Just trying to think if a 30-06 would be enough for the mosquitos in high summer up there. They’ve made more than a few brave men nuts…
great scenery but god awful remote areas up there. Or as the Army would say “excellent training”
Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
great scenery but god awful remote areas up there. Or as the Army would say “excellent training”
The Valens family will get a bit of a reputation for grabbing serial killers at this rate.
I wonder how Malcolm will interpret that comment. Worst case is that he may think she's referring to her physical body, whereas she's talking about her social role and what behaviour is expected from her.
Part 142, Chapter 2570
Chapter Two Thousand Five Hundred Seventy
12th July 1976
Potsdam
The oversized envelope containing legal documents arrived presumably from the lawyers representing Gudrun Himmler addressed to Nan. This was shortly after the family had made the move to the Summer Residence. Things were already unsettled and showed little sign of improving in the coming days, so the letter was not a welcome development.
Nan looked through the documents trying to make sense of them. Of all the things that Gudrun might have done, this was not something that Nan had expected. She was claiming that Annett Pfenning was not only not her half-sister, but no relation of hers at all. The most troubling part was that the explanation was all too plausible. That apparently Heinrich Himmler had not considered himself good breeding stock for his own twisted experiments over what he had deemed personal failures and poor attributes. Gudrun said that he had resorted other means and for Nan that raised a lot of questions that could never be answered. There was also no way to know if Gudrun was even telling the truth. And was she even aware what she was basically saying about herself? It hardly mattered because this changed nothing about Gudrun’s situation beyond the demand that Nan not be allowed to bother her in the future.
“Give this woman exactly what she says she wants” Charlotte said after she looked through the documents. “She has all the time in the world to scheme about how to needle you, make you come to her with the questions this raises when it doesn’t matter because she has no intention of answering them. I think you should use her own words to forever separate yourself from her and her monstrous father.”
Nan looked back at the papers in her hands. This went straight to everything that she had always assumed about herself. Since she had come to live with her adopted family, Charlotte had never hurt her, lied, or played her false. That had been almost all there was in her life prior to that.
“But, what about the truth?” Nan asked.
Charlotte smiled. “I am not saying that you should not continue to search for that” She said, “As much as I hate to use the word opportunity in this case, that is what this is. You’ve everything to gain and nothing to lose. This will make it so that whatever you do with your life, that woman will have no claim over you.”
Constanța, Romania
With the Greeks busy consolidating their gains on Anatolia and saber rattling at the Italians on Rhoads, Louis Ferdinand Junior had decided to take a few days to visit Margareta in Bucharest. That did come with a few strings attached though. Namely having to go to Constanta in his professional capacity to look over the newest ship in the Romanian Black Sea Fleet with his prospective father-in-law. The Romanian Navy also had a sizable Riverine Force that Louis had seen part of on the Danube and in the harbor at Constanta, but that wasn’t the focus of today.
The Cruiser, with the totally unbelievable name, was brand new having only been commissioned a matter of weeks earlier. The NMS Vlad Dracula, which Louis had thought was a joke at first. The truth was that the ship really had been named for the actual Vlad III, despite being a cruel murderous psychopath, he was considered a national hero by the Romanians. That Irishman whose research consisted of little more than reading travel guides and Universal Pictures could get stuffed as far as the Romanians were concerned. Despite that the crew had painted a stylized representation of a bat on the side of the superstructure much to the annoyance of Michael, King of Romania, who Louis was on the tour of the ship with.
Louis could see what was being implied about what the expectations for this class of two Cruisers that the Romanians had, were being named for the great heroes. The NMS Stefan cel Mare, named for Stefan III of Moldovia, was moored beside the Vlad Dracula. Louis could see that the Stefan was not entirely fitted out, with a great deal of work still needing to be done. From what Louis had seen of the Vlad Dracula, it was of a conventional design of mostly local construction with the geared steam turbine propulsion. The subsystems and weapons were mostly off the shelf with equipment nearly identical to that which was used by the SMS Grindwal. Louis quickly recognized names like Rheinmetall, Krupp, and Zuse AG.
