Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread II
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
OMG, this is (in a perverse way) funny as all Hell! These 3 jokers... who do they belong to, the BII, BND, some other acronym-laden "good guys" group? Being told Kiki is a "revolutionary" & "the enemy" is really over-the-top. Whose bright idea was it to, even as a training exercise, designate Kiki a "revolutionary"? Whoever they belong to isn't going to be very happy at the results of their "surveillance." Andreas catching a round in the shoulder was pure bad luck and happenstance - the odds for Kiki hitting someone when firing wildly "thataway" are probably less than hitting a hole-in-one from the Earth to the Moon on the 5th Friday of February.
But Kiki shouldn't be too upset at her performance. Sure, she could have done other than unloading 8 rounds downrange at an unknown target (charcoaled her face & slip over the far side of the barge, then a recon of the area - coming up behind these jokers and seriously [aheming] them up), but until one is put in her situation one cannot even begin to guess at one's own response to her stimuli. Her subconscious mind likely picked up on the fact that she was being surveilled, and on a conscious level doesn't even grok that there were actually people 'out there' keeping a hostile eye on her. Even if she doesn't stay in the military, she'll have to cultivate that "6th sense" because as a Royal, there will always be someone out there who thinks the world will be better without that Royal. So a "6th sense" for trouble is a good thing to have and build upon.
Yes, Kat (whom Kiki will undoubtedly go to when the first opportunity occurs) will likely "tisk" Kiki for the wild shooting at ???? But when word gets to Kat (and you can bet your bottom dollar that she will) that there was someone actually tailing Kiki and that 'that' someone got shot, Kat's going to come unglued on whomever is responsible, within or without the German government. Time for some karambit "playtime" methinks.
*Off topic - am not trying to sell anything, and if this paragraph shouldn't be here I'll delete it, but to see a really awesome take on the modern karambit, check out the "Caswell Morphing Karambit." It's a (folding?)(retracting?) tool that can be opened with a push of your thumb and without moving your fingers from the blade pathway. Check it out, is really cool; an awesome piece of engineering & design.
I believe you have that backwards. They were told that what amounts to stalking the daughter of the Emperor is a revolutionary act. IE, if they get caught, they are in big trouble, and they can expect to be disavowed. They aren't belonging to any good guy group, but rather subversive elements, maybe even communists, who would love a bit of revenge on the German Empire.
Yes, she should. You do not empty magazines in the general direction of a noise you heard. Particularly in public areas. It could just as easily been civilians that she winged or heck, one of her own embedded security detail.
We went through a conversation about how bullet wounds can easily be fatal. Plus shoulder wounds are quite dangerous. The guy needs to be in a hospital ASAP.
Right. As the description was that his shoulder is a wreck, I assume that means it actually connected with bone. Outside of the danger of bleeding out in the short term, he could easily lose the arm, depending on the hit.
Yet time and time again people don't recognise her. It is hard to match the publicised images of Princess Kristina with the quiet, unassuming woman that is in front of them.
Part 96, Chapter 1513
Chapter One Thousand Five Hundred Thirteen
2nd October 1962
Wedding, Berlin
“You screwed up on multiple levels” Mithras said coldly as Alexis tried to explain what had happened. “If you had played it right, we have been able to nail one of them to the wall and leave the rest exposed.”
The night before had been a mess. They had spent a considerable amount of time with a Doctor who would treat Andreas without reporting it to the Police like would happen in the Hospital. The Doctor had said that the torn muscle and blood was to be expected. He also unbelievably said that Andreas was lucky, whoever had shot him used military round that had gone right through him without expanding.
Mithras had been particularly pissed over that last part. If the bullet had been lodged in there, then it could be traced back to a gun owned by one of the Hohenzollern Family. Instead, it was lost in the woods along some random stretch of the Elbe. He had spent months developing the source that had told him of the girl’s movements and the odds were high that it would be completely burnt by their latest stupidity.
“If you had told us who she was” Alexis said, getting a withering look.
“I would have thought that you would have seen a damned tabloid magazine in your life” Mithras observed much to Alexis’ embarrassment. Alexis might have said that the Mithras didn’t look like any Roman God he had ever seen either as a comeback, but he realized that would not make things any better.
“The parasites are not going to remove themselves, so we need to be smarter than they are” Mithras said, “Now get out of my sight.”
