She really should have known better.

It had happened at a party that she had been practically forced to attend by General Smilas.

"Keeping the people's spirits up is important," he had said to her, but they had both known such words were simply hollow platitudes.

The parties regularly thrown by politicians were simply an excuse for the rich and powerful to do as they always did, party, drink, and schmooze one another.

All the while the war with Britannia raged outside, and common men died in droves.

It was behavior such as that which almost made Leila inclined to agree with the more extreme rhetoric of the hardline militarists.

Almost.

The fact that she usually had to attend such events with Ioan was simply the rotten cherry on top of the mud sundae as far as Leila was concerned.

But as the daughter of the Malcal family, and more importantly, as General Smilas' subordinate, she had her duties, and so she tolerated these parties.

But perhaps she could be forgiven for letting people know her real opinions now and again?

Pierre Moreau, a member of the council of forty and the representative of France, was a corrupt son of a bitch who was blatantly taking bribes from several of the most infamously corrupt business magnates within the Republic to ignore their dirty dealings and to ensure that legislation targeting their corrupt practices always got shot down, and, most importantly, to ensure that legislation designed to give them an unfair advantage in the market always got passed.

He was a parasite, nothing more and nothing less, a worm in the spine of the EU, sucking the Republic dry while he was paid a fat salary with hard working taxpayers money.

He represented everything Leila despised about her country.

And to top all that off, the man was a sexist pig of the same breed as Ioan, as if the man hadn't done enough to earn her disgust already.

So really, who could have faulted her when she heard Ioan compliment the pig one too many times, and she exploded into an explosive tirade about the man's various failings?

Really, all she did was speak what anyone with half a brain and a semblance of a moral compass within that party was already thinking, really, people should have been commending her for her words.

If only.

Instead, at the conclusion of her rant, she had been met with stunned silence, a horrified look from General Smilas, and a rather infuriated Pierre Moreau, who had happened to overhear the entire exchange.

Which was why she found herself here, sitting outside General Smilas' office, waiting to be called in so he could no doubt lecture her ear off about how they needed to play nice with politicians like Moreau. All because she had simply expressed her God given right to an opinion.

As if Smilas didn't say the exact same things about the man behind his back, Leila thought to herself with a snort. Bloody hypocrite.

Then again, such cold pragmatism was the reason why a man of humble origins like Smilas had managed to rise through the ranks, Leila supposed.

Gene Smilas had been born to a single mother of destitute means. Upon reaching eighteen years of age, he had managed to get into a military academy of some renown via a scholarship.

He had passed with flying colors in all areas, and by all rights he should have earned the Honour Award, but he had been passed over for the award for a cadet from a more influential family.

Such injustices were perhaps why Smilas held a grudge against the political elite of the Republic.

Still, Smilas was always careful not to let his true feelings slip out where those elites could overhear him. Leila herself only knew of his true feelings due to being his protege, a member of his innermost circle.

She had first met Smilas at one of her father's rallies. Her blood father, not the old Malcal patriarch.

After defecting from Britannia, Bradow Von Breisgau had quickly risen to become an up and coming candidate for Prime Minister of the EU.

Her father had demanded sweeping reform of the EU's economy and political system, and this had drawn in the support of Smilas.

Smilas has quickly become one of her father's biggest backers, and that was how she had first met him.

After the death of her parents and her adoption by the Malcals, Smilas had made a habit of checking in on her to make sure she was alright and that the Malcals were treating her well.

He had become something of a mentor for her, and it had in large part been due to him that she had decided to join the military.

Leila had been a good student, but had been pulled out of school and put in command of her own unit far earlier than expected due to the war with Britannia.

She loved her unit, the Wyvern Squadron, otherwise known as W0, but the fact that she, a Britannian by blood, had been put in charge of a unit made up of former terrorists, half of them being foreign terrorists no less, was rather telling.

She had always tried to make it clear to her peers that she was French through and through, but she hadn't always been successful.

The fact that she was born a Britannian noble and was currently an adopted member of an elite family didn't exactly help matters.

Of course, General Smilas' patronage was enough to shield her from most scrutiny, but that did not mean that she was above reproach, far from it.

Which brought her back to her current situation, sitting here, outside Smilas's office after having publicly insulted a powerful politician, waiting for a lecture from the General.

She and her unit would probably be punished as well, likely sent to some backwater for an irrelevant, boring mission in order to teach her some humility.

As if speaking the truth was somehow arrogant.

Leila was drawn out of her thoughts by Smilas' secretary. "Miss Malcal? The General will see you now."

Leila gave the secretary a dismissive look. "Yes yes, I heard you."

The secretary scowled at her, but Leila paid her no mind.

She was being called in to get yelled at because she called a weasel a weasel, she wasn't in the mood to be polite.

She walked down the hallway and arrived at the door to Smilas' office.

She took a moment to take a deep breath, before opening the door and entering Smilas' office.

