Editing Gregori Hartford

{{InfoBoxCharacter
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| caption             = Gregori Hartford
| name                = 
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| affiliation         = [[ComStar]]
| rank                = [[Primus of ComStar]]
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| profession          = 
| parents             = 
| siblings            = [[Julia Hartford]]{{cn}}
| spouse              = 
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}}
'''Gregori Hartford''' was the sixth [[Primus of ComStar]], being offered the post due to his major contribution in the [[ComStar Civil War]] to the overthrow of the so called "Mad Primus" [[Dwight Kurstin]].

==History==
===Early service to ComStar===
Hartford rose to the rank of [[Precentor]] [[Procyon]], serving on the Order's [[First Circuit]] during the reign of [[Andrea Marteen]], remaining on the body after her death and the ascension of her mandated successor Dwight Kurstin whose poor grip on reality shattered after becoming Primus.<ref name=CSp35>''ComStar'', p. 35: "Kurstin the Mad"</ref>

As Kurstin's mental instability and paranoia increased in leaps and bounds, after First Circuit member Precentor Kohler died in [[ROM]] custody after the Primus branded him a heretic, Gregori urged the remaining Precentors of the First Circuit join him in secret in the empty halls of the [[Court of the Star League]] to discuss their limited options. With ComStar law making no legal provision for the removal of the Primus from office on health grounds, and his direct control over ROM preventing them from physically deposing him, Hartford suggested their best option was leave Terra, both to see how Kurstin would react and to try and stop the spread of information of his condition to protect the reputation of ComStar.<ref name=CSp35/>

Despite the wide political differences between liberal members such as Hartford and conservatives such as Precentor [[Kari Marshall]], all agreed the proposal was the best course of action, the First Circuit leaving Terra on April 20th. Infuriated upon learning of their departure, on April 30th Kurstin sent the infamous "[[Witch-Hunt Transmission]]", branding the First Circuit heretics and decreeing that they be burned at the stake for their heresy. While he intended it to be sent to every [[HPG]] station in the [[Inner Sphere]], the First Circuit intercepted the message and Hartford responded by ordering the First Circuit HPGs to operate without central coordination from the Terran HPG, effectively imposing a [[Interdiction|Communications Interdiction]] against Terra itself.<ref name=CSp35/><ref name=CS-36S>''ComStar'', p. 36: "To Reign in Hell"</ref><ref name=CS-36>''ComStar'', p. 36: "Kurstin the Mad"</ref>

With Hartford and the exiled First Circuit's relatively successful attempts to prevents news of the Civil War leaking to the general public and [[ROM]] fracturing and incapable of effectively operating against loyalist or rebels, by the fall of [[2901]] Kurstin set in motion [[Operation WINGED CRUSADER]]. Contracting the services of three [[mercenary]] units passing through Terra and unaware of the isolated Primus' insanity, Kurstin assigned the mercenary vintage [[SLDF]] equipment from ComStar's secret stockpile to arm them in preparation to assault and retake the First Circuit's HPGs by force.<ref name=CS-36/>

When word of Winged Crusader leaked to the exiled First Circuit and the Order as a whole, Kurstin's blatant attempt to use military force in contradiction to the will of Blake cost him yet more supporters. Having long feared that matters might come to this, Gregori Hartford activated his ace in the hole, smuggling a message back to Terra to a ROM agent known only as [[Julia Hartford|Saber]]. On 3 January [[2902]], Saber entered the Court of the Star League, disabling all security systems and the two guards stationed outside the throne room, before shooting Kurstin through the head with a laser at point-blank range. Saber left no further trace save for a copy of "[[Word of Blake (book)|The Word of Blake]]" lying on the throne room's marble floor.<ref name=CS-36/><ref name=CS-37S>''ComStar'', p. 37: "Sword of Justice"</ref><ref name=CS-37>''ComStar'', p. 37: "Kurstin the Mad"</ref>

With even Hartford's fellow First Circuit members shocked by the audacious move, and the now leaderless mercenary troops standing down with Kurstin's death, the exiled Precentors of the First Circuit called for an immediate end to hostilities and requested a summit on Terra. Exceedingly brief, the First Circuit dictated terms of surrender to those who sided with Kurstin and selected Gregori Hartford as the sixth Primus of ComStar in response to his leading role in efforts against his insane predecessor.<ref name=CS-37/>

===Primus of ComStar===
Among Hartford's first actions as Primus was to orchestrate the most intricate cover-up operation performed by ROM, suppressing any evidence the ComStar Civil War occurred and fabricating documentation that Kurstin had simply resigned office, with no reference to his mental state. Hartford's tenure as Primus would ultimately be among the shortest, the bulk of his efforts focusing on trying to prevent a repeat of the situation that led to the Civil War, using his high level support on the First Circuit to pass several reforms that permitted the First Circuit to name a successor to the Primus or to remove a Primus from power on the full vote of all Precentors. Hartford also pushed through measures that called for at least three members of the First Circuit to be informed in writing of all major ROM operations. Hartford would remain Primus until December [[2910]] when he was succeeded by Kari Marshall.<ref name=CS-37/>

===Death and Legacy===
Despite his leading role in the ComStar Civil War, little is known about Gregori Hartford's final years and death. Even the [[Word of Blake]] relatively was mute on his reign.<ref name=CS-37/>

In the [[Canon Rumor|alleged documents]] relating to the [[Not-Named]] supposedly uncovered by [[Chandrasekhar Kurita]] during the [[Jihad]], the narrative of [[The Blood]] indicated that Hartford was the grandchild of [[Clan Wolverine]] members who escaped the [[Pentagon Worlds]]. Somewhat unusually for members of the Blood, rather than serving on [[The Five]], Hartford moved into the mainstream ComStar and rose to the First Circuit to give the Blood an insight to the innermost thoughts of ComStar's ruling council. Hartford's position on the First Circuit would prove fortuitous, while not able to stop Kurstin from becoming Primus he was able to rally resistance against him to save both the agenda of the Blood and ComStar in general. Taking the brutal and decisive action needed, Gregori would enlist his genesister Julia Hartford, aka Saber, to finally remove Kurstin when he launched Winged Crusader, becoming Primus in the wake of Kurstin's death and giving the Blood direct control over ComStar to advance their "Great Work".<ref name=TBD-128>''Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents'', p. 129: "The Not-Named"</ref>

==Positions==
{{s-start}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Dwight Kurstin]]}}
{{s-title|title=[[Primus of ComStar]]|years=[[2902]]-[[2910]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Kari Marshall]]}}
{{s-end}}

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[ComStar (sourcebook)|ComStar]]''
* ''[[Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents]]''

[[Category:ComStar Characters|Hartford, Gregori]]
[[Category:Primus|Hartford, Gregori]]