Chapter 21
The Steppes of Notoriety
A tuff of light brown hair flayed about as the helmet was taken off. Taking a deep sigh, the young woman stepped off the motorcycle.
"Welcome back, Miporin," a cheerful voice called out.
Smiling, Miho looked up and waved to her coworker.
"Thanks, Saori-san. Any other deliveries for today?"
The girl with ginger-tinted hair shook her head. "No, that's everything that's scheduled to go out today. You can get some rest."
The Alright Courier Company that the two women worked for was perhaps the largest and most organized of the delivery services that had sprung up in the wake of the Britannian invasion and occupation, helping provide mail services for the Tokyo districts outside of the Britannian concession and otherwise neglected by the occupational authorities. It had been started by a group of friends that emigrated from the town of Oarai after the tsunami that devastated their home. Their original goal had been to make money and get supplies that they could send back to support their family and friends, but in the process they had morphed into something much, much larger.
"Nishizumi," a stern, no-nonsense voice called out, and heads turned toward another woman wearing a single-lens monocle. "The president has something to discuss with you."
"I'll be right there," Miho said, heading over to the locker to at least drop off her jacket and helmet.
A few minutes later, she knocked on the door leading to the main office.
"Excuse me," Miho said more out of habit than anything else as she entered.
"Oh, Nishizumi," a shortish woman with long pigtails waved with a cheerful smile. "Thanks for all your hard work."
Used to her boss' lackadaisical attitude as she was, Miho simply smiled back.
"So what did you need, President Kadotani?"
"Right," Anzu said, hopping up from her seat and holding out a piece of paper. "What do you make of this?"
Miho accepted the offered paper and glanced down. Her eyes widened.
"Where did these come from?"
"We X-rayed some of that suspicious set of packages that've been flowing through our network," Momo, the woman that summoned Miho originally, said, "the ones that seem to be headed towards Lake Kawaguchi in a rather roundabout manner, likely to obfuscate their origins and intended destination."
"Umm, I thought we were supposed to respect the confidentiality of our clients," Miho said wryly.
"And we do," Anzu said, "until it's liable to put us in the crosshairs of the Britannians. We don't need to give the Empire any reason to poke their noses in our operation, after all."
"I suppose so," Miho said, looking back down at the image. "These, they're definitely disassembled parts for the Howa Type 89 rifles."
"I thought so too," Anzu said, reaching into a bag of dried sweet potato and snacking away. "Lots of those floating around, or at least there used to be. Most resistance groups have switched over to M4s stolen from the Empire though."
Miho nodded. "You said there were a lot of packages like this one?"
"And not just flowing through our network," Momo said. "I've liaised with a few other resistance networks, and they're seeing movement of parts as far west as Kyoto."
Officially, the Alright Courier Company was a logistics and delivery service. Unofficially, it was one of the largest organized resistance networks in the Greater Tokyo Metropolitan Area, providing a sort of backbone infrastructure for quite a few other cells, including the one that ended up blowing wide open the Britannian sarin gas operation. Its number of active combat capable members might be fairly small compared to some of the other cells, but that was made up for with a few very nasty tricks up their sleeves, one of which was the main reason Miho herself was recruited.
The former Japanese Army lieutenant rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Depending on what shape these parts are in, there's probably only one resistance group that still has a large number of Type 89s ready for combat use."
"The Japanese Liberation Front," Momo declared.
Miho nodded. "And if they're headed towards Lake Kawaguchi, there's only one possible target they're after."
A sullen silence fell upon the room, broken a few moments later as a trash can was sent flying with a solid kick.
"Those imbeciles, what the hell are they think!?"
"Momo-chan, calm down," another woman, this one with her hair tied in a long ponytail, admonished her friend.
"Don't call me Momo!" came the reflexive response, then somewhat hypocritically. "Yuzu!
"Well, this is quite the pickle," Anzu said, ignoring her subordinate's antics. "What do you think, Nishizumi? Is the JLF really going to try to off the cardinal?"
"I don't know," Miho answered frankly. "I'd like to think they wouldn't do something that reckless, but after all these years, they might be getting desperate."
"Even though the cardinal is doing so much to help our people?" Yuzuko wondered aloud.
"That might be why they're desperate," Miho said. "If the cardinal keeps winning people over, the Japanese may no longer want to revolt and regain our own country. We might, well, be content to become Britannian."
"Hmm, I can certainly see that happening," Anzu said. "And it's not like we don't feel some sense of gratitude for the cardinal as well, seeing how much money he's pouring into the areas affected by the tsunami and meltdown. But does the JLF really think the Japanese people would be bought so cheaply?"
"Some of them might," Miho said, then more firmly. "But I don't think my sister would. And I don't think she'd be alone." She looked over at Momo. "How many weapons appear to be getting moved?"
"It's a rough estimate, but probably enough to arm a battalion," Momo answered.
"The JLF is supposed to have enough troops for about a division," Miho noted. "So that means only a portion of their numbers appear to be participating in this operation."
"Would it even make sense for them to send more?" Momo said, skepticism tinging her voice.
"Not for the attack on the conference itself," Miho said with a shake of her head. "But if the JLF as a whole really were intending to assassinate the cardinal, it'd almost certainly be part of a much wider strike. And we haven't seen any hints of that, right?"
"Not a peep," Yuzuko said.
"So you thinking this might be a rogue op?" Anzu asked.
"That's definitely possible," Miho said. "Or perhaps it's one that the JLF as a whole doesn't have much confidence in."
"Regardless, this is still a headache for the rest of us," Momo said. "So, what do we do, President?"
All eyes fell upon Anzu, who flashed a wide grin. "Well, seeing as we do owe the cardinal for helping our hometown, how about we give him a heads up?"
"But, how are we supposed to do that?" Yuzuko asked. "It's not like we can just go up to the viceroy's palace and knock on his front door."
The decision to basically sell out their fellow resistance fighters was made with remarkable little fuss or muss. But considering the changes of the past few months and just what this particular batch of insurgents were planning to do, it was something of a given that Anzu's cell would reach the conclusion they did. The Cardinal Lamperouge might be the emperor's appointed overseer for Japan, but he had held true to every word he gave and done right by and large for his Japanese subjects. Combined with his willingness to address the genuine injustices and inequalities their people suffered, and as Anzu mentioned, his energetic efforts to help the regions devastated by the tsunami and nuclear meltdown six years ago, the choice was remarkably easy to make.
"No, but we can do the next best thing," Anzu said. "So, you up for doing one more delivery today, Nishizumi?"
Despite not entirely knowing what Anzu had in mind, Miho gave a firm nod.
"Yes."
"I performed a thorough scan of the individuals whose signatures you provided me, Brother," Nunnally said. "There are definite indications of alterations to their data state."
Lelouch grimaced. "And it is as we suspect, the alterations are to their mnemonic records?"
A nod from Nunnally. "There might be a way to reconstruct the original records, but that would require connecting the affected minds to a thought elevator. Regardless of whether we would want to risk revealing their nature like that, the procedure itself is hardly foolproof, and there is a substantial risk that the person in question would not survive the attempt."
