The next instalment in Code Geass: A New Ally. Now, the Black Knights declare their intentions to the world and to Brittania itself; to liberate the fallen nation of Japan by forcing Prince Schneizel and his forces to surrender.
Chapter 6: Machines of War.
The first rays of sunlight streamed through the gap between the curtains, falling on the face of the red haired girl lying in the bed. Kallen reluctantly opened her eyes, squinting at the bright light. As she tried to get up, she felt something holding her down, as well as a presence inside her. Looking down, she saw Sukai lying against her, his arms curled around her protectively. Kallen blushed as she remembered what they had done the previous night.
"Sukai...now I'm truly yours and yours alone." She thought, as she slowly stroked his dark hair. Suddenly, she let out a gasp as she felt Sukai move inside her, before he slowly opened his eyes, yawning loudly.
"Morning, Kallen." He said, drowsily. Kallen giggled.
"Morning yourself." She replied. Sukai slowly pulled out of her, causing Kallen to gasp slightly. Sukai quickly kissed her, before sitting up and getting out of the bed. He walked over the closet and proceeded to get dressed. While putting on his jacket, he turned back to Kallen, who was now sitting up, the blanket clutched to her chest, covering her nude body.
"You should get dressed too, I've got a surprise for you in the hangar." Sukai said, giving her a wink. Kallen flashed a wide smile, before jumping out of bed and dressing herself hurriedly, despite the protest from her aching legs.
"Maybe I shouldn't have told Sukai to fuck me quite so hard." Kallen thought. Once she was dressed, albeit with a slight bed head, Sukai led her out of the bedroom, down the hallway, where he placed his hand on the wall. The panel scanned his hand, then the wall slid aside, revealing a hidden elevator. Sukai and Kallen boarded the elevator, which then closed again and headed down. Once it stopped and reopened, Kallen found herself in a large underground hangar, about the size of a large warehouse. The elevator opened onto a walkway that led around the perimeter of the hangar about five metres off the ground. Across from Kallen and Sukai, next to the far wall, stood Sukai's Knightmare Mk III Iron Man. Next to it stood another Knightmare, covered with a large cloth, hiding it from view. It appeared to be the same height as the Iron Man, but slightly bulkier than its counterpart.
"Is that...?" Kallen asked.
"Yes, it's a new Knightmare I just finished. It's been designed for heavy combat, especially situations where the pilot is vastly outnumbered. Since we'll be attacking the Brittanians directly from now on, I thought it would be a good idea to give you something with more firepower." Sukai told her, before pulling the cloth off. Kallen gasped at the sight before her.
The Knightmare frame was very humanoid like the Iron Man, but was covered everywhere in thick armour. On each arm there was a gun that looked like a standard assault rifle, affixed to the side of each forearm. On the side of the cockpit, there was a Gatling gun mounted on an articulating arm, an ammunition belt leading from the torso into the gun itself. The whole Knightmare was a dark grey, apart from the upper arms, the front of each thigh, and the face plate.
"Wow." Kallen said. "So, what is it?" she asked turning to Sukai.
"This, is the Knightmare Mk III-2 War Machine. It's protected by extra thick fibre steel armour, making it impervious to all calibres of weapon. It's powered by an Arc Reactor, just like the Iron Man. It also has Repulsor thrusters for flight, except it has four, two on the back and one on the back of each calf, as it needs the extra thrust. It also has the palm-mounted Repulsors, but no chest Repulsor. Its primary weapons are the guns mounted on the forearms. They're basically assault rifles, but with a much greater rate of fire and more power. The Gatling gun is the same calibre, but fires at 3,000rpm. Also, it can fire in all directions thanks to the arm it's attached to. The best part is that the Gatling gun is aimed and fired by the Knightmare's onboard targeting computer. This means that you don't have to worry if you get surrounded." Sukai explained.
"Isn't that a touch excessive?" Kallen asked sarcastically.
"Hmph, you'll thank me when you get yourself into a rough spot." Sukai replied. Just then, Sukai's phone rang.
"Sukai here." He answered.
"Sukai, I need you and Kallen to get airborne immediately. I'll explain the details after that." Lelouch replied. He knew about the War Machine, as Sukai had asked him about giving it to Kallen a few days earlier.
"Alright, we're on it." Sukai replied, before cutting the line. "Kallen, Lelouch wants us to head out. He'll brief us in the air." Kallen looked unsure at first, then her expression became one of determination.
A few minutes later, the Iron Man and War Machine were in the air over the Tokyo Settlement. After a short while, Lelouch contacted them as Zero.
"Alright, this is what I want the two of you to do. You're to fly towards the ocean and head across it. The objective of this mission is to attack two of Brittania's largest bases on the mainland. That should send the message that we're serious. After the attack, Diethard will make sure that the media receives a video message from the Black Knights, in which I shall claim responsibility for these attacks and let the Brittanians know of our intentions." He told them. Sukai and Kallen were stunned at Lelouch's audacity. To attack mainland Brittania would be risky, but with the Iron Man and War Machine's firepower, it should go fairly smoothly.
"Roger that, Zero. I'll let you know when we've arrived." Sukai replied. Zero nodded, then closed the link.
"I can't believe we're doing this." Kallen said.
"You're right. Now the fight really begins. Kallen, go to maximum output on the thrusters. We need to get there as fast as we can." Sukai replied. Kallen nodded, then both of them opened up their throttles. The air around them was shattered by the massive shockwave as both Knightmare's went supersonic.
A few hours later, the two Knightmares arrived over the Brittanian coastline. As expected, there was no retaliation. Obviously, Brittania never considered an attack on its own soil to ever materialise. Now they would pay dearly for their arrogance. Once they reached the designated waypoint, Kallen and Sukai split up. Kallen would attack the northern base, while Sukai dealt with the southern base. Both of them went to low altitude, so as to maintain the element of surprise.
