He's one of the Schultz boys. Blowing him up would only annoy him.
Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread II
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
He's one of the Schultz boys. Blowing him up would only annoy him.
Do they have supermarket tabloids? A good prank to play would be to take a picture of Schultz's grave, retouch it to show disturbed dirt, and a headline, "Master Spy Escapes Grave!"
Or take a picture of a grave, an empty coffin tossed on its side, and add Schultz's tombstone, or just paint up a wooden replica. Same headline.
Photo editing is very doable, even without photoshop...
Or take a picture of a grave, an empty coffin tossed on its side, and add Schultz's tombstone, or just paint up a wooden replica. Same headline.
Photo editing is very doable, even without photoshop...
FBKampfer
Banned
He's talking about Lothar blowing Kaiser Louie straight to hell to burn with his late wife, not Erik.
Note to self: Ensure brain is fully engaged before putting keyboard into gear.
Part 97, Chapter 1532
Chapter One Thousand Five Hundred Thirty-Two
7th January 1963
Mitte, Berlin
Kiki was sitting propped up by pillows on her bed looking out the window of her sleeping cabin with Hera nipping at her fingers, trying to get her attention. Eventually she just gave in and let her cat onto her lap. She was hiding from so much today and even on the river it seemed like she couldn’t escape from them.
A week earlier Kiki had discovered that the security at the museum had been increased. That wouldn’t have been a problem except she discovered that someone had chained her barge to the concrete embankment with actual heavy steel chain and had done a very thorough job of it. She figured that she would need a cutting torch to free her boat because a pair of bolt cutters wouldn’t do the job. And she didn’t know how to use a cutting torch. Oberstaber Musongole said that the Emperor, meaning Kiki’s father, had said that he would appreciate it if she stayed put for the time being.
Living on the barge meant that Kiki could travel and bring everything with her. While no one was keeping her here, she would have to leave most of her things behind. The thing was embarrassing and filled Kiki with self-loathing. Princess Kristina von Preussen, the spoiled little girl who could be effectively trapped merely by being inconvenienced. Now it was Christmas Day according to her stated religious affiliation. It said as much on the identification tags that she still wore around her neck by habit and she was finding that she just couldn’t find the energy to get out of bed. The view was one of the advantages of living where she was, so she was looking out the window as commercial barges loaded with goods passed up and down the river. Most of them were unpowered and needed to be towed, some not. Next week, Kiki would go back to Laupheim and the screening test for traumatic stress would be done, which she would inevitably fail again. Then she would need to get on with her life.
Hera turned her head around and looked up towards the ladder. A few seconds later, Kiki heard a few sets of footsteps on the deck and there was a knock on the door. With a bit of annoyance Kiki got out bed and climbed the ladder. Throwing open one of the curtains that enclosed the pilothouse, Kiki saw her father and a pair of bodyguards standing outside. Kiki reluctantly opened the door and was met with a cold blast of air. Her bare feet almost instantly went numb.
“Your mother would throw a fit” Louis said with a smile, “Your spending the day in bed on today of all days.”
It was only mid-morning, so he was exaggerating a bit though Kiki had been perfectly prepared to spend all day in bed.
“Are you here to drag me off to Church?” Kiki asked.
“No, I’m here for something else, though us making an appearance later would be a good idea” Louis said, “Let my subjects who happen to be of the Orthodox faith, which you are in theory one of, that I’m not ignoring them.”
It was a reminder of how complicated their family’s religious perspective was. They had always been told that they would need to be pragmatic about it and they might need have their stated beliefs be what was best for public consumption in the given circumstance. With thousands of people from across Eastern Europe in addition to the previous waves of Russian refugees who had arrived over the previous decades. Having Kiki continue with the Church of her childhood had been suggested to her since she was in her early teens and there was politics involved.
“So, why are you here?” Kiki asked.
“To give you a bit of perspective” Her father replied, “Now go get dressed.”
----------------------------------------------------------------
This was perspective?
Kiki kept thinking that as she was led on the tour through the hospital. Broken bodies, missing limbs, skin that was left looking like it was melted wax. The list of things that Kiki couldn’t unsee kept going. She had been present during the initial aftermath of these injuries, now she was looking at the ongoing process of learning how to live radically altered lives. A very painful process at that.
Kiki followed her father, not saying a word. What was the message that she was supposed to be receiving here? That she should be thankful in that her injuries were of a nature that people could see just by looking at her?
