Harper was born on the Rigel XII mining colony. Her parents were a miner and a pressure dome custodian. Harper grew up like most children in the colony with very little time spent outside. She developed an interest in engineering from watching her mother work on the upkeep of the domes that enabled the colonists to live on the otherwise inhospitable asteroid. She led a relatively uneventful life, navigating the average array of hardships that comes with living on a colony such as Rigel XII. Harper enjoyed her schooling, getting along well with the other students due to her upbeat attitude and penchant for helping out with homework. Her teenage years could be considered turbulent, if only in comparison to her childhood. Her parents separated, their marriage never having been marked as one of great affection or passion, and Harper was kicked out of her schooling program when she was caught doing assignments for reimbursement. Since the Rigel XII colony was not big enough to have more than one school institute, and because her parents thought her behavior was a result of emotional turmoil over their personal life, Harper was sent to Mars to live with her cousins. She finished school there, becoming familiar with the Starfleet through its technical academy on the planet. Harper joined Starfleet at 20 after taking a brief break after graduating to help her cousin Meredith with a brief musical tour where she served as roadie, manager, and merch seller. Officially retiring herself from the party scene Harper dedicated herself entirely to her studies. She majored specifically in Material Engineering.
