A Black Knight Rising

by Illuviar

A reluctant dimension traveler gets reincarnated as the brother of Cornelia and Euphemia li Britannia, remembering his past a few days after Empress Marianne is "assassinated". The game for the Britannian Throne will never be the same again...

5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own either of the Code Geass, Gundam Seed or Star wars franchises. This story is not written with commercial purpose in mind. I make no money from it. It is not for sale or rent.

Chapter 5: The 501st

=ABKR=

Part 1

26 March 2009 A.T.B.

The Octagon

Pendragon

The building containing the biggest concentration of brass on square meter in Britannia was named over its odd octagonal shape. It was built in the rough form of concentrating rings with those nearer the centre and deeper underground being correspondingly more and more important. The place boosted some very good security – both technological and manpower wise. Even with my unusual abilities actually infiltrating the place if the fancy ever struck me would be a pain. The building was built like the demented child of a maze and death-trap filled fortress of doom, which now that I knew for sure there were other peoples with powers on this Earth suddenly made quite a lot of sense. Of course then there was the institutional paranoia of our military and intelligence agencies too, which when I thought about it was a decent enough explanation by itself.

While all the above was great for foiling foreign agents, it was also a paint in the ass to deal with at the best of times, not to mention that the enemies I had to fear were much closer to home. They wouldn't need to infiltrate the Octagon if they desired information about what I was doing – most of them were likely to either have the necessary access or friends with it who they could innocently ask for the information.

Those were concerns I had to keep in mind while I was slowly making my way to the eight ring where I would be allowed to see all intelligence on Indochina we got along with a list of assets I might draw upon to dissuade the locals from kicking us out of the region.

To my surprise I found a familiar face waiting with me in front of the secure room where I would be reviewing the Intel. My aide Viletta Nu stood at parade rest next to the door flanked by s pair of troopers who were trying very hard not to look like they would be anywhere but near her. The fact that she outranked the corporals and her not-so sunny disposition might have had something to do with it. Or perhaps it was the Royal crest added to her uniform announcing her position as someone who directly serves the Royal family.

"Lieutenant Nu." I nodded. "I trust all the data I requested is ready for review?" I asked showing no surprise at her presence.

"Everything is in order, Your Highness." Viletta stood at attention.

"Good. Thank you both, you're dismissed." I told the soldiers who gave me a parade sharp salutes and made themselves scarce.

Yet another biometric lock later and we were in a small 'dark' room protected against always of remote observation known to man. The only things inside were a plain metal table, a few chairs that looked like they might be not too uncomfortable if you squint a lot and a computer which lacked the hardware to connect to any kind of network. There was a sealed metal case on the table which presumably contained all the data I needed.

I used the Force to make sure any hidden recording devices would get only static and turned to look at my aide.

"Viletta, its surprising to see you here. Who ordered you in?" I asked.

"General li Britannia once it became clear you won't be coming back any time soon, sir. I am supposed to be your aide." Nu reminded me. It sounded like the truth, though it didn't explain her barely contained anger.

"You can speak. I already secured the room."

"Until an hour ago I thought I was recalled for my own execution, Your Highness." Viletta spat.

"Ah. That sounds like some of my relatives." I nodded in understanding. "Well, we won't be getting shot at dawn."

"Dawn passed two hours ago. Will we get shot at noon?"

Obviously my brand of humour was lost on Viletta.

"In couple of weeks. A month if I could swing it. What do you know about Indochina?" I inquired.

"It's technically part of the Chinese Federation aligned Kingdom of Burma but is in fact a French colony – the last one in the pacific. We've got bases along the coast ever since the Pacific War. If the news and scuttlebutt are right, the locals want us out. We've been in war with Burma for the last few months which complicates the situation." Viletta recited.

"Officially we launched an invasion in order to secure our naval facilities from enemy artillery range." At least that was the tune of the Foreign Ministry according to my older brother. Unofficially we were testing the waters in preparation for an inevitable invasion of Japan and securing our positions in the region for that exercise. Father wanted Indochina along with most of Burma, which meant I had to figure out how to win a land war in Asia.

"That's our problem how?" Viletta asked.

"Guess who needs to fix that particular FUBAR." My response took her aback.

I entered my code, put my thumb on the electronic reader to get my fingerprint scanned and the case popped open revealing a lot of neatly stacked CDs which were all helpfully labelled.

"We and what army?" Nu eventually stopped spluttering.

"A very good question. Let's first find out what exactly do we have to deal with." I browsed the CDs for the appropriate one – ah there it was - 'Intelligence analysis of the threats in the Indochina AO'.

It took us a few hours to figure out exactly how fucked we were. The Kingdom of Burma had a reasonably large military, which was optimized for fighting in the jungles which made a lot of their territory. They had a lot of decent airframes' courtesy of the Chinese, who along the Euros were engaged funnelling support – both volunteers and material. The initial offensives had seen some gains but was by now hopelessly bogged down. The enemy could reinforce much faster and easier than us and Japan backed by the other two superpowers were making noises about locking our navy out of the region, which would see not only all of our bases there but the people and material fall sooner rather than later. Getting powerful enough formations on the ground in Indochina to matter would be seen as escalation which might lead to a direct Chinese intervention. If that happened the Japanese were likely to go on with their threat and lock down the area.

In theory Britannia was big enough that a blockade in that region won't be particularly painful. After all we were more than self-sufficient when all was said and done. However, such an act would cut off our bases in the area and more importantly, there was Japan – the world's biggest exporter of Sakuradite. Along with their Chinese acquaintance they might try locking our military shipping out of the region or worse, either impose an embargo or simply refuse to sell us that precious resource. The consequences might very well spiral out of control into a world war, one we were unlikely to win at this time.

The one thing we weren't self-sufficient about was the Sakuradite. We couldn't be with Japan possessing roughly about seventy percent of the world's accessible deposits.

"Your Highness, what are we exactly meant to do here?" Viletta asked the obvious question. "I don't see a reasonable military solution. We need to reinforce our people on the ground – heavily or we might as well write them off. However, we don't dare send enough people and material."

"Correct." I agreed and wondered what would have happened in that other timeline where I died in Africa.

The events in Buenos Aires didn't happen there I assumed. In turn Britannia didn't have its current aura of vulnerability and European and Japanese response would have been much more cautious. That might have allowed for properly reinforcing Indochina and eking out a victory there before the rest of the kids in the neighbourhood got the nerve to oppose us. It was all conjecture but it fit. The Japanese would have threatened to cut off our troops in Asia along with decreasing the Sakuradite they would sell us or even outright embargo us to pressure us – which was what they were doing right now.

"Saying that up the chain of command won't be a good idea I take it?" Nu wanted to know.

"They're aware. Nevertheless, I'm to find a way and implement it in the next couple of weeks. We need to be in Indochina in a month on the outside." I confirmed.

"I'm suddenly reconsidering about that firing squad I feared in the morning."

"Don't worry. We're going to cheat. There isn't a conventional solution unless getting in there with airborne light troops and hoping for the best is something you want to do?"

"Not particularly. Cheat how?"

"I need to make a few calls and I'll tell you."

=ABKR=

Few hours and a lot of conversations with various people later, I had scheduled a meeting with both father and Schneizel for late in the evening. Meanwhile, I was about to meet one of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Britannian military.

General Joan Fontaine was the Commandant of the Marine Corps and currently the rotating chairman of the joint Chiefs. That meant he spent most of his time in Pendragon and would continue to do so for two more months before he was replaced by the representative of the navy.

Fontaine was in his mid fifties and a veteran from the Pacific War. He was credited with reforging our Marines in the best in the world thanks to the hard lessons he learned while participating in multiple bloody island assaults. Thanks to Cornelia I knew that he had a deserved no nonsense reputation. He was notable for being one of the few non-peers who managed to rise up to the highest level of our military and rumour had it that he had no patience for the usual court shenanigans.

On the face of it, Fontaine sounded like my kind of man.

His office was in the inner and most secure ring of the octagon. As befitting his rank, the place was large and tastefully decorated – you might even mistake it for the cabinet of powerful and wealthy noble. However, it was immediately obvious that the commandant had put his own touch. There were many pictures of him with the units he served with, framed news clipping about battles he participated in as well as obituaries I presumed to be of friends he served with. This certainly wasn't the usual wall of glory some officers tended to put at their working space.

"Commandant Fontaine, sir!" I stood at attention and saluted.

"Your highness." He got up from behind his desk and returned a crisp salute.

