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"The position of a popular government is inherent instability; governments rule only for the period under which their populace allows it. We cannot and must not allow the people to dictate extreme power when they are extremely unsuited for such wielding. We are the instructors for the pages and squires which abound in every legislature's halls. We keep them steady, we keep them righteous, and above all, we keep them on the True Path. We are the Knights."

- Excerpt from The Knight's Crusade, a pamphlet for newly inducted high-ranking Knights

The Knights of Liberty is a secret society, historically based out of Vancouvia, notable for its nefarious actions aimed at destabilizing various governments in the region, which have increased in both number and significance since the turn of the decade.

History

The Knights of Liberty can trace their origins to the 1820s in Vaenland, when a new political organization known as the Knights of Order called for more restrictions on the Vaenland Council and the installation of a President or other central leader to unite Vaenland. Most of the Knights of Order were wealthy, aristocratic families who found the Council to be too populist and wished to gain and maintain enough power to mold Vaenland to their pro-business whims.

The Knights of Order was declared a treasonous group within a few years of its creation and subsequently almost all of its members were hanged or went into hiding. Through this experience a lesson was learned: the Knights would have been better served to overthrow or control the Council from the shadows than attempt a public movement.

Sometime during the mid-1800's, remnants of the Knights of Order reformed with roughly the same agenda but with a contrary name: the Knights of Liberty. The Knights were able to regroup in large part due to an influx of members and money from the Torom nobility, who had lost power themselves in Torom after the country's revolution. United, the Knights were able to eventually restore the nobles to power in Torom and have continued to have an influential presence there to the present day.

The Knights had a hand in the rise of Vaenland's gangs during the New Dark Age from 1850 to 1900, profiting off of the resulting lawlessness to great effect. Most of the Knights' profit during this era came by way of smuggling, extortion, or outright theft, utilizing the gangs as a face of their crimes.

During the 20th century, the Knights quickly amassed greater power and wealth, benefiting from Codman's absence of a centralized government and the Nuclear Rush. Leadership in the Knights stabilized to a cluster of wealthy families and their progeny and slowly the Knights spread across the Isles to have financial and political stakes in dozens of vulnerable countries.

The Knights were centrally against the creation of the nation of Vancouvia in 2000, preferring the largely anti-federalist government of Codman. However, the delegates sent to the convention were mostly populist figures, and hoping to at least influence the government in their favor, Knights' members silently helped install the ethical and intelligence tests for Senatorial candidates and ensure their inclusion in the Constitution.

The Knights of Liberty established itself as a supposedly legitimate non-profit organization in 2003, with a stated mission to help eradicate deadly diseases, especially those targeting children. As such, it has raised millions of coves in order to research and assist in eradicating cancer, polio, HIV/AIDS, and similar diseases. The non-profit serves mostly as a recruiting and advertising presence, helping to maintain a "good" image of the name and to seek out wealthy donors/members.

Today, the Knights' nefarious activities are dismissed as an urban legend, and any references to them are usually laughed off by the general public. Those who have attempted to whistle-blow against the Knights were either silenced or threatened, and those who actually did have usually been labeled conspiracy theorists whom fabricated evidence.

The Knights' primary aim is to influence or control governments in order to bring about a region-wide laissez-faire economic system, advance their own economic and political power, and grow in strength and size all while remaining clandestine. Sometimes this is achieved through the infiltration of governmental systems, sometimes through the dismantling or weakening of them, but usually through both.

At its core, the Knights of Liberty is a wealth-seeking organization, holding any moral objectives secondary. Although not purely anarchic, the Knights benefited significantly during the 20th century in the chaotic environment of Vaenland and Codman, and also in the centuries of lawlessness of the International District before the Vancouvian occupation. The Knights are fiercely anti-protectionist and pro-trade, holding financial stakes in a variety of international businesses.

