Halo's Introduction!

After compiling the results of the forms document, here is a short introduction to our CYOA character! What I am thinking, in the comments of this post, you guys can post any potential ideas you think could be fun for the next chapter, then after a few days to give people a chance to put forth their ideas, I'll combine them into a poll and we can figure out where we wanna go with the story! If you guys have any better ideas for how to make this work, feel free to post those as well! Hope you all enjoy the intro!

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Halo heard a garbled voice through the wall. She couldn’t make them out, but from the tone it was clear. Another dissatisfied interviewee.

The pitter patter of Halo’s hands nervously slapping against her thighs filled the waiting room. A room that started with nearly a dozen people was down to just her. She focused her mind on the buzz of electronics filling the air. Her one bastion of defense against her ever rising tide of nerves.

The voice grew even louder. All the girls before her had left visibly annoyed, but this girl was a diva in comparison. Halo sighed. She couldn’t imagine being confident enough to explode on a potential employer. But then again, she wasn’t exactly successful to begin with. 

Halo was a model. Scratch that. A budding model. The kind of model that lives in a run down apartment with walls held up by nutrition packs and willpower. To her, even Shorai Industries' waiting room was high class. 

Halo jumped as the girl before her burst out of the interviewer’s door, storming across the floor. Halo’s eyes traced the ceiling and walls, as if seeing their designs for the first time, and their allure was much more interesting than the scene the girl had made. 

A shorter, balding man left the room, resting a hand on the doorway as he watched her leave. For the scene she just made, Halo expected his emotions to match hers. But he was as cool as could be.

“Next.” The main stated. His voice was low, a mixture of apathy and authority. Halo shot to her feet. The man motioned her to follow with a tilt of his head, and entered the room.

“Welcome to Shorai,” The man exhaled as he took his seat. “I’m Justin Brook, and I’ll be your interviewer today. You are…Halo White, I presume?”

“Yes,” Her voice cracked, unaccustomed to speaking after the hours of nervous silence in the waiting room. She cleared it. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Pleasure.” The man didn’t spend much time looking at her, opting to study her packet instead. “So, says here you’re a model, but you haven’t included any past employers. Work with anyone I might recognize?”

“Um, I actually haven’t spent much time in the uh– in the industry yet. But I do have some photoshoot experience, and a bit of acting experience as well. Although nothing mainstream, I suppose. I didn’t include them as references since they weren’t for professional companies, just individuals and their projects.”

She hoped he’d leave it at that. Explaining she was just modeling for some friends interested in photography, and acting in some short stories for student film projects wasn’t something she’d expect to help her case. Halo felt her cheeks warm. What was she even doing here? She sent her resume to dozens of companies, trying to hedge her bets. She never expected a response from Shorai. Shorai was one of the biggest tech companies in her area. She felt like a middle schooler applying to a law firm.

“I see,” The man flipped closed her resume, tossing it on the table. The slap of its impact made Halo jump. “To be honest, we’re looking for someone we can build up as the face of a specific Shorai Industries product line. Of course a more experienced model has its advantages, but it can also come with baggage.

“Those who are recognizable, will also come with associations to their previous works, which isn’t something we’re too interested in.” The man leaned back in his chair, taking a moment to look Halo down. Despite his relatively friendly face, being studied made her uneasy in her chair. “You are certainly attractive enough for this job, and since we are looking for a more candid representation for our product line, modeling and acting experience come second to that. If you’re interested, we could talk specifics for your contract?” Halo stared blankly at the man for a moment, processing his offer.

“Uh–Absolutely, yeah!” She tried to maintain a professional look, but her smile bubbled through. She couldn’t figure out why the previous interviewees had all walked out upset. She had to have been the least qualified, and even she could get the job.

“Wonderful.” The man slid open a drawer, pulling out a thick bundle of stapled sheets, covered top to bottom in legal jargon. “This first sheet is an NDA. This will apply to the specifics of your contract, but also to everything in this interview going forwards, whether you take the job or not. It is legally binding, and states that if you talk to other companies or individuals about either of these two things, you will be at risk for legal action. Just sign here if you are interested in hearing about the contract. Of course, signing does not mean you must take the job. Just that you can’t talk about it.”

“Woah, um…” Halo tried to skim the page, but it was far too complex for her to follow. She suddenly felt just how out of her depth she was. “So if I sign, even if I don’t take the job, I’ll be completely fine so long as I don’t mention any specifics to anyone? And I am not committing to the job or anything either, right?”

“That's right. No obligation to take the job. It's just meant to safeguard this project from dissatisfied interviewees tanking the project's reputation in its infancy.” That made sense, especially with how angry the last girl was. Halo nodded, grabbed the pen and signed.

“Wonderful! Now that that’s over with, we can talk about the specifics. We are looking for someone to test a new line of cybernetics and sex based devices. This job would include testing these products, reporting your experiences with them, your feelings, and modeling said products for the public.” Suddenly the previous interviewees made sense.

