Making Oneself Useful [Felix]

[Dieter "Iceman" Rentz]

The air was crisp and dry in the cool spring morning and the sun only occasionally showed itself from behind the grey clouds. The huge garage doors were wide open to allow people to work in the building since currently it was very full of vehicles. A young man, most likely in his mid-20's, walked around the Opel Blitz -truck that was parked in front of the open doors. He had placed his jacket on the side-view mirror of the truck and had also pulled up the sleeves of his shirt.

The man squinted his blue eyes in contemplation. Dieter enjoyed solving these mechanical puzzles, the process made him feel calm and happy. It took him away from his present surroundings into a world where things such as bolts, pistons and valves where the only things that mattered.

He would have loved to spend all of his time around the garage, but this wasn't even really his job. He was currently on a short leave and had grown bored quickly. Walking around he had spotted a young private working with the bulky truck and Dieter had suggested that he would take a look at it. Sitting around would just make him go crazy and he figured he could at least be of some use this way. Dieter hated staying in one place doing nothing, it made him go jittery.

The man scratched his head and it made his light hair even messier. He already had some engine grease on his chin, which hardly made him look like the model soldier. Currently there were only two men working in the garage and they had cast a few strange looks at Dieter before going back to their work. Dieter was in his own little world and hardly noticed them. He was slowly coming up with a solution to the truck's problem with the motor dying down when it was idling and he was itching to get it fixed.

Dieter glanced around, the garage wasn't really equipped with parts to work on a Blitz, but maybe he could improvise a bit. He noticed a stack of boxes just next to the door inside the garage and walked to them, trying to see what they contained. The boxes at the back were much more promising, but they were.. at the back. Behind some other very large and heavy boxes. Well, that was just splendid!

Dieter sighed and looked around for help, but the other men he had noticed around earlier were nowhere to be seen right now. Dieter shrugged and took a firm grip of one of the boxes and tugged at it. He wasn't a small man and he had built up some muscle during his time in the Wehrmacht, but he wasn't a weight-lifter either. Dieter pulled at the box until the back of his neck turned red and he could almost hear some veins popping from the effort. He was almost ready to give up, when his hold slipped and he stumbled backwards, his feet hitting a spare tire that was lying on the floor and sending him flying down on his backside in a most unsoldierly way.

[∬: Felix Odegaard]

Rottenfuhrer Felix Odegaard kept his pace as his boots hit the dusty pathway, taking in the sights and sounds of the march. About two dozen other soldiers of the Waffen SS, Das Reich division also marched along, taking their time as they slowly meandered their way through the rolling German hills. Felix adjusted the weight of his pack on his back as he lit a pulled a package of pipe tobacco from his pocket and flipped open the tin lid, pinching some of the thin shavings between his slender index finger and thumb. Bringing his lighter and pipe out of his pocket, he stuffed the tobacco into the bowl of the pipe with his thumb and light it all. He clenched the stem between his two front teeth, breathing in the sweet smoke.

As the smoke from Felix's pipe filled the dry spring air, the Norwegian began to take in his surroundings. A long dirt path winded through the hills, and tiny pebbles lodged in the cakes of dried mud that made up the trail. A thick wood surrounded the soldiers, hiding any small creatures that scurried through the dense underbrush. Long green grass stretched out onto the path, as if reaching for Felix. But he knew they were getting near to the base as the silhouettes of buildings began to outline themselves on the horizon. Felix finished up his smoke as he entered the camp.

The twenty four soldiers dispersed around the German base as they finished up their walk, and Felix walked to the mess hall. He pushed open the big wood doors, the smell of food invading his nostrils. Felix approached the long counter and took a roll from one of the big bins. He filled his canteen with water, spilling some on the wool cover of the canteen. He left the mess hall and loitered outside. He took a bite of the tough roll and chewed vigorously. As he was about to take another bite, a large crash sounded from the garage. Felix rushed over and saw a Wehrmacht corporal laying on his bottom. Felix smiled and asked "Do you need any help?"



OOC: Sorry for the briefness of the post.

[Dieter "Iceman" Rentz]

Dieter was still sitting on the floor as the SS-corporal hurried to see what all the commotion was about. Dieter blinked and stared at the man for a moment in stunned silence, barely understanding that he was asking if Dieter was in need of help.

