The Dax watched as the Executor examined the two children before her. He couldn't really observe the children easily, but the Executor was studying them intently.

Eventually, though, the Dax felt the need to question his golden lord.

"My lady, may I have a word with you?"

The Executor turned to face her subordinate, a look of annoyance plastering her face for a moment, before her expression softened. "Fine. Guards, attend to the children until I return."

Once his compatriots had saluted and moved to guard the children, the Dax followed his master out of the room and into the main hall.

"What is it you desire to know?"

"Forgive my impertinence, but why are these children here? They are of no great bloodline, and it is…not common for the golden lords to adopt children not intended for continuity."

"I admit this is an odd occasion. As is, though, your loyalty is beyond question, so I will explain my reasoning in full to you. But first, a question."

"And that is?"

"Have you heard of the Rail 1347 incident?"

"..Wasn't that an attempt to use the Void to leave this universe and seek out another, so that if the Tau Colonization Project failed, the Empire would not be doomed to remain within the Origin System?"

"Correct. And you are aware of what happened, are you not?"

"The initial attempt ended in failure, and the Archimedian in charge executed due to the loss of an Executor. No further attempts were made to access alternate universes following this experiment, as no Archimedians were ever able to achieve results close enough to the original to be deemed worthy of the Executor's attentions."

"That is the official story."

"…I presume that you intend to tell me the truth?"

"Yes, I do. The experiment did not end entirely in failure – while the Rail was damaged, the Executor and several others did not die. Instead, they managed to successfully access another universe. Yet we did not learn this until after the Archimedian had been….dealt with."

"How so? Was he sent to the Jade Light?"

"No – his intellect was to valuable to lose. He was converted into a Cephalon – by choice, I must add. He felt that his organic life had amounted to nothing of interest, and desired to exist for longer to achieve something worthy of recognition."

"How did the Executor contact the Empire?"

"Oh, they found a way. However, the first transmission revealed that there was a difference in the flow of time between the world they arrived in and our own. Months passed on that end while only days had flowed by here."

"Why was the Executor not rescued?"

"She stated that she did not want to be retrieved – she was happy as is in her new world, and no longer wished to return to the Empire. Objections were raised, but ultimately she was allowed to stay – she was, after all, half dax and thus worthy of lesser concern to a full-blooded Executor. Additionally, she had other siblings to take her place as heir to her house."

"…Did she achieve anything of note?"

"Well, it seems that she married into a noble family in the world she arrived in, managing to impress her husband through skill at arms alone. Supposedly, he took one hundred and eight consorts, but she was the one he truly loved."

"I see. She must be enjoying herself now-"

"She's dead."

"What?"

"It appears that she was assassinated at a family villa. Some say it was terrorists, but what evidence we have gleaned indicates foul play from her husband's family. She had two children, but of the two, the youngest, a girl, was rendered blind and paralyzed during the assassination, while the boy enraged his father due to daring to speak out against his…poor handling of the investigation regarding the Executor's death. The two were subsequently disowned by their father and offered up to the ruler of that nation to be used as political hostages – it turns out their father was of some relation to the ruler of the land…

"And then the nation they were offered to was subsequently invaded by their father's home nation."

"..How pitiful. I assume that the children are dead?'

"Oh no. They aren't. I was just talking to them."

"…WHAT?! Those two children you brought in are the descendants of the lost Executor?"

"Correct."

"…Did your fellow councilors demand you foster them so that we may have potential claim to their homeland?"

"No, I volunteered."

"Why?"

The Executor's expression turned from one of indifference to melancholy. "Because they are all I have left of my eldest daughter besides pictures, toys, and portraits."

"…Wait. Are you saying they are the children of Lady M-"

"Yes. And I am sorry I had to keep you in the dark about this."

XXXXXXXXX

After finishing her conversation with her sworn dax, the Executor steeled herself, then returned to the room where her grandchildren rested. When she arrived, she saw that her grandson had crawled over to his sister and was busy reassuring her.

Clearing her throat, the woman began to speak.

"I trust that these accommodations are, if not acceptable, at least tolerable?"

"..They are," noted the boy – a black haired, purple eyed youth of ten years. Despite his youth, his demeanor was one of an adult, filled with determination and…hatred, surprisingly enough. The hatred was not directed at her, though – someone else was at fault there. "May I ask who you are?"

"Will you first tell me your names?"

"…Fine. I am Lelouch Lamperouge.."

"And I'm Nunnally Lamperouge," added the little girl.

The Executor smiled. "Such beautiful names. Since you have been forthcoming in sharing yours, I will return the favor. My name is Ereshikgal Kingsley…or rather, it was before I was married. Now, most call me Eresh Lamperouge."

Expressions of shock colored both of the children's faces. Eresh couldn't help but smile in amusement at them.

"Yes, I am your grandmother. And I do believe we have a lot of catching up to do."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Been wanting to do this for a while.

This story and Code Geass: Lelouch of the XCOM represent thw two main crossovers I've always wanted to do for Code Geass. Of the two, this one is the one I'm going to update most frequently, because I have a better outline of how I want this story to go than with Lelouch of the XCOM (Which I had to revise owing to two of the intended crossovers being excised to keep things manageable).

Also, the next chapter will take place in the relative present of the story – this chapter is the distant prologue showing the point of divergence.

So, Read, and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!