Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
Alex Chilton was in a fairly successful pop band when he was a teenager. There is a reason why critics were surprised he was fronting Big Star.
It was called the Box Tops, they are best known for a song called The Letter, but most of their music was of a decidedly less serious nature.
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Just a thought, Mathilda, (Wulfstan's little sister), is about the right age to go to Wahlstatt...
Part 127, Chapter 2157
Chapter Two Thousand One Hundred Fifty-Seven
23rd July 1972
Mitte, Berlin
Sometimes, a small thing had an unexpected impact.
In the Arts and Entertainment section of the Sunday edition of BT, Zella’s column which had run most Sundays for the prior decade had been used by the Editor of that desk to fill in unused centimeters. For a variety of reasons not a whole lot of importance was placed on the reviews of Rock & Roll albums. So, when an article two thousand, five hundred words in length appeared titled Recommended Songs of the Summer, 1972 the Editor at the A & E Desk did what he always did and placed just above the fold next to an article about a puppet show that was scheduled to happen at the Tiergarten Zoo that afternoon.
The thing was that more people read Zella’s column than anyone realized. Something else that few others aside from Maria knew was Zella had been experiencing a lot of inner turmoil over the weeks leading up to the release of it. Maria knew that it was because her daughter clearly had feelings for that boy. Zella refused to admit it, even to herself though. The result was she had looked further abroad than she normally did and had taken several chances with her selections with bands that few had even heard of at that point. On the campuses of various Universities scattered throughout Berlin it seemed that the students had been looking for an anthem for the Summer Holiday that year. Zella served them up several.
The opening track was the second single of John Lennon’s solo album that was released on the second week of August titled The World Keeps Spinning. It was a song that started with a sonic blast courtesy of Scottish Guitarist Mark Knopfler. The protest song, a reworking of the folk song The Recruiting Sergeant also by Lennon followed. The next tracks were Liar by Queen, Then came the Last Days of May and Cities on Flame (with Rock & Roll) by Blue Oyster Cult. It grew even more obscure with Big Star’s Feel, In the Street, and Don’t Lie to Me. In a nod towards the place of her birth, Zella included Train Wreck by Marcus Hook Roll Band that would break up and reform a year later as AC/DC, but this track strongly hinted at what was to come. A single B-Side called The Wizard by the English band Mythology had been included, but Zella had clearly included it because it was a song that few others had heard. Something that would change in the coming weeks. Smashed in the Street and Garden Concertina Wire by Napkinwaffe as well as Dark Lady and Thorny Roses for my Grave by the Skorpions were included. Those two bands were regular features on Berlin’s University Radio Stations, but these were new tracks that she was reviewing. It concluded with a song titled The Angel by Singer/Songwriter Bruce Springsteen. Looking over list, Maria wondered if Zella was going for a theme when she had compiled that list.
In the coming weeks, it seemed like the songs that Zella had recommended were everywhere. This was often to the chagrin of the artists themselves, most of whom were still obscure in their own countries.
Potsdam
“I think we have a situation” Wulfstan said as Christian walked into their room. It was the sort of comment that made the hairs on the back of Christian’s neck stand on end. He was strongly tempted to ask, What do mean, we? Before turning on his heel and walking out of the room, leaving Wulfstan to fend for himself. The trouble was that ignoring any situation was a great way to make things ten times worse when he was forced to deal with it.
“What’s going on?” Christian asked.
“This” Wulfstan replied, and he closed the door. Mathilda, Wulfstan’s little sister had been standing behind it.
“Hello, Chris” Mathilda said with a wave of her hand and a shy smile.
“What is she doing in here?” Christian asked.
“That was what I was just asking her” Wulfstan replied, “She ran away from home and has been hopping trains.”
“I can see that” Christian said, “But I mean in here, in the Bachelor Noncommissioned Officer’s Barracks in the middle of what is supposed to be one of the most secure military installations in Germany.”
“I sort of snuck in” Mathilda said.
“You did what?” Christian replied, “How?”
