I must sincerely apologize to everyone that's following my profile. As you can see I'm not dead. I just haven't been updating for a while. I have no real excuse besides my muse being a fickle bitch, damn her. When I get a story idea in my head it's like all my other stories get put on the back burner. I don't intend to abandon them. It's just if I try to write further without the proper motivation then they don't turn out as good as they could be. I wouldn't want to post anything other than my best for you guys. That being said, here's the beginning of the work my muse has been so adamant I pursue. This whole story started out with two questions. "What would happen if Nunya was an actual naval vessel?" "Why doesn't Zoro take interest in women?" Now, the second question is kind of obvious. He's too focused on his goal and promise to even consider a relationship of any kind. But that didn't stop my muse from spinning it into a whole different direction. So, this story takes place a little under two years before the start of the actual One Piece series. I didn't plan on posting this for a long while yet, but things happened in the last few days that made me reconsider. My sister asked me to make a pirate ship cake for my nephews birthday. My imagination has me pumped for that. There are also so many birthdays going on around me right now that it's hard not to share that mood with everyone. My own birthday is just around the corner.

The main reason I'm posting this story today: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZORO!

I make no money off of this work of fiction. One Piece and it's characters are the work of Oda Eiichiro.

Harbinger

Prologue: USS Harbinger

A young female military recruit stood in the hall in front of the conference room at the main building in the Fort Knox base. She was the youngest Commanding Officer in the navy at Twenty. Her high schooling had taken place in a military facility that she had begged her parents to allow her to attend. When she graduated she immediately enlisted and was sent out to sea having already completed basic training in school. Not even a half year later the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center happened. Things on the ship had been stressful, including several attacks on their vessel. It was during one of these attacks the young recruit gained a reputation. The bridge had suffered a direct attack, all officers killed. The ship had been in chaos. The recruit, knowing better than to take charge, started suggesting things that would help them save the ship and not lose any more lives. This managed to bring the entire crew back home with the only casualties being those from the initial attack. Her actions had been noticed and recognized with a ranking promotion.

The meeting that was being held was regarding her. The officials were discussing if she should be sent on an exploratory mission out at sea. A new type of ship had been built and they needed it to be tested by the best and brightest of the military. Three ships in total had been built. The first two already had their crew for test runs. They would launch as soon as the third one had it's crew established. The team would consist of a CO, Chief Engineer, physician, helmsman and a computer technician.

"They're ready for you now," the secretary at the desk announced.

The young girl nodded to the woman and went to the door. She knocked twice before entering. Once inside the girl saluted and said, "Rachel Gillis reporting for assignment."

"Thank you for coming," the naval admiral greeted. "At ease." Rachel lowered her hand and put both hands behind her back and feet shoulder width apart. "As you know, we've been discussing whether to send you on this test mission. Your service has been examplorary and your loyalty not in question. Some of us are concerned, however, regarding your age. Some would argue that you don't know the possible dangers that could be involved."

"All due respect sir," Rachel said when he paused. "Neither do the other COs that have taken up this mission. It's a test mission, so any number of things could happen. Yet, you need a few crews of various backgrounds and history to make reports. Decisions and outcomes are based off of the past experiences of the crew. If you only assign crews within the same age orientation and gender you'll get the same reports."

"An intriguing argument," Rachel's immediate supervisor stated. He was a chiseled man with dark features and dark, slightly graying hair. "Tell us, if we were to give you any choice of location to study with the ship, what would it be?"

"This is a stealth research vessel correct?" Rachel waited for nods of comfirmation. "I'm under the impression that it would also be used to collect enemy intel. It was also built to research stange occurances. Going to waters where the possibility of engaging hostiles is out of the question. However, my destination is no where near a hot zone. If you were to give me command of the remaining ship I would sail it south east from Fort Knox. Then we would spend a week investigating the heart of the Bermuda Triangle. It would be our mission to study the different electrical pulses and currents and try to understand why we've lost so many vessels there through the entire naval history of the US."

A silence stretched across the room. "Why the interest in the Bermuda Triangle?" the navy admiral asked.

"Since a young age it's fascinated me," Rachel admitted. "I would like to better understand why it is that so many vessels have been lost." She paused to let that information sink in. "I assume that scuba gear and a small submersable will be included among the assets of the ship? They would help in gathering sea bed samples."

"A number of small vehicles will be in the cargo bay," an officer agreed. "Each one has their uses for gathering information, research or intel. The main source of transportation, aside from the ship itself, would be a helicopter. Although you wouldn't have a pilot to man it just yet. This is just a test and a full crew is not required."

"Understood," Rachel agreed. "Should the need arise I have a basic understanding of operating helicopters. I believe that a wide variety of knowledge is an asset."

"So it is," the same officer nodded. "If it's the decision of this commitee to send Officer Gillis as the third CO I have no objections."

"Shall we put it to a vote then?" the admiral asked. The table voiced it's agreement. "Officer, if you would give us a moment of privacy." Rachel saluted before walking out of the room once more.

Rachel waited in the hall for another five minutes before she was called in once again. "We've come to our decision," the admiral stated. "The vote has favored in the side of you being allowed command of one of these stealth vessels." At the announcement Rachel remained calm on the outside, but on the inside she was doing a happy dance. "There is one more thing to be discussed, there's still one crewman position open. That would be the computer expert. We're having a difficult time finding someone within the navy that has the qualifications we're looking for."

"I have a suggestion," Rachel spoke out. "If I may be so bold."

"We're all ears."

"The person I have in mind is not in the navy, but still in the military," Rachel started. "She has proven herself more than capable of outsmarting even our most seasoned technicians. She's been called to several bases to fix their computers when no other could. I know her personally and I also know that she won't question my judgement when it comes to a tactical order on the ship. As far as computers are concerned, I'm not overly familiar with them beyond how to use them. I would defer to her judgement in that regards."

"We couldn't allow that," one officer stated. "She's not a part of the navy and these ships are not only classified, they hold valuable classified information as well."

"It's not out of the realm of reason," Rachel pressed. "I can personally vouch for her record. I've known this person my whole life. She graduated from college a year early due to her computer skills. After the Trade Center attack she joined the military. As a part of the US military, she already knows the importance of confidential information. Despite not being in the navy, we can trust her."

"It's something that we'll need to look into and give some thought," the admiral stated. "We'll let you know of our decision before it's time for you to set sail. We'll need to know her name though. You'll have to train her about the basic ship functions while out at sea. You wouldn't have so many duties if you would allow a navy technician to accompany you."

"I have thought of that," Rachel admitted. "But there's no one I would rather have with me on the ship than her. I trust her more than I trust my own sister. I also have a request that I be the one to ask my friend to join my crew on this mission. That is, should you decide to allow her to come with me."

"Only if we decide to grant this odd request ," the admiral stated. "If you'lll give a name then we'll look into it."

"Her name is Melissa Cooper." Rachel gave a final solute and left the room.

The sound of keys from a laptop being pressed quickly droned out the sound of the office around her. She was finishing her 'paperwork' report for the days work. Ever since she agreed to work at this base she had been stuck in a small cubicle and cut off from any challenging work. Her immediate supervisor was intimidated by her computer wit. Sadly there were no other openings available that interested her.

Her lack of challenging work forced the woman to look into a side job of ethical hacking. She only worked for small businesses from her hometown considering that she needed to keep a low profile. She didn't want her superior officers to catch wind of her activities and fire her for it. The job might suck, but until something better came along she was stuck.

The phone ringing was a blissful relief from the droning of keystrokes. Melissa reached for her desk phone, but realized that wasn't where the ringing was coming from. The noise was coming from the bottom drawer of her desk. That's where she usually kept her purse and her cell phone. Melissa moved quickly to open the drawer and fish out her phone. The caller ID showed that it was from her cousin.

"Hey girl," Melissa answered. "What's up?"

"I got the mission I told you about," Rachel answered.

"You mean the one where I won't be able to talk to you for a few weeks?" Missy frowned. On the really hard days it was Rachel that was a shoulder to lean on and an ear to nag to. "When are you leaving and when will I hear back?"

"We'll be living as soon as my last crewman gets here," Rachel said.

"And who's that?" Missy asked. "Or can't you talk about that either?"

"I can talk about it," Rachel agreed. "In fact, that's the main reason I called. The mission requires only a few positions. One would be the Commanding Officer."

"So you," Missy pointed out.

"We will also need a computer tecnician and data analyst."

"You would work with someone less qualified than me?" Missy faked offense in her voice.

"Actually no," Rachel shocked Missy. "I'm calling to tell you I have permission from the admiral. Considering that you're the only geek I trust to this extent I told them I would accept the mission if you came along. So how about it? Want some challenging work, double current pay and a new source of information to ponder over?"

"Double pay?"

"Figures you would focus on that."

"As much as I appreciate the offer," Missy started. "It doesn't sound like a permanent job offer. I'm afraid that I have to decline based on that."

"Don't jump the gun just yet," Rachel said. "This job offer comes backed with a letter of recommendation from the navy for your service. You can use it to get any job that you could ever want."

"You really know how to twist someone's arm," Missy sighed. "Let me think about it. I'll let you know by tomorrow at latest. How long would we be gone?"

"Two weeks," Rachel answered. "Enough time to get there, stay for a full week and then return to the military base."

