They had built the only galactic community that had always served its citizenry well and faithfully. New worlds came to share in its beneficial guidance as the centuries passed. First hundreds, then thousands, then millions of worlds banded together under its banner.
For more than a thousand generations the worlds of civilized space co-existed within the Old Republic, a free and equitable governmental fabric which bound its worlds and its citizens into a beneficial whole. The common rule by the Senate served the people wisely and well. Planets, which found themselves in jeopardy due to natural disaster or rebellious uprising, could turn to their neighbors for help. All races, all sentient species, all people were equal under the law and lived their lives with rights that guaranteed both opportunity and freedom.
The guardians of this Republic were the Jedi Knights, a bold and fearless Order that, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, served to defend and protect the pople of the Republic. Their wisdom, bravery and strength had become legend. The mere mention of their intervention was often sufficient to quiet planetary lawlessness, wherever it occurred. Drawing their common strength from the Force, the Jedi maintained peace throughout the galaxy for generation upon generation, and passed their ways along to those who had proven themselves both capable and worthy of Knighthood.
By banding together, the Old Republic had made itself impervious to any outside attack. No other known galactic powers dared move against them, for to do so meant certain failure. The people of the Old Reublic slept securely within their political walls.
Attack did come, however. But, as with many democratic societies, it came not by outside force, but from within.
Decay finally set in as more and more worlds joined the Old Republic. Local officials became susceptible to influence and bribery, bowing most often to the wishes of those involved in the dealings of interstellar commerce. The Senate, weakened by so many centuries of peace and complacency, became dangerously careless. Political overthrow was unthinkable, but inevitable.
An ambitious and unscrupulous senator named Palpatine rose quickly and geometrically to power, aided by those in the lower regions of the Senate who began to crave more power and authority for themselves. Promising to clean up the galaxy and return the Republic to the excitement of its more vital and ambitious days, Palpatine was elected President of the Republic, and surrounded himself with these greedy and power-hungry officials, who had swept him into power.
What they did not know was that Palpatine drew his power and charisma from the dark side of the Force. He had far greater ambitions than the mere office of President would allow him, and those who had ridden his coattails onto the upper places of political power were soon to find themselves left behind, imprisoned, or crushed beneath the heavy hand of Palpatine as he ruthlessly sought his ultimate goal.
Under Palpatine's orders, the new Empire began a military buildup unlike any in recorded galactic history. Immense vessels with incredible firepower sprang from the drwing boards and into existence seeminly overnight. The resulting technological boom brought about the creation of a whole new science of war.
The core systems were the first to fall. Their planetary governments were forcibly disbanded as martial law swept from world to world.
Secure in his position, surrounded by a military core that feared him, Palpatine declared himself Emperor. For the first time in uncounted centuries, the worlds of the Old Republic found themselves ruled by one man. All personal rights became subject to the whims of the Emperor, and early uprisings against Palpatine were wiped out almost before they began.
In the end, there was only the Emperor and through him the galaxy was ruled by the dark side of the Force.
The Jedi were systematically hunted down and summarily executed. The Jedi found themselves being abandoned, betrayed and even murdered by those whom they had protected for so long.
But the Force, of course, was quite real - and the black tentacles of its dark side had hardened Palpatine and his new pupil, Darth Vader, into evil incarnate. They shared its horrible energies, and used them to fill the minds of their subservient military minions with fear.
Master and disciple, they ultimately devised a program that spelled final doom for the Old Republic. The puppet Senate that had benn kept in place was permanently disbanded, and direct rule was given to those regional governors appointed by Palpatine. The creation of a terrible weapon, one capable of destroying an entire planet with a single blast kept the terrified leaders of each world in line under pain of annihilation. This Death Star was Palpatine's last word-the final assurance of his stranglehold over the billions that he ruled.
So the great, vast, Imperial Empire, was founded eighteen years before the unfortunate destruction of the first Death Star. After that unfortunate incident, the Empire hunted down the fleeing Rebels and brought them to justice at the Hoth system where the AT-ATs literally overan the criminals. Although they lost the battle, they once again escaped our grasp and disappeared to an unknown rendezvous.
