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The Order of the Lion - Zig - 05-17-2009
![[Image: orderofthelion.png]](http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/9788/orderofthelion.png)
Bretonia's Order of the Lion - bringing war to the Corsair Empire
Drawn from the Royal Bretonian Archives, this speech by Equity Lord William of Acre, founder and Grand Master of the Order of the Lion, to the Bretonian people marks the foundation of the Order and illustrates its goals and reasons for being. Kind thanks to Senior Archivist Abercrombie for his capable assistance.
People of Bretonia, hear me! I am William of Acre, and I speak before you to make a plea for sanity!
The Commonwealth of Bretonia is besieged from many sides, and by many opponents! Reavers and invaders pour forth from northern Kusari to strike at our homeland! Molly bandits and Gaian madmen ravage our countrysides in the west! Libertonian Lane Hackers pillage merchants and convoys in Manchester, away to the east!
Yet there exists a threat far worse than any that I have thus named! A menace, a foe more perfidious and malignant than all else, an Empire of pirates and dogs whose sole ambition in life is to cause misery and destruction among Bretonia's citizens!
These "Corsairs", these raiders and butchers that swarm in the Omegas and Omicrons, pushing past our borders to plunder, rape, and murder, are the scum of Sirius! Tolerance. Compassion. Mercy. These things are foreign to our southern adversaries! The Corsairs draw breath only to ravage the free peoples of Sirius; they offer nothing but hardship and pain, deal in nothing but merciless slaughter. On a daily, nay, hourly basis, bloodthirsty bands of Corsair pirates savagely assault and victimize Bretonian citizens - innocents, good and honorable men and women - within our sovereignty! Within our beloved nation!
This must end. This must no longer be permitted to continue! The war effort against Kusari exacts a drain upon Bretonia's coffers. I know this. Resources are scant. Our economy and our government must contend with the ramifications of war. The Armed Forces are stretched thin with their efforts to retake the Leeds system and bring the Kusari war engine grinding to a halt. The Police Authority, staunch and incorruptible though its officers may be, is hard-pressed to contain even a fragment of the piratical forces that threaten our corporations and seek to rob Bretonia of its hard-won earnings. Regardless - even if military and police were capable of forcing the Corsair marauders out and back to the Border and Edge Worlds where they were spawned, would that pose a permanent barrier to the Cretan dogs? No. Our enemy is resourceful. It is insidious. Sooner or later, another entry route would be found, another passage by way of which the Corsairs would once again commit their atrocities against honest Bretonians.
The Corsairs have built an Empire, in the far southeast of Sirius, beyond any outskirts of civilization. There, the barbarians fight amongst themselves and scheme and plot how next to strike at our realm. It is here that their raiding parties retreat to after plundering their share of our Queen's coffers; here they torture, here they suckle at the breast of war.
The threat and danger posed by the Corsairs is evident to any free-thinking Bretonian. We have many enemies, it is true; yet none, I assure you, is as utterly rapacious and vile as this Empire of lunatics and scum. Something must be done. The people of Bretonia will no longer stand for the deeds of these criminals - I certainly shall not!
There is but one solution that will lead to permanent peace and safety for Bretonians in regard to these ravagers from the south. One approach, only one, will ensure that the savage crimes perpetuated by these dogs will completely and forevermore end. Their source - their Empire - must be annihilated, wiped from the face of Sirius, so that we, the people, may live and breathe freer. To that end, I, William of Acre, announce to you, my fellow Bretonians, the creation and immediate establishment of the Order of the Lion - a chivalric order dedicated to ridding the Sirius System of the Corsair butchers and all they stand for. We will be the bane of the Corsair Empire. I speak to make a plea for sanity - rise, Bretonia! Take up arms against the blackguards from the Omicrons! Sanity must be restored - the sun must set upon the Corsairs!
The Order of the Lion's Crusade has begun! Know fear, Corsairs - your end is nigh! People of Bretonia - ready your weapons! Become Crusaders under the banner of the Lion! Our campaign will see us strike at the diseased heart of the raiders to whose yoke Bretonia refuses to submit - we fly to the Omicrons. We fly to Crete!
Death to the Corsairs!
What follows is a historical account of the Order of the Lion, as compiled by Senior Historians Melville and Hazard and Junior Historians Ashford and Roberts of the Royal Historical Institute of New London. Digitally recorded documents from the era, preserved in Bretonia's Royal Archives, were consulted in order to paint an accurate picture of the Order and its first Grand Master.
