Politics: Operations Branch

Politics: Operations Branch Politics: Operations Branch

This is also known as the Office of Accounting, handling the finances of the Temple. It is headed by the Quartermaster Supreme, a Priest of considerable influence and power within the Temple. The threat of an audit can strike fear into the heart of even the most unshakable Inquisitor. Priests of the Audit can be distinguished by their robes of white and gold, and a tendency of the higher ranks to wear lavish ornamentation.

1.1 Quartermaster Supreme

The Quartermaster Supreme is a priest of considerable influence and power within the Temple. One of the perks of this position is to essentially be able to determine his own salary ... within reason, of course, lest others within the Temple decide to wrest him of his position. Still, the Quartermaster Supreme has routinely been allowed quite a bit of extravagance, and is generally the most gaudily dressed of anyone in the Temple, rivalling or exceeding the adornments of the Captain-Astromancer himself.

1.2 Auditors

The priests who comprise the bulk of the Audit, whether or not they actually take part in any auditing, are referred to as "Auditors". They wear distinctive robes of white and gold, and while their lifestyles may not be as lavish as that of the Quartermaster Supreme, they are nonetheless amongst the more well-to-do of the servants of the Temple. They are in charge of the finances of the Temple, and of its resources and supplies.

1.3 Collectors

Among the most despised of Temple servants would be the Collectors, whose sole duty is to collect taxes for the support of the Temple. They carry around a massive tome that holds the Temple's tax code, collected over millenia, and can generally find a tax for anything and everything. Most successful businessmen hire lawyers and accountants to handle their business with the Office of Accounting, to spare them visits from Collectors. But lower-end businessmen who don't have such protection are more often the target of their visits. Collectors have a great deal of leeway in what things they can collect taxes for, or waive. Thus, there is considerable corruption, and Collectors get to keep a lot of what they collect, so long as the shekels keep circulating.

There is a certain limit to this, though, for if an over-zealous Collector causes businesses to go under because of excessive taxation, he might encourage some desperate businessman to seek vengeance ... and there will be that much less revenue to collect, regardless. Nonetheless, Collectors are typically accompanied by a couple of guards, and are feared by the average citizen.

2.0 Judiciary

The Judges handle Rephidim's legal system, such as it is. Due to its organizational structure, not all Judges are actually considered Priests. This department may interpret law, but it does not create law. That is the jurisdiction of the Bridge.

2.1 Judges

Judges are responsible for hearing cases and determining innocense or guilt for those who end up going to trial. Trials are generally reserved for the nobility or for particularly high-profile citizens of Rephidim, rather than for common criminals -- unless some noble has been offended by the criminal, and wishes to have an example made of the criminal, rather than letting him get quietly snuffed out by the Guard.

Given the arbitrary nature of whether or not a case will go to trial, the Judiciary is often seen as "window-dressing", and its decisions may be influenced by a number of factors, since usually the most politically charged cases are those that will ever make it to court.

There is no "due process" as we understand it, and technically the accused is at the mercy of the Judge's whim as to whether he'll be found innocent or guilty. The quality of the trial, therefore, depends on the particular Judge ... and whomever else of influence is interested in the outcome.

Not all Judges are actually Priests. Some are appointed to their positions by Bridge members from outside of the Priesthood.

2.2 Lawyers

There are a few Lawyers serving the Temple, though their participation in trials is usually decorative. If there is a real case to be made, then it will be made by hired lawyers, for the most part.

3.0 Priesthood

The Priesthood, like the Inquisition, is a fairly flexible department. Any given Priest may be assigned a variety of roles, based on his or her experience and skills. Acolytes of the Priesthood often act as assistants to members of the other departments. Priests of all areas may be called upon to help in the holding of services in the Temple, and all of them are expected to be learned in the ways of the Temple.

3.1 Scribes

Scribes are charged with the keeping of records, and with penning of official Temple documents. They maintain the Temple Libraries, and some of them have limited access to the electronic records also used by the Technopriesthood.

3.2 Healers

Some Priests are charged with the maintenance of the Infirmaries at the Temple, trained in medicine. There are many Priests who take these skills beyond the walls of the Temple, especially in times of crisis -- such as in wars or disasters -- to present aid to the general populace.

3.3 Teachers

While there is no equivalent to a public education system in the Temple, there is still a program in place for servants of the Temple to learn how to read and write, and for Acolytes to be trained in what they need to know to become full-fledged Priests. Even Guards may take classes in their off hours, as a perk of their position with the Temple. More recently, the Priesthood has been overseeing schooling for the Temple Scouts.

3.4 Choir

Some of the Priests have musical leanings, and are in charge of the Temple Choir. The Choir is drawn from members of the Priesthood, though for special events, sometimes there has been a Temple Scout Choir joining in, under the direction of the Priesthood.

3.5 Diplomats

There is a corps of Priests specially trained in how to deal with foreign cultures, especially the more powerful ones that the Temple may have contact with, such as the Ashdod Territories, the Nagai Empire, the Khattan Emirate, and some of the nations of Nordika.

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