Disclaimer
I do not own the Code Geass and Gate – Jieitai Kare no Chi nite, Kaku Tatakeri franchises. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been doing this now, would I?! Both franchises belong to their respective creators and I am writing this because of my hobby and passion only, not for profit.
Throne Room, White Palace
Terran Calendar: August 25th, 2135
The Emperor and his cabinet were having a direct meeting with foreign delegates from Japan and Australia regarding the proposal of building the United Earth Defense Force into an official military for Earth and all of her colonies as well as other important affairs regarding Humanity's further expansion in Sol.
Charles and his cabinet were delighted when they learned that certain Presidents of several Autonomous States from the United Republic of Europe have shown interest in the Britannians' proposal. As a result, they have agreed to have an online meeting with the Britannian Emperor and would gladly discuss such matters along with the Japanese and Australian delegates as well.
Right now, there was a large gathering of state officials within the Throne Room. There were the Britannian Emperor, his cabinet, two members from the Knight of the Round, several Britannian Nobles who handled international negotiations in various sectors, the Japanese and Australian delegates, and the holographic images of several European Presidents.
As they were discussing the conditions, benefits, advantages, and disadvantages of the Britannians' proposal, they were interrupted when Bismarck Waldstein returned from his phone call and notified the Emperor of disturbing news.
"Your Majesty, we have a situation!" He said urgently. "Los Angeles is under attack by an unknown army."
Naturally, the news shocked everyone within the room. "What do you mean 'unknown army'?" Schneizel el Britannia, the Emperor's second oldest son who held the position of Imperial Prime Minister asked. The rest of the national delegates were also unnerved by the sudden news.
"It'll be much faster to show you," Bismarck turned to Monica Krushevsky, another Knight of the Round like him. "Monica, show them what we just saw!"
"Yes Sir," Monica did as she was told and typed some commands into her datapad which controlled the holographic projectors of the Throne Room.
The holographic images of the European Presidents moved aside to make room for new images to be shown. A massive holographic screen lit up in the middle of the room for everyone to see what was happening in Los Angeles. It was a compilation of visual recordings from traffic cameras, security cameras, news report VTOLs, police dash cams, and numerous newly uploaded videos from handheld holo-phones. Needless to say, everyone was absolutely horrified with what was happening to the unfortunate citizens of Los Angeles. It was a scene of complete carnage, barbarism, and depravity.
"W-What is this?" Guinevere de Britannia questioned with her mouth agape as she was shocked with the carnage being shown. One scene in particular seemed to come from a news VTOL in which some women were being stripped of their clothes and forced upon by barbaric humans clad in ancient armor and armed with medieval weapons. In some footage, dragon-like creatures even attacked the VTOLs and drones of news agencies and the LAPD.
"That… cannot be. There is no way this is real, right?" Victoria li Britannia, the Second Princess of the Imperial Family who was the current Viceroy of one of Britannia's major colonies on Mars, said incredulously as she thought this was some kind of movie set.
"Unfortunately, all of this is real, Your Highness. And such events are still happening in Los Angeles." Bismarck said grimly.
Michele Manfredi, another Knight of the Round, watched on with disgust and rage as one of the videos showed these invaders charging through the streets and butchering every innocent bystander in their path. He could feel his blood boil with rage as he watched these animals decapitate, bludgeon, slash, and stab innocent Britannians to death with their primitive weapons.
The foreign delegates within the room physically recoiled in horror when they saw Britannian children being devoured by giant and grotesque creatures controlled by the invaders. They had to look away from the carnage since it was simply too much for them. The same goes for the European Presidents since they were also watching the same thing through their screens. Some of them thought that this was just an elaborate prank or trick by the Britannians but all of the footages were simply too real to be fake.
The Prime Minister of Japan, Genbu Kusanagi, also had to look away from the carnage in full display in front of him but he then remembered something. His grandson was scheduled to go on a vacation with his friends from Ashford Academy in Los Angeles.
"My grandson! Did you find him? He is going on vacation in Los Angeles today." The Japanese Prime Minister frantically asked Bismarck.
"Please don't worry, Mr. Prime Minister!" Bismarck assured him. "The Royal Guard HQ has informed us that your grandson is safe and has evacuated with Prince Lelouch. Apparently, His Highness Lelouch refused to abandon his friends so they took all of them with him. They already reached Ainsworth Palace and are working with the LAPD to fortify the area until the military arrives."
"These animals will pay for what they have done to our countrymen," Charles said as his knuckle gripped the handle of his chair tightly. He then turned to Bismarck. "How long until the military gets there?"
"Fighter Squadrons from Everton Air Base and Carrier Group Five have already engaged the enemy's aerial forces, Your Majesty!" Bismarck replied calmly. "A quick reaction force from Fort MacArthur is moving in to clear to the hostiles so it will take around forty minutes to reach the Palace. Also, Her Highness Cornelia has taken the HMS Prince of Wales along with two Cruiser Battle Groups from SDB Gibraltar to Los Angeles as soon as she received the reports from the ISC (Imperial Strategic Command). She will reach Ainsworth Palace in less than thirty minutes."
Charles nodded when he heard that his daughter was leading the charge to destroy these savages. He knew that when it comes to Cornelia, she had absolutely no qualms about crushing animals like these. However, he was also worried about how many more people would die before the military finished cleaning the city of the hostiles and how long his son Lelouch would hold out until Cornelia arrived.
Earth's Low Orbit above Britannia West Coast
The HMS Prince of Wales was one of the most powerful battleships of the Britannian Space Navy to date. Despite her age, the mighty Bismarck-class Battleship was equipped with the most advanced sensor array, electronics, communications and weapons systems the ISN (Imperial Space Navy) could offer. During simulations and live fire exercises, the renowned battleship has been said to be capable of taking on an entire Destroyer/Cruiser Squadron of the Russian or United European Space Navy by herself. She wasn't the largest warship the Britannian Empire had but she was one of the most decorated warships due to the number of missions she had participated in.
The mighty Britannian Battleship was even equipped with advanced Artificial Intelligence that assisted the human crew in their tasks and helped them perform their duties more efficiently. More importantly, the AI was there to ensure that there were as little errors as possible. As the Space Navies of major world powers have learned the hard way throughout the decades, even the smallest mistakes could result in the most catastrophic consequences and the deaths of hundreds if not thousands of people.
Although there were fears that Artificial intelligence would rebel against Humanity and bring about the collapse of human civilization, brilliant scientists across the world have taken every possible countermeasure to ensure such a bleak future would never happen. Fortunately for the human race, such a scenario never came to be when the first true Artificial Intelligence was created by Doctor Katarina Redford in October 2048. Due to the sophisticated and complex nature of AI, most of them were under the management of world governments and the United Assembly of Terra since they played a significant role in Humanity's colonization of Sol.
