AN: Hello dear readers, here is another chapter of over 10,000 words, in addition, published relatively close in time to the previous one.
I would like to thank you very much from this place. The sight of constantly increasing followers and favorites almost gives me wings and huge reserves of energy. He practically feels like a young god, shaping the world according to his will and deriving incredible joy from it. Thanks to all of you for your reading, patience, and reviews.
And speaking of reviews:
- Diabolos Aides - as you wish, dear reader.
- tl34lt12 - To tell you the truth, I took your comment as a mocking complaint :). For a while after the previous chapter was published, I wished my Char Clone was named Char Anzable A.K.A. Full Frontal, not Zechs Anzable A.K.A. Full Frontal. Then at least I'd stuff three in one, XD. As for the rest of your comment ... Yes, Lucius will come to Area Eleven, but first, he will have an interesting and dynamic adventure in sunny Egypt, and will face a worthy opponent who will be able to be quite a challenge for him. However, his confrontation with his brother will take place and I even have an idea of what it should look like.
On the occasion of reminiscing about Egypt Arc, I would like to warn you about something and let you know. Euro Britannia and the original WZERO do not exist, at least the latter does not exist in the OVA form. Don't get me wrong, I like and enjoyed Akito the Exiled with great pleasure, but it is a series that literally violated some geopolitical logic in the canon. The existence of Euro Britannia was incomprehensible and strange for me, especially in the context of the events of the canon series, I decided to fix it a bit in this fic. I will use and introduce some characters from Akito the Exiled, and some OVA events will inspire some battles and plots, but that's about it. I don't want to be accused of copying, and besides, I want to create something new for you. The same goes for Knightmares, which will be introduced in this chapter.
As for the names, I advise you not to be influenced by the appearance of some machines with the same name.
I love you guys and invite you to read this review, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.
Paris, United Republic of Europia
General Staff
January 2017 A.T.B.
The young and incredibly attractive blonde walking down the metal and bright corridors of General Staff and could only sigh in spirit. Since the successful attempt on her father's life, her life has become a synonym of a constant and not necessarily desired adventure. Practically a few weeks after the aforementioned and unexplained attack, which resulted in the orphaning of the then seven-year-old blonde. However, not for long, she was quickly adopted by the powerful and influential Malcal family. While she initially hoped they were doing it out of the goodness of her heart, the ruthless reality brutally verified her naivety. It soon turned out that Franz Malcal adopted her because of her noble origin, and then betrothed her to his youngest son and could boast of having noble blood in the family. All because of the whims of the bourgeois patriarch, who, apparently, was trying to heal his complexes.
Fortunately for her, however, her new life and the last ten years had not been a nightmare for her. While her fiancé was a tactless boor and womanizer, the rest of her foster siblings were already decent. Stephan and Daniel were great businessmen, bankers, and entrepreneurs with a clear inclination to make a lot of money. However, it was only the eldest of Malcal's adoptive siblings and heir to Malcal's fortune, Colonel Franz Junior, who was her step-sibling favorite, largely because of his inspiration to join the ranks of the EU army. The road was not easy and required a lot of commitment and a lot of effort on her part. Ultimately, however, her efforts and commitment enabled her to attend the elite military academy under Nancy, which the young girl graduated from with honors and much praise.
Currently, however, seventeen-year-old Captain Leila Malcal was one of the people who can confidently be considered a rising star of the EU army. Its repulsion of the vanguard of the Holy Britannian Empire forces in the form of the Knightmare Frames battalion, which, after taking Luanda, wanted to move straight towards Matadi in Congo, was the best proof of this. The young girl's leadership and tactical skills were unmistakable and hard to miss. Thanks to this, she found an extremely influential protector in the form of General Gene Smilas, who turned out to be working closely with Franz. General Smilas and Colonel Franz have collaborated and exchanged insights on a great many issues, but three have been raised particularly often. The first is the current political situation inside the EU, and basically political anarchy and the incessant power struggles in the sinking ship, as at least both of them liked to call the so-called republic. The second topic was the African front. While a much more appropriate name would be 'African Meat Machine', which was constantly clamoring for more and more victims and resources. The third and final - but by no means least important - point was the development of the Knightmare Frames used by the EU armies. It was no secret that Europia was - at least for the moment - surpassed by Britannia in terms of technological advantage. Knightmares were the most obvious example of this.
Unfortunately, for the past two months her stepbrother has been completely unavailable. The West African campaign and the battles with the Britannian Empire there became increasingly difficult and fierce as Purple Beast and his comrades returned to the front. For many weeks, many unknowns and mutually exclusive information appeared. In fact, all reports from the West African Front can be briefly described as one great chaos. According to some, the front was about to collapse completely and the vanguard of the defending forces was swept away. According to others, it was the EU army that managed to repel the invaders and defeat the Purple Beast legions. And according to others, the front remained completely unchanged and demanded more and more resources to meet its own needs.
Leila walked quickly and gracefully to the door leading directly to the office of General Smilas, now the General Inspector of the United Army. In front of the office, an extremely handsome, broad-shouldered and green-eyed brunette with a very good physique, which was visible even under a navy blue military uniform, was waiting. He was wearing a peaked cap that did not distinguish him from the average officer. However, his facial features and warm smile betrayed his identity at once.
"Franz!" Leila screamed with incredible joy, then ran to her foster brother and threw herself at his neck. "I missed you. I thought you were killed in the fight against Purple Beast." In fact, the thought had passed through her mind many times over and over again. However, now, all doubts and uncertainties have been dispelled. Her beloved stepbrother was here, and that was all that mattered.
For his part, Franz returned her hug affectionately and quickly. It was extremely important to him, because for many days he had been completely focused on the war and did not have much time for affection, especially with people close to his heart. The last few weeks have been extremely hard, exhausting and unprecedentedly intense for him. Even the Britannian Witch did not give him as much hard work as a certain extremely gifted and fierce Prince of Britannia.
"Leila." He told her affectionately, then ran his slender fingers through the hair of his younger and adoptive sister. All his gestures and movements were warm, full of family concern. "I'm here and with you, I'm not going anywhere yet." Then his gaze fell on several nearby officers and adjutants who were either throwing a smiling or confused glance at them. "But I'm afraid we have to end this show of family bonding. After all, we are soldiers on duty and we have to be professional."
"Yes you are right." Leila replied softly, then stopped hugging her brother and stepped back a few steps, "Excuse me, Colonel." Then she saluted with all the dignity she could muster at that moment.
Franz returned the salute quickly, then his face turned stone and serious. "We're a few minutes late to meet the general, we must get in as soon as possible."
The announcement from her foster brother did not shake her attitude. "Got it, so let's not waste any time." She replied as if assuming the mask and the attitude of a cool and emotionless professional.
Within moments, they were both standing in front of a massive desk, behind which sat the General Inspector of the United Army. This man, broad-shouldered, bearded and well built, gave the impression of a warm and kind man who could always be turned to for advice or support. Leila had found the façade to be true many times. The general gave her many valuable advice and support many times.
As for the office itself, it was an oval-shaped room with mostly metallic decorations and finishes. However, unlike the cool corridors, the general's office exuded a warm and pleasant atmosphere, which was intensified by the reproduction of images of a tropical and even paradise island on some walls.
Leila and Franz quickly stood in front of the desk and saluted their immediate superior, and he returned the salute with a half-smile before turning to the colonel first.
"It's good to see you, Franz, safe and sound." He stated, then his gaze fell on a teenage blonde. "You too, Leila." And with a gesture of his hand, he ordered them to rest on the armchairs in front of the desk, which his foster siblings did almost immediately.
