I do not own Code Geass.
...
New Pendragon, Holy Empire of Britannia, March 11, 2020, Kowa Period
The streets of New Pendragon were more crowded than C-Two would have expected. The old city of Pendragon had been one of the great marvels of the world, a masterful feat of Britannian engineering and aesthetic value. That city had been destroyed, along with its entire population, in the Damocles War of 2018, when the whole of the world united against the Demon Emperor, Lelouch.
It's ironic that they call him the Demon Emperor, C-Two thought bitterly, when it was Nunnally and Schneizel that destroyed this city's namesake.
A memorial had been installed where the old city had been, commemorating the deaths of all those who had been at ground zero when the FLEIJA was set off. The new city had been built less than fifty miles away, a prefabricated construct that replaced the majesty and grandeur of the destroyed capital with a utilitarian mixture of concrete and steel that resembled something more akin to an office building rather than the Royal Capitol. This city could never hope to match the splendor of the throne that had once been Lelouch's seat, which C-Two was pretty sure was the point.
She had to elbow and shove her way through a mob that numbered in the tens of thousands carrying signs that read 'NO MORE REPARATIONS!' or 'FUEL NOT FEAR!' There were orange glows off in the distance where the protesting had degenerated into violent rioting. C-Two passed an overturned police car, its interior burned black by industrial grade fireworks.
The Neo Britannians were out in force, chanting, "DAMOCLES! DAMOCLES! DAMOCLES!"
They were an assorted mixture of ex-noblemen and military officers who had survived Lelouch's Purge. Rallying together discharged war veterans, of which there were close to a million in the aftermath of the Britannian Demilitarization Plan, the Neo Britannians were demanding a return to the Old Ways, to Darwin, to Might Makes Right. Among their stated goals was the reclaiming of the Areas, the restoration of ancestral lands in Europe, and the return of the powers of the Office of the Emperor. They carried photos enshrining both Emperor Charles zi Britannia, and, to her own surprise, Lelouch himself, with the title 'RECLAIMER' underneath.
Did you two really think four months of tyranny would sweep aside seventeen years of absolute power? C-Two wondered. You took over an Empire that ruled two-thirds of the world. How could you have possibly thought the people would have remembered their hate of a dead man over their present humiliation? These ubermensch who once ruled the world?
Virtue means nothing when you can't feed your children.
The Royal Palace was only a few blocks away. The perimeter was ringed by black-clad riot police, armed with truncheons and riot shields, with water cannon-armed armored sitting behind concrete barriers cars acting as the line's anchor. Behind them was a steel fence that wrapped around the new Palace, a series of cubic buildings that could have been mistaken for an office building.
C-Two approached the line of officers, an entrance permit in hand. The permit had been given to her by Nunnally herself, with the open invitation to come whenever she liked. C-Two suspected it was because Nunnally wanted to hear more about her brother's time as Lelouch, or more about him in general. Kallen had probably told her her own stories, but C-Two had known him on a level that Kallen hadn't. This would be the first time C-Two would take her up on the offer.
She flashed the permit to one of the officers, who waved her through the gate. Secret Service personnel patrolled the lawn of the Palace. They wore flak jackets and rifles tonight, indicating that Suzaku had prevailed upon the Empress to heighten the threat level.
The Palace interior was as utilitarian as the exterior, the walls whitewashed, the air antiseptic, the floor a simple tile. The hallway was filled with people moving in opposite directions, individually or in groups, speaking to each other, reading papers or tablets, or just rushing to their next destination. There was a harried, almost frantic edge to everyone inside; understandable, given the rioting taking place just a few hundred feet away.
C-Two passed through another checkpoint inside, this one guarded by sniffer dogs and a metal detector. She dumped her brown bag into the plastic bin that sat on a metal tray, relieved herself of what little metal was on her person, then stepped through. After receiving her returned items, she strode boldly down the last few hallways, arriving at an office door guarded by two men. A tag hung on it reading 'Office of the Empress.'
The door was opened for her.
"Presenting to Her Highness, Miss C-Two," one of the guards announced, his eyebrow cocked as he read off her title.
"C-Two!" Nunnally called out kindly, a warm smile on her face. "It's so good to see you!"
Nunnally vi Britannia, aged sixteen, looked little different from the Nunnally C-Two had parted ways with eighteen months ago. She had foregone her old dresses, preferring instead a dark blazer and black blouse, a black choker around her neck. Her blonde hair fell freely down her shoulders and back, on top of which sat a black veil. Deep shadows hung beneath tired blue eyes, her skin more pale than C-Two remembered. She gestured to a chair sitting across from her.
C-Two gave Lelouch's sister a curtsy, her hands lifting the tail ends of her blue coat in lieu of a skirt. She took the opportunity to give the room a quick glance. The office was mostly spartan, consisting of the bland oak desk Nunnally sat behind, a pair of bookshelves off to the side, and a large window behind Nunnally that was probably bullet-proof. C-Two took the offered seat, smoothing out the nonexistant wrinkles on her green camisole as she did.
"It's good to see you, too," C-Two said, the polite words coming more easily than she expected. "Given current circumstances, I perhaps should have come at a better time."
"Nonsense," Nunnally retorted cheerfully. "I'm happy that you're here. It is good to see Le-a friend in these times." Her expression darkened for just a moment before dissolving back into her happy facade. "Besides, when you're the head of state, there really is no such thing as better time."
"I'm surprised Zero isn't here with you," C-Two commented. "As your personal knight, I would think he'd be here watching over you."
