WARNING-Saving time, this is cross posted with Spacebattles, the serial style format really doesn't work with dropping a huge block of text so I'll be posting these chapters over the next few hours-days, have 10k written so far hopefully I don't burn out again. Anyway, everything from this point is straight copied from the forums so enjoy!

This my dear readers was a long time coming, and something I've been thinking about for a while and to my long time readers who remembered when I started out with my Code Geass fics, I tend to update these things very often mainly because I enjoyed the worlds backstory and Britannia in general.

For those who know nothing about Code Geass, there are three primary powers in the world, the Holy Empire of Britannia, the European Union, and the Chinese Federation, and while Taylor is an unreliable narrator, she is going to be hyper critical of everything while trying to find her place in the world.

Also she has absolutely no idea that there are immortal Code Bearers that can grant insanely powerful Master and Stranger powers to anyone they wish to make a contract with and kinda run absolutely everything.

Fairs fair though, they don't know what a properly motivated and empowered Warlord Skitter can do.

Oh also, yes you get to witness the glory of Taylor having grown up beside the epitome of loyalty himself, the Orange Knight.

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Capital City of Pendragon, Holy Empire of Britannia
Early Summer 2008 A.T.B.

It started when I was five, the memories that is, and thank whatever uncaring Gods that may or may not exist that it was a trickle rather than a deluge. I fancy myself as someone who is able to process a situation quickly and make a snap decision in the heat of the moment when no one else would; if it was the right decision or not was always up in the air but I did something while the world burned around me and that counted in my book. That thought in mind, my little child brain would not be able to process such an information overload without burning itself out, which was nice and all, sadly the memories received were not so much.

Super power induced mayhem, hilariously corrupt and ineffectual government, the worlds very infrastructure rotting at its foundations as everyone tries to hoard what little is left in the wake of the deaths of a major city every three months like clockwork thanks to freaking kaiju of all things and then there was him... Scion...

Yeah...my memories of who I was and I what I had done took some time to come to terms with, and nominally I knew I had not actually gone insane because as far as I'm aware, I'm the only person on this Earth that has super powers, and I am not telling anyone anything about them because as bad as the Protectorate and the United States Government could be?

Well...

The Holy Empire of Britannia had them both fairly beat on the ceaseless globalized expansionist oligarchy thing because at the very least they pretended to be doing their jobs and caring about the tax payers even if they didn't really, Britannia... Yeah, they didn't even attempt to sugar coat it.

I have to say that living in a world where the American revolution failed, due to of all people Benjamin Franklin turning traitor on the continental congress in exchange for an earldom, has to be the definition of experiencing the uncanny valley in every aspect of your life. It was so damn weird living under an absolute monarchy and to have actual nobility calling the shots, to realize when people talk about the mainland they aren't talking about the forty eight states, they were talking about the entirety of the North and South American continents. That technology was so advanced that we were using biplanes in what amounted to the civil war era and jumped straight from coal to an insane power source called sakuradite completely bypassing gunpowder and oil.

That change from oil to this realities unobtainium actually didn't change things all that much if I were to be honest, same song and dance different field. Expanding ever forward with no end to the conquest of the world in sight...which is a very big problem when your entire economy is dependent on weapons manufacture and pillaging the countries you forcefully annexed while colonizing them in the process.

Which was the entire point of my graduation paper at the Holy City of Pendragon's Officer Corps Academy where I went into minute detail that this was not a sustainable system. While I was not arguing to stop conquering our neighbors, mostly because no one would listen to me and also treason, I very concisely and clearly stated that in very polite and overly wordy terms this simple truth.

When, not if, when the Holy Empire of Britannia becomes the only global power there will be no more neighbors to plunder, there will be no grand enemy to point our unapologetically military culture at, other than ourselves that is, which is the damn problem.

The citizenry of both the United States and Britannia were founded by the same people, the same extremists, castoffs, mavericks, entrepreneurs, pilgrims, pirates, revolutionaries, madmen, patriots, inventors, and the like. What that ends up meaning is that while leadership was under new management, it didn't mean that the core tenants of my people really changed all that much.

American or Britannian, very very few of us can honestly say that we're not a rebelliously minded militant society, and rather proud of that fact, problem is when the only person left to rebel against is yourself well... yes, there is going to be issues.

