Cold War

As the Clone Wars concluded between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, secretly the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious, transformed the democratic Republic into the original Galactic Empire and proclaimed himself the Galactic Emperor. Furthermore, the Emperor designated the Jedi as enemies of the state, initiating a campaign that nearly resulted in the Order's complete annihilation. Ultimately, conflict between the Empire and various rebel factions, which had coalesced into a unified military alliance, escalated into a full-scale war.

The Empire experienced a significant setback at the Battle of Endor when the Rebel Alliance achieved victory, resulting in the deaths of the Emperor, his primary enforcer and apprentice Darth Vader, along with the destruction of the Sith. Subsequently, the Rebel Alliance began to reorganize into the New Republic.

The Galactic Empire's loss at the Battle of Jakku a year following the Battle of Endor, and the Galactic Civil War's conclusion in 5 ABY, marked the beginning of decreased aggression between the Empire and the New Republic. Shortly after, a conference took place on Chandrila involving Grand Vizier Mas Amedda, during which he officially surrendered to the New Republic. The subsequent Galactic Concordance solidified the Republic's triumph over the Galactic Empire and initiated the restoration of democracy across the galaxy. Despite the formal declaration of peace, skirmishes between the new government and certain Imperial factions persisted for some time, eventually diminishing as some warlords either sought peace or fled into deep space. Those Imperial officers who refused to yield were then labeled as enemies of the state.

Certain members of the Empire's leadership and military rejected these terms, and while large-scale violence did not resume, the New Republic and an organized remnant of the Galactic Empire became entrenched in a cold war. While significant, the rest of the Empire, though fragmented, continued to exist. According to the Galactic Concordance, the Imperial capital of Coruscant was transferred to the New Republic, where a provisional government was established. In adherence to the Concordance, pardons were granted to all non-military officials and officers who respected the agreement. However, many high-ranking Imperial officers refused immediate compliance and were subsequently branded as war criminals. Despite this, the Empire was permitted to persist as successor states, maintaining sovereignty over territories outside New Republic jurisdiction. With Coruscant no longer serving as the Empire's seat of power, Imperial leadership was compelled to reconstitute itself. Consequently, the central Imperial government was officially dissolved, with some leaders even abandoning the Empire to join the New Republic. Furthermore, territories under these former Imperials were integrated into the New Republic. While some chose this path, others remained loyal to the Imperial establishment, unlike their comrades who joined the restored Republic, those Imperials who sought independent sovereignty, and the hardliners who refused to accept the Concordance's stipulations.

As patriotism and loyalty to the remaining true Empire persisted, dedicated Imperials, both civilian and military, remained committed to its existence. The organized Imperial Navy and the Empire's war machine remained largely intact, as not all forces had aligned with warlords or hardliners who retreated and partitioned themselves in regions beyond New Republic influence. Given the Empire's vastness, a complete disbandment was not feasible; therefore, a conditional agreement was reached between the New Republic and the Galactic Empire regarding the latter's foundational aggregation and remaining powers. This agreement stipulated a conditional restructuring of the Empire, allowing it to exist as an official, self-governed entity while imposing limitations on its ability to wage war. Imperial borders were redefined, and a successor state was formed by the remnants of the old Imperial establishment, in accordance with the Galactic Concordance. Under New Republic command, remnant leaders ordered the recall of all fleets loyal to the Empire to the Core and Inner Rim. Although the Empire remained divided, with rogue remnant factions refusing to acknowledge the order, it now stood as a hawkish confederation locked in a cold war with the New Republic.

Despite the reluctant agreement, a militarized faction of the Empire refused to concede defeat, unlike the rest of the Empire in the Core Worlds and Inner Rim. While these hardliners did not engage in major military campaigns against the New Republic, both powers remained hostile. While the Old Empire was decentralized into various officially recognized states that preserved the Imperial tradition in certain non-Republic sectors, the residual faction founded by these hardliners was significant enough to concern the New Republic, prolonging the cold war. As resentments from the Galactic Civil War persisted, the cold war between the non-compliant Imperial remnant and the New Republic lasted for decades. Over time, the remnant began to retreat and colonize the Unknown Regions of the Galaxy, consolidating its power and initiating a rapid military buildup. During this period, political hardliners who opposed the Republic assumed leadership of the remnant, transforming it into the First Order, a powerful military junta based on the policies and principles of the "Old Empire."

