The Balance Code

By the time the roar of the engines subsided, Lelouch had already assumed a sitting position. Feeling the slight jolt that signified the landing, Rivalz became even more nervous. “Relax, Rivalz, if they wanted to kill us, they would have done it by now, instead of firing stunners,” Lelouch said for the umpteenth time, trying to sound confident. It couldn’t be said that he was as nervous as Rivalz, but it couldn’t be called calm either. Nothing happened for a while, only the sound of footsteps behind the wall. Then the door suddenly opened and three men stepped into the room. They were all dressed in black and red cloaks, with blasters obviously concealed beneath them. The man at the front waved, and the other two brought Lelouch and Rivalz to their feet. They didn’t bother to untie their hands, though. “K-Kajik? “mumbled Rivalz, turning to the apparent leader. Kajik was short, with black hair and swarthy pockmarked skin. His dark brown eyes looked contemptuous, but without any smugness, more with a kind of strange studying interest. Lelouch grinned mentally. He was inclined to meet exactly the Kajik of the Kinraths after Rivalz' confused story. Xarn, from Lelouch’s point of view, had no reason to suddenly break the treaty. But there was some murky history with Kajik, and his motives were not entirely clear. But Lelouch had a theory about it, and it had to be checked. ‘By the way, they brought us somewhere, but for some reason they won’t take us off the ship. Interesting that Kajik came straight here in person,’ Lelouch thought to himself. ‘Do they want to take us somewhere else? Or don’t want anyone to see us? ’ “Rivalz Cardemond,” Kajik said, staring at him with a heavy stare. “Can I expect you to return my money? “Y-yes, of course,” muttered Rivalz. Lelouch discreetly raised one eyebrow, expressing his skepticism. Really? Kajik set up this whole kidnapping thing just to ask a question he already knew the answer to? “And when?” Kajik continued in the same menacing voice. Lelouch couldn’t help but snort, thus drawing attention to himself. One of the bandits wanted to hit him, but Kajik stopped him. “Shall we cut to the chase?” Lelouch said with a certain amount of irony. Rivalz rewarded him with a frightened look. “You’re Lelouch, aren’t you?” Kajik said, squinting his eyes. “Rivals, you were drunker than I thought. But who’d have thought complaining about life would help you get money?” Lelouch replied caustically. Kajik looked at him as if he was expecting a show. Rivalz shrank in size and lowered his head at these words. “Well, I suggest we stop with the intimidation and get down to business.” “Oh, aren’t we already talking about the problem? “Kajik sniggered. “Your friend owes me money, and I want to know when he’ll pay it back.” “Isn’t it obvious?” Lelouch stared straight into Kajik’s face, smirking impudently. “He has no money, and you know that. What’s more, you knew it when you lent him money. You didn’t even expect him to pay it back. So I suggest we end this farce.” Kajik seemed to be amused by the situation. He must have wondered what else Lelouch would say. “Ha, so what was I counting on, if not the return of the money with interest?” he asked. “Well, I have a hunch,” Lelouch said with feigned modesty. “Yeah? What is it?” “It all started when you met Rivalz at the bar. I don’t know what made you start talking to him in the first place, but it doesn’t matter now,” Lelouch began. “And he started babbling about how he owed a lot of money, that he had no money, and that he would never tell his father about his problem. And that’s where you got interested. After all, his father is, after all, a high-ranking official!” Lelouch wanted to wave his hand to illustrate his words with an expressive gesture, but unfortunately his hands were still tied. “And then, Kajik, you got an idea. You can help Rivals now, and who knows what potential benefit it might bring? Rivalz looked at Lelouch in surprise and opened his mouth to say something, but he kept silent. And Kajik suddenly let out a chuckle. “Mmm, good theory. Except why would I bring you here, then? And… what did you say? To intimidate?” “To make Rivalz more cooperative. Scare him, remind him of his duty, so he can live with the idea of who he owes his