The Temple of the Exploding Head

There are lots of characters rolling around in the LoE universe, some are active and part of the various storylines, while others are more passive helping to set the stage.

Admiral Pax is one of those characters.

He’s been around since the beginning when LoE was just a dusty screenplay. Admiral Pax has always been the counterpoint to Captain Davage. Both men are Blues of the Kanan gentry, but while Davage is very down-to-earth and approachable, Admiral Pax is a stiff, stodgy bore, a blue-blood fully taken with the complications of League Society. Captain Davage utterly detests Admiral Pax, and the feeling is rather mutual. He is never seen in the course of the LoE stories, he is merely mentioned in passing mostly by Captain Davage who complains of his excesses.

Admiral Pax is the Lord of Adrastus, a stately Zenon House perched along the dark blue banks of the Great Blue Pierce river. His family fortune comes from the making of fine cheeses and breads and the fermentation of various types of expensive vinegar. His vinegar production has a Xaphan connection as they are often used in the Xaphan delicacy Ooust. Admiral Pax is often known as “Lord Vinegar” around the Fleet mentioned in giggled whispers.

The Admiral is not an incompetent. He has a fine mind for organization, logistics and battle strategy. His expert placement of Fleet assets during the iconic Battle of Sorrander-Quo helped stem the Xaphan tide and win the day for the League. He is also a tireless fund-raiser and has the ear of the Sisterhood of Light.

The problem with Admiral Pax is his tart, boorish nature. He lords his status over all he considers inferior to himself, which is virtually everybody. He is needy, fussy and maintains an entourage of no less than a hundred people who follow him everywhere he goes. A gregarious man, he often visits various parts of the League and always demands a full War-Bird escort to accompany him at Fleet expense–a ruinously expensive thing. For his excesses Captain Davage has branded him a “criminal” and a “miscreant” and coined the phrase: “Fraud, Waste, Abuse and Admiral Pax”.

At the beginning of Book VI, The Sands of the Solar Empire, Private Taara is assigned to guard a bust of Admiral Pax that is hidden in a lonely alcove as a punishment.

copyright 2012, Ren Garcia and Eve Ventrue