Bannikberg Company

The Bannikberg Company is named for its commanding officer, Lorraine Venne Bannikberg (whose page is for some reason, conspiciously absent). The company was formed in February, just prior to the Thames Campaign launched by the Earth Federation. The company participated in the campaign from the Battle of New Dakota to every engagement onward. Following the Battle of Saffron the Bannikberg company was made the honor guard for the Centauri delegation at the Mythril Conference.

Roster
The Bannikberg company is led by its founder, Lady Lorraine venne Bannikberg. Her right hand man is Sir Alexei Niktokov. The company's roster was in a constant state of flux, with members being assigned, reassigned, or being taken out in combat with alarming frequency.

Former members include Lord James Stuart, the first Knight from Atlantica.

Founding
The Bannikberg Company was formed on February 3, 2999 after Lorraine venne Bannikberg left the Dolorean Company following the end of the Pirate War once she received permission to form her own command. To this end she specifically recruited Alexei Niktokov, James Stuart, and Annabel Vermillion Lee. The rest of the Company was to be formed from other newly knighted pilots mainly from Ossetia who were to meet with them en-route to Lai Dame.

The Saffron Campaign
The company first posts was to be in Lai Dame, where several of the senior members had fought previously. On March 11, 2998 the company, consisting of Lady venne Bannikberg, Lee and Stuart (Sir Alexei Niktakov was unavailable at the time) set out for the system with the intention of forming together the rest of the company once they arrived on a separate ship.

Before they could get there the ship was rerouted to the Arkhangelsk System System, where the Centauri forces in the Angelpunkt System had retreated to following a stunning defeat. The three man company guarded the space route to the system while the Centauri forces regrouped. The position was short lived as the Federation invasion fleet pressed on, and the Bannikberg Company found itself in a fighting retreat to the Leon System.

The undersized regiment quickly found itself performing escort duty for the fleet flagship while defenses in Leon were quickly constructed. A week later the company again found itself on the losing side of a battle as the Centauri fleet was forced out of a system.

From there the Bannkiberg Company made its way to the Leon System, where the planet Thames was in a state of panic and had begun evacuating pending the Federation attack. On July 5, the Federation fleet arrived and the Bannikberg Company was positioned with the hastily assembled defense forces at critical points on the perimeter of Leon's inner planets to blunt the advance. Though outnumbered, the company conducted a fighting retreat all the way to Thames, seeping strength from the enemy as they went.

Recalled for refitting, the three man company was in orbit near the moon when the Federation dropships made their breakthrough on the planet. While the battle raged planetside, the company stayed in space in a desperate attempt to break the link between the Federation fleet and ground forces. Fighting continued for several months. The company and others were unable to achieve any significant breakthrough though the team did take credit for the destruction of two enemy destroyers and one heavy cruiser. It was during this fighting that the other members-to-be of the company were killed.

The Bannikberg Company was one of the forces that began receiving conflicting orders during the November Crisis. One set telling the to retreat, another to commence attacking again. Dame Bannikberg conferred with other company leaders and like them, decided to stay put until proper commands were made clear. Three days later the situation was resolved and the company again dueled with the Federation fleet.

The company won a decisive victory after the Federation overreached themselves in an attempt to extend their reach to the moon. The company led the flight that crippled the Federation task force.

With the Federation withdrawal in late January, the company was again sent to escort duty though occasionally scouting the nearby systems to monitor the Federation forces. Despite the massive casualty list of the Battle of Thames, the three true members of the company had survived. The Knights sent to fill up the roster were not so fortunate.

The Mythril Conference
A company of only three members was hardly worth keeping on the field. With the finalizing of the peace treaty under the so called "Mythril Conference" in the Lamia System between the warring states, the Bannikberg Company was selected to act as part of the honor guard for the Centauri representatives. Prior to the ceremony, Alexei Niktokov finally joined the team an was appointed second-in-command. The regiment began its building right there with the addition of Seventh Kinght Roxanne Bishop.

Second Battle of Lamia
During the ceremony the company came under a surprise attack from an unknown force that attacked everyone present at the conference and sparking the Second Battle of Lamia. In the confusion, frames from both sides began firing on each other. The Bannikberg Company refrained from attacking Federation units and instead attempted to defend the representatives on Station S37. Their attempt failed and Annabel V. Lee was killed in the fighting. After collecting their people the company retreated from Lamia. News soon reached them that the treaty would go unsigned as fighting again broke out.

Yokolit
The regiment spent the rest of its leave in the resort planet of Yokolit. During this time they encountered the 195th Aces Squadron again. The Squad was having an internal dispute which lead to one of its members, Jaedong Lee offering his services to the regiment. Alexei Niktokov, acting as regimental spokesman, turned him down. Shortly after, it was discovered that Lorraine had been kidnapped and the vacation was cut short.

Regimental Standard
The standard on the Bannikberg Company is based on the flag of the Centauri Commonwealth. The background is white instead of blue however, and the outer side is marked with a "bloodstained" red stripe. The center piece has greater detail to resemble a Knight's sword.

The twin stars of Centauri were replaced by a pair of Viorrey octopi after the regiment adopted one named Blau. It has been rumored that Sixth Knight Earl Vieillard replaced the stars as a prank on the team and to get back at them for making him Blau's custodian. To his chagrin, the company loved the new look and made it part of the official colors.