salvation to. And then let him go.” “Let him go? Ha! But he still owes me. “Yes, exactly. Then, after a while, ask him to return the favor, say. You’d intimidate him, yes, but then you’d agree to keep helping. And all in exchange for some favors that would help… I don’t know if it’s correct to call you a gang.” Rivalz got this indescribable look on his face. “And you don’t think that theory is a bit of a stretch, do you? “No,” Lelouch answered calmly. “To the extent that you just gave money to a man you met in a bar, knowing that he wouldn’t pay it back, no. I agree, it’s certainly a risky scam, but you must have found the risks acceptable after you checked Rivalz' words about his father in the holonet,” Lelouch smiled with the corner of his mouth, as if he admired the crazy idea. “So, am I right?” Kajik tilted his head, pondering something. “On the whole, yes,” he turned his head toward Rivalz.” And as for you, just because your buddy figured it out doesn’t change anything for you. I’ll give you a chance to get out of debt, but in return you’ll owe me a favor.” “W-what’s that?” Rivalz' voice is still trembling. “I’ll let you know later.” ‘He doesn’t know exactly what he can demand yet, or how the circumstances will work out,’ Lelouch grinned mentally, and said aloud: “Now that we’ve cleared that up, why don’t you untie us? You were going to let us go anyway.” Kajik nodded to his subordinates. Lelouch stretched his stiffened hands with pleasure. The burn on his hand gave off another hot sting. “You’ve pinpointed exactly what I want,” Kajik said with a sly grin on his face. “I like you, boy. You could have kept quiet. What’s more, anyone in your position would have done so. What do you want for yourself?” “A bacta patch, a nasty burn,” Lelouch complained, though he knew it was something else. He himself still didn’t know whether it was his unwillingness to be on the sidelines or his self-assured conviction that his theory was correct. Maybe he did not want to stand there in silence and humiliation, but wanted to turn the situation in his direction, to take the illusion of control. It was a risk…but Lelouch wanted to take the risk. Maybe it was what one might call calculated insanity. To his surprise, Kajik reached into his belt, pulled out a band-aid, and held it out to Lelouch. In general, Kajik did not resemble an ordinary bandit. However, Lelouch didn’t like him very much: he gave a kind of… slippery impression. “Thank you,” he said with a touch of irony. “Is that all? Is that all you want out of life, except to play chess for money?” Lelouch opened the packet of Band-Aids, wondering how best to answer. The thing resembled a bandage applied over an injury. With a quiet, irritated hiss, he peeled back the edge of his shirt from the burn and glued the band-aid on top. Immediately the burning became less intense. Luckily it was a low-power shot. Otherwise it might have burned right through his arm. “I want it,” Lelouch said. “A set of wooden chess.” ‘Looking for another lever of pressure? Don’t wait for it.’ Kajik snorted. “I don’t believe that’s all there is to it.” Lelouch shrugged. If Kajik wanted to recruit him, he had nothing to look forward to. The ability to control his own destiny. Independence from the Ashfords and a guarantee that the Chancellor wouldn’t find him and Nannally. That was probably the least of what Lelouch really wanted. And it was hardly something Kajik could give. Apparently he had big plans, but… Lelouch abhorred the idea of being in his employ, or anyone else’s employ. Nor did he want to do what all these bandits did. Selling guns and drugs? All for money. That’s disgusting. Kajik must think Lelouch is trying to make money playing chess. Well, let him think it, Lelouch was in no hurry to dissuade him. “I advise you to think about it, boy,” Kajik said and was about to add something else, but then his communicator beeped. He took the call and got distracted, and after a few seconds of talking he frowned heavily, the person he was talking to had obviously said something unpleasant. then he suddenly turned around and coming out of the compartment said: “Wait here, you will be taken back.” The other two bandits followed Kajik. Lelouch and Rivalz were silent for a while, digesting the latest events. “He