When Worlds Collide

by StarKing28

Through the 21st century and in the early 22nd century, Charles led his nation through an era of peace, prosperity, and technological development. Although there were some conflicts along the way, the Empire stood strong and became a spacefaring nation along with its allies. However, that peace was shattered when a mysterious portal opened in Los Angeles in 2130s.

7. Chapter 6: The Calm Before the Storm

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.

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Author's Rant

Sorry for taking so long to publish this chapter, everyone! I have been very busy with work so I barely have any time to write. As I said before, I have long-term plans for this series so I won't abandon it or go into a hiatus. Now, I hope that you will continue to enjoy my fanfiction series. Anyway, enjoy the chapter

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Response to Readers' Comments:

FateBurn: Thank you! I have long-term for this series so stay tuned, my friend!

Coment9: Actually, I've been meaning to have at least a crossover with one more universe. The core universe will remain the same: Code Geass Alpha 121. As for what exactly that universe is, well, I won't spoil it for now. So, stay tuned, my friend!

PrototypeMarc627:

Holy Shit! I never expected you to actually comment on my series. Thank you very much, mate! Originally, I had wanted to write an original Fanfiction featuring the Gate series where the Portal opens in the Call of Duty universe or any other nations in the modern world. However, there are already dozens of Gate series with this idea so I scrapped it and went for a crossover with another well-known anime instead. Seeing that there were so few Code Geass crossovers, I decided to choose Code Geass and have it crossover with Gate.

Although I love the canon Code Geass universe and its characters, I really hate how the creators handled the charactes, worldbuilding, and history. Therefore, I decided to rewrite the entire history of Code Geass universe before making it connected with the Gate universe. Overall, my biggest goal is to create a coherent and lively universe that feels alive and functioned as if it were real. Again, I would like to thank you for inspiring me to write this fanfiction. I have long-term plans for this series so I hope that you will enjoy it further.

By the way, are you going to continue writing your War of the Two Empires series? I'm really looking forward to it.

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Post-battle Award Ceremony, Rose Wick Stadium

Terran Calendar: September 5, 2135

It was a simple award ceremony hosted by Princess Cornelia, Queen Elizabeth and the State Governor of California – Nicholas Statesman. The ceremony was to honor the men and women who had fought bravely against the savage invaders and did their best to rescue the civilians during the Battle of Los Angeles. The recipients were mostly police officers, off-duty soldiers, veterans, emergency response workers, and brave civilians of other professions. Aside from medals and praises, they also received promotions and other benefits based on their professions.

It was there that Lelouch met Tobias Lundgren, a former Army Ranger veteran who had an extensive service record during the Koslovia War. He was surprised to learn that Tobias had requested for re-enlistment and was briefly deployed for several missions during the Battle of Los Angeles.

However, his service record wasn't what caught Lelouch's attention. Instead, it was something in the man's eyes and demeanors who for some reasons, remained Lelouch of himself. Normally, people like him had a distinct look of a man who was weary of war and bloodshed. Instead, Tobias had the look of loneliness, regrets and anger. Impressed by the veteran's skills and determination, Princess Cornelia granted his request and made some arrangements to include Tobias in the upcoming invasion. She also promoted him to First Lieutenant, something he was very thankful for.

The stadium was filled with victims and family members or relatives of the deceased. They were invited to the ceremony to honor their fallen family members and help alleviate their losses. The Los Angeles Memorial Foundation was established by Queen Gabrielle, Queen Elizabeth, and other members of the Imperial Family and nobles to provide free health care, financial support, and other financial benefits to the afflicted victims. Children orphaned by the savage attack were taken in foster care until they were adopted by their new families. The Foundation also paid for their education and living expenses until they got into college and found their own means to pay the bills. For many people, it may never be enough but they still appreciated the help and support the government and Imperial Family were giving them.

The ceremony took over half a day to finish. After the ceremony, Cornelia pulled Lelouch aside to have some private talk with him. Before he could say anything, she pulled him into a hug. Thanks to her stature and strength, he could do nothing but comply.

"I made a promise with Marianne, Lelouch!" Cornelia said still hugging him. "That I would never let anything happen to our family. I didn't understand why she reminded me to watch over you specifically, not until I saw you lead the defense forces at the Battle of Ainsworth Palace."

"Are you angry with me?" He said after she finally let him go.

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't," Cornelia said bluntly. "By pulling that reckless stunt, you put yourself, Euphie, Carine, and Nunnally in danger when you volunteered to stay behind like that. Given the circumstances, however, I will forgive you and I am very proud of you. Your mother would surely say the same about you."

"Thank you, Cornelia!" He said as she patted him on the head. "And I am not a child anymore, you know."

"I watched and took care of you when you were still in your diapers, young man!" Cornelia said in a teasing way. "Aside from our biological mothers, I am essentially your second mother so you can't refuse my head pats."

Lelouch relented and let her pat his head to her heart's content. He almost forgot how much the normally ruthless Britannia's Goddess of Victory loved pampering her younger siblings, especially him, Carine, Euphemia, Nunnally, and some of their younger siblings. Whenever their mothers weren't around, she would be the first one to tend to them out of all the older siblings. Because of the age gaps between them, some of the youngest members of the royal family, including Carine and Nunnally, considered her as their second mother.

After the ceremony, they headed for Cornelia's private shuttle to return to Pendragon. Their shuttle was escorted by several F-84 Valkyrie fighter aircraft.

As the pilots and Royal Guards were preparing for the shuttle's takeoff, Lelouch broke the silence. "So, we are at war with the nation beyond the Gate, huh? The Divine Empire of Sadera. Sounds kind of ironic, doesn't it?" He couldn't believe it when he read the reports from his older sister and brother.

"What do you mean 'ironic'?" Cornelia asked.

"They came here thinking that they owned the world, only to get utterly crushed by a force much smaller than theirs. Very ironic, if you ask me! Two empires from two different planets somehow found each other through a mysterious inter-dimensional portal." Lelouch said.

"That's true! But it doesn't matter what they call themselves. These savages declared war on us the moment they marched on Britannian soil, mindlessly slaughtered tens of thousands of innocent people, and ruined the lives of many more. I would rather perish in nuclear fire than allow this barbarism go unpunished." Cornelia said with clear resolve in her voice.

"I feel the same way, dear sister! Or rather, all of Britannia feels the same way. Lelouch remembered the videos he watched on SolNet. He couldn't finish halfway through as the contents became too disturbing even for him. "So, when is the operation to establish a beachhead on the other side begin?"

"Some time next month," Cornelia said. "We have gathered enough intelligence from the prisoners and the drones we sent to the other side. The planet's atmosphere is safe for us to breathe in and doesn't contain harmful any micro-organism or virus, at least within the 20 kilometer radius of the Gate. The structure is located in a mountainous region so it is perfect for our invasion. Needless to say, the enemy is preparing a very warm welcome party for us."

"What about my friend's request?" Lelouch asked. Kallen had asked him to help her get accepted into the invasion force. Knowing her, she was ready to do whatever it takes to get her revenge.

"Kallen Stadtfeld, right?" Cornelia thought about it for a second. "Her Knightmare piloting skills are indeed excellent. She also has good physique and strength perfect for a soldier. However, she lacks military training and combat experience. It is unlikely that she will be accepted."

Cornelia sympathized with the young lady's circumstances and understood why she wanted revenge. Judging from what Lelouch told her, she could almost tell the desperate desire for vengeance from her. However, that didn't mean she would readily put a civilian in danger simply because said civilian was on a quest for personal vendetta. It would cause serious repercussions in the future.

"How about we give her a test?" Lelouch suggested. "We can try putting up a Knightmare Pilot Recruitment Test to select talented pilots for the upcoming invasion. That way, we can recruit more talented Knightmare pilots while granting her request at the same time. After all, we do need more manpower, right?"

Cornelia thought about it for a few moments. "That… sounds reasonable! If she is really as good as you said she was, I doubt she would have any trouble winning the contest. When she gets accepted, we will train her into a fully-fledged soldier."

"Knowing her, I have no doubt that she would pass the test in no time," Lelouch said confidently. "What about my request to join in on the invasion force?"

