Ekshi

Ekshi was a planet in the, a member world of the Golden Empire and home of the sentient Colorrbiz.

Geography
Much of Ekshi was forested, and even after the world was urbanized, cities were often built in and around forests, rather than demolishing them entirely. Other cities were built on the vast plains and grasslands that covered most of the rest of the world. Mountain ranges were few on the planet, but several deep gorges allowed the mining of minerals.

Most of Ekshi's surface water was in lakes and wide rivers; the entire world consisted of a single enormous continent, surrounded by a single ocean.

Society and culture
The Colorrbiz were the lone sentient occupants of Ekshi, and most societies were governed by direct or representative democracies, in keeping with the Colorrb belief in fairness and equal opportunities.

Many Colorrbiz dwellings were built for multiple generations, and as such tended to be both wide and tall. The wealthiest Colorrbiz had entire compounds, including multiple branches of a single family descended from a common ancestor, but even the poorest Colorrbiz would make room for relatives rather than turning them out to the street. The homeless on Ekshi tended to be those with no living relations, though efforts by the Colorrbiz and later the Golden Empire largely eliminated homelessness.

History
The Colorrbiz evolved from insentient scavengers millennia before the. Their communal and family-oriented society developed from a pre-sentient need to form tight packs to survive against native predators. It was this closeness with others that led to their experimentation with and eventual adoption of democracy.

As Ekshi industrialized, the Colorrbiz began to develop hovercraft to make up for their slow walking pace. Further technological innovation allowed the development of repulsorcraft even before the Colorrbiz were contacted by the Golden Empire. Warfare occurred in Ekshi's history, but was rare relative to other sentient worlds; the innate patience and openness to discussion of the Colorrbiz made them far more interested in negotiation and diplomacy, and most "warfare" was deterrent, with Colorrb nations opting more toward the projection of force than its use.

In 108 ABY, the Golden Empire arrived on Ekshi. Impressed and more than a little intimidated by the massive war machine at Rin Sakaros's command and eager to expand their curiosity to the galaxy at large, the Colorrbiz submitted to the Empire. A Royal Consul was installed over Ekshi, and advocated for the creation of a Royal Mint on the world. This, combined with its quick gains in the repulsorcraft trade, made Ekshi an economically sound member world.

In 121 ABY, Rin assigned the Centurion Vessyk to serve as Consul of Ekshi. Though initially he merely intended to turn the world into a model member system of the Empire, as time went on he began to exploit the Colorrbiz for his own gain. He offered spots in his personal guard to former police officers and dishonorably discharged military personnel, creating his own personal army loyal to him and resentful of the general populace. Ekshi was transformed into a police state, with offworld communications controlled by the Consul's office and dissidents kidnapped, tortured, or executed along with their families.

In 127 ABY, a district in the capital which had been unable to pay its exorbitant taxes was set on fire, and the emergency response units did not respond. No Colorrb dared to make the accusation aloud, but all knew Vessyk had been responsible. The Colorrb Niximot Grundo broke into a Royal communication station and managed to contact Rin Sakaros, begging her to repeal the decrees which the Colorrbiz had been told were issued in her name. Deducing what had happened, Rin journeyed to Ekshi in secret with a group of Centurions, broke into Vessyk's opulent palace, and killed him.

In what became known as "the Cleansing of Ekshi", Vessyk's personal army was defeated and most of its members executed, all dictatorial decrees were repealed, impoverished districts were rebuilt, political prisoners were released, and Rin created Niximot Grundo as the first Tribune of Ekshi. She also installed the Vuul Centurion Eskol Kaartinen to serve as Ekshi's new Consul, and his fairness and honor helped restore the Colorrbiz positive view of Rin and the Empire.

By the time Kaartinen left Ekshi, the world had recovered much of its former prosperity, and it continued to serve as a vital producer of repulsor technology and Royal Credits.