Disclaimers: I do not own Code Geass, Mass Effect or its characters.

Chapter 10: Final Preparation

"dialogue"

'thoughts'

Citadel, Serpent Nebula

"Our second fleet protecting the Khawali system is lost. The Khawali system, only a few hundred light years away from Kharshan, the homeworld of the Batarians, would be perfect as forward base for laying siege on Kharshan." stated Primarch Quentius.

He continued, "I requested this audience with the Citadel Council to ask why the Asari Republics and the Salarian Union are not mobilising their fleet against this threat. No other threats in the past have gone this far in their expansion! We contained the Rachni in their system and the Krogan annexed only a few worlds. This new species has captured more than a dozen Batarian systems and are only a step away from Kharshan! The Quarians and the Drell have lost their homeworld, yes, but the Morning War was a civil war and the Drell lost their homeworld to a natural disaster. This new species is a threat that the Turian Hierachy is deeming more dangerous day to day.

"Primarch, Councillor Brutus had certainly pressured us for this, but we refuse to mobilise our fleet until either we are directly attacked or that we have ascertained their nature.

"Ascertain their nature? While you wait, soldiers die, Councillor."

"Calm down, Primarch. We were unable to avert the Rachni crisis because of the lack of diplomatic talk. The only species that was able to survive the harsh conditions was the Krogan. and the Krogans are definitely not a species that preferred diplomacy. Let us not make the same mistake twice."

The Salarian Councillor, who had been silent before spoke, "It is a fact that this species only targets Batarian systems at the moment. They completely bypassed a major Salarian system and went straight to the Khawali system. As our part in the effort to the resolution of this war, the Salarian Union would prefer diplomatic talks to be carried out first. However, it begs the question; how are diplomatic talks to take place, when this new species cannot be found. Every relay that leads to conquered Batarian worlds is closed. From this fact alone arise another dangerous fact. This new species had the ability to successfully close a relay. Something that no other species has managed. Which leads to two conclusions. One dangerous conclusion and the other even more. Either this species is technologically advanced, or that they were the ones that created the relays in the first place. Hopefully not the later."

"Proteans? How can that be? They disappeared suddenly around 50,000 years ago!"

The salarian councilor continued "Be as it may, a team on a cruiser can be sent to Khawali system using traditional FTL drive. However, the cruiser would only have fuel for a one-way trip. Thus, the mission of this team would be to initiate diplomatic talks and can they only return when they succeeded. "

"That would be a suicide mission, councilor. They have no guarantee that this new species would be open to talk."

"If we are successful, we will end this conflict. If we don't try this mission, that millions of lives will be lost. If we put together the best diplomats we have on that cruiser, we might just have a chance."

The other two councilors looked at each other, before looking at the salarian councilor and gave their approval as they both nodded to him.

The Migrant Fleet

Dar'Zharo was nervous so to say. He could feel the beats of his heart pumping in his chest and his knuckles turning white. He was in the quarantine zone, waiting to be cleared. The door opened after a beep, he took a step forward. After long years of his pilgrimage, he was finally able to return with a gift he found important for the Migrant Fleet. Information on the Geth.

A few weeks ago, Dar' Zharo came to a conclusion that he fell in a pit of misfortune. He owed a few credits to a Batarian for a safe passage from planet Heyrne to planet Canala. It wasn't his fault that his credit chip was lost. It was that blasted Vorcha that had pick-pocketed him. As a result, he had promised the Batarian to fix any broken machines he had for seven days straight. He thought it was not a bad deal. From Planet Canala he could ride in a ship to planet Pnaha. There he had a contact he can rely on for safe passage back to the migrant.

His misfortune came one after another. Planet Canala was sieged, just as he arrived. He had accepted his fate when he heard that the Britannians were rounding up non-Batarians slaves to be shipped back to the government of their respected species. He was taken into the custody of Britannia, although Dar'Zharo was only serving the Batarian he owed for another two days.

Then his luck turned around. Not only that he was taken care very well, the ship he was in had met a Geth ship in a diplomatic meeting. Carefully, he was able to successfully hack into the Geth mainframe and got some information on the Geth. He didn't get too deep, afraid his probe will be detected and that it would cause international conflict. He was after all sitting in a Britannian ship. He would feel bad harming his benefactor.

