Chapter 1: The Aftermath of Endor
The destruction of the second Death Star above the forest moon of Endor marked not merely the death of Emperor Palpatine and Lord Vader, but the shattering of an empire that had held the galaxy in its iron grip for over two decades. In the immediate aftermath, the galaxy erupted into chaos. Imperial governors, admirals, and moffs who had once moved in lockstep suddenly found themselves without central authority, each scrambling to secure their own power bases while the Rebel Alliance transformed itself into the fledgling New Republic.
The Battle of Endor claimed more than just the Emperor and his enforcer. It destroyed the carefully constructed hierarchy that had maintained Imperial cohesion. Without the fear of Palpatine’s displeasure—and the very real threat of Force-assisted execution—ambitious Imperial officers began pursuing their own agendas. Some sought to carve out personal fiefdoms. Others attempted to claim the vacant throne. A few, seeing the writing on the wall, defected to the New Republic, bringing with them valuable intelligence and military assets.
For the common citizens of the galaxy, the Emperor’s death brought both hope and uncertainty. On worlds like Coruscant, celebrations erupted in the streets as news of Endor spread, while on others, particularly those in the Core Worlds that had benefited from Imperial rule, there was genuine mourning and fear of what might come. The Empire had been brutal, yes, but it had also been stable. Many wondered whether the Rebel Alliance—now styling itself as the government of a restored Republic—could maintain order across a galaxy of trillions.
The year following Endor saw the fragmentation of Imperial power accelerate. Grand Admiral Sloane attempted to rally the remaining Imperial forces under a unified command, but her efforts were hampered by the machinations of Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax, who harbored secrets of his own—secrets that connected him to contingency plans the late Emperor had put in place long before his apparent death. The Imperial remnant fought a series of desperate holding actions across the galaxy, losing world after world to the advancing New Republic forces.
The Battle of Jakku, occurring approximately one year after Endor, appeared to be the final death knell of the Galactic Empire. Above that desolate desert world, the largest remaining Imperial fleet met the New Republic in what would become the decisive engagement of the Galactic Civil War. The Imperial forces were devastated, their ships falling from the sky to create the vast starship graveyard that would define Jakku’s landscape for decades to come. In the wake of this defeat, the Empire signed the Galactic Concordance with the New Republic, officially ending hostilities and accepting terms that many hardliners considered a humiliating surrender.
But Jakku was not the end. It was merely the beginning of a new phase in galactic history—one that would unfold in the shadows, far from the eyes of a galaxy eager to believe the war was truly over.
Chapter 2: The New Republic
The New Republic that emerged from the ashes of the Rebellion was deliberately designed to be everything the Empire was not. Where Palpatine had concentrated power in his own hands, the New Republic distributed it widely. Where the Empire had maintained a massive standing military capable of crushing any opposition, the New Republic chose demilitarization, scaling back its armed forces dramatically and encouraging member worlds to maintain their own local defense fleets. Where the Empire had ruled from Coruscant with an iron fist, the New Republic established a rotating capital system, moving the seat of government between member worlds to prevent any single planet from accumulating too much influence.
These choices, born of the best intentions and the painful memories of Imperial tyranny, would prove to be the New Republic’s greatest vulnerabilities. Chancellor Mon Mothma, the visionary leader who had helped found the Rebel Alliance, championed the Military Disarmament Act, believing that a demilitarized galaxy would be a peaceful one. The Senate, filled with idealists who shared her vision and pragmatists who saw budget savings in reducing the military, passed the act with overwhelming support. Within years, the New Republic’s military had shrunk to a fraction of the Imperial fleet it had defeated.
The rotating capital system, while democratic in principle, created practical problems that hampered effective governance. Important decisions were delayed as the government relocated. Institutional knowledge was lost in the constant transitions. Lobbying became even more influential as interested parties learned to time their appeals to coincide with the capital’s presence on friendly worlds. The system that was meant to prevent the concentration of power instead created a diffusion of responsibility that made it difficult to respond quickly to emerging threats.
Perhaps most dangerously, the New Republic’s leaders chose to believe that the Empire was truly defeated. The Galactic Concordance had been signed. Imperial remnants had retreated to a handful of insignificant systems in the Outer Rim. The war was over, and it was time to build a lasting peace. This optimism, while understandable, blinded the Republic to warning signs that a more vigilant government might have noticed. Strange movements in the Unknown Regions. The disappearance of former Imperial officers and resources. Encrypted communications that Republic intelligence could not crack.
The Senate itself became increasingly dysfunctional as the years passed. Two major factions emerged: the Populists, who favored strong individual planetary sovereignty and minimal central authority, and the Centrists, who argued for a more powerful federal government capable of maintaining order across the galaxy. Neither faction was inherently wrong in their positions, but their inability to find common ground paralyzed the Republic’s ability to respond to the threats gathering in the darkness beyond the galaxy’s edge.
Among the Centrists, some harbored darker sympathies. They remembered the order and efficiency of the Empire—the trains that ran on time, the suppression of piracy, the stability that came with strong central authority. A few of these Centrist senators maintained secret contacts with Imperial loyalists, passing along information and quietly undermining efforts to investigate reports of Imperial activity in the Unknown Regions. These senators would later prove instrumental in the First Order’s plans, though in this era, their treachery remained hidden.