Chapter 39
Does the Hammer Fall
The vehicles charging down the roads were a far cry from even the armored vans of the gendarmerie. While some looked to be rather heavily armored SUVs, the eight wheeled AFVs that formed the bulk of the convoys were quite clearly military-grade hardware. The way the mounted turret on their top traversed was enough to make anyone watching them race past exceedingly nervous. No knightmares accompanied the convoy, but that hardly seemed necessary on top of the current display of force.
"We have two hundred plus hostiles actively trying to engage the gendarmerie," Sancia said over the radio. "The squads are pulling back and trying to concentrate at chokepoints, but the enemy is also digging in."
"Any idea who they are?" Jeremiah asked.
"Presumably Lord McDougal's private security force," the young woman answered, "but the sheer numbers and amount of ordnance they must have stockpiled to arm them seems highly suspect."
For no other reason than the fact that Babel really should not warrant such a degree of force to protect under normal circumstances.
"Could they have been forewarned about the raid?" the margrave suggested.
Unless one was expecting to have to face off with a major security organ of the state, as Jeremiah suggested. But even then, things did not quite line up.
"The timeframe seems to short to have been able to prepare so many weapons. McDougal must have been stockpiling the weapons for some time already."
"But to what end?"
That was indeed the question. The problem was even if McDougal's forces somehow managed to fend off an attack large enough to warrant defenders this numerous, his chances of surviving the aftermath was next to nil regardless. Why were there so many soldiers holed up in the resort? Why did they have enough military grade weapons to arm an entire company?
"That we shall have to wait until the interrogation of any survivors," Sancia said. "Priority however right now must be on reinforcing the gendarmerie and rescuing the hostages."
As the Eden Vital sister uttered those words, the convoy reached Babel. Several of the vehicles did not stop at the perimeter, instead driving all the way up to the building entrances. No enemy fire tried to halt their charge, likely a consequence of Sancia having blown to pieces all those that previously tried to shoot down into the plaza. Having ferried their passengers safely to their target destinations, hatches popped at the rear of the AFVs and squadrons of soldiers rushed out. A full two companies of the 597th infantry regiment soon swarmed the resort, outnumbering even the gendarmerie detachment that had originally been dispatched. As far as hammers went, it was quite a big one now being swung.
"Understood," Jeremiah responded. "All units, maintain close contact with your platoons and follow Sisters Sancia and Lucretia's orders as if they were my own. No one else has a better view of what is happening inside."
It was not as if the colonel was abdicating all responsibility here, the simple truth was that Eden Vital did have a greater degree of insight into what was happening in the building interiors. Jeremiah was getting at least a partial view in his own tactical display, but the Britannian Army's systems were not fully compatible with that of Eden Vital's, so the overlay he got was of a simplified representation. As such, even as he did issue orders in response to the shifting tactical situation, he was not prepared to gainsay the cardinal's personal attendants if they needed to make some snap judgment as a result of some piece of information that was not immediately available to him, within reason of course.
"No contacts on ground level of main lobby area," Lucretia reported. "Multiple enemy squads are attempting to push past the gendarmerie teams protecting civilian hostages in the basement levels, requesting immediate support."
"On our way!" another woman's voice responded.
The gendarmerie teams that initially stormed the resort had not been expecting to run into armored opposition. Their briefing indicated that this was primarily a sweep against a civilian target, with maybe a few armed retainers on account of the noble that owned Babel. And since quite a few civilians were expected to be on-site on account of the place being a resort, emphasis was placed on making sure there would not be lots of collateral casualties if they needed to start shooting. The Imperial Gendarmerie was after all predominantly a police force, even if it had the military moniker prepended to it.
"I thought we were raiding a casino, not fucking storming a fort!" a greatly aggrieved gendarme cried out as his shots failed to bring down the advancing enemy soldier.
Even when fired from carbines, the hollow point rounds in their magazines could not penetrate the body armor being worn by the enemy. That was not to say getting shot did not hurt, it did immensely, and the enemy was likely to be badly bruised as a consequence, but that was not the same as stopping them. Of course, not being able to punch through the enemy armor was also not quite the same as being completely helpless.
"Fire in the hole!"
A loud thunk sounded and a very loud crack echoed. This time the advancing enemy soldier did go down, which was enough to encourage his compatriots to dive for cover or even fall back. Not even body armor would see one escape unscathed from a direct hit by a 40mm grenade.
