Chapter One Thousand Eight Hundred Forty-One
20th March 1968
Halle, Anhalt
It was a cold afternoon and it felt like winter regardless of what the calendar said about today being the first day of spring.
The team had spent the last couple hours climbing over and crawling under various obstacles before engaging targets in real world scenarios. That included the risk of weapons malfunctioning and plain bad luck. It was meant to be of sufficient difficulty to be just as hard as real combat. Though Kiki understood that the feeling that came when there were bullets flying back the other way was impossible to replicate. The members of one of the FSR teams based here was too professional to react in an untoward way, but Kiki could tell that they were angry with her for what she had said to the Oberst. She had told him about how she felt that the firearms training for the FSR was inadequate at the Signals School when he had asked her opinion. They were supposed to be the Jäger Corps of the Medical Service. The Oberst had just shrugged and put her in charge of training that she deemed adequate because she was the most knowledgeable having been trained by the Tigress herself. It wasn’t until later that Kiki had realized that she had never told him about that.
“That is all of them Ma’am” The Oberfeld who was assisting Kiki said with entirely too much satisfaction while looking at his clipboard. “The next team will be along in a few minutes.”
He had helped Kiki set up the course and had run it with her a few days before.
“I can tell they are sore with me” Kiki said as the team hustled off.
“This isn’t a popularity contest” The Oberfeld replied, “Besides, they needed a reminder as to what they are really all about, chasing after tourists lost in the woods if fine and all, but there is far more to this than that.”
As if Kiki wouldn’t be aware that this wasn’t a popularity contest. She wasn’t worried about popularity. It was what might happen in the field in the near future that bothered her. Having her orders followed less than enthusiastically could have consequences. With that the next team arrived at the course and were looking at it with a great deal of trepidation.
“You didn’t need to be quite so enthusiastic with the mud” Kiki said to the Oberfeld.
“I disagree Ma’am” The Oberfeld replied, “You said you wanted combat conditions and things always get fucked up on the battlefield.”
It wasn’t just on the battlefield though. It seemed to Kiki that things were getting fucked up pretty much everywhere. Vicky was neck deep in wedding preparations and had gotten upset when she had learned of Kiki’s increased involvement in Halle. She thought that Kiki had volunteered because she didn’t approve of what she was doing. The truth was that Kiki didn’t disapprove; she just was worried about Vicky in the long term. Just how long could her little sister maintain a sham like that? Earlier that week, Vicky had left for Munich in a huff because Kiki wasn’t going with her this time.
Kiki’s musing was interrupted by the sharp blast of a whistle as the Oberfeld started yelling instructions at the FSR team. The Noncoms that were working with her were enjoying this a bit too much. However, because this was her show, Kiki stood there and quietly observed as the team was forced to dive under the barbed wire into the icy mud.
Falkensee, Brandenburg
Because she had spent a great deal of time in the United States, Asia had been asked her opinion about the Primary Elections that were happening in America, the first of which had happened in New Hampshire a week prior. The North America Desk had figured that Bill Stoughton, the Speaker of the House of Representatives would have been the front runner, but he had declined to run for President. The truth was obvious to Asia.
“The incumbent President is considered a favorite to win reelection and Stoughton is not about to risk his current position on a longshot political bid” Asia said.
“What of the other candidates?” The Analyst from the NAA asked “Eugene McCarthy, George Smathers are the two front runners.”
“Eugene McCarthy is something of an also ran, he runs for President every four years and comes from a small state” Asia replied, “Who is Smathers?”
The Analyst flipped through several pages of paper. Just the fact that he needed to do that spoke volumes. “It says here that Smathers is a Senator from Florida.”
Asia had heard a bit about Florida politics while she was in New York. Apparently, there was something creepy in the water down there that did things to people… It was her understanding that whoever the Democratic Party nominated for President would most likely lose, the quality of the two candidates mentioned reflected that. There was also the aspect that Senators and Congressmen who had been there for a while seldom ran for higher office because they would have to explain their legislative record, the frequently contradictory votes that they had to take and the entire process of making sausages.
“What do you think of the candidate who came in third in New Hampshire?” The Analyst asked, “Richard Nixon, the pundits are suggesting that he might be a strong dark horse.”
Asia shrugged, “I remember him from California when I was there. To Washington D.C. the West Coast of America might as well be off the edge of the Earth. So, I doubt you’ll hear his name too much in the coming months.”