![[Image: ootlbanner.png]](http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/9281/ootlbanner.png)
Founded by Equity Lord William of Acre in 817 A.S., the Order of the Lion is a Bretonian chivalric order dedicated to battling and ultimately destroying the Corsair Empire. Appalled by the depredations of Corsair raiding parties in Bretonian space, Acre, a decorated Bretonian Armed Forces officer whose tour of duty against Kusari had concluded in late 816 A.S. and who had been guarding Bretonia's borders since, began to raise public awareness amongst the Bretonian people about the Corsairs and their horrific crimes against Bretonian citizens and property. Knowing well that the Armed Forces were all being directed against the Kusari war engine, and that the Bretonian Police Authority was incapable of containing Mollys, Gaians, Corsairs and even Lane Hackers all at once (and believing the Corsair Empire to be far and away the greatest threat to Bretonian peace and security), Acre, after a series of speeches and dissemination of his ideology throughout Bretonia (making his hatred of what he called "Corsair dogs", doubtlessly stemming from first-hand experience with their ruthlessness and savagery during border patrols, well-known and popular throughout the Commonwealth), announced the foundation of the Order and issued a general call to arms for all Bretonian citizens with piloting experience, men and women, of courage and strong will to join him in striking against the Corsair's heart in the Edge Worlds. His crusade against the Corsairs was thereby born; after outfitting the citizens that heeded his call with remaindered Armed Forces equipment (actual funding was being allocated to the Kusari war effort, but spacecraft and weaponry were issued to his crusaders), training those whose piloting skills were somewhat rusty, and formally naming each of his followers crusaders under the Lion's banner, he set forth at the head of his host to bring justly deserved war to the Corsair Empire and to besiege their bastions and homes.
Largely independent from mainspace Bretonian politics and diplomatic matters due to the distances separating the Order and the Commonwealth and due to the many-sided conflicts being fought at home that occupied much of the Bretonian government's efforts, the Order of the Lion organized, provided for and ruled itself. In particular, William of Acre began to knight crusaders under his command that fought exceptionally well in battle; though knighting is technically the province of Bretonia's monarch (Queen Carina I at the time), the men and women made knights by William's hand were never challenged as to the legitimacy of their rank.
The Knights' Code of Chivalry
as outlined by Sir Thomas Mallory over a millennium ago. Included here for historical reference.
* To never do outrage nor murder
* Always to flee treason
* To by no means be cruel but to give mercy unto him who asks for mercy
* To always do ladies, gentlewomen and widows succor
* To never force ladies, gentlewomen or widows
* Not to take up battles in wrongful quarrels for love or worldly goods
The Order's Warhost
Any Bretonian man or woman was eligible to become a crusader under the banner of the Lion; crusaders from foreign Houses, Liberty or Rheinland, could also volunteer for the Order, but weren't anticipated. Recruits to the Order were trained, issued with the fighter or bomber and armament of their choice, and sworn in as Crusaders.
Grand Master of the Order of the Lion (one) - William of Acre (Zig)
Master of the Order of the Lion (two) - Sir Richard Constantine (JakeSG), Sir Pierce Quinn (Teschy)
--To rise above this rank, the Order as a whole must find a Knight-Captain worthy of Councilhood.--
Knight-Captain (four) - Lady Guinevere "Marie" Tobias of Hawkins, Planet Cambridge (Ashes)
Knight-Brother/Knight-Sister (limitless amount) - Peter of Courtenay (John Edwards)
--To rise above this rank, the Grand Master must knight the crusader in question.--
Veteran Crusader (limitless amount) -
Crusader (limitless amount) - Paul of Jerusalem (Darkflight), Marthin Jones (Sindroms), Rachel Malrone (Asgardian), Jonathan Messner (Deaxy), (JBauer), (Pieguy)
The Order's Raiment
(Note by Senior Historian Hazard: All Order of the Lion pilots were permitted to fly fighters and bombers against the Corsairs. Gunboats were the preserve of the highest ranks.)
Fighter spacecraft: Bretonian Armed Forces "Templar" Very Heavy Fighter; Civilian "Eagle" Very Heavy Fighter; Bretonian Armed Forces "Paladin" Heavy Fighter; Civilian "Griffin" Light Fighter
Bomber spacecraft: Bretonian Armed Forces "Challenger" Bomber; Civilian "Roc" Bomber
Gunboat spacecraft (highly restricted due to the Kusari war effort's resource drain): Bretonian Armed Forces Gunboat
Fighter and bomber armament: Bretonian and Civilian weaponry, any form of ordinance, and experimental "codename" cannons.
Gunboat armament: Bretonian gunboat weaponry (highly restricted, as well) and generic weapons grids.
