First Order

For about a millennium, the Galactic Republic preserved peace and stability in the galaxy, assisted by the efforts of the monastic Jedi Order and the Judicial Forces. With the presumed extinction of the Sith—ancient adversaries of the Jedi and the Republic—the ruling Dark Lord Darth Sidious secretly plotted to overthrow the Republic by establishing his own Sith Empire. Sidious, along with his Sith apprentice Darth Tyranus, orchestrated the Separatist Crisis by instigating political turmoil across the galaxy. Through his apprentice, Sidious secretly commanded a rival galactic government known as the Confederacy of Independent Systems throughout the destructive three-year period of the Clone Wars, while he simultaneously served as the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic as Sheev Palpatine well beyond his term's expiration. Gradually accumulating far more emergency powers than typically permitted by the Galactic Senate, along with radically amending the Galactic Constitution, Sidious eventually oversaw the destruction of the Jedi Order and the defeat of the Separatists through his new apprentice, Darth Vader. Sidious, as Chancellor Palpatine, then issued the proclamation of the New Order, officially transforming the thousand-year-old democracy into the Galactic Empire and installing himself as the first Galactic Emperor with the Senate's support. With the purge of the Jedi and a massive military to enforce his will, Sidious remained largely unchallenged as Emperor for the initial nineteen years of his reign, embarking on a gradual conquest of the galaxy. Eventually, the Alliance to Restore the Republic was formed to oppose his aggressive expansion and genocidal actions, leading to the outbreak of the Galactic Civil War, which spanned years of galactic history. Four years after the destruction of the first Death Star by Luke Skywalker, the Empire suffered a decisive defeat at the Battle of Endor, where the more powerful Death Star II was destroyed, along with the Emperor and his apprentice, Darth Vader.

Unbeknownst to most, the Emperor had long been dispatching Imperial scouts and allocating resources to the Unknown Regions of space, aided by key figures within the Empire, including his advisor Yupe Tashu and members of the Imperial Future Council. Over decades, the Unknown Regions had been prepared with shipyards, laboratories, and storehouses to facilitate the Empire's resurgence as part of Sidious' Contingency in the event of his death. His plan was to ensure the Galactic Empire's destruction as he believed that an Empire should not outlive its Emperor and its' inability to defend him made it unworthy of continued existence. However, he also planned the creation of a new Empire beyond the borders of known space; resources and select personnel were discreetly funnelled to the Unknown Regions, where the Empire could begin anew. Per Sidious's plans, only the most ruthless of Imperial personnel would remain to forge the new state. Sidious entrusted the task of executing the Contingency to his protégé, Gallius Rax.

Following another year of bloody conflict, the fragmented Empire made its final stand on the sandy plains of Jakku, which had become a rallying point for retreating Imperials, against the New Republic, resulting in significant casualties on both sides during the Battle of Jakku. On Jakku, a clandestine Imperial research facility, the Jakku Observatory, housed ancient computers that charted routes through the Unknown Regions. These computers utilized data from Grand Admiral Thrawn, who originated from the Chiss Ascendancy, along with surveys and probe droids previously sent by the Emperor to explore these routes. Jakku served as a launchpad for Imperial warships heading into the Unknown Regions, and the retreating Imperials destroyed the research base before the New Republic could reach it.

As part of the Contingency, Rax's secret objective during the Battle of Jakku was to obliterate the planet, crippling both the remnants of the Empire and the New Republic; however, Grand Admiral Rae Sloane prevented him from executing this phase by killing Rax. In his final words, Rax urged Sloane to assume his role in the Contingency alongside Commandant Brendol Hux, his son Armitage Hux, and their child soldiers aboard the starship Imperialis, and to rendezvous with the Emperor's flagship, the Super Star Destroyer Eclipse, which had been dispatched in advance to the Unknown Regions. Their journey spanned several months and involved numerous short hyperspace jumps, during which Sloane discovered that the Imperialis had been transmitting coordinates to other Imperial fleets. Upon regrouping with the Eclipse, Sloane ordered the Sentinel piloting the Imperialis to bring the ship in and rejoin with the others. There, she intended to board and saw an opportunity to rebuild the Empire; one that was stronger and purer, and not given to the backstabbing and incest of the Galactic Empire.

Defeated at Jakku and facing severe internal unrest, the Empire was compelled to sign the Galactic Concordance, significantly limiting its ability to wage war and marking its demise. Imperial Grand Vizier Mas Amedda and New Republic Chancellor Mon Mothma signed the Galactic Concordance, which called for the dissolution of the Galactic Empire. Chancellor Mothma then issued another declaration designating all surviving Imperial officers as war criminals, while the Empire began to break into remnants. A remnant of Imperial vessels was confined to predetermined boundaries by the New Republic in the Core and Inner Rim while a provisional government led by Amedda was established on Coruscant, the former capital of the Old Republic and throneworld of the Empire, where it was overseen by Republic observers.

Following the signing of the Galactic Concordance, the New Republic arrived in systems still under Imperial control to announce the signing of the historic peace treaty. However, by the time the Republic reached these systems, fleets had already retreated to the Unknown Regions. The battle's end at Jakku was marked by the sudden departure of the surviving Imperial warships into the Unknown Regions following the announcement of the treaty, where they had seemingly disappeared. During the New Republic Era, multiple Imperial Remnants were represented on the Shadow Council, allowing them to coordinate efforts that subvert the New Republic. The original Council was created by Rax prior to his death on Jakku.

In an effort to evade the scrutiny of the New Republic and restore the Empire after the Battle of Jakku, a significant remnant of warships, officers, nobles, technologists, and warlords fled the known galaxy as part of an exodus into the Unknown Regions spearheaded by Rax, Sloane, and Hux. Beyond the Imperialis's signal to Imperial fleets, the Imperials were also guided into uncharted space thanks to the dark side adept known as Snoke, whose Attendants had access to ancient hyperspace routes the Imperials likely would have died without. All the same, the Imperial remnant blazed across the badly mapped star systems of the Unknown Regions over the course of years. Eventually, however, they found a foothold on planets the Empire had secretly charted in the past. Within the Unknown Regions, they met secret reinforcements and plotted a return to power, for which they began to build fleets and armies in secret to reclaim the Imperial legacy. By 9 ABY, Brendol Hux represented his remnant in the Shadow Council, overseeing affairs related to Project Necromancer, a cloning operation that had been of great interest to the late Emperor during early years of his reign. Meanwhile, the Imperial remnant in the galaxy proper withered away into a remnant of political hardliners locked in a cold war with the New Republic until they reformed into what became the mysterious First Order that started in the Unknown Regions.

The emerging First Order began kidnapping children to fill out the ranks of its new military, specifically targeting the children of former Rebel leaders. Amongst those taken was the daughter of Rebel General Landonis Balthazar Calrissian, Kadara, who was kidnapped in 15 ABY. All the same, in 21 ABY, the Imperial Military sat in tatters and had fled across the galaxy's farthest reaches, with even the Imperial hideouts of the Unknown Regions remaining scattered. Still, those hidden Unknown Regions Imperial holdouts started to form a new chain of command, albeit an obscure and skeletal one, for Imperial survivors. Amongst their followers was Enric Pryde, who was ordered to establish ties with the Corporate Sector Authority. The Sith Eternal secretly trusted Pryde as a valuable follower and thus dispatched Ochi of Bestoon to meet with him during the assassin's mission for the Emperor. Later in 21 ABY, the First Order was founded by the Unknown Regions remnant, who regrouped themselves from once scattered hideouts into the First Order.

The First Order specifically grew from the political, military, and spiritual elements of the [New Order](/article/new_order], with Sloane and Hux becoming part of its first set of leaders. A military junta influenced by the principles of the fallen Empire, the origins of the First Order thus dated back to the Galactic Empire, with the remnants of the Imperial Military forming the basis of the First Order military. The Sith Eternal was the First Order's secretive spiritual branch; as a Sith cult, they preserved the Sith religion and revered the dark side of the Force from their base of operations on the planet Exegol. Additionally, the Sith Eternal cultists were dedicated to building a new Sith Empire, secretly working to ensure the First Order's conquest of the galaxy. The rise of the First Order took advantage of the New Republic's failure to properly exert its authority or truly patrol the Outer Rim. Beyond that, the First Order would keep its emerging military might hidden within the Unknown Regions, where they avoided the eyes of the New Republic. The First Order Navy's ideology would be focused on mobility and individual firepower due to its much smaller fleet in comparison to the Old Empire. As an entity that claimed the mantle of a successor to the fallen Empire, the elite of the First Order included within its numbers the members of the wealthy dynasties that had once belonged to the Imperial aristocracy during Palpatine’s reign. Having maintained their devotion to the Imperial vision for building a better galactic order that was formed through any means necessary, these lineages — including the Jerjerrod family — were counted among the upper class of the First Order and commanded respect from various members.

