Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two Thousand Five Hundred Ninety-Six



24th December 1976

Richthofen Estate, Rural Silesia

The Holidays were always hectic. Kat liked having a full house as her odd extended family made their way home and the house in Tempelhof became crowded. Fortunately, it was only a temporary situation as they traveled out to the house belonging to Manfred von Richthofen the way they had many times in the past. The vast house which had been built and decorated to the tastes of Manfred the Elder decades earlier as if it were a giant hunting lodge, while it was normally considered a bit tacky, it lent itself to the Christmas season like few other places. Ilse had said that she had massive plans for long overdue renovation as soon as her father-in-law was out of the picture. However, it seemed like Manfred the Elder wasn’t showing any signs of that being relatively soon. Of course, he could catch a chill tomorrow and be gone by next week. Kat wasn’t whistling past the graveyard though. She had spent most of the day before with Aunt Marcella and she was worried. Marcella had been in frail health for a long time and Kat was starting to dread the ring of the phone, knowing what call could come at any time. Into this was the surprising development in the form of Johannes, Manny and Suse’s little boy who had been born a few weeks earlier. Manfred the Elder had been delighted that his first great grandchild would be born on the estate. Mathilda, who had gone out of her way to assist Suse Rosa in the days since, believed that all of life followed a circular pattern along the lines of the seasons. The idea that there was now a second Hans von Mischner was taking that to an absurd degree.

Having Tatiana, Malcolm, and Marie Alexandra home at the same time was a joy. Those of her girls who didn’t have families of their own were there as well. Making sense of Henni, the girl who had accompanied Marie home because she was trying to figure out her thing with Sabastian Schultz of all people was a bit difficult. Did she have any idea what she was getting into? While Sabastian wasn’t a brute like his Uncle Jost or an arrogant horse’s ass like Lenz, having far more in common with his father, Dietrich, he was still a member of the chaotic Schultz family. For all the good it did, Kat had warned Henni that as an outsider she should never, ever take a side in family conflicts that erupted regularly and sometimes lasted for years. There was also this business of Henni being a single mother and how that had not been a deal breaker for Sabastian. Of course, it wouldn’t be. Anyone who knew anything about the Schultz family knew that. If they were remotely picky about that sort of thing they would have died out centuries ago. Henni had been perfectly happy telling Kat all about her daughter Alice, even mentioning without prompting how radically that had altered her life. She also mentioned that she was finally getting back to where she wanted to be. To Kat’s surprise, Marie had been directly involved with helping her with that.

The issue for Kat was that her youngest daughter was difficult to understand. Things had been very difficult for Marie when she had been younger. Between the expectations of Suga and getting thrust into her role in the Imperial Court she had seldom had time for friends her own age. That wasn’t helped by there having been a consensus at the Gymnasia that Marie had attended that she was strange. Though she had done well academically, Marie had fallen behind socially even as she had embraced making constant and bewildering changes to her appearance.

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Mathilda Auer, the wild girl who was the ward of the Richthofen family was singing to the horses. This was as Niko was making sure that Zwei’s needs were taken care of after he had taken the horse out that morning. As Niko had discovered, Ingrid had learned more than just to sing the lyrics of the songs that Mathilda sang, she also understood the meaning of the words even if they were in Old High German. So, Ingrid laughing at a silly song that Niko found incomprehensible had become normal.

That was perfectly in keeping with what Mathilda and Ingrid had done a few days earlier on the Winter Solstice. They had arranged a massive bonfire and potluck with everyone in the local community invited. Everyone had thought that it was a fun party where they stood around singing Christmas carols and having a generally good time. For Mathilda it held a deeper hidden meaning which she had not bothered telling anyone about. Niko had figured it out as Mathilda had danced around with Ingrid and had a smile on her face. For them part of the fun was how they had involved everyone. It was also revealing in how Mathilda navigated a world that was far less than understanding.

In a couple hours, the Christmas feast would be served. A formal meal with all the stuffy trappings that would entail. As Henriette, Marie Alexandra’s friend had put it, “Welcome to the Nineteenth Century” when she had learned what the plan was. Niko was starting to suspect that it wasn’t an accident that Mathilda’s bonfire stood in direct contrast. It had certainly been a lot more fun.

Leaving the stables, Niko saw that the other guests were arriving. Uncle Stefan and Aunt Nizhoni were getting out of their car followed by their daughters, Elke, and Petra. Then he noticed that they had Monique with them, she smiled and waved when she saw Niko. Perhaps a stuffy formal dinner wouldn’t be all bad.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two Thousand Five Hundred Ninety-Seven



25th December 1976

Richthofen Estate, Rural Silesia

Christmas Eve had been fun for Henriette. Everyone else had acted as if the formal meal yesterday afternoon was this big ordeal, for her though it was like being in a Historical Drama. That was until the meal had actually started and then things had gotten complicated.

To her astonishment, there had been dozens of dinner guests in the massive hall with the long table. She had also been fascinated as she watched the family dynamics play out. Opa von Richthofen, the family Patriarch, was not really being interested in formality with Helene and Hans, Manfred the Younger, Mathilda, as well as Ingrid following his lead. Albrecht and Ilse wanted to maintain decorum. So they had made sure that Nikolaus and Sabastian were kept very close at the same time they made sure that Sabastian’s sisters Anna and Gretchen were seated rather far apart. Dietrich, Sabastian’s father, had ended up seated right next Henriette with his wife Nancy right across the table. They had loads of questions for Henriette. It was at that time that it became noticeable that there seemed to be a lot more laughter one end of the table, just not the side that Henriette was on.

Marie Alexandra had sat with her family at the middle of the table. Henriette found Marie’s mother to be a bit terrifying. Tatiana and Malcolm seemed a bit odd to her, then she found out they were paternal twins, which made them even more so. Josefine, Sophie, and Angelica were introduced to Henriette as Marie’s sisters, but Marie had already told her the real story. That they were girls who Marie’s parents had taken in. There were several others apparently, but they had their own families, so they had not ventured to Silesia for Christmas.

The next evening, Henriette was still processing what she had seen and heard the night before as she was watching television with the others. Most of the other guests had gone home so it was family and close friends who were present. Tomorrow, Henriette was going to Wunsdorf-Zossen to meet the rest of the Schultz family, her understanding was that Helga Schultz-Kunkle was not to be underestimated. She had also been repeatedly advised to not take a side in the family disputes on separate occasions by Katherine, Nancy and Ilse. Exactly what sort of greeting she would receive and the feeling to tribulation was quite understandable.

Sabastian had joined Henriette on the couch, and it was noticeable that they were being watched closely. The television show was a bit bewildering to Henriette. It seemed to be a situation comedy centered around Sanitation Workers in the Berlin Metro. Beyond Henriette not entirely understanding the language, there were jokes about the interplay between the S-Bahn versus the U-Bahn or a random piece of paper on the ground that she didn’t understand but everyone else found hilarious.

As the show ended Manfred the Elder entered the room and he shooed Nikolaus out of the chair right in front of the television. The tenor of the room changed as the German National Anthem played, the Emperor appeared, and he began reading a prepared statement. Friedrich IV had always struck Henriette as looking more like a University Mathematics Professor than what many imagined when they pictured the Emperor of Germany. He talked at length about the events of the previous year and his hopes for the coming one. Then he mentioned what each of the members of his family was doing. Louis Ferdinand, the Emperor Emeritus, and his wife continued to be in good health, they were enjoying a quiet life with Friedrich’s two youngest sisters. His younger brother Michael and his wife Alberta were expecting a new addition to the family at any time. Kristina and her family were doing well, he congratulated his brother-in-law Benjamin von Hirsh on earning a Professorship in Astronomy. Louis Ferdinand Junior had gotten engaged to Princess Margaretta of Romania and had resigned from the German Navy as a result. Finally, Marie Cecilie and Victoria Augusta, the Queen of Galicia-Ruthenia and Princess Consort of Bavaria respectively had enjoyed a good year. Finally, the camera angle switched, Mirai Louise, Friedrich’s oldest daughter and current designated heir appeared on the screen sitting next to him.

Henriette sort of lost interest as the German Emperor and his eleven-year-old daughter talked, mostly Friedrich gently trying to draw her into the discussion. This part of the presentation was clearly unscripted and Mirai was a bundle of nerves and just nodded or shook her head to answer her father’s questions. Henriette guessed that Friedrich was trying to introduce Mirai to the public beyond the photographs that his Press Officers released.

“I told Freddy and Mirai that this was going to happen” Henriette heard Nancy say, “But she insisted that she was ready.”

Dietrich said something in reply, but in a low voice so Henriette couldn’t hear. Freddy?

“What does your mother do?” Henriette asked Sabastian in a whisper.

“Public relations for the Imperial Court” Sabastian replied as he took ahold of Henriette’s hand. It wasn’t particularly intimate, but with his parents distracted it was chance to do that with no one noticing.

“Does she know that that not everything has to be polished?” Henriette asked, “If anything this makes Mirai seem like a regular child, eh.”

“You tell my mother that” Sabastian said with a smile, “I dare you.”

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two Thousand Five Hundred Ninety-Eight



26th December 1976

Bremerhaven

The day after Christmas and the car carrying Vizeadmiral Otto Kretschmer passed through the double gates of one of the most secure installations of the Kaiserliche Marine. The armed Marines with dogs were thorough in their quick search of the car before it was allowed through the inner gate. In the distance, Otto saw the conning tower of one of the missile boats that was provisioning ahead of months spent at sea was visible above the low buildings, its course and mission the most deeply held secrets. Even its scheduled time of departure was classified, though timed to coincide with there being no unfriendly eye looking down from orbit.

The Marines snapped to attention as Otto stepped out of his car and entered the building that housed the Headquarters of the Kaiserliche Marine’s Submarine Service. There had once been a time when the Marines would have been regarded as a necessary evil at best and kept away from places like this. That time had clearly passed. Otto had a meeting with Admiral Reinhard Hardegen commander of the both the surface and undersea Divisions as well as his direct Commanding Officer. It was obvious what the topic of discussion was going to be, Otto’s supposed retirement, which was not a subject that Otto was particularly eager to discuss.

It had been far simpler when Otto had been a Korvettenkapitän in command of SMS U-541 during the Pacific War. Back then his only problem had been Destroyers from the Japanese Navy relentlessly hunting him and harassment by American Destroyers, supposedly to keep him out of areas of their control, but mostly because they could. He had read Joseph Heller’s novel about the experience of the Enlisted Men in the US Army Airforce Units based on those islands during the war. Had the high stakes game of chicken really been the direct result of a clash of egos between Generals and Admirals exasperated by interservice rivalries? While there was no way that the United States really would have blundered into war for such stupid reasons, that would have been cold comfort to whoever was unlucky enough to get shot at under those circumstances.