An eleven-year-old girl in a purple woolen peasant dress could not have stood out more in this location. Somehow, she had also managed to get from Wollin Island to Potsdam with little in the way of money or knowledge of the world outside of the island where she had lived her whole life.
“There is that big field out in front of this building” Mathilda said, clearly referring to the parade ground. “The man who cuts the grass opened the back gate to bring his machine in, I just walked in after.”
The gate that Mathilda was referring to didn’t have sentries guarding it because it was only supposed to be connected to the yard where the maintenance equipment was kept. It was also covered by CCTV cameras for all the good that had done.
“The maintenance yard is supposed to be closed off from the outside” Wulfstan said, stating the obvious.
“Not with that hole in the fence behind one of those big metal buildings” Mathilda said, she clearly thought that this was a game.
“How did you find this room?” Christian asked, having a sinking suspicion that he already knew the answer.
“I asked people” Mathilda replied. Christian could only imagine. Mathilda was the picture of innocence when she wanted to be. Her plaintively asking for help finding her big brother on a Sunday when it would be assumed that she was visiting with her family and had gotten lost. People would be falling all over themselves to help her. The conniving little shit. The Oberst was going to fly into a rage when he learned of this and if this matter reached the ears of Friedrich IV, then it would be as if supernova had exploded in Potsdam.
23rd July 1972
Mitte, Berlin
Sometimes, a small thing had an unexpected impact.
In the Arts and Entertainment section of the Sunday edition of BT, Zella’s column which had run most Sundays for the prior decade had been used by the Editor of that desk to fill in unused centimeters. For a variety of reasons not a whole lot of importance was placed on the reviews of Rock & Roll albums. So, when an article two thousand, five hundred words in length appeared titled Recommended Songs of the Summer, 1972 the Editor at the A & E Desk did what he always did and placed just above the fold next to an article about a puppet show that was scheduled to happen at the Tiergarten Zoo that afternoon.
The thing was that more people read Zella’s column than anyone realized. Something else that few others aside from Maria knew was Zella had been experiencing a lot of inner turmoil over the weeks leading up to the release of it. Maria knew that it was because her daughter clearly had feelings for that boy. Zella refused to admit it, even to herself though. The result was she had looked further abroad than she normally did and had taken several chances with her selections with bands that few had even heard of at that point. On the campuses of various Universities scattered throughout Berlin it seemed that the students had been looking for an anthem for the Summer Holiday that year. Zella served them up several.
The opening track was the second single of John Lennon’s solo album that was released on the second week of August titled The World Keeps Spinning. It was a song that started with a sonic blast courtesy of Scottish Guitarist Mark Knopfler. The protest song, a reworking of the folk song The Recruiting Sergeant also by Lennon followed. The next tracks were Liar by Queen, Then came the Last Days of May and Cities on Flame (with Rock & Roll) by Blue Oyster Cult. It grew even more obscure with Big Star’s Feel, In the Street, and Don’t Lie to Me. In a nod towards the place of her birth, Zella included Train Wreck by Marcus Hook Roll Band that would break up and reform a year later as AC/DC, but this track strongly hinted at what was to come. A single B-Side called The Wizard by the English band Mythology had been included, but Zella had clearly included it because it was a song that few others had heard. Something that would change in the coming weeks. Smashed in the Street and Garden Concertina Wire by Napkinwaffe as well as Dark Lady and Thorny Roses for my Grave by the Skorpions were included. Those two bands were regular features on Berlin’s University Radio Stations, but these were new tracks that she was reviewing. It concluded with a song titled The Angel by Singer/Songwriter Bruce Springsteen. Looking over list, Maria wondered if Zella was going for a theme when she had compiled that list.
In the coming weeks, it seemed like the songs that Zella had recommended were everywhere. This was often to the chagrin of the artists themselves, most of whom were still obscure in their own countries.
