"Fool! Do you think we have the resources that you can squander them so carelessly?!"
A plan executed to near-perfection. Not only achieving the objective, but achieving additional objectives. Success beyond what had been predicted in the most generous estimates, with minimal losses.
But of course. Li Xingke was the whipping boy of the Federation. Praise for his incredible and unprecedented successes? In what world would such a thing happen? And to receive such criticism, accusation of wasting resources, from the man who insisted on sending wave after wave of 'disposable' aircraft and knightmares at the enemy to achieve a simple objective of destroying a single stationary target. The gall.
But as ever, Xingke took it on the chin. He had no other choice. "The JSDF are hobbled, their early success and momentum halted a moment after it began building. In addition, Britannia's prototype knightmare disabled, perhaps even destroyed, alongside its pilot. I have taken one of their most formidable weapons from them."
"You gave the order to fire on one of our own vessels!"
"A sabotaged Britannian ship barely worth use as a transport vessel." A significant portion of their fleet was made up of Britannian ships left behind in Korea. Many were taken largely intact, some were not, but all were added to this fleet to make them appear even more formidable a force. In effect, the ruse had cost them nothing at all. "The ship admirably served its purpose as a decoy."
Xingke personally thought it would be of better use left behind to receive repairs in Korea, ready to serve as part of the reinforcements they would be receiving. But if General Cao thought it better as a floating slab of metal, Xingke used it as best he could.
"With the loss of that one useless ship, the Japanese saboteurs and Britannia's new weapon have taken serious blows. The white knightmare might be irretrievable, and if not, irreparable. And even if they can get it working, it won't be in time for what comes next."
"... No. It won't." Xingke braced himself. Cao agreeing with anything he was saying was always a warning sign of terrible things to come. "I admire your confidence, Li Xingke. And as the field commander of our forces, I look forward to your performance leading the charge in the Shen Hu." The Shen Hu that was also severely damaged in the skirmish. And of course Cao knew that. "I am sure we will have the Britannians' so-called Goddess of Victory in chains within the week."
A trophy he would take and send to the High Eunuchs to curry further favour. The simple road to power laid out in all its glory. Paved with Xingke's efforts. Or, as Cao more likely hoped, paved with Xingke's bones. After all, that would earn him even more favour.
He wondered just how much he would be able to accomplish were he not saddled with a social climber dressed up as a commanding officer.
Still...
The proposal was ridiculous. But the outcome had merit. For someone who was not Cao, of course. And ridiculous? Xingke had achieved the ridiculous before.
"... Of course. I will see it done."
General Cao smiled. "Good. You finally understand your place."
Oh. He did. He understood his place very well. He needed to succeed. He needed to find victory in this war. His commanding officer was only a hindrance to that objective, and to future objectives. Therefore, the nearer-term objective was obvious. A proper strategist understood and accounted for all detriments to the objective and dealt with them accordingly.
The meeting with the General concluded swiftly. Following it, Xingke headed straight for the Shen Hu's hangar, worked on by several engineers who barely understood the machine, and one advisor who did. A heavyset Indian man, bearded and wearing a turban. The true inventor of the Shen Hu was unavailable for some reason, and so another had been assigned to service it in her stead. And he was not happy about it in the slightest. "Will it be ready to fight in time?"
"Huh! When is 'in time'?" Ganabati answered with his own question.
"Within the next eighteen hours." Enough time for the fleet to arrive and arrange into formation. Enough time to get his own designs in order.
"Ha! And maybe you'd like me to walk across the sea to personally slap the Witch across the face for you!"
"I have other matters I need to address. Please skip the sarcasm and tell me whether it can be done."
"Hm..." The engineer ran a grasping hand down his beard as he stared up at the machine. "You make the choice. Repaired cannon or repaired armour plating. Or, give me another twelve hours and you can have both."
Time was at a premium. His own safety and health was not. "The cannon."
"Heh. You're bold, I'll give you that much. The cannon will be fixed, and we will do what we can with the armour in the time you've given us. But don't expect much."
It would need to be good enough.
The plotting for the assault on Fukuoka, that was ongoing. It would need to be adjusted for Xingke being in the thick of it. He had no intention of dying like a fool, not with everything he still had to achieve. But if he wanted to achieve it, he couldn't have simply living through the battle as his goal.
"Xianglin."
She turned away from the command table. "Sir?"
"I have a mission for you."