After a few long seconds the man seemed to break from his stupor as he noticed the telltale SS-runes on the man's collar and Dieter quickly stumbled back on his feet. The blonde man tried not to seem too embarrassed but he wasn't quite sure if his ears were already glowing red. "Herr..", Dieter started and tried to focus on the man's collars again, in his hurry he had not even noted the man's rank. "Uhm, Rottenführer. No, thank you, I'm quite fine. I was just..", Dieter motioned towards the boxes and tried to think of something intelligent to say. "I was just finishing up here."

It was clear that Dieter was deeply embarrassed of somebody having witnessed his blundering, even more so when it happened to be someone from the Schutzstaffel. The presence of SS made Dieter always feel nervous and he was never quite sure how to behave around them. He didn't have much experience when it came to the SS, but he had heard enough to know that it was best to be careful around them. Right now he didn't know if the man was truly offering help or if he was just being snide. Sure, he had been smiling when he offered his help, but even wolves might smile just before they sunk their teeth in your throat.

Dieter hated how he had given the man such a weak and pitiful impression of himself and he knew he looked everything but neat right now. Still, he tried regaining his composure and moved his shoulders back slightly, straightening his back and trying to seem confident of himself again. He moved to grab a worn rag that had been thrown on top of a crate and cleaned his hands on it. Dieter kept eyeing the other man cautiously, squinting his blue eyes slightly like he always did when he felt unsure or was thinking of something.

"Is there something I could help you with, Rottenführer..?", Dieter asked, glancing around the garage, most likely guessing that the man was after something from the building.

[∬: Felix Odegaard]

The soldier who was sprawled out on the concrete floor of the garage looked at Felix for moment or two, his blue eyes looking dazed. Then he climbed to his feet, brushing himself off and looking at the Scandinavian. "Herr..." The corporal muttered, still clearly dazed from whatever he had been doing.

The young man muttered some more, and Felix saw his ears start to turn a bright red. "Having some trouble here, Hmm?" Felix asked, clasping his hands behind his back and circling the unlucky soldier, as a vulture might circle it's soon-to-be prey. Felix stopped pacing as the man grabbed a greasy rag on a nearby table and wiped off his grimy hands. "Is there something I could help you with, Rottenführer...?" the corporal asked, eying up the room.

Felix stared at the man with his cold blue eyes, narrowing his eyelids. What was this soldier doing? "Well, I was going to tinker around, but instead I will help you with your task, Stabsgefrieter." Felix spoke, his mouth curling into a mischievous grin, his eyes still locked on him. "Is this this Opel Blitz truck what you were working on? What is wrong with it, Stabsgefrieter? Hmm?" Felix asked, his head cocking at an inquisitive angle. "Or are you just working on it for fun? Just to pass the time, instead of making yourself useful, Stabsgefrieter?" Hoping the corporal would get embarrassed or intimidated, Felix dropped to one knee and started to examine the truck's wheel, looking for any signs of wear.

"Aha! What is this!? A loose bolt!? How could you possibly miss this blasphemy!? A truckload of fine German men could die because of your stupid mistake!" Felix yelled at the private, his face locked into a scorning expression. The SS man looked down at the Stabsgefrieter, using his height to his advantage. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

[Dieter "Iceman" Rentz]

Dieter tried to keep his eyes on the Rottenführer as he started walking around him, making him feel all the more uncomfortable with each passing second.

"Well, I was going to tinker around, but instead I will help you with your task, Stabsgefrieter", the man said and Dieter barely stifled a frustrated sigh. Couldn't this pesky SS-man just continue on his way? Dieter had been having a fairly pleasant morning so far, stumbling or not, before this pompous man had decided to trudge along in his shiny black boots and started acting all important.

"Well, that is very helpful of you, Rottenführer, but I wouldn't want to trouble you with such a dirty and menial task such as this", Dieter said, trying to sound slightly sarcastic as he spoke. Still, he only managed to sound like a nervous and whimpering private who had just joined the Wehrmach and it made Dieter just the more irritated. He was about to say something more venomous, but the Rottenführer spoke first.
"Is this the Opel Blitz truck what you were working on? What is wrong with it, Stabsgefrieter? Hmm?", the man looked at him quizzically and continued. "Or are you just working on it for fun? Just to pass the time, instead of making yourself useful, Stabsgefrieter?"

