StarDestroyer.Net BBS

I thought I'd start this thread for stuff which does not directly correspond to the plot, theme, or particular contents of any of the various SWFic Project epochs (PrequelFic, EUFic, and NJOFic).

Galactic Aristocracy: "The Names and Numbers"

The galactic aristocracy is often summed up in the epithet "Names and Numbers," referring to the great formal family lines and houses of the traditional aristocracy of birth and lineage, and the multistellar business organizations (specifically, their largest shareholders). Although plenty of claims have been made about the supposed distinctness and mutual enmity of the old aristocracy and the business plutocracy (one recalls the Duke of Faufreluches-in-the-Mascarenhas denouncing "so-called Names, the refuse of the galaxy, the bourgeois plague, the stain of new money and illegitimate influence" after the Duke had lost his place at the prestigious Hilderbergh Group to the CEO of Rendili StarDrive), the fact is that many of the richest businessmen in the galaxy held noble title, and some of the most ancient and patrician of houses are well-represented in boards of directors of major multistellars. The most famous case of intersection being the CEO chair at Kuat Drive Yards, legally bound to hereditary descent within the Kuat family with reference to the historically noble Velic Law, forming initself a de facto title of nobility. Often called the twin "pillars" of galactic order, the Names and Numbers in many cases, especially the former, predated the ratification of the Constitution of the Galactic Republic, and represented the mass of old power that evolved with the Galactic Union. As Dr. Yinqo Lamont was quoted as saying, "the Names and Numbers represent the great estates of the Galactic Union, and are more fundamental to the structure of galactic society than the constitution."

...

The Old Families

The Names, though divided into the Houses and Patricians, reached up to a common apex - the Old Families. These most influential of the old lineages held the greatest names of history. The Valorums. The Tagges. The Organas. The Palpatines. With or without title, they were universally regarded as the pinnacle of the Names. Being born an Old Family was simultaneously a great gift and a great burden. For the ambitious and strong, whether entering politics, business, or armed service or the various arts or academia, membership in an Old Family was sure to place one on the fast track for advancement. A young scion would get a coveted jump start in the galactic patronage trade. However, the risks and pressure was great. Princess and Senator Leia Organa of Alderaan was able to avoid succumbing to torture and mind probe aboard the Death Star only because she had received conditioning and training to resist such questioning, as a member of a ruling house. All heirs and important members of an Old Family, including household and personal staff, retainers, personal bodyguards under went physical conditioning and surgery in order to make their minds hardened against manipulation, brain scans, and torture, attesting to the brutally cut-throat competition at the apex of galactic power, though it should be emphasized that this was the exception to the rule, until the Empire. Also, unapproved careers, marriages, and socially-damaging behavior were very strongly condemned and restricted in the Old Families. Patriarchs and matriarchs tended to keep a strong grip on their charges; elopement or sexual deviancy could damage prospects for the family for a generation, as well as deny the opportunity for an advantageous marriage. Similarly, diversions in "bohemianism" could result in exile or disowning. As a result of these enormous pressures for advancement, psychological distress could be quite common. And the cut-throat nature of competition at this level drove many to paranoia and obsessive-compulsive behaviors.

Didn't we have one of these already?

The PSW thread is a recruitment log and organizational thread. The three stories threads are for story concepts and broad outlines and features. This thread is for common use (I find myself having to cross-reference threads when I'm trying to talk about something, this'll make it easier).

I'll go back and edit them as I add to them.

THE GALACTIC REPUBLIC

The Galactic Republic was selected as “the name of the political manifestation of the preexisting social, societal, international, and interstate community and union of galactic civilization” (Article I of the Constitution). Commonly referred to as the "Galactic Union" in most modern translations, this is a somewhat crude rendition of the Old Wukkaran reijck, meaning something between "realm," "nation," "polity," and "union," and generally the transcendent body politic; many translations avoid this problem by leaving it simply the "Galactic Reijk." An alternative term found in contemporaneous documents was the Olys Corellisi rseczpospolita (compare to the Old Coruscanti rez publika, and Old Alderaanian calque comunne weal). Over time this distinction became academic and purely legal-technical; "the Galaxy" unambiguously in non-astronomical contexts referred to the society or civilization as a whole, and even "Galactic Republic" or "the Republic" itself became informal to refer to the Galactic Union or the body politic (or even, by co-extension, the astronomical galaxy itself as well) in a general sense, without the specific connotations of the federal political apparatus. People speaking of "the Republic" spoke of the galactic society as a whole, where the metonym "Coruscant" spoke of the political apparatus.

Foundation and Introduction

Historians debate the beginnings of the Republic, suggesting that it is artificial to claim the date of a legal document which hardly changed the reality of politics and society overnight misses the point of answering the question - where did the Republic come from? However, the point stands that the Constitution of the Galactic Republic was ratified on 24,965 BrS. It established in law, the fundamental institutions of the Galactic Republic, namely the Republic Authority, the Supreme Court of the Galactic Republic, and the Senate of the States of the Galactic Republic in Congress Assembled.

The Senate of the States of the Galactic Republic in Congress Assembled

The Senate had long-standing pre-Republic origins in common interstellar institutions, alliances, and councils. The United States of the Inner Regions, the Galactic Community Organization, and the Core Union were all well-known antecedents to the Republic, and their deliberative bodies of senators, ambassadors, and members of parliament were the ancestors of the Senate (traces of this can be still found, with the usage of "senator" for the delegates of the Union's sovereign states, who rank as ambassadors, and for whom many conventions and procedures are derived from Union parliamentary practice). The Senate of the States of the Galactic Republic in Congress Assembled, formally speaking, rarely met. Composed of over a million senators throughout most its history, day-to-day meetings of this body would have been unwieldy and unnecessary. Rather, the Great Powers - those "ancient masses of hard and soft power nestled comfortably at the centers of huge constellations of territory and influence," as neatly summarized by Dr. Yinqo Lamont in The New Order in Power - nominated senators which would acquire the support of other senators, who would lend them their votes (the so-called "votes-by-proxy"), allowing them to individually represent whole sectors or regions (it should not be misconstrued that all Voting Members or Powers were necessarily Great Powers, with the most notable case being that of the first Galactic Emperor’s senatorial constituency of the Kingdom of Naboo). This process of informally and essentially electing a presidium of itself allowed the Senate to compress its working membership on a day-to-day basis to between one to ten thousand "senior senators" (depending on the historical period and circumstances). Though denounced by many of the lesser states as a mere stage show to conceal rule by the powerful and well-connected - which certainly was not completely unfair, especially during crisis and the brief authoritarian storms of Republic history - the relationship between most Voting Powers' and their Senior Senators on one hand, and between their Lesser State and Junior Senator clienteles on the other, was hardly one-sided. The Lesser States, through their Junior Senators, successfully traded their votes-by-proxy amongst Senior Senator's delegations, and were capable of denying a Voting Power's Senior Senator from being seated by withdrawing sufficient support (constitutional conventions in the Senate mandated that a Senior Senator maintain basic confidence by his supporters). Reflecting this practice and the legal name for the body, though technically incorrect, "Congress" began to refer to the entire body, and "the Senate" to the working minority of Senior Senators.

