A/N: Thanks again to Greatkingrat88 for his work on the chapter.
In this chapter Lelouch returns to the role of Zero have his vacation, but he already has a complicated problem he has to address. Could be it be a blessing or a cruse in the end.
First time to reply to an anonymous reviewer.
Guest: Yeah Cera's leadership is burying their heads in the sand and they will get a rude awakening from PACT.
I haven't retired on this story, but I did have some trouble with some aspects of the chapter.
On with the chapter…
Chapter 14
The Forgotten Colony
A few days after the conclusion of his vacation, ready to don the mantle once more, Lelouch was aboard his flagship. The Excalibur arrived at the old Ryuvian Mining Colony planet that had been discovered while he was away. C.C. filled Lelouch in on the details as they traveled together to the planet after the latter had met Lelouch at the base to accompany him on the return trip.
Under Jeremiah's direction, the Black Knights had established a presence on the planet, both at the space elevator on the surface itself.
"So, the planet's inhabitants," Lelouch asked, reclining in the chair behind his desk. "Any contact with them so far?"
"No," C.C. replied. "We have avoided them so far. However, we have observed them from a safe distance."
"I assumed you have used drones to monitor them?"
"Not exclusively, but we were very cautious nevertheless."
"What have you found out so far?" Lelouch asked. C.C. used her holo device to display some images above Lelouch's desk.
"Based on our observations alone, we know they are a pre-warp people. There is one thing of note," C.C. began.
"Go on."
"It seems access to technology is separated by a class-structure system. Your average civilian has no access to higher technology, other than some simple conveniences. However, upper-class citizens, especially those in charge, have access to more technology that makes their living conditions more comfortable, and they also have access to more advanced weapons."
"I see," Lelouch said, resting his hands on his desk. "So those at the bottom of the ladder have very little access to the things we would take for granted, is what you are telling me?"
She nodded. "Yes. Those at the bottom have access to nothing more sophisticated than indoor plumbing."
"How are the living conditions of the poor?"
"Pretty terrible."
"What is the general consensus among the others?"
C.C. sighed before answering.
"As I'm sure you would expect, all of them are worried about leaving the planet alone."
"All because of the planet's primary resources?"
The green haired immortal nodded.
"Everyone is concerned about leaving this planet alone. If it was uninhabited it wouldn't be an issue, but…"
"I know. we just can't march in like we own the place and tell them what to do," Lelouch said, resting his hands on his desk. "We need to handle this with great care."
"You know this is a decision you can't make on your own. Not without sending the wrong signals."
"I know," Lelouch replied before rising from his desk. "We'll need to hold a meeting with the Black Knight leadership. I wish to hear their thoughts and allow them to voice their concerns before a decision can be made."
Elsewhere around the same time, Ava was on her second day as a Black Knight recruit. She had been made to work long shifts thus far. She had expected no less with Lelouch as the leader, but she was intrigued and impressed by how the recruits for the organization were handled to provide a level of comfortable familiarity and adjustment. When a recruit with a military background signed up, they would be placed with other similar recruits, and superiors and trainers with similar backgrounds. Those of a civilian background were trained separately, more thoroughly, to be prepared physically and mentally for becoming a Black Knight. Once basic training was complete, they would be tested and given options to join various branches depending on the results.
Ava glanced around the cafeteria as she sat down to eat her breakfast, noticing a considerable number of familiar faces from the Ceran Space Force. She had expected not to be the only disgruntled ex-military member, but she hadn't expected so many.
I suppose more were discharged from the Space Forces or left in anger over Cera burying their heads in the sand, Ava thought as she took a sip of her coffee.
She only recognized so many, some from the protests, some from the academy, and some from both.
If this many from the military joined the Black Knights, I wonder how many civilians joined?
"Ava?" Maray said prompting Ava to look up.
To her surprise, Ava saw Maray standing in front of her, holding a tray of food. The younger girl seemed quite amused by Ava's reaction, and decided to sit across from her. Much like Ava, the young white-haired girl wore the black Knight uniform, but instead of a skirt and stockings combination like Ava, the younger girl wore black shorts.
"I knew you'd be here, but I wasn't sure I would see you," Maray said, scarfing down a big bite of food.
