Author's Note: Well, here we are. I sincerely hope that all of you are doing well and staying safe in these trying and turbulent times.

So...some of you who have been reading since the beginning might recall that I once said I wouldn't directly involve Oz the Reflection? Yeah, that's kinda gone out the window. The main reason that I didn't want to write anything about the characters in that was mostly a dearth of information about the whole thing back when I started. Now I know more, I'm cautiously adding bits of Marrybell's little knight troop's story to my own. You'll see in chapter what I'm talking about.

Look at my profile for my writing schedule. BEFORE you ask me in a review or a PM!

Disclaimer: Code Geass isn't mine.

Beta'd by BigCC

"Kallen." - Speech

'Lelouch.' – Thoughts/mental communication

"{Die.}" - Geass Command

"Halt!" - Loudspeaker

"Roger." - Radio/Walkie-talkie

Chapter 35: Hierarchy of Black Knights

Several Days Later

Private Room, The Cock and Bull Public House, Britannian Tokyo Settlement

"...and that is everything that has occurred in the Administration Building since we last communicated, Young Lord." Jeremiah Gottwald finished. He had been summoned to this place to give his Lord a personal report on the intelligence that he'd gathered recently. Apparently, this drinking establishment was one of his Lord's recent acquisitions, purposefully done so to host meetings such as these.

A bit cliché, it had to be admitted, but there was a reason that cliché existed after all. Pubs, taverns, and similar establishments were places that men from every walk of life visited with some regularity. As long as one was not a known teetotaller, then most would not spare a second glance to anyone visiting such an establishment.

"I see." his master said with a nod. Lord Lelouch sipped the soft drink he had ordered rather than alcohol (Jeremiah approved, one should never indulge while 'on the clock' as the saying went). "And the orders that Earl Asplund has received?"

"Apparently, Prince Schneizel has asked for Earl Asplund to build a lesser Lancelot variant to be issued to the counter-terrorist unit called the Glinda Knights." the Margrave reported. "It's being kept quiet, but a Britannian terrorist group known as the Wings of Talleyrand launched an attack on Pendragon itself."

"An open attack on Pendragon? How bold." Lelouch hummed. While poisonings, assassinations, and the occasional bombing weren't exactly rare at the cancerous heart of the Britannian Empire, a full blown attack was an entirely different matter. The Capital had been planned out to double as a fortress, and that design had only been improved on in time. The city had the best and most up-to-date static defences known to man and was home to an elite Royal Guard of Knights using top-of-the-line Knightmare Frames.

The Crown technically owned the entire city, only leasing property to everyone else, and the Head of the Ministry of Defence never had any qualms about evicting and demolishing entire streets to improve on defensive installations. Personal comfort for anyone but the Royal Family was secondary to maintaining the defensive strength of the Seat of the Monarchy.

Needless to say, direct attacks on the Capital usually died before they could even fully begin.

"Indeed, Your Grace. As a matter of fact, it was less of an attack than a full-blown armed attempt to level the city itself." corrected Jeremiah.

"What?!" Lelouch nearly choked on his drink as he went bug eyed. The sheer amount of manpower and machinery required for such an attack, and for it to have been able to reach a point…it was mind boggling; a logistical nightmare and an utter failure of Britannia's OSI.

"Yes. Princess Cornelia allowed me to read the Royal-level AAR of the incident." the aqua-haired man nodded grimly. "Its leader was a man known as Lord Wilbur Millville, the former Head of Aerial Weapons Development of the Steiner Konzern. He'd managed to use his status to build a formidable set of weapons for the terrorist group under the aegis of his position. One was a number of borderline 7th Generation transformable Knightmare Frames referred to as Somersets, which were able to fly, somehow."

"Flying Knightmare Frames." the Exiled Prince breathed out, his mind racing at the tactical and strategic implications of such an innovation. "That would have been very, very difficult to fight off with just standard Sutherlands and Gloucesters, and unless the defensive arrangement have seriously changed since I last checked, Pendragon's anti-air defences are mostly centred around several heavy Anti-Aircraft Cannons designed to counter heavy bombers and similar threats with secondary missile systems to handle smaller craft. All backed by the best radar system available to detect anything bigger than a pigeon approaching Imperial Airspace."

"That hasn't changed milord, though it should after this attack." The Margrave agreed. "The AA cannons were simply incapable of targeting these Somerset Frames accurately, and their anti-radar defences prevented any advanced preparation. The missile systems worked slightly better, but the Somersets targeted those first and foremost so most were eliminated before they could be brought to bear."

Lelouch hummed in the back of his throat. "This Millville fellow must have been planning his attack for a long time, it sounds like he developed these Frames particularly to counter Pendragon's defences and had already mapped his strategy fairly well." There was a bit of respect in the exiled prince's tone. He could admit that the level of planning involved in this kind of stunt was something he might have prepared given similar resources.

"Sadly, that's not the most problematic part of it, my Lord." Jeremiah grimaced. "The personal unit of former Lord Millville was a unit designated as the Sutherland Ikaros. It has been officially labelled as a First Generation Knight Giga Fortress. It was designed as a flying armoured bomber able to defeat any 5th Generation unit sent against it."

"It was able to fly...how?" Lelouch muttered, sorely wishing he'd been able to see the incident first hand. Second-hand accounts were rarely as useful for gleaming information.

In answer, Jeremiah removed a photo from his coat and showed it to Lelouch, who eyed it with the eye of a general appraising a future opponent. It looked, very basically, as if someone had affixed the head of a standard Sutherland onto a highly-advanced jet fighter's body in place of the cockpit. It was positively bristling with weaponry, most of which was deployed in the picture.

"Those are...oversized coil guns...three per wing." Lelouch whistled lightly. "And that's a missile pod mounted behind the Sutherland head. And I think those are the biggest Slash Harkens I've ever seen. And that ignores those huge bombing containers on the wings. What a monster of a machine. How did Pendragon's defence forces fight them off? Last I heard, the Royal Air Battalion had withered down to almost nothing."

"The Glinda Knights did it, milord." Jeremiah corrected him. "The Camelot team in Pendragon had, on Prince Schneizel's orders, put together a lesser version of a Lancelot, now named the Lancelot Trial, using spare parts that had their specs reduced significantly. It was being tested by the leader of the Glinda Knights at the time, and she rode out to help bring down the enemies alongside her forces."

"Oh? And who is the leader?" Lelouch asked curiously.

"The newly named 88th in line for the throne, Princess Marrybell mel Britannia." Jeremiah replied.

"Little Marry? Well now, isn't that a surprise." the Exiled Prince blinked, recalling gentle little redhead who could have passed for Euphie's long-lost twin at times. "I knew she'd gone into the military, but not that she'd already formed her own squad of Knights, let alone that she'd gotten involved in counter-terrorism."

"She's currently being touted as the 'Hero-Princess' by those in the know." the loyal knight replied. "She was joined by two experimental Knightmares being tested by her Knights; the 6th Generation Wakefield and the 7th Generation Zetland. Her Knights, Leonhardt Steiner and Tink Lockhart, were able to to fight the Sutherland Ikaros off thanks to an experimental flight system developed, ironically enough, by the Steiner Konzern and attached to the Wakefield. The forces of the Wings of Talleyrand were all utterly destroyed, although the Wakefield and the Zetland were also badly damaged in the fight. The Steiner Konzern has been dissolved and reformed as the Knightmare Development Team to Sir Gino Weinberg, the Knight of Three."

"Understandable, since the Steiner Family are vassals to the Weinberg Family." Lelouch recalled. "What of the flight systems?"

"They've been relegated to the scrap heap; they were simply too power-hungry and temperamental for even prototype production. The propulsion forces alone combined with the energy drain nearly wrecked the Wakefield all on their own." Jeremiah replied. "Apparently, Camelot has a flight system perfected and it is undergoing trials as we speak. The next iteration of the Wakefield is going to be called the 'Bradford', I believe."

"I see the naming traditions of the Royal Knightmare Frame Technical Research Institute is carried on by the former Steiner Konzern." Lelouch shook his head at that. Wakefield and Bradford were two cities in the British Isles, within twenty miles of one another, even. "The information about a flight system is more than slightly concerning, however. I'll have to think on counter-tactics to it. What about Marry? What's she up to now?"

