Fallen Grace

[Jeremy Hunter]

Battleship Oblique, Tau 44. 4 Days before Fallen Grace
He had arrived.
Lelouch D'Aramis stepped from the airlock, his corvette settled against the hull of the massive Valor. He briskly walked forward, brushing past the marines stationed there. They had no idea of what was about to transpire. His eye defect was dulled by the calmness of his situation; when the blood flowed, it seemed to grow more distinct.
He casually entered the conference room, where Relena sat quietly, waiting for him. With a light smile, he sat at the other end of the long wooden conference table, resting his elbows and lacing his fingers together. He leaned forward.
"Colonel Peacecraft."
"Commodore D'Aramis."
Lelouch chuckled. "So formal...good to see you, Relena."
"Likewise...Lelouch."
He nodded, then tapped commands onto the holographic interface. "Read."
Frowning slightly, Relena turned her eyes to the document that Lelouch had presented to her. She spent the better part of an hour just reading it slowly.

Finally, as Lelouch dozed off like a child in class, she looked up.
"I do not know whether to believe it, deny it, or think you are excellent at making up stories."
"I'm good at that. But this one is not a bedtime story I am reading to Amelie. No, Relena. It is a story of truth. A truth I am sorrowful to share."
Her gaze softens. "Not even you would dream of shooting Adelaide...without a damn good, irrefutable reason."
Lelouch scowled. "Of course it would be irrefutable." His hands clenched. "So, you know my problem. You know my solution. You are the only person who can keep the heat off me, the Eglantine...and the resistance I am forming."
"Yes, well, I am the commander of the battle group that occupies Tau 44..."
"Exactly why I know this place is safe."
"And how do you know I am not infected?"
Lelouch smiled. "If you were, I would have been seized the moment I entered here. But why would these things take over a young Colonel with very little power in a backwater system that no one really remembers?"
Relena rolls her eyes. "A gamble."
"And it pays off."
Relena stood, presenting her back to Lelouch. After a few minutes, she turned around.
"What is the Oblique's roll."
"To ensure Tau 44 remains under the control of the Marquise."
Relena frowned. "There is no Marquise."
"There will be."
Lelouch smirked at Relena's look of suspicion. With a flick of his wrist, the entire bio of Izzy Estelle popped up onto the holo. Of course, it was a huge fabrication, up until her employment in the Ciel household.
"Very thorough. She seems like a decent fit."
"Good. Because Tau 44 is the only place I have to run. No one is looking to the conquered backwater system; they look to Bretonia and the homeland. That is my trick."

Lelouch stood and swept out the door, Relena left behind.
Goodbyes were a luxury.
Time was a luxury.
And time was not on their side.

---

May you ever walk in the Light, Shizune.