Author's Note: I'm really, really sorry for such a late update! I've got a lot on my plate right now, but everything's calming down, so I should have a more consistent update schedule soon!
Disclaimer: Unless my entire life so far has been a lie, I don't own Code Geass or Warhammer 40k.
Chapter Five: The Black Knights
Imperial Battleship Emperor's Vengeance, Mars Orbit
Two Hours, Thirty Minutes After the Avalon's First Appearance
"For millennia, you have lived in a society of stagnation, fear, and intolerance! The once-glorious days of the Great Crusade have long passed, and the Imperium of Man is now besieged on all sides by Chaos! People of the Imperium, we are the Black Knights, the Emperor's chosen soldiers! As the mighty human civilization crumbled, we embarked on a great exodus from Terra, vowing to one day return. Now, in your darkest hour, we fulfill that vow, throwing back the veil of secrecy to smash your enemies and drive them from humanity's rightful domains! Warriors of the Imperium, rally behind us and, together, we shall re-forge the Imperium, one mightier than ever before! Join me, join us," the masked man extended his hand towards his audience, "and there shall be no limit to what humanity can accomplish!"
As suddenly as the broadcast began, it ended. The masked man and the mechanical beings faded away, and the rotating malformed trident head once again projected on the hololith. In the dim light, the dozens of men and women that made up the battleship's bridge crew mutely stared at one another. The silence gradually spread to the rest of the Emperor's Vengeance as the message replayed over ship's internal vox network despite the Techpreists' repeated attempts to suppress the transmission. Even the eternal clanking and groaning normally echoing throughout a functioning Imperial vessel fell silent as if in awe of this "Zero."
Lord Admiral Nolan Giarputto slowly turned his gaze towards the hololith, which had reverted to displaying the data transmitted from the system's edge. He started intently at the purple triangles as they, one by one, reverted back to gray. Those ships, belonging to the self-identified "Black Knights," had almost single-handedly beat back a major Chaos assault with seemingly no effort. There was not a single red triangle to be found on the current display: nearly all of the Chaos ships they represented had been destroyed, though several flare-ups in Warp activity indicated that a few of them escaped, by the new arrivals.
Small quantities of text began appearing next to the triangles as data streamed in from the remnants of Battle Fleet Ultima. What stood out most to the Lord Admiral was the size of the ships: according to auspex scans, even the largest of them measured barely a kilometer in length, smaller than even the tiniest escort. The incredible amounts of firepower they demonstrated, however, could rival that of an entire fleet. Following the brutal one-sided slaughter of the Chaos fleet, however, the ships had fallen silent, simply drifting through space and seemingly ignoring the Imperial fleet arrayed in front of them.
"Lord Admiral Giarputto?" the captain timidly spoke up, "What are your orders concerning the unidentified vessels?"
"Leave them alone for now," the Lord Admiral spoke up after several moments' contemplation, "But keep weapons trained on them. If they take any hostile action, destroy them."
That second order was more for the crew's reassurance than anything else. Nobody held any illusions that they could possibly win a battle against those ships.
Hangar Bay, Space Station Ikaruga
Twenty Hours From the Terra System
Nunnally Lamperouge observed the scene below with a good measure of awe: if she had ever seen so much military might in one place before, she couldn't remember the occasion. Hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of drop shuttles were arranged in neat rows on the hangar bay floor, stretching nearly from wall to wall. The hangar bay was silent save for the nearly-silent humming of massive ceiling-mounted cranes busily loading supplies into the drop shuttles' open cargo bays. Though the sheer numbers oftentimes proved mind-boggling, she knew all too well just how quickly those mountains of supplies could disappear. Until they could establish stable supply lines, the ground forces would have to rely on whatever supplies they bought with them, and she had little doubt that many Imperial units were in desperate need of resupply as well.
Nunnally tore her eyes away from the assembled fleet, tilting her head slightly as the communicator in her ear beeped. The voice on the other end, which she recognized as belonging to one of her advisors, calmly informed her that civilian evacuations were complete. She nodded her head, though she knew the man couldn't see her gesture, and thanked him before turning her attention back to the landing fleet gathered before her.
Despite universal compulsory military service, a policy Nunnally personally loathed but recognized as vital to the fleet's survival, never before had so many militia units been called up to fight. Throughout the Ikaruga's gigantic hull, millions of men and women were girding up for war, bidding good luck to friends and family they might not see again as they disappeared behind layers of rutalium carbide. Those too young, too old, or too sick to fight were evacuated to the relative safety of the Ikaruga's inner decks. She swallowed hard, forcing back down the bile rapidly rising in her throat as she thought of the horrendous amounts of bloodshed, no matter how justified, about to take place.
