3. Katrina
By Arion Wong
"Excuse me, but where do I find Lt. Steiner?"
The troops of the 6th Panzerkorps looked at the speaker wearily. They had just returned from a gruelling training mission, and having a messenger blocking the way to their barracks was just not in their plans. They looked enviously at the boy's clean uniform and umbrella. It was dark, raining and their clothes were all muddied from the training.
"You looking for 'Red Eyes', kid? You got a death wish?" a soldier asked as he shuffled past him.
"I have an urgent letter for Steiner!" the young messenger replied.
"Steiner's still in the training grounds," another soldier answered, jerking a thumb back.
The boy stared at the pointed direction in disbelief. "I am not joking!" he said, "Who in their right minds would still be training at such a condition? Now tell me where he is!"
The soldier stopped and glared at him. "Kid, you need me to rearrange your face?"
His colleagues restrained him.
"Lay off the boy, Hans. Who's the letter addressed to?"
The boy took out a battered looking envelope and read the cover. "To 'Lt. Steiner of the 6th Panzerkorps'. That's it."
The soldiers shared mischievous glances among themselves.
"Well now, you will find Steiner at the temporary camp in the training ground. Go on, I'm not joking. Look at my tag and number, you can report me if I'm lying," the soldier offered.
Still suspicious, the boy hurriedly stashed the envelope and left. After making sure that he was gone, the soldiers laughed at their private joke.
---
The boy was upset. In searching for Steiner, he had muddied his shoes and pants, because the grounds had all turned soggy and muddy due to the rain. With that in mind, he angrily barged into the makeshift military camp.
Only to find a tall woman in it. No signs of other people. He groaned mightily, cursing the soldier who gave him the directions.
The woman had her long black hair tied back into a ponytail, her eyes brown and her lips in a thin line. She was dressed in military fatigues and combat boots. The boy was too tired to notice her powerfully built body, the results of military life.
"Who are you?" she asked sharply.
"I'm just a messenger. I have a letter for Lt. Steiner, and those soldiers gave me the wrong directions," the boy answered tiredly. He glanced about and saw a chair, and he sat down on it with a heavy sigh.
"Who is it from?" the woman asked.
"Ah, a lady... Dornen, I think," the boy replied uncertainly.
"Give me the message."
"Why? They called Steiner 'Red Eyes' and you sure don't have any," the boy snorted.
Her eyes narrowed. She grabbed the boy by the collars and pulled him up forcefully with one hand.
"I am Lt. Katrina Steiner. Give me that letter," she said, her eyes were blazing with anger. The messenger tried to control his panic. No one ever told him that the lieutenant was a woman. He could see why they called her 'Red Eyes'...
---
That was yesterday.
Lt. Katrina Efeu Steiner wondered what she should be feeling as she walked briskly towards Colonel Dornen's office. She was dressed smartly in her uniform, drawing attention from other people around her. That was because she was wearing the dress uniform of a male officer, instead of the knee-length skirt of her gender.
Colonel Dornen... Katrina knew that name well. In many ways they resembled each other, determined to be soldiers and fight despite objections due to their gender. She quickly dismissed the thought away when she reached the office.
"Lt. Katrina Steiner, reporting as ordered," she saluted the seated colonel. Standing beside the colonel was a huge African-American, a tower of muscle topped by a grim, solemn face.
"Sit down, Lt. Steiner, I am Colonel Lauranna Dornen and this is Captain Henry L. Glory," the colonel said, motioning at the chair. Katrina noted that the colonel and the American were both dressed in unfamiliar uniforms. Colonel Lauranna Dornen's blond hair was cut short, but her military cap was tipped on an angle. Glory was bald, and his eyes soft despite his bulk. One can imagine that Dornen was the more stern and direct of the two.
The colonel pulled out a folder from her table and slowly paged through it.
