Within These Walls                                         

Breakaway + 4 years

Alpha's secrets were first whispered here in Katya's domain, and those who sat high were wise to remember that.  The officer looked over her small fiefdom with something akin to pride.  Never had any Alphan known want due to her lack of attention to duty.  She stood at parade rest just outside her small office as her staff assembled for morning report.

Katya Glovaskaya was a tall, proud woman of regal bearing, her long, dark blond hair kept neat in a simple but elegant twist that added to the impression of formality.  Her yellow-sleeved uniform was never anything less than immaculate.  Her staff properly answered her questions with a crisp ‘yes, ma'am' or ‘no, ma'am' and knew they would feel the lash of her tongue if they did not have the information they were responsible for.  She ran a tight team.  At 0800 precisely, she walked down the line of the six Alphans who reported to her. 

"Nancia, are the security uniforms finished?"

"Yes, ma'am.  The hems were finished yesterday and I'll see that they're distributed today."

"Good.  Paulo, did the bed linen from residential section 4 get bleached and inspected for damage?"

"No, ma'am.  Manufacturing hasn't finished fixing that washer.  They say the work should be done by late today." 

Katya stopped in her tracks, looked down and regarded the slim, swarthy Basque.  She raised an eyebrow for more information.  She trusted he had more to say.

"So, instead I did the inventory of emergency blankets and overnight kits on the Eagles and have a list of shortages we need to fix."

"Good.  We will review that shortly.  Ananwa, what is the status of Medical Center?"

The young South African looked back blankly.  She had just rotated onto Katya's team and had yet to pick up the routine despite this being her third week.  Katya took a deep breath and bit her tongue against the rebuke the girl was due.  Instead, she asked in a quiet voice that caused her regular staff to cringe, "Ananwa, if you have not adequate computer skills to check, did you at least consider asking the senior nurse what Medical Center needed?"

"I thought all Medical Center supplies were single use." 

Katya waited for the honorific ‘ma'am' that was left absent.  When nothing else was forthcoming, she took another measured breath.  She looked down at the befuddled woman and said with some asperity,   "You obviously did not think.  On Earth, single use was a luxury we all enjoyed, now we must make do with what we have.  We will go over protocol again after I meet with Paulo."  Not waiting for an answer, she moved on.

"Kaycee, were you able to learn anything?"

The tall, lanky, red-headed American with a New Orleans drawl smiled and nodded slightly.  She was the only member of the staff tall enough to look Katya eye to eye.  "Yes, ma'am.  Rumor says the Commander will make the formal announcement soon, maybe even in the next few days or so."

"Good.  We will be prepared.  You, Inder and Xie are responsible for finding the information needed to pattern the new clothes we will make.  That is all for now."  Katya looked at her established team with quiet pride as they left to begin their work.  They were good people, even if they were not Russian.  Ananwa needed more time, but Katya held some small hope she would measure up eventually.  If not, she would be reassigned.  Katya did not suffer fools.  

The meeting with Paulo was succinct and to the point, just the way she liked it.  The meeting with Ananwa was not.  Katya began to doubt if this one would last much longer, which was highly unusual for any Alphan.

The tall Russian walked to her office and sat down at her precisely organized desk.  After reviewing the day's agenda, she leaned back in her chair to consider what she was to do with Ananwa.  Military forces from around the world had used postings to Alpha to reward the hardest workers, most especially if they showed the proper initiative.  This woman could barely follow directions clearly enunciated.  Well, maybe she had had connections with the right people, that regrettably was not unknown.  Katya sat up and entered a brief message into her terminal.  She would request a meeting with the Service Section Head to discuss options on where to post Ananwa next.  Regrettably, a discharge to Earth was obviously no longer an option.  Perhaps Benes would have a solution.     

Katya spent the subsequent hours touring her small domain insuring all proceeded smoothly.  By necessity, everything was highly automated so that all the duties associated with the manufacture, maintenance and distribution of uniforms, bed linen and all things fabric could be accomplished by her small staff.  Still, she trusted human oversight and judgment were needed and would always be needed.  

After supervising the final preparation of the day's deliveries, Katya returned to her office for lunch.  Today, she chose to leave the door open so she could hear the gossip she knew to be the main meat of any meal.  Usually, she held herself aloof from such trivialities but the current whispers were too vital to Alpha's survival to ignore.  Given all the recent marriages, the possibility of growth and renewal was in the air and that logically meant children.  Where her staff learned their secrets was known if not openly acknowledged.  Those allowed into the quarters and bedrooms of the powerful always learned such things.  She choose to follow the tradition of her grandmother and her grandmother's grandmother--- as long as what was said within these walls stayed within these walls, she took no official notice of the rumor-mongering, no matter how tantalizing.  People tended to forget how very much those who served actually knew about the private lives of those who commanded. 

Finishing the last of her bland beverage, Katya listened to the English chatter outside her door.  She deeply missed the Russian she and Tanya Alexander had shared on occasion.  Tanya had been a casual friend before her unexpected departure from Alpha years prior.  Katya had always looked forward to those times they had sat and spoken the mother tongue, even if the subjects inevitably focused on Alpha.  Tanya had technically been senior to Katya in Alphan rank, but both women had known that Katya held precedence.  

