Jydsken-Østveg
Established Nation
Prologue
Akershus Festning, Fjalladrottning—Akershus Naval Base
0829 Fjalladrottning Standard Time
Akershus Festning, Fjalladrottning—Akershus Naval Base
0829 Fjalladrottning Standard Time
Having arrived just a day before, the weather was cold in Fjalladrottning compared to the slightly more southern Götköping where the Naval Academy was located. Götköping was perhaps the warmest city on the Tyskreich mainland and anyone with a sound mind knew that they'd have to get used to the cold climates and temperatures when they joined the Navy. Tyskreich operated mostly in the Northern Hemisphere and as far as anyone knew, the vast majority of their work would be in the northern part of that. Of course nobody knew exactly what was in store for this crew of forty-three. They were to be the faithful crew of the IPS Hansa. A new ship to the Republican Navy, although of the same class of four ships before her.
Hansa's new captain read the dossier carefully but found nothing too out of the ordinary. Forty-three names, of which only a few names were recognizable. Straight out the Naval Academy, her name was at the top, Korvettenkapitän Marie-Louise Reischer. At least thirty of the forty-three were wet behind the ears. This was comforting yet difficult at the same time. Nobody had their own accustomed habits for work. These men and women would be forging their own path. This notion was part of an experiment for the Republican Navy though. To see if they could depend on their newly trained Academy graduates should the need ever occur. It was perhaps a trial by fire for the teachings of the Academy which was re-established in 1993 shortly after the foundation of the Republic.
She was to be the youngest officer in command of a ship and one of the first who actually managed to get her own ship straight out of academy. She had good marks, but even still she could not help but wonder if her cousin had something to do with this.
Marie-Louise browsed through the crew list for awhile longer. She wanted to waste as much time as possible. Her pocket watch read 0837. She returned to the file that told her the background of her new XO. He was someone she didn't know and he was the most senior officer on the boat, Kapitänleutnant Michael Hanschitz. His picture looked rugged but she could tell he was only there because someone with experience needed to be on this boat. The rest of the crew was relatively new and Hanschitz was the only man who has served aboard a ship like the Hansa before.
She looked about the room trying to visualize what he might look like standing in front of her. It didn't make her feel comfortable and she shook her head trying to rid herself of the thought. Wasting time was not only a boring task, but clearly something she wasn't good at. She wanted something to fiddle with or work on. Perhaps that was just the anxiety kicking in. She'd be on her new boat in less than fifteen minutes.
Marie-Louise folded the crew list and placed it in her briefcase. She left the waiting room she sat in and walked over to the coatroom where she picked up her rucksack. She couldn't forget her personal items, that would've been a disaster. Maintaining a professional feeling and atmosphere was paramount and keeping order for herself was just as important as keeping order of her crew. She moved quickly out the door and walked out into the misty morning fog. It was still chilly, but the sun barely poked through the dense Fjalladrottning morning fog. The sound of a ship horn in the distance perhaps the only thing reminding her that she was on a naval base with how difficult it was to see.
Accelerating her walking pace, she felt excited. To be the first one on the boat so she could give her crew a proper welcoming. Not to forget that she also needed to inspect the Hansa with Hanschitz before that would happen. She quickly walked towards dock K21 where she'd see the Hansa for the first time. If she could see its gray camouflaged body through the fog.
She checked her pocket watch again. It read 0851. Marie-Louise needed to be there by 0900, but with nothing else to do on base it could not hurt to be early. A few more steps and she was nearly there. It was then that she finally noticed her and Marie-Louise smiled. The Hansa floated before her like nothing she'd ever seen before. She'd clearly seen ships before, but this was nothing like the past. The IPS Hansa was to be her new home away from home and she couldn't wait to get off of this cold and dreary rock.
Hansa's new captain read the dossier carefully but found nothing too out of the ordinary. Forty-three names, of which only a few names were recognizable. Straight out the Naval Academy, her name was at the top, Korvettenkapitän Marie-Louise Reischer. At least thirty of the forty-three were wet behind the ears. This was comforting yet difficult at the same time. Nobody had their own accustomed habits for work. These men and women would be forging their own path. This notion was part of an experiment for the Republican Navy though. To see if they could depend on their newly trained Academy graduates should the need ever occur. It was perhaps a trial by fire for the teachings of the Academy which was re-established in 1993 shortly after the foundation of the Republic.
She was to be the youngest officer in command of a ship and one of the first who actually managed to get her own ship straight out of academy. She had good marks, but even still she could not help but wonder if her cousin had something to do with this.
Marie-Louise browsed through the crew list for awhile longer. She wanted to waste as much time as possible. Her pocket watch read 0837. She returned to the file that told her the background of her new XO. He was someone she didn't know and he was the most senior officer on the boat, Kapitänleutnant Michael Hanschitz. His picture looked rugged but she could tell he was only there because someone with experience needed to be on this boat. The rest of the crew was relatively new and Hanschitz was the only man who has served aboard a ship like the Hansa before.
She looked about the room trying to visualize what he might look like standing in front of her. It didn't make her feel comfortable and she shook her head trying to rid herself of the thought. Wasting time was not only a boring task, but clearly something she wasn't good at. She wanted something to fiddle with or work on. Perhaps that was just the anxiety kicking in. She'd be on her new boat in less than fifteen minutes.
Marie-Louise folded the crew list and placed it in her briefcase. She left the waiting room she sat in and walked over to the coatroom where she picked up her rucksack. She couldn't forget her personal items, that would've been a disaster. Maintaining a professional feeling and atmosphere was paramount and keeping order for herself was just as important as keeping order of her crew. She moved quickly out the door and walked out into the misty morning fog. It was still chilly, but the sun barely poked through the dense Fjalladrottning morning fog. The sound of a ship horn in the distance perhaps the only thing reminding her that she was on a naval base with how difficult it was to see.
Accelerating her walking pace, she felt excited. To be the first one on the boat so she could give her crew a proper welcoming. Not to forget that she also needed to inspect the Hansa with Hanschitz before that would happen. She quickly walked towards dock K21 where she'd see the Hansa for the first time. If she could see its gray camouflaged body through the fog.
She checked her pocket watch again. It read 0851. Marie-Louise needed to be there by 0900, but with nothing else to do on base it could not hurt to be early. A few more steps and she was nearly there. It was then that she finally noticed her and Marie-Louise smiled. The Hansa floated before her like nothing she'd ever seen before. She'd clearly seen ships before, but this was nothing like the past. The IPS Hansa was to be her new home away from home and she couldn't wait to get off of this cold and dreary rock.