Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III

The people at the various intelligence agencies are not paid to make rosy assessments, but to think of the most likely worst-case possibilities.
Imagine an antique dealer in Lyon, France who is helping Greek and Serbian officers smuggling ancient artifacts from the Anatolian Peninsula that used to be part of Turkey, or an arm dealer in St. Petersburg. Russia who is selling to all sides in the various conflicts in the Middle East, or the biggest importer of Heroin from China on the US West Coast who is funding the "wrong side" in the Civil War in China, all of whom die in "mysterious ways".
What do they all have in common?
When photographs of the subjects are reviewed, there is at first nothing out of the ordinary in them, but later they see a dishwater blonde who worked in the antique store in Lyon, the sleek brunette hostess of an exclusive club in St. Petersburg that is a front for shady business dealings, and the warm honey brown personal banker in San Francisco and all of them are never seen again.
Then it hits them, they are all the same person, and she is working for another nation's intelligence agency, or worse she is free-lancing for the highest price.
That is why they are keeping an eye on Marie Alexander Kristina von Mischner-Blackwood.

Kat has now the opportunity to really make her vision of Berlin to come true by the complete overhaul of the transportation system by integrating the U-Bahn, S-Bahn, bus lines, the Autobahns in a way that keeps the neighborhoods of Berlin whole and connected to each other,
But it is going to take a lot of time and money, more than originally promised, think of The Big Dig in Boston, but much larger.
 
Kat has now the opportunity to really make her vision of Berlin to come true by the complete overhaul of the transportation system by integrating the U-Bahn, S-Bahn, bus lines, the Autobahns in a way that keeps the neighborhoods of Berlin whole and connected to each other,
But it is going to take a lot of time and money, more than originally promised, think of The Big Dig in Boston, but much larger.
But one advantage they have in Berlin over Boston is the fact that Kat will be able to control both sides. Making sure it is done on time and budget and being able to limit the graft involved in it so it doesn't get out of hand. Imagine some one decides to try a shake down on someone involved in a project, only to discover that they are payed a visit by one or more people from the A. Mob, B. The local Berlin Police, C. The National Police, D. A Ninja or two, or E. The worst, a personal meeting with Kat herself.
 
Last edited:
But one advantage they have in Berlin over Boston is the fact that Kat will be able to control both sides. Making sure it is done on time and budget and being able to limit the graft involved in it so it doesn't get out of hand. Imagine some one decides to try a shake down on someone involved in a project, only to discover that they are payed a visit by one or more people from the A. Mob, B. The local Berlin Police, C. The National Police, D. A Ninja or two, or E. The worst, a personal meeting with Kat herself.
No matter how little corruption there is, there are going to other factors that will result in delays in completion time and the cost overruns of the project.
First there is the overly optimistic budget that doesn't take in account the increases of the cost of materials and equipment.
The is always the possibilities of union strikes that will cause both delays and budget overruns.
You will have to factor in the NIMBYs who don't want to have any public transportation in their neighborhood and will use environmental and historic preservation laws to get the projects stopped or rerouted.
Then there is the weather to be accounted for and the inevitable accidents that will stop any work as repairs and investigations are made, and that will cause schedule delays.
Some of the results of these things will be the redesign of the proposed buildings such as stations, where they were first designed to look like part of the immediate area, now they are redesigned in the "Brutalist" style as simple sterile concrete buildings with no unique characteristics to them.
 
No matter how little corruption there is, there are going to other factors that will result in delays in completion time and the cost overruns of the project.
First there is the overly optimistic budget that doesn't take in account the increases of the cost of materials and equipment.
The is always the possibilities of union strikes that will cause both delays and budget overruns.
You will have to factor in the NIMBYs who don't want to have any public transportation in their neighborhood and will use environmental and historic preservation laws to get the projects stopped or rerouted.
Then there is the weather to be accounted for and the inevitable accidents that will stop any work as repairs and investigations are made, and that will cause schedule delays.
Some of the results of these things will be the redesign of the proposed buildings such as stations, where they were first designed to look like part of the immediate area, now they are redesigned in the "Brutalist" style as simple sterile concrete buildings with no unique characteristics to them.
The temptation to build quickly at minimal cost is what gave rise to Brutalist architecture. That is also why it is seen often in public buildings and infrastructure. And it has been the source to some of the largest architectural atrocities. Do I really need to go into the infamous "Commieblock" and how that style of construction is far more widespread than most people realize? There also the aspect of the cities of Europe not having been subjected to radical urban renewal by the US Army Airforce and the RAF during the 1940's. That could be considered both good and bad, and there will be considerable pressure to maintain the appearance of the city with new construction.
 
