10th May 1941.
There are a few more Schiffsmädchen at the shipyard, created months or years before Bismarck, there to relax from sorties.
"Parzival, what kind of ship are you? You seem to be even smaller than the Zestörers." Bismarck asks the small girl.
"Oh, I am a U-Boat! A submarine! My real name is U-556! I can sneak up on my enemies and sink them before they even knew I was there!" She excitedly and proudly explains.
"That's very impressive. It seems like the edge we need against the Royal Navy's superior surface power." Bismarck reasons.
"Ja, but now you're a part of the fleet, that won't be a problem now, right? You'll save the Surface Fleet, Lord Bismarck!" U-556 grabs the Battleship's free hand.
Bismarck rests her flag against the wall and pats Parzival's head, "Ja. That's why I'm here, but against an overwhelming force like the Royal Navy, I can't do it by myself. I will need the support of my schwester and two other Battleships to really make a difference."
Parzival asks, "Is that who the other ship is? Your schwester? Is she awake too?"
Bismarck looks at the other ship, slightly bigger than her own, but still the same class, "Ja, but she's not awake yet. I fear she may never awaken, but I'm not giving up until she does. Although she can't respond to me, I feel like… she can hear me when I stand on her ship and try to speak to her."
"So you comfort her? That's a very caring and noble task, Lord Bismarck! I wish I could be as good as you are…" U-556 looks down. She feels her head get petted again.
"Don't you worry, Parzival. You already have a much bigger heart than I ever will." Bismarck encourages her.
As they explore the Kansen-only section more, Bismarck sees two girls cowering behind a corner. She goes to investigate and hears a scream. She and her submarine companion rush around to see someone on the floor unconscious and her sister panicking. Bismarck demands, "What happened!?"
The one still awake frantically says, "L… Leipzig collapsed when she saw you! P… Please help me lift her, L…Lord B…B…Bismarck!"
Bismarck and U-556 lift her, but Leipzig wakes up. "Nürnberg… you worry too much about me…" she says, then sees Bismarck holding her, goes wide-eyed, and passes out again. They help Nürnberg carry her to their dorm room. She thanks them for their help and Bismarck carries on with her little tour guide.
On the way out of the dorms, Bismarck bumps into another woman who is as tall as she is. After Bismarck apologises, the Carrier glares at her and hisses, "So… you finally woke up, Lord Bismarck?"
Bismarck collects herself, "Ja. It's good to meet you. I've seen that you are our only Aircraft Carrier. What is your name? It was scribbled out on the board."
The abrasive woman grunts, "Can't you just ask the sub? What does it matter to you, anyway?"
Not being one to back down, Bismarck raises her voice a little, "Because I myself would feel insulted if someone else asked what my name is when they're standing right in front of me, so I'm asking you. Also, it matters to me that I know who my comrades are so that we can operate more effectively!"
Taken aback by the first Kansen to actually stand up to her, the Carrier cracks a faint smile and says, " I am Graf Zeppelin. Though this name is worth little, you may call me by it if you wish."
Bismarck suddenly becomes a little worried for her. "What do you mean? Are you alright?"
Zeppelin just waves her off, starts walking away and says, "Treasure the time you have to speak with us, Lord Bismarck, for that time is about to draw to an end."
Bismarck steps forward as Zeppelin turns around. She states, "The Iron Blood will be strong with me leading the Schiffsmädchen!"
Zeppelin stops and chuckles, "Heh… strength… if only that alone was enough to determine everything…" she walks into the dorm building.
Bismarck looks down at Parzival, "Is she always like that?"
The bubbly sub shrugs, "Ja…. It's kinda scary sometimes… but don't worry, Lord Bismarck! I won't let her or anyone else hurt you!"
Bismarck smiles, "I'm sure you won't. Where to now?"
U-556 takes her by the hand again and leads her to the Destroyer dorms. They are all decent enough to talk to in their own ways, but one of them specifically, the first Ironblood Schiffsmädchen to awaken, seems to stand out to Bismarck. She stands at attention and salutes her with perhaps a little too much effort, "Zestörer Number 23 of the Type 1936A, it's an honour to meet you, Lord Bismarck!"
Not being a fan of being heralded as a great leader despite being given sentience just that morning, Bismarck looks at her in the most non-hostile way she can manage and says, "Z23, I appreciate your respect for authority, but I must ask you to not call me "Lord." I have not yet earned that title. I have yet to prove myself. The same goes for you as well, Parzival."
Both Z23 and U-556 look down, thinking they've disappointed her, the sub about to cry. Bismarck rolls her eyes, "…but if you prefer to, then you may…" that seems to cheer them up.
Later on, U-556 introduces her Lord to her fellow U-Boats. They are all very respectful, though a little strange in their own ways. She can't speak to them for long though as she sees they're holding a small service for U-110, who had just been sunk earlier this very day.
Bismarck finally asks the question she's been thinking about for a while, "Parzival, where is your ship?"
Her tiny bodyguard suddenly becomes very excited and says, "It's over here! Come on, I'll show you!" She practically drags her leader to her ship and gives her the grand tour of the inside, and Bismarck finds the differences between a Battleship and a Submarine fascinating. After the tour is complete, U-556 asks, "Now can we play?"