If it wasn’t incredibly obvious, countering the Russian Black Sea Fleet was the entire reason for the existence of the two ships. That was reflected in their design from the keel up. The Vlad Dracula had two of the 12.8-centimeter dual purpose autocannons identical to the one that was so effective on the Grindwal fore and aft. That suggested what the expected targets were. There was also what had come to be expected in the form of missile launchers and an extensive anti-aircraft battery.
That brought the thorny situation on the Black Sea to the forefront of Louis’ thinking. You had the territorial aspirations of the Greeks with the backing of the Russians on one hand, the anxiety felt by the neighboring countries on the other about being stuck between two expansionist powers. There was an informal alliance between Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Georgia to act as a counter, but Louis was a bit concerned about the implications of that. You only needed a glance at a history book to understand the problems that interlocking alliances could create, particularly in the Balkans.
12th July 1976
Potsdam
The oversized envelope containing legal documents arrived presumably from the lawyers representing Gudrun Himmler addressed to Nan. This was shortly after the family had made the move to the Summer Residence. Things were already unsettled and showed little sign of improving in the coming days, so the letter was not a welcome development.
Nan looked through the documents trying to make sense of them. Of all the things that Gudrun might have done, this was not something that Nan had expected. She was claiming that Annett Pfenning was not only not her half-sister, but no relation of hers at all. The most troubling part was that the explanation was all too plausible. That apparently Heinrich Himmler had not considered himself good breeding stock for his own twisted experiments over what he had deemed personal failures and poor attributes. Gudrun said that he had resorted other means and for Nan that raised a lot of questions that could never be answered. There was also no way to know if Gudrun was even telling the truth. And was she even aware what she was basically saying about herself? It hardly mattered because this changed nothing about Gudrun’s situation beyond the demand that Nan not be allowed to bother her in the future.
“Give this woman exactly what she says she wants” Charlotte said after she looked through the documents. “She has all the time in the world to scheme about how to needle you, make you come to her with the questions this raises when it doesn’t matter because she has no intention of answering them. I think you should use her own words to forever separate yourself from her and her monstrous father.”
Nan looked back at the papers in her hands. This went straight to everything that she had always assumed about herself. Since she had come to live with her adopted family, Charlotte had never hurt her, lied, or played her false. That had been almost all there was in her life prior to that.
“But, what about the truth?” Nan asked.
Charlotte smiled. “I am not saying that you should not continue to search for that” She said, “As much as I hate to use the word opportunity in this case, that is what this is. You’ve everything to gain and nothing to lose. This will make it so that whatever you do with your life, that woman will have no claim over you.”
Constanța, Romania
With the Greeks busy consolidating their gains on Anatolia and saber rattling at the Italians on Rhoads, Louis Ferdinand Junior had decided to take a few days to visit Margareta in Bucharest. That did come with a few strings attached though. Namely having to go to Constanta in his professional capacity to look over the newest ship in the Romanian Black Sea Fleet with his prospective father-in-law. The Romanian Navy also had a sizable Riverine Force that Louis had seen part of on the Danube and in the harbor at Constanta, but that wasn’t the focus of today.
The Cruiser, with the totally unbelievable name, was brand new having only been commissioned a matter of weeks earlier. The NMS Vlad Dracula, which Louis had thought was a joke at first. The truth was that the ship really had been named for the actual Vlad III, despite being a cruel murderous psychopath, he was considered a national hero by the Romanians. That Irishman whose research consisted of little more than reading travel guides and Universal Pictures could get stuffed as far as the Romanians were concerned. Despite that the crew had painted a stylized representation of a bat on the side of the superstructure much to the annoyance of Michael, King of Romania, who Louis was on the tour of the ship with.
