Three Lynxes slowly approached the landing pads of Ile-Du-Palais, their insignias clearly showing that they were from the Gallic Expeditionary Force. One of the fighters slowed down and began to land on one of the pads, while the other two made a turn and slowly left the area again.
“We’ll be heading back to Edinburgh, Maréchal.”
“Oui, you have your orders. I trust you to be able to deal with the Bretonians while I’m absent.”
Valérie Quétineau looked at the huge building while the autopilot finished the landing sequence, she never had a chance to visit that place before and only knew it from pictures. “Impressive.” Valérie thought to herself while she jumped out of the cockpit and noticed some guards standing by, all of them saluted once they had her attention. She replied with a salute and began to move towards Ile-Du-Palais.
“And I still don’t know why I was called. I should be on the battlefield and not here, but on the other hand it’s good to be back on New Paris.”
She stopped in front of the main gate. “And I’ll meet the King, now that will be interesting.” Valérie never really met any of the important members of Gallia’s royalty. It was a different world for her, a world she never really understood. “The royalty won’t win the war, but the soldiers will. Yet only the royalty will be celebrated after victory, and the soldiers won’t be mentioned once the war is over.” She shook her head for a second before she entered the building. “Better to get it done as soon as possible, at least I can think whatever I want.”
It did not take long before she spotted Renée Favre, the King’s Steward. “Ah, Mademoiselle Favre, it’s good to meet you.” Valérie said and walked over to her, she was sort of glad that she was able to find Favre in the entrance hall, she would be lost if she had to search for her in the huge building.
---------------
“It’s been awhile.” Julie spoke, mostly to herself as she wandered down the hall, wearing her typical Royal Navy uniform of white and red, a sword and scabbard hanging from her hip. Her hands behind her back as she slowly looked over the architecture of the palace interior. Remembering her days as the Prince’s Royal Guard capitaine. She smirked slightly, and bit her lower lip as she passed a very familiar room. Stopping briefly she looked inside to see that nothing had actually changed, and sighed lightly once she noticed that the Prince wasn’t around. Slowly, she closed the door before proceeding down the hall to the meeting location.
Due to her knowing shortcuts around the palace, it wasn’t long until she arrived at the location, spotting both Renée Favre, and one of the newest Maréchals, Valérie Quétineau. She slowly made her way over, holding her chin high and proudly as she approached.
“Bonjour...” She said lightly, stopping next to the King’s Steward and giving them both a friendly smile as she looked around the area. “Lovely day we’re having, non?”
---------------
“An intriguing day more like....”, A voice intervened.
Ansel Xavier was walking towards them, looking worse for wear with heavy circles under his eyes. Dressed simply in GRN colors, he seemed harmless. Just a tired man walking to yet another task.
He walked up to the trio and greeted them in turn, almost smiling at Madame Favre, bowing slightly in deference of her rank. Proper etiquette had to be observed sometimes.
---------------
Mathieu Baudin was late. Not that he cared much. He had enough to show for it and the potential gains for Gallia would likely out-do the need to be punctual at the palace. He had the justifications he needed.
He strolled down the corridor towards the room he had been directed to. The steward was an annoyance, in his opinion. The reason he’d been sent to the front likely had a fair amount of her influence behind it. He had brought an extra five Legion tricolore men from the front with him back to the palace... His own men, trusted, whatever that meant. He instructed them to wait at the door and stepped inside with the sort of friendly smile that only the finest actors could dream of faking.
“Bonjour. Apologies for my late arrival, I got a little caught up with business. Such is war.” He paused. “I assume His Majesty demands our presence with good reason, non? The lack of information on the subject is something of some concern, naturally...”
“Baudin.” Xavier greets him with a nod. “I was told he was not in the best of health” he said after a pause.
“Hmm, well... Surely that is of greater concern to his physicians, non? I fail to see how our presence is likely to alleviate whatever ails him.”
Xavier gives him a patient look. “Or it’s likely to mean that he’s well again and able to take direct part in our councils.”
“It would appear that humour is yet again lost on my colleagues.” he muttered, half out-loud.
Xavier made no reply to that, lost in thought.
Valérie simply stayed silent and listened to Xavier and Baudin. It was not in her interest to get involved in a conversation with them.
------------------
Renée Favre waited for the four to arrive. Already there was Maréchal Lafayette, captain of the Chant du Cygne. She waited for them to finish their idle chitchat before breaking it up with a rude cough.
“Bonjour.” The man said.
Ignoring him, Favre looked to the newly arrived four. “The King has requested your presence immediately. We will not keep him waiting.”
Favre turned her back to them and walked towards the ornate doors marking the way to the King’s personal hall. Lafayette merely glared at the back of the woman’s head.
“Arrogant firebrand.” He said under his breath so only the others could hear him.
Favre pushed open the doors. “The Maréchals have arrived, Your Grace.” she said, her voice pitched. “Maréchal Lafayette is here in the stead of Marquise Roux, who is currently at her estate attending to a personal matter of importance.”
