Victor Steiner-Davion

Revision as of 03:50, 1 June 2010 by 72.181.18.57 (talk)
Illustration of Victor Steiner-Davion by Zina Saunders

Victor Ian Steiner-Davion (April 12, 3030[1] – November 26, 3134[2], aged 104 years) was the first child of Hanse Davion and Melissa Steiner. He was named in honor of the successful conclusion of the Fourth Succession War and Hanse's late older brother, Prince Ian Davion. As the first child of Hanse Davion and Melissa Steiner, he inherited the most powerful realm of the Inner Sphere, the Federated Commonwealth.


History

Early Years

Victor was born on 20 April, 3030. Victor was raised on Tharkad, unlike his siblings who were raised on both Tharkad and New Avalon. As the eldest child, Victor joined the military in preparation for becoming the first Archon-Prince of the Federated Commonwealth. He attended the Nagelring and was the first cadet to defeat the "La Mancha" scenario there, with the help of the data his brother Peter acquired from the New Avalon Military Academy on how Kai Allard-Liao achieved a draw. Upon graduation, he was posted to the 12th Donegal Guards. At this time his BattleMech was also his namesake, a Victor.

Enter the Clans

During the initial invasion by the Clans, his unit, the 12th Donegal Guards, was destroyed on Trellwan (Trell I) by Clan Jade Falcon and, against his wishes, he was forced to personally withdraw by Galen Cox.

Victor now took personal command of a battalion of the 10th Lyran Guards and rallied his forces, this time on the world of Twycross. The Federated Commonwealth forces achieved victory in the battle when Kai Allard-Liao, then serving in the AFFC, single-handedly destroyed a flanking maneuver by the Falcon Guards that would have overrun the FedCom positions, by self-destructing a borrowed Hatchetman, causing a land slide that buried the Falcon Guards.[3]

After Twycross, Victor and the other heirs and rulers of the Inner Sphere were invited to Outreach by Jaime Wolf. Once there, the origins of the Clans were revealed, and tentative truces were made between the powers of the Inner Sphere to combat the Clan menace. It was also here that Victor first met Omi Kurita, his first love. In a Clan-style Trial of Position Victor finished third among the assembled heirs. Kai's refusal to accept Jaime's gift put Victor in possession of a Daishi he named "Prometheus" because of its energy-heavy weaponry.

The Clan Invasion began again in late 3051 and again the forces of the Inner Sphere found themselves forced to retreat. Victor, defending the world of Alyina, once more faced the Jade Falcons. His unit was again overrun, but Victor and the 10th were able to withdraw thanks to Kai's sacrifice.[4]

With the Clans stalled by the ongoing Battle of Tukayyid in 3052, Victor answered Omi Kurita's personal plea to rescue her brother Hohiro, who, along with his forces, was fighting a losing battle on Teniente against Clan Nova Cat. Victor lead the 10th Lyran into battle and successfully extracted Hohiro and his troops.[5]

Archon-Prince

Hanse Davion died of a heart attack in late 3052. Melissa offered to step down so that Victor could become Archon-Prince, but he persuaded her to stay on, not only as Archon, but as regent of the Federated Suns. In 3055, however, Melissa Steiner was killed in an assassination secretly plotted by Victor's sister Katherine Steiner-Davion (who had labeled herself Katrina to appeal to the Steiner half of the Federated Commonwealth). Public opinion, manipulated by Katherine, fingered Victor as the culprit since her death led to his ascension and the formal inauguration of the Federated Commonwealth. Victor found out that Katherine was responsible after she attempted to assassinate her lover, who was also Victor's aide, Galen Cox.

His ill-fated attempt to replace the recently deceased Joshua Marik with a double infuriated Thomas Marik when it was discovered and led to a retaliatory assault by Free Worlds League and Capellan Confederation troops in 3057, but the far-reaching consequences of his actions would rock the Inner Sphere. Katherine Steiner-Davion, though already privately implicated in her mother's assassination, used this opportunity and a rarely-known clause within the Federated Commonwealth treaty to secede the Lyran half of the realm and abandoned the nominally Lyran Sarna March to the FWL and CapCon assault. Because most of the traditionally Lyran units left the March to return to the pre-4th War borders, forces loyal to Victor lacked the JumpShips necessary to retake the rebellious territory, which came to be known as the Chaos March.

