The last adventures with Prinz Eugen. Volume 3.

Story No. 10 Purpose and Path Chapter 1

Eugen was watching the bandage covered body in the hospital bed. After the first couple of surgeries her friend, the engineer, had been placed in a room to rest and recover to be prepared for further surgery. The doctors had not dared to give her an estimation on what would come of their efforts.

She felt horrible. The last time they had spoken was when he had left the table after her ploy with the Northern Parliament ships. It made her feel sick that their last parting was like that. If she did not know better she would have ripped that ship in halve for her twisted plan. But now she was here and all she could do was hope he would get better under the treatment of the doctors.
"What are you doing here?" Theodor asked, visibly irritated as he entered the room energetically but almost silent. "Keeping my friend company." Prinz Eugen answered right away in a calm manner hiding her surprise to see the engineer's brother appear seemingly out of thin air. "Don't you think it is enough that he is once more half dead because of one of your lot?" He accused her. "Can't you even leave him alone when he is in pieces?" He asked her further while becoming more upset. "It was not me that caused him to be in this state." Prinz Eugen calmly stated, trying not to yell back at the man. "Sure, it was someone else, it was still a ship and because of the damned navy though." The engineer's brother countered bitterly. "Even before you were human-like, all you knew how to do was to take and consume the lives of others and how to kill. That was your design and purpose and that it still is." He accused the ship. "And you lot continue just the way you always had. Even now when his brains are leaking out of his skull you still claim him as yours. Just like the navy always does. As long as he is still alive and has any potential use you and the others will demand him for your purposes." Theodor spat out. "Just let him go. Even when he recovers he will be a cripple. Perhaps his mind will survive the trauma but who knows in what sort of broken shell he will be captured in." He continued saddened.
"What do you mean?" Prinz Eugen asked the man in front of her who by now seemed to be close to tears. "If you even have any humanity in you, let him go and leave him alone forever. The doctors said they can't estimate to what degree he will recover. If he makes it, please leave him alone so that he can perhaps have a settled life." He pleaded with her before abruptly turning away, seemingly wiping his eyes while leaving the room he had entered just barely a minute before.
Prinz Eugen was unable to make anything of their interaction. She knew the engineer's brother from previous interaction when they first met. But the fact that he marched in here, accused her for the condition his brother was in and wanted to make her give up his friend and to let apparently others decide over her friend's life made no sense to her.
It made no sense to her, especially the fact that the engineer's brother was apparently starting to cry when he rushed out of the room. She was not sure what was wrong with him. He seemed to care for his brother a lot and still seemed to hate him for his way of life. She turned back to see the bandaged and stitched face and torso of her friend resting in the hospital bed of the hospital of Hamburg.

After they found the broken body of the engineer the hospital in Kiel had stabilized his condition but they lacked the means to effectively treat the engineer and therefore had sent him to the hospital in Hamburg which was next to that of the Charité in Berlin the best hospital Ironblood had. The fracture of the engineer's skull was set back in place, his ruptured liver had been fixed in an operation as well as his broken left rib. The damage to his broken and dislocated shoulder was more serious and the doctors were not sure if all the damaged nerves would ever properly heal again. So far no apparent damage to the brain was detected by the doctors outside a strong concussion. All they could do now was to wait for the engineer to recover and hopefully wake up. Further surgery would be needed to fix all the damage he had, the cruiser recalled the briefing one of the assisting nurses had given her.