just let us go? “Rivalz finally said in shock. “And… dude, how did you know what he was going to do? Lelouch just smirked smugly. Crazy situation, of course. Nothing happened for a while. Then there was an explosion. Lelouch and Rivalz looked at each other frightened. Shouts and the sound of blaster shots could be heard outside. The ship shook and someone groaned somewhere nearby. When the screams subsided, Lelouch stepped toward the exit. Fortunately, the door was unlocked. “Are you out of your mind? Where are you going anyway?” Rivalz asked. “There’s some shit going on in there!” “I need to know what’s going on. After walking down the narrow corridor, Lelouch stepped into the cockpit and instantly ducked to avoid being seen through the front window. His gaze crossed instantly with that of the bandit’s dead eyes. “Kriff,” cursed Rivalz, who stuck out after his mate. Lelouch covered his eyes for a second, trying to distract himself from the unpleasant memories. There was no time for that now. Suddenly an amplified voice sounded somewhere nearby: “Roach! You broke our pact!” Lelouch wrinkled his nose at the volume and cautiously looked out the window from behind the control panel.” The small ship the bandits had brought them in was on a landing pad somewhere in the lower levels. The entire site was strewn with the wreckage of aircars, bodies lying here and there. An aircar had landed not far away, and armed sentients were jumping out of it. They ran toward another group of equally armed bandits. However, the firefight was already over. “Roach!” shouted the leader of the attacking group again, a red-haired fellow who was pulling a Mandalorian helmet off his head. The other, Roach, a man with a gingerish mustache, shouted back: “I didn’t break anything! But you came into my base and fucked it up! So get lost, Naoto, before I kick your krifing ass out! Lelouch saw a pale and extremely disgruntled Kajik behind Roach’s back. Interesting things are going on here. Naoto and Roach yelled at each other for a few minutes, using all their swearing ammunition, and then finally got down to a constructive dialogue. No matter how hard Lelouch tried, he couldn’t hear what they were saying. Then he cautiously opened the door and slipped outside, hiding behind the hull of the ship. Rivalz followed him out with a glance and said: “And you said it was me doing something stupid all the time…” Rivalz remained in the cabin in company with the corpse, not even knowing how to react to this whole situation. Suddenly he noticed an oblong metal object lying not far from the body. “That’s a portable shield!” Rivalz thought to himself in surprise. He hadn’t expected to stumble upon such antiquity, something he’d only read about in weapons magazines. With the invention of powerful new blasters, these things had become practically useless. The bandits must have bought them cheap. The small battery capacity made it impossible to keep the shield on all the time. Surely the bandit didn’t have time to turn it on before a blaster bolt flew into it. Nevertheless, Rivalz put the shield in his pocket. Just in case. Meanwhile, Lelouch was hiding behind the support of the ship and listening to a conversation between the leaders of the two warring gangs, Naoto’s group and Roach’s Kinraths. From what he heard, it was clear that the Kinraths had attacked Naoto’s sister, even though they were sort of neutral. And now Naoto was very angry and demanded compensation for the losses he had incurred in the attack on Roach. What’s interesting is that Kajik stood silent the whole time, not daring to interfere. And his face had an expression as if he was torn between the desire to simply put his palm to his forehead and the desire to kill Roach on the spot. The negotiations were interrupted by a call from Naoto’s communicator. “I don’t have time for this anymore!” He threw angrily, ending the conversation. “You will pay later, but I’m taking your ships to replace the ones you lost! Not listening to Roach’s indignation, Lelouch quickly made his way onto the ship, grabbed Rivalz by the arm and dragged him back to the cargo bay, explaining what had happened as he went. In a minute the engine was humming again and the ship was in the air. “Now we’re really screwed,” muttered Rivalz.