Potsdam
“I think we have a situation” Wulfstan said as Christian walked into their room. It was the sort of comment that made the hairs on the back of Christian’s neck stand on end. He was strongly tempted to ask, What do mean, we? Before turning on his heel and walking out of the room, leaving Wulfstan to fend for himself. The trouble was that ignoring any situation was a great way to make things ten times worse when he was forced to deal with it.
“What’s going on?” Christian asked.
“This” Wulfstan replied, and he closed the door. Mathilda, Wulfstan’s little sister had been standing behind it.
“Hello, Chris” Mathilda said with a wave of her hand and a shy smile.
“What is she doing in here?” Christian asked.
“That was what I was just asking her” Wulfstan replied, “She ran away from home and has been hopping trains.”
“I can see that” Christian said, “But I mean in here, in the Bachelor Noncommissioned Officer’s Barracks in the middle of what is supposed to be one of the most secure military installations in Germany.”
“I sort of snuck in” Mathilda said.
“You did what?” Christian replied, “How?”
An eleven-year-old girl in a purple woolen peasant dress could not have stood out more in this location. Somehow, she had also managed to get from Wollin Island to Potsdam with little in the way of money or knowledge of the world outside of the island where she had lived her whole life.
“There is that big field out in front of this building” Mathilda said, clearly referring to the parade ground. “The man who cuts the grass opened the back gate to bring his machine in, I just walked in after.”
The gate that Mathilda was referring to didn’t have sentries guarding it because it was only supposed to be connected to the yard where the maintenance equipment was kept. It was also covered by CCTV cameras for all the good that had done.
“The maintenance yard is supposed to be closed off from the outside” Wulfstan said, stating the obvious.
“Not with that hole in the fence behind one of those big metal buildings” Mathilda said, she clearly thought that this was a game.
“How did you find this room?” Christian asked, having a sinking suspicion that he already knew the answer.
“I asked people” Mathilda replied. Christian could only imagine. Mathilda was the picture of innocence when she wanted to be. Her plaintively asking for help finding her big brother on a Sunday when it would be assumed that she was visiting with her family and had gotten lost. People would be falling all over themselves to help her. The conniving little shit. The Oberst was going to fly into a rage when he learned of this and if this matter reached the ears of Friedrich IV, then it would be as if supernova had exploded in Potsdam.
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Firstly, always happy to see my favorite guitarist get a mention, though I would adore to see this worlds version of "Why Aye Man".
Secondly, Mathilda, if she doesn't get sent home (and I doubt she will) is about to become another Tiger Cub. Failing that, I can see her being the main cause of trouble for that school's hopes for keeping fraternization to a minimum. I do so hope that if news of this does reach Freddy's ears, he'll be somewhat sympathetic to the offending parties in so far as Wulf and Mathilda are concerned. After all being embarrassed by a sibling who just wants away from their father's stodgy traditionalist world should set off an alarm bell or two in his head.....
Secondly, Mathilda, if she doesn't get sent home (and I doubt she will) is about to become another Tiger Cub. Failing that, I can see her being the main cause of trouble for that school's hopes for keeping fraternization to a minimum. I do so hope that if news of this does reach Freddy's ears, he'll be somewhat sympathetic to the offending parties in so far as Wulf and Mathilda are concerned. After all being embarrassed by a sibling who just wants away from their father's stodgy traditionalist world should set off an alarm bell or two in his head.....
Uh ... Uhhh.... I think that Mathilde just popped up on the radar of some electic groups, (KSK/BND). Both have very good reasons to keep tabs on "cute/innocent" little girls that "just" walk in an secure installation. ....
Just think of what kind fun that Mathilda and Gretchen Eun-Ji Schultz can have together at that school and how Bas is going to be put in charge of them to prevent them from causing too much trouble (A losing proposition at best).
Gretchen seems to me to be more Schultz then Jensen which is to the dismay of her parents and to society as a whole.
Gretchen seems to me to be more Schultz then Jensen which is to the dismay of her parents and to society as a whole.
