Turn XIV: Atero Dominatus.
"…..Already long ago, from when we sold our vote to no man, the People have abdicated our duties; for the People who once upon a time handed out military command, high civil office, legions — everything, now restrains itself and anxiously hopes for just two things: bread and circuses"
Excerpt from the Satire X, by roman poet Juvenal.
(E.U Front)
An orgy of fire and lead filled the air as the 8th army now with fresh reinforcements, courtesy of Lelouch had begun its final push from Asia Minor and towards Cairo, Istanbul and Moscow itself.
"Sir, completeness of General Wigberry, they have begun their assault on Bosporus and are encountering heavy resistance, also General Picard has managed to break through the outer defenses and has now entered Istanbul" one of Darlton aides told his commander.
"Well since they are pushing hard, we as the main body of this army must work even more than them if we are to break through to Moscow, tell Danport to begin demonstrations on the left flank, and tell Granger to get his men ready to move out at a moment's notice" Darlton said to him and he mentally reviewed Lelouch's grand strategy for dealing the death blow to the E.U.
The first phase of the plan called for a general offensive on their part to make the E.U deploy their forces to the front
(Sarmizegetusa command bridge)
"E.T.A until arrival 30 minutes commander" one of Lelouch's officers informed him.
"Very well! Tell the squadrons to prepare for operations." Lelouch replied and he went to the hangar to enter the Shinkiro.
"Darlton's doing great in Anatolia, now it is up to us to initiate phase two, if all goes well we will be victorias with minimal bloodshed and if not…well at least we can say we tried" Lelouch thought to himself as he gripped his king chess piece in anticipation for battle.
(Tokyo government bureau)
Euphie was in charge now in her office, Nunnally currently wasin Kyushu overseeing it's reconstruction, just then her intercom buzzed.
"Forgive me my Lady but there is a group of students from Lord Lelouch's and sir Kururugi's school which desire and audience with you" the secretary said.
"Who is their ring leader?" Euphie innocently asked.
"A certain Millie Ashford" the secretary replied.
"Very well let them in" Euphie replied and a few moments latter Millie, Rivals and Shirley entered the door.
"We thank you for receiving us your highness." Millie said and she made a bow of respect and went to shake hands with Euphie.
Just then as they shook hands Euphie had a strange sensation go up her arm and her mind flashbacked to a warning Lelouch gave her.
"Alright Euphie listen up, if the air all of a sudden becomes hard to breath, if the ground feels shake, if the room feels small and confined and IF THE HEAVENS BURST OPEN WITH SOUNDS OF ANGEL'S TRUMPETS AND DEMON'S HORNS AND THE SKIES DARKENS AS THE WORLD IS ENGULFED IN FLAMES IT MEAN THE FOLLOWING:…."
"Does it mean Armageddon has arrived?" Euphie asked now a bit frightened.
"….No, it just means Millie has one of her crazy ideas in her head and you are a part of it" Lelouch replied a bit traumatized from his own experience with Millie.
End of flashback…..
"We'll Miss Ashford what do you wish to discuss with me?" Euphie said and to this Millie grinned her trademark Cheshire cat grin before speaking
(Russian embassy, Chinese Federation)
Vladimir Putin the Russian governor was currently in a meeting with the representatives of the Slayers and the Chinese Federation
"So will your country join the U.F.N if the E.U looses this war?" Xingke asked him.
"General Xingke I feel I should tell you that the Empire has also made us an offer: We will retain our rights and be given the right to select our Governor and viceroy by vote of the heads of army and major industries, we will retain the right to self govern if we only provide financial resources and human resource to their armies" Vladimir replied.
"Those are generous terms coming from the Empire, but surely you're government knows that in truth you will have no power to decide your fate, while in the U.F.N you will have." Kaguya replied.
"That may is true…..but it does not matter which the type of the system we choose, only it's results" Vladimir replied.
"What do you mean?" Ohgi asked concerned.
