Despite the very real difference between the lavishly equipped forces he had been given, and the barely surviving but nevertheless proud remnants he had spent the last 7 years commanding, Field Marshal Tatewaki Katase nevertheless found himself missing his previous command.

Yes the Japanese Liberation Front had been a mere shadow of the force that had failed to prevent the invasion of his country. But despite the weakness of his forces, he had been more or less granted a boon that every competent military officer wished for.

An independent command free of any outside influence.

Yes he had to occasionally bow to the whims of Kyoto, but as long as he followed their guidelines of keeping Japanese civilian casualties to a minimum, he was largely free to conduct his campaign however he wished.

But after successfully escaping Japan after the latest Britannian attempt to snuff out the remaining embers of resistance, Katase was reintroduced to a concept that made him wish he had been aboard the European bound escape craft instead of the one that had landed in China.

Political oversight.

For unlike the armed forces of the Reich and, to a lesser degree Britannia, the Chinese Federation detested officers that displayed initiative and independent thinking.

Instead, the majority of China's military leadership was comprised of sycophantic political appointees, whose only real experience in the arts of combat was ordering troops to squash the occasional protest movement that sought to actually improve the lot of the average citizen.

And for those that actually showed a modicum of competence, they had the honor of having of having political commissars ensuring that their commands followed the strict guidelines that had been established by the Eunuch Council.

It was an atmosphere that greatly disgusted the veteran Japanese solider, but what was worse was that some of his countrymen actually seemed to enjoy this rather inefficient arrangement.

And since Atushi Sawaski was the highest ranking member of the former Japanese Government, at least the faction that hadn't followed the example of Prime Minister Kururugi and switched their defiant stance to one of shameful surrender, that meant that he had both the rank, and influence to ensure that the newly created Japanese Liberation Army would follow the Chinese model.

Of course with nearly 90% of the 70,000 man army being Chinese soldiers, not to mention every piece of equipment possessed by the army was designed and produced by the Federation, this level of interference was to be expected.

And he was grateful that the de jure political leader of Japan had granted him the rank of Field Marshal in order to lead this impressive force.

But the man's attitude managed to revive his distaste in politicians who believed that they had the skills to conduct a military campaign despite lacking any experience in the field.

"I must say Field Marshal that the plan you have submitted to me is rather...lacking when it comes to imagination. With the amount of troops that have been placed under your command, not to mention the support we have received from our Chinese allies, I would have expected something a little more...audacious".

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, if only because he rightfully suspected that such an act of disrespect would result in Sawaski appointing a far less experienced and capable man to lead the liberation of their country, Katase kept his tone even as he tried to reduce the danger to what was already a risky operation.

"With respect Secretary Sawaski, given that most of my troops will be comprised of those who do not have a...spiritual interest in liberating Japan, and will be fielding weapons that are slightly less...capable than what I am used to, I deemed it more practical to adopt a more conservative strategy".

As expected, his attempts to use logic and reason to make his political superior understand their situation was not only less than successful, but also revealed that flaw that was possessed by all politicians who demanded military action, but had never once been in a position where their lives had been at risk.

"There is some truth to your words Field Marshal. Indeed, the Chinese solider and his equipment pales in comparison to those that have been born and produced in the land of the rising sun. But their value lies not in the quality of their contribution to our cause, but their quantity".

Though he hated to admit that there was some merit to the Federation's policy when it came to waging war, Katase was not in a good position to reject it.

Which allowed Sawaski to continue explaining his vision for the upcoming campaign.

"Given the efforts of your valiant command, and I suppose that ridiculous upstart Zero, the Britannian garrison will no doubt find it difficult to contest our invasion without fatally crippling their ability to maintain order in the cities. And since we can better achieve this by making them divide their forces even further, I believe that our chances for success will be better if we attempt a less...concentrated approach".

Frowning as he considered the implications of such a strategy, for in truth it would mean that the invasion force would have little strength to contest the inevitable Britannian counterattacks once they managed to fight their way off the beaches, Katase attempted to make one last attempt to prevent this disaster.

"Then might I suggest a different approach to this strategy Mr. Secretary? Given that the Britannian garrison is more than capable of preventing a solitary landing, and possesses a greater capability to contain and eliminate multiple lodgements than we do in expanding them, I believe that we should limit the opening stages of Japan's liberation to 2 principal landings".

