Chapter 53
The Fraction of Decimation
"The model projections thus far indicate a 63% chance that the Russians actually would launch their land-based ICBMs if their ballistic submarine fleet was neutralized," Olivia stated, "and a 66% chance that the Chinese would do likewise. Between them, the Chinese and Russians have about four thousand warheads, with the Chinese at a third of Russian numbers. Of course, total deployed warheads is not the same as total number of delivery platforms deployed. Both countries have MIRV capability, with their ballistic missiles capable of carrying four to ten warheads, depending on configuration."
For ostensibly a sister in a religious order, Olivia knew quite a bit about the nuclear capabilities of various nations that might soon find themselves in open hostilities with Britannia. Then again, the prioress was, alongside her position as one of C.C.'s direct attendants, also the second-in-command of the Order Militant. Indeed much of the work Lelouch was being diverted from while serving as viceroy was landing in Olivia's lap.
"At present, we believe the Chinese have about two hundred ballistic missiles deployed, with over half mounted in their submarine fleet. The rest are scattered amongst a series of silos and road-mobile launchers. The Russians have about twice the Chinese numbers, they tend to prefer stacking more warheads in their ballistic missiles, and actually have more of them in land-based launchers. Neutralizing the Russian submarines would eliminate only 40% of their deployed warheads."
Sobering numbers, those.
"Even assuming Damocles could have achieved the target fifteen shots per satellite, against the Chinese we would have needed at least six in orbit to deal with the land-based missiles," Lelouch noted. "With the Russian numbers added in, we'd need close to four times that. There is no chance of us building that many satellites even in the original timetable, much less the one we'd need to meet before hostilities are expected to commence."
"And does this x-ray laser that your Dr. Chawla has brought to you alter this calculus?" Schneizel asked.
As the prince's presence indicated, this was yet another meeting between the Britannian Empire and Eden Vital's leadership, with the usual members present. So far most of the participants had only been listening passively as Olivia set the basic background. Now however it was time for them to partake in the actual discussion.
"Assuming the technical specifications provided to us by Dr. Chawla are accurate," Olivia responded, "the x-ray laser would be capable of upwards of fifty shots per satellite before its lasing medium is burned out. That would put us back to about seven satellites assuming maximum efficiency."
Still not something they could do in the remaining moths available, but the increased capability might still be worthwhile in and of itself, with one caveat.
"Integration of the Guren graser into the Damocles satellite design took several months even with Eden Vital's help," Schneizel pointed out. "How much of the time the x-ray laser-"
"Xraser," Lelouch interjected.
The second prince blinked but cracked a slight smirk at the moniker.
"-the xraser ostensibly save us get eaten up by the required design time?"
"The risk certainly exists," Olivia agreed, "but assuming enough commonality between the xraser and the graser's systems, we would not be starting from scratch."
"That seems mildly optimistic," Schneizel said skeptically, "seeing as from my experience most such high technology systems tend to be rather bespoke."
"To an extent, they are," the prioress conceded. "The xraser and graser however were developed by the same team, which increases the chances of reuse across the designs."
After a moment Schneizel shrugged. "I will reserve further judgment until a more detailed technical analysis can be done. That being said, I am not discounting the advantages this xraser would offer Britannia, especially in the long term, or even in the medium term. The price however requires very careful consideration."
"Dr. Chawla has indicated the price, though dear, is negotiable," Lelouch said. "While she would certainly want Britannia's wholesale support for Indian succession, she recognizes that, political considerations aside, there is still a practical limit to Britannia's ability to render such an outcome."
"Arguably any involvement at all by Britannia in the Indian matter would be dear," Schenizel said. "The subcontinent has an extremely complex political situation, such that we're liable to be looking at a two-way succession at minimum. Even if the Empire did not press for China's withdrawal from India and simply provided support to its secessionist elements, it adds another complication to the eventual diplomatic resolution we must meet with China, unless the Empire would seek the Federation's dissolution outright."
That last bit saw Schneizel glance over at his father, who thus far had remained silent. The emperor however gave a singular shake of his head, indicating his lack of interest in committing the Empire to such an intrusive intervention. Considering Britannia was still busy digesting all of its recent imperial conquests, that was hardly unexpected.
"In frankness, it already is a significant inconvenience that the Sumeragi Group has provided any support, discrete as it may be, to secessionist elements in India," Schneizel continued. "The graser and xraser are useful, certainly, but it is not the Empire's goal to remain perpetually hostile to the nations that we are currently seeking to neutralize. What tactical, even strategic, advantage these weapons provide in the near and medium term, the asked for price promises to create a debt that will linger for years, if not generations. After all, not everyone in India necessarily wants to secede, or to secede as a singular entity. Depending on how messy that all plays out, Britannia is more liable to earn resentment from all sides than establish a new ally that can be cultured."
Lelouch could not dispute that, indeed the cardinal was perfectly cognizant of these considerations himself. That awareness did not however leave him any closer to a solution to the conundrum.
"So does this mean your preference would be to forgo the xraser?" Lelouch asked. "Or do you have an alternative form of recompense to propose?"
What crossed Schneizel's face fit the technical definition of a smile. The edges of the prince's lips certainly were quirking upwards. By the time Schneizel was done with his explanation, it was most certainly not reassurance on the expressions looking back at him. Charles had an eyebrow raised at his son's audacity, Cornelia's jaw dangled most unladylike, while Lelouch and Olivia wore pensive, thoughtful looks.
"That feels rather complicated," Lelouch finally said, "though I can see the merits. It might even work, assuming you can get parliament to cough up the necessary funding."
"Leave convincing parliament," Schneizel glanced over at his father, "and the imperial court, to me. That is my job, after all."