Mitte, Berlin
Kiki had made it back to Berlin in the early morning hours after pressing on through the night. The Meta was currently moored on the pier behind the War Museum, General von Lettow-Vorbeck had invited her to use it whenever she wanted, having breakfast with the elderly General was all he asked for in return. He actually seemed to enjoy listening to what Kiki had been up to, even if it was just taking a boat up the Elbe and back. When she had told him about the incident where she had shot into the forest, he had not judged her. He just asked if her if the feeling of being watched had gone away? When Kiki had admitted that it had, he had told her that she had exorcised that particular demon and that she ought to find a different way to do that next time. One that was less likely to get her arrested.
Kiki had noticed during the meal that the General had seemed tired. Not tired like having missed a night of sleep, but tired as if the weight of years were catching up to him. The War Museum had been a labor of love of his, its establishment and expansion being the second act of his life. It had become the repository for the institutional memory of the German Military, originally with the intention of going back to the Napoleonic Era. These days it seemed to reach further into the past with the Thirty Years War, the Holy Roman Empire and Medieval Period drawing an increasing amount of interest. There was also the role that the museum played in the present. That was why the General had told Kiki that she had been approved to have a banner that would hang in one of the exhibition halls. It was her choice if she wanted it in the Hall for the Heer or the Medical service.
One of the quirks was that by tradition, the recipient of the banner seldom designed it themselves. Instead the design was done by specialists based upon the public perception and reputation of the individual in question. For Kiki seeing the banner in question had been a shock to her system. White, with her family’s crest on one corner, two stripes of purpure and vert cut diagonally across it. It documented her career with representations of the Medical Service badge, the Pour-le-Mérite, Grand Cross of the Order of Louise and other awards she had received. It looked like one belonging to someone who’d had an entire career as opposed to Kiki who was just starting out. Everyone is looking forward to seeing the additions that she would make to in the coming years, was what General von Lettow-Vorbeck had said when Kiki had brought it up with him.
Kiki was thinking about that as she had fallen asleep later that morning. Hera, her constant guardian on the bed beside her.
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He was an old charmer, Nora Berg had to give the elderly General that much. He had called Berg himself and she was left wondering how he had known to call. Hearing that Kiki had taken to shooting at shadows was not good news. That she knew it was a problem did mitigate that somewhat.
Stepping onto the boat that Kiki had been living on for the last few weeks. Berg saw that an oddly colored cat was watching her from a window. For lack of anything better to do, Berg knocked on the door. Or was it a hatch? A minute later, it swung open and Kiki looked out. She looked like she had been woken up.
“I am terribly sorry” Berg said, “I didn’t know you were sleeping.”
“Don’t worry about it” Kiki mumbled as she stepped away.
Berg stepped into the cabin, inside was a small common area that included an old sofa and a galley kitchen. It all seemed clean, which was a good sign. Looking at Kiki’s appearance, Berg was less optimistic. Her hair looked tangled, not long enough to braid, that was how Kiki had described it the last time that they had talked. It needed to be brushed out. Her clothes were wrinkled, she had clearly been sleeping in them.
“I’ve tea in here somewhere” Kiki said as she was looking through the cabinets.
2nd October 1962
Wedding, Berlin
“You screwed up on multiple levels” Mithras said coldly as Alexis tried to explain what had happened. “If you had played it right, we have been able to nail one of them to the wall and leave the rest exposed.”
The night before had been a mess. They had spent a considerable amount of time with a Doctor who would treat Andreas without reporting it to the Police like would happen in the Hospital. The Doctor had said that the torn muscle and blood was to be expected. He also unbelievably said that Andreas was lucky, whoever had shot him used military round that had gone right through him without expanding.
Mithras had been particularly pissed over that last part. If the bullet had been lodged in there, then it could be traced back to a gun owned by one of the Hohenzollern Family. Instead, it was lost in the woods along some random stretch of the Elbe. He had spent months developing the source that had told him of the girl’s movements and the odds were high that it would be completely burnt by their latest stupidity.
“If you had told us who she was” Alexis said, getting a withering look.
“I would have thought that you would have seen a damned tabloid magazine in your life” Mithras observed much to Alexis’ embarrassment. Alexis might have said that the Mithras didn’t look like any Roman God he had ever seen either as a comeback, but he realized that would not make things any better.
“The parasites are not going to remove themselves, so we need to be smarter than they are” Mithras said, “Now get out of my sight.”
