Chapter 31: Guided tour, part 5.
Hilda led her guests to the observation deck, from where they could observe the so-called Neu Berlin in all its vastness.
"It reminds me of Graf Zeppelin ..." Maho said, looking at the view.
Meanwhile, Saori had put her hand to one of the fixed binoculars mounted near the railing.
"They are very powerful, I can clearly see the people and vehicles crossing the streets!" She exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Be careful, they are not toys!" Himmler called her abruptly.
"How many stories, I was just watching ..."
"How many people live on board?" Marie asked.
"About ... 100,000, if we count the students, their families and various staff."
"So many."
"Of course."
At that moment the door opened and Petain appeared, carrying Akira on a leash.
"Ah ... You are here, mein führer!" She said.
"And who would that be? She has a French military uniform. " Erika asked.
"I introduce you to Petain, a soldier in our foreign legion. She is its commander, more precisely. Petain, I present our guests, the captains of the main Japanese sensha-do teams: Miho Nishizumi for Ooarai, Maho for Kuromorimine, Katyusha for Pravda, Kay for Saunders, Darjeeling for St. Gloriana and Marie for BC Freedom."
Obviously both Anchovy and Nishi did not like being totally ignored by Hilda, getting nervous.
"What about the other two?"
"Anchovy and Nishi, respectively commanders of Anzio and Chi-ha-tan, two very scarce schools."
Arrogant bitch!
The interested gurls thought, increasingly furious.
"Ah understood. Are they visiting the ship?"
"Obvious."
"I am truly honored to meet so many big commanders, especially you, Marie." Petain said, shaking her hand.
"Really?"
"Of course. BC Freedom, together with absent Maginot, promotes the culture of my homeland in Japan, which I am proud of. "
"Glad to hear it ... But is this your dog?"
"That's right, it's called Akira."
"French Bulldog, right?"
"Exact."
Marie smiled, then knelt down and stroked the little dog.
"Really adorable!" She said cheerfully.
"Now come on, I'll show you the control room."
Hilda led her guests to a room that housed a series of computers, monitors and other equipment, on which sailor girls dressed.
"Our crew is entirely made up of boating students. They are active 24 hours a day, to manage the various aspects of the ship, such as calculating the route or detecting obstacles. "
"So they never rest?" Maho asked.
"Only at night, when their colleagues come to change them. And they never leave, except to go to the canteen for breakfast, lunch and dinner."
"Are they prepared?"
"They are the best girls of our school, I can guarantee you. Also because entrusting the control of such a ship to beginners would be suicide."
"True…"
One of the students, who was looking out of a window, turned to the group, waving goodbye to Hilda, who returned.
She went downstairs via a flight of stairs that led to a corridor.
"What are they?" Miho asked, pointing to a wooden panel attached to a wall, which contained emblems they had never seen.
"The emblems of the schools we defeated." Hilda replied.
"It's a lot ..."
"Exact. Every school that has had the misfortune of having to challenge us has grossed a sound defeat ... We are practically unbeaten." She stated, with a hint of pride.
"Unlike other teams ..." Himmler added, taking a mocking glance at Maho and Erika.
"But nearby you can see the crew cabins. This is where they spend their time when I'm not at work or in the canteen."
Saying this, Hilda pointed to a series of doors that faced both sides of the corridor.
"Can we visit them?" Saori asked.
"No, that would be a violation of privacy."
The coppery-haired girl appeared a little disappointed by that answer.
"This is the engineering department. We don't just deal with propulsion but with all the electrical equipment on board."
Miho and the others looked around: the rather large room housed a series of consoles, large computers and various machinery, on which some crew members fumbled.
"This is where they manage electricity, right?"
"Exactly, Anzu."
"By the way, how do you move such a big ship? It will consume a disproportionate amount of fuel." Nishi asked, earning a glance of sufficiency from Hilda.
"Flugzeugträger B is a nuclear powered ship. This guarantees us unlimited energy. The reactors are housed in the bowels of the ship, but for safety reasons only authorized personnel can access them."
"Ah understood…"
After a short journey Miho and the others found themselves in a kind of large greenhouse, which housed vast lots of land where different types of vegetables were grown. Some girls who wore straw hats and aprons were busy picking vegetables or moving wheelbarrows loaded with them.
"In this greenhouse we grow different types of vegetables for our food needs. It makes us self-sufficient in some points of view."
"Why only some?" Alice asked.
"Because we import other types of food from the continent ... Ice cream, pizzas, chips etc. I can't offer my students only vegetables, they would rebel. "
"Quite right…"
"Mein führer!" A girl with short black hair and brown eyes exclaimed.
"Darre ... I see that you and your girls are hardworking as always."
"You can say it well. We started right after lunch. "
"I am proud to have such devoted workers at my service, as well as trusted friends ... Our school is also supported by the work you do here, an important and profitable job."
Saying this, Hilda placed a hand on the shoulder of her interlocutor, who blushed conspicuously.
"And we are proud to be at your command!" She said, flattered.
She is very popular with her companions ...
Kay noted.
Hilda turned to her and, noticing her expression, said:
"A true commander must be loving towards her companions, treating them as members of her family, as if they were his own sisters or cousins. Of course, a bit of severity must never be missing, because excessive permissiveness is as carcinogenic as senseless cruelty."
"True…"
"Now come on, there are other rooms that I want to show you."
The next room housed a series of large circular metal tanks, where various species of fish swam.
"Would it be a fish farm?" Miho asked.
"Exact. They serve us as nourishment." Hilda explained.
"What kind of fish are there?"
"Carp, trout, anchovies and other species."
"Who takes care of them?"
"Our students, of course."
Marie yawned, then observed two girls catching fish with a net, probably to be used as a dinner in the crew's canteen.
After passing a steel door with the words:
DRINKING WATER ADMINISTRATION
They found themselves in a large room that housed a series of square pools filled with crystal clear water.
"These are our drinking water reserves, vital for long sea voyages like this. Every time we arrive in a port, we fill up these tanks."
"Interesting, but now how do we go on? This is a dead end." Murakami stated, noting that that room had no exits.
"We'll have to go around..." Hilda replied.
"Go... Go around?" Saori asked.
"Exact."
Cheerfulness… My feet tremble with joy.
The radio operator thought, depressed.
