Standing in front of a half-body mirror is a healthy young male in his early twenties with well-kept blond hair, spirited blue eyes, and a muscular build. The man is seen snappily dressed in a familiar Belkan officer dress with the respective cap being kept by his side. That said, there are obvious differences in the way his attire looks when compared to the normal Army and Air Force equivalents.
First, the camouflage scheme has a different color scheme than the widely used Flecktarn in Belkan military services. Dubbed the Urbantarn, it is a five-colored disruptive camouflage with a varying color spectrum from muddied white to black. This camo scheme is primarily employed by urban combat units and logistical units in service of the Belkan Armed Forces. The young man's affiliation is to the latter, wearing badges and epaulets belonging to the 3rd Special Support Battalion of the Belkan Army, with the unit's logo being a frontal view of a steam locomotive decorated with ammunition belts and crates around it.
Other than obvious external features, the suit he is wearing is a tad bit thicker than normal. This is to accommodate a higher degree of environmental protection, which includes resistant weather effects and fire hazards, more resistance to bladed and blunt objects, and to provide the best comfort available on long-running trips. While it does make the clothes a bit heavier than usual, the man's job as a train driver/engineer has given him a profound sense of respect for the things he is now wearing. The ability to remain warm and breathable on a snowy day, while working in the confines of a damaged engine block and then still remaining undamaged after a long time, has been a godsend for not just him but others in his unit. The designers sure make their job easier as they don't need to worry much about the state of their wear all that much. This allows them to work long haul while still being presentable to the masses.
Hell, due to the quality of their wear, the man knows a not-so-small number of his co-workers placing down requisition orders for more of such durable clothes for off-duty matters. He would have followed suit had he not been stopped by his fiancee, citing that it would look awfully droll to see him wearing the same thing every day. True enough, there are only so few options available in the battalion store. To ensure his love life remains active, the man is not willing to skimp on his appearance. It's why he's been keeping his body physically fit, partly because of the nature of his work, partly because of his soon-to-be-wife.
KNOCK KNOCK
The man only knows of one person who will knock on his door at this hour of the day. 'Speak of the Devil and she shall appear' he thought with a small smile.
"I am coming, dear!" The man called out to the person outside his room, placing the officer cap on his head while walking to the door. Opening it wide, the young officer is greeted by a shade of fiery red, his beloved fiancee.
"Good morning, my love." The man and the woman share a hug and a short morning kiss. "So, ready to send your lover off for another haul?"
The beloved person of the man is a fine lady with long, fiery red hair that extends down to her middle back. If the swaying cat tails behind her back and the pair of cat ears atop her head aren't of any indication, then yes she is what one would call a Nekomata, a cat beastwoman. Her feline features are accentuated by green eyes with slit pupils and sharp canine teeth. Mischievously curling behind her back are two fluffy tails of a similar color to her hair, with tufts of white fur at the end. Compared to her fiancee, the lady is a mere 152 centimeters tall, while her lover is at the perfect height of 180 centimeters. This means that half of the time, the lass has to look up to see his face. However, as she has been enjoying the view thus far, she has found no grievance at all to complain.
With a smirk on her face, the cat lady says "Oh, I am not quite ready just yet. Only when my hubby is perfectly presentable would I dare to send him off. Now, stand still, and let me check you."
The man laughs as his Nekomata lover walks in circles around himself. "Ah, my dear Aria, always the attentive person in the family."
The cat lady, Aria Klein, smirks while smoothening out the fabric of the man's outer coat. "Yes, yes, my brother complains about it all the time to you, I know. If you two bulls had more common sense than brawn, then I wouldn't have any need to be the voice of reason in the room."
"You, the voice of reason?" The man jested. "Half of the time, you're the one dragging me and poor Dirk into a scuffle or two involving the family's ranch. We had to train ourselves just so that we could keep up with your antics! I was a boy, barely ten years of ag1, when I had to learn rodeo just because you made a bet with the neighboring ranch. Granted it was a young one, but still..."
Hearing that loving retelling of his riveting pass with her, Aria has the nerve to do this in front of the officer. "Tehe~!"
Rolling his eyes at her, the man adds "Never change, Aria. Never change..."
Aria giggles cutely. "Well, if I change, would you still love me?"
The man nods with a smile, though his next words carry an audible seriousness in them. "As I've said when I made my oath with you, change all you want as long as it doesn't go against any of our morals. No matter who you will become, you're my one and only lover, my beloved Aria." He then proceeds to caress her cheek, with his lover leaning into his hand.
Aria smiles lovingly. "Never change, hubby. Never change..." She returned his words back at him, causing both parties to chuckle at the play. Yeah, they're quite smitten with each other, alright. Both are also mature enough to draw the line and actually talk with each other, unlike some unfortunate others. Blessed be their love, indeed.
"Alrighty then." Aria said while taking a step back to marvel at her lover's visage. "You look even better than Pop was in his old military dress, First Lieutenant Kemper! Now, get out there, face the music, and make sure those supplies reach those in need! But most important of all, make sure to return to me!"
Snapping a salute, First Lieutenant Adam Kemper answers with steel in his voice. "Heard it loud and clear, ma'am! I'll make sure to return by the appointed time in one piece, both in mind and in spirit!" Though Adam soon breaks into a fit of chuckles. "Though if your Pop heard what you said, the man will go sulking by the yard."
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Aria smiles mischievously before driving the knife deeper. "He's not here now so why should I care? Pop is old but he's acts like a child sometimes, much like my bro. They're both so alike that it's no wonder that the ranch goes toward my bro, with my mum having her handful managing them both."
But then Aria pats Adam on his broad chest. "Seriously, you need to skedaddle. Today is a big day so let's make sure you get there early, engineer. Thomas the Train ain't leaving his station without you in the cab."
"Roger that, ma'am." Adam smiled.
"Good, let me see you out." Aria then walks with Adam. Before reaching the cabin's front door, Adam comes across the Wall of the Family inside the living room. On the wall are the many recognitions and commendations of the Kleins, achieved during their many years of service to the Reich ever since its formation. But none of it is as important as the family picture that is shown predominantly in the middle. While the picture is changed constantly to depict the current phase of the family members, one might be surprised to see Adam is also presented there, dressed in his freshly graduated attire. Each time Adam sees that corner of the wall, he can't help himself from diving down memory lane.
Adam Kemper, first of his name and the last of his bloodline, was an orphan at the young age of 7. His parents perished in a fire while he was off playing in the fields of Belka. When Adam learned of the tragedy, he ran away after the government had taken care of the ashes of his family for him. The young lad back then rushed back to the very fields he had lost himself in, thus escaping the fire that consumed his parents, and then he cried. It was then and there that Aria Klein found him, lost in his misery and cries. Aria befriended the crying boy, and it wasn't long before her positive nature won the boy over and calmed him down. The bright girl, in a bid to prevent the boy from potentially going down a dark path, beseeched both the boy and her father to accept him into the family's cattle ranch. After some convincing from Aria, Adam is taken in as an intern at the family's business. It's not much at first, but it's honest business, and the father of the family has been very keen on drilling the young Adam even more so than his experienced son.
Due to the Kleins finding themselves lacking in real estate at first, Adam had voluntarily chosen to bunk with the ranch's horses, all the while helping the ranch in odd jobs in exchange for food, shelter, and a suitable enough wage. The earnest work of the orphaned child earned him the hearts of many on the ranch, even the patriarch of the family must admit that Adam ticked all the boxes to become a fine gentleman and a cowboy. Still, being a cowboy hadn't been what Adam had in mind back then.
Though young, Adam was old enough to memorize his blood family's history and find himself mesmerized by the steel beasts that run nations, the steam locomotives. Adam was born into a line of train engineers and technicians. As such, it wasn't much of a surprise for anyone when he started setting himself up for a hobby when off-work.
Encouraged by Aria to pursue his dream, Adam used his meager wages to procure models and books about steam trains. That little hobby that ran in his bloodline soon turned into a passion when he assembled his first model kit. That passion turned into a dream to work toward when Aria and her family took him to see the unveiling of the Belkan Army's armored train. The train was equipped with a marvelous hide of matte armor plates, armed with the best howitzer the military could install, and blistering with guns to protect its valuable cargo and the backbone of the Belkan Reich. When doused with a healthy dose of propaganda and reality, the impressionable Adam formed a goal. A simple goal, and much like Aria's father used to say all the time: It's not much, but it's honest.
Adam's goal is to become a train driver, an engineer, heading what's come to be known as the steel dragons of the lands in the hearts of many. Being smitten by the armored trains, having heard tales of their prowess on the battlefield, Adam strove to one day command such a monster himself. With the blessing of the Kleins, and the shared oath between Adam and Aria, the young man signed up for the Belkan Academy of Military Logistics and Technologies, MLT or MIL-TECH for short.