The conversation was taking place deep within the viceroy's palace, in one of the shielded chambers installed after Lelouch assumed office. In addition to being air gapped from the rest of the building's networks, the walls had been lined to create a faraday cage to further block out any electromagnetic signals.
"We will have to rely on what alternate records exist then to try to reconstruct what was altered," Lelouch said, then frowned thoughtfully. "At least in the case of Kirihara, it seems quite evident considerable effort was made to alter those memories involving the Chinese Federation's machinations in Japan prior to the invasion."
"You are certain of this?" Nunnally asked, not because she doubted her brother but more so that Lelouch would know there were gaps in Nunnally's own awareness that needed filling in.
"The captured records from the Japanese government make quite clear that Kirihara was heavily involved with negotiations over military aid from the Chinese," Lelouch did just that. "That he denied any intimate knowledge of it, and quite earnestly at that, makes pretty clear someone has indeed tampered with his memories." The cardinal regarded his sister. "The changes are only to the mnemonics, correct? There is not some outright alteration to the probability states."
"Definitely not," Nunnally shook her head. "There is no conceivable manner by which a geass might be able to alter already collapsed probability states. The amount of computation required to map such a state change is beyond even the capacity of all the thought elevators combined."
"Good," Lelouch said. "I would rather not have to deal with any temporal phenomenon on top of everything else."
Nunnally flashed her brother a smile of agreement.
"Now the issue is determining who was responsible," Lelouch said. "And we have no clue as to who this contractor might be?"
The girl shook her head again, her flowing hair swaying gently side to side. Unfortunately whatever manner of memory manipulation they perform also manages to obfuscate the entanglements that would normally have occurred as a result of personal contact, so I was not able to obtain a signature to perform any searches with." The girl herself frowned. "It is a rather, insidious, data modification."
"And Eden Vital's own regards do not list any contractor whose power might be capable of this feat?"
"They do not," Nunnally affirmed. "Whichever contractor is responsible is likely to have been one raised entirely by the heretics, or at least hidden from the rest of the Order. The last change made however was very recent, so there is a high likelihood that whoever was responsible is still physically in Japan."
The cardinal pursed his lips. "I might be able to obtain access to the JLF's records, see if they have an image or the like of the heretical contractor. In order to neutralize him, or her, or God forbid them, we certainly need to at least know who they are."
"On that we are agreed," Nunnally said.
"Can you estimate the strength of the data erosion?" Lelouch asked next.
"Nothing you need worry about," Nunnally said. "Kallen, might be able to resist it, if she is made aware of the need. The others however would likely be susceptible."
"Noted," Lelouch said.
At that point Nunnally grimaced and placed a hand against her forehead. Seeing that, Lelouch reached out to support her.
"You have been connected to Anya for long enough. Both of you need rest."
Nunnally smiled. "Give Anya my apologies and thanks. Goodnight, Brother."
With that Nunnally closed her eyes and her form faded away, leaving a limp Anya behind. The pink haired girl groaned as her eyes fluttered.
"You two talk too much," she complained.
Lelouch gave a dry chuckle as he cradled Anya in his arms to carry her. "Our apologies. Let's get you in bed."
Resting her head against Lelouch's chest, Anya made no protest.
"Hello?" Ohgi called out as he and Inoue entered the office.
"Yes, just a, oh, Ohgi-sensei!" Saori greeted. "It's been a while!"
Ohgi smiled. "That it has."
A few months, in fact. Ever since the Shinjuku Incident, Ohgi and the rest of his cell had intentionally avoided directly calling upon any of their resistance contacts at their bases whenever possible. With the authorities knowing exactly who they were, even assuming they took the cardinal at his word, the risk was too high that they might end up leading the Empire back to the others.
"I see that you're all working hard," Ohgi said.
"Well of course," Saori said with a wide smile, then more guardedly, "and I've heard you've also been quite busy, Ohgi-sensei."
"That I have," Ohgi said.
"Is Ohgi the only one you're going to greet?" Inoue said, flashing a cheeky grin.
"Of course not, Inoue-senpai," Saori said. "And, I'm glad to see you're okay."
"Well, mostly," Inoue adjusted her glasses.
While one lens was curved and clear to help compensate for her weakened vision in her right eye, the left was completely black to hide the physical damage that one had suffered. As odd as the asymmetry might have looked, it was still better than leaving her left eye visible.
"Still, it seems like you all have kept busy," Ohgi remarked.
Saori nodded. "Yes. Business has seen quite the uptick since the cardinal started implementing his reforms. There's even talk of integrating our services with the official Britannian postal service."
Some additional subtext there, since it was more than Alright's public courier service that Saori was hinting might reach some sort of accommodation with the Britannians. As odd as it might have seemed, despite getting into the resistance business after Ohgi and Naoto, the girls from Oarai had managed to grow their own network much more quickly to ultimately become top dog amongst the cells operating in the Tokyo metropolitan area. Ohgi felt a wistful sense of pride at seeing what his former students had achieved. While he had only instructed them for one year before everything went to hell, he still remembered those days fondly.
"Speaking of official Britannian business, is Anzu-san in? I have a message for her."
"Oh, let me check," Saori responded, walking back to her desk and picking up the phone. After exchanging a few words, she put it down and nodded. "The president can see you now, so please, follow me."
In the past, Ohgi would have simply been waved through and told to find his way to Anzu's office himself. That he now warranted an escort indicated the Oarai girls were fully cognizant of their teacher's change in status. Even so, they were still prepared to lend him an ear, which was more than good enough.
"My thanks," Ohgi said as he and Inoue moved to follow Saori.
They passed through a set of familiar hallways and finally into an office that overlooked the main garage that housed many of Alright's motorcycles and trucks. It was not the largest garage the company maintained, but it was the largest that outsiders might ever get a peek at.
"Yo, Ohgi-sensei, it's good to see you," Anzu said with her usual lackadaisical manner. "Take a load off."
"It's good to see you as well," Ohgi said as he and Inoue sat down.
"So, I take it you're here on business?" Anzu said. "Not sure what you're in the market for that we could actually get you these days though."
Another subtle indication, that even if Ohgi was held in some regard by the girls here, they needed to watch their own back.
"Business, but on behalf of others," Ohgi said, reaching into his jacket and taking out a rosary with a stylized, curved cross instead of a straight t-shaped one.
Anzu's eyes narrowed, then a smirk crossed her face. "Never pegged you for playing errand boy for someone else. That tends to be our job."
"These days I spend more time running errands than getting my own hands dirty," Ohgi said with a wry smile of his own, before his expression flattened. "Eden Vital's examined the x-rays you gave them and agree that it's likely indicative of a major attack in the works. They're wondering to what extent your bringing this to their attention indicates a shift in the resistance movement's general posture."
