View source for Amelia Donovan

{{InfoBoxCharacter
| image               = 
| caption             = Amelia Donovan
| name                = 
| birthdate           = 
| died                = 
| othernames          = 
| affiliation         = [[Eridani Light Horse]]
| rank                = [[Lieutenant General]]<ref name=SaS>''Strong as Steel''</ref>
| title               = 
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| profession          = [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]]<ref name=SaS/>
| parents             = [[Richard Donovan]] (father)<ref name=S1pp123-126>''Shrapnel'', Issue #1, pp. 123–126: "Unit Digest: Eridani Light Horse 11th Recon Battalion"</ref><ref name=SaS/>
| siblings            = 
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}}

'''Amelia Donovan''' was commander of the [[Eridani Light Horse]]'s [[71st Light Horse Regiment|Eleventh Recon Battalion]] and the officer responsible for resurrecting the ELH in the [[IlClan Era]].<ref>''No Tears'' in ''No Greater Honor'', p. 35</ref>

==History==
Amelia Donovan was the daughter of [[Colonel]] [[Richard Donovan]] who, in the [[Dark Age]], rebuilt the Eleventh Recon Battalion of the Eridani Light Horse's Seventy-first Light Horse Regiment. His dream to fully resurrect the ELH was thwarted by legal concerns and he was unable to overcome them before he died. Upon Richard's death, he was succeeded by Major [[Dariah Sayier]] as commander of the unit. Amelia, a fourth-generation member of the ELH, was also part of the Eleventh as Sayier's executive officer and succeeded Sayier as commander upon her retirement. Amelia focused on training the Eleventh to maximize their effectiveness and professionalism.<ref name=S1pp123-126/>

On 20 March [[3151]], the Eleventh Battalion was on [[Mirach]] nearing the end of their garrison contract and had organized a war game between the unit's components. During these exercises, a mysterious intruder was captured and asked to see Amelia, which she agreed to. The intruder identified himself as [[Jonathan Sparrow]], an envoy of [[Federated Suns]] [[First Prince of the Federated Suns|First Prince]] [[Julian Davion]]. Amelia listened to his proposal and was impressed: Julian offered to give her full support—from both himself and [[Lyran Commonwealth]] [[Archon of the Lyran Commonwealth|Archon]] [[Trillian Steiner]]—to recover the ELH's blocked funds and a two-year contract to defend the Federated Suns if she proved capable of reuniting the several existing claimants to the ELH's leadership.<ref name=SaS/>

After consulting her staff, Amelia accepted the offer and contacted all of the other major claimants to the ELH's legacy, with the various leaders gathering on Mirach on 1 May. Amelia and Colonels [[Eric Tappan]], [[Arthur Covir]], [[Lyle Goss]], and Major [[Rachel Sills]]—along with Sparrow—debated the question of leadership, with the main problem being to determine who was fit to be the new [[Lieutenant General]] of the ELH. While every colonel claimed the post, Goss specifically defied Amelia's right to lead the Horsemen and, to settle the matter, both officers agreed to begin a war games exercise between their two forces. During the competition, Amelia piloted a [[Clans|Clan]]-produced ''[[Ebon Jaguar (Cauldron-Born)|Ebon Jaguar]]'' which Sparrow had given her as gift but was stunned alongside her men when Goss's people began attacking them with live ammunition at the trial's start. Despite being caught off-guard, the Alley Cats responded decisively and ultimately defeated all of Goss' troops while enduring minimal casualties.<ref name=SaS/>

After interrogating Goss, it was uncovered that he was working secretly for the [[Draconis Combine]]'s ''[[Gunji-no-Kanrei]]'' [[Matsuhari Toranaga]] in an effort to prevent the ELH's reunification. It was further uncovered that Goss's people weren't really his men, but another mercenary unit contracted by him by the name of [[Forge's Firestarters]]. The debate about who would command the ELH was finally cut off by Amelia, who pointed out that the Federated Suns needed them and that she would go to its assistance regardless of the other groups' intentions, although she invited all of them to join her.<ref name=SaS/>

On May 5th, Amelia was contacted by Colonel Covir while on the bridge of her [[DropShip]]. He informed her that his group, along with Telson's and Sils', were not only with her but were under her orders, acknowledging her as the ELH's new lieutenant general. Overjoyed at having finally achieved the resurrection of the Eridani Light Horse, she ordered them to depart the Mirach system.<ref name=SaS/>

==BattleMech==
Amelia piloted an ''Ebon Jaguar'' during the Mirach trial.<ref name=SaS/>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Shrapnel Issue 1]]''
* ''[[Strong as Steel]]'' (short story)

[[Category:Eridani Light Horse Characters|Donovan, Amelia]]