Just as many of the Emperor's servants carried the Old Empire's greatest military secrets to the Unknown Regions, so too did Snoke, who eventually rose to become the Supreme Leader of the First Order. Had it not been for the ancient hyperspace trails blazed through the Unknown Regions by Snoke's Attendants, most of the former Imperial officers would have likely perished crossing into the uncharted realm. Snoke was a mysterious humanoid, with very scant details as to regarding his origins, strong with the dark side of the Force. Despite his abilities not being explicitly Sith in origin, Snoke's powerful abilities as a force user and knowledge made him the undisputed heir as the leader to the forces gathered under the Contingency.

Snoke was, in fact, one of the many artificial strandcasts created by the Emperor and his cult following, the Sith Eternal, prior to his demise, and discarded as a potential vessel for the Sith Lord's dark essence. Instead, Snoke was made to serve as a proxy ruler for his creator and influenced by the zombified Sith Lord from afar to gather the forces that would go to make the armies of the First Order and spread his influence across the galaxy through less direct means. With that, Sidious ensured that the new empire which arose after the Battle of Jakku was his to control. The First Order did not know of Snoke's origins, though some came to peer behind the veil of secrecy and realized that he was subservient to some unseen force. Snoke himself was possibly unaware of the factual nature surrounding his existence, and indeed remained unaware of his status as a pawn in Sidious's larger game for his entire life.

The First Order's highest-ranking members were totally unaware of the Emperor's return, the Sith Eternal's existence, and Exegol, their secret headquarters. The Contingency and its ultimate goal were unknown to the majority of the First Order; while they were the military arm, the Sith Eternal were the spiritual core. The true leaders of the First Order operated in utmost secrecy, guided by the dark side of the Force and the ancient Sith practices. From the shadows, the elusive Emperor transformed the remnants of the Empire into the First Order, all while plotting his comeback. Sidious intended to lead a new Sith empire that would engulf the First Order and eliminate any rivals for galactic domination when the time was right.

Snoke's mysterious aura was enhanced by his leadership decisions. The dark side master refrained from using the title of Emperor, concentrating on mysticism and spiritual matters while letting his generals command the First Order's military. He avoided face-to-face meetings with subordinates, opting instead to use large holographic projections to communicate with and issue orders to them. Snoke sidelined, co-opted, or eliminated Gallius Rax, Rae Sloane, Ormes Apolin, and Brendol Hux, who were initially seen as potential leaders of the Empire's remnants by the surviving admirals and generals. Snoke spared Brendol's son, General Armitage Hux, to use him as a political tool in his ascent to power. Pryde was eventually informed of Palpatine's survival and became the Emperor's contact within the regime. Many young individuals harvested by the Sith Eternal for their army were initially conscripted into the First Order as children. However, spies identified and "disappeared" those with potential, transforming them into the red-armored Sith troopers that formed the infantry of Darth Sidious's new forces.

Armitage Hux, the son of a First Order founder, was raised within the organization's military wing. Captain Phasma joined after leaving her home planet of Parnassos with Brendol. Following the Destruction of the Jedi Temple, former Padawan Ben Solo embraced the identity of Kylo Ren and joined the First Order. He became the master of the Knights of Ren and Supreme Leader Snoke's apprentice. Ren, a descendant of the powerful Skywalker family, possessed the potential to rival his grandfather Darth Vader, according to his master. Unlike Armitage and Phasma, Ren held no official rank in the First Order military. Nevertheless, as Snoke's apprentice, he had the authority to command his master's forces.

Ren, Armitage, and Phasma spearheaded a new leadership wave that replaced the old guard in the First Order's command structure. As part of this transition, Armitage and Phasma plotted Brendol's assassination; Armitage had suffered abuse from his father since childhood, while Phasma sought to erase her past. Armitage delegated the actual murder to Phasma, instructing her to make it untraceable. Phasma used the toxin from a Parnassos beetle bite to carry out the killing. Armitage then briefly addressed Captain Cardinal and the Stormtrooper Corps, announcing Brendol's death and assuming his leadership position in the military, succeeding his late father.

A cargo ship carrying military equipment, allegedly destined for the First Order, was ambushed at one point. Among the seized items was a set of stormtrooper armor which was later given to Terex, a former Imperial stormtrooper and, at the time, a crime lord of the Ranc Gang. Terex was immediately intrigued by the modern design, confirming that it was not of Imperial origin. After inquiring about its source, Terex pondered the implications of this new information. He later joined the ranks of the First Order Security Bureau.

Meanwhile, the First Order faced several threats within the Unknown Regions: hermetic kingdoms that the Order confronted. Under Supreme Leader Snoke's direction, the new military launched a major offensive against these kingdoms to seize their worlds and resources to fuel their rise. Phasma led from the front as the First Order navigated the Unknown Regions' wilderness, while Admiral Frantis Griss gained valuable experience from the expansion.

The First Order aimed to weaken the New Republic and generate funds to expand the new navy. They used the Amaxine warriors, a militia group, as proxies to finance Nikto crime lord Rinnrivin Di's cartel. Seven years before the "Napkin Bombing" at the New Republic senatorial complex on Hosnian Prime, the First Order used the Amaxines to inject billions of credits into Rinnrivin's cartel as start-up capital, transforming it from a minor operation into a major crime syndicate. Rinnrivin established a mutual relationship with the Amaxines, engaging in profitable smuggling and gambling activities. The proceeds were funneled through shadowy corporations and Centrist sources back to the First Order, which used the money to rebuild its fleet. The Order also recruited several Centrist senators, such as Lady Carise Sindian, as clandestine agents to undermine the Republic from within. Many Centrists, an informal faction and rivals to the Populists in the New Republic Senate, favored a stronger central government and military, admiring the Old Empire's leaders and methods. Another First Order proxy was Arliz Hadrassian, a former TIE fighter pilot who became the leader of the Amaxine warriors. Hadrassian viewed the Amaxines as the First Order's vanguard, while Lady Carise considered her too unpredictable. Hadrassian, in turn, grew impatient with the Centrists for their reluctance to secede from the Republic.

The First Order's operations were nearly exposed when Rinnrivin Di's criminal activities began to severely impact Ryloth's off-world trade. In response, New Republic senators Leia Organa and Ransolm Casterfo launched an investigation that revealed Rinnrivin's connections to the Amaxine warriors. However, the senators failed to uncover the Order's links to the Amaxines and Rinnrivin's cartel. Arliz Hadrassian bombed the New Republic's senatorial complex in an attempt to sow chaos, triggering a series of events that led to Rinnrivin's death and the destruction of most of the Amaxine warriors' forces on Sibensko. Hadrassian committed suicide after assassinating Republic senator Tai-Lin Garr. While most Republic senators and the media believed that the demise of Rinnrivin's cartel and the Amaxines eliminated all threats to the Republic, Senator Organa disagreed with the New Republic's complacency. However, she was politically sidelined after a scandal revealed that her father was Darth Vader, discrediting her and forcing her to resign from the Senate.

Following Tai-Lin Garr's assassination, Lady Carise and her Centrist allies began preparing a motion to secede from the New Republic to join and support the First Order. Acting as a political coalition of worlds advocating centralized authority, star systems aligned with the Centrists—including Arkanis, Orinda, and Kuat—formally withdrew from the New Republic and joined the First Order in 29 ABY, officially establishing the First Order as a regime and initiating the Cold War between the First Order and the New Republic. While some in the Galactic Senate applauded the idea, others realized that the former Imperials would revert to their draconian ways without New Republic oversight. Supreme Leader Snoke launched a massive rearmament program, creating a technologically superior military to that of the Galactic Empire, and began undermining the Republic, recognizing that the First Order lacked the former Imperial state's superior numbers and support.

The Centrist worlds' secession from the New Republic gave the First Order a foothold in the known galaxy. Its military forces then emerged from the Unknown Regions, signaling the resurgence of fascism and militarism. In violation of the Galactic Concordance, First Order forces frequently crossed the Trans-Hydian Borderlands, launching incursions into Republic space and other sectors. The term "cold war" was used because there was no direct, large-scale fighting, but rather occasional small skirmishes. Despite the First Order's increasing aggression, the New Republic hesitated to take strong military action, seeking to avoid another devastating galactic war at all costs. Meanwhile, the First Order used its political supporters and puppets within the Galactic Senate to portray itself as harmless, turning public opinion against those who opposed the Imperial successor.

During this period, General Leia Organa, realizing the Senate's inability to protect the New Republic, founded the Resistance, an offshoot of the New Republic Defense Force, with the help of allies like Gial Ackbar, C-3PO, Joph Seastriker, and Temmin Wexley. The Resistance served as a check on the First Order's military ambitions. General Organa released the Grace Report to the New Republic Senate, revealing the Order's construction of hidden shipyards, armories, research-and-development labs, and academies, detailing the continuous operation of these facilities for a massive military buildup. Meanwhile, the First Order expanded and easily conquered star systems. Zulay Ulor and Caracara Squadron, as mercenaries offering services to unprotected star systems, clashed with the First Order, which chased the starfighter squadron from restricted zones. By 34 ABY, the First Order — having ousted Hutt crime lady Harra from her stronghold on the swamp planet Vodran—converted the fortress into a detention center overseen by Commander Wanten, assigned there as punishment for allowing the building's previous owner to escape.

