Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or Universal Century Gundam, or any of their characters within.
A/N: Up till now, the story has only focused on the character of Harmonia li Britannia, now going by the name Haman Karn. Those of you familiar with Zeta Gundam or Gundam ZZ might be familiar with her. And I know I haven't focused on Lelouch yet. The reason for this is these chapters serve as a lead-up to the events that are planned to happen in R1. Lelouch and all of the familiar CG characters that we all know and love (or hate) will make an appearance then, along with several characters taken from various UC Gundam series.
Code Geass: Karn of the Oceanic Axis
Chapter Two
Somewhere on the North Island of Area 10, June 2009
"Well then, Haman," the recruiter said as he motioned her to follow him. "Right this way."
"Alright," she replied, following the man.
As they reached the guard, she glanced over at him. She could tell he wasn't pleased to have been told off. She paid him little heed as they passed him, as she had a more important to convene with.
Not much was known about the man known as Char Aznable. Despite the digging she did, all she found out was that he was the very charismatic leader of an up-and-coming anti-Britannian resistance movement known as Zeon.
Something of note that she noticed whilst she was obtaining information, was the inspiration for the name of the resistance group. From what she gathered, it was named after a former prime minister of New Zealand, Zeon Zum Deikun. Zeon was killed by a bomb that was planted by an assassin well over ten years ago. She found rumors that it was a Britannian who had planted the bomb that killed him, but no proof was ever truly found.
They passed several other resistance members as they continued. She noticed a fair number of the dark-skinned Maori among their number. Some were playing cards, others chatting with each other. There were also several who were checking and cleaning various weapons ranging from handguns to rifles of various origin, including those of Britannian manufacture.
She was pretty sure several of them were looking at her. It wasn't every day a thirteen year-old girl wanted to join an anti-government resistance movement. Ignoring their stares, she mentally composed herself for her meeting.
They continued down a flight of stairs, walking down into the basement underneath the building. They came to a door flanked by a pair of men armed with rifles.
"We're here to see the leader," the recruiter said to the two men, who proceeded to open the door for them to enter.
"Commander," the recruiter said, addressing the man she assumed was Char. "This young lady wants to join our cause. She asked to see you personally."
She stepped out from behind the recruiter, and got her first good look at the man named Char Aznable. He was just short of two meters in height, with wavy blonde hair that stopped just short of his shoulders. He wore a red outfit that looked a lot like a sleeveless military uniform. The most distinguishing feature of his attire was a pair of large sunglasses that covered his eyes. From his appearance, she guessed he was in his mid-twenties. Next to him was a woman of about the same age with shoulder-length light brown hair.
"Haman Karn." She introduced herself, bowing her head slightly out of courtesy.
He nodded his head in acknowledgment. "And why should I let you join? You are still a child."
"That's hardly a fair point," she replied. "Basing someone's usefulness or lack thereof solely on their age."
"A valid argument," he admitted. "What skills do you have that would benefit Zeon?"
"Well, I'm a good strategist and tactician, and I can help with the day-to-day tasks that need to be done."
"Is that so?" Char turned to look at the woman beside him. "What do you think, Nanai?"
"She's intelligent and determined," Nanai said after a few seconds. "Not many people her age would've figured out our location and would be so adamant about meeting with you right off the get-go."
About a minute passed by, and despite the fact that his eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, Haman could tell he was thinking pretty hard on this. Several more seconds went by before he finally spoke up.
"You say you're good at strategy and tactics?"
"Yes," she answered.
"Well, then I have a proposition for you. If you can beat me at a game of chess, and I'll let you join as my tactical advisor and assistant. But if you lose, you'll leave here and never tell anyone about what you saw here today. Deal?"
"Very well," she said agreeing to his terms. "We have a deal."
This was turning out to be one of the more difficult games she had ever played in her lifetime. Char was proving to be a very difficult opponent. His skill at the game reminded her of playing against Lelouch…
Pretty much everybody in the building had gathered into the room in which they played. Except for a few uttered whisperings, the room was silent. She could feel all eyes were on her and their leader, locked in a battle of wits.
As he made his move, her mind was racing, thinking out several reasons as well as counters to that move he just made. Within a matter of seconds, she figured out the move she was going to make. She moved in response, keeping the stalemate going.
She couldn't read anything from his facial expressions, and him wearing sunglasses didn't help either. The game continued in that manner, going back and forth, with the occasional taking of a piece. She kept her face stoic, as not to reveal her intentions to her opponent. Several more minutes passed, before she noticed something.
He just made the move she needed him to make. Analyzing it further to make sure he wasn't leading her into a trap, she then made her move.
"Checkmate!" she called out with a sincerely smiling for the first time since she'd arrived in Area 10.