I used the opportunity to examine the man. My first impression was underwhelming. Fontaine was a short, yet thickly build man. His once large muscles were slowly turning into fat but I don't think that was because he was no longer taking care of himself. It was probably just age finally catching up to him.

His face still showed trace of his noble French ancestry – the Fontaine family was one of those who managed to escape France during their revolution and later had to run a second time when Napoleon launched his invasion of the British Isles... something I still was unsure how the hell succeeded in driving our ancestors out. Perhaps the Geass father said he possessed had something to do with it. It had to be a doozy because I never could wrap my head over the logistics of Napoleon's invasion across the channel.

Fontaine probably knew more but this wasn't the time for such a conversation.

"What can I do for you, your highness?" The commandant politely inquired.

"I've been given a task by the Emperor, sir."

"I see." Fontaine frowned. "No. I don't. Not yet. Please get seated and tell me what you can." He pointed at one of the two chairs placed before his desk.

I nodded in thanks and made myself comfortable.

"My orders are to resolve the situation in Indochina to the benefit of the Empire. After consulting with the Chancellor it became clear that a diplomatic resolution is out of the question. Our presence on the peninsula is deemed a strategic threat to the Chinese Federation that overrules the usual concerns." I began.

"That is correct. Our military positions in the region are tenuous at this time." Fontaine spoke in a calm tone utterly devout of any feeling.

"That's my understanding as well after reviewing our intelligence about the current situation. Am I correct in assuming that shipping in sufficiently large force to win is that conflict is undesirable for many reasons?" I decided to be blunt.

"Both military and political. What we have in the area is perceived to be a threat by the Chinese. They've been increasing the rate of shipping material and volunteers to their puppets lately. If we bring enough forces to subdue Burma we'll certainly face the Federation's own armed forces in open battle. If that happens the situation will spin totally out of control." Fontaine intoned.

"It's as I feared. Commandant, what level of reinforcements you deem insufficiently threatening to deem an immediate open Chinese intervention?" I asked.

Fontaine pursed his lips and his eyes focused on something distant.

"Perhaps another marine division or an airborne regiment or two. No more. Certainly no more armoured forces." He finally said.

"Such units won't be enough to make a difference I take it?"

"Given the terrain and what the enemy has we'll need multiple divisions to make a difference. More air-power too. Either a few wings of fingers or bombers or at least another carrier battle group. Sending them would further escalate the situation, which according to the Chancellor is undesirable. Are you here to tell me differently, your Highness?" Only now emotion entered his voice and he wasn't happy.

"No. The Emperor wants me to resolve the conflict with minimal reinforcements."

"That's a tall order, your Highness. Our commanders in the region have been trying to do precisely that over the last month without success. They're some of the best we have, however they can't do miracles with the support we're allowed to give them."

"It is as I feared then. What marine and airborne troops are available for deployment by the middle of the next month? They will have to be on the ground at the end of April on the outside. No more than a division when combined."

"101st and 82nd Airborne. I have a marine regiment at the Philippines ready to go and a new division which is finishing its training at Fort Nelson."

"I'll take that regiment and certain airborne units once I've finalized my plan. I trust you'll cut the necessary orders, sir."

A brief look of amusement flashed over his face and then it was once again a professional dispassionate mask.

"You intend to succeed where more experienced officers have hit a brick wall." His tone was quite amused too.

"I wasn't given the opportunity of failing, nor declining my orders, sir. I do intent to cheat as much as possible." Now it was my turn to show a bit of amusement.

"Well, you have the right idea then. This problem doesn't have a conventional solution unless we want to risk a general war with the Federation. Tell me your plan, your highness."

"I will once I've formulated it. Right now I'm making sure I have enough data to do so including knowledge about what assets I can take with me."

"Prudent."

"How would you solve this little challenge if you were the one on the ground, sir?"

"By cheating." Fontaine threw my words back at me.

=ABKR=

29 March 2009 A.T.B.

SDSGD /Special Dispatch Guidance System Division/ Sakuradite research facility

Arizona Desert

Britannia

Two days were wasted before I could convince father to give me free rein over one of Britannia's première R&D facilities complete with the personnel. It took a lot of convincing and promises I hoped I would be able to back in a reasonable amount of time. Yet, here we were – deep within a large air-conditioned hangar in the middle of the desert.

I ended up appropriating ten of the best engineers in the complex as minions while I got Viletta in charge of getting us everything and anything we needed. Only then I could get properly to work.

That said, an important part of the job got done on my way to the facility when I went over everything known about Sakuradite. In a nutshell – that material was bullshit and it was going to be the one thing which might mike my wild plans for Indochina feasible. On the face of it, the element was a room temperature super-conductor, which by itself was a great boon. However, it was so much more as well – depending on how it was refined and utilized it could be a very good power source or the main building block for batteries with energy density which would otherwise be impossible for a century or longer.

The reason why we were here in the first place was creating some power multipliers. Given the restrains we were operating under, both logistics, time and political, the troops I decided to lead to Indochina were one of our three airborne regiments. However, by themselves they simply lacked the punch and staying power to get the job done. Even liberally using my abilities in combat would likely not be a big enough power multiplier to get the job done.

Given this world's overall technology level, a mere month, more like it two to three weeks, simply weren't enough to make a big impact even with Veil's memoires. If the man hadn't spent decades studying engineering and science theorise in his spare time to be used in case he once again ended up in another world, I would be wasting my time at this facility. Instead, I had a few ideas that might be feasible, but only thanks to the existence of Sakuradite and the Sith Alchemy that was going to help.

Designing, building and training people to use brand new weaponry in the time allowed was no only infeasible, but ludicrous. Fortunately, that wasn't really needed. After all I wasn't going to build a brand new weapon system – merely a new warheads for our cruise missiles. They would necessary be hand crafted, crude and not particularly powerful, depending on where you were coming from anyway. Getting something more or less conventional in a single kiloton range was going to be quite useful in order to eliminate any large enemy formations we might run into; vital even.

The reason I commandeered this research site wasn't just because it contained a lot of useful equipment, though that was a major point in its factor. The personnel working at the site was something I deemed even more important. This facility was under the charge of one Dr. Erhard Schwartz and his engineering team who were already working on further weaponising Sakuradite. It was thanks to their efforts that I found proposals for viable rail gun and basic particle beam weapons submitted to the brass for review with attached requests for further funding and Sakuradite allocation.

The good doctor cut a stereotypical, for the Empire at least, image of a scientist more interested in his newest fancy than the real world. From his dishelved lab coat to receding reedy greying hair and thick framed glasses. It turned out that Erhard found it fun to play up to the stereotype when someone new came to visit his lab, though besides that he and his team were very helpful even if not quite thrilled by my presence. A mandate from the Emperor on top of my status as a prince tends to have such an effect on people.

On the other hand...

"This shouldn't work..." Schwartz grumbled.

I shrugged and continued examining the concoction we were playing with. It was a litre of liquid Sakuradite mixed with termite and few other more arcane additives.

"That large hole back on the range tends to disagree, doctor." Liz Neils, Erhard assistant pipped up from behind us. She was a little redhead which contained so much energy in her tiny frame that if we could harness it could power Pendragon for at least a decade.

"You're quite right, doctor. There's a reason why this place is now under direct imperial mandate. Has everyone signed all necessary forms and aware of the consequences if they open their mouths?" I asked.

Erhard frowned but nodded.

"I can't wait. This promises to be quite interesting!" Liz pipped up from the peanut gallery.

I snorted at that thought. Technically she was half a decade older than me, yet all the memories cramped in my head made me feel much older.

"You're aware of my time in captivity in Africa? While there I stumbled on an... artefact." I began with the cover story I agreed with father. Sooner or later my abilities, not to mention a lot of technical knowledge that I should in no way know would come to light so we had to find a way to explain them in a way more believable than the truth. One that doesn't mention Geass and anything related to it. That's why we stopped on something even more outlandish, though ironically it was something that Veil himself could have cooked up if he existed in this universe.

"That is significant, I take it?" Erhard perked up.

"It was a repository of knowledge... An imprint of the mind of someone from quite far away."

"What are we talking about? Some ancient civilization which could use Sakuradite better than us?" Schwartz frowned.

"There're those strange ruins uncovered in New York, London and Japan..." Liz pointed out. "All indications are of a quite advanced civilization if their architecture is anything to go by!" She explained excitedly. "Those ruins are thousands of years old yet there's barely any visible degradation!"

"I don't know if that artefact is from the same source, though I have my doubts." I shrugged. "What I know is that it contained a lot of technical knowledge which I now possess. Most of it is more advanced than what we have today. That's one of the primary reasons why I asked the Emperor for your assistance."

