Eternal Empire

At some point between the Ritual of Nathema and the Great Galactic War, the Sith Emperor Vitiate became aware of stories regarding an ancient and unstoppable fleet of warships. These ships were controlled by sentient droids and had nearly annihilated all life in Wild Space. The Gravestone, a formidable vessel, reportedly halted the entire "Eternal Fleet" above a remote world called Zakuul. Subsequently, Vitiate selected Zakuul as the location to construct a new empire. Vitiate encountered a Zakuulan warrior named "Valkorion" and designated him as a new "Voice." Valkorion's consciousness was entirely suppressed, and Vitiate assumed his identity to establish and govern Zakuul. The native Humans of Zakuul, characterized by their superstitious and nihilistic beliefs, venerated the merciless Old Gods. Consequently, "Valkorion" proclaimed himself as the Demon Savior of Zakuulan prophecy—an immortal god who would overthrow Izax, the Ultimate Devourer, along with the other Old Gods, thereby ushering in a new era.

Valkorion unified the disparate nomadic tribes of Zakuul and declared himself the Immortal Emperor of the newly formed Eternal Empire. He established a city amidst the swamps and accelerated the technological progress of the Zakuulans. The city was deemed insufficient by Valkorion, leading to the development of the Spire, a golden metropolis that extended from the summit of the Old World, which became the name of the original city. Valkorion transformed the traditional tribal leadership roles—Matriarch, Champion, and High Shaman—into the Knights of Zakuul, a Force-sensitive order dedicated to protecting the people and displaying unwavering loyalty to their Immortal Emperor.

The Scions of Zakuul, a specialized subgroup of the Knights, focused on precognition and were deeply fascinated by the concept of destiny. Valkorion capitalized on this, utilizing the Scions' Force-induced visions to locate the dormant Eternal Fleet. To gain control of the fleet, he assembled Zakuul's most brilliant minds to construct the Eternal Throne: a throne situated in the starscraper atop the Spire. The throne's technology enabled the Immortal Emperor to command the GEMINI units that operated the fleet. The throne's construction spanned generations, concluding approximately two centuries after the Jedi Civil War.

Senya Tirall, a young Knight, joined Valkorion's personal guard during a period when the Immortal Emperor began replacing Humans in the Eternal Empire military with droids, such as the newly introduced Skytroopers. Tirall voiced her opposition to this shift, drawing Valkorion's attention. Her outspokenness earned her a permanent position in Valkorion's guard, and they initiated a clandestine affair two years later. Their happiness persisted until Tirall gave birth to twin sons, Arcann and Thexan. Valkorion became increasingly aloof, barely acknowledging his family's existence for extended periods as he concentrated his power and attention elsewhere.

Tirall also had a daughter named Vaylin, who inherited her father's immense power. Even in the womb, she could manipulate objects, and as a toddler, she dismantled droids. Despite his distractions, Valkorion had been observing his children and was both pleased and alarmed by the similarities between himself and his favored child. Tirall was horrified when her daughter maimed a guard after dropping a ball, and she sought Valkorion's assistance. Valkorion's "solution" involved installing mental blocks that severed Vaylin from most of her powers and repressed her violent and sociopathic tendencies, but these blocks also impaired her personality.

Tirall attempted to escape with her children, but they rejected her concerns and dismissed her affections. Heartbroken, Tirall returned to service in the Knights' enforcement division on the Empire's outer fringes, never to communicate with Valkorion again. In her absence, Valkorion remained emotionally detached from his children, imparting his philosophy that anything could be achieved through sacrifice. He also rotated their guards frequently to prevent emotional attachments. This served as a reminder to his children that while the Knights of Zakuul served them, the Knights viewed them merely as extensions of Valkorion's will.

