Lelouch had hoped for an hour to acquaint himself with his new Area but reality had other plans. He departed from his jet right into a nest of chaos.
Monica was quickly dispatched to CAMELOT to familiarize herself with the Lancelot and prepare for deployment in the event of an emergency in the Settlement. The machine was capable of being anywhere in the settlement in under 5 minutes and Lelouch had no issues about unleashing his sword on any rebel looking to take advantage of the chaos.
Jean had stayed with him, to aid in collating reports and requests by importance, while also acting as his bodyguard in the heart of imperial power in Area 11.
The main conference room of the Viceroy's palace had become a hive of activity as various officers and attendants came to and fro to receive their marching orders. The noise had long since hit a point that most people needed to shout to be heard.
"37 confirmed dead, and current estimates are in the four hundreds for injuries caused by the Kururugi incident mixed between injuries related to the gas itself and the terrorist's gunfire." Jean read off the preliminary injury reports. "The Margrave and his second have been taken to Saint Peter's, and all hospitals in the Settlement have put in requests for emergency personnel."
The poison gas released in the rescue of Kururugi hadn't been the military grade weapon of mass destruction that Lelouch had initially feared but panic and tight spaces had ratcheted up the causalities on the bridge in the chaos. The shooters the terrorists placed on nearby rooftops as a sacrificial distraction for Zero and Kururugi's getaway had only added to the confusion and death toll.
With Gottwald's treasonous actions in the mix, it was set to be the greatest embarrassment of the Britannian military in years. The Purebloods had committed one of the greatest sins in Britannia. They had made the Empire look weak. The perception of strength was just as important as strength itself. This perceived weakness would only embolden the terrorists to cause greater casualties in the future.
"You, start transferring non-essential medical personnel from the surrounding cities to support the Settlement. Volunteers will be given double their hourly rate and a notation of commendable services. I don't care if we have to wake people up, there are lives at stake." Lelouch pointed to another aide. "Send out an alert to all occupying forces. All forces are to be a full-wartime readiness. If any of the terrorists try to step a foot out of their ghettos they are to be given a swift and painful reprimand."
Reports had already started to come in about opportunistic cells trying to raid supply depots or attack outposts. Lelouch couldn't be everywhere at once and for a moment regretted telling Cornelia to finish the campaign in Area 18 instead of rushing to his side.
"Contact Preston, I want a tight blockade around Narita. The JLF aren't known for rash, or speedy action but I don't want them to take advantage if given an opportunity." Jean gave a sharp nod and went to work on a secure laptop.
This was the pattern for the next several hours as information and reports flowed towards Lelouch, and he gave swift instructions on how to respond. A variety of riots had been quelled, and some minor skirmishes with the more brazen cells outside the Tokyo area were the worst aftershocks of the night's events.
Tasks were delegated as necessary and by the time the sun rose on Area 11 things were stable. He much preferred leading from the front, but some crisis needed to be managed at a distance. Especially when they were popping up hundreds of kilometres apart from each other.
For the moment, the Area was at rest.
Now to keep it that way. Lelouch mused quietly to him.
His throat hurt from all the shouting, and he had been awake for over 36 hours but fatigue could wait. He would have more reports to read through and paperwork to deal with. This was hardly his first all-nighter and unlikely to be his last.
He also needed to call Euphie. It would put him at ease to hear about her and Laila's day.
With the majority of people now gone from the conference room, Lelouch looked at Jean. If you didn't know what to look for, she would appear as put together as ever. It was the slower typing, and occasional repetition of words she'd already written down before there swift deletion that gave away her exhaustion.
Lelouch turned to one of the few remaining palace aides. "A pot of coffee, and some light breakfast for myself, and the captain."
The aide left with a bow, and a hasty step.
"Any word on Kururugi or Zero?" He asked, Jean shook her head in response. He took a seat next to her, and slumped in the chair to gaze at the ceiling.
"By the time the police were able to mobilize, the group had already disappeared into the old subway systems."
That was a problem in need of fixing sooner rather than later. The old subways were a labyrith for terrorists to disappear into and never be found. The only reason it hadn't been dealt with yet was the sheer cost of materials and labour in filling it in.
