Chapter 4: New Faces

Table of Contents

https://app.warera.io/article/6a1ef18de38672909fe48649
https://app.warera.io/article/6a2069e00a61a869c7665d03
https://app.warera.io/article/6a21e14d30b885a90105841e
https://app.warera.io/article/6a23c1e9928df3a595ffa8a7

You ask what this Comic is about? Read this:
https://app.warera.io/article/6a1efa59640209160f36b829

Chapter 4: New Faces!

Where has everyone gone? It’s Sunday and everyone should be here. Hmm... it’s only 9.30 am. THEO! NINA?!... HIIIIIILDE??!. There’s really no one here. That’s so strange. Especially after what happened in the pub yesterday. Shouldn’t I?...That’s right! I was supposed to go to the pub. Maybe the others are there too. I should give it a go...luckily I still have my Italy/Luxembourg ticket. With that, I can travel on public transport throughout the whole country.

The pub looks closed. Maybe I should give the door a nudge... oh, it’s open! I’ll try to be as inconspicuous as possible as I go in.

Who’s that guy? A bird? Another animal-person like me. I’ll have a go at asking him: “H-Hey, I’m...” – “Hmmmm...” he cuts me off and slowly turns round.

“Oh, you must be Alpara, mustn’t you! We’ve been waiting for you! I’m Rothwer, but you can just call me Rothwer!...“

...

...

Blimey, what on earth is this bloke? He’s just staring me straight in the eye after that sentence, smiling so nicely. I’m confused. “You must have loads of questions!” added Rothwer. “Don’t worry, I’ll explain everything to you at the base.” ...Base? What’s he on about? “Follow me!”

We head to the back of the kitchen and Rothwer presses a button concealed by a metal plate on the wall, then does a backflip. A hatch opens in the middle of the kitchen, revealing a staircase leading down. “Why the backflip, Rothwer? Do you have to be able to do that for the hatch?” – “I just do it because I can. It was cool, wasn’t it?” I hum in agreement and nod. Rothwer looks at me as if he can see right through me. Blimey, that stare, as if he’d drifted off into another world for a moment. But then: “Shall we go to Alpara?” Rothwer heads down the stairs.

I go downstairs and the hatch slams shut.

“Welcome to the WarEra Germany Special Forces Base. On the right you’ll find a map, in case you want to have a closer look at everything.” I ask Rothwer, “Why does this map look so strange?” and he replies, “Well, the creator really can’t draw” (I really can’t, guys. That was the best I could manage)

They carry on and turn right. “Here at Alpara, you’ll find your ‘Tigerentenclub’ squad’s quarters right there on the left, through that door. You’re in luck. You’re only here because Ballerbert has issued a call-up!” – “THAT’S RIGHT!” echoed from the end of the corridor.

“And I was the one who specifically asked if we could have a raccoon,” said the stag beetle man, adding: “If I may introduce myself, my name is Ludwig von Hirschfang…” “And I’m Primo… Primo is a poet, and no, it’s not ‘the’ poet – I am the poet. Primo. Is. A poet. Just so you don’t forget. But enough of that. I’m very pleased to meet you, because you are... who again?” Blimey, guys, you know my social skills. I don’t want to end up as ‘Pleased’ again. I just give Rothwer a helpless look. But not too helpless. “Ahem!...that’s Alpara.” Phew...that worked. “He’s a new recruit to the Tiger Duck Club.” Primo looks over at Hirschfang with a smirk and raises his eyebrows. “Is that your new recruit you told us about, Ludwig?” Ludwig nods. “Well then, good luck, Alpara!” adds Primo, and the two of them disappear behind a door. They both seemed a bit nervous... hmmm... well, let’s get on with the programme. Rothwer and I go back to the corridor and walk further in.

“This is our Alpara canteen! The heart of our base. There are great people here and…” – “HEY, CAN YOU LOT AT THE FRONT SHUT UP FOR A SEC?! HOW CAN YOU BE SO LOUD WHILE PLAYING KNIFFEL? IT’S GONE COMPLETELY MAD IN HERE!” shouts the bloke with the grey beard. The woman at the table opposite him: “Come over here, you walking grey stick. If you want a go, I’ll give you one so that at your next court hearing you’ll have to slurp your verdict with your soup... or something.” – “Everyone, just chill out a bit, guys. If you want, we can chill out at my place... and watch animal documentaries on Arte.” comes from the towel. “TOWELIE, NOT NOW!” shouts the woman.

“Ahem!” clears his throat Rothwer, and all eyes turn to him. “This is Alpara, our new recruit to the Tiger Duck Club! Alpara, these are Sir Greybeard, Towelie and Polaros – he’s back there in the left-hand corner. He’s a bit reserved, but works at headquarters for Kaiser. The two of them are the brains of the operation, if you like. In the background, you can see our screen displaying the latest data on the conflicts straight from headquarters. Sometimes we sit here for hours staring at these bars. Lovely! Then there’s Revy and her constant companion Napalmerino...” – “You know my name is Millie!” hisses the cat on Revy’s shoulders: “Napalmerino is my codename on the battlefield!” “Sorry Millie, I keep forgetting!...and then there’s Akrylex...but where is he...” Why do I hear someone giggling behind me? “Hiheheheheh!!”

