Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread II

When the US State Department figures out what Nancy just pulled out on the diplomatic front they are going to kick themselves over and over for letting her get away, and then they are going to find Paul Finlay and beat him over his head with his bum arm.
Maybe Nancy and Tilo can make a visit to Washington State to see her family and we can see how things are going with the American people.
 
Maybe she should look into sailing. A small schooner could do much the same, motoring up and down rivers with the option of going out to sea to stretch her legs. One around 12 meters should do nicely.

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ferdi254

Banned
IOTL simply running a motorized vessel this size on rivers needs a licence which is pretty expensive and not that easy to get... but no normal waterpolice patrol would ask the princess of Germany for a license I guess.
 
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Small ones are actually built for it. You'd need to be good, of course, but that particular one is a 35 foot, that is designed for the solo sailor.

I'm sure her Great Grandfather would smile on in joy. As it is he's already probably very happy none of his great-Grandchildren resemble his son in anyway shape or form (Even Michael, the most "Royal who Does nothing" of the bunch is far from as useless as Wilhelm III was.)
 
Late that night, when Ben was woken up by a light being on in the saloon. As the boat rocked in the wake of a ship passing on the river, Ben thought he heard Kiki weeping.
The fact that Kiki is crying is a good sign that she is not self medicating herself to feel nothing, which is one of the symptoms of PTSD where the people who have it try to numb themselves from the feelings and emotions that they have.
Other signs are excessive risk taking in things like gambling and sexualized behavior, so hopefully Kiki will get the help she needs and be the role model for the most important cause that she will take up, the right for destigmatizing veterans mental health care and needs.
 
Part 96, Chapter 1515
Chapter One Thousand Five Hundred Fifteen


7th October 1962

Pusan, Korea

They were going home at last. Nancy was overjoyed to hear that news. Tilo had been certain that he was going to be reduced in Rank so that he could remain in command of the 3rd MID. Instead, the Navy had given him the option of taking charge of the Mürwik Naval Academy until they figured out what to do with him. Tilo had taught Philosophy there for a time, so it was figured that he would be well qualified for that role. Sure, Flensburg was a bit far from where they would ideally end up eventually, but it was a lot closer than Pusan was.

That move would not happen until December, but to Nancy that seemed like it would be no time at all. She had an entire house to pack and three small children who were going to be a nightmare. That was before even the daunting prospect of an entire day aboard an airplane was factored in. Already, shipping crates had been brought into the house and they were trying to determine what would go and what would stay. It wasn’t proving to be an easy process. It was made more complicated by a number of items of questionable value and utility that had been gifts that they couldn’t exactly throw out or give away.

Tilo had joked that attending school in Germany would open whole new vistas for Sabastian’s misbehavior. Four-years-old and already bound for either Prison or the Regiment, Nancy thought to herself. That was a joke about the men in the Schultz family that she had discovered was completely true and not particularly funny. Tilo had made it into University, just a detour to the Pacific had occurred in the meantime and Nancy had heard about what he had been like prior to that. Ironically, the Marine Infantry had probably saved Tilo from a lifetime of being a conceded, small minded toad.


Mitte, Berlin

The good news was that Kiki was probably closer to Rea than at any time in the past decade. The bad was that Kiki’s father had never been more upset with her in her life. Both of those things were for the same reason. It had started with a family meal that Charlotte had insisted upon while everyone was in Berlin at the same time that had, of course, gone horribly wrong. Rea had been convinced that Kiki was a goody-goody who never stepped out of line and when Kiki had mentioned her trip to Prague, the questions had started. Exactly how had she gotten there? Kiki mentioned the Meta and that had led to more questions. Like when had she learned to pilot a boat? And wasn’t there a licensing requirement? As it turned out, having her little brother spending a day teaching her did not cut the ice. And who had sold the damned thing to her in the first place?

The result was that Kiki spent a considerable part of the afternoon having a surreal conversation with her father with Charlotte sitting there and reminding him that he didn’t need to yell to get the point across. It seemed that having Rea and now Kiki flouting the Law whenever it suited them and thinking that their family connections would shield them from consequences was something that he was entirely fed up with. Kiki had drawn a dirty look from him when she said that the Meta had been a spontaneous and impulsive purchase on her part, not something she had planned to do. Then her father had demanded to know about just who had been her guests aboard the Meta. She did admit that Doctor Berg and Ben had aboard. Only to learn that the BII had been keeping watch, they had seen that Ben had stayed overnight. Kiki could honestly say that nothing had happened, he had slept in the forward cabin while she had hardly slept at all that night. Her nightmares had kept waking her up and she had ended up trying to make the herbal tea that Berg had recommended to help. The fact that she hadn’t been able to stop weeping again made it just as well that Ben had been asleep. Not that she felt the need to explain any of that to her father. Fortunately, the BII had not been around when fear and paranoia had driven her to shoot at shadows. The further she got from that the worse it seemed. Still, the title for the Meta was in Kiki’s name and she would get jammed up if anyone ever asked if she was qualified to run the boat. That would need to be rectified as soon as possible. Sending her to Kiel to take some classes was the best solution, because she would have time to do that over the next few weeks. If she intended to keep the Meta.