“....Umm. R-Right. I had no idea Shorai was in the umm… sex field.” Halo stumbled through her words.

“We aren’t yet publicly, but we’ve been developing rather advanced technology in the field, and are starting a new chain of products we believe will have success. But part of that is getting an understanding of how the devices feel to be used by everyday people, as well as testing their effectiveness. Of course, all of these products have been vetted as safe, but that’s relatively unrelated to user experience.

“If you are interested in the position, it is a two year contract, with a 2.5 million credit salary per year.”

“I’m sorry–Y-you said 2.5 million per year??”

“That is the salary, yes. There is also a signing bonus, as well as bonuses depending on how well the products sell after any public ads or appearances you make.” 

“That’s uh–That’s very generous…” Halo could hardly breathe. 5 million credits over 2 years? Even more than that with all the bonuses? She took a deep breath, trying to push the concept of, “more money than she’d ever seen,” out of her mind. Afterall, she’d be testing out sex based products. She cleared her throat again. “What kind of products would I be testing?”

“Unfortunately, I am not at liberty to say exactly what you will be testing. Part of why we are offering such a substantial salary is compensating for that uncertainty. What I can reiterate, is that every product is guaranteed to be safe to use. But rest assured, you will not be required to fake enjoyment of any products. Part of the position's responsibilities is being entirely forthcoming with your experience. 

“Speaking of the products, I do have to ask: do you have any cybernetic implants?”

“Oh um, yes I have several. My father set aside enough money to give me limbs, as well as a neural link. He wanted to give me the best protection he could afford.”

“Smart man,” Mr. Brook laughed. “Perfect! That would be the only potential requirement for this position that you might not have satisfied! With that out of the way, would you like to go over the specifics of the contract?” Halo’s giddiness peaked through.

“Does that mean I got the job?”

“That is exactly what that means. So long as the conditions of the contract are understood and accepted by you, you’ll be walking out of here with a 20,000 credit signing bonus and a 2 year contract.” Mr. Brook grabbed the contract from the side of the table, positioning it in front of her.

“Since we’ve already covered that this job is under an NDA…” Mr. Brook flip passed the page. “Here we are. Now please keep in mind, this contract is legally binding the moment you sign it, and we advise you to have your lawyer or manager with you while doing so. Would you like to pause here and make a call?”

“Oh no, that's okay. I am well enough equipped to understand it myself.” Halo put on her best confident smile. She didn’t even have enough credits in her account to cover next month's rent, let alone afford either of those.

“Very well! This section states, since this job is also about collecting data for Shorai, you understand you will be required to talk about your feelings, experiences, desires, as well as show yourself in said products to both myself and other members of Shorai’s staff. As well as giving Shorai’s advertising team the rights of any pictures, videos, or testimony you make. If you understand, please sign and initial, here.” Mr. Brook pointed to the blank locations on the page.

Halo felt arousal sprouting within her. She hated to admit it, but she had fantasized about being naked in front of others before. Being required to put herself in that situation stroked a side to her she often tried to ignore. She swallowed the ball of excitement in her throat, forcing herself to focus.

“Yes I understand.”

“Wonderful.” He flipped the page. “This section states that, in order to guarantee accurate data, you are legally bound to use Shorai’s products for an undisclosed and uncompromisable duration of time. Of course, so long as it falls within your contract's duration of two years. Breach of this agreement would compromise Shorai’s data, and therefore void your contract. You would be expected to pay back all salary and bonuses paid to you up till that point, as well as compensation of financial losses accrued by Shorai by your breach of contract, up to 5 million credits.”

“Oh wow, okay… Um, what if I do something by accident?”

“Oh, don’t worry. Any devices that have time requirements will have safeguards in place to prevent that. You would need to go actively out of your way and search for outside help in order for this clause to come into effect. Basically, it just means ‘You don’t get to jump out early and break your contract.’ Does that make sense?”

“Okay,” Halo smiled through a sigh of relief. “Of course, I understand that having a model jump out mid contract could put you guys in a tough spot. I would never do that.”

“We definitely value reliability like that.” Mr. Brook smiled. “In that case, please sign and initial here, and here.” The soft scratch of Halo’s pen filled the silence. “Well, there we go! Welcome to Shorai! I’m looking forward to working with you.” Mr. Brook offered a hand, which Halo shook immediately. 

“Thank you, I’m excited as well! I can guarantee I will do my best for you guys.” Halo smiled widely, excitement bubbling up her throat. “When do we start?”

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Please post in the comments what you would like to see next! Ideally it will relatively immediate (only about a chapters worth of length). So it could be something like, "she is introduced to the rest of the team and fitted for a chastity cage in front of everyone", and less like "she meets someone, falls in love and gets married", since that would require many chapters to do. I'm excited to read you guys' ideas!