"Ambush, the word alone sends a shiver of excitement and fear up my spine."
Alexander Andreas Gustavos Di Britannia.
…..
Accessing T.I.M records.
Intel Database connecting...
Connected.
Listing Military Databases:
JLF
Black Knights
Chinese Federation
United European Republic
African federation
Indian Rebel Army
Britannian Empire
Selecting, Britannian Empire, Confirm?
Confirmed.
Army
Navy
Airforce
Generals
Admirals
Prime-Minister Schneizel
The Lion
Selecting the Lion, Confirm?
Confirmed.
Listing assets:
Knightmares
R and D
Liquor
Pride Corp hidden assets
Rounds
Selecting Rounds, Confirm?
Confirmed.
Listing Rounds and affiliation:
1, Bismark Waldstein, Full Loyalist, powerful ability to see ahead in time for a few seconds, no additional information available.
2, Michele Manfredi, possible Lionist, no full political leanings, gained position recently, has been spotted having drinks with Nonette and Dorathea.
3, Gino Wineburg, likely Loyalist, aunt engaged to the emperor, upset with the lion for jokes made about his bedroom prowess.
4, Dorathea Ernst, full Lionist, one of the Lions best friends, closeted Lesbian, love for hard liquor is an open secret.
5, Maria Kingsman, firm Lionist, seemingly obsessed with the Lion, known to have her quarters decorated with over three hundreds pictures, posters and other decoration featuring the lion.
6, Anya Alstreim, full Loyalist, possessed by the spirit of the former empress Mariane, emotionless and distance, dangerous in combat.
7, Leroy Morey, likely Lionist, political leanings tend towards being the same as the lions, cheerful man, nearing retirement, possible forced retirement if new possible round rises the ranks.
8, Janus Go Britannia, full Loyalist, son of the emperor, known as the Purging Prince, affinity for fire suggests possible pyromaniac tendencies.
9, Nonette Enneagram, dirm Lionist, trainer of the Lion, Dorathea and Marius Ernst, great fighter, lax personality, overly friendly.
10, Luciano Bradley, insane, obsessed with blood and death, to be set against targets if possible, otherwise killed at first opportunity,
11, Luna Livos, full Loyalist, family personally saved from execution by the emperor, loyalty unquestionable.
12, Monica Krushevsky, firm Lionist, only granted the position via the Lion's influence, large crush on the lion.
Reading through the files he smirked slightly, smoke wafting around him as he did so, a perfect divide, perfectly balanced, as all things should be. With the exception of an blood crazy murderer.
…..
"Your brother is trying to ambush you."
"Of course he is C.C, I can infer as much from the man." Lelouch answered, there were no noticeable troop movements, which in itself was suspicious, because Alexander was always working towards a big plan, always micro managing troops, always plotting something. "Question is, am I able to turn it around on him."
"Good thinking, so what would you do in his situation Lulu?" She was always so emotionless when talking about strategy like this, different from how he had come to know her, detached from the world where she normally was looking for entertainment. Still, the pizza devouring woman made a fair point, his brother strategies where fairly similar to his own, it would not be hard to imagine himself doing the same in the Lion's position. "Start from the beginning, examine the pieces."
"Alright then C.C, let's try it your way." He muttered, "A large concentration of troops around the Tokyo, inflated garrisons around Kyoto, standard garrisons around the coats, slightly larger garrison around Nagasaki, in striking distance of Tsushima, though if he moves those pieces too much it might mean war with the federation."
"So how would you use this to strike a force on the island?"
"Naval exercise in the Sea of Japan, around the island, to not alert the Chinese to the attack on the rebels, strike with overwhelming force from all sides."
"Except that your brother never launches any naval exercises close to the federation, what would he do?"
"Catch us on the return..."
"Exactly."
….
The Realm class Super Carrier known as Olympus was twice the size of the Empires pervious largest carrier at just over six hundred meters long, and despite its systems being only thirty percent complete it was still faster and more advanced than any other vessel in the world, when she is fully operational the Olympus on her own can dominate the Pacific. Of course the Federation does not know about that yet, they still think she is just a massive carrier, if they did know of her abilities they would attack without doubt.
"Admiring the sight My Prince?"
"Naturally Harris." I said, watching as more and more frames where loaded on board of the vessel. "A few moments of amazement at our achievements is the most I can allow myself unfortunately. Is everything ready?"
"Of course Sire."
….
"Are you sure this is the best plan Zero, it seems a bit convoluted." Kallen had a good point, Rai found himself agreeing with her on this, the attack Zero had laid out was risky, incredibly so.
"Also dangerous, challenging the Lion like this might be a bad idea."
"It very well could be, but our only chance is to divide his attention, three attacks, one dragon each to distract him, smash and grab style, each attack too important to ignore while Lelouch stays aboard the Sub to guarantee our extraction." Zero responded to his statement with a nod. "Rai, you will hit the Mount Fuji outer depo, destroy all you can but remember that your safety is your priority. Shinobi is already getting in position to strike the Hokaido airbase, while Kallen will destroy the reactor at Hiroshima."
"Alright then, but I reserve the right to say I told you so." Kallen's statement made him chuckle briefly.
…
"This is Lion to all Squid units, launch Portmans, remember this is a capture mission, do not sink their ship or risk my wrath."
"This is Squid lead, understood Lion, launching, incapacitation loadouts are equipped, we will force them to surface."
He watched his Prince nod, apparently satisfied with the response, they were waiting aboard the Olympus for the operation to start, already inside their Knightmares they were wating for the fight ahead. Marius found that he was feeling more nerves going into this battle then most, yet could not place why he was feeling such nerves, battle was nearly routine to him these days, but now he felt the familiar chills.
"Ready Brother?" A question that filled him with conviction, his Prince always had that effect on him, inspiring and frightening at once with an ability to make anyone feel as if they could take out an army alone, as long as the Lion was with them.
"Naturally Brother."
"Good, because Zero just loaded the enemy into his sub, get ready, I get the feeling he has something up his sleeve."
"A thing that seems entirely too common for the man."
…..
"This is Zero to dragons, operation is a go, launch the attack!" Lelouch had already put his zero clothes back on, ready for the chase that was to come, the massive carrier was rapidly closing in on the Ikaruga, the sub's surface speed was lower then average unfortunately, but this was exactly what Lelouch wanted. Now Alexander had to divide his attention, split his troops and fight at multiple location, while trying to figure out where the Ikaruga was underwater. "Rapid dive, hug the seafloor, make sure to keep sonar active, arm micro torpedoes, they will launch portman's, the lion loves those death-traps."
"Roger Zero."
C.C lazed behind him on a couch placed their just for her, swaying her legs to and fro, looking more exited than usual. The woman was an enigma to him, even as he was slowly figuring her out more mystery was added with each day, still he enjoyed her company, could even bring himself to call her a friend, even if she was unlikely to agree she was.
"Dragon's, this is Zero, we are diving, minimize coms for the next few hours, finish your mission then bail out, remember, you are just a distraction, your life is more valuable than the mission."
"Roger Zero!"
…..
"My lord, Black-knight attacks are being reported all over the area!"
"Where?"
"An assault on the new Hiroshima Reactor test site, an attack on the Hokaido airfield, and a raid on the mount Fuji mines!"
"Marius, mount a VTOL, make haste to Fuji, get a line to Cornellia and tell her to deploy her forces for Hokaido, the base will be gone before she arrives but tell her to contain the enemy and prevent escape."
"Understood brother!" Marius's reply was quick, his mount of the VTOL only took a moment and he was off at high speed.
"My Prince, what about Hiroshima, the red Dragon is carving apart the garrison!"
"Good," A smile was already blooming on my face. "Captain, brake obvious chase but keep in range to service portman's, try not to lose the target."
"But what about you sir?"
"Oh I am going for a rematch Captain, do not worry."
…
"Enemy is breaking chase, be prepared to receive company Dragons!"
Kallen smirked after Zero's statement, maybe she was right putting her trust in the brit, he had yet to do anything that warranted her retribution after all. For now she returned her focus to the fight, a dozen Sutherlands were little more than a roadblock for her Guren and its new plasma lance, slicing, stabbing and nuking any frame that dared challenge the Dragoness.
A Gloucester was her next target, standing in front of her prize, the main gate of the Hiroshima fuel station, if she could get her claw on it, she could fry the electronics that made it work, and take the site out of commission for weeks, likely slowing down the Lion's plans for a while. She smirked viciously as her lance stabbed the frame through the leg, disabling its quick movement, it tried to slash at her with its sword, but she caught the blade in her claw, firing it for a second to explode the weapon.
Her prey fell backwards after that, stumbling over its disabled leg, she struck quickly, however her prey did something unexpected, it kicked her frame with its other leg, sending her skidding backwards. She reacted quickly, reading her spear for a downwards thrust to end the fight, until she heard the sound of rotors and music above her.
"Finally, Lion, I was hoping it would be you."
…
"We have Portmans on Sonar Zero!"
"Keep us steady, prepare the micro missiles, aim for the rock formation to our port side 5 miles ahead."
"Roger that Zero."
Having only the beeping of the Sonar and the projection of the ocean floor as guidance was both tense and boring at the same time, Lelouch however r found himself consumed with planning. There was so much he had to do to move towards his victory, so many minor victories needed to move him towards his goal. To beat the Lion he had to think like the Lion, plan everything, and have a thousand backups, have a plan to take advantage of every single opportunity that could possibly present itself.
Lelouch was not sure the man could plan that far ahead, or if he even did for that matter, maybe it was all an act, to make it seem like everything had turned out exactly as he wanted? That did sound like something Alexander would do...
"Portmans closing in, they will have harpoons on us in thirty seconds Zero!"
"Keep calm Naomi, are the micro torpedoes ready?"
