Miarre stared at the cameras in front of her, counting down the seconds until she would be live. A quick glance off to the side confirmed Mihn’s enthusiastic countenance, ready to be called on at a moment’s notice. “Hello everyone, this is Miarre Kiala reporting in with a breaking story,” she started. “There’s far more to our newest Silver Star holder than meets the eye. Today, we’ll talk about her life before becoming so prominent. I have with us today a special interview with her long-lost mother.” She gestured for Mihn to join her in the empty chair beside her desk.

  Mihn smoothly strode on set and took a seat. At long last, the world would get the chance to see how incredibly she was and all it took was her estranged daughter as a stepping stone. After today, she would be on the minds of an entire planet. Surely, she would finally get what she deserved. She flashed a brilliant smile towards her other tool of a person that would help her achieve her goals. “Thank you for having me today, Miarre,” she said. “It’s an honor to have our story finally told and understood. Perhaps you’ll be able to help me.”

  Miarre sported a soft, understanding expression as she regarded the poor mother in front of her. She was going to her best to help her reunite with her daughter. “And told it will be.” She looked back towards the cameras. “Reya’s mother, Mihn, approached me some time ago with quite the plight. She hasn’t been in contact with her daughter in over eight years since Reya ran away from home.”

  “That’s right,” Mihn said, tearing up. “My baby left us before she was ready to face the world. I wasn’t able to protect her from the harsh reality I’m sure she had to face on her own.” She played up her role as the distraught mother, knowing full well the viewers would eat it right up. They were hungry for anything related to the new Silver Star holder and by the gods would she give them the sob story of the century.

  “Would you care to inform us about what happened?” Miarre asked. “Only if it’s not too hard on you.”

  “Of course,” Mihn replied, wiping away her tears. “For a long time, our home life wasn’t the best. I’d hardly describe our family as harmonious, but Reya and I pushed through together. When times were tough, all we had was each other to rely on.” Mentioning Reya left a sour taste in her mouth, but she refused to let anything show now that she was in front of the cameras.

  “What made life so hard for you?” Miarre asked. “I understand that Reya didn’t exactly grow up in an affluent neighbourhood as a child.”

  Mihn let a beat pass, hesitancy and shame written all over her face. It made Miarre’s heart ache to see her that way. “My husband,” Mihn choked out. “He was awful.” She gathered her courage and finally told her story.

  From her perspective, of course.

  By the time she was done, the world was on her side, convinced at how terrible her husband was before she’d finally had the opportunity to separate from him and get away. A lifetime of misery after being lied to by him when they’d first met had resulted in Reya being unable to handle it all. That she ran away before Mihn could flee with her in tow was Mihn’s greatest regret.

  “What an incredible journey you’ve had,” Miarre said when Mihn was done recounting her life at the hands of her husband. “It must have taken so much courage to come before us all today and finally talk about the injustices your husband was part of.”

  “It wasn’t an easy decision and I’m afraid of the repercussions, but it needed to be told,” Mihn said. After a few more exchanges, the interview came to a close and so did her opportunity to rile up the public and get them to sympathise with her. Judging by Miarre’s reaction, she was certain she’d succeeded.

  Miarre looked at the cameras once more and addressed her audience directly. “In spite of her incredible rise to stardom, nobody’s seen nor heard from Reya Ayala since I interviewed her last,” she exclaimed. “I call on you, the public, to help us reunite Reya and her mother. After everything Reya must have been through, she deserves to see her mother once more.”

  The lights that indicated she was live turned off and the stage was set. All that was left was to have some patience. Miarre would force the military’s hand and use the chance to dig deeper into what they were hiding. She couldn’t contain her predatory grin.

  She would get what she wanted, and nothing would stop her.

  Nessah drummed her fingers on her desk, deep in thought. Sytha scurried out of the room, unwilling to risk incurring the General’s ire by overstaying her welcome. She could sense the mood turning ugly and most definitely did not want to be caught in the crosshairs.

  After Miarre’s little stunt with Reya’s mother, the military was being flooded with calls and requests to ensure Reya’s wellbeing and inquire after when she would be meeting her mother.

