TOCR-4

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==Armed Forces - The Outer Colonies Region==
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Okay, now we have something a little more believable; warrior-monks of the deep periphery! Yeah, I know, it's the Brotherhood of Randis all over again, but these guys seem to be secretive to the point of paranoia even by local standards....- Starling
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== The Knights Templar==
Classed as mercenaries, as nothing else seems to fit, the Knights Templar is a semi-secret society that follows a code of conduct that is both strict and somewhat simple:
A Knight is sworn to valour
His/Her heart knows only virtue
His/Her blade defends the helpless
His/Her might upholds the weak
His/Her word speaks only truth
His/Her wrath undoes the wicked
The nearly religious devotion to this code has seen the Knights completely eliminated on two separate occasions, only to be rebuilt from scratch by support personnel and cadets from their self-contained academy. Even in day-to-day conversation, members refer to themselves and each other by the title of 'Sir' or 'Lady', only using rank when dealing with outsiders.
===Unit History===
No one outside the Knights is sure just when the order was formed: they claim to be able to trace their history back to the original Knights Templar, founded on Terra in 1118. This is almost certainly false, but there are other, older organizations in existence, so the claim should not be totally discredited.
Records do show the Knights operating in and around the area of space that now forms the Outer Colonies during the time of the Reunification Wars. The order remained completely neutral during the years of conflict, offering humanitarian and medical aid to both sides without preference. After several disastrous attempts to attack hospitals and aid stations operated by the Knights, both the SLDF and their Periphery opponents agreed to respect their neutrality, often going out of their way to accommodate their relief efforts.
To this day, no one knows how many lives the Knights saved by refusing to allow military units to position themselves in and around civilian centers.
The years after the Reunification Wars saw much hardship in the deep Periphery, with the Knights doing everything they could to help the civilian populations survive. More than one hostile government or pirate king was overthrown by the Knights as they continued their self appointed task of guarding civilian life.
Many of those who have benefited from the help of the Knights have made donations over the years. Some give little, often more than they can truly afford, but many large business and influential individuals have made large donations, including the organizations two Star Lord class JumpShips, the Siege Perilous and the newly acquired Green Knight.
With the fall of the Star League and the start of the Succession Wars, the Knights came to the conclusion that they could better serve humanity by remaining in the deep Periphery, and set about fortifying their base of operations, eventually surpassing even SLDF specifications.
With the birth of the Outer Colonies, the Knights agreed to accept the new government, but demanded full autonomy for themselves and those living on the land they controlled. The Council of Eleven readily agreed to this, signing over almost a fifth of the world of Last Post to the Knights, ensuring them a secure future.
To this day, the Knights Templar operated as a literal law unto themselves, only interacting with the Council of Eleven when necessary.
The Knight's distinctive unit emblem is a medieval knight in full armor, leaning on a broadsword. The Knight's livery is white with a large red cross in the center. All uniforms are bone-white torsos with blue arms and legs. Each Knight has their own personal coat-of-arms that is displayed over their right breast. Dress uniforms have a cloak adorned with the individual's coat-of-arms.
===Base of operation===
The Knights operate out of the fortified city of New Constantinople on the desolate world of Last Post, and allow no visitors in their inner sanctum, the huge fortress known only as The Citadel. Attempts have been made of the years to sneak an agent inside, but the security systems appear to be experimental SLDF sensors and active countermeasures not normally found outside of a maximum security R&D center.
This has given rise to the widely held theory that there is a lost Castle Brian under the Citadel, even though no such complex exists on the records for that time.
The city of New Constantinople is a Mecca for artists and philosophers, and is home to the most highly respected university in the entire Outer Colonies: not even the prestigious New Jamaica Institute of Advanced Science can boast a more famous list of past students. All students are accepted based on ability, with the Knights providing full scholarships for anyone who cannot afford the fees.
===Unit Structure===
The Knights military arm is organised as a reinforced regiment, with four full battalions.
First Battalion contains three companies of predominately heavy BattleMechâ€™s, with an independent extended Command Lance of six BattleMechâ€™s. This includes two bodyguard Mechâ€™s for the Colonel, currently Sir Benedict di Milo.
Second Battalion contains the units armor assets, mainly medium tanks and fire support units. They are often deployed on the flanks and as a reserve should first battalion need assistance. Many of their vehicles are of Star League vintage, adding extra weight to the Castle Brian theory.
