Nunnally of the Insurrection
Chapter 20: Black Rebellion Part One
"Oh hell," Nemo breathed out as she read the reports. Nemo appreciation day was over at Ashford Academy, and she had planned to just collapse. But a message came in asking her to contact Ohgi, and she decided to do so. This wasn't what she had expected to hear...
Ohgi looked at her in concern, "Bad?"
"If the surviving Japan Liberation Front units get involved in this it'll be a massacre," Nemo said to him honestly. "They and the Chinese forces MIGHT establish a beachhead and hold off Britannia, but..." she shrugged.
Todo nodded seriously as he continued, "They will fall, eventually. And there would be reprisals against Japan."
"Hmm," Nemo grunted, sitting back as she looked thoughtful.
That was a worrying sound, Ohgi knew. It usually meant she was beginning a scheme, or was modifying a existing plan to fit new data. "What?" he had to ask, even though he knew he probably wouldn't like the answer.
"We have JLF cells that we control, and contacts with the more fanatical groups," Nemo mused, "how well armed are they?"
"We've sent repaired or rebuilt Knightmares as we've replaced our core units," Ohgi said, "they're also well supplied with conventional weapons, as well as modified anti-Knightmare gear."
Nemo nodded thoughtfully. She had deliberately peppered those cells with the soldiers she had geassed a few months ago. Their loyalty was almost frighteningly fanatical, and she was quite sure she could order them to kill themselves and they would happily do so. It was because of this she had so rarely used her geass on people...
"You have a plan?" Todo asked thoughtfully.
"We've talked about the scenario, Ohgi," Nemo admitted. She looked at him, "This isn't perfect, but do you think we can piggy-back on it?"
"You're asking me?" Ohgi asked wryly.
"The Japanese will be the ones facing hell if we fail," Nemo said honestly, "damn right I'm asking. Both of you, actually."
Todo's eyes widened as Nemo, with some assistance from Ohgi, explained the plan they had devised. Well, he suspected it was mostly Nemo's plan, as he doubted the younger man was that insane. "You're mad," Todo said flatly.
"Actually I'm pretty mellow," Nemo sighed.
"Don't joke," Ohgi sighed, "this is not the time."
"Sorry," Nemo sighed. She took off her distinctive sunglasses, rubbing at her eyes. She looked oddly like a normal teenager as Nunnally sat back with a sigh. She looked up at Todo, "It IS a gamble, but not a unreasonable one," she said. "But yes, we would HAVE to play our entire hand to make it work. It's a one shot scheme, no second chances."
"But you are confident it will work," Todo said.
"Yes," Nunnally said tiredly. It had been a HELL of a long day at the Academy, and now she was doing her best to be fully awake and aware now. "Even if it fails, we'll be in a better position in Japan, assuming Britannia doesn't come in and squish us flat."
Todo grunted his agreement at that. "It could work," he conceded.
Ohgi looked at the stategic genius and the teenager, then sighed. There really wasn't much choice, was there? "Okay," Ohgi decided, "we do it."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Several days later, a staffer timidly awoke Cornelia li Britannia from a sound sleep. Cornelia, the co-Viceroy of Area 11, hated it when she was awoken in the middle of the night. It was always bad news, in one form or another.
"What's going on?" Cornelia demanded as she strode into the command center, her eyes flashing. She was doing up her uniform jacket, and her long hair was flowing loosely, unbound.
"We're being invaded," Gilbert G.P. Guilford told her seriously, her personal knight having monitored the situation.
Cornelia froze for just a moment then growled softly. "The Chinese Federation?" she reasoned, as she studied the tactical map on the main screen.
"Yes, ma'am," a technician noted, as he zoomed in on the southern part of Area 11.
The area of Kyushu was spotted red with hostile forces, the southernmost island of old Japan. Cornelia manipulated the image to try to get a greater sense of what was happening, but there wasn't enough data coming in.
"It's a bit more complicated than the Chinese," Gilbert added seriously. "Apparently the invasion is being led by survivors of old Japan's government, along with a contingent of solders that survived the original campaign."
Cornelia grunted softly. "That's going to make things more complicated," she conceded grimly. There was a stubborn core of resistance in the Elevens, along with a fierce loyalty to their former country. Fighting this attack off was going to be messy.