The Senate was considered the highest organ of government. Indeed, upon the Republic’s founding, a loud minority of Founders, the so-called Anarchy Worlds - distrusted any attempt to divest the legislature of direct authority. The Anarchy Plan (as it was named by a polemic by famous Federalist and constitutional theorist Dr. Publius Hamiltoni) called for the a Senate which would be vested with ultimate and direct authority in legislative, executive, and judicial affairs. The Federalist faction succeeded in winning over the great majority with claims that this “confusion of powers” and lack of permanent independent government would “leave the state without a head.” Accordingly, the Senate ended up occupying only the supreme legislative role, but remained the dominant party at the apex of the Republic. The Supreme Chancellor had to both be elected to fix terms, and also maintain the confidence of the Senate during his terms. The Government had to be responsible to the Senate, and all senior appointments had to be subject to Senatorial scrutiny and confirmation (some appointments, like those of diplomats, were subject to a greater deal of scrutiny and power than was customary in presidential political systems; some theorists such as Shāhanshāh have gone so far to claim that in certain areas the Senate shares the chieftaincy of state). The Senate maintained strong supervisory roles over the Justice and Defense functions of the Republic. And aspects of the Anarchy Plan can still be seen in certain legal areas (for example, original jurisdiction over cases of crimes against sapience belongs to the Senate itself, which typically in law delegated this responsibility to the appropriate courts, but it did not belong to the judiciary as a matter of fundamental law; as a result Master Jedi Knight Ulic Qel-Droma was brought by the Jedi Inquistion before the Congress for a direct trial). Similarly, the could appoint a (non-partisan) commission of Senators to receive diplomats with the Supreme Chancellor (even against his will), arguably contrary to the Supreme Chancellor’s responsibility for heading the state.

The Senate was associated with great honor and circumstance, befitting their position as the dominant organ of government. While the Senate Rotunda was considered the center of galactic governance, the Great Senate Hall (capable of holding a full convocation of the Senate, unlike the Rotunda, which managed the day-to-day working minority) was considered one of the Wonders of the Galaxy. It sat at the end of Founders' Avenue, amid the great plazas and statues commemorating the Founders of the Republic and the Framers of the Constitution. The Senate directly commissioned a Sergeant-of-Arms, who was command-in-chief and administrative head of the Senate Guard, an elite body whose role was to protect the Senate collectively from threats or disruptions and the Senators, individually, wherever they were. The Senate Guards were superbly trained, and a tenure in the Senate Guards was sure to land Guardsman lucrative opportunities in private security contracting, a second career of service in the Military Establishment, or in the Security Forces. Not that the Guardsman needed it to survive after a term of service, because any Guardsman discharged with honors was granted handsome pension. Also subject to the Sergeant-at-Arms’ authority was the Union Capital District Police and Gendarmerie (the Executive and Judiciary commissioned their own police forces to patrol the immediate grounds, but relied upon the UCDP&G for general defense and maintenance of law and order), whose job it was to enforce law and order within the grounds of the galactic government, and which was bound to defend the Senate at all costs should the Capital District ever come under attack.

Senators were appointed by their member states according to their own customs and legal traditions, subject only to broad standards and requirements by the electoral laws and guarantees by the Republic to the sapience population. They were very prestigious appointments, and often competed with the head of state or government of the member state for prestige. They had some ability to interfere on their accord with Republic government and assets within their constituency (reflecting the theory that the Republic received its power and sovereignty from, and with the consent of, the member states). Senior senators had to mind a complex web of gentlemen’s agreements, treaties, compromises, and ad hoc deals in order to maintain the confidence of his “Support” (in Senatorial jargon) or affiliated Junior Senators, as required by Senatorial constitutional conventions. However the rewards were very great: a Senior Senator might effectively speak and vote for an entire sector’s or even region’s worth of member states, and accordingly were considered more powerful than all the leaders of individual states but the leaders of the Great Powers, despite ranking below all of them on the order of precedence. Junior Senators continued to serve even while “loaned” (referring to their conditional “loan” of their vote to a Senior Senator), and continued to wrangle political deals amongst Senior Senators and applied their influence in the various Devolved Governments. Senators were entitled to be referred to as “Senator” for life. Retired senators were often still traders of favors in galactic politics, and some retired senators managed to gain strong if unclear influence as elder statesmen. These “senators emerati” traded their connections and familiarity with Coruscant politics and culture to in-comers, who then owed the Emerti favors for their other clients and homeworld. As retired Senator for the Republic of Eastreijk and Senior Senator for the Pylex Commons, Iulius Cracchus von und zu Irk-ra-Gen V was so bold to say, “the Senate-in-law is composed only of those Senators who are in the business of casting votes; the Senate-in-fact is larger, informal, and the Senate-in-law is subordinate to it.”

The Associate Delegations were the other major party to galactic deliberation and legislation. Junior to the Senators, they piggy-backed off their delegations...

Despite the opaque, indirect, and somewhat aristocratic character and means of representation for the galactic populace in the Senate, it served a needed function and consistently well enough that it survived for over twenty-five thousand years...

The Jedi Order

The Jedi Order is an ancient and pan-galactic society devoted to the light side of the Force, its philosophical study and practical applications. While they are scarcely understood, phenomena traditionally ascribed to the Force are repeatable and independently verifiable. Nevertheless, the Order adheres to a mystical philosophy and a dogmatic code of morality and conduct. For this reason, scholars and historians have traditionally classified the Jedi Order as a Force cult; one of the so-called "true religions", or those centered on an unscientific study of the very real phenomena known as the Force. The legendary virtue and heroism of its members combined with its undeniable history of applying the Force both safely and effectively (a history not shared by competing philosophies) have helped to make the Jedi Order the galaxy's dominant Force cult. Their interpretation of the Force is generally accepted as "correct" by the galaxy at large. Due to its role in the foundation of the Galactic Republic and its function in the defense and maintenance thereof, the Jedi Order enjoys considerable power and influence within the Republic Authority, while remaining technically independent of said government. The Jedi have a standing mandate to explore the galaxy, defend the Republic from external threats, expand (through peaceful means) its sphere of influence, mediate domestic and international disputes, recruit from among the citizenry, regulate the study, knowledge and practice of Force-related abilities and to enforce law and order within Republic territory; a mandate that has not been altered since the Republic was established over twenty-four thousand years ago.

History

Unfortunately, the precise origins of the Jedi Order have been lost to prehistory. Jedi scholars and secular archaeologists alike have posited a great many competing and hotly-contested hypotheses on the matter. Most probably, the Order cannot trace its beginnings to any one philosophy, religion or group in any one era or location. Instead, they were inspired by a great many groups of prehistoric Force magi like the Chatos Paladins and the Dai Bendu Monks. Indeed, the eponymous, eight-spoked roundel of the Order of Dai Bendu has come to symbolize galactic unity and features heavily in both Jedi and Republic iconography.

The modern and mature form of the Jedi Order predates the Galactic Republic by at least two thousand years and archaeological evidence points to an Order that is more ancient still. The first indisputable accounts are those of the Force Wars of Tython, a nigh-mythical, Deep Core planet where scientists and philosophers from across the galaxy gathered to study the Ashla, or light side of the Force. An inevitable conflict arose between the Jedi and those who became corrupted by the Bogan, or dark side of the Force. Due to an appalling lack of contemporary evidence and an abundance of contradictory accounts, the Force Wars are (understandably) dismissed by most secular and even Jedi scholars as the genesis of the modern Order. Instead, those who maintain that they actually occurred consider them a precursor to the First Great Schism, an interstellar war between the Jedi and their sworn enemies; the various groups of dark side magi.