"We are witnessing a pivotal moment in history, the world was divided into three systems, a republican federation, a democratic union, and an autocratic empire, the Chinese Federation which had a council based ruling system did not have true unity, it was more a collection of states and because of that the council did not have a leader to warn them of corruption and it collapsed on itself,…..my system the E.U did have a leader, but the leader elected is usually the one which has the most backing in the campaigns and the best liar….not necessarily the best skills for the job, and so the E.U. is in poor management and is starting to crack, but the empire…..oh the empire has remained strong, it has remained unified, and if has stayed it course to power and glory" Vladimir replied.
"But at what cost! The many are subjugated to the whim of the few, is that the kind of world you wish your children and grandchildren to grow up into?" Kaguya retorted.
"Lady Kaguya, are you saying that only in Brittannia the masses are subjugated to the will of the Elite?" Vladimir asked and at which Kaguya could not say yes, in any society there where peasants and nobles with the power of life and death…even if they weren't called that way anymore.
"I thought so, and like what I stated earlier, the type of system does not matter, it only matters that it works, the Empire' system works, the system you are forming is similar to the E.U's also the members of your new senate will be formed from states of the Federation and the Union, ….it will be a collection of leaders who could not even keep their own countries stable, if not prosperous, and you are asking my country to join something like this?" Vladimir asked with a small scowl on his face.
"So you will condemn your people to being slaves of the Empire just so you could be on the winning team?" Xingke asked him
At this Vladimir closed his eyes, took of his glasses and rubbed his forehead in frustration from the heavy burden he has on his shoulders, one man to decide the fate of 400 million.
"It is easy for you to talk when the Slayers and China have an Ocean separating them from the Armies of the Empire, when to Russia, Darlton is cutting though Anatolia, Schneizell a few day ago landed in France and the Garrison in Alaska crossed the Bring straight and are now in Kamchatka,…..also our spies have told us that the Iron Prince has disappeared and you all know that when that happens it means bad busyness for his enemies, which unfortunately is what Russia is now…" Vladimir said and he paused to catch his breath before continuing.
"….Hannibal ad portas, and unfortunately it is our gates he is at….the gates of the E.U may or may not fall, but if it does fall then we will let the Russian people decide who to join" Vladimir added and then got up from his chair and said his final statement:
"If they choose the U.F.N then we will join the U.F.N, if they choose Brittannia, then we will choose Brittannia" Vladimir replied and exited the room.
To those still left in it they had a feeling of uncertainty within them, they had made their move, now it was Lelouch's turn to do it.
(a few days later, Streets of Volgograd, Square outside the Cities' cathedral,)
Philippe Petain was in Moscow, his intention was that with Darlton being the biggest threat now from his offensive that his presence in Moscow and a speech of encouragement to the E.U from there would benefit moral greatly and so he began his speech from the podium to those assembled.
"People of Russia and all citizens of the E.U. the armies of tyranny and enslavement are now on the offensive, but I am not afraid, not of the path that lies in front of me, but the path that lies behind me…..fro over two centuries we have faced Brittannia and we have prevailed, we have been in dire situations, but we have won, and now just like before a dark night has fallen over the E.U, but we will not stop, we will not surrender, we will win and if the Iron Prince dares to trample the sacred soil of the E.U then we will hang him from a sour apple tree!" Petain said to the cheers of the crowd.
"BOLD WORDS PETAIN, BUT CAN YOU BACK UP SUCH A STATEMENT?" Lelouch's voice was suddenly heard booming over the microphone…
(Slayers military base Horai Island, training grounds)
Kallen, now a major in the army was inspecting the batch of new recruits she was given to from a squadron with, Chiba was supervising her 'underclassmate and she was standing a few feet behind her.
"Men you are now part of the Army of the Slayers now and it is my job to make you all battle worthy, and if you have any questions please speak you mind now" Kallen replied.
"Sir, sooner or later we will be deployed to war, when that happens….will we be facing the Iron Prince?" one recruit asked.
At this Kallen looked to him and saw that he was scared; she also saw that at the mentioning of his name the other recruits where either scarred or had a look of dismay on their faces, Lelouch was now so powerful from his victories which to the common man seemed nothings short of miraculous that in the minds of the soldiers of China, the E.U and even some of the Slayers that if they faced an army commanded by Lelouch, the battle would be lost from the very beginning, it was the same mentality that Napoleon also possessed.
