Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread III
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
No, this is a different Easter Egg from a popular TV series in 1980.
Part 155, Chapter 2822
Chapter Two Thousand Eight Hundred and Twenty-Two
21st May 1980
Neuquén, Argentina
Attendance to today’s presentation was mandatory for all members of the faculty as Neuquén’s General Hospital. It was stretching things a bit to say that Kiki was actually employed by the hospital, they had never actually paid her for her services. Instead she was considered a volunteer who also ran the Médecins Sans Frontières mission in Neuquén Province, who insisted on paying her a salary.
Hospital Administrations everywhere were seldom shy about using a distant crisis to drill their staff about the very real dangers that existed in the world. Kiki might have thought that it would be interesting, except what it looked like in practice was sitting in the hospital’s cafeteria as the Hospital Director droned on over a slide show. The only part that kept her attention was the mention that there was Lanín, a dormant stratovolcano much like the one that had exploded in Washington State a few days earlier was only three hundred kilometers west of Neuquén City. That was a detail that she had not been aware of.
The rest though, that was dry numbers and statistics that was about as exciting as watching paint dry. The fact that Kiki was all too aware of was the study that had been conducted by the Medical Service back home about the most likely result of a nuclear bomb going off in or near an urban center but could just as easily apply to a natural disaster if it were on a large enough scale. Hospital staff overwhelmed, supplies being finite with little hope of resupply, the breakdown of civil order exasperating the situation. It was the stuff of nightmares. Kiki had seen the news reports of the top of the mountain blown off, the clouds of billowing ash, and the rivers choked with debris. All of that had been bad enough, but apparently it could have been worse. The explosion had blown out the north face of the mountain and the blast had gone sideways, something that Geologists had not known was possible until the whole world had watched it happen. Fortunately, there wasn’t very much to the north of the mountain. If the blast had gone south or west, it easily could have been a different story. There was also concern about some of the other nearby mountains that were even closer to urban centers. The main danger in Neuquén was ashfall, which as Kiki had seen on the news, was not something that could be ignored.
Tempelhof, Berlin
It was unnerving how Elke was being made to wait. The hallway was dark with the only light being the dim lights, meaning that there probably was a rheostat somewhere but they had not bothered to turn up the lights due to her presence. That was not a good sign. The effect was made worse by the dark wallpaper that appeared blood red in this light and the framed photographs that were everywhere. It was too dim to study the photographs from where she was sitting and it had been suggested to Elke that it would be an extremely bad idea for her to get up from the uncomfortable chair that she had been deposited in. There were two rough looking men at the end of the hallway who wore ill-fitting suits of a shade of black that didn’t show all the little stains…
“The Prefect will see you now” A young man said with a smile, as if this were an appointment as opposed to her being brought here in the dead of night as a show of force. She couldn’t help but notice that he was wearing a military uniform. That woman, the one who called herself the Prefect of Berlin, had once been a General, so it should not have been a surprise that her aides would be from the military. Elke had a feeling that she didn’t want to know the sort of things that they would be learning in such a position.
“I figured that it was time we talked” The woman dubbed the Tigress said as Elke entered the room. There were rumors about how dangerous this room was, that no one left alive unless the Tigress willed it so.
What followed next was a long moment of excruciating silence, the sound of a ticking clock filled the room.
“Your comments to the press have caused quite a lot of distress for your daughter at a time when she needs to keep her focus on Moscow” Katherine said, “To the extent that I felt the need to treat you in the same manner that I was forced to use with the man who took advantage of you.”
“You were the one who chased him off” Elke snapped, “He told me that…”
“Shut up” Katherine snapped, “You are not the same naïve girl infatuated with the man who got her pregnant. Nor are you the only one who he made a whole lot of promises to. Promises that he had no intention of ever keeping, as evidenced by him coming on to a different woman within a few hours of having you booted out of the Medical Service.”
Elke had never heard it put that bluntly. It made her sound particularly idiotic, which was entirely wrong. She had joined the Medical Service to escape her Working-Class existence. Then Sophie had happened to her, Elke had never agreed to that.
“That is not how it happened” Elke replied.
“I don’t care” Katherine replied as she got up from the highbacked chair behind the desk that dominated the room. “Leave Sophie alone, stop giving those interviews, or else you will see this on the evening news.”
