The journey back to the regrouping point was silent as we tried to minimalize anything that would give our location away. Radio silence was naturally also required. Not that it affected my ability to hear the others, there were enough bugs in Zero's and Lotus's cockpits that I could easily hear them.
Well Kallen was totally silent so there wasn't much to hear from there other than a few muttered words that were almost unintelligible. Lelouch was reacting to our 'defeat' in a much more… visceral way. Instead of the silent brooding I had expected of him there was complaining, raving and fuming. He wasn't used to failure and was taking it extremely terribly.
He would fix his attitude before he came face to face with the other Black Knights, his mask as Zero demanded he did so. I almost felt grateful that we had lost, our light defeat and retreat without losses was a painless lesson to be more careful next time.
I did not know just what had happened that resulted in our failure, but I knew for a fact that we should've come more prepared against heavy resistance. If this Tohdoh guy was important enough for us to come rescue he was also important enough for Britannians to guard.
Instead we had come with seven Knightmares and unprepared for an actual fight. It would serve as a lesson to Lelouch, he had gotten too sure of himself, and we had barely managed to make it out. He was arrogant but not an idiot, he would learn.
When we finally arrived, I exited my cockpit with a nonchalant attitude. Well compared to the others it was nonchalant. The members of Zero squadron, Kallen and Lelouch all had stances that screamed frustration.
At least they weren't the only ones frustrated. Rakshata emerged from the luxury car we used as a mobile command centre looking both dissatisfied and frustrated. She gave Zero squadron and their three Knightmares a glare that spoke of a future lecture and immediately round on to me.
"You broke it." She said as she looked my frame up and down.
I felt somewhat annoyed she had just descended on me like that and defended myself.
"The only damaged part is the left arm and the Harkens." I said without any hint of remorse.
Rakshata shot me an annoyed glance.
"The right-hand servos are clogged up, the left arm is entirely missing from the shoulder joint, all Slash Harkens are either missing or ruined." She sighed deeply.
"Normally I wouldn't bring this up Weaver, the Akashita has many custom parts yes, but that child is easier to take care of than the other new ones. But you somehow managed to damage the Yggdrasil drive, if you weren't so absurdly lucky the Core Luminous could've leaked. If that happened no ejection would save you before the entire Knightmare blew." She said and now that I was paying proper attention to her I could see how pale she was.
She had been worried that I was going to die.
"The next time you pilot try to not to strain the machine as much, that child is still very young and temperamental. I'll reinforce the Core so that you can keep high resonance for longer but don't rely on it." She said with an earnest and sombre tone wholly uncharacteristic of her.
I could do nothing but nod solemnly at her. She let out a breath she was holding and a not exactly easy going but still much more relaxed smile appeared on her face. I could tell it was mostly fake.
"Great, now I have to go, I have an idiot to talk to about losing one of my prototypes." She said with a look that promised violence then promptly turned and started walking towards Zero Squadron, who promptly all flinched and huddled closer.
She hadn't changed much, still the same forceful woman just with a veneer of professionalism over her. Still an improvement over Lloyd, who didn't even have that.
Though I don't think even I could deny it now, Rakshata somehow knew who I was. I… I really don't know what to do. I couldn't just outright reveal it to her, and I couldn't interact with her in my civilian identity either it would be too dangerous.
Could I just keep this charade up? Until an opportunity would present itself at least. I breathed out my frustration.
Something felt off, missing. It only took me a second to realise what. Lisa. The copy of Lisa was missing. She wouldn't have missed the opportunity to say, 'I told you so', it would simply go against her nature.
So where was she? Now that I think about it, she hasn't chimed in at all since that event. Whatever had happened than had also made Lisa – for the lack of a better word – shutdown. I tried to get a feel for my Passenger and hoped that I could at least get a hint as to what it was 'feeling'.
There was simply no response. It had always been just out of reach; feelings sometimes made it through but no real communication. Now even that was missing, it was creepy. I had forgotten this was how it used to be, for the longest time I hadn't even been aware of its existence.
But now that I knew something was supposed to be there but wasn't it was unsettling. What could I even do but wait? Lost in my thoughts I almost missed Kallen approaching me from behind. Lelouch wasn't with her.
"Hmm? Where is Zero?" I asked with some curiosity.
"Off with Ohgi, deciding on our next move." She said with a tired voice.
"Seems a bit early for that, he could've rested a bit and let us also rest a bit at least." I said. It really did seem odd how he hadn't even taken a five-minute break.
Kallen made a worried face at my words. "I don't think he took the defeat well; he's trying to hide it but now that I've seen how he acts in both personas I can somewhat see his tells." She admitted. It was kind of impressive she could just read Lelouch like that, the boy was no stranger to acting. But with everyone around her hiding behind a dozen lies I could see how she got so adept at reading people.
"He isn't." I confirmed and saw Kallen's mood sour by the deepening of her frown. She wasn't taking the loss particularly well either.
"What happened back in the prison?" I asked. I needed to know just what had happened if I was going to talk to her about it.
Her mouth set itself into a thin line. She was reluctant but spoke, nonetheless. "I-We broke in through the route but as Zero went down to speak to Tohdoh that white Knightmare just appeared out of nowhere with a bunch of Sutherlands." She grimaced as she went on. "I tried to keep them off Zero but the white one was Good, really good. He kept me in place and the Sutherlands used that to get past me and attack Zero."
She stopped and breathed out deeply as if trying to calm herself. "If he hadn't managed to get back inside his Knightmare, he would be dead." Her voice trembled as she spoke.
I didn't know what exactly Kallen thought of Lelouch right now, but he was still her friend. Of course she would feel bad, not only for failing the mission but also almost costing him his life.
I didn't manage to get a word in before she kept going.
"Because I couldn't hold them back not only did he not have enough time to convince Tohdoh but he also almost died. All this damage we took and this loss it's all my fault!" She was starting to ramble. Inhaling and exhaling faster and faster with more shallow breaths.
