Editing Ian Dresari

{{InfoBoxCharacter
| image               = Ian Dresari.png
| caption             = Ian Dresari
| name                = Ian Dresari
| birthdate           = ca. [[3031]] (see notes)
| died                = 
| othernames          = 
| affiliation         = [[House Dresari]]
| rank                = 
| title               = [[Duke of Kentares IV]]<ref name=RGiCv21p8>''Recognition Guide: ilClan, vol. 21'', p. 8</ref>
| position            = 
| profession          = [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]] 
| parents             = [[Eric Dresari]] (father)<ref name=RGiCv21p8/>
| siblings            = [[Joanna Dresari]]<ref name=RGiCv21p8/>
| spouse              = 
| children            =
}}
'''Ian Dresari''' was a noble from the [[Federated Commonwealth]] world of [[Kentares IV]], who became [[Duke of Kentares IV|Duke]] following the murder of his father, [[Eric Dresari]], by [[Loyalist (FCCW)|Loyalist]] forces under the command of Lord [[Marcus Roland]]<ref name=FCCWp1>''FedCom Civil War'', Flashpoint, Kentares IV, pp. 25–26</ref>. Dresari was able to mount a successful resistance against the Loyalist forces and secured the world against further raids for the duration of the conflict.<ref name=FCCWp2>''FedCom Civil War'', Wave Two, Kentares, p. 82</ref>

==History==
===FedCom Civil War===
Ian Dresari was away from his home planet during the initial purges conducted by Lord Roland against his father, the militia, and those loyal to him.  Hearing word of what had happened, Dresari returned to Kentares at the head of a motley mix of former [[AFFC]] officers and mercenaries hired from the [[Chaos March]] sometime between September [[3063]] and February [[3064]].  Once he made landfall, he was able to link up with the extant resistance cells and wage a successful guerilla war against the occupying [[Clovis DMM]] and [[Fifth Donegal Guards]] forces, despite being grossly outnumbered.  Within three months, he managed to rout both much larger forces and captured both Lord Roland and the head of the Clovis DMM, Leftenant General Jackson Pory.  Dresari put both of the men on trial for their crimes against the people of Kentares, then moved to cement his hold on the planet.  These efforts demanded much of his focus until October [[3064]].<ref name=FCCWp2/>

By January [[3065]], Dresari had organized the remnants of his personal force, along with elements the Clovis DMM and Fifth Donegal Guards that chose to join his side, into the [[Kentares DMM]].  The unit consisted only of two 'Mech battalions and two combined arms battalions, but compensated for their small size with high morale and experience.  Things would not be easy for the young Duke and his new unit, however. Unbeknownst to them, Duke [[James Sandoval]] of the Federated Commonwealth's [[Draconis March]] had attempted an unauthorized invasion of the [[Draconis Combine]], his family's longtime enemy. When this invasion failed, generals of the [[Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery]] organized a counterattack against Duke Sandoval and his Draconis March.  One of the planets chosen as a reprisal target was Kentares IV, long considered a grievous stain upon the honor of the Combine.

The [[Third Benjamin Regulars]] were assigned to erase that stain of honor by capturing Kentares for the Combine. On 23 January 3065, the Regulars landed on Kentares and immediately engaged Duke Ian and his [[Kentares DMM]] in battle. Although Ian and the DMM were determined to hold off the Regulars, the DMM was heavily outnumbered and outgunned.

Salvation for Duke Ian and the DMM came in the form of the pro-Victor [[Tenth Lyran Guards]], who were en route to [[Tikonov]] to assist Prince [[Victor Steiner-Davion|Victor]], but were forced to make an unscheduled stop in the Kentares system due to sabotage of their [[JumpShip]]s. Marshal [[James McFarland]], commander of the Tenth, decided to assist the beleaguered Duke Ian. Knowing that they were now outnumbered, the Regulars mustered their 'Mechs and faced the Lyran Guards and Kentares DMM head-on in honorable combat.  Duke Dresari led his unit into battle once more and successfully defeated the Regulars, who were captured and treated humanely until their release at the end of the war.<ref name=FCCWp4>''FedCom Civil War'', Wave Four, Kentares, pp. 136-137</ref>

Some time after Ian secured the planet, the mercenary group [[Black Knight Legion]] accepted a contract from [[House Steiner]] to depose him and secure the planet for the Loyalists once again.  They were subsequently defeated, thanks in part to Leftenant Gregory Wright, a Mechwarrior that had served first under Joanna Dresari's resistance group and then in Ian's Kentares DMM.<ref name=RGiCv21p8/>

==MechWarrior 4: Vengeance==
{{ApocryphalContentStart}}
Ian Dresari is the protagonist and main character of the ''[[MechWarrior 4: Vengeance]]'' computer game and the main opponent in its expansion pack, ''[[MechWarrior 4: Vengeance#Black Knight Expansion Pack|MechWarrior 4: Black Knight]]''. While these games provide a great deal more information about the character, they do not fall under the current criteria for [[canon]], and must be regarded as apocryphal instead along with their portrayal of Ian Dresari.

