Iirc it was mentioned Germany has two active Carrier Groups, and if the KLM‘s main units are CGs, I doubt the carriers are not nuclear.
Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
Part 142, Chapter 2566
Chapter Two Thousand Five Hundred Sixty-Six
18th June 1976
Montreal, Canada
After so long, life had fallen into a routine that took a great deal to stray from. That was the lot of a pensioner as Sir Malcolm had discovered. Sure, Margot still had her ambitions, but Malcolm knew their horizons were getting smaller. Why else would one of the highlights of week would be watching gameshows on Friday nights? Events in the world were certainly happening with them passively observing. There in Montreal, the Olympic Summer Games were intended to be a showcase on the international stage while south of the border, the Yanks were already starting with the Bicentennial celebration that would start on the 4th of July and continue for most of the summer. There was a vast contradiction in that which was absolutely jarring. It made Malcolm consider a bit of escapism in watching people trying to ask the right questions after being given the answers to be exactly what they needed.
As they watched, the contestant, a young man named Alfred who said that he was a student at Cal Poly lost badly in the final round. Even the host of the show, Art Fleming, seemed surprised that such a spectacular flameout had just occurred. Margot just watched with a satisfied look on her face, as if what happened had just confirmed something which she already knew. The game show ended, and the Evening News came on. The lead story was international news. The Greek Prime Minister giving a defiant message to the League of Nations, while his Italian counterpart was complaining about the Greeks causing trouble on Rhodes. Then the news story cut to the war that was raging between the Greeks and the Turks. Artillery strikes, machine gun fire, trenches, and barbed wire. It saddened Malcolm to see that while the airplanes and tanks were considerably more advanced, to him it looked the same as the bloody Arras Front from decades earlier.
Mercifully, the next segment was local news stories. The latest in boring debates about city planning and highways. Then came the next segment. It had become popular to get “Man on the street” commentary, if for no other reason than for people to get the inadvertent comedy from the sort of things that the average man tended to believe right up until he made a complete fool of himself by repeating it. In this case, the reporter was interviewing a young woman who he had stopped, asking about the street closures and snarled traffic caused by the Olympic preparations. She might have been reasonably attractive if she could be bothered to put in the effort, which was why she had probably been picked in the first place. The thing was that she clearly couldn’t be bothered to put in much of that effort. Bleached blond hair with about an inch or so of dark roots showing and vacant brown eyes. She was also wearing a tight shirt that left her midriff exposed and baggy blue jeans which Malcolm knew were fashionable summer clothing these days which made him feel incredibly old. The young woman saw no need to stop chewing the gum in her mouth as she answered the reporter’s questions.
“So, me and my friends were coming back from Longueuil, and we get stuck on the bridge, aye” The young woman said, “And I was telling my friend Henni that we never get stuck there in the middle of the day. And she said that…”
“So, traffic is a problem for you” the reporter asked, interrupting her.
“Well, duh” The young woman said, “Any hoser would know that.”
“Have you considered using transit options?” The reporter asked.
“Me and Henni were on the bus” The young woman said, “That count? Those get caught in traffic too you know.”
“You didn’t mention that before” The reporter said, the frustration growing in his voice. The perils of live television Malcolm thought to himself, right before a thought about the young woman gelled in the back of his mind. He knew that she was a master of disguise, but to actually see it like this.
“You didn’t ask, yeah” The young woman said, “As I was saying, my friend Henni said to me that…”
The segment abruptly ended with it going back to the Evening News Anchorman. “Well, there you have it” He said awkwardly.
“What is with children these days?” Margot asked, “When I was young I wouldn’t have been caught dead looking like that in public.”
“I remember what you were like when you were young” Malcolm replied, “You were quite daring in those days.”
Margot gave Malcolm a look with a half-smile as if she fondly remembered who she had been. Then that vanished as the present returned to the fore.
“I had at least the pretense of decorum” Margot said, “That girl came across as having the brains of a cocktail napkin.”
