Fic: [Code Geass] Nunnally of the Insurrection
Title: Nunnally on the Insurrection
Series: Code Geass
Type: Divergence
Links: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5330289/13/Nunnally_of_the_Insurrection
Interlude
Princess Cornelia , Viceroy and overall military commander of Area Eleven, cursed softly as she studied the reports coming in from across the country. The former elements of the Japan Liberation Front had scattered after the attempted hostage taking at the Sakuradite talks, and were being absorbed by other factions of the resistance. As well the resistance was staging more and better organized operations, hitting Britannian bases around the country.
Worse, a attempt to destroy the remaining JLF enclave at Narita was met by a united front of several resistance groups, one that proved dangerously effective. Whomever was leading the groups managed to coordinate them well enough to lure her forces in, cut them off then blow them apart with previously hidden explosives.
'If I had lead that expedition as planned, they could have captured or killed me,' Cornelia mused, frowning thoughtfully.
Guilford returned, the brown haired man carrying several files with him. "Milady," he nodded respectfully as he put the files down, "I have more bad news."
"Oh, lovely," Cornelia sighed as she looked up at her knight with a wry smile, "hit me."
"Prisoner Tohdoh Kyoshiro was broken out of a military convoy while our forces were engaged with the Narita campaign," Guilford told her seriously, "I suspect that the whole engagement was a feint to get our attention while they staged the breakout."
"Damn it!" Cornelia thumped a fist down onto her desk, "What are we dealing with here? It feels like I'm fighting against Schneizel!"
Guilford nodded glumly, "We're clearly facing someone of unusual tactical abilities."
"Or they have a inside man," Cornelia scowled, tapping the desk thoughtful. "How goes the investigation I ordered?"
"It's difficult to say at this point," Guilford sounded frustrated as he continued, "the amount of graft and corruption I'm finding is astounding. I hate to speak ill of the dead, but Clovis appears to have been a terrible Viceroy."
"You actually sound angry,": Cornelia noted.
"Some of these scum were stealing food intended for refugees," Guilford said flatly, "and others were dealing Refrain. And I'm certain this is just the tip of the iceberg."
"I see," Cornelia sat back, sighing. The crimes that her people were committing against the Elevens would simply make her task of pacifying the region even harder, of course. Even she could concede that the Elevens had a right to be angry, but that was irrelevant. Her job was to establish order in this area, and that was what she would do.
Guilford hesitated then asked, "I'd like to publicize the arrests of the criminals..."
"No," Cornelia shook her head, "we can't."
"But...?" Guilford frowned.
Cornelia gave him a wry smile, "Trust me, there is nothing more I'd like than to reveal them, but the officials of the Area were Imperial appointments."
Guilford's eyes widened as he realized, "They have powerful protection."
"They have other Princes or Princesses protection," Cornelia agreed flatly, "if I expose them it will embarrass my kinsmen. They will be angry, and where they can they'll move to make things difficult for us in return."
Guilford nodded, his expression stiff with restrained anger. He wasn't mad at her, Cornelia felt, but at the system, and to be honest she shared the emotion. It disgusted her to even partially shield the sort of scum Guilford had caught, especially when part of her simply wanted to kill them all.
"What should we do with them?" Guilford asked.
"Dismiss them and ship them back to Britannia," Cornelia decided after a moment. "We can't make it public, but I am not letting them continue on in their posts."
"Thank you," Guilford nodded, relieved.
'And it'll give me a bargaining chip to use with my dear brothers and sisters later,' Cornelia thought, a bitter taste in her mouth. "We'll need to fill those positions, as well," she noted aloud, "do you have any suggestions?"
"There are many loyal families living in Area Eleven," Guilford noted calmly, "I'm certain we can transfer members into the new posts."
"Get on it quickly," Cornelia reminded him, "we need to maintain the illusion that Britannia has things well in hand."
"We always have things well in hand," Guilford smiled wryly, "the Emperor says so, after all."
Cornelia chuckled, her lips raising slightly at the mild joke. "I understand the Eleven Suzaku Kururugi was deployed in Narita," she asked distastefully, "how did he do?"
"Quite well, ma'am," Guilford answered promptly, "the Lancelot Knightmare Frame is a exceptional machine, but he shows great skill himself. I might even see if I can poach him for our Glaston Knights."
That made Cornelia raise her eyebrows slightly, as Guilford had similar high standards to her own. If he thought the boy was worthy, it might very well mean something. "Send me the files on his combat abilities," she ordered, "I want to see for myself."
"Of course," Guilford nodded. He noted it was nearly time for Cornelia's afternoon security briefing as he asked, "Is there anything else?"
"No, it's fine," Cornelia nodded, "thank you."
