Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread II
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
ferdi254
Banned
Wir sind alle lauter arme kleine Würstchen
Unter lauter andren armen kleinen Würstchen
Wenn Du schlau bist mein Freund pass auf dass Du nicht vergisst
dass Du nur ein armes kleines Würstchen bist (courtesy Reinhard Mey)
Translation with all due errors:
We are all truly unimportant persons
within all truly unimportant people
if you are clever dear friend make sure never to forget
how truly unimportant you are
For those familiar with German I recommend the whole song. One verse translates to:
For you with the most proud walk in the ballroom there is a banana wrap waiting for you
Unter lauter andren armen kleinen Würstchen
Wenn Du schlau bist mein Freund pass auf dass Du nicht vergisst
dass Du nur ein armes kleines Würstchen bist (courtesy Reinhard Mey)
Translation with all due errors:
We are all truly unimportant persons
within all truly unimportant people
if you are clever dear friend make sure never to forget
how truly unimportant you are
For those familiar with German I recommend the whole song. One verse translates to:
For you with the most proud walk in the ballroom there is a banana wrap waiting for you
Part 93, Chapter 1461
Chapter One Thousand Four Hundred Sixty-One
29th December 1961
Kreuzberg, Berlin
Kat had said that having a portrait taken would be a wonderful gift for her father and stepmother and had arranged for her to go into Doug’s studio in Kreuzberg, a neighborhood increasingly known for being a center of art and culture in Berlin. Mostly it was due to the relatively low rent luring students attending the nearby University of Berlin’s Mitte Campus. The result was that she had gotten a few odd looks when she had gotten out of the car wearing the dark blue dress Uniform of the KSK/FSR and V. Kampfhubschrauberflügel before walking up the stairs to the studio. With her father, stepmother and youngest sister off in the South Seas, her other siblings off doing who knows what she had found herself alone in the Winter Residence. Even Kiki and Aurora were away. Aurora’s boyfriend Helmut had been trying to win over Zella by inviting her along with Aurora for the family ski trip over the Christmas Holiday.
It had taken Kiki less than day before she fled the mostly empty Hohenzollern Palace to spend the remainder of the holiday with Kat’s family. The children had been overjoyed to have another guest at the house because unknown to Kiki, Gia and Anya had come for the holiday as well. Everyone knew that Kat actually liked having a big, chaotic household, she had certainly gotten it. Gia had a bit of surprising news of her own, that she was going to marry her longtime boyfriend that spring when he returned from something that the Russian Czar had tasked him with in a corner of the globe that Kiki had never heard of before. This was a huge leap for Gia, Kiki was aware that she looked at the idea of marriage with a great deal of trepidation. It was not just because of Gia’s status as the last descendant of Nicholas the 2nd but her fear of passing on the genetic curse that had killed her Uncle Alexei and might be lurking dormant in her until it could express itself in a new generation.
“A few more, we want to get this right” Doug said before he disappeared behind his camera again, as Kiki did her best to look proper. “Now on that exact spot you are sitting I did my first real photo-session with Katherine.”
“Really?” Kiki asked, “When was that?”
“Summer of 1944, right before I left for the Far East” Doug answered as he was fiddling with a dial on the camera, “She was trying to get over a few issues that she had.”
“I can’t imagine Kat having those sorts of issues” Kiki said.
“You would be amazed” Doug said, “I certainly was when she started taking off her clothes.”
Kiki mind was reeling from the implications of that when the flash strobes went off.
“Perfect” Doug said looking up from the viewfinder.
“That wasn’t fair” Kiki said, he had gone out of his way to get that reaction from her.
“As I say to Jo every hour or so when she complains about how something isn’t fair, c’est la vie” Doug said with a smile.