"Considering our speciality I take it at least some of that information is about weapon research... While I find your insinuations hard to believe, your Highness, what you do with the Sakuradite should not be possible." Schwartz frowned.

"That's just the tip of the iceberg, doctor. While I have orders that would take me outside of the country soon, I intend to give you and your people some... homework." My lips twitched. "When we've succeeded in our current task that is."

"What homework?" Liz pouted. "I hoped I saw the last of that once I got out of the university!"

"We're going to build a fusion reactor."

"Fusion?" Erhard's eyes widened. "Nuclear fission is just theoretical at the moment, much less fusion!"

"Not once we're done. Now let's go test the new brew." I nodded at the Sakuradite we were gathered around.

I was glad that father gave us nearly an unlimited budged, because we were going through copious amount of hideously expensive highly refined Sakuradite and that stuff was in a short supply.

=ABKR=

4 April 2009 A.T.B.

Groom Lake R&D facility

Province of Nevada

Britannia

The first attempt of combining Veil's know how with Britannian engineering turned out to be a good enough success. Sith Alchemy helped a lot, though for the time being it was vital for stabilizing liquid Sakuradite into a useful explosive. Creating a proper warhead for the resulting witches' brew was much harder. For the time being I left that job to Dr. Schwartz and company while I went to Nevada. The reason for that trip was simple – it was here, at Groom Lake, where the first Knightmare battalion was stationed.

That's why I was in an observation bunker overlooking a firing range where currently a platoon of RPI-11 Glasgows were engaged in shredding their targets. Beside me stood brigadier Howard King, the man in charge of the First Mech Battalion. His current job was to oversee the training of his command and figure out a proper doctrine for the use of the new weapons. King was a short black haired man who had sharp piercing gaze which seldom missed anything. He came from the armor branch of our military, which it was believed could be supplemented by the Knightmares.

A gust of hot wind blew a lot of dust and smoke from the range in our bunker, making the scorching heat inside even worse and it was just April. I hoped I wouldn't have to visit this place in the middle of the summer. Or any other desert for that matter. At least there was no place on Earth as bad as Tatooine and some other desert worlds Veil had been to.

"Brigadier, what can you tell me about the Glasgows?" I inquired.

"They have potential, a big one I reckon, however there're drawbacks as well." King rumbled with surprisingly deep and loud voice considering his small frame. "As you can see, the Knightmares are very fast and agile." He nodded to the range where some mechs were practically dancing around mock-ups of tanks.

"This kind of performance is amazing." I nodded in agreement. "How do we achieve it and what's the price for it?"

"Those are the correct questions, your Highness." The brigadier gave me a small nod. "It's thanks to the superconducting properties of Sakuradite the Knightmares are possible in the first place." This – he pointed at the range, "requires specially build motors which simply can't exist given our current tech base without that element. The same goes for not only powering them but reinforcing the joints where the stress is highest. An alloy of carbon steel, titanium and Sakuradite is the only thing making that possible too."

"I see. If we're to field Knightmares in any numbers our consumption will sky-rocket."

"True. As you know, sire, we use Sakuradite in many vital industries – from electronics to power generations, metallurgy and engine construction."

Which was why an embargo by Japan would be crippling and another reason why even without their current shenanigans we were likely to invade them anyway in the next few years.

"I have the sneaking suspicion that there're more 'good' news." I looked expectantly at King.

"Logistics. Each one of those machines is a hangar queen. It's the price for such performance from bipedal mechs. Price too, even before factoring the Sakuradite itself. They're very hard to pilot too. I had to scour through all our armor forces in order to find good enough drivers for a whole battalion."

"Are they worth it?" I asked even if I knew thanks to Veil's memories. The Knightmares were going to change the face of warfare.

"We're yet to put them in a proper exercise against an opposing force but what I've seen so far tells me yes. With caveats. One day it might be different, but right now the Knightmares are force multipliers. In urban or broken terrain they might handle better than tanks thanks to their speed and agility. However, they can't take the same amount of punishment."

"Yes. There's no way to armor them to the same extent as tanks." I noted.

"Yes. Which means that the Knightmares would be better on the offensive when they can hit the enemy hard, get out of sight and repeat. If they have to stand their ground..." King shrugged.

Yep, that would be a bad day for them.

"What else have you figured out, brigadier?"

"The Knightmares are force multipliers. I believe they would excel in assaulting strong points in conjunction with tanks and mechanized infantry. While they should be a decent counter for current generation of tanks, the better alternative remains artillery and air-strikes. The Glasgow is a good weapon which could be very useful as a part of our combined arms approach. However, at the moment it isn't the wonder weapon some people try to present it as back in Pendragon."

"I see. How do you believe the mechs will handle themselves in a jungle terrain like in Indochina?" I asked.

"Not necessary bad. Some of my boffins have been toying with an idea about modification which would allow them to traverse terrain usually inaccessible due to ground pressure. It won't be too complicated to mount additional land-spinners around the knees and have them move on multiple wheels. While that would add to the mechanical complexity and thus logistics print it might be enough to make them useful in such a terrain. However, while kneeling their manoeuvrability would be highly reduced."

"I see..." Getting repulsors added would solve that problem. I could build some old fashioned types, however they were quite bulky and powehogs. Their only real advantage compared to modern ones were vital in my case – they didn't need exotic particles to fuel them, which could only be obtained by factories built around black holes. Nevertheless, that was a thought for later – building even a prototype would take more time than I had left before deployment.

Hold that though... There were a lot of hover vehicles in Veil's memories and not all of them used repulsor technology. There were other ways, however was one of them not only practical given the tech base I had available but the time constrain I toiled under? My first instinct was to say no. Yet there was the Sakuradite – that wonder material skewered all assumptions. Why was I thinking about magnets all of a sudden?

=ABKR=

21 April 2009 A.T.B.

Briefing room A

The Octagon

Pendragon

Commandant Fontaine finished listening to the rough outline of a plan I managed to cook up when I wasn't too busy making new weapons and frowned.

"That's why you requested our forces in the region husband their planes last week. I'm more surprised the Emperor agreed." The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs sounded less than pleased.

"He wants that campaign to succeed. It's our job to make sure he gets what he wants." I shrugged.

"May I speak honestly, your highness?" Fontaine asked.

"I would appreciate it."

"There are too many unknowns. Too many chances for something to go wrong. Your plan hinges on the use of multiple experimental and untested weapon systems. Even if they work as advertised, it might not be enough. You're asking me to sign off on the potential death warrant of an understrength division, an Imperial scion and the revelation of secret weapon systems for dubious gain." He didn't say it aloud but it was clear Fontaine was beginning to doubt my sanity. "That's not all!" He continued. "It all hinges of our ability to plan and execute a complex operation with dubious intelligence about our primary targets and you give us a week or so to do it! Even if and that's a big if, we do everything perfectly, we might still end up wasting most of the warheads because we lack firm intelligence on where exactly the Burmese reserve is located!"

"I know that my proposal is less than ideal, sir. However, it's the one plan that might work that I could come up with given the time constrains. Make no mistake, one way or another I will be going to Burma with the forces I've got available. The Emperor ordered it. It's do or die for us."

Fontaine glowered.

"Have you considered the political ramifications of using the new warheads? Why don't we wait until we have enough of them?"

"Producing them is hard. It requires unusually high and clear concentration of refined Sakuradite and we simply don't possess enough to use it on too many missiles. By the end of the week we'll have sixty five cruise missile warheads and thirty lighter for mounting on strike fighters or bomber ordnance. That will virtually wipe out the Sakuradite we could afford to use for the project." I admitted. "Unless we find ourselves in general war we'll have to significantly cut back on production."

"When your plan backfire we're likely to find ourselves in a shooting war with the rest of the world including the biggest producer of Sakuradite!" Fontaine snapped. "Japan." Fontaine whispered. "If the new weapons work as advertised we'll have to throw everything at it to secure more Sakuradite before one of the other superpowers, because once they figure out what is the warheads are made of..."

"I know. This operation is meant to buy us time along with whatever diplomatic miracles the Chancellor could pull off. The Emperor will be cutting off the relevant orders shortly. We'll be going after Japan by this time next year at the latest."

"Gods damn it!" Fontaine cursed. "On your head may it be, your Highness. However, may I suggest a few alternations to your plan?"

"It will be. I'm going with the first wave. We need a demonstration of power that will allow a favorabe diplomatic settlement. I'm all ears, sir." At least Fontaine wasn't the kind of person pointing out flaws with your plan without figuring out some kind of solution. I hoped.