"Me too, General." Franz replied smugly. "It is true that a week ago I had to deal with Prince Lucius himself, the Purple Beast. Nevertheless, despite the disproportion in the quality of our machines, I managed to get out of this unpleasant meeting unscathed."
It came as no surprise to anyone that the Colonel was engaged in a fight against the Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire. In fact, Franz and the prince met many times on the battlefield in West Africa, but were unable to win, and often the clashes between them, if they had happened, usually ended in a stalemate. Very quickly, these two became bitter rivals. However, the nickname Purple Beast was given to the young prince by commanders of decimated companies and battalions of knightmares who had the dubious honor of fighting against this man.
Everyone in the room was well aware of the prince's skills and the great threat he posed on the battlefield. However, not only on the battlefield, because according to intelligence information, he was also a seasoned politician and businessman, effectively managing and being the CEO of Flash Robotics, one of the many companies that produced knightmares, and parts for these machines. As if that were not enough, his political ties made him one of the prime candidates to become the next emperor of the empire, despite being the twelfth prince and having extremely talented older siblings.
"Have you met Prince Lucius?" The curious general asked. Honestly, it was not surprising, as several knightmares officers and pilots could boast of meeting the prince in person. For the most part, however, they were runaway prisoners, and the prince either walked by or was near them.
"Yes." Franz answered without hesitating, then proceeded to tell his story. "This happened during his failed attempt to capture Fort Paster in the Central Sahara just over a week ago. We were engaged in a deadly duel. His personalized Gloucester was a tough challenge, but my prototype Alexander turned out to be on par with the prince's machine."
This particular model is the WOX-Type00, a sixth-generation prototype for future seventh-generation machines. Developed by the absolute genius in constructing Knightmare Frames, Anna Clement. The creation of this machine was the merit of Franz and the General, because they insisted on funding research on knightmares from the next generation, which would allow them to gain an advantage over the machines of the empire.
"At one point, however, we faced a direct confrontation with the melee weapons of our machines. However, again, neither of us was able to win a decisive victory, or simply gain an advantage over the enemy. His skills made up for the technological advantage. Then, however, we decided for the decisive blows, but the result was both fun and terrifying. We damaged our machines to the point that we were ejected. Fortunately or bad luck, we were thrown in the same direction, several hundred meters from the fort. But at the moment in which my capsule finally touched the ground, I struck myself and I passed out, probably for a few hours. "
Leila listened attentively to his story, as he told him stoically and with a straight face, showing no signs of affection. Only occasionally he smiled at some of the memories. However, as we move on to the next part of the story, something like a nostalgic smile appeared on his face.
"But when I regained consciousness, it turned out that I was pulled from the broken cockpit and dressed."
"What exactly happened there?" The general asked him, even more intrigued by the ending of the story. "I will not hide my curiosity about this subject, because if you met the prince and interacted with him, it could prove extremely useful in drawing up his thorough psychological profile."
Leila could not disagree with the general's words. Yes, intelligence has worked hard to obtain any information about one of the most powerful and dangerous enemies the EU army has faced. However, any information about the prince's views and behavior was absolutely vague and vague. And what Prince Lucius vi Britannia was showing in public could - and almost certainly was - one great facade for the public.
"As it soon turned out, the prince was responsible for dressing my wounds and dragging me out of the cockpit." Franz continued, and the smile on his face widened slightly. "I got him into a conversation at one point. I tried to talk to him and understand his way of thinking and perceiving reality, in a subtle way of course. However, this brat was able to see my intention easily, which he told me to my face. I tried a different approach. I asked him why he actually saved my life and the answer came very quickly. "
"What he said?" Leila asked, also intrigued by the words of her foster brother's savior.
"That I fought bravely for what I believed and fulfilled his definition of a real man." Franz replied. "As he explains himself: 'A real man is someone who is able to fight despite the horrors of war. Who does not give in to his primal instincts, but instead acts in accord with his own will and conscience. And also someone who was able to stay. human and keep his humanity despite the hardships and what the war has offered him. '
There was a long silence in the office. No one dared to say anything, and instead everyone present decided to think carefully about the character of Prince Lucius.
Franz personally regarded the prince as an honorable person and a true warrior who never disgraced himself with war crimes or any other kind of dishonorable conduct. Additionally, in the eyes of the colonel, Prince was also a capable commander and a worthy rival on the battlefield. As if all this were not enough, Lucius saved his life, so he owed him a debt of gratitude that he might not be able to pay off until the end of his days.
Leila was internally conflicted over the judgment of this man. It was obvious that Lucius was their mortal and one of the most powerful enemies the emperor could send to war. Prince was a military genius, otherwise he would not have had such an avalanche of victories, and he would not have been defeated only in a few battles that resulted solely from his inability to achieve his mission and assault goals. Besides, Lucius was also the son of the Holy Britannian Empire himself. Therefore, she could not help but dislike him with a certain and quite large dose. On the other hand, it was Prince Lucius who saved her beloved foster brother and mentor. It was the young prince who seemed to embody in himself all the virtues that a true knight should possess. Such as: honor, service to the motherland, or respect for the lives of your opponents. All this meant that Leila didn't know what she really should think about him anymore.
Meanwhile, however, the General assessed the prince primarily as a powerful threat, and no wonder. It was clear that Prince Lucius was not only a great politician, CEO of Flash Robotics, and military, but also an extremely charismatic individual. The last proof of this was mobilizing an exhausted, hungry and demoralized tank division to fight to continue the fight at Douala. Lucius vi Britannia was in his eyes a threat to the EU, whose accession to the Holy Britannian Empire could ultimately mean a complete change of fighting strategy and a complete defeat. The easiest way would be to simply eliminate the young prince by sending a special unit to hunt one man. However, it would be extremely difficult, as all the elite troops were needed on all fronts in Africa.
"A real man?" The thoughtful General mused, then laced his fingers together. However, he was watching his ward carefully all the time.
"Basically ..." Franz started again, but his tone of voice clearly indicated that his intention was to joke and relax the atmosphere. "We are dealing not only with an outstanding military and politician, but also with a philosopher."
"Pretty persuasive philosopher." The general joked, but soon became serious. "However, this does not change the fact that the prince has become a great threat to our EU military effort and an unprecedented threat to the existence of the republic." After a brief moment of reflection, the general sighed deeply. "I will not deceive you, he is a threat as great as the Prime Minister, Second Prince Schneizel."
At the announcement, both Franz and Leila raised their eyebrows. The Colonel was surprised by the general's high evaluation of the prince, while Leila began to consider a possible way to defeat the Purple Beast. As far as she knew, Lucius vi Britannia was unlucky enough to lose both his mother at a young age - a heretofore mysterious assassination attempt - and two siblings who had been banished and died during the empire's invasion of Japan. This seemed to imply that Price should hate his own father, a good portion of the family, and perhaps the country. However, everything that has taken place so far clearly suggests that Prince Lucius has successfully processed his own trauma and is now serving his father's empire with all his might. Best as possible.
"However, I have not called you here to discuss and talk about only one man." The decisive voice of the general effectively pulled the blonde out of her thoughts.
Then Smilas turned to the colonel. "Despite the defeat, did the Alexander Type 0 prove to be a good machine and a promising prototype?"
"Yes, General." Franz replied without hesitating or sniffing. "Engineer Clement did an excellent job. By using the prototype, I was able to destroy as many as four Sunderlands at once. The average pilot will of course never achieve this result simultaneously, but these machines will effectively enable them to do more than with the clunky and impractical Panzer. -Humels. "
"This sounds very promising and I am authorizing the mass production of Alexanders."
