New Moscow; Volgograd
The Field Marshal's storm-class gunboat unofficially dubbed as "Reckoning", descended through the chilling winds, with evening fast approaching the darkness had already swept over the surroundings and ship was illuminated by its own red lights as it faithfully followed the plotted course until arriving at the personal hangar entrance leading to Vaschenko's Home underground. Interfacing with the security systems and parting the bay doors was simple enough and after completing the short descent the gunboat would come to a halt, having reached the end of the line and successfully touching down with the landing pad beneath.
The loading-bay door of the Storm lowered itself, with the Field Marshal not far behind the ramp as it made its decent, boot touching the floor almost in sync with the black steel of the Coalition. The crew had been instructed to stay on the ship and his personal guard had been dismissed for the time being, they weren't necessary and nor were they going to be privy to this meeting.
Taking one glass at his surroundings before drawing a slow breath inwards and looking for the person he'd come here to meet.
Katya stepped out into the hangar through the now open blast doors which led further into her home, and as the doors parted and she stepped through, light from the brightly illuminated corridor behind her spilled into the hangar for some distance in front of her, undoubtedly obscuring her figure as her visitor's eyes adjusted to the changing lighting.
In that brief time, Katya took the chance to survey the hangar, and look over the man who stood before her, noting his Storm gunship as well as his lack of guards. At this point she elected to silently snap to the position of attention and offer the man a crisp salute as she waited for him to approach.
As her guest's eyes adjusted, he would notice that Katya still faithfully wore her Commissar's jacket, even if she had left the military some time ago.
Another soldier-type, he thought to himself. Even he fell under this category and if he was honest with himself he preferred dealing and conversing with other soldiers, mainly because it felt like they were in fact speaking on the same wavelength. "Frau Vaschenko. I consider it an honour to finally meet you, so there's no need to be obsequious. I was being sarcastic when I spoke about hospitality."
With that being said he closed the distance between them and halted just an arm's length from her, stretching his hand out. The gesture was obvious, and he clearly implied this to be a meeting of equals rather than a strictly professional matter. There seemed to be much in the way of similarities between them, but there was much he was yet to learn about her.
As Keller closed the distance Katya caught herself grinning faintly, but only for a moment, before she broke her salute and reached out to meet his hand with her own. Once her hand was in his, she brought her other hand up so that she was now grasping both sides of the Field Marshal's hand, respectfully but firmly.
Interesting indeed. She thought, as she shook the Field Marshal's hand for a long moment, before taking a step back to look up at his eyes, slowly withdrawing her hands.
"Sarcastic? Oh...of course, but still, it wouldn't be fitting of me to not treat a guest well, I was taught better than that."
Her gaze shifted past him for a moment, up toward the ramp of his ship, before she set her eyes back on his. A subtle but warm smile crossing her lips before she spoke again. "It's kind of you to say, but the honor is mine, by the way...anyway, shall we head inside? It's much more comfortable than this hangar, I promise."
He expected her hands to be rough given her profession, yet when their hands did meet to shake he found them to be typical, soft and warm to the touch. "Of course. Skulking about your hangar was not on the list of my agendas for the day. Please lead the way. We can talk more once inside."
He had bright green eyes and a very sharp look to him, almost as if he were looking through the person before him, but certainly Vaschenko would neither be intimidated nor looked past. Keller had to admit, he was eager to see how she maintained her home, it was often that the way one handled their residence acted as a direct mirror of the kind of person that lived there.
Katya nodded a curt response, before doing an about face and heading into the corridor she had originally come from, with Keller in tow. It only took a few moments for them to reach the more hospitable areas of the building, but the difference in atmosphere was huge. Walking through the brightly lit hallway one would notice that there were no other living quarters on this level, and that unlike the spartan and dimly lit hangar, this area was well lit, with soft carpeting covering the floor, and many paintings depicting scenes from Coalition history lining the clean white walls.
Finally, Katya stopped walking and turned toward a door which emitted a soft chirp as she approached, and then slid open without any indication as to how.
"Here we are.." Katya offered a reassuring smile over her shoulder before stepping inside. "Please, tovarisch, make yourself at home."
