Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread II
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
Remember one detail....the line of Nina and Nizhoni Horst by the Navajo Maternal Line seems to be popping every and then individuals with what amounts to some measure of "Farsight/Foresight"...the prediction of Piers Sjostedt's likely path in the future spoken by his great Grandmother to Piers's mother decades before World War I a clear example.
I can guess that the Old Witches were driven to give to Kat what amounts to an advice and future's warning/prediction rolled in one...
Jack is finding out there is a big difference between being a womanizer in his thirties and being one in his forties.
What has probably disturbed Kat with Nizhoni’s relatives is that they recognized her as the living embodiment of the Warrior Woman spirit that takes the form of a jaguar or puma.
What has probably disturbed Kat with Nizhoni’s relatives is that they recognized her as the living embodiment of the Warrior Woman spirit that takes the form of a jaguar or puma.
I'm very happy you are still willing & able to post. I hope you are easily able to recover your data.
Also it's always funny to read about Jack being put into place by others. Looking forward to more!
Also it's always funny to read about Jack being put into place by others. Looking forward to more!
Suggestion: Maybe set up a quick Patreon or something similar for a new computer fund? I'm sure even a few bucks from each of your fans would provide a new one.
Ah! JFK is still a womanizer. Guess you can't change everything in this ATL.
...
You know, for this TL, I wonder what it would be like if he met Nixon.
I suspect the two of them would get on just fine, they're both lawyers working in a roughly simil;ar fiels -civil rights.
It would be more hilarious and befitting Jack's reputed career for "Impossible Cases" if he putKennedy & Nixon
Attorneys At Law
Los Angeles, Washington, Dublin, Berlin
The next business card.
Kennedy & Nixon
Attorneys At Law
Los Angeles, Washington, Dublin, Berlin, Hell.
And the MOST amusing it would be that the Hell office would actually exist, namely in the city of Hell, Cayman Islands.... Being the summer office and to the hour of dealing with corporate stuff... What better location than a fiscal paradise?Attorneys At Law
Los Angeles, Washington, Dublin, Berlin, Hell.
Kennedy & Nixon
Attorneys At Law
Los Angeles, Washington, Dublin, Berlin
The next business card.
Now hearing the Law and Order music being played....
Part 82, Chapter 1248
Chapter One Thousand Two Hundred Forty-Eight
19th October 1957
Tempelhof
“Gräfin Katherine is having one of her bad days” Kiki said, “That is why things are like this around here.”
Ben had noticed that the household had seemed more subdued than usual after Kiki had invited him into the library on the Parlor Floor of the Gräfin’s house to help her study. Even though Kiki had put a record on, Rock & Roll from an American artist he had never heard of before. Whatever romantic ideas Ben might have had were quashed as Kiki went back to her books and asked him to help her with Algebra. He had always been good at mathematics, so Ben didn’t mind helping her. There was also the specter of Petia and the Ukrainian Maid to contend with. Even if Ben were stupid enough to engage in what Petia termed “funny business” with Kiki, he wouldn’t be doing it for long because the to of them were keeping a close eye on what the two of them were doing. Eventually, Ben had asked what was going on.
“Does this happen often?” Ben asked.
“No, not any more” Kiki replied, “According the Petia, things got extremely bad for Kat just after the Soviet War. I remember there were times when she came to meet with my mother, and she could hardly keep her eyes open.”
“What is going on today?” Ben asked, not really expecting an answer.
“She’s been trying to figure out what to do about Kol” Kiki replied, “There’s a school that says that they can take an individual approach to his education.”
Ben had heard his parents talking about what was going on with the Gräfin’s son and he had seen Kol around plenty of times. While Kol seemed like a normal rambunctious six-year-old there was something about him that made him see words scrambled or something.
“That would be a good thing” Ben said, “Wouldn’t it?”
“It’s a boarding school that offers intense education” Kiki said, “And because Tatiana tends to want to go wherever her brother goes Kat figures that both of her oldest children will be attending that school.”
“Oh” Ben replied, he had not thought about how not being able to see her children every day might affect the Gräfin. “How is she taking this?”
Kiki gave a slight humorless laugh. “She’s up in her room trying to sleep off her current funk” She said, “Unfortunately for her, Tat and Jo are trying to cheer her.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad” Ben replied.