She found herself standing in General Smilas' office, where he was sitting at a mahogany desk while surrounded by fish tanks filled with various species of fish.

When she entered, he looked up from the papers he had been reading and looked at her.

She met his eyes and held her chin high, she was determined to keep her dignity. "General Smilas."

Smilas nodded at her in greeting. "Lieutenant Colonel Malcal, please, sit."

Leila nodded in turn. "Thank you, General Smilas."

She then proceeded to sit down in a chair at the front of General Smilas' desk.

General Smilas frowned at her. "Leila… I trust that I do not need to tell you what this meeting is about?"

Leila crossed her arms and scowled. "Yes, I had the utter gall to call a corrupt politician a corrupt politician, among other things, and how he's raising hell, am I correct?"

General Smilas chuckled ruefully at that. "Those 'other things' happened to be a lot more vulgar than you are making it sound, Leila, but regardless, yes, that is why you are here."

Leila continued to scowl. "Well, I don't understand why this is an issue; the last time I checked, the right to the freedom of speech was enshrined into the declarations of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. Nothing I said was against the law, it certainly doesn't fall under slander law, considering everything I said was completely true."

Smilas raised an eyebrow at her in response. "Really? Everything you said was completely true? Including the bit about how he is surely… poorly endowed?"

Leila rolled her eyes. "He's friends with Ioan."

Smilas snorted at that. "Point taken." Smilas soon regained his serious demeanor, however. "Still, regardless of the things you said being true or not, you still went on this rant at a party paid for and hosted by the politician you were bad-mouthing, in full view and hearing of everyone, including said politician, with your uniform on."

Leila attempted to speak up to defend herself, but Smilas silenced her by raising his hand. "Leila, I understand that Pierre is a piece of shit." It was surprising to hear the General using such language. "But you have to understand that the man has a lot of connections, especially in the military, and he is currently up my ass about this."

Leila sighed at that. "I understand the situation perfectly well, General, but why should a politician have sway in the military? He is supposedly a civil servant not a soldier."

General Smilas shook his head sadly. "Well, yes, obviously he shouldn't have sway in the military, but the reality is that half the Generals are on his payroll, including the head of the military, who is currently on my ass about what you said as well."

Leila took a deep breath. "So, what will happen due to that? It isn't as if they can arrest me for slander. We aren't like Britannia where you will be sent on a so-called vacation and never come back."

Smilas chuckled at that. "Indeed, indeed, of course you will not be disposed of, that simply isn't even on the table, not even Pierre, for all his corruption, would even consider going that far. No, your punishment will come in a different form."

Leila raised an eyebrow at that. "And that punishment will be?"

It was probably going to be some boring post in Greenland or something.

It'd be an annoying and boring post to have to deal with, but Leila would bear it without any complaint.

Smilas sighed at that question. "You and the W0 squadron shall be sent on a mission to Area 11 to aid the rebel leader Zero in his revolt. If Zero is able to succeed in his revolt due to your and your squadron's help, then Britannia will have to divert significant military resources away from our front to deal with Zero and the inevitable storm of revolts that would no doubt happen due to an Area like Area 11 managing to do the impossible and regain its independence from Britannia. Due to the military force we have to contend with being weakened, we may be able to win the war due to this."

Leila sat there in stunned silence, she had not been expecting such an assignment to be her punishment. For a moment, she had trouble comprehending what Smilas had said, but only for a moment. That confusion was then replaced by barely concealed outrage.

Leila moved quickly to object. "Sir, with all due respect, this seems like a vital posting that could determine the fate of the Republic, how is this assignment a punishment for my behavior?"

Smilas looked Leila dead in the eye as he calmly responded. "We're sending you on this missing ns as a punishment because it is a suicide mission. It is highly probable that Zero will fail despite your efforts and that you will all die. And even if you do succeed, conflict with the Chinese Federation who will be seeking to take Area 11 for themselves is inevitable. And even if you manage to survive that onslaught, Britannia will surely invade the Area once again, and you will surely not survive that."

Smilas took out a cigar and lit it. "If I'm being honest, we were already considering you and your squadron for this mission, as a unit of former terrorists, including a good number of Eleven Terrorists, you would be well suited for this mission."

Leila scowled at him. "You want me and my unit to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of that terrorist?!"

Leila sympathized with those who suffered under Britannian rule and resisted it, but Zero's methods simply took it too far. Some amount of terrorism was inevitable, but Zero seemed to have no regard for the lives of civilians.

Smilas took a puff of his cigar. "I am well aware of your opinions on Zero, they are ultimately an irrelevant issue that shall be put aside for the mission, you are dismissed."

Leila angrily left the room, moving closer to her death.


Lelouch stared at the chess table, pondering how the past few weeks had gone.

It has started off well; his rebellion had reached its greatest height yet at Narita, when he had crushed Cornelia in a stunning victory, due in large part to the artificial landslide he had dropped on her and the town below Narita.