As he left Cornelia was tempted to ask him what he thought of her sister Sub-Viceroy Euphemia's recent behavior, but stopped herself. It wasn't a question he could answer honestly, and to be honest she wasn't sure that anything was wrong. All Cornelia knew was that for the last two weeks or so, Euphemia had been oddly quiet. She seemed to be recovering her usual smiles now, but Cornelia still didn't know what had disturbed her so much.
'And she won't tell me,' Cornelia sighed.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"They want you to WHAT, Daddy?" Shirley Fenette blinked, listening to him on the phone. After the near miss they had been through at Narita she was just glad to have him alive.
"I'm coming back to Tokyo," he explained, "I've been asked to take over one of the Eleven management programs. It'll be hard work, but at least we'll be closer together."
Shirley sighed happily as she said, "I'm glad." They talked for awhile then she hung up, the young woman looking out over Ashford Academy.
It really HAD been a close call. If the rebels had brought the conflict closer to the city, or if there had been area effect weapons used, there could have been untold casualties. Thankfully someone on one side or the other decided to limit things to just Knightmares.
Deciding to thank a certain person, Shirley left her room in the dorms and headed across the campus. The labs that Camelot Engineering had taken over were just next to the Academy, and from what Shirley understood were owned by the Ashfords. It only took a bit of fast talking to get by the gate guard, then she headed inside to where the Knightmare Frame Lancelot rested.
"Hello, miss," the brown haired woman smiled as she saw Shirley hesitating in a doorway, "can I help you."
"I'm looking for Suzaku," Shirley admitted as she added, "I understand he spends a lot of his after class time here?"
"Yes, he does," the woman agreed. "I'm Cecile Croomy, please follow me."
"Thank you," Shirley smiled as she followed the older woman.
Surprisingly Suzaku was set up at a desk not far from the white Knightmare itself, apparently working on his homework. The brown haired young man was working intently, then seemed to sense their presence as he looked up, blinking.
"Miss Shirley?" Suzaku asked, looking slightly confused.
"I'll just leave the two of you alone to talk," Cecile said cheerfully, heading off to do something or other.
"She's going to get the wrong idea," Suzaku noted, shaking his head with amusement. He smiled at Shirley as he asked, "What can I do for you?"
"I wanted to thank you," Shirley said warmly, "my father talked about how you diverted the Britannian Knightmares before they could accidentally damage the city."
Suzaku smiled slightly, "We were lucky no one was hurt, but I'm happy that your father made it out all right."
"Hmm," Shirley nodded. She hesitated a moment then added, "I also wanted to apologize."
Suzaku tilted his head to the side, "For what?"
"You haven't had a easy time at Ashford, and I haven't done as much as I could to help you," Shirley admitted quietly.
"It's no one's fault, Miss Shirley," Suzaku said honestly, "the students have every right to be wary, with everything that's been going on."
"Still," Shirley said stubbornly, "you don't deserve how you've been treated." She reached out and hugged him suddenly, "And I mean to change that."
She was gone before Suzaku could form a answer, Shirley's mind already racing with what she planned to do. 'Maybe I can ask Nunnally for help,' she mused, 'she's good at plans. And Milly too, though she'd probably just declare it 'Suzaku appreciation day' or something.'
Back in the lab Cecile made her way back to where Suzaku was working, Lloyd Asplund just behind her. "We really need to improve our security if Suzaku's girlfriend can just waltz in here," she noted crossly.
"I'm not sure she's his girlfriend," Cecile pointed out reasonably, "besides, she's quite attractive. I suspect she just battered her eyes at the guard."
"That's probably worse," Lloyd said with a sigh. "Suzaku!" he cried as they came into the boy's view, "What's this I hear about you defiling a school girl?"
"Lloyd!" Cecile elbowed him in the ribs.
"She's just a friend," Suzaku said defensively as Lloyd grunted in pain.
"And a very attractive friend too," Lloyd noted, "though of course I am not looking, being engaged to the lovely Milly Ashford."
"Right," Cecile snickered softly. She looked at Suzaku thoughtfully, "You might remember that boys and girls define being friends somewhat differently."
Suzaku looked at her blankly a moment, "Right."
Cecile sighed, then firmly reminded herself that it was none of her business. "Does anyone want lunch?" she asked cheerfully, "I brought extra rice balls!"
Suzaku visibly paled, having had Cecile's cooking several times. "No, no," he said quickly, "I'm good. I brought some lunch from home."
"And I have a lunch appointment," Lloyd said quickly, "sorry."
"Aww," Cecile pouted, "and I made peanut butter rice balls too."
To be continued...
Notes: Summarizing a couple of episodes, including the whole 'Black Knights as Superheroes' episode, as well as the battle of Narita. You can assume Nunnally played a large role in planning these events, but was probably not out in the field like Zero was. I still need a Suzaku/Nunnally fight, as well as set up for the Black Insurrection that's coming.
