Chapter 64
A Darked Firmament
"Oh FUCK!"
A very succinct, but wholly inadequate summation of the situation that now arose. Squads Zulu and Foxtrot were a fair distance from the main platform so they had a poor view of what unfolded, but they were directly under where the cannon round fired by the Eden Vital knightmare sliced through. That and the resulting impact were heard loud and clear by time, as was the screams that sounded.
"VIP down!" the radio blared.
Removed as they were from the ceremony grounds proper, the squads' immediate concern was whether there might be yet more hostiles incoming. Mercifully speaking for such hypothetical threats, nothing did appear, as all of the gendarmes were on a hair trigger as rage suffused them. And then just as quickly, the immediate edge of anger lessened, though it did not disappear right away.
"They shot the princess!" one of the gendarmes cried out.
No one argued otherwise, somehow they all knew that the sniper round had struck the Princess Euphemia. A dark murmur stirred within them. And even killed her.
"What do we do now?"
"Sit tight for further orders," Coburg responded. "Keep your eyes peeled, I do not want to get blindsided by a rampaging mob here!"
There was a genuine risk of that, what with the commotion they could already hear from within the ceremony grounds. Then as the prospect of a genuine riot seemed to boil over, another voice cut through the loudspeakers.
"Attention all attendees. We will now perform a coordinated evacuation of the ceremony grounds. Please remain where you are until directed to leave by security personnel. Do not attempt to vacate the premises on your own."
Coburg recognized the voice almost immediately, it was the Eden Vital sister that had helped coordinate the Babel raid, and then carried them in their match against the Princess Cornelia's royal guard during that training exercise. Somehow knowing she was on top of things was an immense relief, regardless of the fact that she was young enough to be his daughter. Her relative age did not stop the young woman from firing off a rapid series of instructions to the various squads posted around the grounds. As she rattled off numbers and units, Coburg's own thoughts clicked into place as all of the contingency preparations bubbled to the surface.
"People are going to be headed this way to get out of the grounds," he said. "Make sure they keep moving and don't get bogged down. If you see any hint of a traffic jam building up, call it in immediately so other groups get diverted away."
Acknowledges flowed back, and just in the nick of time too as the first evacuees came into view. What started out as a trickle became a tidal wave of bodies, which mercifully did not end up in some sort of crush as well. Coburg however kept a wary eye on the movements, making sure that the crowds both moved at a brisk pace but also not too quickly as to end up bunched together. Just as he thought they had fallen into a good tempo however the radio sounded again.
"Squads Zulu and Foxtrot," Lucretia directly addressed them, "move to grid 69 and secure the perimeter. Do not attempt entry, simply hold there until reinforcements arrive."
"Oh fuck," a quieter expletive escaped the other squad leader.
Coburg grimaced but kept his own reaction more professional. "Roger that, Command, moving out."
The stream of attendees was also slowing to a trickle, apparently whatever warranted the two squads' attention was also not something the Eden Vital sister wanted civilians anywhere near. That did not portend good things and Coburg gripped his rifle tighter. The block they were ordered to set up a perimeter around was not terribly far away, but they still took the two armored utility vehicles with them. Whatever they needed to watch out for probably was still susceptible to machinegun fire if nothing else.
"Alright, spread out in pairs," Coburg ordered. "I don't want anyone slipping through our net here."
"What he said," Amir did not bother repeating the order to his own squad. "And watch your spacing, just because you're buddied up doesn't mean you should follow one another if a grenade goes off."
"I don't know why your squad hasn't fragged you themselves," Coburg said with a sigh.
"Hey, I'm giving them advice on how to not die. That shows I care-"
While Coburg did not really need or want to hear the rest of Amir's spiel, having said spiel interrupted by one of the AUVs exploding was an interruption he still could have done without.
"Cover!" the sergeant shouted. "Where the hell did that come from!?"
"Third floor!" an especially attentive gendarme called back. "Someone's got an RPG!"
Another rocket streaked out from a floor above, nailing the second AUV. That one Coburg saw the source of and opened fire, as did quite a few other gendarmes. And then enemy gunfire erupted, responding in kind.
"Who the hell are these fuckers!?"
"More heretics!" Coburg shouted. "Command, this is Zulu Lead, we are under fire from heretical hostiles, requesting immediate backup!"
"Zulu Lead, reinforcements are inbound," Lucretia answered directly. "Hold the line until then."
That was very much easier said than done. The big problem the gendarmes faced was, in addition to their heavier firepower, the enemy also held the high ground and so had a much better vantage point to shoot down at them. While a regular army squad might have a heavy weapons loadout to respond back, gendarmes were police, not soldiers proper, and their training and equipment reflected that. Rifles and body armor were one thing, but high-yield explosives were in decidedly more limited supply.
