Disclaimer: I don't own either of the Code Geass, Gundam Seed or Star wars franchises. This story is not written with commercial purpose in mind. I make no money from it. It is not for sale or rent.

Chapter 8: The plans of mice and men

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Part 3

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15 May 2009 A.T.B.

Subic Bay

Philippines

Two squadrons worth of fighters roared above the sprawling base, lazily circling above while acting as a CAP. Dozens of radar installations and jammer platforms filled up the air with enough radiation to cook up people who got too close to them or in the wrong place, a line of light ships stood off shore providing a first line of defence against air-raids, with destroyer packs hunting for enemy submarines. The massive repair facilities in the bay were busy, six of them contained still smoking ships, which had barely survived rampant fires caused by rocket fuel after surviving missile strikes.

Whole battalions of infantry were busy digging in all around the base and in the surrounding hills, strengthened up by tank platoons and artillery batteries. Hopefully it was mostly a pointless busy work. The first relief force left the East Coast a few hours ago and were about ten days out – thanks to the need to escort all the freighters bringing various supplies and equipment. If that convoy and its escorting fleet could reach us more or less intact, then we had a good shot at holding the Philippines and then using them as a staging ground for a strike at Japan.

Our problem was simple – the Japanese and Chinese navies were much closer and even after our first reinforcement wave arrived, we would still be outnumbered significantly, especially if the enemy played their cards smart, concentrated their forces and used their numbers… which was what I hoped they would do, because such a major battle would be our best bet to win this. Instead, if they went for multiple smaller engagement meant to bleed us white before a decisive engagement, then we were likely fucked, even though such strategy at least in theory would play in our hands and give us the option to defeat a numerically superior enemy in detail.

It might even work, yet it would be all for nothing because the news that came with the latest dispatches – the Europeans were mobilizing as well. If our navy ground itself down against our combined Asian enemies, then the European navies would have a free reign to tear us apart.

This news simply reinforced the dilemma I've been facing for more than a week now. My principal commanders in theatre were suspicious, wary and mistrustful of me. They wanted and needed to know how I achieved the stunningly successful air-strikes against the enemy navy, needed to know when and how we could replicate said success, if we could replicate it. They needed to know that we had to seek a decisive battle while outnumbered, one where a conventional engagement would see us likely defeated even if we managed to hurt the enemy badly while going down. Without them on board, it would be hard to impossible to pull off the victories we needed to survive, the victories I needed to keep my family safe.

And all I had to do was reveal some of my capabilities to people I didn't know I could trust, people I needed in my corner anyway. Telling the truth to my sister and her closest confidantes, that much was easy, even if my memories from past lives screamed at me how bad an idea such trust was. Well, it was a good thing I wasn't the paranoid wreck Veil had been at the best of times even after being raised as a part of the Imperial family with all that entailed.

A pair of fighters roared low overhead, lazily heading towards the sea. The reverberating sound of their engines momentarily disrupted my train of thoughts.

Yet, I could help it but feel fear at confiding in anyone I didn't explicitly trust, especially after acting so impulsively with my adjutant. On the other hand, it was always only a matter of time before whoever was my aide figured out something was odd, even if I took steps to keep them in the dark. The odds were they would more or less figure out I had impossible abilities sooner rather than later, perhaps at the worst possible time. In that regard, my actions with Lieutenant Nu were probably for the best – now I was reasonably sure of her loyalty. Could the same be true for my command staff in the Pacific Theatre of Operations? I needed their support and expertise more than ever. In the long run, turning them into not only my allies but those of my family would be for the best, if at all possible. Yet, revealing my capabilities would be a double edged sword at best. The moment it became widely known what I was capable of, even if "widely" only meant the highest ranks of the Empire's military and political elite, my family would become both a target and prize beyond measure.

I bristled at that thought. For all my power, for everything the Force and the Dark Side granted me, I simply lacked the raw power to keep my mother and sisters safe. Perhaps if I walked Veil's path I could become powerful enough… yet that was a line I wasn't ready to cross. I wasn't sure I would be able to keep myself sane enough not to become a threat for my family.

My mind drifted to the commanders I had to deal with, those I met on the Asian mainland, the local commanders in Subic Bay and the fleet officers who survived the intense fighting at sea and were now in the base, while their remaining ships were repairing and resupplying. I would be meeting them all in less than an hour and had to make up my mind before that, not to mention, have a plan on how to deal with them.

It was much easier said than done. In theory I could simply issue orders, and said orders should be obeyed. I wasn't just the dully appointed Theatre Commander, I was the Emperor's son, operating with his blessing. However, that mere fact combined with my youth and inexperience was another double-edged sword. There were some officers who would simply follow the chain of command no matter what, though for different reasons. Others would drag their feet and try to obscure any crazy plans coming from me in order to keep their subordinates from being pointlessly wasted, and while I could dismiss them, I actually needed them, especially their expertise and the fact that their soldiers had faith in them.

It was a sticky situation all around. Decisions, decisions…

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Part 4

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15 May 2009 A.T.B.

Admiral Graves Office

Subic Bay

Philippines

When Admiral Chelsea Williams laid her eyes upon her counterpart, who was in charge of Subic Bay, she wasn't impressed. Lucian Graves was a short plump man, who wore an impeccable uniform. Rumour had it that his appearance was fitting – he wasn't front-line commander, but instead a REMF happy to bury himself in the admittedly important details of logistics. Credit where credit was due, his people wasted no time in beginning repairs on her damaged ships, and the had all the spare parts and supplies her diminished fleet could use ready to be loaded the moment her Task Force arrived at the base.