"Preparing my helicopter for departure," Nunnally explained. "I have a summit I must attend shortly. It can't be delayed."
C-Two let the remark pass without comment. "As happy as I am to see you again," she lied easily, "I'm afraid this isn't a social call."
Nunnally chuckled humorlessly. "What government official ever gets those?"
"True." C-Two nodded. She folded her hands in her lap. "Tell me, how much do you know about geass?"
Nunnally stiffened, the light winking out in her eyes. Her demeanor shifted from friendly to obdurate. "I know enough," she said. "I know it steals men's will, turning them into mindless automatons to be bent towards someone's whims."
C-Two tilted her head. "That's not entirely accurate," she retorted. "Geass is different from person to person, based upon the wish they carry deep in their heart."
"Their wish?"
"Yes. What they desire most deeply. For instance, one of my contractors could read people's minds, based on his wish to understand the people around him."
"What happened to him?"
"He died."
Nunnally's lips twitched. C-Two wondered if she should have been more gentle, but there was no going back.
What's a little death to you, Your Highness?
"Your brother's wish was that he could control the world around him," she continued. "A world he could not understand, that had taken everything from him."
"Not everything," Nunnally disagreed quietly.
C-Two nodded. "No, not everything," she agreed. "The more a geass is used, the more powerful it becomes. Eventually, the power will go rampant, meaning the user will not be able to switch it off. The power manifests as a red crane in their left eye. Further use will cause it to manifest in both, indicating that a geass has fully evolved."
"Evolved?"
"Yes. Geass use is a transformative process, the primary purpose of which is the fulfillment of the contract that grants an immortal's wish."
"Not the user's?"
"Correct. Geass attainment is, after all, achieved via a contract. The immortal handing out the geass wants something as well. With rare exception, the fulfillment of the contract is met when the geass user takes the immortal's Code of Immortality."
Nunnally tapped a finger on her desk. "All of this is fascinating, C-Two, but I'm not certain why you're telling me. If this is some attempt to get me to make a contract with you, you will not find me very persuasive."
"I have no intention of attempting to form a contract," C-Two demurred. "Not with you or anyone else. I felt you needed an overview of how geass works before I made my request."
"Which is?"
"The exhumation of Lelouch's body."
Nunnally blinked. She glared at C-Two. "Excuse me? You want what?"
C-Two breathed in deeply, and said, "I believe your brother has acquired a Code of Immortality."
…..
Shangri-la Hotel, Fuzhou, Chinese Federation, January 2018
When Lelouch woke up, C-Two tried to kill him. A knife was held above her head in both hands, a desperate scowl on her face. When the knife came down Lelouch, awoken by the rustling of her shift over his hand, dodged left. The knife plunged through the mattress where he had just been laying, the ripping sound loud in his ear.
He grabbed her by the shoulder and jerked her around. He brought his elbow up to block a smacking hand, got caught up in her leg as it twisted around his back, and they went spinning off the bed.
To his great fortune, C-Two landed first, smacking her back on the floor. She coughed as the wind was knocked out of her, then wheezed when Lelouch landed on her belly. He took swift advantage.
He braced his legs on either side of her hips, grabbed her wrists, and pinned them to the floor. She thrashed underneath him, threatening to throw him off.
"Calm down!" Lelouch barked. "Enough! Enough! Now-"
She shot up and silenced him with her lips. Her tongue swept into his mouth, pushing his aside as she kissed him with a fury that was as shocking as her sudden assault.
His hand loosened on her wrist.
C-
She pulled free and punched him in the face. He was thrown back against the bed, dazed. For a second, her shift was over his face, and the heady mix of sweat and skin and that bitter scent that was so distinctly her overwhelmed him, and he breathed deeply. Then she was above him again, the knife in her hand, aiming for his chest-
Gunshots rang out. The front of C-Two's chest and belly sprayed over Lelouch's face. She was thrown onto him, then rolled lifeless to the floor.
Lelouch gasped breaths of air. Above him, Diethard Reid lowered his pistol.
"I think I just blew it, didn't I?" the man asked.
Lelouch rolled his eyes in response.
…
Diethard was simultaneously relieved and shocked to see the Lady C-Two relaxing on the sofa, seemingly no worse for wear. She wore a white cheongsam with red bordering, decorated with large red flower designs. Her lime hair was bound into twin buns on the top of her head, while thick green locks were allowed to fall around her cheeks to frame her lovely face. She sipped languidly from a tea cup, demure and silent, wholly unlike the homicidal maniac Diethard had put down with five .357 bullets.
What the Hell is going on here?
Zero-I mean, 'Colonel Spacer'- sat across from her, somehow managing to look exceedingly cross while wearing a pair of aviator sunglasses. His legs were crossed, his arm on the back of his chair.
"Care to explain what that was all about?" he asked.
That's it? Diethard thought disbelievingly. He barely sounds annoyed for a man that was almost killed just a few hours ago! And how the Hell is she even alive!
The Black Tiger Mercenary Company, the volunteer force that Zero had recruited in Japan, had landed just last night at Fuzhou, deep in southern Loyalist territory. Zero had wanted the attack force to land closer to Nanning in order to facilitate their eventual maneuvers with the Indian Army-How he's going to work that out, I have no idea-but had been persuaded by the commander of the Federation's Air Force that it was too dangerous to land so close to the frontlines. As such, the Black Tigers would roll out in their Knightmares westward towards Nanning, while Spacer and an honor guard would take a helicopter flight to Shanghai for his meeting with the Tianzi.