Last edited:
That is why they are keeping an eye on Marie Alexander Kristina von Mischner-Blackwood.
While at the same time thinking, "Oh God please no, we had a close escape with her older sister, please don't let her go into the same line of work as her Mother"...

It's unlikely that she will, but it's fun to watch the alphabet soup agencies jumping like the floor is lava trying to keep up.
 
Part 145, Chapter 2620
Chapter Two Thousand Six Hundred Twenty



11th June 1977

Richthofen Estate, Rural Silesia

The clatter of the épées with the thrust and parry had been going on for some time as the point was not to score a touch, but merely to get the timing down. Niko was aware that Mathilda and Ingrid were watching from the bench on the edge of the concrete pad was on one part of the courtyard between the main house and the smaller outbuildings. The stables, kennels, guest houses, and servant’s quarters mostly. They were treating this like a game where they might have a turn. This being a warm June afternoon, Niko could feel the sweat dripping into his eyes as he thrust his épée at the midsection of his opponent and she failed to block it. As he felt the sword bend, he knew that he had likely just given Marie Alexandra another bruise even though she was wearing a protective coat. Marie seemed to be in a similar state to Niko as she took off her mask and walked off the injury, mostly to her pride. Niko took off his own mask as he picked up the cloth covered metal canteen and took a sip before handing to Marie. The water had taken on the faint taste of powdered lemonade that Niko had mixed in it back when he had been in Argentina.

Niko was always looking for someone to practice with, at least someone other than Bas who was somewhat less than reliable at times and it seemed like he always resorted to trying over-power his opponent. That was why Bas was actually good with sabers or singlesticks, but hopeless with anything that required finesse. He said that Fencing wasn’t his thing and Niko agreed with that much. However, Niko wasn’t interested in his friend’s suggestion that they do something else like say Boxing, where Bas would have the absolute advantages when it came to weight and reach. No thank you, Niko wanted his teeth to remain in his head.

He was still a bit surprised that Marie Alexandra had asked when she had arrived in Silesia a few days earlier though. The world of competitive Fencing was a small one, so he had heard all about how she had scored a few touches on Elina Belova. For an athlete who had medaled in the Summer Games last year, having a rank amateur score against you was embarrassing. Niko knew the truth about how Marie was far more than an amateur, that had hardly mattered though because Marie had lost interest in martial arts in general after her mother made a point of showing her the more lethal aspects. Marie had told Niko that wasn’t who she was when he had asked.

Something must have changed.

“Have you ever been dragged somewhere by someone easily twice as big as you?” Marie asked in reply when Niko had asked earlier. Of course not, except for perhaps Bas. That was clearly different though. When Niko looked at his cousin critically, he saw that while she was only six or seven centimeters shorter than he was, he weighed at least twenty-five kilos more than her. Niko’s mother said that Marie was actually underweight as a result of having inherited Aunt Kat’s build and Uncle Doug’s metabolism. That meant that she was unable to put on weight even with only moderate exercise at this stage of her life. Bas, being true to his nature as a member of the Schultz family had pointed out that it was a nice way of saying that she didn’t have much in the way of tits or an ass. Marie’s response to him saying that had been to let Opa’s latest batch of Akita puppies into Bas’ room in the early morning hours.

That said, Marie finding herself in a situation which she had been powerless to stop must have been scary. Even as Niko had that thought that it occurred to him that his mother had once told him that there were good reasons why she had issues with her heart for example or Aunt Kat had seen to it that her youngest daughter was prepared to kill if necessary. The world was frequently not a kind place, not for anyone really. Particularly for those who needed to be protected but were preyed on instead.

