Author's Note: I am sorry for the lack of updates, but the last couple of weeks have been an immensely emotional upheaval for me.
My Grandmother passed away on the 24th of August at the age of 88 and I literally couldn't write anything. It took me a few days to be able to finish off the Zero no Tsukaima chapter I had started the day before she passed away.
After that, I took some days to mourn before I started this chapter, but after my Grandmother was cremated, I locked up again.
I finally began the final stretch for this chapter two days ago and I hope you all understand why the wait for it was so long.
I will be updating the previous chapter of The Prepared Rebellion to correct any spelling mistakes or inexplicably missing text (how I missed that bit at the end of the last chapter is beyond me), so please reread everything this time next week and let me know if I missed anything.
Kindly read and review!
Disclaimer: Code Geass is not my property.
"Kallen"-Speech
'Lelouch'-Thought/mental communication
"{Die}"-Geass Command
"Halt!"-Loudspeaker
"Roger."-Radio/Walkie-Talkie
Chapter 14: The Saitama Gambit
Timeskip - 30 Minutes Later
Outside the Yamato Alliance Headquarters, Abandoned Building, Former Minami Ward, Saitama Ghetto
The group of shouting men and women that stood arguing in the ruins of the abandoned swimming pool building were making enough noise that someone standing half a mile away from the building could hear them, Lelouch reflected with wry amusement as he stood in his Zero disguise next to his raven-black Sutherland Knightmare.
C.C. had been sent to keep watch for Cornelia's forces in her own silver Sutherland, while Lelouch and Kallen had headed for the place that Resistance scuttlebutt had purported the Yamato Alliance's main meeting place to be.
"Do you have everything you need?" he enquired of Kallen who had also dismounted from her own brand new crimson Sutherland. She was going in to make the preliminary contact with the people who were rather loosely in charge of the Yamato Alliance.
'I despise agreeing with father about anything, but I do agree with him about democracies.' Lelouch thought to himself as Kallen nodded stoically, 'Democracies are a mindless rabble that can topple a 'popular' leader as soon as public opinion turns against them. A war fought by committee is a war already lost….especially if the Yamato Alliance is just as sloppy in combat as their security procedures seem to be. We should have been challenged long before now!'
"I'll be fine Zero." Kallen assured him, "I've dealt with them before when we -the resistance groups of the Greater Tokyo area- warned them about going too far with their protection racket. The JLF was making noises about 'cleaning house' in Tokyo if they weren't reined in, so we told them if they didn't start acting like guerrillas rather than bandits, we'd take all of their equipment and throw them bodily into the river."
"The equipment or the Yamato Alliance?" Lelouch asked wryly.
"The Alliance of course." Kallen replied blandly, "The equipment would have actually been of some use, unlike the members of the Yamato Alliance."
Lelouch had to stifle a chuckle. Kallen really didn't hold back when she talked about people she disliked or she felt had disgraced her country.
"Don't hold back Kallen. Tell me how you really feel about them." Lelouch said dryly.
Kallen giggled slightly, and then looked mortified. "I-I should get going." she stuttered, her cheeks flushing red with embarrassment.
"I'll standby to intercede and extract you if necessary." Lelouch replied and gave her a small hairclip, "If you need me to extract you, smash this on something. It will sound an alarm in my helmet."
Kallen took the clip and looked it over. It was a small round clip, decorated with an enamelled four-leaf clover. She clipped back the bangs on the left side with it. She knew it didn't suit her, but it was best to keep such a device handy in case she needed it.
"Hmm…." Lelouch examined the clip carefully, "Black and gold next time, I think."
Kallen flushed again and began to walk towards the building quickly.
"Now then…" Lelouch muttered as he remounted his Knightmare, "Better move to a good position, just in case."
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
With Kallen
As Kallen walked towards her destination, she forced her blush to recede from her cheeks though sheer willpower before putting on her game face. She couldn't risk the Yamato Alliance seeing any kind of weakness, or they'd try to do the whole we-outnumber-you-so-do-what-we-say routine.
Some of them had tried that tactic with her once before during the meeting she had mentioned to Zero, and that had caused Naoto and Ohgi to deal out a hefty beating to the ones responsible…after she had kicked them into the wall a couple of times herself first, of course.
Snapping herself out of her memories, Kallen buried the instinctive wave of pain she felt whenever she remembered her beloved elder brother. Kallen had sworn that Britannia would bleed for killing him, and she had done everything in her power to make good on that promise without compromising her morals, although the Shinjuku debacle had been pushing them to the limit.
'At least Zero got rid of that foul stuff before anybody could die from it.' the redhead reassured herself. She shuddered at the thought of what might have happened if the canister had been breached.
"Hands up!" A familiar rough voice growled from her left, causing Kallen to halt.
"Tetsuya, stop acting tough." Kallen shot back, "You know very well who I am."
