Hazel fiddled with her dress’s belt. She looked up at Surnina. The pair had picked the fabric and the pattern four days ago and were doing the final fitting today. It was professional looking, but also stylish. The fabric mimicked the KGB blue color but wasn’t identical. It was made to both impress and fit in well. Hazel had insisted it did not stand out too much. She felt naked. She wasn’t much for dresses as a rule her legs felt unprotected.
“Stop being so bashful, you are a pretty girl.”
“I feel like a gorilla in a dress. Which is why I avoid them if at all possible.”
Surnina hugged her.
“You have a healthy physique, show it off.”
Hazel smirked.
“That is one way to put it.”
“People come in all shapes and sizes, be you, and don’t worry what anyone else thinks. You look good, like a young KGB agent in the wings. Good pick on the fabric and the style. I’m impressed. You are saying exactly what you wanted with this dress. You said you wanted respectful, conservative, a poster girl of the Soviet Republic.”
Hazel nodded.
“Now we just have to worry about that hair, the braids, how long have you had them in?”
Hazel scratched the back of her head.
“A long time.”
“As lovely as these beads you seem to have painted yourself are, this does not scream poster girl for the Soviet Republic, we need to sort that out before you leave.”
Surnina let the braid with the beads that Hazel had painted in Africa fall and clack together.
“You could use a trim too. I know a woman. Go get changed we want to keep this dress pristine.”
Hazel changed back into her normal drab, typical Russian working-class clothes. When she returned she saw Surnina putting some money down on the counter she rushed forward.
“No, I have money, you don’t need to do that Surnina.”
Surnina waved her away.
“Nonsense, Headquarters sent word you needed to be presentable for the medal presentation and budgeted for it, you actually were so frugal it was only half what they expected, even with the hair.”
Hazel blushed.
“Okay.”
The dress was boxed up. Hazel and Surnina were walking down the street. Surnina was in street cloths and not her uniform, not that anyone in the city didn’t know who she was, there were five KGB agents assigned to the office here and one was the front desk lady.
“I thought I was going to have a struggle with you about the dress and the hair, Greta, most teenage girls…”
Hazel shrugged.
“I just assumed those awards and stuff were about propaganda, so I went with what I thought they’d want in the photos. I mean I’m a sixteen-year-old girl, I’m not exactly changing the world.”
Surnina glanced over at the much taller girl.
“Every time we meet you surprise me. Your ability to think outside your own sphere is amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone so self-aware. And aware of the way the world works.”
Hazel didn’t say where she learned the skills from, because it was from watching Eyre and Amee wrestle and wrangle thousands of corporations and billions of people to do exactly what they wanted by using propaganda and making it seem like it was the corporation and people’s ideas and not theirs. She kind of despised them for their manipulations as much as she was in awe of it. She liked her mother’s methods better. Enid was anything but subtle and if she was it was always for someone else’s gain and not her own. As much as she’d grown fond of Amee, and grown to look on Eyre as her sister, she didn’t fully trust either with the power they wielded.
“I read some of Olga’s books.”
Surnina laughed.
“A month ago you couldn’t read barely two words, now here you are, reading books on propaganda.”
Hazel shrugged.
“I wanted to see why Germans would allow the Nazis to do what they did. It makes sense now. They weren’t monsters, so much as, just listening to what the government said, everything the government broadcast reinforced it. At least the Soviet Union uses their power for good. Everyone has a roof, everyone has a job, everyone eats. I think that’s a valid goal. Sure, some are treated better then others because of their skills, but it makes you strive to be better. I read her books by Lenin and Marx too.”
Surnina laughed softly again.
“The Kremlin will love you. So will Olga. We’re here.”
Surnina pointed to a non-descript looking storefront. She opened the door and motioned for Hazel to enter. Hazel walked inside to a small front hallway that acted as a buffer to the frigid outdoors. She pulled her boots off mimicking Surnina. They pair went inside the inner door and were assaulted by the chatter of several Russian women, and some Russian music playing on the radio. It seemed to Hazel this was the unofficial women’s social club for the city. A middle-aged woman waved and smiled to Surnina and motioned to Hazel.
“Who is this? Is this the lost cub?”
Surnina smiled back.
“Yes mom, could you help with her hair, we can’t have her showing up in Moscow looking like she lived in the woods.”
