Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
Her social standing in Germany. She is Gia's ward, in Russia her standing is already excellent thanks to "Saint Sacha".
That could be interesting, Kiki goes to Russia and Anya returns the favour?
We’ll never know given what happened to him IOTL. Who knows what his career would’ve been like had he not died with Buddy Holly & Big Bopper?
Well, we know that Buddy Holly went into politics ITTL. Anyone remember what became of the Big Bopper?
Considering that it was Buddy Holly IOTL who chartered the flight that killed him, Richie Valens, and The Big Bopper that won't happen ITTL.
But what is more important is that Rock and Roll in America is so much different ITTL.
There are so many questions like did Elvis Presley become the phenomenon ITTL like his did IOTL?
Will there be The Beach Boys and will Brian Wilson be inspired by the Not Beetles and who in turn inspire them also?
Is Jim Morrison going to show up and in what way?
So far out Esteemed Author has already butterflies away The Grateful Dead and Jimmie Hendrix is a Congressman from the Great State of Wahington.
But what is more important is that Rock and Roll in America is so much different ITTL.
There are so many questions like did Elvis Presley become the phenomenon ITTL like his did IOTL?
Will there be The Beach Boys and will Brian Wilson be inspired by the Not Beetles and who in turn inspire them also?
Is Jim Morrison going to show up and in what way?
So far out Esteemed Author has already butterflies away The Grateful Dead and Jimmie Hendrix is a Congressman from the Great State of Wahington.
Gerta hosted Elvis on her show, and Jim Morrison already caused a incident that caused a fuss at the embassy.
Part 115, Chapter 1899
Chapter One Thousand Eight Hundred Ninety-Nine
10th January 1969
Mitte, Berlin
Meeting two of her surrogate Aunts for tea was normally fun, not today though. Unfortunately for Tatiana, the two of them clearly preferred to talk about more serious topics this afternoon.
“You seriously messed things up Tat” Leni said, “And it is entirely up to you to make this right with your mother.”
Tatiana had thought that Leni and Anne would be a lot more sympathetic having had dealings with her mother in the past. They were. However, they had not pulled any punches in pointing out that they both thought that Tatiana’s conduct had been appalling for the last few years.
“You are skipping through a minefield composed of everything that Kat has been trying to protect you from your entire life” Anne said, “If you get hurt, or worse, have something happen to you like what happened to Asia that leaves you broken, your mother will never forgive herself for not being able to stop you.”
Tatiana was starting to get annoyed by the assumptions that others were making. Of course, she understood that something bad had happened to Asia in America. It was something that was occasionally mentioned, but never in detail. There were also the motives that everyone was suggesting that she had.
“Why is everyone assuming that I am just trying to get at my mother?” Tatiana asked sharply, “At what point does everyone stop treating me like a child who cannot make her own choices?”
“Legally speaking, you are still a child Tat” Leni said, “For another month anyway, and all any of your elders want is for you to not make the same mistakes that they did.”
“It is hard to do that when no one wants to tell me the truth about what they are so intent on protecting me from” Tatiana replied.
“What you are being protected from is the reality that when one of our illustrious sisterhood is involved, there are many countries in the world that are more than willing to throw out their own rules” Anne said, “The Americans had Asia strapped to a table and were shocking the shit out of her in preparation to cut into her brain. Supposedly, it was to send a message to the rest of us.”
“How come no one told me any of that?” Tatiana asked.
“Because you’ve proven to no one that you would have the maturity to handle it” Leni said.
“It seems to me that if you want to be treated like an adult, you need to start acting like one” Anne said, “And being an insufferable bitch for the last few years doesn’t help with that.”
Tatiana fell into an appalled silence as Leni and Anne began chatting about the recently concluded holiday season. Leni’s attitude came as something of a surprise. She would have thought that as a Librarian, Leni would have found a great deal to enjoy about the season.
“You dislike the holidays?” Tatiana finally asked.