By 28 ABY, internal strife within the Republic's Galactic Senate between the Populists and Centrists had led to political gridlock. The Populists favored maintaining the strong sovereignty of member worlds, while the Centrists advocated for a stronger central government and military, reminiscent of the "Old Empire." These divisions hindered the New Republic's ability to enforce financial regulations and patrol hyperspace lanes, leading to a resurgence of crime syndicates like Rinnrivin Di's cartel.

Rinnrivin Di's cartel, a recent entity, was covertly funded by the First Order through a paramilitary faction known as the Amaxine warriors. The cartel channeled revenue from smuggling and gambling activities back to the Amaxine warriors, who then funneled it to the First Order via shadow corporations. These corporations were owned by Centrist senators such as Lady Carise Sindian, acting as double agents for the Order. By 28 ABY, the cartel's activities had severely impacted the economy of the Gaulus sector, damaging offworld trade for worlds like Ryloth.

At the request of Ryloth's Ambassador Yendor, Populist senator Leia Organa and Centrist senator Ransolm Casterfo initiated a joint investigation into the syndicate's activities on Bastatha. Following a failed kidnapping attempt by Rinnrivin Di, Leia and Casterfo discovered that he was secretly channeling Bastatha's gambling revenue to shadow corporations based in the Outer Rim Territories. Their investigation coincided with Lady Carise's efforts to introduce legislation creating a powerful office called First Senator, with authority over the New Republic's military and economy, further exacerbating political divisions in the Senate.

Leia dispatched her senatorial staffer Greer Sonnel and starfighter pilot Joph Seastriker to Pamarthe to investigate Rinnrivin Di's pilot recruitment methods. There, they discovered that the Amaxine warriors operated from Daxam IV. Despite their political differences, Leia formed a friendship with Senator Casterfo. In an attempt to obstruct the senatorial investigation, Lady Carise secretly hired the Amaxine leader and former Imperial Arliz Hadrassian to bomb the New Republic senatorial complex. Despite the ensuing political turmoil, Leia and Ransolm continued their investigation. On Daxam IV, Casterfo and Greer encountered Arliz and learned about the Amaxine warriors' illegal rearmament efforts. Casterfo gained Hadrassian's trust by posing as an Imperial sympathizer and collector of Imperial artifacts.

Leia also investigated Rinnrivin Di's operations and determined that the crime lord was not responsible for the "Napkin Bombing." Meanwhile, Lady Carise inherited the Governorship of Birren and discovered evidence that Leia was Darth Vader's daughter. Seeking to create discord between Casterfo and Leia, Lady Carise informed Casterfo of this sensitive information. Feeling betrayed, Casterfo undermined Leia's candidacy for First Senator by revealing her true parentage. Due to widespread animosity towards Lord Vader for his role as the Emperor's executor, this revelation caused a political scandal that ruined Senator Organa's political career.

Despite this setback, Leia persisted in her investigation of the Amaxine Warriors. Along with Greer, Joph, and C-3PO, she infiltrated the underwater city on Sibensko. There, they found evidence that the Amaxines and a mysterious entity, later identified as the First Order, were funneling funds into Rinnrivin Di's syndicate. Following a brief skirmish with Rinnrivin Di and the Amaxine Warriors, Leia and her companions escaped with the assistance of her husband, Han Solo. Despite obtaining the evidence, the Sibensko complex was destroyed when the Amaxine Warriors' munitions depot exploded after a downed starfighter crashed into it, effectively neutralizing the Amaxine Warriors and Rinnrivin Di.