Finally, they were led into an open ward and it looked like more of the same. Kiki’s father stopped at a bed. The man lying there was only a few years older than Kiki was. He had the sickly, pallid appearance of someone who was still recovering long illness. A livid surgical scar ran from his chest all the way down to his belly. “You came back, Sir” He said weakly.
“I figured that you could use the company Kord” Louis said, “My daughter Kristina wanted to hear what happened to you.”
The man, Kord focused on Kiki who just stood there awkwardly.
“Had a bit of a disagreement with the Chinese and caught a couple of their bullets” Kord said, “Not much else to say…”
Kiki saw that even with him in a sickbed Kord was able to give her a wink, even though just saying it left him breathless. That sort of unnecessary bravado let Kiki know exactly which service branch he was from. Marine Infantry. Who else would be crazy and/or stupid enough to do something like that with the Emperor standing right there?
“I was thinking about what came next” Louis said.
“I… was bleeding out, and this medic on the helicopter actually had her hand in my chest trying to pinch something off or something, it was under fire and…” Kord fell back breathless again.
“You remember that?” Kiki asked.
Kord focused on her again “You’re her… aren’t you?” he demanded.
“I don’t know” Kiki replied, “There were so many.”
Kord’s expression changed from recognition to disbelief.
7th January 1963
Mitte, Berlin
Kiki was sitting propped up by pillows on her bed looking out the window of her sleeping cabin with Hera nipping at her fingers, trying to get her attention. Eventually she just gave in and let her cat onto her lap. She was hiding from so much today and even on the river it seemed like she couldn’t escape from them.
A week earlier Kiki had discovered that the security at the museum had been increased. That wouldn’t have been a problem except she discovered that someone had chained her barge to the concrete embankment with actual heavy steel chain and had done a very thorough job of it. She figured that she would need a cutting torch to free her boat because a pair of bolt cutters wouldn’t do the job. And she didn’t know how to use a cutting torch. Oberstaber Musongole said that the Emperor, meaning Kiki’s father, had said that he would appreciate it if she stayed put for the time being.
Living on the barge meant that Kiki could travel and bring everything with her. While no one was keeping her here, she would have to leave most of her things behind. The thing was embarrassing and filled Kiki with self-loathing. Princess Kristina von Preussen, the spoiled little girl who could be effectively trapped merely by being inconvenienced. Now it was Christmas Day according to her stated religious affiliation. It said as much on the identification tags that she still wore around her neck by habit and she was finding that she just couldn’t find the energy to get out of bed. The view was one of the advantages of living where she was, so she was looking out the window as commercial barges loaded with goods passed up and down the river. Most of them were unpowered and needed to be towed, some not. Next week, Kiki would go back to Laupheim and the screening test for traumatic stress would be done, which she would inevitably fail again. Then she would need to get on with her life.
Hera turned her head around and looked up towards the ladder. A few seconds later, Kiki heard a few sets of footsteps on the deck and there was a knock on the door. With a bit of annoyance Kiki got out bed and climbed the ladder. Throwing open one of the curtains that enclosed the pilothouse, Kiki saw her father and a pair of bodyguards standing outside. Kiki reluctantly opened the door and was met with a cold blast of air. Her bare feet almost instantly went numb.
“Your mother would throw a fit” Louis said with a smile, “Your spending the day in bed on today of all days.”
It was only mid-morning, so he was exaggerating a bit though Kiki had been perfectly prepared to spend all day in bed.
“Are you here to drag me off to Church?” Kiki asked.
“No, I’m here for something else, though us making an appearance later would be a good idea” Louis said, “Let my subjects who happen to be of the Orthodox faith, which you are in theory one of, that I’m not ignoring them.”
It was a reminder of how complicated their family’s religious perspective was. They had always been told that they would need to be pragmatic about it and they might need have their stated beliefs be what was best for public consumption in the given circumstance. With thousands of people from across Eastern Europe in addition to the previous waves of Russian refugees who had arrived over the previous decades. Having Kiki continue with the Church of her childhood had been suggested to her since she was in her early teens and there was politics involved.
“So, why are you here?” Kiki asked.
“To give you a bit of perspective” Her father replied, “Now go get dressed.”
----------------------------------------------------------------
This was perspective?
Kiki kept thinking that as she was led on the tour through the hospital. Broken bodies, missing limbs, skin that was left looking like it was melted wax. The list of things that Kiki couldn’t unsee kept going. She had been present during the initial aftermath of these injuries, now she was looking at the ongoing process of learning how to live radically altered lives. A very painful process at that.
Kiki followed her father, not saying a word. What was the message that she was supposed to be receiving here? That she should be thankful in that her injuries were of a nature that people could see just by looking at her?
Finally, they were led into an open ward and it looked like more of the same. Kiki’s father stopped at a bed. The man lying there was only a few years older than Kiki was. He had the sickly, pallid appearance of someone who was still recovering long illness. A livid surgical scar ran from his chest all the way down to his belly. “You came back, Sir” He said weakly.
“I figured that you could use the company Kord” Louis said, “My daughter Kristina wanted to hear what happened to you.”
The man, Kord focused on Kiki who just stood there awkwardly.
“Had a bit of a disagreement with the Chinese and caught a couple of their bullets” Kord said, “Not much else to say…”
Kiki saw that even with him in a sickbed Kord was able to give her a wink, even though just saying it left him breathless. That sort of unnecessary bravado let Kiki know exactly which service branch he was from. Marine Infantry. Who else would be crazy and/or stupid enough to do something like that with the Emperor standing right there?
“I was thinking about what came next” Louis said.
“I… was bleeding out, and this medic on the helicopter actually had her hand in my chest trying to pinch something off or something, it was under fire and…” Kord fell back breathless again.
“You remember that?” Kiki asked.
Kord focused on her again “You’re her… aren’t you?” he demanded.
“I don’t know” Kiki replied, “There were so many.”
Kord’s expression changed from recognition to disbelief.
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This will be an interesting effect on Kiki, one of the issues she has is that she really only sees her failures, rarely the success stories of her actions and many of those soldiers will endlessly thank her as some angel that saved them from certain death. Though i think that she should go on to being a surgeon, being in the field is far too damaging to her and is too great of a risk for someone so politicallily high up, for being killed or worse captured.
Kiki needs to see more then one case, she needs to hear from other patients who she saved and have them tell her about their buddies who died and there was nothing that Kiki could have done to saved them.
Also she needs to talk to doctors who served in the European War and have them tell her that because of what she did many of those she saved would had died without her help.
Kiki’s main problem is that she has an overdeveloped sense of her own responsibility and ability to affect things and giving her a dose perspective may help in curbing that.
Also she needs to talk to doctors who served in the European War and have them tell her that because of what she did many of those she saved would had died without her help.
Kiki’s main problem is that she has an overdeveloped sense of her own responsibility and ability to affect things and giving her a dose perspective may help in curbing that.
I could see a television program being made (this is your life, maybe!) featuring survivors and veterans. With or without Kiki's active participation the effect would be huge, Both for her and the Medical service.
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Last time I dealt with something like that, the chain was convenient shackled to a bracket that was A: significantly weaker than the chain, and B: Easily unbolted.
Oh, certainly. All you need to do is remove one innocuous part from the engine, just to make sure.
Moving into the rehab side of things might have some restorative benefit. Getting broken young men to the point of being productive and self sufficient would be a good mental balance I would expect.
Now that Rea and Vicky are 18, are they going to get the Hohenzollern version of "The Talk"?
That is where they are sat down and asked about their future plans in regards to service to the Empire.
Both of them has not shown any interest in doing anything that requires wearing an uniform like the rest of the family.
I could see Rea doing some kind of volunteer service but I have not seen anything that Vicky may be interested in.
That is where they are sat down and asked about their future plans in regards to service to the Empire.
Both of them has not shown any interest in doing anything that requires wearing an uniform like the rest of the family.
I could see Rea doing some kind of volunteer service but I have not seen anything that Vicky may be interested in.
Really not sure what to think about Kiki issues.
Rereading the whole thing and some of my favorite chapters are with Freddy as a kid and talk about football
right now am at the Irish Catholic subplot, there is some minor issue,
you had württemberg as catholic which isn't really the case, most of what württemberg consist of is Lutheran, some additions after the napoleonic wars are catholic but don't really consist of much of the population or territory. This only changed after WW2 with the “Vertriebenen”.
The mayor catholic regions in Germany are Bavaria, Baden, Westphalia and the Rhein Province.
Also A-L, Poland and Bohemia.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...itung_der_Konfessionen_im_deutschen_Reich.jpg
Rereading the whole thing and some of my favorite chapters are with Freddy as a kid and talk about football
right now am at the Irish Catholic subplot, there is some minor issue,
you had württemberg as catholic which isn't really the case, most of what württemberg consist of is Lutheran, some additions after the napoleonic wars are catholic but don't really consist of much of the population or territory. This only changed after WW2 with the “Vertriebenen”.
