Secret Origins: Firsts

[Trav McBang!]

Secret Origins: Firsts
RP #2 vs Hargrove/Obscene

Kaja Reinhardt has somehow convinced Commander Kohler to let her give the Krieg Maschinen the most unique form of field testing in military history. As the Spetsnaz of Russia were practicing their backflipping hatchet tosses, Balraj and Somba were breaking bodies in high school gymnasiums in America, far from the public eye of the world powers. Their first week was an impressive one, as the Maschinen easily dispatched of two international opponents: Rico Suave and Super Sexy. Now that the fighting had ended, Kaja Reinhardt was looking at another difficult challenge: What do the Maschinen do with an entire week of downtime?

The two giants, Balraj and Somba, emerged from behind the curtain. They both seemed out of place in the busy, bustling backstage area of the Kingdom of Pride arena. However, the moment that the Krieg stepped from the curtain, everyone seemed to pause for a moment to stare at the sheer size of the German brutes. Tommy Hargrove, on his way to the curtain for his next match, even stopped momentarily to survey the size of the behemoths. Behind the two giants, Kaja Reinhardt was barely able to contain her smile. For a debut, she felt that both of her soldiers had performed to perfection. Sure, they didn’t have to absorb many blows…but the ones that they dealt were crisp, hard hitting, and caused a man to defecate himself in fear. Certainly, her father’s biggest project (both in a figurative and literal sense) looked to be an astounding success. Within seconds of walking through the curtain, the team was met by Kingdom of Pride’s co-owners: Kurt Noble and Jeremy Sterling.

“My, my…now that was a textbook way to debut with authority,” Kurt said as he extended his hand towards the Samoan behemoth, Somba. The monster stared at the offer blankly, but does not accept the handshake. Balraj did the same, likely because they have never been offered the gesture before. Kaja Reinhardt accepted on the behalf of her team. “Ah, Miss Reinhardt. I see that the fierce competitors that we discussed over the phone actually managed to exceed expectations.”

Kaja listened intently, trying to understand Kurt’s English the best that she could. She looked up at her longtime partners, Somba and Balraj. The giants, despite their training and size, seemed like two giant pets now. They barely stirred when Noble offered his handshakes. If their obedience was ever under suspicion, they were proving their doubters, such as Kohler, wrong. Stumbling over her words, she managed to get out a response. “Thank you, Mr. Noble. I am glad that you approve.”

“Not…entirely,” Jeremy Sterling interrupted the conversation. His tone was subdued, trying not to upset the beasts. After all, his days as a competitor were behind him and even then, he didn’t want two men the size of the Krieg angry at him. Before Kaja could question the comment, Sterling offered a more detailed account. “Just a small suggestion…could you tone it down just a little?”

“Tone…down?” Kaja raised an eyebrow, not following what Jeremy was asking of her. She looked to Noble, whose warm smile seemed to make her feel at home despite the strangeness of the surroundings. “I do not understand.”

Kurt tilted his head towards Jeremy. “What my partner is trying to say,” Noble explained with a flash of his cheery smile. “Kingdom of Pride doesn’t have the largest roster, Miss Reinhardt. At least, not quite yet. Would it be at all possible to ask your team not to harm their opponents too badly?”

“You want them to…” Kaja paused, searching for the right English word in her head. “Withhold their strength?” She placed her hands on the arms of both men. Neither turned to face her, opting to keep their gazes straight forward, as if they were waiting to be escorted back to their quarters. “Is this sport not a form of combat?”

Sterling and Noble both nodded in unison. Jeremy, hoping that slowing down his speech would produce a better conversation, pleaded the case. “Oh, Miss Reinhardt, it is very much a form of combat. We work very hard to convince our audience that what we do is much more in depth than a glorified ballet.”

Kaja still couldn’t understand with man’s words. She simply shook her head and turned her attention to Kurt once again.

“We aren’t what you would call traditional fighting,” Kurt explained. “The goal in Kingdom of Pride is to beat your opponents, but not so badly that they cannot return the next week.”

“So what Balraj did to the Latinos…” Kaja frowned and looked up at her glorious giant companion.

“Oh, that was fine,” Jeremy said with a chuckle. “In the three weeks that Los Sexys have been here, the sexual harassment complaints have gone through the roof. If they never return, they will not be missed.”

Sensing the Kaja still couldn’t follow Jeremy, Kurt added in a quick summary of his own. “It was okay this time. However, next week, would you mind if your men were a little less ruthless in the ring? I would appreciate the gesture very much.”

“Very well,” Kaja nodded in agreement. “We shall attempt to be more merciful next week. Until we next fight, where are the barracks?”

Noble chuckled. “We have no barracks, Miss Reinhardt. Our roster members are not soldiers. We go home to our families and friends until the next show.”

“Back…home?” Kaja shifted her weight, slightly uncomfortable at the idea of going back to face Commander Kohler after only one week. “The Krieg Maschinen must travel back to Germany?”

“Oh, no, no,” Noble nodded. “If your home is too far away, the area contains several local hotels that could act as a temporary establishment. My brother, Johnny, is actually staying in a place that’s just a few blocks from here; The Monopoly. I’m sure that there’s still vacancy at that place,” Kurt chuckled, visualizing the run down hotel in his mind. “It would definitely be suitable for a few weeks until you’re able to get your feet under you.”

“Very well,” Kaja nodded in a vague sense of understanding. “Der Krieg Maschinen will report back to you men next week to receive our next objective.” She grabbed both maschinen by the wrists and led them towards the nearest exit.

The co-owners were both left in a state of moderate shock. Both had seen monsters and stern demeanors throughout their careers, but never had they witnessed the brutally trained behemoths that formed the Krieg Maschinen. Their demeanor outside of the ring was just as unsettling as their demeanor within it. Sterling turned to Kurt and voiced slight concern. “Do you think she can communicate with those two? Kingdom of Pride can’t afford any more casualties of that kinda of brutality.”