Although not religious, the Knights of Liberty has been known to utilize religion to its advantage, for example, by inciting and funding extremist Muslim terrorist action. It also has strong ties to fundamentalist Christianity, frequently making reference to Christian values in imagery and internal propaganda. The Knights in Torom have repeatedly aimed to weaken the antagonistic Catholic Church.

The I.D., Still a Major Center of Knight Activity

Perhaps the most significant operation conducted by the Knights was the acquisition of nuclear weapons from Ostehaar in 2016. Carried out primarily by two Vancouvian Senators, the "missing" Eva Driscoll and the now deceased Arnold Yates, Vancouvia acquired 8 nuclear weapons without the consent or knowledge of the entire Congress, spurned by the idea of forgiveness rather than permission. One of the weapons was then tested and successfully detonated at the request of the Knights. The goal for the Knights was to force first Congress itself, and then gradually the Vancouvian people, into acceptance of Vancouvia's attainment of nuclear weapons, aiming to weaken regional trust in Vancouvia, while at the same time procuring military assets available to be used when the Knights inevitably take outright power of the government. Congress shortly found out about the new assets, but at this time Vancouvians and the region are still in the dark.

This nuclear drama led to another of the most noteworthy operations: a crisis involving the potential discovery of the nuclear weapons and the activities on Isle 14, where they were being held. Culminating in the assassination of Senator Yates by Ostehaar's OVAST, orchestrated by Senator Driscoll, the imprisonment or destruction of several squads of VSF, and, above all, the death of an accountant, this was a disaster for the Knights, almost exposing the existence of the bombs and the Knights' activities to the entire region.

In mid-2017, the Knights struck closer to home: this time orchestrating a massacre of the newly inaugurated 35th cohort and their families in North Yorkford. This false flag operation, hoping to weaken the VSF, Congressional leadership, and the nation's reluctance towards war, was heavily debated in the Knights, but ultimately went ahead. Carried out, in part, by former members of the VSF imprisoned after their traitorous actions on Isle 14, Congress officially blamed the terrorist group SHOCK, which had been operating relatively unchallenged in Athara Magarat. This attack was followed closely behind by another attack by Magarati nationals carrying a deadly disease against vacationers in Summerland, aimed to force the military to become extended in Athara Magarat and weaken their position in the I.D.

In 2018, the Knights were responsible for the incitement of a revolution in Illa Isle, the procurement of SAM anti-air missiles for use by the rebels, and the propulsion of Ignacio Campos to leadership on the island.

Presently, the Knights are aiming to increase their membership in the Vancouvian Congress through both elections and recruitment of existing Senators. The end goal for the Knights is to force Vancouvia to become overextended and thus vulnerable to either a military or civil coup, reverse to a pre-21st century laissez-faire economy, and then utilize its nuclear arsenal if necessary to keep enemies at bay while it gains power in other unstable countries.

Due to its secretive nature, the Knights recruit primarily through referrals. Members usually would approach a target, ask for their support with the non-profit's goal, and then use their response to judge whether they would be a good member. New members are typically confined to solely the non-profit facade for the first year or two, until finally being introduced to the behind-the-scenes acts of the Knights.

Higher membership ranks are afforded to those who have more influence or financial resources, are able to influence non-Knights to their whims, and/or by tenure. The Knights primarily operate in cells, especially with new members, and thus information is on a need-to-know basis.

Roughly 90% of the Knights are male. Female knights (dames) were prohibited until the late 1970's. The Knights remain predominantly Caucasian, but there is little if any racism within the ranks.

The Knights utilize a variety of secret ceremonies for higher-level members, most of them fanciful recreations of actual medieval ceremonies. One such ceremony, the Initiation, involves a "King" or "Queen" performing a ceremonial sword fight with rapiers with the candidate before anointing a new rank upon the inductee.