The mayor catholic regions in Germany are Bavaria, Baden, Westphalia and the Rhein Province.
Also A-L, Poland and Bohemia.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...itung_der_Konfessionen_im_deutschen_Reich.jpg
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Part 97, Chapter 1533
Chapter One Thousand Five Hundred Thirty-Three
14th January 1963
Wedding, Berlin
If he had known what was in store for him in the meeting in the abandoned warehouse with the man who financed his movement, Mithras would have put it off. Instead he had unknowingly walked into a sticky situation. The Financier was not happy with the turn that things had taken. Then again, he was seldom happy anyway. If Mithras had to guess, it had something to do with being a Monarchist who despised the Monarch he in theory served under.
“We are making plans for the royal wedding that is coming up this summer” Mithras said, and he got a baneful look from his Financier. The Financier made a gesture and one of the thugs who he had as bodyguards hit Mithras on the side of the head, sending him sprawling.
“I would hope that you were smart enough to learn from your mistakes” The Financier said, “I want the House of Hohenzollern discredited, interfering with them directly has the opposite effect.”
It was something that they had learned well after their prior operation. One of the medics responding to the East Railway bombing had been Princess Kristina and she had been hit with a bullet, the armored vest she was wearing preventing serious injury. Still, the public looked upon her as the Angel of Anju persona that she had taken on in Korea. Mithras looked upon that as propaganda, nothing more. There was simply no way that a Princess would have been allowed to do the things attributed to her. The odd part though is that Mithras might have seen her take that hit. Among the first of the responders in military uniforms, this figure had been dragging a policeman to cover and had been knocked down only to get back up like if nothing had happened. His feeling that he was on a collision course with her only intensified because of that.
The Financier looked down coldly at Mithras, the cadaverous cheeks and long face really did the impression that the man was a corpse. “The country that I knew as a boy is largely gone” He said, “We are trying to save what is left and cannot afford for there to be any more mistakes. Stick to the strategy or else I will have you replaced.”
Replaced in this context involved Mithras getting a bullet in the back of his head.
“What if I told my people that you are not interested in taking down the monarchy?” Mithras asked as he got back to his feet, “Only replacing it.”
“The belief of the children who follow you is shallow at best, they will follow whatever Pied Piper I put before them” The Financier said, “I hope that you find what is about to happen instructive.”
“What is supposed to be instructive?” Mithras asked, only to see the Financier exchange a nod with one of his thugs. Then punches and kicks started raining down on him.
Before he lost consciousness, Mithras recalled his misgivings months earlier about accepting the backing from a politician. What was he going to do now, call the police?
Laupheim, Württemberg
Her father had said that Kiki lacked perspective and he had done his best to give her some by introducing her to the patients she had treated in Korea as well as having several bags of mail, all addressed to her, dropped off at the Meta for her to sort through. All of them were from people expressing gratitude that she had saved their father, brother or nephew. On an intellectual level Kiki understood what her father was getting at, at the same time though it was the really messy cases and failures that had stuck with her.
The test was a series of timed questions designed to induce the stress in the person taking it. The questions were also randomized and tended to be disturbing in nature. To Kiki’s relief she managed to get through it this time. Still, having the Medical Officer staring at Kiki the entire time gaging her reactions was nerve wracking. She sat there in the uncomfortable chair watching him mark off her responses.
“Welcome back Oberlieutenant” The Medical Officer said, “An extra month off seems to have been what you needed.”
“I didn’t do anything” Kiki replied.
“Other than stepping up in a manner that few others would have done while you were on leave?”
“You mean the East Station?” Kiki asked in reply.
“You are truly a confusing person Oberlieutenant von Preussen” The Medical Officer said, “Everyone who looks at you and sees a woman who should have the world on a string. You don’t though. Instead you see the trappings of royalty as something that you have not earned and redouble your efforts.”
“Is there a point to this?”
Kiki had heard all of this a thousand times before. What no one seemed to understand was that Kiki saw how people looked at her when they learned who she was. The countless times that it had been implied in a conversation that she didn’t know what it was like to go without a meal or what the cost of milk was in the market.
“The point is that if there is anyone around who has earned the right to call herself Princess then it is you” The Medical Officer said. That wasn’t what Kiki had been expecting to hear.