Noticing the less than pleased expression that was currently being adopted by the career politician, the aging Field Marshal rushed to expand upon his vision.

"You are right in thinking that Cornelia would ensure that she retained enough forces to ensure she has no problems in the rear. But since, as you've said, we have plenty of expendable troops under our command, why don't we employ them in an elaborate bluff? If we make the Britannians believe that we are concentrating all of our military might into a single punch, they..".

"They will draw all their available reserves to that area, ensuring that the second landing is met with little to no opposition. Yes, I do see your point Field Marshal".

Pleased though he was at his efforts to make Sawaski seriously consider his alterations to the upcoming invasion, Katase experienced a very real pang of dread as the man gave his approval.

"Yes, I do believe that such a plan will work in our favor Field Marshal. Cause after all, if a bunch of lower class civilians and European degenerates can embarrass the most competent leaders spawned by that lecherous tyrant, I suspect that the descendants of the samurai, aided by our generous, but less than competent Chinse allies, will prove more than a match for Britannia".

Katase wasn't sure which was worse.

That a man who had never held a military command was casually ignoring the past victories of Britannia's most successful military leaders. Or the fact that he still clung to the belief that the Reich and Federation's status as world powers was a result of luck, or having gotten the better of a weakly led opponent.

But as a Japanese Army officer, and more importantly as a military officer under the command of a puppet of the Chinese Federation, the only thing Katase could do was to ensure that Sawaski's racism and sense of importance didn't have too big of an impact on the upcoming invasion.

...

Though he knew such an act would be frowned upon regardless of which nation he chose to serve, Strumbannfuhrer Kuribayashi nevertheless felt the very real desire to get down on his knees and kiss the soil beneath his boots.

Not only because he was once again on the sacred soil of Japan, but also because he no longer had to torture himself with the constant reminder that he was a solider. Not a sailor.

A trait that was not only amusingly enough shared by most of his recently disembarked command, but also rudely commented on by one of the more outspoken members of his welcoming committee.

"These are the reinforcements that bastard Krueger decides to send us? I dunno Ohgi. They look more like a drunken rabble than experienced soldiers".

Eyes narrowing as he stared at the soon to be executed fool, the middle aged officer nodded his head in approval as this disrespect was dealt with by not only his commanding officer, who looked more like a school teacher than a solider, but also by a voice he had not heard since before the invasion.

"Tamaki be quiet".

"Private Shincichiro! You dishonor not only yourself, but also your comrades with this behavior".

Pleased to see that the discipline of the Japanese Army was still maintained by those that had had the honor of performing their duty in the Land of the Rising Sun, Kuribayashi ignored the indignant fool as he saluted his former comrade.

"Sturmbannfuhrer Kuribayashi. Commanding officer of the 3rd company of the Nippon Regiment. And former Captain of the Army of Japan. At your service General".

Keeping his face blank as Todoh returned his salute, the Japanese Waffen ISD Officer allowed a grin to cross his features as he heard the leader of the JLF remark on his appearance.

"My god Tadamichi, after all these years, you still believe that a slight growth above your lip is fashionable".

Chuckling at the man's teasing observation, Kuribayashi couldn't help but make his own observation regarding his smirking friend's appearance.

"And your posture still makes me question if perhaps our old drill instructor secretly carried out his threat to replace your spine with a flag pole".

His words earning a dry bark of laughter from Todoh, as well as looks of surprise from the formerly glaring members of the JLF, KuribayashiI adopted a more serious expression as he heard the less than respectful mutterings of a man who had already proven Japan's desperate need for properly trained soldiers.

"Man this sucks. Bad enough that this guy abandoned his country to fight for someone else. But to act all buddy buddy with the General when he hasn't done anything worth mentioning li...".

"YOU! Step forward".

Eyes narrowing as he took in the appearance of the less than immaculate condition of the pitiful excuse for a solider, the Japanese born Sturmbannfuhrer wasted no time in enjoying the privilege that was granted to every officer.

Reminding the lower ranks of their place.

"What is your name and rank solider"?

Though his words managed to cause the scruffy looking man to flinch, the answer Kuribayashi received was less than satisfying.

"Shinichiro Tamaki. And as for my rank, its none of your damn business your fu..".

SMACK

Frowning in disgust as the man crumpled from what would have been considered a love tap from his old drill instructor, the grey uniformed officer turned towards the no longer smiling features of his former classmate.