That’s life. It sounded about right to Kiki who should have known better than to complain about how unfair things could be. She had gotten quite an education in that in the days since she had returned to Berlin. Somehow, word had leaked out that Princess Kristina and Kiki Fischer were the same person. A few days after she had gotten back a photograph of her wearing a field uniform, bundled against the cold sometime in November or December had run in the papers. She was on leave until the second week of January, then she would need to report to Rangsdorf where the rest of her team was expected to be. Aside from Mitzi, none of them had known her actual identity and Kiki didn’t have the first clue as to how she was going to face them.
“I should have known that you were joking to get a reaction” Kiki said.
“Actually, that isn’t a joke” Doug said, “She posed nude for the photo-session and then had me burn the negatives afterwards.”
“I take it she got over those issues?” Kiki asked, trying not to laugh. This whole thing was beyond belief.
“I would say so” Doug replied, “You don’t end up with three children by accident, you have to have done something to bring them here.”
Kiki smiled at that. She knew Kat’s story well enough, but the part that hadn’t been completely told was the role that Doug must have played in getting her to not isolate herself as she had been. Doug snapped another photograph as Kiki had that thought.
“That was also the reason why she didn’t land on you like a ton of bricks when you posed for a similar session yourself a few years ago” Doug said.
That really shocked Kiki, she remembered that incident well. It was the first time that she had painted herself into a corner by getting involved with a situation that even the adults around her would have found uncomfortable. Katherine had been surprisingly lenient over the whole matter and Kiki had no idea why, that is until now. Some of the things that Kat had said about maintaining credibility, even if it was with just yourself, seemed to apply.
29th December 1961
Kreuzberg, Berlin
Kat had said that having a portrait taken would be a wonderful gift for her father and stepmother and had arranged for her to go into Doug’s studio in Kreuzberg, a neighborhood increasingly known for being a center of art and culture in Berlin. Mostly it was due to the relatively low rent luring students attending the nearby University of Berlin’s Mitte Campus. The result was that she had gotten a few odd looks when she had gotten out of the car wearing the dark blue dress Uniform of the KSK/FSR and V. Kampfhubschrauberflügel before walking up the stairs to the studio. With her father, stepmother and youngest sister off in the South Seas, her other siblings off doing who knows what she had found herself alone in the Winter Residence. Even Kiki and Aurora were away. Aurora’s boyfriend Helmut had been trying to win over Zella by inviting her along with Aurora for the family ski trip over the Christmas Holiday.
It had taken Kiki less than day before she fled the mostly empty Hohenzollern Palace to spend the remainder of the holiday with Kat’s family. The children had been overjoyed to have another guest at the house because unknown to Kiki, Gia and Anya had come for the holiday as well. Everyone knew that Kat actually liked having a big, chaotic household, she had certainly gotten it. Gia had a bit of surprising news of her own, that she was going to marry her longtime boyfriend that spring when he returned from something that the Russian Czar had tasked him with in a corner of the globe that Kiki had never heard of before. This was a huge leap for Gia, Kiki was aware that she looked at the idea of marriage with a great deal of trepidation. It was not just because of Gia’s status as the last descendant of Nicholas the 2nd but her fear of passing on the genetic curse that had killed her Uncle Alexei and might be lurking dormant in her until it could express itself in a new generation.
“A few more, we want to get this right” Doug said before he disappeared behind his camera again, as Kiki did her best to look proper. “Now on that exact spot you are sitting I did my first real photo-session with Katherine.”
“Really?” Kiki asked, “When was that?”
“Summer of 1944, right before I left for the Far East” Doug answered as he was fiddling with a dial on the camera, “She was trying to get over a few issues that she had.”
“I can’t imagine Kat having those sorts of issues” Kiki said.
“You would be amazed” Doug said, “I certainly was when she started taking off her clothes.”
Kiki mind was reeling from the implications of that when the flash strobes went off.
“Perfect” Doug said looking up from the viewfinder.
“That wasn’t fair” Kiki said, he had gone out of his way to get that reaction from her.
“As I say to Jo every hour or so when she complains about how something isn’t fair, c’est la vie” Doug said with a smile.
