Kat won't complain about this, but this could be a big black mark in Tatiana's BII record. She is about to be photographed in a very identifiable manner. The photographs will be kept by pretty much every intelligence agency in the world making it much, much harder for Tatiana to fly under the radar.
Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
She's looked like young Kat for years and flew under the radar. And she is her daughter, all of those agencies have to have photos of Kat's children already. It would actually be weirder if her eldest daughter wasn't in the photos.
Pretty sure both Tatiana and the BII are well aware of the implications of Tatiana being photographed next to her mother. On the other hand, its amazing how effective a change of hair colour/style and a pair of glasses are at changing your appearance. Hair dye, scissors and wigs are readily available and in widespread use among women of all ages around the globe.
True.
But also true in that reality is incredibly stupid (some could even say it is also lucky and filled with happenstance) so the idea that her being at a publicized event with her mother means that a, for example, beat cop somewhere who is more into European Royalty than they reasonably should be see's her with a pair of sunglasses and blonde hair and realizes that "Hey, she may have the wrong hair and be wearing glasses, but she looks a lot like that woman who was in Moscow and was said to be Tatiana".
Granted, that means it's now up to the cops to interrogate her and proof it and her training to get her out of it. Her being photo'd is a risk, but it's the sort of one that happens when you are the child of someone prominent who then goes into a job where you need to be able to disappear.
The interest in Kat’s children is very limited.
Malcolm has been identified as a Luftwaffe reservist in satellite reconnaissance and is primarily developing home computers, otherwise he is not that important for intelligence services to keep a close eye on.
Tatiana is basically a non-entity who has done nothing important in her life except to graduate from university and has traveled outside of Germany for pleasure.
It is Marie who has the most interest from the various intelligence agencies because of connection to Kaiserine Suga and she just popped up on the British radar for her translation job that she just did with Jack Kennedy, there is also the fact that she has been in the company of Her Majesty: Queen Elizabeth II.
Marie is also known to be an “Once in a Century” polyglot in different languages.
Malcolm has been identified as a Luftwaffe reservist in satellite reconnaissance and is primarily developing home computers, otherwise he is not that important for intelligence services to keep a close eye on.
Tatiana is basically a non-entity who has done nothing important in her life except to graduate from university and has traveled outside of Germany for pleasure.
It is Marie who has the most interest from the various intelligence agencies because of connection to Kaiserine Suga and she just popped up on the British radar for her translation job that she just did with Jack Kennedy, there is also the fact that she has been in the company of Her Majesty: Queen Elizabeth II.
Marie is also known to be an “Once in a Century” polyglot in different languages.
Part 140, Chapter 2419
Chapter Two Thousand Four Hundred Nineteen
26th November 1975
Flensburg
“Yes Aunt Tilde” Monique said as she trooped up the stairs with a heavy box in her arms. For people who were supposedly retired, her grandfather and great aunt were surprisingly active in the community. They thought that it was wonderful that they had someone young like her to help out.
Monique had also learned that arguing with her grandfather’s sisters was completely pointless. At best, the three of them would form a united front against her. Most of the time though, the disagreements they had with each other came to the fore. As Monique found out, when that happened she was a just another voice in the argument and because she was a niece she could be completely disregarded. She still wasn’t sure if that was family dynamic or cultural. Monique’s great aunts had never been particularly clear on that.
Setting the box down where it fit in what had once been a spare bedroom, Monique looked at the frightful jumble that probably had had accumulated over the last few decades which her grandfather a rotating number of his sisters had lived in this house. She knew better than to mention it to anyone unless she fancied clearing it out herself. Sooner or later, Tilde was going to want exactly that, but Monique was in no hurry.
Walking back down the stairs, Monique saw her grandfather and Tilde sitting at the table. A map was spread out on the table, and they were looking at it intently. From the looks of it, it was one of those places in the world that was so remote that the surveyor had just drawn straight lines. They were talking in that strange language that Monique still couldn’t understand more than every third word after a year. She had grown up not far from the border with Lorraine. Despite how much people in Fossoy hated the Boche and those believed to be descended from them, the lure of making money transcended politics. So, Monique had understood German before she had arrived in Flensburg. The language of the Diné was absolutely nothing like French or German.