“Let’s try that again” Niko said, a bit annoyed that Marie was so out of practice. There had been a time when she had actually been better than him. “Except remember to keep the point up.”

They were using the set of Fencing épées that were part of Opa’s extensive collection of weapons. They had debated about the best swords to use as they had looked at the various cases. Marie had joked about them using one of the half-dozen sets of dueling pistols and then asked where the zweihänder broadsword had come from. “Opa gets them as gifts” Niko had replied. Though considering the nature of Opa’s relationship with the other prominent Silesian families, there was a better than average chance that someone was trying to tell him something by giving him dueling pistols. The zweihänder was a work of art though, clearly the masterpiece of a team of craftsmen during the Sixteenth Century in what had been the Holy Roman Empire. The engravings and inlays on the handle, hilt, and wide handguard made of bronze were incredible. As was the steel of the serpentine blade. What made it even more impressive was that it had all been done with hand tools. Opa said that it was pretty to look at, but it had nothing on the Richthofen sword. Which was a plain looking Cavalry saber based on the Nineteenth-Century Blücher pattern. It was a proper Trooper’s sword. Opa said he wanted those who carried it as the König of Silesia to see it and remember exactly where they had come from.

As Niko put his mask down, he watched as Marie did the same as he prepared for the next round. This time, she went on the offensive and for once her form was perfect and her épée slipped past Niko’s guard and he felt the point hit him in the ribs.
 
Last edited:
1980 Olympics, Marie Alexandra Von Mischner-Blackwood on the German fencing team. Or the Canadian fencing team. If she'd been a Schultz, I'd say both at the same time, but she's not.
 
Lets check Maries's skill set against the Modern Pentathlon:
1. Fencing--- real close to Olympic caliber
2.Swimming--Should be Olympic caliber
3.Riding--Needs work, but she does have lots of teachers available.
4.Running--Again close if not Olympic caliber
5. Shooting--Olympic + caliber.

Too bad they don't have a women's version of the Pentathlon, maybe they might come up with that for the 1980 Olympics as a way to promote Women's equit and equal rights.
 
Lets check Marie's skill set against the Modern Pentathlon:
When you consider the origins of the Modern Pentathlon as what was considered the ideal skillset of a Military Officer prior to the First World War. When factored in with Marie's other talents, you start to get an idea as to why certain Agencies see her as a potential threat.
 
Marie is just like her mother in that she has no desire to compete in athletics events, Kat was being pushed by Johannes Schultz to compete at the 1948 London Olympics in the Women's 200 Meters Dash.

What Marie has is the same fierce loyalty to her friends, like Henriette, for whom Marie was willing to gut her Baby's Daddy without remorse, and that is the same type of loyalty that Kat has with her family, friends, and to the House of Hohenzollern.

I can see that if it came down to it, Marie would not hesitate to kill those who would harm in anyway the Imperial Family and do so without feeling any remorse over it.
If that happens, just think of all the jokes about Berlin having a new Tigress, editorial cartoons where Princess Marai is presented with her own Tigress to keep her safe.
And think of the reactions by all the different intelligence services when they realized that Marie is just as ruthless as her mother.
 
He was still a bit surprised that Marie Alexandra had asked when she had arrived in Silesia a few days earlier though. The world of competitive Fencing was a small one, so he had heard all about how she had scored a few touches on Elina Belova. For an athlete who had medaled in the Summer Games last year, having a rank amateur score against you was embarrassing. Niko knew the truth about how Marie was far more than an amateur, that had hardly mattered though because Marie had lost interest in martial arts in general after her mother made a point of showing her the more lethal aspects. Marie had told Niko that wasn’t who she was when he had asked.
Something must have changed.
“Have you ever been dragged somewhere by someone easily twice as big as you?” Marie asked in reply when Niko had asked earlier.
This is why Marie practices her disguises, and why she is trying to regain her form in martial arts. The Bad Men can't grab her if they can't find her, hence her increasing skill at camouflage. Meanwhile, her encounters with Paddy, where being "dragged" by the arm by the guards into Paddy's office must have brought back memories, and the realisation that Elina Belova is a bully, have led her to reassess her stance of the more lethal aspects of the martial arts. Notwithstanding the striking physical resemblance Marie has with her mother, she also shares something else with her mother that Tatiana & Malcolm do not: she was kidnapped off the streets by someone who meant her harm. Fortunately, the outcome was very, very, different, but the scars & loss of innocence are still there.
 
