Known Universe

"This station is now the ultimate power in the universe! I suggest we use it."

- Conan Antonio Motti

The universe was the space in which many galaxies&mdash;including the Yuuzhan Vong galaxy, and the galaxy and its companion galaxies&mdash;developed and existed.

Formation and composition
The universe was created with the Big Bang some time before 13,000,000,000 BBY. Estimates by residents of the galaxy believed that their home was formed in that year from debris in the universe. An enormous cloud of dust and gas experienced a gravitic collapse to form their disk, one-hundred-thousand lightyears in diameter, with a black hole at the center that its contents orbited. The galaxy contained approximately four-hundred-billion stars. Several companion galaxies formed as well and began orbiting the galaxy.

Other galaxies were created as well. In another that developed its own star systems, a planet, later known as Yuuzhan'tar, would develop the Yuuzhan Vong and a vast number of other sentient species.

The Force
Holding together the universe was the Force, a power that penetrated all things within it. It interacted with the life in the galaxy through semi-sentient micro-organisms called midi-chlorians. For a long while, the Force was a subject of philosophy, an abstract concept studied by groups across the unconnected galaxy. The Force was first observed directly by sentients on the planet of Tython in 36,453 BBY. These sentients established the Je'daii Order. Some individuals would become more attuned to this entity and were able to manipulate it, which manifested as abilities known as Force powers.

Over the eons, many Force users would feel that the use of the Force put them in touch with the universe as a whole; otherwise, its use would make them perceive the entire universe as responding to them in some way. When a Force-sensitive experienced a vision of possible futures, it could seem like the passage of time in the entire universe slowed for the person while they took in the information. When using psychometry, a Force power that allowed one to read impressions from objects, one felt as though they could distinctly feel the object's place in the universe.

The galaxy imperils the universe
At some point, a nihilistic scientist from the planet of Shawken created the Shawken Device, a superweapon designed to re-trigger the Big Bang and create a new universe. He believed this was the only way to give existence purpose, though he never reached a level of despair that would have prompted him to use it and he never told anyone how it worked. It was buried in the planet and remained there for a very long time.

In 4 ABY, the Shawken Device was unearthed by Rik Duel and his gang. Luke Skywalker and Kiro found the gang and defeated them, deactivating the device. It was never clear to anyone if it would have actually worked.

In 14 ABY, Hethrir bridged the gap between the universe and a universe in an alternate dimension, from which he brought an entity known as Waru into his own.

Metaphor
"Statistically speaking, the universe is empty. But at faster-than-light speeds, it fills up very quickly."

- Admiral Pers Pradeux, demonstrating the penchant for referring to the galaxy as "the universe"

To illustrate metaphorically the importance or insignificance  of an object,  a situation,  or themselves,  people would examine whatever it was in relation to the universe. Color-commentator Fode of Fodesinbeed Annodue once joked about the existence of multiple universes to emphasize the pain a Podracer pilot would feel if they crashed their craft, asserting that it would hurt for a denizen of any of them. Conan Antonio Motti believed that the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station superweapon was the most powerful instrument of death in the universe.

Some would muse that the universe was sentient, actively affecting their situations. When in severely dire straights, they would think the universe was out to get them, sometimes thinking it demonstrated a twisted sense of humor in its execution. Nonetheless, good influences were registered as well. For example, the smuggler Hylo Visz believed that small instances of bad luck were harbingers of greater misfortune, warnings from the universe, and that good signs foreshadowed positive events. She termed this the Invisible Law of the Universe and thought that if she was not having bad luck, she was not in danger and could perform virtually any feat she liked without being harmed.

In addition, individuals from the galaxy tended to have a universal view centered around their own galaxy, as though it were the most important part, or at least the part most relevant to them. Individuals referred to the galaxy as "the universe" on a number of occassions.

Sith brothers
"I was bored&mdash;and so I created the universe. I have no direct knowledge of the time before time. But I infer that wherever I was, nothing could challenge me. And so I created a new existence. All matter, all energy are manifestations of my undying spirit. But while I gave all beings motion, not all beings serve me. For I also created an opponent -- in Odion. He claims he is my older brother -- But I, of course, have no kin or kind. He is simply what I must overcome to advance."

- Daiman

The Sith Lord Daiman was born in 1,057 BBY and grew to believe that he was the Creator of the Universe because he was bored in his former existence and wanted a challenge, so he created a new one and all within it. Everything in creation was, as extensions of his spirit made manifest, insignificant compared to him. Every action anyone took, in his view, was either a move for his benefit or one to undermine his absolute authority. On the other hand, his brother, Odion, believed that his own purpose was to destroy as much as possible, though he focused on the galaxy instead of the whole universe. All people existed to be killed by him.

Daen nosi
Kell Douro, an Anzati assassin who lived during the Imperial Period, claimed he could see what he called daen nosi, a phrase from his species' language that meant "fate lines" in Basic, when he used his proboscises to consume the soup, or brain matter, of another. He believed these lines crossed the universe and bound Fate together, a network of every sentient choice related to every other choice through knotting, and that by consuming the brains of Force sensitives he would be able to untangle them and completely understand Fate. Soup from some people was more potent than the soup from others, and consuming the former provided him with a clearer picture of how this network was woven.

In 43 ABY, Kell Douro became convinced that consuming the soup of a Jedi named Jaden Korr would finally allow him to understand Fate in full. He was killed before he could do so.

Behind the scenes
"Now, for the first time, the facts, figures, and fascinating backstories of major clashes and combatants in the Star Wars universe have been documented in one fully-illustrated volume"

- The back cover of The Essential Guide to Warfare, referring to the Expanded Universe and thereby events in the galaxy

Appearances
As it is virtually necessary for the universe to appear in every work, this list includes explicit mentions of it.
 * Lost Tribe of the Sith: Pantheon
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic: Revan
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance
 * Red Harvest
 * Star Wars: Knight Errant 4: Aflame, Part 4
 * Star Wars: Knight Errant 14: Escape, Part 4
 * Star Wars: Darth Plagueis
 * Millennium Falcon
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Outbound Flight
 * Republic Commando: Hard Contact
 * Yoda: Dark Rendezvous
 * The Clone Wars: No Prisoners
 * Republic Commando: Triple Zero
 * Republic Commando: True Colors
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith novel
 * Order 66: A Republic Commando Novel
 * Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Star Wars 87: Still Active After All These Years
 * The Crystal Star
 * Boba Fett: A Practical Man
 * Crosscurrent
 * Boba Fett: A Practical Man
 * Crosscurrent