Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III

The problem with cults that centre themselves around a reluctant 'saint' or 'messiah', especially one who is not part of the cult, comes when they begin to see the 'flaws' in the object of obsession & veneration. Then you have a minority who will turn against that person, possibly violently, for having 'fallen from Grace'. Worse are the ones who decide that the person in question is too good for this corrupted world and decide to 'return' that person to the loving bosom of God.

Gia and her family are in grave danger of this occurring, if it hasn't already happened.
 
Part 114, Chapter 1889
Chapter One Thousand Eight Hundred Eighty-Nine



6th November 1968

Mitte, Berlin

The Instructor was droning on about the glories and history of the Continental Staff System, the room was stuffy, and half the students weren’t even pretending to stay awake. Unlike previous incarnations of the Staff College, the competition wasn’t nearly as fierce. This was due to them all having completed two years in the War Academy, five years of active service, and had been deemed fit for further advancement just by being invited back. This was all about checking boxes before they could return to their home units and resume their careers. For Kiki things were not that simple and she’d had a lot of time to think about the direction of her life as she had sat in this lecture hall day after day. Today, the Instructor had decided to spice things up a bit by boring them with the day’s headlines about the American General Election and the proper etiquette in greeting a Head od State. Oddly, not only was Kiki the only woman in the room, she was the only one who might actually put this lesson to use.

Afternoons and evenings were better because she was working in the University Hospital, mostly in the OB/GYN Department that was headed by Doctor Berg. There had been a few times when she had been called into the Emergency Department and it had been noticeable how a third year Intern was treated as opposed to what she had endured years earlier. An FSR Major/Oberstabsarzt commanded respect and there was also a vast difference between having been a teenaged Sanitäter and a Notarzt as Kiki was now. Working with Berg on what were termed Women’s Issues had been an education. There was an old joke about how if you thought that education was expensive, try ignorance, and Kiki had been reminded of it often by some of things that she had seen and heard from the patients. Berg had stressed that it was not Kiki’s job to judge and there had been plenty of times when Kiki herself had exhibited highly questionable judgement that both of them were aware of. That was why she held her tongue as she had listened to a patient explain to Berg that about a mysterious infection or pregnancy. Berg had just nodded sagely and helped them reach a conclusion without ever venturing her own opinion. Kiki had no idea how she did it.

That had also driven home for Kiki the realities of her life and the expectations that others had. The order of things that she had to contend with was what her poor deluded mother had basically told Kiki. That her only value was that she might one day marry well and have children, preferably sons, until her body gave out. That was exactly what had happened to her mother. She’d had six children in less than a decade and a premature death due to heart failure. Though those two things were considered unrelated, Kiki wasn’t so sure. That was not a fate she wanted for herself, getting pushed by Ben and her father in that direction was horrifying for her.

And they didn’t seem to understand.

Then there was her career. Equal treatment under the Law was enshrined in the Federal Constitution of 1921 and a body of laws had been passed to help women pursue career aspirations. Still though, there were older laws and traditions that were potential landmines. If Kiki married Ben, she would lose a great deal of her already precarious independence and if she got pregnant, she would be expected to spend at least a year dealing with that with her career on hold. If it happened more than once, then it was likely that she wouldn’t have a career to come back to. It wasn’t as bad as when Kat had been forced out of her nascent career with the BII, but it wasn’t perfect. The military hadn’t forced Kat out over Marie, but that was because there was a five-year gap between her and Kat’s paternal twins. Kat had also commanded the First Foot Guard Regiment by that time, a prestigious posting that had cemented her later career.

Were those options that would even be available for Kiki considering that her next posting would probably be in a Medical Services Regiment somewhere? Who knew how long that would last? She didn’t know and felt that this situation was unfair for everyone close to her. Kiki recalled an article she had read about after the rapid gains that women had made in the 40’s and 50’s the last decade had been a period of retrenchment. That had all seemed rather abstract until Kiki saw that how it hurt her personally.



Wahlstatt, Silesia

The POP! of rimfire cartridges filled the air as Niko fired ten shots through the single-shot cadet rifle that belonged to the school as fast as he could reload it. He had passed on to a center-fire rifle before he had come to the school, but he had only gotten a dirty look from any staff who he told that to. Everyone in his Class had to start at the same place and the five other boys in his Squad would need to all advance or none of them would. Staber Arbeit made note of Niko’s score. When they had first started target practice in the afternoons, Arbeit had seemed annoyed. Then word had come that his cousin Manny was serving as a Sniper in the elite First Foot, protecting Emperor Louis.