The HMS Prince of Wales was commanded by Princess Cornelia who was leading a small task force toward Los Angeles. Because of how urgent the current mission was, the Task Force was more of a collection of ships from the fleets stationed at SDB Gibraltar. When she finished her education, the Fourth Princess of the Britannian Imperial Family was given the choice to become the viceroy of one of the Empire's youngest colonies on Mars by her father. However, she has found the love for combat ever since she studied about the Second World War so she chose the path of a warrior, different from most of her siblings.
Cornelia was not only an exceptional Knightmare Frame pilot but also a brilliant commander on the battlefield. When the Empire was in need of good commanders for their Space Navy, she quickly signed up for Cromwell Naval Academy on Luna and graduated with an excellent score. After graduation, she has led numerous campaigns against the Empire's enemies on Earth and Humanity's colonies across Sol during and after the Interplanetary War. Given the number of successful missions and low rates of mission failure, she was given the moniker "Goddess of Victory" by both Britannian soldiers and foreign generals. As for the Empire's enemies, they often referred to her by the name "Witch of Britannia".
Even though she often displayed a cold-blood demeanor to most people around her, she had an endless love for her family and genuinely cared for the lives of her soldiers. When she learned that a mysterious army had come out of nowhere and invaded Los Angeles, Cornelia immediately took her flagship and led two Cruiser Battle Groups to the beleaguered city despite protests from the Imperial Strategic Command. Each Battle Group consisted of two Montana-class Heavy Cruisers, four Iowa-class Light Cruisers, and four Argos-class Heavy Destroyers.
As she watched the recordings of the current events in Los Angeles on her datapad, she could feel her blood boil with rage and hatred toward the invaders. These savages had attacked the same city where her beloved sisters and brother were at the moment. Worse yet, they have committed despicable acts upon thousands of innocent Britannians and foreigners who were unfortunate enough to get caught in all of this. Had she not been a Rear Admiral of the ISN, she would have flown down to Earth's surface in her customized Gloucester and exacted vengeance upon these savages herself.
According to preliminary reports, these invaders came from a massive Romanesque structure that appeared out of nowhere on the outskirts of Los Angeles. She contemplated her tactics to repel them while trying her best to minimize collateral damage as much as possible. After almost a minute, she finally came up with a strategy that had the highest chance of success.
"Your Highness, we have entered the West Coast's orbital space." Andreas Dalton, Captain of the HMS Prince of Wales, called out to her from his post. Beside him, the holographic displays of the escorting ships shone brightly within the ship's command center whereas the ship's command crew were working diligently in their respective stations.
"What is the situation on the ground?" Cornelia asked as her eyes were fixated on the view screens showing the battle on the planet's surface. Their aerial and ground forces were pushing through the streets of Los Angeles and eliminating every hostile in their way. However, their advance was too slow for her liking and civilian casualties was still rising.
"Our fighters, gunships, infantry, and armored units from Fort MacArthur are engaging the enemy aerial and ground forces while pushing through the city. However, they are outnumbered and running low on munitions. They are requesting support from nearby units."
Cornelia nodded and gave her order. "All ships, commence orbital entry immediately!" She then called out to the ship's AI. "Selina!"
Almost instantly, a holographic image of a young woman appeared next to her seat. The ship's AI took on the form of a young woman who had short blond hair and hazel eyes and wore an elegant purple dress. "Yes, Your Highness!"
"Establish a secure battle-net with the other ships' AIs and our planetary forces! Deploy our fighter drones and destroy all hostiles within the city. Contact the commanders on the ground and coordinate with the armored units to push the enemy survivors back to their camp and keep them there! If anyone looks like a high-ranking officer within their ranks, have the men on the ground capture them! Let's see how these savages enjoy the BSIA's 'Special Tea Time'!"
"It will be done, Your Highness!" Selina dematerialized from the holo-projector to carry out the Princess's orders.
"Your Highness, the enemy is leading a contingent of their forces to attack Ainsworth Palace where Prince Lelouch, Princess Euphemia, Princess Nunnally, and Princess Carine are taking refuge," Andreas informed Cornelia when rumbles indicating orbital entry were felt throughout the ship.
"How many of them are heading for the Palace?" Cornelia asked. Her voice was more urgent this time.
"Around 20,000 hostiles, Your Highness! The army consists of human infantry, humanoid beasts wielding crude weapons, dragons, and creatures that look like ogres and trolls in mythology. They also bring artilleries resembling cannons from the Age of Sail and some medieval siege engines."
Without hesitation, she stood up from her command chair and said. "Notify me when we reach KDZ (Knightmare Deployment Zone)! I will lead the attack on this detached force myself!"
"Yes, Your Highness!" Andreas said as she turned and exited the command bridge. Knowing how capable Cornelia was as a field commander and Knightmare pilot, the old captain didn't even stop the Princess from entering battle herself. Everyone who served under her knew that family meant everything to Britannia's Goddess of Victory and that stopping her from doing everything to protect her family was the worst idea anyone could think of.
Soon enough, Cornelia's Task Force entered the Earth's atmosphere. Once they hit the altitude of 15,000 meters, the Britannian warships began deploying their contingent of fighter drones. The primary fighter drones employed by the Britannian Space Navy were the HK-80 Ravens (HK stands for Hunter Killer, the first type of aerial drone utilized by the Britannian Military) which were the most versatile atmospheric combat drones within the Empire's arsenal. They were armed with a wide variety of weaponry for different missions. For this mission, however, each of the Raven drones was armed with sixteen multipurpose missiles, eight general-purpose bombs, two rotary cannons, and one ventral railgun.
When hundreds of Raven drones exited the Britannian warships' hangars and dropped into Earth's atmosphere, they formed into a huge swarm and headed toward the city of Los Angeles like a swarm of angry hornets.
The Saderan Expeditionary Army was about to have a taste of advanced warfare.
Rose Wick Stadium, East of Los Angeles
"Where the fuck is the Army?" Lieutenant Richmond Antonio screamed into the radio, his voice reverberating inside the mobile command vehicle.
Outside the vehicle, a small police force continued to fire their weapons at the incoming horde of armed hostiles sporadically. Survivors from other districts have all gathered either here or in three other locations to make a last stand. The medieval invaders were extremely brutal and vicious as they killed everyone in their path. Police and armed civilians were able to hold them back at first but when their ammo was being depleted too quickly, making them retreat further and further.
By now, almost a third of the city has gathered at four evacuation sites ever since the invasion of Los Angeles began: Rose Wick Stadium, Ainsworth Palace, Charlotte Station, and Hawthorne Airport. Given the metropolis's size, the majority of the city where the invaders haven't reached wasn't fully evacuated yet. The police from those districts were too busy dealing with the evacuation to come to their aid.