Part 145, Chapter 2621
Chapter Two Thousand Six Hundred Twenty-One



17th June 1977

Richthofen Estate, Rural Silesia

Tatiana had heard that Marie Alexandra had only been home for a couple of days before she had traveled on to Opa von Richthofen’s house near Breslau. She had decided that she needed to catch up with her, but the demands of completing her Masters in Anthropology and nailing down the details of the job she had been offered in the Foreign Service had consumed a great deal of time. Today had been the first day she’d had a chance to get away and she was a bit annoyed that the academic schedule at the University that Marie attended in Montreal ended the Spring Term in May while she remained in class until early July.

Tatiana found Marie in the library sitting in a pool of sunlight let in through the leaded windows with dust motes dancing in the light. Of all the things that her sister might have been reading, Marneschlacht und Tannenburg by Generaloberst Hermann Ritter von François was not what she was expecting.

“Not really the sort of thing you should be doing with a holiday” Tatiana said as Marie looked up. “Shouldn’t you be at the beach or having an adventure somewhere.”

“That is your thing” Marie said, “After the last two summers, doing a whole lot of nothing sounds good.”

If only that were true, Tatiana thought to herself.

“Waiting tables in Boston is hardly adventure” Tatiana said aloud, after keeping that a secret for so long she was just tired. She knew that Marie had always been a willing conspirator in the past, telling her felt right. “More like a brutal slog.”

Marie looked like she was trying hard not to laugh when she heard that.

“Does Momma know?” Marie asked, “In the United States too, she must have been furious. She hates the Amis.”

“She doesn’t know, and I would prefer it stayed that way” Tatiana replied.

“You told everyone that you went backpacking in Spain” Marie said, “And wouldn’t you stand out in Boston? You don’t exactly blend in.”

“Of course, you would think that” Tatiana said in English, using the accent that she had practiced until it was flawless. While she couldn’t speak with an American accent, no one would think about an Irish accent in Massachusetts.

And Marie found that absolutely hilarious.

Tatiana watched as her sister nearly fell out of her chair she was laughing so hard. There was nothing else to do.

“Don’t let Jack Kennedy hear you talk like that” Marie said as she regained her composure.

“What is this you are reading?” Tatiana asked picking up and flipping through the book Marie had put down, changing the subject.

“Niko was reading it” Marie replied, “He made it sound interesting.”

“Is it?”

“The author has a very high opinion of himself and the men under his command at Tannenberg” Marie replied, “Hindenburg and Ludendorff, not so much.”

Tatianna remembered that from History Class when she had been attending the Gymnasia. How the Reichstag had been forced to reassert itself against Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg and how that fed directly into the Spring Revolution in 1921. It wasn’t an accident that the Government had been so willing to negotiate with the leaders of what was essentially a student uprising. They had been looking for an excuse to reform the system themselves. Looking at the publishing date, Tatiana saw that it had been printed in 1920, right in the midst of that turbulent period of time.

“Did you talk to Opa about this?” Tatiana asked.

“You know him” Marie replied, “What is there to say, I was there.”

Marie did her best impersonation of Opa’s voice when she said that last part, as silly as it sounded there was a great deal of truth to it. Opa von Richthofen had seen a lot of action in the early part of the war as a Cavalry Officer. Then, once the war had bogged down into trench warfare the Heer had made him a Supply Officer. It was small wonder he had jumped at the chance to become an aviator even as insanely dangerous as that had been at the time.

“This is his copy of this book” Tatiana said, “He was the one who stocked most of the books in this library.”

Marie just smiled at that. Opa was technically their Great Uncle through marriage, he and his late wife had always made them welcome in this house. The library had been a part of that with every family member having contributed over the years. There were hundreds of books that they knew were his, mostly on the subjects of Military and Natural History, Conversation, Ecology, Hunting, and Classical literature. There were Romance novels that had been Oma von Richthofen’s when she had been alive. The Science-Fiction and Fantasy were from Albrecht. And there were a number of Sports journals that doubtlessly had been left by Nico and Bas. No one knew who had left the Cowboy novels, at least no one who would admit it.

“You need to get reacquainted with Mathilda and Ingrid if you are planning on staying through the weekend” Marie said, “Last week when I was practicing Fencing with Niko, they wanted me to teach them some moves. They really are quite adorable.”

“I think that Mathilda might take exception to being called adorable” Tatiana said, “She’s what, sixteen now?”

Marie just shrugged.

Tatiana remembered what it had been like when she had been sixteen. How terrible it had been. To be called adorable by an adult cousin would have been the least of it, though it certainly would not have helped.
 
Last edited:
Opa V. Richthofen more than likely did the westerns, not to mention any one else in the house. Lots of Germans like the westerns back then, and even now, and were an acceptable book to read.
 
Opa V. Richthofen more than likely did the westerns, not to mention any one else in the house. Lots of Germans like the westerns back then, and even now, and were an acceptable book to read.
Yeah, but Helene, Manny and Ina's mother and Opa von Richthofen's oldest daughter, will never admit they're hers.
 
Tatiana's and Marie's paths are going off in separate directions that neither of them wanted to take.
For Tatiana, her dreams of becoming a deep cover agent are over, and now she is looking at a lifetime career being a glorified pencil-pusher in the Foreign Ministry.
But she should look at going the academic route as Visiting Professor Tatiana von Mischner-Blackwood can go places and gather more information in the open by going to academic conferences around the world in places like Cairo, Bangkok, Seattle, anywhere the BND needs to get information from other than the usual sources.

Marie on the other hand defiantly doesn't want to be involved whatsoever in the games that the various intelligence services are playing.
But the problem for her is that no matter how much she has let it be known that she is not part of that, she finally understands the reasons that she has been under various degrees of surveillance is because of the potential threat she represents.
This is why she is getting back to the combat training that she has been neglecting since attending McGill University, this is a way for her to take charge of her life and to make sure that if somebody tries something it will come at a great price to those who try to do anything foolish, after all she is her mother's daughter.
Marie is certain to spend part of her summer break with the Imperial Family, and maybe that will sharpen her focus and give her direction in how her life go's forward.
 
Part 145, Chapter 2622
Chapter Two Thousand Six Hundred Twenty-Two



20th June 1977

Richthofen Estate, Rural Silesia

The office which was used to manage the household and the estate was between the kitchen and the laundry room. The compressors for the walk-in cooler and the freezer could be heard through the wall, and it practically shared space with the pantry. Whenever Ilse wasn’t at the University in Breslau, she was usually found there. Today was no different.

The sudden silence after the prior weekend was a bit jarring. Tatiana and Marie Alexandra had been visiting while Mathilda had come home for the weekend. Niko, Bas, and Ingrid were always around these days. The result was that the house had been full of life and laughter for a couple days. Now that it was Monday, Katherine’s daughters had left for Berlin, Mathilda and Anna had gone back to Tzschocha, Niko and Bas were in Breslau for the day, and Ingrid had gone to school.

“It was nice having the children around for a few days” Manfred the Elder said to Ilse who had come home early today to enjoy the rare family meal while everyone happened to be home. There were delightful smells coming from the kitchen, so Manfred was actually looking forward to lunch. That was a rare thing these days as he had discovered that he just didn’t have the appetite that he’d had as a younger man.