The Thuzbek Intelligence Services (TIS) is the central intelligence agency for the People's Republic of Thuzbekistan. Formed in 1955 amidst the purges of post-revolutionary Thuzbekistan, the agency has served as the right arm of the Prime Minister's office since its creation. Originally made to track down and prevent counter-revolutions, it began operating in the foreign arena in 1961-1964 after it was discovered that Oster agents had been operating against the People's Republic since their victory in 1952. After this, the agency began to operate against Ostehaar and its allies. However, it was not until 1965 that it began to take the role that it is now known for: Spreading the Thuzbek version of Communism. Throughout the decades since 1965, it has served to promote the interests of Thuzbekistan by supporting communists in Charbagnia, Samudera, Orsandia, Illa Isle, and others, including keeping the socialists parties of Belle Ilse en Terre funded.

The Thuzbek Intelligence Services is organized in a top down manner. The Director controls the agency in the service of the Prime Minister. While many agencies are content to delegate, the first Director of the TIS, Marthil, believed that the agency was best controlled as closely as possible. While the size and scope of the of the modern TIS has forced Director Zeki to delegate some responsibility to different departments, the Director still holds a tight rein on the operations in Ostehaar and more urgent operations in Orsandia.

The Political Department is the domestic section of the TIS devoted to monitoring politicians and key figures in the Thuzbek government. Most of its overt activities are those that investigate corruption or fraud. In these cases, the TIS and the Thuzbek Court System work closely in the prosecution of politicians who have committed crimes. However, this is the smallest part of their operations.

The largest part of the Poltical Department's job is the secret monitoring of all politicians and party members personal dealings in conversation, online interaction, or in any side business they might have. Typical targets are party heads, Worker Councils' chairmen (such as the Thuzlan Worker's Council or the Baslovian Worker's Council), and any number of village heads which may be members of opposition parties. This network is vast and unchecked by law, combing thousands of official and unofficial phone logs, emails, and even medical records for data which may affect key individuals or be the signs of insidious movements against the state or the status quo. Information obtained from this surveillance is used to blackmail targets into submission or dictate the necessary actions for political enemies.

Despite the fact that the TIS is most well known for its foreign endeavors during the UCCR years as well as its long running shadow war with Ostehaar, the Foreign Department is actually the smallest of them. This is due to Thuzbekistan's limited zone of influence in the Eterna sea and beyond since the fall of the UCCR. Only 24 years after the dissolution of the UCCR is Thuzbekistan finally able to influence actions anywhere West of Ostehaar and it is doing this relentlessly. The Foreign Department is the spearhead of these ops, aiding Illa Isle, starting the civil war in Orsandia, and are keeping operations up in Samudera to try and prop up the embattled Samuderan President.

The Foreign Department relies mostly on Human, Signal, and Open Source sources of information for intelligence gathering as its small list of allies and even smaller list of satellites limits other options. Typically, the Foreign Department will begin by monitoring for potential threats and opportunities on open sources. Once a possible issue is spotted or is identified by other departments or agencies, the Foreign Department begins to deploy their signal teams, which set up equipment to monitor airways and other private networks and radio chatter in the area. Once this is done, an agent will be deployed to the area with a Special Marine Forces Team (Spec Team) to back them up. Most of the time, there are two agents on the ground, a signal team, and the commander of the operation. Given that the commander is not generally deployed in the area, the Lead Agent will most often take a tentative command. This structure encourages initiative among agents while also maintaining contact with the agent. This system was best used in Orsandia.

In the Orsandian Civil War, TIS Agents were deployed after the Foreign Department identified the PLF as a possible interest. Following several contact attempts, the Foreign Department was able to contact Yong Jun via a secured web chat. After confirming the need and willingness of the PLF to overthrow the Orsandian government, TIS deployed agents to establish personal contact. They were followed closely by teams of agents that set up in both Orsandia and Samudera. The Lead Agent then continued to coordinate early shipments of material until a more secure and firm system could be established with the aid of SAFI. When the situation broke down in 2018, the system ensured that all Thuzbek assets excepting small numbers of Special Marine Forces were able to withdraw despite a heavy blockade of the Orsandian Coast.