That’s life. It sounded about right to Kiki who should have known better than to complain about how unfair things could be. She had gotten quite an education in that in the days since she had returned to Berlin. Somehow, word had leaked out that Princess Kristina and Kiki Fischer were the same person. A few days after she had gotten back a photograph of her wearing a field uniform, bundled against the cold sometime in November or December had run in the papers. She was on leave until the second week of January, then she would need to report to Rangsdorf where the rest of her team was expected to be. Aside from Mitzi, none of them had known her actual identity and Kiki didn’t have the first clue as to how she was going to face them.
“I should have known that you were joking to get a reaction” Kiki said.
“Actually, that isn’t a joke” Doug said, “She posed nude for the photo-session and then had me burn the negatives afterwards.”
“I take it she got over those issues?” Kiki asked, trying not to laugh. This whole thing was beyond belief.
“I would say so” Doug replied, “You don’t end up with three children by accident, you have to have done something to bring them here.”
Kiki smiled at that. She knew Kat’s story well enough, but the part that hadn’t been completely told was the role that Doug must have played in getting her to not isolate herself as she had been. Doug snapped another photograph as Kiki had that thought.
“That was also the reason why she didn’t land on you like a ton of bricks when you posed for a similar session yourself a few years ago” Doug said.
That really shocked Kiki, she remembered that incident well. It was the first time that she had painted herself into a corner by getting involved with a situation that even the adults around her would have found uncomfortable. Katherine had been surprisingly lenient over the whole matter and Kiki had no idea why, that is until now. Some of the things that Kat had said about maintaining credibility, even if it was with just yourself, seemed to apply.
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At least she doesn't seem to blame her father and brother for likely having cause her being outed by attracting everyone's attention with their surprise inspection.
On the plus side whoever did blab, even if it wasn't an official secret, likely proved to those in charge that they are not to be trusted with delicate work that require discretion.
It was a good thing she already outed herself to Mitzi and hinted at her identity to the rest of the team, that should make the revelation much easier to swallow without feelings of betrayal.
It would be interesting how Kiki's military career is seen in the press. I would guess there is quite a gap between her self-image and whatever the magazines that usually follow around royalty and nobility or celebrities in general portray her as and what more serious papers or papers with strong political leanings write about her.
On the plus side whoever did blab, even if it wasn't an official secret, likely proved to those in charge that they are not to be trusted with delicate work that require discretion.
It was a good thing she already outed herself to Mitzi and hinted at her identity to the rest of the team, that should make the revelation much easier to swallow without feelings of betrayal.
It would be interesting how Kiki's military career is seen in the press. I would guess there is quite a gap between her self-image and whatever the magazines that usually follow around royalty and nobility or celebrities in general portray her as and what more serious papers or papers with strong political leanings write about her.
I would suggest that within the Kiki's team her true identity was known by all but they kept up the subterfuge of not knowing, allowing Kiki to tell them in her own time is a confirmation of trust that goes both ways. If the photographs given to the press of Kiki in uniform came from one of her team, then the betrayal will sit badly with the other team members 'who kept the faith' so to speak.
Pfullendorf to Regen is at least 5 hours drive, nowadays, with good trafic. so it would have made sense to base the trainees somewhat closer to there instead of the middle of swabia.
The bohemian border is a respectable, though not alpine, mountain chain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavarian_Forest
The bohemian border is a respectable, though not alpine, mountain chain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavarian_Forest
Berlin having such a reputation for art and culture must chafe French behind more than just about anything else ITTL
Gia getting MARRIED means you will have two, count them two, badasses living together, of course Gia will wear the pants in the family. Imagine who will be at the wedding and the fun part of sitting them together in the cathedral and reception. Woe be unto them who gets stuck doing it. Kat matron of honor? Elizabeth 2? Kiki? ALberta? If Louis's child is old enough have them as a flower girl.
Random Thoughts to clear up an unclear mind:
While it is known that Princess Kristina is in the Joint Medical Service, it is whenever she goes for training there is a media blackout about her until she completes training.
