Chapter 4
The Difference of Conviction
Lelouch regarded the resistance fighters arrayed before him. Most were men, with the only two women being the one inside the downed knightmare and another fiddling with the chemical weapon, likely trying to disarm it. That she was still working despite the rest of her compatriots gaping blankly at Lelouch spoke well of her mental fortitude. Perhaps she might be available for recruitment after the current affair was settled.
"Feel free to continue disarming the weapon," Lelouch said, causing the woman to pause only briefly. "As I said, I also desire the neutralization of the weapon."
The resistance fighters exchanged nervous glances, clearly still unsure as to whether Lelouch could be believed. Finally one of them, a man with a distinctive afro-like puff of hair stepped forward.
"You say you're a cardinal of Eden Vital," he said in accented but clearly understandable English. "But you were also a Britannian prince. Which one are we talking to here?"
Lelouch tilted his head. "I renounced all secular ties when I received my vestments. I am here because the Empire has committed grave errors in its handling of the occupation of Japan. While I will not ask you to consider me some friend to the various liberation movements, I am here to at least try and keep more people from dying needlessly. And right now, that means disarming that chemical weapon, which if it goes off, would kill countless Japanese civilians in the Shinjuku ghettos."
Everything that Lelouch said was rational and made sense. The cardinal was not making some ludicrous claim such as sympathy for their goal of freeing Japan, that would have gotten him laughed in his face. At the same time, Eden Vital really had offered a lifeline to the many people impoverished by the Britannian invasion and subsequent occupation, and not without some risk to their own personnel. There was a period when, after the initial shock of defeat wore off, the Order's facilities had been attacked by outraged Japanese. Eden Vital could have pulled out entirely, but beyond making some security improvements, they stayed put. And as the help they offered became ever more critical, an unspoken truce had emerged between the Order and the various Japanese resistance movements. Eden Vital might still be considered Britannian and thus tainted by association, but most Japanese were prepared to admit the Order was not to blame for their current predicament.
While this tolerance gave Eden Vital a bit more leeway and credibility when it made certain claims, there were still limits to how much the Order was trusted. Lelouch's claim was well beyond those limits, but the reputation his organization enjoyed did not at least lead to an outright dismissal.
"If you are so interested in having that weapon disarmed, then you should have just let us get away and finish what we started," Kallen said over the Glasgow's external speaker.
"Had completing the task been within solely your means, that might have been an option," Lelouch said. "What chance do you stand however against the entirety of Clovis' royal guard, along with whatever Purists he might be able to rally?"
Quite a few grimaces appeared and hisses sounded. The resistance fighters were not idiots, and even if they were prepared to give their lives for their cause, that was still not the same as having an outright death wish.
"What are you suggesting then?" Kallen asked.
"I have most of a platoon of Honorary Britannians waiting at the entrance to the tunnel," Lelouch said. "You may consider them to be traitors, but they are still your fellow Japanese, and of those soldiers I can quickly call upon, the least likely to wish for further harm upon the ghetto's residents. Allow them, and my personal retinue, to augment your forces to buy you time to disarm the weapon." The cardinal tilted his head. "I presume your concern is the remote detonator, hence why you are hiding in this tunnel in the first place?"
A frown crossed the afro-headed man's face. "How do you know about that?"
"One of the survivors you left at the production facility was very helpful in informing me about the salient points," Lelouch said. "I left two squads along with one of my retainers to prevent any attempts to destroy the remaining evidence."
The wording there was highly suggestive.
"And we're expected to believe a Britannian court will care about evidence?" Ohgi spoke what all his compatriots thought.
"That the laws have not seen proper enforcement by the occupational authorities does not mean they do not exist," Lelouch responded. "The dereliction to duty and honor that has become endemic to the units stationed in Japan has also not gone unnoticed by the rest of Britannia. My presence here is testament to that fact. I am here to set right that which has gone wrong, to the fullest degree." The cardinal held Ohgi's gaze. "Britannia is signatory to the international agreements that outlawed the production, stockpiling, and usage of chemical weapons. Those restrictions are further encoded within not only civil law, but also military law. Whomever is found to have violated those laws will be made to answer for their crimes, be they prince or pauper. And if my brother is indeed complicit in this travesty, I will see the sentence carried out by my own hands if necessary."
That certainly got the resistance fighters' attention, though from the uncertain looks they clearly still did not know if Lelouch was being honest.
"You would kill your own brother?" Kallen asked, zooming in as much as the Glasgow's camera would allow.
Lelouch looked over in her direction. "With the heaviest of hearts."