In the years since, Otto had risen in rank, briefly commanding SMS U-1001, better known as SMS Bremen, the first Nuclear Attack Sub in the service of High Seas Fleet on her epic maiden voyage around the globe without ever surfacing. In the years since, Otto had overseen the U-Boat Flotillas as they had become the main instrument of strategic deterrence. The separation of roles between the missile boats and the attack boats that would hunt the missile boats of the enemy had been a key part of that. Then one day, Otto had woken up and realized that the age of retirement was rushing at him like an express train. It was absurd, he was Silent Otto Kretschmer, a legend in the Fleet and there was still so much work left to do. The prototype for the new Type XL Fast Attack Submarine was going to be launched in a few weeks and the eggheads at the Naval Research Lab in Kiel had developed a new guidance system that was showing considerable promise. The new sub pens in the Bremerhaven Shipyard had only just been completed, built to withstand everything short of a direct hit by a hydrogen bomb. Of course, Otto knew full well that in the event of a war, the pens would probably get hit by a dozen, but perhaps buying just enough time for the boats to escape to sea. There were countless other things as well. His office was a hive of activity as he and his staff worked to improve the Fleet and the facilities. In short, Otto knew that he was far too busy to consider retirement.

“Otto” Reinhard Hardegen said in greeting as Otto entered his office, like always the first thing that caught Otto’s eye was the plaque proclaiming Hardegen a Knight Commander of the Hanseatic League, a rare honor. “I’ve good news.”

Hardegen was all smiles, because of course he was. They had been rivals during the Pacific War, with Hardegen equaling Otto in tonnage sunk right until Otto had put a spread of fish into the side of the IJN Musashi, seventy-thousand tons in an instant. Earning a Red Eagle and becoming the leading U-Boat Ace of the War in a way which could never be equaled. Curiously, Otto had several Naval Ensigns from the IJN serve as his aides over the years. A U-Boat Captain sinking a warship like he had was seen as the most honorable of pursuits, a hunter taking on the most dangerous of game. Otto also knew that Hardegen was only a year younger than him, so it would be his head on the chopping block next. Served the bastard right.

“You are to be honored by the Emperor” Hardegen said, “Knight of Black Eagle and Ennoblement, I don’t think I need to tell you what that would mean for the whole of the Navy. Generalfeldmarschall Ritter von Wolvogle received that rare honor, and it was a huge boost to the Panzer Corps.”

Translation, they were sweetening the deal to make it easier to give him the boot. Hardegen was also making clear that this wasn’t just about Otto alone.

“Is that all?” Otto asked, “As you know I am extremely busy and…”

“There is also the hope that with your newfound stature you can sort out the latest trouble that the Irish have dredged up” Hardegen replied.

“What have the Irish done this time?” Otto asked, “I haven’t heard anything.”

“It hasn’t hit the papers yet, but it will” Hardegen said, “Irish divers have been exploring the wreckage of the RMS Lusitania and they found millions of rifle rounds and tons of explosives in the wreck.”

That was something which had been a sore point in their relations with the Americans for decades. The sinking of the Lusitania had been mentioned in the same breath as the later incident with the USS Des Moines. The presence of a huge quantity of munitions called that into question. The Lusitania may have been a legitimate target all along.

“Were the Irish able to get numbers on their find?” Otto asked.

“Enough to equip a Division, possibly two” Hardegen replied, “We are trying to get ahead of all this, and it all depends on how much longer the Irish will sit on this story.”

Otto knew that last part was crap. The Irish would never pass up an opportunity to screw over the British and he would be shocked if the story wasn’t already going to press at that very second.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two Thousand Five Hundred Ninety-Nine



27th December 1976

Wunsdorf-Zossen

The house which had four generations of the Schultz family living in it was exactly like Henriette had imagined. Big, ramshackle, and apparently parts of it had been built on at separate times as the family had grown over the decades. Aside from the vegetable garden in back, the front and back yard were overgrown.

The last few hours had not been fun.

The real trouble had started innocently enough. Apparently, on the stroke of midnight New Year’s there were going a new set of laws in place that would not just cover Germany, but several other European nations as well that were signatories of the same set of treaties. There were dozens of changes that were going to be made, but the most significant was that travel across Europe from Poland to Portugal without passport checks would be possible. The thing was that for reasons that Henriette didn’t understand, the United Kingdom was not a signatory to the treaty in question. There seemed to be an assumption that she knew the reason for that, which she did not. The truth was that Henriette didn’t know as much about British politics as she might have liked. The current Prime Minister being William Whitelaw being openly despised by his Canadian counterpart, Pierre Trudeau, was about the extent of it.

That had resulted in more questions. Like why Henriette didn’t pay much attention to politics for example. And the answers led to more questions. Ones that she was certainly not about to answer, not to anyone’s satisfaction anyway. It was obvious that Helga and her daughters were perfectly happy to gang up on her. Then Helga dropped the comment about how the last time one of her boys had brought home an American girl to visit, she had already been pregnant, and they had been stuck with her. That had finally caused things to boil over, Henriette had directly told Helga in order for that to be the case a few things would have needed to have happened, which had clearly not. Besides that, there was not a chance in Hell that she was about to allow that to happen again.

As soon as she said that last part, Henriette knew she had made a mistake. Again? Exactly what did she mean by again? Yes, she had a daughter from a prior relationship. That was all she was about to say. Not to them anyway. And if what Katherine had told her was true then they had absolutely no room to judge her. She had told them as much as Sabastian and his parents had looked at her with shock. She had put up with that sort of judgmental nonsense and hypocrisy from the likes of Margot Blackwood for the last few years and was not about to put up with it from anyone else. Eventually, she either had to either leave to cool off, or else she was going to thump Helga or Ava with it being a tossup over which of them was being more insufferable.

Stomping out of the house, Henriette stared at the trees and the open field beyond. There was a fence line at the far end of the field and a large sign with Betreten Verboten! in red letters written on it.

“When it gets particularly cold in the winter, frost heaves can set off the landmines on the other side of the wire” Henriette heard a voice that sounded like if it had been gargling gravel say. What on Earth was on the other side of that fence that resulted in there being landmines?

Looking over Henriette saw Jost Schultz looking at her while smoking a cigar. Not seeing him or smelling the smoke was yet another mistake today. “Katherine warned me about them” She said, it being obvious who the them was in this case. “And she said that you were the worst of all.”

To her amazement, Jost started laughing.

“Kat never did have any forgiveness in her” Jost said, “Not in the last forty years that I’ve known her at any rate.”

“You’ve known her for that long?”

“Someone had to watch her brother’s back” Jost replied, “I did that all the way from Spain to Korea through Russia, and then I kept an eye on Manny for him in Argentina for all the good that did.”

“That doesn’t explain why Katherine said that about you” Henriette said.

“During the Soviet War, some of us messed about by talking the Photographer attached to our unit into going out with Kat” Jost said, “Regardless of them being married for the last thirty years, she isn’t exactly thrilled that I messed with her personal life.”

“Marie Alexandra is a dear friend” Henriette said, “And I would not want my brother’s friends playing that sort of game.”

“You have a brother?” Jost asked.

“No” Henriette replied, “But still…”

Jost just snorted and went back to puffing on his cigar. They stood there for a long moment in awkward silence. Katherine had told not to take sides in any the family conflicts she saw because all of them would take offense, but that felt like it was more or less impossible.

“Ma doesn’t dislike you” Jost said finally breaking the silence. “She just doesn’t like the idea of history repeating itself. Tilo and Nancy announced that they were getting married over supper and that she was already pregnant with Bas. To say that didn’t go over well is an understatement.”

“So that’s it” Henriette replied.

Jost shrugged. “There is also the specter of how Ava and Hanna got married too young under less-than-ideal circumstances” He said, “That didn’t happen with Inga because she happens to prefer women.”

“Wasn’t Inga a Nun?” Henriette asked.

“Yes” Jost replied, “And she probably would have stayed in the convent, but that sort of thing went out of fashion a few years ago. Not that I blame her, working with at-risk youths in Berlin is closer to what she wanted to be doing all along anyway.”

“I didn’t know” Henriette said.

“The fact that you got up in Ma’s face proves that you have a bit of steel in your spine” Jost said, “If you and Bas work out, she’ll probably warm to you.”

“We’ll see” Henriette replied, “And what is over there, beyond the fence?”

“Much of the Second Field Army and the offices of the High Command mostly” Jost said, matter of fact.

That had not been what Henriette had been prepared to hear.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two Thousand Six Hundred



31st December 1976

Tempelhof, Berlin

The long hours waiting for midnight to roll around were always the same. They had been throwing a party for themselves but that had sort of tapered off after around ten o’clock. The result was that they were left battling boredom in various ways as the last hours of 1976 ticked down.

Marie Alexandra knew she’d had the option of going to the New Year’s Ball at the Old Winter Residence having received an invitation. Her parents had gone to that this year, as her mother felt that it was an obligation. For Marie, the idea of spending all night being forced to be social when she wasn’t really up to it wasn’t how she wanted to ring in the new year. Walking into traffic would be preferable. Instead, she was sitting on the couch in the parlor looking at the live television coverage of tens of thousands of people celebrating in the Opernplatz and Alexanderplatz with the volume turned down. Sophie and Gabbi were in the library playing records from the extensive collection of vinyl albums that had been acquired over the years. Presently, they were playing the latest record by Otis Redding. Marie found it funny that her mother had received it as an autographed advanced copy months earlier because the American Soul Singer knew that she was a fan. It was one of the quirks of Marie’s mother, despite her stated dislike of the United States she had been a fan of the early Rock & Roll music and as it had evolved into other forms, she had continued to listen those, even occasionally having the artists as guests in her house.

Angelica was engrossed in a novel by an author named Tom Robbins who Marie had never heard of before. Sophie’s friend Ziska was with her family as they had gone to Italy for the Christmas Holiday, otherwise she would probably be here tonight.

Henriette was playing solitaire on the coffee table with a deck of cards she had found somewhere. She had told Marie that her trip to Wunsdorf-Zossen had been like a bucket of ice water over her head. She had been a bit disappointed with Sabastian, how he had left her to fend for herself when his grandmother had been intent on picking her apart. As much as Marie knew she would probably regret doing it eventually, she had stood up for Sabastian. She had known Sabastian her whole life thinking of him as a little brother. She had also known the larger Schultz family, understanding how they were suspicious of outsiders. Sabastian would find some way to make it up to her because he ultimately wasn’t just his extended family. In a couple of days, Marie and Henriette would fly back to Canada, and they would go back to having to communicate via letter writing. So, if Henriette wanted to hash this whole thing out with him she had best not waste any time. Marie went back to watching the ongoing celebration in Opernplatz…

Some unknown time later, Marie was startled awake by Sophie and Gabbi. She must have fallen asleep for a little bit and her head had already taken on a muzzy feeling.

“You are going to miss the best part” Sophie said as she pulled Marie’s arm to get her off the couch. Sophie had been sick with the flu a couple months earlier and it had been a long recovery. This had provided her with the rare opportunity to just enjoy her life in a way she seldom had over the past few years. From Marie’s perspective, that had been good for Sophie. Her spending more time with her sister Gabbi was as well.

Opening up the front door of the house, they spilled out into the street. It was a cold, clear winter night. There probably would have been lots of stars, except the reflection of the city lights made impossible to see more than a few. They had done this for years, stepping out front and just listing in the last seconds.

There was a low buzzing in the air. In the distance, Marie could hear some of her neighbors counting down. Then there was shouting, and someone set off a string of fireworks. Then with a loud “BOOM!” the sky to the north was lit up by fireworks in the distance. Marie knew that those had been fired from a barge moored on the River Spree. There were also the sound of train horns that filled the air. The others started shouting “Happy New Year!” and Marie joined them. Celebrating having survived another year.



