Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III

Part 111, Chapter 1818
Chapter One Thousand Eight Hundred Eighteen



7th October 1967

Tempelhof

Everyone so rarely got together anymore because they all had busy lives. That was why it was special as they arrived at Kat’s house for a dinner party. As Anne observed as she entered the front doors, the house had taken on a comfortable, lived in feel. In addition to Kat’s family, Asia and her little boy still lived here along with Josefine and Suse Rosa. Asia remained the Mistress of Keys and still played the role as one who carried out the will of the Empress. Helene and her daughter had arrived earlier that day. Anne was a bit surprised to learn that Ina was going to university, studying Veterinary Medicine. It was a perfect fit, just Anne had always considered Helene’s daughter to be a bit too flighty for serious fields of study.

Gerta had been splitting her time between Berlin and Prague these days after overseeing the expansion of her production company to the capital of Bohemia. It had turned out that there was a demand for Czech language programing with high production values and Gerta had seen an opportunity. Presently, Gerta was talking at Kat the way she always had, and it was noticeable that Suse was staying as far away as she could from her mother without actually leaving the room.

Ilse’s husband was back at sea and it was fortunate that she was now the Head of the Environmental Sciences Department at the University of Breslau. Somehow, her son Nikolaus had gotten the idea in his mind of attending the Prussian Training Institute in Wahlstatt like his father and grandfather had before him. She and Helene found a great deal to dislike about that particular idea. The situation wasn’t helped by Niko’s best friend, Sabastian Schultz getting caught over the prior Summer Holiday after engaging in some rather creative vandalism. Tilo and Nancy had managed to keep him out of the Juvenile System, but it had been recommended that a boy with Sabastian’s clear intelligence, energy, and creativity be sent to where those could be channeled into less destructive ends. Wahlstatt had been at the top of the list.

It was nice to see that Kris was doing well. She was now the Headmistress of the secretive Falkensee School, where BND Field Agents were trained. Anne wasn’t supposed to know about that, just as she wasn’t supposed to know that Kat’s daughter Tatiana had approached Kris to talk about the requirements for entry. Kat would be absolutely livid if she ever learned that had happened, which was probably Tatiana’s intention. Leni was still the Director of the Berlin Library’s Rare Books Department. The annual grants that came from the Royal Houses of Germany into the Library System due to her presence insured that she could do what amounted to her dream job for as long as she was interested in keeping it. Over the last two decades Leni had cataloged and preserved some of the oldest and rarest manuscripts in the world. The top floor of the New Central Library Building had been designed to house the collection that she and her team had amassed.

Anne still maintained her boring routine. Seeing her children off to school in the morning. Then banging away at her typewriter for several hours before preparing a meal that she would eat with the children when they got home. Then helping them with their studies if they needed it. Eventually, Martin would come home. Later on, after the children were asleep Anne would open the latest volume of her diary and chronicle the day’s events.

While her friends were out in the world doing exciting things, Anne wrote about it. Her husband Martin’s novel had been a modest success, something that surprised him as much as anyone. While he still needed to go to the Accounting Firm every day, he could joke that it was his day job until he got his big break. Standing around the parlor and library, everyone was having an enjoyable time when Anne saw a pair of brown eyes and pale face peek around from the stairs leading up to the bedrooms. She had heard that Kat had taken in a new little bird who had gotten lost.

“Why aren’t you with the other children?” Anne asked as she approached the girl and joined her sitting on the stairs.

The girl didn’t speak, she just frowned and rested her chin on her knees.

“I’m Annelies” Anne said, “And you are.”

The girl looked at her, unsure how to respond.

“Sophie” The girl said at not much more than a whisper.

“Wonderful” Anne replied, “Lina is your age, why aren’t you playing with her?”

“Lina?” Sophie asked.

“Yes, my daughter” Anne replied. Something about that caused Sophie to withdraw into herself. Anne remembered that the girls that Kat took in didn’t come from the best of circumstances otherwise they would still be with their own families.

“I’m sorry” Anne said, “I didn’t mean to be so forward.”

“They’re strange” Sophie said, “Marie wants everyone to make-believe, and everyone has a different idea of what they are supposed to be.”

