Chapter 71
Of Dissension Divided
Officially, the prime minister's residence and working space was located in a large estate directly next to parliament and across from the imperial palace and Pendragon Cathedral, Eden Vital's main church in the capital. These three buildings formed the three anchors of the imperial plaza and their close physical proximity belied their institutional closeness. A more practical consequence of their physical proximity was that members of each institution could readily visit each other, as Lelouch was now doing.
"Your office could easily be mistaken for that of the ISA director," the cardinal remarked as he glanced at the various models lining the walls of his brother's office.
The Imperial Space Agency was the principal agency responsible for managing Britannia's space assets, ranging from satellites to the various lift vehicles in service. It was in many ways a joint venture between multiple parties, from the armed forces to His Majesty's civil government to even Eden Vital's Order Sabine. Their highest profile project was arguably the Fidelity space station, a massive orbital construct that had taken the Empire over a decade to assemble to its current configuration. Fittingly, the single largest model on display in Schneizel's office was of Fidelity.
Schneizel flashed a slight smirk. "Had I followed my original intended path, I would have settled for that role, or imperial labs director, instead of well," the prince waved his hand about, "this."
"Being a member of parliament does allow you some leeway in funneling money towards your desired pet projects, no?" Lelouch noted. "Weren't you the one that pushed through the funding for the particle accelerator down in Texas?"
"Even so," Schneizel said, "I would have preferred a more direct hand in unraveling the mysteries of the universe than endlessly striking compromises with statesmen and bureaucrats."
An eyebrow quirked upward. "And you think you would have gotten away from that as ISA or imperial labs director?"
"I like to think of myself as the optimistic sort."
Lelouch stared at his brother for a few moments before snorting. "I am never playing poker with you."
That caused Schneizel to raise an eyebrow of his own. "You play?"
"Eden Vital uses the game as a mental acuity and discipline test, though we use a different scoring mechanism to encourage making tactical concessions."
"That actually sounds like something I would enjoy trying out," the prince said lightly.
Lelouch shrugged. "You can face off against Lucretia and Sancia to your heart's content."
"Throwing me to the wolves from the get-go?" Schneizel said with another wry smile. "Well, be that as it may, there was something I wanted to discuss beyond basic pleasantries today."
The cardinal's shrug indicated that to be an assumed given.
"The war staff recently received an, interesting request from Eden Vital's Order Militant," Schneizel took that as a signal to continue, "for access to the staff's contingency planning for a lightning strike on the Chinese capital of Luoyang."
A momentary silence descended as Schneizel regarded his brother, which was finally broken with a single word as the cardinal tilted his head.
"And?"
"Might I inquire as to what prompted this?"
"Is that not obvious?" was Lelouch's response. "The Chinese VIP we have in custody has offered a deal with which to take his country out of the war, but it would require securing the safety of their child empress. A precision strike upon Luoyang would allow us to achieve this."
Schneizel took a deep breath. "So Eden Vital thinks the offer to be genuine?"
"Captain Yao at the very least is not personally lying," Lelouch stated. "Whether his sponsors are being sufficiently honest we at present have no way of knowing."
The prince nodded. "To be honest, I would personally prefer a swift and relatively clean resolution to this conflict. Though do you think the Russians would be so accommodating as to stop fighting if China were to sue for terms?"
The cardinal however gave a shake of his head. "That is unclear. You heard the rhetoric of the Russian president, he functionally staked his and his country's honor on liberating the territories that Britannia has conquered. Conceding failure after that would inevitably result in a great deal of political upheaval, with his ousting from office at minimum."
"If only democracies actually held their elected politicians to account," Schneizel said with a rueful smile, "we'd have fewer that'd engage in such reckless adventurism for the sake of satiating their own vanity."
"Pray that this is merely an instance of a democratic electorate being willfully derelict in their duty," Lelouch said, "and not because their opportunity to exercise that duty has been outright deprived from them."
Schneizel's brow furrowed. "I am not aware of civil society deteriorating that drastically in Russia."
"Neither is Eden Vital," Lelouch said, "but this has less to do with Russian society and more with how deeply the heretics might have penetrated their government. They at least would have no compunctions about ignoring democratic mandates and trying to impose their will using brute force."
"Would even they be able to suppress the masses?" Schneizel asked skeptically.
"The greater concern is what they might attempt before they reach the point of needing to," was Lelouch's answer.
