Interlude 27: Sanguine Overture

This is the worst part of the job. The waiting. Whether it's waiting for confirmation of targets, waiting for dispatch orders, or just waiting for the enemy to attack?

Every veteran soldier I've served with would agree with me, that it makes everything worse over all.

"Status of the defense network."

"All clear, General Darlton, sir! Any further orders?"

Same as the last time I asked, no less than 15 minutes ago. Admittedly, it's just busywork for the technicians and comms boys, but it keeps them alert.

"No, lad. Just trying to keep the ship steady while we wait for the Black Knights to make their move. Any comms chatter?"

The young man shakes his head, "Nothing since the written demand for surrender Zero sent."

Demand doesn't do it justice, frankly. The man outright stated he was going to march straight through the city to the Viceroy's palace and for us to get out of his way.

Nelly was right, the brass balls on that man makes me curse that he's not on our side.

I let out a gruff laugh. Unlike my former student and CO? I'm not blind to what happened with Euphemia. I love that girl like she was my own daughter, but even Nelly would admit her sister was chafing under Imperial rule. She's never approved of the Numbers system, and she was never going to just knuckle under and accept it.

Trying to convince her not to do something is like trying to get an ornery mule not to kick, as we say in Texas.

Euphemia has never lacked courage. Common sense, arguably. A certain sense of political acumen, sure. But that lack of guile is what has always made her so damn good at winning people over.

Sad thing is, her idea with the SAZ wasn't a bad one. The girl had her heart in the right place. There were just two problems.

One, that weasel Schneizel was involved.

And two? Zero. Except Zero turned out to be much more ruthless and crazy than we thought, and scrapped the entire program with a single speech.

Hell, I'd had to hide a smile at the speech. Yes, it was obviously a direct challenge to Britannia and Euphemia. But that didn't detract from the fact that he was right, that the SAZ was nothing but a Band-Aid over a gaping wound. Or that Euphemia herself hadn't thought anyone COULD reject her idea like that.

Was it cruel? Absolutely. It hurt, seeing him crush Euphie's spirits like that. But I can respect the man for doing so without malice and phrasing it as Euphemia simply not going far enough to do what was needed.

But Euphie defecting? That, I don't get. What are we missing here? What's the missing puzzle piece? What the hell gave Euphemia the courage to challenge everything she's ever known?

Cornelia said Schneizel had looked absolutely shocked when she had told him, so clearly even he hadn't been expecting that either.

...Wait a damn minute. There was always a possibility of Euphemia getting hurt. Granted, from what we've seen, Zero doesn't strike me as the type. But even he can't control everything. Especially given his recent housecleaning of his own group...

It was a setup.

Bastard wanted something to happen. Either Euphemia gets hurt and Zero's reputation is poisoned. Or else she succeeds, and the SAZ can be sabotaged later. Thus ruining any chance of later reform.

Guilford and I both figured he was agreeing in order to humor Euphie and to make up for what he did to Kururugi , while simultaneously moving to undercut Zero.

Guilford had been frankly disgusted by the whole charade, but he's not a politician. And one thing you learn when you get to General, that you have no choice but to learn? Being a general and leading an army is as much about politics and logistics, as it is about strategy and tactics.

I sigh and shake my head. We have maybe 20 minutes before any of his forces are in sight. I'm going to grab something from the mess.

"Page me if anything changes. I'm getting something from the mess hall. You boys want anything?"

The comms officer looks up surprised, then quickly glances around, getting a round of head shakes and a few nods with whispered requests.

"Just a few sandwiches, juice bottles, and water, Sir. We can't afford to leave our stations at the moment."

I flash him an okay sign and yell back as I'm leaving, "Right. See you in five!"

Times like this, I wonder if I should have taken up cigarettes. Then again, I know damn well why I hadn't.

Had to set a good example for the boys. Clean living, fair fighting, and southern hospitality.

Though in a pinch, fightin' dirty's fine too.

After a short walk to the mess, I come back with a bag full of things to perk up the bridge crew.

"Meal time is on. Dig in," I say as I drop the stuff off on a table, but not before taking a roast beef sandwich for myself.

One by one, the crew comes and grabs stuff, making sure that there's enough people covering the posts in between.

Good. That's the kind of Army discipline that's been lacking in this colony. The kind we'll need against the likes of Zero.

