Lucien Davion (23rd c.)

This article is about the president. For other uses, see Lucien Davion.

Lucien Davion
Personal
Born	2270
Died	2332 (62 years)
Affiliation	House Davion
Profile
Position(s)	Prime Minister of New Avalon President of the Federated Suns
Family
Parents	Jerome Davion (father) Jennifer DuVall (mother)
Siblings	Louis Davion Charles Davion
Spouse	Marie Fabier
Children	Reynard Davion

Lucien Davion was a pre–Age of War New Avalon politician who later became the first President of the Federated Suns.

Character Personality and Traits

Lucien was unlike other members of his family up to this time, as he was soft-spoken and intensely idealistic. He had talent for charming people with his charisma, the skills for maneuvering politically his opponents when in his arena of exercises, and for politics. He was noted for having unusual eyes adding to his charm; one was colored blue and the other green.

History

Early life and political career

The son of New Avalon Ambassador Jerome Davion and Jennifer DuVall (daughter of Prime Minister Nathan DuVall), Lucien entered the family tradition of politics. His trajectory in that career path was assisted by his family's influence in the planet's agricultural industry.

Lucien's younger brother, Louis, proposed that he should marry a woman from the politically connected Fabler family; the marriage was designed by Louis to assist his older brother in becoming Deputy Prime Minister. Lucien married Marie Fabler and the couple gave birth to their son, Reynard.

In 2307, Lucien was appointed Deputy Prime Minister by his childless uncle, Prime Minister Martin DuVall, who educated him in the Ministry of New Avalon. After the accidental death of his uncle in 2309, Lucien was elected to the office of Prime Minister of New Avalon within a week. His ascendance to office marked the end of the DuVall family's dominance in planetary leadership and marked the beginning of the Davion dynasty. Lucien then began the rapid industrialization of the planet.

Within a week of gaining office, Lucien consolidated his position. Through his years in politics, he had established a reputation of being honorable and having strong principles, earning him respect among allies and foes alike. (Even his strongest critics and those who hated him did not suggest he had something to do with his uncle's unfortunate death.) He put forth an agenda to cement treaties and trade agreements with regional worlds, which were collectively called at "The Crucis Reach".

However, in 2314, the Terran Alliance's election turned to violence, which echoed through space as the Terran Alliance Civil War. It came to an end in 2316 when the Alliance Global Militia’s Fleet Admiral James McKenna seized control of the nation flung into chaos. After he was elected as Director-General, he declared the formation of the Terran Hegemony and began a military campaign to rein in worlds that were once part of now defunct Terran Alliance. This prompted Lucien to begin a whirlwind tour of the Crucis Reach, proposing mutual trade and defense pacts among the worlds near New Avalon. Using the threat of Terran aggression and the possibility of falling under dictatorship, he traveled to numerous worlds, including the seven worlds of the Muskegon Empire, calling on all to join his Crucis Pact summit.

In 2317, leaders from twenty-three worlds journeyed to New Avalon where they heard Davion propose a new federation of nations, with all members as partners. This Crucis Pact would provide protection against threats abroad and increase trade between worlds. Twenty of the worlds' leaders agreed to join on the same day and Lucien was elected president of the newborn Federated Suns.

President of the Federated Suns and Chesterton Conflict

Within one year of the formation of the Suns, President Lucien received word from his associates in the Muskegon Empire, that Jehan Achmeed, Commander of Muskegon, would have his nation join the Suns. However, not all went as planned, as the Achmeed family's iron-fisted rule of the realm did not sit well with many. In response to Muskegon joining the Suns, the worlds of Beten Kaitos and Emerson joined their empire's trading partner, the Chesterton Trade Federation.

President Lucien ordered peacekeeping troops to the rebellious worlds, but the Chesterton government was determined to maintain control. With aid from their allies in the Tikonov Grand Union, Chesterton troops landed and easily pushed the untested Suns troops from the worlds, triggering the Federated Suns–Chesterton Trade League Conflict, the Federated Suns' first interstellar war as a nation. During the conflict, Lucien's lack of skill in military leadership became apparent, as was the lack of readiness of the Suns' troops. For three year, the campaign to take control of the two worlds raged, with both changing hands several times. In the end, the war gave the Federated Suns its first defeat, highlighting their weak military despite the nation's economic might.

In 2324, a small coalition of worlds located in the Crucis Reach called the Marlette Association joined the Federated Suns. The Associates felt the pressures of two powerful nations: the Terran Hegemony and the Tikonov Grand Union. The small coalition's fusion with the Suns emboldened Lucien's nation, but the inherited problems with the Tikonov Union became the Suns' war. The battle for Almach, Mesartim, and Mira ended in a Union victory, and again Lucien's wartime leadership ability reinforced the nation's negative reputation of weak fighters.

Capellan Zone Border Wars

Despite the two previous conflicts, the expansion of the Federated Suns' border region continued. However, the nation's Rimward March developed into a hot bed of conflict with its neighbors from the Capellan Zone, a hodgepodge of smaller nations. The Capellan Zone Border Wars was launched (by the latter) in a bid to take the resource-rich worlds that lay between them.

Lucien used his ambassadors and diplomats to convince the Terran Hegemony to assist in dealing with the Zone's military advances. The conflicts left quite an impression on Lucien, as he felt every military loss as a burden on his presidency.

End of the Presidency and legacy

Lucien stepped down from the presidential post in 2332, handing the reins of office to his brother Charles. Within three months, he grew ill with guilt over the difficult decisions he had made and what could have been. On his deathbed, he sent a letter to his son, Reynard, who was serving in the Federated Suns' expeditions into the St. Ives frontier. In his letter, he warned his son that the family's method of domination and the machines they had used to control New Avalon would not work for rest of the nation. He suggested things must change if anything of value was to be achieved, the letter historically being noted as prophetic.

The name of Lucien was later given to two Federated Suns spacecraft, both WarShips: the first was of an of undetermined class in the twenty-sixth century and the second was a late thirty-first century Avalon-class cruiser.

Quotes

“	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

“	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 [sic] 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

Title and Positions

23172332President

Bibliography

• Handbook: House Davion
• House Davion (The Federated Suns)
• Jihad Turning Points: New Avalon