It was finally the time all the recruits had been waiting for. Graduation. It was a shame that barely half of the cadets managed to pass. Lelouch sat in the front of the stage with twenty one other nervous cadets. He couldn't help but reflect on how he came to the verge of finishing the training program.

The trainees had been anxious that morning. It was the last official day of training. They hadn't known what to expect before sergeant Andover started pulling people out one by one. It hadn't lessened the tension, especially when the first people pulled hadn't come back. The men couldn't help but picture one final surprise test that the sergeant would instigate. The idea was plausible with how the sergeant behaved. He had consistently pulled random tests on them to make sure they were prepared for any situation. Lelouch wouldn't put it past the man to try and mess with them at least one more time. The prince slumped on his bed waiting for the sergeant to do his worst.

After a nightmarish wait Lelouch was left with only one other cadet in the barracks. Rai had already disappeared outside after being called by the sergeant. The look his friend had sent him, as he walked with Andover, was one of fear mixed with excitement. The prince empathized with the feeling when the drill sergeant had come for him. It was a little strange thinking he wouldn't see the barracks again although he didn't feel any nostalgia like at Ashford. With notable exception of meeting Rai, this place had been a hellhole to Lelouch, and he would be happy to never think of it again.

He entered the office to be confronted by Andover with two other military officials. They were both a little older but seemed to be important. Lelouch sat down when they offered and let them speak their piece. He was told that his final scores had been enough to warrant his ascension into knighthood. A smirk appeared on his face as they outlined how the ceremony would go later in the afternoon. He tried to read Andover's face to be met with an impassive gaze that would impress the prime minister. The man could have a future in politics after he was done with the military. He left the office with his things and went to change into formal attire while dialing his mother to tell her the good news.

After a few unsuccessful attempts the prince hung up the phone and shoved it in his pocket. It was unlike Marianne to not answer. She might not have been like the girl's at Ashford, who were constantly texting on their phones, but this was the first time Lelouch had even heard his mother's voicemail box. He could only head into the graduation chambers.

When Lelouch had entered the room he was taken aback by the sight. The ceremony had more pomp and flare than the prince had been expecting. There were multiple video cameras along with a large crowd. The stage was bigger than he had expected with an enormous Britannian flag hanging in the background.

The flag was an intricate piece of Britannian history. It had a blue background with a red cross dividing it into quarters. In the middle was a crest wearing a crown and laurel wreath, featuring a lion and snake. Many scholars had tried to analyze the meaning of the flags but most just spouted the same tired Darwinist phrases. They would say it meant the strong devour the weak with the lion representing the strong while the snake meant to devour. In truth that was only part of the puzzle. Schneizel had informed the younger prince about the other lesser known meaning.

While the lion did represent power people tended to misinterpret the snake. A snake was known to devour but its main characteristics were cunning and ambition. The snake was nothing if not pragmatic. To show them of equal height on the flag was to condone victory by any means necessary. The end justified the means and if power couldn't deliver victory then one would turn to resourcefulness.

Both animals were hunters and yet they accomplished their goals in different ways. The true Britannian could play in either fashion, as the strong lion or the manipulative snake. It might just have been his brother's theory but Lelouch could see the logic behind his words.

Lelouch took brisk steps passing by plenty of people as he plopped onto his assigned seat at the end of the first row. There was little chance that the people here were just family and friends. There were too many. Either there was to be a guest speaker for the ceremony or someone had found out he was a prince.

A lump had appeared in his throat at the thought of the latter. He hadn't specifically ordered Rai not to tell anyone about how he was a prince so there might've been a chance he told some of the others. Lelouch frowned realizing his mistake.

He wondered if this was an insight to Rai's true character. The prince didn't need soldiers who would be hounds for the media, but somehow thinking of Rai like that seemed, off. The prince thought he had a good read on his squad mate. The white haired boy didn't act like the type to go about gossiping.

There were positives about the whole circus. It meant Nunnally and Euphy might get a chance to see him on tv. Then again they wouldn't know the day he was graduating so they probably wouldn't even know. He had forgotten to phone Jeremiah to relay him the news. It was past that chance now so there was no reason to reflect on it. It was just about time for the ceremony to start.

