Mornings were perfect in many ways. The sun would just be around the corner, ready to shine on the beautiful land. The birds would be preparing their lungs for what could only be the most extraordinary of songs. The people were waking up as well, getting ready to be a good part of society, smiling all the way along their journeys. Mornings were perfect.

Mornings were also the opportune moment to get in a healthy amount of exercise. A half-hour of light cardio paired with some standard weightlifting was one of the most delightful to get the body up and running. The mild burn in the lungs couldn't be anything other than refreshing!

And a healthy mind could not be without a proper diet, of course. When on the job, being anything other than perfect was the same as being a failure. And if Cassandra Wilkins was anything, it was anything but imperfect. She was the best, and she damn well knew it. She had worked hard enough to deserve that.

If only those above could realise that fact as well. Then she wouldn't have needed to be in this… what was the politically correct name for it? Border-city? Big dump that needed to be purged? Place where poor people flee to? Place that nobody worth their life would be? One of those should have fit well enough. Not that she dared saying any of them to those unfortunate souls who decided it was a good idea to move there.

"Cass, you ready to take over in five?" a voice through the radio asked. Cassandra guessed the origin of it to be Jared. No way to have been sure, when the equipment used was so damn ancient that it was impossible to even recognize the voices coming through it. Why the government just hadn't trashed the city to the ground, was a question that continued to be unanswered.

Pulling out her own shoddy radio, the slightly huffed up lady pressed the talk button, preparing to sound as if she ever wanted to speak with the man that gave her the pleasure of hearing her voice. She had just finished her morning exercise and breakfast. She wasn't even out of her standard issued in-house apartment if that's what one could even call it. There was hardly space for her to sleep!

"Sure, boss. I’ll be over in a jiffy," Cass answered with a kind and professional tone, making sure it sounded as if she cared about it all. Why was she even here? Why didn't she just quit the moment she was told they would send her here? She hated slums like these!

Cleaning up her breakfast remains, the suit was put on, and out she went, ready to take on another day of stupid challenges. Aspirations to grow further and beyond was one thing, however, and then there was the fact that she put up with this damned job.

What did people think a cop was nowadays? A piece of the force, respected by all, and loved by the masses for their unwillingness to budge to criminals, always taking them on no matter the odds? That's what Cassandra had looked at them as, back in the day when she actually thought that the job would be worth it. Turns out that everybody else had… differing opinions on the matter.

Thinking back on it, it had been a few years since she was actually called a cop by somebody. Which was surprising, since she interacted with the common folk almost every day of the week. She had been called a pig, an ayna, whatever that meant, a bird, various kinds of filth, and even a special list of words that nobody should have dirtied their mouth with. But… no chance of being called a cop. Not at all. No reason to call her by her job designation. Nope. No reason at all. Nothing about how she had slaved away for five years to get her badge, only to be told that she was a worthless piece of scum for taking the easy way in life. No mention of that at all.

Why did people hate her so much? What had Cassandra ever done to them? With all that hate surrounding her position, the higher-ups even had to begin… what had they called it again? ‘Outsourcing security to ensure the people felt safe.’ In other words, they were trying to throw her out into the streets.

Not that they could fire her, of course. Even while forced to act by the people, the higher-ups could see the unfairness put on them. They could have fired the whole force, but they were able to sway the situation into a gradual process. While nobody would be fired, nobody would be allowed in. It would allow nobody to lose their jobs, while also allowing the process of satisfying the bastardized part of the public. Damn it, did Cassandra hate them.

Five whole years, all looking to be ruined because of some people not tolerating her position existing. She wanted people to feel safe, and this is what they repaid her with. Frequent protests to defund the police, forcing the state to put the budget a bit down each time. The walls in the police building she lived in were supposed to have been repainted not that long ago. But… not anymore. They couldn't afford it. People just wouldn't allow them to live in moderate standards.

The government couldn't even afford to leave gifts. Anybody that left had to be reeducated, else they would have to work in labour. The education for aspiring police officers was highly specialised, making it non-applicable to pretty much everything else related to security. Again and again, Cassandra couldn't stop herself from uttering a silent curse against the people supposed to feel grateful.

With the station being smaller than it had any right to be, Cassandra made it on the clock. Now, she was the one made to be sitting by, waiting for somebody to call in about some inane crime that they had seen with their very own eyes.

Or, well, she first had to talk to Jared of all people.