"Once her Knight is supplied with the Knightmare that Lord Asplund is designing, she will apparently be appointed as the Viceroy of Area 24." Jeremiah stated. "Apparently, the resistance group there, the Star of Madrid, has 5th Generation Knightmares, which are basically repainted and slightly altered Sutherlands captured and shipped in by the Euro Universe. I believe their name is the...Estella?"

"Estrella." Lelouch corrected him absently. "It means 'star' in Spanish. At least they chose to start with 5th Gen machines rather than 4th Gen ones. Why the Six Houses never made any attempts to obtain and repurpose a Sutherland instead of relying on their Glasgow knock-offs is utterly beyond me."

"Just so." Jeremiah agreed. He'd never liked Glasgows. The Slash Harkens had a bad habit of malfunctioning at the worst possible moment. A minor design flaw in the launcher system, one that only interfered in one out of a hundred launches so the penny-pinchers had never bothered correcting it. Sutherlands were very much a marked improvement over their predecessors. "My lord, what do you plan to do about the Glaston Knights? They and their reinforcements have already landed."

The Glaston Knights had arrived just the previous day, bringing another battalion of Sutherlands with them, as well as their personal Gloucesters. That was a massive booster shot to the badly damaged Area 11 military forces.

"For the moment, nothing." Lelouch shook his head. Cornelia wouldn't make any rash decision just yet, her attention divided between several opposing threats as it was. "I'm far more concerned with these 'Neo Shinsengumi' people. They're a bunch of zealous fanatics with no chance of actually succeeding in whatever inane plan that they have cooked up in their heads. Major Kadzuki worries me far more than my sister's loyal and honourable knights. And not just them...the reports I've been receiving from some of the new recruits to the Black Knights from the western side of the country has me concerned about the Chinese Federation as well."

"The Chinese, my lord?" the knight blinked. "They still use 4th Generation Frames, with no Cockpit Ejection System to boot. I don't see how they could be a solid threat."

"After the initial pacification of Japan ended, the Federation didn't wait a moment before sending in agents to sell Refrain." the Prince countered. "And yet now, my sources are reporting that the Refrain trade route has all but dried up, with only a tenth of the normal amount of drug that usually comes across the Sea of Japan. The Eunuchs were never one to throw away a profitable venture, so I find myself suspicious."

"Princess Cornelia has been sending her forces to regularly attack the known locations of the Refrain smugglers." Jeremiah pointed out.

"True, but most of her targets have been dummy locations and red herrings designed to keep pursuers away from the actual routes. The Federation's agents have been very thorough in protecting their source of income." Lelouch shook his head. "The actual Refrain trade routes are very well hidden, and have been for six and a half years. Despite all of that, why choose now to suddenly reduce the amount of drug imported by 90%? Answer: they expect to be in control of the Area soon and even the Chinese are not fool enough to believe a population of addicts will be useful to them. We are going to be invaded by the Federation sometime in the near future. This has been confirmed by several sources of the Six Houses inside the Chinese Federation itself."

"Dear god...the Britannian forces are still reorganizing after the last few battles with the Black Knights." Jeremiah cursed. "If they attack inside of the next month or so...!"

"Then either my sister will expend even more forces than she would normally do in the event of an invasion, drastically weakening the Britannian hold on Japan, or she will be forced to temporarily cede some land to the Federation until she can get enough reinforcements to push the Federation off." Lelouch nodded, before he frowned and continued gravely. "Or that's what would happen if it wasn't for the existence of both the Black Knights and the Neo Shinsengumi. This is a four-way war that we face, Jeremiah. The Britannian Military, the Chinese Federation, the Black Knights and the Neo Shinsengumi...and caught in the middle are the civilians, Britannian and Japanese alike, who wish for a peaceful life."

"Sir." Jeremiah nodded.

"We will have to ensure that loss of life among the non-combatants is reduced in as much as possible." Lelouch stated firmly, his eyes hardening in determination. "Some casualties are inevitable, but those who do not have the will to fight should not be dragged into the clash between armies."

"Yes, Your Highness!" his knight saluted him immediately, reminded very strongly of the Lady Marianne. Her stance on war, that only those who bore arms were true targets, hadn't been popular among the aristocracy. Her son had inherited those selfsame ideals.

Checking his watch, Lelouch frowned. "I have to get going. I have a meeting to get to."

"Be safe, Young Lord." Jeremiah nodded.

The boy smiled at his loyal knight. "I am having someone on par with the technical skills of Lloyd Asplund design a fitting Knightmare for you, my knight. One worthy of my Knight of Honour. One day soon, you shall fight on my behalf, Jeremiah Gottwald. In the meantime, the Ashford Foundation is readying their own 7th Generation Prototype for presentation to my dear sister. I think you will find it...interesting."

Overcome with emotion, Jeremiah merely saluted again, with a precision that would make the most perfectionist and demanding Drill Sergeant shed a tear in pride. The trust and faith that his Lord had put in him would not be misplaced! On his loyalty, the man who would gladly cast off the title of 'the Emperor's Bulldog' would fulfil his Lord's expectations of him!

Later

Meeting Room, Black Knights Underground Temporary Base

Dressed in his Zero outfit, Lelouch subtly looked around the room as the most vital members of his Black Knights gathered, including most of the former members of the Kōzuki Cell, Kallen, Kaguya, Mamoru, Tōdō and the Four Holy Swords, Diethard Reid, Rakshata and one of her miscellaneous assistants, not to mention Aegis and Augur.

One person who should be here, and should have been here on time, was Incognito. One of Lelouch's eyebrows twitched as he wondered exactly what manner of devilry and mischief Milly was up to that would cause her to be late for her own introduction.

He was now willing to admit that he loved her to pieces, but dammit if the blonde-haired menace to his sanity wasn't equal parts endearing and frustrating at times. She had recently spent an inordinate amount of time trying to convince him that a full cape would 'look badass' on her costume. He had managed to talk her down to a simple presence-cape, one that barely extended to the middle of her back, but damn if she wasn't every inch her grandfather's protégé in the art of wheeling and dealing. It had taken a considerable amount of his (admittedly large) intellect to win that little debate.

Then he'd realised that the half-cape was what she had actually wanted in the first place and that she had gone for something more grandiose in order to get him to haggle her down to what she actually wanted.

'Not taking her to bed tonight is going to be an arduous task.' he mused ruefully. He sometimes cursed the fact that he found intelligence and capability so attractive in women, especially when he found himself surrounded by them on a frequent basis. He supposed that it was simply his cross to bear.

Clapping his hands together, he was gratified to see the room come to order at once. During an early meeting, he'd had to shoot a pistol into the ceiling in order to stop Tamaki from arguing with Asahina. He had very pointedly not had it repaired ever since.

"Ladies, gentlemen and Tamaki..." he started, quickly noticing that Tōdō was continually glancing at Kaguya in a mixture of disbelief and well-hidden astonishment. Better to stop those gears from grinding together too much.

"Oi!" the redhead squawked, much to the amusement of his friends.

"We have a busy agenda for today's meeting, but we will primarily be focusing on introductions, reformation, and beginning to lay the groundwork for future action." Lelouch continued. "To start with, allow me to introduce you to a key figure in our continuing fight against Britannia. This is Lady Kaguya Sumeragi, a representative and member of the Six Houses of Kyoto."

A hush fell over the room, as the members who hadn't been present during the little altercation with Kyoto House in the Fuji Mines realized that they were in the presence of one of the leading members of the Japanese resistance.

"Greetings to you all." the young industrialist gave the room a warm, dimpled smile. "I am very pleased to meet all of you who have worked so hard and accomplished so much on behalf of Japan."

A pleased rumble went around the room.

"Lady Sumeragi is going to be the main representative of the Kyoto Houses for the Black Knights going forward, as well as acting as our liaison to Kyoto in turn." Lelouch added, with more muttering going around the room, Minami speaking up to voice the words everyone was thinking.

"B-But not even the JLF had a representative of Kyoto House assigned to liaise with them!" he said, shocked.

"I might be speaking out of turn, but I doubt that General Katase would have welcomed too much interference from 'civilians' in a military operation." Mamoru spoke up with a glance at the highest ranking former member of that defunct organization, who, along with his Holy Swords, were still dressed in the JLF's colours.

"That is correct." Tōdō said with a slight nod of respect to the Sleeping Dragon of Kantō. "General Katase regarded the JLF as being still a part of the Imperial Japanese Army, thus requiring that civilians were not given access to command and field-level decisions. An attempt to assign a representative would have been...poorly received."