-(-)-
The JSDF had not yet moved from their temporary base near Katsu Island. There was no reason to yet. The brief battle had shaken them, but more importantly they were incapable of acting in what was likely to be the next battle. Cornelia's position was far more fortified and watchful. While they could make their own way in with more time, there would not be enough. And more than that... Lelouch had no misconceptions about their previous method. It was done, it was seen through, it would not work again anywhere near as easily. And so, they were instead waiting for reinforcements and resupply said to be on their way.
However, preparations for the next mission were interrupted.
"Uhhh... Oghi? Am I seeing this right?"
"Yeah, Inoue. Don't worry, we see it too."
"Good. Thought I was losing it a little bit."
A lone Chinese vessel breaking away from the fleet and doubling back. Not just a vessel. One of their transports, so likely with a hold full of knightmares.
What in the hell were they doing? "Is it bait again?" Ohgi muttered to himself.
"No." Lelouch's voice startled him. "They wouldn't make that kind of play again so quickly after the first time. Even a child would see through it. To say nothing of just how vulnerable they are. All it would take is us notifying Gottwald that the ship is here alone. It would be destroyed within the hour. We wouldn't need to lift a finger."
"Then what?"
The prince said nothing for a long moment. His eyes narrowed at the display marking the shape of the rogue vessel. "It's an invitation. Someone wishes to speak with us."
"Us?"
"They've returned to roughly the area we attacked from. A likely objective if they intend to attack would be to deploy knightmares to search the area. Even if they found nothing, they could be a temporary hindrance to defense efforts at Fukuoka, raising the possibility of splitting their attention."
It made some amount of sense. Granted it wouldn't last long. The machines would run out of fuel and armaments quickly, leaving them as sitting ducks. It would be a suicide mission without giving the mission a solid end goal. It was part of the reason the Chinese needed to get a proper foothold with Fukuoka or Shimonoseki. Without infrastructure to keep their equipment running, any operation would fizzle out. It would have an effect, but probably not enough of one unless it was timed right and with the right objective. "They're not doing that. They're just waiting there." Running quiet. Lights off. They were just waiting.
"... Inoue, do you know Morse Code?"
"A little?"
"Message is, 'One boat. Land.' End message."
After a little back and forth handling the logistics of sending such a message, Inoue spent several minutes repeating the message, before the watch units reported a response. A simple acknowledgement and agreement, before a smaller boat deployed from the vessel and headed straight for the shore in the direction the message came from.
"Let's send the belligerent welcome. Send Tamaki with a squad, Inoue on overwatch. Take them to a secure building further away from our base. You and he will be handling the interrogation."
-(-)-
"Zhou Xianglin," Kaname Ohgi repeated her name back at her as she sat across from him and another man. The man who had 'greeted' her on landing with the soldiers guarding her. The stranger had made a lot of unnecessary threats, though with their weaker position and recent humiliation by her commander, it wasn't unexpected they would be aggressive. "I'm going to skip all the theatrics. Why are you here?"
"Yeah! Spill it or it can all end for you and that ship out there right now!"
Her eyes narrowed at the loudmouth sitting like a hoodlum in his chair, his eyes narrowed back at her. "There is no need for threats. I came willingly. I am unarmed."
"Sure you are. Should've let me search her, Ohgi. I bet she's still got something on her!"
Her expression flattened as she put the loud one out of her mind. "I want to defect from the Federation, I want amnesty and I want citizenship for myself and the crew of that ship who are all loyal to me."
"Shit, you don't think small, do you honey?" the loud one asked, folding his arms.
"In exchange, I offer you the ship, its cargo, and our cooperation in removing the commander of the Federation forces from the board."
Ohgi hummed dismissively. "Something completely implausible for something completely implausible then."
"I can tell you the complete battle plan for the assault on Fukuoka," she said as she sat as comfortably as she could handcuffed to her chair. "In fact I can tell you now as an incentive and show of good faith. Almost the entire fleet will be dedicated to this one effort to create a beachhead of Fukuoka Military Base. The fleet is seen as largely disposable now if it means we get a foothold on Japanese soil. After all, reinforcements will be arriving soon enough. There will be a handful of ships staying back to guard the command vessel, and some in the attacking formation in position to return to aid in the command vessel's defense if it comes to that. Everything else will be dedicated to taking Fukuoka."
"You think that'll work?"
"The commander certainly does. The JSDF have been neutralised for the moment, Britannia's new weapon is disabled for the moment, they must dedicate significant forces to defending Shimonoseki. It will not be an easy battle, but the man commanding it is formidable, as you saw."
Ohgi paced around her, perhaps attempting to be intimidating by removing himself from her view. "And we're supposed to believe all that, right after you pulled us into a trap."
"A trap that set the board for exactly the situation Fukuoka faces now. My assigned mission was to deploy our Gun-Ru to cause chaos in this area. Whether to harass your group or distract from the battle in the west and prevent reinforcements coming from the east. Instead, those knightmares are now yours to do with as you like." The loud one scoffed in not entirely unearned derision. "And... I can sweeten the deal even further. I know what has become of Astraea a Britannia, former viceroy of Area Sixteen."
"Why would we care about that?" Ohgi asked.
"Because you are a Britannian operation, not a Japanese one as you claim."
The loud one kicked his own chair away as he leapt to his feet. "Like hell we are!"
Xianglin's eyebrows rose. Did he not know? Was this...? Perhaps this was an opportunity. "The Britannians came to your rescue after your forces engaged with the commander. I thought it would be obvious from that." She deliberately blinked at the loud idiot as though confused. "Did you not know?"
The idiot grinned. Opened his mouth—
"Tamaki."
Closed it again. Then moved to sit again before realising his chair was no longer there and going to fetch it.
"I will face the most horrific form of execution if I reveal this information. Does that prove my sincerity?" she asked as Ohgi came back into view, considering her words. "The command vessel will be lightly guarded, easily vulnerable to an ambush by a friendly vessel. My ship. My crew. And myself. We will guarantee our cooperation in this mission, cutting off the leadership of the Federation forces. With this, we will defect to Britannia as Britannian citizens. These are my terms."
"You got a lot of nerve for a chick cuffed to a chair," the loud one, Tamaki accused. "How about instead of all that, we just do that whole plan like you said, no need for you anymore. And if we care about all that other crap we can just torture it outta you."
"On the latter point, you couldn't," Xianglin answered. "I do not fear you or what you might do in comparison to the Federation. I am this far. I either get what I want or I die. And for the plan, without me, without the cooperation of my ship's crew, you will be treated as hostile. I guarantee it."
The two men looked at one another. The inexperience, the lack of military precision. Yes, Xianglin could see these were a ragtag bunch brought together under someone else's banner. They gave away so much without saying a word. Before long they both moved to the door, replaced by a woman instructed to watch her as they left the room.
It took mild effort not to let her feelings show in such circumstances. Minutes ticked by, known only because she was actively counting the seconds that passed as something to do. It wouldn't be long. No one had the time to let her sweat.
Sure enough, the guard was asked to leave as a lithe man in a suit and a black mask entered the room. Even with the mask, his hands and neck were uncovered, showing skin paler than the others she had seen. "You are the real leader," she stated in English.
"I am," he answered, also in English.
"Have they told you my offer?"
"They have."
"What is your answer? A chance to remove the commander of our forces, cut the head off the snake as it were. It is an advantage for you. You can verify every step of the plan as you like, ensure I am genuine, take whatever precautions you must. All I ask is amnesty and freedom for me and my crew when it is done."
"My answer is..." The man... The young man took a seat in Tamaki's chair as he removed his mask. That was abadsign. Deciding he no longer needed to hide his identity from her? Xianglin could see no reason for that which ended well for her. Putting her feet together, she rode her heel up her ankle. "Fool me once, shame on me. There will be no second time. Zhou Xianglin, Lelouch vi Britannia commands you, obey all my commands!"
Lelouchvi Britannia?!
The realisation of that final thought, was her final free thought. A connection between minds, his reached into hers to twist it to his will.
-(-)-
Lelouch stared at the woman sitting placidly in her chair. No longer trying to slip something free of her shoe. The glint of metal suggested it was a knife. Instead...
"Yes sir."
It could be said, Zhou Xianglin was dead. Everything that made her who she was, all of her wants, her loyalties, her hopes, her fears. All of it snuffed out by a single command. All of it turned toward his own ends.
If her offer had been genuine, he would feel guilt. However, he could not risk his own people for her. Never.
And so. The first order of business. "Answer my questions. What is your true intention?"
"Just as I said. Remove the commander of the Federation fleet."
"Why are you turning against Li Xingke?"
"I'm not."
That... Ah. She had been using tricky language, hadn't she. "Who is the commander of the Federation fleet?"
"General Cao has overall command, with Atsushi Sawazaki as his patsy figurehead."
