The One You Know

[Beatrice]

Location: Pyrena Castle, Empress' Personal Office
Time: 7:20 AST

Beatrice had cleared her schedule for the day and while that had initially been to spend time with Alex other duties called for her full attention. She had called upon Lelouch Lamperouge and called for the room be cleared upon his arrival. "Kayleigh," she said before her departure, "Please don't stray too far, and promise me you won't come in until I call for you. Things may get heated between myself and Lelouch, but given the topic of discussion before us that is to be expected." With a nod of acknowledgement Kayleigh departed, Lelouch bowing as he entered before taking a seat at the Empress' invitation.

"Lelouch," Beatrice said as she reviewed her notes, "I'm sure you know why I've called upon you today. One thing that has become clear to me is that you have been less than forthcoming, and that troubles me. We spoke briefly before your trip to East Moreland, one in which you assured me you would relay a package of information which would clear up any notions surrounding my name in regards to the false allegations of any form of collusion with the Borland Separatists. You did inform me that venture had been less than successful, which is a possibility we both knew was highly likely."

"However," Beatrice paused, "You also acted without informing me of the full gravity of the situation we as a nation faced. It was only after the fact that I was informed of the existence of rogue Anauša agents; did you not think it of vital importance that I should know there were wolves in an institution which held the primary function of protecting me and my family? Did you ask the Moreladers to kill these people without my sanction?" she continued, certainly Kayleigh could hear the escalating tone by now.

"Your Majesty time was of the essence, we had a situation where a group of our own agents were compromised by Mr. Ofdensen, I couldn't go after them, so I came at them from an angle they would never see coming. Everything I did was done to protect you..." "Protect me, protect me, I asked you to do one thing and you took it upon yourself to do as you wish? Allow me to ask you again, perhaps in more clear words, you asked the Morelanders to spill Rokkenjiman blood?"

"They never said yes," Lelouch said meekly. "Of course they didn't say yes, their God blessed them with the brain cells Islyna couldn't be bothered to shove in your head! Who decided that a "leak" to the Free Mundus Network was a good idea, and who is this K. Porcelna?" Lelouch handed his phone to the Empress after a moment, "I ordered it, as for K. Porcelna, she's been in the system for some time, she's disposable compared to what wa...." "How dare you," Beatrice said in asperity as she stood, throwing Lelouch's phone against the wall and smashing it into pieces, "how fucking dare you say someone is disposable? All lives hold value, all are indispensable, that you would think any of this would be in my interests...you're just as bad as Charles, acting as you wish, using people, lying when your plot reaches the point of consequence. Lelouch," she said as she shook her head, "No."

"I did what I had to do to protect you, and yes sometimes that means I have to lie, to you, to the People..." he said again, though his words were of no effect. "With people such as yourself to protect me I'd have better odds if Kyle fucking Barren were standing before me pointing a loaded gun at my head right now. You lied to me, my People, the world, you found this lost soul and decided to repurposed her to fit your misdeeds, you outsourced the shedding of Rokkenjiman blood, and you've disrespected the authority of your Empress and the Throne. From this point forward I want one thing to be perfectly clear," Beatrice said as she drew closer to Lelouch, her face mere inches from his.

"I am the Empress of Rokkenjima, the decisions of the First Empire are mine to make; the fate of our People, even those deemed to be beyond reproach, those are mine to make as well. What gave you the right to make these decisions, who christened you judge, jury and, albeit by proxy, executioner of these souls? How could you betray me as he did? This business of weasels acting without my consent is over. The Anauša is over, I've had it proven to me that even apart from Ofdensen's corruption there is nothing worth saving. Raleigh will be fired and detained, in much the same manner you and anyone else who precipitated this cover-up will be, and my People will know the truth because this...this is not how Rokkenjima does things, this is not how we will do things. These are not the examples that will be left for Adriana to follow, the path of dishonour and deceit; your dishonour shall tarnish the Throne nor this First Empire any longer."

Lelouch stepped back in silence, "Your Majesty, I....I did it all for you. My life, it has always belonged to you," he continued as he reached for his pocket. "If I cannot reclaim my honour in this life, allow me to be purified on the Scales." In a swift motion he produced his pistol and raised it to his head, although Beatrice acted swiftly herself, "You fool!" she said, her hand striking his as the gun discharged. The blood which seeped from Lelouch's head stained her and seemingly everything around them, while the first thing Beatrice would see after being Kayleigh's face.

"I think it grazed him," she said, "Get the medical staff swiftly," she continued, operating somewhat on auto-pilot. "He finally told me the truth," she continued, "Kayleigh he asked them to kill those agents, moved to cover it up, for me he said. If he really knew me though he'd have known that shedding their blood was the last thing I'd have wanted." Beatrice soon found herself on her feet, stopping herself from rambling any further.