"You knew." Ava began, realization dawning on her.
"Yup, I overheard everything between you two," Maray said, drinking down a gulp of juice.
"I assume your brother doesn't know you've joined the Black Knights?"
"Nope, and neither does my parents."
"I can't believe you would do that."
"Why not?"
Ava sighed.
"Because they care about you. Did you at least leave a note?"
"No," Maray answered, continuing to eat.
Ava was left wondering what had happened between them for Maray to join the Black Knights without telling anyone. She knew the siblings had disagreements over Maray's involvement with recent political protests. Then there was being expelled on top of it, which made Ava wonder how her family reacted.
Maybe their reactions were similar to my father's, I wonder?
"So," Maray said, "What position are you aiming for?"
"A command position, a captain on a Black Knight's ship. You?" Ava said pointing her fork at Maray.
"I am not sure, but I am leaning towards trying for Ryder pilot."
"Really?" Ava said, surprised.
"I don't think I would make a good engineer, doctor or soldier. The other positions do not seem to interest me. So why not, I thought."
"I suppose, but I doubt I have to tell you how dangerous such a career is."
"You sound like Lelouch. I recognize it's a dangerous career choice as you put it. But as I said, I don't know how suited I am for anything else."
Ava had nothing to offer as a safer alternative, but she knew just being part of the Black Knights was a dangerous career choice. If nothing else, then as a Ryder pilot Maray would possibly be safer in a cockpit responsible for her own fate than relying on whoever was commanding the ship she was on.
I just hope Kayto and the rest of his family are taking it well.
Across the galaxy, Kayto was standing on the bridge of the Ceran heavy cruiser dubbed the Pride of Cera. It was one of Cera's oldest warships still on active duty, utilized for light patrols and training members of the Cera Space Force. The rest of her line had been decommissioned in favor of the Ceran Space Battleship, the current mainstay of her forces. He was acting as Executive Officer aboard the vessel, standing behind the ship's captain. The man, regarded by the rest of the navy leadership as a reckless loose cannon, had graying black hair and green eyes.
"Take us in slow, helmsman," David Jankowski commanded.
"Sir, the asteroid fields surrounding Cera-5 is interfering with the scanners. We won't know if any hostiles are hiding," a bridge crew member warned.
"Only a fool would challenge one of Cera's mightiest vessels," Jankowski declared arrogantly with a grin.
Kayto could only sigh quietly. When his superiors warned him his assignment as Jankowski's XO would a test of endurance, they hadn't been joking.
Now I understand why they've denied him command of a newer vessel.
Cera-5 was a gas giant with a ring encircling the planet, made up of rocks and ice particles. The planet was used by Cera for mining minerals from the rocky debris, but more often mining operations had established gas refineries above the planet's atmosphere for the production of weapons and other useful products sold on Cera. As such the area had the occasional problem with space pirates attacking the transports hauling their cargo to Cera.
Cera's formidable military usually discouraged most pirates from being active in their space. Of course, other Neutral Rim governments not having the forces and resources to better defend their territories from pirates made them easier quarry.
"Destination to target?"
"One hundred kilometers, sir," a navigation officer replied. "We are approaching the distress signal from the Golden Nori."
"Anything on the sensors?" Jankowski inquired.
"Nothing, sir. Too much rocky debris around us to tell."
Kayto watched the tactical display thoughtfully. He didn't like the fact they were entering the debris field of Cera-5's rings; it was the ideal place for an ambush.
"Sir, I have a visual on the Golden Nori," a bridge operator said.
"On screen."
Appearing on the main viewer was the cargo vessel the Golden Nori. It was built to haul thousands of tons of raw metals and ores with storage tanks for gases harvested from Cera-5. It was at least two hundred meters in length, but it only required a thirty-person crew to operate the vessel. Scanning the wrecked vessel, it didn't seem there was life aboard, but what drew Kayto's attention was the damage upon her engines and that the bridge had been destroyed.
This was a precise attack. First they disabled the engines, then took out the bridge.
Kayto turned to a bridge operator.
"Any life signs?"
"I am detecting none, sir," the operator replied. "The crew must've activated the distress beacon after they were disabled."
"And right before their attackers took out the bridge," Kayto said.
