Exoi Kritocracy

The Exoi Kritocracy was a quasi-oligarchic government located in the. Emerging from Toriafas, homeworld of the Exoi, it expanded to conquer hundreds of planets before suffering defeat at the guns of the in the Kritocracy-Ascendancy War. The Kritocracy entered millennia of decline, slowly losing control over more and more systems, until it was left with fewer than twenty by the second century after the. In 155 ABY, the Governing Judges knelt to Rin Sakaros, Queen of the Golden Empire, and dissolved the Kritocracy for its worlds to become members of the Empire.

Foundations
The Exoi had numerous kritocratic governments for millennia before the formation of the planet-spanning Kritocracy. Rule-based as a species, the Exoi were staunch believers in the rule of law, and consequently believed that those with the best understanding of the law were best qualified to lead. Different societies experimented with variations on kritocracy—some kept a separation between enforcement and adjudication of the law, while others combined the two functions, creating law enforcement agencies empowered not only to apprehend criminals, but also to pronounce and execute sentence upon them. Some had multiple layers of judiciary, while others had no appellate process and entrusted enormous power to judges in courts of first instance.

The faith of Salbin was originally one of many on Toriafas. As it gained converts, devotees of the faith managed to pass laws in Salbin-dominated areas restricting the practice of other religions. Eventually, Salbinite societies waged war on others, suppressing other faiths and executing heretics and those who refused to convert. The first modern Exoi God-Kings appeared in this period, resurrecting ancient beliefs in a line of Exoi directly descended from the Salbin Gods Beyond Galaxies.

Eventually, the Salbinites were victorious and were the majority or sole religion in all societies. In 4,590 BBY, under the guidance of powerful and charismatic God-Kings, they merged into a single nation, which called itself the Exoi Kritocracy to emphasize its rule over all Exoi. The last remnants and adherents of non-Salbin belief systems were stamped out quickly after the worldwide unification. The initial Kritocracy consisted of a partnership between the God-King as legislator and a sole Governing Judge who functioned as executive and judiciary.

Ad astra
Through a combination of their own ingenuity and cannibalized technology found in the remains of old starships, the Exoi managed to create a spacegoing exploratory fleet capable of  travel. Convinced of their superiority, both religious and legal, they felt compared to share the Kritocracy's culture with other planets. After plotting courses to their closest neighbors, Exoi missions departed Toriafas.

The missionaries were not well-received. On one planet they were repelled by militant ground forces, and on the other they were forced into retreat before even making planetfall due to attack in orbit. Incensed and now alarmed by the possibility of attack on their homeworld, both the God-King and the Governing Judge oversaw the creation of a military force of s, led by Exoi in newly created Exoi battle armor.

The Exoi military took slightly more than a decade to assemble before the government was satisfied that it was ready for war. When it was deployed, however, it obliterated resistance on both planets which had repelled the initial Exoi explorers, conquering them and subjecting them to Exoi rule. After the acquisition of the new worlds, the God-King reformed the executive judiciary by appointing a Governing Judge for each world. The Governing Judge of Toriafas presided over the assembly, but only as primus inter pares.

Golden age of the Kritocracy
The defeat of the first targets of the Kritocracy gave the Exoi a taste for conquest, and they began harvesting resources from their newly acquired worlds and nearby planets to fuel their war machine. War Judge Zhifter Honjeen masterminded the creation of the Toriafas Defense Grid to protect the capital, transforming two of Toriafas's three moons into weapons platforms.

From its initial conquests, the Kritocracy spread Coreward, imposing rule by force of arms when necessary and diplomatically when possible. Many worlds resented the Kritocracy as invaders, although some welcomed the technological achievements which accompanied Exoi presence. A few even welcomed the Kritocracy as invaders, believing the Exoi judicial system was more fair and more evenly applied than whatever it was replacing.

As the Kritocracy grew to hundreds of worlds, each with a Governing Judge, the dynamics of government changed. The partnership of the God-King and the Governing Judge gave way to an assembly of hundreds of Exoi (no aliens were ever made Governing Judges), all of whom were scholars of the law. Most actions of the Kritocracy needed a majority vote of the Governing Judges. The God-King maintained the right to pass new laws and appoint governing judges, but increasingly did so with the advice and consultation of the Governing Judges.

At its apex, the Kritocracy controlled 896 worlds. Though Exoi law bound all worlds, foreign works of art were exchanged freely within the Kritocracy, leading to intellectual and cultural renaissances on many worlds. Toriafas itself remained somewhat exclusively Exoi in culture, but the Exoi colony world Cheff was regarded as a cultural center for the entire Kritocracy. Economic success on Toriafas led to the creation of a formal aristocracy, a combination of wealthy businessbeings and retired judges.