In the meantime, the Black Tiger command staff had been granted hotel rooms for the night in the luxurious Shangri-la Hotel, in the top floor Royal Suites. The suite was more apartment than hotel room, a full 1,000 square feet that consisted of a dining room, minibar, fireplace, and a king sized bed in the master bedroom. Diethard stood behind Spacer, a hand wrapped around the revolver hidden beneath his Black Knight jacket. Around them stood the honor guard, machine pistols in hand, glaring at Lady C-Two, on guard for the slightest threat.
"Well?" Spacer demanded, growing angry.
Lady C-Two sipped her tea. "Your geass has reached its full maturation," she said.
What does that even mean? Diethard wondered. Geass? Full maturation?
"Which means, of course," the Lady continued, "you are now ready to receive your own Code."
Diethard wanted to tug out his hair. What the Hell is she talking about? "Colonel," he said, "should we be here for this?"
"You just watched her die and come back to life, Diethard," Spacer said offhandedly. "There's little point in trying to hide from you, is there?" He refocused on the Lady. "Is me being mortally wounded absolutely necessary for you to pass on your Code?"
"No," she said. "Once geass reaches full maturation, a Code Bearer may pass on their Code whenever they wish."
"But death is what triggers the Code to take affect?"
"Your first death, yes. After that, the Code becomes active, and you lose your geass."
Spacer hummed. "So why try to kill me? If death isn't required, why try murdering me?"
The Lady shrugged. "I guess I just don't like you," she said with a saccharine smile.
Spacer, to Diethard's surprise, laughed at her. She seemed surprised, too.
"Tell me something, C-Two," he said. "Can a Code be refused?"
"No." The answer was hard, sudden, and cold. The Lady's mien had closed off, leaving behind a blank expression.
"Then why try to kill me?" Spacer asked.
Her answer was stony silence.
"If I had to guess," Spacer went on, his tone smug, "I would say that geass, at its core, is a decision, yes? After all, we mutually agree to a contract between geass user and Code Bearer, don't we? At its very root, geass is a choice, isn't it?"
The Lady glared at him.
Spacer leaned forward. "And since geass is a choice," he said, his voice hard, "that means the Code must be a choice, too. And it isn't a choice if you can't say 'no.'"
"I am leaving," the Lady announced.
As she stood, Spacer said, "If you want me to take your Code, you better sit your ass down. Now."
Her expression was thunderous. "You give orders to me, boy?" she breathed dangerously. "You dare?"
"I have you over the barrel and we both know it," Spacer retorted. "You signed the contract with me, and, unlike all of your other contractors, I've actually fully evolved my geass. I'm a ripe cherry, ready to be popped." He leaned forward. "But I'm stubborn. Really stubborn. I need this power of mine for the foreseeable future. I don't know when I won't need it. You, meanwhile," Diethard could hear his smile, "absolutely need me to take your Code. You're sick of carrying it around, worn down by a thousand years of wandering." SAY WHAT? "And you're afraid I'll refuse. I bet your Code Bearer was exactly the same-"
"Shut up," she demanded.
"-so she stuck a knife right into your heart, just to make sure-"
"I said shut up!"
"-that you wouldn't refuse the Code. Have I got it right so far?"
Diethard squeezed the grip on his revolver. The Lady looked absolutely murderous.
Spacer stood up and, heedless of the fury evident in her demeanor, casually strode up to her.
"I will take your Code," he said, his voice quiet. "I will take it, when I'm damn good and ready. And if you can't handle that, by all means," he gestured to the door, "go find someone else."
The Lady C-Two slapped him. Then, with a huff, she sat back down, and took a sip of her tea.
She asked, "There'll be no living with you after this, will there?"
Spacer, his cheek red, replied, "Not on your life."
…
Gymnasium, Presidential Palace, Tokyo, United States of Japan
Kallen took a punch to the solar plexus. The force of the blow sent her reeling backwards, off balance. She used the momentum of the fall to backflip hand to floor, evading a kick aimed at her chest by rolling to the side. She leaped into a front flipping axe kick that her opponent deflected with his wrist. With his other hand he grabbed her by the ankle, lifted her bodily, and threw her over his shoulder.
She somersaulted onto the mat, came up on one knee, and-
"MATCH!" the referee called out.
"What?" Kallen demanded. "We haven't finished yet!"
"Uh, Major," her opponent said, "check where your foot is."
Kallen looked down, then swore. Her right foot was over the out of bounds line; instant disqualification. She raised her hand to indicate she'd seen it, then stood.
"Fighters to the middle," the referee ordered.
Both fighters did so, touching their fists together and bowing.
The referee lifted the young man's hand. "Winner: Rei Sumeragi!"
"Thanks for the bout, Major," Sumeragi said. "Do I meet your approval?"
Kallen pulled off her purple gloves, not answering. Both of them wore karate gi's and, aside from the ref and another Zero Squadron recruit, were alone in the gym. She glanced up at him.
Captain Rei Sumeragi stood a head taller than her. His white hair was stylishly ruffled. His crisp blue eyes might have been prettier in other circumstances if, on introduction, they hadn't made an immediate beeline to her chest.
"You're a good fighter," she said. "I'd like to test you out on one of the Frame simulators, but if this is the caliber I can expect from you, then you made the cut."
Sumeragi punched his fist against his palm. "Awesome!" he said. "Glad to be part of the team! It's such an honor!" He gave her a respectful bow.