One of the officers Lelouch had spoken to earlier approached the podium on center stage. He looked like a grizzled old veteran. His hair was gray and he was missing a part of his nose while sporting an eye patch. He had numerous medals pinned to his chest to show what he had received for his sacrifices.

"I'd like to welcome all of the family and friends gathered here today to celebrate the acceptance of these men into the knightmare core. It is a prestigious honor only given to those stout of heart. Those few men who can wade through that which would break lesser men and come out better for it.

Today we have a guest speaker that truly knows the rigors of knightmare based warfare. She is one of the top pilots and has commanded more victories than any other person in history. It is my great pleasure to introduce her Majesty, Empress Vi Britannia."

A roar went through the crowd at Lelouch's heart fell to the ground. This couldn't be happening. He imagined a camera zooming in on his face with some dude yelling out he'd 'been 'punked'. Alas it was not to be. A group of men escorted a sole woman onto the stage. There could be no mistaking that visage. Mostly because if he grew his hair out he'd be the striking image of his mother.

She walked with a dignity most didn't possess, accented by her military uniform. To see her was to be in awe of her. Lelouch had always been envious of his mother for that. While he had to use logic and skills to shine, his mother simply had to be.

Marianne adjusted the microphone on the podium as her eyes scanned the crowd. She gave a light smile as her eyes met her son's. Lelouch broke contact first looking away to his fellow graduates. All of them were enraptured, even Rai.

"Thank you. I am pleased to be celebrating the graduation of the future knight of Britannia. These men should all take pride in their hard work and discipline that led them to this stage. To be a Britannian knight is to be among the most elite units in the world. But what exactly is a knight?

A knight is a paragon of the Britannian military. They exemplify what is best in our society. A knight is brave, a person that will stand against millions if need be. A knight is just, a person that will always keep to their moral code. A knight is humble, a person who understands their limitations. A knight is strong, a person who can refine themselves into a weapon and force their will upon others.

These men have been judged and found not to be wanting. As in accordance with the most noble and ancient tradition, the men before you will become knights in name and station. Rise and come before me," Marianne ordered. She raised her hand for dramatic effect and the crowd went nuts.

The graduates all stood and formed a line. Naturally Lelouch was at the back of the line. He wasn't sure if it was because of his last name or executive meddling.

Only one cadet would be allowed on stage at a time with the others waiting by the ramp up to the stage. The recruits would kneel before the empress and say the words. When they had finished Marianne would touch their shoulders with a blade and dub them Sir whatever their name.

Lelouch couldn't help but chuckle in the back when he saw his mother's assistant. She was off to the side, out of view to the cameras. If Marianne hadn't habitually glanced over to her as the recruits approached the empress, the prince might not have noticed. The assistant had been holding signs of the name for whatever individual had come on stage.

His mother had always been awful with remembering names. Marianne tended to stick with a person title or pronouns. It didn't help that outside of family and the knights of the round everyone around her constantly changed. Lelouch had yet to see an assistant make it through a year of service. It was always the same reason too. The servant would accept an invitation to something the empress didn't want to go to. Lelouch would have almost expected that was what had happened here, if he wasn't present.

No, his mother had definitely planned this out. She had a telling glint in her eye. The type of sparkle a person only gets when a plan goes perfectly right. It was an expression he was fond of himself but disliked seeing in others. Especially Schniezel.

After waiting for the better part of an hour all of the cadets in front of him had become knights. All of them either looked completely emotionless or were beaming. Rai had been one of the latter. The blonde boy gave Lelouch a subtle thumbs-up as the prince made his way onto the stage.

Lelouch reached the end of the red carpet that led to his mother. He couldn't help making eye contact with her before kneeling. It was considered a breach of etiquette to look upon your lord's face before knighting but Lelouch didn't care. He sank to one knee and bent his head as tradition demanded.

He could feel his mother's gaze bore into the top of his head. She was enjoying this far too much. Lelouch had never been one for basking in the spotlight. For a common blood royalty to bring attention to yourself was practically asking for harassment. While Lelouch wouldn't mind destroying most of the other royals, it wasn't prudent to engage them all at once.

His mother shared a different opinion of being a celebrity. Marianne had been the star of Britannia for quite some time. Military matters were constantly the headlines on the news and Marianne frequently was the cover story.

After seeing the achievements of the new weapon the knightmare frame the pilots were plastered over all the recruitment ads. A regular citizen couldn't go two days without seeing Marianne or Bismarck.