Taking a deep breath and exhaling audibly, Nunnally turned around and left the observation platform. The two Knighmares flanking her followed her, staying just one pace behind the Psyker. As intimidating as the metal giants were, they were mostly just for show: the petite governor could crush both of them with a single thought.
Black Knights Dreadnought Pendragon, Edge of the Terra System
Six Hours After the Avalon's First Appearance
Even while a large-scale fleet battle was raging, the bridge of the Pendragon had remained relatively calm. At least, it would appear that way to the casual bystander. Several dozen Archangel Knightmares, their smart-paint set to display the standard black and silver punctuated with colored markings corresponding to their ranks and jobs, sat in near-total silence at their respective crew stations. The comm channels, however, told the true story: in the chaos mere hours before, hardly a single channel remained unused as bridge crew shouted orders and counter-orders at each other. Sensor contacts, firing vectors, and course changes dominated the airwaves as the mighty dreadnought conducted its one-sided slaughter of the Chaos vessels.
For all the computing power squeezed into such a relatively small room, the dreadnought's bridge was simple and uncluttered. Consoles lined the perimeter of the room, assembling readouts on the massive warship's status, updated in real-time by thousands of reports from all over the ship. The center of the room was sunken approximately a meter below the rest of the floor, with a massive holographic projector as the centerpiece. Anything, from a real-time display of the surrounding area to important communications, could be projected for all the bridge crew to see. Two clusters of computer consoles populated the pit, one around the perimeter and the other around the projector itself. Besides two circular paths in between the computer banks, a single straight path ran down the length of the bridge, broken up only by the projector.
The captain of the Pendragon stood at the front of the bridge more out of tradition than of practicality. Had the Pendragon been built twenty thousand years ago, perhaps the bridge would have been located on the dreadnought's hull instead of being tucked deep within, protected by meters of armor plating. The "window" in front of him was little more than a viewscreen hooked up to an external camera. Not merely a decoration, the monitor was connected to the dreadnought's sensor arrays, allowing the faux window to display relevant data on anything within visual range. At the moment, that category included the IFF data of multiple Black Knights ships and even a few of the older Imperial ships. A blinking light in his peripheral vision tore his eyes from the actually-rather-boring view.
"Captain Maciver, Battle Group Arvak has arrived."
The captain turned around to the projector in the center of the room, currently displaying a sensor map of the system. Sure enough, another cluster of blue triangles had appeared, representing the Arvak, a Trundholm-class cruiser, and its sizable support fleet.
"Good. Everything is proceeding as scheduled, then. Any updates on the Ikaruga?"
"Their latest sitrep indicates they are still eighteen hours away…" the sensor station officer fell silent for a split second, "Captain, the Ikaruga also reports that the second Chaos battle fleet has slipped into a favorable Warp current. Current calculations indicate they will reach the edge of the system in approximately sixty-eight hours. They request that we inform the Imperial Navy immediately."
The captain hardly needed a moments' contemplation before opening a channel with his communications officer.
"Open a line with the Imperial flagship. It'll most likely be that Oberon in the center of the fleet."
Imperial Battleship Glorious
Edge of the Terra System
"Captain Ekis, we've been hailed by the newly-arrived ships."
The lethargy that had overtaken the bridge following the end of the battle dissipated in a flash as the Glorious' captain sat up in his command throne. The Inquisitor, previously just silently and aimlessly wandering around the bridge while the crew tried their best to ignore him, sprinted towards the hololith. In an admirable display of self-control, he kept his mouth shut when his shin audibly knocked into the device.
"Put it on!" He practically shouted at the communications officer.
Manuel Kirschman took a split second to compose himself, brushing some imaginary dust from the front of his robes as he cleared his throat. Taking a deep breath, he rearranged his features into a look of calm indifference as the malformed trident once again appeared on the hololith. The insignia hung in the air for several rotations before disappearing, and the Inquisitor staggered back at the sight of the face that replaced it. For one wild moment, he believed he was looking at a previously-unknown form of Necron soldier. He dispelled those notions as soon as he regained his composure a second later, carefully rearranging his features into an inscrutable mask.