The New Republic Senate deemed the First Order an insignificant threat to the galaxy and the hard-won peace. Chancellor Lanever Villecham echoed this sentiment, arguing that there was no cause for concern as long as the Order adhered to the Galactic Concordance. Despite this, the First Order openly defied the accords by initiating the mass mobilization of superior stormtrooper forces and violating Republic bans on weapons sales to the Order. Small skirmishes occasionally erupted between the First Order and the Republic, testing the New Republic's resolve, while the Starkiller operation sought a suitable planet for its implementation.

The First Order's growing threat and rapid mobilization for war sparked concern among prominent Republic members, particularly former Senator Leia Organa. Dismissed by the Senate as an alarmist and warmonger, Organa leveraged her influence as a former Rebel Alliance member to recruit forgotten military officers affected by the Military Disarmament Act passed by the Galactic Senate. Funded by like-minded senators who shared Organa's fears, the Resistance emerged as a counterforce to the Order's growing power, initiating a new phase in the ongoing Cold War.

Meanwhile, the Republic Senate became entangled in corruption and bureaucracy, exacerbated by the political deadlock between the Populists and the Centrists. Some senators, like Erudo Ro-Kiintor, colluded with the First Order for promises of wealth and power, receiving large sums of credits discreetly through the Corporate Sector Authority. Consequently, the Resistance had to operate independently until it could obtain undeniable evidence of First Order violations of the peace to present to New Republic Command. During Operation: Sabre Strike, Resistance pilot Poe Dameron and General Organa discovered Senator Erudo's collusion with the First Order and his possession of valuable information about Lor San Tekka, whom Organa believed could lead them to her brother, Luke Skywalker, who had exiled himself.

As part of their preparations for war against the galaxy, the First Order began an occupation of the Colossus refueling station on Castilon. Under the guise of peacekeepers, following several pirate attacks on the platform, the First Order occupied the Colossus, raids which the Order had secretly orchestrated as a pretext for intervention, intending to use the Colossus as a staging ground.

The First Order had previously shown interest in the station, placing a large bounty of twenty thousand credits on Kel and Eila, claiming they were members of a high-ranking First Order family outside its military hierarchy. In reality, Kel and Eila were orphaned survivors of the First Order's aggressive actions against the people of Tehar.

While some civilians on the Colossus welcomed the First Order's presence, others opposed their measures, leading to a riot among the alien population. In response, the First Order targeted residents who opposed or defied their control, arresting them and sending them offworld under the guise of security concerns.

In response to the Resistance's Operation: Sabre Strike, Captain Phasma tasked Agent Terex with recovering the information Poe Dameron obtained from Senator Erudo. Terex's First Order strike force pursued Dameron and his Black Squadron to Ovanis. With the help of the reluctant spy, Oddy Muva, Terex planted a tracker on Dameron's T-70 X-wing starfighter. A skirmish ensued in the skies above Ovanis and the Cave of the Crèche, complicated by the presence of the Crèche cult and the hatching of two winged creatures. Ultimately, Terex and his landing force were defeated. The Crèche elder provided Dameron with the information on Lor San Tekka. To prevent war between the First Order and the New Republic, Terex and his surviving men were allowed to leave on their Maxima-A class heavy cruiser.

Terex later received intelligence that Black Squadron was traveling to Megalox prison on the high-gravity world of Megalox Beta. Dameron journeyed to the prison world to question Hutt crime lord Grakkus Jahibakti Tingi about his knowledge of San Tekka's location. Terex bribed Warden Luta into abandoning Black Squadron to the prison population. Although Grakkus had agreed to disclose the information to Terex, he changed his mind and decided to sell it to whoever freed him first.

Enraged by Grakkus' betrayal, Terex hired crime lords Isin, Kan Be, and Toren to use their gangs to storm Grakkus' fortress and eliminate Black Squadron. He intended to interrogate Grakkus and then kill him. However, Grakkus' plan was thwarted by Black Squadron's astromech droids, including BB-8, who deactivated Megalox's gravity shield. While Black Squadron and Grakkus escaped, Terex and his mercenaries were trapped by the high gravity. Terex managed to escape aboard the Carrion Spike and attacked the Megalox space station, seeking to punish Luta for allowing Black Squadron to escape. His ship destroyed several shuttles but was forced to retreat when Black Squadron retaliated, inflicting significant damage on the Carrion Spike. Captain Phasma ordered Terex to return to First Order space for debriefing, but Terex chose to pursue his nemesis Dameron instead.

Later, Suralinda Javos, a Galaxy Beacon journalist and former New Republic Starfleet member, discovered that the First Order was constructing military installations, shipyards, weapons research facilities, and "something bigger" in violation of the Galactic Concordance. She met with Dameron on the Inner Rim gas giant of Pheryon, hoping to sell the information to the Resistance and advance her journalistic career. However, First Order Security Bureau Agent Weel and his stormtroopers captured Javos and Dameron. During interrogation, Javos killed Weel and freed Dameron. After escaping, Javos decided to join the Resistance.

Instead of returning to First Order space, Terex traveled to the crime haven of Kaddak. There, he regained control of the Ranc Gang, which he had helped establish after the Battle of Jakku. Defying Captain Phasma's orders, Terex decided to use his Ranc Gang to destroy Poe and the Resistance. His plan involved feeding false intelligence on the First Order to the Resistance droid spy N1-ZX and tracking Dameron back to the Resistance base. Terex aimed to eliminate the Resistance to facilitate the First Order's galactic conquest. Terex's plans were foiled when Dameron detected the deception and led Terex's Ranc Gang fleet to a remote desert planet.

Additionally, Oddy decided to negate Terex's leverage over him by rescuing his wife Sowa Chuan and several slaves from Terex's flagship, Carrion Spike. While Terex led a landing party in pursuit of Dameron and the droids, Black Squadron attacked Terex's ship and armada of "Uglies." Oddy and most of the slaves escaped in escape pods while Black Squadron provided covering fire. Terex's landing party was wiped out by N1-ZX, who had been reprogrammed with Mister Bones's droid personality template. Terex also fought Dameron and BB-8 but was disarmed during the struggle. The battle ended when First Order forces under Commander Malarus arrived and destroyed Terex's Ranc Gang fleet and flagship Carrion Spike.

Malarus had orders from the First Order to apprehend Terex, because his unauthorized operation directly contradicted Supreme Leader Snoke's command to steer clear of overt conflict with the New Republic and its allies, such as the Resistance. Leading a landing party, Malarus encountered Dameron and subsequently took Terex into captivity. Subsequently, Malarus and Terex journeyed to Abednedo with the intention of capturing Oddy Muva. Aboard a transport vessel, she instructed Terex to interrogate Muva, seeking intelligence regarding the Resistance. However, Dameron and Wexley intervened, causing Malarus to lose control of Muva. Malarus was then forced to witness Muva's kamikaze attack on the Enshado, followed by her successful escape into hyperspace. Following this, Malarus traveled to Cato Neimoidia, where she engaged in combat with Dameron. An official from House Reya then appeared, arresting Malarus and declaring that she would face a trial.

Supreme Leader Snoke, feeling threatened by the potential resurgence of the Jedi Order, prioritized the mission to locate Luke Skywalker, a Jedi Master who had retreated into self-imposed exile after the failure to restore the Jedi Order, an event for which he held himself responsible. Snoke's reasoning was that Skywalker's return would inevitably lead to the rise of a new generation of Jedi, thereby jeopardizing the First Order's ascent to power. Consequently, the Supreme Leader dispatched the Starkiller commanding triumvirate—General Hux, Captain Phasma, and Kylo Ren—to Jakku. Their objective was to retrieve a fragment of a map leading to Skywalker, which Dameron and BB-8 had recovered from Lor San Tekka, a longtime ally of General Organa. Intent on capturing the droid, the First Order assaulted the Church of the Force settlement in Tuanul, where San Tekka resided. Despite the attack, BB-8 managed to escape with the map fragment.

The inhabitants of Tuanul mounted a defense but were ultimately overcome. The survivors were then rounded up, while San Tekka was brought before Ren. Ren demanded that San Tekka surrender information regarding the map to the First Order. San Tekka retorted that Ren could not deny the truth of his own lineage, prompting Ren to murder the old man using his lightsaber. Dameron retaliated by firing upon Ren, but the dark warrior used the Force to caught the blast. Stormtroopers then captured Dameron and brought him aboard their flagship, the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer Finalizer. On Ren's orders, Captain Phasma and her stormtroopers—excluding FN-2187—executed the remaining villagers.

FN-2187 and Dameron managed to escape the Finalizer aboard a stolen TIE/sf space superiority fighter, but not before Ren tortured Dameron and learned that the map fragment was located within a BB-unit droid on Jakku. During their escape, Dameron gave the renegade stormtrooper the name Finn. The pair crash-landed in the Goazon Badlands on Jakku, where Finn presumed Dameron had died. Finn eventually encountered BB-8 alongside a scavenger named Rey. However, the First Order located them, marking Rey as a target and pursuing the trio across Jakku. Despite the pursuit, Rey, Finn, and BB-8 successfully escaped Jakku aboard the Millennium Falcon. They eventually encountered Rebellion war heroes and smugglers Han Solo and Chewbacca in space. Together, the five traveled to Takodana, seeking the assistance of Maz Kanata in delivering BB-8 and the map fragment to General Organa at the Resistance base.

