Gregory Amaris

Gregory Amaris
Gregory Amaris
Character Profile
Born 11 October 2529
Died 11 August 2599[1]
Affiliation House Amaris
Title(s) First Consul[1]
Profession Noble
Children Richard Amaris[2]

Gregory Amaris was the ruler of the Rim Worlds Republic from 2544 to 2599.

History[edit]

Early life[edit]

Pampered from birth on the Amaris Estate on Apollo, the young Gregory Amaris grew up thinking only of his own needs and desires rather than those of others, and his lack of empathy would color his outlook on the world and his future rule of the Republic. He was named First Consul in 2544 after his father drowned, though his mother would serve as regent until his eighteenth birthday.[1]

First Consul of the Republic[edit]

In 2562, Gregory Amaris commissioned the Hipparch cavalry tank and had thousands produced. Despite heavy design criticism and mixed battlefield results, the program lined the pockets of Amaris' political allies.[3]

Like all Amaris ancestors before him, Gregory Amaris was a duel citizen of the Republic and Terran Hegemony.[4][5] Unlike the bulk of the leaders of the Periphery nations, Amaris eagerly welcomed the formation of the Star League in 2571 as a means of improving his realm's standing; however, his lack of empathy meant his domestic policies lacked subtlety. Rather than build the infrastructure of the Republic through domestic labor and money, Amaris imported immigrant labor from around the Inner Sphere.[6]

In 2572, Amaris sought to strengthen ties with the Star League—and his own political position—by inviting a battalion of Star League Defense Force BattleMechs to Apollo, ostensibly to train his own armed forces.[5][7] They arrived sometime in 2573 and were stationed at Camp Cameron in Rhodes province.[8]

Confronted by civil unrest in the wake of his brutal response to the Rift Republican Army's occupation of the Efrimal Long Prison and attempting to avoid Star League intervention in Republic affairs, Amaris issued his Universal Act of Loyalty on 12 May 2573, forcing all of the Republic's citizens to swear a binding oath to the Republic and the Star League, branding all those who refused as traitors and stripping them of all property and legal rights within the Republic. While over seventy percent agreed to take the oath under duress, the worlds of Somerset and Lackhove refused entirely, with Amaris imposing embargoes and then military intervention to force them to agree.[5][9]

Rim Worlds Rebellion[edit]

To cement his position as a "first among equals" within the Periphery states, Amaris swiftly voiced his public support of the Pollux Proclamation as well as passing the Manchester Directive, which outlawed membership in the Rift Republican Army. The two actions triggered a massive protest on Apollo in April 2575 as the disenfranchised RRA overwhelmed the Amaris-loyal troops on-world, staging a political coup and forming the Rim Provisional Government, which forced Amaris to retreat to his fortified family estate.[2][6][10][11][12]

Amaris assumed that in response to his support and loyalty to House Cameron and the Star League that the newborn Star League Defense Force would rapidly race to rescue him and restore him to power. Unfortunately the SLDF was already heavily engaged in fighting the Taurian Concordat and Magistracy of Canopus, and could spare little for what appeared to be an internal conflict. The SLDF would not be able to respond until 2581, and Gregory would have to wait until 2595 when Apollo was finally liberated.[12][13]

Embittered at his twenty years of house arrest—albeit within the confines of his palatial house estate—to which Ian Cameron and the Star League seemingly gave him scant attention in return for his loyalty, Amaris vowed to make House Cameron pay dearly for the insult.[14][15] Almost from the moment of his liberation, Amaris would focus on political and economic power plays to further his position within the Star League. While benefiting the Republic as a whole, many within the Rim Worlds saw his arrogance and ego, undiminished by his decades of house arrest, as a threat to the future of the Rim Worlds by many, including elements of the military.[2]

Death and Legacy[edit]

On 11 August 2599, Admiral Hakim Wbika assassinated Gregory, installing his son Richard as President of the Rim Worlds Republic, a figurehead while Wbika and a military junta controlled the realm from behind the scenes.[2][16]

Arguably Gregory's greatest legacy was his intense resentment of House Cameron in the wake of the Reunification War, with every subsequent generation of House Amaris raised on tales of brave Lord Gregory, Terens' grandson, and the deceitful House Cameron who used the Amaris' loyalty when it suited them only to cast it aside when it did not. Breeding the desire to avenge themselves upon the Camerons and their Star League, this grudge would ultimately manifest in the actions of Stefan Amaris.[14][15][17]

One of the mammoth Stefan Amaris-class WarShips was intended to be named after Gregory, but the incomplete hull was captured during the SLDF invasion of the Republic and put into service as the SLS Vengeance instead.[18]

Philosophical and Political Views[edit]

A shrewd political operator and highly ambitious, Gregory Amaris was the driving force behind the increasing prosperity of the Republic. His greatest error was mistaking his own ambitions for those of his people; his desire to be part of the Star League ran counter to bulk of the Republic, triggering civil war.[12][13][19]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Historical: Reunification War, p. 60: "Gregory Amaris"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Historical: Reunification War, p. 61: "Gregory Amaris"
  3. Historical: Reunification War, p. 205: "Hipparch Cavalry Tank"
  4. Handbook: Major Periphery States, p. 16: "War and Peace: The Star League Era"
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 The Star League, p. 45: "Pollux Proclamation"
  6. 6.0 6.1 The Periphery, p. 42: "Conquest of the Rim Worlds Republic"
  7. Historical: Reunification War, p. 21: "The Worst of Friends"
  8. Historical: Reunification War, p. 130: "The Spark"
  9. The Periphery, p. 24: "Rebellion in the Rim"
  10. Handbook: Major Periphery States, p. 17: "Rim Worlds Rebellion"
  11. Era Report: 2750, p. 16: "Preparations"
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 The Star League, p. 51: "Rim Worlds War"
  13. 13.0 13.1 Handbook: House Steiner, pp. 26–27: "Operation Mailed Fist: The Commonwealth Front"
  14. 14.0 14.1 Historical: Reunification War, p. 139: "Bitter Harvests (2591–2596)"
  15. 15.0 15.1 Handbook: Major Periphery States, p. 24: "Vengeance is Mine"
  16. The Periphery, p. 45: "Palace Coup"
  17. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2, p. 12: "Voicelog transcript: 29 August 2725"
  18. Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2, pp. 150–151, 162: "Stefan Amaris (Battleship)"
  19. Historical: Reunification War, pp. 60–61: "Gregory Amaris"

Bibliography[edit]