The adventures of Prinz Eugen and the young engineer Volume 1.

No. 5 Chapter 7

It was the first time she had been given a vacation. She had taken up the Konteradmirals' offer of staying in the young engineer's house. Her sister visited her whenever she had the time to do so and had turned the desolate wintergarden into the envy of many gardeners. "You sure have a green thumb." Prinz Eugen commented while she watched Hipper cut old leaves and old flower heads off the plants. "I do. Look at those roses and orchids." Hipper agreed with her little sister. "How are you doing today?" Hipper asked her little sister. Prinz Eugen took some time to think about that answer. She was surprised what a calming effect the gardening had on her oldest sister. Hipper was a lot calmer whenever she visited and took care of the flowers. "I am alright." She answered after she had made up her mind. "Good to hear that." Her sister commented while checking on a purple and white orchid. "The new ships arrived yesterday." Hipper informed her sister while throwing the cut leaves and flowerheads into a trash can. "You won't believe it. Weser and Mainz are joining us. We are supposed to make up a heavy advanced element to form the second middle chain of Flotte zwei. We will have the destroyer flotillas three and four ahead of us. They are led by Nürnberg and Leipzig and we are supposed to be the second line and heavy support if they encounter enemies they need help with. The core around which our fleet is formed will be the two ugly sisters. They are held in reserve or will sortie out with us if they are needed." Hipper explained the changes in structure the two would face soon. "Imagine that. A full fleet made out of 10 destroyers, two light cruisers and almost all of us sisters in combination with the Scharnhorst sisters. Such a powerful fleet and we are only the second one. The first is made up of destroyer flotilla one and two in support of the light cruiser squadron one made up by the Königsberg trio, followed by the first cuirasse ship squadron consisting of Deutschalnd and her sisters and in the core of the fleet will be Bismarck, her sister and our newest addition, Graf Zeppelin." Hipper elaborated on the new structure of the Ironblood navy. "Not to mention the smaller squadrons, detachments, independent destroyer flotillas and our submarines." She ended. Prinz Eugen nodded. "I was also told by Vizeadmiral Mahler that we can no longer wait for your engineer. You need to accept a new one to fill your position." Hipper directed the issue now towards her sister. Prinz Eugen nodded again, but did not answer. "Eugen! You had other engineers before. Get over it and pull yourself together. Yes he was your friend but that does not mean that you can neglect your duties. Mahler has been lenient with you and has given you time off. For three months you have been off duty now. By now it is time to face your duties again and be ready for deployment." Hipper said in a tone that made clear that she was starting to get frustrated with Prinz Eugens attitude. Prinz Eugen nodded again. "You are right. Now that the restructuring of our force is happening I am needed again and can no longer just wait." Prinz Eugen agreed. "Good to see you are understanding that." Hipper said with a slight sigh. "Will you return with me to the base later?" She asked her little sister. "I will. It is going to be interesting to meet our sisters." Prinz Eugen agreed while placing her phone in her pocket.

A while later the two cruisers made their way back to the naval base. Entering through the main gate they saw feverish activity. The base had the energy of an anthill. Everyone was out and about helping to store new equipment in the storage buildings and dock bunkers. "Seems like everybody is quite busy." Prinz Eugen commented on what they saw. Before Hipper could answer her, the two were approached by a young researcher. "Hello Miss Hipper and Miss Eugen. It is a pleasure to see you two again. I was asked by the commander to show you around and introduce you, Miss Eugen, to your new comrades in arms." He greeted them. "Hello Schulz." Hipper greeted the researcher. Prinz Eugen meanwhile shook the outstretched hand of the man. "Please follow me." He asked them before starting to walk towards the cruiser docks. The two followed the energetic man. Inside they passed their two docks, No.1 and No.2 and entered the third, which was previously occupied by Graf Spee. Inside they met a young woman dressed in a white naval uniform. She cared for a riggin that looked similar to that of Prinz Eugen and Hipper but with 15cm armaments. The whitehaired girl turned towards the entrance to see who entered. Seeing her sisters she quickly walked over to them. "Hello Admiral Hipper. Good to see you again." She greeted her oldest sister. "And you are Prinz Eugen. It is nice to finally meet my youngest older sister as well." She said while offering her gloved hand. Prinz Eugen embraced her to the surprise of the cruiser. "It is nice to meet you as well and it is good to see that you are coming more after us younger ones." She greeted her back and teased her younger sister immediately by referring to her shape. Mainz's face turned shades of red by the sudden surprise of the hug as well as the comment about her appearance. Releasing Mainz Prinz Eugen addressed her further. "I am looking forward to seeing you in action and to spend time with you." She finished her introduction. Trying to contain her blush, Mainz nodded. Before they could continue their conversation, another woman entered cruiser dock three. "Hello Mainz, how is your rigging doing?" Asked a red haired woman. The three cruisers turned their attention to the newcomer. The red haired woman looked at them as well with a slight hint of surprise. "Hello. It is nice to meet you. I am the light carrier Weser. It is a pleasure to meet you." She quickly introduced herself.