The First Great Schism was itself part and symptomatic of the Unification Wars. The pre-Republic Jedi were defined by their violent opposition to dark side witches and heretical sects of their own cult. Thus, the Jedi quickly became known as chivalrous heroes; the saviors and protectors of peace-loving peoples throughout the galaxy. It was as much by the cruelty and barbarism of their enemies as it was by their own merits that they acquired this reputation. The Jedi were in a perfect position to unite the Great Powers of the Core and their allies against the Anti-Unification Alliance and its barbarian pawns. They did so, and found that while numerous, their enemies were as disorganized as they were dissolute. What began as an alliance of necessity for the survival of civilization would eventually become the Galactic Republic. With the Jedi to stand vigil as the eternal guardians of peace and justice, the future of civilization was assured.

Recruitment, Training and Placement

By law, membership in the Jedi Order is voluntary. Individuals suspected to possess potential are identified at birth by routine medical tests. In eukaryotic species, this is done by performing a count of midi-chlorians per cell. An individual's midi-chlorian count is positively-correlated with latent Force abilities, but a battery of further tests are required for confirmation. These tests are performed by the recruiting Knight or officer of the Inquisition. If the presence of genuine ability is confirmed, the individual is, with the written consent of their legal guardians, inducted into the Jedi Order at the age of seven.

Training takes place in one of two ways; the first is for Knights of Master level to take on the initiate as their personal apprentice. The second is for the initiate to attend a Jedi academy or praxeum. Apprentice Jedi and academy students are called Padawans and, in addition to their studies, serve their masters and/or the Order itself as pages until they reach the legal age of majority for their species. Padawans old enough for military service act as squires in the direct support of Knights in the field, or begin to assume the responsibilities of their occupational specialty. Republic law mandates that they receive a full primary and secondary education in addition to their martial and occupational training. Most also complete a baccalaureate-level tertiary education or better.

Occupational placement is partly determined by the needs of the Order and partly by the talents and temperaments of the individual Padawan. Squires under the charge of a Knight can only become a Knight, while academy-trained Padawans have a wider range of specializations available to them. Jedi that pursue a less generalized career can begin their specialized training as early as fourteen and as late as eighteen. All Jedi carry lightsabers and have some degree of martial skill, even if they never see combat.

Knights

The martial arm of the Jedi Order, the Swift Sword and Invincible Shield of the Galactic Republic, the Jedi Knights are the finest warriors in the galaxy. While masters of swordsmanship and known for their gleaming, plastoid body armor, Jedi Knights are savants at battle in any medium. Infantry, armor, aviation, marksmanship, reconnaissance, infiltration and special forces; Jedi Knights can do it all and do it better than even the most gifted Force-blind individual. Knights-errant act on their own or with/in support of other Knights-errant. Others are dispatched on missions by the Temple, either alone or in support of Republic military operations.

Still others serve in the Armed Forces of the Republic on active duty; with most of these being special forces or naval aviators. As one would expect, many Knights move on to occupy command roles. These are the Jedi Generals and their powers of telepathy and precognition have allowed them to lead the armies and fleets of the Republic to victory time and again. Jedi Generals are specialists in battle meditation, a skill that allows them to coordinate and inspire their troops to an extent that would otherwise be impossible.

Apothecaries

Apothecaries are masters of alchemy (Force-assisted, trans-elemental chemistry) and psychometabolism, making them physicians and pharmacologists without peer. While a Jedi Apothecary cannot do anything that modern medicine cannot, they can do so anywhere and at any time. This makes them invaluable on the battlefield or at the scene of an epidemic or natural disaster; especially in circumstances of critical time or scarce resources. Apothecaries are also employed in planetary terraforming and reclamation efforts. In addition to their preternatural abilities, Jedi apothecaries are almost always fully-trained biologists or conventional physicians.

The Temple

The Temple is the guiding light of the Order and Temples of various sizes and dispositions can be found on most worlds in the Republic. The primary role of the Temple is to coordinate and support Knights in the field and to liaise with the Republic Authority and local governments. Understandably, very few Temples can maintain a permanent cadre of Jedi. Instead, these facilities are staffed by lay servants, Force-blind acolytes who are the lifeblood of the Order's organizational bureaucracy and support infrastructure. The size of a Jedi Temple depends on the world's relative importance and can range from humble shrines sequestered in the alcoves of government buildings to the ecumenical Temple on Coruscant, a virtual city unto itself.

Those large enough to warrant a permanent Jedi detachment often double as academies, archives or headquarters for the Council and Inquisition. Knights assigned to a Temple specifically to ensure its security are called Templars. Specialist members of the permanent compliment are styled and self-styled by a range of names varying by local tradition, specific function and personal preference. These Jedi serve a much more intellectual role, and can be known as scholars, scientists, philosophers, magi, priests, monks and numerous other academic and mystical titles. The same is true for the individual Temples and their leaders.

In addition to its intra-Order support functions, the Temple provides valuable social services to their local communities. On less developed worlds, the Temple can take on an almost missionary disposition, providing food, clothing, medicine and education to worlds outside the Republic or on the fringe of its effective influence.

The Inquisition

Almost all Jedi and their acolytes are seen as saints; intrinsically noble and honorable servants of light, the guardians of peace and justice. While those on the wrong side of the Order's attentions would disagree, to the galaxy at large, the Jedi are almost universally revered. Conversely, no one likes the Inquistion, not even most Jedi. Some respect it, others fear it, still more hate it, but fondness for the organization is not something that is found outside its walls. Even after twenty-four thousand years of tireless service, the Inquisition is merely tolerated by the Republic. Tolerated and accepted as necessary to contain the very real dangers of the dark side of the Force.

The Inquisition serves to regulate the knowledge, teaching and practice of the Force. By Republic law, all religions are protected and dark side cults are no exception. Alternative beliefs in the Force are tolerated by both the Jedi and the Republic Authority. Alternative practices are not. Jedi Inquisitors and their subordinate agents hunt down and prosecute the myriad groups of practicing witches, heretics, schismatics and apostates. The Inquisition is also responsible for the discovery and surveillance of potential Jedi recruits. While the Order prefers to have Knights or less odious specialists do the actual recruiting, it is almost always the Inquisition who is first to learn of a potential initiate. Those whose person or guardians refuse to join the Order are thoroughly yet discreetly monitored by the Inquisition for the rest of their lives.

The Inquisition is also the internal police and judiciary of the Order, which prefers to handle its problems internally. Particularly infamous and egregious offenders are usually remanded to Republic custody.

The Galactic Balance of Power

The Galactic Balance of Power refers to the international system of political entities; in previous epochs the anarchic system featured fully-sovereign and freely-interacting states, but this has been rendered obsolescent since the maturation of the Galactic Union and the formation of the Galactic Republic. As such, international relations are now characterized by an institutionalized and legally regulated system. However, discrete categories of political actors can still be defined. It is nearly universally accepted that the galactic civilization has reached a near-stable, near-equilibrium configuration that will persist for all reasonable, foreseeable time periods.

