Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread II

Part 75, Chapter 1111
Chapter One Thousand One Hundred Eleven


5th November 1954

Berlin

The newspaper headlines were going on about the American elections and what fractures in the majority Democratic Party meant. Kris considered it a bit of a distraction from what was happening in the city she was standing in. In reaction to the recently announced snap elections, Berlin had come to a standstill because of competing political rallies as the condensed insanity of the short election season gripped the city. Kat’s friend Helene had said that the election had come sooner than she might have liked but she and her friend Sophie were optimistic.

Kris herself was in a difficult personal situation, a hairline fracture in her right wrist would turn out to be something that would affect her for the rest of her life. Kris’ Doctor had said that likely because of childhood malnutrition her that bones were weak. It was something that she would have to keep in mind whenever she took any actions that might entail risk. That wasn’t as much of a problem as many might think considering what her profession was. Being an agent of the Empress didn’t involve much violence, mostly it involved going places and talking to people. Nothing at all like what Ian Fleming had depicted with James Bond. Still, being careful was something that always had to be at the back of her mind. There were also other lingering matters from Kris’ past life that just would not go away. The woman whose neglect was responsible for so many of her present problems had contacted Kris and had wanted to meet in a neutral public location. A third-rate eatery with bad food and worse coffee had been what Kris had agreed to. She didn’t want to get thrown out of a place that she actually liked.

“I’m glad that agreed to meet me” Hannah said as Kris glared across the table at her.

“There wasn’t a violent drunk that you could be making excuses for this time?” Kris asked, she was keeping her voice mild but inside she was seething. “When you weren’t contributing directly to the problem.”

“I deserve your anger” Hannah replied, “But your father is gone from our lives.”

Kris had not said that she had taken the time a few years earlier to track down her father only to discover that he had died of liver failure and had been cremated. It had been very disappointing for Kris, she had been deprived of killing him herself and didn’t even have a grave to dance on.

“At least you acknowledge that much” Kris said, but her voice must have had more of an edge on it then she intended to because she saw Hannah visibly wilt before her.

“I’m trying to make amends here Kristine” Hannah said weakly, “It’s a part of the program. I would hope that as my daughter you might understand.”

Kris looked at Hannah unsure exactly how to respond to that. In her opinion Hannah had lost any right to call herself Kris’ mother when she had refused to take on the responsibility that entailed. Especially after her neglect had nearly killed Kris.

“You said you’ve stopped drinking?” Kris asked for lack of anything else to say.

“I’m trying” Hannah replied, “I had to wake up in a hospital having lost everything. My marriage was over, and my family was gone, before I realized that I had to either change things or I would die.”

“That was entirely your doing” Kris stated.

“It was” Hannah said, Kris was surprised that she was agreeing with that assessment. “I treated you horribly and I know that I can’t ever take that back.”

“Starvation, broken bones and neglect” Kris said, “And you were covering for him.”

“Do you think that you were the only one he did that too?” Hannah asked, “I hope that you never learn the power that addiction can have over you, I truly regret that you got caught up in that.”

Kris saw Hannah’s face and knew that Hannah was trying to be genuine in her efforts to reach out to her, but Kris knew she couldn’t trust it. She had seen too often how easily people fell back into old habits. She couldn’t allow herself to be hurt by this woman again and it was obvious the sort of manipulation that was very likely going on. Kris had been trained to do exactly what Hannah was doing. Appeal to Kris’ sympathies, get Kris to identify with her.

“I’m sorry” Kris said, “Your negligence is spelled out in my body, fragile bones and stunted growth. It’s good that you are trying to make amends, but I can’t accept it. Saying that you’re sorry doesn’t begin to cover it.”

“I’m not trying to get you to just accept my apology” Hannah replied, “My hope was that in time you might allow me back into your life.”

“Why now?” Kris asked, “You went years without talking to me?”

“I was scared that you were angry” Hannah said, “And that you would want nothing to do with me.”

“You would be right about that” Kris replied, and she saw Hannah wilt again.

“I hear things about you” Hannah said, “That you travel a lot and do amazing things. The sort of life I wasn’t able to give you.”

The problem was obvious. The life that Kris had made it so that she knew to be suspicious of Hannah, but the little girl who had desperately wanted her parent’s approval no matter how abusive and neglectful they were lived on in her.
 