Good to know Harry Vanda & George Young (and the rest of the Young family) also emigrated to Australia after the War ITTL. Hopefully, we got much the same Easybeats ITTL as in IOTL. Interesting that the Marcus Hook Roll Band put a different first single to IOTL and Angus & Malcolm Young still formed AC/DC. Also hoping Harry & George released ‘People and the Power’ as ITTL’s MHRB in 1973. Seems as relevant there as it was here.
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Part 127, Chapter 2158
Chapter Two Thousand One Hundred Fifty-Eight
25th July 1972
Potsdam
It turned out to be every bit the shitstorm that Christian had predicted.
The Oberst had gone ballistic when he found out that Base security had been defeated by a child who said she had come through a hole in the fence that no one seemed to be able to find. The result was that the Junior Officers had been read the riot act, in turn they had chewed out the Noncommissioned Officers. Then the Emperor and Press found out what had happened… The issue wasn’t just that it was the Headquarters of the First Infantry Division and the First Foot by extension. The Base housed the Command-and-Control Center for the Berlin-Brandenburg Region as well as one of the Luftwaffe’s Satellite Communications and Analysis Sections. Because Berlin was the seat of power in the Empire, those things could not be located anywhere else. The Emperor and the Government needed the best available information to make decisions.
The result was a massive review of Base security from the ground up. If a little girl could get in so could Agents from any number of potentially hostile nations. Everyone remembered that the British had somehow managed to compromise the High Command in Wunsdorf-Zossen, even if exactly how and when had remained a mystery. That single event had compromised the entire North American Division of the BND, and no one had been allowed to forget it. Into this, the Oberst had called Christian to his office. After a considerable amount of yelling and threatening, because apparently killing the messenger was perfectly acceptable in this situation, Christian had been tasked with finding the hole in the fence and dealing with it.
Then Wulfstan’s parents showed up and that added another layer of complication. Because of the National security implications, Mathilda just couldn’t be released into their custody. Sneaking into the Potsdam Barracks was something that neither the State nor Military could allow to slide. There was also the detail that Wulfstan’s father was well known to the BII due to his legal battles over the status of land surrounding his property and the various attempts to develop the areas surrounding the National Park just to the south. The refusal to release Mathilda had resulted in the usual bluster that normally worked on Wollin Island, it had the exact opposite effect here. Wulfstan had stood silently, telling Christian later that he had been totally embarrassed as his father had been told to shut up and that if he said one more word, he would get buried in pretrial confinement until the entire matter was worked out, or Hell froze over, whichever came first.
After that Christian and Wulfstan were the only ones who Mathilda would talk to, and she had become recalcitrant even with them. So, getting her to show them exactly how she had gotten in had proven difficult. It wasn’t until the Special Inspector, General Stefan von Mischner, who had been appointed to oversee the review arrived from Wunsdorf that things had turned around. For Christian it was a bit odd meeting the Staff Officer who he had only known from what Manny had to say about him. General von Mischner said that his daughter Elke was Mathilda’s age and that he would take a crack at talking with her. Eventually, he convinced Mathilda to show them how she had done it.
A short time later, they were staring at the rusted chain link fence where it met some thorn bushes. It was revealed that the fence had rusted through and was disintegrating once they had cut the bushes back, that was even before they found the hole itself. It had probably been cut by local kids just to see what was inside and they had probably been disappointed to learn that the maintenance yard was actually outside the main perimeter. The back wall of one of the storage sheds was up against the fence which was why it had gone unnoticed. Looking at the wall made of corrugated galvanized steel, Christian saw that there had just been enough room for someone as small as Mathilda to have squeezed through which confirmed his suspicions about who had done it. For the life of him, Christian didn’t have the first clue as to how she must have found this in the first place in the time she’d had. To Christian’s annoyance, the entire section of fence needed to be replaced and he had General von Mischner watching the entire time. Having a General present as he went about an assigned task was like having an itch in the middle of his back that he couldn’t reach.
The only fortunate part was that the roll of chain-link for new fence section was in the very shed that had concealed the hole. Even so, a big show was being made of this with a pair of SPz4 APCs parked nearby just to let everyone know that they meant business. Christian would have preferred some additional pairs of bolt-cutters to help speed the process along.