At the time, he had pitied the civilians who had been caught in the landslide that had been induced by Kallen on his orders. But he had told himself that it was for the greater good, what were a few hundred innocent Britannian civilians when compared to the struggle against Britannia, the struggle for Japan's freedom and the creation of Nunnally's perfect world?

Who cared about a few hundred innocent Britannians when Britannia had genocide as it's national policy? And are currently applying that policy around the world?

When had the Britannians shown mercy in Shinjuku? When had they shown mercy in Saitama? When did they show mercy in their completely unjustified invasion of Japan?

He had been somewhat less enthusiastic in his defense of the collateral damage his actions had caused when Shirley had tearfully told him of her father's death on his orders.

It was easy to write off the lives of people he didn't know, it was harder to do so when it was the father of his friend.

He had done his best to remain a respectful distance away from Shirley then.

It had been an easy enough matter to destroy the JLF without his subordinates ever being able to catch on, but things had gotten complicated when he saw Shirley at the docks during the battle.

Things had gotten even more complicated when he woke up with his mask off and his gun missing, with a blood splatter being the only sign of the person who had been there to take his gun, and presumably, and terrifyingly, look at his face.

And then the whole business with Mao happened, and he had to geass Shirley to forget him.

Now, his Black Knights were the undisputed leaders of the Japanese resistance movement. And it seemed that others were taking notice of this…

C.C. drew him out of his thoughts. "You are going to burn a hole into the chessboard if you keep staring at it. Does the imminent arrival of our European friends have you thinking that hard?"

Lelouch snorted at that. "Somewhat, it's certainly a matter I should consider."

C.C. chuckled to herself in reaction to that response. "Oh? Are you perhaps saying that you don't trust the Europeans and their endless generosity?"

Lelouch made a point of ignoring her making light of the situation, deciding to answer her question seriously. "Yes, I do not trust the EU's intentions with these volunteers."

C.C. crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly. "Well then, go on, explain your reasoning."

Lelouch sighed at that remark. "Come now, are you seriously telling me that you don't have any idea what I'm getting at? You are many things C.C., but stupid isn't one of them."

C.C. snorted at that. "Oh, I already know what you're thinking, I just want to hear you say it."

Lelouch rolled his eyes at that. "Very well then. On the one hand, I understand perfectly well that some degree of support from the other two world powers is necessary if we are to throw the Britannians back into the sea and hold onto our independence after the fact. But in a lot of cases, support from the great powers tends to be a poisoned gift. I know for a fact that the Chinese Federation will absolutely try to take Japan for themselves after we gain independence, and while the EU is too far away to actually hold Japan directly, they would not be above leveraging the support they give us to turn us into their puppet state to utilize as a tool to expand their influence in the Pacific. These 'volunteers' could have orders to begin subverting my authority."

C.C. smirked at him. "Yet at the same time, you can't exactly refuse their help can you? After all, you said it yourself, you do need them as your allies to some degree. Besides, Oghi and the others wouldn't stand for it either, even if they shared your concerns."

Lelouch nodded at her in response to her words. "Indeed, as such I-"

He was interrupted by one of the Black Knights knocking on the door to the room he had commandeered to be his office.

Lelouch quickly put on his helmet before answering. "What is it?"

It was Oghi who answered him. "Zero, the European volunteers have arrived. We're going out to greet them. We figured it would be for the best if you came with us to greet them."

Lelouch nodded at that. "Yes, of course."

Lelouch looked at C.C. "Are you coming?"

C.C. shook her head. "I don't feel like it, besides, there'll be plenty of time to become acquainted with them anyway."

He'd figured as much. "Very well."

Lelouch stood up from his chair and exited the room, meeting up with Oghi who nodded at him, before going outside to be greeted by the unit.

Their General had sent him some info about this unit. The W0, or Wyvern Squadron, was a unit of former terrorists from the EU, which would make them well suited to the type of warfare his Black Knights conducted, or at least that was the intent.

They were all standing before him and his Black Knights, in the front was a Blonde girl around his age with lavender eyes. He knew her as Leila Malcal, the commander of the unit.

Most would have been surprised at her age, considering her position, but Lelouch knew full well he didn't have a right to judge.

She seemed to be trying to burn a hole into his mask with her eyes, which made sense; her file had mentioned that she had a poor opinion of him.

Her opinion didn't particularly matter to Lelouch, as long as she followed his orders without complaint, she could think whatever she wanted of him.

Lelouch put out a gloved hand in greeting. "Lieutenant Colonel Malcal? Welcome to Area 11, I am Zero, I hope that you and I will be able to work together in the future."

Malcal looked at his hand dubiously. But took it in the end. "Thank you for the warm welcome, Zero. I look forward to working with you."

Even as they shook hands, Lelouch somehow doubted that she truly meant that.