On the First Order's secret Starkiller Base, General Hux informed Supreme Leader Snoke that their superweapon was ready for use and proposed targeting the New Republic to provoke the Resistance. Supreme Leader Snoke approved the operation and dismissed Hux before conferring with Kylo Ren, discussing an apparent awakening in the Force. The Supreme Leader then informed his dark apprentice that the droid had fallen into the hands of his father, Han Solo, before ending his holographic transmission to Starkiller Base.

On the very eve of the planned war, General Hux addressed the assembled legions of stormtroopers under his command, who had gathered to witness the weapon's destructive capability. Hux declared that the day would mark the end of the New Republic, which he denounced for deceiving the galaxy by secretly supporting the Resistance.

After announcing that the remaining systems would submit to the First Order, General Hux ordered the weapon to be fired. Massive beams of energy were then discharged from Ilum across the galaxy towards the Hosnian system. Upon arrival, the beams destroyed the astronomical bodies within the system, including Hosnian Prime, the galactic capital, along with the New Republic Senate and a portion of its Defense Fleet.

As the First Order gained power during the Starkiller crisis, the pursuit of the map to Skywalker persisted, with the goal of preventing the rise of the new Jedi. First Order forces rapidly siege Maz Kanata's castle on Takodana, reducing it to rubble. Rey fled into the surrounding forests, prompting Ren to deploy stormtroopers into the woods before personally entering the woods to hunt Rey. Eventually, he found and captured her. Probing her mind with the Force, he realized that she had seen the map. Ren then decided that the droid was no longer necessary, believing he could extract the information from Rey through interrogation. A stormtrooper officer informed Ren of a Resistance surprise attack and requested reinforcements, but Ren instead ordered the First Order division to withdraw, claiming that they had obtained what they sought. First Order troops then boarded their ships and retreated, taking the unconscious Rey with them.

Assisted by the defector FN-2187 "Finn," Solo and Chewbacca infiltrated Starkiller Base to rescue Rey and deactivate the planetary shields. This enabled a Resistance strike to destroy the planet-converted superweapon. With the First Order moments away from destroying the Resistance base on D'Qar, the team accomplished their objectives, although Solo perished while attempting to reconcile with Ren, his son with Organa. Escaping the planet just in time, the First Order's sun-harvesting superweapon was destroyed by the Resistance Starfighter Corps, resulting in the formation of a new star in the planet's former location. Supreme Leader Snoke instructed General Hux to evacuate the planet and bring Kylo Ren to him so that his training could be completed. As Starkiller exploded, the damaged Retribution, under the command of Gideon Hask, emerged from hyperspace, its hyperdrive having been destroyed by Resistance agents Iden Versio, Zay Versio, and Shriv Suurgav, who were on a mission to gather intelligence about the First Order's Project Resurrection.

Following the destruction of Starkiller, the First Order fleet regrouped in large numbers for the new galactic war. Phasma returned from chasing down and eliminating Lieutenant Sol Rivas on Luprora, whom she falsely accused of disabling the shields at Starkiller Base, informing General Hux of her actions. The surviving pilots of the Starkiller aerial defense force, including Poldin LeHuse, were reintegrated into the fleet, expressing a desire for revenge and an opportunity to prove themselves after failing to protect the superweapon.

Despite the loss of Starkiller Base, the First Order maintained a secure and intact chain of command and possessed significant military strength, consisting of hundreds of battle-cruisers and millions of troops, emerging from the shadows to seize control of the galaxy through force. Following the destruction of the Galactic Senate and the Hosnian system, the New Republic lost its leadership and its entire home fleet, which, due to the Military Disarmament Act, constituted the majority of the Republic's military force.

This imbalance left the New Republic virtually defenseless as First Order fleets spread across the galaxy. These events quickly led to the collapse of the New Republic's authority, as individual planets and governments began prioritizing their own interests. Surviving senators dissolved the Republic's remaining task forces to protect their own homeworlds, while other worlds surrendered to the First Order to avoid direct military conflict. Consequently, the galaxy became divided.

The core Resistance group found itself significantly outmatched by the First Order, although the First Order also had to contend with other Resistance cells. The First Order failed to prevent the loss of intelligence regarding the specifications of the Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought, and further lost its grip over the Colossus, which escaped Castilon into space. However, with the demise of the New Republic and its unofficial support, the Resistance possessed only a handful of military ships and a few hundred soldiers. This prompted General Leia Organa to order the complete evacuation of the Resistance base on D'Qar, as a First Order fleet led by General Hux approached to destroy the Resistance once and for all.

Hux's forces, setting their sights on the Resistance base, arrived in battle and destroyed the base. However, the Resistance managed to escape before the First Order could eliminate them completely. Despite their escape, the Resistance's hasty evacuation resulted in the loss of the majority of their remaining fleet, leaving them as fugitives adrift in space. Simultaneously, Supreme Leader Snoke summoned his apprentice, Kylo Ren, to his throne room aboard the Supremacy, the First Order flagship, and ridiculed him for his failure at Starkiller Base and his aspirations to emulate Darth Vader.

The mobile supertanker fuel depot, the Colossus, arrived shortly after the D'Qar evacuation and tried to retrieve coaxium from the wreckage of the Fulminatrix. Phasma tasked Pyre and Agent Tierny with either recovering the station or destroying it if recovery proved impossible, due to its strategic importance. She sought to prevent the Resistance from acquiring the fuel. However, this effort failed, and the Resistance successfully recovered the coaxium and fled. Pyre and Tierny vowed to hunt down the Colossus. Soon afterwards, Nikto engineer Nenavakasa Nalor was sent sabotage the platform, posing as a stranded spacer, but was discovered as a First Order spy. Though Nena escaped, they were able to managed to undo her sabotage and escape First Order forces.

The First Order, utilizing hyperspace tracking, a newly developed technology perfected from the Empire's Tarkin Initiative, tracked the Resistance to the Oetchi system, catching them completely by surprise and immediately destroying one of their cruisers. Kylo Ren, leading a TIE squadron in his personal fighter, attacked the Resistance's command ship, the Raddus, and destroyed its hangar bay, eliminating all of the Resistance's remaining fighters. He then targeted the ship's bridge, where his mother, General Leia Organa, was located. Although Ren was ultimately unable to bring himself to fire, his wingmen did not hesitate and fired on the bridge, exposing it to the vacuum of space and killing the majority of the Resistance's leadership, including Admiral Gial Ackbar. Organa was able to use the Force to pull herself back aboard, but she was left incapacitated. The Resistance's chain of command then fell to Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo, who oversaw their efforts to outrun the First Order. However, their fuel supplies were critically low, and one by one their other ships ran out of fuel and were destroyed by the Supremacy's turbolasers.

As the Raddus neared fuel exhaustion, the Resistance began to disintegrate as desertions increased dramatically, with members viewing the fight against the First Order as hopeless. Later, a full-scale mutiny erupted, dividing the crew into factions: those who sought to escape and hide from the enemy, and those who wished to continue fighting. This mutiny, led by Poe Dameron, was quelled by the recovered General Organa, and the Resistance attempted to slip down to the former Rebel world of Crait. However, the capture of the Resistance infiltration team on the Supremacy resulted in the First Order learning of the plan when the team's code breaker, DJ, betrayed the Resistance in exchange for his freedom and payment. This led the Supremacy to fire on the unarmed and unarmored U-55 orbital loadlifters, destroying approximately half of them.

Meanwhile, Kylo Ren brought Rey to Snoke's throne room aboard the Supremacy. However, Snoke's brief reign over the galaxy ended when Ren killed his master and his guards. In a desperate, sacrificial maneuver to save the Resistance, Vice Admiral Holdo aimed the Raddus at the Supremacy and engaged lightspeed. The resulting collision cleaved the First Order flagship and several Resurgent-class Star Destroyers in half, saving the remaining Resistance members and inflicting severe damage on the First Order fleet.

Ren assumed the title of Supreme Leader following Snoke's death. Driven by his rejection of the past, Ren sought to establish a new galactic order by destroying the combined legacy of the Jedi, the Sith, the Rebellion, and everything that preceded it. The First Order's forces quickly regrouped, and, under the command of the newly appointed Supreme Leader, launched an invading force of All Terrain Armored Transport and All Terrain MegaCaliber Six walkers to the abandoned rebel base on Crait, where the Resistance had sought refuge. Ren personally led the siege of the Resistance's forces at the Battle of Crait.