Akrylex appears behind me, points a laser pointer at the ground between our feet and carries on giggling to himself. Rothwer tries desperately to stop him: “AKRYLEX, NO! NOT AGAIN, LIKE...” Too late...

More feline friends pounced from all sides and lunged at the laser pointer, hissing. Whilst the cats fought amongst themselves, scratching and biting as they battled for control of the laser dot, Rothwer and I slipped away.

“This is our vegetable patch. Our comrade KartoffelaufDuenger takes excellent care of the plants here and ensures that we can be completely self-sufficient in terms of food. He’s a master of his craft. We’d better not disturb him and just move on.”

“This is headquarters. As I said, the brain of the operation. We’re practically walking straight towards the print shop now. Do you actually have any questions?” Do I have any questions? Hmmm... let me think... actually just one: “Why on earth do you have so many cat soldiers here?”

Rothwer stops and laughs: “You really can’t tell that story to anyone! Vice Taru bought a cat on eBay at some point, which had been put up there by a former Russian lab worker for fifty quid. The description said that the genetic tests for mutations had failed and they wanted to recoup at least a tiny bit of the billions in financial losses. He ordered it straight away. Then it was running about here. Nice animal. But when a distant relative of Maggitron—who was actually a cat-person at one point... well... I’ll tell you that story another time, or ask him yourself... anyway, when a distant relative of Maggitron named Garfield turned up here, things got wild. We actually thought that this cat couldn’t have offspring. But we were wrong. The cat was a normal cat. But the genes she passed on were modified. So in a way, the experiment was a success. So we actually have genetically modified soldier cats in the army here. Cool, isn’t it?”...

Wtf.

Let’s move on...

“I’m telling you, Kaiser! We’ve got to keep spreading the disinformation campaign, otherwise it’ll never work!...Hey, you!” The bloke in the newspaper coat points at me. He tears a piece of newspaper from his coat and shoves it into my hand. I give it a quick read-through and can’t make head nor tail of it. “Hook, what you’ve come up with is far too complex; no one’s going to get it. People are simple,” says the man in the red coat. “You’re the simple one, Kaiser! Are you the ‘newspaper boss’ or am I? Argh!”

Rothwer nudges me: “Come on, let’s leave the two of them to get on with their work. I’ll show you the conference hall, where you’ll get to meet another big shot.”

Upon arriving in the high-resolution conference hall—which strays far too drastically from the comic-book style (all because of Rothwer)—I bump into the Minister of Defence of the WarEra Germany community: Vorneburg. He shakes my hand and says, “So you’re the new guy. You must feel honoured that the President himself has shown you around.” My jaw drops... Rothwer is the President?! He didn’t mention a word about that. My newfound realisation seems to be written all over my face, because Rothwer and Vorneburg both start laughing. “Rothwer, did you really not tell him that?” – “I wanted to form my own opinion regardless.” - “I see... well then, Alpara, tomorrow is Monday. At 0800 we’ll strike and take back Baden-Württemberg in the first wave. You won’t be able to contribute much, but you’re to be present and learn how we operate and function. Understood?” I nod. “Good! Next, you’ll go to your unit’s quarters and collect your kit. Get to know the lads. We’re a unit. That’s important!” I give Vorneburg a firm nod. “Right, now that’s sorted, then... Rothwer... we’ve got a lot to discuss, and Alpara... welcome to the community!”

Thanks to the Community!

@6976313955afed608343674f as President "Rothwer"
@698f255eb35d4f6d09a2613d as Bar "Arbeitszeitbetrug"
@69a73e201616e100b089d808 as "Primo ist Dichter"
@69d8a70d0fda012ada707fea as "Ludwig von Hirschfang"
@69a87b38762cdbffe2f2994c as "Graubart"
@69cac4a1efd1d4e0154a3527 as "Brobertus"
@699a0bc442ad8230adf4d41b as "Christian L."
@69b0472f6dcb0df73be37f66 as "Towelie"
@69773c2781af219a70826739 as "Hook"
@69ea74cf9c33b52a7eaeb220 as "Akrylex"
@6991214a4bb8ba694ece9f2a as "Millie"
@69a6b4620cd7a9a5da78694f as "Revy"
@699ecc3dd3ae5840ce33c26c as "Polaros"
@69a6df1fd43e5d2935ed804c as "Kaiser"
@69ca7ffd788e5c5a0aabac18 als "Kartoffel" oder "KartoffelAufDuenger"
@69773c2781af219a70826739 as "Hook"
@69a5cfe665f1b8bd9492123a as "Vorneburg"

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