#20 Admiral “Slade” Chavez

Jules Rivera | November 20, 2010 | 0 Comments

I love Battlestar Galactica (new series, not the disco glitter catastrophe from the 70’s). Let’s get that out of the way. I love Battlestar Galactica and it should be no secret that it was a major influence on me in developing Valkyrie Squadron. There’s a lot to love about the show: intense writing, amazing performances, really hard-hitting themes, sweet ass battles; but for all there is to love about BSG, there were parts of that show I didn’t love.

Namely, the familial DRAMAAAAA. From the get-go, we find Commander Adama and his pansy crybaby son, Lee, entwined in some serious DRAAMAAAA following the death of Lee’s brother and the Commander’s Son, Zak. Now, don’t get me wrong. Deaths in the family can fragment the whole crew, but their griping was just OVER THE TOP. Everything AND I MEAN EVERYTHING was a big blowout, usually ending with Lee storming off in a huff and the commander gritting his teeth. It bordered hilarity and merits parody.

So here we are.

Admiral Chavez is the commander of the space forces overall, his power trumps even that of Commander Duri, highest ranking officer on Valhalla station. He is a “good ol’ boy” and macho almost to a fault. He sets the standard for hard-nosed leadership in the upper echelons of the United Space Forces.Â He’s an aging meathead. He’s basically Lt. Leon Zantha plus 30 years.

Speaking of Zantha, Chavez hand-picked him to make a man out of his “sissy boy” son, Aidan, by assigning his son to Odin Squadron 4. He doesn’t get along with his son at all, because the Admiral would love nothing more than to have his son follow in his footsteps and that’s not likely to happen. We’ve already established Aidan is a cowardly drama queen, not exactly military bad ass material. What’s so frustrating to the admiral is that his ongoing battle with his son is the one battle he can’t settle with a sidearm.

Damn sensitive sissy boys.

You’ll notice the Admiral has a prosthetic eye. Officially, he lost his eye in a key victory against the droids ten years prior, though unofficially, the injury might’ve had more to do with this…