SUPERPOWER

The dominant powers of the galaxy, bestriding the galaxy like a colossus, are the superpowers. Since shortly before the formation of the Republic and the legal foundation of the Union, the vast majority of history has been characterized by a unipolar balance of power, with a single, unopposed superpower. This power is the strongest guiding force of the Galactic Union, and as such has always been the reigning federal government. Relations between it and the other powers and states is legally codified and institutionalized in the federal governing system. For the vast majority of its history, the Republic Authority, the federal government of the Galactic Republic, was the galactic superpower (briefly superceded by the Imperial State, and the New Republic Government - now renamed the Republic Authority). Unopposed and unchallenged, it was also dubbed a hyperpower or hegemon. Periodically threats or decline diminished its standing or power, but it remained a force to be reckoned with throughout its history. Most questions of international relations are, “how can we do x while not upsetting Coruscant?”*

Although the central government technically had no statehood or base of power in its own right - in theory it was purely a creature of the member states for governing the Galactic Union -, the fact remains that the central government often had an agenda of its own, and an informal power base in its judiciary, bureaucracy, and armed services that protected the central government’s prerogatives and often pursued policies at odds with the class interests of the member states, just as was feared by the Anarchy Worlds. Furthermore, its paramountcy over the member states and its legal supremacy, as well as its considerable constitutional mandate to guarantee peace and order in the galaxy gave it considerable clout in confrontations with the member states. Member states who violated citizens of their basic rights and guarantees, invaded another member, or sponsored terrorism or piracy could be subject to check by the central government’s awesome military might. A member state invaded could suffer humiliating regime change or even, in extreme cases, dissolution.

Another strong tool was the mandate system. The vast majority of discrete political entities in the Galactic Union were not self-governing in their own right and had no sovereignty (though Organic Acts granted by the Senate over the mandates and other territories directly administered by the central government directly typically granted self-government and relative autonomy in domestic affairs). The majority were organized and governed according to the mandate system, where the central government retained basic legal rights to, and control over, the territories, but could grant responsibility and discretion over them to individual member states, which it did in most cases. The ability of the central government to strip a recalcitrant or illegally behaving member state of its mandates and retain, or worse yet, grant them to a neighbor or rival, was a powerful incentive to mind its unique and dominant role in galactic affairs.

GREAT POWERS

The great powers are among the oldest states and loci of power in the galaxy. Many of the great powers were associated with the formation of the Republic and the last series of wars that marked the birth pangs of Union. However, many founding powers have since slid into irrelevance or even oblivion, and newcomers have joined the first ranks of powers. Nearly all great powers (some qualify the strongest of unincorporated powers as great powers, regardless of their lack of direct, institutional political participation) are represented in the Senate, and represent some of the largest and best-disciplined clienteles or caucuses of loyal junior senators loaning votes-by-proxy. Many of them are ensconced in Sector or even Regional Governments which are largely their creatures (the casual identification of the Corellian State with the Corellian Sector Government comes to mind). The great powers are defined by their ability to resist political pressure and aggression from other great powers - even in coalition - without fear. The great powers are often well-identified with one or more Old Families which have steered their destiny for millennia. The Organas and the Antilles of Alderaan. The Tagges of Tepasi. The Corrinos of Kaitan. The Kuats of Kuat. However, it should not be understood that the great powers were but mere creatures of Old Families (though this was certainly near to the truth in examples such as the Tagges and Tepasi): the Valorums were scions of many worlds - the Eriadu Valorums were rivals of the Tarkins of Eriadu -; the Kuats had to contend with their Kuati brethren, formidible Families and Great Patricians in their own right,; and the Organas and Antillies maintained a healthy competition, but despite their participation and leadership, in Alderaanian politics, it was by all accounts a healthy liberal democracy. Great powers, like many of their associated Old Families, ranged from benign advocates of unity, democracy, sapient rights, free expression, and high and equitable living standards like the Kingdom of Alderaan, to haughty citadels of privilege such as Kuat, to galactic robber barons like the Federal Republic of Wukkar.

The great powers were frequently at the center of constellations of great influence both seen and unseen. Apart from the obvious dominance they exerted within their Sector and Regional Governments, great powers frequently more indirectly exerted influence through non-political means. Kuat (contrary to popular belief, the official name of the state), for example, obviously directed influence by being home to the largest single starshipwright in the galaxy, and one hosting of the largest multistellars (the eponymous Kuat Drive Yards, whose hereditary CEO from the Kuat Family typically served several terms as one of the Consuls of Kuat). The Corellian State dominated many of the foremost mercantile and shipping firms in the galaxy. Of course, there were great exceptions to these generalities. The Tapani Federation (and the Greater Tapani Empire before that) shied away from the messy struggles of senatorial politics, and frequently loaned their votes and clientele to senators of neighboring sectors. The Lords of Expanse often considered themselves too aristocratic and olympian to get their hands dirty in day-to-day affairs of state, and despite their considerable wealth, resources, and standing, refrained from plying their advantage in the markets and other public spheres of influence. Nevertheless, consistent surveys show that the Great Powers. together with their clienteles or Spheres (as the associated states are commonly and collectively called), collectively account for 20-25% of the galactic gross domestic product, some 30-35% of heavy industrial output, and 20% of the galactic population despite accounting for less than 5% of Republic member states (with the Great Powers individually accounting for an infinitesimal .08% of the galactic member states).


Coming...the Regional Powers, Local Powers, and Minor States, as well as the wild-cards of the Non-Self-Governing Territories and the Unincorporated Polities.

*Thanks goes to Stuart Slade, from whom this quote was paraphrased from his essay on international relations in his formidable TheBigOneVerse (TBOverse), on his History, Politics, and Current Affairs (HPCA) forum.

I think the Sith as best dubbed as "schismatics" (they don't actually deny many Jedi doctrines, just they deliberately use the Force and the dark side in particular for power), whereas the Heresiarchs and the Potentium are the obvious heretics. Most schismatics are also heretics, but I think the precise distinction is useful in distinguishing the Sith.

Hints and ideas to expand what I already wrote are very welcome and encouraged. I tend to expend what I had on my mind in a quick burst, and I'm looking to flesh out and complete.

Do the Sith automatically have to be some secret order of eeeeevil mustache-twirling Force users? Why not let them be more akin to the House Slytheran of Star Wars? That is, darkish, but not necessarily some order of villians bent on destroying the Jedi and dominating the galaxy.

Ultimately, they're not evil for evil's sake, really. (Though arguably, Palpatine is, but as it bears repeating, Palpatine is special.) They're (Palpatine's Sith, anyway) Jedi schismatics who believe that the purpose of the Force is to exert power and to create order. They see the galaxy as disorganized and self-destructive, a nihilistic mass of equilibrium transitional forms and disorganization. They aim to reorganize it into ordered uniformity. They believe Force-sensitives represent a fundamentally superior order of sapient relative to the sapient biomass. They believe not in institutions or in impersonal historical trends, but action, will, and vision by uebermenschen (which they idealize themselves as). They abhor the Jedi because they see them as having prevented the natural evolution of the galaxy for millennia with their philosophy of service and subordination to democratic principles and institutions. They are also gnostic, believing that knowledge is power, and this is a philosophical source of their pathological concealment (betraying their identity to the outside is giving knowledge - thus power - away for nothing).

Palpatine really thinks everyone will be better off when he's assimilated them into himself, and he thinks that the galaxy will have matured.

