All That Glitters Ch. 31

"Please take a seat," the President waited for the media and his guests to take their seats before he began again.

"We will shortly open the floor for questions but before that, I have the pleasure of making an important announcement, which is why I have asked Commodore Fiona Marsh and Captain Liana Dostier to join this little party.

"For those of you who do not know, Capt. Dostier has been the second in command for the Piscium Defence Force and was part of the team the captured or destroyed fourteen pirate vessels in the first Battle of Liramor-23, part of the team that broke the second pirate attack on Liramor-23 and captured a pirate ship in the Third Battle of Liramor-23.

"Her actions, during her time at Liramor-23, have brought distinction to her name, and gotten her noticed by the powers that be, including myself.

"Admiral George Ramison, if you please," the President called out.

Ramison came forward with an aid and called Capt. Dostier up to the upper stage in front of the President.

The President's Chief of Staff, Jason Canter began to speak. "By order in Council of the Armed Forces and confirmed by the Office of the President of the Terran Union, having completed the Senior Flag Officer's Course and having completed tasks that would be expected of one of the rank of Commodore, the Union Navy has been directed to promote J-111335-554 Captain (Navy), Liana Dostier, Commodore."

The President stepped forward and took up an item from his Chief of Staff, which he handed part of to Adm. Ramison. The two men took off the captain's bars on the sleeves of Liana's uniform and attached the gold star of Commodore in their place. A very nervous Dostier took the handshake from the Admiral and the President, gave them a salute, turned and got a salute and a hug from Fiona Marsh.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Commodore Liana Dostier. Ma'am, if you could say a few worlds?" Canter directed.

"Mr. President, Adm. Ramison, Cmdre. Marsh, Mind-Ur, distinguished guests, friends, and members of the media," Dostier began. "I had prepared a speech on this promotion but suddenly find myself very nervous to be up here giving it. This promotion has literally come out of the blue. It was not expected by either myself or by my then superior, Cmdre. Fiona Marsh.

"I can say with all humility and sincerity that I have cherished my time at Liramor-23. It has been a place for major development for me in my career and a place of trials that needed to be overcome.

"In the Second Battle of Liramor-23, we lost many good people, some of whom I personally knew and called friends. Being in the military means you will undoubtedly lose a friend. It is not something we look forward to. But each and every one of us who wears the uniform have made a commitment to the Union, to the Navy, and to each other, to do our best even if it means the ultimate sacrifice.

"We do not anticipate that it will happen to us and, as a result, are deeply saddened when it does come to pass, especially to someone close to us or who we know.

"That does not stop us from doing our duty as Navy personnel. It is why we wear the uniform, why we are proud to be in the Union Navy, why we put ourselves on the line each time a ship leaves it's home base.

"We tend to form close bonds in the Navy as ship's crews are relatively small, even on a large vessel. You cannot work closely with someone without getting to know them well in all kinds of situations, some good, some bad. As such, when duty causes us to lose a friend, the entire ship feels it. That kind of tight bond is difficult to give up and now I must do just that.

"I will be taken from the friends and comrades that I know and be sent somewhere new, to form different bonds, this time as the 'Daughter of a bitch' that orders the rest of us around."

That brought laughter from the crowd.

"I do not regret the reason I have to leave Liramor-23 but I will regret the loss of the friends that I have made after almost three years there. Especially Commodore Fiona Marsh.

"I thank the President, Adm. Ramison, and the Committee for the Armed Forces in choosing me for this promotion. I will do my best to emulate Cmdre. Marsh in my new posting and bring about the type of environment that she fostered at Liramor-23.

"Thank-you for your time," she finished, to the applause of the crowd.

Liana stepped down from the stage, along with Adm. Ramison, awaiting the Presidents pleasure. The President took over the podium.

"In recent years, it has been confirmed that humans are not alone in the galaxy, something that we have been looking to confirm for over 500 years. With this confirmation, we have also come face-to-face with a new species to humans, the Pod-Drran.