Schneizel's lips thinned as he recalled that other detail about the Russian Federation, namely its nuclear arsenal.
"The Guren satellites are still on schedule, I trust?" the prince asked next.
The satellites mounting the Guren X-ray lasers developed by Dr. Chawla and her team were, while less powerful individually than the gamma ray lasers both Rakshata and Eden Vital had independently developed, did possess one major advantage. Whereas the grasers would burn through their lasing medium after about ten to fifteen shots, the xrasers could get upwards of fifty before requiring replacement. Such a multiplicative difference was what made feasible the deployment of an orbital anti-ballistic missile system, at least quickly enough to drastically reduce the danger of a Chinese or Russian launch. While everyone was hoping for a resolution to this war before that happened, if the heretics really were as entrenched in either government as Lelouch was insinuating, those satellites might well turn out to be an outright necessity instead of just another lever by which to pry the Chinese and Russians to the negotiating table.
"Slightly ahead of schedule," Lelouch said. "They should be ready for deployment in three months' time, assuming ISA has the launch vehicles to put them into orbit."
"I will make sure they do," Schneizel declared.
As the man controlling ISA's purse strings, even without being director, the prime minister held quite a bit of sway.
"Still, in China's case whether we can force them to come to the table is contingent on how amicable the reigning regime is towards Britannia," Schneizel continued. "To that end, should we at least refrain from giving them reason to regret extending a hand?"
"The Order has determined that the meted harshness is proportionate to the harm China itself has inflicted upon others by spurning our hand in the first place," Lelouch stated.
"That harshness will cause inevitable resentment," Schneizel asserted, "whereas a measure of mercy might have won longstanding gratitude."
Lelouch regarded his brother for a few moments before responding. "You are free to disagree with Eden Vital's chosen balance of gratitude versus resentment, but kindly refrain from insinuating no consideration was made in finding that balance on the Order's part."
Schneizel's lips quirked upwards at the cardinal's bluntness, but no humor touched his eyes. "Am I to take it that Eden Vital is not inclined to any remonstrations that might see it adjust the scales?"
"Depends on how much the Britannian government thinks such a rebalancing is worth," Lelouch said with a shrug.
This time it was Schneizel that spent a moment or so almost gaping at his brother before letting out a short laugh. "I had not expected Eden Vital to be so, mercenary."
"All the more reason for Eden Vital to press forward with this reminder," Lelouch stated, "lest this sense of entitlement be allowed to grow further unchecked."
An eyebrow arched upward on Schneizel's expression. "Entitlement?"
"For all that humanity acts as stewards of the thought elevators, we are not their actual owners," the cardinal said. "Our continued utilization of them is at the sufferance of their true owner, a sufferance that continues so long as proper recompense is provided and can be withdrawn at will."
Schneizel's eyes narrowed. "And Eden Vital is the final arbiter of that will?"
"Of course not," Lelouch scoffed. "We are as much at the mercy of that discretion as any of the other ecclesiastical orders."
"I find that a bit hard to believe," Schneizel said after a brief pause, "considering the will in question is your grandmaster."
"You think the grandmaster would hesitate to excommunicate those parts of Eden Vital that she considers irredeemably contrary to her will?" this time it was Lelouch that raised an eyebrow.
Schneizel's lips thinned. "Is it not stifling, to have one's standards dictated to in such a manner?"
"Is it not presumptuous," Lelouch retorted, "to feel entitled to a prize even when you do not wish to pay the requisite price?"
"What fairness is there in being bound to a bargain that one was placed into without ever being asked?" Schneizel reposted.
"Did you really just complain about the circumstances of your birth?"
Schneizel leaned forward. "And what is wrong in aspiring such that one is never given cause to?"
"Nothing," Lelouch responded with serene stoicism, "so long as you are prepared to pay, with yourself and others, the requisite price for your attempt."
The two brothers held each other's gaze steadily, until finally a ring of Schneizel's phone gave them cause to break off without either conceding.
"Yes?" the prince answered.
"Your Highness, Prince Odysseus has arrived."
"Send him in." Schneizel glanced at his brother and cracked another thin smile. "It seems we will have to continue our debate on philosophy another time."
Lelouch clasped his fingers together. "As sharp a sword as Damocles, it can but bring ruin to mere nations. Akasha is meant to burn entire worlds."
The smile froze on Schneizel's face.
