Countess Katarina Karkov enjoyed her rare freedom. Even if that freedom was limited and far from Earth, even if it falsely proclaimed the Emperor's benevolence, she still missed this life beneath the flashbulbs and moved through it like a fish in water. She alone on the Space Station had the time to seize those idle reporters, using airtight rhetoric and a packed schedule of tours and interviews to direct those pesky journalists' attention toward Latveria's technological progress rather than absurd rumors with no basis whatsoever. Most of those pests had missions of their own, tasked with turning everything they saw here into fresh rumors. Therefore, the Space Station's Communication System was not open to the press corps, while the researchers were kept completely separate and carried out their studies and experiments on the other side of the station.
"I suggest arranging a landing accident. A regrettable mishap caused by certain people becoming overly excited and violating safety regulations... Such things are common, especially among reporters desperate for front-page headlines." Countess Katarina Karkov sincerely offered her suggestion to the Emperor at the dinner table. "I guarantee that if they return to the surface alive, every technological advancement you invited them to see will become powerful evidence for the theory that Latveria is a threat."
"I trust you and Natasha Romanoff have already identified the spies among the press corps."
"The list in my hands has already been screened, my lord." Though she had heard the rejection beneath his words, the Countess still refused to give up. Smiling broadly, Countess Katarina Karkov poured the Emperor a glass of wine. The bottle she had selected from more than three hundred had lived up to expectations; the Emperor clearly liked it very much. "If you are willing to grant me the honor of executing