Albrecht was in his office, formerly one of the guest rooms, meeting with Dietrich “Tilo” Schultz. Albrecht had suggested to Manfred that he appoint the Marine General to be Marshal of Silesia. Manfred had known Tilo since he had been a boy and his son, Sabastian, had been a fixture around the estate for the last two decades, basically becoming Nikolaus’ brother. He had been the Theater Commander during the Patagonian War and had done a credible job of it, achieving the planned goal of that conflict, and had worked closely with Albrecht who had been in charge of Naval Operations off the South American Cone during that conflict. For Manfred it was a question about the future. He had realized that many of his plans wouldn’t come to fruition during his lifetime, that had not stopped him because he knew that he was working for something larger than his individual ambitions. The rising fortunes of the Schultz family dovetailed neatly with that.

Johan Schultz, Tilo’s father had been there in Jasta 11 at the beginning. That meant far more than most people these days could imagine. The Marine Infantry had once been the castoffs of the Heer, often sent to the Navy to get rid of various types of troublemakers, had evolved into a Jagger Corps of sorts. Light Infantry who specialized in amphibious warfare. Among them, the toughest of the lot were the elite Sealions. Manfred had noticed that Tilo wore the Sealion Career badge as a point of pride, and he had taught Philosophy at the Mürwik Naval Academy. Proof that he had the brains and was tough enough to play the role as Albrecht had suggested.

Manfred didn’t pretend to understand the culture of the Navy that his son operated within. He knew that it had grown in importance as the interests of the Empire had gone further afield. Keeping the sea lanes open had fallen increasingly on the Fleet as the British Royal Navy had declined according to Albrecht. That seemed like a shocking thing to have happened. Then Albrecht had said that the current Grand Admiral of the HSF was about to be appointed to be the Commander in Chief of the OKW, which in many ways was even more shocking. When Manfred had asked Albrecht who the replacement of the Grand Admiral would be Albrecht had gotten cagey, choosing his words with care. Manfred had played that game since long before Albrecht had been born, so he knew exactly what was going on.

As disappointing as it had been for Manfred to watch his son join the Navy after his work as a Student Researcher at University had been deemed too important to allow Albrecht to enter the military during the Soviet War. Him being in contention for the top spot in the Navy’s High Command almost compensated for that. If only Albrecht had joined Luftwaffe Manfred wouldn’t have anything to complain about. After all, he had been the Commander in Chief of the OKL during the Soviet War. Nikolaus seeming to be well on his way to becoming a Cavalry Officer more than made up for that.

“I doubt that you would have wanted to put up with them for more than a few days” Ilse replied. She knew that he was referring to the children who had grown up on the estate itself. He had few other grandchildren, but because of the circumstances they only came around on holidays or when their mothers wanted something.

“I don’t mind them during the summer holiday” Manfred said, “Of course, they spend most of their time doing things outside.”

“I’m surprised that you had nothing to say about that” Ilse said, “I’m sure you saw what Niko and Marie were doing.”

“Last I looked, Nikolaus was competing in the Modern Pentathlon” Manfred replied, “And while Marie might not be interested in competition, I heard about what she managed to do in Montreal last month.”

Ilse gave Manfred a look that basically said what she thought of that. She remembered his reaction years earlier when Marie Alexandra had soundly beat Nikolaus. The thing was that there had been a few changes since then and Manfred had come to see how that incident had taught Nikolaus an important lesson.

It was then that Ingrid entered the house with Nikolaus. With the enthusiasm of a child, she was talking at Nikolaus about what she had learned in school that day, that it was the longest day of the year, how the teacher had seemed like she wasn’t interested in being there that day, what Mathilda had said that she was going to do to celebrate it being the first day of summer… Nikolaus, long used to his little sister’s ways just nodded to his grandfather and mother as he walked past from the laundry room.
 
The job of being the Chief of Staff of the OKW is going to the Grand Admiral of the KLM must mean that the Heer and the Luftwaffe are satisfied that the influence of THE GRAND ADMIRAL Jacob von Schmidt is no longer prevalent and the KLM is not so independent as it was during the time of von Schmidt.
Also it could mean that the Reichstag is happy how the KLM handled the LF Jr. situation quietly.
If Albrecht von Richthofen is named Grand Admiral, it fulfills a prediction by von Schmidt that someone from the LFK would head up the KLM, and he did think that it was good for the service, also it shows how much Aircraft Carriers are a key component of the KLM now.
 
Top