The Eternal Empire maintained a network of agents to spy on the outlands, a Zakuulan term for the Core Worlds. The Empire remained concealed until approximately 3636 BBY, when the twin Princes Arcann and Thexan proposed a plan to assess the combat capabilities of the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire. Valkorion approved the plan and granted Thexan command of the Eternal Fleet, but he instructed Arcann to remain on Zakuul. Arcann defied his father's orders and led the assault alongside his brother. They engaged in battles on numerous worlds before launching an attack on Korriban, where Arcann sustained severe injuries during the battle.

Medics performed surgery on Arcann, equipping him with a replacement cybernetic arm and eye. The twin princes returned to Zakuul to present the lightsabers of fallen Jedi and Sith as trophies to their father, but Valkorion silently turned his back on them. This enraged Arcann, who, consumed by the dark side of the Force, attempted to attack the Emperor. However, Thexan pulled his brother back. Arcann redirected his anger toward his brother, striking him down with a fatal blow across the stomach, ending their brief duel. Regaining his composure, Arcann cradled his twin's body before looking up to see Valkorion standing over him, inviting his remaining son to join him. Thexan's death was concealed, and a funeral was held, claiming he died in combat in the Core Worlds.

To locate their enemies, Darth Marr, a member of the Sith Dark Council, formed a joint task force consisting of Imperial and Republic forces to venture into uncharted territory in Wild Space. Unknowingly, Marr's task force crossed into the Eternal Empire's borders, prompting Valkorion to dispatch the Eternal Fleet to confront the intruders. The task force was decimated, and the survivors were scattered. Darth Marr and his ally, the Outlander, were captured by the Eternal Empire and taken to the Eternal Flagship under the command of Prince Arcann, who brought them to Zakuul to face his father. Darth Marr immediately recognized the Immortal Emperor as merely another host body for Sith Emperor Vitiate, who declared that the fate of galactic Core Worlds and their inhabitants was of no concern to him.

Darth Marr, enraged by his former Emperor's indifference, launched an attack, killing at least two Knights of Zakuul. Valkorion retaliated by killing the Sith Lord with a powerful blast of concentrated lighting, at which point his daughter, High Justice Vaylin, ordered all Knights and Scions of Zakuul to evacuate the room. Arcann seized the opportunity presented by Valkorion's focus on the Outlander to attempt to assassinate his father once more. During the ensuing confrontation, Valkorion's physical body sustained a fatal wound. However, his spirit refused to succumb to death and instead entered the Outlander's body, seeking a new host. Arcann sensed his father's presence within the new host and ordered the Outlander to be immediately frozen in carbonite.

Arcann promptly ascended to the Eternal Throne, proclaiming himself the new Eternal Emperor. He asserted that the Outlander had assassinated Valkorion for attempting to destroy Zakuul society and vowed revenge on the Core Worlds, initiating a full-scale conquest as retribution. The Eternal Fleet simultaneously attacked both the Republic and the Empire, destroying their shipyards and blockading major trade routes. The Eternal Empire possessed both numerical superiority and speed. Only ships powered by isotope-5 could hope to evade the more formidable Eternal Fleet warships. Within three months, Zakuul had established naval dominance over both factions, and by the end of the first year, the Republic capital of Coruscant and the Imperial capital of Dromund Kaas were under blockade. Before long, the Republic Senate requested peace. The Minister of Logistics made a similar request on behalf of the Sith Empire.

Both sides dispatched emissaries—Senator Evran for the Republic and Darth Vowrawn for the Empire—to Zakuul, where they were presented before Arcann. The Emperor agreed to a ceasefire, contingent upon the Republic and the Empire paying substantial tribute to Zakuul and adhering to armament restrictions. With limited alternatives, both parties acquiesced. Even after this agreement, the conflict between the Republic and the Empire persisted, with Arcann's tacit approval, provided that both sides acknowledged Zakuul's supremacy and continued to pay the required tribute. Instead of governing his new territories with occupation forces, Arcann deployed hundreds of massive Star Fortresses in orbit around key planets. Any attempts at resistance were met with the stations venting excess plasma from the sun generators in devastating beams directed at the surface, effectively holding the planets and their populations hostage. These fortresses were commanded by Exarchs, Knights of Zakuul who had been biologically and cybernetically enhanced.