Katherine hit play on a VCR connected to a television set. What followed was a recording of Elke herself when she was much younger and in a rage, berating Sophie, punctuating her words by hitting her daughter who was too small to defend herself.
“You should be more concerned with your new family as opposed to the child you so clearly hate” Katherine said as she hit stop on the VCR.
21st May 1980
Neuquén, Argentina
Attendance to today’s presentation was mandatory for all members of the faculty as Neuquén’s General Hospital. It was stretching things a bit to say that Kiki was actually employed by the hospital, they had never actually paid her for her services. Instead she was considered a volunteer who also ran the Médecins Sans Frontières mission in Neuquén Province, who insisted on paying her a salary.
Hospital Administrations everywhere were seldom shy about using a distant crisis to drill their staff about the very real dangers that existed in the world. Kiki might have thought that it would be interesting, except what it looked like in practice was sitting in the hospital’s cafeteria as the Hospital Director droned on over a slide show. The only part that kept her attention was the mention that there was Lanín, a dormant stratovolcano much like the one that had exploded in Washington State a few days earlier was only three hundred kilometers west of Neuquén City. That was a detail that she had not been aware of.
The rest though, that was dry numbers and statistics that was about as exciting as watching paint dry. The fact that Kiki was all too aware of was the study that had been conducted by the Medical Service back home about the most likely result of a nuclear bomb going off in or near an urban center but could just as easily apply to a natural disaster if it were on a large enough scale. Hospital staff overwhelmed, supplies being finite with little hope of resupply, the breakdown of civil order exasperating the situation. It was the stuff of nightmares. Kiki had seen the news reports of the top of the mountain blown off, the clouds of billowing ash, and the rivers choked with debris. All of that had been bad enough, but apparently it could have been worse. The explosion had blown out the north face of the mountain and the blast had gone sideways, something that Geologists had not known was possible until the whole world had watched it happen. Fortunately, there wasn’t very much to the north of the mountain. If the blast had gone south or west, it easily could have been a different story. There was also concern about some of the other nearby mountains that were even closer to urban centers. The main danger in Neuquén was ashfall, which as Kiki had seen on the news, was not something that could be ignored.
Tempelhof, Berlin
It was unnerving how Elke was being made to wait. The hallway was dark with the only light being the dim lights, meaning that there probably was a rheostat somewhere but they had not bothered to turn up the lights due to her presence. That was not a good sign. The effect was made worse by the dark wallpaper that appeared blood red in this light and the framed photographs that were everywhere. It was too dim to study the photographs from where she was sitting and it had been suggested to Elke that it would be an extremely bad idea for her to get up from the uncomfortable chair that she had been deposited in. There were two rough looking men at the end of the hallway who wore ill-fitting suits of a shade of black that didn’t show all the little stains…
“The Prefect will see you now” A young man said with a smile, as if this were an appointment as opposed to her being brought here in the dead of night as a show of force. She couldn’t help but notice that he was wearing a military uniform. That woman, the one who called herself the Prefect of Berlin, had once been a General, so it should not have been a surprise that her aides would be from the military. Elke had a feeling that she didn’t want to know the sort of things that they would be learning in such a position.
“I figured that it was time we talked” The woman dubbed the Tigress said as Elke entered the room. There were rumors about how dangerous this room was, that no one left alive unless the Tigress willed it so.
What followed next was a long moment of excruciating silence, the sound of a ticking clock filled the room.
“Your comments to the press have caused quite a lot of distress for your daughter at a time when she needs to keep her focus on Moscow” Katherine said, “To the extent that I felt the need to treat you in the same manner that I was forced to use with the man who took advantage of you.”
“You were the one who chased him off” Elke snapped, “He told me that…”
“Shut up” Katherine snapped, “You are not the same naïve girl infatuated with the man who got her pregnant. Nor are you the only one who he made a whole lot of promises to. Promises that he had no intention of ever keeping, as evidenced by him coming on to a different woman within a few hours of having you booted out of the Medical Service.”
Elke had never heard it put that bluntly. It made her sound particularly idiotic, which was entirely wrong. She had joined the Medical Service to escape her Working-Class existence. Then Sophie had happened to her, Elke had never agreed to that.
“That is not how it happened” Elke replied.
“I don’t care” Katherine replied as she got up from the highbacked chair behind the desk that dominated the room. “Leave Sophie alone, stop giving those interviews, or else you will see this on the evening news.”
Katherine hit play on a VCR connected to a television set. What followed was a recording of Elke herself when she was much younger and in a rage, berating Sophie, punctuating her words by hitting her daughter who was too small to defend herself.
“You should be more concerned with your new family as opposed to the child you so clearly hate” Katherine said as she hit stop on the VCR.
Elke is just coming to realise that nobody messes with the Tigress' cubs without consequences, and Sophie is most definitely one of Kat's cubs. Elke may have given birth to Sophie, but Kat is her mother. Found family is family, after all.
I doubt that Sophie complained to Kat about what Elke was saying about her in the press, but Kat waited until she saw that it was beginning to affect Sophie in her training for Moscow, then the quiet words with great meaning were said to Elke.
This shows Kat that even through her "Kittens" are growing up, they still need her,
Elke unfortunately is very selfish and narcistic and will need another lesson in keeping her opinions to herself, and that will be her last chance, and then Kat will happen to her.
Kiki with her experience in the JMS and the FRS, has access to plenty of SOPs and Field Manuals that deal with all sorts of different scenarios that she can adapt to her present situation and can help prepare the equipment and supplies that will be needed and conduct hospital and First Responders drills so that the hospital personnel will at least basically know where their disaster station is.
This shows Kat that even through her "Kittens" are growing up, they still need her,
Elke unfortunately is very selfish and narcistic and will need another lesson in keeping her opinions to herself, and that will be her last chance, and then Kat will happen to her.
Kiki with her experience in the JMS and the FRS, has access to plenty of SOPs and Field Manuals that deal with all sorts of different scenarios that she can adapt to her present situation and can help prepare the equipment and supplies that will be needed and conduct hospital and First Responders drills so that the hospital personnel will at least basically know where their disaster station is.
Part 155, Chapter 2823
Chapter Two Thousand Eight Hundred and Twenty-Three
22nd May 1980
Tempelhof, Berlin
Quarles Kneipe, the name of the place being a reference to Edgar Allen Poe somehow, wasn’t well known outside of students from the Humboldt Campus of the Friedrich-Wilhelm University of Berlin. Built just off of Tempelhof’s high street, it was nestled in with the eclectic array of shops that catered to those same students just down a side street. Despite having been built at the same time as the rest of the neighborhood just a couple decades earlier, the pub had a comfortable, lived-in feel as if it had been there for far longer. The decorations and photographs on the walls along with the Rock & Roll music that was playing constantly on the jukebox whenever there wasn’t band playing live made it clear that the student ghetto that it was situated on the edge of was where most of its customers came from. The owners of Quarles had gone out of their way to make it the unofficial clubhouse of student activities, especially athletics.
That included a large banner for the Black Eagles Cycling Team and several photographs of members, including Sophie as she had won the gold medal on Montreal in 1976. As the Captain of the Black Eagle’s, Sophie was extremely welcome in Quarles. The rest of it was like hundreds of similar establishments that were around. Beer, inexpensive food, entertainment of the sort that didn’t require too much input from the staff was preferred. For the three of them it was a board game called Trivial Pursuit that revolved around questions on an array of subjects, Adi complained about how Sophie and Gabi had an unfair advantage on him because they were University girls. As it had turned out, he had more than held his own and when the game concluded they had just started talking about things. Sophie was of that opinion that Adi was just as smart as his two younger sisters, he just applied it differently. With it being a Thursday night, they mostly had the place to themselves.
Adolf “Adi” Gerst, Sophie’s brother had finally accepted the invitation to come here tonight after weeks of asking. From Sophie’s perspective, it was long past time that all three of them got together now that they were all living in Berlin and Gabi had never had the opportunity to introduce herself.
Adi was a couple years older and had grown up in Bautzen, Saxony. Aside from the mostly intact Medieval Town Center, Bautzen was better known for the modern prison on the city’s outskirts. It had not come as a shock that Adi had gotten out of there as soon as he had finished school by joining the Luftwaffe in hopes of becoming a fighter pilot, only to learn that they actually needed mechanics and ground crew of all types a whole lot more. As a newly minted Flieger, Adi had trained as a Fire Protection Specialist, meaning that he had needed to learn the staggering number of ways an airplane, or worse, an airplane hanger, could go up in flames and how to put it out.
When Adi had gotten out Luftwaffe, he had decided that a good move would be to apply to the Fire Brigades of all the major cities to see if they might be interested in hiring a man with his skillset. His hope was that he would have gotten hired in Saxony, Dresden in particular, but Berlin had come through first. The Brigade had him go through the Fire and Rescue Academy in Reinickendorf and Medical training at the University Clinic in Tempelhof, it had been at the latter where Adi and Sophie had crossed paths. Sophie had been there at Kat’s request to meet with Doctor Nora Berg to see if she was interested in mentoring Sophie, who had been trying to decide if she wanted to continue her studies beyond Sports Science into the related field of Sport Medicine. Sophie had seen first-hand how women were treated by the Doctors who worked with the IOC and the NOK. To say that change was desperately needed was an understatement. She had learned Adi’s name at some point and as soon as she had seen him, she had recognized the features that he shared with her and Gabi, except it was all very different. Sophie was aware that she had another sister who lived in Munich by the name of Celine but had never had the opportunity to meet her.
“If you two will excuse me” Gabi said as she got up from the table. Sophie noticed that there were two men at the bar who gave Gabi an appraising look as she passed, Adi noticed and bristled.
“You only just met Gabi” Sophie said, “As you get to know her you’ll see that she can take care of herself, she hardly needs the protective big brother.”
“She just seems the sort” Adi replied, a touch embarrassed that Sophie had noticed.
“The sort of girl you would want take to meet your mother?” Sophie replied, “She hates that, by the way.”
“Where do you fit in?” Adi asked.
“I am considered far more likely to pick a fight in that situation” Sophie replied.
“The roles we end up playing” Adi said amusedly, “That would make you the odd sort of middle child, not much of a peacemaker though.”
“The picture above your right shoulder explains it all” Sophie said, pointing at the framed photograph on the wall. It was the famous picture at the Montreal Olympics taken in the seconds leading up the finish of the race. Sophie and Connie Carpenter had just collided and Sophie had been so focused on the finish line that she had hardly noticed. The front wheel of Connie’s bike was collapsing and there was a look of dismay on her face as she was about to go over the handlebars. While that incident had cemented her reputation as a fierce competitor, Sophie still wished that Connie had at least been able to finish the race. As opposed to having it end in mechanical failure and injury. That could just as easily have happened to Sophie. Every Cyclist had that experience. The instant where you knew that all control was gone and you had just enough time to have that thought before your body hit the pavement with bone crushing force. It was something that Sophie would not wish on anyone and she had not wanted to win that race that way.
“That was you?” Adi asked as he looked at the photograph. “I remember seeing that on television.”
“Yeah” Sophie replied, “I got a medal and everything.”
She said that last part with a bit more sarcasm than she intended.
22nd May 1980
Tempelhof, Berlin
Quarles Kneipe, the name of the place being a reference to Edgar Allen Poe somehow, wasn’t well known outside of students from the Humboldt Campus of the Friedrich-Wilhelm University of Berlin. Built just off of Tempelhof’s high street, it was nestled in with the eclectic array of shops that catered to those same students just down a side street. Despite having been built at the same time as the rest of the neighborhood just a couple decades earlier, the pub had a comfortable, lived-in feel as if it had been there for far longer. The decorations and photographs on the walls along with the Rock & Roll music that was playing constantly on the jukebox whenever there wasn’t band playing live made it clear that the student ghetto that it was situated on the edge of was where most of its customers came from. The owners of Quarles had gone out of their way to make it the unofficial clubhouse of student activities, especially athletics.
That included a large banner for the Black Eagles Cycling Team and several photographs of members, including Sophie as she had won the gold medal on Montreal in 1976. As the Captain of the Black Eagle’s, Sophie was extremely welcome in Quarles. The rest of it was like hundreds of similar establishments that were around. Beer, inexpensive food, entertainment of the sort that didn’t require too much input from the staff was preferred. For the three of them it was a board game called Trivial Pursuit that revolved around questions on an array of subjects, Adi complained about how Sophie and Gabi had an unfair advantage on him because they were University girls. As it had turned out, he had more than held his own and when the game concluded they had just started talking about things. Sophie was of that opinion that Adi was just as smart as his two younger sisters, he just applied it differently. With it being a Thursday night, they mostly had the place to themselves.
Adolf “Adi” Gerst, Sophie’s brother had finally accepted the invitation to come here tonight after weeks of asking. From Sophie’s perspective, it was long past time that all three of them got together now that they were all living in Berlin and Gabi had never had the opportunity to introduce herself.
Adi was a couple years older and had grown up in Bautzen, Saxony. Aside from the mostly intact Medieval Town Center, Bautzen was better known for the modern prison on the city’s outskirts. It had not come as a shock that Adi had gotten out of there as soon as he had finished school by joining the Luftwaffe in hopes of becoming a fighter pilot, only to learn that they actually needed mechanics and ground crew of all types a whole lot more. As a newly minted Flieger, Adi had trained as a Fire Protection Specialist, meaning that he had needed to learn the staggering number of ways an airplane, or worse, an airplane hanger, could go up in flames and how to put it out.
When Adi had gotten out Luftwaffe, he had decided that a good move would be to apply to the Fire Brigades of all the major cities to see if they might be interested in hiring a man with his skillset. His hope was that he would have gotten hired in Saxony, Dresden in particular, but Berlin had come through first. The Brigade had him go through the Fire and Rescue Academy in Reinickendorf and Medical training at the University Clinic in Tempelhof, it had been at the latter where Adi and Sophie had crossed paths. Sophie had been there at Kat’s request to meet with Doctor Nora Berg to see if she was interested in mentoring Sophie, who had been trying to decide if she wanted to continue her studies beyond Sports Science into the related field of Sport Medicine. Sophie had seen first-hand how women were treated by the Doctors who worked with the IOC and the NOK. To say that change was desperately needed was an understatement. She had learned Adi’s name at some point and as soon as she had seen him, she had recognized the features that he shared with her and Gabi, except it was all very different. Sophie was aware that she had another sister who lived in Munich by the name of Celine but had never had the opportunity to meet her.
“If you two will excuse me” Gabi said as she got up from the table. Sophie noticed that there were two men at the bar who gave Gabi an appraising look as she passed, Adi noticed and bristled.
“You only just met Gabi” Sophie said, “As you get to know her you’ll see that she can take care of herself, she hardly needs the protective big brother.”
“She just seems the sort” Adi replied, a touch embarrassed that Sophie had noticed.
“The sort of girl you would want take to meet your mother?” Sophie replied, “She hates that, by the way.”
“Where do you fit in?” Adi asked.
“I am considered far more likely to pick a fight in that situation” Sophie replied.
“The roles we end up playing” Adi said amusedly, “That would make you the odd sort of middle child, not much of a peacemaker though.”
“The picture above your right shoulder explains it all” Sophie said, pointing at the framed photograph on the wall. It was the famous picture at the Montreal Olympics taken in the seconds leading up the finish of the race. Sophie and Connie Carpenter had just collided and Sophie had been so focused on the finish line that she had hardly noticed. The front wheel of Connie’s bike was collapsing and there was a look of dismay on her face as she was about to go over the handlebars. While that incident had cemented her reputation as a fierce competitor, Sophie still wished that Connie had at least been able to finish the race. As opposed to having it end in mechanical failure and injury. That could just as easily have happened to Sophie. Every Cyclist had that experience. The instant where you knew that all control was gone and you had just enough time to have that thought before your body hit the pavement with bone crushing force. It was something that Sophie would not wish on anyone and she had not wanted to win that race that way.
“That was you?” Adi asked as he looked at the photograph. “I remember seeing that on television.”
“Yeah” Sophie replied, “I got a medal and everything.”
She said that last part with a bit more sarcasm than she intended.
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With a throwaway line, Kat shows the disdain she has for competitive sports and also having the long term interest of Sophie by steering her into a career in Sports Medicine.