“I got the impression that it was an act” Malcolm replied. She would have needed to stay in character, whatever her motivations had been in playing that role.
“You have always liked to think the best about people, despite having seen many of them at their worst” Margot said, “At least Marie is trying to be better than most of her peers. God knows that girl had the terrible example of her mother while growing up, it’s a miracle that she didn’t turn out like that.”
This was one of those times when Malcolm held his tongue in the interest in domestic harmony. Still, he was going to have a few questions for his granddaughter the next time he saw her.
18th June 1976
Montreal, Canada
After so long, life had fallen into a routine that took a great deal to stray from. That was the lot of a pensioner as Sir Malcolm had discovered. Sure, Margot still had her ambitions, but Malcolm knew their horizons were getting smaller. Why else would one of the highlights of week would be watching gameshows on Friday nights? Events in the world were certainly happening with them passively observing. There in Montreal, the Olympic Summer Games were intended to be a showcase on the international stage while south of the border, the Yanks were already starting with the Bicentennial celebration that would start on the 4th of July and continue for most of the summer. There was a vast contradiction in that which was absolutely jarring. It made Malcolm consider a bit of escapism in watching people trying to ask the right questions after being given the answers to be exactly what they needed.
As they watched, the contestant, a young man named Alfred who said that he was a student at Cal Poly lost badly in the final round. Even the host of the show, Art Fleming, seemed surprised that such a spectacular flameout had just occurred. Margot just watched with a satisfied look on her face, as if what happened had just confirmed something which she already knew. The game show ended, and the Evening News came on. The lead story was international news. The Greek Prime Minister giving a defiant message to the League of Nations, while his Italian counterpart was complaining about the Greeks causing trouble on Rhodes. Then the news story cut to the war that was raging between the Greeks and the Turks. Artillery strikes, machine gun fire, trenches, and barbed wire. It saddened Malcolm to see that while the airplanes and tanks were considerably more advanced, to him it looked the same as the bloody Arras Front from decades earlier.
Mercifully, the next segment was local news stories. The latest in boring debates about city planning and highways. Then came the next segment. It had become popular to get “Man on the street” commentary, if for no other reason than for people to get the inadvertent comedy from the sort of things that the average man tended to believe right up until he made a complete fool of himself by repeating it. In this case, the reporter was interviewing a young woman who he had stopped, asking about the street closures and snarled traffic caused by the Olympic preparations. She might have been reasonably attractive if she could be bothered to put in the effort, which was why she had probably been picked in the first place. The thing was that she clearly couldn’t be bothered to put in much of that effort. Bleached blond hair with about an inch or so of dark roots showing and vacant brown eyes. She was also wearing a tight shirt that left her midriff exposed and baggy blue jeans which Malcolm knew were fashionable summer clothing these days which made him feel incredibly old. The young woman saw no need to stop chewing the gum in her mouth as she answered the reporter’s questions.
“So, me and my friends were coming back from Longueuil, and we get stuck on the bridge, aye” The young woman said, “And I was telling my friend Henni that we never get stuck there in the middle of the day. And she said that…”
“So, traffic is a problem for you” the reporter asked, interrupting her.
“Well, duh” The young woman said, “Any hoser would know that.”
“Have you considered using transit options?” The reporter asked.
“Me and Henni were on the bus” The young woman said, “That count? Those get caught in traffic too you know.”
“You didn’t mention that before” The reporter said, the frustration growing in his voice. The perils of live television Malcolm thought to himself, right before a thought about the young woman gelled in the back of his mind. He knew that she was a master of disguise, but to actually see it like this.
“You didn’t ask, yeah” The young woman said, “As I was saying, my friend Henni said to me that…”
The segment abruptly ended with it going back to the Evening News Anchorman. “Well, there you have it” He said awkwardly.
“What is with children these days?” Margot asked, “When I was young I wouldn’t have been caught dead looking like that in public.”
“I remember what you were like when you were young” Malcolm replied, “You were quite daring in those days.”
Margot gave Malcolm a look with a half-smile as if she fondly remembered who she had been. Then that vanished as the present returned to the fore.