"Of course, General." Franz bowed politely and decided to inform his immediate supervisor about the types of new machines. "Me and engineer Clement decided it was best to produce two variants at the same time. Mass, intended for average pilots, and Command, intended for officers, commanders and aces."
The general nodded understandingly. His subordinate's intentions were obvious, but in the heat and general chaos of the war, everyone missed one simple fact about the specific equipment that Knightmare Frames undoubtedly is. "Both elite and regular pilots should receive equipment suited to their abilities. Not the same equipment that may be inappropriate to the abilities of a particular unit."
"Exactly." The colonel nodded. "Nevertheless, such a solution takes time and is quite difficult to implement in practice, mainly for logistical and organizational reasons."
Leila, however, was not convinced of it. "I wonder if such a solution is now even possible even theoretically." She mused openly. "War consumes enormous amounts of Euro and raw materials. African fronts demand more and more of all this, practically all the time. Unlike empires, our colonies are gradually conquered and underdeveloped. However, this does not change the fact that the only constant and reliable source of income is well-developed cities in Europe, which are currently burdened to the limit. "
The general frowned at her words, but at the moment he had no intention of criticizing his subordinate's way of thinking. "What are you actually getting at, Leila?"
The memories of the teenager retained a straight face and a calm tone of voice. "The solution proposed by the colonel is impossible to implement on an army-wide scale. An attempt, on the other hand, may very likely end in an economic catastrophe and a prolonged recession. The cost of producing so many new types of machines with a sudden and pressing demand for them would lead the EU treasury to a very quick bankruptcy. The consequences of this are not difficult to predict. "
Her words met a deathly silence, but she was not clothed with disapproval. Both her adoptive brother and general understood the implications of her words.
It was no secret that the economy of the Republic was gradually weakened by the ongoing war. Deficiencies in the war budget were thoughtlessly patched by tax increases instead of budget cuts. Taxes were mainly levied on the civilian population and the middle class. However, big corporations and the richest EU citizens did everything to enrich themselves at the expense of the collapsing republic, for example by openly selling expensive and often impractical equipment, the best example of which were the SR10 short rifles. The anti-genius of all gunsmithing techniques, who was responsible for the disability or death of hundreds of not very clever soldiers, who tried to be smarter than everyone around and do things strongly advised against, or even strictly forbidden.
Honestly, it wasn't just the situation behind the front lines and the factories that was dire. As if there weren't enough catastrophic moods among the civilians and elites of the individual states that make up the republic, there was also terrible morale among soldiers and widespread defeatism. This was particularly evident in the case of infantry battalions. At Otjiwarongo, even at the beginning of the conflict, the entire infantry division, made up of rested and well-equipped soldiers, simply refused to fight and capitulated. This incident was, of course, known only to a handful of high-ranking people, and no treasure should be allowed to let the knowledge of something like this leak out to the public. However, the disastrous moral was only one symptom of a larger problem that was the strong pacifist and utopian movements. For years, members and activists of these movements have proclaimed either the need to coexist in harmony, or indeed that humanity has reached the end of its history and there will never be war again. All of this has turned out to be not only completely false, but also deadly to the present war effort.
"But there is an alternative for him." The teenager's last words met with the curious glances of both men. This was what Leila had been waiting for.
The young captain had been waiting for many months for the opportune moment to present the idea of creating an elite unit that could bring together the best knightmares pilots that the EU army had in its ranks. It was quite innovative, as the EU army stuck to the old revolutionary slogan 'liberté, égalité, fraternité' to an exaggeration, despite the obvious harmfulness of applying ideology to the organization of the army. Nevertheless, the time of crisis and uncertainty created favorable conditions for introducing changes for the better, as long as they were implemented by the right and responsible people.
"I propose creating a few elite units composed of the best knightmares pilots available." Her words seemed to confuse everyone present, but she did not allow them to express her doubts. "Of course, gradually and slowly pulled from the front lines. Such units could prove to be an invaluable asset in the planned Great Egyptian Counteroffensivee. Elite Wyverns units could prove to be the key to the success of the entire operation."
Leila referred directly to the plan of the great General Staff of the United Army, codenamed 'Pharaoh'. Operation Pharaoh involved a massive and devastating attack on the Britannian army Group East, and its total removal from occupied South Egypt. It was an extremely ambitious undertaking, to which ten Knightmare Frames battalions, five hundred tanks, two thousand armored personnel carriers, one hundred thousand soldiers and over four hundred aircraft were mobilized. The entire operation was carefully planned and gradually prepared from the beginning of December, and the forces intended for it were quietly drawn to the place of the concentration of troops. General Staff members were extremely enthusiastic about the plan, but Leila, General Smilas and Franz were skeptical at best.
It was clear that the EU needed a grand victory for propaganda and to raise the disastrously low morale of society and the military. However, this audacious plan could very quickly and easily turn against the General Staff, due to the fact that the decisive battle at the time of a series of defeats at the front could very well be the nail in the republic's coffin. Everyone in this room was well aware of this.
"What you say is true." The general stated at one point, but his next words raised an important point. "However, how are you going to convince the General Staff to your idea? Although I myself, as the General Inspector of the United Army, have very wide powers in the field of organization and distribution of resources, I must obtain the consent of my superiors to issue an order to form new units."
General Smilas had, in fact, only one and direct superior. Supreme Commander of the United Army, Marshal Albrecht van Hoph. Although he was a competent and reasonable person, as the conflict continued and dragged on, he began to succumb to increasing pressure from politicians, Europia United Council, and the EU government. As a result, this unassertive man stopped making any risky or innovative moves, all because of fear for his position.
"He is well aware that putting this idea into practice requires showing evidence that it will work." Leila replied firmly. "I am also aware that we will be struggling with a pilot deficit, but I have a solution to this problem."
"What?" This time it was her foster brother who asked the question. It has become clear that the idea of his disguised sister - of concentrating the pilots into elite units - is the only sensible option at the moment. He was also extremely curious to see how the young blonde captain was going to convince Marshal van Hoph to support this risky initiative.
"By leveraging non-Europeans." She replied impassively and with any sign of feelings, only the remaining military discipline of steel. "The government and the army will not mind using them, and there will be no shortage of volunteers, that is for sure. If encouraged."
The general frowned thoughtfully. "You mean something specific, Leila?" He asked, but he seemed to understand what exactly his young charge was up to.
"Japanese." Leila tried to remain disciplined and not reveal her feelings, but even now, she showed a small part of it. "They are deprived of their homeland, and here they are without citizenship and have basically become second-class people."
"I see." The general sighed heavily, and he, too, had some form of sympathy for the people who had been forced to take the name Elevens since the fully successful Britannian Empire's invasion of their homeland. "If they are promised EU citizenship for serving in our army and the opportunity to take revenge on a hated enemy, they will almost certainly accept the offer." The general said dryly and without a trace of emotion, although it was clear that this was not an initiative he liked, at least from the moral point of view. However, it was also clear that I would accept the idea out of necessity and extreme circumstances.
Franz and Leila were also not thrilled with the idea. No one in the room was a strong supporter of using people in this way, but there was no better alternative at this point.
"I grant permission." The general stated after a short while, though he didn't seem clearly displeased. "Leila, start forming the first Wyverns division while I present the idea to the marshal. I doubt he would express his displeasure with this project."
XXX
Holy Britannian Empire
Aries Villa
January 2017 A.T.B.
