The tenets: the holy command of our ancestors, the star-crossers. For thousands of years it has sustained every human civilization in the habitable planets of the cluster, promoting stability. Even the times of violent warfare were subject to the tenets, the fifth rule: the warrior's honor. From traders to tribals, from villagers to the denizens of the great megapolises.
All sorts of societies in habitable planets have adopted their very own version of the tenet. Different cultures, ethos and beliefs but the tenet boils down into the four principles.
1. Respect for life
2. Upholding justice
3. Welfare
4. Warrior's Honor.
The warrior's honor places the last in the list but in a space civilization prone to frequent bouts of violence and warfare, it is the most emphasized. The one that separates a warrior from a bandit. A swordbearer from a thug.
A true warrior must never…
-Bury his sword in the flesh of a civilian. (A civilian who takes up arms will automatically be considered a valid opponent.)
-Loot and burn a settlement that has peacefully surrendered.
-Fight an unarmoured opponent unless he takes off his'.
-Kill an opponent who dropped his sword. (Considered a great humiliation and renders the duel over.)
These are the code that governs the life of every humans in the cluster. To violate the tenets to to bring shame to one's family, something worse than death itself.