“Jo knows what Kat’s favorite songs are” Kiki said, “She tries to sing them for her.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad.”
“You’ve obviously never heard Jo sing” Kiki replied, the look on her face suggested that Jo was probably not the most talented of singers.
“How bad can she be?” Ben asked.
“Jo thinks that enthusiasm and passion can make up for being tone deaf” Kiki replied, “I’ve tired to help her in that regard, but I guess I’m not a very good teacher.”
Ben knew that Kiki was quite good at playing that viola of hers. He found it hard to believe that she couldn’t help the other girl who had been fostered into the Gräfin’s care.
“Tatiana climbs into bed with Katherine and stays there with her until she feels better” Kiki said, “Kat thinks she shouldn’t do that, but hasn’t ever told her not to either.”
It sounded strange to Ben’s ears. He was used to hearing about Gräfin Katherine as this fearsome figure. The great Tigress who malefactors feared to cross. The woman who walked through walls and wasn’t in the least bit shy about using her legendary karambit. Apparently, she too could be overwhelmed by life.
“I got a letter from my friend Suga” Kiki said, changing the subject. “She said that her father consented for her to attend University here in Berlin. She starts in January.”
“The Japanese Princess?” Ben asked.
“Yeah” Kiki replied, “You’ll like her, she’s smart and funny.”
Ben wasn’t so sure about that. Besides Kiki, the only other Princesses he had met were Kiki’s two little sisters. They were identical twins and they seemed to have a lot of fun playing games with other people’s heads, Ben’s included. While he conceded that Vicky and Rea were smart, there was little funny about them. Unless you liked playing the straight man in their jokes.
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Kat could feel Tat hugging her the way she tended to do when Kat got depressed. At least Jo had stopped singing and had joined Kat and Tatiana on the bed. Admittedly, she had gotten better over the previous months. It had been suggested that they needed to get her actual singing lessons because it was something that she clearly loved to do. Kol had gone with Douglas who was photographing Germany’s railroads as a part of an assignment that he was doing for the Government. Doug was gone this afternoon and would be gone for most of the next couple months to work on that project. The thought of not having her children near far sooner than she thought might happen had hit Kat a lot harder than she imagined it would. Then there was what Nizhoni’s Great-Grandmother had said to her…
“It’s wonderful you have a purpose Katherine, though it will always be your purpose.”
That had been unexpected and not welcome, hitting a little too close to home at a time when Kat had been trying to distance herself somewhat from the role that had defined her adult life. As the loyal retainer of the House of Hohenzollern. What if that was true? That she never would be free of that?
19th October 1957
Tempelhof
“Gräfin Katherine is having one of her bad days” Kiki said, “That is why things are like this around here.”
Ben had noticed that the household had seemed more subdued than usual after Kiki had invited him into the library on the Parlor Floor of the Gräfin’s house to help her study. Even though Kiki had put a record on, Rock & Roll from an American artist he had never heard of before. Whatever romantic ideas Ben might have had were quashed as Kiki went back to her books and asked him to help her with Algebra. He had always been good at mathematics, so Ben didn’t mind helping her. There was also the specter of Petia and the Ukrainian Maid to contend with. Even if Ben were stupid enough to engage in what Petia termed “funny business” with Kiki, he wouldn’t be doing it for long because the to of them were keeping a close eye on what the two of them were doing. Eventually, Ben had asked what was going on.
“Does this happen often?” Ben asked.
“No, not any more” Kiki replied, “According the Petia, things got extremely bad for Kat just after the Soviet War. I remember there were times when she came to meet with my mother, and she could hardly keep her eyes open.”
“What is going on today?” Ben asked, not really expecting an answer.
“She’s been trying to figure out what to do about Kol” Kiki replied, “There’s a school that says that they can take an individual approach to his education.”
Ben had heard his parents talking about what was going on with the Gräfin’s son and he had seen Kol around plenty of times. While Kol seemed like a normal rambunctious six-year-old there was something about him that made him see words scrambled or something.
“That would be a good thing” Ben said, “Wouldn’t it?”
“It’s a boarding school that offers intense education” Kiki said, “And because Tatiana tends to want to go wherever her brother goes Kat figures that both of her oldest children will be attending that school.”
“Oh” Ben replied, he had not thought about how not being able to see her children every day might affect the Gräfin. “How is she taking this?”