Favre stepped aside so the Maréchals could enter the hall. “Go.”
The King of Gallia sat slumped on the ornate Lily Throne, looking pale and tired. He raised his head as Favre spoke, and looked up, raising a hand slowly to acknowledge them and bring them into his hall.
Xavier walked past Favre and into the centre of the cavernous hall, decorated lavishly with
tapestries depicting old Earth history as well as more recent happenings. He stopped in the centre of the ornate fleur de lis carved into the ground, and fell on one knee as custom dictated. The Other Maréchals followed suit, and the King nodded and made a gesture for them to rise.
“What matters ails Adelaide Roux so, that she cannot attend to me?” Charles said, in a deep voice used to giving commands. There was the faintest hint of displeasure in his voice. He let a few moments of complete silence pass before speaking again.
“Her young sister is extremely sick. The Grande Maréchal cannot leave her bedside for the night. She sends her humblest apologies.” Put forth Lafayette.
Charles frowned. “That task can be performed by anyone. I am...disappointed” He said, displeasure evident. He waved a hand around to dispel this topic.
“But, Maréchals. I have been ….a long time away, and I believe you might have questions. I allow you to voice them,” The King said.
“Your Highness.” Valérie began, keeping her tone as polite as possible. “Is it possible to inform us about the reason for why we were called?”
“Let me remind you that I don’t really need a reason, Marechal Quétineau. But as for why you’re here...I’ve been unable to keep my eye on happenings recently, so what I’m looking for is for you to inform me.”
“The war is going well, Bretonia is struggling to defend itself properly, even with the aid it has recently received from Liberty. It will not take long before the rest of its resistance will be eradicated by our forces, that process will require less time once our full force is able to take part in the battle.” Valérie stopped for a moment. “We have also started to intercept their supply convoys behind the frontline, so far our forces have managed to take down a huge number of transports originating from Liberty”, Quétineau said.
Xavier remained silent for now, letting other people speak.
Charles drummed his fingers against the arms of his Throne, listening intently.
“That is what I expected. Tell me more about the threats to us from our own...I have heard my daughter has surfaced in Liberty, Oui?” He said, voice betraying no emotion.
“Oui, that is true. Alice defected, as well as most of the crew from her flagship, the Normandie. We even witnessed her shooting our forces in one of our recent skirmishes. They have sided with the Liberty Navy.”
Favre, in the meanwhile had moved to her customary position, behind and to the left of the Throne, standing. She was listening intently, possibly remembering the conversation.
“It would also appear that Leon Chevalier escaped our grasp and has joined the Princess Alice in Liberty. I would not worry overly about this, as frustrating as it may be. We are perhaps better off without him.” Baudin shrugged in a vaguely noncommittal manner.
“Your opinion is colored, Baudin. The entire Court knows of your little feud with Chevalier” Favre put in.
“He was an useful asset for our forces, it is sort of a waste that he is now against us.” Valérie said. “But even then, it will not have any severe consequences for our efforts.”
“Chevalier is not without his faults. He can be put down if necessary” Xavier said.
“I believe my personal issues with the man are of little consequence. His skills are nothing irreplaceable, much like those of the man who went before him, Aubert Giroux. The important issue is that we have a far more... Unified command structure. Disposing of such individuals, or allowing them to dispose of themselves, holds few negative results for us.” Baudin paused.
“My concern is the somewhat repeated nature of this occurring within the leadership of the Legion Tricolore. Naturally, given my current role, this would be of some importance to me, in ensuring the Legion remains as loyal as it should be. With your leave, I will dedicate some time and resources to internal investigations and recruitment from trusted sources within the Navy.”
The King listened to them carefully, brows furrowed in thought.
“Do so, Baudin. The survival of this organization is now in your hands” He said.
“As you wish, Your Majesty.”
Charles continued. “Alice was the most spirited child of mine. I had hopes that she would be able to be a stabilizing influence on Aurelia when her time came. And for her...I personally selected a guard. Leon Chevalier. The two resemble each other in many ways...”
“As I understand, Your Majesty, Chevalier and your daughter are friends. Personal loyalty...” Baudin trailed off.
“I know my children, Baudin. Do not presume.” Charles said, a faint note of danger in his voice. Holding up a hand, he continued.
“They were both spirited, driven individuals...” He clenched a fist, and his expression grew harder, cold... “They’ll both have to die.” He said finally, voice devoid of any kind of empathy.
“I will issue this order as soon as possible.” Valérie replied.
Baudin raised an eyebrow. “We have a number of people who could be placed in advantageous positions to achieve this end, if it is your will.”
Xavier simply nodded, no expression on his face.
“The means to achieve this shall be given to you”, Favre said.
The King nodded at Favre, and continued. “Make it happen, Marechals.” After a brief pause, he continued. “Tell me about our enemies, Bretonia and Liberty. Who are the main individuals driving their hostile campaign against us, and what is your assessment of them?” He asked.