"We need to get into buildings!" Coburg said. "Get out of their field of fire!"
"Sounds as good a plan as any!" Amir said. "Your squad first! We'll cover you!"
The offer was not entirely selfless, crossing to the buildings did require also breaking cover first. Nonetheless, Zulu promptly began a retreat, pulling out of the streets and breaking through whatever doors they needed to. The retreat was not without cost however as more than one gendarme had to be dragged along by a compatriot.
"Boy I really hope that backup gets here soon," Amir said over the radio. "I made at least ten shooters spread out across multiple floors. Whoever the hell is in that building is dug in."
"Hopefully that doesn't mean they've also boobytrapped the place," Coburg said. "Storming it is already going to be a bitch."
"Fucking hell, you better not have jinxed us."
The sergeant grunted. "Focus on making sure none of these bastards are able to slip away. I think the Eden Vital sister wants someone left to answer some questions."
"No one's come out-OH SHIT!"
Another explosion sounded, signaling that the enemy were not out of rockets yet.
"Goddamn it!" Coburg swore. "This isn't going to work, we need to get into their building so that they can't shoot at us without bringing down their own building!"
"What, and cross the kill zone again!?"
"It's either that or keep eating RPGs!"
That saw Amir take a moment to actually consider things.
"Alright, this time my squad will go first," he finally said. "Cover our backs?"
"Always."
Acerbic as the two's exchanges might get, when things really went to hell, neither would leave the other hanging. Not unless it was funny. This instance probably was not though. Before either had to test that resolve however the radio interrupted them.
"Squads Zulu and Foxtrot, hold positions and hunker down, incoming fire."
The gendarmes needed no further prompting and immediately tried to make better use of whatever cover they were behind. Coburg was still curious enough to peek out a bit to see what was actually incoming. The sight did not disappoint however as portions of the building the enemy had fortified themselves in outright shattered from the impact of the weapons fire. A dozen gashes were carved into the exterior, deep enough to show exactly what sort of rooms were hidden behind. The red specs that stained a few such holes marked where whoever was hiding behind the walls had gotten similarly splattered. Looking over, the sergeant saw the sleek form of an Eden Vital knightmare with a long cannon barrel extended. It fired again, blowing out another chunk in the target building.
"Hot damn, the cavalry's here!" Amir cried out in excitement.
Coburg rolled his eyes, though he would not deny his own relief. He just wouldn't admit it to his ostensible friend. In the background, the sound of helicopter blades signaled more of that very cavalry arriving. Maybe they would make it out of this alive after all.
Kallen flexed her fingers inside of the armored glove. Despite the padding, her range of motion remained fairly dexterous and the girl doubted she would have any problems wielding whatever weapon she might need. The powered armor she was wearing was another Eden Vital special, and one they were only supposed to break out in really dire circumstances, seeing as they possessed a few capabilities that the Order really did not want publicized just yet. Lelouch however was well past caring about such discretion and was determined to put down this heretical contractor, whatever the cost. And the thing of it was, Kallen could not find it within herself to disagree. If it were a member of her own family that had been murdered this day, she would also have gone on the warpath, consequences be damned. Still, a part of her whispered that some consequences did matter, like her contract with the grandmaster. That if nothing else, she needed to make sure the cost of taking down the heretical contractor did not include Lelouch himself. Hence why while Kallen was not prepared to try and stop Lelouch from going into the field and instead accompanying him to better ensure the cardinal both succeeded and came back alive afterward.
The others were already suited up, more practiced in putting the armor on than Kallen, though fortunately the young woman was not too far behind. To not waste more time however, Kallen simply took the rifle that Alice held out for her. A bullpup configuration, with the magazine slotted in behind the firing grip instead of in front, that was not the only thing that distinguished the M5 from the standard M4s Eden Vital and the Britannian military normally used. Instead of the conventional cartridges fired by most other modern day firearms, the M5 was a massively downsized railgun that fired hardened flechettes, capable of punching through near any body armor deployed, including even the armor Kallen and the others wore, were it not for the data fortification offered by their geasses. Against any contractor that was not similarly so well protected, they should be more than sufficient to put them down for good.
With everyone equipped, they trudged towards the rooftop helipad, to find the Princess Cornelia also making it there just in time. Cornelia's eyes widened at the sight before her, the princess clearly wanting to know where Lelouch had pulled all this gear from, but held back in the interest of her true objective this day. Lelouch gave Cornelia a quick lookover, then shook his head. Or perhaps not.