If that wasn't enough the emperor had also taken an interest in her. Rumors of the whirlwind romance and subsequent marriage had vaunted Marianne's name to legendary status. Not only was she the original pilot for the knightmares turned knight of the round, but she also was one of three commoners to become royalty in Britannian history.

Thus Marianne was quite comfortable with the exposure. The only problem was the royal families that were nobility before marriage to the emperor were disgruntled by the attention the commoners were getting. They used to call them the Cinderella story. It was funny that most of them didn't understand if the vi Britannia line was Cinderella then they were the evil step family.

Marianne didn't take the nickname with grace. Turning the other cheek was not exactly a common practice in Britannia. So what did the empress do? Would she beat the stuffing out of them or demolish their homes with her knighmare?

Nope. Marianne decided to get them where it would hurt the most. Their pride. Now she actively cultivated her image, announcing wherever she would go so the media would be ready. Every front page story was a slap in the face to the nobles with prejudices against her. Meanwhile a good deal of the nobility had jumped on the bandwagon and supported the upstart empress. Now, in front of everyone, she was doing it again. Using this ceremony to display the promising star of the vi Britannia line, Lelouch.

"Lelouch vi Britannia, will you, upon this day, pledge fealty to Britannia? To become her knight and champion?" the empress asked. Both the empress and prince had kept their faces blank at the announcement of his name. They were the only ones in the room who could say that.

A collective gasp echoed through the room as the prince's name was mentioned. The cameras zoomed in capturing the mother and son. There were even a few flashes from pictures being taken.

"Yes, your Highness," Lelouch answered. His voice was composed despite the chaos around him. Lelouch had half a mind to stop and try and get people thrown out, but that wouldn't look good on video. He could just imagine the backlash and headlines, Common Prince rejects roots.

"Will you become her sword and strike those who would oppose her? Will you become her shield and defend her with your life?" She asked. At this point the answers were automatic.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Your sword," Marianne whispered holding out her hand.

Lelouch slid the ceremonial blade out of its scabbard. Before the ceremony all the cadets had received similar blades and were instructed to only draw it when asked. It was a thin piece of metal meant only for cosmetic purposes. If you tried to slash with it you were more likely to bend the blade than cut the target. Most soldiers would hang it above a fireplace or another place of honor.

She took the handle of the sword before raising it up to her face. The sword cut her smile in half. She lowered the blade tapping the left shoulder, followed by the right and top of his head.

"I dub thee Sir Lelouch vi Britannia, knight of the realm. Rise young knight. Go forth and do thy bidding of the empire," the empress announced.

The prince rose to thunderous applause stashing the sword by his waist. He turned on his heel and joined his fellow knights in line. The empress officially presented the 87th Knightmare Corps to the audience. The cameras that were taping in the back closed up on the faces of the men, stopping on Lelouch.

With a wave of her hand Marianne dismissed the troop off stage and to their families. Lelouch was the only one to remain on the platform. If he left there was no doubt he would be mobbed by the crowd. Instead he leveled his gaze at his mother and followed her backstage.

He had intended to ask her what the hell she was doing when he was crushed by her embrace. He felt all of the air leave his body as he struggled to get free. Marianne strength was such she could make a bear cry in one of her hugs.

He was startled that his mother would show affection in public. Even if they weren't currently on display this was considered public by royal standard. It wasn't as if she had never hugged him in public before but he was much younger then. Once you hit a certain age outward displays of love were squashed under a masquerade of elegance.

"I'm so proud of you. I just wish your sisters could have attended. No need for you to worry though, the camera crew is giving me a recording of the ceremony," Marianne exclaimed. It was a far cry from the conversation they had when he had told her he wanted to become a knight.

It was rare for Lelouch to ask Marianne for midday tea. Then again it was rare for Lelouch to be home at midday. The teen had not stopped his gambling ways just because he was home. The boy thought he was clever enough to escape the villa but Marianne always noticed.

She approved of the hobby though. It was strange to say that any mother would approve of her son gambling. It might've been a different story if he actually lost, but to the best of her knowledge he had won every bet he had made, accruing a decent sum of money for himself. It was a good thing he never made a wager against Schneizel.

The sun was blazed far too bright today for the empress's liking. She was glad her son was waiting for her under the gazebo instead of out on the porch. With their pasty complexions they both would have roasted before too long.

