Humans in science fiction

How come humans never get to be the sneaky race in sci-fi? We always seem to be put in the top dog or mewling prey department. Either we have a massive empire or we are barely surviving genocidal monsters. This is usually a bit more balanced in strategy games, but humans in games suffer from always the middle of the road race.

Why can't we be the sneaking spy or unruly horde? I guess because people want to believe humans are either inferior or average, and never give a thought that we might be one of the weirdo races in the future. But I think people might like to see humans as the clever and crafty sneaks, with a fleet of stealth ships, secret agents, and stealth suited space rangers. I would, at least. But we have to sell it, so lets try.

One) Stealth ships give some of that submarine warfare tension. It would also be a departure from the spacecraft carriers that fill science fiction. Plus, cloaking effects aren't that hard.

Two) Think a less slimy James Bond meets Mace Windu. No shiny stuff, he is about trickery and misdirection. In fact, the Jedi have made it acceptable for a "good guy" to mind fry people, add to that some cool gadgets and guns, and we've got our agent.

Three) Space Rangers (or Marines) are often done, but they are generally the first to get eaten or killed, and these guys are different. These Rangers will be a close-knit team, and while we can't go full "Predator" on their enemies, because of the lack of drama, we will make them scary to the enemy. They can lose a few members, just not enough to make a joke out of them (no red shirts).

So we have three ways to show sneaky humans. I believe their weapons will not be shiny or flashy, nor loud and rumbly. I like simple longarms that spit whispers of dark energy. No lazy tossing modern guns to them.