That, Kallen found she believed. Not necessarily that the cardinal would be capable of executing his own brother, or that he would see the guilty properly called to account. But the fact that Lelouch did not want to do it, and would be greatly torn if forced to, that Kallen could hear the sincerity of in the youth's voice. And if he could be honest about that, perhaps he genuinely meant everything else as well. Kallen made her decision, or rather her gamble. She popped open the Glasgow's cockpit.
"Kouzuki!?" Ohgi cried out, obviously worried at her revealing her identity.
Kallen herself however felt remarkably calm about her choice. Considering she had started this day fully prepared to die, and die in a rather excruciating fashion considering the nature of the toxin they were trying to neutralize, this seemed far less difficult a choice to make. She rose, letting Lelouch get a good look at her, and was rewarded with a look of genuine surprise. Kallen gave a smirk.
"We meet again, Your Eminence."
"So we do," Lelouch responded, then cracked a wry smile of his own. "This would be the second time you have surprised me, Lady Stadtfeld." He tilted his head. "Or would you prefer Kouzuki-san?"
"Stadtfeld is fine," Kallen said as she hopped down. "You're not really getting the annunciation quite right with my other name."
"If you say so," Lelouch said. "I take it then our encounter during the ball was you testing the waters, to see if I might be of aid in dealing with the clandestine Sarin stockpile."
"More or less," Kallen confirmed.
Lelouch cocked his head slightly. "Arguably all this would have gone a lot more smoothly if we had managed to trust each other back then."
"Do you really think that was possible back then?" Kallen asked. "Me, trusting you about a secret Britannian plot to poison thousands of my people with Sarin. And you, trusting me on a matter that might see your brother executed."
"A fair summation," Lelouch said. "We may not have been able to come to a mutual understanding that night, but may I presume your open admittance of your, extracurriculars, to indicate that that might be possible today?"
Kallen glanced over at Ohgi and the man gave a slow, clearly reluctant nod. But he did at least nod.
"For now," Kallen said. "You can call in your troops, but they stay far away enough that we can be sure they won't try to rush us."
"Fair enough," Lelouch said, then spoke into his radio. "Sergeant, I have come to an arrangement with the insurgents. You are to move in with your squad and establish a defensive line to protect the weapon while it is disarmed, but remain sufficiently far as to not appear overtly threatening. Do you copy?"
"We copy, Your Eminence," the static washed but still understandable response came. "Moving in now."
"Huntress," Lelouch said next, "position yourself at the foremost defensive perimeter."
"Roger," the girlish voice sounded from the big hulking knightmare as it turned about.
"And maintain proper radio discipline, please," Lelouch said with a sigh.
"You got it boss!" came the answer in the clear again.
The look of resignation caused a few chuckles to ripple about, though Kallen felt a quirk of curiosity peek up.
"So all of your retainers are also soldiers?" she inquired.
"They serve in whatever capacity is required," Lelouch said.
"Then that means those knightmares are Eden Vital machines," Kallen noted.
Lelouch regarded Kallen with an opaque expression, then opened his mouth.
"Kouzuki. A Japanese surname, I presume. And seeing as your father is openly acknowledged to be the Viscount Stadtfeld, that would probably make it your mother's surname."
Kallen's eyes narrowed even as she picked up on the implicit message. Both sides clearly still had secrets they were not yet prepared to divulge to the other, not yet at least. Interesting though that the cardinal would choose that particular comparison to make. He had to suspect it would be a very touchy subject for Kallen, liable to set her off if put too crassly. Was that the other part of the message, that Eden Vital's possession of outright weapons of war was just as sensitive a topic from his side?
"What are you after, Lelouch Lameperouge?" Kallen asked with forthright bluntness.
For some reason Lelouch flashed a roguish, almost dashing smile. Kallen's heart did not flutter, she was absolutely certain of that.
"Why don't you try and find out, Kallen Stadtfeld-Kouzuki?"
Thus far carrying out the cardinal's orders had been straightforward enough for Jeremiah and his company. Anyone with any sense wanted out of the Shinjuku ghettos to get away from the fighting, and no one was terribly eager to try to get in. As Lelouch had commanded that fleeing civilians were to be permitted passage, all Jeremiah and the others really needed to do was stand there and not get in their way. Equally wisely, the Japanese civilians took one look at the red colored pauldrons on these particular knightmares and gave them a very wide berth. In the past, such evident fear would have made Jeremiah proud as a clear sign of the Elevens recognizing their place. Here, he was forced to seriously reflect on just what that pride even meant. Not that this very moment was an especially good time to do so.