"We're breaking basically every rule with that grenade launcher," the squad leader groused.
That was technically true, as under normal circumstances gendarme and police were trained to aim such shots at the ground or wall and then let the ricochet of the rubber balls bring down criminals, rioters, or whomever they were facing. That the rubber balls were still fast enough to incapacitate even after bouncing was a good indication of just how dangerous actually firing them directly at someone was.
"Are you really going to complain about that now!?" one of the other gendarmes said incredulously.
"No, I'll just run all of you through recertification afterwards to make sure none of you picked up any bad habits."
A bark of laughter sounded. "If we make it out of this, recert'd be nothing!"
More bullets zipped past their position, indicating the enemy had regained some of their composure. Then again they were hardly counting on a single grenade to stop their charge. What they were hoping was for the enemy to bunch up together as they reformed, which they were so gracious as to oblige.
"They're in position," the squad leader said, peeking out with his optiwand. "Blow it, now!"
Another bit of ordnance the gendarmerie had brought with them were breaching charges for blowing open doors. Individually, the C2 charges were not that powerful, which was sort of the point considering their intended purpose. If enough were used together however, they could still produce quite the blast, as the enemy now found. A loud boom sounded as the explosives went off all around the enemy. The concussive force easily laid them low, though whether the blast was enough to kill them versus simply knocking them out would need to wait.
"We get all of them?"
"Looks like," the squad leader said, "but we're running out of ordnance. How many grenades you got left?"
"Just one more of CS gas."
"Where's a weapon dealer's cache when you need one," the squad leader said with a sigh.
"Yeah, that warehouse was a fun mission," the other gendarme said wryly. "Neck deep in enough guns to arm a small army. Then again, there probably is an armory somewhere in this place considering how many of these bastards there are, just a shame we didn't get to it first."
"At least this time we're not having to worry about arresting anyone," another quipped.
"Right," the squad leader said, "I'm definitely having all of you go through training again if we live through this."
Before the groans could grow too loud, the radio crackled.
"TAC 1-1, additional hostiles headed in your direction," the Eden Vital sister informed them. "They seem intent on trying to reach the civilians you are protecting."
"Like hell we're gonna let them," the squad leader muttered, then actually responding into the radio. "Roger. ETA on reinforcements?"
"A platoon is working their way towards you, but will need another few five minutes, hostiles have put up strongpoints of their own to try to impede their progress."
Which suggested the enemy were not complete idiots, for better or worse.
"Understood," the squad leader said, then to his subordinates. "Five minutes until the cavalry arrives."
That was of course just an estimate, so it might take even longer.
"Sure, we can do that," one said. "Probably."
The squad leader gave a gruff laugh. "Anyone who makes it out alive gets a free round on me, so you better."
"You're offering to buy? Gotta be a trap."
"No, wait, it makes sense. For him to buy, he's gotta make it out alive as well, so it's really just a ploy to get us to cover his ass."
"Ah, now it makes sense."
"You guys are a bunch of dicks," the squad leader said with a laugh.
Any further verbal exchanges were preempted by the sound of more footsteps approaching, and then the exchange of lead that followed.
"Ah!"
One of the gendarmes tumbled back, having been hit by the incoming fire. Without hesitation, the squad leader lunged out and grabbed hold of him, dragging him away from the fighting. Others moved forward to take their places, never relenting in the volume of fire they shot back. Another thunk sounded, indicating the grenadier had used up his last shot. From the cries down the hall, it certainly seemed like a good one, as the enemy coughed and tried to get out of the cloud of gas. Of course one way of doing so was going forward instead of back.
"They're pushing through!"
"Flashbangs!" the squad leader called out.
Three such devices were tossed at the incoming enemies, far more than was necessary if the goal was mere incapacitation. In this instance the gendarmes were looking for a bit more permanent a resolution, which they got as two enemies toppled over outright while the others staggered. Being so handicapped did not save them from being targeted by other officers, as once more the gendarmes did whatever was necessary to blunt the enemy charge. Some of the enemy soldiers might live if they received prompt medical care. At this point that was not a terribly high priority for the gendarmes, seeing as this was turning into less a police action and more a full-fledged battle.
Still, even with their successes, they were running low on explosives and ammo in general. The enemy on the other hand, despite the constant attrition of their ranks, were still pressing forward, and it was not as if the gendarmes were not taking losses of their own. By now a third of the team were fighting wounded and another two were incapacitated severely enough that they had been evacuated back to where the hostages were hiding. No one was dead, yet, but that was just sheer dumb luck more than anything else.