Shortly after assuming the Eternal Throne, Arcann ordered the Knights of Zakuul to eliminate the Scions of Zakuul, whom he despised for their belief in prophecies and a predetermined order. Most Knights remained loyal to the new Emperor, and the order was carried out, often with Knights and Exarchs jointly slaughtering the Scions they had previously served alongside. A number of Scions, led by Heskal, managed to survive and escape into hiding, while Senya Tirall, appalled by her son's actions, began collaborating with the enemies of his regime. To safeguard the valuables acquired during the years of plundering the galaxy following the conquest, the Eternal Empire utilized the Gilded Star, a treasury ship guarded by a full battalion of Knights of Zakuul and Skytroopers, featuring a vault capable of withstanding the ship's complete disintegration. The ship spent most of its time concealed deep within the atmosphere of the gas giant Vandin, surfacing only annually for replenishment.

In 3631 BBY, five years after Valkorion's demise, Lana Beniko orchestrated a mission to rescue the Outlander from their carbonite imprisonment with the help of her allies. Beniko located and unfroze the Outlander, escorting them toward the extraction point, but they were pursued by High Justice Vaylin. Vaylin destabilized a Sun Generator to obstruct their escape route and cornered Beniko and the Outlander. Koth Vortena's shuttle arrived and extracted them, but the shuttle sustained damage from Vaylin and crash-landed in the Endless Swamp. Vaylin returned to the Eternal Throne room, where Arcann dispatched skytroopers to scan the area for significant metallic sensor readings.

The Outlander's accomplices were joined by Senya Tirall and successfully located the Gravestone, the legendary starship that had once overwhelmed the Eternal Fleet, and managed to make it airborne. As they attempted to flee Zakuul, they encountered the Eternal Fleet, which Arcann ordered to destroy the vessel. However, a single omnicannon blast from the Gravestone obliterated more than twenty Eternal Fleet warships before jumping into Hyperspace. Heskal, the leader of the Scions of Zakuul, contacted Emperor Arcann and revealed that the Outlander was hiding on the Asylum shadowport. Arcann deployed the Eternal Fleet and personally arrived at Asylum before his forces to execute the Scions in their hideout, impaling Heskal with his lightsaber.

The Eternal Fleet emerged from hyperspace and initiated an attack on the shadowport. Zakuulan forces seized control of the Control Spar, commandeering the docking clamps and preventing the Gravestone from taking off. The ship was assaulted by a group of Knights led by Vaylin, who was about to attack the Outlander when her mother, Senya Tirall, intervened, pushing the Outlander aside and engaging her daughter in combat. The Outlander proceeded to the Control Spar alone and released the docking clamps securing the Gravestone, but was ambushed by Arcann. During the fight, Arcann was knocked off the Control Spar to the levels below. The rebels boarded the Gravestone and escaped the Eternal Fleet blockade into hyperspace. Arcann survived his fall, and without further resistance, the Eternal Empire forces completely leveled Asylum.

The Battle of Asylum galvanized those who opposed Arcann's rule, drawing individuals from the Sith Empire, the Galactic Republic, and the criminal underworld to a remote and undeveloped planet, where they formed an Alliance against the Eternal Empire. Resistance fighters throughout the galaxy took up arms despite the threat posed by Star Fortresses. One such resistance cell on Bothawui prompted the Eternal Empire to showcase their power by firing a potent laser from the orbiting Star Fortress, annihilating the entire cell.

