If he is not picked up by the Argentines and the US government disavow him...
Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III
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Part 122, Chapter 2049
Chapter Two Thousand Forty-Nine
5th March 1971
Buenos Aires, Argentina
All Ben had to do was make it onto an airliner bound for home, but it seemed like every time he made a move in that direction something else got in his way. This time it was the President of the Republic of Argentina who he had to contend with.
There had been a couple letters that had been rushed to him, the first from Kiki and the second from his mother. The differences between them in tone was quite stark. While Ben’s mother didn’t hide how she still didn’t particularly like or trust Kiki, it a different story with Nina. She had gone on at length, gushing about how she remembered when Ben was that little. How Nina had his nose and the prettiest eyes, which she would have inherited from Kiki. But few had seen Kiki without her glasses over the last twenty years including Ben’s mother. Ben’s mother wrote that she just loved them when they were this age, before they got older, started having opinions and made very questionable decisions. A not-so-subtle hint being directed Ben’s way.
The letter from Kiki could not have been more different. She wrote that she felt terrified because she understood the weight of responsibility. Here was this tiny, delicate life completely dependent upon her and Kiki was afraid that she would make the same mistakes as her mother. There was also an undercurrent that Ben understood because the few times they had talked about having children, Kiki had made clear that she thought that being a mother was not something she had in her. Now, there they were with Kiki having to grapple with having to face that alone and Ben on the wrong side of an ocean.
Into this, came the obstacles that kept appearing. Ben had found himself trying to bring his replacement up to speed, only to watch as that replacement had nearly gotten himself killed with the loss of his plane and another Orkan damaged with the mechanics doing everything they could in an effort to avoid having to write off the airframe. The last scrap with the Chilean Air Force had been a standard patrol of four planes, until they had attempted a long range shootdown of two FACh Tigers. Ben had watched as the two planes had evaded the Sperling missiles but had separated in the process. That meant that they should have been easy pickings, but the Tiger the patrol had gone after had had kicked their teeth in.
The pilot of the Tiger had made a turn that was impossibly tight for a plane with that degree of wing sweep and had gotten off two shots with the beastly heatseeking missiles that the Americans had perfected. This is what had resulted in one Orkan getting shot down and the other limping back to friendly territory on one engine. Ben had run the Tiger pilot down as he had tried to escape through the Andes after he had shown incredible aptitude in evading him. Ben had known that he had gone against another ace pilot, something that had been confirmed later when he learned that it had been Reinaldo Contreras who had been fished out a lake near Villa O’Higgins. The Chileans had been busy crowing about how their guy had taken on the best that the other side in impossibly long odds and had given far better than he had got in the days since. That certainly was an interesting spin on what had happened. That had been Ben’s fourth and final confirmed “kill” of the campaign, that much was something which was not disputed. Search and Rescue had managed to pluck Ben’s replacement and his WSO out of the Patagonian Steppe before the Chileans got to them. Considering that there had been only ten remaining Orkan Fighter/Bombers based out of Córdoba, the loss of two planes was greater than they could afford.
Into that was the official reaction to everything that had happened over the last few months. Ben was being credited with far more than just shooting down a few enemy aircraft, two of which had been targets of opportunity. The Argentinian Government had told the Luftwaffe that he had led an air offensive that had forced the Chileans to shift their various air defense assets around, away from the battlefield so that the Argentine Airforce could gain the upper hand. That had given the ground forces breathing room to get their feet back under them after initially getting pushed back by the Chileans. It might not have been much, but they had scored some desperately needed victories.
As Ben had been departing from Córdoba, Jasta 11 from JG1 had been arriving and they were not happy about how things had worked out. The way they saw it, Ben’s accomplishments would overshadow whatever they managed to do in the future. There were few things that angered them more than being shown up by what they considered a bunch amateur Jabos. He had been happy to leave just so he wouldn’t have to listen to all the complaining.