“It seems that you and your cousin had the same teacher” Arbeit said. Niko had never considered himself a particularly great shot, it wasn’t until he had gotten to Wahlstatt that he had realized the implications of being from a family of hunters. The next day Niko had discovered that the targets he was shooting at had shrunk considerably while he was required to get a higher score to pass.

Niko had also been told that he was to assist his fellow cadets, a reminder that the whole Squad needed to pass the course. That caused a bit of friction with Bas, who had never picked up a rifle until a few weeks earlier and had several issues including remembering to always keep the business end pointed downrange. For the first time ever, Bas and Niko were in an unequal situation. The things that Bas excelled in seldom saw a whole lot of use here. Niko knew that if he ever needed help with shoplifting, sneaking into movie theaters, or extremely creative uses of spray-paint then Bas would be the first one he would turn to. The trouble was that here Bas always seemed to run afoul of Staber Arbeit, getting the entire Class in trouble in the process. That made both Bas, and Niko who everyone knew was Bas’ best friend really unpopular. So far, no one had carried out the threats they had been making, but if they did, they would discover that Bas knew how to fight mean and Niko would have his back.
 
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And Kiki is again worrying about some hypothetical worst case scenario that really doesn't apply to her.

Whether it would apply to someone who doesn't have her advantages is another question.
 
And Kiki is again worrying about some hypothetical worst case scenario that really doesn't apply to her.

Whether it would apply to someone who doesn't have her advantages is another question.

Very true. I mean...IIRC, the contraceptive pill's been introduced ITTL too, her and Ben could stay childfree if they're both happy with that.

She should just talk to Ben about her concerns. I'm sure he could provide reassurance.

...also, hate to be the one to point it out, but I'm fairly sure Kira's heart failure was down to overindulgence in a variety of things (especially sugar) rather than having children.
 
...also, hate to be the one to point it out, but I'm fairly sure Kira's heart failure was down to overindulgence in a variety of things (especially sugar) rather than having children.
There is also the fact that Kira lost one of her kidneys when she was shot, there is a history of heart disease in her family (her sister died of it) and what really triggered the fatal heart attack was the situation with Gia and Asia.
 
There is also the fact that Kira lost one of her kidneys when she was shot, there is a history of heart disease in her family (her sister died of it) and what really triggered the fatal heart attack was the situation with Gia and Asia.
Not to mention the situation with Kiki defending herself, verbally & physically, when Kira laid down "The Law" only to have Kiki respond with "Oh HELL NO!!" and the little fact that Kira never got over it.

Edit: I foresee a time when Nico realises that Bas has caused him serious trouble once too often and finds himself giving Bas a smack or two himself.
 
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Edit: I foresee a time when Nico realises that Bas has caused him serious trouble once too often and finds himself giving Bas a smack or two himself.
That will be a wake up call for Bas. He'll go one of two ways, either get the message and start to stand on his own two feet and excel, or go the other way, and crash out in style into the the underworld and prison if he's lucky.
 
That will be a wake up call for Bas. He'll go one of two ways, either get the message and start to stand on his own two feet and excel, or go the other way, and crash out in style into the the underworld and prison if he's lucky.
Even better would be if a newly retired Heer NCO and a newly retired Marine Infantry NCO join the faculty of the school as Drill Masters and show Bas the error of his ways and the means to correct them.

Note the Author has stated earlier that this is not a possibility.
 
Very true. I mean...IIRC, the contraceptive pill's been introduced ITTL too, her and Ben could stay childfree if they're both happy with that.

She should just talk to Ben about her concerns. I'm sure he could provide reassurance.

...also, hate to be the one to point it out, but I'm fairly sure Kira's heart failure was down to overindulgence in a variety of things (especially sugar) rather than having children.
Folks, you're approaching this as if Kiki were making rational assessments.

She's not.

She is filtering everything around her through her belief that she cannot be happy or contented and that life is just holding back before dealing her a crushing blow.

And the more time passes without the blow, the worse she expects it to be.

Until it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
 
Folks, you're approaching this as if Kiki were making rational assessments.

She's not.

She is filtering everything around her through her belief that she cannot be happy or contented and that life is just holding back before dealing her a crushing blow.