Dieter gritted his teeth and his blue eyes narrowed slightly.
"Yes, Rottenführer, that is the truck I was working on. It has some engine trouble but I am fairly sure it is just the fuel pump that needs checking. I am currently on my leave and I thought I might be more useful this way than idling my time away at the barracks unlike some other soldaten around here", he answered and started regaining his self-confidence again as he spoke. He was just being useful and surely the Rottenführer could not find any fault in that, a hard-working man was always appreciated.

Dieter saw the SS corporal kneel down to inspect the wheel and he knew things were not probably not going to get any better. Perhaps all of the Schuftzstaffel lived just to annoy others, prancing around in their imposing outfits and acting like they owned the damn place. Didn't they have anything important to do these days, like.. guarding Jews or something like that? Dieter had just found only more reason to dislike the whole SS.

Suddenly the other man bolted up, making Dieter take a quick step back out of pure surprise.
"Aha! What is this!? A loose bolt!? How could you possibly miss this blasphemy!? A truckload of fine German men could die because of your stupid mistake!", the man roared at Dieter.

The man was taller than the young Stabsgefreiter and he took full advantage of the fact. He towered over Dieter and stared at him scornfully. "What do you have to say for yourself?", the man asked and Dieter only barely prevented himself from taking a few more steps back just to get to a safe distance from the SS corporal. Dieter was clearly surprised and confused at the sudden outburst of the man who had at first seemed almost helpful.

Dieter opened and closed his mouth a few times, at complete loss at words for a moment. He felt like a fool and he realized that he most likely looked like one also. The familiar anger returned and Dieter quickly steeled himself. He met the gaze of the Rottenführer, even if it meant that he had to look up. Dieter wasn't the tallest or strongest of men, but he sure as hell was no coward either.

"Well, Rottenführer, at first I would have to inform that each truck is carefully inspected before they are sent out to be used in the service of the Reich and it's soldiers, not that it would have gotten very far with the engine stalling all the time", Dieter answered and raised a brow. "I would also have to point out that checking the wheels on this truck is the responsibility of the fine and skilled engineers that work in this garage and not that of a Stabsgefreiter from the 21st Panzer Division", he continued, this time managing to keep his voice level and also somewhat cold with contempt.

He made sure that his tone stayed polite and respectful, but that the SS corporal would also notice that it would take more than that to get Dieter scared. He certainly was not going to start stumbling and stuttering again in front of this man, SS or not.

"Of course, I would not wish to leave a faulty truck unattended. As the Rottenführer so intelligently noted, it could cause a dangerous situation and risk the lives of brave German soldiers.", he added and glanced at the truck. "I shall take care of it before I leave the garage. Although I hold all the trust and respect towards the engineers here, I just could not overlook such a dangerous defect."

Dieter returned his glance again at the Rottenführer to see if his answer had satisfied him or if Dieter's brazenness would just make him more irritated.

[∬: Felix Odegaard]

The flustered Wehrmacht corporal came up with excuses for each of Felix's outbursts, blabbering about engineers and engine trouble with the Opel Blitz Truck.

"Of course, I would not wish to leave a faulty truck unattended. As the Rottenführer so intelligently noted, it could cause a dangerous situation and risk the lives of brave German soldiers. I shall take care of it before I leave the garage. Although I hold all the trust and respect toward the engineers here, I just could not overlook such a dangerous defect." The young Stabsgefrieter said, his voice not wavering once. Felix curled one corner of his mouth up, baring his white teeth, which resembled wolf's fangs.

Rottenfuhrer Felix Odegaard was, and had always been, a frightening human being. If you could even call him human. His skin was deathly pale, and he had never tanned once in his life, even when his family took summer trips to northern Norway and visited the islands that lay between the fjords. His hair was stiff, like steel wool, and was almost always neatly slicked back upon his head, comb tracks running down it like little tram-lines. His nose was small and pointed, perfectly straight. But it was his eyes that stood out the most. They were cold, like pieces of slate left in a cold classroom overnight, and depending on the way you looked at them they were either blue of Grey. He used these fantastic eyes to look the young soldier up and down, before finally he turned around.

"No need to fix it, Stabsgefrieter. I will do it myself, since you were too incompetent to do it yourself." Felix said, his voice conveying his exotic Nordic accent. Grabbing a small wrench from a rack hung upon the wall. Dropping to one knee again, he found the loose bolt and fit the wrench over the fastener's square head. He twisted it around several times, having to apply more pressure at a steady rate. When the Norwegian was satisfied it was up to standard, he stood up, wiping a small scrap of grease from his polished jackboot. "There we go, Stabsgefrieter. Much better than you could have ever done." Felix said, looking down at the Wehrmacht corporal again.