Fort Wainwright, Alaska

It had warmed up enough to snow. As absurd as that seemed, it was true. Once the ground temperature got below a certain point, snow became far less likely. As much a pain the winter weather was in the Alaskan Interior was at least there weren’t any mosquitoes the size of fighter planes as Mario had discovered the prior summer. There was only the risk of freezing to death while walking from the barracks to the mess hall and the sun rose above the horizon for no more than a few hours.

Laying in his bunk, Mario was staring at the ceiling under heavy blankets. It being the middle of the night, there was little risk of the Sergeants cooking up something for them to do. Still, that wasn’t outside the realm of possibility. You would think that with it being the coldest, darkest part of the year, operations would be at a low tempo. You would be wrong. It was something that had become a bit of a joke. They were training to fight in exactly these conditions, which was why it was expected that if the 11th Airbourne ever went into the field it would be the Sahara Desert or the Amazon Basin.

Looking at the clock under the red light at the end of the bay, Mario saw that it was after midnight. It was now 1977 and wasn’t that a kick to the head.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two thousand Six Hundred One



2nd January 1977

Tempelhof, Berlin

“That was on Opa von Richthofen’s estate” Bas said, “I was nine, Niko would have been eight, Marie ten.”

They were looking a photograph of Marie, Bas, and Niko when they had been children in one of the barns on the estate. It had been done to recreate a similar photograph taken of Opa, along with his brother Lothar and sister Ilse decades earlier. The next photograph was of Bas and Niko at the seaside earlier that summer. Bas had gone to Kat’s house to send the afternoon with Henriette, this was because she was leaving tomorrow.

“You were adorable when you were little” Henriette replied as they worked their way down the wall. “All three of you.”

Bas had tried to tell Henriette about how close he had been to Niko and Marie. Explaining that the two of them had always been around from his earliest memories. He had realized that the framed photographs that were hanging on the walls of Kat’s house could tell the story far better than he could. Photographs of Marie wearing a blue dress with a white apron to look like Alice from Alice in Wonderland or dressed up as Robin Hood. Niko at the age of five with a look of trepidation on his face as he was learning to ride a horse. The horse in question was a mare who Bas knew had been selected because she was incredibly gentle. Pictures from school, holidays, and family events. Very often, the photographs were of the various adventures they had been on. Questing for treasure, battling the forces of evil, or the like. It all seemed very silly in retrospect. There was not much treasure or evil to be found on Opa’s estate in Lower Silesia or South Berlin Suburbs.

“I wouldn’t use that word adorable to describe us” Bas replied, though Henriette clearly disagreed. She didn’t know how destructive they could be at times.

“Was Marie always the leader?” Henriette asked.

“She was the oldest” Bas said. That was just how it was when they were children. Besides that, even if all they ended up with was a few rusty nails or bits of brick at best when they dug for treasure or startled the occasional passerby. Marie always made it a whole lot of fun in process.

“Look at this” Henriette asked, “What is it from?”

It was a photograph of Marie Alexandra on the same staircase they were standing on now. She was wearing an elegant white gown and emerald jewelry that had once belonged to her mother.

“That was from when she was introduced to the Imperial Court at the start of the Winter Season” Bas replied, “I escorted Sophie to that last year. Or is that the year before now? I don’t know.”

That was a rather uncomfortable thing to admit to your girlfriend. Especially if you didn’t know where you stood because you were too thick to take her side when she stood up to your relatives.

“You escorted Sophie?” Henriette asked.

“Er… I did that as a favor for Aunt Kat” Bas replied, “Kat knew that it would look bad if Sophie was announced alone and her only real accomplishment at that time was that she was her ward. People saw her on the arm of Fähnrich Sabastian Reier Markgraf von Schultz zu Oppeln and that supposedly made a world of difference.”

“That is your full name and title?”

“It’s Oberfähnrich these days” Bas said, “But it is still the same.”

“That does sound impressive” Henriette said, “And Markgraf, as in a Count or something?”

“That would be my father” Bas said, “I just get called that as a courtesy. It is nowhere near as impressive as it sounds and if you ever go to Oppeln you will instantly know why. Especially since the last cement factory shut down a few years ago.”

“Cement?” Henriette asked, that clearly not something that she had been expecting to hear.

“It’s an industrial city with several large factories” Bas said, “The Medieval core and the canal system is still intact, so it could be a nice place. Just every time any of the heavy industry leaves a whole lot of jobs go as well. The people get angry, and they expect me or my father to do something. The Mayor and Town Council are perfectly happy to leave us holding the bag because…”

Bas trailed off when he realized that his frustrations over Oppeln had creeped into the conversation. Henriette didn’t need to hear that.

“You care about the people in this community?” Henriette asked, “Despite having had nothing to do with it until a couple years ago?”

“I feel like I have to” Bas replied. He and his father had found that the Mayor who he had been talking about had spent years insulating himself from democratic accountability, treating Oppeln as a personal fiefdom, the trouble was that the city had grown past that. Bas had wondered if it had been Opa von Richthofen’s intention that Bas and his father would end up on a collision course with the Mayor of Oppeln. It was only a question of whether or not he would be so stupid as to take on Bas’ father directly. At what cost though? Bas knew all to well that people who had been swindled long enough tended to get angry at the wrong people when that got exposed. So, it needed to be taken care of carefully.

“That seems very different from what your family is doing in Wunsdorf-Zossen” Henriette said.

“The truth about Oma and Hanna is that if they are steamed with you it isn’t always what they are complaining about” Bas said and he saw that Henriette seemed very skeptical about that. She didn’t have a lifetime of dealing them like he did.

“What is it actually about then?” Henriette asked.

“Oma is afraid that I will run off to Canada” Bas replied.

Henriette was clearly not expecting that answer.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two Thousand Six Hundred Two



14th January 1977

Mitte, Berlin

The underground platforms of U-Bahn in the Alexanderplatz Station Complex were among the oldest stops in the network, many thought it a relic of an earlier era with the ornate decoration. This was reflected in the tiled floors, as well as the design of the newspaper stands, and ticketing booths. The vaulted ceilings lit by electric lights back when that had been the latest thing. Even the escalators that took people up to the street level had been the very latest technology at the time. All of that was covered by year’s if not decade’s worth of grime. Whatever was tracked in on people’s feet, carbon residue from the trains themselves, random rubbish that had either been forgotten or discarded. There were also many instances of vandalism or graffiti that were around. Every few years a new layer of paint had gone up, but the effect of that was usually temporary.

The station had been slated for renovation for years, but that would require closing it for a period of time and that would put further stress on the rest of the system. David Kuhn knew all of that by heart by now. He had been working as a Transit Officer for decades; since the end of the Soviet War. He had personally seen how the system had grown overtaxed as the city had grown around it despite all the efforts to expand and improve the transit system. The round of budget cuts that had come down from the Government in recent months had hardly helped matters. The savings struck David as being penny wise, pound foolish. They were eventually going to have to address the problems that existed and when they did it was going to be a whole lot more expensive.

Today was no different as the evening comminute brought people by the thousands from their jobs in the City Center out to the Suburbs where most of them lived. It being a Friday evening, there were also a considerable number of people going the other way to spend a night out on the town. It was David’s job to make sure that all of that went smoothly. Something that was easier said than done. At any time something might cause the movement of people through the stations to get snarled and that had a way of spreading rapidly through the system.

David stopped to give directions to a harried looking woman who was trying to keep control of her children as they made their way through the labyrinthine passages between the various platforms. He had the understanding that a key part of his job was to help wherever he could, be the friendly face that people could count on in an otherwise miserable situation. It was then that his radio crackled to life.

“Report of smoke on… please investigate… report…” Came the voice from Dispatch. It was an annoyance that the radios only kind of worked once you got underground. They were supposed to get something better when they got funding, so David figured that would happen about the same time Hell froze over.

“If you could repeat that” David said into microphone.

“…smoke on U8 Platform… report back…” Dispatch replied.

David wasn’t surprised. Most people would be astonished at how fire was a regular occurrence in places like this. Usually the result of carelessness, small fires in odd locations but most often in the rubbish bins were a fact of life. That was why he knew exactly where the fire extinguishers were kept in all the stations. Using the master key that all the Officers had, he opened the storage and grabbed one of the ubiquitous red extinguisher bottles. Walking down the tunnels and descending a set of stairs, David emerged onto the platform, checking the rubbish bins he passed and seeing that there was nothing to see as he pushed through the rush hour crowd, getting cussed at and curious looks in equal measure. Still, there was the smell that grew stronger as he reached the far end of the platform. It was one that David knew quite well. Burning plastic, paper, and dust. This one had the smells of hot metal and grease mixed in as well. He just couldn’t see a source.

“Dispatch this is TO33, please notify the Fire Brigade that I can smell smoke on Platform U8 with no obvious source” David said into the microphone of his radio. Getting assistance down here would probably speed up figuring out what was going on here. Besides, no one could say that David wasn’t doing his job here.

“TO33… Fire Brigade notified…” Dispatch said, “Continue investigation… Report…”

David just shrugged. He knew that they were doing their best. Limitations on equipment and all that. It was something that he had needed to contend with for his entire career.

Reaching the escalator, David saw that smoke was emerging from under the escalator and a small flame was emerging from the edge of treads. He wasn’t sure how to get to the fire if it was under there, the Fire Brigade would need to be informed. Turning around, he saw dozens of people waiting for the next train that was coming from Weinmeisterstraße. David could hear the train coming and could feel the wind as it was pushing the air ahead of it. Glancing back at the escalator, he saw the smoke was growing in density and curiously it was traveling upward only a few centimeters above the treads. Something about that caused the hairs to stand up on the back of his neck as he keyed the radio to tell dispatch that they needed to act that instant.

Before he could say anything though, the whole world exploded into fire…

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two Thousand Six Hundred Three



14th January 1977

Mitte, Berlin

Perhaps it was misplaced pride or just pigheaded foolishness, but despite having decided months earlier that her time in the Medical Service was coming to an end Kiki had still reported back to Pfullendorf when she had been recalled just after New Year’s Day. It was only for field recertification in the FSR, a process complicated by her holding the rank of Oberstarzt, comparable to the Oberst who commanded the Parachute Search and Rescue detachment in Pfullendorf. Kiki managed to smooth that out but explaining to him that she was the Administrator of a small hospital in Southern Bavaria that mostly dealt with skiing or mountaineering accidents depending on the season. She was also never going to get another promotion because of politics. The Oberst had thought it hilarious that the Reichstag worried that she might someday lead a coup if she were promoted to be Chief Surgeon of a major hospital in that capacity. What followed for Kiki was several days of learning about the latest developments in field medicine and being introduced to new technologies that had been introduced. She would have been lying if she had said that she didn’t find it interesting. Kiki listened to the others complain about the schedule and the food with a lot of amusement. It was obvious that most didn’t have children, she was able to get more sleep here than she had in ages at home. Nina also had the strangest tastes that had needed to be accommodated, so Kiki didn’t mind the bland, but filling food served in the mess hall.

Then word had come that something big had happened in Berlin and volunteers were needed that instant. Before Kiki had even had a chance to think about what she was doing, she was on one of the Al30 Hurricane helicopters as it was lifting off and flying north at the fastest possible speed. She had already plugged into the radio when she had boarded the helicopter and when it got into radio range with Berlin, she was hearing what could only be described as a jumble as the City Fire Brigade, Police along with the 1st and 2nd Field Armies were talking at each other. It was unclear exactly what had happened, but there was a fire in the Alexanderplatz Station. Kiki knew the area and knew that it was a key center for Regional Rail, Tram, Bus, S-Bahn, and U-Bahn. If anything happened there it wasn’t in the least bit surprising that the result was an unholy mess. Kiki had pulled rank, contacted her brother, made threats, carried out some of those very threats, called in favors, and did everything else she could think of that could be done over the radio as they approached Berlin. It took time but she managed to impose something vaguely resembling order in the radio communications.

“Making final approach Frau Oberstarzt” The helicopter pilot said as Kiki was aware that buildings were rushing by as they raced at low level through the city. “Glad you don’t have any issues with us.” He said that last part with a laugh. Kiki realized that the pilot and co-pilot had been listening in the entire time she had been on the radio.

“Thank you” Kiki replied as the helicopter flared and landed in the middle of Alexanderplatz itself. As she unplugged the headphones in her helmet from the helicopter’s intercom/radio and plugged it into her own radio she saw that the other members of the FSR were removing the gear they had brought with practiced ease. Almost as soon as she stepped off the helicopter, it lifted off and the next one was on approach.

The scene that greeted her was like something from a Hieronymus Bosch painting. Smoke pouring out of the station entrances as she saw members of the Fire Brigade helping people up the stairs. Those already out looked dazed, and Kiki saw signs of obvious injuries and they must have inhaled a lot of smoke. The windows of the hall that made up the above ground portion of the station had been blown out. Had this been a bombing? Kiki had heard about the strange, attempted hijacking of an Aegean Airlines flight by Turkish Nationalists in Hamburg a couple months earlier. Was this connected to that?

Then she saw men who she recognized from the 1st Guard Army based on the patches of their uniforms just standing there gawking, they had rushed here from Potsdam, and this is what they were doing?

“Don’t just stand there!” Kiki yelled at them, “Can’t you see that these people need help?”

“Who the Hell are you supposed to be?” One of them, a Feldwebel asked. All he saw was a red coat with Notarzt in reflective letters across the back, he clearly failed to see her name, rank, or FSR patch. “We were told to keep order and we’re doing that.”

“That is nice” Kiki replied in a tone of voice that could have frozen water. The men around the Feldwebel, realizing that one of their own had just spoken out of turn, stepped away from him as Kiki keyed the microphone of her radio. “I have a Feldwebel…” She paused looking at his nametag, “Haas, correction, Schütze Haas here who needs his orders amended.”

The other members of the FSR were passing through and it was obvious the deference they paid Kiki as they passed. She doubted that demotion would stick, failing to recognize a Superior Officer was the sort of thing that could be explained away as an honest mistake. That got the message across though as word quickly spread of her presence. It took several minutes to find out where the Chief of the Fire Brigade was, shockingly he was inside the station, directly supervising the firefighting effort. Looking at all the emergency vehicles coming in from all over the city. Kiki knew that she was in for a very long night. With an exasperated sigh, she started yelling orders at anyone within earshot.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two Thousand Six Hundred Four



15th January 1977

Mitte, Berlin

There were two problems facing Freddy as he walked with Kurt-Werner Seidel, the Landesbranddirektor of the Berlin Fire Brigade. The first was obvious, the huge amount of damage he was looking at as he toured the U-Bahn’s Alexanderplatz Station as he descended down to what was left of the platform on the U8 line. The preliminary investigation had concluded that a fire had done this, though the exact cause remained fuzzy. The investigators were still trying to figure out how it had apparently gone a tiny fire smoldering on one end of the platform, to… whatever it had suddenly become. The fire had traveled up through the station, causing a huge amount of damage. Kiki had told him that it had looked like bomb had gone off to her when she had arrived at Alexanderplatz in the aftermath.

The thought of his sister reminded Freddy of how she was his other problem. He had understood for years that of all his brothers and sisters, Kiki was by far the most dangerous. It wasn’t because she was some sort of femme fatale, far from it. Instead, it was because when it came right down to it Kiki was an idealist. Anything or anyone who got in the way of what she felt was the right course of action tended to get obliterated. Freddy had once told Suga that he thought that Kiki would burn the whole world down if she thought that would save it. It seemed that much of the Reichstag understood that about her as well and feared her because of that. They also understood that Kiki was beloved by the public as result of her being an Emergency Surgeon and a genuinely good person, which was why they had not gone against her directly. Leaning on Freddy to “Do something” while seeing to it that Kiki’s career in the Medical Service stalled had been what they had done instead.

They had done the same thing to Lou until he had left the Navy of his own accord. Only for them to learn what Lou’s plans were, how he was getting married to Princess Margaretta of Romania and a key role in the Romanian Navy came with that. Once again Freddy was being asked to do something and he had needed to remind the Reichstag that he was a Constitutional Monarch whose role had limits even inside Germany and his authority did not extend into Romania. Were they so scared of what Freddy’s siblings might do and that was their reaction? For the life of him, he could not figure out their reasoning.

Then a couple days earlier Kiki had done a bit more than upsetting the applecart, she had blown it apart with a howitzer. Like with Lou and the Navy, Kiki had seemingly been on her way out the door of the Medical Service, she had been in it since she had been a teenager, was coming up on twenty years in it, and had two children. Administering the hospital in Sonthofen a short distance from where her daughter was attending school had seemed like a good fit for her. However, for whatever reason she had agreed to do the FSR Certification Course in Pfullendorf, something that she could have opted out of. That had also put her in a position to take command of the rapid response detachments of the FSR as they had converged on Berlin. Say what you will about Kiki’s abilities as a Surgeon, with a telephone or a radio she was an incomparable master of that particular art and that was something that had not gone unnoticed by her superiors in Koblenz. Over the last twenty-four hours Generaloberstabsarzt Artur Biermann, the head of the entire KZS had been demanding to know why one of their more capable Field Officers was getting stepped on by politicians for no apparent reason.

And then Albrecht of Bavaria got involved…

Until that moment, Freddy had not known that the King of Bavaria despised Heinz Kissinger and had apparently been waiting years for the opportunity like this. The lens that Albrecht looked at the world through also needed to be considered. He saw Ben as a part of his inner circle and Kiki was Ben’s wife as well as the older sister of his daughter-in-law, the same daughter-in-law who had given him two healthy grandsons despite some issues of the sort that would probably remain closely guarded family secrets. That was probably what had prompted Albrecht’s choice to make a couple of announcements, the first was hardly controversial, inducting Kiki into the Bavarian Medical Order. That was actually something that was past due considering who Kiki was and where she had been living for the last few years. The other involved Albrecht in his capacity as the head of the Bavarian Army was inducting her into Military Merit Order, 2nd Class, for her command of the FSR response. That seemed innocuous until you considered the implications of what ranks got which Class of that award. Beyond all of that, Aunt Kat was likely weigh in as well…

Freddy was snapped back into the present moment as he stepped down the stairs to the U8 platform. The fire had been put out within a couple hours, but the recovery process and investigation were ongoing. It could have been worse. The driver of train that had just been pulling into the station had seen the fire as it had erupted and had not stopped, saving the lives of his passengers. The people standing on the platform had not been so fortunate. Freddy saw the row of neatly placed white plastic bags along the platform and tried not to think about contents zipped up inside. Already the official finger pointing had begun, and it was clear that someone was going to pay a heavy price.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two thousand Six Hundred Five



22nd January 1977

Friedrichshain, Berlin

The Volkspark was never empty, not even in midwinter. That made it a good place for a meeting which Kat would not want an official record of. It would also discourage the man she was meeting from doing anything stupid, a tall order at the best of times. Unfortunately, these were not the best of times.

“Good afternoon Birsha” Kat said pleasantly as she sat down on the park bench next to a man who was feeding pigeons. Considering how cold it was, she was thankful for the heavy grey wool coat she was wearing. The black frock coat Birsha Bleier had on was really too thin for this weather, but he was far too proud to admit to that, so he sat there shivering. Birsha gave her a baneful look. He had learned that Kat had resources that he could never match, to go to war with her would only have one outcome when one word from her and the entire combined weight of Berlin’s officialdom would fall heavily on him. He was forced to deal with her as an equal and that clearly wasn’t something he liked. Birsha was also the head of the organization that Kat’s father once led. Even if it was a mere shadow of what it had been under the leadership of Otto Mischner it was still something that needed to be handled with care.

“I don’t think I need to tell you how valuable my time is” Kat said, “So, you better have a good reason for requesting this meeting.”

“Justice” Birsha replied, “Or should I say justice for my people who died in the Alexanderplatz Station.”

“That is always in short supply” Kat said. She was aware, even if few others were, of the Biblical allusions behind the name that Birsha had selected for himself when he had reinvented himself when he had arrived in Berlin. The son of wickedness, indeed. Especially after his own fall from grace. “Most of those responsible are good at avoiding that sort of responsibility.”

“That is the way it always is” Birsha said, spitting each word out.

“Always has been, always will be” Kat replied, “My father had that exact same attitude. It was nothing short of a miracle that the Federal Police didn’t introduce him to Madam Guillotine in Spandau Prison. That was before the laws changed, so she was still very active. Sven Werth told me that they had him dead to rights, but lung cancer and knife wounds got him before they could.”

Birsha snorted, of course he would see the humor in that. Dead was dead, to die like that. A man like Otto Mischner dying in a shabby apartment in Pankow-Heinersdorf, while supposedly at the apex of power, in the manner he had was far less dignified than a quick, clean execution.

“You are correct that they are out of my reach” Birsha said, “They are not out of yours.”

“Yes” Kat said, “But that will take time.”

“I don’t care if it takes a thousand years” Birsha replied, “I want them in a prison cell.”

“That is the problem” Kat said, “Any Prosecutor will know that will put them well within your reach.”

“Yes, but I don’t want them dead” Birsha said, “What I want is for them to get what that piece of shit Mithras got. They deserve nothing less.”



Munich

Getting Nina to stay close was difficult because there was so much to see in the Munich Residence. It was easier with Louis Bernhard as he was still a couple months shy of his second birthday and he was in the very capable care of Fianna Dunn as they were led through the vast palace complex that was the Winter Residence of the Bavarian Kings. The uniform of the Medical Service got Kiki a few curious looks by the Staff, Ben’s blue Luftwaffe unform was apparently a regular sight.

Eventually, they entered a room that Ben had described to Kiki, Albrecht’s game room. Almost every stereotype of hyper masculinity was somehow represented in this room. Hunting trophies, a massive television set, pool table, and the full bar. It was absurd, but even Kiki was aware how this was basically the perfect playground for adult men.

“Benjamin” Albrecht said in greeting, Kiki was aware that Ben had become one of the Bavarian King’s favorites. “And your lovely wife Kristina, nice to see you Princess. It’s been a long time, months?”

That wasn’t an accident, Kiki had been actively avoiding Albrecht. Ben had not been so fortunate.

“When you awarded Ben the Maximilian Order for Science and Art” Kiki replied, “I have been very busy.”

“Something we can agree on” Albrecht said, “I saw you on the news, stepping off a helicopter that had landed on Alexanderplatz. That was really quite something.”

“There were news crews there?” Kiki asked, she had not been paying attention, there had been so much to do…

“I especially liked how you handed that journalist the stubs from the triage tags” Albrecht said, “That really put him in his place.”

“That was on television?” Kiki asked, slightly horrified that what had not been one of her best moments had been recorded. An obnoxious journalist had been questioning her. Out of frustration she had pulled the stack of the stubs from triage tags from her coat pocket, shoved them into his hands, and told him that was his story.

“Yeah, and as I said, that put him in his place” Albrecht replied with a smile. “That was why I decided that you should be inducted into the Order of Merit, the medal I intend to present to you today.”

“About that” Ben said, inserting himself into the conversation. “There seems to have been a mistake.”

“Yes” Kiki said, “Second Class would be improper.”

“Hardly” Albrecht replied, as he pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Kiki. “This ought to fix that.”

In the envelope were the red collar tabs and the shoulder straps of a Generalarzt. Kiki’s brother was going to be furious and the news of this would land in the Reichstag like an atomic bomb.

“Does Generaloberstabsarzt Biermann know about this?” Kiki asked.

“He wanted to know when you can arrange to go to your new assignment in Ulm?” Albrecht asked in reply.

Kiki gulped. They had contrived to do this, daring the politicians to challenge it.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two Thousand Six Hundred Six



28th January 1977

Mitte, Berlin

It was inevitable that when there was a national tragedy that it would be reflected in popular culture. Zella had seen the various attempts to depict the Reichstag Bombing in film and supposed that if television had been in widespread use as opposed to being almost entirely limited to the realm of experimentation at the time it would have been addressed in a similar fashion as what she was seeing now in sitcoms. Obviously Transit was set in the very system where the Alexanderplatz fire had occurred, so they depicted how the drivers and other transit workers had been left stranded and somewhat clueless by the chaos that had engulfed the system in the wake of the fire.

Probably the best response that Zella had seen was on show The Floor with an episode titled Fritz is late again. The show revolved around workers at a specialty manufacturing shop of the sort that made up the bulk of the light industry found in many parts of Berlin. The show was normally fairly light-hearted humor, with gags like one of the workers sneaking into the conference room of the company offices and stealing one pastry off the plate so that when the meeting started there were six people in the room but only five pastries with predictable results. The episode that Zella watched had revolved around how Fritz, the bumbling middle-aged everyman in the evening shift had not clocked in with everyone else. The rest of the crew poked fun at their absent co-worker for being late and what excuse he would make when he finally showed up. As the shift progressed and information started to filter in, the absence of Fritz grew more and more uncomfortable. It became a case where no one wanted to say what they were thinking and not knowing just made it worse. Zella had been surprised watching that episode how the phone ringing or staticky radio announcements that basically told you nothing served to ratchet up the tension. In the end the writers didn’t let the audience off the hook with an easy ending. Fritz wasn’t late, he was just gone, and the people who had been making fun of him at the beginning were left struggling with how to deal with the matter. Zella knew that there were a considerable number of people who were going through exactly those same feelings.

“That was extremely depressing” Yuri said, “Is there anything else on?”

“Probably” Zella replied. The sitcoms had ended for the night and the evening news was about to come on. Yuri thought that the sitcoms were depressing, those had nothing on what was happening in real life. “One way to find out.”

With that, Yuri got up and started flipping the dial on the front of the television. Zella thought about what would be perfect for the moment and realized that it really was too bad that Aunt Gerta was no longer making that variety show. That sort of mindless fun would be perfect.



Montreal, Canada

“My mother told me that men like you are out there” Marie Alexandra said to Jayden who had decided that now was a good time to complicate Henriette’s life.

“What else did she say?” Jayden asked with a phony smile.

“Nothing” Marie replied, “She told me that on my thirteenth birthday as she gave me a karambit as a gift.”

“Karambit?” Jayden asked, “What is that?”

Marie just smiled. “You should have stayed in Detroit” She said instead of answering the question.

To his credit, Jayden just gave her an uncomfortable look knowing at some level he had just been threatened. For the life of her, Marie could not figure out what Henriette had ever seen in him. Imagine an oily weasel in human form, that was what Marie would have said if asked to describe him and felt that it was a real mercy that Alice had clearly taken after her mother in that regard. Marie had also discovered the disadvantage of living in a city were most people spoke French as well as English. When dealing with a crumb like Jayden, she couldn’t pretend she didn’t speak either of those two languages. One might be believable. Both? No one was so thick as to believe that.

The saving grace of this was that Jayden had no clue that he was on a collision course with Bert Lane and eventually Bas Schultz. While Bas would be content with merely flattening him, Bert would be far worse. He would systematically destroy Jayden, if only because he had broken his word about staying away from Henriette and Alice. Marie had only found out about the details of that because Bert had finally told Henriette. She was not happy her father had basically paid Jayden to go away. She felt that he deserved nothing and that paying him off the first time had all too predictable results. Naturally, Jayden was back with his hand out and he was tried to work his charm on Marie by chatting her up as soon as Henriette was out of earshot.

“So, you are French?” Jayden asked.

“No” Marie replied in Berlinerisch, “I am your worst nightmare and if you had any sense you would run.”

“Pardon?” Jayden asked, “I didn’t understand that.”

“And you never will” Marie said as she saw Bert Lane, who Jayden had thought was not home this afternoon, step into the living room of the Lane’s house.

“My daughter told me you were back” Bert said coldly, and Marie realized that she was seeing him in his capacity as General Lane. Something else Marie’s mother had told her on her thirteenth birthday. That the results of stupidity needed to be painful, especially if the individual in question refused to learn.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two Thousand Six Hundred Seven



31st January 1977

Ulm, Württemberg

Of all the things that could have happened, this was not what Kiki had expected. Having spent the prior days setting up an apartment in Ulm, she realized that it was her turn to be inconvenienced by her career. It was either finding an apartment in Ulm or else spending hours each day commuting. Bringing Lutz and Fianna with her was easy enough to do, he was a toddler. It was more complicated with Nina though. She was going to stay with Ben in Balderschwang until they came up with a permanent arrangement. The apartment itself was much larger than what Kiki had thought that she might need. The fact that she now had a much larger Staff to deal with was the reason for that. Kiki also had the displeasure of her brother making itself felt in ways which were impossible to ignore.

In the meantime, Kiki and Ben spent last weekend together alone in the apartment. As much as she loved her children, the last few days had been enjoyable. Now it was Monday, and she was faced with her first day as Chief Surgeon of the Ulm Military Hospital. Steffi Bader, who had been Kiki’s Personal Secretary for the last few years, had made sure that she had everything she needed this morning. So all Kiki needed to do was get dressed and say goodbye to Ben before he started the hour and half drive back to Balderschwang. She also needed to meet with her Staff before they would all set out for the hospital where she was to conduct an inspection tour, which would take most of the day because the place was huge. Seated at head of the table in the formal dining room which they were using as an impromptu conference room, Kiki was listening to her Aide, a Major, read the day’s itinerary aloud as she pinned the medals to the front of her tunic, having to angle and overlap to get them to fit. When she had been a little girl, she had marveled at the number of medals that Aunt Kat had worn in similar situations. Today, she had realized that she had likely caught up or even exceeded Kat. It was a sobering thought. Tomorrow, she could dispense with that and just wear what she normally did when working in the hospital, but it being the first day she wanted everyone who saw her to understand exactly who she was.

Looking across the table, Kiki saw that Feldwebel Haas was listening intently. His presence was Freddy’s way of letting her know his opinion of what had happened and how he had had bourn the brunt of Chancellor Kissinger’s anger over it. She was unsure what exactly to do with the Feldwebel now that he had been appointed to her Staff. His prior experience had been entirely in Infantry, so Haas might be a big help with patients in that he spoke their language. He probably could use some training in First Aid and simple medical procedures, regardless of his specialty those were valuable skills.



Montreal, Canada

The weather reports said that this was probably going to be the worst winter storm of the season. Classes had been canceled at the Universities for the next couple days, so Marie had insisted that they make the most of the unexpected time off. That came in the form of sitting in the parlor of the Blackwood house watching soap operas, drinking homemade mochas, and eating popcorn. Looking out the windows, Henriette saw the snow swirling and was happy she was someplace warm and safe.

Henriette had been angry with Marie and her father over how they had reacted to sudden reappearance of Jayden a couple days earlier by running him off. She could fight her own battles and she knew perfectly well what Jayden was. She had also come to the realization that Marie knew her father on level she did not.

Henriette had also never seen Marie that angry before.

Normally, Marie put some thought into what she said and how she said it. All of that had gone out the window and every word Marie had said had sounded ugly even if Henriette could understand very little of it. “What he did to you was wrong” Marie had finally said, and that was the end of it.

Today, Marie was sitting with Alice, who was more interested in playing with the popcorn rather than eating it, on her lap. The plot in the soap opera had taken an absurd turn and Marie was making fun of how they had an actor playing a “Count” from a fictional European Principality, but he sounded more like he was from Baltimore, when Margot walked in.

“I am not sure what sort of accent that is supposed to be” Marie said.

“Who cares about the accent?” Margot asked, “Not when it comes with the rest of him. There is a reason why Laurie just cannot resist his charms.”

“I’m surprised Oma” Marie replied with a smile.

“I’ve not missed an episode if I could help it since this show premiered” Margot said as they watched the male protagonist in a tense confrontation with the Count, who was clearly the villain. “That Bobby is handsome one, he even looks a bit like Malcolm did when he first got back from France.”

That clearly surprised Marie, who Henriette had heard describe Margot as a dried-up old prune on more than a few occasions.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two Thousand Six Hundred Eight



3rd February 1977

Rural Silesia

A couple months earlier, Christian had been informed that all of equipment of the Artillery Battery he had commanded for the last couple years had been declared obsolete and he had been left with the task of telling the men. It was an understatement to say that this was greeted with anger. The battery had been built around the 10.5 Centimeter Howitzers which had been in service since the 30’s, but it was felt that they no longer met the needs of the Heer. Not even in a Landwehr Division like theirs.

As if to add insult to injury, they had been tasked with preparing the howitzers to be transported by train to Eisen, which was probably where they had been made in the 30’s and 40’s, to be recycled. It had been a terrible moment watching the train cars disappear into the distance. In the weeks since then, they had been waiting for the Heer to tell them what was coming next. That made matters difficult in the Depot as the men cycled though from their day jobs. An Artillery Battery without the artillery was pointless, something that Christian had heard over and over. The entire time he had nothing to say in reply because no had told him what was going to happen next.

That had changed today when he received orders from the High Command telling Christian to inform selected men from the Battery to prepare for movement so that they could be sent to train in a new weapons system. Looking over the list, he saw that it was one of those “Training the trainers” sort of things. That was why he added the names of those men whose time would be well spent doing that sort of thing. Looking over the travel orders, Christian saw that it would involve going back for additional training. Briefing to follow, meaning that it was somewhat open-ended. He figured that Ina wouldn’t be too thrilled by this development. As the daughter and granddaughter of Military Officers Ina understood the realities of Christian’s career, but they had been having serious discussions about their future together. With Ina close to getting her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine, suddenly the future was upon them. There was also the birth of their nephew Johannes who had added a new wrinkle. Even if Ina had not said anything yet, Christian knew that had put an idea or two into her mind. Having him spend several weeks in…

He swiftly reread the orders, in Munster…

That was not a part of the plan.

Of course, Christian had a question or two of his own. Like why the Heer was sending a bunch of Landwehr Artillerymen to the Panzer Training School? That had all the makings of the sort of brainfart that the High Command indulged in from time to time.



Montreal, Canada

Eric Blair, better known by the non de plume George Orwell, Poet, Author, Journalist, Literary Critic, and Radio Commentator dead at the age of 74.

Marie saw the obituary in the newspaper and remembered how she had listened to George Orwell Presents on BBC International on the radio she had gotten as a Christmas present when she was eight years old, before Blair had retired. He could have read the dictionary aloud and made it interesting. Social commentary had been mixed in with the stories which had been what she had actually tuned in for. It had not been until she had started writing about her own views during her Secondary Education that she realized just how much listening to that radio show had shaped them. Marie felt that the George Orwell books written in the 50’s and 60’s that dealt with the subjects of identity and personal agency were his most important works. The books that came before about totalitarianism and his skewering of the Soviet Union with satire were good, but they had left a bad taste in Marie’s mouth.

“A young woman like you shouldn’t be reading that” Flora said across the counter, “It is morbid.”

“I used to listen to this man’s radio show” Marie replied, “British Broadcasting Company, you know.”

Flora just shrugged, that meant nothing to her.

“You will be happier if you read the funnies” Flora said before she walked off to do something else.

Flora Bonaccorso was the Barista of the coffee shop in Montreal’s Little Italy neighborhood Marie favored because the members of the Bonaccorso family who ran this place as well as a nearby bakery and a restaurant didn’t object to her bringing in her lunch from elsewhere. That might have had something to do with them thinking that she was actually Italian because she was fluent in that language. They didn’t seem to care that her name in Canada was simply Marie Blackwood, she even had an ID card to prove it. She sometimes wondered what they would make of Marie’s foster sister Angelica de Medici if they ever met her.

“How did you handle all this snow?” Flora asked as she returned.

Montreal was still digging itself out of the blizzard that had shut down the city for much of the week.

“It was hard not to get stir crazy” Marie replied, “Heaven forbids the weather get in the way of my grandmother’s soap opera addiction.”

Flora just smiled at that having no idea how out of character that was for Marie’s grandmother.

The Bonaccorso family were working class, so they were far removed from Margot Blackwood’s circles. It was a key part of the reason why Marie liked them.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two Thousand Six Hundred Nine



14th February 1977

Moscow, Russia

Recent events in Belarus had happened because of Galicia-Ruthenia. The acknowledgement of the Ruthenians by the German Empire had somehow become a threat. Exactly how people who identified themselves as an offshoot of the Ukrainians were a problem for Russian Nationalists was a bit of a mystery. Gia knew that they also seemed to have a problem with Ukrainians as well, so there was that. Somehow, the way that portion of Poland and a small section of Slovakia had been used to form a new State within the German Empire had resulted in outrage within Russia. Just how much of it was performative as opposed to being based on fear was uncertain. Regardless, suddenly it seemed as if paranoia was the order of the day.

Gia was disappointed by all of this, years earlier she had hoped that the Russians as a people had outgrown this sort of thing. Losing two wars with European powers, the second of which they had undoubtedly started themselves, should have been informative. Instead, the old fear that some foreign power would partition Russia had come to the fore. The Germans had passed at the chance to do exactly that at the end of the Soviet War. Belarus and Ukraine had wanted out, which shouldn’t have come as a surprise after what had happened during the war. Did the Russian State really want the Ukrainians inside their country after the Second Holodomor? There was a reason why there had been a mass exodus of ethnic Russians from Ukraine during the second half of the 40’s. There was also this business with the Greeks and how that country had become an international pariah with only Russia and Serbia as clear allies. The rest of the Black Sea Region and Balkans had responded predictably.

It was enough to make Gia want to scream in frustration. Had no one learned anything after the events of the last century? Did they really think that anything would be gained by taking back Belarus by hook or crook? Having the German Empire, and presumably half the German Heer’s Panzer Corps, just on the other side of the River Bug would be a disaster waiting to happen.



Panzer Corps Training School, Near Munster, Lower Saxony

The PzH15 was not exactly what Christian was expecting when he had arrived in Munster. He had been given a briefing about the capabilities of the new vehicle, an Armored Howitzer featuring a 15cm main gun in a turret that allowed a full transverse. That meant that the thing was huge. It had been inspired by the Panther/Evergreen Gunschlepper which had proven so effective in conflicts around the world. A replacement had been deemed necessary because the old Panther hulls were falling apart, and parts had grown hard to find. Rather than cannibalizing the fleet of self-propelled artillery, a new vehicle that had common parts with the Panzer VIII Leopard II with more attention paid to crew protection and comfort had been designed.

It wasn’t a Panzer by any stretch of the imagination, its armor being only thick enough to shield the crew from splinters or small arms. The goal was to be able to keep up with the Panzer columns and provide fire support at a moment’s notice. There was also the mission of firing a burst of shots and then changing position or going to cover before a counter battery could respond.

As Commander, Christian’s job was to know the entire system inside and out. Which included the complex communications suite, navigation, and fire control. The job of the Commander was made somewhat easier by the addition of a dedicated Radio Operator next to the driver in the hull. That was what caused Christian to discover why his battery had been selected to be the first in the 3rd Landwehr Division to train in the new vehicles, the presence of Christian himself because he had played a key role in developing the radio communications used successfully by 7th Recon in Poland and Patagonia. Not that it helped as he listened to his men arguing with each other as they tried to figure out how to work just one of the vehicles. Christian knew to let them figure it out, knowing that it actually had nothing to do with the vehicle or the equipment. Instead it had to do with there being a lot of truth about how an Artilleryman in a dirty uniform could do equations on the fly that needed to factor in variables such as distance, wind speed, the curvature and the rotation of the Earth. A task that a University Professor with a chalkboard and all the time in the world would find difficult. Now they had been plunged into the totally unfamiliar and the frustrations were boiling over.

They were due to receive twelve of the PzH15s the in the coming days, Christian’s task was to make the Battery gel as unit and that would need to be his entire focus. There were also going to be a Armored Ammunition Carriers based on Panzer VIII hulls in addition to the APCs and lorries that the Battery already had in abundance. Simply put, it seemed like Christian’s headaches were multiplying. Looking at the MG42/56 in a pintle mount on the roof of the PzH15, Christian wondered if having tracers flying over everyone’s head would make them more focused on the task at hand, or more likely give them a common enemy. He knew that was just wishful thinking, there were things that even an Oberleutnant would get in trouble for.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two Thousand Six Hundred Ten



1st March 1977

Ulm, Württemberg

Something that Kiki had discovered was that it seemed like the instant she entered the room everyone got very quiet. Not wanting to be the first one to venture an opinion seemed to be the order of things. It was as if they expected her to play the role of a tyrant. The trouble with that was obvious. Kiki understood that she didn’t always make the right call and if she did it was her hope that someone would suggest something better under those circumstances. Today as she was doing her morning rounds, she was reminded that all too often there were patients whose problems had become questions of a Theological nature and were beyond any calls she may or may not make.

“He came in for treatment for cirrhosis of the liver” The Stabsarzt who was one of the Kiki’s Subordinates said looking through the folder of the patient who had died just minutes earlier. “He also had emphysema and showed signs of heart failure.”

“Has a cause of death been determined?” Kiki asked as the orderlies were wrapping the patient’s body in the sheets from his bed.

“It could be as a result of any one of those things Ma’am” The Stabsarzt replied as he handed Kiki the folder. A quick glance revealed a great deal, including that it had been recommended that the patient receive treatment for traumatic stress. Another one of these, Kiki thought to herself. Either too proud to admit there was a problem or fearful of the lingering stigma that came with the TBs diagnosis this man had turned to other means to deal with it and that had slowly killed him over the course of thirty years or so. All the above or cursed wars were not options in the paperwork. Kiki wrote To be determined pending post-mortem on that line in the paperwork and signed off on it. She figured that the morgue would put down something plausible before releasing the body to either the next of kin or else having it cremated if none were available.

“This is a terrible way to start the month” Kiki said, “Anything else?”

With that the Stabsarzt just shrugged and went on to the next patients.

“How can you be so nonchalant?” Feldwebel Haas said, drawing attention to himself. He had been shadowing Kiki for much of the last month, doing basically whatever needed to be done. She had arranged for him to take the training courses that would make him useful so long as he was assigned for her Staff, it was just he had been indifferent while taking them as Kiki had been informed.

“The living take priority over the dead” Kiki said, repeating the words that had been drilled into her when she had been in Basic Training as an aspiring Medic nearly a lifetime ago. “Those who can be helped take priority over those who cannot. Those who can, must help in the effort.”

“And I am here because I ran afoul of that last part” Haas said as they walked down the corridor. “That still doesn’t explain it. I’ve seen more death in the last month than I did in six years in the 1st Guards and what exactly am I doing here.”

Kiki knew that the 1st Guards Division were considered elite troops guarding critical installations and the Imperial family, but they, along with most of the 1st Army, had seldom gone into the field since the end of the Soviet War. And they had developed a reputation of being little more than toy soldiers. The Panzer Corps, which comprised much of the 2nd and 3rd Armies, had been the leading mechanized forces while the 4th and 5th Armies had a similar traditional structure to the 1st Army. They were tasked with guarding the Western Frontier just in case the French ever decided to invade Germany again. That was why 4th and 5th had been drawn down considerably over the last few years and were comprised largely of Landwehr and Reserve Divisions.

“For starters, your presence has just as much to do with my brother teaching me a lesson about causing him headaches as it does with anything else” Kiki replied, “After I tried to get you reduced in rank, he asked Generaloberst von Querfurt to veto that and then had you placed here.”

That answer surprised Haas. “It’s easy to forget that your brother is the Emperor himself Ma’am” He said, “And I had wondered what had happened with that other matter.”

It wasn’t just who Kiki’s brother was and how that affected her personally. There had been an unwritten, unstated belief by most of the Reichstag that the younger brothers and sisters of the Emperor should not be in positions of authority. That they were a dagger aimed at the heart of Democracy. What had happened with Haas had probably been an abuse of power on her part, but it had been largely seen in the context of her role as an Incident Commander as opposed to her as Princess Kristina.

“Next time, I need to find a better way” Kiki said, and Haas gave her a confused look. In his thinking, Generals came just after God and Emperor, not someone who would ever admit to having made a mistake. She had forgotten how to talk to people like him without being heavy handed and that was serious a problem.

“That’s why I am here?” Haas asked, clearly in disbelief.

“Yes, partially” Kiki replied, “Your insubordination during the Alexanderplatz fire was also a factor as well.”

“In fairness, I didn’t recognize who you were Ma’am” Haas said, this was the first chance that Kiki had to bring that topic up.

“Which is why you were sent here rather than wrecking a promising career” Kiki said, “And hopefully you can see this as an opportunity to…”

It was then that a Nurse, a pretty young woman, came walking the opposite way down the corridor. The Nurse smiled when she saw Haas and he tried to pretend that he didn’t notice. Somehow Kiki just knew that he would probably react the exact same way if he were with his mother. She knew that she was only about ten years older than Haas and it showed exactly how many among the staff thought about her.

“That is not what I mean when I mention opportunities” Kiki said flatly, and she watched Haas’s face turn a deep shade of crimson.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two Thousand Six Hundred Eleven



12th March 1977

Montreal, Canada

A quick trip on business to New York, followed by checking on how his youngest daughter was doing. That took the form of watching her drinking coffee while nibbling on the scone that Doug had bought for her. Looking at Marie it occurred to him that she was roughly the same age that Kat had been when they had first met.

“Aunt Asia says that silence is not actually a problem” Marie Alexandra said, “It is how most people need to constantly fill the air with noise that is the real problem.”

Doug knew that she was talking about Asia Lawniczak, the woman who was the current Mistress of the Keys in the German Imperial Court. These days Asia was better known by name Lady Frost and was the subject of no small amount of terror even as she was one of the confidantes of the Kaiserin. Doug understood that Asia had grown largely silent after her parents were killed by the Russians during the Soviet War and her siblings had been scattered by the State. Later, something terrible had happened to Asia as an adult. It was as if she had become a ghost of herself and going prematurely grey had not helped. Marie had never experienced anything like that, and Doug’s most sincere wish was that his daughter never would. But, as Kat had warned Doug months earlier, social anxiety had no rules and Marie had always been a sensitive girl. This was likely a means of protecting herself. A formidable intellect, the ability to speak a dozen languages, and to radically change her appearance at will, yet simple human interactions were the thing that she found most difficult.

“Asia is probably not the best role model” Doug replied, “Your grandfather told me that you hardly speak to anyone these days.”

Marie gave him a dismissive wave of her hand, much to his disappointment. She had made it clear that she didn’t see the problem. She had already told Doug that she had her friend Henriette and Henriette’s daughter Alice to speak with if she felt like being social. She kept Doug’s father informed about what she was up to. Wasn’t that enough? The truth was that it wasn’t, just Marie didn’t seem to see it that way.

“What exactly am I supposed to tell your mother?” Doug asked, “She understands what you are going through and wants to see that you doing well.”

“Why doesn’t she tell me that herself?” Marie asked in reply, Doug help but notice the bitter tone. One of the things that Kat feared was her relationship with Marie would become like the one with their older daughter Tatiana. It seemed like every time Kat and Tatiana were in the room for more than a few minutes, they would start arguing.

“Your mother would love nothing better than to be here” Doug said, “Your twenty-first birthday is in a few days, remember? If she could, she would be going all out to make it special. For no other reason than because it’s your birthday.”

Marie blushed, as if that were something she had forgotten and only just now remembered. That and she had to know that she was selling her mother short. Kat couldn’t just drop everything and travel across the Atlantic to Canada. There were protocols to be observed and it would swiftly become such a circus that Marie would get lost in the shuffle. No one wanted that.

“You are very lucky that she remembered” Doug said, “There is a package for you from her that is locked in your grandfather’s desk. As for me, I will be in Montreal for the next few days so think about what you want to do. Something fun.”

“I didn’t know” Marie replied. The expression on her face was exactly the same as the one that she’d had in a photograph that Doug had taken when Marie was around three years old. She had been caught by him getting into the bin of potatoes that was kept in the kitchen. There was a part of Marie that was still that wide-eyed innocent and it was an aspect of her that he hoped would never change.

“I understand that you have been very busy with school and have already gotten offers to continue your education past a Bachelor’s in Arts” Doug said, “Have you put any thought about what you will want to do next.”

“Jack Kennedy has offered to help me attend Trinity College in Dublin” Marie said, “That is if I want to study International Law, though that is rather self-serving on his part. He thinks that I will open a lot of doors for his firm in Berlin.”

“That doesn’t surprise me in the least” Doug replied, knowing that she wouldn’t be telling him about this unless she was seriously considering it. “That might be a good offer for a lot of different reasons. A pretty redhead would probably do quite well in Ireland, your mother enjoyed that when she was younger.”

“I guess” Marie said before going back to nibling on her scone.

“Your grandfather also told me about Porthos” Doug said with a smile.

“He’s an old tomcat who I have been taking care of” Marie replied, “Not that he needs much care. It being the winter he has been earning his keep clearing out the mice from the basement of Opa and Oma’s house.”

Doug knew that Marie was understating it by a bit. Marie had spent months winning over the trust of the black & white tuxedo cat and for the last couple years he had become a fixture about the Blackwood house. Normally living in the back garden or the basement during the coldest months of the year. Marie was the only one who could get anywhere near Porthos without him disappearing.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two Thousand Six Hundred Twelve



15th March 1977

Black Sea, off Constanta

The NMS Vlad Dracula was making good speed as it turned on a bearing that would pass close to the hulk that was the target in the live fire drill. Louis Ferdinand Junior remembered that this had been an effective means of practicing gunnery aboard the Grindwal. Convincing the Romanian Ministry of National Defense that the crew of the Dracula would benefit from live fire drills had been a chore. If he didn’t know better, he might assume that many in Bucharest thought that the job of the Navy was to look pretty during Fleet reviews. Louis had a far different view though. A Navy ship had a tough, dangerous job to do, and the crew needed the experience to do that job.

Louis knew that comparing the Dracula’s crew to that of the Grindwal wasn’t fair. Not only had the Grindwal’s crew had more time, but they also had a firmer grounding in the traditions of the High Seas Fleet. They also were not under his command. Comandor Codrin Ciobanu, Comandor being equivalent to Kapitan-zur-See in the Romanian Navy, held that honor. He was letting Louis tag along today so that he could show off what his crew could do. Having the ships guns under local command was a part of that, getting them to act as a team when the central fire control was placed on standby.

As the hulk came into range, the 12.8cm gun in the bow opened fire. Louis saw the splash through his binoculars and listened to the Gunnery Officer shouting commands to the crew as they corrected the aim. The second shot hit the hulk as the 40mm cannons opened up. Those were the familiar Bofors 40mm/L70s that saw service in nearly every Navy in the world. Louis felt that the Dracula could use some of the Vk30 30mm autocannons used by the German Navy which could claw missiles out of the air, but there were still export controls on those. As the Dracula turned broadside to the hulk, the aft 12.8cm gun fired as it came to bear, and a large hole was blown through the hulk. Having a second main gun certainly made a statement, Louis thought to himself.

Seeing movement in the corner of his eye, Louis turned his binoculars out to sea and saw a ship in the distance. It was too far away to get a name, but the White and Blue of the Russian Naval Ensign was unmistakable. It seemed that their friends from across the Black Sea had decided to get a look at the Dracula as she was going about her paces.



Montreal, Canada

Somehow word got out that today was Marie Alexandra’s birthday as much as she wanted it to be low key. There had been calls asking if she was planning on doing anything and her grandmother had made a point of telling her that in life she often didn’t have a choice as whether or not to entertain. If she did nothing then people were going to want to know why. As much as Marie knew that she would regret caving into her grandmother, she agreed to have a small party with a few friends from McGill and Dawson. That was well and good, except Sir Malcolm insisted that she remove the large boxes from his home office which was a gift from her mother. Marie had assumed that it would be an addition to the jewelry that her mother had given her over the years. She liked it when Marie wore emeralds, which supposedly perfectly complimented her. And her parents had done that to a degree in the form of a bracelet that matched what she already had, but that had been a gift directly from her father.

Instead, Marie’s mother had done something completely unexpected and that came in the form a Z185 made by Zuse AG that came with a color monitor, something that Marie had never seen before called a mouse, and a joystick game controller. She pushed the thought of how someone must have come up with the name of that last particular piece of equipment out of her mind. There was a printer that was still in the box which Marie intended to set up as soon as she figured out where she was going to do that.

Marie had heard about the innovative microcomputer that had been intended for home use from the outset, not having lived under a rock for the last few months. Having one given to her as a birthday present was certainly a surprise and Marie suspected that it had probably been a suggestion from her older brother. He was an expert in these things. The problem was that her guests found out that she had gotten it and they were not interested in anything else because a Zuse 185 was miles better than anything similar made on this side of the Atlantic. Marie had swiftly discovered that watching other people playing computer games was quite possibly the most boring thing that she had ever done. The Japanese game was also rather incomprehensible. The player guided an Italian Plumber of all things through a maze where he was under constant attack by what looked like dinosaurs, turtles, and walking mushrooms(?)

“We can use this for our studies?” Henriette asked as Marie looked through the manual and was reading the list of programs that came stored on the hard drive.

“Word processing and spreadsheets” Marie said, happy to talk about anything other than that silly game.

“That is actually pretty good” Henriette said, “Provided you can get them to give it back.”

“I’m sure they will get bored eventually and dinner is going to be served soon” Marie replied. Food far better than they ever got at the University might just have more appeal than the newest toy.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two thousand Six Hundred Thirteen



17th March 1977

Prague, Bohemia

The blanket wrapped bundle in Kiki’s arms was a reminder of the future and a multitude of possibilities. Liliana Kristýna, Princess of Bohemia and Kiki’s latest niece. She had come straight to Prague when she had learned that Birdie had gone into labor and had been shocked at how fast she had made it from Ulm. Now Kiki and Michael had the task of introducing Liliana to possibly one of the most important people in her life.

“You now have a little sister” Kiki said to her nephew Philipp who looked at the world through the lens of a child who was about to turn four as he peered over Kiki’s shoulder at the newborn as Michael had lifted him high enough to see.

When Philipp had asked if arrival Liliana had anything to do with his own birthday in a couple weeks. Michael had patiently told him that it didn’t work that way. Liliana had arrived the night before the way that most did by letting everyone present know her displeasure about her sudden change in circumstance. Liliana being a Czech language variant of Elisabeth made it easy to figure out who they had named her after. It had not occurred to Kiki to ask Birdie what her parents thought about the names of their first two grandchildren. How Michael and Birdie had made certain that their children had Czech names.

Presently, Birdie was sleeping, and Kiki remembered what that was like. She had tried to wake her up, so that Birdie could watch this introduction, but she had fallen back asleep. Birdie would not want to focus on anything else for the next few days other than Liliana. That was how it had been with Nina and Lutz. It was Kiki’s job to keep it that way because she could already tell that the vultures from the tabloid press were circling.