"There is that possibility, but do not despair, I am a veteran of past campaigns, I have faced him in India and I tell you we defeated him back then, and he can be defeated again!" Kallen boldly proclaimed, although the Final and most famous battle of India that of ' The Two Dragons' was a stalemate, both sides proclaimed it a victory and that restored the confidence to most of those present, but a few where not impressed.
"Yeah, that's true sir, but it took two million men to defeat 200 thousand, are those the kind of casualties we should expect to get?" another recruit asked, he like the other recruits have been drafted and it was in human nature to not join what was perceived to be the loosing team.
"Ladies, Gentleman, I am sick and tired of hearing what the "Teenage Mutant Wannabe Prince' is going to do to us!..." Chiba said as she was exasperated from how their soldiers were so scared of Lelouch.
"….You speak of him like he is some boogieman, and he will do a triple summersault and land on both our flanks and rear at the same time, when I say to you that you that you should stop thinking of what he is going to do to us and start thinking of what we will do to him!" Chiba added.
"But his past victories…"
"His past victories are the result that he faced armies lead by idiots, you leaders now are Xingke, Ohgi and Todoh men who have faced him and bested him on the field, and you are saying that you are still afraid to face him, despite the fact that you will be lead by men who know how to and bested him before?" Chiba said and at this statement the soldiers present had their confidence restored.
After the men were dismissed Chiba and Kallen where in the cafeteria having lunch.
"Thank you for your help Chiba-san" Kallen said to her.
"Don't mention it Kouzuki, still I can't believe how scared they are of Lelouch!" Chiba replied.
"We aren't because we know how he pulled his victories off, they don't know how and that's why they are scarred" Kallen replied, just then the TV in the cafeteria announced that the E.U president was going to make a speech.
(Sarmizegetusa hangar bay)
"Are the troops and agents in position now?" Lelouch asked from his knightmares radio.
"Yes sir!" an officer replied.
"Then let's get this show on the road!" Lelouch replied and he viewed Petain's speech on his knightmares screen after putting on his mask.
"People of Russia and all citizens of the E.U. the armies of tyranny and enslavement are now on the offensive, but I am not afraid, not of the path that lies in front of me, but the path that lies behind me…..fro over two centuries we have faced Brittannia and we have prevailed, we have been in dire situations, but we have won, and now just like before a dark night has fallen over the E.U, but we will not stop, we will not surrender, we will win and if the Iron Prince dares to trample the sacred soil of the E.U then we will hang him from a sour apple tree!" Petain said to the cheers of the crowd.
"BOLD WORDS PETAIN, BUT CAN YOU BACK UP SUCH A STATEMENT?" Lelouch's voice was suddenly heard booming over the microphone…
"You say you will hang me from a sour apple three? Here's your chance!" Lelouch's said and from the deeps of the river the Sarmizegetusa and ten other float system carriers emerged.
"I…Impossible! He used the river to sneak inside our territory!" Pétain said astounded at what was happening.
His guards tried to rush to him, the knightmares which were present tried to guard him, but it was too late, for from the fleet knightmares emerged an quickly disabled the guards and captured Pétain, the crowd was startled by this sudden appearance and cries and shouts ran through it, people pushed each other trying to get away, until one man said something which quickly silenced them all:
(Посмотрите это Zero)
"Look it's Zero!"
Lelouch with the Shinkiro's top was raised was now descending upon the platform to where Pétain and other members of the E.U. government where situated.
The knightmare then touched the ground and Lelouch in one swoop jump down from the cockpit landing.
The 50.000 people gathered in the city's square where all silent upon the presence of the great 'Iron Prince' and he was quiet, he looked at the crowd and then took a few steps forward to Petain, the sound of his footsteps echoed throughout the square from the great silence and then the silence was broken.
"W..who do you think you are! Coming in here and pulling this stunt, I am the president of the E.U, you are nothing but a brat playing soldier! We will not be intimidated by some street punk!" Petain boldly proclaimed to the world.
Lelouch turned his head to him and Petain jumped at this in fear, Lelouch then took out a small radio and pushed a button activating it.
"This is Jeremiah, we have emerged from the northern sea and have captured Saint Petersburg."
