Battle of Exegol

Following the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith and Emperor of the Galactic Empire, managed to return from death and arrive on the planet Exegol within the Unknown Regions in a clone body. This body, however, necessitated an Ommin harness for sustenance due to its physical impairments. On Exegol, the Emperor was attended to by the Sith Eternal, a Sith cult. Over the ensuing years, the Sith Eternal constructed a vast armada of planet-destroying Xyston-class Star Destroyers for what Sidious termed the Final Order, with the objective of establishing a new Sith Empire and reinstating Sith dominion over the galaxy.

By 35 ABY, the First Order, a military junta comprised of former Imperial officers, nobles, technologists, and warlords who had sought refuge in the Unknown Regions following the Empire's fall, controlled significant portions of the galaxy through their war of conquest. A surprising broadcast, delivered in Emperor Palpatine's voice, long presumed deceased, promised retribution.

Seeking to eliminate any potential challenge to his authority, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, who had ascended to leadership of the First Order after assassinating his master and predecessor, Snoke, sought a route to the Emperor. Ren acquired his grandfather's wayfinder device and utilized it to journey alone to Exegol, where he encountered Sidious, who had returned to life, and his followers. The Sith Lord revealed to Ren that he had created Snoke, asserting that the First Order was "just the beginning." He offered Ren the might of the Final Order in exchange for the assassination of Rey, the last Jedi, whom he revealed to Ren as his granddaughter.

Following a series of missions alongside Poe Dameron, Finn, Chewbacca, C-3PO, BB-8, and D-O, Rey obtained the Emperor's wayfinder. However, Ren destroyed it to prevent her from confronting Darth Sidious without him, having also informed her of her Palpatine lineage. Rey defeated Ren in a lightsaber duel after he was distracted by his mother's death and Rey's Jedi Master, General Leia Organa, and commandeered his TIE whisper. Initially succumbing to fear and exiling herself on Ahch-To, where she destroyed Ren's ship, Rey was inspired by the spirit of her first Jedi Master, Luke Skywalker, who urged her to confront her fear to secure victory in the war and restore the Jedi Order to its former glory.

Rey journeyed to Exegol along a secure route in Skywalker's X-wing, Red Five, using Ren's wayfinder and transmitted her plotted course to the Resistance, enabling them to follow her path. Through information gleaned from D-O, a droid previously owned by Ochi, a Sith cultist, the Resistance discovered that the Sith fleet required a signal from a navigation tower to deploy from Exegol, and devised a battle plan to neutralize the tower. Poe Dameron would lead an air team to locate the navigation tower and eliminate enemy cannons, while Finn would command a ground team to destroy it. Rose Tico added that they inferred that destroying the fleet's axial superlasers would trigger the main reactor, destroying the ships. Beaumont Kin suggested employing Holdo maneuvers, but Finn deemed the move as having a one in a million chance of success. Dameron and Finn, the former having become the leading general of the Resistance following Organa's death, dispatched General Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca on the Millennium Falcon to the Core systems to enlist the aid of their allies. Meanwhile, Ren experienced a vision of a memory of his father, Han Solo. Professing his love for his father, Ren cast his lightsaber into the sea and renounced the dark side, redeeming himself and reclaiming his born identity as Ben Solo.

Darth Sidious contacted Enric Pryde, the First Order's Allegiant General, who, as an Imperial veteran, had previously served the Emperor. He permitted Sidious to formally assume control of the First Order, which gained the Sith fleet to bolster their resources for restoring the Empire. General Pryde subsequently pledged his personal allegiance to the Sith Lord. Sidious then declared the commencement of the Final Order, instructing Pryde to meet him on Exegol and dispatching a ship from the Sith fleet, which Pryde utilized to destroy Kijimi, a planet known to the Resistance, on the Emperor's orders. Pryde arrived at Exegol aboard his Resurgent-class Star Destroyer, the Steadfast, which served as the Sith fleet's command ship.

