He hadn't really shifted his position in the time that they'd spent talking, though now he did lean forward, resting his elbows against his knees and looking at her more directly. By what she had just said, it was likely that her parents were either sentenced to life for 'crimes' they had committed or had been killed, in either case their lives would have been over, it was how the system worked. "It can't be easy having to revisit those memories, let alone tell me about what happened. For what it's worth, I appreciate that you were honest with me about what crossed your mind. It only reaffirms that I wasn't wrong about what kind of person you are. But you aren't wrong. It's not why I'm here."
He took a moment's pause, letting her fully readjust herself and get comfortable before he thought of proceeding any further. When he finally felt it was time to continue speaking, he made sure that he was making eye-contact before eventually opening his mouth and asking her what had been on his mind the entire time. "Frau Vaschenko, how did you manage to simply step down from your seat of power? Better yet, why did you do it? And if you were wondering why I came here, it's because I believe there's still much you could do for the Coalition."
From what he'd observed, it was more likely that the cut-throat politics of the Coalition would spell the end for ones life long before they ever developed thoughts of voluntarily stepping down from a position. Peaceful transitions of power in an authoritarian system did not go hand in hand. The person sitting before Keller represented the very ideals he sought to rally behind him. She was a perfect candidate, and if he could convince her to serve again, he was certain positive results would follow shortly afterwards.
"Knowing Humanity - We will be duty, bloody and unavoidable."
Katya leaned forward to bring herself closer to Keller, somwhat matching his position as she leaned in to speak. "I'm not in the habit of lying, though maybe I'll discuss it further with you another time...anyway."
She took a small breath and smiled somewhat proudly before continuing to speak.
"If I'm being honest, I'm here today, because I chose to step down at a time in which the government was still loyal to me, and because my leadership was only ever meant to be temporary, to keep The State stable through a time of crisis. I much prefer being a soldier to being a politician."
She laughed softly. "Still though, some people consider what I did to be quite historic...the first female Premier, and the first peaceful transition of power...to me though, it's just life, people can call me whatever they'd like...Hero, Savior, I won't argue, but it's not how I see myself."
To come calling after a militarist like me, I wonder what this man really wants."So, tell me Field Marshal, what do you think of the Katzists?" She made sure that her eyes met his when she asked, and she even kept her warm demeanor as well, even if her question was somewhat loaded.
He didn't hesitate when it was his turn to face a question. Alvin Katz, the man in whose name he was bound to pay reparations on behalf of before being entitled to a response by anyone of authority within the Lane Hackers. He was severely reprimanded for his failure and what few freedoms he had at the time were stripped away. It was still a good lesson. "Katz. I'm not an adherent to his beliefs and I'm personally not a 'fan', he and I couldn't be more different in what we both want to do and how we intend to do it. I'm sure you've heard but I've historically been more aligned with the McIntoshists and their methods. But I'm no fool, I see the shortcomings of brutality as much as I see its uses. I picked the gun up because I have every intention of putting it back down one day and never looking back it ever again."
There were several plans, ambitions and objectives Keller had in mind, but at the end of the day he always had one mission. He was getting closer to explaining exactly that with every passing minute that he spent in conversation with Vaschenko. Though he was honestly doubtful as to what her reception of both his answer and impending proposition would be. "I'm no psychopath like McIntosh, I'm certainly not Katz and I have no intention of aligning with the Reunionists. What I stand for and represent stands apart from the cut-throat mass of arrogance that are the wings of the Communist Party under the State Dumas. I came here because I still see potential in you to continue being the hero the people professed you to be, and I want you to stand beside me in the days to come because there's still so much you and I are bound to do."
He straightened himself back out and proceeded to simply look at her, expectant of some form of a response that indicated just how interested she was in what he had to say. He was patient and was more than willing to give her time to carefully consider his usage of words. The sharpness in his eyes exceptionally prominent and perhaps his most enticing feature, the fact that you could feel the palpable ambition and determination emanating from the very way Keller looked upon someone or something.
"Knowing Humanity - We will be duty, bloody and unavoidable."
"Ha!" She exclaimed, perhaps louder than intended. "That's a thorough answer if I ever heard one, you're definitely no fool comrade...good."