The man who stepped out of the shadow of the nearby wall sneered at her. His short blond hair was greasy and matted, his clothes filthy and little better than rags. His right arm was raised and pointing an old Japanese Army Type 94 Nambu 8mm pistol at Kallen's head.
"Yeah, I know who ya are Kallen." Tetsuya said, his sneer deepening, "Heard yer brother bought the farm. Shame, ain't it?"
Kallen ground her teeth at the poorly veiled taunt. Tetsuya Ichigyōmon had once been a member of her brother's resistance cell, but had been thrown out when he had been discovered bullying and extorting the ordinary residents of the Ghetto where they hid out. He had joined up with the Yamato Alliance and had thrived amongst them.
All scum float to the top after all, and the Yamato Alliance was full of the very worst of the former Japanese society, consisting of Yakuza, footpads and thieves.
"The Rising Sun has fallen behind clouds." the half-blood Japanese spat at her former comrade.
"The Light of Heavens will cleave the Darkness imprisoning it." Tetsuya countered, raising his eyebrow at the particular code she used.
"Ascending into the sky once again, ever victorious." Kallen finished, completing the resistance code that told Tetsuya to take her to his leaders, right now, no delays, or he would be in serious trouble.
"Yer serious?" the scruffy man asked incredulously, his aim with the pistol not wavering an inch, "Yeh want ta meet the Alliance Council?"
"Want to? No." Kallen replied, "Need to? Yes. Now stop being an idiot and lead me to them!"
Grumbling about upstart brats, Tetsuya reluctantly holstered his pistol -which was so caked with dirt and grease Kallen doubted it could do anything but blow up if the trigger was pulled- and beckoned her to follow him.
Weaving around fallen blocks of concrete and rusting metal, Kallen was led into the crumbling structure of the old swimming pool building. The place was just about ready to collapse to judge by the cracks in almost all the walls, floors and ceilings. Quite why this building was chosen for the headquarters of the Yamato Alliance was beyond Kallen's comprehension. She had seen several building en-route to here that were far more defensible and sturdy than this death trap derelict.
The shouting she had heard outside grew louder as Kallen and Tetsuya climbed some stairs and neared what had once been the balcony overlooking the pool. Two slightly less scruffy guards stood guard outside a room from which all of the shouting seemed to be coming from.
"Hey Tetsuya, who the hell's that?" one of the guard's asked from his slouched position against the wall.
"Naoto's little sister." Tetsuya replied, "She wants ta speak ta the Council 'bout sumpthin."
"Man, you shouldn't bother." the other guard opined, "Can't ya hear them? They've been arguing non-stop since reports came in that Cornelia was headed this way with a shitload of troops."
"That's why I'm here." Kallen said, her patience with these slobs being driven to the limit by their nonchalant discussion during a crisis, "I'm a messenger from Zero."
This brought the gazes of all three men back to her in disbelief.
"Yer kidding!" Tatsuya said in disbelief.
"No joke." Kallen shot back, "Ohgi passed leadership to him. Our group follows Zero. He sent me here to pass some intelligence to you leaders. Now stand aside and let me see them! Every second counts!"
The urgency in her voice seemed to communicate itself to the senior guard, who nodded.
"Right. One second." he told her before muttering into a Walkie-talkie for a moment. The door clicked and another man walked through whom Kallen recognised immediately.
"Mamoru-sensei?" Kallen said in surprise.
"Yo, Kallen-chan." Mamoru smiled. He was an old man, about 80 years old, his greying hair swept back into a short ponytail. His clothes were good quality and clean, if more than slightly worn.
Mamoru Takagahara had been the man who had taught Kallen the basics of Kobudō as a child, which she had steadily evolved into her own unique style that incorporated aspects of Karate, Aikido, Judo and Jujutsu, making for a versatile and deadly martial art.
"Tetsuya, return to your post. I'll escort Kallen-chan here to the Council." Mamoru told an indignant Tetsuya, who growled angrily before stomping away down the stairs, muttering a torrent of invectives as he did.
Kallen ignored Tetsuya and followed Mamoru through the door.
"Bet you're surprised to see me again, eh Kallen-chan?" her old sensei chuckled.
"In a resistance group? No." Kallen replied, "In this resistance group? Definitely."
"Yes well, my old group, the Imperial Dragons faction, were wiped out by Cornelia." Mamoru told her as they walked, "I barely got away with my life intact."
As they walked into the balcony where the Council was meeting, Kallen was bombarded with a deluge of shouting voices from the six or so people standing around a rickety wooded table with an old map of Saitama spread across it.
"We have to move out now!" one man insisted, "If we can hold the Brits at the river-"
"We have no Knightmares, you idiot!" another upbraided him harshly, "What we have to do is lure them into the Ghetto and into ambushes!"
"That would cause a massacre, dipshit!" another man sneered, "The Ghetto's denizens would die in droves!"