Her mom laughed and hugged Surnina. She smiled at Hazel and motioned to one of the salon chairs.
“Come, come, lets have a look.”
Hazel pulled off her coat, hat and scarf and sat down. The woman started poking at her hair.
“Well at least you keep it clean, except for these braids, they are old. Is that soot?”
Hazel blushed and nodded.
“Well first things first, braids out, we can’t have you looking like you wandered in from the hills.”
Hazel blushed again and unwound the beads from her hair and closed her hand over them after she noticed Surnina’s mother staring at them.
“Those are very interesting. Did you make them yourself?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“They’re beautiful, but not appropriate for Moscow. We need to make you look less like you’re twelve and more like you’re twenty. How short do you want to go?”
“Well, I used to shave the sides and kept the center long and braided it, I liked that style a lot.”
All the women looked aghast at the suggestion.
“No, your hair is much too beautiful for that. I’ve never seen hair this blonde and thick. Why would you ever shave it? No, no, I saw we trim these split ends and you braid it with a normal braid for the ceremony, yes?”
After glancing at Surnina who nodded, Hazel gave a half smile, half pout and nodded.
“Excellent.”
Surnina took up residence in the unoccupied salon chair to the right of Hazel and her mother and started leafing through the day’s paper. Her mother was having none of that.
“So, how are things Surnina? Vlad working out?”
Surnina made a face at her mother and waved the paper at her.
“None of your business.”
“I need more grandchildren so its all my business.”
“Children are not part of the plan mom, I’m KGB, if I want a good assignment, I can’t have kids.”
Her mother snipped off a bit of the bottom of Hazel’s hair and looked in the mirror at Hazel.
“You see what I deal with, my one daughter, refusing to marry, have children?”
Hazel blushed slightly.
“I think this is one conversation I should not get in the middle of.”
Surnina smiled at Hazel.
“I think we have a diplomat here.”
Her mother nodded and snipped some more hair.
“Smart answer. Surnina told me you were a smart girl.”
The conversation in the salon descended into a debate about the decadence of today’s youth. With glances cast at both Surnina and Hazel. Then on to music, and the weather. It took about an hour for Hazel’s hair to be finished. She felt lighter, but also naked without her braid. She slipped the beads into her mother’s pack. The non-extradimensional space, the same place her ID was, along with assorted necessities for a growing girl. Or in her case a perma-sixteen-year-old girl. Surnina walked Hazel to the clinic and joined her inside. She had confessed on their walk that she was desperate to see the reaction of Kathrine to the haircut and the dress.
Kathrine put her hands on her hips when she saw the pair. She was wearing an apron and tending to some sauerkraut filled perogies she was cooking slowly as they arrived.
“I see what took so long, your hair looks amazing Greta. Put your things away come help with supper. Surnina, you’ll stay of course, you look like you’ve barely been eating.”
Surnina shook her head and pulled off her boots and washed her hands and prepared to help. Kathrine put each to work with a different task and by the time Dr. Popov came up from his office super was ready and the three ladies were already seated. He kissed Kathrine on the cheek and sat down at the head of the table. Then noticed Hazel’s hair.
“Greta, your braids are gone.”
Hazel nodded.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“Would have looked silly up there with the Premier.”
He sighed and nodded.
“Yes, you’re no longer a child.”
Hazel nodded and dished herself out a good helping of the perogies. They were her absolute favorite and had spent the night before helping make a bunch to freeze. Surnina took some and Kathrine frowned at her.
“Surnina, take a few more. Doctor’s orders.”
Dr. Popov looked up from his plate and shook his head.
“Doctor’s wife’s orders.”
Hazel smiled and giggled softly at the exchange. She hadn’t felt this at home in a long time. Her mother was great, but she hadn’t really had a living breathing father figure in her life, Lucius would always be her stepdad, but having someone to share a meal with was nice too. She looked towards the save feature. Her contacts were constantly recording but the footage was deleted to conserve space after so long, but with the proper glance she could make it a more permanent record and would be stored in a cloud storage device if she were in the 29th century. She’d be able to relive this in Augmented reality anytime she wanted. She hoped Monday would not be a forever good-bye. Moscow was a long way from this temporary surrogate family she’d found and her imprisoned mother who was perfectly healthy and several hundred kilometers west of her. For the time being. Only one sign of injury when she was first captured. Otherwise, her bio-monitor said she was in perfect health.