"You're not wearing even basic body armor," he stated.
Cornelia frowned. "You didn't exactly give me time to get changed."
"If you didn't have enough time to get kitted out, then you shouldn't be coming with us," the cardinal said flatly.
"Lelouch," Cornelia began.
"No," Lelouch said, the word carrying a certain finality without him even raising his voice. "We're going into an active combat zone, Cornelia. I am not bringing you along when you are flatly not equipped for a deployment."
Cornelia's scowl deepened. "Now listen here Lelouch-"
"Your Highness," Gilbert spoke up, cutting her off despite the impropriety of it. "Please, listen to His Eminence. He's right. If you go out there like this, you're more likely to perish than to avenge the Princess Euphemia."
"So what do you expect me to do?" Cornelia demanded. "Just sit here on my ass?"
Gilbert shook his head. "No. Send us out to avenge your sister, Your Highness. That is what we are for. We are your shield, but we are also your sword."
Cornelia blinked, staring at her knight almost slack-jawed. Gilbert gave her a slight smile.
"Are we not there for that purpose? To be sacrificed if necessary to fulfill your ambition?"
That caused the princess to grimace, but she had scant opportunity to muster a more thoughtful response as Lelouch boarded the waiting helicopter and its rotors began spinning up.
"Go," Cornelia quickly said, then saw Marika give her a pleading look. "You as well."
The expression on the young woman's face was grateful, or as much as the knight could muster. It was however steadfastly determined, which was more than good enough for Cornelia. Gilbert picked two other knights and the four hurried to climb onto the helicopter before it took off. As Cornelia watched, she prayed that they would all be borne back when all was said and done. What was more, she prayed that they would be victorious.
Lucretia kept her senses on both the nearing helicopter and the heretics hunkered down in the building. None gave any indication they were prepared to change her attention by taking a shot at the incoming bird, not even the odd blankness that she had inferred to be the opposing contractor. Previously, said contractor had been shuffling back and forth in the building, as if contemplating some means of escape. Now though he was sitting tight at the exact center of the surviving clusters of insurgents, likely hoping they could offer at least some token resistance to the inevitable onslaught.
Based on the weapons Lucretia had detected, the heretic force stood no chance against a frontal assault by the cardinal. They might have enough munitions left to try to collapse the building atop everyone, but not even that was liable to kill the cardinal or his cohort. Granted that probably would kill the knights accompanying them, but Lucretia did not consider it within her responsibilities to ensure the survival of such tagalongs.
"We will be inserting from above," Lelouch stated over the radio.
"Understood," Lucretia responded. "Maintaining overwatch."
The helicopter flitted over to the building in question and Lelouch and the Eden Vital battle sisters dropped down without bothering with the ziplines. Cornelia's knights were nowhere so capable and so rappelled down the old fashioned way, but at least the cardinal deigned to wait for them instead of advancing further.
"Oldrin, Alice, move independently under Sancia's direction and make sure our target doesn't make any last-minute escape," Lelouch ordered. "Kallen, you're on point. Sir Gilbert, you and your knights are next. Dalque and I will bring up the rearguard."
The knights nodded to indicate their acceptance of the placement.
"Incidentally," Lelouch said as he glanced over at the knights. "If any of you even hint at what you're about to see to anyone else, I will find you, and I will kill you."
The threat came so out of left field that the knights just stared blankly at the cardinal for a moment. Before any could muster a protest however Alice blinked away, only to reappear right next to the door leading down, while Oldrin disappeared outright from their sight. The incredulity was now for something else entirely.
"I trust I've made myself clear?" Lelouch's voice stirred them from their shock.
Gilbert was now looking profusely unhappy but gave a choppy nod. "Crystal, Your Eminence."
Clearly considering the matter settled, Lelouch followed after Dalque and Kallen. With Anya incapacitated, he and the others needed to resort to the digital datalink to convey tactical telemetry, but so long as comms did not get jammed, that should still be sufficient for their purposes. Lucretia had already identified those few constructs that might possibly be able to throw up such electromagnetic interference, and those she had not destroyed herself would be seen to soon enough with Alice and Oldrin on the move.
"Enemy contacts are coalescing and starting to filter upwards," Sancia reported, processing the data that Lucretia's geass was providing and turning it into more actionable intel. "They are organizing into fireteams of four."
That would make any single group of hostiles badly outnumbered by Lelouch's squad, but inside a building like this with little room to maneuver, that mattered quite a bit less than an open field or even in a dense urban environment, so long as they were outdoors.
"They still retain some RPGs and appear to be bringing them along."
"Christ," Gilbert could be heard muttering ahead. "Are they really crazy enough to try using those indoors?"