The array of troops and knightmares now advancing upon Jeremiah's position should have offered the colonel some sense of reassurance. They after all wore the colors of not only the Prince Clovis' royal guard, but also countless other regular units whose red armbands and shoulders marked them as fellow Purists. Then there was the massive purple colored land cruiser behind it all. Its presence could only portend one thing, that Prince Clovis had personally taken to the field. Instead Jeremiah felt only a gnawing pit at the bottom of his stomach from the sight.
So far the other three platoons that were part of the rapid reaction force remained obedient to his commands, but for how much longer that would last when faced with such an authoritative display of force Jeremiah could not begin to guess. Under any other circumstances he would have had full confidence in the loyalty of his subordinates. Now, as loathe as he was to admit it, he strongly suspected that at least half, if not more, of them would turn the moment the opportunity arose. Like now. The advancing soldiers came to a halt and a slight feedback crackled from the speakers mounted on the command cruiser.
"Colonel Gottwald," Clovis' voice sounded loud and far. "You and your forces are hereby ordered to stand aside and assist in the purge of the insurrectionist elements within the Shinjuku ghetto."
That decree had carried far enough that the even the civilians fleeing in the distance could hear it. Jeremiah did not even need to look in their direction to know that the pace of their retreat had quickened into a nearly panicked rout. Something told the margrave if there were to be casualties caused by a mass stampede, the cardinal would find ample cause to be displeasured with him. Odd how he had never bothered to consider such things in the past. Jeremiah turned on his own unit's loudspeakers.
"Your Highness, I must refuse."
For a brief moment, it seemed as if the entire world had frozen. The crowds in the distance gapped at the standoff, the soldiers arrayed before Jeremiah went stiff as if in shock, even the whine of motors from the knightmares disappeared. It was strange, despite being the one to speak those worlds, Jeremiah almost felt as if he were an outside observer watching all this. As if it was not really him doing any of it. Somehow that allowed him to assume a calm poise as he continued speaking.
"His Eminence the Cardinal Lamperouge has invoked secundus with the appropriate authentication, and as such his authority supersedes your own. He has ordered that the Shinjuku perimeter be locked down, with no one allowed entry without his express permission, and for the civilian population to be permitted to evacuate." Jeremiah took a deep breath. "I am sorry, Your Highness, but I must refuse you entry until such time as His Eminence either grants you permission or rescinds his order."
Or the emperor himself countermands Lelouch, but everyone here knew that was not likely to happen. Charles would not have given Lelouch the necessary codes for secundus if he did not implicitly trust in the cardinal's judgment and discretion. Further implicit in all this was that he trusted Lelouch over Clovis. Whereas the infantry standing before Jeremiah previously looked a bit confused, now a nervous tension was definitely permeating across their ranks.
Secundus was not invoked lightly, and they were starting to realize that they were about to get drawn into a potential scrap between two imperial scions, one with the emperor's confidence, and apparently one lacking in it. That changed the calculus of this situation dramatically, as mere numbers were no longer the determining factor in who would win. For even if they did make it out alive, imperial sanction could still fall upon them if they could be demonstrated to have acted against a secundus order. The only real chance they had of not just winning but also surviving would be to eliminate anyone of standing that might report back to the emperor of what had happened. And that meant not just fighting Jeremiah and his immediate command, but also going after the cardinal himself. But that was a rather high risk ask, and as loathe as Jeremiah's troops might be to fight Clovis' guard and their fellow Purists, the regular troops standing against them were probably equally if not even more reluctant to get into a fight with the cardinal.
"I fear my brother's judgment has been compromised by the stresses of encountering this unfortunate terrorist attack while touring the Shinjuku district," Clovis finally responded. "It is my heartfelt wish to reach him quickly, so that he may be returned to the safety of the Concessions and this terrible misunderstanding can be resolved."
Whereas in the past Jeremiah might have let Clovis' seeming show of concern move him, there was one major incongruity that nagged at the margrave now. Few though his encounters with the cardinal had been, what little opportunities he had to interact with Lelouch had instilled within him a firm belief in the young man's resolve. There may be something out there that might cause Lelouch to crack, but whatever had happened in the ghettos was not it.
"The soundness of His Eminence's judgment is not for you to decide, Your Highness," Jeremiah thusly responded. "Especially as his possession of the secundus codes are indicative of His Majesty's faith in that judgment. As such I cannot stand aside, regardless of your personal sentiment on this matter. If you are to attempt entry nonetheless, I am afraid I will have no choice to be stop you with all the means at my disposal."
It was unthinkable for a mere colonel, even a margrave, to be defying an imperial prince like this. The only way Jeremiah could describe what he was currently feeling was surreal. But what was happening now was very much real, as were the consequences.