The forty-seven year old Lieutenant had already lost two of his Sergeants, dozens of police officers, and several Knight Polices when the invaders overran their makeshift barricades. His forces only had five Glasgow-model Knightmare Frames but they were practically down to their last magazines at this point.
At the moment, they were defending Rose Wick Stadium where twenty thousand civilians were taking refuge. Many of them were already severely wounded trying to get away from the barbaric invaders. The medical staff, both human and robots, were overworked as things were. If they fell here, this place would become a slaughterhouse. Literally. The only thing he was thankful for was that the Air Force had managed to clear the skies of those annoying dragons so he didn't have to worry about aerial attacks. All of the Police VTOLs either were brought down by the dragons or lured the enemies away from the civilians. The only aerial force they had now were the Bumblebee drones.
"They are engaging the hostiles in the outer districts," A dispatcher from Los Angeles Police Department said nervously. "Just hold on for another twenty minutes, Lieutenant! They are coming as fast as they can."
"Twenty minutes? We will be fucking dead in ten." Richmond shouted angrily. "Are there any other units you can send over here?"
"All units are already engaging the enemy, Lieutenant!" The dispatcher said more urgently. "Some of them are even overrun. We have lost too many aircraft to send, Sir! You just have to hold…"
The dispatcher didn't get to finish her sentence as the Lieutenant slammed his radio into the table and cursed loudly, startling everyone inside.
"Mikaela, what is the status of our ammo?" the frustrated Lieutenant asked his aide who was reading the ammo count of their forces.
"Most of us are down to four or five magazines left, Sir!" Sergeant Mikaela Chambers replied as she read from her data pad. "The Glasgow pilots reported that they only have one or two magazines of 50mm rounds left and two ammo boxes for each of their heavy machine guns. Unless the Army get here right now, we may have to fight these bastards with nothing but Tasers and knives. I'd rather put a bullet in my head than let those animals capture me." She remarked as she remembered what happened to the poor women captured by the invaders.
Each Glasgow was only armed with one 50mm Knightmare Rifle, two armed-mounted heavy machine guns, and two smoke grenade launchers. The reason why the Knight Polices were allowed to be armed with the Type-27 Mass Accelerated Rifles or Knightmare Rifles was because of constant terrorist attacks in recent decades.
Right now, Richmond was thankful that they were armed with those giant rifles since only they had enough firepower to deal with those giant monsters. However, they were burning through their ammo too quickly and the enemy was simply too tenacious. By the time the Army arrived, he feared that the invaders would have overrun the stadium already.
"Don't say it like that! I'm not going to let that…" Richmond was interrupted when he heard someone shouting outside.
"Hold your fire! We've got friendlies coming it." One of the police officers shouted.
When they walked outside to see what was going on, the Lieutenant saw a battered SUV driving toward the barricade. There were some blood splatters across the cracked windshield and hood, along with some scratch marks indicating close-range attacks from the invaders.
After the SUV stopped just two meters from the police barricade, the driver's door swung open and a man stepped out. The man was around 178 cm tall, had short black hair, and seemed to have a mix of multi-colony features. His black leather jacket, white T-shirt and army jeans were smeared with blood stains that seemed to come from someone else.
The man carried someone out from the passenger's seat. The person in question was a blond woman who was clearly injured since she had make-shift bandages over her chest and stomach. The bandages were completely soaked with blood and the woman was already unconscious due to severe blood loss.
"Please help her," the man said to the police officers. "Her injury is really bad. I did some first-aid but I don't think she is going to make it."
The nearest police officer immediately called for a paramedic and took the woman from the man's hands.
"There are two more in the back. Please help me!" the man gestured at his vehicle.
After the officers and paramedic staff got the severely injured people out of the SUV, the man finally breathed a sigh of relief when they managed to get the three injured women on the stretchers. Sergeant Mikaela cringed slightly when she saw one of the women had her left arm completely missing.
The police and militia had also stopped shooting at the enemy since the invaders seemed to stop coming at them for some reason. Nevertheless, their sights and weapons were still aimed at the direction where thousands of enemy corpses littered the street and parking lot. Most of them were heavily mutilated due to the firepower from the defenders.
Richmond stepped forward to greet the man who had apparently saved three lives all on his own, in the middle of a battlefield no less. "I don't know what you went through out there, Sir. But you did one hell of a job saving those women. I am Lieutenant Richmond and this is Sergeant Mikaela. May I ask what your name is?"
The man seemed to be surprised when Richmond asked for his name. "Tobias Lundgren!" the man introduced himself. "I was driving out of the Third District but saw a group of those fuckers trying to force themselves on those women so I ran them over and finished off the survivors with my pistol." Tobias gestured at his holstered pistol. "It was fucking horrible! Their husbands or boyfriends were decapitated and…"
"Okay, okay… you don't have to tell us the details." Richmond placed a hand on Mark's shoulder to calm him down. "Everyone had a bad day today. Look… I know you are exhausted after driving that long. But can we ask for your help?"
Tobias signed and looked at Richmond in the eye. "What do you need from me, chief?"
"We are defending this stadium," Richmond gestured at the massive stadium behind him and his men. "We have twenty thousand people here who have nowhere to go. We don't have enough men who can use weapons and those bastards are probably going for another assault soon. I know it's stupid to ask this but can you handle guns properly? If you can handle yourself, can we ask you to join us to defend this place? If you don't want to, you can simply go inside to rest until rescue comes."
Tobias looked around the barricade defended by only a little over a hundred police officers and armed civilians. As far as he could see, the only heavy weapons they had were the three Knight Polices which stood spread out to have better coverage of the area.
"Sure, I can use guns just fine. Do you have any spare guns? Mine is already empty." Tobias said confidently.
Richmond was relieved that Tobias agreed to help them. He turned to Mikaela and said. "Go to the armory and get him a gun and some ammo, Sergeant! We need all the help we can get."
When Mikaela acknowledged his order and went to the armory in a nearby post, a loud crack reverberated through the air. The Glasgow nearest to their position fired its giant rifle at an unseen target. Since the Knightmare Rifle worked similarly to a coilgun, it didn't eject casings like conventional firearms but the sound was still deafening.
Everyone looked in the direction where it had fired and saw its target. About one kilometer down the main street, it was one of the giant humanoid creatures that the police temporarily dubbed "Ogre". The invaders seemed to employ a large number of these "Ogres" to break through their barricade.
The Ogres resembled a giant ape, had red, gray, and black fur covering their bodies, large horns on their heads and minimal hair on their muscular bodies. They wore little clothing and only minimal armor pieces decorated with unknown animal skulls on their chest and waist. They were very tall as well, standing at almost four meters tall but they weren't as tall as the Knightmare Frames employed by Earth's militaries. They were often seen using crude weapons like giant clubs, hammers, and axes. So far, they had not been seen using anything as sophisticated as the invaders themselves.