The face in front of him bore little resemblance to the vaguely humanoid faces of the mechanical giants seen flanking the mysterious "Zero." Save for a pair of recessed eyes staring out at him from a slit, the face consisted of an expanse of black and silver metal devoid of features. A shiver travelled up the seasoned Imperial servant's spine: he just couldn't shake how Necron-like those eyes appeared, with their sickly green glow. The manner in which the rest of the head was bulked up reminded him of a combat helmet. A noticeable ridge protruded from the top of the head, running from the forehead to the center of the scalp. Even a common Imperial citizen could tell him that he was looking at a weapon of war.
"Attention Imperial flagship, I bring urgent news from our leaders and request to speak to the highest-ranking officer aboard your ship."
"As an Inquisitor of the Ordos Xenos, I possess ultimate authority over this battle fleet. What is this urgent news you bring?"
"The main Chaos fleet has encountered, or perhaps summoned, a favorable Warp current, cutting an estimated fifty hours off their trip. As of now, we believe that they will arrive within sixty-eight hours. I am forwarding relevant data now."
The current image drastically shrunk, retreating into the upper right corner of the hololith projection, leaving a temporary black void. A chart of the Terra system soon filled that gap. A massive swath of space at the system's edge, where the remnants of Battle Fleet Ultima were located, pulsed red.
"Currently, this area corresponds with a nearby calm zone in the Warp, and it is reasonable to believe that the Chaos fleet will exit the Warp at this point and make an all-out rush through the defense stations located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Our tacticians believe they intend to capture the forges of Mars before mounting an assault on Terra."
"And how large is this Chaos fleet?"
"Unknown. However, judging from the size of the Warp shadow, we estimate it to number in the thousands at the very least."
Silence descended upon the Glorious' bridge as several dozen hearts simultaneously stopped, and an equal number of breaths hitched. For nearly five seconds, the battleship's bridge remained as silent as the space outside. A beeping sound snapped everyone out of their shock as a second swath of space, located roughly around Neptune's orbital path, began pulsing blue on the hololith display. This second patch was much smaller than the first, but still of considerable size.
"Fortunately, our main fleet should arrive within the next eighteen hours. Their jump calculations will cause them to exit the Warp at the highlighted area. Additionally, our leaders request that any Imperial ships operating within this area be evacuated, as we cannot guarantee their safety while our fleet emerges from the Warp."
"I shall make the necessary arrangements at once," Inquisitor Kirschman made the sign of the Aquila, "The Emperor protects."
If the Pendragon's captain had any response to that, it was lost as the Inquisitor, with a quick hand gesture, ordered the connection terminated.
"Shall I-," Captain Ekis began.
"Contact the Emperor's Vengeance immediately," Kirschman ordered, both cutting the captain off and answering his question.
The communications officer hurriedly set about his task, trying his best to ignore the Inquisitor hovering over his shoulder. Despite, or perhaps because of, being in such close proximity to one of the most feared men in the Imperium, the link was established in record time.
Imperial Battleship Emperor's Vengeance, Mars Orbit
Six Hours, Thirty Minutes After the Avalon's First Appearance
The bridge crew of the Emperor's Vengeance looked at one another uncertainly as the Lord Admiral terminated the link. Even though the aged soldier put on a stoic front, those around him could see that the news had clearly shaken the man. Those closest to him could even see how his lower lip quivered slightly. He maintained that deceptively-calm demeanor as much for his benefit as the men's: the news of such a large Chaos fleet arriving so soon would break lesser men. Already, he could see despair overtaking several of the crew around him. He cleared his throat audibly, causing several to jump in their seats.
"I want a complete list of every ship either currently in-system or predicted to arrive within the next forty-eight hours," he barked out in the most commanding voice he could muster.
As Astropaths and sensor station crew scrambled to compile the list, Lord Admiral Giarputto turned towards the larger-than-usual communications crew. One of his predecessors, a particularly far-sighted man, had realized the Emperor's Vengeance was to become little more than a static command center and requested that the Tech-Priests install the latest and most advanced communications suite the Mechanicum could fabricate. In exchange for requiring triple the amount of communications technicians, the Emperor's Vengeance boasted command-and-control capabilities rivaling that of an Imperial Navy sector headquarters.
"I want those coordinates forwarded to every ship within our communications range. Make it clear that access to those areas is restricted until further notice. Establish lines to the defensive stations as well. I want them all put on high alert."
