Pendragon, Holy Britannian Empire
Imperial Palace
April 2017 A.T.B. Day after a Party in Aries Villa.
Prince Lucius vi of Britnaina walked the extravagantly decorated corridors at an unhurried pace, his half-cloak flapping behind him with each movement of his body. Meanwhile, on his lips was the mask of stoic calm and meticulously cultivated professionalism that young Prince reserved for occasions like this. It was the first meeting of the Imperial Cabinet to which he had been invited, and in which he would participate, as representative of all the chivalric orders, of the Holy Britannian Empire.
At the same time, all the Imperial Guards, servants, maids and even nobles and members of the Imperial administration working here greeted him with bows or salutes, but the Purple Prince only replied with a fleeting nod and nothing more. Especially since his thoughts were focused on something completely different at the moment, and it was the previous two meetings Purple Prince had had before noon.
The first of two was an interview with Doctor Kinnon Zimmad and his assistant son, Albert Zimmad. The two couldn't be more different that day. Albert was clearly tired and a bit overworked, while Doctor Kinnon, through excitement and excitement, worked virtually non-stop and was tightly focused on the goal of adapting KPR-02's original schematics to KPR-01 parts and systems to enable trouble-free replacement of parts and not create purely logistical confusion.
However, regardless of the fatigue of the Doctor's adoptive son and the rest of the employees of the S.K.F.D. Institute - which, thanks to funding from Lucius and the channeling of new, brilliant minds there, was full and working with great efficiency.
Their work has brought the first effects, or rather an introduction to the first effects. The crazy pace of work that Doctor Zimmad gave to the whole project slowly began to bring results quite quickly. First of all, in the form of the use of new, improved drive components, which, despite the much greater armor of the machine, would make it much faster than the Tallgeese Stormcommander, which was the most advanced of all KPR-01s in terms of mobility and combat potential. In addition, Kinnon developed a new armament concept for the new machine. Aside from the Heat Saber, the average example would be armed with either the new and mass-producible versions of the Beam Rifle or the 90mm Beam Machine Gun, which were basically creative developments from prototype versions of various energy or light weapons.
Essentially, it was as innovative as the KPR-01 Tallgeese's final armament, which consisted of a Maser Vibration Sword, in the form of a halberd, and a large assault rifle with a grenade launcher attached to it. However, Carl Tallgeese, before the machine's debut at the front, managed to come up with something better than this. First, the Maser Vibration Sword has been replaced by a much more deadly melee weapon, the Beam Saber, capable of cutting through virtually all metals known to the science of science. The second innovative weapon type was the Dober Gun, which was essentially a combination of ammunition technology and beam-based weapons. Nevertheless, all this was prototype and only usable in this prototype, especially in the face of high energy demands.
Nevertheless, now that technological barriers were slowly being removed, the possibility of equipping entire formations with similar weapons was finally opening up, something Lucius had simply never dreamed of before.
In addition, during a visit to the institute, Lucius noticed some conceptual sketches, but with the comment 'in the future'. A few questions, however, were enough for the eccentric doctor to explain that these are plans for the development of the Float System. Something that at the moment is only a concept of developing the VTOL system, and which is to enable Knightmare Frames, trouble-free and smooth flight, or even the creation of the first Airships in history. Although no doctrine even existed, and probably no one had yet thought of such a daring endeavor, Lucius already had some initial ideas in mind for the use of such a force. But that was the last part of his visit to the S.K.F.D. institute.
Meanwhile, the second visit was to Castle Marianne, where Garma, Char and Sword Master Sir Schnee Hexenhaus continued to reorganize the Knights of the Purple Rose. It is worth noting that the conceptual issues themselves were not yet fully completed and the trio did not agree on the direction in which it should go. Sir Schnee was of the opinion that the battalions and companies should simply be reinforced, while Garma and Char were of the opinion that it would be much more efficient and prudent to simply reorganize the brigade structure entirely. The argument in favor of such an opinion was the fact that Knightmare Frames are simply something completely new, just like tanks during the European Weltkrieg, and therefore it becomes necessary to move away from old concepts in favor of new ones.
Lucius felt obliged to settle the dispute in favor of one of the parties. He needed some time to think, and having in mind the recent experience in Egypt, when the 1st Corps had not so much adaptability and effective division of forces, which was expected of an elite formation and was most evident in the factory, where the battalion, under the command of Sir Char, proved to be be insufficient. With all this in mind, Pruple Prince has opted for a somewhat middle-of-the-road solution that is mutually satisfactory.
First of all, the structure of the 1st Corps was not changed and the formation was still divided into brigades, which had a total of 2,500 personnel and each commanded by a Sword Master. The problem, however, were smaller groupings, at the battalion and regiment levels. That said, Lucius decided to completely reorganize the structure of the Knightmare Frames formation in the first place. From now on, the largest grouping of this formation was to be the land wing, with a total of 3 in the brigade. Each was to be divided into 9 squadrons, and these were to be additionally divided into 3 squadrons.
It was not difficult to get the correct impression that the Purple Prince was trying to divide his roses in such a way that each of the commanders of lower and lower ranks had the opportunity to operate the formations they commanded in the most effective and dynamic way, which in modern maneuver warfare is absolutely crucial.
Additional support for the entire formation was provided by as many as four mechanized infantry battalions - which were grouped together in a mechanized regiment, and each contained several pieces of self-propelled howitzer on a crawler chassis - and a logistic regiment, which included not only quartermasters and responsible for the delivery of ammunition or liquid Sakuradite, but also technicians, along with the equipment necessary to maintain or repair Knightmares. Basically, apart from the concentration of the infantry into a single and cohesive regiment, little has changed.
In general, decisions were also made to increase the number of battalion equivalents, i.e. Land Wings. While the standard battalion has only 45 machines, the land wings are to have 135 of them. The squadron still and, like the company, had 15 machines, and the squad five. All land wings would be placed under the direct command of a single Colonel who would report directly to the Sword Master.
