League of Crusaders

The League of Crusaders was a military branch of the Andromisa Space Federation and also the United Space Alliance. The League started out with the success of Sionis Sepher and the Zeus Project. After that, this group of elite soldiers went on to become the spearhead of the Alliance military. Though the Crusaders numbered in the thousands by the time the Great War began, their part in the success of many military operations was minimal at best. By the war's end, it was clear that the Crusaders were best used for defending the Alliance from the Hyperion Soldiers, the Koelshan equivalent of a Crusader, or for raising morale in the troops by simply having one of these soldiers present in a battle. By the time James Davis arrived in the Andromisa Galaxy, the Crusaders were at the peak of their success. Millions of the genetically enhanced soldiers served in the Alliance military and many, if not all, missions with any military aspect had at least one or two Crusaders in the ranks.

Founding of the League (21 BA)
The League of Crusaders was officially founded in 21 BA as the Great War was tearing through the Andromisa Galaxy. The Zeus Project had come to a successful end in 22 BA after the Koelshan attack on Resource System 407-7 ended with Sionis Sepher's successful evacuation of the facility. The military was in dire need of an edge and the Zeus Project genetic enhancements seemed to be the perfect answer. Many of the Federation's top leaders had high hopes for this new branch of the military and what it could do to hold the lines. When the League was finally given a home on Sentret V, several things started to change all across the galaxy.

The first of these was the fear that the Federation was going to use these new soldiers to not only defeat the Koelshan Empire, but then to also take control of independent systems within the galaxy that had not taken a side in the conflict. It was with the news of the League's formation that the Janolian Realm, a long time ally of Hyla, joined with the Koelshans in their fight against the Federation. The second thing that changed for the galaxy was that for the first time in thousands of years, a young and inexperienced individual was placed in charge of a complete branch of military, which already housed over one hundred Crusaders. Sionis Sepher was considered the "Defender of Terra Prime" by many but they also questioned his ability to lead others.

On the first day of active duty as the Supreme Crusader, Sionis and his fellow Crusaders were gifted with X7 Flyers by the Kalctan Union, a munition corporation within the Federation. The X7 was an extremely rare fighter that was discontinued just before the Great War. The fifty ships that were given to the Crusaders were the only ones to fly.

The Great War (21-0 BA)
For many, the Crusaders served as a spearhead against Koelshan attacks into the Federation. A thousand soldiers dispersed across a galaxy of war can leave a feeling that not many exist at all. Indeed, it was mostly the brave soldiers of the Federation that held the lines in the Great War, but the Crusaders were present and they were always aware. When soldiers performed well in battle, they were invited to undergo the enhancements that the Zeus Project had created. As the war progressed, the Crusaders began to refill the numbers that the war had dwindled away.

The Andromisa Police (0-30 YA)
As the years after the Great War pressed on, the newly formed United Space Alliance began to take in new governments, new allies, and new trade routes. Piracy and political upheaval created a hostile galaxy and one that the Alliance was unable to keep a a good grip on. While the military was of course there to step in on major events it was largly up to the Crusaders, up to several hundred thousand by 10 YA, to maintain order within the Alliance. Buildings dedicated to the League of Crusaders began to pop up on planets all across the galaxy and Sionis Sepher, still in charge of the League, allowed Michael Stanton to orchestrate most of the activity from the Alliance capital world Hyla. Sionis on the other hand had been carefully watching the formation of the Kujaen Empire; a new order rising from the ashes of the Janolian Realm and the crushed Koelshan Empire. The Crusaders that he worked with continued to operate on the Kujaen-Alliance borders. Even in 15 YA, when the Bantari Military Crusader School was opened, Sionis had it located on the edge of Terran Space. His plans were always to keep a large number of his soldiers close to the enemy so that the Kujaen Emperor would remember what waited for him if he provoked another war.

The Kujaen War (30-32 YA)
The League of Crusaders quickly took heavy casualties when they were dispersed to combat the Kujaen military that attacked their borders and destroyed the military base on Resource Planet 407-7. Over four hundred Crusaders had been stationed on the planet or in orbit and only a handful of soldiers, Tiffany Saranac and Helios Advares included, made it out alive. When Terra Prime was destroyed by the Invincible that same year, thousands more were killed, as well as billions of innocent civilians that were caught in the attack. When Sionis Sepher launched his counterattack, he and the young James Davis went MIA while Tiffany and the survivors of the failed plot came limping back to Hyla. For the next several years, the Alliance used the League to try and hold back the Kujaen military. It became obvious that Emperor Kujah had not wasted his own genetic enhancement program after the Great War. Many times, the Crusaders were simply overwhelmed by the number of Hyperions that came at them, clad in heavy armor and carrying dangerous weapons. By the time 32 YA arrived, the Crusaders had less than 500,000 troops on active duty. The others had either been severely wounded, taken prisoner, or killed. This decline soon started to halt as the Kujaen forces pulled off their heavy attacks. It seemed that Emperor Kujah had pushed as far into the Alliance as he wanted. Though the Alliance was quick to use this opportunity for more military recruitment, they did not have the time or resources to try and form new ranks of Crusaders. Still, the Crusaders soon reclaimed some popularity when a small team of soldiers, led by Tiffany Saranac and supported by Supreme Crusader Helios Advares, infiltrated the Kujaen borders, caused a devastating emergency within the enemy lands, and successfully saw the Empire collapse from within, leading to the end of the Kujaen War.