“I had at least the pretense of decorum” Margot said, “That girl came across as having the brains of a cocktail napkin.”
“I got the impression that it was an act” Malcolm replied. She would have needed to stay in character, whatever her motivations had been in playing that role.
“You have always liked to think the best about people, despite having seen many of them at their worst” Margot said, “At least Marie is trying to be better than most of her peers. God knows that girl had the terrible example of her mother while growing up, it’s a miracle that she didn’t turn out like that.”
This was one of those times when Malcolm held his tongue in the interest in domestic harmony. Still, he was going to have a few questions for his granddaughter the next time he saw her.
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Reporters really should know better. Traffic snarls can trap buses and trams as well. Hell, even bicycles can get caught in traffic if its bad enough.
Also, I totally love Sir Malcolm's "Wait a minute... " moment regarding Marie. I'm also guessing that Sir Malcolm is about to discover that Marie's little escapade has a lot to do with all the surveillance & press surrounding her as the Olympics draws near. She can't really relax at her grandparents place because of Margot. And, aside from the gym, her acting skills are the only way to try and get some sense of normalcy in an increasingly stressful environment for her.
Who was it that suggested Marie was going to hide in plain sight?
Step forward and take a bow.
ITTL he really did lose on Jeopardy and it is even worse than jokingly depicted in OTL.
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Part 142, Chapter 2567
Chapter Two Thousand Five Hundred Sixty-Seven
20th June 1976
Mitte, Berlin
The cover for this meeting of the Principles of the Order of Louise was the sort of thing that most men would not be interested in. While the formal Summer meeting of the Order was coming up, Kat found that they had a great deal of business to discuss before then and quarterly meetings had become far more about the social aspect rather than the actual business.
They also didn’t want there to be eavesdroppers even if that was mostly in the form of tabloid journalists these days. Occasionally the Order drew the attention of various intelligence agencies, both foreign and domestic. That was to the point where Kat had overseen sweeping the ballroom of the Charlottenburg Palace for listening devices. Of course, the BND and the BII had proven about as trustworthy as the American CIA or British Military Intelligence. So, finding someone to conduct the sweep had proven to be a challenge. Explaining this to Kris and Asia, both high ranking in the BND, had proven to be a bit of a challenge. They understood quite well the way which they were seen by their superiors, at the same time they were reluctant to admit that the focus of the BND wasn’t always where it actually needed to be.
The house where Kat’s goddaughter lived was a safe enough place to hold today’s meeting though. Few would have known that the meeting was even taking place and would have simply accepted that they were here for the stated reason, visiting Zella’s infant daughter Irina.
Despite Zella having made some extremely questionable choices over the last year, she seemed to be emerging from that. A couple months earlier when Zella had moved into the townhouse that her parents weren’t using, she had invited her paramour and his family to stay with her. Kat had found that to be another questionable choice when she had first heard about it. Seeing the dynamic between Zella and Yuliya, Yuri’s mother and his half-sisters had eased Kat’s concerns. Yuri’s stepfather seemed to be more concerned with how the move would affect his one-man plumbing business and they were still trying to figure out the logistics of that. His skills had already proved invaluable as they had worked to make the house livable after it had sat vacant for a considerable period of time. Their reaction to Suga’s arrival with her own daughters, Mirai and Alexandrine in tow today had been one of complete surprise. For Irina, she found herself the center of attention of her “Aunties.” All of whom were going to be taking a keen interest in what she would be doing in the coming years.
Those were just the preliminaries, afterwards they spoke at length about the latest gossip in the Imperial Court. Finally, once Kat was certain that any unfriendly ears would be bored to tears by the conversation she brought up the real business of the Order today; what the Scotsman had told her and how they could use that information to their own ends. A major consideration was the piece of information that David Sterling had learned somehow. That the Greeks had a secret ace in the hole which would complicate anything anyone else tried to do. That was namely the HS Alexander Ypsilantis, formerly the SMS Goeben which the Greeks had managed to capture intact during the first round of their wars against the Turks. Kat’s son Malcolm had assisted her in confirming that the drydock that the Greeks had moved it to years ago was seeing a great deal of activity. No one thought for a second that old Battlecruiser was anything but completely obsolete, which was why no one had paid too much attention to it. Still, the fact that no one else had anything like her and used smartly, only had to get lucky once to decimate the Italian ships off Rhodes or the British and German ships off Cyprus.