Such a large number of Land Wings and thus an increase in the number of squadrons generated some problems. First of all, the problem of a potential shortage of pilots and machines. In fact, the concentration of Knightmare Frames in one formation - in this particular case, one brigade - was unprecedented, not to mention the other brigades that made up the 1st Corps. In total, the number of machines would be 405 within a single brigade.
The demand for regular and reserve pilots would be enormous. Not to mention the problem associated with the desire to maintain the standard size of one brigade. Lucius's answer was simple but sufficient. Reducing the number of mechanized infantry battalions and focusing on quality in this particular aspect.
On this occasion also, Lucius acceded to Sir Char Anzable's request that within the Corps, irregular units be allowed to exist that could be used to support regular formations. The first formation of this type was to become the Battalion of the Scarlet Crusaders, led by Char, who simply did not intend to allow his formations and thus the people with whom he managed to establish a certain relationship to disperse. However, the battalion was still divided into squadrons and squads.
Lucius's decision was final, made after quite a long discussion and counter-arguments from both sides, so none of the trio of friends present in one room simply dared to oppose him. Simply put, the new organization chart of the 1st Corps of Knights of the Purple Rose was already in place from that day on and no one could stop or change it. Whether these changes are for the better or for the worse, only time will tell.
But back to the present, Lucius made it to the door leading inside, to the conference room where the Imperial Cabinet held its weekly or emergency meetings, if there was a reason for it. The guards making sure that no one undesirable entered inside, just saluted him and opened the door for him, and he in turn did the same and entered a moment later.
Inside, some members of the Imperial Cabinet were already waiting for him, and they greeted him with a nod almost immediately. Lucius, however, answered them with quite a lot of absent-mindedness, and above all, he turned towards two of his political allies present here, who, due to their positions, simply had to be here. They were two members of the Zabi family. Chief Inspector of the Imperial Army, General Dozle, and Deputy Prime Minister Gihren.
"Your Highness." The latter, and definitely smaller, greeted him almost immediately. "I'm surprised to see you here."
"No more than me, Deputy Prime Minister, no more than me." Lucius' calm reply came. "To be honest, and given the rather turbulent past between me and His Imperial Majesty, I never expected to end up here, at least not in his lifetime. Regardless, here I am, representing the Britannian Knightly Orders."
"Well, Your Majesty, I trust that in this matter it will be to the greatest advantage of the elite army of our empire." This time General Dozle was the one to answer. "However, this meeting will address some… quite sensitive topics for our army and combat capabilities, and in terms of our new enemies, but this time internal rather than external."
"I know what you mean, General, and let's call it what it is, we're dealing with organized terrorism within our empire." Lucius summed it all up coolly.
Although initially Gihren and Dozle were surprised by his rather cool demeanor, both realized very quickly that this professionalism stemmed directly from the situation and the need to sit here at the very center of Britannian politics.
Essentially, Purple Prince's demeanor was almost entirely unlike the cheerful and slightly cheeky teenager who was usually present in place of the calm and coldly calculating machine that stood in front of them at the moment.
"Then let's get ready, the Emperor and Prime Minister should arrive soon." After a moment, Gihren headed to the large table, then took the seat closest to the position where the Prime Minister usually sat.
Lucius, meanwhile, managed to squeeze in between the seat next to two people. On the left, sat Chief Inspector Dozle. Meanwhile, on the right, it was quite beautiful, physically attractive, over thirty years old blonde with amber eyes. It was War Minister Countess Abria Weinberg, Knight of Three's elder cousin, who, however, did not have much love for her relative, and Sir Gino reciprocated. The reason for such a state of their family relationship was not too difficult to guess, and it was all related to a certain scandal from a few years ago.
Lucius, of course, was quite familiar with some of the juicy details of the whole affair, but without going into too much detail, the gist of it was that Gino Weinberg had engaged in a passionate affair with one of his maids. Unfortunately, this girl was Number, specifically Eleven, who, due to the death of Lucius' siblings, were especially despised by the entire society of the empire. If the thing happened between Gino and a commoner maid, it wouldn't be a big scandal because similar things happened at least dozens of times a year. However, the maid's unfortunate origins saw the Weinberg family get rid of the girl in the literal sense, and the cousin of the Knight of Three has so far not forgiven Gino for insulting their name so far, and there is no indication that this will change soon.
"Your Highness." The War Minister spoke to him in a high-pitched, fully professional voice that suited a thirty-year-old woman perfectly. "It is an honor to sit in your presence at this meeting."
"Mutually, Lady Weinberg." Lucius replied equally coolly and professionally, not even looking at the interlocutor. "I suspect you are as surprised by my presence in this particular place as I was yesterday when His Majesty gave me the order to attend today's meeting of the Imperial Cabinet."
"His Majesty, made this decision only yesterday, why?" She asked, though undoubtedly surprised, more focused on staying calm than showing it.
"Well, that's not a question that should be directed at me, because I have no idea what's going on in my father's head, my lady." Lucius stated in response and further continuation of this conversation turned out to be impossible, because the door leading inside opened and one of the guards stood in it, who announced the arrival of the Emperor and the Prime Minister.
"We will finish this conversation perhaps later, my Lady." Lucius whispered to her briefly, then, like the others, turned his attention to the door.
The Emperor was the first to enter, and the entire hall rose in response to his arrival, in a gesture of respect and loyalty. He, meanwhile, waved his hand and ordered everyone to sit back, which was done. A moment later, the most powerful - figuratively and literally - person in the room, sat behind a small throne specially prepared for him, which was placed on the side of the large table in such a way that the Emperor could look at everyone without the slightest difficulty.
After him, two more people who were easy to recognize entered the interior. Especially since these two men regularly attended the meetings of the empire's central government. The first and, as usual, dressed in white, with impeccable manner, was Prime Minister Schneizel el Britannia, who very quickly took his place on the right hand side, from the perspective of the throne. The other member of the imperial family, meanwhile, was the Britannian Crown Prince, Odysseus eu Britannia. A man with a powerful physique, short and fair hair, and blue eyes. In addition, a man often referred to in the political lobby as the Mediocre Prince, or sometimes much more bluntly as the Clown Prince.