Three hours later.

"You told her 'yes', right?"

Missy cringed at the look that her mother was giving her. "I told her I would think about it," Missy admitted.

"You're going," Mary Cooper announced. "This is the opportunity you were waiting for. You'll get a decent amount of pay for a few weeks. At the end of the assignment you'll get a letter of recommendation from naval officers. If you do really well on the mission they might even make it a recommendation raving all about your outstanding work."

"It sounds like a good deal to me Miss," Ken Cooper added. "Your mom's right about this. You really should take Rachel up on that offer. You two are best friends. Can you picture her spending two weeks alone with anyone without you there and not start a fight?"

"I really can't," Missy shook her head. "Either that girl will come back, covered in bruises because she was stressed over her assignment and worked herself too hard in the gym or her crew will come back with bruises from being used as a punching bag. But, she has restrained herself before, why can't she now?"

"Now she has a ship and people under her command," Mary pointed out. "I have a hard time keeping all you kids in line, let alone someone unrelated."

Missy arrived at the base two days later. She had a few suitcases with her. Enough clothes for two weeks and enough bathroom supplies to last just as long. Rachel was waiting at the security check for her. After speaking with the guard up front Rachel handed Missy a clearance tag. "This will get you past certain security checks," she explained. "Mind you, you don't have all access clearance. This is pretty much for barracks and cafeteria use. It's electronically coded so the only secure facility you're allowed into would be the one that's holding our test vehicles that we'll be launching as soon as you get settled into your station." Rachel made a motion and another sailor took Missy's bags. "He'll put them into the room you'll be using on the vehicle."

"Launching?" Missy rose an eyebrow at Rachel. "Woman, you know that I don't fly."

"And you won't be," Rachel cut her off. "This isn't a flight vehicle we'll be testing. Granted, it does have the capacity to carry a helicopter, and it will, but it most definitely doesn't fly. If it's needed, I'll be the one using the helicopter to run some research scans. It'll also be a great test to see how the test vehicle will handle the stress of take off and landing procedures. So I might just use the helicopter for that purpose alone."

"You say it's for research, but you just really want to fly. So this rig we're testing," Missy started. "It sounds like a big RV or something. We'll be testing this for two weeks?"

"The length of time is accurate," Rachel agreed. "But we'll go over the vehicle specs soon. For now, you need to come to the office. There's some paperwork that you need to fill out before we can make everything official."

"I smell a dodge," Missy accused.

"I'm not at liability to discuss with you the vehicle in question," Rachel admitted. "Disclosure of that information is to the admiral's discretion."

In the office a security officer went over the forms that Missy needed to fill out. Everything from allergies to classification clauses. Not once was there mention of the vehicle that Missy would be helping Rachel with. As the officer was leaving Rachel spoke up. "It was my understanding that the admiral had a few words to discuss with our new recruit," she said.

The officer turned to look at them and gave a small shake of her head. "I'm afraid that the admiral was called away not that long ago. He won't be able to discuss the situation with you before launch." She then turned around to face them fully. "As such, I'm reminded to deliver a message to you. Under no circumstances are you allowed to discuss the nature of the mission until it is underway. No contact with anyone outside of the team is allowed until the mission is over." She then turned and looked at Missy. "You handed your cell phone to the guard at the gate?" Missy nodded and the security officer nodded in approval. "Then there's nothing else to go over. You may begin the mission immediately."

Once the security officer left Rachel let out a big sigh. "I had hoped that you would be informed of what was going on before it was too late for you to back out," she said.

"You could tell me now," Missy pointed out.

"That's against protocol," Rachel denied. "Not to mention in direct violation of orders. I'll get court martialed and discharged for that offense. Then we'll both be without an income or a decent job referral."

"You really know how to twist the knife," Missy sighed. "Alright then, take me to this all so secret vehicle of yours."

Rachel led the way to a large building that looked like a hangar. "I thought that you said it wasn't a flight mission," Missy accused.

"It's not a flight mission," Rachel affirmed. "We needed a building large enough to contain a vehicle as large as this. Foreign nations have Satellites orbiting the Earth too. They can take orbital photos of our work just as easily as we can of theirs. There's three buildings in total on this base that are hiding our work. Once we're on our way they'll be hidden from radar detection. Which means that without an exact location to take a picture of it's highly unlikely that anyone will know what to look for."

"A big ass truck?" Missy pointed out. "Possibly something black or camo, the type of thing that just screams 'I'm hiding a secret!'"

Rachel gave a little laugh at that. "If only it were that easy," she smiled. She opened a door in the hangar and stepped through. Missy followed quickly behind.

