About two or three hundred years ago, one bright spark of a Gnalish Elt decided to divide the Elt population into a series of Corps. This is how the Elt government operates, with any old idea being assessed and possibly put into practise. As a result, every Gnalish Elt now belongs to a Corps, and so do many Tarn, though not all. It theoretically functions much like a caste system, but the majority of the population see it as little more than a job description. Gnalish frequently move from Corps to Corps, particularly the Elt who tend to tire of duties after a century or so. The major Corps are as follows:
Administration Corps
Diplomatic Corps
Science Corps
Construction Corps (also known as the Technical Corps)
Espionage Corps
Leisure Corps
Medical Corps
Military Corps, consisting of:
-Space Fleet
-Terrestrial Forces
A Gnalish who works in an area not generally regarded as being part of Gnalish society (for example Starfleet or Federation administration) is still consdiered to be a part of the relevant Corps.
The Administration Corps deal with the tedium of government. It consists of countless Gnalish Tarn scribes and gophers, and a few of the most enthusiastic Gnalish Elt who tend to have the good ideas. They are officially responsible for dealing with the other Corps but they tend to just get on with things.
The Diplomatic Corps consists mainly of the species' Ambassadors, and also the staff and buildings to house the Ambassadors from other races. The Gnalish have an Ambassador to the Federation, but also one of the Federation's Ambassadors to the Tholian Emirates is a Gnalish Elt.
There are two parts to the Military Corps.
The Space Fleet maintains a sizable haul of
starships, cruisers and snub fighters. A fair while ago, the daft lot built
themselves a super-battleship which they referred to as the Mothership. The original Mothership was destroyed during the Battle at Cardassia Prime, but they had another new (and of course improved) one up and running the next year.
The Terrestrial Forces are an army, pure and simple, though one of the smallest and most effective forces
in the Federation. Here the species are more strongly deliminated than in any other Corps.
Gnalish Elt and Gnalish Tarn form distinct groups, due to the two races' suitability for
various forms of combat.