The Resistance arrived at Exegol to discover a massive armada of Xyston-class Star Destroyers, forming the Sith fleet. They recognized the fleet's capacity to obliterate any planet in the galaxy upon receiving Darth Sidious' demand for the free world's immediate surrender under threat of annihilation, as each Star Destroyer was equipped with the same cannon that destroyed Kijimi. Finn spearheaded the ground assault, supported by the air assault led by Dameron, with the aim of disabling the navigation tower while evading Sith Eternal tracking. In response to the Resistance's attack, Pryde commanded all Star Destroyers to unleash their ion cannons exclusively, to minimize friendly fire. A Resistance B-wing was promptly destroyed by the Star Destroyers' barrage. The Sith fleet soon deployed swarms of TIE/dg starfighters. A First Order officer then detected the assault force and informed Pryde, who immediately recognized the threat and relocated the navigation signal's source to the Steadfast, intending to guide the fleet out themselves.

Upon realizing that the signal had been transferred, Finn utilized the Force to identify the new source of the command signal. Identifying the Steadfast as the source due to its prominence among the Sith Star Destroyers, they proceeded with their ground assault, landing on the hull of the Resurgent Star Destroyer instead. Pryde dispatched a large contingent of Sith troopers onto the hull to intercept the boarders, along with an electromagnetic pulse to disable their speeders. To his astonishment, another officer informed him that they were not using speeders, but rather orbak mounts. The strike team managed to disable the tower following a fierce battle. Pryde remained unconcerned, simply ordering its restart. As the Resistance strike team prepared to depart, Finn and Jannah remained behind to prevent its reset and the transfer of the signal to another Star Destroyer. Poe then instructed the starfighter pilots to launch an attack on the Sith Star Destroyers until General Calrissian and his reinforcements arrived.

As the battle raged above, Rey entered the Sith Citadel and located Darth Sidious in the throne room, featuring an arena filled with Sith loyalists. Sidious expressed his satisfaction at finally seeing his granddaughter, informing her that the Resistance was walking into a trap. Above the Throne of the Sith, he opened the ceiling, revealing an outnumbered and outmatched Resistance facing imminent defeat against the Sith Eternal military. Sidious exploited Rey's concern for the Resistance, asserting that the only way to save them was to strike him down in anger, addressing her as "Empress Palpatine" and encouraging her to claim her rightful place on the Throne of the Sith, emphasizing that no one would support her as Luke was rescued by his father. This would facilitate the transfer of the Sith Lord's essence to Rey, enabling him to possess her body, thus renewing the Sith Eternal for the reign of a new Sith Empire that would control the galaxy. Rey confronted a conflict of wills as the desire to protect the Resistance clashed with her unease about being a Palpatine. With the Sith loyalists chanting, Darth Sidious prepared to be killed by Rey.

However, a glimmer of hope emerged when Rey sensed the newly redeemed Ben Solo through the Force. Landing his TIE scout adjacent to Red Five, which Rey had used to travel to Exegol from Ahch-To, Solo entered the Sith Citadel, eliminating some Sovereign Protectors. En route, he encountered his former comrades, the Knights of Ren. He attempted to bypass them by Force pushing Cardo to the ground. However, Kuruk and Ushar retaliated by Force pushing Solo.

When Vicrul attempted to attack Solo with his phrik scythe, Solo caused him to falter. The remaining knights, Cardo, Kuruk, Trudgen, and Ushar, attacked the unarmed Solo, scarring his face. He contacted Rey through their Force-bond and nodded. Feigning an attack on Darth Sidious, Rey instead utilized their Force bond to transfer Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber to Solo as she ignited Leia Organa's lightsaber. Solo then proceeded to employ the Skywalker lightsaber to eliminate his former comrades, beginning with a fatal slash to Kuruk and Cardo's chests and grazing Ap'lek's Mandalorian executioner vibro-ax.

Deflecting blows from Ushar's war club and Trudgen's vibrocleaver, Solo Force pushed Ap'lek to his death, as he restrained and felled Vicrul. Trudgen attempted to attack his former leader but was effortlessly stabbed in the chest. Ushar also attempted to attack, but Solo leapt over him and stabbed him from behind. After Ushar collapsed, Solo arrived at Sidious' lair and reunited with Rey, who had finished off Sidious' Sovereign Protectors.