"I regret to hear that, Colonel," Clovis said, possibly sincerely, but just as likely for show. "You leave me with no choice. I am hereby relieving you of your command. Captain Nu, you know my orders. Dispatch your forces to go save my brother, and I will see your loyal serve rewarded to the fullest of my authority."
Despite himself, Jeremiah flinched. This was the moment of truth, to see whether those that followed him truly had faith in him and the cardinal. Whether he would die alone, or amongst brothers and sisters in arms.
"I regret to inform you, Your Highness," Villetta's voice crackled over just the radio, and also from the Eden Vital knightmare's speakers, to Jeremiah's surprise, "that your orders have been superseded by that of his Eminence. As such I cannot abandon my current post, and must also inform you that any attempt to enter the Shinjuku district by your forces will be met with lethal force."
Incredulity, that was the first feeling Jeremiah recognized. Relief too, that despite the risks, at least one of the officers he had placed such faith in was returning that faith in full in his own great time of need. They might still not live through this fiasco, but things did not seem nearly as hopeless.
While Jeremiah had no way of knowing, it would not have surprised the margrave in the least that Clovis was feeling the exact opposite of him. The possibility that Lelouch might get Jeremiah to roll over had been accounted for, seeing his past history with the cardinal's mother. But that defiance could be played to the prince's advantage, if the rest of Jeremiah's officers could be convinced to quickly change sides. That way the colonel could be shown to be in the minority, and therefore in the wrong, when it came to judging the validity of Lelouch's invocation of secundus.
The risk of course was the possibility that those officers would not roll over easily or quickly. It would only take one to side with Jeremiah, and the situation would shift drastically into not that of Clovis trying to retrieve his misguided younger brother from danger, but to a genuine schism between two imperial scions that threatened to boil into open conflict. To allow even a hint of that to be spread amongst the troops could prove fatal to Clovis' own credibility. That was why of the three platoon commanders, the prince had chosen one whose dedication to the Purist cause was supposed to have been the firmest, and one whose publicly known ambition for advancement should have enticed her to accept Clovis' implied reward. That she would hold faith in Jeremiah, and in Lelouch instead, was a major miscalculation on Clovis' part, and on Bartley's for recommending she be the one to be approached. Arguably not the first, and one would see if it was to be the last. And to top it all off, Villetta's defiance was announced loud and clear for all of the soldiers here to see. No response came, at least not one audible to the soldiers holding position. That was not to say that nothing was happening, however.
"Colonel, Captain Soresi's platoon is moving out of position," Lucretia informed Jeremiah over a private channel. "May I presume you did not issue him any orders to that effect?"
Jeremiah grimaced. Of course just because one of his subordinates decided to side with him did not mean all the others would make similar such choices. Still, he had to at least try to stop Kewell from breaking ranks.
"Kewell, return to your position immediately," Jeremiah ordered, making sure to tie Lucretia into the channel.
"I'm not sure I understand the order, Colonel," Kewell responded. "My unit is still in position."
Before Jeremiah could entirely process that, Lucretia cut in.
"That is a complete lie, Captain," the woman said. "I am currently monitoring your movements and your platoon has deserted its post in defiance of His Eminence's orders to advance into the district."
Jeremiah grimaced. A part of him was angry at the captain for the choice he made, but that part also understood the pragmatism involved. Continuing to follow the cardinal's orders was contingent on having enough faith in Lelouch. For Jeremiah, that faith was an extension of his own personal loyalties to the deceased Empress Marianne. He could not expect the others to share in this faith, as much as he might have wished. Another part however was stung at the blatant deceit Kewell had attempted, to just outright lie to Jeremiah like this. The margrave had considered the younger captain more than just a fellow Purebood, but also a friend. Surely he was owed enough that even if the two ended on opposite sides, Kewell would at least be honest about it.
"I'm sorry Colonel," Kewell finally responded. "There is too much at stake here. For the sake of the Empire's purity, we cannot allow the cardinal to have his way."
That was not quite the sort of honesty Jeremiah would have liked, but at least now there was no doubt.
"Colonel, may I presume that Captain Soresi can now be considered as acting in mutiny in defiance of his lawful superiors?" Lucretia asked.
The margrave's jaw tightened, but he answered without hesitation. "You may."
"Thank you, Colonel. Mordred, you are free to engage."
Jeremiah blinked. There was someone else on the channel?
"Roger," a soft feminine voice responded.
Off in the distance a single boom sounded, marking the discharge of a very large cannon. Panicked screams cried out over the radio before being abruptly cut off and Jeremiah could see two transponders from Kewell's platoon go dark, including that of the captain himself. Whoever or whatever this Mordred was, it had taken out two knightmares with just one shot. The explosions however seemed to be the last straw for the jittery soldiers. While it was a certainty that it was one of the infantry Clovis brought with him that fired the first shot, which soldier it was exactly would likely remain a mystery for the ages. The effect however was near instantaneous as the knights accompanying Jeremiah responded as their training dictated when they came under fire, they responded in kind.
