| Author | Message | ||
     VAdm J.D. Wallace |
"Admiral Wallace! Admiral! Over here!" Wallace grunted. He despised reporters, but he had his orders. A blatantly false smile plastered upon his features, the admiral turned to face the crowd of journalists gathering around him in the Hall of Heroes in front of the Pegasus Wall. Not exactly where he would have preferred to deal with these people. "Yes?" A question laced with resentment. "How can I help you?" "Admiral," one older reporter shouted out above the rest, "Melanie Maddox, Alliance News Service." Wallace grimaged. He had heard of Maddox, of course. She was just one of many refugees from Milky Way and the Klingon-Romulan Alliance. But before that, she had been one of the top reporters in the Federation, covering numerous big events throughout the galaxy. He remembered Commander Dalin Poe griping about her on more than one occassion, back in the old days. "Yes, Ms. Maddox, I know who you are. Good to see you're still with us after all this time." No need to be overtly rude. Not unless these vultures started pecking at things they shouldn't touch. "Thank you, Admiral." Was she blushing? "I have a two-part question. First part: Is it true that Admiral Theron is planning to retire and name you as his successor as Supreme Commander of the Allied Defenders at this evening's ceremony?" How the hell did these "rumors" get started, Wallace wondered. It's not like Theron and Wallace had told anyone outside of those necessarily affected by the changes in command. Fortunately, he could answer this question honestly - if a bit evasively. "Ms. Maddox, the ceremony tonight is for one purpose only: the official signing of the Articles of Alliance. If anything else is planned for the festivities, I'll make sure you're the first to know." Technically, he hadn't lied to her. Theron would make the announcement just prior to the signing ceremony, with the change of command and Wallace's promotion to full admiral effective as of midnight this night. The reporters would be miffed that he had evaded their question, but he had spent most of his life using the facts to evade the pure truth. Such was life. "And the second part of your question, Ms. Maddox?" He flashed his tired smile in her direction. The fact that she hadn't protested his lack of a substansive answer had endeared her to him a bit more than the others. "Admiral, is there any truth to the rumors that the Defenders will be disbanded? Many people don't see the need for a standing military force anymore, now that the Pfhor have been driven back. They say that the cost of maintaining the Fleet is too high now that there is no enemy to fight. Assuming the decision was yours to make," she smirked knowingly at Wallace, and he had to admit that she was a sharp one, "what would you say to those people?" Without even stopping to think, Wallace knew what his answer would be. It was the same answer he gave to anyone who asked this question. "Nothing of value is free, Ms. Maddox. Even the breath of life is purchased at birthonly through gasping effort and pain. The best things in life are beyond money; their price is agony, sweat, and devotion.... and the price demanded for the most precious of all things in life is life itself - ultimate cost for perfect value. "Ms. Maddox," Wallace waved his hand at the names on the wall behind him, "these are the names of people who paid that ultimate cost so that you and I could redeem it for that thing of perfect value - our own lives. There will always be those who try to improve their lot in life at the expense of others. I, for one, don't intend to make the sacrifice of our brothers and sisters a vain or empty one. We might downsize a bit, but the Fleet will stay strong. We'll always be there to hold off anyone and everyone who tries to take away those freedoms we have fought for." Silence fell over the assembled reports. Wallace almost smiled as he realized that he had them. "Let the Fleet worry about itself. We've fought for your freedoms, so please make the most of the time you have. It's all you've got." His tired grin flashed again as he turned and headed down the corridor. "See you all at the ceremony." =============== Christian D. Clem '01, aka "Aggie" VAdm Joshua David Wallace, Commanding Officer Defenders Task Force 1.1, Defiant USS Pegasus NCC-92001, Flagship OOC: Portions of Wallace's rant are taken from Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers. If you've never read it, I highly reccommend it. Even if you disagree with the politics espoused by Heinlein's people, you can't deny that it's a fantastic story of the making of a military man. The movie is a fun watch too, though it's very little like the book in a lot of ways. |