Confident that everyone was too absorbed in their assigned tasks to notice, Nolan Giarputto leaned further back against the railing and closed his eyes, sighing deeply in relief. The explosion of noise and activity completely swept away all traces of the crushing hopelessness that had descended on the crew mere moments before. With the men and women of the Emperor's Vengeance busily preparing Battle Fleet Solar for battle, Giarputto was given alone time with his private doubts. No matter how many ships made the rendezvous, they would still be heavily outnumbered and outgunned, with only these so-called "Black Knights" to make up the difference.
In another time, Imperial ships would have opened fire on the Black Knights the moment they entered the system. Now, with Chaos marching on Holy Terra itself, they were willing to ally themselves with a faction nobody knew much, if anything, about. Nolan doubted he was alone in not trusting them: they only had the Black Knights' own word as to who they were and what they wanted. But, he reckoned, if these "Black Knights" were so willing to fight Chaos, they could be useful. If nothing else, they would wear themselves down fighting the Great Enemy, making them easier to deal with if it ever came down to that.
Briefing Room, Black Knights Frigate Valiant
Five Hours, Thirty Minutes Later
Even amongst the First Orbital Planetary Assault Wing, Lieutenant Karen "Scarface" Schneider was somewhat of a legend. Her moniker originated from the distinctive scar running down the left side of her face, an injury from the Third Necrotic War she refused to have regenerated. Rumors persisted that she had acquired it in a one-on-one fight with a Necron Lord, a story she persistently denied on grounds that it had only been a Flayed One. With such a formidable reputation, it came as little surprise that General Kozuki would select her squad for a special assignment.
As soon as the last Knightmare filed through the doorway and took a spot at the table, Karen flipped on the holo-projector. Unlike the Imperial hololiths, the image projected was crisp and stable. If she really wanted, she could set the image to be visually indistinguishable from the real thing, but there was no need. Nobody would believe something as heavy as Knightmare frame could safely stand on a briefing table anyway.
"This," she began, "is one of the first Knightmares, designed and built before the exodus from Earth."
It was certainly an unusual design, and Karen gave the assembled soldiers some time to study the image. For such an old machine, the appearance more closely resembled that of modern Knightmares rather than the chunky designs of its era. Unlike the sleek, utilitarian lines of an "Archangel" or "Cherub," however, the designer had clearly meant for the ancient Knightmare to intimidate. The enormous knee and forearm guards lent much-needed bulk to the otherwise-lanky design, with massive angled shoulder protectors contributing to an extremely aggressive aura. A large burgundy backpack, with four stubby wings protruding, gave the machine a top- and back-heavy appearance. The Knightmare itself was black and gold, with occasional swathes of gunmetal.
"Its official designation is the 'KMX-001-0," Karen continued, "and its code name is 'Shinkirou.' Only one was ever built, intended for the personal use of Zero himself. Weapons are nothing special, overall performance is mediocre at best, and it had a very short operational time. By the time of the exodus, it was almost completely outclassed by other Knightmares. However, it was never meant to be a high-performance machine: rather, it was designed to have the strongest possible defenses. Void shields of the Shinkirou's caliber are normally seen on Titans. Neither General Kozuki nor General Kururugi want this technology falling into Chaos hands!"
The hologram of the Shinkirou disappeared, replaced by a map of Mars. More specifically, it showed a three-dimensional representation of the Valles Marineris region. Unlike the rest of Mars, encrusted with forges, both the valley and the surrounding areas had remained undeveloped.
"According to Director CC, the Shinkirou was hidden below the surface of Mars just before the Great Crusade. There is an old Black Knights base in the Valles Marineris region built during the initial settlement of Mars. It's deep enough underground to escape sensor sweeps, and all information regarding this base was either taken with us on the exodus or purged in the early days of the Imperium. There is no reason to believe that the Mechanicum has discovered this base. Our job is to reopen this base and retrieve the Shinkirou."
The hologram zoomed out, soon revealing a sizable tunnel complex stretching deep underground. Silence dominated the room as the assembled OPAW troops studied the layout of the complex. Karen could already sense the unasked question hovering amongst her men.
"If this were any other mission, a rank-and-file militia unit would have probably been sent instead. You might have noticed the lack of forges in the area. The Mechanicum tried to build a few during the Great Crusade, but workers and Tech-Priests kept on going missing in the surrounding caves. Then the Mechanicum devolved into civil war and they abandoned their construction efforts. Valles Marineris feeds straight into the Noctis Labyrinth, making it one of the most dangerous places on Mars. The Inquisition believes there is a Necron tomb somewhere in the Labyrinth, and what little information we have on the situation supports this theory."