The Ogre in question had half of its head missing. The giant humanoid fell down to the pavement with loud thumb with blood gushing out of its wound. Just then, the invaders began another assault on the stadium. There was another giant creature which they unceremoniously called "Troll". The reason why they were given such names was because of their similarities with the Trolls from the Lord of The Rings franchise. The "Troll" was dispatched just as quickly as its bigger and more muscular cousin.
This time, the force that was charging at them consisted of a wider variety of different races. There were humanoid creatures who resembled the Orcs from fantasy games in the early 21st century. There were humanoid creatures who looked like anthropomorphic mammals from Earth. They were basically hybrids between a human and wolf, lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar, and panther. Far behind their lines, the human warriors marched with their wooden shields and spears.
The defenders didn't wait for the order to fire from the Lieutenant as they began picking off whatever target they could with their guns. Thanks to their advanced firing mechanism and chemical propellants, they could effectively nail a target over six hundred meters out. The Knight Polices adjusted their aim and fired their massive rifles at the Ogres and Trolls. One after another, the giant creatures were eliminated thanks to the Knightmares' advanced targeting system.
"How many of them do you think are there?" Tobias asked as he watched the battle.
"Our drones got nine thousand. Maybe more." Richmond replied dejectedly. "We have killed a shit ton of them but they just keep coming. We are down to our last magazines here. Unless a miracle happens, we may have to fight them with knives, shock grenades, and Tasers."
"Damn! The situation is that bad, huh?" Tobias remarked as a drop of cold sweat dripped from his face.
"Here you go, Sir!" Sergeant Mikaela returned and handed Tobias a TAR-50 Bullpup Assault Rifle and two spare magazines.
"Is that all you've got left?" Tobias asked.
"As you said, the situation is just that bad!" Richmond sighed. "Alright, you can take up position wherever you want. I have a job to do now."
Richmond pulled out an assault rifle from his side and went with Sergeant Mikaela to set up defensive positions. Looking around, Tobias found an empty spot next to some of the SOT (Special Operations and Tactics) officers who were firing their weapons at the horde of invaders. He ran over and set up a firing position a little bit away from the police officer to avoid interfering with his line of fire. He then switched the rifle to three-round burst mode to make sure every bullet counted.
Tobias aimed the holographic sight of his assault rifle at a large Orc who was wielding a large battle axe, along with hundreds of other humanoid creatures. He noticed that most of them only wore minimal clothing and makeshift armor pieces to protect their vital areas. The Orcs had long black hair and wore crude helmets with horns. The anthropomorphic animals wore more decent clothing and armor but still considerably lacking, compared to the human warriors.
Tobias exhaled a breath to calm his nerves and squeezed the trigger, causing the weapon's stock to hit his shoulder three times. The kinetic force from the three rounds tore through the Orc's chest, stopping it completely dead in its track. Its limp body fell onto the ground and was trampled by its fellow warriors. By the time the Orc's body hit the asphalt, Tobias already switched to another target. He fired again and another Orc fell with three gaping holes in its chest. Then again, and again.
"Click!" the sound indicating an empty magazine was almost as loud as the sound of battle all around him.
In less than a minute of engagement, he already spent all forty rounds of the first magazine and killed eighteen Orcs. Tobias quickly reloaded as the horde of invaders got closer and closer. No matter how many of them were killed, the horde was relentless as they trampled over their comrades' bodies to charge at the barricade. Tobias couldn't help but wonder what kind of army was this suicidal. When he remembered what he saw those bastards did to his countrymen, Tobias felt motivated to pump them with lead. He continued to fire again and again until the second magazine was spent.
Tobias looked at the last magazine in his hand and contemplated what he would do if they got here. Just then, the sound of the radio crackling to life startled him and the SOT officer next to him. The officer held up his radio to listen more closely, drawing Tobias's attention as he automatically leaned closer.
"All units at Rose Wick Stadium," a feminine synthetic voice came through the radio. The voice was slightly warped but still audible. "This is Selina of the HMS Prince of Wales. Prepare for an imminent close fire mission. Danger close! Repeat, danger close!"
Tobias's eyes widened in shock as the message repeated. As a former Army Ranger who used to serve in the Interplanetary War, he knew exactly what that term meant. He grabbed the officer next to him and said. "Tell everyone to get down! They are going to bomb the whole area."
Though startled by Tobias's sudden movement, the officer did what he was told and shouted at the others. "Everyone, get down! Incoming bomb run!"
The officers closest to their position ducked behind the barricade whereas the others on the furthest side of the barricade didn't know what to do. Tobias noticed that Lieutenant Richmond grabbed Sergeant Mikaela and another officer down and hugged their bodies against the barricade.
Then came the deafening sound of jet engines and the whistling sound.
Almost immediately, the entire parking lot and the main street leading to the stadium were engulfed in massive explosions. The shockwave was so great that it pushed some of the defenders onto the ground and shattered every window in the vicinity. There were six explosions in total. At least that was what Tobias could tell based on the sound of blast waves.
Everyone waited for over a minute to see if there was any more explosion. When they were sure that the bombing run had finished, they slowly rose from their position. Beyond the barricade, it was a scene of complete carnage as everything was either burning or completely obliterated. Every single body was torn apart due to the blast alone. Large craters, along with burnt and mutilated limbs and body parts littered the area. Some of the invaders' bodies even twitched slightly before they ceased moving altogether. Some of the Ogres lasted a bit longer as they dragged their heavily mutilated bodies away from the battlefield. They didn't make it far as they stopped completely, leaving bloody trails and organs strewn about the place. The smell of burnt flesh soon filled the air, causing the defenders to cover their noses.
Three HK-80 Raven Fighter Drones tore across the sky above their heads as the defenders celebrated their victory. Everyone either cheered for the drones or hugged each other tightly, celebrating the simple fact that they have survived such an ordeal. The Raven drones flew around the stadium to strafe some unseen hostiles with their machine guns before flying off to another area. Tobias smiled since he recognized the iconic design of those drones and the ship's name over the radio.
The Britannian Space Navy has entered the battle.
Battle of Ainsworth Palace – Part 1
Ainsworth Palace was a large seven-story structure built on top of a hill overlooking the city. The Palace had a massive community park and several smaller buildings surrounding it. Although the building didn't have a full panoramic view of the entire city due to the number of skyscrapers dotting the horizon, it still have a very good view of the mountain where the Hollywood sign was located.