In 3058, a Jade Falcon incursion into the Lyran Alliance prompted Katherine to request aid from all nations across the Inner Sphere, secretly withholding crucial intelligence in the hope that her enemies, specifically Victor, would be killed in the ensuing slaughter. Victor, however, became aware of the size of the Falcon forces on Coventry and instead of fighting negotiated hegira, a peaceful withdrawal, by the Jade Falcons, in the town of Whitting. This unified response to a Clan assault laid the foundations for what became known as the Whitting Conference and the subsequent reformation of the Star League.

The Star League Reborn

After the Whitting Conference, Victor led the armies of the Inner Sphere to destroy Clan Smoke Jaguar in Operation Bulldog. In the meantime, he took the unprecedented step of naming his youngest sister, Yvonne, regent. The offensive was successful beyond Victor's wildest dreams, so he traveled to the Clan Homeworlds to relieve his cousin Morgan Hasek-Davion's Task Force Serpent. After he rescued its survivors on Huntress, he traveled to Strana Mechty, declared and won a Trial of Refusal against the Clan invasion of the Inner Sphere.[6]

Deposed

Unbeknown to him, Katherine launched a bloodless coup d'état against Yvonne, effectively removing him from the throne of the Federated Commonwealth. Technically, Katherine only usurped her sister's regency, not actual sovereignty. In fact, Katherine could never ascend to become Prince because she lacked the requisite military service. Now deposed, he retired to Luthien before joining ComStar and replacing the retiring Anastasius Focht as Precentor Martial.

FedCom Civil War

Seemingly content to remain out of Inner Sphere politics, Victor was thrust into conflict with his sister Katherine after the assassination of their younger brother Arthur in late 3062. Victor set aside his role as Precentor Martial and, for the next five years, led his supporters in the FedCom Civil War. Personal tragedy again struck him when Omi Kurita was assassinated on the orders of his sister in 3064. After defeating Katherine in the Second Battle of New Avalon on 20 April 3067,[7] he relinquished his claims to the thrones of both halves of the former Federated Commonwealth and returned to ComStar. Yvonne Steiner-Davion was made Regent of the Federated Suns and Peter was made Archon of the Lyran Alliance.[7]

Precentor Martial

Not long after this, the Word of Blake launched their Jihad, bringing destruction to much of the Inner Sphere. Victor, as Precentor Martial of ComStar, was a leader in this conflict. He attempted to lead the ComGuard in the assault on the Word of Blake stronghold of Terra in 3068, but the so-called "Case White" force was destroyed while Victor was delayed by a diversionary force. He arrived in the Sol system to find the fleet annihilated and barely escaped.[8][9]

He eventually returned to Tukayyid to lead the remnant of the ComGuard. It was on Tukayyid that Victor met Devlin Stone in the 3070s. Stone was able to defeat the Word of Blake on Terra in 3081, whereupon he founded The Republic of the Sphere and Victor became one of its first paladins.[10]

Paladin

Eventually becoming a Paladin within The Republic of the Sphere, Victor went on to lead a full life within the Republic's borders. He discovered an elaborate plot by the Republic's Senators to sponsor promising young warriors and, through them, take control of the Republic's government. He was murdered on 26 November 3134, on the orders of a cadre of Republic Senators, led by Geoffrey Mallowes of Skye, in Sante Fe on Terra. He was one hundred and four years old.


Marriage and Children

Victor had one illegitimate child with Omi Kurita and at least three children with his wife, Isis Marik, which led to and unknown number of grandchildren and at least one great grandchild.[11]

Quotes

"The invasion has ended, but not so our contact and our futures. There are countless individuals in the Inner Sphere who have learned to hate you, but we do not intend to prosecute a war against you - at least, not as the Star League. As the Star League, we invite you back to the Inner Sphere, to allow your people and ours to become acquainted. We have things to offer you, as you have to offer us. Beneath this umbrella of peace there are many new possibilities. We invite you to explore them."[17]

-Victor Steiner-Davion addresses the Grand Council of the Clans in the Hall of Khans on Strana Mechty immediately following the Great Refusal, late April 3060.


