Okay, before this chapter I've got one or two notes. First, this chapter has references to real-life political figures (Chinese Kuomintang) used in a fictional sense. The fact that in this case, Xin Kuomintang appears in my story as antagonistic and imperialitic does not mean that I think the same of Taiwan's ruling party. My political stance is neutral in all scenario, and I would like to clarify that this chapter does not seek to offend Chinese and/or Taiwanese. Sorry if you misunderstood, and in case you feel it is unacceptable, be free to say so. In that case I will rename the Chinese ruling party and its leader.
That being said, please read and enjoy!
Turn 6
Renesmee of the Invasion Resistance
Apparently Lelouch had no qualms against exposing the delicate Renesmee to the worst kind of mental treatment he could probably muster. Inadequate lighting, four pale-grey walls and a constantly bleeping monitor, coupled with the solitary of the confinement, were bad enough in their own rights. The feeling of being treated like a guinea pig constantly reminded by the loose cord connected to one's spine, threatening to rip the entire spinal cord out of the body should she make a move too violent, added even more to the mental torment. In all seriousness, all of those usually were more than sufficient to guarantee that even the daily delicacies of meals could do squat to cheer the young girl up.
Lelouch didn't see the results directly, but the implications were clear, from a vantage point in the compound's Mammoth Tank hangar doubling as a laboratory serving the very purpose of monitoring Renesmee's progress. What wasn't good for Lelouch, it seemed that Colonel Havoc wasn't the only one who disapproved of his schemes.
"Lord Lamperouge," Dr. Mobius said, "this is not good. Although her Life Consciousness Quotient is steadily rising, her mental stability is quickly deteriorating! If we don't do something soon…"
"Wait for some time first," Lelouch shook his head in a rather cruel way. "This is the least I can do for her – my previous plans included anything from a Dream Simulator to outright Geassing her into horrible nightmares."
"That is anti-scientific!" exclaimed the scientist. "Her mind is too delicate for anything along those lines! She will be driven crazy if this goes on!"
"She won't. As far as I know world history has seen no mentally crippled vampires, and this wouldn't be an exception." Lelouch decisively said. "In any case, I intend to keep her incarcerated until we receive further notice from the 34th Knightmare unit. They have agreed to take in a female pilot-to-be mentally and physically capable of handling the Bors Assault Class prototype, not a whiny little girl who knows nothing more than cooking and cleaning and shacking up with her vastly older husband!"
"This can count as child abuse, Lord Lamperouge," with great disgust Dr. Mobius said. "I don't know if Britannia has petitioned the Convention on the Rights of a Child or not, but this is clearly a blatant violation of the highest possible order!"
"I have told Colonel Havoc, Dr. Mobius, and I will repeat this to you," Lelouch spoke coldly. "This is not the world you know where children's rights and human rights are respected that highly. Things don't work that way here. We are in a war which must be won at all cost, and that, Doctor, requires the most extraordinary of attempts, which this isn't even near."
"Your sister is a girl too, Lord Lamperouge, and not that much older than Renesmee Cullen," Dr. Mobius snapped. "Forgetting this, forgive me, will make you no more than a hypocrite, not all that much better than those you are trying to fight against."
The effect of Dr. Mobius' words were tantamount to a stake right through Lelouch's heart, instantly turning his vastly visage to a dreadful white shade, as if it hadn't been pale enough in his current appearance. Hastily the ghost turned away, as if to avoid being seen in that not-too-prideful appearance, his hands clutching his forehead in a posture half resembling a facepalm and half as if having been struck with a jolt of sharp pain right through his cerebral chambers. Perhaps Dr. Ignatio Mobius was the only one alive, apart from Suzaku Kururugi, who knew of his one and only mental weakness now.
"You… what have you just said?" Lelouch turned to the scientist in an attempt to resume the conversation, his hands still spread over his face. "You…"
"I said it once, but I won't mind repeating it again, Lord Lamperouge," Dr. Mobius calmly said. "Every time you do something harmful to a child, if you don't think about yourself, think about your sister. As a human you, me, or anyone else, have no right to hope for the best for their relative while treating others like dirt. Karma doesn't work that way even here."
Silence drew upon the entire room for a brief moment, as Lelouch bent his neck, as if painfully drawing upon a conclusion.
"What do you want with me now, Doctor?" Lelouch finally said, in a rhetorical tone mingled with a visible degree of distraught. "War is on the verge of breaking out, and when it does, Nunnally can die at any moment, unless we do something radical! We have to make a lion out of this lamb, before…"
"As far as I can tell from the monitoring, Lord Lamperouge, you still have a very important asset in Renesmee Cullen," Dr. Mobius shook his head. "She… respects you, to a sense."