Kallen grunted. "Akagi, get over here!" she ordered.
"Ye-Yes, ma'am!"
Benio Akagi was shorter thank Kallen, and younger at sixteen, with brown pigtails and brown eyes. The girl's gi was already wrinkled and sweat-stained, owing to her bout with Kallen prior to Rei's. Kallen had won that bout, and handily, but Akagi also lasted longer than anyone else, and her marksmanship scores were second only to Sumeragi's.
"You're in," Kallen told her. "You'll report directly to Sumeragi. I'll schedule you two for Frame Simulators within the week."
Akagi jumped for joy. "Yes! Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you, ma'am!"
Kallen chuckled. "Make sure to read the manuals on flight training," she advised. "The Guren is being refitted for aerial combat. I don't doubt that you two will be piloting some type of airborne Knighmare as well."
Both of her new recruits nodded seriously. "Right!" they said.
"Dismissed."
As the two left, Kallen rubbed the spot where Sumeragi had struck her.
Damn if that didn't hurt.
The blow had landed just above her belly, where that Darlton git had repeatedly struck her as she tried to protect Lelouch. There was still a bruise there, fading, but the area was still sore. The sudden pain had thrown her off balance at the end of the fight, resulting in her being thrown out of bounds.
"The things I do for lo-" She blinked rapidly. She placed a hand to her head. "What was I just..."
She tried to remember, but something was painfully out of reach. She had been feeling down for the past several days since Lelouch and C-Two had left for China. She chalked it up to worry about Lelouch, the inability to be his bodyguard for the foreseeable future.
I know you don't care for him, she silently said, but please, C-Two, keep him safe. We both lo-
She rubbed her head. "What was I-"
"Major!" the ref called out, his equipment packed as he prepared to leave. "Will you be staying much longer?"
Kallen shook her head. "No, I'm on my way out!"
She grabbed her duffle bag and walked out the door.
…
Shanghai, Chinese Federation
Xingke rode into Shanghai on a white horse. His long hair fluttered in the cold wind. He wore a thick jacket and mask to cover his face. His sword jangled and clicked at his hip.
He was joined by a mounted honor guard some forty strong, including his second, Mei. Xingke would have preferred not to resort to near primitive transportation, but he had little choice. The Sakuradite supply situation was worsening every day. More fighter jets were having to be grounded. More combat ready Gun-Ru's were being added to the country's stockpile. Less trucks carrying much needed supplies were making the trip back and forth from the front line.
The only consolations were that the roads were being successfully repaved, and the trenches themselves had calmed down over the course of the winter. If that meant he had to spend the last day of his return journey on the back of a horse, then he would grit his teeth and bear it.
Shanghai had changed a great deal in the five months he had been campaigning. There were few, if any, cars on the road. Foot traffic had increased exponentially, as had the use of pack mules for carrying goods to street markets that had popped up all across the city. The streets were clean, the result of a Royal Edict they had no way to pay for beyond borrowed money; but it kept the old and the infirm employed and fed while the young fought the war.
At the sound of a bugler's call, the street before him cleared. Xingke cursed silently to himself.
I commanded million yuan equipment, he thought bitterly. We had the second greatest military on the earth. Now look at us.
It was well into the morning when Xingke arrived at the palace. A full guard, at least five hundred strong, awaited him. He was pleased to see they were all armed with guns. In the current climate, ceremony must necessarily give way to hard reality. The banner of the Chinese Federation fluttered above them.
At the head of the ceremonial committee were General Hong Gu and the Lady Kaguya Sumeragi.
Xingke suppressed his immediate disdain.
She wasn't the one to betray Her Majesty, he reminded himself. It didn't matter that he had done so to protect his charge; he had betrayed her trust on a fundamental level. His treachery was one of the reasons they were fighting this war.
"Supreme Commander," Hong Gu declared, "I, Vice Commander Hong Gu, have the honor of receiving you into the Imperial Palace." He bowed to him.
Xingke climbed down from his horse. He returned the bow, not as deeply as Hong Gu. "I entrust my person to you," he replied. "I ask that my horses and men be accorded all grace and dignity to which they are accustomed."
"It shall be done," Gu said.
As his men were led away, the Lady Sumeragi stepped forward. "It is good to see you in fine health, Supreme Commander," she declared with a polite smile. It did nothing to hide the steel edge in her ramrod straight back. "We are honored by your presence."
"The honor is mine."
She gestured toward the palace. "The Tianzi is expecting you," she informed. "Please, join us."
"I thank you."
He walked beside her, lessening his long strides so as not to leave her behind. The honor guard closed around them.
As they walked, Sumeragi said, "I must say, you cut quite the gallant figure as you rode in, General."
I'd rather have been in an armored car. "Thank you," Xingke replied. There was no point in antagonizing her.
"No, thank you. The work you've been doing is nothing less than exemplary."
Xingke nodded his gratitude. Ever since they had taken Hunan, there had been an almost nonstop series of attacks by the Communists in the northwest, and the Indians and Indochinese to the south. Xingke's forces had the advantage of being entrenched in their positions, but for a while there it had been touch-and-go. Only the universal depletion of Sakuradite had put a halt to the attacks; but that raised a whole host of other problems.
"I hear that Zero has managed to put the rebel Tohdoh down," Xinkge said. "You have my congratulations."
Sumeragi beamed with pride. "My thanks," she replied. "And the thanks of a great nation."
"How soon can you begin making Sakuradite shipments?"
