Michael Harris

Position: Captain

Birthplace: Persephony

Affiliation: Independance

Age: 37

Michael Harris was born on Persephone to a well to do, hard working family.  They lived well enough but was never a part of the ‘social set’ within the planet.  When Michael was old enough he was sent to the core to attend military academy where he studied computers and military theory.  He did fairly well, and his instructors noted his tactical mind was something rarely seen.  Harris graduated from the academy with degrees in computers and military theory, and he was placed onto a cruiser and watched carefully by the brass.  His skills were first rate, and his tactical mind was nothing short of impressive for the Alliance Navy to behold.  Then one day everything changed.

At 26 Michael was on the fast track for early Captaincy and then the opening act of the War of Unification started.  Harris resigned his commission and went back home to support the Independence forces against what was about to occur.  At the opening shots, Michael was given command of a ship and did his best with what he had but the first ship he was given was blown apart soon after the opening shots of the war.  Soon after losing his first command he was given command of a strange looking salvager with quite the impressive electronics suite.  It was originally thought that the ship could perform as a remote sensor platform, but with a little bit of tweaking Harris came up with a brilliant idea that would spell all manner of trouble for the Alliance.  In the Fading Sun’s premier battle, Harris used the ship’s advanced electronics’ suite to feed last second targeting data to missiles fired from extreme range.  The result was devastating and initial Alliance losses in the opening volley were insane.  Superior numbers would eventually win the day, but a tiny salvager using ECM to hide in plain sight was causing all manner of problems.

Not all engagements went the way of the initial one, and the Fading Sun performed its duty as a roving advanced sensor and imaging platform, but occasionally there came times where Harris’ trick came in handy to turn the tide of battles that should have been decisively won by the Alliance.  On the other side of the war though the Alliance knew something was up but they could never find the ship.  Near the end of the war though the Alliance ordered the destruction of all ships, military and non-military in one engagement zone and the decision took the Fading Sun out of the fight.  The ship crashed on one of the poles of a border world that Harris would not talk about.  Having been the only survivor, Harris had to survive and try to get to some sort of civilization.  7 months of travelling and surviving on the land had a malnourished Harris find a settlement, and it was not long after he found out about the end of the war, and the fact that the Independence had surrendered.  He got a flight off planet and went back to Persephone to find his family missing, and everything he knew had been destroyed.

Working odd jobs on ship earned him a little money, but he eventually met an investor who actually wanted to help him find and resurrect his old ship.  Over a year they spend ferrying parts in secret and doing the tiny repairs they could, until one day at 34 years of age, his ship was alive once again.  Harris stood there on the bridge of his ship after all those years and watched it break orbit, and the jury rigged ship limped to a major repair station to have the rest of it repaired.  The Fading Sun was reborn, and over the next four years she would sail the black without many problems.

Michael Harris is a generous and friendly individual. He seems to have a smile in most situations and enjoys a lively debate. He is a very intelligent man who can usually be found with a book or a technical manual of some type when he is not performing duties around the ship. The ship really is his home now. She helped him in the war, and in a way she also helped him survive after the war. He is excessively proud of her, like a father might love his little girl, and is fiercely protective of the Fading Sun. He has a cunning tactical mind, and usually plays for keeps if something requires any kind of physical altercation.

Michael Harris is trained in leadership and command through the Alliance Military from before the war. Years serving as a line officer in space has given him skills to take care of a space craft, pilot her, and use it in combat. While his skills at repair and piloting may be considered amateur at best, using a ship in combat and the tactical considerations involved, he is next to none and was quite litterally heralded as a tactical genius at the academy. His computer schooling has helped him to be able to fully utilize the Fading Sun's electronic suite, which short of a military base, is next to none in the verse. Military schooling has given him knowledge of self defence and weaponry, and while proficient, he is by no means an expert.