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 8: The plans of mice and men

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Part 7

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15 May 2009 A.T.B.

Prime Minister's office

Imperial Parliament

Japan

For modern Japan, everything always came back to the Pacific War, the humiliation the nation suffered, and arguably worse, the tenuous strategic situation caused by the defeat in that war. The Emperor himself, once seen as a god on Earth by many Japanese was little more than a symbol these days, the same went for the Imperial Family – while it wielded a certain amount of power, it was a far cry compared to their influence before the war. The same was true about the military, if to a much lesser extent. Both the Army and the Navy failed to safeguard the interest of the Empire and the Empire itself.

Nowadays, Japan was an Empire in name only. It lacked any overseas possessions, its international influence suffered greatly and the less said about the loss of face, the better. Yet Kami didn't forget the Japanese people. These days, Sakuradite was the most precious commodity on Earth and Japan had the lion's share of the world's reserves. This blessing paved the way to rebuild the injured nation, yet it was a double-edged sword. Ever since the Pacific War, Japan's governments had to carefully balance on a blade's edge between the world's three superpowers, less it suffered another defeat, perhaps even a catastrophic occupation.

That was an infuriating status quo, one consequent government had worked hard to change. Genbu Kururugi was merely following in his predecessor's footsteps, building up Japan's economy and military, in hopes that one day the Empire might return to its halcyon days. The greatest threat to that dream was the Holly Britannian Empire, again. Under Charles zi Britannia, the Britannian Empire became the leading expansionist power in the world, wagging wars and incorporating colonies all across the globe. Kururugi and his colleagues warily watched the old enemy extend its grip across the world, and it was early in Charles' reign when they began to wonder if they were on the Britannian's menu.

That's why, the moment Kururugi became Prime Minister, he quietly sent feelers to the other super-powers hoping to gain their patronage and protection, without actually selling out Japan's future, or worse, fragile independence. For years, his government's overtures were met with either apathetic silence or "requests" which were in no way, shape or form, acceptable. For a time, Kururugi even dared to entertain the unthinkable idea of a rapprochement with Britannia by opening Japan for more gaijin businesses than absolutely required by the articles of the Pacific War's treaty.

On one hand, that gesture did earn him some additional influence among the great houses which ran Japan's business conglomerates, enemies, too. His government's approval rating fluctuated, with those seeing the specter of war being happy with that turn of events, while many patriots and nationalists disapproved, many quite strongly, and they weren't shy about making themselves heard.

At worst, it seemed that Japan would manage to maintain the balance for another generation under his leadership, which while less than ideal, was certainly better than the alternatives. What happened next, well only time would say if it was another blessing by Kami or a disguised curse.

Genbu put down the folder he held, which contained the latest reports by the IJN, the submarine and anti-submarine warfare in particular. The Navy learned a hard lesson during the Pacific War – convoy escorts, submarine operations, and more importantly, anti-submarine warfare was vital for the nation's survival, not to mention winning any war it might find itself fighting. So far, the reports were favorable, which wasn't saying much. By all accounts, the current war caught the Britannians by surprise, something Genbu would carry as a badge of honor to his grave.

"You were right, Kururugi." Ishida Toshaka said. The old man who survived the Pacific War as a Battlecruiser Captain was a curious creature. He had a burning desire for vengeance, not only because of the great humiliation the defeat represented but because of all the friends he lost to the Britannians. Yet, at the same time, Ishida was one of the most cautious men in the government and wasn't a fan of the plan that led them to where they found themselves today. "This is a priceless opportunity, and despite certain reversals, our situation is looking up. I've heard from our European counterparts. They're mobilizing and an official declaration of war against Britannia will follow in the next few days."

"They don't want a ground war against the Chinese, and if they don't join the war, the Europeans risk that we would either lose, or the Chinese would receive most of Britannia's Sakuradite share." Trade Minister Junji Tomoe, one of the three women in the Cabinet, added. "If the latter happens, the Federation might actually try to bite a chunk of Siberia using the additional Sakuradite to fuel those ambitions."

She was a middle-aged, brown-haired woman, who almost always wore a blouse and a skirt in shades of blue. Her very presence was a grudging admission that there were a few benefits that came from the defeat in the Pacific War. Before that debacle, it would have been unthinkable for a woman to enter politics, unless she had the right birth, which by itself was a rare occasion, obviously. Admittedly, the old ways were less than ideal in that regard – if the war was good for anything it was to prove that women could do almost all jobs, as well as men and modern Japan, was better for it, no matter what certain fringe parties claimed.

A bout of quiet and uncommonly quick negotiations paved the way for this unexpected alliance – Europe would benefit substantially from victory, and unless a disaster struck, all they would have to risk would be their navy, which while expensive, wouldn't imperil many Europeans, always a good thing when foreign adventures were concerned. Ironically enough, Genbu managed to build this unexpected alliance only because of Britannia's internal issues, which he suspected were aided by the Europeans, who never could forget that the Britannian Empire always looked ravenously at the British Islands.

