The year is 2018 on the Imperial Calendar the date is December 2nd and the location is the hidden base of the Black Knights Kyushu Central Base. A group of former JLF forces had informed overseeing officer General Sho of the former Japanese Army, now Area Eleven, of the base's existence. Kyushu has a very faint Britannian Presence especially in the mountain sector allowing black marketers, and Black Knight forces to use it as a primary operations site. Heavily fortified, and armed General Sho uses the base to coordinate his guerrilla efforts against the Britannian Army. Black Knight Officials are split and very few people know where high ranking members and foundation members are currently at due to the need to keep Britannia from finding key members. Despite this the European Union has chosen to place it's own division called W-1 there to assist. W-1 has been active since two months after the Black Rebellion, some members are even former Japanese soldiers whom have come back to serve their nation after leaving.

Currently there are two separate bases connected by way of a tunnel network inside the hallowed out mountains. Both mountains have a similar layout with outlaying hangers for Knightmare frames to use at their leisure. Other than that there are hidden battlements all along the mountains paved out to look like simple pathways for travelers. Inside the base there are artillery armaments hidden behind fake rocks, and more over there are plenty of armies on each floor. There are are six floors dedicated to each base with the middle ones, and top being dedicated to defensive combat in case of battle. There is a communications center on the 5th floors along with a war room well made from captured Britannian tech and carefully removed of any possible signaling devices that could be traced back to the mountains. The second floor houses electricity needs, and a barracks. The 1st floor holds an additional barracks, alongside a recreational room to keep off duty soldiers busy. All in all the bases are wide, and lengthy allowing for multiple escape routes to be used if need be and long tunnels out to discreetly move military forces from the mountains into the neighboring ports for transport.

Today is a cold day, and cloudy but General Sho has asked that a group of soldiers, and technicians report to the war room soon for a meeting regarding a shipment of Britannian Knightmare Frames meant to pacify nearby Japanese cities, and quell an uprising Black Knight group working along the costs whom also answer to General Sho directly. In order to do this Sho has stated he is considering sending some of his spies, and technicians into the base fist to sabotage them, and assist in making out with as much information from the base, and as much tech, as possible. Though the actual strategy has yet to be decided.

Robert slowly eased himself into his hair, furrowing his brows and rubbing his temples. He slowly reached into his pocket, pulling out the small flip hone he had bought when he first arrived in Area 11. As he looked at it, he saw the time, and began to question if the others were going to show up before the official meeting time, just as he had (unfortunately) done. To keep the young man company, a stern-faced Eleven who Robert assumed to be his new boss, General Sho, sat furthest from the door, with closed eyes and folded arms. Robert slowly raised himself from the chair, and began to absentmindedly investigate the war room, pacing around it slowly. It was truly a formidable area; the walls were made of solid steel, the seats were fine leather, and the entire base... was a hollowed out mountain. This was the fact that had shocked Robert the most. Surely a feat such as that was an engineering marvel... It reminded him of the famous 'Mount Fuji'. That holy mountain was turned into a mining site, and it was all done for the most precious resource of all.

Sakuradite was the magic material which fueled... everything. Not literally, of course; only everything that mattered. The Knightmare frames, Britannia, the wars... All in the name of this miraculous resource. Sakuradite was the key he needed; it, and it alone, would be the thing that allowed him to further the Knightmare frame's technology. That brought him back to the topic at hand...

Why the hell was he chosen?

Sure, he had military training, and he was a decent researcher, but a scientist has no place in a terrorist organization... Oh well. He sure as hell wasn't going to question orders. After all, his brother was receiving a nice check every other week from Robert's work, so it was worth it. Robert leaned against one of the cool, solid walls and pulled out his flip phone. Apparently, this team consisted of the best the EU had to offer. He began to search through the small number of research notes he allowed on his phone to pass the time, waiting impatiently for the other members to arrive sometime soon.

Across from Robert sat Sho stalwart as always his eyes closed, and his breathing calm and easy as if this whole thing was nothing more than a lunch date for him. He had ordered a few of his other officers to leave for a moment before Robert had come. They needed to finalize some information gathered for him for this specific mission. Before Sho sat a kettle with some tea in it and some small round cups to pour the tea into. Sho slowly reached over and poured some of it for himself before placing the kettle down. He grabbed the cup and sipped it but not before bowing his head and thanking the god Bishamonten for his good luck, past and present. Many had forgotten the ways of the Samurai, but not Sho. No he stayed to the old ways and he would do so until and after he died. He had never wondered if the gods would judge him worthy of a good afterlife as it was none of Sho Kurasaki's worry. What would be done would be done and nothing less.

However as he sat on his mat at the head of the table he couldn't help but sense something from that boy, Robert if he remembered correctly, and he knew the feelings emanating from his body language. It was something he had seen many times over. "You may speak freely Engineer. I may be your commanding officer. However if you yourself are nervous then do not be. Everyone here has their place. If not they wouldn't be here that is the simple truth. Perhaps my words mean nothing to you if that is the case then I do not mind." Sho said as he slowly opened his black eyes at Robert and placed down his cup. "We have a saying here in Japan. 'New eras don't come about because of swords, they're created by the people who wield them.'; do not focus too much on yourself view the whole world as a whole and perhaps you may find some peace in your place." Sho said simply and calmly with not hint of malice, or disrespect in his voice.