Sophie has used her cycling for validation from others but now she is beginning to understand that no matter how many times she wins, it will never fill that hole inside of her.
Instead, she just wants to win to show herself that she could be a champion.
Adi sounds like he is a fully trained paramedic along with being a fireman which brings him to the various emergency rooms in the city.
After over twenty years, the Tempelhof redevelopment project has begun to differentiate the various areas from each other and they with each of them having their own unique characteristics.
You can completely stay in the Tempelhof community, and feel that you are in a separate town or village instead of Berlin, which is what Kat was planning and hoping for.
Sophie has used her cycling for validation from others but now she is beginning to understand that no matter how many times she wins, it will never fill that hole inside of her.
Instead, she just wants to win to show herself that she could be a champion.
Adi sounds like he is a fully trained paramedic along with being a fireman which brings him to the various emergency rooms in the city.
After over twenty years, the Tempelhof redevelopment project has begun to differentiate the various areas from each other and they with each of them having their own unique characteristics.
You can completely stay in the Tempelhof community, and feel that you are in a separate town or village instead of Berlin, which is what Kat was planning and hoping for.
Maybe Sophie's former crush's little brother might latch on to Adi as the kind of role model to take him toward a more 'muscular' form of medicine than the world of Dr Bauer. Speaking of which, we haven't seen too much of the boys since Dad drank himself to death, Mum remarried the Doctor and the middle brother is being detained at 'His Majesty's Pleasure'.
The older brother and former (?) crush has fallen into the clutches of the Forestry Service as a Ranger. Last seen "working" on a property owned by Kat but leased to the German Special Forces as their premier training ground.
I think he was referring to the younger brother, (Didi?), who turned up at A&E/ER and was talking to Kiki.
He'll be a few years older now, and at the age where he's considering his career options. Adi could be a good one for him to bump into.
Part 155, Chapter 2824
Chapter Two Thousand Eight Hundred and Twenty-Four
31st May 1980
Annapolis, Maryland
This was the conclusion of Commissioning Week and as Richard Nixon, the President of the United States spoke at the Commissioning Ceremony itself, Little Mike wished more than anything that he would finish the speech. It was said that he had been engineering an inconclusive Primary contest within the Democratic Party leading to his own selection as the solution. The way that things were working out with Pat Brown and Michael Dukakas, it wasn’t a shock that the Draft Nixon movement had been gaining steam and listing to his speech today, Mike had absolutely no doubt that things were going just swimmingly in the Nixon Campaign. Still, it was rather noticeable that the biggest round of applause that the President received was after he said the words “In conclusion.”
Then came the three cheers by the First Year Midshipmen for those about to depart as newly minted Ensigns. Most would be going directly to the Fleet, but a few, like Mike himself, had been asked to volunteer for further training. It would mean spending the summer at SWO school, learning about the advanced systems found aboard the latest ships of the US Navy with an emphasis on Anti-Submarine Warfare. This had less to do with the biggest rival of the US Navy being their German counterparts and more to do with secretive Submarine Arm of the Kaiserliche Marine being regarded as an existential threat to the United States. Why go through the bother and expense of developing intercontinental ballistic missiles when you can bring dozens of intermediate missiles fitted with nuclear warheads within easy range of most of the Continental United States? Mike’s main consideration was that the Navy was intent on enlarging their ASW capability to counter the threat. Ritchie had told Mike that neither country had the least bit of interest in going to war, just Politicians interested in getting votes and Defense Contractors wanting a steady supply of business loved to play up illusory international tensions for their own ends. For Mike, becoming an ASW Officer aboard a Destroyer or a Frigate would mean having an extremely bright future.
Once the three cheers ended, everyone threw their cover into the air. The hat toss held symbolic meaning, that they were discarding their identity as Midshipmen so that they could embrace their new identity. That done, Mike stood up to go find his family. They were not hard to find. Ritchie and Lucia were here as guests of the Washington family, Dad was here wearing the Class A Uniform of the LAPD. The other graduates would recognize that Ritchie was a Warrant Officer, with the Rank tabs being identical to those worn by Navy’s equivalent and the green uniform of the Army. It was Dad’s uniform with the stripes and rocker of a Detective III and an array of unfamiliar medals issued by the State of California and City of Los Angeles that probably raised a lot of questions. It was an open question as to whether Mike’s brother Derik or sister Keri looked more out of place here. Derik always looked like he was dressed as an unmade bed despite their mother’s best efforts over the years. On the opposite extreme was Keri, who had recently discovered the mind-blowing notion that people would pay her to shop for clothes and be up on the latest fashions. Like always she was dressed to the nines, just what was considered fashionable made absolutely no sense to Mike. It was fortunate that Keri had been convinced to attend college courses against the day that her current employment dried up.