The worst part is... I cannot say things were better on Bet for the rest of the world, especially after parahuman powers became a thing. That one is kind of sad, say what you will about the USSR and the PRC, they were not anywhere near as corrupt and amoral as the C.U.I. ended up being, but that has nothing on the sheer incompetence of the Eunuchs running the Chinese Federation here.

I actually got extra credit for going on a ranting tangent about why conquering Asia would be a very bad thing for the Empire as a whole, uplifting an entire continent that had gone from one of the worlds greatest super power to absolute squalor in the span of twenty years of mismanagement was just something we couldn't afford economically.

On the other hand the European Union is actually doing remarkably well all things considered, well the government is corrupt but that goes without saying, I don't trust anyone that makes more money than I do regardless. Which also in turns means they'll likely be Britannia's next conquest, they have nice things and don't want to give them up and when sanctions won't work the crushing power of a military industrial complex spanning two continents has a thing or two to say about your pesky human rights.

This also got me extra credit, apparently sarcasm doesn't translate well into academia when it can be blithely misinterpreted as blind jingoism, which is a good thing for my GPA I suppose.

It was with that thought I was snapped out of my woolgathering when my brother popped up in front of me grinning, "Taylor my darling sister are you still going over that essay? You are graduating top of our class, quit sulking over the fact that you got a 104% and get ready to celebrate tonight! Kewell and Villetta already have their marching orders and we're due soon as well. Come on please, relax a bit and have some fun if for no other reason than to humor your poor concerned brother."

Eighteen years and I'm still not sure if I will ever be used to having a twin brother, but really I couldn't complain over much. Say what you will about Jeremiah when it came to family it was the Gottwald twins against the world as far as he was concerned, the mans loyalty knew no bounds and I kind of loved him for it, the big doof.

"Yes yes yes Jerry I got it, just annoyed that they didn't, I really put in my 'A' game on being subtly critical of the entire system and it went completely over their heads!"

A smirk quirked the corner of Jeremiah's lips as he dryly replied, "Tay, I had the same instructors and teachers you did, I am not remotely surprised any of them didn't catch your barbs, so just accept the praise, take the commission and knighthood, and move on. Now, speaking of which have you decided whether it would be either Dame or Sir for yourself?"

I liked the fact I was given the choice on my knighted title, Dame was traditional, Sir demanded respect, and I did like those old Hellsing mangas the Wards had kept around so taking a page out of Integra's book wouldn't be a bad idea.

"Hmm... Sir Taylor Gottwald certainly has a ring to it, but on that note if we're in the same room differing titles may help to avoid confusing the upper echelons."

Fun fact, even in a monarchy those on the ground and working level of the nobility felt that their superiors were over entitled idiots who had no idea what they were doing and only got their jobs due to nepotism. Mainly because that is exactly what happens, and we ladder climbers are stuck both resenting and coveting their power, good times all around. It wasn't treason really, just the collectively left unsaid fact that yes, our bosses are complete idiots and have to be treated like belligerent children to protect them from themselves.

So rather than take it seriously my brother just laughed, "True true, plus pluraling the 'Sir' would be awkward. Still, please sis get ready and lets go have some fun before graduation, for all we know we're going to get stationed on opposite sides of the Empire, so lets have some fun that we likely won't remember, what do you say?"

I stared into Jeremiah's burnt orange gaze identical to my own for a time, then sighed while twirling a lock of my curly dark blue hair as I turned away rolling my eyes, "Fine, but I swear if Villetta's creepy friend tries feeling me up again I will stab the woman, no means no damnit..."

An amused snort followed with, "Prude," was his response, my rejoinder was to maturely flip the archers salute earning my brother's laughter in return which I admit, made me smile as I slammed the door shut in his face to get an outfit together for the night out.

Getting dressed I glanced out the window watching mechanized formations forming on the parade field, then shook my head slowly while pulling my arm through the sleeve of my favorite sweater.

Grabbing my keys I took one last look out the window while heading towards the door muttering, "If Lisa had told me I was going to end up living in negaverse Phoenix Arizona fighting for an evil empire, piloting and leading a legion of giant humanoid robots into combat, I would have been highly skeptical."