Despite Arcann's widespread search for the Gravestone and the Outlander, neither Vaylin nor the Eternal Fleet patrols were able to locate them for weeks. Losing patience, Arcann instructed Vaylin to bombard one inhabited world in five sectors each, hoping to either lure the Outlander out of hiding or incentivize someone to reveal their location. As his order was being executed, the Outlander revisited Zakuul and allied with the local terrorist and anarchist Firebrand to raid the Overwatch, destroying the controls for the droids that maintained the capital city of the Spire and plunging it into chaos. Arcann used this attack as justification for the bombardments, claiming that the targeted worlds supported the Outlander and that the attacks were retaliation for the acts of terrorism on Zakuul.

The Alliance launched increasingly daring strikes against the Eternal Empire, but the location of its headquarters remained unknown to Arcann and Vaylin. One such strike occurred at Vandin, where the Eternal Empire's stealth treasury ship, the Gilded Star, was concealed within the atmosphere of the gas giant. As it surfaced for its annual resupply, Alliance operatives raided it and absconded with its treasure hull's contents just as Vaylin arrived to inspect the ship. Vaylin warned her brother that by stealing their valuables, the Alliance would encourage other worlds to revolt, but Arcann reassured her that the riches could be replaced and fear of his power would deter any further uprisings.

A distress call from a GEMINI captain revealed to Arcann that the Alliance was attempting to commandeer an Eternal Fleet warship. Arcann deployed his Eternal Flagship and a significant detachment of the Eternal Fleet to intercept his enemies, but the Gravestone escaped into hyperspace just as the Eternal Fleet arrived on the scene. Shortly thereafter, Vaylin noticed that all Eternal Fleet vessels outside their sector had ceased responding to orders. Arcann dismissed this development as inconsequential, focusing on hunting down the Outlander and Valkorion before addressing the Eternal Fleet.

The siblings realized that, in their absence, SCORPIO, a highly developed AI, had seized control of the Eternal Throne. This gave her command over the Skytroopers, the Eternal Fleet, and consequently, their entire Empire. To incite conflict among her adversaries, SCORPIO disclosed her actions to Arcann, revealing that the Alliance base was situated on Odessen. Arcann then commanded his Eternal Fleet detachment to initiate an attack. In response, the Alliance deployed the Gravestone against the Eternal Fleet, inflicting substantial damage with its omnicannon. During this engagement, the Outlander, Senya Tirall, and Lana Beniko boarded the Eternal Flagship, intending to assassinate Arcann.

Sensing a chance to advance her own ambitions, Vaylin betrayed Arcann's location to the Outlander while simultaneously drawing Senya away to confront her directly. The Outlander engaged Arcann in a duel on the bridge. During the fight, SCORPIO commandeered the remaining Eternal Fleet forces and ordered them to target the Eternal Flagship, aiming to eliminate both Arcann and the Outlander. Arcann was defeated and crushed under falling wreckage, forcing the Outlander to retreat. Senya arrived shortly after and rescued Arcann from the debris just as Vaylin appeared on the bridge. Vaylin attacked her mother, but Arcann used the Force to push her away, saving Senya and infuriating Vaylin. Seeking revenge, Vaylin retreated to Zakuul, while Senya carried Arcann away, hoping to heal him.

Upon returning to Zakuul, Vaylin was greeted by SCORPIO, who explained that her seizure of the Eternal Throne was solely to grant free will to the GEMINI droids. SCORPIO then willingly relinquished the Eternal Throne to Vaylin, offering to remain as an advisor to the new Empress of Zakuul, guiding her in the destruction of their enemies. As the new Eternal Empress, Vaylin quickly established herself as an even more ruthless leader than Arcann. During her coronation, she publicly executed a dozen Knights of Zakuul for their failure to protect her brother. She congratulated each victim on the honor of dying by her hand, a cruel act that horrified the citizens of Zakuul.