"Well then what the hell are we gonna do then?" challenged the second man, "According to the spotters, an entire Mobile Battalion is heading this way!"
"I believe this young lady can throw some light on the situation." Mamoru interjected smoothly, drawing casual attention of everyone on the balcony.
"Ain't that Naoto Kōzuki's little sister?" one of them asked.
"Kallen." the redhead introduced herself dryly, "I'm a messenger for Zero."
"Zero!?" That little titbit gained the immediate and full attention of the room.
"OK then. Give your message." one directed.
"Is the entire council here?" Kallen asked, "I don't wanna have to do this multiple times."
"Now that Mamoru-san is back, we're all here." the self-elected spokesperson confirmed.
Kallen hitched an eyebrow at her old sensei in surprise. "You're on the council of the Yamato Alliance, sensei?"
"A mere honorary position." he said dismissively, "Now then Kallen, let's hear this message you have been sent to deliver."
Kallen pulled out a tape recorder and pressed play.
"Greetings to the Council of the Yamato Alliance." Zero's voice spoke from the speaker, "I am Zero and I have come to lend you my aid. My emissary, Kallen Kōzuki, is my third in command and will communicate your decision of either acceptance or refusal to me. I offer this knowledge freely: Cornelia intends to re-enact the Shinjuku Massacre in the Saitama Ghetto."
The recording paused during the outburst that followed. The pale faces from the shouting men around the table showed that they hadn't considered this particular scenario. Before panic could set in, the recording of Zero continued.
"The reason she is doing this is in an effort to trap me. She presumes that I am stupid enough to attempt to get close to her in an effort to kill her as I did with Clovis.
I will tell you now that I am not.
This operation will end in disappointment for her, but if she is not corrected of her misapprehension, she will likely try to repeat it in other Ghettos, so I think that setting her straight here and now is the best thing for the Japanese people."
"It's your fault that this is happening in the first place!" one of the council growled angrily when Zero's recorded voice paused again.
"Cornelia's been striking out at the resistance cells in the Greater Tokyo Area ever since she arrived." Mamoru pointed out, "She wasn't exactly discriminating between citizens of the Ghetto and members of the resistance when she stormed the Imperial Dragons' stronghold, but she never went out of her way to target non-combatants."
"Zero says that she wants to fully replicate the Shinjuku Massacre in order to ensure that Zero is drawn out." Kallen put in, "Zero won't stand for such a thing to happen."
The conviction in her voice silenced the others long enough for the recording to start again.
"As Kallen might have already informed you, Kaname Ohgi has passed command of the cell founded by his friend Naoto Kōzuki to me. I have ordered the majority of the cell to begin evacuation of as much of Saitama as is possible before Cornelia and her Mobile battalion arrive, starting with the outermost area of the Ghetto. I hereby offer my services in defeating the Britannians, holding them off long enough for the majority of the Ghetto's residents to evacuate and scatter themselves to other Ghettos in the Greater Tokyo Area.
The only condition to my help is that you all follow my orders until the mission is complete. Moreover, before you all start shouting and protesting, think about it! Under my command, Kallen's forty-man cell held off the Purebloods long enough for me to create a tactic to almost wipe them out. There are far more members of the Yamato Alliance, just think what you could accomplish against Cornelia if you follow my orders today."
Many thoughtful looks appeared on the council's faces as they listened to Zero's recording. One or two of them looked indignant about following someone else's orders, but the majority seemed to at least tentatively believe Zero's words, Kallen noted with satisfaction.
"I will now leave you to your deliberations with this last piece of information: with or without the aid of the Yamato Alliance, I plan on stopping Cornelia in Saitama. You can either follow my orders or evacuate with the civilians, as having three sides on a battlefield is a recipe for chaos. I trust you will all make the correct decision."
With a 'click' that resounded through the now silent room, Kallen turned the machine off and stowed it in her pocket again.
Mamoru cleared his throat. "Right then. Zero has given his offer. I hereby open the floor to debate."
The room immediately erupted with people shouting, making Kallen sweatdrop.
'Ohgi, I hope you're having a better time of this than me!' the redhead thought as she and Mamoru exchanged a look of exasperation and began to try to restore order in the meeting.
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Edge of the Ghetto, near the river.
With Ohgi….
"Please move in a calm and orderly fashion!" Ohgi called as he directed an elderly couple into the stream of fleeing Ghetto residents. Around him, members of his group were entering and exiting various houses as they spread the warning of the impending attack.
It hadn't taken much to convince the people that a repeat of the Shinjuku massacre was going to happen if they stayed put, as a few friends who were Honorary Britannians had sent word that there had been a sharp rise in military activity within the settlement earlier that morning.
"Ohgi!" Sugiyama called, "That's almost everyone from this section. About a dozen or so have holed up in their rooms with guns and threatened to shoot us if we didn't go away."
Ohgi grimaced. Holdouts too stubborn, stupid, or both, to leave, just like in Shinjuku.
