Galactic Civil War

"The Galactic Civil War was not a battle for territory. It was a struggle for the hearts and minds of the galaxy."

- Wartime propaganda artist Janyor of Bith years after the war's end

The Galactic Civil War was a five-year galactic power struggle in which the Alliance to Restore the Republic waged a rebellion against the Galactic Empire in an attempt to restore democratic rule to the galaxy. The origins of rebellion could be traced to the Clone Wars, when rebel cells were equipped by the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order to fight against the Confederacy of Independent Systems. After Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, secretly the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, transformed the Republic into the Empire and destroyed the Jedi Order, many rebel cells began fighting against the Empire. A number of these cells eventually joined together and became the Rebel Alliance.

The war officially began in the year 0 BBY when the Alliance scored its first major victory against the Empire when it stole the plans to the Death Star, the Empire's planet-destroying battle station. The plans were brought to the Rebel Alliance by Princess Leia Organa, with the help of companions such as Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. An analysis of the plans led the Rebels to launch the Battle of Yavin, in which Skywalker, with Solo's assistance, destroyed the Death Star. A series of follow-up attacks by the Alliance, including an assault on the Empire's primary weapons factory, left the Empire reeling from the Alliance's advances. As a result, the Empire hunted the Alliance across the galaxy under the leadership of Darth Vader, a Dark Lord of the Sith and the Emperor's chief enforcer. Vader's forces located the Alliance on the planet Hoth. The resulting Battle of Hoth forced the Alliance to flee the snow planet and sent its fleet into hiding.

Six months later in the year 4 ABY, the Emperor allowed the Alliance to learn of the existence of a second Death Star as part of a trap to lure the Alliance to its destruction. The Alliance, believing that they were launching a surprise attack, waged the Battle of Endor. During the battle, Skywalker, who had learned that Vader was his father, confronted the Dark Lord in a final lightsaber duel aboard the Death Star. The Emperor attempted to kill Skywalker, but out of compassion for him Vader threw the Emperor down a deep shaft and to his death, fulfilling his destiny as the Chosen One and destroying the Sith. Vader, once again Anakin Skywalker, died from injuries he sustained during the battle, bringing an end to the Sith's rule over the galaxy. The Alliance, meanwhile, destroyed the second Death Star, leaving the Empire fractured.

As a result of the power vacuum left in the wake of the Emperor's death, Imperial Moffs began jockeying for power. In an attempt to prevent his people from learning about the Emperor's death, Governor Adelhard locked down the Anoat sector behind the Iron Blockade, sparking an uprising within the sector. One year later, the Empire fought the New Republic in a final stand over the desert world of Jakku. Following a decisive defeat for the Empire and facing severe internal unrest, the Galactic Concordance would be signed on Coruscant, officially ending the conflict and severely limiting the Empire's military capabilities.

Although several Imperial remnants survived, controlled by various warlords, the Empire was officially dissolved. What was left of it was permitted to relocate and reorganize into an officially recognized remnant government, so long as it agreed to keep all remaining Imperial forces within predetermined borders in the Core and Inner Rim, although Coruscant was ceded over to the New Republic. Although some factions continued to resist Republic rule, the conflict had officially ended, ultimately turning into a cold war.

Origins
"Politics didn't work, so now it's war."

- Bail Organa, to Leia Organa

After a three-year-long, pan-galactic conflict with the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the Galactic Republic emerged victorious from the Clone Wars. However, little did the citizens of the Republic know that their leader, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, was secretly a Dark Lord of the Sith who had orchestrated the war for his own profit. The Republic was then re-formed into the First Galactic Empire, with Emperor Palpatine as its sole ruler. For a time, a few members of the Imperial Senate like Bail Organa hoped that they could make a difference from the inside, but to no avail. Gradually, people from all over the galaxy banded together, leading to the creation of a formal Alliance to Restore the Republic.

Obtaining the Death Star plans
"Several transmissions were beamed to this ship by Rebel spies. I want to know what happened to the plans they sent you."

- Darth Vader to Princess Leia Organa

Nineteen years after the formation of the Galactic Empire, a team of soldiers of the Alliance, eventually naming themselves Rogue One, learned of the Empire's construction of the Death Star and was able to get their hands on the plans for the battle station and transferred them to Princess Leia Organa aboard the Tantive IV. Although the team was successful in their mission, they died completing their task along with Orson Krennic and any other rebel or imperial forces, as the Battle of Scarif ended with the destruction of the surface of the planet and Darth Vader's knowledge of the heist. However, Rogue One successfully transmitted the plans to the new senator of Alderaan, Leia Organa.

