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

No. 6 Chapter 8

When the young engineer awoke he felt a numbing pain in the right side of his face. He felt dizzy and tried to figure out where he was. Opening his eyes he saw that he was laying on a bed in one of the cabins of the Pilot. The last thing he remembered was the argument he had with Prinz Eugen and her rushing over to him. He realized again what had happened. It was her who had struck him. The realization of that fact gave him goosebumps and got his adrenaline flowing. Getting up and placing his feet on the side of the bed he made sure that he was not dizzy before he stood up. He moved his tongue through his mouth and tasted his saliva mixed with the taste of blood. What sent off alarms in his mind was the fact he felt gaps between his teeth. Standing up he hurried over to the bathroom down the floor. Looking into a mirror he saw that his right lower face was purple and swollen.His right lower lip was busted and blood had sealed the cut already. Slowly opening his mouth, he felt his jaw and right side of his face hurt in discomfort. Inside his mouth he saw that his lower right canine and first premolar were gone. Shocked by what he saw, the young engineer did not know what he was supposed to do. Staggering out of the bathroom and looking around the crew compartment of the Pilot he saw that Prinz Eugen was nowhere to be found. Entering the bridge through the upleading stairs, he looked cautiously around before he entered. She was not there either. He walked over to the radio and communication equipment and saw that the communication equipment had printed out a clear text message. Reading what had been sent, he had been given the okay from the High Command to return back to Ironblood either with Prinz Eugen at the end of the meeting or by himself if he found a way to do so. Next to that they had sent him a travel order if he desired to go by himself. Looking through the front window of the Pilot onto the southern shore of the river the young engineer made his decision. He wanted to be gone from here as fast as possible. Looking around he found the display showing the seaborne traffic of Cayenne. On it he found the information of boats coming from Trinidad. He knew that the Armada Ibero organized regular convoys of conventional ships from their overseas territories to their homeland and he therefore decided to hitch a ride with one of their ships.

Walking downstairs into the crew area of the Pilot the young engineer grabbed his still packed duffle bag and uniform tunic and returned to the bridge. Arriving there again he now met Prinz Eugen who had just entered from outside. The young engineer tensed up. The fear he had only ever felt before by the presence of Gangut or Tallinn now gripped him at the sight of Prinz Eugen as well. The cruiser in turn looked like a mess. Her eyes were slightly reddened and her expression was one of visible distraught. The young engineer crossed the bridge towards the communications equipment while not letting the cruiser out of his sight. He took his travel documents and slowly started to walk towards the port door of the bridge. When Prinz Eugen made a step in his direction the young engineer flinched due to his anxiety. Prinz Eugen stopped in her tracks. "I am sorry." She said.The young engineer did not freeze for a second and looked at her with an expression of confused fright before opening the door and hurrying down the stairs to the stern of the ship. He passed Prinz Eugens rigging. The two maws followed the young engineer's movement past them, letting out a metallic humming sound. For the first time the young engineer stopped and stroked the two Shark-like maws like the head of a dog before leaving the Pilot and heading in the direction of Cayenne harbor.

It took the young engineer two days before he arrived in Port Fortin on the island Trinidad. There he boarded an old oil tanker and integrated into a convoy of other cargo ships. The young engineer spent almost every minute he had on the deck of the ship, fascinated to see so many of the large ocean going vessels together, not to mention their escort of three destroyers and a light cruiser. These ships had not become living beings but had remained in their old forms and were managed by human crews. Seeing these ships made the young engineer think about what Prinz Eugen had said in their argument three days ago. Without the Sirens providing the needed resources, Prinz Eugen and all the other Ironblood ships would have remained machines made out of steel. He tried to reconsider his thoughts on the matter. Who was he to deny other living, sentient beings their opportunity to live? Even though he disliked and despised what they did to achieve their goal, he could understand why they did it. But what had terrified him was still the fact that they willingly worked together with the Sirens. The most disturbing matter overall was that Prinz Eugen had lashed out at him and had injured him in her anger. He never thought that out of all Shipgirls he knew, it would be her. He would have expected it from Gangut, Tallinn or even Deutschland, but never from her. The ship he had trusted the most and whom he had seen as a friend for so long.
In the end he made up his mind that he would use this trip over the sea to figure out what he was going to do from here on out.

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The journey over the Atlantic ocean to the iberian peninsula took the young engineer another three weeks before he left Cadiz by plane and arrived in Hannover. From there on out he took the train and arrived in Wesermünde three and a half weeks after he had started his trip back. On his way from the train station he entered the naval base and reported in. After having his papers checked the young engineer walked up to the commander's office. The aide in front of the door informed him that his friend Fritz Mahler was currently in a telephone call with the admiralty. The young engineer therefore waited patiently until the aid announced his presence and he was let into the office.
"Good to see you again." Fritz greeted his friend. The latter smiled as well and revealed his missing teeth in his grin. "Tell me, how did you do?" His friend asked. The young engineer sat down and explained everything that happened, but he left out the argument with Prinz Eugen and how he had lost his teeth.
"It sounds like things turned out not the way you had hoped for." Fritz concluded. "You can't always win." The young engineer agreed. "But well. It was worth a try. At least I learned quite a bit from that matter" He added. "Now you only have to tell me how you lost your teeth. The last time I saw you you still had all of them." Fritz asked his friend. The young engineer smiled, revealing the gap in his mouth once more. "You would not believe me if I told you." He joked. "Please entertain me." Fritz asked with a chuckle. "While I was on the tanker on my way over the Atlantic I slipped while walking down the stairs and I knocked my teeth out on one of the metal stairs." The young engineer explained. Fritz had to laugh. "What is it with you and stairs? I mean you are falling down your stairs at home often enough. Not to mention the set in the base dorm. I am seriously starting to think we should add a lift for you in every building." Fritz laughed. The young engineer smiled as well before the two caught up on what happened in Ironblood while he was gone.

"You know, I was starting to think that I would like to do a similar job to what you did. I think it is time for me to change my workplace. Do you think I am qualified to be part of a research team?" The young engineer asked his friend after some time of silence between the two. "I am sure of it. Having you as a mechanic and experienced engineer around would benefit any research team. But do you really want to leave this place and your cruiser friends? After all, you would be sorely missed not just as the most experienced engineer but also as one of the closest people to the larger units and as mentor for all the new engineers. Not to mention as the trusted friend and confidant of the base's commander." Fritz asked, grinning upon the last part he added to lighten up the situation's seriousness. "I think it is for the best at least for a while. I have some ideas and theories on how to create ships without even needing a hull to bring to life. I would like to devote more time and effort to that idea. Who knows how much it could benefit the Marine." The young engineer explained. "Good point. I am interested to see what you can come up with. I will see what I can do concerning that matter." Fritz Mahler agreed. "But first of all, you will take some time off and get your teeth fixed. Because you look like a hockey player." Fritz joked and the young engineer had to laugh as well.