First Order-Resistance War

Before the Galactic Civil War, Darth Sidious solidified his power over the galaxy, becoming Emperor of the Galactic Empire.

At the conclusion of the Clone Wars in 19 BBY, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, secretly the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious, proclaimed himself Emperor and transformed the democratic Galactic Republic, which had governed the galaxy for over a millennium, into the first Galactic Empire. He replaced the Galactic Senate with the Imperial Senate. The Emperor tasked his new Sith apprentice, the fallen Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker who became Sith Lord Darth Vader, with overseeing the deaths of the remaining Separatist leaders and the elimination of the remaining Jedi who had survived Order 66 and the attack on the Jedi Temple, effectively destroying the Jedi Order.

Despite the promises of security and order that the Old Republic had failed to provide, the Empire eventually encountered early resistance that coalesced into the Alliance to Restore the Republic. The Rebel Alliance and the Empire soon engaged in the Galactic Civil War, with the former achieving a significant victory at the Battle of Yavin where the Death Star was destroyed. Four years later, in 4 ABY, the Emperor used himself and the second Death Star as bait to lure out the Alliance Fleet and Luke Skywalker, a new Jedi and son of Darth Vader whom the Emperor wanted to replace him. However, at the Battle of Endor, Vader betrayed the Emperor and killed him, saving his son and redeeming himself, fulfilling the prophecy of the Chosen One and leaving the Sith extinct. Anakin died in his son's arms moments later, though Luke was able to escape as the second Death Star exploded.

As the Rebel Alliance evolved into the New Republic and reestablished the Galactic Senate, Luke embarked on his journey to revive the Jedi way in the galaxy.

The conflict between the New Republic and the Empire reached its climax at the Battle of Jakku one year later in 5 ABY. Despite the Republic's victory, many Imperial officers, nobles, and soldiers managed to retreat into the Unknown Regions as part of a secret Contingency plan devised by the late Emperor to rebuild the Empire. However, the plot to destroy Jakku and thus cripple both the Old Empire and the New Republic had failed. Imperial remnants that continued to persist in the known galaxy agreed to the Imperial Instruments of Surrender and signed the Galactic Concordance with the New Republic.

Following the war, the New Republic dedicated itself to rebuilding what had been lost during the five-year conflict, while also implementing measures to ensure that such a large-scale event would never recur. The Galactic Senate enacted the Military Disarmament Act, which significantly demilitarized the New Republic Defense Force. Instead, individual planets and star systems were encouraged to rely on their local planetary defense forces. Despite the reduced military size, the New Republic continued to face substantial threats.

Ignoring the stipulations of the Galactic Concordance, some united remnants of the Empire refused to surrender, leading to a Cold War between the New Republic and the Imperial remnant. One Imperial remnant state was confined to predetermined borders in the Core and Inner Rim. On the former capital world of Coruscant, the central Imperial government was replaced by a provisional government led by Grand Vizier Mas Amedda and monitored by Republic observers. The Empire was reduced to a small state, restricted by disarmament treaties and reparations, and eventually dissolved entirely. By 28 ABY, Coruscant had become a full member of the Republic.

Over time, Imperial loyalists plotted their return to power. They established the First Order, hidden in the Unknown Regions. The First Order colonized planets and rapidly expanded its military power, rebuilding Imperial fleets and mobilizing stormtrooper forces within its armies, with the goal of restoring Imperial glory. Tensions between Imperial sympathizers, many of whom were Centrists, and Republic loyalists, many of whom were Populists, eventually led many former Imperials to secede from the Republic and join the growing First Order. While this idea was supported by many, others feared that former Imperials would return to the oppressive ways of the fallen Empire without Republic oversight.

Senator Leia Organa, Skywalker's twin sister, urged the Galactic Senate and New Republic Command to take action, but she was sidelined by the politics of the New Republic. This was especially true after the revelation that Darth Vader was her and Luke's father, which caused a political scandal between the Centrists and Populists. With the Republic seeking to avoid another galactic war at all costs and not viewing the First Order as a credible threat to galactic peace and freedom, Princess Leia resigned from her political office in 28 ABY and formed the independent Resistance, where she held the rank of General. Although not officially supported by the Republic, the Resistance was tolerated, and some within the Galactic Senate secretly helped fund the private military force.

During this period, the First Order hired Captain Kragan Gorr and his Warbird gang of pirates to attack the Colossus on the ocean planet of Castilon. Commander Pyre and Major Vonreg hoped that Gorr's attacks would force the Colossus's captain, Imanuel Doza, to accept their assistance. Initially, Doza refused Vonreg's offer to protect the platform. However, after another raid and the kidnapping of Doza's daughter, Torra, Doza accepted Pyre's offer of First Order "protection." Unbeknownst to Doza and the First Order, Commander Dameron and General Organa had dispatched Kazuda Xiono to the platform to investigate the First Order's plans.

Resistance spy Kazuda Xiono uncovered evidence of the First Order's war plans.

Xiono learned about the First Order's plans for the Colossus and Ren's attack on Tehar. He also discovered that the First Order was preparing for war with mining operations and other operations in the Dassal system.

After discovering the Corvus abandoned on Pillio, Iden Versio and Zay Versio began searching for Del Meeko. This led to them to Athulla where they went into combat with a Jinata Security fleet led by Leema Kai. During the Battle, Leemai Kai was killed and the Jinata Security Fleet surrendered.

Shortly before the formal outbreak of war between the First Order and the Resistance, Resistance pilot Poe Dameron was tasked with finding Lor San Tekka, an ally of General Organa, in the hope that he could provide information about the whereabouts of Skywalker, the last Jedi. Skywalker had been in self-imposed exile since the destruction of his Jedi generation by Ben Solo, his nephew and the son of Organa and Han Solo. Solo had become the First Order warlord known as Kylo Ren, the master of the Knights of Ren, and apprentice to Supreme Leader Snoke. The search for San Tekka eventually took Dameron to Tuanul village on Jakku, where he located the old ally and obtained a portion of a map that would guide the Resistance to Skywalker. However, before Dameron could escape, the First Order arrived, also seeking San Tekka and the map.

Left with no alternative, Dameron chose to hide the map inside his droid BB-8 and sent him away for safety. With the map now outside the village, Kylo Ren arrived, killed San Tekka, and captured Dameron. First Order Stormtroopers, led by Captain Phasma, executed all of the villagers. Dameron, after being tortured by Kylo Ren, revealed the map's location, prompting the First Order to begin searching for BB-8. During the attack on Tuanul, a stormtrooper, FN-2187, became disillusioned and helped Dameron escape captivity aboard the Finalizer. Their escape led them back to Jakku, where BB-8 had already befriended the Force-sensitive scavenger Rey and was about to begin his journey back to the Resistance.

