Hollywood National Assembly hearings into the funding of the Hollywood Knights squadrons began yesterday, sparked by the recent scourge of air piracy in the Nation of Hollywood. The hearings have been prompted by public outcry in response to the kidnappings, thefts, wanton destruction, and general mayhem committed by the Fortune Hunter gang, led by Nathan Zachary.
On the hotspot in the first day of the closed hearings was Major Charlotte "Charlie" Steele, founder and leader of the Hollywood Knights premier squadron, the Metro Marauders. Major Steele, who was unable to bring the desperado Zachary to justice despite repeated opportunities, has had little to say about her militia's failures since her encounters with Zachary. Details of her questioning and testimony are not yet available to the press.
Several members of the Assembly have sharply criticized Steele for "allowing the Nation of Hollywood to be made a laughingstock by a gypsy pirate and his band of thugs" as Assemblyman Joseph Bowen put it in his recent radio press conference. Assemblyman Juan Machado was just as blunt in a recent speech in Bakersfield, saying that "the inability of the Hollywood Knights to defend the Nation of Hollywood against tramp pirates casts doubt on their ability to defend it from aggressive nations," an oblique reference to the failure of Hollywood forces to dislodge Pacifican occupation of the three northernmost counties of the old California state.
Tomorrow's witnesses include Captain Angus "Haggis" McHugh, commander of the Flying Foxes squadron—which also encountered Zachary during his recent raids and was also unsuccessful in bring the pirate down to earth—and Jonathan Murayama of the Hughes Air Guard; although the Air Guard was unable to halt Zachary's rampage, they did engage and seriously damage Zachary's pirate zeppelin, the Pandora.
Future scheduled witnesses include Lana Cooper, Zachary's kidnap victim, and Jonathan Johnson of Hughes Aircraft and Colossal Studios, who recently boasted on national radio that with its superior air militias and modern equipment "Hollywood is safe."
