The long history of Tradestar Dynamics' Chevalier combat frame is infamous among different segments of the galaxy for different reasons. A tale of abject failure to military strategists, a cautionary parable of "government overreach" to private industrialists, and a hundred myths of alternating heroism and barbarism to settlers of the frontier worlds, it is a history worth reviewing.

Originally commissioned by the Cygnus Economic Community as a main battle frame in its multisystem war against the Orion's Gate Defensive Axis, the Chevalier spent decades mired in development hell as CEC military planners continually revised design constraints, often demanding conflicting specifications. When the Chevalier was finally fielded en masse during the Thousand-Worlds Offensive it was behind schedule, over budget, and proved to be a spectacular failure on the battlefield. The CEC canceled all its contracts with Tradestar, convicted their executives and designers in show trials, and initiated a hostile takeover of the company in an effort to strip their assets and recoup losses.

It was in the aftermath of Tradestar's demise that the Chevalier took on a new life. The CEC sold off tens of thousands of unused frames at bargain prices to single-system-states, private militaries, and frontier militias as part of their gutting of Tradestar. The Chevalier was fielded in hundreds of small scale, unconventional conflicts where operators learned through experimentation that, despite its failure as a main battle frame, the Chevalier's idiosyncracies could be put to good use in plenty of other situations. In particular, its exceptional internal power plant, small form factor, and high maneuverability proved particularly effective in asymmetrical warfare on the frontier. On worlds with underdeveloped infrastructure and few anti-armor weapons, Chevaliers were self-sufficient and could wield massive energy weapons unimpeded. The Chevalier became so infamous for its role in raids against frontier colonies that it eventually earned the more common reporting name "Marauder." In a great irony, it is under this name that the frame is operated in the present day by the Cygnus Economic Community which is finally able to see the usefulness of the weapon it once deemed an irredeemable failure.