The Kujaen Empire Falls and the Aldiramar Threat (33-34 YA)
Helios Advares led the League through the next two military threats with a cunning that was unseen before. He dedicated most of his forces to defending Terran Space from an aggressive group of systems known as the Republic of the People's Universe. Their leader declared the Alliance to be a bloated system of corruption and attempted on several occasions to attack the Terran worlds. In the meantime, Helios also sent troops to help Sionis and James deal with the Aldiramar Empire, an enemy that was attacking Alliance targets. The conflict took its toll on the League and there was another sharp decline. By the time the Battle for Earth started, under 100,000 Crusaders were serving the Alliance military.

The Battle for Earth and the Crusader Divide (34-35 YA)
When the Aldiramar plotted to attack Earth, Sionis Sepher tried to rally the Alliance to defend the world. Though Hyla was sympathetic to the idea, the other governments were feeling the pressure from the RPU and were unwilling to give troops. Sionis then implored Helios to send what he could, but Helios refused, telling Sionis that with under 100,000 Crusader left, Terran Space was his top concern. At this point, Sionis took a measure that would divide the Crusaders. He made a public call across the galaxy to all the Crusaders who were loyal to him and told them to ignore Helio's orders and report to him immediately. It's estimated that around 30,000 Crusaders came to Sionis' call and of these Crusaders, several thousand lost their lives in the final fight against the Aldiramar Empire. A portal to Earth was created and Sionis quickly flew his ship toward Earth with others in tow. Nearly 10,000 Crusaders passed through the portal that day before the portal snapped shut. Those that went to Earth to defend it would not see the Andromisa Galaxy again for many years to come.

The Terran War (35-40 YA)
As soon as Sionis Sepher and James Davis had gone to Earth, the Aldiramar were beaten back. The Alliance quickly turned its attention to the last of the fighting against the Republic of the People's Universe but what they discovered was worse than they had expected. Helios, the Supreme Crusader, had been in charge of the RPU the entire time. The Aldiramar had not known that they were going to be overthrown but Helios had anticipated it all along. His plan had worked all the way to end with Sionis pulling any of those who were not loyal to him out of the League. He quickly executed the Terran President and seized control of Terran Space. In a move of pure heroics, a Kalctan Crusader known as Salphaeus took command of the League and called Helios a traitor. He only had around 18,000 Crusaders still serving him but the number was bolstered with several thousand Terran Crusaders that fled Helios' command when they discovered the truth. Surprisingly, most of the Crusaders that had remained loyal to Helios continued to stay at his side declaring that they were the true League and that his newly formed Terran Confederacy would live forever. Salphaeus soon learned that he would be putting the League into a war against an enemy he had never anticipated. When the Alliance snapped to action to overthrow Helios' command, the Terran threw an army of "Dead Brain" soldiers to the front lines. These soldiers were pre-conditioned flash clones that could only survive a few years before they would age and die. Like a true monster, Helios had enormous facilities dedicated to providing him with fresh bodies in cycles as he marched into the Alliance. This terrible action, coupled with heavily automated forces, led Helios to overwhelming power. While this tactic overwhelmed the Alliance military, Salphaeus was able to manage his Crusaders against them very well. His greatest difficulty came whenever Crusaders loyal to Helios would attack his own forces. Salphaeus fought valiantly and orchestrated the Alliance military very well during the Terran War. However, by 39 YA there were less than 8,000 Crusaders still in active duty. The League was near collapse as Helios was literally attacking their facilities in an attempt to destroy the last remnants.

An Unexpected Alliance (40 YA)
Just when most of the Alliance was giving up hope the Dynexia Faction, a military organization within New Koelshan Space, made its entry into the Alliance under the command of Gion Kasur; the son of Emperor Kujah. While the Alliance was skeptical of accepting Kasur's help, Salphaeus welcomed it with open arms. He found his forces bolstered with Hyperion Soldiers who were looking for others like them as the Hyperion Program had ended after Kujah's downfall. When Kasur was fully mobilized in the battle, the war seemed to lock into a stalemate.