Being sort of in the open, Alice was tied into the communications net with Lucretia and Mordred and so knew the moment things went to hell. Her fellow sister in battle was also able to provide detailed localizations of the engaged forces, despite coming under withering fire herself. From that information, Alice could see one of the other knightmare platoons ostensibly under the margrave's command also abandon their post. While they did not have Sancia available to plot their probably destination, what with the concrete tunnel interfering with radio communications, the general vector of their movements made it clear pretty quickly that they were headed for the weapons factory.
"Lieutenant, we have incoming," Alice announced to the Britannian officer. "Single platoon of knightmares. I will engage, but some may still get through to strike at the factory."
"We don't have a lot of AP, but we should still be able to neutralize one or two of them," the lieutenant responded. "We've got your back, Sister Alice."
"And I have yours," Alice responded.
She might not be as charismatic as her liege, but the girl had learned a thing or two during her service. Pushing her knightmare forth, Alice maneuvered to intercept the enemy platoon. With the streets effectively emptied of civilians, they would likely hear her approach well before either side caught sight of each other. Alice drew the longsword strapped to her knightmare's back. In an urban environment like this, there was ample cover that would allow her to close in to gut her opponents. Getting mixed in at melee range would also make it harder for the other knightmares to shoot at her without causing friendly fire. Even with her augmentations, four on one was not necessarily a cakewalk.
The enemy was now clearly aware of her presence, having shifted from their landspinners to plodding along on their two legs. Each knightmare covered an angle of approach as they advanced, just like a normal infantry fireteam would. Such diligence should have assured them plenty of warning regardless of where the enemy appeared. Alice's solution to this problem was to not give them time to make use of that warning. The knightmare facing her came to a stop and leveled its gun, while the others began to turn their machines around to do the same.
A metallic crunch sounded and the enemy knightmares shifted about in confusion. One of their number however slumped over, a large sword jutting out its back. The blade had not punched through the cockpit, so the pilot was likely still alive, but the frame was clearly out of commission. Alice did not have access to the platoon level comms of the opposing knightmares, so she could not hear the cries of shock and bewilderment. Their hurried efforts to respond to Alice's attack was the focus of the girl's attention. Yanking her sword free, Alice shifted her knightmare to circle about out of their line of fire. The frame's movements were a flash, too quick for the other knights to track using anything but intuition. Intuition however was only so if it was right, and the way the three turned in differing directions, at least one of them was not being struck by intuition. Another crunch sounded. He was being struck instead by a big slab of tungsten carbide.
The cut on the second knightmare was not quite as clean, aiming when moving at near supersonic speeds being just a bit tricky. The containment on the frame's power supply failed spectacularly and the mech exploded, killing its unfortunate pilot and splattering the others with metal wreckage. That wreckage also forced Alice to fall back at a merely mortal pace, running headlong into small bits of metal floating in the air was only going to get her own knightmare perforated if she was not careful. The GX-01 might be heavily reinforced to handle the stresses that came from projecting a pilot's geass, but there were still limits to how far it could be pushed.
"DAMN YOUUU!" one of the remaining knights actually took the time to scream at Alice using his frame's loudspeakers.
It was a wasted effort, and expending it instead in trying to shoot Alice might have yielded some actual results. Instead by the time the two knightmares opened fire, Alice's own frame was far away enough that the girl could activate her geass once more and beat a very hasty retreat. She ducked behind another building and came to a stop, breathing heavily. Hissing could also be heard as her knightmare dealt with the thermal buildup that resulted in moving so quickly. She would likely need a few minutes before she could employ her geass again. Still, the platoon was down to half strength, and damaged at that thanks to that last explosion. Not bad for someone outnumbered four to one.
The gunfire from the other knightmares' guns stopped and Alice chanced a peek around the corner. Both survivors were making a break for it, but still headed towards the weapons factory. Alice sighed. Some people just did not know when to give up.
"Lieutenant, two knightmares down, but the other two are headed your way."
"Copy that, Sister. We're ready."
Alice certainly hoped so, but she was not going to leave those soldiers to fend for themselves. She got her knightmare moving again, chasing after the enemy on her landspinners. The opposing knights quickly noticed her return and one spun around, spraying rifle fire in her direction. None of the shots were even close, but only because Alice maneuvered to evade. That kept her from closing further, while also allowing the two knightmares to keep charging. They would soon come upon the factory, and Alice did not doubt they would try to destroy as much of it as possible to hide the existence of the chemical weapons manufacturing.
