Considering that the Ship's Commanding Officer is the son of the Emperor and he just came back from the Antarctic and there are flightless, aquatic birds that are native to Antarctica, the name for the ship escapes me for now...
Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread II
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
This is not quite fair. British Army hardtack is technically edible, though it was more commonly used as blunt instruments.
Hm...an aquatic bird native to the southern hemisphere...sailors...yes, you're right. It's sure to be named the Booby.
This reminds me of all those M*A*S*H* episodes where they continually complained about the bad food served in the mess tent, only to be amazed when other UN troops (& two North Koreans) raved about how great it was compared to theirs.
Spam Parmigiana (to which Hawkeye says, "You can get the death penalty for that in Italy")
Part 105, Chapter 1698
Chapter One Thousand Six Hundred Ninety-Eight
23rd October 1965
Moscow, Russia
It was snowing as Gia stepped onto the platform. She had come from her house near Lake Baikal where she had spent an enjoyable summer with Alexei and working on her latest manuscript without distraction. Fyodor had been there most of the time but had been called away on some errand for Georgy that she got the impression that she was better off not knowing the details of. The nurse who helped care for Alexei and Gia’s maid had traveled with them on the days long journey back to Moscow. It seemed like every time Gia took that journey, the view changed with the villages along the Trans-Siberian Railroad swiftly becoming towns, there had even been resorts springing up along the shores of Lake Baikal that Gia had seen when she had needed to go into town.
It all played into how there seemed to be more people looking to board the trains heading east than there were walking down the platform towards the station. Years earlier Gia had been rather skeptical of her cousin’s plans for Siberia. It had always been a place of exile and death with a harsh climate even before the revolution in 1917. Georgy’s idea was to convince people that they were living in a heroic age like the Americans had a century earlier and much to Gia’s amazement, it had worked. The result was that Russian movies and television were filled with stories that followed similar themes but were clearly aimed at different people finding something in the East. A factory worker discovering freedom from the weekly trudge, a member of the former regime looking for redemption or a solder escaping boredom. All those things were covered. They depicted Siberia as a grand adventure for those brave and tough enough to seek their fortunes there, all while lamenting that it would probably be gone in a generation.
Even Gia’s story was hardly separated from all that. She owned an expansive estate in the Trans-Baikal region and while she had been comfortable before, the diamond mine that Fyodor had started with the backing of Georgy had made them suddenly one of the wealthiest couples in the world. Because it was her nature, Gia always had history at the front of her mind as she threw money at various charities and had financed the construction of several abbeys and churches in Siberia. The world at large thought of her as a living saint and she felt obligated to live up to that much to her own aggravation.
Reaching the doors to the station, Gia saw that Anya and Fyodor were there to greet them. Anya was all smiles even as Fyodor was tipping the Porter who had brought their luggage from the train. Anya still walked with a slight limp and had been accepted as an Associate Choreographer at the Moscow State Ballet with aspirations of being a Director someday. She was happy that she had found a way to remain a part of the Ballet despite her injury. What Anya didn’t need to know was that Gia had paid a considerable amount of money into their endowment to get her that position. Seeing her adopted daughter happy made it worth it to Gia though.
Kiel
The tavern outside the gates of the Naval Shipyard was used to hosting the crews of ships while they were in port. What they were not used to however was having the ship’s Officers present as well. That was because tonight, the exception being a token watch, twenty-eight of the thirty Men and Officers of SMS SK-12 were meeting here because they had a great deal to discuss before she went into active service the next morning. When they had wrapped up the dry material about what their expected mission on the Baltic and North Seas would be over the next several months, they got down to the business that everyone had really come here for. While the name in the registry was her pennant number, SK-12, every light unit had an unofficial name as well and after particularly meritorious service such a name could be made official as a reward to the crew. The question was exactly what that should be. By tradition, it was up to the crew to decide and the result was a spirited debate. As Captain, Louis acted mostly as a mediator, keeping things civil and not venturing an opinion of his own until everyone had said their piece. Louis’ XO, a Deckoffizier who didn’t mind the fact that the entire crew, including Louis himself were half his age watched with detached amusement.
