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SNEZHNAYA NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND ADMINISTRATION
OFFICE OF HISTORICAL RECORDS
Date: [REDACTED]
MEMORANDUM FOR [REDACTED]
SUBJECT: COL EKATERINA ZAITSEVA (Retired)’s Response to Inquiry Regarding Northland Bank Operations
1. PURPOSE: The following report was initiated by Snezhnaya National Archives and Administration (SNAA) to document the events of the Northland Bank, Liyue during the era of Tsaritsa [REDACTED]’s rule, est. Year 3700 to [REDACTED]. The Office of Historical Records appointed CHIEF RECORDER ANYA BELOVA to interview COL EKATERINA ZAITSEVA (Retired), the senior officer of the Northland Bank operation during this time period in order to capture the historical events and lessons learned during her tenure. COL Zaitseva has willingly volunteered to be interviewed, and the views expressed in this report are those of the interviewee and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Fatui, SNAA, or the Snezhnayan Government.
2. BACKGROUND: The Northland Bank was the Fatui’s forward operating location in Liyue, created to establish a relationship with the then-ruling party, the Liyue Qixing, and secure a foothold in the country for future Fatui operations. From outer appearances, the Northland Bank was to appear as simply a branch of our Department of Treasury, however its true purpose was to provide a base for deployed Fatui leadership and covert operatives assigned to the operational area. A team of Fatui personnel was assigned to manage the bank and support the missions in Liyue. During the time of then-CAPT Zaitseva’s command, one of the Tsaritsa’s Fatui Harbingers—11TH HARBINGER, TARTAGLIA—was assigned to execute a classified mission involving the nation’s late archon. CAPT Zaitseva was his direct support for this mission and was tasked with leading the team at the Northland Bank to support the harbinger in all capacities. This report contains her record of events.
3. INTERVIEWEE PROFILE:
a. COL EKATERINA ZAITSEVA (Retired), Age: [REDACTED], Occupation: Retired, Marital Status: [REDACTED]
b. Call-by Name: Ekaterina or Katya
c. Ekaterina is a self-proclaimed overachiever. As far back as primary school, she was on a high-speed track such that her teachers, parents, and peers projected she would do great things. So, her decision to join the Officer Corps of the Fatui military was no surprise to all who knew her. She performed well in training, finishing at the top of her class, and earning Distinguished Graduate.
d. As Junior Lieutenant, she was given her first choice of assignment, working as an Executive Officer in the front office of the Tsaritsa herself. In just a few months, she made a name for herself as a highly dependable, hard-working, and capable officer. Her efforts caught the eye of the Tsaritsa who, upon Ekaterina’s promotion to Captain, appointed her as the senior officer to lead the newly established Northland Bank in Liyue—the cover name for Forward Operating Base (FOB) [REDACTED].
e. Ekaterina felt she “hit the jackpot”—that all of her efforts were being rewarded—and when she was finally given her deployment orders to Liyue, she “couldn’t be more excited.” The Tsaritsa informed her that after Ekaterina got comfortable with the team, she would send one of her harbingers to Liyue for a classified mission that the Northland Bank would be tasked to support.
f. During her brief, she was informed the assigned harbinger would be the Eleventh (11th), Tartaglia, Code Name: “Childe,” known as a particularly formidable fighter and newest addition to the Harbinger corps. His mission was to retrieve the Geo Archon’s gnosis and [FURTHER DETAILS ON A HIGHER CLASSIFICATION]. Ekaterina’s team would be a key cog in this endeavor. Her mission objectives were:
(1) Ensure Northland Bank maintains its cover and primary functions
(2) Build trust between Liyuen government and Snezhnaya
(3) Enable Fatui Harbinger Tartaglia’s mission in Liyue
g. Before Ekaterina departed the palace for her new duty station, she met with her new boss, Tartaglia. She relayed: “While he smiled at me and seemed just as intimidating as my coworkers said, I couldn’t help a weird sinking feeling I felt in my gut. I would later find out this gut feeling would act as a precursor to the trouble that man would cause me for the next few years.”
4. RECORDER’S COMMENTS: It is of my opinion that this report be retained by the National Archives and preserved under preestablished Records Management policies. COL Zaitseva’s witness statements are absolutely fascinating and a great addition to our nation’s historical accounts, and it would be a shame to lose her first-hand observations as the Northland Bank’s overworked and underpaid secretary during notable events such as the summoning of Osial [OPERATION VORTEX].
Let’s get one thing straight—I was NOT a “secretary.” I didn’t go through 4 years of higher education and 8 months of technical school in Administration to be called a “secretary.” I was an EXECUTIVE OFFICER!
- EZ