Kiki gave a slight humorless laugh. “She’s up in her room trying to sleep off her current funk” She said, “Unfortunately for her, Tat and Jo are trying to cheer her.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad” Ben replied.
“Jo knows what Kat’s favorite songs are” Kiki said, “She tries to sing them for her.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad.”
“You’ve obviously never heard Jo sing” Kiki replied, the look on her face suggested that Jo was probably not the most talented of singers.
“How bad can she be?” Ben asked.
“Jo thinks that enthusiasm and passion can make up for being tone deaf” Kiki replied, “I’ve tired to help her in that regard, but I guess I’m not a very good teacher.”
Ben knew that Kiki was quite good at playing that viola of hers. He found it hard to believe that she couldn’t help the other girl who had been fostered into the Gräfin’s care.
“Tatiana climbs into bed with Katherine and stays there with her until she feels better” Kiki said, “Kat thinks she shouldn’t do that, but hasn’t ever told her not to either.”
It sounded strange to Ben’s ears. He was used to hearing about Gräfin Katherine as this fearsome figure. The great Tigress who malefactors feared to cross. The woman who walked through walls and wasn’t in the least bit shy about using her legendary karambit. Apparently, she too could be overwhelmed by life.
“I got a letter from my friend Suga” Kiki said, changing the subject. “She said that her father consented for her to attend University here in Berlin. She starts in January.”
“The Japanese Princess?” Ben asked.
“Yeah” Kiki replied, “You’ll like her, she’s smart and funny.”
Ben wasn’t so sure about that. Besides Kiki, the only other Princesses he had met were Kiki’s two little sisters. They were identical twins and they seemed to have a lot of fun playing games with other people’s heads, Ben’s included. While he conceded that Vicky and Rea were smart, there was little funny about them. Unless you liked playing the straight man in their jokes.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Kat could feel Tat hugging her the way she tended to do when Kat got depressed. At least Jo had stopped singing and had joined Kat and Tatiana on the bed. Admittedly, she had gotten better over the previous months. It had been suggested that they needed to get her actual singing lessons because it was something that she clearly loved to do. Kol had gone with Douglas who was photographing Germany’s railroads as a part of an assignment that he was doing for the Government. Doug was gone this afternoon and would be gone for most of the next couple months to work on that project. The thought of not having her children near far sooner than she thought might happen had hit Kat a lot harder than she imagined it would. Then there was what Nizhoni’s Great-Grandmother had said to her…
“It’s wonderful you have a purpose Katherine, though it will always be your purpose.”
That had been unexpected and not welcome, hitting a little too close to home at a time when Kat had been trying to distance herself somewhat from the role that had defined her adult life. As the loyal retainer of the House of Hohenzollern. What if that was true? That she never would be free of that?
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More like the to themes to L.A. Law and Boston Legal.Now hearing the Law and Order music being played....
IIRC my criminal law classes from decades ago and with a bit of online searching, I can say (as a layman not attorney) the Statute of Limitations doesn't toll* if the fugitive leaves the jurisdiction. Moses left the USA - at that point, time counting towards the Statute of Limitations stops until & unless he returns to the jurisdiction ... meaning within the borders of the good ole USA.
*Toll: v. 1) to delay, suspend or hold off the effect of a statute. "To postpone or suspend. For example, to toll a Statute of Limitations means to postpone the running of the time period it specifies."
Perhaps Kats purpose they were referring to is not what she thinks it is, perhaps she is to be the shepherdess to more generations of powerful young German women.
And intelligence operative (infiltration and wetworks). And commando. And army officer. And, for a while, policewoman. And so on and so forth.
Kat seems to pe perpetually unhappy with her lot in life, and thoroughly determined to find a reason to feel sorry for herself. A pity Kira died, she was one of the few who dared to figuratively dope-slap her out of her funk from time to time.
The switching of jobs and careers is very common among people that suffer from PTSD and Kat is no different.
What Kat needs is something that offers a combination of stability and varied challenges, so that is why I think that being the head of the Kira Killinova Foundation is the best thing for Kat to do.
There can be projects like medical clinics in the German Pacific Islands, immunization programs in South America, sustainable farming in Asia, clean water works in Africa.
Another program is starting something where young Germans can volunteer to serve overseas as a Corp of peaceful helpers.
What Kat needs is something that offers a combination of stability and varied challenges, so that is why I think that being the head of the Kira Killinova Foundation is the best thing for Kat to do.