“I don’t mind the holidays so far as celebrating them with friends and family” Leni replied, “The imagery though…”
Tatiana gave her a quizzical look.
“Hans Christian Anderson and Charles Dickens” Leni continued, “Most people don’t realize just how much social commentary they had in their works.”
“And Magdalena thinks that cuts a little too close for comfort at limes” Anne said, “Some of the things that happened to her when she was a child for example.”
Leni shot Anne a dirty look, she had never liked her proper name.
“There is a story about a child freezing to death on the city streets because she was told to not come back until she had sold everything her overbearing father told her to. But it is fine because her soul goes up to Heaven where she is reunited with her recently deceased grandmother” Leni said, “That might as well have been my story except mine had a happy ending that didn’t involve hallucinatory dreams of warmth and comfort. In my case I came home to discover that my entire block had been pulverized by a Russian air raid and I ended up in State Care. Not everyone finds becoming an orphan to be a tragedy.”
Malcolm had once said that Leni had apparently been an accomplished pickpocket in her childhood and that her father was a Fagin. As soon as Tatiana had that thought it occurred to her that Fagin was a character in a novel by one of the two authors that Leni was complaining about. As a Librarian she would be reminded of that constantly during the holidays and the anger in her voice suggested that she was still angry and was about more than just the words of Christmas themed stories.
Near Prague, Bohemia
Michael had taken a direct interest in the post-mortem of the Polish campaign. While the Bohemian Army had served with distinction, everyone felt that there was a great deal of room for improvement. Improving the mechanized units was at the top of the list and there were ongoing experiments in how to go about doing that. The specially modified Leopard that he was observing was going to play a key role in that, if they could ever get the autoloading system to work.
The 12.8-centimeter gun fired causing the Leopard to rock back on its suspension. According to Skoda this was the latest attempt to address an issue that plagued the Panzer VIII Leopard since it had first been fielded, the simple fact that the shell cases weighed 30 kilograms. There was also the issue that the armor of Panzers was expected to grow more effective in the coming years. According to Intelligence, the Americans had caught on to the fact that the homogeneous steel armor used by their vehicles was ineffective against the fin stabilized APDS and Monroe-Nuemann shells used by the Lynx II that was in service with the Argentinian Army who had retrofitted a 10.5-centimeter smooth bore gun to that platform.
To overcome the anticipated improvements in armor improvements to shells and propellants were needed. Something that would inevitably further increase weight. Hence the experiment with the autoloader system and judging by the cursing that Michael could hear coming from the turret, it had just broken down again.
10th January 1969
Mitte, Berlin
Meeting two of her surrogate Aunts for tea was normally fun, not today though. Unfortunately for Tatiana, the two of them clearly preferred to talk about more serious topics this afternoon.
“You seriously messed things up Tat” Leni said, “And it is entirely up to you to make this right with your mother.”
Tatiana had thought that Leni and Anne would be a lot more sympathetic having had dealings with her mother in the past. They were. However, they had not pulled any punches in pointing out that they both thought that Tatiana’s conduct had been appalling for the last few years.
“You are skipping through a minefield composed of everything that Kat has been trying to protect you from your entire life” Anne said, “If you get hurt, or worse, have something happen to you like what happened to Asia that leaves you broken, your mother will never forgive herself for not being able to stop you.”
Tatiana was starting to get annoyed by the assumptions that others were making. Of course, she understood that something bad had happened to Asia in America. It was something that was occasionally mentioned, but never in detail. There were also the motives that everyone was suggesting that she had.
“Why is everyone assuming that I am just trying to get at my mother?” Tatiana asked sharply, “At what point does everyone stop treating me like a child who cannot make her own choices?”
“Legally speaking, you are still a child Tat” Leni said, “For another month anyway, and all any of your elders want is for you to not make the same mistakes that they did.”
“It is hard to do that when no one wants to tell me the truth about what they are so intent on protecting me from” Tatiana replied.