It was Mike’s youngest sister Shauna who he was really looking for. He had discussed this with his parents and they had agreed with his reasons.
“A bit of help here?” Mike said to Shauna as he handed her the new Ensign’s shoulder boards. Shauna looked at him questioningly, this was a complete surprise for her. She was considerably shorter than him due to the health problems that she had been born with, that was just how it was. So he had to bend over pretty far so that she could reach. Their mother helped Shauna with it. It only then occurred to Mike that his mother must know this sort of thing inside and out because his father, Big Mike, had spent a lot of years in Patrol Division of the LAPD.
“I’m looking forward to attending the graduation ceremony at Stanford in a few years when you collect your diploma” Mike said to Shauna who smiled at that.
There was still one more thing to do.
Looking around, Mike saw the Senior Chief Petty Officer who was a well-known member of the Academy’s Staff prowling around. The crusty old Sailor taught aboard one of the school’s Yard Patrol Boats. Mike had spent plenty of time out on Chesapeake Bay getting yelled at by the Senior Chief. Mike could hear the coins rattling around in his pockets as the Senior Chief approached. He saluted Mike with a shit eating grin on his face and Mike returned it. Mike was reminded of all the warnings that he had received to never underestimate the Enlisted no matter how high he rose in the Navy as he tossed the Senior Chief a silver dollar per custom. The Senior Chief deftly caught it out of the air and it joined the dozens of other silver dollars in his pockets with a clank. “Thank you, Sir” The Senior Chief said before moving on to the next newly minted Ensign.
With that, Mike joined his family for the promised celebratory dinner that he had been looking forward to for weeks.
31st May 1980
Annapolis, Maryland
This was the conclusion of Commissioning Week and as Richard Nixon, the President of the United States spoke at the Commissioning Ceremony itself, Little Mike wished more than anything that he would finish the speech. It was said that he had been engineering an inconclusive Primary contest within the Democratic Party leading to his own selection as the solution. The way that things were working out with Pat Brown and Michael Dukakas, it wasn’t a shock that the Draft Nixon movement had been gaining steam and listing to his speech today, Mike had absolutely no doubt that things were going just swimmingly in the Nixon Campaign. Still, it was rather noticeable that the biggest round of applause that the President received was after he said the words “In conclusion.”
Then came the three cheers by the First Year Midshipmen for those about to depart as newly minted Ensigns. Most would be going directly to the Fleet, but a few, like Mike himself, had been asked to volunteer for further training. It would mean spending the summer at SWO school, learning about the advanced systems found aboard the latest ships of the US Navy with an emphasis on Anti-Submarine Warfare. This had less to do with the biggest rival of the US Navy being their German counterparts and more to do with secretive Submarine Arm of the Kaiserliche Marine being regarded as an existential threat to the United States. Why go through the bother and expense of developing intercontinental ballistic missiles when you can bring dozens of intermediate missiles fitted with nuclear warheads within easy range of most of the Continental United States? Mike’s main consideration was that the Navy was intent on enlarging their ASW capability to counter the threat. Ritchie had told Mike that neither country had the least bit of interest in going to war, just Politicians interested in getting votes and Defense Contractors wanting a steady supply of business loved to play up illusory international tensions for their own ends. For Mike, becoming an ASW Officer aboard a Destroyer or a Frigate would mean having an extremely bright future.