Noble just shook his head. “Jeremy, I hope so.”

----

Kaja Reinhardt, finished with her shower, let the warm water continue to hit her in the face as she let her tense muscles relax. The weight of her father’s legacy was weighing down on her more than ever before now that the Maschinen were fully under her command. Before, she had spent hours training with Balraj and Somba. She had become close with both of the giants. At the end of each day, however, they returned to their cells and Kaja went home to enjoy time with her family. Now, she was assuming a role that she had never truly prepared for. The Maschinen were under her command every hour of every day. She would have to sacrifice much more than she initially thought in order to make this mission work. She sighed and shut off the water.

After drying herself and pulling on her clothing, Kaja emerged from the small bathroom to find her men exactly where she had left them. Somba and Balraj were seated on the beds, facing one another, just as their restraints had held them for two decades in the Krieg Zimmer. She smiled at their obedience, but immediately felt sadness. For the first time, she realized that these men only knew two things: fighting and captivity. They were essentially animals that had been kept and molded into what their masters wished them to be. That fact was much easier to ignore back in Germany, when she could go home and occupy her mind with a plethora of other things. However, in Amerika, she saw firsthand how these men lived.

“Maschinen,” she said softly. The word caused both men’s necks to jerk to attention. Both wait patiently, expecting orders from their surrogate mutter. Kaja decided to rephrase her address, making it less formal. “Somba, Balraj…” The two men shifted comfortably, unsure of what was transpiring. “Are either of you hungry?” They exchanged confused looks, not used to being spoken to from an equal. “Do you want food?”

Somba was the first to communicate back. He grunted and bent down towards the floor, looking for a plate to pick up. Balraj did the same. Neither men were able to find the plate containing their meals and looked to Kaja, confused.

“Meals will be different in Amerika,” Kaja explained to them. “Here, we must seek out our own food.” She rubbed her head. Another complication, that she had not expected, had arisen before her very eyes. She wasn’t even sure how to obtain food in this country. She turned her attention towards the window as a familiar looking man walked past. He bore a strong resemblance to Kurt Noble. Kaja’s eyes lit up and she sprinted towards the door and flung it open. The man, startled by the sudden movement, spun around as Kaja addressed him. “Noble,” she said, unsure of the man’s first name.

“Do I know you?” Johnny carefully walked backwards, away from the strange woman that was speaking with a thick accent. “If you’re a hooker, I’m not interested.”

“Hooker?” Kaja raised an eyebrow, confused by the use of slang.

“Nevermind,” Johnny offered with a shrug. Clearly, the girl was more confused than needy. Suddenly, Johnny recognized her from the wrestling show several hours earlier. He snapped his fingers. “You’re that German chick, aren’t you? With the two giant motherfuckers?”

Although she didn’t understand the last word, Kaja nodded. “Kaja Reinhardt, operative of Der Krieg. I work for your brother.”

“Same, unfortunately,” Johnny said with a slight laugh. “I’m Johnny Noble.”

“Johnny,” Kaja said, making a mention note to convert that to memory. “We seek food.” She held out several German monetary notes, hoping that he understood her predicament.

“Sister, you’re not used to this country yet, are you?” Kaja shook her head. “Okay, first of all, that German money doesn’t work here. You’ll need to go to a bank and pick up some American currency.” Kaja frowned, realizing what a tedious process was ahead of her and how long it might take to get her men a meal. “Don’t worry, I’ll cover you this time. Have you ever had pizza?”

“Pizza?” Kaja turned up her nose. The Italian dish wasn’t served in her household growing up, as Lukas Reinhardt had attempted to instill a strong hold on German culture in his daughter.

“Don’t worry, everybody likes pizza,” Johnny said with a laugh. “Look, I’ll go back to my room and place the order. I’ll swing by when it gets here.” Kaja stared blankly at Johnny, unsure of what phrases like ‘swing by’ and ‘place the order’ meant. Johnny sighed in frustration. “Look…just go sit in your room and wait for me.”

Kaja nodded and ducked back into her room where the two beasts were still seated on the beds. She pulled the chair from a nearby table and sat down. She had many things to learn about Amerika, it seemed. Right now, she felt like a prisoner because of her freedom. Her lack of understanding the culture had forced her to stay between the four walls of the hotel room with only her mute monsters to keep her company. Her only alternative would be to prepare a status update for Commander Kohler, but she did not feel like addressing her superior just yet. Kaja leaned back against the chair and closed her eyes. If she couldn’t learn how to operate quickly, she felt that the burden of responsibility might break her.

Just as she felt frustrated enough to cry, Balraj let out a small groan. She opened her eyes to find the two Maschinen both standing over her. The looks on their faces showed genuine sadness. Somba reached out and placed his hand on the girl’s cheek. She couldn’t help but smile at the gesture. If she had to be a captive to her own cultural ignorance, she was glad to know that she wasn’t a captive by herself. The Krieg Maschinen were there to comfort her just as she was there to watch over them. The burden, still heavy in Kaja’s mind, now seemed like something far more bearable.

Der Krieg Maschinen had survived their first day in Amerika. They had won their first wrestling match, or field test. Kaja had had her first shock of reality. In a day that held many firsts for the Maschinen, Kaja could not help but feel happiness at how well the three of them had held up to the challenges. She had a week to better learn the culture of the country until the Maschinen were scheduled for another field test. Despite her uncertainty about numerous things, extended even to who the Maschinen’s next opponents would be, Kaja Reinhardt was certain about one thing. She would succeed. Balraj and Somba would succeed. Der Krieg Maschinen would make her father proud.