  While the military received calls on a regular basis by those curious, normally they were shut down rather quickly and never escalated. Now, however, their emergency report lines for civilian use were so busy that there simply weren’t enough personnel able to field all the calls.

  People were talking, and Nessah didn’t appreciate it. There was too much at stake, and the public couldn’t find out about their secrets yet. Although she knew that Miarre was planning to interview Mihn and what most of the content would already be, it didn’t lessen how unpleasant the situation had become.

  Nearly a week had gone by since the interview and now her precious staff was being used up for menial work that served no real purpose. War was coming, and the military needed every able body they could get to prepare.

  Miarre’s call for global action had stoked the populace’s curiosity and fanned their flames of righteousness. The sob story the reporter presented had moved the hearts of many and now they were demanding to see Reya once more.

  She sighed and picked up her data slate. The Tribunal needed to be informed that they weren’t able to delay putting Reya back in the spotlight any longer. Nessah was sincerely hoping the public wouldn’t react so strongly and that Reya would have a bit more time to recover from her breakdown, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

  After compiling everything she knew about the situation, she sent off the report directly to Kaius. The situation was out of her hands for now, but that didn’t stop Nessah from planning about how to deal with their pesky reporter.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Two hours later, her data slate chimed with her newest orders and Nessah couldn’t help but grin.

  It was finally time to remind the world who ran it.

  Miarre dug around in her bag for her keys after a long day at work. Ever since her interview, traffic to her news station exploded and she found herself far busier than before. Which unfortunately resulted in longer days at the office. It was well past dark, and the hour was late. There were no people around outside, as they had all retreated into the safety of their homes for the night.

  She successfully found what she was looking for, muttering under her breath as she fished them out and unlocked the door. Two sleek, black, nondescript cars quietly pulled up on the roadside behind her. The sound of doors opening and footsteps crunching on the road caught her attention and she looked behind her.

  There were two men standing on the sidewalk, looking at her expectantly. One dressed immaculately in black robes, and the other armed and in a full body suit of armor, an unsettling contrast of innocent and deadly. The hairs on the back of her neck rose when three more soldiers emerged from the cars.

  “Ms. Kiala, you’ve been summoned. Please come with us,” the man in the black robes said smoothly. The sickeningly sweet tone did little to reassure Miarre that she would be safe if she obliged.

  “Who are you?” Miarre asked with false bravado, fighting to keep her voice from trembling. “I’m not going with you.” The soldiers in front of her tensed and she panicked. “I’ve done nothing wrong!”

  “It’s not a matter of having done wrong,” the man in robes replied. “You’ve been summoned, and the only answer is that you’ll come along. It’s up to you how.” He exchanged glances with the soldier beside him and returned his attention back to Miarre.

  Unwilling to risk being caught alone with the strangers any longer, Miarre spun around and swung open her front door with all the haste she could muster. Her feet propelled her forward as she ran inside for cover. Before anybody could react, she slammed her door shut and locked it.

  She backed up from it slowly, knowing it was only a matter of time until the would make their way in. Without taking her eyes off the door or bothering to turn on the lights, she desperately searched her bag for her phone. Clutching her safety net tightly, her trembling hand took it out. She needed to call for help. Somebody, anybody that could save her from the frightening people outside.

  “Put the phone down, Ms. Kiala. We can’t have that,” came a hard, cold voice from behind her.

  Miarre’s breath hitched, and a cold fear washed over her as she realized she wasn’t alone. No longer able to keep from trembling, she slowly turned around and saw in the shadows two more silhouettes. Though illuminated only by a faint light coming in through the windows from street lamps, she could immediately tell that they were fully armed. They had yet to draw their weapons, but they didn’t need to.

  “How did you get inside my house?” Miarre managed to ask through her panic.

  “That’s not important,” replied the same person. “You were summoned. It’s time for you to go now.”

  “Summoned by who?” Miarre asked, daring to get one more question in. The soldier in front of her smiled sharply. Even in the low light, it was threatening and full of malice. Without a word spoken between the two strangers in her home, they advanced towards her. Knowing she had no other choice, she threw up her hands in an attempt to ward them off. “Wait! I’ll come with you!” she cried.