That was when the conversation turned to what her father had intended to talk to her about. Kiki’s birthday. It was a reminder of something that she had avoided discussing for good reason. Twenty-one was the legal age of majority and from her father’s perspective Kiki was giving everyone mixed signals about what she was doing with her life. She would have greater control over her finances and life, but what was she going to be doing beyond a vague plan to attend Medical School sometime in the future.
 
Honestly the entire thing with the boating license issue is actually going to fall upon the people in charge of Kiki rather then Kiki herself, after all we can generally assume that no one told her about it nor did the seller, so how was she to know, after all there’s no internet so unless you know pretty much exactly what you are searching for, you’ll have a lot of trouble in the library trying to find the information. This kind of situation often befalls foreign tourists who are not informed or stopped by their guide, leading to issues with the local police, kind of like someone saying you need a license to ride one kind of vehicle in that country, that you wouldn’t in you’re home country.

Either way someone is getting a stiff reprimand from the emperor over letting his daughter do such a thing, without informing him and informing Kiki about what procedures she had to follow to operate it.
 

ferdi254

Banned
Well for a German citizens it would be like... what I need a license for that... like what I had to pay taxes on my income? So claiming not knowing the rules will not help you at all.

This is Germany after all. No license (or adequate) you are not allowed to do a lot of things.

And if anybody from the USA is now boasting about his liberty trust me the USA is in many ways much more restrictive than Germany
 
Tilo had been certain that he was going to be reduced in Rank so that he could remain in command of the 3rd MID. Instead, the Navy had given him the option of taking charge of the Mürwik Naval Academy until they figured out what to do with him.
...Most Ominous.....seems that Reier's Prediction will come true.
“Perhaps” Reier said, “But the next time the balloon goes up, they’ll need a Theater Commander and it will be Generaloberst von Schultz, it’s a very short leap to Field Marshal.”

“What’s this von bullshit?” Tilo asked, slightly offended that Reier would suggest such a thing. Entirely too respectable.
If it happens, i can imagine Jost going to have a fistfight with Tilo for making the Schultz name.....Respectable.......
 
If it happens, i can imagine Jost going to have a fistfight with Tilo for making the Schultz name.....Respectable.......

Nah. Von Schultzes have to be respectable. Regular Schultzes can still be gutter trash if they want. Anyway, Jost might try to start a fistfight, but Tilo will tie him in a knot.
 
Nah. Von Schultzes have to be respectable. Regular Schultzes can still be gutter trash if they want. Anyway, Jost might try to start a fistfight, but Tilo will tie him in a knot.

Nah, Tilo's smart. He'll just sic Nancy on his brother, cause Jost can't lay a finger on her without losing it and any other sensitive body parts.
 
Part 96, Chapter 1516
Chapter One Thousand Five Hundred Sixteen


10th October 1962

Kiel

Riding in Louis Junior’s boat was a welcome change after spending the morning in a classroom setting as she prepared for the written exam that was upcoming. Ideally, this was the practical part of her studies. Lou had other plans and had wanted to know if Kiki was interested in doing something that was exciting, because they always needed someone with fresh eyes involved. So far that involved sitting in the rain and being glad that she had remembered to bring an oilskin coat. The stocking cap that Kiki was wearing did nothing to keep the rain drops off her glasses which was a bit of an annoyance.

“Why did you buy a boat anyway?” Lou asked over the outboard engine as he steered the launch out into the main canal. “I would have never expected that.”

That was the embarrassing question that had been thrown around constantly. One that Kiki had been reluctant to answer. Lou had been helping her with the Helmsman’s license, so she did owe him a bit of an answer. With how they were out in the middle of the fjord and Lou running the outboard engine there was little danger of them being overheard.

“It was because of a frog” Kiki replied.

Lou gave her a look of disbelief.

“Before I left for Württemberg, I went on a pleasure trip on a forty-meter barge that had been rented by Zella’s family” Kiki said, “Zella’s little brother, Walter put a frog in the cabin that I was sharing with Zella and Aurora.”

