“Since there have been many openings for command positions and looking over your recent activities that have all been completed ‘successfully’… I along with Mother and Father have picked you as a possible candidate to fill in for those spots when needed in the future. That is if you accept this offer,” said Chief Chesty who was sitting behind his desk reading over several holographic flowing reports that streamed in front of him.
“What about Kix?” asked Arron, as he stood ramrod straight in front of the chief’s desk.
“He was given the same offer but he declined since there are more work requirements put on the commanding officer including being responsible for those under your command.”
“And what is required to become a commanding officer?”
“You will be required to comply with the new regulations passed by the party of Mother and Father and will also be required to take a few mandated officer classes run by Mother and Father. You will not be able to become a captain until you pass all their tests and are deemed qualified.”
“Do I have to decide right now?” asked Arron.
“I don’t have the time to wait for your answer. So yes, I need an answer now.”
Arron’s mind was running through all the pros and cons while feeling pressured to decide right this second.
“I… I’ll do it,” said Arron, finally coming to a decision.
“Good. Your position with M1 will not change for now. You will still be a member of the ERF and Kix’s Partner. If you complete your training in the future you will be used as a backup commanding officer,” said Chief Chesty. “Your ride will be here to pick you up in five to ten minutes.”
“What?” asked Arron.
“Since you have such a good ‘relationship’ with the Office of Reason. You have been chosen to play along with their request to have an M1 officer join KNN for a ‘live’ news recording tonight. Don’t worry, you aren’t going to the 4th level. They have set up a recording studio here on the first level.”
“But…I just got off patrol and haven’t had time to change or take a shower. Also because of my undercover work won’t this be a little too dangerous if any one of the families recognizes me or somehow can see my Irezumi?”
Chief Chesty for the first time in this conversation looked up from his flowing reports and glanced at the holographic digital time that was floating over his desk, “Just keep wearing that silk arm cover, and if you’re worried about your voice, and face you can use a voice modulator as well as a mirrored visor. Although that might make you stand out even more… You better hurry since they will be here soon.”
Arron gave a smart salute and then rushed out of the office and into the mag-shoot. There was no time to mess around, he needed to clean up fast!
***
Arron was standing alone in a dimly lit back room behind the hastily constructed recording stage.
He had managed to do a quick 1-minute shower and throw on a clean M1 uniform before the black hovercar sent by KNN arrived to pick him up.
Due to his nervousness, he was constantly wiping away the sweat on his forehead.
This was his first live sit-down interview with KNN or any other major news media for that matter.
In the past, he had only been interviewed by reporters from the news portals. There were many live streams where he had been recorded doing his job but that was different. All of those had been scrubbed from existence by the Office of Reason before his undercover job so as far as the public was concerned, this was his first public appearance.
He had no idea what the exact topic was but he guessed it had something to do with M1 as they had asked for an officer to join them… and since no one wanted to do it the Office of Reason picked someone…
To try and calm his nerves he pulled up the news portal and picked an article at random to read.
[If you eat synth food with Bechup you are most likely a separatist.]
Sighing with frustration, Arron exited the news portal and began pacing back and forth.
Ping!
A notification of an incoming holo-call from Kix startled Arron. With all that had been going on in such a short time he had been unable to talk to Kix so of course he accepted the call.
“I heard about your predicament. I am just calling to remind you what your last interview was like. You need to be on your [A] game as this can turn out to be even more brutal if you are not prepared.”
“Thanks for the pep talk,” said Arron as the door to his backstage room opened unexpectedly. “I have to go, someone has just come into the room.”
Kix nodded and ended the call.
Five people, 1 male and 4 females, entered the dim room which immediately lit up with several drones flying in and hovering over the three hover chairs that were sitting in front of a large wall mirror.
Of the three females carrying floating metal boxes one of them came over to Akira and pointed to one of the three chairs. “Please sit.”
The chubby man and a female with hawk-like features sat down in two of the hover chairs leaving the one on the right for Arron. Behind each of them, a makeup artist began sorting through the various shades of makeup, brushes, and cleaners. There was no talking as they cleaned their faces and started applying a liberal amount of broadcasting makeup on their faces.