During the battle, the Millennium Falcon, piloted by Chewbacca and Rey, arrived and attacked the First Order's TIE fighters, drawing them away from the battlefield. Nevertheless, the battle resulted in the continued deaths of many of the remaining Resistance soldiers and personnel, as well as the further depletion of their equipment. Furthermore, the Resistance's allies in the Outer Rim were called upon for reinforcements, but they did not arrive. However, Luke Skywalker unexpectedly appeared and confronted the First Order alone on the battlefield. Ren ordered all of the walkers to open fire on Skywalker in an attempt to destroy him. However, Skywalker miraculously emerged unscathed, and Ren went down to the surface to personally face his old Jedi Master. During their duel, Ren realized he was actually fighting a Force projection of Skywalker, who was still on Ahch-To. Skywalker's projection vanished, leaving Ren furious, as the distraction bought time for the remaining few dozen Resistance personnel to flee aboard the Millennium Falcon with Rey's help.

Following the Battle of Crait, Kylo Ren returned to the First Order flagship, the Finalizer, where he presented himself as the new Supreme Leader to an assembly of stormtroopers and officers, including General Hux, in the Star Destroyer's hangar. During his speech, Ren displayed the bisected corpse of Snoke to his troops, attributing his predecessor's death to the enemies of the First Order. After using the Force to cast Snoke's remains into the vacuum of space, Ren declared that his reign marked a new beginning for the First Order, which he would lead to glory. Ultimately, Ren's claim to power was accepted by the soldiers, who collectively saluted their new leader.

After the speech, Ren summoned Hux to discuss the current state of the First Order, including Snoke's future plans and the resources at their disposal. Hux informed Ren that, although the First Order still commanded the largest military in the galaxy, a significant portion of their fleet had been destroyed along with the Supremacy. In addition, the destruction of Starkiller Base had deprived the First Order of its shipyard. When Hux offered to assemble a strike force to seize the resources they required, Ren instructed the general to instead focus on building a throne worthy of the new Supreme Leader.

The new Supreme Leader embarked on a campaign to establish his dominion over the galaxy, with entire worlds surrendering out of fear. The First Order seized control of the Outer Rim world of Bracca and even the Core World of Corellia with minimal resistance, as the galaxy had been left largely defenseless following the Starkiller incident. Stormtrooper forces raided the hometown of Pacer Agoyo, injuring his sister and burning down their house, earning the First Order the animosity of Agoyo, who later joined the Resistance. An emergency election on Akiva resulted in the victory of a pro-First Order merchant, while the First Order arrived on Ryloth, giving the Ryloth shipping guild five days to tithe before the shipping lanes would be blockaded. The Resistance had fled to Ryloth, establishing a base in a Ryloth Defense Authority base, until a resident of Lessu betrayed them to the First Order. Despite a First Order attack on the base, the Resistance managed to escape the planet.

At some point, the First Order annexed the planet Didyma V and assumed control of its lommite production, prompting the native miner Engi Golba to flee his homeworld and join the Resistance. The Lumini pirates were rendered defunct following an attack by the military junta, leaving a young lieutenant named Kuimi Enissa as the sole surviving member. Meanwhile, as the First Order pressed forward with its galactic conquest, rebellious worlds such as Kijimi, Odynnia Gavo, and Torost became contested locations where the First Order deployed its ground forces under the command of General Bellava Parnadee.

Sometime later, General Hux received information about a sighting of Resistance operative Finn, but he dismissed it, telling the lieutenant who provided the information that the First Order wouldn't act on every rumor about the Resistance. At that moment, Supreme Leader Ren arrived on the bridge of the Finalizer and reprimanded Hux in front of the lieutenant, informing him that the First Order would indeed do anything to destroy the Resistance. As an example, the First Order launched an assault that resulted in the destruction of the neutral world of Tah'Nuhna for assisting the Resistance after their escape from Crait.

Meanwhile, Mika Grey, a traveler searching for Sith artifacts to prevent them from falling into the First Order's hands, was being tracked by Agent Raith and a squad of First Order Raiders, stormtroopers commissioned by their commander, Supreme Leader Ren, to hunt down ancient Sith artifacts. The Raiders were searching for a Sith relic from a buried temple on Ashas Ree, where they encountered the Colossus Resistance cell and Mika Grey, a Force-sensitive archaeologist who was also seeking to acquire the relic. However, the First Order Raiders failed to acquire it and perished when the Sith relic unleashed an explosive wave of energy that incinerated Raith and his troops.

Ren decreed that any contact with the Resistance would be punishable by death, effectively isolating them from the rest of the galaxy.

The Resistance had been detected on the neutral world of Fondor, prompting the First Order to take action. A brutal inquiry of a Fondor official revealed that, although the Resistance had passed through the system, the official had not offered any aid. Nevertheless, Supreme Leader Ren declared that even contact, however minor, with the enemy constituted treason. This provided the pretext he needed to bring the Fondor Shipyards under the complete dominion of the First Order. To demonstrate his point, Ren personally executed the official, severing his head with a lightsaber, and proclaiming that the Empire had been far too lenient in the past.

Following this, intelligence suggested the Resistance's presence on Mon Cala, leading to the arrival of at least twelve Resurgent-class warships over the planet, as the First Order prepared to make an example of the world. A fleet of Mon Cala warships, commanded by Aftab Ackbar, managed to escape from the far side of the planet and jump into hyperspace. This act confirmed to the First Order that the Mon Calamari and Quarrens had abandoned neutrality and chosen to support the Resistance. By this time, the First Order had already secured a foothold on Corellia.

As the conflict deepened, the First Order relentlessly hunted down the remaining members of the Resistance, deploying its forces across various locations in the galaxy. After hearing reports that Rey had been seen on Batuu, Ren himself oversaw the search for Resistance fugitives at the Black Spire Outpost on Batuu, arriving at the remote location in a TIE/es assault shuttle. Upon landing at Docking Bay 9, Ren was greeted by a First Order officer whose incompetence angered him, leading Ren to use the Force to strangle the officer.

The First Order managed to seize a bacta production facility on Tevel, but the Resistance, aided by the Tevellans, quickly reclaimed it. Later, the First Order light cruiser, the Ladara Vex, was sent to Minfar to retrieve the Echo Horn, a weapon capable of controlling the Zixon. However, Resistance sympathizers destroyed the cruiser, thwarting their mission.

The First Order captured Dantooine, a planet that had once served as a base for the Rebel Alliance during the Galactic Civil War. They established a blockade, trapping a group of Resistance recruits until the Colossus cell arrived to assist them. As retribution for the Aeosian kingdom briefly sheltering the Colossus, a First Order fleet was dispatched to and bombarded the planet Aeos Prime. This devastating attack overwhelmed Tamara Ryvora, a recent recruit, who was rescued by the Colossus crew during a battle that resulted in the destruction of the Star Destroyer Thunderer. While Agent Tierny was executed by Ren for failure, Commander Pyre perished with his ship.

In 35 ABY, the Sith Eternal cult made their presence known throughout the galaxy by broadcasting a message of revenge, delivered in the voice of Emperor Palpatine, also known as Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith who everyone thought was dead. Following this revelation, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, determined to eliminate any potential threats to his authority, redirected First Order resources to uncover the truth. This led to him discovering a Sith wayfinder on Mustafar belonging to his grandfather, Darth Vader, which contained Force-imbued coordinates.

Using the wayfinder, Ren traveled alone to the hidden Sith world of Exegol, located in the Unknown Regions. Inside the Sith Citadel, Sidious revealed himself to Ren and confessed to creating the former Supreme Leader Snoke. Unwilling to be intimidated, Ren prepared to strike down Sidious, but the Emperor revealed the culmination of his thirty-year Contingency: the Final Order. This immense fleet of planet-destroying Xyston-class Star Destroyers, along with an army of Sith troopers, had been prepared by the Sith Eternal on Exegol, ready to unleash chaos across the galaxy.

After decades of work, the Emperor's followers were ready to launch a full-scale invasion of the galaxy, aiming to reestablish Sith dominion in the form of a new Sith Empire. The Emperor offered Ren the fleet, allowing him to succeed where his grandfather Vader had failed, and rule the galaxy as the new Emperor, on the condition that he kill the Jedi apprentice Rey. The Dark Lord then revealed that Rey was, in fact, his granddaughter, and therefore a member of the Palpatine lineage.

During a meeting of the Supreme Council aboard the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer Steadfast, Ren informed the First Order officers that a spy within their ranks had been providing information to the Resistance. Although he did not know the spy's identity, Ren expressed confidence that the fleet on Exegol would make him invincible, transforming the First Order into a true Empire. General Domaric Quinn voiced his distrust of the Sith Eternal, dismissing them as conjurers and soothsayers. Allegiant General Enric Pryde countered that the Sith fleet would increase their resources tenfold, correcting what he considered the "error" of Starkiller Base. Ren used the Force choke on General Quinn, killing him for questioning the Supreme Leader about the Emperor's demands. He then ordered the council to crush any worlds that defied them, and announced that he and his Knights of Ren would hunt down "the scavenger," Rey.

The First Order located Rey, along with Finn, Dameron, and Chewbacca, on Pasaana and alerted the local garrison. First Order jet troopers chased them across the desert plains as the First Order arrived; the group managed to escape, but the Knights of Ren captured Chewbacca and brought him aboard Ren's Star Destroyer. Rey and Ren confronted each other in the desert. Later, the Knights of Ren tracked the group to Kijimi, a world occupied by the First Order.

