Chiss Ascendancy

> "The Chiss do not simply accept alien concepts without careful consideration. We certainly do not submit to domination. By anyone."
>
> Mitth'raw'nuruodo

The **Chiss Ascendancy**, sometimes termed **Chiss Space** or the **Chiss Empire** by outsiders, was a portion of the galaxy in the Unknown Regions that was ruled by the Chiss. The Ascendency was centered around the Chiss homeworld Csilla.

The Ascendancy was highly secretive and strictly isolationist to outsiders, preferring a libertarian approach to the wider galaxy and even had a strict policy prohibiting first strikes. The Ascendancy was regarded as mostly a legend even within the Unknown Regions.

## History

The history of the Ascendancy was long and ancient, dating at least as far back as the Sith Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire. However, due to its isolationism, it almost never involved itself in affairs that existed beyond the bounds of its own space. The Ascendancy's isolationism was so strong, it kept its presence hidden from other powers in the galaxy. The Chiss Ascendency was not inherently expansionistic, instead pursuing exploration and research. Indeed, the Ascendancy had strict guidelines prohibiting preemptive strikes; setting rules of engagement that required confirmation of impending attack before the Ascendancy's Fleet could fire on any target.

When the Sith Empire returned in 3681 BBY to fight the Republic once more during the Great Galactic War and the Cold War, the Chiss Ascendancy was the only actual ally of the Empire, unlike all the species that the Empire subjugated. The Chiss would provide military assets and resources to the Empire in exchange for governing autonomy. In doing so, the Chiss were able to escape complete subjugation under the imperials, a common fate for many alien species. During this time, some Chiss were known to serve as Imperial Agents or bounty hunters. A few rare Chiss even achieved official rank in the Imperial military. In this time, Chiss agents were sent on loan to the Imperial Military forces on Hoth where they aided the Ministry of Logistics by providing cold weather training and equipment for skirmishes on the icy world. In addition, the Chiss established a secret outpost on the planet known as Zero Station where Aristocra Saganu of House Miurani oversaw his peoples efforts in aiding their Sith allies against the Republic.

The exact details of the agreement remained a mystery to all but the highest-ranking officials, but to secure the Ascendancy interests the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force sent a team to steal a collateral from Sith Emperor Vitiate in case the deal fell through. They obtained a holomap that kept one of Vitiate's greatest secrets - coordinates to Zildrog, a superweapon capable of destroying entire civilizations - which was brought for safekeeping to the Ascendancy world of Copero where only the highest-ranking Chiss could access it.

When the Eternal Empire conquered the galaxy in 3636 BBY, the Ascendancy ceded its two richest industrial worlds to Emperor Arcann as tribute in exchange for the Ascendancy's continued autonomy. When the Eternal Empire fell to the Alliance six years later, the Ascendancy quickly reclaimed the worlds with the aid of the Sith Empire. After reclaiming their territory, jaded with the wars of other governments, and still incensed over the infiltration of Theron Shan on Copero, which resulted in the death of a Syndic, the Chiss withdrew.

As the Alliance sought to keep peace between the Republic and the Empire during their period of rebuilding, the Ascendancy quietly recalled all their people back home. Inside agents already implanted in the Alliance, the Republic and the Empire all silently erased all evidence of anything pertaining to the Ascendancy. This included personnel records, coordinates, tech blueprints, hyperspace routes, and history. As the factions of the galaxy fought to rebuild, the Ascendancy withdrew into isolation and legend.

Now that the Chiss were alone in their isolation, a new mysterious enemy began to strike around the Chaos. This strange but unknown faction did not send threats or ultimatums, or amass ships on the edge of the Chaos. Indeed they seemed to come from the Maze, but this made no sense as it was assumed nothing could survive long term inside the Maze without going insane. This faction did not attack directly, or in a way that made tactical sense. They began their attacks by taking smaller scout ships, leaving nothing but the empty hull behind. These derelict ships would be found often years later with no survivors, no bodies, and almost no information on what had happened. It was chance that enabled a salvage team to learn the name of this new enemy, the Grysk.

### The Outbound Flight Incident

**Outbound Flight** was an expeditionary project, led mainly by Jedi Master Jorus C'baoth, that sent a mission of six Jedi Masters, twelve Jedi Knights, and 50,000 men, women, and children beyond the borders of the Galactic Republic into the Unknown Regions where they hoped to pierce the edge of the galaxy and seek out extra-galactic life.