Mitte, Berlin
Kiki had made it back to Berlin in the early morning hours after pressing on through the night. The Meta was currently moored on the pier behind the War Museum, General von Lettow-Vorbeck had invited her to use it whenever she wanted, having breakfast with the elderly General was all he asked for in return. He actually seemed to enjoy listening to what Kiki had been up to, even if it was just taking a boat up the Elbe and back. When she had told him about the incident where she had shot into the forest, he had not judged her. He just asked if her if the feeling of being watched had gone away? When Kiki had admitted that it had, he had told her that she had exorcised that particular demon and that she ought to find a different way to do that next time. One that was less likely to get her arrested.
Kiki had noticed during the meal that the General had seemed tired. Not tired like having missed a night of sleep, but tired as if the weight of years were catching up to him. The War Museum had been a labor of love of his, its establishment and expansion being the second act of his life. It had become the repository for the institutional memory of the German Military, originally with the intention of going back to the Napoleonic Era. These days it seemed to reach further into the past with the Thirty Years War, the Holy Roman Empire and Medieval Period drawing an increasing amount of interest. There was also the role that the museum played in the present. That was why the General had told Kiki that she had been approved to have a banner that would hang in one of the exhibition halls. It was her choice if she wanted it in the Hall for the Heer or the Medical service.
One of the quirks was that by tradition, the recipient of the banner seldom designed it themselves. Instead the design was done by specialists based upon the public perception and reputation of the individual in question. For Kiki seeing the banner in question had been a shock to her system. White, with her family’s crest on one corner, two stripes of purpure and vert cut diagonally across it. It documented her career with representations of the Medical Service badge, the Pour-le-Mérite, Grand Cross of the Order of Louise and other awards she had received. It looked like one belonging to someone who’d had an entire career as opposed to Kiki who was just starting out. Everyone is looking forward to seeing the additions that she would make to in the coming years, was what General von Lettow-Vorbeck had said when Kiki had brought it up with him.
Kiki was thinking about that as she had fallen asleep later that morning. Hera, her constant guardian on the bed beside her.
----------------------------------------------------------------
He was an old charmer, Nora Berg had to give the elderly General that much. He had called Berg himself and she was left wondering how he had known to call. Hearing that Kiki had taken to shooting at shadows was not good news. That she knew it was a problem did mitigate that somewhat.
Stepping onto the boat that Kiki had been living on for the last few weeks. Berg saw that an oddly colored cat was watching her from a window. For lack of anything better to do, Berg knocked on the door. Or was it a hatch? A minute later, it swung open and Kiki looked out. She looked like she had been woken up.
“I am terribly sorry” Berg said, “I didn’t know you were sleeping.”
“Don’t worry about it” Kiki mumbled as she stepped away.
Berg stepped into the cabin, inside was a small common area that included an old sofa and a galley kitchen. It all seemed clean, which was a good sign. Looking at Kiki’s appearance, Berg was less optimistic. Her hair looked tangled, not long enough to braid, that was how Kiki had described it the last time that they had talked. It needed to be brushed out. Her clothes were wrinkled, she had clearly been sleeping in them.
“I’ve tea in here somewhere” Kiki said as she was looking through the cabinets.
And?
Charlie Chaplin once lost a look a like contest by like 5 guys. There's tons fo stories of famous people literally going incognito because nobody expected to see them.
If Kiki is on the water as much as the SKA/1st Foot/KSK want in on this, they would need to have some specialists in small boats and barges which means going to the Navy. Not the Hellcats but the actual Navy itself to find the folks to work the boats on the water. You might be looking at a combination of UDT/ Special forces boat units providing the people to run the boats themselves with SKA or 1st foot on board.
The catalyst for the Jacobians is probably the Korean Conflict where there was discussions about reinstating conscription, the fact that the crisis is over does not matter to them.
The roots can be traced from when conscription was ended and Germany went with a voluntary professional military and who knew that this would lead to a disconnect between the German population and the shared common experience, I ask especially you Sir Omega, who knew?
Because of all of the "Princess on a Budget" stories about Princess Kristina and the subsequent publicity about her time in Korea and getting awarded the PLM has made her the symbol of their discontent with the "System" and she is probably their first target in their campaign to show the world that a "New Germany" is. about to emerge.
The roots can be traced from when conscription was ended and Germany went with a voluntary professional military and who knew that this would lead to a disconnect between the German population and the shared common experience, I ask especially you Sir Omega, who knew?