In the Galactic Senate, Senator Organa presented evidence regarding the Amaxine Warriors and Rinnrivin Di's syndicate, warning that the New Republic needed to prepare for potential threats. A repentant Casterfo also defended her by presenting visual recordings of the Amaxine Warriors' military stockpile on Daxam IV. This angered Lady Carise, who fabricated evidence linking Casterfo to the Amaxine Warriors. Lady Carise also hired the Amaxine leader Hadrassian to assassinate Tai-Lin Garr. Due to Casterfo's alleged links to the Amaxines, he was arrested for purportedly masterminding the Amaxine Warriors and arranging the assassination of Tai-Lin Garr. While most of the public believed in Casterfo's guilt, Senator Organa realized that Lady Carise was responsible for framing Casterfo and convinced the Elder Houses to strip her of all her royal titles. With the Senate unwilling to take external threats seriously, Senator Organa founded the Resistance, a private military organization formed to defend the New Republic.

In 29 ABY, several Centrist systems, including the planets Kuat, Arkanis, and Orinda, officially seceded from the New Republic and joined the First Order. This marked the public establishment of the regime, although the First Order had initially formed in the Unknown Regions. Over the ensuing years, an uneasy peace existed between the New Republic and the First Order. In violation of the Galactic Concordance, the First Order began to develop a military force and acquire advanced weapons and starships. First Order forces also frequently crossed the Trans-Hydian Borderlands and launched incursions into Republic space. Despite increasing reports of First Order re-militarization and aggression, the Galactic Senate and New Republic High Command declined to take decisive military action against the Order. The New Republic Defense Fleet was instructed to avoid engagement with First Order forces and to patrol Republic space.

Military officers such as Major Lonno Deso generally viewed the First Order as a poorly equipped and funded group of loyalists with effective propaganda. They regarded Organa and her allies as alarmists attempting to relive past glories, believing that the First Order was adhering to the Concordance and remaining within their designated borders, thus seeing little cause for concern.

Following the First Order's emergence, New Republic starfighter commander Poe Dameron and his Rapier Squadron, while patrolling the Mirrin sector, responded to a distress call from the freighter Yissira Zyde above Suraz 4. The freighter was transporting 46 high-powered charging arrays that could be easily adapted for military use. During the subsequent Suraz engagement, Rapier Squadron managed to shoot down several First Order starfighters but failed to prevent the hijacked freighter from entering hyperspace. One pilot, Muran, was killed in the dogfight. Dameron reported the incident to Major Lonno Deso and advocated tracking the ship to investigate the First Order's interest in it. However, Deso, citing the New Republic Defense Force's defensive policies, ordered Poe not to pursue the First Order.

Defying Major Deso's orders, Poe initiated an unsanctioned mission to locate the Yissira Zyde. Facing potential sanctions from the Republic military for insubordination, Poe left the Republic Starfleet and joined the Resistance on General Leia Organa's advice. His remaining Rapier pilots, Karé Kun and Iolo Arana, who shared his views, also joined him. Later, General Organa obtained intelligence that Hevurion senator Erudo Ro-Kiintor was secretly colluding with the First Order by sabotaging motions in the Galactic Senate. Lacking concrete evidence, Leia dispatched Poe and his former Rapier Squadron colleagues on a covert mission to steal Ro-Kiintor's ship, Hevurion Grace, and obtain its computers. Despite First Order opposition, the Resistance pilots successfully stole the Hevurion Grace and exposed Ro-Kiintor's collaboration. Additionally, Leia found information leading to her brother Luke and sent Poe on a quest to find Lor San Tekka.

Following the events of Operation: Sabre Strike, Poe Dameron was tasked by General Organa with forming a small squadron of no more than four pilots and a technician. Dameron established his Black Squadron, comprising himself, Captains Karé Kun and Temmin Wexley, the Duros L'ulo L'ampar, Jessika Pava, and the Abednedo technician Oddy Muva. Tracing Lor San Tekka's whereabouts, Black Squadron journeyed to the planet Ovanis, where they encountered the Crèche cult, who worshiped a large blue egg. The Crèche elder informed Poe that Tekka had visited them long ago.