"They keep pushing us back, we're gonna run out of places to hold!" one gendarme cried out.
"Next chokepoint's last," the squad leader said. "We hold them there even if we have to go close quarters."
"Well, at least that way they're not liable to get any shots at us."
That was the hope, of course. With their current opponents, it was a bit hard to gauge whether they were so far gone that they'd shoot at their fellow compatriots if they got into a melee, but at least they'd be able to level the field a bit more.
"Here they come!"
The enemy remained seemingly eager to fight, something the gendarmerie could hardly applaud them for. There was no way these assailants were going to get away with such open and willful defiance of the government, all their continued persistence would get them was a bullet now instead of a bullet after trial. Perhaps awareness of their inevitable fate was what drove them to try to take as many of the gendarmerie with them as they could. Still, their recklessness was at least a handy tool to use against them.
"Eat buckshot, you fuckers!"
Being pushed back like this did not mean the gendarmes were completely out of antiarmor options, as the first pair of attackers found out. Even with only a single shotgunner amongst the squad, they could still at least slow down oncoming enemies. The baton that smashed in the helmet of one staggering enemy was simply the finishing touch.
"Say hello to my boomstick!"
"Stop playing around and take this seriously!"
The other gendarmes had slung their rifles over and drawn their batons, handily downing yet another enemy charge.
"Just a little more!"
"Any more and we're shit out of luck!"
A thunk, and then a boom, a very loud boom, sounded, one that well eclipsed the blast the gendarmerie had set off prior with their breaching charges. A tremor actually ran through the ground, causing the combatants to stagger. To their credit, the gendarmes managed to recover more quickly and pummeled the disoriented enemies in their midst. Once the last one was down, they finally had a chance to take a breather.
"What the hell was that!?"
"Sounded like grenades?"
"What, you mean real ones!?"
"Don't think grenades are that loud?"
"Not that first one, but the ones after."
"Then what was the first one?"
"That was an antitank missile," the squad leader said in a completely flat tone. "That's how they sound when you're on the receiving end."
The other gendarmes looked over at their CO.
"Bloody hell, just what sort of raids have you gone on, boss?"
"Hell sounds about right," the squad leader said, leveling his rifle down the hallway. "And I intend to live to see more of it."
The others took that as their cue to do likewise. The immediate threat might be over, but there was no telling when the fighting might flare up again. And then, a distinctly feminine voice called out.
"Friendlies!"
The gendarmes exchanged confused looks about.
"Identify yourself!" the squad leader called back.
"Corporal Ackermann, 1st platoon, Alpha Company, 597th!"
A flicker of genuine hope arose amongst the gendarmes. The 597th were well known in Japan, at least amongst certain segments of the populace. Composed primarily of ethnic Japanese enlisted, with Britannian officers and senior noncoms helping flesh out its command structure, the regiment represented a significant investment of faith on the part of the Cardinal Lamperouge in the men and women that served in it. While the unit as a whole remained untested, there was a lot of reason to prefer the 597th to be the rescuing unit over that of several other regular army units.
"Weapons hold!" the squad leader ordered as loud as he could. "Corporal, you are clear to proceed!"
The figure that peeked out from around the corner did so gingerly, a not unreasonable degree of caution considering all the bullets that were previously flying about. The combat fatigues she wore were identifiably that of the Imperial Britannian Army however, a more than welcome sight. The squad leader lowered his weapon, with the others following suit. The woman in turn lowered her own rifle as she walked over, followed by several other distinctly Japanese women in combat gear.
"Master Sergeant Coburg," the squad leader introduced himself in turn. "A most timely appearance on your part, Corporal. And a rather energetic one, at that."
The young woman shrugged. "Hostiles were in the way of the fastest route to you, so we got rid of them."
Quite literally, if they had used an anti-armor rocket. Coburg offered a silent prayer for whoever ended up having to clean up the mess and do forensics on whatever was left. That could wait however, there were more immediate matters to attend to.
"Is the route back upstairs secure, Corporal?" the squad leader asked.
"Momentarily, but we should wait until the other teams finish rooting out the hostiles," the corporal responded. "In the meantime, we can keep the hostages safe."
The squad leader grimaced at that, before letting out a sigh.
"Corporal, before we take you to the hostages, I need to forewarn you," he began. "Many of the hostages we found down here were women, and quite a few are also underage."