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There were more roads into the Navajo Nation these days, Sjostedt could see that. Still, it was still far from anything else. If they went there, they would spend a great of time going from place to place. Not the least of which was Window Rock where there were many in the Tribal Government curious about what had been going on with Sjostedt and his family over the last several decades. Most of all, he wanted to go to Rock Point, or the Red Valley in Arizona or further north to Mexican Hat across the State Line in Utah. His earliest memories were of those places as he had traveled with his parents and grandfather between the various outposts and encampments in the Mesa desert. That was before his father died and his grandfather had brought them back to Europe.
“We could go in the springtime, before it gets too hot” Tilde said, “That only leaves the question about what we do with the girl?”
“There is no question” Sjostedt replied, “Monee is one of us and I think that it would be good for her to see where she really comes from.”
“Northern France?” Tilde asked.
“An impoverished corner of the world with a people still reeling from a war fought decades ago?” Sjostedt asked in reply, “Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?”
Tilde gave Sjostedt a frown.
Among Sjostedt’s sisters, Tilde was the one who had been the most reluctant to accept Monique into their family. Nina had the exact opposite opinion, while Ilse withheld judgement. She had pointed out that there was family resemblance between him and Monique and that it was up to her to take her place with them. It was typical of the many disagreements that they had had over the years.
Looking up Sjostedt saw Monique looking down the stairs at them. “Why don’t you join us Doli?” He asked. Monique was a bit annoyed when he called her by that pet name, meaning Bluebird, in his opinion it perfectly suited her. It fit perfectly with the connotations of Monique Clara Chanson, a name which translated to “One Clear/Bright Song.” It had probably not been the intention of her mother’s family to give her a name with such a deep meaning, but it was something the Sjostedt had encountered often. People walking around with names that told stories about their families and the history they had lived through, yet totally unaware of that.
Monique sat down in an open chair and was looking at the map of the American South-West with a great deal of curiosity.
“Your aunt and I were just discussing travel arrangements we were making for this spring” Sjostedt said, “I suggested that come along.”
“Arizona?” Monique asked, “Colorado? Like Cowboys and Indians?”
As soon as she said that Monique realized the mistake she had just made. The expression on her face was the one of dismay, the same one that she frequently had when she stepped over a line. Sjostedt could forgive her for that. She was still learning after spending the first fourteen years of her life separated from who she was.
“Definitely Indians” Sjostedt said, “And who’s to say that those things are mutually exclusive, though herding sheep is a bigger deal than cattle?”
The look on Monique’s face went back to curiosity. It seemed that Sjostedt’s answer had shifted her thinking, which was good.
26th November 1975
Flensburg
“Yes Aunt Tilde” Monique said as she trooped up the stairs with a heavy box in her arms. For people who were supposedly retired, her grandfather and great aunt were surprisingly active in the community. They thought that it was wonderful that they had someone young like her to help out.
Monique had also learned that arguing with her grandfather’s sisters was completely pointless. At best, the three of them would form a united front against her. Most of the time though, the disagreements they had with each other came to the fore. As Monique found out, when that happened she was a just another voice in the argument and because she was a niece she could be completely disregarded. She still wasn’t sure if that was family dynamic or cultural. Monique’s great aunts had never been particularly clear on that.
Setting the box down where it fit in what had once been a spare bedroom, Monique looked at the frightful jumble that probably had had accumulated over the last few decades which her grandfather a rotating number of his sisters had lived in this house. She knew better than to mention it to anyone unless she fancied clearing it out herself. Sooner or later, Tilde was going to want exactly that, but Monique was in no hurry.
