The last adventures with Prinz Eugen. Volume 3.

No. 11 Chapter 4

Tristan only woke up after he heard another set of repeated knocks on the door to his shared dorm rooms. Standing up groggy, he wondered what was going on when he put on a pair of trousers and slung over his uniform dress shirt to cover her his free shoulders and arms. Looking at the clock at the wall of the main room he groaned when he saw it was four in the morning. About ready to tear whoever had woken him a new one if they had not a very good reason, he opened the door after closing some of the buttons on his shirt. The black figure in front of this door drained and swallowed what little moonlight was shining into the hallway into the black abyss that was their silhouette. His heartbeats were quickened and his emotions supplemented by a feel of dread as the figure came a step closer. But the captain was just a bit surprised rather than scared. He only knew two beings who could have such a presence and he was friends with both of them. He nodded to greet the dark figure and stepped aside to let her into his dorm just as Eugen came and entered the main room from her resting place as well. "Good morning." Friedrich der Große greeted the captain. "I hope you could rest at least for a bit before I interrupted you. I am sorry to disturb your slumber and to tear you from the land of your dreams." She smiled a friendly smile as she sat down in one of the upholstered chairs, flipping one leg over her other. "Ahh. I see Prinz Eugen is here as well. That makes things easier." She added upon seeing the cruiser. "Again, I am sorry to interrupt you two's privacy. But urgent orders have arrived. Apparently after their stealing of our knowledge the Royal Navy managed to awaken their own ships based on previous not awakened hulls and blueprints like our allies in Sakura." She informed the two. "Bismarck and the naval high command want to know more and want to send an expert on the matter to investigate." She added while looking into the eyes of the captain. "I volunteered you." The battleship announced.

"Why would you send him? He is a known face to the Royal Navy." Eugen interjected. "Exactly. But all they know is that he retired after they almost killed him. My intention is to send you to the Royal Island under the disguise of being a discharged and disillusioned former engineer who is looking to find a way to continue his work. I am quite sure that they will in turn hire you first and later on send you to work for them under supervision. After you have gathered enough intel on their progress you will be extracted given the right time and opportunity." The battleship outlined the basics of her plan. Both the captain and the cruiser looked at her. "You are joking right?" The captain asked Friedrich. "Not at all. It is the best opportunity we have to get a specialist to gather intel on the Royal Navies effort. Other than that I suppose having the chance to see what they managed to copy and learn from our efforts should be of interest not just to us but especially to you." Friedrich der Große added. "Imagine, we send you over there with intel they already have but your skills. They would be fools not to use you to further their work. Otherwise we will have to send Herr Wiedling, Herr Mahler or Herr Schmitt instead. Although I doubt any of them would have any comparable chance of being as successful as your efforts could be" She smiled. "And given your track record you should make friends and allies in no time there." She ended her argument with her lips forming her sinister yet polite smile that promised she knew more than she let on and that she knew even now what was to come as she observed the glare in the former engineer's eyes break as he began to consider her words.

Eugen looked over at her friend when she realized he did not counter the arguments of Friedrich right away. She could not believe it. Is her friend really considering jumping into the lion's den? Had all the reasons left his mind? Why would he even consider going to the people that tried to kill him? These questions ran through her mind as her facade held up and she casually turned to look at her friend. "I would suggest you take a bit of time to think about what you are asked to do." She mediated a break in the conversation. "That is a good idea indeed. Get your thoughts sorted and mind cleared up before you go into action. When you are ready you two please meet me in my office to get you two set up." Friedrich der Große agreed and openly stated what Eugen feared, before standing up from her seat and bowing a slight but polite goodbye.