"As it so happens, I requested a representative of Kyoto House." Lelouch stepped in again. It was a blatant lie; she had arrived secretly earlier on today and begged to be 'let in on the fun' with everyone else. As it did fulfil a vital role in the plans going forward, he had allowed it and contacted Kirihara to arrange matters accordingly. "The Black Knights fight for the sake of all those who are Japanese; thus it behoves us to have a representative of all those who hold their heads high and consider themselves Japanese and remind us of our primary mission: to liberate Japan from Britannia and keep it free."

A loud approving rumble came up from the room until Lelouch raised a hand for silence.

"As such, Lady Sumeragi brings us news from Kyoto House. If you please, Lady Kaguya." he said with a slight bow of respect with his head.

"My thanks, Lord Zero." Kaguya echoed his gesture before returning her gaze to the rest of the room. "The three members of Kyoto House who were secretly supplying the Neo Shinsengumi with their arms and funding have been arrested, tried and executed for their crimes against Japan and the Japanese as a whole."

The room was silent at that. Three members of the highest-ranking group of movers and shakers of the Kururugi Regime...arrested and executed, just like that.

"Their replacements have been sworn in and now the entirety of the Six Houses of Kyoto stand united in our support of Lord Zero and his Black Knights." the girl said with a positively beatific smile on her face. "All resistance groups who rely on Kyoto House for funding and resupply are being directed to join the Black Knights. Any who refuse are warned to stay well away from the Neo Shinsengumi, who are now designated as being threats to the continued interests of Japan due to their attempted battlefield assassination of Lady Kallen Kōzuki and Lord Zero."

"Damn right." Ohgi growled. He had been furious when he had heard that Kallen had been attacked by her own countrymen. Not that they'd stood a chance against her in the Guren Nishiki, but it was the principle of the matter.

"The Neo Shinsengumi will be dealt with in their own good time." Lelouch reassured the room at large. "For the moment, however-"

The door, which had been closed, swung open, revealing the costumed figure of Milly, looking just as sharp as the last time she had been wearing it. Honestly, and she accused him of being a perfectionist with his Zero costume! She had even somehow managed to make her new cape billow theatrically as she entered.

'Well, better late than never.' Lelouch though with an eye roll.

"Sorry for being late, Lord Zero, but I was all tied up with an issue that we've spoken of over last few days." the white-costumed girl said cheerfully.

'Her parents were being pains, then.' he concluded with a scowl. Melisande was starting to wear through Lelouch's considerable patience and it was getting far past time that he removed that detriment to both his and Milly's lives once and for all. Roderick was simply collateral damage as far as Lelouch's opinion. The pathetic, emasculated puppet of a man had never harmed Milly on the same level as her mother, but had never done anything to defend her either. Lelouch honestly thought killing him would be a mercy at this point, the man likely hadn't had a thought of his own that his shrew of a wife hadn't ruthlessly crushed under heel since they'd exchanged vows.

"Kindly resolve them quicker by the more expedient method next time." he said aloud and turned to the room. "Allow me to introduce the latest member of my personal entourage to rejoin me, Incognito, who was until recently a deep-cover agent until the completion of her mission."

"Hi~!" the irrelevant greeting that Milly gave as she sashayed around the room to stand at his shoulder had several people gaping at her in disbelief, including Kallen and Sugiyama.

"Is this for real? Can she actually fight or is she just there to look pretty?" Asahina sneered. Predictably, he was the one to voice his contempt.

"She is one of my top information gatherers on the Britannian nobility and can shoot a man's eyes out before he can pull the trigger of his own weapon, Colonel Asahina." Lelouch responded frostily. "And no, that is not hyperbole; that is something that actually happened. In a firefight, she is a very deadly adversary, and I would ask that you treat my entourage with the same respect that you would treat a fellow soldier, because all of them are more than capable of decimating a room full of normal soldiers if need be."

"Asahina, enough." Tōdō cut his subordinate off before them bespectacled man could shove his own foot any further down his mouth than it already was. "Zero is correct; we are all soldiers fighting on the same side here. Antagonizing one another is pointless and counterproductive. We will have words about this in private later."

"Sir." Asahina sulked.

"It's fine. If he wants to see how deadly I can be, just have him come to the shooting range later." Incognito chirped as she withdrew her firearms from their holsters and held them up to be seen for a moment before holstering them easily.

"Now that that minor issue is taken care of, we can move on to the main item on today's agenda...finalizing the current reorganization of the Black Knights." Lelouch said firmly. "Up until this point, we have operated on an informal and ad-hoc table of organization, but given how much our numbers have swollen in recent months, this can obviously no longer suffice. The positions that I have created and had people slotted into are final, unless the incumbents prove themselves incapable of holding them. If you wish to complain about the position you are given to, kindly make an appointment to speak to me in private with Augur after this meeting so I can explain my reasoning. You still won't get it changed, but I will explain how you got the position that you did. Is that understood?"

There were a few grumbles, but the majority of the people present voiced trust in their leader's decisions.

"Very well. Let us start at the top." the Masked Revolutionary said, crossing his arms. "I don't suppose anyone has any issues with me being the leader of this group? No? Very good. Lady Kaguya is the liaison to the Six Houses, as well as our official diplomat, once it becomes clear who is supporting us. She will have Auger and Incognito assigned to her on a needs-as basis, so if you have any requests and requirements of the Six Houses for your jobs, talk to them first and they will bring it up with Lady Kaguya."

"I shall endeavour to not let you down, Lord Zero." the young industrialist said sweetly, making Kallen's eye twitch at the very subtle flirting tone that the younger girl used.

"Moving on. In charge of our mobile forces will be General Kyōshirō Tōdō, with the Four Holy Swords as his direct subordinates and aides." Lelouch continued. "While Kaname Ohgi is in charge of our static and base defences and soldiers."

"Me?!" Ohgi gulped.

"You have shown a great deal of improvement over the man I first contacted in Shinjuku, Kaname. You will do fine." the masked man said reassuringly.

"Can I ask why our forces are divided between static defence and mobile forces, Zero?" Urabe asked respectfully.

"Certainly, Colonel Urabe." Lelouch nodded at the only non-antagonistic member of the Four Holy Swords. "It is a sad fact that the JLF fell into a 'fortress' mentality due to its lack of offensive actions over the years. Even General Tōdō fell victim to a lack of desire to act without possessing complete information or if he felt the odds were not in his favour. As opposed to that, the soldiers drawn from the resistance cells outside of the JLF acted and took risks, calculated or not, which is part of the reason I am here today. Had the Kōzuki Cell not risked it all to steal poison gas from a secret military lab, I might not have ventured to Shinjuku."

"And so the former-JLF troops and I are being placed in a position where we must take risks and act." Tōdō said neutrally, while Asahina and Chiba glared at Lelouch for daring to imply a lack of decisiveness in their commanding officer.

"A necessary action, I am afraid." Lelouch said somewhat apologetically. "But you are a very good tactician and strategist, so it would be foolish of me to not utilise your talents where they can best be used."

"Humph. True." the old general huffed. "Very well then, I can't argue that we've allowed our forces to fall into a more defensive mindset, perhaps it is time to take the offensive again."

"Additionally, General Tōdō and Ohgi are co-equal in terms of rank, being joint second in command overall within the Black Knights, so kindly ensure that he is shown the appropriate respect by all soldiers." Lelouch added.

"I'll spread the word." Urabe nodded. His fellows, on the other hand, seemed less than pleased that a 'newcomer' was being put at the same rank as General Tōdō.

"Very good. Moving on, the Head of Scientific Research and Development is, to what I'm sure is no surprise, Doctor Rakshata Chawla." the masked man continued, the Indian scientist smirking at the announcement. "Doctor Chawla, do you have any announcements for us from your department before we move on?"

"A couple." Rakshata said lazily, taking a breath from her pipe. "I am in the middle of designing customized Knightmares for the General and the Four Holy Swords to use, as well as a few other units for the use of your entourage...oh yes, and I've finally completed the research on the MVS that you acquired for me. Dratted thing was just like all of Earl Pudding's designs, too damned overcomplicated and over-engineered. I had to triple-check my results to be sure everything was ship shape."

"That is excellent news." Lelouch nodded. "How soon can you begin design and production of them?"

"Whenever you want." the scientist replied lazily.

"Very good. Your first task will be upgrading the Fork Knife of the Guren Nishiki; the standard one is insufficient to deal with Knightmares of the same generation." Lelouch directed her. "After that...do the weapons have to match the standard hand-and-a-half sword aesthetic or is that malleable?"