"The police are working to identify the terrorist corpses, and say the report should be on your desk within the hour." She said as she finished the final adjustments to Lelouch's schedule. The Kururugi incident had pushed back a variety of meetings with the local government and Kirihara Industries, never mind the personal interviews Lelouch wished to conduct.
"Small mercies," Lelouch muttered as he sent a message to Monica with explicit orders for her to rest. "If we can pinpoint which cell Zero is working with, it gives us a starting point."
The more he thought it over, Shinjuku felt like a matter of opportunity, rather than a targeted attack against Clovis. Zero must have stepped in after the battle had started.
Movement at the doorway caught his attention. Two communication officers had almost collided into each other as one tried to enter just as another tried to leave. There was a brief exchange, before the leaving officer stepped back to allow the new officer through.
With a 'thank you' that Lelouch couldn't hear, but could see on the officer's lips they came through with a stack of papers in hand. They did a quick scan of the room, until their eyes landed on Lelouch and he felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise as he watched the communication officer's eyes glaze over. The papers fell from their hand, as a hand went under their jacket to their service pistol in a sluggish movement .
"Gun!" Lelouch shouted as he lunged for Jean. He knocked her out of her chair, both of them spilled onto the floor as the first shoots rang out, the bullet passing a foot above his head. The second echoed in the conference room as the bullet lodged into the wood of the table before Jean was able to find her footing.
A couple of brave aides had tried to tackle the assassin but had been shaken off in a surprisingly display of strength. But it was enough of a distraction as Jean popped up from cover, her own pistol in hand and fired off five rapid shots. Each one found their mark in a tight spread on the assassin's chest, the force of which almost knocked them over.
Jean watched as the assassin struggled to hold their gun up, still aimed at where they thought Lelouch was before they collapsed into a heep.
Lelouch rose from behind the table as well, holding his hands up for silence as everyone began to check each other for injuries.
"What just happened, does not leave this room. I will not have news of an assassination attempt further destabilize the Area." He commanded, his voice hard as stone. The four remaining officers all nodded in agreement. "Good, now get this cleaned up. Quietly."
Four crisp salutes answered him as the officers dispersed to start their new task. Jean looked him over with a critical eye for even a hair out of place. Lelouch allowed her to fuss over him as he glanced her over in turn.
"You are to armed at all times, henceforth."
"No arguments from me," He agreed easily as Jean adjusted the collar of his shirt. Once she was finished, assured that he hadn't sprained anything in the tackle, Lelouch pulled her close for a chaste kiss. "Nice shooting."
"They didn't even react to me," Jean blushed slightly at the praise as she deflected. "They were tunnel visioned on you. I will be having words with security on how the assassin managed to make it this far into the palace."
"Mmm," Lelouch gave Jean's hand another squeeze before he stepped away to examine the body. Blood had started to soak into the scattered papers on the floor. The assassin was male, looked to be mid twenties, clean-shaved with a small scar across his nose. It took him a moment, before Lelouch recalled where he'd seen this man before. "I imagine they simply used their clearance. That's not what I care about. There was a shift, one moment he was going about his business, a perfect soldier, then he saw me and it's as if a switch flipped. Went from man to almost a machine."
"What do you mean?"
"It means this mystery just got interesting." Lelouch mused. He had a lot on his plate already. Firstly he was going to call Euphie, then he was going to have a cup of coffee to get himself ready for the rest of his day and all the meetings that entailed running a Britannian Area.
After all that, he would try to figure out why one of Clovis's own G-1 officers tried to assassinate him.
Three steps into Ashford and Kallen couldn't stop herself from yawning. The last few days had been a blur since Shinjuku and she hadn't slept well knowing how close they'd been to death. They'd lost Nagato, and the gas they'd worked so hard to steal.
Only Clovis's death made those sacrifices worth it. Kallen would love to shake the hand of whoever pulled the trigger there. It had been too long since anyone had managed a true victory against the damned Brits, and killing a prince was cause for celebration.
She had argued about capitalizing on the opportunity, striking at some of the military bases or supply depots while the Brits were in disarray. Ohgi had shot it down without question. Said that they had come to close in Shinjuku and they should all lie low for a bit.
