History of The Crusaders

The Crusaders mercenary unit was created in 3056 by members of the Knights of the Inner Sphere. Sir Alec de Payens took the first actions in molding the group of Knights into a mercenary team. De Payens had suffered a mental and emotional breakdown after his wife and child were killed in a Word of Blake air strike. Seeking a new way of life that ensured he would forever fight the good fight, he enlisted the aide of his fellow Knights. Several of his closest allies within the Marik unit resigned immediately to join his private team. Most were already fed up with the political responsibilities of the Knights. For de Payens' friends, an unseen political weakness had crippled the Knights with an incurable disease. Within weeks, Sir Alfred Trebuchet, Sir Rick Ridges, and Sir Frederick de Saint Aldemaar had enlisted into the ranks of the Crusaders and out of the Knights of the Inner Sphere.

Hiring additional capable warriors proved challenging. The ex-Knights held very high standards for incoming pilots. However they were able to find worthy pilots and went to work on obtaining the equipment they needed for their base of operations and the Mechs that would comprise their fighting force.

Thanks to a wide diversity of backgrounds, the Crusaders immediately benefited from advanced technologies from across the Inner Sphere. The unit was able to hire ace engineers at premium costs to customize and adapt Mechs purchased for specialized functions. The unit could also be hired immediately on high-paying contracts based on their piloting records and extremely unique Mechs.

With premium contracts already at their table, the Crusaders began enjoying the life of well-respected mercenaries. They were able to take contracts within the Free Worlds League for years, regardless of their leaving of the government's elite group of Knights. With an unlimited list of options and continual cash flow, further customization of their equipment became all the easier. Financial successes led to the purchase of their own Dropship and the hiring of new crew members. First rate technical support became commonplace as lucrative salary options became readily available for most technician positions. The Crusaders became famous, primarily for the opportunities they offered biased towards engineering experimentation. Tinkerers, both amateur and professional, were given opportunities to display and present their own designs and custom weapons configurations. Those with success were hired.

While the Free Worlds League provided contracts that followed skirmishing along both Davion and Liao borders, Sir Alec grew weary of small time fights against each neighboring nation. He believed they posed no true threat to his home and grew spiritually hungry for the kind of vengeance that had led him to building the team in the first place. His emotions determined for a large part what contract work the Crusaders unit accepted, forming a contagious spirit that would eventually spread to the other pilots in the unit.

The commander's hatred of the Blakists soon began taking its toll on the unit. By 3059 Sir Alec was openly demanding contracts monitoring the League's new guests, a faction within the Word of Blake group that he believed were directly responsible for all of his personal losses. Publicly pursuing contracts whose intentions seemed anti-Blakist, Sir Alec caused further worries for most of the group's warriors. The team's reputation of excellence was being tarnished by its obsession with such contracts.

It did not take long however for Sir Alec's teammates to bend to his will. They were gradually convinced of the Blakist's role in his family's deaths, as new evidence showed suspicious activities taking place on Gibson. The team became one as never before, truly christening the Crusaders in the original image and mission they were created for.

Despite successful negotiations and the landing of three Blakist-related jobs, the Crusaders struggled to keep their heads above water in the political bath that was sweeping the Free Worlds League. Blakist influence shown everywhere. It seemed obvious that one specific faction within the Blakist organization was holding most of the cards. Under the command of powerful political players, the Toyama faction pushed their own goals throughout areas of the League. Even the Word of Blake's own Precentor William Blane was barely able to curb the Toyama sect's unending grab for power.

The Crusaders encountered their first Mech warfare against the Blakists during their third contract in 3063. Hired as 'reinforcements' for Blakist militia units stationed with guard duty at an HPG station, the League contract's underlying goals consisted of recording the pattern and timing of Blakist guard changes.

During one such change something strange occured. Rather than retiring from duty and shutting down for the night, a single Blakist guard Mech retreated to a nearby wooded area when relieved of its post. Intent on keeping the enemy in his sights, pilot Tom 'Rooster' Brown followed the 25-ton Blakist Nexus into the glen of trees. Officials records stated the Blakist pilot was under fire from the Crusader Mech, but Tom Brown insisted he had followed regulation procedures throughout the entire exercise. In less than a month the contract had been cancelled through an escape clause, ending the Crusaders employment within the League for years to come. Most members of the Crusaders suspected that the growing political power of the Toyama had reversed the League against the mercenary unit.

Though the radical Blakist Toyama sect had bested him again, this time in the field of politics, Sir Alec de Payens refused to give up his unit and its goals. He was driven by his past and supported by his friends, always being pushed into keeping the unit alive. While it was blacklisted after legal battles within the League, most members believed they could achieve greatness elsewhere. The Blakists did not control the entire Inner Sphere, and a fight against them could be made from nearly any border worlds. Using both their contacts within the Knights of the Inner Sphere and their own financial resources, the group contacted allies in three of the Successor States. Of these, they believed an acquaintance from the Knights held their best options. Sir Owen Hardcastle of Strider's Strikers invited the group to enlist for Nova Cat and Draconis Combine employment in worlds throughout the Irece Prefecture. The unique contract called for protection against Ghost Bear raids, as well as salvage rights to any Clan technology recovered. Hiring additonal Dropship crew and making plans to expand their unit to a reinforced company, the Crusaders made their way to the Labrea system.

Upon reaching Miranda in the Labrea system, the mercenary unit found immediate work in protecting the overrun base of the Strider's Strikers mercenary unit. Under this contract, Sir Alec and his team found various opportunities to both exploit and take vengeance on the Blakist sect known as the Denouncement, a subdivision within the radical Toyama faction. Though they were wildly successful in their first strikes against the group, they did lose Mechwarrior Joseph Newton while evacuating from the Strider's Strikers Headquarters as it was overrun by the Blakists in their primary grab for power.

After working to turn the tide and saving their new allies, the Crusaders accepted a subcontracting deal with the Strikers unit. They agreed to help combat the Blakist groups on Miranda. Their contacts within the Strikers proved fruitful, securing future options as they developed a closer relationship within the team with several of its key members. For the following year, the Crusaders participated in military exercises with the Acer's Hueys mercenary unit. They worked with both the Strikers and Hueys mercenary groups until the planet was freed from Blakist control.

Taking their leave with the completion of the Strider's Strikers contract, the Crusaders made their way to the Irece Prefecture's border worlds. There they took contracts with House Kurita itself and frequently battled Ghost Bear raiders while protecting supply lines and raiding enemy supply depots.