"Leave them." the former schoolteacher ordered, "We have to help those willing to evacuate. Make sure that Tamaki doest shoot his mouth of to the holdouts. The last thing we need is a casualty on a milk run like this."
"Gotcha!" Sugiyama started towards the building that presumably held the holdouts.
"How is the evacuation going?" a synthesised voice asked from behind him, making Ohgi jump in fright. He whirled around to see the cloaked form of Aegis standing calmly behind him.
"Don't do that!" Ohgi said with a frown, "As for your query, only holdouts are left here. The rest of the residents in this area are being evacuated via the old subway tunnels to either the former Nerima Ward or the former Itabashi Ward."
"Very good." Aegis, or at least the cowl that concealed...his? Her?…face, nodded, "I shall report this to Zero-sama. We should move on to the evacuation of the next area once you have escorted them to the tunnels."
"Right." Ohgi nodded and began issuing orders to his group as the cloaked figure reached under the cowl that concealed their features and depressed a small switch on the exterior of their helmet and spoke softly into the microphone.
"Goshujin-sama? Aegis here. The evacuation of the area where the Britannians are anticipated to make their initial sally is complete. We will move on to the next area shortly."
"Excellent. Carry on Aegis. Zero, out." came back almost at once.
Sayoko, beneath the helmet and cowl of Aegis, smiled grimly and moved to obey her master's orders, knowing that he was counting on her to fulfil her mission flawlessly.
She had never let him down before, and Sayoko did not intend to start now.
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
The Office of the Sub-Viceroy, Area 11 Administration Building
"Urgh!" Euphemia li Britannia groaned as she battled a foe that even her great and powerful sister feared: paperwork. Cornelia had, once again, run off to the battlefield, conveniently forgetting completely about the large stack of paperwork that had accumulated on her desk while she had been on the battlefield.
Leaving her younger sister carrying the can in the meanwhile, which was not appreciated by the aforementioned sibling.
"Sister or no Cornelia, I will get you back for this!" the svelte pinkette growled cutely, bringing to mind a puppy trying to intimidate a fully grown dog, "What kind of punishment game is this!?"
'How does my sister expect me to finish my sweep of the bureaucratic system of Area 11 if she keeps offloading her work onto me!' Euphy thought plaintively.
She was drawn out of her morose thoughts by a knock on the door. Shaking her head lightly to dispel the lingering mild depression that had come over her as she called out, "Enter!"
Jeremiah Gottwald and Villetta Nu walked through the door, each bearing even more paperwork in their arms, which made the usually cheerful princess groan in despair.
"Not more of it!" she almost begged the two Knights, who regarded her with undisguised sympathy.
"Unfortunately Your Highness, this is just the tip of the iceberg." Villetta informed Euphy, one side of her mouth twitching as she suppressed the urge to grin at the look of horror crossing the princess' face, "All of this is part of the paperwork that the Sub-Viceroy has to look over and approve so the actual Viceroy doesn't have to bother with it."
"But…but…I'm doing her job as well!" Euphemia wailed. She had fought the paperwork covering her desk for four hours solid and had only gotten through about a third of the massed series of forms. The princess was ready to break down into tears of frustration
Jeremiah nodded in agreement. "This is quite unfair on you, Your Highness." he said kindly, "How about Villetta and I take over for a while and you take a break? You have some personal mail from the Homeland that you can read while you relax. I ordered all of your mail delivered to your personal sitting room."
Euphy's face brightened, before becoming doubtful. "Are you sure that it's OK for me to do that?" she asked, "I don't want to do what my sister…the Viceroy did to me, after all."
"It's fine Your Highness." Villetta assured her, "I can get through a lot of the Sub-Viceroy's work easily as I used to have that job, while Lord Jeremiah can deal with the Viceroy's work. You look more than slightly frazzled and in need of a break."
"In which case, I will take you up on your offer of assistance." Euphy said gratefully and she rose, wincing at how stiff he was, "I'll be back in half an hour…make that forty five minutes…and we'll tackle the paperwork together and, hopefully, get it out of the way."
After a moment, she added, "And then I will plot my revenge on my sister for doing this to me four times in a row!"
The glint of determination and steel in Euphemia's eyes reminded the two Knights considerably of the look in Lelouch's eyes when he became focussed on something he felt strongly about, which was hardly a surprise considering that they were siblings.
"I would say, Princess Euphemia," Jeremiah said carefully, "that your sister needs reminding that she has responsibilities that do not involve military matters, so I wish you the best with your plans."
Euphy beamed at him before heading for her private suite of rooms, leaving the two Knights to hunker down and begin to deal with the mountain of forms.
When she reached her private sitting room, Euphy stretched herself to relieve the stiffness in her back, before sitting at her favourite chair and ordering her personal maid to make her a pot of her favourite blend of tea.
