BattleTech Lore: House Davion

Overview

In the 26th Century, Alexander Davion wanted the Federated Suns to be the last to join the Star League. In the 31st Century, Hanse Davion wants them to be the last to survive it.Hanse Davion, dynamic First Prince of the Federated Suns, rules the largest and most powerful of the five Successor States of the Inner Sphere. After two and a half centuries of devastating interstellar warfare, the Inner Sphere is poised on the brink of a new age, as signaled by the recent alliance between Davion and House Steiner’s Lyran Commonwealth. The Davions and Steiners have powerful enemies, though, all of whom have grouped together in a desperate attempt to prevent an irretrievable tilt in the balance of power…This ComStar casebook covers the history of the Federated Suns and its ruling family, its military forces, government, economy, culture and daily life, along with dozens of full-color illustrations. Also included are unit deployment charts, dossiers on prominent individuals, an atlas of key Federation planets, and much, much more.

Credits

Writing
Boy F. Peterson, Jr.
C. R. Green
J. Andrew Keith

Editorial Staff
Editor-in-Chief
L. Ross Babcock III
Senior Editor
Donna Ippolito
Editorial Assistant
C.R. Green

Production Staff
Production Manager
Jordan Weisman
Art Director
Dana Knutson
Production Coordinator
Tara Gallagher
Uniform Design and Illustration
David R. Dietrick
Color Illustration
Jeff Laubenstein
Todd F. Marsh
Jim Nelson
Cover Art
Dana Knutson
Illustration
Todd F. Marsh
Jim Nelson
Jeff Laubenstein
Dana Knutson
Tim Bradstreet
Rick Harris
Chris Palm
Bill Perry
David Zenz
Typesetting
Patricia A. Jones
Tara Gallagher
Layout
Tara Gallagher

Publisher:
FASA

Product Code:
1623

Published:
1988

ISBN-10:
1555600352

ISBN-13:
978-1555600358

Introduction

In every society, you will find the dualism of Man and his works. There is no good without evil, no civilization without barbarism, no life without death. The inevitable progression of Humanity from primitive culture to advanced techno-society is in fact but half the truth, for the forces that would tear down these bastions of progress are no less inevitable. In the end, History is not so much a chronicle of years as it is a story of cycles. Perhaps the ancients recognized this best with their stories of Armageddon, Ragnarok, and Nuclear holocaust, but they reckoned without the turn of the wheel that will start the whole cycle over once more.

—Dr. Ernst Meyer, Shadows of the Future, ComStar Publications, Terra, 3024

The Federated Suns is one of the largest and most powerful of the Successor States. Along with the Draconis Combine, it stands as a dominant influence in the politics and military strategies of the 31st century. Indeed, few objective observers dispute the fact that these two interstellar states are most likely of all the Successor powers to achieve the elusive goal of reunification of the Inner Sphere, which has been at the root of the seemingly endless wars of the modern era.

The Federated Suns is the largest alliance in the Inner Sphere, comprising over 500 inhabited star systems spread out over some 20,000 square parsecs of space, and it is this size that gives House Davion preeminence in Human-occupied space. Beginning as a loose association of 20 worlds just over 700 years ago, it has been one of the most stable of the political bodies in explored space. Although occasionally plagued by internal disruptions, and often heavily involved in wars with its two neighboring states—the Draconis Combine and the Capellan Confederation—the Federated Suns has managed to grow and prosper through most of its long and eventful history. Yet, no other Successor State has been as badly hurt by the loss of technology during the Succession Wars. In some ways, its economic condition might be summed up as a few overdeveloped worlds in an underdeveloped realm. The Davion government has, therefore, placed a high priority on scientific research, which may spell trouble for ComStar in the future.

Of all the Successor States, the Federated Suns makes the most of “keeping alive the principles of democracy” and “promoting the cause of personal freedoms,” and takes a highly pragmatic view of the matter. Prince Hanse Davion, the current House leader, believes that whether a government is “free” or “totalitarian,” it must spend about the same amount of energy to maintain order, either by taking pains to protect its citizens’ rights or by creating agencies to suppress those rights. Prince Davion reasons that there is more to be gained in loyalty and patriotism by protecting the peoples’ rights then by oppressing them. However, the Draconis Combine is no more evil because it is generally perceived as a brutal, repressive police state than the Federated Suns’s image automatically makes it “good.” Like all Human endeavors, the Federated Suns has its strengths and weaknesses, and owes much of what it is now to the political and social evolution that is History in action.

Though outward appearances may suggest that the Federated Suns is a champion of democratic freedoms, the realities are not so simple. Like the other interstellar states that have survived the chaos of post-League war and the continuing devolution of social and economic order, the Federated Suns has been forced to adopt expediencies rather than cling to idealism. If democracy ever was the ideal of the Federated Suns—and there are those that would dispute this—it certainly has been forced to give way in the harsh light of necessity. Led by a warrior aristocracy, locked in constant wars over territory, this realm would not appear much different than other States to an unbiased observer. The fact that idealism once counted for so much, and still forms the mainstay of the government’s propaganda effort, may be more damning than any other fact. In looking back at Federated Suns history, however, starting even before the Crucis Pact that marked the political beginnings of that realm, it is hard to see how it could have developed differently, given all the factors that shaped Man’s patterns in the Third Millennium.

The Federated Suns grew from the vision of a single man, Lucien Davion, whose Crucis Pact was one of the earliest and most successful interstellar unions forged in the wake of the collapse of the Terran Alliance. The Crucis Pact, though, was the development of one statesman’s hopes for a better future. A scion of the unique society of New Avalon, Lucien Davion brought to his vision the traditions of his family, his planet, and his life. And the Federated Suns that grew out of the Crucis Pact reflected the essence of these traditions, a mixture of independence and authoritarianism, democracy and aristocracy, soaring aspirations and practical, sometimes even paranoid fears. The history of the state is the story of all these elements writ large against the background of Human civilization, and like the author of that first Pact, the Federated Suns has passed through hope to ambition to the edge of collapse and back again.

What the future holds for the Federated Suns depends on its recent alliance with House Steiner’s Lyran Commonwealth, whose economic power is a perfect complement to Davion’s military might. Though some believe that this alliance may be the first step toward reunification of the Inner Sphere, or at least the establishment of a new Star League, it is far too early to tell. The biggest obstacle is that the other three powers of the Inner Sphere banded together in an alliance of their own almost before the ink was dry on the Steiner-Davion Pact.

We must remember, too, that the five Successor States, vast as they are, are only the largest powers of the modern galaxy. Those of us from the Periphery are more than a little skeptical of the recorded history of the Great Houses of the Inner Sphere. Some of it has been lost to the destruction of the Succession Wars that have dominated our race for almost three centuries. Some of it is purely self-serving. With ComStar’s access to the best and most extensive source materials available, Our Blessed Order’s researchers have unearthed the truth about House Davion if anyone could. Where contradictions appeared, I have attempted to resolve them as sensibly as possible. Where that was not possible, I have decided to include equally plausible versions of the same story so that the reader can judge for himself.

No one text can hope to cover the whole intricate tangle of military, political, economic, and social factors that have shaped the Federated Suns over the course of some 700 years. Only the most significant forces, the crucial causes and effects, can be analyzed here. In the history of the House of Davion, New Avalon, and the Federated Suns, we can see vividly the influences that have been at work in all of the Successor States through the centuries, and from them recognize the turn of the wheel as it comes around once again in our times—and beyond.

On a personal note, I would like to thank ComStar Director Julian Tiepolo for entrusting me with this project. Not only was it a great personal honor to serve ComStar—and truth—in this way, but it also gave me the opportunity to research the factual history of my purported ancestor, Stefan Amaris.

—Anastasia Marcus, Historical Director, Davion Research Project, ComStar Archives, Terra, 3028

Hanse Davion, Lance Commander (Battle of Banton Hill, 2998)

History

INTRODUCTION

It took Humankind some 200 years to evolve from a relatively primitive, planet bound race to a spacefaring empire of over a thousand colony worlds. The greatest irony of the Succession Wars is that, in a mere two centuries of warfare, the Human Sphere has taken enormous strides backward instead of forward.

The roots of the five Successor States and dozens of Periphery states go back to primitive rocketry experiments during World War II in the 1940s. In the following decades, two victors of that war, the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, competed to see who could explore “outer space” more quickly. Though these early space probes only carried explorers about a hundred miles into Terran orbit, these tentative efforts would one day lead to full-scale colonization.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: It has also been remarked that the end of Terra’s feasibility as home for the entire Human race began when the names of nations got longer and longer. At that time, there was even a country called the People’s Democratic Republic of South Yemen, but ComStar researchers have been unable to find its location on any ancient map of Terra.]

In the 21 st century, political alignments on the Terran homeworld began to shift drastically. After the Second Soviet Civil War (2011-2014), the Western Alliance (America and Europe) became the preeminent world power. The Western Alliance’s highest priority was peaceful scientific research and development to overcome disease, hunger, overpopulation, and environmental damage.

Meanwhile, in 2018, one of the greatest scientific breakthroughs of the ages occurred when two theoretical physicists named Takayoshi F u c h i d a and Thomas Kearny found a slight anomaly in the work on prototype fusion reactors. Extrapolating from this, they postulated that it was possible for mass, in short bursts, to exceed the speed of light. Fellow scientists ridiculed Kearny and F u c h i d a’s work, and drove them from the profession. As a result, their groundbreaking discovery would remain forgotten for almost a century.

Meanwhile, other scientific breakthroughs such as asteroidal mining, recombinant DNA organisms, and free-floating space factories (which permitted industrial procedures impossible in an atmosphere or under gravity) ensured a standard of living higher than ever before. Without enough food to feed people on the ground, however, famines became increasingly widespread among the world’s population.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Indeed, the most famous artwork of the 21st century may well be Alessandro Mekam’s Threnody, a portrait of a child dying of hunger as she watches an early holovid. It is greatly to be regretted that so much technology, even of the 21st century, has been lost in the Succession Wars.]

A Great Leap

By 2050, Alliance scientists were using the first fusion drive, developed 24 years earlier, to spearhead the Magellan Program. Under the auspices of this project, automated probes were sent to dozens of neighboring star systems to seek out habitable worlds. The probes discovered three such planets in the Tau Ceti, Epsilon Eridani, and Epsilon Indi systems. In retrospect, this event dwarfs even the most important political event of that era, the replacement of the old Western Alliance with the Terran Alliance, in 2086.

In 2102, two separate teams of research physicists surprised the world by simultaneously announcing their findings that Kearny and F u c h i d a had been right. It was theoretically possible to transport mass instantaneously to a spot several light years away if a sufficient energy field could be generated to do so. The new research led to the Deimos Project, whose goal was to develop a working faster-than-light (FTL) hyperpulse drive. The Project was a success, and by 2108, the Terran Alliance had succeeded in launching the TAS Pathfinder, the first manned interstellar vessel using the Kearny-F u c h i d a FTL drive. The Pathfinders maiden voyage to Tau Ceti allowed scientists to survey that planet for future colonization.

A mere eight years later, the first Human colony in space was officially established on New Earth (Tau Ceti IV) in 2116.

Settling The Stars

The great adventure had begun, as more and more FTL ships took colonists to new homes on new worlds. The Grand Survey of 2172 reported more than 100 Human colonies spread across a sphere 80 light years in diameter. By 2235, the fourth Survey showed the settlement of more than 600 worlds. In these years of expansion into the galaxy, the major political parties on Terra were known as the Expansionist and Liberal parties. Their debate centered on whether it best served humanity to tap the economic possibilities of space travel and colonization or whether the government should first solve the pressing problems of poverty and hunger on the homeworld. It was this conflict that would one day erupt into a tragic civil war and a total collapse of the Terran Alliance government.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: This intense expansion almost stopped dead after the collapse of the Terran Alliance in 2314. Perhaps the lack of a single home base nullified the need to found further colonies. Despite the changing political fortunes and loyalties among the planets of the Inner Sphere, the size of the explored galaxy has remained largely unchanged for nearly seven centuries. Perhaps there are epochs in history when humanity finds an area large enough to grow into-first a country, then a continent, then a world, then four thousand worlds-and remains at that level of expansion until it, too, has been outgrown. We may be on the verge of a new outreach within the next century, judging by the intensity of the demand by certain elements of the Federated Suns government for a deeper exploration into the Periphery.]

World Of Hope, World Of Sorrow

Trusting Divine Providence to be our guide, we, the Sovereign Citizens of New Avalon, do this day ordain and approve this Covenant, that all Peoples upon the face of this planet shall be forever equal under the Law, that Justice shall rule the Strong as it does the Weak, that Freedom shall be our Sword and Hope our strongest Shield.

—From The Covenant of New Avalon, 2239

FOUNDING OF NEW AVALON

New Avalon, a garden planet in the heart of the Crucis Reach, was surveyed in the first decade of the 23rd Century. As the world was lush and did not have to import water via Ice Ships, it did not take long for three successive waves of colonists to settle the region in the years from 2213 to 2221. Accompanying the first colonists were the usual trappings of Terran power-three regiments of Colonial Marines, a Governor-General with full administrative entourage, and a long list of Terran-formulated laws, regulations, and quotas. Colonists searching for the oft-advertised “new freedom of new worlds” quickly experienced the familiar restrictive control prevalent on Terra. Perhaps it was that the mother planet of man, with its dwindling resources, expanding population, and antiquated governments, really did need such restrictions to survive. Out in the unspoiled frontier of space, however, terrestrial ways were sadly inadequate to solve extraterrestrial problems.

The colonists of New Avalon had been selected by quota from volunteers in various Western European nations, with Scotland, Ireland, England, Germany, and Pan-Scandanavia contributing the largest percentage. ln the first 15 years, eight cities were established on three continents, with hundreds of farming communities scattered throughout the vast, fertile farm lands.

By 2231, several Governor-Generals had come and gone on New Avalon. In that fateful year, Alliance Fleet Rear-Admiral Emil Varnay arrived to take charge of planetary affairs. Varnay was the alleged villain of the Smolensk Incident, in which Colonial Marines fired upon a crowd of protesters during a drought. He was not the monster that later generations would remember, however, but merely an unimaginative, inflexible military man trying to do his duty. Is he to blame for the unfeeling orders issued to him by masters too many light years away?

Varnay’s Folly

Few leaders in history have managed as well as Emil Varnay to take the wrong stand at the wrong time, Painted as the “Sadist of Smolensk” by some, Varnay will probably always be a figure of controversy. Could he really have been the beast that historians claim, or was he simply the victim of circumstance and political manipulation? Very likely, he was just a rigid disciplinarian too immured in military ways to realize that mere obedience to orders is not always enough. The Smolensk Incident was certainly a tragic waste of life, but few modern histories mention that Varnay, as Military Commander on Smolensk, was subject to the orders of Alliance Colonial Office Representative Heinicke at the time. We need only look at the verdict of the Court, however, to see that Varnay was reprimanded and put on half-pay for excessive use of force, though charges of willful murder were dropped. Heinicke committed suicide on Smolensk, and so his side of the story will never be known.

As for Varnay, his appointment as Governor-General on New Avalon must have been a last chance. Caught between an unreasonable Colonial Office, a mob of protesters, and the memory of past misdeeds, is it any wonder that he froze? Fast, conciliatory action might have headed off an ugly incident and allowed the old spacer to die among family and friends with his honor intact. But Varnay was not capable of such action, and the retreat of Terran marines from New Avalon would have happened with or without Emil Varnay. It must have been painful for him when his eldest son defected to the New Avalon rebels or when the Expansionists and Isolationists heaped scorn on him in his later years. The character that Chartiers and Garuda created for their trilogy on the end of the Colonial Era (Three Faces of Empire, 2658) was not really Emil Varnay. His failure was never the stuff of “might-have-been,” only the basis for holoshows and vidtapes about a monster who never really lived.

—From Tumultuous Times, by Erid Wohispahn, Remagen Press, 2983

The Grain Rebellion

New Avalon was now one of the thousand Human colonies that flourished across a sphere 500 light years in diameter. With each expansion of the Human Sphere, the time it took for messages to travel to and from Terra to its colonies increased. Indeed, it now took a full eight months for communications to reach the most distant Human outpost. It is not surprising that the resourceful, independent breed of Human colonists should eventually want independence from the distant rulers of Terra. In 2236, a coalition of colonies along the outer reaches of known space declared their independence. During the next 18 months, the Terran Alliance fought to hold onto her farflung colonies, but it was a losing battle.

In 2237, with Terran military forces already trying to put down uprisings in the colonies, the Alliance Parliament ordered its loyal worlds to increase their production quotas to cover losses due to the Colonial Rebellion. The teeming billions of Terra continued to need food and raw materials, and could only look to their colonies to supply them. The Terran leaders found it convenient to overlook the fact that most of the colonies were themselves already stretched to the limit.

On New Avalon, demonstrators protested against the new work quotas by tearing down the pronouncements from their posting places and burning them publicly. With winter coming on after a poor harvest season, the colony needed its food stores simply to survive. Though it was clearly impossible to meet the new quotas, Varnay chose to obey his orders rather than listen to his advisors. Armed marines rounded up the quota shipments and then escorted them to the spaceport, where they were to be loaded aboard Terra-bound freighters. Those freighters would never arrive home, however. The angry colonials stormed the port that night, taking heavy casualties before they seized the ships, unloaded the shipments, and then sabotaged the vessels beyond hope of repair in New Avalon’s poor facilities. The Grain Rebellion is still commemorated on New Avalon each year.

Governor-General Varnay found himself in an untenable position, unable to meet his quota and unable to get assistance from the Alliance. Deserted by most of his marines (who sympathized with the colonial position) and even by members of his own family, Varnay and a handful of senior staff personnel fled New Avalon. The Colonial Vice-Governor surrendered the Residency peacefully to protesters when it became clear that the colonists were ready to starve out the staff.

Varnay reached Terra, but by the time he presented his case to the Alliance Colonial Office, political upheavals were already toppling the Expansionist Party. No relief expedition was dispatched to New Avalon. The leaders of the Isolationists chose to retire Emil Varnay from public life and to sweep the whole unfortunate incident under the rug of “colonial readjustments.”

Grain Rebellion Day

In 2740, I journeyed to New Avalon to observe the natives on their Grain Rebellion Day. Avalon City was a glow all day and all night, partly from the beautiful weather and roseate street lighting and partly from the spirit in the air. Beginning late in the morning, there is a four-hour reenactment of the Grain Rebellion itself. People don colorful period costumes and play the roles of their ancestors storming the spaceport, which has no scheduled traffic for twelve hours in deference to the ritual. Many of the adults taking part will fall to the ground as if they have been shot, only to jump up and continue the charge seconds later, like children playing Rangers’ n Bandits. In early afternoon, the spaceport is captured, grain is distributed from a dummy ship, and the second phase of the celebration begins.

The solemn portion of the holiday begins when the politicians and priests take over. There are speeches, followed by an ecumenical religious observance in honor of the souls of those who died in the Rebellion.

As night is coming on, the festivities begin again. People return to their homes, banquet halls, or churches to hold the biggest feast of the year in memory of how the Rebellion kept the people of New Avalon from starving. After that, there is a wild, planet-wide party reminiscent of the ancient Terran tradition of Mardi Gras. Dressed in bizarre costumes that range from the sinister to the sexy, the people dance in the streets all night.

All this reflects the Davion people’s devotion to their history, but it also reveals how their decadent foolishness defiles the memory of their ancestors’ profound sacrifices. The ritual does not celebrate the primeval mystery of the renewal of the seasons or the triumph over atavistic or occult dangers. The poor fools think that all they are doing is having a good time.

—From Celebration of the Slave Goddess: An Anthropological Approach to Holidays, by Whitecomb Sando, Capelia University Press, 2759

Brave New Government

Is this why we fought the Governor—for the right to destroy ourselves?

—Colonel Jason Hasek, 2249

As it became obvious that the leaders of the Terran Alliance lacked the military resources and the popular support to crush the Colonial Rebellion, a new political crisis erupted. When the Expansionist Party toppled from power in favor of the more isolationist Liberal Party, the new leaders ordered that both troops and assistance be withdrawn from their former colony worlds. Whether they liked it or not, the colonists now had their precious freedom. Meanwhile, the Terran Alliance gradually withdrew its boundaries to a single 30-year FTL jump from home.

Like many other colony worlds, the inhabitants of New Avalon had been expecting a full-fledged War of Independence that never came. Instead, they found themselves cut off from both the power and the aid of the mother planet. Seeing that they must now govern themselves, the Avalonians established a Provincial Government under the leadership of Colonel Jason Hasek, a militia leader who had distinguished himself in the Grain Rebellion. Hasek called for a Constitutional Convention, with delegates elected by the colony. This ad-hoc Congress drafted the Covenant of New Avalon, which was ratified by a general vote in 2239.

Full of high ideals and a sweeping condemnation of Terran tyranny, the Covenant also became the Preamble to a Constitution that provided a democratic form of government for New Avalon. A Prime Minister, a Judiciary Committee, and a Chamber of Deputies were established as the main arms of the new government, with the populace at large deciding all issues through computer voting. It was a government that might have suited an advanced and totally self-sufficient world. For a comparatively young colony like New Avalon, the system was doomed to fail.

In 2239, Jason Hasek was voted the colony’s first Prime Minister by an overwhelming majority. The colony functioned fairly well during his one-year term, mostly because the populace was willing to sacrifice for the common good. Nine successive Prime Ministers took office after Hasek, who retired to a peaceful farmer’s life while retaining the honorary post of Colonel-General of the planetary militia.

By 2249, as the tenth annual planetary elections drew near, the flaws in the administrative apparatus were beginning to show. New Avalon might boast of its independence, but the colony’s agricultural base was insufficient to the needs of the people. Further, the necessity of submitting all issues to a general democratic vote was a stumbling block to progress. Poorly informed or easily misled citizens usually outnumbered those capable of making rational judgements and of accepting short term hardship for long-term achievements. Though rapid industrialization was desperately needed, the prohibition against a Prime Minister serving more than one successive term in off ice kept New Avalon’s leaders from being able to implement a forward-looking policy in any area.

Jason Hasek: The New Cincinnatus

In Shadows of the Future, Ernst Meyer wrote that “every culture must have its folk heroes, whether those heroes are real or not.” The career of Jason Hasek of New Avalon is a case in point.

It is unlikely that Hasek possessed any true statesmanship. A Colonel in the ad hoc militia formed during the rebellion against the Terran Alliance, he held his rank on the basis of popularity rather than talent. What he lacked in tactical skill, however, Hasek made up for with bravery, leading his men in a daring attack on the control tower at Avalon Landing. Luckily for Hasek, the defenders were unprepared. Otherwise, New Avalon’s first hero might have received his honors posthumously. As it was, Jason Hasek, like Napoleon at the Bridge of Lodi, earned a reputation for courage and fighting skill that made him the darling of the rebel cause. Thus was he propelled into the limelight and into public life.

The record of Hasek’s political career reveals that he was a disastrous choice for high office. It was Hasek’s failure to understand just where the new constitution was leading that sowed the seeds for later civil war. Strong leadership was called for in those early days, but Hasek appeared willing to accept the Prime Ministry as a reward for faithful service rather than as a responsibility for the future. It was only in his last days, with New Avalon nearly crumbling around him, that Jason Hasek finally seemed to understand. By then, however, it was too late.

—From Political Frauds, by Andrew Hoexter, MiflinGowers Publishing, 2659

The Power Of Advertising

In 2253, lngram, the second-largest town on New Avalon, was holding municipal elections. The front-runners for mayor were two men named Boyce and Janovic. Also on the ballot were several other lesser-known candidates and three or four more write-in campaigns-all in a town of about five thousand people. There were no residency requirements to run for office because people tendedto move back and forth between the handful of early settlements on New Avalon.

One of the newer residents of lngram was an entrepreneur named Louis Smithson, who had just arrived to open a branch of his firm, Smithson Fertilizer. As the political campaign heated up, Smithson had a public relations brainstorm that would have planetary repercussions. Smithson hung a sign outside his office window that blended right in with the political banners in the main town square. The sign read, “For good city government, vote for whomever you like. For crop yields of 10 to 40 percent higher per acre, vote for Louis Smithson!”

Most of the people of New Avalon were second- and third-generation pioneers who had never seen a modern advertising campaign. Needless to say, Smithson won the election on write-in ballots. Janovic, Boyce, and a couple of other candidates disputed the election, petitioning that an undeclared candidate could not be allowed to take office. Smithson, who had no political ambitions, supported their suit, and he suggested that Boyce, the number two vote-getter, be declared the winner. The judge’s decision was completely unexpected. He not only declared Smithson the winner of the election, but proclaimed that if he did not serve his term of office, he would be liable to prosecution for defrauding the public trust. Though the mayor’s job was part-time, Smithson’s fertilizer business suffered both from his neglect and the suspicion of the townspeople.

Ultimately, Smithson Fertilizer went bankrupt, Janovic retired from public life, and Boyce succeeded Smithson as mayor of lngram. The town began to flourish under Boyce’s guidance, but fell into decline once again when a competing settlement lured most of the population away to new jobs. As Avalon City continued to grow, it eventually annexed lngram, which is now one of the oldest and most prestigious neighborhoods in the capital.

—From Democratic Exigencies: Experiments in Government During the Exodus, by Marty Fiore, Federated Press, 2589

Rise Of Neo-Feudalism

Compounding the problem was the rise of Neo-Feudalism across the planet. The few centers of industry that did exist on New Avalon generated vast personal fortunes for their owners. In one decade, a handful of industrialists had built huge power bases. Economic power translated into political power, for the common citizen tended to vote for candidates who had the power to put bread on the table and tools in their hands. By 2248, most of these “Industrial Aristocrats” had formed their own private armies to further their ambitions and as protection against rivals. As the tenth annual planetary elections drew near, sporadic violence and civil unrest broke out, but the planet’s central government was too weak to put it down.

Three months prior to the scheduled Independence Day elections, Jason Hasek mustered the planetary militia to impose martial law and to bring the more aggressive power groups to heel. In a clash at the estate of the Jorgensson family, the Jorgensson “retainers” routed the militia and killed Jason Hasek. Almost on signal, there followed a complete breakdown of order, with each of the so-called “First Families” making a separate bid for power.

It was left to two surviving officers of the militia, Colonel Adam Davion and Colonel Nathan DuVall, to save New Avalon from chaos and seemingly inevitable collapse. Both of these officers were themselves from powerful First Families, but each knew that if the feudalistic rivalry continued, it would spell doom for their world. Backed by their own militias, Davion and DuVall set out to unite supporters from their families so that they could negotiate from a position of strength.

Schedrin’s Neo-Feudalism

The idea behind Schedrin’s theory is that previous economic systems have failed for one of two reasons, always related to population movement. A system in which vast numbers of the population were mobile could never become stable enough to develop its economic potential. With large population shifts, demographics become difficult, if not impossible, to determine. Jobs in one part of an economic area go begging while people in another area do the same, and neither wages nor taxes can be fairly apportioned.

At the opposite extreme are governments that require people to remain in the same place indefinitely. In ancient times, this principle was known as having “pass laws” (the practice still exists throughout the Draconis Combine and the Capellan Confederation), and it was an economic disaster. Though an overly mobile society decreased stability, no mobility at all imposed such rigidity that the economy ground to a halt.

Schedrin’s solution was both simple and elegant. Through Neo-Feudalism, a government could assure its citizens’ right to move around at will, while ensuring social stability though enormous tax incentives for families remaining in a particular locality. The system, in other words, combined the best aspects of capitalism and socialism. That is why Schedrin’s theories will never die, andwhy they continue to offer us so much in the present age.

—From Neo-Feudalism: Ripple from the Past, Wave of the Future, by Lawrence Robert Head, Perspectives Press, 2832.

Reformation

No government in history has ever balanced freedom with stability. You may create order or you may encourage freedom, but you shall never do both.

—Prime Minister Nathan DuVall, in a letter written to his son, 2281

After five years of civil war and two years of uneasy negotiations, the crisis on New Avalon finally ended with the drafting of the Second Covenant of New Avalon. Though the document was an attempt to harken back to the spirit of the Rebellion, it was a hollow effort. The Second Covenant and the resulting new constitution poorly disguised the fact that New Avalon’s democratic experiment had failed. In its place was an oligarchy, with control vested in the hands of the First Families.

The new constitution strengthened New Avalon’s central government. Where a Prime Minister had previously been elected for a one-year term, he would now inhabit the office for life. Representatives of the First Families, who sat on the Chamber of Deputies on behalf of the people who owed them fealty, selected the Prime Minister from among their number. The Prime Minister was given extensive powers, but the Chamber of Deputies could overrule him. Popular voting was a thing of the past. The new governmental apparatus was intended to provide greater stability to the administrative machinery of the government while keeping the First Families happy. Life-terms of office for Prime Ministers suppressed active political rivalries among the Families, while permitting the Chief Executive to carry out long-term policies. It was not, perhaps, the ideal arrangement, but compared to the preceding seven years of fear and strife, the new constitution might have been made in heaven.

The First Families extended services and economic support in return for the fealty of the masses. Though “representatives” to the Chamber of Deputies were not elected and could rarely be eclipsed, the arrangement did leave the oligarchy open-ended. As economic conditions on New Avalon stabilized and the First Families lost their monopoly on essential functions, there would be room for fresh blood and liberal ideas. This aspect was an essential part of the plan formulated by Davion and DuVall, but it was kept under wraps to avoid setting off reactionary elements jealous of personal power or influence.

An Opposing View

By all accounts, Edward Allis Schedrin was a good, modest man, who was kind to his family and never threw litter in the street. Unfortunately, he was a 19th-century man in a 24th-century galaxy. He never seems to have realized that his social ideas were out of date centuries before they were formulated.

Schedrin’s simple, elegant bunkum had to do with tying down workers for large portions of their working lives in order to increase social stability. Even though this helped maximize profits for management and profit-sharing for labor, there are several factors that Schedrin did not take into consideration, and these make his beautiful theory collapse like a house of cards in a Chakachmna windstorm.

One is the problem of incentive. The workers in a Neo-Feudal situation have no more potential for lateral mobility than they have for geographic mobility. They cannot change jobs, their promotions are scheduled years in advance, and they know what they will be doing and where they will be doing it so far ahead of time that they are robbed of all adventure and all sense of economic possibility. They become not only lackluster producers, but also lackluster consumers.

Another problem Schedrin does not address is that of new products and services. With the stable populations he envisioned, the creation of new business ventures, particularly new fields or new products, was risky. Under his plan, entire populations of consumers get so set in their ways that the laws of supply and demand apply only to the demand for what is familiar. Thus, Neo-Feudalism prevents any real economic growth.

Schedrin’s theories combine the worst of both Mercantilism and Communism. A facile approach to complex problems is very tempting, which explains why Neo-Feudalism keeps coming back every couple of generations or so. On the surface, the theory appears to solve the most basic problems of economic theory, but a deeper analysis shows why it must always fail.

—From Fallacies and Foofooraw, by Hyman Rockwell, Perspectives Press, 2832

First Prime Ministers

The first Prime Minister elected under the new laws was Sandra Lockhart (2255-2261), an elderly compromise candidate selected more because she was not expected to live long than because of any particular qualifications. During her term of office, the government was concerned mostly with establishing itself as a viable, practical organ of society. Following her was Joseph Cartwright (2261-2280), who appointed Colonel DuVall as Deputy Prime Minister, and then retired for most of his term to the secluded island of Yves. The Cartwright-DuVall-Davion alliance was cemented during this era and quickly rose to dominate the Chamber of Deputies. They obtained their power by clever manipulation of new legislation aimed at sweeping improvements of the New Avalon economy. DuVall, a political genius unsurpassed in the use of patronage and legal incentive, also worked behind the scenes to stimulate industry and offworld contacts.

When Cartwright died in 2280, the 70-year-old DuVall was himself elected to the Prime Ministry, despite his failing health. He was in office lessthan two years, but those years would have resounding repercussions on the government of New Avalon. This was mainly due to DuVall’s appointment of his son Martin to the same Deputy Prime Minister post that Colonel DuVall had held under Cartwright. Martin DuVall used this office to build up his own power base, which allowed him to step into his father’s position when the elder DuVall died in 2282. This marked the first time that the Prime Ministry had passed from one member of a First Family to another of the same clan, and it set a precedent that would continue for over a century.

Martin DuVall’s Prime Ministry was a period of rapid expansion, not just for New Avalon’s burgeoning economy but also for the planet’s space industry. Though New Avalon had no shipbuilding industry and few repair facilities at the time of the Grain Rebellion, the colony had never totally lost contact with the rest of the Human Sphere. The handful of courier vessels and small left behind by Varnay had managed to keep interstellar communications channels open, at least intermittently.

By the time of the Second Covenant, age had taken its toll on the tiny Avalonian fleet, but shipbuilding was expanded under the Cartwright/DuVall administrations. In 2293, Martin DuVall dedicated the first home-built freighter, the NAS Hopewell. Within the next ten years, New Avalon’s trading fleet grew quickly, reaching out to other worlds of the Crucis Reach. Some of these, being more self-sufficient than New Avalon, could supply superior goods and higher technologies, while the less fortunate worlds were ideal markets for export goods. The rebirth of widespread trade in the Crucis region was the salvation of New Avalon. Never again would the planet be cut off, and never again would lack of resources lead to political crises at home. Few people on New Avalon understood how important was this development, or that it would forever change their society. Within two generations of the Second Covenant, it had become inevitable that the First Families would one day have to surrender their claim to power.

When Martin DuVall died in an untimely hunting accident in 2309, Lucien Davion, DuVall’s nephew and the grandson of Colonel Adam Davion, was Deputy Prime Minister. Young Davion’s accession to the post of Prime Minister might have been considered dynastic succession, except that the Deputies regarded him as the most logical choice at the time. Indeed, the Davion family was heir to the DuVall political legacy as well as quite powerful in their own right. If anything, Colonel Adam Davion was even more popular with the Militia than was Nathan DuVall.

It was in this same era of New Avalon’s earliest Prime Ministers that a whole new wave of colonists had begun to flee Terra once more, seeking to escape the political chaos created by the ever-deepening rift between the Isolationists and the Expansionists. These newest voyagers to the stars were among Terra’s best and brightest, and their departure ushered in the era now known as the Exodus.

Debate On The Second Covenant

I tell you, gentlemen, I fear for our colony. We are told that there is no emotional bond so great as having labored and fought for one’s native soil, but that is just Terran nonsense. There is no bond like having labored and fought for a land you have I traveled dozens of light years just to approach. Those who, like myself, are immigrants to this world, know that I speak the truth. The provisions of the Covenant will bankrupt those of us with anything to lose, they will lay our most basic liberties before a newly created class of tyrants, and they will plunge us into a civil war that will make the recent Terran conflict look tame. We must not let this new class of tyrants hold sway on our world, for if they do, only bloodshed can come of it.

—Brendan Nagy, Alderman for the Fifth Municipal District of Avalon City, in a speech to his constituents, 2282

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Critics of the proposed Covenant have warned that it will lead to loss of liberty or bloodshed, or both. With all due respect to well-meaning individuals, we think they haven’t got a clue.

The hard fact is that we have already had bloodshed, and we have also had to deal with tyranny. The Covenant, whatever its flaws, is designed to stop a civil war while leaving our liberties intact. And, let’s face it, we have had no liberties under the martial law imposed on New Avalon in recent years. The exigencies of military rule leave little room for human values. If we are to remain truly human, we must do away with martial law, and make sure that it never rears its ugly head again. The Second Covenant is not only our best chance to do so, it may be our last.

—From an editorial by Grant Sumner, Avalon City Daily Dispatch, 2282

A Word To The Wise

There are those who call it going from the frying pan to the fire, and those who call it blowing hot and cold. Whether you call it being between a rock and a hard place or Scylla and Charybdis, Rome was not built in a day. Having to choose between our Prime Ministers serving a pathetic one-year term or having them lord it over us for a lifetime is not exactly cricket, even if the game is not over till the last man is out. Somewhere along the line, we have to look for the Golden Mean. To paraphrase an old Terran politician, extremism in defense of liberty is no vice, but extremism in setting terms of office is no virtue especially when the politicians themselves talk in such insipid cliches.

It might have been better to elect the Prime Minister for a four-, five-, or six-year term. Indeed, whichever of these choices might have been best, there can be little question that any of them would have been better than what we got. Going from one extreme to the other is never desirable, especially when the common good is at stake.

—Quentin Dexter Rambuzie, editorial in the New Avalon Daily Herald, 2255

Rise Of House Davion

How do you make sweeping statements about a family with a thousand-year history? No set of catchphrases can describe every individual in the Davion line accurately. Yet the Davions themselves have an old saying about their clan, one that echoes what was said of the Claudian emperors of ancient Rome: “The Davions breed two kinds of children, the fair and the foul, but it’s not always clear which is which!”

—From History of the Davions, by Enrico Rosario, Nova Press Interstellar, 3015

ORIGINS

Only a family born to war could produce the soldier who has given us peace.

—From a speech given by King Charles Ill, 2014

The background of the Davion family before the settlement of New Avalon is obscure, but certain family traditions and fragmentary histories do suggest some of their origins. A 16th-century Frenchman, Jean-Baptiste d’Avion, was the first of the line to use a recognizable form of the family name. Family records claim that d’Avion was born in the village of Avion in Gascony, the bastard son of the Count de Foix. With a romanticism typical of the Davion family’s long history, d’Avion supposedly turned his back on his father’s noble birth, enlisted in the French army as a common soldier, and was selected to be among the bodyguard that accompanied Mary Stuart back to her homeland when she became Queen of Scots. Service in her defense was usually rewarded with lands in the border country of Scotland. Later Davions would claim to be of Scots rather than French blood.

Other family traditions are equally romantic. The Davion family on Terra must have had a flair for embracing lost causes and other idealistic movements. As loyal subjects of the Stuart kings, the family was granted a patent of nobility by Charles 1. One “Baron Davion” is recorded as failing in battle at the head of a volunteer regiment led by Montrose in the battle of Preston. His grandson fought under Dundee at Killicrankie, and another Davion was at Sherrifmuir. The family titles passed to a cadet branch for their faithful allegiance to the Stuarts, and after the rising in 1719, the titular head of the line, Charles Francis Davion, was exiled to Europe. A Davion also turns up in the young Pretender’s army at Culloden. Pardons issued in the latter part of the 18th century permitted the Davions to return home, but they did not regain their titles or lands.

Most family stories pass over the next several generations except to assert that Davions did their share of military service in the three World Wars. A strong tendency toward militarism seems to have been apart of Davion psychology. One family saying dating back to this period claims that, like Achilles, the Davions were ever fated to short but glorious lives.

The name of Brigadier Arthur Davion, hero of the Battle of Moscow in 2013, became especially important in the family annals. Created a Baron in that same year, the Brigadier was one of the first five officers selected to form the Alliance peace-keeping forces that were the direct ancestors of Terra’s Colonial Marines. Lord Davion revived his old family coat of arms, that of a fox crouched above a blood-red shield bearing the motto “Audacity, Bravery, Destiny.” House Davion retains this personal crest (as opposed to the official star-and-sunburst of the Federated Suns) to this day. It is as much for this as for his cunning that Hanse Davion has been nicknamed “The Fox” by friend and enemy alike.

Destiny’s Child

We owe our freedom to the dedication of our patriots, to the determination of our citizens, and to the valor of our soldiers. But for the support and the bravery of all who have fought for our cause none would have lived to see this day.

—From the inaugural speech of Prime Minister Jason Hasek, Provisional Government, New Avalon, 2237

The Davion family served the Alliance well for two centuries. Its members fought in almost all the brushfire wars and peace-keeping actions on Terra during this era, and there were Davions in several of the most important expeditions to new planets. Thomas, the fifth Lord Davion and second Fleet General of the Alliance Colonial Marines, was responsible for important reforms in the Alliance military structure during the 22nd century. Two members of the family were Admirals, and there were a dozen more who attained the ranks of regimental commander or ship-captain.

Captain Lord Robert Davion, of the Sixth Colonial Marines, was the great-grandson of Fleet General Davion. He was an angular man with a ruddy complexion, gray hair, and bushy eyebrows. As a younger son, he was not in line to inherit the privileges or the duties of the Barony, but his name helped advance his military career. He served as a staff officer on Terra until the death of his wife when he was 32.

With a seven-year-old son in tow, Robert volunteered for duty on the frontier. His motivations will probably never be known, but such impulsiveness is typical of many Davions. Having used all his influence to obtain a post in a colony world, Lord Robert gathered up his son, his sister, and a young cousin just out of the Alliance Military Academy and traveled to New Avalon in 2232. There, he and his family would one day play a role that could only have been forged by destiny.

A Change Of Heart

Robert Davion quickly became attached to the beautiful world of New Avalon and to the bold, adventurous people who were settling her. Within a year of his arrival, he had met and fallen in love with Suzanne Marsin, heiress to the wealthy Marsins who controlled much of the iron and steel industry on the planet’s north continent. As matters began to come to a head on New Avalon in 2237, the Captain found himself in sympathy with the colonists rather than with the administrators.

There are many tales of how Robert Davion came to side with the colonists, the most popular being the one about how he prevented some marines from abusing a farmer and his family while trying to confiscate their produce. The plain truth, however, is that Davion’s decision was cold and calculating. Shortly before the outbreak of the Grain Rebellion in 2237, Davion became acquainted with the Sons of New Avalon, the militant underground group responsible for most of the anti-Terran agitation on the planet. As a member of the Colonial Liaison staff, he staffed the First New Avalon Colonial Militia with SNA malcontents to give them access to marine weapons and equipment on the night before the raid on Avalon Landing. He also supplied information that the rebels needed to attack Avalon Landing and to seize the transports berthed there. Robert Davion deserted his post at the Residency six hours before the outbreak of the Rebellion, and is believed to have acted as a military advisor to the rebels when they began their siege of the Residency.

Davion To The Rescue

Robert Davion’s part in the Grain Rebellion is probably best seen in the incident that first brought him fame on his adopted pianet. It was a deed that might never have been noticed were this not a time when our patriotic Sons of New Avalon felt little trust for offworlders.

Riding native Terran horses like the Hussars of old, Davion and a brace of other young officers on patrol came upon a farm where the Colonial tax collectors were harassing a poor farmer named Koliak. They had already confiscated Koliak’s crops for export to Terra and were beating up the protesting Koliak when Davion and his men arrived.

The chief tax collector called out to the three officers to join the fun. “I see you have a whip there, Captain,” the villain called out, pointing to Davion’s riding crop. “in the name of the rightful Terran government, I command you to thrash this fool and teach him a lesson about resisting our power!”

Davion said not a word, but sat nearly motionless in the saddle. The only sound was the restless stamping of the horse’s feet. The tax collector repeated his order.

Slowly, Davion dismounted, and the other two officers did the same. None of them bothered to tie their horses, which remained standing in perfect formation. Although Davion stood at least six inches shorter than the tax collector, he raised his crop and lashed him three times, once quickly across each cheek and a third time across the back of the head as the man ducked.

No one else moved for a moment, because Davion’s action was as surprising as it was dramatic. Then the tax collector’s minions took to their heels, running away and leaving their horses for the officers and Koliak. During the entire encounter, Robert Davion never spoke a word.

—From Glory Days: Early Independence from Terra, by Justin Frederick Pullea, Davion Historical Press, 2820

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Much nonsense has been written about Robert Davion’s “rebellion” during the real Rebellion of 2237. Though his courage during that time is undisputed, the truth about his motives is somewhat murkier.

Take, for example, his famous “rescue” of a New Avalonian grain farmer from the clutches of Terran Marine tax collectors. He was riding with two ranking members of the Sons of New Avalon, who were sure to report the incident to their superiors and thus establish his credibility as a sympathizer with the group. Moreover, the act of provoking the Colonial Government at that point was sure to spark new rebellion elsewhere, which could only benefit Robert’s political ambitions.

More to the point, historians overlook the fact that Davion and his two confederates had ridden all day with inadequate provisions, trusting to the generosity of any farmers they might encounter on their patrol. Indeed, Mikhail Koliak treated them to a fine feast that day after the thrashing Robert Davion had given the tax collector.

—From Truth or History: Lies Our Forefathers Told Us, by Trudi Simms, NAIS Press, 3021

Katherine Anne Davion: An Appreciation

Some have wondered how a person listed in the Guinness Book of Galactic Records as having one of the 20 highest IQs ever recorded could have been simply gathered up and transported off Terra “like a sack of Cartago potatoes,” as one historian put it. Katherine Anne Davion not only allowed her brother to do this, but subsequently showed herself to be one of the most dynamic women of her generation.

There is some dispute as to whether Katherine was emotionally disturbed during her life on Terra. In her late teens, from 2226 to 2228, she was confined to a mental hospital, for two reasons. First, the continuous fighting between the Liberals and the Expansionists made family members of military men like Robert Davion frequent targets of terrorist assassination attempts. Yet Katherine also did and said things that set her apart from others, both children and adults.

When Katherine was eight, a neighbor discovered her talking to her dolls in the sort of gibberish that some children make up as languages of their own. It later came out that she had found some textbooks around the house, and was talking to the dolls in poorly pronounced, but grammatically correct, Portuguese, Pali, Polish, and Platdeutsch. (A linguist friend of the family, fearful of unrest in his neighborhood, had begun transferring his library to the Davion home, and Katherine had happened upon a stack of books in the “P” languages.) The neighbor knew nothing of this, however, and scolded the little girl, saying that she must never make up something and then insist that it was real. Incidents like these eventually led to Katherine’s stay in a mental hospital.

Moving to New Avalon was a chance to start a new life. There, no one would know of either her eccentricities or her medical record, and so Katherine jumped at the chance to leave with her brother. Once settled on the new world, Katherine found it child’s play to complete her doctorate at the newly established Outworlds University (now New Avalon University), and soon thereafter married Dr. Morton Conyers. Together, they did groundbreaking work on the social dynamics of mental illness. No symptomatic behavior ever recurred in Katherine Anne Davion.

—From Unsung Heroines: Women Who Made a Difference, by Lesli Karen Gris, Pankhurst Press, 2871

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A WOMAN OF INFLUENCE

In 2237, Katherine Anne Davion left the Outworlds University to enter politics. As an Avalon City alderwoman, she was responsible for drafting a unique city charter, which remained in effect up 1 to the time of the Reunification War. It called for a peculiar form of profit-sharing among residents of the city (“if the citizens have to pay taxes for city services,” she argued, “it is only fair that they should get something back if there is a surplus.”). Avalon City grew by leaps and bounds and soon became the largest and most cosmopolitan city in the colony worlds. This is one of the reasons why New Avalon became the capital of the Federated Suns.

To exploit mineral resources in the hills outside Avalon City, Katherine Anne Davion negotiated contracts with the companies that owned the mineral rights, assuring the best possible deal for the industry workers that lived in the city. During an inspection tour of a new mine in the spring of 2242, she was killed in a suspicious cave-in. No evidence of foul play was ever found, but the owners of the mines were known to have opposed certain provisions of Katherine’s contracts. She died at the age of 34. Though Katherine Davion had barely begun her work, she influenced the course of Davion history more than some other leaders who lived twice as long.

—From Unsung Heroines: Women Who Made a Difference, by Lesli Karen Gris, Pankhurst Press, 2871

The Desdemona Incident

One of the turning points of New Avalon’s history occurred near the end of the civil war, when the local militia of a town called Desdemona invited a would-be dictator named Jorgensson to be military protector of their district. Flushed with his success in a few recent battles, Captain Adelbert Jorgensson was on the verge of declaring himself military dictator, which took most residents of Desdemona completely by surprise. Those who did speak out in protest were split as to the means they should take to oppose him.

The two factions were called the Gandhists and the Activists. The former practiced passive resistance, as prescribed by their hero, the Terran social theorist Mohandas Gandhi. The Activists insisted on immediately taking up arms against any potential dictator who came along.

At the time of Jorgensson’s coup, Desdemona was already a city of 150,000 people, with a permanent, professional police force in addition to its volunteer militia. The Captain entered the city like a Roman emperor, trailing an entourage half a kilometer long, and the people of the city lined the sidewalks along his route. Jorgensson was standing up in a car, waving to the procession, while the police did their traditional duty of holding back the crowd and otherwise keeping order.

As Jorgensson’s procession approached the town square, one of the Gandhists sneaked past the police line and moved to sit down with great dignity in the middle of the road before Jorgensson’s lead car. Several vehicles back, Jorgensson nearly toppled face-first into the front seat of his car as the vehicles pulled up sharply. The young protestor announced in a loud, clear voice that he had no weapons to oppose the soldiers entering his town, but that they would only rule over his dead body.

When Jorgensson was informed of the announcement, he said, “Very well, then. Make him dead.”

The soldiers opened fire and killed the young man, and the parade rolled on. Then the same thing happened again. When a young woman sat in the road and announced that the soldiers would rule over her dead body, she was killed, and the parade rolled on. After an old woman and another young man were killed, one of the Activists took more forceful action. Slipping past the police line, he drew a gun, and took a policeman hostage.