There was no one close to us, the crews dealing with our Knightmares were occupied and Zero Squadron was busy being chewed out by Rakshata. I laid my hands on her shoulders and made her look at me. "Kallen, we were ambushed." I insisted.
Her eyes beneath the visor turned to my mask. "The fact that we made it out with just some damage on our Knightmares is insane. If you hadn't been there, that ambush would've killed Zero. You can't blame yourself for his decision to exit his Knightmare in a dangerous environment. And you sure as hell can't blame yourself for the fact that the Britannians decided to sharpen up." I said with as much conviction as I could put into my voice.
"But we-" She tried to argue back but I cut her off.
"We lost; we lost a single fight but we sure as hell haven't lost the war. Thanks to you Zero is alive and thanks to him I'm alive. We can keep going." I stressed.
Kallen still looked about ready to argue. Why was this girl always so stubborn?
I sighed deeply. I felt way too tired for this.
"Look, Kallen, I'm not going to argue about this with you. I want to go home and have a nice rest, you really should as well. But promise me you won't go around saying 'it's all my fault' or something like that. Go get some sleep, talk to some people, do whatever you need to be ready for next time." I somewhat awkwardly patted her on the shoulder and turned to leave.
"Weaver… Thank you." I heard from behind me. A tired smile found its way onto my face. I nodded at Kallen as I went to go and get my bike, I wanted to go back home right about now.
The next morning I found myself standing on the deck of a ferry sipping terrible tasting tea out of a paper cup and staring at a deserted Island we were approaching. By we I mean Cecile and I.
When I returned home at two in the morning I wasn't exactly expecting to see twenty messages on my personal Phone from Lloyd of all people. He had apparently been asked to investigate some ruins on this island by Prince Schneizel and thought that my 'special expertise regarding the paranormal' would help him on that matter.
I had debated whether it was a trap for a second and discarded the thought the moment I remembered it was Lloyd asking me. Not one for this kind of stupid play. The possibility that it was someone with Lloyd's phone was possible but not when arrangements were made for me and Cecile to come by boat to the island tomorrow morning.
No one was so sure of themselves and inconsiderate enough to think that I wouldn't have something to do and refuse to come other than Lloyd.
"Deep in thought again?" Cecile's voice asked from behind me as she emerged onto the deck of the ferry we had commandeered.
"Hmm, no. Just tired." I answered sleepily.
She laughed lightly, a sound I hadn't heard in a long while.
"Well, I can understand that. Last night didn't exactly go well for you." She sounded smug. She definitely was the one who made that gas then.
"Yeah, it didn't, that gas you made really made things difficult and we had to leave somethings behind." I said neutrally.
"Still, you managed to defeat General Darlton, Lord Guilford and a lot of the Glaston Knights. I didn't know you knew how to pilot." She said softly as she came next to me with her own cup of tea.
"I don't." I replied.
"Huh? What do you mean?" She looked at me, confused.
"I don't know how to pilot a Knightmare, yesterday was my first time." I watched fascinated as her face twisted first into incredulity then into shock and finally anger.
"You… went up against devicers with years of experience, while you were outnumbered in your first day? What were you thinking?" Her voice rose and I checked to make sure the crew were far away enough to not hear our conversation.
I made a shush motion and pointed at the 'bridge' of the ferry. "I was thinking that it was going to be a simple smash and grab with a few garrison forces to take care of." I said plainly.
Cecile's face went through a wide variety of emotions. Anger, worry, fear and one I couldn't identify as she looked at me. Guilt? Maybe.
"I just-" She interrupted herself and sighed. "How did you even beat those guys then, I took a look at the footage Lloyd sent me, you kicked their ass." I could hear the incredulity in her voice clearly.
I smirked at her and made a butterfly I had snuck on to the boat with a bunch of other hidden insect's land on my hand. "I cheat." I said smugly.
She looked confused for a second and then it struck. "You cover the KMF in bugs for spatial awareness and balance. Of course you can pilot, for you it's just the same as moving around normally once you get used to the controls."
"You guessed it, I'm not a beast like Lotus or Suzaku are." I leaned on the railing and took another sip of my vile tea.
"Lotus? I've never heard of her." Cecile asked.
"You wouldn't, we just gave her the name recently, it's more of a nickname than pseudonym right now. Unlike me she's just a monster in a nightmare."
"Oh? Does she pilot that red one Rakshata made." It seems they had caught on that Rakshata was working with us.
I looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Don't look at me like that, the Radiant Wave Surger is practically Rakshata's calling card. That woman worked way too much to make that thing a reality." She said with amusement.
"Like you and 'solid state energy'? Are you still working on that propulsion thing?" I remembered her being very passionate about it, we had worked on it a lot back in collage. I hadn't gotten a single bit of the physics behind it; it might as well have been tinker bullshit to me.
"It's a work in progress." She admitted with a blush. I smiled at her. This was kind of nice. Just a casual conversation to relax with.
"Back on topic if you get your piloting abilities by your bugs then… then the pesticide gas would make you lose all of that." She said with trepidation, all good humour gone replaced with fear and worry.
Damn it I had hoped she wouldn't realise that. After I diverted from the topic so many times too.
She took my silence as assent.
"You- I almost killed you." She was pale, paler than I had ever seen her.
I put my left arm around her shoulders and ignored the flinch as I did so. I pulled her close.
"Cecile, look at me I'm still alive, aren't I? It got a bit close sure but I'm fine." I tried to calm her down. Predictably it didn't work.
"I-I made it so Suzaku would be safe if he faced you again but then Sir Guildford demanded I make some for his Knightmare too and I… I couldn't say no, he's a noble and…" She spoke faster and faster, I could recognise the hyperventilation coming from a mile away.
"Shh... It's fine, there was nothing you could've done. I'd much rather you not get court martialled because of some idiotic noble and his vendetta." I whispered as I held her close.
She was reacting even worse than I had anticipated. That bastard Knight. I hadn't even been angry he had tried to kill me, that was expected, normal. But he had apparently pressured Cecile too. Damn him, if he was still somehow alive, I would make sure he would regret being born.
There were no tears in her eyes, but they looked wet, like she was barely holding the tears back. I felt like I was forced to comfort way too many crying women these days. It was only two, but that was already way too much for me.
"Cecile, I will never ask you to ever risk your own life and well-being for me. If your superiors ask you to do something that will harm me, do it. I can take care of myself." I whispered to her.
"I could've warned you…" She mumbled. It wouldn't matter, even if she warned me, I would have to act like I didn't know right until the last second or they would suspect a mole. Cecile wouldn't be able to handle that kind of heat.
"You could've, but then they might get suspicious." A thought occurred to me as I said that.
"I'll get you a burner phone, with my work phone's number in it." I continued after a moment of hesitation. Cecile's wet eyes turned towards me with confusion. "If you ever worry about my wellbeing, you can send me a text from there. Don't explain much with your texts, just a warning and only do it in emergency situations."
She nodded rapidly. "I- Taylor… Please, be more careful. If something I made ever killed, you… I couldn't live with myself." Though her tone was soft and gentle the words made me internally grimace. I would always be careful that was how I operated but I couldn't just stay behind, let others do what is needed and not risk myself, it went against my nature.
Instead of telling her what I truly felt I lied. "Of course. Now come on, let's go wash your face. We're almost at the island and Lloyd would be insufferable if he saw how red your eyes are."
Cacile laughed. I smiled and led her off the deck. We disappeared inside with one last look at that island. An ominous feeling followed me inside.
Princess Euphemia a Dreamer
My steps echoed through the confined halls of my sister's G1 land-cruiser in sync with my retinue of newly established Royal Guard. They were reliable men and woman, well trained and their skills verified by Suzaku, to whom their attitudes had also functioned to determine who was suitable and who was going to get a dead-end post in a garrison.
Naturally I didn't base my selection progress solely on their attitude towards honoraries or skill as combatants. That would've been exactly the kind of thing that would have made Nelly scold me. I also made sure to secure their loyalty, either by saving them from difficult legal situations -corrupt nobles were ever the source of desperate, exceptional commoners- or by providing their families with help.
Still, loyalty was such a fickle thing… Gratefulness would only last so long and I lacked both the reputation to make fear an effective method of control and the disposition to use such a distasteful and risky method. I would leave that to my less caring siblings.
So I would have to earn their loyalty the same way Cornelia did. With deeds. That very purpose was why I was currently inside the G1 along with a large contingent of Knightmares and mechanised infantry lying in wait for the Black Knights to come.
A large shipment of war materials had arrived from the homeland into Nagoya just this morning. Zero couldn't allow me to consolidate my gains and properly reinforce Area Eleven's army. So he would come to make sure I didn't get what I needed.
He undoubtably also knew just how important this shipment was. With the Homeland almost in civil war with many nobles whispering of rebellion it might just be the last bit of reinforcements Area Eleven would receive for a long while.
Zero couldn't let me have this, if he did, not only would I appear strong to the nobles with a bolstered military behind me I would also be able to have the resources to keep the Black Knights suppressed. If I could last long enough to implement enough reforms and stabilise the area, I could end his revolution with the Special Administrated Zones.
Still turning the entirety of Japan into a client state with a mixed local and Britannian leadership that I could still be viceroy of wasn't something that I could do over night. Not if I wanted it to succeed when scrutiny from the Homeland eventually came.
As I was walking through the hallways with thoughts of the future in my mind the shape of a wounded soldier being treated in the infirmary of the G1 appeared in my peripheral mission. I grimaced. I had rushed here directly and was forced to bring the wounded Glaston Knights with me instead of offloading them in a military hospital.
I wasn't my sister; I couldn't easily replicate her abilities on the battlefield and had to rely on trickery along with the competence of my own subordinates. Specifically Suzaku. Still the ambush I had organized for the Black Knights had been successful even if it had a grave cost. Most of the elite Glaston Knights lay dead or wounded with General Darlton and Sir Guilford both wounded heavily.
It had made my political position more secure now that the only people that could officially dispute my right to authority were disposed of for the foreseeable future, but the many incompetent nobles of the area were still out for blood.
My reputation had been bolstered with my broadcasted victory against the Black Knights, but the nobles weren't convinced yet and the reputation of General Darlton, which had stymied many of the complaints of the nobility, was now gone. I needed more victories to bolster my own reputation.
Hopefully I could keep my current track record up once Zero came. But I was under no illusion that Zero wouldn't anticipate me and the small army I had brought along. He would be ready to face me this time, maybe not directly but instead with a plan to somehow destroy the shipment.
I couldn't know. That was the crux of the matter I couldn't guess Zero's moves. He thrived in chaos and knew well how to create said chaos. My only weapon against that was to set the battlefield carefully.
My retinue and I arrived at the command centre, and I stepped in without a word. The slightest noise of my boots on the floor alerted the officers inside and I was greeted by crisp salutes by men at least fifteen years my senior.
I surveyed their faces; I could see the barest hint of displeasure or irritation on a few of their faces. They must've thought that it was shameful to be led by a girl not even twenty years of age in a dress. A military uniform would've helped align them to me, but if I did that the nobility would think I was imitating my sister. They would see weakness.
So a practical magenta dress with white accents that reached to my knees with proper combat boots and a short, purple half cape hung by a brooch in the shape of the li Britannia emblem would have to do. It was a sterner persona than what I usually wore but it was necessary for the image I wanted to craft.
To the people of Area Eleven and the nobility of the Homeland I had to be a stateswoman, one that had a firm but generous hand and had the military capability that reminded them she was the sister of the General Cornelia Li Britannia.
"At ease. Are all units in their positions?" I asked as I walked to the table with the digital map of the surrounding countryside on it. Five Officers joined me around it.
A Colonel in his late thirties answered me readily. "The 182nd and the 147th Knightmare battalions have taken place along the sides overlooking the old highway to the northeast as you've ordered your highness. The 231st and 392nd Mechanised Infantry battalions are also awaiting orders near the river; they have prepared emplacements in case the enemy forgoes the bridges and tries to cross directly. The 283rd Knightmare battalion and the Special Research Division's Knightmare are awaiting orders along with the Carrier-Battleship Lucius Verus and her Battle Group."
Perfect. The main feasible way for Zero to near the Freighters was closed, the city was already secure, and any other avenue would alert us long before he could take advantage of the weaker lines there.
I could force him into a field battle so long as he thought I would intercept him closer to the settlement. Out in the open stuck between the see and Mount Fuji he couldn't take advantage of my lack of tactical knowledge. Then again better to be careful.
"Order the 283rd Knightmare battalion to move behind the river. They will remain as reserves." I ordered with a firm voice. A communications officer immediately began transmitting my orders to Lieutenant Colonel Earl Herrington. An unexpected ally I had found inside the military.
I trusted him enough to act fast and decisively, he and his men would serve well as emergency reinforcements.
I ran my gaze over the silent officers around me. "Do you not have advice to give me?" I asked with a cold tone. The officers around me broke into a cold sweat. Cornelia's staff they might be, but they failed Royalty once already by letting my sister get captured. If they also disappointed me, their lives would be forfeit, or at least they would've been had I been like most of my half-siblings.
A few tense seconds passed and finally a particularly brave Colonel managed to gather his wits enough to finally speak. "It might be prudent to place the Special Research Division's Knightmare near the eastern flank to support the 182nd , your Highness!" He said with equal parts discipline and worry.
I took a contemplative stance. An act naturally. I had guessed they would suggest that it simply made sense to put Suzaku near the tip of the spear especially since almost no one knew his identity. He would easily get people to follow his orders so long as they believed him Britannian.
Suzaku had an accent that sounded oddly like nobility when he spoke English. I expected it was due to him learning it from Lelouch when they were younger. From what he told me It had caused him quite a lot of grief in the army but now it was to his advantage.
I didn't want to risk Suzaku much but now that another had also suggested, I couldn't ignore the benefits of having him be the tip of my spear.
It was both tactically and politically advantageous. A good showing by Suzaku would earn him the hearts of the soldiers and nobles.
I nodded at the Colonel. "Very well." I said and turned to the communications officer from before.
"Establish a line to the Lancelot." I ordered somewhat meaninglessly, I could've done much the same myself with the controls on the map. Still, it was good to get them used to following my commands without question. Seconds later Suzaku's voice came from the Map.
"Yes, your Highness?" Suzaku's eager voice brought a smile to my face though I couldn't see him. Where normally the pilot's face should've been a text that read 'Sound Only' stood. I had ordered him to hide his face for now.
His identity still wasn't public knowledge with only the few officers currently inside the room and maybe a few more knowing his identity. I didn't worry for a leak, after all who would believe that the skilled pilot of the Lancelot was an 'Eleven'?
Bleh… Even just the thought tasted like ash in my mouth. Even if the extreme discrimination was a disgrace to not just our nations of sentimentality of 'might is right' but also to my own sensibilities it was still useful to me.
Though eventually I would reveal his identity when it suited me the most.
"Warrant Officer Kururugi, please move to sector E-7 and support the 182nd Knightmare battalion. I will personally order you when necessary." I ordered with a somewhat neutral tone, or rather as much of one I could make when talking to Suzaku.
"Yes, your Highness!" Suzaku cried from his Knightmare. I was forced to hide a longing smile as he disconnected. I began going over the possible moves Zero might make. So I was drawn into my thoughts when a communications officer alerted me.
"Princess Euphemia, Black Knights Knightmares spotted on the highway. We count thirty-five Modified Glasgows but no sign of Zero or the red Knightmare!"
Hmm… My gaze flicked out the armoured glass of the G1. The mostly flat terrain restrained by the sea on one side and the Fuji administrative Zone on the other. Zero liked to use the terrain in unpredictable ways, even Mount Fuji itself could become a devastating stratagem in mere seconds.
"The 182nd and 147th will hold positions. Call for a surveillance mission over the mountains from the Lucius Verus." I ordered. I should've called for constant air patrol the moment the ship got here, now I had to act carefully to keep my flanks secure.
"Yes, your Highne-!" The officer tried to reply but was cut off by another.
"The 182nd and 147th are under long range fire! They report heavy casualties!" The interrupting officer screamed in shock.
So Zero was making his opening move. "Show me whatever's firing at them." I said. With a flicker of the screen a window appeared with shaky camera footage of Second Pacific War Era Tanks situated within a field hidden among tall grass. Their gunners fired and the camera went wild for a second as the Knightmare it was on struggled to avoid what seemed like a monsoon of shrapnel.
"That is…" An officer muttered from next to me and I turned towards him. He took the queue to speak.
"Ahem… Those seem to be airburst munitions, your Highness. We had sought to develop them for our IFV's and still in service Tanks, but it wasn't feasible for them to be effective against Knightmares unless they were fired from large bore howitzers. The elevens seem to have found a way, the cunning savages that they are."
I subconsciously tallied an infraction for derogatory attitude to that officer as I took in what he said. Problematic, those tanks were outside the range of the weapons our Knightmares carried. The 182nd and 147th weren't equipped with Sattel Waffen missile launchers and the cannons they carried weren't guaranteed to put those tanks out.
"How long until close air support can arrive from the Lucius Verus?" I asked at the communications officer I had told to relay my orders a minute before.
"At least three minutes, your Highness." He replied without missing a beat.
I didn't have much of a choice, the mechanised infantry had SPA with them, I had made sure they did. But those guns wouldn't be penetrating the armour of a tank anytime soon without a direct hit. The tanks would have to stay totally still for that to happen. So not anytime soon.
Only a single path was open. Suzaku would have to carve through them. "Get me a line to the Lancelot and order the 182nd to follow him and push towards the incoming Knightmares. The 147th shall pull back to the river."
As the command centre began to descend into controlled chaos, I went over my battle plan. The 147th should be able to avoid receiving more damage from the shelling once they got further away. And Suzaku could pierce through the incoming Knightmares and seek out the enemy Tanks while the 182nd took care of them with their superior numbers.
My gaze flicked to the screen as the window that showed Suzaku was listening showed up. "Warrant Officer Kururugi the location of the source of the Bombardment has been transmitted to your Knightmare. Pierce through the incoming Knightmares and eliminate the enemy Tank company. The 182nd will follow you to clear the approaching Knightmares. You may command them as you wish."
Suzaku's voice came crisply back. "It will be done, your Highness." The window disappeared just like it had appeared.
I heard a few of the officers begin whispering at the prospect that an honorary Britannian would be allowed to order knights around. Their indignance at such a simple prospect that nobles -even lower ones like knights- could be ordered around by what they considered their lesser infuriated me, but I would let them whisper.
None dared to act against me. Now that I had established myself as a Royal willing to use their authority, they wouldn't risk going against my orders. Especially when no one other than them even knew that Suzaku was an Honorary Britannian. They simply didn't have the political capital to oppose me.
I disregarded them for now, I would deal with them in time, I had something more pressing.
My gaze roamed over the map watching my troops move as they were commanded with Suzaku rushing ahead. The enemy Knightmares prepared to engage him and scattered into a loose formation. It was meaningless, Suzaku passed through them only destroying two of them that had been on his path.
As he did so the continuous barrage from the Tanks, that had torn through the numbers of the 182nd, stopped and shortly restarted now aimed solely against him. My heart felt like it would rip itself out my chest every time I saw a flash come from the distant barrels of the Tanks.
The Lancelot's cockpit armour could most likely resist one of those air burst shells, but more conventional ammunition, that was mixed in with them, would tear through the Lancelot. And that was without even considering the 20mm shells that also began pouring out from the Tanks as Suzaku neared.
I forcefully tore my eyes from the feeds that showed Suzaku and turned back to the wider battle. The 182nd had just now caught up to the incoming Knightmares that had been forced to choose between chasing Suzaku and opening their flank to the Sutherlands or facing the Sutherlands and allowing their support to be annihilated.
I had forced the decision. I expected them to be annihilated but the Black Knights often defied expectations. Even outnumbered -not that they were all that outnumbered now that the 182nd had lost almost a third of their numbers- they could still spill their share of blood and somehow retreat.
Without any warning three ear splitting explosions burst out from river and reverberated even into the G1. I made to shout for a report, but a dutiful officer acted faster than me.
"Three IED's were just detonated along the bridges on the river. Access has been cut off! Black Knights units are descending from the mountain!" The screen flickered and camera footage of Zero along with almost all the Black Knights' new units except for the one piloted by the woman with supernatural powers along with sixty more conventional Knightmares.
Murmurs rose among the command staff. I heard one of them utter "Battalion strength?!". I clicked my tongue. The 147th was effectively stuck on the other side of the river, the barricades, and emplacements we had crafted would hinder their crossing of the fast-flowing river.
What once was a perfectly defensible position was now hindering us because Zero had somehow managed to sneak an entire battalion of Knightmares into the Fuji administrative district! Just how? It couldn't be the cooperators, they didn't have the authority to control the districts borders. It must've been traitors.
Damn it. Think Euphemia, think! What could I even do now? The 283rd might be able to stall them long enough for the mechanised infantry to pin them but could I even trust that? "Order the 283rd to engage and make sure the infantry supports them. The Black Knights are outnumbered they can hold." I said but only got silence in return.
With a quirk of my brow I looked at the communications officer, who oversaw the 231st and 392nd. I saw fear and resignation in his eyes as he turned towards me and took his headset off.
"Your Highness… We've lost communications with the 231st and 392nd mechanised infantry battalions along with the 283rd and most of our forces in the city have also gone dark. We suspect they are being jammed with multiple sweep jammers."
At his words my hands tightened on the edges of the digital map. "Is there anything you can do to restore communications?" I asked.
"Laser communication should be possible but the officers there would have to set up receivers, it might not be possible so suddenly. We could also use the standard response and try to get messages through that way, but it could take even longer." I nodded gravely at the officer.
My eyes flicked to the map. The 182nd were still busy fighting against the Black Knights… No they weren't just still busy, they were losing! How? They had better equipment, real training, and an advantageous position!
The Black Knights had taken heavy casualties, but ours were even more severe! I had expected the Black Knights to miraculously retreat or something like that. Not tear through the 182nd! Thankfully Suzaku had dealt with the tanks and was free to intervene now.
"Do what you can to reconnect us. Order the 147th to return and try crossing the river."
But now what to do? I have even less options than before. But I needed to halt their advance. Oh! Of course. I could do that; it was an expensive solution but the only one available.
"Arm three of the G1's Cruise Missiles and launch three of them at sector A-3." I ordered sternly. Yet still met protests.
"Your Highness it is barely five kilometres and merely a battalion, it would be a waste! Surely our men can ho-" A Colonel began to say but I cut in before he could finish his words.
"Do as you are told! I pay for those Cruise Missiles. In fact I have paid for twenty-five of them to be manufactured and brought into Area 11. Can you guess where they are? If we lose this battle, we will lose far more than a paltry sum of three missiles." I said as coldly as I could.
Worried about the cost of cruise missiles, as if they mattered against Black Knights. Where would we even use them against a group of hit and run fighters? The cities and mountains they hid in? The ones that also fuelled the Area's economy?
I bit back my frustration filled comment and watched as my orders were fulfilled. A window popped up on the map asking for confirmation of the launch and I pressed the button on the table. Three 'fsssssshhhh FUUUuuu' sounds rattled my entire body shortly after and three streaks of light and smoke launched vertically from my command centre.
The Black Knights, who had been busy mulching through the infantry brigades with their guns suddenly broke their charging formation and scattered upon seeing the missiles. They must've been surprised to see the long-range strategic weapons deployed like this.
The ones too slow to react were engulfed by the explosions and shrapnel of the very expensive missiles. I would've felt remorse for money wasted had that number been one or two Knightmares but the charred remains of at least a dozen KMFs littering the craters left behind brought a soft smile to my face.
This… This was the way to fight Zero. He could predict conventional tactics and logic perfectly; he was simply better at warfare than I was. But tactics that made minimal sense and those that seemed almost irrational were not so easily predicted. I had to fight his carefully managed chaos with actual chaos.
I took another glance at the map. Suzaku had returned to deal with the original wave of Knightmares and had broken their ranks just now. Those Black Knights held for a long time especially against Suzaku, were they specifically meant to face him? But why not send the Red Knightmare with them then? Questions for later.
As my men behind the riverbank began finally putting up some resistance against the Black Knights, they outnumbered at least two to one I connected to Suzaku's radio.
"Warrant Officer Kururugi do not chase the stragglers of the Black Knights return to the river and cross it. Your mission is to engage the main force of the Black Knights and to capture or eliminate Zero. If the commanding officers of the 182nd are not available, the battalion is under you command."
A few calming breaths came from the other side before Suzaku answered me. "Yes, Your highness." He said simply. I wish he would talk more, but appearing too close at this point would be disastrous for both of us. He understood that. I wish he didn't, then I could pretend that I didn't as well…
I put the thoughts of an easier reality away. I could daydream later, now I had terrorists to crush and men to lead. A flicker from the surface radar on the corner of the map attracted my attention and I looked upon it.
It was the planes from the Lucius Verus, a full strike package of them. Thank God, the captain must've bolstered the surveillance force with close air support. They were only a minute away now. Their AWAC's radar began transmitting to the G1 and the map that once only covered the battlefield I was commanding over expanded to cover the city as well.
My eyes widened once I saw what the map showed me. There were enemy signatures in the city. In the port, right near the freighters. My hands clenched so hard the aluminium casing of the map table began creaking. Zero had out played me and managed to get some of his forces into the city, the jamming must've been to hide them.
My forces in the city itself were already descending upon them from all sides, but they could still wreak havoc if I left them be. Just where had they come from though? All sides of the city remained secure. A blip appeared on the radar for the briefest of seconds and disappeared, it didn't show on the map itself.
Something was hiding there. "Get me a visual feed to G-2 now!" An obedient officer projected the image from the AWACS to my map without hesitation. A dark-navy coloured whale-like form appeared on screen right next to the freighters. That must be a submarine. It had a bay open, and a bridge extended to the shore. Looks like it was also the source of those Knightmares.
The freighters themselves were in bad shape but not yet unrecoverable. I still grimaced, that was already a lot of material gone.
I glared at the submarine. "Launch two Cruise missiles at that things position." I ordered.
Seconds later two more missiles were launched at the press of a button. With smoke and fire the two missiles arced towards the submarine. Right as the two missiles began curving downwards four smaller missiles emerged from one of the sections on the whale-like submarine's back.
They streaked up towards the two and two slammed into each detonating them in the air. Missile interceptors. But they couldn't have too many of those left.
Two jets separated from the strike package heading this way and began rushing towards the submarine. Good. I won't have to waste missiles overwhelming the sub's defences then.
Another peak at the map showed me that the Black Knights in the city had stopped fighting and were returning to their submarine. We must've scared them off. I grimaced as they took potshots at the freighters as they evacuated.
Thankfully the freighters and some of their cargo still looked usable. Not ideal though, I might've lost more than half of those supplies. Supplies I desperately needed to keep the Area under control as I implemented my reforms. I clenched my teeth in silent fury as I glared at the submarine that after retrieving its cargo had begun diving into the ocean.
It would be the Royal Navy's job to hunt them down now.
I diverted my attention back to the main battle; Suzaku had almost arrived with the 182nd straggling behind him but the 147th and 283rd battalions were broken, and the Black Knights had begun to retreat. No! Damn it I can't just let them get away!
My hands unconsciously thumbed over the controls to contact Suzaku. If I urged him on, he would surely be able to push through and maybe even capture Zero. But could I take that risk?
The answer was no, I couldn't. Not that I would get the chance to, because I had forgotten one simple thing. Suzaku, once unleashed, was ravenous. Dedicated and valued his own life remarkably little.
So I was forced to watch with my mouth hanging open as Suzaku dived into the ranks of the Black Knights without any concern for himself. He was more than just outnumbered, whatever allies he did have had either fallen back to regroup or were lagging far behind him.
Yet Suzaku tore through the modified Glasgows of the Black Knights. Any Black Knight that stood between him and Zero he bashed, kicked, ripped apart, or simply cut through with his vibration swords. It was awe inspiring, my eyes trailed him as he danced through their fire and felled my foes to reach Zero.
"Record that." I found myself saying.
"Excuse me, your Highness?" An officer asked.
I repeated my order a bit firmer this time. "Record the Lancelot, that is prime footage right there." My voice said but my mind was only partially there, most of it was still dedicatedly watching my Knight rip my enemies apart. A smile was growing on my face, I could feel it.
I forced it down into a neutral expression. It would do me no good to smile like a loon here.
Right as Suzaku was about to cut the limbs of another KMF off the red Knightmare darted in and fired its Slash Harken at Suzaku. Zero must've sent her for damage control. The other four experimental frames darted in behind it. Suzaku did not back down. I knew I should order him to, it was the sensible decision. The smart one.
Yet I did not want to. Some irrational part of me demanded I see him fight.
The other Black Knights backed off to continue the retreat and to retrieve their comrades who had ejected.
I didn't much care. My eyes were stuck on the five Knightmares that had now formed up around him and Suzaku. I could see that they were talking to each other, Suzaku was making gestures at them with the Lancelot pointing his swords at each of them accusingly.
Oh, how I knew he was just spewing his ideology, accusing them as if he was some righteous fairy tale knight. It was wonderful, corny, almost childish. This love I felt for him came from all of that.
I knew how his ideals had been shattered then remade, how determined he was to follow through on his promises and how despite all of that he still had the courage to lecture his opponents on morality on the battlefield. Or should it be called naïveté? Zero and the other Black Knights were escaping using this distraction after all.
I laughed internally as Suzaku and the five Knightmares engaged in combat. Naïve? Yes, Suzaku was naïve. But he knew he was foolish and naïve, so he found a way to make up for it. By finding me, so that I could be cunning and ruthless for him. My hands moved to paint a target on a certain Knightmare for the aircraft to hit.