Walking back down the stairs, Monique saw her grandfather and Tilde sitting at the table. A map was spread out on the table, and they were looking at it intently. From the looks of it, it was one of those places in the world that was so remote that the surveyor had just drawn straight lines. They were talking in that strange language that Monique still couldn’t understand more than every third word after a year. She had grown up not far from the border with Lorraine. Despite how much people in Fossoy hated the Boche and those believed to be descended from them, the lure of making money transcended politics. So, Monique had understood German before she had arrived in Flensburg. The language of the Diné was absolutely nothing like French or German.
----------------------------------------------------------------
There were more roads into the Navajo Nation these days, Sjostedt could see that. Still, it was still far from anything else. If they went there, they would spend a great of time going from place to place. Not the least of which was Window Rock where there were many in the Tribal Government curious about what had been going on with Sjostedt and his family over the last several decades. Most of all, he wanted to go to Rock Point, or the Red Valley in Arizona or further north to Mexican Hat across the State Line in Utah. His earliest memories were of those places as he had traveled with his parents and grandfather between the various outposts and encampments in the Mesa desert. That was before his father died and his grandfather had brought them back to Europe.
“We could go in the springtime, before it gets too hot” Tilde said, “That only leaves the question about what we do with the girl?”
“There is no question” Sjostedt replied, “Monee is one of us and I think that it would be good for her to see where she really comes from.”
“Northern France?” Tilde asked.
“An impoverished corner of the world with a people still reeling from a war fought decades ago?” Sjostedt asked in reply, “Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?”
Tilde gave Sjostedt a frown.
Among Sjostedt’s sisters, Tilde was the one who had been the most reluctant to accept Monique into their family. Nina had the exact opposite opinion, while Ilse withheld judgement. She had pointed out that there was family resemblance between him and Monique and that it was up to her to take her place with them. It was typical of the many disagreements that they had had over the years.
Looking up Sjostedt saw Monique looking down the stairs at them. “Why don’t you join us Doli?” He asked. Monique was a bit annoyed when he called her by that pet name, meaning Bluebird, in his opinion it perfectly suited her. It fit perfectly with the connotations of Monique Clara Chanson, a name which translated to “One Clear/Bright Song.” It had probably not been the intention of her mother’s family to give her a name with such a deep meaning, but it was something the Sjostedt had encountered often. People walking around with names that told stories about their families and the history they had lived through, yet totally unaware of that.
Monique sat down in an open chair and was looking at the map of the American South-West with a great deal of curiosity.
“Your aunt and I were just discussing travel arrangements we were making for this spring” Sjostedt said, “I suggested that come along.”
“Arizona?” Monique asked, “Colorado? Like Cowboys and Indians?”
As soon as she said that Monique realized the mistake she had just made. The expression on her face was the one of dismay, the same one that she frequently had when she stepped over a line. Sjostedt could forgive her for that. She was still learning after spending the first fourteen years of her life separated from who she was.
“Definitely Indians” Sjostedt said, “And who’s to say that those things are mutually exclusive, though herding sheep is a bigger deal than cattle?”
The look on Monique’s face went back to curiosity. It seemed that Sjostedt’s answer had shifted her thinking, which was good.
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We have to be close to 90 now, right? Shes still going strong.
Part 140, Chapter 2420
Chapter Two Thousand Four Hundred Twenty
1st December 1975
Tempelhof
Aunt Marcella was deeply reluctant to admit that she was not at young as she used to be. As it turned out traveling all the way to Moscow a week earlier had been a bit much for her at the present state of her health and that had landed her in the hospital.
This time the problem was exhaustion, just during the examinations the Doctors had discovered a few major problems any one of which was serious enough to keep her there. Kat understood that the real issue was the hardening of the arteries around the heart and the heart itself not being able to work as efficiently. It was something which happened with age, and that Marcella was being kept under close observation as the Surgeons considered the best course of action. Again, her age and health were factors. Marcella was seventy-eight years old and had grown frail in recent years, which complicated everything. While they had not come out and said what they were implying it to Kat and Hans who had come in from Breslau, it was clear that they had to be prepared for every eventually. Neither of them needed to be told what that meant.
