Captain Johnathan Harper shook his head, "I don't like this mission Admiral." He said a distinct southern drawl to his voice. He was six two, and 140 lbs of nothing but pure muscle. His blue eyes flashed with fire and his brown hair was shored short and tight, the typical military cut. He was the commanding officer of the SSV Moscow , a Human Systems Alliance Cruiser.
The Commander of the 5th Fleet, Admiral Hackett leaned forward in his chair. "Please Captain, tell me why sending my cruiser is such a bad idea in your mind." His voice was dry and raspy and grated against the Captain's ears. His office, aboard Arcturus Station, was very ornate with over a dozen awards and plaque hung on the walls.
Harper sighed, " Sir, the Moscow is an Alliance Cruiser, she's not meant to go into every system willy-nilly shouting at the top of her lungs 'Hey assholes, I'm right here!'. Sir!" Harper laughed in his head. He had been making that up on the fly.
Hackett nodded, "I understand your concerns, Captain, however what if I told you we had a couple of extra aces up our sleeves." He leaned back and waved hit hand, the lights dimmed and a two holographic projections of the SSV Normandy appeared. "As you know Captain the Alliance recently performed a joint venture with the Turians to produce a Stealth Frigate."
Harper nodded, "Yes, sir, the Normandy, but what does this have to do with my mission?"
"Glad you asked. We built two more with a fourth under construction, away from the prying eyes of that damned council, not that it matters now that the Reapers wiped that system of government out."
"So they think we have one and we really have three."
"Pretty much."
Harper was generally impressed, "So are they coming in with me or am I getting command of them?" He was instantly going over the tactical possibilities of having two stealth frigates to work with. So far none of them were good...for his enemies. When Harper to the the Alliance's General Aptitude Test, ten years ago, it determined that he would have been part of the N7 program. He had failed to make the cut and took regular combat training, but even in that the instructors and anyone unfortunate enough to be on the opposing team said Harper fought like a tiger, constantly adapting to changing circumstance, hitting with everything he had and then disappearing. His natural born proficiency in guerrilla warfare earned him the nickname "Ghost" by his peers and superiors.
Hackett looked over at Harper, the Reaper crisis was over, the Normandy was currently off in the Hawking Eta. So Harper was the next logical choice to lead the new stealth wolf-pack. "You will still stay in command of the Moscow, but we are also giving you command of the 1st Long Range Deep Strike Flotilla, congratulations Rear Admiral." Hackett took pleasure in watching Harper's mouth work back and forth as if he was chewing it over.
Harper saluted, "Thank you, sir." He couldn't believe he was only twenty-nine and already a Rear Admiral. He would have to splash cold water on his face to make sure he was awake.
Hackett returned Harper's salute, "The Lexington, Bunker Hill, and the Monticello are here-by under your command from now on along with the Moscow. Good luck, Admiral, dismissed." Harper paused at the door to pin his Admiral Stars on his uniform lapel. Then walked out.
Harper barely noticed Staff Commander Alice Wade as he walked out of the meeting, he was buried in the manila folder that contained his orders. They walked along in silence as she let him read his orders. Finally after a good fifteen minutes she asked, "Whatcha got?"
Harper closed the envelop and looked at Alice. She was tall, thin, blond hair, with a great figure. She was on the 5th Fleet Intelligence Staff and assigned to his Flotilla. "I've been given my own Flotilla." he said smiling at her. She smiled a polite smile. They had grown up together and dated off and on till they both joined the Alliance. They had never stopped loving each other and sometimes used each other as an excuse to get out of something. They found their way to the Officer's Wardroom and grabbed a table, soon their friends would join them. The weird thing was, they were all assigned to his unit. He shook the thought.
Alice slammed her hands down and exclaimed, "Oh!" she reached across the table and grabbed his uniform lapel rubbing the star on it. "Pretty, I was hoping I would get that soon." She said smiling. They both knew she was lying, she would soon be retiring so she could settle down. She let go of his collar and leaned back as Captain Jesus Rodriguez, Staff Commander Alexis Gagarin, and Major Jonathan Saunders joined them for lunch.
The bald Captain Jesus Rodriguez fixed his green eyes on Harper's Admiral's Star, the Spaniard pointed to it and said in a heavy accent Spanish accent, "I didn't know we were eating with Admiralty today."
Alexis pushed a strand of black hair from her face and nodded, "Damn, I would come you know, a lil less civilian-ish." She was wearing tight blue jeans, a tank top, and a pair of brown heeled boots. He purple eyes were lit up by her dark tan. She smiled a toothy smile. Harper smiled back.
Saunders raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side. Harper knew what was coming next, "Your too good for us now General," he teased his voice booming while using the other appropriate name for Harper's rank, "you have to go eat with them." He pointed over to a table that had two other Admirals quietly eating by themselves.
Harper leaned forward and motioned Saunders in close, "Three words Saunders: Fuck. That. Shit." The table bust out laughing. Saunders smiled, then ran a hand through his hair the man's green eyes darted around, he was a survivor of the Eden Prime attack and was always on his guard even when he didn't need to be.
The group, all except for Alice, had met aboard the SSV Everest in 2123. Their first assignment they had formed a friendship that couldn't be broken, even when they went their separate ways due to the Alliance. "So, Admiral?" Alice asked mischief evident in her voice.
"Yes, Captain?" Harper replied nonchalantly. He winked at her and she squirmed some, she had always loved it when he played eye games with her.
"What is your first assignment?" He noticed they all looked forward. He smiled and opened the Manila Folder.
"My first assignment is to command the 1st Long Range Deep Strike Flotilla, comprised of three Normandy Class Stealth Frigates and one Tokyo Class Cruiser." The group's jaws dropped at once. He went on, "The three stealth frigates are the Lexington, Bunker Hill, and the Monticello commanded by Captain Jesus Rodriguez, Staff Commander Alexis Gagarin, and a Staff Commander Azuki Okamoto respectively. The Flotilla's Marine Detachment, the 304th Expeditionary Force, will be commanded by Major Jonathan Saunders. The Flotilla's Intelligence Officer is a one Captain Alice Wade."
The group stared at him with blank expressions. Finally Rodriguez said, "Jesus, it'll be just like the on the Everest." It hadn't quite dawned on him yet, that he would have his own ship, but it would.
Saunders nodded, "Yup." He smiled, he had always wanted his own unit and now he had one.
Alexis almost jumped out of her seat in excitement, "J-Rod, you know what this means?" She asked in a high pitched squeal. He shook his head, "We get our own ships!" He nodded and let loose the biggest grin. Alice just sat there, but Harper knew what was going through her head.
After lunch was over, she followed him to the dock where the Moscow was tied up. "John?" She asked softly almost inaudible. She looked around to make sure no one was around and then jumped up with glee and smiled.
Harper smiled, "Thats enough Captain, the Flotilla's orders are to track Geth ships and if necessary begin pirating in beyond the veil. The Reaper Crisis may be over, but Humanity and those that stand behind us are still at war with the Geth. Well you know what to do, see you at 0600 tomorrow."
She saluted and when he returned it she smiled and walked away. Harper got a sense of foreboding. He couldn't quite place it, nor could he sleep that night.