"I need the Vicegerent and, regardless of the time in Valtheim, I need Emperor Peter on a conference call as soon as humanly possible. This is my Castle, and it's about time that I clear out the trash that's been allowed to accumulate here. I didn't ask for, nor did I make this mess, but I sure as hell will see that it's cleaned up. Also, K. Porcelna, I need her brought out of whatever hole Lelouch has her in. He says she's been in the system so whatever charges she faces, I want to see if I can help her; not one more soul will be harmed by this series of events."

Down the hall she could hear Alex stir, calling her name gently. "Worry not love, go back to sleep. Things got a little loud down here, I'll explain everything tomorrow." Turning back to Kayleigh she sighed, "Luckily his sleep has been heavy as of late, he doesn't need this stress upon him tonight. Now then, the Vicegerent and the Emperor, we'll convene in the Imperial Council chambers."

[Achkaerin]

Kayleigh wasn't in a good mood now, she waited until the medical staff turned up to take care of Lelouch, once the doctors arrived she fixed the one in charge with a clear and unequivocal look.
"When he comes round no one speaks to him until I have." Kayleigh said, she was the head of Pyrena's security for now, this was a security issue and she took that responsibility seriously. Once the doctor nodded his understanding of that Kayleigh headed off through Pyrena as she walked she took her radio off her belt "Wolfhound calling all points lock it down."

As the lockdown of Pyrena went into full swing, Kayleigh walked through the building eventually knocking on the door of the Viceregent's office, though study was probably a more apt description. Stepping inside she found the Viceregent Emerson Ravenswood standing there.

"What was that gunshot about?" Emerson asked
"Lelouch Lamperouge." Kayleigh said "Beatrice wants to talk to you and Emperor Peter."
"I'm sure she does." Emerson said "Call Valtheim and let them do what they do. I'll go join Beatrice."
"Imperial Council Chamber." Kayleigh said

In Valtheim, it was a laid back evening mainly because the Emperor and others were presently in the air somewhere over Aranye heading to Lodja for the weddings there. In the Palace there was a bit of a movie night going on, in short Serenity and her two daughters Astrid and Lisa were cuddled up in their pyjama's, watching The Lion King. It was with 'Hakuna Matata' playing in the background that Kumiko Arkwright walked into the lounge and after giving a slight smile at the sight of the three caught Serenity's attention.

"Something up?" Serenity asked
"Beatrice wants to talk to Peter." Kumiko said "Something's going down in Pyrena."
"He's flying to Lodja for Klara's wedding so knowing him he's asleep by now." Serenity said "Find out what it's about."
"I'll use the kitchen diner if that's ok?" Kumiko asked
"Go ahead." Serenity said

Kumiko walked the short distance from the small lounge/movie theatre to the kitchen diner where she tuned the television mounted on the wall to the SCION system, it wasn't difficult, she adjusted her glasses and waited as the connection to Pyrena was made.

[Beatrice]

"For now, I do not believe it's necessary, but it goes without saying that this conversation does not leave these rooms for the time being," Beatrice said once everyone had been assembled. "Let me not waste words or time; a short while ago Lelouch Lamperouge attempted to take his life after relaying to me that he made a request during his meeting with the Morelanders in regards to those rogue Anauša agents we're all well aware of by now. It also goes without saying, but he stated the Morelanders did not say yes to him. After making my displeasure clear he attempted to shoot himself, I hit his hand as the gun fired, and he's presently in the care of the Castle's medical team. It's still too soon to know what the extent of his injuries are, though I was informed a few moments ago that he is still alive, at the least."

Pausing to sip her mead Beatrice sighed, "My apologies, I'm still processing all of this, I'm certain you can forgive my drinking at this hour. Prior to our meeting I ensured that there was a recording of our discussion, as is policy when a meeting is hosted between a member of the Imperial Family and the Anauša, I do believe that policy was instituted by Luci. Lamperouge acted of his own accord and without my knowledge, making a difficult situation undoubtedly more complex. I bring this information to you because we've a mutual friend, even if they are on sour terms with us at the moment, and because I maintain great trust with the Holy Empire. We've many decisions before us, more investigating and, it is clear to me that I have a house long overdue to be reminded who its master is."

"Is there anything you wish to add?" she said, turning to Emerson.

[Achkaerin]

Three...two...one... Emerson thought, he knew all too well there was no way he'd be getting a word in at that moment because there was one party who was more enraged, and rightly so, and they would want to make their feelings known and sure enough right on cue...