"Doesn't seem like they've taken all of the cargo," Jankowski said.
"Should we go to yellow alert?" Kayto inquired, worried about an attack.
"For what?" Jankowski said with a dismissive hand wave. "The enemy has fled!"
"With all due respect, no pirates would attack a cargo ship then take nothing," Kayto pointed out.
"Pirates are cowards," Jankowski replied, too prideful to acknowledge the possibility of danger. He was an old school nationalist, all ego, bluster and pride.
"They wouldn't dare attack the Ceran Space Force."
Before Kayto could protest further, an explosion rocked their vessel. Thankfully it wasn't a direct hit. Kayto reacted immediately.
"EVASIVE MANEUVERS!" Kayto commanded before demanding, "Where did that come from?!"
"Sir, that explosion came from behind us, and…oh god," the bridge operator began as the blood drained from her face. "Sir, there is an enemy vessel behind us. A drifting rock took the shot for us."
"On screen! Who would dare attack us?!" demanded the captain.
Jankowski's eyes went wide when an image of an Alliance Cruiser emerging from the drifting rocks and debris around them. It had hidden itself, anticipating their arrival. Worse yet, it wasn't any Alliance Cruiser. Its markings identified it as the Ivory Web, the sole surviving ship of Captain Kidd's original forces.
"Captain, she is powering up weapons. Your orders?" a bridge crewman asked, but Jankowski was frozen.
"Hard to starboard," Kayto said taking control of the situation. "Get us into the asteroid field, using docking thrusters if you have to. We have our backside exposed. We need cover NOW!"
"Aye-aye, sir," the helmsman replied, steering the ship while trying to use the debris around them as shields.
The Ivory Web was in pursuit, using its flak cannons to shoot down any smaller debris in its way to give it a clear line of fire at the fleeing heavy cruiser. Kayto knew their ship couldn't beat an Alliance Cruiser in a head-on confrontation. Its kinetics would tear their smaller ship apart before they could come about. Even then, Kayto feared their weapons wouldn't be enough to face the enemy pirate ship head on.
"Turn around. Attack positions. I want our guns firing back!" Jankowski snapped as he turned to Kayto.
"Sir, that is suicide!" Kayto argued back.
"Don't you dare talk back to me. I am your-" Jankowski said as he rose from his chair to confront Kayto, angry about having his authority challenged.
However, he was interrupted mid-sentence when a volley of missiles fired from the Ivory Web was launched against the Pride of Cera. The drifting ice and rock around them caught some of the missiles, but three got through and hit the engines. Another missile got through and hit the ship near where its armored bridge was located, causing consoles to fry from an electrical surge and a support beam to come crashing down. Jankowski was crushed, a bridge operator jumping out of their chair to avoid being crushed.
The bridge was in disarray, but the helmsman steered the ship deeper into the asteroid field with the explosions caused by the other missiles impacting the debris around them covering their escape. Just as the rocky and ice debris made it difficult to detect the Ivory Web, the same held true for the Pride of Cera once they fled deep into the rings of Cera-5.
Kayto didn't know if the enemy ship believed they had been destroyed or lost track of them, but he was grateful when they stopped attacking.
"Status report," Kayto demanded, as two members of the crew inspected the captain, knowing he was already dead.
"Sir, our engines have taken a hit, our warp core is offline and our engines are down to twenty precent," a bridge crewman replied.
"So we can't escape, and trying to call for help will get us killed," Kayto said, weighing his options.
He knew his ship didn't have the armaments to engage the Ivory Web in a head-on battle, but with escape or help being impossible, fighting was their only chance.
I don't have to engage them head on. If we can get behind them and attack their engines..
"Do we have a location of the enemy ship?"
"No sir. Our scans are having a hard time operating in this debris field."
"Can we get observers to the observation town and look for the ship?"
"Yes, the observation tower hasn't sustained any damage," the crewman replied before using his station to get men up there.
"What is our weapon status?"
"Our weapons systems are intact, but we don't have anything that can dent the heavy armor of that cruiser," a female crewmember reported.
"Not if we attack its engines from behind," Kayto said, stunning the bridge crew. "I know attacking a vessel like that could mean our deaths, but we are out of options. But if we can get behind it and assault their engines, we might cripple or destroy it if we are lucky."