Initially, Darth Sidious intended to kill both of them, but recognized that the pair together formed a Force dyad, a phenomenon that, according to Sidious, possessed a power akin to life itself and had not been observed in generations. Realizing that their combined powers would enable him to fully return to life, Sidious utilized the Force to drain the life energy of both Rey and Solo to restore himself to the form he possessed before his initial demise at the hands of Solo's grandfather during the Battle of Endor. Depleted of their powers, Rey and Solo collapsed to the floor. Having no further use for Solo, Darth Sidious employed the Force to hurl him into a nearby abyss, proclaiming revenge and declaring the death of the Skywalker family.

Above, the Resistance was suffering heavy casualties, as Finn and Dameron continued to lead the fight. Major Temmin Wexley was shot down by Sith TIEs, leading Poe to realize that they were losing the battle. However, General Calrissian arrived in the Millennium Falcon, bringing with him the Citizens' Fleet, a massive armada comprising 14,000+ ships from across the galaxy. The assembled ships included the legendary Tantive IV, the Mon Calamari fleet, the Phantom Squadron, the Ghost, the Anodyne two, the Alphabet two, Zay Versio from the Inferno Squad, the Fireball piloted by Resistance pilot Kazuda Xiono, and more. The citizens of the galaxy had rallied to aid the Resistance in their hour of need.

Dameron promptly ordered the fleet to target the superlaser cannons, with significant effect. Pryde was stunned by the appearance and size of the fleet, arguing that the Resistance lacked a navy. Admiral Griss, on the other hand, recognized that it was not a navy but ordinary citizens who had finally grown weary of the Emperor's tyranny and united to bring him down. Sith Star Destroyers began falling to cruisers and fighters alike, with one being brought down single-handedly by a lone Y-wing piloted by Zorii Bliss, who had escaped the destruction of her homeworld with Babu Frik.

Darth Sidious, having been fully restored to his former self, instructed his loyal followers to not fear the Resistance's attack, as nothing could prevent the Sith's return. He then ignited a powerful storm of Force lightning into the air, disabling all Resistance ships up to the size of Nebulon-B frigates, including those of Poe and the galaxy fleet, sending them plummeting toward the ground, including the Tantive IV. Much to Poe's shock, he realized he was losing control of his X-wing. Weakened and seemingly defeated, Rey heard the voices of past Jedi, including her first Master Luke Skywalker, Luke's father Anakin, Anakin's former Padawan Ahsoka Tano, Anakin and Luke's Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan's Master Qui-Gon Jinn, Grand Master Yoda, Master Mace Windu, Master Luminara Unduli, Master Aayla Secura, Jedi Knight Kanan Jarrus, and Master Adi Gallia, encouraging her and lending her the strength to carry on against the Sith Lord. She had embraced peace and calm, experiencing a state of oneness.

Rey then arose, having gained newfound resolve and power from the Jedi who came before her. Spotting this, Darth Sidious ended his assault of Force lightning on the Resistance's fleet and allies. General Dameron, now aware that his starship's systems were operational again, gathered the allied forces with his own and recommenced their attack on the Sith fleet, announcing that this was their only opportunity to eliminate the Sith Star Destroyer armada. Warning Rey that her demise would signify the end of the Rebellion's tale, Darth Sidious unleashed a torrent of Force lightning at her. Rey attempted to defend herself using Leia's lightsaber, but Sidious mocked her, stating she was merely "a scavenger girl", "no match for the power in" him, and that he embodied "all the Sith." Rey swiftly retorted by proclaiming she was "all the Jedi," summoning Anakin's lightsaber and activating it, employing both lightsabers to redirect Darth Sidious' lightning back at him. Initially, Sidious managed to withstand the onslaught, but he quickly became overwhelmed by the strain of the reflected lightning. As his physical form deteriorated, Sidious shrieked in anguish as he was ultimately consumed by his own lightning. In a cataclysmic explosion that engulfed Sidious, the citadel, and all of the Sith Eternal serving him, the malevolent tyrant known as Darth Sidious – formerly a senator of Naboo, the last Supreme Chancellor of the Old Galactic Republic, Dark Lord of the Sith, the Phantom Menace, the first and only Galactic Emperor, and the individual who had inflicted evil upon countless worlds throughout the galaxy for an extended period – was finally and irrevocably destroyed in both body and spirit, bringing the Sith Order, as well as the ancient conflict between the Jedi and Sith that had persisted for millennia, to a definitive end.

