Sirius Zero: Building A Corporate Kingdom After Being Expelled

Chapter 161 - 161: The Statement

Joshua David stood in the middle of his home office studio, staring at the camera mounted on the tripod.The camera was a 4K professional filming one, complete with an LED ring light and large film box.

He took a deep breath, and sat in his vegan leather chair behind his massive white desk.

He pulled up the recording software and setup on his Macbook, preparing to record.

"My name is Joshua David. I am making this video, under duress. I am currently under house arrest by orders of Dictator Saladin of Libya, for a perceived slight, over a uniform code dispute at St. Ignatius Academy, where my beloved daughter, up until this evening, was attending her 7th grade," he began, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"As many of my regular viewers know, I hail from a proud Jewish tribe. We pride ourselves on our culture, our traditions, and vehemently uphold our right to be heard, and not persecuted or silenced. My daughter, protested the immodest, Eurocentric, and frankly sexualized uniform code of St. Ignatius Academy, and as a father, it was my duty to support her," he continued, wiping at his eyes.

"To say that my Ester faced challenges at the tender age of thirteen, would be an understatement. This school, an institution that is supposed to be a place of safety and learning. Turned extortionist. Over the short week that Ester wore our traditional clothing as a silent protest against the unjust uniform code, her weekly allowance that we deposit in her school account, was wiped out, and worse! Our own personal accounts were hit with financial requests to settle fines totalling two thousand dollars! I ask you. How is this, in any world, a fair or legal measure?" he demanded rhetorically.

"When I confronted the school administration, they informed me that they will hold a referendum on the matter. A referendum! And the stakes? If my Ester fails to convince eighty percent. Not 51, not 60, 80 percent of the student body, she would be summarily expelled!" he thundered.

"To make matters worse? Ester's entire class was poisoned against her by a peer who wanted the uniform code in her twisted, internal misogyny fueled and brainwashed way! At his point, I could no longer stand idly by. I provided Ester with the best chance I could give her as a father. I coached her in her presentation skill, I found four other brave girls to stand by her, and we pulled off a united front!" he shouted, before slumping in his seat and sighing.

"Unfortunately, the game was rigged from the start. Instead of a free and fair debate, the administration first tried to muzzle my daughter, claiming that her debate topics and talking points were not age appropriate. News flash people! Teenagers are on the Internet! They know about things like Marxist theory!" he shouted, getting worked up, before calming himself with a deep breath.

"While I managed to convince the administration to let the debate continue, it was after the first round's conclusion, that I realized that the school administration had no interest in listening to reason. While I was desperately fighting to keep the debate going, ensuring my daughter had a fair chance. In walks the literal butcher of Libya and Niger! He draws a sword and demands my head! Why? Because my daughter and her teammates pointed out that the vile St. Ignatius Uniform violates Sharia modesty law! Well, Mr. Saladin. You may have my head, but you will never silence my voice! For I speak the truth! You may threaten my life, have your harem members beat my beloved wife like a dog in public, and have your minions hurl antisemitic curses at me, but I will not be silenced! I will not be cowed! You may rest easy for the moment, for I am leaving this Sirius Zone, and taking my business elsewhere, but my message will come to those whom you oppress, and they will soon show you that guns cannot crush the human spirit! You wanted me to confess? I confess! I am guilty! Mea Maxima Culpa! I'm guilty of the crime of being a Jewish father protecting his daughter's modesty and right to religious expression! I'm guilty of supplying my daughter with adult actors when nobody in her class wanted to stand alongside her! If wanting a safe and welcoming environment for my daughter is a crime, then I am guilty!" he finished in a shout, tearing violently at his shirt, before stopping the recording.

He took another deep breath to anchor himself, and looked over the recorded footage in the Macbook's editing application.

"Yes, this will work. It is a confession, but not the snivelling one they wanted," he muttered, carefully adjusting the color and lighting gradients in the application, before exporting it for distribution, and changing clothes.

"Ester, Sarah. Are the two of you ready?" he asked, as Ester and Sarah came into his studio, both in fresh caftans and veils.

"Yes, we are," said Sarah.

"I've set the timer for one hour. These fools underestimate how resilient we are. Let's go," said Joshua, and left with them for the escape tunnel underneath their house.

---

"You know. I had thought that you had more of a self-preservation instinct, even if you didn't have intelligence," sighed Saladin, as the Davids cowered before him.

The SZPD had caught them at the end of the escape tunnel, and had brought them to Sirius Software HQ at Aaron's orders.

They were now cuffed and sitting in Aaron's office, with Saladin, Friedrich and Hajime.

"Go ahead. Kill me. It only proves what I've been warning," spat Joshua.

"Turn you and your family into martyrs eh? That's your new spin?" chuckled Saladin.