Ren arrived at Kijimi on his Star Destroyer and locked down the city. Finn and Poe Dameron, along with Chewbacca, were captured and sentenced to execution, but Hux freed them, revealing himself as the spy. The group escaped with the Millennium Falcon, but not before Ren revealed to Rey that she was the granddaughter of Sidious and that they were connected by a Force dyad. Pryde identified Hux as the spy and executed him on the spot with a blaster rifle. Ren then communicated with Sidious through the Force; the Sith Lord threatened to turn his fleet against Ren if he betrayed their agreement, but Ren assured Sidious that he knew where Rey was headed.

Ren confronted Rey alone among the Death Star ruins on Kef Bir, an ocean moon of Endor. They engaged in a lightsaber duel, where Ren gained the upper hand, but was distracted when his mother, Leia Organa, reached out to him through the Force. This allowed Rey to stab him with his own lightsaber, before sensing Organa's presence. Rey then used the Force to heal her archenemy before departing in his ship. Inspired by a memory of his deceased father, Han Solo, Ren renounced the dark side, reclaimed his identity as Ben Solo, and abandoned the First Order. Although Organa's sacrifice disrupted Sidious's plan, the Emperor remained undeterred and shifted his focus to his granddaughter, Rey. With the Supreme Leader gone, Pryde became the highest-ranking member of the First Order, free to take orders directly from the Emperor, as he had been doing in secret.

Pryde was contacted by Sidious while aboard the Steadfast. The Imperial veteran, having served the Emperor during the Galactic Civil War, pledged his allegiance and the First Order's to the Sith Lord, who in turn granted Pryde control over the Sith fleet, initiating a dark alliance with the Sith Eternal. With Pryde's support, Sidious decided to deploy the Final Order throughout the galaxy. He summoned Pryde to Exegol and dispatched a Sith Star Destroyer from the fleet, the Derriphan, to destroy Kijimi as a demonstration of force against the Resistance. Following the destruction of Kijimi, Pryde oversaw the fleet, which was preparing to depart when the Resistance arrived, preceding the Citizens' Fleet, leading to the Battle of Exegol.

During the battle, Pryde had the source of the navigation signal required for the fleet to deploy off-world switched from a navigation tower on Exegol to a beacon on his command ship. However, a Resistance landing team managed to land on Pryde's command ship. Former stormtroopers of Company 77 provided cover for Resistance troopers riding their orbaks as they fought against Sith troopers defending the ship. The landing team successfully disabled the navigation tower and retreated, but First Order personnel managed to reset it. Simultaneously, Darth Sidious, having healed himself, attacked the Resistance and galactic forces, but Rey intervened.

She redirected Sidious's lightning back at him, causing the Emperor to disintegrate and be destroyed, preventing the resurgence of the Sith. Meanwhile, former stormtroopers Finn and Jannah remained on the hull of the ship and turned its own turbolasers against it, killing Pryde and destroying the Steadfast, eliminating the navigation signal and preventing the remaining Sith Star Destroyers from launching off Exegol and reinforcing the First Order. Finn and Jannah narrowly escaped aboard the Millennium Falcon with the assistance of General Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca as the Steadfast exploded and crashed onto Exegol's surface.

In the aftermath of the Battle of Exegol, the First Order's forces faced attacks from the populations they had subjugated. Inspired by the Resistance's victory and the rallied citizens' fleet, people rebelled against the First Order across the galaxy, including on Bespin, Endor, Jakku, Coruscant, Naboo, Corellia, Lothal, and Thyferra. The First Order's control collapsed throughout the galaxy, leading to their ultimate defeat in the war.

Following the war, the galaxy began the arduous task of rebuilding. Many First Order officers were captured and interrogated by the Resistance, as documented in Beaumont Kin's historical account, The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire. Kin stated that the First Order brought death and tyranny with them from the Unknown Regions. While Kin expressed satisfaction that numerous Imperial war criminals would finally face justice for their atrocities, he also argued that the Resistance had a moral obligation to assist the countless young officers and stormtroopers who had been indoctrinated into the First Order's neo-Imperial ideology from a young age.

The Supreme Leader held the self-proclaimed position of absolute authority within the First Order, delegating power to a number of high-ranking officers and advisors, effectively blurring the lines between military and state. This created an upper tier of high-ranking officials, known as the First Order High Command, who were authorized to govern the First Order in the Supreme Leader's name. As Supreme Leader, Snoke preferred to focus on spiritual matters, entrusting military affairs to generals and the shaping of the First Order's image to propaganda masterminds. However, all strategic changes required the Supreme Leader's approval, with personal interests secondary to the Leader's orders. A "commanding triumvirate" consisting of Kylo Ren, General Armitage Hux, and Captain Phasma, leaders of Starkiller Base, also existed within the First Order.

Unbeknownst to even the highest levels of the First Order, Snoke was an artificial creation engineered by the Sith Eternal, a hidden Sith cult, under the direction of their master, Darth Sidious, the resurrected Emperor of the old Empire. Multiple Snoke clones were stored on their hidden world, Exegol. Snoke served Darth Sidious and the Sith Eternal as a tool to groom Ben Solo into becoming Kylo Ren. Snoke concealed his origins and homeworld from the First Order to hide his artificial nature; nevertheless, some realized that Snoke was subservient to an unseen force and master.

Due to the Supreme Leader's position within the First Order, any officer with direct access to him wielded greater power than their military rank suggested. They oversaw the colonization of the Unknown Regions and the destruction of the last Jedi. Similar to Darth Vader in the former Empire, Kylo Ren operated outside the formal command structure of the First Order and frequently clashed with military officials because his personal agenda often superseded military objectives. Kylo's position in the hierarchy maintained fear among the Order's upper ranks and intentionally mirrored Darth Vader's role during the Old Empire. Consequently, Ren was considered "the exception" by his rival, General Armitage Hux. The Supreme Leader had the authority to summon subordinates at will and to punish those who failed him.

The Supreme Council was established under Supreme Leader Kylo Ren as an advisory body to replace the former triumvirate. It consisted of high-ranking members of High Command who served as aides to Ren and had direct access to the highest levels of authority within the First Order, including the Supreme Leader. The council's purpose was to plan and execute the ongoing galactic conquest and to shape the future governance of the galaxy. Its members included Allegiant General Enric Pryde, Admiral Frantis Griss, Lieutenant Draper, and Generals Amret Engell, Armitage Hux, Bellava Parnadee, and Domaric Quinn, allowing Ren to focus on spiritual matters as his predecessor had.

Ren anticipated that the council would be rife with infighting, which he believed would benefit his rule, as he preferred that they direct their energies against each other, reducing the likelihood of them uniting against him.

Starkiller Base, a superweapon built within the planet Ilum, housed the largest military deployment in the First Order. However, it was not considered the official capital of the First Order due to Supreme Leader Snoke's policy of maintaining a mobile headquarters.

Although various officers and allies of the First Order advocated for a planet to serve as their capital, Snoke rejected this idea and refused to designate a capital command to a world under direct First Order control or within the Unknown Regions. Instead, he chose to command his subordinates from his mobile command post, the Mega-class Star Dreadnought Supremacy, effectively making it the First Order's de facto capital.

The First Order engaged in a massive militarization effort throughout its time in the Unknown Regions, building military bases and shipyards to produce technologically advanced weapons and starfighters, in clear violation of the Galactic Concordance and Republic laws. To circumvent treaty restrictions on weapons sales to the First Order, galactic arms manufacturers BlasTech Industries and Merr-Sonn Munitions, Inc. created a subsidiary called the Sonn-Blas Corporation, which manufactured much of the First Order's weaponry within First Order territory. Sienar-Jaemus Fleet Systems also contributed by producing vessels such as the Upsilon-class command shuttle and the TIE/fo space superiority fighter, along with its two-seater variant, the TIE/sf space superiority fighter.

Additionally, Sienar-Jaemus Army Systems manufactured the widely used Atmospheric Assault Landers, which could deploy twenty stormtroopers to the front lines, while the Aratech-Loratus Corporation developed the LIUV. On planetary surfaces, the First Order employed a variety of four-legged walkers similar to Imperial AT-ATs, as well as the more advanced All terrain Megacaliber Six. In violation of New Republic laws regarding capital ships, Kuat-Entralla Engineering developed the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer, equipped with over 1,500 turbolasers, point-defense laser cannons, and ion cannons, specifically designed to evoke the intimidating presence of the Old Empire's Imperial-class Star Destroyers. Although smaller than the Imperial Navy at its peak, the First Order Navy established itself as a powerful fleet with significant destructive capabilities. Due to the New Republic's disarmament policies, the First Order armada quickly conquered the galaxy with minimal resistance.