Secret mission to Tatooine
Racing towards the desert planet of Tatooine aboard the Tantive IV with the plans in hand, Organa was hoping to enlist the help of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. However, Darth Vader was able to catch up and capture the ship in a space battle over the planet. Vader's forces managed to board Organa's ship, forcing her to hide the plans of the Death star in the memory banks of the R2 series astromech droid, R2-D2. R2-D2, along with the protocol droid C-3PO used an escape pod to escape to Tatooine, where they were captured by Jawas and who then later sold them to moister farmer Owen Lars, uncle of Luke Skywalker.

While Skywalker was cleaning the droids, he stumbled upon part of the message in R2-D2 and became interested. However, R2-D2, operating under the programming that he was the property of Obi-Wan Kenobi, escaped and tried to find Kenobi. After an encounter with Tusken Raiders in the Dune Sea, Skywalker met up with Kenobi. R2-D2 then played for Kenobi and Skywalker Organa's desperate plea for help. The two soon discovered that Imperial Stormtroopers had attacked the Jawas who had sold Skywalker and his uncle the two droids in a vain search for the death star plans. Skywalker raced back to the Lars moisture farm to find his home burned and his aunt and uncle killed. He then accompanied Kenobi to Mos Eisley, where, after using subterfuge to get passed Imperial troops, the two negotiated with Captain Han Solo and first mate Chewbacca to take them, the droids and the Death Star plans to Alderaan aboard the Millennium Falcon. Galactic Emperor Palpatine used this conflict to his advantage in dissolving the Imperial Senate.

Destruction of Alderaan
While in Imperial custody, Organa was then transferred to the Death Star where she was interrogated and tortured by Vader for the location of the Alliance's hidden base. When she refused to succumb to torture, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin decided to get the information out of Organa another way by threatening to destroy Alderaan, Organa's homeworld. Fearing the loss of Alderaan, but not wanting to give up the Alliance's location, Organa lied to Tarkin and declared that the Alliance was located on the planet of Dantooine.

Tarkin, confident in his victory, continued with the operation to destroy Alderaan regardless, stating that Dantooine was "too remote" for an effective demonstration of the Death Star's abilities. Thus, Alderaan was destroyed by a single blast from the Death Star, an event that killed billions and showed the true might of the Empire.

Rescue of Princess Leia
Following Alderaan's destruction, Tarkin sent a scout team to Dantooine to ascertain whether or not there was indeed a Rebel base there. Meanwhile, the Millennium Falcon had arrived out of hyperspace to find out that Alderaan had been destroyed. Fearing that they would be identified by a lone TIE fighter, they attempted to stop it but not before being trapped aboard the Death Star by a tractor beam. Skywalker sought out to rescue Organa while Kenobi went alone to disable one of the several tractor beam generators on the station and confront Darth Vader.

When Tarkin learned that Organa has deceived him and that there was a rebel base on Dantooine but had long since been abandoned, Tarkin ordered her execution. But before the order could be carried through, she was rescued by Skywalker. An escape commenced throughout the Death Star's corridors. As Skywalker, Solo, Organa and Chewbacca (along with C-3PO and R2-D2) finally made it to the hangar to escape aboard the Falcon, Skywalker watched as Kenobi faced off against his former Padawan, Darth Vader. Kenobi let down his guard, allowing himself to be struck down by Vader's lightsaber instantly becoming one with the Force.

Alderaan vigil rioting
Rioting took place after the destruction of the planet Alderaan by the Empire. Rumors of what happening began reaching the Alderaanian population on Coruscant who got angry when images followed the rumors, confirming Alderaan had been destroyed. The vigils turned into rioting which lasted for several days until the security forces and the stormtroopers were sent in to restore order. However, as the troops marched into the streets, the stormtroopers opened fire with their blasters. The crowds dispersed and the following day, the police arrested anyone caught out in the streets. The day after that, stormtroopers began taking Alderaanians to be taken to be questioned.

The Battle of Yavin
"This will be a day long remembered. It has seen the end of Kenobi; it will soon see the end of the rebellion."

- Darth Vader to Grand Moff Tarkin before the battle

The Millennium Falcon soon managed to escape afterwards, but not before being pursed by several TIE fighters. The Falcon managed to defeat the fighters but it was all for naught, as it was all a ploy devised by Tarkin as he had placed a homing beacon onboard the Falcon that led the Empire straight to the Rebels hidden base on Yavin 4.

In the Great Temple of Massassi, The Rebel Alliance was able to analyze the technical readouts and come up with an attack plan that was conceived by General Jan Dodonna. As the Death Star was entering into range to fire its superlaser, Rebels ships took off in a desperate attempt to destroy the battle station. Dodonna's plan called for starfighters to skim down the Death Star's trench and follow it to where a thermal exhaust port laid and fire a proton torpedo into the exhaust port where it would then be able to reach the Death Star's main reactor and set off a chain reaction, thus destroying the battle station. In the ensuring and intense battle, the pilots of the Rebel Alliance faced off against Imperial starfighters and turbolasers while also trying to make attack runs on the exhaust port. Having underestimated the Alliance chances, Tarkin refused to send out more reinforcements to deal with the rebel starfighters. He also ignored one of his underlings warnings of the threat to the exhaust port and continued with his assault upon Yavin 4.

Rebel pilots continued to be destroyed one-by-one by Darth Vader and other Imperial pilots. Being nearly the last of the rebel assault force, Luke Skywalker, Biggs Darklighter, and Wedge Antilles made one final run against the exhaust port. Vader shot down and killed Darklighter and was also able to force Antilles to retreat, and was mere moments away from shooting down his son, before Han Solo entered the fight with the Millennium Falcon. Vader was driven out of the battle by Solo, giving Skywalker one final shot at the thermal port. The attack succeeded, and moments later the Death Star exploded, taking with it millions of Imperial lives. Yavin 4, along with the Alliance, was saved.

Evacuation of Yavin
After a key victory over the Empire and the Royal Award Ceremony, the Rebellion was forced to evacuate Yavin 4 in order to find a new base of operations as the Imperials knew their location. All Rebel fleets arrived at the planet in order to assist with the evacuation, and General Jan Dodonna began working to find a new planet to settle on.

Mission to rescue the survivors of Alderaan
During the evacuation of Yavin and following the Disaster, the Galactic Empire sought out surviving Alderaanians in an attempt to eradicate them, and Organa set out with Rebel pilot Evaan Verlaine and astromech droid R2-D2 to rescue them. They first fled from the Rebel base on Yavin 4, over the objections of General Jan Dodonna. After escaping, they made their way to the Naboo, where they rescued a group of Alderaanian musicians called the Melodic Order, before heading for Sullust. Unknown to Organa and her followers was that the Empire was tracking their every move whose efforts were spread throughout the galaxy.

Imperial attacks
"You want to blame someone, Artur? Start on the rebels for once. They claim they're fighting for the common people, and now thousands in that city are dead because of what they did."

- Trompo to Artur

The Empire started launching attacks against Rebel targets, and Nashtah Squadron flew on several missions over a course of a week, often with poor intelligence. They lost three pilots at the battle of Portocari, while Banshee Squadron lost two pilots at Phindar. Right afterward, the Empire was to send a task force to the Jovan system. In the wake of the loss of the Death Star at Yavin, the Empire mobilized its forces and reorganized TIE pilots into the same command system.

Mid Rim Retreat
The Rebel Alliance, bolstered by their victory at Yavin, launched a military campaign in the Mid Rim. It was amongst the largest operation the Rebel Alliance had conducted, using military units such as Twilight Company and thousands of starships. But after nine months, after Twilight Company had fought on multiple worlds and established bases, Rebel High Command decided the fleet was overextended and the campaign would maintain defense of their captured territories. Not long after, the forces started a retreat. Twilight Company evacuated their bases, and after nine more months, fought a large battle on Haidoral Prime.

Skirmish over Llanic
While Lieutenant Luke Skywalker was onboard the Desert Jewel on a mission to rescue Drusil Bephorin and to open up a supply line, he entered a skirmish between a Star Destroyer and a Kupohan starship.

Mission to Rodia
In order to keep the war in the Rebel Alliance's favor, Luke went to open a secret smuggling supply line on Rodia. Luke after this went on a mission to Fex.

Mission to Pasher and Denon
Warned by Organa not to trust blindly on Kelen, who father was biotech mogul. Skywalker set off for Pasher with Kelen and R2-D2 to receive intel from her father about their destination and the necessary equipment to survive its atmosphere.

Rescue on Omereth
The Jewel was intercepted by bounty hunters and a confrontation ensued between the rebels and their pursuers. Despite the formers' victory, Kelen was killed by one of the bounty hunters while Luke rescued and completed his mission by reuniting Bephorin with her family.

Assaulting Cymoon 1
Following the destruction of the Death Star, the Empire was put into a state of disarray. The Rebel Alliance decided to use this to their advantage by assaulting, infiltrating, and destroying Weapons Factory Alpha on Cymoon 1, the largest weapons factory in the galaxy.

After the failure to prevent both the destruction of the Death Star and Weapons Factory Alpha, the Empire was forced to increase its supply of weapons, while the Emperor sent Darth Vader to negotiate with the Hutt Clan. This was in order to enlist Jabba the Hutt as a reliable weapons dealer as well as two bounty hunters

Pirates raids
Taking advantage of the Empire's disarray, a group of pirates funded by the crime families of the Crymorah syndicate started attacking a cargo of weapons. However, Imperial forces would gain the upper hand when they discovered the pirates' space station after lunching an attack and wiping out all the pirates.

Vader personal missions
As the war rage on between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance, a split had occurred between Darth Sidious and Darth Vader due to recent events in the war. Vader went on a secret mission to first Quarantine World III where he met Aphra and second to Geonosis where the Sith Lord was seeking a private army of formally Confederacy of Independent Systems BX-series droid commandos, meanwhile a Wookiee bounty hunter called Black Krrsantan that Vader had hired from Jabba had discovered a plot by an agent of the Emperor to replace the Sith Lord.