Third Battalion is the units infantry support, with one company of mechanised, one company of air-mobile and one company of foot infantry equipped with Nighthawk Power Armour. The mechanised company normally operates in support of the second battalion, while the air-mobile company is normally deployed as scouts ahead of the other units. The Power Armour company acts as jack-of-all-trades and as a rapid-response unit.
The Fourth Battalion is the support unit, including techs, medics, a dedicated MASH team and the Knights air-support unit, The Seraphim. Fourth battalion is normally kept away from the fighting, operating out of either a secured center of operations or grounded DropShips.
The transport section is headed up by the Star Lord Class JumpShip Siege Perilous. Attached to this are the DropShips Constantine (Overlord addapted to carry the 42 BattleMechs of First Battlaion at the expense of its Aerospace fighters and some cargo space), Bors & Gaheris (Gazelles Troop Carrier assigned to Second Battalion), Tristan (Condor assigned to Third Battalion), Merlin (modified Fortress assigned to Fourth Battalion) and Bedivere (Leopard-CV, carries the remainder of the Knights Aerospace fighters).
As already stated, the Knights have a second Star Lord Class JumpShip, the Green Knight, but they mainly use this to carry supplies and to move units around when Siege Perilous is otherwise engaged.
===Current Status===
The Knights are rebuilding after a long and bloody anti-pirate campaign rim-ward of the Outer Colonies, and as such, they are to be found on Last Post, tending their land hold around New Constantinople.
===TO&E===
Regimental Command Lance - (The Knights Pendragon)
HGN-732b Highlander (Colonel Sir Benedict di Milo)
CP 10-Z Cyclops (Captain Lady Inese Larssonde)
BL6-KNT Black Knight (Lieutenant Sir Marcus Randall)
EXC-B2 Excalibur (Sergeant Sir Wahab Fusili)
ON1-K Orion (Sergeant Sir Felix de Carabas)
ON1-K Orion (Sergeant Lady Isabel Munro)
1st Battalion - (The Sword and the Shield)
1st Company
Command Lance - (The Dogs of War)
LNC 25-01 Lancelot (Major Lady Elisabeth Demarco)
ST-8A Shootist
ST-8A Shootist
EXT-4D Exterminator
Battle Lance - (The Four Horsemen)
AS7-D Atlas (Lieutenant Lady Charlotte Moreno)
NSR-9J Nightstar
KGC-000 King Crab
SPT-N2 Spartan
Sweeper Lance - (The Point of the Spear)
MCY-99 Mercury (Lieutenant Sir Henry Siva)
THE-N Thorn
HSR 200-D Hussar
SPR-5F Spector
2nd Company
Command Lance - (The Praetorians)
LNX-9Q Lynx (Captain Lady Sophie Wren)
CHP-1N Champion
END-6Q Enfield
STY-3C Starslayer
Battle Lance - (War-Blade)
HGN-732 Highlander (Lieutenant Sir Alexander Lee)
CP 10-Z Cyclops 
BL6-KNT Black Knight 
EXC-B2 Excalibur
Hunter Lance - (Bloodhounds)
NTK-2Q Night Hawk (Lieutenant Sir Thorlief Strongarm)
STG-3R Stinger
WSP-1A Wasp
DV-6M Dervish
3rd Company
Command Lance - (Sword of Justice)
THG-11E Thug (Captain Lady Elsa Door)
GLT-3N Guillotine
EMP-6A Emperor
VTR-9A1 Victor
Battle Lance - (The Berserkers)
HGN-732 Highlander (Lieutenant Sir Jackson Smith)
VTR-9A1 Victor
ON1-K Orion
STK-3F Stalker
Tracker Lance - (Night Hunters)
SHD-2H Shadow Hawk (Lieutenant Lady Sidney Pierce)
STG-3R Stinger
STG-3R Stinger
WSP-1A Wasp
2nd Battalion - (Rolling Thunder)
1st Company
Command Lance - (Thunderbolt)
Burke Heavy Tank (Major Sir Augustus Gibbs)
Burke Heavy Tank
VNL-K65N Von Luckner Heavy Tank