After eliminating Arcann's entire guard, Vaylin replaced them with an elite squad chosen from the remaining Knights of Zakuul, which she named the Horizon Guard. She also placed a bounty on her own mother, relentlessly pursuing every lead. Eventually, Vaylin discovered that several dissident Knights were planning to meet with Senya on Ord Mantell and personally massacred the hosts before Senya's arrival. She then ambushed her mother and engaged her in a lightsaber duel. Driven solely by the desire to kill Senya, Vaylin attempted a final blow, but instead struck a damaged hyperdrive, causing an explosion that allowed Senya to escape.

Following the incident on Ord Mantell, Vaylin tracked Senya and Arcann to Voss and launched an invasion of the planet using the Eternal Fleet, hoping to force them out of hiding. Her forces landed in and captured the capital city of Voss-Ka, after which Vaylin ordered the planet to be incinerated. The Alliance responded by engaging the Eternal Fleet, while a stolen Eternal Empire shuttle delivered a ground force to the planet's surface. Vaylin eventually located all three of her family members inside the Shrine of Healing and ordered the Eternal Fleet to bombard the Shrine in an attempt to kill them all. However, before the Eternal Fleet ships could obliterate the planet, the Imperial fleet arrived, causing the GEMINI units to retreat from the battle.

Meanwhile, Arcann had healed both physically and spiritually and had independently escaped from Voss. He had gathered a group of Zakuulan loyalists who were willing to assist him in reclaiming the Eternal Throne from his sister. When reports from Dromund Kaas indicated that the Outlander had died, SCORPIO noted that, regardless of the truth, the resulting chaos presented an ideal opportunity to strike against the Alliance. They devised a trap for the Gravestone by capturing a civilian cargo freighter named Ridala and staging an attack on it by the Eternal Fleet. As the Gravestone, piloted by Koth Vortena, pursued the Eternal Fleet, the Ridala sent out a distress signal and was permitted to land inside the Gravestone's hangar.

SCORPIO, Vaylin, and a contingent of Knights of Zakuul and Horizon Guard emerged from the freighter and seized control of the Gravestone. The Alliance fleet responded and engaged the Eternal Fleet, while the Outlander and Lana Beniko infiltrated the Gravestone using a boarding pod. SCORPIO detected their enemies' presence and Vaylin advanced to confront her father. SCORPIO then gained complete access to the Gravestone's systems and instructed the GEMINI captains of the Eternal Fleet to travel to the coordinates she had discovered within its computers. Vaylin returned to the bridge to address SCORPIO's betrayal, but the droid acted faster, shooting Vaylin in the shoulder just as the Gravestone jumped into hyperspace.

The Gravestone and the Eternal Fleet arrived in the Iokath system, where the ships were enveloped in the intense light emanating from the planet. Both the Alliance members aboard the Gravestone and the Eternal Empire personnel aboard the Eternal Fleet awoke on the surface of Iokath, separated and placed in scenarios resembling combat simulations. Although the Zakuulan forces were more numerous, they suffered significant losses. Vaylin awoke in a locked room and created an exit by smashing through a wall with the Force. Vaylin then encountered the remains of Zakuulan crews, including several GEMINI captains. The Empress then rallied her forces to reclaim the Eternal Fleet.

Eternal Empire forces discovered the control console, from which the GEMINI captains released the docked Eternal Fleet warships. However, as the ships prepared to depart, they began colliding with the energy shield that completely surrounded the planet, prompting Vaylin to order the location and deactivation of its source. Vaylin brought a purifier droid drone with her aboard one of the ships, where a Knight informed her that half of the Eternal Fleet had been recaptured, while the remaining ships could be towed using Tractor beams. Vaylin instructed the GEMINI captain to connect to the Purifier drone, which revealed that ARIES base in the southern hemisphere was preparing to fire a weapon that would destroy both organics and GEMINI droids. Vaylin ordered the Eternal Fleet to bombard that fortress, to which the Purifier drone noted that the GEMINI functioned sub-optimally due to SCORPIO's free will protocols.