While a few gasps and even growls could be heard from the soldiers behind the corporal, the woman herself did not visibly waver in her expression. That was not to say she did not react at all, what with the very dangerous glint that now shined in her eyes. Coburg could hardly blame her, for he and his men had a similar reaction when they found the people being confined within Babel's bowels. The women were bad enough, but those that were quite clearly adolescents or even younger, and the gendarmes had been ready to shoot any Babel staff unfortunate enough to cross paths with them. In that regard it was almost fortunate these new enemies had appeared to provide a target the gendarmes could unreservedly vent their anger upon, even if the skirmish itself turned out to be rather fraught.
For the Japanese women that made up the squadron now standing before Coburg, they had even greater reason to be furious. Despite their current circumstances, it was all too easy for them to imagine coming into such similar circumstances. After all, the Britannian occupation of Japan had left countless people in destitution and desperation. That they enlisted in the Empire's services was not out of any sense of loyalty or obligation, not to begin with at least. They had enlisted for want of any better prospects, in some respects to avoid the very fate suffered by the women here. If they were shown the imprisoned women without forewarning, there was no telling how they might lash out.
"Corporal," the squad leader spoke up again. "One thing I can absolutely assure you of is, His Eminence will not let what has happened here slide. And neither will we."
The young woman held Coburg's gaze without flinching, her own eyes a cold hardness. The squad leader kept his own expression impassive but determined and simply waited for the corporal's response. After a seeming eternity, her head dipped ever so slightly.
"That is understood, Sergeant."
Coburg let out the breath he had not even realized he was holding, as the pressure from the woman's gaze lessened ever so slightly. Her face was still one of righteous fury, but that fury was focused now, and not upon the gendarmes present. That was fine though, seeing as the gendarmes themselves shared in this fury. And should the chance arise, they would relish unleashing it alongside these fine women serving under the Empire's banner.
"The analysis of the documentation seized from Mr. McDougal is still ongoing," Lucretia said, "and his interrogation will certainly reveal more. At this point however several general conclusion can already be drawn."
Enough so that McDougal had already been stripped of his titles by the most prominent of the attendees at this meeting and thus no longer warranted the courtesy of lord. Whether McDougal's family would lose their patent of nobility outright remained to be seen, but considering what had been uncovered so far the possibility was certainly there.
"The most interesting revelation however has been the insight we have gained into the Refrain production and distribution pipeline here in Japan," Lucretia continued. "Namely whom were the original recipients of the drug being produced."
While Lucretia was speaking, those she was doing so for the benefit of remained varying degrees of attentive. The Emperor Charles looked gravely regal as he listened, while Lelouch mirrored his father in his contemplative demeanor. Prioress Olivia also paid careful attention to the news Lucretia was sharing, while C.C.'s nonchalance might actually be mistaken for inattention by those not familiar with the grandmaster. The last attendant, the Princess Cornelia, was still not as familiar with the various topics that came up, but she at least was determined not to be left behind.
"From the seized records, it is evident that a substantial amount of Refrain was produced by McDougal and his co-conspirators," Lucretia said, "but very little of it appears to have entered the domestic Japanese market until recently. Seeing as none of the Empire's other regions saw any substantial increase in supply either, we can surmise that the drug was exported to a foreign market. What data we've exchanged with the Europeans seems to rule out their territories as the destination, which suggests strongly that it was the Chinese Federation, and therefore the heretics, that were the ultimate recipients. If this indeed turns out to be the case, then we need to reevaluate just how many contractors the heretics may have been able to marshal in the intervening years."
"Or they might have augmented their existing ones to dangerous levels?" Olivia suggested.
"Yes, Reverend Mother," Lucretia said. "This was a very long running operation, likely stretching all the way back to the start of Britannia's occupation of Japan. And a well hidden one as well. It would appear the heretics took considerable measure to keep the proliferation of Refrain in Japan itself to a low level to avoid drawing the viceroyalty's attention, hence why we ourselves had no reason to suspect such a large-scale operation. It was only after the clampdown in smuggling traffic between Japan and China instituted by His Eminence that domestic supplies began rising, likely a consequence of the producers trying to offload merchandise they could no longer export."
"And in their effort to keep the cash rolling in, they made approaches to those elements of the Japanese black and gray markets that they thought might be interested in serving as downstream distributors," Lelouch said, then glanced over at his sister. "A good thing one of the groups they contacted was one that the viceroyalty has fostered a working relationship with."