Lucius could only sigh wearily as he had just finished a day of tedious paperwork, then immediately leaned back in the extremely comfortable and expensive chair. The last week and a half have been extremely hard for him. Organizing Knights of the Purple Rose was quite exhausting, despite the fact that lists of potential recruits, command structure and division into smaller units were prepared in advance. His order currently numbered around five thousand, but the Knightmare Frames pilots were only a fraction of the staff. There were definitely more commandos, technicians, medics and engineers who formed the foundation of the order.
The prince was now in his personal office that had once belonged to his late mother. From those seven years and the unlucky night, the room has changed significantly. Thanks to the advice and interference of Prince Clovis, Lucius's study was a true display of top-quality Gothic art and architecture, as was the rest of the villa. The best examples of this were multi-colored stained glass instead of glass, marble and ornate desk instead of wooden and simple, armors and weapons from that period placed against the walls. Added to all this are gilded door handles or drawers, and a graphite floor. Nevertheless, the whole building was still dominated by bright colors and the sun had free access to the rooms with windows.
Regardless of Aries Villa's new appearance, however, Prince Lucius was pleased that day. The overall structure was quite simple, ten companies from Knightmare Frames, formed into two battalions, sixty frames each, or four companies each. In turn, the other two, and free companies, were special and expertly equipped units. There was an eleventh company, but this particular unit was the personal guard and guard of the prince on the battlefield, under the direct command of Ciaran de Revill, promoted to the rank of Captain. A longtime friend of Lucius, he accepted this role with great eagerness and joy.
In the Knights of the Purple Rose structure, Prince Lucius served as the Grand Master and was the supreme commander of the formation, but he had his deputy, who was also responsible for organizational matters, and in this particular case it was Colonel Garma Zabi. Like Ciaran, he was extremely pleased with the promotion and the chance to participate in his longtime friend's endeavor.
It was not yet the entire structure of Knights of the Purple Rose, because this formation still had its own intelligence and counterintelligence, well and extremely efficiently managed by Mariemaia Khushrenada.
The last formation was the technical and engineering corps, managed and commanded by Carl Tallgese, who was promoted to the rank of director, and with this he also received the position of chief engineer. However, contrary to the name, the technical and engineering corps did not deal mainly with building fortifications on the front or repairing damaged bridges. Instead, their main task was to improve, repair and maintain the order's machinery. As well as working on new Knightmare Frames that could be used by the order's pilots. So far, the body has completed its first project, the KPR-00, which was based on the prototype and never-completed VZ-00KF, which was considered too outdated in its design and anticipated equipment. For this very reason, Chief Engineer Carl was ordered by Prince to build something newer and better from an existing prototype.
Lucius was going to go to the Castle Marianne order that was built for the benefit of that day. For there his knights gathered and prepared for the next task assigned to them by the Emperor. Breaking through the Egyptian front and opening the way to the Middle East. Also in the basement of the castle, a powerful and well-equipped laboratory was built, with the specific purpose of building and developing both new Knightmare Frames and improvements to the new machines.
Prince Lucius got up at one point, after which he began to stretch his athletic and well-built body, which was once one of the next differences between him and his twin brother. Lelouch had a pretty girlish build, undoubtedly inherited from his mother, while Lucius inherited his father's broad shoulders, tall stature and a large chest.
After about a minute of stretching his rather stiff body, Lucius left his office and walked briskly through the costly corridors to the garage. On the way, however, he was stopped by Anastasia.
"Did something happen?" He asked calmly, showing no signs of recent weariness.
"Lady Monica Krushevsky asks to speak to you." Anastasia replied politely, quietly, and respectfully. In all honesty, Lucius' personal maid and Aries Villa's housekeeper had always been asked by the Prince himself and had a more emphatic tone of voice, but she practically always refused, saying that her master should receive the greatest possible respect from the servants and subordinates.
"Excellent, tell her to head to the garage and immediately walk into the black car with the purple rose on the hood. Call the chauffeur as well, have him come back asap." He ordered the books, and his maid quickly bowed and walked away.
Meanwhile, Prince again headed towards the garage. After getting inside, you could get a bit of a shock, because the garage was fundamentally different from the rest of the villa. This space was devoid of gothic decorations and style, which was abandoned in favor of simplicity and pure functionality.
The prince looked around the garage, which was as big as a large barn in its overall size, and the space was filled with a dozen or so armored limousines, most of which, however, had a strong black color. The exception was the last one, parked at the far end of the garage. This particular model had purple roses draped over the front hood and side doors with crossed rapiers, the symbol of Knights of the Purple Rose.
Prince wasted no time admiring what he got to see every day. So, with a quick and rather careless step, he approached the limo with purple roses, then went inside and sat on one of the seats.
The interior of the vehicle was unexpectedly versatile and extremely comfortable, but devoid of any more expensive decorations and focused primarily on functionality. As evidenced by a TV mounted inside and two laptops.
The prince did nothing for several minutes, thereby letting his thoughts flow. Honestly, he was looking forward to returning to the front lines, if only to get even more glory and test the KPR-00. A prototype that has yet to be named. Although the prince considered several possibilities, such as the name originally reserved for the VZ-00KF, that is, Tor, the name of one of the knights of the round table. Another idea was to simply name the prototype after the prince's deceased mother, but this was a solution from which the prince eventually decided to withdraw, as the name of his loved one should be reserved for something bigger, not just the prototype Knightmare Frames that on the field battles may turn out to be a completely misplaced and flawed idea.
From his thoughts on the name of the prototype, he was snapped by the sound of the door opening. Lucius looked in that direction, and his eyes saw an extremely beautiful blonde with literally golden hair, dressed in an extremely conservative and sapphire gown that perfectly matched her hair.
"Monica, my love." Lucius tried to greet his long-time girlfriend with a rather big smile, but his smiling face was brutally treated.
Lady Krushevsky was not thrilled with the months of separation. The fingers of her hand formed into a fist, which slammed brutally into the prince's right cheek, which drew back as a result of the unexpected pain inflicted on him. The reaction of her long-time fiancé and love brought a satisfied and malicious smile on her face.
"Hope you like it." She expressed mocking hopes without the slightest hint of emotion, making the words completely out of tune with her voice.
"What's that for?" She will ask, rubbing the punch-red cheek where a hematoma has started to form. The question was more rhetorical, as he was well aware of the main reason behind this strike. After all, he decided to take this fap further. "After all, I replied to all your messages and mails. No exception."
"Exactly!" Monica screamed furiously and with a distinct grimace on her young face. She clearly sensed an attempt to play with her, which only irritated her even more. "In the whole few months since you graduated with honors from New Colchester and were dispatched to all possible fronts of the empire, we had hardly a chance to talk. We only exchanged messages and mails every now and then, which was only a miserable substitute for real contact. Now, however, when over two weeks ago you returned to your homeland, I have practically no news from you. After that, he learns that you decided to form your personal forces basically, all without informing me about it. " Her gaze grew almost accusing, and it beat deeply into the young Prince's soul. "What do you have in your defense." She raised her right eyebrow menacingly and authoritatively.
The situation was really stressful, especially since Monica was a really dangerous woman, both in the pilot of Knightmare Frames and in close combat. Lucius has had the honor of pairing with her several times, which is why he has personally been able to experience her full strength. Nevertheless, even in the face of such a dangerous beauty and her threats, the young prince did not lose a gram of his composure and elegance. He decided to laugh at the face of danger, and his face was adorned with a small but provocative smile. It was all a properly planned game, though the young prince was fully aware that it might explode right in his face.