"Escalation," the cardinal continued, "is only viable if you are prepared to go further than the other side, and are actually capable of it."
The two's eyes remained locked on each other even as the door opened and Odysseus entered. The eldest prince regarded his brothers before clearing his throat.
"Am I interrupting?"
"Just a philosophical discussion that we became overly invested in," Lelouch responded, glancing over at Odysseus. "Am I to be taking my leave here, or is the matter that brought you here relevant to myself as well?"
"Arguably the latter," Odysseus said before nodding to his other brother. "Schneizel, apologies for the wait. It took a bit for the war staff to convince Cornelia that her time was too valuable to be playing courier, even for something like this."
"Arguably their greater concern was to make sure Cornelia did not use this as an opportunity to lobby for assuming the field command herself," Schneizel said, similarly breaking eye contact with Lelouch and motioning for Odysseus to take a seat.
The latter chuckled as he did so. "You know our sister well." He glanced over at Lelouch. "The war staff has been chewing over that request of yours and just completed their preliminary analysis. The good news, they think it's possible. The bad, possible isn't quite the same as feasible."
"Is there some specific point or another that concerns them, or is this the summation of a multitude of smaller issues?" Lelouch asked.
"We are talking about a deep strike several hundred klicks from the coast," Odysseus answered. "The war staff's modeling suggests that the totality of Eighth Fleet's combat power might just be enough to allow us to fight through China's airspace that far, but holding the city, or really achieving any other tactical objectives once they get there is going to be fraught."
The cardinal gave a grunt to indicate acknowledgment of the point.
"By and large, while the war staff admit if we were successful it would probably end the war then and there, assuming China doesn't break out the nukes," Odysseus continued, "they'd prefer a more methodical approach of seizing a beachhead on the Asian mainland along the coast before trying to strike deeper. At least for a coastal landing we could bring the equivalent of six carrier battlegroups to bear instead of just two, and that's not counting whatever other assets we might have based in Japan."
"And their assessment of the prospect of nuclear escalation if we managed to obtain and then keep a beachhead on the Asian mainland?" Lelouch inquired.
"That honestly will depend on the dynamics of their domestic politics," Odysseus stated frankly, "whether their doves would be able to wrest enough control over their government from the hawks to be willing to come to the negotiating table."
"Then would it not behoove us to help along that seizure of control as best we can?"
Odysseus and Schneizel exchanged looks before glancing back at their younger brother.
"You believe a deep strike on Luoyang would be conducive to that?" Schneizel asked, a hint of skepticism in his tone.
Lelouch crossed his legs. "Based on what our royal guest has said, there are elements within the Chinese government and military that would be more than willing to withdraw their nation from this war. The problem they have however is that those prepared to keep China in the war are capable of greater escalation than the loyalists can effectively counter, especially in and around the capital itself. Any attempt to maneuver loyalist military units closer to the capital to fend off a coup, or launch one of their own, would likely trigger an immediate and lethal response. If on the other hand pretext could be provided that would necessitate the deployment of more military assets to Luoyang…"
Odysseus raised an eyebrow while the slightest of smirks touched Schneizel's lips.
"Of course, preparations for such a strike would need to be credibly convincing," Lelouch continued. "Enough so that if the opportunity genuinely arose, we would actually be capable of undertaking the strike." The cardinal's own mouth thinned. "A feint within a feint within a feint."
The crown prince gave a chuckle. "And here I thought Cornelia was overachieving by going for Marshal of the Empire at her age. You're giving her quite the run for her money as the Order Militant cardinal."
Said cardinal shrugged. "All war is based on deception. That was as true back during China's Warring States period as it is now."
"One of these days," Odysseus said, "you'll have to tell me if Sun Tzu actually existed or if time has muddled things."
"If you ever have to fulfill your oaths, that can be probably granted," Lelouch said nonchalantly, "though I am personally more partial to The Methods of the Sima."
"Both are required reading at West Point," Odysseus said. "Are they also part of Eden Vital's officer training program?"
"Along with De re militari," said Lelouch. "Though by and large all such texts worth their reputations tend to emphasize broadly the same underlying principles. Discipline, logistics, battles are usually won before armies," a smirk crossed the youth's face, "and navies, ever set out. Tactics and strategies, while important, are ultimately constrained by how effective one's preparations prior to battle were."
"And you think we might win this battle, or even this war, entirely without having to actually fight it?" Schneizel asked.