"Well, I'll be damned." Char responded, unable to completely hide the surprise in his voice. "You win."
That let off a mix of responses from the onlookers. Some cheering her on, others in disbelief that she was able to defeat Char.
"That's unbelievable!" she heard one of them shout. "No one's ever beaten the leader before!"
Another one shouted. "I've never seen a game like that! That was amazing!"
"Yes, that was," Char said as he got up from his seat and walked over to her. He held out his hand to her. "Congratulations. Welcome to Zeon."
"Thank you," she replied, accepting his handshake.
She felt several things for the first time since she'd arrive here. A sense of relief and joy overtook her. She finally had a place, a purpose. She would prove to her father that she wasn't worthless, even if she had to be his enemy.
Cargo Ship Rosaria, En Route to the South Island, Area 10, January 2011
The cool nighttime wind nipped at her as she stood on the main deck of the Rosaria. It was bound for the South Island, where her first major test as a member of Zeon was going to take place.
Two years have passed since she joined the ranks of Zeon as one of Char's tactical advisors and assistant. Up till now, all she did was provide insight to his plans and assist with the management of the growing organization. They were slowly but surely gaining support, but this upcoming operation would bring them from a relatively ignored band of guerillas to a legitimate thorn in Britannia's side.
Char had given her the go ahead to plan this operation herself. He wanted to see how well she performed as a tactical commander. He'd given a few more reasons for her.
First was that it was a good chance to take command of an operation. Second, he was going to participate as a combatant in the upcoming raid. He said he needed someone he could trust to see the bigger picture. The final reason he'd giver her was to test her abilities to adapt, as the chances were high that it might not go exactly as planned.
She watched as the waves splashed up against the hull, and she could feel the cool mist as it sprayed her. Lost in thought, she barely noticed the approach of someone as the walked up behind her. She quickly turned around and noticed the familiar form of Char Aznable.
"I'm sorry if I startled you," he apologized. "I didn't mean to."
"It okay," she said sheepishly. "I thought I was the only one up here."
"Nervous?" he asked as he stepped up beside her.
"To be honest, yes. A little." She turned her gaze back to the blue of the ocean.
"Try no to be," he said in slightly sympathetic tone. "You'll do fine."
"Sometimes I wonder…" she said aloud.
"That's the kind of thinking that gets people killed," he said matter-of-factly.
"I know," she agreed. "But I'm having trouble shaking these feelings."
"Try not to dwell on them too much," he advised her. "I'll be below deck if you feel like talking later."
"Okay," she replied as she watched him walk away.
Once he was out of sight, she turned her attention back to the ocean. Several thoughts still warring in her head.
She ran a hand through her medium-length light purple hair. She forced herself to quit thinking about it, only to start thinking about her siblings. From what little she heard, Lelouch and Nunnally went missing shortly after Britannia invaded Japan. She had also heard rumors that they were killed in the resultant fighting of that month-long war.
She liked to believe they were still alive, but that waned with each passing day. Britannia had long considered them useless, and Japan likely didn't have any use for them either once hostilities broke out.
Regardless of whether alive or dead, they were the reason she had taken up arms against her former homeland.
She finally cleared all doubt out of her mind, renewing her resolve and confidence in herself. Britannia was going to pay the price of betraying her and her two lost siblings.
Christchurch, South Island of Area 10, January 2011
"All teams, report in," Haman stated as she stood over the illuminated map table.
"Alpha, in position," Char stated.
"Beta, in position."
"Charlie Team, ready."
"Delta, we're good to go."
She analyzed her plan as the rest of the teams rattled off their readiness. The plan wasn't very complex, but it factored quite heavily on timing. They were tipped off by one of their informants that Britannia was using the port at Christchurch to ship supplies from the homeland like weapons, food and medical supplies, as well as a healthy supply of valuable sakuradite from the recently conquered Japan. They were there to deprive them of their latest shipments of those precious materials.
Each team had a specific role they were to carry out. Charlie and Delta teams were deployed further inland. They were to attack the Britannians from the other side of the docks, to draw away whatever garrison forces the Brits had stationed there.
Once their attack started, Beta and Gamma teams were to move in from the docks, hitting them from the rear in a pincer attack. Alpha, Epsilon and Omega teams had different objectives. Epsilon and Alpha teams, led by Char, were to sneak into the docks and grab as much as they could, load them onto several small naval craft, and make a bee-line back to the Rosaria, their command ship. Omega was there to provide overwatch and sniper support to Alpha and Epsilon.
She glanced at her watch, very aware that it was almost time. Seconds seemed like hours as she waited for the scheduled time to come. Finally, the watch read four A.M..
"All team, commence the operation!" she declared over the comm.
