Deirdre Lear
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Deirdre Lear | |
|---|---|
| Personal | |
| Also known as | Deirdre Armstrong |
| Affiliation | Federated Suns |
| Profile | |
| Profession | Surgeon |
| Family | |
| Parents | Peter Armstrong (father) Marylyn Lear (mother)[1] |
| Spouse | Kai Allard-Liao |
| Children | David Lear Melissa Allard-Liao |
Doctor Deirdre Lear (Armstrong) was the wife of Kai Allard-Liao, a veteran of the Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth during the Clan Invasion, and the daughter of expatriate Federated Suns MechWarrior Peter Armstrong, who fought in the stadiums of Solaris.
Contents
History[edit]
Early Life and Career[edit]
During his time on Solaris, Armstrong was a part of the stables of Allard's archenemy, Philip Capet. Armstrong, Dierdre revered her father, but in a Solaris Games arena fight against Justin Xiang Allard, Armstrong refused to eject from his battered Griffin, resulting in his death. As Allard was considered a traitor to the Federated Suns by the general public at the time, Peter Armstrong became a virtual martyr and his daughter was treated commensurately.
During this period of her early life, Deirdre Armstrong developed an intense dislike of Justin Allard. Later, when Allard revealed he had been working as a deep cover agent for the Federated Suns, some citizens lost their previous view of Peter Armstrong as a martyr. At best, Armstrong was thought of as a stooge who died trying to prevent the heroic Allard from completing his mission; at worst, he was now seen as a traitor to the Federated Suns itself. After her mother remarried, Deirdre Armstrong changed her surname from the original "Armstrong" to her stepfather's, "Lear." She came to like and admire her stepfather, and after exposure to his work as a doctor Dierdre eventually trained as a physician.
Service in the AFFC[edit]
As a youth, Deirdre Lear came to disdain all things martial, particularly BattleMechs. Despite this, she enlisted in the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns as a surgeon following the invasion of the Clans. She claimed she joined the military in part to atone for her father's perceived sins, as well as to restore her own honor. It was during her service in the AFFS that she met Kai Allard-Liao.[2]
Initially Dierdre felt a strong attraction to Kai, but upon learning that he was the son of the man who had killed her father, she recoiled and vowed to avoid him. Confused by her actions, Kai acceded to her wishes to avoid contact. During the Second Battle of Twycross in 3050, the MASH unit that Deirdre was attached to was overrun by the Falcon Guards at the Great Gash. Responding to the frantic calls for help from the MASH unit, and forced to borrow a 'Mech, Kai rushed to assist the beleaguered unit. In the process, Kai flanked the Falcon Guards, then rescued Deirdre, taking her into the cockpit of his borrowed 'Mech. Kai engineered the destruction of the Falcon Guards by self-destructing his borrowed Hatchetman, thereby detonating demolition charges the AFFS had buried nearby. In turn, that caused a tremendous landslide which buried almost all of the Falcon Guards. He and Dr. Lear survived by using the Full-Head Ejection System of the Hatchetman. Rather than appreciating Kai's rescue, Deirdre resented him even more for causing such violence while she was in his 'Mech, and they parted company again.
During the battle for Alyina in 3051, Deirdre was among those left behind when the 10th Lyran Guards were forced to withdraw. In the same battle, Kai Allard-Liao sacrificed himself to ensure the escape of Victor Steiner-Davion. Kai and Dierdre reunited unexpectedly, and over the course of the next several months, Deirdre allowed her hatred of Kai to slip while they were trapped behind enemy lines. The two went on the run, and eventually Dierdre fell deeply in love with Kai, and the two began a physical relationship. Deirdre and Kai assisted the Jade Falcon garrison, led by Star Captain Taman Malthus, to defeat the ComStar forces that had attacked them as part of Operation Scorpion. Both escaped from Alyina after they were granted safcon as a reward for their help. Believing she would be a drain on Kai's bright future, Dierdre broke up with him, and Kai returned to his service in the AFFC unaware that Dierdre was pregnant.
Later Life[edit]
Dierdre spent three years raising their son David on Odell, with assistance from her mother and stepfather. She named the boy after David Jewell in order to conceal Kai’s role as his true father. In 3055, she accepted a medical posting to the Sarna March world of Zurich, taking her son with her. The following year, on the 30th of March, she successfully defended herself and her operating room staff from a young Free Capellan gunman who had stormed her clinic in an attempt to murder one of her patients.[3]
While Dierdre initially did not want any publicity about her heroic deed, others successfully prevailed on her to give an interview to the local news channel, which in turn attracted the unwanted attention of Kai's uncle Tormano Liao. After seeing a picture of the young David, Tormano correctly ascertained his true parentage, and ‘’invited’’ Deirdre and her son to Solaris VII. Dierdre and David both became Toramno's personal guests on his house on Equus, as de facto prisoners to blackmail Kai into obeying Tormano. Deirdre unsuccessfully attempted an escape with her son on 27 April 3056. Tormano's guards re-captured her, and she was about to be executed when a team of Clan Jade Falcon Elementals, led by Kai's former enemy turned friend, Taman Malthus, intervened.[4]
After Kai defeated Tormano, he and Deidre reconciled, and she introduced him to his son.[5]
After Kai's sojourn as champion of Solaris VII, he married Deirdre. They had another child, Melissa Allard-Liao. Deirdre continued her medical practice during her marriage to Kai.[citation needed]
References[edit]
Bibliography[edit]
- Assumption of Risk (novel)
- Lethal Heritage (novel)
- Warrior: En Garde (novel)