In the original plan, colonies were to be established in the new territories that Outbound Flight scouted, and in this way the Republic would gain a foothold in the Unknown Regions and grow further. The prospect of identifying possible threats from outside the galaxy before they reached it and became a danger also appealed to the security-conscious Senators. Palpatine had a personal agenda as well. In his alter-ego as Darth Sidious, he was working to destroy the Jedi Order and saw the advantage of being able to eliminate a large number of Jedi in a single attack far away from the public eye. He was also aware of the threat of the Grysk and did not wish for them to be discovered before the galaxy was strong enough to fight them; for Palpatine, Outbound Flight was always intended to fail, and become a deathtrap for the Jedi onboard.

Palpatine had sent Kinman Doriana to lead a Trade Federation task force of fifteen ships under the command of Vicelord Siv Kav into the Unknown Regions to wait in ambush for *Outbound Flight*. However, Doriana's fleet first met Chiss Expansionary Defense Forces under the command of Mitth'raw'nuruodo (known better as Thrawn). Using superior tactics, the Chiss quickly subdued the task force in the battle, destroying all ships but the flagship *Darkvenge*.

Thrawn contacted the *Darkvenge*, and Doriana explained the purpose of their mission, stating that the Jedi were a threat to Chiss space. Thrawn did not believe him, and Doriana was brought on board Thrawn's ship. There, Thrawn told Doriana that the Chiss would not allow anyone to leave the galaxy through their territory, as the Chiss were already dealing with the Grysk, and would not allow further complications. Doriana agreed, and said the Jedi were too arrogant to recognize or respond to the threat, so they therefore had to be eliminated.

Thrawn tentatively agreed, and Doriana had Thrawn contact his master, Darth Sidious, who reiterated the threat the *Outbound Flight* posed. Thrawn decided to disable the vessel and force it to return to the Republic, or leave the galaxy via another route; he would destroy it if necessary.

Thrawn used a gravity well projector to force Outbound Flight out of hyperspace. He decided to try negotiation first, and met with C'baoth and his former Padawan, Lorana Jinzler, on *Outbound Flight*. However C'baoth refused to listen to Thrawn, especially when he mentioned the name of Darth Sidious. Chas Uliar attempted to talk to Thrawn while he was escorted off the ship in order to get his help in overthrowing C'baoth's tyranny. He was caught by C'baoth himself, who had Jinzler imprison him and fifty-six other colonists who shared similar views in the central storage core.

Meanwhile, working with Thrawn, Jorj Car'das stole a shuttle and enticed the Vagaari to attack Outbound Flight, and the Vagaari fleet arrived into the fray. As the Vagaari fleet stormed towards the *Outbound Flight*, C'baoth performed a Force meld- the Jedi masters uniting their minds- to trick the enemy. At that moment Thrawn launched droid starfighters to engage the confused Vagaari, creating a large disturbance in the Force which overwhelmed the meld participants. During the disturbance, C'baoth and his fellow Jedi failed to detect the Chiss forces that were sneaking in, and Thrawn managed to systematically destroy the weapon clusters of the *Outbound Flight*, killing almost every Jedi aboard. At this point, Thrawn gave Outbound Flight another chance to turn back and contacted C'baoth. Enraged, Jorus gave into his anger and succumbed to the dark side and Force-choked Thrawn across space from *Outbound Flight's* bridge itself, almost killing him. However, before Thrawn could die, Doriana activated the secondary command layer pre-set in the droid starfighters, which then rammed and blasted open the *Outbound Flight*. The final wave of starfighters employed a radiation bomb of Chiss design on the ship, killing C'baoth and most of the passengers aboard.

Only Lorana Jinzler and the fifty-seven colonists imprisoned in the core managed to survive the bombs. The Chiss began to take control of the ship, but were recalled by Syndic Chaf'orm'bintrano, who wished to take the ship for his own family. Only Syndic Mitth'ras'safis (Thrass), of equal rank to Chaf'orm'bintrano, stayed on the ship. Lorana met with Thrass and they formed a plan to hide *Outbound Flight* in The Redoubt where the colonists would be safe until Thrass could argue their case to the Ruling Families of the Chiss Ascendancy. However the ship's hyperdrive soon failed, and they had to crash-land the craft on a small planetoid. A stone-filled trench was chosen to absorb the impact of landing. A few moments before impact, Lorana and Thrass realized the fifty-seven survivors had moved from the central storage core to D-4, the Dreadnaught on the opposite side of D-1, their location. Lorana and Thrass knew they would have to land on D-1 to save D-4, and gave their lives so that the remaining colonists would have a chance for survival.