He was able to successfully retrieve some travel log and some reports on the system tests of a newer version of a Geth prototype. A prototype designed for diplomacy. He touched his data chip on his Omni tool. He thanked the ancestors for guiding him safely back to the Migrant Fleet. This important data could help the Quarian in their struggle to gain back their homeworld from the Geth.

Although the data intrigued him. The Geth was investing in diplomacy. Very interesting. For the past years, the Geth had always kept to themselves in the home system they both shared, behind the Perseus Veil. What had caused the Geth's consensus to change their decision? To start opening up to the other species? Is it out of desperation? That they can't sustain themselves anymore.

Khawali System

Lelouch sipped his coffee, savoring the taste as he rests. Sitting to the opposite side of him was his son, Rolo.

"Is everything going well with your work, Rolo?" Rolo vi Britannia eyed his father, amethyst eyes meeting amethyst eyes.

"We finished the Einsrosen Artillery…"

There was a short silence before he continued, "Father, you must be swamped with work. I wouldn't want to worry you with my problems."

"Rolo, thank you for worrying about me. But I find joy in hearing your accomplishments!"

Rolo gave a small smile. Such a shy personality he has, but his qualities shine in the amount of work he puts. Among his children, Rolo was the most hard working one.

Euphemia, his daughter was a shrewd one, her mind was really sharp. On the other hand, Naoto his eldest, was very boisterous. With his very extrovert personality combined with his natural charisma, he was a very capable commander.

"So how did you finish the Einsrosen Artillery? Did you figure out how to eliminate the synchronisation delay between the cannon and the coordinator? "

Lelouch bid his son farewell and headed towards the hologram booth. Sitting down, the light turned green, indicating that his person was projected into the meeting room. The hologram booth also projected his generals, admirals and knights all sitting at the projected table. They were waiting for him.

Kallen, Cherith, Nunnally and Euphemia were also present. As Knight of the Zero, she sits to the left of Lelouch. Cornelia li Britannia takes his right as the Grand Commander of the Britannian Military. Sitting on the opposite side of Lelouch was the Prime Minister, Nunnally vi Britannia. To her right sat Cherith and to her left was Euphemia vi Britannia, present as the finance minister.

Lelouch started the council of war by delivering a summary of the current situation. They were closing in on Planet Kharshan, the homeworld of the Batarian. Almost all the preparations have been made. The Batarians have taken the bait, thus a special unit will be deployed to spring the trap.

After the trap is out, Britannia would be in the best condition to assault Kharshan. However, a pressing matter had just been confirmed. An information from Geth that had validated Lelouch's vision 139 years ago.

„What I am about to tell you, is a vital information that I have received 139 years ago. It was simply a vision and there was no other proof that my vision could be held as fact. Thus, I refrained myself from sharing it with anyone but those closest to me. Now I am disclosing it to this council of war. Needless to say, this information will not go out to anyone else outside this council. It all started on the day I confronted my father… "

139 years ago, The World of C

Lelouch was confronting his father after he was betrayed by the Black Knight, as the last act that he could do to end his campaign against his father. Cherith and the former Knight of One, Suzaku Kururugi were behind him.

"Even if that's true. What can you do? The Ragnarok connection has already begun." spoke Charles zi Britannia, his tone arrogant.

An idea sparked in Lelouch's mind, there might be a way to end all this. „I don't know about that. I'm Zero, the man who created miracles!"

"Geass won't work against me. Nor against anyone else here." claimed his father.

"No, there's someone else here. The world of C is the will of mankind!" exclaimed Lelouch.

"You fool, Lelouch. You can't win against God with the Power of Kings!" replied Charles in understanding. His son was trying to use his geass against the World of C.

"It's not about winning or losing. It's a wish! God! Please do not stop the tracks of time!"

As the Ragnarok connection, as well as Charles and Marianne dissolves into thin air, a vision came into Lelouch eyes. Flashes of images. Some of them he recognised, some of them alien to him. It was a similar sensation that he felt when he made the Geass contract with C.C. Then, he saw himself giving Suzaku the mask of zero. Confusion was clouding him. Lelouch himself was wearing all white, behind him the throne room of Pendragon. Another flash, then he saw Zero piercing a sword through his chest. He slid down the platform and landed near a crying Nunnally, dressed as a prisoner. Far off he saw several prisoners tight to a pole. Kallen, Ohgi, Tohdoh among them.

"Is this a nightmare? Of things I don't want happening?

Another flash, he saw Zero pushing Nunnally's wheelchair down a ramp connected to a plane. A group of men was lined up neatly, guarding the ceremony as well as a gesture of welcome. Walking behind Zero was Schneizel el Britannia. Ohgi, with a group of politicians and diplomats behind him, walked up to Nunnally and shook her hands.

"It's chronological… the flashes. Perhaps..-„

Another flash came, now he saw a ceremony. The launch of a spaceship. Cheers of joy were heard as what would seem to be another step for mankind into space. The spaceship rose to the atmosphere really fast, like it was lightweight. The spaceship rose slowly to the atmosphere. It hovers above the exosphere of Earth, as seen by a screen tracking the spaceship's progress and a camera feed from a satellite. Then all of sudden, the spaceship was launched forward with great acceleration by some kind of huge force. It looked as if the ship was pulled forward…

"Could that have been interstellar travel? Faster than light travel?" thought Lelouch.

Then a terrifying image. Lelouch saw the Earth, burning. The buildings, the streets and other structures were devastated. There were still people though. They were fighting these zombie - like creatures. The sky was raining fire. Huge spaceships shooting red beams at the few resistance that was left. Red meteors, probably destroyed spaceship falling down the atmosphere.

Lelouch gulped. If his assumption was correct, the images that he was seeing… They were glimpses of the future.

Before his vision stopped, he heard a soft whisper "Go forth, my champion! This is my gift to you."

The blackened heart of Lelouch was slowly cleansed. The accumulation of hatred, vengeance, sadness, sorrow and hopelessness disappearing. Lelouch felt lighter and lighter as if a great burden was lifted.

Present day, 2157 a.t.b

"I did all I could within my power as the emperor to prepare us for such an adversity. I united us as a nation. I made sure we did not wilt from prosperity. The major decisions I made as we develop our own technology. It was made with this in mind."

There was a moment of silence. Not unexpected, it was a lot to take in.

Lelouch continued, as he had much more to say,

"Nunnally has imparted me a vital information from the Geth yesterday. At precisely 3 weeks ago, the Geth was contacted by another entity. The Geth named them Old Machines because this entity has existed far long before events in the galaxy that were able to be deducted from their traces on nature. A civilisation that existed even before the Proteans.

This 'Old Machines'… every 50 thousand years, they wipe the galaxy clean off all civilisation before disappearing and waiting for another 50 thousands years. This entity, 'the Reapers', they approached they Geth with an offer. They would be exempted from the cleansing, but their servitude and free will would belong to the entity. The Geth wanted to keep their free will, which is why they have turned to us."

It was understood what Lelouch had meant. His vision from the past, that humanity ended with complete annihilation by these Reapers could have been a real glimpse of the future.

It was the Minister of Defence, Alexander Duerhornt that first spoke out, "Your majesty, I'm grateful that we have had 139 years to prepare for this threat. Please share with us your next step of action."

At the minister's words, some of those who were tense calmed down, their minds now clear and confident.

Britannian Stealth Frigate Sarras 46

"Harrison, what's the ETA?" asked Captain Bradley. The modified Graviton Injector they planted as bait were taken to Planet Lagnes., the closest Salarian planet near the border of Batarian space. The information they leaked through the extranet to the Salarian Union had tipped off the existence of the weapon and thus an agreement for a joint research was made. and now… they just have to get close enough to start a confrontation.

"We'll exit the Einsrosen Space in 35 minutes 34 seconds." reported the helmsmen.

Captain Bradley nodded and broadcasted, "Attention all Personnel, prepare for combat in 30 minutes! I repeat, prepare for combat in 30 minutes!"

