Editing Melissa Allard-Liao

{{InfoBoxCharacter
| image               = 
| name                = Melissa Allard-Liao
| birthdate           = September [[3058]]<ref name=GCc4>''Grave Covenant'', ch. 4</ref><ref name="J:FRp14+"/>
| died                = October [[3111]]<ref name=OTP:CCp8>''Operational Turning Points: Capellan Crusades'', p. 8</ref><ref name=H:WotREp15>''Historical: Wars of the Republic Era'', p. 15</ref>
| othernames          = 
| affiliation         = [[House Allard-Liao]]
| rank                = 
| title               = 
| position            = [[Senator]]
| profession          = Noble
| parents             = [[Kai Allard-Liao]] (father}<ref name=BTDTBHp13>''BattleTech Dossiers: The Bounty Hunter'', p. 13: ''Means to an End''</ref><br/>[[Deirdre Lear]] (mother)
| siblings            = [[David Lear]]
| spouse              = 
| children            = 
}}
'''Melissa Allard-Liao''' was the daughter of [[Kai Allard-Liao]] and [[Deirdre Lear]] and a noted supporter of the [[Republic of the Sphere]].<ref name="J:FRp11">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 11: "Melissa Allard-Liao: 'Rising Power'"</ref>

==History==
===Kidnap===
In [[3068]] Melissa was kidnapped alongside her friend [[Fernando Calvin|Fernando]] and his father [[Hector Calvin|Hector]] by the [[Bounty Hunter]] as part of a plan to capture [[Kai Allard-Liao]]. The plot succeeded, and to save Melissa's life, Kai allowed himself to be captured by the Hunter on [[St.Ives]], which took him captive. after leaving the system, Melissa was found unharmed, having been sedated all their captivity.<ref name=BTDTBHp13/>

===Republic===
As the Jihad drew to a close Melissa actively spoke on a number of worlds in support of the [[Renascent Hegemony]], arguing in support of the creation of what would become the state known as the [[Republic of the Sphere]], despite her position angering [[Capellan]] nationalists. Melissa gave a speech on [[Shensi]] in early February [[3079]] that drew attention from the [[St. Ives]] Press,<ref name="J:FRp11" /> and it was noted in the press on [[Terra]] in [[3080]] that her grassroots efforts in support of [[Devlin Stone]] and his ideas for the new state were popular among the troops that had formed a part of the allied coalition forces against the [[Word of Blake]].<ref name="J:FRp12+">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', pp. 12–13: "The Best Of Times"</ref>

A rally organized by Melissa on the 22nd of September [[3079]] was marred by a bombing by pro-Capellan agents that killed almost 200 people.<ref name="J:FRp60">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 60: "The Jihad In Review"</ref> The rally was being held in the Vyacheslav Kozar Square in the capital city of Tikograd and involved thirteen separate carbombs, although it wasn't confirmed if Melissa or any of the other scheduled speakers were particular targets. Melissa reacted angrily to attempts by the press to turn the bombing into a political issue, condemning the terrorist bombing as an atrocity and stating that the callous disregard for life shown had no place in a free and open society.<ref name="J:FRp13">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 13: "Violence At Stone Rally"</ref>

Despite the bombing on Tikonov Melissa continued to attend rallies on former Capellan worlds, speaking on [[Genoa]] on the 19th of November [[3079]].<ref name="J:FRp14">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 14: "Genoans For Stone!"</ref> In April 3081 it was announced that Melissa would be a member of the executive committee of the [[Capellan Transitional Council]], the group charged with easing the integration of former Capellan worlds into the Republic of the Sphere; at just 23 years old, Melissa was the youngest member to be appointed to the council.<ref name="J:FRp14+">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', pp. 14–15: "Capellan Transitional Government Formed"</ref>

[[David Lear]], Melissa's older brother and advisor to Devlin Stone, suggested elevating Melissa into the ranks of the nobility on the planet [[Liao]] as a means for possibly having her raised to the post of either Planetary Governor or Senator for Liao, one of a number of political appointments intended to stack the deck within the Republic's political system in favor of Stone and his policies.<ref name="J:FRp109">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 109: "The Political Landscape of the Republic of the Sphere"</ref>

Melissa would eventually become a Republic Senator, having been retired by her death in 3113. Melissa's death is attributed to Capellan invaders who had been fighting on Liao for two years.<ref name="DATP:Liao p5">''Dark Age Turning Points: Liao'', p. 5: "Liao"</ref>

===Death===
In [[3111]] the Confederation would launch [[Operation CELESTIAL SPEAR]], attempting to wrestle the ancestral home of [[House Liao]] away from the Republic of the Sphere. Caught in what would become known as the "[[Massacre of Liao]]', Melissa would be one of over a hundred thousand people to lose their lives.<ref name="OTP:CCp8"/>

==Philosophical and/or political views==
Melissa was an active supporter of the Renascent Hegemony political movement which arose in the wake of the [[Jihad]] and which argued for the creation of a new buffer realm at the heart of the [[Inner Sphere]] reminiscent of the [[Terran Hegemony]], as well as a strong supporter of Devlin Stone noted for stating that she believed that Stone was the best hope for peace.<ref name="J:FRp13"/>

==References==
<references/>

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Dark Age Turning Points: Liao]]''
* ''[[Grave Covenant]]'' (novel)
* ''[[Historical: Wars of the Republic]]''
* ''[[Jihad: Final Reckoning]]''
* ''[[Operational Turning Points: Capellan Crusades]]''

[[Category: Capellan Confederation Characters|Allard-Liao, Melissa]]
[[Category: Republic of the Sphere Characters|Allard-Liao, Melissa]]