Jonathan Hunter

Captain Jonathan Hunter was an officer in the Red Wood Industries (RWI) fleet during the time of the Green Drone War. Throughout the war, he commanded many different vessels, though his most well-known command was the RWI *Valiant*, a Daedalus-class Battleship which was destroyed during the Battle of Demus. Despite transferring ships and crews throughout his career, Hunter proved to be an excellent commander and experienced tactician.

## History

#### Battle of Monus III

At the outbreak of the Green Drone War, Jonathan Hunter had achieved the rank of Captain in RWI's Navy and commanded the fifth Daedalus-class Battleship made by RWI, the RWI *Valiant*. Early on in the war, Hunter and his fleet were ambushed by numerous Green Drone Armada (GDA) ships at Monus III. Many ships were lost and Hunter ordered all ships to lay low and survive until reinforcements could arrive at the system.

One ship, a Defender-class Frigate called the RWI *Intrepid*, came to the aid of former RWI officer Jack Roberts and his crew of Colonists. The ship was shot down a few days later, but its captain, Commander Sam Reed, managed to send a distress call to the *Valiant*, and Hunter raced to Monus III to render aid. Hunter deployed Blue Squadron, one of the *Valiant*'s V-203 Fighter squadrons, and two Valkyrie-class Dropships to evacuate Commander Reed, Captain Roberts, and their crew safely back to the *Valiant*. Once they were aboard, Hunter ordered them to retreat to the Orion System, where he and his second-in-command, Commander Chris Lock, enlisted the help of Roberts and his crew to salvage destroyed vessels and help command the *Valiant* during a battle later on. Because Roberts and his crew were valuable assets, Hunter contacted Grand Admiral Adam Williams, head of RWI, who ordered Hunter to induct them into RWI's ranks officially. Hunter also took them to an RWI outpost nearby, where their new starship, the first Eclipse-class Science Corvette, the RWI *Eclipse*, awaited them.

#### Battle of Ravcor

Hunter later sent Commander Reed to join Roberts' team on Ravcor, the location of a GDA fortress containing the Artifact, an ancient device worshipped by the GDA. Soon after the ground team struck the GDA's defenses on the lava planet, Hunter took the *Valiant* and two Phoenix-class Assault Frigates, the RWI *Griffin* and RWI *Achilles*, to attack the GDA blockade, engaging their destroyers in a fierce fleet battle. The *Valiant* took heavy damage in the process and Hunter ordered repairs. Despite this, Hunter's task force succeeded in keeping the GDA occupied long enough for Roberts' crew to infiltrate the base and steal the Artifact. They later escaped the planet to rejoin the *Valiant* in space. Hunter's crew reported that the engine room had taken heavy damage, and the engines had to be repaired before they could retreat. After several GDA destroyers took out the *Achilles* and *Griffin*, the GDA Command Dreadnaught attacked the *Valiant*, injuring Hunter in the process. Nevertheless, the *Valiant* and the *Eclipse* managed to escape to the orbit of the ice planet Demus.

#### Battle of Demus

Though Hunter was wounded, he insisted that he stayed on the bridge, but he was taken to the infirmary and tended to by the ship's medical officer, Doctor Kelly. Roberts commanded the *Valiant* in his absence, since Commander Lock was also killed in the escape. Eventually, the RWI *Discovery* arrived in the system after Roberts' crew broadcasted a distress call to RWI space. The *Discovery*'s captain, Sarah Hawk, offered to pull the heavily-damaged *Valiant* back to Icarus, RWI's capital world, but Roberts suggested that the *Valiant*'s remaining crew and the Artifact be transferred aboard the *Discovery*, as the science cruiser could easily escape the area. Hunter, who had healed well enough to walk, stated to Roberts and Reed that, as the captain of the *Valiant*, he should go down with his ship. However, since his condition was deemed too critical, Hunter was ordered to return to Icarus. He boarded the last transport to the *Discovery*, and shortly after the next phase of the battle began, the *Discovery* retreated to Icarus, where Hunter finished his recovery.

#### Rescuing Roberts

Once Hunter had recovered, he was fit for service again and was given command of a Phoenix-class Frigate, the RWI *Strident*. Two other Phoenixes, the RWI *Siphon* and another ship with an unknown name, were also placed under his command. The three frigates were soon deployed to reinforce Captain Roberts' team, who had stolen a GDA Destroyer from the GDA's shipyards above Demus and became besieged in the space near an unidentified desert planet by multiple GDA vessels. Hunter's strike fleet entered the system and Hunter announced to Roberts that he would take it from there. The reinforcements destroyed the GDA ships and escorted Roberts and the stolen GDA Destroyer back to Icarus. It is unclear as to where Hunter was during the Battle of Icarus, which occurred a short while later.

#### Battle of P3-X2

After the GDA took back the Artifact during the Battle of Icarus, RWI plotted to take it back by invading their capital world of P3-X2. Grand Admiral Williams put Hunter in charge of a newly-retrofitted RWI *Tigris*, a new Mark II Defender-class Frigate. Hunter's orders were to provide Captain Roberts with fighter support during the opening battle, thanks to the new carrier attachments on the *Tigris*.

Soon after RWI began landing troops and vehicles on the surface of P3-X2, Roberts secured an entry point in the GDA Headquarters, a massive underground complex with numerous security measures. Hunter positioned the *Tigris* above the entrance to the base and led a company of RWI marines into the bunker. They fought through waves of security drones on their path to the Artifact's containment room, but they were too late; by the time Hunter and this troops arrived at the chamber, the Artifact was gone. The GDA Controller, leader of the Green Drones, anticipated RWI's plan and moved the Artifact to his personal warship, the GDA Super-Dreadnaught. The Controller also started the base's self-destruct countdown, prompting nnHunter and his troops to evacuate the base immediately. They returned to the *Tigris* and withdrew to space, where Hunter commanded the frigate in a massive space battle against the retreating GDA forces. The *Tigris* sustained heavy damage and soon retreated to a nearby moon, and later back to Icarus.

#### Battle of the Black Hole

The *Tigris* participated in the Battle of the Black Hole, and while it is not totally confirmed, it is very likely that Hunter captained the ship. As such, Hunter survived the battle and returned to Icarus.

### Mission to Monus III

Three months after the Green Drone War ended, Captain Hunter accompanied Jack Roberts, who had since been promoted to Admiral, to Monus III, where they had first met during the war. Roberts' friends, Finn and Castle, had departed from RWI after the war and founded a salvage organization called Dawnstar Salvage Corporation, but had come under attack by an unknown faction while setting up their operation on the planet. Hunter journeyed to the planet on a Pioneer-class Landing Ship and helped locate and defend the DSC settlement and crew in the starship graveyard on Monus III.

### Joint Expedition Task Force Mission

One year after the war's end, the Joint Expedition Task Force was formed by RWI and its allies, Crazy North Logistics (CNL) and the Royal Coalition of Spatial Protection (RCSP), to investigate a mysterious signal coming from an unknown sector of space that had been associated with the Artifact in RWI's research. Admiral Jack Roberts led the expedition, but after several complications from both internal and external forces, the JETF command ship, the RWI *Prometheus* was destroyed and the remaining JETF forces were stranded on the planet Chrome II. However, they did manage to send a distress call to RWI, and a task force led by Admiral Kieron Hask of the RWI *Zheng-He* was sent to rescue them. Captain Hunter was put in command of a new prototype RWI carrier, the RWI *Olympus*, and quickly deployed to the surface to deliver supplies and personnel to the ancient city where Roberts and his forces had set up their base of operations. Hunter reunited with Roberts and informed him that Admiral Hask was on his way to the surface.