“The Bretonian side is filled with cowards. Their Admirals prefer to send their men into death, while they sit in their command chairs on a battleship, far away from the battle. Admiral Charles Davis and Admiral Firmus Piett. Nothing more than misguided individuals who cannot realize that they are facing the inevitable doom of their nation. I cannot say anything about Queen Carina, it more seems to me that her only purpose is to create hope for her people.”
Baudin cut in. “Of the two admirals, I believe Davis to be the greater military thinker. He occasionally even appears himself on the battlefield, presumably in an effort at presenting himself as a ‘man of the people’. I would suggest making some effort at removing him personally.”
Xavier almost smiled at the mention of Davis. “I’ve beat him on the field at equal odds. He’s not as much of a threat as Baudin makes him out to be.”
“No Bretonian is a threat for us.” Valérie interrupted.
“You misunderstand... Ansel.” Baudin grinned. “You compare a healthy lamb to a weak one. A healthy lamb is still only a lamb, oui?”
Xavier raised an eyebrow at the analogy, and nodded.
“Anyway, let’s move on to Liberty...” Valérie added, nodding to the two of them.
Ansel folded his arms behind his back. “Liberty is a far more substantial danger to us, with a far larger military and a Command structure hardened from their war with Rheinland. Their Fleet Admiral, David Hale has had an excellent track record of success. They’ll be the real threat.”
“... Dependant on the casualties and losses they take in the conflict with Rheinland, of course.” Baudin added.
“...As our own fleet is dependant on the losses we’ll take in Bretonia, Oui?” Favre put in, with a mild, mocking smile.
“Perhaps is Mademoiselle Favre were to look over the casualty reports from operations conducted by those currently assembled in this room, she would find the projections of our losses are low, to put it mildly.” Baudin replied with a mild hint of annoyance.
Xavier nodded. “I’ve been conducting small scale hit and run operations with the intent of conserving our own and whittling them down slowly. We have time. If we apply ourselves correctly, we might even end this Bretonian war with a larger fleet than we started with.”
“It appears that our forces are far more efficient in battle than the Bretonians. It seems they tried to recruit people who have never had the experience of a battle and send them right into their demise. Easy prey, so to say.” Valérie said with a faint smile.
“No great surprise.” Said Mathieu quietly. “The Kusarians did half the work for us. The Bretonians have little depth in their command structure, due to casualties from their previous war. Fresh recruits do not compare to those who have had adequate training.”
Xavier held up a hand to interject. “Bretonia will fall. It is a matter of when, not if. What we need to do is plan this conflict considering what we’ll face next. Which means we start laying the groundwork for our conflict with Liberty now.”
“We can use your...special wing to collect the necessary information.” Valérie said in response to Xavier.
“They’re already on that assignment” Xavier responded curtly.
“What can you tell us of Liberty’s tactical mindset?” Favre questioned.
Xavier smiled, as if something amused him. “...From what I’ve seen, they seem to prefer a capital screen strategy, with fighter classes used for more strategic purposes. Their Capital ships will do most of the heavy lifting. The primary fleet operates fighters mostly, and their officer corps handle the brunt of planning and organizing. They’re fairly adaptable, however.”
King Charles rubbed his chin in thought, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes in thought. After a few silent minutes, he spoke.
“Marechals. Regarding Bretonia... what we need is for their people to cooperate with ours willingly. But...the hand of a conqueror is not easily accepted. With enough time, the people can be placated and convinced of our way of life, but considering Liberty’s belligerence...there is no time.”
He stood from his chair, standing tall and proud.
“Subjugate the people of Bretonia by force. Terror subjugates a people far faster than the natural course of events allow. Their people will work for us, and fuel the Gallic machine. With that added strength, Liberty can be removed, with time.”
His expression grew grim and cold.
“Destroy their will, Marechals. I will not see you fail in this. Deliver me Bretonia. You will not fail me...or will you?”
“Only the weak fail, and Gallia is far away from being called weak.” Valérie simply said.
Xavier nodded, almost smiling. “It shall be done, as you command.”
The King sat back in his chair, and said a few quiet words to Favre.
“The King extends to you the hospitality of his Palace. Make yourselves comfortable, he’ll surely wish to converse with you again. For now, let me escort you to your rooms” Favre said.
The Marechals began shuffling out, Favre walking besides Baudin. A few minutes after they left the throne room...
“I trust you’ll not fail the Legion Tricolore like your predecessors did, Mathieu...” She said, smiling genially. “It would be a shame to see you take the punishment for something that was not your fault.”
“I am not known for failure, Madame Favre, although your tone indicates far more than your words do, non?” Baudin gave a half smile. “I would suggest that when we converse you leave ‘subtle’ hints at the door... With the greatest respect, of course.”
“No doubt, Mathieu. Enjoy your stay.”
Baudin turned on his heel and walked off down a corridor towards the Legion Tricolore quarters in the palace.