Dragging the officer to the center of the road, the Activist made the same announcement that the Gandhist martyrs had made, but he shielded his body with the policeman’s. By this time, Jorgensson was exasperated and bellowed that anyone who got in his way, voluntarily or not, would be cut down.

No one expected such ruthless stupidity from the man who was supposed to put an end to the violence of the civil war. When the soldiers opened fire on the young activist and his hostage, both the police and the town militia began to return fire. The crowd on the sidewalk scattered for cover, as the local militia routed the better-armed and better-trained soldiers by the sheer fury of their response. Jorgensson was killed, along with half his force, and the soldiers retreated back into the countryside.

Jorgensson’s aide-de-camp, who took over upon Jorgensson’s death, was more intelligent. He sent apologies to the town of Desdemona and especially to the relatives of those who were killed. He also pledged that his soldiers would never again enter the town except as protectors of the peace. Desdemona had shown that a mere show of force was not enough to subjugate a people who love their freedom.

The Desdemona Incident, as it came to be known, was an inspiration for the planet’s freedom fighters for centuries to come.

Foundations Of A Dynasty

Davion’s role in the rebellion has been largely suppressed, partly by “patriots” who preferred not to give too much credit to a Terran malcontent, and later by the Davion family itself. Despite Davion’s invaluable assistance in freeing New Avalon from Terran domination, some of his new compatriots never trusted him entirely. They believed that if he could betray one government, he might just as easily betray another. This did not worry Robert Davion, who married Suzanne Marsin in 2239. In one stroke, he became one of the richest and most powerful men on the planet. When no children were born to this union, Robert’s first son Adam became the scion of a First Family, eventually to emerge as the head of the Marsins.

Few official Davion family histories deal with Robert, the man who laid the foundation for all the family’s fortunes. As a Captain in the Alliance Colonial Marines, he did not easily fit the mold of a hero of the rebellion. His motivations were always too obscure, his intentions too uncertain, and his actions too blatantly self-serving to elevate him to the status of a Washington, a Lee, or a Hasek. Lord Robert proved to be a master opportunist, however. The plans he laid during New Avalon’s struggle for independence would yield far more than he would ever know, for it took several generations for his seeds to reach fruition.

Davion’s ambitions and goals seemed to have shifted and turned with each new development. There is no doubt that he sympathized with the colonists on New Avalon. He never behaved as anything but a friend to the locals and avoided the marine pose of aloof superiority. It was through such fraternizing that he met Suzanne Marsin, fell in love, and gained even more attachment to his new home and its people. It may be that he never considered what Suzanne’s wealth and influential family connections would mean to him.

Robert Davion never attempted to enter public life, knowing that his adopted people would find it difficult to accept leadership from someone associated with their former oppressor, no matter how many services he had rendered them. Instead, he used the Marsin family’s influence to groom his own son for power. By 2245, the handsome 20-year-old Adam Davion had already been elected titular Colonel of the Fourth Regiment of the New Avalon Militia. Though it was common practice for First Families to secure such appointments for their children, Robert had his own motives. Among his private papers are many expressions of contempt for the First Families and their power blocs. Their only real use to Davion were as stepping stones to advance the fortunes of his own kin.

Shortly after Adam’s election to Militia Colonel, the political tensions on New Avalon exploded. Robert Davion responded to Jason Hasek’s call-to-arms by becoming a military adviser at the battle of Lockhart Manor. It is said that Davion advised Hasek to attack before the opposition could bring up reinforcements, but Hasek ignored the advice and lost the battle. Captain Lord Robert Davion was killed in the fight to protect Hasek when the militia command post was overrun. That left Adam as heir to Robert’s plans and aspirations, a young man of 21 with the authority, but not necessarily the experience, to become a leader of men.

First Families War

Adam Davion was an enigma. Though nepotism shaped his early life, it seemed unlikely that he could turn his advantages into personal success. When the Civil War broke out between the First Families, young Davion had a wife and an infant son. His stepmother, the lastof the blood Marsins, was still alive but could contribute little protection to the tiny family. Disaster loomed before young Adam, who responded by taking the only course to safety. He saved himself and his family, but at the price of being called a coward.

Although the Marsins were a strong force in the pre-war economic life of New Avalon, they were ill-prepared to fight. Robert Davion had not believed in private armies, and Adam had neither the time nor the talent to forge a fighting force out of the Marsin retainers when the crisis came. He and his stepmother chose instead to adopt an awkward neutrality, In exchange for steel and Marsin mills, Adam negotiated pledges of protection from the three strongest factions. Thus protected from the rivalries of the other First Families, Davion bided his time and remained aloof from the fighting that his militia commission required him to oppose. He spent his time courting a fourth faction, that of Colonel Nathan DuVall, which had considerable military strength but a poor industrial base.

DuVall, ten years senior to Davion, had been a popular militia colonel before the war. After the Battle of Lockhart Manor, he had rallied remnants of the Colonial Militia and joined them to his own family army. This gave DuVall a dubious claim to legitimacy as the senior surviving representative of the planetary government. By himself, however, he still lacked the power to take on any of the other factions.

Davion approached DuVall with an offer of support following the latter’s defeat at Owen’s Ford on Southcont. In a secret alliance, Davion/Marsin retainers began to swell the ranks of DuVall’s “Planetary Militia.” Davion also began to negotiate with other less powerful First Family factions (starting with the Bulows, his wife’s relations) to forge an alliance. To the horror of his stepmother, Adam even brought in the Lockhart family, whom she blamed for Robert Davion’s death. After several months of behind-the-scenes maneuvering, this alliance managed to coordinate their military activity enough to begin to turn the tide of war. DuVall maintained titular leadership of the coalition, but Adam Davion was never far from the seat of power. It was Adam’s hand, not DuVall’s, that signed the Truce of Loch Rivenval that ended the Civil War.

Hidden Counselor

In the years that followed, Davion continued to take a back seat to Nathan DuVall, but his wishes played an important part in the writing of the Second Covenant, the new Constitution, and the reorganization of the New Avalon government. Davion held no post in the new government, and appeared to settle down to a quiet life on his stepmother’s estate. Nonetheless, it was Adam Davion, not Nathan DuVall, who held together the coalition of First Families while DuVall was building his political power base.

DuVall never forgot Davion’s importance to his success. Throughout the Lockhart and Cartwright administrations, Davion received the best contracts and the most government support for economic expansion. The alliance between the two families was completely sealed in 2268, when Adam’s son Jerome married DuVall’s daughter Jennifer. This placed Jerome in a position nearly equal to that of Nathan’s own son Martin as heir to the DuVall political mantle.

Neither Adam nor Jerome Davion took leading roles in Avalonian politics thereafter, but each contributed in his own way. It was a Davion-owned plant that assembled the NAS Hopewell and three other ships in New Avalon’s trading fleet. From 2297-2306, Jerome Davion served as Ambassador to El Dorado, a vital trading partner in New Avalon’s growing commercial interstellar empire. He was killed when his ship, the jump-courier Jason Hasek. blew up during the journey home to New Avalon in 2306. Jerome left behind four sons, Lucien, Joseph, Louis, and Charles.

At the time of his father’s death, Lucien Davion was already high in the government of Martin DuVall. In 2307, the next year, the childless Prime Minister appointed Lucien to the key post of Deputy Prime Minister. With this act, another major crisis nearly erupted among the First Families. As the son of Nathan DuVall’s daughter Jennifer, Lucien was Martin DuVall’s closest blood relative. Yet many DuVall cousins insisted that any “dynasty” of DuVall Prime Ministers should pass down through those bearing the family name. Most of the argument was secret, for no one had yet acknowledged the concept of an inherited Prime Ministry.

Lucien strengthened his power base in the Chamber of Deputies by marrying Marie Fabier, whose grandfather had been the strongest of the anti-coalition warlords in the Civil War. When his son was born, Lucien named him Reynard, after his maternal grandfather, a clear indication of where Lucien was counting on getting fresh support. In a single generation, the power of the Davions on New Avalon had eclipsed that of the DuValls.

Birth Of A Federation

I fear the growth of a subtle dictatorship far more than the return of the Terrans. We have long watched the DuValls forging shackles for the rest of us to wear. I say that the choice of this Ambassador’s son as Prime Minister is the final link in forging the chains that we shall be compelled to wear for all time to come.

—Jason Hasek III, in a letter to an unknown correspondent, 2307

Lucien Davion was elected Prime Minister of New Avalon within a week of Martin DuVall’s death. It is testimony to Davion’s reputation that not even his harshest critics credited rumors that he had something to do with the hunting accident that took DuVall’s life. Though Lucien’s talent for political maneuvering made him both hated and feared, he was also respected as a man of principle and honor who would never stoop to betrayal.

Lucien had little in common with other members of his family. Soft-spoken and intensely idealistic, he was a sincere proponent of reform and of expansion to the stars. He was also an orator of considerable skill, with a flair for statesmanship and compromise. Nevertheless, he owed much of his early political success to his younger brothers. Louis Davion, in particular, was a born schemer who had concocted the idea of marriage with the Fabier family to win Lucien the post of Deputy Prime Minister. United, the Davion brothers were a formidable political team.

The New Prime Minister devoted his first few years in office to developing the policies begun under the two DuValls. New Avalon was well on its way to extensive industrialization, and a growing trading fleet was plying the star systems within two jumps of the planet. Trade brought economic prosperity and an inflow of raw materials for the expanding industries. Even though the First Families were steadily losing their monopoly on economic power, Lucien’s popularity increased among the oligarchs as their profits mounted. Fear of a stagnant, polarized feudal society taking root on New Avalon soon began to fade. In its place, however, came concern over the long-term effects of runaway inflation as interstellar wealth debased local currency and the upper classes became increasingly decadent.

McKenna’s Hegemony

In 2314, six years after Lucien became Prime Minister, a bloody civil war broke out on Terra. In the wake of an armed clash between the Expansionist and Liberal parties, the Terran Alliance collapsed. To restore order, Fleet Admiral James McKenna stepped in at the head of the Alliance military. The charismatic McKenna created a new order from the death of the old, naming it the Terran Hegemony. Dedicated to the restoration of Terra as the center of the Human Sphere, McKenna’s new government stimulated interest in the former Terran colonies, which could only spell trouble for those worlds. Where the Terran Alliance had withered in influence, the Hegemony began to expand and soon had regained control of more than 100 worlds. Lucien Davion knew only too well that if a resurgent Terra decided to pick off the colonial worlds one by one, there would be little any single planet could do to stop her. Independent for less than a century, New Avalon was as vulnerable to takeover as any other world.

In a series of swift and decisive moves, he began to contact other worlds of the Crucis Reach, who had no reason to love Terra. Though none had gone through armed revolt, all had suffered when the Alliance had withdrawn from her colonies in 2237, leaving them to sink or swim. “H o m o stellaris,” whom McKenna had extolled in speeches on Terra, had grown up without help from Terra. Now his offspring were hostile to the idea of surrendering their autonomy to the Terrans again, after making it through the hard years of what had already become known as the Exodus. It did not take much to manipulate those hostilities and fears, and Lucien Davion was the man who could do it best.

In a whirlwind interstellar tour begun in 2316, Davion visited each world of the Crucis Reach. His theme was constant: one world could not resist Terra, but many standing together could. He stressed the idea that a show of independence early in the crisis would keep the threat of interstellar conflict from materializing. The fledgling Hegemony was not yet strong enough to fight a major war at the end of a light-years-long supply line. McKenna’s government would try instead to pick off weak planets through threats, economic sanctions, or small armed demonstrations. Lucien was persuasive, and it won him many supporters.

The Crucis Pact

Our one world cannot stand alone any longer, we must reach out, forge new bonds, and seek friends among the stars, so that our children can stay strong and free.

—Lucien Davion in a speech in support of the Crucis Pact, 2317

It is important to understand that Davion took special pains to identify himself completely with the plan. On some worlds, he conducted his meetings with local authorities, not as Prime Minister of New Avalon, but as a private citizen concerned for the future of the Reach. By 2317, he was ready to convene a summit conference of leaders from 23 planets. The conference lasted for three long months, but when it finally broke up, all but three participating governments had agreed to sign the historic treaty that became known as the Crucis Pact. Creating a mutual defense and trade union known as the Federated Suns, the treaty ensured complete local autonomy for all member planets. It also offered the benefits of favorable trade terms, military assistance, and an assembly known as the High Council for the discussion of issues and the settlement of disputes between members. Lucien Davion was unanimously chosen as President of the new body, a tribute to his personal popularity and his crucial role in calling together the summit and drafting the terms of the Pact.

The Crucis Pact embodied a number of high ideals that Lucien Davion genuinely valued. At the same time, it was so loaded with amendments ensuring local jurisdiction that it was virtually useless. One 24th-century historian referred to it as “the only document to make the League of Nations charter look practical.”

Despite its flaws, the Pact worked well, thanks to Davion’s tireless efforts. He delegated most of his Presidential duties on New Avalon to his brothers, which freed him to travel from planet to planet in pursuit of a workable interstellar governmental system. His reputation for impartiality and his statesmanship helped Lucien Davion obtain the cooperation of even the most unruly member, while adding several new worlds to the federation. The Crucis Pact of 2317 sparked a number of similar mutual defense and trading pacts elsewhere in the Human Sphere, but few developed as smoothly or functioned as well in these early years as the Federated Suns.

In the 15 years between the signing of the Crucis Pact and Lucien Davion’s death in 2332, the first President of the Federated Suns turned a loose association of planets into a union of closely allied worlds. In the process, the Presidency became synonymous with the Davion name. After Lucien’s death, there still existed enough petty rivalries between member worlds to make it difficult for them to agree on anything without their President’s mediation, but the name of Davion was magic. Lucien’s youngest brother Charles, though hardly in a class with his respected elder, became a prime candidate for President of the Federated Suns. It was only after Charles had secured that post that he announced his intention to stand as New Avalon’s Prime Minister.

Lucien had not appointed any of his family members as Deputy Prime Minister, for his brothers had acted as his personal representatives without benefit of specific office. Now the Chamber of Deputies was once more reluctant to allow a “dynasty” to control the Prime Ministry. For a time, they seemed bent on selecting one of the Hasek line to show their defiance of the Davion power base. It was the talented Louis who changed their minds in a speech full of veiled references to the growing importance of the Federated Suns. His threats were unspoken, but they came through loud and clear. No Avalonian wanted to see his world abandoned as the capital of the newly created Federated Suns, and many feared that the Davions would use their influence to stir up bad feelings between New Avalon and the other member-worlds of the Pact.

After making the last serious attempt to stand up to the Davion family, the Chamber of Deputies finally backed down. Though the First Families of New Avalon would continue to produce important leaders, their political power dwindled, leaving the Chamber of Deputies little more than a rubber stamp for Davion decisions and policies.

It is ironic that Lucien Davion, the idealist who used all his skill and charm to forge a workable union of worlds, was the one responsible for the death of individual liberty on his homeworld. Was he blind to where his actions might one day lead, or did he believe that his own family’s dominion would be less damaging to New Avalon and the Federated Suns than would a Terran takeover?

In the years of the Davion family’s consolidation of power on New Avalon, other influential leaders might have offered a challenge to their meteoric rise. That these others failed to block the Davion advance is testimony both to the skill of four successive generations of Davion politicians and proof of the fear of infighting in an oligarchic society. From start to finish, the Davion family’s single most powerful weapon was the fact that their potential opposition was unwilling to unite against them.

Among the major First Families, several names stand out. The Bulows and the Fabiers were particularly influential, between them dominating New Avalon’s communications and electronics industries. The Davions chose to make ties of marriage with each of these two families, marriages that strengthened the Davion power base and industrial empire as well. Starting with Robert and Adam, love matches took a back seat to political considerations for many Davions during the late 23rd and early 24th centuries. It was through such marriages that they defused political rivalries while strengthening their own voting bloc.

Though many important scions of First Families would crop up later in the history of the Federated Suns, including Haseks, Bulows, and even some descendants of Governor-General Varnay, none would ever have a chance of dislodging the Davions.

Lucien Davion: Visionary Leader

Prime Minister of New Avalon and President of the Federated Suns, Lucien Davion stands out as the pivotal figure in his family’s rise to power. Though earlier Davions had played their own important roles, Lucien was the quintessential Davion hero, whose appearance at a crucial hour of history saved New Avalon and the whole of the Crucis Reach.

The first President of the Federated Suns was quite different from the rest of his family. Indeed, there were stories-later rigidly suppressed-that Lucien was not really the son of Jerome Davion at all, but of Jason Hasek II. Though he shared the famed Hasek qualities of idealism and incorruptible honesty, these tales do not seem to contain much truth. Neither Robert nor Adam Davion was quite sterling as a character, but Lucien’s father, Jerome, taught his son high standards of personal and professional conduct. Jerome Davion, the soft-spoken Ambassador, had never been well known in New Avalon society. Though he taught Lucien well, two of his other sons, Louis and Charles, were a pair of schemers who would have made their grandfather Adam proud.

For Lucien, power and prestige were a means to an end, not ends in themselves. He used his power to forge an interstellar union that he honestly believed was vital to the survival of New Avalon and the other worlds of the Crucis Reach. He seems never to have grasped that others, even members of his own family, were not equally visionary. They saw Lucien as a pawn to build a Davion dynasty rather than a folk hero come to save his world.

—From History of the Davions, by Enrico Rosario, Nova Press Interstellar, 3015

The Prime Ministers

Sometimes, it is hard for social historians to judge the causes and effects of change. On Arcadia, another “garden world” of the Crucis March, peace and prosperity were the watchwords even in the worst years of the Terran retreat from her former colonies. The planet’s plentiful water. extensive agriculture, abundant raw materials, and booming industrial economy made Arcadia the logical heart of the new Federated Suns. But it was struggling, strife-ridden New Avalon that emerged as the lead planet of the Inner Sphere’s most powerful state. Why did the poorer world succeed over the richer? Perhaps it was a matter of harsher conditions breeding tougher people. or of luxury blinding the Arcadian rulers to the need to expand aggressively. In the long run, though. New Avalon’s fortunes were built solidly on the foundations laid by a single family—the Davions. If the Davions had emigrated to another world, would history have awarded New Avalon another band of visionary leaders? Or would the family have emerged on any planet they settled as the dominant influence in the politics of their region of space? That is a question historians will never be able to answer.

—From The Dynamics of History, by Louise Charbineau, NAIS Press, New Avalon, 3018

New Avalon’s transition from single world to capital of an interstellar federation went smoothly under the leadership of the first three Davion Prime Ministers. Though differing from one another in superficial ways, each succeeding Davion contributed to the growth of New Avalon and of the Federated Suns. Between them, they also displayed the best—and worst—traits of a family whose footsteps would echo down another 700 years of peril, strife, and triumph.

A Dream Fulfilled

I see a day when the Mother of Worlds will acknowledge that her children have surpassed her, when the Children of the Stars shall claim a rightful place as equals—rather than as colonial subjects—alongside the Children of Earth. I see a time of peace and prosperity embracing not one world, but a thousand worlds. Most of all, I see a day when unity in the common cause of freedom will create an age when no world need suffer from hardships or famines or internal strife, because a thousand brother-worlds will be standing by to provide the support needed to weather the bad times or to enjoy the good.

—Lucien Davion, from a speech to the New Avalon Chamber of Deputies, 2317

Lucien was the dreamer, the statesman who forged a federation of worlds and made it work during the first critical years of growth. His diplomatic success was due as much to an admirable personality and reputation for integrity as to his natural talents as a negotiator. In his day, “the Davion wisdom” became a byword among populations who had never heard of New Avalon, but had come to love the first President of the Federated Suns for his fair and honest judgement of complicated interworld disputes.

Lucien’s charm could not smooth over the difficulties of one situation, however. In 2318, the Commander of Muskegon, sovereign ruler of that planet and its colonial offshoots in the border area of the Crucis Reach, joined the Federated Suns as a full member of the Council. The colonies of Emerson and Beten Kaitos were growing restive under the impersonal government of Muskegon, however, and were refusing to obey the edicts that were part of the laws of the Federated Suns. Many of the rebellious colonial leaders believed that the two planets should fall more naturally under the protection of the Chesterton Trade Worlds, another new interstellar community forming in the shadow of Terran resurgence. The colonies declared their independence of Muskegon and signed agreements with Chesterton soon after the Commander announced his decision. The decision to turn away from the Suns in favor of another interstellar power was to cost these two worlds dearly, with far-reaching implications down to the present-day reigns of Hanse Davion and Maximilian Liao some seven centuries later.

Delegate From New Avalon

While we were negotiating the Crucis Pact, Lucien Davion surmised that several of the other delegates (myself included) might feel it was more democratic to hold the final meetings away from New Avalon. I was flattered when he suggested my homeworld, Delavan.

I had met Davion once before and very briefly after I replaced the former delegate, who had taken ill. He had seemed pleasant enough, but I was completely unprepared for the impression he made upon arriving in the capital of Delavan. Previously, surrounded by other officials, Lucien Davion had little time to exchange even distracted courtesies. Now he was ready to give me undivided attention, and from that moment he appeared, there was never another man, other than my husband, whose attention I wanted more.

It wasn’t just that he was handsome. He had been in uniform before, looking like just another soldier, but with a little more braid on his shoulder than most. Now he was dressed like a noble, and his manner showed that this was a real individual, not just a cog in some military machine. In a room filled with dignitaries, he caught my eye just as he walked through the door. He crossed the room, nodding to some, shaking hands with others, as he passed, but never stopping until he came up to me.

As we shook hands, he leaned over to kiss my cheek and whispered, “You’re just as I remembered.” What he meant by that, I had no idea, as we were both married and were there on highly official business.

As he straightened up, I noticed two things about his face. His smile was crooked—the left side of his mouth turned up further than the right—which gave his expression a boyish quality. The other, truly charming thing about his face was that one of his eyes was green and one blue.

—From the unpublished memoirs of Duchess Ariana Fulgess, on the events of November 7, 2317

Muskegon

In 2163, a group of Terran colonists had set out for McHenry, a recently opened colony world. A malfunction of the colony ship’s Kearny-F u c h i d a drive forced the colonists to desert the JumpShip in the Muskegon star system. The single marginally habitable planet of that system become the new home for nearly 1 00,000 people. Conditions on Muskegon were harsh, and so only harsh measures could overcome them. Because they controlled systems vital to survival, the Captain and crew of the colony JumpShip set themselves up as leaders with absolute power over the other colonists. Within a few generations, Muskegon society had polarized into a Crew Class of aristocrats and a Colonist Class of workers. The office of Expedition Commander, now known as Commander of Muskegon, had become hereditary, and was vested with near-dictatorial powers. The people endured, however, and the colony prospered despite the severe conditions of their homeworld. Thanks to stern measures taken in the earliest days of the colony, knowledge was retained even when it was not immediately useful. The rebirth of technology waited only for industrialization.

In 2177, technicians succeeded in repairing the original colony JumpShip. A volunteer crew departed in this vessel with orders to seek out a better world on which to transplant the colony. Instead, the expedition found Emerson and Beten Kaitos, planets rich in natural resources but whose environmental conditions were not much better than Muskegon’s.

A shipload of deportees and political prisoners colonized Emerson, while volunteer colonists settled Beten Kaitos. In both cases, the new colonies were ruled by the government of Muskegon, which exploited the new worlds without providing much support for the needy colonists. Raw materials from the two colonies helped build additional ships for the fleet at home, and these in turn were used to found other colonies on nearby planets. By 2190, Muskegon claimed six planets. The Commander of Muskegon was absolute ruler over these worlds through a network of governors chosen from the Crew Class.

Emerson’s ties to Muskegon were weak because its first settlers had been deported criminals. When a ship from the Chesterton Trade League arrived in 2195, the Emersonians (with the tacit approval of their governor) became members of that body. For his part, the Commander of Muskegon hoped to turn Emerson into a port of entry for trade between the two interstellar groups-with high government tariffs making the venture worthwhile.

Gradually, each world in Muskegon’s empire grew stronger, especially after Terra withdrew from her rebellious colonies. Trade blossomed , and Muskegon entered a period that would have been a Golden Age had it not been for the stagnation of the class system and greed of the empire’s rulers.

Muskegon had been one of the worlds that Lucien Davion visited in his campaign to form the Federated Suns. Because Muskegon had become one of the strongest powers in its region of space, Commander Jehan Achmeed was undecided about whether the Crucis Pact would bolster his power or tend to dilute it. He did not sign the Pact in 2317, but had made up his mind by the following year. In 2318, the Commander of Muskegon joined the Crucis Pact.

Meanwhile, discontent with the policies of the Muskegon government on its various colony worlds had reached a fever pitch. Two of those six planets—Emerson and Beten Kaitos—went so far as to refuse to acknowledge the decision to join the Federated Suns. Declaring their independence, these two worlds invoked the support of the Chesterton Commonality States. Almost immediately, the frontier erupted in conflict.

Ironically, the decision to add Muskegon to the Federated Suns led to Achmeed losing all that he had hoped to keep intact. Even after the rebellious worlds had been conquered by the Federated Suns, they were never returned to Muskegon’s rule. Two hundred years later, when a descendant of Achmeed’s joined the wrong side in the Davion Civil War, the victors stripped away Muskegon’s remaining possessions and reorganized its governments.

Lucien Davion may have been a shrewd diplomat, but he was a poor general. Despite the Federated Suns superior strength, the campaign to wrest control of Emerson and Beten Kaitos from the Chesterton Commonality went poorly. The fighting lasted three years, with the two planets changing hands several times. In the end, Chesterton, supported by the Tikonov Union, retained control.

That little war ended, but other wars along the Rimward March (as the area was then known) began to escalate. Several states, including the Capellan Hegemony, the Tikonov Union, the St. Ives Mechantile Association, and the Chesterton Commonality, sought to take advantage of the Federated Suns apparent military weakness. Disputes over claims to the important resources on the planets Redfield, Alcyone, and Daniels triggered new conflicts in which federation expeditionary troops were again defeated and driven back.

The Federated Suns’s enemies soon found that it was harder to maintain their troops in forward areas than to win initial battles. Enemy garrisons along the Federated Suns border suffered from poor supply lines and growing disaffection, making them prime targets for a counterstroke. At that crucial moment, however, the Federated Suns failed to mount such an effort.

Against the background of this failure in foreign policy and the threat of further border wars, Lucien Davion decided to retire in 2332. He died a mere three months later, his health and spirit broken by what must have seemed the imminent collapse of everything he had worked to build.

Charles Davion became the new Prime Minister of New Avalon and President of the Federated Suns. Lucien was dismayed by the methods of his youngest brother was using to balance the interests of the Federated Suns against those of New Avalon. From his deathbed, Lucien wrote to his some Reynard, who was serving in an expeditionary unit on the St. Ives frontier, warning that it might be dangerous for the Davions to attempt to dominate the Federated Suns the way they controlled New Avalon. The message, if not the actual warning, proved strangely prophetic.

The Tyrant Of Muskegon

When Jehan Achmeed the last Commander of Muskegon, was overthrown, it marked the end of a dynasty whose cruelty was unsurpassed anywhere outside the Bandit Kingdoms. Yet, it was not malice that led the Achmeed family to rule with an iron fist. They simply believed that it was the most pragmatic, efficient way to rule.

One of the most glaring examples of the Achmeed tendency to place efficiency above humanity occurred in 2293, during the reign of Hassan Achmeed, the 14th Commander of Muskegon. A young, unmarried mother left her baby just outside the outermost guards’ station on the doorstep of the Commander’s House, the seat of government. She had attached a note to the baby’s bassinet, begging that the child be raised as a member of the Commander’s household.

Upon hearing of this, Hassan Achmeed thundered that if he took in one baby, every unwed mother on Muskegon would appoint him her baby’s godfather, and he would never have time to govern the people. He ordered the baby killed and its body placed on public display as an example to those who tried to interfere with the efficiency of his administration.

When the baby’s mother learned of what Hassan Achmeed had done, she came to the Commander’s House, screaming in grief and anger that she would never have left her child if she’d known that he was a man without a heart.

He made an example of her, too.

—From Tyrannis Excelsis: Early Territorial Governments in the Inner Sphere, by Brendan Waukonisee, Rim Worlds Press, 2913

Charles The Reformer

I agree that our new Prime Minister is more than a bit of a snake. If it takes a snake to make the federation strong, then I, for one, am ready to lie on the ground and hiss right along with him.

—From a letter by Chief Magistrate Michael Fairborn of Augusta, in a letter to his wife, 2333

Charles Davion, though handsome and charismatic, shared none of his brother’s ideals. He wanted power, both for himself and for the new Davion ”dynasty” that every one denied but that all feared. Under the tutelage of Louis, the most manipulative of the Davion brothers, Charles had become a talented politician even before Lucien’s retirement. After Lucien stepped down, the brothers won the Presidency for Charles by dazzling the High Council of the Federated Suns with both the Davion name and extravagant promises to restore order on the frontier. Next, they secured the Prime Ministry on New Avalon to keep their power base fully intact. Only then did Charles reveal his true nature.

Arrogant, quick-tempered, and energetic, Charles Davion transformed the loose association of Crucis Pact planets into an interstellar organization that would one day tower over the other governments in the Human Sphere. Through the force of his will, he overcame numerous obstacles to carry forward his master plan of making himself and the Davion line indispensable.

One of Charles Davion’s most important actions was a complete reform of the Crucis Pact’s military provisions. Until now, the Federated Suns had responded to outside aggression or internal rebellions by raising a new expeditionary force to deal with each new crisis; member worlds contributed either troops, supplies, transport, or other facilities. A vote of the Council established the force leader, and the President set strategic aims, with the advice of the Council. The outcome of the Muskegon conflict had demonstrated just how poor these arrangements were.

The memory of those defeats along the border persuaded each member world to give Charles Davion a handful of elite military units, which he used to create a Federated Suns standing army. The new Federated Peacekeeping Forces (FPF) had its own system of ranks and organization, and its own support structure to manage supplies and transport independently of the member planets.

To foster morale and identification with the new armed service, Davion ordered extensive troop training and indoctrination to focus their loyalties and pride on the Federated Suns rather than on their individual homeworlds. Many Avalonians, however, ended up in the senior ranks of the officer corps, thanks to Davion family influence. Using this kind of backroom favoritism, Charles and his brothers began to guarantee the transmission of power from Davion to Davion for several decades to come. Also during this period, a formalized bureaucracy began to supplant direct rule by the President and the Council, The Council retained control over policy matters, but routine, day-to-day operations fell to the permanent staff at the capital of the Federated Suns. Here, too, New Avalon’s representation was disproportionately high.

Charles Davion did not live to see these reforms fully implemented. Like Lucien, he spent much of his term settling interworld disputes and campaigning for his ideas among member worlds. His brother Louis had been his chief deputy until 2337.

When Louis died, Joseph, the fourth Davion brother, was in failing health. Thus, Reynard became Deputy Prime Minister instead. Charles had not made Lucien’s mistake of failing to clearly designate an heir. Because Lucien’s son was the sole offspring of the four brothers, Charles the Reformer knew that continuation of the family’s power rested with Reynard.

In 2340, the second President of the Federated Suns died of a heart attack while informing the Council of his plan to send the new FPF into action on the Chesterton frontier. Though many Council members recognized the value of Charles Davion’s reforms, he had not been personally popular. His bias in favor of New Avalon, in everything from political appointments to judgements in the Federation High Court, had earned him considerable opposition. Though Reynard did not come to power because of his predecessor’s popularity, as had Charles, nothing could stop the Davion juggernaut.

Two decades under such strong leaders as Lucien and Charles Davion had been enough to bind the Federated Suns into a tightly woven net of trade and economic commitments. At every level, from the military to the bureaucracy, New Avalon’s sons held the posts that kept the interstellar trade lanes open. There were regular FPF garrisons on a number of key worlds that were not yet members and few local units present to contest these strategically or economically valuable points in a showdown.

Eight years before, it had been the Davions who had kept New Avalon preeminent. Now it was the people of New Avalon, eager to retain their prominence within the Federation, who wished to keep a Davion in power. Thus, in 2340, Reynard Davion was elected Prime Minister of New Avalon and President of the Federated Suns.

Tempus Tardus

It has taken the Davion government centuries to develop the system of checks and balances that underlies its federated system. In the early days on New Avalon, for example, the Council President could tamper with decisions of the High Court because of a shortlived legal principle known as “tempus tardus,” or “time slowed down.” The principle came into existence during a series of cases involving colonists who had been late in taking over claims staked by their agents on other planets. These colonial developers were deliberately allowing arable lands to lie fallow while they waited offworld until the property values had risen in the food poor colony. At that point, they planned to step in to make a killing. Once the precedent was set for the President to interfere with the High Court in tempus tardus cases, it allowed him to interfere in any civil case, which made the President de facto chief of the Federated Suns judicial system. It was not until 2764 that the Prince of the realm had to relinquish this sweeping judicial power.

—From Legal Decisions through the Ages, by Jaipur Wevensar, Teller-Burrows Corporation, 3027

The War Leader Pt 1

My family has served you since the very beginning, and it will continue to serve as long as this august body is willing to accept our aid. I am not my father,. I do not have his record of achievements to prove my worth to you. What I can offer you is my heart, my soul, my flesh, and my untiring devotion, not only to my own world, but to any world that seeks the protection and the freedom of these Federated Suns.

—Reynard Davion, in his acceptance speech before the Federated Suns High Council, 2340

Reynard Davion was as charming as his father Lucien, and as ruthless as any of his three uncles. Like Charles, Reynard knew how to get things done in the face of opposition, and he had few scruples about how to achieve his ends. Nevertheless, his correspondence reveals that he was as sincerely devoted to the ideals of the Crucis Pact and to the two Convenants of New Avalon as his father had been.

He was also the first of the modern Davions to show evidence that he had inherited the military prowess of his ancestors. Even the soldier Robert Davion had never been in a high enough official position to employ any military abilities that he may have inherited. Reynard was a veteran of the frontier wars, having achieved the rank of Major in the Federation Expeditionary Force of 2334 on his own merit. Prior to becoming Deputy Prime Minister, he had served as a Colonel in the FPF.

By the time Reynard came to power, the conflict along the Capellan frontier had been raging for 20 years. Lucien had fought the war against his own better judgement; Charles had kept it going to create a threat that would justify his sweeping military and political reforms. Reynard Davion resolved that his Presidency would end the conflict, but he was determined to do it from a position of strength.

In 2344, confident of his position in the federation, Reynard left New Avalon to take command of the Reserve Task Force being gathered at Achernar along the Capellan frontier. While two of the Task Forces distracted the forces around Mirach with demonstrations of strength, the Reserve Task Force penetrated to the planet Almach and severed the supply line that supported Mira and Mesartim. The sudden ferocity of the attack after more than a decade of desultory fighting overwhelmed the Tikonov forces. Moreover, the strain of meeting attacks on multiple fronts prevented the enemy from mounting an effective resistance. Perhaps no one was more surprised at these successes than the FPF itself.

Having demonstrated the muscle of the Federated Suns, Reynard now looked for the means to a peaceful settlement. Though it was the Tikonov Union that he had defeated, Davion’s first negotiations were with the more important-and more powerful-Capellan Hegemony. In 2345, the two powers signed the Acala Pact, a mutual non-aggression treaty intended not only to promote peace and trade, but also to create a forum for settling future border disputes. It is likely that Davion saw the possibility of eventually absorbing the Capellan state through diplomatic means. If so, he failed to understand the Capellan character. Their motivation for signing the Pact was to prevent losing any of their worlds as the FPF probed deeply into their sphere of influence. Both sides apparently entered into this agreement solely to win time for military preparations.

Six months after the signing and ratification of the Acala Pact, the Federated Suns Council was called upon to approve another agreement with the Capellan leaders. This was the Almach Accord in 2346, which gave the Suns formal control over the Chesterton worlds of Mira, Mesartim, and Almach. Reynard Davion did not wait for the Council’s approval before implementing the terms. It would not be the last time that a Davion assumed the prerogatives of the Council, or that the Council allowed him to get away with it.

After securing control of the three planets, Reynard established settlements on Mira and Mesartim, despite Mirach’s claims to these worlds. He also named them independent member worlds of the Federated Suns, which gave them a higher status with their conquerors than they had enjoyed as Chesterton Trade Worlds. Aimach, on the other hand, was made a Federated Suns trustee. Reynard intended to build a gigantic military staging area there against the chance of renewed war on the border.

With the border wars settled, Reynard returned to New Avalon and his normal presidential duties. The next years were mostly peaceful, with the Federated Suns expanding through political rather than military means, and devoting its energies to economic and social improvement. In 2363, hostilities again erupted on the Capellan frontier.

The events leading up to the crisis began in 2357, when Reynard occupied the Sarna Supremacy planet of Bell and demanded the immediate transfer of Chesterton and Highspire from Sarna. This set off a chain reaction within the Capellan political arena. The Capellan Prime Minister Julian Dux was forced to retire, which propelled the dynamic Seluk Tucas into his place. Tucas began immediately to do whatever necessary to unite the various disputing Capellan states against a common foe. It took him five years to carry out all his plans to secure his back, but by 2363, he was ready to confront Reynard Davion.

In March of that year, Tucas renounced the Acala and Almach Accords and demanded that Davion return all the Chesterton province worlds that had been ceded to him. He also recalled the Capellan ambassador home from New Avalon. In a final defiant gesture, Tucas upped the ante by demanding that Davion relinquish control over the Lee system. He claimed that a longstanding trade agreement with Lee was sufficient reason for his demand that the planet rejoin the Capellan fold. Originally settled by Capellan colonists from New Macao, Lee was within the region granted to Davion by the Acala Pact. This same world would continue to be the focal point of many Davion/Capellan campaigns to come.

Fashir Tucas, the Capellan ambassador to the Federated Suns, never reached home after his brother called for his return. His JumpShip vanished mysteriously on the return voyage and was never seen again, despite serious search efforts by both sides. Declaring his brother’s death could only be a deliberate Davion provocation, Seluk Tucas mobilized his army. The Capellans called on member states of the Suns to depose their “false and treacherous leader” and to join the Capellan States. None took him up on the offer, and when Reynard Davion proclaimed a state of war, the vote of confidence was unanimous.

The War Leader Pt 2

The new border conflicts went on for several years, with the Federated Suns taking most of the honors. When the FPF turned back Capellan attacks on Lee, the political repercussions toppled both Prime Magistrate Tucas and his government from power. The more the Capellans suffered internal dissension at home, the easier it was for FPF forces to continue their advances. When the Tikonov Union and the St. Ives Association were drawn into the war as well, they, too, lost worlds to the Federation. Reynard Davion conducted the strategy of the fighting, this time from the capital. When the FPF succeeded in retaking Redfield and other planets lost during the first border wars, he was satisfied that the Federated Suns had finally laid to rest the military humiliations of his father’s day.

In 2367, a new government, the Capellan Confederation, was formed from the numerous smaller states that had suffered in the recent wars. Intoxicated by his military victories, Reynard Davion refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new realm. Diplomatic relations were not established, and desultory fighting continued along the frontier.

Two years later, in 2371, the 64-year-old Reynard Davion died from a recurrenceof Black Marsh Fever, first contracted during his soldiering days on Gallitzin. His son, Etien Davion, was elected to both of Reynard’s political posts without demur. The Davion dynasty was finally and unquestionably established.

The first three Davion Presidents had made the Federated Suns one of the major powers of the Inner Sphere. The army that Charles had forged had proven itself in battle. Meanwhile, the bureaucracy of the Federated Suns had-been centralized to ensure a continuity of administration even during times of trouble.

The early Davions also left a legacy of problems. In particular, their foreign policy toward the Capellan Confederation would plague the realm for centuries to come. In fact, the Davion invasion of several Capellan worlds in 2366 foreshadowed the Age of War, during which each state of the Inner Sphere was at war with all the others.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: The creation of the Federated Suns was the first such alliance among the many worlds of the lnner Sphere. During the 24th century, ten such separate states evolved, each with a strong central government. Some came into being through the need for mutual cooperation, but others were forged through military conquest.

With its relatively large population base, easily obtained raw materials, and a tradition of many centuries of scientific superiority over the other states, the Terran Hegemony maintained technological superiority over the other states. This also bolstered its political influence, particularly when dealing with worlds lacking in such fundamental necessities as water or croplands.

As the century wore on, each state became more and more adamant about defining its borders, with border disputes becoming both frequent and intense. Struggles over strategically valuable planets escalated from small skirmishes to battlefields covering an entire world. Scientific research again turned away from improving the quality of life and toward research and development of new weapons.

In the final three decades of the 24th century, many border worlds went from being equipped with navigational aids and glorified police officers to having sophisticated ship detection equipment, fully armed K-F drive JumpShips, a variety of system defense craft, and large garrisons of crack troops. The Age of War would soon rear its ugly head.]

The Vanishing Tucas

After much deliberation, it is the finding of this commission that Ambassador Tucas’s ship was sabotaged. The only question remaining is who the saboteur may have been. In reviewing the evidence carefully, we find that the Ambassador intended to report to the Prime Minister that the Davion regime perceived weakness along the so-called Capellan March that could be exploited; that Reynard Davion intends to establish a dynasty far more extensive than any his family has yet enjoyed; that several weakly defended Capellan worlds would make profitable additions to Davion’s empire; and that Reynard Davion’s alleged “settlement” is a smokescreen to prevent any attempts at preemptive strikes on our part. In short, we find that Ambassador Tucas’s ship was sabotaged by pro-Davion agents to prevent him from alerting us to Davion plans to annex Capellan worlds along our mutual border.

—From a confidential report by the official Capellan Commission investigating the disappearance of Ambassador Fashir Tucas, 2363

****

The disappearance of Ambassador Tucas is a profound embarrassment to the Federated Suns government. The Capellan government will inevitably suspect us of duplicity, despite President Davion’s assurances that a final agreement has been resolved. It may be that the need for the President to renegotiate the agreement-and perhaps arrive at one less advantageous than the current version-is not the worst outcome of the Ambassador’s tragic disappearance. Indeed, the worst may be the impossibility of renegotiating anything at all.

This leads us to conclude that Ambassador Fashir Tucas’s JumpShip was sabotaged by anti-Davion fanatics attempting to embarrass and discredit the Prince and possibly to depose his rule.

—From the report of the official Federated Suns Commission investigating the disappearance of Fashir Tucas, 2363. Declassified 2438

The Tyrants

Perhaps House Davion was too successful too quickly. If they had not risen so rapidly to absolute power within the Federated Suns, their line might have produced more leaders qualified to fulfill the duties of rulership. From the very start, the Davions began to function as a dynasty, but with no provision for screening out the unfit or ensuring proper training or preparation. When fate brought forward a fool, a weakling, or a tyrant, there was no choice but for the family, the planet of New A valon, and the Federated Suns to accept him. All too often, a ruler’s flaws did not show up until after he was in power.

—From The Davions: A Family Portrait, by Johannes Bergmann, Capella Publishing House, 3008

Many people said that the marriage between Reynard Davion and Jeanne Remoix was a mistake. In later times, the superstitious even claimed that it was a cursed thing to mix New Avalon First Family blood with that of a common farmer from another world. There is no denying that Etien Davion and his two children were unstable, yet Paul, Marie, and Paul’s descendants showed no taint of the so-called “demon strain” attributed to Etien’s branch of the family. The truth is that the Davions, like all families, produced their share of bad apples. Etien’s weak character could not sustain the rigors of supreme power, while Edmund and Edward, his twin sons, went bad because of poor upbringing. Nor was this the only time power would corrupt the line. The Davions would spawn other tyrants, just as they would produce their share of noble idealists in the years to come.

Following the death of Reynard Davion in 2371, the fortunes of his family-and of the planets that looked to the Davions for leadership-took a sharp turn for the worse. For the next half century, the Federated Suns would find itself in difficult straits, becoming in turn the plaything of a madman, the schoolyard of a scholar, and the captive audience of twin egotists with a taste for luxury and power. Only one ruler out of Reynard’s five successors was fully stable, and only two tried to provide the Federated Suns and New Avalon with satisfactory leadership.

The Mad Davion

Can any of you honestly claim to respect anything this man has done? How long must we go on bowing down before this family of tyrants and madmen?

—Roderick Varnay, from a speech before the High Council, 2378

Etien Davion was the eldest of Reynard Davion’s three children. His mother, Jeanne Remoix, was the daughter of a landholder on the planet Lee. Reynard had met her there during a military staging operation against forces out of Chesterton and Tikonov on the Capellan frontier. Much to Charles Davion’s surprise and anger, Reynard arrived back in New Avalon with the wife he had married aboard the courier ship.

Charles fought a losing battle to force his nephew to divorce Jeanne and to marry into one of the First Families. As it turned out, however, the marriage actually had some political advantages. By marrying offworld, Reynard helped to soften resentment against the pro-New Avalon bias that Charles had built up. When trouble flared again on the Capellan frontier, Reynard could claim a personal as well as a political stake in prosecuting the war to a swift and victorious conclusion.

Etien was the first Davion whose right to the Presidency was unquestioned almost from birth. Charles and Reynard had built the FPF into an army that was as loyal to the Davion name as to the government. Like Lucien before him, Reynard’s solid reputation outlived him and added luster to the family name. Like his father, Etien served in a line unit during the war against the Capellans. He earned a Presidential Citation for Valor during the battles in the Lee system. A serious wound sustained while earning this honor left the younger Davion hospitalized for over a year and altered his personality forever.

Within a week after Reynard’s death in 2371 , the 33-year old Etien was sworn in as Prime Minister of New Avalon. A month later, he became President of the Federated Suns. His first months in office were auspicious; a truce was called on the Capellan March, three new worlds were admitted as members of the Federation, and official emissaries were exchanged with the growing Draconis Combine. At first, Etien seemed an ideal ruler, more deferential to the Council than either Reynard or Charles had been, and more interested in the judicial work of the Presidency than either of his predecessors. Songs likening him to Lucien were common on most major worlds of his domain, and the causes of peace and growth seemed to move swiftly forward.

It was not long before Etien’s beneficent image began to crack. His mood could swing sharply within the space of hours, with him becoming irritable, excitable, and prone to wild rages. Etien almost beat a courtier to death after the man failed to step outof his way during a court procession. ]n another instance, Etien killed one of his closest friends in a bit of temper during a casual fencing match. At first, this instability did not seem to affect his work, but soon his judgements in judicial cases became more erratic. On the advice of close advisors, Etien began to send representatives to handle this area of his responsibility. In 2373, an amendment to the Crucis Pact officially sanctioned the appointment of a Board of Magistrates to settle disputes that had previously fallen under the President’s sole jurisdiction.

Gradually, Etien turned his attention to the pursuit of pleasure and left the administration of the state to the Federated Suns bureaucracy. This was a blessing because it kept the unstable President from making too many important decisions, but it also robbed the High Council of its power. Under the Articles of the Crucis Pact, the Council could not conduct any new business without the official sanction of the President or his appointed representative. Etien Davion rarely bothered to appoint a representative, and the ones that he did appoint soon ran afoul of him and were executed on a variety of spurious charges.

The rest of the Federated Suns looked to the leaders of New Avalon to curb the temper and excesses of their own Prime Minister, but 60 years of subservience to the Davion family had robbed the Avalonians of their initiative. The rest of the Davions seemed equally helpless. Etien’s mother had died long before Reynard, his brother Paul was a sickly recluse with no ambition, and their sister Marie, still in her twenties, had been posted to a frontier military unit because Etien was jealous of her popularity. For a time, Etien’s wife, Marion Michaels-Davion, was able to control him, but in 2376, he divorced her without cause. From then on, he deteriorated steadily, ordering arbitrary executions, indulging in the most decadent extravagances, and totally neglecting the responsibilities of government. Etien simply could not handle the strain of making decisions. While rejecting his responsibility as leader, he used his absolute power in the New Avalon Chamber of Deputies to indulge his every whim and fancy.

Not surprisingly, Etien Davion was unpopular in political circles. Sycophants might be happy to cater to his every whim, but others in important positions feared where Etien’s instability might lead the realm. At least three plots were hatched against him during his eight years in office, two assassination attempts, and a plan for widespread secession from the Federated Suns. Neither bore fruit, betrayed by men eager to advance their own fortunes by protecting even a mad ruler against treachery.

In truth, Etien Davion was certifiably insane. Always inclined to melancholy, he now suffered from depression more and more frequently. The revelation of plots against him only deepened his feelings of inadequacy and grief. With the second assassination attempt in 2378, the President’s emotional state hit bottom. His bodyguards killed the would-be assassin, a childhood friend and former compatriot in the Lee campaign, just as the man was about to plunge a knife in the President’s back. Etien stared down at the assassin for several long minutes, then picked up his blade and said, “if Jeremiah Monroe hates me that much, then no one will hate me anymore.” He stabbed himself in the heart before his guards could stop him, and died within seconds.

The Scholar

Perhaps you believe that a sick man cannot rule effectively? My brother was never ill a day in his life, but did that make him an effective ruler? Do not make the mistake of assuming that physical strength is a prerequisite of mental ability, my friends. I assure you that it is not.

—Paul Davion, from a speech before the High Council, 2378

Etien’s twin sons were only 16 when he died, while his sister Marie was just 30. None were judged experienced enough to take on the responsibilities of President or Prime Minister. Indeed, the recent years under the madman had left many people doubting whether it was wise to allow any Davion to continue in power. The Davion name was still influential in some circles, however, and a clique within the High Council decided that only a Davion heir could keep factionalism from destroying the Federated Suns. They needed someone as a figurehead for their behind-the-scenes manipulation, yet they also wanted a man who projected at least the illusion of wisdom and experience. One member of the Davion family suited those requirements perfectly. It was Paul Davion, Etien’s 38-year old brother.

Paul had been a sickly child who still displayed symptoms of hypochondria and intermittent paranoia. Unable to join the military like most of his line, Paul had turned to studies in sociology, history, and some technical sciences. Throughout Etien’s reign, he had happily remained far from public scrutiny. After his brother’s suicide, however, the mantle of power was thrust suddenly on Paul’s unwilling shoulders. Despite his attempts to refuse election to the Presidency, members of the High Council eventually persuaded him that to shirk his duty would threaten the security of the Federated Suns.

Clothes Make The Man

When I met Paul Davion, he was dressed like an 1820s romantic poet, in brown flannel trousers, white ruffled shirt, brown topcoat, and with a red ascot that set off his swirl of soon-to be-receding brown hair. This was a far cry from the standard blue, gray, or white suits and brightly colored silk shirts that were in style among businessmen in 2376. As I continued to observe President Davion in the following years, I was sometimes amazed to see him address the Council wearing garments ranging from bucklers with sashes to leather jerkins and peach-colored weskits. (He once asked me in private what I thought of a red tie that he wished to wear to a diplomatic function. On my advice, he decided against—possibly my best contribution to haute couture in the Crucis March.)

I hate to admit it, but there were times when he showed a real fashion flair that might have been impressive if more in step with the times.

—From Upstairs and Downstairs: My Life as Paul Davion’s Valet, by Lorne Raskiewski, Scandalmonger Press, 2408

A Noble Effort

Eccentric in speech, dress, and behavior, Paul Davion was not a figure to inspire confidence among his new subjects. What he lacked in manners and breeding, he made up for with energy, goodwill, and determination. The men who had sought a puppet were startled to find that they had selected a leader with ideas of his own and the commitment to seeing them realized. Paul might have been a bit eccentric, but his peculiarities were minor and did not interfere with his work. Indeed, under Paul Davion, the Federated Suns quickly recovered from the Etien years. He promoted economic reforms that bolstered the faltering economy, helped to restore House Davion prestige, and waged a short but successful campaign on the frontier to keep the Capellans from growing too cocky.

The new Davion ruler was a master at delegating authority, which made the Federated Suns bureaucracy even stronger than in past reigns. The Council, meanwhile, lost more of its power because of the creation of several extraordinary commissions that were given far reaching powers in a limited sphere of responsibility. This latter practice proved so useful that many future Davion leaders would continue to appoint such commissions. Though Paul often had to oversee his government from a sickbed, he did more in one year then Etien had managed in eight. In 2378, Paul Davion married Marge Svensdottar of Arcadia, uniting the ruling houses of two key worlds in the federation. Later that year, their only child, Simon Davion, was born. With Simon added to Etien’s twin sons, House Davion succession was more secure than ever.

Paul’s reign was peaceful, with only a few minor skirmishes against the Capellans and a brief confrontation with the Terran Hegemony over trading rights in 2383. To settle that matter, Paul appointed Marion Davion as his deputy, and dispatched her to Terra to carry out negotiations. She was so successful that her position was made permanent in 2385, much to the dismay of Etien’s sons and their ambitious mother, Marion Michaels-Davion.

Nine years later, when a real illness finally carried off the man who had struggled so long against illusory ones, Marie stepped into his shoes. She was now 46 years old and a seasoned administrator, diplomat, and soldier. No one would ever accuse her of being a figurehead, and her reign would carry on all the positive accomplishments that Paul had striven to achieve.

Maiden Aunt

Our worlds don’t need a brilliant general or a zealous reformer. What we need today is the patient watchfulness of a maiden aunt, and who better than I to fill that need?

—Marie Davion, from a speech to the High Council, 2394

Of all the Davions who held power between the time of Reynard and Simon, Marie Davion was the soundest in mind, training, and experience. Ten years younger then her brother Etien, Marie had been her father’s darling. Etien had always resented her charm and popularity, and so had kept her far from New Avalon on military postings during his reign. When Paul took power, he recalled Marie. In time, she became the frail Paul’s assistant and confidante. From 2390 on, as Paul’s health took a real turn for the worse, Marie Davion was virtual ruler of the Federated Suns and New Avalon.

As Paul’s appointed deputy, Marie stepped into total control upon his death in 2394. Marion Michaels-Davion, ex-wife of Etien and mother of his twin sons, claimed that her children were the legitimate heirs to Davion power, but the High Council was unwilling to depose the experienced Marie in favor of the inexperienced sons of an unstable tyrant. Marion did wield just enough influence to force Marie to name her sons as principal heirs until the majority of Simon, Paul Davion’s teenage son. Marie agreed to have Edmund, the elder twin, placed in an intensive training program to prepare him for a government post. Her hope, though, was to remain in power long enough to ensure that Simon followed her as President. Unfortunately, that was a futile dream.

Marie’s eight-year reign was uneventful except for one domestic development and one of interstellar importance. The internal matter concerned the passage of a law that made the Prime Ministry of New Avalon a hereditary position. Henceforth, the ruling Prime Minister could freely appoint a successor without even the formality of First Family approval. Though the law merely formalized a long-established practice, it legally bolstered the future of House Davion on their home planet. From this point on, the Davions came to regard New Avalon as their personal domain, and use of the titi( of Prime Minster would gradually fade away.

In 2398, the second major event took place, with repercussions in the Federated Suns and in the other regions of the Inner Sphere. This year marked the start of the Age of War among the various governments in Human space. What had begun as a border dispute between the Capellan Confederation and the Free Worlds League erupted into open warfare, the first such war in over a century. Soon the whole Inner Sphere was engulfed in savage conflicts, as dozens of bloody wars were fought over frontier worlds for the next 14 years.

Although Marie Davion tried to keep the Federated Suns out of the fray, an attack on Novaya Zemlya by Capellan space forces in 2399 reignited the smoldering hatred between the two governments. The Novaya Zemlya incident was also noteworthy as the first time that a fleet of heavily armed spaceships had bombarded a world from orbit. The Capellan attack wiped out roughly 75 percent of the planet’s population and crippled industrial and agricultural centers for centuries to come. The Federated Suns immediately began a crash program to build ships while keeping up more conventional FPF assaults along the Capellan frontier to tie down the opposition and prevent additional deep-penetration attacks.

Soon after the Novaya Zemlya affair, Marie Davion suffered a series of strokes and died at age 54. Rumors that her death certificate had been faked to hide poisoning were never proven, but we must note that Simon Davion was but 24 when she died, with his training in governmental affairs only barely begun. Given the military and political situation of the time, the selection of Edmund Davion as the new President was almost inevitable. A few more years might have made all the difference to the history of the Federated Suns.

Twin Tyrants

It is intolerable that the High Council should be dissolved on this flimsy pretext. We will not accept such a measure, and would sooner put an end to this sham of federation than to our ability to represent the views of our people in the Council forum.

—Richard Emerson Caldwell, Delegate from El Dorado, from a speech to the High Council, 2417

Etien Davion’s twins were 40 years old when their aunt died. Born to luxury, they had been raised mostly by their indulgent, ambitious mother, who saw them as her personal ticket to power. That they were unmarried and childless was partly due to Marion’s efforts to keep them free for a political alliance, and partly due to their personalities.

Edmund was the elder of the twins, and his character was probably the more admirable. Though a weak-willed man, especially where his mother and brother were concerned, he managed to keep his vices private enough that they harmed no one else. Like his father, Edmund suffered f rom severe bouts of depression that interfered with his judgement and ability. Where Etien had tended to give in to angry moods, Edmund’s response was to withdraw and sulk. Marion began to groom him from an early age as the Davion heir, knowing how easily she could control him. After Marie’s death, Marion’s plans seemed to be proceeding smoothly.

The younger twin, Edward, was a different sort. Manipulative and cunning, he fancied himself a schemer with a talent for intrigue. In this way, he resembled his mother, though he lacked the intelligence that made her a political force under Paul and Marie. Most people saw through Edward, though Edmund never did realize that his twin brother was using him. Between mother and brother, however, Edmund Davion had little chance to make his own decisions.

Under his mother’s influence, Edmund’s reign began well enough. Marion Michaels-Davion was ambitious, but she was also a good, if uncompromising, decision-maker. Through her son, she implemented a number of reforms that further decreased the power of the High Council while totally eliminating First Family influence on New Avalon. The Avalonians welcomed the reforms when it became clear that the the First Families, though shorn of local power, were on their way to becoming an interstellar aristocracy within the Federated Suns.

Meanwhile, Paul Davion’s example of using extraordinary commissions made up of High Council delegates was expanded and regularized, though few realized that these were actually advisory and administrative bodies rather than actual decision making groups. Marion’s deft manipulation molded a monarchy that lacked only one thing-the titular royalty that would proclaim the monarchy to all.

When Marion died in 241 0, her work was only partially complete. Perhaps her greatest disappointment was that Edmund, a suspected homosexual, never gave in to her repeated requests to establish a family. His show-marriage to the daughter of the Chief Councillor of Palmyra was a complete failure. It was later proven that a daughter born to the marriage had been sired by the Commander of the Presidential Honor Guard.

Marion died knowing that the family fortunes would rest with Edward, whom she understood all too well, or perhaps with Simon Davion, Paul’s son. From her deathbed, she implored Edward to see to it that her own blood remained in power after Edmund was gone, and this suited the younger twin’s ambitions perfectly. His recent marriage to a prominent Arcadian socialite had already been blessed by a son, Arthur, whom Edward fully intended to see seated on the Presidential dais one day.

After Marion’s death, Edward became the eminence grise of his brother’s reign. At Edward’s suggestion, Edmund began to institute further reforms that were neither as subtle nor as practical as those of his mother. Most notorious were a series of acts that placed House Davion entirely outside the laws of their planet and the Federated Suns as a whole. In the meantime, both twins became increasingly attached, like their father before them, to the trappings and pleasures of power. Before Edmund’s death in 2415, the twins had twice dissolved the High Council for insulting behavior to their masters, then reconvened it with new delegates to approve so ‘ me laws that the twins had requested. Government within the Federated Suns was deteriorating. Even the farthest planets were beginning to feel the effects of whimsical taxes and pointless construction projects.

The Ares Summit

In 2412, Chancellor Aleisha Liao of the Capellan Confederation invited the twin rulers to an extraordinary summit meeting to discuss limitations on the excesses of warfare between the ten rival states of the Inner Sphere.

Though the Davion twins did not think much of the proposal, they sent a delegate from House Davion to the Ares Convention to advance their own public image. “Send a fool on a fool’s errand” was Edward’s pronouncement. They chose Simon Davion as their special envoy, and gave him negotiating power. At the time of his journey to Ares, Simon was 34, and his wide eyes and shock of tousled hair belied his political practicality and courage. He was ready and willing to represent the best interests of a government whose leaders did not care.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Aleisha Liao convened the Ares Convention after atrocities in the Tintavel system left thousands of civilians dead. The Convention was held on the Liao world of Ares; Aleisha Liao could not possibly have been ignorant of the irony of holding a peace conference on a world named after the Greek god of war.]

The Ares Conventions were designed to limit the ravages of interstellar warfare. The accords specifically outlawed the use of nuclear weapons and the strategy of orbital bombardments of planetary targets, restricted the ability of military forces to wage war against strictly civilian targets, and set up a commission representing each of the major powers to look into possible violations of the Conventions. Any such violation would be reported to each signatory state. The unwritten but well-understood corollary was that the other governments would take united action against the violator, regardless of current political differences.

In the words of the immortal Blake, “only the Ares Conventions and its strict codes of battlefield honor saved Man from himself. Yet, these same codes also fostered the use of war to resolve every disagreement. Not since the height of the almost forgotten Terran Roman Empire had man fought so much for so little reason.”

Simon Davion signed the Ares Conventions on behalf of the Federated Suns. Although Edmund Davion refused to ratify it, the High Council defiantly voted to accept the accord, which prompted Edmund to disband it. For the next five years, it was uncertain whether the Federated Suns would adhere to this document, but Simon would ultimately see to its ratification. His attendance at the Ares meetings was the first flagstone on his road to power.

Edmund Davion died in 2415, leaving his wife’s ten-year-old daughter and his brother Edward as the two closest heirs to the Davion throne. Edward moved quickly to eliminate opposition, convening a trial on grounds of high treason against Edmund’s wife and her lover. Both were found guilty and executed. The daughter, Judith Davion, was quietly taken out of the public eye and then strangled by one of Edward’s bodyguards. Simon escaped the purge by being away from the capital in military service on the Capellan March, but Edward sent orders to Simon’s commanding officer to have his cousin killed. That officer, however, was one of the hundreds who had suffered humiliation at the hands of the two tyrants, and so he quietly made certain that the order was never recorded. He did let Simon know what was in store for him if he returned to the capital.

A Failure To Communicate

lt was a tense situation when Major Davion reported to my office. I had been trying to figure out the best way to break it to him that his own cousin had ordered his death.

He stood before me and saluted, reciting the formula about reporting as ordered. I stood up, walked around my desk, and handed him the order. His face turned pale, then red, then Simon Davion looked at me without a word. I could not return his gaze.

Finally, he said, “Well, sir?”

I sighed heavily, searching for the right words. “Well, Major, I guess we’re just going to have to do something to upgrade our communications system. This is the fourth message this month that’s been garbled in transmission.”

Checking back later, I found that Corporal Stevens, who had received the message, had not recorded it. He admitted that some instinct had kept him from doing so. At my earliest convenience, I recommended Corporal Stevens for the Silver Starburst for his quick thinking under pressure.

—Colonel R. Radwell Chung, unpublished diary, ca. 2443

Death Of A Tyrant

Edward continued down the road to absolute power. The Presidential bodyguard, already strong during his brother’s reign, now swelled even larger. He had already begun to build a secret police network prior to Edmund’s death, and this too increased in size and power. Where his predecessor had been arbitrary and whimsical, Edward was ruthless and greedy. His ambitions clearly included the elimination of the entire High Council in favor of an absolute monarchy. For once, the delegates saw that threat and also managed to respond to it. The result was the so-called November Conspiracy that nearly tore the Federated Suns apart.

The Conspiracy was a widespread movement among the High Council representatives to pull out of the Federation and to demand independence from New Avalon. The leaders of the planets Augusta, Arcadia, Friesland, and El Dorado were at the heart of the plot, which was to begin when the High Council disbanded for three months starting in November 2417. FPF troops loyal to the conspirators were to seize and destroy the deep space stations guarding New Avalon’s jump points, overwhelm any JumpShips in the system, and blockade the system until the conspirators could proclaim the secession. The plotters rejected the option of assassinating Edward Davion, fearing that the Presidential Guard and the secret police would became too powerful.

Three days before the Council was scheduled to end the 2417 session, Simon Davion arrived home on New Avalon. He brought with him dispatches proclaiming that the FPF had annexed the planet Jaipur on the Capellan frontier, with a recommendation for his decoration and promotion. Though Simon knew of Edward’s plans to murder him, he returned home at his own request. As he had followed a most circuitous route toward New Avalon, perhaps he had been busy rounding up support before appearing at the capital. When he did arrive, the Council welcomed him with public displays that made it impractical for Edward to arrest him.

Soon after his arrival, Simon attended a full meeting of the High Council. The moment that Edward appeared, Simon snatched a handgun from one of the Presidential Guard-no doubt a confederate who had infiltrated the ranks of the corps and took five shots at the President, killing him instantly. Simon then threw down his weapon and put himself at the mercy of the High Council, requesting a trial for his actions. Simon and the delegates orchestrated the event so smoothly that the Presidential bodyguard was forced to accept Simon’s surrender rather then avenging their leader on the spot. Showing the shrewd political instincts of many of his forebears, Simon would not only avoid punishment but would emerge as the new ruler of the Federated Suns.

It had been a period of fear and turmoil. Three of the five Davion rulers between the time of Reynard and Simon had been emotionally or mentally unstable. Even under Paul and Marie, there had been a general movement toward absolutism that could not be reversed. From a cooperative association of worlds, the Federated Suns was gradually becoming an increasingly monolithic, dictatorial state. Yet, at this moment, the Davion family was very much in danger of losing its hold entirely. Only the astute maneuverings of Simon Davion would keep the Federated Suns and House Davion united and strong.

November Conspiracy

There have been many allegations that Simon Davion’s assassination of his cousin Edward was part and parcel of the so-called “November Conspiracy,” and a mere sham arranged and carried out strictly to protect the conspirator from the consequences of the killing. Records of that period are extremely confused. Indeed, most have been lost, thanks to Simon’s deliberate purge of Secret Police files and other documents during the Amnesty of 2418. Though the truth can now be known, Davion’s behavior before, during, and after the incident strongly suggests that he was in collusion with members of the High Council. Whether he was actually involved in the entire November Conspiracy or acted to offer an alternative to it remains a key question.

Simon Davion’s whole reputation was founded on claims that he knew of the conspiracy and eventually took matters into his own hands to avoid the inevitable, crippling civil war. His speeches, coins, and other propaganda endlessly echoed the selflessness of his act, that he had risked his own life and liberty to end the rule of a tyrant without the necessity of rebellion and war. If, indeed, Simon’s action was part of a prearranged plot, it would mean that he was as cunning a schemer as any Robert, Adam, or Charles Davion. Though the official biographies portray him as “the second Lucien,” it may be more accurate that Simon was motivated by simple ambition, making him no better than Edward himself. Yet Edward was reviled as a tyrant, while Simon became one of House Davion’s four most revered leaders.

Most historians are inclined to doubt that Simon orchestrated the entire affair. The November Conspiracy did not require so risky an act as the outright assassination of Edward Davion right under the guns of his personal bodyguard. It was too well-planned as a secession movement to require such a gamble. More probably, Simon Davion was already planning an assassination, whether from the pure motives he claimed, or because he knew that otherwise Edward would kill him first.

It must have been during his voyage home that Simon learned of the Novemberist plot. The preparations underway at key worlds on his route would have been unmistakable to a man of his intelligence. He may well have rerouted his voyage after uncovering the plot, both to confirm it and to allow messages enough time to reach delegates on the High Council with suggestions that all cooperate. 11 is most likely that the assassination plot remained wholly Simon’s throughout.

The question of who was using whom during the crucial days before Edward died leads to another tangled web. The High Council must have known that the welcome they extended to Simon would have major repercussions later. Did the conspirators act from a well-prepared script, or was their move a spontaneous attempt to force Edward to take some final action that would justify their secession? Was Simon Davion in on their plans, directing events on his own, or filling the role of a Judas goat to draw Edward into the last fatal outburst of his reign? And who in the Council Chamber knew that Simon Davion was going to shoot the President when he appeared that day?

The guard who provided Simon’s weapon was killed in a fire before he could swear out a statement, but no one knows if his death was a convenient coincidence or perhaps part of a fullscale coverup. The guard had known links with Simon, but one of his cousins was a staff member on the Judicial Commission headed up by the Voice of Parma, a member of the inner circie of conspirators. Simon’s father-in-law, Richard Caldwell, was another. It was Caldwell who saved Simon by his quick response after the assassination and Davion’s surrender to the Council. The circumstantial evidence favoring collusion is formidable, but by no means conclusive.

The Forgotten Davion

Amid the twists and turns of capital politics after the death of Edward Davion, historians tend to lose sight of one member of House Davion who was the most innocent victim of the family’s intrigues and deceptions. This was Arthur Davion, son and heir of Edward, who was not yet seven years old when his father was cut down in the Council Chamber at the hands of his cousin.

Edward Davion had enjoyed a considerable reputation as a rake and a rogue. it was once said that he had slept with the wife and daughter of every prominent figure in Federated Suns politics. (The same wag went on to add that Edmund had also slept with all their husbands and sons). Almost everyone in the capital was surprised when Edward married Rachel Masters, daughter of High Council delegate Virgil Masters of Numenor, in 2309. Only Marion Michaels-Davion, Edward’s mother, seemed to take it in stride. Her comment was, “That boy would have married a tree slug if he thought it would secure his inheritance.” Edward openly referred to Rachel as “my senior wife” and continued to flaunt his affairs without a hint of concern for public opinion. From this union came a son, Arthur, just one month before Rachel Masters’ death. Unlike Edmund’s supposed daughter, there was no doubt of paternity. Arthur was the only acknowledged child out of perhaps a score that Edward was said to have sired.

After Edward’s death, young Arthur was closest in line for the family succession. The High Council wanted no part of Edward’s bloodline, however, nor was there a precedent for a minor becoming President of the Federated Suns. Thus did the Council eventually turn to Simon to carry on the Davion succession. Simon originally vowed that Arthur would inherit the Presidency after him, though he already had one son and there would be two more before the end of the decade.

Some have been surprised that Simon did not execute Arthur, but took the risk of allowing him to reach an age and a position to assert his claims-and his vengeance-against the man who had destroyed his father. Perhaps Simon was a good enough judge of character to realize that he could eventually win Arthur’s loyalty, or he simply may have been confident enough of the political system he was already reinforcing.

In any event, Arthur Davion never posed a threat to Simon. In 2428, Arthur entered military service as an officer of the newly organized Combat Marines and served with distinction on both the Terran and Capellan frontiers. In 2447, he died in battle, holding the rank of Major and commanding a battalion during the rebellion on Alsek. His last words were reputed to have been, “Perhaps now they’ll forget what my father did to them.”

History would prove that hope to be vain, however. Edward would go down in history as a dangerous enemy of freedom, while Major Arthur Davion, hero of Alsek, would be no more than an obscure, half-forgotten footnote in the family annals. He never married, perhaps to reassure Simon that he harbored no plans to found his own disputing line of the dynasty. Though forgotten by time, Arthur Davion seems to have been a direct contrast to his father-a man of high character who deserved to rule, but was cheated of his right by an accident of history.

—From A Bloody Nightmare: The Reign of Edward Davion, by C.G. Green, Remagen Press, 2502

Principality

The 25th Century began in tyranny and the threat of civil war between the Davion family and the rest of the Federated Suns. It ended in a different form of tyranny and the threat of a war among the Davions. Between the accession of Simon and the rebellion of Alexander, however, there came a brief Golden Age, when a new order bound together the Crucis worlds. For a few short decades, Lucien Davion’s dream of a cooperative federation became a reality. It is one of the great ironies of history that Lucien’s democratic ideals came closest to fulfilment only after his descendant Simon forged a hereditary aristocracy to reign over the Federated Suns.

—From The First Princes, by Lydia Marsovich, TellerBurrows Corp., 3023

For three weeks in November 2417, the Federated Suns was without a President. The assassination of Edward Davion may have ended the plan for massive secession by dissident planetary governments, but nothing else had changed. Fifteen years of rule by Etien’s sons had left a sour taste with the High Council representatives. Many believed that Lucien’s dream had failed, and that House Davion was finally in ruins.

It was the same man whose desperate act had struck down Edward who would step forward with a solution to the crisis, renewing not only the Federated Suns but also the fortunes of his family. Simon Davion and his descendants were destined to take up Lucien’s mantle and rekindle the spirit that had carried the Federated Suns to greatness. In the end, Simon would be remembered as one of House Davion’s greatest leaders.

Time Of Crisis

No one man can govern so vast a realm, even if that man is genius, saint, and hero all at once. And when a man of inferior or even ordinary abilities tries to exercise power over so many worlds and so many billions of people, the result is the tyranny, chaos, ignorance, greed, or hatred that we have already seen too often. Some like to hark back to the creed of the 20th century, proclaiming that all democracies are inherently good and all aristocratic oligarchies inherently evil. It is my belief, however, that only a stable aristocracy exercising authority over manageable areas of our Federated Suns can hope to blend the decisiveness of central rule with flexibility and freedom. It is not the system of government that will be good or bad, but rather the people who wield power within it. Did not my late, unlamented cousins take supreme power on the basis of a system that grew out of a democratic form of government?

—Simon Davion, from a speech to the High Council, 2417

Simon Davion faced an uncertain future in the days that followed the death of his cousin Edward. Those who had supported the fallen President-sycophants, loyal soldiers, and the uninformed masses-wanted to see Simon executed and Edward’s son Arthur primed for the Presidency under the guidance of some experienced regent. A second group applauded Simon’s actions but looked to the High Council to provide leadership from outside the Davion family, which they believed was now thoroughly discredited. This group saw the fall of House Davion as the ideal chance to restructure power and authority in the Federated Suns, though they lacked unity on one crucial issue. Who would rule once the Davions were no longer in the picture? Very few believed that Simon Davion would dare to lay claim to leadership of the Federated Suns.

In their plans to overthrow Edward Davion, the November Conspiracy had never entirely come to grips with the question of a successor. During those uncertain three weeks of 2417, the Novembrists were only one of the many different groups prepared to advance rival claimants. The members of the High Council knew that they must find a workable compromise that would satisfy the majority of these disparate parties, or else face an internal crisis that would tear the Federated Suns apart. There was also the constant spectre of war on several fronts, be it with the Terrans, the Capellans, or the Draconians.

Simon Davion saw the solution as well as the problem, and within those few weeks’ time, he had won enough support for his plan that civil war was averted. His compromise plan would change the character of the realm forever. Though a far cry from Lucien’s idealism, it was an act of sheer genius that may been the only solution to the crisis his family and his state faced.

To reconcile the demands of the various rival factions within the federation, Simon proposed to decentralize government by creating a new level of authority that would exercise local control over groups of star systems. Where each world had previously had one voice in the High Council, the new system would establish administrative units within the federation that would be answerable to the High Council, while retaining significant autonomy in matters of internal trade, defense, and so on. On one hand, the High Council would represent the will of individual member planets and would control appointments to the administrative subdivisions. Balanced against this would be smaller, interstellar governorships whose local power structures would act as a check on the federation government.

While Simon was busy lobbying for his compromise, his supporters were busy building sympathy for his cause through any propaganda means available to them. Simon had, after all, murdered his cousin, and must stand trial for it. He already had the sympathy of many High Council members, however, who believed that the Federated Suns was well rid of Edward Davion. In the course of a dramatic and highly publicized trial, Simon Davion became a folk hero on New Avalon and then throughout the Federated Suns as coverage filtered outward.

The people learned the facts about Edward Davion’s nature and his excesses. The defense lawyers also managed to insert most of the more heroic details of Simon’s background into the record, including his brilliant handling of the Ares Convention summit, his fine military record, and testimonials by Paul and Marie predicting that Edmund and Edward were far less suitable candidates for Presidential power than young Simon. In the end, the judge found Simon Davion guilty of justifiable homicide, but suspended his sentence on grounds that he had acted for the greater good of the Federated Suns.

A New Order

Absolved of his guilt and with his record as a diplomat and a soldier fresh in everyone’s mind, Simon was ready to push his program for reform. He and his supporters continued to win support in the High Council as the representatives realized how much they stood to gain under the proposed new system. In all his discussions and meetings, Simon was careful to emphasize that the plan did not create any special role for himself or his family.

He understood better then anyone that the essentially democratic basis of the Federated Suns had to be abandoned. In practice, the concept of rule by a Council and its President was already a dead letter. Council members could not possibly represent their worlds effectively across interstellar distances, and the President’s powers had become virtually unlimited. Simon’s program would sweep aside the useless, outworn trappings of democratic rule. This reasoning led to the creation of an aristocracy within the Federated Suns and to a decline in the importance of the Council and the Presidency.

The new aristocracy was not, initially, a hereditary one. Rather, it was established through appointment by the High Council. The system would last, in one form or another, for nearly four hundred years. Only then would a remote descendant of Simon’s begin to issue patents of nobility in his own name and without need of a vote by the Council to back him up.

The Federated Suns aristocracy would be composed of a six tiered structure that allowed for numerous, small administrative districts with considerable local authority and a well-developed chain of command. The realm would be divided into five Principalities: the Capellan March, the Terran March, the Draconis March, the Crucis March, and the Outer March. Each Principality was further subdivided into Duchies, Margraves, Counties, and Baronies, usually on the basis of population rather than territory.

The High Council remained, but it would be modified in both composition and duties. Instead of its members being elected or appointed representatives of the various member-world governments, they would now be actual rulers of the member planets, and automatically granted titles of Marquess or Duke. The High Council would no longer have any true governmental function beyond the assignment of titles and as a forum of general discussion. The Princes of the five Principalities would hold co-equal powers, and within their own territories at least, were not answerable to any other. The Dukes and Marquesses on the High Council could (and frequently did) appeal to the other members of the Council to remove an unfit regional Prince, and their combined powers were sufficient to ensure that it happened with a minimum of difficulty.

This was a good system of checks and balances, but it would need some degree of centralization to keep the Federated Suns from becoming five totally independent states. Council member Richard Caldwell, Simon’s father-in-law, introduced an amendment that established precedence among the five Princes. The First Prince of the Federated Suns would be the Prince of the Crucis March. It would be his job to carry out the federation-wide duties previously part of the President’s role.

Now there remained only one task in redesigning the power structure of the Federated Suns-that of appointing the nobles. Among these, selection of the First Prince was the most crucial. Finding a leader from the Crucis March region acceptable to all the factions vying for power promised to be a difficult, perhaps even a dangerous, process. Some proposed Richard Caldwell, but he lacked the kind of strong personal following that would guarantee unanimous acceptance. Caldwell himself acknowledged this fact, and proposed the obvious alternative. He named Simon Davion as his choice for First Prince of the Federated Suns and Prince of the Crucis March. Though his nomination sparked a debate that lasted for three days and nights and threatened to erupt into outright violence, it eventually became clear that only a Davion of Simon’s obvious ability and integrity could weld together the realm’s many warring factions.

Debate Proceedings

MR. RODGERS: Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to remind the distinguished members of this body that my distinguished colleague Mr. Roberge is a charlatan and a pissant….

MR. ROBERGE: I respectfully take exception to the distinguished delegate from New Syrtis’s characterization of me, not to mention the exception I take to his character.

MS. TARKOVSKY (presiding): Gentlemen, you are both out of order!

MR. GOLDEN: Better than being out of your mind, like these two twits.

MS. TARKOVSKY: Order!

MR. ROBERGE: Madame Chairman, may I have the floor?

MS. TARKOVSKY: Chair recognizes the charming and distinguished delegate from McHenry.

MR. ROBERGE: If the accomplished and elegant delegate from New Syrtis would care to take this discussion outside, I will demonstrate that a sybaritic oaf like him cannot prevent the delegate from McHenry from personally punching him halfway from here to New Year’s Eve.

MS. TARKOVSKY: Order! Order!

MS. CHEN (TO MR. GIULINI): If they do it, I’ll put 20 D-Bills on the little guy.

—From High Council Parliamentary Record, Official Transcript of 14 March 2417

The First Prince

It may seem incredible that a self-confessed murderer on trial only a month before could become the foremost figure in a powerful interstellar realm. It is even more amazing that he was now named Prince by the same people who had witnessed Edward’s assassination and in the same chamber where it had taken place.

Although Simon did not officially take up the reins of power until March of 2418, historians always date his rule from the previous November. His reign as First Prince was largely anticlimactic after the drama of his accession. For the most part, Simon spent his 40 years in power trying to implement the reorganization of the federation as thoroughly and peacefully as possible.

The only blight on his record occurred within the first months of his reign, when tension between the Federated Suns and the Capellan Confederation escalated to new heights. The Capellans had suffered major losses along their frontiers, and Chancellor Arden Baxter thought that the political turmoil in the Federated Suns was the ideal opportunity to win territorial concessions to balance some of the losses. When Davion refused these demands, Baxter retaliated by refusing to recognize the new Federated Suns government. Fighting erupted anew along the Capellan March, only further intensifying the bitter hatred that has marked relations between the two states through the centuries.

For some time, the Federated Suns had also been anticipating a Terran attack on their borders. When it finally came, it proved to be the major military conflict of Simon’s reign. In 2431 , Terran Hegemony forces won a decisive victory against the Federated Suns on Kentares IV in the Terran March. For the next eight years, the Prince of the March was unable to mount an effective counterattack. By the time he called upon First Prince Davion and the other Princes for aid, it was too late.

By 2439, the Hegemony had begun to field the first BattleMechs, and those awesome machines had made the Terran forces invincible. Afterthe Hegemony captured Kentares, several other planets along the frontier quickly saw the wisdom of seceding from the Federated Suns and placing themselves under Terran protection. Meanwhile, the other states of the Inner Sphere were having their own problems against Terra’s BattleMechs. As the century wore on, Terran leaders used the power of their armed forces to provide a balance in the ongoing Age of War. The role they sought and gradually won was that of mediator, rather than conqueror.

The deployment of these giant, man-shaped machines on the battlefield reinforced the Ares Conventions. Highly skilled warriors piloting the 12-meter high ‘Mechs could fight complete battles in a small area, reducing the risk to civilian populations. Yet even the use of BattleMech did not help make any of the battles of this era truly decisive. Most conflicts established temporary control over a small territory, and dominion could be challenged at any time by another small battle force.

Simon Davion’s last act as First Prince of the Federated Suns was to approve a massive payment to the Lyran Commonwealth to purchase the most important military secret of the age. Two years before, in 2455, Lyran commandos had raided a Terran ‘Mech production facility and stolen complete details on the processes of ‘Mech manufacture and operation. After Davion’s efficient foreign intelligence network got wind of the coup, he began to negotiate with the Lyrans to part with the data. It took two years, but the Lyrans eventually agreed that the best way to contain the Hegemony was to arm all its neighbors with the new ‘Mechs. Of course, the Commonwealth leaders demanded a steep price for their “cooperation. “ Shortly after approving the final payment schedule that would unlock the secrets of the new technology, Simon Davion suffered a stroke and fell into a coma. He died a week later without regaining consciousness.

Military Security

Theoretically, there were three different layers of security at our ‘Mech factories: armed guards patrolling the perimeters, a militia unit inside the electrified fences, and heavily armed elite special forces stationed at strategic points in the factory itself. There were three armored gates at each entrance, with the guards supposed to be checking the workers’ IDs. There were also antiaircraft guns on the roof of each factory and more of the same inside the fences on either side of the buildings. Each of the other Houses had similar high-profile security measures at their ‘Mech plants. Despite the security, however, agents of each Great House were able to steal some of the ‘Mech designs of the others.

Several Davion guards were disciplined after the blueprints for an experimental ‘Mech design were stolen, but the fact that the guards had been playing cards on duty and allowing the factory workers to call them by their first names was not the point. In the early days of ‘Mech design and production, there was little need for either commando raids, much less full-scale military action, to breach the security of a ‘Mech factory. Industrial espionage was so much easier to arrange because workers in the ‘Mech factories were underpaid. No matter what the threat of punishment, there was always some worker willing to take the risks for the sake of bettering his family’s lot or getting revenge against a hated supervisor.

We can infer from this that military secrets are not only the most difficult to keep, but that it becomes even more so when individuals have any pressing personal motivation to break faith with their leaders.

—From Commission on State Security Report to the High Council, 2463. Government Printing House Document 153145.88, New Avalon.

The Black Prince

You call that lecherous pig a Prince! He’s nothing but a dog, and I’d trade my life to see him dead before I’d see him hurt others the way he hurt my Cynthia.

—Raymond Sinclair, from a speech before the New Avalon High Court, 2467

Simon Davion had three children by Elizabeth Caldwell. The eldest son, James, was born before his father became First Prince, and was thirteen years older than the next child. Growing up like an only child and as the son of a noble, young James was as spoiled as Edmund or Edward had been. This made him a dangerous liability to a politician still struggling to erase the stains on the Davion name and prestige. By the time Simon died, however, James was 42 years old, and seemed to have matured enough to take up his father’s work.

Though James Davion won the High Council’s approval to inherit the Crucis March Principality, he was not what he appeared to be. James had always been unhappy in his marriage to Janet Solway, daughter of the Marquess of Glenmora, which Simon had arranged to suit his political needs. Though the match had produced a son, the child died in infancy. After that, the last tenuous thread holding the marriage together snapped. James and Janet were never divorced, but James became a husband in name only-and then only when the two were in the public eye. He began a series of secret extramarital liaisons, which he flaunted more and more openly, after his accession believing himself above the laws of either planet or federation.

Despite his indiscreet and profligate pursuit of the opposite sex, James Davion did prove to be an able ruler, respecting the prerogatives of subordinates and effective in political relations with his peers. That was all that mattered to the nobles of the Principalities, who merely shrugged off rumors of the Prince’s infidelities. To the ordinary people of the Crucis March worlds, however, the reports of the Prince’s conduct were scandalous.

Under James, the federation continued its own indecisive border wars with the Capellan Confederation and the Draconis Combine while internal trade and economic growth flourished within the realm. He also installed the talented but dangerous Richard Varnay in the twin posts of Chancellor of New Avalon and Constable of the Crucis March. Known as “The Black Prince” both for his swarthy skin and for the darker side of his personality, James might well have gone down in history as a great leader of House Davion. His career was cut short, however, when he and several aides were assassinated during a ceremonial procession.

James Davion’s death brought a mixed reaction throughout the Federated Suns. Because of the scandal of his private life, many people were relieved when an assassin’s bullet removed such a man from the throne on New Avalon. At the same time, few could dispute his political talents. At a time when Simon’s new order was still young enough to fracture at the slightest misjudgment of authority or power, James Davion had ruled well. Luckily for House Davion and the people they ruled, the next two Princes in line were equally skilled and effective in guiding the realm.

Lady In The Wheelchair

You say I am a cripple, unable to walk. I say one does not govern a realm from one’s feet. You say I am a woman. I say I am of the same stock as Marie Davion, whom you all claim to revere. You say l am untrained. But who among you, other than those already holding a Princely title. is trained for this position ? My Lords of the Council, I am the sister of James Davion. but I have never been accused of uncontrolled lust. I am the daughter of Simon Davion, but I have never been accused of murder. I will be the aunt of a new Davion heir, one with the training and the legitimacy you claim that I lack. Let me show you that I can fulfill the needs of this high office.

—Ellen Davion, from a speech to the High Council, 2467

AGAINST ALL ODDS

The assassin seeking vengeance against James had nearly extinguished the Davion family. The only survivors were Ellen Davion and Lisa Swerdlow, the pregnant wife of Ellen’s younger brother Roger. For a time, however, it seemed that Ellen would not be chosen heir to the Crucis March or the Federated Suns. Even after a century and a half of Davions in power, there was no formal law guaranteeing the Davion succession. Indeed, under the new order, the High Council could choose some other qualified leader to head the Principality. Fortunately for House Davion, Ellen fought bravely for the title and power of the First Prince.

Her greatest opposition came from the Varnay family, whose importance had grown ever since Prince James installed Richard Varnay in a dual position of power in the Federated Suns government. Ellen and the Varnays waged a bitter war of words over her claim to rulership of the Federated Suns.

The odds were stacked against Ellen Davion, however, She had stayed out of the public eye while her brothers were alive, preferring service as a staff officer along the Draconis March to the political intrigues and dissolute lifestyle of Prince James’s court. Because she lacked either political or governmental training or experience, many believed that she was a poor choice as the realm’s new leader. Moreover, she was confined to a wheelchair because of a crippling injury sustained during the attack that killed James Davion. With the conservative shift of public mores regarding women, some even argued that her sex was yet another weakness that should prevent her ascent to power.

The Varnay faction might have kept Ellen Davion from the succession if Richard Varnay had restrained his own ambitions for even a short time. During the Council debate on the succession question, the most reasonable compromise was the creation of a Regency in favor of Roger Davion’s unborn child, which medical tests had shown to be a son. The three Regents would include Varnay, Ellen Davion, and another influential Councilor. Varnay was stubborn, however, and wished to be named immediately as First Prince, with the power of the office passing into his own family line.

Though the office was not considered hereditary, the force of tradition worked against this distant descendant of New Avalon’s Terran Governor. Many of the more conservative Council members could not bring themselves to break with the past by passing over a Davion heir. Some stories began to circulate suggesting that Richard Varnay had encouraged many of the excesses that marred the reign of Prince James. Labeled a panderer who wished to promote himself by dragging the Davion name through the fflud, Richard Varnay saw much of his support slip away.

The Regency concept lost popularity because a Regency that ignored the Chancellor and Constable would be too weak politically to govern. It had been only 50 years since the last threat of civil war, and many feared that Varnay would take advantage of a weak government to create just such a conflict. Only a Prince could hold together the realm. Though Ellen Davion lacked experience, her promise to lean heavily on Council advice made her candidacy even stronger as Varnay’s cause crumbled.

Ellen Davion was proclaimed Prince two months after the deaths of her brothers, but only with the proviso that the succession would pass to Roger Davion’s child even if Ellen later had a family of her own. In view her age and her handicap, this seemed rather unlikely.

Ellen Davion proved to be one of the most successful rulers the Federated Suns. Common sense, stubborn determination, and a knack for drawing out the best in others helped her to overcome inexperience. Ellen knew how to delegate power without surrendering it, all the while thoroughly educating herself on any subject relevant to shaping policy. All these traits gave the new First Prince a firm grip on the reins of state.

Meanwhile, Ellen Davion’s popularity was growing by leaps and bounds “The Lady in the Wheelchair” became synonymous with courage, willpower, and self-sac throughout the Federated Suns was Ellen who renewed the peer respect for House Davion after the excesses of the Tyrants and the mixed reputations of their successors. Unskilled politically but with an exemplary personal life, she was the antithesis of her father and brother. At that moment in history, it was integrity more than political cunning that was needed to win the hearts of her subjects.

Within five years of her accession, Ellen’s power was strong enough for her to take two measures that, at least for a time, secured the Davion fortunes. First was the removal of Richard Varnay as Chancellor and Constable. In a major gamble, Ellen actually promoted her rival to fill a vacancy in the Capellan March Principality. She also installed many of her own supporters in the area to keep the new Prince under careful scrutiny. Given the importance of the Capellan frontier through modern times, this action would haunt Davion rulers three generations later.

Act Of Succession

In 2473, after a lengthy period of debate, the Council passed the Act of Succession, which gave House Davion permanent tenure over the Crucis March Principality and the title of First Prince of the Federated Suns in perpetuity. Henceforth, the reigning Davion Prince could choose his own successor; otherwise, the succession would pass automatically to the nearest living blood-relative of the last reigning First Prince. Detailed laws of succession were included in the act, starting with the confirmation of Ellen’s fiveyear-old nephew William as the next heir. Also established was a mechanism to create a regency for an underage well as similar provisions to regulate the succession in the other Marches f the Federated Suns.

Though Ellen Davion reigned nearly 30 years after the ouncil passed the Act of Succession, that law was the crowning achievement of her career. Despite the fighting on three frontiers, the years of her rule would one day be regarded as a Golden Age.

By 2500, William Davion was 32 years old, a capable heir with broad military, governmental, and political experience. His son and two daughters secured his family succession, and the heir was popular with aristocracy and common folk alike. Ellen Davion, now 75 and feeling the full weight of her years nd physical disabilities, was making plans to retire in William’s favor. Already she had outlasted two Varnays, Richard and his son Thomas. The 20-year-old David Varnay, Richard’s grandson, was unable to offer serious political opposition even from his Princely position on New Syrtis, and so the Davion throne seemed secure.

Before stepping down, Ellen sent her nephew on a grand tour of the Federated Suns, a two-year journey that her poor health had never allowed her to make. While William traveled, his aunt quietly went about preparing the transfer of power. When he returned early in 2502, all was in readiness. In a dignified ceremony before the Council, Princess Ellen handed over the post that she had fought so hard to win and to uphold for three and a half decades. This historic moment marked the first time that the transfer of Davion power occurred without the death of a ruler, as well as the first time that there were no disputes over the succession.

Ellen Davion lived until 2510, when she died in her sleep at age 85. Known to history as Ellen the Good, she did more then any other Davion between the time of Paul and Alexander to regain her realm’s loyalty and support for House Davion.

Women In The 25th Century

The rise and fall of individual philosophies, religions, and cultural trends did not leave many marks on the tapestry of Davion history. The NeoBaroque style of art, architecture, and music of the late 24th century meant little to the politics of the time; neither did the general collapse and rebirth of Catholicism in the same period. One of the few trends that was crucial, however, was the changing role of women between 2400 and 2500.

Marie Davion, President and Prime Minister of the Federated Suns from 2371 to 2417, was her people’s ideal of late 24th century womanhood. She had taken over from her reclusive brother Paul as leader of an interstellar community, watching over it like a maiden aunt, until the new generation was ready to take up the reins of power. Like most women of her day, she had equal opportunities with men. Indeed, she was far better qualified than Paul to rule the Federated Suns.

Within the next 50 years, however, the status of woman changed drastically. By 2450, woman’s main role had degenerated to that of caring for husbands and children. In an edict passed by James Davion, females were forbidden to serve in any of the purely combat arms of the Federated Suns military, though they might serve as staff officers and other support personnel. A widely circulated study purported to “prove” that women were unable to use neurohelmets to control ‘Mechs because of a deep-seated psychological resistance to union of the feminine mind with any outside force. As in an earlier, less enlightened period of Human history, women were defined as the weaker sex, with more and more educational or career opportunities denied them.

When Ellen Davion ascended to the post of First Prince in 2467, the trend began to reverse itself. Though Ellen came to the job ill-prepared, she rose to meet the challenge in exemplary fashion. Under her guidance, the role of women shifted back to what it had been under Marie. She reversed several laws that excluded her sex from military and other opportunities, and funded independent research that disproved the previous “studies” on the innate inferiority of women. If anything, the new evidence demonstrated that certain feminine characteristics actually enhanced the effective use of neurohelmets. As a result of Ellen Davion’s influence and good example, two of her grand-nieces would one day seek to grasp the ring of power for themselves.

—From The Changing Role of Women, by Frieda du Quoy, Sargasso Press, 2602

William The Fair

He is a man of sound character, honest, and trained to serve the people. You have heard of his exploits on the Draconis frontier, as you have heard of his good work in a dozen embassies and missions on my behalf. When I promised this august body that he would be my heir, no one knew what kind of man we had chosen. By the Grace of God, we could not have chosen better.

—Ellen Davion, from a speech before the High Council, 2502

The millennium’s midpoint was a transitional era throughout the Human Sphere. The Rim Worlds Republic became a hereditary fiefdom of House Amaris in 2488. The extraordinary Siriwan McAllister, who would change the course of Kuritan history, was born in 2496. In 2501, the erratic Margaret Olsen succeeded the Lyran Commonwealth’s competent Steven Steiner as Archon. The first decade of the new century saw the propagation of Kalvar Lorix’s Creed, which would serve as a code of honor first for the MechWarriors of House Liao, then for ‘Mech pilots everywhere. Meanwhile, the redoubtable Albert Marik was being groomed for leadership of the Free Worlds League.

In the midst of all this, Ellen’s successor came to the Davion throne in 2502 fully qualified to rule, with an honest character and a depth of experience that made him the most qualified Davion since Reynard. While Ellen Davion had been well-loved, her nephew became the darling of his realm. For a decade, he had been actively involved in the government of the Crucis March, performing state functions ranging from service in foreign embassies to his two-year inspection tour of the Federation. Unfortunately for the Federated Suns, William’s reign was destined to be short. For all his ability and training, the chaos that followed him would bring the interstellar community to the brink of dissolution.

Several tragic misfortunes marked the reign of William Davion. First was the eruption of a major new war on the Capellan frontier, a conflict that cost the new Prince dearly. His only son Edward, a young field officer in a ‘Mech contingent on Royalston, was killed during a hit-and-run Capellan raid in 2508. A regiment fielded by David Varnay should have been able to support Edward’s unit, but they failed inexplicably to reach the proper coordinates in time to rescue Edward or his comrades from death. Subsequent investigations pronounced the commander of the unit blameless, though accusations of Varnay treachery were rife at the time. Three years later, Sondra Black Davion, Edward’s widow, also died in battle when her DropShip was destroyed off Avigait. This left Edward’s young son Alexander as heir-presumptive, with the youth’s aunts, Laura and Cassandra Davion, as alternate choices.

In 2511, Cassandra Davion married David Varnay, youthful heir to both the Principality of the Capellan March and the Varnay aspirations of Richard’s day. Because the marriage was a love match, at least on Cassandra’s part, Prince William decided that to bless the union would mend the breach in relations between these two old and respected families. William Davion was only 43 years old, leaving plenty of time for young Alexander Davion to grow into his inheritance. No one dreamed that Cassandra’s marriage would one day result in a threat to the Davion right of succession.

