Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III
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Part 151, Chapter 2740
Chapter Two Thousand Seven Hundred and Forty
16th December 1978
Mitte, Berlin
Gretchen was looking at herself in the mirror. The elegant white gown that she had on tonight was something that she would never wear otherwise. Her mother had even gone so far as to hire someone to help with hair and makeup. As much as the other girls complained about the dress code at the Tzschocha Gymnasia, the school uniform and less than effective ban on cosmetics suited Gretchen. So there was simply no way she would have been up to the task of achieving the effect of what she was looking at.
Eddi had told Gretchen that the origins of this were profoundly misogynistic and elitist. The introduction of maids to the Imperial Court was the official start of the Winter Social Season and once it had been to tell the world that they were available for marriage. Mathilda had delighted in telling her all about that part. Gretchen had no idea if that was still true, just that her parents had told her that she would be making connections that would be extremely valuable after she completed her studies at Tzschocha and began University.
For years Gretchen had heard her family talking about how regardless of what she wanted, she was still one of the Schultz girls and eventually she would cause her life to careen out of control. It wasn’t something that she could help, it was just part of her makeup. Even if it was said in jest, there was always a bitter edge to it. She had seen the abrupt, hasty weddings that had long been a hallmark of the Schultz family, how those had coincided with the dimming futures of her aunts and cousins. Having her parents tell her that they expected her to go to University meant a lot to her, but she couldn’t help but notice that they had never said anything like that about Anna. Did they really expect Anna to go the way of Aunt Ava or Aunt Hanna? And what made Gretchen different?
“You look pretty?” Alice, pronounced A-Lees in Quebecois French, said looking at Gretchen from the doorway before Henriette shooed her off.
Alice was sort of Gretchen’s niece or would be once Sabastian and Henriette got married next Summer. Having them visit for Christmas was a reminder of that. Strangely, Gretchen’s parents didn’t have an issue with any of that. When asked, Gretchen’s mother had told her that her older brother could have handled things very differently but chose Henni in the end. Gretchen could hear the television on in the parlor, that British comedy/drama with the Soldiers was on, her father and brother were watching it. Supposedly the BBC had deliberately cast the actors to be the ages of the Tommies who had fought in the First World War, mostly university students. Gretchen couldn’t help but notice that all of them were around her age. She had always thought Soldiers were like her father or Oberstaber Reier, far older than what was being depicted. She had refrained from mentioning it because she had realized how shockingly naïve that would have sounded.
“Are you ready yet?” Gretchen’s mother ask entering her bedroom.
“Ready as I can be” Gretchen replied.
“Your father has arranged a suitable escort for you tonight with the understanding that both of you will be on your best behavior” Gretchen’s mother said, “He is waiting in the foyer.”
“Meaning that whoever Poppa found was dragooned into this after Poppa was certain that he was totally under his thumb” Gretchen said sweetly, “And he will be jumping at his own shadow all night.”
“As if either your father or I would have it any other way” Gretchen’s mother replied with the same tone of voice. It was a reminder that her mother had lived Court politics while handing the Public Relations of the Emperor and Empress for as long as Gretchen could remember.
With an exasperated sigh, Gretchen followed her mother through the apartment until they got to the foyer. The Oberleutnant was wearing the formal blue tunic and white trousers of the Marine Infantry. He looked like he was only a few years older than Gretchen. He had an EK2 that was so new that the finish on the face showed no wear on the standard black & white ribbon at his collar, a wound badge in black and an East Asia/Pacific Service medal were pinned to left side of his tunic. The Academy ring on his finger confirmed her worst suspicions. Gretchen’s father had taught at the Academy at various times and had even commanded it at one point. Who better to have all the dirt on a former student? He looked surprised by Gretchen’s appearance.
“This wasn’t my…” He started to say.
“I understand that the two of you are already acquainted” Gretchen’s mother said happily, “Just not in person.”
Gretchen had never seen him before in her life and she was about to say so when it clicked. “Erich?” She asked. He had written her a letter that had arrived a couple days earlier that mentioned that he was in Cuxhaven and was at loose ends after getting injured in the East Indies.
“As I was saying this wasn’t my idea” Erich said trying to get it out as fast as he could. “Your father threatened to…”
“Nice to meet you Leutnant Raeder” Gretchen’s mother said, “Tilo told me so much about you.”
“Frau Schultz” Erich replied formally, trying to regain some balance.
“No, call me Nancy, Frau Schultz sounds so frumpy” Gretchen’s mother said, “This will be such a wonderful night, Tilo had his batman get a rundown of all the medals he is eligible to wear, you’ll love it.”
With that Gretchen’s mother turned away. That was something that had not occurred to Gretchen until that instant. Her father was the Deputy Commander in Chief of the OKM, the Marshal of Silesia, and the Markgraf of Oppeln. His presence at the Winter Ball was basically mandatory.
It was going to be a very long night.
16th December 1978
Mitte, Berlin
Gretchen was looking at herself in the mirror. The elegant white gown that she had on tonight was something that she would never wear otherwise. Her mother had even gone so far as to hire someone to help with hair and makeup. As much as the other girls complained about the dress code at the Tzschocha Gymnasia, the school uniform and less than effective ban on cosmetics suited Gretchen. So there was simply no way she would have been up to the task of achieving the effect of what she was looking at.