"This is Kewell, we have captured Rome and are finishing up sweeping what's left of the resistance"
"This is Patton, Omar and me have landed in London and re on our way to have some tee and crumpets in old Big Ben"
"This is Viletta, we have left the Seine and we have finished seizing Paris, we await further orders"
"This is Darlton, we have broken through the Suez defenses, we are besieging Istanbul and are advancing on the Caucasus"
"This is Schneizell, we have finished landing in Kamchatka and we are preparing to march on Siberia"
At this the whole world was shocked, Petain was the most shocked of all, Paris, London, Petersburg and Volgograd where all in the hands of the Empire, the cities where 70% of the war effort went in was now in enemy hands.
"I….I am the president of the E.U….the E.U!" Pétain said dismayed and he dropped the Royal Hetman baton of Russia, it was traditional that when a president made a speech in Russia to carry the baton with him.
Lelouch walked to it and picked the stick up, at that moment the sky which was dark and cloudy above began to clear and upon Lelouch's position a ray of light shined, right during the moment he picked up the Tsar's baton.
To those present and the world as such, the action of Lelouch's picking up the baton or the scepter of the Russian throne and the sky shedding light upon him like that meant that the heaven's themselves had chosen a new ruler of Russia.
Just then in front of the crowd, right next to the platform several people bowed and got on their knees at this sight, and the rest of the crowd followed and pretty soon the entire city bowed to Lelouch.
"W….What are you doing! He is not the ruler of Russia, the last Tsar died two hundred years ago! On you feat! On your feat!" Petain desperately screamed to those present, but they did not listen to him…after all why should they listen to a man, when they could listen to a living legend.
At the same time giant containers from the Sarmizegetusa where being lowered down next to the assembled crowd.
Lelouch then took of his mask and glanced at the crowd that was gathered, he then made a pose which, to the common man was not anything special, but this simple pose was in fact the royal pose of authority and power by God's grace.
He then much to the crowds shock started speaking in Russian, pure Russian, as if he had been born and bred in Russia itself
"Lyudi Rossii, ya Lelush VI Brittannia, komandir armii Imperii. "
"People of Russia, I am Lelouch vi Brittannia, commander of the armies of the empire."
"Na protyazhenii vekov E.U. ispolʹzoval vas, vy golodali i lishil vas ot bogat·stva syuda svoyu voĭnu i ambitsii, a ne bolyee!"
"For centuries the E.U. has used you, starved you and stripped you of your riches for their war and ambition, well no more!"
"Eto ne narod Rossii, kotoryĭ yavlyaet·sya nashim vragom, no pravitelʹstvo YeS, kotoryĭ porabotil vas, nad cherez nih i razorvatʹ kandaly, eti politiki obeshchali, chto solntse i luna, yesli vy dadite svoyu predannostʹ, no, kogda prishlo vremya platitʹ, oni nikogda ne delayut! "
"It is not the people of Russia which is our enemy, but the E.U government which has enslaved you, over through them and break the shackles, these politicians have promised you the sun and the moon if you give your allegiance, but when it is time to pay up, they never do!"
"YA ne takoĭ! Tam ne bylo ni odnogo obeshchaniya ya nikogda ne derzhal, odin nichego sebe ya nikogda ne vypolnyalasʹ! YeS privela vasha voĭna, golod i smertʹ ... YA grani vam mir, ya grani vam svobodu ! ya grani vy hleba! "
"I am not like that! There has not been a single promise i have never kept, a single wow i have never fulfilled! The E.U has brought your war, starvation and death...I brink you peace, I brink you freedom! I brink you bread!"
Upon that final sentence, the containers where opened and food spilled out of them, the hungry people of Volgograd which from Petain's desire to continue the war been subjected to food rations quickly flooded the containers and the Black Knights which had descended from the other ships and where bringing even more food to the city.
Lelouch then looked at Petain and who was boiling with anger.
"You're still just a brat!" he loudly proclaimed as he was dragged off by Lelouch's guards to a secure location, but Lelouch did not mind the insult and he turned his head to the now cheering crowd before him.