"Umm, for now, it's just a one-off," Anzu said. "Don't get me wrong, we'd prefer if this attack failed, but that's just because we know things'll just go back to the way they were if the cardinal got whacked. We're certainly not at a point where we'd consider getting out of the business ourselves."
"I see," Ohgi said, taking a deep breath. "The cardinal seems to have a plan that'll deal with this attack, though I don't exactly have much in the way of details. From what I've been told though, I suspect the cardinal is going to let the attack itself occur, and use it as a chance to curb stomp the JLF faction behind it."
"Mighty daring of him," Anzu remarked.
"From everything I've seen, the cardinal is not short of daring," Ohgi remarked, recalling how Lelouch had shown himself down in the tunnels to convince them he was serious about talking. "Still, this attack happening, regardless of whether it succeeds or fails, will have some consequences. As such, the Order is requesting that you do what you can to sit on the other cells so that no one tries anything stupid at the time."
"That we can probably do," Anzu agreed readily enough.
Ohgi let out a relieved sigh, causing Anzu to chuckle.
"You're still as high-strung as ever, Ohgi-sensei."
The man in question cracked a weary smile. "When all of my students are working so hard, it's difficult to keep pace."
"I see, I see," Anzu said with a knowing nod. "By the way, how is your own work going these days? Surely you're not just running errands for Eden Vital?"
Surely they were not merely lackies for the Britannian authorities, in other words.
"I've mostly been helping the neighborhood rebuild," Ohgi said frankly. "With construction supplies easier to get, there's been a lot of repairs that we're finally able to do." The man chuckled dryly. "Some people are even calling me the district foreman."
"So long as you're keeping busy," Anzu said, then glanced over at Inoue.
"I'm still at Keio," Inoue said with a shrug. "I might not have depth perception anymore, but I can still tell one crossed wire from another. And with the funding the hospital's getting, all of us are getting a consistent salary too."
"Oh, is that why you haven't dropped by to moonlight?" Anzu said.
That was hardly the only reason, seeing as there would have been the question of whether Inoue would have been trusted to perform some of the more sensitive maintenance that Alright previously tapped her for.
"Something like that," Inoue said, then tilted her head. "Why, you girls having trouble?"
A sly smile crossed Anzu's face. "If you could spare the time, one of our big rigs is having some electrical problems. We'd pay you, of course, for the trouble."
Ohgi let out another sigh, while Inoue simply nodded. It seemed that both were still trusted as fellow members of the resistance, despite the relative difference in distance each side had with the Britannian authorities.
"Then let's not waste any time," Inoue said as she rose. "I'm sure you and Ohgi have plenty to chat about while I go take a look."
"Sounds good to me," Anzu said, then called out. "Kawashima! Take Inoue down into the sublevel garage, she's going to help Nishizumi with some maintenance."
"Understood, President," Momo said as she opened the door. "This way."
Trusted, but still watched. But that was fine as well.
"I take it you girls have been busy as well?" Inoue asked as the two headed down.
"There've been weeks where I thought we really wouldn't be able to keep up," Momo said with a weary sigh. "We've even brought on some new workers from Oarai, but the orders keep piling on. I know I shouldn't complain about business being so good, but I could really use a vacation."
Inoue chuckled. "Well, just try to make sure your break isn't because of something as dramatic as mine."
That saw Momo cast a guilty glance at Inoue. "I'm sorry we couldn't have backed you up that day. If we'd been there…"
"It's alright. All things considered, things turned out way better than we had any right to expect." Inoue tapped her left temple. "And this was a fair price to pay for getting rid of the gas and setting our people on the path for a better tomorrow."
To that Momo stopped and bowed deeply. "For which we are eternally grateful. If you ever need anything, Inoue-senpai, you have but to ask."
Inoue gave a gentle smile. "Your consideration is appreciated."
The exchange complete, Momo took out a key and unlocked the door. When they passed through, the two were met with the sight of a girl with shoulder length hair hefting an assault rifle.
"Kawashima-senpai," the woman greeted.
"Keep up the good work, Akiyama."
The reason for the armed guard became evident as the sight of four tanks came into view. Each one was painted in a green and brown stripped camouflage pattern, which arguably was not terribly useful in an urban environment, but there had not yet been need to remedy that. Together, these four tanks represented the steel fist hidden under the silken glove of the Alright Courier Company.
"Oh, Inoue-senpai," a cheerful voice called out. "It's been a while."
Inoue smiled in greeting. "The same to you, Nishizumi-san."
While the Alright company was responsible for maintaining these tanks, the one that arguably owned them, insomuch as any private citizen could own a tank, was one Miho Nishizumi. As a cadet in the Japanese National Defense Academy, Miho had been selected to participate in the evaluation of the prototype Type 10 tanks. The Type 10 had been intended as a next generation main battle tank for the Japanese Army, but testing was still in progress when the war started. With the war rapidly turning against Japan, Miho and her compatriots were ordered to withdraw further west with their vehicles, but had been caught in transit in Tokyo when the city was attacked. Recognizing that a single additional platoon would make little difference in the face of the Empire's onslaught, they had secreted the tanks away to preserve them to fight another day, eventually linking up with a group of refugees from Oarai and forming the Alright Courier Company as a cover.
Of course, maintaining a tank, even if it was not driven around much if at all, was far from an easy or risk-free endeavor. Officially Miho had accepted the Britannian government's parole offer for Japanese servicepeople, so if she was ever caught hiding the tanks, she was very likely to face summary execution. Then there was the issue of obtaining spares for the Type 10. As it had never gone into mass production, there genuinely were no spares to be had, so Alright had needed to exercise some ingenuity to keep the tanks in working shape. Until a short while ago, Inoue had helped with that task with respect to the electronic components, and clearly her absence had been sorely felt over the past few months.
"Well," Inoue said, rolling up her sleeves. "Let's get to it."
"It was airpower more than anything else that decided the Middle East campaign," Andreas stated.
The general was seated in a dining room with Cornelia and Lelouch, enjoying a quiet meal with his nominal superiors. These meals were something of a weekly tradition now, allowing Andreas to provide updates and suggestions in a more informal setting than the usual staff briefings. It also gave Lelouch a chance to pick the general's brain about a wide range of topics, from tactical advice to stories about past campaigns. Today it was a lunch being shared, Andreas having come to the palace for a staff meeting with Cornelia.
"Their Bamide mechs were interesting weapons, but their sheer size made them sitting ducks for airstrikes and the like," Andreas continued. "We rarely ever needed to engage them with ground forces. Those ground engagements we did fight, the wide-open plains of the desert allowed us to handily outmaneuver the Federation's units."
"They do say the desert is a tactician's paradise," Lelouch remarked, then smirked. "And a quartermaster's nightmare."
"Quite so, Your Eminence," Andreas said approvingly. "The greatest challenge in the Middle East campaign was ensuring sufficient supplies to maintain our forward momentum. We needed to cut off the MEF before the Europeans could find the political will to actually intervene."