The crew on the bridge seemed hesitant. Quickly, Kayto added,
"I have a plan to get behind them and take them out. Granted it's not the best plan, and it's risky. However, if anyone else has a better idea I am all ears."
Kayto waited a few minutes, but no one said a word.
"Okay, so we'll go with my plan." Kayto said before asking. "Does our thermonuclear warheads have remote or proximity fuses?"
"They have proximity fuses sir," a female bridge operator replied. Irina, Kayto recalled, a junior officer.
"Could we attach the beacon to draw them in?"
"I could ask if our engineers could put together a beacon. Do you mean to lure them into a trap?" said Irina.
"Yes, but they might realize something is amiss if they don't see us. However, if we can draw them towards the bomb, we could slip behind them and attack. If we hit them hard enough and take out their engines, they'll drift into the bomb and be destroyed. Now I just need to know if the ship's anchors work."
The bridge crew relayed Kayto's orders, and the engineers aboard put together a distress beacon using what spare parts they had. The result would be a beacon strong enough to reach outside of the debris field, but it wouldn't last too long.
Once they were done, crews in EVA suits attached the beacon to the largest asteroid they could find, setting up three thermonuclear warheads. One next to the beacon, the other two on nearby asteroids. They would be linked to the beacon; once it begins transmitting a distress signal it would active the warheads' proximity fuses.
To avoid alerting the Ivory Web, the Pride of Cera used its docking thrusters and anchors to move about the asteroid field to avoid alerting the enemy ship.
"What's our distance to the beacon?"
"Five thousand meters, sir," the helmsman replied.
"Very good. Activate the beacon!"
"Activating now," Irina replied, entering the commands into her console.
The beacon began broadcasting. Kayto could only wait, hoping the pirate ship would take the bait.
"Do our spotters see the enemy ship?"
"No visual yet," a bridge crewmember said listening for word on her headset. "Sir, we have visual confirmation of enemy vessel it is six hundred meters to our portside."
"Right. Let's get behind it before they figure out it's a decoy. Remember, steady as she goes."
"Aye, sir," the helmsman said, steering the ship towards the passing Ivory Web. The debris of Cera-5's rings masked their approach, but Kayto knew they had to get behind it before the enemy realized their ploy. He knew the Black Knights had used a similar tactic to wipe out most of Captain Kidd's pirate fleet, so there was a considerable risk the Ivory Web could realize the deception before they got close to the bombs.
Once we fire up our engines, the Ivory Web will know we are here.
Kayto was waiting for the right moment as tensions in the bridge rose. Kayto couldn't help but grip the command chair he sat in. One wrong move could doom him and the whole ship. They had to hit hard and fast once the moment came.
Using a combination of anchors and docking the thrusters, the Pride of Cera maneuvered itself into position as the Ivory Web moved further away. The enemy ship passed them by, continuing forward, having not yet grown suspicious of the beacon.
It's now or never.
"On my command, unleash everything we've got on that ship. Fire up the engines to close the distance, so everything we have will hit." Kayto said as the ship drifted out of the debris into the wake of the Ivory Web.
As the Pride positioned itself, taking aim at the enemy ship, Kayto raised his hand. Moments later, he dropped it.
"NOW," Kayto commanded as the ship's engines roared to life, beginning an attack run on the Ivory Web's engines. "Open fire!"
Missiles, kinetics, lasers and even flak guns were unleashed against the Ivory Web's rear. Thanks to the lack of armor upon the engines themselves, the Pride of Cera's surprise attack was devastating. Even as the first volleys hit home, silent explosions rocking the Ivory Web, the second volley was already underway. Internal explosions began to erupt from the sides of the enemy ship as a chain reaction was set off.
"Pull back. The enemy ship is drifting towards the warheads." Kayto commanded.
"Aye sir," the helmsman said as they turned the ship and quickly retreated from the air as the Ivory Web.
The enemy ship, now carried by its own momentum and the explosions, drifted towards the waiting warheads. Within moments, the Ivory Web neared the first warhead, trigging a detonation, followed by the second and third, triggered by the latter. The forward section of the Alliance Cruiser was demolished by the first and second warhead, while parts of the ship survived the explosion.