"I'm sure we'll have to do some fighting," Lelouch responded. "If we're clever about it however, we might be able to do a lot less of it than previously feared."
Again the two older princes shared a wordless exchange.
"Having the deep strike be a feint will make its preparations an easier sell to the war staff," Odysseus said after a moment, "but that it might end up not being one is going to mitigate some of that. It might help if Eden Vital has an ace up its sleeve that would lessen some of the threat represented by the Chinese airpower we'd have to fight through." A dry smile crossed the prince's face. "A little skin in the game on the Order's part, as it were?"
This time it was Lelouch that glanced back and forth between his brothers.
"Do you have the new AR system installed in this office?" he asked Schneizel instead of providing an immediate response.
"I do," Schneizel said, reaching into his desk and taking out a pair of glasses, handing one over to Odysseus.
Lelouch took out his own pair, as well as his phone. "Access code is 5587 Bravo Kilo Charlie."
The eyes behind the lenses flickered about as the two entered the code and synced their glasses. Now, where there was previously empty air above Lelouch's phone, hovered a projection of an angular, triangular hull.
"The Woglinde," Lelouch introduced. "It is a prototype demonstrator incorporating only fully human built versions of the various technologies Eden Vital has reverse engineered and is intended to be our version of the Annihilator-class mobile fortress. When complete it will be eight kilometers tall, equipped with enough firepower to take a good chunk out of a planet."
Odysseus inhaled sharply and even Schneizel winced.
"Why would Eden Vital even need something like that?" the crown prince asked carefully.
"The last time around it took over a hundred mobile fortresses to take down Sephyr," Lelouch said, "and it took the full manufacturing capabilities of the Moon Cell to create that many. If we are to stand any chance of fighting the next probe, or God forbid the Umbral Star itself, that serves as the floor of the capabilities humanity needs to develop ourselves."
The cardinal's assertion made plenty of sense. That did little to settle the unease possession of even the limited capacity Eden Vital currently had caused. Seeing neither of his brothers seemed inclined to touch on that matter further however, Lelouch continued.
"At present the Woglinde's superstructure is only twenty percent complete, we haven't even started assembly of its main cannon, it has only a few station keeping propulsion modules to speak of, and just barely enough auxiliary power generation to feed those systems installed."
The other two continued waiting patiently as Lelouch listed a litany of shortcomings of the ship's current state. There was obviously no point in him bringing the ship up at all if it was genuinely useless, after all.
"What it does have at present is a point defense system that would be capable of downing any missile, or plane, that the Chinese might deploy against it, were it airborne, out to a distance of a hundred klicks."
That elicited another set of reactions from the two princes. At those sorts of ranges, quite literally nothing in the Chinese arsenal, or even the Britannian one, would be able to threaten a fleet that included this ship. And that there was the rub.
"Are these station keeping modules enough to get the Woglinde airborne?" Odysseus asked.
"Airborne?" Lelouch repeated. "Yes. Operationally useful? No. On the other hand, I do believe that the next two Logres-classes have completed installation and validation of their float systems. Together, they should provide sufficient lift for the current Woglinde hull."
The askance looks returned to his brothers' expressions.
"Let me see if I understand you correctly," Odysseus began. "You want to, what, bolt this partial hull onto not one, but two Logres-class battleships to provide it with lift?"
"Eden Vital can handle the actual modifications," Lelouch said, "we would simply need the two ships delivered to our Antarctic facility. And since we only need the battleships for lift and nothing else, there is no need to finish fitting out the rest of their systems like weapons and defenses."
The crown prince gave a bark of laughter. "Even so, you're talking about quite a big chunk out of the navy's current building plan."
Lelouch shrugged. "As you said, skin in the game. You wanted a means of mitigating the Chinese air threat against Eighth Fleet. Eden Vital can deliver, if the navy is willing to give up two incomplete battleships."
Odysseus did not even bother hiding the wince as he glanced over at Schneizel.
"And afterward?" the prime minister asked, rubbing his chin. "Would it be possible to detach the battleships and return them for completion once the need has passed?"
"Probably," Lelouch said with another shrug. "It will depend on what modifications are necessary to attach the hulls together."
Schneizel's expression was still less than enthused, but the prime minister's gaze now fell upon his older brother. Odysseus sighed.