Louis could see what was being implied about what the expectations for this class of two Cruisers that the Romanians had, were being named for the great heroes. The NMS Stefan cel Mare, named for Stefan III of Moldovia, was moored beside the Vlad Dracula. Louis could see that the Stefan was not entirely fitted out, with a great deal of work still needing to be done. From what Louis had seen of the Vlad Dracula, it was of a conventional design of mostly local construction with the geared steam turbine propulsion. The subsystems and weapons were mostly off the shelf with equipment nearly identical to that which was used by the SMS Grindwal. Louis quickly recognized names like Rheinmetall, Krupp, and Zuse AG.
If it wasn’t incredibly obvious, countering the Russian Black Sea Fleet was the entire reason for the existence of the two ships. That was reflected in their design from the keel up. The Vlad Dracula had two of the 12.8-centimeter dual purpose autocannons identical to the one that was so effective on the Grindwal fore and aft. That suggested what the expected targets were. There was also what had come to be expected in the form of missile launchers and an extensive anti-aircraft battery.
That brought the thorny situation on the Black Sea to the forefront of Louis’ thinking. You had the territorial aspirations of the Greeks with the backing of the Russians on one hand, the anxiety felt by the neighboring countries on the other about being stuck between two expansionist powers. There was an informal alliance between Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Georgia to act as a counter, but Louis was a bit concerned about the implications of that. You only needed a glance at a history book to understand the problems that interlocking alliances could create, particularly in the Balkans.
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Man, this Himmler family is still a nasty piece of work, even the second Generation down.
This was based on comments made by Gudrun for decades after the war ended, as well as the beliefs and actions of Heinrich Himmler himself during the 30's and 40's. That is a very dark rabbit hole to go down. In TTL, he never had State backing, which is a mercy.
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If Romania isn't plagued by corruption, and their oil revenues are not being siphoned off, then they should have a healthy economy that can support a modernized navy going on a buying spree.
With that in mind, Louis Ferdinand Jr. should have some ideas that would improve the Romanian Navy like helicopters for Search and Rescue, airborne Anti-ship missiles among other things.
Another thing is to create at least two battalions of Special Warfare units that are extremely loyal to the Royal Family and only answer to him (but don't let that last part be known) in order to counter act any possible coup attempts by the Army.
With that in mind, Louis Ferdinand Jr. should have some ideas that would improve the Romanian Navy like helicopters for Search and Rescue, airborne Anti-ship missiles among other things.
Another thing is to create at least two battalions of Special Warfare units that are extremely loyal to the Royal Family and only answer to him (but don't let that last part be known) in order to counter act any possible coup attempts by the Army.
Part 142, Chapter 2571
Chapter Two Thousand Five Hundred Seventy-One
17th July 1976
Montreal, Canada
Marie was stewing in her seat as she watched athletes parade past to the sound of music as she replayed the conversation with Suga in her mind. She had been warned that there would be moments when reality hit her over the head, this was one of those moments. She really wished she had been able to nail down her plans for going home over the Summer Holiday before the Olympics started as opposed to being busy doing other things until it was too late. As it was, she was unlikely to go home this summer and would have to wait until Christmas.
For years, Marie had considered her mother’s attitude about sex and pregnancy to be a bit much. Then she saw what happened when Henriette met Sabastian Schultz and was instantly wishing she had a couple buckets of ice water on hand. Seriously, had Henni’s brain completely turned off or something? Didn’t she realize that Bas was nothing but trouble? Or was it because of that? Marie was telling all of this to Suga and Birdie who had arrived a couple days earlier and they found that amusing as they watched the Opening Ceremonies from the VIP box in the stadium’s grandstands. While Freddy had sent his regrets that he wouldn’t be in attendance, his younger brother Michael had agreed to come in his place. As if there was anywhere else on the planet that Michael would be having been a booster of the International Olympic Movement for decades. Presently, Michael was explaining to three-year-old Philipp what was going on as the torch-lighting took place. Birdie’s contribution to the gossip was that she was pregnant again. From the way she watched her husband and son as they watched the proceedings, it was easy to see how that had happened. While a Gaucho wasn’t available, the Canadians had found an actual Cowboy from Alberta much to Michael’s delight. He was a man in his 40’s who looked like he had spent every moment of it outdoors as he rode his horse into the stadium at the front of the parade followed by a marching band playing the Canadian National Anthem. It was funny the sort of things that became traditions.