"No, the design, once we simplified it a bit, is quite malleable. We should be able to fit it into any reasonably sized bladed weapon." Rakshata stated firmly.

"Then please design a wide array of Japanese-style bladed weapons, from katana and wakizashi, to Ono and Yari." the masked man ordered. "I see no reason why the weapons of the samurai should not grace the battlefield once more to terrify the enemies of the Japanese people."

That created an approving rumble from the Japanese in the room, and even Tōdō looked interested.

"Will do." Rakshata nodded at her subordinate, who was scribbling notes down on a pad of paper. "Oh yes, and I have made a breakthrough with that little chemical problem you gave me, Zero. 'Refrain' I believe it is called?"

"What do you mean?" Kallen asked quickly, worry in her eyes, with the rest of her friends who knew about her mother quickly cottoning on.

"Something that has been noted in recovering Refrain users is that, even if they resist temptation and able to avoid the drug, they will still suffer the mental and physical symptoms of Refrain Withdrawal." the Masked Revolutionary stated, not unkindly. "I have had Doctor Chawla bend her not inconsiderable intellect to resolving this problem and it appears that she has struck gold."

"Yes, I have. It's a nasty little chemical cocktail." Rakshata wrinkled her nose in distaste. "The euphoria, from the stimulation of the pleasure-centres of the brain, and the enforced viewing of pleasurable memories of the user's past, from the simultaneous stimulation of the part of the brain used to store said memories, is only a part of it. Refrain is actually designed to be as addictive as possible, resulting in the most painful and agonising withdrawal symptoms I have ever seen. Happily, there exists no mystery created by the mind of man that cannot be solved therein, as I have developed this."

Reaching in between her décolletage, Rakshata withdrew a single vial of what looked like pale blue sand. "This is a Refrain Antagonist, a drug designed specifically to neutralise Refrain already present within the bloodstream and, over time and multiple doses, ease and erase the withdrawal symptoms of Refrain. I have decided to refer to is as...Enact."

"A most appropriate name." Lelouch agreed.

"I don't get it." Tamaki said blankly.

"To refrain from something is to stop yourself from doing it." Kallen informed him in a clipped tone. "To enact something, you start doing it. The meaning is the exact opposite of Refrain."

"Oh...!"

"Does it require any special preparations to produce?" the Regicide asked.

"No, not at all. It is as easy to manufacture as any normal pharmaceutical." Rakshata replied. "I should note that, even absent someone with my superior skills, Britannian scientists should have developed a drug similar to this at the latest three years ago. The fact that they haven't means that either they have been directed not to or that they have and are withholding it for any Britannian users of Refrain."

"Sounds about right." Kallen hissed, angry that her mother would have been denied this drug simply because she was Japanese.

"Has it passed clinical trials?" Lelouch asked.

"It has been cleared through basic animal testing and has cleared working through the blood samples drawn from Refrain users you supplied me." The Indian woman replied evenly. "Human trials can begin as soon as we have your approval and some volunteers ready and willing to begin the process."

"I think that Kyoto House can round some up." Kaguya said with steel in her voice. "Refrain in a blight on the Japanese people and must be extinguished as soon as is possible. We will also provide a facility in which to produce Enact. I do not mean to question your ability Miss Rakshata, but are there any side-effects that we should be made aware of?"

"For mild to moderate Refrain usage, some vomiting, diarrhoea and lightheadedness for the first few days of the process, reappearing sporadically as long as they are undergoing treatment." Rakshata answered clinically, before her tone became more thoughtful. "For heavier users, those who've been taking Refrain for literal years, I expect the symptoms will be worse and more pandemic, with the possibility of added symptoms including migraines, vertigo, rashes, and possibly some sensory issues as well. This is all theoretical of course, considering we haven't been able to test on anything that can simulate long-term Refrain exposure. But the predictions are based off the effects we've seen in our test subjects and extrapolated data from the effects of long-term Refrain usage."

"What about someone who has taken Refrain for years and has managed to stop taking it for a while, say three months or so?" Lelouch asked and noticed Kallen perk up in interest.

"Likely something between the two extremes." the Indian scientist said thoughtfully. "I would think such a case would be rare in the extreme due to the debilitating levels of the withdrawal symptoms."

"You'd be surprised what some people are capable of accomplishing. Very well, start the testing of Enact as soon as possible, Doctor Chawla." Lelouch ordered. "Lady Kaguya, if you could contact Kyoto House to start the ball rolling on the production facility and volunteers, I would greatly appreciate it."

"Consider it done." the girl nodded firmly.

"Very good. The next post is Head of Training and Recruitment. Mamoru-san, when not fighting on the frontlines, I would appreciate it if you would take this post." Lelouch continued.

"I will be glad to do so, Zero." the old campaigner said with a grin. "I'll have 'em whipped into shape as quick as I can."

"I know you will. Next is the position of Head of Intelligence and Subterfuge. Aegis, that is your position." the Exiled Prince stated. "You shall select your members yourself, but I am assigning Kento Sugiyama, Minami Yoshitaka, Toru Yoshida and Kizuna Kagesaki as the Captains of the First, Second, Third and Fourth Secret Corps Squads as public troops that you will command."

"So are these guys gonna be like the Brits' OSI, breathing down our necks and sniffing out treason?" Asahina asked with a scowl, either ignoring or ignorant of the irked expression on Tōdō's face as he spoke.

"The four Secret Corps squads are for guarding vital areas, such as the Armoury and Science areas, as well as battlefield infiltration and sabotage missions, actually." Lelouch explained politely, another mental tick going down on the bespectacled Holy Sword's insubordination list.

Something needed to be done about the venomous little idiot soon, or Lelouch might just have to shoot him himself.

"Oh.." the man shrunk as he noticed multiple people looking at him angrily.

"The Head of Public Relations is Mr Diethard Reid, who has joined us for the first time." Lelouch continued, inclining his head at the man.

"Wait, why the hell is a Brit even here?" Tamaki protested, evidently having wanted to get this off his chest for a while now.

"Because Mr Reid has sufficiently convinced me that he sincerely wishes to aid us in our fight, Tamaki." the masked man replied evenly. Oh, how he wished the man would know when not to open his mouth. "I am surprised that you are mentioning this, considering Kallen is half-Britannian."

"Kallen's my friend!" the idiot protested.

"She also chose to put her Japanese heritage first, and it is the choices which men and women make which are important, Tamaki." Lelouch said patiently. "Mr. Reid here used to earn more than enough every week as a high-ranking member of Hi-TV to pay for a month's worth of food for a family in the ghettos, yet he recently sent in his two-week notice and is here, working for me instead. He chose to do that and that is what matters more than anything."

Looking around at the rest of the room, Lelouch spoke up severely. "I do not care about what nationality you are. I do not care what social class you were born into. I do not care if you were born rich or poor. I do not care what gods you worship. I do not care what gender you are. And I do not care about what gender you like to bed. What matters is your loyalty, your skill at arms, and your willingness to follow orders. That is it. If someone from the Euro Universe were to join, their country of origin wouldn't matter except as an interesting anecdote. Mr Reid is a pure-blooded Britannian, and that is irrelevant. He is a man who possesses a skill and flair for public relations and he is willing to offer those services to us. That is what matters. The manner in which you came into this world does not matter; how you choose to live your life does. Am I understood?"

There was a suspiration of affirmations from the room, while Diethard looked as if he were vibrating in his seat with energy. The man seemed to like it when Lelouch made grand speeches. Odd, but everyone had their own foibles.

"Good. Moving on..." the masked man ran down his mental checklist to return to where he had been before being derailed by Tamaki's idiocy. "Ah, yes. Our Quartermaster General is Naomi Inoue, who will be subordinate to Ohgi."

"E-Eh?!" the woman looked flustered, blushing and looking sideways at Ohgi.

"Good choice. Inoue's good at logistics." the former leader of the Kōzuki Cell said with a nod. Oh dear, it looks as if he didn't realise Inoue's romantic preference for him.

"Exactly why I placed her in that position. Anyway, the Chief Mechanic is Shinichirō Tamaki. He will be in charge of all mechanics and responsible for repairing our Knightmares after each battle. You will be subordinate to both Inoue and Ohgi."

"That's cool." Tamaki nodded. "Do I still get to pilot a Knightmare?"

"Yes, but only if we're going into an outright war. In which case it's an all-hands-on-deck scenario." Lelouch stated.