"Now, what did you say about engine problems, Stabsgefrieter?" Felix inquired, slowly walking back over to the vehicles front side. His pale fingers wrapped themselves around the front hood, throwing it open and exposing the engine. Felix examined it, looking for any signs of breakage. "Do you mind helping me with this, Stabsgefrieter. By the way, I am Rottenfuhrer Felix Odegaard. And you are?"

[Dieter "Iceman" Rentz]

The Rottenführer stared at Dieter and sneered at him in contempt. The SS corporal seemed like a complete opposite to what Dieter was. Dieter himself wasn't very tall and he was well-tanned, like a person who had spent most of his time outside in the sun starting from early childhood. His eyes were sky blue and even though he usually kept himself very neat-looking, right now his blonde hair was a mess and he wasn't even wearing his uniform jacket. All in all, Dieter looked like the kind of guy who wasn't exceptionally handsome or tall, but some girls might have found him decently good-looking if he would have just bothered to smile more. Dieter knew it had been stupid of him to be so careless to let himself get into such a sorry shape for a soldier, even if for a brief moment. He had just gotten so carried away when he got his hands on some work he could truly enjoy.

Where as Dieter currently managed look like a young boy from a farm, everything from the Rottenführer's neat uniform to his polished jackboots made him look like the model image of tidiness. The man was paler and taller than Dieter and the distinct runes of the SS on his collars made him look even more imposing. The Rottenführer's eyes glowed with a cold contempt for the Wehrmacht corporal whom he clearly deemed very much inferior to himself and quickly Dieter was currently feeling just that.. inferior.

"No need to fix it, Stabsgefrieter. I will do it myself, since you were too incompetent to do it yourself", the Rottenführer said and to Dieter's dismay, started working on fastening the bolt on the wheel. Dieter had hoped that the man would get tired of this game and go on his way, but he seemed intent on staying and making Dieter's day worse by each minute.

Dieter felt a burning desire to wrestle the wrench from the pale man's hand to smack him over the head with, but naturally he had to resort to only staring at the SS corporal and cursing him only in his thoughts. After the man had finished fastening the bolt, he noted how he had done the job better than Dieter could ever do and his words made Dieter's fingers curl into a fist. Still, he stayed quiet and just stood still, observing the SS-soldier.

"Now, what did you say about engine problems, Stabsgefrieter?", the Rottenführer asked and proceeded to open the hood of the truck. Dieter frowned and followed the man, looking irritated.
"I was going to just go ahead and change the whole fuel pump since I saw a box back there that seemed to have parts for this model. It doesn't matter if I will be missing a few gaskets, I can always improvise something", Dieter noted and hoped that after describing the job, the SS corporal would notice how arduous the task really was and go on his way.

"Depending if I find the parts, I'd imagine that the whole thing should take an hour or so to do.", Dieter added to emphasize the work that was involved in the project.

"Do you mind helping me with this, Stabsgefrieter. By the way, I am Rottenfuhrer Felix Odegaard. And you are?", the SS corporal asked while studying the engine of the Blitz.

Dieter frowned at the question, he had no desire to act friendly towards the ominous man, but he still managed to answer in a somewhat polite tone. "I am Stabsgefrieter Rentz", he answered and after a few seconds added; "Dieter Rentz." He wasn't really sure if he wanted to know this man on first name -basis, but guessed it was only courteous to tell his first name since the other man had also done so.

Dieter looked at Felix thoughtfully. This man did certainly not look like the type of person who would enjoy smearing engine grease and oil all over his hands. Dieter figured he might as well make himself useful instead of just standing around, so without saying anything, he returned to his previous task of trying to reach the box that contained the truck parts. It seemed that he had previously tugged the first box enough for him to reach the parts that he wanted and he rummaged around for a while.

He found two fuel pumps and chose the one that looked like it hadn't seen too much use. He even managed to salvage some gaskets that were still in good shape. He gathered up the tools he knew he needed and after a few minutes he hauled his findings outside in a wooden box, eyeing the Rottenführer.

"Well, I have everything here that I should need," he noted, clearly expecting that Felix would be on his way now that he had seen that Dieter had things well under his control here.

[Daniel Brennan]

Mod Post

A loose bolt? What the hell were you thinking, man!

CP:
Dieter: 9CP

Felix: 8CP


~Dan