Before Emperor Charles ascended the throne, it was used by a corrupt Britannian noble family as an administrative office of the city. After the noble and his family were convicted of fraud, embezzlement, tax evasion, and a multitude of other crimes, the Palace was taken over by the government. Because of how large Los Angeles was, there were four Los Angeles Police Department Headquarters. Given its strategic location, the Palace was renovated to serve as one of the headquarters for LAPD aside from its secondary function as a renowned tourist attraction.
Right now, Ainsworth Palace has become the de-facto command and control center for all emergency response units within the districts invaded by the Saderan Expeditionary Army. Thanks to its position and emergency shuttle bay, the Royal Guards chose it as the primary evacuation site for the Imperial Prince and Princesses.
When the motorcade finally arrived at the underground parking lot, the limousine's occupants exited and were escorted to the upper level by Royal Guardsmen and police officers. After reaching the fifth floor using the elevator, they looked outside and found that the area surrounding Palace was filled with civilians and police officers running about. Many of the people who were severely injured were taken in and out of the lower floor.
When they passed the Police Command Center, Lelouch found that it was a scene of complete chaos as dozens of police officers received and processed a multitude of chaotic radio transmissions. Despite all the chaos, he was able to pick up some notable transmissions.
"Where the fuck is the Army?"
"This is Captain Olsen of LAPD. We need backup at Charlotte Station. We can't hold out much longer!"
"We are taking heavy casualties at Hawthorne Airport1. We have thousands of civilians here. We need backup, NOW!"
"This is Lieutenant Colonel Robert Christensen of the 25th Armored Battalion! We will reach Charlotte Station in ten minutes. Hold on, Captain Olsen!"
"Command, be advised! The enemy has some kind of energy shield. Requesting close air support to smoke these bastards!"
"This is Captain Adrian of the 131st Fighter Squadron! We are engaging enemy dragons but there are too many of them. We are bingo on ammo and fuel! Requesting assistance from any unit in the area!"
"Control, be advised! We have a massive army heading for Ainsworth Palace. All units are already engaged. You will have to hold out until the Air Force and Navy arrive."
After listening for a while, Lelouch knew that he must do something to help put the situation under control. "Who is in charge here?" He cleared his voice and asked loudly, catching the attention of everyone in the room. The officers were very surprised to see a member of the Imperial Family here, in the middle of the battlefield no less. They all stood up to salute him.
One particularly tall and tan-skinned officer stepped forward and gave him a salute. His uniform and insignia suggested that he was of high rank. "I am, Your Highness. Lieutenant Colonel Peter Nielsen. Everyone above me is either dead or out in the field. I must urge you and the Princesses to evacuate the Palace as soon as possible. We can handle the situation here ourselves, Your Highness."
"What are you doing, Lelouch?" Euphemia asked from behind. Their group also stopped to observe the situation.
"Don't worry, Euphie! I got this!" Lelouch assured his sister. He then turned to the Lieutenant Colonel. "As your Prince, I am ordering you to inform me of the current situation, Colonel Nielsen."
The Lieutenant Colonel was surprised at the young Prince's determination. Seeing that it was a direct order from a member of the Imperial Family, the highest-ranking officer relented. "To be honest, the situation is not going well for us, Your Highness. Although the invaders are only armed with melee weapons like swords, spears, lances, and axes with some primitive cannons, they completely outnumber us and have overrun many of our barricades. Our drones have gathered that the enemy numbers over 100,000. We have over eight thousand civilians taking refuge here. But our forces are stretched thin across the city. We still have a large amount of weapons and ammo but we don't have enough men to use them. Many civilians and officers are already severely injured so we can't evacuate to anywhere else. To make matters worse, there is an army of roughly twenty thousand hostiles heading here."
"I see," Lelouch took in the information before asking. "I want to know the total number of police officers you have here. Also, what kind of equipment and weapons do you have? Are there any defense turrets, Knightmares, and armored vehicles? Finally, how long until the military arrives?"
"Four thousand in total, both police officers and SOT units. However, the majority of them are out there engaging the enemies and defending the civilians in three other evacuation sites, leaving only one thousand and two hundred here. As for the equipment, we only have riot shields, tear gas, Taser guns, shock grenades, and combat knives. Our armory has lots of guns, ammo, and some explosives. There are twenty automatic defense turrets around the premise. Unfortunately, most of our heavy machine guns and APCs have been deployed to the other evacuation sites. All of our aircraft are either downed or scattered across the city. We only have sixteen Red Panda APCs here, ten of which are armed with heavy machine guns, and the rest are armed with grenade launchers. As for the Knightmares, we only have ten Glasgows here."
He then turned to one of the female officers by his side. "Karen, how long until the military gets here?"
"Twenty-five minutes, Sir!" the officer's adjutant named Karen replied. "They are pushing through the outer districts to reach the most heavily besieged evacuation sites first so it may take them even longer."
The Lieutenant Colonel cursed silently before returning to Lelouch. "Given the distance, the hostile army will take about fifteen minutes to reach here. They might overwhelm our defense with sheer numbers before the response force arrives."
Lelough's mind went into overdrive, trying to come up with a plan to counter the enemy before they overran the Palace's defense and killed everyone here. Years of playing chess with his older brother and training at the Special Officer Academy has sharpened his mind to a frightening degree. Within several seconds of silence, he managed to come up with a workable plan.
Before the Lieutenant Colonel could persuade him and his sisters to evacuate again, he started issuing orders. "Right now, we must focus on delaying them as much as possible. Lieutenant Colonel, these are my orders to everyone here: I want all of the defense turrets armed and fully loaded. Have all the APCs and Knightmares take up defensive positions around the Palace. Spread them out so they won't interfere with each other's line of fire. Have those with handheld weapons set up three defensive lines. When the first line reloads their weapons, the second will open fire to suppress the enemies. The third line will be our last stand so let's hope it won't come to that. I want snipers on the roof and drones to watch the area. Set up explosives in the main street to ambush the enemy. I don't care how or where you put them. As long as those explosives take out as many enemies as possible, it will do. The enemy will use bows and arrows for long-range attacks so have your men start building barricades; use police vehicles, tables, chairs, sandbags, or anything that can be used as cover. Have the civilians take refuge inside the building or underground parking lot. These bastards slaughter everyone in their path so it will be a bloodbath if we leave them outside."
"Understood, Your Highness!" Colonel Nielsen said and everyone scrambled to carry out the Prince's orders.
"Relaying my order to all of the officers in the Palace. They must hold their ground as long as possible, and save as many civilians as they can. If they feel that they are about to be overwhelmed, tell them to barricade themselves inside any building they can find." Lelouch gave his final order.
"It will be done, Your Highness!" Colonel Nielsen said and went to perform his duties.
Turning around, Lelouch was greeted by his friends and sisters who were genuinely impressed with how well he handled the situation.
"Wow, Your High… I mean, Lelouch, you are really a natural leader." Suzaku commented.