"Even a success in this scheme would make Japan much tougher nut to crack. We're going to lose the element of surprise and shocking factor caused by first deployment of the Knightmares and the new warheads." Fontaine pointed out. "That's a problem for later."

"If we don't resolve the situation in Indochina it might be a moot point." I might have to pull of another miracle... if the tech base and time constrains allowed it. Otherwise, invading Japan was going to be exceedingly ugly even if the Chinese didn't beat us to it. One way or another I had to be in the middle of that mess so I could retrieve my siblings before something happened to them. "What changes do you propose, sir?" I focused on the most relevant problems.

"We only have the general area where the Burmese reserve is camped. Even with the new warheads its too large a zone to bombard blindly. Between their success in camouflaging everything and putting up decoys, hitting the reserve is a waste. Divide the missiles between the main defence line and the airfields. You'll insert as planned, however instead of hitting the defences from behind, you'll have to consolidate ASAP, dig in and halt the reserve long enough for our forces already in place to deal with the bulk of the Burmese army. If your plan works even partially and the airfields are knocked out with most of the enemy air force, CAS, artillery and the sheer shock of the new warheads might allow us a decisive victory." Fontaine gave me a pointed look.

"If two divisions, one heavy mechanized, don't reinforce the Burmese while the battle is still raging." I finished. That might actually work. It did nothing for the big flaws of my plan – an overall reliance on new and untested weapons to give us the edge we would need to succeed. Of course, there was something Fontaine didn't need to know – even if most things went to Hel, using Battle Meditation might allow me to salvage the operation – if I could maintain it for long enough. However, that was another presumption.

Honestly, if it was up to me, we would pull out of Indochina, concentrate on building and testing new weapons for the next six months to a year then take Japan for their Sakuradite. Once we got enough of that resource, it was just a matter of hanging out for long enough before Veil's technology could ensure we could take on the rest of the world and win no matter what they threw at us. Buying that time was going to be the tricky part.

"I see. That certainly eliminates a lot of the unknowns during the operation. I'll implement your suggestions, sir. Do I have your support, general?" I asked.

"My support? You don't. However, I'll do my best to see that you don't get my boys and girls killed in your crazy scheme." Fontaine glowered.

Good enough.

=ABKR=

23 April 2009 A.T.B.

Camp Winston

Britannia

In less than a week we would be in battle, yet this was the first time I met the commanders of the different groups that made up my scratch force.

First was brigadier King, whose Knightmares would hopefully give us the edge we needed to succeed.

Next came lieutenant colonel Benjamin Lujiens. According to his file he was commoner who showed promise and very high scores during his training. He volunteered for the airborne and never looked back. Lujiens was a tall if lanky black man from New Orleans, which explained his southern drawl. There was a not that he shows disrespect to Peers in the military, though given his rank it meant it was probably kept for those who got ahead due to political connections. We tended to keep those away from where they could cause too much harm though from time to time someone like that found themselves on the sharp end and either excelled or got a lot of people killed.

Finally, and last to arrive, was the other colonel – this time a full bird. This was Jerry Flint, the third son of the Duke of Maine. His file was an interesting read. Flint apparently had some kind of failing off with his family and he enlisted as a private fifteen years ago, then due to sheer ability rose through the ranks. He was expected to gain his first star in 2011 after serving the required time as colonel first, a promotion he got just a few months ago. Flint was the biggest of us all – not too tall but his shoulders could be mistaken for a large wardrobe. Despite giving the impression of a mountain of muscle, Jerry moved with a grace unusual of someone his size. His face was square jawed and the picture in his file gave the impression of a bulldog due the scowl he had at the time.

In person he appeared ruggedly handsome with his sandy brown hair and disarming smile. In contrast, Lujiens was uneasy, probably because the rest of us were peers, a whole prince in my case. That or despite our best efforts the rough outline of my plan reached the rumour mill in which case I would be having words with Fontaine.

"Gentlemen, I've gathered you here for a sensitive mission. One mandated by the Emperor no less." That got their attention all right.

"What does the Empire require of us, sire?" King recovered first.

"To win the war in Burma." I cut to the chase.

They shared uneasy looks.

"That's a tall task, your Highness." Flint spoke carefully. He should now. With his command stationed closest to Burma, he would be getting all the good intelligence on the situation so he could be ready for a possible deployment to reinforce our people fighting in the jungle. "Just our commands or do you have your own? Going by everyone's ranks we would make a division at best. Light infantry in colonel Lujiens' case. Unless something radically changed in Burma that won't be enough." At least he was honest, something that I appreciated.

"Understrength division actually. I'm commanding a battalion of experimental weapons." King unhelpfully added.

"That's why you need the Airborne, so we could get the job done." Lujiens cracked a smile before sobering up. "Do you have a plan, sire?"

"In a matter of speaking." I nodded.

"We're dropping up behind enemy lines, I take it?" Flint asked. It was a reasonable conclusion, because along with the orders to report here he got to issue instructions to his regiment to commence parachute training in his absence.

"Yes. In less than a week." I dropped the bomb.

King, who already knew, remained impassive. Lujiens, whose people certainly knew how to jump out of a plane had a pinched expression on his face and Flint, well he blanched.

"Your highness, that doesn't leave much if any time for training together." Lujiens voiced his concerns.

"We'll get a couple of days of training on the Philippines before preparing all our gear for the drop." I raised a hand to forestall the protests that I knew were coming. "I know its insufficient and I have a few ideas to mitigate the dangers. Ideally we would have at least a few weeks to straighten up any issues. Frankly, it's a miracle we got as long as we do. The Emperor demands action and it was all I could do to persuade him that we shouldn't be going in even earlier."

That got them thinking.

"There's no sense protesting?" Flint asked.

"General Fontaine already did. The Emperor overruled the Joint Chiefs concerns." King confirmed. He was with me when Fontaine came back pale faced from meeting father. Ever since then he and his colleagues were engaged planning a general war in case our mission went tits up.

"Then we've got our work cut out for us. What does the Emperor need us for?" Flint's calm voice didn't show the unease he felt, though his eyes told another story.

"Brigadier." I nodded at King.

"We will be dropping behind enemy lines..."

=ABKR=

Part 2

=ABKR=

"The 501st. The Black Knights. The Grim Reapers. Their beginning traces back to the Imperial invasion of Indochina and the Kingdom of Burma back in January 2009. When the Britannian forces tasked with securing the region bogged down in early March and the frontline stabilized, the task to win the war was given to a hastily cobbled task force. Many in Pendragon, even among the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time had reservation about their success. The 501st was made by elements of 82nd Airborne division as well as the complete 11th Marine regiment and the first Imperial Knightmare Battalion. Their first operation set the tone for their future deployments – until this day the 501st continues to employ bleeding edge technology and often unconventional tactics in order to achieve their missions..."

"Famous units of the Britannian Military",

Haemimont Publishing, New York

=ABKR=

29 April 2009 A.T.B.

FOB General Franklin

Philippines

"We cut it awfully close, sir." My aide whispered.

Viletta stood at attention next to me while we were reviewing the troops we would take across the pond to Indochina. It took a lot of sleepless nights, pushing the currently existing technology base to its limits and even cheating thanks to liberal use of Sith Alchemy but we were finally ready. All the equipment of Task Force 501 was already loaded on transport planes ready to leave. Missiles with new warheads were delivered to many of the destroyers and cruisers in Third Fleet, which was keeping an eye over our bases in the contested area. I had an airborne regiment, a marine one and brigadier King's whole command. Making the Glasgows ready for deployment in the jungle terrain turned out to be hardest – their ground pressure was just too high, though the same could be said for our MBTs which were locked in operation in very limited areas across Burma. The ground around here simply couldn't withstand the pressure of seventy ton tanks, much less the majority of bridges in the region.

I found the answer thanks to Schwartz's engineers and the properties of the Sakuradite. It was deceptively simple – a modification on the land-spinner system using electromagnetism to literally make the mech's hover a very short distance above the ground. It was a powerhog though it greatly increased the areas they could operate in both south Asia or any desert we might have to deploy them in.

Power... it was an issue too. We were barely able to get a decent amount of spare energy filters for the Glasgows because too much high grade Sakuradite went into the missiles. The resources that went into the weapons I would be bringing in harms way or sending on a one way trip later tonight was simply mind-boggling. Failure simply wasn't an option if for no other reason that if I wasted so much resources on a failed operation father would have my head on a silver plater no matter how useful Veil knowledge would be. After all if whatever plans he had for the future actually succeeded, all the technology I could use to uplift Earth might be a largely moot point from his POV. I couldn't afford to forget that I wasn't vital for the Emperor's plans, but merely a potentially convenient short-cut as well as a contingency in case he failed.

Ironically, right now failing father was quite low on my priority list.

Before me, seven thousand three hundred men and women stood at attention. They were some of the best the Empire had and they would shortly follow me up into a hair-brained scheme that might see us all dead.

I couldn't afford to waver. I couldn't fail. All those people were counting on me to know what the in Hella's name was I doing. They trusted me because I was one of their Princes. Perhaps even because I was Cornelia's brother. I suddenly found out that duty had very real and tangible weight to it.

That ancient saying? Duty is heavier than mountain? This was the first time I could say I truly experienced it. I've led people in combat before. A single platoon with a few odds and ends added. However, seeing seven thousand people believing in me to see them through the coming battle... It simply couldn't compare. It was... humbling.

"Men and women of Britannia!" My voice rang over the training plaza where we were all gathered. I used the Force to enhance it and grab their attention. I wasn't naturally charismatic so I had to cheat. "Tonight, we go into the unknown. Our brothers and sisters in Burma are locked in a stalemate that bleeds whole divisions white. We are going to break it. Break anyone who dares stand in our way. My father, the Emperor himself gave the order and we will not fail him, nor Britannia!" I touched their mind with a light brush of Battle Meditation. My confidence became their own. My determination reinforced the faith they had in themselves an in me. "Each one of you is among the best the Empire has produced your generation and tonight we prove it for the whole world to see! All Hail Britannia!"

My cry was repeated by thousands of throats until the plaza shook with their chanting.

"Board your transports, ladies and gentlemen. Tonight we go to war!"

"That wasn't the short speech you prepared." Viletta chided once the closest soldiers were marching towards their planes.

"I felt this was more fitting. Your thoughts?" I really don't know where those words came from. They simply felt right.

"Not too shabby sir. Just make sure we get to come back from our little war more or less intact." There was an odd mixcture of worry and anticipation in Viletta's voice.

"Do you want to live forever?"

"Preferably. If I get to remain young and beautiful. Shall we go, sir?"

I simply nodded and headed for the transport holding our command vehicle. Viletta fell in step behind me. One way or another, tonight we would make history.

=ABKR=

29 April 2009 A.T.B.

Kingdom of Burma

For two weeks the Britannian forces had been quiet and simply sitting upon their hard won gains. There were no air-strikes unless requested in order to keep a position from getting overran. The Britannian air force husbanded its planes as if they were precious commodities, the same was true for Third Fleet's carrier.

People in Brussels and the Forbidden City alike believed that the Empire finally learned its lessons and rejoiced. There were few who warned for a possible enemy onslaught, yet intelligence sources contradicted those fear mongers. All Imperial heavy forces continued to be at normal readiness. There was no massive troop movement that would herald a dangerous Britannian offensive. Their other fleets kept to their sectors too. Only small scale reinforcements kept trickling in meant to replace losses not to build up forces for a new offensive. There were the odd rumours of the enemy deploying airborne and Marine assets which might do a bit better in the jungles and rivers of Burma, yet only a single regiment of the former was seen boarding transports for destination unknown. The major concentration of Britannian marines were under observation too and there was no sign that they would be going anywhere. Perhaps that new division training at Camp Nelson, but it wasn't expected to be combat ready for at least another month.

All things considered, the Empire was uncharacteristically quiet. People across the globe believed that Pendragon simply didn't know how to throw the towel and for the time being was content to let things in Asia simmer. Some were even content with such an outcome.

They were wrong. At midnight of April twenty-fifth, sixty cruise missiles flew just above the treetops across Burma. That by itself was nothing new – the Empire had expended few hundred of those weapons since it began its invasion. They were powerful but not particularly accurate. A manageable danger that had to be endured.

The new Britannian warheads changed that calculus. While nothing was done for the lack of accuracy, the sheer power of enhanced liquid Sakuradite explosive carried by each missile made that drawback mostly a moot point. Half the missiles expended themselves over known strong points on the Burmese defences snarling the Britannian forces. Three warheads struck every one of the five remaining enemy airbases... and each of them detonated with the fury of a kiloton of TNT. In a single vicious stroke the Burmese air force was crippled and suddenly its surviving planes, which were largely those on a mission or scrambled to try intercepting the missiles, found themselves tangling with every single air-superiority fighter the Empire could throw their way, followed by whole squadrons of strike fighters on a SEAD mission. A third wave made of bombers configured for CAS role went in behind the fighters serving as a final decoy.

Task Force 501 came in behind them using the armada as a cover. They dropped between the enemy defensive lines and the Burmese strategic reserve even as Britannian artillery lit up the jungle.

In the resulting chaos, no one was able to keep track or care for the dozen reckon planes searching for troop concentrations to be annihilated from the air.

=ABKR=

Dagger 1-1

Imperial Knightmare Corps

Kingdom of Burma

Brigadier Knight dropped with the first lave, which held his whole battalion along with equivalent force from the 82nd airborne. The paras came in with their own vehicles – Sheridan tanks and LAV, which not only gave them decent mobility but more importantly a punch normally out of the league of airborne troops. Those vehicles were very useful assets as long as the paras didn't run into a proper armoured or mechanized force, because when all was said and done their light equipment simply wasn't up to the task of going one to one with their MBT and AFV variants.

In theory that wouldn't matter in this case. In practice, the 501st was meant to stop the enemy reserves from reinforcing the crippled defensive lines where a significant number of the Burmese army was concentrated. The air-force was meant to ruin their day anyway because there was a squadron of strike fighters with lighter variants of the new Thor warheads going after the reserve once it was on the move. It was an unfortunate thing that is precise location wasn't known so it could receive a wake up call in the form of a few cruise missiles too.

King would have to be content with what was promised to be the virtual annihilation of the enemy air force guaranteeing friendly skies unless the Chinese came in force.

"We're in position. Commence drop!" The drop master announced. The ramp of the C10 Globemaster opened and green lamps lit up its cramped interior.

"Dagger 1-1 to all Dagger elements. Drop!" King ordered and drove his Knightmare over the ramp. He let himself free-fall for five seconds before pressing a button and opening the chutes meant to deploy him safely to the ground. The sensor suite built in the head of his Glasgow lit up with another command and the brigadier smiled. The horizon behind them was lit on fire as artillery hammered the Burmese positions. It was enough to see massive pillars of smoke rising in the air. The angle wasn't good but he though he could make large circles of flattened and burning jungle.

It seemed that the new warhead deserved their designation as a manifestation of Thor's might.

All wasn't well. Here and there concealed AA positions opened fire. A few missiles and cannon shells rose to meet the dropping troops and the 501st's escorting fighters dove to silence the threat. A transport went evasive high above and began releasing flares. One missile was fooled and went for the decoys, then a second. The third flew right in its open ramp and detonated blowing it apart. All King could do was hope that the people in the back had already jumped out.

The brigadier saw one of its Knightmares run afoul of an AA gun which shredded its chute and let the machine helplessly tumble through the air. Then a HARM missile followed the siren song of the emplacement's targeting radar silencing it. The fly-boys added couple of bombs too just to be sure.

Finally, King hit got close to the ground. He activated the magnetic hover system as instructed, which if the boffins and tests in Nevada were right would reduce the odds of bad landing, then braced himself for impact. The Glasgow shook when it fell through the canopy of a small three then it hit the ground in more or less the right position. The impact jolted King but it wasn't any harder than he feared. He released the chutes then scanned the area for enemy. Only then did he run a quick diagnostic. His hover system showed in yellow signifying mild to moderate damage and reduced speed but otherwise his steed seemed to be all right.

"Dagger 1-1 to all Dagger elements, report and converge at point Alpha." King ordered. So far so good. It was time to see when the other shoe was going to drop.

"Overlord actual to all Overlord elements, I'm assuming tactical command. Plan A is in effect until further notice. Form up and converge to your assigned positions ASAP. SAR group is dropping last so if you're stranded give them a call."

So the prince made it to the ground.

"Dagger 1-1, Overlord. Affirmative. Plan A is in effect." King confirmed.

=ABKR=

Overlord Actual

Kingdom of Burma

It looked like that my fist two gambles paid off. The chatter I could get from the air force seemed to confirm that the warheads were at least as effective as our tests projected. The bulk of the Burmese air force was gutted on the ground with what they had in the air getting swarmed. That still left their ground based air-defence network, which some of our boys and girls were hammering right now. It was just sufficiently compromised that I deemed the risk of dropping behind enemy lines justified.