A chill descended upon the gathering. The Third Necrotic War was still fresh in everybody's minds, and some units had yet to recover from their losses. As members of the 1st OPAW, they had all been in the thick of the fighting and had witnessed firsthand what a Gauss weapon could do to a Knightmare. But even that conflict paled in comparison to the First Necrotic War, still spoken about in hushed tones nearly a millennium after the war's end. In the closing days of the war, the Necrons launched a direct assault on the fleet. The Ikaruga itself had been fired upon, and it was only after heavy losses did they destroy the Necron fleet. Despite being significantly more advanced than their Imperial cousins, even the Black Knights had something to fear when it came to Necrons.
"We will reach the insertion point in two hours. Be sure to download and familiarize yourself with the facility maps beforehand. Dismissed!"
Black Knights Jump Point
Twelve Hours Later
With the weight of both a Lord Admiral's and an Inquisitor's authority behind the orders, a swathe of space several hundred million cubic kilometers in volume had been evacuated within ten hours. The Black Knights vessels currently in-system patrolled the outskirts of the quarantined zone, accompanied by a small number of Imperial vessels. Imperial navigators looked upon the Black Knights' precision short-range jumps with a mixture of awe and envy: whereas even short hops with Imperial Warp drives needed considerable allowance for error, several Black Knights battle groups jumped in perfect formation without incident.
At the appointed time, nearly every auspex in the Imperial fleet was blinded by the massive energy surge as hundreds of vessels pushed their way back into real space. The entire region of space lit up, massive arcs of warp energy crackling from the holes in reality. With their relatively tiny mass, the frigates and destroyers were the first to break into real space, rapidly assembling into their battle groups and disgorging their squadrons of attack craft to form the beginnings of a fighter screen.
The Black Knights capital ships, tiny but incredibly powerful, arrived next. Squadrons of long, sleek cruisers dropped out of the Warp, quickly forming up with the smaller warships and contributing to the growing fighter screen. Countless miscellaneous support vessels, configured for every role from electronic warfare to mobile factory, appeared near the center of the formation, safely cocooned within the fleet's defenses. Massive, knife-shaped dreadnoughts steadily pushed their way through wounds in reality, their enormous mass preventing an easy transition.
The next wave's ships were the largest seen thus far by a large margin: at nearly the size of an Imperial cruiser, each one was easily a dozen times more massive than the Black Knights' dreadnoughts. As the last of the distinctive twin-hulled vessels fully emerged from the Warp, the Imperial fleet dispersed slightly, thinking the last of the Black Knights' ships had arrived and intending to give them room to maneuver. They were proven wrong as a massive energy surge, the largest one yet, blinded every auspex in the general area.
When the energy surge finally died down, the Imperial forces could do little but stare in awe at the sight before them. Shaped vaguely like a sharp-edged flower, the massive construct easily dwarfed even the Imperial Ramilies-pattern star fortresses. Stretching kilometers in every direction, defensive batteries and hangar bays encrusted every surface of the behemoth.
The Ikaruga had arrived.