In 22 ABY, Chiss explorers discovered the remains of *Outbound Flight* and its support ships fifty years after its destruction. The survivors of the project had founded a meager, self-sufficient colony on the planet that Lorana and Thrass landed them on. The colonists were offered transportation back into Wild Space, and from there, they could make their way home- along with the remains of Jedi Lorana, to be laid to rest. Thrass' remains were also recovered, and brought home to Csilla to be interred properly.

### The Grysk Hegemony

As Mitth'raw'nuruodo had feared, *Outbound Flight* indeed drew the Grysk's attention to the rest of the galaxy. That event along with Darth Sidious's overtures, caused the Grysk to change tactics in their slow, ponderous way. Thousands of years of planned attacks and opportunistic raids had given the Grysk the knowledge they needed to destroy the Ascendency utterly. They did not attack from the front in direct battle as the Chiss expected but instead attacked the very foundation of the Ascendancy itself—the relations among Chiss families.

The Grysk operative Jixtus, with his agent Haplif of the Agbui, sought to learn about, widen, and exploit the rifts between the Chiss' Nine Ruling Families and Forty Great Houses. In doing so, they planned to coax the Chiss Ascendancy into civil war, rendering it easy prey for the Grysk Hegemony to conquer. After learning of an ambitious mid-ranking Xodlak family Councilor on the planet Celwis by the name of Lakuviv, Haplif settled on Celwis for a time. On Celwis, Haplif manipulated Lakuviv into declaring a family emergency and trying to forcibly seize a purported Agbui mining world rich in the valuable metal nyix. Senior Captain Xodlak'in'daro of the Chiss heavy cruiser *Grayshrike* was placed in command of the newly formed Task Force Xodlak. Similar plots occurred in parallel on the Chiss planets of Copero, affiliated with the Erighal family and their fleet; and Sarvchi, associated with the Pommrio family and their fleet.

Each of the three Great Families being manipulated by Jixtus' agents—the Xodlak, Erighal, and Pommrio—were allied with rival members of the Nine Ruling Families. Open warfare between the Xodlak, Erighal, and Pommrio would spill over into the Ruling Families and eventually the entire Chiss Ascendancy. With each of those three Great Families intent on claiming Hoxim's supposed nyix mine and willing to fight to the death over it, Jixtus's plans nearly came to fruition.

The three Great Families' forces met in the space above the Agbui mining world of Hoxim, unaware that the planet below was actually a "worthless rock". They nearly engaged each other in hostilities, until they noticed the *Springhawk*, flagship of Senior Captain Mitth'raw'nuruodo, derelict and apparently under attack. The three families' forces cooperated to "rescue" the *Springhawk*, combatting and defeating the forces that had "attacked" Thrawn. In the ensuing battle, the purported nyix mine on the planet's surface was destroyed, ensuring that the families could not fight over the nyix that was allegedly there.

In that manner, Senior Captains Thrawn and Lakinda prevented Jixtus's plot from causing a full civil war among the Chiss. Each of the Xodlak, Erighal, and Pommrio were commended and granted honor for rescuing a downed Expansionary Defense Fleet warship. Nonetheless, the Patriarch of the Xodlak family was furious at Lakinda for failing to secure the supposed nyix deposit; leaving Lakinda, a merit adoptive, in a tenuous spot in her family. Shortly thereafter, Syndic Zistalmu of the Ruling Irizi family offered her a spot as a Trial-born of the Irizi, without even having to conduct the Trials.

Although the plot from the Grysk Hegemony to cause a Chiss civil war was mitigated, the Grysk remained a threat to the Ascendancy.

### Searching For Allies

Searching for allies against the Grysk, Thrawn and his pilot, Sky-walker Che'ri, met Jedi General Anakin Skywalker above Batuu in the Outer Rim Territories, where Thrawn sought Skywalker's assistance in learning of the Clone Wars. Thrawn helped the Jedi Order and Republic Senator Padmé Amidala fight the Confederacy of Independent Systems and assault a Separatist droid factory. Thrawn was able to retrieve the deflector shield generator that protected that factory, and was a much more advanced design than those seen by the Chiss in the Unknown Regions. However, Thrawn was unimpressed with the state of the Republic and believed it to be unfit for an alliance with the Chiss.

The Chiss Ascendancy assigned Thrawn to explore the Outer Rim Territories of the galaxy, known to the Chiss as "Lesser Space", to evaluate whether the nascent Galactic Empire would be a suitable ally against the emerging threat of the Grysk Hegemony. By the time Thrawn left, there were renewed stirrings of political conflict in the Ascendancy, but he assumed the Aristocra would settle their issues, as they had numerous times before.

Seeking counsel upon his return, the Ascendancy ruled that the time had come to judge whether or not the Galactic Empire would be a suitable ally, and that it was time to infiltrate the Empire in order to either make them an ally or to weaken them as easy prey for the threat to attack instead of the Chiss.

With the blessing of the Aristocra, Thrawn chose a planet in Wild Space to begin his fake exile and gain the attention of the Galactic Empire. On his "exile" planet, Thrawn was taken by Imperial Captain Voss Parck- only after he tested the Imperial's mettle with numerous guerilla tactics. Thrawn was then brought before Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine on the galactic capital of Coruscant in order to be questioned on the threats lurking within the Unknown Regions. Thrawn became his advisor on matters relating to these areas and permanently assign Ensign Eli Vanto as his translator and aide, by this he sent Vanto to the Ascendancy as an Imperial liaison, where he believed that he could be a great help to the Chiss and rendezvoused with Chiss Admiral Ar'alani.

### The Imperial-Grysk Conflict

The Galactic Empire had become an ally to the Chiss Ascendancy, but this alliance was largely uneasy and distrustful, as both sides had their own agendas. However, this became less relevant when the Grysk Hegemony was discovered to be encroaching deep within Imperial territory. The Empire found the Grysk stealing the moons surrounding the planet of Mokivj. Thrawn, who had been promoted to the rank of Grand Admiral after the victory at Batonn, and the Empire battled Grysk forces on Mokivj and in space, rescuing Force-sensitive Chiss girls known as *ozyly-esehembo* from the Grysks. Ar'alani promised to bolster the defenses of the colony world from which the Chiss children were taken. Speaking with Darth Vader, Thrawn admitted that the Ascendancy could be taking its first steps into a civil war, and believed that the Aristocra may have failed to settle their differences or that one side was under the control of the Grysks.

Hiding beneath the asteroid was an armed Grysk warship, resulting in the Empire bombarded the enemy ship with turbolaser fire. Exiting hyperspace soon after, the *Steadfast* deployed plasma spheres to draw away the Grysk laser fire. Before leaving, Ar'alani ordered her crew to salvage the debris from the Grysk warship. Eli and Ar'alani then boarded the Grysk warship to see the Empire had captured two Grysk prisoners. There was a tense exchange between Ar'alani and one of the Grysk's. Soon after, the Chiss entered Imperial space to warn the Empire about the Grysks and to also warn the Grysk Hegemony to depart. The Grysk commander mockingly asked if the Chiss were serving the Empire and tried to brush off the recent Grysk defeats. Observing the space battle, Vanto and the Chiss officers realized that the surviving Grysk starfighters were returning to their warships to inform newer reinforcements about their enemy's defenses. However, with the aid of Thrawn's TIE/d "Defender" Multi-Role Starfighters, the Ascendancy defeated the Grysk craft.

After pushing the Grysk back, Vanto was told the information he was working on was about the navigators, and Thrawn dispatched Assistant Director Brierly Ronan to join the Ascendancy. Emperor Palpatine also spoke to Thrawn, who admitted that the Chiss force breached Imperial space, but stated it was to warn the Empire of the Grysks, and said that the Grysk presence in the Kurost sector proved that they had an active interest in the Empire. However, the Emperor privately decided that, to counter the Grysks, he should take control of the Chiss Ascendancy, intending to use Thrawn to do so. However, before the Grand Admiral and the Emperor could have their "long talk," Thrawn, the *Chimaera*, and Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger were taken away during a local rebellion on Lothal into deep space by a pod of Purrgil that Bridger had summoned.