"Cool." the redheaded man repeated. "Just so you know, we do need more parts for the Burai Kai, and gods know about the parts for the fancy 7th Gen frames, 'cause I can't get my guys near 'em."

"My scientists are in charge of my children." Rakshata shot back.

"Tamaki, I'll have Kaguya forward your request to Kyoto when she sends her report to them after the meeting. Rakshata, I need your team to focus on research and development, not maintenance when we have several capable mechanics on hand." Lelouch stopped the brewing argument before it began. "The Guren Nishiki, and perhaps the Isshiki, both would fall under research since we're still working on improvements for both. My Kokuten, as well as the Gekka and Gekka Custom, do not. Turn their manuals over to Tamaki's team and by all means, drill them in their maintenance until they can meet your demanding standards for dealing with your children. It is necessary."

"...very well. I'll have one of my men assigned to start training the loud one's team immediately after the meeting." the scientist pouted slightly as she acquiesced.

Tamaki would regret raising this point, Lelouch knew. Rakshata would be absolutely merciless in forcing Tamaki and his techs to learn how to fix her precious children to her exacting and fanatical standards.

"Let me see...ah, yes. Last, and certainly not least, is the formation of an elite squad within the Black Knights." Lelouch stated. "They will be the assault specialists, with the best Knightmares for the job and the best training. When not being used for assaults, they will act as my personal guard on the field. Their name shall be...the Obsidian Knights, and their leader shall be Kallen, with the rank of Group-Captain."

Kallen blushed at this, but straightened up in pride. Zero had just appointed her as his chief bodyguard on the battlefield, a charge that she would not fail at!

"This sounds an awful like the Royal Guard that Britannian Royals have." Chiba said with a scowl.

"The comparison isn't without merit, Colonel Chiba." the masked man acknowledged with a nod. "Since Kallen took the Guren as her personal machine, she has been close by me on the battlefield at both Narita and Port Yokosuka. I instructed Kallen to introduce herself to the Knight of Nine as 'the Knight of Zero' to more firmly cement that comparison in the minds of the enemy."

"Why?" Tamaki asked in puzzlement.

"Because by referring to herself as the Knight of Zero, Kallen accomplishes three important things." Lelouch explained. "First, she is sending a dig at the Knights of the Round as a whole. They go from twelve to one, with zero not being mentioned. Zero is, however, a number before one, so is seen as 'superior' to one. She just called herself a Knight that surpasses all of the Knights of Round, including Bismark Waldstein, the one who holds the title of 'Strongest Knight in the Empire' and has done for over two decades at least.

"Second, it cements Kallen, or 'Red Queen' as they know her, as a Knight of Honour in the minds of the Britannians. A Knight of Honour's first and only duty is to protect, support and obey their chosen master or mistress in all things, on the battlefield and off of it, thus she will naturally be given a degree of automatic, instinctual leeway by the Britannians, as she is seen as merely obeying her 'master'...me.

"Third, by association with Kallen, the Obsidian Knights will be seen as being my 'Royal Guard' as Colonel Chiba has suggested, meaning that the Britannians will expect certain behaviours and actions from them...expectations which, for the most part, they will flaunt most of the time."

"Brilliant...you're using psychology to subtly shape the way your enemies will see her and the Obsidian Knights, using their own culture and honour system!" Diethard breathed rapturously.

"Exactly so." Lelouch inclined his head to the man. Intelligent and competent subordinates were worth their weight in gold.

"Isn't that a big risk for Kallen though? The Knights of Round are some of the best Knightmare pilots in the Empire." Ohgi worried.

"It is a risk, but not nearly so much of one as you fear, Ohgi." the Regicide reassured him. "During the Battle of Port Yokosuka, she was able to hold her own against the Knight of Nine. Bismark may be the strongest Knight in the empire, but if anyone could be called the second best, and even that is a narrow margin, it would be Nonette Enneagram. Granted, the Bedivere's clumsiness was something of an impediment to the fight for Nonette, but once Earl Asplund finishes upgrading it to combat-worthy standards, and the Guren's Fork Knife is upgraded to an MVS, I think we shall see evidence that Kallen is a match for her still. And if Kallen can match the Knight of Nine, she can at least hold her own against the Knight of One as well, meaning her skill is at the very least equal to any of the Knights of the Round."

The blush on Kallen's face was positively incandescent at this point.

"When you put it like that..." Ohgi conceded.

"What Kallen needs most of all is to accrue experience against strong foes." Lelouch said with a nod. "The saying 'youth and exuberance can't beat age and treachery' is a truth born of soldiers and war. Kallen has the innate talent and the skills to fight most Knights, even Cornelia, and win, but when facing a vastly more experienced foe in a Knightmare equal to her own, that leads to her relative inexperience being used against her. Rakshata, I am sorry to place more work on your shoulders, but could you link the Gekka and Guren simulators together so that Kallen can face off against the General and the Four Holy Swords when they have a free moment?"

"Certainly. Such a simple task won't even take an hour out of my day." Rakshata waved a hand airily.

"Excellent. Kallen, whenever possible, you are to train against the Four Holy Swords and the good General as he has time. Simulator experience may be a poor substitute for actual combat, but every little helps. The next time you face a Knight of Rounds in battle with an equal-generation Knightmare, I have no doubts that you will more than hold your own."

"Of course, Zero." the redheaded girl nodded obediently.

Seeing that Chiba and Asahina were not looking impressed by Kallen, despite having seen her in action, made this little training situation he'd set up fulfil two purposes in Lelouch's mind. First, it would, as he had stated, give Kallen experience against Knightmare pilots on her level (or close to it) in Knightmares on a par with her own. The second objective was to break the three more troublesome members of the Four Holy Swords of their arrogance and superiority regarding the non-ex-JLF members, at least a little.

'Asahina is really the most troublesome of the three. Chiba would parade herself naked if Tōdō-sensei ordered her to; as soon as Tōdō fully accepts my leadership and his position then she will follow soon afterwards, while Senba is smart enough to see the way the tide is turning and act accordingly.' Lelouch thought as the room filled with chatter for a moment. 'Asahina is so devotedly loyal to Tōdō-sensei that seeing me in a position above his master is driving him crazy with indignation and jealousy. He will eventually have to be dealt with if sensei doesn't put his foot down soon.'

After a few minutes, the meeting was dismissed. As Tōdō made to stand, Lelouch spoke up, voice mild.

"General, I hope that, when next you and your Four Holy Swords attend a meeting here, you will all be wearing the correct uniforms."

The room instantly filled with tension, as the last General of the Imperial Japanese Army and the acknowledged modern-day military ruler of Japan looked at each other soundlessly for a long, tense moment.

"Very well." Tōdō nodded slowly before leaving, his subordinates following him out.

'As I expected, another test.' Lelouch scowled underneath his mask. He knew for a fact that Tōdō and the Holy Swords had received multiple sets of their new Black Knights uniforms, all of which were essentially just recoloured versions of their JLF ones, several days before and had worn them during that period. To wear his JLF uniform during a meeting of the Black Knights had been a subtle challenge and test of Zero, to see exactly how quick he was to smack down signs of rebellion within the ranks.

Waiting until the end, and sounding deliberately casual, had likely told Tōdō exactly how little such tests amused Zero, as well as how it would be viewed in the future.

'I really do NOT have the time to put up with sensei testing me like this all of the damn time.' Lelouch thought in frustration as the room emptied, leaving Aegis, Augur, Incognito and Kaguya present aside from himself. 'It is unnecessarily distracting at such a crucial time.'

Shutting and locking the door, Aegis activated a jammer to negate any audio or video recording devices in the room, as well as a white noise generator to block anyone trying to listen in from outside of the doors, before giving the all clear. Everyone in a mask/helmet immediately removed them with sighs of relief.

"Sorry for being late to the meeting, Lelouch." Milly apologised sincerely right off the bat. "My parents were being their...usual charming selves."

"I had figured as much." Lelouch grimaced. "I'll see to them within the next week, I promise you that, Milly. Before that though, I believe you haven't been properly introduced to someone. Milly, this is Kaguya Sumeragi, wealthy and cunning industrial tycoon, a childhood friend, and an ardent rebel supporter. Kaguya, this is Milly Ashford, a wealthy and cunning Heiress to an industrial empire who has been friends with me since I was a child. Play nicely with one another."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Ashford." Kaguya smiled at the newest of her love's masked companions. "Lelouch told me stories about his times with you when he stayed at the Kururugi Shrine."

