As the five Gundams landed in Solomon's Base. The mechs walked to the G-Force hangar. The hangar had a platform that took them underground.
The underground was a base in its own right. A deep complex of R&D related to many Anaheim Technologies, where barely any military personnel are allowed.
Only a select few could enter, and it's where Legion is watching closely in case someone wanted to steal the information.
It's where Marcus' paranoia is in full display.
As the mechs arrived at their maintenance platforms, the pilots left their cockpits one after another.
"Congratulations on your first successful mission, boys and girls." Marcus, with Leila and Kallen, walked over. He enjoyed looking at his Gundams in full display.
"It was not that difficult, my Prince." Jeremiah swiftly commented on how easy it was.
"For now, enjoy the success. We have no idea how drastic Schneizel or the Emperor's actions could be.
Legion already has suspicion that the Emperor is on the move, and I think the same thing.
[The Royal Train has been utilised. It's stuck in the Bering Strait area. This is Emperor Charles' personal mode of transportation.
It could be that he oversaw the mission in Northern China in person.]
"He was there!? I could have captured him!" Kallen puffed when she heard that.
"No need. If we capture him, it would open another can of worms. Including Schneizel becoming radical."
Marcus said with a frown.
"And what could that do?" She asked with crossed arms.
"He could do some drastic measures in trying to take us out.
Including biological warfare." The Exiled Prince said with a frown.
"..." Kallen stopped in her tracks for a second.
"When you corner a predator, he will become reckless; that is more obvious when we compare it to an intelligent individual.
"Then why don't we take them out… at once?" She suggested, and everyone waited for him to answer.
[It would lead to the shattering of the entire Empire. There is a high chance of internal conflicts that could lead to the deaths of thousands, if not millions. That is more evident with how many Princes and princesses are still alive.]
"Indeed. That is why we will only move against Britannian when we have conquered the rest."
Marcus smiled while saying that.
"That's just you wanting to enjoy the conquest of your homeland," Kallen replied, as she understood how much he enjoyed that.
"Indeed, or you can deal with the fallout of the world's biggest Empire."
"..."
That was what she didn't want to deal with. Now that he mentioned a chance of civil war, that will involve innocent lives.
[Sir, I detect Britannian movement in Africa.]
"Hmm?"
[They are retreating. It's a systematic retreat. My calculations suggest that they are abandoning their overseas territories.]
"Doesn't that mean Ragnarok Connection won't work?" Suzaku commented, This news surprised him!
[My predictions on the Emperor are that he won't stop. It's more or less a temporary delay for him.
I suggest tactical destruction of Thought Elevators.]
"..."
"As expected of my old man." Marcus chuckled as he looked at Jeremiah, who had a briefcase.
"Is that it?"
"The Geass Code of V.V.," The knight offered to the Prince.
The Exiled Prince took it and then opened the case. It was a child's skull with a crimson bird sigil on the forehead.
"...To think that one could survive a giga particle cannon. This thing is beyond supernatural." Leila said with a frown.
The Giga Electromagnetic Particle Cannon is the most destructive weapon Anaheim has devised. That thing is so potent that it should be capable of melting the most durable materials known to mankind.
Yet… a skull survived?
"It didn't survive Leila, it was the code that survived, not V.V.," The Prince said while looking at the skull with his Geass eyes.
He was not surprised; his eyes told him what he was suspecting.
"We can put the last nail in the coffin for the whole 'Immortality' thing. This is not true Immortality. Extremes of space would end this form of immortality.
This allows a high potency of Geass energy to flow through the body. It regenerates existing flesh, mending things like bones as long as they regenerate from somewhere.
If there is not enough organic template, then you would have this." He was holding the skull in his palm.
"So… It requires some sort of template to continue to regenerate. If you do not have enough materials to base the regeneration on, then it won't work." She concluded this.
"This was only possible because we had overwhelming power to test it on." Marcus chuckled as he was more than happy to have a code.
Now he doesn't need to worry about Ragnarok Connection.
Amusingly, C.C. didn't mention that yet.
"So yeah… immortality my ass… if I throw this immortal into the sun or any Gas Giants, then you are as good as dead just like any other mortal being."
"I don't think they even considered something like space in their immortality tests." Leila and the rest looked at Marcus with strained smiles.
"Can we not talk about this with a skull in your hand…" Kallen grimaced while saying that. " It is creepy as hell."
"Sure."
~~~
After a short debriefing, Marcus was back in his workshop with the skull of his uncle.
'Sounds crazy.'
The Prince realised that he had the skull of his blood-related uncle, and that was wild!
Regardless, he placed the skull in a specially prepared scanner. It was a pedestal with energy scanners, and at the same time, it would bombard the skull with an array of waves.
"Begin in-depth scan."
[Scanning.]
The pedestal began to glow as waves of different colours began to scan the skull.
Marcus looked at the holograms, which began to show the reading of the scan.
"You want to tame the Geass?" Leila asked as she followed him into the workshop, as did Kallen.
The pair were looking at him and what he was doing.
"That much should be obvious. I am an inventor and scientist.
The secrets of Geass shall be ours."
"...Some things should not be uncovered," Leila said to him as she covered her right eye.
"You still haven't checked into what your Geass changed, Leila."
Marcus sighed while saying that.
"And I am not going to try." She said with a frown.
"Wait! Your Geass changed!?" Kallen gawked when she heard that.
*Nod*
Leila simply nodded without explaining.
"My girlfriend is coming to terms with reality as soon as we are approaching the date of our ascension to the throne." He joked while saying that.
"Leila realised that she would be Empress and that made her feet cold." Marcus joked.
"Don't be ridiculous!" The blonde blushed while saying that.
"I simply realised that there are some people who don't deserve to be understood. Some are simply vile, there are good people, and there are bad for the sake of being bad."
"...Duh…" Kallen rolled her eyes.
The response made Leila look at Kallen with a heated look. She made the blonde look like an idiot!
"Kallen, Leila was a bit sheltered when it came to her upbringing." Marcus teased his girl.
"...Can't we not speak about this!?"
"Sure. However, in the theme of Empress, I want that too!" Kallen puffed her cheeks.
Leila looked at the crimson-haired girl for a second.
"You are not really his girlfriend. I haven't seen anything that classifies you to deserve that title." The blonde concluded, making the pilot girl narrow her eyes at her.
"What do I lack?" She asked with a bit of heat.
"Not what you lack, it's what you don't do." Leila countered with narrowed eyes.
"...Do?"
"Indeed, I haven't seen you doing any sort of breakfast for him, or visiting for the sake of visiting. You only visit when you are feeling down—"
Marcus looked surprised for a bit. Leila was watching… watching like a hawk!
The more blonde said, the more Kallen lost her heat; by the end, she was feeling a bit ashamed.
"...W-Well… I—"
"Hmph. That's what I am saying. The competition is stiff."
The blonde then leaned forward and whispered something into Kallen's ear.
Whatever she said made the crimson-haired girl blush hard.
"...H-H-How could I do any of that!?"
"If you can't, then why are you even asking to be Empress?" After saying that, Leila pulled back and walked deeper into the workshop.
Marcus looked at Kallen for a few moments before looking at Leila.
Whatever it was… made Leila the winner in this competition.
"Leave her be. Kallen needs to sort this out by herself." His girlfriend said to him as her fingers swirled the tips of her hair.
"...Sure, I guess." He didn't argue, females are supposed to know females better… He is merely a Conqueror and Inventor, not a Female psychologist.
Kallen turned around and walked away. She needs to process what she just learned.
The thing was… Leila made sense. Their relationship is a bit vague.
The reason for this vagueness is that he already has a girl. So Kallen always concludes that Leila or Mily can take it from there; she didn't invest more time.
And Marcus himself doesn't find much time to do anything. He has the entire galaxy to conquer after all!
~~~
"You still don't like this?" Marcus asked Leila after Kallen left the workshop.
"Of course I don't. It's a literal skull in your workshop." She said with a frown.
"Yes. Well, that apart. Geass is a source of mind energy that can impact people's minds.
It's something that we could harness." The Inventor Prince said to her as he was comparing data from his Geass and comparing readings from the Code.
"...Some things should not be touched in my opinion."
"Indeed. Like fire or lightning." He replied sarcastically.
She looked at him and rolled her eyes.
"You are going to use that card on me? Are you serious?"
"We literally tame elements. Something we shouldn't have. People worshipped those like gods. In the most literal sense, we were something that should have belonged to the Gods themselves." He said with crossed arms.
"With Fire, we created the first Empires, and bend metal to our will.
With Lightning, we can share information nearly instantaneously with the entire world and turn night into day.
So yeah… I am using that card.
Who knows, in future we could bend and manipulate minds to our will because of this energy."
"..." Leila frowned for a second before sighing, raising her hands in defeat.
"Do whatever you think is right."
"It's not right or wrong. It's what one wants to satisfy one's curiosity." He smiled at her.
"Do remember that cavemen who tried to tame fire got burned many times." She reminded him.
"Indeed, because humanity at the core is stupid, that is why we are smart."
"You make no sense." Her shoulders sank while saying that.
"Curiosity makes us ignore danger, but it's what makes us special.
Just look what I am trying to do." He leisurely motioned towards one of his holograms. It was an overview of the space programs.
The state of his three SWORD stations/colonies. However, he is already gathering resources for two more.
Since he needs more refineries and more assembly lines.
"Tell about this to anyone two or three years ago. Tell them that you want space exploration. Just watch their expressions, especially when my father is proclaimed a warmonger.
People would call you a lunatic and a fool for focusing on something like space when there is a warmongering empire next door." Marcus already saw some people in E.U call him an idiot. But sadly, that was before they lost several major cities to rebels…
"And you are a fool to do that. But then again. It has been proven that having space gives us an ultimate aerial advantage. The Giga Particle cannon is proof that we are a superior force in this war." Leila understood what he was getting at. But there is a difference.
And that the difference is technology.
"Indeed, that's why I said I am both an idiot and a genius. Because I am breaking the norms, my sheer force of will is making humanity a space-fearing civilisation.
Like that caveman who was not afraid of fire and, for the first time in history, decided to cook the meat and not eat it raw." Marcus laughed when he mentioned the last part.