Resistance

"We are the spark that'll light the fire that'll burn the First Order down."

- Poe Dameron

The Resistance was a small military force founded by Leia Organa to combat the First Order. The origins of the Resistance, which took inspiration from the Alliance to Restore the Republic, dated to the end of the Galactic Civil War, when the New Republic passed the Military Disarmament Act in the wake of the signing of the Galactic Concordance with the Galactic Empire. Organa argued that the Empire, which retreated into the Unknown Regions, could not be trusted to abide by the treaty. When the First Order arose from the ashes of the Empire, Organa urged the Republic to take the threat seriously. Rebuffed and being labeled a paranoid warmonger, Organa was disgraced in the eyes of the New Republic's Senate following the revelation that her father was Darth Vader. Ignored particularly by the growing Centrists faction, many of which were in direct collusion with the rising First Order, she formed the Resistance to combat the threat she had discovered.

During their conflict with the First Order, the Resistance sought the help of the missing Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. During their search, they launched a battle to destroy Starkiller Base, the First Order superweapon that destroyed the Hosnian system and, with it, the Galactic Senate that had quietly tolerated the Resistance's activities. The assault on the Starkiller was successful and, shortly thereafter, the Resistance found Skywalker living in exile.

This victory was short-lived, however, as the First Order's subsequent counterattack and pursuit nearly wiped out the Resistance's military forces. Nonetheless, the Resistance managed to narrowly escape complete destruction during the Battle of Crait, and subsequently sought to rebuild.

Formation
"The sun is setting on the New Republic. It's time for the Resistance to rise."

- Leia Organa

At the end of the Galactic Civil War, the Galactic Empire suffered their final defeat against the New Republic during the Battle of Jakku. The once-powerful Empire signed a peace treaty with the Republic called the Galactic Concordance, which mandated that they keep the peace with the Republic and remain inside predetermined borders within the Core Worlds and the Inner Rim. After the signing of the treaty, the Imperial starfleet disappeared into the Unknown Regions, where they quietly formed the First Order from the ashes of the Empire. Meanwhile, the Republic carried out the demilitarization of the New Republic Defense Fleet, cutting down on much of its military force in the interest of pursuing peace and preventing a galactic war from ever occurring again. Princess Leia Organa, who had been one of the leaders of the Rebel Alliance during the war, argued strongly against the demilitarization policies and said that the Republic could not trust that the Empire would honor the peace. She urged the Republic to take the threat of the First Order seriously once it arose, but was considered a warmonger.

Leia Organa herself had formerly been an influential member of the Republic's Senate, but lost almost all credibility with the organization and was forced to resign following the public revelation of her father having been Darth Vader. Following the Mission to Sibensko, Leia was partially vindicated when she discovered evidence that a paramilitary faction called the Amaxine warriors was colluding with Rinnrivin Di's cartel to overthrow the New Republic. While Leia warned that there were more threats, much of the Senate disagreed with some accusing her of warmongering. Realizing that the Senate could not protect the New Republic, Leia along with the few remaining allies she could trust, such as Gial Ackbar, C-3PO, Joph Seastriker, and Temmin Wexley, formed a paramilitary outfit called the Resistance.

Fearing an occupation of their independent homeworld, Ryloth, by the First Order during their rise of power, numerous Twi'leks pledged their allegiance to Leia Organa and the Resistance.

Early skirmishes against the First Order
"We're on the brink of war again&mdash;one we may not survive."

- General Leia Organa

To be a check on the designs of the First Order, Organa formed the Resistance with a base on D'Qar, in an outpost that was once intended as an Alliance base during the war. The Resistance was a splinter group from the Republic's military and operated wholly independently of the Republic chain of command. The Republic quietly tolerated Organa's activities, as she pursued evidence that the First Order was violating the Galactic Concordance, while some members of the Galactic Senate secretly supported her actions with their funding and sympathies. The Resistance went into combat against the First Order on a few occasions and even exposed the New Republic senator Erudo Ro-Kiintor as a First Order agent.