As Suzaku and the elites of the Black Knights duelled the strike package from the Lucius Verus descended onto the clearly marked Knightmare of Zero. This time I let the smile fully bloom on my face.
Checkmate, Zero.
The Aircraft fired their guns and missiles onto the Knightmare. And for a split second I believed I had done it, that I had killed Zero. Then in front of my very eyes a Knightmare close to Zero pushed Zero away. The Knightmare that pushed him got annihilated by the barrage, there was no ejection. I saw Zero turn back to gaze at the Knightmare that had taken the shot for him.
I imagined him shocked and furious. Seconds later a barrage of shells came from the retreating Knightmares and perforated the strike package, the few aircraft, that were not shot down, were forced to break off rather than return for a second gun run.
I watched with curiosity as Zero tenderly extracted the battered cockpit from the downed Knightmare and cradled it as he kept going. That savage glee I had felt suddenly left me and I was stuck staring at that odd sign of humanity from Zero. My previous enthusiasm for victory that had nearly consumed me whole was gone, it had turned into ash.
The thought that Zero could be so human had never occurred to me, I had only seen a manipulator and my sister's kidnapper. I had never paid his true character much thought, merely thinking his righteous acts were all an act he used to control his forces and gather support. But… was there something true behind it? Had I just glimpsed it?
The question of Zero's true character ate away at me.
I diverted my eyes from the back of Zero's Knightmare and instead checked on Suzaku. He was doing as well as could be expected but hadn't managed to inflict much damage other than cutting the arm of one of the four light green KMF's off.
I couldn't blame him, that red Knightmare and its devicer was clearly an even match for him and the other Knightmares taking potshots at him was wearing him down. I connected to Suzaku's Knightmare with a heavy heart.
"Warrant Officer Kururugi, pull back. It is meaningless to chase anymore." I said calmly.
"Huh?" A surprised noise came from Suzaku as he instinctively backed off from his opponent.
"We don't have the forces to support you and the Black Knights have mostly retreated. It is meaningless to fight any longer. Extract yourself from your opponents and return."
A moment of hesitation later Suzaku answered.
"Understood, your Highness." He sounded displeased, he must've been eager to keep fighting. Odd, I'll ask him when he comes back. But for now… I surveyed the sheer destruction wrought on by the battle.
For now I'll have to get this all cleaned up and deal with the aftermath.
I took in the crisp and clean island air as Cecile, and I stepped out from the motorboat and onto the makeshift dock. Lloyd was waiting further up ahead and waving at us in his usual calm-but-eager manner. With a soft chuckle we began approaching him and paid no mind to the dozens of armed soldiers all around us.
It was only partially nerve wracking. Soothed by the sheer amount of bugs within my currently rapidly expanding range. Once we were finally close enough for Lloyd to at least pretend he cared for the rules of etiquette he began speaking.
"Oh you to are finally, finally, finally here! Come, we have so much to do, the quicker we get this done the quicker I can get back to working on something interesting!" He spoke rapidly as he began striding deeper into the jungle without a care in the world.
Cecile muttered something beneath her breath, and I strained to hear it. "Looks like he needs a refresher on etiquette." She whispered and I felt a shiver go down my spine at her tone. Looks like she still controlled Lloyd the way she used to.
We followed Lloyd as he led us through a short trail towards the ruins that he wanted me to look at. The presence of soldiers waned as further into the island we went and eventually when we finally came upon what looked like the ordinary entrance of a cave between two cliffs only a perimeter guard with a few Knightmares was left.
There were still some technicians that were currently setting up some cables that led into the cave, but I couldn't feel anyone inside the cave itself.
Lloyd walked with hurry towards the mouth of the cave, and Cecile and I followed him in. Pristine ruins greeted us. There was a chamber made from stone inside. It looked like a temple carved from a solid piece of rock. There were no bricks or anything really, the entire thing looked like it was one solid piece. Even the Greek style pillars were carved from the same rock as the rest of the chamber with only the walls of the entrance looking like natural cave formations.
It was uncanny, not natural, not fitting in with the rest of the world. Reinforcing that feeling of wrongness was just how well it had been preserved. Sure there was dust coating the entire thing and the stone looked dirty in a way that only something left out in the open could, but the stone itself was not weathered, it looked solid and smooth. There were no chips, no cracks. it was as if the entire thing had been constructed yesterday and painted to look old.
If it hadn't been for the thing that stood directly in the centre of the chamber's far wall, I could've been convinced that it was all a fake. But the more than ten-metre-tall wall of what looked like some odd silvery-stone material painted in a kaleidoscope of colours didn't look man made. It was colourful and made of a material I had never seen before with symbols carved onto its surface.
A small pyramid made of a similar material also with symbols all over its surface stood right in front of it for some unknown purpose.
"Weird, isn't it?" Asked Lloyd from the side as he slowly walked to the thing that had all those cables coming in from the outside hooked up to it, namely a massive Knightmare large enough to easily tower over any other frame.
I passed by the awestruck Cecile as she took in the odd construct on the far wall and walked towards Lloyd as he began working on a laptop connected to the large Knightmare.
"So? Why did you want me here?" I asked.
He didn't look up from his work as he answered me. "Well, mostly to know if you knew what this thing was. It would've made calibrating the Gawain's Druid System a whole lot easier if I knew what I was looking for with this thing." I raised at how he willingly gave up information for a supposedly top-secret project.
"Am I supposed to know about this Gawain and it's Druid System?" I said sarcastically and he looked up to me nonchalantly.
"No, but it doesn't really matter. More importantly, do you actually know anything about the weird 'Thought Elevator' thing?" I internally sighed at how uncaring Lloyd was that he was giving up possibly classified military secrets and took another look at the construct.
I got an odd sense of danger from it but other than that only one thing really stood out.
"That symbol in the middle of it looks like the Black Knights symbol. Other than that nothing really stands out." I replied with a sigh.