She near deflated at that. "State's secret, I'm afraid," she replied, sounding very put out. "Rest assured, we are working on it."
Xingke bit the inside of his cheek. We need tankers, he thought. Or a pipeline. Something. Anything.
The problem, fundamentally, was that so much of the navy had been destroyed during the Liberation. About a third of the survivors ended up siding with the Indians to the west, and had fled to friendly waters accordingly. What little was left had to be used to patrol their own waters. Even that was beginning to degrade as a consequence of fuel shortages. They were fortunate that the Britannian Pacific fleet had encountered a hurricane on its way to Japan; it was the only thing keeping the Federation in the fight.
They arrived at the throne room a moment later. The double doors opened, the heralds announcing his presence.
He barely heard any of it over the harsh tattoo in his chest.
He stepped forward, head bowed, and knelt before his Empress.
…
Knights of Michael Headquarters, Madrid, Unincorporated Area Twenty-Four
The headquarters of the Knights of Michael was a repurposed office building. It was eight stories tall, square, and surrounded by a cast-iron gate tipped with spear points. The snow had been cleared away from the sidewalk and guard outposts, but not from the ground, where it clumped together in muted white tones. As Jeremiah's papers were checked, he cursed himself roundly for the hundredth time.
This is a fine situation I've gotten Her Highness in!
He glanced over at the Princess. They had used a handicapped-accessible bus for the short trip from their home, Princess Nunnally giving him a worried glare the whole time. Fortunately, Lady Shinozaki didn't seem to share her mistress' frustration; or, if she did, she was better at hiding it.
Jeremiah would have preferred to leave them both at the apartment, escape plans in place in the event he didn't return. Unfortunately, Shin Hyuga Shaing's instructions were ironclad: arrive with all dependents, or expect Shaing's coming testimony to the Court to change posthaste. Whatever the new head of the Knights of Michael was planning, he wanted to ensure Jeremiah had nowhere to run. Jeremiah's, and by extension the Princess', freedom, had been bought with Manfredi's blood.
Damn this evil devil!
It would have been better if Shaing had attempted to kill Jeremiah that night. He and the Lady Sayoko would have cut him down with impunity, avenge Manfredi's murder. The resulting scandal would have been near crippling, but not have so bad as this.
Perhaps it wouldn't have been so simple. The memory of Manfredi just walking off the edge of the balcony to his death had haunted Jeremiah's dreams.
Jeremiah looked up at the windows on the eighth floor. A figure could be seen, muted and wispy, disappearing beneath the dull rays of evening light.
What are you?
They were granted a six-man escort festooned in the Order's white-red livery. They wore sabers on their waists, but their hands bore very modern machine pistols. Each one wore a red visor that covered their eyes.
Jeremiah rolled his eyes at the obvious intimidation tactic. The masks dehumanized them, transforming them into faceless automatons that couldn't be reasoned with. The Margrave had used much the same tactic when he had served in Area Eleven. It didn't faze him.
The same could not be said for Her Highness. Princess Nunnally glanced around nervously at their captors (there was no other word to describe them). Jeremiah wished he could put out a hand to comfort his Princess, but they were on the move.
The hallways they were frogmarched down were sepia toned, the fluorescent lights above them casting them in a yellow-brown color. The floors were white-tiled, but along the walls Jeremiah thought he could see small red stains that hadn't been picked up by the cleaning staff.
Paint, he wondered, or blood?
They arrived at the door to a conference room. One of their escort mumbled into a radio set on his shoulder. The door swung open. The soldier gestured. Jeremiah led the others inside.
The room had the same sepia walls as the hallway. It was dominated by a large table in the middle, around which sat six or seven people clad in the livery of Michael. At their head sat Shaing, and behind him stood a woman with reddish brown hair and light purple eyes that pierced right through Jeremiah.
"Margrave Gottwald," Shaing called out. "You are well met. Thank you for coming. Please," he gestured to an empty seat to his left, "sit next to me. We have much to discuss."
Jeremiah took the offered spot, watching out of the corner of his eyes as the Princess and Lady Shinozaki were escorted to the end of the table. One of the seated knights, a young man with wild red hair, followed Her Highness with his eyes until she was at the end of the table, then flicked them back to Jeremiah.
"Now, before we begin, I ask for a moment of silence for our dear departed Grandmaster," Shaing said. He closed his eyes, bowed his head. Jeremiah did the same. A moment later, Shaing broke it. "It is regrettable that the Grandmaster saw the need to take his own life. Unfortunately, such tragedies are to be expected when you believe your life's work is about to go up in flames." Heads nodded around the table. "But where are my manners? Allow me to introduce everyone."
He gestured to three grim-faced men that sat across from Jeremiah. "These are the Swordmasters of our Order. Swordmaster Brondello, Swordmaster Dore, and Swordmaster Scholtz." Each man nodded in kind. "Next to you is Ashley Ashra, the leader of the Ashra Strike Force."
The redhead gave Jeremiah a fierce grin, his red eyes glittering.
"Next to him is Johanne Fabius, his second."
The young blonde next to Ashra smiled at Jeremiah politely.
Shaing gestured behind him. "And this is Jean Rowe," he said, indicating the woman hovering over him. "My own second and bodyguard." She gave a clipped nod.
"An honor to meet you all," Jeremiah said, tipping his head. "This is my niece, Joannna Brumine, and her attendant, Sayoko Shinozaki."
"Well met." Shaing nodded to them both. "I must admit some surprise, Margrave. As the former head of the Purist Faction, I would have expected you to employ servants of good Britannian stock."