“What happened to the frog?”

“I threw it out the window” Kiki said, “I figured that it would be happier out in water. That was the last time I remember being truly happy.”

“And that caused you buy a boat?” Lou asked with a laugh.

“I just wanted to be happy again” Kiki said, “I saw that it was up for sale and I went to just take a look at it. Next thing I knew, I was writing a check.”

Lou just laughed at that.

“I know how stupid that sounds” Kiki said, “It was impulsive, and it’s like you said, not like me. What do I know about boats?”

“I think that it was a good idea” Lou said to Kiki’s complete surprise, “It means that I have something to talk about with another member of my family.”

With that Lou expertly pulled the launch up to the floating dock that was tied up to the side of an old tramp steamer. The Matrose whose name Kiki didn’t know who had been riding in the bow, jumped out and tied up the launch.

“This is the SS O’Brian” Lou said, then he leaned closed to Kiki and whispered, “It’s a smuggling operation that’s really a CIA front that Captain Hase has been doing business with on behalf of the BND by pretending to be corrupt so that our side can keep tabs on what they are up to.”

“Is that a joke?” Kiki asked.

“No” Lou replied, “It sounds like something from a bad movie though.”

“So, should I just introduce myself?” Kiki asked, “von Preussen, Kristina von Preussen.”

“James Bond is British Military Intelligence, not CIA” Lou said, “You can wait in the boat if you are going to do that and for fuck’s sake don’t use your real name. Our surname is von Spree and you’re my cute, though rather simpleminded sister here to visit.”

Kiki blew a raspberry at Lou as he climbed out of the boat. He had inherited their father’s lanky frame, even so he had a considerable amount practice in this sort of thing.

The American Sailors couldn’t hear what was being discussed but obviously understood the meaning of that last bit. They laughed as Kiki followed Lou up the ladder onto the deck of the O’Brian. As she watched, the Sailors were extremely efficient in getting the crates loaded with mostly cigarettes and alcohol from the deck down to the launch. Lou walked into the superstructure of the ship, clearly having been here before. Entering the mess cabin, Kiki saw who she presumed was the Captain though she was remined of a spider sitting at the center of its web.

“Just who is this?” The Captain asked looking at Kiki asked in English.

“My sister” Lou said in the same language, “It would have been suspicious if she had stayed with the launch.”

“I didn’t know that the German Navy was a family operation” The Captain said.

“It is in our family” Lou said, “Though Kiki is in the Sanitätsdienst.”

“The what?” The Captain asked.

“Medical Service” Lou said, “She wants to be a Surgeon.”

“Is that true?” The Captain asked Kiki who feigned a dumbfounded expression. She had done this sort of thing enough times before when she didn’t want to talk to people from other countries.

“Wie bitte?” Kiki asked with an uncomfortable smile.

“You don’t have to worry about her repeating any of this conversation” Lou said, sounding annoyed as he handed the Captain a small cloth bag.

“I guess not” The Captain said ignoring Kiki after that, “How was the Orient?”

“Would you believe that they had me piloting a Landing Craft” Lou said, “A great wallowing tub full of Marines that the Chinese got to use as target practice.”

“My condolences” The Captain replied.
 
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Part 96, Chapter 1517
Chapter One Thousand Five Hundred Seventeen


13th October 1962

Pusan, Korea

Reading the International Section of the newspaper Nancy saw that Typhoon Freda had done extensive damage in the Willamette Valley and Portland, Oregon. Reports were still coming in, but it sounded like a disaster of biblical proportions. Perhaps one of the volcanos in the Cascade Mountains would explode and ad an exclamation point, Nancy thought to herself. When Nancy thought about her friend Beatrice and the wasted potential that she had represented it still filled her with anger. Portland, that damp, dark backwards city had played a large role in what Beatrice had become. In her thinking nothing too bad could happen to that particular city.

Nancy felt something wrap around her legs, looking down she saw Sabastian was hugging her. He could be very sweet when he wasn’t doing his level best to drive everyone in this house insane. If that wasn’t a sign that he was Tilo’s son, then nothing was.

“What do you want Bas?” Nancy asked.

Sabastian didn’t answer, he just kept hugging her. If she had to guess, Nancy figured that this had to do with the upcoming move. He had only the vaguest memories of living in Cuxhaven, the unique culture that existed in Pusan were all he had ever known. Living in Flensburg would be quite a shock. The children would also be able to see their Oma, Tilo’s mother, a whole lot more though which was a good thing. When Nancy had time to think about it, she had realized that in many ways living in Flensburg would be a homecoming for her because her grandparents hadn’t lived too far from there before they had moved to what would become Washington State almost a century earlier.

