Bravo Fleet
Summary
Commander Harvey A. Hudson, Starfleet, is the Commanding Officer of the Norway-class light cruiser USS Montrose (NCC-68817). Hudson is a gregarious, hard-edged leader who doesn’t sugarcoat orders or tolerate excuses from anyone under his command. Known for his quick wit, blunt assessments, and iron-fisted drive for results, he commands with the cadence of a man who’s had to fight for every inch of ground across his twenty-two-year career in Starfleet. Hudson is part of Starfleet’s new generation of commanding officers: gritty, decisive, and shaped more by real-world adversity than by privilege or pedigree.
Appearance
Hudson stands at 6’1″, his lean, athletic frame carrying the coiled tension of a man used to pushing himself past limits. His dark brown hair, kept short and utilitarian, shows faint strands of silver at the temples. His hazel eyes, sharp, direct, and always calculating, give the impression that nothing escapes his notice. Hudson’s presence is immediately commanding without ostentation: the stance of a man who leads from the front, speaks plainly, and expects to be listened to.
Personality
Hudson embodies the energy and bite of his Boston upbringing: blunt, sharp-tongued, and unafraid of a fight, verbal or otherwise. He is approachable and charismatic, the kind of captain who remembers crew birthdays and works alongside damage control teams when the ship takes a hit. But make no mistake: he demands results and has zero patience for complacency. When standards slip, he reacts swiftly and harshly.
History
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Harvey Hudson grew up in a working-class neighborhood where grit mattered more than titles and nobody handed you anything for free. His father worked shifts maintaining orbital freight tugs, and his mother was a trauma nurse in a city hospital. From them, he learned the value of hard work, resilience, and telling the truth even when it hurts — traits that would define his career.
Hudson’s path into Starfleet was anything but smooth. Rejected from the Academy on his first attempt due to sub-standard entrance scores, he spent a year working cargo docks in Earth orbit before trying again. That year taught him discipline, humility, and how to lead people far older and rougher than he was — lessons that would become cornerstones of his command style. His second attempt succeeded, and he graduated from Starfleet Academy with a commission in starship operations.
His early assignments were unglamorous — support ships, survey missions, and outposts far from the Core of the Federation. Hudson developed a reputation as a “get-it-done” officer, the one you sent when resources were scarce and failure wasn’t an option. His outspokenness cost him promotions more than once; he clashed with senior officers and once narrowly avoided a transfer after publicly challenging a superior’s tactical plan. But even his critics couldn’t deny the results.
As Operations Officer aboard the USS Kearsarge, Hudson coordinated emergency containment during a catastrophic warp breach, saving the ship and its crew. Later, as executive officer of the USS Phaeton, he oversaw evacuation efforts during the Ardothi Rebellion, orchestrating civilian extractions under fire and personally leading boarding parties in hostile territory — actions that earned him the Starfleet Medal of Commendation.
His promotion to Commander and assignment to the USS Montrose marked the culmination of a long, uneven climb up the ladder.