  One of the soldiers came closer and Miarre flinched when they held out their hand expectantly. Miarre got the message and handed her phone over. The solider took it and reached forward again. “Bag too,” they said. After handing it over, Miarre was instructed to go back outside and join the others.

  She unlocked the door, full of trepidation. It opened to the exact scene she’d fled from. The man in the robes had a satisfied smile plastered on his face. He gestured towards the open door next the solider beside him. “Ms. Kiala, if you please,” he said.

  With unsure steps, she entered the car and soon found herself sandwiched between two armed soldiers. The door slammed shut and locked. Without any say in their destination, she could only ride in silence as the mysterious people whisked her away. She couldn’t see much through the heavily tinted windows, and they took many side roads to get to their destination, thoroughly confusing her by the time she stepped out of the car.

  It took her a moment to register that they were right outside the doors to central command. The man in robes deftly brought her inside, where only the secretary bore witness to her arrival. She boarded the elevator and could only watch with a sinking feeling the floors melt away below her.

  The elevator finally came to a stop and Miarre stepped out into a beautiful room. The white granite walls had silver and gold veins running through them and a dark, wooden floor for contrast. She was nudged out of the elevator and took several steps forward. When her gaze landed on Sytha’s patiently waiting form, Miarre knew just how fucked she truly was.

  “The General will see you now,” Sytha said as Miarre approached. She stood up and brought Miarre through the imposing double doors. They slammed shut behind her the moment she took a step forward onto the lush red rug with gold borders.

  General Nessah sat at her desk, her sharp gaze piercing through Miarre as she stood there, paralyzed. “Sit,” Nessah commanded. She waited for her guest to oblige, letting the silence stretch. She spent a long moment studying Miarre. “Do you think this is a game?” she asked Miarre after she sat down.

  “I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Miarre said. She hadn’t done anything wrong! She’d followed the orders she was given when it came to interviewing Reya. She knew full well she didn’t need permission to interview somebody else and do her job as a reporter.

  “That was the one and only time you will lie to me tonight,” Nessah said strictly, seeing right through her. Inwardly, she was thrilled that she finally got to use her little game piece how she pleased. The Tribunal was none too happy with the reporter and gave Nessah much leeway on how to handle the situation.

  Miarre swallowed hard but held fast. “You sanctioned meetings with Reya Ayala, not her mother. What I did was technically allowed,” she protested.

  “And now you’re using that to force another meeting with Reya, regardless of the military’s position on the matter,” Nessah said.

  Miarre’s eyes glinted. Her plan worked. There had been enough public outrage that she would get a second interview with Reya. “I have no control over the public,” she said. “Simply calling on them to act in ways you might not like is not a crime.”

  “As far as we’re concerned, it is,” Nessah replied. “You’ve circumvented our deal by forcing us to allow another interview with Reya if we want to calm the masses. We have no choice but to permit it.”

  “That doesn’t make sense! I’m protected under civilian law, and I know for a fact that I didn’t break it.”

  “You are not,” Nessah said harshly, passing down her judgement. “Regardless of what you believe, the military will act how I believe. And I believe you to have reneged on our promise, perhaps not in letter but in spirit. Now, you will do exactly as I say, or you will find yourself an enemy of the faction.”

  The colour drained from Miarre’s face. If declared an enemy of the faction, she would have no protections from the government against the military. If word got out, she would be a fugitive and hunted down relentlessly. The utter seriousness on Nessah’s face showed how badly she’d messed up when thinking they wouldn’t do anything to her.

  “You will have your interview with Reya once more. Given the situation, the public won’t accept anything less than a live interview between her and her mother. Here’s what you’re going to do,” Nessah said. She laid out once more, in no uncertain terms, how Miarre was to act and handle the interview, down to what to say and what to avoid. What would happen should she disobey hung in the air, a silent question left unanswered.

  A very shaken Miarre was dismissed once Nessah was done. As she approached the door, Nessah’s voice rang out with one last warning.

  “The next car we send for you won’t be bringing you here.”

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