"And you wonder why we're on 'sour terms' with you?" Kumiko asked over the line, her voice laced with fury, "We pointed this out to you within hours of that leak coming out but rather than hold your hands up and say 'we're looking into it' you covered with the most implausible lie it was possible to conceive of, though considering what a sorry state Rokkenjima's intelligence community appears to be in I'm not at all surprised, and then told us we were wrong, Well guess what? We told you so! Fact all these Rokkenjiman citizens who've been killed abroad are all former Anausa agents, fact the Bene Gesserit have in this case no motive, fact the only nation with a motive is Rokkenjima, fact Lelouch Lamperouge asked East Moreland to kill these rogue Anausa and they're dead. So how about you cut the crap and do what you should have done when this leak came out?"

"The time for investigation is over." Emerson said cutting in before Kumiko broke into a full blown rant, not that it wasn't justified that he understood and shared "The simple question is this - given that Lamperouge has already lied once do we seriously believe that it is credible to take his word that East Moreland said 'no' to his request? And if we take that as credible then who are we saying did it? One thing however is for certain the same party killed all of them and that party wasn't the Bene Gesserit." he looked straight across the table at Beatrice "Which means Rokkenjima's entire policy towards them is based on a fraudlent statement by the then Premier. Addressing that is your first problem."

"And we'll make the matter of a public apology the second." Kumiko said

[Beatrice]

Beatrice downed the remainder of her mead, unbuttoning the top button of her collared shirt before staring Kumiko directly in the eye. Her tone was decevingly gentle, though in that gentle nature laid a tone of wrath which was unmistakable.

"Do excuse me, but who the fuck do you think you are? 'I told you so', that is what you have to offer me at this time? Not more than a quarter hour ago I had a front row seat to a man who shot himself in the head, and you wish to play the games of a child? How dare you. How dare you sit there and chide me in your self righteous indignation? You then implicate me in some manner of coverup when I had that information provided to me by the man we are speaking of presently? I would expect much better of a Chief of Staff than the petty, pestilent display you're putting on at this very moment."

"Perhaps the greatest attack against Rokkenjima since the Second Patriotic War, the betrayal of Offdensen and his subsequent subversion of my authority, has led to the compromised position of the intelligence apparatus you're presently highlighting. Tell me, Chief of Staff, where was your grand intelligence in determining something was amiss when Charles had me essentially isolated? Hmm? Please, I'm all ears, because that was a time I could have used the assistance of my allies and they were either blissfully ignorant or asleep on the job. Where was your infinite wisdom when it could have actually made a difference?"

"But no, naturally, your recourse after that great attack is to ensure you go after the Empress of Rokkenjima, and I can tell you now I hold no regrets for the actions I took because I knew if I wasn't careful, people dear to me could die. Personal reputation is salvageable, a life extinguished is not, such a basic fact is something we can both agree on even now. In my return to Rokkenjima I saw Rokkenjiman killing Rokkenjiman in open combat on the streets of Bevelle, Fogshore, Victoria....I wasn't about to see yet more blood spilled when there was something I could do to prevent it. So congratulations, you've done ever so well at preserving order when the stakes weren't at their highest."

"In short, get off your high horse, cease this absurd line of crap coming from your mouth, and actually be a friend for once to someone that sought out the Emperor in good faith. I've thrown monarchs from Pyrena Castle for less than this, don't think I'm above putting my fist through a fucking screen to cut the stream of bullshit I'm presently bearing witness to. There shall be no public apology either, if anything I was just as deceived as you were if it were not already made abundantly clear enough. If you are incapable of conducting yourself in the stature demanding of your position we may consider this conversation over until I can speak with someone who is capable of doing so."

Looking now to Emerson Beatrice sighed, "I haven't ignored you, however, until attitudes are adjusted there may be no discussion. I'm tired of my good faith in allies being kicked in my face, and I've been silent upon it for far too long. Oh," she said as she turned back to Kumiko, "the phrase 'mutual friends' should have clued you in to the fact I was speaking of the Morelanders and our present state of sour affairs. Until we're able to hear more from Lelouch, if we are able to rather, even I won't know the full extent of what he's apparently attempted to hatch from that mind of his. That being said, are you ready to proceed as an adult or are you wasting my time because I am not in the mood to be fucked around in these petty games right now."

[Achkaerin]

"The question is are you prepared to accept that you were wrong, understand the full scope of the anger and frustration felt up here because of this issue and actually do what you should have done in the first place?" It wasn't Kumiko's voice now but Serenity and she wasn't that impressed.

"As soon as the leak was public, everyone should have been on it, you should have been on it, you are the head of state of Rokkenjima and your nation's intelligence service is implicated in the assassination on foreign soil of several people. Worse within hours of the leak being made a simple phone call to the team reviewing the Anausa confirms that all the dead Rokkenjiman's were former Anausa and were on Ofdensen's payroll. This was publicly pointed out just as it was also publicly pointed out that the likelihood of the Bene Gesserit being responsible was virtually nil and that it appeared that your then Premier had asserted a Rokkenjiman policy based on a falsehood. Now East Moreland very quickly rebutted the allegation which on the basis that there was no evidence was entirely expected. Where was Rokkenjima's rebuttal? Where was the response? Nowhere to be seen, there was no response from the government and the only response from the intelligence community in Rokkenjima was a half baked story that didn't address any of the concerns at all and in fact was so preposterous it did nothing other than raise more eyebrows. You had the opportunity to stop this then and there and you didn't. That's at minimum negligent and at worst incompetence. Long story short you should have been asking the questions much earlier and you weren't, you're Imperial Councillor for intelligence is a very capable woman did you at any point ask her 'what's going on?'