Now ancient Sith? Future Sith? Who knows. Of course even within the scope of this project, I want to tone down the Sith as the constant recurring sole enemies of the Jedi. There are, after all, organized groups like the Nightsisters, Krath, and Heresiarchs. There are schismatics to the Sith themselves, like Prophets of the Dark Side. And of course, there are ambiguous Force cults like the Potentium and the Fallanassi and the Witches of Dathomir (aside from the Nightsisters). And then there are mundane dark Jedi (who can be smart enemies, does everyone need his own secret order and tomes and plots and such? what about just being clever and sadistic?). Then there are autodidactic Force adepts and tiny or monastic or shamanistic cults and traditions.

For Hapes, may I make the suggestion to fit it to be sort of like the UAE in the real world, which is to say that its only real noteworthy attribute is that it has an insanely high (relatively speaking) GDP per capita for its citizens on a galactic scale?

As for the Sith, I think it would be better to have the Sith have some sort of common lore (no need for actual succession) to differentiate them from more generic dark siders.

One should distinguish between the ambiguous "Sith" and the Banite "Order of the Sith Lords" to which Palpatine belongs. Lumiya, fanboy wretch that she is, is a Sith but not a Sith Lord of the Order of the Sith Lords. The Prophets of the Dark Side are a Sith cult, but they are not part of the Order of the Sith Lords, rather, an independent schismatic cult descended from the latter.

Do the Sith have to be Jedi offshoots? Can't they have simply arose on another world eons in the past separately from the Jedi? IOW, they aren't inherently evil, but their ways would inevitably clash with those of the Jedi.

They're supposed to be the opposites of the Jedi. Why change the Sith when there are plenty of other dark side cults to choose from, or can just be invented? The blood feud between the Jedi and Sith is interesting to me as well. Of course, as I've said repeatedly, I'm toning down the whole "Jedi and Sith as evil opposites locked in a permanent struggle rehashed again, and again, and again." And who says schism from the Jedi means they're inherently evil? The Jedi aren't inherently good with us, either. They just try to do a good job. They also piss a lot of people off along the way. And as for the Sith, well they hold long grudges, and the Jedi are just also direct obstacles for their philosophy. Naked lust for power and domination over the weak doesn't have to be absurd and incredible (in the original sense). The Nazis really existed, for example.

Illuminatus Primus wrote:Now ancient Sith? Future Sith? Who knows. Of course even within the scope of this project, I want to tone down the Sith as the constant recurring sole enemies of the Jedi. There are, after all, organized groups like the Nightsisters, Krath, and Heresiarchs. There are schismatics to the Sith themselves, like Prophets of the Dark Side. And of course, there are ambiguous Force cults like the Potentium and the Fallanassi and the Witches of Dathomir (aside from the Nightsisters). And then there are mundane dark Jedi (who can be smart enemies, does everyone need his own secret order and tomes and plots and such? what about just being clever and sadistic?). Then there are autodidactic Force adepts and tiny or monastic or shamanistic cults and traditions.

And, not to forget, the Aing-Tii, the Necrons of SW.

Hoth, what do you think of my work on the balance of power and the ruling class so far? Any recommendations?

Some quickly written fluff on the Jedi Order, specifically its leadership:


The Grand Master
The Grand Master of the Order of the Knights of Jedi was the supreme leader of the Order and the ruler of its estates. Elected by the acclaim of the High Council for an indefinite period, he typically served for life – the honour of an appointment was often viewed as too great to relinquish, although there were rare exceptions, such as when Grand Master Hermann, Lord Hoth resigned his position in favour of the Prince Valenthyne of the House of Farfalla upon leading the doomed “Charge of the Ten Thousand” upon the heretic Lord Kaan’s lines at Ruusan. A Grand Master frequently appointed his successor; although such a statement was formally only a recommendation to the High Council, strong custom required this body to honour such requests – not one exception has been recorded to this rule.

In his duties, the Grand Master represented the Order before the Supreme Chancellor and President of the Galactic Republic and was required to report to him, as part of the intricately regulated relationship between the State and the Order Militant; while many Grand Masters resented this mostly ceremonial function and in practice dealt with the Republic Authority through the Diplomatic Service and their own appointed Ambassadors, as better befitted a de facto independent polity of the Order’s importance, several formed cordial relationships with the Chancellors of their time, reporting to them in person as tradition had originally had it and becoming their close advisors. One notable such relationship was that of Grand Master Ferdinand, Lord Yoda and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, in the twilight days of the Republic.

In addition to such functions, the Grand Master was the undisputed ruler of the Order, with its myriad Knights and their fiefs and protectorates. He was the Supreme Commander of the Order’s formidable military forces, and all its soldiers where required to take an oath of allegiance to him in person, above and beyond their pledges of fealty to individual Knights or Masters, as were all true members of the Order upon knighting. Only he, together with the High Council, had ultimate jurisdiction over the full Knights and Masters of the Order, except in such cases when the Senate of the Republic chose to exercise its legal prerogative over them – something that happened rarely, but was not unheard of; a famous example would be the trial of Ulic Qel-Droma, the Prince of Koros. Furthermore, he was in ultimate control of the much larger, non-militant segments of the Order’s organisation and bureaucracy, such as the Mission, and through its Synod, the Church of the Living Force Triumphant, which tended to those of the galaxy’s adherents to the religion of Jedi who were not themselves Force-sensitive. Finally, the Grand Master ruled the Estates of the Order, or the states under its direct control (as opposed to those held by its vassals), most famously its throneworld, the library-fortress of Akkara in the Coruscant Sector.

While the Grand Master’s power was great in absolute terms, his influence was greater still. His word carried a weight greater than that which the purely economic and military might of the Order – though arguably a Great Power in and of itself – would have supported. To most of the quadrillions of adherents to the Living Force faith, he was a quasi-religious figure, and they tended to obey his suggestions when they were voiced. In addition, the dual status of many prominent knightly families as kings and nobles in their own right, many ruling prosperous Core and Colonies worlds, ensured that the Order never stood without political allies. (In fact, since these princes and lords of Jedi were as bound by vows of fealty as their non-landed Knight-Brethren, it is arguable that many of these polities were, in fact, vassals of the Order rather than strictly independent powers.) One should also take note of the immense “soft power” carried by the Grand Master personally, as opposed to that of his office; only the most prestigious and powerful members of the Order would be considered for this most exalted position. This, combined with the authority of the rank as such, meant that in many instances, official orders were not required for his will to be carried out. It is thus no wonder that political science traditionally held the Grand Master to be the second most powerful single individual in the galaxy.

However, few Grand Masters chose to exercise their powers in full – understandably so, as their myriad duties would then have either swamped them or slowed down the workings of the Order. A few very energetic leaders, such as the aforementioned Lord Hoth, have the proven exceptions, but overall much of the Grand Master’s power was delegated to his immediate inferiors. For example, day to day rule of the throneworld was accorded the Marshall of Akkara, widely considered the Order’s second most powerful man, and the Synod rarely required his direct participation. The Lord Captain General usually tended to the Order’s forces, while the Lord Chaplain monitored its more monastic subdivisions. Notably, the Inquisition led a quasi-autonomous existence under its own leadership, headed by the Grand Inquisitor; relations between this organisation, much different in character from the pomp and circumstance of the Order proper, and the central authority was sometimes strained, although there are examples of amiable relationships between Grand Inquisitors and Grand Masters, such as that of Lord Yoda and Mace, Lord Windu in the last days of the Order.