"I will take you at your word," Lelouch said with a shrug. "Assuming Dr. Chawla agrees, we would however still not be able to put enough Damocles satellites in orbit to neutralize the Chinese and Russian nuclear arsenals in the opening phase of the war."
"Would that be necessary?" Cornelia asked. "Personally I'm not terribly enthused about letting the Chinese or Russians keep their nukes while at war with them, but if we refrain from escalating at the onset, would that buy enough time to get Damocles operational?"
"Our models indicate the Chinese and Russians aren't likely to resort to nuclear escalation," Olivia answered, "at least not until they feel the Empire genuinely seeks their debellation. The point at which they reach this conclusion is likely contingent on the rate at which Britannia mobilizes for an offensive war."
As someone that was at least somewhat familiar with the Empire's contingency planning, Cornelia had a fairly firm idea of what the bounds of that timeline would be. But the military's logistical capacity to marshal the armies necessary to invade was only one part of the overall calculus that would dictate the flow of the war.
"If the Empire does not decisively commit within six months of the opening of hostilities," Schneizel imparted the political portion, "it would be difficult to sustain public sentiment for continued hostilities."
"Eden Vital's own modeling supports this," Olivia lent her support.
Six months, past the remaining few months before China and Russia were expected to kick off the war. Could Britannia complete the deployment of Damocles necessary to avert nuclear Armageddon? Schneizel glanced over at Lelouch.
"Is Eden Vital prepared to guarantee the completion of the Damocles satellites in time?" the prince asked.
What Schneizel was asking for was obvious enough, he wanted Eden Vital to utilize the manufacturing capabilities of its thought elevators to build the weapons satellites itself instead of Britannia relying on conventional methods. The Order could do it too, building the satellites was certainly within its capacity, and it could offer greater guarantees that they would actually work. Utilizing that capacity in such a manner did not come for free however, cycle time would have to be diverted from other work. Then there was the precedent this established. For reasons of its own, Eden Vital did not particularly want to be serving as a manufacturer of last resort for things that were within Britannia's technical capacity to build. Still, these were extraordinary circumstances, and Lelouch and Olivia could probably convince C.C. to grant her authorization. Probably. With the right inducements.
"The first-generation production run will be limited to only a BMD role," Lelouch declared, "with control routed through Eden Vital's own systems."
Cornelia openly frowned at that, while for Schneizel it was his turn to quirk an eyebrow.
"On the condition that the Eden Vital controlled satellites are to be deorbited once the conventionally manufactured replacements are in place," Schneizel countered, "and the government will compensate for only half of the cycle allocations needed for the first production run."
It was arguably the latter condition that would annoy the grandmaster more, but again after a quick unspoken exchange with Olivia, Lelouch nodded.
"Done."
Schneizel cast his own glance over at Charles, but with the emperor offering no objections, this particular deal was as good as sealed. The issue of getting the xraser to begin with would still need some more massaging, on both sides.
"How much!?"
Despite her usual nonplussed demeanor, Rakshata was outright gaping at Lelouch. Not that she could be blamed for it, considering what Lelouch had just dropped on her.
"Twenty to fifty billion pounds, depending on what Prince Schneizel is able to work out with parliament," Lelouch repeated, "every year for twenty years. Which comes out to four hundred to a trillion pounds total. That money would be invested into upgrading India's infrastructure and basic services like education and healthcare."
Rakshata ran a hand through her hair, clearly still struggling to come to terms with what the cardinal was proposing.
"And this is your alternative counteroffer to helping India achieve independence?" the doctor finally said.
"Counteroffer, yes, though arguably less of an alternative than you seem to think," Lelouch said. "Your 'independence' as you call it is not going to be something achieved cheaply, and India, while by no means poor, is not so rich that it would be able to shoulder the cost of statehood once separated from China, much less provide for its citizens even the standard of living they presently enjoy under Chinese rule."
Rakshata's eyes narrowed. "Do you think my people would trade mere economic standing for lack of self-rule?"
"While national pride and dignity may be priceless," Lelouch said, "it does not necessarily help with paying for those things with concrete prices. And an impoverished, or at least economically weakened, India does not serve Britannia's long-term interests particularly well either. If the Empire is to help advance the cause of Indian statehood, we want any help we render to bolster the likelihood of that state to succeed at the onset, not have it emerge halfcocked and lacking the capacity to deal with its newly assumed responsibilities."
The doctor's expression eased ever so slightly into a more thoughtful, albeit still pensive, one.
"You, or I suppose Britannia, seem rather convinced India wouldn't be able to stand on its own two feet."
"Based on the current geopolitical climate, our sociopolitical models estimate there to be a 96% chance of major population displacements along religious lines," Lelouch began rattling off, "an 83% chance of outright ethnic cleansing, and a 69% chance of outright civil war. And no offense to you, Doctor, but as impressive as your xraser is, it is still not valuable enough for the Empire to risk all that, plus the increased difficulty of repairing our relations with a postwar China openly advocating for Indian succession would cause."
A flicker of irritation, maybe even anger, crossed Rakshata's eyes. "Are you insinuating something there, Your Eminence?"
"Insinuate nothing," Lelouch said bluntly. "You are a Brahmin, are you not, Doctor? What advantages has that status granted you through your life?"
"As opposed to your status as a royal scion?" Rakshata countered.
"Arguably it is my mother's lineage that motivated Eden Vital to invest as many resources in me as they have," Lelouch responded without missing a beat, "though I will not deny that being my father's son comes with distinct advantages of its own." The cardinal shrugged. "I will not deny that Britannia also has some degree of social stratification, but that also means the Empire is acutely aware of all the problems too rigid such a stratification can cause."