Early search for Lor San Tekka
"I'm a Republic officer, General. I swore an oath to protect the Republic, to—''" "''No, you misunderstand. I like it. It was rash of you, as I said, it was foolish. But we could use some rash these days, and foolish and passionate are often confused, and passion is something we desperately need."

- Poe Dameron and Leia Organa

Following Operation: Sabre Strike, General Organa knew that the Resistance would need more help, so she hoped to find her missing brother, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, who had gone into exile after the destruction of his new generation of Jedi. Believing that Lor San Tekka held the key to finding Skywalker, General Organa sent Poe and his Black Squadron on a quest to find the ancient explorer. Using the information acquired during Operation: Sabre Strike, Black Squadron undertook a mission to Ovanis to question the Crèche cultists about Tekka's whereabouts.

Their mission was complicated when the First Order dispatched Agent Terex to recover the information that Poe had acquired during Operation: Sabre Strike. While Poe dealt with the Crèche and Terex's landing party, Black Squadron at the urging of L'ulo L'ampar attacked Terex's TIE fighters and landing platform. The fighting was complicated when two large winged creatures hatched from the Crèche egg and fought. Ultimately, Poe was able to defeat Terex in physical combat and forced the First Order agent to withdraw his forces. Having obtained the information from the Crèche elder, Poe and Black Squadron departed Ovanis.

Continuing their search for Lor San Tekka, General Organa managed to bribe Warden Luta into letting Black Squadron enter Megalox prison on the high gravity world of Megalox Beta to question Grakkus the Hutt. However, Terex found his way first and managed to bribe Luta into abandoning Black Squadron inside the prison. Despite Terex's tactics, Poe and his fellow pilots managed to reach Grakkus' fortress. Grakkus then offered to sell the information to whoever got him out of the prison first. In response, Poe got BB-8 and the other astromech droids to embark on a mission to disable Megalox space station's gravity shield. Jess's droid O-R10N was destroyed by a security droid.

When Terex hired an army of gangsters to attack Grakkus' fortress, Black Squadron joined Grakkus' posse in fighting off the rival gangs. They managed to hold out long enough for BB-8 and his team to deactivate the gravity shield. While Terex and the other gangsters were crushed under the weight of Megalox Beta's high gravity, Poe and his fellow pilots were unaffected since they wore gravity belts. After rescuing Grakkus, they managed to convince Luta to let them go in return for restoring control of the prison. Before escorting Grakkus into hyperspace, Black Squadron stopped Terex's starship Carrion Spike from attacking the Megalox prison shuttles rushing to evacuate the prisoners. Having extracted the necessary information from Grakkus, Black Squadron allowed him to flee into hyperspace.

Spy games
Despite outsmarting the First Order, Poe and General Organa realized that the First Order had a spy among their ranks and suspended the search for Tekka. Poe subsequently embarked on a solo mission to the Inner Rim gas giant of Pheryon to meet with the Galaxy Beacon journalist Suralinda Javos, who wanted to sell information about the First Order's illegal rearmament efforts to General Organa. During the course of the mission, the two were captured by the First Order Security Bureau Agent Weel. Javos managed to kill Weel and free Poe. After escaping, Javos experienced a change of heart and decided to join the Resistance.

At the request of General Organa's spymaster C-3PO, Poe along with BB-8 and the technician Oddy Muva undertook a mission to Kaddak to retrieve a member of the Resistance spy droid network who had obtained data on the First Order including the location of Supreme Leader Snoke. However, Agent Terex had planted the data as part of a rogue mission to destroy the Resistance. Terex had retaken control of the Ranc gang and was determined to continue his pursuit for Poe. Poe, BB-8, and C-3PO managed to retrieve the spy droid, who turned out to be the BX-series droid commando N1-ZX.

