Alexander Harper III

Father of Maxwell Harper. CEO of Winston Investment Securities/Harper Universal (Winston-Harper for short), part of the emerging interstellar Wall Street of the final frontier.

Born: 2204, Crete, Earth

Spouse: Natalia Harper (m. 2244-2256)

Played by: John Aniston

Early Life

Young Alexander was an ambitious boy born at a time when such motivations were being eschewed for a philosophy of self-enrichment and humanitarianism. His father was a mid-level diplomat for the burgeoning Federation and, as such, exposed Alexander to the intricate workings of interstellar politics.

As a university student, Alexander learned that not everyone agreed with the "enlightened" views of the New World Economy. Some of his fellow students talked of the more traditional values held on the outlying colonies, where the new economic system was less stringently adhered to. Alexander saw the opportunity this rapidly growing "frontier" represented. It would, however, take two decades of hard work, networking and setbacks before his dream was realized.

During this time, Alexander met Natalia Zakharenko, the love of his life, at a diplomatic function. Natalia's father was an influential administrator for the Federation, in charge of reviewing and authorizing new colony placements. Alexander had been carefully nurturing Nikolai Zakharenko's trust, hoping to learn the location of new colonies and the make up of their populations. During the diplomatic dinner, he was completely disarmed by Natalia's innocent beauty and sharp mind. She, in turn, was drawn irresistibly to his aura of power and charm, despite the 21 years difference between them.

In the first impulsive act of his life, Alexander was caught up in a whirlwind romance with Natalia. When Nikolai saw the depth of his daughter's love, he reluctantly gave his blessing to their union. Within six months they were married. On their first anniversary, the young couple left for the Mantilles colony on the cutting edge of the Federation frontier. In becoming his son-in-law, Alexander had finally gained Nikolai's trust and the inside information he needed to make a start in the outlying colonies.

Mantilles

Nine months after arriving on Mantilles, Natalia gave birth to Maxwell Harper. Alexander loved his newborn son, but spent long periods of time away from home visiting other colonies and establishing his interstellar business, so he missed much of Max's early life. The strain of a foreign environment and the time apart began to take it's toll on his marriage, too. He was living his dream and couldn't understand why his wife wasn't able to enjoy it with him. During one of his extended business trips, Alexander received a subspace message from Mantilles that his wife had been attacked by a native carnivorous plant and was in critical condition at the colony's medical facility. Entangled in delicate trade negotiations, Alexander delayed returning to Mantilles, arriving to find that his wife has passed away and his 12 year old son blamed him for her death.

Alexander retreated from the pain of losing his wife by throwing himself completely into his business. Harper Universal grew rapidly during this time to become one of the foremost import/export companies of the "final frontier". As his business grew, so did the rift between Alexander and his son. It would be over a decade before any reconciliation would occur.

Winston-Harper

Alexander served on the board of directors of Winston Investment Securities for years and was later taken on as a partner by the firm's founder, Carter Winston. Five years ago, Alexander became chairman and CEO of the firm following Winston's mysterious disappearance. There was an investigation, but all charges were dropped. That period only added further stress to Max's relationship with his father.

Alexander Harper's specialty is seed investments. He gets his hands dirty opening up markets on new Federation member worlds, and has developed quite a name for himself.