Defeat
In 3,784 BBY, the Kritocracy challenged the for control of systems bordering both governments' spheres of control. The Kritocracy appeared evenly matched against the Chiss ground forces, but was woefully outclassed in space warfare. In particular, the few Kritocracy classes were no match for the superior Ascendancy fighter squadrons.

The brief, violent Kritocracy-Ascendancy War culminated in a series of defeats for the Kritocracy, which lost many of its war droid carriers in orbit before they could launch their forces. The Exoi realized the need for starfighters, but the Chiss pursued them into their own territory before they could recover, seizing hundreds of Kritocracy worlds. The Ascendancy was also dealing with threats from other alien species, and was unable to pursue the Kritocracy to eradication. However, the Kritocracy navy had been devastated during the war and crippled at the Battle of Sandrezhdredan.

Long decay
The Kritocracy lost only a few hundred of its systems to the Ascendancy itself, but the defeat in the war spelled the beginning of a long, slow decline of the Kritocracy's fortunes. Inspired by the Chiss victories, several Kritocracy worlds rebelled against their Exoi masters. Efforts at suppression met with mixed results; some planets were held, some were kept only by largely decimating their populations, and some succeeded and became free.

Over the next four thousand years, the Kritocracy gradually declined in many ways. The initial wave of rebellions was followed by periodic revolts down through the centuries. Some were completely suppressed, but many saw a few systems break away each time, leading some Exoi to predict the Kritocracy would suffer a slow, ignominious death by attrition. At one point the began nearly a century of pirate raids on Kritocracy territory. The Chiss did not return, though records of the war were preserved in the on. The Kritocracy periodically made attempts to acquire new planets, experiencing mixed success.

Along with the Kritocracy's decline in territory, society and culture declined as well. The adherents of Salbin disagreed about how to interpret the Kritocracy's fortunes, with some considering it a test and others a punishment. The Exoi nobility became increasingly insular, slowly withering through the millennia as many branches refused to marry outside the nobility and either died out or succumbed to the perils of repeated interbreeding. The line of God-Kings was not immune to this; indeed, marriage to nobles was gradually replaced by marriage to cousins, along with occasional uncle-niece marriages. The Acolytes of the God-King covertly began to take control of the God-King's responsibilities as the rulers themselves became increasingly less competent.

Many of the Kritocracy's worlds had come to subsist on the income of hundreds of others, and as those sources of revenue were cut off, the economy suffered accordingly. The Kritocracy went through several multi-year depressions, with widespread unemployment and hunger. Some entire worlds were lost due to famine, and social service broke down almost completely in many worlds in the final millennium of the Kritocracy's existence.

Salvation through submission
By 155 ABY, the once-mighty Kritocracy had been reduced to nineteen worlds, including Toriafas. The profoundly mentally and physically retarded God-King Chohwelk VII was kept alive artificially by his Acolytes, who kept him in seclusion and maintained the myth of the flourishing royal line while performing all his responsibilities.

The Golden Empire arrived in that year, and Queen Rin Sakaros personally met with the Governing Judges. When they were unable to surrender their worlds to her on their own authority, Rin accompanied them to the Temple of Incarnate Glory, where she exposed the ruse of the Acolytes, killed the God-King, had her Centurions execute many of the Acolytes, and placed government decision-making in the hands of the Governing Judges. By majority vote, they submitted to the Empire. With the acquisition of its territory, the death of the last God-King, and the resignation of the remaining Governing Judges, the Kritocracy ceased to exist.

Executive judiciary
Judges served as executives and judiciary. In their judicial capacity, they functioned much like judges in other societies, applying law to the facts of cases before them. The Kritocracy recognized both civil law (written down) and common law (which evolved by precedent and interpretation), allowing sufficient flexibility for their executive function.

In exercising executive authority, judges first applied written law if it existed and was relevant. If there was no directly applicable law, they consulted precedent related to the subject. Analogical precedent (such as interpreting a law regulating the sale of fruits to apply to the sale of newly developed synthetic consumables) was accepted as a last resort if there was no more applicable precedent. In the genuine absence of any remotely applicable precedent, the society required a new law from the God-King. All Kritocracy worlds were governed by identical law.

The Governing Judges, one appointed from each world of the Kritocracy, were the ultimate executive and judicial authority for the Kritocracy, authorizing military campaigns, controlling expenditures, and overseeing enforcement of the law. All Governing Judges were always Exoi, and were appointed by the God-King in consultation with the existing Governing Judges. Either the God-King or a supermajority of the Governing Judges could dismiss one of their number.