Anne understood Sophie’s reaction. The games that Kat’s youngest played in would be completely incomprehensible to anyone who hadn’t grown up understanding the rules.

“That is just the sort of thing that Marie does” Anne said only to see Sophie get a confused look on her face.

“She didn’t do that at the castle” Sophie said.

Anne didn’t laugh, the girl would probably take it the wrong way if she did. She had heard about where Marie had spent the Summer Holiday.

“Marie was living her fantasy at the castle” Anne said to Sophie’s wonderment.

“Found a new friend?” Kat asked as she rounded the corner.

Sophie cringed and tried to make herself smaller. Anne realized that she thought Kat was going to hit her.

“We were just visiting” Anne said as she put her hand on Sophie’s shoulder and felt her trembling and whispering. “No one here is going to hurt you Sophie” into the girl’s ear.

“I’m sorry Anne” Kat said, “Every time Sophie thinks she’s in trouble she does this.”

“There is no need to be sorry” Anne said, “Sophie just needs to learn that she now has a whole bunch of crazy sisters who will stand with her no matter what.”
 
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ferdi254

Banned
One has to keep in mind that beating children at that time was legal (around that time teachers were banned from beating their pupils) and was by and large seen as the right of the parents.
 
One has to keep in mind that beating children at that time was legal (around that time teachers were banned from beating their pupils) and was by and large seen as the right of the parents.
Yes and no. While as you said it was an excepted practice, at the same time there was a growing consensus and body of law against it starting from the early 60's OTL. An extreme case where violence is coupled with obvious neglect has always drawn a reaction.
 
It was nice to see that Kris was doing well. She was now the Headmistress of the secretive Falkensee School, where BND Field Agents were trained. Anne wasn’t supposed to know about that, just as she wasn’t supposed to know that Kat’s daughter Tatiana had approached Kris to talk about the requirements for entry. Kat would be absolutely livid if she ever learned that had happened, which was probably Tatiana’s intention.
Anne is doing what Anne does best; observing & analysing everyone in sight. Kris probably regrets that Anne has no inclination towards intelligence work. Unlike Tatiana, which might be partly spite & might be genuine interest; after all her mutti did all this exciting stuff. Either way, Helene will probably be (not so quietly) pleased when (if) she finds out herself considering that she partially blamed Kat for Manfred enlisting. And unless Kris is beginning to suffer from early onset dementia, she had better insist that Tatiana tell Kat that she is intending to join the BND AND that SHE approached THEM before she signs the paperwork. Because I'm fairly certain that no-one involved in the German intelligence community would want to run the risk of having an extremely pissed off Tigress teleporting into their office and asking just what the fuck they were thinking going anywhere near her children.

As for Anne's 'boring routine', I suspect that she'd be surprised if Leni told her that her own books could one day end up in a collection very much like those that Leni curates. Or if Gerta approached her with a proposal to turn one of her books into either a movie or TV series.

Both Suse Rosa and Tatiana seem intent on rebelling in their own ways against their mothers, but that's to be expected. I just hope Kat doesn't get too upset if Malcolm also joins either the BND or BII as an analyst or cryptographer; he does have a knack for mathematics after all and those agencies will compete with their fellows and civvy street for his talents.
 
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He’s talking about himself
Perhaps if you knew why I was drinking youd understand, 4 of the guys I've been in close contact with have had to go into self isolation because they were at bars that were linked to Corona outbreaks in my town, so how about you cut me some slack and give me a break....
I understand that now @Halocon . And my apologies @jammci for misreading you. Hope your mates come out of this OK. Have deleted my original post and again my apologies.
 
It is great to get a POV from Anne Frank as she is the most clear head observer of all the characters.
I once read in 1999 in one of those "End of the Century" articles that Anne Frank was the most important and most consequential diarist of the 20th Century and ITTL she is going to be that also if her diary is ever published.
Martin if he gets a strong lead character who is basically an "Everyman" that keeps getting caught in situations that are above his head, he can make a series of books about it and team up a very sexy woman who combines the deadliness of Kat and the playfulness of Gerta along side with a "sleazy" Scottish lawyer, just watch the money roll in.
Sebastian is proving to be a true Schultz much to the dismay of his parents and to other authority figures and having Nikolaus von Richthofen as his best friend means more trouble and adventure ahead.
I have always wonder why if Jo is such a beautiful young woman why hasn't Gerta try to get her to become an actress?
 