Lloyd gave me an unimpressed look as if to say 'that's all?'. Just because I had superpowers didn't mean I was going to know about every weird thing in the world.
"I mean that's odd that the Black Knights share the religious symbol of an ancient civilization but Zero might've just seen it before and thought it fitting. I can't really convince Prince Schneizel to let me go with just that." I gave him a shrug of the shoulders. Not much I could do either.
"So what exactly is the Druid System and what are you looking for here?" Though my question was directed at Lloyd it was Cecile who answered me.
"The Druid System is an experimental fire control and support system meant to process information from Factspheres. It can also measure energy fluctuations and predict what is happening to said energy. It can't see everything, but we made sure to include a whole lot of spectrums when designing it." Huh, impressive. But wouldn't that be better served in a command vehicle instead of a Knightmare?
I took a glance at Lloyd and how insufferably smug he looked and remembered that he had what might as well have been a fetish for Knightmares. I felt like rubbing my temples at his sheer unrepentant favouritism for KMFs.
"So you want to poke it and see what happens?" I asked with a deadpan.
Lloyd beamed at me. "Exactly! And Cecile and you are going to help me poke it."
Well… at least it was something interesting. Our first battery of test begun, and we only got minimal results. We tried heat, electricity, magnetic forces, radiation and even a bit of blunt impact but none of it got any reaction at all. No… It would be mistaken to say that. We got a result, a singular one.
Whatever we threw at the pyramid reacted like it would with any normal material, if a particularly sturdy one. But when we did anything to the actual gate like construct it simply absorbed the energy and funnelled it somewhere. It also felt remarkably cold to the touch, and we confirmed with the Druid System that it was actively absorbing heat and funnelling it somewhere, yet the chamber didn't feel any colder than the outside.
"Maybe it's a portal?" I mused out loud and drew both Cecile and Lloyds attention.
"What do you mean?" Cecile asked. I began pacing around our small set up.
"What if the Thought Elevator is actually something like an elevator? What if it leads somewhere?" I put forth.
Cecile looked contemplative but Lloyd didn't seem to agree.
"Oh? But there is nothing it's connected to, we've checked."
"Does it have to be connected in a way we or our instruments can measure? It could be operating on principles we have never discovered." I explained.
"Like your powers do." Cecile said from the side.
I nodded at her. "Exactly."
Lloyd looked annoyed that we might not have had the right tools for the job. I predicted that he was annoyed at the hours wasted.
He sighed deeply. "Well unless we can find a way to prove that to Prince Schneizel, we'll have to come back every day for God knows how long. I just can't allow that! I have so much to do!" He exclaimed with woe.
I couldn't hold back a smile at his antics. Nonetheless we kept working.
It was as we were rapidly running out of ideas on figuring out just how the damned thing functioned when suddenly I felt a jolt. I flinched violently and Cecile turned to me in concern. She said something but I couldn't hear.
Instead I saw something. Something staring at the other side of the Thought Elevator. It was reaching towards me. I needed to reach back.
My feet carried me gingerly towards the Thought Elevator. Cecile tried to grab onto me, but I easily dodged her. Didn't she see how close we were now? Just a touch was all I needed. I stepped away from Lloyd's attempt to hold on to me and simply laid my hands on the cool silvery-stone material of the gate.
A red glow filled the carvings on it as if it was water running through a canal. It bathed the entire room in a red light and the ground shook as if an earthquake had spontaneously manifested.
"Now… what's this? Cecile, you're recording this, right? This might just get me out of this place!" I heard Lloyd shout.
"This is really not the time!" Cecile shouted back. But I saw her fiddle with what looked like our array of fact spheres from the side.
I didn't care. My hand came off the Thought Elevator and I took a few careful steps back. Suddenly realisation set in. What was that? What did I just do?
I didn't have the time to really take in what I had just done daze the gate in front of me disappeared in a flash of red light and two things appeared beyond the 'gate' that the Thought Elevator had formed. One a cloudy world bathed in golden light that had nothing but open space with clouds above and underneath that seemed to serve as the ground and the sky. I was glad I didn't have a fear of heights, that was a long drop downwards.
What was decidedly more terrifying yet also oddly calming and reassuring was the almost mountain sized 'face' that was staring into my soul with its eight azure orbs. There looked like there was supposed to be one more of those eyes but its socket -If you could even call the twisting turning hole full of something blacker than darkness that- was suspiciously empty.
It wasn't some kind of battle damage; I knew because I could see where battle damage existed. Along the absurdly large snake like body of the creature… No, creature was not right. Along the body of the thing I knew was my Passenger there were scorch marks and places where the form of the body was marred, yet before my very eyes those wound regenerated or were simply unmade as if they had never existed to begin with.
Every second wounds closed and the marks along its body numbered less and less.
My Passenger stared at me. I stared at it. Its body suddenly changed, the black formless texture with veins of blueish energy running underneath turned into chitin like scales and limbs emerged from all over, thousand of them. One of them shaped almost like a moth's antenna reached towards me.
I could feel my Passenger. It's… joy, relief… They were all so clear now. It felt right, not like during Gold Morning back when we had forced a square shape to fit into a one dimensional hole. This time the pieces fit just right, harmony. At least for a second.
The moment was broken, I flinched back but stayed on my feet. I gazed at the unnatural antenna like limb that was reaching towards me by bending the space between us. I decide to reach back by my own will.
My hand touched the fuzzy antenna like appendage that was as thick as a Knightmare's torso. And then it all went black.
An: Hello, thank you for reading this larger than normal chapter and hope you enjoyed.
Anyways, a lot happened in this chapter. Kallen is feeling guilty she almost failed than almost failed again when the Aircraft damn near ended Zero, who survived solely due to a heroic Black Knight who gave their lives for him. More on that later…
Euphemia also got the time to shine here despite technically losing the Battle and getting grievous losses she also bitt back really hard. So now both sides of the rebellion in Area 11 are severely weakened which will surely not have terrible consequences.
Also Taylor got to spend some happy fun times with QA. By that I mean they basically communed.
Again, hope you enjoyed. Please review and see you in two weeks.