Wayward Knights / WAYKNIGHTS

⚔️ The Wayward Knights: History of the Order

I. The Schism on Terra (2928)
The Wayward Knights were not founded in the darkness, but in the glaring light of hypocrisy. Their story begins with the Terran 114th Expeditionary Fleet, a UEE Naval unit stationed in the core systems, dedicated to guarding vital shipping lanes.

The founder, Commander Seraphina “Seraph” Vance, was a decorated combat pilot known for her unyielding adherence to the UEE code of ethics—a code she soon watched shatter. In 2928, during a major diplomatic incident involving an independent mining collective and a powerful mega-corporation, the 114th was ordered to enforce the corporation’s claim, despite clear evidence of illegal land-grabs and coercion. The orders were clear: protect the assets, regardless of the cost to the people.

Seraphina refused. She openly challenged her commanding officer, citing the UEE’s own principles of protecting its citizens. Her insubordination led to her immediate arrest and court-martial. However, Seraphina’s stand inspired a small, dedicated cadre of pilots and security specialists within the 114th who were equally disillusioned with the Navy becoming an enforcement arm for corporate greed.

II. The Oath of the Wayward (2929)
Following Seraphina’s release (she received a dishonorable discharge but was spared jail time due to her stellar service record), she and her followers—three other pilots, two gunners, and a disgraced UEE mechanic named ‘Gearhead’ Rix—met in a decommissioned UEE bunker on a fringe moon near Terra.

Stripped of their rank, their ships, and their legitimacy, they took a new, informal oath. They swore that if the UEE would not uphold justice and protect the innocent in the Outer Rim, they would. They rejected the bureaucracy and corruption of the core worlds and declared themselves The Wayward Knights—“Wayward” because they strayed from the UEE’s path, and “Knights” because they still held fast to the old ideals of chivalry and protection.

Their initial assets were paltry: a battered RSI Constellation Andromeda named the ‘Vigilance,’ which Rix painstakingly salvaged and retrofitted, and a handful of personal firearms.

III. The Reputation Built in Pyro
The Wayward Knights quickly migrated to the dangerous, lawless Pyro System. They needed a proving ground where UEE interference was non-existent and where true need existed.

Their first defining mission was the Defense of Ruin Station. A brutal pirate clan, the Iron Fists, had demanded crippling tariffs from the station’s small, civilian population of refiners and traders. The station owner had sent out desperate, uncoded pleas for help.

Seraphina and the Vigilance answered the call. They didn’t seek a full-scale battle; instead, they employed strategic, surgical strikes.

Tactic 1: They ambushed Iron Fist scout ships, capturing them and using their transponders to broadcast false distress calls, luring the main pirate fleet into an asteroid field trap.

Tactic 2: Rix, using the Vigilance’s engineering bay, jury-rigged a high-powered energy spike that disabled the lead pirate vessel’s shields, allowing the Knights to disable and board it, crippling the operation from the inside.

The pirates were driven off, not annihilated, but thoroughly embarrassed. More importantly, the people of Ruin Station were protected. They offered the Knights cargo and credits, which Seraphina humbly accepted only enough to repair and resupply.

IV. The Order Evolves (2935 – Present)
News of the ‘Knights of Pyro’ spread quickly among the independent pilots and struggling settlements. They became known for a few key traits:

Zero Tolerance for Racketeering: They strictly targeted anyone exploiting the weak—pirates, corrupt brokers, and corporate enforcers alike.

Non-Aggression towards Civilians: They never took payment they didn’t earn, and if a settlement was unable to pay, they accepted supplies or simply provided the protection freely.

The Code: While not formalized, their actions created an unwritten code: Protect the vulnerable, fight with honor, and seek justice where the law cannot reach.

Over the years, the Wayward Knights established a small, mobile fleet. They maintain no central headquarters, preferring to keep their presence fluid and unpredictable, often patrolling the fringe jump points between systems like Pyro, Stanton, and relatively peaceful parts of Nyx.

They are not an official UEE organization; they are a self-governing, protective order. They accept new members who have been similarly betrayed by bureaucracy or who simply seek a higher purpose than profit. They train their recruits in advanced combat maneuvering and non-lethal disabling tactics, always aiming to neutralize a threat rather than simply destroy it.

The Wayward Knights are a shining, if often battered, shield in the darkness, a constant reminder that honor and duty can still be found—even among those who have lost their way.