"Right on the clock as always," Jared commented, as Cassandra sat down at her designated seat. When sat, her brain implant would automatically connect to the network, redirecting any emergency calls over to her. A brilliant invention that, most importantly of all, made sure that she wouldn't have to touch anything Jared had gotten his greasy hands on. "A true gift to this force of ours."

Last she checked, neither of them owned any part of the government. Nor did Jared rank above her, making him fully obsolete in her eyes. The only people she had her eyes on in this station was the third and final offer available. Not that she ever met him, their sleeping cycles conflicting too much. Making three people watch over a city twenty-four hours of the day was a bit much sometimes.

"Being precise is the most important duty of an officer!" Cass happily supplied, smiling like her day was brightened by the fact of talking with another person. Healthy relations with others was important no matter how she felt about them personally. And, personally, she was extremely repulsed by Jared, the man not keeping his body in check, and certainly not somebody who knew of personal hygiene. Cassandra was nearly religious, with how much she prayed to lose her sense of smell while in the man’s vicinity. "Without that trait, we would never surpass the limits that have been set for us."

"Wise words yet again," Jared stated, smiling brightly at her. It took all her willpower not to flinch at the sight of his teeth. Or… at the sight of where a couple of teeth were supposed to be. Clearly, the man had forgotten to get dental check-ups when he was younger. How stupid of him. Cassandra wanted to shiver at what she saw but knew it wouldn't be taken kindly. "I always wonder why you haven't been promoted yet."

She did too. Really, she did wonder about that much more than anybody knew. Even as Jared left with his final few farewells, even after having sat around for ten minutes, the breaching of that topic made Cassandra unable to focus on anything else. While she might have put on a facade of serenity outside, she was anything but that on the inside.

She had been in a good place just three months ago. In one of the cities that actually mattered, her boss had begun looking at her favourably. She had begun to get commendations for all her great work. Talk about her eventual promotion had begun, how she would soar above everything else, and become one of the centre-pieces in the force.

The announcement of disbandment just had to come around then. Suddenly, everybody was in chaos mode, as their livelihoods were threatened. Most jumped ship then and there, not wanting to be in the midst of all the news. Even her boss did as well. Only… in a slightly different way. They had jumped away by jumping up, pulled along by the connections fostered over decades of friendship. Cassandra had been told she would need to do the same soon, or she would lose any chances of getting away from the sinking vessel she stood upon.

All that talk of promotions, rising through the ranks… it had all disappeared so quickly. So much work put into being a star-wonder, being the best there ever was, ruined by a mass of people she couldn't even recognize. Her dreams had been ruined because of some stupid people with their stupid beliefs. They could all go rot in-

The first call of the day came along with a piercing ring, right as Cassandra had decided to sip at her tea. The brew had just started to cool down to workable temperatures. She still couldn't grasp why Jared made it all so hot. Nevertheless, though, the taste was good enough that she could look past such things.

"You have reached the local police hot-line. What is your emergency?" Cass politely asked, not bothering to look at the name of whoever called. Not like she would go through any effort of remembering it after a couple of seconds.

"Hello?" the voice of an elderly lady said. "Is this coming through?"

The only reason Cassandra didn't sigh in future frustration was due to her knowledge that it would be heard by the woman on the other end of the call. Confused, old people were annoying but could be dealt with calmly. Angry, old people? Those were downright time-wasters.

"Indeed it is, ma'am. What is your emergency?" Cass asked again, sounding patient and fine with the very slow person on the other end.

"Ah, there! Technology is not as fast as it used to be," the old woman said, complaining about the wrong thing entirely. It might just have been that it was getting too fast for the old, slow bags of flesh could keep up with.

"Your emergency, ma'am, what is it?" Cass asked for a third time, not expecting to have to ask for so many times. When there were emergencies, people were usually very stressed about getting it through quickly. Yet, it seemed as if the city that she was in had utterly forgotten about that fact.

"Yes, yes. You, young people, are always so touchy about quickness," the woman said, having the audacity to complain about the current situation. "My neighbour, Denys, has been stealing my flowers, and I want you to make him stop."

Stealing flowers… Cassandra supposed there was a law against that. Though, actually breaking a law sounded too good to be true.

Looking outside, however, the weather did look nice. Having a drive around didn't sound too bad.

"Emergency confirmed. We will be right there."

Now. Where did Jared leave the keys to the automations?