One of the first suggestions had been penguin because Louis had served in Antarctica. That had been shot down immediately because the consensus was that it would be a good way to end up as the laughingstock of the Fleet. Other names were shot down in turn as being too common, several of the men were aware of more than one boat whose crews had chosen the same name of another. It was the sort of thing that had led to brawls in various seaports over the years. Finally, after considerable debate they were at an impasse. Everyone had good suggestions, but all of them had issues so there was no way that they could get a majority. That was when Louis spoke up.
“My sister had a suggestion should consider” Louis said, “And as far as I was able to learn there isn’t a Windhund in the Baltic Fleet.”
Kiki’s suggestion had really been kleiner Windhund, but Louis figured that first part wouldn’t go over well with the crew. If they did vote for that name it would be Kiki’s dog Rauchbier who would be painted on the sides of bridge of SK-12. It was inevitable that Kiki would bring the whippet around at some point and Louis had no doubt that the dog would easily win over the crew.
23rd October 1965
Moscow, Russia
It was snowing as Gia stepped onto the platform. She had come from her house near Lake Baikal where she had spent an enjoyable summer with Alexei and working on her latest manuscript without distraction. Fyodor had been there most of the time but had been called away on some errand for Georgy that she got the impression that she was better off not knowing the details of. The nurse who helped care for Alexei and Gia’s maid had traveled with them on the days long journey back to Moscow. It seemed like every time Gia took that journey, the view changed with the villages along the Trans-Siberian Railroad swiftly becoming towns, there had even been resorts springing up along the shores of Lake Baikal that Gia had seen when she had needed to go into town.
It all played into how there seemed to be more people looking to board the trains heading east than there were walking down the platform towards the station. Years earlier Gia had been rather skeptical of her cousin’s plans for Siberia. It had always been a place of exile and death with a harsh climate even before the revolution in 1917. Georgy’s idea was to convince people that they were living in a heroic age like the Americans had a century earlier and much to Gia’s amazement, it had worked. The result was that Russian movies and television were filled with stories that followed similar themes but were clearly aimed at different people finding something in the East. A factory worker discovering freedom from the weekly trudge, a member of the former regime looking for redemption or a solder escaping boredom. All those things were covered. They depicted Siberia as a grand adventure for those brave and tough enough to seek their fortunes there, all while lamenting that it would probably be gone in a generation.
Even Gia’s story was hardly separated from all that. She owned an expansive estate in the Trans-Baikal region and while she had been comfortable before, the diamond mine that Fyodor had started with the backing of Georgy had made them suddenly one of the wealthiest couples in the world. Because it was her nature, Gia always had history at the front of her mind as she threw money at various charities and had financed the construction of several abbeys and churches in Siberia. The world at large thought of her as a living saint and she felt obligated to live up to that much to her own aggravation.
Reaching the doors to the station, Gia saw that Anya and Fyodor were there to greet them. Anya was all smiles even as Fyodor was tipping the Porter who had brought their luggage from the train. Anya still walked with a slight limp and had been accepted as an Associate Choreographer at the Moscow State Ballet with aspirations of being a Director someday. She was happy that she had found a way to remain a part of the Ballet despite her injury. What Anya didn’t need to know was that Gia had paid a considerable amount of money into their endowment to get her that position. Seeing her adopted daughter happy made it worth it to Gia though.
Kiel
The tavern outside the gates of the Naval Shipyard was used to hosting the crews of ships while they were in port. What they were not used to however was having the ship’s Officers present as well. That was because tonight, the exception being a token watch, twenty-eight of the thirty Men and Officers of SMS SK-12 were meeting here because they had a great deal to discuss before she went into active service the next morning. When they had wrapped up the dry material about what their expected mission on the Baltic and North Seas would be over the next several months, they got down to the business that everyone had really come here for. While the name in the registry was her pennant number, SK-12, every light unit had an unofficial name as well and after particularly meritorious service such a name could be made official as a reward to the crew. The question was exactly what that should be. By tradition, it was up to the crew to decide and the result was a spirited debate. As Captain, Louis acted mostly as a mediator, keeping things civil and not venturing an opinion of his own until everyone had said their piece. Louis’ XO, a Deckoffizier who didn’t mind the fact that the entire crew, including Louis himself were half his age watched with detached amusement.