"They are at least proving to be of some use," Cornelia said wryly.
Lelouch did not press the point any further and instead looked back at Lucretia.
"Have we been able to ascertain just why McDougal had such a large number of armed guards at Babel?"
"To an extent, Your Eminence," Lucretia answered. "We know that the primary instigator was not McDougal himself, but this person."
A familiar image appeared on the displays, eliciting grimaces all around.
"The heretical contractor that instigated the Lake Kawaguchi incident," Lelouch immediately identified the youth.
"Correct," Lucretia said. "The security footage from Babel had not been scrubbed, and he was captured multiple times by their cameras. It is a certitude that he was responsible for the concentration of guards, and we believe their deployment at the time was principally to serve as a distraction to allow for his escape."
The frowns deepened.
"I take it then that this heretic was actually physically present when the gendarmerie launched their raid?" Olivia asked.
"Yes, he was," Lucretia said. "My apologies, for not having detected him on-site."
"What's done is done," Lelouch waved it off. "We had no reason to suspect the connection between McDougal and the heretics ran this extensively, and you had more immediate concerns to deal with. How far were we able to track him after he left Babel?"
"Not very," Lucretia said unhappily. "We were able to reconstruct his course of travel up until the perimeter between the Concessions districts, but once he was past the checkpoint we lost track of him."
That was perhaps inevitable, seeing as the Empire had yet to be able to install and maintain the necessary cameras outside of the Concessions. The Japanese living in those districts for obvious reasons were not welcoming of the Britannian government's efforts to put their neighborhoods under surveillance. It was liable to be years yet before integration would reach a point to allow for it. Even then, just how useful such a system would be was uncertain, seeing as the heretic had managed to get to Babel, which was pretty deep within a directly Britannian administrated zone. There were clearly gaps that needed to be plugged regardless.
"Interrogation of McDougal himself has not produced nearly as much information as we would have liked," Lucretia said, "at least partially because McDougal's own memories are confused. Analysis indicates his mnemonic data has been corrupted at several key points. Prospects of reconstruction are at this point uncertain, along with whether it would even be worth the effort."
"No need," C.C. with a flick of her wrist. "The investigation should allow us to identify which of McDougal's contacts back in the homelands might be similarly culpable. It would be more worthwhile to extract their mnemonics instead. The government can do with McDougal however it pleases."
"He'll hang for his crimes, that much is certain," Lelouch declared. "And so will all of his co-conspirators. The depravity that he indulged in at his resort alone is enough to ensure that, never mind his connections with the heretics."
That elicited a disgusted grimace from Cornelia, while none of the others looked particularly enthused either. While gambling could hardly be considered the most worthwhile of pursuits, it was still at least legal, albeit heavily regulated by the imperial government. Similarly, prostitution was actually legal, so long as all parties involved were consenting adults. Enticing someone suffering from financial destitution to engage in prostitution was also not illegal, even if there was the substantial risk of ethical dubiousness. What was very not legal was the employment of minors in such services. Those caught and convicted of knowingly partaking in such activities were looking at an automatic death sentence. For certain classes of crimes, the Empire was not interested in rehabilitation or forgiveness. The execution served as an act of culling, to remove such persons from the general populace as permanently as possible. And as a consequence of how extensive McDougal's operations were, there were certainly going to be plenty of others that would accompany the ex-noble in his fate.
"What do we know about the Chinese parties that received the Refrain shipments?" Olivia asked. "Are we able to identify more of the heretics' puppets from that information?"
"We would probably need the corresponding records from the Chinese side," Lucretia answered. "And if we were in a position to access those, well…"
"The heretics wouldn't be such a problem to begin with," Lelouch finished. "Be that as it may, it is still an avenue worth pursuing, but one that a specialist team should pursue."
"Perhaps IBI, then?" Olivia suggested, looking over at the emperor.
Better to leave such intelligence work to an actual intelligence agency, after all.
Charles nodded. "I will direct the Duchess of Vauxhall to look into the matter."
Lelouch's lips twitched ever so slightly at the mention of that title. The woman that held it was one he was well familiar with, or at least he used to be. At the least he could trust that the matter would be handled with competency instead of getting pawned off down the chain of command.
