Classmate of Geoffrey Tolwyn at the Academy, saved Tolwyn's life during their cadet cruise, when their shuttle crashed during a survey mission off the Albemarle. He received a Distinguished Service Award, and then he and Tolwyn gradually lost touch.

In 2669, Whittaker shows up at Tolwyn's off-base home, at Torgo III, wanting to play chess and chat. At least, this is the story Tolwyn tells Bondarevsky in late 2670, though he later regrets having told him “half truths”, namely, that Whittaker invited him to be part of the Belisarius Group –a military conspiracy planning to take control of the government.

The truth is probably more along the lines that Whittaker had joined Belisarius to fight it from within, and was asking Tolwyn to be part of that plan: The “plan within the plan”, the “virus within the bacteria”.

It is hinted that Whittaker was the mastermind behind the Genetic Enhancements Program, and possibly other things, though we are never given a full rationale for how Black Lance, an army of Seethers, or a war with Border Worlds are supposed to defeat Belisarius.

David was administered suicide by agents of Y-12 in mid 2670 (“four months ago” according to Tolwyn, speaking on 2669.316, or around 2669.196), supposedly because he disagreed with the group's intentions to rekindle the war. This is a dubious statement if we accept that David was fighting the Belisarius Group from within –he wouldn't be expressing opposition at the same time, would he?

There's an officer aboard the TCS Victory, in 2669, CO of the Red Squadron, whose name is Daniel "Warlock" Whittaker, who might be related to David. We never hear of him again, after the war; but he was with the Victory during both: the disastrous voyage of the Behemoth, and then the successful Temblor Bomb campaign.