The Bismarck Survivor

Prolouge - An eye for an eye

Total word count: 3872 words.

Petty officer Karl Eyssen of the Kriegsmarine gripped the cold guard rails on the edge of the deck of the KMS Bismarck, the breeze from the rushing wind and small particles of icy water slapping at his face like small little bites from insects. He shivered a few times as his uniform didn't give nearly enough heat insulation to keep himself remotely comfortably warm. Every so often he would have to let his hands off the rails to let them warm up a bit as he fears frostbite- though it was unlikely, it wasn't that cold.

Ah, just the way he liked it. He took out a cigarette from a small pack he had kept secret in his uniform as smoking was banned for the Navy and put it in his mouth. From the same breast-pocket he took the pack out of he also took out a Zippo lighter, flicking it open with a quick movement of his wrist and lighting it after a few tries.

"I need to get a new flint roll for this lighter." He said under his shaky cold breath, setting the small flame onto the end of the cigarette and taking a long drag. A satisfying warmth filled his mouth, throat, all the way down to his chest and Karl exhaled the white smoke with a smile on his face.

"Ah." He nodded to himself silently as he went for another drag, the end of the cigarette slowly shrivelling and burning up as he did so.

A few audible steps began to approach his backside. Knowing damn well who it was he quickly turned around and bit down on his cigarette, covering his calves. The man behind him was crouched down, a hand up and ready to slap what Karl had been protecting.

"You can't get me- stop trying." Karl said with a confident tone in his voice. "Two-to-Zero lead, Eichmann. Get over it- heh."

The man- Eichmann- sighed in defeat and stood as he dusted off his uniform, taking off his officer cap. "Damn you- this fucking deck is too loud."

Eichmann leaned over to look behind Karl, taking a small step forward. "What is out there anyway? Why're you always out here- at this time of day- smoking in this exact spot."

Karl shrugged and took another hit of his cigarette, placing his hand on the butt of it to take it out as he exhaled.

"Not sure. I just like it here, on the deck. This specific place just resonates with me. Plus, the high command takes their lunch break right about now so-" Karl pointed upwards to the superstructure, specifially the windows of the main commanding room. "-no prying eyes while I smoke."

"My eye is prying." Eichmann noted, walking up next to Karl and placing his hands on the rails. He shivered a few times as the breeze began to pick up.

"Damn! Its cold." Eichmann retracted his hands and relocated them to hug himself in an attempt to insulate the heat. "The jackets they give us are useless."

Karl looked over to him and reached his hand out with the cigarette between his fingers, offering it to him to warm him up. Eichmann rejected, citing the fact he wasn't a smoker and didn't plan on becoming one.

Suddenly, in the midst ahead of them the bow of another massive ship came slowly into view. The two men leaned over the railing of their own battleship to get a better view- despite the fact it probably wouldn't help with the distance between the two.

They knew the ship that emerged slowly from the midsts well. The two had served on the ship for almost 3 years before being transfered to the Bismarck. The famed Hipper-class heavy cruiser KMS Prinz Eugen. Probably the most powerful ship in the German fleet behind the Bismarck and Tirpitz, it was made to be as powerful as a battleship and as small and nimble of a cruiser. Due to the severe restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles limiting the tonnage, size, and gun calibers of German ships among other things the Kriegsmarine invested a lot into smaller cruiser and destroyer ships. They were banned from making anything like battleships.