"Still," the cardinal said with pursed lips, "I find myself somewhat befuddled as to what exact end the heretics are working towards here. Their actions have resulted in the depletion of many assets that quite clearly took a long time to foster, for seemingly little gain. I can't decide which is worse, that we are dealing with inexperienced or inept operatives, or their objective is simply something we have yet to fathom."
"We have an age estimate of the heretical contractor we've identified," Lucretia spoke up, "and he does not appear to be much older than Your Eminence yourself. Assuming he does not have a more experienced handler assisting him, this might well be a matter of ineptitude."
"Maybe so, but folly can be a danger all its own," Olivia said. "Where wiser heads might refrain from attempting a challenge they know to be beyond them, someone not able to proper gauge the strength of their opponents might chance under the misconception that they might win. And even if their loss is inevitable, they might still inflict a modicum of damage that could inconvenience us."
"Could they not be a distraction?" Cornelia suggested. "These spies are here to stir up trouble and draw our attention, while others pursue their true objective?"
"As I said," Lelouch gave a wry smile, "I'm not sure which is worse."
"The only ones like to know the answer would be the heretics themselves," C.C. remarked. "We could ask them, but that would require capturing one alive."
This time Lelouch really did grimace. "Is that an order, Grandmaster?"
The smile C.C. flashed was not reassuring in the least. "I'll leave that up to your discretion."
Would it kill her to assume some degree of responsibility, was the retort Lelouch did not verbalize, though the widening grin on C.C.'s face told him she still heard it loud and clear.
"Still, setting aside the matter of the heretics, it would appear measurable progress is being made in Japan's integration," the emperor said, sounding more than a little proud.
"I would like to think so, Your Majesty," Lelouch said. "Not only did the resistance movements provide the intel that led to our breakthrough, the men and women of the 597th performed with exemplary proficiency and discipline. Despite having reasons aplenty to seek vengeance upon the enemies at Babel, they refrained from executing any of the prisoners that they were able to take. Colonel Gottwald has done an excellent job raising them to the highest standards the army could ask for."
"Gottwald," Charles said thoughtfully. "He was one of Marianne's retainers. It is good that you were able to make good use of him."
There was a certain degree of ambiguity as to what the emperor truly meant, but Lelouch paid it no mind for now. Better to not court any more complications than he already had to deal with.
The rest of the meeting wrapped up shortly thereafter, with an if not entirely satisfactory conclusion, then at least one where all those participating knew what their next steps would be. Of course, it was not as if the world stopped turning during the time the conference took place, and plenty could happen therein. As the four attendees physically present in Tokyo stepped out of the room, they found Sancia waiting outside.
"Your Eminence," the woman addressed Lelouch, and only Lelouch, "there has been an extremely problematical development."
While Cornelia hesitated a moment to see if she should linger, C.C. simply took her leave as if the matter had nothing to do with her.
"Walk with me," Lelouch said to Sancia.
The attendant did so with Lucretia trailing after them, effectively signaling that Lelouch would handle the matter himself.
"What is the problem?" the cardinal asked.
"While examining the hostages rescued from Babel, we were able to identify one of them as Ms. Kohaku Kouzuki."
"What!?"
That actually saw Lelouch come to an abrupt halt and basically yell into Sancia's face. His voice was loud enough that in the distance both Cornelia and C.C. turned about to see what the commotion was.
"She is currently at the hospital being treated, so we have not yet had an opportunity to determine exactly how she fell into Babel's hands."
"And Kallen?"
"She should have already arrived."
Lelouch bit back a curse. "Get a car ready. We're going to the hospital."
"Already waiting, Your Eminence."
While Lelouch could not exactly be called a regular of the hospital, he had had cause to visit the place on more than enough occasions, even if not as a patient. None of those previous occasions promised to be as unpleasant as today's however, even taking into account the last time he had to deal with an irate Kallen. Last time she did not have her geass, after all.
"Do not allow anyone aside from my party in," Lelouch ordered as he opened the door.
Dalque and Sancia followed, closing the door behind, while Alice and Lucretia took up positions on both sides. Within, with her back to them, Kallen sat looking over the sleeping form of her mother. From the tightened expression on Kohaku's face, it was not a restful slumber.
"Kallen?" Lelouch called out gently.
No response. The cardinal walked over, placing a hand on Kallen's shoulder. The moment his hand touched her however, it became immediately evident that Kallen was not simply sitting there. No, her entire body was trembling. Not in sorrow or worry, but in raw anger. In a flash, Kallen spung around and grabbed hold of Lelouch. She slammed him against the wall, her blue eyes burning in cold fury.
