Harris Hill

Harris Hill (b. December 20, 2352) is the current Commanding Officer of the USS Nebula, the namesake of the class. After a career in Operations, Captain Hill has been awarded his first command.

The Early Years

Harris Hill was a winter baby born in Halifax Nova Scotia on December 20, 2352. Born into a family of sailors, Harris’ first solo navigation on the open sea was at five years old, though his parents Paul and Brittany Hill were just a few meters behind his vessel. For over two hundred years, the Hill family owned and operated Hill Tours which consisted of a small fleet of sailboats that would sail up and down the coast of Nova Scotia giving visitors an oral history of the island and also getting to view the local wildlife up close. While attending primary and secondary school, Harris’ life was the ocean; he’d finish his day at school, rush home to complete his homework, then head out for the evening sail along the coast. All were surprised when he decided to enter Starfleet and navigate the stars rather than the seas.

Starfleet Academy

Starfleet Academy seemed like an entirely different world to Harris. All things considered, he’d only left Nova Scotia three times in his life and all the destinations were on earth. As he walked towards and around the marvelous buildings, he was in awe. He never thought he’d be here, but here he was. His parents, while supportive of his decision but sad to see him leave the family business, accompanied Harris to his first day at Starfleet Academy. They made sure his room was perfectly assembled which included sand and ocean water from their favorite beach (to keep home close). After a quick dinner, his parents transported back to Canada, the business needed to be run. This was the first time he was on his own, but he felt prepared.

His roommate, Steven Brown, would become his best friend. While Harris was an intelligent, hard-working young man, Steven was a laid-back popular son of a starship Captain. Together, they were unstoppable. Steven brought Harris to all the Starfleet parties introducing him to more senior officers, and Harris would tutor Steven. To both of them, it seemed like a fair trade. Harris would decide to specialize in starship operations while Steven would become a pilot. They’d study together and got into some minor trouble. By the end of their four years they were inseparable. But as graduation approached, they both received their assignments: they’d be on separate starships.

The Dominion War

Ensign Harris Hill reported for duty just a day after his Academy graduation – with the Dominion War beginning Starfleet needed every officer that it could muster. He’d been assigned to the Steamrunner Class USS Wisconsin as an Operations Officer. Like many young soldiers, Ensign Hill felt an awkward sense of excitement as he waited for the Altai to see battle – he was ready to fight for the Federation and to send the Jem’Hadar and Founders back through the Wormhole. The Wisconsin was one of the first ships to face the Dominion in Battle. Ensign Hill was one of just 200 survivors.

Shocked by the destruction of the USS Wisconsin, Ensign Hill was quickly reassigned to a tactical unit serving on the frontlines of the War. Gone were the days of ensuring maximum efficiency of key systems. Harris was now trained in the intricacies of war. He’d be an active participant of the first and second Battle of Chin’toka, rising to the rank of Lieutenant.

In 2375, while defending the Federation position in Chin’toka, a unit of Jem’Hadar fighters used their camouflage to enter their camp. Rather than using their disruptors, the Jem’Hadar used their handheld blades to attack. Harris didn’t realize the attack was coming until he saw the Jem’Hadar stab him in the chest and then again in his hand. Nearly dying from blood loss, Harris’ life was saved when reinforcements arrived and he was transported to the nearest medical bay. Harris lost two fingers on his left hand, and has a nasty scar close to his heart, but the wounds inflicted to his mental state were nearly debilitating. He’d spend the next six months in a Starfleet Psychiatric hospital working through his PTSD.

Lieutenant Harris, now ready to return to duty, was assigned to the USS Galaxy as it prepared to enter Cardassian space as part of the final invasion. Having served admirably during the war, he’d been promoted in position to the Assistant Chief of Operations aboard the Galaxy. During the battle, he’d be at an auxiliary operations station working in conjunction with the engineering department to keep the weapons and sheilds operating. When his Chief was servely injured form a power overload, Harris immediately took over, ensuring a seamless transition. The Battle of Cardassia would be victorious for the Federation, but now the reconstruction of the Alpha Quadrant began.

A Post War Galaxy

The USS Galaxy, a ship designed to fulfill a variety of roles for the Federation, would remain in Cardassian space to assist in the reconstruction of Cardassia. In the waning hours of the Dominion War, the Jem’Hadar had turned their weapons upon the Cardassian people. The resulting genocide and infrastructure destruction was something the galaxy had never seen. Immediately, Starfleet began coordinating clean up and rebuilding operations. When Captain Elizabeth Horizon of the USS Galaxy distributed assignments to the crew, Lieutenant Hill was responsible for cleaning and rebuilding the school in the southwestern sector of Lakarian city. His team of 10 had been given a shuttle craft and an industrial replicator. They would work on the project for nearly six months. Aside from sleeping on the ship and taking a day off each month, he mostly spent his time rehabilitating and rebuilding Cardassia.