"Sir?"

I look over to the same tech guy who was taking orders earlier.

"What's your name, son?"

The lad, a skinny redhead with too many freckles, swallows his food before answering.

"Lieutenant Gregory Anderson, special technical officer, communications specialist, General Darlton, Sir."

"Alright Anderson, what do you think of this SNAFU?"

The man takes a minute before answering quietly.

"Sir... I'm scared. This guy, Zero... he's insane."

He turns his chair around to look me in the eye, headset turned off.

"Guy dropped a mountain on you, right, Sir?"

I snort at that reminder of the Narita operation. We were damned lucky not to get annihilated there. If the JLF hadn't stabbed Zero in the back, the sneaky bastard would have won outright.

"Yeah, that wasn't fun. Impressive as all hell, but not fun to be on the receiving end."

Kid has to be a few years younger than my boys. He's probably never been in a real war zone. At least when I signed up for the service, I knew what I was getting into. Greg here? He looks like he's shaking in his boots at the thought of fighting Zero.

Not that I blame him. I'm a bit worried about our chances, myself.

"Can we win, sir?"

Well shit. That's the sixty-four thousand pound sterling question, isn't it?

"I'm not going to lie. This will be a hard night. Zero is the best military commander I've ever seen. He may even be as good, or better than Prince Schneizel himself."

I stand up, noting that my saying that lowered the already damp mood in the room.

"But? We've got something he doesn't."

Alright, everybody's eyes are on you, Andreas. Let's give them something to fight for.

"We've got guts. We've got a reason to fight. We're not only doing our duty, we're defending our homes, too. How many of you live and have families here?"

A few hands up? Wasn't expecting many, but even a few helps make my point.

"Yeah, they were here first. Yeah, they've got a right to be pissed at us. But you know what?"

I harden my gaze, "They lost."

I nod grimly, "You all know I don't care much for the racism and disparagement of the Number system. But that's not what we're fighting for. We're fighting for King and Country, to defend those we hold dear."

That's right. Grit those teeth, boys. Get mad, get your blood up. That's how we're going to get through tonight.

"We're proud soldiers of Britannia. And I want you all to know I'm ready to fight and die for our country. But! We ain't dying tonight."

I grin viciously as I feel the mood changing. Morale is a huge part of any war effort.

And while I can't claim to be as good as His Majesty at a good rousing speech? I've fought in the trenches and been there with the grunts. I've been in the air force flying the skies, braving the hail of gunfire to support our boys on the ground.

So they know when I speak, it's from the heart, with the heart and soul of a true Britannian officer.

"For our country! For our duty! All hail Britannia!"

"ALL HAIL BRITAN—!"

A loud beeping sound interrupts the chorus of patriotic cheers and causes my blood to run cold.

He's here.

Lieutenant Anderson turns back to his console, listens on his headset before turning to nod at me.

"Sir? We have visual confirmation of Zero's army outside the perimeter and visual contact on the stolen Gawain floating overhead."

Alright, boyo. Let's see what you got.

"Put the crazy bastard on screen."

There he is. Standing right at the back of the Gawain on top of the cockpit, cape fluttering in the wind. Dark clouds covering the skies overhead on this near winter night as midnight approaches.

Zero. The so-called Demon King.

...Wait. Do I hear music in the background?

"To the people of Tokyo, I bid you greetings. I am Zero, Demon King of the Sixth Heaven. And I have come to deliver a message, and a judgment."

Judgment? You think you're some kind of god now?

"The message, is that Britannia has committed crimes upon this land, and across the world. Crimes against dignity, crimes against civilizations, crimes against the ideal of humanity. And it has done so with impunity for a very long time."

He's lowering his head, what's he up to...

I freeze in place as I hear it. A slow, chilling laugh, a sound like something evil.

"Heh heh heh heh..."

The entire room takes a step back in fear as his laughter becomes unhinged and deranged.

"GYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

His hand raised upward as the rain begins to fall...what?

"Zoom in. What the hell is that?"

Lieutenant Anderson zooms in on Zero's mask as something completely crazy becomes apparent as we hear the music intensify, his fist gleaming in the lights of the Gawain, slick with...

Red. The rain is red...

"Trapped in purgatory

A lifeless object, alive"

"But now? Now your time has come. I warned you, that you should clear the way, for the King of Hell has come to claim his toll. And you have chosen not to heed my warning," he hisses venomously, leaning forward.

