Stupid Luck and Happenstance.
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
Britain and France might just get there before the US as well TTL just to rub it in. Lots of good minds in the British Interplanetary Society OTL. Don't know the French situation as well but they would have had Leclerc the ramjet developer at least
It will be a mix of the batshit crazy, the "Volunteer" (Read, sent to the German Space project with the hope that they launch him into space and stays there) and those who actually have the technical knowledge to survive if something goes pear shaped.
What IT MEANS, that several young men are soon to get the offer (Or be "Volunteered") in the Heer, the Kaiserliche Marine and the Luftwaffe.
So there will be one HELL of a dick measurement contest between the Armed Branches as they throw their finest and youngest stars what fit the astringent requirements for the first...... How it would be said the word "Cosmonaut" in German??
What IT MEANS, that several young men are soon to get the offer (Or be "Volunteered") in the Heer, the Kaiserliche Marine and the Luftwaffe.
So there will be one HELL of a dick measurement contest between the Armed Branches as they throw their finest and youngest stars what fit the astringent requirements for the first...... How it would be said the word "Cosmonaut" in German??
Good thought. THAT is how Stefan is going to kept away from the young lady.
It's Win-win for Mad Dog Horst.... Either he stays up there or becomes a Darwin Award, or he survives and he proves to have a big pair of Brass Balls and the associated reputation to be with his daughter without problems.
I've no idea but if the word doesn't have at least eleven syllables I'll be very disappointed.
Just 11? At least the Germans won't invent Twitter, since they won't like a character limit that allows just two words.
Sorry, only three or four:
Raumfahrer / Weltraumfahrer
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Traveler. Space traveler. I tried working with the "Sailor" moniker, that's in astronaut and cosmonaut.
The official version would most likely be something along the line of "Raumschiffführer" or "Raumfahrzeugführer" (see the official Luftwaffe term for jet pilot: "Strahlflugzeugführer" aka jet powered plane pilot). Unofficially it would likely be "Raumpilot" or something like that.
Part 59, Chapter 817
Chapter Eight Hundred Seventeen
13th April 1950
Kiel
The runway was painted to resemble the flight deck of a von Richthofen Class Aircraft Carrier, or a Voss Class after the latest refits. The key difference was that it wasn’t moving and if the student pilot should happen to color outside the lines as it were, they would get chewed out by their instructor as opposed to putting an extremely expensive airplane in the drink. A few years earlier, Siemens-Schuckert had been acquired by Junkers. What would have been the Si-31A, had been rebranded as the Ju-331A, a powerful interceptor that had been built for the fleet for point defense. It could also fly CAS missions, which had happened over the skies of South Africa. While it wasn’t optimized for that role its ability to carry a substantial number of the guided rockets that would have been used in its role as an interceptor enabled it to carry a substantial number of bombs.
Albrecht was currently flying the Ju-331B, the two-seat advanced trainer with his Instructor looking over his shoulder as he practiced his approach. It was Albrecht’s hope that the Instructor would maintain his silence this time because on the prior approach he’d yelled corrections into the intercom which had caused Albrecht to overcorrect. They had needed to abort the landing and fly the pattern again. Albrecht had calmed himself by remembering that he was here to learn, not show off and it was why they practiced, because landing jets on ships was tricky, dangerous business.
The plane hit the runway and the arrestor hook caught the cable slamming them to an abrupt halt. Albrecht let out a sigh of relief. “Congratulations, Lieutenant” The Instructor said, “You might not have gotten us both killed that time.”
Yeah, thank you for the high praise, Albrecht thought to himself. What the Instructor had said was exactly the sort of thing Albrecht might have expected from his father.
Tempelhof
There were times when Kat regretted her decision to come back to Berlin. This was one of those times. An entire flight from London, plus two more from Australia and Canada had come through her section all at once it seemed and because she was the only English speaker today she had found herself having to split her time between helping her coworkers who were having difficulty with every other passenger. The line was getting long, and tempers were getting short. Then when she was feeling particularly murderous there was the teenaged actress who had bought a plane ticket just because she had heard that Kat was working here and was hoping that Kat could help her get a role. Beyond belief.
“You came to Berlin just to go through customs and bother me?” Kat asked.
“You are dear friends with Princess Jehane and you might convince her to sell the movie rights” The actress suggested.
The only movie about Jehane was the one that had been made just prior to the war and it had gone a long way towards convincing the world that Gia was dead. Too bad that couldn’t have lasted, life was a whole lot easier before Czar Georgy had told the world about Jehane’s survival. Now, there were Screen Writers, Directors and Producers pitching ideas for an updated movie, not to mention the occasional actress looking to play Jehane. Gia had said that she wouldn’t allow it because Kat would have to be depicted as well and they would need Kat’s permission to do that. That was when Kat’s reputation for being an angry woman who was not shy about using violence had frightened most of them off. Unfortunately, there were those who were not put off by that, like this latest actress. She was a well-known figure on the screen even at her age which was why Kat had recognized her.
“I’m afraid you’ve come along way for nothing” Kat said, “Jehane never wanted to be famous or have movies made about her.”
No, Gia had just wanted to be a journalist and lead an interesting life like the one their mentor Maria Acker had. Instead, Gia was now trapped in a life she had no control over and her career was gone. Largely it was because people like this teenaged actress who couldn’t leave Gia alone.
“You could at least ask her for me?” The actress asked. It was the wrong moment to ask Kat for anything.
Kat looked her in the eye, “I know that in your entire eighteen years of existence you’ve done well for yourself in a job that is the epitome of vanity and artifice” She said, “But when I was your age I’d already been parachuted into enemy territory on what was essentially a suicide mission, got into a deadly shootout with agents of the NKVD and was a commissioned Officer in the Fallschirmjäger Corps. I did much of that because I wanted to protect the very young woman who you are seeking to exploit. The answer is no, I’m not going to ask her anything.”
The actress was staring at Kat with a dumfounded look on her face, gapping like a fish out of water. It was an unfortunate tact to take because it just made Kat move in for the kill.
“The truth is that you would be miscast. Your reputation is that you are refined, elegant and a bit cold. The roles you play reflect that. Jehane herself is a warm and honest person though hardly the saint many would like her to be.” Kat said, “Just the fact that you are standing here today proves that you could never convincingly play her. Your abilities are way too limited.”
Shock had turned to horror at what Kat was saying but Kat had her frozen in place with a predator’s stare.
“But… but…” The actress blurted out.
“One more word and your passport will be flagged as a security risk” Kat said with a smile, “Thank you very much, have a lovely day and enjoy your flight back to London.”
The actress ran away crying.
The Australian couple in line behind the actress hadn’t been close enough to hear the exchange. They were looking at Kat with bewildered expressions as they approached the counter.
“Your paperwork is in order I trust” Kat said, realizing that her mood had improved a bit. “Your passports, please?”
13th April 1950
Kiel
The runway was painted to resemble the flight deck of a von Richthofen Class Aircraft Carrier, or a Voss Class after the latest refits. The key difference was that it wasn’t moving and if the student pilot should happen to color outside the lines as it were, they would get chewed out by their instructor as opposed to putting an extremely expensive airplane in the drink. A few years earlier, Siemens-Schuckert had been acquired by Junkers. What would have been the Si-31A, had been rebranded as the Ju-331A, a powerful interceptor that had been built for the fleet for point defense. It could also fly CAS missions, which had happened over the skies of South Africa. While it wasn’t optimized for that role its ability to carry a substantial number of the guided rockets that would have been used in its role as an interceptor enabled it to carry a substantial number of bombs.
