Chapter 9: Upgrade 2
"What, the Ashford Academy has been re-captured? How did this happen?" Infinite roared at a scout who was sent out had reported back.
"I don't know Lord Infinite, when I arrived it was surrounded by Knightmares. But I have brought a survivor I found just outside the Academy back, Lord Infinite, perhaps he can give us some insight." The scout replied.
"Very well, let him in."
The door opened and a man was rolled in on a wheelchair. His face was slightly burnt and he had wounds all over his body, including a broken leg. A nurse had helped him as much she could and bandaged him up. It almost looked like he was unconscious, but he rose his head with difficulty once he was opposite of Infinite.
"We were taken by surprise." He said, straining himself with every word. "They used their cloaking ability to sneak up behind us, then dragged us out in small numbers to take us down."
"What were their numbers?" Infinite asked.
"Uncertain, but the smallest their force could have been is four." He answered.
"Four, such a small number overwhelmed you?"
"Like I said it is uncertain, the smallest force is four because that is how it started. Four units had been destroyed in a signal instant, that's when everything went downhill."
"I see, in that case, it probably was four. Is their anything else you need to tell me about?"
"Yes, just one thing."
"What is it?"
"They have a new weapon, they called it Hybred, I think."
"What does this weapon do?"
"It neutralizes our Hydron Cannons. it shuts down the nanotechnology inside them and dissolves them away, making it impossible to connect."
"What, they made a device that interferes with the nano Hydron Cannons?"
"It would appear as much Lord Infinite."
"I see, if that is all, return him to the infirmary." The man nodded his head without bringing it back up and the women who brought him in turned him around and left.
"It appears we aren't the only ones getting new tricks up our sleeves." C.C. spoke.
"So it would, but it will take more than disabling our Hydron Cannons to stop me." Lelouch replied, taking off his helmet.
"Do you really believe Suzaku can stop you, can kill you?"
"I do C.C. I believe he can."
"I hope your right, Lord Lelouch." Jeremiah stated from the corner.
"Now then, back to business." Lelouch says and puts his mask back on.
C.C., Jeremiah, and Infinite walk down to the KnightCrawler hanger and find Bai working on the upgrades for the KnightCrawlers. Jeremiah now sees that Bai has an advanced Geass, one in both his eyes that he is unable to turn off. Also that he is using the special contact lenses to keep them at bay as Lelouch did a year ago.
"Bai, how are you on today?" Infinite asks him as they arrive.
Bai puts his power control lenses on before turning to face them. "I've actually just finished today's run. What do you need?"
"I'm going to postpone the Ghetto Raid another 3 week, our enemy is getting stronger, we're going to need more troops going then I suspected."
"Any more devices you want me to work on?"
"Just one, I need you to give the KnightCrawlers an option of firing regular Hydron Cannons, rather than our bend-fire nanotech Cannons."
"Understood, I will start in the morning."
"I will be thinking of anything else that could be useful to us." Infinite says then walks away, heading for his room.
"So, I hear the HyBreD was a success Lord Zero." Lloyd says, practically dancing.
"They were, great work professor Lloyd. Keep working on improving the Knightmares, we're going to need all the help we can get." Zero replied.
"I'm glad you said something, actually, because of how successful our little cloaking sneak attack worked so well, I've been working on an upgraded version of it."
"How's that coming along?"
"Actually," someone spoke from behind Zero. When he turned he saw Rakshata. "It was my idea, so he should be saying we have been working on." She remarked.
"Professor Rakshata, when did you get here?" Zero asked.
After the war ended a year ago Rakshata had decided to go to Britannia and work as the Empresses mechanic. She had claimed she didn't want to Lloyd bugging her with his unusually peppy attitude, but both Lloyd and Cecil knew she really just thought she would be needed more there than here.
"I came here with the Empress actually. Someone needed to make sure this buffoon didn't screw up any of our Britannian Knightmares." She said, pointing her pipe at Lloyd.
"I see, so what is the progress on the upgraded cloaking?" Zero asked, addressing both Lloyd and Rakshata now.
"We've managed thus far a mere 5% energy intake decrease, but this is a pretty difficult piece of technology, it's not something you can shorten the power of and still use to it's fullest." Rakshata explained.
"I see," Zero said.
"And that's exactly why we won't be using it to it's fullest." Lloyd said, Zero turned to him. "Rakshata and I have even had someone already test it, with a 15% decrease in energy intake, we can keep the cloaking up, even if you were to use more advanced devices like the energy wings or the Lancelot's blades."
"So long as that's not at the same time." Rakshata added. "Also, because we've lowered the energy intake by so much, the cloaking losses some of it's strength."
"Some?" Zero noted.
"Exactly, if your using the energy wings or your blades, your form will be slightly visible." Lloyd explained.
"By this we mean, you'll still be invisible completely to radar, and still transparent, but it will appear as if something is bending the light around where you are." Rakshata continued.
"This way, even though it's possible to tell your position, most people actually won't be able to tell your there unless they get within 20 ft of you and are looking strait at you." Lloyd concluded.
"I see, that's good work. keep working on it. Maybe we can get it perfected before Infinite's next attack." Zero said, then left for the time being.
Infinite, C.C., Jeremiah, and Bai were brainstorming ideas for the KnightCrawlers.
"What they need is a new weapon." C.C. said.
"Agreed, we have enough defenses against taking damage, now we need more tools to deal damage with." Jeremiah said.
"That's all and good, but what will it be." Bai protested.
"Indeed, we need an idea, not a basis." Infinite added.
The group of four thought long and hard about this new weapon. They had small ideas over the past few hours, but none of them were very good. After a few more hours, just before dinner took place, C.C. thought of something.
"An electric net." She said, thinking out loud. The others turned to her. "What if we used an electric device to through a surge of electricity at the opponent?"
Infinite registered this idea for a moment. "That sounds like a good idea, we could use it to drain their power as well."
"Yes, it would give us a nice advantage." Jeremiah agreed. "Do you think you can make that Bai?"
"How much power?" Bai asks.
"Make it 4 containers that can hold 1000 watts each. make it like a pack with tubes that go along the arms." Infinite replied.
"Will do starting tomorrow." Bai answered, then left yawning.
"Performing upgrades to each of their weapons individually won't be something easy, Pudding Earl." Rakshata told Lloyd.
"It will be quite helpful you know. And are you really still calling me that?" Lloyd replied.
"Yes, yes, anyways, how exactly will all this play out? What exactly are we doing to them?"
"Well, I'm not completely sure just yet." Lloyd said and Rakshata scowled at him. "Let's start with the Guren, shall we?"
"Tch, fine." Rakshata said and walked over to Lloyd as they looked at a diagram of the Guren. "It might be a good idea to give it a second energy pulse arm." She suggested.
"No, I have an idea for that spare arm, I'm looking at the current arm with the pulsar right now." Lloyd protested. "What we need is something to pull targets in, or find a way to make it work from a distance."
"Hm, what about a shockwave?" Rakshata proposed.
"Oh, explain." Lloyd replied.
"Well, it's pretty much what it sounds, instead of making it direct contact fire, make it into a shockwave that can catch more than one at a time." Rakshata explained.
"Oh, that's a good idea, let's try it." Lloyd said then made the note on the Guren's diagram.
"So which one next?"
"Lancelot," Lloyd said and pulled up it's diagram. "Of course, I'm looking at the master vibration swords here."
"Hm, that won't be easy."
"Actually, I've already got an idea for it."
"Oh, what's that?"
"To be honest, it's similar to the shockwave idea you just gave for the Guren. I was planning to make it able to give a burst of energy vibration to make a Shock Slash long-ranged attack."
"Sounds like a good idea."
"OK, then on to the Shen Hu!" Lloyd scream with happiness as he made the note on the diagram and switched to the Shen Hu.
"So, what are we looking at here?"
"We're looking at it's Electric Slash Harken."
"I see, what are you trying to do to it?"
"This is the one the has me baffled on what to do. I'm just not sure what to do with it."
"What about giving it some sort of charge zap, for when it raps around it's victim?"
"Oh, that's a good idea. In fact, I have just the idea for what to charge it with. A Hydron charge."
"Huh, channel the Hydron Cannon throw the Slash Harken, that's actually not a bad idea at all."
"OK, let's do it!" Lloyd shouts with joy, makes the note, and switches diagrams.
"So, that just leaves the Corneli MK."
"Indeed, and I already know what I'm doing with it."
"Oh, you do?"
"Yep, I'm going to take our enemies idea and put nanotechnology into the Slash Harkens of Corneli MK."
"That way, the Slash Harkens can move around and strike more enemies at once."
"Exactly," Lloyd said and made the note.
"Well, that's that huh." Rakshata said, turning and walking away.
"Yep, we'll start the process tomorrow."