The campaign to conquer the Middle East Federation had in many ways been more fraught with risk than Japan's conquest. Of the two other powers, it was always recognized that the European Union possessed greater parity with Britannian warfighting technology than the Chinese Federation, and thus more likely able to offset the tactical advantages the Empire would otherwise enjoy. Japan was however on the far end of the EU's territory, which would have made any attempt to reinforce that nation difficult and time consuming. That window was ultimately enough for Britannia to more or less win the land war in Japan and solidify its control enough that the Europeans would have been forced to perform an amphibious invasion to intervene. And as expected, the European governments had been loathe to commit to such a risky and expensive endeavor. In the end, despite issuing furious, and arguably impotent, diplomatic protests, the Europeans had accepted Britannian control of Japan.
The Middle East Federation on the other hand was literally on Europe's doorstep, bordering not only the EU itself but the EU's African domain. It was also on the far end of Britannia's own logistical chain. The EU was certainly not going to allow the Empire to ferry supplies through the Mediterranean or over their airspace, which meant the Empire had to go all the way around the other way through both the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Such a long trek should have made invasion an insurmountable challenge, but Britannia again demonstrated its sheer wealth by going ahead anyway, and in the process blindsiding the EU again.
"Assuming that will exists at all," Cornelia said with a dismissive snort.
The princess' disdain was not without reason. Despite it taking Britannia six months to militarily defeat the Middle East Federation, the EU had only made token gestures of support to their beleaguered ally. The reason for such hesitation was even more confounding considering the Middle East possessed such a large proportion of the world's known oil reserves, a resource of similar strategic importance to sakuradite. That the EU more or less let the Empire waltz in and seize all that oil was flabbergasting to pundits worldwide, and the various European politicians and bureaucrats were still catching a lot of flak for this.
Still, as the highest-ranking uniformed officer in the Britannian Armed Forces, Cornelia should have been fully aware of the intelligence assessments regarding the EU's warfighting capacity, and how badly hobbled it was. It would probably behoove the princess to be a bit less flippant about those nations that might one day face off against the Empire.
"The will probably is there," Lelouch thus said. "The wealth on the other hand may well not be. The European economy has been on a downward slide ever since the Empire started restricting sakuradite exports. It's put a severe crimp on their electronics manufacturing industry, as well as caused complications with their electrical industry. Every nation relies on sakuradite for their backbone power infrastructure, and it was the threat to Britannia's own power infrastructure that Japan's original embargo represented that convinced the Empire to go to war." Publicly, at least. "The Europeans have been trying to retool, but that takes a lot of money, and the replacement equipment they're installing are by nature less efficient than ones that use sakuradite. The way things are, I doubt they could have actually put together a proper expeditionary force that could have matched your own forces, Your Highness."
While Cornelia quirked an eyebrow, Andreas was regarding Lelouch in a more contemplative fashion.
"Your Eminence seems quite well read on matters of economics," the general remarked.
Lelouch gave a wry smile. "I am viceroy of Japan. My duties entail not just ensuring the security of the administrative area, but also its economic development."
"Quite so," Andreas acknowledged. "Either way, whatever the reason, I for one am content that the Europeans did not intervene. Had they, the campaign would have been much more hard fought."
Another reason Lelouch respected, and even liked, the general, he was not some blood knight always looking for a fight. The cardinal glanced over at his sister. Cornelia on the other hand.
"What?" the princess said as she noticed Lelouch's gaze.
"Just thinking how lucky you are to have someone like General Darlton at your side," Lelouch said nonchalantly.
The way Cornelia's eyes narrowed showed she knew there was further subtext to Lelouch's comment, but the princess seemed placated enough to not pursue it.
"Speaking of Japan," Lelouch continued, "is the current force reorganization proceeding to your satisfaction, General?"
"It is, Your Eminence," Andreas said. The man took a moment to pop a piece of roast into his mouth and chew and swallow. "The 597th have reached full operational readiness, and I have been especially impressed with how Colonel Gottwald has buckled down and made things work. The replacements in other commands have also settled into their responsibilities, and I am confident that the occupational forces will be ready to face any threat, internal or external."
A reminder that, that the Chinese Federation was right next door and would almost certainly take advantage of any weakness Britannia showed.
"Speaking of threats, internal and external," Lelouch said, setting aside his fork and knife.
Another reason for these meals was a way for any of the attendees to pass on information around in a more informal setting, either to allow for forewarning or to try to resolve problems before they bubbled up and official notice by other parties needed to be taken. Seeing as this was likely another such instance, Andreas and Cornelia regarded Lelouch intently as they waited for him to elaborate.
"I have received intelligence that a rogue element of the Japanese Liberation Front intends to attack the sakuradite conference," Lelouch said.
Cornelia inhaled sharply, while Andreas' eyes narrowed in focus.
"Their plan seems to infiltrate the conference as supplemental staff, as well as members of certain diplomatic and commercial delegations," Lelouch continued, "with weapons being smuggled in and prepositioned for retrieval at the conference itself. On the day of, they likely intend to take the other attendees hostage, and try to assassinate myself and other prominent members of the viceroyalty." Now came the real bombshell. "I intend to let them try."
"LELOUCH!?" Cornelia exploded, shooting up from her seat.
Andreas' reaction was a bit more restrained, but the general clearly shared in his superior's shock.
"Your Eminence, that is exceedingly reckless," Andreas admonished.
"It also gives us a chance to perform a clean sweep of the most radical elements of the JLF," Lelouch pointed out.
"At the risk of your own life!?" Cornelia was clearly not convinced.
"The risks do seem to outweigh the gains," Andreas added his own input.
"Oh, and what are the gains that you believe might be won, General?" Lelouch inquired.
Andreas frowned thoughtfully. "The elimination of a major insurgent cell."
Lelouch gave a dry chuckle. "Oh, it is so much more than that, General. For the ones that brought me this information was the JLF itself."
The eyes of the other two attendees widened as Lelouch allowed himself another chuckle.
"What you see before you, Your Highness, General, is the culmination of months of effort to rent a schism between the various resistance movements, between those that can be negotiated with and demobilized, and those that will fight to the last man. In addition, the intelligence provided by the JLF has been further corroborated by information fed to Eden Vital by the resistance network that operates within the greater Tokyo metropolitan area. They also detected a flow of weapons and personnel headed towards the conference site, and their numbers match what the JLF have told us." Lelouch clasped his hands together. "We are on the path to ending the Japanese insurgency, by lopping off the fanatics and wiping them out in detail, while cauterizing the wound and bringing the moderates back into the fold. That is the gain that is to be weighed against the risks, General, Your Highness. Victory. Nothing more, nothing less."
Cornelia regarded her brother with her mouth hanging slightly agape, while Andreas stroked his chin in awed contemplation of Lelouch's boldness. Clearly neither had conceived that the cardinal might be so ambitious in his reach, or so cunning in his execution. If the plan worked as Lelouch intended, then the cardinal was right, they would have struck a near fatal blow against the Japanese insurgency. But cunning and daring were not surefire guarantees of success, as history provided ample examples of. And there was still one niggling point that Cornelia was not about to let slide.