However, the First Order discovered their presence on Ovanis and dispatched Agent Terex to retrieve the information Dameron had obtained from Senator Ro-Kiintor. Black Squadron was subsequently embroiled in a dogfight with First Order stormtroopers and TIE fighters. Amidst the fighting, the Crèche egg hatched, releasing two large winged creatures that engaged in combat. Dameron gained the upper hand over Terex and forced the First Order Security Bureau agent to withdraw his forces. Unwilling to provoke a war between the First Order and the New Republic, Dameron reluctantly released Terex after the Crèche had departed with one of the creatures to find a new home. Continuing their search for Lor San Tekka, Dameron and Black Squadron bribed their way into Megalox prison on the high-gravity world of Megalox Beta to question Grakkus the Hutt, who had encountered Lor San Tekka in the past. However, the First Order learned of their presence and dispatched Terex to obtain the information first. Grakkus agreed to provide the information only to whoever freed him first. Despite Terex persuading local crime bosses Papa Toren, Kan Be, and Isin to recruit gangsters to storm Grakkus' fortress, Dameron, with the help of BB-8 and the astromech droids, managed to disable the gravity field around Megalox.

Equipped with gravity belts, Dameron and Black Squadron successfully rescued Grakkus and escaped offworld. En route, they prevented a vengeful Terex from attacking the prison's space station and shuttles with his starship Carrion Spike, formerly owned by Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. Upon returning to D'Qar, Grakkus provided the Resistance with information on Tekka's last known location. While Dameron wished to resume the search for the explorer, General Organa instructed him to investigate how the First Order had learned of their trip to Megalox Beta.

Later on, Suralinda Javos, a journalist from the Squamatan Galaxy Beacon, made a startling discovery. She found that the First Order was engaged in the illicit construction of military bases, ship-producing facilities, weapons development centers, and a secretive initiative, all of which violated the Galactic Concordance. To discuss this, she arranged a meeting with Dameron on Pheryon, a gas giant situated in the Inner Rim. Her intention was for Dameron to introduce her to General Organa, hoping to leverage the information for career advancement by selling it to the General. Unfortunately, First Order intelligence, led by Lieutenant Weel and his stormtroopers, ambushed and captured both Dameron and Javos. While Javos was initially taken prisoner, she managed to eliminate Weel and secure Dameron's release. During their escape, Javos underwent a significant change of heart, deciding to align herself with the Resistance. Subsequently, at the behest of General Organa's intelligence chief, C-3PO, Dameron, accompanied by BB-8 and technician Oddy Muva, embarked on a mission to Kaddak. Their objective was to extract a member of the Resistance spy droid network possessing crucial intelligence on the First Order, including the whereabouts of Supreme Leader Snoke. Unbeknownst to Poe, Oddy Muva was a reluctant spy, coerced by Terex, who held Oddy's wife, Sowa Chuan, captive aboard his flagship, the Carrion Spike. Terex also made his way back to Kaddak, regaining control of the Ranc Gang. Defying Captain Phasma's orders, Terex launched an unsanctioned operation aimed at destroying Poe and undermining the Resistance. His strategy involved providing the BX-series droid commando N1-ZX with misleading information and tracking Poe's ship back to the Resistance base. Terex intended to use the Ranc Gang to obliterate the Resistance, effectively eliminating a major obstacle to the First Order's dominance. As planned, Dameron and his team successfully retrieved N1-ZX and fled Kaddak. Following this, Oddy undertook a mission to rescue his wife, infiltrating the Carrion Spike. However, during hyperspace travel, Dameron correctly deduced that Terex had planted the information and diverted their course to a remote desert planet.