Shiomi Fuuka had been outside on patrol when the call had come in that her presence was needed in the war room. It was a cold day but she did not dislike the cold, if anything it often made the enemy less on point in the field. Of course she always had her own precautions to make sure the cold never disrupted her own abilities, gloves and heat pads made sure she always had full finger dexterity no matter the weather.

The Kyushu base was in no danger at the moment, her own patrol only picking up their own men and the occasional civilian eleven in the area. She headed inside the base and let the warmth spread over her extremities inside and out of the cold. She took off the dark cap she had been wearing for surveillance and did a quick check of all her hidden gear before proceeding down into the base.

"Pretty quiet out there ain't it Kage-hime?" A random Black Knight member piped up with a grin.

It was a nickname that had been given to her after some time in the Black Knights, due to the fact that she almost always wore dark clothing. Her usual outfit was a black, skin-tight special ops type suit with many compartments to hold her various weapons and gear, which was in fact the same outfit she was wearing right now. This outfit varied only slightly, such as when she had a dark cap on, or occasionally a black scarf, which she was actually still wearing even now. The black scarf was rarely used during important missions though.

Aside from usually wearing dark clothing, though when the situation called for it she dressed normally to blend in with crowds, her work did indeed make her a shadow. She was raised as a shadow and generally lived in the shadows where she could find and exploit the weak points in the Britannian military. Also, like a shadow she was quite good at disappearing whenever the enemy tried to put her in the light, or even friends. The princess part was just there to make it a 'female' shadow and apparently to make her seem cute. The cute part to the nickname was totally unnecessary as it totally didn't fit the description of a person who was willing to stick a blade in an enemy's neck without a second thought.

"Aside from the occasional loud-mouth Black Knight I would concur with that assessment. It is well that this location has not been sniffed out by Britannian dogs." With that said, Shiomi only gave the man a cursory glance before slipping down the corridor to head for the nearest flight down to the 5th level.

---

Shiomi made her way into the war room and with a single glance took everything in. The most prominent figure was of course general Sho, the savior of what remained after the Black Rebellion. Shiomi was grateful that such a respected and great person was the head of the current main Black Knights. Of course there were splinter groups such as the one Kallen currently was leading in a search for the traitorous Zero, but the real Black Knights now had a trustworthy leader.

General Sho seemed to be currently in a conversation with a certain Robert from the EU. Shiomi had made it her duty to know the names and faces of all from the EU so she could better keep an eye on them. Robert was more a technician than anything else but he certainly had his uses in and out of combat. Not wanting to interrupt to much she made her declaration of arrival brief.

"General, Fuuka Shiomi has arrived as requested." With a respectful salute to the General she then backed off and found a mat near the middle of the war room and sat down, so she would be able to observe as much as possible.

‘So here I am, on the other side of the world. I am not sure if the forty cronies* are trying to punish or reward me yet, but I am certain of one thing above all else; they want me gone’ Maria quietly wrote into her old leather-bound journal, a bizarre object in this digital age. She stopped writing briefly to look at her surroundings for the first time in three hours. The light of the sun was growing slightly stronger, sunbeams coming through openings in the cliff-side battlement from which she was sitting beside.

The Eleven turret gunners beside her were apparently cold with their shivering and scowling as they looked for signs of attack, though Maria felt nothing. At least the cold seems to make them more attentive Maria thought.

They ignored her; she went back to ignoring them. There was an almost total silence except for a faint cough down the corridor leading into the mountain base. Maria, unaffected, returned to her writing. ‘These people, the Elevens. They seem disciplined enough... but this country appears to already be lost. I can feel it, and the Elevens all show it on their faces. The failure of that buffoon, Zero, seems to have stripped away whatever belief in victory they had before’ Maria continued writing, glancing again at the scowling Eleven gunner. Another cough from the corridor echoed down the corridor.

'Still, they persist. In a way, it is all too similar to my beloved Ukr-'

Maria stopped writing when an Eleven soldier appeared from the darkness of the corridor, walking straight up to her before standing at attention, followed by a crisp salute.

'Lieutenant Doroshenko, General Sho requests your presence at the war room' the man spoke with an official, practiced tone.
Maria simply stared at him with a blank face, though privately shocked. Either this man has made a terrible mistake or Sho has gone behind Commander Blake’s back.

'Soldier, are you certain that General Sho requested me specifically?'

'Yes ma’am'.

'Then so be it'. Maria stood up, and followed the man down the corridor to the war room. This mission is probably going to be exceptionally dangerous if they want me there, still trying to think of a reasonable answer why they wanted her for this mission.

Or perhaps Sho has finally recognised that he needs results for this resistance to continue.

After almost ten minutes of walking, Maria walked into the War room, finding that coward Guilloux and the Eleven girl already present. She gave them a brief look before facing directly towards General Sho.

'Lieutenant Maria Doroshenko, reporting for duty sir'. She stated, giving a salute. Technically, Sho wasn’t really her commanding officer or even in the same army, but fighting for so many different ‘native’ forces against Britannia has taught her that all the generals were the same in the end.

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*: referring to the Council of 40, the governing body of Europia United.

