Court martialed in 2375 over the death of two crewman under his command while constructing the USS Pueblo. Found guilty of negligence and reduced two grades in rank, one for each death.

Michael was born on the farming colony of Antares III, in the small community of Celica. Like many in the settlement, he was born into a large family of eight children. Michael was the youngest child of JoAnn and Robert Ashbury and lived a fairly normal lifestyle. His days consisted of school work and working in the fields, planting, harvesting, or otherwise taking care of the crops.

At an early age, Michael demonstrated remarkable engineering talent. He quickly became the assistant village handy man, under the tutelage of Mark Pine. Under Mark's careful instruction, Michael learned about fixing everything from indoor plumbing to carpentry to repairing the machines used to tend the fields. By the time Mark retired in 2359, Michael was the defacto fix it person. Michael was happy in Celica but he also wanted to pursue other options for a career. When a passing Starfleet vessel stopped by the Antares Colony, Michael got his first glimpse of Starfleet. He immediately fell in love with the idea of exploring the galaxy, meeting new races and, most of all, fixing all manner of items.

Michael studiously prepared for the arduous Starfleet Academy exams and passed on his second try. In 2362, he left Antares III for the last time and went to Earth, the place that he would now call home. The extended Ashbury family relocated to Earth in 2365, escaping the Cardassian War.

At the Academy, Michael found himself in heaven. There wasn't a day that went by when he didn't learn something new. Majoring in warp systems and subspace mechanics with a minor in helm/navigation, Michael graduated in four years. His time at the Academy, as well as his personal interest in learning everything he could about starships, had produced a finely tuned engineer.

Michael graduated in 2366 and was posted to the USS Endeavour. Under the experienced eye of another officer, Michael was slowly moved up through the chain of command, gaining more experience both as a CO and as an engineer. In 2367, he accepted an invitation to attend a warp field symposium at the Vulcan Science Academy. While there, a young student named Samantha Wells attracted his eye. After the two became something of an item, Michael searched for a way to remain near Vulcan and in particular to Samantha. A post opened as an Attache to the Terran Ambassador to Vulcan and Michael quickly accepted it. Although the field was politics, he reasoned that it couldn't hurt his career any and he might gain some valuable insight to the political field.

With his immense curiosity, Michael took the time to gain a degree in exobotany at the Vulcan Science Academy. By the time he had proposed to Sam in 2370, he couldn't imagine life without her.

When Sam chose to attend Starfleet Academy, Michael quickly chose to become an engineer at Starbase One in Earth orbit. After finding the assignment less than gratifying (he was essentially a glorified transporter technician), he volunteered for construction duty at the Utopia Planetia Shipyards. With the quick commute to and from Earth, Michael and Sam could still maintain a normal lifestyle.

In 2374, Sam gave birth to their first child, Madison Rebecca Ashbury. Michael was elated by the new arrival in their lives. Sadly, it was probably because of this distraction that a tragedy occured.

In 2375, Michael was assigned as the construction supervisor of the USS Pueblo, a new Akira class vessel. As two crewman were installing the warp coolant, a gravity fluctuation spilled the coolant. Although the accident was not directly his fault, as construction supervisor Michael was held responsible for the improperly installed gravometric generators. Although it was later determined that the generators were manufactured improperly, Michael was found guilty of negligence and reduced two grades in rank, one for each death.

Following the accident and court martial, Michael underwent extensive counseling and eventually came to terms with the tragedy. After Sam's sabbatical was over, the Ashbury's requested reassignment on the same vessel to raise their family.

After Sam’s experience on Calevere and his own traumatic experience in dealing with a chameloid that impersonated Sam and being accused of her apparent murder, Michael also requested a sabattical from Starfleet. Sam and Michael had grown closer as a result of the experience but each had to come to terms with the future. After extensive counseling, in 2377 Michael requested reassignment to the Utopia Planetia shipyards while Sam took a position at Starfleet Academy. In 2379 Michael was transferred to the USS Sulu.

Michael is a natural leader, confident and outgoing. He still has to remind himself not to take charge of specific situations but he is slowly adapting to his demoted rank. He makes friends easily and was known as something of a ladies man until he married Samantha. Now a devoted father and husband, he is always on the lookout for a worthy chess opponent or someone to discuss engineering and/or gardening with.

Married to Lt. jg Samantha Ashbury. They have a daughter, Madison Rebecca Ashbury.