Eddi had told Gretchen that the origins of this were profoundly misogynistic and elitist. The introduction of maids to the Imperial Court was the official start of the Winter Social Season and once it had been to tell the world that they were available for marriage. Mathilda had delighted in telling her all about that part. Gretchen had no idea if that was still true, just that her parents had told her that she would be making connections that would be extremely valuable after she completed her studies at Tzschocha and began University.
For years Gretchen had heard her family talking about how regardless of what she wanted, she was still one of the Schultz girls and eventually she would cause her life to careen out of control. It wasn’t something that she could help, it was just part of her makeup. Even if it was said in jest, there was always a bitter edge to it. She had seen the abrupt, hasty weddings that had long been a hallmark of the Schultz family, how those had coincided with the dimming futures of her aunts and cousins. Having her parents tell her that they expected her to go to University meant a lot to her, but she couldn’t help but notice that they had never said anything like that about Anna. Did they really expect Anna to go the way of Aunt Ava or Aunt Hanna? And what made Gretchen different?
“You look pretty?” Alice, pronounced A-Lees in Quebecois French, said looking at Gretchen from the doorway before Henriette shooed her off.
Alice was sort of Gretchen’s niece or would be once Sabastian and Henriette got married next Summer. Having them visit for Christmas was a reminder of that. Strangely, Gretchen’s parents didn’t have an issue with any of that. When asked, Gretchen’s mother had told her that her older brother could have handled things very differently but chose Henni in the end. Gretchen could hear the television on in the parlor, that British comedy/drama with the Soldiers was on, her father and brother were watching it. Supposedly the BBC had deliberately cast the actors to be the ages of the Tommies who had fought in the First World War, mostly university students. Gretchen couldn’t help but notice that all of them were around her age. She had always thought Soldiers were like her father or Oberstaber Reier, far older than what was being depicted. She had refrained from mentioning it because she had realized how shockingly naïve that would have sounded.
“Are you ready yet?” Gretchen’s mother ask entering her bedroom.
“Ready as I can be” Gretchen replied.
“Your father has arranged a suitable escort for you tonight with the understanding that both of you will be on your best behavior” Gretchen’s mother said, “He is waiting in the foyer.”
“Meaning that whoever Poppa found was dragooned into this after Poppa was certain that he was totally under his thumb” Gretchen said sweetly, “And he will be jumping at his own shadow all night.”
“As if either your father or I would have it any other way” Gretchen’s mother replied with the same tone of voice. It was a reminder that her mother had lived Court politics while handing the Public Relations of the Emperor and Empress for as long as Gretchen could remember.
With an exasperated sigh, Gretchen followed her mother through the apartment until they got to the foyer. The Oberleutnant was wearing the formal blue tunic and white trousers of the Marine Infantry. He looked like he was only a few years older than Gretchen. He had an EK2 that was so new that the finish on the face showed no wear on the standard black & white ribbon at his collar, a wound badge in black and an East Asia/Pacific Service medal were pinned to left side of his tunic. The Academy ring on his finger confirmed her worst suspicions. Gretchen’s father had taught at the Academy at various times and had even commanded it at one point. Who better to have all the dirt on a former student? He looked surprised by Gretchen’s appearance.
“This wasn’t my…” He started to say.
“I understand that the two of you are already acquainted” Gretchen’s mother said happily, “Just not in person.”
Gretchen had never seen him before in her life and she was about to say so when it clicked. “Erich?” She asked. He had written her a letter that had arrived a couple days earlier that mentioned that he was in Cuxhaven and was at loose ends after getting injured in the East Indies.
“As I was saying this wasn’t my idea” Erich said trying to get it out as fast as he could. “Your father threatened to…”
“Nice to meet you Leutnant Raeder” Gretchen’s mother said, “Tilo told me so much about you.”
“Frau Schultz” Erich replied formally, trying to regain some balance.
“No, call me Nancy, Frau Schultz sounds so frumpy” Gretchen’s mother said, “This will be such a wonderful night, Tilo had his batman get a rundown of all the medals he is eligible to wear, you’ll love it.”
With that Gretchen’s mother turned away. That was something that had not occurred to Gretchen until that instant. Her father was the Deputy Commander in Chief of the OKM, the Marshal of Silesia, and the Markgraf of Oppeln. His presence at the Winter Ball was basically mandatory.
It was going to be a very long night.
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Damn... the "dun, dun, dun" is strong in this one.
And why do I hear either wedding bells or "Ready, Aim, Fire" in the background?
And why do I hear either wedding bells or "Ready, Aim, Fire" in the background?
This is a very loud signal that Erich von Reader IV is an upcoming officer who has the highest trust of those who are in charge, and it is his testimony of the latest incident in the ongoing operations in the DEI in where the KLM Task Force commander is basically accused of cowardice, is to believed.
Erich is doomed. Doomed, I say! The only way her could be more doomed is if he gifts Gretchen a puppy or kitten.
This is also a very clear signal to any patrons of said cowardly officer, Erich's father included, that Erich is Protected.
Edit:
Muller is worried that Tilo is going to have Erich shot. Once he hears what's happened instead, he will realise instantly just how screwed Erich is, and be both concerned and amused at Erich's up-coming Doom.