By all accounts it worked. We lost only three of the transports, unfortunately two were almost chock full with either Knightmares or paras. That stung. Three Frames and a whole platoon of troopers gone before they could hit the ground.

I knew that such light losses were a miracle, but that knowledge did nothing for the way I felt. I had to coldly conclude that my second gamble worked too. The third one – that we could organize ourselves before the enemy reserve slammed into and through us, that was still up in the air. My original plan called for jumping much closer to our own lines and almost on top of the Burmese defences so we could add to the chaos of the attack. When I changed the plan thanks to Fontaine's insight, our priorities shifted. We no longer necessary expected contact right where we landed so we could spend a bit of time to consolidate. In fact we had to do so to be ready to meet the enemy reserve once it mobilized.

On the plus side, the Burmese moblized slower than I feared. The reason soon became apparent and it was a problem in on itsefl.

The air force was hammering the bastards – two mechanized divisions worth of them, however they refused to concentrate into one nice big target for our new weapons. The enemy reserve had been spread out even more than I feared. Trying to take enough of them with the limited Thor warheads we had available would have been a waste of resources for dubious gain. There was another plus – they would be slow to hit us and more importantly, there wouldn't be a singe huge hammer blow we might be unable to resist.

I allowed myself to relax a fraction, which was noted by the people cramped with me in the small air-dropped command vehicles I used as a CP. There were the driver, four technicians and Viletta in here and it was a very tight fit. My nominal XO, brigadier King was with the vanguard gathering his Knightmares. A platoon worth from his battalion was either lost in the air, managed to somehow drop off course or got mission killed, or outright gutted at the landing. Frankly that was better that I expected given all the new-fanged equipment concentrated on the Knightmare frames in their first combat deployment. With a bit of luck, they would prove themselves to be as dangerous as the trials showed.

The airborne and marines, who got two weeks worth of jump cross-training before this deployment, landed more or less in the targeted area. Minus missing, injured and dead I should have two thirds of my remaining combat strength in place before the enemy reserves hit us. The rest would watch our back to ensure we wouldn't be surprised by Burmese coming from the main defensive lines.

I knew we were lucky not to lose more people in the air on on landing, but over fifty casualties before we even engaged the enemy on the ground stung. They were more responsibilty and I felt I already failed them. I had to console myself with the fact that so far my plan was working.

With a guaranteed air superiority, baring a disaster like the Chinese jumping in to join the show, we should be able to eke out a victory here. One that might be impressive enough give us a satisfactory conclusion to the conflict. Utilizing the new warheads was a risk, but I hoped and Schneizel agreed that their capabilities might be enough to keep the Chinese at bay; at least until they could assess the danger the weapon represented as well as a viable countermeasure.

Just in case half the warhead we built were going to be kept in reserve as a last ditch effort to bluff the Federation if they didn't stay put. They were targeted at Chinese military installations and logistics hubs near the border. The rough plan was that if everything went to hell the navy would inflict as much damage with Thor's and conventional warheads while we pulled back and concede territory until we had enough special weapons to fight our way in range of Manchuria and Korea. At which point we were going to hammer the Federation's industrial heartland.

That was one of the worst case scenarios the Joint Chiefs planned for after I presented the plan for my operation to Fontaine. It was only father's backing that pushed something so risky through and now I had to make sure it worked.

Curiously no one mentioned how dangerous the original invasion my operation was meant to salvage was. Apparently father by courtesy of being the Emperor, didn't have to justify hair-brained schemes that could start a world war. Needless to say, I lacked such clout.

"This is Dagger 4-3. I've got enemy movements through the jungle. It looks like scouting party. Engaging."

"Spear 2-1, to Overlord. We're in position at point Beta. Currently digging in." That was the main route and train line leading to the front. It was the fastest way for enemy reinforcements to come calling and before their air force was gutted it was reasonably secure under the Burmese air-defence umbrella. That still remained the one viable way to shuttle in heavy forces in a reasonable amount of time. It was also the best way to ex-filtrate the people at the main defensive lines. Oh, they could try vanishing in the jungles, though there was artillery in position to interdict them as well as two air-cavalry battalions part of the original invasion force, which would be deploying any moment now to finish mousetrapping everyone at the Burmese lines.

"Cricket Three, Overlord. Be advised I'm seeing a lot of turtles, victors and charlies coming your way. They do have owls with them. Just crossing into sector seven."

That was one of our eyes in the air. Turtles were tanks, victors – AFVs and Charlies – APCs as the current Britannian military jargon went. Owls – that might be trouble. They were air-defence vehicles and we had to assume they would be modern ones.

"Overlord Actual, Cricket Three, appreciated." I switched channels. "Overlord, Raptor flight. I've got your menu laid out. Turtles, victors and charlies escorted by owls. Lit up sector seven."

"Raptor One, Overlord Actual. Roger that. Serving them now..."

I let the fly-boys and gals do their job and returned to commanding my own troops. At this rate we would be more or less in position by the time anyone could hit us in strength.

"Raptor Three, Overlord Actual!" A terse voice shouted over the radio. "Multiple AA sites just lit us up all around the main road in sectors five through seven. Owls are modern. I say again, Owls are modern! We won't be able to properly serve the menu."

"Dagger 1-1, Overlord. The horizon over here just lit up with AA fire. Missiles and cannon both, a lot of them." King reported.

My mind raced. Did we walk into a trap? Nah. If we did most of us wouldn't have made it to the ground... What did that leave? Did we catch the bastards napping or did they have orders to keep a low profile unless the Burmese lost air superiority yet had to shuttle in reinforcements through the only viable route. Perhaps both...

"Raptor Four, Overlord Actual. Me and five are the only ones left. We got a chunk of turtles and victors with the Thors, however most of the menu wasn't served. Be advised you've got a division incoming minus about a battalion worth of turtles and victors. We need a proper SEED strike before hitting the alley conventionally. There's too many AA covering the alley. They suckered us good. We're going to rearm and coming back ASAP. Raptor Four, out."

I was wondering when everything would go to hell and Mr. Murphy didn't disappoint.

=ABKR=

Part 3

=ABKR=

Dagger 1-1

Imperial Knightmare Corps

Kingdom of Burma

"Negative, Dagger 1-1. No more air support for the time being. Over a hundred Chinese fighters just crossed the border. Command is re-tasking everything with wings to keep the skies neutral. All strike fighters are pulling back to rearm after the SEED mission. Bombers are on hold in case Federation ground forces cross the border. We're on our own. Overlord actual, out."

"We were too smart for our own good." King grumbled to himself. "Gods..." If the Chinese came in force, they were all fucked.

The brigadier knew the plan. There were still over thirty Thor warheads in reserve just in case the Federation did something regrettable. It would be another question if they would be sufficient to stop them cold. It might not matter for his command if they couldn't stop the heavy division coming their way.

"Dagger 2-1, Dagger 1-1. Enemy vanguard sighed. Engaging, over."

"Dagger 1-1, Dagger 2-1. Roger that. Don't get bogged down. Hit them hard and pull back behind the defensive line." King ordered.

Playing defence wasn't the Glasgows strong suit. They were offensive weapons. It was fortunate that the Prince saw that and the plan intended to use them as such through counter-attacks and hit and run tactics. The one thing King's people couldn't afford was to be bind in place and forced to hold their ground. Especially in this terrain. It might be different in a city provided they had ample infantry support but here in the Jungle the Knightmares were simply too big targets. They had to rely on their mobility or die.

King called up the feed from second company and one of his monitors split showing multiple camera takes. The picture was grainy – not very good quality at all but stable nonetheless.

The Glasgows emerged from the Jungle in their kneeling hover configuration, thus presenting smaller profiles. They demonstrated that a Knightmare could definitely pass through terrain practically inaccessible for tanks or other armoured vehicles. With the new system cooked up by the boffins ground pressure didn't matter much. While King was interested to see if the new equipment could be modified to fit on tanks without significant drawbacks, that was something for the people back home to worry about.

Second company hit fast and hard. They rained death upon the leading elements of the Burmese division. It soon became clear that while tanks might be resistant to the standard riffles carried by the Glasgows, the same couldn't be said about AFVs and APCs. Night and thermal vision along with state of the art targeting computers certainly helped and the enemy vanguard was simply shredded before they could effectively return fire. A burst was enough to puncture the comparatively thin skinned Burmese Federation built vehicles and turn their crews in so much red paste.