As for her team members not knowing that she is a princess, that is because she does not act like how they think a princess would act, after all Kiki Fischer has been doing the same training that have been doing without getting any special privileges.
As for the media reaction it should be mostly positive as Germany is coming up quickly to the 20th anniversary of the formation of the Women Auxiliaries and it will be seen as a continuation of the tradition that Prussian and other German Royalty serves in the military.
Charlotte I think will be amused and not threatened at all if in the German Pacific Islands if the late Empress Kira is held in high reverence by the Islanders and will go out of her way to honor the memory of Kira, Nella is going to charm the world when pictures of her are released showing her in native dress playing with the children of the GPI.
Berlin was on the way of becoming the cultural center of Europe when IOTL something happened and for some unspecified reasons a lot of artists especially Jewish ones left Germany and came to the United States, ITTL without that Berlin should be by far ahead of other parts of Europe on the cutting edge of the arts and in mass media.
I think that someone is going to be named a Grand Duke by the Czar as a way to keep the Happy Couple on an equal social status.
While it is known that Princess Kristina is in the Joint Medical Service, it is whenever she goes for training there is a media blackout about her until she completes training.
As for her team members not knowing that she is a princess, that is because she does not act like how they think a princess would act, after all Kiki Fischer has been doing the same training that have been doing without getting any special privileges.
As for the media reaction it should be mostly positive as Germany is coming up quickly to the 20th anniversary of the formation of the Women Auxiliaries and it will be seen as a continuation of the tradition that Prussian and other German Royalty serves in the military.
Charlotte I think will be amused and not threatened at all if in the German Pacific Islands if the late Empress Kira is held in high reverence by the Islanders and will go out of her way to honor the memory of Kira, Nella is going to charm the world when pictures of her are released showing her in native dress playing with the children of the GPI.
Berlin was on the way of becoming the cultural center of Europe when IOTL something happened and for some unspecified reasons a lot of artists especially Jewish ones left Germany and came to the United States, ITTL without that Berlin should be by far ahead of other parts of Europe on the cutting edge of the arts and in mass media.
I think that someone is going to be named a Grand Duke by the Czar as a way to keep the Happy Couple on an equal social status.
Not sure. I could easily imagine Paris being the center of high art, graciousness and classical music, while Berlin is more the "Swinging London" of this timeline. However we do get very little about how France and Britain are in this timeline. I suspect, politically, they would be trying to balance the US and Germany to prevent a dangerous hegemon - and getting really frustrated at the US's ability to miss an opportunity. We might see a French and British trade block/alliance (probably not called the EU) to balance against Germany.
If nothing else, I'd love to know how Algeria went down ITTL.
That was a messy situation in the kindest possible way of putting it.
This immediately brought to mind: "Some people did something". Which I know is an out of context quote but is now what I hear with understatements.
Part 93, Chapter 1462
Chapter One Thousand Four Hundred Sixty-Two
8th January 1962
London, England
London isn’t the end of the world, but that doesn’t mean that you cannot sort of see it from there.
That was the joke that Jack had seen on a recent BBC television sitcom that had been rebroadcast in Ireland when one of the show’s protagonists gets transferred to London for his job. That came to mind as he rode in a taxi from Heathrow into the city and looked out at the grey buildings under leaden skies. It lacked the almost fungal vibrancy of Berlin or the renewed screw you attitude that Paris had. Instead, London felt like a cornered animal. It was hardly a surprise considering the sorts of news that was coming in from the Empire these days. Of British soldiers bravely holding the line against the “barbarian hoards” when a glance at the map revealed that the line in question was pushed a little further back with each new story.
The reason for Jack’s presence in London had to do with simple expediency and a desire to keep himself alive. He remembered how Kat von Mischner speaking out of turn had caused him no end of grief as the remnant of the IRA had used his working with Fleming to force him to help some of their people avoid a well-deserved term in prison. If the rest of it came out, that Fleming and the SIS had him by the balls and they had forced him spy on the German Military and the Irish Regiment during the Second World War. Then there would be nowhere on Earth that he could hide without someone from Ireland coming to cut his throat. It was the first rule of blackmail, get the mark to further incriminate themselves. The second was to never let the mark go, but that much was obvious. What wasn’t so obvious was why the deal that he had with Ian Fleming seemed to no longer apply.
