Melisse Ortus
Age: 23
Hair: Reddish-brown
Eyes: Green
Weapon: Handgun
Techs: Shining Shot, Justice Spirit
Melisse is the youngest and only female member of Jan's team. She is fresh out of the academy, and despite her young age, she is extremely ambitious. She hopes to become captain at 23, the same age Jan was when he made the rank. It seems her one desire above all else is to be a strong leader, someone that people can look up to as a protector and servant of justice. For this reason, Jan is an important role model to her, and she is always comparing herself to him.
Her character is both very complex and very real. She has an earnest personality and a strong sense of justice, but she is also young and insecure. She is passionate about what she believes in, but she has a tendency to let her emotions get the better of her. When it comes down to it, she feels she has a great calling, but secretly fears that she may just be a normal person, incapable of living up to it.
Ultimately, Melisse ends up being one of the only members of the team to survive. She witnesses Jan's suicide, and is made to endure rigorous interrogations about what happened. When she tells the truth, no one believes her, and she is institutionalized for mental instability. Upon her release, she quits her job with the Federation Police and joins up with Veritas Liberabit Vos.
They say that significant personal growth can only come out of crisis. This is the truth at the heart of Melisse's story. After surviving the events of that year, she grew into the person she really wanted to be. She excelled as a leader at V.L.V., and eventually, she left to found her own resistance organization. She called it Scientia, from the latin word for "knowledge."
At the end of the game we are treated to a beautiful and wistful monologue from Melisse that shows just how much she has changed from the insecure girl at the beginning.
I wonder what Erich was looking for. What was the “end of the world” that he saw? Was he a preacher, like Alexei and the others said? Is the moral of the story that... we didn’t pay him what he deserved, so he became the pied piper of Hamelin? Where has he taken me? Maybe the Captain’s soul, which so resolutely refused the sound of that flute, is roaming somewhere too. If so… I want to prepare a better world for when his heart is freed from that bewitching sound, and he returns to us. I think that’s what everyone would have wanted. [3.17]
Melisse and Jan
Jan is probably the most important man in Melisse's life. He serves as a mentor to her both professionally and intellectually, and she takes the things he says very seriously. Unfortunately, because he is such an exemplary officer, she seems to have developed something of an inferiority complex towards him. This causes her to set unrealistic standards for herself, which at their worst lead her into a situation that results in the death of six officers. Jan responds with advice we hear echoed later to Jr. in Episode I.
Melisse: I… caused those people to die.
Jan: Melisse. In combat you should only be thinking of numbers and tactics. Enemies will analyze your way of thinking when they attack. Show weakness to them and you’ll be the next one to end up dead. [1.5]
However, she returns the favor in the end, when she admonishes Jan for putting duty above his family, and teaches him that sometimes following your heart is the right thing to do.
Melisse: We… No, you have to think of Joaquin and Sharon first right now! If you were such a cold, mechanical person, who could only think of tactics at a time like this… I couldn't follow a captain like that!
Jan: Melisse… Thank you. [3.15]
Melisse and Mikhail
The relationship that Melisse and Mikhail share is almost completely off-camera, and we generally only see the peripheral effects of it in the script. However, there is no doubt that they each mean something a little special to each other.
Early on, we see that Mikhail carries something of a torch for Melisse. He can't say no to her when she wants to proceed on the Goodwill Ambassador rescue mission on her own and admits embarassedly, "Melisse made me..." [1.2] She seems to enjoy bossing him around and they share a joking, if somewhat abusive relationship. Though she acts exasperated with him at times, especially with his untoward advances, it also seems as though she perhaps is most comfortable and willing to be herself with him. When the two go on a mission to Veritas together, Jan talks to Mikhail privately and asks him to take care of her. Mikhail's response, that she may be emotional but she is actually quite capable, shows that he understands her in a way that the others do not.
When Mikhail is killed, her reaction to his death seems to suggest that he may have actually meant quite a lot to her. The other characters comment on this too, and Erich says that she was very close to him.
Jan: Mikhail!!
Melisse: Mikhail! Weren't we… weren’t we going enjoy the night view of Archon together? Now… Now we… [3.11]
Doctus Speculation
It is widely speculated amongst fans of the series that Doctus, the remote-controlled Scientia agent who appears in Xenosaga III, is actually being controlled by Melisse. Unfortunately, there is no official word on whether or not this is true, but there are a few clues in the game that corroborate this theory. Here are a few I've compiled.
1. The person controlling Doctus is held in a top-secret location only known to a select few in Scientia. Therefore, it seems likely that she is either the leader of Scientia or a very important person to the organization. Were Melisse still alive (something that is certainly possible in the Xenosaga universe), it seems as though no one would be more significant to the organization than her.
2. Doctus's A.G.W.S. is called Astraea. According to Wikipedia, "In Greek mythology, Astraea was a daughter of Zeus and Themis or of Eos and Astraeus. She and her mother were both personifications of justice. She is also the symbol for the Tarot Card Justice." The connection to justice is strongly reminiscent of Melisse, as it is made clear in several places (and even in her tech attacks) that the ideal of justice is paramount to her.
3. Doctus seems fond of quoting latin phrases, a habit that Melisse may well have picked up from her experience in Veritas. Additionally, "Doctus" is Latin for "learning," which is perhaps connected to Melisse's choice of name for Scientia (knowledge).
4. Doctus's costume is very similar to Melisse's in Pied Piper.
5. She has an interesting interaction with Canaan, who we know is actually next-generation Lactis. While it's not clear to me that she recognizes him for who he is, she does refuse to call him by his new name. I find it likely that she feels there is "something familiar" about him (something that Ziggy also notes in Xenosaga I+II) that may cause her to be wary around him.
There are a few questions that remain unanswered, however. If Melisse knows Jan is Ziggurat 8, and she is still alive, why wouldn't she have tried to contact him? Perhaps she wanted to allow him to let his memories die peacefully, and not remind him of his previous life.