The two watched the battleship leave just minutes after she had entered their place in the middle of the night. "Are you brain damaged?" Eugen asked her friend right away with more emotion in her voice than she had wanted to let slip. "Because I am considering her orders?" He asked her in return, in a calm manner. "Yes, only because neither side wants to open fire first we are not at open war once more with them. And you want to go there and be at their mercy?" She asked him again. "As much as it is a risk and gamble I actually would like to see what the Royal Navy is up to. Especially after they got more of our research." He admitted. "I wonder what they managed to do with it and what they have awoken." Tristan added. "Also there is still Hood's offer I could use to get into their good graces. I will have to take some of my books or copies of them with me but Friedrich has a good point to be honest." The former engineer reasoned and tried to find an excuse. Eugen pinched the arch of her nose. "You are serious." She confirmed to herself. "You know that this is insane? After all the things that happened you choose to put yourself in danger." She voiced her concerns and what she could not understand about her friend's decision. Tristan sat down in the chair Friedrich had sat in just moments before. "To be honest I don't know a better answer. Her telling us she would send Wiedling or Fritz has put me in between a rock and a hard place. It is not a direct threat but I can't let my friends get in danger because of the things I messed up and was supposed to do." He admitted and tried to explain. "I don't want them to be in danger." He added once again. "She is manipulating you with that, you know that right?" Eugen countered. "Not to mention that you have your fair share of bad experiences with Shipgirls, not to mention your issues with interacting with them." Eugen pointed out a flaw in her friend. Feeling like she had punched him and herself in the face as she used her knowledge of his fears in this argument against him. "After all that happened I am not scared of interactions with Shipgirls in most cases. I used to have issues even handing things to you and others, not to mention being in direct contact with you or others." He admitted and explained his prior issues. "But things have begun to change. Especially thanks to you and the others." He tried to explain once again next to justifying his own thoughts and considerations to himself. "When we met again that night I was sure I was going to die when you woke me up. But somehow you being there and the trust I had in you made my fear of your power and the other Shipgirls vanish." He explained. "That night you confirmed that you and others can be just as kind and caring as you can be strong. That was in part what made me reconsider and take up Friedrichs offer to join her." He added. "Your kindness and trust, the fact that I learned during my stay in Iris that I could still be useful through my skills and that no one is inherently a bad person. And you and the others that cared so much as to come and pick me up and find opportunities to help me, made me realize that this is where I should be. As another good friend said, it was an opportunity you, Friedrich and the others opened up through your caring and compassion that I had to take. That's why I rejoined as Friedrichs right hand man and why I will follow her orders. Thanks to her, the others and you I am here in the base and I have found in part a new purpose. Not to serve in the navy again but to be there for the people I consider to be my friends." He admitted.

For what he thought was the first time, he had made his best friend, the witty and skilled Prinz Eugen speechless. "I have not lost my fear for the power and potential harm that can happen to me but it is an occupational danger at this point. It's worth being exposed to it for doing what I think is right and to be around and with my friends. You all risk getting torn apart and killed every time you go out on the sea to fight the Sirens or meet other navies that are not on good terms with us to protect us all. What I experienced is in comparison minor issues." He added another argument that was comparatively weak after the one he had brought before. "And doing as Friedrich wants is a sign showing her that her trust and investment in me was not a mistake. Not to mention the potential rewards that could be gained." Tristan smiled and tried to assure his best friend.

Eugen was surprised by her friend. Not only had he apparently had a truly entire change of heart about his fears and trauma, but he had changed more in his outlook than she could have imagined. The fact that her former engineer was enticed by the idea of playing the games he had been involuntarily involved in made her uneasy but also in a weird manner excited. A man like him could play others well to his advantage. A friendly, polite and yet cunning person like him could and did gain friends everywhere while having the opportunity to get everything he could desire from them. Friedrich was right in that regard. Of the people with the knowledge required, he was the one with the best skills and potential for success.
She smiled after assuring herself. "I can see where you are coming from." She admitted, despite feeling bad about the plans. "I am sure that trip of yours can be a fun adventure, but I will make sure the right precautions are met to ensure that." She added with her mischievous smile as she made the decision to ensure that nothing that was within her power would go wrong .