Supply spacecraft: sundry transports and freighters. The Order of the Lion made frequent use of "Firefly" cargo haulers.
The Order's Banner
(Note by Senior Archivist Hazard: this is a direct quote of William of Acre's, fortunately recorded by a diligent scribe.)
All knights and crusaders flying beneath the banner of the Lion are to identify themselves as Freelancers, for lack of a better alternative, and are to display the Bretonian Armed Forces' transponder colors. We are proud to serve the Commonwealth of Bretonia, even far away in the realms of the barbaric Corsairs.
The Order of the Lion's comms channel code is well-recorded: OL|Name.Surname or OL|Callsign. Bomber pilots were identified by an additional period (OL|Name.Surname/Callsign.). The very rare gunboats were christened HMS vessels (OL|HMS-Title).
The Order's Sphere of Influence
(//specifics as to our ZoI are being compiled; hold your horses.)
The Order of the Lion dedicated itself to waging war against the Corsairs within the Corsair Empire itself. As such, its pilots roamed wherever Corsairs might be found; their primary operations, however, concentrated themselves around the Omegas and southern Omicrons. The Order's warhost colonized various Freeports and Zoner installations throughout the area, as well as BMM's Douglas Station in Omega-3. The crusaders' main supply route spanned the distance between Bretonia and the Order's Edge Worlds operations, served as a conduit for both information and cargo, and ran as follows:
Bretonia to Omega-3 to Omega-7 Omega-11 to Omega-41 to Omicron Theta.
Any profitable and legal cargo was hauled by the Order's transport convoys, whether along the above supply channel or elsewhere throughout Sirius; the knights' trading ventures took them to lawful ports throughout the Sector, excepting, of course, beyond Kusari borders. The crusaders maintained only the most token of presences in Bretonia proper and, for the most part, restricted their combat pilots to remaining within Corsair regions of space.
The following is a chart dating from the birth of the Order of the Lion detailing the crusaders' presences throughout southeastern Sirius. Note that important Corsair bases also appear to be marked.
![[Image: MapResized.jpg]](http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z254/cristian_tescut/MapResized.jpg)
The Art of Diplomacy - the Order of the Lion
Allies: the Bretonian Armed Forces, elements of Bretonia Mining and Manufacturing.
Considered friendly: the Bretonian Police Authority, sundry Bretonian corporations.
Neutral relations were maintained with: the Bounty Hunters Guild, mercenaries and Freelancers of all stripes, the Zoners, (//possibly?) the Independent Miners Guild, the Gas Miners Guild, all organizations not specifically named elsewhere.
Considered hostile: the Gaians, the Red Hessians, the Mollys, the Lane Hackers, the Outcasts, the Shogunate of Kusari, various mutants and aliens that the crusaders may have encountered out in the Edge Worlds.
(Note by Junior Historian Ashford: though the Gaians were considered Corsair allies, the ties between the two criminal groups were apparently tenuous at best. Gaians are only sighted out in the Edge Worlds very infrequently, and William of Acre considered that the Bretonian Police Authority was capable of handling the Gaian threat back home, so the Gaians were only listed as hostile targets, and not as a faction to wage war against.)
(Note by Senior Historian Melville: there are reports, considered unrealistic and invalid by most historians, that crusaders and Red Hessian or Outcast pilots fought together against Corsair responses.)
Actively at war with: the Corsairs Empire, the Order of the Lion's nemesis; Orillion's Order.
//Now for the Order of the Lion's out-of-roleplay rules and restrictions. Six of 'em. Count 'em well.
1. Know Discovery's server rules by heart and obey them. I have a fairly high tolerance threshold for rules violations directed against me, but much less so for rules violated by fellow factionees.
2. No OOC or OORP chat in system chat. Self-explanatory. None whatsoever.
3. OOC may be used in private or local chat when marked appropriately (//) in emergencies, an emergency being defined as when no in-character alternative presents itself to resolve the situation at hand. Given that we're crusading against Corsairs, I'm afraid such an emergency will likely result quite often, especially in regard to PvP abuse violations. Do your best, guys.
4. If one of your characters is sanctioned and I believe that whatever happened to result in a sanction genuinely merited such a response, you're out of here.
5. Listen to your superiors (unless they're drunk or silly) and follow their instructions.
6. Take it easy. Yes, the Corsair population may offer up a smorgasbord of rules violations and blind or incredibly frustrating players. Relax, try not to feel harassed or exceptionally angry, and concentrate on taking down the next gunboat.
//This is our preliminary faction document. Feedback greatly appreciated! Contribute! Voice your opinions! Comments of all sorts and constructive criticism welcome!