When a virulent plague broke out on New Avalon in 2512, William was stricken. The Ten-Year Prince remained in coma for nearly a week before eventually succumbing to the disease. Just before his death, he regained consciousness only long enough to name Alexander as his heir, but he handed the signet ring of the First Prince to Cassandra Varnay and his seal to her elder sister Laura. This was taken to indicate that the two aunts would serve as the boy’s Regents until he came of age. It also elevated David Varnay to a position of preeminent influence, which would have a profound effect on later Davion history.

Though there were rumors that William had died at the hands of the ambitious Varnay, the official pronouncement was death by plague. In March 2512, William Davion was buried with honor on New Avalon while the five-year old Prince of the Federated Suns looked on.

Death Of Prince William

Several notable works have analysed the circumstances surrounding the death of Prince William Davion in 2512. Was it the Spotted Fever Plague or a carefully contrived murder that carried off the Prince while still in the prime of life? The question arose within days of his death, when an anonymous pamphlet entitled The Poisoned Prince began to make the rounds of the back streets of Avalon City.

William’s death occurred as part of one of the worst plagues in the planet’s long history, when the mortality rate ran 30 percent and mass quarantines restricted all contact with the heart of the Federation. Just ten days before being stricken, Prince William had insisted on visiting an overcrowded hospital in a grand gesture of sympathy with his suffering people. An autopsy proved conclusively that he was suffering from the plague when he died.

It is equally true that William’s death was surprisingly convenient to David Varnay. With Edward, William’s heir, dead in battle and Alexander too young to act as Prince for at least a decade, it was the perfect time to make his move.

Had William lived longer, he might have chosen another heir. Laura Davion, nearer the throne than her younger sister, might have married and brought a new faction into the picture, perhaps producing a line to rival Varnay’s claim to power. Perhaps Alexander’s popularity might have became strong enough to prevent the Varnay faction from acting, or the accusations of treachery against Varnay after Edward’s death might have been renewed.

William’s death removed many obstacles to Varnay’s aspirations, and it followed suspiciously close on the heels of Varnay’s marriage to Cassandra Davion. Yet, this interpretation of events is perhaps too obvious. David Varnay barely won the Council’s approval to retain his seat as Prince of the Capellan March, and was forced to rely on Cassandra to carry out the duties of the Regency. Had it been his own plot, Varnay would surely have waited until his power over his wife was more complete. When they entered into the Regency, the two were decidedly unequal partners, with Varnay always the lesser.

Neither was Varnay ever in a position to exercise real control over the succession. Had Alexander died first, there would have been no question of a Regency and thus afair chance of winning the Principality without further ado. David Varnay may have conspired for the throne, but the evidence suggests that it was only after Prince William’s death opened the way. To believe that William was murdered is to suggest that David Varnay was a fool willing to execute an ill-conceived, poorly prepared plot. Few people, then or now, have ever called David Varnay a fool.

—From History’s Stepchild: The Story of House Varnay, by lngrid Jablonski, Interstellar Press, 2743

Civil War

By the time of Prince William, the strain of managing a multi-world, multi-interest combine had finally become too much for the Federated Suns government to handle.

Each new crisis had shaped the federation for good or ill, but each solution contained the seeds for new and unexpected problems. A parallel in Terra’s own remote history might be the Roman Empire, where political systems had to adapt constantly to the facade of a stable, unchanging state. As late as the reign of Rome’s “Thirty Tyrants,” that state was known as a republic, deferring to the propaganda but not the proclivities of its powerful First Citizens. It was much the same in the Federated Suns during the reigns of Ellen and William.

—From Davion, Kurita and Marik: The Rival Houses of the Inner Sphere, by Thelos Auburn, Commonwealth Historical Press, 3026

In the 88 years between the death of William Davion in 2512 and the dawn of the 27th century, the Federated Suns was governed, in name if not in fact, by one Davion: Prince Alexander. William’s grandson and a pivotal figure in Davion history, Alexander inherited the Throne of the Crucis March when he was but a child of five years. Within the long reign of this brilliant ruler, the Federated Suns would teeter on the brink of dissolution as well as reach the heights of power.

The early years of his reign were a time of devastating civil wars. The ultimate outcome of his reign was peace and plenty, a prosperity that gave the Federated Suns a strong voice in the new Star League. It was quite an accomplishment for a man who spent five years of his reign a fugitive with barely enough power to raise a single company of soldiers.

The Regency

It is incredible that the young Prince is still alive. The Council of Regents is planning to supplant him, but I think the Regents are divided as much against themselves as they are united in their most basic aims. I’ll wager that Alexander will live only so long as he is useful. Then we shall have a tragic death and a new ruler. Pray God the Federation survives it all!

—Jose Estevez, Duke of New Andalusia, from a letter written three weeks before his arrest for treason, 2518

Prince Alexander’s aunts, Laura Davion and Cassandra Varnay, were the heads of the Council of Regents, which would rule while Alexander was still too young to handle the affairs of his realm. Under the Act of Succession passed during the Ellen Davion era, the two aunts were each permitted to choose another Regent, with the High Council appointing a fifth member. Cassandra Varnay selected her husband, David, while Laura Davion chose the well-respected General Nikolai Rostov, a powerful military leader. After a lengthy debate, the High Council appointed Carmen Estevez Davion, William’s widow, as the fifth member. Though only 43, the Dowager Princess of Davion was an invalid, crippled by strokes suffered in the wake of the sudden deaths of husband, son, and daughter-in-law. Her membership on the Council was largely honorary. Some loyalists sought to use her to offset the overweening ambition of the two Davion aunts, but she was never able to muster the energy or the support needed to resist her treacherous daughters.

On the day of the funeral ceremonies for Prince William, the backroom struggle for power had already begun among the Council of Regents. David Varnay, supported by Cassandra, put forward a motion betrothing the five-year-old Prince to David’s seven year-old niece, Cynthia. He also sought to have Cynthia named as Heir-Apparent in case of Prince William’s death. He claimed that this would prevent her Davion Regent from plotting her own advancement at the Prince’s expense. The latter motion was voted down, but General Rostov had backed the betrothal motion against Laura’s protests. As it turned out, his was the surer instinct. As long as the Varnays were hoping for a union with the Prince, their tactics would be less brutal. This bought time for Laura and the General, who lacked the power base that the Varnays enjoyed because of their holdings on New Syrtis.

During the Regency years, the Regents openly exercised power in pursuit of personal goals. The High Council’s hopes for moderation were dashed when the Dowager Princess retired into seclusion on New Andalusia, granting complete control of her vote to Laura Davion. From that point on, Rostov was the real key to the Regency, as he held the deciding vote in any dispute. When he and Laura voted together to make her Prince of the Draconis March in place of the childless Prince Vladimir Kerensky, Laura got the power base she needed to offset the Varnay Princedom in the Capellan March.

Surprisingly, the Varnays themselves proposed Rostov as Prince of the Terran March in 251 5, after Prince Charles Leightan and his immediate family died during a Terran raid on Robinson. Laura could not oppose the move for fear of alienating Rostov. She could never fully trust him again, however, for he was now as much in debt to her rivals as he was to her. Moreover, ongoing problems on the Terran frontier kept the new Prince busy leading military forces instead of involved in politics on New Avalon.

By 2517, the lines were well drawn. The Prince of the Outer March, junior of the five Princes, found it expedient to steer a neutral course. He could never completely ignore the wishes of the Varnays, however, for they controlled many trading partners and key merchant routes into his territory. Meanwhile, Laura Davion was growing increasingly isolated as Rostov began to play an increasingly independent game. The last bid for sanity came from the High Council, who once again sought to use the Dowager Princess as a focal point. The effort come much too late, for she died in 2518.

Almost immediately, Varnay’s ubiquitous secret service agents began to report evidence of a plot to overthrow the Regents, presumably led by the most prominent of the High Council moderates. First to be accused was Jose Estevez, the late Dowager Princess’s cousin and the most charismatic of the moderate leaders. It did not take long for the cries of treason to become widespread throughout the government.

The Treason Trials of 2518-2520 purged the High Council of most moderates and a large proportion of the Lauraists as well, though the Varnays were careful to avoid persecuting anyone who might have connections with Rostov. With the General’s power growing steadily, the two Varnays were reluctant to make him an enemy without first trying to secure him as a friend.

Varnay vs Davion

Aside from bloodshed and political terror, the Treason Trials left another legacy. With the Dowager Princess dead, there were now only four Regents, with equal votes in the management of the Federated Suns. The High Council had the right to name a replacement for Princess Carmen, but Varnay’s political influence and Rostov’s military strength kept fainthearted Councilors from exercising their prerogative. Rather than offend one side or the other, the Council refused to name a new Regent, leaving the four survivors in contention.

Winning Rostov’s permanent support was the Varnays’ best hope of defeating Laura’s faction. Laura also courted the bluff soldier’s support. Meanwhile, she stubbornly maintained that her power to act in Princess Carmen’s name had been an outright transfer of Regency authority and not, as most claimed, a simple delegation of voting power that lapsed with the Princess’s death. Once again, the High Council was reluctant to take a stand until a winner emerged in this struggle for control of the state. This, in turn, only served to magnify Rostov’s importance.

Rostov’s power rested, not on the weak reed of politics, but on the solid foundation of his popularity with the army. In a series of campaigns on the Terran frontier, Rostov had stopped Terra’s military forces cold, thanks more to brilliant strategy than to high quality troops or equipment. In the event of open civil war, Rostov’s reputation as a military leader would surely attract the widespread support of soldiers throughout the realm. David Varnay’s ill-managed effort to earn equal fame on the Capellan border in 2521 only underlined Rostov’s skill and influence.

In that same year, Laura won Rostov back into her camp when she proposed that he be named First Marshal of the Federated Suns, an extraordinary military command that would supersede all other military posts in all five Principalities. Because the vote on Rostov’s command came up while David Varnay was still away on the Capellan front, it was Cassandra who decided, on her own, to vote against Rostov. This act of bad judgement jeopardized everything for which she and her husband had worked up until now. Her vote not only failed to block Rostov’s appointment, but also created ill will.

Alexander was 15 years old as these tensions began to mount. While he was growing up in his father’s palace on New Avalon, the Regents had kept him largely cut off from affairs of state. It had been the Varnays, for the most part, who had controlled access to the young Prince, and they had sought to turn him into a spoiled young tyrant with no interest in government.

Alexander, however, disliked his Aunt Cassandra and actively hated David Varnay because one of his nurses had hinted at Varnay’s complicity in his father’s death. He sought solace in the study of warfare, strategy, and tactics, and the memoirs of Simon, Reynard, Paul, and Ellen Davion, the family’s great statesmen. By the time he was in his teens, Alexander had resolved that he would avenge his father and put his power hungry relatives in their place. With the single-minded drive characteristic of his line, Alexander kept his plan secret, played the part of the foppish Prince, and bided his time.

Foiled in their bid to win Rostov’s support, the Varnays proved that they too could play the waiting game. It was not until a border clash with the Draconis March occupied Marshal Rostov’s attention in 2523 that they forced a confrontation. They kidnapped young Alexander from New Avalon and carried him off to New Syrtis, ostensibly so that he might tour the realm, as his grandfather had done before Ellen’s retirement.

In fact, they never permitted Alexander to leave their capital where, early in 2524, the 17-year-old Prince was married to Cynthia Varnay. This gave Cynthia a solid claim to the Princely throne, though the Varnays looked forward to the birth of a blood heir to make their stake even stronger.

Faced with this unexpected coup, Laura Davion hastily made a separate peace with the Draconis Combine so that Rostov could mobilize for a showdown. The battle that would decide the destiny of the Federated Suns seemed at hand.

In all his calculations and schemes, David Varnay had made one serious mistake. He misjudged the relative importance of family versus spouse in the mind of his niece, Cynthia Varnay, now Davion. Unlike her aunt and uncle, Cynthia was not ambitious. Though born of strong-willed, domineering stock, Cynthia nevertheless refused to play the role that fate had handed her. In their first year of wedded life, Cynthia and Alexander discovered a love for one another, a development as unexpected as it was unwelcome to the Varnay power brokers.

Cynthia did not learn how disposable her new husband was until she reported her pregnancy in August of 2524. On that day, she discovered that the male heir she carried would, if safely delivered, be Alexander’s death warrant. On that day, she also rejected her family’s ambitions forever. Henceforth, she would become the Prince’s most vital ally, the only one on whom he might rely through the dark years to come. Instead of being known as a pawn in the Varnays’ game, Cynthia Varnay-Davion’s name has become synonymous with one of history’s most romantic love stories.

Three Roses

Alexander was away in the Capellan March, and Cynthia was at home for health reasons. I was her guest in the palace on New Avalon—invited, I suspect, to keep Cynthia company during Alexander’s absence. It was the first time since their marriage that they had been separated. Cynthia, always an early riser, asked me to a sunrise breakfast on the eastern balcony. She looked wan and lacked her usual vivacity, but seemed to be in a reflective and confiding mood.

“You’ve heard how my family plotted against Alexander when we were first married,” she said, spreading passion fruit compote on her toast. “Would you like to hear how he took the news when I broke it to him?”

“Whatever you choose to tell me I will hold in strictest confidence,” I assured her.

She ignored my remark. “As you know, my Uncle David intended for Vincent to be his opportunity to seize power. Alexander was to be killed and Uncle David appointed Royal Protector as soon as Vincent was born. I was thrilled to tell people that I was pregnant—I don’t think that I was ever happier—but Uncle David’s reaction! He literally wrung his hands with delight! He was saying things like, ‘Congratulations. How nice for you,’ but the message in his eyes said something else.

“So I knew there was something going on. I also knew I couldn’t ask him outright, but I said some vague things about him helping us plan the baby’s future, and his plan all came out.

“I was furious—you can imagine how I felt. I don’t know what was worse, being used as a pawn in my husband’s assassination, or being thought of as a political baby machine with no instincts of my own.

“That afternoon, when Alexander arrived home, I told him everything. I didn’t know beforehand how I would do it, but when the time came, it all came out matter-of-factly, like I was one of his agents making a report. He listened with a surprised, hurt look on his face, and when I was finished, he sighed.

“Well, I shouldn’t be surprised,” he said finally. “Thank you for telling me.”

“I said, ‘Well, aren’t you excited? Angry? Anything?”

“Somehow,” he said, “I can’t be upset. I have you.”

Cynthia sighed, staring at the hillsides on the horizon. “Before then, I could have forgiven Uncle David.” She sipped her Chakachamna tea and sat silently for a long time. Finally, she said, “Then, Alexander gave me a gift. He’d had it jumped from Terra just for me. It was three white roses, symbolizing the three of us—him, me, and Vincent which meant I knew that forgiveness would not be part of the picture.”

—Countess Jane Pesselthaimak (2509-2604), from a letter to Zane Davion, 2553 ComStar Archives

The Regents Of War

There are worlds besides Syrtis or fair Avalon,
And subjects still loyal despite Vamay’s wrong.
Brave citizen soldiers ten thousand men strong
Will follow the Banner of Young Davion.
CHORUS
So ready the vessel, make ready to lift,
Plot coordinates to jump through the Barrier Rift.
Tonight starts the journey, ‘twill ever live on
Of that proud Princely Banner of Young Davion.
Then away to Nahoni, to marsh and to mud.
‘Fore I yield to the Regents, I’ll shed my life’s blood.
Tremble, false Vamay, youw see more anon
Of the bold Sunburst Banner of Young Davion.

—From The Banner of Young Davion, as recorded in Songs of the Crucis March, compiled by Edward Monroe, 2896

ALEXANDER ESCAPES

Soon after discovering her uncle’s plans, Cynthia Davion shared the information with her all-but-captive husband. They hatched their own plot to evade Varnay, taking advantage of Varnay’s increasing concern with affairs in the Crucis and Draconis Marches. Here, Marshal Rostov, ably backed by his dynamic son Dmitri, had settled the disputes with the Federated Suns’s neighbors in order to concentrate completely on internal affairs.

Late in 2524, an elite strike force of DropShips and ‘Mechs landed on New Avalon as escort to Laura Davion. This show of military might cowed the High Council. Still maintaining her right to Carmen’s vote as well as her own, and supported by Marshal Rostov, Laura announced that the Varnays had kidnapped the First Prince. She proclaimed them enemies of the State, Regents no longer. Those Councilors who had not already fled New Avalon loyally acclaimed these decisions and declared war on the traitors who were holding the young Prince against his will.

ln answer, the Varnays assembled their own rump Council on New Syrtis. They declared that the occupation of New Avalon was itself treasonous, and in the name of the Prince, urged that a militia army be mustered against Laura and the regular army. The battle lines were drawn at last.

The first months of 2525 were a calm before the storm. Alexander, who was approaching his 18th birthday, was still more of an asset than a liability to the Varnay faction. By Federated Suns custom, he would not enter into his majority until he turned 20. In the meantime, he would serve as a useful symbol of legitimacy until Cynthia bore him a son who would be an even more potent symbol.

To counter the stories of enforced captivity on New Syrtis, Alexander was “permitted” to accompany his uncle on a tour of Capellan March worlds where troops and ‘Mechs were being mustered. The fact that this would keep the young Prince away from both his wife and his aunt at the time of his son’s birth was apart of Varnay’s planning. Though he was unaware of Cynthia’s betrayal, Varnay did know that neither she nor Cassandra were ready to see Davion killed outright. Varnay would save that part of his plan until he was sure that there was a living heir to the Princely union.

Cynthia and Alexander had not been idle, however. Though Alexander’s tour would separate them, it assured his escape from certain death. Cynthia had already made contact with anti-Varnay elements in the Capellan March. As soon as the Prince’s itinerary was known, she notified her contacts, who set a plan in motion.

It was at Sekulmun, third stop on the tour, that Alexander made his move. The news David Varnay had been waiting for reached them in early May 2525. Cynthia had given birth to a male child, and named him Vincent, as she and her husband had previously agreed. This good news was the signal for Alexander’s escape.

Varnay could not prevent popular celebrations of the event, for the legitimacy of his cause hinged upon it. Neither could he openly turn on Alexander if that cause was to have a future. Thus, the young Prince had enough freedom of movement to be smuggled onto a ship manned by supposed members of Varnay’s scout fleet. From there, he escaped offworld before the Prince of the Capellan March could react. By the time Varnay discovered what had happened, it was too late to stop Alexander, who was safely outward bound. At this same moment, Laura’s forces launched an assault against Kluane that threatened to tear the Capellan March in half.

Bait And Switch

Rostov’s idol was the Russian General Kutuzov, who defeated Napoleon during the latter’s invasion of Russia. Using a variant of the famous General George Washington’s principle of strategic retreat to prevent a less mobile army from establishing effective supply lines, Kutuzov pioneered a policy known as “scorched earth,” which called for retreat into the vast Asian continent while destroying everything of value. Though this was hard on the peasant class, whose farms were burned, the maneuver kept Napoleon’s armies overextended. In one of the most bitter chapters in Human history, the French army ultimately starved and froze in the severest winter in Russian history.

Rostov’s favorite strategy was another variant on Washington’s and Kutuzov’s strategies. Named after a practice popular with dishonest merchants, the bait and switch tactic also relied on strategic retreat into vast wilderness lands to throw an opponent off balance. The object was to lay a trap for an enemy bent on easy plunder.

On the planet Talcott, for instance, Rostov pretended to flee superior Varnayist forces from nearby Salem. When the pursuers jumped into the Talcot system, they discovered that the defending forces had disappeared into the verdant farmlands of the planet. They foraged the land to replenish their food stocks and notified General Varnay that Rostov’s forces had disappeared. Varnay wired back, as Rostov knew he would, that Rostov’s forces were too significant to be overlooked, and ordered a thorough search of the planet. Rostov’s strategy became a waiting game.

Rostov was taking a huge gamble. Knowing that his forces would be planetbound for some time, he turned off his heat-generating equipment, whose traces would have led Varnay’s troops straight to him.

He knew the time had come to move when he intercepted an enemy message that Varnay himself was coming to lead the search. While the enemy was preoccupied with preparations for the arrival of their commanding general, Rostov mobilized his troops for a lightning raid on the Varnayist camp. With the element of surprise on their side and with Varnay’s troops exhausted from searching, Roslov’s troops easily overpowered the Varnayists, crippling their forces and destroying their newly acquired stores of provisions. Then they disappeared back into the wilderness. Varnay arrived to find his troops decimated and that Rostov had simply vanished from the face of the planet.

David Varnay was no fool, however. He realized that Rostov had found a way to make any invasion force on Talcot a sitting duck. Bloodied but unbowed, he evacuated the remainder of his expeditionary force, vowing that it would be Rostov who would fall into a trap the next time they met.

—From Honorable Enemies: Generals of the Inner Sphere, by Morikami Renchell, Peshi National Press, 2989

Alexander In Exile

As the Prince and his rescuers passed through the Barrier Rift that formed the frontier between the Capellan and Crucis Marches, Rostov’s veterans were cutting a wide swath through Varnay’s poorly trained militia troops. During the assault on Quittacas, however, Marshal Rostov himself was killed. The death of the old war-horse of the Terran March was a shocking blow to the army’s morale, which Varnay turned to his own advantage with fast thinking and typically underhanded intervention. Well-placed bribes bought him a whole series of mutinies and desertions in the ranks of Laura’s main fighting force, and her offensive ground to a halt within a few weeks.

Rostov’s son Dmitri, now 45 and a brilliant tactician in his own right, was cut off deep behind Varnay lines when desertion wiped out his whole line of communication. Rather than surrender, he disbanded his troops and fled with a handful of ‘Mechs, seeking safety from the sudden groundswell of support for David Varnay.

This was far from the end of the Civil War. Though much of her front-line army had disintegrated, Laura still commanded the main body of Federated Suns troops and had at least nominal loyalty from all but those from the Capellan March. Varnay had won an essentially bloodless victory, but it had been costly. Varnay now lacked the resources or the trained troops to carry the war into Laura’s territory. For the moment, things were at stalemate, though fighting continued in desultory fashion along the worlds lining the Barrier Rift. It was here, on the planet Nahoni, that young Prince Alexander had hidden himself in self-imposed exile. He knew that it was only a matter of time before his chance would come to avenge himself against the Regents, each of whom wished to seize Alexander’s power for himself.

Alexander lay low for nearly a year and a half, celebrating his coming-of-age in the swampy encampment where he and a handful of followers had taken refuge. Both sides had declared him dead, each accusing the other of his murder. Both knew, however, that he had only disappeared, and were secretly scouring the Federated Suns for his trail. Realizing that his life was forfeit no matter which faction won the war, Alexander lived like an outlaw bandit while pondering how he could recover the throne.

Victor Of Nahoni

Early in 2527, elements of the 1st New Avalon Dragoons, a light armor regiment, were stationed on Nahoni while Laura mounted yet another strike into Varnay space. The Dragoons were not among her favorite troops. Colonel Gordon, their commander, had openly proclaimed that his loyalty was to New Avalon and the Crucis Prince before all else, and that his service to Laura was because of her hold on New Avalon rather than to any rights or merit of hers. Laura had stationed the Dragoons on this dreary, unimportant world and was keeping the regiment on short rations and supporting them only minimally to lure Varnay to attack and thus wipe out the regiment. In one stroke, this would eliminate an irritant while placing the enemy directly in the path of a well planned counterstroke.

Alexander, of course, knew nothing of Laura’s strategy. He had heard of the regiment’s loyalties, though he knew their morale was low. Determined to test the power of the Davion name, on 24 January 2527, he set out for the Dragoon headquarters with only ten companions. The risk paid off. Gordon and his men enthusiastically hailed Alexander when he unfurled the sunburst banner on a hill overlooking the camp and proclaimed himself the rightful Prince of the Crucis March.

The Prince now had an ill-supplied but eager regiment of regular troops at his command. Within two weeks, he would also have a chance to test their mettle when Varnay finally took Laura Davion’s bait. He sent two divisions of Capellan March militia, strengthened by two full regiments of BattleMechs, to occupy Nahoni.

Several factors conspired in Alexander’s favor during the attack. The terrain of Nahoni, mostly vast expanses of bogs, hampered the movements of both infantry and ‘Mechs. Because the Dragoons were equipped with jump infantry and hovercraft for scouting and support, they enjoyed an advantage over their opponents in this terrain. Also, Gordon’s men were Regulars pined against a mostly ill-trained militia force. Finally, the mere presence of Alexander was worth a full regiment in morale value alone, regardless of his experience as a military man.

In an inspired guerrilla campaign, Alexander and his troops withdrew deep into the marshes, striking out of the mists at isolated enemy columns floundering in the bogs. After two months of gradual retreat, Gordon broke off from the main body of Alexander’s force with two hovertank companies. In a surprise attack, he encircled the advancing enemy forces and destroyed their base camp and landing facilities. The Varnay commander, General Boefers, was forced to surrender for lack of supplies.

Almost a full regiment, including four MechWarrior units, switched sides when they learned the identity of the victor of Nahoni. The remainder were held ransom while Boefers went to New Syrtis to report Alexander’s terms. In exchange for the men, ‘Mechs, and ships taken at Nahoni, the Prince of the Crucis March demanded his wife and his son.

If David Varnay had been on New Syrtis when General Boefers arrived with Alexander’s message, it is likely that he would have refused the trade. Cassandra Varnay was another story. Under pressure from members of her Council, who had relatives captive on Nahoni, she agreed to Alexander’s terms instead of responding with an ultimatum threatening the Prince’s family. Cassandra decided that she could not afford to lose any more resources to the enemy. She quickly dispatched Cynthia and Vincent Davion to Nahoni with Boefers, who was instructed to retreat from the planet with everything he could salvage.

Boefers arrived only two days before the start of the Second Nahoni Campaign. Laura Davion, whose intelligence service had belatedly delivered the news of the Varnay offensive, was unaware of Alexander’s presence, much less of his victory. Her plan to trap Varnay’s troops thus went into motion on the assumption that the enemy was present in force.

Having concluded his trade with Boefers, Alexander had faded into the marshes before Laura’s force made planetfall. While Boefers struggled to improvise some defense against these new foes, the Prince attacked one of Laura’s columns and won another victory. Meanwhile, more Crucis units from Laura’s army went over to the young Prince’s banner. Though this gave him the nucleus of a fair-sized armed force, he was still desperately short of ‘Mechs. Whether Alexander’s generalship was faulty or whether pressure from his supporters outweighed his better judgement, he accepted a full-scale battle against Laura’s forces on ground that gave her ‘Mechs a decided advantage.

Even so, the Battle of Davion Hill might have ended in a victory for Alexander if General Boefers had not brought his troops to attack the Prince’s rear, violating the terms of the trade he had effected barely two weeks before. The fact that Varnay’s men were as eager to attack Laura’s troops as Alexander’s allowed the Prince to pull out his senior officers, ‘Mechs, and 250 infantry and armor troops before his line disintegrated. Crucis DropShips in Laura’s flotilla were as eager to aid their Prince as the fighting soldiers had been, which permitted Alexander and his followers to flee the Nahoni system while the other two factions continued the battle behind him.

It had been an inauspicious start, but the earlier victories at Nahoni more than outweighed the final defeat. The emergence of Prince Alexander was heralded far and wide and so were the stories of Boefers’s first defeat and subsequent treachery. Alexander’s cause had suffered no more than a setback. He was still a force to be reckoned with as the Davion civil war moved into a new, more devastating phase.

When Dmitri Rostov learned that the Prince was alive, he and his own band of refugees promptly transferred their allegiance from Laura to Alexander. Six months after the Prince fled Nahoni, the younger Rostov had raised the sunburst banner on Farwell. Word that the son of the Federated Suns’s beloved Marshal had thrown in his lot with the Davion Prince spread like wildfire across the Crucis March, winning Alexander the support of many Regular Army units.

Meanwhile, Prince Alexander was traveling with Colonel Gordon and the other survivors of Nahoni to promote his cause from world to world. At first, they often had to dodge Laura’s troops, but by the middle of 2528, Laura and her forces were pulling out of the Crucis territory. The Prince’s cause was too strong in the Davion’s hereditary realm.

Laura Davion withdrew into her own Draconis March to regroup and organize a renewed effort. As for the Terran March, it had split. The younger Rostov carried great authority as his father’s successor to the Principality, but Laura’s close ties to the Marshal were not easily forgotten. The Rostov family still lacked the lineage to command the kind of loyalty that the Davions enjoyed in the Crucis March.

Struggle For The Throne

Pray God this is really the end of it all. No throne is worth what we’ve paid today.

—Prince Alexander Davion, after the Battle of Robinson, 2540

ALEXANDER’S CAMPAIGN

There was no longer any hope for a peaceful solution. Laura and Cassandra had each proclaimed herself rightful First Prince of the Federated Suns, ignoring Alexander’s hereditary claim. From now on, there would be no more pretense of legitimacy in their campaigns. These two women realized that only naked force would bring them power, now that intrigue and politics had failed. From 2528 to 2530, there was a lull in the civil war while each faction gathered strength and cleared away internal dissension. By 2530, the war was ready to heat up again.

Fortunately for Alexander Davion, fate took a turn of its own. David Varnay, 50 years old and the most dangerous of the young Prince’s opponents, was killed during the riots against the Varnays on Ashley. Though strong-willed and determined, Cassandra was no strategist, and she was overburdened with the task of holding together the remnants of the Varnay cause. With the Varnays temporarily at bay, the Prince concentrated his attention against Laura Davion, now based around Tancredi, her Draconis March capital and chief stronghold.

Alexander promoted Colonel John Gordon to the rank of General and charged him with keeping the Varnay frontier secure while the main army moved the other way. Gordon accomplished this in a series of brilliant guerrilla campaigns that were to become legend among MechWarriors. Though Gordon rarely commanded more than a handful of ‘Mechs, he consistently defeated much larger forces through superior use of tactics and terrain. He raided, attacked, and harassed, but always resisted the urge to settle into a prolonged campaign on any one planet. Through these actions, Gordon kept Cassandra Varnay’s forces hamstrung while his master settled accounts in the Draconis March.

Here, much of the glory went to Dmitri Rostov. Though not the commander his father was, the Rostov name alone was enough to win support from Regular Army forces in the Draconis March. Nevertheless, the campaign for the March went slowly, due mostly to the significantly different goals held by the Prince and Genera] Rostov. For example, Rostov’s first moves were aimed at consolidating his hold on the Terran March rather than on combating Laura’s main forces. Alexander needed Rostov too much to do more than plead with him to finish off Laura’s force and to strike at New Syrtis while the Capellan March was in disarray.

What General Gordon might have accomplished in months took Alexander and Rostov two years to finish. In the end, however, a massive Davion strike force landed on Tancredi and decisively defeated the cream of Laura’s remaining troops in 2533. Alexander’s elder aunt took her own life when she saw the dust cloud raised by Alexander’s ‘Mechs and armored troops approaching her command post. Her senior surviving military officer, General K’trinka, surrendered on behalf of the Draconis March the following day.

Laura’s Farewell

There are those who will ask why. Some will say that I despair because my forces cannot win the war, but that is not the reason. Some will also believe I cannot bear to live with the frustration of never being able to rule the Federated Suns. Others may say that I regret the loss of so many of my faithful troops in pursuit of a now-doomed cause. I assure you that although I appreciate the loyalty and courage of my troops, I hold that they entered into a bargain with me to fight in return for good government, and possibly for the rewards I would show them if victorious. They made a good bargain but a bad bet.

There may even be some who will suggest that I fear pain, imprisonment, or execution if I am captured. Those who say so simply do not know me. I despair over the direction that the Federated Suns will take without my guidance and wonder what will happen to it now.

—Laura Davion, from her 26-page suicide note, November 27, 2533

Rostov’s Plan

Two years of delays had been costly on the Capellan front, however. Gordon’s successes had been impressive, but Cassandra Varnay was finally rallying support. More important, she had enlisted the services of a large number of mercenaries from the Capellan Confederation. Rumor had it that Cassandra offered to cede large chunks of the Capellan March to House Liao in exchange for this support, though both parties hotly denied any such bargain.

The year 2533 saw a resurgence of Varnay power. Eventually, Cassandra’s forces isolated General Gordon and his small force by keeping them under siege on the planet Jaipur. Alexander had to act quickly, launching a hasty attack to relieve the pressure on his most loyal commander. Dmitri Rostov pleaded to remain in his own March to continue putting down pockets of Lauraist resistance and to keep watch on the Draconis and Terran borders. The Prince was left to rely on his own abilities and distinctly second-rate troops in the campaign to rescue Gordon.

Not surprisingly, the rescue attempt failed, and Gordon was eventually forced to surrender his troops. When brought to trial for “war crimes” by Cassandra Varnay, the young General was condemned to death and executed. Most of his troops were similarly slaughtered. The long years of civil war were breeding savagery on both sides, however, for one of Alexander’s battalions retaliated by unleashing mass destruction on the Varnay planet of Smolensk. It seemed that the Ares Conventions held only for disputes between the major states, but not for wars within them.

Cassandra Varnay’s success encouraged tier to muster her forces for an all-out thrust against the Crucis March. From 2534 through 2536, her troops made a slow but systematic advance, taking Crucis worlds one by one. El Dorado, one of the oldest and most important Federated Suns planets, fell late in 2536, putting Varnay in a strong position for a direct assault on New Avalon itself. Through it all, Rostov remained concerned mainly f or his own Principality, and seemed to become even more intractable as the years passed. He was a more skillful politician than his father, however, and kept just enough reinforcements flowing into Alexander’s camp to keep the Prince from giving up on Rostov’s support. Early in 2537, Rostov and a small honor guard finally put in a dramatic personal appearance at the Prince’s field headquarters on Belladonna.

During their meeting, Alexander and Rostov could barely conceal their mutual contempt. Upon learning of the size of Rostov’s force, the Prince replied irritably, “I could have done with a few more men and a lot less Rostov.” For his part, the General condemned the Prince’s conduct of the campaign. “Why aren’t you attacking?” he demanded. “I’d be attacking all along the front. I’d be fighting anywhere one of them stood. Battles are not won by watching the enemy take your worlds.” Though this bickering was an inauspicious send-off for a crucial campaign, Rostov had a plan that soon turned into a classic of modern military strategy.

The General informed Alexander that he had amassed an even more substantial army at Smolensk on the edge of the Capellan March. While Cassandra Varnay advanced slowly through the Crucis March, Rostov proposed that Alexander’s army move to one flank of the Varnay line of advance while his army threatened the other. They would leave New Avalon wide open. The object was for the two Davion armies to smash through Cassandra Varnay’s line of supply and to unite behind her main strike force. This would force her to turn and fight at a disadvantage, or else watch her force slowly fail apart from lack of supplies, ammunition, and spare parts. Like most modern armies, Varnay’s troops could not operate without a source for equipment.

Rostov’s plan was executed brilliantly. In a series of strikes, he and Alexander reclaimed all the jump routes outward from El Dorado before the Varnay forces even knew what was happening. Cassandra was forced to turn and attempt a breakout back toward her own March, but Alexander and Rostov forced her fleet to battle in space over the planet Megian. The superior Davion forces decimated the Varnay fleet. Though some elements landed for a last ditch fight on the planetary surface, most scattered. Cassandra Varnay escaped, but Alexander’s subsequent victory on Meglan ended the Varnay threat once and for all.

In his first proclamation as undisputed master of the Federated Suns, Prince Alexander Davion gave the planet Meglan the new name of Victoria. Varnay did not even attempt to rally her forces at New Syrtis, but fled into the Capellan Confederation with the remnants of the Liao mercenaries. Though the Civil War was over for now, Cassandra Varnay would never give up hope, for she had given birth to a son only a few months before David Varnay’s death in 2530. The child was now seven years old.

The task facing Alexander in 2537 was immense. The Civil War had ruined whole planets, brought the Federated Suns economy to a near standstill, and resulted in millions of deaths on over a hundred worlds. Some rebellious pockets still remained, and the High Council was only a shadow of its former self. Worst of all, though, was that the surviving Federated Suns leaders were unwilling to accept the reforms called for by this massive destruction. Many resented the fact that the young Prince-only 30 years old-was determined to take a firm hand in the reconstruction of all five Marches, not just in his own Crucis March.

Warts And All

The family scandal in the years before the Civil War was that Cassandra had a son out of wedlock before she married David Varnay. While Varnay refused to recognize the child (although there was no doubt as to his paternity), Terril Davion was actually the first of the Varnay pretenders.

He was not, however, ambitious, and never made any claim of his own to the seat of power. The only people who ever recognized him as being the legitimate ruler of the Federated Suns were the power brokers of House Liao, who saw him as a pliant, politically naive young man who would make a good match for their dynamic young Chancellor, Salicia Liao.

The benefits of such a state marriage for both realms were obvious, but it was not to be. First, Salicia was a connoisseur of delicate and beautiful things in all aspects of her life, and Terril had warts on his face, something Salicia could not abide. More important, the man was never really accepted as a potential leader, even within his own family. Even if he had been, a state marriage between Terril and Salicia would have embroiled the Capellan Confederation in the Davion Civil War. With everything to lose and little to gain, Terril would have had to oppose both the Davion and the Varnay factions in the fight.

Although he was given every advantage accorded to the ruling family’s children and he maintained cordial relations with both sides of the family throughout his short life (no mean trick), Terril Davion has, for five hundred years, never been granted a place in the Davion family tree.

—From Pretenders Past and Present, by Jeana Fortunato, ComStar Publications, 3021

Rostov Defiant

Foremost among those disputing Alexander’s right to act outside the Crucis March was General Rostov, whose obsession with the power of the Terran March led him to mobilize his troops in defiance of the Prince early in 2540. The coup began tragically for the First Prince, for Rostov’s first act was to order that Cynthia Davion be kidnapped during her goodwill tour of the Draconis March. The attempt was bungled, and stray laser fire killed Alexander’s wife. The Prince was grief-stricken. In the campaign that followed, Alexander would act quickly, decisively, and with implacable savagery against the man responsible for Cynthia’s untimely death.

As the man responsible for the triumph on Victoria, Rostov still enjoyed tremendous influence. It was Alexander, though, who represented order and stability in a Federated Suns weary of fighting and factionalism. Few worlds or army units outside Rostov’s immediate sphere of influence responded to his call for action against a would-be despot. The Prince, meanwhile, gathered an overwhelming army and moved quickly on Rostov’s capital of Robinson. Sheer numbers left the rebellious General with little hope of success, despite Alexander’s relative lack of military ability. The outcome was not settled until the Prince himself took the controls of a BattleMech and met the General in single combat. This bravura gesture nearly cost the Prince his life, but his superior reflexes helped him win the day and turn the foolish stunt into legend, increasing his popularity. Historians, however, have suggested that an agent of Alexander’s sabotaged the General’s ‘Mech beforehand.

After the Battle of Robinson, House Davion would never again face significant opposition from any foe within the territory of the Federated Suns. For the remaining 60 years of his life, Alexander spent his time and energy turning his military triumph into a solid political victory that would secure Davion power once and for all.

Inner Sphere Economics

With all due apologies to my audience’s sensibilities, nothing stimulates economy like war. There are two reasons for this. First, the need for large numbers of soldiers siphons off a percentage of the work force who would otherwise be unable to find work. Second, the civilian population remaining on the homefront are fully employed by the war effort, paying taxes, and off the welfare rolls. This stimulates the economy and keeps money (and monetary incentive) in circulation.

—From War and Peace: Two Economic Chimeras, by Edward Fulmos, Davion Military Press, 2888.

****

The fact remains that even if a state of war provides full (or almost full) employment within a society, any economic “gains” are illusory. First, though soldiers are carrying out the defense of their government, they do not actually produce anything in the classic sense of that term. Moreover, a wartime economy is based on destruction, rather than production. Though the workers must work much harder to reach production quotas during periods of national emergency, their products do not actually contribute to the state’s wealth, for most of those war products are either destroyed or used offworld (without the recompense of interstellar trade). The workers are productive, the factories and mills are geared up to the limit, but the economy is poorer then ever.

—From Poverty and Production: The Davion Civil War, by Richard Finetree, Remagen Press, New Avalon, 2889

Years Of Recovery

I fear that some members of this Council are laboring under a misapprehension. For example, I often hear it said that Reynard never intended this or Simon would never have done that. My Lords, my name is Alexander, not Simon, Reynard, Paul, or Lucien. I have fought for 13 years to bring an end to the reign of terror that my two aunts imposed upon these Federated Suns. If you have not yet learned who I am, perhaps you should ask my MechWarriors. They have already shared the news with the Varnays and the Rostovs.

After the Battle of Robinson, I swore that there would never again be civil war among us. If the actions I take contradict the sacred traditions of my forefathers, it is only because that oath means more to me than any famous remark from the annals of our history. I will ha ve my way in this, my Lords, one way or another as you may be sure that my Aunt Laura or Prince David Vamay would have had their way if either one had survived to sit in this proud Chamber.

—Prince Alexander Davion, from a speech before the High Council, 2541

TIME TO HEAL

With the Civil War behind him, Alexander concentrated on reconstruction. The Federated Suns needed time to heal, and events beyond Alexander’s borders would help the Prince guarantee that recovery period. By the mid-2500s, the Age of War was winding down as the Terran Hegemony slowly began to forge the Star League. One major power after another was joining the new body, which pledged local autonomy while promoting peace between the old rivals. Alexander Davion was reluctant to join, mostly because of weakened condition of the war-ravaged Federated Suns. He confided privately to his advisors that he believed the Star League would one day encompass the entire Human Sphere. He vowed, however, that the Federated Suns would join only when it could do so with dignity and honor. Davion wanted to see his people and their worlds recover because of their determination and inner strength, not through the assistance of outsiders who might extend economic aid purely to advance their own goals of power among men.

While promoting economic measures to restore the power of his realm, Alexander Davion pursued other means to promote future stability in the government. These measures also increased Alexander’s personal power. The ramshackle government of the Federated Suns would need sweeping reforms to prevent a repetition of the Civil War. The Prince was intent on making those reforms, regardless of any other consequences.

His first step was to discard Simon’s concept of five coequal Marches. From now on, the First Prince would reign supreme over the entire federation. No other noble would be able to use his territory as a personal recruiting ground, for loyalties throughout the Federated Suns would trace back to the First Prince. Alexander also further reduced the powers of the High Council, realizing that the assemblage could not be relied upon for stable leadership. In other reforms, he changed the system of appointments and authority of Regents. The change excluded the Regents from any hope of succession to the throne, and also made them subject to review by a board appointed by the High Council.

Backroom Dealings

While preparing this volume, ComStar researchers have discovered documents lost in our Blessed Order’s Archives since at least 2590. These documents relate to the haste with which the Federated Suns joined the Star League and the Draconis Combine’s delay in doing so.

Beginning in 2551, lan Cameron, Director-General of the Terran Hegemony, began negotiations to attract each of the five other major powers of the Inner Sphere states to join in a unified interstellar government that was to be called the Star League. To induce a like-minded, peace-loving statesman like Albert Marik to support such an idea, all it took was the promise of peace, but Cameron also offered him the position of Vice-President, an offer that the noble Albert declined. Terrence Liao, on the other hand, presided over an empire in financial trouble, and Cameron gained his support by promising favored-nation status to the Capellan Confederation. With three states out of six pledged to the League, Cameron was halfway home.

It was not difficult to induce Archon Tracial Steiner to give the Lyran Commonwealth’s support to the League. After a history filled with military embarrassments, the Lyran leadership welcomed the support the Star League would offer them against an attack by a neighboring realm.

Cameron had a more difficult time persuading the two most powerful states, the Draconis Combine and the Federated Suns, to join the League. Though the current Draconis Coordinator, Hehiro Kurita, was a man of peace, his society was so steeped in the traditions of militarism that he could not join the Star League without losing support f rom the Draconis nobility.

The problem was different in the Federated Suns. Prince Alexander Davion had come to power only after a devastating civil war. He wanted to remain independent until the Federated Suns could enter the Star League as an equal to any of the other members, if not the preeminent power. As time went on, however, Alexander seemed to take a perverse delight in resisting Cameron’s blandishments. He also seemed to be playing a waiting game with Kurita, vowing that the Suns would be the last Inner Sphere power to join the Star League.

The log jam finally broke in 2567 when lan Cameron made Alexander Davion an offer that the Prince of the Federated Suns could no longer refuse. Cameron promised that, in the event of a Davion-Kurita war, Star League forces would stage preemptive strikes against Kuritan military targets to safeguard Davion interests. (it did not hurt that entry into the Star League would also help the Davion economy recover from both the Civil War and years of tampering perpetrated by Marik agents.) On 27 October 2567, Alexander signed the New Avalon Accords, and lan Cameron’s dream of a unified Star League was only one step from being fulfilled.

Cameron made the same offer to Hehiro Kurita. Being a canny judge of character, Cameron knew that this Kurita was no warmonger, but that he needed to give his enemies some justification for his decision to join the League. The promise of preemptive strikes against Davion gave Hehiro exactly what he needed. In 2569, the Coordinator of the Draconis Combine agreed to join the Star League.

I extend my gratitude to the researchers of ComStar who have finally managed to assemble all the pieces relating to this crucial event in Human history—the formation of the Star League.

—Anastasia Marcus, Editor

The Davions Supreme

Within five years, Alexander had enacted more laws than any one of his predecessors had put forward in a lifetime. Though he always faced opposition to his proposal, the Prince inevitably managed to get his way. He owed his throne to the military, not to the politicians, and the threat of military action was usually enough to win approval for even his most unpopular new act. Though Alexander’s reforms were pointing to the creation of an autocratic society, Alexander was no tyrant. He encouraged free speech, and believed that everything he did would be justified if it freed his people from the threat of another civil war.

Where the army was concerned, Alexander was forced to tread more carefully. Most of his military reforms were designed to minimize the importance of regional loyalties in favor of the army’s ties to the federation. Individual worlds continued to recruit and field their own units, such as the First New Avalon Dragoons (renamed the New Avalon Dragoon Guards and given an exceptional place in the honor roll for their part in Alexander’s rise). The Prince, however, saw to it that personnel from other worlds would be integrated into such regiments, and he rarely allowed a unit to be posted to the region where it had recruited most of its men. The First Prince assumed Nikolai Rostov’s former title of Marshal of the Federated Suns, placing himself at the head of the army.

Rank and authority would remain firmly in the hands of the First Prince. From this time on, the heir to the throne would be required to serve at least five years of military training and field experience before he could legitimately be recognized as First Prince. A new rank, Field Marshal, was also created to honor talented generals, but they, too, would answer to the all-encompassing authority of the First Prince. With these military reforms, Alexander hoped to block some future general from using his popularity to challenge the legitimate government of the Federated Suns.

By 2550, Alexander’s reforms were nearly complete, and the Davion family stood supreme in the realm. All significant rivals had long since been swept away, and the Terran and Outer Marches had been eliminated. Though the other Marches were now larger, they had ceased to be separate political entities. Alexander still styled himself “First Prince,” but there existed no other Prince under him. Rule of the Marches was tied directly to the central bureaucracy of New Avalon, and the districts were now more military than civil divisions of the Federated Suns. Alexander’s second marriage to Veronique DuVall of New Avalon in 2544 added four children to the three born of his first marriage. The succession, however, was strictly regulated by primogeniture to avoid future splits within the family.

The one threat to Alexander’s position was Cassandra Varnay and her son Roger, who had gone into exile beyond the borders of the Federated Suns. In 2565, Roger Varnay, aided by a small Capellan squadron, crossed the frontier and attempted to rally supporters on Carmacks. Though he raised a fairly large militia force, they were no match for Davion regulars, particularly after the Capellan warships were annihilated in the Battle of Kigamboni late in 2565. This halted Roger’s advance on New Syrtis, where he had hoped to gain massive support from longtime Varnay supporters. The Davion ‘Mechs of the Eighth Syrtis Fusiliers caught him in retreat toward the frontier, destroying Varnay’s force almost to a man. Though Roger Varnay escaped to keep his cause alive in exile among the Capellans, his military support was gone. With that, the threat to Davion power around New Syrtis was destroyed once and for all.

Federated Suns relations with the Capellans had never been very good, and they did not improve with the Uprising of ’65. Remembering what Cassandra had done to John Gordon years before, Alexander demanded that Terrence Liao return the Varnays to the Federated Suns so that they might stand trial for war crimes. When Liao refused, Alexander imposed economic sanctions, but took no military action. It was not war but peace that Prince Alexander was hoping for. Indeed, it would not be many years before he carried out his last and greatest reform the union of his realm with the Star League.

Alexander As Military Commander

Since the days of Prince Alexander, Davion admirers have tended to regard him as a paragon. They call him a brilliant ruler, a superb diplomat, and above all, a splendid soldier and leader of other soldiers in battle. Though there is no arguing Alexander’s accomplishments in government or diplomacy, recent scholars are split in their opinions of his military ability.

Prince Alexander spent 15 years involved in various military operations, which gave him the reputation as one of the Great Captains of modern military history. Nevertheless, a closer examination of his campaigns suggests that he may not have been the forerunner of the Davion soldier-Prince at all. Rather, he may have been no more than a pedestrian commander whose claim to greatness was based on his choice and use of subordinates.

The Prince fought only three major campaigns completely on his own, and in each case, his overall performance was demonstrably poor. The first was the short, planet-bound campaign that led to the Second Battle of Nahoni. During the battle, Alexander completely overruled his subordinate (Colonel John Gordon) and led his forces into an uneven battle on unfavorable ground against the armies of both Laura Davion and David Varnay. His second campaign was the long retreat down the Crucis March during Cassandra Varnay’s final offensive. Despite the advantages of interior lines, strong defensive positions, and short lines of communications, Davion was defeated time and again until the opposition was knocking at the very gates of New Avalon. Alexander’s campaign was a well-managed example of delaying tactics, but some scholars believe that a clever strategist might have turned the tide much sooner. Instead, the final victory in the campaign was due to the intervention of General Rostov, whose reinforcements were not nearly as vital as was his brilliant plan of double envelopment on a strategic scale.

In his third campaign, fighting against Rostov on Robinson, Alexander was certainly victorious over an acknowledged master of the military arts. This was due as much to his overwhelming superiority of both numbers and political support as to any element of generalship, however. If Rostov had managed to raise any significant support before Alexander’s invasion forces had reached Robinson, the outcome might well have been much different. As it was, Alexander deliberately sought out the one-on-one BattleMech engagement against Rostov for the sole purpose of enhancing an uncertain military reputation. He needed such a reputation to avoid opposition to his future plans for military reform.

Other generals dominated the rest of Alexander’s campaigns. The first Nahoni campaign was a classic of guerrilla warfare, but it seems likely that Colonel Gordon exclusively managed it, with the Prince as little more than a figurehead and rallying point. Echoes of the Nahoni operations show up often in Gordon’s campaigns deep in Varnay territory while Alexander and General Rostov were fighting the forces of Laura Davion. Alexander’s own performance in that campaign, on the other hand, was slow and painstaking. Rostov seems to have totally dominated the Prince, who was unable to enforce his will on that determined and often duplicitous general. In the long run, that war cost Alexander dearly. It gave Cassandra Varnay the opportunity to kill General John Gordon, which deprived the Prince of this consistently brilliant and unswervingly loyal officer.

If Prince Alexander Davion lacked the military skills attributed to him by popular tradition, he did possess the one trait vital to any successful military commander. If nothing else, Alexander Davion was definitely lucky.

—From Generals of the Inner Sphere, by Antony Korotir, Davion Military Press, 2866

Under The Star League

By joining the Star League, Prince Alexander brought his realm finally and irrevocably into the politics of the so-called “Inner Sphere.” For centuries, the Federated Suns had remained relatively isolated from the other powers of the Inner Sphere, except for encounters that were militant in nature and inconclusive in outcome. Then. suddenly, came the dawn of a new era. The First Prince of the Federated Suns was no longer just a ruler of his own state, but now had a voice in decisions that would affect the fate of nearly the whole of interstellar Man. Isolationism had been the watchword when Lucien and his successors were in power. For the successors of Prince Alexander, however, isolationism was anathema. The struggle for political power had moved into a new arena, and the Davions, now secure on the Princely throne, would not be left out of that struggle.

—From The Rise and Fall of the Star League, by D. H. Rand, Tharkad Press, 2989

The Star League era was a time of peace and prosperity for the Federated Suns, as it was for the other member states. The protective umbrella of the League limited (though it did not eliminate) interstellar warfare, while promoting trade and progress. Scientific advancements reached new heights among all the member states of the League, leading to a significant improvement of the Human condition everywhere. For all this, however, the Star League contained the seeds of its own destruction.

The framers of the original League agreements had not learned from the lessons of history, perhaps because they were filled with optimism and high hopes of what the League would do for their own realms. Thus, they did not take care to build in safeguards that would prevent the same kinds of crises that had disrupted each of their own states for so many decades. By the middle of the 28th century, factionalism, disputed succession, rival economic and strategic interests, and other all-too-familiar themes would arise across the Inner Sphere, bringing down the whole structure.

Reunification War

No one man can rule Humanity, nor would any rational citizen welcome such a dictatorship if that man existed. The Star League gives us the best of both worlds-control over our own destiny, but with active help from our own kind in other realms. The Star League is not the path to dictatorship, as some critics tell us, but rather the road to the freedom, prosperity, and peace that Man has lacked for 5,000 years.

—Prince Alexander Davion, from a holovid address to the people of New Avalon, 2576

The Federated Suns formally joined the Star League in 2567, though it was five more years before ratification of that act. Prince Alexander’s scrupulous adherence to the old, almost outdated machinery of government slowed adoption of the agreement. Some evidence shows that the Prince’s exaggerated insistence on listening to “the voice of the people” was actually part of his plan to give House Davion the upper hand in its dealings with the new League. Those five years were a test of how far the Star League would go to accommodate Davion interests. Had Alexander not been satisfied, he might have stopped the whole process cold through personal appeals against the treaty.

As one proof of their sincerity, the League threatened to impose economic sanctions on the Capellans for harboring the Varnays in exile. Under this pressure, Chancellor Ursula Liao compromised on her position regarding the exiles. Though she would not surrender them to Alexander, she would no longer grant them any special government protection or treat their whereabouts as a state secret. Without guarantees of Liao protection, the Varnays decided to escape before government troops could arrest and deport them. Ursula Liao found it convenient to lose track of them, but the Varnays had lost their court in exile on Columbine and their fat Capellan pensions. Nevertheless, they remained in the Confederation, an ongoing thorn in House Davion’s side. Alexander had won his point, though. The Federated Suns had joined the League as a major power, not as a humble supplicant.

By 2575, most of the Federated Suns troops had been integrated into the cosmopolitan Star League forces, with a small “House force” loyal directly to the Prince. At that time, lan Cameron was attempting to persuade the four significant Periphery powers (the Taurian Concordat, the Magistracy of Canopus, the Rim Worlds Republic, and the Outworlds Alliance) to join the Star League. At this crucial moment, Cameron’s diplomatic brilliance finally gave out. With his goal of universal peace within view, he became frustrated when the Periphery states adamantly rejected membership in the Star League. Despite Cameron’s increasingly open threats, these distant powers held their ground. Thus it was that in 2577, the Star League declared war on the Periphery states. Davion troops were dispatched to do battle with the Outworlds Alliance and with the Taurian Concordat.

The 20-year period from 2577-2597 was dominated by the Reunification War, a savage conflict that claimed more lives than did the preceding era known as the Age of War. Davion troops played a major role in the conflict, though the Federated Suns remained largely untouched. Indeed, though this war was a drain on manpower, it proved invaluable to Alexander’s ongoing program of economic recovery, allowing him to place Federated Suns production on a near-wartime footing. The war also brought House Davion gains in both prestige and territory, which Alexander used in his ongoing propaganda effort to reconcile his subjects to membership in the League.

Given the relative size of the Inner Sphere and the Periphery forces, most people in the Inner Sphere assumed that the former would make short work of the latter, but two factors peculiar to interstellar warfare interfered. The first factor was the immensity of space itself. Establishing viable supply lines across parsecs of space dwarfs the imagination of even the most capable general. Even more significant was that the relatively small populations of the Periphery worlds worked to their military advantage. Because even small planets are vast fields of war, the Star League forces were faced with the frustrating truth that it is difficult to conquer a people in hiding.

These tactics only delayed the inevitable, however. In 2597, after two decades of war and millions of deaths, the Periphery powers agreed to join the Star League.

Alexander’s Final Years

Prince Alexander lived another 30 years after the League Articles were signed on New Avalon. He had struggled for more than 40 years, first on the field of war and then in the political arena. Although he was 60 when the Federated Suns joined the Star League, many of his subjects still knew him as “Young Prince Davion.” Though Alexander had begun to rely increasingly on his son Vincent to run the government, he was not about to abdicate the position he had fought so hard to win.

Aided by his children and then by his grandchildren, the Prince continued to hold the reigns of authority. Determined that the prerogatives he had established for the Prince of the Federated Suns would remain in Davion hands, he assigned family members to a wide range of diplomatic, political, and military functions. The wily old Prince did not wish to create any loopholes through which a new Varnay or Rostov might slip, and these practices became standard governmental policy for many centuries to come.

In 2596, Alexander dispatched an embassy of his two eldest sons, Vincent and Roger, to a meeting of the Star League on Terra. Their JumpShip was lost enroute, but no one was ever able to learn whether it was an accident or sabotage by fanatic pro-Varnay agents. The 89-year-old Prince never fully recovered from the blow. For the next four years, he experienced ever-lengthening periods of memory loss and confusion. lan Davion, Vincent’s son, governed in his grandfather’s name for three of those years, but he never had the heart to declare the old man incompetent.

In 2599, Ian, too, met death unexpectedly when an assassin’s bullet found his heart. lan’s heir was Zane Davion, a mere 19 years old when his father died and still serving with a frontier ‘Mech unit. ]an’s widow Elizabeth and various junior members of House Davion oversaw the affairs of government while Zane hastily rushed home to New Avalon.

24 January 2600 was the 63rd anniversary of the day when Alexander Davion had raised the sunburst banner before John Gordon’s garrison on Nahoni. On that anniversary, the 93-year old Alexander suddenly sat up in his bed, crying out, “Tell Gordon to bring his men up now!” Sinking back down against the pillow, he then fell into a long but fitful sleep. When he woke again, young Zane was there to see him, but the old man mistook Zane for his son Vincent. “So this is our young lad,” he said, echoing his words to Cynthia when he had been reunited with his wife and newborn son so many years before. With those words, he died, making Zane Davion the First Prince of the Federated Suns. A videotaped testament, made a few days earlier during one of Alexander’s last lucid periods, confirmed the succession and left Zane with some guidance and advice from the old veteran.

Of all the Davions, Alexander had experienced the longest and the most turbulent reign. Having shaped the Federated Suns into a form that would remain essentially unchanged for the next 400 years, he has become known as “the Augustus of the Federated Suns.” Like the first of the ruling Caesars, his realm was in political chaos after terrible civil wars at the moment he came to power. Both Alexander and Augustus turned to one-man rule in the face of a bankrupt pseudo-democratic tradition. Finally, like Augustus, Alexander went on to become the embodiment of his people’s ideals. No other Davion child would bear Alexander’s name, but they would all call upon him before all others as their guiding spirit.

Alexander’s Heirs

Besides his vast political and military legacy, Alexander Davion left behind a sizeable family to carry on his name and traditions. Seven children were born to the Prince, three by his first wife and four more by his second marriage to Veronique DuVall. Prior to this, the Davion family had been small and slow to expand. After Alexander, his seven children would eventually create a sizeable aristocracy to back up the reigning Princes.

Alexander’s eldest child Vincent (2525-2596) was stolid and unimaginative, but competent. He married Mary Gordon, daughter of the famous General John Gordon. From this union came lan Davion, Prince Zane Davion, and the rest of the primary ruling line.

The second son of Alexander’s first marriage was Roger (2528-2596). Roger Davion and his family settled on Victoria to govern the new colony established to commemorate the defeat of the Varnays in 2537. The Davions of Victoria would remain an important part of the family thereafter.

Melinda Davion (2530-2599), the youngest of Cynthia’s children, married Edward Sanromea of El Dorado. Their line became known as the Sanromea-Davions, a family of some prominence until the eclipse of El Dorado following the economic troubles of the Second Succession War. From then on, the line continued to furnish noblemen whose distant connection to the throne was their only claim to fame.

Alexander’s second wife, Veronique, gave birth to Henry Davion (2545-2614) in the same year that the Prince officially named Vincent and his progeny as his heirs to the Federated Suns throne. Henry emigrated to Royal on the Draconis frontier as part of his father’s efforts to bind this Laura/Rostovist region to his regime. For similar reasons, Alexander’s son Louis (2548-2609) settled on Ridgebrook in the Capellan March. While the Davions of Royal remained a prominent force for centuries, the Davions of Ridgebrook disappeared entirely during the chaos of the Succession Wars.

Veronica Davion (2550-261 0) was named for her mother. Though the rumors were never proved, court gossip suggested that Veronica was not actually Alexander’s daughter, but the offspring of an illicit affair between Veronique and Winston Hasek, a prominent figure in the High Council. Veronica married William Haider of Delphos in 2579. Their family, the Halder-Davions, also died out during the Succession Wars.

The youngest of Alexander’s children was Lawrence (2552-2616), who settled on Lee and became a prominent local political and military figure. The Davions of Lee would be among the most famous defenders of the Federated Suns in future years, with a long and glorious history rivaling that of the main line itself.

—From The Heirs of Alexander, by Baxter McEnroy, University of Washington Press, 2982

Century Of Peace

When Prince Alexander died early in 2600, Zane Davion was young and poorly trained for his job as First Prince. Although secure on the throne of a peaceful and prosperous state, the new ruler would face difficulties no less troublesome than those of his predecessor.

Some commentators have noted that it was Alexander’s success in putting down opposition that bred Zane’s worst problems. Humanity was enjoying widespread peace for the first time since reaching deep space, and the outcome was recession and economic chaos through much of the League’s far flung territories. The Federated Suns were not spared the full impact of this fiscal anarchy. Prince Zane needed a good-sized war to lift the Suns out of its depression, but wars were forbidden by the Articles of the Star League.

Ripples of discontent did lead to a few minor rebellions within Federated Suns space, the most serious of which occurred in 2617. It was set off by the arrival on New Syrtis of Josip Varnay, Roger’s grandson and heir to the Varnay claim on the Capellan March. Here, Josip sent out a call that the people of the March reject membership in the Star League and embrace their former independence as the Capellan Principality. Although the magic was gone from the Varnay name, the people’s frustration over their economic woes brought a large, if motley, following to Josip’s standard. The Capellans did not support his cause, however, and so regular Federated Suns troops were able to make short work of the rebels. Josip escaped, but the Capellan government found it expedient to expel the family altogether.

After this, the Varnays had no hope of raising fresh efforts against House Davion. Josip died childless, as did his brother, the last of the “legitimate” Varnay heirs. In the following centuries, offshoots of the family would lay totally ridiculous claims to Federated Suns titles, but no one ever recognized any of these claims as legitimate. In an ironic twist of fate, one of these Varnay pretenders would receive a pension from the Federated Suns for leaking Kurita plans to the Prince in 2720.

To solve the economic problems of the peacetime economy, the Davion government channelled more and more capital into research and development programs, which gradually replaced warfare as the mainstay of interstellar relations. The development of hyperpulse generator technology during the first quarter of the 27th century was a significant boost to man’s sprawling interstellar domain, cutting the expense and time of interstellar communications by a considerable margin.

Central to the economic recovery was the introduction of newer, cheaper methods of purifying water supplies and carrying out major terraforming efforts on worlds previously considered only marginally habitable. A massive effort to settle and explore these new worlds stimulated industry (the New Avalon shipbuilding industry tripled its profits between 2640 and 2650), promoted interstellar trade, and led to the reduction in the size of Household armies. The Century of Peace was a true renaissance of Human endeavor and achievement, with a flowering of science, technology, art, and a dozen other crucial areas of man’s development. Little wonder that later generations would look back upon the Star League as the pinnacle of man’s social progress, despite its chaotic beginning and disastrous end.

Zane Davion and his successors steered the Federated Suns through the Century of Peace with firm, unwavering hands. The League gained 750 new colonized worlds during this period, and the Federated Suns was second only to the Capellans in colonization efforts. Some of these were new colonies on sparsely settled worlds where the Age of War and the Davion Civil War had taken their toll on the original settlements. Others, mostly in the distant Periphery, were entirely new.

Prince Alexander’s line proved to be long-lived and prosperous. Zane’s eldest child, Sarah Davion, succeeded him as First Prince when he died in 2659 at the age of 79. Her marriage to the common MechWarrior Mark Holt produced one son, James Holt-Davion. The succession passed to Samuel, Zane’s second child, after Holt-Davion died in a fighter crash in 2663. Sarah herself confirmed Samuel as her heir after her Prince Consort died in 2678, though her devotion to Holt was so great that she continued to issue proclamations in both their names until her own death three years later at the age of 77.

Though Samuel Davion was 71 when he became first Prince, he would rule the Federated Suns for another 15 years, continuing the conservative policies that Zane and Sarah had established. His 58-year-old son Roger came to power when Samuel died in 2696, and he too maintained a policy of quiet efficiency. In the years of Zane, Sarah, Samuel, and Roger, age, wisdom, and competence ruled the Federated Suns. It is largely because of these four Princes that the era came to be known as the Century of Peace. Roger’s death in 2703 signaled the succession of his 36-year-old son Joseph and an end to this great era.

The Trouble With Terraforming

The marginally habitable world of Vandalia was a haven for zoological experiments in the 27th century. Many species of the planet’s native wildlife seemed hearty enough to coexist with Humans, which was not always the case away from Terra. A case in point was the lizard-like creature dubbed the Monitorens naturan because of its resemblance to a Terran lizard. Analysis of the Vandalia Monitor’s blood chemistry indicated compatibility with the Human nervous system and also proved to be similar to certain synthetic antipsychotic drugs developed by biochemists in the 2580s.

In 2616, the Davion government authorized full-scale terraforming and colonization. The desert world of Vandalia began to blossom, causing (as terraforming usually does) an ecological crisis among the wildlife adapted to the former environment. The Vandalia Monitors started to die out, with only laboratory specimens safe from the environmental changes to their former habitat.

It was in 2639 that researchers discovered the extraordinary properties of the Vandalia Monitor’s blood chemistry. Preliminary findings indicated that a psychoactive chemical synthesized from the lizard’s blood would either calm people prone to violence or completely prevent such impulses without impairing the individual’s functioning. In other words, a person treated with an extract from the Monitor’s blood remained clearheaded, able to work and play normally, free from the abnormal excitation of violent reactions as well as the fog-brained side effects of similar drugs. They were still capable of defending themselves if attacked, but felt no desire to initiate attacks. On every I other level, their emotional responses were sensible and proportional. If administered to politicians, the drug would probably have prevented the warfare that would eventually ravage the Inner Sphere.

It was not to be. Although the chemical formula can be synthesized artificially, it is quite volatile, lasting only a few minutes to a few hours under laboratory conditions. Apparently, there is a still-unknown factor in the live lizard’s own blood chemistry that acts as a stabilizing agent to prevent the psychoactive chemical from deteriorating when extracted from the blood. Specimens of the Vandalia Monitor were lifted offworld when it became evident that terraforming was pushing the lizard toward extinction. They exist today on one of our Blessed Order’s worlds 100 parsecs rimward of Lyran space, more than 730 light years from Terra. Attempts to adapt them to this new environment have failed because predators have prevented the Vandalia Monitors from ‘finding an ecological niche. For nearly three generations, we have attempted to breed the lizards, but they do not take well to reproduction in captivity. If left to breed in their native environment on Vandalia, there would have been enough of the creatures to treat most of the violent criminals, politicians, and soldiers of the last four centuries, perhaps preventing hundreds of millions of deaths.

Over the last half-century, we have made periodic diplomatic initiatives to Inner Sphere governments to gain permission for breeding experiments on some desert world. All have declined. Though the House Leaders recognize the need for our Blessed Order’s communications services, they seek always to minimize any other influence we may gain within their realms.

In the Periphery, the situation is different, but no more encouraging. There, the various states simply do not have the resources to spare the land areas required for this great work.

Kyalia Centralla, Magistrix of Canopus, has said that if her expansion plans for the Canopian economy are successful, a world in her domain may become available for Project Monitor by 3075. By that time, however, the Canopian government will almost certainly have changed hands, and there is no guarantee that her successor will be as sympathetic to ComStar’s secret experiments.

—From a report to the First Circuit of ComStar, 14 January 3024, ComStar Archives, Terra

Beginning Of The End

No Davion ever backed down from a fight I’m not going to be the first one to change that, not if the whole bloody Star League decides to crash the party.

—Prince Joseph Davion, on hearing of the violation of the Genoa Resolution, 2725

Joseph Davion was the youngest child of Roger Davion and Lois Chandler of Robinson. Mary Davion, their first child, had taken service in the Federated Suns Corps Diplomatique as part of her apprenticeship to the art of government. During an embassy to Luthien in 2696, Mary met and fell in love with the youngest son of Coordinator Urizen Kurita’s 11. This was Soto Kurita, uncle of the infamous Minoru Kurita. The two were married in 2698, and Mary returned to Draconis space with her husband. She bore him three children, two of whom would distinguish themselves in the First Succession War.

Roger Davion realized that the tradition of primogeniture would one day lay Davion lands directly into the grasp of the Kuritas. Though the Davions had been willing to see the Holt-Davion line take power half a century earlier, it was only because the Davion family remained ascendant. The heirs of Mary Davion would surely be raised as Kuritas, with little regard for their mother’s heritage.

In 2700, Prince Roger passed an Act of Succession that forbade Mary or her heirs from exercising any rights to the First Principality. Mary herself signed the Act in 2702, though neither Soto nor any other member of House Kurita did so.

The Kuritas made no effort to contest the succession of Mary’s younger brother Joseph Davion in 2703. Though he was the youngest Prince to sit on the throne since Zane Davion more than a century before, Joseph was determined to rule with the same calm and steadfastness of his predecessors. Indeed, all was well until the death of Mary Davion-Kurita in 2715.

At that moment, Prince Joseph’s son Richard was 19 years old and readying himself for the customary ceremony that would proclaim him as the Prince’s heir. Just two months before the boy’s 20th birthday, an embassy arrived from House Kurita with the outrageous demand that Mary’s eldest son Vincent Kurita be named heir instead. In dismissing this startling claim, Joseph made the fatal error of underestimating Coordinator Takiro Kurita, Vincent’s uncle. Davion believed that the Kuritas would drop their demands as soon as he showed his determination to refuse. Instead, Takiro marshalled his forces for an open confrontation.

Like most of his line, Takiro Kurita was a canny politician. Rather than attempt an act of aggression in flagrant defiance of the Star League, he made his opening salvos in the League Chambers on Terra. The Coordinator presented evidence to the other Council Lords that neither Mary nor any of the Kuritas had ever agreed to the Act of Succession of 2702. He argued that Vincent’s right to inherit the Davion titles and holdings was unassailable, and he branded Joseph as a usurper. Takiro even produced a document issued in Mary’s name that appointed Joseph Davion her Regent in the Federated Suns until the day her children were of age to take their rightful place. The Council had no proof until much later that this document was a forgery, and so were faced with having to decide which of the claims to the Federated Suns throne was most valid.

Until now, the League had based its power on mutual agreement and cooperation, with little dissent among the Council members on major decisions. Now the two most powerful members were at each other’s throats, with neither side willing to back down or compromise. Lacking proof of either side’s legitimacy, the League decided to appoint an investigatory commission, with warnings against breaking the peace. When Kurita troops attacked the Davion border world of Marduk in 2725, the League was slow to react. The clash soon escalated into a full-scale war, later known as the War of Davion Succession. This series of engagements was the first in the so-called Council Wars that would eventually bring down the Star League.

War Of Davion Succession

Prince Joseph reacted with characteristic speed and recklessness to news of the attack on Marduk. Without considering all the implications, he ordered General Kessem, commander on the Draconis March frontier, to gather all available House troops for a counterstrike deep into Kurita territory. The Prince claimed that only an immediate offensive would blunt Kurita’s invasion of Federated Suns territory. What he did not know was that Takiro had concentrated a large force along the Davion-Kurita border long before his actual invasion of Marduk. In retrospect, it is clear that the Combine had prepared well in advance for this action, while the Davions were hampered by a lack of supplies, transport, and other elements that a more carefully prepared campaign would have provided. An even greater obstacle was the Kuritans’ numerical superiority. Though the Cameron Edict of 2650 limited the size of the Household Armies each member state could maintain, the Draconis Combine had been methodically and secretly violating that law.

General Kessem’s troops reached as far as Ludwig, a fairly important Kurita administrative center, before running into significant resistance. Too late, they realized that the Kuritans were ignoring their counterattack and that the main body of the enemy force was pushing toward New Avalon. Kessem pressed on to Ludwig where he brilliantly reorganized the Davion light ‘Mechs to finally break the Kurita resistance after a year-long campaign. This victory forced Kurita, whose resources were already overextended, to halt the advance on New Avalon.

Joseph’s scratch Army of Crucis, which had been failing back helplessly before the Kuritans, now moved cautiously to reoccupy worlds. Meanwhile, faced with increasing pressure from the enemy, Kessem was also forced to abandon his advance. In 2729, Kessem and the Prince linked up in the Royal system, catching the main Kurita force off-guard and inflicting heavy casualties. In another rash decision, Joseph insisted on personally leading his forces in his Marauder. The Prince’s ‘Mech was disabled in the fight, and a malfunctioning escape mechanism trapped Joseph inside as the Kuritans moved in for the kill. With the death of the Prince, the Davion troops fled, and the Battle of Royal became a costly defeat for the Federated Suns.

Fortunately for House Davion, the Star League finally decided to take action. Elements of the League Regular Armyincluding an impressionable young MechWarrior Captain named Aleksandr Kerensky-arrived off Royal to impose a ceasefire between the two states. The League Council censured both sides for resolving the dispute by force, but House Kurita received the brunt of the criticism. All troops were ordered withdrawn to behind pre-war frontiers, and the Kurita claim to the Davion throne was refused once and for all. Because of the League’s intervention, the War of Davion Succession ended in victory for House Davion, but not through any merit of the Prince or his troops. With the exception of Kessem, the Davion army leadership was outmoded in its strategy and tactics.

This war that had taken his father’s life inspired a fierce determination in the heart of Richard Davion, the new First Prince, to prevent his House from ever being so vulnerable again. Battle had also claimed the life of his younger brother Leonard, who fell during the aftermath of Kessem’ s victory at Ludwig. The Star League’s initial unwillingness to step in convinced Prince Richard that House Davion and the Federated Suns had to look out for themselves. Though he was careful not to violate Star League policies, the new First Prince set out to make his vast domain as self-sufficient as possible. Other member states obviously learned this lesson as well, for between 2730 and 2760, each of the House leaders began to increase his military preparedness and independence.

Although the Cameron Edicts limited the size of each Household military, the law specified restrictions on manpower rather than on actual materiel. This provided Richard Davion with the loophole he needed to build up his military might. In 2735, he saw to the passage of the Preparedness Act, which called for creation of a militia system similar to the Prussian landwehr of the 17th century. The Federated Suns House Army never exceeded the limits that Cameron’s edict had imposed, but compulsory Davion military service meant that a large body of men and women would receive training. Meanwhile, arms and ‘Mechs were stockpiled throughout Suns territory to permit a quick expansion of the army in time of crisis.

The break-up of the Star League was becoming inevitable as other incidents between the Council Lords put a strain on the whole clumsy fabric of the League. In 2743, Richard’s son and heir Joseph was killed in a training exercise when his poorly maintained ‘Mech exploded from improper heat build-up. Joseph, a well-known libertine, left behind an illegitimate son born to a young entertainer named Susan Rand. Owing to his illegitimacy, Mark Rand-Davion was excluded from the succession, but his grandfather recognized him as a member of the family and granted him large estates on Abbeville. When Richard died in 2745, the succession passed to Leonard Davion’s son John, a young but promising man who would become another of House Davion’s truly great leaders.

Lord John

When named as the new Heir-Designate in 2743, John Davion had showed neither delight nor concern. He merely set out to prepare himself for the job-if it ever fell to him-as quickly and as efficiently as he could. Within two years, Prince Richard was dead, and John became First Prince of the Federated Suns and a Council Lord of the Star League. Though his demeanor was unassuming, underneath was that streak of Davion will. John’s opponents consistently underestimated his strength of character and resolve.

When First Lord Simon Cameron died in 2751, he left his young son Richard Cameron, a child of eight, as his heir. In the face of the strained, even hostile, relations between the other members of the Star League, the League might have collapsed but for John Davion’s diplomacy. Because of his eloquent arguments, the Council Lords eventually agreed to appoint General Aleksandr Kerensky, now Senior Commander of the League Regular Army, as Regent and Protector until the young First Lord reached his majority at age 18. Kerensky, who was neither ambitious nor jealous of the other Lords, should have been the ideal man for the job. As it turned out, however, military responsibilities often interfered with his political duties, and so it was that Lord John emerged as one of the leading figures of the Protectorate years.

John Davion was a complicated man. Fair-minded and tactful he might be, but above all else, he was a Davion who placed the good of his people and his House before any other considerations. As long as the Star League seemed worth preserving, John was its most stalwart supporter, but he would not be tied to that institution once its existence ceased to benefit the Federated Suns. Indeed, John Davion was as capable of intrigue as any Council Lord of the day, including the formidable Minoru Kurita. He was the man General Kerensky dubbed “the best and noblest of all the Lords” in 2764. Twenty years later, the General accused this same John of being “the traitor who destroyed all that I’ve worked for.”

During the Regency years, Prince John was a strong Supporter of Kerensky’s initiatives as Protector and Regent. Yet, he did not hesitate to vote for the amendment that would reverse the Cameron Edict limiting Household troop strengths. Like Richard Davion before him, John’s priority was to build Davion military strength so that his people need not fear another crisis like that of 2725-2730. When the Star League Council wished to generate revenues by raising taxes on the distant Territorial States, only John Davion and Ewan Marik opposed the measure. John understood how much resentment this tax would stir up among the Periphery worlds, but he accepted the will of the majority Council vote. Many historians believe that it was from this time on that Prince John began to believe that the Star League had outlived its usefulness.

A further problem facing the Regent was the outbreak of an inter-League territorial dispute between the Capellan Confederation and the Federated Suns. Not since the founding of the League nearly 200 years before had there been trouble along this border, but now House Liao seemed determined to harass Federation mercantile interests along the frontier.

After several incidents-some provoked by Liao, others by Davion-the Prince felt obliged to muster a sizeable draft of Household troops for a strike into Capellan space. In a bitter tripartite campaign against Tsamma, Wei, and Redfield, the Davion forces made little progress, though ultimately the Avalon Hussars broke the Liao garrison on Redfield and won that planet for the sunburst banner. This Border War of 2760-2762 sputtered to a halt more because of external political developments than because of either side’s military triumphs. By 2762, the two enemy powers found they had a common interest in protecting the rights of the League member-states against the First Lord himself, who now threatened to abridge their closely guarded freedom.

Executive Order 156

When Richard Cameron reached his majority in 2762, General Kerensky willingly stepped down as Regent and Protector. Having grown up in an atmosphere of political confusion and arrogance on the part of the other Council Lords, Richard took office determined to bring these unruly Lords to heel. The lessons of the War of Davion Succession and the years of secret rearming and maneuvering had not been lost on Cameron. He was still naive enough to issue Executive Order 156, however, a demand that each Council Lord completely disband his House Army. The ink was barely dry on the document before the other five Lords forced Cameron to rescind it. The young First Lord had moved too quickly and without regard for the complicated nature of Star League politics. It was through such ineptness that he lost the respect of his fellow Lords, and sowed the seeds for an even more grievous crisis to follow.

John Davion gave an eloquent speech in the debates on Executive Order 156. He admitted that an ideal League would eliminate the House Armies that could create such internal disputes as the Kurita attack on his own realm 40 years earlier. In an ideal universe, all six Houses would be united under the banner of the Star League Regular Army, He went on to say, however, that the Star League was a voluntary association of sovereign states created to promote cooperation and discourage needless conflicts. The Star League had specifically left domestic policy including defense-in the hands of the member states, and it had no right to encroach on the sovereign rights of any member now. Davion further maintained that each state in the League needed its own armed forces for protection in case a tyrant ascended to the throne of First Lord.

Davion’s was the most moderate anti-disarmament speech. The only man who spoke in favor of the measure was Stefan Amaris, ruler of the Rim Worlds Republic. History would show, of course, that his motives were purely self-seeking. When the order was rescinded, Richard Cameron turned solely to Amaris for counsel and support. No doubt it was Amaris who persuaded Richard Cameron to refuse to call a Council meeting for two years.

Meanwhile, the Periphery was growing more restive than ever. Kerensky and over 75 percent of the Regular Army were already committed to holding the Territorial States in check, and now the General needed additional troops to keep the rebelliousness from spreading like wildfire from one world to another. In 2765, when New Vandenberg and 17 other Periphery worlds revolted against Star League rule, Cameron called for the other Council Lords to contribute Household troops to support Kerensky. Again, it was only Amaris who supported the young First Lord by answering the call, but then only by pledging troops to relieve Cameron’s House units garrisoning Terra and other Terran Hegemony planets. Unfortunately, the First Lord was too much under Amaris’s spell to recognize the true motive behind Stefan’s offer. By the end of 2767, Amaris had seized control of Terra and executed the First Lord and his entire family.

Davion tradition has it that prior to the execution of Richard Cameron, the young First Lord had named John Davion as Regent for his two-year-old daughter Amanda. Certainly, House Davion would later use the tradition as the key to its claim as rightful heir to the post of First Lord, while none of the other Houses could advance anything so significant in their own behalf. Indeed, John Davion would go down in history as “The Regent,” with the story of Cameron’s request receiving confirmation from several sources.

Heir To The First Lord

Jinjiro, my son,
I salute you as Coordinator-to-be!

The days are dark for our noble empire. It is a bitter irony that this Star League, which has stood in the way of our magnificent destiny for so long, is now precisely what we need to advance our interests—and yet it is now breaking down!

As mighty as our navies are, they cannot singlehandedly conquer the other five states. Thus, we have bided our time for generations, accepting that events might delay our destiny but never deny it. This breakdown of the Star League is worse than a mere delay, however. It may create a situation where our people might become the object of a combined attack by the other powers of the Inner Sphere.

There are no plans for succession should anything happen to the First Lord’s family, though I doubt that any Star League member would be reckless enough to try to eliminate the Camerons. Yet I must tell you what that fool of a First Lord has had the gall to confide in me. He stated his wish that John Davion take the place of First Lord if anything were to happen to him. As if a deposed ruler’s contemptible wishes could be binding on a leader secure in his people’s fealty! Luckily, there was no indication that Cameron had spoken yet to Davion, nor did he mention any immediate plans to do so.

All of this indicates, my son, that war may be on the horizon. I know that your heart leaps at the prospect, yet I am concerned. Are you strong enough to take command? Reports from the palace tell me that you still spend too much time brooding upon the fate of your poor mother. Strengthen yourself! Just as the leader of the 47 ronin tended his garden, I have studied music and religion, but when the time comes to strike, I shall not fail to do so. It is your destiny as a Kurita to be strong enough to do the same.

Your father,
Kurita Minoru

[EDITOR’S NOTE: This letter passed through ComStar on 4 June 2774. The first line is a standard salutation that Minoru Kurita used in all of his letters to Jinjiro from the time the latter was thirteen years old. In the official Draconis publication of the collected letters, the references to John Davion in this letter are expurgated.]

—From the Collected Letters of Minoru Kurita, ComStar Archives, 2864.

Dissolution

The Amaris Coup led to full-scale civil war in the Inner Sphere. Amaris occupied his own Rim Worlds and the planets of the Terran Hegemony, while arrayed against him were Kerensky and the Star League Army. The war was slow to gather force, with five years elapsing between the coup and Kerensky’s first offensive into Terran space. In that time, the Council Lords adamantly refused to enter the fray on either side. Though Kerensky fought in the name of the Star League, it was as though that body no longer existed. When Kerensky went to his former ally for assistance, John Davion replied that he must marshal his own Household forces instead, to guard against outside interference in Federated Suns affairs. When Amaris asked for support, Davion said only, “I do not recognize your right to the throne.”

For seven years (2772-2779), General Kerensky advanced slowly but inexorably toward Terra, his veteran Regulars more than a match for Amaris’s Household troops. Ultimately, the Usurper was taken and executed. Kerensky proclaimed himself Protector of the Terran Hegemony, then requested the Council Lords to assemble on Terra to choose a new First Lord.

Kerensky had not reckoned with the ambitions of the Council Lords, however. The only thing they could agree upon was to strip Kerensky of his duties as Protector and to appoint the Blessed Jerome Blake as Minister of Communications. It was also at this time that they began to wrangle over which one should assume the mantle of First Lord of the Star League. The clash of personalities made any further agreements impossible among them and the spectre of war inevitable.

Though no longer Protector, Kerensky was still General of the Star League Regular Army and a figure of considerable influence. While he argued for unity, the five Council Lords were already drawing up the battle lines. Each of the five Lords was determined that he would be the new leader of the Star League, and Kerensky’s pleas for moderation fell on deaf ears. With Kerensky’s support, Davion’s claim to be Cameron’s chosen Regent-and, in the absence of an heir, his preferred successormight have carried the day. Kerensky, however, refused to consider Davion’s cause unless Prince John embraced the General’s plea for a return to a pre-Amaris Star League.

After months of fruitless argument, the Council Lords went home and began to muster their forces for the final confrontation. Once again, Davion called on Kerensky to join him. Once again, Kerensky pleaded that Davion set aside his claim to power and help in working out a compromise. Neither man considered the other’s plan acceptable. Kerensky, weary of fighting the Council Lords, decided to withdraw from the Inner Sphere once and for all.

With the bulk of the Regular Army still loyal to him, Kerensky and his men jumped out of known space in 2784. Almost oblivious to the General’s last, despairing gesture, the Council Lords were busy girding up for battle. Even as Kerensky gathered his troops, transports, and warships on the Kurita world of New Samarkand, Kurita troops were pushing across the border into the Federated Suns. The First Succession War had begun.

Amaris’s Grave

Stefan Amaris’s death ended one problem and created another for Kerensky. The problem was that if he allowed Amaris to be buried in a marked grave, it would encourage his former followers to make pilgrimages to the gravesite to renew their devotion to his cause. If the grave were unmarked, on the other hand, it might create a myth that Amaris was still “out there somewhere,” and might someday be coming back. Kerensky and his staff did not want to encourage that most perverse trait of human nature, fascination with the deeds of a great monster.

An anonymous soldier in Kerensky’s command made the suggestion that the General finally adopted. Kerensky ordered a detachment of his troops to deliver Amaris’s remains to the medical school of the University of New Samarkand, where they served undisclosed medical purposes.

The remains were then cryogenically preserved until 2863, when it became too costly to maintain cryogenic chambers. Amaris’s remains were ultimately laid to rest in a university cemetery where Kuritan physicians bury the common criminals on whom they sometimes experiment.

—From The End of Innocence: How the Star League Fell, by Seth Kim and Julie Howard-Ngiiyen, Commonwealth Historical Press, 2958

Amaris’ Legacy

The death of Stefan Amaris marked the beginning of the end for both the Rim Worlds Republic and most of the hard-won influence the Periphery powers had managed to garner I during the Star League era. Descendants of the Rim Worlders have compared Amaris to the Terran dictator Hitler. The comparison is faulty, however, as there were many great Germans of pre-Exodus Terra, but no one else from the Rim Worlds ever gained eminence comparable to a Beethoven, a Goethe, or a Von Braun, for example.

As a citizen of the Outworlds Alliance and a descendant of the Rim Worlders, I had hoped that in the course of our research on this volume I might find some mitigating factor to modify history’s judgement of my most famous countryman. I regret to say that I have found none. As far as Amaris is concerned, the ancient slogan applies: Ig fallou blaos, dem ressensu glottuo. (“What you see is what you get,” or, literally, “if you catch this, you will have to eat it.”) Amaris may have been worse than even past historians have claimed.

Stefan Amaris was not a shrewd politician of the Maximilian Liao variety. In a letter to his wife written during the Civil War, he likened his quest to be dictator of the Human Sphere to a child’s game called “King of the Hill”. I find it significant that he chose a physical game, rather than a strategy game, for his analogy. While great gamers rarely make great leaders, any leader must understand the principles of strategy for his chosen field, be it political, military, or economic.

It is with some embarrassment that I come to the subject of my own ancestry. When Kerensky’s troops slaughtered everyone in the Rim Worlds that bore the name Amaris, they overlooked maternal cousins with names like Siever, Wong, Chan, and Marcus.

With the danger of being even distantly related to Amaris, people with those names fled the Rim Worlds. My own family settled in the Outworlds Alliance. I honestly do not know if I am a descendant of Stefan the Usurper. Genealogical records that might have cleared up my ancestry were destroyed in the aftermath of the war. It is a reflection of my parents’ macabre sense of humor that they named me Anastasia, after the Terran legend of Anastasia Romanov, daughter of the last Russian Czar.

Our research has resolved one matter, however. No conclusive link can be found between Amaris and anyone still living. With such total lack of pedigree, anyone claiming relationship to Amaris, let alone claiming leadership to any of the Rim Worlds (now the Bandit Kingdoms) on the basis of such a claim, can be assumed to be a pretender or a usurper. We can hope that the shame that my putative kinsman brought to the Periphery will never be revived, and that the carnage he brought to the Inner Sphere will never be forgotten.

—Anastasia Marcus, Historical Director, Davion Research Project, ComStar Research Archives, Terra, 3028

The First Succession War

If we should ever want to come back to the Inner Sphere, we will need only search for a cluster of stars burning brighter than the rest, their illumination strengthened by a thousand fires burning on a thousand planets. We’ll know that is where we left the five Houses to fight themselves into extinction.

—Captain Agincort Malloy, quoted in Reflections on the Exodus, by Precentor Jonathan Degrassi, 2801

The departure of Kerensky and three-quarters of the Star League Regular Army in 2784 removed the final restraint binding the Council Lords to any facade of peace. Even though the Regular Army was lacking a First Lord and a central base of supply or political authority, the Star League forces had been a formidable threat to be wooed rather than opposed. With Kerensky gone, the remaining Regulars—many with valuable combat experience from the Periphery campaigns and the Amaris Coup—drifted into the various armed camps that each Lord was building to assert his claim to rulership of the League.

A Dark Age

With the fall of the Star League, the worlds of the Inner Sphere moved into a new era, though no discontinuity was apparent to those who lived through the transition. Even today there are many who claim that the League will yet rise like a phoenix from the ashes of the Succession Wars. This is symptomatic of the Era of the Warlords.

Beginning with the Amaris Coup and stretching through the two and a half centuries since, history has become little more than a seemingly endless sequence of battles, alliances, and famous dates. In the process, however, scientific, economic, and social progress have begun to wither away. Mankind has entered an age of stagnation. Greed and ambition have so blinded the Successor Warlords that they have failed to recognize, let alone correct, humanity’s slow but steady decline into darkness.

—From Humanity at the Brink, by Adept Armand Sieyes, ComStar General Bulletin No. 18654, Archives Publishing, Terra 3016

The Towne Debacle

As the last of the Kerensky’s transports jumped out toward the Periphery, the Federated Suns was in an extremely weak position. Because Prince John wished to behave like a proper successor to the Camerons, he had forbade his military to do anything “unseemly.” For example, while the other House Lords were openly plundering the Terran state of wealth and worlds, the AFFS had to buy or secretly steal anything valuable in order not to embarrass Prince John. As a result, the Federated Suns acquired only a fraction of the supplies and military units that the other Houses gained.

This might not have been so crucial if the AFFS had been as strong as most people imagined. On paper, the Davion army was larger than any other House army, but it had several serious flaws that almost proved fatal. One of these was the resurgence of regional loyalties. During the quiet Star League era, it had become fashionable for the government to cut the AFFS budget, particularly funds for transporting units around the realm. As a result, troops became permanently assigned to a certain region for years, and began to feel more loyalty to their new homeworlds than to the Federated Suns and the Davion family. The Field Marshals of Combat Regions found their troops boastfully proud of their home region and deeply suspicious of any attempts to take them away from it. With location so predominant, cooperation between Combat Regions was poor. This, in turn, created a brittle and fragmented defense line.

Another flaw was the rampant inter-service rivalry. What had once been good-natured competition between MechWarrior, fighter pilot, and grunt had long since degenerated into bitter feuding. Active hostility between the services was common, and battlefield cooperation between them almost nonexistent.

The Towne Debacle of 2785 most clearly reveals the situation in the AFFS at that time. The Federated Suns had claimed the planet Towne, once a member of the Terran Hegemony, in 2783. While Prince John was trying to behave like a statesmanly successor to the throne of First Lord, Towne was one of the few Terran worlds that he considered valuable enough to claim openly. Not only did the planet contain many warehouses of technical machinery, but it was also one of the Federated Suns’s few pathways to Terra. Because of Towne’s importance, Prince John sent elements of the 56th Avalon Hussars and the 123rd Aero Interceptor Wing to garrison the planet.

Early in 2785, raiding parties from both the Draconis Combine and the Capellan Confederation made a bid to capture Towne’s warehouses and industry. The planet’s defenders could easily have turned back the small raiding parties, but rivalry between the Hussars and the Aerofighter Wing hampered their efforts to defend the planet. Major Wilkins of the Hussars was convinced that they must deal first with the Combine raiders, while Major Donner of the Aero Wing wanted to tackle the Capellan raiders first. Before retreating, both the Kurita and the Liao raiders were able to loot several poorly defended warehouses of all their valuables.

Seeing this weakness in the Federated Suns and anxious to exploit it, the Draconis Combine mounted a major offensive against Towne late in 2785. The Fifth Dieron Regulars, supported by seven regiments of infantry and AeroSpace Fighters, attacked the planet, forcing the Davion soldiers on Towne to beg for reinforcements. Local loyalties and a complex bureaucracy slowed the relief effort, however, and by the time AFFS JumpShips entered the Towne system, the soldiers of the 56th Hussars and the 123rd Wing were either dead or at the mercy of their conquerors. Towne was now the property of the Combine.

The slight slide in the Davion economy that had accompanied the collapse of the star League now turned into an all-out crash late in 2786. Those who believed that the days of wine and roses would never end would now pay for their unwillingness to revise economic policies to meet the changing times.

Kurita Or Liao?

Considering all that we’ve done in recent years, I’m not surprised that we are at war. It’s a fitting punishment.

—From The Private Journals of Prince John Davion, NAIS Press, New Avalon, 3011

The Towne Debacle made even Prince John realize just how ineffective the AFFS had become. The idea of inheriting the title of First Lord had apparently blinded him to the needs of his realm. He was not a hard-headed Davion for nothing, however, and so the Prince gathered together his Field Marshals and girded himself for the truth. What he found was so distressing that there may be some truth to the stories that he considered sending delegates to the neighboring realms to sue for peace. What happened, however, was that Prince John announced major reforms and defensive preparations.

To stop the decay eating away at the AFFS, Prince John authorized a crash program of militarization. The government seized almost all of the Federated Suns major industries for the production of military equipment, and most other resources became the property of the AFFS. One welcome effect of this drastic policy was that it lowered the realm’s high unemployment rate, easing the economic doldrums. Within six months of this industrial mobilization, the manufacture of JumpShips, ‘Mechs, AeroSpace Fighters, and tanks was steadily increasing.

Prince John knew that he needed more than this to stop an opportunistic enemy, and searched about for away to stall at least one of his “neighbors” from attacking. He ordered his Marshals to devise an offensive to spoil the plans of the realm most likely to attack the Federated Suns. In one of the great blunders of the Succession Wars, Davion’s Field Marshals reported back that, between House Liao and House Kurita, the Capellan Confederation posed the most dangerous threat.

While the Davion forces were preparing their spoiling offensive against the Capellans, the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery was preparing its own surprise offensive to cripple the Federated Suns. Having declared himself First Lord in December 2786, Coordinator Minoru Kurita believed that the best way to assert his claim was to match his military against the only other army worthy of the effort. A decisive victory against the Federated Suns would give him virtually unlimited influence over Houses Marik, Liao, and Steiner, and thus guarantee him the First Lordship.

To design and lead the offensive, Minoru Kurita chose his unpredictable, if not insane, son, Jinjiro Kurita. Having studied the Towne Debacle closely, Jinjiro realized that the AFFS was nothing but a paper tiger. Plotting to take advantage of every flaw, every error in the Federated Suns military, he devised the most brilliant offensive that the Inner Sphere has ever seen.

When Kerensky and the Regular Army began to rendezvous around the Combine world of New Samarkand, Minoru Kurita had flooded the district with units from other regions, fearing an attack by General Kerensky’s troops. Nor did the departure of the Regular Army for parts unknown allay his fears. For two years after the Exodus, the Galedon District was still on alert and busy with troop traffic moving through the region.

Federated Suns agents had grown accustomed to the activity in the district, which allowed Jinjiro to use the traffic to disguise the concentration of his troops along the Davion front. He pulled troops from all over the realm, sent them under assumed unit names through the Galedon Military District, and then secretly deployed them in positions along the border. Once in their assigned positions, these Combine units were under the strictest orders to avoid confronting AFFS units. Combine officers were ordered to lose battles rather than to tip off the Federated Suns to their strength.

A few officers within the AFFS suspected that House Kurita was up to something. Marshal E. Dryer of the 13th Avalon Hussars RCT had been warning everyone that the DCMS was planning to attack. So strident was his call to arms that he was court-martialed and demoted three ranks for physically assaulting a Field Marshal who disagreed with him. (Colonel Dryer was among the first killed in the offensive.) Though others agreed with Dryer’s ill tidings, the inter-service rivalry permeating the Davion ranks kept the military strategists from getting all the facts on a possible Combine offensive.