It wasn't like today was anything different for Jack. With that being bloody freaking said it didn't make it any less tedious. Paperwork to send out to the requestioniers so they can buy their shit on the black market. Next to were Major Harold Dmitri from France, one of the key soldiers in the elite squad Aces and Hearts whom were known in Bulgaria for opposing, and winning, against Bradley of the Knights of the Round before he had been reassigned to the Russia Front. Harold was a good man, but he didn't talk much which Jack was both grateful for, and a little annoyed at. How could he really get to know Harold if he was as quiet as a brick. Harold was filling out forms for ammo, and medical equipment for him. "Ya know I really was expecting this assignment to have move of those beautiful women. I mean I guess that assassin chick we work with is hot, and the lieutenant isn't half bad but I was hoping for more eye candy you know." came the somewhat sarcastic voice of Raphael Garcia Russo from his left. Garcia....was not what you would expect from a man who survived the Spanish Coast Blitz. He was a fervent womanizer, a git, and a good friend. Garcia had been with Jack since he went back to the E.U. at first and became the man he is now. It'd taken a bit before he had gotten use to Garcia's antics but that's true for most people.

"You know, you flipping idiot, we're going to meet the General soon. I'd recommend not being you while we're there. I'd like to walk our with your limbs still attached to your body if need be. You're an idiot, but you're my idiot." Jack said frankly to Garcia who smiled and chuckled. "Also I'd like to remind you-" Jack started before Defense Specialist Aoi Amori interrupted him from his right. "That such talk is both unwelcome, and unneeded here at Kyushu you pig. We're freedom fighters and all you see is eye candy? Scum..." Aoi growled as Jack cringed, and Garcia shrugged it off. Aoi was with them because Jack had been expecting the mobile forces. "Yes there's that and the fact that he's a walking talking asshat but that's all besides the point Miss Aoi. Please though refrain from calling my men scum if at all possible." Jack stated firmly as Aoi frowned and acknowledged the order. Aoi was covered with scars all over her face, and arms. Probably more underneath the clothes. She had been fighting Britannia ever since they entered her ghetto in northern Osaka. She'd been captured, beaten, and even tortured by Britannians in her life time. Before she'd have been a beautiful women. Now she was hurt, cold, and ready to kill any Brit she found. "Aye I am wounded madam. To be called such foul things from my brother, and you my beautiful madam hurts oh so much. Perhaps some tequila later-" Garcia began before Harold slowly looked over at him and shook his head which shut him up.

"Look we're still going to meet the boss. I want all of you, and yes I'm including you too Amori, to get along while we're in front of him. I may not be the boss of you specifically Miss but I just want to make sure we're all good. After all I am also Japanese by law." Jack stated. He remembered all too well what respect meant in Japan now of days. He was the adopted son of Nagamasa Azai after all. Nagamasa was a good man and he intended to live up to his old step dad's ideals. If only until he got done with this whole mess and freed Ireland. He wanted to see his old family more than anything. Jack passed off his notes to Harold who acknowledged them and departed down the hall they were walking down towards the staircases. He needed to go to a different room. Amori told Jack she'd be on her best attitude for General Sho.

As they entered the room a few of the other officers did as well. Sho acknowledged all of them. Jack stood there in his black E.U. Officer's uniform and saluted his acting commanding officer. "Commander of W-1, Jack Blake reporting in for mission briefing sir." Jack stated before taking his place to the direct left of Azai as Amori bowed very respectfully to Sho Kurasaki but spoke no words before sitting directly opposite of Engineer Roberts. Garcia ran up to the General after saluting and knelt down next to him. "'Ey boss you got a good mission for us right? Sounds like this is going to be a good one eh? Come on 'Showtime' give us the scoop. Is it dan-" Garcia said before Sho looked directly into his eyes and calmly asked him, "Did I not ask you last time to just sit down next time you came into the war room? I will answer all your questions soon enough Corporal Garcia." Sho told Garcia as he chuckled and nodded as Amori sat there glaring daggers at him. Jack simply sat there silently not bothering to reprimand him at this point. Garcia had all the tact of a elephant seal during mating season and everyone knew it. Garcia sat down next to Fuuka and smiled over at the cold assassin. "Ah hello there my beautiful Mon'Amie! How is your day going my deadly little black widow? Same as always I assume?" Garcia said with a wink, and a warm smile.

"At ease all of you. Except Corporal Russo of course. We're waiting for finalized results from the information experts before proceeding with the next operation. Gods willing I will be sending all of you out today on a mission to destroy a Britannian Knightmare Shipment off the coast of the mainland. However I'm sure most of you know that already. I am having our officers double check to make sure that all of you are ready to risk you lives with a chance of return. I'd prefer not to waste my best, and finest out there." General Sho said calmly and with a steely edge to it.

Fenrir had been busy that moment repairing parts of his Sutherland that had been damaged on his last mission. He wore a heavy winter coat and gloves with built-in heating pads as he worked. The repairs were basic small arms fire and the light and heat from the arc welder were most appreciated as he worked silently.

While he worked he contemplated all he had been through thus far and were the rebellion was going. Most heavy on his mind was how Sho and the commanders planned to take Britannia down with minimum causalities. Maybe a mass infiltration effort, or maybe some new weapon that causes Britannia to surrender. Either way Fenrir was still a bit pissed that his last assignment had been a failure, two knightmares lost due to bad Intel, and he hadn't been given a second chance yet.

As he finishes welding his knightmare's chest mounted machine gun back in it's original place a messenger runs up to him. The messenger ,out of breath, looks up at him and calls up " Corporal Silber you presence is requested by General Sho."

Casually looking down and pushing up his welding mask so he could see the messenger "So what your telling me is that Sho wants me and he is in the war room I assume?"

"That is correct sir." The messenger replies slowly and quickly dismisses himself as Fenrir gathers some of his gear, his scarf and a heated water canteen before lowering himself to the ground and slowly making his way from the hangars to the war room in question. He stops only at the rec room on floor one to grab a quick snack and refill his canteen with some coffee.
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He finishes his morning snack of a breakfast pastry as he opens the door to the war room and looks around the room evaluating the situation. His eyes fall upon the W-1 members and the lone researcher. He looks directly at general Sho "Corporal Fenrir Silber reporting for duty general and I apologize for tardiness sir." He looks down and notices Fuuka and Maria "A pleasure to see you two are well lieutenant and miss Fuuka."

Robert, while playing with his new phone, was startled to a sitting position when the previously strict-looking man began to talk to him. The man, whom Robert was informed was named Sho, dispensed some advice that sincerely touched Robert. Ever since he had been assigned to this team, Robert has had serious doubts. There was no way in hell he was going to pass up the opportunity, but he was far from the best candidate. He had very little experience with piloting knightmares, and zero battlefield experience whatsoever. The thought that he would be selected to join an elite team... was alarming to say the least. Robert waited several seconds, thinking of an appropriate response.

"That means a lot, sir. If I may ask, who else have you selected-"

Before he could even finish his question, the door opened, revealing a woman of Asian descent, most likely Japanese. She entered the room before turning towards Sho and giving an emotionless, monotone greeting.

"General, Fuuka Shiomi has arrived as requested."

She gave a passing glance at Robert, who returned it. She was fairly short, with dark hair and grey eyes, as monotone as her voice. She carried herself with a professional atmosphere, walking heel-to-toe. She seemed far too menacing to have a conversation with, so Robert remained in silence, silently sketching the schematics from his phone into the small notebook he carried with him to pass the time. After what felt like hours, but was more likely minutes, the door opened again to reveal a women completely decked out in full uniform. Robert's heart skipped a beat.

'Lieutenant Maria Doroshenko, reporting for duty sir'.

This was the moment that Robert realized that whatever W-1 was, it wasn't just a game. Why else would they employ one of the biggest war criminals in the entire EU?! If Robert's concern showed, it dissipated quickly. After all, it is a good thing she is here, isn't it? That just meant Robert won't be on the receiving end of whatever she decided to throw Brtannias way. Besides, she has to be a good pilot if she was able to get here in the first place. As her eyes passed over Robert, he felt an incomprehensible chill run down his spine. He quickly returned to the sketching he was doing, which had devolved into creating cool drawings of mechas several minutes ago.

"Commander of W-1, Jack Blake reporting in for mission briefing sir."

Walking in now was the man who would lead the W-1 team. Jack Blake. Entering with him were two women and a man of Hispanic ethnicity, whom Robert had liked the moment he opened his mouth. Unlike the 'professionals', this 'Corporal Garcia' as ,Sho addressed him, seems alright. The two women walked to sit opposite of Robert, who immediately shut his journal, in which he had just finished drawing a giant robot with sunglasses. As he did so, however, Sho's words immediately stood out to Robert, who quickly announced his concerns as soon as Sho's overview was over.

"Not to doubt your orders, sir, but does that include me? I doubt that I am anywhere near as skilled in a knightmare as everyone else here, and I assumed I would be more of an engineer-"

Once more, the door reopened, revealing an incredibly muscular man who entered quickly entered the room.

"Corporal Fenrir Silber reporting for duty general and I apologize for tardiness sir."

After finding her spot the next one to arrive was Lieutenant Maria Doroshenko, a skilled pilot and tactician there was little doubt that she could prove an asset to their operations. According to her background information, Lieutenant Doroshenko was no alien to guerrilla war tactics which was what the Black Knights would have to resort to for the time being. Of course, this also meant that she was a crafty one and the fact that her family name was steeped in apparent treason put the lieutenant on Shiomi's high-risk watch list.

Shiomi made sure to return the woman's brief gaze with a poker face. She soon sat down after reporting to the general and that was that.

Next to come was Jack, commander of their new allies from W-1. He was a tall man who obviously looked after himself quite well. Due to his golden hair and green eyes it was impossible to miss him, especially among the mostly Japanese, Black Knights. The man was also an ace pilot so there was little doubt his skills would prove to be a great asset to their forces in the future. What really set him apart however was his past. Partially raised by Nagamasa Azai, a member of the JLF, Jack had ties to Japan which gave the man a great deal of credibility to his attempt at helping Japan win its freedom from the tyrant Britannia.

Of course Shiomi would still keep an eye on him, but in comparison to a lot of other EU members he was certainly on the more trustworthy side. Along with the commander was Amori and Garcia. Shiomi had deep respect for all that Amori had done and gone through, she was truly a tough woman. Garcia was loud to say the least, which was no doubt an understatement. Even though general Sho cut him off Garcia did not loose his tongue as he quickly picked a spot next to her and for some reason spoke a little French and compared her to a very poisonous arachnid; well admittedly the comparison kind of worked since she was a deadly assassin who wore black most of the time, though she certainly hadn't killed a mate of hers.