The USS Galaxy would continue to support the reconstruction efforts on Cardassia for just over a year. After which, Starfleet turned their bow towards exploration. But Lieutenant Hill did not join the Galaxy on their trip, instead he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and made the Chief Operations officer aboard the USS Morocco.

Early in his career, Harris had thought of joining the ranks of leadership. He’d looked up to leaders like Picard, Sisko and later Janeway and felt a longing to make a difference as they did. They emulated what it meant to be in Starfleet. Harris decided on his first day as Chief that he’d try to follow in their footsteps. Lt. Commander Harris Hill felt reinvigorated when the Morocco set course for unchartered space. This was the first time in his Starfleet career that he’d been out in space exploring.

The Morocco would make first contact with nearly a dozen different species, and make numerous scientific discoveries all while traveling further away from the Alpha Quadrant. Harris appreciated the solitude of the trip – he was able to focus on himself, continuing to reflect on his experiences during the Dominion War, and learn. It was during this time that Harris started command training. Under the supervision of the Executive Officer, Commander Charles Thompson, Harris completed the training while in Deep Space. When the Second Officer decided to give up the secondary role and focus on their leadership role as the Chief Science Officer, Harris was a natural choice.

Starship Leadership

The USS Morocco returned to the Alpha Quadrant in 2382. In recognition of the vessel’s successful mission and his leadership potential, Starfleet Command promoted Harris Hill to Commander and to Executive Officer of the USS Melbourne, an Excelsior Refit class.

Up until this point, Harris’ commanding officer’s had followed a more servant leader approach. That was not Captain Maureen O’Brien. To say she was authoritarian was an understatement. She had Harris running around the ship putting out fires and walking on egg shells every day for the first six months. After which, she started to let him in – he’d replaced her first and thus far only First Officer who’d been promoted to his own command. Captain O’Brien was not someone wasted time; she wanted to make sure Harris was worthy of her mentorship.

Commander Harris Hill learned from Captain O’Brien that strong leadership and high expectations meant your crew functioned accordingly. While Harris didn’t fully take on this style of leadership, he took what he saw as best practices and integrated it into his own practice. Just two years into his time on the Melbourne, Starfleet was presented with the largest humanitarian crisis the Galaxy had ever seen: saving 900 million Romulans from certain death. With Starfleet agreeing to provide support, the USS Melbourne was assigned to the initial relief effort. After a brief refit, the USS Melbourne set course for Romulan space.

As was expected, the relief effort started with the Romulan bureaucracy wasting time. Upon their entry into Romulan space, the USS Melbourne was re-routed three times before reaching their destination. Once they arrived, the local governments worked with Captain O’Brien to evacuate the highest classes of society, while the commoners were to remain on the planet. Commander Harris Hill had a few choice words with Captain O’Brien but the two agreed that following the orders of Starfleet by deferring to the local governments. This experience would soon become outside the norm; as they arrived at the next few planets, there was a noticeable mix of refugees. On one particular planet, Captain O’Brien showed a softer side when she found a group of young Romulans huddled together and scared in the corridor. They’d lost their parents during the hustle and bustle of their onboarding and were lost. Unexpectedly, she got down to their level, complimented them, and took their hand leading them to the Romulan quarters. Later, the Captain leaned in to say, “If you tell anyone, you’ll never command a starship in this fleet.”

The New Normal

The USS Melbourne was an aging starship. After years of service, the decision was made to send the ship to the Utopia Planetia yard for a total refit into a transport vessel. Captain O’Brien insisted on Harris taking shore leave for the first time in years. He decided to visit his parents. On April 5th, 2385 the news of the Synth attack on Mars arrived. He immediately turned on the news cast to see the USS Melbourne explode. Shocked by the explosion, Commander Hill saw memories onboard the ship flash before his eyes. Many had transferred but more than half remained aboard to assist in the refit. That included Captain O’Brien.

In the months after the Synth attack, Starfleet refocused their attention to the Federation itself. Commander Hill, based on his operations background, was temporarily assigned to the clean up and reconstruction efforts on Utopia Planetia. As a team leader, he was responsible for sifting through the rubble, locate the remains of the dead, and towards the end of his one year assignment, reconstruction. His time on Mars reminded him of his time on Cardassia – a thought that he never thought would enter his brain. This was the Sol system!

Commander Hill’s time on Mars would come to an end with his transfer to the USS Midway, an Akira class starship. As the First Officer, Commander Hill participated in a number of engagements including engagements with the Sovereignty of Kahless, the Cardassian Union, and most recently with the Hunters of D’Ghor. Aside from combat, the Midway protected cargo hauls, conducted limited scientific research, and hosted various diplomatic conferences.

With the revelations that Commodore Oh was a Romulan agent and that the Tal Shiar who was responsible for the Synth attack, Starfleet redirected their efforts to exploration. As with many galactic shifts, a number of Starfleet Captains retired from their positions, the resulting domino effect resulted in Commander Harris Hill being laterally promoted to the USS Frontier as their Executive Officer.