"You know, it's idiots like you who give the antisemites fuel for their fire. I believe we've given this little man enough of our attention Saladin. I'm blacklisting Zeitgeist Media from the Sirius Zone. Their content and other systems are now permanently blocked from Sirius Zone networks," said Aaron, his hands flying across the keyboard of his computer.

"B-but the video!" shouted Joshua.

"Saladin, I believe Ester would make an excellent addition to your harem, once you've cleaned up her acne," said Aaron, ignoring Joshua's outburst.

"Tempting, but no. I'm happy with Nausheen. Let's just dispose of these three," said Saladin.

"Natasha, coordinate with the SZPD to escort Mr. David and his family out of the Sirius Zone," said Aaron into his intercom.

"I did as you asked! The video should have gone live by now!" shouted Joshua.

"Shut up!" barked Saladin, drawing his sword and pointing it at Joshua's throat.

"Please! Please don't kill my daddy!" wailed Ester, finally unable to take it.

"Leave them, Saladin, they're not even worthy of dying by your blade. We've got better things to do," said Aaron, as Natasha and Olga came in.

The quickly and efficiently gagged Joshua, and put a black cloth bag on his head.

"Nobody is killing anyone, little girl. But you are no longer welcome here," said Saladin, as Ester sobbed and sniffled.

"Please Premier Saladin, I'll do the video. I'll explain what happened," cried Ester.

"There's no need for that. We're just taking you and your parents outside the Sirius Zone. Nothing will happen to you or them as long as they stay outside," said Saladin, trying to be gentle.

"Swear?" asked Ester, as Natasha and Olga helped her to her feet.

"I swear, on Libya's honor," said Saladin.

With that, Ester and her family were taken away.

---

Joshua felt his cuffs unlock, and he pulled the bag off his head.

He, Sarah and Ester had been dumped on the side of a highway.

"Where the hell are we?" he asked.

"Somewhere near the outskirts of Boston," said Sarah, adjusting her scarf and veil.

"I've managed to book an Uber," said Ester, who had her phone with her.

"Good girl," said Joshua.

"It's for me. Not for you. I'm going back," said Ester, her voice dead.

"What?" asked Joshua, unable to comprehend what Ester said.

"I'm going back, asking Mr. Zakhrov for a part-time job, and wear the uniform. I'm done with this bullshit," said Ester.

"Ester, are you out of your mind? He tried to kill us!" said Sarah.

"No! I want a normal life! I want friends like what Adelaide has got!" screamed Ester.

Sarah pulled Ester to her and hugged her tightly.

"All right. We'll put you in a school where you'll have all of that and more. Don't worry, my baby. I'm not letting you get hurt anymore," she said as Ester wailed into her caftan.

The Uber soon arrived, and Ester quickly changed the location to a hotel outside the Sirius Zone.

---

"Good Morning. Due to external circumstances, Ms. David's parents have decided to withdraw her from St. Ignatius Academy. Since, Ms. Adelaide's team had secured a 60% in the polls, and their debate opponent has withdrawn, the administration board has decided to implement the change she had petitioned, effective tomorrow. Regular classes will resume from today," announced Fr. Joseph, at the assembly.

"We did it!" squealed Adelaide as they filed towards their classroom.

"Yup. We did it," chuckled Yasmin.

"Last day of kitten heels," said Yue.

They filed into the classroom, and took their seats.

"All right everyone, settle down. Today we'll be starting quadratic equations," said Mr. Savage as he entered the classroom.

---

"Status Aaron?" asked Saladin, as he walked into Aaron's office.

"Completely blocked off. Zeitgeist Media can no longer broadcast their information inside the Sirius Zone," said Aaron.

"Young Ester's pleas worked on me. I must be getting soft," chuckled Saladin wryly.

"I don't think that's the case. You realized she was just an innocent pawn, and as much as I would have liked to take her as a company supported ward, I know the pain of being separated from parents," said Aaron.

"Well, not everyone has your towering intellect and stoicism at thirteen. She was just a scared girl, terrified of the circumstances," sighed Saladin.

"Still, I'm keeping tabs since we don't want them sneaking back in. Ester is enrolled in Boston Public now," said Aaron.

"That's probably for the best," said Saladin.

---

"Who is this, Anna?" asked Mikaela, as Anna pulled Ester towards her in the school cafeteria.

"This is Ester David, she just transferred here from St. Ignatius," said Anna.

"But isn't that place like, super expensive and hard to get into?" asked Mikaela.

"It's not as impressive as its cracked up to be. And I'd rather not get into it. Was bullied," said Ester, he voice subdued.

"Well, don't worry. I'm Mikaela, nice to meet you," said Mikaela.

"Thanks," said Ester, shaking Mikaela's hand.

"That's a pretty necklace," said Mikaela, noticing Ester's Star of David pendant.

"It's a symbol of my faith. I'm Jewish," said Ester.

