Internal Affairs Chapter 1

In the middle of a city that was slowly consumed by political decay and stagnancy, a tall tower stood strong, surpassing the heights of the skyscrapers constructed by corrupt Megacorporations supported by their warmongering super nations. This tower is the symbol of might impressed by the Enclave Authority in the streets of New Manila. It also represented what the Flatliners, Holoshifters and Bodydroppers fight for--liberty.

The tower is a fifty-foot tall structure made out of centimeter thick titanium concrete that could absorb the most heaviest of all damage, a true fortress indeed. In the peak of the tower was the administration of the Enclave Authority, while in its bowels was the home of the Armed Forces of New Manila, the barracks. The tower, not only boasted a powerful defense a building could ever hope for, it was also armed with automated turrets that could both take down ground or air targets alike.

Twenty-four seven, this tower is always bustling with activities as the barracks continually deploys, train or recruit Flatliners, Holoshifters and Bodydroppers to dispense justice in the streets, the engineering block continuously develop new weapons or cyberware to be used by its organic assets, the intelligence division in its constant monitoring of every corners of New Manila, and the authority administration in handing down individual orders to its multiple arms.

This citadel is known as the Isko Moreno Tower, and it is the home of the Enclave Authority.

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Officer 88113-12 "Clarisse" waited as the lift ascended to its destination. As soon as the alarms chimed and the doors parted open to reveal a dimly lit narrow corridor that led straight to the Office of the General-Administrator, she walked with complete haste, hand occupied with a datapad.

She strolled across the corridor, the light strips attached to the floor lit up in blue while she made progress. The glass doors of the office opened in her presence and the General-Administrator remained quiet.

The office was dark. The back of his swivel chair was facing her. He must be looking out at the bullet-proof glass window ahead, she does not know for sure. When the General-Administrator waved her in only she walked towards his desk.

"You don't know how beautiful the dawn is, Clarisse. How I wish the people below me could see it."

She did not reply because she does not know how to respond to his statement. He turned, his was still appearance obscured by the shadow created by poor lighting and the darkness of the skies. Only his blue glowing cyberoptics is visible, like a pair of floating orbs.

"The report you have requested is here, sir." Clarisse said as she placed the datapad onto the desk. "It contains the number of Megacorporate assets that had violated our airspace and illegally occupied parts of our city."

"Our lack of an Air Force was being taken advantage of. Enclave Flatliners are very occupied fighting a war against Gangpunks and Druggers and with what little Holoshifters and Bodydroppers we have--not to mention scarcity in materials to produce fully functional Body Walkers--surely, the Megacorporations will be on the top of us now and the next thing we know, the Enclave Authority is no more."

Clarisse did not reply.

"Does this report also included the number of syndicate goons who have bypassed our security personnel from the harbors?"

"Yes."

"So, even our lack of a Navy or a Coast Guard was also exploited." The General-Administrator grunted. "Well then, how many families have managed to made it in-city?"

"Sir, that information is not included in the--"

"I am asking you." The General-Administrator said firmly.

Clarisse recalled the information through her mind, which was wired to the building's internal networking link servers. In a matter of seconds, she already have the information.

"Five thousand, every week, sir."

"Average children they have?"

"Three, but we usually admit families with twelve children in a constant rate."

"Alright," the General-Administrator leaned forward. "Make this a very important memo. Go to the law division and pass an article that will mandatorily require the families to donate their children--as young as three years of age--to the Enclave Authority in order to set foot inside the city."

She saved the instruction in a text file in her mind and stored it to be recalled later.

"Yes sir."

"What about the current inventory of our cyberware?"

"About that, we are running low, sir."

The General-Administrator grunted. "We could have established strike teams dedicated in wiping out Megacorporations who have just started to settle here in this city. But you know, it's actually a good idea to let them in."

Again, Clarisse did not reply.

"Deploy Flatliner Team-119 and -114 to the corporate compounds of ThaddeusCyber Inc., their purpose is to kidnap cyberdocs as well as large amounts of cyberwares in their storages."

"What compound?"

"Have the commanders of FT-119 and FT-114 communicate to me directly. I will tell them."

"Yes sir." Clarisse asked. "Are there anything else?"

The General-Admimistrator paused before replying, "None. Return to your post at once."

She nodded, walked back to the elevator and left.

(Internal Affairs Tale)