While she waited, the pinkette turned her attention to the small pile of mail that Jeremiah had mentioned. Sighing, she started picking through them.
The first was a statement of her various bank accounts, investments and expenditures from her financial advisor, who also sent a copy to Cornelia. Euphy had been furious with her sister for ordering that at the time, but she was now resigned to it. Cornelia was overprotective and had the authority to enforce that protectiveness to every area of Euphy's life.
Next were the correspondences from those of her half-siblings that she kept in contact with. Odysseus, Schneizel, Castor and Pollux had sent their monthly letters and some of the news was interesting. Schneizel was heading to the front with the Euro Universe, as casualties were getting ridiculously large there.
Castor and Pollux were in charge of a Knightmare development facility in Area 4, the former Co-operative Republic of Guyana, and were eager to prove their designs superior to those of Schneizel's Camelot program.
Odysseus was organising the social season in Pendragon, with considerable interference from Guinevere and Carina. He confided to Euphy in his missive that half the difficulty in organising the social season's lengthy balls, banquets and sporting events was down to his two sisters constantly trying to focus the limelight on themselves.
"Poor Odysseus." Euphy giggled. She knew that, despite being the Heir Primus, he knew he was no match for Schneizel and everybody constantly criticized him for that fact. He still managed to act cheerful and upbeat to everyone despite this, performing his duties as First Prince of Britannia with a dignity that most were puzzled by.
"Now then…who is this from?" Euphy muttered as she regarded the last letter inquisitively as the maid delivered her tea. The envelope had her name written in an elegant cursive hand that positively smacked of a High Society upbringing and education. She didn't recognise the handwriting however.
Taking a sip of her tea, Euphy idly flipped the envelope over to see if the sender had written a return address. She wasn't worried that the letter was a bomb or anything, as the newly reinstated mail screening service had to have cleared the letter as safe to have made it this far.
Euphemia choked on her tea and only barely stopped herself from spitting her mouthful of hot beverage out when she saw a single number in the very centre of the back of the envelope.
'0'
Thoughts whirled through Euphy's head as she slowly laid her cup back on the saucer and turned her full attention to the envelope in her trembling hand.
'Is this a prank? A joke? Or is this really from Zero?' Euphy wondered to herself in a slight daze. She had no idea why Zero, the man who had killed Clovis and rescued Suzaku Kururugi from execution, would be writing to her of all people.
After giving the envelope a wary look for a couple of minutes, Euphy took up her pure silver letter opener and carefully cut the top of the envelope open and drew out the letter within.
Hesitating with the letter in her hand, Euphy took a calming drink of tea before she unfolded the letter and began to read it.
"To Princess Euphemia,
As you might suspect, I am indeed Zero. I am writing to you today for two reasons.
The first is to let known to you my surprise -pleasant surprise of course- and admiration for your purge of corrupt officials in Japan. The lack of mercy you show them is refreshing, the punishments they receive are fair and they are just, which is surprising coming from a member of the Imperial Family.
If Your Highness would forbear to listen to me, might I suggest that you turn your attention to the Police and Knightpolice, as they are paid so much in bribes from various Britannian Nobles and criminal cartels that they usually earn as much as a Captain in the Britannian Army per year, in addition to their normal salaries."
Euphy was in shock at this. Zero -a terrorist, a murderer, and a regicide- was complimenting her work and directing her towards another bastion of corrupt officials. Shaking her head at the situation she found herself in, the princess continued to read Zero's missive.
"The second item is, regrettably, far less pleasant to discuss and will be distressing for you to be told of. I beg your pardon in advance. You have probably been told that Cornelia is off destroying yet another resistance group, this time in the Saitama Ghetto.
The truth of the matter is far more sinister. She actually plans to re-enact the Shinjuku Massacre, using the mass slaughter of unarmed, innocent Japanese citizens in order to lure me out and trap me.
I will not fall for her trap naturally, but I will be going to Saitama to do all that I can to thwart her plans. I will not permit innocents to suffer at the hand of a tyrant. The question I would now pose to you however is a simple one.
What do you plan to do with this information? Will you dither and do nothing? Will you settle for reprimanding your sister when she arrives back after the fact? Alternatively, will you act to save lives?
I trust that you will make the honourable choice, Your Highness.
Yours in good faith,
Zero"
As she read, Euphemia's already pale skin rapidly reached the colour of chalk as her horror mounted. The emotional part of her mind recoiled and wanted to deny what was written on the letter, but the logical part of her mind pointed out that, despite the fact she was currently unaware of what her sister was doing, it would be simple for her to find out.
The safeguards built into the computer system that contained the military data for all of Area 11 would not allow either the Viceroy or the Sub-Viceroy to be locked out of the system. That rule was hardwired into the core programming of the system. No one, not the Chief General of the Imperial Army or even the Emperor himself, could override it without formatting the computer itself, which would render the entire process a moot point.