The Alliance forces deactivated the planetary shield, enabling the Eternal Fleet to escape. Vaylin, determined to eliminate her enemies first, ordered the Purifier drone to override the GEMINI captain's programming, restoring it to its default settings. ARIES' superweapon detonated, threatening to engulf Iokath in deadly radiation, which caused Vaylin to flee into hyperspace with the majority of the fleet. Resolved to command a fleet that obeyed her without question, Vaylin brought the Purifier drone back to Zakuul, where she connected it to the Eternal Throne. The purifier used this connection to reprogram every GEMINI unit, which Vaylin tested by ordering one ship to destroy another, an order carried out without hesitation.

With complete control over the GEMINI captains restored, Vaylin dispatched the Eternal Fleet to hunt down and destroy Alliance patrols, outposts, and supply convoys. She also sought to break her mental blocks and instructed the scientist Jarak to return to Nathema and devise a method to undo the conditioning he had imposed on her under Valkorion's orders. To commemorate her achievements, Vaylin commanded her Magistrate of Revelry, Indo Zal, to organize a Grand Festival at the Palace of the Eternal Dragon in her honor. During the celebration, Vaylin planned to execute a group of captured Zakuulan rebels by feeding them to wild beasts.

Shortly before the party commenced, Vaylin observed Indo Zal acting suspiciously and realized that he was collaborating with the Alliance, so she fitted him with a shock collar. Vaylin addressed the assembled Zakuulan social elite, with the speech also broadcast throughout the galaxy. At that moment, the Outlander and Theron Shan revealed their infiltration of the party, mocking Vaylin in front of the crowd. The Outlander triggered her mental conditioning, causing Vaylin to lose control of her powers publicly, and then detonated the Ion charges attached to the security relays. The resulting ion blast disabled the prisoners' shock collars, freeing them to attack, but also unlocked the cages of the wild beasts, releasing them into the crowd of civilians and Knights of Zakuul.

Vaylin prepared to confront the Outlander in battle, but Arcann arrived with his loyalists, launching an assault on the palace. Vaylin retreated from the main palace room to the balcony, where Arcann approached and attempted to reason with her peacefully, but Vaylin attacked him in a fit of rage. Their conflict was interrupted by the arrival of the Outlander and Theron Shan, and Vaylin escaped to her flagship. From there, she witnessed a galaxy-wide broadcast of Arcann pledging his allegiance to the Outlander's Alliance. Enraged, Vaylin ordered the Eternal Fleet to obliterate the entire Palace. Vaylin then took her Eternal Fleet flagship to Nathema, leaving Zakuul in a state of chaos between her supporters and those who had risen up in rebellion.

A shuttle transported Vaylin and a contingent of the Horizon Guard to the Sanitarium's entrance, where an Abyssin Keeper directed her to Jarak. The Empress instructed the Horizon Guards to remain outside, and Jarak led her to the main lab for a ritual designed to break her mental bonds, provided she survived. Vaylin agreed to proceed, and Jarak initiated the procedure, inflicting immense pain and causing her power to surge uncontrollably. Jarak fled to save himself, while Vaylin mustered her remaining strength and overpowered Jarak's machines, causing them to explode. With her bonds broken, Vaylin departed the surface of Nathema. Upon returning to her flagship, Vaylin used her newfound power to remotely trigger the Sanitarium's destruction, before ordering her ships to depart the Nathema system. She then immediately launched an assault on Odessen, intending to annihilate the Alliance and her entire family who opposed her.

Without the Gravestone, the Alliance fleet was unable to prevent Vaylin's ground forces from landing, and soon Zakuul Hovercrafts were deploying both troops and Eternal Empire Walkers. Overseeing the battle from her flagship's bridge, Vaylin ordered that victory be achieved regardless of the cost. She then received a communication from the Outlander, who used taunts to lure her down to the surface for a direct confrontation. Vaylin captured one of the Outlander's allies as a hostage and invited Valkorion's vessel to face her on the Alliance base landing platform. There, Vaylin confronted Senya, Arcann, and the Outlander, supported by a contingent of skytroopers and Horizon Guards. After using the Force to kill her hostage, Vaylin engaged her mother, brother, and the Outlander in combat. After she was seemingly defeated, she unleashed her power uncontrollably, creating a massive Force Storm. With no other option to stop her, the Outlander was forced to strike Vaylin down, ending her life.

