Author's Gab: Currently distracted by some EXEC_COSMOFLIPS/., if you know what I'm talking about without googling, high five!
Inside one of the rooms located in a top-secret location that housed the entirety of the minds toiling for the Lamperouge Project, a fierce battle was taking place between Lelouch and his surprise visitor.
The field was a chessboard, the combatants: magnetic pieces that made a distinct noise each time one side would move them. The only sounds that could be heard in the room were that of the pieces moving, a steady rhythm which embodied the conflict being waged.
Click. Clack.
On one side was Lelouch, former prince of Britannia, now a willing subservient under one "Master", all for the sake of a sister he had not personally seen in over a year. The boy fought fiercely, thinking that there were high stakes to be had; that this was another "challenge" for him to surmount, in order to ensure Nunnally's safekeeping.
Click. Clack.
His visitor, Lelouch observed, was a curious figure. For one, he had a pronounced hunched back which gave him a sinister look as he surveyed the field. Adding to this impression were his long bluish bangs that concealed perpetually half-lidded eyes. Those eyes would survey the field in the brief moment when he made a move, and then look at the opponent after.
Click. Clack.
So far, the battle had been in favor of the visitor. Much of Lelouch's pawns had been decimated, yet there was a positive note wherein the visitor's queen had been sacrificed, losing the man mobility.
Click. Clack.
"The Knightmare operations. Doing well?"
Clack.
Lelouch looked up, startled from his concentration by the man's sudden question. They had been silent all this time, and the boy could not figure out the man's intention in asking a question now. Perhaps a strategy?
"No. Not distracting tactic. Will stop to prove intention."
The man straightened and looked the boy in the eye. "Repeating question. Knightmare Operations. Doing well?"
Lelouch shifted uncomfortably. In truth, the Knightmare "challenges" were the challenges that had caused much consternation to the boy, as he had consistently achieved lower scores than average every time. Even when he started piloting a real Glasgow unit and made to perform on a real field, he struggled to perform even the more basic maneuvers. Any mention of Knightmares at the start of the day would cause the boy to break out in sweat, mind racing at a speed equal to light.
"Test or not, I will honestly say that I am not comfortable with piloting those things. Perhaps this will give a suggestion to the upper authority not to assign anymore, as it is hardly fair to-"
Click.
The man had made his move again. Lelouch looked down in surprise, and back at the man's face as they regarded each other once more.
"Will have to master it soon. Unofficial. Not confident on date, but you will start working with partner."
Clack.
"Partner?" Lelouch raised his head, looking slightly taken aback. So there really was a point in all these exercises after all! The old analytical mind flared up for a moment, taking time to consider the information.
"Based on your results, highly unlikely you will be main pilot. Perhaps backup for operation. Intellectual quotient astronomical. Recommend logistics, if it was my place. Tell me boy,
Click.
"Thoughts on condition? Do you have an idea why you and your sister are here?"
At the mention of Nunnally, Lelouch visibly shook, as he dove to place his king in a defensive position. "You...are you trying to test my responses?"
"Simply rhetorical. Slightly. You are in a disadvantageous position. No hope of rescue. No choice but to obey, no choice but to drive on. Poor Knightmare performance merits imminent disposal. Yet you strive on. Broken? Tell me boy, have you been broken?" At that, the visitor's eyes drilled into Lelouch's, startling the latter to a standing position.
"What are you - "
Clack.
"Will be silent from now. Have to finish game. Your move."
Lelouch was silent, looking down at the man with a fierce expression. This lasted for some time before he finally knelt back down and made his move, springing a trap that had been laid out 15 moves ago.
Click. Clack. Click. Clack. Click. Clack.
"Check."
Click. Clack.
"Check."
The man blinked, finally seeing his dilemma. Drumming his hands on his knees for a few seconds, he pushed his King into the lion's maw, earning a derisive grunt from Lelouch.
"Checkmate."
As the man packed up the field, Lelouch leaned against the wall and asked, "What was with that last move? You might have lasted a few more moves if you'd used your bishop."
The man regarded the boy as he scooped up the pieces clumsily. "No stomach for stalemate. There is a term. Bravery, perhaps?" At this, Lelouch sneered. "One of the better noble values. Long-term. Wins battles assumed to be lost."
