Michael Norman Osborne

Michael Norman Osborne was one of the NRR's most notable businessmen and politicians, being one of the most powerful men in New Rome for a long period of time. He became a man of equal stature within the EotLP after the Collapse of the NRR, and played a fundamental role in the Rennian Resettling of the Balkavanians.

Early Life

Michael Norman Osborne was born on the 12th of Mikha, 176 to John & Nina Osborne, in Legoia, at that time the capital of the Catlish Empire, under the rule of Queen Vetka II. From a young age, Michael showed technical and intellectual proficiency, and due to his mothers' good connections, he found an admirable education in the failing state. However, much to the chagrin of his father, his Royal Education led him to see the Catlish Monarchs in a much more favourable light. However, his father continued to give his all to get his son a good education and push him to success. As Michael grew up,

Osborne's father, John Fel Osborne, made every effort to keep his only son safe, which he managed to do, long enough for Michael to start his post-secondary education at the University of New Sparta. However, in 197, the New Roman Republic began easing their immigration process, and Michael and his father emigrated to the NRR, and began to look into several Business ventures within the NRR.

Turn to Politics

Mr. Osborne in an official portrait, at the beginning of his first Term as Senator, in 210

In 210, LEGOtown's Senator, Priscilla Noreva Sazalen, died suddenly of a stroke, and the Consuls called an Emergency Election in LEGOtown. Having been disappointed in the past by Sazalen's policies and her inability to champion LEGOtown's issues, Michael entered his name to run for Senator. Due to his overwhelming popularity, he won the vote by a landslide, taking home 67.5% of the district vote, on a platform of joining the relatively small Political Posse "Publeco Fratrin," which was headed up by Lola Sandra Bosko. As Sazalen had been the leader of the equally small 'Illustraka Nancii" Posse, its only remaining member had to convince the only unaffiliated Senator, James Gaius Horatian, to band with her until the next election, to keep the Posse legally active.

The NRR Senate was a very small and powerful group of people, made up of just 14 members, presided over by the single vote of the two Consuls. Among the most notable members of the Senate were Dracula Philips Davis, and Sir George Píthikos Simia.

Preparing for the 213 Senate Elections, the PF set their sights on gaining one extra member, and targeted the Occasum Loca region, where Valerie Kersova Prima currently represented. As she had lost her Ilustraka Nancii Posse around her, and as Horatian had already declared his intent to run unaffiliated again in 213, the PF felt that she was the only Senator not entrenched into her prefecture enough that they might usurp her. However, Osborne believed that it would not be possible for Bosko to succeed at such an operation, and began making decisions on behalf of the Posse without her consent. Although Bosko nearly broke the PF apart over the leadership of it, she slowly realised that Osborne's many business associates in the Occasum Loca would be invaluable for not only choosing and confirming the allegiance of a suitable candidate, but also supporting her. Therefore, she rescinded her leadership of the PF, and Osborne became known as the PF's Leader by other Senators.

Michael decided on a PR representative who had formerly worked for the New Rome Space Program, Tauria Cyprian Faustina, and the two announced her candidacy several days before any other candidacy proclamations were made. With a huge advertising budget, numerous public appearances, and several debates with both Prima and other Candidates from the Occasum Loca, Tauria eventually found her way to a victory, taking home 38% of the vote, compared to Prima's 35%. As the dust settled on the Election, Simia's PP Posse held 5 seats, and both Michael's PF, and Davis' KF held 4 seats.

In 216, a huge blow was dealt to the NRR Economy, and the Osborne Family, when the EotBTH, the NRR's Suzerain, passed down several new laws limiting the number of Legoian-origin citizens that could reside in the NRR, which forced the NRR to deport many Legoian-Origin citizens back to the Irin region, which had come under NRR control just a few years earlier for the second time, after a quick succession of overlords, including the Latian Republic, the Latian Spartan Rebellion, and the BensBed Republic. This caused huge uproar among Legoian-origin Romans, many of whom had lived their entire lives, or had their entire livelihoods connected to Nova Italia, and this was often one of the reasons cited for the later Rennian Rebellions. The Osborne's found easy permission to remain in Nova Italia, but their businesses suffered greatly. However, Michael used the opportunity of slow business to turn his attention more fully to Politics.