"Thank you, but enough about that, Suzaku! I need you to look after my sisters." Lelouch said, surprising everyone.
"What do you mean?" Euphemia said. "You are not coming with us?"
"I need to stay here to lead them. Colonel Nielsen is a good officer but I don't think he can do everything at once. They need someone who can think and adapt to the situation quickly. Don't worry! If things look bad enough, I will meet up with you at the shuttle bay."
"We will protect His Highness, Princess Euphemia!" Jeremiah said to reassure her and the Princesses.
"I just called my grandfather," Suzaku said. "You are going to need every help you can get so I told him that I would stay with you. Though he was angry that I put myself in danger like this, I stand by my decisions and managed to convince him. Besides, I can't just leave the ladies behind and run away by myself, can I?"
"Alright, now that you have made up your mind, I won't stop you," Lelouch said. He then turned to the rest of his group. "Euphie, Nunnally, Carine, Milly, Rivalz, Kallen! You guys wait at the shuttle, okay? The shuttle bay is reinforced and heavily guarded so you guys should be safe there."
The group seemed hesitant to leave him behind but they went anyway, knowing that they would be no use in battle.
"Sayoko!" He called the two as the other Guardsmen escorted the group to the shuttle bay. "I am counting on you to look after them, okay?"
"Yes, Your Highness!" She said promptly.
"Jeremiah, get some guns and ammo for her!" He said.
"What are you…?" Jeremiah was interrupted.
"I know you guys are good. But in the worst-case scenario, you might have to engage them. Don't worry! She is very capable, she can handle herself in combat just fine, right, Sayoko?" Lelouch looked at Sayoko, as if telling her to confirm his trust in her with the Royal Guard Captain.
"Of course, Your Highness!" the Japanese descent maid bowed to him. "I will protect the Princesses with my life."
"My men will do everything they can to protect them, Your Highness!" Jeremiah said. With that, they left to perform their duties. Lelouch looked outside the window to have a better view of the city, contemplating the coming battle and whether or not they would get out this situation unscathed.
Battle of Ainsworth Palace – Part 2
After some preparations, Ainsworth Palace was now fortified to an acceptable degree. Over one thousand police officers and off-duty soldiers from the Britannian Army and Royal Marine Corps had finished setting up defensive positions around the area. The Palace's perimeter walls were made of concrete and reinforced steel so it was very easy for the defenders to defend and repel large formations of enemy infantry.
Lelouch stood next to Lieutenant Colonel Peter Nielsen so he could command the defenders more effectively. He was wearing a bulletproof vest per the Colonel's request. He was also armed with a SIG Sauer P400 pistol and a combat knife. Suzaku was on his right side, a riot shield in one hand and a submachine gun in another. Jeremiah and Villetta were on his left, both armed with police assault rifles.
"They are here, Your Highness!" Colonel Nielsen informed Lelouch as he gave the Prince his datapad. It showed the images from several Bumblebee drones which were monitoring the entire battlefield. On screen, the hostile army marched in tight formations toward the Palace on the main street. The larger beasts and humanoid creatures simply pushed aside cars and trucks to make way for the army.
"Alright! Prepare yourselves, everyone!" Lelouch said into his earpiece which transmitted his orders throughout the police network of the Palace. "Hold your fire! Let them have a taste of the explosives first!"
The defenders had littered the area with paper boxes, each of which contained a C8 explosive. Some of the Army and Marine veterans came up with a wicked but ingenious idea of putting screws, nails, and kitchen knives inside the boxes to maximize the improvised explosive devices' lethality. Some of the C8 explosives were placed on the fuel tank of abandoned vehicles.
If they had been fighting normal enemies who understood modern technology, Lelouch believed that such a trick wouldn't have worked since anyone with military experience would easily recognize such crudely made IEDs. However, when he saw how the invaders charge at the Britannians with reckless abandonment despite being fired upon by machine guns, he surmised that these invaders had never seen a gun before, let alone a bomb or an IED.
Sure enough, thousands of enemy soldiers marched forward while completely oblivious to the traps beneath their feet. Once the area was filled with medieval soldiers and armed humanoid creatures, Lelouch gave the order. "Now!"
Colonel Nielsen and several of the officers pushed the buttons of their detonators. The IEDs exploded, sending hundreds of deadly shrapnel in every direction. Dozens of explosions covered the main street where the medieval army was in large clouds of smoke and deadly debris. Hundreds of enemy soldiers and beasts laid dead on the ground as they were mangled beyond recognition. Those who survived had a far worse fate since their insides were pulverized due to the shockwaves and shrapnel. The IEDs on the fuel truck had a far more significant impact on the enemies since its fuel was ignited, creating a massive explosion and killing dozens of enemy soldiers at once. Some of the survivors were screaming in agony as they were doused with the burning liquid and burnt alive.
Within seconds of the battle, the invading army had lost over a thousand of their own, with hundreds who were still alive screaming in agony and burning on the ground. Many of them were missing entire limbs and had their organs spilled onto the asphalt. Some who had their organs crushed due to the blasts simply lay motionless on the street. Their armor did nothing to stop the shockwave on their fleshy bodies. The street was covered with pools of the enemies' blood, viscera and corpses. Instead of retreating, however, they simply charged at the defenders as if they had lost their sanity.
Lelouch had hoped that seeing so many of their comrades dying in such brutal deaths would have made them lose morale and retreat, buying them more time until the military arrived. Nevertheless, he had built his entire plan of defensive action based on the enemies' resolve in capturing Ainsworth Palace given its strategic location for their invasion.
"All Glassgows, target the Ogres and Trolls!" Lelouch gave his order to fire. Since the Knightmares' main weapon had the longest effective firing range, they were the first to open fire upon the horde of invaders.
The Knight Polices targeted the biggest threat they faced, the enemies' Ogres and Trolls. Since the Type-27's ammo was designed for penetrating reinforced armor, dozens of Ogres and Trolls had their heads and chests disintegrated by hypersonic tungsten rounds. Thanks to the projectiles' immense speeds, they also pulverized some of the targets behind the first ones. One of the 50mm tungsten rounds even ripped through two Trolls and several enemy soldiers behind them, turning some of them into pink mists. The effects of a hypersonic tungsten bullet on fleshy human-sized targets were extremely gruesome.
"All units, fire at will!" With that order, everyone within the area began firing their weapons. Because of how tightly packed the enemies were, every bullet the defenders fired found their marks and tore large chunks of flesh apart. When the first line reloaded their weapons, the second opened fire and the process repeated. The D-30 ADWS (Automatic Defense Weapon Station), more commonly known as automatic defense turrets were 20mm chain guns controlled by a rudimentary AI from the police command center. Along with the Glasgow-model Knightmares and Red Panda APCs, they unleashed hell upon the horde of hostiles and dealt the most damage to the enemies. The firepower from these cannons was so intense that they almost stopped the enemy army dead in its track.