Omake: Encyclopedia of the Black Knights, Volume Two: The Knightmares
Name: KMC-012-01 "Lancelot-Seraph"
Pilot: General Suzaku Kururugi
Height: 2 meters
Weight (fully-equipped w/ pilot): 1.56 metric tons
Power Source: Cold Fusion Micro-Reactor
Defenses: 4 cm Reinforced Rutalium Carbide (Composition Classified), Full-Body Hadron Field
Weapons (Built-In): 4x Hadron Field-Enhanced Slash Harkens (2x Waist-Mounted, 2x Forearm-Mounted), 2x Back-Mounted Energy Wings
Weapons (Hand-Carried): 2x Force Swords (w/ 2x Backpack-Mounted Scabbards), Hadron Assault Rifle (w/ Built-In Hadron Spread Cannon, Back-Mounted Recharge Rack)
Propulsion: 2x Back-Mounted Micro Gravitric Drives
Misc. Features: Psycho-Crystalline Matrix, Holographic Heads-Up Display (w/ IFF Decoder, Suit and Health Status Monitors), Sensor Suite (w/ Infrared, Night Vision, Motion-Tracking Capabilities), Integrated Communications (w/ Orbital Uplink, Squad Uplink), Integrated Automated First-Aid Dispenser, Nanite Self-Repair System, Nanite-Based Camouflage Smart-Paint
Description: Blindingly fast, unbelievably agile, and equipped with two Force swords specifically tuned to Suzaku's psychic signature and capable of carving through most armor, the Lancelot-Seraph is easily one of the deadliest Knightmares ever created. Equipped with a custom-made psycho-crystalline matrix, Suzaku can pilot the Lancelot-Seraph literally through sheer force of will, dramatically increasing the Knightmare's responsiveness. Though a hand-carried hadron assault rifle provides some degree of ranged combat capability, the Lancelot-Seraph is a melee-oriented Knightmare, generally using its slash harkens to ensnare enemies and pull them into sword range. Though its gravitric drives render energy wings redundant, the Lancelot-Seraph retains them in a purely weaponized form, using them to lash out at unsuspecting opponents with devastating results. To this end, they are usually used by Suzaku as an extra set of blades, though they are also capable of unleashing a withering hail of energy bolts. Should the Lancelot-Seraph's hadron field fail, its energy wings can serve as more-than-adequate substitutes.
Name: KMC-012-02 "Guren-Seraph"
Pilot: General Kallen Kozuki
Height: 1.8 meters
Weight (fully-equipped w/ pilot): 1.57 metric tons
Power Source: Cold Fusion Micro-Reactor
Defenses: 5 cm Reinforced Rutalium Carbide (Composition Classified), Full-Body Hadron Field
Weapons (Built-In): 2x Chest-Mounted Hadron Field-Enhanced Slash Harkens, Forearm-Mounted Hadron Projector, Radiant Wave Surger, 5x Hadron Field-Enhanced Claws, 2x Back-Mounted Energy Wings
Weapons (Hand-Carried): None
Propulsion: 2x Back-Mounted Micro Gravitric Drives
Misc. Features: Psycho-Crystalline Matrix, Holographic Heads-Up Display (w/ IFF Decoder, Suit and Health Status Monitors), Sensor Suite (w/ Infrared, Night Vision, Motion-Tracking Capabilities), Integrated Communications (w/ Orbital Uplink, Squad Uplink), Integrated Automated First-Aid Dispenser, Nanite Self-Repair System, Nanite-Based Camouflage Smart-Paint
Description:Though lacking some of the Lancelot-Seraph's sheer speed and agility, the Guren-Seraph more than compensates with the ability to dish out and soak up tremendous amounts of punishment. Taking the place of its right arm, the Guren-Seraph's distinctive Radiant Wave Surger serves as the Knightmare's supremely versatile primary weapon. At melee distances, it can grip opponents and pump radiation through them until they burst. Not even at a distance are opponents safe from the Guren-Seraph's fury, its Radiant Wave Surger capable of projecting anything from a thin, focused beam for piercing heavy armor to a wide-dispersed wave for indiscriminate area destruction. Additionally, the Radiant Wave Surger's five claws, equipped with hadron field generators, are formidable melee weapons in their own right, cleaving through armor with frightening ease. Two slash harkens and a hadron projector mounted on the Guren-Seraph's left forearm supplement this formidable weapon. Rounding off this arsenal is a pair of energy wings, identical in function to the Lancelot-Seraph's.