"And I thought selling the notion of a deep strike on Luoyang was tough," the crown prince said. "Admiral Muckenberger is going to just love this…"
"It can't be any worse than what the Sabine engineers said to me," the barest hint of a smirk emerged on Lelouch's face, along with a slight glint in his eye. "Incidentally, considering the abrupt nature of its deployment, the Woglinde is presently somewhat bereft of a command crew. You wouldn't happen to know of any navy officer, preferably of flag rank, that does not have a current billet and therefore could spend some time training up on its systems and how best to coordinate with the two attached battleships?"
The way Odysseus immediately perked up was almost exactly mirrored by the grimace of resignation on Schneizel's face.
"What was that about making sure our sister did not run off from her duties back here in Pendragon?" the latter still had to try at least.
"Wouldn't you prefer we have someone trustworthy on our end overseeing things as well?" was Odysseus' counter.
"And yet aren't we trying to instill the importance of appropriately delegating?"
Odysseus flashed a smile. "Who better than me, a mere rear admiral that's otherwise beached?"
Lelouch was not even trying to hide his own smirk and just barely suppressing the chuckle. Truth be told, that was a fight Schneizel himself was also losing. Regardless of whether any of them found themselves on opposing philosophies, it was no bad thing to be reminded that they were still brothers all.
"So one of the most important things you have to deal with as a provincial lord is making sure your province's population density doesn't fall below a certain threshold," Milly explained, "otherwise the cost of providing certain basic services starts quickly escalating to the point of impractical, at least not at any taxation level your subjects would readily tolerate. Everything from policing to healthcare to schools, the more people in a limited range, the easier it is to provide them these services."
"That makes sense," Kallen said, tilting her head, "I think."
The other girl chuckled. The two of them were in Kallen's assigned room in the Eden Vital dorms on one of the nights she actually stayed here instead of her family's estate. That it coincided with Milly being over for her dinner with Lelouch granted the former an opportunity to pick the latter's brains about the nuances of being not just a landed peer but also a provincial lord.
"The biggest difficulty honestly is getting people to actually be willing to move when a region reaches a tipping point," Milly continued. "People are often very attached to the place that is their home, which I'm sure you can relate."
A slow nod to that. "And yet the Empire still tries to get people to move?"
"As opposed to slowly withering away amidst a decaying town or even city?"
Kallen pursed her lips. "Well, sometimes that's the way some people want to go."
"Don't I know it," Milly said with a sigh.
An eyebrow quirked upward on Kallen's face, eliciting a chuckle from Milly.
"We're not blind to the innate tendencies of people, Kallen," the older girl said. "The best way to get someone to dig in their heels is to tell them to do something ostensibly for their own good. Even more so when it has something to do with their home."
"And yet," Kallen repeated.
"We still do it anyway," Milly completed. "Because at the end of the day, it's still something that needs doing. And the Empire has gotten pretty good at it, too. It helps that according to the letter of the law, the actual owner of all land in Britannia is the crown. The rights that people buy and sell are usage rights, not ownership rights, and those usage rights can be reclaimed by the crown, with appropriate compensation."
"So the carrot and stick approach," Kallen remarked.
Milly chuckled again. "It's a classic because by and large it works. People that are forced to move are granted new homes, a stipend to pay for moving their possessions, plus a bonus payment to help them reestablish themselves wherever they end up. And sometimes the move isn't even that far, sometimes it's about consolidating the population of one city instead of clearing out some remote town. In the case of the latter, there's even an effort to move the whole population as a unified group so they're still amongst familiar neighbors."
"But, is this really the right thing to do?" Kallen asked. "I mean, I get what you said about the cost of providing services, but that sounds more for the benefit of the nobility and government than for our subjects. Is this really better for the people getting uprooted?"
Milly clasped her hands together. "Tell me, Kallen. Who do you think would have the most difficulty when forced to move under such circumstances?"
Kallen blinked. "I mean, I guess the people who love their homes the most, those that have been there the longest."
A nod. "And who are likely to be able to adjust the most quickly?"
"Those that aren't as attached. Maybe children, especially if they're very young."
A smile crossed Milly's face. "And it is for the sake of their prospects that we do this."
The younger girl blinked quizzically again. "Pardon?"
"What sort of foundation is required for a child to be able to obtain a better future? Education, socialization, a home environment that isn't wracked with uncertainty and instability. Below a certainly population density, a certain economic vitality, it becomes impractical for the government to try to provide children, and their families, any of that. The people that are already grown up or have outright grown old?" Milly gave a flick of her hand. "They've already lived their lives. Why should their needs or wants take precedence over that of the next generation?"
