Black Knight Anti-Terrorist Taskforce

"Semper fidelis, Vigila Semper (Always Faithful, Always Vigilant)"

- Official Motto of Black Knights "Ut sementem feceris ita metes... (As you sow so will you reap...)"

- Unofficial Motto of the Black Knights

The Black Knight Anti-Terrorist Taskforce, or better known just as the Black Knights, is one of several third party factions that make up the Earth Sphere during the Bloody Valentine War. They are an independent group whose mission is to fight against the terrorist and pirate forces in the Earth Sphere.

The Formation
Originally organized by the United Nations and their new Earth Sphere Security Council after the rising tensions between the PLANT Colonies and the Alliance of Sponsor Nations of Earth saw a rise in Terrorist Attacks across the Earth Sphere in the late sixties of the Cosmic Era. After a new rise in pirate attacks a few months later the mission of anti-piracy was added to the mission of the Taskforce.

After some talks and some minor setbacks the taskforce would be soon fully formed and ready for duty on March, 10 CE68. Soon after the Earth Sphere Security Council would elect a rising star in the new ZAFT Defense Force Lelouch Lamperouge as the Taskforce Commander. It would be soon after his appointment that Commander Lamperouge would coin the name of the taskforce which would see the true birth of the Black Knight Anti-Terrorist Taskforce.

Early Troubles
However the Black Knights didn't just jump right to the mission after their formation for while the Security Council managed to do a good enough job of recruiting personal for the Taskforce they had some trouble equipping them with the needed equipment to do their job. The UN was having trouble getting funds for the Black Knights so they would be able to purchase the needed equipment. Therefore for the first few months found Commander Lamperouge fighting a battle of politics instead fighting terrorists like he should have been doing. Before long though the needed funds was secured and the needed equipment was ordered.

Even then that wasn't the end of troubles for the Black Knights for there were a few people unhappy with the formation of the Taskforce. This included the Presidents of the Atlantic and Eurasian Federations along with several noteworthy business leaders. This protest was mainly due to the independent nature of the Taskforce and no direct oversight from them. While the Black Knights had the United Nations backing them, the organization had been weakened in the past few years therefore they could do little to defend the Taskforce. It was then that the Black Knights gained a pair of powerful allies in leaders of the United Emirate of Orb and the Republic of Altair along with the support of Sphinx Heavy Industries.

While these problems had been smooth over, there would still be plenty of forces not happy with the arrangement. Even then  the Black Knights Anti-Terrorist Taskforce would be officially be ready for service and started their first anti-piracy patrols in late May of CE68.

The First Successes
At first many thought nothing of the Black Knights but they would soon gain national attention and admiration for their part in the Heliopolis Incident where a pirate group try to attack the Heliopolis Colony on July 23, CE68 and force their way into the Colony Dock where they could pillage the dock. The Black Knights would then see the complete destruction of this pirate group and would arrest several leaders of the group. This would be the start of a wave of such successful missions including preventing a Blue Cosmos Terrorist bombing in Copernicus City on August 13, a Pirate Raid on an Orbital Cargo Freighter on August 27, and several other such missions which gained the Black Knights some needed popularity from the run-of-mill people in the Earth Sphere.

However even with these success there where some failures thanks in part to the Black Knights being such a small taskforce they couldn't be everywhere at ounce therefore there were bound to be some attacks, raids, or bombings that the Black Knights couldn't prevent. This would unleash a backlash against the Black Knights, but Commander Lelouch Lamperouge would go on public television explaining what had happen and went on to mention that the various colonies could help them in their mission by organizing defense militias and neighborhood watches. The Commander explained that this would go a long way to help prevent attacks on the colonies, or in their nearspace. He went on to remind the various companies, and Transport Guilds that there were plenty of mercaneries out there that could be hired to defend cargo.

The Commander's speech would once again reassure the populace and would lead to several notable events including the Mercenary Boom of CE68 thanks to companies looking to hire mercanenries, the United Nation's Colony Security Act which allowed civilian vehicles to be armed for defensive purposes, and several other different events. This would be a good start to counter the terrorism and piracy.

The Blue Thunder
Several months following the Commander's Speech the Black Knights would make headline news when they would manage to destroy the entire Blue Cosmos Space Fleet, the Blue Thunder with the newly launched flagship of the Taskforce the Battlecruiser ''Barachiel. ''

The Watch
The Watch is the Black Knight's main intelligence organization and is formed a few months after the formation of the Black Knights. Their main mission is to gather any information on notable pirates or terrorists along with tidbits of any of their plans. To do this they skim through communication and news channels as well as talking to information brokers to find the information the need. They also send out agents and undercover operatives to gather the information needed. From this gathered information the Black Knights can be informed on their enemies.

Black Hand
The Black Knight's main infantry and commando force is the Black Hand whose mission is to fight against pirates on board civilian ships, as well as colonies as needed. They can also be used as a commando force to raid terrorist or pirate bases around the Earth Sphere. While also providing security for Black Knight Ships and Facilities including the Luna II Asteroid Base.

Black Guard
The Black Guard is one of the newest subdivisions of the Black Knights and is created soon after the Luna-II Asteroid Base is converted into a Quasi-Colony for the numerous displaced refugees that have fled from destroyed or damaged colonies due to the war. The Black Guard is set to defend the new colony and the people in said colony from any threat wither it be an attacking force from a nation or raiding pirates the Black Guard are to defend the colony at all cost.