Name: KMI-011-02 "Cherub"
Operator: BlackKnights Military Arm-Special Forces Division-Orbital Planetary Assault Wing
Height: 1.85 meters
Weight (fully-equipped w/ pilot): 1.73 metric tons
Power Source: Cold Fusion Micro-Reactor
Defenses: 3 cm Reinforced Rutalium Carbide (Composition Classified), 2x Forearm-Mounted Hadron Field Emitters
Weapons (Built-In): 4x Hadron Field-Enhanced Slash Harkens (2x Forearm-Mounted, 2x Waist-Mounted), 2x Energy Wings
Weapons (Hand-Carried): Hadron Light Machine Gun (w/ Chest-Mounted Storage Rack), 6x Chaos Mines (w/ 2x Hip-Mounted Storage Racks), Micro-FLEJIA Launcher (w/ Stomach-Mounted Storage Rack, 2x Reloads), 4x Hadron Sabers (w/ 2x Shoulder-Mounted Recharge Racks, 2x Wrist-Mounted Recharge Racks)
Propulsion: 2x Back-Mounted Energy Wings, 2x Foot-Mounted Landspinners
Misc. Features: Psycho-Crystalline Matrix, Holographic Heads-Up Display (w/ IFF Decoder, Suit and Health Status Monitors, Squad Status Monitor), Sensor Suite (w/ Infrared, Night Vision, Motion-Tracking Capabilities), Integrated Communications (w/ Orbital Uplink, Squad Uplink), Integrated Automated First-Aid Dispenser, Nanite Self-Repair System, Nanite-Based Camouflage Smart-Paint, Disposable Heat Shield (w/ Back-Mounted Mounting Lugs)
Description: The Orbital Planetary Assault Wing delivers troops directly through a planet's atmosphere, a fact reflected in the Cherub, their signature Knightmare. As accommodating a head shield precluded the inclusion of micro gravitric drives, the Cherub lacks the distinctive "backpack" of other modern Knightmare designs. Flight capability is instead provided by a pair of energy wings, though the sizable wingspan proves troublesome in confined areas. In such environments, rapid deployment capability is provided by lanspinners instead. A hand-carried hadron light machine gun makes up the core of the Cherub's offensive capabilities, though it is often swapped out for a hadron carbine for missions in confined environments. A fully-equipped Cherub also carries four hadron sabers, four slash harkens, six Chaos Mines, each capable of unleashing a devastating shrapnel storm over a sizable area, and a micro-FLEIJA launcher for use against heavy armor. Though formidable, the Cherub lacks a full-body hadron field and sports the thinnest armor of the current generation of Knightmares.
Name: KMI-011-01b "Archangel"
Operator: Black Knights Military Arm-Militia Division
Height: 2 meters
Weight (fully-equipped w/ pilot): 1.56 metric tons
Power Source: Cold Fusion Micro-Reactor
Defenses: 4 cm Reinforced Rutalium Carbide (Composition Classified), Full-Body Hadron Field
Weapons (Built-In): 2x Waist-Mounted Hadron Field-Enhanced Slash Harkens, 2x Forearm-Mounted Hadron Projectors, 2x Backpack-Mounted Hadron Cannons
Weapons (Hand-Carried): Hadron Assault Rifle (w/ Built-In Hadron Spread Cannon, Back-Mounted Recharge Rack), 2x Hadron Sabers (w/ 2x Shoulder-Mounted Recharge Racks)
Propulsion: 2x Back-Mounted Micro Gravitric Drives
Misc. Features: Psycho-Crystalline Matrix, Holographic Heads-Up Display (w/ IFF Decoder, Suit and Health Status Monitors, Squad Status Monitor), Sensor Suite (w/ Infrared, Night Vision, Motion-Tracking Capabilities), Integrated Communications (w/ Orbital Uplink, Squad Uplink), Integrated Automated First-Aid Dispenser, Nanite Self-Repair System, Nanite-Based Camouflage Smart-Paint
Description: The standard-issue Knightmare of the Black Knights Military Arm-Militia Division, the Archangel is rugged, reliable, and easy to maintain. As a mass-produced unit, it lacks some of the more expensive features found on its Special Forces counterpart, the KMI-011-02 "Cherub." However, thanks to its psycho-crystalline matrix, the Archangel is still a high-performance design more than capable of taking on all but the toughest opponents. In addition to robust armor protection and a full-body hadron field, the Archangel's survivability is drastically increased through an integrated self-repair system. Designed for maximum flexibility, the Archangel boasts a small but highly versatile mix of built-in weapons. Its hadron projectors possess two modes: a blade mode for melee combat and a blaster mode for short- to mid-range engagements. A pair of hadron cannons, normally folded behind the shoulders, can deploy for use against heavily-armored targets. The now-standard "b" version introduces significant improvements over the original, including an improved electronics suite and increased power output.