However, regardless of how he was called, the fact remained that this man, despite his extremely powerful position, as the oldest of the offspring of the current Emperor and theoretically the second man in the country after him, never showed any initiative or willingness to act publicly and behind the scenes. It was hard not to get the impression that, unlike the rest of his siblings, Odysseus was just wasting himself, and just as well, his presence here and in court matters was only a joke.
Lucius, however - with the great and invaluable help of the network of Mariemaia's informants - was able to see through this facade and see what lies beneath the appearances of the average person. What he found there was no less interesting. First of all, Odysseus was not the Mediocre Prince in the slightest, much less the Clown Prince. On the contrary, he was an extremely intelligent man and, in times of necessity, he could also be extremely cunning.
In fact, both Schneizel and Lucius were able to see through this façade and see that beneath the appearance of a worthless clown, there was actually a rather calm and intelligent man who, however, was not interested in politics, much less power. The exceptions to this rule were moments when reason of state was involved, only then did the Crown Prince get involved in politics.
"Let's get started." The Emperor announced as everyone took their seats.
At the same time, Lucius noticed that sitting across from him was an equally fat and richly dressed man in his late fifties, in the midst of baldness, his hair starting to turn more gray than black. It was Baron Culley Spencer, Minister of Finance, one of the smartest men in the room, and literally a wizard when it came to purely financial matters. It was he who was able to perfectly balance the finances and direct the funds in such a way that, on the one hand, it was enough for the army, and on the other, for the internal development of the empire. And to that end, the donations that many noble families gave to the empire proved extremely helpful.
Among the nobility - especially the old blood - there was an unwritten custom to act primarily for the good of the empire, which granted them privileges and quite a lot of power. Contributions to the Exchequer were no exception to this rule, and Minister Culley Spencer had no qualms about taking advantage of this.
More, Purple Prince personally considered him a real genius who just hides his true potential, because great talent and intellect are like a coin. On the one hand, it can bring you a high position and open the way to a great career. On the other hand, something like this could very well bring hordes of envious enemies to you, or alternatively, those who simply fear for their position. Lucius had found that out more than once in his short life.
"Now that we're all ready to get started, let's start with the first point I wish to raise at this weekly meeting." The Prime Minister began, and thus Lucius focused entirely on the content of this meeting. "Let me give the floor to the Minister of Finance to lay the whole matter out."
"Thank you, Your Highness." The fat man replied, then awkwardly stood up and everyone turned their attention to him. "We are currently facing a problem that could become a major burden on our economy in the near future. One of our empire's most faithful banks, Britannian Goldsafe and Watergate, are now facing the prospect of bankruptcy."
"How?" Lady Weinberg asked this question to the surprise of almost everyone present, and the reason was not hard to guess. "Although I may be a woman of the army and the battlefield in the first place, I am fully aware that something like this could only be a matter of mismanagement in misguided decisions on the part of the owners of these banks."
"Your conjecture is correct to some extent, Lady Weinberg." The obese Minister replied, and then he turned to the Emperor. "Your Majesty, by lending to plebeians on a previously unprecedented scale. Although it may seem logically impossible, the owners of these banks hoped to get rich by extending loans en masse, without any collateral or even checking that their borrowers would be able to repay their debts. Now, the banks are counting on this help from the state and their problems have been further compounded by stock market speculators."
The last words evoked bursts of laughter in the conference room. Although the Minister of Finance was a bit surprised by the lack of seriousness on the part of the gathered, he could not be surprised. How brazen the nobles who managed these banks had to be to demand help from the state treasury after ruining the achievements of many generations through their own mismanagement.
"Although it may seem ridiculous, the matter is much more serious than it is possible to perceive, at least at first glance." The Baron tried to continue, and it worked, and the members of the Imperial Cabinet mastered their emotions to listen to him. "First of all, in these banks, savings and deposits are kept by a large part of the most influential and wealthy nobility of our empire. Not to mention the importance of these financial institutions for our economy. If we do not save them, in the near future we may encounter quite serious problems or even a slowdown in some key sectors of the Imperial economy, despite having some support in the form of our colonies."
There was silence in the room as no one wanted to speak. It became clear to all gathered that this is not an easy or pleasant topic. The Emperor had to struggle with solving such problems almost every day. From the perspective of the Purple Prince and the White Prince, it wasn't hard to get the impression in this particular case that this might have been one of the reasons why he chose to take virtually no part in running the empire.
"So what are the solutions to this problem, looking at it through the eyes of a seasoned economist?" To the surprise of most of the audience, it was the Crown Prince who spoke.
"Well, as I've said before and I'll say it again, we can't let these banks fail under any circumstances." The Minister of Finance replied seriously, and then proceeded to present the best solution in his opinion. "I have prepared a special financial assistance program for Britannian Goldsafe and Watergate, which will be paid by the Treasury in several tranches."
Doubts were first expressed by the Prime Minister, who, after the Minister of Finance himself, had the greatest knowledge of financial matters. "I don't think that an attempt to rescue threatened banks, threatened by the actions of irresponsible owners, is an idea consistent with our raison d'état. In this way, we will only send a signal to other owners of large companies or financial institutions that they can act irresponsibly."
For the next few minutes, the Minister of Finance tried to push his point of view by arguing that they could not afford to fail these banks, also because of the possibility of dragging down several investment funds that were financially involved in the aforementioned banks. Meanwhile, Schneizel's arguments were that in this way they would not only give permission for irresponsibility, and hence there was a straight way to corruption and the gentry's dissipation in the belief that the state would always help them.
Although almost all of them were keenly interested in the discussion between them, Lucius could easily see that only one person was uninterested in all this and was clearly losing his patience with the current discussion. . It was the Emperor himself, and Lucius could have sworn he saw the expectation in his eyes for someone to solve the issue. It's as if ruling this empire was one big inconvenience to this man and just a necessity, not necessarily something he wanted.
Seeing all this, Purple Prince couldn't help but feel quite confused, almost bordering on confusion. So far, he had seen the Emperor mostly, either during speeches or during court affairs. The sight of this most powerful man in the world, who is completely uninterested in the reality around him and the empire he rules over, was disorienting to say the least, and Lucius had not the slightest idea as to the reason for such behavior on his part. How could you have all that power and not be able to enjoy it?