The murder of the Britannian Empress, the attempted assassination of a Prince of the Blood, that mess in South America, not to mention how the invasion of Burma made the Chinese nervous. It all pointed at a lot of internal strife and struggle, which was only to be expected with something like Charles on the throne, spreading his poisonous philosophy far and wide. In that regard, the Emperor was as much a danger to Japan as a boon, because it was obvious that all the wars fought under him were at least in part meant as a distraction for the Britannians.

Genbu was sure that if it wasn't for the Social Darwinism philosophy, Charles would have never sent two of his children to Japan as glorified hostages, a though that made the Prime Minster smile. Those children were a precious political commodity, they also represented an opportunity he could have never foreseen. While the girl was unfortunately crippled and didn't have a future beyond becoming someone's wife due to her disability, the boy, on the other hand, he had potential.

And he loathed both his father and the Britannian Empire with a passion you could hardly find among most Japanese these days. However, that was for the future, and only if the stars aligned. Still, no matter how far-fetched the possibility might be, being able to shape the next Emperor of Holly Britannian Empire, and thus stick a poisoned dagger in its guts through Lelouch, a man can surely dream, right?

"Genbu?" Ishida prompted.

"I was a lost in thought for a moment here," Kururugi admitted. "I'm just glad that the Navy has learned something from the previous war, even if the Britannians do have a few new tricks of their own."

"What they did to the Chinese was unforeseen, even if we don't have a particularly high opinion of our neighbour's capabilities."

"They do have more than enough quantity to afford using lower quality, well everything." Genbu allowed himself a small smile. While the best the Federation had was either as good or almost as good as what everyone else deployed, given their internal issues and the size of their military, any state of the art units were few and far between. The primary issue was that the rest of their army, navy, and air-force, while not top-notch, were far from cannon fodder, and with their numbers, well… The days when Japan could have challenged them ended when the Pacific War began.

"That might just serve them well against the Britannian's new weapons. "If push comes to shove, we can overwhelm them with numbers, and when all is said and done, the older ships are much harder to mission kill or sink than most new construction," Ishida stated. He should know, he was a navy man, who despite his official job description, kept a close connection with his old service. In many regards, he was almost as useful as the Defense Minister, when information about the Navy was concerned.

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Part 8

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17 May 2009 A.T.B.

Stadtfeld Estate

Japan

"Kallen!" Naoto hissed and tried to grab her hand.

Kallen ducked under his arm and bolted for the door, pausing only after she got it opened to grin wanly at her older brother, before skipping down the corridor, determined to check up on their dad.

"You're such a pain in the ass!" Naoto hissed and went after his little spitfire of a sister.

How someone that small could move that fast and quiet, he'll never know. He would never know how she could be so much trouble, either.

Naoto finally caught up to her near the kitchen on the first floor, where Kallen was skulking near the door, listening to their parents. If they saw that she had gotten away, again, he would never hear the end of it, or worse, he might get grounded, again… which given the circumstances, wasn't the worst of ideas, but still, it was the principle of the thing!

"Kallen!" Naoto hissed quietly. His sister turned around, and the expression on the face gave him a pause. He quietly went to Kallen and ruffed her spiky hair.

"Damn, that hurts…" Their father's voice came from the kitchen, clearly heard through the door, which was cracked open. That made Naoto's frustration with Kallen die off and he joined her in eavesdropping.

"That tends to happen when you get hit in the ribs with a rifle!" Their mother snapped. "Did you have to really mouth off at those soldiers?!"

"I had no choice the moment they mentioned you would have been better with anyone else, all but calling you a traitor!"

"All these years, and still you can be kind of an idiot, Richard." Well, their father was in trouble, both Stadtfeld children knew that tone of voice very well – the unique mix of exasperation, frustration, fondness, love, and not a little bit of anger. "It's a good thing that they didn't decide to drag you in for interrogation as a potential spy like that Sergeant threatened!"

"They wouldn't dare!" Richard protested. "What they did was bad enough!"

"You'll see no arguments from me about that, but still!" Yua grumbled. "Richard, you weren't here during the Pacific War and its immediate aftermath. Some people wouldn't care how important you are. Considering your position, well we both know certain elements might prefer you behind bars on general principle."

"Because my company is supplying the Navy among other things. I'll never know what those fools thought, starting a second Pacific War…"

"You can blame the Chinese for that. Or whoever decided that invading Burma was a good idea and provoked them that way. We both know that Kururugi is a patriot, not a nationalist, he wouldn't have dared call for war without at least one of the great powers facing off against Britannia! The Pacific War taught anyone sane how such a confrontation would end!"