The First Order Stormtrooper Corps, like its predecessor, was a military branch that utilized stormtroopers, including specialized variants such as snowtroopers. It also employed specialists like megablaster heavy assault troopers, flametroopers, and riot control stormtroopers, strategically placing one of these three variants in every ten-member stormtrooper squad. In contrast to the inconsistent academy standards of the previous Galactic Empire, the new generation of stormtroopers was trained to emphasize improvisation and counter-insurgency operations, including guerrilla tactics. Given the First Order's lack of numerical superiority compared to the Galactic Empire, better-equipped and -trained soldiers resulted in higher overall trooper proficiency. Soldiers often received training on capital ships and underwent realistic simulations to ensure maximum loyalty, building upon the ideas of Commandant Brendol Hux and his Commandant's Cadets. Stormtroopers were strictly forbidden from initiating contact with officers, reflecting the First Order's emphasis on hierarchy.

One of the primary operational hubs for the First Order was Starkiller Base, an ice-covered planet transformed into a formidable fortress. This base, driven by a desire to dominate the galaxy through fear, housed a devastating superweapon. This weapon was capable of obliterating entire star systems by projecting a planet-destroying beam through hyperspace. The base was under the de facto leadership of General Armitage Hux, Kylo Ren, and Captain Phasma, a trio that held power until the base's destruction during the Assault on Starkiller Base.

The sheer magnitude of the First Order's military activities came as a shock to the complacent observers within the New Republic. These observers had mistakenly believed that such displays of power were merely the actions of localized defense forces and ceremonial guards. As the First Order rapidly expanded its stormtrooper ranks and overall military strength, the Resistance grew increasingly concerned. They suspected the existence of even more specialized trooper units and even larger warships than the Resurgent-class Star Destroyers, such as the Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought and the colossal Mega-class Star Dreadnought. Throughout both the Cold War and the subsequent open conflict with the Resistance, the First Order also utilized its sympathizers for patrol and surveillance missions. These collaborators often employed older Imperial Gozanti-class cruiser for these tasks. Other collaborators utilized Raider-class corvettes, which continued to evoke terror throughout the galaxy, even decades after the collapse of the Galactic Empire that had originally produced them.

Continuing research initiated by the Old Empire into dark energy translations and hyperspace tunneling, the First Order repurposed a frigid world. This transformation led to the creation of Starkiller Base, a mobile superweapon. This weapon harnessed a dark energy source called "quintessence" due to its virtually limitless power potential. This achievement was made possible by obtaining logs from clandestine Imperial laboratories. These logs detailed the specific planetary requirements for what would become Starkiller Base. The massive superlaser array was integrated directly into the planet's crust, representing a significant technological advancement in firepower for the Order.

The First Order also pioneered the hyperspace tracker, a type of active tracker capable of detecting starships traveling through hyperspace. This technology was developed by First Order scientists. The concept was initially explored by the Tarkin Initiative during the Empire's reign, but it remained unrealized for decades. Eventually, a team led by General Armitage Hux discovered how to successfully implement the technology. The hyperspace tracker employed a sophisticated static hyperspace field generator, which enveloped vast arrays of databanks and computers within a localized hyperspace field. This accelerated their computational speeds to unprecedented levels.

Furthermore, the First Order engineered a superlaser siege cannon, a scaled-down version of Death Star technology. This cannon could unleash a devastating energy pulse along a targeting tracer beam, resulting in a powerful explosion upon impact. Measuring two-hundred meter in length, the cannon required logistical support, including vehicles capable of maneuvering it into position during sieges. It also featured a retractable stabilizing outrigger to anchor its bulk. The First Order also possessed enormous databanks filled with centuries of combat reports and astrogation data. A static hyperspace field enhanced their processing power to an unparalleled degree, overseen by the Shipboard Tracking Control Complex, a facility comparable in size to a planetary intelligence hub.

The First Order Security Bureau served as the intelligence-gathering division of the First Order, responsible for safeguarding state secrets and retrieving information stolen by the First Order's adversaries.

Under the directives of Supreme Leader Snoke, First Order agents and military forces were prohibited from engaging in open hostilities against entities aligned with the New Republic, including the Resistance.

The First Order held the New Republic in contempt, viewing it as an illegitimate government that tolerated chaos within the galaxy. Conversely, the Republic did not officially recognize the First Order as a legitimate government, instead considering it a disorganized, poorly equipped, and underfunded group of Imperial loyalists.

Consequently, the Republic maintained a virtually nonexistent relationship with the First Order, resulting in ignored diplomatic protests and denied access for observers. An example of this occurred during the First Order blockade of the Otomok system, which the galactic government protested. However, the First Order dismissed the objection, asserting that the matter was an internal affair, a claim the Republic accepted. Meanwhile, among those who still held sympathies for the Imperial state, the First Order's claims of being a legitimate successor to the Galactic Empire were a subject of contention.

While some veterans of the Imperial Military—such as Captain Edrison Peavey, Captain Yago, and the former stormtrooper Terex—viewed the Order as a continuation of the stratocratic regime and subsequently joined its ranks, the former journalist Suralinda Javos noted that many others who identified as Imperial had little affection for the military junta seeking to reclaim the Empire's legacy. They regarded the Order as an "upstart," and some—like the warlord Teza Nasz—even opposed it, joining the Resistance in their fight against the neo-Imperial rule.

Even within the First Order itself, the relationship with the Old Empire was a contentious issue. While many veteran officers who had served during the Imperial Era believed the First Order would restore the Empire to power, younger generations held different views. General Armitage Hux, although raised to admire the accomplishments of the former Empire, believed that the war with the Rebel Alliance was lost due to internal flaws within the Imperial state. As a result, Hux envisioned the First Order as a more refined and pure version of what the Empire had aspired to be but never achieved. Similarly, Captain Phasma disagreed with Agent Terex's comparison of the First Order to the Empire, asserting that the former was purer than the latter had ever been, having been forged in the crucible and emerged stronger as a result.

In an attempt to undermine the New Republic, the First Order also funneled funds through shell corporations and third-party entities in the Corporate Sector to corrupt Republic senators like Erudo Ro-Kiintor. These senators blocked motions advocating sanctions against the First Order and increased support for the New Republic Defense Fleet. Consequently, the First Order's primary military opponent was the Resistance, a private military organization founded by General Leia Organa in response to the Republic's reluctance to take action against the Order. The First Order viewed its primary mission as restoring order to a lawless galaxy and considered the Republic and Resistance obstacles to achieving these goals. Approximately thirty years after the Battle of Endor, the First Order launched a preemptive strike on the Hosnian system to destroy the Republic and force the wider galaxy into submission. Later, the First Order successfully destroyed the Resistance's base on D'Qar. However, the remaining Resistance forces managed to evacuate and continue their fight against the First Order.

The First Order was also known to have dealings with other organizations, such as the Corporate Sector Authority and the Guavian Death Gang.

In the First Order, the lines between the military and the judiciary were blurred. The organization maintained a ruthless approach to treason and other offenses, dispensing final justice on individuals with even minor loyalty issues on a daily basis. This was carried out through public executions, with executioners selected anonymously from the ranks of the Stormtrooper Corps in rotations, which was considered an effective method of stormtrooper training. Unlike most stormtrooper variants, these executioners were not part of a specialized unit but were randomly chosen from regular stormtroopers for that day, based on various assignments, and their identities remained anonymous.

A specialized variant of the standard stormtrooper was assigned to maintain order on worlds within First Order territory. These troopers were trained in riot-control tactics and equipped with non-lethal equipment to suppress any disturbances, as well as lethal weapons, such as the Sonn-Blas F-11D blaster rifle, for situations that escalated beyond control.

The First Order also employed cybernetics as a form of punishment, transforming individuals into cyborgs to ensure loyalty, as was the case with the rogue agent Terex. The First Order would also suppress any strike action, deploying stormtroopers to enforce and "restore order" as part of a law and order operation, and would simply execute any negotiators attempting to resolve the strike.

The First Order outlawed any communication with the Resistance, considering it an act of treason punishable by execution. Speaking ill of the Supreme Leader was also deemed a crime.

Due to its isolation in the Unknown Regions, citizens of the First Order adhered to an Imperially-skewed version of galactic history and embraced a radical fascist, neo-Imperialist political ideology. This ideology's values centered on a fanatical devotion to the totalitarian concepts of "order," a violent disdain for the New Republic and democracy, and the belief in survival of the fittest. Under the guidance of Imperial veterans, along with approved literature, videos, and mandatory morale sessions twice a day for stormtrooper cadets, officers were taught about their glorious past and how it had been stolen from them by terrorists and rebels, who later called themselves the New Republic. Many believed that only they possessed the power necessary to wrest the galaxy from a path of chaos and corruption. This claim was not entirely without merit. The New Republic's corruption and ineffectiveness were evident throughout the galaxy, from its citizens to the Resistance and the First Order. In fact, this corruption was one of the First Order's most effective tools, ensuring that their agenda faced no interference from the Senate. The First Order's citizens saw this as proof that the Rebellion was built on false promises and that rebels could only tear down a government, not build one. A significant number of individuals within the First Order were non-human aliens who were effectively treated as second-class citizens. This was evident in the First Order's propaganda and labor policies.