"It that why you're dressed like you're in witness protection or something?" asked Mikaela.

"Ugh! Ten-year-olds! No, it is a traditional garb, called a caftan. As for the veil, you'll soon find that as you get older, people start looking at you differently. It is more to protect you from them, than anything else," explained Ester.

"I see," said Mikaela, starting to feel a bit of dislike from the way Ester was talking.

"Don't let the veil fool you Mikaela, Ester's pretty cool," said Anna.

"Oh?" asked Mikaela.

"Yup, she knows a lot of stuff," said Anna.

"Like?" asked Mikaela.

"Like how meat is actually bad for your health. They stuff cows and other farm animals full of drugs to get them to taste the way they do," said Ester.

"That's bullshit! Meat tastes good because it's good for you," shot back Mikaela.

"Normally, yes, but the stuff you get at the supermarket or mall? That's laden with drugs," said Ester.

"What about straight from the farm?" challenged Mikaela.

"Those are OK, I suppose. As long as you know the farmer doesn't inject them," conceded Ester, surprised at Mikaela's conviction.

"It's still murder though isn't it?" asked Anna smugly.

"Yup, it still is. You're killing an animal," said Ester, as Anna nodded emphatically.

"Kill or be killed, law of the jungle," grumbled Mikaela, taking a defiant bite out of her ham sandwich.

---

"Stupid Anna, and that new girl," grumbled Mikaela as she rode around the block on her bicycle.

It was the weekend, and yet it felt hollow. Mikaela could sense that Anna was drifting away from the close friendship they had developed during elementary school.

At first, Anna had claimed that she was trying to play teacher's pet to Annette. But now, Mikaela felt that her claim was false, and that she actually believed the things she said.

"So annoying!" she grumbled, approaching a stop sign and intersection.

"I wish I had a friend around my age to ack me up. I can't keep relying on Captain Hawkins, or Daddy," she muttered, so engrossed, that she didn't pay attention to the stop sign.

The rumble of an engine, and the honking of a car horn brought her out of her daydream and, she froze as a Stormkreuzer stopped just a few centimeters from her.

"Are you all right?" asked a young man with blond hair and gentle blue eyes, getting out of the car.

"Y-yeah," said Mikaela, moving her bike to the curb.

"Hey, hey, it's OK. But be careful next time," said the man, as Mikaela's hands began to shake.

The car's passenger door opened, and a girl came out.

Mikaela couldn't help but stare at the girls long blond hair, and hourglass figure as she sauntered towards them on high heels.

"Hey kid, it's dangerous to bike while distracted, are you OK?" she asked.

"Y-yeah I'm fine. Don't worry," said Mikaela.

She attempted to mount her bike, but her knees gave way.

"Easy there, come on. We'll take you home. You live close by?" asked Axel.

"Um," hesitated Mikaela, tears of frustration welling up in her eyes at the way her body was betraying her.

"Hey, it's OK. Deep breaths, in and out," said Axel, coaching her to calm down.

Mikaela took a few deep breaths, and felt her heart stop pounding.

"I'm Axel, what's your name?" asked Axel.

"M-Mikaela," said Mikaela.

"I'm Adelaide. What happened? You looked pretty distracted," asked the girl by way of introduction.

"Had a fight with my friend in school," mumbled Mikaela.

"That we all do. Don't worry," said Adelaide reassuringly.

"I know. I shouldn't have gotten distracted by it. But it just feels like I'm the only one with my views. I hate the whole meat is murder crap they keep going on about," grumbled Mikaela, not caring that they were on a public street, and she was unloading her frustrations on a girl she just met.

"Yeah, that sucks. Which school do you go to?" asked Adelaide.

"Boston Public. I don't recommend it. It's a total dump," sighed Mikaela.

"Well, if you're looking to transfer to St. Ignatius, I can put in a good word," chuckled Adelaide, taking a liking to Mikaela instantly.

"Thanks, but my Daddy said he teaches there, I might just ask him if he can transfer me. I'm not so sure about that though. My grades haven't been the best lately," said Mikaela.

"Well, you don't have to worry about grades. You just need to ace the entrance test. Here, take my contact info, if ou need help with studies, gimme a call," said Adelaide.

"Thanks," said Mikaela, uncertainly, but tapping her phone to Adelaide's anyway.

"OK Mikaela, you think you are ready to get back on the bike?" asked Axel, after inspecting the bike for damage.

"I think so," said Mikaela.

"OK, up you get," said Axel, holding the bike for her.

Mikaela got back on, and slowly started to pedal.

She went one lap around the block, to find Axel and Adelaide still there.

"Feeling better now?" asked Adelaide.

"Yeah, thanks for everything. I'll be more careful," said Mikaela.

"No biggie, see you around," said Adelaide, climbing into the car with Axel.

Mikaela waved as they drove off, and then decided to head back home.