Legacy of the Confederation III - Characters - Gerald Matheson

BIO:  At the outset of the Zerg War in 2500, 95% of all commissioned officers were 'lifers.' They started their careers in Officer's Training School (OTC) and never looked back. Eight years into the war, more than 35% of commissioned officers had been killed in action, wounded beyond their capacity to remain in the war, or were MIA. As a result, multitudes of civilian leaders were recruited from the enlisted ranks as well as the core worlds to fill that void. Gerald Matheson was not such a replacement. From the moment the Zerg War began, Matheson was at the frontlines and eight years later, lived to tell about it.

Matheson started his career as an ensign and over the course of three years got his own command. As Captain of the Arlington, Matheson has been assigned dozens of missions by fleet command both as leader of battle groups and solo runs. In all cases, he brought his crew home from the combat zones.

Prior to joining the UMC, Matheson dreamed of space travel and took up a hobby in his intermediate and second intermediate schooling of stellar cartography. He memorized the ascension and declination of thousands of star systems in the vicinity of earth. In his military life, he was among the few starship captains who did not require the services of a dedicated stellar cartography unit or long distance navigator and instead plotted the courses for his ship and his battlegroups on his own.

Matheson was well known by flag officers for his dependability in the completion of missions and assignments and for that reason, was often tasked to spearhead the initial planetary drops onto Zerg infested worlds. While Matheson had as much loathing for the Zerg as most people in the Confederation, he never allowed it to cloud his judgment or blind his sense of reason. He would never order his forces to engage a Zerg target which outclassed his current fleet and troop strength no matter how much he wanted to.

And just like fleet command took notice of Matheson for his outstanding ability to complete his missions, Matheson took notice of Lieutenant Gerson Drake (formerly a peace officer) who had similar success on the ground as Matheson had in space. It was to Drake Matheson gave the most difficult assignments or 'squat rots' because it was Drake who would complete them and bring his people home alive.