8. The Sisters
Underneath the imposing Imperiales Konzertsaal was the hangar and base of operations of the Anti-Demon Division. Here, scores of mechanics, engineers and operators controlled the facility, to dispatch the Hikarigumi into battle at a moment's notice.
One of the engineers struggled with the screwdriver, trying his utmost to fix a new armor plate in place. Then the tool slipped and caused a metallic shriek on the nearby surface. The screwdriver clattered noisily onto the floor. The engineer cringed, knowing what would come next.
"Hey you, yeah you there!" a lithe 19-year old girl yelled loudly. Despite her small (albeit athletic) frame, she marched across the hangar as if she owned the place.
In a manner of saying, she did.
She grabbed the startled looking engineer by the scruff of the collar and shook him like a rag-doll. Despite being older and much bigger, there was actual fear in the man as the shorthaired Swedish girl was manhandling him.
"What do you think you're doing!?" she demanded.
"A-Aah, sorry ma'am!" the engineer stuttered.
She let go, seemingly satisfied. "Well, don't let it happen again..." Then she saw the scratch mark, and gasped loudly. "What's this!? Y-you!! A scratch! Nooooooooo-!!"
"I'm sorry!" the engineer hastily repeated, visibly sweating.
Tears threatened to spring out from the girl's eyes. "Sorry doesn't cut it!!"
"Aww, come on, Miss Lena..." the engineer started to whine, worried at her distress. He became increasingly aware of hostile glares and muttering among his engineer colleagues.
"He made Miss Lena cry..." "Oh he's gonna pay..." "Nobody makes our princess cry!"
The engineer's sweated like a man wearing winter clothing in the middle of a hot desert.
"It's just a scratch..." the engineer said lamely.
"It's not, it's not!" Lena hollered. "Do you know how much time it took me to get this steel plate from the Army Quartermaster!? You ruined it, you ruined it!!"
The engineer took a quick glance behind him and saw his burly colleagues slowly approaching with mad gleams in their eyes and various tools in their hands. He made a quick decision.
"AAH! Forgive me, Miss Lena! Forgive me!" the engineer knelt before the girl and kow-towed repeatedly. "I'll explain everything to the chief, so please, don't cry!"
Lena sniffed. "You will?"
"Yes, yes I will!"
Instantly Lena's teary face cleared up. The entire engineering team knew that the 19-year old Lena Sorenson from Sweden can turn on the water taps like a switch, and yet they still adored her. The fact that she looked like a pin-up sports athlete didn't hurt either. The engineering team was her very own fan club. Even the Chief Engineer didn't have as much control as she did over the team.
In fact, the reason she was chosen as the Logistics Officer of the Anti-Demon Division by the formidable commander Lauranna Dornen was stated as her 'extremely effective means of persuasiveness and economical sense that will secure our supplies easily.'
In other words, Lena Sorenson was very good in what she did. Being the Logistics Officer meant she was in charge of getting the equipment, fuel, weapons, ammunition and spare parts to keep the entire division running. Not that she was responsible for the actual -usage- that was the job of the Chief Engineer.
Thus, she was in charge of logistics, not maintenance. It was a good thing too, for 'responsibility' was not one of Lena's key words.
"Good, good! I'll leave it up to you to explain to the Chief Engineer why our brand new, super expensive Landmeister super-train has a scratch mark. Bye!" Lena said cheerfully and left.
The engineer took a look behind him. His colleagues were back at their normal places, doing their jobs. As if they never thought of lynching him if the girl had cried.
He sighed. It was all in a day's occupational hazard.
---
Above the underground base was the magnificent Imperiales Konzertsaal, the Imperial Concert Hall. At first, its construction was widely criticized by various naysayers, but once the grand building was completed, it did the job.
German citizens, so disillusioned by the troubles that had happened to them, found the large building a comforting gesture. A sign that things were changing for the better. Several years ago, the city was in ruins. Now, they had a brand new concert hall. It was like a salve that helped to heal the broken hearts of the people. But the citizens did not know that the grand building was also the home of their protectors.
Napoleon had said that the army travels on its stomach. Later generals would say that the army travels on the sheer amount of paperwork, telling who and what goes where and when and how, and telling others that it had been so.