Euphy unsteadily got to her feet and tottered unsteadily to the terminal on her desk that was a secure console that linked into the network and booted it up.
As she logged on and navigated the buildings intranet to the correct page automatically, she attempted to force her mind, which was currently a jumble of confused and tangled thoughts, feelings and impulses, into some vague semblance of order.
'Sister knows how I feel about this! If she has…if she has done this…what will I do?' This thought kept swirling through her mind as she worked.
Finally…
AREA 11 MILITARY SLATE OF ORGANISATION AND EQUIPMENT
USERNAME: Pxg56hd432
PASSWORD: ********************
…ACCEPTED.
- Garrison units
- Army Group Organisation
- Mobile Battalion Organisation
- Units currently on Active Deployment
- Disestablished Units
- Current stocks of Military Hardware and Supplies
Selecting the third menu option, Euphy quickly scanned down the short list of units on active deployments. A Platoon on Hokkaido…a Platoon defending the Administration Building…a Mobile Battalion in Saitama!
Euphy hurriedly selected the Mobile Battalion, causing a new window to pop up on the screen, detailing the vital statistics of the unit.
Fifth Mobile Battalion - [Pride of Victoria]
Current Commander: 2nd Princess Cornelia, Area 11 Viceroy
Second in Command: Sir Dalton
Stated Mission: Operation Snake Pit [Classified, Eyes Only]
Mission Location: Saitama Ghetto
Current Status: In Transit
"Operation Snake Pit?" Euphy murmured to herself, "That doesn't sound good."
Unfortunately, due to the 'Eyes Only' status of the operation, she would have to use her authority as Sub Viceroy in order to view it, which would be logged by the system and reported to Cornelia when she next logged on.
"She who dares, win." Euphy muttered as she used her authorisation to view the mission briefing. When the text flowed down the screen, Euphy blanched. There, in black and white, was the proof that Zero had told her the truth. Oh, it was wrapped up in double talk and soldier speak, but anyone who was at least halfway intelligent could decipher the briefing, which, just as Zero had said, called for the re-enactment of the Shinjuku massacre, right down to the casualties.
"…the Saitama Ghetto is the perfect stage in which to enact Operation Snake Pit, as the deaths of the entire Eleven population of the Ghetto will only affect local Sakuradite production by 0.2%, well within acceptable parameters as laid down by the guidelines put forth by the Britannian Homeland, which precludes casualties in any single operation affecting any local production by more than 0.15%…"
Euphemia li Britannia slumped forwards slightly, her belief in her sister ripped to shreds. Cornelia had probably deliberately dumped so much paperwork on her to keep her busy and unaware of the operation until it had been concluded. Had it not been for Zero's note and Jeremiah assisting her in her paperwork, the Princess doubted she would have ever known about it.
'Cornelia would have labelled it as the blackest of Black Ops and placed it under a Viceroy's Eyes-Only Seal, effectively consigning it to a black hole as far as I would be concerned.' Euphy thought bitterly.
She had now found out that Zero had been right about her sister's intentions towards Saitama. The only thing left to do was to choose what to do about it. Zero had rather accurately predicted the three likeliest reactions that she would have: indecision, procrastination or immediate action.
She dismissed the first from her mind immediately, as it was both beneath the dignity of a Princess of Britannia and cowardly. She would not disgrace herself by choosing such an option.
The second choice gave her a bad taste in her mouth. While not as cowardly as the first choice, it practically screamed that she was powerless and unable to accomplish anything if her sister stood in her way. Euphy quickly dismissed that option.
With a sigh, Euphemia turned her attention to the last option. Choosing to exercise this option would mean acting against her sister directly, irrevocably damaging and changing the relationship between Cornelia and herself.
Yet Euphy acknowledged that if she was to keep to her principles and maintain her personal honour, she had no choice but to act. The right choice and the easy choice are usually two separate choices after all.
Euphemia stood from her console, her petite hands clenched into small fists. Her eyes blazed with determination and never before had she looked so much like her elder blood sister. It was, perhaps, ironic that this likeness was caused by the decision to make a stand against said elder sister.
The pinkette quickly shut the console down before sweeping off towards her office, where she planned to conscript Villetta and Jeremiah to help her. She didn't know much about the older woman, but she knew that Jeremiah was devoted to the memory of Lady Marianne.
He would support any decision that she would have supported, and Euphy knew that Marianne 'The Flash' would have leapt into the fray sooner than this at the hint of something so dishonourable.
Quite what she would do, Euphemia didn't quite know yet, but hopefully a little brainstorming would yield some results.
Mind made up and face set in determination, Euphemia li Britannia marched forwards.
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With C.C.
The green haired immortal lounged indolently in her Knightmare's cockpit as she scanned the horizon using the Factsphere Sensor mounted on the machine's head. She had removed the helmet as no-one could see her inside the cockpit for goodness sake!
