Editing Michael Hasek-Davion

{{Cleanup|reason=review needed|date=September 2023}}
{{Update Needed|[[The Judas Blind]]}}
{{InfoBoxCharacter
| image               = Michael Hasek-Davion HDTFS.jpg
| caption             = Michael Hasek-Davion
| name                = Michael Hasek-Davion
| birthdate           = [[2985]]<ref>''House Davion (The Federated Suns)'': "Michael Hasek-Davion"</ref>
| died                = 14 February [[3029]]
| othernames          = 
| affiliation         = [[House Hasek]]
| rank                = 
| title               = [[Duke of New Syrtis]]<br/>[[Duke of Elidere]]
| position            = 
| profession          = 
| parents             = [[George Hasek (30th c.)|George Hasek]] (father)
| siblings            = [[Rebecca Hasek]]
| spouse              = [[Marie Davion-St. Claire]]
| children            = [[Morgan Hasek-Davion]]
}}

'''Michael Hasek-Davion''' was an early [[thirty-first century]] [[Federated Suns]] nobleman and March Lord of the [[Capellan March]].
He was an ambitious and cunning politician, who secretly plotted to take the throne of the Federated Suns for himself. He was the arch-rival to [[Hanse Davion]] during the first part of his reign as [[First Prince]].

==History==
===Early History===
Son of Duke [[George Hasek I]], Michael had tried to live up to his father's ambitious shadow after his death.  He served as an officer with the [[Syrtis Fusiliers]] in his late twenties until he lost his hand in a battle with a Capellan ''[[BattleMaster]]''. He was ejected from his ''[[Marauder]]'' into a lake, where he nearly drowned; he suffered a severe injury to his left hand from the ejection. His left hand was amputated and replaced by a bionic replacement. This event left him psychologically scarred with a fear of large bodies of water and ''BattleMasters''.<ref>''House Davion (The Federated Suns)'', p. ??: "Michael Hasek-Davion's early military career"{{cn}}</ref>

After his career with the Fusiliers ended, he continued to build on his father's political power base, and married [[Marie Davion-St. Claire]] in [[3003]].  This put him in the line of succession to the throne of the Federated Suns, and he added the Davion name to his own to add more political clout. His marriage resulted in one son with Marie, [[Morgan Hasek-Davion]].
He also had his younger sister, [[Rebecca Hasek-Davion|Rebecca]]<ref>''House Davion (The Federated Suns)'': "Ministry of Capellan March"</ref> change her last name.  He trusted his sister to stand in for him as Minister of the Capellan March since he was uninterested in the role.

He cultivated a large network of spies inside and outside the Federated Suns, and received secret emissaries from [[House Liao]] offering to help him with his ambitions.<ref>''House Davion (The Federated Suns)'', p. 113: "Federated Sun Nobility"</ref>

=== Political Intrigue ===
After the death of his father in [[3013]], Michael became Duke of New Syrtis and Field Marshal of the Capellan March.  He immediately attempted to usurp [[Hanse Davion]]'s authority, as he considered the Capellan March his own private realm, and he felt Hanse was attempting to take it away from him.  At the time of the [[Third Succession War]], the Capellan March was considered bigger than the Capellan Confederation.<ref>''Warrior: Riposte'', pp. 20–21: "Michael admires his realm and considered a message from Hanse Davion regarding his upcoming marriage to be a threat to his rule"</ref> With a military command consisting of over 12 [[Regimental Combat Team]]s, Michael believed he was invincible.

