Editing Gustavus Michaels

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A short, bearded (as of [[3051]]) man,<ref name=BL17>''Blood Legacy'', chapter 17</ref> '''Gustavus "Gus" Michaels''' served as [[Natasha Kerensky]]'s archivist.

Author [[Michael Stackpole]] also (non-canonically) used the character as an alias for himself as part of a running joke; see Notes below.

==History==
===Strana Mechty===
When the [[Clan Invasion]] hit the [[Inner Sphere]], the [[Clans]] recalled their operatives in [[Wolf's Dragoons]], but Natasha Kerensky was the only [[bloodnamed]] Warrior to heed the call. Gustavus Michaels accompanied her on her journey to rendezvous with the invaders.

On June 19, 3051, newly elected [[ilKhan]] [[Ulric Kerensky]] introduced Gustavus Michaels in the Grand Council Chamber as 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 had 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 [[Clan Wolf|Wolf Clan]] [[Khan]].<ref name=BL17/>

Ulric subsequently assigned Gus to research [[Precentor Martial of ComStar|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.<ref name=LD22>''Lost Destiny'', ch.22</ref>

===Alyina===
Based on reports of fighting on [[Alyina]] involving superior [[myomer]] technology, Ulric dispatched Michaels 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 [[Clan Jade Falcon|Jade Falcon]] [[Elemental]]s. Using his equipment, they were able to recover ''[[Yen-Lo-Wang]]'''s [[Gauss rifle]].<ref name=LD38>''Lost Destiny'', ch. 38</ref>

When [[Taman Malthus]] insisted that Michaels remain behind during the attack on the ComStar compound in Valigia, Michaels 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.<ref name=LD38/> 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. During the assault on the ComStar compound, the hovertruck rammed a [[Rotunda]]. The hovertruck flipped on its side and was then destroyed by a [[Com Guards|Com Guard]] infantry–fired missile. Michaels was presumed dead, though there is no account of a body being recovered from the wreck.<ref name=LD41>''Lost Destiny'', ch. 41</ref>

===Later Life===
Evidence exists that he was still alive. In December, 3057 and was the original author of the current state of the Inner Sphere. This report was later updated by [[Phelan Kell]] and [[Jerrard Cranston]]<ref>''Shattered Sphere'', p. 5</ref>. He also authored the book ''[[Victor Ian Steiner-Davion: A Life]]'' which must have been written sometime after [[3117]] as it details the death of [[Isis Marik]] in that year<ref>''Ghost War'', Ch. 12</ref>. A review of the book was published on INN 5 July [[3132]].<ref name=DAINNp26>''Dark Age: 3132-3134 INN'', p. 26, "Victor Ian Steiner-Davion: A Life"</ref>

==Notes==
[[Image:Michael Stackpole with Gus Michaels portrait.jpg‎|thumb|right|For his 76th birthday in 2023, Michael Stackpole was presented with a portrait (non-canonical fan art) of himself as Gus Michaels, commissioned by fellow BattleTech author Bryan Young and painted by Eldon "Eldonius Rex" Cowgur]]
* 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 as a living, over 1,000 years old 20th century author writing in and later escaping from a ComStar reeducation camp. In the subsequent "[[Blood of Kerensky Trilogy]]", he continued the narrative; his purported exploits under an unspecified alias happen to exactly match the exploits of the Gustavus Michaels character in the books' main body. 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.

==Canonicity==
The Gustavus Michaels who appears in the novels meets all criteria for [[Canon]]; there is no indication that the character as such shouldn't be canonical.

The definition of Canon expressly excludes material that was published as a gag, however. Therefore the "About the Author" sections of any book in either trilogy, and the association of this character with Michael Stackpole's alter ego, would not be canon. It is not apocryphal either, because it was never even intended to be canonical for the BattleTech universe.

==References==
<references/>

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Blood Legacy]]''
* ''[[Dark Age: 3132-3134 INN]]''
* ''[[Lethal Heritage]]''
* ''[[Lost Destiny]]''

[[Category: In-Universe Authors|Michaels, Gustavus]]