Saurimat

Saurimat
Organization Profile
Type	Intelligence Agency
Parent Organization	Azami Brotherhood

The Saurimat are an intelligence and security force loyal to the Azami high council. Specializing in melee combat, Saurimat agents are notable for often being known public figures and pillars of their communities and often serve as temple guardians or servants to Azami mullahs. Well-versed in matters of the faith (with several members achieving hafiz—memorizing the entire Quran), Saurimat agents are often looked to by fellow Azami for religious and political guidance. This allows Saurimat agents to hide in plain sight, using their communities as a network with which to gather intelligence and, at times, organize activist movements.

Politically, Saurimat leaders rival and, in some ways, eclipse the high council of Azami Elders in power. The high council retains ultimate authority only in spiritual matters, with the Azami acting independently in regards to worldly matters. Around the Fourth Succession War, the organization's reforms led to them ultimately taking control of the high council, essentially leading the entirety of the Azami faith.

The Saurimat are known for their practice of martial arts, particularly their "Quick Death" assassination techniques. In combat, the Azami are notable for favoring melee, with a heavy bias towards BattleMechs equipped with one or both hand actuators. Up to a battalion of Saurimat BattleMechs are used by the Arkab and Algedi enclaves. The Saurimat do not maintain any standing conventional vehicle or fighter forces, and tend to favor ancient designs (often handed-down surplus from the Arkab Legions).

History

Early History

The Saurimat first formed in the twenty-fifth century as an informal network of security specialists and guides for travelers to Azami worlds. In time, as the loose collective grew and many considered mercenaries untrustworthy to uphold Shari'a law, the organization was formally recognized under various Azami governments and charged with security of spaceports and other transportation centers. During this period, the name "Saurimat" eventually fell out of regular use, retained merely as an honorific title. These early days saw a great deal of training in close-quarters combat (including combat aboard DropShips) and intensive religious studies.

During Coordinator Urizen Kurita's attempted purge of non-Japanese cultures in and around the Draconis Combine in 2680, the Azami found themselves in need of a counter to the Combine's Internal Security Force. ISF agents had been targeting Azami spiritual centers with terror attacks that the Azami's conventional forces had been unable to stop through regular means. In response, the Saurimat began guarding grounds sacred to the Azami, successfully intercepting several ISF attacks. Even after the integration of most Azami worlds into the Combine, the Azami high council opted to retain the Saurimat as an order of irregular special forces. This prompted the Saurimat to begin its transformation into a religious order, continuing its mission of defending the Azami peoples and holy grounds.

Amaris Civil War

In 2775, the Dalkeith Massacre would send ripples of anger throughout the Azami community. The Lyran world, which also held a large Muslim population, was bombarded by the DCMS with nuclear weapons. The resulting outcry from the Azami would strain loyalties, though the Saurimat chose to side with the high council in calming the public. Unofficially, however, many within the order continued to hold the Dalkeith Massacre against House Kurita for centuries.

Succession Wars

In 2989, the Maulana of the Shaul Khala Saurimat Enclave, Muntasir Surur, would cite the Dalkeith Massacre as one reason to split from Saurimat tradition. Under Surur, the Shaul Khala enclave transformed from integrated Azami protectors to an independent force of mercenary assassins styling themselves after the Hashshashin of ancient Terra. Despite efforts from Azami leadership, the Saurimat of Shaul Khala continued to act as mercenaries for 21 years, often taking contracts between feuding rival officers in the DCMS. These actions once again brought the Saurimat to the public's attention, but represented by the deviant Shaul Khala rather than any other enclave.

Finally, after the death of a member sympathetic to the Azami Elders, the high council and Saurimat decided to remove Surur and his deviant Saurimat by force. A task force of four Saurimat enclaves attacked the Shaul Khala fortress, killing the modern Hashshashin and executing those who were captured. Only one was allowed to live, Hassan Ali Khaled, who was banished to repent as a living memorial of the Shaul Khala enclave's sins.

After the confrontation, the Saurimat once again saw a shift in doctrine. The Saurimat began to claim that they were "the sons of the Prophet" (though it was never specified or agreed-upon which of the many Azami-recognized prophets the Saurimat descended from). Once the idea was cemented, this gave the Saurimat incredibly broad political and clerical power, essentially controlling the Azami high council.

In 3037, two Arkab Legion regiments invaded Dalkeith, escorting a company of BattleMechs suspected of belonging to the Saurimat. The Saurimat agents and their escorts fought for five days, until they could recover a burial shroud belonging to an unknown Muslim prophet. Since then, there have been no known cases of notable military actions by Saurimat forces.

Jihad

“	Dragon! Our world suffered. You did not reply. We prayed for you. Your claws grabbed our holy grounds on Dabih. On purpose. We forgave you. Your fiery breath scorched Azami homes on Algedi. To the ground. We warned you. Your eggs made barren the Prophet’s lands. Once and for all. We pray again, this time for us. Dragon. Do not sleep. Do not stand still. We will come for you. You will not be safe. May your death be quick.	”
	— Broadcast on DCMS general channels, source unknown

During conflicts between the Azami and Draconis Combine between 3071 and 3074, the Saurimat were suspected of organizing activist movements.

Notes

• Given the repeated statements that Saurimat means "quick death" this is a minor mistranslation. Arabic is a Noun-Adjective language, so quick (سريع sarie) death (موت mawt) would be rendered موت سريع mawt(e) sarie. However, Saurimat is an Arabic word, صارمة, that means strict or rigorous with the connotation of being so strict that you cut yourself off from other ties, which would be appropriate for an intelligence service.

Bibliography

• Jihad Conspiracies: Interstellar Players 2
• Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents