The Stanton Crusaders / CARPEVINUM

In the beginning, there were only settlers. Stray humans with a desire, and a dream to make their mark on the stars above. For Decades it had been mankind’s hope to one day tame the cosmos, and in doing so, master it. To this end, the first colonists embarked on often perilous and hazardous journeys to distant stars, all in the name of finding a new home.

Some of these settlers made a new home in what is now called the Stanton system. They landed on Crusader I and started anew. But they did not leave their old faiths behind. Many were descendants of ancient warriors from earth’s distant past, and carried books, relics, and scripture that survived generations in their families. One of the most prolific of these cultures, were the Old Warriors of Christ, or known by their more common name, Crusaders.

When piracy ravaged the planet in its primordial stages, these descendants took up their arms in protecting themselves along with the rest of the colony. And battle through battle, these men and women not only proved themselves, but found each other. Deciding it was time for a unified front, many of these colonists swore the oath, and out of nothing, created the Stanton Crusaders.

Their goal: To defend the colony against any threat that may rear its head. In the early years of their brotherhood, they found great success against pirates. Attack after attack thwarted, and the scum’s nests found and crucified in fire. Their eventual efforts expanded to the entire system, and for a time, they were hailed as heroes. but it was not to last. The Vanduul would soon assault the Crusaders along with the rest of the system. The rest of Stanton however was properly protected by the UEE at that point, and when the Crusaders needed the system’s help, their calls fell on deaf ears. The betrayal saw to the end of the Crusaders, and left the unprotected colony on the planet to be exploited by what is now Hurston Dynamics. Even still though, books can still be found describing legends of great battles, where crusader soldiers wearing their iconic Citadel armor clashed with the beasts from beyond the stars.

Nowadays, remnants of the once prolific order can be glimpsed in the form of bounty hunters, mercenaries, and smugglers. Earning what credits they can on odd jobs and the sort, they are drifters from planet to planet in the Stanton system, unknown to most and cast out by the few that remember their names. It’s nigh unheard of to find them in large numbers since the official collapse of the order, but there are unconfirmed reports of a pair of armored warriors wandering the Stanton system looking for like minded men and women; for people looking to take a stand against the black hearted individuals of the verse in explosive style, and once again take the moniker of “Crusader” for the good of the 12th Crusade.

Perhaps legends are not so easily forgotten.