"Yes Zero, calibrated and aimed as ordered, but even if it collapses the rocks perfectly we need a miracle to have them hit the portmans enough to take all of them down."
"Have faith Naomi, if it a miracle that is needed, I will provide."
…
The maglocks released with a thump as the Perseus hit the ground, my music blasting out over his speakers while a smile lit up on my face, for some reason I had really been looking forward to this, another bout against the Red-Dragoness herself.
"Commander, move away, this fight is mine alone." The bleep of response coming from him meant that his comms were down, but he dragged his frame away from the battlefield slowly.
"From the Depths of hell in silence, cast their spells, explosives, violence!"
"It has been a little while little dragon, have you improved?"
"Fuck off pussy cat!"
Laughing loudly I swiped my spear at her, Kallen blocked easily, and riposted with a stab at my foot, what was it with people trying to cripple me? Rude. I sidestepped her thrust and spun, using my thrusters to send a full stab at her, Kallen dodged if only barely, trying to get a swipe off on him from below. Testing me as I was her. When they got some distance between them I noticed a singular burn mark on the Guren's chest, while the paint on my Perseus lower legs was discoloured and chipped from the heat.
We clashed a moment later, the Guran moving in with a jumping thrust, but I could see through the deception of the attack, she was trying to get in close to get a grip on me with the surger. I leapt up using my thrusters, flipping around above her and swiping down to leave a shallow cut along the Guren's cockpit. When I landed I noticed the Perseus had not come off unscathed, Kallen had left claw marks along my arm in her attempt to grab me as I flew by.
"Stop toying around! Fight me full out Lion!" So hot headed Kallen, but if you are sure you want it.
"Fair enough Dragoness, time for a repeat of last time!"
"Not if I can get my claws on you!"
….
"Range in five, four, three, two, one."
"Fire."
A shudder ran through the Ikaruga as its launch tubes spat out the micro torpedoes, the radar showing the portmans in pursuit of them scramble at the sight. They tried their best to get out of the way of the rocks that the torpedoes hit, but a large portion of them were hit, sustaining damage but not enough to knock them out of the fight. That was not the point though Naoto knew that much, Lelouch had something more planned, he trusted the man enough to wait out his plan, there had to be something more to it.
"Speed us up to max, disregard stealth, and brace yourselves."
His eyes widened for a second before he grabbed on to his seats armrests, the Ikaruga was deadly silent for a moment as it sped up, before rumbling was felt through the water and the sub shook. It was pandemonium, chaos incarnate as the submarine almost buckled under the pressure, worrying sounds running through its superstructure for a solid minute.
"What was that Zero?" He asked, looking at the masked man who looked entirely too comfortable in his chair.
"Under sea methane pocket, too small for a profitable mining operation, but plenty to form some very dangerous bubbles."
"So those torpedoes..."
"Set up the eruption."
….
"Sir we lost the portmans, no casualties but the pilots will need treatment for methane poisoning."
"Damn, alright, time to finish this then Dear Dragoness, your boss got away."
"Ah but it was just getting fun Lion." Kallen's smirk was easy to hear over the open line, and honestly I felt that continuing our fight could be a lot of fun, though I knew it was a bad idea to do so. Still I dodged her spear thrust and left another mark on her frame with my own spear, the Guren had only sustained surface damage so far, mainly because I was not taking the fight very seriously. Still the persues took a few hits here and there, mainly paint being burnt, with its newest upgrades meaning I was a long ways away from running out of thruster fuel allowing me to dodge her easily.
Though Kallen was showing a noticeable increase in skill since out last fight, either she was less tired, had been training hard, or simply fought better when having fun.
"I'm sure Dear Dragoness, but all good things mut come to an end, you are not completing your goal here."
"You sure?" The Guren disengaged, swerving to avoid my shoulder cannon blast, before aiming her claw arm, which I noted was slightly different from before, a small segment popping out before it released a stunning burst of micro radiation. I would be worried for my health if not for the fact that I had the cockpit of the Perseus radiation shielded a long time ago. Still it should shut down my systems for a good few seconds.
"What?"
"Have fun Lion, see you later!"
With her words she speeds away, what was she talking abo-
BOOOOOOOM
Oh, the radiation triggered the fuel stored within the reactor test site to go boom, fair enough, that does suck, like, a lot, well played, I will take you more seriously next time then Kallen.
….
"So how did the Ronin preform?"
"Beyond expectations master, I was able to sneak away in the Shinobi while they held back over sixty Britannian's before being forced to eject."
"The machines auto detonated afterwards correct."
"Of course master Lelouch, all went as planned."
"Excellent, return to base ASAP, it wont be long until the Lion retaliates."
Sayoko nodded, before bowing deeply, fresh from battle she felt the familiar adrenaline still coursing through her system, accelerated like she had not been in years. It was good to fight again.
…..
"I feel a storm coming, unstoppable horror is on the horizon, and I don't know if it will inflicted on me, or if I will be the one to inflict it, but it will happen, and I will be at its eye no matter what."
Alexander Andreas Gustavos 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!