"Kallen! Hi!" One of her classmates had spotted her, and waved her over. With a tiredness she didn't need to fake, Kallen slowly made her way over to the group of three girls as she struggled to remember their names. She came to school so rarely, she had to go off faces she recognized, rather than names.
"I'm glad you're feeling better," The petite brunette who waved her over initially gave her a once over with concern. "With how everything's been since last night, I'm surprised your mother is letting you out of the house."
"She thinks it would do me good to be among friends in these trying times, rather than cooped up at home." Kallen lied with ease. Her step-mother let her wander around as she pleased. The bitch probably prays I get shot every time I step out of the house.
And Kallen didn't even want to think about what her actual mother thought. She couldn't allow herself to care for the opinion of such a weak-willed women.
"That's nice of her, I was worried after everything that happened on the bridge last night. I couldn't remember if you lived on Stephan's or Steven's, and I was worried if all that gas was going to blow down the block towards you!" Another girl spoke up as Kallen blinked. This was the first she was hearing about gas. They'd lost the gas in the Shinjuku underground, and she'd assumed the Brits had recovered it.
Someone else had killed Clovis, but all her group did was get a lot of innocent people caught in the crossfire with nothing to show for it.
"Gas?" She asked, struggling to keep her demeanour frightful and demure when all she wanted was to shake the snobby Brit for all the info she had. "What do you mean gas?"
There was a collective gasp from the trio of girls.
"Did you not know?!-"
"It's all the news was talking about this morning!-"
"Clovis's killer revealed himself last night!-" The trio started, three voices that tripped over each other as they all tried to explain the same information at the same time in three different ways at a rapid and shrill volume. Kallen had to hold up her hands to try to silence two of the girls so she could understand at least one of them.
"One at a time, please..." She faux-begged as she looked at the blonde whose name might be Chere, or Clarice. "I can only understand if one of you talks at a time."
"You know how like they were parading the Eleven who was accused of killing Clovis to his trial last night?"
No I did not, Kallen thought to herself even as she nodded. It seemed like the kind of information that would have stuck out to her.
"Well like! They got stopped on a bridge on the way by someone in Clovis's car! And it was some weirdo in a mask and tights who called himself Zero! He claims he's the one who actually killed Clovis and that an innocent man shouldn't be punished for his crimes, but like that Kururchi guy must have done something if they arrested him-"
It was testament to Kallen's self control as she stopped herself from decking the girl in front of her as she spewed her Britannian bullshit. Kururugi was an honorary, which made him a traitor but he was still one of her people and she didn't enjoy him being badmouthed for crimes he didn't commit.
"-Then like the margrave ordered them to be set free! And the Purebloods weren't going to let that happen so they brought out the knightmares, then the margrave turned traitor and Zero unleashed some poison gas as they escaped! I heard poor Nathan's cousin got a lungful of the gas and he's in Saint Gregs." She finished quietly as Kallen's mind raced.
How did no one call me about this? The idea that Tamaki wouldn't have contacted her even if she was sleeping to let her know about this was wild. She was going to have words with Ohgi and them about keeping her out of the loop.
"I heard there was shooters in the crowd as well. Kamakazi soldiers to cause as much death as they could." The other brunette finally added, as if people dying was juicy gossip. Sarak, that's her name.
Sarah had always been a little too into hearing about the terrorists attacks in Kallen's opinion.
"My dad said that the viceroy pulled people from out of the settlement to ensure they had enough doctors. Nathan's cousin should pull through." The first brunette said to the blonde, in an attempt to comfort her with a weak smile. "He said the new viceroy is a big step up from Clovis and will have the area completely cleaned up before the new year. So we shouldn't worry too much."
"He's certainly handsomer," Sarah huffed. "Not to speak ill of the dead, but Clovis always had this foppish look to him. This new prince looks yummy. All black and gold, and the eye-patch. Mmm."
"Keep dreaming Sarah, I heard that he's already engaged to Milly. So unless you want to catch her attention, keep your fantasies to yourself." Chere/Clarice said as the trio shivered at the idea of Milly's attention.