Roux Estate, Planet Orleans. The Day of Fallen Grace
Lelouch was sitting on the bed, watching Adelaide. The woman he loved was stroking the hair of the girl he knew as Isabella Estelle. She was asleep, curled up against the woman contently.
Lelouch smiled, reaching over to stroke her cheek. "She's very beautiful." He said. "But you are far superior." He leaned over to kiss Adelaide, who kissed back.
"You're so sweet Lulu." She said. "She is beautiful...but I honestly like her because she's precious..." Adelaide smiled, still stroking the girl's hair. Lulu adjusted the blanket on her, covering her nude body.
"You knew I was coming over, yet you went ahead and started without me?" He said jokingly.
"It was too temping." She said. "Sorry."
Lelouch smiled...but inside, he wanted to run. He wanted to cry. Emotions that torn him to pieces. How he wished that she wasn't taken; that there was no war, and that he and his wife were sitting here, shoulders touching, observing the sleeping form of Adelaide's little toy, at peace.
Not that Isabella was a toy, but he didn't know what else to say.
"Adelaide, can I talk to you? I'd rather let her sleep peacefully."
Adelaide smiled. "Of course." She said. Lifting Izzy, she set the girl down gently before coming after Lulu, who closed the door behind her. Adelaide led him to the living room, where she started to remove her shirt.
"I have to make up, no..."
Adelaide had turned to find Lelouch holding his gun on her. He barely held back the tears.
"Lulu? Are you ok?" She said gently. "Please, put down the gun."
"Then release her from your hold, you alien bastard." He shot back.
Adelaide was silent.
Lulu tightened his finger on the trigger.
"Au revoir..." he said sadly.
The first shot ripped into Adelaide's shoulder, spinning her around. As she came back around, Lelouch fire again.
Isabella Estelle suddenly threw herself between Adelaide and Lelouch, taking the bullet in the shoulder.
Lelouch let the gun fall, and ran, leaving the two down and bleeding for the guards to find.
All according to plan.
Lelouch vaulted the wall, rolling and coming up at a sprint. Into the woods, towards the river. Branches breaking, dogs baying, and the shouts of guards chased him. But he was quick, and managed to stay ahead of the guards...then he turned and deftly punched the dogs in their noses before spinning around and sprinting.
Gunfire tore up the foliage around him as he approached a particularly steep and high outcropping to the river. He turned to face his pursuers, their weapons drawn.
"Lelouch D'Aramis, you are under arrest for the attempted assassination of the Grande Marechal and her personal attendant."
"It is better to die for freedom then to live life in chains."
The bullet hit him in the heart, and Lelouch D'Aramis fell off the cliff into the water.
The body was never found.
And Isabella Estelle's position would be the exact one that Lelouch needed.
_____________________________________
Bernard Clement racked his assault rifle. His squad did so as well.
"The time approaches." he said to his men. They all nodded, their faces set.
_____________________________________
The mask was removed, and Lelouch D'Aramis smooted out his uniform. His escape from Orleans was quick and seamless; his body carried by the river, he had put the helmet on have the ten minutes of oxygen needed to get to the scuba gear. Once he had that, he continued downstream until he arrived at the Aurochs.
And now, he stood on the bridge of the Eglantine.
"Contact everyone who is taking part in this strike."
The man finally gave the go-ahead. Lelouch sat down on the command chair.
"Above all, we must realize that no arsenal or no weapon in the arsenals of the world is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women." He let that sink in. "We, the free men and women of Gallia, have come to ask for the help of Sirius to fight a threat that has begun to corrupt the Kingdom we call home. To further the decay. That is why I have approached you, and called you to my aid. Because alone, I cannot hope to stand. Alone, I cannot hope to fight." Lelouch tensed up. "Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves. And Charles DeFrance does not deserve freedom. He oppresses the masses, censors the truth, and abuses his position to further a vendetta that has long been lost to the flow of time!" Lelouch stood. "Freedom can be preserved only if it is treated as a supreme principle which must not be sacrificed for particular advantages. Gallia is decaying from this very thing. Our freedom is gone, and we are forced to submit to Charles' will! We are forced to serve him, or he will massacre us! Our honor has been destroyed by him!"
Lelouch throws one arm out. "I ask you to strike with me, into the heart of darkness. The heart of the evil that plagues Gallia. I ask the exiled Colonial Republic, their counterpart the Vanguard. I ask you to stand and fight with me. I ask the Order, to help me cleanse Gallia of this infection! Above all, I ask you to do this for the betterment of our people, and to be the harbingers of the true ruler of Gallia! I ask you to pave the road for Alice DeFrance to return and bring Gallia out of this fool's war, out of this downspiral!"
Lelouch threw his other arm out. "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. So, I ask you all, to do something. I ask you is to bring justice to Charles; for, in the absence of justice, what is sovereignty, but organized robbery? Robbing the honor of the people, robbing their dignity!" Lelouch's tone rose. "Bring honor, bring dignity...bring Justice! Even if we fail, we shall be the cinders! The cinders and the embers that spark wildfire! We are the catalyst to the inferno, the fuel for the fire!" Lelouch let his arms fall.