Mission to Cylo-IV's research base
Vader and Aphra along with 2 platoons of BX-series droid commandos attacked Cylo's research base to eliminate rivals possible to himself and regain Sidious' favor.

Attack on the Son-tuul Pride
Under the command of Grand General Cassio Tagge, Imperial forces begun a crackdown on the Outer Rim criminal interests that had gone unchecked in the past and to take down the Son-tuul Pride who were a major competitor of the Hutt Clan based out of Son-tuul. Using one of the Pride's smugglers as a double agent equipped with a tracker, Darth Vader, who had returned from his personal mission, destroyed the Pride's base and seized its hordes of credits.

Further engagements
A mercenary unit on Tatooine was asked to assist a garrison on Tatooine with dealing with a Tusken Raider camp in order to keep its grip on the planet, while also helping the Alliance to Restore the Republic who requested support in a mission to recover medical supplies from the Imperial aligned Hutt Clan on the planet of Dandoran.

Later on, the Empire began a crackdown on Jawas who were seen to be in engaged in widespread unlicensed trade which led a local detachment of Rebels on Tatooine to protect the Jawas from the Imperials.

Shortly after, Imperials and Rebels began searching an old freighter which led to a confrontation between the Empire and Rebel Alliance as well as the Hutt Clan after defeating mercs who were supporting the rebellion. Meanwhile Darth Vader ordered a search for his missing shipment that was taken by Liana Kor on Dandoran. On the planet, the Empire had gained the formal senator Johhar Kessen who was held prisoner in a base in order to prevent his rescue only for the Rebels to rescue him later. The Rebels had to return to Yavin 4 in order to prevent the Empire from finding out about the data centers that were left behind and were each destroyed by the Alliance that led to a ground battle for control of Yavin 4, while Er'Kit and Takodana both saw battle between the Empire and Rebels before the Battle of Hoth.

Alliance defeat and retreat
Three years after the Battle of Yavin, the Empire sent out thousands of probe droids across the galaxy to discover the Rebels' current base of operations. A probot launched from the Star Destroyer Stalker landed on the ice planet of Hoth, and sent back images of the Alliance's power generator to Darth Vader's fleet.

The Imperial Navy launched an assault on Hoth, although the Rebels became alerted to the incoming attack after Admiral Kendal Ozzel brought the fleet out of hyperspace too close to the Hoth system. This gave the Rebels time to mount a holding action and an evacuation of their Echo Base. Although AT-AT walkers of Blizzard Force destroyed the power generator, and Vader and his elite snowtroopers overran the base, the Battle of Hoth did not prove to be a crushing defeat for the Alliance, although it was later cited as the group's worst defeat. Civil War historians would later suggest that, were it not for their painful rout on Hoth, the Alliance would not have risked everything during the decisive Battle of Endor a year later.

After the battle, it became an uncertain time for the Rebellion's cause as a small group of Rebels led by Han Solo evaded the Imperial fleet, and were forced to flee to Bespin. However, the bounty hunter Boba Fett tracked them, allowing the Empire to spring a trap in order to capture Luke Skywalker. Skywalker learned of his true relation to Vader, but the Imperial forces found themselves betrayed and, at least initially, overwhelmed by Cloud City local authorities. The Rebel heroes escaped Imperial custody again, but not without cost. Skywalker lost his hand in his duel with Vader, while Solo was frozen in carbonite and handed over to Fett for delivery to Jabba Desilijic Tiure. Battered and bruised, the Rebels were once again in flight from pursuing Imperial forces, while Bespin was taken over by the Empire.

After the major blow on Hoth and during the fall of Bespin, the Rebels retreated to a point in space above the galaxy in order to avoid being found by the Empire.

Alliance triumphant
Sometime later, Organa and Skywalker launched a mission to recover Solo from Jabba the Hutt. They infiltrated the Hutt's palace separately, but Jabba refused to bargain and tried to kill Skywalker with a Rancor, although Organa managed to free Solo from the carbonite. When Skywalker managed to kill the beast, they were sentenced to an execution at the Great Pit of Carkoon, but managed to escape after a struggle with the Hutt's guards, in which Organa killed Jabba.

Meanwhile, the Alliance fleet was assembling near Sullust, with reports reaching Emperor Palpatine. After Organa and the rest returned, Mothma and Ackbar briefed the fleet and soon launched into hyperspace to go into battle at Endor.