She received a series of acknowledgements as the blue arrows on the holographic map table started moving to their assigned duties. The holographic map table was a very expensive piece of tech, especially for a resistance group, but Char had some significant pull somewhere, as he'd gotten a hold of it relatively quickly. She appreciated it, as this particular piece of tech made her job a lot easier.
All of them acknowledged her command, moving to their assigned objectives.
"So far, so good," she thought as she watched the map table.
"We've engaged the target," reported the leader of Charlie team. "Resistance is light, as expected."
"Don't get overconfident," she warned the squad leader. "Keep them engaged, but don't get in over your heads."
"Understood," came the reply, followed by what she was sure was gunfire.
"This is Alpha One, we've made it to the docks," Char reported as his team made their way to the storage containers and warehouses. Once there, they were going to use some of the transport trucks to haul as much as they could to the waiting ships that they came in on.
"Acknowledged," she responded into her headset's mic.
"Shit!" she heard someone yell over the comm.
"Give me a sitrep!" she ordered. "What's wrong?"
"They have Knightmares!" the Delta teams leaders shouted over the sound of explosions and gunfire.
"How many?" she said as she noticed several new enemy contacts appear on the map.
"They're tearing us apart!" the panicked soldier cried. "We're getting slaughtered out here!"
"Get a hold of yourself!" she commanded. "How many?"
"Five," came the voice of Charlie One. "Four Ganymede types led by a Glasgow!"
"This isn't good," she thought bitterly, wheels turning in her head as she tried to figure out a way to counter the appearance of Britannia's new weapons.
She knew of the Knightmare frames even before their unveiling to the world. Cornelia was always talking about her training in them, and she knew Lady Marianne was the pilot of the first Ganymede. Which also meant that she knew the basic strengths and weaknesses of that particular frame. Unlike the newer Glasgow it ran on a battery, limiting it's operation time.
"Omega, can you get a visual from your position?"
"Looks like the Ganymede types have wrist-mounted gun pods. A cockpit cover as well," the sniper team's leader replied with slight hint of stoicism. "Glasgow is of the same variant used during the invasion of Japan."
Thinking quickly, she came up with a way around this unforeseen problem. "Beta, Gamma, move in and hit the knightmares from behind. Use rockets and explosives, aim for the leg joints. Charlie, Delta, fall back, but keep their attention on you, support is inbound. Omega, start targeting the Glasgow cockpits, that's most likely their weakest point. Alpha, Epsilon, what's your status?"
"This is Alpha One," Char responded. "We're inside the storage area, we've located three powered down Ganymede's. We've taken care of the pilots."
Now this was good news. "Alpha, are they operational? If so, commandeer those frames, use them to support the main attack. Epsilon and the rest of Alpha, continue as planned."
"Understood," Char replied. "On our way now."
Things were starting to go their way again. She had confidence in Char's abilities. She'd have to, as the plan now hinged upon him and his team.
Strapping himself into the cockpit after he'd pulled the hatch shut, Char Aznable scanned over the controls of the Ganymede. It didn't truly surprise him that the Britannian's had created such technology, as he'd known that they were developing new humanoid combat weapons before the conquering of Japan. Such was his connections, he always liked to know what his enemy was up to.
The blonde haired commander found the startup control, and the tall, lanky Ganymede. The machine was in it's original, unpainted color of gunmetal gray. The only armament that his readout told him was a pair of wrist-mounted twenty millimeter gun pods, in addition to a pair of slash harkens mounted on the chest of the unit.
"No doubt," he thought bitterly. They intended to use these particular frames for 'pacification'. He'd show them the error of their ways.
He keyed the comm frequency to the one his team was using. "Apolly, Roberto, you ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," Apolly responded.
"Ready Boss," Roberto replied.
"Let's go," he ordered.
He manipulated the controls, bringing the tall, lanky machine forward. He had some men to rescue, as well as Britannians to pay back.
"Alpha here, we're good to go," she heard Char say.
"Good," she responded. "Use their IFF against them, trick them into lowering their guard. Take the path through shipping containers, that's the quickest path."
"Acknowledged," came Char's response.
"Omega, status?" she asked as she watched Char's group move through the docks, making their way to deliver a surprise to the Britannians currently engaged with Charlie and Delta.
"Two Ganymedes down, three more on approach through the shipping containers.," came the response, followed by the crack of a high-powered rifle firing. "Make that three down."
"The three on approach are Alpha,," she said. "Do not fire on them."
"Understood," Omega replied. "Wait, another Glasgow on approach. It's heading for Alpha."
"Alpha," she said to Char. "You have incoming, it's another Glasgow."
"I see him," Char replied. "He's firing on us. Engaging."
