Royal Integration Corps

"The "Everyone Love Rin Brigade"."

- Tariun Sakaros, on the Royal Integration Corps

The Royal Integration Corps was the primary and perhaps most important arm of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Integration in the Golden Empire. Created in response to the more than doubling of the Empire's size following the conquest of the Tetrarchy of Mezlagob in the Great Liberation, the RIC was tasked with helping the Empire's newly acquired worlds integrate to the Royal culture, and agents of the RIC had many responsibilities. Most notable among these was explaining the details of the Royal government to the existing leaders of new systems, especially as regarded the military, taxation system, government structure, and laws binding on all member systems. They were used to "smooth the transition" between whatever a system's previous state was and full, functioning membership in the Empire.

RIC officers often worked closely with Royal Consuls, especially on worlds which had not previously known a single government, and were all but partners with the Educational Expansion Corps. They also liaised with members of the Resource Council, which would dispatch its agents to newly acquired worlds to catalogue the worlds' resources for reference and potential appropriation by the Royal government. In all these instances, however, unless specifically commanded otherwise, the RIC remained within the chain of command of the MIAI, and even Consuls did not have authority over them.

Recruitment and training
The Royal Integration Corps conducted thorough background checks on its recruits, and newly appointed agents went through extensive training to install pride of service to the Royal government, as well as preparing them for the various hardships and difficulties of field service. Training was conducted at the Royal Diplomatic Academy, and lasted six standard months. Application was open to any citizen of the Empire, so long as he, she, or it could speak Orhyo.

Experienced and proven field officers of the RIC sometimes transferred to the Ministry of Diplomacy, where they could use their talents to convince non-member systems to join the Golden Empire voluntarily.

Methodology
RIC officers (formally titled "Integration Officers") had a small army of protocol droids at their command to aid in translation on systems which had not yet learned Orhyo. They usually worked closely with agents of the Empire who were engaged in constructing new medical facilities, public transit systems, public works, and other obvious benefits to the citizenry, so they could point to concrete examples of the benefits of membership in the Empire. The RIC also facilitated state visits for leaders of new systems to long-standing member systems of the Empire, so those in power could see the harvest cultivated from long, faithful membership.

Integration Officers with at least one successful field assignment were allowed to volunteer for the Exploration Corps.

Leadership
The Director of the Royal Integration Corps, almost always a veteran of the RIC himself with decades of experience, presided over the operations of the Corps. In the normal chain of command, the Director reported to the Minister of Internal Affairs and Integration, but Queen Rin Sakaros occasionally consulted with him directly on a system that had stood out to her during its acquisition.

Field offices of the RIC were set up on every new system, but permanent offices existed in central locations to serve multiple systems. Each permanent office was headed by an Assistant Director, who reported to the Director of the RIC.

Criticism
Rin was careful to give the RIC no arrest or punitive powers, to avoid it becoming an equivalent of the Galactic Empire's Internal Security Bureau, and thus the RIC were not usually viewed as a "secret police" or an internal espionage agency. However, the Corps was sometimes accused of being an agency of "reeducation" and indoctrination, especially on worlds acquired by force.