Once the three cheers ended, everyone threw their cover into the air. The hat toss held symbolic meaning, that they were discarding their identity as Midshipmen so that they could embrace their new identity. That done, Mike stood up to go find his family. They were not hard to find. Ritchie and Lucia were here as guests of the Washington family, Dad was here wearing the Class A Uniform of the LAPD. The other graduates would recognize that Ritchie was a Warrant Officer, with the Rank tabs being identical to those worn by Navy’s equivalent and the green uniform of the Army. It was Dad’s uniform with the stripes and rocker of a Detective III and an array of unfamiliar medals issued by the State of California and City of Los Angeles that probably raised a lot of questions. It was an open question as to whether Mike’s brother Derik or sister Keri looked more out of place here. Derik always looked like he was dressed as an unmade bed despite their mother’s best efforts over the years. On the opposite extreme was Keri, who had recently discovered the mind-blowing notion that people would pay her to shop for clothes and be up on the latest fashions. Like always she was dressed to the nines, just what was considered fashionable made absolutely no sense to Mike. It was fortunate that Keri had been convinced to attend college courses against the day that her current employment dried up.
It was Mike’s youngest sister Shauna who he was really looking for. He had discussed this with his parents and they had agreed with his reasons.
“A bit of help here?” Mike said to Shauna as he handed her the new Ensign’s shoulder boards. Shauna looked at him questioningly, this was a complete surprise for her. She was considerably shorter than him due to the health problems that she had been born with, that was just how it was. So he had to bend over pretty far so that she could reach. Their mother helped Shauna with it. It only then occurred to Mike that his mother must know this sort of thing inside and out because his father, Big Mike, had spent a lot of years in Patrol Division of the LAPD.
“I’m looking forward to attending the graduation ceremony at Stanford in a few years when you collect your diploma” Mike said to Shauna who smiled at that.
There was still one more thing to do.
Looking around, Mike saw the Senior Chief Petty Officer who was a well-known member of the Academy’s Staff prowling around. The crusty old Sailor taught aboard one of the school’s Yard Patrol Boats. Mike had spent plenty of time out on Chesapeake Bay getting yelled at by the Senior Chief. Mike could hear the coins rattling around in his pockets as the Senior Chief approached. He saluted Mike with a shit eating grin on his face and Mike returned it. Mike was reminded of all the warnings that he had received to never underestimate the Enlisted no matter how high he rose in the Navy as he tossed the Senior Chief a silver dollar per custom. The Senior Chief deftly caught it out of the air and it joined the dozens of other silver dollars in his pockets with a clank. “Thank you, Sir” The Senior Chief said before moving on to the next newly minted Ensign.
With that, Mike joined his family for the promised celebratory dinner that he had been looking forward to for weeks.
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The 1980 Democratic National Convention is going to be a fun one, as apparently there is no front runner among the declared candidates, and more importantly, no one has anywhere near the majority of the delegates to win the nomination.
After the first ballot, if there is no one who have achieved a majority, then the delegates are released from the commitments and are free to vote for anyone they choose.
Of course there could be a rule challenge at the convention to release the delegates from their first ballot commitments (IOTL the Ted Kennedy campaign tried this on the floor of the convention and lost thus ending the Kennedy campaign against President Carter), if the Draft Nixon floor leaders feel that they can get a majority then they might go for it, and it may come down to one of the candidates deciding to throw their support to this in order to get the Vice President spot on the ticket.
The graduation of Little Mike is a proud moment for his family, and with the IOTL Nixon being a big football fan, the ITTL Nixon would surely would want a picture with the Hero of the National Championship Naval Academy team and his highly decorated Police Detective father, of course with them being Black, Nixon can show his commitment to Civil Rights, National Security, and Law and Order, all at the same time.
After the first ballot, if there is no one who have achieved a majority, then the delegates are released from the commitments and are free to vote for anyone they choose.
Of course there could be a rule challenge at the convention to release the delegates from their first ballot commitments (IOTL the Ted Kennedy campaign tried this on the floor of the convention and lost thus ending the Kennedy campaign against President Carter), if the Draft Nixon floor leaders feel that they can get a majority then they might go for it, and it may come down to one of the candidates deciding to throw their support to this in order to get the Vice President spot on the ticket.
The graduation of Little Mike is a proud moment for his family, and with the IOTL Nixon being a big football fan, the ITTL Nixon would surely would want a picture with the Hero of the National Championship Naval Academy team and his highly decorated Police Detective father, of course with them being Black, Nixon can show his commitment to Civil Rights, National Security, and Law and Order, all at the same time.