"I come to you, not as Directeur Lelouch Gwenalle D'Aramis. Not as Comte D'Aramis of Orleans. Not as Lelouch, the fiance of Adelaide Roux." He paused. "Nor do I come as the bastard child of Charles, a mistake made from the lust that Charles has! No, I come to you as Lelouch, a mere man. Because titles mean nothing. Status, birth, they mean nothing. All that matters, in the end, is that you stood for your beliefs." Lelouch relaxes. "Charles is weak, because he lacks one quality, the quality that every man and women who have joined me, has."
Lelouch toys with something in his right hand. It was a paper flower, folded for him by Amelie. "The only ones who should kill, are those that are prepared to be killed." Lelouch gives a two-fingered salute. "You all are the very definition of hero. A person who does extraordinary deeds for the benefit of others. This act of defiance with me, is the deed for the benefit of the Kingdom I love. The people who hold my loyalty. I thank you, and I wish you all godspeed. For today is the Day of Fallen Grace!"
Lelouch relaxes, then returns to his seat.
"Go, all. Go forward! Forward unto dawn!"
Terrence waved at the comm's officer, instructing the transmission coming from Lelouch be cut. He never liked the "grand speeches" leaders gave before ordering their men to die. Probably why his junior officers thought of him as a hard-ass.
"Operational status of Vanguard forces?" "Rubicon reports green jump status and stealth, holding at position Delta in Ile-de-France, she's not detected. The Olympia is standing by at Planet Brunoy along with the Republic cruiser Daedelus, fighter wing Sequoia is with them. Our own systems are fully operational and our FTL is spinning, ready for jump."
Terrence looked up, across his command chair stood Randy, concentrated on the holographic displays before him that showed all relevant tactical data to the operation. He looked as hard as stone, his face showing no features of emotion, his eyes showing devious thought, there was no expression of fear or excitement just cold determination along with his constant non-caring feel that he seemed to radiate whenever he was around. Terrence thought him ready.
"Your men ready?"
"Armed and prepped, they're ready and waiting in the hangar bay, sir." "Lets hope they're good enough to pull this off."
"They're the best." "Any doubts, Randy?"
"Heh, ever seen me in doubt?" "Alpha, Operation Golden Hammer."
"Doesn't count and you damn well know it sir. Frakking ignition was stuck." "Sure it was."
"And will our guests be coming any time soon?" "Lelouch and his men will be coming in shortly, in fact, I'll have them meet you directly in the hangar bay. No need to waste time here, you're dismissed."
"Yes sir, good hunting." "You as well, get that bastard Randy."
The two officers saluted one another and without another word Randy turned on his heel and headed out of the CIC, the blast door closing behind him. Terrence turned back to his holo-displays, the largest one having a 3D 360 degree wireframe of what the ship's scanners could see. He could see the silhouettes of the two Valors -the Oblique and the Eglantine- in formation with the Sovereign. They were only waiting on Lelouch's arrival aboard the Sovereign, afterwards the operation would commence. Terrence had first thought the Director of ONI too young, too inexperienced. Yet his actions betrayed Terrence's first thoughts. The young man was dedicated and intelligent and showed emotion, not the cold, calculating remorseless being that he had come to familiarize himself with due to the CIS. Terrence trusted Lelouch with pulling the whole thing off, but even with the resources they had at their disposal, the Vanguard Admiral didn't have any illusions that the outcome of this would be based almost entirely on luck.
Dauphine Jumphole, Orleanais. The Day of Fallen Grace
Jaques Litner sat at his post in the Command center on board the Epee 2, monitoring the lines of communication being relayed across the Core Worlds and watching for any signs of strange activity within the system. While Arek had told him what to look for, picking it out from amongst the scrambled trader's banter, standard Royal Police and Navy patrol reports, and even civilians calling each other proved to take time. Especially when the Epee's crew rotated work positions to keep a mix of skills between each person.
He stifled a yawn, glancing again at the screen and listening through his headset before coming across what he was waiting for.
"Commandant, its here." He said.
Arek walked over and switched the comm to speaker, listening intently to the message; a reported weapon's discharge and treachery from a high-ranking official, no names announced.
"This is it then," he said. "Patch me through to the team at Epernon."
The screen side-lined the communications monitoring window and opened a video-feed to the hacking team, sitting with bored expressions as they repeated simulations.
"Sorry monsieurs et mesdames, but you're out of time for learning. Its show time, and I'm about to put the false reports in. Once they're through, its your turn. Ready?"
Nods of acknowledgement on the viewscreen as the simulation programs on each hacker's station were closed off, the command-line consoles opening up to take priority on each hacker's screen.
Arek glanced at his crew. "We'll need to hold position as long as we can to keep relaying their signal into the target system. Once they're all there, we'll drop the Dove."
He took a seat next to Jaques and began typing for a moment, bringing up the necessary voice-masks, communication lines, and scanner-masking programs.
"Time to start the party team, fake the IFF scanner-tags and fire up those coding fingers." Arek said, to the Epernon team, before closing their comms screen. He tuned into the emergency channels and pulled up the mic, taking a quick glance at the Epee's crew before clearing his throat and switching on the voice-mask. "EFL Supply Convoy SXG-41 to all Navy in the vicinity, Council capital warships have been sighted in Dauphine and are approaching Briancon Station from the northwest of the sector, requesting immediate assis-" *click*
"Alright, thats one signal sent, team. Get ready to fake the confirmations, this is where it gets tricky." And hopefully that'll distract any authorities near Planet Orleans...
"Contact General Logarus, tell him Falling Dove is green and he's cleared to pull the other two cards from his sleeve."
Casual Flier: Returning Player. Forum-PM me if you require my attention
Sefegiru sat in the cockpit of one Sekhmet bomber that had been relocated to Thionville. Checking a last time every system on the ship, she thought about the transmission they had received from the Gallic ONI director.
It was a good speeach she thought. One that would motivate every soldier before a battle. It was also one of those speeches that were always held before a battle failed in a rather glorious way.
And this was something she really disliked.
In such times she always remembered the words of former Commander Marcus Dawn, before he had vanished:
"Forget about any stupid long speeches you have heard so far. I have only a few words for you:
Just go out there and blast those idiots into oblivion. With fire! And then come back and have a long drink with your friends afterwards!"
Sometimes Sefegiru wished she had been part of the first days of One Four One. Regarding the stories she had listened to from the veterans within the unit, she must have missed a lot.
On the other hand she and others of One Four One were about to write history now. Though they would have to succeed first.
"Charlie, Charlie, Charlie", she mumbled. "Sleeping with the nomads. Bad boy.
Looks like I have to come for you." A vicious smile appeared on her face.
It was time to end the check list and meet with the other agents for a final briefing.
Today Gallia would be cleansed from the nomad threat.
Receiving word on Falling Dove from one of Commandant Maxim's men, the General sent a quick message to Tribun Durand. He was running short on time. ______________________
Incomming Transmission Target : Tribun C. Durand
"Present operations are proceeding as planned, and it is time for you to begin Operation Faciliter Desordre. Good luck out there."
__________________
End of Transmission
__________________
The General was handed the cargo manifest from one of his crewmen. Everything in order, he gave the command to undock the vessel from Argenton. They would arrive at their destination soon, and from there wait for the proper time. Operation MM has begun.
"You see what your knowledge tells you you're seeing. ... how, what you think the universe is, and how you react to that in everything you do, depends on what you know. And when that knowledge changes, for you, the universe changes. And that is as true for the whole of society as that is for the individual. We all are what we know, today. What we knew yesterday, was different; and so were we."
- James Burke, The Day the Universe Changed (1985)
Camp New Hope - Coronado System
The day of Fallen Grace
After listening to the end of D'Aramis' speech, and with a quick glance and nod to Connors and the assorted staff behind him, he sent his own message out to the Corse, Order and CIS agents preparing in Gallia as he spoke.
"Lelouch. You have given up much in these past few days, that which you had in your previous life. Of what remains, you have went through extraordinary effort to protect. And yet our foe still pushes forward. Charles is bent on his ancient vengeance conquest and left unchecked the Royal Navy will destroy all in its path. Yet now we have their new 'compatriots', this... infestation. You speak of our freedom and force of will, yet we fight for more than that. Whether from Sirius, from Gallia, or from distant, ruined yet unforgotten Crayter, we are all from Sol and we shall fight for our humanity.
As long as Gallia seeks to destroy, enslave or rob the humanity from us, we will keep up this fight. For those we left behind, for those we carry forward, and those we shall meet on the way; we shall keep up this fight. Alongside any who fall under the banner, the Colonials shall stand firm.
So say I, Roger Anders. So says my family. So says the Republic. So says the Vanguard. So says Sirius. So says humanity.
So say we all."
A rousing cheer before a repition is heard throughout the Republic's forces, and even some of those listening in the Vanguard fleet. Connors smiles for a moment, before returning to his all-too-familiar stoic presence of the past few months.
Switching off the feed, Anders opened up a simple text-based feed to Westridge.
"Admiral, I'm sure you'll be getting the Fleet into a tight spot at some point in this operation. Perhaps a look back to the tactics the Crayter Military came up with could be of use.
Our Kronos hulls can stand quite some heat these days... Show them what it means to be a Colonial, and why they should never have crossed us."
Bernard Clement calmly pulled out his gun and blasted the brains out of a soldier.
"This is Clement. Acadia, hanger is secure."
He motioned his men to go. "We're moving to secure the next objective. Leaving two men behind to cover the hanger."
Clement and his squad moved forward, gunning down crew and marines alike. Some fired back. Some went down and begged for mercy. A few had glowing eyes that were impassively shot out.