That had made Kat reluctant to put Marie Alexandra on an airplane back to Canada. It would be a terrible thing if she had to turn around and come back right away under decidedly less happy circumstances. However, Marie had already missed enough of her studies in Montreal so in Kat’s thinking, getting her back there took priority. While it would have been nice to have Marie attending University closer, not if it came at the price of having her behaving like her older sister.
Tatiana had been her usual charming self with only Malcolm being able to talk to her. As far as Kat knew Tatiana was continuing her studies of Anthropology while working as an Analyst in the Human Intelligence Section of the BND. Kat worried that her source inside the BND wasn’t giving her the complete picture. Asia and Kris had told Kat they would do their best to keep Tatiana out of harm’s way, but they all knew that was an empty promise. Kat understood all too well that those above Asia and Kris saw Tatiana as a disposable commodity because they had to. They made decisions in the national interest and hopefully greater good, she also knew in her heart that if anything happened to one of her children she would chuck all of that out the window to personally rip those responsible to pieces. Kat didn’t care about the politics.
Fort Lewis, Washington State
It came a bit late, but Ritchie was reminded just how much being far from friends and family during the holidays sucked. He had missed out on Thanksgiving, and it was looking like Christmas was going to be cut close, depending on his ability to get on a plane back to Los Angeles. He had been able to talk to Lucia and Steven for a few minutes at a time, but that wasn’t the same. Lucia said that she was looking forward to seeing him when he came home. Steven was now old enough to get excited about the prospect of Santa Claus coming and Lucia understandably wanted Ritchie home for that. Hell, he wanted to be home for that. As it was, he was going to finish Warrant Officer Candidate Training School, hop on a plane to LA for Christmas, then turn around and get on another plane for Fort Meade Maryland for Specialty Training for US Special Forces ahead of taking a slot in the 19th Special Forces Group’s 1st Battalion, Company C, which was based in Los Alamitos.
Walking across the parade ground, Ritchie heard some of the others in his class singing a joke cadence about a girl driving around in a sports car because some guy was stupid enough to sign power of attorney over to her. That was just one of the hazards of being in the Army and it made him glad that he could trust Lucia. Between her job at Ralph’s and the pay increase that he had received upon being selected for WOCTS, the two of them were doing better from a financial standpoint than they ever had in the past. Just leaving Lucia by herself grated on Ritchie. He remembered how his own father had been absent for weeks or months at a time, traveling across the American South-West in pursuit of seasonal work, mostly in agriculture. During the summer Ritchie’s whole family had come along and that had not been a social visit because there had been work needing to be done. Lucia’s experience was similar enough that neither of them wanted that sort of life. Now though, there Ritchie was far from home. He remembered how his mother had told him that he needed to meet a woman who understood the realities of his life and so-far Lucia had been exactly that. He felt that he needed to keep up his end of the bargain though.
Entering the barracks, he was struck by how different it was from when he had been in the 82nd Airborne and even the Green Berets. There was no need for Mickey Mouse bullshit. Every man was a professional who knew it all front and back, so treating them like a bunch of recruits would probably be counterproductive. There was an added layer for Ritchie in that they all knew that he was Special Forces. “You are like the guy from the movie, right?” That was a question he had gotten often, and he wondered exactly which movie that was.
1st December 1975
Tempelhof
Aunt Marcella was deeply reluctant to admit that she was not at young as she used to be. As it turned out traveling all the way to Moscow a week earlier had been a bit much for her at the present state of her health and that had landed her in the hospital.
This time the problem was exhaustion, just during the examinations the Doctors had discovered a few major problems any one of which was serious enough to keep her there. Kat understood that the real issue was the hardening of the arteries around the heart and the heart itself not being able to work as efficiently. It was something which happened with age, and that Marcella was being kept under close observation as the Surgeons considered the best course of action. Again, her age and health were factors. Marcella was seventy-eight years old and had grown frail in recent years, which complicated everything. While they had not come out and said what they were implying it to Kat and Hans who had come in from Breslau, it was clear that they had to be prepared for every eventually. Neither of them needed to be told what that meant.