Arron had decided that it was better to be safe than sorry and so he had opted to wear his mirrored visor to cover half of his face. No one would really fault him for this due to his line of work but modifying his voice would bring a little too much attention to him. Even with the visor on, the makeup artist made sure to cover all of his face, even the hidden parts.
When the makeup artist finished their tasks they left the room together leaving Arron and the two other strangers sitting in their chairs looking at themselves in the mirror.
“My name’s Chobe. Have you heard about the recent gossip that has been sweeping the government-approved social media?” asked the man sitting on Arron’s left as he held out a chubby hand for Arron to shake.
“I’m Arron. What Gossip?” asked Arron as he grabbed the man’s sweaty hand. He had no clue what the man was talking about.
“Wow! I’m surprised you have not heard about the new superstar actress MeepMeep calling out a seasoned actress!”
“Well… I don’t use any of the social media so I guess I wouldn’t be up to date on such matters…” said Arron. He really had no interest in such stupid drama. There were far more important issues everyday that he had to take care of which were life-threatening if not addressed properly.
Arron had to remind himself that the regular citizens were blissfully or ignorantly unaware of these issues that had huge implications on their own daily lives and they instead participated in such pointless drama.
“What! How could you not use social media!” asked Chobe, who was greatly appalled and shocked at hearing this. He turned to the female on his left and said. “Hey did you hear that? He doesn’t use social media!”
The female guest did not pay Chobe any attention and also ignored Arron as she was focused on redoing her hair so that it looked just right.
Over the next few minutes, Arron exchanged a few words with Chobe getting to know the talkative man a little better. He seemed relatively friendly and outgoing.
A green light began flashing on one of the drones above them before it began speaking in a loud robotic voice.
[Head to the main stage! Recording will begin in 5 minutes!] [Head to the main stage! Recording will begin in 5 minutes!]
Arron and the two other guests exited the room and walked the short distance to the recording stage which was lit up as brightly as could be. His footsteps echoed loudly throughout the cavernous warehouse that they were using for the recording.
The small stage had been set up to look like a nice living room but you could still see the dirty warehouse behind them. On the stage, there were three hover armchairs and a large couch sitting across from them with a table separating them.
There was no one but Arron and the two other guests on the stage as they walked over to the three hovering armchairs and sat down. They sat down in the same order as they had been in the makeup room. Arron on the right, Chobe in the middle, and the female on the left.
In the air above the stage, a floating drone was projecting a live countdown to let them know when the recording would start.
No matter where Arron looked he was unable to see where the reporters were hiding. He only saw a few grubby workers controlling the news drones and the lighting.
As the countdown reached 50 seconds two full-body holographic renderings of Kommy and Fela appeared before them sitting on the large couch.
Seeing the famous news reporters right in front of him was quite a shock.
Now instead of yelling at his holo-tv whenever he heard something stupid, Arron had the chance to actually speak directly to the two who were always criticizing the M1.
…not that he would actually do something like that. It would be the fastest way to get yourself destroyed. But still, it was the thought that counted right?
Arron saw that Chobe’s smiling face turned hard and serious when the countdown reached 10 seconds while the hawkish female guest’s scowl was replaced with a bright and fluttery smile.
Arron felt out of place as he did not know what expression he was supposed to make so he just stayed as he was.
When the countdown reached 0, a loud beep echoed throughout the warehouse and the noise-canceling privacy shields popped up around them. They had been programmed to look like the walls of a normal living room to block the people’s view of the dirty warehouse.
“Welcome viewers to tonight’s KNN live special news segment brought to you from the first level!” said an ever-cheerful Fela.
“Tonight we have three special guests joining us! Each from a different background on the first level!” said Kommy.
“Our first guest is a popular journalist and budding actress Pumpmi Phul who has recently done several AVs,” said Fela introducing the female guest. The news drones all zoomed in on her to get closeups from several angles.
“Hello everyone! Please watch my videos! I am told they are electrifying! Also, any producers out there call my agent!”
“Our next guest is Mr. Chobe, a party member under Mother’s wing!” said Kommy with gusto as he waved his hand and gestured to Chobe having the cameras pan to him.
“Hello,” was all Chobe said, his face showing nothing but seriousness.