(Excerpt from the 2090 Kenneth Burns the Third documentary: The Century of War)
"I was part of those who covertly joined the Prince in Volgograd, at the beginning we where looked by the scared crowd as devils and monsters, but after we started giving food we where looked upon as angels of mercy and saint by the people of Volgograd"
"After that a few minutes we heard shouts and cries in Russian, we latter found out that the where shouting :
"Long Live Zero!"
"Hail the Iron Prince"
"God bless Lelouch the new Tsar of Russia and the only autocrat of Rus"
"We have though we seemed it all, but nothing compared with what happened that day, after that the whole of Russia declared their loyalty to the Prince, he had conquered Russia, the one nation which had never been conquered before and he realized it without shooting one bullet!"
Sergeant First Class Infantry Naoto Kan 761st regiment, 501st division, 42nd corps Black Knights
Excerpt from the Diary of Naoto Kan
(Sarmizegetusa, bridge room)
Diethard Reed could not believe what just happened and that it work and his mind immediately went over the event.
"Using the Volga as a means to infiltrate the country was amazing enough in itself, but after arriving here he ordered Kururugi who is a few thousand feet above us to fire a few blasts into the clouds so when the Prince picks up the scepter to make it look like God had chosen him to rule Russia…..brilliant, simply brilliant!...and on top of that he had agents position themselves in the front of the crowd with orders to get on their knees just at the right moment, therefore making the whole crowd kneel before him….more! show me more! Show me the world which your ego will create!"
Diethard thought to himself as he let out a mad laugh that terrified the other bridge crewmen.
(Lelouch's position)
He could not help but smile at what was transpiring, the E.U was now on its death bed and this action today was the first nail in its coffin, Schneizell would now be able to negotiate with the other major members of the E.U, and the fact that Lelouch now had troops in their major capitals helped things a lot.
He now had committed possibly the greatest con job the world had ever know!
Russia, the strongest member of the E.U was now his to command, and he became a ruler not of a country which was conquered and now lied in ruins, but of one which he had won through deception, he now had a mighty country, a mighty army and navy at his disposal, now was the time to strike at the geass cult, now was the time to finish things with his father, now was the time for the sins of the past committed against him to be punished.
Everything around him went like clockwork, this could not have turned out better if it had been all scripted, and Lelouch could already in his mind hear the perfect music for this particular scene:
Attero!
Dominatus!
Berlin is burning
Denique!
Interimo!
The reich has fallen
We stand at the gates of Berlin
With two and a half million men
With six thousand tanks in our ranks
Use them as battering rams
Artillery leading our way
A million grenades has been launched
The nazis must pay for their crimes
The wings of the eagle has been broken
Marshall Zhukov's orders:
Serve me Berlin on a plate!
Disregard the losses
The city is ours to take
The price of a war must be payed
Millions of lives has been lost
The price must be paid by the men
That started the war in the 30's
The spring of the year 45'
The year when the nazis will fall
We're inside the gates of Berlin
The beak of the eagle is broken
Comrade Stalins orders:
Serve me it's head on a plate
Disregard the losses
The eagle's land is ours to take
March!
Fight!
Die!
In Berlin!
March!
Fight!
Conquer!
Berlin!
"Yes!" Lelouch thought to himself "March forward my warrior's, my knights, march, fight and bring victory and you my foes and enemies you will die"
(Excerpt from the Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia.)
"After that day in March the E.U would be split between the U.F.N and Brittannia."
"Now for the first time in history Lelouch vi Brittannia became the head of a country."
"Many people on the planet could not believe what had happened, after Lelouch's ascension as the First Tsar of the new Russian Kingdom he quickly went to work, he arrested corrupt politicians, wealthy business men and confiscated their companies, but to the surprise of all he then have 50% of the stocks to the employs of the various companies, he then made a law in which if you could make crops grow out of barren land the land would become your without having to pay for the respective land."
"The workers motivated by now having a part of the company to themselves started working harder and production increased, the food shortage disappeared and Russia which was on the verge of bankruptcy would in three months time become once again prosperous"
"These actions consolidated his position, ensuring that he would remain the Tsar of Russia"
" It was however just a small practice before the main event, before Lelouch would become the ruler of the greatest Nation the world had ever or perhaps would ever see"
Author note:
Read and Review, let me know if I should continue.