If the cardinal was intentionally trying to rile Rakshata up, the doctor's expression was a pretty good indicator of his efficacy. Him having a point didn't make it any less aggravating either.
"Concurrent with that awareness is also an understanding of how costly it can be to deal with the discontent caused," Lelouch continued. "It is not for nothing that Britannia invests considerable sums of resources in its security and military apparatuses, such investments are one of the two main factors that deter the general populace from being too tempted to disrupt the public order. Consider the even greater rigidity of India's social hierarchy. How much more would it cost India to do likewise? How much wealth does India possess to even divert in such a manner?"
Rakshata took out her pipe and lit it, this time without even bothering to ask for Lelouch's permission. After his coarseness, the doctor was not particularly motivated to afford him much courtesy. The cardinal did not seem much bothered however, waiting patiently for the doctor to gather her thoughts.
Much as Rakshata disliked Lelouch's tone, the doctor had to admit that the sort of tensions the cardinal described could genuinely lead to a great deal of turmoil. She was not necessarily convinced it would result in the sort of widespread bloodshed the cardinal was suggesting, but thinking it over, she could not completely deny the possibility outright, especially if India became bereft of an external enemy to hold its attention. For all Lelouch's abrasiveness however, the cardinal was also clearly insisting that Britannia did not want that happening, so the proposal he was relaying from the imperial government was probably intended to avert that very outcome.
"You say this offer of yours would be Britannia helping advance the cause of Indian statehood," the doctor said. "Mind explaining to me how that would work?"
"In a multitude of ways," Lelouch responded. "Governance, especially good governance, the other factor that dissuades disruption of social order, requires a great deal of resources to sustain, in both wealth and manpower. The two are mostly self-explanatory, though manpower has an additional subtle aspect to it, in that the quality of that manpower is as important as the overall quantity available. Trained and experienced manpower is after all what determines the quality of the service that manpower provides.
"If India is to be successful as an independent state, it needs to achieve good governance. And if it is to achieve good governance, it must be capable of meeting both the wealth and manpower requirements such governance demands. The infrastructure investments by Britannia would seek to increase the total wealth and overall quality of manpower available in the Indian subcontinent, and thereby setting up the conditions that would allow India to conduct self-rule on a sustainable, and even more crucially, progressive basis."
Rakshata tapped her pipe, calming down a bit thanks to both the nicotine and being able to engage her mind at a more pragmatic issue. "Okay, that makes sense, at a simplistic level. But China's never going to willingly let India achieve independence, even less so a much richer and prosperous India that's benefited from so many years of Britannian investment. If the Empire doesn't use the postwar negotiations to force China to let India go, there may never be another chance, at least not for generations."
"You are likely being a bit too pessimistic," Lelouch said. "China's willingness to part with India would not be the most significant factor behind whether the region is able to successfully secede. The opinions of your compatriots would play a far greater role."
Rakshata blinked. "What?"
"It is generally extremely difficult, if not outright impossible, to rule a people that do not wish to be ruled," Lelouch stated. "What will dictate China's ability to hold onto India is therefore not how much the Chinese want to keep the region, but the Indian populace's willingness to continue on as part of the wider Federation."
The befuddlement turned into a frown. "Are you suggesting my people want to remain under Chinese rule?"
"At least some of them do," Lelouch said. "And even more are likely more apathetic than not as to the matter of secession. Otherwise the Chinese state simply would not function within India."
Another unpleasant truth, but it was still truth nonetheless. Still.
"What makes you think the Chinese won't resort to the same degree of ruthlessness as Britannia did with the South American insurrection?"
The cardinal tilted his head a bit. "I see you are a student of history."
"I make it a point of knowing exactly who I climb in bed with," Rakshata said, taking another puff. "Politically and metaphorically, of course."
"Of course," Lelouch said. "And the answer would be because it wouldn't work, China would have to effectively destroy the entirety of India to suppress separatist sentiment using that method. The Empire was able to wipe out the leftist South American insurgency because the region was too economically undeveloped to field a force able to actually fight the Britannian military. For all that the insurgents were able to inflict casualties upon the Empire's forces, they simply could not replace their own losses, in either materiel or personnel."
"Because the Empire was willing to wipe out any village that was deemed sympathetic to them," Rakshata stated pointedly.
"Because the Empire did wipe out any village that demonstrated sympathy to the insurgents," Lelouch responded with an almost uncanny aloofness. "Am I supposed to infer some sort of moral affront on your part?"
Rakshata remained silent for a moment before finally shaking her head.
"I'm not here to debate morality or ethics with you, Your Eminence. That would serve no productive purpose towards a successful conclusion of our negotiations."
"Very well," Lelouch said. "Is there anything else about the offer that you have questions about, or do you need time to think it over?"
"There is one other thing," the doctor said, meeting Lelouch's eyes with a steely gaze of her own. "It is all well and good that the Empire's money would be used to improve India's circumstances, but how is this not liable to simply replace Chinese influence with Britannian influence?"
"There are no reassurances that I could offer that would alleviate that concern," Lelouch said frankly. "Britannia is not investing such substantial sums solely as recompense for your graser and xraser technology, as I stated previously, that technology is not that valuable to the Empire. Britannia absolutely will be seeking to gain influence over the Indian subcontinent using this investment, and the extent to which this influence reaches will ultimately be determined by the extent to which the Indian people will tolerate it. If you accept this deal, you will need to reconcile yourself to the possibility that they might well tolerate it to a far greater extent than you would personally be comfortable with. If that is not possible, then we should end the matter here and now."
Rakshata regarded the cardinal with a mildly incredulous look. "Are you sure you're actually trying to convince me to accept the deal?"
