Date- February 13th 1924

Subject- Captain Tanya 'White Silver' Von Degurechaff

Status- KIA -Major Burns in face, chest and arms –Killed by enemy action (Bombers)

The secretary pinged his typewriter again and typed out a generic farewell message, he had heard of her before, which alone was unusual as soldiers came and went; most never returning home. Yet this 'Tanya's' name had come up in several of the other reports he had to type; not that he could remember where given the ridiculous number of these things he had to type up these days… 'Why couldn't the general just hire a few more, it's literally just me in here!' thought the secretary, attaching a picture of a young girl in a military uniform.

No… he recognised her from the posters, she was 'The Devil of the Rhine'. An Ace whose personal squadron of mages had been infamous on both sides for their deadly efficiency and sheer magical power. 'Oh well' thought he as he added on a few lines, 'I suppose this isn't the first Ace I'll be stamping off'. He took a stamp and a bit of wax, dripping the candle onto the seal just below her picture. 'Thud' came the stamp, sealing the paper; adding Tanya 'White Silver' Von Degurechaff to some memorial god knows where…

The firebombing of Dresden had been a tipping point in the war. After the retreat at Danekurk the Triple Entre's (The Allied Kingdom and The Francois Republic along with Russy Federation (Who had joined the war in December 1923) tactics had switched dramatically from land combat to strategic bombing. The Firebombing of Dresdan was a particularly horrifying event which killed a majority of not only the forces stationed there but the civilians too; burning and maiming all indiscriminately.

In the end it was Decided that coupled with the new Entre tactic of firebombing and the fighting on the eastern front beginning to intensify that a peace accord had to be reached…

On the third day of the third month of the twenty-third year, the treaty of Bärsburg was signed by all parties, finally bringing the war to a close and ending the conflict that that killed millions in the black-blasted fields of Francois. It was agreed that The Francois Republic would be allowed to return to their land provided that they ceded the Belgie and Norden Regions into full Empire control.

Of course, not all parties were happy of this, particularly the Francois; who re-occupied their country in shame, nothing to show for the 18 million that died. Meanwhile the Allied Kingdom ended up paying a sum of reparations to pay for the firebombing, all this money was to be given to those affected and to rebuild cities which had been firebombing. The Russy Federation was not made to pay any reparations and was, in fact, paid a sum of five million Reichmarks for the Ruskis to leave their lands and return to their borders.

It may have been an uneasy peace but it was peace at last…

Meanwhile in a small town in the Kharkov Region, a baby had been born. On this warm evening on February 13th, 1924 the child's parents decided to name her 'Tanya'…

Tanya turned out to be a healthy baby girl. Quite smart too, learning the alphabet at just three while her parents were off working. She was a curious girl, preferring to wonder in the garden behind their house, occasionally bringing animals (Once even a Hedgehog) and asking "Daddy, what is this one?"

Her parents; Boris and Anna Melnikov were low nobles who managed a wheat business. Buying wheat from farmers and turning it into fine flour which they then sold. It was a rather profitable venture given that most of Russy's exports came in the form of food, their industry using the money from that to slowly grow.

The reparations from the Empire also helped, allowing parts main cities of Muskovy and St Pertosgrad to be rebuilt in red brick as well as the addition of modern infrastructure, unfortunately little of this money actually reached those that fought and died for that land. However, they were content as they received free healthcare and a decent salary for their work in the war.

12th March 1931

Tanya sat at the table with her parents, they had just finished eating; the servants taking away the excellent beetroot soup the chef had made earlier. Boris cleared his throat and spoke to her "Tanya dear, I think it may be time for you to get a proper education…"

"But daddy, I already know my times tables and how to read and write, what more could I possibly need?" replied Tanya in the soft voice of a seven-year-old girl

"Well honey, someone will have to keep the business going once I retire, that someone may just be you. We have been… unsuccessful in getting a male heir so it's up to you now" spoke her father, hands on the table and smiling a weak smile "I'm sorry for forcing this upon you but I need you to follow me to work from now on. You won't actually work, you'll just watch me and learn that way, okay?"

"Of course daddy" smiled Tanya "I'll follow you anywhere! Does that mean I'll stop having lessons with Miss Gorbachev?"

"I'm afraid so little one, there isn't much she can teach you now anyway. You are a smart kid you know? When I was your age I only learned to read at five, truly you are some kind of prodigy with that mind of yours!"

"Thank you, daddy. But does that mean no lessons at all? You do work quite late and I can't stay awake for much longer than eight in the evening you know"

"That is true I suppose… Perhaps I could have Victor take you back in the car about halfway through the day then. You can continue with your other lessons then. I'll have your mother rearrange them for you"

"But what about my friend Viktoriya? I won't have time to play with her at all then" pouted Tanya

"Don't worry, you haven't got lessons on the weekends so I'm sure you can arrange something yourself then. On another note" he beamed proudly "I know that this is a bit late for a birthday present but I remember when I was your age I received a sword on my seventh birthday; of course you are a young lady so I doubt you'd have much use for one so I suppose I'll give you something equally impactful" He pulled out a wallet and took out a few copper coins, shuffling them towards her with his hand "I'll be giving you an allowance of three Kopeyeks a week, note that this is the minimum wage for a labourer in my plant. I know that it is not a lot for Nobles like us, in fact, I doubt that you could even buy a nice dress with that… but if you save up your money it wouldn't be too difficult to buy something nice every month or so. Sound good?"

"But Boris" spoke her mother looking at the measly sum "Why not give her a Serebro a week? Surely it would be more befitting of a young lady?"

