"War is a lot like sculpting, to make a comparison you will understand Clovis, if the sculptor, the leader, makes all the right moves, it creates a piece of such beauty as to inspire the strongest emotions in others, if done wrong? It only inspires despair as to what it could have been."

Alexander Andreas Gustavus di Britannia.

….

"How is the Shinobi running B-1?"

"Quite well K-1." Sayoko said, the woman's voice firm, "Tough the lack of rear armor is rather worrisome."

"Yeah sorry about that B-1, I know it's not nearly ready for full on combat, but we will only be facing infantry and light vehicles, should be no trouble, still be careful."

"Understood K-1."

He watched from the cockpit block of the disassembled former Agamemnon, now renamed Shogun, stored in the back of the a moving van not too far away from the target, he was rather amused at the full 360 degree vision, but the sensor suit meant he had perfect vision of the surround kilometre on his map. The operation was proceeding as planned, with all going passably well in his opinion, his hired mafia goons, getting into position to deliver their distractions as paid too.

"This is K-1 to all P-groups, is all in place?"

"Yeah boss, all is as you wanted."

"Good, then get out of here, your payment has been transferred."

Cutting the line he had to them he flicked the cap of his detonator open, thinking about all of the possibilities, all of the plans that were laid for this operation, his first strike again the Empire. The first test of his skill, a pathetic one in truth, but one he was going to face head on, he pressed down onto the detonator and watched as the sensors stuttered for a second, the map reshaping to show the four buildings that had fell onto the bases walls.

"Shinobi engaging!" he watched as Sayoko launched her frame over one of the makeshift ramps, the soldiers within the base forced to watch several entrances were quickly slaughtered by her shoulder mounted guns, the only weapon currently mounted on the rather hard to maintain Knightmare Frame. She jumped around the few rocket launcher shots, the only weapon able to pierce the still rather thin armor on her frame."

"K-1, B-1 reports enemy is routed."

"Place the charges and get out B-1, it won't be long until the enemy responds."

…

"So what is the plan Andre?" Dora said, running a brush through her hair, a nervous habit she had had since the academy.

"Madagascar is a tough nut, we are not here to fight a country after all, but to fight the euro sponsored Blue-Hawk mercenary group, they are overseeing the islands peaceful transfer of power."

"Peaceful my ass." Nonnette pipes up, the woman leaning back in her chair as the six of us sat around the map table, "They are keeping the leader the people elected in prison because he sympathises with the Empire, while supporting the one who's an Euro puppet."

"Exactly, planning around that has proved tough, as my standard strategy of air based dominance is out, lest we accidently blow up a local village, best we can do is to shoot down enemy aircraft." I turn my eyes to the odd one sitting at the table, Thatcher is focused and not at all bothered about all the powerful people in the room. "To start out we will need to deal with the Hawks communications, the European satellite network is non-existent, with them only just launching their first orbiter, as such they have been forced to use signal relays, three of these are operational on the island, one in the north, one in the south and one in between."

"And I am going to assume R6 is going to be taking them out? I must inform you that we have only got 20 operatives with us my lord." Thatcher said, the gruff man chuckling as he continued. "But I am going to assume you have a plan."

"Of course, R6 will deploy in two teams, dropped ten kilometres south and ten kilometres north of the central relay using a HALO drop, the southern team will meet up with a local resistance group, they will assist you in capturing a local airfield, then push towards the relay." I pause for a moment as I highlight the indicated targets, "The Northern team has it a bit easier, they will push south and bust open a prison to free some revolutionaries and then meet up with the southern team at the relay."

"R6 will do as you order, my Lord."

"With communications cut, the northern and southern sections of the Hawks will be unable to communicate, the northern garrison is by far the larger one, even if it only has Panzer Knightmares and not the new Tiger models it will require a great amount of forces to deal with." I pause to catch my breath, "Nonnette, Monica, I am leaving command of the battalion to you two."

"I will not disappoint you, your Highness."

"Please Monica, call me Andre, you have more than earned the privilege." I smile as the woman blushes, Ri and Dora exchanging cash in her favour this time.

"What about the south?" Marius says, knowing full well that I am planning something, as I have effectively left no forces available for dealing with the south of the island, with the exception of the Spartans.

"Simple enough, Dorathea, Marius we are going to attack the prison," I take another pause, "Then, then we throw out some bait."

…

"Initiating start-up sequence, Yggdrasil drive spin-up complete, ignition, firing, Hud system, on, Thrusters, online, Perseus ready for operation your highness." The assistant hesitated for a moment, "The boss would really like it if you would test out the new harkens, he has been getting loud..."

"I will make sure to do so," I chuckle, "I know how loud Harris can get believe me."

"Understood Sir, I will relay it."

