, and fear. "You're…you can't just throw them out! Not after all we've been through together!"

"I'm not throwing anyone out," replied Lelouch firmly. "But this war will soon end, and Japan will soon be free. How many do you suppose will stay, now that they've gotten what they were fighting for?"

Kallen faltered, her mouth opening in a retort that wouldn't come.

"I do overhear things, Kallen," he went on. "They've been talking more than ever about their plans for the future, about their hopes for the new Japan. That includes Tamaki and Ougi."

"No!" Kallen looked like a child whose best friend was moving away. "No, not Ougi! Ougi wouldn't just leave! And Tamaki idolises you!"

Lelouch suppressed a sigh. He should have felt some satisfaction at knocking her off her high horse. But he just felt sad, seeing her like that. She looked so…lonely.

"Ougi was tired of fighting even when I arrived," he said, more gently this time. "And what happened in Minobu hurt Tamaki a great deal. I can't condemn either of them for wanting out, and neither should you."

Kallen said nothing. She just stood there, eyes lowered, looking so desperately unhappy in a way he had never seen her be before. It was enough to make him wish he hadn't said anything.

"In any case, Kallen," he continued, bracing himself. "You need to think about your own future. What you want."

That look again. Those eyes again. It hurt to see them.

"Your mother is safe now," he went on. "And from what I'm hearing, you've been getting along very well with Benio Akagi. People tell me you treat her like your little sister. Wouldn't you rather have a peaceful life with them, Kallen? Isn't that what you wanted all along?"

Kallen gulped. There were tears in her blue eyes.

"Yes, I did," she said, hoarsely. "I want us to be a family again. And Benio-chan…I can't explain it, but…if that's what she wants, then we'll be a family together."

So he had been right. He had known what those eyes meant, when they looked at Benio Akagi. The same eyes that had looked upon Nunnally. Two wounded hearts had by a trick of fate found one-another.

"But I still want to be a Black Knight!" she cried, her old passion erupting. "This is where I belong! I've never belonged anywhere before, not like this! Here, I feel like I'm doing something, like I'm actually changing things!"

Exactly what he had feared she would say. Exactly what he had wanted her to say.

"Nevertheless, you must decide," he replied, gently. "Who, and what, are you changing things for? Are you just in it for Japan, or for something more? Is it enough that Japan is free? Or would you set the whole world free?"

Kallen did not reply. She was no longer glaring, no longer angry. But Lelouch could tell that she was struggling, coming slowly to a hard decision. He could see it in her eyes, her body language. Her doubts, her questions, the fact that he hadn't actually responded to what she was trying to tell him. All the worse for the simple fact that he didn't know how.

"I said I was with you to the end," she said, with determination. "And…even if Japan is free, it won't end just like that. If the world isn't free, then Japan isn't free. If you're going global, then I'm in."

"Thank you, Kallen."

He was surprised by how much he meant it. He was about to say more, when the intercom buzzed.

"Zero," he said, pressing the button."

"We are in position now, Zero." It was Rakshata, from up on the bridge. "The teams are assembled in dock A."

"I'm on my way." He switched off the intercom, and picked up his mask from the table.

"Time for us to go."

(X)

And here it is.

This took a long time, far longer than expected. I can only apologise for the long delay. My productivity has been very low over the past few months, and this chapter proved a lot more difficult than I expected.

Apart from anything else, it turned out a lot longer than I expected. I was intending to finish up in this chapter, but when I added in Tohdoh's segments, it ended up huge. I probably could have fitted them in if I cut everything else out and focussed on Lelouch, but I feel the chapter would be less for it. Also, I've been keeping you all waiting for so long, and I didn't want to drag it out any longer.

So, the next chapter will be the last one for this arc. The Black Rebellion will come to its conclusion, and Schneizel's plan will be revealed at last.

Apologies once again for the long delay. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.