Part 111, Chapter 1819
Chapter One Thousand Eight Hundred Nineteen



13th October 1967

Jena

Friday falling on the 13th of a month was considered unlucky by some. Peter Holz had always considered that superstitious nonsense but the events of the last day might make him rethink that with so much happening at once and Peter had unexpectedly found himself with a house full of people to contend with on what he had expected to be a quiet Friday evening. He already had one guest, but then his mother and two of his nieces had shown up.

Ernesto Guevara had drifted back Jena as he tended to do whenever passed through Europe and he was a guest in Peter’s house. This time the Argentinian Doctor was coming from Siberia where he had plied his trade in the mining camps and boomtowns over the summer. Like always, Ernesto had a lot of stories to tell because even if a Doctor was always welcome that didn’t mean that a lot of astonishing things didn’t happen.

Peter had found himself contending with his mother’s health issues over the last few years. It wasn’t that she wasn’t in good health considering, it was due to her age that these things were to be expected having recently celebrated her ninetieth birthday. The result of that was she that had a catalog of problems that needed to be addressed.

Marcella Marie Holz nee Fuhrmann had been born in Erfurt in 1877, eventually marrying Hugo Holz, a Book Binder, in 1898 and she moved with him to Jena when he was offered an opportunity to ply his trade with the University. Her first child, Emil, had been born in 1900, followed by Peter three years later. Peter might use the term “Irish twins” used to describe himself and Elina, who had been born less than a year after him. Beate had been born two years later and her difficult birth had meant that she would be the last.

That had been how things had gone until Emil had run off and joined the Army when he was fifteen. Elina and Beate had been unsuccessful in love with their first marriages falling apart with Beate had moved to Australia shortly before the Soviet War to get a new start. Hugo had died in 1947, and she had been forced to move out of her house a decade later because her failing eyesight made it difficult to care for herself.

Presently, Peter’s mother was having a good-natured argument with her namesake granddaughter, the one who remained stubbornly unattached. In recent months there had been a fair amount of speculation about Zella’s love life in the gossip rags due to her career as a documentary film maker making her a minor celebrity. It seemed that there was a young man who had been linked romantically with Zella according to those rags, but she had denied it and Peter’s mother had asked her what the problem was. Zella had just shrugged and had not answered the question. Peter knew the truth, why Zella had not been interested in being in a relationship after what had happened to her when she was younger. He understood, but really thought that his niece needed to get on with her life.

Peter’s other niece, Beate’s daughter Theresa was visiting from Sydney and she just smiled just smiled and listened. Theresa was enjoying being free of her own commitments for a couple weeks having left them on the other side of the globe. The few times that Peter had met Theresa’s children he had found the way they had spoken incomprehensible and he had thought that he was fluent in English.



Trieste

Louis watched as the city faded in the distance before disappearing over the horizon. After more than a year in the Adriatic, SMS SK-12 Windhund was returning to Kiel for refit. When she put to sea again next spring, she would have a different Captain and it was likely that most of the crew would have been dispersed around the Fleet by then as well. It was with a bit of regret that Louis left, there had been no fanfare or celebration with their departure. This was because the entire crew was aware of what had happened and the role that they had played in it. He had been particularly disgusted by the Greeks. They had seen nothing wrong with the wholesale slaughter that had taken place and in Louis’ mind their “victory” had epitomized the old line about Roman Legions creating a desert and calling it peace. It had been a profound relief when he had received orders recalling him to Fleet Headquarters in Kiel and for the Windhund in for refit. He was expecting a posting on the Staff of the Grand Admiral at the Headquarters of the OKM. That meant that he had several boring months as the Grand Admiral’s dogsbody to look forward to.

Thinking back to the charts he had studied before they had departed, Louis knew that they were going back the way that they had come. Across Europe via the rivers and canals. It was an advantage that the Windhund had in being as small as she was, and it would make for a fast transit. He didn’t know what sort of reception they would receive in France. The French seemed to delight in being contrary, especially when a unit of the High Seas Fleet was involved.
 