Seeing as nothing short of that was going to even slow Kallen down, that at least served as further confirmation there was a heretical contractor pulling the other side's strings.
"Two floors down the first group is waiting to attempt an ambush."
"Sirius, take them out," Lelouch ordered.
"Roger."
Kallen did not bother running down the stairs, instead jumping off the railings down the well itself. Sharp whines sounded followed by screams, and then silence.
"Targets neutralized."
The rest of the squad hurried down the old-fashioned way and soon had a firsthand look at Kallen's handiwork. The insurgents were still clutching their weapons, but aside from a few stray shots from their dying moments none had managed anything for their efforts. The gruesome wounds that marked Kallen's own hits showed just how deeply the flechettes had cut through her targets, some even drilling straight through the bodies. Not even the full metal jackets in the cartridges the knights carried would have inflicted this much trauma. Gilbert idly wondered just how redundant the presence of himself and the others were. Then again, they were here representing their lady, and that was reason enough all by itself.
It was perhaps fortunate that Gilbert had no way of reading Lelouch's mind to learn the exact reason for why the cardinal deigned to let the knights accompany him. It was certainly not because Lelouch thought the knights would add meaningful combat power to what he had available, nor that he even particularly trusted them to watch the Eden Vital complement's back. No, the knights were the bait, or more generously the canary, by which Lelouch intended to be alerted to the proximity of the heretic contractor.
The encounter at Lake Kawaguchi had revealed the presence of two such persons in Japan, and while Lucretia was fairly sure there was only one this time, which one of the two she could not so similarly ascertain. What they did know was that one seemed able to muddy others' perceptions, while the other could at minimum infer intentions. Lelouch and his cohort had already demonstrated some measure of resistance to either, but knowing what they were up against would still be important in case the enemy contractor had yet to demonstrate the full breadth or depth of his or her abilities. Hence the accompanying knights. If they misidentified Lelouch and company and tried to shoot them in the back, for all the good that would do against the powered armor the latter wore, that would provide definitive proof one way. And if the heretical contractor proved able to keep dodging Lelouch's squad despite Lucretia and Sancia's directions, that was proof, even if less definitive, of the other. For the sake of the knights, Lelouch hoped it would be the latter case. He was not at all certain if he could limit their neutralization to purely nonlethal means if it turned out to be the former, not with his present mood.
Mao knew he was in trouble. No, he was well and truly fucked. Bad enough that the sniper did not actually kill the intended target of Kaguya and instead hit the Princess Euphemia, but somehow Eden Vital and coped onto where Mao himself was located. That was the only explanation for the gendarmerie squads that suddenly arrived to cordon off the building he was hiding in despite the chaos at the ceremony grounds itself. But how had they found him?
It must have been one of the bastard cardinal's pets, Mao eventually surmised. Perhaps even the same one that spotted the sniper, however belatedly. That bitch had certainly put enough holes in the building since, killing a good third of the insurgents Mao had brought along to act as muscle in the very worst case. Unfortunately, what was actually unfolding was way, way worse than anything he had dared to even consider, since for all his other manifold failings, Mao knew that a direct confrontation between any force he could muster in Japan versus the bastard cardinal could only result in his death. Now that he had been discovered, his only chance of survival was if he could get out of the building and disappear into the urban jungle that was Tokyo. That was going to be tricky, however, especially with the close eye Eden Vital was now clearly keeping on this building. Mao now deeply regretted not picking a building whose basement connected to others, but his options had been limited if he wanted a place tall enough for him to see the events unfolding in the ceremony grounds.
A stray thought leaked into his mind and Mao struggled to shut it out. The dying cries of men being savaged by the Eden Vital order militants were useless to him, he certainly had no need for them to know of approaching doom. No, the thoughts that most interested him came from the knights that the Cardinal Lamperouge had for some inexplicable reason deigned to let accompany him. From them, he could keep tabs on the cardinal's direct command, as well as eavesdrop on the communications between them and the tactical controller maneuvering them. While he could not muddle the senses of the knights and get them to attack the cardinal, being in the enemy's communications loop at least provided him with the means to stay one step ahead of their pursuit. Mao rested a hand on the RPG he was hauling. And maybe even launch an attack that would incapacitate the cardinal and his subordinates long enough to slip away. That was the main priority, to escape. He could worry about being called to account for his failures after that.