Although Lelouch wasn't officially a soldier, he had signed up for the Crawford Royal Special Officer Academy in South America under Cornelia's recommendation before enrolling in Ashford Academy. It was a special academy designed to train young members of the Imperial Family and young nobles in the arts of war as quickly as possible. Instead of focusing on one particular branch, the academy trained these individuals to master all basic aspects of warfare, from extensive physical training, weapons training, piloting Knightmare Frames, to leading small battalions into battle.

The reason for this special academy was because of occasional attacks from terrorist groups and rouge nations who often targeted members of the Imperial Family and high-ranking Briannian nobles. The academy's main purpose was to turn these youngsters into the jack of all trade and prepare them for unexpected combat as much as possible. If they wished to become soldiers and have actual achievements, they must sign up for the Armed Forces and academies respective to the branch they signed up for.

Among the two dozen members of the Imperial Family and hundreds of young Britannian nobles, Lelouch was one of the few individuals to graduate with the top scores in terms of leadership skills. Although his physical and combat scores were average at best, he surpassed most of his peers when it comes to leading troops in battle. His scores were only second to Schneizel for over fifty years since the academy's establishment. The Academy's Headmaster even said that Lelouch's abilities were almost on par with that of a Colonel.

"I've discussed with High Command about you," Cornelia replied. "Since you graduated with top scores in Special Officer Course, you are qualified for leading a small army yourself despite not having served in the Armed Forces beforehand. However, making you a general right away will paint a bad picture on us to the military so you will have to settle with the rank of Colonel commanding a Regiment of six Battalions. Needless to say, your regiment will consist of mostly rookies fresh out of training so you may be very busy soon."

"I don't mind that," Lelouch said. "As long as I get to participate in the battle and save our captured citizens. So who will I be serving under in the invasion?"

"Knight of Nine, Nonette Enneagram," Cornelia replied. "She is currently the Major General of the 134th Mechanized Infantry Division stationed on New Texas."

"If I remember correctly, Lady Nonette went to the same naval academy as you, right? Why is she only commanding a division on Mars? She should have more than enough achievements to become a Rear Admiral like you already." Lelouch asked his sister, wondering why such an accomplished Knight of the Rounds would be content with leading only a division-sized army despite decades of service.

"High Command offered her the position of Rear Admiral of the Fifth Martian Fleet a few years ago but she declined, saying that she preferred fighting on the ground so they made her a Major General instead." Cornelia said and let out a brief sigh. "Since we have more than enough men and assets in Northern Mars (the Northern Hemisphere of Mars), the ISC has rotated several capable commanders back to Earth to have a stand-in for those who are going to lead the invasion. When she learned that I led a Task Force to repel the barbarians in Los Angeles, she requested to be included in the invasion of Falmarius."

When the Royal Guards ushered them to board the shuttle, Lelouch paused for a moment as he thought about what to say next. After getting on the shuttle, he finally broke the silence. "So, the Coalition will be deployed across the Gate alongside us, right?"

Knowing where he was going with this, Cornelia simply nodded as she sat across from him and gazed out of the window on her side. "Given the circumstances, hoarding the Gate to ourselves will do more harm to us than good in the long run. I know that it feels wrong to allow other nations easy access to the Gate when we are the ones taking the heaviest casualties and doing everything. That is how you are feeling, right?"

"Yeah… I guess that is one way to put it," Lelouch said.

"Believe me when I said most of us feel the same way." Cornelia paused for a second before continuing. "However, we are dealing with an alien planet here so we cannot charge in with guns blazing, especially not on our own. Sure, we have enough resources to burn their capital to the ground in mere hours but what then? How are we going to handle the refugees flooding to our doorsteps? What about the political unrest and instability that follow the collapse of the Saderan Empire? How long can we hold on to the continent on the other side of the Gate without straining ourselves too far? Not to mention, there may be other nations who will surely take advantage of this empire's collapse and attack us from all directions. We could be facing an entire hostile planet for all we know. We can employ foreign contractors to work with us on the other side but eventually, they will need their nations' security details. We have technological superiority on our side but the enemy has an entire continent or maybe, a whole planet, as their home field advantage. It is for that exact reason why we need allies. By keeping our would-be enemies and questionable allies in check, we can focus on our operations against the Saderan Empire. If anyone attacks the Coalition, they are essentially attacking our allies as well. The Senate and Father are making plans to deploy the UEDF in which our allies could participate in the invasion. Remember Article 7 of the UEDF Mandate? Did you really think that Father and Brother Schneizel were going to let the other nations join this 'all-you-can-eat buffet' that easily?"

At first, Lelouch wanted to protest the idea of allowing foreign militaries to be deployed on Britannian soil. However, when his sister mentioned the UEDF Mandate, he understood why they did it and where they were going with this plan. He smiled and recognized the ingenuity of his father's plans. "So, are you going to lead the Field Army like when you did during the war?"

"No, Michele Manfredi will lead the Field Army," Cornelia said. "I am in charge of the Space Naval assets so I will be his Second in Command. Officially, of course."

Although Cornelia was an accomplished officer within the Empire, she still wasn't the most decorated like the old war veterans. Michele Manfredi, the Knight of Two was one of them and he certainly had more than enough medals to prove that.

"They let old man Michele lead the invasion, huh? That means you will get to fight on the ground to your heart's content. Just like old times, right?" Lelouch said. He knew how much Cornelia enjoyed fighting on the frontline with her iconic Knightmare Frame so the idea of leading an army from the safe confine of a base or warship didn't always sit well with her.

"Depending on the situation, I may not see as much combat as I expected! More importantly, are you sure you want to do this? I heard about your other friend so I understand why but you are still inexperienced and…" She was cut off by Lelouch.

"I am and don't worry about me, Cornelia!" He reassured her firmly. She noticed that his voice was somewhat more serious. "If what the Saderans we encounter on this side are anything to go by regarding the world on the other side, things will be even worse for our people. If I don't do this, I will never be able to forgive myself."

Ever since the Battle of Los Angeles, Lelouch, Milly, Rivalz, and Suzaku have called almost everyone they knew from the Academy to check in on them. Most of them were luckily unharmed since they were on the other side of the city. Some suffered minor injuries during the chaos when the Saderans attacked but were slowly recovering. The rest had the hardest since they had lost their loved ones in the savage attack. As members of the Student Council, Lelouch and Milly did everything they could to help them to the best of their abilities.

However, things took a turn for the worse when they checked on one particular student: Shirley Fenette.

They have tried to contact her many times but there was no connection for the past several days. It wasn't until her family in the suburbs reached out to them that they began to worry. Turns out, she hasn't contacted her family either. Everyone started to fear that something bad must have happened to her. They suggested her family report to the police to have them check through the survivors and victims of the Battle of Los Angeles. After another day of waiting, they finally received the devastating news: She was among the people taken to the other side of the Gate.

After that news, Shirley's mother had to be hospitalized due to intense shock. Right now, Milly, Rivalz, and several of her friends were currently staying with Shirley's family to help them overcome this predicament. When Lelouch stood inside the hospital room with them, he made a promise to Shirley's family that he would bring their daughter back no matter what. Seeing that it was the Prince himself, they were reassured to a degree but the fear and worry didn't fade one bit.

The moment he learned that news was when he resolved himself to bring back one of his most precious friends. In contrast to what most people thought, it wasn't that they were dating or anything of the sort. For Lelouch, love at his age was frivolous and unnecessary. Rather than love, he respected and treasured Shirley and those like her. They were the ones who reached out to him in times of darkness. Amongst them, Shirley was one of the dearest friends whom he respected and held dear. No matter what she went through in life, she was always cheerful and tried to do her best at almost everything in life. She was a sweet young lady who always treated everyone she met with genuine kindness and respect. The thought of those savages doing unspeakable things to her made his blood boil with rage. It was the reason why he had insisted with Cornelia to include him in the invasion of Falmarius and why he was having this conversation with his older sister.

"I will bring her back," Lelouch said. "Her and everyone who was taken. No matter what it takes, we must save them all. The longer we wait, the more they will suffer."

Cornelia placed a hand on his shoulder to assure him. "That is our intention from the very beginning. We will turn that whole planet upside down to achieve that goal if we have to."

Lelouch nodded. After a few more minutes, their shuttle's vertical engines fired up and lifted the aircraft from the ground. Outside the window, the numerous buildings of the metropolis were getting smaller and smaller.

It wasn't until he was evacuated from Ainsworth Palace that Lelouch saw the scale of destruction brought about by the Battle of Los Angeles. When he glanced over to Mount Lee where the Gate was located, he was astonished by how quickly things have changed in that area.

The entire mountain was being reshaped into a massive base with thousands of ground and aerial vehicles moving about. Most of the construction vehicles and robots were still working on building and expanding the base while omni-purpose fabricators were producing on-site materials nonstop with long lines of automated trucks carrying the materials for them. From this distance, the Swarm Assemblers (construction drones) looked like swarms of insects as they never stopped moving about to build fortifications and essential facilities for the base. Above the sky, dozens of warships from the Britannian Space Navy continued to patrol the area to safeguard the airspace and respond to an emergency whenever necessary.

The mysterious structure itself was partially hidden under a giant dome made of reinforced armor plating, surrounded by hundreds of automatic defense turrets, railgun turrets, and missile launchers. The sentry guarding it was even more impressive as there were hundreds of Knightmare Frames, tanks, armored vehicles, and thousands of armed soldiers keeping watch over the structure at all times, daring anyone stupid enough to emerge from the dark maw of the Gate and challenge them. From his position, Lelouch could vaguely guess that there had to be at least a division-sized force down there, guarding the Gate and preventing any further intruders from the other side.

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Beast-people Camp, Lindberg Prison

Terran Calendar: September 8, 2135

Lindberg Prison was one of the many correctional facilities reopened for housing the captured Falmarian entities. Since it wasn't too old, the prison didn't require much upgrade and modification. When tension between the Saderans and nonhuman races arose at the general prisons, the Imperial Strategic Command decided to segregate the prisoners by their species and genders. The Beast-people and Dark Elves were separated into four different prisons with dedicated medical wards and Lindberg was one of them.

Currently, Lindberg Prison was housing over six hundred entities from these two races. The majority of them were females and children. Outside the prison, a small army of prison guards and Britannian soldiers stood guard with their weapons always at the ready. There were also dozens of armored vehicles and Knightmare Frames surrounding the prison. However, due to the sheer amount of Falmarian prisoners, the Britannian prison guards and soldiers were stretched too thin and overworked. As a result, they had to employ a large number of sentry drones and security robots controlled by rudimentary AIs to assist them in maintaining the security of these prisons.

The past two weeks have been very strange for the Dark Elves and Beast-people living inside these prisons. When they were captured by the Britannians, they had resigned their fates and expected horrible treatment simply for being nonhuman. They had expected torture, assault, abuse, and racial discrimination from the Britannians. The females and young children of these species had even thought that they would be raped and taken by enemy generals, commanders or nobles as concubines and pleasure slaves. That fear was even more apparent to the Dark Elves, Rabbit-people and Cat-people since they were mostly females and renowned for their beauty.

However, none of that happened to them.

Instead, the people who had effortlessly slaughtered tens of thousands of Saderan Imperials have been treating them with a level of kindness and empathy like never before. After the Britannians finished questioning them, they were given medical injections, good food, clean water, clean clothes, showers, and blankets, things that were considered luxuries for them back home. When they got sick or wounded, they were treated properly by professional doctors and nurses. This caused great confusion for them since they simply couldn't fathom such treatment and kindness from the humans, especially those who were powerful enough to crush an entire Field Army of the Saderan Empire in less than a day. Although this put them at ease, they remained wary and some questioned the Britannians' motivations for such benevolent treatments.

During the initial days of imprisonment, some of the Saderan Imperials tried to assault the Dark Elves, Cat-people, and Rabbit-people but they were quickly put down by the Britannian guards and soldiers on site. The Britannians were very brutal as they didn't hesitate in executing the Saderan offenders. The injured Elves and Beast-people were immediately rushed to the medical wards. When some of the Dark Elves finally mustered the courage to ask the Britannians why they were treating the nonhuman entities like that, the Britannians simply said that they would never tolerate such barbarism and that all races were equal. After that, many of the Falmarians began to relax around the Britannians even though they were still under heavy guard. They had already seen the terrifying effects of their weapons on the Saderans so they had no intention of challenging the Britannians.

For Delilah and hundreds of other Beast-people, it was just another strange but pleasant day in this new world called "Earth". Although they were all wearing the same orange jumpsuits, Delilah was surprised that these clothes were very comfortable for her people despite being of different species. They were already thankful for the fact that they weren't left to die in the streets or worse. The fact that the Britannians would provide them with such delicious foods, warm clothes, blankets, cleaning products, and good showers baffled Delilah to no end.

It wasn't until they were transferred to this place that they finally learned the names of this world and the nation the Saderans had invaded. The United Empire of Britannia. Even though they didn't really understand what the word "United" meant in this context, most of them had the same thought as the Count of Formal Clan as soon as they heard the nation's name.

Right now, they were lining up inside the courtyard, waiting to receive food from Britannian chefs. Although the foods were the same every day, they tasted amazing and were considered a godsend for her and the other Falmarian inhabitants. They were fed garlic bread, chips, pasta, eggs, hot dogs, beans, rice, salad, and other simple foods. Delilah and some of the Dark Elves tried to learn English whenever they were free but it was too difficult, especially when they had little to no reference to learn from.

After taking her food tray, Delilah walked over to a table where four other Rabbit people like her were sitting. Coincidentally, she recognized two of them as well.

"Manira, Juriez?" She was surprised to see them here since they were separated during all the chaos. Delilah had thought that she was the only survivor of her tribe when she was brought here.

When she called out to the two Rabbit women, they looked up and were also surprised to see her alive. "Delilah?" Manira uttered in surprise. They both stood up and hugged her.

"I thought you were all dead," Delilah said. She was very happy to see her sisters alive and well. "Where have you been? And why are you here?"

"We thought the same about you, sister!" Manira said after letting go of Delilah. "We were taken here just yesterday. When we heard that the children of our fallen sisters were here, we asked the Britannians' permission to come here and take care of them."

"Children? You don't mean…" Delilah had a vague idea of what she was talking about. Before the Saderans' invasion of this world, Delilah's tribe lost four members when they were attacked by monsters. In honor of their fallen sisters, the tribe took it upon themselves to take care of their children.

"Yes, it's Velra and Kreyaz! We were separated when the Britannians slaughtered the Saderan Imperials in droves. Their master, a Saderan Praefector, took them as his bodyguards." Juriez said. Her voice was filled with anger and disgust as she recalled what the children told her.

"Come, we will tell you all about it!" Manira said. "These two are Herraz and Ultears from the Black Fang Tribe! They were like us, forced to fight for the Saderans."

The other two Rabbit women on the table nodded and introduced themselves to Delilah. The group began talking with each other about various things but it was mostly about how they and their fellow Rabbit-people were doing in this world. Delilah shared with them the various incredible things she has learned about Earth and the Britannian Empire. She was disgusted when she learned about what the Saderans made the Rabbit children do before their subsequent capture. She breathed a sigh of relief to know that those children were doing fine and the Britannians took very good care of them.

"Honestly, I still can't believe how these Earth humans are treating us prisoners so well," Ultears said. "We have been here for almost two weeks and yet, they haven't done anything to us. No torture, no rape, no beating, no starving. The only thing they did was questioning us, examining our bodies with their weird contraptions, and injecting some of their so-called 'medicines' into our bodies, saying that it helps make our bodies feel better in this world. No idea what that means though."

"I heard that it is the same for almost all of the Dark Elves and Beast-people and some of the Lizardmen. Once they learned that many of us were slaves or forced to fight for the Saderan Empire against our will, they started treating us a lot better than the other races like the Orcs, Leonids, and Voraldens. I heard that the Britannians already executed a lot of them for causing trouble. Serves them right. Those guys are always violent and pick fights with everyone." Herraz said as she scoffed at the violent races.

"Still, I wonder what is going to happen to us," Delilah said as she ate her bread. It didn't matter how many times she ate it, she couldn't get over how delicious the garlic bread was. "I know they are treating us with kindness and empathy but are they going to let us go home? I mean, we were all dragged here to fight against our will."

"Unlikely," Manira said. "I heard from the Dark Elves that the Britannian Empire is preparing for an invasion of Falmarius and rescue their people captured by the Saderans. Letting us go like that will cause problems for their war efforts."

"How many were taken by the Saderans?" Delilah asked.

"Don't know, maybe a few thousand. I only know that they lost tens of thousands to the Saderans' attack on the city. It is only natural that they are so angry." Manira shrugged.

"Whatever their decision is," Juriez said. "I'm just glad that they spared our lives and treat us this well. I mean, think about it! Our lives were much worse back in Falmarius. Here, we don't have to fear for our lives every single day. We get to eat good food, drink clean water, wear warm clothes, and by Flares (A God of Falmarius), we even get to take showers. Need I to remind you ladies how we used to live back home?"

Although the Rabbit women at the table missed their old home, they couldn't argue with Juriez's point. Back home, they had to worry about their survival almost every day of their lives. Even if they survived the feral and wild beasts, bloodthirsty mercenaries, and bandits, they had the Saderan Imperials to fear. When the Saderans led an Expeditionary Army to the South to crush the Beast-people Rebellions twenty years ago, almost every Beast-person had to live in fear of the Saderans ever since. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that life was an endless cycle of struggle and suffering for the Beast-people population in Falmarius. The fact they were living so well in another world only served to discourage them from going back further.

However, their train of thought was interrupted when a Cat woman called out to Delilah. "Delilah!"

"Mar'Shah! What happened?" Delilah asked the Cat woman with dark purple fur and tail. She noticed that Mar'Shah looked like she was in a hurry.

"I see that you've made more friends, huh?" Mar'Shah said as she greeted the other Rabbit women. "Never mind that, did you watch the news?"

"What news?" Delilah asked.

One of the most incredible things she and her people learned about Earth and Britannia was the seemingly magical devices capable of recording and transmitting events over vast distances. It was the television and this prison had one set up by the Britannians for the Beast-people population.

Unbeknownst to them, it was an intentional decision made by Duke Edward Calares – Imperial Minister of Information and Broadcasting and the Imperial Prime Minister. They believed that exposing the discontent factions of the Falmarians within the Saderan Empire to certain bits of information concerning their fates, the Saderan Empire in general, life within the Britannian Empire in general, and the war between the two empires would sway their loyalty toward the Britannian Empire further. Naturally, any and all sensitive information have been removed from the broadcasts strictly reserved for these entities. Meaning, they would only watch the things that the Britannians allowed them to.

"The public execution of the Saderans," Mar'Shah said.

"They are going to execute the Saderan Imperials?" Manira said. By now, all of the Rabbit women within earshot have had their interest piqued.

"Just a thousand of those Emroy blasted sons of whores," Mar'Shah said. She sounded disappointed that not all of the Saderans weren't executed. "The Britannians are going to broadcast it across the country. When I asked the prison guards about it, they said they were going to let us watch it too. It is going to start soon. Follow me or you are going to miss it!"

With that, the whole group immediately got up and followed the Cat woman to the central courtyard where a massive television was set up. They were followed by dozens of curious Rabbit women, Tiger women, and Cat women as well. When they reached the central courtyard, it was already a large crowd made up of Rabbit-people, Wolf-people, and Cat-people. Most of them were women, some even brought their younger siblings and children as well. They all shared one thing in common: Hatred toward the Saderans.

After ten minutes of waiting, the massive screen lit up and showed the images of the public execution. It was showing the scenes of a stadium where tens of thousands of people were seated. However, it wasn't the scale of the structure that drew their attention. Instead, it was what was at the center.

There, one thousand Saderans were put in large rectangular glass chambers, their hands and feet placed in metal restraints. Their clothes were ragged and most of them were roughed up pretty badly. Seeing the Saderans suffer like that made the Beast-people population cheer for the Britannians. They didn't care who did it to those Saderans. The only thing they cared about was that these bastards were on the receiving end of pain and suffering.

The Rabbit and Cat women cheered the loudest since they often received the worst treatments from the Saderans. Delilah almost wanted to cry as she remembered how much she and her people have suffered under the Saderans' hands for all these years. She had lost count of how many of her sisters were treated as nothing more than playthings and left to die in the streets. She had lost count of how many of her sisters had to sacrifice their lives to save their families from the Saderans' hands. Now, she couldn't help but revel in the sight before her.

---

Public Execution, Rose Wick Stadium

Tiberiaz didn't know where he was. They had put a bag over his head, chained his hands, and been forcefully moving his body for what seemed like hours. During his initial days of capture, they had questioned him nonstop. When he refused to answer, they shocked him with lighting, soaked his head in cold water, and roughed him up, then repeated it again, again, and again.

However, all those torture methods were nothing compared to the worst thing they had done to him. They injected some kind of poison into his body. The poison gave him horrific nightmares day after day. Worse yet, he couldn't escape those nightmares no matter how hard he tried and they were far too real for his mind. It was as if he was living inside them himself, rather than seeing them in mere dreams. They did it every single day until his mind almost broke. As a proud Field Marshal of the Saderan Imperial Army, he would not waver; he would not falter; he would not yield to these savages no matter what they did to him but this resolve was slowly crumbling. All of the pain and nightmares they were giving were slowly becoming too much, even for him.

The horseless carriage carrying him stopped abruptly, causing him to jerk forward. When the sound of metal doors opening hit his ears, Tiberiaz was yanked sideway and out of the vehicle. As he was dragged forward with his chains, he could hear the sound of a large crowd shouting a language he couldn't understand. He was dragged quite a distance away from the carriage until he was placed on some kind of elevated platform. His metal restraints were clamped down unto something. He tried moving his hands and realized that he was locked in place.

When the sack on his head was removed, Tiberiaz had to shield his eyes from the sudden brightness of sunlight. As soon as his eyes adjusted to the surroundings, his stomach sank at the scene in front of him. He was inside some kind of coliseum-like structure, albeit much larger than what he was familiar with. There had to be tens of thousands of people on the audience stands.

In the center of it all, there were hundreds of his men who were roughed up badly and placed inside giant glass prisons. When they saw him, they all begged the Saderan Field Marshal to save them. Of course, he could do nothing but watch them flail helplessly inside their glass prisons. He looked around and realized that there were dozens of these glass prisons.

He looked to his side and realized that another man dressed in expensive but odd clothing was next to him. They were flanked by six of the otherworld soldiers armed with those thunder staffs. The man who had brown hair and green eyes looked at him and said. "You will watch this and learn what it means to declare war on us, you fucking savage!"

Tiberiaz didn't understand what the strange man was saying. After he finished his sentence, another man who had black eye coverings and looked very much similar to his tormentors said in perfect Falmarian Common. "Lord Calares says, you will watch this and learn what it means to declare war on us, you savage!" Tiberiaz realized that this man was here as his interpreter.

The man whose name was Calares turned toward the crowd. Tiberiaz noticed that Calares was wearing some kind of gear on his head. "People of Britannia and the world!" His voice was enhanced to reverberate throughout the coliseum as he gestured toward the Saderans below. "These men, no, these aliens, came out of nowhere and attacked the city of Los Angeles. They tortured, murdered and violated tens of thousands of innocent men, women, and children. They slaughtered everyone in their path, pillaged the city, and burned down everything without mercy. And now, they stand here today to receive judgment for their crimes against humanity." The crowd roared and applauded at the speech. Amongst the crowd, there were also many foreigners who had lost their loved ones in Los Angeles.

The BSIA agent next to Tiberiaz translated Calares's words to him. Each of the glass prisons also had translators installed so the Saderans inside could understand what the people outside were saying. Even when he and his men were at the mercy of these otherworld humans, Tiberiaz still found his pride and voice to make demands to his interpreter. "You tell that man to release me and my men immediately! You savages have no right to treat us Saderans like this. The might of the Saderan Imperial Army will come down upon you once we crush your pathetic nation."

Though annoyed at the Saderan's sheer stupidity and haughty attitude, the Agent still translated everything to Duke Edward Calares. After the translation was finished, Edward simply laughed out loud. He then pointed his finger toward the Saderan Field Marshal and addressed the crowd. "This man, just now, has the audacity to demand us to release them all; even insulted us by calling us savages and insisted that we have no right to persecute them like this. To make it even better, he had the gall to say that his imperial army would defeat us and crush our nation."

As soon as Edward finished, the entire stadium exploded as the crowd went ballistic. How dare this alien bastard call them savages after everything they had done to the people of Los Angeles? Some people even threw bricks, shoes, and trash toward the glass prisons.

After a minute of anger, Edward stepped closer to Tiberiaz and glared straight into the Saderan's eyes. His eyes were filled with rage and righteous fury, enough to cause the Saderan Field Marshal to flinch.

"You keep calling us savages and barbarians even after everything you have done to our people," Edward's voice was filled with contempt. "If you want it so badly, then we will give it to you." Although Tiberiaz couldn't understand him, he could still feel the venom and hatred inside Edward's voice.

Edward then turned back to the crowd while the agent translated for Tiberiaz. "Many of you are going to condemn us for the following actions. You might believe that public execution has no place in the modern age. But let me show you why these savage aliens deserve no mercy from us. Bring out the first group!"

At his command, the stadium's crew who controlled the stadium holographic projectors typed into their computers to manipulate the central holo-projectors. The sky inside the stadium lit up and showed images of an interrogation room. The camera was facing a Saderan soldier who was being questioned by an unseen BSIA agent. Since the recording was in English, the agent had to translate it back to Tiberiaz.

"Why did you and your men rape these women?" The off-screen agent inside the footage asked as he slid the photo of three women across the table.

"Why not? They were dressed like whores so we taught them some manners!" the Saderan sounded smug at that even though he was already beaten up very badly prior to the recording.

"What gives you the right to commit such abhorrent crimes?" the Agent's voice sounded slightly angry.

"What crimes? We are the Saderan Imperial Army. Once we subjugate your pathetic nation, they will be our slaves anyway. What is wrong with enjoying ourselves with their bodies early? Although you are barbarians, your women do have such fine bodies." The Saderan sounded even more arrogant, not knowing that he had already dug his own grave.

The recording switched to another interrogation of a different Saderan imperial soldier.

"Why did you kill those men?" the Agent asked as he showed the Saderan gruesome images of men being killed and mutilated. "Not only that, why did you kill them in such brutal manners?"

The Saderan scoffed and answered arrogantly even though he was already roughed up as much as the previous Saderan. "Don't get so conceited, barbarian! Why do I have to answer you? You are all inferior to us, warriors of the might Saderan Imperial Army. What we did to your fellow savages is nothing compared to what we are going to do to you. Once our armies come back and burn your pathetic nation to the ground, you will all be our slaves and suffer fates worse than death."

The holographic videos then switched to another recording, then another, and another. With each interrogation, the crowd and the people watching back home grew angrier with each interrogation.

After the tenth interrogation was done, Edward signaled for the crew to turn off the holo-projector and addressed the audience once more. "As you all can clearly see, not only do these animals not regret committing such horrendous crimes against humanity, they revel in them and hold onto the belief that they could still defeat our Empire in battle and subjugate us. If you still have any doubt, we have an entire archive of interrogations like these. If you want to review them yourselves, we will upload them to SolNet later. But we must warn you, these contents are extremely disturbing so watch at your own discretion. Of course, all of the Saderans from those interrogations are here. And then, there are over thousands more like them here as well. Now, I ask you, people of Britannia: DO THEY DESERVE MERCY?" Edward asked the crowd of audience but it was more like he was asking the entirety of the Britannian Empire itself.

The entire stadium exploded with one single word. "NO!"

"And THAT is exactly why we are here today," Edward said. "To deliver punishment, no, deliver justice upon these fucking savages. Now, we will start with the first group." He then signaled the Britannian soldiers below who controlled the glass prisons' transport mechanism. The first pair of glass prisons containing one hundred Saderans inside began moving forward. When the camera drones focused on some of the Saderans, they realized that four of the men from earlier were inside that box.

Edward withdrew a box containing the specified methods of execution. "Since they enjoyed making our people suffer so much, we will now return the favor a hundredfold. The methods of execution have been decided by votes of the majority. However, the order is decided by the ballots from this box."

Originally, Edward and his ministry wanted to make the ballots drawn by some of the audience. However, that meant pushing the burden of choosing the execution methods for one thousand humans, albeit from another planet onto innocent citizens. Aliens or not, these savages were still mostly humans on a genetic level so that idea would certainly make many people lose sleep for many nights. Since he was the one suggesting it, Edward took it upon himself to withdraw the ballots and decide how the Saderans were going to die. Although Edward felt slightly guilty about it at first, remembering what they had done to his countrymen made him quickly overcome that sense of guilt. Naturally, they still had the sense to keep young children away from the stadium today.

To speed things up and avoid wasting everyone's time, they decided to execute one hundred Saderans in two glass prisons at a time. After pulling a ballot from the box, Edward opened it while the crowd waited with bated breath. "Electrocution!" Edward announced as the crowd cheered.

Several Britannian firefighters walked over to the first pair of glass prisons with fire hoses in their hands. They put the hoses on the holes scattered on the boxes' sides and began dousing the Saderans inside with water. The Saderans desperately tried to escape as they tried to crawl up the wall but the walls were simply too slippery. They shut down the hoses when the Saderans were drenched in water and the floors inside the boxes were covered with several centimeters of water. When the firefighters retreated, two Sutherland-model Knightmare Frames approached the two glass prisons with large cables in their hands. The cables' heads were exposed with wires and they were connected with the Knightmares' micro reactors in their arms. What happened next would be burned into Tiberiaz's memories forever.

As soon as the cables' exposed wires touched the water inside the glass prisons, electricity sparks flew everywhere inside the box. The electric shock was so intense that the Saderans could do nothing but writhe in pain and agony on the floor. Their entire nervous systems were completely paralyzed as their bodies contorted and twitched continuously. They couldn't even scream in pain since their respiratory systems were all but paralyzed. Their skin tissues were burnt while their blood was boiled within their bodies, causing it to pour from whatever orifices of their bodies.

After six minutes of electrocuting, all one hundred Saderans inside the first pair of glass prisons laid dead on the floor while electric sparks continued to fly. Only when the last Saderan stopped twitching did the Knightmare Frames remove the cables. Unbeknownst to the people on scene, most of the Britannian soldiers, police officers, and personnel inside the stadium volunteered to do this because they had lost someone during the Battle of Los Angeles under the Saderans' hands. Naturally, none of them flinched at the gruesome deaths of the Saderans.

Tiberiaz tried to scream and beg the Britannians to stop this senseless killing but his pleas fell on deaf ears. Edward withdrew another ballot while the first pair of glass prisons was removed for the second pair. Naturally, the remaining Saderans were pissing themselves after witnessing the gruesome execution of their compatriots.

"Death by firing squad! A quick death, huh? Looks like Lady Luck must be kind to you today, you damn aliens!" Edward announced as he held the ballot high in the air. He then turned toward a Second Lieutenant from the Britannian Army a few meters away from his platform. "Lieutenant Bartok! Please give the order!"

"Yes Sir!" the Second Lieutenant said then turned to his platoon. "First Squad, Second Squad, in position!"

The two squads of executioners moved in unison toward the second pair of glass prisons which was moving in place. They were placed between two raised platforms where the Britannian soldiers were moving toward the glass prisons with M-40D Battle Rifles in hands. When the prisons' transparent ceilings retracted, the Saderans inside scrambled all over the place to get as far away from the Britannians' guns as possible.

"READY! AIM!" Lieutenant Bartok said aloud as the soldiers pointed their rifles downward at the panicking and helpless Saderans. "FIRE!"

"Please, stop this madness! You can't do this to us!" Tiberiaz and the Saderans were on their knees, pleading and begging for their lives but the Britannians showed absolutely no mercy today.