There can be projects like medical clinics in the German Pacific Islands, immunization programs in South America, sustainable farming in Asia, clean water works in Africa.
Another program is starting something where young Germans can volunteer to serve overseas as a Corp of peaceful helpers.
Part 82, Chapter 1249
Chapter One Thousand Two Hundred Forty-Nine
31st October 1957
Austin, Texas
Bud had listened when Jason Wilson had addressed the Student Democratic Club at the University of Texas and had gone for beer with Jason afterwards. When they heard that a Lawyer was coming from Boston to help organize the student volunteers ahead of the off-year election for the national Party, they had been expecting an arrogant know-it-all snob with his head crammed up his ass. It had turned out that Jason was pretty down to earth for someone in his position.
While Jason had talked exactly like someone from coastal New England might be expected to, it turned out that he had moved around a lot as a kid because his father was in the military. That had included time spent in California, South Carolina and islands in the Pacific. That was why he knew how the country beyond his corner of it worked. When Bud had asked him about it, Jason had given him a sly look and asked him if he was sure that he wasn’t doing the same thing. It was a reminder that Jason was smart as a whip and that was something to look out for. Presently, he was telling everyone at the bar the story about how he was there when two German Marines managed to swindle the US Navy out of a couple cases of beer.
“It doesn’t matter that they were Germans” Bud said, “That whole thing would be legendary if any boys from Texas pulled it off.”
“I guess” Jason replied, “Still, the whole idea of two of their boys putting one over on one of ours, even if our guy was a moron for letting them do it.”
That wasn’t something that Bud would disagree with, though it confirmed something that he suspected about Jason. According to his introduction Jason had attended Harvard Law School. Bud knew that a man who had that in his background could go to New York become a partner in a high-powered law firm and be a multi-millionaire before they turned forty. Instead, Jason had gone to work for the Democratic Party for what amounted to a pittance. That meant that he would one day soon be in the running for office, probably in his home State and his ambitions extended far beyond that.
In transit, Rural Brandenburg
Riding in the cab of the newest electrically driven locomotive was certainly an experience. The Imperial Railway had been able to dispense with the tender car or fuel bunkers that the older locomotives needed with this new design. It got all the power it needed from the cable that ran above the tracks. It also marked a profound change from how the railway had done things over the previous century. Douglas had been hired to do the photography for an in-depth article about those changes.
Steam and Diesel locomotives were getting pushed further east as electrification and automation changed the way the railroad did things. The numbers of crew required to be aboard the trains had also been sharply reduced and many workers, particularly the older ones, were facing uncertain futures as a result. That was something else that Doug had been documenting. The Journalist who he was working with had suggested that it was a small taste of things to come as the economy changed. Doug was deep in thought as he watched the landscape roll by.
The photography was going well, which stood in stark contrast to what was going on at home. Kat, who Doug loved dearly, could be the most infuriating person on the planet sometimes. When she was unhappy, Kat frequently wallowed in misery and was determined to make herself as miserable as possible. Then there was the loss of Kira to factor in. Since the death of Kat’s powerful patroness, something new had creeped into Kat’s life, aimlessness. As much as Kat had frequently resented Kira’s manipulations, the late Empress had more often than not, given her a kick in the right direction.
As near as Doug could tell, Kat have convinced herself of this idealized version of what she thought her post-retirement life would be like. He had heard her talking about how she would finally be the sort of mother her children needed her to be. It was clear to him that she had already been exactly the sort of mother that she needed to be. She had other ideas as well, ones that didn’t take up as much of her time as she had thought they would. Her idea for what to do with Alexanderplatz was brilliant, but once the construction companies had been lined up and the blueprints finalized there wasn’t a whole lot of hands on work for her for the next several months. The Emperor didn’t need her around as much as she had first thought either.
For lack of anything better to do, Doug had called Aunt Marcella. She had decades more of experience in dealing with Kat’s moods than he did. Marcella had just told Doug that water finds its own level. If he gave Kat enough time, then she would eventually figure out what she needed to do. Of course, he had asked Marcella what he should do in the meantime. Marcella had said that he could start by not throwing his dirty clothes onto the floor. There were very few women who didn’t like it when their husbands picked up after themselves.