A pair of rockets suddenly streaked forward. The lead knightmare swerved out of the way, but his partner, partially turned to harangue Alice, ate one squarely in the leg. The limb cracked, throwing the frame wildly off balance and the mech was sent crashing into a building at high speed. Even if the pilot survived, there was little chance of him getting his mech working again to continue the fight. The sole surviving enemy knight did not take the attack laying down however and opened fire, blowing through the meager cover the infantry had tried to dig in behind. Screams sounded and blood splashed onto the pavement. If there was a saving grace, it was that the rounds fired were armor piercing instead of dedicated anti-infantry, so more soldiers had likely gotten hurt from the shattered barriers than the rounds themselves.
Alice lunged forward, her eyes glowing briefly the moment she triggered her geass once more. The knightmare ahead of her would not be getting off a second salvo, not on her watch. Her frame slammed into mech in front, the force of the impact actually caving in the cockpit jutting out its back. The crunch of metal was accompanied by the much softer crunch of bone and flesh. Alice's own landing was far from graceful, her overtaxed knightmare rolling and even bouncing a bit before landing heavily on the road. She however was still alive, and would live to fight another day. The same could not be said for many others however, on both sides.
Lucretia coughed, not from any smoke or dust leaking into her cockpit, but from simple exhaustion. The moment the two sides began exchanging fire, any illusions of control evaporated completely and immediately. Prince Clovis' royal guard had only a single platoon of knightmares, the machines being rather expensive to maintain and imperial scions being granted a strictly limited amount of funds with which to outfit their guards with, so at least on that front the two sides had been equal. The infantry on the other hand could have turned into a decisive edge against Jeremiah's unit, had they been given time to rally and maneuver. That was why it was absolutely critical that they not be given the opportunity, so while Jeremiah and his other knights engaged their counterparts, Lucretia had proceeded to massacre the ground pounders as quickly as possible. And a massacre it was.
Due to her usually being paired with Sancia and the cardinal, Lucretia's GX-01 was a more rounded model than Dalque or Alice's more specialized versions to allow her to better defend herself and her liege against attackers. That meant her frame was equipped with the standard complement of ranged weapons, along with a selection of armor piercing or high explosive shells for use as appropriate. Lucretia had already switched over to HE rounds when Clovis' forces first showed up, and her opening shots were aimed squarely at the largest clusters of infantry instead of the enemy knightmares. The resulting drop in enemy contacts on her sensors indicated the lethal effectiveness of her decision, and likely contributed significantly to breaking the infantry as a coherent formation the moment the fighting started.
Thanks to her geass, Lucretia had been able to detect any attempt by the infantry to rally or flank them. She was not always able to immediately act upon that information, but neither were the infantry ever able to recover the initiative. A few minutes into the fight and the streets were strewn with broken and bloodied bodies, even as Lucretia played keep away with the enemy knightmares. Even so, it had still been a close thing, and Clovis' knights might still have won out had Anya not arrived to back them up. The heavy, lumbering knightmare was not the most nimble on its feet, but it mounted the heaviest firepower amongst all of the frames Lelouch's retinue piloted. The moment it entered the fray, the enemy knightmares went from the hunters to the prey. Combined with Anya's much heavier armor, the weapons they themselves wielded could only hope to damage the giant knightmare if at extreme close range. Getting in that far was made decidedly nontrivial as Jeremiah and the other surviving knight of the platoon formed up to guard the girl's flanks.
Clovis' knights could have arguably made a break for it, either to penetrate into the into the ghettos to reach the other targets. But doing so would have left the command cruiser hideously vulnerable, which in turn thanks to the prince's presence also meant exposing their liege to a very real risk of being killed. Of course Lucretia had strict orders to try to take Clovis alive, but the prince's guard would have no way of knowing that, and would still have resisted anyway. In the end though it all became moot, as one final valiant charge was quickly ended by a barrage from Anya's main gun and Lucretia completed the grim task of breaking the infantry company. Not all its members were dead, some were merely wounded and might even survive should they receive prompt medical care. That did not make the task feel any lighter.
"Cartographer," Alice's voice broke in over the radio, "I've neutralized a platoon of knightmares that tried to make a run on the chemical weapons plant. My own frame suffered from significant wear in the process, so I won't be able to boost in it."
"Acknowledged, Zephyr," Lucretia said. "Mordred, were you able to take out all the knightmares in the platoon you engaged? I lost track of them when I had to shift focus to this fight."