When Ben was passing through Buenos Aires, President Martínez insisted upon his presence and he was in no position to argue. It was just that Ben was aware that every additional day he spent away from home made Kiki murdering him a little more likely. He had been informed that a special act had been rushed through the Argentine Legislature that the President of Argentina had signed declaring a Ben citizen of that country so that he could receive the honor they felt he was due. As he stood there with President Martínez in front of an applauding crowd with the new silver medal and the crest Argentina hanging on a blue and white ribbon pinned to his tunic, he recognized that it would be second in precedence only to the Blue Max.
As it turned out, these people had really liked that he had bombed the Presidential Palace in Santiago.
5th March 1971
Buenos Aires, Argentina
All Ben had to do was make it onto an airliner bound for home, but it seemed like every time he made a move in that direction something else got in his way. This time it was the President of the Republic of Argentina who he had to contend with.
There had been a couple letters that had been rushed to him, the first from Kiki and the second from his mother. The differences between them in tone was quite stark. While Ben’s mother didn’t hide how she still didn’t particularly like or trust Kiki, it a different story with Nina. She had gone on at length, gushing about how she remembered when Ben was that little. How Nina had his nose and the prettiest eyes, which she would have inherited from Kiki. But few had seen Kiki without her glasses over the last twenty years including Ben’s mother. Ben’s mother wrote that she just loved them when they were this age, before they got older, started having opinions and made very questionable decisions. A not-so-subtle hint being directed Ben’s way.
The letter from Kiki could not have been more different. She wrote that she felt terrified because she understood the weight of responsibility. Here was this tiny, delicate life completely dependent upon her and Kiki was afraid that she would make the same mistakes as her mother. There was also an undercurrent that Ben understood because the few times they had talked about having children, Kiki had made clear that she thought that being a mother was not something she had in her. Now, there they were with Kiki having to grapple with having to face that alone and Ben on the wrong side of an ocean.
Into this, came the obstacles that kept appearing. Ben had found himself trying to bring his replacement up to speed, only to watch as that replacement had nearly gotten himself killed with the loss of his plane and another Orkan damaged with the mechanics doing everything they could in an effort to avoid having to write off the airframe. The last scrap with the Chilean Air Force had been a standard patrol of four planes, until they had attempted a long range shootdown of two FACh Tigers. Ben had watched as the two planes had evaded the Sperling missiles but had separated in the process. That meant that they should have been easy pickings, but the Tiger the patrol had gone after had had kicked their teeth in.
The pilot of the Tiger had made a turn that was impossibly tight for a plane with that degree of wing sweep and had gotten off two shots with the beastly heatseeking missiles that the Americans had perfected. This is what had resulted in one Orkan getting shot down and the other limping back to friendly territory on one engine. Ben had run the Tiger pilot down as he had tried to escape through the Andes after he had shown incredible aptitude in evading him. Ben had known that he had gone against another ace pilot, something that had been confirmed later when he learned that it had been Reinaldo Contreras who had been fished out a lake near Villa O’Higgins. The Chileans had been busy crowing about how their guy had taken on the best that the other side in impossibly long odds and had given far better than he had got in the days since. That certainly was an interesting spin on what had happened. That had been Ben’s fourth and final confirmed “kill” of the campaign, that much was something which was not disputed. Search and Rescue had managed to pluck Ben’s replacement and his WSO out of the Patagonian Steppe before the Chileans got to them. Considering that there had been only ten remaining Orkan Fighter/Bombers based out of Córdoba, the loss of two planes was greater than they could afford.
Into that was the official reaction to everything that had happened over the last few months. Ben was being credited with far more than just shooting down a few enemy aircraft, two of which had been targets of opportunity. The Argentinian Government had told the Luftwaffe that he had led an air offensive that had forced the Chileans to shift their various air defense assets around, away from the battlefield so that the Argentine Airforce could gain the upper hand. That had given the ground forces breathing room to get their feet back under them after initially getting pushed back by the Chileans. It might not have been much, but they had scored some desperately needed victories.
As Ben had been departing from Córdoba, Jasta 11 from JG1 had been arriving and they were not happy about how things had worked out. The way they saw it, Ben’s accomplishments would overshadow whatever they managed to do in the future. There were few things that angered them more than being shown up by what they considered a bunch amateur Jabos. He had been happy to leave just so he wouldn’t have to listen to all the complaining.