“What you are being protected from is the reality that when one of our illustrious sisterhood is involved, there are many countries in the world that are more than willing to throw out their own rules” Anne said, “The Americans had Asia strapped to a table and were shocking the shit out of her in preparation to cut into her brain. Supposedly, it was to send a message to the rest of us.”
“How come no one told me any of that?” Tatiana asked.
“Because you’ve proven to no one that you would have the maturity to handle it” Leni said.
“It seems to me that if you want to be treated like an adult, you need to start acting like one” Anne said, “And being an insufferable bitch for the last few years doesn’t help with that.”
Tatiana fell into an appalled silence as Leni and Anne began chatting about the recently concluded holiday season. Leni’s attitude came as something of a surprise. She would have thought that as a Librarian, Leni would have found a great deal to enjoy about the season.
“You dislike the holidays?” Tatiana finally asked.
“I don’t mind the holidays so far as celebrating them with friends and family” Leni replied, “The imagery though…”
Tatiana gave her a quizzical look.
“Hans Christian Anderson and Charles Dickens” Leni continued, “Most people don’t realize just how much social commentary they had in their works.”
“And Magdalena thinks that cuts a little too close for comfort at limes” Anne said, “Some of the things that happened to her when she was a child for example.”
Leni shot Anne a dirty look, she had never liked her proper name.
“There is a story about a child freezing to death on the city streets because she was told to not come back until she had sold everything her overbearing father told her to. But it is fine because her soul goes up to Heaven where she is reunited with her recently deceased grandmother” Leni said, “That might as well have been my story except mine had a happy ending that didn’t involve hallucinatory dreams of warmth and comfort. In my case I came home to discover that my entire block had been pulverized by a Russian air raid and I ended up in State Care. Not everyone finds becoming an orphan to be a tragedy.”
Malcolm had once said that Leni had apparently been an accomplished pickpocket in her childhood and that her father was a Fagin. As soon as Tatiana had that thought it occurred to her that Fagin was a character in a novel by one of the two authors that Leni was complaining about. As a Librarian she would be reminded of that constantly during the holidays and the anger in her voice suggested that she was still angry and was about more than just the words of Christmas themed stories.
Near Prague, Bohemia
Michael had taken a direct interest in the post-mortem of the Polish campaign. While the Bohemian Army had served with distinction, everyone felt that there was a great deal of room for improvement. Improving the mechanized units was at the top of the list and there were ongoing experiments in how to go about doing that. The specially modified Leopard that he was observing was going to play a key role in that, if they could ever get the autoloading system to work.
The 12.8-centimeter gun fired causing the Leopard to rock back on its suspension. According to Skoda this was the latest attempt to address an issue that plagued the Panzer VIII Leopard since it had first been fielded, the simple fact that the shell cases weighed 30 kilograms. There was also the issue that the armor of Panzers was expected to grow more effective in the coming years. According to Intelligence, the Americans had caught on to the fact that the homogeneous steel armor used by their vehicles was ineffective against the fin stabilized APDS and Monroe-Nuemann shells used by the Lynx II that was in service with the Argentinian Army who had retrofitted a 10.5-centimeter smooth bore gun to that platform.
To overcome the anticipated improvements in armor improvements to shells and propellants were needed. Something that would inevitably further increase weight. Hence the experiment with the autoloader system and judging by the cursing that Michael could hear coming from the turret, it had just broken down again.
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Yeah...it is the case that everyone assumes Tatiana's trying to get back at her mother rather than genuinely being interested in a career there for its own sake.
I think if that is the case, the best thing she can do is say to Kat 'I'm sorry I went behind your back, but - even knowing the dangers - this is something I feel called to at least attempt. I want to do my part for the country, this is how I feel I can, and I need to try. It's not to hurt you, it's for my sake'.
I think if that is the case, the best thing she can do is say to Kat 'I'm sorry I went behind your back, but - even knowing the dangers - this is something I feel called to at least attempt. I want to do my part for the country, this is how I feel I can, and I need to try. It's not to hurt you, it's for my sake'.
While Tatiana probably does genuinely want to follow in her mother's footsteps, even secretly hero-worshiping her, the problem is that she has acted like a stereotypical teenage brat towards Kat in recent years. Everyone has seen that, which is why they assume that she is doing this mainly out of spite. Even her siblings have noticed her behaviour and drawn the same conclusions as her elders; which is why her twin brother Malcolm lost his temper and called her out on her bullshit the night Tatiana & Kat had the talk about her decision to join the BND. Hell, even Tatiana realised she'd pushed too hard and too far.
What she is experiencing now is everyone in her life openly & brutally telling her that they are extremely disappointed with her behaviour in recent years; that they had only kept out of her fights with Kat due to respect, affection & common manners; and that she really needed to have been paying better attention to what has actually been said to her about the lives of her mother & aunts, even her father. She just got a reminder of that from Leni & Anne; a reminder that jogged a memory of her brother Malcolm talking about how bad Leni's life was as a child. Tatiana seems to have listened only to the exciting parts of what Kat and others have told her about their lives and glossed over the costs that they have paid in order to survive. Malcolm, on the other hand, seems to have received those warnings loud and clear, possibly the only one of the extended von Mischner/von Richtofen clan to do so. But then, he does see the underlying patterns in things better than his sister does. If he ever decides upon a career in intelligence, I don't think it will be in the field, but more as an analyst, and he would damn well discuss it with his mother before-hand.
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I get the feeling Malcolm cleaves more to his father’s side of the family. I feel there’s a lot that Kol & his paternal grandfather have in common.
An option: someone suggests that Tatiana goes to university to study something like Psychology or history, something that requires Tat to gain and practice research and analytical skills before starting her training. That gives her 3 more years to confirm its what she wants and f9r Kat to actually accept the idea. It also gives Tat a route into an analyst role rather than a field agent.
ferdi254
Banned
She should ho to University first anyway. German hierarchy is pretty strict. Unless you have an university degree high ranks are closed to you. So Kat is worried to much. Just having the Abitur will get you at best a mediocre team leadership position in a purely internal function.
On t'other hand, wouldn't it be an option for her to join up and then to pursue a university degree during that? Heck, odds are the agency pays for promising candidates to do so...
ferdi254
Banned
That was and is a program in the Bundeswehr (and its antecessors) that if you want to become an officer you are required to pass an university education paid for by the Bundeswehr. You will not be able to get a commission without a university degree (battlefield promitions outside this rule).
Also there are certain jobs for Beamten that entitle you to get a university degree and once in that career there are a lot of possibilities for advancement but generally the level of education you have before you join that career has a 95% determination how high you get.
And for office secret service jobs (which are btw 95% of all in that business) you would need a jura, economy or political degree before you are even considered. First university then higher ranks in civil service is the rule of the game.
Also there are certain jobs for Beamten that entitle you to get a university degree and once in that career there are a lot of possibilities for advancement but generally the level of education you have before you join that career has a 95% determination how high you get.
And for office secret service jobs (which are btw 95% of all in that business) you would need a jura, economy or political degree before you are even considered. First university then higher ranks in civil service is the rule of the game.
Part 115, Chapter 1900
Chapter One Thousand Nine Hundred
20th January 1969
Washington D.C.
As Nelson Rockefeller was being sworn in for his second term as President, the leadership of the Democratic Party was meeting across town to discuss an ambitious legislative strategy for the coming 91st United States Congress. Behind the scenes, the President had already threatened to use his veto pen on the vast majority of it but that was exactly what Bill Stoughton wanted. The President had limped across the finish line in November with the mess in Indiana and an economy that was showing signs of becoming moribund weighing on him. The public was clamoring for changes and if Rockefeller came to be seen as a roadblock to what people said they wanted then that suited Stoughton fine. Stoughton’s only regret seemed to be that the railroad crew had not stumbled across the bones of the missing Bonus Marchers a few weeks sooner.
