Dwight "Bud" Stephens

SERGEANT DWIGHT “BUD” STEPHENS- Marine Sergeant,
mid 60’s, silver hair, rugged face, a born leader, leading military
officer of Athena’s crew.

EXCERPT:

Nolan Drake took the ticket and tapped it against the arm rest
of the wheelchair while he peered down at the video player. His ran
his fingernails across the sleek screen, prompting the video to begin
playing.
A man’s grizzled image surfaced with refined clarity. Nolan
immediately recognized the aging hero. Sergeant Stephens walked
across the underground facility somewhere in the southern
hemisphere. Nolan guessed it was the South Pole based on his
previous conversation with Senator Perry. “We are preparing the
Apollo for her maiden voyage,” Stephen’s stern, yet friendly voice
began the introduction. “We are about to embark on a mission to
save civilization on orders from the President himself. I am one
of the commanding officers on the ship, and our ship’s manifest
is swelling with engineers, teachers, doctors, scientists, and their
families, along with several military and NASA personnel.”
Nolan traced his fingernail over the screen fast-forwarding the
speech to the end.
Chatter in the background distracted Stephens for a brief
moment. “For those of you who have perished in Yellowstone’s
wake, we offer a moment of silence,” he paused, “for those of
you lucky enough to have the last ticket to New Earth, I offer you
Godspeed and safe travels.”
Nolan glanced down at the ticket:

The Athena
Departure: January 2, 7 pm
Arturo Pratt Naval Base, Antarctica
Destination: New Earth