"It doesn't really matter, does it? I can tell you what's happening back home, everyone would be calling this an unprovoked war, no matter how hypocritical might sound. There will be cries to finish the job and make Japan an Area if Britannia wins. Because of those fools, no matter what happens, our whole family won't be safe either here or in the homeland! Then, there are the media, which will be stroking the flames as if there's no tomorrow!"

Kallen froze at that, trying to figure out what her father meant. She was barely aware that Naoto's hand, which had been gently ruffling her hair ever since he joined her, stiffened, which wasn't a good sign…

"To be fair, that's happening here as well, which is the problem." Their mother said.

"If things get worse, it might be better to leave, especially if the fighting reaches Japan. I remember the Pacific War well, and I'm not eager to experience a repeat."

"Perhaps Europe, if the Europeans stay neutral. Otherwise, we're stuck. Well, I'm stuck, you and the children should be all right unless Britannia begins winning…"

"Which it might. I know how 'free and impartial' our news networks are. For a Chinese naval defeat to be announced, it must have been a total disaster, too big to hide certainly." Mother said in frustration. "And you stop squirming, I can't bandage your ribs properly otherwise!"

"We're supposed to have a doctor for this…"

"He got conscripted, as you well know…"

"We better get back to our rooms," Naoto whispered to Kallen, who sullenly nodded and the two of them crept away towards the stairway.

"Dad's going to be all right?"

"It's just a few bruised ribs, he'll be all right," Naoto said in a tone that didn't fill Kallen with confidence.

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17 May 2009 A.T.B.
Army base "Lancelot"
Area Six

Cornelia li Britannia acting and feeling as if she was fit to be tied was a rare sight indeed. This was just the second time Andreas Darlton had seen his Princess act this way and even her Knight of Honor had little success in calming her down. It was predictable. The first time she became this way, was when news of her brother's disappearance reached her. Then it was all Darlton could do, in no small part thanks to Guilford, to keep her from tearing off to Africa, without a plan, preparation, or thought about the consequences.

Delkatar was at fault again, though at least this time around he wasn't missing, presumed dead. Instead, he was stuck in the Philippines after almost getting himself killed, and if the rumor mill was right, earning himself some of the highest medals the Empire could award its sons and daughters fighting the Chinese.

"My Lady, we both know that your brother is much harder to harm than anyone has any right to be…" Andreas muttered just loud enough for the Princess to hear, for all the good it would do. She knew that, surely, however truth to be told, Delkatar's fate wasn't the only thing concerning her, as he very well knew.

The fact that Ladies Euphemia and Amelia were glorified hostages back in Pendragon, officially under the Emperor's protection… truth to be told, Andreas wasn't sure how to feel about that, beyond obviously betrayed. This… this wasn't really the Empire he served as a younger man and he knew exactly who was to blame, a thought he would be crazy to share even with his Princess.

"We can be loading those lorries faster!" Cornelia snapped and waved at the vehicle park in front of them, where engineers and crews swarmed all over the place, busy driving their machines on hundreds of waiting transports, which would be bringing them to the nearby harbor.

"My Lady, we're actually ahead of schedule. While I'm sure that if you scream at our soldiers, they might find it in themselves to hurry up, even more, it would be of no use. It will still take time for the transport ships to assemble, perhaps longer for enough escorts to be in place before we can leave." Guilford finally decided to take some of the heat.

"Then we'll have to spent close to two weeks before we get to the Philippines and the Chinese and Japs might overrun them by then!" Cornelia fumed. She paused her impatient pacing, which was very much unladylike, unbefitting neither the Second Royal Princess, nor a General, however, this wasn't a battle Andreas was ready to fight right now. "There should be at least one Carrier Battle Group en route to reinforce the Philippines as we speak, right?" She stared Darlton down, with gleaming eyes.

Andreas knew that look. Cornelia had a plan, it was going to be either a good one or the kind he had to talk her out of, ASAP.

"Guilford, check with all the nearby airports and see how many transport and passenger planes we can conscript yesterday. Andreas, get in contact with your old buddies in the Octagon, I want to know if that Carrier could provide escort for an airlift to the Philippines, we won't need air cover all the way anyway…"

This might work, Darlton thought. Oh, not for the whole army, certainly, however delivering some infantry and vehicles to reinforce the Philippines on top of whatever else the brass at the Octagon had in motion might be doable.

"I'll make the relevant calls. Cornelia, be advised that all suitable planes might already be tabbed for an airlift to either the Philippines or other locations that will need reinforcements."

"I don't care about any stuck in the mud Area, and it's not like the Chinese or Japanese can invade the homeland!"

It was days like these, that reminded Andreas that no matter how skilled, or how much potential Cornelia held, she was still a very young woman who strictly speaking was in over her head and needed a lot more experience to properly handle her current duties. Then again, that was why he was here and acting as her second in command…

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