31st October 1957
Austin, Texas
Bud had listened when Jason Wilson had addressed the Student Democratic Club at the University of Texas and had gone for beer with Jason afterwards. When they heard that a Lawyer was coming from Boston to help organize the student volunteers ahead of the off-year election for the national Party, they had been expecting an arrogant know-it-all snob with his head crammed up his ass. It had turned out that Jason was pretty down to earth for someone in his position.
While Jason had talked exactly like someone from coastal New England might be expected to, it turned out that he had moved around a lot as a kid because his father was in the military. That had included time spent in California, South Carolina and islands in the Pacific. That was why he knew how the country beyond his corner of it worked. When Bud had asked him about it, Jason had given him a sly look and asked him if he was sure that he wasn’t doing the same thing. It was a reminder that Jason was smart as a whip and that was something to look out for. Presently, he was telling everyone at the bar the story about how he was there when two German Marines managed to swindle the US Navy out of a couple cases of beer.
“It doesn’t matter that they were Germans” Bud said, “That whole thing would be legendary if any boys from Texas pulled it off.”
“I guess” Jason replied, “Still, the whole idea of two of their boys putting one over on one of ours, even if our guy was a moron for letting them do it.”
That wasn’t something that Bud would disagree with, though it confirmed something that he suspected about Jason. According to his introduction Jason had attended Harvard Law School. Bud knew that a man who had that in his background could go to New York become a partner in a high-powered law firm and be a multi-millionaire before they turned forty. Instead, Jason had gone to work for the Democratic Party for what amounted to a pittance. That meant that he would one day soon be in the running for office, probably in his home State and his ambitions extended far beyond that.
In transit, Rural Brandenburg
Riding in the cab of the newest electrically driven locomotive was certainly an experience. The Imperial Railway had been able to dispense with the tender car or fuel bunkers that the older locomotives needed with this new design. It got all the power it needed from the cable that ran above the tracks. It also marked a profound change from how the railway had done things over the previous century. Douglas had been hired to do the photography for an in-depth article about those changes.
Steam and Diesel locomotives were getting pushed further east as electrification and automation changed the way the railroad did things. The numbers of crew required to be aboard the trains had also been sharply reduced and many workers, particularly the older ones, were facing uncertain futures as a result. That was something else that Doug had been documenting. The Journalist who he was working with had suggested that it was a small taste of things to come as the economy changed. Doug was deep in thought as he watched the landscape roll by.
The photography was going well, which stood in stark contrast to what was going on at home. Kat, who Doug loved dearly, could be the most infuriating person on the planet sometimes. When she was unhappy, Kat frequently wallowed in misery and was determined to make herself as miserable as possible. Then there was the loss of Kira to factor in. Since the death of Kat’s powerful patroness, something new had creeped into Kat’s life, aimlessness. As much as Kat had frequently resented Kira’s manipulations, the late Empress had more often than not, given her a kick in the right direction.
As near as Doug could tell, Kat have convinced herself of this idealized version of what she thought her post-retirement life would be like. He had heard her talking about how she would finally be the sort of mother her children needed her to be. It was clear to him that she had already been exactly the sort of mother that she needed to be. She had other ideas as well, ones that didn’t take up as much of her time as she had thought they would. Her idea for what to do with Alexanderplatz was brilliant, but once the construction companies had been lined up and the blueprints finalized there wasn’t a whole lot of hands on work for her for the next several months. The Emperor didn’t need her around as much as she had first thought either.
For lack of anything better to do, Doug had called Aunt Marcella. She had decades more of experience in dealing with Kat’s moods than he did. Marcella had just told Doug that water finds its own level. If he gave Kat enough time, then she would eventually figure out what she needed to do. Of course, he had asked Marcella what he should do in the meantime. Marcella had said that he could start by not throwing his dirty clothes onto the floor. There were very few women who didn’t like it when their husbands picked up after themselves.
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Slight nitpick @Peabody-Martini in this otherwise excellent story. It’s not third rail if it’s overhead. It’s then OverHead Line Equipment (OHLE). You only really find third rail on the Southern and Merseyrail on heavy rail in the UK and on Metro systems (U-bahn) in Germany. @iainbhx would be able to expand on this for German railways. Third rail is a raised rail running alongside the running rails.
Berlin S-Bahn is 750V third rail, most of the Hamburg S-Bahn is 1200V third rail. Most likely system in those days would be 15kV overhead.