George Madison

George Warren Madison (born June 12, 1968) is a political and diplomatic figure from Quintessence of Dust, currently serving as their Ambassador to the United Nations.

Early life and education

George Warren Madison was born and raised in the Regency district of Highmark City to William Madison, a lecturer in geology at University College Highmark, and Annabelle Leclerc, a classical pianist. His brother Joseph was his senior by two years. Annabelle toured widely, unfortunately meaning she was never around much; she then began drinking heavily, unfortunately meaning she was. When Madison was seven, his parents separated, and Annabelle committed suicide in the Central Hotel two years later. He and his brother attended the Highmark Primary 204 and Third Regency Upper school, where he was considered an able but unexceptional student with a particular affinity for languages. He was interested in electronics, and his first jobs were working at local repair shops.

He enrolled at the University of West Sponson, but was unenthusiastic about continuing his education, preferring to travel and find a job that interested him. Originally registered to read mathematics, he switched major twice, first to electrical engineering and then physics, although he did well in his minor, German, in which he was almost fluent. Though somewhat unhappy in his studies, he was popular among the student body, working as engineer for the college radio station and joining the university chapter of the Liberty Party, though he later admitted he knew "almost nothing about politics, and cared less" at this stage.

Military service

When the Second Colonial War broke out in 1988, Madison surprised everyone who knew him by enlisting in the Quintessential Marine Corps. He had to that point displayed no ambition to serve in the military and a distinct antipathy to the Officer Training Corps and campus recruiters; however, he ws obtaining failing grades in his studies, and the desire to see the world and possibly make use of his language skills in the Francophone Colonies was a prime motivation. He began writing regular letters to his brother, then studying to become a doctor, which chronicled his changing attitude to the war, from initial enthusiasm to complete disgust. After completing his initial training in Moria, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion 4th Marines on South Island. Until December 1988, Madison's unit saw no combat, mainly assisting in rebuilding local infrastructure, and in his letters he stated that he did not anticipate he would do so. He abandoned a brief attempt to continue his education by distance learning, but completed two Marine courses in mechanics.

The Bloody Dawn Offensive completely changed the course of the war, and Madison was caught in this tidal shift. While on sentry duty at Camp Plage Blanche he was shot in the leg by a PRA sniper and received minor shrapnel injuries later that night when a suicide bomber ran into the medical station at which he was being treated. His injuries reduced him to peripheral involvement in the initial counterassault to regain South Island. In early 1989 he was involved in Operation Clear Skies to recapture the rebel-held city of Dragard. It was during this encounter that he first killed, shooting two PRA saboteurs attempting to set off an improvised explosive device; his subsequent letters to his brother were preoccupied with repeated analysis of this event. As the South Island campaign wore on, he was awarded decorations for valour and promotions reflecting his leadership skills, but was already becoming disillusioned with military life and the political context of what he was doing.

In August, 1989, the 1st Battalion was part of the massive amphibious assault on North Island. At the Battle of Notre Dame du Mont, Sergeant Madison was forced to take command of his platoon after their commander was killed, and led the capture of one of the main PRA bases on the island, infiltrating the camp by night and taking General Mohammed el-Abbas prisoner (later admitting he had no idea he had detained such a high-ranking officer). He was awarded the Marine Cross for his actions. Over the subsequent he earned two Red Ribbons for heroic actions, and was promoted to First Sergeant; in October, he received a battlefield commission to Second Lieutenant. One week after his promotion, he was shot in the back while patrolling the Leine River, and underwent minor surgery, though he recovered and rejoined his men in January, 1990, whereupon he was made company commander.

Shortly after his return, he earned the Medal of Honour, the highest decoration of the Quodite military, for his actions at Conchou. Severely weakened after months of unsuccessful jungle warfare and under near-constant attack by guerillas, his company was in disarray, but was nonetheless ordered to destroy a facility that intelligence indicated was a PRA communications point. It quickly transired that the base was in fact a - heavily guarded - munitions store as well. Madison and two other men held down the PRA forces with suppressing fire, allowing the others to escape, firing until they ran out of ammunition and then using the machine gun of a crashed Army helicopter; they then laid explosives and fled, destroying the entire compound and the weapons stores within it.

Most decorated soldier

At the close of the war, Madison had spent 35 months in the Colonies and almost two years in combat, earning a promotion to First Lieutenant. He was the most highly decorated soldier of the Second Colonial War, and his decorations included:

• Medal of Honour
• Marine Cross
• Red Ribbon with Star
• Medal of Merit
• Blue Ribbon with Star and Valour Device
• Medal of Blood with Three Stars
• Good Conduct Medal
• Presidental Unit Citation with Star
• Colonial Campaign Medal with Five Stars
• Amphibious Assault Medal with Star
• North Island Campaign Medal
• Colonial War Victory Medal
• Peacekeeping Medal (North Island)
• Marine Combat Medal
• Marksman Badge with Star

Depression

In May 1990, Madison returned to Quintessence of Dust for the first time, revered as a war hero and despised as a symbol of imperialism in equal measure; unaware of the publicity his actions had garnered, both came as something of a shock. Far more devastating was the news that his brother had been killed in action on the last day of the war; he had not even been aware that Joseph had joined the Army. Having initially planned to stay on in the Marine Corps, he now turned down a promotion to Captain and instead accepted an honourable discharge.