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We are getting closer to the 50th Anniversary of the the end ITTL WW I and that means that the leaders of the countries that fought the war are going have to gather together at the Armistice signing site and pledge to work together for world peace and of course the there will be commentary about how the conflict started in the Balkans and still 50 years later nothing has changed.
 
So, you're saying that an Aussie wouldn't deliberately play up the differences between Australian English and British English if they wanted to annoy or confuse someone?
I've never known anyone do that... Never, no sir Bob, nope, never done that. No, honest Guv, and you can't prove nuffink.
 
So, you're saying that an Aussie wouldn't deliberately play up the differences between Australian English and British English if they wanted to annoy or confuse someone?
I've never known anyone do that... Never, no sir Bob, nope, never done that. No, honest Guv, and you can't prove nuffink.

Speaking as a Kiwi, it is fun watching other English speakers and non-English speakers try to tell Australian and New Zealand English speakers apart on accent alone. As The Flight of the Concords said, its quite simple; the Australian accent is the evil version of the New Zealand one. Calling out 'Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!' to figure out which is which is cheating though, most Aussies can't resist it.

The Anglophone Nations: divided by a common language.

Peter should remember that Zella is technically Australian since she was born there, but even if she doesn't have citizenship, the Aussies will claim her as one if she gets famous enough. They try to nick a lot of Kiwis (and our stuff) this way.
 
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It looks like LF Jr is moving up in the KLM with a posting on the Grand Admiral's staff, he has already proven himself as someone who is cool in command while under fire and his men seems like him and more importantly respect him.
I am interested in what his next shipboard assignment is going to be because that will tell us what direction his career is going in.
By this time the battleships should be fully decommissioned and the Flagship of Grand Admiral von Schmidt is being turned in to a museum, so the options for LF Jr is the Surface Fleet of Guided Missiles Cruisers, ASW Destroyers, various Frigates, Corvettes, and other smaller vessels, the Submarine force which has nuclear powered Attack and Ballistic submarines along side with short-range diesels submarines that are stationed in the North and Baltic Seas, and finally Fleet Air which would require LF Jr to become a pilot.

As for the "non-romance" between LF Jr and Zella I think that only an external event is going to make them realize that they actually love each other and I still think it is going to be something to do with Romania and the rule of succession of the Cadet branch of his cousin's family.
 
It looks like LF Jr is moving up in the KLM with a posting on the Grand Admiral's staff, he has already proven himself as someone who is cool in command while under fire and his men seems like him and more importantly respect him.
I am interested in what his next shipboard assignment is going to be because that will tell us what direction his career is going in.
By this time the battleships should be fully decommissioned and the Flagship of Grand Admiral von Schmidt is being turned in to a museum, so the options for LF Jr is the Surface Fleet of Guided Missiles Cruisers, ASW Destroyers, various Frigates, Corvettes, and other smaller vessels, the Submarine force which has nuclear powered Attack and Ballistic submarines along side with short-range diesels submarines that are stationed in the North and Baltic Seas, and finally Fleet Air which would require LF Jr to become a pilot.

As for the "non-romance" between LF Jr and Zella I think that only an external event is going to make them realize that they actually love each other and I still think it is going to be something to do with Romania and the rule of succession of the Cadet branch of his cousin's family.
There are two more Navy commands that Louis the younger would fit in really nicely. The first Is the oceanography branch, he already has experience wrangling scientist in the Antarctic and command of a naval vessel and would command an oceangraphic vessel. The second would be the inter island work amount the German Pacific Islands, small craft like he is on now, they would also have larger vessels like a French Avisos or Treasury class cutter that he could take over.
 
Part 111, Chapter 1820
Chapter One Thousand Eight Hundred Twenty



29th October 1967

Kiel

Another Sunday, except this time Louis was not looking forward to reading the announcements this morning. The crew were not going to be happy about this latest development. It seemed that sometime in the prior weeks the Reichstag had passed a new Naval Law. They had finally succeeded in doing what the British, Americans, and Japanese could only have dreamed of doing in the process ending tradition that went back nearly a century. Louis understood their reasoning, but it felt like a punch in the gut.