James Hendrix wasn’t quite as prepared to be that cynical though. The good news was that he was no longer a freshman Congressman from what was seen as a backwater State. The bad news was how that had come about. Recently, Boeing had rolled out their newest airliner, a massive airplane that could comfortably seat five hundred passengers. It was a feat that had catapulted the aerospace corporation into another league with only Focke-Wulf-Dornier as a rival and they were enjoying their newfound clout as their American competition scrambled to respond. Hendrix had found that he had a large corporation that was trying to corner the market on their product operating within his District and the sort of skullduggery that Stoughton was advocating went both ways. The White House was making noises that suggested that Boeing could easily run afoul of various laws and regulations that were meant to maintain a competitive marketplace. While Hendrix understood that it was in no one’s interest to have one player dominate an industry the people of Seattle were not stupid, Boeing doing well meant a whole lot of high paying jobs. Boeing getting hurt by an anti-Trust action could well mean that Hendrix himself could take it square in the teeth.
Bill Stoughton had told Hendrix not to stress about it too much and had quietly slipped new subsidies into the latest Appropriations Bill that would be directed almost entirely to Curtis-Wright Aviation. The minor detail that Curtis was based in Upstate New York and had large manufacturing centers mostly in Ohio and California shouldn’t have been lost on anyone. Particularly because the Curtis operation in California was located on the home turf of Dick Nixon, the Governor of California and the man who was widely expected to be the Democratic Nominee for President in 1972. Hendrix was reminded of what he had heard about how the House of Representatives was run. That no matter what happened, it was Big Bill Stoughton as Speaker of the House who always won in the end.
Hendrix had seen that over the 1968 election when he had found himself campaigning in not just his own Congressional District in Washington State, but in other locations in the South-West, Mid-West, and South. “You’re a gifted orator with quite a stage presence Jim, and with practice you could be great” Was how Stoughton had put it. “You also can speak to a diverse audience like few others.” Hendrix understood that meant that he could talk to black folks so that Stoughton, who had about as much use for diversity as his largely Irish Catholic base did, wouldn’t have to bother. At the same time, Stoughton did care about not leaving unclaimed voters for the opposition to scoop up come Election Day, so Hendrix found himself in Churches, Historically Black Colleges, union halls, juke joints, or wherever else they would have him.
Volkspark Hasenheide, Berlin
It had started when Sophie had mentioned running down a hill with momentum and gravity pulling her forward, being unable to stop herself. The feeling of being completely out of control. Ziska had said that she had never been able to run, so didn’t know what that was like. It had been something that had confounded them. Ziska’s right leg would always be a problem, but by no means should it be an insurmountable one. The only question was, how would they go about doing it?
The answer came over Christmas when Katherine and Douglas gave a bicycle to Sophie. Kat said it was because she had been a good girl over the prior year and that it would expand her world. It had been exactly what Sophie and Ziska had been looking for, but the difficulty was that Ziska had never attempted to ride bicycle in her life and it had seemed rather daunting. It had taken several days after school along with many bruising falls, but Ziska had gotten the hang of it. The trouble with making sure that her right foot was firmly planted on the peddle being the most difficult part. Finally, on a Monday afternoon Ziska had talked Sophie into going to the big park just north of her neighborhood where it was said that rubble from the city had been buried during the Soviet War creating an artificial hill. As Ziska had peddled up one side and coasting down the other side, Sophie could see that she had a look of pure bliss on her face.
20th January 1969
Washington D.C.