Well, to some extent, the Purple Prince understood that the greater the power, the greater the burden placed on the shoulders of the ruler, he himself felt this burden many times, especially at the death of his subordinates. However, in this case, the natural expression should be frustration, but definitely not indifference. Still, despite his conflicting emotions about it, Lucius decided to keep his thoughts to himself and focus on the meeting, which was going nowhere, so he decided to change it.
"Basically, it's a problem primarily with the banks themselves, the owners and the people who irresponsibly borrowed beyond their means without considering the potential consequences of allowing it." He stated it all as if it were the most obvious thing in the world and allowed himself to fall apart in a relaxed way.
"Your Highness, do you realize what you're saying?" Minister Culley looked at him as if he had at least grown a second head, which was hardly surprising given the gravity of the situation. "These banks hold the deposits of a significant percentage of the most important nobility of our empire. Not to mention their importance to our economy and financial system. In the event of bankruptcy, this could trigger an avalanche, to put it mildly.
There was silence for a short moment, which was broken only by the Emperor, when he turned to the youngest of the present sons. "Explain to me exactly your position on this, Prince Lucius."
"As you wish, Your Majesty." He then stood up, thus getting rid of the comfortable position, and gracefully spread his white-gloved hands on the table top. "Before I get to the point, I want to remind everyone that a state, especially a multi-continental empire, is a single and complex system that works as well as all its components. Call it an organism if you will. Regardless, the fact remains that this is a system where if a few elements fail, so do others. Put simply, either we let these banks and the people or institutions associated with them ultimately fail, or our financial and economic system will begin to degenerate, because in the case of help, we will make it clear that you can be completely uneconomic, because in the end, the government will help inept people ."
Lucius looked at everyone and saw that they were all focused on him before continuing. "Either we get rid of this cancer now and take unpleasant measures, or it will be present in our empire until the end and over time the potential costs of resolving this situation will only increase."
In the next few seconds, he relaxed into his seat and sat back comfortably. "It is my sincere hope that the members of this august body of our empire will choose a wise, long-term and sensible solution, rather than a short-term solution that will only bring compounded problems in the distant future, for Britannia."
Although his arguments were undoubtedly logical and quite rational, not everyone was of the same opinion on this point, and it certainly would not be Minister Culley, who decided to present his point of view in a rather forceful manner.
"This is pure folly, Your Highness! While there is an unquestionable logical basis for this, it is still not wise to let one of our most important banks fail. While it is a fact that if the right forms of protection are taken, it may not have much of an impact on the empire's economy, but it is still…"
"We will do exactly as Prince Lucius suggests, and let it be no longer up for debate." To the surprise of absolutely everyone, the one who spoke in a monotonous and clearly bored voice was the Emperor himself. "He's right about that. If the owners of these banks, regardless of their social status, were unable to responsibly manage and manage their own wealth, while clients made clearly imprudent decisions, then I see no reason to try to help them."
"Your Majesty, it's..." Minister Culley was about to say more, but seeing the Emperor's determined look in his direction, he immediately fell silent and sank into the armchair. "It will be as you say, Your Majesty."
Lucius had no doubts about the tactics his father was using here. It was: keep quiet, let everyone else speak and let them argue with each other, just so they can always have the last word on any issue. As this example showed, this tactic worked. Additionally, the thought crossed Lucius's mind that this might be more than just a cabinet meeting. What if that's his father's way of running an empire by playing the figurehead and making the decisions at the end?
"Now that this issue has been definitively resolved, I propose to move on to the next item of the meeting." Schneizel effectively buried any further attempts at discussion, and in a rather neat way, because no one objected. "In much of the Areas, but also in the Homeland, terrorist activity continues to increase. With the ongoing military conflicts with the EU and now the one that will begin against the MEF, this activity can only increase."
There was complete silence over the room for a brief moment, until Schneizel continued. "Let me opine that historically, this is not a new phenomenon. In fact, the entire second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century was full of cases of anti-state terrorism. One of the best examples of this is the assassination of my ancestor, Fitzgerald Van Britannia, murdered by a group of EU-funded terrorists. However, to discuss this issue in more detail, let me give the floor to War Minister Weinberg."
"Thank you Prime Minister." The woman answered him, then gracefully stood up and got to the point. "But there is a difference between this terrorism of centuries ago and the one we are facing now. Once upon a time, the leitmotif was always to demand reforms within the system to bring Britannia closer to United Europe and this so-called democracy. However, based on current reports from the Army Intelligence, this time their demand is the total destruction of the Holy Britannian Empire, the dismantling of the colonial system, and allegedly giving power to the people."
At this statement, Minister Culley snorted with amusement, as he knew quite well the history of a large part of modern political movements and many of their leaders. "Wonderful, yet another band of imaginary fanatics and hippies whose leaders would inevitably implement a broadly defined dictatorship of the proletariat, followed by state terror against all who oppose them."
"Given their rhetoric and methods so far, you may be right, minister." Countess Abria snorted in amusement, then returned to her serious tone. "However, this does not change the fact that these terrorist groups exist, operate and therefore pose a direct threat to our national security. In particular, the organization Peace Mark is worth of mentioning."
A few people in the room snorted in amusement at such an absurd - at least in their opinion - devoid of even the slightest signs of sincerity. It was not hard to imagine that politicians accustomed to insincerity, hypocrisy and deceit - who practiced all this out of necessity in this particular sphere of life - use these experiences into terrorist organizations.