Some years prior to [[3025]], Michael employed the [[Bounty Hunter]] in a convoluted scheme to lure [[Natasha Kerensky]] and her [[Black Widow Company]] into his personal employ. The plot failed and resulted in the deaths of two Dragoons, and Michael earned Kerensky's enmity.<ref>''Wolves on the Border'', p. 197</ref> In November [[3026]], he attempted to discredit Kerensky by releasing information (obtained from the Bounty Hunter) to Hanse about an atrocity on [[New Mendham]] where Kerensky and her Widows were (falsely) implicated. Hanse saw through the subterfuge and turned it to his advantage by leaking the information to Jaime Wolf.<ref>''Wolves on the Border'', pp. 174–179</ref> These political games, and their effects on the Dragoons' supply lines, were one reason the Dragoons opted not to renew their contract with the Draconis Combine.<ref>''Wolf's Dragoons'', p. 14</ref>

In January [[3027]], he sent security men, lawyers, and his aide Count [[Anton Vitios]] to [[New Avalon]] to "assist" Intelligence Head Quintus Allard with security matters.  He also sent a private message to Hanse Davion where he indirectly threatened him with civil war if Davion were not to allow charges of treason to stand against [[Justin Allard|Justin Xiang Allard]].  He accused Allard of working with local Liao crime syndicates on [[Kittery]], claiming the recent battle on that world was staged, and Justin's injuries were a result of his failed fight. He had Justin successfully exiled from the Federated Suns and stripped of everything, including rank, titles, and awards.  Michael began to secretly work with Chancellor [[Maximilian Liao]] to take the throne of the Federated Suns from Hanse.<ref>''Warrior: En Garde'', p. 329: "Michael dines on Sian with Maximilian Liao"</ref>  As a check against him, Hanse transferred Michael's son Morgan to the [[Davion Heavy Guard]] on New Avalon for use as a political hostage.

By October of that year, Michael felt increasing pressure from Hanse's growing power when he received an official invitation to the wedding of Hanse and [[Archon-Designate]] [[Melissa Steiner-Davion|Melissa Steiner]] on [[Terra]]. Michael believed Hanse, trying to prevent him from amassing more power, would deny him the troops he needed to conquer the Capellan Confederation, which he had been secretly planning to do for some time.<ref>''Warrior: Riposte'', pp. 20–22: "Michael thinks Hanse has ended his bid for the throne & is angry over Hanse not giving him the troops he needs to conquer the Capellans"</ref>  As a result, he conceived a plan to conquer the Capellan Confederation alone and to use the power gained from that to take the throne of the Federated Suns for himself.  He sent secret messages to Maximilian Liao describing Davion strengths (devaluing his own forces) and warning Liao of Hanse's upcoming marriage.<ref>''Warrior: Riposte'', pp. 23–24: "Michael calls for an ambassador to pass his Davion intelligence to Maximilian Liao"</ref>

Michael and his party arrived in [[Terra]]'s system on August 14, [[3028]] for Hanse Davion's wedding. On his arrival, his [[DropShip]] raced Hanse Davion's ship at high gravity. On the journey to Terra, Michael talked with his aide, Count Anton Vitios, about his plans for Hanse Davion and the Federated Suns. He revealed to the Count that the Capellan Chancellor supported his effort to usurp the throne from Hanse Davion, while also stating that he was going to use Liao's lust for power to throw off Hanse Davion's plans. He warned Vitios not to take advantage of the situation and not to attempt to kill or harm anyone during this rare meeting of Great House leaders.<ref>''Warrior: Riposte'', pp. 157–158</ref>

=== Fourth Succession War ===
On January 15th [[3029]], CID agents arrested Capellan Ambassador [[Serge Korigyn]] on [[New Syrtis]] for espionage.  Agents revealed to Michael that some of the military information that was being passed to him was false and that the ambassador was somehow acquiring said false information, indirectly implicating Michael in treason. The next day, fearing that his usurpation plans had been found out by Hanse, he went into seclusion from the public, where he chose to take rash action.  He secretly took a small shuttlecraft to meet up with the departing Liao Ambassador and traveled to Sian.<ref>''Warrior: Riposte'', p. 292</ref>