Montreal
It was mid-morning Sunday before Sir Malcolm managed to get a chance to talk to Marie Alexandra about her little performance on the Evening News. The trouble was that this was after observing his granddaughter go to Church as Margot expected. He realized that what Marie was doing in front of her grandmother was exactly the same, a role she was playing, complete with a costume and carefully rehearsed behavior.
“I thought I saw you on television on Friday evening” Malcolm said, “The Evening News, talking about getting stuck in traffic presumably on the Victoria Bridge.”
Marie gave Malcolm a look with a vague smile as she was clearly formulating what she was going to tell him in reply.
“Are you certain about that?” Marie asked. Careful to avoid lying to him.
“It was clever how you changed your appearance, and I didn’t recognize you at first” Malcolm said, he had consulted with an expert he could trust who worked for the RCMP Special Branch about what Marie must have done. Her appearance wasn’t the extent of it though. She had the mannerisms, slang, and accent of a young woman from Montreal down perfectly. Malcolm’s hope was that she wouldn’t play games with him once she knew she had been caught in the act.
“Oh” Marie said with a shrug.
“Is that all?” Malcolm asked, “You’ve nothing else to say.”
Marie gave him a look that suggested that he was intruding.
“I don’t like who I am most of the time” Marie said, “Is that really so hard to understand?”
That wasn’t what Malcolm was expecting to hear. That seemed to be a very strange reason for playing such a potentially dangerous game.
20th June 1976
Mitte, Berlin
The cover for this meeting of the Principles of the Order of Louise was the sort of thing that most men would not be interested in. While the formal Summer meeting of the Order was coming up, Kat found that they had a great deal of business to discuss before then and quarterly meetings had become far more about the social aspect rather than the actual business.
They also didn’t want there to be eavesdroppers even if that was mostly in the form of tabloid journalists these days. Occasionally the Order drew the attention of various intelligence agencies, both foreign and domestic. That was to the point where Kat had overseen sweeping the ballroom of the Charlottenburg Palace for listening devices. Of course, the BND and the BII had proven about as trustworthy as the American CIA or British Military Intelligence. So, finding someone to conduct the sweep had proven to be a challenge. Explaining this to Kris and Asia, both high ranking in the BND, had proven to be a bit of a challenge. They understood quite well the way which they were seen by their superiors, at the same time they were reluctant to admit that the focus of the BND wasn’t always where it actually needed to be.
The house where Kat’s goddaughter lived was a safe enough place to hold today’s meeting though. Few would have known that the meeting was even taking place and would have simply accepted that they were here for the stated reason, visiting Zella’s infant daughter Irina.
Despite Zella having made some extremely questionable choices over the last year, she seemed to be emerging from that. A couple months earlier when Zella had moved into the townhouse that her parents weren’t using, she had invited her paramour and his family to stay with her. Kat had found that to be another questionable choice when she had first heard about it. Seeing the dynamic between Zella and Yuliya, Yuri’s mother and his half-sisters had eased Kat’s concerns. Yuri’s stepfather seemed to be more concerned with how the move would affect his one-man plumbing business and they were still trying to figure out the logistics of that. His skills had already proved invaluable as they had worked to make the house livable after it had sat vacant for a considerable period of time. Their reaction to Suga’s arrival with her own daughters, Mirai and Alexandrine in tow today had been one of complete surprise. For Irina, she found herself the center of attention of her “Aunties.” All of whom were going to be taking a keen interest in what she would be doing in the coming years.