"My dear." He began with a polite and charming voice that would suffice to fall in love with more than one noble virgin. "You hurt my pure and big heart. I was busy with hard work, although I already had plans and lists of people for recruitment prepared, it took a lot of work and coordination effort from me to implement it all."
"That absolutely doesn't explain why you didn't choose to talk to me?" She broke off in irritation and narrowed her eyes at him. "You knew that if you contacted me, you would be able to count on my help and support and everything would end much faster. You had to be fully aware of that." Then she crossed her arms over her chest.
The smile vanished from Lucius's face, replaced with a distinct expression of sadness. "This is the main reason I didn't talk to you and invite you to a date or just a meeting." He began to explain, his tone of voice seemed to match his facial expression perfectly. "I knew that if I just mentioned the enormity of my time-consuming work, you would want to get involved immediately and nothing would stop you from doing it." He reached out and took one by one of his hands, tender and warm. "Someone as beautiful as you does not deserve to be dragged into such arduous and exhausting matters." Then he placed a kiss on the top of her hand.
Monica's cheeks blushed extremely quickly. "I see." She almost whispered, obviously surprised by this show of affection and concern. Although it would be an obvious attempt to soften the anger of a loved one for an outsider, it was absolutely impossible for a soul who was genuinely in love.
"Thanks for your understanding, Monica." Prince responded, simultaneously donning his tender and warm smile, devoid of the slightest trace of any malice. Then he approached her and wrapped his athletic arms around her. "I will try to make it up to you and make you feel better." He whispered into her left ear, at the same time he began to stroke her hair gently, and she seemed to melt under his warm and tender touch, like some kind of cat.
"I want to spend the whole day with you, Lucius." She whispered softly, then vigorously stepped back and looked straight into his amethyst eyes, but by no means did she have a pleading look. "It is not a request, Lucius, it is my will and demand. Is that clear?"
Young Prince chuckled at her firmness. "You are so loved when your strong and authoritative nature comes to the fore." Monica blushed at his statement due to some embarrassment, but Prince didn't finish. "I'm going to go to Castle Marianne to see the progress of the new 6th generation Knightmare Frame prototype."
Monica smiled at his statement. "I will be pleased to accompany you on this inspection."
Lucius nodded with a smile, and a moment later the chauffeur walked in. After a short while, Prince mentioned the name of the target location and the limo started its journey.
The black limousine was quickly escorted by six Knightmare Frames. These particular models are special Gloucesters variants for Knights of the Purple Rose, called Purple Swordsman. This particular model was practically the same as the usual Gloucesters, at least in terms of speed and technical specifications. The difference between the regular RPI-209 and the RPI-209 / PR was the equipment and the aesthetics. The Purple Swordsman was equipped with two great one-handed swords and a giant assault rifle as standard. On the other hand, in terms of aesthetics, the RPI-209 / PR was decorated with many sophisticated decorations and ornaments. Additionally, the machine was designed to perform multiple roles, but the main one was Anti-Knightmare, thanks to having the appropriate specs and improvements.
It was quite a long journey, several dozen kilometers outside Pendragon, lasting over an hour. For a moment they watched the usual busy streets of the imperial capital, but nothing more. Soon, however, they grew tired of it, and a conversation ensued between the two.
"What exactly are you going to test there?" Monica asked curiously, but she kept her eyes on the streets of Pendragon. "I know this is a 6th-generation prototype, but you haven't bothered to mention anything else."
Lucius remained calm and excused himself from snorting or any other kind of mockery. "I cannot share confidential order information left and right." He replied. "Especially someone who is a potential Knight of Twelve candidate, and therefore also a Commander of the Imperial Guard."
Monica just laughed utterly without joy at his announcement of the latest news, which, however, was not factually incorrect. "Even so, does it change anything?" She asked briefly and bluntly.
Lucius, frankly speaking, trusted her immeasurably, because she was always there for him and always supported him. His personal army and technology was no exception, despite the obvious risk that he might report anything to the emperor once she was sworn in as Knight of Twelve. "Not." He stated briefly and firmly. "It doesn't change anything, I trust you implicitly, and it won't even change your position in Knights of the Round."
"Thank you." She replied with a sincere and heart-soothing smile. "Now tell me what this Knightmare actually is."
The prince closed his eyes for a moment and laughed softly for a few seconds. "It's a machine built on top of another and canceled prototype, the VZ-00KF, known as Tor." He began to explain calmly, but he did not meet her eyes, but only watched the buildings and the people on the sidewalks pass. "The original design was intended to be a gateway to seventh generation machines, but Tor was inadequate and very flawed, its use on a real battlefield was completely unfeasible, unrealistic. However, a few weeks ago I asked a fellow engineer and great designer Knightmares and components. to him, to build something new and real on the basis of this failed design, to become the basis for the next generation of machines. I am sincerely curious about the fruits of his work. "
Monica frowned at the conclusion of her longtime friend and now essentially a lover, then turned to face him. "Who is this engineer?" She asked.
Lucius smiled slyly and turned away as well. "You should know this man very well, Monica." He started out a bit mysteriously, but had no intention of keeping her in a state of suspense for too long. "This is an old friend of ours from the New Colchester military division. He currently holds the rank of Director of the Corps of Technical and Engineering Knights from the Purple Rose, Carl Tallgeese."
Monica couldn't help but chuckle at the mention of this extremely handsome man, who, however, was always oblivious to the feelings of the other students of his year. "That fool?" She asked rhetorically and still chuckling. "He couldn't even recognize the feelings obviously interested in him and his body of representatives of the opposite sex, and you give him that position?"
Lucius let a knowing smile spread across his face. "Perhaps he is not sexually sensible." He admitted that the future Knight of Twelve was right on this point. "However, it absolutely does not change the fact that his talent for electronics and building new machines, as well as his sincere love for creation, is amazing. Someone with his potential could easily become Director of the Imperial Department of Research on Advanced Weapons and Technologies."
Young Prince did not throw words to the wind, which was backed by facts and his achievement, such as assisting in the design of Maser Vibration Sword prototypes with Camelot Engineering Corps, and with quite a lot of input on his own part. Besides, it was Carl Tallgese who designed the first Sand Panels for Knightmares, which proved to be extremely useful in Africa and beyond.
"This man has done a lot of amazing work." Prince continued, completely convinced of the right choice. "I have no doubts that Carl was up to the task."
After a while, their conversation became dull and vigorous. In the following, they not only limited themselves to the topic of technology, but also entered the topic of foreign and domestic politics. The themes they stepped into were extremely broad and dynamic, as their status quo was now changing from week to week. Nevertheless, the young Prince had a rather tough and definitely not optimistic position in the context of these topics, but he kept it for himself and a narrow circle of his closest associates.
"Don't you believe our empire can be victorious in all these conflicts, Lucius?" Monica asked him at one point, surprised by his rather skeptical approach to Britannia's opportunities. Even though she knew his old views, she did not expect that the fights could change so radically over the course of several months. "Until recently, you were convinced that an empire could easily dominate the world, and now you seem to be of the opposite opinion. What happened."
"I know the truth." He replied quickly and in a colorless voice. "The truth, which, however, turned out to be not so much liberating as more shockingly painful and not pleasant for a patriot like me."
His vague response made Monica more and more interested, who was now not going to let go. "What exactly is the truth?" She asked again.
