Eric Olafson, Midshipman (Vol 4)
Copyright© 2008 by Vanessa Ravencroft
Part 20: DIPLOMATIC ESCORT
My life had completley changed. Almost a year had passed and I had not been in any sort of trouble. I had almost forgotten that I was in my second year and this was an Academy field class.
We just returned from a diplomatic mission, ferrying a delegation of Union Diplomats to the fringes of Free Space. The Daoine a cautious species of human sized rat like beings considered Union membership, but were afraid of retaliations from other Freespace civilizations who hated nothing more than losing one of the signatory members of the Freespace treaty to any of the Big Four.
The seventy independents, small space faring nations not associated with anyone of the Big Four. Feared, and not entirely without reason, that with every civilization they lost their barganing power and influence diminished.
The Daoine it turned out were more or less pressured to sign that treaty as an Independent society in the first place and were sick and tired of organized pirate raids against one of their eight colonies. So their King invited a Union delegation and allowed Union ships to bring that delegation. Fleet command decided it was best to show a little force and that’s why the Hyperion and two other battle ships provided an “honor escort” for the diplomats.
After a delegation of Daoine witnessed a life fire exercise that more or less pulverized a sizeable moon, the Daoine were eager to go to Pluribus.
Captain Zezz just delivered the news and said the Hyperion would fly escort all the way to Pluribus. Then he waved me over and said. “You know, Mr. Olafson today is officially your last day. Your second year academy time ends with your shift. You could take your vacation, a vacation you earned. We are going to Pluribus, so if you want you can leave us there.”
To read this story you need a
Registration + Premier Membership
If you have an account, then please Log In
or Register (Why register?)