To the casual observer, there had been more than just a superficial resemblance between the two women.  Each was elegant in bearing and refined in appearance.  To those who knew Russian history, the stamp of nobility was on each, and in fact, Tanya had been the great-granddaughter of a minor Russian nobleman.  Katya, though, had the blood of Tsars running in her veins, a fact her family never forgot and never allowed others of their class to forget.   

Before the fall of the Tsars, Katya's great-grandmother and her mother, and her mother before her had served the Imperial Russian family.  Many of the women had held the honorable if unofficial position of Imperial concubine to a Grand Duke, and even upon occasion to the Tsar himself.  While much less important than an official mistress, the position was acknowledged and brought favors and protection.  The sons of such unions often found military careers as an officer's commission could be secured with a whisper in the right ear.  The daughters, or at least the pretty ones, followed their mothers' footsteps and served as servants to the Imperial daughters during the day and often joined the Imperial sons in their beds at night.  It was an arrangement that was successful on many fronts, and husbands were easy to find.  The fall of the Imperial family ended the centuries old tradition, but Katya's family survived by denouncing their own blood and serving the new Communist leaders.

Katya straightened her desk after completing lunch and snorted slightly at the thought of a wife of a powerful Party member ever doing her own laundry.  Katya's pretty grandmother and even prettier mother had served the wives of upper-level Party members, and also their husbands in the age-old manner.  The favors granted were no less profound in terms of survival.  Katya, though, had refused to follow the family tradition and had applied to the military, as was her right as a Party member.  She was accepted just prior to the Global War of 1987, the end of which saw the rise of the new democratic Russia.  It was then, in that spirit of the ironic so close to her Russian heart, that Katya had found herself assigned to the Quartermaster's Office.  She who had left her family to escape the life of a servant was again dealing with towels and undergarments.  But now, at least, she was an officer and supervised the support troops that made the clothing and material needs for the fighting men.  She had done very well at her job and had risen through the ranks quickly, much to the pride of her family.  She had been awarded the posting on Alpha in May of 1999 and had risen to be second in her small  section by Breakaway.  The day after Breakaway, she was promoted to senior. 

Nancia sat next to Kaycee as they ate their meal and caught up on the day's scuttlebutt. 

"No one has officially seen the Commander or Doctor Russell since the ceremony," Nancia volunteered in her quiet manner during a conversational lull.  Although she had been in charge of the Command Staff's quarters for years, the usually unflappable Mexican was still in awe of Koenig, Russell and the others.  She blushed at the few crude snickers from around the table.  The marriage of the two senior staff had been anticipated for years. 

Kaycee smiled at her co-worker.  "They'll have to surface eventually."

"For air if nothing else," Inder laughed.

"Yo, did you hear about Benes?"  Paulo tossed in between bites of his sandwich.

"No, what?  Did Carter finally get off the sofa and into her bed?"  Kaycee looked up with interest.

Trust the American to cut through the chafe, thought Katya as she stood and walked around her desk.

"Nope.  She spent the night at his quarters.  And it wasn't on the sofa."  Paulo smirked.

"Well, finally.  I thought Carter was about ready to burst if something didn't happen soon.  The man has been a monk for the past few years, and that ain't normal.  Beggin' your pardon Paulo, Nan."  Kaycee added quickly to the two Roman Catholics. 

Katya had to agree on that point, celibacy wasn't good for a person.

"Wedding bells, you think?" asked Xie.

"I suspect," nodded Kaycee.  "He's been after her like a dog after a bitch in heat.  He hasn't looked at anyone else since I don't know when."

"So, do we shuffle uniforms around, boss?"  Paulo asked looking up at Katya who now stood in her doorway.  It was the expected question.  The team took great pleasure in facilitating those pairings that they favored. Soon, the entire staff was looking at Katya.  She reserved the final say.

"Nyet.  We wait."  Katya had a small smile for the groans that arose from the lunch table.  Her people were inveterate matchmakers.  She did not completely approve of this pairing, unlike that of Koenig and Russell.  Those two were well matched.  No, Katya rather thought Carter was too good for Benes, even though the woman was her section head.  Carter had too much, what was that French saying? Oh, yes, joi de vivre, and Benes was just a little mouse.  Efficient, but of course, but still just a little brown mouse.  But, Katya had been wrong before.  Who ever would have thought of Verdeschi taking up with the alien? 

She looked at her people and saw she was outnumbered.  They apparently felt this unlikely pairing stood a chance.  Well, then, and she smiled just slightly.  "Da if things stay as they now are, in a week we will place the supplemental uniforms in both quarters, as usual."  As Katya moved to join the others at the worktable, she next spoke a bit louder to overcome the pleased whispers.  "But for now, Kaycee, let us review those patterns for infant clothing.  We need to be prepared for the Commander's announcement, no?" 

26 April 2006

MDG