Tormano Liao

Tormano Liao (b 2996 – d. 3062), also known as Tormana Liao, was the youngest of Maxmilian Liao's three children, and is best known for his role as a political advisor. In the thirty years from the Fourth Succession War to the FedCom Civil War, Tormano Liao could be found as one of the lead advisors to many political leaders. Another of his legacies was the creation of the Free Capella movement, which united many disparate anti-Confederation groups into one cohesive organization. Free Capella would later fund the Blackwind Lancers and Jie Fang Legion.

Biography

Early life

Tormano Liao was born on Sian in 2996. The only real time he went against his father, Maximilian Liao, was when he married a commoner from Brazen Heart, and refused to divorce her at the Chancellor's order. Enraged, Maximilian named his oldest daughter Candace the heir to the Celestial Throne, removing Tormano and his offspring from the Capellan ruling line. He then placed himself in exile to Hsien as part of the 1st Ariana Fusiliers.

Marriage and children

Sometime prior to 3025 Tormano married Hanya No Cha, a botanist. They had two children, Treyhang and daughter.

Fourth Succession War

The events of the Fourth Succession War profoundly affected Tormano's life. In 3028, Tormano was finishing the fourth year of his self-imposed exile as a major in the 1st Ariana Fusiliers. In the first wave, the Fusiliers homeworld was attacked by the Eridani Light Horse and 3rd Davion Guards RCT. The AFFS forces found Major Liao's headless Centurion after the fighting, and assumed that Tormano had been killed in action.

Over the next three months, guerrilla operations on the world showed someone with official training was running the resistance movement. Rumors that a member of the Liao family was leading these operations fueled a planet wide manhunt. After two more months of ambushes and guerrilla strikes, the leader of the resistance, Tormano Liao, surrendered to Davion forces. In exchange for his surrender, the MIIO agreed to smuggle Tormano's wife out of the Capellan Confederation.

Hanse Davion extended an invitation to Tormano Liao and his wife; They arrived on New Avalon on April 19, 3028. While there Tormano (using "The Black Ram" as his alias) used access to military simulators to challenge cadets at the NAIS and Albion military academies. At the same time, Hanya No Cha used her access to the NAIS Information Network to learn about the new trends in botany.

In addition to these duties, Hanse Davion used Tormano's presence to gain a greater insight into the upper levels of the Capellan Confederation's political structure. These insights would serve him well when Pavel Ridzik formed the Tikonov Free Republic and Candace Liao contacted the First Prince about the secession of her St. Ives Commonality from the Confederation.

Clan Invasion Era

Murder and Kidnapping on Solaris

By late 3055, Tormano had been running his Free Capella in Sarna March restore and preserve the Capellan people whom live there. In truth, he has been using his organization to position himself to topple his sister Romano and later her son Sun Tzu Liao regime in Capellan Confederation. However, seeing his nephew Kai being more popular with the people, he had trying but failing to pass on control of the organization to him. Seeing him as person whom could lead to "freeing" Confederation from Romano's heir. Despite this, Kai had shown in political ambition and politely deflected his attempts to subvert him to his cause.

During 3056, he had been based his operations HQ for Free Capellan on Solaris VII at his palace in Cathay District of Solaris City. During period of Kai's championship for 3056, Tormano intelligence discovers secret to black mail his nephew. They discovered he unknowingly fathered a son, David Lear, his mother Deirdre Lear during his time on Alyina. He has Diredre and her son brought to Solaris to use as hostages to bend Kai to his own agenda.

Also during this time, Peter Steiner-Davion is assigned to him as a liaison officer, to supervise his activities. Tormano decides use Archon Prince Victor Steiner-Davion's brother to trigger a war against the Capellan Confederation so he may assumed power there. In course of trying he finally able to manipulate the young man into conducting a military raid after the hotel bombing that "kills" Galen Cox. Kai learns of the young Duke's disappearance from Solaris and goes to confront him about what he done. Tormano revealing to Kai has son, he is holding the boy and his mother hostage. Telling nephew if he wishes to be united with them, he must do nothing to stop his plans.

However, Tormano plan fails, as Kai was able to secretly intercept Duke Peter and Khorsakhov’s Cossacks. He prevents them from assaulting a Free Worlds League world of Shiloh to destroy the Harloc Raiders and triggering a war with them. Also a Maskirovka agent, Nancy Boa Lee, who prevent him from learning of leaked info on Kai's plans. Tormano is forced in to exile once Archon-Prince hears of what he attempted to do. As when Nancy comes to him, she attempts to assassinate him, but Tormano able dis-arms her and break her arm in the process. Revealing to her he knows that that she is Mask spy, and tells her to bring message to Sun-Tzu. He tells her he maybe no longer threat to him, only because Kai Allard-Liao is even bigger threat then he.

Capellan-St. Ives Civil War

Tormano was killed in the Black May attacks ordered by his niece, Kali Liao, in 3062.

Death and afterward

Legacy Tormano's legacy could best be described as Machiavellian. He is known to have acted as an advisor to Katherine Steiner-Davion prior to the events of the FedCom Civil War.Reference Needed His self-interested behavior and habit of gathering as much power as he could can also be seen reflected in Katherine's policies.

On the other hand, Tormano was fiercely loyal to those who supported him. The Free Capella Movement, an independence organization focused on the Capellan Confederation, would never have been able to field two 'Mech regiments without his support. After Tormano's death, his son would take control of the Free Capella Movement. He would change it into a loyal opposition movement verses an attempt to usurp control from Chancellor.

Philosophical and/or political views

Though often cloaked in grandiose language, Tormano's politics basically existed to make his life easier. Tormano frequently held grudges against those that he felt wronged him; This habit was one reason he gave information to Hanse Davion in the Fourth Succession War (though it should be noted that Hanse's willingness to flatter Tormano made the process much easier).

Portrait Gallery

• Tormana Liao.jpg

  Tormana at the Age of 54

Bibliography

• Field Manual: Updates
• House Liao (The Capellan Confederation)
• NAIS The Fourth Succession War Military Atlas Volume 2
• Assumption of Risk (novel)

See also

Candace Liao St. Ives Compact Kai Allard-Liao Fourth Succession War