All That Glitters Ch. 29

"Would there be any objections to that?" Junelliya asked of the table.

"I don't know," Fiona stated. "I was kind of partial to Marsh myself," she said with an exaggerated pout that showed she was only kidding.

Mind-Hur realized this and laughed the laugh of her kind, a kind of snorting chuckle.

"What do you say, Mind-Hur? Would you like to be known from this time forward as Mind-Ur? How does Dr. Mind-Ur sound in your mind?" Fiona asked.

Mind-Hur thought for a few moments before responding.

"Ur, is the name of a peninsula on the far side of the planet from where I live. It is a place of wild beauty and fierce animals. There are no Pod-Drran who have adopted this name as a family name. It is a more appropriate name for a member of the Warrior Class to adopt rather than a member of the Tech Class. But I am an unusual Pod-Drran.

"I think I would be happy to adopt the family name, Ur, if it doesn't disappoint you, Fiona?" Mind-Hur asked. Fiona laughed by way of an answer.

"Mr. Ambassador, would you do the honours, sir?" Fiona asked of Harold, surprising him.

"Open a comms channel, platform wide, please," Fiona ordered. She had her channel shortly after. "To the people of Liramor-23, our friend Mind-Hur, henceforth to be known as Mind-Ur, is to be presented the Terran Union Citizenship as part her being accepted for asylum.

"Mind-Ur, Ambassador Harold Flynet has come directly from the Union Diplomatic Corps on Terra to be here today," Fiona explained to her friend.

Harold caught the solemnity of the moment and nodded to Fiona. He stood and moved around to the flag of the Terran Union behind Fiona, asking Mind-Hur to stand with him in front of the flag and asking that the following be recorded.

"Mind-Hur, because of actions by citizens of the Terran Union, you have been forced to flee your people, the Pod-Drran, for your own safety.

"You were granted asylum, what you know of as the Shar-Terg, by a citizen of the Union, one Raymond Clark, which was later confirmed by an officer of the Union, Commodore Fiona Marsh.

"With this asylum, comes the implied confirmation of citizenship in the Union. Do you Mind-Hur, now known to all as Mind-Ur, wish to accept citizenship in the Terran Union, with all the responsibilities that entails?" he asked.

Mind-Hur looked at her friends around the table, they were all smiling at her. No-one, though, was urging her to accept, she realized they were allowing her to make her own decision. But that was the point.

"Everything in my life before this has been directed by others," Mind-Ur stated. "My choice of profession, my choice of duties, my places of duties, even my selection of mates had been made for me, by others. This time, you are allowing me a make my own choice. I liked that thought.

"Sir, if the Terran Union would have me, I would like to become a Union Citizen," she proclaimed solemnly.

Harold reached behind her and lifted the end of the flag up, drawing her attention to it.

"This is the flag of the Terran Union," he intoned. "It represents the Terran Union itself, it represents the Terran Union Governmental Authority, it represents the sister planets of the Union, and all the varied people of the Union, their customs and traditions, combined in the greater whole.

"On its field of blue, there are seven stars: the great star of the Union itself, and the six stars of the original colonies. These stars represent the people of the Union, their history, their pride.

"Together, we are strong, free, adventurous, and governed by good people of the Union, chosen freely by the people, to represent us. This is what you are asking to be part of but asking also implies responsibilities as a citizen.

"You will be required to understand the traditions of the people of the Union and to participate in them where possible, to understand and follow the laws and of the Union. You will be encouraged to understand, follow and participate in the politics of the Union in order to make an informed decision and to chose those who you would give governance over you. You will be required to understand the Constitution of the Union and to uphold its principles as a citizen. These are the duties of all citizens.

"Do you accept these duties, Mind-Ur?" Harold asked formally.

"I do, sir," she replied just as formally.

Harold draped the flag over her right shoulder, it hung down partway down her chest.

"Place your right hand over your heart, and raise you left hand," Harold said, showing her what he wanted, not surprised when her right hand did not exactly correspond to the location of a human heart. "Repeat after me:

"I, Mind-Ur," Mind-Ur repeated the mantra...

"Do affirm that I will be faithful to the constitution of the Terran Union. I solemnly swear to observe and uphold the laws of the Union, to respect the customs and traditions of its people, wherever I may be, and to fulfill my duties as a Citizen of the Union to the best of my abilities."

When Mind-Ur ended the mantra, Harold dropped his hands and reached into his pocket. Being an Ambassador to the Alliance of Planets, he always kept a few metal Union Flags to give out as special souvenirs. Being the senior diplomat on New Hadria, the flags he carried were designed for the elite of the planet, and of much higher quality than the norm.

He signalled Fiona to come forward. He pulled a small white, leather, presentation box from his pocket and opened it for Fiona to see. She smiled in delight at the little metal flag.

The blue-enamel flag had little yellow diamonds to represent the seven stars on the Union flag. It was a beautiful memento for this day.

Fiona pulled the flag from its setting in the box and twisted the magnet to release it from the metal back. She placed the flag over Mind-Ur's collar over her left upper breast, and slipped the magnet behind it, securing it in place.

"Congratulations, Citizen Mind-Ur," Ambassador Flynet formally proclaimed, shaking Mind-Ur's hand.

Suddenly, her friends were all over her, cheering and hugging her, much to her annoyance and delight. This was something the Pod-Drran never did, so it annoyed her a little, but she secretly loved the tradition of the hug.

They could hear noise coming from outside and they turned to look through the glass doors seeing dozens of people in the alcove in front of the embassy. Mind-Ur recognized many of the people she had recently befriended on the platform.

"Time to meet your public," Fiona said, taking Mind-Ur by the arm and guiding her out to meet the growing crowd of cheering friends...

End of chapter twenty-nine.

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