Jeremiah cleared his throat uncomfortably. "The Purist Faction began as an internal union to protect the rights of Britannian soldiers, regardless of their backgrounds," he said. "The more...shameful aspects...did not develop until later."
"And why was that?" Shaing asked. "You say that it was meant to protect Britannian soldiers, yet it openly discriminated against all those of Area descent. Why is that?"
Jeremiah swallowed. I suppose I should have expected this. "The shift in tone was the result of the declaration of the deaths of the vi Britannia children," he explained. "I was deeply enraged at the news of their deaths. We all were, but me especially, as I had been a guard for the Empress at Aries Villa. She was beloved among us, as were her children. That resentment bled into everything we did."
Shaing nodded thoughtfully. "As the Scriptures say, the body rots from the head down." He leaned forward, steepling his hands before him. "So, then, if your affection for the vi Britannia was so great, why have you now turned 180 degrees in the opposite direction?"
"Because dead children are dead children, Lord Shaing," Jeremiah answered, clenching his fist.
The piles of bodies from Shinjuku, the massacre ordered by the now dead Prince Clovis, appeared before his eyes. The gore, the open, empty eyes, their broken little bodies stacked one atop the other for a mass grave. Unmourned, unnoticed.
"Children were dead prior to Shinjuku," Shaing retorted, "and you batted nary an eye."
Jeremiah swallowed. That stung. "Lord Shaing-"
"Lord Jeremiah," Shaing interjected, "we are not here to bandy about meaningless words meant to obfuscate our designs. We speak of cold, hard facts. The Grandmaster of our Order lies in peaceful repose in the Great Mausoleum, and I do believe his Knights deserve to know why. Especially," he narrowed his eyes, "if I am to speak on your behalf in the coming investigation."
Jeremiah took a deep breath, summoning his nerve for the performance he was about to give. This was what they had agreed upon in the half hour it took the authorities to reach his apartments, when Manfredi's broken body lay cooling on the ground. Jeremiah had had no choice in that regard. Shaing had him pinned. This was the only way to get His Highness what he needed.
He cast a quick glance around.
They were all staring at him, their gazes laser sharp.
"Lord Manfredi and I discussed our mutual belief that the Empire would not turn over dominion of our rightful lands to us," Jeremiah said. "Lord Manfredi was very upset by this possibility, as was I. How could we ask millions of young Britannians, Knight and Common, to give their lives in a war where none of us would receive the spoils?"
Shaing nodded. "A poignant question."
"We both concluded that the Emperor, to maintain his new Empire," Jeremiah continued, "would allow the squatting Europeans to retain ownership of the lands and estates that are rightfully ours."
"A crime against us all, to be sure," Shaing agreed.
"We sat there, in deep melancholy, not knowing what to do. That was when I made a recommendation."
"And what recommendation was that?"
"That perhaps a new Emperor would be more favorable to justice and fairness."
Jeremiah let silence fall upon them, letting each Knight present soak in what he'd said. However, as he gazed around the table, he saw little more than indifference and, in Ashley's case, open amusement.
"And Lord Manfredi could not conceive of such a thing? That is what killed my mentor and friend?"
You killed your mentor and friend. What the Hell was that? "Take a trip." He just walked right off the balcony! How the Hell did that happen?
What am I dealing with here?
"Yes."
Shaing held his silence for a moment. "I see." He pierced Jeremiah with a cold, mocking stare. "The Grand Duke also shares our concerns."
That was when Jeremiah realized the truth, realized he had played into unseen hands. In his blind stumbling, his desperate search for allies, he had stumbled upon a conspiracy that would shake the very foundations of the Empire. Everyone here was in on it, observing him like they would a newborn predator clumsily attempting its first kill.
Lord Shaing smiled, a twisted smile that made Jeremiah feel sick inside.
"Do you have someone in mind?"
…...
Shanghai, Chinese Federation
In another time, another life, when Lelouch arrived in the Chinese Federation, he did so on the back of a massive ice barge with a million of his most devoted followers. In those days before the Chinese Federation split into warring factions, Shanghai had been the crown jewel of the Middle Kingdom. Its teeming skyscrapers resembled a forest of concrete and glass, and like a forest it hid sights and wonders both subtle and gross.
As the helicopter circled around the Palace helopad waiting for clearance to land, Lelouch could not help but recognize the disparity. Shanghai was gray now, gray and tired. Most of the towers that rose above the city were dark for lack of electricity. Tent cities lined the streets, visible even from the sky. Smog suffused the sky from the few coal plants left in lieu of Sakuradite, a problem Lelouch planned to remedy as early as convenient.
"This is the second time I come to the Federation to war with Britannia," he mused. "Hopefully it goes better this time than it did then."
"Second time?" C-Two asked across from him. "What do you mean?"
"Nothing," Lelouch responded. There was no point in telling her about the time travel. She might not care; or, she might think he was crazy, and see if the Black Knights would feel the same way.
She sat back in her seat, rolling her eyes, bored out of her mind, a book held lazily in her hands.
There had been a brief moment when they took off when the sudden wonder of flight had brought color to her face and a light to her eye. As the helicopter rumbled to their destination, however, that light quickly diminished as the tedium of air travel set in. It was an impressive turnaround for a woman whose most significant aircraft during her day was a hot air balloon.
"Attention all passengers," the Captain of the flight announced, "we are coming in for landing. Make sure your seatbelts are fastened and all loose material secured."