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Part 151, Chapter 2741
Chapter Two Thousand Seven Hundred and Forty-One
19th December 1978
Pusan, Korea
Tyrone Lee had finally gotten orders to return home after playing the role of observers for months as soon as it could be arranged. Until then Lee had to continue to watch the politics of the German Navy play itself out. Of course, they were not happy to have Lee present as their dirty laundry was aired. He could recall the things that they had wanted him to see, the power of their weapons and how tough their Marines were in the field for starters. None of that had come as a surprise. The only thing that had actually surprised Lee was how their cooks tried to source the food locally to save on logistics. The results had certainly been interesting.
The trouble for Lee though was that before he would be allowed to get on the plane that would take him back to California, he had to get past a team from the German equivalent to the Naval Investigative Service. Lee had never heard of the Deckoffizier ranks in the German Navy before he had found himself talking to the Investigators, but it made sense that there were specialists filling that role. They were very interested in Captain Beutel of the SMS Ozelot and his conduct during the recently concluded campaign. Considering that it didn’t affect US National Security in the least, Lee was free to tell them what he knew.
Leutnant von Raeder had finally turned up as the escort of Field Marshal Shultz’s daughter Gretchen at the Winter Ball in Berlin that was hosted by the Kaiser himself. That certainly suggested the direction that the powers that be in the German Navy were leaning.
It was only later that Lee heard that the 7th Marine Regiment who he had spent months with had learned through the grapevine that they had nearly caught Suharto, the self-proclaimed pirate king they had been hunting the whole time, on Sulawesi Island. It had been Captain Beutel’s withdrawal of the Flotilla when it had come under fire that had allowed Suharto’s escape by slowing down the whole operation. After seeing their reaction Lee was glad that he wasn’t in Beutel’s shoes and that he was getting on a plane out of Pusan. Someone was going to get a major league ass whooping for that.
Pas-de-Calais, France
It had already been a long day of traveling and Marie Alexandra knew that she had much further to go. It was too dark to see outside as the train to Brussels pulled out of the station so her only option for entertainment was to read the book she had brought. The well-thumbed book she was reading was full of short stories written in Japanese by Akiyuki Nosaka, she was unable to concentrate on it though.
First Marie had boarded a ferry from Dublin to Holyhead, then had transferred to a train across England, transferring again in London to a different train to Dover to board another ferry across the English Channel. Now Marie was on another train, this one to Brussels. There would be third train to Cologne and finally a fourth train from Cologne to Berlin. Marie was starting to regret her decision not to pay extra for an airline ticket from Dublin to Berlin. She was going to arrive home more than twenty-four hours after she had left Dublin provided that were no delays. Her thinking was that she would have time to read, relax, and enjoy watching the scenery pass.
Instead, Marie had been consumed by thoughts about the events of the last few months. She had been doing well enough in her coursework to be passing, but Jack had dropped those files in her lap… That had changed the entire complexion of her time in Ireland. What Marie had read in those seemed terrible with all sorts of horror there to see if you could read between the lines. Marie had come to understand that the two worst things you could be in the world was to be seen as disposable and to be profitable for those willing to exploit that. The women who Marie had seen had been the very definition of that concept. Beyond their labor, the commodity that was being bought and sold while ignoring any objections… that just grew increasingly foul the more Marie had learned.
When Marie had told Jack that she was not interested in helping him and had explained why, he had assumed that Marie had done some daring cloak and dagger nonsense. The truth was far more pedestrian and disheartening. Marie had walked right into the asylum and the office of the Mother Superior telling her that she was a student writing a paper about activities of that establishment. They had not tried to hide anything. In fact they were proud of what they were doing. The sickening greed and dehumanization they practiced wasn’t even a factor. Jack didn’t realize it, but to get rid of him they would happily pay his clients off with a pittance if it kept the flow of money coming in. Too many people were profiting off the system as it existed.
Looking back to her book, Marie remembered the animated movie based on one of the short stories, Dragons in the night. Tatiana had gotten into a whole lot of trouble because she had taken Marie and Sophie to see it, not realizing how traumatic that film was. Years later Marie had revisited the film as an adult and had bought the book. What had struck her was the chain of events. How one event led into another in an inescapable sequence that led the characters to their doom. It wouldn’t have taken much to break the chain. Marie was left with the quandary of how to do that in this new situation.
19th December 1978
Pusan, Korea
Tyrone Lee had finally gotten orders to return home after playing the role of observers for months as soon as it could be arranged. Until then Lee had to continue to watch the politics of the German Navy play itself out. Of course, they were not happy to have Lee present as their dirty laundry was aired. He could recall the things that they had wanted him to see, the power of their weapons and how tough their Marines were in the field for starters. None of that had come as a surprise. The only thing that had actually surprised Lee was how their cooks tried to source the food locally to save on logistics. The results had certainly been interesting.
The trouble for Lee though was that before he would be allowed to get on the plane that would take him back to California, he had to get past a team from the German equivalent to the Naval Investigative Service. Lee had never heard of the Deckoffizier ranks in the German Navy before he had found himself talking to the Investigators, but it made sense that there were specialists filling that role. They were very interested in Captain Beutel of the SMS Ozelot and his conduct during the recently concluded campaign. Considering that it didn’t affect US National Security in the least, Lee was free to tell them what he knew.
