Mike Clayton

Name:	Mike Clayton
Occupation:	Grand Admiral
Home:	Command One
Gender:	Male
Age:	Born in 1951. He's 74 at the start of book 1
Height:	6'2"
Alliances:	Earthfleet

Mike Clayton is the Grand Admiral of Earthfleet, and is both an astute politician, and a brilliant tactician. He understands both the political lay of the land across the galaxy, as well as the military one. When he first enters office as Grand Admiral, he takes an already powerful, efficient and effective defensive fighting force and turns it into an even better one after the tragic events of The Battle of the Oort Perimeter, the defense of Earth against Black Orchid, and the fight against the Crassians, both in Sol Space, and at the battle of The Haven.

His flagship, and later on his personal starship (after his retirement and return to civilian life), is the Sergenious. While he lives most of his life as a single man, after leaving Earthfleet, he falls in love with his long time friend Sarah, and the two get married. Mike's influence on both Earthfleet, and the Society are monumental, and even the larger galaxy as a whole, and the impacts of this extend well beyond his lifetime. Also, Edmond Clayton, the first Grand Admiral of Earthfleet, and one of its founders, was his great, great grandfather.

One of the things that Mike is most noted for is his "lead from the front" leadership, and incredible skills as a tactician and strategist. In fact, he is the single greatest tactician and strategist in all of Earthfleet history up through the Dark Earth storyline. He is even called out of retirement briefly during The Marargon Invasion where his incredible skills are put to the test again, and prove to be exactly what the galaxy needed at the time to defeat the otherwise unbeatable Marargon. Through an expert bit of leadership, and strategy, he lured the hives in, time and time again, to their ultimate destruction.

This effort then led to a peace treaty between Earth and the Tragarians, who above all else respect and honor both strength, and military prowess. And, while they do not enjoy peace as the other races do, they do respect power, and will gladly submit themselves to it if they feel it is superior to their own. Mike's efforts to save the galaxy from the Marargon, which also saved the Tragarian empire, earned Earth a peace with them that lasted for centuries. This also benefited Earth's ally, the Gayik'Von by giving them a lasting peace with their bordering neighbor by association because, to attack an ally of Earth was, to the Tragarians, at least, the same as attacking themselves. This, in turn, bought Earth the time, and freedom, to grow into a multi-star system republic that continued to benefit the galaxy for many centuries.

Notable Assignments

Here's a list of notable ships and locations where Mike served during his long military career:

• Agamemnon (operations officer)
• Marshall (captain)
• Sergenious (captain and admiral flagship)