Series: Code Geass
Type: Divergence
Links: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5330289/13/Nunnally_of_the_Insurrection
Interlude
Princess Cornelia , Viceroy and overall military commander of Area Eleven, cursed softly as she studied the reports coming in from across the country. The former elements of the Japan Liberation Front had scattered after the attempted hostage taking at the Sakuradite talks, and were being absorbed by other factions of the resistance. As well the resistance was staging more and better organized operations, hitting Britannian bases around the country.
Worse, a attempt to destroy the remaining JLF enclave at Narita was met by a united front of several resistance groups, one that proved dangerously effective. Whomever was leading the groups managed to coordinate them well enough to lure her forces in, cut them off then blow them apart with previously hidden explosives.
'If I had lead that expedition as planned, they could have captured or killed me,' Cornelia mused, frowning thoughtfully.
Guilford returned, the brown haired man carrying several files with him. "Milady," he nodded respectfully as he put the files down, "I have more bad news."
"Oh, lovely," Cornelia sighed as she looked up at her knight with a wry smile, "hit me."
"Prisoner Tohdoh Kyoshiro was broken out of a military convoy while our forces were engaged with the Narita campaign," Guilford told her seriously, "I suspect that the whole engagement was a feint to get our attention while they staged the breakout."
"Damn it!" Cornelia thumped a fist down onto her desk, "What are we dealing with here? It feels like I'm fighting against Schneizel!"
Guilford nodded glumly, "We're clearly facing someone of unusual tactical abilities."
"Or they have a inside man," Cornelia scowled, tapping the desk thoughtful. "How goes the investigation I ordered?"
"It's difficult to say at this point," Guilford sounded frustrated as he continued, "the amount of graft and corruption I'm finding is astounding. I hate to speak ill of the dead, but Clovis appears to have been a terrible Viceroy."
"You actually sound angry,": Cornelia noted.
"Some of these scum were stealing food intended for refugees," Guilford said flatly, "and others were dealing Refrain. And I'm certain this is just the tip of the iceberg."
"I see," Cornelia sat back, sighing. The crimes that her people were committing against the Elevens would simply make her task of pacifying the region even harder, of course. Even she could concede that the Elevens had a right to be angry, but that was irrelevant. Her job was to establish order in this area, and that was what she would do.
Guilford hesitated then asked, "I'd like to publicize the arrests of the criminals..."
"No," Cornelia shook her head, "we can't."
"But...?" Guilford frowned.
Cornelia gave him a wry smile, "Trust me, there is nothing more I'd like than to reveal them, but the officials of the Area were Imperial appointments."
Guilford's eyes widened as he realized, "They have powerful protection."
"They have other Princes or Princesses protection," Cornelia agreed flatly, "if I expose them it will embarrass my kinsmen. They will be angry, and where they can they'll move to make things difficult for us in return."
Guilford nodded, his expression stiff with restrained anger. He wasn't mad at her, Cornelia felt, but at the system, and to be honest she shared the emotion. It disgusted her to even partially shield the sort of scum Guilford had caught, especially when part of her simply wanted to kill them all.
"What should we do with them?" Guilford asked.
"Dismiss them and ship them back to Britannia," Cornelia decided after a moment. "We can't make it public, but I am not letting them continue on in their posts."
"Thank you," Guilford nodded, relieved.
'And it'll give me a bargaining chip to use with my dear brothers and sisters later,' Cornelia thought, a bitter taste in her mouth. "We'll need to fill those positions, as well," she noted aloud, "do you have any suggestions?"
"There are many loyal families living in Area Eleven," Guilford noted calmly, "I'm certain we can transfer members into the new posts."
"Get on it quickly," Cornelia reminded him, "we need to maintain the illusion that Britannia has things well in hand."
"We always have things well in hand," Guilford smiled wryly, "the Emperor says so, after all."
Cornelia chuckled, her lips raising slightly at the mild joke. "I understand the Eleven Suzaku Kururugi was deployed in Narita," she asked distastefully, "how did he do?"
"Quite well, ma'am," Guilford answered promptly, "the Lancelot Knightmare Frame is a exceptional machine, but he shows great skill himself. I might even see if I can poach him for our Glaston Knights."
That made Cornelia raise her eyebrows slightly, as Guilford had similar high standards to her own. If he thought the boy was worthy, it might very well mean something. "Send me the files on his combat abilities," she ordered, "I want to see for myself."
"Of course," Guilford nodded. He noted it was nearly time for Cornelia's afternoon security briefing as he asked, "Is there anything else?"
"No, it's fine," Cornelia nodded, "thank you."