Vaylin's death left the Eternal Throne vacant, causing the Eternal Fleet's GEMINI captains to malfunction and revert to their primary directive: the extermination of all organic life in the galaxy. Eternal Fleet warships began bombarding populated worlds across the galaxy, including Zakuul itself. The Alliance leadership traveled to Zakuul, where the Outlander, Arcann, and Senya journeyed to the burning city and made their way towards the Spire. They reached the Eternal Throne room, where Arcann offered the throne to the Outlander as atonement for his past transgressions. The Outlander accepted the Eternal Throne and sent a signal to the Eternal Fleet, which immediately ceased its attacks. Valkorion's spirit, residing within the Outlander, then revealed his true intention: to eradicate their mind and seize control of their body. Inside the Outlander's mind, Valkorion summoned Vaylin's enslaved spirit, whom the Commander battled and defeated. The Outlander then used Dramath's holocron to liberate Vaylin from her father's mind control. Arcann and Senya joined the Outlander, and together they vanquished the Immortal Emperor's spirit, ending his millennia-long existence.

In the following days, the Alliance established complete control over the Eternal Fleet and the remnants of the Zakuulan military, integrating its vehicles and personnel into the new Eternal Alliance. The Eternal Alliance relocated the Eternal Throne from the Spire to Odessen, installing it in the Alliance base and using it to issue new orders directly to the Eternal Fleet. The Eternal Empire was dissolved and replaced with an elected Zakuulan government led by Consul Axion. Axion assured the Outlander that Zakuulans would relinquish control of any colony worlds acquired by the Eternal Empire and seek alliances with other worlds instead. Axion concluded the message by expressing his hope that the Alliance and Zakuul could negotiate a trade agreement that would benefit both governments.

The ruler of the Eternal Empire was known as the Emperor (or Empress, if female), and the governing system was an absolute monarchy. The High Justice served as the head of government and military. The High Justice was also the second in command of the Empire, wielding unlimited authority when Vaylin held the position under Arcann's leadership.

The Eternal Empire's military primarily consisted of Skytroopers and the Knights of Zakuul. It also included biologists, mainly stationed on the Star Fortresses, and other humans serving as officers, such as the rogue Koth Vortena. Additional personnel in the Eternal Empire's military included Eternal Empire troopers and their various subtypes. During Empress Vaylin's reign, the Horizon Guard was established to serve her directly, surpassing the Knights of Zakuul, who had failed to protect her brother during the Battle of Odessen. The High Justice was the head of the Eternal Empire's military.

Zakuulans were generally raised in the comfort and security of The Spire, leading lives of intellectual and artistic pursuits. However, some occasionally felt the need for more thrilling experiences. The Old World, remnants of Valkorion's initial attempt at a grand city, provided Spire residents with an outlet for their desire for excitement. Many Zakuulans had visited to cheer at the gladiator pits or explore the red-light district. Countless others simply toured the seedy streets, seeking thrills in the distasteful and taboo.

The Eternal Empire was initially mentioned in 2015 on a swtor.com webpage promoting the Knights of the Fallen Empire expansion for the BioWare video game Star Wars: The Old Republic.

The December 2016 Polish edition of Star Wars: Galactic Atlas, a reference book for the new Star Wars canon, included an entry for the Empire of Zakuul. The book placed it in the far west of the galaxy and in the Unknown Regions. However, Emil Fortune, the author of Galactic Atlas, stated that he was unaware of how Zakuul was included in the Polish translation of the canon reference book.