Leutnant von Raeder had finally turned up as the escort of Field Marshal Shultz’s daughter Gretchen at the Winter Ball in Berlin that was hosted by the Kaiser himself. That certainly suggested the direction that the powers that be in the German Navy were leaning.
It was only later that Lee heard that the 7th Marine Regiment who he had spent months with had learned through the grapevine that they had nearly caught Suharto, the self-proclaimed pirate king they had been hunting the whole time, on Sulawesi Island. It had been Captain Beutel’s withdrawal of the Flotilla when it had come under fire that had allowed Suharto’s escape by slowing down the whole operation. After seeing their reaction Lee was glad that he wasn’t in Beutel’s shoes and that he was getting on a plane out of Pusan. Someone was going to get a major league ass whooping for that.
Pas-de-Calais, France
It had already been a long day of traveling and Marie Alexandra knew that she had much further to go. It was too dark to see outside as the train to Brussels pulled out of the station so her only option for entertainment was to read the book she had brought. The well-thumbed book she was reading was full of short stories written in Japanese by Akiyuki Nosaka, she was unable to concentrate on it though.
First Marie had boarded a ferry from Dublin to Holyhead, then had transferred to a train across England, transferring again in London to a different train to Dover to board another ferry across the English Channel. Now Marie was on another train, this one to Brussels. There would be third train to Cologne and finally a fourth train from Cologne to Berlin. Marie was starting to regret her decision not to pay extra for an airline ticket from Dublin to Berlin. She was going to arrive home more than twenty-four hours after she had left Dublin provided that were no delays. Her thinking was that she would have time to read, relax, and enjoy watching the scenery pass.
Instead, Marie had been consumed by thoughts about the events of the last few months. She had been doing well enough in her coursework to be passing, but Jack had dropped those files in her lap… That had changed the entire complexion of her time in Ireland. What Marie had read in those seemed terrible with all sorts of horror there to see if you could read between the lines. Marie had come to understand that the two worst things you could be in the world was to be seen as disposable and to be profitable for those willing to exploit that. The women who Marie had seen had been the very definition of that concept. Beyond their labor, the commodity that was being bought and sold while ignoring any objections… that just grew increasingly foul the more Marie had learned.
When Marie had told Jack that she was not interested in helping him and had explained why, he had assumed that Marie had done some daring cloak and dagger nonsense. The truth was far more pedestrian and disheartening. Marie had walked right into the asylum and the office of the Mother Superior telling her that she was a student writing a paper about activities of that establishment. They had not tried to hide anything. In fact they were proud of what they were doing. The sickening greed and dehumanization they practiced wasn’t even a factor. Jack didn’t realize it, but to get rid of him they would happily pay his clients off with a pittance if it kept the flow of money coming in. Too many people were profiting off the system as it existed.
Looking back to her book, Marie remembered the animated movie based on one of the short stories, Dragons in the night. Tatiana had gotten into a whole lot of trouble because she had taken Marie and Sophie to see it, not realizing how traumatic that film was. Years later Marie had revisited the film as an adult and had bought the book. What had struck her was the chain of events. How one event led into another in an inescapable sequence that led the characters to their doom. It wouldn’t have taken much to break the chain. Marie was left with the quandary of how to do that in this new situation.
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Marie is taking the long way home to get her thoughts in order before asking her parents for advice.
Poor Jack, I think his dream of getting Marie to work for him long term is now just that. A dream.
Of course they're proud of what they're doing, they're doing God's Work, after all.
Reminds me of when my primary school took the entire school to a special showing of the latest 'cartoon' movie: Watership Down.
One day, I might, MIGHT, forget the screams and the crying. I still can't believe that not one single adult had given any thought to the fact that not every animated film is either Disney or a Wind in the Willows type movie. No, the one they took us to was a goddamned bunny snuff film! I'm glad that they and the theatre staff had to deal with about 200+ screaming crying kids and then explain to our parents just how badly they all screwed up.
Part 151, Chapter 2742
Chapter Two Thousand Seven Hundred and Forty-Two
22nd December 1978
Los Angeles, California
The bicycle was of a minimalist design, but the crank arms were still attached to the square-taper bottom bracket the same way they always had. The knowledge of how to turn bike parts into a workable bike from a lifetime earlier was coming in handy. Listening to rock music on the radio and working on machines was something that he had always liked doing, just these days he could afford a much nicer toolset.
Ritchie had until Steven came home in a few hours to assemble the Mongoose bicycle he had bought directly from the manufacturer in Semi Valley. Stevie wanted what he was calling a “Big Kid’s bike” for Christmas and the annual extortion that parents had engaged in for as long as Christmas had been a thing had worked wonders with Ritchie’s son actually behaving himself and getting his grades up before the end of the School Quarter. Lucia had said that she wanted far better things for their children than what they’d had.
It might have worked out well for them with Lucia getting promoted to Assistant Manager at Ralph’s and Ritchie’s Warrant Officer Rank in US Special Forces, but Lucia had spoken at length with Clair Washington about Little Mike getting into Annapolis. Just like Clair, Lucia understood that was the brass ring right there. With Ritchie’s record and connections there was absolutely no reason why they couldn’t secure Steven and Kristie’s futures without beggaring themselves in the process. What worried Ritchie though was the intrusive thought that Lucia might not fully grasp the cost that came with that. If Steven went to West Point or Annapolis, the Army or Navy would have first dibs.