One of the first suggestions had been penguin because Louis had served in Antarctica. That had been shot down immediately because the consensus was that it would be a good way to end up as the laughingstock of the Fleet. Other names were shot down in turn as being too common, several of the men were aware of more than one boat whose crews had chosen the same name of another. It was the sort of thing that had led to brawls in various seaports over the years. Finally, after considerable debate they were at an impasse. Everyone had good suggestions, but all of them had issues so there was no way that they could get a majority. That was when Louis spoke up.
“My sister had a suggestion should consider” Louis said, “And as far as I was able to learn there isn’t a Windhund in the Baltic Fleet.”
Kiki’s suggestion had really been kleiner Windhund, but Louis figured that first part wouldn’t go over well with the crew. If they did vote for that name it would be Kiki’s dog Rauchbier who would be painted on the sides of bridge of SK-12. It was inevitable that Kiki would bring the whippet around at some point and Louis had no doubt that the dog would easily win over the crew.
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The more generic Rennhund seems to only pop up in english to german dictionaries. German Wikipedia for example talks about Windhunde when explaining racing dogs.
More generic it may be, but it's not really a common term in Germany.
(As a matter of fact i have never heard this term before and would follow @Obfuscated )
An old german term for racing dogs (Windhunde) was "Windspiel" which literally translates to "Wind chime"
Which -in my humble opinion- has a nice double meaning for a shipname.
Rennhund is an excellent make as both are hunters who run down their prey and the ship will have the same black and white color scheme for the mascot if it was named for the penguins.
Since the ship is being commanded by Prince Louis Ferdinand will his Coat of Arms be incorporated somehow?
Since the ship is being commanded by Prince Louis Ferdinand will his Coat of Arms be incorporated somehow?
I feel for Gia's frustrations with her reputation, which stems from several sources.
1) Russian Restoration politics & propaganda built her up to be a living saint, which severely limited her options because;
2) She is a genuinely nice person, raised by (mostly) nice people* who took great risks to keep her alive, and her desire to be helpful reinforces 1;
3) She desperately wanted to have her own life & career but couldn't due to the aforementioned public perceptions & familial obligations.
4) She remembers vividly what happened to her family because they forgot the compact between rulers & ruled. Gia's (to her, entirely selfish) efforts to stay alive by not repeating that error also reinforce 1;
5) She knows that she is most definitely NOT a living saint, yet every attempt that she has made to prove that she isn't only serves to provide proof of her humility, thus reinforcing 1, because everyone knows that saints never think that they are one.
6) Everyone, including her husband, either openly or secretly, thinks she IS the living saint that she claims she isn't.
* (Even Otto. He damned well knew she wasn't really a relative & kept quiet. He also made damn sure no NKVD/KGB 'wet work' agent in Berlin ever lasted long enough to get near Kat or hers)
1) Russian Restoration politics & propaganda built her up to be a living saint, which severely limited her options because;
2) She is a genuinely nice person, raised by (mostly) nice people* who took great risks to keep her alive, and her desire to be helpful reinforces 1;
3) She desperately wanted to have her own life & career but couldn't due to the aforementioned public perceptions & familial obligations.
4) She remembers vividly what happened to her family because they forgot the compact between rulers & ruled. Gia's (to her, entirely selfish) efforts to stay alive by not repeating that error also reinforce 1;
5) She knows that she is most definitely NOT a living saint, yet every attempt that she has made to prove that she isn't only serves to provide proof of her humility, thus reinforcing 1, because everyone knows that saints never think that they are one.
6) Everyone, including her husband, either openly or secretly, thinks she IS the living saint that she claims she isn't.
* (Even Otto. He damned well knew she wasn't really a relative & kept quiet. He also made damn sure no NKVD/KGB 'wet work' agent in Berlin ever lasted long enough to get near Kat or hers)