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Kat has inadvertently set her self up for years of heartache in watching the girls she recruited start to feel the effects of the years of abuse and neglect they had suffered in their formative years.
Hopefully she will be reminded that she gave these young women something that they never had before: a chance at a better future.

The Democrats still has a majority in both houses of Congress but it has been reduced and that means the Southern Democrats hold more influence then they did in previous Congresses.
IOTL Southern Democrats were for the most part ardent New Dealers and they are going to demand more spending from things like the Transportation Act be spent on their States and districts than its fair share at the expense of other states.
I am going to speculate from the results of the OTL 1966 Midterms that moderate Republicans in the north were the big winners and a lot of their support could be attributed to black voters who moved from the South and into the north and don't trust the Democratic Party just yet.
This means that there still is a good chance that a comprehensive Civil Rights act could be passed on a bipartisan biases and as an upside for the Republicans it would split the Democratic Party on North/South lines and it would place the burden on enforcement on President Truman for his final two years, and make it more likely that whoever the Republicans nominate for President in 1956 will win.
This I will predict that this will set up a bruising fight for the 1956 Democratic Party Presidential nomination between VP Johnson and Sen. Humphrey running as the candidate of the Liberal wing of the party, OR Johnson and Humphrey has cut a secret deal that Humphrey runs in the primaries sucking up the votes of liberals only to turn them over to Johnson at the convention for an expanded civil rights platform and the VP slot for Humphrey.
 
“I’m not trying to get you to just accept my apology” Hannah replied, “My hope was that in time you might allow me back into your life.”

“Why now?” Kris asked, “You went years without talking to me?”

“I was scared that you were angry” Hannah said, “And that you would want nothing to do with me.”

“You would be right about that” Kris replied, and she saw Hannah wilt again.

This is powerful. I was bullied my entire youth, and the scars are still there. I was raised one flavor of Christianity and now am practicing another. Every day I struggle with this. "Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us." Not just hollow words, but something we are commanded to do.

Forgiveness is not an easy thing. We always think back to how we were wronged, and want to the "eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" thing. We think on how others have caused us pain and wish the same upon them, but are reminded that we are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination.

To forgive is divine is MUCH easier said than done, but in the end, it does bring us peace.

Thanks PM. Awesome perspective.
 
Kris has also come up a long way in the world. There would have to be at least some suspicion (probably justified?) that her mother just wants a free ride.
 
A movie from OTL 1954 might be reinterpreted in light of events from this timeline, I am talking about of course is Godzilla.
IOTL it was seen as a commentary on the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ITTL it will be seen as commentary on the attack on Kure.
If you have ever seen the original Japanese language version without the Raymond Burr inserts you will find that it is really a deep philosophical movie about the consequences of war and the increasing destructiveness of weapons.
 
A movie from OTL 1954 might be reinterpreted in light of events from this timeline, I am talking about of course is Godzilla.
IOTL it was seen as a commentary on the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ITTL it will be seen as commentary on the attack on Kure.
If you have ever seen the original Japanese language version without the Raymond Burr inserts you will find that it is really a deep philosophical movie about the consequences of war and the increasing destructiveness of weapons.

That is actually a fantastic point. While a Godzilla analogue might exist, it won't be anything like the original. Japan wasn't thoroughly forced to their knees, and the bombs didn't fall
 
Part 75, Chapter 1112
Chapter One Thousand One Hundred Twelve


9th November 1954

Wunsdorf-Zossen

Everyone has bad days. When Suse had one it resulted in her revealing that despite her aspirations, she was really a little girl. What she did was hide under her bed and cry it out. Kurt and Gerta had gotten a call from the school about Suse getting into an argument with her teacher over what Suse said she wanted to do when she grew up. She had said that she wanted to be a Panzer Commander like her father and grandfather had been. The teacher had told her that she needed to be realistic because that was not the sort of career that a woman could aspire to. That was when Suse had pointed out that her Auntie Kat commanded an entire Regiment, compared to that commanding a single Panzer wasn’t as big a stretch. The teacher had not taken getting corrected in that manner well and she had swatted Suse down.