"This is the largest and, so far, probably the best organized terrorist group operating within the empire, but we should also mention Red Movement, The Will of the People and People's Army. As you can easily guess, all these terrorist groups are advocating the abolition of the Britannian monarchy and decolonization, but there are different conceptions of what is to come next. The Red Movement is an organization that advocates the abolition of nobility, the introduction of a centrally planned and general economy, and the transformation of the empire into a creation that has the working name of the Union of Britannian Socialist Republics. As for the other two terrorist organizations, they postulate the abolition of the monarchy, replacing it with a republic and liquidation of the nobility, but the concepts of what happens next are different. The Will of the People postulates the so-called model of liberal economy and direct democracy. Meanwhile, the demands of the People's Army can be reduced to the creation of a welfare state, with numerous social programs and, in general, some state supervision over the economy. Countess Abria continued, but at one point she noticed that her listeners were already tired and bored with these details, so she moved on to another point. "Now, I want to move on to potential solutions to this problem. Above all, however, I would like to note that these groups are quite well organized, Peace Mark in particular, not to mention their access to far more resources than the rest, not to mention quite a large, at least by the standards of a terrorist organization, Knightmare available and used frames. These numbers match the Area 11 Japan Liberation Front, which is made up of ex-servicemen and undoubtedly has the support of a sizable portion of the indigenous population."
"Is it possible?" asked the surprised General Dozle, who had no access to military intelligence files other than those made available to him. "Is it possible that at least Peace Mark is supported by someone from within our empire? This would explain the vast amount of evident aid that does not appear to be similar to the Chinese Federation, nor is it within the capabilities of that country or United Europe."
For a brief moment there was quite a loud consternation among the gathered, except for Dozle himself, Lucius, the Emperor, Schneizel, Odysseus and Abria. Nevertheless, it was the latter that interrupted it all and once again caught everyone's attention. "Your theory, General, while undoubtedly logical, has very little probability. First of all, such large financial or material transfers would not escape OSI's attention. Besides, and with the exception of some of the very wealthy bourgeoisie in the empire, only the very wealthy nobility would be able to support such a movement, and that is not in the interest of anyone in that group. Unless there were some personal motives involved, such as revenge, which is not very unlikely, but there is no evidence at this point to point to anyone specifically, so that issue will remain unaddressed for the time being."
"Actually." Lucius at this point decided to interject and make it clear his position, and by the way the solution he thought should be taken. "While we don't have enough evidence to point to potential traitors in our ranks, we can all pretty easily conclude that the OSI is failing at this point. In particular, I see many potential problems with the suppression of these types of terrorist groups in the more or less distant future."
"What are you up to, Your Highness?" It attracted the undoubted interest of the War Minister, who, beyond any doubt, wanted to solve this problem and focus on other issues.
"To the fact that the OSI will need help to fight the ever-growing terrorist threat." Lucius replied briefly, then looked briefly at everyone present, including the Emperor, who seemed to be in favor of his youngest son present here continuing. "I have prepared plans on my own for new, elite formations that will operate in terms of structure and responsibility similar to the Military Orders, but will be prepared primarily to fight against terrorists and possibly support the military."
"Do you have any specifics yet, including the names of potential commanders of such formations?" The emperor asked, surprising almost everyone present, but no one spoke up, much less objected to his interference in the matter.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Lucius nodded obediently, then proceeded to explain the matter in more detail. "First of all, it will not be much and at this point, according to my plans, only two anti-terrorist squads are to be created, which will have access to the best Knightmare Frames, the most up-to-date and most secret intelligence data from our intelligence, counterintelligence or OSI. The first unit of this type will be Chimera Knights, led by Colonel Kycylia Dhabi, because it has experience in fighting terrorism, commanding troops composed of Knightmare Frames and intelligence work, so it is an ideal candidate for commanders of this type of formations. The second will be the Glinda Knights, led by Princess Marrybell mel Britannia, also mainly due to some experience on her part in the clash with terrorism."
"With all due respect, Your Highness, this seems like plain cronyism to me." War Minister Abria interrupted him, looking straight into his eyes with steel and without the slightest fear. "While in the case of Colonel Kycily the arguments for her competence still appeal to me, not in the case of Princess Marrybell, who until recently was disgraced and served in one of the garrisons. Not to mention that both of these ladies are your political allies, or have certain obligations to you because of favors done to them."
"Your fears are completely unfounded, Lady Weinberg, for I am prepared to vouch for their skill with my honor." Lucius was not indebted, but all the same he remained calm and looked straight into her eyes, without the slightest trace of fear or uncertainty.
To the further surprise of all gathered, another dispute was once again resolved by the Emperor. "I accept your proposal, Prince Lucius, and I believe this to be the best solution we can take in this matter at this time. However, if you vouch for the skill of these women with your honor, it would behoove you to take full responsibility for it."
Both Lucius and Abria looked at each other with some consternation, almost perfectly painted on their lips, until the former spoke. "Your Majesty, I'm afraid I don't understand, especially since I have no authority to…"
"It doesn't matter at this point, because that's my imperial order." The emperor briefly dismissed his arguments and looked directly at him, as an eagle or other predator looks at its prey. "You are responsible for the formation of these counter-terrorism squads, and you will bear all responsibility for their successes and failures, if any."
Lucius was about to say something, but the Emperor's raised hand effectively prevented him from doing so. "It's not up for discussion, Prince Lucius, it's not negotiating, it's my command. If your proposal brings the expected results and these formations successfully fight this new threat, then you can expect a suitable reward from me. However, if you fail me, don't expect mercy or leniency from me for failures. There have been many before you who have promised me and cabinet members gold mountains, and all we have received are pitiful mounds. Don't fail, that's my advice on this matter."
No one responded to his words, so the Emperor continued, seeing no major attempts at objection or doubt. "Let's move on to the next points of this meeting then, Prime Minister."
It happened as the ruler of the most powerful power in the world wished, and further points were raised. The first of the next was the question of the invasion of the Middle East Federation, the exact date or goals of this campaign. The War Minister, Lucius, as well as Dozle and Schneizel, were the most active and made it clear that the invasion could only take place in a month and a half, due to the need to gather enough resources and stabilize the situation in the occupied territory, which the Emperor accepted.
The next point was the issue of the Chinese Federation and the role that this country could have in the new world. Here the debate was the most lively, because the views on this superpower only in name were very different. Some, such as Abria Weinberg, were in favor of absorbing or simply invading this state as soon as possible, so that it ceased to be even a potential threat to the Holy Britannian Empire. However, and Schneizel, Gihren, Culley and Lucius in particular, agreed in detail that it was worth leaving this state alone as another outlet for the empire's economy in the future. It would be advantageous because the Chinese army, although undoubtedly large, was not only technically and technologically backward, but was also burdened with corruption, incompetence and disorganized structures. Frankly, only three factors made the Chinese Federation today: the size of the territories, the abundance of natural resources, and the largest population in the world.