Next came another REMF Flag Officer, the man who was until recently in charge of naval station Gawain on the Asian mainland, a base which was now demolished and abandoned to the Chinese and their Burmese allies. Admiral Stein at least cut the figure of a proper naval officer, for what little that was worth. The man nevertheless appeared weary and tired to the bone, though his eyes were sharp as he examined the officers gathered to meet the Theatre Commander.

An Air-Force General and full bird Colonel completed the top heavy brass roster – they were Howard Roberts and Karl Lombardi, respectively. Chelsea had heard good things about Roberts, he was supposed to be a steady and reliable commander. Colonel Lombardi on the other hand was quite young for his rank and from what she gathered, the senior air-force officer who survived from the forces which retreated from Burma. If she recalled correctly, he had been stationed at Gawain as another logistics officer.

A smattering of Captains completed the assembly – neither of them was an aide, nor there were any adjutants or junior officers. Williams could barely read the name of the short Captain, one K. Arnold, an intelligence officer, like his two other counterparts, whose names she couldn't make out. All of them had insignias signing them out as intelligence officers.

The flag officers exchanged greetings and a bit of wary small talk, which immediately put Chelsea on edge. Her fellow Admirals were both on edge and she wasn't ready to dismiss it as the fault of their precautions military position, especially now, when they were about to meet the Theatre Commander, who according to the rumour mill, was a direct representative of the Emperor. So politics, which was the last thing any of them needed given the situation.

Williams' first impression of the man in charge of all Imperial Forces in the Pacific was that this had to be some kine of joke or a mistake. He was young – young enough that he should at best be fresh out of a naval academy, not to mention he wasn't Navy!

"I'm Prince Delkatar li Britannia, Commander in Chief, Pacific Theatre of Operations." The boy said with a straight face. "It's high time we make some things clear between us, especially the 'secret' weapon we deployed against the Chinese."

Everyone saluted on reflex, even though Chelsea apparently wasn't the only one who struggled with her incredulity. Graves gaped like a fish out of water, and one of the intel weenies wasn't much better, though to their credit, both of them got themselves under control, fast.

"Your Highness..." Graves stammered, before swallowing, and clearing his throat. "We're at your disposal, Sire." He added in a steady tone.

"I hope so, for all our sakes. You've heard the news by now, I presume?" The Prince inquired, while examining everyone of the gathered men and women with piercing gaze.

"The Europeans are mobilizing, we'll be in a two front war soon." Admiral Stein said.

"Correct. I don't need to spell out the implications for you, especially those that impact us directly, do I?"

"We need to hold the Philippines at all costs and neutralize the enemy naval forces in the Pacific." Surprisingly enough, that came from Graves.

"That's a part of it. We also need to either capture Japan's Sakuradite mines and secure a steady supply of it to the mainland, barring that, neutralize them for the foreseeable future, which means a successful invasion and at least a large scale raid upon one of Japan's main islands. The clock is ticking and time is against us. We don't have the luxury or playing things safe." li Britannia explained.

Williams could see where he was coming from – a two front war was going to stretch the navy terribly thin, making a victory questionable at best. On the other hand, any high risk-high reward gambles could see them lose the war in a single afternoon. She said so aloud. At least his assessment of the situation was rather to the point, especially for someone so junior, especially considering that he was army, not navy, which was better than she honestly expected coming from the royal boy.

"Sir, our best option with the forces at our disposal would be a series of indecisive engagements aimed at weakening the enemy until we're in a better position to seek a decisive battle. Even when the rest of Third Fleet arrives, we'll be at a significant numerical disadvantage, and that's not counting any losses we might suffer over the next ten days."

"You're technically correct, not to mention the possibility that the enemy sorties to intercept our first reinforcement wave and manages to neutralize it." li Britannia actually agreed with her, which took Chelsea aback. "Pursuing conventional engagement, especially a decisive battle at sea in the foreseeable future is the height of folly."

Williams was relieved that the Prince could see that much sense, then his next words dashed her hopes.

"Nevertheless, that's our best option given the strategic situation and the course of action we'll have to pursue. The good news is that we won't be going for a conventional engagement, not quite." li Britannia added with a wintry smile. "The primary issue we'll have is baiting the enemy to offer us the decisive battle we desire."

"The weapon you deployed during the air-raid you led against the Chinese." Admiral Stein concluded. "We have more of those devices?"

The Prince didn't immediately answer but instead carefully examined every single one of the officers present in the office.

"What I'm about to tell you doesn't leave these walls without either my explicit permission or a direct order from the Emperor. It is the reason why the Emperor put me in charge of our forces in the Pacific. I hope you all appreciate the trust we put in you by making you aware of the nature of our secret weapon." The Prince stated. He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them again a heartbeat later, they glowed with soft orange light. There was something in his gaze, which sent chills running up and down Chelsea's spine.

The Prince raised a hand and Williams gasped when she felt her body move. She looked around wide-eyed to see that everyone but li Britannia was floating a pace above the ground.

"I am said secret weapon, which required my presence during the various air-strikes I led." li Britannia slowly lowered his hand and everyone floated down on unsteady feet.

Chelsea could see her own shock and disbelief mirrored on the faces of her fellow officers who warily glanced between each other and the Prince.

"I believe some further explanation is in order." li Britannia spoke calmly as if he didn't just do the impossible!