Interrogation (Part 1)

Early in the morning, Reno was awakened by a rapid doorbell.

 Opening his eyes, Reno knocked on the wall, and Russell Hill's face appeared on the opposite wall.

 Seeing him, Reno knew he wouldn't have a good day.

 Still, he maintained his composure and said, "It's only 7:30 in the morning, Mr. Hill. What brings you here so early to see me?"

 Russell Hill replied, "It's an invitation, Captain Reno. I still have some questions about the Abronado, and perhaps you can help me answer them. So, I would like to invite you to the Federal Fleet Investigation Bureau for a morning tea."

 Reno paused.

 Being invited by security agencies for tea wasn't a good sign. In those places, having tea was often a euphemism for interrogation.

 Reno wasn't familiar with the style of the Federal Fleet Investigation Bureau, but he knew the modus operandi of security agencies. Regardless of the type of security structure, such invitations rarely spelled good news.

 Looking deeply at Russell Hill, Reno said, "Can't we talk here?"

 "The conversation involves some confidential matters, and we may need to make some preparations. You know, lawyers are troublesome these days, and we have to be careful," Russell Hill explained.

 Reno furrowed his brows even deeper. "Can I understand that you hold serious doubts about everything that happened on the Abronado and have begun to attempt formal charges against me personally?"

 "No, no, no, no!" Russell Hill hurriedly said, "Please don't misunderstand, Mr. Reno. This is just a conversation, but I don't rule out the possibility that what you say could become evidence. I mean... whether any charges will be brought depends on your performance."

 Reno coldly replied, "I thought it should depend on the facts."

 "I thought it depended on the truth," Russell Hill countered with a smile.

 ...

 An hour later, Reno appeared in the "reception room" of the Federal Fleet Investigation Bureau.

 It was an empty room, with only a table, two chairs, and nothing else.

 The room was glaringly white, giving it a somewhat eerie feel.

 Reno sat facing the door, while Russell Hill sat opposite him, accompanied by a female investigator who looked relatively young, with a round face and glasses perched on her nose.

 Although she looked sweet, her expression towards Reno was anything but sweet; instead, it was rather fierce.

 From her gaze, Reno could sense disdain and contempt, as if she were looking at some scum.

 This made Reno's heart sink slightly.

 "Before we begin, would you like something to drink, Captain Reno?" Russell Hill asked with an innocent smile.

 After thinking for a moment, Reno replied, "Coffee, please. Also, please don't call me captain; I'm no longer a captain."

 "Okay, in that case, I'll call you Commander Reno. After all, you're still the mech commander of the squadron, right?" Russell Hill snapped his fingers, and a guard entered from outside, "A cup of coffee, thank you."

 Then he activated the holocorder and said to Reno, "So, let's begin. Commander Reno, on February 12th, 7455 Earth Calendar, the Abronado and four other starships received orders from the Earth Fleet to execute a secret mission in the Bojiang Constellation. If I'm not mistaken, the mission was to retrieve a certain special item, right?"

 "Yes," Reno confirmed.

 Russell Hill continued, "On June 28th Earth Calendar, the Abronado and its consort completed the mission. On the way back, you encountered an attack from the Divine Clan and a small group of Yak insects. During the battle, Captain Jeram and all officers of the rank of captain and above were killed by a shot from the Divine Clan energy cannon while in the conference room. That was your testimony last time, am I correct?"

 Reno didn't answer.

 "So, I have a question. Commander Reno, why did Captain Jeram convene a meeting during the battle? I mean, he seemed quite leisurely under attack by the Divine Clan?" Russell Hill asked immediately.

 "The meeting happened before the Divine Clan attack. At that time, Captain Jeram was holding the meeting," Reno clarified.

 "Which means he was killed at the beginning of the battle?" Russell Hill asked promptly.

 Reno hesitated for a moment before nodding, "More or less."

 "So, can I understand that since Captain Jeram was killed at the beginning, the entire battle was under your command from the start?" Russell Hill continued.

 "...Yes," Reno responded.

 "Similarly, Captain Jeram couldn't have given any orders during this process, right? Because he was already dead," Russell Hill pressed on.

 "...Yes," Reno replied.

 Russell Hill smiled smugly.

 He looked deeply at Reno, like an experienced cop catching the craftiest criminal, and with a deep and somewhat sympathetic tone, he said, "In the past few days, I've investigated the records of the Abronado, but unfortunately, almost all the records on the ship were destroyed. I couldn't find any useful information... The Divine Clan's firepower was quite precise, and almost every part containing storage devices was attacked."

 Russell Hill's words dripped with sarcasm.

 Reno remained silent, just looking at him.