As conflict escalated between the First Order and the Resistance, the New Republic government under Chancellor Lanever Villecham chose to prioritize trade relations with neutral regions of the galaxy, such as the Trans-Hydian Borderlands, unaware of the danger they faced. In 34 ABY, the war began with what became known as the Starkiller crisis. The First Order, which had been hidden in the Unknown Regions, used its Starkiller Base superweapon to target and destroy the Hosnian system, where the Republic capital of Hosnian Prime was located, resulting in the Hosnian Cataclysm. The Galactic Senate and Home Fleet of the Defense Fleet were completely destroyed, leading to the collapse of the Republic due to the loss of its leadership and most of its Defense Fleet.

Meanwhile, on Vardos, Shriv Suurgav and Iden Versio confronted Commander Gideon Hask, who killed Protectorate Gleb. The two were interrogated and were going to be executed, when fighting broke out between Jinata Security and the First Order. Soon most of the city was in combat with the First Order deploying armored and air units and Jinata Security doing likewise. Hask's Star Destroyer, the Retribution, shot down the Corvus. Suurgav and Versio were able to make it to one of the escape pods and found Zay in a sniper nest. They fought their way through the city and stole two fighters and made it way into the exhaust port by the engines.

The trio fought their way to the engineering room, which contained the schematics for the Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought. Unable to escape off the ship while in hyperspace, the trio sabotaged the reactor to throw the ship out of hyperspace. Iden had Dio reroute reinforcements to deal with less troopers. Just as Iden was arming the last explosive, Hask snuck up behind them and held Zay at gunpoint. However, Zay was able to break free and knock Hask down. Zay was thrown off the platform, but was caught by Iden at the last moment. Zay tossed the blaster to Iden who shot and killed Hask. However, Iden died from her wounds shortly after. Shriv and Zay detonated the explosives, ripping the ship out of hyperspace as Starkiller Base was destroyed. Shriv and Zay escaped on a TIE/sf space superiority fighter and contacted Organa who sent them on a mission to the Outer Rim.

Immediately following the attack on the Hosnian system and the collapse of the New Republic, a battle occurred between the First Order and the Resistance at Pirate Queen Maz Kanata's castle on Takodana. The First Order attacked the castle to capture BB-8, while the Resistance sought to retrieve him. Dameron later reflected on the significance of the battle, noting that it was the first real contest between the Resistance and the First Order in the public eye. The people at Kanata's castle watched as the Resistance intervened to protect the innocent from the First Order assault. The battle resulted in a Resistance victory with BB-8 being reclaimed, but Rey, who, with the help of ex-stormtrooper Finn, had saved BB-8 on Jakku, was captured by Kylo Ren, and Kanata's castle was destroyed. Once back at the Resistance base on D'Qar, the Resistance developed a plan to attack the First Order's Starkiller Base before it could be used again.

With Finn, Solo, and Chewbacca coercing the self-serving Captain Phasma into deactivating the base's shields, the Resistance launched a successful assault on Starkiller Base, destroying the planetary superweapon and inflicting a significant blow to the First Order's war machine. However, the Resistance lost Solo when he was killed by Ren, whose guilt over his father's murder aided Rey in a subsequent duel with the dark side warrior. Open warfare had begun, but there was hope for the Resistance. Using archival data inside the droid R2-D2 and the portion of the map that BB-8 had, they were able to complete the map to Skywalker. With this information, General Organa sent Rey to Ahch-To to find Skywalker.

Even with the destruction of Starkiller Base, the First Order was poised to initiate its campaign to conquer the galaxy from the Unknown Regions. The Republic, a bastion of peace, had suffered a devastating blow, with its political and military leaders eliminated. After locating Luke, Rey informed him that the First Order was poised to seize control of all major systems within mere weeks. Furthermore, the First Order had achieved enough victories that Supreme Leader Snoke, who had been secluded aboard his flagship, the Supremacy, in the Unknown Regions for a long time, decided to emerge from the shadows and personally guide the First Order toward potential dominance over the Resistance. Phasma concealed her involvement in deactivating Starkiller's shields by falsely accusing and executing the sole witness to her actions, Sol Rivas.

During the First Order's seizure of the Colossus, several outspoken critics were taken into custody, including Ace Squadron pilot Hype Fazon and Aunt Z, for their opposition to the First Order's presence and the increasing restrictions. These dissidents managed to escape with assistance from Xiono and Captain Doza's daughter, Torra.

After learning of Xiono's involvement in Dameron’s endeavor to the Dassal system, Commander Pyre of the Stormtroopers orchestrated a raid on the repair shop of former Rebel pilot Jarek Yeager and his Team Fireball. The entire team, with the exception of Tamara Ryvora, who was unaware of Yeager and Xiono's connections to the Resistance, successfully evaded capture. In an effort to signal the Resistance, Team Fireball submerged the Colossus. However, General Organa was unable to provide reinforcements as her forces were limited and scattered due to the ongoing search for BB-8, leaving Yeager's group to defend themselves.

Following the destruction of Hosnian Prime, Xiono, Yeager, Team Fireball, Captain Doza, and Torra were successful in ending the First Order's occupation of the Colossus on Castilon. With support from Ace Squadron and Kragan Gorr's Warbird pirate group, the Colossus managed to escape from Commander Pyre's Star Destroyer, the Thunderer. However, Ryvora, along with racer Jace Rucklin and mechanic Lin Gaava, defected to the First Order. Ryvora, who already held some sympathy for the Order as the granddaughter of an Imperial factory employee, felt betrayed that Yeager and Xiono had not disclosed their ties to the Resistance and joined the First Order to pursue her aspirations of becoming a pilot.

As Supreme Leader Snoke deployed his forces to take over the galaxy, General Armitage Hux led a group of ships from the First Order Navy to D'Qar, where the Resistance was in the process of leaving its base. General Hux's fleet intercepted the retreating Resistance ships above the planet. His Star Destroyers and TIE fighters were accompanied by a powerful ship commanded by Captain Moden Canady, a veteran of the Empire. The Siege Dreadnought used its two massive cannons to destroy the Resistance base on the planet's surface, although all personnel had already been evacuated. Meanwhile, Commander Dameron piloted his T-70 X-wing Black One toward the First Order Dreadnought at high speed, thanks to its upgraded engine. He destroyed the dreadnought's defensive laser weapons, while evading TIE fighters, and his droid BB-8 repaired his fighter.

With the Resistance forces now united with their fleet, General Organa ordered Dameron to break off the attack, but he refused, seeing an opportunity to destroy a First Order Dreadnought. Dameron's actions created an opening for heavy bombers to launch their payloads on the First Order Dreadnought, escorted by Blue Leader Tallissan Lintra and her starfighters. However, all of the Resistance bombers were destroyed, except for Cobalt Hammer, where Paige Tico served as the gunner. With the rest of the crew dead and herself injured, Paige released the payload on the Dreadnought, causing a chain reaction of explosions that ultimately consumed her and her ship. Nevertheless, her sacrifice allowed the Resistance pilots to return to their fleet and jump into faster than light travel. However, because of his rash and dangerous actions, and because that stunt killed many much needed Resistance pilots, Organa demoted Dameron to Captain.

General Hux was criticized by Supreme Leader Snoke for his repeated failures, after he communicated with Snoke aboard the Supremacy, the Supreme Leader's flagship. Hux revealed his plan to track the Resistance fleet through hyperspace using new technology, which was carried out through the Supremacy. When the Resistance fleet emerged from hyperspace in the Oetchi system, Hux's fleet arrived, reinforced by the Supremacy itself, which unleashed a barrage of fire on the Resistance ships. The Battle of Oetchi by the First Order ultimately trapped the fleeing Resistance, as it was unable to jump into hyperspace again without using up all of the fleet's remaining fuel, which would be pointless since the First Order would track them anyway, wherever they would go.

Kylo Ren and three wingmen conducted strafing runs on the Resistance flagship Raddus, destroying its hangar and wiping out most of the Resistance Starfighter Corps. However, Ren was unable to destroy the bridge of the Raddus, as his mother was still on board. His wingmen fired instead, destroying the bridge and crippling the Resistance leaders, including Admiral Gial Ackbar. General Organa was able to use the Force to survive, but was in critical condition when the Resistance rescued her. Command was then passed to Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo, an old friend and student of Organa. Dameron clashed with the Vice Admiral, as Holdo, the new leader of the Resistance, was unwilling to share her strategy with the demoted pilot.

While attempting to abandon the Raddus, Finn, a stormtrooper who switched sides and who, along with Dameron, Rey, Solo, and Chewbacca, had been instrumental in destroying Starkiller Base, was caught by mechanic Rose Tico. Rose initially intended to turn him in for desertion, but when Finn revealed that they were being tracked through hyperspace, a new technology, she came up with a plan to destroy its source. Finn and Rose proposed this to Poe, who informally approved of it. They contacted Maz Kanata, who directed them to find a skilled codebreaker in the city of Canto Bight on Cantonica.

Finn, Rose, and BB-8 embarked on a secret mission to Canto Bight, but were arrested by local police for illegal parking on a public beach. In their cell, they encountered the mysterious hacker DJ, who opened the cell doors using his code breaking skills. They evaded Canto Bight police as they rode animals through the city. When they found themselves trapped on a cliff, DJ and BB-8 arrived in a stolen ship, whose seller of weapons had sold to both the First Order and the Resistance, as did most of the wealthy residents of Canto Bight.

In an attempt to buy time for Finn and Rose's mission, Poe attempted a mutiny against Holdo when he discovered that she planned to abandon the Raddus, relieving her of command and seizing the bridge. However, he was ultimately stunned by a reawakened Leia. He and the other mutineers, including Lieutenant Kaydel Ko Connix, were arrested and loaded onto transport ships. Admiral Holdo decided to stay behind to pilot the Raddus.

Finn, Tico, DJ, and BB-8 jumped to hyperspace and arrived in the Crait system, where DJ snuck them aboard the Supremacy, disguised as First Order officers. BB-8, hidden in a box, was identified by the First Order droid BB-9E, who alerted the First Order to their presence. DJ managed to hack into the room where the hyperspace tracker was located, but the three were caught by First Order Security Bureau officer Ansiv Garmuth and a group of stormtroopers. The stormtroopers took Finn and Tico before General Hux and Phasma, who had previously been humiliated and left to die on Starkiller Base by Finn. With Hux's authorization, Phasma paid DJ in full, who revealed that he had betrayed the Resistance by revealing that their transport ships were secretly fleeing to the salty world of Crait. General Hux ordered the Supremacy to fire on the Resistance transports, while Captain Phasma brought forward two executioner troopers to execute Finn and Tico by beheading for the trouble they caused.

Meanwhile, Rey, who had been training with Skywalker, the last Jedi and twin brother of General Organa, arrived aboard the Supremacy, where she was greeted by Kylo Ren, with whom she had been sharing a connection in the Force. Kylo had two stormtroopers handcuff Rey and brought her before his master, Supreme Leader Snoke, who was seated on his throne and surrounded by his eight Elite Praetorian Guard in his throne room. Snoke falsely claimed that he had linked Rey and Kylo's minds to lure her out and proceeded to mentally torture her for Skywalker's location. Once he discovered Luke's location and revealed his intention to destroy the entire Temple Island, Rey tried to grab her lightsaber, but Snoke held onto it. He showed her an oculus viewing scope, where she was forced to watch as the Supremacy destroyed the Resistance transports one by one. She used the Force to grab Kylo Ren's lightsaber and charged Snoke, but he threw her across the room to Kylo and sentenced her to death at Kylo's hand for having the spirit of a true Jedi. As Kylo reached for his lightsaber and picked it up, Snoke taunted Rey for believing she could turn his apprentice. The overconfident Snoke watched Kylo's mind as he readied the lightsaber to strike down his true enemy, unaware that he himself was, in fact, Kylo's true enemy. Kylo used the Force to subtly turn Skywalker's lightsaber and sliced through Snoke, cutting the Supreme Leader in half and freeing Rey from his grip.

Rey stood, taking Skywalker's lightsaber while Kylo activated his as they were surrounded by the eight Elite Praetorian Guard, ready to avenge the Supreme Leader. The two warriors engaged in a brutal fight with Snoke's guards, ultimately defeating them, working together to kill them one by one until the last fell when Rey threw Skywalker's lightsaber to Kylo, allowing him to stab the guardsman through his eye. Rey, still calling him Ben, urged Kylo to order the First Order to stop firing on the Resistance fleet, but Kylo instead focused on Snoke's corpse. He turned to Rey and urged her to let go of the past: Snoke, Skywalker, the Sith, the Jedi, the rebels, all of it. He sought to build a new order for the galaxy with Rey by his side, but a teary eyed Rey instead reached for Skywalker's lightsaber. The two used the Force to fight for it, ultimately causing it to snap in half and explode, the resulting shockwave pushing them back.