"Enemy vessel has sustained critical damage!" Irina reported triumphantly. "It's a wreck, sir!"
Cheers and applause erupted around the bridge, and Kayto sighed with relief. They had survived.
"Well done, everyone," he said. "Now let's move out of the rings and send a distress call to HQ. Inform them of all that has happened."
"Aye sir," Irina replied.
Kayto was thankful everything worked out, but he had some concerns headquarters might not react well to the death of the Pride of Cera's captain. He knew there was nothing he could do about it, but Kayto was confident he had done his duty and saved the crew about the ship he was on.
That was more than enough for him.
Across the galaxy; Lelouch had called for a meeting among the leadership of the Black Knights. No one had to ask what the meeting was about. It was that obvious, especially given their findings about the world so far. Everyone knew the decisions facing them would not be easy with regards to the world they had found. Even C.C. and Garibaldi were in attendance, along with Captains Kenway, Sergeyevna, and Cisneros. Moments of uneasy silence filled the room, until Lelouch spoke.
"Let us address the elephant in the room, shall we?"
"Elephant?" Isadora inquired, titling her head in a curious gesture.
"It's an old terran saying. The elephant is a very large creature native to Earth that can be easily spotted from a distance. The expression about the elephant in the room is with regards to an obvious truth or fact, especially one regarded as embarrassing or undesirable, that is being intentionally ignored or left unaddressed," Lelouch explained.
"That makes sense, but it's quite an understatement," Kenway remarked with a sigh, knowing this conversation would be a difficult one.
"We expected to find some abandoned base or some barely habitable world we could use. Instead of that, we find a Class 25 planet with an identical, even more potent replacement to Ongessite," C.C. said. Isadora reluctantly raised a hand.
"Actually, our investigation of the space elevator revealed this planet has veins of black iron."
"Black iron, as in the rare and hyper-dense material revered by the ancient Ryuvians for its virtual indestructibility?" Cisneros asked. Isadora nodded.
"Just great. As if this conversation wasn't going to be difficult enough," Garibaldi said, noticing Lelouch burying his masked face into his hands.
Black iron, as Cisneros noted, was a rare and hyper dense material that was virtually indestructible, but it was a key resource for the creation of specialized Ryder parts requiring perfect durability, specifically joints capable of withstanding extraordinary g-forces and melee weaponry. However, their extreme weight and limited supplies of black iron limited their usage, since the only place Black Iron could be found was through melting down ancient monoliths from the Holy Ryuvian Empire during the height of its power. Specifically the Church of Ryuvia, which used it to create various religious symbols in ancient times. Now many monoliths found on former Ryuvian worlds were melted down in solar furnaces.
"I am almost hesitant to ask, but do we know what other resources this planet has?" Lelouch asked, almost wanting to take off his mask to massage his temples.
"We discovered shipments of gray iron. Which makes sense, since we know Ongessite is used with ceramic matter, which when combined with gray iron creates durable materials second only to black iron, yet only at forty precent its original weight," Isadora said.
"So basically, this planet has every resource we would need to more or less become our own one-planet nation?" Garibaldi said. For many this might have been cause for celebration, but for the Black Knights this presented a huge moral dilemma.
It would have been easy enough if the world had been uninhabited. But there were people living on the planet already, and trying to seize its resources by force would make them no better than PACT. But a treasure trove like this could not be left alone either; its resources could make the Black Knights financially independent and able to build even greater fleets and armies.
"Well, we can't just march in there and take it all. I joined this cause for freedom, not to become another dictatorship," said Kenway.
"But we can't ignore the planet either. If PACT or anyone else found this place, they would seize it and begin strip mining the place. They would turn it into another Ongess," Sergeyevna replied.
"I concur," said Lelouch. "We just can't take over the planet. No matter how tempting its resources are. I don't know how well you know Earth history, but it is littered with ruthless tyrants who exploited and killed people in situations just like this. I want the Black Knights to be better."
"I agree, sir," Kenway said before gesturing to the second part of the problem. "But should we station men here or set up a base to monitor the world in the event someone finds it?"