As if to echo Ritchie’s thoughts in a perverse way, a news and weather segment came on the radio. The announcer mentioned that traffic was light on this last day before Christmas Vacation. The weather forecast being high near sixty and a slight chance of rain, so no white Christmas for the Angelenos unless they drove up to Big Bear. Then he launched into the National News story that President Nixon was still mulling whether or not to run for an unprecedented third term in office. Richie debated throwing the wrench in his hand at the radio. Whoever had written that news segment probably knew full well that Nixon wasn’t mulling anything, the President was putting the story out there as a trial balloon to see if it would fly.
“What is the difference between the President lying dead in the road and a pig lying dead in the road?” Ritchie muttered to himself in Spanish, repeating an old joke about the nature of situations like this. The answer involved the presence of skid marks in front of the pig.
Ritchie had met Tricky Dick Nixon on a few different occasions going back to when he had been the Governor of California and later in the Whitehouse itself. He always had the same reaction when encountering Nixon, that you had to count your fingers after you shook his hand. God save them from the aspirations of ambitious men.
Plänterwald
“You have obligations.”
That was what Marie’s mother had said to her. That included her role as Kammerfräulein. That meant that she was a sworn friend and companion of the Empress. Perhaps it had been a mistake for Marie to have told her mother that she had thought that she had gotten out of that particular cult.
Marie had woken up that morning to menstrual cramps and she was on holiday. That meant that the summons from Suga were not welcome when all she wanted to was sleep the day away under an electric blanket because this felt like it was going to be a bad one this month. Instead, she’d had her mother drag her out of bed in reaction to the cult comment and had watched with a bit of envy as her cat, Cheshire, had taken her place. It was after that when Marie had been driven across town to Plänterwald to the Winter Residence.
The tearoom was Suga’s personal space, designed in the Japanese minimalist fashion it had been a gift from Freddy to be a small piece of home for her. As Empress, Suga used it for informal meetings or in this case, gently chastising Marie for never being around over the last few years.
“I really wish that you could have arranged to be here for the Winter Ball this year” Suga said as she was pouring tea for them. “The girls who were introduced to the Court this year are extremely curious about you, especially because none of them seem to even know what you actually look like.”
It was a reminder to Marie that Suga had been extremely patient with her and her educational pursuits. First to Montreal and now to Ireland. That had meant that Marie had rarely been around to fulfil her duties as the highest-ranking Maid of the Imperial Court.
“Perhaps it’s time you found someone else” Marie replied. There was no heat in it. Just that it should have been clear that she was no longer up to the task.
“I don’t want to do that” Suga said, “You are one of the few in the Court who speaks Japanese and… Are you unwell?”
Marie stared at the cup in her hand, the feel of the hot tea through the ceramic was nice. “I just need some air” Marie said as she set the cup down on the low table and got to her feet. She felt light-headed and the pain from the cramps had gotten worse…
Next thing Marie knew she was lying in the floor with Suga talking to one of the blue coated guards. “She didn’t look good” Suga said, “Then she must have fainted because she did nothing to break her fall.”
Marie was acutely aware of the pain and of the expanding pool of blood on hardwood floor. Pulling her face away from that, Marie saw blood was continuing to flow from her nose.
22nd December 1978
Los Angeles, California
The bicycle was of a minimalist design, but the crank arms were still attached to the square-taper bottom bracket the same way they always had. The knowledge of how to turn bike parts into a workable bike from a lifetime earlier was coming in handy. Listening to rock music on the radio and working on machines was something that he had always liked doing, just these days he could afford a much nicer toolset.
Ritchie had until Steven came home in a few hours to assemble the Mongoose bicycle he had bought directly from the manufacturer in Semi Valley. Stevie wanted what he was calling a “Big Kid’s bike” for Christmas and the annual extortion that parents had engaged in for as long as Christmas had been a thing had worked wonders with Ritchie’s son actually behaving himself and getting his grades up before the end of the School Quarter. Lucia had said that she wanted far better things for their children than what they’d had.
It might have worked out well for them with Lucia getting promoted to Assistant Manager at Ralph’s and Ritchie’s Warrant Officer Rank in US Special Forces, but Lucia had spoken at length with Clair Washington about Little Mike getting into Annapolis. Just like Clair, Lucia understood that was the brass ring right there. With Ritchie’s record and connections there was absolutely no reason why they couldn’t secure Steven and Kristie’s futures without beggaring themselves in the process. What worried Ritchie though was the intrusive thought that Lucia might not fully grasp the cost that came with that. If Steven went to West Point or Annapolis, the Army or Navy would have first dibs.
As if to echo Ritchie’s thoughts in a perverse way, a news and weather segment came on the radio. The announcer mentioned that traffic was light on this last day before Christmas Vacation. The weather forecast being high near sixty and a slight chance of rain, so no white Christmas for the Angelenos unless they drove up to Big Bear. Then he launched into the National News story that President Nixon was still mulling whether or not to run for an unprecedented third term in office. Richie debated throwing the wrench in his hand at the radio. Whoever had written that news segment probably knew full well that Nixon wasn’t mulling anything, the President was putting the story out there as a trial balloon to see if it would fly.