"The truth is that our empire is a colossus on clay feet." He replied again and decided to begin explaining his point of view in detail. "Britannia is extremely powerful, our army is the best and most advanced in the world, and so is our nation. Even the standard of living of ordinary citizens from non-noble classes is quite high, but all of this is based on the brutal exploitation of our colonies. In matters of purely military, our army is the largest and most powerful force in the world, prepared for large-scale conflicts and to win using overwhelming force. However, it has one and very serious disadvantage, which is the lack of adaptability. The last aspect, in some Areas is especially clearly and clearly visible, because military units are still not able to cope with terrorism there. "
Monica, however, understood what her longtime friend was referring to. "This is especially evident in Area 11." Prince nodded firmly at her words. "So why don't you ask the Emperor to be transferred to that place? I heard Prince Clovis needed someone knowledgeable in military matters, with a lot of experience. You would be perfect for the role."
Lucius was a bit serious at her suggestions, and this was mainly due to his negative attitude towards people who were formerly called Japanese. "I don't know if he would be able to stop himself from ordering the extermination of entire ghettos every few minutes."
Monica sighed at his half candid and half sarcastic comment. "Do you still have a grudge against these people for what happened seven years ago?" She asked rhetorically, because she herself knew the answer to this question perfectly well.
"Of course." Lucius grunted through gritted teeth and struggled to hold back the emotions raging inside him. "The Elevens murdered my brother and sister, members of the royal family. Allowing them to live as second-class citizens was theoretically sufficient punishment. While I am not an advocate of Numbers discrimination, I am not going to forget it, this is how my siblings were murdered."
"You know, if someone was responsible for it, it was probably the last prime minister of old Japan, or someone from his closest circle." The young blonde began to try to change her lover's attitude towards the people he blamed for the death of his siblings, even though she knew it was fruitless. "Ordinary people had nothing to do with it and you can't blame them."
"They had." Prince argued, a slight scowl on his face. "They chose Genbu Kururugi as prime minister to lead this nation, and his entourage from the Japanese Social Conservative Party, they are complicit in their deaths. Not to mention the fact that they let a gang of populists come to power, they talked a lot and in fact they were busy stuffing your personal pockets. "
The blonde-haired warrior just sighed once more, a bit tired and irritated by his resistance. "Don't forget, Lucius, it was our empire that attacked this country. Many children and others died. Thousands of innocent ..."
"That doesn't change the fact that none of this would have happened if they hadn't committed a crime as disgusting as the murder of the royal siblings." The prince interrupted, but he did not seem irritated, and suppressed all internal emotions more, especially when he cited the official reason for declaring war. "If they had not given us a reason and committed this crime, Japan would have been an independent country by now, and had it not been for their reckless and reckless sanctions on the delivery of Sakuradite to Britannia."
While it might at first glance look like an attempt to blame someone else, Monica was aware that her longtime friend was presenting something false to himself and her. Lady Krushevsky was well aware that in fact Lucius was blaming himself all the time for the death of his siblings, as he was unable to keep his twin brother from making a stupid and reckless decision. It was extremely painful for Monica to see that, even after so many years, her best friend and lover blamed himself for something that he had basically no influence on. Not wanting to pursue this topic further, she decided to start some other thread.
"What did you mean when you said you were a patriot?" She asked. "What you say doesn't sound like something a true patriot would say or do."
"Perhaps you are right." He made no attempt to argue this particular point, at least not right away. "It is true that, under the mantle of patriotic slogans, I am heading for eternal glory for myself, for you, and for my deceased mother as well. Nevertheless, you must realize that ideas such as patriotism, for example, are just that, a way to manipulate the masses and win. their recognition. " It was apparently a manifestation of cynicism and opportunistic pragmatism, but only on the surface. "However, this does not change the fact that I am devoted to the empire and its rightful citizens, regardless of origin or social status. for their safety and material status. Not to mention the prosperity of our empire as a whole. If it is not patriotism and devotion to one's own country, then I don't know what it actually is. "
Monica chuckled at his existence, although what he was saying was at first glance a contradiction and a cheap excuse, but the young Lady Krushevsky realized that this was true and reflected in the actions of her longtime friend. Lucius and his side argued for additional rights for the Britannian populace to enable them to get rich more efficiently and easily. It was also Lucius and members of the vi and el Britannia coalition who were responsible for carrying out many reforms in the army and administration that unlocked access to significant positions by a competent individual from the lower social classes. Many of these reforms were initiated by the young Prince, who seemed to actually care for the welfare of the empire's citizens, unlike many other populist politicians who talk a lot but do little, or even do the opposite, for their own benefit.
That ended their discussion, and the rest of the journey passed in a pleasant silence that did not take long. After about ten minutes, the limousine and escort rode up a significant hill, at the top of which was a huge and almost all-metal structure, stylized as a late medieval castle.
Castle Marianne, although in name and style was quite large and an impressive castle on a fairly large hill, in fact it was a multi-purpose and versatile fortress with many uses, not limited to a garrison or defensive. The castle had a small banquet hall and a large kitchen, which made it possible to organize parties in it, and they were often arranged for Knightmare Frames pilots from Knights of the Purple Rose. The walls of the fortress were made of high-quality steel, and between the numerous decorations and ornaments, quite numerous defensive structures could be easily seen. First of all, they were the RPI-209 / D turrets. Built on the basis of the RPI-209 Gloucester and equipped with two large machine guns and six rockets per turret.
No one could deny it, Castle Marianne was a mighty fortress and quite a garrison. Attempting to storm this complex would require the coordination of ground forces, artillery and air force. Otherwise, all attempts to capture the castle would be fruitless and would result in considerable losses for the attacker, possibly even critical.
The limousine pulled to a stop in the courtyard and a small squad of ten Knightmares pilots greeted us, as evidenced by light purple uniforms with silver patterns patterned after the regular suits used by Royal Panzer Infantry pilots. After a while, a broad-shouldered man in a scarlet uniform, with long blond hair and eyes hidden under large red-lenses goggles, joined the guard, which gave him a slightly diabolical and sinister appearance. He didn't look that impressive at the time of attending New Colchester, but many years of intense training did a good job. His mind was not far behind his physical strength, as evidenced by the destruction of the entire Knightmares battalion by companies under his command during the bloody battle of Khartoum.
"Your Highness!" He shouted a greeting to Char Anzable, the current garrison commander and longtime friend of the prince, or simply Full Frontal. "It's an honor to welcome you here!" The pompous and respectful voice, as well as the content of his words, might at first glance pass as a sign of respect. However, both Char and Prince knew perfectly well that this kind of greeting was purely mocking. As a result, both of them could hardly refrain from laughing and limited themselves to friendly smiles. Monica was also aware of the nature of the greeting, but decided to hide all her emotions.
"Good to see Garrison Commander Castle Marianne and our Order's first comrade, Knightmare Frames." Lucius walked up to his long-time friend and one of his subordinates in full authority and practiced precision. "Good to see you, Captain Anzable." After these words, the young prince saluted in the most polite manner, and there was not the slightest hint of mockery in the way he did it.
"I invite you and the beautiful Lady Krushevsky inside to see the new achievement of our brilliant chief engineer." Monica blushed a bit at his compliment, but that ended the little flirting.
"So let's not waste any time, Captain." Prince said coolly, and the three of them headed inside the enormous complex. Lucius first, Monica for the right-missing prince, and Char for the left.
The corridors of the castle were quite warm and full of eye-pleasing colors and decorations, and each guard that the trio encountered saluted. Lucius, Char, and Monica first walked through the great hall, which was full of tapestry and had several gilded chandeliers, as well as all kinds of other ornaments on the walls and columns. Then, however, via the grand staircase, they reached the great portrait of the Twelfth Prince, which portrayed him as a proud and majestic man who seemed to gaze with superior authority and authority at the man watching him.