Poe's mission was complicated further by Oddy Muva embarking on a mission to rescue his wife Sowa Chuan, who had been kidnapped by Terex in order to exert leverage against Oddy. Terex had forced Oddy to spy on Poe and Black Squadron. Meanwhile, Poe realized that Terex was planning to track him back down to the Resistance Base on D'Qar. Poe and the droids crashlanded on an desert world in an attempt to evade Terex and his Ranc gang. Poe's Black Squadron mates soon arrived and fought with Terex's "Uglies". The Resistance pilot L'ulo L'ampar and N1-ZX were killed during the skirmish. Terex's forces were wiped out by First Order forces under Commander Malarus, who had been sent to chastise the prodigal First Order agent. Poe allowed Malarus to arrest Terex and the two factions departed peacefully in effort to avoid open warfare.

Road to open war
"It was the Republic. The First Order, they've done it."

- Finn to Han Solo after witnessing the Hosnian Cataclysm from Takodana

Following a series of adventures, Organa sent her most trusted pilot, Commander Poe Dameron, to Jakku to find a segment of a star map that was in the possession of the legendary Lor San Tekka. Tekka gave Dameron the map, who in turn trusted it to his astromech droid BB-8 just before Dameron was captured. The map came into the possession of Finn, a stormtrooper who defected from the First Order, and a desert scavenger named Rey. With the help of former Alliance General and famed smuggler Han Solo and his first mate Chewbacca, Finn and Rey set off on a mission to return BB-8 to the Resistance. They sought the help of the pirate Maz Kanata on Takodana, where they were tracked by the First Order. Dameron, who had escaped from the First Order with Finn's help, arrived with several starfighter squadrons and fought the First Order off, though Rey was captured as part of the First Order's quest to find Skywalker as well.

Finn, Solo, and Chewbacca made it to the Resistance base, where BB-8's map was kept safe. Their more pressing concern was Starkiller Base, the First Order superweapon that had destroyed the Hosnian system and, with it, the Galactic Senate and much of the Republic fleet. The Resistance put a plan in motion to destroy the Starkiller weapon before it could target the Resistance. Finn, Solo, and Chewbacca, who also intended to rescue Rey from the base, arrived at the Starkiller first and disabled the shields protecting a thermal oscillator, the destruction of which would cause the base to be destroyed. Dameron led starfighter squadrons against the oscillator and ultimately prevailed.

The base was destroyed and the Resistance returned to the base, though at the cost of Solo and many starfighter pilots. Upon their return, R2-D2 awoke from a years-long slumber and provided the remainder of the map needed to find Skywalker. Rey, accompanied by Chewbacca and R2-D2, traveled to the planet Ahch-To to find Skywalker, but he refused to join the Resistance, overcome with grief and shame over his disastrous failure to train Kylo Ren. Rey eventually left to confront Ren herself, leaving Skywalker behind.

Fight for survival
"The Rebellion is reborn today. The war is just beginning."

- Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, to Supreme Leader Kylo Ren

While Rey was on Ahch-To, the Resistance moved to hastily evacuate its primary base on D'Qar. The destruction of Starkiller Base had saved the planet from immediate destruction, but the First Order still knew the base's location, and moved to launch a conventional attack. With the exception of some small cells, agents, fighting groups, the entire Resistance navy was summoned to help evacuate the planet and search for a new home base.

The First Order Fleet arrived near the end of the evacuation of the base, using a Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought to destroy it. To give the Resistance fleet time to escape, Wing Commander Dameron disabled its defenses in a high-speed attack run before leading a bomber attack, defying Organa's orders to fall back. The attack led to the dreadnaught's destruction, but the entire Resistance bomber fleet was lost in the process. For his costly and disobedient action, Organa demoted Dameron to the rank of Captain.

After coming out of hyperspace, the Resistance Fleet headed to Crait, only to find a fleet of First Order ships, including the Supremacy. Low on fuel and supplies, the fleet was slowly destroyed as ship after ship ran out of fuel and being destroyed by the Supremacy. Kylo Ren, the corrupted son of Organa and Solo who had joined the First Order years prior, led a TIE Fighter attack that wiped out the Resistance's starfighter wing, but hesitated to open fire at the bridge of the Resistance’s flagship, the Raddus, upon sensing his mother's presence. His escorts fired instead, killing the entire bridge crew except for Organa, who was rendered unconscious in the attack. Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo was assigned to temporarily replace Organa, remaining passive about the situation, much to Dameron's irritation.