With the Supremacy opening fire on the transports, Admiral Holdo, still on board the Raddus, acted quickly. Taking control of the large ship, she re-positioned the spaceship toward the Supremacy and its escort Star Destroyers and jumped into hyperspace, slicing through the Mega-Destroyer in half and at least twenty Resurgent Star Destroyers, sacrificing herself. The distraction and resulting chaos saved Finn and Tico from execution and allowed Rey to escape aboard Snoke's escape craft and rendezvous with Chewbacca and R2-D2 onboard the Millennium Falcon. BB-8 hijacked a First Order AT-ST vehicle and began open firing on stormtroopers while Finn engaged in a melee with Captain Phasma. Though Phasma knocked him down, Finn gained the upper hand when he landed on an elevating platform, knocking back the surprised Phasma as she was taking shots at Tico. Phasma cursed Finn one last time as the floor around her collapsed, and she fell into the remains of the ship to her fiery death. Finn and Tico escaped on BB-8's hijacked AT-ST and reached a transport shuttle, taking flight to Crait.

When Hux entered the Supreme Leader's throne room, he found the corpses of Snoke and his Elite Praetorian Guard, as well as Ren lying on the ground, unconscious. Hux reached for his gun to kill his rival, but Ren regained consciousness before Hux could do so. Ren told Hux that it was Rey who had killed Snoke and ordered him to ready their forces, which were relatively unscathed, to march on Crait. An angered Hux questioned Ren's authority to command him and was still reeling from shock that their Supreme Leader was dead, but Ren used the Force to choke the general into obedience, allowing Ren to usurp the title of Supreme Leader for himself.

Resistance forces regrouped in an old base from the days of the Rebellion on the salt mineral world of Crait, protected by several outposts and a massive door, and dug in trenches where Resistance soldiers held their ground. Supreme Leader Kylo Ren took personal command of the Battle of Crait himself from his transport alongside General Hux. The First Order deployed TIE fighters, AT-M6s, and AT-ATs to escort their powerful cannon, hauled across the salty dunes by heavy transports. In response, Resistance troopers opened fire while surviving Resistance pilots and other fighters piloted rebel ski speeders salvaged from the abandoned base, among them Poe, Finn, and Rose. First Order TIEs were able to take out several ski speeders but were drawn away when the Millennium Falcon arrived, piloted by Chewbacca and gunned by Rey. Nevertheless, the ski speeders were unable to reach the superlaser siege cannon on time and were ordered by Poe to fall back. Finn attempted to fly straight into the siege cannon before it could fire to stop it, but Rose stopped him from sacrificing himself by crashing into him, later justifying that they would win the war not by fighting the things they hate, but by saving the things that they love. Finn soon returned to the base dragging along an unconscious Rose.

The surviving Resistance troops retreated to the base, which had a new opening as the superlaser siege cannon fired on it. With their allies in the Outer Rim not responding, the few remaining Resistance forces were demoralized, among them General Organa, who declared that the galaxy had lost all hope. However, in that moment, Master Skywalker, older twin brother of General Organa, suddenly arrived. Skywalker reunited with Organa and told her that he came to face her son, Kylo Ren. Organa confessed she knew her son was gone, though Skywalker replied that none were truly ever gone before handing her Han Solo's dice.

Skywalker walked out alone onto the battlefield to face the First Order. Ren ordered all available guns to open fire on Skywalker. He allowed his emotions to overcome him as the First Order walkers fired on the Jedi, demanding for heavier firepower, though General Hux eventually called it off. They were stunned, however, to find Skywalker had survived without a scratch. Ren went down to face his uncle alone, ordering his forces to stay behind, buying time for the few surviving Resistance fighters to escape. Led by Poe, they followed native foxes to the back of the base where they were fleeing, but they found themselves trapped from the outside by a mountain of rocks.

Meanwhile, Ren and Skywalker activated their lightsabers. Ren took the first strike at Skywalker but missed. He attempted to strike Skywalker a second time, but he was able to dodge his energy blade and evade Ren. Skywalker apologized to his nephew for failing him, but Ren didn't accept it, telling Skywalker that the Resistance was dead and the war had ended, and that when he will slay his uncle, he will slay the last Jedi. Skywalker responded, however, that the rebellion was reborn, the war was just beginning, and that he would not be the last Jedi. Meanwhile, Chewbacca landed near the rubble of rocks, and Rey used the Force to lift them away, allowing the Resistance to flee and escape onto the Millennium Falcon. When Skywalker reminded Ren of his father, Ren launched himself towards his uncle again, this time not missing, yet inexplicably Skywalker had lived. Ren walked up to his uncle and stuck his lightsaber through his chest, revealing that Skywalker was in fact using the Force to create an image of himself. Skywalker told his nephew he would see him again before disappearing.

Kylo Ren, General Hux, and their snowtroopers marched onto the base only to find it abandoned once more. The few remaining survivors of the Resistance had escaped aboard the Millennium Falcon, saved by the Jedi. Finn comforted an unconscious Rose while Leia and Rey, the latter holding the broken Skywalker lightsaber, discussed feeling Skywalker passing away, having become one with the Force after his projection. Rey worried that they would not be able to rebuild the Resistance with so few left, however Leia told her that they had everything that they needed in order to do so.

As the First Order army advanced, the New Republic's surviving senators disbanded the remaining task forces in an effort to protect their own homeworlds, leaving what was left of the Republic defenseless against the First Order. The galaxy as a whole stood divided. Some planetary leaders, such as King Siroc, recognized the overwhelming power of the First Order and refused to resist. On other planets, such as Ikkrukk, supporters and resisters fought amongst themselves.

Despite their escape from Crait, the Resistance was reduced to only a few people and limited equipment. With the Millennium Falcon running low on fuel, Organa decided to land and refuel at Ryloth, one of the few places she felt was safe from the First Order and where she hoped to find allies. The Falcon arrived at Ryloth, where they were quickly intercepted and guided to a secret location by an unknown militia. The militia revealed itself to be the Ryloth Defense Authority, an independent army operating with full permission from the Ryloth government. There, Organa met with the leader of the Authority, Yendor, who explained that after Ryloth's history of subjugation the Authority was formed in response.

Yendor told Organa that the First Order had been putting pressure on Ryloth and their trade, and, while it was unlikely that the capitol would betray them, the Resistance's time on Ryloth was limited to a few days. Organa then ordered the Resistance members spread out across the galaxy to convene on Ryloth, and to bring with them any allies and resources they were able to acquire. Jessika Pava and Suralinda Javos were able to bring Teza Nasz, a former Imperial turned warlord, while Major Temmin Wexley and his wife Karé Kun brought with them a handful of pilots led by his mentor and stepfather Wedge Antilles and his mother Norra Wexley. Finally, Inferno Squad arrived with General Carlist Rieekan and a handful of ex-Imperials who were friends of Iden and did not join the First Order. Dameron, while unable to recruit either Maz Kanata or Grist, informed Organa that the First Order was rounding up Resistance sympathizers and they had a list of more.

Organa, driven by the need to find the list, was acutely aware that the Resistance's capacity to wage war was dwindling due to a lack of ships. It was at this crucial moment that Kanata reached out, revealing that the Collective was auctioning off the Resistance list to the highest bidder on Corellia. In response, Dameron made the strategic decision to divide their forces, dispatching Inferno Squad to Bracca to secure ships while he and Wedge spearheaded a mission to Corellia, aiming to both retrieve the list and acquire additional vessels.

The Bracca operation proved to be a triumph, with the Resistance incurring minimal losses while successfully commandeering a selection of X-wing starfighter models. Conversely, the Corellia mission escalated in complexity when the First Order launched a raid on the auction where the list was being sold. Despite the chaos, Finn and Dameron managed to rescue their Collective contact, securing the list in the process. Meanwhile, at the Corellian shipyard, Antilles and Wexley orchestrated the liberation of several political prisoners and the acquisition of a CR90 corvette. The two teams then converged and made their escape from Corellia, successfully purchasing the list from the Collective.

Concurrently, on Ryloth, the Resistance found themselves under attack by the First Order after the planet's capital surrendered, divulging their location. The Resistance, alongside Yendor and the Authority, fled Ryloth and linked up with the Corellia and Bracca teams at a Collective safe house. Now armed with the list and bolstered by additional ships, Organa redeployed the Resistance throughout the galaxy, tasking them with locating, safeguarding, and enlisting the individuals named on the list, thereby ensuring the Resistance's ability to rebuild and secure its future.

In the aftermath of Crait, the First Order initiated a campaign of aggression, targeting planets with even the slightest connection to the Resistance. They destroyed the neutral world of Tah'Nuhna for briefly providing refuge to the Resistance and seized control of the Fondor Shipyards for merely communicating with the Resistance, despite the shipyards' rejection of the Resistance's cause. Appalled by the devastation inflicted by the First Order, Organa resolved to appeal to Mon Cala for support. Rey, Rose, and C-3PO journeyed to Mon Cala, where they were met with hostility. Despite their initial rejection by King Ech-Char and Nossor Ri, an attack by Quarren extremists and the revelation of the First Order's impending arrival prompted the King and Nossor to reluctantly align with the Resistance. Following Nossor Ri's sacrifice, the Resistance escaped with a small fleet of ships and Gial’s son Colonel Aftab Ackbar. The First Order then descended upon Mon Cala, punishing them for their support of the Resistance, with Hux delivering a chilling warning to the galaxy about the consequences of aiding the Resistance.

Simultaneously, the First Order placed multi-million credit bounties on prominent Resistance figures like Finn and Poe. During their mission to acquire weapons for the Resistance, they encountered the Kendoh Gang. However, the Kendoh Gang failed to capture Finn and Dameron, who successfully escaped with the weapons.

With the Resistance in a more favorable position after Crait, they began to make greater strides in their struggle against the First Order. Chewbacca, alongside other Resistance operatives, successfully ended a First Order blockade of his homeworld, Kashyyyk, while also liberating Wookiee prisoners from First Order custody. Similarly, the Resistance's mission to Tevel resulted in the liberation of the bacta production plant from First Order occupation. In their mission to Minfar, they successfully prevented the First Order from acquiring the superweapon known as the Echo Horn.

As the months passed, the Resistance journeyed to the planet Garel, situated in the Lothal sector. There, R2-D2, BB-8, and others were successful in pushing back the First Order's presence on the planet. On another occasion, Dameron, Finn, and the reformed thief Gannis Ducain traveled to Horizon Base in an attempt to recruit a group of Oruan warriors to their cause. Although their leader, Mezlo, initially declined to offer support, he assisted them in repelling First Order forces at the base and pledged that his people would aid the Resistance when the time was right. At one point, Finn and Dameron were deployed to the planet Kamil to secure a deal for livestock. They succeeded in preventing the First Order from stealing the livestock and also secured an agreement for spare parts in the process.

Leia tasked Resistance spy Vi Moradi with establishing a Resistance base that was well-concealed from the First Order. Vi selected the planet Batuu due to its remote location and isolation from the rest of the galaxy. Accompanied by former First Order captain Archex, Vi overcame several obstacles to acquire land and equipment for the base. However, their efforts were complicated by the arrival of Lieutenant Wulfgar Kath and his First Order squad. Vi managed to turn the tables on the First Order, with Archex sacrificing himself to eliminate Kath, leading them to believe that she had died and that the Resistance had no interest in Batuu. With the First Order gone, the Resistance base thrived for four months. Recruitment and training proved highly successful, and Vi considered expanding the base to include landing pads for Resistance ships in need of fuel. Before she could proceed with these plans, Vi was informed by Green Leader that the First Order was returning to Batuu with the 709th Legion and Supreme Leader Kylo Ren.

Recognizing the Colossus as a valuable asset to General Organa, Captain Phasma instructed Commander Pyre and First Order Security Bureau Agent Tierny to hunt down the Colossus. Failing to secure the station, she ordered its destruction. After the Colossus jumped into hyperspace, Xiono, his droid CB-23, and Torra thwarted an attempt by the First Order BB-series astromech droid MB-13A to transmit the station's location to the First Order.

Following the Battle of D'Qar, the Colossus arrived and discovered debris from both Resistance and First Order forces. The Resistance operatives and the Warbird gang located the Fulminatrix's coaxium and escaped before the Thunderer arrived. To defend their home from the First Order, Yeager and Xiono retrained Ace Squadron as starfighter pilots.

Later, Tierny dispatched the Nikto spy Nenavakasa Nalor to sabotage the Colossus. Posing as a refugee, Nena charmed the station's Nikto mechanic Neeku Vozo, and the two developed romantic feelings. Although Nena managed to create division between the Colossus residents and Warbird pirates, her plot was foiled by Xiono and the pirate Synara San, who reversed her damage to the station's systems. Despite escaping the Thunderer, Team Colossus failed to capture Nena, who fled. Agent Tierny, however, marked her for death due to her failure to disable the Colossus, and Commander Pyre was eager to eliminate her if they encountered the Nikto engineer again.

While gathering supplies on the planet Ashas Ree, a landing party led by Xiono encountered a squad of First Order Raiders, who were collecting Sith relics for Supreme Leader Ren. However, Team Colossus escaped with the help of the archaeologist Mika Grey, who used a Sith relic to destroy their pursuers. Mika subsequently joined the Colossus community.

On Torra's birthday, Captain Doza activated a signal beacon to rendezvous with his wife, Commander Venisa Doza, for a family reunion, a tradition since she joined the Resistance. However, this attracted the First Order, resulting in a brief skirmish with the Thunderer's TIE fighters. Though the Colossus escaped, Venisa was captured by the Thunderer. During her captivity, Venisa befriended Tamara and encouraged her to question her loyalty and motives for joining the First Order. Venisa and her droid Torch subsequently escaped the Thunderer with Tamara's help, and the young girl kept her interaction with Torra's mother a secret from Tierny to protect her.

Xiono, Vozo, and CB-23 later infiltratred the First Order-occupied supertanker Titan and stole a trans-binary deflector to protect the Colossus from cosmic rays. Ryvora's conflicting loyalties led her to help them escape. The successful heist angered General Hux, who was meeting with Pyre to discuss the First Order's refueling stations and the hunt for Resistance cells for Leader Ren. Hux reiterated Captain Phasma's orders for Commander Pyre to destroy the Colossus, as it was the only supertanker not under First Order control and could not risk it falling into Resistance hands.

The Colossus later traveled to Varkana during a mission by Xiono, Yeager, San, and CB-23 to rescue the Resistance spy Norath Kev. When the Thunderer entered the system to investigate the presence of Resistance agents, Captain Doza hid the station inside a nearby red gas giant. After bounty hunter Ax Tagrin located the station in exchange for his overdue payment, the Colossus retreated into hyperspace. After Xiono's team rescued Kev, they were evacuated by Ace Squadron and the Colossus.

The Colossus then settled on the ocean world of Aeos Prime, welcomed by the indigenous Aeosians, who had previously been attacked by the First Order because their world housed a Rebellion outpost. However, a First Order Spider probe droid alerted the Thunderer to the Colossus’ presence. The Thunderer deployed TIE fighters and First Order bombers to destroy the Colossus, but they were opposed by Ace Squadron and their new Aeosian allies, who rode Krakavora steeds. As a result, the Colossus escaped into hyperspace.

Later, Captain Doza rendezvoused with his wife Venisa and her Jade Squadron, whose pilots included Xiono's fellow New Republic wingmate Hugh Sion and Kev. Doza agreed to lend three pilots from Ace Squadron to assist with the evacuation of Resistance recruits from Dantooine, which was being blockaded by the First Order, and to provide refuge for the recruits until Venisa found a new location, as the First Order had cracked the Resistance's rendezvous coordinates. During the mission, Ace and Jade Squadrons evacuated two ships carrying Resistance recruits. However, one ship was shot down during the dogfight. Ryvora was promoted to Lieutenant and Squadron Leader of her own TIE squadron following the death of her commanding officer and flight instructor Lieutenant Galek. Following the events on Dantooine, Captain Doza decided to support the Resistance and allowed Jade Squadron and the recruits to remain on the Colossus.

In retaliation for the Aeosians' support for the Colossus, a First Order fleet orbitally bombarded Aeos Prime. This brutal action led Tam to defect, realizing that Xiono and Yeager were right about the Empire and the First Order being brutal and genocidal organizations. She contacted the Resistance spy and arranged to return to Castilon. However, Agent Tierny and Commander Pyre detected Tam's intentions and tracked her, Xiono, Yeager, and CB-23. By this point, Supreme Leader Ren grew impatient with Tierny and Pyre for failing to follow through with Phasma’s order to destroy the Colossus and threatened them with death if they failed again.

Though their shuttle was captured by the Thunderer's tractor beam, they managed to evade their First Order pursuers and flee into the ship's engine rooms. Since Rucklin alerted the First Order to the Colossus’ presence in the Barabesh system, Xiono and Tam broadcast a warning message to the Colossus from the Thunderer's engine room. Following a town meeting convened by Captain Doza, the residents of the Colossus, at the urging of Aunt Z and Synara San, decided to help Xiono and Tam by standing their ground. Xiono, Yeager, and Tam were subsequently recaptured by Commander Pyre, but CB-23 managed to escape.

Upon entering the Barabesh system, the Thunderer was attacked by Ace and Jade squadrons. Though the First Order dispatched boarding parties aboard the Colossus, they were repelled by the local residents. During the battle, Xiono and his friends escaped their First Order captors. CB-23 also lowered the Star Destroyer's deflector shields, allowing Ace and Jade Squadron to disable the ship's engines. Xiono defeated Commander Pyre in combat, while Supreme Leader Ren Force choked Agent Tierny for her failure to destroy the Colossus. Following the battle, Tam was welcomed back by her friends in Team Fireball, Ace Squadron, and the Doza family.

In 35 ABY, a galaxy-wide broadcast using the voice of the presumed-dead Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine, secretly Darth Sidious, promised revenge. Supreme Leader Ren embarked on a mission to Mustafar, where he acquired a Sith wayfinder that once belonged to his grandfather. This device led him to the hidden Sith world of Exegol in the Unknown Regions. There, he discovered Darth Sidious, who had returned to life after his death, and his followers who had spent years constructing a massive fleet of Xyston-class Star Destroyers, known as the Final Order. Sidious planned to unleash his forces and establish a new Sith Empire. He offered Ren the fleet in exchange for killing Rey, the last Jedi.

Resistance agents Commander Dameron, Finn, and Chewbacca obtained intelligence from Boolio, an Ovissian middleman for a First Order mole, during their mission to the Sinta Glacier Colony. They escaped the First Order and returned to their new base on Ajan Kloss, where they decoded the intel. They learned that Darth Sidious had returned with a massive fleet, planning to attack the free worlds from Exegol to complete the First Order's conquest of the galaxy and restore the Empire. Rey recognized the name from Master Skywalker's journals, where he searched for the world to end the Jedi Order’s ancient war with the Sith. Leia sent Rey, Finn, Poe, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and BB-8 on a mission to Pasaana, believing an old ally there could guide them to a wayfinder.

The First Order killed Boolio, and Kylo Ren presented his head before the Supreme Council on his new flagship, the Steadfast. General Domaric Quinn expressed distrust of the Sith Eternal, but Allegiant General Enric Pryde believed allying with the Sith fleet would be beneficial, increasing their forces tenfold for galactic conquest and correcting Hux’s error of Starkiller Base. Ren silenced Quinn and ordered his councilors to subjugate any defiant worlds before announcing his hunt for Rey with the Knights of Ren.

The Resistance team arrived on Pasaana during the Festival of the Ancestors, held every 42 years, and encountered General Lando Calrissian. He explained that he and Skywalker were tracking a Jedi Hunter named Ochi of Bestoon, who abandoned his ship in the desert. The team left Calrissian, who claimed his fighting days were over, and sped into the desert on commandeered speeders. However, Kylo Ren tracked Rey there through their Force-bond. They were pursued by First Order jet troopers, who destroyed their speeders over a sinkhole near Ochi's ship, the Bestoon Legacy, causing them to fall beneath the sand. There, Rey used the Force to heal an injured worm and found Ochi's remains along with a dagger. With the Millennium Falcon confiscated by the First Order, they took the Bestoon Legacy, but Chewbacca was captured by the Knights of Ren. Rey confronted Ren in the desert, and they fought over a First Order transport with the Force. Rey accidentally destroyed it with Force lightning.

She escaped with Finn, Poe, C-3PO, and BB-8, who believed Chewbacca was dead, but he was on another transport. On Ochi's ship, BB-8 recharged the droid D-O, whom Ochi had mistreated. C-3PO's programming forbade him from translating the Sith inscription on Ochi's dagger, which revealed the location of another Sith wayfinder device leading to Exegol, so the team traveled to Kijimi, where Poe knew a droidsmith. They were caught by Zorii Bliss and the Spice Runners of Kijimi, which Poe used to be a member of, but Bliss agreed to help them after a brief scuffle with Rey. The droidsmith Babu Frik bypassed C-3PO's forbidden databank, and they learned that the Emperor's wayfinder device was in his throne room on the second Death Star in the Endor system. Meanwhile, the Knights of Ren tracked the Resistance to Kijimi, and Kylo Ren launched a massive manhunt for them in the city with his Star Destroyer. Rey sensed Chewbacca through the Force on the Steadfast, so the team decided to rescue him.

Using a captain's medallion provided by Bliss, Poe, Rey, and Finn infiltrated the Steadfast. Poe and Finn rescued Chewbacca, while Rey recovered Ochi's dagger and Chewbacca's belongings in Ren's quarters, during which time Ren initiated their bond. They briefly dueled, and Ren told Rey that Darth Sidious had her parents killed by Ochi when they wouldn't reveal her location, knowing he was looking for her. Poe, Finn, and Chewbacca were captured by stormtroopers and brought before General Hux to be killed, but Hux saved their lives, revealing himself as the spy. Hux led them to the Millennium Falcon, while Ren confronted Rey in another hangar, further revealing that she was the Emperor's granddaughter, as her father was his son. He also revealed that they were a Force dyad, two that are one in the Force, and offered his hand again, wanting her to join him to kill Sidious and take the Throne of the Sith together. Rey hesitated but escaped aboard the Falcon with Poe, Finn, Chewbacca, and the droids. Hux attempted to lie to Pryde, but the Allegiant General saw through his deception and executed him for attempting to make Leader Ren lose the war. Sidious communed with Supreme Leader Ren through the Force, threatening to turn his fleet against him if he betrayed him, but Ren responded that he knew where Rey was going.

Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, Chewbacca, and the droids C-3PO, BB-8, and D-O crash-landed on Kef Bir, the ocean moon of Endor. Upon finding the ruins of the Death Star in the moon's seas and using Ochi's dagger to pinpoint the exact location of the Emperor's Sith wayfinder, the Resistance members were surrounded by Jannah and her tribe of Orbak riders. After learning they were with the Resistance, Jannah agreed to help them in their mission. She warned that they would need to wait until the next day for the tides to calm, and the team went to repair the Falcon. During this time, Finn learned that Jannah and her tribe were actually a company of First Order stormtroopers who refused to fire on civilians and deserted, just as he did.

Rey, growing impatient, commandeered a skiff and against better judgement, set a course for the remains of the Death Star. Deep within a chamber adjacent to the Emperor's former throne room, Rey not only located the Sith wayfinder, but also encountered a vision mirroring her own potential for darkness. Kylo Ren was waiting for her in the throne room; when she stumbled back into the throne room, Ren seized the wayfinder and obliterated it, effectively making Ren her only path to Exegol, as he was determined to prevent her from confronting her grandfather and ending the Sith without him. Consumed by rage, Rey engaged Ren in a fierce duel amidst the wreckage of the Death Star; despite Finn and Jannah's attempts to assist, Rey forcefully pushed them away. Ren gained the upper hand in the duel, but then he felt his mother, Leia Organa, reaching out to him as she died. Overcome with emotion, Rey impaled Ren with his own lightsaber, immediately regretting her actions as she sensed her mentor's passing. Driven by remorse, she used the Force to heal Ren, expressing her desire to connect with Ben Solo, not Kylo Ren, before departing in his TIE whisper, unknowingly taking his Sith wayfinder with her.

Finn, Dameron, Chewbacca, the droids, Jannah, and her tribe made their way back to the Resistance base on Ajan Kloss, where they received the devastating news of Organa's death and Poe's appointment as acting General. During this period, Darth Sidious made contact with Allegiant General Pryde, a loyal veteran of the Old Empire, who agreed to join forces with the Emperor to gather the Sith fleet and merge it with the First Order, placing both under Sidious's command. Sidious dispatched one of his Star Destroyers, the Derriphan, to General Pryde, tasking him with obliterating a planet with Resistance ties as a demonstration of power; Pryde chose Kijimi as his target, using the Sith Star Destroyer to obliterate it, revealing to the galaxy that the Star Destroyers of the Sith fleet possessed the capability to destroy entire planets, much like the old Death Stars and Starkiller Base.

General Calrissian journeyed to the Resistance base to comfort Dameron, reminding the young General that he, Solo, Skywalker, and Organa had triumphed over the Empire years ago because they had each other's support. Dameron promoted Finn to the rank of General alongside himself, and with the help of D-O, the Resistance acquired sufficient intelligence about Exegol to formulate a plan of attack, while Calrissian and Chewbacca were dispatched on the Falcon to the Core Worlds to rally allies. Rey briefly diverted her course to the first Jedi Temple on Ahch-To, where the spirit of Master Skywalker encouraged her to confront her fears and destroy the Sith once and for all to secure victory for the Resistance. After Skywalker raised his T-65B X-wing, Red Five, from the depths of Ahch-To's sea, Rey departed in it, charting a course to Exegol and transmitting it to the Resistance, enabling them to navigate through hyperspace in the Unknown Regions towards Exegol.

Back on the wreckage of the Death Star, Kylo Ren experienced a vision of his father, Solo. This memory inspired Ren to sever his ties to the dark side and embrace the light. Having witnessed Rey's compassion and confession, and feeling the love of his mother and father, Ren, overcome with emotion, cast his lightsaber into the sea, renouncing the dark side and reverting to his true identity as Ben Solo.