It was very boring acting as the lookout and C.C. dearly wished that the little brat Cornelia would hurry up and show herself already. She recalled seeing the young Cornelia walking around the Aries Villa, following Marianne around like a lovestruck puppy. Doubtless Charles would have removed all memory of any green haired immortals from the girl's mind, but that was all to the good as the two of them never had gotten along well.
'Honestly, Marianne was surrounded by jealous little brats!' C.C. scowled as she scanned the horizon yet again. It was true as well…that brother-complex obsessed brat V.V., Cornelia, several ladies in waiting…the list was long and full of irritating people.
A flash of movement caught C.C.'s eye and she used the Factsphere Sensor again. There! The three Command G-1's were just barely within sight.
C.C. reluctantly replaced her helmet before touching a button on the radio.
"Q-1, this is Augur. The party is about to start, so get the welcoming committee together." she said blandly
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With Kallen
Kallen had just about lost patience with the so-called Council of the Yamato Alliance. They had squabbled and argued for half an hour without coming to a resolution, when her radio spoke.
"Q-1, this is Augur. The party is about to start, so kindly get the welcoming committee together."
Kallen grimaced and unhooked the radio from her belt as the cacophony of voices fell silent.
"Roger that Auger. How many partygoers are there?" she asked.
"Three big tops with stilt men, clown cars and trained birds. ETA forty-five minutes" Augur replied.
"Great. We'll be sure to give them a big welcome. Q-1, out." Kallen replied.
"What was that code?" Mamoru asked.
"'Partygoers' refers to the Britannians." Kallen explained, "Big tops are Command G-1's, Stilt men are Knightmares, Clown cars are tanks and trained birds are VTOLs."
"So it really is a Mobile Battalion." Mamoru concluded, "Plus support elements."
"Shit! What're we gonna do?!" one man yelled.
"The choice was put in front of you half an hour ago!" Kallen growled irritably, "Either you accept Zero's command and fight or you run. A simple choice to make, yet you idiots can't seem to agree on white being white!"
"…! Why you-!" the man started to say, before Mamoru silenced him with a look.
"Kallen is correct." he said firmly, "We should make our choice. Either we stay and fight under Zero or we flee. No further debate. Those who wish to flee to the left; those who wish to stay and fight to the right. Move!"
The commanding tone in Mamoru's voice made the council move automatically, the majority moving to the right, with only two moving to the left.
"The majority votes in favour; the Yamato Alliance will fight under Zero's command." Mamoru said in satisfaction.
"Good." Kallen said and changed the frequency on her radio before putting it to her mouth.
"K-1, this is Q-1. The Yamato Alliance is on board. Awaiting further instructions."
"Excellent news, Q-1." Zero replied almost instantly, "Tell them to assemble their forces and then assign them those code names as I previously directed. Augur is falling back from her overwatch point and will rendezvous with you as soon as she can. Contact me again once you have completed that task and I will assign them area's to defend while I grasp the tactics used by Cornelia. K-1, out."
"Well that is easily accomplished." Mamoru said with a nod, "I recently reorganised the men into squads for ease of deployment."
"Let's get to it then." Kallen motioned to the door, "Call the troops together so we can brief them on their code names and the like. I'll need someone to act as a liaison between my cell and the Yamato Alliance. Mamoru-sensei?"
"If no-one else objects, then I would be honoured." Mamoru said genially, looking around for any objectors. Seeing that there was none, Kallen nodded in acknowledgement.
"Right then. Let's get this show on the road!" Kallen said decisively, "I want to be able to bash some Brits in half an hour!"
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With Lelouch
A grin crossed the face of Lelouch as he listened to Kallen via the hidden transmitter he had stashed in the clip he had given her. This way, he could actually listen to what people were saying in the meeting and be able to move in an instant should things go wrong.
Thankfully, it turned out to be an unnecessary precaution this time around, but it was better to be safe rather than sorry.
"She's a fiery one." He mused aloud as he listened to her declaration at the end of the meeting. She was very much similar to his mother, startlingly so. Brave, fierce, caring, compassionate and with willpower enough to stop a Knightmare in its tracks.
There were differences though. Marianne 'The Flash' was far more capable at hiding her emotions than Kallen was. The redhead was also far more reckless and impetuous than his mother had ever been, with a hair-trigger temper to boot.
Regardless, he felt…intrigued by Kallen. There was something about her, a spark, which drew him to her, although he didn't wish to be. Lelouch knew that one of the worst things a commander could do was to become too attached to the troops he led, something he was already pushing with C.C. and Sayoko on the battlefield.
Another point was that it was a security risk for her to become too close to his Zero-persona. If she did, she might start noticing similarities between Zero and Lelouch, putting the entirety of his plan at risk. She was already slightly suspicious because of his Shinjuku Escape fairy tale, so adding any further suspicion to the mix would definitely be a bad thing.