The Governing Judges themselves appointed lesser judges on the worlds for which they were appointed, who themselves appointed lesser judges, down through the levels of magistracy to those who judged small claims.

Lawgiver
The God-King served as sole legislator of the Kritocracy, and he alone could create entirely new laws or overrule existing written or precedential law. He also exercised some measure of executive authority in the ability to appoint and remove Governing Judges.

Economy
In its early centuries, the Kritocracy economy was largely driven by war, with the military consuming a good deal of public expenditures. Digging and mining companies derived a good deal of profits as a result, because entire mountain ranges on Toriafas and other worlds were leveled for the ores and minerals contained therein, from which starships, war droids, and Exoi battle armor were built.

After the military was shattered in the Kritocracy-Ascendancy War, the Kritocracy scrambled to reorganize the economy based on intersystem trade. Toriafas and several production worlds had few resources of their own to trade, and derived most of their income from control over means of production or tax appropriations derived from better-rounded worlds. This system worked for some time, and some technological innovations actually caused economic resurgences, but the economy grew increasingly fragile as more and more systems escaped the Kritocracy's grasp. By the time the Golden Empire acquired the Kritocracy worlds, several of the few remaining were in extreme poverty.

Society and culture
The Kritocracy was founded on the principle that law was the basis of good government. The various judges were empowered to enforce and interpret the law, but not to exceed it, and respect for law and precedent (and, as a consequence, tradition) were instilled in all citizens from youth. However, this ideal was rooted in Exoi tradition, as the Exoi considered themselves a superior race, and therefore their law superior to the laws of other species.

All citizens studied law beginning in primary schooling. Judicial careers were considered the most prestigious available, and competition was ferocious to enter training programs for judgeship after tertiary education. Although lawyers could become judges, being a lawyer was not required to become a judge, and many lawyers preferred to practice rather than serve the executive and judicial functions of judges. Judicial service, law practice, and law enforcement were widely respected.

During the height of the Kritocracy, military service was regarded as nearly as respectable as judgeship and law enforcement. After the Kritocracy's decline, the military became a tool of political suppression, and ultimately little more than a ceremonial second police force, leading to many beings looking on military personnel with loathing.

Though they remained convinced of their cultural superiority, the Exoi catalogued details of all the other species they countered. The Library of Yumpultim II on Toriafas contained records of the Kritocracy's explorations, among other works.

The gong was part of the official emblem of the Kritocracy. In Exoi courts, the striking of a gong accompanied a judge issuing his verdict or passing a sentence on a criminal. The text on the gong said "One Law" in the Exoi script.

Salbin
Salbin was the official state religion of the Kritocracy. The Acolytes of the God-King served as attendants, courtiers, and ministers to the God-King and maintained the Temple of Incarnate Glory on Toriafas. The Kritocracy's approach to alien religions varied over its history, ranging from general tolerance to widespread persecutions, although there was never tolerance for any other religion on Toriafas itself.

In the final centuries of the Kritocracy, the Acolytes went from ministering to the God-King to effectively doing his job, especially as later generations of God-Kings were born largely incapable of independent function.

Military
The Exoi themselves were physically frail compared even to the smaller s, and consequently did not face battle directly. Instead, the Kritocracy's military was driven by two primary means: s and Exoi battle armor. The military was led by a War Judge, a scholar in both military tactics and military law.

The Kritocracy's war droids were essentially mobile weapons platforms used for large-scale devastation. Exoi battle armor was more tactical. It could be as small as a suit of mechanized armor for an individual Exoi or as large as a walking tank. The Exoi navy had some vehicles analogous to s but spent comparatively little effort on fighters, which contributed to its defeat by the Chiss Ascendancy.

Astrography
The Exoi Kritocracy existed far to galactic west, rimward of. At its farthest extent it spanned multiple sectors and touched on the Chiss Ascendancy's borders. By the time the Golden Empire acquired its territory, however, the Kritocracy had been reduced to only Toriafas and the systems immediately surrounding it.

Behind the scenes
The one-off mention of early forms of kritocracy which allowed law enforcement officers to apprehend criminals and sentence them was inspired by the in .

Because coming up with an entire new written script goes beyond even Sakaros's threshold for nerdy obsession, the text on the Kritocracy's emblem was achieved when Sakaros put "one law" into Google Translate and translated it into, a language of.

Appearances

 * The Final Judgment