"All good stories, I hope." Milly smirked back at her.

"Oh yes, very interesting stories at that." the young CEO replied with a flirtatious look at the taller and older girl, who responded in kind. Two peas in a pod, Lelouch mused wryly.

"Before those two start making out, can we talk about what we're going to do about Asahina? He's becoming far too blatant with his words and actions." C.C. said with a scowl.

"Tōdō-sensei is going to tear a strip off of him as soon as they get somewhere more private." the raven-haired boy sighed. "If he does continue being antagonistic without even attempting civility, I'll have a word with Tōdō-sensei and make him aware that Asahina needs to shape up or I'll ship him out and post him to a remote outpost on the northernmost tip of Hokkaido."

"Goshujin-sama, it seems unwise to leave scum such as that in place to ferment discord and strife in the ranks." Sayoko said with a frown. Having to endure the idiot besmirching her master's good name multiple times was almost more than she could stand.

"Especially when he used to be a high-ranking member of the organisation that we just got a large influx of troops from, I know." Lelouch acknowledged. "But he is a direct disciple and follower of Tōdō the Miracle Bringer. As much as both Tōdō-sensei and I dislike that title, it does afford him a lot of influence should he choose to exert it, which he would do if I unilaterally chose to, say, bust Asahina down to Sewage Technician without a word of warning."

"All war is fought by human beings...as is politics." C.C. snarked unhappily. "Milly, make sure you knock his socks off with your shooting later. I'll take some schadenfreude as a down-payment on the idiot's eventual ultimate humiliation."

"Yes, dear." the Ashford Heiress sang, actually making the usually unflappable Immortal flush at the appellation.

"Now that we have that sorted...Milly, has Reuben considered my suggestion?" Lelouch asked, smirking at his first lover's unusual state of fluster.

"He was surprised by it, but he'll be following through with it soon...as in within the next couple of hours." Milly looked at him curiously. "I'm curious though...these 'Somerset' Knightmares were borderline 7th Generation, but lost to true 7th Gen machines. Exactly what do you think you can do with them if Grandfather manages to get his hands on some?"

"While they couldn't match a true 7th Gen Test Frame, they were still Mass Produced Frames that were capable of shifting between a Knightmare Mode and jet fighter 'Fortress' Mode." Lelouch informed her with a predatory grin. "The transformation system alone would be priceless for several of our current projects. Add in the opportunity for Rakshata and I to get our hands on that flight system and work the usual magic, and I'd be willing to say that even a single sample could prove invaluable."

"The report that Jeremiah gave you said that their abilities in Knightmare Mode suffered because of the heavy focus of flight." C.C. pointed out.

"True, but from everything I've seen, this Millville fellow wasn't on the same level as Asplund, Rakshata or even myself. He was a skilled aeronautic engineer but not a genius, and he had an obsession with jet aircraft." Lelouch responded. "His obsession likely impacted the Somerset's design, to the point they were more a jet that could become a Knightmare, rather than a true Variable Configuration Knightmare Frame. I'm sure that with a bit of work Rakshata and I can find workarounds or developments that will allows us to overcome most of the man's design flaws."

"That sounds about right." Milly agreed absently. Part of her training as the Ashford heiress was to keep up-to-date about the various movers and shakers in the Britannian nobility and their various quirks and foibles. Anti-Knightmare bigotry was surprisingly common among some branches of the military and industrial sectors that had been supplanted by their advent. "Oh, and Nunna was asking after you, Lulu."

"She's with Shirley right now?" Lelouch checked, his Big Brother Instincts coming to the fore.

"Yup. Those two are about as close as real sisters these days." the Ashford Heiress smiled genuinely. She did so love Nunnally, and Shirley was so adorable when she was sitting with the younger girl.

"I wish I could see Nunnally too." Kaguya sighed regretfully. Sadly, there were simply too many risks involved in her becoming reacquainted with the younger vi Britannia to make it possible just yet.

"You will, eventually." Lelouch reassured her. "Likely at some point after I graduate from Ashford Academy. I have quite a few businesses under my yoke now, thanks to some 'generous donations' from various noble families and businesses that Sayoko has infiltrated. I have a construction company building a manor house at the edge of the Britannian Tokyo Settlement and once they're done, I'll have it turned into a virtual fortress that could stand up to even the likes of the Lancelot. Once that's done, it'll be a place where you can have a reunion with Nunnally in safety. Even Lord Kirihara won't be able to protest that you might be vulnerable to kidnap or what not there."

"You really do take things to extremes when it comes to your baby sister." Milly shook her head.

Rolling his eyes at that bit of hypocrisy -Lelouch was well aware that there was very little that Milly herself wouldn't do for Nunnally- the boy then turned his full attention back to Kaguya. "So then, exactly when were you going to tell me that you're the reigning Japanese Empress?"

The girl gaped for a moment before smiling ruefully. "I should have known you'd find out sooner or later. I didn't tell you because...I just didn't want a title that is all but meaningless as long as Japan is occupied to influence our relationship, Lelouch."

"I can appreciate that line of thought." Lelouch acknowledged, looking at her pointedly to remind her that he had several titles that he no longer considered relevant, such as Prince Lelouch vi Britannia, as well as Baron Lamperouge. The former he had personally thrown away when he'd disavowed himself of his father. The latter he had inherited from his mother, a title granted to her by The Emperor when he made her his wife, but was defunct and the lands absorbed by its former neighbours

"Eh-heh...I can see that." Kaguya ducked her head embarrassedly. "But honestly, it isn't as if being the Chrysanthemum Throne is all that useful considering the Showa Emperor and his family committed seppuku and the bloodline has supposedly died out as a result. I might as well be replaced with a hat stand."

"Is that why you used to be engaged to Suzaku? To strengthen the branch line bloodlines that you both possess?" the Exiled Prince asked shrewdly.

The reminder of her former betrothed made Kaguya pull a face. "Yes. Suzaku and I would have probably been a terrible couple though; he's too hard-headed and once he's made his mind up about something you'll have better luck talking to a brick wall. Kami and the ancestors be thanked that the engagement was annulled when he was disinherited a few years ago."

"I've been grilling him subtly and although he can't really see it, one of his co-workers in Camelot, Cécile Croomy, seems to be carrying a torch for him." Milly offered with a smirk. "Looks like he's into older ladies."

"More that he's into the pure and innocent type." Kaguya rolled her eyes. "He isn't a chauvinist, but he likes playing the 'knight in shining armour' a bit more than most. I confused him because I learned martial arts and played shōgi which went against his idea of what a princess should be."

"As much fun as it is to talk about Suzaku's preferences in regards to the fairer sex, we do need to be getting on with business, ladies." Lelouch remarked dryly. He could cheerfully go without listening to the fact that his little sister Euphemia was apparently right in Suzaku's strike zone. Thankfully, she just viewed him as a loyal soldier according to Jeremiah and Villetta, which was good.

He did not want to have to give Suzaku the 'shovel speech', after all.

"Spoilsport. I suppose you have to get back to your lab to work on your prototype machine?" Milly pouted.

"C.C. and I do, yes, before I go back and spend some time with Nunnally." the only male in the room agreed. "Sayoko has to do some more infiltrations of certain businesses that have controversial labour practices in regards to the Japanese, while you have to strut your stuff at the shooting range before going and speaking to the Dean. Kaguya, I think you have to get the ball rolling on Enact as well as getting those parts for Tamaki."

"Yes, I do." the girl sighed. The burden of duty was such a buzz-kill!

"Before we go though..." Milly smirked as he leaned over and kissed Lelouch full on the lips, making him freeze in surprise for a moment before kissing back. Dimly, he heard Kaguya let out a squeak of surprise…as well as excitement. C.C. was right yet again, so it seemed.

As they parted, a satisfied expression on his blonde girlfriend's face, Lelouch spotted Kaguya, burning red face hidden behind her hands, peeking through her fingers at them.

Sighing, he gave Milly a look that was a mixture between fond, exasperated and questioning. "Was that absolutely necessary?"

"Yes...yes it was." the minx had the cheek to smirk at him.

'Why is it that I have the feeling she's going to be worse after we sleep together?' Lelouch thought tiredly.

A Short Time Later

Interlink Room, Area 11 Administration Building, Britannian Tokyo Settlement

Reuben Ashford strode into the room where the Interlink console was located with a surprisingly spry step for a man of his age. Regular exercise, good eating and a few discrete anti-ageing treatments did a man a world of good as long as he remembered that all good things came in moderation.

