Organization

The Secret Order of the Emperor was founded by His Majesty, Emperor Palpatine, after the fall of the Old Republic. The Emperor sought officers of the highest skill, loyalty, and integrity to serve as his elite troops and protectors. Though His Majesty has died, the Secret Order has not...

The Secret Order is organized into circles. The higher one's status in the Secret Order, the deeper within it he or she is admitted to. In order from lowest circle upwards, the circles are: Initiate, Second Circle, Third Circle, Fourth Circle, and Inner Circle. All members of the Secret Order are at least of the rank of Initiate... and very, very few will ever reach the Inner Circle.

In addition to the circles, within the Inner Circle, there are two positions of distinction: Emperor's Eyes and Emperor's Reach.

An Initiate into the Secret Order of the Emperor has proven himself or herself to be a capable member, and is deserving of further training and refinement at the hands of upper-level Scimitar members. In addition, an initiate's activity and competence are evaluated by his or her superiors in the order... to ensure that he or she is truly the right sort of officer. At the discretion of Scimitar Leader, an initiate may have to "sit out" official events external to the Empire if he or she is not deemed ready to participate. Initiates may not vote in Official Secret Order decisions.

The designation of Second Circle means that an officer has earned a full place in the Order. He or she gains a vote in the Secret Order decisions. A member at this level is expected to attend all important events unless permission is otherwise granted.

At the Third Circle, the personal requirements are similar to that of the Second Circle, however, the inter-squadron requirements are much higher. A Third Circle Secret Order member will be dispatched to train and supervise Initiates into the Order. A Third Circle member may also serve as a liaison between Scimitar Leader and other factions, so his or her professionalism is necessary.

The Fourth Circle is analogous to the Third Circle, but his or her combat prowess is even more advanced. Members of this rank train Initiates and members of the Second Circle. A designation of Fourth Circle means that this officer is a candidate for Scimitar Leader in the present or the future.

The Inner Circle is the most prestigious of all circles, and the hardest to achieve. To be in the Inner Circle, the officer must be an excellent pilot in all platforms, extremely active both within Scimitar and his or her "regular" assignment. The Inner Circle is typically reserved for Scimitar Leader or his or her immediate successor, but sufficiently skilled pilots may earn their way to it, if they are truly good enough. In the Inner Circle, one's votes count as two.

The distinction of Emperor's Eyes can be achieved by an extremely successful, competent, and long-serving Scimitar Leader. The Emperor's Eyes has veto power over any decisions made, save those by the Emperor's Reach.

The distinction of Emperor's Reach can only be achieved by the Scimitar Leader in the case of obvious and overwhelming evidence in favour of his or her superiority as a pilot, as an officer, and as a member of the Secret Order. The Emperor's Reach holds veto power over any decisions made. This distinction is held on an honourary basis by the Commander of the Navy.

ID-Line Designations

For Scimitar-Related activities, an officer uses his or her Scimitar ID-Line, which corresponds to the following format:

[Brevet Rank] [Name] / Scimitar [Position] / [Circle Designation] / Imperial Navy

The Brevet Rank is assigned by the Commander of the Navy and/or Scimitar Leader. For example, Kardock has the Brevet rank of Commander (CM), is Scimitar 4, and is in the Second Circle of the Secret Order:

CM Kardock / Scimitar 4 / Second Circle / Imperial Navy

For non-Scimitar activities, one's designation is abbreviated and appended to the end of the medal line. Example:

EN Kardock / Beta 1-2 / ISD Demolition / Imperial Navy
[MoM]x2 [LSM-1S] [MoC-2S] (SOE-2C)

In addition, it is permissible to append one's Secret Order ID-line below the regular ID and Medal Lines in the following fashion. Note that in such a case, the abbreviation is not displayed:

EN Kardock / Beta 1-2 / ISD Demolition / Imperial Navy
[MoM]x2 [LSM-1S] [MoC-2S]
CM Kardock / Scimitar 4 / Second Circle / Imperial Navy

The following table gives the appropriate abbreviations:

Level	Abbreviation
Initiate	(SOE)
Second Circle	(SOE-2C)
Third Circle	(SOE-3C)
Fourth Circle	(SOE-4C)
Inner Circle	(SOE-IC)
Emperor's Eyes	(SOE-EE)
Emperor's Reach	(SOE-ER)