“What is the difference between the President lying dead in the road and a pig lying dead in the road?” Ritchie muttered to himself in Spanish, repeating an old joke about the nature of situations like this. The answer involved the presence of skid marks in front of the pig.
Ritchie had met Tricky Dick Nixon on a few different occasions going back to when he had been the Governor of California and later in the Whitehouse itself. He always had the same reaction when encountering Nixon, that you had to count your fingers after you shook his hand. God save them from the aspirations of ambitious men.
Plänterwald
“You have obligations.”
That was what Marie’s mother had said to her. That included her role as Kammerfräulein. That meant that she was a sworn friend and companion of the Empress. Perhaps it had been a mistake for Marie to have told her mother that she had thought that she had gotten out of that particular cult.
Marie had woken up that morning to menstrual cramps and she was on holiday. That meant that the summons from Suga were not welcome when all she wanted to was sleep the day away under an electric blanket because this felt like it was going to be a bad one this month. Instead, she’d had her mother drag her out of bed in reaction to the cult comment and had watched with a bit of envy as her cat, Cheshire, had taken her place. It was after that when Marie had been driven across town to Plänterwald to the Winter Residence.
The tearoom was Suga’s personal space, designed in the Japanese minimalist fashion it had been a gift from Freddy to be a small piece of home for her. As Empress, Suga used it for informal meetings or in this case, gently chastising Marie for never being around over the last few years.
“I really wish that you could have arranged to be here for the Winter Ball this year” Suga said as she was pouring tea for them. “The girls who were introduced to the Court this year are extremely curious about you, especially because none of them seem to even know what you actually look like.”
It was a reminder to Marie that Suga had been extremely patient with her and her educational pursuits. First to Montreal and now to Ireland. That had meant that Marie had rarely been around to fulfil her duties as the highest-ranking Maid of the Imperial Court.
“Perhaps it’s time you found someone else” Marie replied. There was no heat in it. Just that it should have been clear that she was no longer up to the task.
“I don’t want to do that” Suga said, “You are one of the few in the Court who speaks Japanese and… Are you unwell?”
Marie stared at the cup in her hand, the feel of the hot tea through the ceramic was nice. “I just need some air” Marie said as she set the cup down on the low table and got to her feet. She felt light-headed and the pain from the cramps had gotten worse…
Next thing Marie knew she was lying in the floor with Suga talking to one of the blue coated guards. “She didn’t look good” Suga said, “Then she must have fainted because she did nothing to break her fall.”
Marie was acutely aware of the pain and of the expanding pool of blood on hardwood floor. Pulling her face away from that, Marie saw blood was continuing to flow from her nose.
To quote the title of the obituary that Hunter S. Thompson wrote about him for Rolling Stone, Nixon is still a crook.
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And Mothra keeps flapping its wings...
It is very logical for Nixon to think about running for a third term as he is probably very popular, the United States is apparently at an unprecedented level of Peace and Prosperity, he has successfully threaded the needle of balancing being Tough on Crime and being a champion of Civil Rights, he is the only American President to get the best of the Germans, and now inspired by the visit of Princess Kristina he is now putting a program together to "Reindustrialize" the nation.
What should happen next is that an "Independent Committee" of "Leading Citizens" should "spontaneously" form a Citizens for Nixon campaign to raise money and put out full page ads in newspapers across the nation "demanding" that Nixon do his "Patriotic Duty" and run for a third term.
And Mothra continues to flap its wings...
IOTL the leading candidates for both parties' nominations have been butterflied away as on the Democratic side, Jimmy Carter is a high ranking USN officer, Ted Kennedy is in Ireland following the disgrace of father's role in the Spanish Civil War, and now is involved with Irish Politics, and Jerry Brown's father is the current Governor of California or the most recent, and he could have become the Jesuit priest that he wanted to be when growing up.
On the GOP side, Ronald Reagan was caught up in a Marijuana and Prostitution scandal earlier in his career and is now out of the public's eye, and we don't know what happened to George Hurbert Walker Bush, there are rumors that he is running a gas and convenience store in the Jewish Riveria of Germany under an assumed name, but that can't be true.
It is very logical for Nixon to think about running for a third term as he is probably very popular, the United States is apparently at an unprecedented level of Peace and Prosperity, he has successfully threaded the needle of balancing being Tough on Crime and being a champion of Civil Rights, he is the only American President to get the best of the Germans, and now inspired by the visit of Princess Kristina he is now putting a program together to "Reindustrialize" the nation.
What should happen next is that an "Independent Committee" of "Leading Citizens" should "spontaneously" form a Citizens for Nixon campaign to raise money and put out full page ads in newspapers across the nation "demanding" that Nixon do his "Patriotic Duty" and run for a third term.
And Mothra continues to flap its wings...
IOTL the leading candidates for both parties' nominations have been butterflied away as on the Democratic side, Jimmy Carter is a high ranking USN officer, Ted Kennedy is in Ireland following the disgrace of father's role in the Spanish Civil War, and now is involved with Irish Politics, and Jerry Brown's father is the current Governor of California or the most recent, and he could have become the Jesuit priest that he wanted to be when growing up.