That had made Kat reluctant to put Marie Alexandra on an airplane back to Canada. It would be a terrible thing if she had to turn around and come back right away under decidedly less happy circumstances. However, Marie had already missed enough of her studies in Montreal so in Kat’s thinking, getting her back there took priority. While it would have been nice to have Marie attending University closer, not if it came at the price of having her behaving like her older sister.
Tatiana had been her usual charming self with only Malcolm being able to talk to her. As far as Kat knew Tatiana was continuing her studies of Anthropology while working as an Analyst in the Human Intelligence Section of the BND. Kat worried that her source inside the BND wasn’t giving her the complete picture. Asia and Kris had told Kat they would do their best to keep Tatiana out of harm’s way, but they all knew that was an empty promise. Kat understood all too well that those above Asia and Kris saw Tatiana as a disposable commodity because they had to. They made decisions in the national interest and hopefully greater good, she also knew in her heart that if anything happened to one of her children she would chuck all of that out the window to personally rip those responsible to pieces. Kat didn’t care about the politics.
Fort Lewis, Washington State
It came a bit late, but Ritchie was reminded just how much being far from friends and family during the holidays sucked. He had missed out on Thanksgiving, and it was looking like Christmas was going to be cut close, depending on his ability to get on a plane back to Los Angeles. He had been able to talk to Lucia and Steven for a few minutes at a time, but that wasn’t the same. Lucia said that she was looking forward to seeing him when he came home. Steven was now old enough to get excited about the prospect of Santa Claus coming and Lucia understandably wanted Ritchie home for that. Hell, he wanted to be home for that. As it was, he was going to finish Warrant Officer Candidate Training School, hop on a plane to LA for Christmas, then turn around and get on another plane for Fort Meade Maryland for Specialty Training for US Special Forces ahead of taking a slot in the 19th Special Forces Group’s 1st Battalion, Company C, which was based in Los Alamitos.
Walking across the parade ground, Ritchie heard some of the others in his class singing a joke cadence about a girl driving around in a sports car because some guy was stupid enough to sign power of attorney over to her. That was just one of the hazards of being in the Army and it made him glad that he could trust Lucia. Between her job at Ralph’s and the pay increase that he had received upon being selected for WOCTS, the two of them were doing better from a financial standpoint than they ever had in the past. Just leaving Lucia by herself grated on Ritchie. He remembered how his own father had been absent for weeks or months at a time, traveling across the American South-West in pursuit of seasonal work, mostly in agriculture. During the summer Ritchie’s whole family had come along and that had not been a social visit because there had been work needing to be done. Lucia’s experience was similar enough that neither of them wanted that sort of life. Now though, there Ritchie was far from home. He remembered how his mother had told him that he needed to meet a woman who understood the realities of his life and so-far Lucia had been exactly that. He felt that he needed to keep up his end of the bargain though.
Entering the barracks, he was struck by how different it was from when he had been in the 82nd Airborne and even the Green Berets. There was no need for Mickey Mouse bullshit. Every man was a professional who knew it all front and back, so treating them like a bunch of recruits would probably be counterproductive. There was an added layer for Ritchie in that they all knew that he was Special Forces. “You are like the guy from the movie, right?” That was a question he had gotten often, and he wondered exactly which movie that was.
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Knowing Aunt Marcella, SHE is beginning to prep Kat for the inevitable.
Hopefully Kat will not go in to a deep depression when the final outcome occurs.
As for Ritchie and Lucia, as long as Ritchie is on active duty Lucia should have a dependent identification card that allows her to use any Post or Base Exchange and Commissary in the area to buy food and goods at a much cheaper price then from the outside civilian sources.
Unless Lucia is getting an employee discount from Ralph's, investing in a nice size freezer and making a round trip to Camp Pendleton once a month (they have a very large and very well stocked BX and Commissary) is well worth the money and time involved and with Christmas around the corner, the layaway at the BX is a great way to save money on presents.
