There was a knock at the door.
“Come in,” Rogers called.
“The White Evening Dress Uniform General,” the Marine sergeant said bringing the pressed uniform in and hanging it up.
“Thank you Sergeant,” Rogers pulled the dressing gown tightly closed, “That will be all!”
“Yes Ma’am,” the lecherous marine departed the room.
Once upon a time, all she had to worry about was the men trying to have sex with her, but now she had to be careful of lesbian predators like that sergeant. As much as things changed somethings so many things stayed the same. Sure women now were allowed to be in charge of their own sexuality… but there were still predators out there that were only concerned with their own selfish desires. Stephanie sighed and went to get dressed, despite being the most famous nurse of World War 2, it wasn’t every day she was the guest of honor at an official dinner at the White House.
Stephanie opened her medals box and pulled out the old Nurses Corps pin and the original combat infantry badge she had gotten during the war, and replaced the modern Nurses Corps and combat medic badge on the uniform. She looked back at the photo of her Bucky and Peggy in Paris. Those were the corps pins that Bucky had pinned on her when she was commissioned after graduating from the Bronx Nursing school. Just five months later Bucky was off to war as a private, she was back, nearly dead from malaria and the Japanese had captured her station in the Philippines a week after she evacuated. Getting Bucky as her Sergeant after Doctor Erskine has transformed her into Captain America was a god sent. Bucky taught her how to fight like a soldier, Peggy to be a commando, Betty to be a spy-hunter but she still thought of herself as a nurse first and foremost… trying to help others.
There was a knock at the door that ended her musings.
“General?” her S.H.I.E.L.D. handler said.
“Is it time Mitchells?” Stephanie asked.
“Almost General.”
“You know,” Stephanie said opening the door, “Back in the forties, women’s uniforms were designed and made by people who understood how make clothing for women. Help me with the cummerbund will you?”
Mitchells shrugged and then fixed the thing around the much too young general’s waist. She put on the jacket and then stepped into black pumps.
“I got you a Combat Medic Badge,” Mitchells said.
“Thank you but I earned this,” Stephanie said, “This is what medics wore when they got a combat badge back during the war. The only reason they have a separate Medic one is because a few SS officers used the medic wearing an infantry badge as justification to shoot the medics.”
“Lets go, the dog and pony show awaits,” Mitchells shrugged, “Can’t keep the donkeys waiting.”
“Someday you will have to explain that to me,” Stephanie shot her handler a look.
*
Stephanie took a breath after the announcer read out her name for everyone and the room was filled with applause. Almost immediately she was confronted by the squat black woman, Major General Zari Holmes-Al-Hassan.
“Well if it isn’t General America,” the junior general shot a death stare at the senior general.
“I preffer my name in evening mess thank you,” Stephanie tried to remain civil.
“Maybe if I get frozen for a few weeks I will get my four stars,” Zari whispered.
“Ah, General Rogers, Excuse me Major General, I have someone that wants to meet you General Rogers,” Mitchells interrupted.
“Excuse me,” Rogers smiled at the other woman and left with her handler, “I could have taken her.”
“Knife fight, sure,” Mitchells said, “But the political fallout would have been worse than a nuke. Holmes-Al-Hassan is close to the president and good friends with the first lady and they are all big on playing racism angles on everything. Come on, this is Lieutenant General Legere, I was on her staff for my first assignment. Lieutenant General this is Lieutenant General Stephanie Rogers. General Legere is the Army’s G-two.”
Both ladies held out there hands to shake. Mitchells tapped his ear and then backed out.
“Excuse me please I have to take this,” Mitchells left.
“He was a private,” Legere said.
“You remember him?” Stephanie asked.
“Most of my staff was Staff Sergeants or higher,” the older looking woman said, “As the one private they always made him hold the door open for me.”
“He got sent over to keep me out of trouble,” Stephanie said, “Being the first woman commando to win a Medal of Honor means I have plenty of opportunities to follow in Patton’s’ footsteps.”
“Terminal Foot in mouth?” Legere asked, “The Prisoner of War promotions have only made you a bigger target.”
“Everywhere I go I feel like I am expected to be some Feminist Icon, political statement maker, or some other thing. If I have to give one more thank you speech for things I already got medals for,” Stephanie breathed.
“Well the only thing you are missing from your World War Two set is the occupation medal,” Legere noted, “Now I don’t have any solid intel, but you might want to relocate to a combat zone quickly. This is a woman’s history month special military honors dinner. And you can bet the politicians are going to expect you to smile, thank them for another award and give a speech.”
“Where is a terrorist attack when I need one?” Stephanie said.
“Navy Yard General,” Mitchells came back, “Agent Coulson is on his way with your gear in the truck.”
“Excuse me General Legere,” Stephanie smiled.
“Write your four star speech while you have a chance,” General Legere smiled.
**
**
Rogers, Stephanie
Born: 4 July, 1920
Parents, Joseph and Sara Rogers
Comissioned: 1941, 4 July
Asignments:
1 August 1941- 4 December 1941 12 Medical Regiment, Philippine Division
4 December 1941 – 20 January 1942 Naval Medical Center, San Diego (Patient)
20 January 1942 – 5 March 1942 Operation Rebirth
5 Febuary 1942 Promotion to First Lieutenant
6 March 1942 – 8 May 1942 Medical Battalion, Camp Lehigh
1 May 1942 Promotion to Captain
9 May 1942 – 1 August 1943 First Experimental Army Battalion
1 August 1943 – 3 January 1945 First United States Army Group
3 January 1945 – 1 Febuary 1945 Soldier Missing in Action
1 Febuary 1945 – Soldier Presumed Dead
22 July 2011 – Soldier recovered Status reactivated
23 July 2011 – 31 August 2011 Keller Army Community Hospital
1 August 2011 Promotion to Major General1 September
2011- Present S.H.I.E.L.D.4 April 2014 Promotion to Lieutenant General
Despite many childhood illnesses and the death of her parents at a young age, Stephanie managed to get into a nursing college under a pilot program from the Public Health Service which would later become the WW2 era Cadet Nurse Corps. On Graduation, Stephanie was commissioned Second Lieutenant Rogers of the Army Nurses Corps by her childhood friend (False brother), the Private James “Bucky” Barnes.
She was sent right to the Philippines. Only days before the Japanese invasion she was evacuated to San Diego for malaria treatment. She was almost dead when she was approached about taking part in project rebirth. Despite almost killing her, she came back a super soldier and was assigned to the medical battalion for the same camp as her friend Sergeant James Barnes, soon Bucky figured out what was going on and was brought on board. He trained her to be a soldier while Agent Margaret "Peggy" Carter was brought in from the “Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” to train in commando tactics and Agent Elizebeth "Betty" Ross was brought in to train Stephanie in spy hunting.
In May 1942 Captain Stephanie Rogers and Sergeant Barnes were sent to join the Howling Commandos in operations against the axis forces. Officially Captain America was made a part of the decoy force First United States Army Group (FUSAG) to help keep German focus on the decoy force instead of the coming Normandy landings. On 3 January 1945 Captain Rogers took part on the raid on Hydra V-X Machine complex in the North Sea. Captain Rogers was last seen on the rocket the Hydra Commander Red Skull was using to escape the destruction of the V-X plant. The Rocket exploded after going about twenty miles off over the ocean. Her body was not recovered.
(Her Bucky plays like the cinematic Universe version. Captain America's Betty Ross is based on General Thunderbolt Ross' Aunt the WW2 FBI / WAAC Agent "Golden Girl")