Corporate Knights are the finest warriors that a corporation owns. Unlike police forces and Guardians, Knights are employed by the company and the company only; the Government has no sway over them except by the same laws that other corporate employees are governed by.
Corporate Knights always wear a flower representative of their Corporation, and do not ever travel without one. CKs are never actually off-duty, and their free time is still spent technically in the company's employ. Knights adhere to these rules not with resentment, but enthusiasm; being a Corporate Knight means representing a company in the most literal way.
Knights follow no dress code (save to bear their company flower), but those who are inexpert stick to business garb designed for battle, not wanting to put on airs and risk ridicule by their peers. CKs are not restricted to use a specific set of weapons. Most prefer a combination of sword and gun, as CKs have access to a great deal of funding and usually carry bulletshields.
It is not considered dishonorable to quit the service of a company, particularly if a Knight can no longer support the corporation's activities and agendas. Some CKs have become very effective mercenaries, and some have even joined the esteemed ranks of the Shadowflame Organization.
All Corporate Knights adhere to an unofficial set of ethics called The Knight's Code, made popular by the rigid ethics that the Trans-Di, Inc. Knights have been famous for since the beginning of their employ. A Knight who has broken these rules must step down or face ridicule and a dishonored name for the rest of his career. Many disenfranchised Knights even have trouble finding work in the Mercenary trade, and are widely regarded as untrustworthy.
The Knight's Code
1. My life for the Company.
2. No enemy of the Company shall stand undefeated so long as I live.
3. I shall only take life when I must, but when I do, I shall do so swiftly and without remorse.
4. I will wear my Company's insignia always.
5. I must fight the enemies of my Company wherever they appear.
6. If my enemy should call Duel, we shall not fight until a time and place are declared and agreed upon.
7. I may never call Duel in my own or my foe's territory, and I will never send inferiors in battle against my equal.
8. I will show integrity and honor in battle, as my actions will color the light shed on my Company no matter what I do.
9. Neither love nor hatred shall ever temper my judgment, if the time should come to judge.
10. If the actions of my superiors should dishonor the Company, I must move against them.
I've been writing a story about a CK, and I think that I'm more comfortable with both male and female being called 'Sir'. In the time that the title 'Dame' was conferred, it was essentially understood that it was a very different title from that of knighthood; it was a title for those exempt from fighting. CKs live by a continuous code of war and battle, and whether male or female, they are expected to lay their lives down in combat for their company. I don't really feel that 'Dame' brings that feel to the title of CK.
Thoughts? ~Dog
Though this is true, I guess I felt 'Dame' still had an appropriate ring to it, with some dignity and such. I can see your point, though. I am undecided, I guess. One thing I'd like to do (this being distinct from this discussion) would be to play a scenario with some CKs, get a real feel for how they function and hammer out what plays out right and what doesn't. ~Mysterio
I think that Dame has the appropriate dignity and nobility, but I do feel that it lacks the war and discipline of 'sir'. In writing as Maggie, I couldn't really imagine her with the 'Dame' title. I'm gonna run with sir being a standard for now.
Also, I do feel that the concept of a CK, like a Guardian, should be largely genderless. The more strongly gendered heroes are mercenaries and Shadowflames. ~Dog
Fair enough. I certainly agree with the genderless thing. It does occur to me that we lack a dissertation about mercenaries. ~Mysterio
Just a thought. If you want to make gender clear in text (you might not want to) I have some female friends in the SCA who use “Syr” to indicare that they are female knights.
"A Knight shares his insight post retirement"
Someone recently inquired why I chose to be a Knight, how a Knight could defend the ideals of company. While the two questions do not seem deep travels within the psyche of the Brotherhood, it did give me pause, to consider and reflect upon the true reasoning about why we were created, and why we continue onward.
In antiquity, Knights Errant, or Knights, would cross the lands, searching for either a lord to serve under, or a person or group to defend and protect. That was the idea of the time – to choose to become a protector for humanity, either in small or large quantities. As times have changed, the way humanity congregates and functions has changed, and with it, the Knights. Allow me to illustrate:
In olden times, it is written, fiefdoms, or small collections of peasant farmers, would be ruled by a feudal lord. This is akin to the average worker within a company, with the CEO’s performing the duties of the feudal lord. If one accepts this metaphor, then it becomes quite clear how a Knight can defend the ideals of a company: We defend its right to exist, and therefore all those citizens who toil daily to ensure a livelihood for their loved ones and friends. While we, of course, will wage war upon other companies as our employers demand, they have no real need of Knights – we are simply a loaded weapon for them, a sword to be thrown away at any passing threat. Rather, with every combat we find ourselves victorious, we can hope that the profits gained will find their way to the everyday person – the people like you and me.
As to why I became a Knight, that is an individual story, but I believe there is something within a person which brings out this calling. Knighthood is not a simple task – it is not to create the most dashing and dangerous warrior. It is to create a protector. Save for the Legends within our hallowed halls, Guardians, other races, Magi, and a variety of other denizens or professions will become more powerful than a singular Knight. We are champions – not merely of the sword and pistol, but of morality. Once I asked a woman whom I was sitting near where she was from. Rather than simply answer my question, she provided a witty and venomous jest, because she was embarrassed by the answer. This often seems to be the method that humanity conducts itself – rather than be blunt and honest, people speak half truths and white lies to make themselves feel better, cover up the truth or attempt to impress those who surround them. A Knight does not lie, does not surround themselves within the cobwebs of illusions and false grandeur. Perhaps that makes us simpler, or at least makes me a simple and naïve person, but it is the way we live. Perhaps we serve to be examples in the way the Knights Errant did – quiet figures to either be looked at, or jeered, but we remain what we have been since the inception of the word millennia ago:
Knights (n): a man, usually of noble birth, who after an apprenticeship as page and squire was raised to honorable military rank and bound to chivalrous conduct. See Protector, Guardian.
-Written by Edgar Black, Retired Knight