Nunnally of the Insurrection
Chapter 23: A New Era Dawning
The Royal Court of Britannia was busy, as expected. There were formal protests of China's actions to deliver, as well as congratulating Cornelia on her rather Pyrrhic victory. Finally Emperor Charles dismissed the courtiers and sat back as a few of his Knights gathered.
Dorothea Ernst, Knight of Four, presented her report first. "Our forces in Area 11 are effectively destroyed," she said flatly.
"What?" Monica Krushevsky, the young blond haired Knight of Twelve yelped. She blushed as the others looked at her over her outburst as she murmured, "Sorry."
Dorothy smiled faintly but continued, "They successfully put down rebellious groups around Area 11, but they were nearly wiped out in the process, as well as by the invading Chinese forces. All they have left are Cornelia's Knights, the Lancelot and their new allies the Black Knights."
"Where DID these Black Knights come from?" Anya Alstreim, the Knight of Six asked in her usual mild way as the young woman played with her camera/recorder.
"Indeed. I do not like there being military forces in my realm that I do not control," Charles noted grimly.
"Sir," Dorothea nodded to him, "the Black Knights appear to be a pro-Area 11 group, but are not actually anti-Britannian. They assisted in the rescue of hostages from the Japan Liberation Front, as well as helping local police forces crack down on Refrain dealing and illegal smuggling."
Dorothea was being remarkably even handed in talking about the group, since they had also raided the illegal Narita base and ruined her career. No one brought it up, as she was obviously sensitive about it. Besides, they all knew anyway.
"They are lead by Ohgi Kaname and the infamous Kyoshiro Tohdoh, often called 'Miracle Tohdoh' for his tactical skills," Dorothea continued, "but their third in command and field leader is a woman only known as Nemo."
"Nemo?" Gino Weinberg, the Knight of Three, blinked, "No one?"
"We don't have her identity?" Charles asked disapprovingly.
"No communications that we have intercepted use her real name, the Knights appear to have good communications discipline," Dorothea reported stiffly.
"Or no one on their side actually knows who she really is too," Monica offered that suggestion rather timidly.
Dorothea just ignored that. "We've also had no luck in photo matching her face to anything in our files," she said. She didn't mention the odd computer error matching the face to a young Empress Marianne. They clearly were not fighting a ghost.
"We should go in to Area 11 and destroy these Black Knights," Luciano Bradley, the Knight of Ten and a noted lover of combat and war declared. He didn't SAY they should also depose Cornelia and Euphie for failure, but he didn't need to.
"No need," Nonette Ennegram, the Knight of Nine said as she glared at him, "I am confident that Cornelia can handle the situation."
"Indeed, there is no need for us to intervene yet," Charles agreed with her, making Luciano back off a bit. Challenging the Emperor in public was a good way to end up dead. "Besides, punishing China may be our higher priority." he continued.
As the discussion turned to sanctions or war with China, Charles sat back thoughtfully. It would be interesting to see what happened in Area 11... and if things did go out of control, there were always other options.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"Viceroy Cornelia, it is a honour," Nemo half bowed, the brown haired woman in the distinctive black and silver uniform of the Black Knights.
"Welcome, Nemo," Cornelia said pleasantly, even as her thoughts raced. HOW had the woman gotten onto the grounds? Somehow she had just appeared at the inner gates, with no warning from security. It was mind boggling.
A maid led them to the library, where coffee was waiting. "Sugar? Cream?" she asked Nemo as she poured for Cornelia, then for her.
"One sugar, cream," Nemo smiled pleasantly.
As the maid left Cornelia drank a bit of her coffee. 'Vocal distorter on her neck,' she noted, 'plus those damn huge square sunglasses. She's quite paranoid about her identity.'
"Things appear to be settling down in Area 11," Nemo noted calmly. "The Black Knights are still sweeping up the Chinese and JLF forces that escaped the battle, but I expect we'll have them all within a week."
Cornelia firmly stomped down on her annoyance. She had to keep her private forces here, guarding the capital. Which meant any military activity in the rest of the Area would have to be the Black Knights. It was necessary, but it left a bitter taste in her mouth.
"Don't endanger your forces, please," Cornelia said evenly, "I feel bad enough asking volunteers to do this."
"We have some professionals providing guidance," Nemo answered mildly. She drank her coffee, putting the cup down perfectly in the saucer.