And the more time passes without the blow, the worse she expects it to be.

Until it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

It's not inevitable, though. A huge part of this issue is that she has to have her thoughts and feelings dragged out of her. If she could just be made to talk things out properly, it'd probably do a huge amount to undo that belief.
 
I have always thought that the best thing for Kiki is that she should spend a year after she fully qualifies as a doctor on one of the "Princesses" hospital ships as that will kill several stones with just one bird.
First off it would allow her to relax better on the down time as the ship is under transit, she can see and do more variety of cases when the ship is on a mission, it will do wonders for the Empire on the diplomatic front as the publicity of a German Princess doing actual work as a doctor would be invaluable, and also that will increase the prestige of the JMS as that will allow Germany to show a different face to the world.
 
I have always thought that the best thing for Kiki is that she should spend a year after she fully qualifies as a doctor on one of the "Princesses" hospital ships as that will kill several stones with just one bird.
First off it would allow her to relax better on the down time as the ship is under transit, she can see and do more variety of cases when the ship is on a mission, it will do wonders for the Empire on the diplomatic front as the publicity of a German Princess doing actual work as a doctor would be invaluable, and also that will increase the prestige of the JMS as that will allow Germany to show a different face to the world.

Ben could take command of the flight section, both flying and supporting element, as a way of showing how couples can work together. Better yet this could be Louis’s first big ship command and Zella can go along to make a documentary about Kiki on board.
 
Ben could take command of the flight section, both flying and supporting element, as a way of showing how couples can work together. Better yet this could be Louis’s first big ship command and Zella can go along to make a documentary about Kiki on board.
And the ship then becomes known throughout the Kaiserliche Marine as the "Love Boat".

Edit: Actually, a sitcom based around the adventures of the medics and crew of one of the German hospital ships could be ratings gold. It could be TTL version of M*A*S*H*. Someone tell Gerta.
 
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Part 114, Chapter 1890
Chapter One Thousand Eight Hundred Ninety



8th November 1968

Mitte, Berlin

While riding a bus down the B1 through the center of Berlin after going across town to run an errand, a man was reading a newspaper across from Ben. A photograph of the American President was on the front page and the story was about his recent victory speech on Tuesday night. There were a lot of implications of that speech internationally, but all Ben cared about was the fairly good relations between the world powers continued. If there was actually a war between the United States and Germany then it was obvious who would lose, everyone involved. Unfortunately, the newspaper in question was a right-wing rag that was published with the editorial backing of one of the Nationalist Parties and the language was predictably bellicose. To avoid saying anything out of turn, Ben turned and looked out the window. Watching the city roll by seemed safer.

As the bus rolled across a bridge taking it through Museum Island, Ben looked south up the River Spree where he knew that Kiki was back living on her motor barge on the river with her dog. The Imperial War Museum was considered an active post, so Kiki had more freedom there than she normally did so long as her barge was moored inside of the grounds. Here on this bus, he was invisible, people just didn’t pay attention to him which was impossible for Kiki. Since she had been born people had watched her grow up and thought they knew her. Ben had long realized that the public perception of her was completely wrong. They didn’t understand the real reason why Kiki seldom gave interviews and always seemed to wear the same clothes. It was because what she wanted more than anything was to just be ordinary and have people leave her alone. At the same time, her own personal accomplishments would draw attention even without the title of Princess which Kiki loathed.

That was just one of the many contradictions that were a part of Kristina von Preussen’s character. She was smart, funny, beautiful, but also complicated and absolutely infuriating. The shy introvert who could act very decisively when she needed to. Ben had lost track of how many times he had seen her at the edge of a conversation where it was clear that she was on the edge of saying something but couldn’t bring her herself to say anything at all. He couldn’t imagine life without her, but there were times when he wanted to run away because she could occasionally be such a neurotic mess. The problem was the same one that Kiki herself had called Ben on many times, overthinking things. The difference was that she could work herself into a panic by doing that.

The latest thing was Kiki’s career. She currently attending Staff College and that was entirely because regardless of what Kiki said, she seemed to like what she did in the Medical Service which was actually helping people. Further advancement would help her do that. Ben wasn’t interested in further advancement in the Luftwaffe and he would probably remain a Hauptmann in the Reserve until he got turfed out. Flying jet fighters was fun but it wasn’t what he wanted in life. Getting a Doctorate in Astronomy and being at the forefront of discovery were what he wanted to be doing. Unlike any other Doctoral Student in the University, Ben had orbited the Moon. Yes, it had been through his connection to the Luftwaffe that had gotten him a training slot at Waltz Center in Peenemünde.