“What sort of woman is this Henriette Lane?” Suga had asked.
Marie had explained at length how Henni was warm, smart, and how her family had opened their door to Marie when Margot got to be too much. Suga had just smiled and said that Marie was not going to lose her friend. Marie had not mentioned the most shocking part, Alice, and how Henni being a single mother had not been a deal breaker for Bas. That was at odds with what she had always thought of him. When Marie had asked Henni about what was going on, she said that nothing was and that she needed to lighten up.
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“Track and Field for fuck’s sake Bas” Niko said as the finished their march to the area where the athletes who were going to compete in the games to watch the Opening Ceremonies after they had finished their part in them. “That is why you are here, what you worked so hard for, remember?”
“Yeah, and?” Bas asked. And Niko really wanted to deck him at that moment.
While Niko was regarded as something of a place holder, someone who would competing in the Pentathlon to round out the team. His last name and being an actual Prince made it so that he also drew some media attention to a sporting event that was normally outside the main focus. It was different with Bas though. He was expected to do well in the Decathlon and show himself as a rising star. The trouble was that a few days earlier, he had met a girl and it seemed like all of his focus went right out the window.
The American who was supposed to be Bas’ greatest competition smiled and waved as he walked past. “Something is off about that guy” Niko said. In the past, Bas might have snickered and given his own opinion. There had been rumors floating around about the Russian team in particular with the Americans in second place and some disqualifications had already been handed down. Niko was certain that normally Bas would have an opinion or three about matters like these, but today he just shrugged. Niko couldn’t help but notice that Bas was getting the evil eye from the Coach which mean that Bas was going to get yelled at if this didn’t change in a hurry. The trouble was that was exactly the wrong thing to do because Bas would just dig his heels in. Niko knew from experience that sometimes you needed to let the horse have its own head.
“Think Henriette would be impressed by a medal?” Niko asked.
“I don’t know” Bas replied.
“Not all girls are like that, but my understanding is that they like seeing guys win” Niko said, “Especially when they win big.”
Niko had no idea if that was true or not, despite everything he had been through over the last few years he was absolutely clueless when it came to women. Seeing Bas take a bit more interest in what they were doing certainly made him hope that he had got it right.
17th July 1976
Montreal, Canada
Marie was stewing in her seat as she watched athletes parade past to the sound of music as she replayed the conversation with Suga in her mind. She had been warned that there would be moments when reality hit her over the head, this was one of those moments. She really wished she had been able to nail down her plans for going home over the Summer Holiday before the Olympics started as opposed to being busy doing other things until it was too late. As it was, she was unlikely to go home this summer and would have to wait until Christmas.
For years, Marie had considered her mother’s attitude about sex and pregnancy to be a bit much. Then she saw what happened when Henriette met Sabastian Schultz and was instantly wishing she had a couple buckets of ice water on hand. Seriously, had Henni’s brain completely turned off or something? Didn’t she realize that Bas was nothing but trouble? Or was it because of that? Marie was telling all of this to Suga and Birdie who had arrived a couple days earlier and they found that amusing as they watched the Opening Ceremonies from the VIP box in the stadium’s grandstands. While Freddy had sent his regrets that he wouldn’t be in attendance, his younger brother Michael had agreed to come in his place. As if there was anywhere else on the planet that Michael would be having been a booster of the International Olympic Movement for decades. Presently, Michael was explaining to three-year-old Philipp what was going on as the torch-lighting took place. Birdie’s contribution to the gossip was that she was pregnant again. From the way she watched her husband and son as they watched the proceedings, it was easy to see how that had happened. While a Gaucho wasn’t available, the Canadians had found an actual Cowboy from Alberta much to Michael’s delight. He was a man in his 40’s who looked like he had spent every moment of it outdoors as he rode his horse into the stadium at the front of the parade followed by a marching band playing the Canadian National Anthem. It was funny the sort of things that became traditions.