Instead, Prince John and his Field Marshals prepared an offensive against the Capellans, massing whatever AFFS troops they could pry from their home regions. The targets of the Davion attack were the planets Mira, Mesartim, and Tikonov, which Davion agents had discovered to be major staging areas for House Liao. Successful attacks against the supplies on those planets would delay the enemy offensive for months. By the end of April, the AFFS had over 50 regiments gathered on the Federated Suns worlds of Tawas, Farwell, and Amiga.

Front-Line Worries

March 5, 2787
From:Marshal Janos Dedirth, Commander MI-3 (Combine Sector)
To: Field Marshal Timons Davion, Commander MI-2

I cannot urge strongly enough that you review the report on Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery communiques coming in and out of the Galedon Military District. The incredible volume of communiques and the presence of numerous regiments in that region makes me quite nervous. Though the DCMS may still be in a high state of activity due to General Kerensky’s rendezvous at New Samarkand in the Galedon Military District prior to the Exodus, it doesn’t explain everything I’ve been seeing. Please give me your opinion of the report.

****

March 6, 2787
From: Field Marshal Timons Davion, Commander MI-2
To: Marshal Janos Dedrith, Commander MI-3 (Combine Sector)

I have read your report and conclude that you are either suffering from a drug hallucination or are bucking for a promotion. If the Dragon was planning an offensive, wouldn’t our operatives in the Combine have alerted us by now? If the Dragon was up to something, then why have we won the last twelve skirmishes with them? Try to calm down. It’s paranoia that makes you fear House Kurita so much.

—From ComStar Research Archives, Terra, Federated Suns Folders, 26A

The Storm Breaks

May 1, 2787 saw the entire Kurita-Davion border erupt with fighting. Kurita units attacked every Federated Suns world on the border, intent on destroying the planets’ ability to communicate with other worlds. Most of the attacks were so unexpected that many worlds went silent without sending a single distress message. Receiving only a few calls for assistance, the AFFS severely underestimated the strength of the attack. To the Field Marshals commanding the Combat Regions along the border, the sudden Kurita offensive seemed worrisome but manageable. Indeed, they made no effort to coordinate their defenses.

Three days later, Jinjiro unleashed the second phase of his offensive. Instead of launching new attacks spread out along the front, he sent a wave of Kurita regiments against the Clovis Combat Region. The regiments in this second wave pushed deep into the Region, striking at Cartago, Olancha, and Clovis. The attack on Clovis, headquarters of all AFFS forces in the region, was most crucial to Jinjiro’s plans. If Clovis fell, any defense of the Region would crumble.

Field Marshal Simons, commander of the Clovis Combat Region, had guessed at Kurita’s intentions and was now trying to improve the position of his headquarters when the Kurita invasion arrived. The Marshal’s unit, the First Clovis Guards Regiment, along with three armored units, fought one of the most inspired defenses ever known. Their mission was to protect Gorst City, the capital of Clovis, which lay in a mountain-encircled valley. The Kurita forces attacked with five times the defender’s strength, yet by the end of the first week, they could claim only a small foothold in the valley.

Throughout the fight, Marshal Simons called desperately for reinforcements from Field Marshals throughout the Draconis March. Unfortunately, he received only token support, as his neighbors were too worried about their own Combat Regions to realize how vital it was that the Clovis Combat Region remain in Davion hands.

By the end of the second week, with the Kurita troops drawing the noose tighter around Gorst City, Field Marshal Simons called for a retreat and attempted to leave the planet. As his DropShip lifted away from the planet’s surface, Kurita AeroSpace Fighters attacked and destroyed the vessel. The defense of the Clovis Combat Region collapsed immediately afterward. The Arm of the Dragon now had a clear path into very the heart of the Federated Suns.

Barlow’s Folly

Perched on the Davion-Kurita border, the planet Cussar had seen more than its share of raids by military forces sporting the Dragon symbol. People would jokingly put a plate at the dinner table as well as a rifle next to the front door for any Kurita soldier that might show up. Stationed on the planet was a battalion from the 38th Avalon Hussars, commanded by Colonel Michael Barlow. A native of the planet, Barlow knew its mountainous terrain well. He loved his world and believed that only House Davion would treat it with the same respect.

When the Kurita offensive began, Cussar was one of its first targets. Fight as they might, the defenders slowly lost control of the planet while the Draconis forces destroyed every building, shot every farm animal, and burned all the crops.

After receiving news that Field Marshal Simons, Commander of the Combat Region, had been killed on Clovis, Colonel Barlow’s superior gave the ROW (Retreat Off-World) order. Colonel Barlow refused to abandon his homeworld. Instead, he tried to convince his comrades to remain, too. His commanding officer said this would be folly, and so all the AFFS DropShips left Cussar. Nearly every man still alive from Barlow’s battalion stayed behind, however.

After the last AFFS DropShip had gone, Barlow led his battalion into the mountains circling the planet’s three major cities. For the next three years, his ‘Mechs attacked and harassed the Kurita forces, and Barlow’s forces managed to scavenge enough parts and supplies to keep their machines up and attacking When their ‘Mechs could no longer stand, Barlow and his men took up rifles and fought on for another ten years.

After 14 years of struggle in which Barlow’s men had killed countless Kurita soldiers and destroyed tons of enemy equipment and supplies, the Kurita garrison on Cussar killed the last of the guerrilla forces. To their dismay, however, the Kuritans found that the bravery of Barlow’s battalion had renewed the spirit of rebellion among the citizens of Cussar. Numerous new guerrilla actions were conducted in the name of Colonel Barlow. It had been difficult enough to battle a clever enemy hidden within mountains. Now the Kuritans faced enemies hidden in the midst of every civilian crowd.

To this day, Colonel Barlow is remembered on Cussar. As the civilian population is still rebellious, three times the normal number of Draconis troops are stationed there to prevent all-out revolt. Soldiers dread being assigned to this planet because of the constant terrorism aimed at them.

Even the planet’s name has changed. As the tales of Colonel Barlow’s bravery spread throughout the Inner Sphere, people began to call Cussar “Barlow’s Folly.” The Draconis Combine itself has bowed to convention and now identifies Cussar by its new name.

—From Heroes of the First Succession War, by General T.J. Barker, Syrtis Military Press, New Syrtis, 3002

Retreat

I’d sell my grandmother to be able to say that our situation wasn’t critical. Trouble is, she died fighting those bastards two hours ago.

—From official AFFS transcripts, dated May 2787, AFFS Archives, Avalon City

In the third week of the offensive, Prince John, still near the Capellan border, ordered a complete and orderly withdrawal of AFFS forces from the Draconis border region. Many soldiers refused out of loyalty to their homeworlds. Others fled, leaving many tons of valuable machinery behind.

This disorganized retreat left huge gaps in the Federated Suns defensive line. Quickly discovering and exploiting these gaps, House Kurita found its invasion more than a week ahead of schedule. One of the main reasons for the swiftness of their advance was the Kuritans’ willingness to bypass pockets of heavy AFFS resistance, which they left for rear-echelon units to destroy at leisure. Most pockets of resistance perished either by the sheer force of the enemy’s numbers or when they ran out of supplies and food. Only a few AFFS units stationed along the border, such as McKinnon’s Raiders, the Franklin Gorgons, and the Doughboys, managed to survive.

By 2792, the AFFS found itself defending Imbrial III, Kestrel, and Saunemin, each about two jumps from the capital world of New Avalon. By this time, Prince John had launched two counterattacks. The first occurred in 2788, when John threw troops intended for the Capellan offensive against the Combine army. By striking the flank of the Combine offensive, he hoped to slow its advance. When the attempt failed at Cartago, Prince John was fortunate to escape from that world with his life.

John attempted his second counteroffensive in 2790. Gathering up most of the warships left in his navy along with virtual clouds of AeroSpace Fighters and DropShips, he assembled a task force to attack the Kurita invaders head-on. Their objective was not to win back worlds, but to destroy enough naval forces to force the Kuritans to slow their attacks.

This offensive had better luck than the first. Commanded by Admiral Kenneth Jones aboard the FSS Golden Lion, the taskforce hit over ten Kurita-occupied star systems, starting with Imbrial and ending with New Valencia, and destroyed over 20 enemy JumpShip sand an equal number of DropShips. The AFFS vessels even managed to resupply the resistance on some worlds, and its AeroSpace Fighters often had time to strike at ground targets before being forced to move on.

The end for the AFFS taskforce came as they were about to head out of Kurita-held territory. Early in the war, the Federated Suns had abandoned the small one-world system of Cholame, and the Draconis Combine had reportedly not garrisoned it. Admiral Jones thought Cholame’s single planet would be the perfect spot for a rest before his force made their jump to Rosamond and safety.

As the taskforce entered the system, Kurita AeroSpace Fighters immediately attacked many of the Davion JumpShips. A group of Kurita warships followed close on the heels of the fighters. The naval engagement lasted for six weeks, as Admiral Jones darted between the system jump points, hoping to buy enough time for at least a few of his ships to jump to safety. More than 1 00 AFFS warships, from small corvettes to the Golden Lion itself, had been destroyed, along with an equal number of DropShips and AeroSpace Fighters. That Admiral Jones took with him an equal number of Kurita warships was small comfort to the people of the Federated Suns.

The Capellan Confederation was not idle during battles between the Federated Suns and the Draconis Combine. Realizing that they now had little to fear from House Davion, the Capellans acquired a few Federated Suns worlds near Terra, including Addicks, Ankaa, and Small World. Even worse for the Suns was the Capellan takeovers of Salem, Victoria, Carmacks, and Sekulmun between the years of 2796-7.

Now the Federated Suns had no path to Terra. Though there was little real importance to this fact, many in the Federated Suns felt lost without a link to mankind’s ancestral home.

The Purge

The ugliest effects of House Kurita’s invasion into the Federated Suns were psychological. Among the Davion citizenry, there developed an unreasoning greed, secrecy, suspicion, and a widespread compulsion to steal supplies. A particularly wicked case in point occurred on Strawn.

In 2794, a fifth-rate petty bureaucrat, who had somehow managed to become Prime Minister of Strawn, issued an order that stripped all members of the Oriental race of their property and belongings and relocated them to camps away from sensitive government facilities.

This law struck a responsive chord among the people now so desperately afraid of the Kurita Dragon. Suddenly, anyone of Oriental lineage was a potential agent of the Draconis Combine. The Capellans were equally feared since they had cut off the Suns’s bond with Terra. In the resulting hysteria, many unfortunates were accused of being an agent of both realms.

Paranoia spread like wildfire. Homes were burned, businesses bombed, and even a pasta factory was shut down because its noodles were declared “oriental.” For those citizens of the Federated Suns who happened to be of Oriental ancestry, this was far from a laughing matter. Many were dragged from their homes and killed, while others watched as everything they had worked for was taken from them.

There were mixed reactions from the various planetary governments and nobility. Most were outraged by the citizens’ actions and tried to stop the madness. Others took advantage of the situation, profiting from their Oriental citizens’ misfortunes. A few governments and nobles actually believed in the Purge, and the history of these worlds will forever be stained by innocent blood.

After two years, the problem had so intensified that even the preoccupied Davion government could no longer ignore it. In January 2796, Prince John issued a proclamation that any form of racism was contrary to the right of freedom granted every citizen of the realm. Later, Pope Clement XX of the New Avalon Catholic Church issued a similar decree, claiming that racism could not coexist with the love of God and was therefore punishable by excommunication.

Though these actions served to calm the mania that had overtaken so many ordinary men and women, nothing could make up for the lost lives and property. To this day, there are very few willing to discuss the Purge in the Federated Suns.

—From Atrocities Away From the Battlefield, by Father Ryan Ramon, Unfinished Book Press, New Avalon, 3001

Kentares IV

Remember Kentares!

—Popular rallying cry, circa 2797, quoted from Culture Under Stress: The First Succession War, by Duchess Greta Dewers, 3011

By 2796, the Kurita offensive had pushed its way to Saginaw, Delavan, and Odell—all worlds within one jump of New Avalon. Though heavy AFFS forces were still contesting ownership of these planets, there was little to stop the DCMS from staging an invasion of New Avalon. On the capital world, efforts to evacuate the government and civilians were already underway.

Just when victory seemed inevitable, Coordinator Minoru Kurita called a three-month halt to the offensive over strong objections from his son, Jinjiro. The Coordinator had several sound reasons for his decision, however. First, the Draconians had bypassed a large number of AFFS troops in their advance, and it was tying up too many of the Coordinator’s troops to keep those areas under control. Because Kurita knew he would need many men to take New Avalon, he decided to clean up at least a few pockets of troublesome Davion resistance. Second, Minoru Kurita’s supply situation was poor. Having pushed into the Federated Suns so far and so quickly meant that his supply lines were over seven jumps long. If he paused now, it would allow a buildup of supplies for the final push. Third, Coordinator Minoru needed to establish regional supply depots on conquered worlds to prevent future supply bottlenecks.

One of the worlds chosen as a regional supply station was New Rhodes III, an object of fierce fighting two months earlier. The defenders, members of the 17th Avalon Hussars, had eventually retreated offworld before the arrival of the elite second Sword of Light. With its small Type M star and quick turn-around time for DropShips, New Rhodes Ill could supply an entire flank of the Kurita offensive.

After the retreat of the 17th, AFFS Captain Warrent and a small band of MechWarriors had stayed behind. Hiding in the thick woods above the capital city, they watched Kurita forces land on the planet and then almost immediately ship in huge loads of supplies and equipment. Luckily for the Davions, the DCMS did not mount its usual defensive measures such as ‘Mech patrols or fighter fly-overs. Taking advantage of the Combine’s laxness, Captain Warrent and his MechWarriors slipped into the supply depot and destroyed many thousand tons of supplies before being hunted down and killed.

Not only was this an important-and all too rare-military victory for the Federated Suns, it was also an important moral boost for the entire realm. So inspiring were Captain Warrent’s efforts that the people of New Rhodes Ill became so unruly that the DCMS had to cancel its plans to build a supply depot there.

Because of the loss of supplies on New Rhodes, House Kurita’s troops on nearby Kentares IV were in dire straits. The Davion presence there, led by the Seventh Crucis Lancers, had fought a long and tenacious defense, making the enemy pay for every acre of this heavily industrialized world. Now that the lack of supplies was forcing the Kuritans to slow up their efforts, the Davion soldiers redoubled their efforts and began to push back the Arm of the Dragon.

To stop this AFFS offensive, Coordinator Minoru Kurita himself arrived with his Sixth Sword of Light on Kentares ]V. At first, he was almost overwhelmed by the planet’s defenders, but the sheer number of Kurita ‘Mechs slowly forced the Seventh Crucis Lancers back. Soon, they had be enforced onto a single continent.

New Snowfield was a small town in the Carmelite Mountains of Kentares IV. It was a beautiful setting whose forests and mountains enchanted the Coordinator. Having been on the march all day, Minoru decided that this would be a good place to revive his spirit.

Above the town was a platoon of soldiers from the Seventh Crucis Lancers. Led by Sergeant Latha Pischel, the platoon had been quietly watching the coming and going of enemy forces. With the appearance of two Kurita lances in the town below, Sergeant Pischel ordered his platoon to retreat. Pischel, however, decided to stay and watch.

Down below, he saw a MechWarrior climb out from his BattleMaster. The MechWarrior appeared to be an old and respected one, for all the other soldiers clustered about him. After conferring with his subordinates, the man walked awry with a firm gesture that none but the robed priest should follow him. As the two men strolled together and began to talk, Sergeant Pischel unslung his laser rifle and adjusted the scope. He could see that the MechWarrior was bent with age and what could only have been heavy responsibility.

For a moment, Pischel felt a flicker of pity, but he knew that war was war. Drawing a bead on the man’s back, he let off a shot. The figure in his scope twitched once as though irritated by an insect sting, then collapsed. As enemy soldiers ran for their weapons and doctors rushed to the aid of the dying man, Sergeant Pischel quickly ran off to follow his men.

The man whom Sergeant Pischel had assumed to be a Colonel was, in fact, Coordinator Minoru Kurita. When the Federated Suns eventually discovered this fact, after a few days of increased enemy activity and communications, the general reaction was one of complete shock instead of joy. Though Minoru Kurita had long been despised, everyone feared the day when his son, the volatile Jinjiro, would assume control. Throughout the Davion realm, people in both high and low places shuddered to think what would happen next. Prince John ordered all AFFS forces to leave Kentares, hoping to cheat Jinjiro of any chance to vent his anger.

Jinjiro reached Kentares about a week after his father’s death. Gathering his officers together, he issued a three-word command that announced months of horror. The words he spoke were: “Kill them all.”

Kurita soldiers, many armed with only pistols and swords, executed over 52 million civilians on Kentares. Some of the Kurita troops, sickened at what they had been ordered to do, hid many citizens. In one instance, Talon Sergeant Tarna Oza hid ten families from execution by forcing them into a mineshaft, whose entrance she blocked with her ‘Mech. She spent 20 days telling her superiors the lie that her ‘Mech was damaged, until the execution parties left the area.

The Federated Suns reacted to the Kentares Massacre almost as one man. A wave of revulsion spread through the realm, fueling the cry of hate-mongers who wanted to lock up all Orientals. On the battlefield, the news made every Davion soldier fight with renewed passion. Anger and an insatiable urge for revenge now burned within the hearts of the Davion troops, sweeping away their earlier fear and depression.

“Remember Kentares!” was the common cry throughout the Federated Suns. Like the spell of a magician, the cry transformed a beaten people into grim-faced warriors. Late in 2797, Prince John hoped to take advantage of his people’s renewed spirit by preparing a counterstroke, but he would not live to see the operation. In December of that year, an unknown assassin penetrated the Prince’s field headquarters and struck down both the Prince and his son and heir, Joshua Davion. It was now left to Paul, Joshua’s son, to stand at the head of a realm on the verge of defeat yet invigorated by a new spirit.

Down But Not Out

In times like these, it is the ruler’s duty to look after his people. Power for power’s sake is hardly worth seeking, but power to save this realm is something I must have and something I will have.

—Prince Paul Davion, in a speech before The High Council, 2800

A mere 19 years of age at the time of the assassination of John and Joshua Davion, Paul came to the Davion throne facing a critically dangerous situation and with little experience. The fury of the First Succession War was unlike anything since the terrors of the Age of War, and the Federated Suns was bearing the brunt of the fighting. The new Prince faced the worst crisis since the time of Prince Alexander, and it was fortunate for House Davion that he had inherited much of the talent, energy, and determination of his distinguished forebear. Just as Alexander’s victory in the Davion Civil War had changed the face of the Federation forever, so did the policies Paul adopted to meet the common danger.

The year of the Prince’s accession marked the low tide of the Federation cause. News of the Kentares Massacre was still reverberating through the realm, while the death of Prince John had thrown all plans for a Davion counteroffensive into disarray. Meanwhile, the Kuritans continued their mopping-up operations on AFFS resistance. On the other front, House Liao was still gobbling up Federated Suns worlds, slowed only by their fear of bumping heads with House Kurita.

Demonstrating a gift for strategic thought, young Prince Paul rose to the occasion. Though he might often be defeated in battle, this new Prince would one day stand among history’s greatest generals for his ability to reorganize and retaliate after even the most serious reverse.

Prince Paul’s first action was to give his approval to the various spontaneous offensives begun by Davion troops incensed by the Kentares Massacre. Some of the attacks failed miserably, but most succeeded, weakening the resolve of their opponents. lt was in these areas that Prince Paul focused the meager reserves and supplies at his disposal. The sight of Davion soldiers attacking with an abandon supposed to be lacking in an “inferior” race shocked many Combine soldiers who already felt dishonored by the Kentares atrocities. Shaken by recent events, many DCMS soldiers laid down their arms and surrendered. These passionate victories gave the Federated Suns its first tactical, if not strategic, victories in years.

Prince Paul was quick to capitalize on this stroke of good fortune. He ensured that all prisoners were treated well and thoroughly interrogated about the Arm of the Dragon. All reports went directly to Prince Paul, bypassing Military Intelligence, which the Prince did not trust. Though the average prisoner knew only bits and pieces about Jinjiro Kurita’s intentions, the pieces began to form an image of an army suddenly unsure of itself.

Power To The Prince

Doesn’t the fact that we stand on the brink of extermination make you think that perhaps we were doing things wrong?

—Prince Paul, to members of the High Council, quoted in Political Memoirs, by Duke Gregory Simons, NAIS Press, New Avalon, 2999

Forced to regroup and reevaluate their plan of attack, the Kuritans halted their drive. Equally content to avoid a fresh escalation, Paul took advantage of the lull to reorganize the Federated Suns defenses. During this time, he also introduced political reforms that had far-reaching consequences for House Davion and its realms. In the years from 2798 to 2801, the Federated Suns underwent a major internal overhaul, leading to yet another victory for centralization. These years and their aftermath are known today as the Reformation.

At the root of Paul’s reorganization was his assumption, in 2798, of the title of Duke of New Avalon. In Star League times, the title had been granted as a mark of honor to the heir to the First Lord of the Star League, and Paul took over the title by right of his grandfather’s claim to the Star League throne. During the League era, the title had accumulated a number of powers and honors that the Camerons had exercised only rarely. In Paul’s hands, this courtesy title was transformed to make him the most powerful Davion ever to rule the Federated Suns.

The Duchy itself was of little importance in federation politics. During the two centuries of the Star League’s existence, the Duke of New Avalon’s title had slowly gathered a number of subsidiary honors that did make it a significant tool—in the proper hands. For example, even under Alexander and his heirs, the Federated Suns High Council had always reserved the right to create or eliminate titles and estates within the boundaries of the Federated Suns. Neither the Davions nor any other Princes could endow new members of the peerage. In 2653, the Duke of New Avalon was specifically empowered to bestow courtesy titles in the Federated Suns peerage (though not of lands or estates) to permit the First Lord and his family to honor particularly valuable followers from the Federation. In 2698, there came another measure granting the Duke of New Avalon titular ownership of 30 planets within the federation’s territories. As the planets became colonized and reached a point of self-sufficiency, the Duke would grant them autonomy, and then would adopt other undeveloped planets into his keeping.

In the years following the War of Davion Succession, the practice of granting autonomy to the emergent worlds had fallen away. A number of these planets had since become totally self-sufficient. One of them, New Aberdeen, could meet all the requirements for full membership in the Federation. Having taken the title of Duke of New Avalon, Paul chose to exercise his “rights” of ownership over these worlds.

In a final power, the Duke of New Avalon was entitled to speak first at any meeting of the Federation High Council, and he had the right to summon or dismiss a High Council meeting without a vote. When the Camerons held the Duchy, these powers simply allowed the First Lord’s heir to convene meetings at his convenience during his frequent visits to member states of the League. Even Alexander had not taken the power to dismiss the Council for himself.

By claiming the Duchy, Prince Paul gained all the powers needed to assume total control over the Federated Suns. He could reward followers with titles, regardless of the High Council’s wishes, and many of the planets he now “owned” were significant financial assets or would make valuable endowments as estates. For the first time, the Prince of the Federated Suns became a true feudal lord. His followers owed their primary allegiance to him rather than to the federation, and it was Paul, not the government, who was in a position to reward them. To ensure perpetuation of this new order, the Prince could replenish his holdings from spoils of war or with heirless estates forfeited to the Crown to replace the lands that he handed out. In addition, the Duke’s ability to summon, guide, and dismiss the High Council eventually reduced that body to little more than a rubber stamp for the Prince’s will; it lacked even the few advisory powers that Alexander had left it.

Armed with these new powers, Paul Davion set out to reorganize the AFFS into a fighting force loyal to House Davion rather than to any single political or regional entity. By centralizing power and authority in his family, he made the Federated Suns better able to resist outside aggression. In 2799, he created more than 50 new noblemen, mostly distinguished officers whose services warranted exceptional notice. He also established two new military awards: the Crucis Legion (for MechWarriors) and the Order of Valor (for other, non-’Mech troops). The Prince was fond of citing a famous saying credited to the military leader Napoleon Bonaparte, “With such baubles, men are led.” Paul Davion and his successors certainly proved its truth.

Creation Of The MIIO

One of Prince Paul’s sharpest criticisms of the Davion government was that the Federated Suns civilian information gathering service was totally inadequate. Since the birth of the Star League, 1 Military Intelligence had handled all attempts to learn the secrets of other realms. The existing civilian agency had to submit requests to MI for information, and it was up to the MI officers to decide whether to part with that intelligence. This arrangement worked well for the relatively quiet times of the Star League.

Now that whole worlds could be won or lost in a day, based on knowing or not knowing certain information, it was no longer realistic to rely totally on MI. Not only was the agency too understaffed to handle the flood of information requests, it also suffered from the factionalism that plagued the rest of the AFFS. The agency guarded its information so jealously that sometimes its people refused to part with it out for fear of weakening their own power.

Prince Paul’s solution was to create the Ministry of Intelligence Investigations and Operations (MIIO) at the same time he was strengthening all his other powers during the Reformation. This Ministry’s purpose was to gather information through any means necessary and to feed it back to the government as quickly as possible. To ensure the quality of the new MIIO agents, Prince Paul ordered the Ministry to encourage and reward individual initiative. Funding for the new Ministry was extraordinarily high, but the Prince’s lavishness soon proved to be a good investment. Less than a year after the MIIO’s creation, it was supplying the government with vital information quicker and more thoroughly than was the MI.

—From Spies and Information for the Federated Suns: A Study, by lvan Navaro, Toledo Press, New Avalon 2997

Rout Of The Dragon

Why should we be so amazed and honored because Dame Ilsa Liao wants to make a deal that would recognize me as First Lord? The truth is self-evident and shouldn’t have to be bargained for.

—Prince Paul’s remarks concerning Chancellor Liao’s offer to recognize him as First Lord, in exchange for certain worlds, quoted from Political Memoirs, by Duke Gregory Simons, Toledo Press, New Avalon, 2999

After tending to these political matters for several years, Paul took to the battlefield once more in 2801. Leading yet another drive for Kentares IV, his strategy was not spectacular, yet the offensive gained House Davion its victory. One major reason for the success of this campaign was the pressure that the Lyran Commonwealth was placing on the Draconis Combine, drawing away key DCMS forces from the Davion front. Another important factor was the leadership of Paul’s uncle, Thomas Halder-Davion, whose grasp of tactical principles was as sound as Paul’s understanding of strategy. Furthermore, the efforts of McKinnon’s Raiders on Kentares kept the DCMS off guard, constantly forced to spend time and resources hunting down the guerillas.

After bitter fighting, the unhappy world of Kentares, now a wasteland of corpses and ruins, was restored to Davion control. With the recovery of this planet, the Federated Suns began actively to reclaim ground lost to the Draconis Combine. Kurita generals reluctantly withdrew from several worlds deep in the Federated Suns because of the Davion forces on Kentares.

By 2808, the Federated Suns had pushed back the Draconis Combine to the border between the Crucis and the Draconis Marches. With each victory, the AFFS grew stronger and bolder. Prince Paul’s military and political reforms were proving most effective, and even the most pessimistic citizens and politicians were smiling at the war news. A new confidence was in the air for House Davion, though some would later call it arrogance.

It was at this moment that Paul Davion received a totally unexpected peace proposal from the Capellan Confederation. Sensing that peace would be easier to negotiate with a realm so much on the upswing, Chancellor Ilsa Liao renounced her family’s claim to the First Lordship. The proposal she sent Prince Paul promised to recognize the Davion claims to the First Lordship in exchange for control of the Chesterton region of the Federated Suns (most of which the Capellans had already wrested from the AFFS early in the war.)

Why Paul responded so coldly to this sincere peace proposal is still a matter of considerable debate. Some historians speculate that there may have been some hidden condition in the bargain to which the Prince simply could not agree. Others think that Prince Paul suspected the Capellans of sending the assassin who had killed his father. Still others believe that Paul Davion and Dame lisa had been secret lovers and that the Chancellor offered the peace proposal to patch up personal problems between them.

Whatever the reason, Prince Paul responded to the proposal by ordering the Third and Fifth Crucis Lancers, who especially hated the Liao forces, to renew their efforts to seize the Capellan worlds of Ulan Batar and Farwell. There were many nobles and high government officials who questioned Paul’s rejection of peace with House Liao. Paul’s answer was to send them or their family members into action on the frontiers.

Meanwhile, things were not going well for the DCMS. For the average Kurita soldier, indoctrinated with the idea of certain victory for the Draconis Combine, the years of slowly losing ground were disheartening. Added to this were the constant rumors about the Kentares Massacre, which troubled the sense of honor of many an average soldier.

When news reached the Kurita troops that the AFFS was planning another massive offensive in 2809, a wave of fear spread through the DCMS. The offensive was to be a simultaneous thrust from either end of the Kuritaheld territory. By surrounding many Kurita-held worlds, the Davion generals hoped to trap the defending Kurita units in a pincer-like grasp.

As soon as the Davions began their offensive, panic spread among the Draconis units. Many infantrymen simply ran for the nearest DropShips, oblivious to their officers ‘commands. ‘Mech, AeroSpace Fighter, and tank units suddenly found themselves stripped of infantry support. They, too, offered only a token defense before heading for the DropShips.

By 2818, the AFFS was fighting for Clovis, Doneval II, and Le Blanc, all planets quite near the original Davion-Kurita border. Though the initial panic had run its course, many DCMS officers were committing seppuku for having failed in their duty. This wave of suicides devastated many units, as replacement officers often lacked substantial combat experience.

The Federated Suns forces stopped for a breather near the original Kurita border, as the commanders realized that an invasion of the Draconis Combine would provide the enemy with an emotional rallying point. Moreover, they wished to avoid overextending themselves, considering the snarl caused by long supply lines and the need to continue to fight on the Capellan front.

Time Out

The First Succession War ended in 2821, more from sheer exhaustion than through the signing of any peace accords. None of the Great Houses was in a position to mount any new offensives, and so a semblance of peace graced the Inner Sphere for nearly a decade to follow.

Like all the Successor States, House Davion had suffered severely in this war. Its shipbuilding industries had been crippled by the funneling of key resources into the war effort and the devastation of many factory worlds. Numerous other planets had lost their production capacities because local water purification and fusion power facilities had been destroyed. Consequently, revenues for the Crown had dropped to less than a quarter of prewar levels. Casualties of the First Succession War were estimated at over a billion, most of them civilian. This number did not even begin to account for the vast numbers who succumbed to famine, plague, exposure, and other disasters related to the collapse of technology on a hundred Federated Suns worlds.

The Second Succession War

All dressed up with nowhere to go.

—Regimental slogan for the 102nd Avalon Mixed Weapons Unit

AN UNEASY PEACE

Prince Paul used the time of relative peace in the same manner as his fellow Successor State warlords. He spurred his people to rebuild the military and to put the realm’s scientific, technical, and economic resources back into a semblance of order. All the while, Paul continued to extend his personal control over many aspects of the Federated Suns government, mainly through the use of deputies appointed from the ranks of his own family. Of particular importance were his uncle, Thomas Halder-Davion, Peter Davion, the Prince’s brother, and Lord William Stuart, Paul’s brother-in-law.

Halder-Davion was appointed Field Marshal in 2825, and was Paul’s major link to the army. Lord William Stuart, on the other hand, was a particularly canny politician. Whenever the Prince had to be absent from New Avalon, Stuart carried on Paul’s work in the Court on New Avalon. As for brother Peter, appointed Duke of New Aberdeen in 2814, Paul employed him in a variety of ways, but particularly as a military leader.

With such a large and diverse family to supply officials, Paul found it easy to maintain a Davion presence in every crucial area of his far-flung realm. Although other Davion leaders had followed this same practice, Paul was the first to demonstrate just how systematic this network could become. Critics grumbled that a man could not take a step without tripping over a Davion.

Freed from many less important duties, Prince Paul turned his energies to preparations for the next war, which he and the other leading Davions were sure would come. In public, however, the Davions praised the peace and claimed that a Davion First Lord would make it last for a thousand years. This facade reassured a people who had endured too much to contemplate yet another ordeal so soon.

Most of the non-military buildups during this period of uneasy peace were directed toward worlds that had suffered most in the fighting, whether from battle damage or because their vital supplies had been threatened. The government sent major convoys of transports to these worlds. These convoys were dubbed “Red Cross Wagon Trains” for the bright red cross on the sides of the JumpShips and DropShips participating in the relief effort.

Also at this time, the Davion government participated in secret talks with the Capellans to win the release of the thousands of captured AFFS soldiers. It would have been no use attempting to negotiate with the Kuritans for their Dictum Honorium would not allow for the exchange of prisoners. Prince Davion handpicked the negotiators to handle these delicate and often dangerous discussions. Many who served the Prince so well in this capacity later became important members of the newly created MIIO.

Negotiations with the Capellan Confederation were surprisingly difficult and treacherous. The Confederation had not forgotten Prince Davion’s violent reply to Chancellor lisa Liao’s peace initiative, and they were not about to return any of Prince Paul’s soldiers without making him pay dearly. A War Crimes Court put all the captured Davion officers on trial, filling every day’s record with gory testimony about the crimes of the accused. The news media of both House Liao and House Davion covered this sensational trial.

All defendants were found guilty and condemned to death. Chancellor Lisa Liao, meanwhile, was secretly informing Prince Paul that the accused were available for a price-a very high price. At first, Paul backed at the terms, but he changed his mind soon after the brutal Christmas Day execution of 20 AFFS officers, including a Marshal and two Generals. The ransom, which included tons of precious metals and minerals, paid not only for the lives of Davion officers, but for enlisted soldiers as well. So large was the ransom that it took two JumpShips of booty-laden DropShips to carry it. Paul Davion no doubt cursed the day he had so callously rejected Chancellor Ilsa’s overture.

War Heats Up

In 2825, the Draconis Combine launched what came to be called”Chain Gang Missions “to prevent the reconstruction efforts on border worlds of both the Federated Suns and the Lyran Commonwealth. Disgraced officers, convicts, Unproductives, antisocial misfits were recruited for these missions with promises of citizenship and wealth. After only the barest MechWarrior training, they were then assigned ‘Mechs that were one step from the wrecking yard. The various lances and companies of these ersatz MechWarriors amounted to a little over three regiments. Once a Chain Gang Mission arrived at its target planet, the DCMS DropShips and JumpShips simply left them there. The members of the Chain Gangs did not know that the ships would never return for survivors-until it was too late.

On the battlefield, many Chain Gangs simply surrendered, hoping the enemy would treat them mercifully. Others fought bravely, but were easily cut down. Then, there were those few that fought far beyond their abilities, sowing damage and panic because planetary defenders interpreted their tenacity as an attack by frontline units. Largely through the efforts of these foolishly brave victims of the Draconis Combine, the reconstruction efforts of both the Federated Suns and the Lyran Commonwealth were thrown into disarray.

Just as there was no official end to the First Succession War, there was no official beginning to the Second. For House Davion, the skirmishing on both its borders had become so heavy that by 2828, all-out war was the only logical next step. Prince Paul and his AFFS were again eyeing the Liao frontier, especially the worlds so dear to the Capellans around Chesterton. Meanwhile, the Draconis Combine seemed to have turned its attention mainly to actions on the Lyran front, taking some of the pressure off House Davion. Most of the AFFS Marshals considered this reason enough to mount a major effort against the Capellans, advising Prince Paul to seize the opportunity before the Dragon once more turned its eyes their way.

What they did not know was that Chancellor Ilsa Liao was about to launch her own offensive against House Davion to keep the AFFS on the defensive and out of the Confederation. The main target of her thrust was the planet Orbisonia, a major staging area of the AFFS and home to the 2nd Ceti Hussars and the 14th Avalon Hussars, both ‘Mech regiments.

Chancellor lisa Liao personally led her force of over a hundred heavy ‘Mechs and lesser regiments against Orbisonia, only to discover that the outmatched Davion defenders were still too mobile for the Liao forces to be able to administer the knockout punch. On the third day of battle, the arrival of Davion’s Assault Guards from the Royal Brigade sealed the fate of the Capellan effort. While fighting a rear-guard action to help her troops withdraw from the planet, Chancellor Ilsa was killed.

The AFFS was elated over this victory, which also vindicated Prince Paul’s decision to concentrate his attentions against the Capellans. ln early 2829, the Prince moved his field headquarters to New Syrtis to begin a full-scale campaign against the Confederation. One of his first acts was to appoint Colonel Damien Hasek, a hero of the Davion stand against Liao raiders on Demeter, as the new Duke of New Syrtis. The fiefdom of the Syrtis March was invested with all of the powers previously enjoyed by the Princes of the Capellan March, and would remain in the hands of the Colonel’s descendants all the way down to the present day. The Duke was instructed to raise additional forces from his new domain to swell the ranks of the sizeable contingent that Paul had brought with him to New Syrtis.

By 2830, the Capellan campaign was in full swing while the Draconis Combine had launched a new offensive against the Lyrans. It is here, in the latter months of the year, that most historians date the start of the Second Succession War.

The Talon Sergeant And The Prostitute

Among those criminals, disgraced officers, and so-called “deviants” who were volunteered into the Chain Gang missions of 2825 were Talon Sergeant Jur Sturlaugson and Katrina Reban. Sturlaugson was a member of the “Unproductive Regiment,” a Draconian euphemism for those imprisoned in a DCMS stockade. He had landed there as one of many troopers who found themselves unable to carry out the extermination order that created the infamous Kentares Massacre. Katrina Reban was an Unproductive who had answered when officials had come to her New Samarkand village calling for “true believers in the Kurita way.” Whether or not she was t hat, believer Katrina had spent most of her 28 years as a prostitute in a DCMS brothel.

Katrina and Jur were thrown together on a Chain Gang Mission bound for the Davion world of Udibi. During the voyage, the guards allowed their charges to behave as they wished during their final hours of life. From the many physical couplings among the doomed men and women came a bond of true love between the Talon Sergeant and the Prostitute.

The raid against Udibi failed before it began. The two lances of patched and barely operating Chain Gang ‘Mechs soon became scattered, and it was not long before AFFS forces began to hunt them down one by one. Talon Sergeant Sturlaugson became trapped, in a desperate cat-and-mouse game with two AFFS ‘Mechs while he searched desperately for Katrina Reban. This went on for two hours, until he finally came upon his love in her Stinger, cornered by a Davion Marauder. Throwing himself between Reban and the Davion’ Mech, Sturlaugson took the PPC fire meant for Reban’s ‘Mech.

The Davion soldiers who witnessed this act were moved by Sturlaugson’s heroism and by Katrina’s explanation of why he had risked his life. The soldiers brought the story to their superiors, who allowed both the media and the Prince to get wind of it. When Paul Davion learned that Sturlaugson had resisted participation in the Kentares Massacre, he immediately granted the lovers citizenship in the Federated Suns.

Jur Sturlaugson and Katrina Reban went on to serve in the AFFS and later formed their own mercenary unit, which they named the Ever-Free. The exploits of this unit, whose symbol was the broken chain, become a popular part of the legend and lore of Davion culture.

—From True Tales and Popular Stories, by Father Ryan Ramon, Unfinished Book Press, New Avalon, 3010

General Motochika

I do my duty: no more, no less. Why? Is there anything more to a soldier’s life?

—From official transcripts of the MI interrogation of General Chosokabe Motochika, 2830

In 2830, contrary to expectation, the Draconis Combine launched a series of major raids against Davion border worlds. Some attacks were aimed at border planets such as Lucerne, Franklin, and Sakhara V. More ambitious efforts were aimed at worlds deeper into the Federation interior. Though the Draconis military did not know it, the AFFS had been preparing for the invasion for some time, having broken the DCMS battle code for the operation.

General Chosokabe Motochika was the Kurita commanding officer for the raids against Lucerne and Franklin. He was a respected officer with 30 years of service and an almost religious devotion to the Kuritas and the warrior’s Code of Honor. Though his battlefield performance was as dull and unimaginative as any typical Kurita officer, he had won a reputation among the AFFS as a clean and honest fighter.

While coordinating the attacks on the two Davion worlds, the General was dismayed to learn that both planets were crawling with more AFFS troops than expected. As additional reports came in, the General understood that news of the invasion had leaked somehow and that he was now in danger of losing all his units. He gave the order to retreat.

The Coordinator himself must approve all orders to ROW (Retreat Off -World), which could create more than a bit of trouble for Kurita units in the field. On a number of occasions, the Coordinator’s permission to retreat reached his men just a little too late to save anyone. To retreat without permission was a severe breach of honor, usually punishable by the deaths of the commanding officer, his staff, and a percentage of all troops that retreated. Many a Kurita commander has gone ahead anyway, pulling his troops oftworld, ail the while praying that the Coordinator’s permission would arrive before the last soldier had retreated.

The subordinate whom General Motochika had dispatched with the request to retreat had failed to deliver it. It was not until the General’s DropShips had rendezvoused with their JumpShips that he and his men discovered that they had participated in an illegal retreat that would now doom many of them to death. General Motochika had received the news in proper stoic fashion, but decided to lead his three ‘Mech regiments and one tank regiment deeper into the Federated Suns instead of reporting back to Luthien.

The target of this wayward band of soldiers was Dahar IV. Dahar was one of those few fortunate worlds that had not suffered from the first war, even though it had been occupied. Because of Dahar’s many deposits of metals and heavy industry, the 23rd Avalon Hussars was stationed there, along with numerous lesser regiments.

When General Motochika’s force appeared above Dahar, the Davion forces immediately scattered to their heavily prepared defensive positions to wait for the Kurita DropShips and fighters to come screaming in. Instead, they watched in amazement as the Kurita DropShips slowly approached, broadcasting a desire for negotiations. Many were suspicious of General Motochika’s intentions, but the MI understood from its monitoring of Kurita transmissions that something had gone wrong for the General. They assured the AFFS commanders that if Motochika allowed himself to be taken into AFFS custody, his intentions were probably sincere.

After landing on Dahar with only a regiment of ‘Mechs, General Motochika and his staff did indeed allow themselves to be taken. While the MI was interrogating the General, the AFFS commander ordered his troops to stand down from their positions. At this signal, the other two Kurita ‘Mech regiments left their orbiting DropShips and caught the AFFS defenders offguard. Soon, all the major cities on Dahar were aflame, while Kurita ‘Mechs roved the countryside looking for targets.

When Davion officers berated Motochika for his treachery, the General smiled and said that his troops were only following their orders. He explained that an action such as this would remove the stain of illegal retreat from their honor. His unit might now even be able to return to the Draconis Combine, assuming that they escaped the Federated Suns. With that, Motochika pulled out a small poison capsule hidden in the cuff of his uniform and swallowed it.

When Coordinator Jinjiro Kurita heard of General Motochika’s actions, he gave the order that would allow General Motochika’s surviving troops to return honorably to the Draconis Combine.

Battle For Tikonov

A nice place if you’re a badger or a glutton for punishment.

—Remarks by a Davion ‘Mech officer during the holonews show “The Sun of Truth,” 12 August 2832

With the recent flurry of Kurita border raids, Prince Paul and many of his Marshals were concerned that the Draconis Combine was turning its sights again on the Federated Suns. When several more tense months passed with only a few minor skirmishes, the AFFS decided House Kurita was not its main threat at the moment. By 2832, when all became quiet on the Draconis front, the Davions designed an offensive against the Capellan world of Tikonov, yet another prefecture capital of the Confederation.

Led by the flamboyant General H.R. “Howler” Greer, the second Ceti Hussars Regimental Combat Team spearheaded the attack. Considered a throwback to the cowboys of the American West, Howler Greer led his mobile and well-trained ‘Mechs through the desert badlands of Tikonov. Urging the Hussars to attack again and again, his almost maniacal energy shattered every organized attempt to stop him.

The Howler’s efforts came to an end outside the High Kremlin, the Capellan stronghold on Tikonov. A better mobile commander than siege master, the General found that he could not crack the dug-in defenders there. After six months of staring up at the wails of the Capellan fortifications, Howler Greer was forced to take his troops oftworld when a Capellan relief force threatened to cut him off from his JumpShips.

The next year, however, Greer was back on Tikonov with heavier weapons and Prince Paul’s threat that he would assign the General to slinging hash in an officers’ mess if he did not bring Tikonov under the Federated Sunburst. In a second, more successful effort, Howler managed to seize the majority of the planet, including the High Kremlin, during the second month of the campaign.

What Howler failed to do, however, was to secure his supplies. A special Capellan strike force composed of Capellan Hussars Fighters and light ‘Mechs entered the Tikonov system, striking directly at the Ceti Hussars’ supply depots, with devastating results. Before the Ceti Hussars could react to this new threat, Howler learned that the rest of the Capellan Hussars, including numerous assault ‘Mechs, were also on their way to Tikonov. At this blow to his cowboy pride, the General was forced to admit failure because he no longer had the supplies to fight the heavier ‘Mechs. Prince Paul made good his threat. General Greer served food at an officers’ mess on New Syrtis for one year.

Still determined to win Tikonov, Prince Paul decided to try again in 2834. This third attempt would use the third Deneb Light Cavalry Regimental Combat Team, commanded by General Jessica Bassner. The plan was for her swift forces to seize and hold Tikonov’s major continent long enough for another RCT from the Royal Brigade of Guards to arrive and help take the rest of the planet. General Bassner and her troops held up their end of the operation quite well, maneuvering with her slower enemy so that the key cities fell into her hands. Now the regiments of the Deneb Light Cavalry awaited the relief forces.

They would never come. Just as the Second Royal Davion Guards RCT was to leave for Tikonov, Coordinator Jinjiro Kurita launched a raid against the Guards’ homeworld of Sanilac. The unexpected raid caught many of the Guards units in their grounded, defenseless DropShips. Their losses were high, and by the time the 2nd RCT had fought off the Kurita raiders, there was no hope of relieving the Deneb Light Cavalry on Tikonov. General Jessica Bassner was forced to leave Tikonov to the Capellans.

Paul’s Last Years

Of course, I’m sick of all this fighting, but if I claim that I’m not going to fight anymore because I’m tired and worn out, what would stop my subjects from doing the same? It would be great if everyone on all sides could say that they were sick and tired of the war and were going to quit, but I doubt if Coordinator Kurita or Chancellor Liao will call the war on account of exhaustion.

—Prince Paul Davion, 2842

The Tikonov campaign was a puzzle for many in the AFFS. Though they understood the importance of attempting to take a capital world, the Davion armies could just as easily have bypassed Tikonov and continued the offensive elsewhere. Because of Prince Paul’s seeming obsession with that planet, however, the AFFS effort against the Capellans stalled. Some of the credit for the blunted effort must go to the Capellans, of course, who had finally given up their reliance on massed artillery attacks in favor of a swifter, more flexible tactical doctrine. Strategically, the Liao military had been reorganized with new area garrisons providing a better defensive response to Davion attacks.

Another reason that the offensive against the Capellans bogged down was that Prince Paul was spending more time in the regional command headquarters on New Syrtis than on the battlefield in the late 2830s. It almost seemed that he had lost interest in the Capellan front.

What was occupying the Prince’s mind was the possibility of an offensive against House Kurita. The more reports that Paul read from his Field Marshals on the Draconis front, the more he believed that the Arm of the Dragon was vulnerable. What he needed was a diversion that would allow him to move the necessary forces from the Capellan front to the Draconis front without attracting the enemy’s attention. Though he wracked his brain for a solution, it was the DCMS that finally supplied Paul with his diversion.

In July 2840, the Arm of the Dragon launched a fierce raid against Robinson in an effort to freeze Davion reinforcements away from a contested area of the front. At the same time, the action on three other worlds, Tancredi, Anguilla, and Sturgis, suddenly heated up. Taking advantage of the situation, reinforcements and reserves from the Capellan front were soon streaming toward the Draconis front. With considerable glee, Prince Paul planned to trick the Draconis Combine in much the same way that it had tricked the Federated Suns at the start of the First Succession War.

In late 2841, Davion had assembled enough troops to launch a two-pronged offensive. One spearhead would strike at the worlds known as the Liao-Kurita Seam, the border between the two realms near Terra. The targets were Mallory’s World, Mara, New Rhodes III, and Ozawa. The other half of the offensive aimed at the other end of the Draconis front, by passing strongly held worlds and seizing planets deeper into the Draconis Combine, such as Bryceland and Niles.

By February, Prince Paul’s offensive was succeeding. Though the Kurita defenders were not the easily demoralized soldiers of the end of the first war, they could not cope with the strong and flexible attacks of the AFFS forces. Mara and Bryceland fell within three months of the opening of the offensive.

The success of this drive suddenly ground to a halt in July 2842, when unexpected news reached the front. Prince Paul was dead.

Overtures Of Peace

No. You’re misunderstanding what I said again. I do not think our Prince is a lesser man for actively pursuing his dream of peace. I think he is just a foolish one for not realizing that this is neither the time nor the place.

—Count Tuolov Hasek, during the FNS news program, “Federation News in Review,” September 8, 2843

Prince Paul Davion died during the night of 4 July 2842. While pouring over computer reports on his latest offensive, he had been stricken with a heart attack. Early the next morning, his aides found him slumped over the computer planning board.