Kallen's mouth was dangling slightly as she regarded Milly. What the older girl was saying actually made a fair amount of sense. A practical, even ruthless sense. And also somehow an aspirational sense as well.
"That's," Kallen managed. "I'm actually not sure I would have ever thought of it that way."
Milly's smile softened. "In some ways, your education and upbringing went the complete opposite of what it should have to prepare you for this sort of thing. You not only grew up where you were born, but you've gone through most of your secondary education in the same place as well."
Kallen furrowed her brow. "I'm not sure I follow."
"Well," Milly drawled. "Take me for example. I was born in New England, but spent much of my childhood switching back and forth between there and Pendragon. Then for my secondary education, my parents had me come here to Japan. So long as the people I love are with me though, any of those three places, or frankly anywhere in the Empire, I'd consider home. After all, it's not really the place that matters so much as the people."
The look on Kallen's face was now more contemplative. It seemed every time she spoke with Milly, some new facet of Britannian society was exposed to her that she had never previously contemplated. For all that Kallen now did consider herself both Britannian and Japanese, the girl was realizing that, truth be told, she actually knew so very little about the Britannian side of her heritage. Or rather, she at best had the perspective of a Britannian commoner, not that of the landed peerage that needed to weigh all these compromises to chart a course for their people. Were these decisions all perfect? Far from it. But Kallen was now better grasping that the intent was a lot more benign, indeed aspirational, than she previously presumed.
"And here I thought the Britannian nobility was only concerned about its own wealth and prerogatives," Kallen said with a wry smirk.
Milly gave a snort. "Oh, we most definitely are, but the best way of preserving those is to make sure there's always a society left to sustain both. And the only way to do that is to make sure each successful generation has something to aspire to, otherwise we get caught in a spiral of decay and morbidity."
Kallen hummed. "Is this taught in any actual classes? Cause I sure don't remember this in any of my civics courses, or the third-year material I was made to review."
"This is generally more stuff you'd learn at the undergraduate level," Milly said. "Everything beforehand is to set the stages to get you in the right mindset to understand and even accept it. And yes, I know how that sounds manipulative, but what is education but indoctrination of received wisdom?"
To that Kallen gave a chuckle of her own.
"Anyway, as part of a noble heir's undergraduate education, regardless of what formal degree we pursue, we're all required to take the governance courses, much like we're required to take the civics courses in secondary. And one of the texts in that course is a treatise released by His Majesty about ten years after he took the throne. The opening introduction has this line. 'It is our collective duty as a people to set the stages for the generations that follow to be able to forge their own path instead of demanding that they obsequiously tread only the paths that we ourselves have walked. For while our currents paths may provide a set of safe trails to follow, they should never be regarded as anything more than a safe haven to fall back upon should danger be found when trekking into the unknown.'"
Kallen mulled that over.
"That treatise is why some people call Emperor Charles' ascension the Third Founding," Milly continued in the meanwhile. "It encapsulates the rationale behind pretty much all of the reforms His Majesty shoved down the Empire's collective throat in the early days of his reign, including things like making the civics and governance courses mandatory. By and large it serves as a sort of manual for rule, much like Emperor Ricardo and Empress Claire's own treatises were. Now whether Emperor Charles' text will see as much longevity, well, suppose that depends on how long before Britannia ends up needing another 'Founding.'"
"Here's hoping we get at least another century of relative peace and quiet," Kallen said with a weary sigh.
"Amen to that," Milly agreed.
The two girls exchanged looks before breaking out in a mutual chuckle. It was nice, being able to speak to someone who could relate and understand the circumstances each found themselves in. Not perfectly, perhaps, by any means, but with how small the pool of provincial heirs was in absolute terms, having one to talk to at all was already a major boon. Before said talking could continue however, a knock sounded.
"Enter," Kallen called out.
The door opened to reveal Suzaku in his wheelchair, the youth about to greet Kallen when he caught sight of Milly.
"Oh, sorry, were you busy?"
Kallen shrugged. "Just having a friendly chat with Milly while she's waiting for His Eminence to be available for dinner. Did you need something?"
"I was actually hoping to have a chat," Suzaku said while giving an apologetic nod to Milly, "about my upcoming time at the Citadel."