"Have you at all considered the possibility that this rogue cell might actually succeed, Lelouch?" she said testily.
"Of course," Lelouch said with a nonchalant shrug, which seemed to only further rile up Cornelia. The cardinal frowned. "Please don't tell me you of all people are going to try to lecture me about the dangers of being on the frontline?"
From the way Cornelia's mouth froze, the princess was indeed about to do just that. Lelouch did have a point there, seeing how many times Cornelia had taken to the field in her knightmare despite the protests of her subordinates and retainers. It certainly sounded hypocritical for her then to try to lecture Lelouch, but at the same time the same could be said for the cardinal considering he had admonished her on this very point in the past.
"Weren't you the one that pointed out I was ignoring my duties by taking to the field myself?" Cornelia finally responded.
"Hmm, true enough. Then how about a trade. I stop pestering you about going back to Pendragon, and you don't object to my stratagem for entrapping and wiping out the rogue JLF elements."
"Lelouch, this is not a joke!"
"I do not recall making light of anything, Your Highness," Lelouch said, his tone hardening. "I have been biding my time ever since His Majesty appointed me as viceroy, and the conference trap will serve as the coup de grace against the insurgency. By destroying the renegades, I will have set Japan on an irrevocable path to full integration with the Empire and undermine everything the Chinese Federation has done these past few years in trying to foster unrest in the administrative area." The cardinal's teeth showed as he sneered. "And in the process, I will strike a blow against the bastards that orchestrated my mother's murder."
A chill ran down Cornelia's back as she saw the glint in Lelouch's eyes. A reminder, that she was not the only one amongst their family capable of holding and exhibiting tremendous rage. While she was more openly passionate with how she expressed her emotions, Lelouch did a better job hiding his feelings until the moment it ignited and hell was unleashed upon the target of his wrath. In some ways that made her brother the more dangerous, especially to those that made the mistake of crossing him. But even if Cornelia could understand the magnitude of emotions roiling within Lelouch, even if she herself experienced some of that same turmoil, she could not help but feel a protective urge to keep her younger brother from letting those emotions run rampant and sway his decisions.
"Lelouch," Cornelia thus said. "You made a point of reprimanding me, rightly so, for letting my anger and fear lead me astray. Are you going to let the same happen to yourself?"
The cardinal's eyes flickered, but as he next exhaled a certain composure was restored to his expression.
"The risk is calculated," Lelouch said. "I intend to preposition ample forces to be able to halt the JLF incursion as well as envelop and wipe them out. Based on the information obtained, the JLF will not possess the firepower to reach me, much less attempt any harm to my person. The greater danger is to the delegates themselves, and the difficulty of securing those whose survival are crucial to my plans."
While Cornelia was pleased that her brother seemed to be discussing the matter from a more rational angle, the impersonal manner in which he now spoke worried her for different reasons.
"And how can you be sure your preparations are adequate?" Cornelia pressed.
A flicker of irritation crossed Lelouch's eyes again. "They are no more or less adequate than any other plans the military might draft for an operation. But lack of guarantees does not stop you from signing off on an operation, and I would thank you to not try to impose impossible standards on me that you yourself would never accept."
"There is a difference between taking a chance and foolhardily rushing in," Cornelia said with equal testiness.
"And what about any of my plans that you have seen in the past few months suggests I do not meet or even outright exceed the standards you expect from your own staff?" Lelouch reposted.
That, Cornelia could not dispute, as her pursed lips showed. Her brother, or at least his staff, was extremely meticulous in their preparations. Even if accounting for every possible contingency was impossible, and somewhat pointless since there was no way one could remember that many details in the heat of battle, the amount of preparation put into each and every plan Lelouch executed as viceroy was phenomenal. Indeed the work of Cornelia's own staff had seen measurable improvement with Lucretia's presence. Still, there was a difference between the civil administrative plans Lelouch carried out as viceroy and the planning of a military operation, even if Lucretia seemed to have quite the knack for it.
"You are the viceroy of Area 11, Japan," Cornelia stated. "Even if that duty includes being the military governor-general, you are still primarily a civilian official. I can believe that you possess all the acumen to carry out your duties as the area's administrator, but it is far too much to ask that I believe you possess similar capacity when it comes to military matters, even if you managed the initial transition well before Andreas' arrival."
Lelouch regarded his sister with a degree of bemusement, resting a hand against his temple. "What makes you think His Majesty appointed me solely due to my administrative skill?"
Cornelia frowned, looking more confused than annoyed. "What are you talking about?"
Lelouch flashed a fierce grin. "I am Cardinal of the Order Militant of Eden Vital. My charge is to ensure the vigilance of the Orders Militant in times of peace and to lead them to victory in times of war. Just as you are the highest-ranking uniformed officer in the Britannian Armed Forces, I stand as the ranking commander of Eden Vital's church militant."
Confusion was quickly turning into alarm as Cornelia and Andreas regarded the cardinal.
"Are you saying," Cornelia began slowly, "that Eden Vital really does have its own private army!?"
"As in accordance with the Convocation of Glastonbury, Eden Vital is allowed to levy a force one-tenth that of the Britannian Armed forces," Lelouch said.
Choking sounds could be heard from the others.
"The Order of course does not actually have such a large standing force," the cardinal continued. "During peacetime, we retain a cadre of a regiment in size, dispersed across various facilities of importance."
If that was supposed to be at all reassuring, the effect was lost upon Andreas and Cornelia.
"That particular precept is actually upheld!?" Cornelia exclaimed.
The cardinal raised an eyebrow. "Of course it's upheld. What, did you think the compact between Eden Vital and the imperial family was merely symbolic?"
From the way Andreas and Cornelia were staring at Lelouch, that certainly seemed to be the case. The Convocation of Glastonbury originated as an agreement struck between the old British royal family and Eden Vital after the former's schism with the Roman Catholic Church, wherein Eden Vital would lend its support to the legitimacy of the British sovereigns in exchange for a set of privileges. The agreement was extended to the Britannian imperial family after the Empire was established in the American colonies after the fall of the old kingdom, and one of the acts in every coronation since then was a reaffirmation that the Convocation still held. Of course as Andreas and Cornelia's reactions showed, these days most people treated the Convocation as purely symbolic than a literal contract. Lelouch gave an impatient grunt.
"None of this should come as a surprise," the cardinal said. "You've seen the knightmares that accompanied me to Japan, and you've received the requisitions to provision enough housing for the company of soldiers that just arrived. Or did you think all of that was purely ceremonial, despite the after-action reports from the Shinjuku Incident?"
It was less denial and more just difficulty in comprehension. That the immediate guards surrounding Lelouch might be lethally competent at their duties was a given, seeing as the cardinal certainly needed the protection. That this same lethality might be extended to so many other members of Eden Vital however was a mental leap beyond what Cornelia at least could easily make, despite her own military duties. Or perhaps because of them, seeing as the existence of a clearly independent military force within Britannian society automatically constituted a contingency that she needed to account for, regardless of whether that force showed any hint of sedition or treason. Perhaps in that regard it was denial, since it would have required her to treat her own brother as a potential liability and threat to the Empire, something she was instinctively loathe to do. As Cornelia seemed to struggle with how to respond, Andreas cleared his throat, once more helping cover his superior's gaps.