Pre-recorded speeches frequently dominated the airwaves, with General Armitage Hux commenting on instances of the Republic's depravity, including famines on Ibaar and Adarlon, the brutal suppression of the people of Balamak, and unchecked alien advances throughout the Outer Rim. These reports were followed by stories of First Order victories, such as liberating labor camps on Iktotch or winning a fleet battle in the Bormea sector. Despite these patriotic functions and rallies, the First Order heavily relied on the brutal suppression of dissent and unpatriotic activities. Riot control stormtroopers were specifically trained to quell insurrection, with live-fire dispersal of protesters permitted. Industrial unrest, such as the Strike at Pressy's Tumble, was blamed on New Republic agents. According to the First Order, the Jedi were officially extinct, and it was forbidden to pronounce Kylo Ren's birth name by order of Supreme Leader Snoke. To boost morale, the First Order utilized a commemorative rank insignia system, issuing armbands bearing the names of famous units and heroes of the Galactic Civil War. Many in the military believed that despite being outnumbered by the New Republic Starfleet, their technological superiority was so complete that even their smaller navy stood virtually unchallenged.

The First Order had no reservations about inducting children into direct combat. The most infamous example of this was the stormtroopers of the First Order, who forcibly subjected children from conquered worlds to military training. Because the First Order trained its soldiers from childhood, several members held very high ranks despite their youth technically making them closer to junior officers. This contrasted with the Empire's Sub-Adult Group, which promoted patriotism without subjecting its members to direct combat. The First Order also instilled its pilots and gunners with a fanatical devotion to it, training them to prioritize victory over their own survival.

However brutal, the First Order's recruitment methods were praised by their personnel and even by some of their conscripts. Many of the children the First Order recruited came from poor, impoverished Outer Rim worlds, where lawlessness was rampant and the residents had few to no prospects in life. Due to these horrific conditions, many people willingly surrendered their children to the First Order, either hoping they would have a better life or simply desiring payment and/or one or more fewer mouths to feed. Some freelance recruiters for the First Order agreed that these children were better off under the First Order than on their homeworlds. One recruiter bragged that Athulla was such a "nightmare" that the First Order was doing its children a favor. One of these impoverished children inducted into the First Order's ranks, from the desert world of Jakku, would rise to become a respected officer in the First Order: Captain Cardinal. Other orphan children were recruited by force against their will, while others were outright kidnapped from their families.

Once recruited, citizens and soldiers of the First Order were indoctrinated to have a strong sense of duty, loyalty, and obedience to the state, and taught to forgo their personal desires for the greater good of the First Order. To this end, recruits abandoned their previous lives and identities upon their induction into the First Order and submitted to being identified by a numerical code. Senior officers and distinguished members of the Stormtrooper Corps, such as Phasma and Cardinal, were not expected to do so. First Order citizens were educated to believe that it had been the pursuit of individual selfishness and desires that led the Rebel Alliance to topple the Old Empire. They were also taught that the rebels were short-sighted terrorists who could not see the benefit of the Old Empire and instead started a war that forced it to crack down on personal liberties in response. The Benathy were not only indoctrinated into First Order ideology but worshiped the totalitarian regime itself after the death of the Zillo Beast that they worshiped as their god.

Despite this doctrine, First Order military training heavily emphasized individual strength and improvisation, both physically and mentally. Training programs that were mandatory for all recruits beginning at a young age became progressively more severe as they grew to adulthood. The First Order, like the Empire before it, believed that the strong naturally rose to power, while the weaker were left to serve their natural leaders. Sometime during one's life within the First Order, they took an oath, one in which both high-ranking members such as General Artimage Hux or soldiers such as the former FN-2187 were cited as recipients, and in the First Order, renouncing that oath made them seen as something worse than even a Resistance fighter.

The First Order's economy was tightly regulated, partly due to treaty restrictions that prevented major galactic corporations from selling arms to the First Order because of its Imperial origins. Nevertheless, they had dealings with the Aratech-Loratus Corporation, Rebaxan Columni, Sienar-Jaemus Fleet Systems, Kuat-Entralla Engineering, and Sonn-Blas Corporation—a subsidiary of the First Order military's major arms manufacturers, Merr-Sonn Munitions, Inc. and BlasTech Industries. The First Order plundered the worlds within its domain to fill its coffers with various currencies, particularly coins minted from precious metals, such as aurei, peggats, and zemids, all of which had universal value as they could be melted down. The credit was also a recognized currency in the First Order economy, although by then coinage made from valuable metals was considered preferable to electronic currencies, especially in an era of instability.

Having amassed a vast treasury through conquest and plunder, the First Order used its profits to purchase weapons from war profiteers on Cantonica in the Corporate Sector. They also channeled large sums of money through shells and third-party corporations with help from the Corporate Sector Authority.

To circumvent the terms of the Galactic Concordance, which restricted the sale of weapons to the Order, arms manufacturers BlasTech Industries and Merr-Sonn Munitions, Inc. established a subsidiary known as the Sonn-Blas Corporation. This subsidiary manufactured all weapons within First Order space, while Sienar-Jaemus Army Systems and Aratech-Loratus Corporation developed spacecraft and vehicles for the Order.

The First Order's airwaves infrastructure was under complete state control, with strict restrictions and censorship imposed. It was often filled with pre-recorded speeches aligned with military objectives. This was used by the ruling junta to maintain control over the masses through propaganda. The First Order utilized a form of holographic technology that displayed users in full color without any scan lines as part of its communications systems.

The Supremacy's communication complex was used to monitor HoloNet traffic throughout the galaxy. This helped identify trends and weaknesses that the First Order could exploit to further its goals. It could also be used to dispatch orders to agents operating within both New Republic and independent space. The Supremacy also possessed industrial capabilities, including research labs and factories. It housed departments for conception, research, and well-stocked raw materials reserves, eight durasteel foundries, and an asteroid mining complex for harvesting raw materials directly from asteroid fields, as well as state-of-the-art production lines that could not be cut off from supply lines. It also had at least eight droid manufacturing facilities.

Station Theta Black space station was used to mine and process dedlanite to manufacture blasters for the army.

The First Order's territory was situated in the vast, unexplored Unknown Regions to the west of the Core. This area of space, beyond the supervision of the New Republic, served as a sanctuary for the First Order and its allies. The overall territory was known as First Order Space, with the emerging power having expanded across vast stretches of space untouched for millennia by galactic explorers, including Demir. Numerous shipyards, bases, and research facilities were constructed on newly explored star systems and colonized worlds as the Order gradually expanded and plotted its eventual return to the galaxy at large. The First Order launched a major offensive against several of these kingdoms to seize their worlds and resources to fuel their rise.

The First Order also expanded into the Outer Rim Territories beyond 29 ABY through the annexation of a bloc of star systems that seceded from the New Republic. The Centrists, a political faction in the Galactic Senate, advocated for a more centralized government than the one offered by the New Republic. Consequently, the systems that identified with Centrist politics joined the First Order, marking its official formation as a galactic government. At the time when the Centrists called for secession, the planets that supported their political goals included Arkanis, Comra, Coruscant, Daxam IV, Hevurion, Kuat, Orinda, and Riosa.

A narrow region of neutral systems known as the Trans-Hydian Borderlands existed between New Republic and First Order space as a result of the Cold War between the two galactic powers, with peace negotiations leading to its service as a formal buffer zone. Despite frequent First Order incursions into Republic space, the Galactic Senate did not wish to spark a conflict and was thus limited to formal diplomatic protests. First Order assets, including galactic arms-manufacturing corporations such as BlasTech Industries and Merr-Sonn Munitions, Inc.'s Sonn-Blas Corporation subsidiary, established roots and operated from within the region to evade the arms-selling restrictions mandated by the First Order–New Republic treaty.

After capturing Lor San Tekka on Cato Neimoidia, First Order officer Terex traveled to First Order Space and met with Captain Phasma aboard the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer Absolution.

The First Order increased its territorial extent from the Unknown Regions through galactic conquest after the New Republic was scattered. Its military presence extended to various inhabited worlds, including Bespin, Jakku, and Endor. Kijimi was also conquered and placed under military occupation. No longer required to observe treaties with a fallen government, the First Order deployed its stormtroopers across the galaxy, making the white-armored soldier a common sight once more. By 35 ABY, the First Order had annexed the world of Didyma V, taking control of its lommite production.

The First Order was conceived for the 2015 film Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens and was the result of collaborative discussions among the production team. According to J.J. Abrams, the film's director, the team considered the hypothetical scenario of what would have transpired if the Nazis who went into hiding in Argentina after World War II had begun to reorganize and cooperate. Abrams suggested that the First Order would be a group that admired the Galactic Empire and believed its mission was incomplete.

The precise nature of the First Order during the film's development was shrouded in secrecy following the film's announcement. On August 10, 2015, the official Star Wars Twitter and GooglePlus accounts revealed an image of the First Order gathering at Starkiller Base.

Costume designer Michael Kaplan stated that the First Order uniforms were designed to project an image of severity, characterized by "very hard edge, very broad shoulders, very angular, geometric" designs. He cited inspiration from French fashion designer Thierry Mugler.

Star Wars: The Rebel Files indicates that the Resistance lacked any spies within the First Order. However, Poe Dameron: Flight Log previously established that the Resistance spy droid network did have spies, including RA-7-D4, within the First Order.