Tormano Liao

Tormano Liao is the eldest son of Maximilian Liao but was removed from the line of succession due to a multitude of factors. He is better known as the leader of the Free Capella movement and a strong proponent of the Free Capellan State, which he has now built around his sister’s realm of St. Ives. While he has a military background, he has not been in active combat service since the Fourth Succession War.

Early Life

Military Career

Tormano Liao graduated from the Sian Center for Martial Displines on a Captain commission due to his heritage. He then integrated into the First Arianna Fusiliers, even though he was not required to serve directly with the unit due to his position as heir to the throne. Things took a turn when Tormano married botanist Hanya No Cha, which angered his stepmother and in turn his father. Removed from the line of succession, Tormano moved to Hsien with his unit.

In 3026, Tormano Liao escaped an attempt on his life on Kali, in the Algol system. His father had commissioned a doppelganger to replace him, who then drew Tormano into a trap on the planet. It was only thanks to his quick wit and an odd occurrence of a Federated Suns raid that Tormano survived.

During the Fourth Succession War, the Ariana Fusiliers were still stationed in the Algo system when it was attacked by the Eridani Light Horse and Third Davion Guards. Major Tormano Liao fought against the invader but had to eject when his Centurion’s LRM ammo exploded. Trying to disappear and wait out the invasion, Tormano went to hide in the wilderness of the planetary jungle. Tormano and Dr. Banzai crafted a story about how he tried to lead a resistance against the Federated Suns on the planet afterwards, but Tormano was injured seriously after his ejection and he was quickly apprehended by the AFFS forces, who extracted him to New Avalon.

Political Career

A Refugee Prince

Recovering from his injuries in New Avalon, Tormano Liao began a course in political science at the Corbin Regional University. By 3033, he had graduated with a bachelor’s in political science and a minor in political philosophy. During that time, he also began reaching out to the leadership in the Free Capella movement. The organization was very disorganized at the time, surviving mainly due to failures of the Maskirovka after the Fourth Succession War and the collapse of their leadership.

Tormano’s biggest issue during the interwar period came from “defining” the Free Capella movement as something more than just “toppling the Liao regime”, as he saw both himself and his sister Candace as good leaders for the Capellan people, while seeing his other sister Romano and her son, Sun Tzu, as bad leaders. Free Capella had to contend with the Maskirovka and the growing influence of another political organization, the Zhanzheng De Guang in his fight against “tyranny and oppression”.

After the Invasion

The Clan Invasion did not affect the Capellan Confederation like it did the Federated Commonwealth and Draconis Combine. With the death of Romano Liao, Tormano saw an opportunity to stake a new claim on the Heavenly Throne. However, he quickly realized this would have no real advantage as the Capellan people would still live under the same type of government and that movements like Zhanzheng de Guang and Free Capella would keep fighting him, or his nephew, or his sister or whoever.

Tormano Liao decided to radically change his approach, even though it would cut him out of the direct line of succession. In 3056, he penned “On Liao and their Lies”, the first of a series of 16 political essays which attacked the Capellan state at its core. These essays were also denunciations of the Neo-Feudalism which had permeated the Inner Sphere since the early days of space colonization. He posited that neo-feudalism combined with communism had been at the core of the issues the Capellan people were living through. His arguments all led to the creation of a “managed, centralized democracy” which would better reflect the will of the people.

Political opposition to Tormano’s ideas was high with the nobility but quickly gained traction with the general population. One of his biggest opponents was his sister, Candace, who saw this as an attack against her position as Duchess of St. Ives. It took until the essay “On the Benefits of Managed Democracy” for her to turn around to his opinion, as he posited the benefits of a democratic constitutional monarchy as a means to prevent abuse of power from the elected officials.

Fifth Succession War

Tormano was extremely active in regional politics during the Fifth Succession War, his own Free Capella movement being the foil to the Maskirova-Sian regime backed Zhanzheng De Guang. While he concentrated a lot of his efforts around St. Ives. While the Zhanzheng was more influential in the Sarna / Tikonov region, Tormano realized he would only be able to push his ideology in the more structured St. Ives and Capellan March.

At the beginning of Operation GUAN XING, Tormano concentrated mosly on countering terrorist and partisan actions throughout former Capellan space. Free Capella’s military assets were not intended to be used in any combat operation and just harassed the Liao supply lines with raids, reselling valuable resources to finance their actions and humanitarian aid. This switched over after the bombing on Kittery killed two of Tormano’s friends and Free Capella representative along with other diplomats.

The Free Capella assets were activated and brought into the “Allied command”, with the four regiments acting as independent agents like mercenary units. Tormano concentrated more of his energy into fighting the Zhanzheng De Guang, which he saw as the greater threat to the stability in the region. At this point, Sun Tzu Liao put a bounty on Tormano Liao’s head, forcing him back to New Avalon.

Protected by MIIO assets, Tormano kept writing political essays and treatises against his nephew. Tormano also kept financing humanitarian aid for both the Tikonov March and St. Ives Compact. His reputation had gone from “exiled prince” to “political guru”. The fact his treatises always seemed to exclude him from positions of power in future Capella government endeared him to many who went on to believe he had no real political aspirations outside liberating the Capellan people from tyranny.

Personal Life

Tormano’s life has been one of hardship even though he was born into a good family. Unlike many, however, a lot of those hardships were due to his own decision. His marriage to Hanya No Cha in 3019 was an act of rebellion against his stepmother Elizabeth Jordan Liao. Using her influence on Maximilian Liao, Lady Elizabeth had Tormano removed from the line of succession and then had Tormano’s marriage annulled. This did not change anything for Tormano, who stayed with Hanya No Cha, even in his self-imposed exile as an officer in the First Ariana Fusiliers.

His capture by House Davion became a boon as he finally lived a freer life on New Avalon. While he often had to deal with MIIO assets spying on him, Tormano was able to live a real life and let his children grow more peacefully, without constant fear of assassination. Tormano, when not working, spends a lot of time doing painting and traditional calligraphy.

Tormano Liao’s BattleMech

Tormano Liao originally piloted a Vindicator, but when he was captured by the Federated Suns, he was piloting a Centurion. While he does not actively fight anymore, he still owns and operate an Enforcer.