Damocles

The Sky Fortress Damocles (天空要塞ダモクレス tenkū yōsai damokuresu) is a floating fortress developed by the Toromo Agency at Cambodia. It serves as the main base for Schneizel's splinter faction. Based on its schematics, it is powered by a series of solar cell generation systems, similar to those used in Tokyo's concession areas. Spanning three kilometers on its longest axis, it is armed with several F.L.E.I.J.A. warheads, however it requires approximately ten minutes to reload after firing just one. It is also rendered nigh indestructible due to the Blaze Luminous shield that encompasses the entire fortress. It does however create a small opening in the shield whenever it launches a warhead.

Operational History
The Damocles was originally developed by the Toromo Agency in Cambodia at the request of Schneizel el Britannia. The fortress remained under construction for much of the second season, completed after Lelouch vi Britannia ascends to the throne of Britannia in 2018.

Damocles was first deployed to the Holy Britannian Empire, where it obliterated the imperial capital city, Pendragon, with a F.L.E.I.J.A. warhead that had its limiter removed, displaying the weapon's increased destructive yield. The Damocles then steadily gained altitude in the days after the attack, and entered the airspace of Japan during the Battle of Mt. Fuji, where it used several F.L.E.I.J.A. warheads against Britannian air forces. The Damocles continued ascending, moving over the Pacific Ocean on its predicted course. Unassailable due to its powerful Blaze Luminous, the Damocles remained unscathed during the battle.

After the completion of the F.L.E.I.J.A Eliminator during the battle, Lelouch vi Britannia, Suzaku Kururugi and several Britannian Knightmares used the weapon to cancel the detonation of one of the warheads before using a small window in the Damocles' shields to infiltrate the fortress. Inside the Blaze Luminous, Sukaku Kururugi dueled Gino Weinberg and Kallen Kōzuki using the Lancelot Albion, but was defeated in battle. Inside the fortress, Lelouch obtained the Damocles' main firing switch from Nunnally vi Britannia, ending the battle and obtaining victory for the Britannian forces before declaring himself ruler of the world.

Damocles presumably remained under Britannian control after the battle, but is apparently abandoned after the assassination of Lelouch vi Britannia. It is later seen drifting into the Sun, destroying it and its nuclear payload.

Trivia
Damocles is a fictional person from Greek mythology, a courtier of King Dionysius who was given the chance to see what it was like to be king for a day. But the king arranged to have a sword hanging above the throne by merely a horse hair, until Damocles begged to be allowed to step down. Cicero (the author) used the story to ask the audience, "Does not Dionysius seem to have made it sufficiently clear that there can be nothing happy for the person over whom some fear always looms?"

Thus the name of the fortress itself, which was supposed to usher an era of world peace and happiness, is an ironic play on what Lelouch and others argued all along, that true peace and happines cannot be brought about through tyrannical rule and the constant threat of space-borne weapons of mass destruction.