Rey made the ultimate sacrifice, giving up her life force providing the raw strength needed to defeat Darth Sidious, an event which was felt by Finn, and her lifeless body fell to the ground. However, Ben Solo, having survived his earlier encounter with Sidious, managed to scale the cliff face from the chasm, and, discovering Rey's body near the throne, rushed to her side. Ben gazed upon her still face and tearfully held her in his arms. However, Ben soon understood that Rey needed to continue his master's legacy, and decided to sacrifice his own life so that she could live again. He placed his hand on Rey's chest and began to transfer his own life force into her body, and soon Rey was revived. The two shared a look of affection and a quick kiss, before Ben Solo, the last Skywalker and redeemed Jedi, became one with the Force and disappeared, having helped restore balance to the Force, just as his grandfather had once done. Simultaneously, back on Ajan Kloss, Maz Kanata watched peacefully as Leia Organa became one with the Force, seemingly ending the bloodline of the Skywalker family.

In the meantime, above Exegol, the Resistance and the fleet of citizens persisted in their assault on the remaining Sith forces. Finn and Jannah successfully annihilated the Steadfast by turning its own turbolasers against itself. The Steadfast erupted into flames, killing everyone aboard. It then plummeted towards the ground and crashed onto the surface of Exegol, while Calrissian and Chewbacca rescued Finn and Jannah aboard the Millennium Falcon.

With the Steadfast destroyed before it could transmit the signal to another allied ship, the entire Sith fleet was stranded on Exegol. The Resistance and the galaxy's fleet destroyed the remainder of the Sith Star Destroyers in a manner similar to the Steadfast, by detonating their axial superlasers. With the Final Order's fleet obliterated, the First Order defeated, and all enemy ships crashing to the ground in ruins, Rey, the Resistance, and the galaxy's fleet emerged victorious and departed Exegol to return to Ajan Kloss, where they celebrated the conclusion of the First Order-Resistance War.

As the Resistance and their Citizens' Fleet departed Exegol, they discovered that across the galaxy, people were rising up as the weakened First Order began to fall apart without their cultist allies to reinforce them or the leadership of their Emperor. Throughout the galaxy, people revolted and destroyed the Resurgent-class Star Destroyers, as witnessed on Cloud City, Jakku's Starship Graveyard, and on the forest moon of Endor. The Resistance returned to their base on Ajan Kloss, where they celebrated their triumph, including Rey, General Finn, General Calrissian, and General Dameron.

Through Rey and Ben Solo, the ancient Jedi-Sith conflict reached its conclusion with a definitive victory for the Jedi, as Darth Sidious was destroyed and the threat of any further Sith rule was eradicated forever. Thanks to Finn, Poe Dameron, Lando Calrissian, and the entirety of the Resistance's and Citizen's Fleets, Sidious's Final Order fleet was destroyed on Exegol, with no possibility of return, ushering in a renewed sense of hope and courage among the galaxy's inhabitants as they gathered the strength to rise up and eliminate the remnants of the First Order. With the downfall of the First Order, the galaxy finally achieved the peace and tranquility it had long sought.

Some time after the celebration, Rey, accompanied by BB-8, journeyed to Anakin and Luke's homeworld of Tatooine. Rey located Owen and Beru Lars' former homestead, which also served as Luke's home, and as she stood within it, she began to reflect on all that she had accomplished since the beginning of her journey. She then went outside the homestead and wrapped both Luke and Leia's lightsabers in cloth, using the Force to bury them both in the sand. As she stood up, she revealed that she had constructed her own lightsaber, and ignited its yellow blade. An old woman soon approached and asked who she was, and, with Luke and Leia's Force ghosts watching, Rey confidently declared that she had inherited the Skywalker name and was now known as "Rey Skywalker." In her pursuit to restore galactic peace, Rey had become a Jedi Master, just as Luke had done before her.

The Battle of Exegol served as the climactic battle of the 2019 film, Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker, the final installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy.