Kilji way of order and enlightenment

The Kilji way of order and enlightenment, also called the Kilji enlightenment, was an ancient set of religious beliefs and tenets that formed the foundation of the theocratic Kilji Illumine nation of the Kilji species. According to an ancient Kilji principle, the universe should become enlightened—if each individual chose to do so, and those already enlightened were obligated to facilitate such choices. The Kilji enlightenment, as understood by the Kiljis, provided purpose and prosperity while simultaneously restricting independent thought or action without the guidance of their superiors. The Kilji vassals, led by the generalirius of the Kilji Illumine and the government's generals, diligently served their masters, carrying out every command, even those directly impacting the vassal.

The Kilji way of order and enlightenment dictated that the enlightened never evade combat; they engage and triumph. While the Illumine's officers conveyed this ideology, they were willing to allow subordinates to retreat, sacrificing themselves to ensure the survival of others. The Illumine Kilhorde, the Kilji Illumine's military force, aggressively expanded the Illumine and enlightened planets and peoples through war under the command of their generalirius, who guided them along the "correct" and enlightened path.

Around 18 BBY, the Illumine's leader, Generalirius Nakirre, formed an alliance with the Grysk operative "Jixtus" to enlighten the universe and the galaxy, extending from the Unknown Regions to the regions beyond their borders. Nakirre provided transport aboard the Kilji war cruiser Whetstone to his Grysk ally, who guided the Kilhorde's conquests of enlightenment and advised the Kiljis. The Grysk agent identified four nations within the Unknown Regions as initial targets for enlightenment, bringing Nakirre's war cruiser to the Zyzek system to meet with representatives of these nations. While orbiting the planet Zyzek, Jixtus and the Kilji generalirius discussed the concept of conquest, which, according to Nakirre, would establish order through the Kilji way of order and enlightenment. Before the Grysk could explain how they would commence the enlightenment of the four nations, the Chiss heavy cruiser Springhawk, commanded by Chiss Senior Captain Mitth'raw'nuruodo "Thrawn", arrived.

Thrawn claimed to possess several prisoners belonging to the Watith, whom Nakirre desired to capture for enlightenment. The generalirius spoke with the senior captain, who refused to relinquish his prisoners because the Kilji did not know the location of the home of the Watith, where Nakirre promised to leave them. This prompted the Kilji commander to explain that his enlightenment required him to assist Thrawn in delivering the Watith to their origin, which, in turn, prompted the other to imply that the Kilji enlightenment robbed him of his freedom of choice. Angered, the generalirius ordered his vassals to prepare the Whetstone for combat; however, the confrontation was averted by the Zyzek System Defense organization just before Nakirre vowed to introduce the Kilji philosophy to the Chiss.

Shortly thereafter, Nakirre and Jixtus visited the Chiss Ascendancy's planet Avidich under the generalirius's directive to enlighten the Chiss. There, Mitth family Patriel Thistrian ordered Nakirre away, and Jixtus complied. That angered the Kilji, who wished to speak of the path to the patriel. While en route to their next destination, the generalirius snapped, and expressed his displeasure. His Grysk ally then brought the Whetstone to a star system where his flagship, the Shatter-class WarMaster FateSpinner, assisted Jixtus in intimidating Nakirre into a service with no complaints while promising that their agreement to enlighten the peoples of the Unknown Regions still stood.

Meanwhile, Jixtus dispatched Illumine General Crofyp and his task force consisting of his Kilji war cruiser Anvil and the Kilji picket cruiser Hammer led by Colonel Tildnis, to capture a group of refugees hiding at the planet of Rapacc in the Unknown Regions' Rapacc system. While en route to Rapacc, the Pathfinder navigator of the Anvil, Qilori, stopped the warship as the Hammer had lagged. That annoyed Crofyp, who insulted the navigator, calling him an unenlightened fool with xenophobia. Shortly after, both Kilji warships arrived in the Rapacc system and were confronted by the Paccosh–commandeered Nikardun blockade frigate Aelos. The Kiljis commanded the Paccian captain, Commander Uingali foar Marocsaa, to move aside or die. However, the other refused while Crofyp explained Jixtus's role in the Kilji conquests of enlightenment to the commander.