The High Council
The Tribunal of the Grand Conclave of the Order of the Knights of Jedi, often colloquially referred to simply as the High Council, was the presidium of the rarely assembled Grand Conclave, a mostly ceremonial body that comprised, among others, all the Chapter Masters of the Order and was rendered impractical already in the early days of its development due to its rapid expansion. It ruled the affairs of the Order and served as an advisory board – as well as a mechanism of check and balance – to the Grand Master of the Order.

The High Council had twelve members, in addition to the Grand Master, who chaired it. Four members qualified by their office: the Marshall of Akkara; the Lord Captain General of the Soldiers of Jedi; the Lord Chaplain of the Cloistered Orders of Jedi; and the Grand Inquisitor of the Inquisition of the Knights of Jedi. These were its most powerful and influential seats, second only to the Grand Master himself, and their vote carried weight disproportionate to their numbers; in particular, the Grand Inquisitor, though often not well liked, wielded great influence. The other members were great Masters appointed by their peers, always men of past heroic deeds and ancient knightly lines, rarely ones not past their first century in age. Such an appointment was usually considered the pinnacle of achievement in the Order, indeed one of the greatest honours in all the galaxy, and it was construed as a great insult – a heresy, almost – when Dooku, Count of Serenno refused to accept a seat on the Council when appointed; such insolence was unheard of, and the incident likely played a major part in his later renouncing his vows and leaving the Order.

The High Council served as the supreme authority of the Order, monitoring and aiding the Grand Master in the exercising of his rights and duties, both in the governance of the Order and its estates. It controlled the Order’s treasury and operational budget, as well as its foreign and domestic policy, and exercised rights of oversight of the Order’s own armed forces. Most prominently, the High Council appointed the Grand Master (though often at the recommendation of his predecessor) and was the only legal authority with the right to depose him; however, this required unanimous acclaim, and this particular privilege was never utilised by an independently functioning High Council. The High Council also served as the supreme judicial authority of the Order, convening as a court to sentence egregious criminals within the Order; in such cases, the Grand Inquisitor would serve as prosecutor, with the Grand Master and the other senior members judging and the lesser appointment filling the function of a jury. On rare occasions, such criminals were instead deemed to fall under the jurisdiction of the Republic Authority proper; this caused resentment among more independently minded Knights.

Generally, however, the High Council did little to interfere in the locally run Chapters of the Knights Jedi, which were broadly self-governing within a federative structure not entirely unlike that of the Galactic Republic itself. To an extent, this was due to the voluntary coordination efforts of the Chapter Councils themselves – lesser entities modelled on the High Council, frequently controlling Jedi activities in areas roughly equivalent to (though rarely entirely contiguous with) Republic Sectors – but the High Council also allowed them a great degree of independence and rarely interceded over minor deviancies; they were, however, theoretically mere administrative subdivisions, not governments in and of themselves, and the High Council did reserve for itself the right of intervention in cases of outright disloyalty and heresy, as it did against Chapter Master Assad, Lord Kaan and what would eventually become the Brotherhood of Darkness. Notably, the Inquisition’s parallel structure also monitored the local Chapters.

In addition to its governmental and judicial functions, the High Council served a religious role within the Order and its subservient Church by claiming pre-eminency of interpretation of religious texts and commandments, most prominently the Code of Jedi itself, a massive collection of regulations and codes of chivalric conduct, many archaic and other seemingly arbitrary or contradictory (such as the ruling from 28,044 BrS that Knights of Jedi should wear only homespun robes, or the more recent commandment from 24,582 BrS that Knights should not eat fish more than once a week; both were more or less uniformly ignored). It could not change these commandments – this required the formal convention of the Grand Conclave – but the material was ambiguous enough to allow for differing interpretations, depending on climate. Doctrinal conflicts were rare, but nevertheless occurred; for example, the expulsion without persecution of the schismatic Potentium sect caused much resentment within the Order, both among its detractors and its supporters.

The High Council and the Grand Master were in theory supposed to complement and aid each other, and in practice, this was often their relationship. As such, the division of power between them remained fairly unimportant for the greater part of their history. There were, however, times when a Grand Master and his High Council found themselves working at cross purposes, such as during Lord Hoth’s crusade against the Brotherhood of Darkness. The High Council disagreed with Hoth’s aggressive strategy, refusing to grant him the forces he required; Hoth in turn then drew upon the Knights-Vassal and their forces, whose allegiance was ultimately to him and over whom the Council had no direct authority. By far the greatest schism was instigated by Grand Master Ajantis, Lord Revan, millennia earlier, when he and his supporters collectively resigned from the Order after a similar dispute, effectively splitting it in twain. In the time since, additional checks on the Grand Master’s power have been instituted.


Thoughts?

Illuminatus Primus wrote:Hoth, what do you think of my work on the balance of power and the ruling class so far? Any recommendations?

Nothing major; I agree overall with how you portray them. (Is Corrino of Kaitan a reference to Dune, by the way?) The one thing it got me thinking about is Coruscant's (and the Republic Authority's) power. First, is Coruscant a power and member state in and of itself, separate from the Authority? Or is it merely the seat of government, akin to Washington, D.C.? Likewise, how independent an entity is the Republic Authority? I imagine the current administration at any one point would remain loyal to its homeworld and region; power and identity on the federal plane appears weak till the emergence of the Empire (or arguably the Clone Wars and the centralisations that would be a result thereof). This might be different in times of strong government, if we extend the cyclical thing to how government acts and is perceived. I could also think that various "apolitical" agencies and civil servants would have their own agendas, not always necessarily in accordance with those of the current administration.

Darth Hoth wrote:Nothing major; I agree overall with how you portray them. (Is Corrino of Kaitan a reference to Dune, by the way?)

Yup.

Darth Hoth wrote:The one thing it got me thinking about is Coruscant's (and the Republic Authority's) power. First, is Coruscant a power and member state in and of itself, separate from the Authority?

Yes. The Republic of Coruscant is its own state. Though there is a considerable Republic Authority district where it hold sovereignty. And usual grants of diplomatic immunity planetwide to the Senatorial delegations, etc.

Darth Hoth wrote:Or is it merely the seat of government, akin to Washington, D.C.? Likewise, how independent an entity is the Republic Authority? I imagine the current administration at any one point would remain loyal to its homeworld and region; power and identity on the federal plane appears weak till the emergence of the Empire (or arguably the Clone Wars and the centralisations that would be a result thereof). This might be different in times of strong government, if we extend the cyclical thing to how government acts and is perceived. I could also think that various "apolitical" agencies and civil servants would have their own agendas, not always necessarily in accordance with those of the current administration.

I wanted to point out that most issues are debatable. In the case of the Anarchy Worlds, some of what they were afraid of did happen. On the other hand, I am speaking in generalities. The Republic Authority is much weaker and much more a creature of the member states without identity of its own than the Imperial State. However, I do imagine its gone through "strong" phases, and it can assert itself. I can go back and qualify these things.

Illuminatus Primus wrote:Yes. The Republic of Coruscant is its own state. Though there is a considerable Republic Authority district where it hold sovereignty. And usual grants of diplomatic immunity planetwide to the Senatorial delegations, etc.