"Ah," Kallen said, glancing over at her other guest.
Astute as always, Milly immediately took the hint and flashed her friend a smile. "I think by now Lelouch will be done with his work, and if not is in need of being rescued from it for the evening. Let me know the next time you're staying over here, Kallen, and we can continue then."
"Sure, see you then, Milly."
The older girl gave Suzaku a polite node of her own before stepping out the door and closing it behind her. Kallen waved for the Japanese youth to pull up.
"Thank you," Suzaku said. "I apologize for calling upon you so suddenly, but, well, I'm not sure who else I can ask."
"It's fine," Kallen said with a shrug. "There's not exactly a bunch of other Japanese teens crippled by Sarin poisoning that then went on to sign away their souls in exchange for magical powers."
Suzaku's face went blank as he gaped at Kallen, eliciting a snort from the girl.
"I'm joking, mostly."
"Mostly," Suzaku repeated slowly.
"That bit will be between you and the grandmaster," Kallen said. "The rest of it though, I can probably answer whatever questions you have."
"I see," Suzaku said, adopting a pensive expression. "Well, I guess first of all, what is the Citadel like?"
"Well, the place is a lot bigger than it looks like at first glance," Kallen answered.
At Suzaku's continued blank look, the girl continued.
"The part of the Chaldea Citadel that is the publicly acknowledged headquarters of Eden Vital is actually little more than the entrance to the rest of the Geofront, a gigantic subterranean cavity, that lies beneath. Eden Vital has been excavating and building up the interior for decades, and they were just bringing online some of those sections when I left. If you have the time, you might be able to get a tour of the newer sections."
Suzaku frowned quizzically. "How big is this Geofront?"
"My understanding is that the spherical diameter is a little under fourteen kilometers."
Now the stare directed at Kallen was something other than quizzical. The girl allowed a slight, amused smirk to touch her lips.
"All thought elevators are actually embedded within such Geofronts," Kallen explained further. "The prevailing theory is that the Geofronts were formed from the spherical shields that they previously generated."
"That's," Suzaku ran a hand through his hair. "That's all sorts of incredible."
"That's just the Geofront itself," Kallen said. "There's something else below those, but that one you'll need to wait until you're there for them to debrief you on."
"I see," Suzaku said. "In that case, what about the augmentation process itself?"
"Ah, yeah, that," Kallen said dryly. "I'm not going to sugarcoat things here, Suzaku. It'll hurt, a lot."
"I'm not unfamiliar with pain," Suzaku said with a wry smile of his own.
"I know. And you're actually already partway there, what with your current-gen neuro-link interface. But frankly, nothing really ever prepares you for what amounts to a reconstruction of significant parts of your body."
The smile turned into a slight grimace.
"Do you, regret it at all?" Suzaku asked. "Signing on with the cardinal, with Eden Vital."
Kallen hummed. "Having second thoughts?"
"Not exactly. Just, sometimes I find myself wondering, what could have been?"
That elicited a snort from the girl. "I've found that fixating too much what ifs tends to be more depressive than productive. What if we had found my mother before she got kidnapped by Babel? What if my brother had never died fighting the Empire? What if the cardinal was never sent to Japan? No matter how much I might brood over such possibilities, they remain just that, possibilities. They don't change the here and now, what actually has happened. And that means they don't actually matter."
Suzaku pursed his lips. "How can you be so certain?"
The girl raised an eyebrow. "Why shouldn't I be?"
While Suzaku's mouth opened, no words emerged for several moments before he finally shut it. Perhaps because in the end Suzaku understood that everything he could possibly list, those were his reasons, not Kallen's. That Kallen did not seem to suffer these insecurities, Suzaku could almost feel jealous of.
"Is it really that easy?" Suzaku asked. "To be able to know that you're doing the right thing?"
The girl's eyes flared. "Who the hell ever claimed it was easy?"
Suzaku's jaws clamped tight, the youth at least self-aware enough to recognize this particular misstep.
"Whether something is right or wrong is not always going to be obvious," Kallen said, a steady glare cast upon the other youth. "And the more people your actions might impact, the harder it becomes to actually do the right thing. There will always be someone, somewhere who will get the raw end regardless of what you do. Trying to save everyone isn't our job. We save those we can, but the more important thing we do is enable others to save those we cannot. That's what serving His Eminence is about, so get that into your head, Suzaku, instead of wallowing on what you personally can or cannot save."