Just after the general positioned his task force for a cross-fire attack, the Springhawk arrived and deactivated the Anvil with plasma spheres before confronting Crofyp through comm. Thrawn issued a directive to let him destroy the Aelos or be destroyed, which angered Crofyp, who called the Chiss an unenlightened fool. The general then sieged the Chiss heavy cruiser; however, the warship was able to deal significant damage to the Anvil. In the bridge of the war cruiser, Qilori told Crofyp to flee, however, the general did not comply, as the enlightened did not flee, they fought and prevailed. The Pathfinder then fled in a escape pod while mocking the general, who died moments after Chiss breacher missiles exploded the Anvil. The Springhawk's commander then rescued Qilori, and tasked him with tracking the Hammer, which had fled, contrary to the Kilji way, to its destination. Days afterward, the Aelos—crewed by Thrawn, Qilori, and the Paccosh—traveled to the star system known as the Sunrise system by the Chiss, where they captured the Hammer as part of the Sunrise incident. After retrieving vital data on the Kilhorde battle fleet, Thrawn's team fled the picket cruiser while a vessel of the Grysks destroyed the cruiser.

Sometime following the destruction of the Kilji picket cruiser, Nakirre ceased receiving communications from his field commanders, who were charting their campaigns northeast of the Paataatus Hiveborn government. The generalirius feared that his enlightened generals had extended their conquests to the southeast-nadir Chiss planet of Colonial Station Chaf, which would have disrupted the operation of the long-range triad transmitter—which allowed Nakirre to communicate with the Kilhorde's officers—there. In reality, Thrawn had shared the data he retrieved from the Hammer with the Paataatus species, who deemed the Illumine Kilhorde's operations near their borders unacceptable. Armed with this data, the Paataatus dispatched one of their attack fleets to destroy the Kilhorde.

Subsequently, Nakirre mocked his Grysk ally, noting that Jixtus had previously stated that the Ascendancy would fall when the Chiss were forced into combat, which the Kilji considered incorrect, believing the proper term was "if." Jixtus then informed Nakirre that the Grysks could manipulate the Illumine's culture to serve their purposes, a claim the generalirius dismissed, asserting that the fate of the enlightened could not be altered by the unenlightened. Days later, the Whetstone arrived in the Sunrise system, where it encountered Thrawn's fleet of deactivated Chiss warships. During a communication exchange with Thrawn, the fleet's commander, Nakirre and Jixtus learned of the Kilhorde's destruction, prompting the generalirius to voice his opinion of the Grysk, who, in turn, killed the other.

The Chiss fleet was reactivated soon after while Nakirre's Kiljis mourned the Kilji's death. After Jixtus escaped the Whetstone and boarded the FateSpinner to engage the Chiss forces with his fleet, Qilori, who was serving aboard the Whetstone, motivated the vassals present into attacking Jixtus. A vassal explained the enlightened vassals' inability to think or move without a master, and the navigator declared himself their master. Using the Kilji war cruiser's weaponry, Qilori fired at the FateSpinner, inducing Jixtus to kill himself.

Generalirius Nakirre led the Kilji way, with his decisions ratified by the Kilji Overlords. General Crofyp and Colonel Tildnis of the Hammer were also enlightened, as were all of their vassals: Vassal One of the Anvil, Vassal One of the Whetstone, Vassal Two of the Anvil, Vassal Two of the Whetstone, Crofyp's Vassal Three, Vassal Four, the generalirius's Vassal Four, and the Whetstone's pilot, comm vassal, and weapons operator.

The Kilji way of order and enlightenment made its debut in the 2021 novel Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil, penned by Timothy Zahn and serving as the third installment in his Ascendancy Trilogy.