Michael Osborne became a close confidant of the Consul, Lucius Rufus Brutus, and became one of his closest advisors on most matters.

As the leader of one of the 3 Posses in the Senate, Michael was largely considered to be one of the most influential people in the nation at the time, as only one Senator, James Gaius Horatian remained independent from the three posses. The Consul, Brutus began to see evidence of a plot, machinated by Davis, to deface the current Consul, and present himself as the replacement, most notably seen by his successful 217 proposal to remove the position of Co-Consul, and remove Horatio Iulius Tiberius from office, with the support of Simia, who had opposed the introduction of the Co-Consul to begin with, all the way back in 198. Fearing for the future of the NRR, Brutus, desiring to keep his position, and needing a huge amount of time to unravel Davis' complex plot, proposed an emergency action that required only 5 votes out of 15 to pass due to the legal rules on Consular Emergency Powers, and with Osborne's support, closed the Senate for three years. This allowed all normal functions of the government to continue, but prevented any internal or international policies from being voted on for two years.

To try and draw out Davis' bold Plan, Brutus and Osborne orchestrated a complex set of background events to try and sway the 218 Senatorial Elections against themselves while the government was still closed. In 218, they intentionally removed Osborne and Horatian from power, but placed two new senators in power, both of whom publicly supported Davis and the KF, but were privately members of the Publeco Fratrin, decreasing Davis' actual control over the senate, but giving him the impression that he had a huge amount of control. In the same Election, completely unexpectedly, Simia's Patros Poteskalis were fractured into two small posses of two senators - "Des Fidelos Homikes" (The Faithful men) - and three senators - Do Nova Semikoa (The New Path). Under this new structure, Davis could pass nearly any policy or law by convincing only one of the three much smaller Posses in the Senate to side with him. To make this easier for himself, he had put his own turncout into Simia's ranks, Marius Nerilla Lupa. Although Osborne and Brutus did not plan for Davis to so easily convince Simia's group, it did not negatively affect their plans almost at all. Osborne, in mock disappointment at his failure to get re-elected (by his own devising) turned in his residency card, and his family returned to the Campestrem Regionem, to live in Legoia.

Life in Hiding

While out of the public eye in Legoia, Osborne, his wife, and his aging father began to investigate into Davis' personal affairs, and accounts, and began trying to find a way to pin him on treason. Eventually, they found a very complex set of transfers that saw a few funds be redirected from Davis' accounts to a secure set of accounts in the Campestrem Regionem, where unrest was at an all-time-high.

In the meantime, Davis found it quite easy to pass several more laws intended to portray Brutus as a dictator, including setting up several companies that were connected to Brutus in a way that would be easily discovered, yet believably secret, and then quietly passed laws legally defining those companies as the only in their respective sectors that the Government legally could legally hire for outsourcing or contracting. As these complex business agreements, which were benefitting Brutus greatly, without his knowledge,

One thing that Brutus and Osborne hadn't considered was the ease at which Davis would pass laws, because unbeknownst to them, Marius Nerilla Lupa, a member of Simia's DNS Posse, was secretly collaborating with Davis and the KF. Davis, in the name of Brutus, continued to pass laws and direct the actions of the nation towards Brutus being a dictator, while simultaneously prepping the way for him to replace Brutus. However, his own plans would be his demise. Secretly, he had been financing and providing intelligence to Sergio Ren, an insurgent in the NRR. During a large Military Parade in Legoia, on the Parade Day (the 24th of 222), a huge assault was launched on four different locations across the Campestrem Regionem. Under the secret direction of Michael, Lola Bosko convinced the DNS and DFH to join the PF for a vote to dispatch three legions of the Roman-Ottenburgian Defense Army to deal with the uprising. They were successful and crushed the rebels within a year. Although Davis' plan had been to humiliate Brutus and his military skills by providing the rebels directions and tactics to outmaneuver and damage the technically superior Roman Army, it had the opposite effect, and popular opinion of Brutus rose greatly during and after the rebellion.

