Candace Liao

Duchess Candace Liao in 3067

Candace Liao (b. 2988- d. 3068, age 80) was the oldest daughter of Chancellor Maximilian Liao of the Capellan Confederation. She was an accomplished MechWarrior before injuries forced her into less active roles. She presided over the rise and fall of the St. Ives Compact, and was known as a peacemaker and a moderating force on the Star League Council.

Biography

Early Life

As the eldest child of the Chancellor, and his heir-apparent after her brother Tormano Liao fell out of favor, Candace became the Duchess of St. Ives. She did not want to become married as she preferred the life of a single woman and loved diamonds, fur, and leather. Intelligent and beautiful, she was able to remain heir even though she disagreed with, and barely even liked, her father.

Despite this, Candace was also a talented MechWarrior. Her military career was cut short in 3017, when she was forced to eject from her 'Mech during a battle on Spica. She suffered serious injuries due to a malfunction which caused the canopy to remain partly in place when she was ejected. Ironically, the pilot who defeated her was Justin Xiang Allard.

On August 20, 3028, Candace attended the wedding of Hanse Davion and Melissa Steiner on Terra. When Davion made his now-infamous speech to his new bride ending with: "I give you the Capellan Confederation!", thus beginning the Fourth Succession War, Maximilian Liao, who was sitting to Candace's right, jumped out of his seat, gathered up his dishes in his arms and began screaming insults at Davion. Candace, momentarily stunned by this shocking revelation and Maximilian's most undignified response, attempted to calm the Chancellor. Justin Allard, who was sitting to her left, calmly raised his wine glass in a silent toast to Davion, who returned the gesture with the same calm.

She was at one point betrothed to Anton Marik, though this may have been part of Maximillian's plot to destabilize the Free Worlds League.

Around 3045, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Successful treatments at the New Avalon Institute of Science sent the cancer into remission.

Marriage and Children

She met Justin Xiang on Sian in 3027, whom she did not realize was a Davion spy. In 3029, at the end of the Fourth Succession War, she escaped with the rescue mission sent for 'Xiang' (Allard), broke the St. Ives Commonality away from the battered Confederation, renamed it the St. Ives Compact, and married Allard. She also successfully battled breast cancer at the New Avalon Institute of Science.

Together the couple had four children.

• Kai Allard-Liao (3030-3123) was a close friend of Victor Steiner-Davion. He almost single-handedly destroyed the Falcon Guard on Twycross, was a two-time Solaris champion, defeated Khan Vlad Ward during the Great Refusal, and died fighting the Capellans for the Republic of the Sphere.
• Cassandra Allard-Liao is at least partially responsible for escalating the violence that led to the Capellan-St. Ives War, after which she joined Rubinsky's Light Horse.
• Kuan-Yin Allard-Liao helped run relief shipments from the Capellan March into the Compact during the Capellan-St. Ives War, then negotiated the treaty that ended that war on behalf of her mother.
• Quintus Allard-Liao followed in his father and older brother's footsteps by attending the New Avalon Military Academy.

The Clans

Though she was not personally affected by the Clans, she journeyed with the other leaders of the Inner Sphere to Outreach in 3051 to take part in the summit led by Jaime Wolf. She did little there except earn the ire of her sister Romano, who had become the Capellan Chancellor after the death of their father. Romano sent an assassin to dispatch the happy couple, but the myomers that replaced her real muscle after the removal of the breast cancer absorbed the assassin's blow. Justin did not fare so well, however, though he managed to kill the intruder before he succumbed to his wounds. She secretly traveled to Sian while she was believed dead to exact revenge upon her sister. With the help of Imarra House Master Ion Rush, she gained admittance to the Celestial Palace and killed both Romano and her long-time lover, Tsen Shang. She allowed Romano's son Sun-Tzu Liao to take the throne because she saw him as the best option for the Confederation.

War

This decision returned to haunt her when Sun-Tzu manipulated a war between his Confederation and her Compact in 3060. The Capellan-St. Ives War slowly but surely saw her Compact fall to the Capellan Confederation. The capital of St. Ives fell in 3062 after Candace made the decision to abandon it so she could concentrate her nation's resources on holding the bulk of its worlds. Despite that plan, Candace reconciled with the inevitable and sent Kuan-Yin to Sian to negotiate for a cease fire. It took the arrival of former Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht and his successful mediation, but the treaty left the Allard-Liao family as the hereditary rulers of the St. Ives Commonality. She led St. Ives after its re-integration into the Capellan Confederation as the St. Ives Commonality after the peace treaty in 3063, though she spent much time on Sian as a "guest" of the Chancellor.

Death and Afterward

In early 3068, Duke George Hasek launched an offensive that was aimed at securing a buffer between the St. Ives Commonality and the rest of the Confederation so that the Compact could be resurrected. It is unclear whether or not this invasion was made with the approval of Candace or any other member of her family. She was killed when the Word of Blake took advantage of the situation and used a WarShip to bombard the Capellan capital of Sian in late 3068 as part of their Jihad.

BattleMechs

During her battle with Justin Allard on Spica, she piloted a Vindicator.

Quotations

“	Romano's paranoia makes her dangerous. Giving her something to focus it on makes her decidedly less so.	”
	— Prime Minister Candace Liao, Outreach, 13 Jan 3051

Portrait Gallery

• 

  Illustration of Candace Liao

• 

  Candace at the Age of 62

• Candace Liao 2.jpg

  At Age of 73

Bibliography

• Blake Ascending
• Blood Legacy
• Dawn of the Jihad
• FedCom Civil War (sourcebook)
• Field Manual: Capellan Confederation
• Grave Covenant
• House Liao (The Capellan Confederation)
• The Killing Fields
• Lost Destiny
• Prince of Havoc
• Threads of Ambition
• Warrior: Coupé
• Warrior: En Garde
• Warrior: Riposte

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