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The Order of the Holy Knights of the Temple of the Hyades

Black Templars of Navarro

One Day on Taurus . . .

Sean Walker closed the folder and signaled the waitress . . . one beer wouldn’t hurt before he returned to base, after all.  That was when a shadow fell across his table.

The mercenary leader looked up at the man who stood there blocking what little light was available in the tavern.

“Señor Walker?” he asked as he took a seat, taking off one heavy leather gauntlet, then the other seating them both on the table before him.

“Si, Señor . . . ?”

“Don Raphael Francisco Alejandro Diego de Montoya y Navarro, at your service," he answered with a slight incline of his mustachioed head.

Sean blinked; he was certainly used to the hidalgo portion of the Concordat citizenry, but few modern families retained the epic naming practices of their distant ancestors of Earth.  But then he smiled.  “And what may I assist you with today, Don Raphael?”

“You may address me, if you wish, Señor Coronel, by my familiar name or by my rank of Capitan-Padre.”

“Father-Captain?  You are a priest?” Sean asked.

“Instructed at the Jesuit Seminary on Celentaro, and ordained by the Cardinal of Taurus . . . but I am a simple man who follows in the ways of St. Samuel.”

“St. Samuel?”

“Si.  God may have made Men, Senõr Coronel, but it was Samuel Colt who made them equal.”

Sean smiled and he chuckled softly as the waitress came to the table.  “A honey mead, my dear—and for my guest?”

“Alas,” Raphael said with down-cast expression, “I have taken strict vows to give up the consumption of all alcohol but the blessed wine of the sacrament.  Perhaps a latte, if you would be so kind, Señorita?”

Sean nodded and she moved away; the Capitan-Padre sighed at her swaying hips.  “God has put much temptation in my path tonight, Señor Coronel.  But, to business!  I understand that you are seeking out soldiers to deal with those who have attacked our fair Concordat—and slain young Edward Calderon, Prince and Heir to the Protector.”

“I am,” Sean answered simply.

Raphael smiled and he sat back.  “Excellent.  You shall have the use of my brothers and sisters in this task—I shall lead them and together we shall wipe the stain of these vermin from the universe itself.”

“Pardon me, Don Raphael, but you are saying that you command a mercenary unit?” Sean asked in disbelief.

“Heaven forbid such a thing!  Mercenaries?  Bah!” the amused hidalgo answered.  “We are servants of God, and we serve him and the Concordat well—have you not heard of the Order of the Holy Knights of the Temple of the Hyades, Señor Coronel?  The Black Templars of Navarro, as we are sometimes called?”

Sean jerked upright in his chair.  “You are that Navarro?”

“Indeed,” the warrior-priest replied with a grin as the waitress returned with a mug of ale and a small cup filled with a rich, creamy coffee.  Raphael placed his hand on her buttock, and she smiled, but slapped him all the same.

And then he frowned.  “Such blatant disrespect for the authority of the Church, Señorita!” he admonished as he unwrapped the scarf to reveal his clerical collar.  “But I forgive you of the sin in the name of God—shall we discuss what other sins he will forgive this night?”

She giggled and leaned down, whispering in the warrior-priest’s ear and then she sashayed away.

Raphael sighed again.  “It is amazing what temptations the Good Lord seeks to place in my path—luckily, he knows well that I am only human and fallible and will request his forgiveness once my time in her loving arms is complete.”  He stopped and stared at Sean’s eyes.  “Have you a use for my company of Warriors of God, Señor Coronel?  The parish shall pay for our services as they have always done.”

Sean blinked.  Not once, but twice, for the Black Templars were indeed well known to him—by reputation, not personally.  Warrior-Monks knighted to serve the Concordat by the Church and the Protector alike, they seldom left Taurus, and only in the direst of circumstances.  And they piloted only assault-weight BattleMechs—a dozen Stalkers!  They could provide him with a hammer that that the expedition lacked.

He cleared his throat and took a deep sip of the mead.  “Of course, Capitan-Padre Navarro—certainly we could make use of you and your Warriors.”

“Good!  Now, before I leave with that young woman for a night of debauchery and I offer my confession to God—have you need to confess unto me your own litany of sins for forgiveness?”

Overview

The Order of the Holy Knights of the Temple of the Hyades (more commonly known as the Black Templars of Navarro) are a small mercenary company of BattleMechs that primarily operate in the region around the Taurian Concordat.

Formed in 3013 by Cardinal Ortega of Taurus, this mercenary command was organized following a pirate raid that destroyed a cathedral and left hundreds of dead and wounded behind on Norman's World.  A Jesuit priest that had once been a TDF MechWarrior--Raphael Francisco Alejandro Diego de Montoya y Navarro--was selected to command and build the unit.

Navarro, a man from a noble family of wealth and power, had renounced his former life and taken vows as a Jesuit just two years prior.  But he found it difficult to adjust to his new calling in life.  For him, the opportunity to raise the Black Templars was a god-send.

Using funds from the Church as well as contributions from his own family, Navarro managed to acquire a Union-class DropShip and had it refitted heavily.  Omitting the fighter bays, the Black Templar (as the ship was rechristened) revamped the cramp crew and bay personnel quarters, as well as the armaments.  Each member of the crew as well as the MechWarriors and their 'Techs were given small--but private--quarters of their own and cargo space was more than doubled in available volume.

Using contacts through the Church, Navarro obtained a dozen STK-3F Stalker assault-weight BattleMechs . . . over half of them newly produced on Shiro III in the Free Worlds League.  These 'Mechs were modified by Taurus Territorial Industries into the STK-3G variant while the newly commissioned Capitan-Padre began recruiting MechWarriors, 'Techs, and crew.

By 3015, his unit roster was filled out.  Every MechWarrior within the ranks was either a full-fledged Jesuit priest or an ardent Catholic member of the Society of Jesus recruited specifically for the Black Templars.  Those who had not yet taken full vows as a priest were obliged to still take vows to serve the Church and the Concordat in a manner fitting the honor and tradition of the Church.

The first mission of the Black Templars was to exact vengeance on the pirates responsible for the attack on Norman's World.  By 3016, Navarro had tracked this pirate band to a desolate world deep within the badlands and the Black Templars set off in pursuit.  Arriving in early 3017, the Templars found themselves pitted against more than two companies of pirate 'Mechs, supported by armor and infantry.  But despite being outnumbered, they engaged the enemy and with their assault weight 'Mechs managed to decimate and then drive off the surviving pirates.

Scores of victims were found, impressed by the pirates into slavery.  These were freed and returned to the Concordat, while the pirate stronghold was was utterly laid to waste.

By 3022, the legend of the Black Templars had grown.  Across the Concordat and surrounding space, they became the bane of pirates and raiders who murdered and rampaged indiscriminately.  Responding as a rapid-reaction force, the sudden appearance of a dozen jet-black Stalkers adorned only with a blood-red Maltese Cross on their nose inspired fear among the corsairs and gave hope to the men and women of the Periphery.

Today, Navarro and his Black Templars still serve the Church and Concordat.  Based on Taurus, the unit regularly deploys on anti-pirate operations both in conjunction with the TDF as well as independent operations of the small mercenary command on its own.