“…and lastly we have a special guest from the special M1 force. Because of his line of work we have been asked to not use his name and will just call him Mr.M1,” said Fela jokingly as she covered her mouth to stop a laugh from escaping.
“Tonight’s main topic is… the use of special M1 units for so-called ‘riot’ control as well as taking care of the growing separatist threat that the Mega-city faces,” said Kommy.
“But first, let’s get into the other news before that!” said Fela.
“We have only recently learned that the CEO Mr. Kurup of Kurup Computing Chips has died unexpectedly,” said Kommy.
“I was shocked as well at this sad news. Mr. M1, do you have any comments or opinions about this subject?” asked Fela.
Arron was a little startled at being put on the spot about the subject. Of course, he knew who the man was and he had to bite his tongue to stop himself from saying what he really felt. He knew of all the crimes and even several murders the dead CEO had committed so that he could keep his position.
Many of his crazy killing sprees had wiped out the entire families of his rivals. But since this was live news and not the place to say such things he was forced to take a deep breath and dumb down his answer, “He had some flaws but…”
“What? Why are you badmouthing such an esteemed and well-respected person who followed the laws and regulations of the party of Mother and Father?” asked Chobe with a harsh rebuttal that interrupted a surprised Arron.
“As expected from someone who works for the special M1,” said Pumpmi.
‘What is going on?’ thought Arron as he looked at Chobe who was now going into a long-winded explanation on how great the dead CEO was.
‘Don’t tell me this is going to be a 4v1 hit job?’ thought Arron as he looked at the two smiling reporters.
“With the rise of violence in certain areas many innocent people have been killed and numerous properties have been destroyed during M1’s response to these incidents,” said Kommy.
“Mr. M1, would you care to enlighten us on why this is happening?” asked Fela.
Arron tried to think of any innocents killed by M1 since he was on the job but knew of no one who matched that description.
“To my knowledge, there have been no…”
“Don’t lie. Over 20 innocent people died yesterday along with their homes collapsing! That is just one example of many!” said Chobe.
“Wait… are you talking about the gang members? Those buildings were the fortified hideout of a group of the violent gang. It would have been a death trap to go in so it was decided to collapse them.”
“That’s real rich. You’re calling those you killed gang members so that you can cover up your murders. Were they ever convicted in court? Oh wait of course not, you killed them!” said Pumpmi.
“I am just following what the Office of Reason labeled them,” Arron shot back at them with gritted teeth. This retort shut them down for a few seconds.
Arron realized now why no one wanted to come. This was nothing more than a means to push out more bad press for M1 and make their job harder while praising others for things they had not done.
“I see you lost your arm. Did you perhaps lose it fighting in the army for Mother and Father?” asked Kommy.
“No,” was all Arron said, not caring to explain anything more.
“So you lost it while part of the special M1? Oh my, I guess that is to be expected of those who have such a job,” said Fela.
“Since you brought up the topic of the gang and yakuza family violence happening on the first level, I know that Chobe has some interesting news to share with everyone in relation to this matter!” said Kommy.
“You are right about that! I, along with several other party members, have created [The House Committee on Violent Speech and Separatism]. We have been tasked to study and come up with ways to combat the violence of separatists, and the various underground groups. Hopefully, in the coming months, you will see some major changes being made.”
Arron listened to Chobe’s long-winded speech about the various factions and how evil they were. But during the nearly ten-minute blubbering, Chobe did not say one word about the violence or riots caused by Anti-sep. Which irked Arron seeing as one of their members caused him to lose his arm.
Throughout the rest of the interview, Arron was on the defense with Fela constantly throwing curveballs trying to trip him up until the very last second of the interview.
Fela and Kommy did not bother staying a second longer when the cameras shut down and they just disappeared from the couch leaving the three guests alone.
Both Chobe and Pumpmi’s faces returned to their previous expressions before the recording had started.
Chobe turned to Arron with his chubby hand held out and a genuine smile. “I hope you know it was nothing personal.”
Arron could not say anything about it or refuse the handshake since Chobe was a party member who could make his life hell if he was displeased.
All he could do was keep a smile on his face as he shook Chobe’s hand.