All right. I imagine it is a quite powerful state, then. What happens later, though? Does the Empire "Imperialise" it when they rename it "Imperial Centre", or is it still independent, though strangely named?

I wanted to point out that most issues are debatable. In the case of the Anarchy Worlds, some of what they were afraid of did happen. On the other hand, I am speaking in generalities. The Republic Authority is much weaker and much more a creature of the member states without identity of its own than the Imperial State. However, I do imagine its gone through "strong" phases, and it can assert itself. I can go back and qualify these things.

No need, I was just brainstorming. I imagine the Republic would be running a tighter ship in, say, times of war or economic crisis, and that its government woul be subject to evolutionary (if ultimately cyclical) changes.

What did you think of my fluff piece, by the way?

Might I suggest the Imperial Peerage have titles? Baron (peerage name of planet, IE 'Sand Haven' for the guy who's unlucky enough to be Baron of Tatooine), Countess Rendili, Grand Prince of Coruscant, etc.

The Peerage and Baronetage of the Galactic Empire

Peerage:

Grand Prince/Grand Princess of the Empire (reserved for the Imperial Family; styled His/Her Imperial Highness)

Prince/Princess of the Empire (Inner Circle retirees)

Grand Duke of the Empire (non-Inner Circle Ruling Council emeriti)

Duke/Duchess of the Empire (Lord Justice President of the Supreme Court; Lord President of the Council retirees, etc.)

Marquess/Marchioness of the Empire

Count/Countess of the Empire

Viscount/Viscountess of the Empire

Baron of the Empire

Baronetage:

Baronet of the Empire



Other notable titles:

Warlord of the Empire

Major medals:

Emperor's Will

Physical Astrography

"The Galaxy"

The general term by which the denizens of the Star Wars civilization refer to its self-contained home. Actually consists of a single grand-design or semi-grand design (2-4 spiral arms) spiral galaxy, its globular clusters, and satellite dwarf galaxies, and other gravitationally bound structures.

The primary

The primary consists of the spiral galaxy itself. The spiral galaxy consists of three distinct morphological components characterized by orbits and stellar populations. The bulge, the disk, and the halo.

The bulge

The bulge is the superficial "hub" of the galaxy. At its heart is a supermassive black hole massing in the billions of main-sequence stellar masses, surrounded by a very dense collection of stars and stellar corpses and an accretion disk that produces high-intensity radiation and shreds star systems. The bulge is characterized by very old, dim red stars and stellar corpses, orbiting in near-circular orbits around the black hole at every orientation (hence why it appears as a sphere). The bulge is very low in post-helium elements and lacks warm main-sequence stars. The handful which do exist will be migrants from the disk where gravitational disturbances sent them spiraling inwards. Density increases directly proportionally with distance from the core. Near the edge of the bulge, it is intersected by the disk.

The disk

The most interesting portion of the galactic system, the disk is a population of younger stars in elliptical orbits confined to a single plane. The metallicity of the disk is higher than the other components, and the distance between high-metallicity stars is much lower, and also the rate of star formation. The spiral arms are not actual discrete phenomena but the product of density waves caused by "bunching up" of stars along their orbits; their close proximity makes the arms more dense, brighter, which in turn causes bouts of star formation, further brightening them with short-lived young star populations. The density of the disk increases inversely proportionally with radial distance from the core, with latitudinal distance from the plane of rotation, and directly proportionally with the spiral structure. The disk gradually diffuses outward and exists beyond its visible components further out.

The halo

The halo exists outside the disk and bulge. It consists of a sparse population of old stars in elliptical orbits at random inclinations. Most of these stars are old and dim, but a handful will be former disk stars ejected by gravitational perturbations. Many of the stars may be remnants from collision events.

The satellites

Globular clusters

These congolmerations of tightly-packed stars orbit the center of the galaxy and are mostly very old, red stars that formed at the beginning of the galaxy's formation. Their mellaticity is very low. Any high-metallicity stars were likely captured from the disk. The higher-metallicity clusters are generally associated with bulge (orbit closer in), and the lower ones with the halo (orbit further out). Their cores may be dominated by intermediate-mass black holes in the many thousands of stellar masses.

Satellite dwarf galaxies

These galaxies are similar to normal ones but they are small and have low stellar populations, and orbit close to the primary spiral. They have their own central black holes. Spheroidal, elliptical, and irregular dwarfs are more common than well-defined dwarf spirals.

Galactic remnants

These are semi-defined whisps of stars and gas and other material looping to and from the galaxy and through the halo, relics of collision events between the primary and its own satellites or interloping galaxies.

The dark halo

A massive structure surrounding the galaxy, the dark halo is a nebulous and nearly-unobservable body of matter that contains 95% of the mass of the galactic system. The halo mostly likely consists of a minority of dark, compact objects which are difficult to observe (MACHOs, like starless planets) and a great majority of nebulous particles which do not interact readily with normal matter, confounding detection and observability (WIMPs).

Astrographical Implications

The formation of complex life will hinge on stable star systems around main-sequence stars with high metallicity. These will almost all be found in the disk of the primary. High metallicity and star formation (found further inward in the disk and in the spiral arms) will be correlated with the best locales to extract raw materials (likely from planetesimals in protoplanetary disks before their accretion into high-gravity large planets). Stellar corpses will be important for possibly energy harvesting and the manufacture of sophisticated technology (like repulsorlift coils in black hole-based factories). They will be more common in globular clusters and the bulge, but will also exist in the disk. The economics of governance, trade in goods and services, immigrations, etc. will be fundamentally effected by the relative distance between hubs of resources and worthwhile systems of habitation. Therefore the inner areas of the disk will be most suited to the heaviest level of habitation and development, gradually declining outward (and inward) until there is no worthwhile economical places to go in the halo, and islands low-intensity civilization clinging to the edges of globular clusters or throughout high-metallicity and star formation-rich satellite galaxies like an island archipelago. Some low-intensity development of globular clusters and the less dense and easily accessible regions of the bulge for stellar corpse exploitation may occur.

The Deep Core refers to the bulge, but the known and settled parts are pretty much limited to the outer regions and fringes, and the areas of the disk intersecting the bulge. The inner areas are hazardous (high radiation and risk of collision), poorly charted (gravitational pertubations can constantly alter these already irregular, short-duration orbits), and mostly devoid of useful or economic resources or places of interest.

The Core Worlds consists of the spoke of the spiral arms around the bulge, and has the best economics for governance, industry, resource extraction, trade, etc. It is the social heart of the galactic society.

The Colonies and Inner Rim are like the Core Worlds but a bit more diffuse and further out; fundamental economics tends to make these areas incrementally poorer than the Core Worlds.

The Expansion and Mid Rim are middle areas of the galaxy where many of the indigenous civilizations may have originated (perhaps a higher rate of indigenous peoples and societies than the more astronomically violent and compact Core Worlds). These areas may take a poor-economics, quaint backwater culture with emphasis on old heritage.

The Outer Rim is the fringe of civilization. Consisting of the outer tenous reaches of the disk and the nearly orbiting satellites, it has some of the poorest economics and poorest physical fundamentals for close relations and development relative to the Core.

Wild Space is unincorporated territories and territories which do not fit traditional organization (distantly orbiting satellites, settled and well-known halo stars above or below the plane of the disk, recently resettled supernovae-effected regions, etc.).