Upon landing on Exegol, Rey ventured to the Sith Citadel, seeking out the Throne of the Sith located before a vast amphitheater filled with the Emperor's devoted followers: the cultists of the Sith Eternal. Darth Sidious revealed to his granddaughter that he was the vessel for all the Sith spirits, demanding that she sacrifice him so that the spirits, including his own, could transfer into her, transforming her into a Sith and fully restoring the Sith and told her that the only reason Luke managed to beat him was because he had his father to help but she only has him. Simultaneously, the Resistance arrived, initiating the Battle of Exegol. The Resistance air team targeted a navigation tower responsible for transmitting the signal required for the Sith fleet to deploy from Exegol, but Allegiant General Pryde redirected the navigation signal to his ship to guide the Sith fleet out themselves. Finn determined that the communications signal had been rerouted to the Steadfast; Dameron and the air team provided cover for the ground team as they landed on the Resurgent Star Destroyer to disable the tower.

Opening the amphitheater, Darth Sidious showed Rey the unfolding battle above, and told her that the only way she could save her friends was by killing him, taking the Sith throne, reigning over the new Sith Empire, and taking command of the Sith fleet. Rey drew the Skywalker lightsaber and prepared to strike her grandfather down, but through their bond, she instead slipped it to Solo, who had arrived on Exegol using a TIE scout from the Death Star. Solo used his family lightsaber to defeat the Knights of Ren while Rey used Organa's lightsaber to defeat Sith guards closing around her. Solo and Rey soon united, raising their lightsabers as they confronted the Sith Lord. Enraged, Sidious grabbed the two using the Force and inadvertently drew some of their life energy; realizing that they were a dyad in the Force, a fact that Solo had realized but hid from the Emperor, Sidious proceeded to siphon more of the life energy of the dyad, healing and rejuvenating himself while weakening them. The Dark Lord was fully healed as his followers chanted on in support, and he took his revenge on the Skywalkers by tossing Solo down a nearby ravine.

The ground team boarded the hull of the Steadfast with the Orbak Tribe covering the Resistance troopers as they exchanged fire with Sith troopers and Sith Jetpack Troopers sent from the Star Destroyers of the Sith fleet. Finn and Jannah disabled the beacon by dropping thermal detonators down a reinforced hatch, but the setback was only temporary as Pryde's crew reset the navigation signal. Realizing that they had to destroy the entire command ship, Finn and Jannah stayed on board the vessel's hull while Commander Tico, Captain Beaumont Kin, Lieutenant Kaydel Ko Connix, and the rest of the ground team retreated. Meanwhile, the Resistance's air team was being decimated by TIE/dg starfighters, with Major Temmin Wexley among those shot down. Severely outnumbered, Dameron apologized for leading the Resistance to what seemed to be their demise, but General Calrissian communicated over the comms, informing them that they outnumbered the Sith Eternal forces: his and Chewbacca's mission to the Core systems had been successful, and the combined forces of the Citizens' Fleet were moving in to reinforce the Resistance.

Darth Sidious, seated on the throne, unleashed Force lightning into Exegol's atmosphere, electrifying the Resistance forces and the fleet, causing their systems to malfunction and ships to plummet. However, Rey reached out to the voices of the past Jedi, who strengthened her. Rising, Rey grabbed Leia's lightsaber in defiance of the Dark Lord. Sidious targeted his granddaughter with his Force lightning; Rey defended herself with her master's lightsaber as the Sith Lord mocked her, telling her that her power was no match for the power of the Sith that all lived in him. Rey responded by telling him that the Jedi all lived in her, and she used the Force to grab the Skywalker lightsaber and ignited it, causing the Emperor's lightning to deflect back and disintegrate him. Darth Sidious was killed, preventing the rebirth of the Sith and sending out an explosion that caused the Sith Citadel to crumble while his followers were crushed to death by the Citadel's rubble.

With the Emperor's lightning attacks neutralized thanks to Rey, the Resistance and the galaxy fleet pressed their attack, targeting the planet-destroying cannons equipped on each of the Sith Star Destroyers. Meanwhile, Finn and Jannah seized control of the turbolaser cannons on the command ship and fired them at the bridge of the Steadfast, killing Pryde and destroying the tower. The Steadfast began to explode and descended towards the ground of Exegol with Finn and Jannah still on board, but they were rescued by Calrissian and Chewbacca onboard the Falcon.

The shockwave resulting from Sidious's destruction caused Rey to collapse to the ground, dead, her death being felt by Finn. However, Solo climbed out of the abyss and found Rey's lifeless body. Cradling her corpse, Solo decided to sacrifice himself to revive her by pouring his life force into her. Rey was resurrected and the two kissed, but as a consequence of the effort, Solo vanished in her arms. With the Sith fleet unable to leave Exegol, the Resistance and its allies fled. Finn identified Red Five in the air and realized that Rey was alive. The Falcon regrouped with the rest of the fleet as they jumped ship from Exegol, having won the battle.

The Resistance and citizens' fleet returned to the Resistance base on Ajan Kloss, where they celebrated their triumph. During their retreat from Exegol, the Resistance learned that across the galaxy, uprisings were erupting against the First Order, which had begun to collapse without Darth Sidious to reinforce and lead them; among these worlds were Bespin, Corellia, Coruscant, Endor, Jakku, Lothal, Naboo, and Thyferra. In doing so, the Resistance achieved their ultimate goal of being the spark to light the fire to burn the First Order down.

With the people of the galaxy uniting against the First Order, the First Order crumbled and was defeated. With the war over, the galaxy's population began the process of rebuilding the galaxy, with historian and Resistance operative Beaumont Kin understanding that, even months after the Battle of Exegol, that process would take a long time and be difficult. At the same time, Kin was overseeing the process of excavating the Sith Eternal temple on Exegol and composed a book, The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire.

All the while, Rey had journeyed to Luke's former homeworld of Tatooine in the wake of the Battle of Exegol to lay his and Leia Organa's lightsabers to rest, ultimately taking on the surname "Skywalker" during her stay on the planet. She would become a Jedi Master and work at restoring peace. By 50 ABY, she was at work restoring the Jedi as the "New Jedi Order," building up the organization in a time period dubbed as the "New Jedi Order Era." However, arising powers challenged Skywalker's efforts under the hope that they could wipe out the Jedi before they were restored.

The First Order-Resistance War is the main conflict of the Star Wars sequel trilogy. It first appeared in the 2015 film Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, and was first identified as such in the 2021 reference book Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy, by Jason Fry, Cole Horton, Chris Kempshall, and Amy Ratcliffe.