"Much as Britannia sees little point in prematurely precipitating India's separation from China for the sake of expediency, I see little point in making false assurances to you about the consequences of your decision," Lelouch said. "I'd like to think you are too smart to fall for such platitudes, if nothing else."
The doctor snorted. "If that was meant as a compliment, it was quite the backhanded one."
She took another deep breath, accompanied by a long huff of her pipe. Lelouch remained patiently silent, letting Rakshata gather her thoughts. The wait was not overly long, though it was probably a good thing the cardinal possessed a modicum of patience.
"I think I'm going to want more details on how this investment will actually be carried out," Rakshata said. "How the Empire intends to pick projects, where those projects would be, and how the needs and views of the locals will be taken into account."
The doctor paused there to tap out some of the ash building up in her pipe, but Lelouch still remained silent. She was clearly not done yet.
"But," Rakshata finally continued, "I think this is a deal that I can't not take. There's likely never going to be another chance to provide my home with such a boon, even with all the strings attached." She let out a sigh. "So many strings."
Despite the clear apprehension in her voice, the doctor gave herself a shake as she met Lelouch's gaze once more.
"So I'll take the deal, for now. I'll even sign on the dotted line now, so that Britannia can get started on the xraser as quickly as possible. Just," she grimaced slightly, "when the time comes to unveil the investment, can we find someone other than you to sell it to the Indian public?"
Lelouch gave a snort. "I am the cardinal of the Order Militant, Doctor. I know well enough to leave the public relations to others more adept at it."
That did not entirely mollify Rakshata, but the good doctor knew that was probably as good as she was going to get, so she simply nodded. And looked down at the hand now extended to her by Lelouch.
"So we have a deal then, Dr. Chawla?"
Rakshata looked up at the cardinal, then down at the hand. After a moment longer, she finally took it. While Lelouch's grip was firm, the young man did not exhibit the need to express some inflated sense of machoism by exerting some crushing tightness with his hand. Still, as Rakshata held it, a thought of hers flickered back to a prior remark by the cardinal. He had said that China attempting to militarily exterminate India's independence movement would not work because China would need to destroy the entire region. But if some polity did possess the ruthlessness to do just that, then would that not constitute working, no matter how extreme and morbid the outcome? Did she even need to worry about such a possibility? As Rakshata met Lelouch's gaze once more, the doctor was tempted to give voice to that question. At the unflinching eyes that met her own, she thought better of it.
When Suzaku opened his eyes, what he saw was a nostalgic ceiling, one he had not seen for many years now. Not since that fateful day when he lost his father and began losing his mother. His vision shifted upright, then swayed side to side as the perspective he was watching looked around. He had apparently been napping on the sofa, and now awake, was getting his bearings again. With a slight hop, he pushed off from the sofa and began heading out the room.
"Oh, Suzaku-sama, finished with your nap?" a voice sounded.
Looking up, Suzaku found himself face to face with a kindly looking woman. One of the family maids, his recollection identified.
"Uh huh," his vision bobbed up and down with his head. "Where is Father?"
"In his study working," the maid answered, "so be sure not to disturb him."
Though he could not see his own face, Suzaku actually felt the pout that emerged. The maid gave a slight chuckle, though a tinge of worry touched the edges of her smile.
"Your father has been under a great deal of pressure, Suzaku, so I'm sure you saying hello will cheer him, but don't linger too long, okay?"
"Okay!" came the boyish exuberance.
Without waiting another moment, Suzaku dashed off, the fleeting words of caution from the maid just barely audible before he was out of earshot. The Kururugi family estate in Kyoto was quite extravagant, as far as Japanese standards went. The land itself was actually passed down through Suzaku's mother's family and was gifted to the couple when they were just newlyweds. While Genbu Kururugi's career often obliged him to be away from Kyoto, he always made it a point to come back to the home where his wife and son were. Even now, as prime minister, when the demands of state could be better fulfilled if he remained in Tokyo fulltime, Genbu seemed loathe to force his wife and child to depart from their familiar environs and close by kin that a more permanent relocation would entail. As such, even with the looming crisis with Britannia, the man still made the time to be with his family. That did not stop him from putting his all into his work however, even here in Kyoto.
While Suzaku might not be fully aware of the nuances of the current international crisis Japan was caught in the middle of, he was at least well-behaved enough to understand not to just barge into his father's office when he was at home. As such when he reached the closed door, Suzaku came to a halt and knocked properly. Only when a loud voice calling out "enter" sounded did he push open the door and do so.
Looking up, Genbu blinked a moment at the sight of his son. His momentary surprise quickly disappeared however, and though his expression remained stern, there was no irritation at his son's intrusion.
"What is it, Suzaku?"
The boy hesitated a moment before smiling sheepishly. "Umm, I wanted to see how you were doing, Father."
Genbu chuckled, rising from his desk and walking over. He gave his son an affectionate ruffle of the hair.
"Busy, as I'm sure the maids told you."
"She did," Suzaku admitted.
"Well, there you have it. Still, I'm not so busy that I can't appreciate my boy taking the time to look in on me. So thank you, Son."
The smile on Suzaku's face widened, but before he could say anything else knocks sounded on the office door again. These ones were far more frantic.
"Enter," Genbu said, frowning more seriously.
The man that did so gave a courteous, but curt, bow.
"Your Excellency, apologies, but I bring dire news," he began, then noticed Suzaku and hesitated.
Genbu gave his son a light, but firm, pat on the back. "Run along now, Suzaku. I'm afraid I have work to do."
"Take care, Father," Suzaku said worriedly as he took his leave.
Once the door closed behind him, Suzaku lingered a bit, trying to eavesdrop on what was going on inside his father's office. The voices started out somewhat hushed but grew with intensity over time. Something about Britannia, the military, Europe, China, whatever his father was discussing, it seemed important, though the boy could not quite understand what it all meant. Having grown a bit bored, he headed off down the hall to find something else to while away his time.
That time turned out to be remarkably short however as suddenly the house became a flurry of activity. Looking around in confusion, Suzaku struggled to make sense of why everyone was in such a hurry, or why they looked so worried.
"Suzaku!"
The call of his name saw the boy quickly spin around towards the source.
"Mother?" Suzaku said as he himself rushed over. "What's going on? What's wrong?"
Saori Kururugi knelt down to be eye-level with her son. "Suzaku, we're going to have to leave here for a bit. Go to your father, stay by his side until everything is ready, alright?"
The boy blinked in confusion. "But, why?"
"I'll explain later," Saori said, offering her son as reassuring a smile as she could manage. "Right now I just need you to be a good boy. Can you do that?"
"Of course Mother," Suzaku assured her.
Saori nodded, then pulled her son into a tight embrace. "Everything will be alright, Suzaku. I promise."
While Suzaku still had no idea just what so worried his mother, he was still determined to do what he could to quell that anxiety.
"Don't worry, Mother. We'll all be fine."
Saori's expression softened as she favored her only child with a warm, almost proud smile.
"Yes, I'm sure we will be. Now, run along to your father's office."
The boy gave a determined nod and did just that. The door was wide open this time so he headed right in.
"Father!"
The scowl on Genbu's face was deeper this time around, and his father seemed genuinely angry. That caused Suzaku to come to a stop, not least because of the other man standing alongside Genbu. Suzaku recognized him, though the name remained just at the tip of his tongue.
"Thank you for everything you have done for my family, Sakurazuka-sensei."
Sakurazuka. That was the name of the doctor that paid his family house visits. Suzaku had some vague inkling that Sakurazuka was actually quite famous. At the very least, he was more than a general practitioner. That he would take the time to pay house calls here said something about how important Suzaku's own family was, or perhaps how close Sakurazuka himself was with them.
"You have nothing to thank me for, Kururugi-sama." Seishirou extended a hand. "Hopefully there will be many years yet in which I will be around to ensure your family's good health."
"Indeed," Genbu said, accepting the hand and exchanging a firm shake with the younger man.
As Seishirou headed for the door, he stopped momentarily to give Suzaku a pat on the head.
"May our parting be as fleeting as the cherry blossom petals," he said to the boy.
For some reason the boy thought an unnatural glint flashed in Seishirou's right eye. He was still staring after the departing man when his father called out.
"Suzaku."
The boy's head snapped back and saw his father pulling a box out from a desk drawer. When he trotted over, he gasped slightly as Genbu pulled out a familiar looking gun. Suzaku had from time to time seen his father clean his old service sidearm, and every time Genbu had impressed upon his son the importance of respecting the weapon. Even if it lacked the artistry of a katana, it was still something that could take a life all too easily if one was careless. This was however the first time Suzaku had seen his father sliding a magazine into the gun.
"This is going to be difficult for you to understand," Genbu began, "but Japan is now at war."
Suzaku blinked. "War? Is that? Does that mean there's going to be fighting?"
"That's right," Genbu said, "war. And it's going to be a hard fight. That's why you and your mother need to leave for someplace safe."
"What about you, Father?"
Genbu set the gun down, his face darkened by a grimace. "I have another duty that I must see to, which is why I'm entrusting your mother to you. Can you do that for me, my boy?"
Determination welled within Suzaku, along with a slight pressure in his head. "Yes, Father."
"Good. The servants are packing the essentials, so stay in here until they are ready to take you and your mother to safety."
"I understand, Father."
With a satisfied nod, Genbu rose and left the office. The absence of his father caused the pressure to decrease, though why that was Suzaku had no idea. Taking a deep breath, he looked around the room. Something told him it would be a very long time before he would see it again. As he turned, Suzaku's eyes fell upon the pistol again. The loaded pistol. The pressure in his head began building again and he felt an urge to pick it up. It was an urge his common sense was screaming against, but Suzaku still found his hand reaching out. Hands, as the size of the weapon was too much for him to grip with just one. The weapon was still cold to the touch, a sensation that ever so slightly tickled Suzaku's sensibilities enough to make him increasingly nervous about holding it. What would his father think, after all those admonishments to not treat the gun so negligently? The fear of that disappointment caused a surge in anxiety, yet a numbing force clamped down it almost immediately so that his grip on the gun actually tightened instead of loosening.
Even as the turmoil within Suzaku was eroded, along with the boy's own sense of self, the door to the office opened again as Genbu returned. It was not until the sound of it slamming reached the boy however did he notice his father's presence.
"Suzaku?" Genbu said. "What are you doing?"
The moment he saw his father however, instead of answering, Suzaku froze up entirely. That might well have been an entirely natural reaction, many a child that had been caught with their hands in the proverbial cookie jar would freeze up. But the manner of Suzaku's own immobilization was quite different. There was a dullness to his eyes, where there should have been shock or surprise. He was certainly looking at Genbu, but there seemed a detachment between what he saw and what he felt. Suzaku should have felt a spike of fear at the anger his father was displaying, or sorrow at the disappointment. If anything, there was a firm certainty of purpose that pervaded his mind. A confidence, even, in what he should do next. He pointed the gun at his father.
"Suzaku," Genbu said, more softly this time, realizing that something was very, very wrong here. "Put the gun down."
Under any other circumstances, Suzaku would have done just that. Yet now, the notion of putting the gun down seemed outright foreign to the boy. No, not foreign. A part of him desperately wanted to do just that, but that part was immobilized, trapped within the confines of his own mind. Instead he flipped some sort of switch on the side of the gun, something Suzaku vaguely recalled was called a 'safety.'