"That is one possibility, but if anyone else finds it that will just bring PACT down on this world. However, we are far out in uncharted territory so that shouldn't be a problem for the time being," Lelouch said.
"Perhaps we should consider seizing the planet or establishing mining operations elsewhere, away from the settlements. We have only found one settlement so far, haven't we?" Sergeyevna suggested.
"Respectfully, Captain," Kenway began. "I think that will not go over well with many within our ranks it still would paint us in an unsavory light, especially if these people did find out what we are doing."
"I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the obvious alternative," said Cisneros dryly, finally speaking up. Lelouch had some idea of what she would say, but decided to let her speak. There was no point to this meeting if disagreement was not tolerated.
"We land, take control of the planet, and fully exploit its resources."
"You would make another PACT out of us," said Kenway, his eyes narrowing.
"No, we would not be 'as bad' as PACT," Cisneros scoffed, "how little faith do we have in ourselves if we think one necessary act of war would make us the same as a federation built on tyranny and oppression? Do you think the planet's inhabitants would thank us for our moral hesitations if PACT strolled in and took over while we sat here, debating what to do? I'm not saying we come in and steal their resources from them. Offer them a deal. A favorable one for us, sure, but it'd still be good for them. We could offer them technology and money the likes of which they've never seen. With our help, the galaxy would be opened to them."
"And if they do not want it?" said Lelouch.
Cisneros sighed, shrugging. "Then we convince them. With words first, then force if necessary."
"Cisneros," said Kenway, his voice rising, "I did not join this organization to bully natives around."
"I care about winning this war," said Cisneros bluntly. "I care about establishing a stable, peaceful region of space. Would you rather lose the war while keeping your ideals pure? History will not remember a principled loser, Kenway."
Kenway looked to Lelouch, who resisted the urge to sigh audibly.
"You both make good points. Yes, both," he said, seeing Kenway's look of disbelief, "All we have built is for nothing if we cannot prevail. Cisneros is right in that regard. But all the same, it's all too easy to become the monster you sought to slay as you hunt, metaphorically speaking. I've killed enough people to know the truth of this. We must not make a hasty decision on this matter."
"Time is not on our side," Cisneros said sharply.
"There is always the obvious. Talk to them and ask," said Sergeyevna.
"I've considered this, yes," Lelouch said. "We'll turn the base we have created at the base of the Space Elevator into an observation post to monitor the people in the settlement. We will establish a similar base at the top of the space elevator so we can ensure should anyone stumble upon this planet we can keep any unsavory parties at large from learning about them. Ignoring this world is simply not an option, considering what we have found, but for now we'll keep them under observation. Perhaps we could approach them once we have better understanding of them and come to some kind of agreement."
"Spy on them?" C.C. asked.
"Just enough to know how to best approach them. We don't know everything about them, and I'd rather not do anything to offend them. Furthermore, we need to gauge how they could react to meeting us since they've had no contact with the people who brought their ancestors to this world decades ago," Lelouch said. A first contact situation would need to be handled delicately.
"Look, this isn't a good situation no matter what, but I think observing them for now and learning how we can best approach them is the way to go," Garibaldi suggested to the gathering.
"So we'll just watch for now, then?" Cisneros said, seemingly annoyed.
"For now," Lelouch said before adding. "We'll explore the space elevators in orbit and begin plans to search the base on the planet's moon."
There was an uneasy silence, and Lelouch knew why. Most Ancient Ryuvian Military bases were protected by automated defenses. Despite over a thousand years without proper maintenance and upkeep, these automated defenses were still dangerous. Even Alliance warships could be wiped out by the aged and deadly defenses, if one did not take proper precautions.
"It will take time before I feel we will be prepared and fully armed for such an expedition," Lelouch said to reassure the captains. Furthermore no one questioned him about the idea of exploring an Ancient Ryuvian Base, which could hold valuable Lost Technology.
We'll need every edge we can get against the communing storm, but I refuse to be the conqueror of an undeveloped world.
Little did Lelouch know fate was about to force his hand in an unexpected direction.
A/N: Thank you guys for reading, and hopefully since things aren't so chaotic for me I should be updating some of my other stories soon.
See you guys with the next chapter, and thank you in advance for your reviews and feedback.