An employee of a Nation's or Independent Colony's Government, sent as a representative to any of the others. Diplomats are couriers of official decisions, ambassadors of goodwill, and negotiators of agreements between governments. As a symbol of good will, Diplomats usually enjoy great hospitality whenever visiting an area (even if in an "unofficial" capacity), as well as the infamous "Diplomatic Immunity". Because of this, many Diplomats are cross-trained as Field Agents.
Initial Training: Linguistics 1*, Psychology 1, Bureaucracy 2, Information Gathering 2, Appraisal 1, Bargaining 1, Trading 1, Interviewing 1, Writing 1, Local Knowledge 1.
Primary Skills: Bureaucracy, Information Gathering, Interviewing, Writing, Anthropology, Linguistics, Psychology, Local Knowledge, All Mercantile Skills, All Vehicle Skills.
Related Skills: History, Medicine, Imaging, Communications, Melee, Sidearms, Leadership, Tactics, All Other Intellectual Skills, All General Skills, All Underworld Skills.
Initial Training prepares a would-be Diplomat only to "Junior Legate" level. This is sufficiant to handle minor matters without supervision, but not to negotiate treaties, etc. Minimum requirements for such jobs would include Skill Levels of: Bureaucracy 1+, Information Gathering 1+, Appraisal 1+, Bargaining 1+, Trading 1, Interviewing 1+, Writing 1+, and Local Knowledge 1+. Junior Legates are more often used as gatherers of information than negotiators.
While Trading is not a skill of primary importance for Diplomats, a knowledge of commerce is important for understanding the effects of many a law. Bureacracy is absolutely necessary for making/implementing new laws, Information Gathering and Interviewing for researching them, and Writing for drawing up the agreements that Bargaining helped negotiate. Anthropology helps Diplomats understand cultural differences they encounter. Psychology is always useful for sizing up the opposition, or understanding what your allies want/need. Knowledge of the Local area, political climate, History, etc., can aid greatly in understanding the current mess one finds themself in, and Linguistics allow one to speak the language of those (s)he is dealing with. Since the Frontier (where most Diplomats do their work) can be dangerous, it is not unusual for them to be trained in Sidearms/Melee, as well as First Aid/Medicine (besides, having helped treat the Pasha's sick son promotes interstellar goodwill, and looks great on the resume' - and you never know when some nasty disease might break out, on the frontier). Since treaties cover all sorts of areas, it is not unusual to find Diplomats with a smattering of most common skills (those involved in regulating Mines may have Mining & Prospecting, for instance), and because of their work with sensitive papers, Underworld Skills (especially Forgery & Security Systems) may often have been acquired. For those who have been "in the business" for a while, the development of Leadership, or even some Tactical skill is natural. Likewise, while a more well-established Diplomat may have a chauffeur on-call, a Junior Legate may have to hire his own vehicle, and so Vehicle Skills are also common. Finally, since ferrying information about at high speeds is often a very important part of a Diplomat's duties, many have learned to operate the Communications Workstation on the Bridges of one of their Nation's or Colony's Courier Vessels.
Benefits: As members of Government/Civilian Careers, Diplomats must be fluent in French. In addition, they also receive Latin as Academics. Other languages required for their assignment(s) may be learned via the Academic Linguistics skill, as usual. See the Benefits Table.
Also, all Diplomats enjoy the infamous "Diplomatic Immunity", which disallows them to be prosecuted for most crimes committed in foreign territories (they are exported home, instead). This is another reason that cross-training as Field Agents is popular!
* The one Initial language that Diplomats receive as part of their Initial Training in Linguistics will depend upon where they are sent. The French Junior Legate to Portugal will be taught Portugese, etc. If the required language is already known by the (N)PC, then English will generally be taught (since this is the "International Language" for use in Inter-Ship Communications). If the (N)PC already knows both English and the required language, they are allowed to learn any additional language that they wish (you never know when it'll come in handy). Popular languages include: French (which is already known), German, Japanese, Cantonese, Machurian, Spanish, and Portugese.