This seemingly very favorable picture of the situation, in fact, ignored a much deeper and unpleasant picture of the situation. First of all, the corrupt administration and inefficient centrally planned economy were unable to provide the inhabitants of this vast country with rice or a sense of stability. Famine, therefore, decimated villages, smaller towns and poorer districts of all metropolises for many years. The size of the territories created internal problems for the stability of the state, due to the multitude of ethnic minorities, which, emboldened by the weakness of the state, began to demand independence. The culmination of this picture of poverty and corruption was the issue of natural resources, the vast majority of which were left unexploited and left to their own devices. Alternatively, the extraction of resources was carried out by primitive methods, and the profits from the export of unrefined and raw materials went mostly to the officials managing it anyway.
Ultimately, however, it was decided that this topic would be postponed for some time until the situation inside the Chinese Federation changed. Basically, it was the anticipation of the inevitable storm inside the state, which would inevitably result in a civil war, the number of potential parties or their ideologies did not even matter here. At the same time, however, there was complete agreement among those present that it was necessary to take India as soon as possible, which had a powerful arms industry and was even called the Arsenal of Asia.
Another issue was still United Europe and the fact that during the fights in Egypt, the possibilities of this superpower came to light, to at least a fraction of catching up with their disproportions in technology, which at the local level turned out to be quite problematic, and even prevented achieving a complete victory. No significant resolutions were made at this point, as Chief Inspector Dhabi had made it clear to everyone that work was now underway on the next generation of mass-produced machines that could once again give the empire a decisive advantage. No one had reason to doubt his words, especially Lucius and Schneizel, who were well aware of the research that Camelot Engineering Corps was conducting on the prototype Z-01, which - as you can easily guess - was to serve as a model for mass-produced models, as well as all the latest solutions used in this prototype.
Another and basically the last issue of the day was the issue of individual Areas, and in particular the topic of Area 11 was raised in this context, which for the people gathered here appeared as a breeding ground for terrorism within the imperial. Little known or virtually marginalized was the fact that, in fact, the Elevens' terrorism was constantly weakening as a result of the anti-terrorist actions taken. Lucius, however, felt no need to correct the people gathered here, because in the final analysis, Clovis was the son of his greatest rival, so it would be best for the Purple Prince himself if the members of the Imperial Cabinet perceived him primarily as an incompetent and art-focused clown.
But aside from the question of Clovis himself, Lucius also listened with some satisfaction to the reports and reports about the multiple massacres of the local population that sometimes took place against the Eleven. He was also genuinely pleased with the racism the local administration and the Britannian population used against the natives. While this may have seemed merely the hubris or vanity of the arrogant Britannian Prince, there was one particular reason why Lucius detested the ancient Japanese, and why he would have been happy to inflict mass, even industrial, extermination upon them. Purple Prince genuinely hated and considered Eleven to be cattle, as he believed they had murdered his brother and sister as retaliation for the empire's invasion, but they still did.
For a moment, as the topic of Area 11 was explored a little more in-depth and the scale of anti-terrorist brutality, which sometimes resulted in massacres of entire neighborhoods, was revealed, Lucius allowed himself a small, short and cold smile. It was all the more pleasant for him when he learned about the activities of the local Purist Faction division, which mercilessly suppressed any attempts by the Elevens to reach a high position in the military hierarchy. After all, the moment passed very quickly, because he was still in the middle of the meeting of the Imperial Cabinet and he had no intention of allowing anyone to think him frivolous at this point.
Lucius even got into a brief discussion of the subject, mostly in the context of the potential continuity of Sakuradite supplies to the Homeland, and on that occasion allowed himself to fuel the cabinet members' distrust of the Viceroy of Area 11. to the great surprise of the Purple Prince, Schneizel expressed their faith in Clovis' abilities, so Lucius had to let go, at least for now.
Moments later, the meeting ended and Lucius began to ponder the exact reason why he had been summoned. His doubts, however, were fully and completely dispelled the moment the Emperor ordered him to stay, much to everyone's surprise. Purple Prince did not have the ability or even the desire to oppose his will, so he remained in his current position.
"Is there any matter you'd rather discuss in private, specifically with me, Your Majesty?" Lucius asked him diplomatically.
"If it wasn't, I wouldn't have ordered you to stay here, Lucius." The answer was as dry as it was unusual. "Whatever your assumptions, however, I want to ask you some questions, and I expect your answers to be completely honest. Is it clear?"
"Totally, Your Majesty." Lucius replied without any body language, and instead stared at his father with growing suspicion, which did not go unnoticed by the Monarch of the Britannia.
"You're way too uptight and at this rate you'll have more wrinkles than I do now. On the other hand, at least you're taking it seriously." It almost sounded like father advice, except that Lucius didn't take it as advice in the slightest, more like a potential trap.
"I have considered his request, Your Majesty." Lucius started off with a rather trivial statement, and for now, at least, decided not to say much. "The final decision, however, will be yours."
"I don't remember giving you a task in the last few days." The Emperor replied, reminding him at the same time of the simple fact that only an Imperial order could be any obstacle to this, and that was not the case. "So I'll ask again, are you going to Area 11 at Clovis's request?"
"And to." Lucius nodded, but at the same time he couldn't help but wonder how his father knew about the request so quickly. "My presence in that colony, and some of my knights, opens up, as you probably already know, many very interesting opportunities to take advantage of such a situation and the distrust of our court members in relation to Prince Clovis."
"So it all ultimately comes down to political intrigue. Not that I'm dissatisfied or disappointed, because considering Viceroy of Area 11's other parent, I'd rather be surprised if you came there purely out of sentiment." The emperor replied and Lucius was about to say something, but his father effectively prevented it. "It doesn't matter that much anymore, Lucius. Now, however, I would like to ask you something more important. Do you recognize the term Geass, or have you ever come across the name?"