Another stream of thoughts flittered through his own and Mao momentarily stopped. The dying thoughts he heard were not from any part engaging the cardinal. In fact, they were near on the opposite of the building. The memories were confused and jumbled, but there were enough common points for Mao to piece together the probable cause of death, and it was not from bombardment by the Eden Vital knightmare or the gendarmes standing watch outside. No, something had killed these men, if not exactly at close range, then at least from inside the building. But what? Mao tried to expand his awareness, despite the irritating increase in noise this caused. He could hear all of the insurgents he had brought with him, along with the knights accompanying the cardinal. He could even make out a few stray thoughts from the gendarmes stationed outside. There was no one else that he could sense however. Mao grimaced. That meant there were other contractors operating independently from the cardinal's squad, and he had no way of tracking them. The prospect of successfully ambushing the cardinal was dropping precipitously.
Mao shrugged off the sense of foreboding, as difficult as that was with the frantic panic suffusing the majority of the thoughts he could pick up. No, his best bet was still to try and strike at the cardinal. The man was simply too valuable for Eden Vital to not dedicate their whole to saving if something were to happen to him, and that would be the perfect opportunity for him to then slip away. He just needed to get in position to land the fatal, or near-fatal, blow, and that opportunity was rapidly approaching.
The cardinal and his squad was tearing through the pockets of insurgent fighters in the building with ridiculous ease, a combination of their geasses and presumably the heavy equipment that Mao saw snippets of from the thoughts that flitted his way. A few of this brief visions even showed the armor shrugging off bullet fire, which was not too surprising as otherwise it made little sense for them to bother wearing them. Another thing that Mao did notice however was a clear reluctance by his enemies to let the insurgents get off an RPG. Perhaps they were afraid what the resulting structural damage to the building might do, or perhaps it was out of concern for the unarmored knights accompanying them. One final possibility was that there existed an upper limit to what the armor the Eden Vital militants wore could protect against. Mao was reasonably confident of that probability, even with access to a thought elevator's manufacturing capability, there should still be practical limits to how much damage any armor built could sustain given certain physical limits. Which meant if he could hit the cardinal's party with his own RPG, that might well incapacitate them.
Mao looked down the corridor. There, there was the intersection that the cardinal's squad would need to cross. Once they were through, Mao would have one of his own squads hit the cardinal's group from the front, which would allow Mao himself to sneak up behind and shoot the RPG right down the center. A masterfully executed ambush, this would be. And right on schedule, several armored figures hurried past the intersection followed by four decidedly unarmored combatants. Making sure to keep as silent as he could, Mao started after them. Once he reached the junction himself, he sent the signal to attack. Gunfire erupted and Mao peeked out, rocket at the ready. He froze, as the sight of an armored figure charging at him came into sight.
An explosion sounded and Mao caught glimpses of his diversionary force serrated by a handful of grenades that seemed to have come from nowhere. That roused him from his shock and he brought the launcher to bear. With how fast the armored figure was approaching Mao did not have much time to aim, but at this close range and quarters he did not really need to. Mao fired, a look of rabid satisfaction crossing his face as he prepared to witness the Eden Vital militant get blown to bits when the grenade exploded. Which it did. The charging militant however was still wholly intact, a green sheen flashing before fading away, and still charging.
A Blaze Luminous shield, Mao realized with horror. Eden Vital had managed to miniaturize and somehow power a defensive shield in their armor. How, he could not even begin to fathom. What he did know however was that he had no chance of overpowering such defenses, that his only chance of escape was if he started running now. And run, he tried, only as he turned about, he caught a glimpse of another armored figure, right before said figure slammed into him. Mao was sent crashing into the wall, a sickening crack sounding as something, lots of somethings, broke. The youth tumbled to the ground, his body wracked with so much pain he struggled to even breathe. That did not keep him from hearing the heavy footsteps that drew closer but even in his frantic panic his body refused to rise. That soon became a moot issue however as hands reached out and turned him about. The panic only grew as Mao found himself face to face with a pair of violet eyes, now visible through the helmet visor. He was face to face with the Cardinal Lamperouge himself.
Lelouch frowned slightly as he regarded the heretical contractor. The facial recognition software was not pulling up any hits, suggesting this youth was someone V.V. had recruited in China and not one of the contractor candidates that he swayed to his side before the Schism. An unpleasant insinuation that, if V.V. really had managed to establish a pool of domestic candidates in the Chinese Federation and been able to augment them enough to grant them a usable geass. That at least put a floor to his capabilities, which was a useful datapoint to gain this day. It was far from worth the cost however, a cost that Lelouch had yet to even start extracting. He let Mao slump to the floor once more.
"Dame Marika," Lelouch said.
Marika looked over at the cardinal, a touch of uncertainty coloring her eyes. That uncertainty vanished in an instant when Lelouch held out his sidearm. From beneath them, Mao wheezed.
