So,Ā The First Order wiki page (that cites theĀ Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual DictionaryĀ a great deal, as well as the official Star Wars Databank.) has a fuckton of good info.Ā
What happened right afterĀ the Galactic Civil War?
It basically ended after this huge ass brawl above Jakku, where theĀ Empire made their last stand.Ā
Obvious, since we see all the fallen bits and pieces of Empire stuff all over Jakku.
But after this, the Empire was forced to sign basically a peace treaty with the hopes that itād neuter them. This was called the Galactic Concordance.Ā
With this agreement this, the Empire had to:
Stay within certain areas set by the Republic.
IMMEDIATELY stop their acts of aggression.
Cut that shit out with the stormtroopers: donāt recruit, donāt mobilize.Ā
Finally, abandon their famed Imperial Academies where they trained people for their army/navy/etc.
Fun Fact: Luke actually wanted to join up, but his uncle forbade him. (Thatās an AU in the makingā¦)
Additionally, Galactic Republic companies were restricted from selling weapons/etc to them.Ā
How did they get away and rebuild?
They fucked right off into the unknown, thatās how. Literally into the Unknown Regions, away from where the Republic could see their shenanigans.
Still wanting to carry out the Empireās principles, former Officers came together to form the First Order.Ā
They started colonizing worlds, building shipyards and research centers and training troops, essentially licking their wounds and preparing for another mass militarization effort.
Snoke caught notice and decided to bequeath himself to the First Order. Itās not stated how exactly how he got to be in charge.
Itās implied he already had Kylo Ren under him as an apprentice by then, but definitely not stated explicitly.
The First Order military itself
Knowing that the Republic was now the powerhouse in terms of numbers, First Order training shifted.
Guerrilla tactics and improvisation became standard.
Troops used vivid simulations for training exercises.
Training continued onboard on capital ships.
They also wanted to be better equipped. Several Galactic companies spun off subsidiaries just to sell to the First Order, to work around Galactic Republic Restrictions.
Sonn-Blas Corporation, Sinear-Jaemus Army Systems, Aratech-Loratus Corporation, Kuat-Entralla Engineering are listed as creators of a huge amount of Order equipment, ships, and weaponry.Ā
Basically: they had help. They didnāt make all their tech all themselves.
A note regarding out favorite TR-8R: Every ten member sqad had one of three specialized stormtroopers:Ā
the megablaster heavy assault troopers ā the automatic/high rate of fure weaponry
riot control stormtroopersā much like TR-8R!
Colonization and the population of the First order at large
Ā Snoke and Kylo Ren (specifically noted) continue to colonize the Unknown Regions over the years.
Because of this colonization, the First Order lacked an official capital. Snoke often moved it before Starkiller became the unofficial base.Ā
Because of the Orderās early work, a new generation was born and raised exclusively in the off world planets, treated to a sterilized and Empire-favored slant on history.
Pre-recorded propaganda often played, playing up the Order and down the Republic.
While they favored the patriotic, they were ruthless on those that werenāt/protestors. Live-fire dispersal was permitted.
A numberā if not mostā of them are like Finn, raised from birth into first order training. no name, possibly taken from a family, etc.
Additionally, itās noted that there are many labor camps and mining operations in First Order space, mostly populated by non-human species.
Kylo and his Knights of Ren did not just destroy Luke Skywalkerās attempt at restarting the Jedi Order: they also subsequently purged and hunted down those with Force affinity.
He was granted independent power separate from the military ranks of the Order.
Sound familiar? This was a deliberate move to mirror to Vaderās own role.
Bonus effect: this kept upper ranking military officials afraid of him/Snoke by extension, as they often ran into him when trying to accomplish their own goals that were in conflict with Kyloās.
How did theyĀ get away with it?
The New Republic Senate basically believed that the Order posed no real threat to the galaxy at largeā as long as they followed the rules.
Yeah. So of course they didnāt.
TheyĀ blatantly defied that, as outlined above.
Prominent members of the Republic voiced concern over this, but especiallyĀ Leia .
They were scoffed at by the Senate, and her especially for being an alarmist and warmonger.
Saying fuck THIS, Leia recruited as many former and forgotten military officers as possible to form the Resistance.
The Republic had passed the Military Disarmament Act which was designed to cut the size of the Republic military.
They were funded by like minded members of the Republic Senate, as noted in the film.
Phew! Thatās a lot of shit. If any of it is wrong please let me know, I tried to put it in as much order as I could.Ā
The general timeline of the First Order is not 100% clean, so itās unknown how much they colonized before Snoke, when Kylo Ren showed up or even when he massacred Lukeās pupils. If youāve any textual insight Iād love to read them! rai
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