"I swore myself to you," she said, her voice low but crystal clear, "in order to protect my people. To protect my family!" It did not stay that way for long. "The Empire already took away my brother. How much more am I supposed to lose!?"
A quick wave of Lelouch's hand kept Dalque from trying to dislodge Kallen, for now at least. Trying to physically restrain the girl right now would only make things worse. She was also still mindful enough not to be using her geass, so Lelouch could put up with a little bit of physical aggression from her.
"You promised you'd do everything in your power to help them," Kallen said, the anger in her eyes now mixed with the sorrow from the tears streaking out. "You promised."
Besides, Lelouch could hardly find it within himself to deny any of what drove Kallen to such despair. Even as Kallen cried, Lelouch did not reach out to try and comfort or reassure her. Such a gesture would have been so hollow after a failure this monumental.
A groan sounded, along with that of shifting sheets. Looking over, they saw Kohaku shift as her eyes fluttered.
"Kallen?"
"Mom!"
Kallen was immediately at the bedside once more. The words exchanged were entirely in Japanese, but their meaning was discernable to anyone with a heart.
"Kallen, you're really here," Kohaku said, trying vainly to rise.
"That's right Mom," Kallen said, quickly reaching out to keep the older woman from overexerting herself. "I'm here. Everything's going to be alright now." She took a deep breath. "Everything has to be alright."
"If you're safe, then everything is alright," Kohaku said, her words softening into a mere whisper. "I was so worried about you, when you just disappeared."
"I'm sorry," Kallen said. "I should have told you where I went. Everything happened so quickly, but I should have still told you. If I had, then none of this would have happened."
"It's okay, it's okay," Kohaku assured her daughter. "So long as you're safe, nothing else matters."
"But things do matter," Kallen protested. "You matter, Mom. You're all I have left."
This time Kohaku's arm tried to rise, and Kallen quickly took hold of her hand and gave it a squeeze.
"Now that's not true," Kohaku said. "You still have your father, don't you?"
Kallen wanted to shake her head, to deny this, but after everything that had happened, all she could do was nod.
"I'm glad," Kohaku said. "It looks like the two of you finally talked. Your father, he's not a bad man. He had some hard choices to make, and he did the best that he could. So, don't hate him, Kallen. And please, be there for him as well."
"You too Mom," Kallen said stubbornly. "I'll be there for you too, just like you'll be there for the both of us."
Kohaku smiled, a clear pride shining in her eyes as she gazed warmly at her daughter. And then a series of coughs escaped her, wracking her body.
"Mom!?"
Kallen placed a hand under her mother, trying to steady her. The fit passed, but when Kohaku looked up at her daughter again, there was a certain dimness to them.
"Kallen? Did your father give you those new clothes?"
Kallen flinched, but gamely answered. "Yes, yes he did."
"I see. Then he's keeping his promise." Kohaku smiled, though there was a clear strain to her expression. "He said he would take care of you. I'm glad."
It took all of Kallen's self-control not to break down again as she struggled to muster a response.
"He did," she finally managed. "He is. Dad is doing everything he can."
"That's good," Kohaku said. "I know this is hard for you, Kallen, but don't blame your father. He's doing everything he can, for all of us. So please, don't hate him."
"I don't hate him," Kallen said, more firmly. "I know things are complicated, and I know he's doing the best he can. He'll keep his promise, Mom. You don't need to worry. He kept his promise."
The smile this time was more assured.
"That's good," Kohaku said again, then took a deep breath. "That's good."
Her eyes slowly closed as consciousness slipped from the woman once more.
"He kept his promise," Kallen repeated, more a mutter to herself than anything else. "He kept his promise."
Lelouch watched the scene before him, a deep pain welling within his own heart. Here lay Kallen's mother, reunited with her daughter but so gravely ravaged. In due time, the visible physical wounds upon her body might yet heal and the scars fade. But the mental trauma, and the internal damage done to her by the drugs she had been injected with at Babel, those might be beyond mere mortal means even with Eden Vital's advanced medical technology.
"It seems many have made promises to you," Lelouch said. "Let me not be amongst those that foreswore one."
The cardinal reached out a hand, placing it over Kohaku.
"Commence data restoration."
