Founder:	Lucien Davion
Year:	2317
Worlds:	475
Capital:	New Avalon
Military:	Armed Forces of the Federated Suns (AFFS)

Continuing the Dynasty

Lucien was succeeded as president by his youngest brother, Charles, following the elder Davion's resignation in 2332. When Lucien died, just 3 months later, Charles also inherited the mantle of Prime Minister. Occupying the twin offices and backed by the legacy of the Davion name, Charles was able to exert his considerable influence, to centralise control of all government functions and consolidate the Davion family's power base.

Charles' biggest achievement was to drastically reform the Suns' military. Plagued by near-constant conflicts on border worlds of the Rimward March (today known as the Capellan March), he decided the time was ripe for an overhaul in military recruitment. The traditional method of dealing with threats, both external and internal, had been to raise an army, as and when needed, in much the same was as the ancient feudal rulers of Terra had done. When the threat had been dealt with, the force was disbanded. This system had recently proven itself inadequate, with failures to repel invasions on a number of border worlds and recapture two breakaway worlds. To address this, Charles created a new standing military force, called the Federated Suns Peacekeeping Forces. These consisted of a number of the Suns' best units, contributed by a number of member worlds, which would remain in continuous service. The FSPF formed the core of what would later become the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns. The standardised training given to this new force, stressed loyalty to the Suns as a whole, rather than individual worlds and although loyalty to the Davion family was not given any emphasis, this was practically assured, as a high proportion of the troops, including senior officers, were pro-Davion citizens.

By the time Charles' nephew, Reynard, succeeded him in 2340, it was accepted that a single person (and a Davion at that) would hold the offices of both President and Prime Minister. Unlike his uncle, Reynard had been a serving officer in the military and although he was something of an idealist and preferred to use diplomatic means to resolve disputes, he was not above resorting to brute force, when necessary.

A veteran of the twenty-year long conflict along the Capellan border, he resolved to bring an end to the near-constant fighting, while bringing the maximum possible benefit to the Suns in the process. In a bold move, aimed at showcasing the capabilities of the newly-reorganised Peacekeeping Forces, he personally led a task force which crossed the border into the Tikonov Grand Union region of Capellan-controlled space and severed the Tikonov military's supply lines to the worlds of Mira and Mesartim. Caught hopelessly off-guard, the Tikonov forces were unable to counter this attack and so the FSPF won their first victory. After this formidable demonstration of the Federated Suns' renewed military might, the Capellan Hegemony signed the Acala Pact, a mutual non-aggression treaty, in 2345. Six months later, the two states signed the Almach Accord, which formalised the Suns' ownership of Mira, Mesartim and Almach. This marked the beginning of a rivalry between the two nations that would last centuries.

The Suns resumed its expansion - again into Capellan territory - in 2357, when Reynard sent forces to occupy the world of Bell in the Sarna Supremacy, at the same time demanding the Capellan government hand over the worlds of Chesterton and Highspire. This forced a shake-up in the Capellan government and the new Prime Minister, Seluc Tucas, responded to Reynard's demands by forging a temporary alliance among the various Capellan states, uniting them against a common foe - the Federated Suns. In 2363, Tucas formally renounced the Acala and Almach accords, demanding the return of all the worlds ceded to the Suns, while mobilising an army. In turn, Davion declared war on the Hegemony, which led to another period of conflict that lasted until 2371, the year of Reynard's death. He was succeeded by his son, Etien, who signed a truce with the Capellan state - reformed as the Capellan Confederation - just three months after taking office.