Giving In To Fate[18]

"Good citizens of the Federated Commonwealth, I could wish many things for us. That the great union of two nations which my parents forged would not have foundered. That I would never have found it necessary to leave you while fighting to end the Clan invasion. That my sister, Katherine, could have quelled her hunger for power, no matter what the price.

"But wishing will not make it so. Such dreams have already died.

"And any hope I might have had for peace between the two realms I once led died with my brother Arthur, who was killed two days ago in a vicious terrorist attack.

"Arthur was a soldier, a good man, and he was learning to become a leader of men, women and worlds. For that, someone decided that he had to die. Arthur's death convinced me that my duty to protect the Commonwealth can no longer be denied. The troubles on Solaris were a harbinger of things to come, and Arthur's violent death underscores the fighting already taking place on worlds such as Kathil, Robinson and Kentares.

"His death will not be in vain. No longer will an unfit and unjust ruler sit on the thrones of the Federated Suns and Lyran Alliance, one who has seen fit to bring violence against her own family, betraying the memory of our father, our mother and the trust of the people of both realms. There is blood on Katherine's hands, and no amount of propaganda will wash them clean.

"None of us wishes to see more conflict, but we can no longer ignore the problems plaguing us. Now we must live with the results, however painful, as we acknowledge the irreconcilable differences that continue to divide my sister from me. It is no longer possible for me to stand back in the interests of peace. The time has come, my people, where no other choice remains.

"None but war.

"This mandate has been pressed upon me by Katherine's tyrannical actions, and by the sacrifices of patriots already fighting on the worlds of Kathil, Benet, Kentares, Demeter, Bromhead, and others yet unreported. We will resist with any and all means at our disposal the efforts to subjugate and enslave our freedoms. We fight with the truth on our side, and we simply ask that everyone listen and judge accordingly.

"In the end, I know we shall be victorious, re-establishing a trustworthy and accountable government among our people, worlds and nations."

-Prince Victor in a broadcast to the people of the former Federated Commonwealth, December 8, 3062.

Gallery

  • Illustration by Zina Saunders

  • Victor Steiner-Davion - Liz Danforth.jpg

    Illustration by Liz Danforth

  • Victor Steiner-Davion.jpg

    Aged 47


Preceded by First Prince of the Federated Suns
3052 – 3067 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Archon of the Lyran Commonwealth
3055 – 3057 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
none
 Archon-Prince of the Federated Commonwealth
3055 – 3067 		Succeeded by
none
Preceded by Precentor Martial of ComStar
3061 – 3062, 3067 – 3081 		Succeeded by
none
Preceded by Commanding General of the Star League Defense Force
3061 – 3062 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
none
 Paladin of The Republic of the Sphere
3081 – 3134 		Succeeded by


BattleMechs

At the start of his AFFC career, Victor piloted his namesake 'Mech, a Victor, which he used through the Battle of Twycross. He later received a Daishi OmniMech from Jaime Wolf, and he piloted this 'Mech throughout the rest of his career into the Jihad.


See also


References

  1. ↑ 20-Year Update
  2. ↑ The Scorpion Jar
  3. ↑ Lethal Heritage
  4. ↑ Blood Legacy
  5. ↑ Lost Destiny
  6. ↑ Prince of Havoc
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Endgame
  8. ↑ Dawn of the Jihad
  9. ↑ Blake Ascending
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Ghost War
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Sword of Sedition, p. 266
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Jihad Hot Spots: 3076, p. 15
  13. ↑ Ghost War, p. 99
  14. ↑ http://www.classicbattletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,19332.0.html
  15. ↑ Masters of War
  16. ↑ Wolf Pack pp. 102
  17. ↑ ''The Clans: Warriors of Kerensky, p. 26 - "End Of An Era"
  18. ↑ FedCom Civil War pp. 19-20


Bibliography


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