"Suzaku," Genbu whispered, grimacing even more darkly now. "Did they get to you, Son?"
Who was this they his father referred to?
"Damn them to the lowest hells," Genbu cursed. "To touch my own son!?"
Even as he spoke, the man was clearly trying to inch his way closer to Suzaku, likely to try and disarm him. The movement did not escape Suzaku's notice, nor whatever it was that had a grip upon his mind and body. The reaction was a given, and a loud boom sounded, followed by another, and then another. Somehow Suzaku did not lose his grip on the gun despite being completely unused to the recoil of a firing pistol. The cacophony was still enough to slightly daze him, so it took a moment for him to realize every shot had somehow hit. Finally, the shock of the sight broke through whatever unnatural calm previously stilled his feelings.
"FATHER!?"
Genbu was down on his knees now, gripping his bloodied chest. Yet somehow, he managed to look up and actually smile at his son.
"Suzaku. You're okay. Good."
That was all the man managed as he toppled over completely. Suzaku's own vision washed out, though not before he heard footsteps drawing close, followed by grief-stricken scream.
"How is it looking?" Lucretia asked.
Sancia shook her head. "Mr. Kururugi seems to be stuck in some sort of negative feedback loop. We've isolated the node that's blocked off, but every time we try to route a neural path through it, it gets severed. I've sedated him for the time being, we don't want that loop to cause mental burnout."
Lucretia pursed her lips. "Is that something he's doing subconsciously?"
"Possibly, which certainly complicates our attempts to treat him."
The two, along with Suzaku and a few others, were in the Kamine Island thought elevator. The youth himself was lying unconscious on one of the external neuro-link interface beds, the system augmenting the link physically installed within his body. The upgrade to Suzaku's existing suite was straightforward enough, but that arguably had been the easiest part of this whole treatment regimen. Actually undoing the conditioning the Sakurazukamori had placed upon the young man was proving much more complicated.
"Options?"
"We've already tried a psychotropic cocktail to try to break the loop," Sancia said. "The only thing we have stronger would be a diluted Refrain-based cocktail, which would risk causing a stroke if we get the dosage wrong."
Lucretia tilted her head. "Are you expecting that to be particularly difficult?"
Considering Sancia's abilities, it was arguably child's play for her to perform in her head the detailed calculations necessary to track just how much of the cocktail to release into the youth to avoid an overdose. With them inside of a thought elevator, she could achieve an even greater level of granularity. There was one catch though.
"I'll need extremely accurate physiological telemetry for that," Sancia said. "Think you can do a deep scan?"
While Sancia could process a tremendous amount of data, Lucretia was one of the few capable of producing enough such data to properly take advantage of that capability. The latter's ability to obtain detailed physical telemetry within a set distance around her provided significant tactical advantages in battle, making it near impossible to sneak up on her. There were plenty of other applications as well, such as allowing her to crack a safe by detecting where the mechanical locks were aligned. Digital locks were more complicated, though she still stood a pretty good chance of guessing the order of the numbers whose buttons were smudged. Examining in detail a person's body was therefore no great challenge for her, and yes, she would be examining everything about said body. Not that Lucretia was particularly enthused about that particular aspect.
"I will brief the Sumeragis," Lucretia said by way of answer.
Seated next to the unconscious youth, Kaguya was holding Suzaku's hand. The girl had insisted on accompanying him while hew as being examined, possibly as a way of atoning for the many years in which his family had otherwise neglected him. Lelouch, and the girl's guardians, had indulged her, on the condition that if Suzaku's examination and treatment dragged on longer than a few days, she would need to return to Tokyo to avoid falling too far behind with her classes. And also that Subaru accompany her. Not that Ise did not trust Eden Vital within its own thought elevator, but they were not about to get careless either.
As Lucretia approached, Kaguya and Subaru looked up at the older girl.
"How is he doing?" Kaguya asked.
"We have unfortunately arrived at something of an impasse," Lucretia answered honestly. "While we've been able to map out the neural blockage, our attempts to induce an unbundling of the blockage is facing, resistance. We wish to try something stronger, but as with the greater strength in the psychotropic effects, comes greater risk."
"What exactly are you proposing?" Subaru asked next.
"Eden Vital has a drug concoction, Ambrosia-Triple-Nine. It is normally used to ease the mental strain that comes with acquiring a geass, making the brain more, malleable, in the initial stages so that alternate pathways can be created." Lucretia looked at the two Japanese without flinching. "The unrefined version is known to you as Refrain."
Kaguya gasped, while Subaru offered a more measured reaction in the furrowing of his brow.
"I will emphasize that Ambrosia is a highly refined cocktail that is administered with rigorous oversight," Lucretia said. "It is nowhere as unstable as the street-drug variant," the girl's eyes settled upon Subaru, "nor even the combination that Ise used for shaping minds able to connect to the thought elevators."
Subaru did not rise to the remark, and instead asked. "How significant are the risks?"
"Manageable," Lucretia said, "with the correct dosage. There should also be no lingering dependency issues. Myself and all my cohort all undertook a regimen of the drug and emerged without any ill-effects."
"Your cohort," Kaguya repeated. "Does that include His Eminence?"
"Yes," Lucretia answered immediately, "and Sister Kallen."
That Lucretia considered Kallen part of that cohort despite the recentness of her joining said much about how well the Japanese-Britannian girl had integrated with her fellow contractors.
Kaguya nodded, then looked up at her cousin. "I think we can take the chance."
Subaru also nodded, though his expression remained more neutral.
"Then we will proceed once Suzaku has had some time to rest," Lucretia said. "It would not do to overstrain him when seeking to treat him, after all."