"Wait! I can-I can tell you everything about the Grandmaster!"
The way the Eden Vital militants shifted, it was immediately clear they took offense at Mao's addressing of a certain someone as grandmaster. The youth was not so far gone as to miss this.
"The-the heretical cardinal!" he quickly corrected himself. "Where he is, what he's been up to! Everything I know, it's yours!"
Marika looked over at Lelouch, conveying her unspoken question. The cardinal gave a shrug.
"Keep his brain intact," was all Lelouch said.
To that Marika's eyes widened as the prospect of what the cardinal was insinuating. That Eden Vital might be able to obtain the information that Mao was offering even with the youth dead, if they had an intact brain. There was a macabre horror to such a possibility, one that actually chilled Marika. But then she looked down and the broken, bleeding figure, and recalled the similar visage of her own lady. Any sense of pity vanished in that instant. She took the pistol. A moment later, Mao's screams were cut off by a quick bark of gunfire.
When Lelouch entered the palace command center, Sancia was already back at her station helping coordinate the city's defense. Nonette was still handling overall command, while Cornelia was carefully observing everything, not interceding but ready to assist should the need arise. When the princess saw her brother's arrival, she tilted her head, inviting him to her side. And while Lelouch did not have any explicit reason to acquiesce, neither did he have cause to decline.
"Is it done?" Cornelia asked once Lelouch came to a halt beside her.
"Dame Marika provided the final answer," Lelouch stated.
Cornelia took a deep breath before nodding. "Good."
Nothing further needed to be said on that matter, at least for the time being. There would be opportunity aplenty to deal with their sister's tragedy, once the battle before them was finally won.
"I spoke with the war staff," Cornelia said. "Eighth Fleet is being mobilized, they should be setting sail within the next 72 hours, then take another 12 or so hours to be in position to conduct naval operations."
By which point the Battle of Tokyo would already be concluded, but the Battles of Kyushu and Hokkaido would still be well underway.
"Combined with Seventh Fleet, we should be able to decisively beat back either of the prongs the Chinese and Russians launched," Cornelia continued. "If we split their attention, we should still have enough local superiority to defeat them, in theory."
Lelouch was still getting caught up to speed with the full strategic situation in Japan, so for the moment he took his sister's word, or rather that of the war staff back in Pendragon.
"Are any further reinforcements forthcoming?" Lelouch asked.
"Anything else will be at least a week out," Cornelia said. "Even with Third Fleet forward deployed to Pearl Harbor, it's going to take them time to cross the Pacific, and Fifth Fleet can't move from its position down in the Indian Ocean. Transferring anything from the Atlantic is going to take even longer."
None of which was exactly news to Lelouch, but one could still hope.
"Air assets on the other hand are being shaken loose, now that the Chinese and Russians have shown their hand."
And sometimes that hope was even met.
"Two squadrons of Third Fleet's carrier wing are coming over ahead of time, including one of the Panthers," Cornelia continued, "and the air force is transferring over an additional two Strike Eagle squadrons, and two of Raptors."
"About bloody time," Lelouch groused.
Cornelia gave a grunt of agreement, for on this matter she had shared her brother's frustrations.
Britannia, as one of the largest and richest nations on Earth, had been one of the firsts to develop and deploy a genuine stealth fighter. In fact it had in effect developed and deployed two in parallel, the F-22 Raptor employed by the air force, and the F-23 Panther that equipped the navy. The Empire even had a second iteration of designs that were just now going into limited service, but for the interim future, should the need arise for stealth aircraft, the Raptors and Panthers would be the ones called upon to meet that need. Except that even now, Japan did not have a single one stationed within its area borders.
The reason for this lack was not due to any obstinacy on the part of the Britannian military high command, though the local garrison's incompetency prior to Lelouch's arrival did shoulder some of the blame. For with the advanced capabilities that these fifth generation fighters offered also came some rather specialized maintenance requirements, and the Britannian bases in Japan had not been brought to the standard necessary to perform said maintenance. Remedying that had been very high up on Lelouch's priority list, considering Japan's frontline position relative to Britannia's two great political rivals, the Chinese and Russian Federations. And while the stealth aircraft of those two powers were not quite as capable as what Britannia possessed, they still represented a substantially enhanced threat to the squadrons of Eagles, Falcons, and Super Hornets that otherwise made up Japan's air superiority capabilities. A great deal of operational planning had gone into trying to make up that capability gap, and the capabilities of the late block fighters Lelouch did have to work with would help substantially, along with various doctrinal advantages Britannia possessed. Still, that was not the same as having the advantage that proper fifth gen fighters would represent. Unfortunately, while the requisite base upgrades were in place now, they had been completed late enough that no Raptor or Panther squadrons could be transferred over before the handover ceremony. Hopefully their imminent arrival would still be a case of better late than never.