When Ben was passing through Buenos Aires, President Martínez insisted upon his presence and he was in no position to argue. It was just that Ben was aware that every additional day he spent away from home made Kiki murdering him a little more likely. He had been informed that a special act had been rushed through the Argentine Legislature that the President of Argentina had signed declaring a Ben citizen of that country so that he could receive the honor they felt he was due. As he stood there with President Martínez in front of an applauding crowd with the new silver medal and the crest Argentina hanging on a blue and white ribbon pinned to his tunic, he recognized that it would be second in precedence only to the Blue Max.
As it turned out, these people had really liked that he had bombed the Presidential Palace in Santiago.
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Gee, you think the Argentinians don't like the people living there or something.
Funny that
Great chapter. And looking forward to Ben meeting his daughter.
But Ben, you have a very good excuse for not coming home... and I dub the Meatshie... ahem, Heroic Argentinian President Martínez
Und die Katzenwiege und der silberne Löffel
"Komm kleiner Hirte“ und der Mann im Mond
"Wann kommst du nach Hause?"
"Tochter, ich weiß es nicht.
Aber dann werden wir etwas zusammen unternehmen.
Du weißt doch, dass wir dann Spaß haben werden."
When you think about, the relationship in the original song is sort of messed up. A father and son who never have time for each other, and the son is apparently doing that to his own kids. Delightful.Und die Katzenwiege und der silberne Löffel
"Komm kleiner Hirte“ und der Mann im Mond
"Wann kommst du nach Hause?"
"Tochter, ich weiß es nicht.
Aber dann werden wir etwas zusammen unternehmen.
Du weißt doch, dass wir dann Spaß haben werden."
Oh for sure. And it goes without saying that we all hope Ben and the little one have a far better relationship
just the situation seemed perfectly fixed for a joke.Does that mean that the Argentinean armed forces have him?
If so then they are going to find out that his Spanish language skills is lacking even through he is supposed to be a native of Chile.
This is going to be embarrassing for the Rockefeller Administration if it becomes public and the CIA and the USN are going to get in a bureaucratic pissing match as the CIA is going to disavow him while the USN will want him back as quickly as possible.
This could lead to an ITTL version of the Son Tay rescue mission.
JG1 has just got there and haven't made their mark yet, they are understandably miffed that the other guys got sent in first due to the differences in mission. The literal meanings of the terms used to describe them reveal their nature and rivalry. A Fast Attack Wing like SKG 18 is one part of the primary offensive capability of the Luftwaffe, just they are not as glamorous as a Hunting Interceptor Wing like JG1 who actually serve a defensive purpose.
Villa O'Higgins is on the Chilean side of the mountains, so Randall Cunningham, AKA Reinaldo Contreras, is not out of the fight.
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Do you mean the USA is raiding an Argentinien POW camp?
If yes, then if they do it, the runny digestive end product will hit the air impeller at very high speeds...
Because papering one or two pilots as AWOL and mercenary is one thing but doing a military operation while ostensibly neutral... Rockefeller will not get a Peace Price for that...
I am aware of the differences between Jagdbomber and Jagdflieger. But I am still quite amused that Ben wenn all:
"I am Burggraf Benjamin Hirsch, you tried to kill my wife, prepare to die."
Yeah stereotypically fighter pilots have large egos and look down upon "mud movers". And damn it did not click earlier that Contreras was actually Randy Cunningham. When you care enough to send the best ...
Randy "Duke" Cunningham was my Congressman and my father had a little run in with him back in the Sixties when my father was a MCPO at the NUCWEAPS San Diego, my father said that he was all ego and no morals and when I met him when he was in Congress he came across as a sleazy and slimly person who I had instant distrust for.
So, you are familiar with this particular individual. I had considered showing his two faced nature in a reveal when he is faced with the CIA trying to rein him in hard at a time when Grumman and the Chilean Government is stroking his ego, but it would have been too much to explain without dropping the name first.
There is a story about him when he was awarded the Navy Cross which is the second highest award that the Navy can give out only the MOH is higher and he was going to boycott the award ceremony because he wanted the MOH and he was told if he did then his career in the Navy would be immediately over.
