Freelance Traveller

Armistice Day

reviewed by Jeff Zeitlin

This review originally appeared in the July/August 2025 issue.

Armistice Day. David Drazul
Original Publication: 2009
Current Availability: Print and e-book

Aaron Osborne was a US soldier in the middle of a conflict in the Mideast when the (alien) Empire started its “intervention”. Now, little more than a year later, he heads up a security force that has been hired to cover part of what’s left of New York City, where the Empire will be signing an armistice with Earth’s remaining nations, admitting Earth to the Empire.

As part of his preparation for the contracted job, he attempts to find out more about the group that will be covering the adjacent sector to him. The company in question, Bergen Security, proves to be quite an enigma; they seem to be national in scope, but there is nothing to establish a reputation, and their supposed contacts in the U.S. government and the Empire are kept concealed. He also can’t seem to find anyone who actually works for them.

The enigma continues right up to the day of the signing ceremony, and during the course of it, an attack occurs – but in a way that makes it look like Aaron or one of his people might be responsible. Aaron has proof that it’s not him – that it’s people from the Empire, in fact – but he also suspects that “normal” communications are compromised, and has to find another way of bringing the information to light.

After the kind of adventures that in the hands of a good writer makes for gripping reading, he gets the information to where it will do the most good, and uncovers a conspiracy within the Empire that believes that humans will be a danger to the Empire, similar to a race that the Empire wiped out long ago. This is a minority view, however, and Aaron’s evidence is instrumental in breaking the conspiracy. Earth will be brought into the Empire, with all the benefits pertaining thereto.

This story, while not itself a Traveller story, could certainly serve as inspiration for an adventure on the Imperial fringe somewhere, or in a homebrew setting with a major empire absorbing worlds along its frontiers. Although it’s enjoyable light reading, it suffers from the same problem that many short-form stories do: obstacles are perhaps too easily overcome, and the protagonist is perhaps too easily underestimated. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the protagonist is a Marty-Stu, however; he’s definitely human and flawed, but – like so many less-than-optimally-successful people – he keeps plugging along, and doing the best he can.

There isn’t much in the way of world-building, but it’s not really needed, since the majority of readers are likely to recognize the changes from the Earth we know, even if some of the most obvious changes are low-probability alternatives. It caters well to the reader who likes small-scale military-style action; the reader who likes to attempt political analysis will find plenty of clues to keep him (her) guessing.

It’s definitely worth the $3 ebook price, and available from several ebookstores, including some of the smaller ones that don’t insist on keeping it in their “cloud” (and therefore allow you to download it and install it into your ebook reader of choice). Mr Drazul has written a sequel to this story, Gateway to Empire. I’ll definitely be acquiring it as soon as I find it available in epub from one of those smaller ebookstores.