OPERATION: SALT THE EARTH - Log 14
Mar. 8th, 2018 03:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsWanda meets with Vazhin at the party.
Alexei Vazhin loved parties. There was nothing better than to wander through a crowd with a smile on your face, encouraging others to drink deep, toasting them with a well-watered drink of your own. All you needed to do was let them talk after that, sending them down the right thoughts to get intel or confirm it. He knew many of the people here and their corresponding skeletons and secrets. But there were a few he didn’t and as much as he loved parties, he hated not knowing everything about the guests.
He moved easily through the crowds, stopping briefly at each knot of people to touch base, his process seeming both natural and random. It wasn’t until she’d turned that Wanda even knew he was there.
"Oh!" Wanda gasped, a hand fluttering towards her chest in surprise. She absolutely had been taken aback when she'd turned - no one in her industry liked to be surprised like that but the reaction was all her cover. She gave him a small smile, both shy and surprised. "I did not see you there, my apologies!"
"The problem with crowded parties. You never know who you're going to accidentally spill your drink on. Your surprise is much more graceful than mine." He gave her a wry smile and offered his hand. "Vazhin. Alexei Vazhin."
“With the caliber of the wine, Mr. Vazhin, I am doing my best not to spill it on anyone if I can help it.” She took the offered hand and smiled, chasing away the surprised look. “Viktoriya Popov.”
"Wine is the new vodka it seems. Our money men are very enamored with the French these days." He took a sip from his own vodka and ice. "What did you think of the presentation?"
"Enjoyable and very informative. Absolutely worth convincing my money men that this trip was worth every cent I cost them. It never takes very long, thankfully, to twist their arms."
"A lot of interest. Some see it purely as a weapon. Others, a way to make billions... trillions. And to some, a great rebirth of Soviet dominance. What do you think, Ms Popov?"
Wanda shrugged and pushed up her glasses as they slipped down again. "I do not see why any of those things must be separate from the others," she said, playing into the history of the character she was playing. "My interest is academic along with the desire to see my country succeed, but I have nothing negative to say to any of the rest of it should any of them come to pass."
"Interesting. And what would you prioritize? After all, it will need to be manipulated towards one purpose or another at first."
"Eventually those things could come to pass," she said, watching him with interest that was both part of her cover and absolutely not at the same time. "Especially since moving from this stage to the final stages will hopefully come after some thorough testing, yes? Considering the potential and the danger." Wanda finished her drink and exchanged it for a full one with a passing waiter.
"It would be terribly ironic if we accidentally turned Crimea into a desert by not understanding the full implications of its power." Vazhin said wryly.
Wanda tipped her wine glass at Vazhin in acknowledgment. “Precisely. So now we wait. Though with the buzz of the room you would think it was days away from use. The presentation had quite the impact.”
"Of course. Theatre, you know. But I do wonder... expectations are so high, if they fail-" He gave her a wintery smile. "The consequences will not be light."
And if it worked, the consequences would be just as devastating, though on a completely different scale. 'Viktoriya' shuddered lightly at his words, though, subtle enough to only be caught by the man in front of her. "Indeed," she agreed, letting concern show on her face. "The way forward will be a rough one but with care and time, those consequences will not be a concern."
"Consequences should always been a concern, Ms Popov. How else do we motivate the energy of our best and brightest while tempering their personal ambition? You see, Orekhov preens and struts on his stage, convinced that he is the master of his fate. That CHERNOBOG is his key to greater power. And it should be, but-" Vazhin held up one finger. "only success will unlock that path, and for that to focus him, failure must remain a very clear path in the opposite direction, whether his fault or not. Such a knife edge to balance, you think?"
Wanda took another drink as she nodded, looking pensive and lost in thought. "Failure has always been the greatest motivator and never more so considering the consequences beyond a ruined reputation," she said. "I wish the best of luck to those who will be walking that knife edge. Though to be frank, we all will be in one way or another until it's completed, no?"
Alexei Vazhin loved parties. There was nothing better than to wander through a crowd with a smile on your face, encouraging others to drink deep, toasting them with a well-watered drink of your own. All you needed to do was let them talk after that, sending them down the right thoughts to get intel or confirm it. He knew many of the people here and their corresponding skeletons and secrets. But there were a few he didn’t and as much as he loved parties, he hated not knowing everything about the guests.
He moved easily through the crowds, stopping briefly at each knot of people to touch base, his process seeming both natural and random. It wasn’t until she’d turned that Wanda even knew he was there.
"Oh!" Wanda gasped, a hand fluttering towards her chest in surprise. She absolutely had been taken aback when she'd turned - no one in her industry liked to be surprised like that but the reaction was all her cover. She gave him a small smile, both shy and surprised. "I did not see you there, my apologies!"
"The problem with crowded parties. You never know who you're going to accidentally spill your drink on. Your surprise is much more graceful than mine." He gave her a wry smile and offered his hand. "Vazhin. Alexei Vazhin."
“With the caliber of the wine, Mr. Vazhin, I am doing my best not to spill it on anyone if I can help it.” She took the offered hand and smiled, chasing away the surprised look. “Viktoriya Popov.”
"Wine is the new vodka it seems. Our money men are very enamored with the French these days." He took a sip from his own vodka and ice. "What did you think of the presentation?"
"Enjoyable and very informative. Absolutely worth convincing my money men that this trip was worth every cent I cost them. It never takes very long, thankfully, to twist their arms."
"A lot of interest. Some see it purely as a weapon. Others, a way to make billions... trillions. And to some, a great rebirth of Soviet dominance. What do you think, Ms Popov?"
Wanda shrugged and pushed up her glasses as they slipped down again. "I do not see why any of those things must be separate from the others," she said, playing into the history of the character she was playing. "My interest is academic along with the desire to see my country succeed, but I have nothing negative to say to any of the rest of it should any of them come to pass."
"Interesting. And what would you prioritize? After all, it will need to be manipulated towards one purpose or another at first."
"Eventually those things could come to pass," she said, watching him with interest that was both part of her cover and absolutely not at the same time. "Especially since moving from this stage to the final stages will hopefully come after some thorough testing, yes? Considering the potential and the danger." Wanda finished her drink and exchanged it for a full one with a passing waiter.
"It would be terribly ironic if we accidentally turned Crimea into a desert by not understanding the full implications of its power." Vazhin said wryly.
Wanda tipped her wine glass at Vazhin in acknowledgment. “Precisely. So now we wait. Though with the buzz of the room you would think it was days away from use. The presentation had quite the impact.”
"Of course. Theatre, you know. But I do wonder... expectations are so high, if they fail-" He gave her a wintery smile. "The consequences will not be light."
And if it worked, the consequences would be just as devastating, though on a completely different scale. 'Viktoriya' shuddered lightly at his words, though, subtle enough to only be caught by the man in front of her. "Indeed," she agreed, letting concern show on her face. "The way forward will be a rough one but with care and time, those consequences will not be a concern."
"Consequences should always been a concern, Ms Popov. How else do we motivate the energy of our best and brightest while tempering their personal ambition? You see, Orekhov preens and struts on his stage, convinced that he is the master of his fate. That CHERNOBOG is his key to greater power. And it should be, but-" Vazhin held up one finger. "only success will unlock that path, and for that to focus him, failure must remain a very clear path in the opposite direction, whether his fault or not. Such a knife edge to balance, you think?"
Wanda took another drink as she nodded, looking pensive and lost in thought. "Failure has always been the greatest motivator and never more so considering the consequences beyond a ruined reputation," she said. "I wish the best of luck to those who will be walking that knife edge. Though to be frank, we all will be in one way or another until it's completed, no?"