Albrecht was currently flying the Ju-331B, the two-seat advanced trainer with his Instructor looking over his shoulder as he practiced his approach. It was Albrecht’s hope that the Instructor would maintain his silence this time because on the prior approach he’d yelled corrections into the intercom which had caused Albrecht to overcorrect. They had needed to abort the landing and fly the pattern again. Albrecht had calmed himself by remembering that he was here to learn, not show off and it was why they practiced, because landing jets on ships was tricky, dangerous business.
The plane hit the runway and the arrestor hook caught the cable slamming them to an abrupt halt. Albrecht let out a sigh of relief. “Congratulations, Lieutenant” The Instructor said, “You might not have gotten us both killed that time.”
Yeah, thank you for the high praise, Albrecht thought to himself. What the Instructor had said was exactly the sort of thing Albrecht might have expected from his father.
Tempelhof
There were times when Kat regretted her decision to come back to Berlin. This was one of those times. An entire flight from London, plus two more from Australia and Canada had come through her section all at once it seemed and because she was the only English speaker today she had found herself having to split her time between helping her coworkers who were having difficulty with every other passenger. The line was getting long, and tempers were getting short. Then when she was feeling particularly murderous there was the teenaged actress who had bought a plane ticket just because she had heard that Kat was working here and was hoping that Kat could help her get a role. Beyond belief.
“You came to Berlin just to go through customs and bother me?” Kat asked.
“You are dear friends with Princess Jehane and you might convince her to sell the movie rights” The actress suggested.
The only movie about Jehane was the one that had been made just prior to the war and it had gone a long way towards convincing the world that Gia was dead. Too bad that couldn’t have lasted, life was a whole lot easier before Czar Georgy had told the world about Jehane’s survival. Now, there were Screen Writers, Directors and Producers pitching ideas for an updated movie, not to mention the occasional actress looking to play Jehane. Gia had said that she wouldn’t allow it because Kat would have to be depicted as well and they would need Kat’s permission to do that. That was when Kat’s reputation for being an angry woman who was not shy about using violence had frightened most of them off. Unfortunately, there were those who were not put off by that, like this latest actress. She was a well-known figure on the screen even at her age which was why Kat had recognized her.
“I’m afraid you’ve come along way for nothing” Kat said, “Jehane never wanted to be famous or have movies made about her.”
No, Gia had just wanted to be a journalist and lead an interesting life like the one their mentor Maria Acker had. Instead, Gia was now trapped in a life she had no control over and her career was gone. Largely it was because people like this teenaged actress who couldn’t leave Gia alone.
“You could at least ask her for me?” The actress asked. It was the wrong moment to ask Kat for anything.
Kat looked her in the eye, “I know that in your entire eighteen years of existence you’ve done well for yourself in a job that is the epitome of vanity and artifice” She said, “But when I was your age I’d already been parachuted into enemy territory on what was essentially a suicide mission, got into a deadly shootout with agents of the NKVD and was a commissioned Officer in the Fallschirmjäger Corps. I did much of that because I wanted to protect the very young woman who you are seeking to exploit. The answer is no, I’m not going to ask her anything.”
The actress was staring at Kat with a dumfounded look on her face, gapping like a fish out of water. It was an unfortunate tact to take because it just made Kat move in for the kill.
“The truth is that you would be miscast. Your reputation is that you are refined, elegant and a bit cold. The roles you play reflect that. Jehane herself is a warm and honest person though hardly the saint many would like her to be.” Kat said, “Just the fact that you are standing here today proves that you could never convincingly play her. Your abilities are way too limited.”
Shock had turned to horror at what Kat was saying but Kat had her frozen in place with a predator’s stare.
“But… but…” The actress blurted out.
“One more word and your passport will be flagged as a security risk” Kat said with a smile, “Thank you very much, have a lovely day and enjoy your flight back to London.”
The actress ran away crying.
The Australian couple in line behind the actress hadn’t been close enough to hear the exchange. They were looking at Kat with bewildered expressions as they approached the counter.
“Your paperwork is in order I trust” Kat said, realizing that her mood had improved a bit. “Your passports, please?”