"Geass?" Lucius pondered and frowned as he tried to refresh his memory and catch any bits of information on the subject. But it all came down to just one thing. "Well, I can't say for sure that I haven't experienced it. Nevertheless, I do not recall or associate the term in the slightest."
Purple Prince thought for a few more moments, but only one thought came to mind. "The only thing I remember is the name Giess, which is part of the legend of Alvin I, king of the British Celts. If I remember correctly, according to the legend, when the Romans were already reaching the shores of the British Isles and the king's scouts reported the situation to him, he was supposed to fall into shock and be unable to take any sensible action. For two weeks the Romans had been capturing the coastal cities and some inland settlements, and Alvin and his advisers were at a loss as to what to do against the greatest power of ancient Europe. Only then, a witch or a sorcerer came to the aid of the king, the versions are contradictory here. Regardless, however, the witch was to offer the king the power that enabled him to repel the invaders and lay the foundations for the Kingdom of England, which over the next centuries evolved into the Kingdom of Great Britain, which over the centuries turned into the Holy Britannian Empire.
"Correct, Lucius." The emperor nodded to him and made it clear that he had memorized the legend completely correctly. "This is not the only story of its kind. The French had a legend according to which King Clovis I of the Merovingian dynasty, before the decisive battle for control of the territory of present-day France, was to accept the help of a traveling sage, and this was the power that was supposed to enable victory. In return, the king was to promise the sage that he would be baptized, and so he did. Another legend concerns Richard the Lionheart and Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, or simply Saladin as history remembers him. Regardless, both of them, before the Third Crusade, were supposed to receive power from a witch or an old imam. It was this power that was to lead to the outcome of this holy war."
Lucius was beginning to understand the diagram presented to him. Great rulers were helped at crucial moments by mysterious travelers, sages, and other such people, and then performed great deeds thanks to this. Subsequent mentions and legends about other rulers of the medieval world and later eras only made the young prince understand that there are more stories and legends of this type. As if they weren't just stories to help simple people rationalize the actions of the great and powerful.
"Well, I can't help but feel that all these stories were meant to convey only one message. The great and powerful people of this world would not be able to achieve anything without the help and support of these little ones, whose names have often been buried in the pages of history and will rather remain unknown." At some point, Lucius allowed himself a slight digression, based on logic and conclusions from a dozen or so different discussions he sometimes had during the academy about various written or recorded legends from centuries ago. "Anyway, what are you trying to tell me with that?"
"Can't the father spend some time with one of the more tolerable and generally competent offspring?" The emperor asked with a strange, because previously unheard of smile.
"It's hard for me to imagine that considering everything that's happened in our relationship so far." Lucius replied stiffly to his question.
"I do not deny that your distrust is fully justified, given our, to put it mildly, turbulent past. Still, the fact remains that I didn't summon you here if I was just talking about myths." Only after these words did Lucius express any other, more expressive emotion, and he was surprised not to have anticipated such a bold statement during the course of this conversation. "But apart from the legend of the origins of the Kingdom of England, this story of mysterious travelers, clerics or sorcerers, appears throughout our history and takes various names. Giess, Periess as the Slavs called it, not to mention the names given to this power in Egypt, Africa, Asia or the Americas. However, it has always been believed that the possession of this power is destined for outstanding individuals who can change the world."
"You mean to tell me that this power is more than just legends or superstitions of simple people from centuries ago?" Lucius almost scoffed, but seeing the seriousness in his father's eyes and expression, his desire vanished. "So Giess really exists?"
"Yes, but he is not known by the name you gave him." The Emperor nodded in agreement with his supposition and was quietly pleased to see an almost childlike curiosity in his more promising son in terms of potential. "The power of Geass, as that is the name of what some have called over the years the power of kings, is more than real. The colloquial name is quite useful, considering the loneliness that Geass condemns the user to. Sometimes and in extreme cases, this power can take control of the life of the owner if he is no longer able to control it."
"You talk about it a lot, but what exactly is Geass power?" Lucius replied with a question, increasingly eager to get something more concrete than just the history of the use of this power or basic facts.
"A more pertinent question would rather be: What is this power not?" There was an almost immediate response from the Emperor, and a moment later his eyes flashed, instead of pupils, a shining symbol resembling the shape of a flying bird. "Geass manifests extremely differently and completely depending on the user of this power. Sometimes it will be the power to control the mind, and sometimes the power to influence the mind by creating illusions. Sometimes the power will be more powerful and virtually limitless, and sometimes it will be weak, with an extremely large number of restrictions. Fundamentally, and despite attempts to understand it, the process of receiving powers by the user is still not entirely clear."
Seeing the change in the Emperor's eyes, Lucius almost immediately and abruptly stood up. His expression made it clear that this was not what he expected to see. He clearly seemed lost, and indeed he was, for beyond his early childhood, his belief in magic or the supernatural simply gave way to an acceptance of mundane reality. Now, he witnessed something that in fact completely destroyed his previous way of thinking.
"Sit down, because I'm not going to use this on you, at least not right now. So, however, that in my case this power manifests itself through the ability to modify the gaze of those with whom it maintains eye contact."
Lucius looked at him with some doubt, even obvious uncertainty. "Why you tell me that?"
"Because you have proven to me more than once that you are one of the few worthy in the entire imperial family to know this secret, which for centuries has been crucial in shaping the history of our world." The emperor answered him, with complete sincerity and a clear desire to put some plan into action. "Cornelia is undoubtedly the type of fierce warrior who is completely loyal to her people, but is also extremely limited. Schneizel is just a high-functioning, extremely intelligent psychopath with no strong desires or attachments, and thus is completely erratic. His brother, Charlemagne is no better, because I would describe him primarily as a selfish conqueror type. I won't even mention the rest of the imperial family."
Lucius sneered at him, emboldened by his words. "It seems that having many offspring does not necessarily translate into quality."
"Unfortunately." The emperor sighed, and until then the seemingly all-powerful monarch of the most powerful country in the world seemed almost defeated and disillusioned with his life so far. In the meantime, he blinked, and his pupils returned to normal.
"Besides you, only two other members of our family know about the Geass power."