"Why's it so dark in here?" Missy asked. She could barely see Rachel leading the way through the building.

"Another security measure," Rachel answered. "Sometimes we'll have a journalist pay soldiers and other personnel to take pictures of whatever secrets we have in the works. Most of the time the darkness is enough. You'll find that rare journalist that won't mind handing over an expensive night vision camera to a stranger for a good picture. But we also have security measures for that as well. Inside this area are a series of magnets. Nothing super powerful, so don't worry. The most they're able to do is disrupt phone signals and camera imagery."

"If the magnets keep photos from being take then why keep it dark?" Missy pressed.

"Just because they can't take a picture doesn't mean that they still can't report what it is that's in here," Rachel reasoned.

"What about the people working in here?" Missy continued. "They need to see what they're working on."

"The main structure of the vehicle isn't really secret," Rachel pointed out. "The military employs so many different types that no one will really think twice about three being built. It's what's on the inside that matters. Stealth equipment for gathering intel and all sorts of other goodies. Even the helicopter has a way of staying off radar. The only ones we needed to worry about leaking information would be the ones installing the computers and other tech. Thankfully, they didn't need to see the outside of the vehicle. The lights were on inside for installation. But when they entered or exited they couldn't see what the vehicle looked like. I'm sure they could figure out what type of vehicle they worked in, but if they don't know what it looks like or what it's for then there's really no point in reporting that to a journalist who's going to want to know."

The two then began climbing a set of stairs with Rachel still in the lead. At the top Rachel warned Missy of a slight step down. She then led her through a door. The lights were on inside. Just looking around, Missy knew. "I've seen enough movies," Missy pointed out. "You should have told me this would be a sea mission. You know how I feel about bridges over water."

"This isn't a bridge and it's not over water," Rachel argued. "Technically speaking, it's in the water. It just doesn't sink to the bottom without some crisis. Honestly, I would have thought that just by me being in the navy would have made what the vehicle is obvious."

"So I was hoping it wasn't a sea vessel. At sea a crisis can happen at any time," Missy pressed.

"It's not storm season," Rachel began. "Even if it was, we have storm radars and pressure gauges installed to warn us on the severity of any storm that might occur. Honestly, those movies you watch don't really cover all the safety measures taken into launching one of these ships. Lots of thought and preparation are put into each launch before it occurs. Even things like 'which ocean or climate condition is this type of vessel going to work best in' or 'what conditions would be needed to make it sink'. Not a single ship has left these docks in the last decade without a guarantee that it would take a lot of extreme conditions to sink them."

"Oh that's reassuring," Missy said sarcastically. "But I still want to get off."

Rachel narrowed her eyes at Missy. "You would be in breach of your contract and you'll never receive that letter of recommendation."

"Don't care," Missy didn't hesitate.

"Fine, I'll tell you what." Rachel started to walk back the way they came. "If you can find the room you'll be staying in, get your luggage and get off this ship before I start the engines and launch you can leave."

"You know I don't know my way around," Missy snapped.

"You made me a promise," Rachel whirled on Missy. "You promised to come with me on this trip."

"I thought that it would be like wilderness survival or something."

"What kind of survival mission needs a computer tech?" Rachel shook her head at Missy. "You really want to leave me hanging like this? I put a lot of credentials on the line to get you this offer from the navy. Not to mention that the other two ships are ready to launch. They're just waiting on us. Or more to the point, waiting on you. We would have to cancel the mission until a replacement can be found."

"You would replace me?" Missy asked.

"You're not leaving me many options," Rachel pointed out. "You know damn well that the risk of this ship sinking is minimal. Just because you had a bad childhood experience doesn't mean that you should let it rule your life. Take me, as an example. The other cousins and even my own siblings treated me like shit. You're the only one that owned up and apologized for being a complete asshat. Now, while I don't communicate with the cousins at all, I'm not completely against meeting new people. Not everyone is the same. So to you I say, just because something is on the water doesn't mean something bad will happen. If you don't like it that much, then stay away from the railings."

"Fine," Missy growled. "I'll tag along with you. What's the name of this bathtub anyway?"

"The USS Harbinger," Rachel smiled. "It's kind of catchy when you get used to it."

"The word Harbinger is used to described someone or something that brings about change," Missy thought aloud. "So, what, you expect this ship to change how sea warfare is done?"

Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure what they were thinking when they christened this boat. But the name painted on the side is Harbinger. Whether the paperwork says more or not I don't really know."

The launch ceremony wasn't much of a ceremony at all. The maiden voyage of the ships was a secret so they really couldn't hold a ceremony. They were about a mile from shore before Missy finally spoke to Rachel again. "So, where exactly are we heading?"

"The Bermuda Triangle."

"YOU BITCH!"