"Might I suggest we review the plan that His Eminence has put together before determining whether it is sufficiently sound or not?" the general suggested.
Cornelia still looked far from happy, but with an immediate objective set before her she no longer seemed quite as lost.
"Very well." She looked over at Lelouch. "When will you be ready to present us the operational plan?"
"We could do it now if you two have the time," Lelouch said.
A grimace darkened Cornelia's expression again, but she gave a choppy nod.
"Sancia," Lelouch called out to his attendant.
The young woman stepped forward and presented the diners with a pair of glasses each. While Andreas and Cornelia looked at theirs quizzically, Lelouch put his own and motioned for them to do likewise while the table was cleared by other attendants. When they did so, Cornelia gasped as she saw the projection of a building atop the table. Lowering the glasses, the projection disappeared, and reappeared when she pushed them back up.
"What is this?" she asked.
"Augmented reality glasses," Lelouch answered. "They are able to project various imagery within a certain field of view of the lenses. It serves as a way of securely performing briefings regardless of where you are. Well, at least within range of a cellular or WIFI signal."
"This is quite impressive," Andreas remarked, shifting back and forth to get differing angles of the building projected before him. "It is as if I am looking at an actual physical model." He looked up at Lelouch. "Are these glasses exclusive to Eden Vital?"
"In and of itself, no. However the integration into the Order's systems was not something accomplished overnight. If the army wants to make use of the AR functionality, you'll need to commit the time and resources to do the integration yourselves."
"I see," Andreas said, the thoughtful look making clear the general was considering just how that might be achieved.
"We can talk about upgrading the military's toys later," Cornelia said. "You were going to explain how you intend to entrap the insurgents in a manner that is at least credible and keeps the risk manageable."
The fierce grin was back again. "I promised that the risks have been properly weighed against the gains, nothing more, nothing less."
The conversation that followed was mostly professional, with only one or two outbursts from Cornelia. The first was when Lelouch revealed the existence of the coilgun artillery piece. The second, when Lelouch stated his intention to rely solely on Eden Vital soldiers for the counterattack. Otherwise the discussion could be considered quite fruitful. It did not change the fact that Cornelia emerged from it with a torrent of mixed feelings regarding her brother. In one regard, she could not be prouder of the competent commander he clearly already was. In another, she wanted to scream at him about his sheer audacity bordering on reckless. And at the center of it all, she shuddered at what sort of environment could have produced someone that possessed the razor sharp will that Lelouch now exhibited.
The punch carried enough force to punch through a sheet of steal armor. Kallen however absorbed the blow without budging an inch, as well as the follow-on jab. After taking a few more hits from Dalque, the older girl gave a shout.
"Clear!"
Dalque immediately hopped back, giving Kallen plenty of space. A moment later, Kallen channeled all of the energy her body had collected from Dalque's hits into a punch of her own. The metal sheet she struck was held in place by an electromagnetic field, suspended in such a way that it could be sent sliding back a certain distance before the field strength ramped up to bring it to a complete halt. Just how much power was needed before the field was strong enough could be used as a metric of just how much force the sheet was struck with, so in a way the entire elaborate contraption was just a very fancy force meter. Of course, considering the amount of power behind every punch Kallen threw, a conventional meter would have long been destroyed outright, so the extra complexity was well warranted.
"Very good," Sancia said as she looked at the readings. "Your capacity has increased by close to 12% since you started training with Dalque."
Kallen gave a pleased smile even as she panted from the exertion. "I still feel like there's more room to grow."
"There probably is," Sancia said, "but let's hold off on pushing your limits any further until after a thorough physical."
The redhead straightened. "If you say so." And toppled over, lying back on the mat floor. "Oh man, I'm beat."
She was promptly joined by Dalque, the younger girl clearly equally drained.
"That was fun," Dalque said despite her own exhaustion. "Don't get that many chances to just let loose. The others keep worrying I'll break something by accident."
Kallen chuckled as she glanced over. "Considering how hard you were hitting me, I can see why."
Beyond her first training exercise with Lelouch, which Kallen was determined to excise from her memory as thoroughly as possible, all of her other sessions had been with Dalque. It had been determined that, since Kallen's power was centered around the absorption and projection of kinetic energy, the best way to train her would be to throw as much of that energy as possible, in a controlled manner of course. Out of Lelouch's attendants, Alice and Dalque were the ones whose powers most directly manifested as macroscopic changes. And while Alice could exert considerable force by speeding up and charging into something, the rebound on the girl herself could get pretty hefty if she wasn't careful. That naturally left Dalque as the best suited to help Kallen exercise and improve her geass.
"Here," Sancia said, handing the two girls water bottles.
Kallen and Dalque sat up, accepting the drinks and chugging away.
"Once you've freshened up, His Eminence would like to see you before you return to Ashford, Kallen," Sancia said.
The girl gave a nod as she swallowed her last gulp. "Will do."
Rising, Kallen offered a hand to Dalque and pulled the younger girl up. While Dalque started stretching again to continue her own training, Kallen headed for the showers to get cleaned up. As might be expected of the viceroy's palace, even the gym shower room was ornately decorated, with golden colored trimming along the walls and even on the showerheads. It all seemed excessively gaudy and Kallen felt a not insignificant spike of irritation at all the money wasted on such ostentatiousness the first time she saw it. What was done was done however, and a part of Kallen was comforted by the fact that cardinal cared even less for such extravagance than she did.
While it might have seemed suggestive that thoughts of Lelouch crossed her mind as she shucked her workout clothes and walked bare skinned into the shower stall, those thoughts were fleeting at best and Kallen's mind was soon filled with the comforting feeling of the hot water rinsing away her sweat. After applying ample shampoo, the slight itch of her scalp was replaced by a refreshing, clean sensation. Next came the soap, which she lathered generously over every inch of her skin.
Normally Kallen would have spent a bit longer luxuriating in the shower, but as Lelouch had explicitly requested her presence after the training session, she finished washing quickly. Even so, it was still with a cheerful spring to her step that Kallen stepped out of the shower to dry herself. The mental high that came from physically exerting oneself was still coursing through her, and the warm shower had only accentuated the feeling. As such it was in a visibly good mood that Kallen arrived at Lelouch's office after changing back into her Ashford Academy uniform in preparation for returning to the school after the meeting.
"You wished to see me, Your Eminence?" Kallen said as she entered the office.
"That I did," Lelouch said, tilting his head at the chairs opposite his desk. "Have a seat."
Once Kallen had settled in, the cardinal continued.
"You are aware of the sakuradite conference happening next week," Lelouch more stated than asked.
Kallen nonetheless nodded. "It's a conference where delegates from various nations will convene to discuss the possibility of restoring sakuradite exports from Japan back to their prewar levels to all nations." She tilted her head. "Is that actually going to happen? Assuming you can tell me."
