William Eisen

William Eisen
2600s
Allegiance	Terran Confederation, Union of Border Worlds
Rank	Captain
Commands	TCS Victory, TCS Lexington, BWS Intrepid, TCS Mount St. Helens

William Eisen was a prominent naval officer of the Terran Confederation who saw much action during the Terran-Kilrathi War.

Early Service

William Eisen served as the communications officer of the famed TCS Victory during her maiden voyage. He also saw action during the Venice Offensive. During this campaign, he befriended Raul Dominguez, who would go on to become a Captain for the Union of Border Worlds.

Later Service

William Eisen rose through the ranks as the war progressed, achieving the rank of Captain by the year 2669. During this year, he commanded the ship on which he began his career, the TCS Victory.

A few months after the disastrous Battle of Earth in 2668, Colonel Christopher Blair was reassigned to the Victory following the loss of the TCS Concordia. Although Captain Eisen gave Colonel Blair a warm welcome, he harbored his doubts about the Colonel's ability to cooperate with his crew, as Blair was not used to assignment on obsolete vessels like Victory. However, he agreed to Blair's request to reinstate his wartime friend Colonel Ralgha nar Hhallas to the flight roster, as Blair expressed his wish to fly with him when nobody else would. As the year progressed, Captain Eisen took note of Blair's extraordinary flying skills and his ability to fly with other pilots without dispute, and grew to respect the Colonel as an equal.

Captain Eisen led his beloved ship during several major actions in the final year of the war. His vessel oversaw the first flying trials of the highly-advanced Excalibur heavy fighter in the Tamayo System, which ultimately took unforeseen action for the first time during the failed Kilrathi invasion of Tamayo II. Victory also assisted in the defense of Locanda IV, which was ultimately wiped clean of life from a Kilrathi biological attack, leading to the fall of Blackmane.

Eisen led the assault on the Ariel System, where his fleet attacked and badly crippled a Kilrathi garrison stationed there. Eventually, Victory and her squadron were assigned by Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn to escort the dreadnought TCS Behemoth to Kilrah, where the massive starship was to destroy the Kilrathi homeworld. During this time, Tolwyn briefly assumed command of the vessel, stripping Eisen of his captaincy. He resumed command following the loss of the Behemoth in the Loki System, and finally assisted in the deployment of the Temblor Bomb on Kilrah. It was this series of actions that led to the destruction of Kilrah and the fall of the Kilrathi Empire.

Captain Eisen was present at the signing of the Treaty of Torgo in 2669, which officially ended the Terran-Kilrathi War. The Victory was shortly after deactivated and recommissioned as a museum ship.

Service with the Border Worlds

By 2673, Eisen commanded the TCS Lexington, a Concordia-class fleet carrier. By this point, tensions between the Confederation and the Border Worlds were increasing. Eisen and his vessel were ordered to the Border Worlds in an attempt to investigate alleged Border Worlds piracy against the Confederation on the frontier, while attempting to restore order to the region. It was during this time that he reunited with Victory comrades Blair, Todd Marshall, and Winston Chang. Lexington was tasked with driving away Border Worlder raiders and seizing targets of strategic value, such as the Masa Space Station and Terran scientist Tuesday Brody from her captivity. In response to these provocations, a number of the Border Worlds officially seceded from the Confederation.

However, Eisen secretly harbored suspicions that the conflict on the frontier was not the fault of the Border Worlds, but of elements operating within the Confederation. Using his position as Fleet Captain, Eisen privately investigated the matter and even contacted several old friends from the Border Worlds.

Captain Eisen commanding the Intrepid upon his defection in 2673.

Captain Eisen passes command of the Intrepid to Colonel Blair as he continues his investigation of the Confederation's activities in 2673.

A number of Confederation officers suspected Eisen's activities, and sought to silence him quietly. One such officer, Captain Hugh Paulsen of the 3rd Fleet quickly assumed command of the Lexington. As a covert operative for the Terran elements instigating the war, Paulsen intended to execute Eisen at an opportune time. Eisen was to be transfered from the Lexington to Rear Admiral Elsa Hartnett's Admiralty Court at Jupiter Station, while Paulsen maintained command of the vessel. However, Eisen fled the Lexington with the intention to defect to the Border Worlds. Major Todd Marshall agreed to fly the Captain to the BWS Intrepid, which was commanded by Eisen's old comrade Captain Raul Dominguez. Paulsen ordered Colonel Blair and his wing to stop Eisen, only to see Blair defect alongside Lieutenant Chang and 2nd Lieutenant Troy Carter. The defectors fled to the Intrepid, and quickly fled Confederation airspace.

Eisen arrived on the Intrepid only to discover that Captain Dominguez was killed in the pursuit, and most of the crew dead or wounded from Confederation attacks. Eisen assumed command of the vessel and informed Blair of his suspicions regarding the Confederation. He led the effort to uncover the Confederation's role in the ongoing undeclared war, and eventually left the Intrepid to continue his investigation from within the Confederation, leaving Blair in nominal command of Intrepid. Eisen was eventually successful in implicating the Black Lance, an illegal faction organized by Admiral Tolwyn, as the instigator in the war.

Blair eventually discovered the Black Lance's activities as well, and he raced to Earth to prevent the Confederation from declaring war on the Border Worlds. Tolwyn pursued them on the TCS Vesuvius, but was intercepted by Eisen, who, with the aid of "friends in low places" had commandeered Vesuvius's sister ship TCS Mount St. Helens. The two sides raced to Earth where Eisen and Blair worked together to stop Tolwyn from declaring war. Their efforts were ultimately successful in exposing the conspiracy, and the Senate rejected the war declaration. Eisen was one of many witnesses to testify at Tolwyn's military tribunal, which saw the Admiral stripped of rank and sentenced to death.

The Vesuvius-class heavy carrier TCS Eisen is named in his honor.

Behind the Scenes

• William Eisen was portrayed by the late African-American actor Jason Bernard.
• The real-world star named Barnard's Star, is known as Bernard's Star in honour of Jason Bernard.