A few minutes later, the helicopter shuddered as it landed, its occupants bouncing slightly from impact.
It was a fifteen minute wait from the time they landed to their debark. Diethard had already jumped out of the helicopter and, with his camera crew, setup their equipment to capture Colonel Spacer's arrival in China. The footage would be stitched together here in a five or six minute long newsreel, then sent back to Japan to be distributed across all available media platforms. Lelouch hoped that seeing their volunteer forces at work in China might inspire more support for The Tianzi's War, as it was known in Japan. That was the reason Diethard had been brought along; Lelouch didn't trust the man as far as he could throw him, but he was an excellent propagandist.
Outside, the roar of the engine was loud, grinding. A little ways away on the tarmac stood an honor guard of at least fifty Federation soldiers, led by Kaguya Sumeragi and a coterie of women in silk kimonos.
They bowed as Lelouch and the others approached, Diethard capturing the whole thing.
"Welcome to the Chinese Federation, Colonel Spacer," Kaguya was forced to shout above the roar of the engine, bowing to him. "We have awaited your arrival with great anticipation."
Lelouch nodded. "Good. Very good." He gestured to her. "Lead the way."
Kaguya turned around and led him into the warm heat of the Palace.
"You will meet with Her Majesty within the hour," she said. "She first wishes you to refresh yourselves in your assigned chambers, if such a thing is agreeable?"
"It is."
"Then allow me to show you to your chambers."
She led the party down a long hallway, empty save for themselves, to a pair of sliding doors that encompassed a significant section of the wall. Two serving girls in black robes opened the door for him, and he entered. The room was richly decorated, with an assortment of statues of the Buddha, fish, dragons, tigers, and other such creatures. A lacquered table dominated the center of the room.
"Would you care for refreshments, Colonel?" Kaguya asked.
"If you would."
"Tea, for the Colonel," she told a waiting woman. "Only bring the tea. I shall attend to him myself."
"Yes, My Lady," one of the serving women responded.
"Allow me, Colonel," Kaguya said. She grabbed the top of his coat and shucked it down, pulling it with practiced ease off his shoulders. She handed it to a serving woman to hang on the coat hanger, took his kepi hat from him as he took it off, and handed it to the servant as well. "Mister Reid," she said to Diethard, who stood watching them, his camera at his side, "I'm certain you have a great deal of footage that you will need to edit for the people back home?"
Diethard took the hint. "Yes, My Lady," he said with a bow.
Kaguya guided Lelouch to sit at the table. He did so with raised eyebrow. When she went to remove his sunglasses, he stayed her hand. "I advise against it, My Lady," he said. "Some things are too dangerous to be seen."
She bowed. "Of course, Colonel." She turned to C-Two. "My Lady, would you care to take your place at the Colonel's right?"
"Just across from him will be fine," C-Two replied, making good on the statement as she did so.
"I see," Kaguya said in a tone that said she didn't.
A moment later, the tea arrived, and Kaguya shooed the serving women out of the room.
As she bent to pour his tea, she said, "I am glad to see you face-to-face, My Lord Zero."
Lelouch flicked an unsurprised glance at her. "I take it C-Two's presence tipped you off?" he asked.
"That clinched it," Kaguya confirmed with a laugh. "But I suspected long before you arrived. The Wars of the Orient are far too important for you to load onto some Colonel, regardless of how well he did during Tohdoh's Rebellion."
"Does the Empress assume the same?"
"Xingke does," she answered. "I am not sure how well your gambit will pay off."
Lelouch grunted. "It's primary purpose was actually to keep the Japanese appeased," he said. "I hoped I could sell it abroad as well, but we can't have everything, can we?"
"Indeed not."
Lelouch took a sip of his tea. "I received your reports on the status of the war," he said, "but I want to hear it straight from you. Politically, militarily, economically. Where are we?"
Kaguya spoke, and the picture formed in his mind quickly.
Out of the ruins of the Chinese Federation, six factions were vying for dominance.
In the north were the three nations competing to usurp the Tianzi's throne: to the northwest the People's Republic of China, under Chairman Tse Tong, that extended from Kazakhstan in the west, to Chongqing and its surrounding area in the east; to the immediate north was the Republic of China under General Cheng, which inhabited a triangular area at the points of Xi'an, Kefang, and the area just north of Wuhan; and the Free Republic of China, under the High Eunuchs, that encompassed the rest of the Federation's northeast up to the Russian border, at Darkhan in northern Mongolia.
In the southwest were the powers fighting for independence: the Indochinese People's Alliance, encompassing Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand; and to the immediate west was India, which in the past month of fighting had swallowed whole Myanmar, and which claimed suzerainty over all the western Middle Eastern states; and the southern island chains such as the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia that Lelouch wouldn't even be touching until they had a navy and air force secured.
Of course, these borders were not static; they changed daily, sometimes hourly. Territory was not measured in quantifiable borders, but in towns, counties, and, more often than not, street corners and city blocks. With the crippling lack of Sakuradite and ammunition, fighting was point blank, hand-to-hand, with anything that the combatants could get their hands on.
"If I may, Lord Zero," Kaguya said after she had finished, "how goes excavation of the Sakuradite mines at Mount Fuji?"
"They proceed apace," Lelouch said. "With proper equipment, we can have the excavation and repair work accomplished within ninety days."
"And without?"
"We'll be riding on horseback to get anything done," he said. He checked his watch. "I have twenty minutes before my meeting with the Tianzi. I need to freshen up."
Kaguya bowed her head demurely. "Of course, My Lord. I shall await you out here."
Lelouch stood, fixed his gloves on his hands. "One more thing," he said. "The Cabinet knows, so you should as well." He looked her dead in the eye. "My name isn't Alan Spacer. It's Lelouch vi Britannia."
He watched her breath stop with dawning recognition, then-
"It is you!" Kaguya squealed as she launched herself at him. Her arms flung around her neck, she brought him yelping to the floor. "Oh, I knew you would be great, I just knew it! All my hopes and wishes fulfilled! My betrothed is the very boy who bewitched me as a child!"
"L-Lady Kaguya!" Lelouch yelped.
Kaguya turned to C-Two. "I do hope you will forgive me, My Lady!" she said happily. "I quite forgot myself! But you've had him for so long! You must allow me this!"
"Now wait just a second-"
"Have at him."
"C-Two!"
"Gladly!"
This is going to be a long campaign.
…
Xingke breathed in the aroma of the green tea. It was a marine fragrance, not unlike that of seaweed, and it soothed him as he sat across from his Empress.
They were alone save a few servants that came and went periodically to distribute snacks and drink. The tea room was of medium size, square, and decorated sparsely. A small, square table sat between Xingke and the Tianzi. A door to his right opened into the interior garden.
"Tell me more of Hunan," the Tianzi requested. "You have told me so much about the city, but what of the lands surrounding it?"
Xingke cleared is throat. "The land is white for many hundreds of miles around," he said. "The snow is deep, coming up to your knees in many places. It blankets the hills, the mountains. The wilderness is surfeited by towering rock spires that make mockery of our own feeble attempts to reach the heavens."
He took a sip from his tea to wet his mouth. "The Xiang Jiang runs through Changsha," he continued. "Its water is crisp blue, and cold. Very cold. All along the river's route, are towns and homes. They float on the river's edge. The people who live there are born sailors, plying their trade in boats great and small."
He coughed several times into his hand, hard and ragged, his torso heaving with every retch.
"Are you quite alright, Xingke?" the Tianzi asked him worriedly.
He nodded. ""Tis but a cough I picked up on the ride here," he told her. "It will pass." He took another sip of his tea, restraining himself from pure will not to hack it back up.
The Tianzi accepted his words. "Hunan sounds beautiful," she said, her hands folded in her lap. "I should like to visit it soon." Bashfully, she asked, "Would that be possible."
"Anything is possible, My Empress," Xinkge answered gingerly.
The Tianzi pouted. "Then, is it wise?" she asked instead.
Xingke hid a smile. "Not right now, Your Majesty," he replied. "The rebels are not near pacified. There is sabotage at every hour of the day. When spring arrives, it will bring with it the clamor of arms. It is not safe."
The Empress sighed. "How sad," she lamented, "that our land should be rendered asunder by this accursed war."
A sliver of guilt rose up in Xingke's breast. He quashed it ruthlessly.
There is no point in regrets, he reminded himself. No point and no time. All I can do is move forward.
…
Black Knight Research Facility, Mount Hotaka, Nagano Province, United States of Japan
Nina rubbed her eyes. Exhaustion had crept in a couple of hours ago, but she'd been too excited to stop. She inputted the final calculations, watching with glee as the model resolved itself into an expanding sphere that reached the zenith of its growth at 24 kilometers. Everything within that sphere would be atomized, wiped from the face of the Earth.
This was precisely the weapon Kallen needed. This could change the face of the war.
Nina downloaded the plans on a thumb drive and slid it into her bag. She stood from her desk, turned off her workstation, and headed out the door.
The hallway of the research facility was lined tiled floors, the walls solid gray concrete. Most of the rooms she passed were dark, though a couple were lit up with researchers burning the midnight oil. She was certain the Head of R&D would be similarly inclined. She was not disappointed.
Rakshata Chawla, the Black Knights' top researcher, sat behind her desk, manipulating design schematics with her mouse. The blonde Indian woman glanced up at her as she entered. The director was ordinarily a very well put together woman; her thin, slanted eyebrows framed turquoise eyes, giving her a cheerful, though determined, gaze; her purple bindi and purple kiseru pipe were proud, obvious signs of her Indian heritage; and her casual dress, a white labcoat draped over a barely buttoned pink tank top and black slacks, gave the impression of a lazy genius that did not at all match her workaholic mindset. Tonight, late as it was, deep dark shadows were dug in below her eyes. Her hair slack against her head. Her large desk was covered in empty coffee cups and crushed energy drink cans.
Nina came to attention. "Director!" she said.
"Always so formal, Miss Einstein," Rakshata teased, taking a sip of black coffee. "You should find yourself a good man, let him work the tension from your shoulders."
I'd rather a good woman, Nina thought but didn't say, Kallen's lovely face foremost in her mind. "I have some data for you that I think you'll want to see," she said. She held up the thumb drive.
Rakshata took it from her, tossing it onto the desk. "I'll look at it in the morning," she promised. "With the Gawain's power consumption issues fixed, our glorious leader has directed me to scale down its float systems for mass production on our Knightmare fleet." She stretched her shoulders. "Hopefully I'll have the specs done before I run out of coffee."
Nina wanted to insist that Rakshata look at her data now, but she had neither the confidence nor the temerity to try convincing the director. She gave the director a nod and left.
As she did so, she thought of just how many people that bomb was going to kill. Thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands. She dared to think it would be millions.
I lay all these up on the altar, o' Freya, Goddess of Love.