"Lelouch."- speaking
'Shit.'- thoughts
"Roger."- Radio/Walkie-Talkie/Cellphone
Onboard the Avalon, near the Chinese Federation, April, 2018.
Suzaku was not happy that the Chinese had the gall to invade Area Eleven again during a moment of weakness. 'Why are they insisting on antagonizing Britannia now, even though we were more or less neutral for the past three to four months.' he thought as the Avalon launched a third Gloucester. Ten of the darned Knightmares and their pilots had been stationed onboard for the counter-invasion and unfortunately it was not enough for them to turn the tide. Forty Gloucesters had been part of the initial attack force, but over a fourth had been disabled and captured or destroyed by a Chinese Federation unit called the Home Guard. From what little information was obtained, Suzaku knew that his cousin Kaguya was leading some of the Home Guard's forces.
A bridge officer reported, "Sir, more Home Guard Knightmares have arrived at Point Alpha!"
"Have two more pilots launch and head out to clear Point Alpha of all hostiles! We need to hold that location along with Point Bravo so that we have a secure beachhead for the counterattack once Schneizel has Area Eleven under control!" Suzaku ordered.
"Understood, sir!" The officer said before sending an order down to two of the ten Gloucester pilots to move out immediately. While the pilots were getting ready, a report came in from the 7th Imperial naval fleet. It stated that hostile forces that were concentrated on both Kyushu and Hokkaido had anti-ship capabilities and that no counter-invasion force would be arriving in the Chinese Federation due to enemy forces blocking the only two routes leading to the beachhead. The Imperial General leading the fleet recommended abandoning the counter-invasion beachheads and return all forces to Area Eleven. Suzaku hesitated for a few seconds and then turned his radio on before he said, "Princess Cornelia, what's your status?"
"Point Bravo is secure, but more enemy forces are already on their way! Guilford's Knightmare is heavily damaged while myself and nine other pilots can't use our landspinners. How long do we have to hold out for?" Cornelia transmitted.
"I've receive word that we cannot receive reinforcements due to enemy interference! An Imperial General in charge of the 7th fleet recommended that we pull back to Area Eleven and abadon the beachhead positions! We have no choice but to get our revenge on the Chinese at a later time."
"I understand. All forces, fall back! We are abandoning this operation!" Cornelia said before the transmission was cut.
One of the two pilots that were ready reported in, "We're ready to launch, Knight of Seven."
"At ease. We've been ordered to scrap the counter-invasion. We're returning to Area Eleven and you'll be on search duty once we arrive." Suzaku ordered.
"Who are we looking for?" the other pilot asked.
"Area Eleven forces are searching for a white Knightmare believed to be piloted by a member of the Black Knights named Rei. If you see him, notify command immediately."
"Understood. Sergeant Harvey Cromwell out." the first pilot who had been readied said before cutting the transmission.
Meanwhile at Ashford Academy, the normal boring stuff of everyday life was occurring. Rivalz had stopped the gambling runs that he and Lelouch used to go on after seeing the Black Knights execute him and instead intensified his efforts to ask Milly out on a date. The blond-haired female and Shirley were all heartbroken by what the Black Knights had done, but they moved on with their lives while Rivalz was shocked. Most importantly, Nina had left school entirely, having been recruited by Prince Schneizel to work on an unspecified project while the honorary member Nunnally had business to handle as Viceroy and had left school as well. With Lelouch gone and Suzaku being a Knight of the Round, Rivalz had taken over the position of Vice President of the Student Council and had adopted the icy personality that Lelouch had while he had the position, leaving the club with no secretary for a few days.
It took a bit of talking, but Milly had managed to get Sophie to join the Student Council and take the position of Secretary. The new meeting was pretty standard as a new budget had to be decided on. It was not something that Shirley wanted to work on, but Rivalz insisted that Milly's GUTS antic was no longer as effective as it used to be since Lelouch was gone and so the blue-haired Cardemonde boy made the budget the first thing to handle whenever the Student Council met for the first time on any month during the year. It proved to be a smart move as none of the other clubs bothered them at all.
It was when the meeting was over that Rivalz went up to the roof and called a certain number. It took a few seconds before a voice on the other end said, "Is that you, Cadmod?"
"Yes it is, Risa. The freighter is already heading for Tokyo Bay. Last I checked, it was going into the Bering Strait." Rivalz said while covering his mouth with his hand.
"Any idea on what the Student Council is doing?"
"In about five days we'll be taking a field trip to the Area Eleven administration building. Everyone is still unaware that HE is alive. I won't tell anyone about our little secret, so you don't have to worry about that."
"Good call, Cadmod. I'd have to fucking kill you if you spill the beans to anyone. Good luck, Cadmod. Risa out."
"I'll be careful. Cadmod out." Rivalz said before he hung up. He thought to himself as he left the grounds of the academy, 'Lelouch, Kallen, I will want answers from the two of you once we capture Nunnally.'