Lelouch sat alone at the table stirring the spoon in his cup. He stood from his chair as she approached as any proper gentleman should. It tipped his hand.

The prince had never been one to maintain formality in private. The practice had been an insistence of hers. After all if the children were formal in private they would assuredly be formal in public. She made them adhere to it for a few years before trusting them to act with decorum in various situations. The children had dropped the formality at home with posthaste.

Now that he was acting formal with her it meant one of three things. He had gotten himself into trouble, he was asking for something, or he wanted to convey utter sincerity.

He greeted her before pouring a cup of tea. She accepted it graciously smelling the jasmine tea as it crossed her palms. Lelouch was buttering her up with her favorite tea. They sat for a moment in comfortable silence sipping tea and nibbling on muffins before the prince spoke up.

"Mother I've decided to enlist in the military and become a KMF pilot," Lelouch declared. There was no reluctance in his voice. If there had been Marainne would've attacked it, forcing her son to see reason.

She had been surprised, but anyone would have. Few members of royalty were ever knighted. It was often seen as pointless considering it wasn't required to become a general in the military. Cornelia was the head of the regular army herself and she was never knighted.

Only the heirs who were so far from the throne that a giant bomb would have to level Pendragon for them to become emperor would even think about becoming knights. The reason was simple. All knights were not only risking themselves on the front lines, but they also vowed to protect the emperor. Protect not become. Essentially it was a death sentence to the hope of becoming emperor.

"You do understand what you are saying correct?" Marianne asked. The intensity in her gaze was daunting. It was as if she was looking through him, searching for an answer.

Lelouch gave a curt nod to which the empress sighed. She had always held the secret hope that her son would put his brilliance to use in the game of thrones. There were only a few power players in the royal children and as of now the title of true heir was still up for grabs. She was positive that with Lelouch's talent and brains he could be victorious among all the candidates. There was only one real question to ask.

"Why?"

Lelouch might be old enough to make life decision for himself, but Marianne needed to know the reason he had chosen this path. She could not, in good conscious, support him without an adequate answer.

Lelouch bit his tongue for a moment. It was the one question he knew his mother would have. It was the one question he had been preparing himself for.

"I could give the generic answer. To show Britannia greatness or other rubbish along those lines. I could even spout that Darwinism mantra that the emperor seems so attached to. That's probably all I'm going to hear from the others."

"If I had to say one thing I'm fighting for it's Nunnally and Euphy. I don't like how the world is. I don't like the empire's motto. If the strong are the only ones that survive what will happen to Euphy and Nunnally? They'll be cast aside. I am going to make sure that doesn't happen. For that I'll need power. More than the power of a mere prince. The power only those in the military have," Lelouch finished. Leave it to the prince to do anything to accommodate his sisters. Marianne wondered if he even realized how much he doted on them.

"What about the emperor? You know you'll be pledging service to him," Marianne countered. That would be the crux of it all. Lelouch's dislike of his father was no secret to Marianne. The prince would have trouble swearing loyalty to him.

"I see it more as swearing an oath to Britannia more than the emperor. It is more of the throne I am protecting. After all he won't be emperor forever."

Marianne could accept that answer.

After an eventful day all Lelouch wanted to do was faceplant into his pillow and have his dreams whisk him away. Unfortunately for the prince he still had a final thing to finish. He pulled out his new phone he had bought and reached for his old contact information from his bag.

The phone rang a few times before a sweet voice answered on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Hey Euphy it's Lelouch. Nunnally wouldn't happen to be with you would she?"

"Yeah she's here. I'm not sure if she wants to speak to you though. We haven't heard a word from you in over a month!" the pink haired princess complained.

"Sorry about that, I guess I should explain. Put me on speaker so Nunnally doesn't headbutt you while trying to listen," the prince commanded.

Despite their sly attempts Lelouch had heard the two sets of breathing on the phone. Either Euphy had just come back from running and was exhausted, or Nunnally was listening too. The princess huffed before clicking the intercom button.

"Thanks. I apologize for my lack of contact recently but it has been for a good reason. Do you both remember how I had told you both about how I was joining the military once I graduated?" He waited for a reply but received silence so he continued. "Well I decided to graduate early and go straight into the military. That's why I haven't been able to call. I was in training."