The Rebels sent a strike team led by Solo to take out the shield generator protecting the Empire's second Death Star. The Emperor, though, had leaked the details of the project at Endor as a trap to defeat the Rebel Alliance, and the team was captured. As the fleet arrived, expecting to find the space station defenseless, the shield was still up and a large Imperial force trapped the Rebels. Solo's team formed an alliance with an Ewok village, which allowed them to destroy the shield. Ackbar's cruisers engaged the Imperial Star Destroyers while Calrissian led fighters to destroy the Death Star's reactor. Skywalker had surrendered to Vader and was brought before Palpatine. He and Vader dueled, but when Skywalker refused to turn to the dark side of the Force, Palpatine tried to kill him, awakening Anakin Skywalker within Vader and causing him to turn on and kill his master. Calrissian and Antilles managed to destroy the reactor. The Alliance then celebrated their victory on Endor with the Ewok village.

Sparks of rebellion
On the day after the Battle of Endor, the Rebel Alliance launched an assault on an Imperial outpost on the far side of Endor. This attack was led by Han Solo and succeeded in uncovering a lot of data and communications on Imperial plans. In the days following the Battle of Endor, news of the Emperor's death spread to several worlds across the galaxy including Tatooine, Naboo, Bespin, and Coruscant despite many attempts by the Empire to conceal the fact and declare this information to be false. While there was much celebration, a riot broke out at Coruscant's Monument Plaza. This led to a civil war on Coruscant.

As the Rebel Alliance gained momentum, scattered Imperial forces across the galaxy including Captain Lerr Duvat received the Emperor's posthumous orders to implement Operation: Cinder; a contingency plan to scour Naboo and several other worlds including Burnin Konn, Candovant, Abednedo, and Commenor. Seventeen days after the events of Endor, Alliance forces clashed with Imperial forces on Sterdic IV. Princess Leia also undertook a diplomatic mission to Naboo to invite Queen Soruna to align her planet with the New Republic, the government created by the Rebel Alliance. Her mission coincided with an Imperial attack on Naboo led by Captain Duvat.

Rebel forces led by Solo and Chewbacca later captured an Imperial Security Bureau facility on the Wretch of Tayron. There, they discovered information about Operation: Cinder. Before Captain Duvat could devastate Naboo further with Climate disruption array satellites, Lando Calrissian arrived in the cruiser Mellcrawler II and destroyed Duvat's Star Destroyer Torment. Alliance forces were then deployed to disrupt other Imperial forces from carrying out Operation: Cinder. Meanwhile, the Alliance pilot Shara Bey accompanied Luke Skywalker on a mission to recover Force-sensitive trees from an Imperial base on Vetine.

Dawn of the New Republic
After the Battle of Endor, the Rebel Alliance promptly reorganized themselves into a new government called the New Republic and broadcast the defeat of the Empire across the galaxy, urging star systems to join them in overthrowing the remnants of the Empire. The New Republic also liberalized the HoloNet and encouraged the creation of new media networks such as Queen of the Core Network. The Alliance military was reconstituted as the New Republic military and saw extensive action against Imperial forces on numerous fronts across the galaxy including Naalol, Malastare, Geonosis, and Sevarcos. The Alliance's leader Mon Mothma became the New Republic's first Chancellor. While her position still held the emergency powers granted by Palpatine during the Clone Wars, Mothma plan to abolish them and to reduce the New Republic military once victory over the Empire had been achieved.

As news of the Empire's defeat began to spread throughout the galaxy, the Empire began to crumble as infighting among Imperial leaders became frequent, and continued losses to the ever-growing Republic prevented them from becoming a single unified force. Due to the lack of clear system of succession following the Emperor's death, chaos and anarchy gripped the Empire. Several members of the Imperial Ruling Council took the opportunity to grab onto territory and tailed contradictory propaganda messages about the New Republic and the Emperor's survival. Early Imperial propaganda attempts claiming the Emperor was still alive by using an actor to pose as Palpatine collapsed after observers quickly realized that the person was an impostor.

Meanwhile, Governor Adelhard imposed a blockade on the Anoat sector. Denouncing all reports of the Emperor's death as "treasonous fabrication", Adelhard enforced his rule with Purge Troopers. He was opposed by a mixture of criminals and nobles in the region. Elsewhere, Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax secretly assumed command of the Imperial fleets in the Vulpinus, Almagest, Recluse's, Queluhan, Ro-Loo Triangle, and the Inamorata nebulae. Taking command of the Super Star Destroyer Ravager, Rax ordered Admiral Rae Sloane to convene an emergency summit on Akiva to discuss the future of the Empire. In secret, Rax and Sloane planned to eliminate his rivals within the Empire.