Now you really want to go back through the motions? Very well then, where was Achkaerinese intelligence? Supporting Achkaerinese troops in fighting a war against a faction within Toshikawa, hunting down fugitive terrorists, beginning the process of identifying the thirty million victims of the Andean genocide, supporting operations in Uppsalla. That doesn't sound like they were ignorant or asleep on the job to me. It sounds like they were doing their job and doing it damn well considering how overworked they've been over the last four or five years.

And by the way following a genocide in which thirty million people were murdered there has to be accountability, the CTO was asked to investigate it, they did despite absurd levels of frustration tactics from Rokkenjima, and then based on the evidence gathered prosecutions were recommended and sanctioned your name was on that list because there was a case against you and you were rightly charged based on that evidence and there will never be any apologies for that. You lied not once but twice, the second time you didn't have to but you did and as result you missed the chance again to put an end to an issue before it became a problem and later down the line that brought you a conviction for perjury.

But let me get back to the main issue here, eighteen months ago a Kaitaine Intelligence agent murdered a woman called Franchesca Owens on our soil, as you might have guessed by just that Franchesca Owens was a Bene Gesserit. The man responsible is presently on trial and we regard Kaitaine's actions in this as that of state sponsored terrorism. Do you understand the full implications of that from the point of view of the situation you are now in and the position you've placed us in by not addressing this when it came up?
 
The simple truth is this your Viceregent already knows what has to happen, so does your Imperial Councillor for Intelligence I suggest you listen to them and cooperate."

[Beatrice]

"Listen..." as Beatrice was about to respond a knock came to the door, excusing herself for a moment Beatrice would return, though with a different demeanour. "Apparently the gunshot roused the Crown Princess from her sleep, if I could I'd knock the shit out of Lelouch but we'll need him, if he pulls through this. As I hope I've conveyed to him the Vicegerent has my full confidence and, given the events of tonight, I feel he should take point on this. His judgement is less biased at this moment."

"Count Emerson, if you would proceed, I've seen that the Emperor tends to Adriana until we finish here. You shan't find me overruling anything, after all, I did tell you being a yes-man wouldn't see a long-term presence here, yes?"

[Achkaerin]

Emerson nodded this wasn't going to be pleasant but this needed nipping in the bud and it needed nipping in the bud fast, he knew that the attitude in Valtheim was that they knew him to be a solid and reliable troubleshooter. He looked at Kayleigh
"Who knows about the lockdown?" Emerson asked
"Aside from palace security and everyone inside the building just the CO at Antares and the duty ASF troop." Kayleigh said, Emerson raised an eyebrow "I wasn't going to hand that over to Rokkenjima until I was certain we knew the extent of any corruption within Rokkenjima's armed forces, after the Anausa anything was possible."
"I want to see everyone who was inside the building at the time you put this place into lockdown in the ballroom in ten minutes." Emerson said, Kayleigh nodded

A few minutes later Kayleigh had managed to assemble everyone as asked, Emerson looked around the room, each of the Rokkenjiman's in it was loyal beyond reproach to Beatrice, as for himself, Kayleigh and the other Achkaerinese that made up the security they all understood what was going to have to happen.

"For anyone who doesn't know, earlier tonight Lelouch Lamperouge attempted to commit suicide in connection with the suggestion that Rokkenjima is involved in the assassination of rogue members of the Anausa, these are events that have by the Rokkenjiman intelligence community been attributed to the Bene Gesserit, an attribution which is false and when this is over Ms Araya we will sit down and discuss exactly how to walk this back, this falsehood is the motive behind Mr Lamperougue's actions earlier this evening, according to the doctor's Mr Lamperougue is regaining consciousness and will be able to leave the Palace in the morning. Obviously the outside world cannot know of any of this.

So here is the story of the night Mr Lamperougue is a good friend of the Empress and a frequent visitor to Pyrena, tonight he dined with the Empress and he accepted the offer of hospitality for the night and he was driven home in the morning. Is everyone clear on that?" Emerson asked, there were nods "Ms Araya you will need to pad that out with the suitable details as and when. Ok that's all you need to know at this time."

As the meeting broke up Emerson walked back to his office and took out his phone, this needed stopping fast and there was only one way to do that effectively he dialled the number.

"I need you to listen very carefully to what I'm about to say..." Emerson said