Project Exarch was an experimental program run by the Eternal Empire in the aftermath of its conquest of the galaxy. The project took the best and most loyal members of the Knights of Zakuul and enhanced them with biological and cybernetic upgrades, creating the "perfect" Knights. The survivors of the procedure were given the title of Exarch and command of a Star Fortress, a Zakuulan battle station placed in orbit above a conquered world, which in turn made essentially made them the ruler of the targeted world.