Standing on a crate in the warehouse with the crew gathered, Louis read the first of the notes. He figured that he ought to lead with the good news first, the crew might not be as interested in listening after he read the bad news.

“You have all earned seventy-two hours leave, starting at the conclusion of these announcements” Louis read aloud, “All men are encouraged to make full use of the facilities available in this port. You are also advised to avoid public drunkenness and amoral behavior.”

That last line drew wild applause. Louis figured that the first two things that the crew intended to do in Kiel were get drunk and find a brothel.

Louis then flipped to the next announcement.

“Effective immediately, His Majesty’s Ships Preussen, Brandenburg, Rhineland, and Baier are to be stricken from the Fleet Registry” Louis read aloud, and the celebratory mood of the crew vanished in a heartbeat. It wasn’t a part of the announcements, but everyone knew that once the last three Battleships and Battlecruiser’s names were stricken all that was left was to be towed to the Breaker’s yard. “Tonight, raise a glass to the Grand Dames of the High Sea’s Fleet, may they never be forgotten. That is all.”

With that Louis stepped off the crate and walked back to the Windhund. There had been a lot of hope when the Battleships had been pressed back into combat during the Sino-Korean War. However, it had been concluded that it was down to the singular efforts of Christoph Hase in recognizing the opportunities that he had been presented with. It had turned out that conflict was to be the swansong of the High Seas Fleet’s Battle Line.



Halle (Saale), Anhalt

The patent had been brought into the Emergency Department with two broken legs and a broken arm. According to a Police Officer who had been on the scene, someone had deliberately run him down with their car. That was sort of an occupational hazard of what the patient did in working for several legal firms and he was all too well known to Kiki in that capacity.

“I am sorry Sir, but due to a conflict of interest I cannot treat you” Kiki said to the man, Gregor, who had been waiting in the examination cubical. “You work directly for people suing me and you came in here questioning me. Remember?”

“What the Hell is that supposed to mean?” Gregor demanded.

“After what you did in this Department a few weeks ago, there might be the appearance of me wanting to make you suffer and we don’t want that” Kiki replied, and the look on his face suggested that as soon as she said that the implications of his prior actions were sinking in.

“You can’t just make me wait” Gregor said his voice taking on a whining tone.

“This says that it has been determined that you can” Kiki said with a cheerful smile as she pointed at the yellow tag that had been pinned to the front of his shirt by the Triage Nurse. “I would suggest that you not wander off in the meantime.”

“You are really funny” Gregor said.

Kiki just shrugged. “Ever heard the one about not pissing off the cook?” She asked sweetly.

A few weeks earlier Gregor had told Kiki he was a Private Investigator working for the Legal team representing Elke Sommers, he had had a lot of questions and his timing had been terrible. Suing her for her actions was a recent development, that was on top of the subpoena that she had received calling for her to be a witness at the criminal trial and apparently it was all by design. She had been treating a hysterical patient, a housewife who had burnt her hands badly after a cooking mishap and had not liked the interruption in an already fraught situation. Later, the Counsel that Kiki had retained had explained that because the case against Elke was on shaky legal ground, exactly where the right of a parent to discipline a child cross over into assault being what was being argued. The tactic that her defense was using was to file lawsuits against everyone involved so that adjudicating the case became a nuisance for the Court. The trouble for them was that the involvement of Kiki sort of threw a wrench in the works, so she had been the first target. Doctor Holz had told her that it would be nice if the law had allowed her to remain anonymous after she had reported the abuse, but that wasn’t the case. Perhaps some good would come from the publicity that her name would attract.

With a bit of exasperation, Kiki headed for the Nurse’s station and called the head of the Emergency Department to explain her situation. Gregor would only be waiting a few minutes and he was not in danger of dying. If there was anything hospital administration understood it was the need to keep up appearances.
 
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I'm not laughing.

I'm not laughing.

I'm not laug...


I laughed.
I shouldn't laugh as Gregor was probably just doing his job when he served Kiki. She's probably right to recuse herself, however the first rule is Do No Harm, so might be in warm water at not treating him.

That said, he was in no danger of getting worse by being left for a few more minutes.
 
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