 "However, I believe some records cannot be erased. Such as people... There were a large number of soldiers on the Abronado. Although most of them claimed that the battle was chaotic and they didn't know much, a small number insisted on the same story. Still, there are always some who provide additional information. I particularly visited the wounded from the four starships on the Abronado..."

 At this point, Russell Hill smirked, "And I got some interesting information."

 Reno remained motionless.

 "Although most of them couldn't provide substantive content about the Abronado, valuable information sometimes comes from details. During my visits to the wounded, I discovered something interesting: the majority of the wounded from the four starships praised you highly. They said you saved them... that you personally led the mech squadron bravely in battle, repelling the Divine Clan's attack and entering the damaged starship to rescue them. It must be admitted that this is indeed a very brave and remarkable feat. However, according to what you just admitted, after the battle began, Captain Jeram was already dead, and you were responsible for commanding the starship's battle and retreat. So how did you manage to save people on the battlefield in such a situation?" 

 Reno responded, "The mech operation console can connect to the starship command console. Even while on the battlefield, one can remotely command the overall situation. Of course, this can be easily interfered with, but at that time, I had brave comrades protecting me."

 Russell Hill looked at Reno with an expression that said 'I knew you'd say that.' "How do you explain this?" he said, showing Reno a recording device. "'...there were flashes and gunfire everywhere, and I was terrified. A Yak insect was flying towards me, baring its teeth and claws. Just as it was about to tear me into pieces, I saw a space mech rushing over and blasting the creature into pieces. Then he said to me, 'Hey, don't worry buddy, Captain Jeram sent us to rescue you...'" 

 Russell Hill paused the recording abruptly.

 Looking into Reno's eyes, which were now ice-cold, he asked, "How do you explain this, Commander Reno?"

 Reno looked at Russell Hill and pondered for a moment before replying, "After Captain Jeram's death, as all the officers qualified to command the starship were gone, I automatically became the acting captain of the Abronado according to federal law. Due to the urgency of the situation, we were under attack by the Divine Clan. To ensure that morale wasn't affected, and to prevent the soldiers from fighting in a desperate and hopeless environment, I did not announce this news to everyone but continued to issue orders in Captain Jeram's name until the battle ended. It wasn't until later, after the battle, that I announced Captain Jeram's death. This caused some misunderstanding, leading some to believe that Captain Jeram was still alive. It's not surprising. After the battle, due to the severe damage to the starship, we were forced to jump into warp speed and focus on repairs, leaving little time to explain to the crew."

 Russell Hill gave a thumbs up, indicating "Well done."

 "I must admit you're quite clever to come up with such a lie in such a short time, and it's quite fitting with the situation at the time. But, as you said, your biggest problem is that your situation was too urgent. After escaping the Divine Clan's pursuit, you were in a severely damaged starship and were rushing around, resulting in not much time to unify your story or deal with trouble. You were too hasty, and hence left too many loopholes," Russell Hill chuckled.

 He then took out something from his hand.

 It was a blackened chip, only the size of a fingernail.

 When Reno saw this, his face finally changed.

 "I think you recognize it," Russell Hill said with a leisurely expression, "This is the identity chip that every federal citizen has from birth. It records everything about a person from birth to death, including name, blood type, place and date of birth, medical history, and all physiological characteristics. It is also the label used by the new federal government to verify every citizen. Through it, the new federal government can track the whereabouts of every citizen and most of their information. Later, this identity chip was implanted with a series of social behaviors, including work experience, political tendencies, etc., becoming a record of a person's life."

 Reno fixed his gaze on the chip on the table.

 For a long time.

 He looked up at Russell Hill and said, "It's impossible for this to be Captain Jeram's chip. He was hit by the Divine Clan's energy cannon, and his entire body was disintegrated into atoms."

 Russell Hill chuckled, "I didn't say this was Captain Jeram's chip. The owner of the chip is Alec Corckett, the executive officer of the Abronado, a major... As we know, all officers above the rank of major were killed by the energy cannon in the conference room. If Captain Jeram's body could be disintegrated into atoms, then others should be the same. But I still found this chip."

 Russell Hill tapped the chip rhythmically with his fingers, "Although the chip is damaged, we have managed to extract some information from it."

 Saying this, he glanced at the female investigator wearing glasses next to him, her face showing a proud expression, indicating that she did all this.

 He leaned towards Reno, his smile slightly sinister despite its casual appearance.

 "Guess what we found?" he said, looking at Reno meaningfully, "His death record, that was the last information recorded on the chip. The information indicates that the deceased did not die from energy annihilation but from penetrating head trauma, skull fracture, severe damage to the brain and brainstem. In simple terms..."

 "He was shot in the head."