Putting Rax's plans into action, Admiral Sloane organized an Imperial Future Council consisting of herself, Grand Moff Valco Pandion, General Jylia Shale, the Imperial Adviser Yupe Tashu, and the financier Arsin Crassus. Their meeting was discovered by the New Republic pilots Captain Wedge Antilles and Lieutenant Norra Wexley. While scouting Akiva, Wedge was captured by Sloane. Before the Imperial Future Council could finish its proceedings, Norra organized a motley rebel cell consisting of her son Temmin Wexley, his B1 battle droid Mister Bones, the former Imperial loyalty officer Sinjir Rath Velus, and the Zabrak bounty hunter Jas Emari. Working together, they inspired a rebellion on Akiva and disrupted the conference. Posing as an informant known as the Operator, Rax also supplied Admiral Ackbar with intelligence on Imperial fleet movements and the Akiva summit. As a result, New Republic forces attacked Akiva and captured General Shale and Adviser Tashu. However, Sloane managed to escape back to the Ravager; having fulfilled Rax's orders.

Following the events on Akiva, the New Republic reconstituted the Galactic Senate on its capital Chandrila. In the months following the Battle of Endor, Han Solo and Chewbacca embarked on a campaign to liberate the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk, which had been subjugated by Grand Moff Lozen Tolruck; who had fitted the enslaved Wookiees with inhibitor chips and treated them as an expendable slave labor force. After receiving intelligence from Imra that the Empire had reduced its presence on Kashyyyk, Han and Chewie organized a task force of refugees and smugglers to liberate the planet. However, this information was a ruse set up by the Empire to trap them. Han managed to escape but Chewbacca was captured.

Waves of change
By the following year, the war was turning in the New Republic's favor. The Republic launched a program to hunt down Imperial fugitives. New Republic forces also seized more worlds from the Empire including Arkanis and Nag Ubdur. Both sides also employed propaganda. New Republic media such as Queen of the Core Network highlighted Imperial atrocities and suicide attacks on Nag Ubdur. In response, the Office of Imperial Promotion, Galactic Truth, and Fact Correction published posters and fabricated data depicting the New Republic as terrorists and criminals. Some criminals like the reptilian crime lord Eleodie Maracavanya took advantage of the chaos to expand their criminal enterprises. Eleodie's power was boosted by the stolen Super Star Destroyer Annihilator.

Meanwhile, Grand Vizier Mas Amedda tried to maintain a semblance of control over Coruscant, which was experiencing a civil war. With the Imperial Security Bureau barely able to hold on to Coruscant, Mas attempted to surrender to the New Republic. However, Chancellor Mothma and Princess Leia rejected his terms and ordered him to find a way to secure the Empire's surrender. Elsewhere, Sloane assumed leadership of the Imperial forces in the Vulpinus nebula as Grand Admiral. However, she served as a front for Gallius Rax, who was the true ruler of the Imperial remnants. Under his orders, Sloane convened the Shadow Council to promote the resurgence of the Empire. The Shadow Council consisted of the former Commandant Brendol Hux, Grand Moff Randd, General Hodnar Borrum, and the Imperial propagandist Ferric Obdur. In private, however, Sloane distrusted Rax's agenda and undertook an investigation of the Imperial fleet inventory and Rax's background.

Following the disappearance of Han Solo, Princess Leia solicited the services of Norra and her team in finding her husband. After refusing an order from Admiral Ackbar to abandon her search for Solo, Norra resigned from the New Republic military to search for Han. Norra's team and Solo teamed up on the planet Irudiru to capture and interrogate the Siniteen prison designer Golas Aram, who was privy to a secret Imperial prison on Kashyyyk called Ashmead's Lock. Infiltrating Ashmead's Lock, Solo and Norra's team managed to free Chewbacca and a hundred other rebel prisoners including Brentin Lore Wexley. Norra, Temmin, Mister Bones and the prisoners returned to Chandrila aboard Solo's ship, the Millennium Falcon.

Meanwhile, Sinjir, Jas Emari, and the New Republic soldier Jom Barell stayed behind on Kashyyyk to liberate the planet from Imperial rule. They decided to hunt down Grand Moff Tolruck in order to disable the control module controlling the inhibitor chips. Unknown to the New Republic, the liberation of the Ashmead's Lock prisoners played into the hands of Fleet Admiral Rax; who had secretly implanted inorganic biochips into their heads. Rax then put into a motion a plan to assassinate the New Republic leadership on Chandrila. Following the fall of Kuat and its shipyards, Grand Admiral Sloane offered to enter into peace talks with the New Republic. Believing the Empire was near defeat, the Galactic Senate accepted Sloane's offer.

A month later, Sinjir managed to track Grand Moff Tolruck down to his island fortress. He disabled the control module controlling the inhibitor chips and rescued Jom from Imperial captivity. As a result, a mass planetwide uprising broke out on Kashyyyk. Meanwhile, Solo and the rest of his team attacked Camp Sardo, a slave labor camp near the Wookiee city of Awrathakka. In a last ditched defense, Tolruck ordered the orbiting Imperials Star Destroyers to bombard Kashyyyk. However, Princess Leia learned about the attack from the slicer Conder Kyl and managed to convince Captain Antilles and Admiral Ackbar to send ships there. They were aided by Solo and his team, who hijacked the Star Destroyer Dominion. As a result, Solo, Chewbacca, and the New Republic managed to end the Imperial subjugation of the Wookiees.