Hopefully Kat will not go in to a deep depression when the final outcome occurs.
As for Ritchie and Lucia, as long as Ritchie is on active duty Lucia should have a dependent identification card that allows her to use any Post or Base Exchange and Commissary in the area to buy food and goods at a much cheaper price then from the outside civilian sources.
Unless Lucia is getting an employee discount from Ralph's, investing in a nice size freezer and making a round trip to Camp Pendleton once a month (they have a very large and very well stocked BX and Commissary) is well worth the money and time involved and with Christmas around the corner, the layaway at the BX is a great way to save money on presents.
If there's a Navy presence in San Pedro/Long Beach ITL like there is/was in OTL, the commissary and exchange at the Long Beach Naval Station would be closer than Camp Pendleton. There might be other Army, AF, and even USMC facilities with commissaries and exchanges in the LA basin.
I don't recall where Ritchie and Lucia live, and I don't have a good sense of LA geography, but I do know that Camp Pendleton is south of LA between there and San Diego and its a bit of a haul to get there.
I don't recall where Ritchie and Lucia live, and I don't have a good sense of LA geography, but I do know that Camp Pendleton is south of LA between there and San Diego and its a bit of a haul to get there.
They live right on the line between Eagle Rock and Highland Park near Occidental College.
Depending on traffic, it is about a 90 minute trip between Eagle Rock and Camp Pendleton.
I don't know if Long Beach Naval Station is open at this time and the reason I chose Camp Pendleton was because the BX and Commissary are huge.
My father was retired Navy and with seven children so shopping at the Miramar Naval Air Station BX and Commissary was a godsend because prices on beef, pork, and poultry were so much cheaper then from outside supermarkets, and things like television sets and other high end consumer goods at the BX were better priced and with the layaway program it was more affordable then paying cash or buying on credit elsewhere.
What really helped was that we had a freezer in the garage and we only had to go to the Commissary about once a month, so it would make sense if Ritchie and Lucia had a freezer in their garage they could stock up and save a little bit of money that way, their only problem would be if like me and my siblings after we moved out went "shopping" at our parents house when we was over to visit, their families would also "shop" when they came to visit them.
I don't know if Long Beach Naval Station is open at this time and the reason I chose Camp Pendleton was because the BX and Commissary are huge.
My father was retired Navy and with seven children so shopping at the Miramar Naval Air Station BX and Commissary was a godsend because prices on beef, pork, and poultry were so much cheaper then from outside supermarkets, and things like television sets and other high end consumer goods at the BX were better priced and with the layaway program it was more affordable then paying cash or buying on credit elsewhere.
What really helped was that we had a freezer in the garage and we only had to go to the Commissary about once a month, so it would make sense if Ritchie and Lucia had a freezer in their garage they could stock up and save a little bit of money that way, their only problem would be if like me and my siblings after we moved out went "shopping" at our parents house when we was over to visit, their families would also "shop" when they came to visit them.
That's North LA nearer Pasadena than Camp Pendleton or even El Toro MCAB. If the Air Force has an air base maybe San Bernardino?
ejpsan, as a fellow military brat and veteran, believe me I know about exchanges and commissaries, including the 1 big trip per month and the big freezer somewhere in the house.
I was just trying to point out that there might be other military bases with echanges and commissaries closer than Pendleton for Ritchie and Lucia to use.
If Ritchie is CA Army National Guard, not Army Reserve, he might not even be able to use the exchanges or commissiaries on a regular basis. IIRC, this is because of the National Guard is funded with a combination of State and Federal money. Anyway I digress.
I was just trying to point out that there might be other military bases with echanges and commissaries closer than Pendleton for Ritchie and Lucia to use.
If Ritchie is CA Army National Guard, not Army Reserve, he might not even be able to use the exchanges or commissiaries on a regular basis. IIRC, this is because of the National Guard is funded with a combination of State and Federal money. Anyway I digress.