“I am terribly sorry if he is bothering you” Seo-Hyeon said as she came in from the kitchen where she and Noella were trying to keep the children corralled while Nancy worked. Sabastian must have escaped.

“Bas isn’t a bother” Nancy said, “Especially when he is being sweet.”

“I wouldn’t trust that” Seo-Hyeon said and Nancy smiled. Clearly the Korean woman had gotten to know Sabastian extremely well.


Tegel, Berlin

“Because of this Air Wing’s excellent combat record, we are to be reequipped with the first of the B series of the Pfeil Fighter/Bombers” Oberst Stigler said to the men who made up the aircrews, “As you can see, you have a lot to learn before the airplanes arrive.”

Ben looked at Pilot’s handbook with considerable dismay. It looked like it was as thick as the phone directory and was very likely about as lively a read. After SKG 18 had returned from Korea, word had swiftly spread that Franz Stigler was on the short list to be promoted to Generalmajor. That was why he was not letting them wing it as far as the familiarization of the new planes was concerned. There was also a rumor floating around that the Oberst would cheerfully shoot anyone who jeopardized that promotion. Considering that the majority of the Air Wing’s personnel were Reservists the odds of someone screwing something up happened to be extremely high.

Ben was paging the book. No matter how daunting it seemed he would need to get all of this down.

“It says here that the new planes will have improved engines” Wim said, and then was flipping through page after page filled with technical jargon. “They are giving us the option of reheat.”

Wim seemed delighted by the prospect of that. It seemed to Ben that such a thing would be done to make the Pfeil more flexible than it already was. It had been to the Luftwaffe’s chagrin that the second and third leading Aces to emerge from the Sino-Korean War had been flying attack planes that had been designed by the Canadian division of a British Corporation. But there they and the numbers didn’t lie. Ben and Wim had gotten fifteen, including the extraordinary “Ace in a day” which put them in the number thee spot for the conflict. That included going toe to toe with the best pilot that the Chinese had. Overall it meant that neither of them had anything to prove. The Oberst and his Staff clearly felt otherwise.


Kiel

As Kiki stepped aboard the SMS Brandenburg, she felt completely out of place. The light-grey tunic and long black skirt that was the women’s dress uniform of the FSR stood out among the Sailors who were wearing the blue winter uniforms of the Navy. Kiki drew a lot of stares even before they saw that she was wearing a PLM on a ribbon around her throat and was an Officer. An Ensign who looked like he belonged in a classroom rather than aboard a Naval vessel led her though the ship.

Kiki was here at the invitation of Captain Hase, dinner in the Captain’s wardroom was supposedly an honor. The Navy clearly had bigger things in mind for him, just it took time transfer command because the remaining Battleships of the Navy were back under his command as they were being returned to storage in Kiel.

Entering the wardroom, Kiki saw that it was already crowded. At the center of it all was Captain Hase, who Louis Junior had described as looking like a pirate. She saw that was a perfect description.

“Princess Kristina” Captain Hase said as he saw her, “Welcome aboard the His Majesties Ship Brandenburg.”

“It was a welcome invitation” Kiki replied, she could already tell that Christoph Hase was a charming rogue. “I prefer Lieutenant von Preussen though.”

“Very well then Lieutenant” Hase said, “Have a seat, though I wonder what you will call yourself in the future.”

“Exactly what is that supposed to mean?” Kiki asked as she sat down in a chair that didn’t look taken.

“It means that I was told that you were an Oberlieutenant” Hase said, “And with that medal on your throat you are probably about to enjoy rapid advancement in the future.”

If Kiki had been promoted again, that was news to her. And that whole thing about rapid advancement seemed like a whole lot of trouble in the offing.
 
I would find it very hard it the personals on the CIA spy ship hasn't already pegged Louis Ferdinand as an Imperial Prince and bringing aboard his sister Kiki who by now should be very recognizable from the recent publicity of her actions in Korea should just confirm it.

There should have been more than a few university students who served as reservists and were called to active duty and now are sitting out a semester because they did not get back in time to start school.
The university may want to have non credit seminars to keep the returning students up to speed academically or have some of them do their lab courses ahead of time so they count towards their degree.

How long has it been since Nancy's mother last seen her?
As I recall the last mention of Agnes was when Tilo and Nancy got married.

A lot of nations are going to want to take a closer look at the FSR as it seems that their original mission morphed in to becoming more of a combat MEDEVAC mission and they are going to want to know what the success rate of keeping soldiers alive who otherwise would have died from their wounds.
 
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