Because of all of the "Princess on a Budget" stories about Princess Kristina and the subsequent publicity about her time in Korea and getting awarded the PLM has made her the symbol of their discontent with the "System" and she is probably their first target in their campaign to show the world that a "New Germany" is. about to emerge.
Any similarity in names is, to my knowledge anyway, coincidental.
The BII wouldn't have needed boats. Most shipable channels and rivers in germany have extensive foot and bike paths alongside, back from before motorisation when barges where pulled upriver by drafthorses.
Part 96, Chapter 1514
Chapter One Thousand Five Hundred Fourteen
5th October 1962
Pusan, Korea
Once again Tilo had missed the birth of one of his children. He had been so caught up in the events that had consumed Korea over the summer he had missed that as well as the first few months of her life. Nancy had worked right up until a few days before Gretchen Eun-Ji Schultz had been born, the middle name being given to her at the suggestion of her god parents, the Emperor and Empress of Korea. Then Nancy had gotten back to work a few days afterwards. As tough a fight as Tilo might have had, Nancy was the one who had really fought a battle. She had somehow convinced the nations of the Western Pacific to put aside considerable historical animosity and began the process of negotiating a series of mutual defense and economic treaties along the lines of what had already been done in Europe. Again, and again it had been asked. Who exactly was Nancy working for? The truth was that it had been not just for herself. What more could she possibly have done for Tilo? If he had to guess, dealing with Sabastian and Anna had been good practice for how to handle world leaders who were not as well behaved.
With Tilo back, Nancy had declared that she was taking a break from everything. The children included in that and she said it was an excellent chance for Tilo to spend time with their youngest daughter. Holding Gretchen who was sleeping in his arms, Tilo marveled as always about delicate she was. Sabastian and Anna had been the same way when they had been this age. Like any other of the Schultz children they started out this way then it seemed like something always went wrong. They eventually went from needing to be protected to being something else entirely. If they were very fortunate, Anna and Gretchen would be like their mother, it was already a bit late for Sabastian. Tilo’s hope was that he would turn out like Karl and not a complete lunatic like Jost. With that Gretchen woke up and started fussing and Tilo passed her to Park Seo-Hyeon, one of the nannies who Nancy had hired to mind the children. Nancy said that Frau Park was a godsend because she had proven patient enough and had the sort of iron resolve to get Sabastian to mind occasionally. Apparently, she had grown children of her own and been widowed somewhere along the line. Tilo’s children were a bit of an adventure for her.
“She knows who her father is” Seo-Hyeon said delightedly, “But she is what she is and there are only a few things that concern her.”
Tilo chuckled as he watched Seo-Hyeon get a bottle for Gretchen. It was a reminder of what his mother once said about how babies eat, sleep and soil diapers. Then they get older and start grabbing things…
Mitte, Berlin
Eating a light meal on the deck of Kiki’s boat was pleasant enough as they watched the sunset even if it was a cool evening. From this angle, the War Museum looked like an old castle and Kiki had listened to Ben as he made up a fantasy story on the spot about it that grew increasingly silly. As Ben helped with the cleanup, they were talking about the horrific date that he had gone on earlier that week. The friend of Wim’s girlfriend had been about as vacuous as Ben had expected her to be. Kiki had found it all so funny. She had guessed correctly about Ben going on that date to make his mother happy and actually seemed to take far more of an issue with that than the date itself. “You shouldn’t live your life to please others” was how Kiki had put it. Ben hadn’t said anything, but he really did feel that she should follow her own advice in that regard. Whenever the topic of their relationship came up, Kiki just said that they were impossible. Whatever that meant.
The evening took a more serious turn when the conversation turned towards Korea. Ben had been aware that his experience was very different from Kiki’s and that he had only gotten a little taste of it when his plane had gotten shot down. The stories that Kiki told were harrowing. Of helicopters having to be hosed out and left to dry after a run because the floor had gotten too slick to stand on. Or seeing men in her care die despite her best efforts often just minutes from Surgeons who might have saved them. Eventually, Kiki had gotten tired and told Ben that he could go or stay, just she needed to sleep.
The arrangement for that turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. The cabin that Kiki slept in was aft of the pilot house in the stern and she pointed to the small cabin to the front of the saloon that contained four bunk beds that he was welcome to. “I’ve done enough of the sort of things that already have Berg all over me this week” Kiki said, “I’m not going to add to it.” Ben was left wondering what that meant.
Late that night, when Ben was woken up by a light being on in the saloon. As the boat rocked in the wake of a ship passing on the river, Ben thought he heard Kiki weeping.