"And Li Xingke is the field commander," Lelouch sighed. The man in the field, while this General Cao sat at the rear. Of course. "You wanted to remove Cao so Xingke could take command." A more capable commander suffering under top level incompetence. It explained the bafflingly blunt all-out assault on Shimonoseki as compared to the subtler operation to hobble the JSDF. Different players. "And your part in this?"
"See you safely to attacking the command vessel, then attempt to escape before they retaliate and destroy you."
"Attempt to escape. You were willing to die for this mission?"
"There is always a chance to die in war. I would die for Xingke."
"Commendable loyalty." Commendable loyalty that would have led even more of the JSDF to their deaths if he had believed her. And so how much guilt was there?
... She died in war. That was how much. An enemy casualty like any other.
So... If he had taken her words at face value, he would attempt to double-cross her by using the Portman bombing method again instead of a more obvious method. But she would not care about that because she genuinely did want the command vessel attacked. Knowing about the true nature of the plan didn't disarm it in the slightest. Even if it were a trick, it was still an objective everyone wanted to see completed.
That being the case... Was it right to go through with it? If their true commander's incompetence was a hindrance for them, surely leaving him in charge was better. But... If they could take both... There really was an opportunity here. "This plan to take Fukuoka Base. How much more do you know and how much of what you told Ohgi and Tamaki was accurate?"
"I..." Ah. A slight hesitation. Lelouch was starting to see a pattern in it. Or at least a requirement for someone to even try to resist. Perhaps if it were something they would rather die than do. After all, Xianglin said she would die for Xingke and here she was, about to divulge everything she knew of his plans. "He was still arranging the details of his assault when he assigned me this mission. What I said was accurate. He... Intends to pilot the Shen Hu again. Without the white knightmare's participation, he intends to remove Cornelia li Britannia from the battle personally."
"The knightmare he used on the ship?" Lelouch asked. She nodded. The one that had been damaged. Was it only superficial? It certainly didn't seem so, but that would be another powerful piece to be accounted for. A King with the power of a Queen. But still a King. Taking that piece would still end the game. "Fine. I'll have more questions to ask you about that plan. But for now, what happened to Astraea?" It wasn't particularly important to him aside from the vague blood ties of someone he didn't know well. However, it was important to Cornelia at least, and would be valuable information in that regard.
... Was what he thought, until Xianglin informed him in enough detail that he genuinely wished she hadn't. That vague blood tie suddenly felt like it was choking him. He barely knew Astraea as more than a name. If it made him so enraged, Cornelia must never find out the truth.
Swallowing his rage for a near stranger who was still family, Lelouch stole back his focus. There was no time for anger or any other mind-clouding emotion. He had learned that once already and once was too much. "Your plan to defect is now entirely genuine. You will help us ensure the success of removing General Cao with no ulterior motive. You will betray Li Xingke."
"... ...Yes sir."
... What a terrifying power.
-(-)-
"What're we doing, boss?" Tamaki asked as Lelouch entered the command room.
Xianglin and her guards were now fully under his control. The Battle of Fukuoka promised to be a pivotal moment in the war with the Chinese Federation. Played right... It could end this phase of the war definitively. "We're participating in the Battle of Fukuoka."
"We are?!" Tamaki asked.
Ohgi frowned.
"All we have are a few Portman frames and a few Sutherlands," Inoue reminded him. "What can we—?"
"We'll have more," Lelouch assured. This was too important to miss. Playing things close to the vest... The time for that was rapidly coming to an end. "The war will change after this next battle, and a moment like that, it's the ideal time to make our mark. After this battle, Britannia and the world will know you're not numbers. You're Japanese Britannians."
There was a charge in the air at the pronouncement. Only emboldened as Ohgi followed it. "This is what Sugiyama and the others gave their lives for," he reminded them. "We're carrying their will with us to the very end."
"Hell yeah!" Tamaki shouted. "For Sugiyama! For Shudou! For Kuze and Iwari!"
"YEAH!"
Lelouch let the energy carry them as he stepped away. He had to make several calls and arrange many things in a very short span of time.
"You're not rushing this?" Ohgi asked, frowning.
Lelouch fought not to frown back with narrowed eyes. "I'm not setting the timetable. It's now, or we let this war get worse waiting for another opportunity."
"... Right."
Lelouch shook his head as the nominal leader of the JSDF walked away, the prince moving to an out of the way spot as he pulled out his phone. The other end picked up after only two rings. "Clovis."
"Yes, what is it this time?"
"I'll need your direct support to move a lot of equipment very quickly. And I think it's time Eleven had a conversation with our dear sister."