With the Senate Elections in 223 coming up soon, Michael was still conflicted on whether or not he should return and run or not, but a coded transmission from Felix Parva Caesar, one of Brutus and Osborne's undercover KF Senators, informed him that Davis had begun openly suggesting that the consul might not be fit to rule, and had begun fancying himself as consul. Scared by Davis' boldness, Osborne returned to Nova Italia, to run for the Senate again.

Return to Roman Politics

Due to Felix Parva Caesar's strategic position as an undercover agent in the KF, Osborne did not want to run against him in LEGOtown, where he had previously represented. Therefore, he decided to run in the remote border region of Angustus Transitus, where he easily defeated the DFH's Lyle Norse Johnson. With no members left, and unwilling to return to Simia's Posse, DFH leader Valerie Tatiana Sabina joined the PF as well, bringing the PF membership to five publicly, and seven privately. The Balance in the Senate shifted once again, with the KF seeming to have 6 Senator, the PF 5, and the DNS 3. However, Carla Magnus Mykona, the KF Senator representing Ovipelles, had begun to secretly collaborate with the DNS, as she was losing faith and trust in Davis.

Privately, Julia Osborne and John Fel Osborne had begun to dig deeper into Davis' accounts and activities and had found that the closest members of his Posse, Dave Marcus Aquilia, and Willie Cassius Cato, also seemed to have some shady business dealings going on behind the backs of the government. However, nothing was definitively proven.

On the 28th of 223, during the Victoria Ultima Feriae celebrations, the Osborne's 15 year-old son, Percy, went missing, and no trace of him was found, despite Law Enforcement's best efforts. Privately, Michael suspected that Davis had something to do with the disappearance, but in reality, Percy had been recruited by the Roman Colony Loyalists (RCL Corps), a very secret governmental organization headed up by George Simia, who kept tabs on insurgent groups in the NRR's external colonies. Due to his experience over the last few years in the CR, Percy was secretly dispatched to the town of Balka, in the CR, to investigate and learn about insurgents or possible unrest.

Michael brought up the issue of the Rennian Rebellion, and requested the Senate launch an investigation into how the Rennian Rebels were so well informed and financed. Believing he could not be traced, Davis made no effort to stop the motion, and it passed in the Senate. A committee was created, and Julia Osborne was hired to be the lead investigator. Julia began to find almost definite links between the KF and the Rennian Rebels, but found no way of directly linking Davis as opposed to any other KF member. The KF turn-coats passed several useful pieces of information out, though; they claimed to their PF or DNS contacts that Davis was the only one in possession of the means to use the KF's accounts. Julia took this information to the Supreme Court of the NRR, and requested an opinion on whether the evidence brought forward was yet enough to convict Davis or any other KF members. She was told that the evidence didn't sufficiently link any one member enough to do anything more than just remove the KF members from the Senate. However, Julia didn't consider this enough. But she didn't get the chance to bring the KF down; as she was returning home from the Supreme Court buildings, she was shot multiple times by a passing vehicle. She entered intensive care, and was put into an induced coma. Michael and his father were absolutely certain that Davis was behind it, and set about researching and digging even deeper. Finally, they found two supposedly private messages that had been part of a minor data leak nearly a year ago, which had gone largely unnoticed. The first was a message and corresponding encryptions that were sent from Davis to Sergio Ren (who was currently in hiding in the Latian Republic), in which he mentioned several confidential military movements, and where Consul Brutus would be on Parade Day in 226. The second was a set of three messages, privately sent between Cato, Aquilia, and Davis, which discussed how Davis intended to impeach the Consul on invented charges. With this evidence, the two Osbornes contacted George Píthikos Simia, the head of the DNS, and presented their case to him. In order to take a case to the Supreme Court against another Senator on charges where the penalty was more than a year in Prison (and the charges for Treason extended all the way up to execution), 10 votes were required out of the 15 in the Senate. for Public Appearances, all were sure that the Consul would abstain from the vote. Osborne and the PF could muster 7 votes, between their Posse members and the KF Turncoats, and Simia expected 4 more votes, between the DNS and their own KF Turncoat.