Jack didn’t understand what British Military Intelligence could possibly want with him. He was a middle-aged Solicitor in questionable health. Sure, he had a reputation in Ireland of being the man who won impossible cases that most others would have shied away from. If any of their people had been caught in Dublin, he would have heard about it. He would have understood reason for the summons if that had been the case. It wasn’t.
Sitting in an outer office that smelled overwhelmingly of disinfectant and old dust, Jack waited while tapping his fingers on his briefcase. “Mr. Cornwell will see you now” The Secretary said. “Third door on the left.”
Jack had not heard or seen anything that would have let her know that. One more strange thing in this place that was full of such things. As Jack made his way back to the office of this “Cornwell” it was remarkable just how little there was to see. Just a hallway with dark stained doors.
Entering the office, the first thing that Jack saw was a dead houseplant. An indication that Cornwell must not spend a great deal of time here. That was either good or bad depending on one’s perspective.
“Pleased to meet you Jack” Cornwell said as he shook his hand, “Ian told me so much about you.”
“Then he also would have told you that we had a deal” Jack replied, “One you seem to not be interested in following.”
“Perhaps” Cornwell said, “But he also said that you were someone who would understand an excellent opportunity when you saw it.”
“Meaning what?” Jack asked.
“Meaning that we live in a world that we share with the Americans and the Germans” Cornwell replied, “You are a rare individual who understands both but is of neither. We are trying to predict how they will react in a particular set of circumstances. We would like you on as a consultant, no fieldwork of course.”
“So” Jack said, “What does that understanding have to do with anything?”
“Plenty” Cornwell replied, “What do you know about China?”
“Not much” Jack replied, trying to figure out what that had to do the Americans and the Germans. Cornwell was around thirty and seemed to be entirely too full of himself for someone so young.
“Generalissimo Chiang is hanging on by his fingernails” Cornwell said, “He has been saber-rattling to make domestic problems go away but that has been a case of diminishing returns and he is expected to start a real war sooner or later. The Americans have been thinking about getting rid of him but have figured that whoever replaces him will be worse.”
“A war that you think will pull in the Germans?” Jack asked.
“And the Japanese” Cornwell said, “Hell on Earth is going to be unleashed in the Far East if that happens, the situation will be completely chaotic and in chaos you can steal.”
“You make this sound like the Great Game” Jack said, “Do I need to remind you that in the end everyone involved lost.”
“The Great Powers lost” Cornwell said, “However those in a position to exploit the situation made out quite well.”
“Playing both sides against the middle” Jack said, “And if it gets a few million people caught in the crossfire killed in the process of making a fortune then Devil take the hindmost.”
“It is how the world works” Cornwell said, “Everyone is looking out for their own interests, I’m sure you see that with your clients every day.”
“That is well and good Mr. Cornwell” Jack said, “But I fail to see how any of this is in my interest.”
“Call me David” Cornwell said, “And you must have seen the city coming in from the airport. All of that is symptomatic of the lethargy that had afflicted England in recent years. Do I need to remind you that if London sneezes then Ireland will get the flu?”
8th January 1962
London, England
London isn’t the end of the world, but that doesn’t mean that you cannot sort of see it from there.
That was the joke that Jack had seen on a recent BBC television sitcom that had been rebroadcast in Ireland when one of the show’s protagonists gets transferred to London for his job. That came to mind as he rode in a taxi from Heathrow into the city and looked out at the grey buildings under leaden skies. It lacked the almost fungal vibrancy of Berlin or the renewed screw you attitude that Paris had. Instead, London felt like a cornered animal. It was hardly a surprise considering the sorts of news that was coming in from the Empire these days. Of British soldiers bravely holding the line against the “barbarian hoards” when a glance at the map revealed that the line in question was pushed a little further back with each new story.
