Chapter Text
Knightmare Frame Manufacturing Inc.
I
Being an immortal was like a roller-coaster.
At first, nothing was really different. Sure, you sometimes walked away from incidents that should have killed you, but after spending years fighting against Britannia and after watching C.C. come back from what should have been certain death as often as he did, it wasn't really all that special. A bit off-putting at first to be sure, but that's it. Staying out of sight of the public was honestly much more of a concern for him, being officially dead and all that.
Then, after a few decades, things made a turn for the worse because he suddenly learned first-hand what it meant to watch his loved ones age and die before his eyes. He would take the pain of being pierced by a sword a thousand times over the unbearable, anguishing feeling that he had in his chest when he watched Nunnally's funeral procession. It was probably his greatest regret that he had never found the courage to visit her one last time, to apologize for what he had put her and the world through and tell her how much he loved her.
However, if there was one positive thing that came from this, then it was the development in his relationship with C.C. They had been partners and friends -and even lovers, though he hated that term with a passion- for a long time by that point, longer than he had realistically assumed they would be able to endure each other's presence, but this time in their life brought them even closer together. For all that she had long since started to be more open with her emotions, it was only when she helped him go through his grief that they really started to move their relationship to the next level.
He proposed to her exactly twelve years, four months, and sixteen days after Nunnally's death.
He never told her that this was the anniversary of the day they met. If she realized it anyway, she never brought it up either.
This event was the starting point of the next phase in his immortal life. With almost a century since his supposed death having gone by, it was safe for them to walk through public without any sort of disguise. People might notice his eerie similarity with the 'Demon Emperor', though wearing casual clothes instead of royal robes was usually enough to keep people from noticing it by this point, but no one alive at this time went through the terror of his reign. For all that they knew about his deeds, their dislike for him was only second-hand and this was not enough to make them antagonize him for his looks alone. So, with his newfound freedom and no remaining connections to his old life, he and C.C. were free to wander the world end enjoy their lives; they travelled ancient and historical sites, created lives for themselves in some remote parts of the world before abandoning them because people noticed that they didn't age, and generally did whatever came to their minds. It was an entirely new experience for both of them to be as free and unbothered by anything as this and they enjoyed it with all their beings.
This phase held for almost two centuries before things started to slow down a bit. Not only did he slowly but surely grow tired of all these young people -he now understood that C.C.'s early aloofness was as much a product of her loneliness as it was because of her so much greater life experience- but there weren't many new things to do anymore. Not to say that there were no things, of course, as there would always be new things to discover, but nothing truly caught their eyes. They spent this time mostly alone in sparsely populated areas, enjoying each other's presence and the serenity of their togetherness.
There were days during which they didn't speak with each other at all and times where one of them vanished for a few months on their own. After all, no matter how much you cared for someone, being together for literal centuries meant that you sometimes tired of the other's presence. However, they almost returned to each other in the end.
Then the news of a breakthrough in the research regarding space travel reached them.
That had never been a priority for any superpower in the past and had only become a topic during the end of the reign of Nunnally's grandson because people concentrated more on other issues, but once people got interested in it, the progress was fast. Unfortunately for many alien enthusiasts out there, it was quickly concluded that their galaxy was pretty empty in regards to other lifeforms. There might be civilisations out there somewhere, but none of the millions of planets they had discovered seemed to house any of them. People still talked about colonizing other planets, but the hope of finding other species out there in the vastness of space soon faded away.
However, he and C.C. made a different conclusion. Just because there was no other life in this galaxy didn't mean there wasn't any in other galaxies, right?
They needed months to get their hands on a spaceship and the necessary equipment to get themselves into hibernation -hey, just because they were immortal didn't mean that they were interested in spending centuries and possibly even millennia with nothing to do- but once they had them, there was nothing left to stop them anymore.
If there was life somewhere in the universe, they would find it.
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
The galaxy is at war!
While the brave clone soldiers fight to defend the Republic from the vile clutches of the Separatists and the valiant Jedi try to expose the Sith Lord that hides in the shadows, a member of the Separatist's very own council tries to uncover the truth!