'A shame Roderick never followed in my footsteps there either.' he thought sourly.

Ah, his only son...such a disappointment. He was certain that his dear wife, Annabelle, was turning in her grave at what their flesh and blood had become. It was a mystery to Reuben how Roderick had become such a down-beaten, henpecked, weak-willed and pussy-whipped excuse of a man. He'd raised the boy correctly, had ensured that he was taught everything he'd needed to survive in the world of Britannian High Society, and for a time everything had looked fine. Roderick had never been a genius, but he'd been hard-working and diligent, if a bit too eager to ask for advice.

Then Melisande had grabbed Roderick by the balls and not let go ever since their first date, and Reuben privately thought that the only good deed that the two had done in their lives after that was to procreate and bring Milly into the world.

Ah, his beloved granddaughter. As intelligent and ruthless as her mother, but backed with the solid morals he'd worked hard to instil into her to keep her from going too far. As kind as her father, but with a will of steel and a spine of solid tungsten to prevent her being a doormat. And, he was proud to admit, his own spark of genius and eagerness to improve and master anything she set her mind to. She was the future of the Ashford Foundation, if only that nobility-obsessed harridan of a mother of hers could wake up and see that.

As it was, the Head of the Ashford Family could tell that Lelouch was finally losing his patience with Melisande, and he gave it two weeks at best before that patience was used up, at which point Melisande would doubtless receive several unpleasant shocks...possibly including a 9mm lobotomy.

Seating himself in the rather plush chair in front of the console and screen, the former earl noted with satisfaction that the call was all set up, all that was left was his authorization to connect to the man he wished to talk to. Ordinarily, the Interlink was reserved for military and royals only, as it allowed one to not only connect to the Homeland and any of the Areas, but to have face-to-face video calls with someone as well.

Quite why that was considered to be such a privilege, Reuben didn't know. He had made plans to introduce mobile phones capable of video calling before the exile of the Ashford Family, and he did recall that those plans were still kicking about in the science department...

Shaking his head, the old man focused on the present. He had a call to make. Typing his specific authorization code in, he reminded himself to send Nonette a case of her favourite wine vintage for doing him this favour. She had kept in touch over the years, daring to do what almost none of the Ashford's old allies had dared and braved the potential wrath of the Emperor by staying in contact with the exiled and disgraced Ashford Family.

Now though...now the Ashford family's star was rising once again.

On the screen, the Britannian Flag that it displayed disappeared, being replaced with 'Connecting...please wait' repeated three times. Then, with a click, the words vanished themselves replaced with the image of a man.

"Yo, so you're the head of the Ashford Family." The Knight of Three, Gino Weinberg, greeted him casually.

"Reuben Ashford. Thank you for agreeing to speak with me, my Lord." Reuben bowed his head.

"Eh, no big. Nonette asked me to hear you out, and she's a pretty good judge of character." the Knight of Round replied with an easy smile. Gino was a tall, lithely muscular man, still a teenager really, with boyish good looks. He had blond hair that was mostly tied into three braids and pale blue eyes. He was wearing his Rounds uniform, minus the cape. "So, what can I do for you?"

"Well, to be truthful, I was somewhat concerned about the Steiner Family after the terrorist attack on Pendragon." Reuben began. "I know they didn't have anything to do with Wilbur Millville's madness, but given how the Imperial Court is..."

"Yeah, they can be a right flock of vultures." Gino pulled a face. "Fortunately, my family's aegis, plus my status as a Knight of Round and the support of Princess Marrybell, combined with the dissolution of the Steiner Konzern, has de-fanged most of the ones crying for blood. Of the ones left, they've received pointed messages to shut up and stop rocking the boat, so I think the Steiners are in as stable a spot as they can be for now. Just to safe though, the young heir to the Steiner Family has joined up permanently with the Glinda Knights. Oh, and he has a girlfriend who joined up with him...oh what's her name...ah! Soresi! Marika Soresi's her name. They're engaged, come to think of it."

"Ah yes...I believe her brother died in a particularly nasty bout of infighting amongst the Purebloods." Reuben winced. "I think she graduated from the Area 11 Military Academy about a month before that."

"And then she became a test pilot for the Steiner Konzern." the Knight of Three nodded. "She was...pretty cut up about it, but Leonhardt stopped her from doing something stupid like charging off to get revenge or something."

"Thank heavens. She can't be more than fourteen or so, correct?" the former noble shuddered, envisioning Milly at the same age. "Area 11 has already claimed one Soresi. I am grateful that she has been prevented from risking her life so foolishly."

"Yeah..." Gino agreed.

"My other query was about the Knightmares that the terrorists used, the...Somersets, I believe they are called." Reuben said, moving on. "You see, Princess Cornelia has commissioned me to build a Knightmare factory for Area 11, as well as set up Knightmare R&D for the area as well to deal with number of threats that have been popping up recently. Honestly speaking, the idea of a Knightmare that can switch between transportation mode and combat mode is...an intriguing one, to say the least. I was hoping to have one or two if you had any remaining."

"Hmm...you have that Zero guy over there, don't you?" the Knight of Three said thoughtfully. "A general good enough to outfox Princess Cornelia, with several 7th Generation machines at his beck and call. Sounds as if you need all the advantages you can get. See, here's the thing though. All of the Somersets that took part in the Pendragon attack were destroyed, but...we managed to discover an abandoned base on the Millville Estates that had a platoon's worth of them left, which I confiscated and impounded using my status as a member of the Weinberg family. The Royal Knightmare Frame Technical Research Institute has taken custody of half of them for R&D themselves, so I could give you the other half...except they aren't really all that amazing as Knightmare Frames. As rapid response units, yeah, but...why would you want 'em?"

"As I said, the idea of a Variable Configuration Knightmare intrigues the scientist in me." Reuben chuckled. "Plus, you do recall that the Millville Family was the primary mover and shaker behind the research, development and manufacture of fighter jets in the pre-Knightmare era? That would have tainted his view on them. As I recall, Wilbur was someone who despised Knightmares back when I was in the Imperial Court. He and I almost came to blows when he talked a load of rubbish about the 'little toys' that the Ashford Family was working on. When the Glasgow rolled out and became the new mainline weapon of the Britannian forces, orders for tanks, APC's and jets went down drastically, so that would have coloured his builder's vision as well."

"Ah...! Now that makes sense." Gino laughed. "Hmm...well...what do I get out of it if I send you the Somersets?"

"Thirty percent of the sale of any Knightmare with technology derived from the Somersets, as well as the gratitude of the Ashford Family, as well as the Chief General of the Imperial Army." the old negotiator answered instantly, using his years of political experience to keep a smile from his face. Now it was over bar the details. And of course this agreement was only to do with the sale of Knightmares used by Britannia.

"Huh...better than what I was hoping for." the Knight of Round smirked. "It's a deal. Send me the agreement with your signature and I'll countersign it and get the ball rolling on shipping the Somersets to Area 11 for you."

Thanks to electronic forms, touch pads and signature styluses, it took less than five minutes to properly hammer out and sign an agreement when both parties were on separate continents. The wonders of modern technology.

"By the way, I heard that these things use some sort of experimental flight system...?" Reuben probed.

"I wish!" Gino snorted. "It's a flight system that the Steiner Konzern rejected due to how inherently unstable it is. Heck, even the more advanced version used as an optional backpack unit on the Wakefield was too much of a power hog for longer than half an hour of sustained heavy combat and dogfighting. How that Millville fella ever got a version large enough to propel the Sutherland Ikaros working without having it explode on him is beyond me. No, the Bradford unit that is being worked on right now will use cutting edge flight technology developed by Camelot. It'll make those Somersets look like cheap replicas once it's deployed. Once we get some actual data back from it, they're planning on making me a unit. How cool is that?"

"It does indeed sound very exciting." the older man smiled at the simple joy at the thought of a new machine that the young Knight of Round was displaying. "Have they decided on a name for it yet?"

"Hmm...it's a toss-up between 'Tristain' and 'Caradoc' last I heard." the Knight stated with a frown. "I'd personally favour 'Tristain' as that's simple and easy to remember. Doesn't sound overly pretentious either. Caradoc just sounds…odd. Sounds more like some kind of seafood dish rather than a Knightmare."

Reuben managed to turn his laugh into a cough, although the smirk on the younger man's face told him that a laugh was what Gino had been aiming for in the first place.

