In 29 ABY, a majority of Centrist-aligned star systems underwent a secession from the New Republic to formally establish the First Order, which had been a unrecognized military junta in the Unknown Regions. The secession began a period of resurgence of Imperial-style militarism and fascism across the known galaxy.
The First Order had formed from remnants of the Galactic Empire that fled into the Unknown Regions after the end of the Galactic Civil War. In the years preceding the secession, the First Order had been purportedly secretly influencing and manipulating the New Republic using proxies and sympathizers.
When the First Order was formally established, it immediately became locked in a Cold War with the New Republic, ultimately leading to a galactic war in 34 ABY that resulted in the First Order succeeding in conquering much of the galaxy by 35 ABY.
The position of First Senator was proposed by the Centrists who wanted a strong central government for the New Republic.
By 28 ABY, remnants of the Galactic Empire inside the Core, Colonies, and Inner Rim regions of the galaxy had largely joined the New Republic, where former Imperials reformed themselves into a political block known as the Centrists. This led to tensions in the New Republic Senate as Centrist senators wanted the New Republic to be more like the centralized Galactic Empire with a strong central government and military, while the Populist block composed of senators from the founding systems of the Republic wanted decentralization and demilitarization more in-line with the Galactic Republic before the Clone Wars. In the buildup to the event, the Amaxine warrior crisis occurred, where it would be revealed that influential New Republic political leader and Rebel Alliance hero Leia Organa was the daughter of the much-despised Darth Vader. Influential Centrist Senator Lady Carise Sindian secretly worked for the First Order, and had Populist leader Tai-Lin Garr was assassinated by her ally and fellow First Order supporter Arliz Hadrassian. The crisis led to the postponement of the creation of a "First Senator" position, a position that would have had greater powers than the Supreme Chancellor of the New Republic, a position proposed by the Centrists to end the political gridlock in the senate following years of stagnation.
The Centrists became the political branch of the First Order, the successor state of the Galactic Empire, after seceding from the New Republic.
Following the scandal involving Senator Organa, she resigned from the New Republic Senate to form the Resistance in an effort to address the resurgence of Imperial-style militarism exemplified by an emerging power like the First Order. Carise Sindian planned to submit a motion in the Senate for the Centrist worlds to secede from the New Republic. Although Organa managed to destroy Sindian's political career, the Centrists formally left the New Republic as she had planned.
A majority of senators welcomed this departure, with the Senate allowing their withdrawal, a marked departure from the Separatist Crisis that precipitated the Clone Wars. The former Centrists then remolded into the First Order, marking the official formation of the regime and beginning the Cold War between the First Order and the New Republic. The First Order, built from the ashes of the Empire's war machine, precipitated a return of fascism and militarism with Snoke, the dark side adept who rose to become Supreme Leader of the faction, at the head of politics and commander of the military.
Following the collapse of the New Republic, the First Order embarked on a campaign to conquer the galaxy.
The First Order then tightened its grip over territories within its sphere of influence, and invaded several other nearby systems. These included the Otomok system (which was blockaded), Tehar, and planets such as Castilon and Jakku. A growing number of planets faced a First Order presence as tensions escalated in the Cold War. The majority of First Order incursions came in the Trans-Hydian Borderlands to the north.
Even with the First Order blatantly invading and occupying worlds in the Mid and Outer Rim, the New Republic refused to directly take action against them outside of official condemnations, leading to the Resistance to take military action against the regime. Eventually the First Order would destroy the New Republic Capital, leading both to full-scale war and the First Order's measured, if brief success in its quest for galactic domination.
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