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During the next few days nothing special happened, Gunzo, his crew and their ex-Fog friends were running the base and tried to decide where they should start the search after Hiei.
During this time Bismarck barely did anything, mostly she just spent her time on the beach watching the ocean with sorrow in her eyes.
Sometimes when Shizuka and Iori passed behind her, Shizuka used to ask quietly: "What is wrong with her?"
But they didn't get an answer, Bismarck barely spoke with them and even when she did she talked only with Gunzo about the strategy.
He tried to learn a couple of times why she was searching for the Fog's student council president and how did they even met but none of his tries brought any success.
One night, after one of these talks Bismarck returned again to her ship. She turned on the lights in that certain room from where you could get into that nice cabin. It was like a saloon. The whole floor was covered with deep red, soft carpet. In the middle there was a smoking table and a sofa and two armchairs around it, all covered with black leather. The walls were gold colored.
Along the walls stood a wide, wooden bar cabinet, a bookshelf filled with various types of books and a modern CD player. From the ceiling hung an ornate chandelier. Close to the hind wall there was a dining table with carved chairs.
Bismarck walked to one of the leathered armchairs, sat down, crossed her legs and closed her eyes. She brushed up her memories.
Flashback, Two years earlier
Bismarck and her sister Tirpitz were sailing grey, foggy waters of the North Sea. The rest of the Fog Kriegsmarine was away around the costs of the Netherlands and Norway.
Tirpitz was holding into her radar antenna. She had light brown hair in a ponytail and was wearing a dark blue coat, black trousers and black boots.
Bismarck was still self-confident; however she still would have been calmer if a few of them were with there too. The area between Hamburg, the island of Helgoland and Wilhelmshaven was a bit risky as the naval bases of the Deutsche Marine were both in well protected bays (or in Hamburg's case a hundred kilometers away from the sea in the mouth of the Elbe).
Furthermore they didn't know how many of that new vibration warhead the Germans had.
"Bismarck, enemy ships to the east!" Tirpitz said looking at her sensors. "Five of them. They are moving northward following the coastline."
"Then let's visit them Tirpitz." Bismarck said while sitting on the edge of her bridge.
"You think they are a worthy target?"
"We shall wipe away those who leave the land that is our duty little sister."
"Denn? Nach Backbord?" (Then? Turn to port?)"
"Nach Backbord." replied Bismarck.
Onboard frigate Lütjens
"It is a thankless role to be a decoy." Captain Ernst Jürgen, the commander of the squadron's thought as he was standing on the bridge of his ship.
A few hours earlier the radars detected two large Fog warships closing to the german coast and they were meant to lure them into the firing range of the vibration warheads. The attack had to be accurate, Germany didn't have too much of these weapons at the time. To reach this goal the human ships had to divert the enemy's attention or even sacrifice themselves.
The crews have already murmured some prayers. Death didn't attract them but unlike earlier times they knew now that if they have to sacrifice themselves it wouldn't be in vain. With the sinking of two Fog battleships many many lives will be saved.
"Haben Sie mich gerufen Kapitän?" (Did you call me Captain?) A voice behind Jürgen said. The captain turned back. It was a young tall man in his early twenties with dark blond hair and blue eyes.
"Yes Wenzel." The boy was Heinrich Wenzel a young sailor from the crew of the armor. "I have a job for you, but it's not certain that you'll have to do it."
"What would it be Sir?"
"We have a small, compact seized version of the vibration warhead."
"Excuse me Sir?"
"You've heard it right Wenzel. Are you ready to undertake a mission that could cost your life?"
"If I can bring a Fog ship with me I wouldn't mind if I have to face death."
"Our comrades on the shore can surely take out one of those battleships, the surprise factor is ours. However the other one can make us trouble if it survives. It she is about to destroy us all, I want you to jump into the water, swim to that damn bastard, climb on her deck, place that small warhead on her and disappear before it explodes."
It was a bit of shock for Heinrich at first. It took him a minute or two to process all this information.
"Understood Sir." He finally said. "I'll do it."
"Great. Then prepare yourself son. The object is already waiting at one of the exits from the superstructure. You shall be there during the battle, you will be signaled if it's necessary to go."
"Verstanden!"
"You may leave." Said Jürgen and he turned back to the windows.
An hour later the squadron was around the middle of Schleswig-Holstein's coastline when the watch detected the enemy on the horizon and the sirens screamed.
Bismarck's POV
"Nothing special as I see." Bismarck mentioned in a bored tone. "Then let's get to work."
"Look!" Tirpitz pointed at the Germans. "They are turning toward us."
"Hmm? That's unusual indeed. Wonder what they are thinking."
The five frigates charged at full speed and when they got into firing range they fired their main guns at Bismarck and Tirpitz. Unsurprisingly all of them bounced off from their Klein Field.
The reply came instantly, Bismarck fired, the laser went through one of the ships and it has blown up with everyone on its board. The other four frigates continued the attack.