### The First Order

After the fall of the Empire, the Ascendancy was resigned to fighting the Grysk on their own. Agents embedded deep in the New Republic were not reporting back with encouraging news. There was chaos and unrest as many different species and cultures clashed on how best to run their new government, and the deepening divide between Centrists and Populists had the Syndicure writing the New Republic off just it had with its predecessor.

In the years following the final battle of the Empire on Jakku, the Ascendancy started noting movement through The Maze. Nothing they could track at first. Then scouts reported of flickers of movement that didn't register as anything previously recorded, and glimpses of ships that had always been the subject of speculation and legend. The Ascendancy went on alert when it realised that what was being seen was an emergence of Attendants, and mistook their presence as a harbinger of a resurgence of Grysk aggression.

Years pased, and when no further Grysk aggression occurred, the Expansionary Defence Force went past the Ascendancy borders in order to seek out what would have caused the flutter of activity from the Attendants. Ar'alani's fleet had already been going further and further into Lesser Space in search of Thrawn, pushing farther and farther, despite veiled warnings from the Syndicure that she was pushing the limits of what was sanctioned.

It was during one of these excursions that Ar'alani's fleet made contact with a massive ship of familiar make, but previously unknown call sign- the Eclipse. The Ascendancy had stumbled over one of the units making up the Imperial Remnant. Ar'alani, with Eli Vanto, instantly hailed the ship, requesting and update on the status of the Empire- and were greeted by Grand Admiral Rae Sloane. Eli immediately recognised her by name, as Thrawn had spoken highly of her, and Ar'alani allowed her to board, in order to discuss what the Empire was doing in the Unknown Regions.

Sloane was blunt and straightforward- a quality Ar'alani appreciated- and she told her what she knew, and what the Remnant had planned. She also informed Ar'alani what she planned to change, and how she planned to shape the new governing body of the Empire. Once Ar'alani was convinced that the Remnant posed no threat to the Ascendancy, Sloane was allowed to have a holo-call meeting with a Mitth Syndic- Mitth'ail'inrokini (Thailin).

Thailin was intrigued, but skeptical. The Remnant had some scattered resources- all conveniently distant enough from Chiss Space to avoid being detected or perceived as a threat- but not nearly enough to be an asset or ally to the Ascendancy. Sloane argued that with time, and some assistance, the Remnant could become a worthy ally. Thailin told her she didn't have the authority to grant any kind of privileges that the Remnant sought, and as it was, the Remnant was not strong enough to bring to the Syndicure's attention. Thailin said all she could do was look the other way, and allow Ar'alani's fleet to grant assistance if needed, as Ar'alani was searching for Thrawn and the Seventh Fleeth. She dropped a veiled hint that if the Remnant happened to find it, not only would they get to reclaim their lost ships, but the Ascendancy would be very grateful to have closure on one of their own being found.

With this unofficial blessing to continue their progress, the Ascendancy looked the other way- or didn't notice- as the Remnant grew. Only Ar'alani, Vanto and Syndic Thailin kept a watchful eye on their new neighbours. Over the next few years, the Remnant expanded, as did their contacts, and the Ascendancy was surprised to see new ships being launched of a sleeker, more efficient design. Though Thailin kept a hands-off approach, she still spoke with Sloane regularly, keeping tabs on the leader of the tentative ally, and in 21 ABY, Sloane announced that the Remnant was now known as the First Order.

[treaties and such here]

## Government

The Chiss Ascendancy was a hegemonic empire and was comprised of interconnected sovereignties governed by the noble houses that made up the Aristocra, a sociopolitical body who were mid-level members of the empire's Nine Ruling Families. The Aristocra were collectively conglomerated to serve, represent, and unite the Chiss species as a whole, thereby bringing them under one common order. Most notably, the Aristocra effectively constituted the governmental hierarchy and bureaucracy of the Chiss, known as the Syndicure. The power held by the ruling families was that from which the legitimacy of the Aristocra's authority fundamentally derived. As a consequence, they had the power to pass legislation and bless decisions to be instituted across the Ascendancy.

The Chiss were governed by an oligarchy of extended Ruling Families from House Palace, located in the city of Csaplar. Each clan with the families was headed by leaders known as Aristocra who wore particular colors to indicate their clan and family loyalties. Standard and day-to-day decisions were made by a democratically elected parliamentary body from each of the 28 colonies.