The effect was instantaneous, though in that instant countless bits of error were corrected. The totality of the data that represented Kohaku Kouzuki's physical form was renewed, all of the damage wiped from her instance. The cuts and bruises faded from her soft skin, the misfiring synapses and chaotic noise within her brain quietened into a steady plateau. The ragged gasps that her exhausted lungs drew in now mellowed into easy breaths. All this, in not even a blink of his eye, was Kohaku restored.
"Wha?"
Kallen had not even had time to register the cardinal's words. And while she might have initially sensed the sudden change in her mother's condition, that was immediately overshadowed by Lelouch slumping over.
"Your Eminence!?" she exclaimed.
This time Dalque did leap forward, grabbing hold of Lelouch to keep him from toppling over Kohaku. The cardinal's body shuddered as a trickle of blood escaped his lips.
"Lucretia!" Dalque called out.
"Code Blue," Lucretia said into her radio. "Prepare emergency treatment, now!"
The shaking grew worse, and in fact even Dalque was having trouble holding onto the cardinal.
"Need some help here!" the girl cried out.
Alice was through the door, grabbing on as well.
"What's going on!?" Kallen exclaimed.
"Kallen, grab on!" Lucretia ordered.
Kallen did so, and felt an immense wave of energy surge through her. Her geass activated reflexively, absorbing the bulk of it and finally calming the violent spasms rocking Lelouch's body. The cardinal's body went limp.
"Contact the grandmaster!" Lucretia could be heard shouting. "We need her here immediately!"
"Lelouch!?" Kallen exclaimed, supporting the youth and keeping him from collapsing outright.
No answer came.
End of Chapter 39
Well, that's going to have consequences. Anyone else want Lelouch to use his powers more?
The scenario with Kohaku could have gone a much darker route. One possibility I conceived of was Mao getting his hands on her and using her as a hostage against Kallen. At the time, I didn't feel up to trying to tackle an arc like that, partially because it was around then that I learned about the need to go job hunting. Was not in the mood to go dark/depressive back then.
New job starts in a week. I expect it'll be challenging and fun, and after the few weeks I've taken off to rest and recover, I should be able to hit the ground running. Not sure what my writing schedule will be like once that happens. I might even go work on one of my other stories just for a change of pace. It's not like there's any real rush to get the next chapter for this one out, right?
C.C. being C.C., is there really any doubt she wasn't looking to take a small vacation on the way to Kyoto?
Umm, I think there might be a slight misconception as to how much manpower Lelouch actually has on hand. And how many fires he's basically minding right now. And indeed how many layers of bureaucracy are between Lelouch and the people in the field. Short of Lelouch paying personal, direct attention on a particular matter, all of the information that reaches him has to go through probably a dozen people acting as filters at each step. There genuinely would not be enough hours in the day for him to personally mind all of the issues cropping up. Even if an investigation was previously launched, it still takes time for that investigation to collect information, much less process it. All those previous feats of administrative brilliance that Lelouch displayed dealing with other problems in Japan? That's time not spent dealing with the Babel issue.
As for the raid itself. Air support, I'm not entirely clear on what that would be for. The fighting that's happening is indoors, and you can't exactly be dropping airstrikes on the buildings without risking getting your own side or civilians you want to protect killed. Every usage of heavy ordnance genuinely risks structural failure, and the soldiers that used the antitank missile were arguably being overly reckless there. Maps, that's kind of why Lucretia and Sancia were there. They basically took a sounding that allowed them to construct floorplans of the resort, though because of the size of the place they didn't exactly have time to inspect in minute detail everything in every room. And as for a reserve team, I mean, under any reasonable circumstance, why in the world would one expect over a hundred gendarmes to not be enough? It's supposed to just be a casino. That there were an equal number of heavily armed mercs was solely due to Mao planning to stage a massacre, had McDougal been left alone to make his own decisions, he wouldn't have been stupid enough to have so many weapons that he could get charged with sedition at Babel of all places. The place is really not valuable enough to warrant that much firepower to protect. I actually had to genuinely consider if I needed an excuse for the 597th to put in a showing, since by all rights there should be no reason for Lelouch to be that paranoid as to call in two army companies to back up a policing action. That I didn't come up with an excuse was actually me being lazy last chapter.
Is Lelouch omniscient? No. Can he screw up? Certainly. Under more normal circumstances was there any reason for him to expect to have to deal with an entire company of heavily armed mercs at Babel? I'd like to think no, considering the place is literally just a casino resort. There are military outposts that have fewer soldiers stationed at them than what the gendarmerie ran into at Babel.