"Sure. What do you want to play?" Bismarck humours her.
"Do you like chess?"
"Chess?"
U-556 gets excited, "I can teach you! Wait here!"
After quite a day, Bismarck and U-556 parted ways for the night. On the way back to her new dorm, she feels a presence following her. She spins around and says, "Who goes there? Parzival, is that you?" But nobody is there. Bismarck just chalks it up to her exhaustion after being pulled along all day and learning all the intricacies of chess.
The girl who had hid around the corner to avoid detection says to herself, "Bloody hell, that was close. Her radar must be some new highly sensitive type…"
Bismarck walks into her room to sleep for the first time. She savours the pleasant relaxation, as she predicts that she won't get to enjoy a good night's sleep once she goes on whatever first mission is planned for her.
4 days later, In the port of Gotenhafen, Bismarck and her comrades all stand in a line ready for inspection with Bismarck herself at the end. A Großer Mercedes 770 arrived at the other end of the line, flanked in front and behind by half-tracks and panzers, probably explaining why it took them so long to arrive. The rear passenger door was opened by the driver, and out stepped the founder of the National Socialist German Worker's Party, Adolf Hitler, as well as two other men. He walked up the line, looking approvingly at all of them like some kind of god admiring his creations. The way he looked at the smaller shipgirls made Bismarck a little uneasy, and his very presence almost made Leipzig faint again.
Eventually, he got to Bismarck. He looked her up and down, then a big smile appeared under his ridiculous moustache. Bismarck looks at the other two taller men. One was the Inspekteur der Marine, Vice-Admiral Jan Christian Kaack and the other was Kapitän Ernst Lindemann.
Hitler stares at her with curiosity and admiration in his eyes. It makes her very uncomfortable at first. "What? Is there something on my face?" She asks, trying not to say anything that would offend him. Luckily, that made him laugh, for some reason.
"You see, gentlemen?" Hitler boasts to the other two men, "I told you that pure Aryan features like this are the peak of humanity. The beautiful blonde hair, the piercing blue eyes and the formal black uniform that radiates authority! Truly, Frau Bismarck is the pride of Iron Blood! The Royal Navy are correct to be fearful of our new creation!" The Battleship feels a slight blush, wondering what he was talking about. "Our new Schlachtschiff is a perfect, shining example of the Aryan Master Race I have dreamed of. Tall, commanding and beautiful, and can defend herself well, it seems."
Her blush grew. She manages to say, "Aryan… Master Race…?" Of course, she and her comrades have no idea what he does to the people he doesn't approve of. Her blush vanishes when he continues, however.
"She will make a great commerce-raider. I'm sure that Raeder will put her to good use." He says, as if Bismarck isn't stood right in front of him, feeling insulted. The other girls look at her after they heard him say that.
Bismarck instinctively steps forward to square up to him. She slams her flagpole into the ground, cracking the concrete, and yells, "A commerce-raider!? Am I not your new grand Schlachtschiff!? Send me to fight our enemies, not pick off merchant convoys!"
Hitler doesn't take too kindly to that. He stares her in the eyes and shouts, "YOU WILL OBEY OR YOU WILL BE FORCED TO CHOOSE ONE OF YOUR COMRADES TO BE SCRAPPED, BISMARCK!" Given his position, she knows that is a very real threat. The other girls look at him with looks of horror.
She backs down, shocked that he could do that to them at any time he wanted. He goes on to say in a more subdued voice, "Bismarck, you are a powerful ship, but you have not yet had any experience in combat, and the Royal Navy has a much more powerful presence in the Atlantic than we do. They have declared war on us and already sunk a few of our warships. Cruisers Admiral Graf Spee and Blücher are dead. If they find you, they will send their entire fleet after you. You will remind hidden among the sea fog of the North Atlantic and sink supply convoys on the way to aid the Royal Navy, and starve them into submission. Is that understood?" He gives her a stern look.
Defeated, Bismarck nods, knowing that any argument would probably result in someone's death. "Jawohl…"
He says in a mocking tone, "Jawohl… what?"
She looks him in the eye again, does the salute she had returned to Fritz earlier, and rephrases, "Jawohl, Mein Führer!"
He nods in approval, like he'd just out put a spoilt child in her place. "Much better. Don't slip up again." She puts her arm back down after he turns away towards the base facilities with Kaack. Lindemann, however, stays with her. The other girls dismiss themselves and go about their day. Eugen decides to not use this as more ammunition for her taunts, as her mind is now occupied of the thought of their lives being in danger if Bismarck disobeys or fails to carry out an order.
Lindemann looks at her and says, "Its not often someone stands up to that man like that. Even rarer that the one who does it gets to live afterwards. I am Kapitän Lindemann." He offers his hand. She takes it and gives him a firm handshake. He looks to her ship. "You may remember me from when I put your vessel through sea trials, Frau Bismarck. It is now my job to get you and your ship ready for your mission. If you would?" He signals for her to walk with him.