Issues were siphoned up through the parliament to a cabinet of appointed governors, and then to the ruling families, where a decision made by the parliament and/or cabinet could be approved for action. Each of the extended ruling families was responsible for a set of government affairs to manage: House Sabosen was responsible for social issues such as justice, health, and education; House Inrokini was responsible for industry and science; House Csapla was responsible for colonial affairs, agriculture, and redistribution of resources; and House Nuruodo was responsible for military and foreign affairs. The Csapla's redistribution of resources amongst the Chiss colonies and Csilla was particularly important, given the collectivist-socialist economic system of the Chiss, and led to their relative position at the head of the families, with the others acting in an advisory role. House Nuruodo would be ranked as second, considering the importance of warfare on Chiss society.

Each family was equally represented in the Chiss government, although they went to great lengths to ensure that family identity was eliminated wherever possible. The leaders of the Chiss did not use names, but instead wore colorful robes to distinguish themselves. This helped ensure that decisions were reached in a fair and equitable method. Although the four extended ruling families were not known to face power struggles, five lesser clans often vied for greater authority and power, such as House Chaf, which was considered the fifth ruling family.

## Military

The Aristocra unilaterally oversaw and supported the upkeep of the Chiss Defense Force, the Chiss Ascendancy's military. The Chiss Defense Force included the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet, the Ascendancy's naval arm.

With the Command Articles guided the Chiss Defense Fleet and set out it laws. Its existence was primarily for purposes relating to exploration and peacekeeping, only used for war in the most extreme of cases, as well as defending both the Chiss homeworld and it colonies. It further role was to monitor battles between other factions and governments across the galaxy. The fleet used several types of starships, including Chiss warships and Chiss shuttles. The Chiss shuttle was also referred to as a Chiss courier ship.

All operations of the Chiss Defense Fleet were managed by an admiralty known as the Defense Hierarchy Council, which also held the power to exile traitors for crimes against the Chiss. Chiss officers were outfitted with a type of uniform which was able to absorb energy, protecting the user from blaster fire. There were multiple military ranks used in the Chiss Defense Fleet, including the ranks of admiral and commander. Though the Aristocra were not supposed to have influence over assignments in the Chiss military, it was still known to happen behind the scenes and against protocol.

The military of the Chiss Ascendancy consisted of a well trained and well armed force which protected a number of advanced and orderly worlds within its sphere of influence. Chiss belief in rigid discipline was further seen within their armed forces and they made use of superior technology when required in order to hold enemy forces at bay. Ultimately, the Chiss saw themselves as a bastion of order in a sea of chaos in their home space in the Unknown Regions.

Ozyly-esehembo was a Cheunh word for Force-sensitive Chiss navigators, which translated to Galactic Basic Standard as "sky-walker." They were administered by sky-walker corps to navigate through difficult territory in the Unknown Regions. Sky-walkers were Chiss children, usually girls and usually between the ages of seven and fourteen, though some recalled the power sometimes lasted until age fifteen. Additionally, the power could sometimes fade ahead of schedule. The secrets of Second and Third Sights were among the best kept secret in the Chiss Ascendancy, to such an extent that many Chiss themselves were unaware of their full extent or even their existence.

## Foreign Policy

In contrast to many other galactic empires, the Chiss Ascendancy favored a more libertarian approach in how it conducted itself in galactic affairs, embracing a philosophy of strict non-interventionism and peaceful diplomacy. This philosophy was codified via the Chiss laws prohibiting pre-emptive strikes. Although military service was an important component of Chiss culture and heritage, the very notions of conquest and aggressive expansionism were almost universally disdained by society, and such actions would be in fundamental defiance of military protocol. Despite not believing in the preliminary initiation of force, the Chiss supported going to war in the event that the Ascendancy fell under attack by external forces. Still, official military policy was to do everything possible to avoid a preemptive attack against a possible enemy. Though the act of entering another faction's space to gather intelligence was effectively allowed, it was close enough to breaking the rule to cause concern.