Lelouch Lamperouge, CEO and owner of “Knightmare Frame Manufacturing Inc.", fights to bring justice and order to the Outer Rim that had been exploited and discarded by the Republic for millennia, even if that means allying himself with shady figures like Count Dooku.
Noticing the crimes committed by the people that should be his allies and the questionable actions that go against what the CIS stands for, Lelouch Lamperouge begins to make his own moves behind the scenes to transform the Confederacy into the force of good that it was always meant to be.
At the same time, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, together with his padawan Ahsoka Tano, are sent on a secret mission to the industrial planet of Ashford deep into Separatist space to take one of their most dangerous enemies out of the war...
“This wouldn't have happened if we got the reinforcement we were promised! It will cost fortunes to rebuild everything that was destroyed when we ultimately retake the planet!”
Dooku watched the holographic figure of Magistrate Passel Argente, head of the Corporate Alliance, with a calm expression, but Lelouch was sure that the count felt just as annoyed as he did. Listening to that man's complains gave him a headache and made him wonder not for the first time if his goals were even worth it to be part of this council, especially because he had long since realized that this body for all its supposed power ultimately did whatever Dooku told them to. Well, aside from himself, that was. But then again, he was also the only one who was part of this council not for the profit but because he actually cared about the proclaimed goals of the CIS.
The only thing that made the man's whining somewhat endurable was the fact that he had not the slightest idea that this incident was planned by him for the very beginning.
“Magistrate,” Dooku finally interrupted the man while raising a placating hand. “Please cease your complaints. I'm sure we will find suitable ways to compensate you for your losses. There are many bounties to be gained from conquered planets, after all.”
“Even if that may be so, Count,” Nute Gunray said. “It doesn't change that Lamperouge promised aid that never arrived.” The slimy Neimoidian turned towards him. “Where were those machines you are so proud of when the Republic's forces overran Kooriva?”
He leaned back with a lazy smirk on his face that he knew infuriated other people. “Well, my dear Viceroy, as you would know if you bothered to keep up to date with military matters, there was an ambush on my ships while I was on my way. They outnumbered my meagre escort fleet, so I was forced to flee before I would be annihilated.”
What he left out was that he had leaked the information of his flight path just hours prior.
“Pah!” Gunray scoffed. “Don't you always boast about winning against impossible odds? Where was your genius then, I ask you!”
“You mistake me with the HoloNet,” he replied with a soft chuckle. “I never claimed such a thing.”
“We're way too depended on your own factories for these 'Knightmares' of yours,” Passel Argente said. “We might have been able to defend ourselves if we had a few battalions of them on stand-by! If you would just share the design-”
He didn't let him finish. “We already went over this often enough. The designs stay with me and my company, and it will be only my own factories that are allowed to build them. We didn't spend centuries safeguarding our secrets just for me to give them away like free candy to everyone that asks.”
“Everyone else here shared their resources as well! You can't just reap the benefits but keep your secrets for yourself!”
“Didn't I spend a lot of my money for our cause? Don't my droids and even I myself fight on the frontlines while you hide behind your armies? I would say I do more than enough. Besides, we all know that everyone in this round keeps secrets to themselves. You're just jealous because my droids have proven for generations now that they're superior to yours .”
“You-”
“Peace, my friends,” Dooku interrupted them. “It is his good right to keep things to himself. After all, he's right when he says that all of us do the same.” He then addressed him directly. “However, it is also true that your Knightmares are some of our most effective weapons, especially when they're under your direct command. I understand that you're hesitant to spend the money necessary to build more factories, but you would surely be willing to do so if the Confederacy takes over the cost, would you?”
He ignored the indignant exclamations of protest of the other participants of their meeting while he considered the offer. While the reason Dooku had named was true, the real reason he was hesitant to build more factories was that it would be harder to keep an eye on all his machines to make sure that no one would be able to steal one and figure out how they work.
He had spent the last four centuries painstakingly keeping its secrets from the galaxy and didn't want others to get their hand on them now.
“As long as my people are the ones in charge, I agree,” he finally said. “However, I will be the one to decide its locations.”
Dooku nodded immediately. “Of course, though I hope you will at least listen to our recommendations?”
Of course I will listen, even if only to know where not to build them. “Your advice is always welcome, Count.”