When thunderous cracks sounded and fire spat from the Britannians' gun barrels, one hundred Saderans inside the glass prisons had their bodies perforated by hundreds of hyper-velocity bullets. The glass walls of the prisons were sturdy enough to withstand the armor-piercing rounds of the M-40D Battle Rifles since they were made of five layers of bulletproof glass. The interior of the prisons was painted red and filled with bullet holes. After several seconds, none of the Saderans were left standing.

When the second pair of glass prisons was removed, Edward pulled out another ballot. All the while, Tiberiaz kept pleading with the Britannians to spare their lives. However, his blood ran cold when Edward flashed a sadistic smile at him. Edward proceeded to raise the ballot and exclaimed. "DEATH BY FIRE!"

Tiberiaz's mind broke when the BSIA translated it for him. The crowd, however, cheered even louder than before when they finally got to see these savages suffer the worst and most painful punishment of all: Being burned alive.

When Edward gave the order, Lieutenant Nolan Bartok relayed it to one of the squads under his command. "Third Squad, in position!"

A squad of Britannian soldiers moved toward the two glass prisons armed with flamethrowers.

"Please stop this! I will do whatever you want!"

"Save us, Emroy! We don't want to die."

"Please, no more! Have mercy on us!"

"We will be your slaves. We will do anything. Please spare us!"

The Saderans' pleas fell on deaf ears as the Britannian soldiers moved into position. Every single person in the nation wanted these animals to suffer for everything they have done. Lieutenant Bartok shouted to his soldiers. "Ready, aim, fire! Send them all to Hell, gentlemen!"

What happened next would undoubtedly haunt Tiberiaz for the rest of his life. Without hesitation, the Britannians pulled the triggers and streams of fire shot through the holes of the glass prisons, burning everything inside them. As the sea of flames engulfed the Saderans, screams of pain and agony could be heard across the entire stadium. It didn't matter how much the Saderans tried to put the fire out, the flames were relentless like a demonic entity clinging onto their bodies and slowly burning their flesh away. Soon enough, all one hundred Saderans inside the two glass prisons were nothing more than vaguely humanoid charred husks. The smell of burned flesh soon filled the air when the glass prisons opened their ceilings for the fire to be put out.

Edward continued to pull the ballots and the execution went on for another hour. The fourth set of Saderans were executed by chemical gas. Since the Berlin Conventions only applied to humans from Earth, the use of chemical weapons on the Saderans wasn't a violation of human rights according the United Assembly of Terra. The effects of chemical weapons on the Saderans were best left untold since the drone cameras were directed to avoid recording the whole thing.

Thankfully, everyone under the age of 18 was banned from entering the stadium so they didn't have to worry about innocent children being haunted by the gruesome sights. When some of the audience couldn't take it anymore, it was decided that the remaining Saderans would be executed by firing squads. Although most of the crowd were unnerved by the brutal executions, they didn't feel the slightest bit of sympathy for the Saderans.

After the last set of Saderans were executed, all of the glass prisons were removed and the bodies were quickly disposed of. When everyone thought it was over, Edward addressed the crowd again. "Now, we save the best, or rather, the worst offenders of them all for last!" He then turned to the guards and said. "Bring them out please!"

Tiberiaz who at this point had already been broken didn't care anymore. However, when the Britannians brought out five Saderans and removed the sacks on their heads, Tiberiaz felt an immense amount of dread and fury. He recognized them from their faces. Two of them were Praefectors; two were Tribunars; and the last one made him the most furious. It was Valrus Korbenick – one of his sons who was recently appointed Field General. All five of them had bruises on their faces, one of the Praefectors even had half of his face covered up with bandages due to how bad his injuries were.

Knowing what was about to happen, dread was the only thing that Tiberiaz could feel right now. "NO! Please, not my son! Spare Valrus! Take me instead!"

"Help me, father! Save me from these barbarians!" Valrus begged his father even though his voice was weak due to malnourishment.

Edward began telling the crimes of the Field Marshal's son as he gestured toward Valrus. "This animal had ordered these four to gather any women and young girls they could find. Dozens of women had their fathers, brothers, husbands, and lovers butchered right in front of them. When they were brought to these animals, well, I believe you can guess what happened next. After they were done with their horrendous deeds, they either executed the victims or captured them as slaves. Some of their victims were even barely eighteen years old."

Once again, the crowd went ballistic and hurled one death threat after another toward the Saderans. "Tear them apart!" One of the men from the crowd shouted. He was followed by dozens more.

"Castrate them!"

"Let the tanks run them over!"

"Throw them into the shredder!"

"Burn them all!"

Edward raised his hands to calm down the angry crowd. "No, my fellow Britannians! Death is far too good of mercy for these animals. For their punishment, they will live the rest of their pathetic lives as EUNUCH. And it will be done by the victims' surviving family members."

When the crowd cheered, Tiberiaz and the Saderans didn't need translation to understand what was going to happen. Two men who were in their late fifties stepped out from the crowd with sledgehammers in their hands.

"These two gentlemen," Edward gestured at the two men. "Are Mr. Archer Mirkovic and Mr. Thomas Horvath. They are the father and grandfather of two of the victims. When they heard that we have captured the perpetrators of their daughter's and granddaughter's deaths, they asked us to be granted the right to hand their judgment upon these animals. Mr. Mirkovic, do you have anything to say before giving them their sentence?" Edward asked one of the men and handed him a microphone.

Mr. Archer Mirkovic was tall and muscular, with batches of gray intermingled with his black hair. His demeanors suggested he used to work in the mining industries on off-world colonies. However, it was his eyes that stood out the most. His hazel eyes were filled with rage and contempt as he fixed his gaze on the Saderans. He exchanged a glance with Mr. Thomas Horvath, as if communicating a silent message.

Mr. Thomas nodded at him and Mr. Archer took the microphone. He then turned toward the crowd and said. "I am Archer Mirkovic, currently sixty-four years old. I used to work on mining colonies in the Asteroid Belt. When I could finally retire, I decided to move back to Earth and live with my daughter – Katia and son – Caleb." His voice cracked as he remembered the painful memories of his children.

"When these… savages attacked Los Angeles, my daughter and son were going to buy me presents for my upcoming birthday and gifts for my late wife. They… these fucking animals… stabbed my son to death… as he tried to protect his sister. They… then… took her to this bastard," Mr. Archer gestured at Valrus who was crying his eyes out. His prison pants were soaked with piss. His cohorts didn't fare any better. "So he could… have his way with her… before they… cut her throat and… left her for death."

Many people amongst the crowd couldn't hold in their tears as they felt relatable to the poor man. Many felt anger like never before. Some even jumped down, wanting to join Mr. Archer in executing the savages. They were quickly stopped by the police and soldiers in the stadium. "When I was called to… receive their corpses… all I found were mutilated remains of my children. Mr. Horvath here asked me to say this in his stead. He had a granddaughter who happened to be one of my daughter's students. The same happened to his granddaughter – Mira Horvath as well. And there are thousands who suffered the same losses as us. Therefore, what we are about to do is not simply for our vengeance, but for all of those who have suffered devastating losses like us."

When the crowd cheered for Mr. Mirkovic, he handed the microphone back to Edward and said. "That is all, Lord Edward! From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for allowing us to do this."

"No, Mr. Mirkovic, it is my responsibility!" Edward said. "It is the only thing we could do for you. Would you like to proceed with the trial?"

With a nod from the two men, Edward addressed the crowd. "Let the judgment be fallen upon these savages!"

The crowd continued to cheer for their countrymen and throw death threats at the Saderans. When the soldiers came up to hold the Saderans in place, Mr. Mirkovic turned towards Tiberiaz. His eyes could make even Emroy himself flinch. "You," His voice was filled with venom. "You are going to watch the punishment of your wretched son! We will make sure you understand our pain and suffering, you xeno scum!"

When the translation was finished, Tiberiaz could do nothing but screamed at the top of his dry lungs. He tried to fight the restraints as they cut deep into his limbs, blood dripping from his wounds. Valrus was held in place by three soldiers. His legs were spread as he looked at his father with teary eyes. Mr. Archer stepped toward the Saderan and raised his sledgehammer high in the air for all to see. Soon enough, Valrus saw the hammer swing down hard and lost consciousness due to intense shock.