The Return of James Davis and the Battle for Terra Minor (40 YA)
When James Davis returned to the Andromisa Galaxy he brought with him new technologies and superior weapons that he had picked up on a world known as Zolan. Though Salphaeus and Kasur both implored Davis to allow them to use the technology, it took Davis time to accept the idea of working with old enemies. As James had been brought up under Sionis' wing, his prejudice toward Kujaens was not hard to see. Finally, Kasur was given the ability to reverse engineer the technology and quickly spread it across the Dynexia forces. The Terrans began to lose their advantage in the war and with the help of Davis, the enemy started to lose ground. In a plot that can only be called "heroic" James Davis orchestrated and helped execute a massive assault spread across almost a dozen solar systems and timed to within minutes of one another. Additionally, a successful rebellion on the Terran prison world of Baltor led to the addition of several thousand Crusaders joining the fight agianst the Terran Confederacy. Finally prepared and with Helios caught off guard, the Kasur and Salphaeus launched an assault on Terra Minor. There, the Crusaders took their hardest blow and lost many of their brave soldiers. The Terran War ended after this deadly battle and peace was finally given a chance to settle over the galaxy. It had been just near ten years of continual warfare and the damage had been devastating.

The Final Assault (41 YA)
After the fall of Terra Minor it was revealed that Helios Advares escaped Terra Minor and was supposedly using the last of his fleet to assault the planet Earth; a final act of revenge on the human that stole his Empire from him. Using any soldier that was still willing to fight, James Davis rushed to Earth's defense and defeated the last of the Terran Confederacy in a full scale assault.

The Terran Exodus (43 YA)
The Terran War and the scars left by Helios Advares were not wounds that healed easily. Feeling pressure from the Alliance and anger and resentment from many species, billions of Terran refugees flooded the Milky Way galaxy. In response, the United Human Governments began plans to establish colonies and a new sense of exploration filled the Human world. Two years later, the Terran governments that fled to Earth were officially dissolved. It was decided that all people of Earth decent are, factually, Humans.

Crusader Code
Much like the police of the Andromisa Galaxy, the League of Crusaders was given an emblem and a code to follow. They were the keepers of justice, the guards of honor, the defenders of truth, the protectors of life, and the carriers of strength. Sionis Sepher made it very clear that his soldiers were to always stand for what was right in this galaxy, regardless of what the Federation or Alliance did to change the views, the Crusaders became an entity that he saw lasting through it all. His beliefs and hard work seem to have paid off as the League has survived in some form or another for over fifty years and now exists as two separate Leagues in two different galaxies. The Human League of Crusaders in the Milky Way Galaxy, and the League of Cruasaders in the Andromisa Galaxy.

Crusader Ranks
All Crusaders obtain and climb through the ranks of their normal military echelons. That is to say that an Alliance naval officer would obtain a naval title regardless of their Crusader rank. When placed into combat two individuals of the same naval echelon would be required to submit to a Crusader at the same level. This ranking, however, does not apply across the military branches, so a Grand Crusader that is a Private of the Army will not outrank a Crusader Sargeant of the Alliance Navy.

The ranks within the Crusaders have become almost cerimonial in later years and are as follows:

Supreme Crusader:
This is the highest rank in the League and is offered to only a single individual.

Grand Master Crusader:
This rank is the second in command. The position was created to prevent another single individual from coming to so much power they become another Helios Advares. In the original League, Sionis and Micahel shared the Supreme Crusader position together. With this rank, the Supreme Crusader still has ultimate say, but the Grand Master Crusaders can interject if necessary. There is a single Grand Master Crusader from each of the species in the League.

Master Crusader:
A handful of select military advisors and generals that orchestrate the Crusaders based on the Supreme Crusader's orders. This rank was added after The Terran War to prevent Grand Crusaders from being their own bosses when the Supreme Crusader is occupied with more pressing issues.

Grand Crusader:
This rank is held by Crusaders who have proven that they can lead others into conflict. These Grand Crusaders are the hands of the League, they act as mico-mangers to make sure that the Crusaders do what is needed of them.

Crusader:
The majority of the League is comprised of standard Crusaders. These Crusaders are the soldiers who fight day and night to protect the Andromisa Galaxy. If it were not for the heroes in this rank, the Supreme Crusader would be powerless to save anyone. If the Grand Crusaders are the hands, then the Crusaders are the blade they yield.

League Locations
The League of Crusaders Headquarters existed on Sentret V from its founding until 41 YA when it was moved to Hyla and established with the proper monuments to the fallen Crusaders that had served to protect all life in the universe. There are several other locations where Crusader bases are located, including Madronis, Baltor, Sentret II, and Gran Bermeka.

In the Milky Way Galaxy, the League of Crusaders has a headquarters on Earth, located in James Davis' old hometown of Shiloh. The only other base is on New Eden, the largest colony the humans have yet established in their galaxy. Though only several thousand Crusaders exist in the Milky Way galaxy, they are still considered one of the most important assets to Earth's military.