By the time the ships of the german navy get close to the Fog ships only two of them remained, the Lütjens and the Brandenburg.
"I think it's time." Jürgen stated and sent out a signal with the radio.
"I've expected more from them. That's just too boring." said Tirpitz. "Then let's finish it." She was ready to deliver the fatal shot.
"TIRPITZ!" Bismarck suddenly shouted.
"What?" And in that exact moment a rocket hit the younger Bismarck-sister. Shockwaves shook the air and within a few seconds the whole body of Tirpitz exploded. Bismarck only heard a short scream.
She stared. It is not true right? A second ago her little sister was sailing near her and now just a burning, broken, sinking hull was in her place without any sign of a living mental model.
"Tirpitz." she whispered. Thoughts rushed into her mind and everything else in the world went mute. Her sister, the only one she could really get along or converse was no more. Wait. Why is she even thinking about it? She was only a weapon no more. But no. No, not just a weapon! She was her one and only sister.
What is it? Feelings? But feelings are unnecessary. She was always thinking like this, but now… At first she was sad. Sadder she could ever imagine. Then she felt something else. Anger. Anger for those damn humans who killed Tirpitz.
"Come here you little scumbags! I'll finish each one of you!" she eventually yelled. First she shot out the next vibration warhead meant to sink her then she turned her attention to the humans' two ships.
"Signal Wenzel! Go!" Jürgen ordered. Heinrich took the compact warhead, climbed over the railing and jumped into the sea. Just a blink of glance after that the frigate Lütjens has been broken into two by a huge sheaf of grey laser.
"Holy…" he thought as he looked back. Actually he would have preferred to die on that ship like his comrades, like those who he spent so much time with. He had remorse for being still alive. But then he remembered that if he succeeds he can end that battleship that is responsible for this. This thought gave him power again and started to swim toward the Fog vessel. Hope she won't notice him in this whole mess of burning wrecks.
After a few minutes he arrived to the side of the Bismarck. His fear was repressed by the adrenalin. He found a small ladder around the middle of the ship. He climbed it until he got to the deck.
Though it was his first time on a Fog ship, he didn't care about anything according to the vessel. He placed the warhead on the deck and armed it. He only needed to click the button of the timer when he felt an extremely strong hit on the back of his head and he fell on the ground. He turned around and lied on his back. A mental model was standing over him with anger in her glowing blue eyes and though she didn't need to breath she was sighing heavily.
They stared at each other for a pretty long time without saying a word. Slowly Heinrich got back his face even he was laying at his enemy's feet.
"What are you doing here?" Bismarck asked angrily.
"I came here to sink you." Heinrich said as they were chatting friendly over a glass of wine.
Bismarck squatted down to him and grabbed him by the neck.
"Wasn't my sister enough for you? Did she have any chance?"
"And what about my parents in Bremerhaven?" Heinrich asked. "Did your buddies give them chance?"
"What?"
"My mother and father died half a year ago when two of your comrades bombarded my hometown. I think it was Scharnhorst and Blücher. And I couldn't do anything for them, I was stationed in Hamburg. That's the story of my loss, so I wouldn't have regret if I'd manage to destroy you. Do to me anything you want, my conscience is clear."
Bismarck was watching him and processing Heinrich's words. So he can more or less understand her grief. Interesting, she never thought earlier that she and a human can feel the same thing.
He was a simple human and humans were meant to be destroyed by her, but when she thought about the pain in her chest and that he has the same in his heart she couldn't help but sympathize with him.
She slowly removed her hand from his neck. She looked at him first then to the south. With the sinking of Heinrich's squadron of ships the way to Hamburg became clear, she could easily sail there and finish off the remaining warships and some parts of Germany's second largest city but surprisingly she hesitated. She sighed and turned to Heinrich again.
"Listen to me boy. I have an offer for you. I won't touch your precious cities or ships with even a finger if you stay on my deck for an indefinite period of time."
"For what?" Heinrich asked surprised. He wasn't expecting this.
"You'll have to bear my company, that's my punishment for you. Furthermore, I became quiet curious about how a human being works. "
"So you aren't planning to kill me?"
"No. At least not yet. Now I'm going to drop you at Cuxhaven. You may get from there what you need, food clothes etc. Unfortunately humans have needs like these."
"And how do you know that I won't run away?" Heinrich asked while he was now on his elbows.
"You won't because if you don't return I'll burst the city into flames." Bismarck stated.
"You are not joking, are you?"
"No, not really."
"Well. Alright Fräulein Bismarck. I'll stay here with you if I can save lives with that." Heinrich said sitting up fully.
"Interesting." said Bismarck with a little grin. "How generous you humans can be sometimes."
"There are a few examples indeed."
Around evening Bismarck anchored down at a sandy coast near Cuxhaven. She managed to find a place where she could remain undetected. She tried to contact the fleet a couple of times but it looked like that the vibration warhead that killed Tirpitz damaged he communication with the others. She was all alone.