The new Anti-Demon Division based secretly underneath the Imperial Concert Hall was an example of those opinions. Being a seasoned military commander, one of Lauranna Dornen's first acts was to immediately scour the list of candidates given to her for an excellent administrator to tackle the mountain of paperwork.
17-year old Mika Sorenson looked more like a young darling housewife or a capable classroom monitor. But her calm and genuinely graceful exterior hid the fact that her brain contained vast amounts of information. Dates, letters, cross-references, reports, forms, requisitions, bills, payments... everything and anything about the Imperial Concert Hall came through her.
Right now, she sat opposite a businessman and quietly marshalling her skills for the good of the hall and its occupants.
The man known as Mr. Leonard was fat, balding and visibly sweating under his expensive suit. He did not expect do deal with this... this young slip of a girl. But a few minutes into the negotiations made him realize just how formidable she was. Still, he wasn't ready to give up his chance at a lucrative contract to supply the concert hall with bread, eggs, milk... daily necessities like soap, shampoo, cleaning fluids, even toilet paper...
"Well, Miss Sorenson, I-"
"Please, call me Mika," the girl said with a charming smile. He can't help but smile in return.
"Alright then... Miss Mika, I'm sure you realize the times we're in. I have to feed my workers, if I lower the prices anymore, I would have to cut their wages just to make a small profit..." Leonard said, letting his sentence trail off as a hint.
"Some tea, Mr. Leonard?" the girl asked sweetly. Leonard smiled, thinking that she had finally admitted defeat. The smell of the tea was exquisite; maybe it wasn't so bad to have a cup...
Just as he took a sip, Mika launched her rebuttal.
"I don't think you understand, Mr. Leonard. This is an opportunity for your company to supply the Imperial Concert Hall with your goods. You should consider this an honor, not a business proposition," she said, still with that charming smile, hands politely on her lap.
Leonard nearly spewed his tea. He quickly gulped it, suddenly it felt scalding as it ran down his throat.
"No, that price is much too high, Mr. Leonard. If you can't lower it, I'm sure I can find someone who can accommodate the Imperial Concert Hall," Mika continued evenly, ignoring Leonard's sputtering.
"B-but..."
"Good day, Mr. Leonard. I thank you for making your way here. Perhaps we will have other business opportunities in the future," Mika said. She stood up to leave.
"W-wait!" Leonard called desperately. Inwardly he admitted defeat. "Perhaps I was too hasty..."
Mika sat down and smiled sweetly.
"Some more tea, Mr. Leonard?"
---
"Well sister, how's your day?" Mika asked as she emerged after a refreshing bath. Lena lay lazily on their room's couch, a hot towel on her forehead.
"Same old, same old... Ahhh, I'm getting bored. When are we gonna see some action!?" Lena complained.
"We should be grateful for the lack of it, sister," Mika said calmly. She poured herself a cup of warm English tea and sat down across the table from Lena.
"But this is boring! I thought there's a war going on," Lena whined. She threw her legs violently onto the small table. Mika's saucer jumped from the impact, startling the younger Sorenson.
Mika yelped in surprise and spilled some of her tea onto her dress.
They both stared as her white dress became stained with tea.
"Uh, sorry..." Lena said.
"Ladies should be more elegant," Mika replied calmly. She stood up, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Lena braced herself for the oncoming storm.
"Look what you have done to my dress!" Mika yelled.
"Hey, I said I'm sorry..." Lena began.
"You barbarian!"
"What!? Who you're calling a barbarian, you stuck-up!"
As usual, the argument soon degenerated into a pillow fight, accompanied by the girlish shrieks and screams.
Several rooms away, Lauranna Dornen shut her eyes and massaged her temples, trying to ease her headache from the noise.
"Don't I get -any- peace and quiet around here!?" she asked herself.
---End 8. The Sisters---
Endnotes:
[1] Lena and Mika Sorenson, created by Arion Wong
---Anti-Demon Division Profile---
Name: Lena Sorenson
Age: 19
Nationality: Swedish
Rank: Military Logistics Officer
Previous Occupation: High School Student
Height: 171cm
Weight: 47kg
Preferred Weapon: Fists
Name: Mika Sorenson
Age: 17
Nationality: Swedish
Rank: Civilian Liaison Officer
Previous Occupation: High School Student
Height: 169cm
Weight: 46kg
Preferred Weapon: Letter Opener