As the man turned towards the door, he paused to look at the boy. "More hard work. If you assumed piloting, you assumed right. More hard work to meet his demands. Only way to prevent disposal. Use powerful mind to work wonders. Waste otherwise if you don't. Oh yes, last question. If my king had eaten that rook fifteen moves ago, what would've been course? No answer? Will resort to assumptions then. Will come to play again. Interesting opponent. Also, never forget resilience. Or is it endurance? Noble word. Denotes strength of will. Something all kings want but not all have. Goodbye, boy."
With that, the abrupt visitor left Lelouch's room, leaving the boy with a pensive look on his face, the same face which had sputtered in shock just a moment ago.
"Subject N here, confirming successful synchronization with the Mind's Eye system."
Nunnally took a deep breath, then pushed the button which jump-started Red Barrel Field Z, the latest simulation she was made to test. Immediately, she began to see at first a black-and-white rendition of a ruined city, which then shifted to a brighter, colored image. In there, she knew, the red Glasgows were waiting, her "enemies".
As she started performing the routine action of systematically destroying the "enemy" frames that continually danced on her field of vision, she reflected on the bombshell dropped earlier that day when she was told that she would soon be working with a partner. She felt apprehension for having to adjust to a new presence (she had experienced that a few months back when she had been introduced to Dr. Aiyme, a cold sounding person and her staff), and concern: was this another person who had also suffered as much as she had?
A pack of Knightmares opened fire from behind a ruined building, forcing her to jump and traverse up the side of another building, swiftly outpacing their fire. Nunnally then disengaged her "magnet boots", free-falling in midair and launching her "fists" at the enemies, which smashed into two of their number. She quickly retracted the harkens (the force of the retraction deformed the frames significantly) and dashed closer to the third and last, dancing around its fire like a rapidly pirouetting ballerina. With a swift thrust, her fist impaled the enemy, crushing its insides in a decisive blow.
A bright tune sounded, signaling the end of the exercise. The images of the defeated enemy still impaled in her hand and the ruined city receded, plunging Nunnally into the familiar darkness.
"Your results are impressive as usual, Subject N.", said a voice near her.
Nunnally knew it belonged to Dr. Aiyme, supposedly the creator of the new model she had been piloting in the simulation. When the Morgana had been introduced to her, Nunnally had been taken aback at the elder woman's harsh demand for perfection. Dr. Aiyme had explained that this model would be significantly harder to master than the Glasgows that Nunnally had been using; and at first, the girl had found it to be so. The Knightmare had some new things to watch out for: the wheels on the feet which required minute reorientations every second, its top-heavy build which meant a balancing act while moving to avoid turning over, and, the model had only one form of weaponry, a pair of harkens that when not launched, acted as the model's fists.
However, to Dr. Aiyme's surprise, Nunnally had determinedly surpassed the challenges, expertly handling the Morgana with ease after a few sessions. It had gotten to the point where the girl had invented a few one-of-a-kind maneuvers all on her own, taking advantage of the model's unique features - the best of which was with using the "magnet boots" to scale the side of a building, all the while constantly applying adjustments to the model's positioning to avoid slipping and falling headfirst to the ground.
"Yes, I am glad to be of use."
"That is good to hear, little girl."
Nunnally started with fright. That voice! The voice which had not spoken to her in a long while, the voice which even now brought a shiver to her body. The girl now felt as helpless as a rabbit shivering in the cold.
"Mr. Portland, what are you - "
"I have seen the results, Dr. Aiyme. It is good, gratifying to know that I was not wrong to train you. Now, let us have a little test to determine your resolve to serve."
"You can't mean...but it's too soon for - "
"Why question this far down the road, Aiyme?", the voice laughed mirthlessly. "Have you started developing affection for the girl? Miss Knightmare lover?"
"How dare you - "
"She will have to learn this sooner or later, Aiyme, or we risk losing the Morgana in future engagements."
At this, the woman fell silent, though Nunnally could not understand why. At any rate, she was ordered to synchronize again with the simulation. If this is another one of the voice's tests, she thought, I will have do my very best again, for nii-sama's sake. The image formed before her this time was that of the ruined city again, but this time a group of people were standing in line in front of her. Behind were the "enemies", also formed in a line.