The issue was that Kiki figured that her next posting would likely be as an Operations Officer in a Medical Services Regiment, she had no idea where it would be or for how long. If they went through with getting married this summer, it might be months before they could see each other. Ben had made the mistake of pointing out that it would be no different then how things currently were, only to watch Kiki’s face take on an expression of guilt. He understood that none of this was her fault, the trouble was that she didn’t seem to see it that way.

If anyone was guilty of anything, it was Kiki’s father, who Ben had realized was incredibly manipulative and a complete bastard at that. He had requested a meeting with Louis Ferdinand when he had returned from the Hohenzollern Province to discuss the possibility of marriage and how to best broach the topic with his daughter. Days later, when the meeting had taken place, Louis had quite a few things to say. For Ben finding out that Louis was aware of the extent of Ben and Kiki’s relationship had been unnerving, especially when he had said that it was a good thing that he didn’t have the impression that Ben was just taking advantage of his daughter. The entire thing had an undercurrent of menace that suggested that Ben would not like what would happen to him if Louis ever decided that he presented a real problem. Then Louis had brightened and had suggested that Ben might find Kiki to be especially amenable if he went and talked to her that day. That would not have been the terms that Ben might have used to describe Kiki going through a cancer scare. She might have agreed to anything while she had been thinking that she quite literally had no tomorrow. After how a single comment by Kiki’s father had removed Ben from flight status, which had caused the arguments between them in August, Ben was getting an education in the realities of what it must be like to be in that family.
 
I guess the "shovel talk" come across slightly differently if you know the talker can do everything they threaten and more.
 
In all the time that we have following Kiki she has not shown any interest in any other guys except for Ben, and she has met men who could have drawn her interests from Kings, Princes, those who are from high ranking titled families, sons of rich families, her fellow students and later young doctors that she has trained with but there has not been anyone that she wanted to be with except Ben.
Ben has on his part basically fell in love with Kiki from the first time he saw her through his telescope and there is no one else for him.
He has taken the time to get to know Kiki before he found out that she is a princess and has stuck with her in all of her problems and given her whatever support he could.I
Ben has shown great patience in trying to get Kiki to the next logical level of their relationship which is marriage but he is in the end is not going to force Kiki to do anything that she doesn't want to do and it and if she shows any reservations to getting married then that is her decision and Ben is going to respect that.
 
In all the time that we have following Kiki she has not shown any interest in any other guys except for Ben, and she has metIf he breaks things off who could have drawn her interests from Kings, Princes, those who are from high ranking titled families, sons of rich families, her fellow students and later young doctors that she has trained with but there has not been anyone that she wanted to be with except Ben.
Ben has on his part basically fell in love with Kiki from the first time he saw her through his telescope and there is no one else for him.
He has taken the time to get to know Kiki before he found out that she is a princess and has stuck with her in all of her problems and given her whatever support he could.I
Ben has shown great patience in trying to get Kiki to the next logical level of their relationship which is marriage but he is in the end is not going to force Kiki to do anything that she doesn't want to do and it and if she shows any reservations to getting married then that is her decision and Ben is going to respect that.
If she decides she doesn't want marriage/kids he is then free to decide what to do if he does. He is an eligible bachelor in his own right these day!
 
For Ben finding out that Louis was aware of the extent of Ben and Kiki’s relationship had been unnerving, especially when he had said that it was a good thing that he didn’t have the impression that Ben was just taking advantage of his daughter. The entire thing had an undercurrent of menace that suggested that Ben would not like what would happen to him if Louis ever decided that he presented a real problem. Then Louis had brightened and had suggested that Ben might find Kiki to be especially amenable if he went and talked to her that day. That would not have been the terms that Ben might have used to describe Kiki going through a cancer scare.

Sometimes, Louis just tries to do the regular dad stuff regarding his kids and occasionally forgets the whole Kaiser things applies there too. Like in this case, he actually seems to like Ben and is seriously concerned over Kiki's mental well-being (hence his grounding of Ben). He is also concerned that it might be Kiki who is stringing Ben along.
 
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