Lit The One Canon

I've not even began to speculate about the fates of Rey and Finn and Poe.

Canon has forever to tell those stories, which is fiiiine by me.

At least we have a general idea of how the fates of the Jaina, Jagged, Ben and Allana pan out. Even if Lowbacca could have been alive during Legacy, he didn't survive the Sith-Imperial War, at very least.

Though at least with One Canon, with Rey born after Dark Empire (21 ABY), she'd not likely be around circa 127 ABY anyway, which is neat.

I'm pretty contented for Rey to go off and found her own Force using group, at this point, and they head into the Unknown Regions to do their own thing. It's neat and tidy. Whatever comes next eventually becomes the Galactic Alliance, with Jagged and Jaina using Bastion as a springboard to rebuild a light side Empire.

Say what you will, Canon at least explains what happens to Luke, Han and Leia between Crucible and Legacy.

 

One Canon helps me with that, I'd say.

For Han.

You've given more than half your life to defending the galaxy. You've lost two of your children, and you were about to retire and hand over responsibility to the next generation, as well as the Jedi Council. Your youngest goes bad, slaughters a Jedi Academy, and your wife dedicates to the cause yet again. After defeating the Empire, the Yuuzhan Vong, Caedus and after that thwarting Daala and a tribe of Sith? You're done. You want that retirement; you don't want to kill another son. You just can't.

For Leia.

You've fought to stop another Palpatine, another Vader, another Alderaan, ever happening again. As a discredited Senator, you rework the Insiders into the Resistance, which investigates the New Republic Senate while you reconnect with Han aboard the Millennium Falcon, doing more and more for the Galactic Alliance, becoming a Jedi, and dedicating yourself to opposing Caedus, to protecting Allana, to saving the galaxy from Daala, from the tribe, from Abeloth. You see your son walk into the clutches of Snoke, and you blame yourself for the gap between Ben and Han, and you rejoin the Resistance, taking back command because you will never let Alderaan happen again.

For Luke.

It's been over two decades since you left Tatooine. You've lost adopted parents, and a wife. You caused the deaths of your nephews, and in that crucial moment where you could have saved Ben, a moment of fear consumed you; the merest moment. You trusted Snoke; you feared your nephew was another Caedus. You get that instinct under control - but its too late. Ben strikes - you awaken to the Temple burned, students and fellow Masters slaughtered, and the galaxy a much darker place. You can't face Leia and Han, not again, not with their third son. Everything he has given to the New Jedi Order is undone, and its his fault. He leaves.

Also, with One Canon, it's possible to have it that Luke was only gone for just over a year, that Han and Leia were separated for only that time, which is really no different to the NJO and their separation over Chewbacca's apparent death. Han may not have gone away about Anakin, or Jacen, but Ben too. It's a lot, and like I don't blame Luke killing Lumiya, I don't blame Luke, Han or Leia for their response to yet another threat.

The Council is split over events. With Luke, Kam and Tionne gone, it leaves Saba, Corran, Kyp, Kyle, Cilghal, Jaina, and Barratk'l.

Jaina rushes to Bastion to support Jagged in defending the isolated fortress world, now the heart of the Imperial Remnant becomes the First Order, joined by seceding New Republic systems and sectors. The Jedi are caught between continuing on with potentially flawed teachings. They have Knights searching for Mortis, for Kesh,for Vestara, for the Dark Man, or defending Allana. The Order fissures along those lines, even as the Jedi survivors are set upon by those enemies, now including the Knights of Ren. They were only a thousand members - with the Galactic Alliance basically redundant, they can't keep the peace.

The New Republic doesn't step in to police the former worlds of the Remnant in the north, and the Resistance steps in to defend them from enroaching pirate gangs secretly on the payroll of the First Order. The First Order sets up outposts along the Mid Rim line of Hutt Space, and begin policing it; Corellia, still suffering from the Second Civil War, falls under the sway of the First Order, essentially meaning the Confederation ceases to be. Without a functioning Alliance, Confederation or Remnant, the cold war is between the New Republic and First Order - with the New Republic Senate still gridlocked by the Centrists that remain behind. Dac swears outright for the Resistance, to the chagrin of the New Republic.

Leia hunts Luke, and evidence to bring to the New Republic Senate to turn the tide; the First Order finalises Starkiller Base, a year from completion.

The Emperor prepares the Final Order, two years from the last stages of completion.