Finn and maintenance worker Rose Tico later informed Dameron that the First Order was tracking them through hyperspace. The two had devised a plan to sneak onboard the Supremacy to disable the tracking device to allow the Resistance to flee to safety. Knowing Holdo would never sanction their plan, Dameron decided to keep it on a need-to-know basis. Teaming up with Lieutenant Kaydel Ko Connix, they covered Finn, Tico, and BB-8 fleeing the Raddus aboard a small transport as they traveled to Canto Bight to recruit a codebreaker to help get past the Supremacy's sensor grid.

As all but the Raddus fell to the First Order's guns, Holdo announced her plan to use unarmed transports to evacuate the Raddus. Furious with the decision, Dameron staged a mutiny on the ship to stop her to buy his friends more time. Unfortunately, Finn's group was discovered and captured aboard the Supremacy before they could disable the tracking device. At this time, Organa recovered and incapacitated Dameron, allowing Holdo's evacuation plan to go forward. When Dameron regained consciousness, Leia informed him that Holdo was well aware that the First Order was tracking them and thus had the transports cloaked from their sensors so they could reach Crait and wait until the enemy fleet had departed the system. Unfortunately, Finn's group's codebreaker, DJ, sold out the Resistance to the First Order, allowing the Supremacy to spot the fleeing transports and begin firing on them, wiping out all but six of the thirty. Holdo subsequently sacrificed herself to destroy the Supremacy by ramming the First Order's fleet at light speed.

During the battle, Rey boarded the Supremacy and tried to convince Kylo Ren to turn back to the Light Side of the Force and join the Resistance. However, Ren refused and later framed her for his murder of Supreme Leader Snoke after she fled the ship.

The remaining transports arrived on Crait and prepared to send a transmission to the Resistance's allies in the Outer Rim. However, the First Order struck again, with Kylo Ren, now the new Supreme Leader, leading an attack on the former Rebel base. Finn's group, having escaped, joined the last of the Resistance, whose numbers were rapidly depleted by the invaders. The Millennium Falcon, piloted by Rey and Chewbacca, arrived to help, but this still was not enough to slow the First Order's advance, and with no help coming despite the Resistance's signal being received, all seemed lost before Skywalker intervened via a Force projection. As Ren arrived and confronted Skywalker in lightsaber duel, Rey helped the remaining Resistance members escape. Before his projection faded and he died from exhaustion, Skywalker stated that the Rebellion would be reborn from the last of the Resistance, and that the legacy of the Jedi would endure through Rey. What remained of the Resistance retreated, on a quest to build their new Rebellion.

Post-Crait
Following the Battle of Crait, the Resistance took the shape of guerilla fighters, having lost almost if not all their forces. Despite this, they remained in the fight against the First Order seeking to restore both justice and the Republic.

Government
"You are the leader of the Resistance, a critical check on the designs of the First Order. You are a symbol of the Resistance and an inspiration to all soldiers who follow our cause and do their duty in hard times."

- PZ-4CO, to General Leia Organa

The Resistance was a band of soldiers and pilots who served in a struggle against the First Order many years after the Battle of Endor. The Resistance was led by its de facto leader General Leia Organa, who had once been a vital leader in the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War, and reputedly knew the name of every single member in her organization. Other members of Resistance command included Major Caluan Ematt, Admiral Statura, Admiral Gial Ackbar, and Major Taslin Brance. Organa's droids C-3PO and R2-D2 also served in the Resistance, while PZ-4CO took command of the control center's operations with the assistance of C-3PO. Many other individuals performed tasks, such as starfighter and droid maintenance, in the Resistance base on D'Qar.

Military
"We are the spark that will light the fire that will restore the Republic. That spark, this Resistance, must survive. That is our mission."

- Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo explaining the Resistance's military goal

Utilizing hit-and-run tactics against the forces of the First Order, the Resistance's military strategy was to merely delay the movements of the First Order and obtain irrefutable evidence of illegal military incursions into New Republic territory to present to Republic Command. An organized group, the Resistance had a designated rank system for members in both the army and navy.

Militarily, the Resistance was forced to make do with outdated and aging equipment unlike the New Republic, and was so undermanned that most of its personnel were forced to do double duty as scanner technicians, droid programmers, starship mechanics and regular foot soldiers. Owing to its lessened pool of manpower, the Resistance placed a greater emphasis on treating the wounded and returning them to duty, and as a result finding medical equipment was a high priority. Resistance troopers commonly utilized the BlasTech EL-16HFE blaster rifle, and were ferried into combat on Resistance transports, which were heavily modified transports assembled from varying vessels from previous wars. Gian-211 patrol speeders and an army of droids helped keep the Resistance up and running, with many robotic workers given more responsibility and independence than elsewhere in the galaxy and seen as more than just droids, which was a continuation of the ideas of the Rebel Alliance. Many protocols of the Rebel Alliance also remained in use, with code K-one-zero signaling the evacuation of a base, which was most notably used during the Battle of Hoth. In addition, C-3PO led the Resistance's droid spy network, with GA-97 alerting the Resistance to BB-8's location on Takodana.

The upper levels of Resistance command consisted of veterans of the Galactic Civil War who had remained loyal to Leia Organa. With many skilled commanders left unemployed by the Military Disarmament Act, several old rebels readily rallied to Leia's call to action. Officers such as Admiral Ackbar were treated with great respect by Resistance personnel, many of whom existed in a generational divide, with most young 'victory kids' barely in their twenties having never witnessed the horrors of tyranny firsthand. Many of the youngest kids were used to fill out the ranks of the Starfighter Corps, and were recruited from local planetary defense forces. Spirited and idealistic, many of the pilots formed a close-knit bond, and were eager to bring the fight to the First Order.

As a symbol in their struggle against the First Order, the Resistance adopted the starbird once used by the Rebel Alliance. The symbol adorned the helmets of Resistance starfighter pilots, who were known to use T-70 X-wing fighters in combat, which were older than the New Republic T-85 X-wing. Owing to New Republic demilitarization efforts, acquiring capital ships was near impossible. Consequently, the Resistance base on D'Qar contained two starfighter wings, code-named Red and Blue. Blue Squadron served as the primary line of defense for the base, while Red Squadron flew as support. Commander Poe Dameron lead both squadrons as Black Leader, not as an indication of a special squadron, but to denote his specialized fighter, Black One.

Foreign relations
"...there's a splinter of the Republic military that...that feels the Republic isn't taking certain threats as seriously as they maybe ought to be taking them. Specifically the threat posed by the First Order."

- Poe Dameron, a Republic officer, explaining his knowledge of the Resistance to its leader, Leia Organa

As a splinter group of the New Republic military, the Resistance had a tense relationship with its main sponsor, which wanted to avoid war with the First Order. Resistance members like Leia Organa and Poe Dameron were frustrated with the Galactic Senate's slow decision-making process and unwillingness to take action against the First Order. While the Republic officially tolerated the Resistance, some military commanders like Major Lonno Deso disliked the Resistance for allegedly exaggerating the threat posed by the First Order. While the Republic believed that the First Order were a minor but troublesome Imperial remnant that exaggerated their strength and power, the Resistance saw the Order as a threat to the New Republic and the galaxy. Due to its efforts to resist the First Order's advances, the military junta identified the Resistance as one of its main obstacles to galactic domination and tried unsuccessfully to destroy its base on D'Qar.

Behind the scenes
The Resistance was created for the 2015 film Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens. Its name was first revealed at Celebration Anaheim in April 2015 and made its first appearance in the prologues and epilogues of the Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens young readers novels Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure and The Weapon of a Jedi: A Luke Skywalker Adventure. The organization's earliest formation was detailed in the novel Bloodline.

Non-canon appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens