1st Lieutenant Dalton Wakefield
Name Dalton Wakefield
Position M.A.C.O. Detachment Commander
Rank 1st Lieutenant
Core Statistics
| Gender | Male | |
| Species | Human | |
| Date of Birth | 24/04/2128 | |
| Marital Status | Single | |
| Affiliation | MACO, United Earth |
| Height | 6'2" | |
| Weight | 151lbs | |
| Hair Color | Blonde | |
| Eye Color | Blue |
| Pre-Starfleet | Born in England, as a result of a one night stand that two people regretted, Dalton was not one to experience a normal upbringing. His father a Company Sergeant Major (Warrant Officer Class 2) in the Royal British Army, and his mother a Nurse from Australia, the couple did not expect a child to come of a night of drunken international relations. However upon learning of the pregnancy, CSM Robert Wakefield, a man of tradition and honour, decided to marry Louise Stockton. A marriage built on a one night was not enough to sustain it. After Dalton was 3, his mother decided to move herself and her son to Australia, ending the marriage. Robert’s only request was that his son keep his name, being the traditionalist he was. The transition was hard for the small family. Dalton had gained a slight accent, but quickly changed to fit in. As he matured Dalton accepted the split, as it was really too early in his memory to prove issue. Growing up in the Southern part of Melbourne, Dalton had an affinity for the outdoors, and developed a taste for the military. Mainly due to the fact of his mother’s resentment towards anything army related. It was his desire early on to join up to the Australian Defence Initiative, and join the Army like his father. An opportunity came up in his early high school, to join the ADI Cadet program, something he excelled in early, reaching several ranks through hard work. This unfortunately came at the cost of his schooling, not receiving the best marks. Still quite intelligent, the young man chose to pursue the Cadets with more passion, seeing his education as hindrance. Reaching the same equivalent cadet rank as his father in the British Army, WO2, he took the opportunity to contact his father upon his promotion, for the response to be cold and unforgiving. Detailing that is was only the ‘Glorified boy scout’s badge’ on his arm, rather than a rank that was quite high in the Cadet system. Contact with his estranged father ceased shortly thereafter. A mid-air incident in 2143, with two sub orbital flights saw his mother as part of a first response team sent to the crash site. A passenger liner and military cargo plane collided and spewed ordnance and bodies over a huge area of the Australian central east sections, near Melbourne predominantly. Whilst trying to evacuate a survivor, nearby ordnance cooked off in the extreme heat, killing his mother instantly. Dalton was pulled from school and after the funeral it was decided he had to go and live with his Dad in England. It was a week before his 15th Birthday when he arrived at his Father’s military accommodation. This surged a massive change in both of their behaviours, Dalton knuckled down with study, now wanting to become an officer in the Royal Marines to show up his dad. Robert had to now interact and take care of a 16 year old boy who he hadn’t seen since he was 10 on a brief visit. Living together forced them to bond, and the two lived amicably for a few years before Dalton applied for a Royal Marine officer position. Studying diligently and passing initial tests, he failed the Officer Selection Board component, the board ruling he was lacking experience and needed some wisdom. This shattered Dalton, and he lost confidence because of it. So instead of trying for another career, decided to travel through Europe, backpacking from country to country, passing Europe and ending up in China, after a period of 2 years. Now 20, he reapplied to the OSB and passed. The travelling seasoned him, body and spirit. As a newly minted Lieutenant in 2148, He was assigned his own Troop to command, within the Four-Five Commando unit. Initially making a few mistakes he quickly found a style of leadership to which he reacted well, utilising the democratic option, allowing for suggestions before making the final call himself. He was deployed several times to several ‘brush-fire’ wars, most notably to a part of Cambodia where they took down a militant band of interstellar mercenaries trying to sell illegal substances. It was a several week engagement with heavy combat. Suffering several losses, he soon discovered the glory of combat was not something to behold. In 2150, an invitation was extended toward Officers across the United Earth militaries, to partake in a joint training exercise with the Military Assault Command Operations (MACO). Hopping aboard a Starfleet ship to Mars, Dalton experienced off-world combat for the first time. A week after the exercise he put in his transfer paperwork. Luckily given the nature of the two services, recognition of prior service was upheld and he maintained the same rank level, coming across to the rank of 1st Lieutenant (MACO). There was a six month training block to which he had to completed, temporarily demoted to Cadet for the training, he found another level of humility and restraint. |