As the men Christian was supervising strung a new coil of barbed wire across the top of the fence, he turned to the General and asked. “What is going to happen to the girl?”
“She is the sister of your friend, Yes?” The General asked in reply.
“That was the entire reason for this” Christian said, knowing that he was taking a big risk by speaking up. “If Wulf wasn’t here then none…”
“You mean to say that this installation would still be compromised, and we would be unaware of it” The General said, Cutting Christian off. “Until someone decidedly less friendly than Mathilda Auer exploited it to our detriment.”
“I see, Sir” Christian replied. It was the General’s job to see the big picture, whereas he seldom had to consider more than what was right in front of him.
“The girl is being taken care of” The General said, “Over the last few decades we have discovered that certain talents that people have need to be nurtured in the appropriate settings or else they express themselves in detrimental ways. The Emperor himself has taken an interest in her case, so you should consider this matter closed.”
Christian gulped, that drew a very firm line under all of this and he was certain that Wulfstan was not going to like the outcome.
25th July 1972
Potsdam
It turned out to be every bit the shitstorm that Christian had predicted.
The Oberst had gone ballistic when he found out that Base security had been defeated by a child who said she had come through a hole in the fence that no one seemed to be able to find. The result was that the Junior Officers had been read the riot act, in turn they had chewed out the Noncommissioned Officers. Then the Emperor and Press found out what had happened… The issue wasn’t just that it was the Headquarters of the First Infantry Division and the First Foot by extension. The Base housed the Command-and-Control Center for the Berlin-Brandenburg Region as well as one of the Luftwaffe’s Satellite Communications and Analysis Sections. Because Berlin was the seat of power in the Empire, those things could not be located anywhere else. The Emperor and the Government needed the best available information to make decisions.
The result was a massive review of Base security from the ground up. If a little girl could get in so could Agents from any number of potentially hostile nations. Everyone remembered that the British had somehow managed to compromise the High Command in Wunsdorf-Zossen, even if exactly how and when had remained a mystery. That single event had compromised the entire North American Division of the BND, and no one had been allowed to forget it. Into this, the Oberst had called Christian to his office. After a considerable amount of yelling and threatening, because apparently killing the messenger was perfectly acceptable in this situation, Christian had been tasked with finding the hole in the fence and dealing with it.
Then Wulfstan’s parents showed up and that added another layer of complication. Because of the National security implications, Mathilda just couldn’t be released into their custody. Sneaking into the Potsdam Barracks was something that neither the State nor Military could allow to slide. There was also the detail that Wulfstan’s father was well known to the BII due to his legal battles over the status of land surrounding his property and the various attempts to develop the areas surrounding the National Park just to the south. The refusal to release Mathilda had resulted in the usual bluster that normally worked on Wollin Island, it had the exact opposite effect here. Wulfstan had stood silently, telling Christian later that he had been totally embarrassed as his father had been told to shut up and that if he said one more word, he would get buried in pretrial confinement until the entire matter was worked out, or Hell froze over, whichever came first.
After that Christian and Wulfstan were the only ones who Mathilda would talk to, and she had become recalcitrant even with them. So, getting her to show them exactly how she had gotten in had proven difficult. It wasn’t until the Special Inspector, General Stefan von Mischner, who had been appointed to oversee the review arrived from Wunsdorf that things had turned around. For Christian it was a bit odd meeting the Staff Officer who he had only known from what Manny had to say about him. General von Mischner said that his daughter Elke was Mathilda’s age and that he would take a crack at talking with her. Eventually, he convinced Mathilda to show them how she had done it.