They were some of the best ONI had to offer.
Acadia opened fire, killing the room. Those who were sworn to Charles fell, and the room began to run with blood. She moved on, gunfire echoing throughout the ship.
“Acadia to Eglantine; prepare the troops. We need to hold out until the sabotage is complete.”
“Eglantine Copies. Order Forces are moving in to intercept the patrol wing. Cruisers Daedalus and Olympia are moving in to secure the Obstinates. We're preparing the breakthrough operations into Ile-De-France."
Acadia reloaded, gunfire and screams creating a cacophony of sounds as they moved through. Some screams went on, but in the end, they were brutally silenced.
"This is Acadia. Corridor Three cleared. leaving three men behind to hold. Tell the Colonials they are clear."
"Eglantine Actual copies. In position to assault the Embrun and break through to Ile-De-France for Phase Two."
Acadia paused. "Tell Lelouch Godspeed."
"...we will."
Acadia resumed slaughtering the dogs that dared side with such demons from the depths of hell.
"You want to be the star of some Kusari Tentacle Porn? TOO BAD, YOU'RE NOW THE STAR OF MY SHOOT 'EM UP!!"
Needless to say, Acadia was furious.
Very, very furious.
____________________________________
Clement was lethal, efficient, and usually utterly remorseless. Years of serving on Anti-Council task forces for the Office had steeled his heart and actions. He once butchered an entire safe house. Every man, every woman who served the Council.
But even ONI had a limit.
Children.
Adelaide, then Lelouch had always remained hesitant about the murder of children. Even teenagers.
So, when Clement came upon the cabin boy shielding a girl maybe a few years his senior, acting as a human shield for any gunfire, Clement checked his fire.
"This is Clement. We got the Cabin boy and some girl...."
"Lock them in. Post two guards. Continue on."
_____________________________________
Acadia reached the bridge as Clement did. The two didn't exchange words. They just reloaded and keyed the door open.
They came in, firing precision shots. Headshot, heartshot. Kill shots. not mindless gunfire. The Chant needed to remain operational for a bit longer.
"Send in the Marines." Acadia said after she keyed the main comm on the Chant. "We can hold the bridge. Strategic paths to our location and the Hanger have been secured. We've locked down all other paths but time will be against us. Move in now and start then sabotage. That is all."
Acadia keyed the comm off. "If it walks through that door with a gun, kill it."
"So that's how you fight, hmm? It won't matter anyway" she whispered. Seconds later the Lynx in the crosshair exploded, shrapnell of his remains floating around.
One more down. Many more left.
Sefegiru turned her Nephtys around and tried to get an overview over the fight between One Four One's mixed fighter and bomber wing against the Gallic Navy.
"Sefegiru here, status report", she yelled into her microfone.
"Hemuset-3 here, status yellow. #4, #5 and #9 still active and fighting. #2 has been shot down. Unknow status of #6 and #8. #7 pulled out the Sekhmet after the engines of the Chant du Cygne were destroyed."
"Damn, not working as planned". She looked at her own controls. The fighter was still operational, though one of her weapons had a malfunction.
No matter what, they would continue the fight. None of them could loose now.
"Allright, #7, stay away from the main combat area and find #6 and #8. Assist the colonial cruisers afterwards.
"All others, take out those fighters. At all costs!"
She somehow had the feeling it would cost them dearly. The gallics were giving them a fierce fighting. But so did the Order, too.
An infested human! And he contacted her? Sefegiru looked around if she could see any fighter going for her, but could not discover anyone.
Suddenly, she heard a voice over the Order frequency: "Sefegiru, behind you!"
A moment later, heavy laser fire spit over the Nephtys, obliterating her shields and burning the armor plates on the starboard wing. Before the infested gallic pilot was able to do more damage or even destroying the Nephtys, Sefegiru pushed the thrusters to maximum, turned around while still drifting.
When the crosshair was on the enemy, a dark smile was on her face.
"Payback time". She pulled the trigger, spitting tachyon fire against the Lynx.
Most of it reached the target, weakening the shield, but not enough to break through and touch the hull. The fighter evaded too well for this.
"Oh, no, you won't get away with this", the agent mumbled.
"Sefegiru here, I have an infested pilot right in front of me, chasing him."
"#3 here, more incomin...AHHHHHHHHHH". The scream of Hemuset-2 ended with an explosion just before the connection was terminated.
"#7 here, they got #3 here, more incoming fighters. We need serious backup now!"
Sefegiru cursed. How did the Gallic navy get those fighters so fast now? She had hoped to take out the defense wing around the enemy cruisers to ease the attacks of her colonial allies and to open up another safe entry window for D'Autoine and his boarding squad. She switched to another frequency.
"Sefegiru here, d'Autoine, looks like we are running out of time, get onto the Chant du Cygne and get as much information as you can. Status yellow, I repeat, status yellow! We will clear the space for you."