"It has become common knowledge that the Pod-Drran are warlike. In fact, their name means 'the strong ones'. They are directed by their Warrior Class and they believe themselves to be the pre-eminent species in the galaxy; something that until a couple of hundred years ago, humans believed as well.

"Now, we have confronted the Pod-Drran and shown them that they are not alone and that humans have spread out in a sphere some 300 light years across and have colonized some sixty worlds, of which forty-eight are full members of the Terran Union, six are still listed as colony worlds and still working towards the full membership in the Union, and six more are members of the Alliance of Planets.

"The Pod-Drran home world is within the sphere of human dominance, much to the annoyance of the rulers of the Pod-Drran. It is only one world with a population just shy of one billion people. This would not be considered a fully developed world by human standards. I would still be considered a colony world. However, the Pod-Drran have not accepted their lot, nor their place in the universe. They wish to be considered the dominant group.

"This is not an unusual position, as humans too once thought like this. We have learned over the centuries, that we are a mere speck in the great cosmos. We have accepted our lot, more or less," the President briefly stopped for the inevitable laughter.

"We have shown the Pod-Drran the folly of their way of thinking. We have shown them that we have the means to move around human space at speeds they cannot fathom. We have shown them the power of our weapons and, in the recent combat between a Rai and Raymond Clark, we have shown them the power of our resolve.

"We have begun to crack the vaunted air of superiority of the Pod-Drran's ruling class. However, there is still much work to do in ensuring that the Pod-Drran will not be a threat to the Union.

"One thing that has been determined is that we will isolate the Pod-Drran to their planet. We will not allow them to threaten any other system, or planet again. They will remain isolated until they come to realize that threatening humans is not the way to do business. That cooperation is the way of the future.

"Should the Pod-Drran ever again threaten humanity, or any other species or culture, we will end that threat permanently. I say this to you to assure you that we will not allow any threats to the Union. To this end, the Union Navy is increasing its fleet size to reflect the number of ships it had at the end of The War. This will allow us to blockade the Pod-Drran's planet.

"We will, however, continue contact with the Pod-Drran, including making allowances for trade. There is much we can give to the Pod-Drran and much they can give to us in exchange. In the spirit of trade, we can come together to find a way forward. That, in the fullness of time, will allow the Pod-Drran to become full members of the Union and not the threat they now claim to be.

"We will be placing items such as new technology for the Pod-Drran that will allow them to clean up their planet. We humans once poisoned this very planet, nearly causing our own extinction. The Pod-Drran are doing the same. We will help them to survive. We will show them that humans can be a force for good, as well as a source for evil.

"Helping them to survive their own folly would be a force for good. The destruction of an entire species would be the greatest evil we could ever inflict upon the galaxy. Let us hope that we never have to conduct such evil.

"I personally much prefer the option to be a force for good. To this end, we have included members of he Pod-Drran as citizens of the Union, with more to become citizens in the near future. These Pod-Drran that you see before you are all members of the House of Ur. Mind-Ur's house, as she is the house's First Female, the Phrat-Mahi.

"It is with her guidance that the members of her House will take their places as citizens of the Union. It is with her guidance that the members of her House will help the Union and the Pod-Drran move forward. It is with her guidance that war with her people will be prevented.

"These are heavy burdens to place on any one single person's shoulders. We ask much of Mind-Ur, and of her House. They have, so far, shown they are ready for such a burden.

"Why would we do this, you may ask? Look there among the members of the House of Ur. There is a young family, a baby girl and her parents, who have benefitted from the contact with the Pod-Drran.

"Matildis Elizabeth Qan-Arl Roust-Polit had a difficult birth, ably assisted by two doctors from the Pod-Drran society. That is why she has the name Qan-Arl as part of her birthright. Five people helped her into this universe, a human doctor, two human nurses, and two Pod-Drran doctors.

"Not only that, but the Pod-Drran now include her as part of their world. She will be given the distinction of being accorded a Sirsh, a title, from the Pod-Drran when she has completed her studies as an adult.