It said a lot about the other members of the council that only about half of them noticed his slight against them.
“It gladdens me to hear that. Well then, now that-”
“While we're already on the subject of secrecy,” he interrupted him, making sure to put some bite into his voice even while he kept his smirk in place. “There was a person who tried to sneak into one of my factories recently. She goes under the name of Asajj Ventress.”
He must give it to the man, he truly knew how to keep his pokerface. “That is most... unfortunate.”
He nodded seriously. “I quite agree. Usually such attempts are severely punished, but after considering her connection to you, I decided to simply put her into a cell for now. She will be transferred back into your custody very soon, I promise.” He widened his smirk a bit to make it look more predatory than lazy. “I'm sure that she acted on her own volition and that you had nothing to do with this, Count, so I trust that you will punish her appropriately to avoid such things in the future.”
The other man eyed him for a moment before he inclined his head. “I thank you for your understanding. I can guarantee you that such a thing will not happen again.” He then turned back to the rest of the participants. “Now, is there anything else someone wants to bring up?”
There wasn't. He ignored the pleasantries that were exchanged and the dark glances thrown at him from several of his peers, not bothering to do the same, until the connection finally broke off, allowing him to let his mask fall and lean back in his chair with an exhausted sigh.
“I told you that joining the CIS would cause you no end of trouble.”
He turned his head to half-heartily glare at his green-haired companion. “I remember that you also told me that we need to help the people in the Outer Rim and that joining the CIS was the best way to do so.”
“But how could I have known that you would actually do what I tell you? That almost never happens, after all.” She took a bite from her pizza, or at least the best imitation of pizza they had managed to make so far. “If you had just used your head and do what you can best, namely manipulating people to do what you want them to do, you could have helped them decades ago. The Republic is corrupt enough that it should have been easy for you.”
“Yes, yes,” he groaned. “I was too hesitant and made a mistake, I know. No need to remind me of that all the time.”
When he and C.C. awoke from their hibernation a few centuries ago and found themselves in the outskirts of a galaxy that was brimming with life, they had been ecstatic. There was so much to do, so much to discover and learn that even immortals like them would never grow bored; they could travel from planet to planet and indulge in everything they had to offer before going to the next one, and by the time they had seen them all the others would have developed enough to warrant another visit. It was literally the best thing they could have hoped for.
However, they quickly realized something:
The galaxy was similar to their homeworld in that there was a great divide between the fortunate and the unfortunate, between those with power and those without. The former were the rich that mainly consisted of humans that lived in the Core, enjoying relatively wealth and prosperity, while the former were the much more numerous inhabitants of the Outer Rim that mainly consisted of various alien species. The humanocentrism and exploitation that dominated the majority of the galaxy was noticeable almost everywhere.
Now, neither he nor C.C. were unused to such things as exploitation and racism, but the difference to what they knew from their home was the scale of things; all these problems existed for thousands of years and no one, not even the Republic, had done something against it. In fact, it became only worse and worse as time went on. Damn it, you only needed to look at Hutt Space to know that something was seriously wrong! How could the Republic, the defender of liberty and democracy, leave the Hutts alone for all that time when there had been no other major conflict for a thousand years?
Seeing all of that, they quickly decided to do something against it, jokingly claiming that it was just like in the good ol' days. The Republic's problem with corruption was no secret, so it didn't need a genius to conclude that all they needed was enough power to influence the people in charge to bring changes.
That was also the first time in centuries that he actually missed his Geass. Immortality was great and all, but the ability to control people would have been much more useful in this situation. However, he wouldn't be who he was if he wouldn't find another way.
First, they looked for a planet with no sentient population somewhere close enough to the main hyperlanes but far enough away to be out of sight, with no rare resources to speak of anywhere close-by that could attract the sort of attention he wanted to avoid. Then, once he had done that, he used the money he had earned from gambling -because of course that was a thing that existed here as well- to found his own company on the newly named planet 'Ashford'.
That was the birth of 'Knightmare Frame Manufacturing Inc.'
It was a bit of a struggle to get the necessary resources for the production in the beginning, but the money he got from gambling and the deals C.C. somehow managed to make with various small companies and governments was enough to get them starting.