"Yes, that may be so but I doubt she has many expenses outside of sweets and toys right now. Besides, now would be a good time for her to learn to manage a budget. At least now she won't starve if she fails to keep to it. You may go Tanya"

Noting the hint Tanya took the money and walked out of the room, heading upstairs as the conversation below quieted down to a whisper. Saying hello to a few servants on her way she entered her room and put the money on her bedside table. So she was now the heiress huh? Wondered Tanya as she sat down and looked at the coins, she took out a catalogue she'd obtained from one of the high-end superstores where her father had his suit made and opened the first page. "WHAT!" she nearly yelled as she looked at the price "Two Serebro for a single hat? How am I supposed to afford this, and this is the stuff they're giving discounts for!"

She closed the catalogue and put it on the bookshelf, sighing in her chair. This frustrated her, perhaps a walk could solve her Temper. Actually, now that she thought about it she could simply go to one of the shops the commoners frequented, she could properly afford something there if anything.

Walking downstairs to the servants' quarters she asked for Vasily, the family coach driver; he was usually used by Mother to reach the commercial district when she was out shopping as father had his own car and driver separate since he could be needed at the plant at odd hours.

"Yes young miss, can I help you with something?" emerged the old man, a piece of bread and diced sausage still in his hand

"Could you take me to the place where the commoners shop?" asked Tanya

"Why would you want to go there miss? Your parents usually shop at the commerce centre, wouldn't you rather I take you there?"

"No, I haven't got nearly enough money to afford anything from there" she noted as she pulled out the three coins "This is all I have"

"Well Miss, three Kopeyeks is quite a bit, I imagine with a bit of saving you could probably buy quite a bit with that"

"Could you take me there then?"

"Sure, I have to pick up the groceries in an hour anyway, you wouldn't mind if I picked them up on the way there right?"

"Sure, let me just put something warm on and I'll be right down"

"Very well milady, I'll prepare the carriage and you meet me at the front in about ten minutes. Okay?"

Giving him a nod Tanya headed back upstairs and exchange her dress for a somewhat warmer one and put on a coat as well as a fur hat she had yet to wear. Coming back down she told her father what she was doing, while he was a little surprised to hear her plan he let her go provided that she return before dark and take Vasily with her everywhere.

Exiting the house she entered the carriage and asked through the driver's slit "Can you recommend me a place where I could shop?"

"I suppose the Autumn Market's not closing for another two hours so we could go there. They have all sorts of curiosities there from sweets to antiques that aren't expensive enough to be sold in a store"

"Yes that would be good, I have to be back before sundown so I suppose we'll just visit the market and then you can get the groceries"

The carriage took off down the road toward the city of Kharkov. The provincial capital was slowly returning to its green self, the trees growing back their leaves and the food stalls selling everything from exotic pineapples to simple apples now dominated the roots of these trees as the sunset painted the red-brick walls orange in a picturesque scene.

It took them about fifteen minutes to reach the place, the paved road being replaced with a gravel track which made quite a bit of noise as they passed over it. The carriage stopping and the door being opened for her. She stepped down and frowned as her long dress's end had already gotten a little dirty from the wet ground; not that she usually minds but this dress was her favourite and she didn't like getting the thing dirty whatsoever.

Once Vasily paid some boy to look after the carriage they entered the iron gates of the market, the paving stones worn and cracked in some areas as the remaining sellers worked to market their goods to the slowly thinning crowds around them "My apologies Miss, it seems I forgot that the market closes in about half an hour, hence why a good number of the traders have left by now" said Vasily bowing

"Don't worry about it, I don't like crowds anyway" replied Tanya as she headed to the first stall. The stall was essentially a rug which the seller had set a load of books over. She looked through the titles and while she could identify a few interesting titles, none of them were in her price range aside from a few kids' books which she probably had lying around somewhere anyway.

The next stall was a little more to her liking. An old lady had set up a few jars of sweets and offered them at a Kopeyek per 200 grams. She purchased some of course, the paper bag fitting snugly in her handbag as she walked along to the next one. Popping a sherbet lemon from its wrapper as she walked.

'This must be one of those antiques traders' she thought as she and Vasily approached the vendor. His stall was a table with all sorts of metal and wooden things on it, mostly medals and spent bullet casings as well as a book and… a curious necklace?

This thing lacked a chain and was even a bit rusty, however, the red of the gem within was almost hypnotic to her as she picked it up and looked it over "What is it?" she asked the man behind the table as he watched her "I've never seen a necklace like this one before"

"That is a computation gem little girl, it's broken though; otherwise I'd be rich by now" Noted the man as he took a puff of his cigarette "Got this one from another trader, said it was found somewhere in The Empire, he sold the thing to me like it was still worth it, for the components anyway, turns out it's rusted shut and he scammed me. You think it is a necklace? Yeah, I suppose that's all it's good for now. How much have you got? I'll do you a good deal for it"

"I can give you two Kopeyeks for it" said Tanya as she pulled out the coins

"Two? Yeah, I suppose that's reasonable, just know that the red thing isn't a ruby so don't sell it as one, got it? Good, it's yours now. Thank you for ya business"

They left the market a minute later as Tanya decided not to look at any other stalls since she had no money left anyway. Coming back to the carriage she looked over the thing, it was quite plain and had soot or something all over the back where the seller evidently didn't bother to clean it.

She took out her handkerchief and wiped it off, the soot collected in some areas despite her wipe, and formed the stamped letters T95 El. 'Perhaps this was the model number?' she thought as she cleaned off the more deeply engrained soot only to reveal a second set of symbols. She recognised them as German, scratched into the back of the computation gem they spelt two letters…

T D

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