"Negative," Anya responded. "I was able to disable three, but one managed to slip away and I couldn't catch up. I had no idea where he ran off to, so I doubled back to you when I heard the fighting start."
Lucretia's eyes widened, and so did the range of her inner sight as she activated her geass. Nothing, at least within what her vision granted.
"Zephyr, any further contacts at your location?"
"None."
A very, very bad feeling started swelling in Lucretia's stomach.
"Legate, Abacus, Huntress, does anyone read me?"
Only the hiss of static answered. Lucretia cursed and immediately deployed her landspinners.
"Colonel, I am moving to His Eminence's last known location. Remain here with Sister Anya. Zephyr, as quickly as you are able, rendezvous with His Eminence!"
"Wha-what's going on!?" Jeremiah demanded.
Lucretia did not waste any time trying to explain however. Instead she focused the entirety of her concentration on scanning as far as she could, and prayed that it was not intuition that struck her.
An annoyed sounding string of Japanese emanated from the woman, Inoue, working to disarm the warhead. Lelouch glanced over at the private, one Suzaku Kururugi, for a translation. The soldier was the only one this close to the weapon, the rest of his squad deployed further away in accordance with Lelouch's agreement with Kallen. Suzaku gave a reluctant shrug.
"She's cursing whoever designed the remote detonation mechanism," the private nonetheless explained.
"Out to the tenth generation," Kallen provided further elucidation.
"I take it the device is that complicated?" Lelouch remarked.
"Inoue is the best electrical engineer we've got," Kallen said. "If she can't disarm the thing, then we're screwed."
"If need be we can try to perform a controlled detonation after dropping it into a body of water," Lelouch said. "That should neutralize the Sarin sufficiently to render it inert."
"Not a bad idea," Kallen said as she regarded Lelouch. Her lips thinned slightly. "So, what are you going to do about me after all this?"
"Is there something I should do?" Lelouch looked back at her.
Kallen snorted. "Don't play coy with me, Your Eminence. Now that you know I'm an insurgent, it's your job to try to bring me in. I can't say I won't miss some of the amenities of my current life, but I'm not going to cry over having to sleep on a harder bed or eat food that I was more used to as a child."
"My job is to actually try and halt the bloodletting happening in Japan," Lelouch said. "There are a variety of means to achieve this, and quite a few would allow for the amnesty and reintegration of insurgent fighters back into civil society. Indeed I would prefer for such approaches to succeed, as they offer the best, long term chances of ending the conflict once and for all."
"And you expect us to just roll over like that?" Kallen said incredulously. "And play along like good, obedient second-class citizens like Kururugi here?"
"I did what I thought was best," Suzaku defended himself. "I agree with His Eminence, if this fighting goes on more innocent people are going to die. If we can figure out some way to live with the Britannians, to work together, we can overcome our differences enough to establish mutual respect."
"And you think the Britannians will ever have reason to respect you when you're so willing to lick their boots?" Kallen snapped. "Is that all the son of our last prime minister is going to amount to?"
Suzaku started to open his mouth at the first bit, but left it dangling open at the second.
"What, you think I wouldn't recognize the name?" Kallen said with a slight sneer. "Kururugi Suzaku, the only son of Prime Minister Kururugi Genbu. It was quite the propaganda coup for the Britannians when you became an Honorary Britannian. Quite a few people decided to take the leap after hearing about that, thinking the Britannians were serious about uplifting anyone willing to swear the oath, even if it meant selling out their dignity. I wonder how many are regretting it now."
"Lady Stadtfeld," Lelouch said firmly. "I would ask that we keep this discussion civil and not resort to personal denigration."
Kallen regarded Lelouch with a stubborn sheen in her eyes, but after holding the cardinal's gaze for a few moments she snorted again.
"Fine."
"Thank you." Lelouch glanced over at Suzaku. "And private, let me handle the diplomatic niceties."
"Apologies, Your Eminence," Suzaku said.
Satisfied that the two would not go at each other's throats, even verbally, Lelouch looked back at Kallen.
"As to your point, I will not attempt to defend the indefensible. Britannia's handling of Japan has been atrocious and inept in the extreme. The Empire may have won the war, but that only imposes new responsibilities upon us, not absolve us of any further responsibility. Things must change if Japan is to ever know peace. And if that change entails granting full and equal recognition to Japan's native populace, then so be it."
Kallen stared at Lelouch. Suzaku was doing likewise. This was the first time either had heard any Britannian of significant standing suggesting that the Japanese might ever be considered anything beyond a second-class populace. Indeed the most any other Britannians seemed willing to concede was perhaps a bit more economic freedom. Political freedom, or at least freedom of participation, was never, ever on the table. Until now.