A short time later, they were staring at the rusted chain link fence where it met some thorn bushes. It was revealed that the fence had rusted through and was disintegrating once they had cut the bushes back, that was even before they found the hole itself. It had probably been cut by local kids just to see what was inside and they had probably been disappointed to learn that the maintenance yard was actually outside the main perimeter. The back wall of one of the storage sheds was up against the fence which was why it had gone unnoticed. Looking at the wall made of corrugated galvanized steel, Christian saw that there had just been enough room for someone as small as Mathilda to have squeezed through which confirmed his suspicions about who had done it. For the life of him, Christian didn’t have the first clue as to how she must have found this in the first place in the time she’d had. To Christian’s annoyance, the entire section of fence needed to be replaced and he had General von Mischner watching the entire time. Having a General present as he went about an assigned task was like having an itch in the middle of his back that he couldn’t reach.
The only fortunate part was that the roll of chain-link for new fence section was in the very shed that had concealed the hole. Even so, a big show was being made of this with a pair of SPz4 APCs parked nearby just to let everyone know that they meant business. Christian would have preferred some additional pairs of bolt-cutters to help speed the process along.
As the men Christian was supervising strung a new coil of barbed wire across the top of the fence, he turned to the General and asked. “What is going to happen to the girl?”
“She is the sister of your friend, Yes?” The General asked in reply.
“That was the entire reason for this” Christian said, knowing that he was taking a big risk by speaking up. “If Wulf wasn’t here then none…”
“You mean to say that this installation would still be compromised, and we would be unaware of it” The General said, Cutting Christian off. “Until someone decidedly less friendly than Mathilda Auer exploited it to our detriment.”
“I see, Sir” Christian replied. It was the General’s job to see the big picture, whereas he seldom had to consider more than what was right in front of him.
“The girl is being taken care of” The General said, “Over the last few decades we have discovered that certain talents that people have need to be nurtured in the appropriate settings or else they express themselves in detrimental ways. The Emperor himself has taken an interest in her case, so you should consider this matter closed.”
Christian gulped, that drew a very firm line under all of this and he was certain that Wulfstan was not going to like the outcome.
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It worked for Kat. Granted, she led a life full of being shot at and dealing with emotional turmoil, but she turned out ok. Mostly.
Train hopping.
Sneaking in to Military bases in an obvious manner.
Even asking people for direction in a misdirecting manner,
Clearly this is going to be someone on Kats watchlist.
And also an Assassin in training.
Initially. Then he'll be OK with it now he realises that she is out from under their father's wackiness, then he'll be totally against it when he realises that she will totally outclass him in pretty much every way.
So apparently Mathilda is now a ward of the State who's existence is now has been classified as Top Secret: Code Word Access Only.
Part of me thinks that having Kat take Mathilda in is the most logical thing to do but Kat is someone who is best with those who are having emotional and psychological problems and Mathilda is probably the most normal, emotionally stable young girl from outside of her expanded definition of family who needs a place to stay that Kat will ever meet.
Right now Mathilda is probably going through a series of tests to evaluate her levels of intelligence and education along side physical and psychological examinations.
It is most likely it will be found that Mathilda is a very healthy and intelligent young girl who is academically behind her peers and needs to be in a structured environment and socialized with others who are her age to thrive and there should be somewhere that fits that bill.
Part of me thinks that having Kat take Mathilda in is the most logical thing to do but Kat is someone who is best with those who are having emotional and psychological problems and Mathilda is probably the most normal, emotionally stable young girl from outside of her expanded definition of family who needs a place to stay that Kat will ever meet.
Right now Mathilda is probably going through a series of tests to evaluate her levels of intelligence and education along side physical and psychological examinations.
It is most likely it will be found that Mathilda is a very healthy and intelligent young girl who is academically behind her peers and needs to be in a structured environment and socialized with others who are her age to thrive and there should be somewhere that fits that bill.
General Stefan von Mischner: "This girl, Mathilda, she reminds me of my sister, Kat."
BND/BII (with a barely concealed shudder): "We do see some similarities, yes."
German Special Forces (all of them): "We call dibs!"
Kaiser Freddy (thoughtfully): "A soft approach in this matter would be best. Well, as soft an approach as anything that involves the Tigress, and yes, I have asked her opinion on the situation."
Stefan (quietly): "Kat isn't THAT bad, you know. Unless you piss her off, that is."