It is rather telling that he never rose above the rank of Commander (O-5) and he got out at 20 years the minimum needed for retirement pay.
It is rather telling that he never rose above the rank of Commander (O-5) and he got out at 20 years the minimum needed for retirement pay.
Part 122, Chapter 2050
Chapter Two Thousand Fifty
7th March 1971
Plänterwald, Berlin
Ben had not seen Kiki in months and had been a bit unsure as to what sort of greeting he would receive when he got home. She stood there with disheveled hair, glasses askew, and her bathrobe seemed to be covered in something that Ben didn’t want to contemplate. That was the scene that greeted him when he walked into Plänterwald cottage. He had wanted a shower and a few hours sleep after spending most of the last two days aboard various airliners or in airport lounges. When he said that, Kiki, along with a few strangers who he had not been properly introduced to had just laughed. Though Ben got the impression that Kiki had laughed not because she thought it was funny, but because she felt obligated to.
“I get to take the shower and you get to meet our daughter” Kiki said flatly in a tone of voice that suggested that Ben would not like what would happen if he attempted to argue with her. There was also mention their daughter, which was totally unreal until Nina started screaming. He heard the shower being turned on a few minutes later and realized what the undercurrent here was. Kiki was probably having a complete emotional meltdown a few meters away and this was her only chance to be alone to have it. Ben had probably been the only one to notice.
A moment later, a matronly woman came down from upstairs holding Nina as she tried to calm her. She said something to him in a language that Ben didn’t understand though the accent was unmistakable. It was the same one that Kiki used when she spoke English much to the surprise of British or Americans she spoke to. Which meant that this woman could only be one person, Fianna Dunn, Kiki’s own Nanny from almost three decades earlier who had spent nearly every moment with her until she was around the age of five. Ben had heard about her plenty of times, but they had never met until today.
“I beg your pardon” Ben said as Nina was continuing to shriek.
“I said that this little girl is being a devil as her like are want to do” Fianna said, “And I told her that everything is better now that Poppa is home.”
“A devil?” Ben asked, “My mother had a very different perspective.”
“All of us can be until we learn better and seeing a grandchild as all sweetness and light is a grandmother’s prerogative” Fianna replied as she handed Nina to Ben who nearly panicked. “Speaking of learning.”
It took a few minutes for her to get Ben holding Nina correctly. Apparently, this wasn’t the first time she had done that because she worked as a Charge Nurse at a maternity ward in her native Ireland, a career she had started after her time as a Nanny in Berlin was through and fathers who needed to learn the basics had been something Fianna had seen nearly every day. She had taken a leave of absence to come here. She said that with her own children mostly grown up, caring for the child of a woman she had cared for was an honor and the House of Hohenzollern paid very handsomely for her expertise and discretion. The other two women in the house were part of a larger team who had worked with Freddy and Suga’s children in recent years. Apparently, Charlotte and Suga had not given Kiki a choice in the matter. They had told her to accept the help because she had the means to not go about this alone.
“Kiki was the same way as a child” Fianna said, “Too serious, taking responsibility all the time because she felt she had to. I see that it has only gotten worse as she’s gotten older. Imagine walking a tightrope, no net, and there is a crowd below cheering for you to take a misstep and fall. The circumstances of her having this little one feed into that.”
Ben understood that, Kiki had said in her letter that she had been unaware of her pregnancy right up until a few weeks before Nina had been born. The problem was that the legion of detractors whose perceptions Kiki had been battling for years had leaped on this matter. How could have Princess Kristina, as both a woman and Physician not notice something so key about herself? And if that wasn’t enough, there were those who suggested that not only had she known but had knowingly put herself and those responsible for her protection at risk because she was a spoiled brat who put her own ambitions first. Ben knew that was a load of rubbish, but Kiki’s superiors in the Medical Service had to take those allegations seriously and that had left Kiki swinging in the wind until the investigation was complete. The fact that most of the witnesses were dead and the locations remained behind the lines of the war in South America had not made for a speedy process.
Ben’s train of thought was abruptly interrupted by Nina spitting up all over his shirt just as Kiki came out of the bathroom in a fresh set of clothes.