The Unknown Regions are those astrographical locations now out of practical contact and association with the main civilization and economy. They are not correctly marked or known on astrogation charts, and are incapable of being reached. Mostly lost anonymous halo stars diffuse through the void around the galaxy.

Here's an idea for a rank system, pretty provisional (I "stretched" the rank system, such that admirals and generals are still, relative to the scale of society, very high ranking officers, and a post captain still captains the main line warships - which keeping with Saxtonian scale should be very large - as opposed to just stacking on top; I developed this from discussions with Publius and consulting his notes):

ARMED FORCES OF THE IMPERIUM [AFI] (formerly, the Republic Military Establishment [RME], and succeeded by the New Republic Defense Forces [NRDF])

SUPREME COMMANDER

Supreme Commander Lord High Admiral/Lord High Constable/Lord High Marshal/Lord High Logothete (part of me would like there to be a common rank regardless of the original service of the SCAFI, maybe "Generalissimus of the Armed Forces"? Also an appropriate title if a civilian, with the courtesy style of "Lord.")

NAVY

Grand Admiral
Admiral of the Navy (special rank of the First Space Lord and Chief of Naval Operations [1SL/CNO])

O-18 Flag Admrial
O-17 Fleet Admiral
O-16 Admiral General
O-15 High Admiral
O-14 Admiral
O-13 Vice Admiral
O-12 Rear Admiral
O-11 Counter Admiral
O-10 Commodore
O-9 Line Captain
O-8 Captain
O-7 High Commander
O-6 Commander
O-5 Sub-commander
O-4 Lieutenant Commander
O-3 Lieutenant
O-2 Sub-lieutenant
O-1 Ensign
Officer Candidate Midshipman

CWO-5 Chief Warrant Officer 5
CWO-4 Chief Warrant Officer 4
CWO-3 Chief Warrant Officer 3
CWO-2 Chief Warrant Officer 2
WO-1 Warrant Officer 1

Senior Enlisted Advisor Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy?

E-9 Master Chief Petty Officer
E-8 Senior Chief Petty Officer
E-7 Chief Petty Officer
E-6 Petty Officer First Class
E-5 Petty Officer Second Class
E-4 Petty Officer Third Class
E-3 Spaceman
E-2 Spaceman Apprentice
E-1 Spaceman Recruit

ARMY

Surface/Field Marshal General?
Marshal General of the Armies (special rank of the Chief of the Imperial General Staff/Commander-in-chief of the Forces [CIGS/CINCFOR])

O-18 Surface/Field Marshal of the Armies
O-17 Surface/Field Marshal
O-16 Colonel General
O-15 High General
O-14 General
O-13 Lieutenant General
O-12 Major General
O-11 Brigadier General
O-10 Brigadier
O-9 High Colonel
O-8 Colonel
O-7 Sub-colonel
O-6 Lieutenant Colonel
O-5 High Major
O-4 Major
O-3 Captain
O-2 First Lieutenant
O-1 Second Lieutenant
Officer Candidate Cadet

CWO-5 Chief Warrant Officer 5
CWO-4 Chief Warrant Officer 4
CWO-3 Chief Warrant Officer 3
CWO-2 Chief Warrant Officer 2
WO-1 Warrant Officer 1

Senior Enlisted Advisor Sergeant Major of the Army?

E-9 Sergeant Major
E-8 Master Sergeant
E-7 Sergeant First Class
E-6 Staff Sergeant
E-5 Sergeant
E-4 Corporal
E-3 Private First Class
E-2 Private
E-1 Private Recruit

MARINES (I've thought of giving them sort of their own rank system, based on Drakian cases and some of Marina O'leary's use, this is the most provisional; also considered using the French system: "General of [unit type]," etc.)

Captain General of the Marines of the Empire (special rank of the Commandant General Imperial Marines [CGIM])

O-18 General of Marine of the Empire
O-17 General of Marine
O-16 Colonel General
O-15 High General
O-14 General
O-13 Lieutenant General
O-12 Major General
O-11 Brigadier General
O-10 Brigadier
O-9 High Colonel
O-8 Colonel
O-7 Sub-colonel
O-6 Lieutenant Colonel
O-5 High Major
O-4 Major
O-3 Captain
O-2 First Lieutenant
O-1 Second Lieutenant
Officer Candidate Midshipman

CWO-5 Chief Warrant Officer 5
CWO-4 Chief Warrant Officer 4
CWO-3 Chief Warrant Officer 3
CWO-2 Chief Warrant Officer 2
WO-1 Warrant Officer 1

Senior Enlisted Advisor Sergeant Major of the Marines?

E-9 Sergeant Major/Master Gunnery Sergeant
E-8 Master Sergeant/First Sergeant
E-7 Gunnery Sergeant
E-6 Staff Sergeant
E-5 Sergeant
E-4 [Lance?] Corporal
E-3 Trooper/Private First Class
E-2 Trooper/Private
E-1 Trooper/Private Recruit

INTELLIGENCE (highly theoretical, more or less entirely based of Publius' notes and speculation; I want to cite him especially here)

Director of Imperial Intelligence (special rank of the Superintendent General of the Ubiqtorate)

O-18 Executive Director General of Intelligence
O-17 Executive Director General
O-16 Director General
O-15 Executive Director
O-14 Director
O-13 Sub-director
O-12 Deputy Director
O-11 Assistant Director
O-10 Chief Inspector
O-9 High Inspector
O-8 Inspector
O-7 Sub-inspector
O-6 Assistant Inspector
O-5 Spectator Major
O-4 Spectator
O-3 Sub-spectator
O-2 Neotenant
O-1 Sub-neotenant
Officer Candidate ??Neotenant Candidate??Cadet??

CWO-5 Chief Warrant Officer 5
CWO-4 Chief Warrant Officer 4
CWO-3 Chief Warrant Officer 3
CWO-2 Chief Warrant Officer 2
WO-1 Warrant Officer 1

Senior Enlisted Advisor Master Technarch of Imperial Intelligence?

E-9 Master Technarch
E-8 Senior Technarch
E-7 Chief Technarch
E-6 Technarch First Class
E-5 Technarch Second Class
E-4 Technarch Third Class
E-3 Technician
E-2 Technician Apprentice
E-1 Technician Recruit

Languages:

Modern Galactic Standard, or Basic - the default language and everyday lingua franca.

Old Galactic Standard - an ancestor of modern Basic spoken in the earlier Republic, still of meaning in law and government (the Republic a common law regime) [roughly analogizable to Middle or Early Modern English].

Classical High Galactic - an ancient ruling class language and lingua franca of the Core and pre-Republic civilizations; the ancient canon of literature and law is in Classical High Galactic [roughly analogizable to Classical Latin].

Ecclesiastical High Galactic - a special Jedi and Force cultist descendent of Classical High Galactic, still employed as an official liturgical language, and the language of most Jedi literature [roughly analogizable to Church Latin].

Huttese - the native tongue of the Hutt species and a lingua franca of much of the Outer Rim.

Sith - the language of the Sith people and later, the liturgical language of the various Sith cults and sects.

Olys Corellysi - the old Corellian tongue, of importance in Corellian law and government and enjoy important if junior stature to Old Galactic and Classical High Galactic [analogizable to Koine Greek???].