Soon, Sukai arrived at the base. He'd decided against using the Coilgun, as he wanted to make sure the soldiers saw who their executioner was. Sukai came in the same way he always did; he dropped out of the sky, landing with such force that the asphalt of the runway cracked beneath the Iron Man's feet. Immediately, the few Knightmares on duty attacked, their rounds uselessly glancing off the Iron Man's armour.
"Now you'll pay...Brittania!" Sukai shouted, unleashing his Replusors. The Knightmare on the receiving end of each beam exploded, as the Iron Man's shoulder-launched missiles decimated the hangars. The aircraft parked at the base were shredded by the Chaos Emitters' rain of fire. Sukai turned around, the Iron Man silhouetted against the flames, as the rest of the Knightmares attacked. With a yell, Sukai charged to meet them head on.
At the same time, Kallen blasted through the wall of her target base, stunning the personnel. She waited, as the Knightmares all deployed. Around fifty or so Sutherlands and Gloucesters attacked her, firing both assault rifles and heavy cannons. But none could even dent the War Machine's thick armour.
"This is for seven years ago!" Kallen shouted, opening fire. The guns on the War Machine's arms let loose a stream of bullets, cutting down the Knightmares immediately in front. At the same time, those Knightmares that tried to attack from behind, found themselves decimated by the torrent of fire erupting from the Gatling gun. When a Knightmare did manage to get close, the War Machine's fists quickly ended its operational career. After a few minutes, the War Machine stood in the centre of a field of wrecked and destroyed Knightmares. Kallen took off, then strafed the hangars and aircraft. Then, the War Machine turned around and flew away, headed for the predetermined rendezvous point near the ocean.
Meanwhile, Sukai had been about to leave, when the Iron Man was knocked over by the impact of some missiles. Sukai got to his feet, to see five Gloucesters with missile launchers mounted on the cockpit approaching him. The Gloucesters stopped a short distance away, spears at the ready.
"I don't know who you are, but you're going to pay for what you've done here." Said the pilot of the lead Knightmare.
"Oh, yeah? And who's going to make me?" Sukai shot back.
"You won't so cocky after we defeat you. For we, are the Glaston Knights!" the leader shouted, as the five Gloucesters charged the Iron Man. Sukai fired the shoulder missiles, but the Glaston Knights scattered, the missiles hitting only thin air. Sukai waited, then as one of them tried to get in close, he spun around and fired, the Repulsor beam cutting through the cockpit. The Gloucester exploded, as the remaining four launched their Slash Harkens. Sukai fired both Repulsors, destroying the Slash Harkens, and then he fired another salvo of missiles. Thanks to the thick smoke between him and the Glaston Knights, the missiles all hit their targets, destroying the rest of the Gloucesters. Sukai smirked, and then took off to regroup with Kallen.
The next day at school, Lelouch, Kallen, Sukai, Shirley, and C.C. waited in the gymnasium along with the rest of the school. They had been told that something had occurred that was as important as Prince Clovis' death. After a while, the screen came to life. It played footage from the two bases that Sukai and Kallen had destroyed the previous day.
"This is footage of the attacks on the two largest military bases on the Brittanian mainland. Reportedly, each base was attacked by a lone Knightmare frame. At the northern base, an estimated fifty plus Knightmare frames were destroyed, and an estimated two thousand personnel killed. At the southern base, it has been confirmed that at least three thousand personnel, along with approximately one hundred Knightmare frames. The unknown Knightmare also wiped out all five of the famous Glaston Knights. The two attacks lasted just ten minutes each. A few hours ago, the media received a video message from those responsible for the attacks. We will now play this message unedited." The newsreader reported. The screen went blank for a moment, before displaying the image of Zero. All of the students, apart from Sukai and the others, gasped in confusion.
"This is a message to all Brittanian civilians and armed forces. Yesterday, two of your largest military bases were wiped off the face of the earth. That was the work of the Black Knights' best pilots. This is your one and only warning. Unless all Brittanian forces in Japan surrender to us, we WILL attack the Tokyo Settlement, and restore Japan's independence with force. However, we would prefer to do this as diplomatically as possible. But, if you refuse to accept our terms, then we will defeat you. Your nation invaded other countries unjustly, stripping the citizens of their every right, resource, even their name. Now the time has come for the Black Knights to right the wrongs Brittania has made Japan is only the beginning. You have just three days to make your decision. I hope you make the right one." Zero said, before the screen went black again. Then the principal of the school stood up.
"Zero arrogantly thinks that this simple act will scare us into submission. However, we will not give in to such tactics. Prince Schneizel has decided to launch an all-out attack on the Black Knights when they attack. Then they will see just how strong and superior Brittania is!" he shouted. All of the students cheered, while Lelouch, Sukai, Kallen, Shirley, and C.C. glared.
Later, the five of them met outside Lelouch's residence in the Student Council Building.
"Well, this is it." Kallen sighed.
"Yes, but I believe that with you, Sukai, and you, Shirley, we will succeed." Lelouch replied.
"Huh? You really think I can do it?" Shirley asked.
"Of course. Since Kallen now has the War Machine, you'll be using the Guren Mk II, while I'll be using the Banzai Dasher. I know we'll succeed. Then, I'll be able to question Schneizel about my mother afterwards." Lelouch replied.
"I'm ready. It's time we showed Brittania that they're not invincible." Sukai said.
The next chapter will focus a bit more on the two main relationships in the story; Lelouch/Shirley & Sukai/Kallen. The chapter after that, the final battle! Read and REVIEW!