Katarina Obelenskaya was a young woman with bright red hair and pale skin. Pale even for a Carmoscite. She sat at the bar, drinking a tall mug of frost. She stared at the blue liquid with white foam, wondering why they called it that. It had a warm sting to it, nothing cold at all. She was visiting from a small settlement to requisition supplies. She didn’t like the big city. There were so many people that she felt completely alone in the crowd. Two strangers approached. Samovar and Lars. Samovar held up his hand. “Greetings. Excuse me for asking, but are you by any chance Miss Obelenskaya?â€?