***

A bright flash appeared in the sky above Grass. Then another and another… “Tamaki! What have you done!” Kallen screamed. As it turned out, he was responsible for downloading the Republic code to confirm the computers of the ships that were to participate in the operation. When the ships entered the Mandalore atmosphere above Sandari and sent the code to dispatch, they found out the code was wrong. They ended up being followed by the police and now the army. “Is there anything we can do?” Kallen asked, turning to a pale Ohgi. “Unfortunately not yet, most of the remaining ships were taken by Naoto. I’ve already called him. But there’s nothing we can do to help Takeshi and Kento now…” he shook his head. Kallen clenched her fists, helplessly watching the flashes in the sky. “Do we even have one ship left in the base?” “Don’t even think about it, Naoto has forbidden it…” “Fuck him and his restraining orders!” shouted out Kallen. “I’m going to take out the Repubs!”

***

Jeremiah Gottwald, head of the counterterrorism unit in Sector 11, stood in front of a line of his subordinates. “A few hours ago, a toxic gas was stolen from a secret research center by terrorists. The police managed to spot them as they were entering the atmosphere above the Grass Ghetto. Our job is to cordon off the ghetto so no rats get past the cordon! We must get the gas back before the terrorists think of using it!” he was, as always, expressive. After finishing his briefing, Jeremiah went to the hastily formed command post at the edge of the ghetto. The scale of the operation was staggering. In the beginning it seemed that the police could handle a few ships of terrorists, but then their reinforcements arrived. A fierce air battle succeeded in shooting down most of the terrorists' ships, but some of them escaped into the ghetto. The command center was crowded. Technicians were still setting up equipment, and officers were shuttling between the various screens. At the center of the bustle was a giant holographic table, with General Bartley, Captain Myers of the Clovis Personal Guard, and the Viceroy of Sector 11 himself standing behind it. Jeremiah headed toward them. “My men, along with the Justice Corps, are already cordoning off the ghetto. What are your further orders?” Jeremiah asked the General, after saluting and greeting the Viceroy. Bartley once again wiped his sweaty bald head with his handkerchief and pointed at the holographic table, on which the map of the ghetto was unfolded with various markings. “By analyzing the battle recordings from our surviving ships, we’ve calculated the supposed crash sites of the terrorists' ships. The problem is that we don’t know which ship contained the poison gas. We need to check all the locations as quickly as possible. “Those Mandalorian rats are resisting! Where the hell did they get a walker?” Clovis cut in. “Yes, we’ve run into some… difficulties,” Bartley confirmed. “We can’t bring tanks in; they’re not designed for combat within the city, especially in a multi-level ghetto. Striking with turbolasers from above isn’t an option either, it might provoke a gas leak. The only option is to send foot units and units on light walkers into the ghetto. But this is a new development, there is a catastrophic shortage of them, as well as people trained to operate them…” The conflict with the Mandalorians seven years ago showed that new weapons had to be developed. Despite the fact that the Republic still had serious restrictions on it, the head of the Justice Corps, Schneisel, managed to get the Senate to allow the development of walkers. The AT-RT lightweight walker was poorly protected but maneuverable, and its flotation capability was a head-turner compared with the Repulsor chassis. The only problem was that they were difficult to control. “Let me make a suggestion, General,” Jeremiah said. “My men are trained to control the walkers, since my department’s specialization involves combat in the city limits. Captain Nu is one of the best. I can send her squad to search for poison gas.” “No!” the Viceroy suddenly exclaimed. “Captain Myers will lead the search,” Clovis nodded at the man standing nearby, a scar crossing his face. “It’s already been decided and it’s not up for discussion.” Myers merely smirked. Jeremiah felt a sharp dislike for the man. The man made an extremely unpleasant impression. But he did not argue with the viceroy, maintaining a calm expression as best he could. Bartley, meanwhile, looked at Clovis, as if trying to tell him something silently. “But you can help us mop up the remaining terrorists, Gottwald.” Jeremiah nodded. In any case, he was glad for any opportunity to get back at those filthy terrorists.

***

In the air, Kallen felt like a fish in water. And yet, there was chaos over Grass. She tailed one police ship and another. Lost in the whirlwind of sensation, unable to remember herself until that moment in which the sky was obscured by bright flashes. So Kallen was glad when she heard her brother’s voice ordering her to retreat and regroup. She didn’t even get mad when he yelled at her for stealing one of the ships and getting into the fight. It didn’t matter, because now their attack was meaningful. That didn’t save the rebels, however, when the military fighters appeared in the air. The excitement and joy of flying was taken away as black smoke billowed Takeshi’s ship and it collapsed heavily. Now she could hear cursing on the radio broadcast, hear explosions, and smell burning. Someone shouted to retreat. The ground beneath her feet felt alien, and her hands still trembled, echoing the vibration of the helm. Kallen met her eyes with Ohgi’s. “Where is Naoto?” she asked. “Kallen… He… he was shot down…” Ohgi felt as if he could not believe what was happening. “No…” Kallen whispered. “It can’t be…” I think she shouted something about him talking nonsense. But as soon as she looked into Ohgi’s empty eyes, her strength left her. It was as if someone had pulled all the air out of her that fed her inner fire. “Hey, Ohgi, get a grip!” Yoshitaka Minami appeared in Kallen’s field of vision and grabbed him by the shoulders. “Kaname, wake up, damn it!” “I…” “The Reps are going to tear ours apart on the ground! Give the fuckin' command, or we’re all gonna die!” “But…” Yoshitaka shook Ohgi violently, looking into his face. Finally, after a long pause, Ohgi nodded, and Yoshitaka pulled away. “Kallen, are you okay?” “Ready to find the bastard who hit Naoto and shove his head up his own ass,” Kallen said grimly. Yoshitaka’s words had an effect on her, too. She clenched her fists. This wasn’t the time to get soft. And then… then she would be sure to find Naoto’s ship and tell him that he was a fool for not calling her for the operation.