|
| Starfleet Career | Reinstating in his rank of 1st Lieutenant, Dalton Wakefield’s first assignment with the MACOs was to train, maintain readiness. Given command of a platoon once again, he fell back into old habits, much to the dismay of his superiors. His horizontal thinking, looking at the battlefield from only one dimension was an issue. Operations could range from Arial insertion via Shuttlepod, or zero-g combat in EVA suits. To counter this he was paired with a Warrant Officer, a career MACO, to beat the old Royal Marine habits and develop a better leader in the process. The MACO training regime focused on being able to operate in the extreme climates and terrains, without the benefit of acclimatising. Dalton and his unit, along with other units of the same composition, rotated through several training camps around Earth. Traveling to Columbia, Afghanistan, Scotland, Antarctica, and Australia to name a few, for periods of up to a month, with only a week of R&R between. Transitioning to Mars, Luna and even Vulcan to complete further advanced training, including EVA and gravity other than 1G. At this point he started collecting unique military equipment, at a rapid pace. Given the International training, the MACOs also trained with the militaries of the host country, and started collecting items unique to that military. His collection grew quickly, trading items of his own kit for such military memorabilia. Pride of place was a Vulcan ceremonial spear, it took him an entire month to find something the Vulcan wanted for it. With the first contact with the Andorians in 2151, Starfleet pushed to have joint trainings with the Imperial Guard. In 2152 the first training was conducted on Andoria, culminating in a joint exercise involving traversing a mountain range to assault a facility, filled with 'enemy' targets. Dalton managed to wrangle a trade for an Ushaan-tor blade, swapping it for a Sykes and Fairbairn commando knife, a spare he carried. Dalton learned an incredible amount through continuous training, his only urge was to get to use it in actual combat, seeing it as dance training with no performance at the end. This frustrated him for several months. Making a few friends over the years gave him an immense network of friends in unusual places, even a few within the ranks of the Imperial Guard. His mix of accents, between Australian and British made him a unique human to talk to, in a organization predominantly North American in descent. One item he was not expecting to add to his collection was a British Army issue drill cane, an inheritance from his late father. With increasing tensions between humans an alien species on Earth, there were increasing numbers of attacks on unarmed and defenseless alien visitors. One such incident occurred where a young Rigellian female was attacked by two armed men, an older Warrant Officer, out of uniform, fought off the attackers, but was mortally wounded in the process. Dalton returned to Earth for his Father’s funeral. Once again he had to move. Returning to Earth for a brief sabbatical he moved his residence to a small town in Scotland, north of Perth. Dalton now had no real family to speak of, no uncles or aunts or distant cousins he could reach, all he had was the MACOs. Returning to duty in 2154, with a new profound attitude about right and wrong. Determined to continue in his father’s name of protecting those unable to protect themselves. The drill cane he took as his personal ‘swagger stick’ as a sentimental reminder, and when appropriate carries it when in uniform. With the precedence set by the Enterprise in the previous 2 years, Dalton found the MACOs getting their feet wet with increasing frequency. 1st Lieutenant Wakefield found himself as a low level logistics officer helping to ascertain equipment requirements for MACO shipborne deployments. Serving in this capacity until 2155 where the CO of the Discovery called for a MACO detachment, and Dalton was recommended by his current commanding officer. Before the transfer, one last training was conducted on Andoria, before being transported to the En-route Discovery. |
|
| Service Record |  - Officer Cadet, Royal Marines. (2147-2148)  - Second Lieutenant, Royal Marines. (2148-2150)  - First Lieutenant, Royal Marines. (2150)  Officer Cadet, MACO. (2150)  First Lieutenant, MACO. (2151-Present) |
| Family | Being his only family member his mother was his confidant and his teacher. Given this fact, he perhaps turned out softer than he would have with a male role model. He was given a chance with the Cadets to have some strong role models early on, and he learned much. Dalton perhaps over compensated with pushing too hard with the military side, alienating his mother, who for obvious reasons couldn’t oblige her son’s passion. She was a proud mother, whose nature of helping people was instilled in Dalton from a young age, and where his compassion springs from. He was devastated when she was killed, but remained proud of the fact she died helping another person. Forced to live with his father changed Dalton, hardened him up, no longer having a person to talk to, instead a rather strict regulated stone faced man whom he had little to no knowledge about. The two bonded over common interests in the military. On one occasion he snuck into his father’s office and delved into some old mission recordings, seeing combat through the recorder his father carried on deployments. After being caught, Dalton became more interested and made it his mission to get stories out of his dad. The two parted amicably upon Dalton’s Royal Marine induction, and he visited several times and they began to enjoy each other’s company. |
|
| Friendships | Over his career so far he has made several friends from many places, as he was always a friendly face, excited to meet people, new or familiar to him. One of his issues initially was trying to have the right amount of distance from his subordinates. He had to be supportive, but also make sure they followed his orders to the letter. He keeps in contact with several of his friends from the Earth militaries, as well as the Imperial Guard. His most unique friend is the Vulcan who he traded with. Having worked with other officers within the MACO Command he has made lasting friends with men at a similar rank to he. Notably a New Zealand 2nd Lieutenant Jordan Tangiora, and a Scandinavian Gunnery Sergeant Thorbjorn Ragnar, the latter of which Dalton requested for his command on the Discovery. |
| Physical Description | Being rather tall and athletic in build Dalton cuts a fine figure in his uniform. Never seen with a strand of hair on the lower part of his face, he is always clean cut and well groomed. His hair is quite short, making him appear younger than he is. This all part of his training and inbuilt habits, learned from the Marines. His uniform is of the same standard, not slackened for one moment whilst on duty. A constant accessory to his uniform is his father’s drill cane, which is held in his right hand at all times. He has a few distinguishing marks across his body. Notably on his face, a small nick on the ridge of the left side of his jaw where he caught a bayonet during training, a small slice that has reminded him to keep his head down. Otherwise a few nicks and burns across his body. His left forearm has a Sykes and Fairbairn commando knife tattoo, and on his right bicep, the Wakefield family crest. His off duty attire is akin to light formal wear, usually a light material button up shirt, with pleated pants and polished shoes. Other styles of dress would include his fitness attire. Not a man for jewellery, the only piece he adorns is a cygnet ring his father passed down from past generations of the Wakefield family. |
|
| General Personality | Dalton has a great manner towards others, he has mastered the skill of ordering subordinates to task, and inspiring their follow-ship. Also taking the time to address the needs of those under his command. |
|
| Strengths & Weaknesses | ||
| Ambitions | Upon achieving his commission with the MACO command structure, Dalton has pushed for more trainings to be conducted off world. Learning from and teaching other Alien militaries to be a better soldier. However this is not driven by the want or lust to kill or destroy, but to make himself and others better. His future ambitions are pushing towards establishing a training base on a Earth Alliance world. A permanent establishment, which would rotate new recruits and older units alike. This would formalize and make the MACO training scheme more consistent. Titled 'Camp Killigrew,' Dalton is putting together a proposal to give to General Casey and his staff, outlining the needs and wants, as well as outcomes and benefits. He is at this point a Career MACO, and hopes to progress through the ranks to Colonel, but would settle for Major. His thinking is to still have his boots on the ground and experiencing combat, rather than riding a desk and fighting a PADD. He also wishes to increase his collection or military memorabilia and someday bequeath it to his descendants. |
Family
| Father | WO2 Robert Wakefield, Company Sergeant Major, Princess of Wales Royal Regiment. (Deceased 2153) | |
| Mother | Louise Stockton, Nurse, Royal Melbourne Hospital. (Deceased 2143) |