Their Knightmares differed in three things from the ones back at home:
First, they were fully functioning droids, meaning that they didn't need a pilot to use them.
Second, there were several types of them that were specifically built for a special purpose; some continued to be war machines while others were used for construction work, transportation through terrain that was difficult to pass, and a dozen other purposes.
Third, they were much more advanced than even the most modern models in existence back on earth.
C.C. had told him very clearly that she would put a bullet between his eyes if he bragged just one more time about how he had known that bringing those blueprints with them was a good idea, but damn it if he wasn't proud of himself for thinking of that. Using the knowledge available in this advanced galaxy to add to these plans had allowed them to be one step ahead of their competition, something they had managed to maintain ever since by employing as many talented engineers and technicians as possible to develop them even further.
In just a few short decades they raised to become one of the most successful companies in the galaxy, quickly gaining them just as much influence as it got them enemies. Honestly, it was fortunate that they were immortal because there were several cases where even all their security hadn't been enough to stop an assassination attempt.
Both the assassins as well as their employers must have been more than just a bit surprised when they made an appearance not long after their supposed deaths.
Living in a galaxy as advanced as this made it simultaneously easier and harder to keep their immortality a secret. On one hand, things like cloning technology gave them a plausible excuse as to why they looked the same as they did a century ago as there were already several groups whose leaders were the clones of their founders. On the other hand, there were also a lot of things they needed to be accounted for to not accidentality expose themselves.
In the end, they simply claimed they were part of a near-human species with prolonged lifespans. While humans were the most common species in the galaxy, their DNA had small differences depending on where they came from -and wasn't it just curious that there were humans in another damn galaxy at all?- so even if someone got hold of their blood, they wouldn't find and registered entry of their 'species' anywhere.
“Well,” C.C. pulled him from his thoughts. “I understand why you hesitated and even agreed with you back then, so I guess I have no ground to stand on if I want to judge you.”
“How very gracious of you.”
She shot him an amused smile. “Oh, you know me. I'm always gracious and benevolent.”
He didn't even try to suppress his chuckle. “Well, that are not quite the words I would have used.”
“No? Then how would you describe me instead?”
“Beautiful, for one.”
She raised one elegant eyebrow while putting an unimpressed smirk on her face, but he knew he had her attention when she put her food aside. “Go on.”
“Maddening.” He raised to his feet and slowly started to walk towards where she was slouching on his couch. “Tempting. Alluring.”
“Oh~?”
He stopped right in front of her. “Revealing so much skin and always wearing my clothes,” he whispered while leaning down to her. “These kinds of things can give a man wrong ideas, you know.”
“Well,” she chuckled lightly while leaning upwards, bringing their faces close enough to feel each other's breath on their skins. “Maybe they aren't 'wrong' ideas at all?”
“Shall we test that theory?”
It was ridiculous how he was still just as attracted to her as he was centuries ago, though it gave him no end of satisfaction to know that this feeling was mutual.
He was just about to close the distance between their lips to follow up on his words when an explosion behind him rocked the room, making him lose his balance and fall forwards, unfortunately giving her a headbutt rather than the kiss he had intended.
“In the name of the Galactic Senate of the Republic, you're under arrest!”
Anakin knew that the fastest way to end this war was to capture the Separatist's leaders rather than winning every battle. That part was important as well, of course, but much less effective in the grand scheme of things. With that in mind, getting their hands not only on a secret hyperlane route that led directly to Ashford, the homeworld of Knightmare Frame Manufacturing Inc. and producer of the possibly most dangerous droids the Separatists had, but also the information that the unknown General that had caused havoc for their troops during the Northern Campaign was there as well was a blessing by the Force. It would be a great blow for the Separatists if they managed to take both of them as prisoners and bring them one step closer to ending this war.
Once they arrived on the planet it was surprisingly hard to infiltrate the building where their targets were supposed to be. The security system with all its cameras was hard enough to avoid, but the number of droids -many of which were actually unknown models- raised the bar by a fair margin.
However, they ultimately reached their goal undetected after a few hours of painstakingly avoiding every patrol without destroying as much as a single droid, ending on the other side of a pair of doors in the very centre of the estate.
“I told you we should have taken R2 with us,” Ahsoka whispered from beside him. “He could have opened the doors in a heartbeat.”