As he left Cornelia was tempted to ask him what he thought of her sister Sub-Viceroy Euphemia's recent behavior, but stopped herself. It wasn't a question he could answer honestly, and to be honest she wasn't sure that anything was wrong. All Cornelia knew was that for the last two weeks or so, Euphemia had been oddly quiet. She seemed to be recovering her usual smiles now, but Cornelia still didn't know what had disturbed her so much.
'And she won't tell me,' Cornelia sighed.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
"They want you to WHAT, Daddy?" Shirley Fenette blinked, listening to him on the phone. After the near miss they had been through at Narita she was just glad to have him alive.
"I'm coming back to Tokyo," he explained, "I've been asked to take over one of the Eleven management programs. It'll be hard work, but at least we'll be closer together."
Shirley sighed happily as she said, "I'm glad." They talked for awhile then she hung up, the young woman looking out over Ashford Academy.
It really HAD been a close call. If the rebels had brought the conflict closer to the city, or if there had been area effect weapons used, there could have been untold casualties. Thankfully someone on one side or the other decided to limit things to just Knightmares.
Deciding to thank a certain person, Shirley left her room in the dorms and headed across the campus. The labs that Camelot Engineering had taken over were just next to the Academy, and from what Shirley understood were owned by the Ashfords. It only took a bit of fast talking to get by the gate guard, then she headed inside to where the Knightmare Frame Lancelot rested.
"Hello, miss," the brown haired woman smiled as she saw Shirley hesitating in a doorway, "can I help you."
"I'm looking for Suzaku," Shirley admitted as she added, "I understand he spends a lot of his after class time here?"
"Yes, he does," the woman agreed. "I'm Cecile Croomy, please follow me."
"Thank you," Shirley smiled as she followed the older woman.
Surprisingly Suzaku was set up at a desk not far from the white Knightmare itself, apparently working on his homework. The brown haired young man was working intently, then seemed to sense their presence as he looked up, blinking.
"Miss Shirley?" Suzaku asked, looking slightly confused.
"I'll just leave the two of you alone to talk," Cecile said cheerfully, heading off to do something or other.
"She's going to get the wrong idea," Suzaku noted, shaking his head with amusement. He smiled at Shirley as he asked, "What can I do for you?"
"I wanted to thank you," Shirley said warmly, "my father talked about how you diverted the Britannian Knightmares before they could accidentally damage the city."
Suzaku smiled slightly, "We were lucky no one was hurt, but I'm happy that your father made it out all right."
"Hmm," Shirley nodded. She hesitated a moment then added, "I also wanted to apologize."
Suzaku tilted his head to the side, "For what?"
"You haven't had a easy time at Ashford, and I haven't done as much as I could to help you," Shirley admitted quietly.
"It's no one's fault, Miss Shirley," Suzaku said honestly, "the students have every right to be wary, with everything that's been going on."
"Still," Shirley said stubbornly, "you don't deserve how you've been treated." She reached out and hugged him suddenly, "And I mean to change that."
She was gone before Suzaku could form a answer, Shirley's mind already racing with what she planned to do. 'Maybe I can ask Nunnally for help,' she mused, 'she's good at plans. And Milly too, though she'd probably just declare it 'Suzaku appreciation day' or something.'
Back in the lab Cecile made her way back to where Suzaku was working, Lloyd Asplund just behind her. "We really need to improve our security if Suzaku's girlfriend can just waltz in here," she noted crossly.
"I'm not sure she's his girlfriend," Cecile pointed out reasonably, "besides, she's quite attractive. I suspect she just battered her eyes at the guard."
"That's probably worse," Lloyd said with a sigh. "Suzaku!" he cried as they came into the boy's view, "What's this I hear about you defiling a school girl?"
"Lloyd!" Cecile elbowed him in the ribs.
"She's just a friend," Suzaku said defensively as Lloyd grunted in pain.
"And a very attractive friend too," Lloyd noted, "though of course I am not looking, being engaged to the lovely Milly Ashford."
"Right," Cecile snickered softly. She looked at Suzaku thoughtfully, "You might remember that boys and girls define being friends somewhat differently."
Suzaku looked at her blankly a moment, "Right."
Cecile sighed, then firmly reminded herself that it was none of her business. "Does anyone want lunch?" she asked cheerfully, "I brought extra rice balls!"
Suzaku visibly paled, having had Cecile's cooking several times. "No, no," he said quickly, "I'm good. I brought some lunch from home."
"And I have a lunch appointment," Lloyd said quickly, "sorry."
"Aww," Cecile pouted, "and I made peanut butter rice balls too."
To be continued...
Notes: Summarizing a couple of episodes, including the whole 'Black Knights as Superheroes' episode, as well as the battle of Narita. You can assume Nunnally played a large role in planning these events, but was probably not out in the field like Zero was. I still need a Suzaku/Nunnally fight, as well as set up for the Black Insurrection that's coming.