He arrived on Sian on February 14 and presented his plans to recover from the setback to his personal plans, while also offering Liao a chance to rebound from the humiliation the Chancellor had suffered at the wedding. He presented to Chancellor Liao his plans for a joint attack of their forces: taking his [[5th Syrtis Fusiliers]] and [[Sung's Cuirassiers]] regiments, he would attack [[Tikonov]]'s only Davion defenders, the [[8th Crucis Lancers]].<ref>''Warrior: Riposte'', p. 297: "Michael Hasek-Davion explains his plans to Maximilian Liao"</ref> The Chancellor agreed with Michael's plans, but as soon as the meeting was over, Liao turned to his Maskirovka agents and ordered them to burn the Duke's plans. Stating that Michael had provided false information on Federated Suns forces while simultaneously undermining Capellan troops, the Chancellor accused Michael of trying to lure his forces into a trap. Michael tried to protest but was taken down quickly and easily by [[Justin Xiang]], now a Maskirovka agent. Maximilian then ordered Justin to execute the Duke.<ref>''Warrior: Riposte'', p. 298</ref> Sometime later, Justin convinced the Chancellor to allow ComStar to transfer Michael's body back to the Federated Suns, which he accompanied with ComStar providing transportation to [[Spica]].<ref>''Warrior: Coupé'', pp. 10–11</ref>

==Relationships==
It is unknown if Michael felt something for his wife, but he was initially very close to his son Morgan. No matter how busy the Duke was, he always found time to spend with the boy playing chess.
Morgan always lost, but Michael encouraged him, saying that the day Morgan could defeat Michael he would become a man. Thanks to Morgan's teachers' chess lessons, that day arrived, but the Duke's reaction was the opposite of what Morgan expected: Michael became furious and threw the board off the table, accusing Morgan of conspiring against him to humiliate him. The boy never played chess again, and the relationship between father and son never recovered from the incident. It appears to have been caused by Michael's excessive imagination and paranoia.<ref>''Warrior: Coupé'', p. 412</ref>

==Character Notes==
* Michael was noted for his political savvy and ambitions for total power over the Federated Suns.  When in active service, he was known to pilot a ''[[Marauder]]'' BattleMech.  His replacement bionic left hand, which was amputated during his brief military service, was enhanced by Capellan scientists with an electronic recording/transmitting device.  This allowed him to secretly pass messages to the local Capellan ambassador who had an artificial leg with the device's receiver housed within it.<ref>''Warrior: Riposte'', pp. 23–24: "Michael records messages with his artificial left hand for Liao"</ref>  His means to communicate with Liao were suspected by Quintus Allard, but was never proven.
* Though not specified, in the novel ''Warrior: En Garde'', p. ??,{{cn}} "Michael tells Hanse Davion that he gives his sister Andrea's love to him".<ref>''Warrior: En Garde'', p. 53</ref> It is unclear if this was done in error since early publications are known for their errors.
* Also, the fate of Michael's younger sister Rebecca Hasek-Davion remains unclear.  Though mentioned in the original House Book that she runs the Ministry of the Capellan March in his name. However, in the novel ''Warrior: Coupé'' his wife Marie, Hanse Davion's half-sister, takes over the ministry.
* the House Davion sourcebook lists him as 49 in 3025, which would put his year of birth as 2976 not 2985. This would make him closer in age to Marie and suggest that he lost his arm early in the 3000s, not the 3010s.

==Quotes==
{{Quote|''Decline? Why must it be a decline? Couldn't it be that the Capellans have improved their fighting skills? Why blame our soldiers for a supposed decline in their skills? Why blame me?''|From official court transcripts, September 10, [[3005]]<ref>''House Davion (The Federated Suns)'', p. 93: "Rise Of Hasek-Davion"</ref>}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Michael Hasek-Davion HDTFS.jpg|Michael in [[3025]] from ''[[House Davion (The Federated Suns)|House Davion]]''
Michael Hasek-Davion BTechnology.jpg|Apocryphal image from ''[[BattleTechnology#Issue_8|BattleTechnology #8]]''
</gallery>

==References==
<references/>

==Bibliography==
* ''[[House Davion (The Federated Suns)]]''
* ''[[Warrior: En Garde]]'' (novel)
* ''[[Warrior: Riposte]]'' (novel)
* ''[[Wolf's Dragoons (sourcebook)|Wolf's Dragoons]]''
* ''[[Wolves on the Border]]'' (novel)


[[Category: Federated Suns Characters|Hasek-Davion, Michael]]