Letters & Logs of a Rookie Unioner Pilot - Hunter Wolff

[Aaron_Cianci]

From: Hunter Wolff, on assignment at Pacifica Base, Bering System
To: Emilia Wolff, Starship Design Office, Leipheim Base, Munich System
Subject: Your lessons mean more than you know!
Encryption: Heavy

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Hi Mom,

You'll be happy to know I'm not writing to tell you I was in some firefight or got hurt somehow. I'm actually doing pretty well, though your words when I was a kid about shutting up and listening hit home recently. When I first thought about being a pilot, I never imagined I'd be sitting around listening to a bunch of people talk for hours. Apparently, though, that's what escort duty is all about. I wish I could say that listening in on a three-way peace discussion between us, the Lane Hackers and the Atacama Cohort was exciting, but it wasn't. I didn't even know what the Cohort was, but apparently they're part of the Gaian Guard, and they've helped us out recently.

I learned a lot, though. It was a good experience, and I bet most lowly pilots don't know what I know now. The personalities leading all these organizations are interesting. Things broke down more than once into petty name calling, but that makes sense. There's a lot of aggression out there, and a lot of history. I really need to read some operational history reports to get some more context on all of this. What really surprised me was that the Lane Hackers were negotiating on behalf of Battle Group Harmony, the primary threat to our safety in Bering. When they first started talking, their demands were so far apart from what the Arbeitsdirektor wanted that I figured things would end quickly. I guess that's why I'm not a diplomat, though, because they kept talking.

And talking...and talking. I thought it was never going to end. I wonder if these chatty leaders and diplomats know what some of the things they say sound like to us grunts who are out risking our lives every day to defend the Union. Their conversations impact hundreds of thousands of lives. I do have to say, though, that the Arbeitsdirektor is a really good orator. When he spoke, he definitely got everyone's attention. But he seems to really like to hear himself talk. However, even after all that talking, I feel like the whole conversation ended up right where it started, with the first plan everyone talked about. I'm under orders not to get into specifics, mom, but I can say it appears we may be headed toward a less aggressive stance toward Battle Group Harmony. I can't complain, if it means less Union lives will be lost as a result. It's all up in the air right now, so I guess we'll see what happens.

What all this means for me, I don't know. Most of my assignment work is defending Pacifica from them right now. If we no longer count them among our enemies, I can't say where they will assign me next. I've been thinking of putting in a request for more escort patrols. I wrote to Niklaus recently and was telling him how much I enjoy protective detail. I feel like I'm keeping the Union safest when I do that kind of work. I'd love to hear what you think, mom. Other than that you want your oldest son to come home, get married and give you a bunch of grand kids. I already know that part.

Also, mom, have you ever heard of the Nomad or Nomads before? They were talking about it in the meeting, but I have no idea what it meant. It sounded like a reference to a group of people, but it's not one that I've ever heard of. Apparently, they have pretty impressive technology. I don't know if I should be worried about it, but it seems concerning. There was also talk of an infestation. It was hard to understand what they were talking about completely without more context. I think I'm going to write to Lukas, my old buddy from school who always dorked around with computers, and see if he can help me get a spike into the more classified parts of our network. Maybe the Union databanks have more information. I hate to think they're not telling us everything that we need to know out here to defend ourselves.

Oh...and on a side note, I got promoted. My rank is Gefreiter now. Apparently, I'm doing something right. I'll be able to send a few more credits home to you, dad and Sebastian. I know you're not really struggling, but I don't want you to think I forgot about you all. Please just accept them and let me help you.

Give them a hug and a kiss for me. I love you, momma.

Love Always,
Hunter

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