With this confidence, Michael accused Davis and the KF of treason against the NRR at the Senate meeting the following day, and requested the case be taken before the Supreme Court. As expected, Brutus abstained, but 10 Senators voted to Impeach the KF. The only senator who unexpectedly voted against impeachment was Marius Nerilla Lupa, Davis' own turncoat within DNS' ranks. However, even with the unexpected loss of a vote, the votes were sufficient, and the 6 KF Senators were brought before the supreme court on major charges, with Lupa being added to the group later on. Due to their turn-coat and informant status, Dominita Tullia Catust, Felix Parva Caesar, and Carla Magnus Mykona were cleared of charges of high treason, but were still removed from office, although they were not banned from running for or participating in Governmental elections in the future. Lupa was removed from office, charged with violation of the standards of office, and sentenced to 10 years Imprisonment. Davis, Cato, and Aquilia, though, for their direct support of an insurgent group within the NRR, were charged with High Treason of the First Degree, and were sentenced to death. They were executed on the 3rd of 227. After the Sentencing, with 7 members of the Senate removed in some form, Brutus closed the Government for the remainder of 226, and until new officials could be elected in 227.

Julia Osborne awoke from her coma on the 4th of 227, and was slowly nursed back to full health.

After his son had guaranteed that Davis would go before court in 226, John Fel Osborne resigned from all public offices in the NRR, and returned home to his native Campestrem Regionem, where he had become involved with several of the Rebel Groups wishing to free the CR - or the Irin Plateau, as they referred to it - from what they saw as the NRR's oppressive rule. He was made the Colonel of the 5th Resisting Division, and prepared to rebel against the NRR.

Fall of the NRR, and fight against the EotLP

Michael Osborne, in his last official Roman Senatorial Portrait, circa 228

Unfortunately for the NRR, Davis' leeching had taken it's toll. In his efforts to ruin Brutus' reputation, he had sabotaged the Roman Central Bank, and in addition to several outside factors, the budget cap was hit in the 226 budget, and the NRR Government was in huge disarray. The largest of which was his secret financing of a huge counterfeit scheme that produced nearly $ 1 Trillion MON in 224. Davis had made sure to release public documents about the ways in which the NRR had taken advantage of, or gone against their allies or neighbours before his execution. The counterfeit project tanked the value of the $ MON, and caused international uproar from the other 4 nations using the $ MON (The EotBTH, Latian Republic, Ottenburg Empire, and BensBed Republic) who began threatening everything between economic black-balling and full on invasion over the counterfeit. Osborne once again saved the day, by offering an ultimatum where the NRR would publicly destroy $1 Trillion MON (nearly $ 13 Billion MON more than had been wrongfully produced), in order to restore the value of the $ MON.

The ordeal itself took nearly $ 3 Million MON to undertake, and with an annual Budget of $ 10 Billion MON, the NRR began to suffer economically. When the dust settled, and accountants finished up, the NRR had only $ 9.973 Billion MON to continue running their country. And with the faltering economy caused by the decision, 10 years previously, by the EotBTH to limit Legoian immigration, it seemed the NRR wouldn't be able to make $ 10 Billion to cover the next year's budget. To try and manage that, they decreased the budget to $ 5 Billion for the year 227.