*****
Hazel was dressed in respectable clothing and waiting by the front door of the clinic, the door opened and in walked a couple of female soldiers. They nodded to Dr. Popov, and looked at Hazel.
“Greta?”
Hazel nodded. Hazel picked up her suitcase and the soldiers motioned for her to follow. They got into a black car. Hazel had seen movies but never cars like the ones in Russia. The badge on the front of this one had some sort of deer. She put her suitcase in the trunk and got into the backseat which was somewhat cramped for a person of her height. The two women got in and did a u-turn and started heading towards the military base. The passenger looked back at Hazel. The pair were in the early twenties, and pretty. Hazel was fairly sure they were recruited to be pretty faces for the military.
“Sorry, small car. Don’t worry the ones in Moscow are much better. You excited?”
Hazel nodded.
“My first time on an airplane.”
It wasn’t exactly a lie; Orbital shuttles weren’t airplanes. They were spacecraft. She was excited to see what these ancient relics were like.
“Well, this one is AN-10, with extra fuel tanks, brand new, we fly the high-ranking officials around in it, but they sent it for you. We’ll have to stop for fuel along the way a couple of times. We are far away from Moscow. With the stop its sixteen hours. Normally they’d send a plane with longer range but I think they wanted to show us off to the troops.”
“Wait you’re the pilots?”
The soldiers nodded.
“Oh, I’m Yolkina, and this is Lapina.”
“Well thank you for the rides.”
“No problem. Your story is inspiring. Raised in the woods by a mother who hated the Soviet Union, and you save two war heroes. The only thing missing is romance.”
Yolkina who wasn’t driving put her hands to her chest. Lapina laughed.
“Its not a Russian story unless the romance is tragic.”
Yolkina punched Lapina’s arm.
“You need to be less pessimistic.”
“Mother always said if you’re a pessimist you’re never disappointed. I think its why she hasn’t killed my father yet.”
Yolkina shook her head and looked at Hazel and shrugged.
“Is there anyone else coming?”
Yolkina shook her head.
“No, you’re it.”
“Can I ride in the cockpit then?”
“Why would you want to do that? The plane was built for party officials the food is amazing, best alcohol in the country and very comfortable seats, and beds. The cockpit not so much.”
“I’d rather hang out with you. Sparse and practical is more my style.”
Yolkina looked at Lapina.
“What do you think Captain?”
Lapina shrugged.
“No rules against it and we do have the comms chair that is empty.”
Yolkina smiled.
“Well, the final decision is yours Major.”
“On the advice of my junior officer I say yes, who knows it might inspire her to a ask to join the air force.”
Lapina laughed.
“Girl like her, no way, KGB or Army.”
Hazel leaned back in her seat noting that seat belts were conspicuously absent from the car. She was used to them even in the 29th century where they had inertial dampers.
“I was thinking, chef.”
Lapina snickered.
“Good luck with that kid. Awards like this, they are going to make you a poster child for KGB or military.”
Hazel shrugged.
“Okay Army cook?”
Yolkina shook her head.
“Terrible job. Go for KGB if they offer it, you get to travel abroad. Or air force pilots to the diplomats and party officials. We get to fly all over.”
Lapina nodded.
“I do not mind going to Europe proper. So hard to get permission to leave otherwise.”
Hazel leaned forward again.
“So wait, we’re not allowed to leave the Soviet Union?”
“Well, you need all kinds of permissions, interview with the KGB…much easier if your job says you have to leave. Like us, and well the KGB.”
Lapina nodded in agreement.
“Always KGB with you as well, make sure you don’t get any ideas.”
“I mean I respect what the government does for the people, but that sounds kind of crappy.”
“It is what it is. But if you get a job like ours or in the KGB, you get to leave often. It’s a good perk.”
The car pulled up to the gate and was waved through. They parked it in one of the large vehicle garages and Yolkina pointed to a plane that was sitting on the runway. It was a massive four engine prop plane. Hazel had seen them in movies but never in person. She was almost bouncing.
“Wow that is huge, and you two fly that alone?”
“We have communications and radar sometimes, but mostly for trips like this with no VIP’s on board just us. Come on let’s get the heat going on board this place is freezing.”