The two tanks with the Vanguard survived the initial onslaught and turned their armoured noses towards the incoming Knightmares. They managed a single shot apiece before Glasgows carrying heavy weapons signed them out for particular attention. Both tanks missed and ate three missiles each for their troubles. When Second Company pulled back a minute later, they left twice their numbers in APCs and AFVs dead in their wake. Only two Knightmares damaged by auto-cannons had to be dragged back by their comrades.

The first round went for Task Force 501 and King's Knightmares. Now the enemy was going to be even more careful, which would buy more time to dig in. King let out a sigh of relief he didn't know he held back. He owed a case of whisky to the Marine Force Recon platoon that cleared up the Jungle for his Knightmares to get unnoticed in their ambush position.

=ABKR=

Overlord Actual

Kingdom of Burma

"Cricked Eight, Overlord Actual. I have to pull back. Multiple Federation Ducks incoming. A hundred plus. All Aesir elements are moving to intercept, over."

The other shoe dropped. At least we had contingency plans for Chinese air support coming in case we succeeded in taking out the Burmese air force on the ground. However, we weren't going to escalate by hitting targets in Federation territory unless they put boots on the ground so the remaining Thor equipped cruise missiles stayed in their cradles on the ships of Third Fleet. If the air force could keep the sky neutral we might be able to get our job done. Unfortunately, unless the situation became critical, we would be getting no more ground support – all strike fighters would soon be pulling back to rearm after their SEAD mission and what bombers weren't hammering the defence line behind us would be kept in reserve in case the Chinese surged over the border like a rampaging Mongol horde.

Deploying the Thors' was always a calculated risk. It could shock the other superpowers in backing off and giving us precious breathing space. It could also escalate this conflict into a world war, which would be less than ideal. With Veils technical knowledge and Britannia's industrial and resource base we would likely win in the end though I shuddered at the thought of fighting that war right now. In five years, a decade – I would be confident in a victory, which won't see the Empire falling apart due to the strain. Today? We had to shatter the Burmese. Repulse the Chinese if they came calling in such a way they wouldn't be eager for a war. Anything less was unacceptable.

"Overlord Actual, any Cricket designation having eyes on the lane. Report." I demanded. My voice sounded eery calm in my ears and I had no idea how that happened, because my heard was thundering in my chest as if it was trying to jump out.

"Cricket Two, Overlord Actual. Enemy battalion strength formation is deploying for an attack. Thermals show a lot of infantry moving on your flanks through the jungle. Gods speed, over."

"Overlord Actual, all Spear and Dagger elements, be advised enemy lead battalion is preparing for a probing attack. There's infantry in the jungle on both flanks. Report status, over."

"Spear 1-1, Overlord Actual. We've got basic fortifications set up. I'll appreciate all the time you could buy us."

"Dagger 1-1, Overlord Actual. Dagger 2-1 is pulling Second Company back. We're ready to implement Plan A."

"Overlord Actual, to all elements – good work. The enemy will be in position to strike shortly. Prepare to receive heavy Burmese attack, over."

My people would need to hold off alone until the enemy was fully engaged. Only then I could afford to use Battle Meditation and hopefully that would prove decisive. Otherwise, we were all fucked.

"Overlord Actual, Castle Bravo. Status update, please." I called general Charles Brightman. He was the man in charge of the Britannian invasion of Burma and right now was supposed to throw everything he had against the weakened enemy defences behind us.

"Castle Bravo Actual, Overlord Actual. We've penetrated the fortifications in three places, however fanatical enemy resistance is slowing us down. I can't give you a timetable on them folding. Just keep their reserve at bay. We'll do our part. Castle Bravo Actual, out."

"Overlord Actual, Castle Bravo Actual. Affirmative. Engaging leading elements of the enemy reserve. We'll buy you as much time as you need. Overlord Actual, out."

This was less than ideal. Even with the Thor strikes on their positions, there was a whole army group behind us. Brightman's attack was meant as much to punch through the fortifications as to keep enough of the enemy stuck in place so they couldn't simply turn back a division or two and overrun us. Ideally the air force would have dealt with most of the enemy reserve by itself releasing me to unleash King's Knightmares upon the defences from behind as originally envisioned. Yet, Fontaine was right and I should have seen in earlier. As advanced as my world was, the technology for precise strikes that could wipe out whole formations simply wasn't there yet. Even if it was we no longer had air superiority that would allow the air force to deliver such a punishing blow.

That left us to stop the reserves the hard old fashioned way.

=ABKR=

For the last half hour my people were locked into a vicious fire-fight within the jungle surrounding us. Most of the airborne along with the marine Force Recon units were slugging it out with at least twice their number of Burmese infantry. So far they were holding and the situation at our primary defence line was even better – the leading enemy battalion ran right into dug light amour and most of the marine regiment. They bounced hard too, leaving half their number littering the ground.

Meanwhile, the situation in the air was stabilizing. The Chinese hadn't fed any more planes into the fight and our air force was keeping the skies more or less neutral above us. The same couldn't be said about the Burmese lines behind us, which were constantly pounded by artillery and bombers, while Brightman's people were doing their best to dug them out. The best news for the night so far was that all enemy artillery at our back appeared to be silenced. While there was a lot of Burmese mortar fire, nothing heavier has spoken in anger against us for the past twenty minutes, which was encouraging.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said about the enemy reserves. Cricket Two informed me a few minutes ago that she had view of enemy medium artillery setting up as well as SPGs crawling into range. The only reason they had been kept quiet so far was probably because the enemy commander wanted to hit us with everything he had once his heavy elements were in position and they almost were.

"Overlord Actual, Aesir Actual." I called the air force controller in an AWACKS at least a hundred kilometres behind us. "I need a strike package on enemy artillery setting up in the open. Over."

"Aesir Actual, Overlord Actual. I'll see what I could do. Do I have permission to release a flight from the reserve? Over."

I thought about it for a moment. We did have a whole bomber wing kept back. They were meant to cover our retreat if the Chinese ground forces surged across the border. In that case they might prove either invaluable or useless depending on how much fighters the Federation could commit on short order for this fight.

"Overlord Actual, Aesir Actual. Release one strike package from the reserve. My authority. I need that artillery gone before they could ruin my day. Overlord Actual, out."

I got a confirmation and a promise that the targets would be serviced shortly. The bombers almost made it in time too, however the first barrage struck our forward lines causing casualties and disrupting my men before a flight of Lancers screamed overhead and plastered the enemy artillery with bombs and napalm.

"Cricket Two, Overlord Actual. I'm seeing good hits. Targets serviced. Be advised, I've got a squadron worth of ducks coming this way. Bombers are disengaging until the sky is clear. I'm booking it too. It looks like turtles and victors are almost ready to pay you a visit. Gods speed, Cricket Two out."

"Overlord Actual to all Overlord Elements. Stand by for possible air raid. Heavy Burmese ground attack imminent. Dagger 1-1, prepare to counter-attack on my orders..." I sent a set of orders to my people.

=ABKR=

Spear 1-1

Kingdom of Burma

Lieutenant colonel Flint was within a hastily dug in shallow trench sorting out the casualties after the artillery barrage. He briefly contemplated using part of his reserve to plug the holes but dismissed the idea. His people had to hold and he would need that company intact for when all Hel broke lose.

He didn't show his surprise at how well the insane plan he was roped in by higher authority was going so far. For his peoples sake he continued to carry on as if he had an utmost confidence in the Prince's insane scheme. He had even briefly contemplated resigning in protest but got that idea out of his system very fast. His regiment was in position to be sent on this insane adventure and they would have gone with or without him. At least Jerry knew he cared for his boys and girls and would do his best to see them through this Loki patented insanity. The same couldn't be said for whoever might have replaced him.

The problem was that the plan going better than he expected didn't mean all was right in the world. On the contrary, because Flint's worst case scenario meant he and everyone under his command might have been dead before even touching the ground.

If his father could see him now... The old man might just die of mirth because he believed that Jerry's life would be wasted by the military. Flint feared that this might indeed be the case tonight.

The colonel frowned and ignored that thought. If he believed he was doomed the enemy had already won and he wasn't going to do the bastard's work for them. Besides, the Chinese might be content with only sending in their fighters in which case the plan might actually work.

Might was the operative word here. Without sufficient CAS available, the main counter they had for the enemy armor were King's machines and Jerry had no faith that the experimental weapons would be enough as outnumbered as they were going to be.

"Contact! Enemy tanks and infantry coming hot!" Someone sounding like gunny Vincent shouted from the front.

Even with night-vision goggles on, Jerry heard the tanks before seeing them, which sounded harder that in seemed – for the last half hour the sound of battle coming from both flanks combined into almost deafening cacophony.