“Well, we still have these.” He patted the lightsaber at his side.
Obi-Wan shook his head. “They're too slow. We don't want to give our targets the chance to flee, do we? Separatists seem to have a talent for avoiding capture if given even the slightest chance.”
He raised an eyebrow with a faint smile, making a fleeting gesture with his hands as if to say 'and what do you propose instead?'
Rather than replying, he took off his backpack and started rummaging around in it before finally finding what he was looking for.
His eyes widened. “Are these-”
“Explosives? Well, indeed they are! These doors don't look too strong, so this should be more than enough to open them.”
His mouth opened to say something, but he was speechless for once. Was this the same Obi-Wan who always criticised his plans for being too flashy and risky?
Fortunately for him, Ahsoka was not quite as stunned as he was. “But Master, will that not alert everyone to our presence here?”
“We will not be able to sneak out with two hostages anyway,” Obi-Wan said while starting to prepare the explosives. “And odds are that they would be able to trigger an alarm before we could stop them. Our best chance to succeed is to overwhelm them as fast as possible and bring them to the ship before any security forces arrive in great number.”
Fair enough, he thought. “Fine, but you better never again complain about my plans after this.”
The other man chuckled faintly. “Oh, my dear former padawan, none of my plans could ever hope to be even half as outrageous as yours.”
Then, before he had a chance to reply, Obi-Wan pulled him and Ahsoka along around the corner of the hallway before activating the bombs.
The resulting explosion was just as loud as he had feared it to be, making it clear to him that there was no chance that the entire estate didn't know they were here. Deciding that he could get back at his master for that comment later, he rushed into the room, his companions close behind him, and activated his lightsaber.
“In the name of the Galactic Senate of the Republic, you're under arrest!”
He expected cries of confusion, an escape attempt, or even an attack, but none of that happened. What he saw instead were two teenagers who were probably closer to Ahsoka's age than his own lying on top of each other, rubbing their foreheads while simultaneously glaring at them.
“Ehm, are we sure that this is the right room?” Ahsoka asked, sounding just as confused as he felt.
Obi-Wan nodded with a contemplative expression on his face. “Yes, I think so. I checked it twice, just to be sure.”
“Well, then why-”
“Excuse me,” the boy interrupted him angrily. “Would you mind explaining to us why exactly you decided to blow up our door when it wasn't even locked?”
He blinked while his cheeks heating up, feeling the same embarrassment from both Ahsoka and Obi-Wan, but decided to ignore that for now. They were kinda on a schedule here. “We're looking for the CEO of Knightmare Frame Manufacturing Inc. and a separatist general that we were told are here,” he said, pointing his lightsaber at the pair of them. “Tell us where they are and we will be gone.”
The girl with the weird green hair -who was also only clad in a top that barely reached her tights, he noted- gave an annoyed 'tsk' before she raised to her feet and started to walk away. “You can deal with them, I'm not in the mood for this kind of thing right now.”
“Wait!” he said commandingly, but she simply flipped him off and vanished into another room.
He turned around. “Ahsoka-”
“Already on it!” She quickly ran after the girl.
“As interesting as all of that is,” Obi-Wan said with a cautious look over his shoulder. “We really need to get going, so why don't you make this easier for all of us and simply tell us what we want to know?”
The boy ignored them for a few seconds, apparently not caring in the slightest about the weapon directed at him, and looked towards where the girl and Ahsoka had vanished instead before he sighed and sat up with both his arms on the backrest of the couch and his legs crossed over each other. “Well, I guess congratulations are in order, Jedi.”
“Excuse me?”
His entire demeanour had changed; there wasn't an ounce of fear or uncertainty in either his body language or the Force, only confidence and a hint of annoyance. “Oh, where are my manners?” He theatrically extended his arms. “I'm Lelouch Lamperouge, CEO and owner of Knightmare Frame Manufacturing Inc. as well as General in the Separatist Army.” He shot them an amused grin. “It's a pleasure to meet you.”
Both he and Obi-Wan shared an incredulous look before sighing simultaneously.
“I have-”
“-a bad feeling about this, I know. So do I.”
Because a mission can never be easy and straightforward, can it?