Despite not allowing involvement in non-Chiss battles without being provoked, the Chiss, who also disallowed deliberate provocation, allowed their military ships to provide humanitarian aid if they arrived in the aftermath of such battles. Nevertheless, the Chiss Ascendancy was also generally isolationist, almost never involving itself in affairs that existed beyond the bounds of its own space. Diplomatically speaking, on those rare occasions when the Ascendancy did engage in intergalactic matters, the Ascendancy displayed its pacifistic ethos by taking a benevolent approach in its dealings. Despite this, the Ascendancy always exercised extreme caution when doing so, taking measures to ensure that the location of Chiss Space would remain hidden, even to leaders of other galactic governments.

While it rarely embedded itself in galactic conflicts, the Ascendancy would sometimes send emissaries to observe large-scale wars and assess galactic geopolitics. Such would be the case during the Clone Wars, in which the Chiss officer Mitth'raw'nuruodo was sent into Republic space to analyze the conflict, during which he had an encounter with the Jedi Order and Anakin Skywalker. Years later he would be sent to the Galactic Empire's territory in order to assess its power and determine its viability as an ally against threats that lurked in the Unknown Regions, just beyond the bounds of Chiss territory. Though not initially part of the plan, he ended up infiltrating the ranks of the Imperial Navy, eventually achieving the rank of Grand Admiral. Even so, such external dealings were only carried out if they were somehow seen as being beneficial to Chiss interests, or if specific circumstances had the potential to produce consequences that could have a negative impact on the Ascendancy in the future. Unknown to the Chiss, by the time of the conflict with the Grysks, Emperor Palpatine sought to take complete control of the Chiss Ascendancy, which would make him their emperor as well.

While the Ascendancy was not inherently expansionistic, it often sent ships beyond its borders for the purposes of exploration and research. This allowed for them not only to successfully map and chart numerous expanses throughout Wild Space and the Unknown Regions, but also to discover the existence of forces that could serve as grave threats to the Chiss species.

## Society and Culture

Philosophically speaking, the Ascendancy vindicated its positions through a kind of utilitarian lens, the Chiss themselves being an empirically-minded species. The Chiss saw their government as the inverse of the Chaos that was the Unknown Regions, believing their Ascendancy represented order, security, steadfastness, power, glory, light, and culture.

The Chiss language was known as Cheunh, while written communication was done in Cheunh script. The Cheunh script included variants used by government officials that were deliberately hard for observers to read upside-down. In their rare contacts with outsiders, the Chiss used trade languages, such as Sy Bisti, which was used across the Unknown Regions and Wild Space as a means of communication. Other trade languages used by the Chiss both within the Chaos and the rare times they ventured to Lesser Space included Taarja and Minnisiat.

Most Chiss names were multi-syllabic and consisted of three distinct parts, as in Mitth'raw'nuruodo. The first portion identified an individual's family, the second was the given name, and the third indicated other social factors, such as their House, job, or other social factors. A combination of parts of the three portions constituted the individual's core name, such as the derivation of "Thrawn" from "Mitth'raw'nuruodo".

Gender was usually a non-issue with Chiss, as children were sanctioned by the government. To maintain political balance and Family numbers, as well as the sustainability of local populations and the careful monitoring of children in the system, any Chiss wishing to have a child had to go through the proper channels. Transgender individuals were rarely met with obstacles in their transition. The only exception to this policy were ozyly-esehembo, as males were very rare, and anomalies in the Sky-walker Corps were not often accounted for. Each case was handled individually, and transgender ozyly-esehembo were usually given puberty blockers and referred to by gender neutral terms until they were released from the Corps and allowed to begin their transition.

Pairings between Chiss were based on politics, and rarely did pairings occur as a result of affection or devotion. As a result, polyamory was common among Chiss, and there was little to no concern about sexuality. It was common for a pair to be Matched, attending social functions and political events together, but in their free or private time, would spend their time with others.

Chiss marriage (called Matching) was usually done for the addition of new blood into a Family, or for other political gains. While most Matches were dictated by politics and necessity, there were occasional cases of Matches being made out of affection, though usually between lesser families. Matching was not about devotion or affection in most cases, as it was to establish political connections between families, especially with Merit Adoptives.