"Why the sudden change in tone?" Kallen asked, her tone dripping with suspicion. "Why should we believe this is anything more than a ploy to get us to drop our guard?"
"Because that would be a waste of time and effort," Lelouch said. "Trust is a coin hard won and easily squandered. Played right however, and trust can buy miracles."
The cardinal was if nothing else extremely frank. That could of course still be part of a ruse to deceive them, but based on his actions thus far Lelouch seemed at least somewhat true to his word. Still.
"You ask us to trust you," Kallen said, "but we still barely even know you. Or the organization that backs you. I mean, sure, we all know about Eden Vital and its charitable works, but come on." The girl pointed at the knightmare standing watch. "When you pop in here with knightmares to apparently belong to the Order, do you really expect us to not be somewhat suspicious?"
"A fair enough point," Lelouch conceded. "There are indeed many aspects of the Order that are kept secret from the general public. The duties that we uphold often require discretion in their execution. I will not ask you to believe my claims wholesale. I simply want to be able to talk, to have a channel through which I can communicate with the Japanese liberation movements. To understand your grievances, and to address those within my power. I won't pretend to be able to give you a free Japan, that is not within my remit and frankly will likely never be. But I can at least alleviate much of the suffering your people have to endure right now, and I might be able to do more with your help."
Suzaku looked back and forth between Kallen and Lelouch, a clearly hopeful glint in his eyes. Kallen on the other hand simply stood there meeting Lelouch's level gaze. She still could not shake off a certain wariness about the cardinal, but neither did her instincts yell at her to dismiss his words in their entirety. Maybe Lelouch was being completely honest about his intentions. Or maybe he just needed to be honest enough, that he could make things better. Not perfect, but better.
As Kallen contemplated all this, the radio at Lelouch's side suddenly crackled.
"Cardinal!? Sancia!? Dalque!?" a frantic sounding Lucretia called through the hiss of static, her desperation evident in her forgoing entirely their callsigns. "Can you hear me!?"
"We hear you, Cartographer," Lelouch responded. "What is the situation?"
"Hostile knightmare inbound to your location!" Lucretia started talking really, really fast. "Intent unknown, but part of Purists that disobeyed the colonel!"
Lelouch's eyes widened. "Acknowledged." Then much more loudly. "Incoming hostile, masks on now!"
Insurgents and soldiers alike quickly hurried to put on their gas masks, all but one.
"Inoue!"
"Chotto matte, mou sukoshi-"
A very loud pop cut the woman off, eliciting a pained cry. An even louder hiss sounded immediately after.
End of Chapter 4
Right. I did say last chapter that I was going to try to sequence events such that we'd end on a massive cliffhanger. It was a bit touch and go there, but I did it. Would this be a good time for me to go and work on my other stories? Their readers might be feeling a bit neglected what with all of you getting four chapters in basically two weeks. That's two chapters a week, which is sort of a ludicrous update rate and one I have no chance of maintaining.
So, in the time between the last chapter and finishing this one, I've worked out my intended pairings. And politics is definitely going to play a major part in those pairings. This is quite frankly the default, since even if Lelouch is no longer be a prince, he still moves at some of the highest echelons of Britannian society. Or is back to moving, I suppose. That means marriage is predominantly a political matter, about the sealing and strengthening of alliances and the continuation of a lineage, something that was the case even with Charles and Marianne's marriage. C.C. played matchmaker for the two for more than just purely altruistic reasons, as already indicated in the prologue when she talked about how Marianne effectively owed at least some of her children with Charles to Eden Vital, and with Marianne's death C.C. swooped right in to collect what she was due before there was any chance of her losing Lelouch and Nunnally to a follow-on attack. Yes, the nuances of this exchange are going to have significant ramifications that will get explored in later chapters.
Actual love between the husband and wife may be desirable for the mental stability of all involved, but it is most definitely a secondary consideration. There are times when the choice is going to be between duty or love. Anyone not strong enough to withstand the rigor of such demands, Lelouch is not going to let get emotionally close to him in the first place, as otherwise they'll just both get burned when his hand is forced. If it comes down to a choice between duty and love, the stakes are such that personal wants must take a backseat. That is the price of possessing power at the level Lelouch does. For him to act in any other way carries with it significant risk of causing catastrophic harm to way more people than just those immediately close to him. And in this timeline, Lelouch as a member of Eden Vital has been brought up with far greater awareness of the responsibility that comes with power than in the canon timeline where he was basically a refugee in hiding for much of his life.
Based on the above, at least one candidate from canon is clearly out of the running for any sort of relationship with Lelouch in my story. I'll leave it to my readers to guess or find out in future chapters.