[War] Russia: Late night discussions

[Vampi Digitalwytch]

"Late night discussions"

President Anastasia Malevich
Prime Minister Yuri Federova

If she had to choose a time to be working, Anastasia would've said
without hesitation, nights.  It had been when she was usually working
her rounds back when she practiced and it was an old habit well
ingrained.  Tonight, was definitely a late one as she went over the
never ending pile of paperwork.

Really, she silently mused, we need to find something workable digital
just to cut down on the clutter.

As it was, she had recently started a push for the digital scanning of
all archived documents, and that had opened up it's own can of worms
since her predecessors especially further back had horrid storage
established.  Attempting to digitally clean some of the more damaged
ended up opening yet more cans of worms with some allegating
falsification of information.

That brought a snort from her.  Let those 'dolboeb' have to sort
through badly stacked papers that were only mouse eaten and pissed on
if you were lucky with the material itself fragmenting if one so much
as sneezed on it.

Eyes skimming over the documents in front of her, the navy was still
acting like children giving a Christmas catalog and told to have at.
The current Astrakhan gunboats were performing wonderfully, and what
few Karelia subs had launched were a vast improvement, they were
listing several other newer ships that they insisted was paramount to
the security of the Rodina.  Anastasia really doubted that, but she
signed off on the further acquiring and launching of more of the
current and to research further on the other suggestions.

A knock on the door drew her attention up and Yuri walked in, a tired
half smile on his face.

"You're up late, Madame President.", he commented as he draped his
suitcoat over the back of the chair before sitting down.

"When haven't I been up late.", she replied with a soft smile.

He seemed to look inward as if debating his reply, "Well, I can name a few..."

She coughed and blushed, a bit surprised at his boldness of comment.
Granted they'd had a good relationship, one that had discussions of
marriage and children, one that only ended because of the elections
and their appointments and hadn't been mentioned from either since
they last spoke as a couple, this was out of the blue.

"Sorry, it is late and my wits are hazy.", he said with a shrug.

"I'll forgive you this time, next time I'm turning you over to the
tabloids.", she teased.

He laughed, "Anything but that."

She sighed and leaned back in her chair, her back making soft
cracklepops reminding her she'd been hunched over too long.  "So, what
brings you here at this hour?"

"Just checking on you.", Yuri said, "Your appointment of Demerov as
Ambassador to China has him so happy I'm surprised he didn't leap out
of his seat in chambers to hug you off your feet."

"I had to, at the rate Mihail kept begging for the position, I was
ready to actually punch him.", she said, "But he's a good man for the
position.  He's spent time in the country on his own, knows the
language well.  Unlike his predecessors, he has a good appreciation
and understanding of the culture which should make any discussions
move smoother than they have in the past."

"We will need that with how current perceptions are.", Yuri agreed,
"Again we are being complained about in the press by the assorted
usuals for human rights regarding alleged abuses towards the
protesters."

Anastasia sighed, "When aren't they complaining about us?  The few
times they're not pointing fingers at us, it's at China, or Cuba, or
take your pick of the Middle East.  I swear, where were they when
Libya was appointed head of Human Rights on the UN council?"

"Probably worrying about some other cause du jour like rainforests or
the sweatshops in the Philippines.", he said with a shrug, "I remember
hearing how one group upon hearing the makers of their overpriced
clothes were employing children in the factories organized a large
protest.  Made a huge deal of it in the news, factory was closed down.
 They went off feeling smug and satisfied but that those same children
now jobless ended up in prostitution to continue to earn for their
families wasn't given so much as a turn of the head."

"It's typical of them, in whatever comfortable lifestyle they have to
whine about elsewhere that doesn't enjoy such and judge accordingly.",
she said, "Until they have gone elsewhere, lived like the average
person for at least a year, I give them little thought."

"But you did look into the latest complaint from the Muslims about the
prison beatings."

"I did.", she said, "Partially to get them out of their screaming mode
and also to see if there was any validity to the complaints.  The
prisoners were given what I and the officials felt were suitable
accommodations for their religious practices, but apparently it wasn't
good enough so they tried to incite a riot and it was put down
accordingly.  I simply cannot understand that they move to a different
country yet rather than adapt they wish to transform it into what they
left."  She sighed before going on, "At least I take comfort that it's
a common problem with everyone else and not just us."

"True.", he said, then chose to change the topic, "Have you heard the
latest regarding the open revealing of old documents?"

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow.  Knowing him and his body
language all too well, she knew the badly hidden glimmer in his eyes
that it was going to be something either very good or something about
to have her want to rip her hair out.  With how the day had gone,
probably the latter.  "Oh God...just say it.", she said, resigning
herself for the worst.

"Tunguska."

