Melissa Saunders (D5)

Melissa Saunders (callsign 'Aurora') is a major character in the Battlestar Hermes series. Chronologically, her first appearance is during the short story 'Battlestar Hermes: Memories of Scylla' when she first comes aboard the Battlestar from the transport ship Medea. Her first actual appearance however was in Chapter 1 of Battlestar Hermes: Salvage.

Early Life
Melissa was born on Caprica into a rich family. Her father, Arthur Saunders, was on the Board of Directors of one of the biggest banks on the Twelve Colonies. Her mother, Louise Saunders, was something of a socialite within Caprican society. She grew up in a house beside the same lake as Gaius Baltar's home and she hints that as she got older he became interested in her sexually but this never went further.

One year BTF she went on a vacation to Canceron with friends Helen Octavia, Megan Jordan, and Jessi Peyton. While visiting Olwin Beach Melissa and her friends met up with James 'J.D.' Livingston, Garrison Brown, Raymond Sharpe, and Jarell Cashmere.

While eating at the Kanani Grille the girls had a brief argument with Scott and Lacey Tolan.

During a second argument with the Tolans, which appeared to be escalating due to the men the girls were with, Melissa became violently ill. Some time after being rushed to Cygnus Medical Center she was diagnosed with Degler Influenza, which she had caught while on her last trip to Scorpia.

Personality
Melissa was a thrill seeker during her teenage years and would regularly go space walking from the Aran Space Station. Her rich father meant she lead quite a decidant lifestyle regularly sleeping late and had a generally laissez-faire attitude. All that changed after 'The Fall' of the Colonies however.

New life after 'The Fall'
When the Cylons attacked, Melissa was aboard the transport ship Medea heading for Tauron on a rock climbing vacation. The Medea and almost twenty other ships including the Scylla formed themselves into a fleet for protection. When the crew of the Pegasus discovered the fleet they ransacked them for parts and killed ten people aboard the Scylla who resisted. This incident left her with a distincly uneasy feeling towards when the ship was finally rescued by the crew of Hermes. Eventually she would come to trust the crew of the Battlestar and began helping out the Deck Gang with maintaining the systems aboard Raptors.

The Hellenic Traveler
Her experience at space working proved invaluable when she was selected to assist in a salvage operation to the wreck of the Hellenic Traveler. She quite comfortably moved around the derelict and often had to help her fellow civilian labourer, Levours, who was anything but comfortable.

Joining the Military
Her performance during the mission encouraged her to join the Military crew aboard the Hermes. Due to her experience with the systems aboard a Raptor she was chosen to start training as a Raptor Electronic Warfare Officer (ECMO). She quickly fitted into the lifestyle and her new job reawakened her daredevil side to the point where she has now developed a rather serious case of rook's confidence.