Kurt had said that it would be nearly impossible for Suse to become a PC. It was not because she was necessary banned from joining the Panzer Corps, it was because of the physical requirements. Namely the ability to lift twenty-five kilos, something that was would probably prove difficult. Suse was small for her age, seeming to have inherited Kurt’s stature. By the time she was an adult Suse was going to find that twenty-five kilos would probably be more than half her weight. That was something that she would have to deal with in due time, but for now Gerta felt that Suse should be allowed to have her dreams.

Lifting up the covers from where they hung over the side of Suse’s bed, Gerta saw that Susa was against the far wall. She was nearly invisible in the dark and Finster, her cat was sitting with her was only two glowing amber eyes in the darkness.

“I don’t want to have to have you pulled out from under there Suse Rosa” Gerta said sternly.

Gerta had no idea when it had happened, but she had started talking to Suse and Alois that way when she needed to, as a mother. For the first five years of Suse’s life, Gerta and Suse had lived in a world of fairy tails and frivolity. Then Suse had started school and had found that she had a different set of dreams. Gerta really did miss who her daughter had been before that.

Fortunately, Suse was still at an age when disobeying was unthinkable. When she crawled out from under the bed, Gerta could see that she had dust bunnies stuck to her school clothes and that her face a puffy mess, tear-streaked and covered in dust. Finster walked off, probably looking for something interesting to do now that Suse was not hiding in the dark anymore.

“People will always try to tell what you can and can’t do” Gerta said as she led Suse into the bathroom to wash her face. “I once got told by an agent that he was dropping me because he thought I lacked talent and was hopeless.”

“But you’re an actress, in films, television and stuff” Suse said.

“Not always” Gerta said as she took a washrag to Suse’s face. Like always a lot of dirt, and not just from under the bed, came away. It was a shame really, Suse was a pretty girl. Gerta knew that once she got past the awkwardness of adolescence then she would probably be breathtaking if she was willing to put in the tiniest of efforts. Instead, it was looking increasingly like Suse would be the sort that had little use for that sort of thing. Years earlier, Gerta had loved and admired Kat for her spirit and refusal to conform. Now, she was seeing the other side of it, by being put into a position a lot like Kat’s Aunt Marcella had been in back then. It would get particularly interesting if Suse decided she liked boys in a few years and wanted to look good for them. A rough girl who cleaned up well, there were worse things that Suse could be. Still, Gerta remembered all the times that she and Helene had to get Kat ready before a formal event practically at gunpoint.

“Think you will be up for coming down to for dinner in a little bit?” Gerta asked, “You can even wear your favorite coveralls.”

Suse nodded. Of course, she would agree to that. She liked wearing those hideous black coveralls that were a copy of what Kurt wore in the field. They had the effect of making Suse seem even smaller and nearly colorless. Greta was aware that it was a way for the Panzer Corps to maintain the traditions of the Cavalry that preceded them. However, she preferred the tailored black uniform with the silver braid that they wore on formal occasions. Kurt wore that every day while he was working in Wunsdorf, a detail that Gerta didn’t mind one bit. There was talk of having them wear grey in the field and adopt the blue dress uniform of the rest of the Heer. It was Gerta’s hope that it wouldn’t happen, understanding that the Cavalry had its own history and traditions was a key part to their identity. Gerta’s father and husband were a large part of that.

Looking at Suse, Gerta noticed that she was still covered in dust. That did leave the question of why there had been so much of that under Suse’s bed and her clothes would have to be cleaned. At least this time Gerta knew where most of the grime had come from.
 
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I love these slice of life updates as it really flesh out the characters that we have grown to love.
Suse Rosa is her father's daughter and I like how he is not throwing cold water on her dreams as there is plenty of time to do that and he can show her that there are other options like being a pilot for the Luftwaffe and maybe going into the German manned space program.
Gerta is showing herself to be a great mother by giving her the gift of hopes and dreams.
 
This is where Kurt can get it exactly right by getting it wrong/
"Suse, if you want to be a Panzer Commander, you need to lift 25kg. This sack of potatoes is 25kg. When you can lift it ten times in a row, you will be sreong enough to be a Panzer Commander".
Kurt thinks he's putting her off, Suse takes it as a challenge.

Suse Knispel*, first female Panzer commander and 1970 under 60kg Olympic weightlifting Gold Medal Winner... ;)


(*Name corrected after getting the wrong family. :eek:)
 
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