As they entered the living quarters it would become quite obvious that Katya was living fairly comfortably. In the largest room, which was the one they had entered into, there were two black leather couches arranged in an L-shape at the center, next to a dark wooden table which had several datapads and even a few leather bound books spread out across it. Nearby, in the space where one might normally expect to find a holo-projector, there was instead an instrument that appeared to be a Cello, placed neatly on it's stand. Beyond that, the walls behind the couches were lined with book shelves, and then further beyond that, in stark contrast to the first room, was a small but modern-looking kitchen area, which appeared to be adorned with stainless metal appliances and a sleek metal counter.
After a long moment, Katya turned toward Keller and made a sort of welcoming gesture, before turning to sit at the left end of one of the couches.
I haven't had anyone here in a long time, hopefully this isn't weird. She thought to herself, as she watched Keller looking around.
She had quite the Home, it certainly felt lived in, even more so than his quarters back on Jiang-Xi. Noticing that she had taken a seat and not wanting for the rest of this conversation to be awkward, he would walk towards the end of the other couch that completed the 'L' shape laid out before him, he was glad that he'd chosen to wear his dress uniform for this rather than the combat suit he was used to as the latter would have most likely ruined the cushions. "You keep an impressive Home for someone who claims to be nothing more than the average marine."
There was clearly more to her than just her exemplary service record, but there was also the subject of her accent which was notably nothing like that of those Keller had heard coming from the rest of the soldiers and pilots, hers was notably more of a mixture but parts of words she said had a notable Rheinlandic flair to them, he still couldn't be certain about her origins, at least not until he found out himself. "Your accent is curious, especially when speaking in the tongue of the Coalition. Where exactly are you from, Frau Vaschenko?"
"Impressive, is it?" She looked around the room they were in, considering Keller's words for a moment before finally setting her gaze back upon him and speaking again.
"I suppose it is quite comfortable...a holdover from old times, granted to me by The State when I was a Colonel leading Coalition Marines, prior to Rhade's treachery propelling me into Premiership." Not to mention that those who granted me this place are dead now. She thought to herself.
She set her hands in her lap, one over the other, and offered Keller a polite smile while she considered the question of her accent. "As much as I like to consider myself proficient in our native Slavic language, I was born in House Liberty...my parents were refugees from Rheinland." Suddenly, but only for a moment, the pleasant expression on her face was lost, as if something awful had crossed her mind.
After answering his second question, and specifically touching upon the subject of her parents Keller would take keen notice in the changes shown by Katya. Even if her body language did her best to hide every nuance that would otherwise hint at a hidden truth, the eyes never lied. And behind her eyes was pain. He considered in that moment whether he should inquire further or leave something potentially so sensitive alone, perhaps better left for a future and more familiar conversation, considering they had only just met it didn't seem appropriate for him to be questioning her about her past. "I'm from House Rheinland myself, my parents are still refugees in Liberty. I ran away from our 'home' in Liberty, and not long afterwards I found myself falling in with the Hessians. Of course this wasn't permanent, but it brought me here."
While her body language might have altered itself to feign pleasantness again and uphold the strictest of courtesy for him, the look in her eyes simply persisted. A strong psyche failing to hold back the tides of turmoil brewing behind it. He knew then that even if this wasn't his business that he couldn't entirely leave the topic alone. He had to ask. "I might be prying by asking this. But when you were explaining your accent and origins, the look in your eyes changed. Are you alright?"
Guess he noticed. Katya thought, as she shifted her body, leaning into the back of the couch and resting her arm on it, in an attempt to look like she was still comfortable. After a moment she let out a soft sigh and then spoke. "It has been more than a decade now, but I wish that I could've brought my parents here." She said flatly.
She turned the hand that was resting on the couch backing palm up, as if to shrug. "The government of House Liberty had other ideas, however...but it doesn't really matter, because that's how I ended up here."
She offered up another reassuring smile before pulling her legs up onto the couch. "Anyway...I'm sure this isn't what you wanted to hear about, when you came to meet me at such a late hour."