A merit adoptive was a Chiss from a lesser family that became part of a Ruling or Great Family by adoption, Matching or Trials, based on their own skills and merits. The process to evaluate a candidate typically took two to three months, although Kivu'raw'nuru (Thrawn) was adopted into the Mitth family much faster than that as the Mitth family Patriarch Mitth'oor'akiord intervened on Vurawn's behalf. Merit adoptives brought in via military service automatically lost the relationship when said service ended. However, those who proved themselves particularly worthy, typically by performing the Trials, could rise to Trial-born, which allowed them to keep the connection.

Thrawn's brother, Mitth'ras'safis, (originally Kivu'ras'safis), was adopted by the Mitth family via Trials after proving his worth with his political skills as one of the youngest Syndics in recent history. Though Chiss often move on quickly from the passing of a Family member, as lingering over their death diminishes their life, Thrass's loss was felt keenly, and was cause of an extended period of melancholy.

Much like how the Galactic Empire showed prejudice towards aliens, the Chiss Ascendancy was known for distrusting humans. When Imperial Commander Eli Vanto served the Chiss Defense Fleet, the Chiss treated him similarly to how Grand Admiral Thrawn was treated when he joined the Empire. Nevertheless, all mistrust towards Vanto subsided when he proved his worth.

## Astrography

In total, the Ascendancy consisted of Csilla and twenty-eight inhabited colonies, although the Ascendancy contained several hundred thousand star systems within or near its borders. Information on all planets and star systems visited by the Chiss were kept in the Expeditionary Library on Csilla.

### Notable locations

* Avidich — A vertiginous world of high peaks and dizzying drops, Avidich was used by the Chiss to cultivate edible lichens.
* Brask Oto —CEDF space station serving as the barbican for the Redoubt.
* Celwis — This colony along the Vagaari Corridor, once raided with regularity by alien aggressors, showcased a decisive demonstration of Chiss military strength shortly after the formation of the CEDF.
* Cioral — Home of House Csapla, this planet was heavily urbanized, yet is responsible for overseeing the Ascendancy's half-dozen agricultural colonies.
* Copero — Home of House Mitth, this world was the location of the Chiss Ascendancy's largest shipyard.
* Cormit — Location of one of the two major CEDF bases.
* Crustai — Colony world.
* Csaus — Home of House Inrokini, Csaus was the Ascendancy's hub of science and communications.
* Csilla — Ice-covered homeworld and political capital of the Chiss. Site of the city of Csaplar and the Expeditionary Library.
* Jamiron — This world appeared barren from space, but hid hydroponic Ag facilities inside its porous crust.
* Kinoss — Location of one of the two major CEDF bases.
* Klasse Ephemora — This system contained the gas giant Mobus, around which the living planet Zonama Sekot orbited until late in the Yuuzhan Vong War.
* Mobus — Gas giant in the Klasse Ephemora system. Zonama Sekot sought refuge in a lunar orbit around Mobus after its flight from its home system in 29 BBY, and from 30 ABY, Zonama Sekot was resettled by the Yuuzhan Vong remnant.
* Naporar — Home of the Nuruodo family and location of the CEDF headquarters.
* Ool — A forested planet spotted with vast circular plots of farmland.
* Oyokal — An aquaculture colony of fish-stocked pools and wave-riding algal beds, Oyokal was home to a quadrupedal native species.
* Pesfavri — Location of defense fleet base near the redoubt.
* The Redoubt — Dense star cluster developed as an interstellar fortress by the Chiss. Site of Brask Oto and the unnamed planet on which *Outbound Flight* came down.
* Rentor — The Chiss settlements on this world were constructed atop icebergs that slowly cruised the ocean currents.
* Rhigar — Site of a Chiss military academy in the Rata Nebula.
* Sarvchi — Home of the Chaf family.
* Shihon — All animals on Shihon were boneless, with bulbous gasbags filling the sky and city-sized jellies choking the oceans.
* Sposia — Home of House Sabosen, Sposia held the Ascendancy's top academies and med-centers.
* Tenupe — Situated on the Sparkle Run, Tenupe was a jungle world captured by the Chiss Ascendancy from the Killiks in the final battle of the Swarm War.
* Thearterra — An obscure body in the S-K system, this world was perpetually racked by volcanoes, hailstorms, and ground-quakes.
* Thrago — Site of a CEDF supply depot anchored around a small moon, destroyed by rogue Jedi in 36 ABY.
* Yashuvhu — Remote hinterland planet with a Force-sensitive Human population; home world of the duuvhal, and of Force-talent Valara Saar.