Those were just the preliminaries, afterwards they spoke at length about the latest gossip in the Imperial Court. Finally, once Kat was certain that any unfriendly ears would be bored to tears by the conversation she brought up the real business of the Order today; what the Scotsman had told her and how they could use that information to their own ends. A major consideration was the piece of information that David Sterling had learned somehow. That the Greeks had a secret ace in the hole which would complicate anything anyone else tried to do. That was namely the HS Alexander Ypsilantis, formerly the SMS Goeben which the Greeks had managed to capture intact during the first round of their wars against the Turks. Kat’s son Malcolm had assisted her in confirming that the drydock that the Greeks had moved it to years ago was seeing a great deal of activity. No one thought for a second that old Battlecruiser was anything but completely obsolete, which was why no one had paid too much attention to it. Still, the fact that no one else had anything like her and used smartly, only had to get lucky once to decimate the Italian ships off Rhodes or the British and German ships off Cyprus.
Montreal
It was mid-morning Sunday before Sir Malcolm managed to get a chance to talk to Marie Alexandra about her little performance on the Evening News. The trouble was that this was after observing his granddaughter go to Church as Margot expected. He realized that what Marie was doing in front of her grandmother was exactly the same, a role she was playing, complete with a costume and carefully rehearsed behavior.
“I thought I saw you on television on Friday evening” Malcolm said, “The Evening News, talking about getting stuck in traffic presumably on the Victoria Bridge.”
Marie gave Malcolm a look with a vague smile as she was clearly formulating what she was going to tell him in reply.
“Are you certain about that?” Marie asked. Careful to avoid lying to him.
“It was clever how you changed your appearance, and I didn’t recognize you at first” Malcolm said, he had consulted with an expert he could trust who worked for the RCMP Special Branch about what Marie must have done. Her appearance wasn’t the extent of it though. She had the mannerisms, slang, and accent of a young woman from Montreal down perfectly. Malcolm’s hope was that she wouldn’t play games with him once she knew she had been caught in the act.
“Oh” Marie said with a shrug.
“Is that all?” Malcolm asked, “You’ve nothing else to say.”
Marie gave him a look that suggested that he was intruding.
“I don’t like who I am most of the time” Marie said, “Is that really so hard to understand?”
That wasn’t what Malcolm was expecting to hear. That seemed to be a very strange reason for playing such a potentially dangerous game.
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I think that the main current goal of the Greeks is first to try to cut Turkey off from their last Mediterranean ports and control what comes in and out of Turkey, the secondary goal is to out flank the Italian Dodecanses from the Anatolian mainland in order to throw a complete air and naval blockade on the islands and dare Italy to use force to break it.
As seen from previous operations by the Greeks against the Turks, Greek forces can only go so far before they out run their logistics and have to call off further offensive operations and consolidate their gains.
This may allow the League of Nations to propose a cease fire with an international peacekeeping force with a "Turkish Corridor" to allow Turkey to export and import goods and services without interference from the Greeks.
Marie is such a talented individual, she can practically do anything she wants to and do it brilliantly.
Yes, Second City in Toronto would be very interested in her, and I have no doubt that she can out Streep, Meryl Streep.
It would be such a shame story wise if she skips out of the Olympics this summer because I think because there was no IOTL Munich Massacre ITTL, there will be the inevitable attack on the Olympics later on.
BTW, Meryl Streep's career is going to take a much different trajectory ITTL, IOTL first her breakout role was in the 1978 NBC miniseries "Holocaust" which won' be made ITTL, her first Academy Award nomination was for "The Deer Hunter" which was about the Vietnam War, won't be made, and she won best actress for "Sophie's Choice", once again won't be made ITTL.
As seen from previous operations by the Greeks against the Turks, Greek forces can only go so far before they out run their logistics and have to call off further offensive operations and consolidate their gains.
This may allow the League of Nations to propose a cease fire with an international peacekeeping force with a "Turkish Corridor" to allow Turkey to export and import goods and services without interference from the Greeks.
Marie is such a talented individual, she can practically do anything she wants to and do it brilliantly.