VNL-K65N Von Luckner Heavy Tank
Battle Lance - (Battle Cry)
Rhino Heavy Tank (Lieutenant Sir Marco Devon)
Rhino Heavy Tank
Fury Heavy Tank
Fury Heavy Tank
Scout Lance - (Lightning Strike)
Zephyr Hover Tank (Lieutenant Sir David Mackenzie)
Kanga Hover Tank
Lightning Hover Tank
Lightning Hover Tank
2nd Company
Command Lance - (The Long Nines)
Alacorn Mk VI Heavy Tank (Captain Lady Jennifer Sullivan)
Alacorn Mk VI Heavy Tank
Alacorn Mk VI Heavy Tank
Alacorn Mk VI Heavy Tank
Fire lance - (Raining Fire)
LT-MOB-25 Mobile Long Tom Artillery (Lieutenant Sir Francis McNamara)
LT-MOB-25 Mobile Long Tom Artillery
Padilla Heavy Artillery Tank
Padilla Heavy Artillery Tank
Support Lance - (Strength of Arms)
VNL-K65N Von Luckner Heavy Tank (Lieutenant Sir John Lovegrove)
Maultier APC
J-27 Ordnance Transport
J-27 Ordnance Transport
3rd Company
Command Lance - (Wings of Justice)
Nightshade VTOL (Captain Sir Simon Neo)
Nightshade VTOL
Nightshade VTOL
Nightshade VTOL
Battle Lance - (Death from Above)
Cyrano VTOL (Lieutenant Lady Mary Park)
Cyrano VTOL
Cyrano VTOL
Cyrano VTOL
Scout Lance - (Hawkeye)
Cyrano VTOL (Lieutenant Sir Charles Wayne)
Ripper VTOL
Ripper VTOL
Ripper VTOL
3rd Battalion - (The Hoplites)
1st Company
Command Platoon - (The Red Guard)
Maultier APC with Laser Rifle Squad (Major Sir Sergei Golovko)
Maultier APC with Laser Rifle Squad
Maultier APC with Laser Rifle Squad
Maultier APC with Laser Rifle Squad
Battle Platoon - (The Burning Swords)
Maultier APC with SRM Squad (Lieutenant Lady Elizabeth Elliott)
Maultier APC with MG Squad
Maultier APC with PPC Squad
Maultier APC with PPC Squad
Scout Platoon - (Snake Hunters)
Maultier APC with Assault Rifle Squad (Lieutenant Sir Andrew McClain) 
Maultier APC with Assault Rifle Squad
Maultier APC with Assault Rifle Squad
Maultier APC with Assault Rifle Squad
4th Battalion - (The Knights Hospitaller)
1st Company
Command Lance- (4077th MASH)
Mobile Headquarters (Major Dr Lady Abigail Chace, MD)
Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
Transport Lance - (Mercy Flight)
Karnov UR Transport (Lieutenant Dr Lady Cathy Muller MD)
Karnov UR Transport
Kestrel VTOL
Kestrel VTOL
Suport Lance - (Saving Grace)
J-27 Ordnance Transport (Sergeant Sir Marco Hendrix)
J-27 Ordnance Transport
J-27 Ordnance Transport
J-27 Ordnance Transport
The Seraphim
Command Flight
HCT-213B Hellcat II
HCT-213B Hellcat II
1st Squadron
Command Flight
RGU-133F Rogue
RGU-133F Rogue
1st Flight
TRN-3T Trident
SWF-606 Swift
2nd Flight
TRN-3T Trident
SPD-502 Spad
3rd Flight
ZRO-114 Zero
ZRO-114 Zero
2nd Squadron
Command Flight
HCT-213B Hellcat
HCT-213B Hellcat
1st Flight
THK-53 Tomahawk
THK-53 Tomahawk
2nd Flight
RGU-133L Rogue
LTN-G15 Lightning
3rd Flight
GTHA-100 Gotha
GTHA-100 Gotha
3rd Squadron
Command Flight
GTHA-500 Gotha
IRN-SD1 Ironsides
1st Flight
GTHA-100 Gotha
GTHA-300 Gotha
2nd Flight
IRN-SD1 Ironsides
IRN-SD1 Ironsides
3rd Flight
IRN-SD1 Ironsides
AHB-X Ahab
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It goes without saying that most of this is gossip and conjecture, but I suppose the die-hard romantic within me likes the idea that there are still people out there who think chivalry and honor are more than just words.Not that I believe for a second that these guys are descended from the real Knights Templar...-Starling
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