"Oh?" Kallen had no idea that she went to school with someone engaged to a Prince. This felt like an opportunity. A way to redeem herself, and her group after the failure of Shinjuku. "I didn't know about Milly and...?"
"Lelouch. Lelouch vi Britannia, 11th Prince of the Empire. Milly was apparently keeping this info like real lowkey, but I heard from Jason who was talking to Shawn that Rivals was complaining about how he's supposed to compete against an actual prince. Poor guy's better off winning the lottery at this point, has better odds of it." The girl whose name Kallen still couldn't remember supplied helpfully before fixing Kallen with a look. "Keep it to yourself if you can. This isn't the kind of gossip to be spread willy nilly."
"Don't worry," Kallen gave a weak chuckle, as possibilities began to form in her mind. "This secret is safe with me."
The rest of the school day was agonizingly slow as Kallen struggled to pay attention in class when all she could think about was the new viceroy and what she'd missed last night. After what felt like an eternity, the last bell finally rung and Kallen almost tripped over herself in her attempt to grab her bag and head home to call Ohgi.
A pretty girl with long orange hair stopped her in her tracks as Kallen tried to leave her seat. Her bag hung limp at her side, her coursework shoved carelessly inside in her haste.
"Kallen, right?" The girl asked with a bright smile.
"Yes?" She tried her best to hide her irritation, but if the girl noticed she didn't say anything.
"I'm Shirley, we have English together."
"Okay?..." Kallen wondered at the point of all this, and how to tell this girl to get out of her way without blowing her cover.
"I'm sorry, you looked to be in a hurry, but I wanted to talk to you in case you aren't at school tomorrow. We wanted to offer you a position on the student council. Milly noticed that you didn't have any extra-curricular, and with your condition it would be hard to meet the attendance requirements for most clubs."
Kallen could only blink at her sheer dumb luck. "I- What?"
"You don't have to accept if you don't want to, but we'd love to have you on the council. It's mostly budget work, and managing the various school events. You're also welcome to join other clubs in addition to the council, so if something else catches your interest you aren't locked out! So long as you help out with some of the paper work, you don't have to show up to most of the meetings and it looks great when applying for university!"
"I'm... sure?" Kallen tentatively agreed. She couldn't let this opportunity go to waste even if it meant spending more time at school.
Shirley did a small jump and clapped with glee. "Wonderful! Do you want me to introduce you to everyone? Milly was looking for an excuse to throw a party." Shirley paused for a moment. "Oh, you were in a rush, right? We can do it tomorrow if you have somewhere to be."
Kallen took a moment to consider. "Tomorrow, please." She would need to think about how best to approach this. Milly's reputation as an eccentric was well-known throughout school, even if Kallen had never met the girl.
"Sounds good, well I won't keep you any longer. Have a good afternoon Kallen." Shirley waved, and left Kallen to her thoughts as the perky girl disappeared into the hallway with a bounce in her step.
Kallen breathed, now alone in the classroom.
"What have you gotten yourself into?" It was a chance. A chance to actually fight back against Britannia, even if she wasn't quite sure how just yet. Kallen took a moment to gather herself in the empty classroom.
She didn't know if she was suited for this kind of undercover work, she could barely make it through a normal school day. Getting close to an imperial prince would be exhausting.
Her skirt pocket vibrated, and Kallen pulled out her cellphone. The fake contact name Ohgi used to contact her flashed on the screen.
Good, she thought. She really needed someone to help sort her thoughts out. She flipped the phone open and put it to her ear.
"Just the person I wanted to talk to."
"Well I'm flattered," An artificially masked voice came through the phone's speaker with a tinge of delight. Any response Kallen had died in her throat as the voice continued. "My Sweet Lotus, meet me at the fountain by the Fifth Street Station. We are going to go make some friends."
"Of course," Kallen's reply was monotone and flat as the geass on her took hold.
Nothing else mattered now that she'd been given an order by her master.
Notes: Last chapter was a bit divisive. Ah well, this is the point where we start going off the rails, even if some elements are similar. Like Kallen still joining the student council. Thoughts, questions, comments and reviews are always welcome and hope you have a good day!