Suzaku winced slightly. "Okay, that was probably fair. Harsh, but fair."
A momentary lull settled between the two.
"So, do you have any other questions?" Kallen asked after a moment.
Suzaku rubbed the back of his neck. "What sort of person is the grandmaster?"
"A bloody witch," Kallen answered immediately.
The other youth blinked. "Sorry, what?"
"The grandmaster usually treats others in a rather whimsical fashion," Kallen continued, "but don't let that fool you in the slightest. She is Eden Vital's leader and one of if not the most powerful person alive, both metaphorically and possibly literally. Bore her, entertain her, treat her however much your personal patience is willing to endure. Do not however ever cross her. Even assuming you somehow survive, she will exact a price that extends well beyond your own life."
"That sounds like you're speaking from personal experience," Suzaku said slowly.
Kallen shrugged. "Make of that what you will."
The unease returned to the youth's expression. "And this is the person I'm supposed to pledge myself to?"
"Suzaku," Kallen said in an almost exasperated tone. "For all practical purposes, Eden Vital already owns you. They have the moment you let them put one of their neuro-links into your body. That you're being offered a contract with the grandmaster is just a matter of degree, not kind, of the type of service already expected of you. It's ultimately on you to figure out how to use this service to get things you personally want done, done."
"Like you are with Japan?" Suzaku said.
"The cardinal made me certain promises when I signed on with him," Kallen nodded. "So far he's more than lived up to them, even when it cost him his own blood. That is the sort of integrity Eden Vital's leadership possesses. The Order will do everything in its power to make good its promises, but it does not show mercy to those that betray its trust."
"Like the heretics."
Another nod. "Ask yourself this, Suzaku. Do you have genuine, concrete concerns, or are you just trying to demand an ethical standard you yourself would never be capable of meeting?"
Suzaku blinked. "What do you mean?"
"It's pretty simple," Kallen said. "There will be times that Eden Vital does something that you feel uncomfortable about. There might even be times the Order does something you genuinely disagree with. But would you ever be willing to always compromise or sway from a path you truly believe in merely because someone else wants you to for their own personal reassurance?"
Suzaku did not have an immediate answer to that, instead simply looking back at Kallen.
"Look, Suzaku," Kallen said once the silence had lingered overlong. "I don't mind filling you in on things you need to know, but I'm really not inclined to debate morality or ethics with you. You already know I disagree with you pretty strongly on certain points, and I'm honestly not interested in having us try to convince the other of our viewpoints. If you have personal insecurities that you need airing, while I am certainly sympathetic, I am not empathetic towards your specific issues, making me very much the wrong person to be airing them to."
"Well, that is certainly honest," Suzaku said with a strained smile.
"Better that I be a bit overly blunt than to let misconceptions fester," Kallen said. "I mean what I said, Suzaku. You have my sympathies for all the crap that's happened to you, but I just don't believe in some of the things you do, and I'd appreciate if you don't try and come up with ways to make yourself think otherwise." The girl shrugged again. "I'll still help you with things that you don't understand when it comes to Eden Vital, but you're going to need to accept that sometimes there isn't anything deeper to some of the answers I give, that things just are the way they are."
"And you're fine with that?" Suzaku apparently could not quite help himself.
"Whether I am or not has nothing to do with you," Kallen however remained firm in her rebuff.
From the way Suzaku's eyes darted about, he clearly wanted to argue otherwise. The hardness of Kallen's gaze made equally clear she would not budge however. Meeting those eyes, a certain set of words reverberated in his head. Sometimes, one can be too quick to offer one's help. Why could that ever be the case? Try as he might, this was still something Suzaku could not truly comprehend.
End of Chapter 71
So, the lack of updates this past month or so was not due to me not writing. In fact I just recently submitted a ~40K word manuscript to a commercial publishing contest. Then there's the ~60K word drafts that I cut outright over the course of completing that manuscript. So, yeah, been writing quite a bit. Just didn't have much time to work on my fanfics. Unfortunately, don't expect updates to pick up much in the near-term either. This chapter was actually about 80% complete when I diverted my attention to the manuscript, and I have a second manuscript in progress that I need to finish before the end of the year. Only once those are done will I be able to turn my attention back to my fics. I of course do intend to finish this and my other fanfic stories. It just might take a bit longer than originally envisioned, though that's arguably nothing new.