The Man with Two Faces

It looks very atypical for a meeting room. The gray carpet is still the most normal thing, while the octagonal room is surrounded by cold sheet metal walls and an elongated table doesn't even begin to fill the space in the room in any meaningful way. A simple screen adorns one side of the octagon, but probably no longer serves any purpose, as projectors are long outdated technology.

Before I even try to recognize all the visitors in the room, I step briskly into the meeting room, stop after a few steps and salute:

“Investigator Vivianne Vernelle reporting for duty!”
I call into the room.

This greeting and general demeanor is more suited to a soldier than an investigator, but there are no rules that would prohibit me from doing so: I think this demeanor has a positive first impression on others. If someone is sitting in this room who doesn't know me yet, they will probably now think I am very disciplined and competent - which I am not in reality.

Kingston is standing on the other side of the long table. Next to him is a young woman with short blonde hair and purple highlights. Her belly-free uniform and numerous piercings give her a rebellious appearance and her narrowed eyebrows reveal the lady's angry mood.

“Ah, Mrs. Vernelle. Welcome.”
Despite his raspy voice, Kingston's words echo powerfully through the room. Among the many police chiefs, he radiates the most powerful authority as head of the investigation department.
The lady on the other side does not greet me, but instead gives me a disdainful look.
Oh dear, did I just come at the wrong time? Did I disturb them?

“E-excuse me... I am-”

But Kingston turns directly to me:
“Don't worry, you weren't disturbing us. Mrs. Blanc was just about to leave.”
The blonde lady called Blanc is about to talk back, but Kingston gives her a grim look:
“Am I right, Mrs. Blanc?” he adds. His voice sounds calm but menacing.

Her round eyes narrow:
“Yes, I'm just realizing that this is all a waste of time.”
With quick steps, she stomps past me loudly; I don't seem to be worthy of a glance, but I hardly notice. I'm far too shocked by the disrespect this woman is showing my boss. She's probably a rookie who doesn't yet understand that you don't really get very far in a police career with that kind of behavior. Sometimes people like that lose their jobs quickly and anyone who opposes Giftear's plans by quitting can expect a lot of scorn and contempt from their fellow citizens.

But Kingston keeps his stoic expression:

“Ms. Garcia, please escort the detective outside.”

“D-D-Detective?!”

I am stunned. This woman holds the rank of detective? How is that possible?

Serena Garcia, who hadn't said anything the whole time, nods silently and follows Blanc out of the room. The big door closes and now I'm alone with Kingston.

I fix my gaze on my boss again: a tall man like Kingston towers over a small woman like me by far. His short black hair, thick beard and square-cut uniform add to the menace of his silhouette.
I've been alone with him a few times and I know what's now going to happen. This man has two faces:

“Oh, Vivianne! How are you? Did you get through the trip okay? Do you want a drink?”

Kingston finally drops his mask. His broad shoulders slump and he now grins in a friendly manner. There is no longer any trace of menace: He now looks more like a grandmother who hasn't seen her granddaughter for weeks.

“N-no thanks, sir... I don't need anything,” I reply, a little embarrassed.

“Why don't you just call me Roman? Your father always called me that too.”

I'm certainly not going to do that! My father, Pierre Vernelle, was a long-time work colleague and close friend of Roman Kingston, who has known me since I was a small child and is always worried about me. Especially after my father's death, he is sometimes a little too caring...

“I-I prefer to call you by your surname at work, if that's all right...”

“Yes, of course. Please excuse me, Vivi-I mean, Mrs. Vernelle.”

“Sir, may I ask why we're meeting here in the Containment Bay?”

“Ah yes! Don't worry, this place is a place for criminals, but we're safe here!”

Somehow I still don't feel really safe...

“Besides,” Kingston continues. “You won't come into contact with them either.
“You know, this space station is pretty bad when it comes to living quarters, so your next case had to stay here for now.”

My next case? Possibly my last case. It seems to be about a person. I rarely meet the people behind my cases.

“You're about to meet her in person,” Kingston says, as if he can read my mind.
“I'd like to explain the situation to you briefly.”

I nod nervously. I have a hard time interacting with people - especially strangers.

With a few movements of his index finger, he calls up a holographic screen:
“Fortunately, the Dike Synapse was able to produce a reasonably good summary on this case. I'll send you the report shortly.”

The Dike Synapse is a sub-entity of Giftear and exclusively supports the police in their work. It produces reports, offender profiles and provides important information for investigators.

A new screen opens up in front of my face with a long wall of text. Unfortunately, formatting is a foreign concept to the police, but Kingston seems to have realized this long ago.

“Her name is Silvia Antigone. She's a young woman who was found unconscious in the Strength District. But she has no idea how she got there.”

I unintentionally and suspiciously raised an eyebrow.
It's not unusual for something like this to happen after a wild night. You drink a little too much and wake up somewhere with no memory of the previous night. It's never happened to me, but I've heard about it many times.

“But why is this a case for us now?” I ask, puzzled.

My boss runs his hand through his dark beard:
“Well, this happened three months ago and Mrs. Antigone's memories haven't returned since.”

He pauses and looks at me with a serious expression - otherwise I probably wouldn't believe what he's about to say:
“I'm talking about all her memories. Apart from her name, she doesn't know who she is or where she comes from. It's actually a miracle that she hasn't forgotten how to speak.”

“I've never heard of such an extreme case of amnesia before...”

I tilt my head to the side questioningly. Perhaps a loss of memory due to illness? Alzheimer's? Dissociative identity disorder? I've heard of something like that.

“Ms. Antigone has been examined by several psychologists and therapists, but she doesn't seem to have any cognitive problems or illnesses.”

He really seems to be able to read my mind!

“So now we're supposed to investigate who this Mrs. Antigone is and how she lost her memories?” I mumble to myself.

“Exactly, even after three months we haven't been able to make any progress with her on a medical level.”

“Then we should just search for her name in the Giftear database. All the details about her life should be documented there.”

“That's already been tried, but unfortunately we couldn't find any entries about a Silvia Antigone.”

Very unfortunate. Silvia Antigone is probably not her real name then. Perhaps the name comes from a movie and still haunts her few memories.

“In other words, we're starting from scratch,” I conclude.

“We only have the police report about her find. Unfortunately, I have to leave the rest to you with a heavy heart, Vivianne.”

I had already figured that. I will probably only be able to see the effort involved and the chances of success of this case in time. But there's another thing that's bothering me:

“Why was I chosen for the case? So far, I've only analyzed data and done research from home.”

I don't want to tell him directly that I'm unsuitable for the case - it could derail my plan to avoid my future wedding.

“I know you have doubts, Vivianne,” Kingston replies with a gentle look.
“But you've done an excellent job so far and I'm very pleased with it. But I think you haven't realized your true potential yet, and in that case, you could unleash your true abilities.”

I think Kingston's praise is way over the top, but maybe this case could actually help me. If I can overcome this challenge, perhaps Giftear could keep me on as an investigator. Then perhaps my skills as an investigator would be of greater benefit to society than possible motherhood.

I salute again:

“I'll do my best, sir!”

I have to do my best. Otherwise I'll soon be living a life that doesn't belong to me.

“How great!” Kingston looks like an old granny again. “You're always so enthusiastic! But make sure you don't stress yourself too much - it's unhealthy.”

Truly like a grandma.

He turns to the other door on the opposite side of the meeting room.

“I'd like to introduce you to Silvia Antigone then.”

He reverts to his original role of authoritarian boss and calls out in a loud, determined voice:

“Let her in!”