Terex, along with his Ranc forces, pursued Poe's T-70 X-wing starfighter to the arid world. Following a crash landing, Poe and the droids sought refuge in the planet's cave systems. Terex then led a ground assault, while Oddy successfully freed Sowa and the other captives. Soon after, Poe's Black Squadron allies arrived, engaging Terex's fleet of unconventional fighters known as "Uglies" in a dogfight. With Temmin's assistance, Poe managed to transfer Mister Bones's personality matrix into N1-ZX, who subsequently eliminated Terex's landing party before being destroyed by Terex himself. In the space battle, Black Squadron provided crucial cover fire for Oddy and the slaves' escape pods. L'ulo L'ampar tragically lost his life during the aerial combat. The battle's momentum shifted in favor of Black Squadron with the arrival of First Order forces under Commander Malarus, who swiftly decimated Terex's Ranc Gang fleet. Malarus's mission was to apprehend Terex for his insubordination. To prevent an all-out conflict, Poe allowed Commander Malarus to take Terex into custody.

In 34 ABY, Dameron received information that Lor San Tekka was residing in the village of Tuanul on the planet Jakku, prompting him to seek out the elder. Lor San Tekka entrusted Dameron with a fragment of the map that would lead to Luke Skywalker's location. However, the First Order tracked them to Jakku, deploying multiple assault landers to the planet. The local inhabitants, members of the Church of the Force, bravely defended their home but were ultimately massacred by the First Order. Dameron entrusted the map fragment to his droid, BB-8, instructing him to flee the village and promising to return. Following the subjugation of the villagers, Kylo Ren arrived and executed Lor San Tekka after he refused to reveal the map's location. Enraged, Poe attempted to shoot Kylo Ren, but his laser fire was held off by Kylo Ren's use of the Force, resulting in his capture. Kylo Ren then ordered the massacre of the remaining villagers, with First Order stormtroopers opening fire and setting their homes ablaze with flamethrowers. Stormtrooper FN-2187 refused to fire, becoming disillusioned with the First Order's brutality. Aboard the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer Finalizer, Dameron resisted revealing any information under torture, but Kylo Ren eventually discerned that the map was hidden within the droid. He dispatched stormtroopers to Jakku to locate and capture BB-8. Unbeknownst to both Dameron and the First Order, the droid had fallen into the possession of a scavenger named Rey.

Ultimately, Dameron escaped with the assistance of FN-2187, who stated that he was helping him because it was the right thing to do. FN-2187's decision was influenced by a moral conflict he experienced during a previous First Order operation to suppress a strike at Pressy's Tumble. FN-2187 aided Dameron in reaching a TIE fighter, and they fought their way out of the hangar while also destroying the ventral cannons of the Finalizer. During this escape, Dameron gave FN-2187 the nickname "Finn," which he adopted as his name. They escaped to Jakku, but their TIE fighter crashed in two separate locations. The main body of the fighter crashed in a sinkhole, leading Finn to believe that Poe had died. He made his way to the nearest village, where Rey was defending herself against thugs attempting to steal the valuable BB-8 for their boss. BB-8 recognized Finn wearing Dameron's jacket, identifying him as a thief, which led to Rey attacking him. However, Finn falsely claimed to be with the Resistance and stated that the droid contained a piece of a map that needed to reach them. At that moment, TIE fighters and stormtroopers arrived and began an attack. The two bypassed the old Millennium Falcon to reach another ship, but when that ship was destroyed, they entered the Falcon and tried to escape. Rey and Finn successfully destroyed the pursuing TIE fighters and left the planet with BB-8, but before they could exit the system, they were pulled into the freighter Eravana by Han Solo and Chewbacca, the ship's former owners. The duo met Rey and Finn, and Han Solo was initially reluctant to get involved in the conflict and help them, but he eventually agreed.

While on the Eravana, the group encountered trouble when the Kanjiklub and the Guavian Death Gang confronted Han Solo about his outstanding debts, leading to a tense standoff. Rey decided to seal the blast doors to separate Han Solo from the two gangs, but she inadvertently released three rathtars, monstrous creatures that had killed most of Han's crew when he captured them. Han, Chewbacca, Rey, Finn, and BB-8 barely escaped, with Finn nearly being devoured by one. The four of them left the ship as the rathtars attacked the gangsters, but not before Bala-Tik reported Han Solo's escape to the First Order.