"The restless dead, the raging spirits of this land and others...they have called me forth. And the dead are not silent here."

What the hell is going on?!

"Sir! Scouting has confirmed that something is advancing to the front!"

The screen shows a strange mechanical device being driven up on the back of a semi-flatbed,several people tinkering with it as the truck turns the device to face the perimeter wall.

Looks kind of like...an amplifier?

"Awaiting reprisal

Death will be their acquiescence"

"BRITANNIA! TRAITORS OF OLD JAPAN! PEOPLE OF THIS WORLD! BEHOLD, RAMA'S LAMENT!"

Rama? What the hell is a Rama?

The rain of blood, for what other image is he trying to invoke with this, pours down around him as he angrily points at the wall...wait, is that thing powering up?

"The sky is turning red

Return to power draws near

Fall into me, the sky's crimson tears

Abolish the rules made of stone"

"HEAR NOW, THE SCREAMS OF THE UNQUIET DEAD!"

And with that declaration, a high-pitched sound begins to emit from the device as the people around quickly run for cove—

ARGHH!

I can't even describe what I'm hearing! Something inhuman, yet sounding like a scream of utter despair! I can't even think, it hurts too much! A PIERCING SOUND LIKE A SERRATED DAGGER IN MY EARS!

I gasp for air as the unholy shriek fades away, vaguely aware of my ears bleeding as I try to get back to my feet.

What the fuck was that?!

I blink blood out of my eyes, probably from a head wound as whatever that was hit us...noticing that the consoles are damaged and half the screens on the fritz...and the red emergency lights are on.

"Pierced from below, souls of my treacherous past

Betrayed by many, now ornaments dripping above"

Huh. Guess I can still hear.

I look over at the console near me, noticing Lieutenant Anderson covering his left eye as he grimaces in pain.

Dammit! What the hell did that son of a bitch do to us?

"Easy there, son. Tell me what happened," I say as I rush over to him, helping him to the floor.

"Gah...sir...it was...some kind of sonic weapon...but...just before...it hit...we had a huge power...surge...in the...computer core and server room..."

A power surge? There's no way in hell that was coincidence.

I spit to the side, "More traitors and saboteurs, then?"

He nods, before spitting up blood as he lowers his hand...and I grit my teeth in anger at the sight of his face.

His left eye is bleeding, the orb pierced by shrapnel glass from his console window exploding in his face, burns and glass shards embedded in the side of his cheek and jaw.

"Take it easy, Anderson. We'll get you to a med bay as soon as—"

He grips my uniform, coughing up blood on my chest as he looks at me with his right eye losing focus.

"Sir...listen to me..., look...at..the monitor...we're...wide...open..."

I turn to look at one of the intact monitors...and gasp in raw shock.

"Awaiting the hour of reprisal

Your time slips away"

The wall...it's gone.

Somehow that psychopath punched a half kilometer-wide hole in our defenses and carved a path through the city straight to the Palace, whatever it was, finally petering out half a klick from the Palace.

"The comms system...it's down, sir. We're on emergency power...that bastard...he's blinded us and cut our tongues out...we're sitting ducks now..."

My face pales as I realize the full scale of what he's done.

Without our comms system, the main servers, and computer core down, and a huge god damn hole in our defenses?

Zero has already won half the battle and kicked us into a very deep hole...

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! WITNESS WHAT HAPPENS, WHEN THE WILL OF MARA'S INCARNATION IS NOT HEEDED!"

That damned madman...how many people did he kill with that? How many civilians? How many soldiers?

All of that, just to try and finish the battle decisively? He's just as ruthless as the Emperor himself.

"Raining blood

From a lacerated sky

Bleeding its horror

Creating my structure now I shall reign in blood"

"Death follows in the wake of Zero. And now? It comes for thee. TENKA FUBU!"

Zero yelling the war cry of the Black Knights signals the entire army taking up the call and charging into the breach. And we can't do a damn thing to stop them!

As if to punctuate the situation and cap off our despair...Zero speaks once more, his voice on all frequencies, along with that damned heavy metal music the boys like.

"On wings of darkness do we fly, let death and sorrow rain from sky! We come now across hill and glade, behold our strength! THE BLACK KNIGHTS' BLADE!"