On the GOP side, Ronald Reagan was caught up in a Marijuana and Prostitution scandal earlier in his career and is now out of the public's eye, and we don't know what happened to George Hurbert Walker Bush, there are rumors that he is running a gas and convenience store in the Jewish Riveria of Germany under an assumed name, but that can't be true.
The1980 Presidential Election is shaping up to be Richard Nixon as the incumbent against the Republican nominee, Senator Mark Felt (R-Idaho.) What's the worst that could happen?
So far, the Nixon ITTL does not have the resentment and paranoia that the IOTL Nixon had and given how the last two GOP nominees got the October Surprise kicked out of them I wouldn't be at all surprised that it is Mark Felt is the one who is going to get "Deep Throated" ITTL.
Nixon being called "Tricky Dick" could be interpreted by some as a sign of respect in how he has been able to outmaneuver his opponents without getting his hands dirty, for others it is a derogatory nickname for his ability to outmaneuver his opponents without getting his hands dirty.
BTW one of the biggest differences ITTL is that without the IOTL US participation in WW II, there won't be the "Junior Officer" string of Presidents and Presidential nominees from 1960 (Kennedy) to 1996 (Dole) with only Humphery 1968, Dukakis 1988, and Clinton 1992 and '96 being the exceptions.
Part 151, Chapter 2743
Chapter Two Thousand Seven Hundred and Forty-Three
24th December 1978
Tempelhof, Berlin
It was Christmas Eve and Marie Alexandra was still trying to get released from the hospital. On the first night, the Surgeon who set the bones in her face said that she was lucky that he had been able to do it without surgical intervention. In a few months no one would be able to tell what had happened. She didn’t feel lucky that was for certain considering how painful that had been. He had then recommended that she stay off her face for four to six weeks. She had not been very fast on the uptake, so the Surgeon’s joke had fallen flat. It was afterwards that there Doctors had wanted her to stay for observation as they ran dozens of tests to determine why she had fainted, as if Marie had not already been able to tell them the embarrassing truth. They felt that there was more to it than that, so Marie was forced to be their guinea pig until they had exhausted all possibilities.
Marie had been left a broken nose and cheekbone from when she fell on her face but had stupidly been apologizing to Suga and had even tried to continue the meeting as a Medic from the First Foot had been telling her to stop talking so that he could get a read on the extent of her injuries. Suga had looked at her with a horrified expression, another embarrassing memory to add to thousands of others that already haunted Marie. She remembered the topic of conversation before she had fainted, she had told Suga that she should be replaced. She had no idea if Suga had told her mother that she had said that but couldn’t imagine that it would go over well when her mother inevitably brought it up. Everyone knew that the Tigress had never quit anything in her life, odds or sanity be damned. Well, Marie wasn’t her mother and that was something that no one seemed to understand. Or maybe they didn’t want to. Marie didn’t have the first clue which of those was worse.
Then Henriette showed up with Alice to visit her in the hospital. Marie had received Henriette’s letter but had been so busy with other things that she had completely forgotten about it. As Henriette had been catching up Marie on everything that had happened Alice had been playing with the remote control that changed the channels on the television in Marie’s hospital room. Marie knew that she should probably get Alice to stop, but Henni was excitedly telling her all about how Bas had asked her to marry him. They were talking about having it on the Richthofen estate in the summertime. Henni had never been there, she had heard that it was nice. Was it? And she knew that the Maid of Honor wasn’t German tradition. She wasn’t German though, so would Marie be interested in playing that role? Just for her.
The whole time, Marie had been thinking about what a terrible friend she was. Fortunately, she was cleared to be released minutes later with stern instructions about resting and seeing a specialist in what were termed “women’s issues” much to her annoyance. They had even included several helpful suggestions that came from Doctors who were seemingly unaware of how patronizing they were being.
Fortunately, it was Marie’s father who came for her, she couldn’t have handled facing her mother in the hospital lobby. Instead, it had been when Marie had gotten home where she found her mother, Kiki, and Suga waiting for her.
North Sea, off Heligoland
After Erich had escorted Gretchen to the Winter Ball with nothing untoward happening, he had thought that Tilo Schultz would just leave it at that. As it had turned out, that assessment was wrong. He had figured that much out when he had been rudely woken up in the middle of the night and given minutes to pack his bags before being shoved onto a Landing Craft that had departed into the North Sea.
There were a few things that might have let Erich know that he was still on someone’s shitlist. Being in an open-top LC at night in December that was an only slightly improved version of the ones used since the Second World War was very clear indication of that. The fact that he was onboard with a Platoon of Marines, many of whom were seasick, was a nice exclamation point. Not only was Erich the only Officer, but he was also a complete stranger to them. Finding out who the Noncoms were among them took a while. That was because they were strangers to each other as well. Eventually, Erich found a Feldwebel who was more than happy to help impose order, so long as he was given a free hand. That seemed simple enough, though Erich knew that he really could have used Aaron Muller at that moment.