As the frigate exited the Einsrosen Gate, they flew close to the atmosphere of the planet. It was obvious that the Salarian forces and the Batarian forces noticed them. It seemed he didn't even have to answer hails from any forces as the Batarian cruiser opened fire on him.

They were between the planet and the moon. Good. They were in good position. Now, they have just to stay alive for a few minutes and gather as much heat as they can.

"Evasive maneuvers!"

"Captain, 7 frigates are approaching from our right. 3 cruisers and a frigate from our left. They're circling us."

Just a bit more…

"More approaching! Captain!"

This should be enough, "Open an Einrosen Gate, it's time to retreat!" As the ship was retreating, rifts opening up in the vacuum space, Captain Bradley sent the activation signal. The Graviton Injector picked it up. A beep sound was all the warning the nearby scientist got before the Injector launched into space, its propagation destroying the lab below it.

Salarian forces

"Sir, the cruiser is retreating!" exclaimed the pilot of a small combat spacecraft reported to the commanding Cruiser.

Captain Faleon was silent. They retreat as soon as they appear? Were they trying to sneak and steal back the weapon? Did they underestimate our sensors? The ship wasn't cloaked or hidden in any way… It was if they wanted attention… Were they trying to contact the Salarian Union? Damn the Batarians if that's was the case. Was that on orders by the Hegemony to prevent our contact? Or the Batarian were just too hostile to them?

"Incoming missile from the planet!"

Huh? Who launched a missile? No heads up? The Batarians?

The missile was heading toward the Britannian frigate, trying to reach it before it escapes into their portal. Alas, the gate was closed, the missile had missed. and it was heading towards the moon instead.

"Oh no! Shoot that missile down! It's gonna hit the moon at that speed."

They were too slow, the missile entered the moon's atmosphere, impacted. The straight, long, pole-like missile was buried in a crater. The captain was thankful that the missile had hit an uninhabited, clear field. Though the lack of explosion from the missile was confusing.

Then the walls of the missile opened up, at each four sides of the missile. as if stabilising it. The four metal grip was firmly attaching itself to the ground. The bottom of the missile in the ground opened up, revealing a drill. The missile drilled into the moon, stopping only when it was almost into the core.

Inside the missile, the Graviton particles were released from their vacuum containers. As an effect, the gravity of the moon was increased by the amount intended and calculated. All of the cities and structures on the moon were not able to withstand the new gravity and was slowly crushed by their own weight. After a period of three hours, buildings taller than three stories high and bridges collapsed. On the side of Planet Lagnes facing the moon, the sea level suddenly increased, causing the coastal cities to experience a sudden high tide.

Citadel, Serpent Nebula, A Few Days Later

"Thousands of protesters, with a majority of them from the Salarian Union and Asari Republics are demonstrating in front of the Batarian Embassy at the Citadel against their War with the newfound species Humans of the Britannian Alliance. The protesters demand that the Batarian Hegemony ends the conflict before any more citizens get pulled into the fight. This protest seems to have been sparked by the minor conflict at Planet Lagnes" reported the anchor.

"Lana, could you give us a brief recap on the conflict"

"The conflict started with the appearance of a Britannian frigate. This seemed to have provoked a Batarian cruiser into opening fire on the frigate. A missile was launched from Planet Lagnes towards the retreating Britannian frigate, but it was missed and instead launched at the moon of Planet Lagnes. Who launched the missile and the origin of it are still unknown, but the destruction was planet wide… no, moon-wide as most high rise structures and huge buildings collapsed. Fortunately, the Salarian Union was quick to act in this emergency situation and all the civilians were evacuated in time. However, the destruction had cost a lot of loss in production and infrastructure."

Khawali System

Lucya snickered as she watches the news from Citadel with the extranet, satisfied of her work. Her mission was done. All she did was sensationalising the topic of Planet Lagnes. Putting posts related to Batarians and Planet Lagnes on top of the news feed in the social media, connecting people who could have had the same opinion of protesting and making sure people who are against it are not brought together.

A/N: A reviewer has asked me about Jeremiah Gottwald. He's still around. He'll make an appearance in the future.