14th January 1963
Wedding, Berlin
If he had known what was in store for him in the meeting in the abandoned warehouse with the man who financed his movement, Mithras would have put it off. Instead he had unknowingly walked into a sticky situation. The Financier was not happy with the turn that things had taken. Then again, he was seldom happy anyway. If Mithras had to guess, it had something to do with being a Monarchist who despised the Monarch he in theory served under.
“We are making plans for the royal wedding that is coming up this summer” Mithras said, and he got a baneful look from his Financier. The Financier made a gesture and one of the thugs who he had as bodyguards hit Mithras on the side of the head, sending him sprawling.
“I would hope that you were smart enough to learn from your mistakes” The Financier said, “I want the House of Hohenzollern discredited, interfering with them directly has the opposite effect.”
It was something that they had learned well after their prior operation. One of the medics responding to the East Railway bombing had been Princess Kristina and she had been hit with a bullet, the armored vest she was wearing preventing serious injury. Still, the public looked upon her as the Angel of Anju persona that she had taken on in Korea. Mithras looked upon that as propaganda, nothing more. There was simply no way that a Princess would have been allowed to do the things attributed to her. The odd part though is that Mithras might have seen her take that hit. Among the first of the responders in military uniforms, this figure had been dragging a policeman to cover and had been knocked down only to get back up like if nothing had happened. His feeling that he was on a collision course with her only intensified because of that.
The Financier looked down coldly at Mithras, the cadaverous cheeks and long face really did the impression that the man was a corpse. “The country that I knew as a boy is largely gone” He said, “We are trying to save what is left and cannot afford for there to be any more mistakes. Stick to the strategy or else I will have you replaced.”
Replaced in this context involved Mithras getting a bullet in the back of his head.
“What if I told my people that you are not interested in taking down the monarchy?” Mithras asked as he got back to his feet, “Only replacing it.”
“The belief of the children who follow you is shallow at best, they will follow whatever Pied Piper I put before them” The Financier said, “I hope that you find what is about to happen instructive.”
“What is supposed to be instructive?” Mithras asked, only to see the Financier exchange a nod with one of his thugs. Then punches and kicks started raining down on him.
Before he lost consciousness, Mithras recalled his misgivings months earlier about accepting the backing from a politician. What was he going to do now, call the police?
Laupheim, Württemberg
Her father had said that Kiki lacked perspective and he had done his best to give her some by introducing her to the patients she had treated in Korea as well as having several bags of mail, all addressed to her, dropped off at the Meta for her to sort through. All of them were from people expressing gratitude that she had saved their father, brother or nephew. On an intellectual level Kiki understood what her father was getting at, at the same time though it was the really messy cases and failures that had stuck with her.
The test was a series of timed questions designed to induce the stress in the person taking it. The questions were also randomized and tended to be disturbing in nature. To Kiki’s relief she managed to get through it this time. Still, having the Medical Officer staring at Kiki the entire time gaging her reactions was nerve wracking. She sat there in the uncomfortable chair watching him mark off her responses.
“Welcome back Oberlieutenant” The Medical Officer said, “An extra month off seems to have been what you needed.”
“I didn’t do anything” Kiki replied.
“Other than stepping up in a manner that few others would have done while you were on leave?”
“You mean the East Station?” Kiki asked in reply.
“You are truly a confusing person Oberlieutenant von Preussen” The Medical Officer said, “Everyone who looks at you and sees a woman who should have the world on a string. You don’t though. Instead you see the trappings of royalty as something that you have not earned and redouble your efforts.”
“Is there a point to this?”
Kiki had heard all of this a thousand times before. What no one seemed to understand was that Kiki saw how people looked at her when they learned who she was. The countless times that it had been implied in a conversation that she didn’t know what it was like to go without a meal or what the cost of milk was in the market.
“The point is that if there is anyone around who has earned the right to call herself Princess then it is you” The Medical Officer said. That wasn’t what Kiki had been expecting to hear.
Interesting......
So its someone probably old enough to maybe be a WW1 vet, maybe. Or at least grew up in the shadow of WW1. Or I could be grasping.
There is an additional factor at play I've just tumbled across a ways back.
Louis, upon retiring, is planning on re-introducing something akin to the Electors of the HRE, the goal being that the Emperor will no longer necessarily be the heir to house Hohenzollern.
This has apparently really pissed off the Monarchists. So my thinking is that any target now would not be Louis's kids, but Louis himself before that can properly start.
So if it is a politician, it would need to be a staunch monarchist, one who was young before WW1 so late 1880's - 1890's date of birth.