Suzaku was dreaming again. Or having a nightmare, that seemed more apt considering the contents of the dream. He was back in his old family home, going through the motions of visiting his father, reassuring his mother, with it all culminating in his father dying by his hand. Or at least, that was what Suzaku was expecting. This time though, something was different. Different, and off. After leaving his father and wandering around the house, there was no sudden frantic scurry of servants, no panic and fear in when his mother spoke to him, and when he did go see his father again, it was carrying a small snack that his mother had prepared for the two to share. All that saw Suzaku's nerves calm slightly, enough so that the boy was able to push his anxieties aside enough to even look forward to seeing his father again.
When the door opened however and Suzaku's eyes met that of the visiting doctor, his heart felt as if it froze over. The next thing he knew, he was no longer holding the plate in his hands, with the scenery shifting entirely back to the unfolding events of his memory. Seishirou exchanged the same parting words with Genbu, then gave Suzaku a pat on the head as he left.
"May our parting be as fleeting as the cherry blossom petals."
Those words completely overtook Suzaku, to the point where he did not even realize when the doctor was gone. What finally broke him out of his stupor was his father's voice calling out to him.
"Suzaku?"
Blinking, Suzaku found himself looking down at the plate of food gripped in his hands once more. He then looked over to his father, who was starting to appear concerned.
"Is something wrong, Son?"
"Umm," Suzaku said. "Mother made these. For the both of us."
His father smiled at that, then gave a pat on the desk. "Then let us partake in them together."
Despite his growing unease, Suzaku managed to smile back and trotted over. As he moved to put the plate down however, he froze. There, right where he was about to place the plate, was his father's gun. The next thing he knew, his now somehow empty hands reached out for the weapon.
"Suzaku? What are you doing?"
His father, instead of being seated in the chair, was now back at the entrance to the room, that same distraught, pained expression on his face. Again Suzaku found himself raising the weapon to point it at his father. And yet, his motions felt slower. As if he had some slight control over his body this time.
"Fight it, Suzaku!" his father called out, seemingly noticing his son's struggle.
"I-I'm trying," Suzaku wheezed, the effort exhausting him more and more. He was not even sure how much longer he could hold off the compulsion. "It's too strong!"
"You're stronger, Son!" Genbu insisted.
His father probably believed that sincerely. Suzaku however had already experienced a past where that was sadly not true. This, this did not feel like it would turn out any differently. Or would it? He could put force his hands to drop the weapon, but for some reason he could have it turn even higher. Higher enough, that it turned back on him.
"Suzaku!?"
"I'm sorry, Father," Suzaku said. "I love you and Mother both."
His finger began to squeeze the trigger, and then everything washed out into darkness.
"Fuck!"
The uncharacteristic curse from the Eden Vital sister saw Kaguya almost jump. The sudden loud tone made her own heart skip a beat.
"Defib, now!" Lucretia shouted.
Another Eden Vital sister had the instrument over in an instant, pulling open Suzaku's smock and deftly attaching the pads.
"Initiate emergency resuscitation protocol," Lucretia continued issuing instructions, and this time Sancia was the one that started doing something at her terminal.
Kaguya fought down the urge to demand what was going on. Interrupting the Eden Vital sisters while they were clearly trying to save her cousin's life would only make things worse. All she could do was wait, and maybe pray a little.
"Clear!"
The first discharge was delivered, with the singular tone now broken up into beeps again. Fortunately, the beeps continued without flattening out, indicating the youth's heartbeat was at least stabilized.
"Sancia?" a still very worried sounding Lucretia called out.
That however was apparently not the end of it.
"Stepping up neuro-link kickstart to level two," Sancia said. "There! Neurological activity is propagating again."
Lucretia nodded. "Confirmed-"
"GAAAAAAAAAH!"
Suzaku suddenly bolted up, even tearing loose some of the probes attached to his body. Lucretia however was immediately on hand, catching hold of the youth and pinning him back down.
"Sedative!"
The other Eden Vital nurse had the injector on hand in moments and plunged it into Suzaku's arm. The youth's spasming soon subsided as he slumped over once more. Taking a deep breath, Lucretia let him go to let the nurse get him properly situated. With the immediate danger over, Kaguya decided now she could interject.
"What happened?" the girl demanded.
"A rebound," Sancia was the one to answer after a moment, with Lucretia seemingly too worn to do so. "The conditioning's been in place for so long and ingrained itself in Suzaku's neural topology so deeply, trying to untangle it caused a backlash that nearly scrambled the topology entirely."
At Kaguya's less than comprehending look, Sancia grimaced.
"It nearly shut down Suzaku's brain," the young woman simplified. "Or rather, it actually did shut down Suzaku's brain, including cutting off the control signals for various involuntary muscle movements like his heartbeat. We were however able to restart his heart and use the neuro-link to kickstart his brain activity again, this time."
That did nothing to improve Kaguya's expression. The girl took several deep breaths to compose herself, which Subaru used as an opportunity to ask a question of his own.
"Does that mean the programming can't be undone?"
A very direct, to the point question.
"No," Lucretia spoke up. "The programming can be undone."
Kaguya yet dared to hope, even though she knew it might set her up for further heartbreak.
"You sound very certain," Subaru said.
"The rebound that Suzaku underwent is extremely reminiscent of what happens when a prospective contractor is first granted a geass," Lucretia began explaining. "The protocol we used to bring him back is one originally developed to resuscitate those contractors whose neural physiology was just short of being able to accept the geass. Surviving the rebound however tends to fortify that physiology, making it more robust and better able to withstand further mental strains. That means the next time we try, Suzaku has a greater chance of breaking the conditioning, and even if he gets hit by another rebound, would be less likely to suffer as serious a breakdown as he did this time."