The realm grieved, not only because he was an admired leader and fearless defender of the realm, but because the people considered him the last of the Star League Davions. Though Paul Davion was born about the time of the League’s collapse, he was the last Prince whose actions and attitude spoke of the better times of the Star League.

After Prince Davion’s ornate and solemn funeral procession passed down the grand avenues of Avalon City, the reins of power passed smoothly to his son Michael. It did not take long before most people realized that Michael was the exact opposite of his father. Where Prince Paul had been obsessed with consolidating political, economic, and military power, Michael was more interested in salvaging everything that remained of prewar culture.

Following his cue, a wave of nostalgia swept the Federated Suns, generating a mania for preserving any artifact of Star League vintage. Many grumbled at the cost and expense of these salvaging efforts, but the effort would lay the foundations of information upon which Hanse Davion would one day build his institute for retrieving Mankind’s lost sciences and technology.

Another significant difference between Prince Michael and his father was that of temperament. While Paul was a brilliant general who left most administrative matters to others, Michael would excel as a politician and a diplomat. Like any Davion, Michael had dutifully trained as a MechWarrior, serving as a Major in the AFFS, but he never displayed much interest or flair for war. This was a continual source of irritation, even sadness, for his father.

The biggest difference between Michael and Paul Davion, however, was that the son was far more interested in peace than war. At the root of most of the new Prince’s policies was the firm belief that peace was attainable, but only if the right leader came along to see to it.

From the year of his investiture in 2843, Prince Michael spent a decade making peace overtures to the Capellan Confederation and the Draconis Combine. As his desire for truce became more passionate, Paul’s peace offerings became all the more extravagant. Beginning with offers of cease-fire on certain war-ravaged worlds, the Prince had soon escalated to offering the Liaos and the Kuritas entire worlds in exchange for their recognition of his claim on the First Lordship.

The details of these peace proposals were never made public, but enough leaked out to throw the Federated Suns into turmoil throughout the first decade of Prince Michael’s reign. Public opinion was dead set against any peace that would mean the loss of native soil. The nobility was also incensed at the possibility of losing their lands to a neighboring realm, and many campaigned bitterly against the idea. Not surprisingly, there were three attempts on Prince Michael’s life during this time.

Despite the threats and public disapproval, Prince Michael persevered. The Capellans and the Kuritans were equally firm in rejecting all his initiatives. True to their own Code of Honor, the Combine saw offers of peace as a sign of weakness, and dismissed them as the blatherings of a defective Davion. The Capellan Confederation reacted in spite, remembering how crudely the Davions had rejected Chancellor Ilsa Liao’s hopes for peace. Laurelli Liao, the current Chancellor, continued to ignore Michael’s messages, though it certainly would have been to her advantage to see the Davion front cool down.

The Noble One

Peter Davion, Paul’s brother and Michael’s uncle, was the successor to Field Marshal Thomas Halder-Davion, a major military figure in Paul’s reign. After sustaining severe injuries in the third Tikonov campaign, Halder-Davion had been confined to a hospital for the rest of his life. Though his last seven years were spent in almost crippling pain, the loyal Field Marshal continued to serve the Federated Suns by transmitting his counsel via computer link to the New Syrtis regional headquarters. He died only a year before Paul, his friend and his Prince.

Soon after Michael Davion came to power, he elevated Peter Davion to the rank of Prime Marshal, a position created to allow a military commander to stand in for a Prince unable or unwilling (as was Michael) to participate in the war effort. As the Prime Marshal, Peter took responsibility for continuing the AFFS offensive against the Draconis Combine started in 2840. This proved more difficult than he expected because Prince Michael’s policies of peace had angered so many officers in the AFFS. The ‘Mech officers, in particular, were enraged at the idea of giving up worlds for which so many brave soldiers had already given their lives.

In 2846, a cabal of officers approached the 54-year-old Peter, offering to bring the bulk of the army to his banner if he would unseat the peace-lover Michael. Duke Peter Davion proved himself that rarity in politics-an honorable man. With great dignity, he refused the request of these officers and warned them that he would have to call them up on charges of treason if anyone ever breathed such a suggestion in his presence again.

Peter Davion remained unreservedly loyal to his nephew, and continued to serve the family in various capacities to the age of 91.

Tishomingo

In 2849, the Federated Suns was well pleased with its efforts against its enemies. On the Capellan front, the AFFS was pounding the Capellan Armed Forces, with reports of the seizure of one Liao world after another coming in. With the capture of four planets from the Kuritas, the Draconis front offensive was also starting to bear fruit. Even Prince Michael was impressed with the abilities of his AFFS.

Tishomingo, an agricultural world occupied by the Kuritans, was currently a major focus of the AFFS. Besides being an important food resource, this planet was also rich in fresh-water supplies. Because the Davion worlds in the same general vicinity were all so water-poor due to ravages of their purification facilities, Tishomingo’s reliable water resources made it a tempting target.

Though Tishomingo had originally been a Davion world, the AFFS could not expect much help from the civilian population. Consistent with their policies on conquered worlds, the Kuritans obtained the loyalty of the population either through “retraining,” through “restocking” it with more sympathetic citizens from other worlds, and by being sure that the pressure of their ISF (Internal Security Forces) agents kept the rest in line.

Coordinator Yoguchi Kurita had shrewdly foreseen that Tishomingo would be the Davions’ next target and had ordered in his Fourth Sword of Light ‘Mech regiment to reinforce the planet’s defenses. Those units strengthened the well-trained members of the planet’s militia units, along with three regiments of armor and three more of infantry. Leading the planet’s defense would be Coordinator Yoguchi himself. He was livid at House Davion’s recent military successes, and felt personally dishonored by the worlds the Combine had lost.

Despite his advance planning and strong defensive position, Yoguchi Kurita did not realize how much the AFFS coveted Tishomingo. Some 20 Davion regiments, including four ‘Mech regiments, attacked Tishomingo, and the Coordinator soon found his defenses outgunned. After Davion Marauders overran his headquarters, he was forced to flee into the surrounding forests. The planet soon fell to the superior numbers of Davion soldiers, and the remaining Kurita regiments retreated offworld. Believing that his grasp on Tishomingo was firm, Prime Marshal Peter Davion dispatched all but a single ‘Mech regiment to other hot spots on the front. He would certainly not have done so had he known his men had nearly killed Coordinator Yoguchi and that the leader was still alive somewhere on the planet.

Even the Kuritans did not know that Yoguchi had survived. Alive and well, he was secretly organizing the people of Tishomingo into a fanatic level of resistance.

Before long, the Davion regiment actually found itself under siege, with the entire garrison demoralized by the guerrilla campaign. The Davion commanders did not doubt that these were civilian efforts, but the skill behind them had the AFFS officers both puzzled and worried. They still did not know that Yoguchi was orchestrating the offensive from his forest hideout, using peasant runners to carry his commands throughout the planet.

While out on patrol one day, a Davion unit finally spotted and recognized the Coordinator. The entire garrison went on alert almost instantly, with orders to spare no effort to capture the leader of the Draconis Combine. With the people on his side, Yoguchi was spirited away into the city of Urado.

Still under the Coordinator’s direction, the people of Urado rose up and killed the Davion presence in their city. Then they set about turning their city into an impromptu fortress. The Davion troops failed miserably in the first attempt to enter the barricaded city, and it would take an entire week before they were able to assemble the battalion of ‘Mechs needed for the assault.

Though brave, the citizens of Urado could not hold out against Prime Marshal Peter Davion. His determination to capture Yoguchi was as fierce as the people’s desire to protect him. Led by the Prime Marshal, the AFFS units did finally take the city, but it took a week of fighting against a desperate guerrilla defense. Davion had still not yet located Yoguchi when he learned that a major Kurita force had landed on the planet. The Prime Marshal was forced to retreat offworld temporarily while waiting for reinforcements, and this cheated him of the prize of Urado.

it was Roweena Kurita, the Coordinator’s younger sister, who had saved Yoguchi. Like the rest of the Combine, she had believed that Yoguchi died in the initial Davion onslaught on Tishomingo. When reports of the planet’s well-organized terrorist activities reached her, she grew suspicious. Playing a hunch, Roweena, as the de facto ruler of the Draconis Combine, authorized a military operation to rescue the leader of the guerrilla struggle that had the local AFFS forces so terrorized. Her instinct was a true one, for Coordinator Yoguchi was soon back in Luthien, safe and sound.

He was not safe for long, however. During Yoguchi’s first night home, his concubine, the mysterious Snow Fire, quietly slit his throat with a special plasticene knife. Snow Fire then committed suicide by swallowing poison. ComStar research has proved that the beautiful Snow Fire was actually a Lyran Intelligence Corps agent, planted in the Combine several years before.

[EDITOR’S NOTE: The incredible fascination with this woman defies all explanation. Outside of the Draconis Combine, artists from every corner of the Inner Sphere have used her as the subject of countless books, plays, paintings, ballads, and legends. Indeed, the power of her image has something of a religious tinge to it.]

Did Snow Fire Have Help?

Snow Fire is one of the most enigmatic figures in the history of the Inner Sphere. All we know of this beautiful woman is that she was born in the Lyran Commonwealth and trained by the Lyran Intelligence Corps. She was planted in the Rasalhague Military District of the Draconis Combine, where she spent several years as a low-grade Geisha secretly winning information from her clients.

She won the eye of one of the Coordinator’s closest personal advisers, who bought her contract and took her to Luthien. There, she spent about a year and a half gathering information about the inner workings of the Imperial Palace, and attempting to attract the Coordinator’s eye. The story of her final heroic act has been told so often that it need not be repeated here.

The question is, did the mysterious Snow Fire have help from the Federated Suns? Declassified MIIO files have yielded references to an operative known only as “The Footman,” who apparently was a member of the Imperial Palace staff during the time that Snow Fire was present there.

The identity of this Footman remains unknown. He might have been Talon Sergeant Donald Baines, one of the Imperial Guards entrusted with the security of the Coordinator’s bedchambers. Others speculate that the Footman was Jessica Donvel, an Imperial messenger whose keys allowed her access throughout the Imperial Palace.

It is still impossible to prove whether the Footman, as either the guard or the messenger, knew of and aided Snow Fire’s mission. An agent in either role could have discovered the courtesan’s true identity, either by noting the incompleteness of her security file or by breaking the code in the messages she sent to her “mother”. It is also possible that the Footman could have helped Snow Fire slip her knife past the Imperial Palace’s security systems.

It is interesting, even romantic, to think that Snow Fire and the Footman knew one another. Until new information comes to light, our speculations must end there.

—From “Speculations on Past Mysteries,” by Precentor Ivan Fresterton, Comstar, Internal Bulletin No. 236185PF, Archives, Terra, 3001

Miyogi’s Marathon

One factor often overlooked in deciding whether to invade a world is the planet’s emotional worth. What will happen to your enemy if you take the world? Will he shrug his shoulders and continue as before? Or, will he pull at his hair and gnash his teeth in anguish ? Demoralize your enemy. Make him realize that you know what makes him happy and that you will do anything to take it away from him.

—From A Single Slice of the Sword: Strategy in a Universe of Dwindling Resources, Miyogi Kurita, Imperial Press, 2847

The assassination of Coordinator Yoguchi Kurita sent ripples throughout the Inner Sphere. Though none of the other states knew that Snow Fire had been a Lyran agent, every House Lord had good enough intelligence services to learn that the assassin had definitely been a foreign operative. The Kuritans, of course, knew that the assassin had laid a House Steiner regimental patch on the Coordinator’s dead body, and so they turned the full fury of their hate against the Lyrans. To cover their shame that a lowly woman had felled their revered leader, the Kuritans concocted a story of Yoguchi dying heroically in a struggle against a whole band of assassins.

While the propagandists were saving the Dragon’s face, the new Coordinator, Miyogi Kurita, and his military commanders were plotting their revenge. In 2853, they turned their sights on the Lyran Commonwealth’s huge BattleMech production facilities on Hesperus II. Located deep in the heart of the Commonwealth, these ‘Mech production facilities were the heart of the Lyrans’ ability to defend themselves, as well as the largest ‘Mech factories in the Inner Sphere. The huge battles that would swirl around that single rock would occupy the Draconis military for almost two years. Given the thoroughness of their strategy, it seems likely that the Kuritans had begun their planning long before Snow Fire slit their leader’s throat.

During this campaign, fighting on the Davion-Kurita front tended to quiet down. With the Arm of the Dragon so focused against House Steiner, the Kuritans contented themselves, for the most part, with a defensive stance on the Davion front. In the few outright strikes against Davion planets, the Kuritans wished mainly to test the Davion defenses. In a rare act of military intervention, Prince Michael ordered his Prime Marshal to remain equally satisfied with containment, for he preferred not to heat up the situation with new offensives of his own.

One of the few decisive Davion-Kurita engagements fought during the period of the Dragon’s campaign against Hesperus took place on Kentares. The Davion people and their leaders had come to regard this planet as a doomed world that was no place for ordinary civilians, and so it had never been repopulated after the Massacre, of 2796-7. The AFFS had instead converted the planet into a major resupply point.

Hoping to catch the Davions off guard during the relative lull, the DCMS launched an invasion of Kentares in 2854, planning to hold onto the world just long enough to make off with its supplies. Failing back on the tried and true strategy of harassment, Duke Peter, commanding the AFFS defenders, used raids and pinprick attacks to confuse and delay the invading Kurita forces until Davion reinforcements arrived. Kentares would remain in Davion hands, but its price was not apparent until a few months later.

The Dragon’s Grand Plan

Coordinator Miyogi, fresh from what he considered a partial victory against the Lyrans on Hesperus, decided that now was the right political moment to unleash the full power of the Dragon against both realms. The amount of manpower and machines that Miyogi would need for this Marathon Offensive must have made the Coordinator’s generals grow pale. The DCMS High Command asked no questions, however, and soon the generals were setting into motion the desires of their Coordinator.

The double assault began in June 2854. The first five years of Miyogi’s Marathon met with considerable success, particularly on the Lyran border, where he seized several planets. On the Davion front, the Marathon Offensive operated mainly to throw the AFFS back onto the defensive. Duke Peter had been forced to set aside any plan to win new Kurita planets in order to hold on to what he already had.

The one world the Kuritans managed to take was Robinson, the capital of the Draconis March. The planet had fallen to the Combine during the First Succession War and Davion had only managed to wrest it back within the past 20 years. Though Robinson was not a particularly valuable world, Miyogi knew that capture of a capital world represented a special psychological victory over an enemy.

The Davions had mustered a total of 13 regiments, three of them ‘Mech units, to defend the planet. The Kurita forces, led by four elite Sword of Light ‘Mech regiments, soon gained the upper hand, however. Field Marshal Jerome Davion, a distant cousin of the Prince and commander of the Robinson defenders, called for reinforcements.

Because so many AFFS regiments had been sent to reinforce Kentares, there were few troops near enough to aid the besieged planet. On Kentares, the DCMS forces were carrying out a series of almost suicidal invasion attempts to keep the Davion forces so tied up that they would be unable to spare any regiments to Robinson.

Coordinator Miyogi’s plan worked. After a crushing pivotal defeat at Briarson’s Crossroads, the Davion forces on Robinson were forced to retreat offworld in 2858. Loss of this planet hurt the morale of the AFFS, just as the Combine generals had hoped. The Davion offensive against the Combine begun so many years before, in 2840, now sputtered to a complete halt. Politically, the loss of Robinson was the final defeat of Prince Michael’s policies of appeasement, and even he had to face the realization that the Inner Sphere was just not ready for peace.

Capellan Juggernaut

It was inevitable that the Combine’s Marathon Offensive would eventually begin to suffer from severe shortages of supplies and parts. With full-scale campaigns operating on both its borders, the supply lines became much too long and entangled. This was affecting the fighting ability and the morale of Miyogi’s troops. Instead of launching immediate counterattacks, the Prime Marshal let most of his own troops rest, launching only occasional raids up and down the border to keep the Kuritans guessing.

Duke Peter Davion decided to concentrate his efforts against the Capellan front. The fall of Chesterton some 40 years earlier had begun an era of steady Davion gains against House Liao. Deprived of necessary resources, the Capellan armed forces were often forced to cut short their fighting, leaving many worlds to the Davion victors.

This steady acquisition of worlds had fostered a false impression among the Davion public that the fighting on the Capellan border was easy pickings because the Capellan soldiers were weak. Nothing could have been further from the truth. The Capellans’ weak point was not cowardice, but their inadequate military industry and inefficient supply system. Indeed, the Capellans were brave and tenacious fighters, as any Davion veteran would attest.

At this moment of history, there were signs that this stubborn bravery had generated a “warrior philosophy” among the Liao infantrymen. In addition, Davion Marshals believed that the Capellan Confederation had shrunk to “its optimum defensive size.” Its military was now strongly concentrated and capable of responding much more quickly than before.

Concerned with these signs of stiffening resistance, Peter Davion himself took over leadership of the invasion of the Capellan world of Cammal in 2860. According to reports, the Cammal defenders were putting up a fierce resistance to save this resourcerich planet and had managed to blunt the Davion drive.

The Prime Marshal quickly learned just how spirited was that defense when an attack by a force of Capellan Thrushes forced his DropShip to crashland, seriously wounding him in the process. Because of the Liao air superiority, the defenders had effectively cut off the Davion troops from outside help. With the Prime Marshal clinging to life and unable to lead, all ten AFFS regiments on Cammal, including two ‘Mech units, would have to surrender.

Fate stepped in to save both the Prime Marshal and his men on Cammal. Chancellor Laurelli Liao, architect of the Capellan defensive strategy, died in October 2860, a week before Peter Davion arrived on Cammal. Her son and successor, Dainmar, was not a warrior, and he viewed the heavy action on Cammal as a losing proposition. In one of the greatest blunders in recent military history, the new Chancellor foolishly ordered his forces to retreat offworld.

Relieved that his favorite uncle had been saved, Prince Michael hoped to take advantage of the new Chancellor’s weakness by authorizing a daring ‘Mech raid in 2861. It was one of the few times that the Prince had taken an active role in military matters, but his timing was fortunate. The target of the Davion raid was St. Ives, the current residence of the Liao Chancellor.

The regiment assigned to carry out the raid was the elite Assault Guards of the Royal Brigade, led by a brash young officer named Colonel Rebecca Davion, Prince Michael’s second child. Famous for her unpredictable wildness, Rebecca had already been reprimanded twice and demoted once for disobeying an order to retreat.

The St. Ives Raid was the perfect mission for her. Having loaded aboard the FSS Resolve, the Assault Guards traveled virtually unnoticed to St. Ives by using uninhabited star systems and a series of false identity transponder codes to disguise their path and destination. When they arrived at St. Ives, the Guards took the defenders so much by surprise that they made it to the planet’s surface without losing a single ‘Mech.

Once on the ground, Colonel Rebecca Davion split her force into two units. One engaged the Liao defenders, and the other moved deep into the heart of the planetary capital, toward the residential palace of Chancellor Dainmar. The Liao defenders were reluctant to engage in a fire fight for fear of damaging their city, but they turned back the Davion forces in a stubborn defense of the Chancellor’s palace. Fortunately, the Davion troops lost only two ‘Mechs in this daring raid, though both pilots were rescued. Before leaving St. Ives, Rebecca had her men put on a fearsome display of ‘Mechs for Chancellor Dainmar, who was cowering in a reinforced bunker beneath the palace.

The Assault Guards had so terrified Chancellor Dainmar on St. Ives that he sued for peace with the Federated Suns in early 2862. Realizing that the Chancellor would probably sign anything at this point, Prince Michael asked that the Capellans recognize all territorial gains the Davions had made at their expense. The spineless Dainmar agreed, signing over ownership of 16 worlds to the Federated Suns.

News of the Capellan-Davion peace did not sit well with the Draconis Combine, for they would not be able to stand long against an enemy who was no longer distracted by another front. Coordinator Miyogi’s grand, two-front offensive was finally showing signs of collapse because of exhaustion and because of the delays or inability to obtain supplies from the long, snarled supply lines.

Late in 2862, after observing signs of increased Davion activity in the Robinson area, the Generals of the DCMS came to Coordinator Miyogi to humbly ask that he call off the offensive before it turned into disaster. To their astonishment, the Coordinator agreed. Soon, the fighting between the AFFS and the DCMS tapered off, as both sides decided the time had come to rest their troops rather than attempt to gain extra ground. By 2864, no one would argue that the Second Succession War was over.

If the outcome of the war were measured in territorial gains, the Federated Suns was the definite winner, having taken so many planets from the Capellans. If the outcome were measured by which Successor Lord had advanced his claim to dominance over the others in the inner Sphere, no one was victorious. If the outcome were measured by how many lives were lost and how the quality of life diminished for those who survived, then everyone lost that war.

Third Succession War

I’m glad that peace has finally returned to the Inner Sphere. Now, if logic and common sense could step in and make the peace permanent with a series of fair and equitable treaties, we could make war a thing of the past.

—From Prince Michael’s Christmas Day Peace Proposal, 2863

MAN OF PEACE

Early in 2864, a group of Capellan and Free Worlds businessmen began to push for a permanent peace treaty among the five Successor States so that everyone could get on with the one truly important thing in life-business. Their efforts, dubbed “The Peace of Money Movement,” received the wholehearted support of Prince Michael Davion, who had been sending out his own emissaries with feelers for a similar official peace pact. When the movement leaders arrived in New Avalon, the Prince gave them a royal welcome, and provided them with money and other means to travel through his realm with their message.

The other Successor Lords would not give the movement leaders the time of day, however, suspecting that Prince Michael’s open and lavish support meant that the peace movement was just a front for the leader of the Federated Suns. That Archon Elizabeth Steiner had been making peace overtures similar to Prince Michael’s was ignored, and the Peace of Money Movement disbanded early in 2866. The possibility that his own enthusiasm might have unwittingly sabotaged the Inner Sphere’s chance for peace haunted Prince Michael for the rest of his life.

By 2866, it was becoming obvious that the unofficial peace would not hold. As the fighting among the other Houses resumed, Prince Michael kept the Federated Suns out of major conflicts. He reasoned that by avoiding involvement in the hostilities, the Suns could take on the role of mediator, eventually to impose a peace agreement on the other realms. In typically naive fashion, Michael further reasoned that this would lead him to ascend to the throne of First Lord.

Opening Gambits

If war was as simple as Dimensional Chess, then all our Marshals would be brainy academic types. War isn’t, and our Marshals definitely aren’t.

—From The Private Journals of a Loyal Marshal, by Prime Marshal Peter Davion, Avalon Military Press, 2874

During the years of peace, the Draconis Combine became embroiled in a silent but deadly civil war. The two combatants were Coordinator Miyogi, who controlled the Combine government, and Roweena Kurita, who led the People’s Reconstruction Effort, a government agency created to rebuild the war-damaged realm. By 2864, the PRE had become so powerful that it had as much influence over the general public as the regular government.

It was inevitable that the PRE and the Coordinator would end up in a struggle for control of the Draconis Combine. Instead of open warfare, which the PRE could not possibly have won, the battle would be played out with the Combine’s secret police, the ISF, as its soldiers. Because the fighting between the two factions remained invisible except for the bodies of those who died, this internal struggle became known as the Shadow War.

In the effort to save face and not reveal any inner weakness, the Kuritans tried to keep news of this civil war secret from the rest of the Inner Sphere. Its efforts were in vain. The first to learn about the Shadow War was the Federated Suns, who found out in early 2865.

Marshals in the AFFS wanted to launch an immediate offensive to take advantage of the Combine’s weak state. Wishing to remain a peacemaker, however, Prince Michael firmly denied any plans for invasion and forbade talk of it in his presence. This so infuriated Heir-Designate Carl Davion that he was ready to attempt to overthrow his father until Prime Marshal Peter Davion convinced him to think better of it.

The Shadow War between Miyogi and Roweena, fought through factions of the ]SF, finally ended in 2865. House Kurita saw the internal war as a stain against their honorable destiny as the only proper leaders of mankind. When Coordinator Miyogi emerged victorious from the struggle with his sister, he ordered the Arm of the Dragon to purge this shame by punishing all outsiders who had learned of their troubles. The DCMS (which had been diplomatically neutral during the war) was relieved to have something to do. In 2866, in response not only to Lyran intelligence infiltration, but to Lyran economic imperialism and the vulnerability of defense plants in the Federation of Skye, the Dragon launched an offensive against the Lyran Commonwealth.

News of the Kurita offensive relieved the Marshals of the AFFS, who were afraid that Lord Kurita’s revenge would be aimed at the Federated Suns. Accompanying this relief was renewed urging by the Marshals for an offensive to take advantage of the DCMS’s diverted attention.

This time, Prime Marshal Peter Davion backed the Marshals. Duke Peter traveled to New Avalon from his headquarters on Kentares and personally lobbied the reluctant Prince for an offensive against the Draconis Combine. After two weeks of arguments, the Prince gave Peter Davion his blessing. Within a month after that, Golden Sunburst ‘Mechs, fighters, and other vehicles were on the move.

Agent Of The MIIO

Ever since its creation during the First Succession War, the Ministry of Intelligence Investigations and Operations (MIIO) has been one of the most effective and creative information-gathering services in the Inner Sphere. Only the superb investigative abilities of our own Blessed Order surpass the talents of Davion agents. The reason for the MIIO’s success is the strong dedication so crucial to any such agency’s work. From the start, the MIIO has emphasized deep motivational and psychological training. Some of this training, such as week-long mental indoctrination to mold the recruit’s spirit, is quite cruel. Nevertheless, it yields spectacular results. According to our own agents, there have been only a handful of cases where MIIO agents have broken under pressure and revealed Davion secrets.

Another important factor is the esprit de corps fostered among the recruits. All MIIO training bases are located either in the hinterland of some world or in the midst of a city whose citizens do not speak the Davion AngloFrench. This isolation forces the recruits to rely on one another for nearly everything. To further promote this spirit of cooperation, part of the training involves pairs of recruits being abandoned in the countryside or city without provisions. Their mission is to return to the base alive and unnoticed within a certain time period, but bearing some crucial bit of planted or real intelligence.

Almost as significant is the excellent education all trainees receive. Languages and the ability to lie, forge, and to disguise oneself are emphasized. Study of the long, colorful history of the MIIO is an equally vital part of the trainee’s course of study. By the time he graduates, each recruit will know every important event and hero in the Ministry’s history. This gives him pride in the agency’s tradition and encourages a positive competitive spirit to achieve similar excellence.

One of the MIIO’s most incredible feats was their discovery of the factional fighting that threatened to tear the Draconis Combine apart during the Shadow War. How the MIIO managed to learn of this conflict years before anyone in the other Successor States may be explained in several ways. With the ISF in such a state of chaos, the MIIO could have gotten wind of the trouble from some low-grade leak, such as a talkative peasant janitor, or simply by keeping their own eyes and ears open.

Another possibility is that the need for new metsuke to replace those being killed in the Shadow War resulted in loosened security checks for new recruits. The ISF could conceivably, but unwittingly, have recruited MIIO agents into its training program.

There is another intriguing possibility. Considerable evidence suggests that one of the ISF’s top metsukes, Dark Assassin Kelly Urizos, was actually a double agent for the Federated Suns. If this is true, it would mark the first and only time that one of the vaunted Dark Assassins, chief administrators and scourges of the ISF, has betrayed its allegiance to the Coordinator of the Draconis Combine.

—From “A Consideration of the MIIO,” by Precentor Julius Minock, Comstar Bulletin, Archives, Terra, 3002

Operation Pendragon

ATTENTION ALL PDZS. Order code is as follows: Papa, Echo, November, Delta, Romeo, Alpha, Golf, Oscar, November 559. Personal comments to all loyal members of this AFFS mission: Like a pack of hungry hounds, we have at last been unleashed. Let us seize the opportunity to take a bite out of the Dragon.
—Prime Marshal Peter Davion.

—Order for the Davion offensive against House Kurita, 2869

Because Davion Field Marshals had drawn up most of the plans for the offensive (codenamed Operation Pendragon) months earlier, the offensive was underway soon after Peter Davion got his Prince’s permission. The first stage of the operation included numerous heavy raids up and down the Kurita border to discover the enemy’s weaknesses and to win back the planet Robinson.

Despite the advance planning, Operation Pendragon seemed to be in trouble from the start. The Kurita defenders, few in number because so many were taking part in the offensive against the Commonwealth, were well-supplied and highly motivated. The elite Third Sword of Light regiments and its attendant lesser regiments were securely entrenched on Robinson, and the regimental commander, General Hirushi Tengwan, was an able leader.

The AFFS would soon have help for its efforts, and from an unexpected quarter. In the early days of the campaign, Coordinator Miyogi sent General Taragi Kurita to report on the progress of his forces along the Davion front. A cunning man well versed in the ways of the military bureaucracy, Taragi’s ambitions would soon influence the course of the fighting.

In 2872, the Fourth Avalon Hussars were in deep trouble on Colia. Cut off from the rest of its force, the unit became isolated on a small continent where the Kuritans had concentrated many of their forces. Unable to hold a position long enough for evacuation, the ‘Mech regiment had been on the run for three weeks, with two Kurita ‘Mech regiments now closing in.

Trapped finally in a dead-end valley, the commander of the Hussars realized that he and his men were probably facing their last battle. They were surrounded by mountains, and they could see the dust of ‘Mechs approaching through the only pass. The one odd thing was the absence of Kurita fighters making their lives hell from the air. Yet the fight never came, and the approaching columns of smoke seemed to vanish in thin air. As the Hussars cautiously moved forward, they saw half a regiment of Kurita ‘Mechs standing idle while Techs worked frantically in the innards of the metal beasts.

Not ones to pass up an opportunity, the Hussars attacked immediately, leaving the Kuritans stunned and with their numbers decimated. When the Hussars interrogated some of the survivors about what had stopped their advance, they heard a true military horror story.

Apparently, a snafu in procurement had resulted in the unit receiving radiation shielding intended for tanks rather than ‘Mechs. The Techs had no choice but to try to adapt the shielding for the unit’s machines. The shielding proved not only inappropriate, but was of such a poor grade that it disintegrated after rough usage had compromised the ‘Mechs’ cooling systems, forcing them to completely shut down. A similar mixup had also kept the Kurita air support from doing its job. The Davion officers did not know what to make of this account, for the Kuritans had often turned the provision of supplies into a veritable military art.

It came out later that General Taragi Kurita had himself sabotaged the supply lines in order to make General Tengwan appear to be incompetent in his report to Coordinator Miyogi. Much to Taragi’s surprise, Miyogi not only agreed with his conclusions that the commanders on the Davion front should be replaced by a single, supreme commander, he was immediately appointing his son Jon to the post, rather than Taragi himself.

Private Little War

How in hell am I supposed to know where they went? All I know is that they’ve deserted, and if I ever get my hands on them, I’ll slit their throats. That’s assuming I live through this, of course.

—Message from Colonel Joan Didier, commander of the 45th Galax Tank Regiment, to the New Syrtis Regional Command. Published in The Dangerous Hand: The Federated Suns and Mercenary Units, by Duke Robert Tagart, Syrtis Military Press, 2987

In 2866, Dainmar Liao resigned as Chancellor of the Capellan Confederation, unable to face the strains of a new war. Otto Liao, his son, quietly assumed command. For the Capellan military, the change in leadership did not come a moment to soon. Under Dainmar, the Capellans had lost so many worlds to battle and to treaty that the Confederation was becoming uncomfortably thin between the Federated Suns and the Free Worlds League. The change of leadership in the Confederation did not particularly please the leaders of the Federated Suns, of course, for they had hoped to continue taking advantage of Dainmar extract a few more worlds.

The accession of Otto Liao, a veteran MechWarrior, immediately revitalized the Liao military forces. Seeing that this new Chancellor would rebuild the strength of his military, the AFFS High Command wanted to go in and seize certain Capellan worlds now, while the enemy forces were still weak.

Operation Pendragon, the Federated Suns offensive against the Draconis Combine, had already drawn away most of the AFFS reserves, however. There were very few front-line troops to spare for any lightning raids to seize Capellan worlds. Further, it would probably have been impossible to persuade Prince Michael to open a second risky offensive when it had been difficult enough to get his approval for Operation Pendragon.

Lack of approval for the mission did not bother Field Marshal Jerome Hasek, commander of the Sirdar PDZ. With so many of the coveted Capellan worlds within easy reach, he planned to use a tried and true method of avoiding orders to accomplish his aim. At the moment, the forces he commanded were inadequate to the job, and so Field Marshal Hasek began to hire mercenary units, who he paid out of his own pocket. When the AFFS asked why he was hiring so many mercenaries, he replied that he feared a Capellan offensive. Though highly improbable, the excuse was enough to keep the High Command off his back for the time being.

In 2869, Field Marshal Hasek hired the Clinton Cutthroats, which he considered a real stroke of luck. A ‘Mech regiment with a long history of honorable service in the Free Worlds League, the Cutthroats had come to the Federated Suns because they wanted a change from the wrangling House Marik style of politics. With this veteran unit among his forces, Field Marshal Hasek was now ready to launch his private little war.

To bypass the orders not to attack the Capellans, Hasek used the infamous “Reconnaissance-in-Force” technique. He sent reconnaissance forces onto Capellan worlds, knowing that his men would be outmatched. The need to rescue these troops would trigger huge operations, full-scale offensives that would allow him to seize the Capellan worlds. The ploy was totally illegal, but as long as the Field Marshal couched his orders with words like “protective defensive actions,” “short-term aggressive actions,” and “minimal strategic seizure and control,” the High Command could do little to stop him.

The Clinton Cutthroats was the lead unit in the Field Marshal’s attempt to seize Verlo, a resource-rich world that had recently been the focus of considerable Capellan industrial growth. Hasek thought it would make an excellent addition to the Federated Suns, and he sent along seven other regiments and fighter wings to help the Cutthroats.

The attack ran into immediate trouble when the Davion forces found themselves several hundred kilometers from Verio’s capital city because of flawed calculations in their drop procedure. They also quickly discovered far more and far tougher defenders on the planet than expected. Because Marshal Hasek had not wished plans for his private offensive to leak out, he had not consulted with Military Intelligence or the MIIO to determine the enemy’s strength. That failure now came back to haunt him.

A year into the offensive, however, the initiative had shifted, and the Davion forces were acquitting themselves well. Though many Capellan troops were still on the planet, the Davions would certainly force their retreat offplanet before long. Though the AFFS had caught on to Field Marshal Hasek’s true purposes by now, the High Command decided to wait out the offensive before deciding whether to court-martial him or award him a medal of honor.

In March 2870, a JumpShip appeared in the Verlo system, and sent a small courier vessel down to the planet. Believing it to be a ComStar courier, the Davion ships parked at the planet’s zenith jump point let the little vessel pass unchallenged. The courier landed near the headquarters of the Davion forces on Verlo. A man and a woman dressed in unmarked overalls emerged, asking to see the commander of Clinton’s Cutthroats rather than the Davion commanding officer.

For the next three days, the mysterious strangers met privately with Colonel Clinton, all the while Hasek was demanding some explanation. Clinton’s only reply was a warning to the Commander to stay out of the Cutthroats’ affairs.

On the fifth day, three more JumpShips arrived in the Verlo system, carrying seven DropShips, unmarked and all in pristine condition. Two weeks later, the DropShips had landed on the planet, with the apparent intention of transporting the Cutthroats offworld. The infuriated Davion commander demanded that the Cutthroats honor their contract. When Colonel Clinton refused, the Davion forces attacked the mercenaries, but it was an uneven fight because the Davion troops lacked ‘Mechs. The Cutthroats left Verlo, and have never been seen or heard from since.

With the Cutthroats gone, the Davion forces on Verlo suddenly found themselves outgunned. In the battles that followed, three regiments of Davion front-line troops were slaughtered before the force could evacuate.

As for the Cutthroats, the DropShips that came to collect them were of a design not seen in the Inner Sphere since the exodus of General Kerensky. This has led to theories that the Cutthroats were “scouts” of the “Kerensky exiles” sent to monitor events in the Inner Sphere. Others have sworn that members of the Cutthroats have shown up among the mercenary Wolf’s Dragoons. Regardless, the Clinton Cutthroats have joined the mysterious disappearances of the Minnesota Tribe, the Vandenberg White Wings, the Disappearing Battleship of Merope, and, of course, General Kerensky and most of the Star League Regulars.

For Field Marshal Hasek, this mystery was not as important as the fact that he must now face Prince Michael Davion and Prime Marshal Peter Davion as the man responsible for the loss of several whole regiments. Though Marshal Hasek’s record was otherwise impeccable and his reconnaissance-in-force had netted the Federated Suns three important worlds, the AFFS could not simply sweep the Cutthroat Fiasco and the death of so many men under the rug. Field Marshal Hasek was court-martialed and demoted three steps in rank. As further punishment, he was transferred from active duty to an administrative post in the military bureaucracy.

Fall Of David

I don’t give a flying fig for talk and diplomacy. Those things are for the weak-hearted and the addle-pated. Battle and bed—that’s where I perform best.

—Prince Carl Davion, quoted from My Life as a Royal Camp Follower, by Jessica Jerloos, Risque Press of Odell, 2877

When Prince Michael Davion died in 2873, his 45-year-old son Carl succeeded him. The new Prince saw life in simple terms. To him, a Davion should be doing only one thing with his life—piloting a ‘Mech. Because Carl was such a rough-mannered, sharp-tongued man, certain branches of the family actually broke oft relations with the Prince, refusing to participate in the government. This would one day hurt the Federated Suns.

Meanwhile, Operation Pendragon had been under way for several years and was meeting with surprising success. The Draconis Combine’s inability to properly supply its forces on the Davion front had become a chronic flaw, much to the delight of the Davion commanders.

On the Capellan front, the initiative gained by ex-Field Marshal Hasek’s “reconnaissance-in-force” still existed, creating a definite bulge aimed at Sian. Gone were the days of easy victories against the Capellans, however. The Confederation had definitely shrunk to a size where it could respond easily to enemy incursions. In addition, resurgence of the Lorix Order warrior philosophy among the Liao ‘Mech forces was making the Federated Suns pay dearly for its gains.

With Prince Carl at the helm, many in the Federated Suns expected the realm to enter a new phase of warfare. Indeed, Carl was soon off to the Draconis front to lead his favorite regiment, the Fourth Royal Guards. Skilled in all the military arts, he was definitely qualified to relieve the aging Prime Marshal Peter Davion of command of the AFFS.

Unfortunately, Prince Carl’s military promise would never be fulfilled. In 2876, he led the first-wave assault against the planet David, but it was against the advice of his Field Marshals. Because David had been one of the first worlds to fall to the Kuritans in another, earlier war, it had important psychological as well as military value to the Davion realm.

Though the DCMS force on David was suffering from the same supply problem plaguing the whole front, they were a highly motivated force. The Kurita ‘Mechs quickly contained and isolated Prince Carl’s invasion points. Faced with a desperate situation, Carl decided that only a massive frontal assault against the enemy could save the day. Shouting encouragement mixed with curses, the Prince took the van of his Royal Guards, charging his Marauder straight into the teeth of five Kurita strongholds.

Guessing that the lunatic charging them had to be a commanding officer, the team of Kurita sharpshooters manning a twin PPC turret took aim and fired. Both salvos caught the Marauder full on. Screaming incoherently, Prince Carl forced his ‘Mech to stumble forward. By this time, the other turrets in the stronghold had also begun to concentrate their fire on his Marauder. Amazingly, it withstood the punishment, and the mortally wounded Prince Carl approached the stronghold in his ‘Mech through sheer force of will. Like some wounded beast, the Prince’s ‘Mech raised its arms and brought them crashing down upon the walls of the fortress.

Then the ‘Mech collapsed, killing its maddened pilot. His attack, however, succeeded. Though the Kurita defenders would put up many months of spirited defense, the planet David would, in the end, fall to the army of the Federated Suns.

Creation Of The Model Army

I too enjoy the thrill of combat, but I am not foolish enough to allow myself that luxury. I know how much my people need me, and that is my greatest responsibility. My brother was a fool; I am not.

—Princess Melissa Davion, in an unpublished letter to Field Marshal Lennox, a trusted adviser and friend, 2877

Like her elder brother Carl, Melissa Davion had served long and illustriously in the AFFS, leading the Second Avalon Hussars to several key victories on both the Capellan and the Draconis fronts. Nevertheless, when she received the news of her brother’s death on David in 2876, she immediately resigned her command.

As new Princess of the Federated Suns, the 47-year-old Melissa decided to make some sweeping changes in the AFFS. Though BattleMechs had dominated the battlefield for the past two centuries, the loss of production facilities and the difficulty of keeping ‘Mechs in repair had given the ancient weapons of infantry, tanks, hovercraft, and artillery an important role once more. Warfare was evolving and Melissa understood the need for new methods.

One of Princess Melissa’s first and most important reforms was to bind together regiments from various branches of service into Regimental Combat Teams. Until now, there had rarely been any full-strength RCTs in the Davion armies, for regiments were often split up to perform various missions. An RCT was usually created solely for a single mission and then disbanded when the mission was complete. Though this system was effective enough, it did not foster much cooperation between the various service branches. Under Princess Melissa, RCTs became permanent, so that crucial cooperation between regiments could develop.

Her other reforms concerned the military bureaucracy, which had grown top-heavy with departments and agencies. By streamlining the AFFS administration, particularly the Procurement and Military Industry Liaison, she made it easier for supplies to reach the front and helped ease the tensions that sometimes strained the relations between the AFFS and the over-burdened military industry.

Well aware that some would consider her reforms an attack on tradition, Princess Melissa moved slowly but surely. For example, she often called in her Marshals and ranking members of the nobility for their counsel on some matter, whose pros and cons she presented persuasively and objectively. As often as not, their advice echoed Princess Melissa’s own intentions, and everyone was glad to see the mutually agreed-upon solution become law.

By 2890, Princess Melissa had what she called her “Model Army.” New Regimental Combat Teams had been deployed to face both the Kurita and Capellan enemy on the front lines. Early reports of skirmishes using the new units were encouraging. The bureaucracy was also moving supplies with greater speed and efficiency, while production was up among the military industries.

Princess Melissa felt the time had come to test her Model Army.

Battle For Robinson

When two armies of equal strength face off, victory will go to the side whose soldiers genuinely care for each other and will, therefore, willingly risk their lives for their comrades.

—Prince Melissa Davion in an unpublished letter to Field Marshal Gerald Lennox, 2892

That House Kurita had taken and kept the planet Robinson for so long was a constant source of anguish to the people of the Federated Suns. Over the years, the AFFS had attempted several times to win back this world that was the traditional capital of the Draconis March, but no commander had been able to penetrate the ferocious Kurita defenses.

In recent months, however, the MIIO had gathered intelligence suggesting that the Kurita forces on Robinson, led by the elite Third Sword of Light, were having supply problems. Indeed, the resistance movement on Robinson had managed to score several victories because the Kuritans seemed unwilling to waste men and materiel to combat them. Other evidence, such as a decline in Kurita raids, pointed to the severity of the supply situation. Sensing the enemy’s vulnerability, Princess Melissa decided that the Second Avalon RCT should move against Robinson in an attempt to finally take back that world. The commander of the mission would be Marshal Joseph Davion II.

Joseph Davion II was the son of Prince Michael’s later years. The boy was only nine when his father died, and Melissa Davion had raised him almost as her own child. Perhaps it was at her knee that he had learned to love battle as much as his father had seemed to abhor it. Many seasoned members of the AFFS were distressed at his youthful abandon when it came to military matters. Enamored of strategy and tactics as much as he loved combat, Joseph rushed into bold new adventures, yet would willingly toss out any carefully laid plan if a sudden battlefield opportunity seemed to call for it. Despite this, Joseph rose in rank like a comet. When promoted to command the Second Avalon RCT at the age of 27, he became the youngest Marshal the AFFS had ever seen.

Princess Melissa had confidence in her half-brother, however, and that was all the support he needed to plan a bold invasion of Robinson that would take advantage of his RCT’s abilities. He decided that instead of dropping onto safe areas of the planet, away from the enemy and rough terrain, his units would land right in the enemy’s midst. He was certain that the advantage of surprise would permit his regiments to make best use of their ability to coordinate efforts. “I’ll not have a stupid dance upon some barren plain that decides nothing! Let the fight be immediate, bloody, and decisive,” the Marshal reportedly told his subordinates. He got his wish.

The attack did surprise the Third Sword of Light, which had seen the AFFS DropShips coming but had expected a more conventional choice of drop zones. They fell back, but did not run. The Third Sword of Light was, after all, an elite ‘Mech regiment. Mounting a counterattack, the Third had soon forced the RCT to halt its advance. Toe to toe, the two forces fought it out among the buildings of Robinson’s capital city.

The vicious fighting continued for a whole month. In actions between small units, the Kurita forces were equal to the Davion units. In large-scale actions, however, where coordination between ‘Mechs and other combat units was crucial, the Second Avalon RCT excelled. The Kuritans were also plagued by the difficulty with obtaining supplies, to the point that they were running out of ammunition. With no sign that he would be getting his supplies anytime soon, the Sword of Light commander decided that he had no choice but to pull his regiment out of Robinson. It would be bad enough to lose the planet, but the Kurita commander knew that neither he nor his Coordinator could bear the loss of face if he allowed one of the Combine’s most prestigious units to be destroyed.

With the Third Sword of Light out of the action on Robinson, the remaining Kurita regiments were no match for the Second Avalon RCT. Soon after, the planet Robinson was liberated at last. Marshal Joseph Davion was a hero, and Princess Melissa had seen her military reforms work to perfection.

General Taragi’s Cunning

The final Battle of Robinson was a stunning defeat for one of the Draconis Combine’s best regiments. The outcome might have been different if the elite Third Sword of Light had not been hamstrung by severe supply problems. The irony and the tragedy of the situation was that one of House Kurita’s own commanders had purposely created the supply shortages to advance his ambition to become Coordinator of the Draconis Combine. The man who was willing to sacrifice his people’s own military on the altar of power was Taragi Kurita.

At the time of the Hussars’ invasion of Robinson, Taragi Kurita was chief aide to General Jon Kurita, commander of the Davion front and heir-apparent to the Coordinatorship. Taragi had long coveted the post of Davion Front Commander, and had been willing to disgrace his fellow generals in the battle of Colia Mountains to appear as the only one worthy of the job. When the Coordinator gave the post to his son Jon, Taragi wanted revenge on both Jon and the Coordinator himself.

Roweena Kurita, who challenged Coordinator Miyogi during the Shadow War, was Taragi’s ally. She supported his efforts at sabotage as well as giving him valuable information and counsel. The wisest of this advice was that Taragi must always use finesse and not move too boldly against Jon or the Coordinator.

To strike at Jon Kurita, Taragi began again to manipulate the bureaucracy of the DCMS, throwing the supply situation up and down the Davion front into disarray. When the Federated Suns attacked Robinson, General Taragi saw his chance to disgrace Jon and the Coordinator, and he made sure that the Third Sword of Light would not receive supplies for weeks.

After the Third Sword was forced to abandon Robinson, their commanders were outraged. As the best soldiers in the DCMS, their grievances had an impact in the high military and governmental echelons of the Combine. It was not long before they were demanding that General Jon Kurita step down in favor of General Taragi.

Coordinator Miyogi was in a serious bind. If he defended his son. the military would be offended, for they despised poor commanders. If he did not defend his son, the Coordinator would be dishonored for not defending his own blood. When he turned to his generals for support, all took a neutral stand.

The final act was played out when Captain Hideyoshi Toyama of the Third Sword of Light entered the Imperial Palace with a bomb strapped to his chest. He exploded the device in the main hall of the palace, killing himself, Coordinator Miyogi, and 30 other people. How he managed to enter the palace undetected is unknown, though he must have had help from Roweena Kurita, who could still call on the secret loyalty of some ISF agents.

General Taragi arrested General Jon Kurita and made him stand trial in what was more like a kangaroo court than an act of justice. Jon Kurita, the only male offspring of Miyogi, was shot. By succession right and public support, Taragi Kurita was acclaimed as the new Coordinator of the Draconis Combine.

—From “An Analysis of the Draconis Combine Political Structure of the Early Third War,” by Precentor Yvonne Rothram, Comstar Bulletin No. 65834PF, Archives, Terra 3013

Prince Joseph The Second

This is how I see society. At the top are the Davions. Next come the nobility and the military. Then the government. At the bottom are the common citizens. The bottom serves the top. This is the way all societies have been since the first time a strong man declared himself king and demanded that the weaker members of the tribe serve him. Why tamper with the natural order of things?

—Prince Joseph Davion II, 2898

Not long after the victory of her forces on Robinson, Melissa Davion suddenly contracted Joshallan Fever in November of 2892. Ironically, this was a disease for which there had once been an effective treatment, but with the decline in pharmaceutical knowledge, the doctors could do little more than shake their heads sorrowfully as their ruler lay dying.

With her death, Joseph Davion II became Prince of the Federated Suns at 28 years of age. Like Carl and Paul before him, he was an active military campaigner who governed his realm from the cockpit of his silver BattleMaster. A charismatic man who had a way with words, Joseph made frequent trips to the front lines to boost the morale of his troops.