"We're getting troop numbers from loyal observers on site, it's bad," Andreas Darlton told her seriously. "They are running right over our garrison on the island as if it wasn't there."
Cornelia nodded grimly. "We need to strip the local defence forces across Area 11, mobilize everyone we can spare, then counterattack," she decided.
"It's not going to be that simple, ma'am," Jeremiah Gottwald noted, the elite pilot having been hanging back with the crowd of agitated junior military officers and aides. "As the Chinese attacked, surviving cells of the Japan Liberation Front attacked all across Area 11. Our forces are tied up trying to contain them."
Cornelia swore softly, wondering why the fates seemed determined to screw with her. "All right," she said flatly, "assemble the Glaston Knights and every loyal knight we have in the capital. We'll move with whatever we have and attempt to stop them."
"Isn't that a bit rash?" Gilbert asked, a bit alarmed.
Cornelia sighed as she said, "I can't call on other Areas for help, Gilbert. To do so would be a sign of weakness and undermine everything we've done. And if I fail and we need rescue, it won't matter anyway because the Area will be taken away from me."
"We should deploy Lancelot as well," Dalton noted, even though he clearly didn't like the idea much. Or at least he knew Cornelia wouldn't be pleased.
"Do so," Cornelia agreed, "we move out as soon as possible.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Suzaku Kururugi held on as the truck took a turn far sharper than they had too, racing along the highway along with the Britannian forces. " Cecile," Lloyd noted mildly, "I'd like us to make it there alive, please."
Cecile sighed, the young woman steadying the wheel. "Our regular driver is unavailable, remember? I barely know how to handle this thing."
Suzaku didn't say anything, again marveling at how crazy this whole situation was. Normally mobilizing any major military operation took days, but they had managed to get everyone moving in just a few hours. Yes things were kind of chaotic, but they were still moving at a incredible pace.
"How are we doing for energy fillers?" Lloyd asked conversationally as the two men dug through the supplies they had rapidly tossed into the truck before racing off.
"Two full ones," Suzaku reported. "I won't be able to run the Lancelot too long on that."
"We'll have to keep an eye on it," Cecile agreed. She used the GPS to check their location, "We're nearing our launch point."
"Sargent Kururugi to Glasgow Knights, we're nearing positon. Status?" he aske, using his military radio to check in.
"We're near position as well," Dalton admitted, "you've made good time. "
"Thank you, sir. I'll pass that on to Cecile," Suzaku said, getting a chuckle from Dalton.
Somewhat more seriously Dalton continued, "I have a personal request. When the battle begins, try to stick close to Cornelia."
"Bodyguard, sir?" Suzaku asked, concerned that either he'd be babysitting or worse.
"No, no," Dalton reassured him, "just stay by her side. There are few soldiers who can do that, and I expect that even the Lancelot will have a hard time."
"Will do," Suzaku agreed even as the truck rumbled to a stop.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The Chinese had taken over a entire port city, with troops spread out in a defensive line along with hastily built weapon emplacements. Normally, even a army with hundreds of knightmares and heavy weapons would have no chance against their army. But these weren't normal circumstances, with much of the military tied up dealing with bush fire conflicts across the area. They were outnumbered, possibly outgunned, and were attacking a fortified base.
Cornelia and her forces took up positions, even as she wished they had been faster. The enemy had landed several freighters modified to carry knightmare frames, and had emplaced them well. If she had just sent a emergency strike team earlier, a small, fast team, she might have headed off the reinforcements. Sadly, it was too late to regret the decision now.
The silvery knightmare skated up to her side and Cornelia smiled wryly, "Kururugi, I understand you have babysitting duty."
"More like trying to keep up with you duty, Viceroy," Suzaku answered respectfully.
That got a snort of amusement from Cornelia. "Thank you," she said after a moment, "I know this is hard for you, considering."
Suzaku shrugged slightly. "I made the choice to help my homeland by joining Britannia," he said simply, "I won't go back on that now."
Cornelia nodded, once again mildly impressed by the young man. She patched herself through to her small army of knightmares, "Squads, form up and prepare to advance." She took a deep breath, "For Britannia! Move out!"
To be continued...