The distinctive shriek of mortar rounds on the other hand were very easy to make up even through the gunfire. Explosions blossomed over the Britannian lines and then the enemy was here. The tanks announced themselves with the roar of cannon and the chatter of machine-guns. Small dark shapes trotted besides the armoured beasts showing why the behemoths weren't coming in faster. Someone on the other side kept their head and didn't let the armour outrun their infantry support. The boxy shapes of AFVs and APCs could be barely made up behind the heavy armour, which was obvious meant to soak the initial punishment.

"All units fire at will. HWP teams, take out those tanks!" Flint ordered and just like that he was a spectator until it was time to commit his reserve or something went very, very wrong.

Smoke rounds – bloody phosphorous began raining with the other mortar rounds. Flint saw one of his men – a brand new private be hit by one of those burning horrors. He shrieked in pain before two of his buddies tackled him and began the grim task of cutting off the burning Hel from the poor bastard.

Sergeant Vargas was gone next – one moment she was snapping order, then a mortar detonated above her trench and she vanished in a shower of gore.

AT missiles slammed into the lead enemy tank and it came apart when its ammo detonated. The cupola flew up on a pillar of fire and Jerry knew that the crew was relatively lucky – it didn't look like they even felt what hit them.

Another Burmese tank died after a Sheridan slammed a HEAT round through its lower plate, then three of the enemy MBTs concentrated on that luckless Britannian machine. One wasted its shot on the hastily dug in fortification around the light tank, but the others struck true. The Sheridan's cupola caved in and then it was burning. A single burning and screaming crewmember managed to crawl out and someone put the poor bastard out of his misery. A LAV died gutted by a pair of AFVs. Enemy infantry was falling in front of the trenches, some cut off by Flint's men, others to present a smaller profile as they returned fire. A tank almost got through the first line of defence, yet when it tried to drive over a trench it revealed its lower plate and a Sheridan eviscerated it with a HEAT which sliced into the crew compartment with no trouble.

The slaughter went on and on as his forward deployed battalion was slowly being ground to nothing.

After what felt like an eternity through an unrelenting enemy attack, Flint called in his reserve company. He had to use his rifle more and more as the first line of defence was overran. His men didn't break, they simply died swarmed under a wave after wave of infantry and armour. Still, li Britannia was silent and King's men remained uncommitted.

Jerry glanced at his clock. Was it just half an hour? In that short amount of time a third of his regiment was either dead or wounded, yet the enemy showed no sign of relenting. At least all the wrecked vehicles proved to be obstacle for the rest of the enemy tanks. Bigger one than most of his marines, because they were running very low on AT weaponry. At least there were still some Sheridans and LAVs with unexpended TOWs dug at the third line and still unengaged.

"Overlord Actual, Spear 1-1. Be advised, we're dropping the hammer momentarily." For the first time since he met the Prince, Flint was relieved to hear that bastard's voice. Now it was time to see if King's toys could save the day or if his marines would have to do everything themselves...

=ABKR=

Dagger 1-1

Kingdom of Burma

Howard hated the waiting. The marines were holding the line, dying doing it. The casualties were mounting, yet he didn't have permission to engage. He knew it was the right decision – only when enough of the enemy were committed and engaged he could strike for the best effect.

It made no difference as he listened to the reports coming from Flint. Almost whole battalion was either dead or wounded, the Burmese were fully engaged with the second line and the third and last was very thin even if it had a lot of the airborne and marine vehicles dug in it... There wasn't a fourth. Just First Knightmare Battalion waiting to be unleashed.

A hiss of static came over the radio.

"... drop the hammer. I say again, Dagger 1-1, drop the hammer." li Britannia's voice has never been so welcomed.

"Dagger 1-1 to all Dagger elements. We're a go. I say again, we're a go. Engage the enemy by platoons. ROEs Beta." King ordered.

Beta meant that targeting priorities went from tanks as highest to common infantry as lowest.

Howard's hands caressed his steed's controls and below him the Knightmare came to live with a purr. It was time to proof to the whole world that the face of warfare has changed yet again.

King's command platoon went in after Dagger 2-1 and 3-1 at the back of the Knightmare formation. He had to in order to keep a semblance of control over his people, something impossible if he was leading from the front and engaging the enemy directly from the beginning. It was unfortunate that he had only three platoons available for the counter-attack from the five with which his battalion began. Between casualties and the force waiting in reserve at the back of TF 501 his assets were very limited. He and his people just had to make due with what they had.

The Knightmares first appearance did shock the Burmese for a few precious seconds. It wasn't everyday you saw things from sci-fi descending upon you. Besides, they were engaging Flint's people and some of them didn't even notice the danger before it was far too late.

The heavy weapon teams on the flanks opened fire first. Missiles and recoilless rifles struck enemy tanks gutting most of their targets in the first salvo. The Britannian vehicles in the third line surged forward too adding their fire-power to the counter-attack and suddenly the Burmese tanks in the immediate vicinity were burning wrecks.

The enemy AFVs who hung back got more warning. Some tried to fight, others reversed along with the APCs and tried to disengage. It didn't matter. The Knightmares were either resistant or outright immune to their weapons thanks to their light and very expensive Sakuradite based composite armour. Those vehicles on the other hand were easy to open with AP rounds...

King knew that in few months, perhaps a year or two on the outside things might be different. The enemy would sooner or later deploy either frames of their own or new generations of fighting vehicles with better weapons and armour. Today, it didn't matter. He did lose people, but not enough to even slow down the Knightmare charge. Dagger 3-2 ran afoul of another tank echelon coming in for their own attack. He somehow avoided couple of sabot rounds which streaked past his frame, but the rest of the enemy platoon nailed him and no Knightmare in either existence or the drawing board could survive a tank shell hitting it in the chest, much less three of them practically at the same time.

The Glasgow simply disintegrated in a shower of burning metal. Dagger 2-1 died next. Howard bit off a string of curses when his friend lieutenant George Riley took an AT rocket in the side of the cockpit and all telemetry was lost. Dagger 2-5 went too far ahead and even the Glasgows agility and armor, not to mention the pilots skills wasn't enough to keep her from being turned into mincemeat by two platoons of AFVs.

"Dagger 2-3, keep your people tight! Dagger elements, don't separate or they'll overwhelm us!" Howard snapped then he was lost in the rush of combat.

Two more Daggers fell to the advancing enemy tanks but then it was too late for the MBTs. The Knightmares were among them and it was a slaughter. Even here in a terrain that was far from ideal, King's hand-picked people proved their superiority.

Much later, when he was debriefed about the battle, King could remember only flashbacks. The camera recordings from the surviving Knightmares spoke louder than words anyway.

What he knew for sure was that soon after his attack began, he felt utterly calm and invincible. King had unshakable belief that nothing could stop him and his people.

His Glasgow dashed just ahead of a turning tank cupola until he could shoot through the thinner armor at the sides and back. A line of retreating APCs coming apart one after another under his rifle and harkens. Dagger 1-5 gliding around a tank platoon that desperately tried to target it and failed.

Infantry desperately blasting at him with rifles and SAWs before he turned them into so much paste. A man with RPG almost nailed him before King stepped on the poor sod.

Then suddenly it was all over. More than half the people King led into the counter-attack were either dead or had their Knightmares mission killed, however it was worth it. The enemy's spine was broken. The few Burmese he could see were either surrendering or were running into the jungle after abandoning their weapons. He looked around and was astounded to find out that he was a few kilometres away from the friendly lines. Behind him the road was littered with burning wreckage, testament to the skill and valour his knights fought with.

It took him few moments to comprehend what he was seeing, then even longer to believe it. If the rest of the road looked just like this... No wonder the enemy was surrendering. King suddenly knew that the two heavy mechanized division TF 501 was meant to stop were no longer a threat for their burning remains were strewn as far as his eyes could see.

"Dagger 1-1 to all Dagger elements, report status." Training took over and King went to check on his people.

"Overlord Actual, all TF 501 elements. Excellent work. You all made me proud. Consolidate and resupply. Our job isn't done. The enemy main defence line is still holding." The Prince's voice sounded tired. "What's worse, Aesir recon element detected Federation forces pouring over the border before being forced to flee. We need to help Castle Bravo destroy the Burmese army behind us and pull back before we're overran. I'm taking personal command over our rearguard and hitting the enemy ASAP. Proceed to reinforce us once you've resupplied. Overlord Actual, over."

King's victory suddenly felt like ash in his mouth. A spread of cruise missiles shrieked overhead towards the Chinese border. He knew what that meant. The balloon was up and no matter what happened now their mission became a strategic loss.