Davis had also secretly approved the Ottenburg Empire's use of the Roman-Ottenburg Army to attack the BBR, even though it was an ill-fated war from the start, which devastated the entire RO Army, leaving the NRR with a very small defense force

Unfortunately for the Ill-fated NRR, Sergio Ren had launched a second rebellion in the Campestrem Regionem on the 8th of 227. Without sufficient funding to pay the Army, the Senate Dispatched General James Krennic, one of the original Generals of the Iselian Independence Army (IIA) to take back the CR, and gave him complete control over the resources within the CR to pay his Soldiers. Krennic started out incredibly strong, driving the Rebel Forces from every place he met them. However, he very quickly ran out of basic supplies, and his army began to lose momentum. Compounded with a Pyric Victory at the town of Reiths, where 1,326 Roman Soldiers died to destroy a 595 Rebels, Krennic's re-conquest of the CR began to Crumble, and eventually, he was forced to surrender after more Rebel Forces arrived from another NRR Province, Nova Terra. Michael's son Leo, who was doing a degree in Engineering with the Roman Army, had found himself on duty in the CR, and Michael had been assigned by the Senate as their representative to Krennic. Them, in addition to Leo's wife Maria and 35 other soldiers were the only ones who refused to surrender to the Rebel forces. They were placed in a military prison in Legoia, while Consul Brutus travelled to the CR to sign a treaty recognizing the Independent Nation of Campestrem (which would later become known as the EotLP). All the soldiers who had surrendered were returned to the NRR by the INC Government, but ranked officers, and those in Legoia Prison remained there. Ren offered a second chance to surrender to the Soldiers, but not officers, still behind bars in the INC, which 27 of the 38 accepted, leaving just 11 soldiers and 8 officers behind bars. After a third surrender opportunity given to the 11 Soldiers left, that none accepted, Ren signed an execution order for them, scheduled for the 7th of 228. Colonel John Osborne pleaded with Michael, Leo, and Maria to surrender and be spared, but they refused. The other 8 officers were still unaware of what their fate would be. However, that fate would be decided on the 5th of 228, at 3:30 in the morning, when a group of roughly 50 self-proclaimed NRR Loyalists set explosive charges that blew off the wall of the Legoian Prison, and they began shuffling soldiers and officers out. They moved the Prisoners to the Legoia Airstrip, where a private plane was waiting for the Prisoners, and took them back to the NRR. Three of the Loyalists were killed in the firefight, and one Prisoner was; Maria Osborne. Unexpectedly to all, when the dead were identified, one of the young Loyalists was identified by DNA as Percy Osborne, who had been presumed dead for over 4 years now. The loss of Maria, and the second loss of Percy was devastating to Sarah, Leo, Julia, and Michael, all of whom reunited in Nova Italia. Colonel John Osborne also expressed regret over the path that had taken him to take no action against his son and grandson's execution orders, and that had led to his Grandson and Granddaughter-in-law's deaths.

Just three days after the return of Michael and Leo to Nova Italia, Michael and Julia's unexpected and unannounced 4th child, Avayah was born. She was not mentioned in any public communications. Several rumours exist surrounding Avayah, especially considering Avayah's name - Maria Osborne's mother was named Avayah. Many presumed that Avayah had been Maria & Leo's child, born in the days leading up to the prison escape, the knowledge of which may have been what caused the Roman Loyalists to pull the Prison Break when they did. After Maria's death and Percy's second death, Leo withdrew from large aspects of public life, and focused intensely on his work and new Spacecraft Manufacturing. Avayah would later state that she had several memories of Leo from this period. The first time Avayah would be mentioned publicly was in the announcement of Leo's Death, when she would be referred to as Michael & Julia's fourth child. Sarah Osborne-Aster, Michael and Julia's eldest.