When Queen Elisabeth and Princess Elinore arrived in a few hours that would cause them to become desperate for the story. While the tabloids in Germany had to walk a fine line because the Emperor and much of his family still had the power to make their lives miserable if they became too obnoxious, their counterparts in England and the United States especially had far less to worry about. Freddy was rather emphatic that they not test the limits of free speech in the Empire as opposed to Royal prerogative because he understood the consequences if they should win. However, there had been moments like when Kiki had been forced to greatly improve the security of her house in Balderschwang that she would have liked to have the options that her ancestors were said to have. A moat stocked with crocodiles might be impossible in this climate, but it did have its appeal. There was a castle that Michael had told Kiki about here in Bohemia where the family who owned it had bears in the moat. He had said that it was for the tourists these days and though great pains were being made to be sure the bears were well cared for, they were still potentially dangerous animals. Perhaps the family that owned the castle would have them as guests for a few days?



Rural County Mayo, Ireland

1976 had been a good year for the FBI, stealing a march on the German BND who had been doing God only knew what in the United States for the last few decades, meaning that good guys won one for once. On the other hand, it had been an absolutely lousy year for Ed and 1977 was not looking much better.

After he had only hit dead ends in his investigation of Greyson’s death Ed had been assigned to a different investigation involving the Department of Agriculture, subsidies fraud, and a suspect who had fled jurisdiction presumably, with a new partner who was completely clueless about how things worked in Ireland. Jimmy Hovanesian, and yes that was his actual name. In the first five minutes that Ed had known him, Jimmy had told him he was from Schenectady, his father was a millworker, and he had also been an athlete like Ed had been. Just not exactly on the Football field, and Ed had absolutely no desire to know what exactly that meant. The fact that he still went by what seemed like a twelve-year-old’s first name and had a last name that no one could pronounce told Ed just as much as his tendency to yell questions at farmers in the Irish countryside.

Like he was doing right now.

The Farmer out in the field yelled something back in Irish that didn’t sound like a compliment. Ed knew by now that the FBI didn’t send their best and brightest to work in the Legate. Jimmy didn’t need to make it so obvious.

“I told you that wouldn’t work” Ed said as he was leaning on the fender of his car.

“It works back home” Jimmy replied, “The Farmers there prefer that you be direct.”

It was a reminder that Jimmy came from somewhere that was only a few miles away from where Greyson had come from. Yet it might as well have been on a different planet. Jimmy might have lucked out and been the first man in his family to have gone to college, but he still tended to think that everywhere worked the same.

“Ever thought that you don’t even speak the same language as these people?” Ed Asked, “Fewer people admit to knowing English the further from Dublin you get and you can’t get much further than this county.”

Jimmy gave Ed a sheepish look.

“Lets get out of here then” Jimmy said, looking embarrassed. It was Ed’s hope that meant that he would learn from this. Though effectively doing his job in a place like Ireland was something that Ed was still trying to figure out.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two Thousand Six Hundred Fourteen



17th March 1977

Montreal, Canada

For a variety of reasons Marie Alexandra felt obligated to attend the annual Saint Patrick’s Day celebration held by the United Irish Society in Montreal every year after the parade. Sir Malcolm said that it was a formal event where the movers and shakers of Montreal Society rubbed shoulders, of course he stated rather plainly that he was mostly Scottish and had little interest in attending himself this year. Marie was even less Irish than he was, but because she had stupidly told her father about how one of her possible plans involved post-graduate studies at Trinity and he had said told someone who had spread word around about that. She had found herself with an invitation and even had her grandmother leaning on her to not make a public embarrassment of herself this time. It was not as if that was the only school that had attempted to recruit Marie, it had only been the first one and represented one of the better offers.

Steeling herself, Marie walked towards the entrance. She would go in, introduce herself, be seen, and then leave. No one would hold that against her. It was a formal event and she had dressed appropriately for the event, just not for the climate. It was still a cold night though and she was starting to regret that she had not been able to wear anything warmer as she saw that it was starting to snow. It was nearly spring according to the calendar, but Marie had her doubts. It certainly felt like winter was lasting forever this year.

“Thank you, Miss Blackwood” The man minding the door said as Marie handed him the invitation. “Are you accompanied by…”

That was clearly a leading question. Marie didn’t really care about his expectations, so it didn’t matter where it led.

“Just me tonight” Marie replied, “I figure that I need to be in there just long enough to be seen before I make my escape.”

He seemed amused by that. It was not as if he needed to worry about her causing trouble. Her desire not to spend much time in awkward social situations must have been very evident.

“Have fun” He said as he waved Marie through the door.

Marie wondered if he would have let her through if he had not known exactly who she was. For someone who had no real interest in high social standing, it seemed that she was stuck with it. With a bit of reluctance, she checked her coat. As always at events like this, she noticed the eyes upon her. The dark green statin dress she was wearing was little too on the nose for this event. A small mercy was that they didn’t announce her as they liked to do back in Germany. For some reason, people thought that she was a Princess just because of who her mother was and that colored everything.

“Just what did Trudeau have to say for himself?” Marie overheard a voice say, “The last thing that Atlantic relations need is a pissing match like this. If Nixon finds out, and he will, we might be right back to where we were after Michael Collins told the Garner Administration to take a flying leap. We were just lucky that outside events changed the subject.”

Marie knew the incident they were talking about. Just prior to the Soviet War it was rumored that John Nance Garner had attempted to strongarm the Irish Republic in a trade deal, isolationism be damned. It had not gone well for anyone involved and the change of subject had been the start of the Soviet War. The two men who had spoken, one was Blair Mayne who Marie had learned had been exiled from Ireland after he had fought in Ukraine with the wrong Army after a lifetime of attending the wrong sort of church. It was rumored that there were other reasons as well, but Marie knew that sort of speculation was worthless. The other man was Conall Ahearn, the Irish Ambassador to Canada. The conversation she was overhearing involved two unlikely individuals and she didn’t understand the context other than someone. The Canadian Prime Minister? Had spoken out of turn and said or done something undiplomatic? And now there was a major public row about to play out on the front pages of the newspapers?

“If it isn’t the little chameleon” Mayne said when he noticed Marie.

“Please don’t call me that” Marie replied. Mayne had found her role in the security test that Bert Lane had asked Marie to take part in to be hilarious.

“Miss Blackwood is very clever and is a master of disguise” Mayne said to Ahearn, as he motioned for one of the waiters to give Marie a drink. “She managed to trick my own sentries by getting them to take her right into my office. I lost that particular bet.”

Marie had a glass of what turned out to be hard cider of all things handed to her. She tried not to react to the unexpected taste when she took a sip.

“I was asked to help out by General Lane” Marie replied, “His daughter is a dear friend of mine. Try not to make a big deal about it.”

“This is very irregular” Ahearn said, looking a bit uncomfortable.

“The girl is mostly harmless” Mayne said, “Her mother is the one you need to watch.”

“Mister Mayne is overstating things by a bit” Marie said, trying to redirect the conversation. “I’m a University student attending McGill, not a master of disguise as he put it, or anything else.”

The Irish Ambassador was staring at her with the sort of look that had become all too familiar. Like if Marie was a bomb about to go off. It was only then that she realized the mistake that she had made. The part of the conversation she had overheard, and the part that she had taken part in had been entirely in Irish.

 

[Peabody-Martini]

Chapter Two Thousand Six Hundred Fifteen



18th April 1977

Bucharest, Romania

Midnight had come and gone. With it a few of the many courses of the meal. With that, the sort of entertainment that had been planned months ago was happening. Excusing himself from the table, Louis Ferdinand Junior walked out of the hall and into the residence of the palace so that he could find Margareta, who had been “kidnapped” minutes earlier by a group of men from the wedding party. Currently, Louis and Margareta’s fathers were negotiating her release back to Louis, but the kidnappers were driving a hard bargain while everyone found this whole thing incredibly amusing.

Michael I of Romania had insisted on a traditional wedding, which involved a celebration with what seemed like the entire City of Bucharest involved that had taken place over an entire weekend. They were in the final night, which involved a multicourse meal, lasting into the early morning hours and would end about the time the sun came up. It should have been no surprise that the actual ceremony had taken place on Easter Sunday, which Louis had realized was a deliberate shot at the Russian Czar. If the Russians thought that the Romanians belonged within their sphere of influence they had another thing coming, and they were messing up the Czar’s own wedding anniversary in the process. It had been whispered that the Russian Ambassador had implied to Michael that they had objections. The guests in the Wedding Party were also a who’s who of people from the Black Sea Region and the Balkans who were opposed to the sort of Russian expansionism that had occurred over the last thousand years. Ukraine, Armenia, Georgia and even parts of Romania had bitter memories of what it had been like under Russian occupation, especially with the Soviets. No one else wanted the joys of that experience and the situation with Russia reminded Louis of a large bull in a narrow chute. An animal like could be extremely dangerous if it just shifted its weight, the intent hardly mattered for those who got crushed. There was also the complicated political situation in Romania that had played a key role in why Louis’ marriage Margareta was considered so advantageous in the first place. It would cement the Romanian Navy to the fortunes of the Royal family like few other things. Louis had heard a great deal about how the Army and the Petrochemical Industry in Romania had their own interests which had put them at odds with the Government as anti-corruption had become a huge issue over the past few election cycles.

Opening the door to Margareta’s chambers, Louis found that she and Borchardt were looking through the reems of photographs that Borchardt kept from his time on the Grindwal and Windhund. Margareta seemed to be enjoying herself as her staff looked uncomfortable about the invasion into the Princess’s personal domain by a group of unfamiliar men.

“We were just looking at all the photographs of your adventures” Margareta said with a smile. “Greg has been telling me the stories behind many of them.”

“Is that a fact?” Louis asked as he saw that there was a photograph of him wearing an Artic survival suit when he was at Wilhelm Station, another of him behind the controls of one of Raupenschlepper Arktis vehicles. “I didn’t know that they included ones from when I was in Antarctica.”

“There are photographs of you going all the way back to when you were a little boy” Margareta said, “Frau Jensen has been very helpful in that regard. I will have you know that I think you looked very handsome when you left for the Naval Academy.”

Louis had not put much thought into it, but thousands of photographs of him probably existed. Who else would be in possession of them other than the Royal Press Secretary who had served his father and brother?

“You said he looked cute when you first saw those photos earlier” Nancy said entering the room, as she handed Margareta another photo album. This one showing a great deal of wear. “This is the one I told you about.”

Upon opening the album, Margareta had a big smile. The photograph was of Louis when he had been just a few minutes old in the arms of Katherine von Mischner, who had been nineteen or twenty at the time. It was hard to tell which of them was more put out by the unexpected change in their situation.

“It was because of that incident that Medics of the First Foot accompanying the security detail of the Empress receive training in the Maternity Ward in the University Hospital” Louis said, “Everyone sort of assumed that Tante Kat knew what she was doing because she was a woman.”

“She must have been terrified” Margareta replied, “We should ask her about it when we go back downstairs.”

“Knowing Kat, she will never admit to being scared” Louis said, “She will probably tell you all about the changes she made so that nothing like that happened again. That is the extent of it.”

Nancy snorted at that.

“The last time I was in New York, I saw a t-shirt with the phrase Well-behaved women seldom make history printed on it” Nancy said, “Kat has made a lot of history.”

“What is the next event of the night?” Louis asked, “Once those lummoxes figure out what they want your father to give them for your safe return.”

“There is my Godmother helping me trade my wedding veil for a scarf so that I can look the part of a married woman” Margareta said, “Then we will all have cake and everyone can go on their merry way.”

Sounds like a plan, Louis thought to himself.