Perseus rolled onto the flight deck swiftly, soon joined by the Hercules and Hippolyta, the three of us loaded into the VTOL transports, a strange experience that always disorientated me. Our insertion into the combat zone would be a bit different from the rest of my personal forces, the Spartans had already made land fall some twenty kilometres from the prison. But if I joined them there was a good chance of them simply killing the guy we were after, which we could not allow, and as all of my special forces were busy elsewhere, we decided to go in hard.

10 transport helicopters loaded with veteran infantry long with three 6 generation Knightmare frames will drop directly onto the prison, meanwhile the Spartans would rush towards us to reinforce. Perseus hummed around me in pleasure, the machine I was so used to working like a well-worn bike, the VTOL sent the ready signal and I disengaged Mag lock, my Frame dropping down at ever increasing speed. I burned the thrusters on my way down, the parachutes on my back blown away as I fired the new grappling Harkens into a building spotting my soft landing, with a blink my battle meditation activated. The new spatial awareness and sharp pain allowed me to direct my spear down into the cockpit block of a Tiger, the massive Knightmares frame buckling as its suspension failed to hold the Perseus added weight.

"Crack of the Lightning splitting the ground! Thunder is sounding artillery pounding! Wrath of the Nazi, cast on Bastogne! Facing their forces alone! ALONE!"

Around me were another 4 of the new European Tiger type frames, one of 3 squads of 5 of such Knightmares on the island, I could feel them nearby, Dora and Ri already engaging theirs. Guess I should hurry and deal with mine. As my harkens returned from the buildings I had used as leverage fired my shoulder cannons into one of the Tigers, slamming through the front armor just below its own chest cannon, boiling the Euro inside.

When my harkens had respun themselves a millisecond later I used the improved targeting programming to lock onto the two Tigers on the edges of their already broken unit, launching them into the two tigers just above the barrel, I launched forward they pulled me spear-tip first into the commander of their unit. With their commander impaled to my spear I released it as I anchored my legs and pulled the harkens back, the tigers attached to them pulled with, in the same motion I drew my sword, slicing back as the Knightmares passed me both tigers parted in half just below the cockpit in a smooth motion. A squad gone within ten seconds of landing

"This is the Lion, enemy exterminated, choppers are clear to land, take the prison." I paused for a short moment, switching the line to my friends. "Marius hurry up would you, I can see Panzers incoming 3 kilometres out."

"And here I thought there was time to have some fun..."

"Goals before Goons Marius, I am sure there will be plenty to fight later." I smile in amusement, Dora's Hippolyta coming around the corner with a screech of tires. Her machine resembles a giant cannon in shape more than a Knightmare, its design concept was fairly similar to the Tiger, only with Britannian design principles, unlike the Tiger, the Hippolyta could fold away its cannon and use its arm mounted lighter weapons without the risk of bending its barrel in close quarters. "Dorathea, they should come into your range in twelve seconds, fire at will."

"Roger that."

Exactly twelve seconds later the column of Panzers was lit by a bright green explosion the front three ranks being knocked down from the shockwave. The Hippolyta's Brace pattern heavy cannon was a piece of work, its first inceptions as worthless as the first prototypes of the Perseus with the amount of fuel it required, even if the penetration was far better than the one produced by the currently mounted nineteenth model.

"Now that is hot."

"Not interested Andre, you know that."

"I do, I meant the explosion, that gets my blood pumping."

"So when are you and Monica going to fuck?" Marius said as the Hercules finally arrived at the street we were going to hold, "I have a lot of money riding on it happening before we get back home."

"Just for that I will resist using my charms on her." The siblings broke out into loud laughter, and I knew what she was going to say long before Dora opened her mouth.

"What charms Andre? You know as much about hitting on a woman as I do about hitting on a man, which is still less the Ri of course."

"HEY! I thought we were on the same side!"

"Point goes to Dora, but we still have incoming hostiles."

….

"The money has been transferred into your accounts as agreed, the information should be at your doorstep by the end of this conversation. I am sure it will be of interest to you."

"So your larger objective was a success?"

"Of course, a few complications arose but all was resolved in my favour." The illusive man took a draw from his cigar, "I have heard that your project has run into some trouble with supplies and advance tech?"

"I am not even going to ask how you know of that." Lelouch answered, an eyebrow raised in annoyance.

"If you are willing to do another favour for me I can have the plans looked over by a contact of mine, Rakshata Chawla, I am sure you have heard of her."

"She made advanced biotech medication and prosthetics, of course I have heard of her."

"Recently she has begun working on Knightmares, if you give her a copy of the schematics you acquired from the Agamemnon and Spartan-III she would be more than happy to send simplified versions back to you."

"So what is the job?"

"No job, just a favour."

"What's the favour then!" Lelouch was getting rather annoyed with the Illusive fucker, his tendency to wax on and correct him was grating.

"I need you to place a bug in the principal's office."

…..

"So may I ask why we are playing this game your Highness, it seems rather strange."