Thanks to Tansy for the banners and to Cris for the map.
The Order of the Lion - Darkflight - 05-17-2009
---video link established---
looks good:)
sent a message for you over private comms
---video link disabled---
The Order of the Lion - Zig - 05-17-2009
Updated: we now have a map of our zone of influence, courtesy of the Teschman.
The Order of the Lion - Koolmo - 05-17-2009
EDIT: Never mind me, apparently I forgot how to read...
The Order of the Lion - NerdRage - 05-17-2009
I am confused about these guy's stance with the outcasts, they both hate sair's so maybe they might , although barely work together.
like only when a sair's fighting with an OC, the OOTL jump in and lend a hand, but then just shake hands and gooff on their merry ways? or is it since we smuggle cardi/are also pirates?
Think about it, do we really need another faction? gallioa is pretty empty right now, so, well,yeah
The Order of the Lion - Linkus - 05-17-2009
Looks reasonable alright.
Question, what are you flying?
The Order of the Lion - Zig - 05-17-2009
Quote:I am confused about these guy's stance with the outcasts, they both hate sair's so maybe they might , although barely work together.
like only when a sair's fighting with an OC, the OOTL jump in and lend a hand, but then just shake hands and gooff on their merry ways? or is it since we smuggle cardi/are also pirates?
Think about it, do we really need another faction? gallioa is pretty empty right now, so, well,yeah
Quote:(Note by Senior Historian Melville: there are reports, considered unrealistic and invalid by most historians, that crusaders and Red Hessian or Outcast pilots fought together against Corsair responses.)
I added this subclause here specifically to deal with that. Formally, we have to consider you our opponents, of course - you're pirates and drug dealers. However, as our crusade against the Corsairs takes precedence over other matters, and as we share similar goals out there in the Edge Worlds, the Order of the Lion may be willing to join forces with Outcasts in regions where there's a large Corsair presence that needs wiping out. Were this to happen, I'd like to see it roleplayed off the books, as it were.
Quote:Looks reasonable alright.
Question, what are you flying?
Quote:The Order's Raiment
(Note by Senior Historian Hazard: All Order of the Lion pilots were permitted to fly fighters and bombers against the Corsairs. Gunboats were the preserve of the highest ranks.)
Fighter spacecraft: Bretonian Armed Forces "Templar" Very Heavy Fighter; Civilian "Eagle" Very Heavy Fighter; Bretonian Armed Forces "Paladin" Heavy Fighter; Civilian "Griffin" Light Fighter
Bomber spacecraft: Bretonian Armed Forces "Challenger" Bomber; Civilian "Roc" Bomber
Gunboat spacecraft (highly restricted due to the Kusari war effort's resource drain): Bretonian Armed Forces Gunboat
Fighter and bomber armament: Bretonian and Civilian weaponry, any form of ordinance, and experimental "codename" cannons.
Gunboat armament: Bretonian gunboat weaponry (highly restricted, as well) and generic weapons grids.
Supply spacecraft: sundry transports and freighters. The Order of the Lion recommended "Firefly" haulers.
The Order of the Lion - Linkus - 05-17-2009
I would actually say remove the Gunboats.
Why?
Because wings of fighters and bombers just seem to 'fit' more in my head with the whole Knight theme.
The fighters and bombers ARE the cavalry, charging in to fight the enemy head on and trample over them.
Gunboats seem to be more like..tanks.
The Order of the Lion - Zelot - 05-17-2009
So this is why it's so easy for the Kusari to roll over Bretonia.... all their pilots are in Gamma and New Tokyo.
The Order of the Lion - Zig - 05-17-2009
Quote:I would actually say remove the Gunboats.
Why?
Because wings of fighters and bombers just seem to 'fit' more in my head with the whole Knight theme.
The fighters and bombers ARE the cavalry, charging in to fight the enemy head on and trample over them.
Gunboats seem to be more like..tanks.
The (heavily limited) number of gunboats we're fielding aren't really intended as frontline combat ships (you might be aware of my views on capital ships and on how entirely pointless they are - I myself never step outside my fighters), but rather as flagships and as rallying points. Their primary contribution is to roleplay, not to PvP. Incidentally, I find Bretonian gunboats quite fitting and appropriate to our crusade - they're the Sirius equivalent of siege weapons, if you compare fighters and bombers to mounted cavalry.
Quote:So this is why it's so easy for the Kusari to roll over Bretonia.... all their pilots are in Gamma and New Tokyo.
If there's constructive criticism hidden in here, I'll need a map and a compass to find it.