The trio hurried across the tarmac to the stairs. Lapina opened the door and went to the pilot’s cabin. Hazel put her suit case in a storage compartment in the passenger compartment. She saw Yolkina saluting someone who was pulling the stairs away and started pulling the door closed. The pilot’s cabin was already warm enough that coats were being pulled off and boots were being switched to normal shoes, except for Hazel who only had boots so she pulled them off. Lapina pointed to one of the open seats in front of a panel with dials and a headset. The pilots put on their headsets and motioned for Hazel to join them. Yolkina spoke through her microphone.
“It’s loud up here, keep these on at all times unless you’re leaving, they’ll help dull the noise and let us hear each other.”
Hazel gave a thumbs up. Her contacts were already telling her what everything in the cockpit was for, or at least the names. The Yolkina and Lapina were going through a pre-flight check list together. Then Hazel heard them radio the control tower for clearance and the engines started to roar to life and the plane started accelerating down the runway and then they were a lot. Hazel felt her stomach get left behind on the ground as the plane lept into the air. She was grinning like a little girl at the feeling. Once they had reached cruising altitude Yolkina looked back then poked Lapina’s arm.
“You look like you were born to fly. Had that grin on my face on my first plane ride too. Okay, well its pretty boring from here Greta. We fly straight for eight hours, land at another base, refill, fly onto Moscow. So, if you want to rethink where you’re sitting…”
“Here is fine. So what is an altimeter?”
Lapina laughed.
“It tells you how high we are. We’re at ten thousand meters. So, ten kilometers up.”
“How fast can it go?”
“At this altitude four hundred knots, seven hundred plus kilometers per hour, but we’ll keep it to three eighty, most efficient for fuel.”
“This is so neat.”
*****
Hazel had lasted in the cockpit until the refueling stop. She was starving and the snacks Lapina had salvaged were not enough. When they brought a full meal onto the plane for the three, she sat in the back with the pair and never went back to the cockpit. She waited until Lapina and Yolkina where sealed in the pilot’s cabin and quickly pulled up a play list of movies on her holo-tablet and linked it to her contacts, and fed the audio through her translator. She was girl who would go to great lengths to watch movies. The rest of the flight passed quietly with her snacking on fruit that had been provided. She put her seatbelt on as requested and felt the plane land again. She was pretty tired after the long flight. Yolkina nudged her on the way past. Hazel was just catching the credits for a Chinese epic. Lots of kung fu. She sighed and wished her mother would teach her some of that. She looked to the extreme bottom corner of her augmented reality display and the movie vanished. Her HUD told her local time was about four in the afternoon. The time change was crazy in one country. In the 29th century everyone pretty much kept the same time in the Sol System because they were all in artificially lit domes, this different time zones thing was new to Hazel. She stood up and stretched.
“So, its four here? And we were fifteen hours getting here?”
“Yes, you’ll need a couple of days to sleep it off, its almost 11 pm your time.”
Hazel nodded and pulled her suitcase out of the storage compartment. She felt overdressed in my parka and heavy winter clothes. The temperature was actually above zero in Moscow today. Just barely. Small wonder they limited moving to other cities, Oymyakon would be abandoned. She shook her head; She would need to shop. A big black car was waiting for her. She shook hands with Yolkina and Lapina.
“Thank you so much for the ride and being cool about me being in the pilot’s cabin.”
“Good luck, Greta. We’ll see you around.”
Hazel waved and walked towards the car where another soldier, male this time was waiting.
“Welcome to Moscow. I’ll take you to where you’ll be staying.”
Hazel smiled at him.
“Thank you, sir, I appreciate the ride.”
He tried to take her suitcase and she blinked for a few minutes then let him. She wasn’t used to people trying to carry things for her, except her mother, and only then because a vampire never gets physically exhausted. He put it in the back and close the door after her when she got in the back.
“Different from Siberia, yes?”
Hazel nodded, she was looking at all the strange new buildings, the lack of snow.
“Is it always this warm?”
“No, it’s been a warm winter, usually there is snow and it’s a little colder, not like Siberia though. I have some new cloths for you in the back, compliments of the Premier, he wants you to be comfortable. Hard to find women’s clothes in your size.”
Hazel wasn’t the type to be offended by such comments, even in the 29th century she had trouble finding them.
“Yes, tell me about it. Men’s clothes barely fit me. I guess I should exercise less.”