"But of course Major, it is strange, but the ones falling for the bait won't know that." I paused for a moment as my infantry pushed forward on the animated battle map, "For all the Hawks know this is something I do regularly at home, which is why they will come for us."

"So you are using yourself as bait to lure out the last Hawk forces in the south?" Major Obedia was the man elected by the people to lead the nation of Madagascar into freedom as a protectorate of Britannia, a man of short stature with a long beard, bald head and honest eyes. "There are ways that would not endanger either of us."

"Of course there are, but those risk more important things, why should I not risk myself?" I paused, scratching my short beard "Afterall, either all will go as planned or I will not be around to see the result of my failure."

"A pragmatic outlook that could be confused with a lack of love of life, but I know that you don't plan to fail, it's the only reason I am getting comfortable here."

"Good, please do." I said as I took a sip of my rum, a cheap Caribbean brew that had become my favourite, even if the banana flavoured rum I found here was rivalling it, the man was right too, I have no intention of losing. The variables were minimal and my Battle-meditation had already found where they would be coming from and the subtle signals my battle map movements showed meant that my security would respond properly. "All will go well and you will be restored to power soon."

"And you will get another conquest to add to your record, conqueror of Madagascar perhaps."

"I much prefer liberator of Madagascar in truth, I feel it will fit well between Hero of Shanghai and Breaker of the Gate." I joke, leaning back to take another swig.

"I am sure it will your Highness."

"Don't flatter me Major, no need for it, names and titles only increase the time it takes to get through a door to someone important."

"I am sure it is just terrible your Highness, those precious few seconds wasted must have killed you a dozen times over."

"I am beginning to like you."

….

"Alright Rivalz! I will go gambling with you next week can you please stop badgering me about it!"

"YES! Finally, it's been so long Lelouch, I know you had plenty stored away but I am not so financially responsible."

"That has always been obvious Rivalz, I had just hoped you would find another way of making money."

"Well I tried working for Milly but you know how that turns out..."

"All too well, believe me. I have to go, see you Monday." Lelouch chuckled as he snapped his phone closed, it had been a while since he and Rivalz went gambling, and the extra funds could come in handy with the Shoguns ridiculously expensive assembly requirements.

"K-1, I am ready to proceed with the operation."

"Good B-1. Very good, Shinobi is cleared to engage targets, wipe the scum off of the earth."

"Understood, Shinobi engaging Green Dragons, Mission, extermination."

….

"Clovis why the fuck are you calling me in the middle of the night, I had to deal with assassins not ten minutes ago and I am tired." I said as I leaned back in my chair, the Major having left safely only five minutes ago, to take up office as president in the morning, with the last Hawks combat capability slaughtered at the hands of the Hercules and Hippolyta, I was about to take a well-deserved nights rest when the most annoying of my brothers called. "So this better be important."

"It is Alexander, very much so! Those terrorist had a shootout with each other in Clovis land! In my amusement park! How dare they!" The way he half screamed and gestured wildly told me all I needed to know to be sure that one of his many balls or parties had been interrupted.

"How dare they indeed, why is it that I need to be informed?" I ask with a raised eyebrow, the stiches across it aching, bloody snipers nicked me, luckily it was nothing serious, but again it was likely to scar my poor pretty face.

"Because... Because... Because I want to vent to someone!" There it is, despite all that Clovis did and is doing wrong he is just a child inside, a child wanting to prove himself, maybe he deserves a break.

"Fair enough I suppose, will it help if I promise to help you stomp them out once I return? You may even take credit for it all."

"I suppose that would be nice, they have become rather bothersome."

…..

Sitting in my chair I stare at the screen silently, I watch as Clovis makes his speech denouncing the terrorists and calling for a moment of silence, it has started, and far earlier then I had remembered, May 2017 of the Britannian calendar, I remembered August, but the speech was exactly the same. Plans would have to be altered, events staged, and I am going to need to fly too Japan tomorrow morning as well, Perseus and Hercules will have to remain here for now, due to maintenance and, without my Rounds I am left with a lack of prominent Knightmare commanders as well.

So many problems to come in the next few days, so little I can do about the Headache that will start to spring up. Opening a line to Harris, my top scientist I spoke.

"Harris, get the Sun-Chariot ready ASAP, I need the Perseus and Hercules ready to move."

"Of course your majesty, may I ask why?"

"Not right now unfortunately, this will require your discretion." I noted that Harris's breath skipped a beat, the scientist understood though, that was obvious. "And project Realm, I need it and its subsidiaries moved up to priority one, it is time to escalate."

"Understood your Majesty!"

…..

"Time is the most precious resource of all, it does not matter how well armed one is, it does not matter how well one plans, how good one is in a fight, if one does not take account of time."

Alexander Andreas Gustavus di Britannia.

All credits for lyrics go to Sabaton and their amazing songs, please check them out if you are into history, metal or both!