“What sort of woman is this Henriette Lane?” Suga had asked.
Marie had explained at length how Henni was warm, smart, and how her family had opened their door to Marie when Margot got to be too much. Suga had just smiled and said that Marie was not going to lose her friend. Marie had not mentioned the most shocking part, Alice, and how Henni being a single mother had not been a deal breaker for Bas. That was at odds with what she had always thought of him. When Marie had asked Henni about what was going on, she said that nothing was and that she needed to lighten up.
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“Track and Field for fuck’s sake Bas” Niko said as the finished their march to the area where the athletes who were going to compete in the games to watch the Opening Ceremonies after they had finished their part in them. “That is why you are here, what you worked so hard for, remember?”
“Yeah, and?” Bas asked. And Niko really wanted to deck him at that moment.
While Niko was regarded as something of a place holder, someone who would competing in the Pentathlon to round out the team. His last name and being an actual Prince made it so that he also drew some media attention to a sporting event that was normally outside the main focus. It was different with Bas though. He was expected to do well in the Decathlon and show himself as a rising star. The trouble was that a few days earlier, he had met a girl and it seemed like all of his focus went right out the window.
The American who was supposed to be Bas’ greatest competition smiled and waved as he walked past. “Something is off about that guy” Niko said. In the past, Bas might have snickered and given his own opinion. There had been rumors floating around about the Russian team in particular with the Americans in second place and some disqualifications had already been handed down. Niko was certain that normally Bas would have an opinion or three about matters like these, but today he just shrugged. Niko couldn’t help but notice that Bas was getting the evil eye from the Coach which mean that Bas was going to get yelled at if this didn’t change in a hurry. The trouble was that was exactly the wrong thing to do because Bas would just dig his heels in. Niko knew from experience that sometimes you needed to let the horse have its own head.
“Think Henriette would be impressed by a medal?” Niko asked.
“I don’t know” Bas replied.
“Not all girls are like that, but my understanding is that they like seeing guys win” Niko said, “Especially when they win big.”
Niko had no idea if that was true or not, despite everything he had been through over the last few years he was absolutely clueless when it came to women. Seeing Bas take a bit more interest in what they were doing certainly made him hope that he had got it right.
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True
Also, the fact he’s not put off by her having a child speaks well to this being potentially something serious
The plans of Mice and Men gang aft aglay. As Marie has discovered.
Sadly, steroids are raising their ugly head; not that cheating is new to the Olympics. In Ancient Greece, they thought that if you weren't cheating, then you weren't trying hard enough.
Bas’ American rival doesn’t happen to be Bruce Jenner by any chance?
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I wouldn't worry about Bas keeping his eyes on target now because Niko has given him a reason to focus on his event.
Also, from now until his event, Bas is going to have little free time from training, practices, team meetings, and other team commitments, plus he will have set curfew times at the Blackwood's home that Niko and Marie will be more than happy to enforce.
Plus, Aunt Kat is now on the scene and no doubt she is going to have one of her famous talks with Henriette about things like "Time and Place", "Making the Right Choices", all without making Henriette feeling too bad about her previous life events.
Marie, once she accepts her situation, will now be free to have fun showing off her language skills which could bring her to meet some people who will become famous at this Olympics.
Also, from now until his event, Bas is going to have little free time from training, practices, team meetings, and other team commitments, plus he will have set curfew times at the Blackwood's home that Niko and Marie will be more than happy to enforce.
Plus, Aunt Kat is now on the scene and no doubt she is going to have one of her famous talks with Henriette about things like "Time and Place", "Making the Right Choices", all without making Henriette feeling too bad about her previous life events.
Marie, once she accepts her situation, will now be free to have fun showing off her language skills which could bring her to meet some people who will become famous at this Olympics.
I just had a strange thought. With Marie's mastery of so many languages and her acting skills .... I could see her overhearing part of a plot to do something at the Olympics and be able to not let on that she understood what was being said. That could put a very very interesting twist on the Munich Olympics parallel from OTL.