"Be here in maximum three hours." She said to Heinrich as he was about to be lowered down with one of the boats. "If you won't be here… you know."
"Yes, yes I know." Heinrich said annoyed. "I'll be here do not jitter."
After he stepped ashore he walked into the lit city of Cuxhaven and he started to search for different shops. Somehow a few Euro banknotes remained in his pockets. First he bought a large sports bag to have something he can place his stuff in. Next he got some jeans, t-shirts, shirts, pullovers, shoes and a jacket. After this he went to a grocery store and bought himself bread, eggs, salami and other things.
When he had everything he needed he went back to the dark seashore and sailed back with the boat to Bismarck.
"Aren't you TOO precise when it comes to time?" Bismarck asked leaning on the railing. "You were super close to being late."
"Maybe it's the german blood." replied Heinrich. "Not too early, not too late."
"Can we go Herr Wenzel?"
"If it was depending on me… Yes, we can go."
The Fog battleship turned away from the coast and headed to the open sea. Bismarck led Heinrich down on a stair to the inside of her ship.
"What do you need in your cabin?" the model asked.
"Not so much. A bed, a table, a chair and some little necessities."
"OK." Bismarck said then she closed her eyes. Suddenly a door appeared on the wall as the nanomaterials changed.
"You can go in." Bismarck said when the progress ended. Heinrich opened the door and he found a puritan yet comfortable cabin, with a bed, a small nightstand, a desk, a cupboard and two lamps in it.
"This would be ok." said Heinrich while placing his bag on the bed.
"I thought too." Bismarck said with crossed arms. "Anything else?"
"Well. If there would be a guitar or an organ here it would be even better."
"Guitar? Organ? What are those?" Bismarck asked confused.
"They are musical instruments. And I've always loved to play them. In fact I like music in general."
A screen appeared before Bismarck as she searched for information.
"The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that usually has six strings. It is typically played with both hands by strumming or plucking the strings with either a guitar pick or the fingers/fingernails of one hand, while simultaneously fretting with the fingers of the other hand. The sound of the vibrating strings is projected either acoustically, by means of the hollow chamber of the guitar, or through an electrical amplifier and a speaker.
The organ is a keyboard instrument of one or more pipe divisions or other means for producing tones, each played with its own keyboard, played either with the hands on a keyboard or with the feet using pedals."
"And why are they good?" she asked.
"Because music is… music is… I don't think I can tell. You must feel it."
"Feel what?"
"Listen to something once. Gute Nacht!" said Heinrich and he closed the door behind him.
Bismarck made a few steps away. She kept thinking. Organ, organ.
Her curiosity became stronger and she made the nanomaterials again to change form. She made a room near Heinrich's cabin and at the wall a perfect church organ took form. Wooden frame, white keys and silver pipes.
She walked to the instrument and pushed one of the keys. The organ made a high soul shaking voice. It even made Bismarck to recoil a bit.
"Oh. Oh, wow." she whispered. The cabin door opened.
"What was that… What the hell?" asked Heinrich pointing at the organ. "When did you do this?"
"Now. You made me curious." Bismarck replied.
"And you can't play it can you?" he asked leaning to the jamb.
"Well… No." she said looking away.
Heinrich didn't say a thing just went to the organ and sat on the little chair before it. He placed his hands on the keys and was thinking for a few seconds.
"That would be okay." he thought and started to play the Carmina Burana.
Bismarck stood and listened as the deep and high voices melted into a perfect harmony of a chilling piece. It crushed into her soul; the sound of the organ was not describable with any human words she knew. By the time Heinrich stopped playing she was nearly in trans.
Heinrich stopped and looked her. She wasn't looking at him, or anything else it looked like, even if her eyes were focusing at the organ. Silence lapsed between them.
"More." she said in a far softer way she did before. "Bitte." she asked with an almost kind voice.
"Well. I don't mind." Heinrich said. He actually enjoyed playing some music after all he went through during the past half day. He turned back and performed Beethoven's Für Elise. Bismarck liked it even more. Is she allowed to feel things like this? She wasn't sure, but she couldn't help either.
Again, Heinrich finished the masterpiece of the german composer and looked at her again.
"You may go to sleep." Bismarck said then she turned away and left the scene.
"Well lady?" Heinrich thought. "Maybe you have a weak point?" Then he stood up and returned to his cabin. He leaned down on the bed and placed a hand over his face.
"That's just great." He said quietly then he fell asleep.
Meanwhile Bismarck was standing up on her compass platform grabbing the railing the wind blowing her long, blond hair. Why did she feel sympathy for this boy? Was this an error in her system? She run a quick check through her various systems but everything was right. Or maybe…
"Is it possible for me to feel sympathy? Especially for a human?" she asked herself as she sailed on under the dark skies and the glowing moon.