The Saderans learned from their previous encounters with heavy machine guns so they placed the Ogres and Trolls in front of their formations to take the full brunt of the assault. However, that also meant they allowed their most powerful assets to be eliminated at a much faster rate than expected. Lelouch had to silently thank the idiot who came up with this strategy. As powerful as the Empire's war beasts might be, they never had a chance against a literal storm of death metal.
"All Pandas, concentrate fire on the rhino alligator hybrids!" Lelouch said into his earpiece. "Snipers, take out any commander you can find! Look for the ones riding horses and dressed differently from their ranks."
"Yes, Your Highness!" The captains of each unit replied through their radio.
The 12.8mm remote-controlled heavy machine gun turrets on the Red Panda APCs shifted their aim and began firing on the alien animals, completely shredding their thick scales and pulverizing their organs. The snipers positioned on high ground across the premise quickly found their targets and pulled the triggers. The fact that the Centurions, Praefectors, and Tribunars dressed in armor and capes with noticeable colors and conspicuous designs certainly made the snipers' job much easier. Soon enough, one head after another was blown apart within the enemies' ranks, further demoralizing them.
Suddenly, loud reptilian roars brought Lelouch's attention to the sky. He looked up and saw four dragons flying toward the Palace. Their mouths began to grow brighter as they prepared to unleash their breaths on the Palace's defenders. "K5 through K8, target those dragons!"
The four Glasgows behind the defensive lines raised their massive rifles toward the sky and began firing at the flying giant reptiles. Two dragons were brought down as they crashed into the enemy formations, killing some of them. The third dragon had its torso pulverized by the Knightmare's 50mm round and it crashed into the perimeter wall of the Palace. The dragon's skull was crushed due to inertia but its rider was flung over the wall. The last dragon managed to barely dodge but had its hind limb and tail completely torn off by one round. It shrieked in pain and flailed wildly, dropping its rider in the process.
The rider fell onto the bushes inside the defense line. He had some broken bones but was still alive. He drew his short sword and stupidly charged at one of the SOT officers. The two nearest officers turned the foolish warrior into Swiss cheese as he was perforated with dozens of bullets. The third dragon's rider didn't even have the chance to draw his weapon since he was instantly gunned down by three other officers.
Lelouch looked over to Jeremiah who was reloading his TAR-50 Assault Rifle after killing dozens of enemy soldiers. "How much longer?"
"Six minutes left, Your Highness!" Jeremiah replied after cocking one round into the chamber. On his side, Villetta and the other Guardsmen were also firing their weapons nonstop.
"Incoming arrows! Take cover!" Colonel Peter Nielsen shouted into the radio after looking through his binoculars.
Lelouch and Jeremiah looked up to see a wall of arrows arching in the distance and coming toward them. Everyone took cover behind anything they could find. The police officers and army veterans raised their riot shields whereas the rest ducked behind overturned cars, Knightmares, APCs, and sandbags. Peter, Jeremiah, Lelouch, and Villetta ducked behind an APC. The barrage of arrows lasted for a few seconds.
"Clear!" Colonel Nielsen shouted as every defender slowly rose from their crouched positions. Thousands of wooden arrows were embedded into the ground, sandbags, tables, and car roofs. The metal surface of police riot shields, Knightmares, and APCs completely deflected the flimsy arrows, receiving only minor paint scratches.
The Colonel looked through his binoculars again and spotted dozens of huge catapults, battering rams, and ballista being set up by the enemy soldiers. There were also a few cannons that resembled naval artilleries from the Age of Sail. "Your Highness! The hostiles are setting up heavy weaponry behind their lines." He reported as he gave his binoculars to Lelouch.
Lelouch looked and confirmed the Colonel's report. "Knightmare and APC units, target the enemy siege weaponry and cannons!"
The Knightmares brought their rifles to bear and fired upon the enemy siege weaponry. Although the 50mm rounds fired by the Type-27 Cannons weren't explosives in nature, they had an extremely devastating effect on wooden targets like the invaders' siege weapons. Dozens of catapults, ballista, and battering rams were shattered. The blast waves and splinters also killed and injured the enemy soldiers operating them. When the Knightmares had to reload their rifles, the Red Panda APCs fired their grenades at the remaining siege weapon platforms and cannons, taking them out of the fight.
When most of their war beasts, siege platforms, and artilleries were decimated, the invaders resorted to desperate attacks. Although the defenders had killed thousands of the enemy army, there were still quite a number of them left. Saderan Imperials and multi-species mercenaries began forming shield wall formations with spears and lances sticking out. They thought that their shields would protect them from the defenders' metal storm so they sacrificed mobility and versatility to move forward.
"Anyone with a machine gun target those Phalanx formations!" Lelouch said.
The heavy machine guns and defense turrets shifted their aim from the alien creatures to the slow-moving Phalanx formations. As expected, the shield walls were completely useless against modern weaponry when hundreds of the enemy soldiers behind them were decimated. Despite all those losses, the enemy continued to push forward with the same tactics again and again.
"When will these assholes learn that their tactics and weapons are completely useless against modern weaponry?" Jeremiah scoffed at the enemies' sheer stubbornness while looking through the scope of his rifle.
"Gotta give them some credit though," Lelouch remarked. "We don't have even half of their numbers but still managed to kill so many of them. And yet, they are still moving forward and have the resolve to capture this Palace."
"I would say that they are just too stupid to understand their situation," Villetta said as she nailed two Orc mercenaries with her assault rifle. Behind the mercenary lines, two more haughty Centurions had their heads blown off by snipers. "Given everything they have done so far, I think that is the most logical conclusion. Either way, they are going to pay for their crimes against our countrymen."
Villetta stressed the last sentence when she remembered numerous reports of these invaders committing despicable acts upon innocent women and children. Not only had these animals butchered hundreds, if not thousands of her fellow countrymen, they had also committed such disgusting acts upon them. Listening to those reports made her blood almost boil with rage.
"P4, fire tear gas and shock grenades!" Lelouch ordered. Two dozen Police and SOT officers raised their grenade launchers and fired tear gas and shock grenades into the enemy formations.
The Britannian Police's shock grenades were a nonlethal weapon that functioned similarly to a conventional grenade. Instead of exploding and sending shrapnel everywhere, they ionized a small area of three-meter in radius and electrocuted everyone within the target area. These grenades were extremely effective for crowd control during riots and nonlethal takedowns. The effects only lasted for ten seconds so they wouldn't kill the suspects or affect the officers.