A year later, the cold war boils over - Kylo Ren leads an offensive from Jakku to Takodona - but the Resistance secures the map to Luke, and is bolstered by Han rejoining the fight; the First Order destroys Hosnian Prime. The First Order secure the HoloNet in the opening hours of the offensive, and advance wholesale - Centrist systems join up; terrified systems surrender; worlds are taken -

The Resistance destroys Starkiller Base, but the message of their success is squashed by the First Order; the Resistance retreats, pursued from D'Qar to Crait, destroying two dreadnoughts but shattering most of their fleet in the process - Rey kills Snoke; Kylo Ren takes the throne; Luke dies to save the Resistance.

It has been barely a week since Hosnian Prime was destroyed.

The New Jedi Order cannot do anything in that short a timespan.

As surviving military assets retreat, as the First Order snaps up shipyards and disperses its Stormtroopers to the length of the galaxy, Fondor and Dac, the latter which swore neutrality after Hosnian Prime, falls. Assets picked up from raids on Corellia, and the retreat from Dac, swell a new Resistance force. Batuu shapes up as the next major Resistance base. Coruscant, Naboo, Endor, Jakku, Thyferra, Kashyyyk - they all fall under First Order rule or blockade.

From the retreating task forces, the strong points of the Galactic Alliance, Confederation and Imperial Remnant remain, albeit isolated - Hapes, Bothawui, Bastion, with admirals such as Kre'frey, Reige, Bwua'tu, Darklighter holding worlds that become known as the Free Worlds. Half a year after Crait, Kylo Ren locates the Resistance base on Batuu, and his flagship, the Finalizer, is severely damaged, and several Resistance assets lost - Hux's position collapses during this time period; too relevant to ignore, too irrelevant to do much but drag along with Kylo Ren to the Steadfast.

Ben and Tahiri continue to hunt Vestara; Jaina and other Knights continue to defend Bastion; Zekk and others defend Allana; the Ten Knights hunt Mortis; the Jedi Council hides in plain sight on various worlds, much as they did after the destruction of Katarr.

Six more months later and the First Order is indeed the greatest galactic power, but without the Supremacy and Starkiller Base, they have not won; their Stormtroopers are sent to innumerable worlds, but their fleet is spread thin, with a handful of ships still dedicated to the pursuit of the Resistance - enough to succeed, but a far cry from the armada Snoke sent to D'Qar. But as long as the galaxy is thoroughly divided by fear, they have every advantage.

The Final Order is completed.

The Emperor's words and threats have the opposite impact on the galaxy, and now the people know how to bypass the HoloNet. While Kylo Ren and Rey launch a whirlwind series of raids and skirmishes across multiple worlds, the former admirals, people and Jedi of the galaxy know this is their last chance. When Lando calls - they are ready.

An armada from across the galaxy launches for Exegol - uprisings are lead, assisted by rebellions by First Order Stormtroopers, who have spent the year moving from an isolated mindset to having to face the realities of the galaxy - their former homes, their former families, for many of them.

With the destruction of the Sith fleet, and the death of the Emperor, the First Order collapses.

Han, Luke and Leia have given up their lives for the final victory.

Darth Krayt inherits the surviving legacies of the Sith, including the Sith Trooper project that Palpatine had planned in his guise as White Eyes. Krayt has utter control of the One Sith now; he can wait for the galaxy to settle, and new, or even old, weaknesses rise up. He knows that now the galaxy is too unified - that the strength the people now wield needs to be parred down, to be broken, to be undone, and that will take a generation or even two, before resentments can be used.

The Sith have lost; but they survive.

Bastion and the Victory Without War, the Imperial Mission, find a niche in a devastated galaxy, and rebuild the honour of the Empire, albeit exceptionally slowly. Jagged being named Emperor gives some confidence to the Imperial citizenry that the First Order betrayed, and abandoned, or even enslaved. Jaina setting up the Imperial Knights with Jagged also provides some certainty that the Sith will not seize control again. Just as much Zekk, reinforces the Hapan Knights, though their prominence is quieter than the Imperial Knights.

The Galactic Alliance resumes rule of the galaxy from Coruscant, within its connections the various states including the Empire, Hapans, Hutts and so forth - even the Chiss. The New Jedi Order resumes their position on Ossus, with a new Council led by Ben, Tahiri, Lowbacca, Raynar, and Tekli. The galaxy has its crises, but many of them are resolved by Rey Skywalker and her allies. In the midst of this, the Hidden Jedi Temple, who sent fighters to Exegol as well, rejoins the New Jedi Order, giving them a boost and also placing T'ra Saa and K'Kruhk back within the order.

Of course, some seventy years later, things begin to go wrong anew.