Gustavus Michaels
Sarna News
Gus Michaels | |
|---|---|
| Personal | |
| Also known as | Michael A. Stackpole, Gustavus Michaels |
| Born | November 27, 1957 (claimed) |
| Died | May 17, 3052 (reported, in doubt) |
| Profile | |
| Profession | Historian |
Gustavus "Gus" Michaels was the alias used by an individual claiming to be 20th century author Michael A. Stackpole. He wrote a three-volume history of the Third and Fourth Succession War during his incarceration at a ComStar reeducation center on Terra, and then escaped with his manuscript, apparently with the help of the Kell Hounds. He traveled with Natasha Kerensky as her personal archivist when she rejoined the Clans in 3050, and used that access to write another three-volume history of the Clan invasion. Last seen during an attack on a ComStar compound on Alyina during Operation SCORPION, he was presumed dead by ComStar.
Contents
Personal History
Terra
Using the name Michael A. Stackpole, he was detained at ComStar's Phoenix Reeducation Compound in North America from early 3028 through mid-3030. During this time, he was interrogated by ROM, using chemical and electro-shock treatments, but steadfastly held to his claim that he was over 1,000 years old and was the original Michael Stackpole from the 20th century. He variously attributed his longevity to time travel (seemingly referencing Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court"), a regimen of Szechuan food and indoor soccer, or a plot by the Internal Revenue Service.
Deemed a harmless curiosity with substantial insight into Inner Sphere politics, he was granted computer access and allowed to write his three-volume history of the Third Succession War, on the assumption that the manuscript would be retained for ComStar's exclusive access.
He escaped the compound in August 1, 3030 and appears to have fled Terra aboard the Kell Hound DropShip Manannan MacLir. ROM leadership issued a "shoot on sight" order.
On The Run
A 3050 ROM report noted sightings of Michaels in the Lyran Commonwealth (mainly on Arc-Royal and Nusakan) in the late 3030s, with a final sighting at Archon Katrina Steiner's funeral in early 3040. He was next spotted on November 25, 3050 when a voicematch check identified him as being aboard a JumpShip chartered by Wolf's Dragoons, believed to also be carrying Natasha Kerensky. Primus Myndo Waterly issued a death warrant for Michaels as part of Operation STILETTO.
Strana Mechty
On June 19, 3051, newly elected ilKhan Ulric Kerensky introduced him in the Grand Council Chamber as Gustavus Michaels, Natasha Kerensky's personal archivist who had accompanied her from the Inner Sphere and provided a detailed history of Wolf's Dragoons since their departure from the Clans. Granted access to Clan records, he found precedent for the appointment of Khans incapable of qualifying for Warrior status, nullifying Kincaid Furey's objection to Uric's appointment of Natasha Kerensky as his replacement as Wolf Clan Khan.
Ulric subsequently assigned Gus to research Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht's real identity. He determined that Focht could be at most 100 years old, male (though not discounting a sex change), speaks German like a Lyran native, and may have spent time at the Nagelring. He passed his research to Phelan Kell to continue when Ulric assigned him to go to Alyina.
Alyina
Based on reports of fighting on Alyina involving superior myomer technology, Ulric dispatched Gus to investigate. He had just brought a hovertruck with a winch to the battle site on the cliffs above Mar Negro on May 10, 3052 when he met Kai Allard-Liao, who had recently escaped from a ComStar detention facility along with a Point of Jade Falcon Elementals. Using his equipment, they were able to recover Yen-Lo-Wang's Gauss Rifle.
When Taman Malthus insisted that Gus remain behind during the attack on the ComStar compound in Valigia, Gus demanded to take part so he could make an accurate report for the ilKhan, noting that Kai and the Falcon Elementals would not be able to drive the hovertruck while wearing armor. He was last seen at the controls of the hovertruck as it settled into the alley across from the main gate of ComStar's compound in Valigia.
A ROM report dated June 23, 3052 notes that he was reportedly killed in the fighting during Operation SCORPION. Nonetheless, Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht revoked Primus Waterly's death sentence and ordered ComStar personnel to leave Michaels alone if he were to be discovered alive.
Personality and Traits
He proved vexing to his ComStar captors on Terra, leading them to conclude that his longevity may be due to the fact that "only the good die young." He was proud of his work as a historian, telling Kai Allard-Liao that "victors might write the histories, but we're the ones that do the actual work. Unless you want to be remembered as nothing more than a footnote, let the historian win."
He appeared to thrive on risk-taking, taking a perverse delight in sailing a heavy hovertruck over the most rutty terrain on Alyina.
Notes
- Author Michael A. Stackpole used the "About the Author" pages in the original FASA printing of the Warrior trilogy to insert himself into the BattleTech universe in a tongue-in-cheek fashion. In the subsequent "Blood of Kerensky" trilogy, he continued the narrative of the 1,000+ year old author chronicling the events of the Clan Invasion, and extended this to including himself, under the pseudonym "Gustavus 'Gus' Michaels," into the storyline itself, with cameos on Strana Mechty and Alyina. These "About the Author" sections were not included in the ROC or InMediaRes ePub reprintings of either trilogy, though the Gus Michaels character remained in the main body of the text.
References