"So much for the sneak attack," she thought.
Jerking his controls to the left, he barely managed to avoid the trail of thirty millimeter shells fired from the Glasgow. He brought his machine's right arm, and pressed down on the firing trigger. Several twenty millimeter rounds spewed from the underslung gun pod. With a couple pitting the shoulder armor of the Glasgow before it ducked behind a container.
Cursing inwardly, he pulled back on his controls. No doubt the enemy pilot was trying to get him to follow, or was maneuvering to flank him. He keyed the comm.
"Apolly, Roberto," he said. "Continue to objective, I'll handle this one."
They acknowledged, splitting off from their commander.
"Oh no you don't." Char noticed the Glasgow move to intercept them. Bringing both arms up, he locked onto the enemy frame. Once he heard the tone of a target lock, he unleashed a stream of fire from both guns. Several rounds pockmarked the armor of the enemy machine, before it juked to the left, to avoid any further damage.
He pushed down on the foot pedals, motioning his machine forward, firing as he went.
A few rounds from the Glasgow's rifle found their mark, slamming into the left shoulder of the Ganymede. He felt the frame jerk slightly to the left, but it failed to stop his momentum.
Unfortunately, the Glasgow ducked behind another container. It's pilot was obviously trying to play a game of cat-and-mouse, keeping him from assisting the main attack.
"Alpha One," came Haman's voice through his comm. "Do you have slash harkens?"
"Yes," he replied as he continued to play cat-and-mouse with the Britannian pilot.
"Use them to get on top of the containers," she said. "I have an idea."
"Alright," he responded, trusting her judgment. He fired them, and they found purchase. He started reeling them in, pulling his frame up onto the top of the containers.
"The Glasgow is thirty meters to right," Haman said. "Hit him before he knows where you are."
Sure enough, he scanned over and noticed the same Glasgow, waiting to ambush him. Pushing the pedals forward, he moved along the containers moving rapidly towards his opponent.
The squat machine turned it's head, noticing him. It turned to engage him, but it was far too late. The machine fired both slash harkens, one of them striking the Ganymede, ripping off it's left arm. Using the machine's remaining arm, he punched the Glasgow, smashing it's factsphere sensor and ripping it's head off.
He grit his teeth as he was violently jarred around the cockpit as both multi-ton machines collided. He just narrowly avoided knocking himself out on the console. His muscles ached and his ribs hurt, but he unfastened the harness and pulled himself out of his ruined machine.
Clambering down both ruined machines onto the ground, he finally got his bearings. He drew his sidearm in case the pilot of the Glasgow had gotten out of his machine as well. It was all for naught, as he noticed.
Obviously panicked, the pilot ejected when their frames collided. He noticed the cockpit block had been smashed and twisted, as it had collided with one of the cargo containers.
"Alpha One, you okay?" Haman asked through his comm.
"Yes," he replied tersely. "Glasgow's down, I'll make my way to assist the rest of Alpha."
"Alpha Two and Three, make you're way around and flank them from the right." Haman ordered.
"Got it," Apolly replied.
"Target down," Roberto announced moments later. "That bugger was annoying. Crap! He got me as he went down, I'm out."
"That takes care of the Glasgows," she thought. "Alpha Two, what's your status?"
"I'm nearly out of ammo," he replied. "Nearly out of juice as well."
"Head along to this point," she said, sending him the coordinates. "I've got an idea."
"Got it," he replied, moving along to the designated spot.
"Take the bait," she thought, watching the last remaining enemy knightmare follow Apolly. "Good."
"Omega Team, last one's all yours," she said.
Several rounds were fired in response to her order, and she noticed the last remaining enemy Ganymede's icon disappear from the holomap.
"They're retreating!" she heard someone cry out. "We won!"
Surely enough, with the defeat of the enemy Knightmares the enemy was in a complete disarray, retreating from the battle. A mix of joy and relief washed over her, they had beaten the mighty Britannian Empire in battle.
"All forces, do not pursue them. Tend to the wounded and start loading the supplies for transport. Get some salvage crews in there, see if we can recover some of those knightmares. We'll definitely need them."
A series of acknowledgements were followed by raucous cheering. Throughout the cheering, she heard the phrase 'Sieg, Zeon!' chanted by someone. She knew that it was German for 'victory'.
"It would make a good rallying cry," she thought. They may have won the battle, but they still had a war ahead of them. She would see this through to the end, she owed her siblings that much.
There you have it, chapter two. As promised, this chapter was longer than the last. As for the Ganymede Knightmare variant, it was a slightly up-armored version that was intended for anti-personnel combat. Also things have started to pick up, with the resistance finally making some big moves. If you have any questions, hit me or Zaru up. Read, review and enjoy!