Adam had been a part of the fortunate batch in MIL-TECH, being the first to test out the new equipment devised by none other than the Reich Marshal herself. The current Adam of now holds nothing but great respect for the Marshal who is three years younger than himself. She is honestly deserving of such respect, having made nothing but engineering marvels that inspired him to create his own. Coincidentally, Adam and Aria are both 22 years old, with Aria younger than him by three months.
When being introduced to the miraculous technology that was the mana engine, Adam was struck with an epiphany. Locomotives have always been both a blessing and a curse, depending on who you ask. They're interesting, fun, and exhilarating, but are also cumbersome, unhealthy, and time-consuming to work with. Knowing that mana engines would soon become the future of the military, Adam set out to work day and night on a proposition that would then grow to change the fates of himself and the fleet of military trains in the Belkan arsenal.
Adam had submitted a proposal to modernize the locomotive fleet of Belka, even including a redesigned blueprint of the locomotive model the Army had been using all this time. Using his limited knowledge of the Magitech field, Adam crafted a blueprint that removed the need for a boiler room. In lieu of the hazardous furnace, a mana engine would be used to power the steam engines. Since this is a redesign, existing locomotive models could be refitted, rather than built anew with the mana engine. The main pro of the refit would be the increase in horsepower, thus giving the train more endurance and power to pull heavier loads. There's also the benefit of it being a much safer design for both the crew and the passengers. No coal or oil equals no exploding or poisonous hazard.
Adam, while having high hopes for his brainchild, never expected it to be taken with extreme fervor and seriousness by the military brass. What he hadn't thought about back then was that the redesign would save a lot of money for the Belkan Armed Forces. Hence the top brasses jumped at the chance of saving on good funding and time that could be better off invested elsewhere. Adam was shocked when a letter of commendation and a Medal of Merit arrived at his doorstep on a regular day. Imagine his surprise when the refit plan was accepted and a secret trial run was conducted to extremely favorable reviews. The letter then went on to detail a fleetwide refit of all military locomotives in service, and that Adam was to help the design team adapt all locomotives to future standards. Adam welcomed the opportunity to contribute to the country that is the home of his first and second families. His miraculous advancement earned him not the jealousy of his classmates but rather the heartfelt congratulations and offerings of cooperative research. Of course, Adam accepted them all, and together with the seasoned members of the Belkan Army, students and service men and women alike worked day and night to spearhead a crucial logistic advancement of the Reich.
Other than incorporating the mana engines and modern instruments into the locomotives, Adam also personally designed a new coupling mechanism for train cars alongside a slew of safety improvements. The automatic coupling mechanic allows the cars to attach and decouple from each other with just the press of a button in the command car or manual override from inside the cars themselves, with the manual override tucked inside the protective walls of each car. This would prevent the railway specialists from needing to get close to the coupler and risk getting caught between the couplers, which have been known to take limbs off or get people caught in them. Adam learned one of his great-grandparents worked for a railroad, was sandwiched between two trains going opposite directions and barely survived. Hence, put in lots of effort to make a comprehensive safety overhaul for all trains in the refit program.
When it's time for Adam's generation to graduate MIL-TECH, it has been noted that this generation is the miracle generation, the best there is in the history of the Academy. Adam graduated with flying colors, being the top of his class, and was immediately granted the rank of 1st Lieutenant, a reward befitting of his contribution to the Reich, with his large group of friends and associates receiving various awards also.
Moving on to the present, Adam will soon be moving away from the comfortable ranch cottage of the Kleins. The cottage was expanded years ago with both Adam's and the Kleins' efforts. Instead of the barn house, Adam has been calling the cottage his home ever since the oath he traded with Aria. Bidding a heartwarming "See you later" with his fiancee, Adam rides his bicycle to his first official posting as a 1st Lieutenant of the 3rd Special Support Battalion. It's his dream job, being an engineer of a locomotive. However, it's not just any locomotive, it's an actual modern armored train.
Thomas the Train.
An unheard of 12000 horsepower, 80 cars long. An armored train with firepower rivaling that of a small sea-faring destroyer due to its heavy artillery, autocannons, machine guns, and even a special AA emplacement... Truly, Thomas the Train ticks all of Adam's checkboxes to be the best there is. She even comes with a kettle for his favorite Earl Grey blend!
Adam smiles, thinking that he is truly blessed despite his rough past as an orphan. He even has to pat himself on the back for daring to pen a letter to the Reich Marshal herself. In the letter, Adam expressed his desire to be a train engineer instead of working as an accomplished military technician, citing that it had always been his dream to command a train, much like his forefathers.
While the reply had been succinct to him, Adam's feeling at the time was anything but disappointment, for the reply had been this.
"Let the man have his train."