"Respect? Who, me?" Lelouch rolled his eyes at the scientist. "Tell me you are lying or speaking just for the sake of it, Doctor. Lelouch has for long abandoned the notion of anyone respecting him."
"I swear upon my 34 years of honest scientific ethic that I am speaking all what I know," the doctor raised his hand as if swearing a sacred oath. "Somehow, it seems that her subconscious mind still grasped the instance of a lovely, charismatic white-clad man talking to her in a clover meadow and that of a knight-in-shining-Knightmare-Frame coming to her rescue."
"Are you saying the truth?" Lelouch asked back rather hastily, not bothering to hide his astonishment.
"Albeit this resembles the Stockholm Syndrome to the point that it is slightly disturbing," nodded Dr. Mobius, "I can say that we will fare far better if you treat her well to maintain that respect than to abuse her into insanity."
"Trust and respect don't make good fighters, which is what we need, doctor," Lelouch retorted.
"But distrust and disrespect do make good betrayers, Lord Lamperouge," Dr. Mobius said calmly. "And if my aging memory doesn't betray me, you've once said you yourself have been saved once by someone who genuinely trusted, respected, or even… loved you."
Once again Lelouch was stun-struck. Even though he did used Rolo Lamperouge like a tool, it was undeniable that his life was saved owing to him, and even today, the notion of what that bright man had done for him was listed among his most prized memories. The fact that the ex-emperor had himself dug his loyal fake brother's own grave was, in its own rights, really telling something.
"Rolo… no, Doctor, he is a different story," Lelouch shook his head in a final resistance.
"Double standard doesn't logically work, Lord Lamperouge," Dr. Mobius calmly stated. "One side, you have this man who had done you many wrongs, who seriously jeopardized your life more than one, and you are readily able to forgive him once he dies for you. The other side, you have a young girl who has done nothing bad to you, who will be an enormous asset to you in the near future, and who is, in a sense, already a follower of your cause."
"Fine, fine," Lelouch sighed. "What do you want me to do then? Chances are, with this kind of hare-brained wisdom, she will be expelled the moment she enter the 34th Knightmare Unit, or worse, get herself spectacularly blown up."
"She did get better, Lord Lamperouge," the scientist lifted his eyebrow. "In the time of just three days, her LCQ has risen by a whopping 24.5 points. At the present level, I swear that she can survive the academy, although she may not be able to catch up with her teammates for the duration of a couple of weeks. You can't expect much more than that."
"Alright then," Lelouch gave out a final sigh of defeat. "You won, Doctor."
"It's just about time," Dr. Mobius nodded. "If you'd allow me, I'd like to retract her control module immediately."
The scientist then promptly walked towards the large mainframe at the corner of the room, key in a couple of command prompts, resulting in a particular blip on the screen. Lelouch glared at him with mixed feeling, knowing that by doing so, the doctor had released Renesmee of her rather painful neck restraint. Half of Lelouch felt like ordering him to stop, while the other half, converted and persuaded, told him to stand where he was. The result of that conflicting struggle was the third sigh in a row on his behalf, followed by a quick headshake as the signal confirmed the release.
"It is done, Lord Lamperouge," Dr. Mobius said as the sound settle down. "I suggest you immediately pay her a visit, and comfort her to the best of your ability – she will be convinced, I hope."
"I really do hope I haven't made a huge mistake by that persuasion of yours, Dr. Mobius," Lelouch looked as if half of his head was filled with disbelief. "But… really you've left me no choice."
"That is what should be done, Lord Lamperouge," Dr. Mobius said with a smile. "She's probably waiting for a familiar face to cheer…"
However, hardly had the benevolent scientist finish his sentence than the main loudspeaker started to boom at top volume, almost throwing him off balance.
"Your Majesty, we've got contact!" the sound of the command-room operator dulled out every other noise in the vicinity.
"What's going on here?" Lelouch exclaimed. "What is happening?"
"It is a global broadcast by the Xin Kuomintang! It's… it's a war declaration!" the operator said, his voice trembling in a combination of both fright and nervousness. "I'll put the broadcast through to the hangar main screen, Your Majesty!"
"Damn… it's already here?" Lelouch cursed, as he turned to the main hangar screen slowly buzzing to life, of which the now-all-too-familiar visage of a Chinese warlord occupied the majority.