The grenades landed between the enemy warriors and shocked them with powerful electric bolts, paralyzing dozens of them. The tear gas also stopped many of them since it caused them to suffer chemical burns, suffocation, and respiratory distress. The Orcs and other humanoid creatures fared even worse than the human warriors since their senses were more heightened than that of humans.
The shock grenades and tear gas managed to temporarily stun the enemies and slow their advance significantly. Hundreds of the enemies were already writhing in pain on the ground as the smoke and electric bolts tortured their bodies. However, dozens of them already made it to the first barricade and the defenders had to retreat to the secondary defense line. Some of the police officers and Army veterans even engaged in close-quarter combat as they blocked their enemies' strikes with their guns and retaliated with their pistols, shock batons, and combat knives. Several officers weren't quick enough so they were severely wounded.
"How much time is left?" Lelouch asked Jeremiah. The enemies have come too close for his liking. If they lost the secondary defense line, they might have to fight at close range, something that most of the defenders weren't trained for.
"Around two minutes…" Jeremiah was cut off when the screeching sound filled the sky. The sound was so loud that it caused almost everyone in the battlefield to look up.
For the Britannian defenders, it was the sound of hope and salvation. For the Saderan invaders and their auxiliary forces, it was the sound of death and destruction. Seven HK-80 Raven Fighter Drones swooped down and dropped their payload onto the Saderan lines. The bombs exploded with a devastating effect as they killed hundreds of enemy soldiers with each explosion. The blasts could even be felt all the way to the Palace as many windows were shattered.
When the fighter drones flew over Ainsworth Palace, the defenders cheered with the last bit of energy they had left. Hundreds of the enemy soldiers at the first defense line were so terrified that they could only look on in horror as thousands of their comrades were disintegrated and pulverized by the bombs. When they were still too terrified to do anything but run away, the drones returned and perforated them with their 25mm rotary cannons. The bullets' kinetic impact was so great that they tore the ancient warriors to pieces. Some of them were even cut in half or had their upper bodies pulverized when the bullets hit them. The enemies far behind them weren't safe either when another group of Raven drones dropped more bombs onto them, decimating thousands more.
Field General Septimius who commanded the detached Division to raid Ainsworth Palace was terrified but he managed to order his mages to raise shields to protect himself and the surviving commanders. Unfortunately for them, the mages' shields were only strong enough to block simple physical attacks, not the devastating force of heavy ordnance. As a result, the bombs instantly collapsed their shields and their blast waves completely crushed the unfortunate Saderans inside, leaving nothing but mangled corpses behind.
"About damn time they show up!" Jeremiah remarked.
"Jeremiah, if I remember correctly, those aren't the Air Force drones, right?" Lelouch asked.
"No, Your Highness!" The Royal Guard Captain said with a wicked grin. "They are from the Space Navy."
When Lelouch was about to voice his comment, a new voice spoke into the radio, including his earpiece. A voice that he recognized very well. "Hope I am not too late for the party. Is everyone alright down there?"
"Sister Cornelia! Your timing couldn't have been better!" Lelouch remarked and looked up at the sky.
Eleven Gloucesters, mass-produced Fifth Generation Knightmares of the Britannian Armed Forces, were descending from the sky in their AFP (Antigravity Flotation Platform), followed by twelve D-47TC Pegasus dropships and ten AV-55 Super Hornet gunships. The Knightmares' vectoring thrusters shone bright blue flames as they maneuvered in the atmosphere to help the massive humanoid war machines land gently on the ground.
The group of aircraft escorting the Knightmares looked like a swarm of angry bees escorting a queen bee. As soon as they entered the airspace above the Palace, the chin-mounted rotary cannons on the Pegasus dropships started spinning and blasting the remaining enemy survivors. Dozens of rockets from the Super Hornet gunships also slammed into whoever was still standing in the enemy lines, be it human or beast, turning them into nothing but clouds of blood and gore.
The dropships hovered and started deploying hundreds of Royal Marines while the defenders cheered for them on the ground. The Marines quickly established a perimeter around the Palace and fired upon any enemy survivor within the area with their machine guns. Some of the nonhuman entities were tougher than normal humans as the Marines had to either double-tap or headshot them.
One of the Gloucesters landed near the APC which Lelouch, Colonel Nielsen, Villetta, Suzaku and Jeremiah were using for cover. Thanks to its unique purple color scheme, design, and weapons, Lelouch recognized that it was his older sister's Knightmare. The rest of the Knightmares landed and joined the gunships and Royal Marines in engaging the remainder of the invading army as they cut large swaths of the enemies with their Type-35 Mass Accelerated Rifles, shoulder-mounted rockets, and machine guns.
"Lelouch, are Euphie, Carine and Nunnally alright?" Cornelia asked through the radio. Her voice was filled with concern.
"Don't worry, Sis! They are taking refuge inside, protected by a dozen Royal Guards of course." Lelouch assured her.
Cornelia breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that her siblings were safe and sound. She steeled herself and used a more serious tone. "This isn't over, Lelouch! We still have to drive these animals out of the city and save the captured citizens." She turned toward the main gate and met up with the rest of her Knightmare Squad. "The rest of you, rest up! You have all done more than earned it today! We will take it from here."
With that, the Fourth Princess of Britannia led her forces to start going on the offensive against the invading army, followed by F-84 Valkyrie fighters, Super Hornet gunships, and even more Pegasus dropships. The gunships and dropships moved into position to secure the Palace's perimeter while the Royal Marines finished off enemy combatants, captured the survivors, and treated the wounded.
Lelouch and everyone within the Palace began to rest and replenished themselves with food and water. After the whole ordeal, they were simply glad that they have been saved by the Princess's reinforcements. When the adrenaline had run its course, Lelouch slumped down on the ground right where he stood. His shirt was drenched with sweat and he was breathing heavily. He mentally reminded himself to exercise more often. As he waved away the worried police officers and Royal Guardsmen, he only had one thought in his mind.
The real Battle of Los Angeles has begun.
Crucial Worldbuilding Notes:
Hawthorne Airport: Hawthorne Airport is the third airport of Los Angeles in this timeline. In the 22nd Century, Los Angeles is a metropolis, has four airports in total, and has a population of over 30 million people. However, Los Angeles is not the largest city of the Britannian Empire as it is in Seventh place on the Top 10 Largest Cities in Britannian Mainland.
Centurion is a rank of the Saderan Imperial Army. Centurions are the Saderan equivalence of Company Commanders; each Saderan Company has around 120 – 200 soldiers.
Praefector is a rank of the Saderan Imperial Army. Praefectors are the Saderan equivalence of Battalion Commanders; each Saderan Battalion has around 1,000 soldiers.
Tribunar is a rank of the Saderan Imperial Army. Tribunars are the Saderan equivalence of Brigade Commanders; each Saderan Brigade has around 1,500 – 2,200 soldiers.