'Good manners too,' Cornelia noted. She was increasingly certain the woman was Britannian by birth... but WHY would she be fighting for Area 11, then? What was her motive? Speaking of motive... "You still haven't said what you want, in exchange for your help."
"I can't be doing this out of patriotism?" Nemo asked wryly.
Cornelia snorted in amusement.
Nemo nodded, conceding that. "There are things that need to change," she said, as they began negotiating at last.
Nearly an hour later Nemo left, and Cornelia hurried to the security centre. She watched Nemo leave the building on the monitors... then simply vanish.
"WHAT," Cornelia yelped.
"Rewind the recording," one of the techs ordered and called back the last image of Nemo. "Her hand reaches for something in her pocket," he noted. He zoomed in and caught the image of a square device of some sort.
"Huh," Cornelia grunted.
"She's spoofing our security system somehow..." another tech noted. "No idea how though."
Cornelia made a face. Before the conquest, the Japanese had always had a technological edge. It was one reason they had wanted the country, along with the Sakuradite. Clearly some faction in Area 11 retained their dangerous technology... and worse were advancing it.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Early the next day, Kallen hurried up to Nunnally as they both walked to classes at Ashford Academy. "How the hell did you manage that cloak-thing? We could have really used it when Clovis was around," she whispered softly.
Nunnally made a face, "Rakshata prepared it for us. It relies on our having the right security codes... without an inside man, it's useless."
"Ah," Kallen nodded, disappointed.
Not long before the uprising, the Black Knights had gained the support of Kyoto House, and with that the aide of 'mad' scientist Rakshata Chawla. In addition to upgrading their Sutherlands she had given them the Gurren, an advanced mecha that Kallen now piloted.
"How did the meeting go?" Kallen asked softly.
"We're still feeling each other out," Nunnally admitted, "but we're making progress on improving the rights of Japanese citizens. We've also started in on the Sakuradite trade issues."
"Good luck with that..." Kallen sighed as they reached the class.
The class was packed, but Nunnally smiled as she saw a friend she hadn't seen in days. "Welcome back, stranger," she teased as she sat beside Suzaku Kururugi. "Just got back?" she asked, pretending not to know what he had been doing.
"Just got off duty, finally," Suzaku admitted, looking visibly tired.
Nunnally firmly stomped on any sympathy she felt. He had chosen this role, after all. But yeah.. he had been part of the mad dash to get to where the Chinese were invading, fought the pitched battle against long odds AND had been on duty since then as Cornelia picked up the pieces. No wonder he was exhausted.
"Congratulations on your victory," Nunnally added. She made a face, "Even if you haven't gotten enough credit."
Suzaku snickered softly. After the Black Knights heroic last minute save the citizens of Area 11 had hailed them as heroes, despite the Britannian forces having held off the Chinese much longer. "Last minute saves do tend to get more credit," he noted. He smiled, "And I was impressed by Nemo giving a speech and giving us credit..."
Nunnally gave him a look, wondering if he knew something. She was sure he at least suspected... "Did you say hi to Shirley yet?" she changed the subject. He went amusingly pink and Nunnally hid a smile.
"Uhm, yes. She was happy to see me," Suzaku fumbled.
"So, have you kissed yet?" Nunnally asked conversationally.
"Kissed?!" Suzaku yelped.
Before Nunnally could needle him more, the teacher loudly cleared his throat. "Excuse me, could we please start the class?" he asked oh so politely.
"Sorry," both young people chorused.
Once class ended CC tracked Nunnally down. "Milly was looking for you, again," the green haired woman noted, taking her arm possessively.
"Oh god what does our fearless student council president want now?" Nunnally asked tiredly.
Suzaku noted, "Black Knights and Nemo Appreciation day II, the sequel?"
"Don't even joke," Nunnally poked him.
Before Suzaku could snark back, his phone rang. He pulled it out and said, "Hello?"
Nunnally and CC watched as Suzaku grew increasingly pale and whispered what seemed more desperate responses. Finally he finished the call, putting the phone away with the oddest look on his face.
"What?" Nunnally finally HAD to ask.
Suzaku looked at her with a wry smile, "My cousin Kaguya Sumeragi is coming to town..."
"And that's bad?" CC asked.
Nunnally had mostly kept her face blank. Having MET Kaguya, she could actually see where Suzaku was coming from. This could be a disaster!
To be continued...
Notes: I COMPLETELY jumped over the Kyoto House bit in the first Code Geass series. D'oh! Next chapter will, hopefully, both fill in the blanks as well as cover some character bits.