Katya sat up and stretched with her fingers interlocked and arms above her head for a long moment, before settling back into her seat, still focused on Keller. "It's funny you mention the Reunionists though...they're hardly even worth the words, cowards to the last." She smirked slightly. "I'm sure I don't need to tell you that, though, judging by what you said."
After taking a long pause to consider her words, and the rank of the man sitting across from her, she finally spoke again, in a firm but notably softer tone. "This nation needs military rule, but you're right that the McIntoshists go too far, and I'll add that they're too short-sighted and don't realize that the military must be able to rule well in peace as in war. There is a balance that must be maintained, with the Revolutionary Army at the top, though still conscious of what's good for the common people...would you agree, tovarisch?"
I'm beginning to like this man...and if he saw me as a threat, he would've simply sent a Commissar instead of coming himself.
He gave her a curt nod, he did indeed believe in firm but reasonable leadership. Society needed to be guided by the strong grip of a capable leader to ensure both unity and progress. Obedience was just as important as innovation and both in tandem would certainly produce a technologically and socially advanced collection of people, a beacon that he wanted the Coalition to eventually become. But this was an objective that was still far away from any signs of completion, and he was often concerned that he'd never see the day come within his own lifetime. "I would agree, I believe politics is anathema to actual Governance."
She seemed receptive to what he was trying to explain thus far, the conversation was going well. But now it was time to explain the inevitable hurdles to this vision they seemed to share, with any great idea there existed those that would oppose it, people fearful of change, fearful of having their powers stripped away from them. "But there are those.. that cling to power and personal agendas. What the Coalition must aim for is tangible progress, not the whims and fancies of singular men who have overdosed on the grandeur of their own manifestos and ulterior motives. It's the people behind the scenes with the ability to hold the Coalition and its direction ransom that will always be an obstacle. The ever so paranoid Watchful Eye and his indoctrinated puppet Commissars are one such 'barrier' to what the Coalition needs to become. They need to be either removed or.. appropriately corrected. But to do this is no simple task, but it's exactly why we exist. If we don't secure our mission against malefactors such as them, there is no hope for any form of a future, at least not one that we'd want. You don't have to agree, because after-all, that would be treason."
It was a very bold thing to say, but clearly he must not have been alone in thinking this, even if the people that shared his belief were an incredibly small minority, the few that were no scared into near paralysis at the thought of resisting the eye and subsequently shutting it, once and for all. But that was one of the things Keller was a Vanguard of.
"Knowing Humanity - We will be duty, bloody and unavoidable."
Katya grinned. Hearing such words said by another officer of The Revolutionary Army was quite refreshing, and an obvious sign that the effects of the Katz Era purges and mental reconditioning programs were finally fading from the ranks. She hadn't expected to be having such a conversation, but as Keller's objectives became clearer it began to make sense to her.
"But there are those.. that cling to power and personal agendas. What the Coalition must aim for is tangible progress, not the whims and fancies of singular men.."
Katya nodded intently, listening to Keller speak while thinking in silence. Of course this man would want my name to use, much like I stood on the shoulders of Premier Katz.
"They need to be either removed or.. appropriately corrected. But to do this is no simple task, but it's exactly why we exist. If we don't secure our mission against malefactors such as them, there is no hope for any form of a future, at least not one that we'd want. You don't have to agree, because after-all, that would be treason."
Katya shifted in her seat, a thoughtful expression showing itself briefly before she finally spoke. "Is it treason, if what we do is for the good of the people, and for the future of The People's Republic?" She spoke calmly, as if this sort of conversation was nothing new to her. "The Commissariat used to exist as the vanguard of our ideals, the truest arm of our people's will, with which our justice was carried forth to the rest of the sector, and which severely punished counter-revolutionaries...of course, that was before it was turned into a tool for the execution of personal whims."
She leaned in, another smile crossing her lips. "You forget, tovarisch, I fought in the Civil War, and through two...tranistions of power, so, believe me when I tell you, it's only treason if we hang."
For the first time throughout their entire conversation, he smiled back at her. It wasn't a full fledged grin, but a very subtle representation of the fact that he was pleased that they were on the same page, to such an extent that their ideologies and individual thoughts were just about complimentary to one another. With her leaning forward, he too would would do the same, albeit retaining some distance as he rested his elbows on his knees once more. "I'm glad we agree. It would have been disappointing had I come all this way and with such high hopes only to have everything I have to say fall on deaf ears. People like you are rare, the kind that can dedicate themselves to the Coalition and not some fool with a fanciful title."