"Same." She responded bluntly, only giving the man the briefest of glances before focusing on General Sho and what he said.

"At ease all of you. Except Corporal Russo of course. We're waiting for finalized results from the information experts before proceeding with the next operation. Gods willing I will be sending all of you out today on a mission to destroy a Britannian Knightmare Shipment off the coast of the mainland. However I'm sure most of you know that already. I am having our officers double check to make sure that all of you are ready to risk you lives with a chance of return. I'd prefer not to waste my best, and finest out there."

So the next target had been acquired, that was good. It was even a Knightmare shipment so aside from destroying more Britannian property there was also the opportunity to procure more supplies for their forces. Of course such an operation would be risky so she found herself agreeing with General Sho's sentiments to only send those who were ready and had a high chance of survival, they needed to keep loses to a minimum at this stage.

Next to come was Fenrir Silber, one of the tallest men that Shiomi had ever seen in her life, at 6'4" he was literally over a foot taller than her. He was certainly a fighter and from what she read in reports was quite the close combat expert, which made her wonder how she would fair up in a fight against him. If she could keep her distance she could probably take him down but up close and personal it would depend on her speed and finesse. Of course they were on the same side there was no need to test any combat theories.

The man, after reporting in, turned to Maria and Shiomi to say they appeared to be in good condition. He also correctly called her by her last name, which was not something many foreigner's remembered about Japanese culture so the man at least knew something. Shiomi gave the smallest of nods before turning full attention to the meeting. At the moment there was no need for her to bring up anything.

‘I am having our officers double check to make sure that all of you are ready to risk your lives with a chance of return’

So that is it then, they think this is a mission with a high chance of death. Maria’s conclusion in her mind was thus also a confirmation that General Sho was following his own agenda, since the Commander made it clear when W-1 was first formed that he would not support her active participation in missions, despite what the C40 demanded. In a way, this made her ponder on this Eleven general, and the fact that maybe she had found a new ally amongst this virtual swarm of naivety.

From her sitting position, Maria saw Blake and his inner circle of followers arrive. The Commander saluted as she had, the Spanish lech then almost immediately made moves on the Eleven assassin girl. Predictable Maria though, though she acknowledged at least he was no coward, as he had tried a similar introduction with her when they had first met in Paris before the departure for this country.

More than she could say for the Frenchman who almost screamed fear in his eyes. To be honest, the man’s question concerning the inappropriateness for his presence in this mission was in ways her question too. Why had Sho bothered to call in both him and herself for the same mission?

This was a destroy mission wasn’t it, not a capture one?

Finally, a very tall man in a Black Knights uniform appeared through the doorway. Though the man was apparently with the Black Knights, he was obviously not an Eleven, seeing as he was clearly Caucasian in appearance.

He walked straight up to her and the Eleven assassin. Two in merely moments, they were quite popular today it seemed. Perhaps another lech?

“A pleasure to see you two are well lieutenant and miss Fuuka” the strange Black Knight said.

Bizarre. He acts as though she recognises him? Does he actually think she looks at and memorises every single Black Knight she passes? Though, she supposed, with such an out of the place appearance, perhaps he was right to assume she would remember or recognise him.
She debated what her response to this issue should be, or if she should even respond. The Eleven had decided to ignore him and look at Sho. Her military discipline told her the right action would be to ignore him and look to Sho too.

Still, Sho clearly wasn’t doing anything as they were still waiting for the ‘information experts’ to give their findings... and the only other topic of discussion was either concerning the Frenchman or Garcia’s endless flirting. Almost mentally face palming, she decided why not.

“Sorry, Corporal Silber was it? I haven’t seen you before” she tried responding as politely as she could, trying to ignore the fact she was in a room filled with people she typically detested. She doubted any real conversation could be struck up in the middle of a meeting, even with Garcia derailing it, but there was always the future.

Who knew, maybe this out of place Black Knight saw the war against the Britannians as she did.

Before Sho could answer Robert's question one of the men from the technical division walked in followed by two of Fujimori Hirai's men. Fujimori was one of the more interesting folks in the base as he rarely was seen outside of his own room, or the intelligence gathering areas. Constantly at work, very quiet, and more than scary enough for anyone to be afraid of. He wasn't a Black Knight, nor was he a member of W-1, or some question why he even participates in the war. Fujimori's only known information from his background is heavy ties to the black market, heavy ties to all corners of Japan, and even around the world, and the fact that Sho trusted him implicitly. He was responsible for the gathering of all the men in this room. Some say he even started their alliance with W-1 in the first place. With all the mystery surrounding the man it was clear that any sign of his handwork would greatly benefit his allies, and be detrimental to his enemies if he had found something out. However it would seem he neglected to come into the room himself as the other three men sat down in the room Sho was handed a disk by one of the soldiers. He thanked the officer for it and asked for quiet in the room.

Sho put the disk into the table in front of him, which was made with a holographic projector, and a 3'D image of the Britannian base appeared in front of them all. It was a fairly standard compound with two hangers for Knightmare Frames, a dock near the west edge of the base, and a main building with two branching areas for the barracks, and other vital rooms. There were also a few watch towers scattered throughout the area and a few landing pads for helicopters. It wasn't Sho who spoke up however but one of the officers from Fujimori's division.

