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

No. 7 Chapter 4

Prinz Eugen ran parallel to Atago within the formation of the Sakura Empire ships. "About three more hours and we can enjoy a hot tea and bath back in base." Atago spoke over the radio to all the Shipgirls to encourage them. "Be careful though. We know that the Eagle Union submarines like to play their pranks on us or ambush us on the approaches." She continued. Prinz Eugen was once more surprised by the amount of respect and seeming fear the Sakuran ships had for the submarines of the Eagle Union and Royal navy. Especially the matter that these were able to operate apparently without hindrance in the territorial waters of the Sakura Empire surprised her. Taking Atagos words to heart Prinz Eugen also increased the sensitivity of her GHG as well as Sonar and paid more attention to the constant sounds their wakes and riggings made in the water. On the outside she didn't change in her behavior, movement or expressions. "When we arrive you are more than welcome to join us for a tea and bath." Atago invited Prinz Eugen through a direct clear radio transmission. "Thank you for the offer, but I will have to see if I can meet the other Ironblood member that is currently stationed there." Prinz Eugen replied and denied the offer. "I see." Atago smiled. "I suppose it is a good idea to meet up with your colleague. I will be sure to introduce the two of you." She continued. "There is no need to. We know each other." Prinz Eugen explained. "You do?" Atago asked surprised. "He is such a delicious treat. I would just wish that he would not be so shy and hide behind his politeness." Atago mused with a dreamy expression. "How did you meet him Prinz Eugen?" She asked the Ironblood cruiser. "He is." She interrupted herself for less than a second to find the right words." A good friend and used to be my engineer." Prinz Eugen explained while trying to keep her poker face up and hoping no one noticed the minimal pause. "He never mentioned that." Atago commented. "Then again he barely talked about anything relating to himself, which is such a shame." Atago thought out loud. "In any case I will be looking very much forward to seeing you two meet each other again." Atago smiled. Prinz Eugen remained silent to that comment and instead asked Atago a question. "So you have met him as well. How is he doing?" She asked Atago. "As far as I can tell he is a smart and polite person. Cute in his behavior and attempts at keeping up a professional facade. He is quite the recluse though. I doubt he is much fun to be around unless he opens up at some point. " Atago commented on her experience. "That sounds about right. How is his face doing?" She asked the Takao class cruiser. "His face?" Atago asked. "I have not seen anything weird about it. There are those little scars around his eyes but otherwise he has nothing noteworthy in his face." Atago explained her observations.

Prinz Eugen decided to let the conversation rest and started to think about the young engineer. She had almost forgotten about the two scars. She was not sure if he always had them. As far as she could recall, the young engineer never seriously injured his face while they were working together. But she realized that those two small scars had gained her attention as well every now and then when they had looked at each other longer. The slight pink blush of them lingered in her memory. They must have been from the time the young engineer had spent involuntarily in the Northern Parliament. It was another addition to a topic she wanted to talk about with the young engineer, when she got around to it. She had decided to clean the proverbial table. She would be honest to the young engineer and he would be honest to her as they had promised each other. At least that was her hope. She still was not sure how she was going to explain it all to him, but she was sure that she would find a way. What troubled her the most was the question of what she was going to say to him if he asked once more about the night he was out cold from their drinking game. Prinz Eugen had to smile. She would find her way around that issue as well, when did it ever happen that she got caught on the wrong foot in a conversation. Smirking, she focused again on her course and her GHG.

Most of the journey passed without any incidents or noteworthy things. Prinz Eugen stepped on Sakuran soil at one of the large former drydocks of the naval base that had been converted to a slipway for the Shipgirls. Two Bullins took care of her rigging and detached it from her. Meanwhile the cruiser looked at the small purse she had brought with her. It had made the journey without getting wet or even damp. Happy that her luggage was fine she made her way over to Atago. "Alright Atago, where do we go to now?" She asked the balck haired cruiser in her white uniform. "I suggest we go to the commander's office and announce your arrival. The commander should be back from a conference in the capital." Atago explained the next steps. "That sounds reasonable. Would you be so kind as to show me the way?" Prinz Eugen asked. "Sure. I would have to go and see the Commander anyway to report on the mission." Atago agreed. The two cruisers made their way to the commander's office.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Commander Tanaka." Prinz Eugen greeted the base commander of the naval base after Atago had made her report. "It is good to meet you heavy cruiser of the Ironblood Prinz Eugen. How may we help you during your visit?" The commander returned the greeting. Prinz Eugen smiled. "I have been sent here to have an eye on my subordinate. He was sent over here to assist you with certain matters." Prinz Eugen explained. The commander raised his eyebrows. "I have heard about him from my secretaries. They said he was a technical assistant supposed to help out in completing blueprints. I was not aware that he was a direct subordinate of the actual fleet." He explained. "I was told by my secretaries that his work he delivered yesterday was not satisfactory and that they would deal with the matter accordingly. From what I have seen, the blueprints looked satisfactory but about a fifth of them dropped significantly in quality." The commander continued. "I suggest you might want to be there when a disciplinary penalty is spoken." He added. "As far as I am concerned I see that he is under your jurisdiction and therefore out of our dealings you may judge his work and results accordingly." The commander offered Prinz Eugen before allowing her to leave with a courteous nod. Prinz Eugen did not waste any time and thanked the commander by returning the gesture before leaving the office.

Prinz Eugen hurried out of the headquarters building and caught up with Atago. "Can you tell me where I can find my engineer?" Prinz Eugen asked the Takao class cruiser in a calm manner after she had reestablished her facade before doing so. "I think he would either be at the drawing room or at his quarters I suppose." Atago answered, somewhat taken back by the surprising request. "Can you show me where that is?" Prinz Eugen asked. "I can, but may I ask why you are seemingly in such a hurry to meet your engineer?" Atago agreed to Prinz Eugens request and asked her in return. "Akagi and Taiho are going to have an earnest word with him. I prefer him not to be alone with these two when they are mad." She explained in a calm manner to Atago.