***

Lelouch jumped up slightly, settling his sister more comfortably on his shoulders. His legs ached, each step weighing heavily on his heels. The chain of footprints drowned in ash and dust. His back was about to break in half, but Lelouch tried not to let his exhaustion show with a single movement. Suzaku would offer to carry Nannally again, and he was already carrying her longer than they had bargained for. “What a strange smell,” Nannally said, turning her head blindly to the right, “What is it?” Lelouch looked helplessly at the burnt corpse. The features of the man’s face were still visible, but the one next to it was completely blackened. Suzaku mumbled something, not knowing what to say to the little girl. “Maybe someone is roasting meat on the fire not far from here,” Lelouch finally muttered. “Oh, really? Can we go to them and ask for food?” Nannally asked cheerfully. “I don’t think they would be happy to see us.” Nannally became noticeably sadder. Lelouch walked forward again. But that smell… That smell he will never forget. “Rivalz!” Waking up, Lelouch coughed heavily: the compartment was smoky. “We have to get out of here before the ship explodes!” Lelouch crawled forward to where the exit should be. Rivalz was right next to him. He seemed to be unconscious. Lelouch grabbed his arm and dragged him along. The heat of the fire encompassed them all the way to the unwinding exit, by which several bodies were lying around. Outside was the twilight of the lower levels. The sky was tangled between the dilapidated buildings. And in this maze, blaster shots echoed. Piling Rivalz against the wall, Lelouch looked around warily. Somewhere out there must be those who had trashed the ship’s door and set it on fire. The pilot had certainly been able to make an emergency landing quite successfully, or they simply wouldn’t have survived. But there was no one. The old abandoned landing pad was empty. Lelouch sat down next to Rivalz, wrapping his arms around his knees. The war seemed to haunt him. But then, seven years ago, Suzaku was with him. Together they were not afraid of anything, together they could do anything. His first best friend… Rivalz coughed next to him. He ran his hand over his face, smearing black soot all over it. “W-where…?” “Somewhere in the ghetto. I reckon the bandits who attacked Kajik’s gang were attacked, too.” Rivalz cursed and groaned as soon as he moved. He’d been hit pretty hard in the jolt. “And who is it this time?” “I think… The army,” Lelouch said, showing a small black device. “It’s the comlink of bandits. Or should I say terrorists. Found it on one of the bodies. They’re in a panic right now, their leader was shot down.” “Well, that’s good news!” Rivalz perked up. “We just need to find the soldiers and say that we were kidnapped by terrorists. And we’ll be saved!” “How can I put it…” sighed Lelouch. He himself was definitely not supposed to surrender to the soldiers. They might find out who he really is. Then they could take Nunnally back to Coruscant or Naboo. They’ll be political hostages again. “And you think they won’t just shoot us, thinking we’re terrorists? We don’t even look human like this…” The students' black uniforms with the gold symbols of the Academy are now completely black with dirt. “So? No, they won’t…” “I’ve heard,” Lelouch nodded at the comlink that was intermittently ringing out, “that they shoot indiscriminately. Even civilians.” “No, that can’t be…” “Wait!” Lelouch nearly jumped up and looked around frantically. “Do you hear something?” Rivalz asked worriedly. No, he didn’t hear anything. He felt it. A cry for help, a call. A promise. ‘That’s impossible! ’ Lelouch turned sharply, still trying to identify the source of the call. ‘It just can’t be! It can’t be the Force! It’s been eight years since…I was cut off, so why?!’ Lelouch’s hands trembled as he desperately clung to the little flame of the Force. Where… where… where is it?! So many years later to suddenly feel a feeling long buried in the depths of memory! Lelouch would probably feel real elation right now if it weren’t for the fear of disappointment that had accumulated over the long years of unsuccessful attempts to feel the Force again. But the warm and clear surge of hope gave him strength and pushed away the nightmarish reality. Lelouch had to find it… no, this sentient who cries so desperately for help. Who promises… “We will find a way out!” Lelouch said confidently and headed for the stairs departing from the landing platform. “We have to go down.”

***

Clovis quickly reviewed Myers' new report on the sweep of another building. All potential witnesses must be eliminated. Bad luck, of course, for the locals. However, who’s counting those eleven? “Have they found the capsule yet?” Bartley asked nervously. Clovis shook his head negatively. They were silent for some time. “Then… we’ll wait. By the way, Your Lordship… Leiman sent a report on the damage to our laboratory on Nenkuu.” “I take it there’s nothing good in it?” “Yes… Leyman says that the complex can’t be rebuilt because the terrorists planted a bomb before they escaped. We had to evacuate the surviving data to Concordia.” “What about Object #2?” “That too.” Clovis sighed in relief. Yes, it was a bad situation, but all was not lost and the research could be continued immediately. If the Object had to be picked up in bits and pieces from the ruins of the lab, the delay would be critical. All that remains is to find Object #1. No one must know that the poison gas is just a cover.