"It depends on the concessions the other nations are prepared to offer," Lelouch said with a shrug. "Now, as to your assignment. Kaguya will be attending as a representative of the Sumeragi Group. I am assigning you to accompany her as both a member of the Japan delegation and her minder."
Kallen frowned. "So you really plan to still send Kaguya even knowing about the possibility of the attack? Even though you gave Milly and Euphemia explicit instructions to stay the hell away?"
"I am sending Kaguya with you," Lelouch emphasized, "because I have confidence in your ability to keep her out of harm's way even if the JLF attacks."
At this point there really was not much of an if about it, the attack was about as confirmed as it could be without having already happened. Kallen had already been briefed on the general plan that Lelouch intended to entrap and wipe out the rogue JLF insurgents, but her own assignment in that plan had remained an open question until now.
"So I don't mean to sound like I'm making excuses," Kallen said, "but I don't have nearly as much bodyguarding training or experience as probably anyone else that you could assign to this. Are you really sure you can trust me to protect Kaguya?"
"Protecting Kaguya from the more mundane threats that might occur will be the responsibility of the actual bodyguards that will be accompanying her," Lelouch stated. "You are there in case a geass contractor shows up."
That saw Kallen's expression tighten even further. "You really think one will?"
"All the evidence points to at least one heretical contractor being active in Japan," Lelouch said. "And of my attendants, you have the strongest data fortification aside from myself despite the relative newness of your geass. If anyone stands any chance in shrugging off a hostile geass' effects, it would be you."
The matter of data fortification had come up pretty quickly during Sancia's lectures, by necessity if nothing else. Building upon her previous lectures, Kallen was given a crash course in physics this time to explain how geasses effected the phenomenon they did, at least to the extent that modern science was capable of understanding. Fundamentally, the theory behind code and geass was based upon that of physical information. If one were to treat everything in existence as a physical system, then physical information was a full and complete description of that system's state. Conversely, since the physical information represented the totality of the system it described, it arguably was indistinguishable from, and therefore functionally the very thing as, what it described. This being the case, a modification to that information would constitute a modification to the system itself.
As Sancia previously explained, geasses worked by computing the information change necessary to enact the desired physical effect, and then applying that change. Simplistically, it was akin to rewriting the very fabric of reality. Of course this change did not come for free, the laws of thermodynamics were not so easy to circumvent, and larger or more complex changes required proportionally more energy to perform. Simultaneous to this, it was also possible to artificially make it more difficult to effect certain changes by locking down, or fortifying, the information describing a system. That was the data fortification that Lelouch now referenced. Geass wielders, because they were imposing their own perceptions to bring about the desired information modification, possessed an innate data fortification that offered some degree of protection from other geass wielders. The more powerful their own geass, the stronger that natural protection. And with the right augmentation, one's data fortification could be further bolstered.
The data fortification that code bearers like the Grandmaster possessed was even more powerful, able to protect against not only the phenomenon editing of geasses but even from the natural effects of the physical world. That was the source of their immortality and near-invulnerability, and why it generally took one code bearer to take down another, for normal geass wielders generally did not possess the phenomenon effecting strength to override that level of data fortification. Lelouch however, like in so many other ways, was an exception to that rule.
While all geasses functioned by projecting their wielder's personal reality upon the physical world in order to effect their resulting phenomenon, the manner in which this phenomenon manifested was believed to be deeply rooted in the psyche of the wielder. Alice's superspeed was hypothesized to be due to the personal trauma she felt when she was too slow to reach her family's side to save them in the terrorist attack that took all their lives. Dalque, who had wandered into an Eden Vital facility as a child covered in bruises, likely wanted strength to never be hurt by someone else like that ever again. As for Kallen herself, the Eden Vital psychiatrists were of the opinion her geass' effects were due to her strong determination to be able to match and defeat any would be challenger.
As for the cardinal, the most prevalent hypothesis was that the flexibility of Lelouch's geass was a consequence of his anger at his lack of control of his situation when his mother was murdered. That anger resulted in the manifestation of a geass that attempted to impose absolute control upon the world, at least to the extent that Lelouch's body could sustain. Indeed Lelouch's geass was so powerful that he could, with effort, even override the data fortification of a code bearer, making him the only person in Eden Vital aside from the grandmaster that could kill V.V. Hence the heavy emphasis on making sure, above all else, Lelouch lived.
"Any advice on how exactly I'm supposed to face this contractor, whoever they end up being?" Kallen asked.
"We've managed to surmise that this contractor's power appears to affect memory, though the exact nature of the manipulation is still unclear," Lelouch answered. "My suggestion would be to anchor yourself on a particularly strong memory, one that you hold especially dear. That should allow you to resist the enemy's geass, at least long enough to engage and force them back. You don't need to kill them, that I will handle with my detachment. Furthermore, you don't need to engage the other JLF forces unless absolutely required. Your sole duty will be to ensure Kaguya emerges as unscathed as possible. The actual containment and elimination of the JLF renegades will also be handled by the Orders Militant that I will be deploying."
Kallen's lips thinned. "Alright, fair enough. And I am one of your attendants, so I'll go where you tell me to. Just, let's try to make sure this doesn't spiral out of control, Your Eminence."
"There are no guarantees in battle, but the effort will certainly be made," Lelouch assured her.
And that was probably as much as Lelouch could say without taunting Murphy, which all experienced soldiers knew to never, ever do.
"I don't like this," Cornelia growled.
Andreas glanced over at his superior, in rank if not in years. "His Eminence's plan is well thought out and takes into account all of the major risk factors, including the presence of this coilgun artillery piece."
The two were in Cornelia's office at MacArthur Base, the day after Lelouch dropped his little bombshell during lunch. From the moody temperament the princess displayed now, she had spent the interim time mulling over her brother's plan, trying to both find holes in it as well as reassure herself that it would succeed. While the public might perceive Cornelia as the merciless leader of Britannia's conquering legions, Andreas knew the woman herself well enough to know her steely resolve could and did waver when her family was involved, especially the younger ones. And despite Lelouch being on the cusp of adulthood, Cornelia's memories of him as a young boy were still quite vivid.
"You know as well as I, Andreas, that it's not the things we can foresee that are the true danger on the battlefield," Cornelia said.
"That may be so, Your Highness, but short of directly overruling His Eminence, he is not leaving you much room to intervene," Andreas said.
Cornelia sighed. "I know. Damn him, I know."
As rare a sight as the princess looking so distraught, Andreas had been around Cornelia long enough to have a general feel of how to handle her in such situations.
"I've been reviewing His Eminence's plans in greater detail myself," the general said, "and while it is mostly sound, I find myself somewhat concerned about his contingency for handling the coilgun."
Cornelia frowned. "In what way?"
"His Eminence intends to deploy knightmares from Eden Vital to search for and neutralize it when the JLF make their move, but he has only assigned three frames for the effort. Considering the number of vantage points wherein the artillery piece might be able to get a clean shot at the conference site, that seems a bit short."