"What about additional ground pounders?" Lelouch asked. "As useful as securing air and sea superiority will be, we still will need warm bodies to handle the troops the Chinese and Russians have managed to land."
"That's going to be a bit trickier," Cornelia said. "The army couldn't publicly mobilize without basically handing our enemies a diplomatic casus belli, and even with them slow-walking the demobilization of the Middle East campaign forces, we still have more active commitments than regular units to fill, beyond what's already been deployed to Japan." The princess glanced over at her brother. "Besides, you seemed rather confident of the JLF's ability to hold Kyushu, at least."
"Holding Kyushu is far from the same as defeating in detail the Chinese invasion force," Lelouch reposted.
Cornelia gave a grunt of a concession.
"So, no more ground reinforcements for a time, I take it?" Lelouch said after a moment.
"Not from the regular forces, no."
There that was again, the specific allusion to 'regular' forces. Now it was Lelouch that cast a glance at his sister.
"You could spare both of us the back and forth if you would just come out with it," the cardinal said.
For a moment it seemed as if Cornelia would decline her brother's suggestion. Fortunately the silence did not linger long.
"His Majesty is dispatching a regiment of the Household Cavalry."
Lelouch blinked. "What?"
Cornelia gave a snort. "Oh, good, even you can be taken aback."
The Household Cavalry, as its name implied, represented the personal armed retinue of the Britannian emperor, answerable only to the sovereign and no other. Arguably the claim could be made that the wider Imperial Britannian Armed forces were similarly answerable only to the sovereign since their official commander-in-chief remained the sovereign, but convention was that the reigning emperor delegated out usage of the regular armed forces to sitting government to pursue whatever diplomatic policies it had formulated, with the sovereign's input and consent of course. The Household Cavalry on the other hand moved solely at the discretion of the sovereign, with its entire chain of command running parallel to that of the regular forces. True, it could and did participate in the various wars that Britannia all too often found itself engaged in, but its primary duty remained the fulfillment of the emperor's personal will, not that of the collective decisions of the nation as a whole. For Charles to dispatch a regiment of said Cavalry was an open declaration that it was very much his will that this battle be fought against China and Russia.
"I've never claimed otherwise," Lelouch deftly recovered. "Which regiment?"
Something of a misnomer, that. The term regiment, in the Imperial Britannian Army at least, originated from the old English regiments that would have been considered battalions in modern orders of battle. In the case of the Household Cavalry however, the discrepancy actually went the other way. Britannia had long ago reordered the placement of regiments in its table of organization to match that of other nations, but the regiments of the Household Cavalry were more akin to modern brigades. That meant instead of the two or three thousand soldiers that might be in a regular infantry regiment, such a regiment in the Household Cavalry was closer to the five or six thousand soldiers of a modern brigade. The armored elements of course also saw such proportionate scaling. When fully mobilized, the Household Cavalry was the size of an army corps, with its own attached air combat element, both fixed wing and rotor. In that regard, it was rather like the Imperial Britannian Marine Corps, possessing infantry, armor, and air assets in a single cohesive whole. Would that the regular army and air force worked so well together.
"The 2nd Cavalry," Cornelia answered succinctly.
Lelouch now looked over at Nonette, who was still busy commanding the battle.
"Makes sense, what with their regimental commander already here."
As with all military formations, the Household Cavalry also needed senior officers to command it. That duty fell to various members of the Rounds, with the Knight of One, General Bismarck Waldstein, as the overall commander. Each member of the Rounds held at minimum a formal rank of Brigadier-General, regardless of their age and actual experience, so those that did hold a "regimental" command were at least closer to matching the size of their responsibilities. That of course did not mean the more junior members like Monica were expected to actually exercise such authority competently, but possessing flag rank was something of a requisite for some of the duties they undertook.
"Along with the 2nd Fighter and Strike Squadrons."
Lelouch blinked again, which saw Cornelia crack a wry smile. There was little enough humor in this day, so seeing her brother so stymied twice was something she would gladly take.
"This is in addition to the squadrons the air force is sending?" Lelouch inquired.
Which if so, meant Japan was about to get five squadrons of current generation stealth fighters, for the Household Cavalry's fighter complement was wholly composed of fifth generation fighters. After the drought suffered by Japan the past few years, this was almost an embarrassment of riches. Considering how much each of those planes cost, that could be meant literally.
The princess nodded, jaw tightening now. "His Majesty has heard all of what has transpired here. I think he wants to send a message, as the emperor, and as a father."