Moving one of the nearby vases in the right direction triggered a mechanism that caused a small keyboard under the portrait to slide out. Lucius quickly typed the appropriate password, 'Hail Lucius', and the painting literally slid apart, revealing the elevator leading deeper into the complex.
The trio had to descend to the fifth floor underground, where there was a laboratory and workshop to research and develop Knightmare Frames, and new technologies to implement and use in newer models. The remaining four floors above were dedicated to research on: Creation of Energy Weapons, Creation of Synthetic Sakutradite, Energy Weapons, and Creation of Combat Artificial Intelligence. While much research was carried out in the basement, Castle Marianne was not the only outpost of the prince to work on these or other technologies or applications for Sakuradite.
The journey did not take long, and soon the trio found themselves in a large open space about a hundred meters underground. What caught everyone's eye first was a certain level of chaos in the room and the parts scattered around the corners. However, upon closer inspection of the room, it was easy to see the great - at least in relation to the fairly modest size of average people - Knightmare Frame.
The machine in front of three was extremely impressive. Over five and twenty hundredths of a meter high structure, the armor of which seemed to be elegant shapes refer to medieval armor. The angular, massive and rather geometric armor and construction typical of Sutherland and Gloucester were replaced and covered with elegant and streamlined elements, especially the armor was extremely streamlined and elegant. Black color was intertwined with dark fillet and golden motifs in an extremely sophisticated as well as extremely tasteful way. The head of the machine seemed to resemble the intersection of a modern ordinary walker helmet with an ancient plume helmet, which in this case was crimson.
Lucius and Monica stared at the machine in blank admiration. While at the same time, Char was watching them with something like a mocking smile that was nevertheless warm to some extent. This state of affairs continued for a few more seconds, until a rather short and rather squat teenager with unique white hair came from a nearby room. It was the man responsible for creating the miracles watched by the prince and his mistress.
"Is it not the smoky Prince Lucius vi Britannia and the beautiful Lady Monica Krushevsky, the future Knight of Twelve, as always?" Carl Tallgeese, asked with a clearly provocative and malicious voice that was nevertheless somewhat friendly.
Lucius and Monica immediately caught the attention of the white-haired teenager, but Prince spoke first. He did so with calm and stoic composure.
"Chief Engineer Car Tallgeese, one of the brightest minds of our great empire and the creator of this miracle." Then Lucius decided to cut to the chase, recognizing that it was time to end wasting time. "Tell me what your miracle actually can do."
Carl beamed at his words and compliments like morning skies, then began speaking sentences so long in response that some might get the impression that the Chief Engineer loved to listen to himself. "First of all, my great prince and longtime friend, I would like to thank you wholeheartedly for the opportunity to create this milestone for the development of Knightmares. It is definitely a different machine from the old and well-worn Sutherlands, and even a bit more modern and powerful on the Gloucesters battlefield. Moreover, even the European prototype you came across in the Sahara desert will not stand a chance against it. If, of course, the machine is handed over to the appropriate pilot. " Though he bragged, he soon decided to get to the bottom of it, seeing some wrinkles on the face of his friend and founder. "KPR-00, the first machine from the sixth generation, which is at the same time no less and no more than the golden gate to machines of the next generation. The prototype was created primarily for other Knightmares, and to be a mobile command center. high-quality sensors, communication systems, improved interface, not to mention improved combat systems that guarantee unprecedented speed and mobility on the battlefield. Regulatory weapons are one large assault rifle with a four-shot grenade launcher, and one Maser Vibration Sword in the shape of a halberd. "
The Prince listened to everything with undoubted attention, and so far was satisfied with the results of his Chief Engineer. Nevertheless, there are still some issues to be clarified.
"Is that all?" Asked Lucius, however, he did not mean the machine itself, but potential and other modifications that have not yet been implemented in this prototype.
"Well." Carl sighed, but it was bordering on frustration and disappointment with himself. "I had plans for this wonder to be equipped with the VARIS Rifle and the Blaze Luminous System." After that, he sighed even more intensely and seemed to be even more depressed than he had a few moments ago. "Unfortunately, the VARIS Rifle and Blaze Luminous System have not yet been refined by Camelot Engineering Corps. I was not able to finish them myself, so they did not appear in my work. Please forgive my incompetence."
Lucius watched him with a slight narrow in his eyes. Perhaps Carl was a great engineer, scientist, and constructor, but he had one, and quite a big disadvantage, a clear underestimation of himself. Or rather, considerable mood swings, because at one time the man could consider himself a genius and the incomparable mind of this era, but on the other hand, he could consider himself a disappointment and a failure after a while. Even praise from someone like the Director of the Camelot Engineering Corps, Lloyd Asplund, who repeatedly praised his contribution to the development of weapons for the empire, did not help. As if all that wasn't enough, Carl had a well-hidden but still present inferiority complex. The Chief Engineer of Knights of the Purple Rose was not noble, his parents weren't even a wealthy bourgeoisie. Carl was born and raised in the slums of Philadelphia, in addition to a dysfunctional family, because he was raised only by his mother, as his father was killed during one of the campaigns in South Africa. It is highly likely that if it were not for the patronage of Prince Lucius, Carl might never have gotten to where he was now, despite his incredible intellect and talent.
"You got nothing to apologize to me for, Carl." The prince spoke to him in a calm and warm voice. His words immediately lifted the Chief Engineer, who seemed to regain faith in himself and his abilities in an instant. "Your creation has exceeded my expectations and I have no doubt that it will be crucial for Knights of the Purple Rose's first victory."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." The Chief Engineer replied, and to everyone's surprise, he bowed deeply and respectfully to the prince. "Thank you for your words and your financial support over the years. If it weren't for you, then perhaps it would never have gotten to where I am now. I have a debt to you that I will never be able to pay back."
Everyone behaved differently to his behavior. Char opened his mouth in surprise, but didn't say a word, not knowing what to say to him in this situation. Although he had known the Chief Engineer for many years, even after so many years this man was able to surprise him with something. Monica, on the other hand, kept her poker face, although it was not easy for her. In fact, she absolutely did not know how to react to the show of humility of her lover's longtime friend. Meanwhile, Lucius just smiled warmly and understandingly, his eyes sparkling with a reassuring glow. He walked over to Carl and then placed a hand on his right shoulder.
"Carl, my old friend, you did an amazing job." He praised him, and there was not a hint of insincerity or falsehood in his voice. "I am convinced that the KPR-00 will prove to be an amazing success on the battlefield and will give us an unprecedented advantage."
The chief engineer chuckled unexpectedly in response, which only confused the three of them. "Lucius, you should use the real name of my creation. It's Tallgeese Zero, the prototype of the machines in this series and with that name."
XXX
United Republic of Europia
Fort Naguib
January 2017 A.T.B.
Fort Naguib, one of the EU's largest and most modern forts. Located over seventy kilometers west of Beni Suef and adequately distant from the nearest urban center, almost completely remote, in this particular case the desert. A fortress made of metal and with a camouflage of the kind to blend in perfectly with the landscape of a vast and barren desert. But that is exactly what one should expect from the headquarters of a recently formed unit aimed at backing the massive offensive of one of the most powerful armies in the world.
In the pleasantly cool basement of the fort, a certain young girl, promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, had her office with the creation of the first unit of her own invention.
