Currently, the law enforcement unit of the Interstellar Panel is coordinated by the Rhasdwiis Panel Representative. The Rhasdwiis have a most impressive military, known as the Wiis Defense Ministry, with millions of highly trained soldiers, and a few top commanders of the Ministry volunteer their efforts to the IP as a show of their support for the stated goals of the organization to establish order amongst civilized beings of the universe. Pen Nuren is the leader of the Ministry and she serves as the Representative from Wiis to the Interstellar Panel.
The law enforcement unit of the IP commands volunteer forces from member societies to provide support where necessary to enforce the laws established by the Panel. They are seldom used and the majority of volunteers enlist for the chance to see foreign planets.
One of the new volunteers to the IP Law Officers is Riswin Hojar who has impressed her superiors in the short time of her enlistment with the Ministry. She was recommended for service with Captain Nuren who is stationed at the IP headquarters. Riswin is one of seven Officer Volunteers, four of which are from Wiis, and the other three are from Druont, Hafjeran, and Vwrawl. Captain Nuren is in charge of their training and they sometimes accompany her on official duties that often take her away from the headquarters.
Riswin likes the IP headquarters. It is like a giant building that floats in space and the views outside the station are spectacular views of space. She trains with Captain Nuren in leadership and universal diplomacy, and she has been lucky enough to travel to planets alien to her and to personally interact with aliens of cultures that she studies.
All of the volunteer officers training with Captain Nuren meet with her three times a day; once in the early daylight cycle of the headquarters for daily work assignments, again at midday for her lecture on universal diplomacy, and finally at the end of the official workday that occurred several hours before the artificial twilight cycle.
After the afternoon lecture, Riswin shadows Captain Nuren in her duties at the IP headquarters while other volunteers shadow other Representatives with ties to law enforcement. Today, Riswin sits with Captain Nuren as she shares lunch with the IP Representative from Vwrawl, the Queen’s Regent Surivruhl. The three share a small room close to the dining hall with comfortable carpeting and table on the floor where they sit. Surivruhl wears a skin-tight black bodysuit over her slender body and there are long, ornate lengths of cloth that serve as accents to signify her high station. Everything she wears is beautiful because she is the official representative of Vwrawl’s dominant Queen. Captain Nuren and Riswin wear military uniforms; formal, button-down shirts and pleated pants with tailored jackets that match the deep green pants.
“Is your queen pleased with her warpway?” Captain Nuren asks.
“Should we be discussing this in front of your student?” Surivruhl says, indicating at Riswin by nodding her head.
Riswin keeps her head down and focuses on her meal. She has gotten used to IP provisions, but she looks forward to new shipments from Wiis that often included her favorite foods. Though, anything is better than the awkwardness that Surivruhl currently creates.
“I’m grooming her, this is part of her education.”
“Her Dominance is pleased. I just wonder how the Earthlings feel about our progress so far. Is Osmium still on his tour?”
Riswin’s ears pique. She had spent time with the Earthling Osmium when he visited Wiis.
“He is on Oin.”
All three of Surivruhl’s eyes open wide with surprise.
“After the Mind Snatchers’ attack? Is he looking to die? The Ointites are furious with the IP after their Infirmary Center was damaged by the Cabal.”
“He is hoping to sway them, convince them that it was Eakran and the rogue Earthlings’ fault. The monarchs there are livid and they want revenge on the Mind Snatchers, which Osmium is willing to give them.”
“It’s why he chose them for the black bounty in the first place,” Surivruhl says with genuine wonder in her voice. “Of course Eakran’s allies would dispatch the Independent Milia on Oin when they heard of his attack, it was the closest support available, and the rest is recent history. The Earthling is shrewd, he knows that the monarchs of Oin will do anything to rid the universe of the Mind Snatchers, and he has them in his pocket. He can leverage the monarchs to have the UI become an official part of the IP. We couldn’t even convince them to name a Representative. This Osmium is quite impressive.”
“Indeed,” Captain Nuren says. “We should be on alert.”
“Her Dominance is always on alert, but this drama so far has played out in advantageous ways for us.”
“Let’s agree to continue to watch closely and share notes. Males are not suited for positions of power and that is a realization that our cultures share. These male-dominated Earthlings cannot be trusted, but they can be easily used to our advantage.”
“Her Dominance would agree. The alliance between Vwrawl and Wiis is as strong as ever. Has he delivered on his promise to the Rhasdwiis?”
Captain Nuren smiles.
“Our request was the most difficult. We expected it to take time to deliver, but the plans are laid. They are shrewd indeed.”
When they are done with their meal, Riswin bows to Surivruhl.
“Thank you for the honor of learning from your wisdom,” she says respectfully.
“This one will go far,” Surivruhl says to Captain Nuren. “Respect goes a long way in the universe. I will give you some other good advice. Males are made to be dominated. They have too much energy and if left unchecked, they explode like bombs.”
As she and Captain Nuren return to her office, Riswin can’t help but ask about Osmium.
“I didn’t realize that you knew him personally.”
Captain Nuren eyes her suspiciously.
“Do you know him personally?”
“No,” Riswin lies before she even knows why. “I was on Wiis when he came and he was all over the news transmissions. I didn’t realize he was an important politician. He seemed like an entertainer.”
“Osmium is the Earthling Representative to the IP. We are peers. Which means that he is a most important political player and he’s made some lofty promises to solve the current interstellar conflict surrounding disgraced Representative Eakran of Druont. We all hope that he can deliver.”
Riswin can’t believe that she was intimate with such an important being of the universe. She is excited at the possibility of seeing him again.
PRL Serials 