The adventures of the young engineer and Prinz Eugen Volume 2.

No. 6 Chapter 4

"We are at the right coordinates, are we not?" Prinz Eugen asked the young engineer for the fourth time. "Yes we are." He replied. "Then why are the Ammies not here?" She replied slightly annoyed. "Perhaps they got delayed." He offered an explanation. "We are at the coordinates south of Greenland that Fritz and the Admiralty told us to meet up with the Eagle Union. I can only guess that they either lag behind schedule or got busy in a different way. Either way I will go through their, our and the open frequencies to see if I get a message." He offered and tried to appease the souring mood of the cruiser. While going through the frequencies once more the young engineer watched Prinz Eugen sit down on a chair next to him. They had separated from the others about 20 hours ago. Hipper, Weser and Mainz were already on their way back to Ironblood while they were waiting for the Eagle Union force to show up and escort them through the waters of the north atlantic they secured. But the Eagle Union fleet was 16 hours overdue by now.

"You know that this mission will be something else than we did before, right?" Prinz Eugen interrupted the young engineer in his task of going through the radio frequencies. "What do you mean by that? I thought it would be similar to the Portsmouth talks. Well, with less waiting and fighting I hope." He replied. "There we were on the same side in the same delegation. This time we are not. I will be the representative of the interests of Ironblood in this meeting, while you will be in the role of an advisor of Iris Libre, technically the remnants of a nation we, as Ironblood, are still at war with." Prinz Eugen explained to the young engineer. "In this case we won't be able to just stick together and do as we like. It will already be a sore spot for many that you as a citizen of Ironblood will be participating in this event on the side of the Azur Lane. But it will cause even more issues when the others figure out the two of us are colleagues and friends, not to mention when we spent our time outside of the meetings together." She elaborated. "I see what you mean, others would think we are coordinating and manipulating both sides to our advantage." He concluded. "Exactly. We will therefore have to limit our direct exchanges and restic personal matters for the time being. I think it will be better if you find someone to stick to in the Iris Libre delegation. It is better if you are seen with them." She explained her point of view and potential solution to it. The young engineer nodded in agreement. "But don't you dare think that I would not notice if you are trying to desert and make your escape with a cute Iris ship." She mockingly threatened him. "After all, fraternization with the enemy is punishable. Although you are assisting them already, which makes a case for a good court martial by itself." She teased him further while chuckling. "It would be a terrible waste to see you in a penal unit or imprisoned." She pushed the joke further. The young engineer knew from experience that it was easier not to indulge her teasing with a reaction, since it would only lead to further teasing. "I am pushing my limits again. Aren't I?" She asked him after she realized that the young engineer was making it an effort not to answer her. "Sorry." She apologised with a slight expression of embarrassment on her face. "I just want to make sure you know how much you can potentially compromise yourself with what you are doing. Others might see your cooperation with Iris Libre as treachery." She warned him. "Not to mention that the Iris Libre is a bunch of hypocrites and two faced individuals. Be sure not to trust too much of their words or you might just find yourself in a bad situation to their advantage." She continued her warnings.

Before the young engineer was able to assure her that it was all fine, they were interrupted by a voice from the radio receiver. "Eagle Union Taskforce 77 here. Hailing the Ironblood forces in this area. Please come in contact to coordinate a rendezvous." Prinz Eugen and the young engineer both looked at each other before the latter picked up the radio microphone to answer on the same open frequency. "Ironblood Flotilla Weser II here. We received your transmission Taskforce 77." The young engineer answered while he pointed Prinz Eugen to the maptable and radio location set to give him their exact position. "Hello Taskforce Weser 2. Good to hear from you. Are you the delegation we are supposed to escort?" The voice out of the radio asked. "Yes we are. Our current position is 55° North and 40° West. Were would you like to rendezvous Taskforce 77?" The young engineer asked. "Great to hear you guys made it. We are close by. A flight of our aircraft is heading to your position. Follow their travel directions and rendezvous with us Weser 2." Was the reply. The young engineer looked at Prinz Eugen with a raised eyebrow. The cruiser shrugged her shoulders before nodding and giving her okay to the instructions. "Alright. We will follow your aircraft when they show up. We are looking forward to meeting you Taskforce 77. Weser 2 ends transmission." He spoke into the microphone. "Roger. We will see you soon Weser 2. Taskforce 77 out." Was the reply out of the radio.