Unlike his immediate predecessors, Prince Joseph did not take well to advice, which meant he was surrounded either with sycophants or cronies who had no wish to cross their friend. At least once a year, Prince Joseph liked to go from New Avalon to lead an offensive on one of the fronts. During these campaigns, which might last six months or more, the government was paralyzed because the Prince refused to delegate his authority to others. It was not long before both the economic and technological decline caused by the war grew even worse because of Joseph’s neglect.

Despite the new emphasis on cooperation between all branches of service with the AFFS, MechWarriors still formed an elite with special privileges. The Prince often granted landholdings and considerable local power to MechWarriors who had shown special prowess on the battlefield, thought most warriors knew nothing about administering land or governmental affairs. When these landholding MechWarriors were suddenly called to the front, their absences would seriously disrupt local government the way Prince Joseph’s absences affected his non-military duties.

The one wise and constructive act of Prince Joseph’s entire reign was the Armistice of Van Diemen IV. In 2903, a particularly wasteful aerospace battle for the Liao mining colony of Van Diemen IV left the Capellans anxious for a temporary cease-fire with the Federated Suns. After communicating their desire to negotiate, they waited.

High government officials tried to locate Prince Joseph, who was leading an assault on the Draconis front, far from New Avalon. When they finally were able to pass on the message from the Capellans, Joseph replied that he scorned any talk of peace that did not come from the end of his gun.

No matter what the government officials said about the advantages of a cease-fire, Joseph would not budge. When he would no longer listen to their arguments, several officials sought help from the Marshals of the High Command, who also agreed to talk to Prince Joseph. It was they who finally managed to persuade the Prince that a cease-fire on the Capellan front would allow him to conserve supplies for the wars against the Draconis Combine as well as giving him the image of a peacemaker in his people’s eyes.

The Armistice was signed in 2905. The cease fire would remain in effect along the Capellan front for an amazing 25 years, and it laid out some rules of war that other Inner Sphere armies also unofficially adopted as time went by. The Armistice specifically forbade actions against an enemy’s JumpShips, which were now a nearly irreplaceable commodity. When the Liao-Davion cease-fire finally collapsed, the unofficial ban against attacking JumpShips remained in effect throughout the Inner Sphere.

The Brotherhoods

One of the cruelest consequences of Prince Joseph’s lack of interest in governing his realm was the rise of MechWarrior Brotherhoods. Because of the romance that has always attached to MechWarriors, the ordinary people often looked to them as knights in shining armor, who must be both chivalrous and honorable. Many MechWarriors took advantage of this mystique by extorting money, lands, and even personal pleasures from members of the public and then using their reputations as protectors of the realm to shield themselves from prosecution.

At first, these lawless acts were only random and sporadic. In the few instances when a victim did try to get justice, Prince Joseph would not hear of such charges against his MechWarriors. Given this tacit approval, some Davion Warriors organized their illegal activities into “Brotherhoods”. The first Brotherhood, and perhaps the worst, was the Royal Order of MechWarriors and Brotherhood of Honor. Formed on New Syrtis, this gang included MechWarriors from all the regiments along the Capellan front.

The ROMBH grew quickly, spreading its lawlessness into many arenas. Indeed, their income was said to rival the treasury of the entire Davion government. Few planetary governments could stand up to the ROMBH. Those that did, like Bethel and Andro, became the object of attacks by ROMBH ‘Mechs, whose pilots claimed that they were pursuing Capellan infiltrators.

Opposing the ROMBH and its ilk was the Soldiery of the New Avalon Catholic Church, an association of MechWarriors opposed to the corruption. Though sponsored by the New Avalon Catholic Church, this order was open to MechWarriors of all beliefs. They did their best to stop, or at least to slow, further moral degeneration in the AFFS. On several occasions, MechWarriors from the Soldiery faced off with and fought the Brotherhoods.

The largest such battle occurred in 2921 on Hobbs, where three ‘Mechs from the Soldiery attempted to stop two ROMBH lances from punishing a city that had refused to pay extortion money. The three ‘Mechs from the Soldiery were destroyed, but not before they brought down five of the Brotherhood ‘Mechs.

—From Social Decay During the Reign of Prince Joseph, by Duke Michael Getherton, Avalon Press, 3009

Aid From Afar

Though the armistice with the Capellans freed up troops and resources for the struggle against the Draconis Combine, Prince Joseph’s offensive against House Kurita was slowing up. It had been three years since he had been able to take a world from the DCMS, but the Prince blamed everyone but himself for his army’s poor performance.

There were many reasons why the Davion military was failing. For one, the AFFS was worn out after being on the offensive for more than a decade. Another reason was the wretched condition of the realm’s economy. The many enemy invasions had crippled the military industries, with war supplies becoming more and more dear. In addition, insubordination among MechWarriors was becoming almost commonplace, with warriors disobeying orders when they pleased and picking fights with troopers of other services.

In 2913, the Lyran Commonwealth launched an ambitious offensive against the DCMS. Codenamed Operation Freedom, the campaign marked a surge in confidence among the Steiner fighting forces. Shinjiro Kurita, Taragi’s son and the new Coordinator, believed at first that the Lyran Commonwealth’s successes were a mere fluke. As the enemy offensive showed no sign of letting up, however, the Coordinator had to commit ever more resources to combat the LCCS.

Prince Joseph was elated when news came of the Commonwealth offensive. This was just the opportunity he needed to rest his forces, do a little internal head-bashing, and watch for any particular weakness that might be developing in the Draconis Combine. When both Military Intelligence and the MIIO reported no enemy activity along the Kurita front, Prince Joseph issued a partial stand-down order in 2914. Many units that had been stationed on the front lines for decades were now rotated to the rear.

Joseph felt this would also be a good time to call a halt to the growing rebelliousness among his MechWarriors. After recruiting the Soldiery of the New Avalon Catholic Church to his purposes, Prince Joseph began a grand tour of his realm. Though the official reason for his visits was to promote peace and well-being in the realm, the real reason was to break up the MechWarrior Brotherhoods. Aided by his personal guards and two companies of ‘Mechs from the Soldiery, Prince Joseph managed to “persuade” most Brotherhoods of the error of their ways.

The Royal Order of MechWarriors and Brotherhood of Honor, the largest and most virulent of the warrior gangs, was not so easily cowed. In what amounted to a military campaign, Prince Joseph and his ‘Mech force engaged the Brotherhood on Novaya Zemlya, Kluane, and Fortymile, where he and his men burned the headquarters of the Brotherhood to the ground. Though the action cost Joseph more than 20 warriors and twice that number of ‘Mechs, the Prince did gain unexpected popularity. The public now saw him as a savior, despite his responsibility for the rise of the Brotherhoods in the first place.

For the next two years, the Kurita border was so quiet that Joseph actually began to pay attention to the less exciting affairs of his realm. He authorized some moderate policies that helped to stimulate the realm’s economy, and transformed the AFFS warehouses from empty caverns into rich stores of parts and supplies.

For two years, Prince Joseph closely monitored the Lyrans’ offensive against the Draconis Combine, and like many of his people, began to change his attitude toward House Steiner. Previously, the Davions and their people had regarded the Lyrans as money-hungry conmen who could not muster the courage to fight their way out of a paper bag. As Operation Freedom continued to prove the Steiner military’s courage and ability, Joseph began deeply to admire the determination of the Lyrans and the ability of their leaders, the Steiner family.

It was for this reason that Joseph decided to renew his offensive against the Draconis Combine a year earlier than his Marshals were advising. He believed this would allow him to take advantage of the overtaxed Draconis Combine and that it would also help the Commonwealth’s campaign.

In 2918, the AFFS opened its offensive with attacks on contested worlds as well as heavy raids into the Draconis Combine against the planets Lapida II, Arlington, Huan, and Capra. Davion commanders managed to catch the Combine garrisons on Lima and McComb off guard, and succeeded in pushing them off the planet within three months. The raids into Combine space were also successful as Davion ‘Mechs managed to loot and destroy three major DCMS supply centers.

Though the Kuritans had their hands full on the Steiner front, the Arm of the Dragon eventually rose up to strike back at the Davion advance. In an AFFS assault on Xhosa Vil, the Kuritans drove back the Davion troops, inflicting heavy casualties. Though Prince Joseph was enraged, the past five years had given him the wisdom to restrain his desire to retaliate with an immediate all-out attack.

The Armistice Ends

It’s ridiculous to let the Capellans sit there and catch their breath. They’re vulnerable. and we should be all over them like a bad smell.

—Field Marshal Peter Davion II, 2928

In 2928, Prince Joseph’s son, Peter Davion, was 29 years old and a talented military leader in his own right. In that year, he was commander of the AFFS in the Capellan March, but that did not mean much because the Armistice of Van Diemen IV was still more or less in force. Like his father, the Prince Imperial liked nothing so much as the thrill of combat and so his current command had him feeling frustrated and restless. When Chancellor Merlin Liao abandoned his father’s theory of “elastic defense” in favor of protecting certain key worlds, Field Marshal Peter Davion believed this was a golden opportunity to attack. He was anxious to seize Capellan worlds before the Chancellor returned to his senses.

For two years, he argued for a campaign. Finally, in 2930, his father gave his permission to break the armistice. The Field Marshal’s operation, codenamed “Roland’s Horn,” would make two thrusts into the Confederation area lying near Terra. One thrust would push off from the Davion world of Addicks into Ankaa, Deneb Kaitos, Caph, Northwind, and Ruchbah. The other thrust, led by Field Marshal Davion himself, would advance from Demeter against the worlds of Halloran V and New Aragon.

In their attack on New Aragon, the First Avalon RCT achieved almost total surprise. Heavy aerospace support knocked down the Capellan air presence on the planet, and the three regiments were able to drop down virtually unopposed. Because of the Chancellor’s orders to avoid losses, the Liao commanders retreated their forces offworld after only token resistance.

It was much the same with the Davion attacks on Deneb Kaitos, Ruchbah, Ankaa, and Halioran V. The only places where the Liao military put up any kind of resistance was on secondary AFFS targets such as New Hesse, Kawich, and Nopah. As Field Marshal Peter Davion assembled his forces for the second phase of Roland’s Horn, news arrived from the Draconis front that his father had been seriously injured at the Battle of Xhosa VIl.

Xhosa VII

‘Taint nothing but a scratch.

—Prince Joseph, after his ‘Mech was gunned down by a Kurita Slayer

The Draconis Combine had occupied the rich world of Xhosa VI I ever since the First Succession War, and it was the center of supply and reinforcement for the DCMS along half the front. The planet was so heavily defended that General Sakamoto, the Kurita commander, did not expect to see any combat on this world in the near future. Like the rest of the military leaders of the Combine, he was being lulled into a false sense of security by the MIIO’s vigorous disinformation campaign showing that the Federated Suns had been involved in a huge offensive against the Capellan Confederation for the past three years. While the AFFS communication bands were filled with bogus reports of Capellan actions, Prince Joseph was quietly mustering his forces around Xhosa VIl.

In early 2930, he struck. Because Xhosa was a transportation hub for the Combine, Davion JumpShips and DropShips with false ID codes slipped into the system unnoticed amid the coming and going of so many other ships. The DropShips were halfway to the planet before the Kuritans identified them as Davion warships.

Prince Joseph was wounded during the initial assault. After a fierce fight for aerospace superiority, Prince Joseph believed that his fighters had won the day and that it was safe for him to land. As he left his DropShip, however, a pair of Kurita AeroSpace Fighters sneaked through the Davion defenses to bomb the Prince and his guards. One bomb exploded squarely against the Prince’s BattleMaster, severely injuring him.

With the Davion Prince out of the fight, General Sakamoto hoped that he might be able to hold out against the invaders until the DCMS could send reinforcements. It was not to be, for the new leader, General Wallace Mickertrick, had both the skill and personal charisma to dispel the pall that had fallen over the Davion forces. It was not long before General Sakamoto found himself being pushed back.

The Kurita garrison suffered a final setback when Mickertrick killed Sakamoto in a ‘Mech duel just outside of Xhosa’s capital city. Now, it was the Combine’s turn to suffer the loss of a valued leader. Xhosa VIl fell in 2931.

This trooper wears a modified uniform of the Crucis Lancers, a green and tan jerkin instead of the standard issue. She is holding an electroplating glue gun used for minor machinery repairs.

Prince Peter

We will not win this war through attrition. Too many other warlords have tried and failed with the strategy of exhaustion. A subtler strategy will win this war, and one day the Sunburst will fly over a united League.

—Prince Peter Davion, quoted from The New Davions: Politics Over PPCs, by Duke Reginald Timons, Avalon Press, 2955

The explosion that had shattered Prince Joseph’s BattleMaster had left him in a state of permanent injury. His internal organs had been badly damaged, either by the explosion or because of the radiation that leaked from his damaged ‘Mech. He could spend the remainder of his life hooked up to medical life support systems, or else die.

To a man who enjoyed the thrill of battle and the air of alien worlds, the thought of a life chained to a machine was unbearable. Though he hoped to find solace in the political side of government, that had never been his pleasure or his inclination. For a warrior like him, what could compare to leading a charge of BattleMechs or to watching a vanquished enemy come forward, white flag in hand?

in 2931, Prince Joseph II abdicated in favor of his son Peter. Though his body’s growing deterioration prevented him from participating in the government, he lived another four years after his abdication, which was long enough to see his son’s new style of leadership.

When he died, it was the end of an era. During the time of Joseph and his father, the Davions were more concerned with battle than with statesmanship. It many ways, it was a simpler, more direct age. With the accession of Peter Davion to the Princehood, things would begin to change.

Though as much a military man as his father, Prince Peter understood the desperate need for a strong government that did not try to settle every dispute through war. He saw that he must learn to take a longer view of federation affairs. Realizing that the responsibilities of government were a challenge equal to anything the battlefield had to offer, Peter began to relish the job, and rarely participated in combat during his reign. Indeed, he even made so bold as to declare in his first public address that he intended to restore the Davion government to its former heights.

Though the days of the infamous Brotherhoods were over, landholding MechWarriors were still strong enough to resist reforms from above. Paul’s creation of a feudal nobility more than a century before was coming back to haunt his heirs. In Paul’s day, the warrior aristocracy had owed everything to their Prince, but the hereditary descendants of those warriors owed House Davion very little. If displeased with one of these warrior aristocrats, Peter could not simply remove the noble family from their lands and titles without sparking a full-scale revolt. Resorting to legal trickery to siphon off power from the warrior nobles would have been just as risky.

Prince Peter feared that these warrior nobles would realize their political strength and try to become kingmakers within the federation. As the head of House Davion, he was not about to allow that to happen. The situation was inherently unstable, and Peter would devote most of his reign to seeking a solution. While the war continued along the frontiers, Peter reformed the government where he could, and found ways to placate the nobility when reforms frightened them. Knowing that he could not directly attack the power of the MechWarrior aristocrats, he attempted to raise another faction of his own as a bulwark against the warrior nobles’ intervention in government. Peter was only partially successful, and it would ultimately cost him his life.

Major Jeffrey Bannson wears a special urban camouflage uniform. The gray, brown, and black helmet, boots, and jerkin are issued to troops detailed for fighting in city streets. Because Major Bannson is attached to the Royal Brigade of Guards, his parade uniform would be trimmed with blue, white and red. Troopers in Brigade units are allowed to wear MechWarrior gloves as a sign of their elite status.

Knights Of The Void

I’ve always found fighting in an AeroSpace Fighter much more honest than fighting in a ‘Mech. In a fighter, you maneuver through space, cutting and slicing at your opponent any way you can. And if your fighter should get hit, you tumble straight into the black void. To me, that has always been much closer to the truth than a ‘Mech fight.

—General Sylvia Nathan, quoted in The Scythe of the PPC, by Duchess Fredrica Davion, Addicks Press, 3021

During his rule, Prince Peter Davion lavished enormous sums, special military honors, and patents of nobility on members of the Federated Suns AeroSpace Fighter arm. The Knights of the Void soon became his special favorite among the armed services, and he never ceased to promote loyalty and a high esprit de corps among their ranks.

Peter’s special concern for his fighter pilots coincided with Chancellor Ingrid Liao’s new offensive strategy for her armed forces. To bolster her ground forces, she had begun to use large groups of AeroSpace Fighters. In 2952, the new strategy paid off when her fighters intercepted a raid by House Marik. Greatly encouraged, Chancellor Ingrid decided to launch a major offensive composed of almost three hundred AeroSpace Fighters against the Davion world of Lee. After the Davion Military Intelligence and the MIIO learned of her intentions, Prince Peter moved to reinforce the world. For the first time in years, Peter Davion entered a battle to direct the planet’ defense.

In a three-day battle on and around Lee, the Davion defenders crushed the Capellan attack. In the air, the AFFS AeroSpace Fighters crippled the Capellan air strike force, and succeeded in knocking out 40 of them. This left the Capellan ‘Mechs, tanks, and infantry on the ground without the full weight of the massive air support they needed. At that point, Prince Peter led his Davion ‘Mechs in an attack that easily pushed the Capellans off Lee, with heavy casualties. The Capellans had lost so many fighters in “The Great Lee Turkey Shoot,” as the battle came to be known, that it took them years to regain their former strength.

Though he had spent the entire battle slugging it out among the rest of the MechWarriors, Prince Peter especially praised the AeroSpace Pilots, whom he credited with the victory. Not even the dimmest MechWarrior could miss seeing which way the wind was blowing. Not long after the Great Lee Turkey Shoot, the Warrior’s Cabal was formed.

The grim minor official of the federal government pictured here is about to use a data probe. His red tie is an official symbol worn by all members of the Federated Suns government, as are the white wrist cuffs. The data probe is used for a variety of tasks, such as inventories on cargo coming into and out the Federated Suns. The probe is attached to the small computer on the man’s hip.

Heroes Old And New

The MechWarrior, mighty in his towering suit of mechanical armor, has been but one focus of romantic idealism in the Inner Sphere. In other times, other warriors also embodied the virtues of honor, honesty, and goodness. During the Star League era, for example, it was the common trooper of the Regular Army who captured the popular imagination. Later, naval officers, tank commanders, and even VTOL pilots also had their day as heroes of the public’s fantasies. When the image of the MechWarrior began to capture people’s hearts and minds, it was usually because of the exploits of certain elite units such as the Sword of Light regiments in the Draconis Combine or the Royal Brigade of Guards in the Federated Suns.

Not surprisingly, in the dark days when MechWarriors were either stealing from the public or trying to manipulate the Davion government during Prince Joseph’s reign, the AeroSpace Fighter Pilot was considered the upholder of honor and truth. This became even more so when Prince Peter Davion ennobled the Knights of the Void.

—From Romanticism in Common Culture, by Rebecca Greenburg, New Syrtis Press, 2999

The MechWarrior Elite

The death of Prince Peter is, by contemporary standards, a recent event. Several noted sociopolitical theorists have advanced the theory that the events leading up to it could arise again in the coming years. Official Davion propaganda 1 claims that the so-called “Cabal” was a conspiracy of a few disgruntled warriors who resented Prince Peter’s efforts to curtail their power. That is certainly part of the story, but probably only the tip of the iceberg.

The prominent sociologist R.N. Herrick drew numerous comparisons between post-Star League society and the deteriorating conditions of Imperial Rome during the so-called “Age of Thirty Tyrants.” Like Rome in that era, today’s Successor States are held together by the personal authority of warlords who maintain their power so long as they can maintain the support and loyalty of their armies. As the Romans learned only too well, an army with that much political power rarely hesitates to use it when and if its best interests demand it.

There are, of course, points of divergence between the Roman model and our present society. The MechWarriors involved in the Cabal are more similar to the powerful land-owning barons and knights of Medieval England and France than to the leaders of Rome’s legions. It is true, however, that the breakdown of Roman government was directly linked to the increasing autonomy of ambitious field commanders. Once the Roman dynastic succession was broken, anyone of reasonably noble birth became eligible for the throne. During the Age of the Thirty Tyrants, a number of comparatively low-born soldiers took the purple simply because they had distinguished themselves as loyal soldiers. This parallels the situation that Peter Davion faced.

By virtue of their training and ownership of increasingly scarce BattleMechs, MechWarriors are vital to the survival of the Successor States. Modern warfare has demonstrated that ‘Mechs are essential to victory, no matter what infantry and armor enthusiasts claim to the contrary. Warlords cannot wage war without MechWarriors, and so they grant them lands, titles, and political power to win their loyalty.

Bestowing such power on often combative and ambitious men and women makes it that much more likely that those MechWarriors will fail in their loyalty if forced to choose between their Lord and themselves. In such a situation, the Warrior will attempt either to influence a Lord’s policies or to replace him with someone else.

Prince Peter’s solution was to create another powerful group to offset the power of the MechWarriors. Though the faction helped Prince Andrew defeat the disorganized Cabalists, this solution triggered the very crisis it was to prevent. Moreover, the two factions may find enough common ground to cooperate against the government, or one faction may find it convenient not to intervene at a moment of crisis, leaving the Prince high and dry.

In the past decade, Prince Hanse Davion has initiated another solution. The creation of the New Avalon Institute of Science suggests the possibility of reform through the conversion of an essentially feudal army into a professional one. Warriors molded by institutions and holding allegiance to the State rather than to personal overlords should ultimately become the backbone of a new kind of fighting force. Similar academies exist in other Successor States as well, and so the trend is likely to take hold everywhere.

A similar transition from feudalism to nationalism also revolutionized Europe and led to the fall of the hereditary monarchies. If similar changes occur in our own society, what will happen to the Successor Lords? Will the restoration of the Star League become as foolish a concept as the revival of the Roman Empire in the face of clearcut national and linguistic boundaries? Would the most talented Successor Warlord be any more successful in uniting a formerly feudal Inner Sphere than Napoleon was in uniting post-feudal Europe?

—From The Inner Sphere and the Modem Feudalistic State, by Natalie Wessick, Remagen Press, 3022

Have It Your Way

One of the strangest mutinies in history occurred in 2970, when mercenaries from Beaufort’s Cossacks went on a shooting spree in a suburb of New Defiance City on the planet Moravian. A clause in the unit’s contract specified that twice a week the government would pay for a free meal for all members of the unit at a local Triple-F restaurant, the most popular chain in the Federated Suns. The fact that Capellan naval forces blockaded Moravian shortly after the unit’s arrival should not have made any difference, as Moravian produced its own wheat, beef, corn, sugar, milk, and potatoes. The only offworld elements of Triple-F cuisine were pickles, sesame seeds, and whalemeat. Nevertheless, when the troops could not get exactly what they ordered, Colonel Regnus accused Triple-F of defaulting on the unit’s food supply contract.

The manager of the outlet, afraid of losing the most lucrative contract he had ever had, was quick to point out that the blockade had prevented supplies from arriving. He went on to say that he had in good faithful filled the contract as best he could, and that even if he could have anticipated the blockade, he did not have facilities to refrigerate a whale. Upon hearing this, the Cossacks, against orders from Colonel Regnus, went on a rampage, commandeering civilian motor vehicles, screaming out the windows at the natives, and discharging their weapons. They stormed the Triple-F franchise, chanting “Where’s the pickle? Where’s the lettuce?” Their chant made no sense, as Triple-F had never used lettuce in any of its products. (Perhaps the troops were confusing the eatery with a similar, competing chain.)

The manager and staff, frightened by the outburst, fled the restaurant. After a few minutes more of chanting, the troops began to feel foolish and left.

Colonel Regnus took no disciplinary action. He remarked to one of his aides, “We’ve got to get these soldiers into a real fight. When they start letting off steam like this, the cutting edge is definitely off the rose.”

Despite all the commotion and the shooting, not a single civilian was hurt during the soldier’s outburst.

—From A Child’s History of Mutinies, by Henrietta Chabriole, Subversive Press, 3021

The Cabal

This Corporal’s white uniform shows that she is a member of an AFFS security force used to protect military bases. She holds a large stun stick, a common weapon of security personnel. The members of the efficient Davion police force also wear this type of uniform.

Prince Peter had entered the Battle of Lee mainly to boost his military prestige so that he could continue his reforms. In the wake of that victory, he pushed for further attacks on the Capellans to maintain pressure against House Liao and to keep his warriors preoccupied.

Because of the glowing performance of the Davion aerospace pilots at Lee, Prince Peter believed that he could now accelerate his plans to be rid of certain MechWarriors who had consistently opposed his reforms. In a purge that some likened to a bureaucratic lynching, MechWarriors who had spoken against the Prince suddenly found themselves cashiered out of the AFFS as well as stripped of their lands, money, and ‘Mechs.

As the purge gained speed, the Warrior’s Cabal collected more and more members who feared for their existence as MechWarriors. Though Prince Peter’s advisors urged him to move more cautiously, the Prince believed that the high stature now enjoyed by his AeroSpace Pilots would protect him.

In 2961, the Prince had gone to the Draconis front to tour the newly conquered world of Breed. Though he was ostensibly there to tour the planet’s reconstruction efforts, the Prince had actually come to Breed to personally dismiss three dissident officers. One of these, Colonel Jeffrey Dempsey, had threatened the Prince’s life if he dared to strip him of his rank and honor. As Prince Peter’s entourage approached Colonel Dempsey’s headquarters, Dempsey made good his threat. Five ‘Mechs burst from the forest to either side of the base and opened fire on the Prince’s vehicle. The Prince was killed instantly.

Though Colonel Dempsey and his conspirators were immediately arrested, the other members of the Cabal agitated for their release. The dissidents had managed to win so much sympathy for their cause on Breed that the Prince turned the capital city into an armed fortress to keep the people of Breed or the other Cabalist officers from liberating the Colonel from his keep. The one error in Colonel Dempsey’s calculations was that he did not foresee what effect Prince Peter’s death would have on his son Andrew. A Major in the Royal Brigade and a well-respected MechWarrior, it was Andrew who announced the news of his father’s assassination to the Federated Suns, displaying such grief and yet so much dignity that the Cabal’s hopes of winning public support were dashed. The fact that Prince Peter had a son to avenge his death convinced many other MechWarriors to stay away from joining the Cabal.

Instead of a civil war in the Federated Suns, a small mutiny broke out in the Draconis March, where the Cabal had been the strongest. When five ‘Mech regiments refused to take the customary oath of fealty to the new First Prince, Andrew gathered up the Royal Brigade and a large aerospace force for a short and savage campaign to wipe out the rebellion. Fortunately for the Suns, the Draconis Combine economy had fallen on hard times, and so the Kuritans were in a poor position to exploit the chaos in the Draconis March.

Prince Andrew attacked so swiftly that the mutineers had neither time to flee nor to receive aid. In the course of a campaign that culminated in the destruction of the second Avalon Borderers on Deshier, all the rebellious MechWarriors had either surrendered or been killed in combat.

Countess Cordelia Spenser of Torrence, Lady-in-Waiting to Yvonne Davion and mistress of Field Marshal Ran Felsner, wears a dress in the latest Royal Court fashion.

Regrouping

The mutiny of the Cabalists and the murder of Prince Peter were evils that did result in some good. Because the malcontents in the army were exposed, Prince Andrew was able to strip them of their powers and their holdings.

The vast majority of AFFS units remained loyal to the Davions during the mutiny and were later eager to prove that loyalty by accepting the military reforms that had cost Prince Peter his life. Andrew also helped things along by sugarcoating the major reforms in showy honors and larger retirement and benefit plans. Though this caused the Federated Suns some economic hardship, it was worth it to bolster the loyalty of the army and to encourage longer terms of service.

During Prince Peter’s reign, there had been times of near quiet along both Marches. As news of the MechWarrior Cabal leaked out, however, both the Draconis and the Capellan commanders hoped to take advantage of House Davion’s misfortunes by escalating the war along both fronts. Though both realms were too late to capitalize much on the unrest within the Federated Suns, they nevertheless persevered in their attacks.

Facing attacks on both fronts taxed the AFFS and prevented Prince Andrew from launching counterattacks, even though the Capellan offensive was sporadic and inept. Forced into a defensive stance, AFFS Marshals used the tactic of brief skirmishes and raids to harass enemy buildups. The new Prince found it necessary to balance resources and strategies to avoid giving either one of his foes an opening. Time and again, he demonstrated his skill in deploying his meager forces, particularly at Lee, Rio, and Kasai. Border worlds continued to change hands regularly on both fronts, but on the whole, Prince Andrew proved that he was fully capable of holding his own in the Succession Wars.

When House Liao completed the ten-year reorganization of its aerospace force in 2992, the Marshals of the Federated Suns realized that they had lost another chance to defeat House Liao. With the Liao fighters better organized and better trained than ever before, they could easily hold their own against Davion pilots, as AFFS losses on St. Andre in 2992 proved.

In 2999, Andrew Davion died of natural causes, leaving behind three children. The eldest was Marie Davion-St. Claire, the illegitimate daughter of Andrew and his mistress, Simone St. Clair. Marie would later become the focal point for a dynastic crisis, despite the fact that she had been specifically excluded from the succession. Andrew’s two sons, Ian and Hanse, were the children of the Prince’s official marriage to Jennifer Campbell. At the moment of Prince Andrew’s death, the Federated Suns was poised on the thin edge between success and collapse. It would fall to these two sons, who would one day be known as “the Hound” and “the Fox,” to steer the realm through the most critical phase of the post-League era.

Nelitha Smith-Fantod, Assistant Minister of Exploration, is shown here wearing her business suit. The broadshoulder cape and the exaggerated wrist and ankle cuffs are signs of her importance. It is said in New Avalon that if a person coming into a room has to turn his shoulders to get through the door, then he must be a Minister. Nelitha carries her Minister’s Baton, another sign of her high status.

The Hound

They call our new Prince “ The Hound,” and I must say that the label is not far from the mark. He has the kind of expression you might associate with a faithful old hunting dog, with those large, sad eyes and a nose just a little too big for his face. Of course, the real source of that nickname is his character. lan Davion has the tenacity and determination of a bloodhound on the trail, and I don’t think he’d give up an idea if all the ‘Mechs from here to Luthien stood in his way.

—From the diary of Naomi Gavin Rollings, Countess of Trethany Valley, Galax, September 4, 2999

Prince Ian Davion took up the leadership of the Federated Suns in mid-2999. Though only 19 years old, Ian had already received extensive training as a warrior, but had not yet undergone training for the complexities of statecraft. Neither did he have any great interest in that. Everyone in the Court of New Avalon had long since discovered that fate had played House Davion a fickle hand by making the pugnacious ian the elder, and the wiser, more level-headed Hanse the younger of the family.

Of course, Prince Andrew was not bound to select his eldest son as heir, but several factors conspired to make it necessary. Foremost among these was the attitude of the army, which preferred a trained MechWarrior on the throne over a youngster who had not yet seen combat. In addition, Hanse was little more than a boy, which was the last thing the realm needed at its helm.

On his deathbed, Andrew confirmed the selection of Ian as Prince Imperial. Even then, many court advisors already recognized Hanse Davion’s potential and they urged Ian to groom him for a greater role than that of commanding marshal of the AFFS, as their father had wished. Luckily for the future of the Federated Suns, Ian was more than happy to take the advice.

In many ways, Ian resembled Prince Joseph II. He was happiest when leading soldiers and ‘Mechs into battle, and preferred to leave the problems of politics to others. Nor did he appreciate being told what to do, and so he often disregarded the experience, abilities, and suggestions of others when it came to the issues of government. Before long, the realm began to suffer.

Luckily, there were plenty of battles to occupy Ian, and so direction of the government passed into the hands of a small group of talented men. One of these was Benjamin Sandoval, Duke of Robinson and the leader of the Draconis March. Duke Sandoval’s talents were matched by long experience. As good as he was, however, he lacked one major qualification for the exercise of authority in the Prince’s absence. He was not a blood relative of the Davion family, who would always hesitate considerably before giving any non-Davion too much power.

The other two notable political figures of Ian’s reign were George and Michael Hasek. George Hasek was Duke of New Syrtis, and hence had authority similar to Duke Sandoval’s. His son Michael married Marie Davion, the illegitimate daughter of Prince Andrew, in 3003. This gave Michael the family connection that the other two lacked, and the weak-willed Marie was soon under the spell of her clever, ambitious husband.

Duke Thomas Dryden of Grosvenor wears a style of suit currently popular with Federated Suns aristocracy. The spurs on his boots show that he was once a MechWarrior, which he wants no one to forget.

Rise Of Hasek-Davion

Decline? Why must it be a decline? Couldn’t it be that the Capellans have improved their fighting skills? Why blame our soldiers for a supposed decline in their skills? Why blame me?

—Duke Michael Hasek-Davion, from official court transcripts, September 10, 3005

Michael Hasek (who took the name Hasek-Davion after the marriage) was even more clever than either his father or Duke Sandoval. By the time he was 27, his influence was already as great as theirs. From 3005 through 3013, Michael Hasek-Davion held considerable authority in political and diplomatic operations, leading three separate ministries while at the zenith of his power. Hasek-Davion was both ambitious and unscrupulous, however, and his methods offended those who believed in ethics in government. One of these was Hanse Davion, who disliked Michael from the first time they met. Hanse was kept busy with training, however. When he was given a military command on the Draconis March in 3007, those duties removed him as a major factor in court politics for the rest of Ian’s reign.

It was during Hasek-Davion’s period of political authority that House Liao managed to lure Wolf’s Dragoons out of Federated Suns employ. This was probably not Hasek-Davion’s intention, but it is symptomatic of how his misuse of authority was taking its toll. At that time, he had been encouraging minions at various levels of the administration to divert funds and supplies to nobles from whom he was seeking favors. The Dragoons must have fell such diversion of supplies and funds keenly, and it would have contributed to their desire to move on. Indeed, this kind of corruption within House Davion’s administrative ranks led to a general decline in military prowess, despite the efforts of Prince Ian, who did everything but fight battles singlehandedly.

The deterioration was particularly evident on the Capellan front. In 3001, the Liao Warrior House regiments Lu Sann and lmmara routed the Seventh Crucis Lancers off Lincoln. Then, in 3003, the ]jori regiment pounced upon the Dry River Devils, a Davion mercenary regiment, as they attempted to invade Tsamma. Because of a snarl in logistics, reinforcements meant to back up the Devils were delayed, and the mercenaries were forced to surrender and turn over their ‘Mechs to the victorious Ijori Warrior House.

Though there were many reasons for the AFFS’s poor performance, much of the blame goes to Duke Hasek and his son. To counter the growing tide of ill-feeling against the Haseks, Michael orchestrated a subtle propaganda campaign to encourage the people of the Capellan March to question their loyalty to the Davions.

Hasek-Davion had to be very careful, however. The fact that he was not Duke of New Syrtis hindered his efforts, as all of Michael’s aspirations depended on his father’s good will. George Hasek would never have encouraged or supported outright rebellion as a tool for seizing power. Michael therefore carried out his plans behind closed doors, and ensured that Prince Ian had no cause to investigate what was going on in New Avalon. Supplies and support continued to flow smoothly into the Draconis March, where the Prince and his brother were busy fighting the Kuritans.

Hasek-Davion’s efforts to keep his brothers-in-law militarily supplied served to enhance their military reputations and to ensure continued successes for the AFFS. In 3002, Davion troops led by Prince Ian routed a numerically superior Kurita force, which included a Sword of Light regiment, during the Third Battle for Harrow’s Sun. Other victories, such as the seizure of Cylene II and the expulsion of Kurita forces off Elidere and Deshler, helped stabilize the border for the Federated Suns. Compared to the marshals in charge on the Capellan front, the two Davions seemed invincible. That would prove useful when the crisis finally came.

Private Nick Thomas is a crewmember of the Federated Suns Ship Exeter. He wears a special thin but protective garment under the gold jumpsuit, which can be used as a pressure suit in emergency situations. The crewman can roll the undergarment over his neck and head and attach a face plate to it. He has a ten minute air supply in the box on his belt to give him a chance to get to a pressurized section of the ship or to another supply of air. On his wrist is a communications device. He is carrying a large welder-grappler.

Michael’s Treachery

I’ve no delusions about my brother-in-law. If my brother was known as the Hound, and I’m the Fox, then the Duke of New Syrtis is the Weasel darting though the underbrush, looking to take advantage.

—From the private journals of Hanse Davion, 3013

In 3012, the situation in the Capellan March finally became serious enough to make the First Prince take notice. Though recent Capellan attacks were small, they had been successful against larger and supposedly superior Davion forces. The Maskirovka, the Capellan equivalent of the MIIO, was increasing terrorist activities on border worlds, blowing up munitions plants, hospitals, and other vital facilities.

Thoroughly occupied in the Draconis March, Prince Ian sent Hanse Davion to take command of the Capellan March. Before long, Hanse discovered just how deeply the rot of confusion and corruption had set in there. Enraged, he set out to discover who was responsible for the military’s pitiful state. The effort would be as difficult as any military operation he had ever undertaken.

Michael Hasek-Davion began to prepare for the confrontation that must surely come when Hanse’s investigation inevitably led to him. He won a slight reprieve, however, when the Capellans launched a new offensive. Hanse had to drop his inquiries in order to rally the dispirited AFFS troops into finding the guts to fight the Capellans.

His efforts soon bore fruit. At the battle of Wright, Hanse’s revitalized troops utterly smashed the Liao offensive. One Capellan unit, the LaFarge Hussars, was virtually wiped out during the fight. This victory and Hanse’s cleaned-up military bureaucracy helped give the AFFS enough spirit to embark on a front-wide offensive.

Hanse’s efforts in the Capellan March enhanced his reputation back at New Avalon, but the whole affair had left a bitter taste in his mouth. The need to weed out the corruption that had threatened the AFFS in the Capellan March became his overriding concern. Though there was little hard evidence, the Prince Imperial had plenty of clues about where he should be looking.

The next year, both Duke George Hasek and Prince Ian Davion died. The Duke’s peaceful death at his home on New Syrtis gave the Duchy to his son, who now had full control over his own affairs. The First Prince died on Mallory’s World, fighting the Draconis Combine to the last. Prince Ian had neither wife nor children, which left Hanse Davion as the heir-apparent. The new Duke of New Syrtis had his own plans about who should be Prince of the Federated Suns.

It has never been proved that Duke Michael hired the assassin who made an attempt on the Prince Imperial when his entourage stopped at Emerson for rest and resupply before heading to New Avalon. A sniper with a laser rifle shot at Hanse just as he was leaving the ramp of his personal DropShip. The shot missed, and the Prince’s bodyguards whisked their charge back inside the ship before the sniper could get off another shot.

The sniper killed himself before he could be captured, and his corpse offered no clues. Though the official investigation remained inconclusive, Hanse Davion had no doubt that Duke Hasek-Davion was connected to the sniper.

This failure left Duke Hasek-Davion with only two choices: open rebellion or the acceptance of defeat. He chose the latter, but began to fortify his position as the Prince’s investigation came ever closer to the source of the recent conspiracies.

Pictured here is a member of the Avalon Hussars. The gray jersey and light tan jerkin are traditional because uniforms in these colors were the only ones available to the original Avalon Hussars in the early days of the First Succession War.

The Fox

Can it be a coincidence that leaders who are able to see the value of diplomacy, and even of alliances, should arise in all five realms simultaneously?

—From The Resurgence of Diplomacy, by Professor Randolph Nelson, New Avalon Institute Press, 3024

During the past decade, the Federated Suns has taken the first definite steps toward ending the long stalemate of the Succession Wars. Under the rule of Hanse Davion, the Federation has enjoyed more social, economic, technical, and military recovery than in the two centuries before him. Even enemies of House Davion have been forced to label this period a renaissance of Federated Suns culture. The past decade has also been critical for the whole Inner Sphere, which now stands on the brink of either peace or another round of bloody warfare.

POLITICAL BLOODING

His Highness, the First Prince, is a man to be reckoned with. Under his brother, we saw much of war and were often victorious, but I think we can look forward to far greater success now. The current Davion is not just a ruler but a leader, someone who knows what he wants and how to get it without compromising his position, his popularity, or his honor. That’s rare these days, but he’s not called “The Fox” for nothing.

—From a letter by Vanessa Sandoval, Countess of the Pearl Islands, to His Grace, the Duke of Robinson, 3013

Hanse Davion became the First Prince of the Federated Suns in 3013. The attempt on his life made the new Prince more determined than ever to tighten his grip on the administration and to safeguard his position. He also pushed forward the investigations into the corruption in the Capellan March, hoping that his people would uncover conclusive proof that Duke Hasek-Davion was behind it. Though Hanse ordered them to spare no expense, the investigations have never uncovered a shred of proof linking Duke Michael to either the assassination plot or to the malfeasance that he practiced for so long in the March. The Duke of New Syrtis is a careful man and a talented schemer, who apparently knows how to cover his trail.

Prince Hanse could not take action against the Duke on the basis of mere suspicion, for the Hasek family is very popular in the Capellan March and also has a number of influential friends at the New Avalon Court. A too-precipitate action against him could have done irreparable harm to the unity of the Federation, which was the one thing that Prince Hanse was not willing to risk. All his reforms would be for naught if he inadvertently set off a civil war.

The one action Hanse could take had to do with the choice of his ministers and advisors. No one was surprised when the Prince removed Hasek-Davion’s name from the roll of federation government officials in the new Prince’s Honors List. Everyone at Court was aware of the ill-feeling that had characterized the two men’s relations from the first day. Outwardly, of course, they treated one another courteously, with many expressions of brotherly devotion. In the celebration of Hanse’s investiture, Michael vowed “to loyally serve the realm by personally directing affairs in the Capellan March.” Under frozen smiles and friendly gestures, each was testing his opponent’s potential as an enemy, probing for signs of weakness.

Formation Of The NAIS

In late 3012, Prince Ian Davion received word that the Kuritans were building huge storage depots on the planet of Halstead Station. If completed, the storage center would vastly speed up resupply for the DCMS, making life tougher for the Federated Suns. Prince ]an had decided to keep that storage center from being built, and had immediately begun to make plans for a strike against that world.

When Prince Ian died, it fell to Prince Hanse to continue the plans for an attack on Halstead Station. In this same period, the MIIO was reporting that Combine construction crews had stumbled upon the ruins of a Star League-era university housing a huge, unopened vault. Realizing how important the contents of that vault might be, Hanse rushed ahead with the raid plans and decide to personally lead the attack.

What the Prince had thought would be an in-and-out affair turned into a month-long battle. Luck was with the young Prince, however. He and his troops managed not only to destroy the Kurita supply center on Halstead Station, but to seize the Halstead Collection, perhaps the most important Star League treasure yet discovered.

When Prince Davion’s ‘Mechs broke into the vault, he and his men found rows upon rows of books and computer memory cubes. Hanse and his troops carried oft as many of the books as time would permit, burning what they could not carry. Unofficial sources say that over three thousand books and other materials were taken from the vault, most of them on highly technical subjects.

The books have proved so significant that the public hailed Prince Hanse as “the Victor of Halstead Station.” Capitalizing on this public admiration, he unveiled his plans for the creation of the New Avalon Institute of Science. Today, the HaLstead Collection is housed in the NAIS in an environmentally controlled library. Researchers have not yet mined the full wealth of knowledge contained in the Halstead Collection, but much of it is the basis for the NAIS’s ability to recover some lost knowledge and technology.

Prince Hanse has made most of the information available for public use. Some of the material is even part of the university dataservice that anyone with a computer can access. This has made Prince Hanse seem to be a peaceful man who believes that everyone—even the lowliest citizen—deserves to reap the benefit of knowledge.

Strategic Moves

I’m still pretty young, but I’ve seen enough action to kill any heroic feelings l had toward combat and war. For me, knowing that I have to send men and women into combat is the dirtiest job I can think of.

—Prince Hanse Davion, 3023

Although the war with House Kurita went on, Prince Hanse turned most of his attention to the Capellan situation in the early years of his reign. Things had already gone from bad to worse during his brother’s reign, and so Hanse decided to follow up his earlier victory on Wright with a steady stream of new attacks to reestablish the Davion prestige in the region. He made several personal appearances on the front, but he had come mainly to study and observe the situation.

One of Prince Hanse’s most strategic moves was to enlarge the role of mercenary units in the AFFS. Both his father and his brother had believed that mercenaries should never be given a chance to show initiative. As a result, they had rarely assigned mercenaries to raids or offensives that would have allowed them independent action. Hanse had his own opinions, however, realizing that mercenaries were the means to keep up pressure on the enemy without exhausting his own military. That meant allowing mercenary units to handle some of the highly mobile actions.

His policy change showed immediate benefits. In 3014, two mercenary units, Kingston’s Commandos, a ‘Mech regiment, and Tristram’s Terrorists, a mixed-arms unit, attacked St. Ives in the Capellan Confederation. Contrary to what some Davion Marshals had predicted, the two mercenary bands showed considerable intelligence and courage, which a pleased Prince rewarded with large bonuses when the unit returned.

These actions provoked a violent and unexpected reaction from Chancellor Maximilian Liao. In 3022, he unleashed McCarron’s Armored Cavalry, the Confederation’s best mercenary unit, on the Federated Suns. What started out as a raid turned into a three-year odyssey of destruction and pillage deep into the Federated Suns that has only just resolved itself.

Despite the continued strength of the Capellan forces, the AFFS must be well pleased with its standing in the Capellan March. The only cloud on the horizon is the fact of Duke Michael Hasek-Davion’s recent talks with Maximilian Liao. Whatever the Duke of New Syrtis has planned, it is unlikely that any plot short of all-out rebellion could shake Prince Davion’s hold on the Federated Suns.

As for the struggle against House Kurita, Hanse Davion has made it known that he intends to win back the remaining Federated Suns worlds taken by the Draconis Combine during the First Succession War. This is a surprising boast from a Prince known for his caution. Many feared that the Prince would immediately launch a major campaign to win the worlds as quickly as possible. To the contrary, the Kurita border seems to have settled down into yet another exchange of heavy raids. In the past five years, both sides have carried out a total of 20 raids. Some are worth noting, like the Battle for Harrow’s Sun, the Davion raids against Dobson and Yance, and the Battle of New lvaarsen. Nevertheless, the border has changed little in the past decade, and Prince Hanse seems content to let it remain so.

Future Of The Federation

An Alliance is a delicate thing, but I think ours will live beyond us. The day will come when our people will view our two states as a single realm with a single desire for peace.

—Toast made by Prince Hanse Davion to Archon Katrina Steiner, 3022

In 3020, Archon Katrina Steiner issued a Peace Proposal to the leaders of the other realms. Though her initiative was really nothing more than a cease-fire, it was the first time in decades that one of the Successor States had made a bid for peace. All but one of the other Successor Lords viewed her offer with scorn, however.

Like Katrina, Hanse Davion realized that the constant fighting was becoming an exercise in futility. Though forced to reject the conditions of the Archon’s proposal, he could sense the sincerity behind the offer. Despite the objections raised by some of his closest advisors, the Prince opened secret communications with the Lyran Commonwealth.

His faith did not go unrewarded. The talks between the two realms uncovered considerable common interests and desires. Indeed, the exchange proved so successful that they quickly bloomed from discussions of armistice and economic treaties to earnest conferences on an alliance.

The fruit of these many long hours, weeks, and months of meetings came in 3022, when the two leaders signed the Federated-Commonwealth Alliance Document, or F-C Document, on Terra. The effects of this treaty have already been felt. The most obvious advantage of the alliance is the flow of military intelligence between the AFFS and the LCAF about their common enemy, the Draconis Combine. In 3022, using information given them by the Commonwealth, Prince Hanse unleashed the AFFS in a major offensive against the Draconis Combine. The results were spectacular, as the AFFS recaptured such worlds as Tancredi IV, Galatia Ill, and Rome. The Commonwealth has also benefited from the complete ouster of Combine forces off Sevren, Carse, and Port Moseby.

Another outcome of the treaty is less visible but potentially more important than the sharing of military information. The stimulation of trade between the two Houses could revitalize the economy of the Federated Suns, which has suffered from an inability to exploit its strong resources. Allied with the Commonwealth, the economic and industrial giant of the Inner Sphere, the Federated Suns can look forward to an explosion of economic activity.

Of course, this would all come to naught if the two ruling families could not get along. The Steiners and the Davions are both proud families, yet practical enough to know the importance of friendship. Members of both Houses have visited one another’s realm, and returned home pleased by what they saw and how they were treated.

The most crucial clause of the Davion-Steiner alliance was the betrothal of Melissa Steiner, the Archon-Designate, to Prince Hanse. Though the two have met only a few times and both realize that the marriage is political, there is evidence of real attraction between Hanse and the beautiful young Melissa. What this marriage could mean to the Inner Sphere is the potential creation of a single power strong enough militarily, economically, and emotionally to dominate the rest of the Successor States.

The closer relations between Davion and Steiner have given the Draconis Combine, the Capellan Confederation, and the Free Worlds League plenty to worry about. A united Federated Suns and Lyran Commonwealth will make a fearsome combination. To combat this threat, the three other Houses have signed the Concord of Kapteyn, allying them against Davion and Steiner. It remains to be seen whether the Concord will last, as neither the leaders nor the people of these three realms trust one another.