"Who?" His statement once again intrigued Lucius, just when he thought nothing could surprise or surprise him anymore.
"The identity of the first is not relevant at this point and should not be of concern to you." The Emperor stated firmly, but this does not mean that all secrets have been hidden by the Purple Prince. "The other meanwhile is Odysseus."
"The Clown Prince?" Lucius asked in surprise, unable to believe what he had just heard. "I am surprised that…"
"That someone who is publicly regarded as a mediocre or incompetent member of the imperial family could learn such an important secret?" The Emperor raised an eyebrow as he stared straight into his son's eyes. "Really, both you and I know perfectly well that my firstborn is more than capable and sometimes cunning. We both also know that the mediocre and incompetent façade is just that and nothing more."
Lucius nodded in understanding that his father apparently knew everything and in great detail about the imperial family and all the more or less behind-the-scenes things. Purple Prince did not have the slightest doubt at that moment that his father had been able to exercise power from behind the scenes all this time and influence them, all his descendants, without losing control of the situation. In fact, if you add Geass himself, it all started to make sense.
"So all this time, you've effectively manipulated and managed the political situation in the empire from behind the scenes, assuming the theoretical role of a figurehead, when in fact you've never really lost control of the situation in the slightest." His statement was met with a smile and an affirmative nod, and Purple Prince continued his argument. "Then I have no doubt that either you actively supported me and Schneizel, or you gave us tacit permission to gain our present power. Regardless, I'd like to know the exact reason for this."
"Well, you and Schneizel, while he's a high-functioning psychopath, you're the more sensible part of a family that has great potential for further development." The answer was vague and ambiguous: "However, what matters is your common sense and rational approach to the complex issue of running our empire on a daily basis. I have no intention of letting the balance of power in Britannia tip to the side of radicals like Gabrielle and her supporters."
"I'm a bit surprised by that." Lucius admitted without even a hint of hiding his feelings. "Personally, I have always suspected that if you allow anyone to take full power, it will primarily be the old-blooded nobility, and precisely Gabrielle, given their radical views and full commitment to the cause of Social Darwinism, which our ruling class loves all too much. "
"Don't confuse commitment and worship with actually following these rules." The Emperor rebuked him gently but firmly. "In fact, the vast majority of those who revel in allegedly trampling on the weak, in fact, only hinder any development of our society and if there is one thing they will contribute to, it is the devouring of our superpower by the other two powers, or whatever will grow on the ashes of the EU and CF. If it weren't for the part of the nobility that can be considered simply fat and indolent, I still need it to carry out my plans, I would have gotten rid of them a long time ago."
It was beginning to sound more like an attempt to express everything that weighed on his heart. "Unfortunately, reshuffles at the top of the social hierarchy and outright purges are not what I need to achieve my goals."
Given his listlessness so far, especially with regard to the more "trivial" affairs of the empire, Lucius already had some idea of the plans his father might be up to. "I'm guessing all your plans have something to do with this Geass, isn't it?"
"You are smart, as has been noted many times since your early years. At the moment, however, that is not your concern, and I am not going to tell you any more about it, for there is not even the slightest reason for it yet, Lucius."
Purple Prince just nodded, with a slight regret at his failure to get any more information on the subject.
"You may leave at this point." The emperor bade him farewell with a wave of his hand. "See you in the future and I hope your visit to Area Eleven is more than refreshing."
Lucius didn't answer, slightly confused and having quite a lot of difficulty accepting this state of affairs until now, which until now had been effectively suppressed due to sheer fascination with the unknown and what had just been revealed to him. However, this did not stop the Purple Prince from leaving the council room and, after urging the Emperor, headed to leave the Imperial Palace as soon as possible.
AN: I sincerely hope that the next piece of this story presented to you met your expectations.
Let me tell you straight, initially I planned to make the whole thing a bit longer and spread over several other events. However, and given my little zeal for it, I've decided to just let it go and not torment you with too much content.
In this chapter, I have tried to continue what I started in previous chapters. A presentation of the internal politics of the Holy Britannian Empire. The series gives us practically no details except that there is an empire, an Emperor, a Prime Minister, an influential and lazy nobility, a colonial system and the whole empire is heavily militarized.
On this occasion, it was not explained how Britannia became technologically and militarily advanced enough to dominate virtually the entire world.
The fact that the series and manga left a lot of gaps gives me quite a lot of creative and artistic freedom. I may have mentioned this in previous author's notes, but in that case it's not a bad thing to repeat it, just a reminder.
Personally, I see Britannian nationalism in the way I have presented in this chapter. The involvement of the nobility in the affairs of the state to a significant extent and not limited only to the army and gaining glory on the battlefield.
By the way, some of you will undoubtedly find it odd that all of a sudden in less than a month, the first concepts of new weapons for Knights of the Purple Rose are starting to appear, but there is a logical explanation for this. First of all, Kinnon Zimmad builds on existing schematics and prototypes for work previously done by Carl Tallgeese. What makes Zimmad's work different is the even greater pursuit in the basic variant of the Knights of the Purple machines, for high, but still unified results. Simply put, he plans the KPR-02 as an extremely versatile Knightmare Frame, which, however, can effectively use a variety of weapons.
There will certainly be a development variant of the Deathtrooper, the KPR-02/ST Skytrooper, in the future. As you can easily guess, it will be a variant adapted and created for air combat, adapted to the Float System.
I will also tell you that in the future for Knights of the Purple Rose, an Air Ship will be developed. In this particular case, it will be called the ARD-01, or simply the Londinium-class Floating Dreadnought, based on the Irish-class of Gundam UC.
By the way, in this chapter - just like in the previous ones - the topic of reorganization of the Knights of the Purple Rose was discussed. Essentially, and once again, the show leaves us with how Knightmare Frames actually is structured. As for what it would ultimately look like with Knights of the Purple Rose, I decided by pure chance and while reading one of the books on modern armored divisions.
Also, I decided to write quite extensive - in my opinion - expanding the presented world and giving it additional details. I also wanted to put some pretty interesting cases of using Geass power in the world, and accept the fact that it didn't always lead to a clear conclusion.
That said, see you next time dear readers.