Over the next year, Michael poured himself into his political work, trying to save the failing NRR with everything he had. However, in the 228 Election, Michael found himself too worn out to engage in heated political debate, so offered George Simia a unified senate, with Simia as the leader. They called the new Posse Roma Unis. It worked well, with 11 RU Senators, until the 4th of 229, when Brutus shut down the Government once again. Over the next few days, the NRR would truly fall apart. On the 4th, Simia, who was 79 at the time, and was an avid rock climber, would suffer a fatal flaw, fracturing the RU Posse. On the 5th, 3 Senators re-declared themselves the DNS, 3 the PF, 2 the long-extinct IN, and 2 a brand-new posse, the FH (Filia Herolum), and three maintained their Non-alignment. However, those groups would again change on the 6th, when Julius Mila Avita, Dominita Tullia Catust, and Abigail Regina Tanaq declared the Servatores Romani, and launched a government coup in what was declared an attempt to save the NRR from the destruction it was headed towards. The three and their followers temporarily took control over the Senate Building, before a group led by Senators Valerie Tatiana Sabina, former Consul Horatio Iulius Tiberius, and Tauria Cyprian Faustina would declare themselves the Qui Emundare, and launch a counterattack to retake the Senate. Although successful, Tiberius would be fatally shot during the conflict, and died within minutes. The three members of the SR were also killed. After hearing of the shocking turn of events, the 89-year-old Laurence Varinia Cato would suffer a shock and die shortly afterwards. With only 8 Senators remaining Alive by the end of the 7th of 229, the Government seemed in Shambles. Fearing for their lives, Felix Parva Caeser and Carla Magnus Mykona both resigned on the evening of the 7th. At the break of dawn on the 7th, several other nations had taken advantage of the NRR's Implosion, and had begun invading her territories. The Effusus, Garden, Magnum Crater Regionem, and Discipulus Regionem Colonies were all no longer under Roman Control by sunset on the 8th. Only Nova Italia remained under Roman Control. It seemed inevitable that Nova Italia would fall soon, and many began fearing for their lives. But this was not their day to die.

Early in the morning of the 9th, an EotLP - registered plane descended towards Nova Roma's Airport. They were directly allowed to land by the Consul, and Sergio Ren, the Emperor of the EotLP was announced to Brutus. Brutus and Ren fell into deep discussions, and were later met by Osborne and the other 5 remaining Senators. Brutus gave a very solemn and subdued speech, where he declared the last Roman Posse, Dos Reliquiae et Victoriae (The Survivors and Victors), and offered all 6 Senators an opportunity to join. All did. He then announced that the time for the NRR had come to a close, and thanked the Senators for their service, and officially dissolved the Government of the NRR, officially turning over all Assets and Debts of the Roman Government to the Government of the EotLP. Brutus was given a hero's exit from the Senate Building, drove himself away, and was never seen again, although speculation has put his whereabouts as Krajyna, in the Balkavanian Archipelago. Michael approached Emperor Ren, and requested a full pardon for him and Leo, which Ren granted. Ren then offered Osborne the position of Finance Minister of the EotLP for the next 5 years, which Osborne accepted.

Integration into the EotLP

Michael Osborne, as the Rennian Finance Minister, managed to completely erase the debt of the EotLP and NRR within 3 years, and in the same timespan increased the EotLP GDP by 48%. Due to the abysmal situation at the dissolution of the NRR, the Iseli Region (formerly called Nova Italia) saw it's GDP increase by 381% in that same 3-year period.

Rennia's Biggest Businessman

Osborne Formula Lego

Michael Osborne was the Team Owner of Team Osborne, and was the Lead engineer as well, from Season 1 - 9, before passing off that responsibility to his daughter, Avayah.

As both the Owner and Technical Officer of Osborne, Michael was often the subject of controversy over how much he let his Team Managers run the parts of the team they were supposed to. Aaron Curon, Osborne's first TM, cited that lack of authority as one reason he felt it was good to step away from FL. Valerie Keplerus, who replaced him before Season 3, found that to be a problem as well, but instead held her ground, and placed herself as a domineering force of nature, who took authority from Osborne by force, if necessary, and forced him to step out of Administrating the team, and matched that incredible management with equally incredible results - Osborne won 5 Constructors' Titles under her leadership. Adan Wallace, who replaced Keplerus before S9, had similar troubles to Curon with Michael, and the team faced similar struggles in that time.

Michael stepped away from any sort of direct leadership after Season 9, giving Avayah Osborne, his daughter and the teams best driver at the time, 50% ownership of the team, and the role of Technical Director.

Later Expansion

Michael Osborne, Later in Life, in an officially sanctioned Rennian Portrait, circa 265

Old Age and Death

Michael passed away peacefully on the night of the 15th of Imlotel, 279, at the age of 103