She moved to raise her hands to attack. She squeaked in fright when she heard the voice speak, as if whispering in her ear: "Why are you shooting unmanned models, girl? Wait until the pilots get in, at least."
"But," the girl looked confusingly at her "enemies". Were they not the targets?
Just then, the people turned and ran to the models, using wires to clamber onto the Knightmares. "By pilots...you mean...", a horrible realization dawned on her.
"Yes, girl. All these simulations you have ran, they were all about killing enemy pilots within their Knightmares. You have done well in dispatching the lot of them so easily, with style I might add. I am very proud."
"No..."
"Do you tell me you did not know? You did not even suspect, deep within your mind that this was the reality? That the things you had been eliminating would be real, living humans? How else could these Knightmares operate? How else could your own model operate without you?"
"NO! I'll never..."
"These Knightmares were the means by which the Holy Britannian Empire flattened Japan, introducing a new face of warfare to the world."
So these things were the reason the happy times had ended, that the peaceful summer with Suzaku-san and nii-sama had come to an abrupt close? But even still...
"No....I'll never...", the girl desperately whispered, not even deigning to move the Morgana as it was pelted mercilessly by the enemy Knightmares.
"Why do you hesitate now, when this is all you've just been doing for almost a year! Destroy them girl! Obliterate them all!"
"No....I...not kill..." The girl sobbed, hands slack on the controls. The cockpit around her shook from the impact of the enemy's relentless attack. "Never...no more..."
The voice seemed to sigh. "One more thing then girl. The pilots that you will meet on the battlefield will inevitaby be after your brother's life."
Nii-sama?
"The enemies you met were supposed to be Britannian soldiers, and you were supposed to protect your brother from them. If they destroy you now, they will end up finding and killing your brother. You want that to happen, girl?"
"No...not nii-sama...", the girl whispered fiercely. Nunnally's tears hardenesd as she gripped the controls firmly once more, lifting the Morgana from its fallen position. The Knightmares had long since ended their attack, and were no moving past her to reach - nii-sama?
"NO!! NII-SAMA!!!", the girl screamed, driving the Morgana's fists into the nearby enemy, crushing the cockpit (and the pilot inside) with determined ease. The Knightmares opened fire again, but this time she easily evaded, dancing effortlessly around their fire, making for the nearest enemy.
"STAY-"
The harken pierced through the Knightmare to embed itself in another's cockpit just behind.
"AWAY-"
Another Knightmare was quickly disarmed, and it was used as a makeshift metal shield against the others' fire. The attack quickly shredded the Knightmare, but the Morgana threw the flaming remains into the others before it exploded, obliterating all but the last.
"FROM MY-"
The last one, seemingly finding its ammo stores empty, raised its tonfas to strike. It was quickly shredded away, and the Morgana now undertook a grisly dismemberment of the last enemy. After all of its limbs were ripped off, the knightmare's cockpit surprisingly ejected, but the pilot would not escape as the model aimed its fist at the retreating object.
"NII-SAMA!!!"
The harken ruthlessly struck, impaling the pilot supposed to be inside. The cockpit exploded in a shower of sparks, ending the battle. The harken was retracted back into the single figure which now remained amidst the blazing remains of the fallen. The Morgana's mechanical eyes gleamed red, an blazing eye in the midst of the fiery storm.
Nunnally bawled endlessly in her seat, calling her brother's name over and over, not even registering the simulation ending or the voice's final triumphant compliment in her ear.
Progress Notes:
Tested the new system today. Supposed to simulate a field commander's greatest dream.
Assimilates data gathered from on-field reconnaissance. Filters it real-time to the operator.
Garners unprecedented battlefield mastery. With the system, entire armies can be commanded
without need for subordinates to issue orders. Or lesser captains to delegate tasks. No pilots needed.
Just remote handling of entire armies. Entire groups of Knightmares. Like robotic chess pieces.
Not surprised to find 50% efficiency for my result. Highest so far, but assume greater results for him.
After all, "Siege Perilous" was designed especially for him.
Dr. F.F.P.