5th October 1962
Pusan, Korea
Once again Tilo had missed the birth of one of his children. He had been so caught up in the events that had consumed Korea over the summer he had missed that as well as the first few months of her life. Nancy had worked right up until a few days before Gretchen Eun-Ji Schultz had been born, the middle name being given to her at the suggestion of her god parents, the Emperor and Empress of Korea. Then Nancy had gotten back to work a few days afterwards. As tough a fight as Tilo might have had, Nancy was the one who had really fought a battle. She had somehow convinced the nations of the Western Pacific to put aside considerable historical animosity and began the process of negotiating a series of mutual defense and economic treaties along the lines of what had already been done in Europe. Again, and again it had been asked. Who exactly was Nancy working for? The truth was that it had been not just for herself. What more could she possibly have done for Tilo? If he had to guess, dealing with Sabastian and Anna had been good practice for how to handle world leaders who were not as well behaved.
With Tilo back, Nancy had declared that she was taking a break from everything. The children included in that and she said it was an excellent chance for Tilo to spend time with their youngest daughter. Holding Gretchen who was sleeping in his arms, Tilo marveled as always about delicate she was. Sabastian and Anna had been the same way when they had been this age. Like any other of the Schultz children they started out this way then it seemed like something always went wrong. They eventually went from needing to be protected to being something else entirely. If they were very fortunate, Anna and Gretchen would be like their mother, it was already a bit late for Sabastian. Tilo’s hope was that he would turn out like Karl and not a complete lunatic like Jost. With that Gretchen woke up and started fussing and Tilo passed her to Park Seo-Hyeon, one of the nannies who Nancy had hired to mind the children. Nancy said that Frau Park was a godsend because she had proven patient enough and had the sort of iron resolve to get Sabastian to mind occasionally. Apparently, she had grown children of her own and been widowed somewhere along the line. Tilo’s children were a bit of an adventure for her.
“She knows who her father is” Seo-Hyeon said delightedly, “But she is what she is and there are only a few things that concern her.”
Tilo chuckled as he watched Seo-Hyeon get a bottle for Gretchen. It was a reminder of what his mother once said about how babies eat, sleep and soil diapers. Then they get older and start grabbing things…
Mitte, Berlin
Eating a light meal on the deck of Kiki’s boat was pleasant enough as they watched the sunset even if it was a cool evening. From this angle, the War Museum looked like an old castle and Kiki had listened to Ben as he made up a fantasy story on the spot about it that grew increasingly silly. As Ben helped with the cleanup, they were talking about the horrific date that he had gone on earlier that week. The friend of Wim’s girlfriend had been about as vacuous as Ben had expected her to be. Kiki had found it all so funny. She had guessed correctly about Ben going on that date to make his mother happy and actually seemed to take far more of an issue with that than the date itself. “You shouldn’t live your life to please others” was how Kiki had put it. Ben hadn’t said anything, but he really did feel that she should follow her own advice in that regard. Whenever the topic of their relationship came up, Kiki just said that they were impossible. Whatever that meant.
The evening took a more serious turn when the conversation turned towards Korea. Ben had been aware that his experience was very different from Kiki’s and that he had only gotten a little taste of it when his plane had gotten shot down. The stories that Kiki told were harrowing. Of helicopters having to be hosed out and left to dry after a run because the floor had gotten too slick to stand on. Or seeing men in her care die despite her best efforts often just minutes from Surgeons who might have saved them. Eventually, Kiki had gotten tired and told Ben that he could go or stay, just she needed to sleep.
The arrangement for that turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. The cabin that Kiki slept in was aft of the pilot house in the stern and she pointed to the small cabin to the front of the saloon that contained four bunk beds that he was welcome to. “I’ve done enough of the sort of things that already have Berg all over me this week” Kiki said, “I’m not going to add to it.” Ben was left wondering what that meant.
Late that night, when Ben was woken up by a light being on in the saloon. As the boat rocked in the wake of a ship passing on the river, Ben thought he heard Kiki weeping.
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There are occasions where doing something like that is worth it to keep the peace. Besides, you may enjoy it despite your misgivings. Thankfully, I never had to go on any dates like that. I wasn't dating in college, and when I graduated, I had a woman picked out. (Luckily, she knew it to). So, I only had a few tentative suggestions to deal with.
If you were curious about what a motor barge like the one depicted looks like.