Meanwhile on Chandrila, Chancellor Mon Mothma organized Liberation Day to celebrate the liberation of the Ashmead's Lock prisoners. These festivities were meant to precede the upcoming peace talks with Grand Admiral Sloane. To entice more worlds to join the New Republic, the celebrations were broadcast live on HoloNet. With the help of his local agent Windom Traducier, Rax transmitted a signal that forced the former prisoners to attack New Republic officials. As a result, numerous New Republic officials including Chancellor Mothma and Commodore Kyrsta Agate were wounded while others like General Crix Madine and Hostis Ij were rumored to be killed. Grand Admiral Sloane turned against Rax after disagreeing with his dishonorable tactics.

Following the attack on Chandrila, Rax seized power as Counselor to the Empire and ordered his Imperial armadas to assemble on the planet Jakku for a showdown with the New Republic. The attack on Chandrila dampened the New Republic's desire for peace talks with the Empire and discouraged numerous worlds from joining the new government. With the backing of Leia, Norra and her team embarked on a campaign to hunt down Grand Admiral Sloane; whom they believed was responsible for the attack on Chandrila. Meanwhile, Sloane joined forces with Brentin to hunt down and kill Gallius Rax. With the help of the bounty hunter Mercurial Swift, they discovered that Jakku was Rax's homeworld. New Republic forces also repelled three Imperial attempts to retake Naboo.

Gallius Rax's hour
For several months, Norra Wexley, her son Temmin, and her team hunted for the fugitive Grand Admiral Sloane. After capturing the bounty hunter Mercurial Swift on Taris, the Imperial hunters learned that the former Grand Admiral had traveled to Jakku. Elsewhere, New Republic forces conducted mopping up operations against Imperial holdouts on Kashyyyk and Cloud City. Meanwhile, the remnants of the Empire waited on Jakku for a showdown with the New Republic. While Counselor Gallius Rax regarded the barren, desert world as an ideal testing ground for his forces, the harsh conditions sapped the spirit and strength Rax's forces. In addition, Rax recruited local orphans and street children into a fighting force of child assassins.

Unknown to his subordinates, Rax was the secret executioner of the Emperor's posthumous Contingency plan. Palpatine had decreed that the Empire should not be allowed to outlive his death. As part of the Contingency, Rax had engineered the deaths of numerous other Imperial commanders. The final stage of the Contingency involved instigating a showdown between the Empire and the Rebellion above Jakku. Rax planned to destroy the planet and the two enemy fleets by throwing Sith relics down a borehole which led to Jakku's core, triggering a cataclysmic explosion. In secret, Rax planned to flee into the Unknown Regions with a select few Imperials including Brendol Hux, his son Armitage, and his child assassins.

Norra and her team soon discovered the Imperial fleet. While Norra and Jas Emari took an escape pod to search for Sloane, Temmin and Sinjir returned to Chandrila with news of the Imperial presence on Jakku. After learning of the Imperial presence, Chancellor Mothma went to the Galactic Senate to pass a bill deploying New Republic forces to Jakku. The vote failed to pass since it fell short of a majority of five senators. These senators had been coerced into voting against the bill by the Black Sun and Red Key crime syndicates, who wanted to profit from the war. This vote coincided with the New Republic's efforts to relocate its capital to the Mid Rim agrarian world of Nakadia. Han Solo, Temmin, Sinjir, Conder Kyl, and Jom Barell managed to convince the senators to change their votes by rescuing Senator Nim Tar's child and offering them a pardon if they changed their votes during the re-vote on Nakadia. As a result, Chancellor Mothma secured the majority needed to send New Republic forces to Jakku.

Showdown on Jakku
A New Republic fleet led by Admiral Ackbar entered the space around Jakku and engaged Rax's Imperial fleet. The New Republic also deployed several ground forces to attack Rax's main Imperial headquarters and an Imperial weapons facility. Other New Republic participants included the starfighter pilots Captain Wedge Antilles and Temmin Wexley, and Commodore Kyrsta Agate. As the battle raged, Norra joined forces with Sloane and Brentin to hunt down and stop Counselor Rax, who had traveled to the Jakku Observatory with Adviser Yupe Tashu to initiate the destruction of Jakku.

At first, the battle went in the Empire's favor. The Imperial fleet had formed a tight defensive formation around Rax's Super Star Destroyer Ravager. This tight formation slowed the onslaught of the New Republic assault and allowed the Ravager to repeatedly bombard the New Republic fleet from the safety of its protective cordon. After the Star Destroyer Punishment broke formation and rammed the Starhawk-class battleship Amity in a kamikaze attack, Commodore Agate positioned her ship Concord in the gap and bombarded the Ravager. Despite being crippled by the Super Star Destroyer, Agate managed to use the Concord powerful tractor beam to drag the larger ship to Jakku's surface. The New Republic ships and starfighters then disabled the Ravager engines.