"This base is called A-3 and is one of the staging compounds for the Britannian pacification squads in southern Japan. They use it to primarily ferry in knightmare frames, arms, and supplies to their men here. They use other civilian ports to bring in construction supplies for the efforts of rebuilding at this current time. As such we should not worry about alienating fellow Japanese allies in the area. There is a slightly above standard amount of soldiers placed here, and their defenses are mainly stationed at the gate, and among the coast lines. Commanding Officer of this base is Harding Carry. He was one of the men who systematically massacred an entire platoon of traitor Britannian honoraries, civilians, and Black knights during Zero's failed Rebellion. They have no known advanced suits here. Primary suits are still Sutherland models. Reports from W-1 state that Gloucesters are being used heavily in Russia right now. I will now switch over to General Sho for the battle plan he has already made for you." the man said smoothly as he nodded at Sho who drank more tea before clearing his throat.

"Gentlemen, and ladies gathered here today I have called you all here because I believe you are the most available parties for this mission. Our mission today is capture, search, and destroy. With an additional option for assassination. As such we're going to do as followed. First we will send in members of W-1 on foot with the Shiomi assisting them. They will go into teams of two consisting of Garcia, Robert, and Maria. Garcia, Robert, and Maria will lend legitimacy to this as they appear similar to the everyday Britannian Soldiers. Once there Garcia, and Robert will go and disable defenses along the coast line, and then proceed to the hanger bay to procure suits for Shiomi, and Maria. Two more can be procured if the other two feel they can handle the job of piloting the enemy Sutherlands. We have a new hacking module developed in the Black Market that will allow you to bypass the system locks on the knightmare frames. Do not get caught with this. It will look like any standard knightmare key. I will arm both of you with silencers to quietly take out anyone in the hanger. If you fail to disable the defenses needless to say we will be facing an uphill battle. At worse that means all four of you will die if you can't escape. Once you procure frames for yourselves then proceed to prepare any you can for transport. If you can't then destroy them. All of them."

"Then once that is finished you will join the second phase. Amori will take command of the transport ships. While she is invaluable as a defense asset here I can handle it myself if need be. Jack will take command of the remaining soldiers and land in the base from the docks. We attack from behind, and inside at the same time. While this is happening Shiomi, and Maria will take out system communications to prevent calling for help. Jam them, or kill the operators it's your choice. Maria is to immediately join the fight, and Shiomi will then proceed to either flee, or assassinate Harding for his crimes. A man of his notoriety is a dead man as far as I am concerned. Once the fight is done we will transport any captured assets to our landing ships, and then flee into the open ocean. If all goes correctly you will all proceed to lose any remaining trackers at sea, and return to Kyushu. Is there any questions on the nature of this mission. Or any doubts in my plan? Speak them now or be silent." Sho explained as Jack nodded towards Sho.

"You have none from me. It sounds like a well thought out plan. My main concern is flying units but knightmares can handle them easily. I will lead the ground forces to the best of my abilities." Jack stated with no concern at all. In truth he trusted that Sho and didn't doubt his plan would work. However he wasn't too sure if the others had the balls needed to properly complete the mission's first half. Well aside from the desert rat Maria at the very least. Knowing of her exploits in the deserts were sure enough to make sure she got out alive, or failed trying.

Fenrir looks at the lieutenant and smiles slightly while also chuckling, "I'm not surprised by that Lieutenant Doroshenko. I rarely leave the knightmare hangar and when I do its for a mission or to go to the rec room. However I do know a little about you. Your Ukrainian and have a adorable panzer-wespe resting in the same hangar as my Sutherland." He walks a little ways and takes a seat not to far from Robert and looks at the general. He watches Sho retrieve the disk and show the Britannian base's layout and calmly forms a basic attack scenario in his head before turning his attention to the Fujimori officer's speech.

"This base is called A-3 and is one of the staging compounds for the Britannian pacification squads in southern Japan. They use it to primarily ferry in knightmare frames, arms, and supplies to their men here. They use other civilian ports to bring in construction supplies for the efforts of rebuilding at this current time. As such we should not worry about alienating fellow Japanese allies in the area. There is a slightly above standard amount of soldiers placed here, and their defenses are mainly stationed at the gate, and among the coast lines. Commanding Officer of this base is Harding Carry. He was one of the men who systematically massacred an entire platoon of traitor Britannian honoraries, civilians, and Black knights during Zero's failed Rebellion. They have no known advanced suits here. Primary suits are still Sutherland models. Reports from W-1 state that Gloucesters are being used heavily in Russia right now." As the officer ends his little overview Fenrir smiles slightly and thinks to himself "Only Sutherlands? Too easy of a target."
His smile slowly fades as he listens to the general's battle plan and silently tore it apart bit by bit to study. There were too many variables and things that could go wrong, what if the base was being reinforced as they speak? That was the least disastrous situation He could thing of before looking at the general. "And where will I be General? I do have a Sutherland that still as a Britannian signal relay in it and the Fenris is always ready for a rapid deployment mission or a search and destroy."

"As stated you, and your team will be assisting W-1's Jack Blake. I am assigning you to destroying the enemy defense network that's left. It's as simple as that. Your voice, and that look in your eyes tells me that you're worried. These are all the variables that are on the table at this current moment. If there's any changes it is out of our hands before the attack. Besides their current focus is getting those knightmares to fight Kozuki's team in the central japan region. Do you want fellow Black Knights to die because you failed to try and defend them? The pressure is on the four of you in team one to stop that from happening. Black Knights are falling by the day out there. The Black Rebellion is only as dead as you allow it to be." Sho commented bluntly and to the point as he looked directly at Fenrir. "As for your knightmare frame I'm not sure if you've forgotten but I've disabled it for the moment and replaced it with a Burai's. I am saving all Britannian signals for a mission of vital importance later. The less they think we have the more advantage we accumulate."

Sets His jaw and stiffens slightly as he grits his teeth and stares at the General with distaste and cold anger at the mention of letting his fellow Knights die because he failed. "I will never allow comrades to die in cold blood General, nor would I waste valuable resources in vital raid. However General, only three people in this world are allowed to touch let alone pilot my Fenris and that's him,.." He hooks his thumb over his shoulder at Robert, "Her,..." takes a moment to point at Maria, "and myself."

His attention turns to Jake "Jake Blake, a Four and probably the most qualified squad leader in this room." He nods slightly showing his respect towards the Irishman "It will be an honor to serve under someone with your skill and legacy Mr. Blake." He smiles ever so slightly "And from one Irishman to another I look forward to a long friendship."

Shiomi listened intently to General Sho as he explained the operation. The operations success would depend on stealth for the first phase, then speed for the second phase. While Harding Carry was technically a secondary objective, Shiomi made special note to accomplish all secondary objectives as well, unless it proved impossible, every commanding officer taken down as a chip taken out of the Britanian command structure. She would do everything in her power to assassinate the swine when the time came.

The large European had questions about the operation, and though General Sho addressed his concerns, Fenrir seemed a bit off put. It was rather obvious that the man felt a lot more comfortable around fellow Europeans than the native Japanese.

"Being able to deceive the enemy is an integral part of warfare, we cannot show our hand before we have a chance to strike a decisive blow against our foes." Shiomi commented to add onto what general Sho said about Britanian signals being saved for later. "I will do everything in my power to assist team one in their mission, no matter what obstacles appear I will insure the mission's success, general."

The new hacking tool would no doubt prove useful, also since it was a coastal operation, Shiomi had the option of using the sea to sneak in with some scuba gear. As long as they did not give themselves away early, they had a good chance to pull off the mission.

Robert listened to the plan that Sho had laid out, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. Why the hell was he going behind enemy lines? Do they want him to die? Compared to everyone else in the room, Robert was by far the worst when it came to piloting a Knightmare frame. Just because he knew how they worked, didn't men he was good at using them. And as the plan Sho relayed to the group continued, Robert's thoughts began to drift even more so towards the risk: surely, General Sho had some back-up plan in case group one failed, right? That thought was quickly rectified when it was revealed that it was a stealth mission: something that Robert was absolutely untrained for. But there was no going back now. After all, he was french, and looked like a Britannian. That did not help him with the thought that he would be paired up with Marcia. Then again, how in the world would anyone be mentally prepared to trust someone whom they just met - And knew that they killed dozens, if not hundreds of people, and tortured a lot of them. No, Robert thought to himself. Think positively. Sure, you have a war criminal on your team, but you also got that guy Garcia; he's pretty chill.

Thankfully, Robert was not the one to voice his concerns with General Sho's plan. The one man who arrived late, Fenrir, voiced his concerns with the mission. Unfortunately, however, his concerns were waved off. Sure, the lives of the black knights were valuable, but throwing W-1 lives away with a plan like that wasn't going to solve anything. The lead of the pencil he was writing in his journal with snapped, and he slowly shut his book.

Robert sighed.

"If that is your order, than I shall obey you, General Sho. If you would be kind enough, may you tell us when you plan to begin this mission? Also, what will our disguise be? Do you have Britannian soldier uniforms?"

The gruff voice of Fenrir rung out again, in retaliation to the tampering of his Knightmare.

To this, Robert became confused. He understood the fact that a specialized Knightmare could be named, as it was one of a kind, but he couldn't wrap his head around naming something like a Sutherland. They far outclassed the Glasgow, sure, but they were still infantry units. Their is no need to name something that was likely going to be destroyed anyways. The other thing that startled Robert, was the fact that Fenrir pointed towards him when referring to people who were allowed to touch his Knightmare. This confused him only briefly, however, as he could see how someone would come to the conclusion that he was a researcher. After all, he was the only person wearing a damn lab coat.

He opened his journal, and pulled a pen from his breast pocket. As he did so, he began to trace out his own Sutherland, which he had not seen since arriving here.

"I am not one to insist that people follow my own philosophy but it is more than clear to everyone in this room that you are not a fan of this plan Mr. Fenrir. I myself am a 'Black Knight' for however brief my entrance into the rebellion was. I am sending you there because I have every confidence in your skill as a soldier. If I am wrong you may remove yourself from this room at once and go patrol the base. I will find someone else within the knights to make sure this plan goes off well. You're anger, however right, or wrong it maybe, is clouding your judgement and preventing you from seeing the bigger picture here. I was going to reveal this in a moment but since Robert has asked you will all be disguised as Britannian Soldiers. In uniform. You will enter through the front gate in a truck secured by Fujimori's crew. One of our sleeper agents will take the front gate shift with falsified orders to do so and let you in. To anyone else it will be a normal crew coming to reinforce the base. Or coming back from patrol. If at all possible if things go wrong the agent will let you out. Do not rely on him however as he must watch his own back. It is already a large risk for him to even go out and openly support this plan. If he can't save you then you must improvise. I can't exactly send Jack in with a fully protected base and have Amori's entire team be incinerated." Sho said calmly not lifting his tone, or changing it. He was calm, cool, and collected and he showed no sign of the hostility being shown to him by Fenrir to be getting to him in the slightest. However Amori herself was clearly displeased by Fenrir's comments and held back her tongue to not insult her commanding officer.

"I respect your dedication to your people, and you honor me with your words. However General Sho is by far the most experienced man in this room. If we can't pull off the plan he has made then we're poor soldier. My friends back in Ireland before it's take over were all in trusted as a whole by my father, and his officers to do our jobs. If we were told to put a pipe bomb near enemy lines we did it. If we were told to shoot down an entire squad of britannian infantry with heavy equipment we got it done or died trying, and if someone needed to be rescued or a distraction needed to be done we asked how many bullets would we need, and how loud to make it happen respectively. I promise you all if you can disable their defenses I will do my best to destroy the enemy before they can hurt you. Robert I'm not sure if you entirely understand why you're here yet. You're in charge of disabling, or wrecking those sutherlands in the enemy base. Alongside their defenses. Do anyone of us here look like we're trained to disable high tech machinery? I certainly can't. The extent of my training is blowing things up with bombs in that situation. Lord Sho has clearly put trust in your skills as a person, and an engineer to make sure this mission can properly go off without an issue. Garcia, and Maria are simply there for making sure you don't die, and Shiomi is a back up plan for that."

"I'll vouch for Garcia when I say that he will help you or die trying to save you if things go wrong. However the fact that you're all thinking this MAY go wrong is showing a defeatist attitude towards it. This plan WON'T go wrong. It will go right and we won't die the britannians will. Harding needs to be taken down. Then we can all return to our own proper sectors and be assigned our own missions once we're done. Unless one of you wants to call me out for being wrong in which case this mission may as well be tossed aside for all your dedication to our cause. I have faith in all of you to get this done. We're not miracle workers like that faker Zero but we're soldiers, and resistance fighters. If we can do one thing it's bring down a well organized system." Jack explained with passion as he pressed his hand towards his chest and held it there with a fierce look on his face. He hoped that rallied some of the people still worried about this. If not then this mission was already in danger. They couldn't afford to be thinking negatively.

Nods towards Sho his anger slowly fading due to him just wanting to go and finish the last minute repairs to his Sutherland. "I will go along my general for I do owe you a great debt after the incident with the Massacre." He sits a bit straighter and takes a shallow, but deep breath "I only ask that I maybe allowed to outfit my Fenris with it's jousting lance if possible General,.." He looks around the room quickly and quietly. " and I do apologize to all of those present for my outburst and will try to contain my tongue in the future."

Settling down Fenrir thinks on the battle plan set before him and the new variables set in place by Sho and Jack. If they could get the researcher, the lieutenant, Lady Fukka, and possibly two others as well to the enemy Sutherlands quickly and quietly there was the added bonus of a surprise attack. He sits back in silence thinking quietly to himself for several moments before looking up "General Sho do we have and indication of troop and knightmare numbers currently in the enemy base? If we do could they be given to us now or do we have any information on their defense grid? Number of turrets and their locations, guard patrols, sifts for the watch besides our sleeper agent? Any and all of this information could change the tide of battle." He grins slightly "Also most importantly do we have an exact location of our secondary target this Mr. Harding?"

"Researchers indicate about a platoon of soldiers are stationed there with a nearby base about some twenty miles away. They won't make it in time if you all do your jobs correctly. The general location of the assassination suspect is usually around either the office he has in the main building, or patrolling the base. He's a very career driven individual. Shouldn't be hard to find him. Just don't expect help from the soldiers around the base." said the information specialist frankly to Fenrir. "Standard Britannian Base. Men in the front along the walls, a few turrets on the watch towers, patrols through the base but no real checkpoints. At worse an officer will want to know where you're going. Deal with them as you see fit. It will be Jack's job to simply go through this. Any further questions?" Sho asked as he scanned the room with his eyes looking for anyone who may have a question left. No one spoke up further from Jack's Squad, and Amori silently sat there waiting for the order to be dismissed.

Shiomi listened silently to the back and forth going on in the room. The one man seemed a bit miffed but at least he managed to get back on track after some side discussion. Jake proved that he could at least talk the part fairly well as he stood up for the general and his orders. It was a decent speech that made its point crystal clear, even believe a mission is impossible.

One of the easiest ways to mess up on a mission was to let self-doubt and fear cloud your judgement. A favorite tactic of an assassin was to cause a state of panic in a target one could not take out without being noticed. When the mind was clouded one could make simple mistakes or even forget basic tactics, allowing their opponent to capitalize on those mistakes. When going on any mission it was important to plan but never to fully rely on that plan so that one could adapt to the situation. Only with a clear mind, free from doubt could one always make the best decision in the field.

"I believe all relevant issues have been addressed general." Shiomi spoke in her usual monotone, "We should all prepare for the operation to come. At your command general." Shiomi bowed to General Sho from her seat, ready to depart at a single word from the general.