Name: KMX-001-0 "Shinkirou"
Operator:Lelouch Lamperogue
Height: 2.1 meters
Weight (fully-equipped w/ pilot): 3.62 metric tons
Power Source: Replaceable Energy Filler (w/ Solar Recharger)
Defenses: 7 cm Layered Ceramite-Plasteel-Adamantium, Full-Body Void Shield Emitter
Weapons (Built-In): 2x Forearm-Mounted Plasma Cannons, Chest-Mounted Maser Cannon
Weapons (Hand-Carried): None
Propulsion: Float System, 2x Foot-Mounted Landspinners
Misc. Features: Digital Heads-Up Display (w/ IFF Decoder, Suit Status Monitor), Sensor Suite, Integrated Communications
Description: Designed during the Dark Age of Technology, the Shinkirou saw extensive use during the Unification Wars. Despite its advanced weaponry, the Shinkirou was actually designed to have the strongest possible defenses. However, even its armor, worthy of a Space Marine Terminator, pales in contrast to its void shields. Built using technologies long since lost to most of humanity, they would not be out of place on a Titan. Unfortunately, a Knightmare-portable computer capable of performing the millions of adjustments per second needed to keep the shields synchronized did not yet exist. As a result, only Lelouch could operate it at its full potential. Enormous energy requirements also hampered the Shinkirou: a fresh energy filler might carry it through twenty minutes of moderately-heavy combat. Though its defense is unmatched even by modern Knightmares, the Shinkirou's overall performance was sub-par at best, and it would be quickly outclassed by other pre-exodus Knightmares. Currently, the Shinkirou is hidden somewhere under the Martian surface.
Author's Note: For those who are curious, there is a system for numbering these Knightmares, and its pretty simple.
The first two letters simply stand for "Knightmare." They're there for no real reason except it felt weird to just have one-letter designations.
The second denotes the production type: "I" indicates a mass-produced infantry type, "C" indicates a custom unit, and "X" indicates an experimental unit.
The first three numbers indicate the Knightmare's generation, with each new generation corresponding to a significant game-changing advancement in Knightmare technology. I have about half of the generations filled out in my head, but I currently have no plans to introduce any new Knightmares in this story, so the actual technology is unimportant. But, for the curious, here it is:
1st Generation: Compact Knightmare technology.
2nd Generation: Psycho-crystalline matrix technology.
3rd Generation:
4th Generation:
5th Generation: Cold fusion micro-reactor technology.
6th Generation: Mass-produced energy wing technology.
7th Generation: Controllable hadron field technology.
8th Generation: Nanite technology.
9th Generation:
10th Generation:
11th Generation: Gravitric impeller technology.
12th Generation: Does not yet exist. Both "-Seraph" units utilize eleventh generation technology. However, their performance is far enough ahead of current eleventh generation units to place them on par with theoretical twelfth generation units, hence the designation.
The last two numbers indicate the order in which the Knightmare first rolled off the production lines. So, basically, the Archangel and the Guren-Seraph were built before the Cherub and the Lancelot-Seraph, respectively. This is reset with each new generation.
Any letter after all that indicate revisions. This only applies to the Archangel, which has gone through two revisions at some point in the past.
Omake #2: Why Updating is So Slow
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam. I just really enjoy watching the animes. Well, most of them...
Year 0153 of the Universal Century: the Zanscare Empire has commenced an invasion of Earth. With the Earth Federation crumbling, all hopes lie with the League Militaire, a civilian militia and resistances group. However, even their Victory Gundams may not be enough to see them through this conflict. Armed with new, devastatingly-powerful mobile weapons, BESPA launches a genocide campaign targeting the city of Woowig. Two gunshots will forever change the course of history.
Cosmic Era 073: the hard-won peace is under threat. Cities on Earth and the PLANTs in space alike are being destroyed one by one. Millions are dead or displaced, and governments are looking for somebody to blame. As ZAFT and the Earth Alliance once again arm for war, it is up to the heroes of the Bloody Valentines' War to defuse the situation by bringing those responsible to justice. What they discover threatens the very existence of both sides, and they might just be in way over their heads.
After Colony 210: the curse of the mobile suit has once again been unleashed upon humanity. The Martian War, the largest and most devastating war in human history, had left countless millions dead and scarred both Earth and Mars. The Preventers organization lies in shambles, hardly able to maintain order as the ESUN and the Mars colonies travel the long road to recovery. When a new threat emerges, only one group can meet it: Preventers' covert operations unit Department Nine.
All is not well. The very fabric of the universe is damaged, and rifts are opening between worlds. As time itself is irrevocably altered, an unlikely band of allies scrambles to solve the mystery of the rift as other forces work behind the scenes to advance their sinister agenda. At the end of this harrowing journey lies an evil beyond imagination…
Coming soon: Mobile Suit Gundam Ragnarok, a fanfiction co-written by Zenetos and Soraga.
Author's Note: Some might have noticed that community I joined a while back. This is what it is for. Still in the early writing stages, so no definite update schedule for this project yet.