Lelouch's own expression was coldly impassive, but Cornelia had been around her brother long enough these past few months to sense the firm agreement with that sentiment. Indeed, the sooner they could start sending that message collective, the better.
Even as the two exchanged updates, both were paying close attention to the situation unfolding on the main screen. By this point the Blood of the Samurai's attack was already a strategic failure, it was only a matter of inflicting a bad enough tactical defeat upon it to make sure the force was outright destroyed. In that regard the meatgrinder the Samurai had run into in the outer wards had both helped and hindered. Helped, in that the Samurai had suffered prodigious losses trying to fight through the heavily entrenched local Tokyo resistance cells, who demonstrated themselves to be far better equipped than they had any right to be, what with the thanks and even the odd knightmare or two they brought out.
It also hindered, in that the Samurai had gotten bogged down so far from the Concessions that the Britannian military actually had a lot of trouble quickly reaching the battlefield to join the engagement. Units of air cavalry were being flown in via helicopters and by now at least on the eastern front army regulars plus armor were giving the Samurai a renewed reaming, but the western salient was proving more troublesome to, if not stall, then outright contain. Considering that was where the bulk of the Samurai's assets were concentrating, including their remaining armor, letting that force survive to disengage was not an option. Fortunately, as Lelouch regarded the state of the map, a certain enterprising joint force of Tokyo resistance fighters and elements of the 597th had gotten their enemies bogged down, albeit somewhat awkwardly since the Britannian aligned side was badly outnumbered, along the Shiba River. In fact, that bit of farmland was sufficiently in the open that the Samurai were able to actually fully concentrate for perhaps the first time. Which they did in the open. Idiots.
"Dame Nonette," Lelouch called out as he walked over to a terminal.
The knight looked back at him with a quizzical cock of her head.
"I am releasing authorization for the high-yield airburst," Lelouch stated simply, punching in some commands at the console. "A plane should already be loitering with the payload ready. Deploy at your discretion."
Gasps sounded all about, though not from Nonette herself. The Britannian military was not short of destructive means. The weapon Lelouch now referred to was officially designated the Massive Ordnance Air Burst, otherwise known as the Mother of All Bombs. At a yield of ten tons, it was considered the most powerful non-nuclear bomb in active service, and Britannia had used them extensively in their conquest of the Middle East. And as expected of its official and unofficial names, the weapon was hideously destructive. Deployed in a dense urban environment, it could result in a death toll easily in the thousands. Against the semi-rural fields around the Shiba River, it promised to do the same to the Blood of the Samurai, who had decided it was a good idea to focus so much of their forces in one, tight space. And if they aimed it right, they might even be able to spare the joint Britannian-Tokyo resistance force from the blast front.
The Knight of Nine gave Lelouch a lingering look, then flashed a fierce, almost eager smile.
"Authorization received, Your Eminence."
The MOAB was dropped approximately ten minutes later. The combing through the blast radius to try and get a proper tally took much, much longer.
End of Chapter 64
There actually was a reason Lelouch gave Marika his pistol, anything short of that might not have been able to put down Mao quickly, even as badly injured as he was. Eden Vital has dedicated a lot of time and effort into figuring out how to effectively fight contractors, as a contingency measure if any of their own went rogue or the other ecclesiastical orders figured out how to make their own, or otherwise managed to approach the level of augmentation of Eden Vital's contractor candidates, if nothing else.
A bit more worldbuilding about the capabilities of the Britannian military. In this timeline, thanks to better technology and a larger economic base, Britannia was able to put into service both the F-22 and F-23, for the air force and navy respectively. They're still tricking out, so to speak, the Empire is far from achieving full replacement of its earlier generation of fighters, but there are enough of them that they could send that many squadrons of stealth fighters over to Japan pretty much immediately once hostilities commenced. Incidentally, the 2nd Fighter Squadron of the Household Cavalry are not equipped with F-22s or 23s. They are still equipped with stealth fighters though.
The tricky bit about multi-chapter events is that unless the chapters come out pretty close to each other, it's difficult to maintain the tension inherent in the events. Considering that I somehow managed to wring four chapters from the Battle of Tokyo, that was a genuine issue. That work decided to go full crunch for a bit there did not help things.
At this point though the immediate events around Tokyo are settled, but next we need to account for the Battle of Fukuoka in Kyushu. That one I do not expect to drag out for multiple chapters, my goal is to keep it compact and limit it to a single chapter, maybe, maybe a chapter and a half, with the other half dealing with some of the political fallout. There's only so long I can string out the high-tension events before they become more tedious than tense, and I'm pushing the limits as it is.