===History===
Ian Dresari was the son of Duke Eric Dresari, the heriditary ruler of Kentares and a highly vocal political enemy of [[Archon]] Katherine Steiner-Davion. Ian was also the nephew of [[Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth|AFFC]] [[Colonel]] Sir [[Peter Dresari]], a [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]] commander in the [[4th Davion Guards|Fourth Davion Guards]], Duke Eric's brother.  With two older brothers, Ian was third in line for the title of Duke.  Feeling that he would never rule, but still feeling the weight of his family's expectations, Ian slowly devolved into a wild and irresponsible young man.  His lifestyle was so hedonistic and embarrassing that his father eventually disowned him, despite the protestations of his sister Joanna.  With nowhere else to go and no pressure from his family name, Ian decided to enlist in the [[AFFC]], hoping to find some thrills in action against the Clans.

Though he joined for what some might consider the wrong reasons, Ian's trial by fire against the Clans matured him and unearthed the potential buried deep within him.  He distinguished himself admirably in battle during [[Operation Bird Dog]], the [[Star League Defense Force]] invasion of [[Port Arthur]], and later during his service in [[Operation Bulldog]] and [[Task Force Serpent]].  With his new found maturity, he found a new perspective on his family and father.  Instead of being bitter towards Duke Eric, Ian was thankful that he had forced him to find his own way.  He secretly hoped to return home one day and finally win his father's approval.<ref name=GSA00>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071030011817/http://archive.gamespy.com:80/articles/september00/mech4mates4/| GameSpy Article from September 2000]</ref>

===Return Home===
{{see|MechWarrior 4: Vengeance#Storyline}}
After the murder of Duke Eric Dresari in late [[3062]] at the hands of Lord [[Marcus Roland]], Ian returned to his homeworld, under the command of his uncle, [[Peter Dresari]]. When Peter was killed in combat by the Loyalist officer [[Duncan Burke]], Ian, as the last surviving Dresari known to the resistance, was forced to take command of the unit.  After building the unit and successfully executing several guerilla operations against the occupying forces, Ian discovered that his sister [[Joanna Dresari|Joanna]] was still alive, leading a local resistance cell.  Together, the two joined their forces against the Loyalist forces and eventually regained control of Kentares IV.

During the final assault on the capital, Ian was forced to choose between rescuing his sister, who had been captured during a failed insurgent operation, and capturing a cache of much-needed Mechs, supplies, and materiel.  Knowing that the cache would be critical in securing victory, and encouraged by Joanna to leave her and capture it, Ian reluctantly abandoned his sister.  Using the supplies obtained in the cache, he led a final assault on the palace, where he defeated his treacherous cousin [[William Dresari|William]] and drove the last of the Loyalist forces off world.  Ian was subsequently crowned Duke of Kentares.

The game has an alternate ending in which Ian does not abandon his sister and instead saves her. Once the Loyalist forces have been defeated, Ian passes the rule of Kentares to his sister and leaves with his forces to join the fight against Katrina Steiner off-world. The subsequent expansion pack, ''Black Knight'', where the player is cast as the leader of a mercenary unit tasked with deposing the young Duke, establishes that this was not Ian's choice in that game's canon.

===Tyrant===
{{see|MechWarrior 4: Vengeance#Black Knight Expansion Pack}}
Shortly after Ian was confirmed as Duke, the surviving leaders of Joanna's freedom fighters turned against him, blaming him for her death.  They reformed their resistance movement and named it the Kentares Free Army.  Loyalist forces, seeing an opportunity to oust the Duke, used propaganda broadcasts and deviously planned attacks to exacerbate the situation.  Reports indicated that Ian had killed numerous innocent civilians, disbanded the Kentares Senate in revenge for two Senators turning against him, suspended civil liberties by declaring planetwide martial law, and even claimed that he had turned his back on the [[Allies (FCCW)|Allies]] and was cooperating with pro-Katrina sympathizers.  While the game does not make it clear whether these reports are true or not, their effect was the same.  The people of Kentares rebelled against their Duke and labeled him a tyrant, little different from his Loyalist predecessors.

Seeking to further exploit the weakness they had created, Loyalist command ordered one of their mercenary liaisons, Major [[Carissa Dupree]], to contract the [[Black Knight Legion]] to kill Dresari and his inner circle, thereby securing the planet for them. In the expansion's canon, the mercenaries are successful in their mission, killing the Duke as he defends his palace and eliminating all of his supporters, including the previous game's Omega Lance.

==BattleMechs==
Ian Dresari piloted a ''[[Shadow Cat]]'' that was likely a war trophy from his operations against the Clans during the first phase of the campaign to liberate his world of Steiner's rule. After becoming the Duke of Kentares, he piloted a ''[[Dire Wolf]]'' that he claimed from the fallen commander of the Loyalist forces, [[Evanda Castro]], until his defeat at the hands of the [[Black Knight Legion]].

==Notes==
* [[Jules Gonzales]] noted that Ian had "served during the Clan War." Ian told [[Karl Sonntag]] how he used artillery strikes against [[Clan Smoke Jaguar]] on [[Port Arthur]].
* In the computer game, Ian Dresari was portrayed by actor Troy Norton. At the time of filming the scenes in 2000, Troy Norton (born in 1969) was 31 years old. This would suggest Ian Dresari's age to be around 31 at the beginning of ''MechWarrior 4: Vengeance'' (set in late 3062), in turn loosely suggesting his birth date might be around the year 3031.
{{ApocryphalContentEnd}}

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[FedCom Civil War (sourcebook)|FedCom Civil War]]''
* ''[[MechWarrior 4: Vengeance]]'' (video game)
* ''[[Recognition Guide: ilClan, vol. 21]]''

[[Category:Federated Suns Characters|Dressari, Ian]]