"I know that you've had to relax some standards since the occupation of our country. But to let those who aren't even fit for latrine duty believe they are proper soldiers? I can only say that if I had known how desperate you were for manpower, I would have convinced my superiors to give you a regiment instead of a single company".

His words earning a slight sigh from the higher ranked officer, Kuribayashi, as well as the more decorated members of Todoh's escort, released a scoff of disgust as the perpetually frowning man gave his reply.

"Sadly old friend you are mistaken. While Tamaki's conduct is unbefitting of a Japanese solider, he is only under my command on a temporary basis thanks to the agreement with our local...allies".

The Japanese born Strumbannfuhrer had been previously informed that Todoh's so called allies were far less selective when it came to recruitment. But he didn't think that the Black Knights would resort to recruiting scum who were barely fit for latrine duty.

However, Kuribayashi decided to keep this opinion to himself for the moment since there were more important matters to attend to.

"I see. Well I suppose having an additional laborer wouldn't help. While our European comrades were nice enough to bring us home, the understanding was that we would be relying on...local talent to secure our supplies".

Gesturing to the large containers that rested behind his men, the mustached officer enjoyed the looks that were being worn by his fellow countryman as he explained what he had brought with him.

"General Todoh, in order to help free our homeland from the boot of Britannia, I bring you not only 150 battled tested Japanese soldiers, but also the tools we will nee to drive the invader from our country".

Though uncomfortable at such boasting displays, Kuribayashi nevertheless knew that it was his to duty to explain what he had brought to augment his friend's slowly rebuilding force.

"16 knightmares, evenly divided between the current Panzer and Viking models. Enough munitions and spare parts to keep them active for at least a year if supply lines to Europe become more tenuous. And last but not least, enough anti knightmare rockets to arm an entire prewar battalion".

Pleased to see that this announcement was met with enthusiastic grins from his countrymen, for the European designed weapon had earned a well deserved reputation of increasing the chances of survival if there were no allied knightmares to offer support, Kuribayashi watched in silence as Todoh gave the silent order to have his men secure this rather precious gift.

For while his European superiors could easily afford to part with what they no doubt viewed to be a miniscule amount of arms, the Japanese soldiers, both those who had stayed to continue the fight on their native soil, and those that had fought the Britannian enemy on foreign soil, had learned to treat every piece of military hardware like a irreplaceable treasure.

And considering the nature of their enemy, no one doubted that they would soon need every weapon they could get their hands on.

...

"What did you say Lieutenant"?

Doing her best to keep her hands from reaching for her pistol, if only because the man in front of her bore no responsibility for this...travesty, Cornelia allowed some of her fury to cool as the unfortunate messenger informed her of what his superiors were too cowardly to do.

"Com..Commodore Adams reports that one of the ships in his flotilla had briefly picked up 5 unidentified contacts heading towards the general direction of the Sendai District. And that...".

Though she could understand the junior officer's hesitance in continuing, the purple haired princess was in no mood to put up with the usual cowardice that most people experienced when faced with her displeasure.

"And WHAT Lieutenant"?

Allowing the unfortunate messenger a moment to gulp in fear, Cornelia all but snarled at the man's less than pleasing answer.

"And that 6 hours after he lost tract of, one of his ships managed to briefly regain contact right before they managed to disappear into the northern end of the Greater Mariana Trench".

Gritting her teeth as she realized the ramifications of such a breach in their defences, Cornelia managed to keep a tight lid on her temper as Euphie, who had been nice enough to try and dissolve the remaining tension that still lingered despite Schneziel's reassurances , posed a question of her own.

"Is it possible that what Commodore Adams heard was a pod of diving whales"?

Unsure if she should smile or sigh at her sister's theory, the purple haired royal was prevented from correcting her sister thanks to the not entirely unexpected interruption of a certain pain in her ass.

"Highly unlikely your highness. Yes their population has taken a turn for the better since the occupation all but killed the market for ambergris, and other products derived from the processing of marine mammals. But if our soon to be demoted Commodore did in fact run across some whales, they would have been picked up by more than one vessel".

Grateful that Nonette had the manners to treat Euphie's question seriously despite it's naivety, Cornelia's already bad day quickly became worse as her brother decided to interject.

"Which sadly leaves us with only one viable conclusion. Someone has managed to successfully slip past our naval patrol".

Though annoyed at Schneizel's rather obvious statement, for it highlighted the problem without offering anything helpful, Cornelia was somewhat mollified at the reminder that an intelligent mind existed within her childish friend.

"But the question is who? Since most of the Chinese Fleet is basically garbage, that leaves either the Reich, the Australian Confederation, or even our own Nation. God knows that there's more than one royal that wouldn't mind replacing the pair of you as the Emperor's favorite".

Though she knew Nonette had a point in mentioning their half siblings, who for the most part didn't realize the risk of catching the interest of their father, Cornelia had to reject that option.

"I think the previous options are more likely than the last one. Though I do not doubt that the majority our siblings are somewhat...jealous of the positions both Schneizel and I have achieved, their...rankings ensure that they have little military power to interfere with our operations".

Earning a slightly disappointed sigh from the lime haired woman, for Corenlia knew that Nonette thoroughly enjoyed the chance, rare though it was, to remind the more...egotistical members of the Royal Family that they were not the immoral gods they thought they were, the purple haired royal raised an eyebrow in surprise as her elder brother posed an opinion that she hadn't expected from him.

"And as much as I hate to admit it, I somewhat doubt that the Reich would do anything to sour relations with Britannia at this time. While I do not doubt that they have violated the terms of the Beijing Accords over the past few years, I do not believe they would risk the benefits that come from their...arrangement with father".

Though she hated to be reminded of Euphie's current situation, Cornelia had to admit that her brother's reasoning, as always, made a lot of sense.

And sadly, so did Nonette's.

"Which means that there is a good chance that Krueger is responsible since he knows that few people would suspect him of endangering his little arrangment. That being said, its also a good chance that the Chinese managed to cut some sort of trade deal in exchange for some modern ships".

Frowning as she was once again provided with a rather plausible excuse for this security breach, and noticing that the unfortunate messenger was still in the room, the purple hair royal quickly moved to ensure that her opponents would have little time to profit from their luck break.

"Lieutenant. You will carry a message to the commanders of the Sendai, and surrounding districts. They are to increase the alert levels of their troops, and to start discreetly shifting their men to the west. Understood"?

Receiving a firm nod from the understandably nervous officer, Cornelia swallowed her pride as she turned towards her half brother.

For despite the slightly stressful situation between the two of them, partly caused by his inability to do anything to convince their father of choosing a more...expendable sibling to offer up to the leader of the Reich, the purple haired princess could not deny 1 simple truth.

Wherever Schneizel went, he always brought at least 1 of his 'projects' with him.

...

Though she had expected her medical lackeys to make great strides in unraveling the secrets of her would be assassin, the blond haired leader of the ISD had to admit that she hadn't expected the nature of the report she was be.

"In conclusion Madam Director, thanks to a thorough study of the data we acquired from the...subject, we believe we can begin trials of replicating this...process within a months time".

Humming in approval at the efficiency of her underlings, Karina nevertheless raised an eyebrow as she pointed a finger at the brown haired doctor.

"I trust Dr. Randle that these tests of yours will also remove the...weakness of the original subject? If the intent is to create super soldiers, having them suffer heart failure while their performing a mission lowers their overall usefulness".

The black uniformed sadist had to give the older woman credit. For instead of flinching at the unspoken threat of what would happen if this 'design flaw' wasn't remove, the older woman simply accepted the order with a firm nod.

"I believe I have found a way to ensure that this wont happen. But until I get the results from the first batch of subjects, I can't provide any guarantee that the...issue has been resolved or not".

Accepting her answer with an amused hum, for she strongly suspected that more than a few medical guinea pigs were about to wish they had volunteered for a different way to absolve their sins against the state, Karina waved her hand in dismissal.

"Then its a good thing that your superior is a woman who can provide you with all the manpower you need for this little...experiment. Do keep me updated on your progress Sophie".

Receiving a slight bow of acknowledgement from the sadly married doctor, the 2nd most powerful leader of the New Europe waited until she was alone before she pulled out the latest report from the rotting corpse that called itself a superpower.

And as always, she summed up the key points of the document in a manner that highlighted the fact that she had been right to choose to follow in her late brother's footsteps instead of pursuing her parent's wishes of joining the E.U.'s diplomatic corps.

"Lets see. Continued famine in the western districts cause those dickless cowards continue to believe that collectivization is a faster method to line their pockets. Some sort of manufactured plague sweeping through Wuhan because the governor was beginning to actually care for his people. Martial law continues in India because the locals can't work fast enough to satisfy Beijing. And...well this is interesting".

Rereading the last important dispatch from her chief spy within the Chinese Federation, Karina was unsure if she should be angry or pleased with this latest piece of intel.

On one hand, hundreds, if not thousands of Britannian soldiers were about to die. And perhaps if she was lucky an equal number of civilians.

But on the other hand, Sawaski's little power grab would happen during a time when the Britannian Military wasn't locked in a life or death struggle with a more dangerous opponent.

And since Area 11 was currently playing host to the lime haired bitch and the closeted prince, the leader of the ISD suspect that the Japanese Puppet would perhaps have 1 or 2 days of triumph before his so called 'Liberation Army' was ground into dust.

The question was how to best take advantage of this upcoming situation?

She had plenty of ideas, but the final decision of what to do wasn't exactly hers to male thanks to Friedrich's developing...ties with one of the royals currently living in the soon to be battle zone.

But since she had plenty of 'weapons' in her arsenal to make her beloved Chancellor more agreeable to her suggestions, Karina knew that she could probably get him to agree to at least one of her less extreme solutions to this turn of events.

And if not, then at least she got to perform her preferred version of the 'Ride of the Valkyrie'.

...

Annnnnd I believe that's enough for now XD

Pleased with how this chapter turned out since it helps set the tone for the next part of the story, which, while still more or less following cannon, is starting to deviate more and more.

I promise that next chapter will see the Chinse backed invasion of Japan, albeit with some minor differences. Hopefully this will be able to be done in one chapter rather than multiple...but will see what happens.

And now to briefly summarize what has happened.

1st segment: Katase enjoying the 'benefits' of being subject to civilian/political authority again. From what we've seen, Kyoto group doesn't quite act like a government. Yes they can advise, supply funds and resources, but they had no DIRECT control over the JLF. And will gladly supply anyone who shows competence in fighting the Empire. The Chinese controlled puppets on the other hand...they are a government in exile, which means that they have the legal right to order around officers of the old Japanese military. And since freedom of action is something that a lot of governments are loath to give...especially those led by political leaders who believe that they know better than the officers in the field...think I have created a plausible scenario here XDDD

2nd segment: Pretty self explanatory I think. The Japanese Waffen ISD members meeting the JLF and some Black Knights personnel. Will expand on Todoh's past relationship with the man who in real life led the defence of Iwo Jima, but think I did an ok job of having a career military officer deal with a buffoon in the militia XD Tamaki is always good as a source of...comic relief XD

3rd segment: The Brits know that a small fleet of ships snuck in and out of Japan. Of course since its only one ship that could detect them, who may or may not have had a sonar technician named Jonesy on board XD, they don't have a lot of intel to go on, but its enough to make them wonder whats happening. Also believed it was a good time to reflect more on the perceived military capabilities of the Chinese Federation.

4th segment: just a bit of filler to move along the Reich's research into Geass. Since they only have the data from Rolo to work on, it will probably be less impressive than Britannia's, but still enough to perhaps create some sort of super solider program. Probably not Panzermench, but enough to give them an edge on the field of battle.

And now to respond to those who took to time to comment/ask questions.

Fuhrer of Europe: As always, I enjoy your comments, but cant say too much otherwise Id spoil it.

Chancellor ZVE: Chinese Air Ships? Probably not for a long while. And even then, they would base their design on the Nation that sold them such a vessel. With the exception of the Shen Hu, Chinese military equipment is designed to be either cheap or numerous. There will still be a traditional navy since aerial warships are just that. WARSHIPS. Believed I answered the Rolo question XD

Titanfire999: Might be possible to have a Ryan like character involved, but have yet to make a decision either way lol.

War Sage: I had some ideas of what to do with Australia and New Zealand. Nothing too concrete at this time, but will address them in future. And as for Reich knowledge on Thought Elevators...all I will say at this point is maybe XD

Fortitude501: You are correct. The idea of a Japanese Solider abandoning their position and country is the height of dishonor. HOWEVER...if they were ordered to 'advance to the rear', or 'safeguard fleeing citizens of Japan", that might be seen differently. Promise to expand in next chapter.

Imperial Warlord: When it comes to Marianne...V.V. is not the only one who believes the saying regarding fruit falling from trees XD

Anyways, that's all for now. Hope you enjoyed.

Reviews yes...flames and insults no

Heil Europa