He stretched his hand out yet again, yet this time it was less about a formal handshake and more so a welcoming gesture. Almost as if Vaschenko had joined Keller in some sort of a venture. By surrounding himself with the technical elite and finding common ground with a select few of his comrades, Keller's objectives seemed to be getting closer to completion with every passing week. The Watchful Eye in all his paranoia would be blind to the opposition developing against him and his assortment of enforcers. "Welcome to the Vanguard, Frau Vaschenko. We're glad to have you and more prominently, I'm very pleased we can see eye to eye so well. In the days to come, we'll blind the Eye and burn his tyrants. Once that obstacle is out of the way, we'll be free to transform the Coalition into a beacon of Progress and Order, shining brighter than the masses of ignorance huddled together across the stars."
Keller was well aware of the stakes here, there was equally as much to lose as there was to be gained. But were they to succeed, the Coalition's transformation would be inevitable, a minor chore that would only come down to the simple matter of time.
"Knowing Humanity - We will be duty, bloody and unavoidable."
In a swift and almost singular motion, Katya pushed herself up from the couch and took a step toward Keller, stopping before him to reach out and take his hand, a quiet confidence showing itself in her demeanor. If nothing else, she had been waiting for something like this. Even during the time she spent with the Widerstandsarmee in Rheinland, Katya had always remained loyal to the Coalition's Revolutionary Army and wider military forces, and she was glad to once again involve herself with someone who seemed to share that.
"Welcome to the Vanguard, Frau Vaschenko."
She nodded curtly as she grasped Keller's hand, speaking flatly as her gaze met his once again. "Tell me what must be done...and it will be so."
As she released Keller's hand she took a step back and let out a soft laugh, almost a giggle, as if to break from the sudden seriousness of the moment.
"Of course, I imagine in the coming days you're gonna tell me what exactly my role is in all this, yeah?" She asked, half-jokingly, or at least one notably less formal than before.
"So...anyways, I suppose I should tell you that I half expected this, that you coming here would be in order to recruit me...still, it was more fun to hear you say it."
She grinned again before turning back toward the other couch and plopping herself down in the center of it.
He smiled at her gesture, observing her up until she sat down before he decided that it was appropriate to speak again. "I think the first order of business would be you re-enlisting with the Revolutionary Army. We're always in need of people with your skill-set and someone with your experience coming back into active service is no small event. Whether or not you decide to state me as the reason of your return is irrelevant, I don't care how popular I am with the State Press, I care about how well we perform in the Field and otherwise."
She seemed fairly intent on shaking his hand and being respectful whenever the situation called for it. As much as he appreciated the gesture, he didn't see a need for it, if anything it should have been him doing this for her and not the other way around. "And please, for future reference you can speak to me as an equal and treat me accordingly, I appreciate the gestures you've put forward, but there's no need. Especially not for someone with your legacy."
Rather thoughtfully, he would tilt his head, believing this meeting to be at its end save for one final thing. Standing up now and looking towards her with an outstretched hand for her to take. "Come with me."
"Knowing Humanity - We will be duty, bloody and unavoidable."
"I think the first order of business would be you re-enlisting with the Revolutionary Army. We're always in need of people with your skill-set and someone with your experience coming back into active service is no small event. Whether or not you decide to state me as the reason of your return is irrelevant, I don't care how popular I am with the State Press, I care about how well we perform in the Field and otherwise."
Katya nodded subtly, listening to his words before offering a reply. "That should be as simple as my receiving transfer orders from you, since after all, I'm technically still with the Reserves."
"And please, for future reference you can speak to me as an equal and treat me accordingly, I appreciate the gestures you've put forward, but there's no need. Especially not for someone with your legacy."
She almost laughed, offering a shrug in her defense. "Old habits are hard to shake...I suspect this'll be even worse once I've received a formal rank again as too, so you'll have to forgive me."
Seeing Keller offer his hand, Katya took it and started to get up, using his weight to pull herself to her feet. "Oh? Where're we going now?"