As it was just the two of them alone, she let her professional
demeanor take a break.  Groaning she thumped her head onto the desk,
fist steadily pounding next to it, muffling her complaint of did the
Americans have the same damn trouble over Roswell and Area 51.  Oddly
enough it did remind her that she needed to send the official 'how are
you' letter to the new American president so they could eventually go
through the traditional bs talks.

Yuri let her vent, knowing it was better to let her get it out before
speaking, though he couldn't hide his smirk at the absurdity overall.
They had released surviving document possible on what had earned the
moniker of the Russian Roswell, and despite all the outlandish claims
of UFOs or his personal favourite, the testing of a secret death ray
designed by Tesla, the truth was it had been a comet strike that had
also created the current Lake Cheko, so that information was
immediately turned over to the scientific communities to help research
further on the concepts for deflecting any future similar events as
well as what environmental impact an incident could incur.

But, unfortunately the available documents of the time were scarce as
to be expected since the chaos of World War I, the Revolution of 1917
and the Civil War after which made anything pretty much a miracle to
still be around, and in light of the internet generation used to
having such easy access to a wide range of information, this made a
natural event into the stuff the conspiracy theorists fed on.

"I suppose if we through some scrap into a box and said here's the
death ray that failed there, that wouldn't work?", she said as she
righted herself and brushed her hair back with a hand.

"Then we'd open ourselves up to being...", he started to say then
lapsed into a very bad American accent with a crazed look on his face,
"those gosh darn sneaky Rooskie commies who won't tell you the sky's
blue when you can see it yourself."

Anastasia couldn't help but start to chuckle.  His look was what made
it so hilarious, and the humour did refresh her.

"Too true...too true.", she said as she took a deep breath, "But as I
said in chambers when first proposing this opening of archived files.
This is a new era of openness.  There isn't a nation on this planet
that hasn't done some horrible things that it's people haven't been
aware of.  We're overdue to just clear out the cobwebs and light up
the shadows of the past so we can move on to build a brighter future.
I made it clear that we were going to get some blackened eyes over
some of the things done by our forebears, but by revealing those
darker events, we can make amends where needed and show that we are
not like that now."  She shrugged before continuing, "So far we've
been lucky as much as luck favours us."

"There is that.", he said, "But then, we know how luck favours us."

She nodded, knowing it was only a matter of time before some horror
from the Stalin era was unearthed.

They were silent for a few moments before she stood up, "It is late
and I still have yet to eat supper.  The rest of this...", she looked
down at the remaining papers on her desk, "Can wait until the morning.
 I still have yet to say my usual platitudes to the new American
president.  I know the Army's still complaining about the cut backs,
the talks with the Chechen are going as well as can be with no one yet
about to stab another in the eye with a pen, and our neighbors at our
borders are still in that bitch-bitch-bitch-complain muttering that I
think's genetically ingrained at this point to where I'm ready to just
spill my blood on the ground and scream what more do you want if
that'll make them happy."

Despite himself, a bemused smile crossed his lips.  She was still the
same Ana he knew too well.  Passionate with essentially zero tolerance
for lack of the basic common sense God gifted humanity with.  "Well,
then since I barely had a chance to eat earlier, we shall have dinner
and I'll see you home."

She blinked her surprise, "The tabloids will have a field day."

"Let them babble.", he said as he put his suitcoat on and stood, "As
Prime Minister I would be remiss somehow if I allowed Madame President
who clearly stays up to all hours working to her limits and beyond for
the People as she always has to just fall prey to the depredations of
malnutrition and overwork."

Anastasia looked at him as if he just started to babble in tongues,
"You really aren't going to say that publicly."

"Watch me.", he said with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes and got her coat, the same one she wore when she
was in the Army, battered but still serviceable.  "I dare you to say
that line from that film.", she teased.

He knew the one she meant, a film from the UK that years ago they'd
watched together at his cabin by the lake, snuggling in blankets with
a bottle of wine.  It had been one of the better ones they'd sat
through then.

"For the Greater Good...", he intoned and chuckled as they headed out
to see what restaurants were still open.

----------------------------------------------
Actions:

1) Establishing regardless of any real world stance that Tunguska was
just a normal comet strike.  No UFOs, Teslan death rays, comets that
trigger zombie reanimation..etc.
2) Establishing the appointment of Mihail Demerov as the new Ambassador to China
3) Sending out a 'congrats and how you doin'" basic polite
communication to the US, setting up for any posting with the US over
just hashing out basics when Buckley's up for it.
4) Touching base on some of the hot issues currently on the table
along with opening up an ongoing topic line of addressing some
difficult matters of history along with general wierdness as whim and
writer's block move me.
5) Some personal development, establishing the past relationship
between the two and of course throwing out the bone of tabloids
being..well, tabloids if John wants to run with that out of boredom.








-- 
--I know there are no lifeguards in the gene pool, but damn, there
ought to be at least a few sharks in the water.