Personal lor, 15 Oct 2154

[Ensign Jake Walker 0]

As he leaned against Pod 2, Snake was watching the show as he puffed on his cigar. He was really enjoying watching "The Bull" ream the young officer. Nothing like a good dressing down to start the day, which was what was happening as the Acamarian sun was beginning to break over the East. It was beginning to look like a beautiful day, but not as beautiful as the women of Challenger.

 

The had always been the reputation of Pilots being womanizers. While outwardly it looked like Snake fit that category by how he dressed and what he did for fun, it really didn't fit him. Sure he like flirtation, but deep down he was always the son of James Walker. His Father had taught him that all people were equal regardless of what sex they were, where they were from, or what they did. And if it was good for his Father, it was good for him. Back home people had the highest respect for James Walker not because he was the local Sheriff, but because he was a fair man that treated everyone with respect.

 

The funeral for Jim Walker had been one of the biggest Grafton had ever seen not because of how he died but how he lived. Snakes Father had been attending the annual Law Enforcement conference in Orlando when the Xindi weapon struck Florida. Amanda Walker, who normally went so she could go to Disney with the other families, was unable to attend because she had caught a cold. I was ironic that a common cold saved her life.

 

She would be well cared for out of the UN fund for the families of the Florida disaster, but she was now without her Jimmy. The town would support her all they could (That was how it had always been done in West Virginia), but Family always came first. Being the only son of Sheriff Walker, some said he should come home for his Mother. He had even been offered his Fathers job as Sheriff by the Town Council, but Snake turned it down. He knew, as did Amanda, that he was born to be an Air Force pilot. As it turned out, the only thing Snake was better at than being an Air Force pilot was being a pilot for the Star fleet.

 

As "The Bull" finished with the young officer, Snake started to see similarities between Bull and his Father. These were real men, made of steel and forged by fire they were the stuff of leaders. Not just leaders by of their temper, but their temperament. They would pour knowledge on you like a fountain if you could just sit up straight and listen.

 

As he puffed his cigar again, he though this was going to be a pretty good gig. Shuttle people about, sit at the helm of the Star fleets newest ship, and travel to distant places with some of the brightest and cutest women the fleet had to offer. Not bad for a boy for West Virginia.