Yes, Second City in Toronto would be very interested in her, and I have no doubt that she can out Streep, Meryl Streep.
It would be such a shame story wise if she skips out of the Olympics this summer because I think because there was no IOTL Munich Massacre ITTL, there will be the inevitable attack on the Olympics later on.
BTW, Meryl Streep's career is going to take a much different trajectory ITTL, IOTL first her breakout role was in the 1978 NBC miniseries "Holocaust" which won' be made ITTL, her first Academy Award nomination was for "The Deer Hunter" which was about the Vietnam War, won't be made, and she won best actress for "Sophie's Choice", once again won't be made ITTL.
Sir Malcolm's professional bias is causing him to make the same mistake regarding Marie that so many others have made. The same mistakes they made, to a degree, with Kat. Marie's disguises are a combination of two driving factors in her life: her uncertainty surrounding who & what she is, and protective colouration. Remember, there are only two places in Montreal where Marie feels safe enough to fully relax; the women's only gym and Henriette's. Marie truly is her mother's daughter.
Part 142, Chapter 2468
Chapter Two Thousand Five Hundred Sixty-Eight
9th July 1976
Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport, Schönefeld
There had been many times in which Sophie had traveled to compete in cycling events and this wasn’t the first time that she had flown to Canada. This was entirely different though. Next week, the Opening Ceremonies of the 1976 Summer Games were to take place in Montreal and Sophie was going to participate in them. It felt like all of Berlin was there to see her off as she walked into the airport from where Doug had dropped her, Kat, and Ziska off. Of course, Sophie knew that it wasn’t just about her. There were dozens of others in the National Team boarding the same flight. There were camera flashes going off and shouted questions at the various athletes.
“I wish I could go with you” Ziska said, “This will be such an adventure.”
Kat had a quizzical look on her face after she heard Ziska say that. “It’s going to be an even bigger circus when you arrive in Montreal”
A few minutes later, Doug caught up with them and Sophie was surprised to see that he had been joined by Tatiana and Malcolm. The two of them were working towards advanced degrees at University. Tatiana in Anthropology and Malcolm in Computer Science. This was at the end of the University term, so they were probably extremely busy but had still taken the time to come here.
“You have your tickets and passport? The money I gave you?” Kat asked as they walked though the maze of corridors and concourses that made up the International Airport. This wasn’t the first time that question had been asked. The last time had been in the back garden back in Tempelhof before they had even boarded the car to go to the airport. “Douglas’ parents are going to meet you at the airport in Montreal with Marie. This is going to be a long flight, so I’m sure all you will want to do is sleep.” This also wasn’t the first time that had been mentioned. Kat had heard about some of the things that tended to happen in the so-called “Olympic Village” where the athletes resided during the games. Keeping Sophie from having some sort of misadventure had prompted Kat to make other arrangements, which was probably a good idea despite Sophie being loath to say so herself. There was also Doug coming to Montreal in time for the Opening Ceremonies.
Eventually, they came to the gate where Sophie could see the big Focke-Wulf “Graugans” airliner through the big bay windows and suddenly this seemed extremely real. With her suitcase having been checked, all she had was her old bookbag which had everything she would need on the flight and for when she landed in Montreal. Separate transport had been arranged for the bicycles that were going to Montreal, which Sophie wasn’t exactly thrilled with. She caught a bit of movement and saw that a team of mechanics was working on prepping the airplane for the long Transatlantic journey. The scale of the turbofan engines was instantly apparent when Sophie saw one of the mechanics walk by one, they were absolutely huge.
After a round of hugs and well-wishing Sophie made it down the jetway and found her seat. To her profound annoyance, some genius in the airline had seated her in the middle seat between Nikolaus von Richthofen and Sabastian Schultz of all people.
“We need to switch the seats around” Nikolaus said the instant they saw Sophie, “Unless you fancy the idea of Bas climbing over you if he needs to get up.”
It was impossible to argue with Nikolaus’ logic. Still, the idea of sharing a confined space with someone as big as Sabastian was not one Sophie liked. At least she got the window seat out of the deal.