Eventually, the sky grew less dark. There wasn’t any sun due to the grey overcast, so it was kind of hard to argue that this was any sort of dawn. Erich was tired, cold, and ice was forming on the outside of his clothes. He figured that everyone else on the LC was feeling exactly the same way he was. Eventually, land emerged out of the gloom and the anchor chains unspooled. What Erich saw was a rocky beach with a cliff of red stone towering above it. There was a grinding noise as the LC ran aground on the beach. Seconds later, the ramp dropped. Erich couldn’t help but notice that they were still a few meters from shore, so they would have the joy of getting their feet wet to add to the list of joys they were being subjected to.
“Everyone off!” Erich yelled, “Fall in once you get up on the beach!”
Erich could hear his command being repeated. He just hoped that he would have more for them once he had figured out just what was going on.
24th December 1978
Tempelhof, Berlin
It was Christmas Eve and Marie Alexandra was still trying to get released from the hospital. On the first night, the Surgeon who set the bones in her face said that she was lucky that he had been able to do it without surgical intervention. In a few months no one would be able to tell what had happened. She didn’t feel lucky that was for certain considering how painful that had been. He had then recommended that she stay off her face for four to six weeks. She had not been very fast on the uptake, so the Surgeon’s joke had fallen flat. It was afterwards that there Doctors had wanted her to stay for observation as they ran dozens of tests to determine why she had fainted, as if Marie had not already been able to tell them the embarrassing truth. They felt that there was more to it than that, so Marie was forced to be their guinea pig until they had exhausted all possibilities.
Marie had been left a broken nose and cheekbone from when she fell on her face but had stupidly been apologizing to Suga and had even tried to continue the meeting as a Medic from the First Foot had been telling her to stop talking so that he could get a read on the extent of her injuries. Suga had looked at her with a horrified expression, another embarrassing memory to add to thousands of others that already haunted Marie. She remembered the topic of conversation before she had fainted, she had told Suga that she should be replaced. She had no idea if Suga had told her mother that she had said that but couldn’t imagine that it would go over well when her mother inevitably brought it up. Everyone knew that the Tigress had never quit anything in her life, odds or sanity be damned. Well, Marie wasn’t her mother and that was something that no one seemed to understand. Or maybe they didn’t want to. Marie didn’t have the first clue which of those was worse.
Then Henriette showed up with Alice to visit her in the hospital. Marie had received Henriette’s letter but had been so busy with other things that she had completely forgotten about it. As Henriette had been catching up Marie on everything that had happened Alice had been playing with the remote control that changed the channels on the television in Marie’s hospital room. Marie knew that she should probably get Alice to stop, but Henni was excitedly telling her all about how Bas had asked her to marry him. They were talking about having it on the Richthofen estate in the summertime. Henni had never been there, she had heard that it was nice. Was it? And she knew that the Maid of Honor wasn’t German tradition. She wasn’t German though, so would Marie be interested in playing that role? Just for her.
The whole time, Marie had been thinking about what a terrible friend she was. Fortunately, she was cleared to be released minutes later with stern instructions about resting and seeing a specialist in what were termed “women’s issues” much to her annoyance. They had even included several helpful suggestions that came from Doctors who were seemingly unaware of how patronizing they were being.
Fortunately, it was Marie’s father who came for her, she couldn’t have handled facing her mother in the hospital lobby. Instead, it had been when Marie had gotten home where she found her mother, Kiki, and Suga waiting for her.
North Sea, off Heligoland
After Erich had escorted Gretchen to the Winter Ball with nothing untoward happening, he had thought that Tilo Schultz would just leave it at that. As it had turned out, that assessment was wrong. He had figured that much out when he had been rudely woken up in the middle of the night and given minutes to pack his bags before being shoved onto a Landing Craft that had departed into the North Sea.
There were a few things that might have let Erich know that he was still on someone’s shitlist. Being in an open-top LC at night in December that was an only slightly improved version of the ones used since the Second World War was very clear indication of that. The fact that he was onboard with a Platoon of Marines, many of whom were seasick, was a nice exclamation point. Not only was Erich the only Officer, but he was also a complete stranger to them. Finding out who the Noncoms were among them took a while. That was because they were strangers to each other as well. Eventually, Erich found a Feldwebel who was more than happy to help impose order, so long as he was given a free hand. That seemed simple enough, though Erich knew that he really could have used Aaron Muller at that moment.
Eventually, the sky grew less dark. There wasn’t any sun due to the grey overcast, so it was kind of hard to argue that this was any sort of dawn. Erich was tired, cold, and ice was forming on the outside of his clothes. He figured that everyone else on the LC was feeling exactly the same way he was. Eventually, land emerged out of the gloom and the anchor chains unspooled. What Erich saw was a rocky beach with a cliff of red stone towering above it. There was a grinding noise as the LC ran aground on the beach. Seconds later, the ramp dropped. Erich couldn’t help but notice that they were still a few meters from shore, so they would have the joy of getting their feet wet to add to the list of joys they were being subjected to.
“Everyone off!” Erich yelled, “Fall in once you get up on the beach!”
Erich could hear his command being repeated. He just hoped that he would have more for them once he had figured out just what was going on.
Dr. Berg not available or is she waiting in the wings in case none of those 3 are able to talk sense into her head?
Interesting if some of the people in the High Command don't know where Eric is sent because he is needed to testify. Might have some senior NCO's get on their telegraph to drop a few hints, if not actually pass the word along say over drinks about the strange thing that happened today some officer and a platoon to some old Komerad by the name of Reier.