Under Snoke's command, Hux prepared the Starkiller weapon to target the Hosnian system in the Core Worlds, the capital of the New Republic. Once the weapon was ready, Hux addressed the assembled legions of stormtroopers under his command to witness its destructive power. Hux declared that this day would mark the end of the New Republic and, ultimately, the Resistance, the culmination of all their efforts. Hux then ordered the weapon to be fired, and massive beams of energy were unleashed across the galaxy towards the Hosnian system. Upon arrival, the astronomical bodies of the system were obliterated, including Hosnian Prime.

A First Order spy on the planet alerted the First Order to the presence of the droid, leading Kylo Ren to dispatch stormtroopers and TIE fighters to the planet. They destroyed much of the castle, killing many people, and Maz Kanata decided to entrust Luke's lightsaber to Finn. Rey, Han, Chewbacca, and Finn fought against the stormtroopers until Resistance T-70 X-wing starfighters arrived and destroyed numerous enemy fighters. However, Rey was captured by the First Order and taken back to Starkiller Base. Dameron reunited with Finn, embracing each other as friends. Kylo Ren decided the droid was unimportant, as Rey had seen the map; he abandoned the search for the droid and interrogated her. However, she resisted his torture and instead read his thoughts. Meanwhile, Han, Chewbacca, Finn, and Dameron traveled to the Resistance base on D'Qar to meet with General Organa and plan a counterattack against Starkiller Base, while Finn sought to rescue his friend.

On D'Qar, Organa, Gial Ackbar, and other Resistance leaders were planning an attack on Starkiller Base to prevent further destruction of other systems. Finn made a special request to Organa, asking her to rescue Rey. She authorized Han, Chewbacca, and Finn to embark on this mission, which would also involve disabling the shields to allow the X-wings to destroy the base. The three of them were inserted onto the icy planet, where they captured Captain Phasma and forced her to deactivate the shields. This allowed the X-wings to begin their assault, and the trio set off to find Rey. They located her after she had escaped, using a mind trick to compel a stormtrooper to release her with a weapon. They planted explosives in the base, but as they were about to leave, Han encountered Kylo Ren, his son formerly known as "Ben Solo." Han appeared to convince Ren to return to him, but his own son impaled him with his lightsaber, and Han fell into the abyss below. Chewbacca wounded Kylo Ren with a bowcaster shot, and he detonated his explosives, killing many stormtroopers. Chewbacca, Rey, and Finn escaped the base, and Ren pursued Rey and Finn. They dueled, with Rey being injured and Finn fighting Ren with Luke's old lightsaber; later, Finn was slashed on the back, forcing Rey to fight Ren. Simultaneously, the X-wings attacked and destroyed the base's vulnerable core, leading to the base turning its own power against itself as the planet crumbled. General Hux was ordered by Snoke's hologram to retrieve Kylo Ren and evacuate the base; Kylo Ren dueled Rey but failed to persuade her to join the dark side. Rey slashed Kylo Ren and nearly killed him, but an earthquake separated them. Chewbacca arrived in the Falcon and rescued the injured Finn and Rey, and they departed the planet with the X-wing squadron as the planet exploded.

They returned to the base, where the joy of victory was overshadowed by grief over Han's death. General Organa embraced Rey. Finn was taken to a medical center and revived, and R2-D2 reactivated for the first time since Luke's disappearance to display an incomplete galactic map. BB-8 revealed the missing piece, pinpointing Luke's location to the Resistance; Rey, along with the grieving Chewbacca, set out in the Millennium Falcon to the designated location. She found Luke on an island on Ahch-To, an ocean planet she had dreamed about, and silently presented Luke's lightsaber to him, with Luke turning to face her.

Following the Hosnian Cataclysm, the New Republic effectively dissolved, and the remaining senators not present in the Hosnian System chose to disband any remaining military forces to protect their individual worlds, leaving the Resistance as the sole entity directly opposing the First Order's ambition to conquer the galaxy.

The Cold War was first alluded to in Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure, was formally mentioned in the 2015 reference book Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary, and made its first appearance in Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, where it transitions into open warfare between the First Order and the Resistance.

"Cold war" is a concept that exists in our world.