******
Lelouch walked down the central hallway with an increasing rage, even more so when he thought of what a broken and condescending speech he's just had the chance to hear. The fact that he was going down there to, as prescribed by Dr. Mobius, cheer up the girl didn't help him maintain the coolness he should have had at the moment.
"We, the New People's Party, the hope of China's 5000 years of history, today declares the final and much awaited conclusion of the rotting feudal rule of our beloved motherland with the execution of the traitorous Empress Tianzi. With her death, China shall be united under a single republic, and start its glorious crusade to reclaim our rightful territories! Japan, Korea, Indochina, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, even the distant lands of Okhotsk that used to be ours, ripped from our hands by imperialists, must be returned to us once more!
I, Generalissimo Chiang Shih-Kai, taking the hope and dreams of a nation into my hand, thusly declare war on the Holy Britannian Empire, and their miserable Japanese ally, to reclaim our territories and our lost pride!
Our soldiers are numerous, solid, and each as mighty as a mountain lion with the nationalism of five thousand years to back them up! We shall not fail! Let each and every person bearing the blood of China rise up and join our fight to claim back China's lost territories! Let the infidels that used to strip our people bare of their worth feel the wrath of the descendent of Huang Di and Yan Di!
Long live the People of China! Long live the New Republic of China!"
Even then, Lelouch couldn't believe that the Xin Kuomintang had finally broken the limit by murdering Empress Tianzhi. She was even younger than Nunnally, last time he checked her age, and that didn't stop the Chinese warlord from making a complete scapegoat out of her. If only Li Xingke was alive, things might have differed a little… or maybe not, judging from his physical state the last time they met, and the fact that popular Chinese support was wholly on the Xin Kuomintang's side, or so it appeared superficially. A war between the rallied, most zealous portion of the Chinese population and the prideful Japanese will lead to millions of deaths, as if the last war hadn't been enough.
But again, Lelouch's greatest worry was neither Japan nor China. If war truly pushed forth to Britannia, what chances would his sister have for survival? Knowing that her throne was a little better than an outright house arrest placed upon her by the Witenagemot, Lelouch would, as he had declared far too often recently, not be at all surprised if one day he woke up to the radio broadcast of his sister being summarily executed, or worse, sold to the Chinese for public execution. It was too pessimistic a view to linger in his head, but the probability was drawing closer to one hundred percent the more he waited.
If only…
A huge blast interrupted Lelouch's train of thoughts, going as far as almost knocking him squarely on the ground – his physical klutziness appeared to be dragging along with him even in the afterlife. At first, the suddenness of the impact caught Lelouch thoroughly by surprise, his mind not at all aware of what was happening until…
"Your Majesty! We… we are in big trouble! The Chinese are here! There are lots of them! With… Knightmares!"
The sullied, mangled exclamation over the overhead loudspeaker was more than enough to turn Lelouch white all over. And before he had time to ask back for confirmation, the distinctive sound of a barrage of long range artillery over the hillside did the work anyway. Not only did it told him of a very realistic threat, it also confirmed a very unpleasant threat – Chiang Shih-Kai apparently hadn't lied when he said that the New Republic of China had fully upgraded the weak Gang Lou's puny cannons into rocket-propelled Katyusa-resembling handheld artillery pods in line with the new Guan Yunchang Knightmare Frame. Ripoffs of Lancelots they were, in Chinese-proportion numbers, they can crush just about any Britannian army.
"Do they know of our existence?" Lelouch said, trying to keep calm.
"Apparently their metal detector has spotted our presence!" shrieked the operator. "We now have… a division-sized army at our throat! We're screwed!"
"A what?" Lelouch rolled his eyes, his voice ascending in intensity. "A division? How could they have been here so quickly?"
Lelouch almost regretted having said that. He had always been wondering why did the Chinese bother so much with aerial experiments in the past year, knowing that in practice a contemporary Knightmare Frame can well double as a mobile AA unit, making most development in crafting air force a failure from the start. Now he understood.
"Airborne… invasion?" Lelouch said hypnotically.
The thundering sound of aircraft engines right over their head were, even with all the noise insulation of a couple of dozens of foot worth of metal and earth, as dreadful as that of a full-fledged locust swarm on the loose. The distinctive Knightmare engine revving up on the other hillside could only strengthen that hypothesis. Lelouch was in trouble, and so were the rest of his loyalists.
"Damn it, they are mistaking us for a Britannian detachment and are sending out their better soldiers!" the operator seemed to have been fully freaked out by then. "Oh god… no, no, no! They… they are going to kill us all!"
"Calm down!" Lelouch shouted, although the shaking ground, the full-scale bleeping of the red-alert light, as well as the deafening blasts of rockets barely missing his little command bunker was contributing its part to Lelouch's nervousness as well. "Calm down, I said! We'll find a way through!"
As much as Lelouch tried to keep him cool, the next barrage, culminating in one direct hit just short of blacking out the entire compound, discarded him of any remaining coolness. The silence that ensued over the loudspeaker following the loud rumble was nothing too calming to hear of.
"Damage report, anyone? Damage report!" Lelouch shouted at the top of his voice. "Do you hear me? Anyone over there? Hello?"
"I am here, my king," the sullen, yet extremely firm and uncontested voice of the veteran GDI colonel took over the phone. "The operator had apparently fainted due to direct trauma from a… blunt… object."
Having seen what kind of body build Colonel Havoc had, Lelouch would ill like to find out what was it that had actually happened to the operator, although from the Colonel's intonation, it wasn't anything good. In any way, the presence of an experienced soldier in the scenario lifted a heavy rock off Lelouch's heart.
"Colonel Havoc, what's the situation up there?" Lelouch hastily asked.
"In general everything is alright," calmly replied the veteran. "Part of the base is offline due to damaged cable, another part completely annihilated by the last hit, but most of the important infrastructure is okay and online."
"That's good," Lelouch breathed off a slight relief. "Is there any chance we can launch a counterattack?"
"The Knightmare launch bay is still more or less undamaged," Colonel Havoc replied. "We can still mount a counterstrike if you want to, my king, though I'd advice against it. They outnumber us ten thousand to one, or so it appears on the radar."
"The. Base. Must. Survive," Lelouch gritted his teeth. "Colonel Havoc, do you know how to operate the launch catapult from the command room?"
"I can operate it from here, my king," Colonel Havoc said with a certain degree of anxiousness. "But still, such a faceoff is highly discouraged by all military codes of conducts…"
"Screw the conducts!" Lelouch almost screamed in desperation. "This is an actual battle! Ready the Lancelot! Wait… the Shinkirou will do, too!"
"I will, but… In the name of the Holy Trinity, what on dear Earth is this?" Colonel Havoc was about to give up his advice corner when something completely unexpected popped up. "The Lancelot is gone!"
The revelation added another hammer blow to Lelouch's confidence, as Lelouch staggered at the very notion.
"What?" Lelouch screamed. "Gone? How can it be gone?"
"It must have been launched before I came here!" Colonel Havoc's voice appeared to be losing its coolness as well. "Now how could this be… HOLY CRAP!"
"What is it now?" Lelouch looked as if he could go berserk any moment now.
The next thing Lelouch realized was more or less explanatory – there, at the end of the corridor, the room where Renesmee Cullen was supposed to be kept had had its door wide open. Dr. Mobius must have removed the lock system the moment he retracted her monitoring cord. The result was more or less a foregone conclusion: As Lelouch stared into the chamber, an empty space with a computer conveniently switched off was all what he could recognize.
"Renesmee… is gone as well?" Lelouch mumbled, his consciousness on the verge of being strangled out. "What is going on?"
The ex-emperor felt like gouging his eyes out. Renesmee was the core of his master plan, the plan to not only save his sister but also to save the world from his own past error. And now she was just gone, evaporating from her incarceration right beneath Lelouch's eyes. In the chaos of the current attack, it was almost hopeless to even hear her voice, let alone capture her again. For a moment, it seemed to Lelouch that all had been lost
Lelouch's despair didn't last for too long, however, as the next message struck him with the same mighty hammer of astonishment.
"My king, the Lancelot… it is in full combat action!" Colonel Havoc's voice boomed, showing clearly how even him was totally taken off-guard by the newest development. "And… That girl is in the pilot seat!"
"What did you say again, Colonel?" Lelouch sprang to consciousness as he received the news. "What is in the Lancelot's pilot seat again?"
"Renesmee Cullen has apparently taken control of the Lancelot prototype," repeated the colonel, his own ecstasy far from fading himself. "And… she is kicking some serious Chinese ass! That's another Guan Yunchang down! And another one! And another one! And that's a full bunch down! God, they're going down by the dozens! She's going batcrap berserk on these fools! By the name of everything holy, is she a girl or a serial killer? My king, you have to see this!"
The series of explosion just within the periphery confirmed the fact all too well. Even from where he stood, Lelouch could still faintly hear the unison screams of terror on behalf of the Chinese invaders.
"I'm going up there right now!" Lelouch exclaimed, "Stay where you are and keep me informed, Colonel!"
******