Stephan Marik

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Stephan Marik
Character Profile
Born 2933[1]
Died August 2991[2][1]
Affiliation House Marik
Profession Captain-General
Parents Thaddeus Marik II (father)[1]
Children Janos[1]
Anton[1]
Sylvia[1]

Stephan Marik was Captain-General of the Free Worlds League and father of Janos Marik, who succeeded him.[3]

History[edit]

Captain-General[edit]

Stephan became Captain-General quite suddenly in 2963 when his father, Thaddeus Marik, drowned while swimming on Conakry. He inherited a realm that was in a constant stalemate. Every victory on one front was followed by a loss on another.[4]

When his son Janos Marik enlisted in the Atrean Hussars, Stephan gave him as present a Rifleman. Some people made morbid jokes about how the present was a indirect way to geting rid of his son, as the 'Mech was famous for his vulnerability. As then the two were estranged, this accusation may have part of truth. However, Janos accepted the 'mech and used for the rest of his career, with great success.[5]

What followed was a string of setbacks, beginning with the failed conquest of the planet Loric in the Lyran Commonwealth, and then the loss of Wasat to the Capellan Confederation and later Callison to the Lyrans. Mired in a deep political conflict with Parliament, there are indications Stephan actively undermined the defense of worlds under attack as a form of retribution for Parliament's undermining his failed military efforts. By 2990, however, matters were becoming critical, and he was forced to accept Parliament's restrictions in return for the continued use of regional troops. By then, however, he was personally weakened.[6]

Setbacks and Death[edit]

With acrimony between Stephan and Parliament freezing funding to both the FWLM and SAFE for many years, following the LCAF's highly successful Deep Raid of 2987 a desperate Stephan recognized that to receive the funding vital to strike back he would finally have to swallow his pride and accept further concessions and limitations upon the post of Captain-General. After Stephan agreed to Special Resolution 512, giving the provinces a share of spoils of captured territories, and Special Resolution 523, giving Parliament greater say in military dispositions, Parliament quickly loosened the purse strings.[7][8]

In 2988, a plot was revealed that sought to replace the current system of Parliament with a military junta, with Stephan's son and heir, Janos Marik, as the new Captain-General. Janos, however, refused to cooperate and revealed the conspiracy. SAFE failed to track them down, however. Nevertheless, these and other signs of popular unrest took their toll on Stephan, and he withdrew from public life, finally dying of cancer in August 2991.[9]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 House Marik (The Free Worlds League), foldout (p. 171 in PDF): "The Captains-General Line of Succession and Partial Marik Family Tree"
  2. Handbook: House Marik, p. 44
  3. Handbook: House Marik, p. 92: "Captains-General in History"
  4. House Marik (The Free Worlds League), p. 43
  5. BattleTech: Legends, pp. 51
  6. House Marik (The Free Worlds League), p. ??[citation needed]
  7. Handbook: House Marik, p. 44: "Third Succession War"
  8. House Marik (The Free Worlds League), pp. 46–47: "Concession to Parliament"
  9. House Marik (The Free Worlds League), p. 44

Bibliography[edit]