He sat up finally, it had been hours since he tuned in. Each channel speaking glory to the Volkhan, things were moving.
"Where do I move though?"
00:42 said the clock mutely, he rubbed his eyes. The room was dark, barely lit by the holoscreens preaching. Apparently there were rebels trying to force out the new Premier. Was it bad that this felt like true Coalition politics, his politics? Just shoot them already, but he guessed they were ahead of him with that.
Who was right, did it even matter. Gabriel wasn't sure he even cared as he poured another cup waiting for that knock at his door that was surely coming.
And then it came. It was a hard pounding as the door rattled on its hinges. A gruff voice spoke from the other side, malicious intent in its tone, "Gabriel Mao, you are to open this door right now or be deemed a traitor to the Volkhan! We will use lethal force!"
The banging continued as the sound of automatic weapons being primed and cocked whispered through the harsh assault on his door.
The pounding jarred Gabriel as he spilling tea across his lap. Slowly he raised himself to face the door, he's been staring at the tide roll in for hours by then.
The voice rolled across him. It was surreal, an agent of the newly appointed Volkhan had actually been dispatched. He stretched and moved from the room to the porthole before calmly palming the controls.
"Please, come in. I have tea on."
As soon as the door had opened, the butt of a rifle lanced out and struck the unsuspecting Mao in the face. Before he hit the floor, marines swarmed in to sweep through his apartment, overturning furniture and scrounging through lose items. A man dressed in the uniform of the Commissariat stepped inside, his dull gray eyes slipping from side to side beneath his tipped down cap.
His eyes then focused on Mao, lying on the ground. "Gabriel," He spoke as if he were seeing an old friend, cheering and anticipating the time they would get to speak of the good times, "I trust you are well, da?" He chuckled at his joke before striding over to the prepared tea. "As you can see, we are doing an official search of your house. Looking for all matters of suspicious things."
A marine rushed back to the commissar, saluting as he spoke through the voice-distorting vocoder, "Sir, there is nothing overly suspicious aside from a few photographs of non-Coalition elements. Only weapon present is this." The marine's hand slipped forward, presenting a rather fancy Tokarov.
"This is nice. Something special that was given to you, Mao?"
He spun backwards wildly, only narrowly avoiding the nearby furniture. The room was filled with a muffled thud as he hit floor and rolled on his side. He couldn't see yet but he was sure that there were marines stepping over him to search his possessions.
"Gabriel, I trust you are well, da?"
Blood dripped from his nose as the man chuckled.
"As you can see, we are doing an official search of your house. Looking for all matters of suspicious things."
--
He waited for a pause before replying. "Very good comrade Commissar, yourself?"
As he spoke Gabriel staggered to a leather armchair and seated himself across from the tea. Frantic footsteps filled the room once more as a marine echoed forward from his bedroom. His vocoder mused in it's cold unnerving fashion. Once more the officer fixed his gaze on Mao and spoke.
"This is nice. Something special that was given to you, Mao?"
"Yes, it was a gift awarded to me for executing a precision sortie in my first year. Notice the inscription laced into the weave and the inception date on the bottom of the clip. I was told it dates to the ascension of former Chancellor Aeon.".
A rather sinister grin touched the Commissar's face as he slipped his own weapon from his holster, letting the relic into its place. "Well then, that'll be something to show off to my Comrades." His eyes swept about the room before focusing back on Mao. "My name is Degarev Totenkof. Commissar Totenkaf to you, though."
The marines continued to search his apartment, some resorting to bashing down weaker walls with their rifles and looking inside.
"We see you as a threat to our Volkhan. So many of the close friends of the former Premier Katz are defecting. Very few remained for the staple. So what of you, Mao? What is your part in all this? It's best to be truthful."
"Well."
He leaned back and calmly sipped his tea.
"I would like to know for a start what you mean by my part in all of this, are you implying something comrade Commissar?"
The man turned about, obviously perturbed by the comment. "I do not imply anything. I speculate." Totenkaf then looked to one of the marines standing idly by. With a nod, the man stepped forward and hit Mao in the crotch with his rifle. "Also note that I am the one asking questions here. Got it?"
Gabriel exhaled sharply but kept his composure.
"Then your speculation would be that I am a cohort of the renegade officers and pilots of the Coalition, that I would seek to undermine our government and it's ascension to power, as well as execute loyal men and women of our nation in the name of Premier Katz."
An expression of curiosity replaced what would normally have been a question.
A rifle was leveled at the Mao's head. "We have a smartass, Comrade," The marine barked harshly.
Totenkaf's eyes focused on him. "Indeed we do, but I don't recall that I gave you authority to speak either." The marine looked down in shame as the severity of the threat sank in. "And yes, I agree. Mao can twist words. Let's try this again. What is your tie to Katz and what is your plan for the future?"