The frown turned contemplative. "I think I agree. Any suggestions?"
"I am still organizing the evaluation of Specialist Kururugi and the Lancelot prototype," Andreas said, causing the frown to return on Cornelia's expression. "If I were to schedule it at the appropriate time and place, we could position both the Lancelot and the Glaston Knights in such a way as to support the neutralization of the artillery piece if the opportunity arose."
From the way Cornelia's lips thinned, the princess was clearly still reluctant to invest in any significant amount of trust in the Eleven test pilot, even when accompanied by Andreas' adopted sons. Cornelia would have loved to deploy a full company of knightmares, or maybe even a battalion, to help secure the conference site. But Lelouch had already forbade her, in the strongest possible terms, from doing anything of the sort, and unless they wanted to test just where the limits of a viceroy's authority ended and the Marshal of the Empire's began, she had no choice but to acquiesce. But moving a single platoon, ostensibly for a reason unrelated to the conference, might be subtle enough that Lelouch would turn a blind eye. If only one of those members was not an Eleven.
"Do you think this Kururugi can actually be trusted?" Cornelia asked pointedly.
"Specialist Kururugi was sponsored by His Eminence himself to join the Camelot Institute," Andreas said, "and from the readiness evaluations I've reviewed, he has demonstrated exemplary dutifulness despite having been crippled during the Shinjuku Incident. He is clearly determined to continue upholding his oath to Britannia, and I do not believe there to be any risk in allowing him to do so."
Cornelia raised an eyebrow. "It sounds like you approve of the specialist."
"Your Highness asked me to evaluate him with rigor," Andreas stated. "This I have done, and though that evaluation is yet to be concluded, everything I have seen suggests Kururugi will pass muster."
Again an unhappy luck crossed Cornelia's expression, but the princess was at least honest enough to face the truth, however much she might dislike it.
"Very well. Arrange for the Lancelot's evaluation to occur at Lake Kawaguchi. And I hope for all our sakes that this Kururugi proves worthy of your confidence, Andreas."
The assembled soldiers numbered a fair amount, but they were undoubtedly a pale shadow of the past strength they enjoyed. Still, the six hundred plus soldiers were no mere trifling force, this they themselves firmly believed. And soon enough, the world would know it too.
"Comrades!" Kusakabe's voice roared. "Soon, we will embark on a most sacred task, to strike down the false savior that has beguiled too many of our fellow Japanese! The Cardinal Lamperouge has made promise after promise of treating our people with dignity and respect, but we all know those to be honeyed words with no weight behind them! For what need do our people have for recognition from the Empire!? Why should we be content to let them dictate whether we can or cannot be Japanese!?"
A seething anger underlay ever word the lieutenant-colonel uttered. And why not? Japan used to be a nation that belonged to the Japanese. There was no one around that could tell them who or what they could be, no one to disparage them with a mere number of a label. The Empire had spent years trying to crush the Japanese under its heel but was never able to completely succeed. That they dispatched the cardinal was not a sign that Britannia had really turned over a new leaf, it was an admission on Britannia's part that they could not defeat the Japanese people. If only his people held out a bit longer, kept on fighting for a bit longer, they could wear down the Empire enough to finally regain their sovereignty. Except too many of his people had become wearied by the fight themselves. Even amongst his JLF comrades, where he would have least expected it, were those that seemed ready to throw in the towel and bend the knee. Kusakabe was not however, and he would be damned if he allowed the rest of Japan to just keel over like that.
"For too long have our people suffered under the Empire's yoke. Too many have forgotten that we are a divine heritage. The only fate that we should embrace is one of our own making, not that of some foreign barbarian. But come the next moon, we will remind them, our people, the Britannians, the entire world, that the Japanese accept no master except ourselves! That no invader will be allowed to soil our lands except with their blood that we spill. We will take this cardinal's head, and we will dare Britannia to send us as many other viceroys as they wish to be returned to them as corpses! For Japan! Nippon banzai!"
"BANZAI! NIPPON BANZAI!"
Observing the commotion in the background, Mao gave an exasperated sigh.
"What a bother," the petite girl said.
"Well he at least knows how to rile up a crowd," the taller youth remarked with a smirk.
"Maybe so, but with how gung-ho his troops are, they may be too fever pitched to properly complete the primary objective," Mao said.
Mao chuckled. "That's why I'll be going with them, to make sure it's done right." He gave the girl a pat on the head. "So don't you worry your little head, this cardinal won't know what hit him."
With an impressive glower, Mao gripped the youth's hand and gave a hard squeeze, causing him to cry out in pain. Apparently she was not a fan of being patted.
End of Chapter 21
Do not expect me to be able to sustain this. I just happen to have a lot of narrative in my head I need to get out at the moment.
Because what is the Nishizumi school without tanks.
I continue my tradition of giving Kallen non-sexy shower scenes.
The moment Lelouch was warned about the rogue JLF operation targeting the sakuradite conference, there was no way in hell he would have allowed Milly or Euphemia anywhere near the place. Kaguya has to go for political reasons, and Kallen can also take care of herself thanks to her geass, but anyone that absolutely does not need to be endangered, Lelouch is keeping far, far away. As such, expect the dynamics of the conference attack to take a very, very different turn.
So I think I've established the endgame for the story. This is important, because the earlier I know what that endgame is, the earlier in the story proper that I can start laying the groundwork for it. Calculus' endgame got a bit muddled because I was having trouble properly conceptualizing it until fairly late into that story, so hopefully this time around I can avoid any major shocks, even if the narrative starts introducing concepts that seem more fantastical.
As will be increasingly evident, the various armed forces in my story will be very, very realistically defined. It's one reason why the number of opportunities for knightmares to even show up is drastically reduced, since in a lot of situations the proper, sane response is not to send in knightmares, but to bomb the crap out of something.
Nuclear technology exists, including weapons. If/when the FLEIJA warhead appears in this story, it will operate under very different principals, and not need anything so primitive as nuclear fission as a stage. Those that have read Calculus can probably guess what form it will take. Yes, I reuse a lot of things.
The relationship remarks in the last chapter notes for the most part weren't exactly explicit in referencing love. Quite a few aspects of it are equally applicable to the political aspects of marriage as well. A lot of readers have a tendency to apply it more towards love though since the general impression I get is that quite a few dislike a polygamous relationship because the love aspect of it is what gets screwed up the most easily, which then has a ripple effect of messing up the rest of the character development.
Nunnally is physically located at the Eden Vital Citadel at the Antarctica thought elevator. As such she is highly unlikely to directly interact with anyone that is not a member of Eden Vital, and this extends to her blood relations. In practical terms Nunnally is probably the most heavily guarded person in the entire world due to how valuable her geass is. Lelouch doesn't qualify because he's outside of the Citadel. Those times when Nunnally seemingly appears in Japan is through Anya projecting her via Anya's geass, which, as shown this chapter, is not a cost-free exercise.