---

New Macapá Tether City

Amapá State, Brazilian Colony of the Britannian Empire

Shayera Votz was perhaps having the best time of her life right now.

Why? Because she was watching the public execution of the wretched Saderan imperials live on TV. Like many of her kin and other half-human races, she has suffered a lot under the imperials' hands.

After she woke up in this strange facility, Shayera felt as if she was in a dream because of how good the Britannians have been treating her. She didn't know how they did it but they treated all of her wounds and managed to make it not hurt anymore for her. Although she could still feel a little bit numb from all of the medicines applied to her body, she no longer felt intense pain before she passed out anymore.

Aside from a few other empty beds alongside hers, there were many strange contraptions whose purposes were lost on her. When several people in white and black coats entered the room and inspected her conditions, she was initially scared and confused, fearing that she had simply traded her former slave master for a new one.

Once they calmed her down and reassured her that no one would enslave, abuse, or mistreat her, she relaxed and answered every question they had for her. One woman and two men wearing strange black eye coverings and dark suits asked her a plethora of questions. Although she felt drained due to the drugs in her body, Shayera answered the questions to the best of her abilities. She was so dazed by the medicines that she failed to notice how oddly fluent the men and women in dark suits were in Falmarian Common.

After the questioning was finished, she was taught some basics about this nation and the world on this side of the Gate by the people in white coats. It took her some time to process everything and she found it difficult to grasp certain concepts. However, she didn't deny or question it simply because she was too afraid to antagonize her saviors, the same people who have given the Saderans absolute hell since the day they crossed the Gate and came into this world.

Once the education was completed, she has been left alone here since then. The only interaction she had with the outside world was the meals brought in by the nurses and the TV they set up for her. Fortunately, they at least allowed her to roam around the room and exercise regularly so she could at least do something to pass the time.

At first, Shayera thought about asking them for books to learn more about Earth; then she held that thought since she couldn't read their language anyway. She silently hoped that they would teach her English since she found many fascinating things about this world.

Although she reflexively cringed at how gruesome their deaths were, she had zero pity for the Saderan imperials. If anything, she, like many others from her world, believed that they deserved such horrible fates. When the news reached the part where that newly-appointed Field General and his cohorts got what they deserved, she was startled by the sound of the door opening.

She turned to see who it was and realize it was one of the people teaching her about this world: Ellen Tanner. She was followed by four of the usual armed bodyguards.

Ellen Tanner was the BSIA liaison who was working with Countess Theresa and one of her companies in "preparing" the first subject from Falmarius for the Empire's future operations in Falmarius.

At first, she didn't understand why they would go to such lengths for an alien. Though intrigued by Shayera's appearance and complicated past, Ellen held some animosity toward her given her affiliation with the forces that sacked Los Angeles. Over the past few days of teaching and observing her, her animosity waned but Ellen kept her guard up and never faltered. Years of working in this field have desensitized her to a degree but she couldn't care less. If anything, she found her skills and knowledge very useful because they allowed her to see the true nature of certain individuals and how bad some people could be. Despite how she felt about this, she had her orders and a job to do.

"How are you feeling, Shayera?" Ellen asked while smiling at the Wolf-woman.

"I… feel good, Lady Ellen!" Shayera almost stuttered as she replied. "The food, the showers, and other amenities you have provided me… make me feel like I am a noble here. Considering your non-magical devices, I doubt that even the richest nobles on Falmarius have it this good."

"Very good! How are your injuries by the way?" Ellen already knew about her thanks to the surveillance system and medical equipment within the room. Asking these questions was her way of getting people to talk. Nevertheless, Ellen was genuinely surprised by both how the Wolf-woman survived despite the amount of blood she had lost and how quickly she recovered.

"I barely feel the pain anymore," Shayera said and lifted up the turquoise gown she was wearing to reveal the bandages covering half of her stomach and waist. "It's hard to imagine that you could accomplish such a feat without magic."

"That's good to hear!" Ellen remarked. "Lady Theresa has given you permission to go outside. However, it is still limited to within the premise only. And I believe we don't need to warn you that you are still under strict surveillance so please, don't try anything that provokes the guards or the people working here, okay? Otherwise, you will only end up getting yourself hurt. Also, Lady Theresa has requested your presence outside. She has something to discuss with you."

Not daring to go against the request of her saviors, Shayera simply complied and followed Ellen outside. The four bodyguards positioned themselves around Shayera and Ellen to protect the BSIA liaison and keep watch on her.

As they walked across the hallway and past several chambers, Shayera realized how large this facility was. Based on the number of rooms and chambers alone, she surmised that this place could house the population of a small town. Occasionally, personnel working at the facility would spare her a curious glance and some curious whispers as they walked past the group before resuming whatever they were doing.

She was told that this place was actually an underground emergency shelter designed to house a small number of people for an extended period of time during natural disasters. Although she was familiar with the concept of emergency shelters in case of wars and natural disasters, she couldn't comprehend why they would build one so large and spacious.

After a few seconds of elevator ride, they reached the surface and she was surprised that it was actually beneath a luxurious mansion. It was smaller than the ones used by the Saderans on Falmarius but it could outshone them in almost every other aspect. Not to mention, the mansion was equipped with all kinds of modern equipment that could make the Saderan mansions look like a cave in comparison.

When they were approaching the mansion's entryway, Shayera's ears picked up a familiar sound, causing her to flinch. Noticing her strange reaction, Ellen asked. "What's wrong?"

"I heard the sound of… gunshot," Shayera struggled to pronounce the last word as it was still new to her. "Are you going to execute me? Or is someone still fighting outside?"

"What gun… Oh, that…" Ellen realized what she was referring to. "Don't worry about it! It's just Lady Theresa and her hobby. Come on! You wouldn't want to make her wait too long, would you?"

Although she was slightly startled by another gunshot, Shayera continued moving forward with Ellen's bodyguards close behind. Once outside, she could see that it was a large yard on top of a cliff. She was hit by a warm breeze, the smell of saltwater, and the sound of seagulls as soon as she stepped outside.

At the center, Lady Theresa was holding a lever-action rifle in her hand and talked to her butler. There were also some cleaning drones milling about in the yard, diligently performing their duties. The butler was controlling some kind of contraption that Shayera was unfamiliar with.

However, it wasn't the yard, the people, the drones, or whatever else was there that shocked Shayera. Instead, it was what lay on the horizon.

"Ginormous!" was the only word she could use to describe the titanic structure that sat beyond the horizon. She thought that only the Gods could accomplish such a feat. And yet, she was looking at something built by the Humans of this world. She blinked a few times to make sure that she wasn't hallucinating.

From their position, she could see that the mansion had a panoramic view of a massive city across the ocean. Similar to the city that the Saderans had attacked, this one had dozens, if not, hundreds of insanely tall and large buildings. Even from this distance, she could see that many of those buildings pierced the cloud cover, making her wonder how tall they were. She learned one word that described these buildings: Skyscrapers.

Unlike the ones in the city whose name she learned to be Los Angeles, however, the skyscrapers in this city were grouped together into even taller and larger skyscrapers. These large skyscrapers spanned across almost the entire horizon. Despite their impressive heights and sizes, they were completely dwarfed by the immense tower located at the city's center.

No matter how hard she tried, Shayera couldn't see the tower's top because it was literally touching the heavens. Just above the skyscrapers' height limits, there were four massive support structures that held it in place, each of which was as tall and large as a small mountain. Around the tower's base and the surrounding facilities, she could see dark shapes moving around the area. If she could see them from this distance, it meant that those flying vessels must be very large up close. The same could be said for the ocean at the tower's base as there were hundreds of seafaring vessels moving about. How in the world could they coordinate that many aerial and seafaring vessels without causing an accident was completely beyond her at this point.

Every doubt she had regarding the Britannian Empire's economic and military might was shattered by the sight of this tower alone.

Her admiration of the immense tower was broken by the sound of gunshot. It was much louder this time. Looking down at the source, she noticed that it was Lady Theresa who was shooting something with her rifle. The gun's barrel was still smoldering from the previous shot.

Lady Theresa ejected the spent casing of her Henry Schreiber lever-action rifle and asked her butler. "How was it, Richard?"

Her butler examined the target that she just shot. It wasn't until Shayera focused her attention on the target that she realized what Lady Theresa was shooting. To her surprise, it was a Saderan helmet which had a massive hole punching through it. Had there been a Saderan wearing it, his head would have been decimated by that bullet. Looking around, she noticed that one of the cleaning duty robots was hauling several heavily deformed helmets away.

"Compared to the previous shots, your aim has improved significantly, my Lady!" Her butler replied jovially. "Also, it seems that your guest has arrived." He gestured toward Shayera and Ellen.

Theresa looked and greeted them. "Hello there, Shayera, Ellen! How are your wounds, Shayera?"

Ellen translated Theresa's words for Shayera. "Lady Theresa asks, how are your injuries?"

Shayera tore her gaze from the decimated helmets to answer. "Yes… I… my wounds are already healed. Your people are really amazing! It was as if I was healed by magic. Thank you for everything you have done for me, my Lady. I swear upon my clan's name that I will never forget your good graces and I will be sure to repay my debts to you even if it takes my life."

Theresa nodded after the translation was finished. "Well, that's good to hear! Goodness, where are my manners? I'm Theresa Henriksen, Countess of the Britannian Empire. This place is one of my summer homes and the place you have been staying is the emergency shelter built by my father."

After the introduction was translated for Shayera, Theresa added. "I'm sorry but I'll be with you in a second," Theresa then turned to her butler and said. "Richard, let's wrap this up! Make it three this time!"

"Yes, my Lady!" Richard said and controlled the machine, which was actually a modified Tennis Ball Drone (automated tennis ball machine), with his datapad. The drone then swiveled its "gun" and shifted its angle upward, then shot three targets into the air at an incredible speed.

When the targets slowly fell down, Lady Theresa took aim and fired the first shot. The gunshot was deafening to Shayera's keen ears, causing her to wince and shield her ears. The bullet tore through the first helmet with ease. Theresa expertly ejected the spent casing and shifted her aim, fired another shot, ejected the casing and fired the third shot. All of that was done within seconds. By the time the three helmets hit the ground, they were effectively torn in half by the bullets.

Everyone applauded at her incredible marksmanship. Shayera wasn't knowledgeable about firearms but even she was impressed by the Countess's skills with the weapon. She wondered if most of the Britannian nobles were like her.

"Splendid, Lady Theresa!" Ellen remarked as Theresa approached her group with her butler close behind. "I've seen very few nobles with the same level of marksmanship as yours."

"Oh, my dear Ellen! Flattery will get you far, but not with me," Theresa smiled, handed her butler the rifle, and turned to Shayera, her beautiful brunette hair swaying gracefully along. "In case you are wondering, the Britannian Army has captured a large number of Saderans so they have a surplus of discarded armor pieces. Most of the military officials wanted to recycle the useless armor for our industries but one of them decided to sell a number of them to the nobles for entertainment. So, here we are!"

She gestured at three more crates that contained dozens of broken Saderan armor pieces and helmets, then added. "Just so you know, a lot of nobles like me have taken up the same hobby as I did. Though I doubt that they can shoot as well as I do. And before you think that we are sadists for enjoying such a hobby, the money we paid to purchase them is donated to the Los Angeles Memorial Foundation, a non-government organization established to support the victims of the Los Angeles Attack."

Ellen translated for Shayera and helped her process the information as best she could. "Do you have any questions before I explain to you why you are here?"

Shayera thought about her situation for a moment. She knew that they wanted something from her but couldn't figure out why. Eventually, she gave up thinking about it and decided to simply ask them directly. "It's not like I have anything left to lose anyway!" she thought to herself.

"What do you want me to do, Lady Theresa?" She asked the Britannian noble. "I know that you are not doing this simply out of kindness and generosity. There must be something that you want from me in return."

"Oh, you hurt me there, child!" Theresa said while placing a hand on her chest in a pretense. "I did want to help you after hearing about your circumstances. Pulling you out of the Ghosts' grip was no easy feat, you know?"

"Would you take a walk with me, dear?" Theresa said after Ellen translated the previous statement for her.

Receiving a nod from Shayera, they began walking around the villa's yard as Theresa spoke to her while the wind gently blew their hair along the way. "When we were little, my grandfather taught me and my siblings this: If you feed a man for a day haphazardly and ignore his starving family, he might be grateful to you but it doesn't guarantee that he won't betray you for his new benefactors in the future. However, if you teach that man how to feed both himself and his family for the rest of his life or give him the means to do so, you will ensure not only his loyalty to you but also that of his family and perhaps, even his future generations as well. We took this lesson to heart and made sure to teach our children that lesson. Well, my nephew, the young man you saw with me that day, took this even further since he has developed this mindset around this lesson. Of course, it isn't always smooth sailing for him since people took advantage of his kindness one way or another."

Theresa paused for a moment and spoke with a more serious tone. Shayera didn't understand why since she was listening to Ellen's translation. However, she could feel that the Countess was being serious about something and she was going to finally reveal their intentions regarding her future in this world.

"When my sister died in that terrible war," Theresa finally said. "I swore upon her grave that I would take care of her children until my last day on Earth. For as long as I am alive, I would never let anything happen to them. Never again." Theresa emphasized her last words. Although Shayera didn't understand her at first, she could tell that the Countess was being very serious from the tone of her voice alone.

Theresa then paused and caused the whole group to stop walking as well. She looked into Shayera's eyes as if she was staring into the Wolf-woman's soul. "My nephew saw something in you that day. He told me that you would help us achieve our goals in your world. He told me that making allies from that world should be one of our top priorities despite what everyone on this side might have thought. And he made a bet in turning you into our first ally. For a boy who hates gambling, that child sure loves making risky gambles like this."

Theresa allowed the blond BSIA agent to finish translating for Shayera but the silence seemed to drag on more than it should have. At this point, Shayera knew that the Countess and the Britannians weren't making an offer or asking for her permission on this matter. No, they were giving her an order, one that she would surely carry out whether she liked it or not.

She gulped and managed to ask the question she had been meaning to ask. "What… do you want me to do, My Lady?"

A smile formed on Theresa's lips as she answered. "What do you think of becoming the first Extra-Solar Citizen of the Britannian Empire?"

---

Crucial Worldbuilding Facts:

New Macapá or Tether City is one of the four only megacities with Space Elevators in the world.

Fifth Martian Fleet: The Fifth Martian Fleet is one of the Britannian Space Naval Fleets tasked with defending the Empire's major colonies on Mars. The Fleet is stationed in New Texas, one of the most important Martian colonies of the Britannian Empire. Currently, the Britannian Empire has 10 Martian Fleets in total, each of which has dedicated spaceports on the Red Planet.

The Coalition: The Coalition is the Britannians' nickname for the United Earth Defense Force. Because of how it is structured, many Britannians believe that the UEDF is more like a coalition led by the Britannian Armed Forces.

Tether City: Tether City refers to the megacities that have Space Elevators at their center points. A Space Elevator is an immense structure used to ferry large loads of materials and people into space without the need for spacecraft. As of 2135, there are three functioning Space Elevators around the world, with the fourth one being constructed in New Nairobi, Kenya. New Macapá is the first Tether City with the first Space Elevator in the world, making it one of the most important cities in Sol. The city is heavily defended by Britannian Space and Surface Navies. The second Tether City is Marshall, Commonwealth of Australia; The third Tether City is Borneo, Indonesia State of the Southeast Asian Union. All Space Elevators are under the administration of the United Assembly of Terra.

Henry Shreiber: The Henry Shreiber Arms is one of the major civilian weapons manufacturing companies in the Britannian Empire. The company mainly produces personal firearms such as pistols, hunting rifles, and shotguns. Its real-life counterpart is the Henry Repeating Arms Big Boy in the United States. The lever-action rifle that Theresa used is the Henry Schreiber Model 95, a family heirloom inherited from her grandfather. These rifles are especially favored by Britannian nobles who use them for hunting, entertainment, and practicing marksmanship.