"I would agree with you." the Ashford Family Head chuckled. "Alas, my time is limited and I have issues to deal with on my end. Building a factory to produce Knightmares isn't easy or without paperwork, I am afraid."

"I hear that." The young Knight groused, absently rubbing his wrist in annoyed memory as he spoke. "Even setting up something as simply as a Knightmare Prototype Lab and Testing Centre generates enough paperwork to give a man Carpel Tunnel before you can even lay the foundation." Gino finished with a sigh."I'll let you get back to it then, the sooner you're started with that beast, they sooner you're done right?"

"Exactly. I'll contact you once we have received the Somersets and their technical manuals." Reuben bowed his head to the man. "Thank you once again for allowing this. The Ashford Family is in your debt for your aid in this matter."

"No sweat. Treat me to dinner or something if I'm ever deployed in Area 11 in the future and we'll call it even." the Knight of Round waved one hand dismissively.

"Is that likely? We already have Lady Nonette and Lady Ernst in Area 11. Are more Knights of the Round going to be deployed here?" the Ashford Head blinked in surprise. No single battlefront normally ever received more than two members of the Rounds at a time unless the situation was deemed serious. This was due to one war about a hundred and fifty years ago when all of the Rounds but the Knight of One were wiped out in a single battle. Ever since, the absolute upper limit of Knights of Round per battlefront was, at most, three, with two being a far more common number.

"Nah, we're all busy enough here." Gino waved one hand. "Bismark's guarding the Emperor, Bradley and Monica are tearing things up on the African Front, while Anya's doing her part on the Euro Universe Front. I'm about to head out that way myself. I wish His Majesty would hurry up and fill the positions of Knight of Two, Five, Seven, Eight and Eleven. We're being rushed off our feet here."

"It is unusual to only have just over half of the Rounds positions filled." Reuben agreed. "His Majesty must have some reason for it, however. Perhaps no one else matches his exacting standards? Who can say? Now, I really must be going."

"Okay. See you later then." the irrelevant Knight flapped a hand lazily again before the screen went blank.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Reuben typed in his authorisation code again to formally sign out before standing, picking up a copy of the signed contract to be filed physically (it never hurt to keep physical records) and left the room.

'Lelouch was quite right to suggest this course of action.' he thought as he walked through the corridors of the Administration Building. 'Not only will this open up new avenues of research and development for the Ashford Foundation, but it will allow Lelouch to concentrate on keeping Milly safe with better Knightmare technology. Albert will be pleased to hear that Ashford Knightmare Innovators will be picking up the pace.'

Even in exile, Reuben hadn't stopped researching and developing Knightmare technology. An odd coincidence was that, despite their exile, the Ashfords hadn't lost their license to research and develop Knightmare Technology, which one would have imagined would have been the first thing that their jealous rivals and enemies would have tried to strip from them. The Head of the Ashford Family, and one of the two brains behind the development of the Ganymede, suspected the hand of Charles zi Britannia in this, as did his friend, Albert Einstein. Anyway...

The Ganymede Aquarius was a top of the line 5th Generation Knightmare that he had built to fulfil two important roles. First, to prove that he had gotten all of the basic upgrades from the Glasgow down pat, which was a rousing success. It was at least as good as a Gloucester, and was far more heavily armed. With a suitable pilot, it would most certainly defeat any other 5th Gen machine easily.

The second reason was to provide security for Ashford Academy in case of an emergency. He had trusted Prince Clovis' military competence about as much as he trusted Melisande to not try and stab him in the back one of these days, which was not at all. In a pinch, he (or, more likely, Lelouch) could have suited up and smashed any enemies to pieces.

Granted the aftermath of such an affair would have been…troubling, but the chaos that such an attack would surely have been a part of would have hopefully presented them with opportunities to at least reduce the damage to a minimum.

'And now, thanks to Lelouch telling me the likely reason for the Lancelot's superior abilities, the new 7th Gen machine we have been working on will be complete soon...' Reuben thought with a small smile. Suzaku was not good at keeping secrets from his friend, and Lelouch had basically tricked him into spilling the beans about the secret of the white Knightmare's superior specs way back when the boy had first entered the Academy.

"Earl Ashford?" a familiar voice jolted him out of his thoughts. Looking around, Reuben smiled as he caught sight of Euphemia standing before him in her 'working outfit' as a Sub-Viceroy.

"Princess Euphemia, it has been far too long." he greeted her. "And please, my Ashford family has long since lost its title of nobility."

"As far as I am concerned, you are more deserving of a noble title than over three quarters of the Area 11 nobility." the pinkette frowned slightly.

"Thank you for your kind words." Reuben replied with a small bow. "Might I say that you have blossomed into a beautiful young lady? You must have to beat the boys off with a stick."

Euphie pinked at the compliment. "No, my sister's Knights tend to do that for me before they come close." she said with a sigh. "And the only Knight I have asked has turned me down. You might recall Sir Jeremiah Gottwald from the Aries Villa?"

"One of Lady Marianne's former Royal Guard." Reuben nodded. "He was devastated at her death. His perceived failure of his duty and his loyalty to dear Marianne must still haunt him, your highness. He likely considers service to a member of the Royal Family to be too great an honour for him with such a thing still weighing on his heart and mind."

"I can understand it, but it leaves me with only one choice, and my sister...I mean, the Viceroy, isn't keen on me choosing a Knight who isn't someone that she trusts." Euphie said with a resigned expression to her face. "In other words, someone who defaults to obeying her first and foremost. Lord Jeremiah was on the limit because he had served under her before, when she was Captain of Lady Marianne's Royal Guard, but Lady Villetta Nu never served with her before and is…ambitious."

"And ambitious Knights are suspect in her eyes from what she knows of the Emblem of Blood period." Reuben nodded again. Many young and ambitious Knights had broken their oaths during that time, even Knights of Honour. He knew that Cornelia was even partially correct that Nu was a traitor to Britannia, as she worked for Lelouch, but he would never order her to harm one of the handful of his sisters that he loved.

"If you may permit someone who lived through that period of turbulence and turmoil to give his own advice, I would advise that you act in whatever manner you deem necessary." he said aloud. "If memory serves, Lady Villetta is a former member of the Purebloods, much like Lord Jeremiah? Has he vouched for her?"

"Yes, most ardently, in fact." the pinkette nodded.

"And obviously you trust him, as you asked him to be your Knight of Honour first. Something that a lot of people did back in the Emblem of Blood was to have people they trust verify a prospective Knight." he explained. "The Viceroy obviously can't do that with any degree of accuracy, considering most of the Purebloods are either dead, disgraced or, in Margrave Jeremiah's case, biased in her favour. Given that she will be under the increased scrutiny of Sir Darlton and Sir Guilford once knighted, I think that you may be able to trust her so long as you allow them to screen her choices for your Royal Guard. The Viceroy may allow that as a compromise."

"I...hadn't considered that." Euphie said thoughtfully before smiling deviously. "I also wish for my knight to have a good Knightmare, and Camelot is too busy to build a fresh one at the moment..."

"The Ashford Foundation is in the process of creating its first 7th Generation Prototype. Should it be successful, we will be very much open to taking on the task of building a customised Knightmare for your Knight, princess." Reuben said smoothly. "The Ashford Family and the li Britannia line were allies with each other before Lady Marianne's death, and I see no reason why that alliance should not be rekindled."

"I believe that this will be a fruitful alliance, Earl Ashford." Euphemia said with an aura of determination and purpose that was frightfully like both Cornelia and Lelouch.

Rupert couldn't help but smile. A silk glove the girl may be, but there was iron in the hand beneath. Anyone who underestimated Euphemia li Britannia was either stupid or wilfully blind.

"I believe so, Your Highness. I believe so." the old man said with an equally purposeful smile. "I shall send progress reports to you via my granddaughter when she visits you. Please invite her often; she needs cheering up after the way my daughter-in-law has started to act."

"That bad?" Euphie asked in concern.

"If someone treated you the same way Melisande treats Milly, your sister would shoot them out of hand." the Ashford Head scowled at the memory of Melisande slapping Milly across the face for talking back to her.

"Ah. I shall ensure to invite her at least once a week." the Sub-Viceroy winced at the highly-controlled anger in his voice. She was happy to have a friend to talk to anyway.

After a few more minutes of chatting, the two parted, with Reuben smiling again. Today had been a very productive day.

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Next Chapter: The Rage and Fall of Melisande Ashford

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