The beginnings of W-0, the first division of Wyverns - tasked with supporting the regular armies - weren't colorful or easy. Practically every day there was a need for a fierce verbal fight with the officers from the logistics department for all available resources. Despite the clear priority for the supply of all necessary materials for the W-0, the area's main front still had priority and a huge demand for ammunition and other war gear, including Knightmare Frames, parts for it, and standard combat equipment. If the W-0 unit did not have any shortcomings, it would be, in the first place, transport planes, the EU army had a small deficit of due to the lack of airborne operations or air supply for frontline troops.
Despite all the adversities and difficulties in obtaining sufficiently large war resources, the W-0 already had fifty new Type-Mass Alexanders, and five Type-Command. Both were Knightmares with a fairly slim build and armor. Nevertheless, Alexanders of both types appeared to be much more insectoid in appearance than humanoid, especially the head. The generally accepted color was white, however, Type-Command stood out with golden-blue stripes, while Type-Mass only dark blue ones. However, the equipment of both models was the same, the big Linear Assault Rifle 'Judgment' and two stake-shaped Tonfas. There were a few more plans for the further development of these machines, but due to the lack of funds and raw materials, they had not yet entered the stage of implementation, or at least consideration. The two new models were ideal for special units such as Wyverns units, but temporarily not suitable for linear units.
The days and work could be annoying at times, but Leila had to honestly admit that it wasn't the worst that could have happened. After all, the days passed quite calmly and free, with no action or unnecessary adventures. Leila was also genuinely pleased, because after so many years she was finally able to see her old friend from school, now an EU engineer, Anna Clement, so she had someone to spend time with. It turned out that the girl with emerald eyes and quite a small height, practically did not change since the times of primary school. She was still quite a shy and gossipy girl, so the Lieutenant Colonel had someone to spend her free time with. However, not only her old friend turned out to be suitable for spending free time.
There were quite a few interesting people at Fort Naguib who were directed to W-0. Always rigid and obeying the established rules, Major Oscar Hammel, the fort's security chief. Abusing alcohol, but at least always cheerful, quite resourceful and extremely helpful. Captain Claus Warwick, Leila's adjutant. To the category of interesting people, Leila could easily include Anna's subordinates: Kate Novak, Hilda Fagan and Chloe Winkel. Leila had a few fairly friendly interactions with Sophie Randle, who was working to increase the intellectual performance of Knightmares pilots, and with her assistant Joe Wise. There was, however, a person who acted on the young Lieutenant Colonel all the time, it was an inspector from the high command, whose purpose was to supervise the process of creating the unit and monitoring their actions, Colonel Pierre Anou, and due to a higher rank than Leila, he could - in the course of one of the mission - take command. However, while Colonel Anou was a rather competent and inquisitive inspector, his short and rather quick-tempered temperament took a toll on Leila, although they always showed mutual respect.
The day passed by the young blonde fairly calmly, and when she had finished browsing the documents on her laptop and signing some of them, she decided to go over the list of Knightmares pilots selected for her unit. While Leila was strongly against recruiting former Japanese and now Elevens in exchange for citizenship, she could not argue with the results of such a recruiting method. It was a desperate step in fact, as was the admission of non-republic citizens to the service, something that a decade ago would have been utterly unthinkable and unacceptable. Although the Japanese volunteered quite a lot, they would have to take lessons from Europeans who were also enlisted in the unit. In the latter category, especially many citizens of the republic from Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany were selected, the countries that supplied the EU army with the most troops and resources.
Leila's watchful and bright purple eyes stared intently at the names of the people referred to W-0, there were dozens of them, about a hundred to be exact. The design was that each Wyverns unit was to consist of sixty Knightmare Frames, which was the equivalent of a regular Knightmares battalion. Sixty pilots as the main force, and forty remaining if necessary to replace a dead or unfit comrade. About a minute later, the attention of the young Lieutenant Colonel was chained by one Knightmares pilot, who, although he had distinct Asian features and ancestry, was nevertheless a citizen of the republic. This particular one, with deep blue eyes and dark blue, disheveled and disheveled hair, his eyesight and facial expressions seemed to be like a carefully arranged and prepared mask for the audience, which seemed to cover his real face. Leila decided to read a little more about him, if only because of sheer and typically human curiosity.
"Second Lieutenant Akito Hyuga, United Europia citizen but of Eleven origin." The Lieutenant Colonel read his name aloud, then continued. "Born on the 4th of July in 211 RY in the village of Serris near Paris. Height one hundred and seventy-six centimeters, blood type A, dark blue hair, eyes deep blue. The shoulder of documents confirming graduation from high school or elementary school. Father, Akio Hyuga, mother of Ai Hyuga, Kururuga's maiden name, both died on June 6 217 RY Reason was mass suicide, committed with all servants and current relatives in the Hyuga family European residence. Elder brother, Shin Hyuga, renounced European citizenship to join the Britannian Army and accept honorary britannian citizenship , current status unknown. Presumably no living relatives. "
Leila's voice was silent for a moment and her eyes stared in disbelief at the description and the most important information about the Second Lieutenant. She was more than terrified because his family had either died under suspicious circumstances or had left him to die, or so it was at that moment. For a few minutes, Leila hesitated to read his resume further, but eventually decided to finish what had been started. Then her keen eyesight fell on the exact curriculum vitae, which she also read aloud. This time, however, the tone of her voice was definitely softer and softer than a few moments ago.
"Little more is known about the life of the Second Lieutenant than is shown in his overall profile. Akito Hyuga never mentioned his past, whether in interrogations or in rare interactions with his comrades. The lieutenant joined United Army in early 235 RY His numerous talents, a sense of survival and a tactical sense, as well as a certain flair for electronics combined with his high intelligence guaranteed him a place in United Armor six months training as a Knighmtare pilot, he was sent to the 5th Knightmare Frames Battalion, which was part of the Third Army and was a member of the Third Army. In fierce battles in eastern South Africa, Second Lieutenant Hyuga showed himself in combat many times, mainly by successfully eliminating enemy Knightmares companions, and by eliminating other targets. A course for a cadet he graduated in June 235 of R.Y. and he did it with honors. Until the beginning of January 237 R.Y. Second Lieutenant served in the 12th Knightmare Frames Battalion and fought mainly in Egypt. He volunteered for unit W-0. "
Ideally the moment Leila finished reading Lieutenant Hyug's resume, the door to the office suddenly and abruptly swung open, and a slightly pale man in a blue uniform ran in. His disheveled and light brown hair, as well as a small stubble, revealed his identity all too clearly. What drew attention, however, was the piece of paper he was holding in his right hand.
"Claus, what happened?" She asked, completely confused by his unexpected and violent intrusion into her office.
Leila was about to ask him additional questions, but it was Captain Warwick who spoke first. "Excuse me, Lieutenant Colonel, this incursion, but I think you should read it." And he pushed the piece of paper he was holding to her.
The young Lieutenant Colonel did not even read the entire order, but only the key fragments highlighted by her adjutant. Her eyes widened and the words for a moment could not pass through her throat. Ultimately, however, she was able to whisper a summary of the entire order, straight from the Army Group Egypt Staff.
"The 59th Mechanized Infantry Division and majority of 4th Knightmare Frames Battalio and the entire 3th Knightmare Frames Battalion were encircled by personal Britanian Witch troops near Abu Simbel village, and the W-0 unit was immediately ordered to start an operation to break the encirclement and allow the cornered troops. retreat?"
Captain Warwick could only nod. "Exactly so, Lieutenant Colonel." He replied as calmly as tense circumstances would allow. "The order just came, and it was issued by Marshal Albrecht van Hoph himself. It is therefore final."
AN: This is what I leave with you. I hope that you enjoyed it and wish you nice day or night.