Kari Marshall
Kari Marie Marshall | |
---|---|
Personal | |
Died | 2930 |
Affiliation | ComStar |
Career | |
Position(s) | Primus of ComStar |
Kari Marie Marshall was the seventh Primus of ComStar, best known for her efforts to reach out to the Periphery.
Contents
History[edit]
Early service to ComStar[edit]
Marshall rose to the rank of Precentor Procyon, becoming a senior member of the Order's First Circuit. On December 2910, Kari Marshall succeeded Gregori Hartford.[1]
Primus of ComStar[edit]
Having remained on the First Circuit for many years, Marshall was adept at navigating the political intrigues of Hilton Head, but lacked the near universal support her predecessor enjoyed, forcing her to take a harder stand on several issues.[1]
Setting out on a year-long tour of various Periphery kingdoms in 2920, Marshall received what she would later refer to as proof of the Word of Blake and the eventual collapse of human society. Utterly stunned at the level of poverty and despair she encountered, while earlier Primuses had shared Jerome Blake's distrust for the Periphery, she pushed for construction of new Class B stations to link these isolated kingdoms to offer aid and technological support. While doing little to expand the coffers of the Order, these measures immeasurably aided the public relations image of ComStar as protector of humanity and provided a ready new source of recruits for the organization.[1]
However by 2921 the aging Marshall's health had begun to fail and she was confined to a wheelchair, naming the 22-year-old Precentor New Earth Hollings York as her successor in 2922. Despite the large age difference, Marshall took the young man under her wing and carefully groomed him to succeed her, sending Marshall on diplomatic missions representing ComStar to both the Lyran Commonwealth and Draconis Combine.[2]
Death and Legacy[edit]
The elderly Kari Marshal died of a stroke in November 2930, with the First Circuit confirming the 29-year-old Hollings York as the eighth Primus of ComStar, the younger to ever hold the post.
The most lasting effect of Marshall's reign was her efforts to reach out the Periphery, expanding the HPG network outward to distances not seen since last day of the Star League While many in ComStar shared the same view of the Periphery as the people of the Great Houses, Marshall's efforts enhanced the public image of the Order and greatly boosted recruitment by offering a way out for the technically minded.[2]
Philosophical and/or political views[edit]
A relative conservative, Marshall's belief in the Word of Blake was only strengthened by her Periphery tour as an example of the collapse of society.
While publicly insisting her selection of Hollings York was based on the young man's talents, some evidence exists that she was grooming him to become her puppet, controlling the young man even after her retirement, though her death prevented this from occurring.[2]