Post by Trav McBang! on Feb 26, 2011 23:39:56 GMT -5
Thanks to Johnny Noble, the Knighting spelled another tough loss for the Krieg. That happened a lot lately, but it really wasn’t important. Not compared to their more pressing issues, at least. Since December, Kaja Reinhardt had been flying blind in regards to the Maschinen. Her commander, Wolfgang Kohler, had not contacted her since the Otbet made themselves known and Kaja was beginning to fear the worst.
However, that had changed prior to the Krieg’s match at the Knighting. Right before the Maschinen took the ring against Johnny Noble and his partner, a friend from the past arrived at the door; Klaus Krupp. Perhaps now Kaja could finally get the answers that she’d been seeking for months.
However, that had changed prior to the Krieg’s match at the Knighting. Right before the Maschinen took the ring against Johnny Noble and his partner, a friend from the past arrived at the door; Klaus Krupp. Perhaps now Kaja could finally get the answers that she’d been seeking for months.
“The Maschinen looked amazing out there, Kaja!” Klaus Krupp was nearly beaming as the Krieg arrived back in their locker room after their bout at the Knighting. “Somba’s striking skill is superb and Balraj…” Krupp patted the giant on his chest. “Balraj’s sheer size and strength is awe inspiring!”
“But…” Kaja looked at him confused. “They didn’t even secure a victory.”
“Everyone loses,” Klaus smiled. While Kohler and Hahn would have been berating her for the loss, Krupp’s optimistic nature and naivety had the young soldier in awe at the mere sight of the beasts in combat. “It’s a mere setback, I’m sure…but wow!” Klaus was beside himself. “The way they move in combat…the force of their blows…Commander Kohler must be pleased at their progress.”
“You would know that better than I,” Kaja said as a small laugh escaped her lips. Kaja walked over to a folding chair and sat down in it. “I have been unable to contact the Commander for two months, Klaus. I had hoped that you were here to shed some light on that.”
Klaus frowned and took a seat across the room from Kaja, still in awe of the two Maschinen and the display of strength they had shown, despite their loss.
“…Can you?” Kaja asked a bit more bluntly, growing a bit annoyed at Krupp’s gawking at the Maschinen. She would have been more tolerate of it had the Maschinen won, but Kaja did not want to hear empty praise after their loss.
“Oh…” Klaus snapped out of his pseudotrace. “Yes, yes…umm…” The young soldier closed his eyes, trying to remember the specifics of the Krieg’s agenda since December. “Well, Stuttgart is quite uncomfortable…”
“Stuttgart?” Kaja blurted out, confused. “Since when does the Krieg operate from Stuttgart?!”
“You’ve been out of contact for longer than I thought…” Klaus said. “The entire Krieg would like to apologize. Personally, it’s amazing the job you’ve done despite being in the dark on this.” Krupp leaned back in his chair and sighed deeply. He didn’t want to break the news to Kaja. “Miss Reinhardt, I’m sorry to be the one to break this news to you. The Krieg is at war.”
“But Klaus…” Kaja began, only to be shushed by Krupp.
“I know, it’s unthinkable, Miss Reinhardt. However, it is true. The Winter Soldier has assembled an elite force and made the Krieg his top priority. We believe he’s in cohorts with a Rwandan general and Nadya Golikova. Makarov found the Kriegzimmer in Munich and we were forced to move our base of operations to the humble town of Stuttgart. We are unsure how long this war will last or how many casualties it will cause…” Krupp buried his face in his hands. “The Krieg need the Maschinen back in Germany, Miss Reinhardt. We do not know what will come next, but we must be prepared…”
“But Klaus…” Kaja stood up and walked over to the young soldier. She placed a hand on his shoulder, sensing that he was extremely upset. “I know about the Otbet…”
“You do?!” Krupp’s face contorted in a mixture of confusion and excitement. Kaja merely smiled back and nodded.
“I do. The Maschinen defeated Makarov and Irakoze more than a month ago in combat. They seem to have disappeared for now. I’m sure they will come back stronger, but for the time being…the Otbet is of no threat to us.”
“But Kohler…”
“He has no idea,” Kaja confirmed. “We’ve been out of contact for far too long. If he is preparing for a war in Stuttgart, he’s merely wasting his resources at this point.”
“That’s a relief!” Klaus Krupp’s tense shoulders relaxed and he let out a huge sigh. “The point still remains, Miss Reinhardt. I was sent to America to bring the Maschinen back to the Kriegzimmer. I cannot return without you or…” Krupp pointed at the two giants.
“I regret to inform you, Klaus…but your mission is going to have to be put on hold for a few more weeks.”
“But Miss Reinhardt, I have orders…”
“I understand that. I truly do.” Kaja turned to look at her Maschinen, both sweating and tired from their earlier bout. “However, I have been the operative in control of the Maschinen for nearly six months now, Klaus. Two of which I have been completely out of communication with the Commander or anyone else from the Krieg. What Kohler could never understand is that the Maschinen have their own agenda right now. We cannot simply pack our things and leave everything behind. Next week, Somba has a fight against a man named Stephen Callaway…a Scot.” Krupp turned up his nose at the mention of Scotland. “However, we have other business to attend to next week as well…”
“Is it business pertinent to the Krieg’s operations or this problem with the Otbet?” Krupp put his hands on top of his head, hoping that he would not have to deal with Makarov’s operatives on his simple ‘rescue’ mission.
“Not quite,” Kaja chuckled. “This is business of a more personal matter. It involves a fool who crossed the wrong woman at the wrong time…” Kaja glared, remembering the actions of Kid Flanagan over the past month.
“Understood, Miss Reinhardt.” If Klaus’s mother had taught him anything about women, it was not to get in their way when they were seeing to business of a personal nature. “However, I believe we should contact the Commander to let him know about the fight against the Otbet…and that the Maschinen are doing fine.”
“Agreed,” Kaja nodded. “As a favor to me, would you not mention tonight’s loss?”
Krupp smiled. A favor for a pretty lady such as Kaja would be no problem. “They lost?” He asked, feigning ignorance. “All I managed to see was Balraj and Somba dominating their opposition.” He reached into his pocket and produced a satellite phone. He handed it to Kaja. “Welcome back on the grid, Miss Reinhardt. The Krieg apologizes for any inconvenience and is glad to hear that your mission has progressed better than expected.”
“Thank you, Klaus,” Kaja smiled as she opened the phone. She located the Kriegzimmer’s landline in the address book and pressed the send key. It felt nice to be on the grid again.
…but not as nice as finishing her business with Kid Flanagan, even if it meant Somba would have to go through Stephen Callaway first. Despite the Maschinen’s lost, they were still in better shape than Callaway after last week.
And with Somba tired of losing fights, he was sure to exploit that fact.
After two months without any communication with the Krieg, Kaja Reinhardt finally had the answers that she’d been seeking. Now, it appeared as if the Krieg were needed back in Germany. However, Kaja did not want the Kingdom of Pride audience’s last memory of her Maschinen to be a loss at the hands of a common biker and a whiny brother. With her time short, she hoped to make one final impact that would remind everyone why the Krieg had been so feared during their tenure. Although the endgame was the Syndicate Champion, Stephen Callaway seemed like a good place to start.