As Nelson Rockefeller was being sworn in for his second term as President, the leadership of the Democratic Party was meeting across town to discuss an ambitious legislative strategy for the coming 91st United States Congress. Behind the scenes, the President had already threatened to use his veto pen on the vast majority of it but that was exactly what Bill Stoughton wanted. The President had limped across the finish line in November with the mess in Indiana and an economy that was showing signs of becoming moribund weighing on him. The public was clamoring for changes and if Rockefeller came to be seen as a roadblock to what people said they wanted then that suited Stoughton fine. Stoughton’s only regret seemed to be that the railroad crew had not stumbled across the bones of the missing Bonus Marchers a few weeks sooner.
James Hendrix wasn’t quite as prepared to be that cynical though. The good news was that he was no longer a freshman Congressman from what was seen as a backwater State. The bad news was how that had come about. Recently, Boeing had rolled out their newest airliner, a massive airplane that could comfortably seat five hundred passengers. It was a feat that had catapulted the aerospace corporation into another league with only Focke-Wulf-Dornier as a rival and they were enjoying their newfound clout as their American competition scrambled to respond. Hendrix had found that he had a large corporation that was trying to corner the market on their product operating within his District and the sort of skullduggery that Stoughton was advocating went both ways. The White House was making noises that suggested that Boeing could easily run afoul of various laws and regulations that were meant to maintain a competitive marketplace. While Hendrix understood that it was in no one’s interest to have one player dominate an industry the people of Seattle were not stupid, Boeing doing well meant a whole lot of high paying jobs. Boeing getting hurt by an anti-Trust action could well mean that Hendrix himself could take it square in the teeth.
Bill Stoughton had told Hendrix not to stress about it too much and had quietly slipped new subsidies into the latest Appropriations Bill that would be directed almost entirely to Curtis-Wright Aviation. The minor detail that Curtis was based in Upstate New York and had large manufacturing centers mostly in Ohio and California shouldn’t have been lost on anyone. Particularly because the Curtis operation in California was located on the home turf of Dick Nixon, the Governor of California and the man who was widely expected to be the Democratic Nominee for President in 1972. Hendrix was reminded of what he had heard about how the House of Representatives was run. That no matter what happened, it was Big Bill Stoughton as Speaker of the House who always won in the end.
Hendrix had seen that over the 1968 election when he had found himself campaigning in not just his own Congressional District in Washington State, but in other locations in the South-West, Mid-West, and South. “You’re a gifted orator with quite a stage presence Jim, and with practice you could be great” Was how Stoughton had put it. “You also can speak to a diverse audience like few others.” Hendrix understood that meant that he could talk to black folks so that Stoughton, who had about as much use for diversity as his largely Irish Catholic base did, wouldn’t have to bother. At the same time, Stoughton did care about not leaving unclaimed voters for the opposition to scoop up come Election Day, so Hendrix found himself in Churches, Historically Black Colleges, union halls, juke joints, or wherever else they would have him.
Volkspark Hasenheide, Berlin
It had started when Sophie had mentioned running down a hill with momentum and gravity pulling her forward, being unable to stop herself. The feeling of being completely out of control. Ziska had said that she had never been able to run, so didn’t know what that was like. It had been something that had confounded them. Ziska’s right leg would always be a problem, but by no means should it be an insurmountable one. The only question was, how would they go about doing it?
The answer came over Christmas when Katherine and Douglas gave a bicycle to Sophie. Kat said it was because she had been a good girl over the prior year and that it would expand her world. It had been exactly what Sophie and Ziska had been looking for, but the difficulty was that Ziska had never attempted to ride bicycle in her life and it had seemed rather daunting. It had taken several days after school along with many bruising falls, but Ziska had gotten the hang of it. The trouble with making sure that her right foot was firmly planted on the peddle being the most difficult part. Finally, on a Monday afternoon Ziska had talked Sophie into going to the big park just north of her neighborhood where it was said that rubble from the city had been buried during the Soviet War creating an artificial hill. As Ziska had peddled up one side and coasting down the other side, Sophie could see that she had a look of pure bliss on her face.