"Lt. Katrina Efeu Steiner. Only daughter of a distinguished officer who was killed in action in the war. Graduated above average of your class, promoted to Lieutenant last year. High marks in combat and tactical tests and had a good showing in the military fencing tournament last year."
She looked at it some more before closing it. "And a high rating in spiritual power."
Lauranna leaned back on her chair. "You could have done better in your military career. But you had injured your captain in a honor duel, broke some of your subordinates' noses and generally making everyone hate your temper... and they call you 'Red Eyes' behind your back."
Katrina said nothing but glared at the colonel. They may share similarities as women soldiers, but Katrina wanted nothing to do with her.
"Your military career is basically dead," Lauranna continued mercilessly, "and there is no future for you in the Army."
Katrina bit her lips, trying to restrain her anger. Were all her efforts in training for nothing? She refused to believe it; she had come too far to stop now...
Lauranna leaned forward and raised two fingers. "Right now, you have two choices. One, you join my new division. Two, you drop out from the military."
Katrina looked up at her with surprise.
"I have been ordered to form a new division to fight a new threat, and I want you to be part of it," Lauranna said plainly. She briefly explained the circumstances to the dubious younger woman.
"Is this for real?" Katrina asked warily after she had finished.
"I do not make jokes," Lauranna replied.
"No, she doesn't," Henry chipped in, earning him a glare from the colonel. He looked up at the ceiling innocently.
"Well, it seems I don't have much of a choice..." Katrina stood up and saluted, "Orders received and understood, sir!"
"Good. Report to me at this location tomorrow at 0600 hours," the colonel said, passing her a piece of paper. Katrina resisted the urge to swipe it off the table angrily.
"Anything else, sir?" she asked quietly.
"No..."
"Wait," Henry interrupted in his deep bass voice. Both women looked up (and up) at him in surprise. He took out a clipboard from behind his back and glanced at it.
"Do you have any musical aptitude?" he asked finally.
"Henry, that is -not- important," Lauranna Dornen replied with a scowl.
"It is to -me-," the American replied defensively, "that's the only reason I joined this outfit you know..."
The blonde German sighed.
"What's this about music?" Katrina asked with trepidation.
"Oh, just that the squad members would have to perform on stage. I just need some information before we decide on the performances..." Henry answered airily.
"What!?" Katrina exclaimed.
"Now then," Henry said with a wide smile that only made her even more nervous, "what can you do musically?"
Katrina bowed her head, her face red with embarrassment, hands clenched at her sides.
"-Lieutenant-?" Henry asked, his smile getting wider.
"...Whistling..."
"Tsk tsk," Henry shook his head in mock disappointment, "that can't do at all. Are you sure there's nothing else?"
"...Guitar..."
"Ah! That's better. That's enough for now!" the giant man said enthusiastically.
"That's all, Lt. Steiner. You're dismissed," Lauranna quickly said.
Katrina angrily wheeled about and stomped out of the room, keeping her head bowed at all times. She slammed the door close as she left, rattling the office windows.
Henry's smile vanished. "She's like a powder keg ready to explode. Are you sure about this?" he asked in concern.
Lauranna sighed deeply.
"She's just the same as her father..."
Henry nodded in agreement.
---End 2. Katrina---
Endnotes:
[1] Katrina Efeu Steiner - Efeu=German for ivy.
[2] Katrina Efeu Steiner created by Arion Wong.
---Anti-Demon Division Character Profile---
Name: Henry Lincoln Glory
Age: 33
Nationality: American
Rank: Vice-Commander of the Anti-Demon Division
Previous Occupation: Captain of the United States Army [retired]
Height: 225cm
Weight: 137kg
Preferred Weapon: anything big and heavy
Name: Katrina Efeu Steiner aka 'Red Eyes'
Age: 21
Nationality: German
Rank: Koubu Pilot
Previous Occupation: Lieutenant of the German Army
Height: 187cm
Weight: 66kg
Preferred Weapon: Military Sabre
Koubu Color: Prussian blue