Kaguya grimaced. That was not completely hopeless, but it was also far from encouraging.
"Is there anything more that could be done to improve his chances?" she thus asked.
And not just for Suzaku's sake either. If Eden Vital's treatment worked, Subaru would almost certainly also have to undergo it.
"There is, possibly," Sancia said.
Lucretia however grimaced. "The grandmaster is unlikely to authorize it."
"It is easier to beg forgiveness than to ask for permission."
"Only if the acquisition of forgiveness is not sufficiently difficult."
Kaguya and Subaru looked back and forth between the two women's interplay.
"Umm, excuse me," the girl finally interjected once more. "What are you two talking about?"
This time it was Sancia's turn to grimace.
"There is a possible way to drastically bolster Suzaku's chances of survival," she said. "It would however tie him permanently to Eden Vital, he would never be allowed to enter the services of anyone else, such as Ise."
Now Kaguya and Subaru were both grimacing as well.
"That does not sound like a particularly feasible long-term option," Subaru remarked.
"The necessity of this option may be reduced for future operations," Lucretia said. "The difficulty of ensuring Suzaku's survival is to a large extent due to his pathfinder status. We're having to attempt various options on a purely experimental basis, with few references as to what might need compensating for. A successful removal of the programming however may reveal to us less intrusive avenues." The girl shrugged. "Maybe."
Which was probably as much reassurance as could be offered due to, as Lucretia noted, this being very much a pathfinding exercise.
"Assuming we do agree to try this," Kaguya said, "how likely is it that you could even do it? You did say the grandmaster isn't likely to authorize it."
"Leave that problem to us," Sancia said. "The one we actually have to convince is His Eminence."
"Oh," Kaguya said. "That doesn't sound too bad."
The looks on the faces of the two Eden Vital sisters suggested they did not share that optimism at all. It was a lack that was confirmed with Lelouch's immediate response when the proposal was brought to him.
"You want me to do what!?"
End of Chapter 53
For some reason, Denmark was for a time the second largest source of readers for this February.
Lelouch was very specific with his wording. He called any separation of India from China "secession" instead of "liberation." That was entirely deliberate on his part and is reflective of what Britannia thinks about any such separation. The Empire in principle doesn't agree with the notion that a people are just able to separate from their previous state, taking with them various properties of that state, whether it be territory or actual equipment. As such its decision to help India at all is purely a pragmatic one. The Empire needs to obtain enough benefit to offset the problematic precedent that is being set. It could care less about whether the Indian people obtain sovereignty for the sake of it.
Kallen and Lelouch are together in this story? That's news to me.
To suggest that I'm going out of my way to have certain characters interact with each other is not necessarily incorrect, but my reasons for having them do so has very little to do with any desire to adhere to canon relationships. At the most basic level, I want to keep the number of characters I need to juggle to a manageable level, so I am going to naturally focus on deepening the relationships between the characters I'm actually able/willing to write about. But that does not mean I am positioning characters specifically to have them enter into relationships. Any relationship that develops is because other factors permit the characters to undergo the socialization that would cause a relationship to blossom.
Taking Suzaku and Euphemia as examples, the characters are able to interact often with each other because they actually spend quite a bit of time in relatively close proximity to each other. Suzaku and Euphemia are both students at Ashford and both heavily involved in the pseudo-student council that Milly runs. They see each other on an almost daily basis during the school week, aside from when Suzaku needs to be at MacArthur Base or on the rare occasions when Euphemia is able to drop by the viceroy's palace. And Euphemia's basic demeanor and desires are those that Suzaku emphasizes with heavily. That an attraction would develop is something of a given, I didn't need to do any special nudging beyond showing the events that led up to it.
While being at Ashford is what afforded the two the opportunity to meet and become closer, that was however not why the two were put in Ashford in the first place. Suzaku is there because he needs to complete his secondary education so that he can then go on to complete the higher education degrees that'd allow for proper advancement in the Britannian military. That he's at Ashford specifically was Lelouch's way of paying him back for the mess in Shinjuku, along with the political considerations of having the son of Japan's last prime minister groomed a bit at Japan's premiere Britannian private school.
Euphemia is at Ashford because the school has probably the best private security of any school in Japan, and also because Lelouch trusts Milly and her family to keep an eye on his sister while she's in Japan. Why Euphemia is in Japan at all is related to specific narrative uses I have for her, which frankly have little to do with Suzaku. Getting to use Suzaku's relationship with Euphemia is at most an incidental bonus on top of the other things I'm using Euphemia herself for.
In frankness I don't really buy the notion that Suzaku and Euphemia getting together is somehow an unreasonable path based on their previous development in this story, nor do I agree with the claim that said prior development was done with the intent of forcibly inserting the relationship into the story. More fundamentally, ships in general I consider to be the most inconsequential thing when it comes to what warrants changing, or maintaining, in my AUs. I am by and large still basing the basic personality profiles of my characters on their canon counterparts, so the things that made them tick in canon are also likely to make them tick in my story. Any rejigging that I do tends to be a shift of emphasis, not a wholesale remaking of the character, at least not of the core characters. Even Euphemia in Calculus was still driven by a similar core tenet as that of canon Euphemia, despite being genuinely ruthless.
That different relationships may emerge as a consequence of my tweaks is kind of a given, and if the resulting development makes improbable a character getting into a "canon" relationship, like how in Meridian the Lelouch and Shirley ship was never laid down in the first place, I'll set it aside in a heartbeat. If however the tweaks of mine do not push a character outside the parameters of what resulted in them getting into their canon relationship, I see no particular need to avoid that relationship just for the sake of being different. My AUs are already pretty damn different from canon anyway.