Like on every other flight that Sophie had ever been on, there was a safety lecture before the doors were closed and the plane pulled away from the gate.
“What do you know about the Blackwoods?” Nikolaus asked as the plane taxied towards the runway.
“What about them?” Sophie asked in reply and saw that Sabastian was just as interested in that question.
“My grandfather was a guest of Sir Malcolm Blackwood when he visited Canada years ago” Nicolaus said, “Apparently Bas and I are staying in the guest rooms at his house.”
Sophie remembered how she had taken great pains to avoid Sir Malcolm’s wife because Margot Blackwood was among those in the British Empire who hated all things German because of the First World War. Nikolaus was the Prince of Breslau, a member of the House of Richthofen, and the eventual heir to the throne of Silesia. It would be nearly impossible to be more German than that. Fortunately for him, Nikolaus seemed to have not inherited Manfred von Richthofen’s nose.
“You might want to play up how you are a Prince” Sophie said, “That might keep Frau Blackwood somewhat agreeable… And Sabastian should probably keep his mouth shut.”
“That last part is generally a good idea regardless” Nikolaus said.
“You two are a laugh riot” Sabastian grumbled right before the plane’s engines roared as they were brough up to full power making further conversation impossible. As the plane accelerated down the runway, Sophie tried to figure out how the sudden changes in her circumstances changed things. The answer was probably, not really. She had known Nikolaus and Sabastian since she was eight and knew that if nothing else, they would draw the inevitable disapproval of Margot Blackwood away from her.
9th July 1976
Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport, Schönefeld
There had been many times in which Sophie had traveled to compete in cycling events and this wasn’t the first time that she had flown to Canada. This was entirely different though. Next week, the Opening Ceremonies of the 1976 Summer Games were to take place in Montreal and Sophie was going to participate in them. It felt like all of Berlin was there to see her off as she walked into the airport from where Doug had dropped her, Kat, and Ziska off. Of course, Sophie knew that it wasn’t just about her. There were dozens of others in the National Team boarding the same flight. There were camera flashes going off and shouted questions at the various athletes.
“I wish I could go with you” Ziska said, “This will be such an adventure.”
Kat had a quizzical look on her face after she heard Ziska say that. “It’s going to be an even bigger circus when you arrive in Montreal”
A few minutes later, Doug caught up with them and Sophie was surprised to see that he had been joined by Tatiana and Malcolm. The two of them were working towards advanced degrees at University. Tatiana in Anthropology and Malcolm in Computer Science. This was at the end of the University term, so they were probably extremely busy but had still taken the time to come here.
“You have your tickets and passport? The money I gave you?” Kat asked as they walked though the maze of corridors and concourses that made up the International Airport. This wasn’t the first time that question had been asked. The last time had been in the back garden back in Tempelhof before they had even boarded the car to go to the airport. “Douglas’ parents are going to meet you at the airport in Montreal with Marie. This is going to be a long flight, so I’m sure all you will want to do is sleep.” This also wasn’t the first time that had been mentioned. Kat had heard about some of the things that tended to happen in the so-called “Olympic Village” where the athletes resided during the games. Keeping Sophie from having some sort of misadventure had prompted Kat to make other arrangements, which was probably a good idea despite Sophie being loath to say so herself. There was also Doug coming to Montreal in time for the Opening Ceremonies.
Eventually, they came to the gate where Sophie could see the big Focke-Wulf “Graugans” airliner through the big bay windows and suddenly this seemed extremely real. With her suitcase having been checked, all she had was her old bookbag which had everything she would need on the flight and for when she landed in Montreal. Separate transport had been arranged for the bicycles that were going to Montreal, which Sophie wasn’t exactly thrilled with. She caught a bit of movement and saw that a team of mechanics was working on prepping the airplane for the long Transatlantic journey. The scale of the turbofan engines was instantly apparent when Sophie saw one of the mechanics walk by one, they were absolutely huge.
After a round of hugs and well-wishing Sophie made it down the jetway and found her seat. To her profound annoyance, some genius in the airline had seated her in the middle seat between Nikolaus von Richthofen and Sabastian Schultz of all people.
“We need to switch the seats around” Nikolaus said the instant they saw Sophie, “Unless you fancy the idea of Bas climbing over you if he needs to get up.”
It was impossible to argue with Nikolaus’ logic. Still, the idea of sharing a confined space with someone as big as Sabastian was not one Sophie liked. At least she got the window seat out of the deal.
Like on every other flight that Sophie had ever been on, there was a safety lecture before the doors were closed and the plane pulled away from the gate.
“What do you know about the Blackwoods?” Nikolaus asked as the plane taxied towards the runway.
“What about them?” Sophie asked in reply and saw that Sabastian was just as interested in that question.
“My grandfather was a guest of Sir Malcolm Blackwood when he visited Canada years ago” Nicolaus said, “Apparently Bas and I are staying in the guest rooms at his house.”
Sophie remembered how she had taken great pains to avoid Sir Malcolm’s wife because Margot Blackwood was among those in the British Empire who hated all things German because of the First World War. Nikolaus was the Prince of Breslau, a member of the House of Richthofen, and the eventual heir to the throne of Silesia. It would be nearly impossible to be more German than that. Fortunately for him, Nikolaus seemed to have not inherited Manfred von Richthofen’s nose.
“You might want to play up how you are a Prince” Sophie said, “That might keep Frau Blackwood somewhat agreeable… And Sabastian should probably keep his mouth shut.”
“That last part is generally a good idea regardless” Nikolaus said.
“You two are a laugh riot” Sabastian grumbled right before the plane’s engines roared as they were brough up to full power making further conversation impossible. As the plane accelerated down the runway, Sophie tried to figure out how the sudden changes in her circumstances changed things. The answer was probably, not really. She had known Nikolaus and Sabastian since she was eight and knew that if nothing else, they would draw the inevitable disapproval of Margot Blackwood away from her.
Somewhat confused about the alternative accommodations that Sophie, Niko, and Bas have at the Blackwood's.
Normally the various Olympic teams like to keep their athletes together at the Olympic Village before the competition starts as it makes it easier to keep them on the same training and practice schedules, so arrangements have to be made to get everyone to their different teams training areas, most likely it is going to be that they are took to the Olympic Village in the mornings, with other arrangements being made to bring them back to the Blackwoods afterwards.
There is only two reasons that the three were granted permission to stay at the Blackwood's, first they are probably the youngest members of the German Olympics Team and it makes it easier for them to be supervised by somebody else instead of having chaperones assigned for them and being constantly watching over them at the Village, and more importantly, Furstin von Mischner asked very nicely in her own way for this favor.
If we go by the traditional order of events, Sophie should be done with her event by the first week of the Olympics, while Bas and Niko's competitions are scheduled for the end of the last week of the Olympics.
Sophie previously had an interest in photography, and with Doug going to be there for the Olympics, maybe Sophie can help him out after she is done with her events.
Normally the various Olympic teams like to keep their athletes together at the Olympic Village before the competition starts as it makes it easier to keep them on the same training and practice schedules, so arrangements have to be made to get everyone to their different teams training areas, most likely it is going to be that they are took to the Olympic Village in the mornings, with other arrangements being made to bring them back to the Blackwoods afterwards.
There is only two reasons that the three were granted permission to stay at the Blackwood's, first they are probably the youngest members of the German Olympics Team and it makes it easier for them to be supervised by somebody else instead of having chaperones assigned for them and being constantly watching over them at the Village, and more importantly, Furstin von Mischner asked very nicely in her own way for this favor.
If we go by the traditional order of events, Sophie should be done with her event by the first week of the Olympics, while Bas and Niko's competitions are scheduled for the end of the last week of the Olympics.
Sophie previously had an interest in photography, and with Doug going to be there for the Olympics, maybe Sophie can help him out after she is done with her events.
I'm sure they'll get on like a house on fire. 🔥
Ever been in a burning house?