He laughed. Hazel would never need to exercise. Wolf-born were just naturally built like apex predators. All muscle. Its why even with fur extreme cold sucked, fat reserves were a minimum.
“Better to be healthy then not. Are you a weightlifter?”
Hazel shook her head.
“No, just built this way if I’m being honest.”
He nodded.
“Sorry for my comments.”
Hazel smiled and shook her head.
“I am who I am, I’m happy with my body, just not happy with me in a dress which is why I never wear them.”
He laughed. He pulled the car up against a sidewalk and got out. He opened the door for Hazel who was not used to anyone doing stuff like this for her. Ladylike was definitely not a description associated with her, so most men assumed she would just do it herself. She stepped out and he opened the trunk and carried her suitcase inside the building. The pair took an elevator up several floors and he knocked on a door. Hazel saw Olga open the door. She recognized her immediately her parents had photographs of her all over their apartment.
“Oh you’re here, come in come in!”
Hazel hadn’t quite been expecting her to be excited. The soldier walked in and put the suitcase down. He nodded to them both.
“Nice to meet you Greta. Thanks Olga.”
He made his way out and Olga closed the door behind him. Olga looked Hazel up and down.
“Welcome to Moscow. Here there is a room for you.”
Olga motioned towards the interior of the apartment. Hazel pulled off her boots and her heavy winter clothing. She picked up her suitcase and followed Olga down the hall. The room was pristine. Hazel quirked her head to the side.
“You didn’t have a roommate?”
“I did.”
“I’m so sorry this made a mess for you.”
“Oh no, I was moved here by the academy and my roommate got a new roommate. Thank, she snored enough she could wake up the dead, not the mention, she wouldn’t clean up after herself. Oh, and this building and apartment are much nicer, very new.”
“Why?”
Olga shrugged.
“I assume its because they want you to be happy. You are going to be their new golden girl.”
Hazel sighed and put her things down.
“Well, I didn’t want this much attention.”
Hazel put her suitcase on the bed and pulled out a newspaper wrapped package and offered it to Olga who took it. Olga was shorter than Hazel by about a foot, she was in good shape likely due to KGB training. She had shoulder length brown hair, brown eyes and was wearing a pair of jogging pants and a t-shirt. Olga looked up at Hazel.
“Are these what I think they are?”
Hazel nodded.
“We spent all day Thursday making them to freeze, sorry we’ll probably need to eat them today flight was really long, and my stuff wasn’t in the cargo compartment.”
“They’re still half frozen I’m going to go soak them in water.”
Olga was almost bouncing and raced off before Hazel could give her the rest of the things her parents had sent. Hazel set them aside and then started to put her things away. Olga came back about twenty minutes later with sheets, pillows and blankets.
“Sorry, these were pilled on the kitchen table.”
Hazel took them and put them on her bed and pointed to the desk.
“Your mom thought you might need some things.”
Olga looked at the pile that must have taken up half of Hazel’s suitcase and blushed.
“Mom is so…mom.”
“Its better she cares then she doesn’t, right?”
Olga smiled and gathered up some of the things, it took her three trips to her room. Hazel had her things unpacked and was starting to put them away. Eyre and her mother were both sticklers for a tidy room. Her mother more so, likely due to years in the military on a ship where space was at a premium. Olga sat in her desk chair.
“Thanks for bringing everything. Its hard to move stuff this far west. Its so far away from home.”
Hazel nodded and kept putting her various clothes away. Olga smiled.
“We are going to have so much fun. Moscow is the center of the world. Well, our world. Someone must want to impress you or keep you happy, we have ballet tickets, opera, orchestra.”
Hazel nodded and started to make her bed, she’d never been to any of the above, though she’d seen them in movies. When she’d finished by putting her blanket over thing she sat on the bed.
“What I really need to do is shop, all of my outdoors clothes are for Siberia, not Moscow.”
Olga nodded.
“Oh, yes, Corporal Yelshnik forgot and dropped off another suitcase for you. I think he might have already taken care of it?”
“I’ll sort them out after supper. How is our view?”
“Amazing, we can see the Kremlin!”
Olga motioned for Hazel to follow her. They had a corner apartment with large windows. She pointed and Hazel smiled. It was quite a view.
“I guess being a poster child for the party isn’t a terrible thing.”
Olga nodded and wandered into the kitchen to start preparing the sauerkraut perogies.