“I told you they can act like angels one second, devils the next” Fianna said, Ben didn’t argue that she had said no such thing. At least not to him.
7th March 1971
Plänterwald, Berlin
Ben had not seen Kiki in months and had been a bit unsure as to what sort of greeting he would receive when he got home. She stood there with disheveled hair, glasses askew, and her bathrobe seemed to be covered in something that Ben didn’t want to contemplate. That was the scene that greeted him when he walked into Plänterwald cottage. He had wanted a shower and a few hours sleep after spending most of the last two days aboard various airliners or in airport lounges. When he said that, Kiki, along with a few strangers who he had not been properly introduced to had just laughed. Though Ben got the impression that Kiki had laughed not because she thought it was funny, but because she felt obligated to.
“I get to take the shower and you get to meet our daughter” Kiki said flatly in a tone of voice that suggested that Ben would not like what would happen if he attempted to argue with her. There was also mention their daughter, which was totally unreal until Nina started screaming. He heard the shower being turned on a few minutes later and realized what the undercurrent here was. Kiki was probably having a complete emotional meltdown a few meters away and this was her only chance to be alone to have it. Ben had probably been the only one to notice.
A moment later, a matronly woman came down from upstairs holding Nina as she tried to calm her. She said something to him in a language that Ben didn’t understand though the accent was unmistakable. It was the same one that Kiki used when she spoke English much to the surprise of British or Americans she spoke to. Which meant that this woman could only be one person, Fianna Dunn, Kiki’s own Nanny from almost three decades earlier who had spent nearly every moment with her until she was around the age of five. Ben had heard about her plenty of times, but they had never met until today.
“I beg your pardon” Ben said as Nina was continuing to shriek.
“I said that this little girl is being a devil as her like are want to do” Fianna said, “And I told her that everything is better now that Poppa is home.”
“A devil?” Ben asked, “My mother had a very different perspective.”
“All of us can be until we learn better and seeing a grandchild as all sweetness and light is a grandmother’s prerogative” Fianna replied as she handed Nina to Ben who nearly panicked. “Speaking of learning.”
It took a few minutes for her to get Ben holding Nina correctly. Apparently, this wasn’t the first time she had done that because she worked as a Charge Nurse at a maternity ward in her native Ireland, a career she had started after her time as a Nanny in Berlin was through and fathers who needed to learn the basics had been something Fianna had seen nearly every day. She had taken a leave of absence to come here. She said that with her own children mostly grown up, caring for the child of a woman she had cared for was an honor and the House of Hohenzollern paid very handsomely for her expertise and discretion. The other two women in the house were part of a larger team who had worked with Freddy and Suga’s children in recent years. Apparently, Charlotte and Suga had not given Kiki a choice in the matter. They had told her to accept the help because she had the means to not go about this alone.
“Kiki was the same way as a child” Fianna said, “Too serious, taking responsibility all the time because she felt she had to. I see that it has only gotten worse as she’s gotten older. Imagine walking a tightrope, no net, and there is a crowd below cheering for you to take a misstep and fall. The circumstances of her having this little one feed into that.”
Ben understood that, Kiki had said in her letter that she had been unaware of her pregnancy right up until a few weeks before Nina had been born. The problem was that the legion of detractors whose perceptions Kiki had been battling for years had leaped on this matter. How could have Princess Kristina, as both a woman and Physician not notice something so key about herself? And if that wasn’t enough, there were those who suggested that not only had she known but had knowingly put herself and those responsible for her protection at risk because she was a spoiled brat who put her own ambitions first. Ben knew that was a load of rubbish, but Kiki’s superiors in the Medical Service had to take those allegations seriously and that had left Kiki swinging in the wind until the investigation was complete. The fact that most of the witnesses were dead and the locations remained behind the lines of the war in South America had not made for a speedy process.
Ben’s train of thought was abruptly interrupted by Nina spitting up all over his shirt just as Kiki came out of the bathroom in a fresh set of clothes.
“I told you they can act like angels one second, devils the next” Fianna said, Ben didn’t argue that she had said no such thing. At least not to him.