"The bonds of possible friendship have already been established between our people. Let us hope that these bonds will let us move forward to full cooperation between our two species. That these bonds can and will be strengthened, so that peace can be formed between us," the President finished to polite applause.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we now open the floor to questions, please note that we will allow one question and one follow-up for each of you. Also note that many members of the House of Ur are still listed as under medical supervision, as is new mother Jennifer Roust. So please go easy on them," Jason Canter stated.

The first question was the philosophy of the Pod-Drran people.

"The Pod-Drran believe that adversity breeds growth," Tin-Ur fielded the question. "Adversity takes many different forms, dependent on your class.

"For the Warrior Class, combat is the form of adversity. You develop and grow in strength, power, and position, dependant on your abilities as a warrior, having shown those abilities in combat.

"For the Medical Class, adversity comes in the form of helping others to heal and to all the other sundries that medical people all over the galaxy do.

"For the Technical Class, that adversity comes in the form of study and the application of that study to real-time work.

"It is the same for all of the different classes we have. Each has its form of adversity that it must overcome and develop from," Tine-Ur ended.

The questions came swiftly, human curiosity being what it was. Most wanted to know what the members of the House of Ur thought of the ongoing situation between the Union and the Pod-Drran.

"The Pod-Drran are a proud people, much the same as humans," Mind-Ur took the final question. "Until very recently, we believed themselves to be the rightful rulers of the universe. Imagine our surprise when this was so dramatically and so recently proved incorrect.

"Humans have shown the Pod-Drran that they are technologically far superior to the Pod-Drran in many areas. We have issues with the ecology of our planet, caused by the need to explore space and keep a fleet of ships ready to make war on others or to protect the home world.

"We have now recently discovered that humans have gone through the same issues on Terra and other planets that the Pod-Drran are going through on the home world. That humans will trade technology that will help the Pod-Drran save the home world is unexpected, considering that the Pod-Drran had intended to attack Liramor-23 because it is mining the remnants of our original Home World, in what you refer to as the Piscium system.

"However, humans have already stated, and proven, that they will respect any historical remnants they find in the Piscium system, especially the resting sites of our respected dead.

"While I am not a member of the ruling elite of the Pod-Drran, in fact no longer technically a member of the Pod-Drran, I can say without doubt that the humans are on the correct path to change the attitudes of the Pod-Drran.

"Raymond's battle when he was challenged was a sever wake up call for my people. They had never before seen any person enter a challenge ring without a weapon in hand. They had never before seen any person take down a person of such a high status as a warrior before without killing that person.

"The challenge that had been made to Raymond Clark was one of desperation for those in opposition to the idea of negotiations with the Union. The person who made the challenge had intended to kill Raymond Clark. She failed and was in fact killed herself when she tried to assassinate Raymond after having been defeated.

"Earlier today, before we came to Terra, Raymond had to stop at the Fleet Shem to pick up the two remaining members of the House of Ur. They had been left behind in the care of the Pod-Drran medical services because of their deteriorated state.

"When Raymond arrived on the Koh-Tan, he was given an honour guard, something that he had never been accorded previously. This was to honour his prowess as a warrior and his actions when he accepted into the House of Ur, those who had been mistreated by the Rai he had defeated.

"It is shameful for me to say, most of the houses of the Pod-Drran would have let the people that Raymond had saved die. Their condition was so severe there was a real risk of them dying. No house would have taken them in for fear that they would have been labelled as inadequate if those few had died as members of their houses.

"Raymond took that risk. Demanded that we give his two most severely injured members all the medical care they needed. His actions, paradoxically, have elevated Raymond's status, and that of all humans, in the eyes of the Pod-Drran. Thus the honour guard.

"I do not know what the ruling elite will do in this situation, as the Kumaroe still wants to believe he is the supreme ruler in the galaxy. However, I can say what the average Pod-Drran will say, that Raymond is a mighty Ro, a skilled fighter, a person who shows compassion to the less fortunate, and one who keeps his word.

"He, a human, has set the standard for all the Pod-Drran to follow. That is the kind of thing that the Pod-Drran of all levels, including the ruling elite, need to see and to respect.

"I and my House, will work hard to make Raymond's agenda that of our own. We wish for our species to succeed and to prosper, as I am sure, do all humans wish for themselves and their species to prosper.

"That is what we have committed ourselves to. It is a heavy burden indeed, but one that I will work hard to complete. Humans and Pod-Drran can get along. We have already proved this at our own level. Now we must convince the ruling elite of that fact.

"That is the job of our negotiation teams; to find common ground for trade, and to allow us to move forward in peace and cooperation.

"I hope that answers your question for you, sir," Mind-Ur finished.

As one, the media people came to their feet and applauded Mind-Ur and all those on the stage.

The President had worried about the questions the media were asking of the Pod-Drran. He could see how these series of questions could unduly influence the Senate, returning them once again to the option of the destruction of the Pod-Drran.

Mind-Ur had become the consummate magician, pulling a rather large, plump, rabbit out of the hat. Her answers, and the response of the media, would indeed affect the Senate, but in a very favourable way as far as the President was concerned.

Juneya suddenly landed on the President's shoulder, then jumped off and went back to Junelliya. She signalled the President who understood immediately what was wanted.

The President stood.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the little 'Cat' that just landed on my shoulder was a message to me that the members of the House of Ur have reached the limits of their health. We need to cut this media scrum short for their behalf.

"I personally would like to thank Mind-Ur and the members of the House of Ur for their presence here this day and how well they fielded the questions from the media.

"I would also like to thank Jennifer Roust, and Daniel Polit, for permitting their daughter, Matildis Elizabeth Qan-Arl Roust Polit to be present here today as well.

"My thanks to Commodore Fiona Marsh for her presence and my congratulations to Commodore Liana Dostier," the President applauded the invitees, an action that was followed by all at the center. He gathered his guests and led them from the stage to a secure area, where food and drink were waiting.

The President took, Raymond, Liea, Fiona, her aide, and Liana aside for a moment, along with Adm. Ramison to discuss Liana's next mission.

"You are going to a newly opened site in the HD-115153 star system, which is part of Sector Twenty-Three, FAdm. Wilhelmina Holstern commanding," Ramison informed Liana.

"We have confiscated a shipbuilding station and a mining platform that was partially owned by our infamous former Senator Wassim Andjuran and by the Alnitah and Deneb Pirate Syndicates, the same pirate syndicates that attacked Liramor-23, twice.

"The shipbuilding station is to be renamed Pallanders Shipyard Number 4, and is dedicated to building Navy ships, while the mining platform has been re-designated Liramor-30 and is to provide material exclusively to Pallanders-4. Both vessels are currently under refit. The pirate syndicates will not be happy that their former property has been confiscated nor the thought of it being used to build new Navy ships. We anticipate that the syndicates will, sooner or later, attack the system in revenge for the confiscation and in an attempt to prevent the building and refit of Navy vessels.

"Your personal experience at defending a star system without a habitable planet makes you personally suited for this task. We only have one ship for you at the moment. Sorry, Fiona, this ship was originally assigned to the Piscium system, however, priorities being what they are, it has been redirected to Liana," Ramison stated.

He turned and signalled to a person just out of sight of the others. Smiles lit the faces of Fiona and Dostier when they saw who it was.

Capt. Beverly Davis came to attention and saluted the pair of Commodores, before they all came over for a group hug.

"By the Gods, Beverly, it is so good to see you again," Liana said.

"And I you, Commodore," Beverly said, emphasizing the new rank.

"Yes, yes, we still have some business to attend to, ladies," Ramison said, with a grin to take the sting out of his words.

"You will also be given a Valour Class ship as a personal transport, Commodore. That will bring the total of your fleet to two vessels, for now. The next three ships out of refit at any of the Pallanders' shipyards will be sent to you as part of your fleet.

"Fiona managed to defeat fourteen pirate vessels with only four vessels in her fleet. I will admit, though, that she was aware of their presence and had extra help from the Sector Forty-Two fleet.

"You will be given free reign on how you want to defend your system. Other than ships, I will make available any number of resources. If you find, or suspect that your system is under surveillance, then we will make available other resources as we did for Liramor-23," Ramison finished.