The reason for Jack’s presence in London had to do with simple expediency and a desire to keep himself alive. He remembered how Kat von Mischner speaking out of turn had caused him no end of grief as the remnant of the IRA had used his working with Fleming to force him to help some of their people avoid a well-deserved term in prison. If the rest of it came out, that Fleming and the SIS had him by the balls and they had forced him spy on the German Military and the Irish Regiment during the Second World War. Then there would be nowhere on Earth that he could hide without someone from Ireland coming to cut his throat. It was the first rule of blackmail, get the mark to further incriminate themselves. The second was to never let the mark go, but that much was obvious. What wasn’t so obvious was why the deal that he had with Ian Fleming seemed to no longer apply.
Jack didn’t understand what British Military Intelligence could possibly want with him. He was a middle-aged Solicitor in questionable health. Sure, he had a reputation in Ireland of being the man who won impossible cases that most others would have shied away from. If any of their people had been caught in Dublin, he would have heard about it. He would have understood reason for the summons if that had been the case. It wasn’t.
Sitting in an outer office that smelled overwhelmingly of disinfectant and old dust, Jack waited while tapping his fingers on his briefcase. “Mr. Cornwell will see you now” The Secretary said. “Third door on the left.”
Jack had not heard or seen anything that would have let her know that. One more strange thing in this place that was full of such things. As Jack made his way back to the office of this “Cornwell” it was remarkable just how little there was to see. Just a hallway with dark stained doors.
Entering the office, the first thing that Jack saw was a dead houseplant. An indication that Cornwell must not spend a great deal of time here. That was either good or bad depending on one’s perspective.
“Pleased to meet you Jack” Cornwell said as he shook his hand, “Ian told me so much about you.”
“Then he also would have told you that we had a deal” Jack replied, “One you seem to not be interested in following.”
“Perhaps” Cornwell said, “But he also said that you were someone who would understand an excellent opportunity when you saw it.”
“Meaning what?” Jack asked.
“Meaning that we live in a world that we share with the Americans and the Germans” Cornwell replied, “You are a rare individual who understands both but is of neither. We are trying to predict how they will react in a particular set of circumstances. We would like you on as a consultant, no fieldwork of course.”
“So” Jack said, “What does that understanding have to do with anything?”
“Plenty” Cornwell replied, “What do you know about China?”
“Not much” Jack replied, trying to figure out what that had to do the Americans and the Germans. Cornwell was around thirty and seemed to be entirely too full of himself for someone so young.
“Generalissimo Chiang is hanging on by his fingernails” Cornwell said, “He has been saber-rattling to make domestic problems go away but that has been a case of diminishing returns and he is expected to start a real war sooner or later. The Americans have been thinking about getting rid of him but have figured that whoever replaces him will be worse.”
“A war that you think will pull in the Germans?” Jack asked.
“And the Japanese” Cornwell said, “Hell on Earth is going to be unleashed in the Far East if that happens, the situation will be completely chaotic and in chaos you can steal.”
“You make this sound like the Great Game” Jack said, “Do I need to remind you that in the end everyone involved lost.”
“The Great Powers lost” Cornwell said, “However those in a position to exploit the situation made out quite well.”
“Playing both sides against the middle” Jack said, “And if it gets a few million people caught in the crossfire killed in the process of making a fortune then Devil take the hindmost.”
“It is how the world works” Cornwell said, “Everyone is looking out for their own interests, I’m sure you see that with your clients every day.”
“That is well and good Mr. Cornwell” Jack said, “But I fail to see how any of this is in my interest.”
“Call me David” Cornwell said, “And you must have seen the city coming in from the airport. All of that is symptomatic of the lethargy that had afflicted England in recent years. Do I need to remind you that if London sneezes then Ireland will get the flu?”
Yes. And ITTL he is also the man who infiltrated the OKW in Wunsdorf-Zossen and exposed the activities of Johann Schultz.