Lelouch sighed when he recalled Sayoko pointing out that he had already attracted two women and that it wouldn't be odd for him to attract more. That was something easily dealt with, but he had never imagined that he would be the one attracted to another girl!
'Damn hormones!' the Exiled Prince grumbled to himself, 'I thought I had dealt with them with mind over matter and self-discipline, but no~~, I have to be hit with an overdose of them in my late teens as opposed to my early teens!'
Even as one part of his mind focussed on bemoaning his romantic situation, the rest was busy focussing on the strategies he had constructed and making probability calculations about the likelihood of using each one.
Cornelia would have no idea what hit her.
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Timeskip - Forty minutes later
The Bridge, Viceroy Cornelia's Personal Command G-1, Outskirts of Saitama Ghetto, Far bank of the Arakawa River
"The Saitama Ghetto is completely surrounded." Sir Andreas Dalton informed his Princess. He was a brutal looking man, with light brown hair cut short, pitch black eyes and a diagonal scar across his face from a duel with Cornelia herself.
"The Yamato Alliance's hideout is somewhere in there." he continued, "Half of the Ghetto's residents are cooperating with them, although there is surprisingly little activity for the time of day."
"Interesting." Cornelia said with a piercing look, "What is the estimated affect on production?"
"Primary sector output should decrease by 0.2%." Dalton replied, aware that his Princess already knew this, but was asking just in case she had misremembered the figure.
'Just as cautious as ever.' Dalton thought fondly. He was devoted to Princess Cornelia and would faithfully follow any order she issued without a seconds hesitation, just as Guilford and Dalton's own five adopted sons in the Glaston Knights would.
"Within expectations you mean." Cornelia said gruffly, inwardly pleased that, as always, Dalton had thoroughly researched the likely outcomes of an attack such as this. He had, in fact, spoken against this plan, citing its dishonourable nature, but that did not stop him from being the true professional soldier that he was.
"All right." Cornelia looked around the bridge with narrowed eyes, seeing the staff flinch at the scrutiny of the Second Princess, "All of you took part in the Shinjuku Debacle, correct?"
"Yes, Princes Cornelia." one man spoke up, "And we are indebted to you for your mercy for our laxity-"
"That's not what I'm asking!" Cornelia barked, "Are these conditions similar enough to Shinjuku for my purposes?"
"Huh?" the man gaped at Cornelia in shock.
"Dalton, send the message to the media to begin the bait." Cornelia ordered.
"Roger." Dalton tapped a couple of keys and within minutes, a report was being broadcast on all channels of the Viceroy's campaign against the degenerate Eleven terrorists in Saitama.
"Princess…you plan on using yourself as bait, don't you?" the man asked in awe.
Cornelia raised an eyebrow minutely, slightly impressed that the man had figured it out without having the entire plan spelt out for him. "Yes, that is precisely the plan. If Zero is as melodramatic and arrogant as his little public spectacle has made him appear, he will not be able to resist defeating and killing me as he did to Clovis."
A feral smile crept across Cornelia's face as she spoke the next line, "But this time, the hunter shall become the hunted. Zero will not get close to me as he did with Clovis, because I know precisely how he did it the first time and have worked out a suitable countermeasure. He will pay dearly for what he did to my brother, mark my words!"
The men stiffened to attention. "Yes, Your Highness!" they replied and began to busily issue orders and ready the troops for Cornelia's command.
The Second Princess looked a bit taken aback at how…ardent…the officers were being, until Dalton leaned over and whispered, "They feel the need to prove themselves, Your Highness. Zero made fools of them before and they wish to cleanse the stain on their honour that being defeated by him caused."
"They were outmatched against Zero, plain and simple." Cornelia replied in an undertone, "There is no shame in that. From all reports, it was Clovis and that fat fool Bartley panicking that caused excessive casualties." Cornelia was many things, but unfair was not one of them. At least when it came to judging officers who had been outmatched and outmanoeuvred like these ones had been.
"It doesn't change the fact that they want revenge, both for their defeat and for Prince Clovis' death." Dalton replied.
"Very well." Cornelia acknowledged, "But if he does show up, Zero will likely defeat them again, you realise."
"The tougher the challenge, the more they will push themselves." Dalton replied.
Cornelia took a moment to ponder how men always seemed to regress into Neanderthals when their pride clouded their judgement before returning to the present.
"I will keep that in mind." Cornelia told her Knight as she strode into the centre of the bridge and issued the first order.
"I, Cornelia li Britannia, hereby order all troops: find and destroy the terrorist organisation known as the Yamato Alliance! Any and all methods are approved for this operation. In addition, any collaborators are to be summarily executed for treason against the Holy Empire of Britannia. All hail Britannia!"
On the tactical overview map, dozens of blue dots began moving in on the ruins of the once proud city of Saitama.
The Battle of Saitama had begun.
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Next Chapter: The Wages of Sin: Hubris
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