Before d'Autoine could answer her, she had switched to the general order frequency again.
"Allright, ladies and gentlemen. Clear the path to the Chant du Cygne. Our boarding vessel is on its way!"
And with this she looked out for the next enemy fighter near the crippled battleship.
After he received the message from Sefegiru, Forlorn found himself at the command of an X-shuttle; the same X-shuttle which would allow him, and his boarding party, to board the Chante du Cygne and carry out the mission objectives
"Status?" Forlorn said to one of the pilots of the ship as he stood right behind them, observing the battlefield
"The enemy forces are retaliating in great numbers, but our side is matching. On the other hand, our cloaking fuel is running low." the pilot answered
The ship remained cloaked at the edge of the battlefield, free from all the shooting, acting like a silent predator and watching for the perfect opportunity to strike.
"Bien then…" Forlorn said, examining the course of battle and planning his next move. "Let us commence the operation! Approach the Chante du Cygne, thrusters at maximum power!"
The pilots complied to his orders and the next moment, the X-shuttle appeared out of nowhere in the midst of battle, the cloaking field disabled as it approached the Chante du Cygne at maximum speed for the attempt to board it while in the meantime, the Order squadrons began doing their best to secure a clear path for it as the Gallic reinforcements continued to combat them.
"Sacre bleur! What was that?" Forlorn yelled right after the ship received a heavy shot, shaking it badly.
"We lost one of our thrusters, we’re being pursued by enemy fighters! They somehow managed to slip by our squadrons." the pilot anxiously answered.
It was clear that under these circumstances, the Shuttle won’t be able to land as it would be destroyed right before it could make it to the landing deck, despite it being now under friendly control. Forlorn had realized this. Even without his experience as an ex-Gallic officer, he knew that his ship would be a primary target, leaving only one solution to this problem…
"...Pilot, find us a secondary hangar! We’re going to crash land through it! " He ordered to his pilot with no hesitation. "There’s no other choice, we either die here for nothing or take the battle into the Chante du Cygne!"
Encouraged by his last phrase, the pilots had no other choice but to listen to his orders and accelerate towards the side of the ship at the maximum speed in its attempt to crash land on it.
With the enemy squadron now dispersed by the friendly fighters, the Crew onboard the shuttle began to concentrate on closing in on the ship.
As each moment passed, the Valor’s metal plating grew larger as the Shuttle got closer to it. In a final moment, the metalic armored plating now reveals a sealed secondary hangar employed by ships in emergency evacuations. Full thrusters ahead, the X-shuttle breached through the sealed hatch like a blade through butter, but at great cost too; the Shuttle's nose crumpled inwards and the landing gear legs completely sheared off. Moreover, the pilots had lost control of the ship, as it lodged directly into the inside of the hangar’s walls, becomming a useless lump of scrap metal. A powerful shock on impact followed the crash, announcing everyone in the Battleship about this event.
A sudden void silence emerged inside the hangar. The landing was successful, more or less
Five minutes passed when the void silence inside the dented shuttle was broken by Forlorn’s call:
"Status?” he asked as he tried to get back on his feet.
"There’s only seven of us left, we’ve lost a total of three members in the crash…" one of the crew members said, still trying to recover as well.
"Negligeable…" Forlorn muttered, "Everyone, gather your equipment and form up! Assemble at the main hatch. Expect heavy resistance, so arm yourselves!"
The six remaining members assembled in front of the hatch at the side of their leader, awaiting his signal to begin.
Forlorn waved to one of the men to open the hatch. The hatch was opening too slowly, and there was no sound except for the grinding of metal-against-metal made by the hatch’s opening action, hydraulic fluid dripping from one of the pressure tubes. Everyone else was silent, waiting anxiously for any form of resistance waiting to greet them with weapons fire from the other side.
After the hatch opened, the boarding party were relieved to see no resistance waiting for them. Their crash surprised a small group of guards tasked to protect the hangar, which now lay dead or incapacitated due to the harsh collision. Those who were not dead, were quickly shot down by Forlorn’s party.
After a brief moment which allowed the party to form up in the hangar Forlorn stepped on the floors of the hangar, a man aged around thirty, ex-gallic officer, now a trusted member of Task Force One Four One. His face wore ill, scarred, pale skin suggesting that this man has been through all sorts of dangers. He approached his company and ordered them to prepare themselves for any resistance that might show up. He then reached for his ear, activating a communicator:
"Sefegiru, Forlorn l’ici. We managed to land on the Chante du Cygne. Everything is going as planned. Alert the others onboard about our presence, s’il vous plait, I don’t want to cross into any open fire, bien? Au revoir!"
He then closed the transmission without waiting for any reply. No, a reply would cost time and time was now invaluable... Thus, he proceeded forward, with his party by his side, and prepared for any form of resistance as they headed where he believed all of the required data he is looking for is supposed to be located.
(08-10-2015, 07:03 PM)Antonio- Wrote: King Eduard is the greatest
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