After the Ravager commander Grand Moff Randd fled, the battle turned in the New Republic's favor. New Republic forces then attacked the beleaguered Imperials on multiple fronts in space and on the ground. During the battle, Captain Ciena Ree crashed her Star Destroyer Inflictor onto Jakku's surface in an effort to deny the New Republic access to her ship. The New Republic was also aided by the bounty hunters Jas Emari, Dengar, Embo, and Jeeta; who secured pardons for their efforts. Meanwhile, Sloane and her New Republic allies managed to hunt down and kill Rax and stop his plot to destroy Jakku. Sloane then fled with Brendol, Armitage and Rax's child soldiers on a replica of the Emperor's yacht Imperialis to a set of secret coordinates in the Unknown Regions.

The Battle of Jakku coincided with Grand Vizier Mas Amedda's escape from house arrest in the Imperial Palace. With the help of a group of child resistance fighters known as the Anklebiter Brigade, Amedda managed to flee to Chandrila and sign the Imperial Instruments of Surrender and the Galactic Concordance with Chancellor Mon Mothma. These agreements formalized the Empire's capitulation to the New Republic and ordered all Imperial forces to cease fighting. Despite the decisive defeat of the Imperial fleet above Jakku and the signing of the Galactic Concordance, Imperial forces continued fighting on Jakku's surface and parts of the galaxy for months. Following the battle, the scattered remnants of the Imperial fleet regrouped at various locations including the Queluhan Nebula for a coordinated attack on the New Republic.

A month after the Battle of Jakku, the remaining Imperial forces were confined to pre-determined boundaries in the Core Worlds and Inner Rim. Under the terms of the Concordance, the defeated Empire was required to obey strict disarmament policies and pay war reparations, which the remnant in the Core and Inner Rim obeyed, confining themselves to the new set of borders. The Concordance also banned the recruitment and mobilization of stormtrooper forces, the abandonment of Imperial Academies, ceded the former galactic capital Coruscant to the New Republic, and outlawed torture. While the New Republic turned its attention to reshaping the galactic order, the Empire withered away into a remnant of hardliners that eventually relocated to the Unknown Regions and became the First Order. Despite the end of the Galactic Civil War, the New Republic had to contend with other new factions including the New Separatist Union, the Confederacy of Corporate Systems, and the Sovereign Latitudes of Maracavanya, and some of the surviving Imperial splinter groups.

Legacy
Following the conclusion of the Galactic Civil War, as the New Republic became the dominant government of the Galaxy, the Republic became locked in a cold war with the Imperial remnants. Some wealthy collectors such as the Centrist senator Ransolm Casterfo collected historical artifacts including Imperial helmets, banners, and armor. In addition, Rebel Alliance and Imperial banners, equipment, and other artifacts were sold at places such as Chrome Citadel. Key Rebel leaders such as Senator Bail Organa, Chancellor Mon Mothma, Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker had a high level of respect and prestige among the galactic populace. Still, some like Casterfo regarded the actions taken by Saw Gerrera's Partisans and the Rebel Alliance as terrorist activities.

By 28 ABY, two factions had emerged in the Galactic Senate: the Centrists who favored a stronger central government and the Populists who wanted member worlds to wield considerable sovereignty. Some Centrists admired the "Old Empire" and questioned the official New Republic accounts of the Battle of Yavin and the Galactic Civil War. Some even expressed skepticism that Luke Skywalker had destroyed the first Death Star and suggested that it was the work of an Imperial traitor. Several Centrist senators including Lady Carise Sindian and Erudo Ro-Kiintor worked as undercover agents of the First Order to subvert the New Republic from within.

Due to his role as the Emperor's enforcer, Darth Vader was widely reviled by much of the galactic population. As a result, his children Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker withheld the full details of their parentage from all but a close circle of friends. After Lady Carise discovered Leia's true parentage, she manipulated Leia's friend Senator Casterfo into revealing Leia's parentage during a hearing to consider Leia's candidacy for the office of First Senator. Consequently, Leia lost much support in the Senate and was forced to withdraw her candidacy. Later, Leia uncovered evidence that a paramilitary faction called the Amaxine warriors were planning to attack the New Republic. However, her warnings were dismissed as warmongering by the Senate. Sensing another galactic war approaching, Princess Leia formed a paramilitary outfit called the Resistance to protect the New Republic.

Many of soldiers and military officers including General Armitage Hux in the First Order were taught that rebel "terrorists" had stolen the future of the galaxy during the Civil War. The First Order viewed the New Republic as too weak to save the galaxy from chaos and believed that the First Order had to save the galaxy from itself.