The princesses unleashed a barrage of criticisms at him. He didn't even know where they had learned such creative insults. He might've slightly underestimated how much they enjoyed attending school with him.

"Are you both finished?" the prince asked exasperated by their response. He hadn't made the call to only catch up. He had something important he needed to tell them.

Nunnally grumbled in the background about a stupid, insensitive, aloof brother while Euphy huffed out a continue. A knot furled in Lelouch's stomach knowing he was about to take the brunt of their anger.

"Like I was saying before now that I have finished training I am to be deployed," Lelouch explained. He could hear the nothing on the other line. They all knew what it meant. Their brother was not going to be home for a long time.

Tours could last anywhere from six months to a couple of years. The only time they were shorter was when Britannia managed to demolish their foes. Depending on where he was shipped it was a possibility. If he wasn't stationed by the EU or the Chinese Federation there was a good chance he wouldn't be gone long.

Euphy mustered up the courage to ask first. "Where are you being sent?"

"North Africa," Lelouch uttered with the solemnity of an epithet.

The two sisters had polar responses. Nunnally had rejoiced not noticing the inflection in her brother's voice. As far as she knew it was a win. Lelouch had not been sent directly into the EU or China, so the odds of him coming back soon were good. The youngest sister jumped on the bed while the older one sat holding the phone.

She knew the implications of what her half-brother had really said. Despite the fact that Euphy had held the military with less esteem than her older sister, that didn't stop Cornelia from constantly informing her about the status of the military.

The young chief would occasionally tell her sister opinions on some soldiers. She would normally go on rants about some members of the knights of the round. She didn't like most of them simply because they could circumvent any order she gave them. They were wildcards directly under the control of the emperor.

Her sister consistently mentioned two in particular. Nonette Enneagram was one such focus of her sister's ire.

That relationship had gone back years to when Cornelia was in military school and Nonette was her senior. Euphy had never seen her sister openly fear anyone other than Marianne until then. The other woman had a knack for aggravating her sister but was one of the few people Cornelia wouldn't dare to retaliate against. A list of people that only included Marianne and the Emperor himself.

It didn't take long to find out why. Nonette was simply the best at everything she had put her mind to, at least according to Cornelia. During their whole tenure at school the soon to be Goddess of Victory didn't manage to glean a single win against her senior. From what she had been told by Lelouch there hadn't been a discrete amount of challenges. An easy way to ensure a foul mood from Cornelia was to simply mention Nonette, a fact Lelouch had enjoyed entirely too much.

Cornelia had bided her time in hopes of becoming the commander of her rival. Then before Cornelia was named general Nonette got herself promoted to the knight of nine. However Nonette was nothing compared to the other knight.

The knight of ten was quickly becoming infamous throughout Britannia. His operations were held as the highest casualty battle throughout the world. The man didn't accept surrender from his enemies or his subordinates. To show a white flag on either side was to put yourself in the knight's crosshairs.

He had earned the moniker Vampire of Britannia due to the fact he was always surrounded by blood. He would hold the lines until reinforcement would arrive instead of regrouping to save soldiers. He had never lost a battle though even with extremely high cost. His methods didn't matter to most. Winning was everything in Britannia and so long as Luciano Bradley won he would not be held accountable for his crimes. Only those that had family who served under him would have a true opinion of the man.

Those were the two commanders in the North Africa area claim. There was only one more question to ask. The princess had to pry her hand from her mouth to get out the question. It was as if her own body was trying to stop her from learning the answer.

"Who is your commander?" Euphy quivered, failing to keep the dread out of her voice. If there was any mercy in this world she prayed her gut was wrong.

"Luciano Bradley."

Author Note: I'm not dead! Although it has been far too long since my last update and I apologize profusely. I am very excited that I am finally done with the buildup. The pace is going to be ramped up and there will be more enticing chapters kind of like this one.

Also in terms of unit size for knightmares there are 4 to 5 soldiers in a team. 8 to 15 soldiers in a squad. 16 to 40 soldiers in a platoon. 50 to 150 in a company. 200 to 500 in a battalion. 600 to 1000 in a division. Most Areas have a single battalion stationed there unless they are an invading territory.

Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass. If I did I would have Tamaki play the lottery and win cause he is the luckiest dude on the show… followed by him getting struck by lightning.