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

No. 8 Chapter 3

The engineer wolfed down a load of fried eggs and bacon while he sat together with Prinz Eugen in a breakfast diner. "Three days without consciously eating sure makes one hungry it seems." The cruiser joked while watching her subordinate. Swallowing the engineer wanted to formulate an answer to Prinz Eugens joke, but he was distracted by something else. Following the engineer's stare Prinz Eugen turned around and saw what caught her subordinates attention. Outside the large panoramic window of the Diner stopped a motorcycle from which a slender woman climbed off. "I know what you look like and how you replenish after a weekend full of mock battles." The engineer's reply finally came, which also brought Prinz Eugens attention back to the conversation in front of her. " Is that a threat to expose my eating behavior?" She returned with a smug grin. "I thought better of you than to abuse the knowledge of a woman's failings." Prinz Eugen teased and ensured that her engineer remained the one that was more uncomfortable and embarrassed about their banter.

While eating the last bits of his breakfast the engineer continued to pay attention to the motorcycle behind Prinz Eugen. By its shape he guessed that it was a Sakuran design with a paint job in different navy blues and a reddish pink and matte black and white. The engineer was fascinated by the gorgeous vehicle. What made him worry on the other hand was the fact that its rider had entered the diner and was heading straight for him and Prinz Eugen. During his first glimpse at the figure he already knew that she was a Shipgirl. Not just the physique that was equal to that of an ancient Greek statue of Demeter, as every other adult looking ship. But her uniquely colored hair gave it away as well. By now the engineer was quite accustomed to being able to tell apart dyed hair and the wide palette of natural hair colors that Shipgirls had. Next to that it was the other fact that all living ships shared. The smoothness of their movements. Even though some stumbled and could be clumsy they all walked and moved as if they were weightless. With their inherent strengths that was obvious. But also seemed to make them all more careful in their interactions with their surroundings. Some more than others but they all touched and moved things more carefully and gracefully than most humans do.

"Good morning Prinz Eugen. It is nice to see you again. " The ship greeted the cruiser. The engineer watched both as Prinz Eugen stood up and shook hands with the other Shipgirls. "Good morning Essex. It has been a while since our last encounter." Prinz Eugen greeted her back. "I suppose it is a nicer greeting than meeting your Avengers." The cruiser smiled. The engineer watched the two and realized what the two meant. The last time they had seen each other was during the great wars between the alliances when both ships were still conventional hulls.
"And who are you?" Essex asked the engineer with a curious expression. "That is my rigging engineer." Prinz Eugen introduced her subordinate. "It is nice meeting you. Is it your first time here?" Essex greeted the engineer and stretched her hand out towards him. "I can only say the same. It is nice meeting you too." The engineer greeted the carrier back while doing a slight salute instead of shaking the carrier's outstretched hand. Both looked at each other a bit awkward before Prinz Eugen interjected. "Why are you here this early?" She asked Essex. "I am waiting for Cleveland and Enterprise. We have the next couple of days off thanks to the celebrations and we wanted to take our bikes out for a ride." She explained. "Please, feel welcome to wait for them in our company." Prinz Eugen invited the fleet carrier to sit down in the booth she shared with the engineer. "Thanks." Essex smiled before sitting down in the U bend of the booth between Prinz Eugen and the engineer.

The three sat in silence while the engineer smeared honey butter on a couple of bread rolls. "It seems you are enjoying fresh rolls quite a bit." Essex commented on the amount of rolls the engineer prepared. "He was just discharged from a stay in the hospital. You know how it is. We all need fuel." Prinz Eugen explained before the engineer could answer after chewing. "Are you the guy that got altitude sickness?" The carrier asked. "I was." He answered in between bites. "I sure am happy to see you back up and running then. That is a nasty condition." Essex complimented the engineer. "Thank you for the kindness." He answered her while grabbing the next roll.
"May I ask what your bike is capable of?" The engineer asked Essex after he finished his last roll. "Sure thing. It's a custom Gamaha R1 with a four cylinder engine with 200 horsepower. Officially the bike can go shy of 178 miles per hour. I managed 185 miles per hour on her." Essex explained proudly. "At least on my bike I am able to not just match Enterprise but be better." She added with a satisfied smile. "You can bring all that power of the engine to bear?" The engineer asked, astonished. "That is amazing." He complimented her. "May I have a look at your bike?" The engineer asked. "Yea! Let's go. I do love having a chat with others about biking. Except for Enterprise and Bache there are no others that are into bikes around here." Essex agreed with enthusiasm before the engineer and she both scooted out of the booth and went outside, leaving Prinz Eugen behind.
The Ironblood cruiser sighed, shrugged her shoulders and followed the two outside into the parking lot.