The Empire's contacts managed to locate the Millenium Falcon and its owners, Han Solo and Chewbacca. Both had played a major role during the attack on the first Death Star and were under a high bounty price. Han Solo was frozen in carbonite while his companions escaped their stormtrooper escort due to the traitor Lando Calrissian. Luke Skywalker survived with a lost right hand after a lightsaber battle with Lord Darth Vader.
It was after this time, that the criminal empire Black Sun, became involved in legal activities with the Empire. Its founder, Prince Xizor of the underworld, knew the Emperor personally and aided him all he could. However, Darth Vader and the prince had a grudge against each other and were fighting a political war for favour of the Emperor. Xizor lost after Vader found evidence of his crimes and punished him by destroying his famed skyhook. Some Rebels were responsible for destoying his fortress on Coruscant.
The second Death Star was under construction this time over the forest moon of Endor. The nasty Rebels managed to sneak in and destroy the shield generator while their pitiful fleet arrived over Endor to be trapped. They somehow destroyed the uncompleted Death Star II by snubfighters yet again. The Emperor was destroyed by a traitorous Darth Vader before the explosion, aided by his son, Luke Skywalker. The once mighty Imperial Fleet fell into tatters and dissolved among the the Core Systems.
The long forgotten Imperial outpost of Bakura, was the next system to be involved with the Rebels. They required aid from the pirates, to defend themselves against an armada of alien vessels, commandeered by the Ssi-ruuk. The combined forces successfully defended the planet and the Imperials remained loyal by turning on to the Rebels. They fought valiantly, and lost. Most of the fleet defected and the rest were destroyed.
The attack on Imperial center began three years after the Battle of Endor. Rogue Squadron succeeded in overtaking Black Moon and Coruscant. Ysanne Isard unleashed the killer krytos virus that killed thousands of aliens and weakened the New Republic's supply of bacta. 'Iceheart' then took control of Thyferra and controlled the bacta supply to Coruscant. However, in the Battle of Thyferra, the Lusankya was captured and Iceheart destroyed.
Warlord Zsinj was in control of the outpost Dathomir when the Rebels broke through. They were after something on the planet which is unknown to this day. They succeeded in destroying the fortress on the ground and destroying or capturing most of Warlord Zsinj's assets in orbit above the planet, aided by the Hapan navy and witches on the surface of the planet.
Five years after the Battle of Endor, the infamous Grand Admiral Thrawn mounted a deft assault. He utilised the Dark Jedi Master C'boath's powers and discovered the secret of cloning and cloaking in the Emperor's hidden stronghold on an unknown planet. He also found the Katana fleet, a series of Dreadnaught ghostships waiting to be exploited. Thrawn captured most of them before the Rebels could aquire any and used them in the final battle in which Thrawn was betrayed (killed) by the Noghri and defeated by the Rebels. Vice Captain Pallaeon retreated to the Core to join an Imperial warlord.
Whithin days of Thrawn's downfall, surviving members of the Emperor's Ruling Circle, in concert with six former Star fleet commanders, staged a stunning assault on Coruscant, and the vital Imperial system once again fell under Imperial control. It looked certain that a new Empire was about to emerge from the ashes of the old. That very possibility triggered a ferocious was among numerous Imperial factions. Meanwhile, the Rebels were quick to seize the opportunity to sow confusion among the feuding Imperials, using captured Star Destroyers to conduct hit-and-run-sorties into war zones.
Luke Skywalker was captured by a cloned Emperor Palpatine. He was taught the Dark Side of the Force while the Emperor's massive World Devastators unleashed their power over Calamari. They were stopped only because Luke gave Han the master code to control them. The Emperor then showed up with Luke in his massive flagship a Mega-class Star Destroyer. Over 10 miles long, it inspired dread in every soul. Leia was shuttled up to the vessel, only to aid Luke to concentrate the Emperor's force storm onto the ship which was promptly destroyed, along with the cloned Emperor.
A year later, Admiral Daala was freed from the duties of her installation in the Black Hole Cluster. She used her four Imperial Star Destroyers to devastate the opposition. Daala lost one Destroyer after Rebels stole the Sun Crusher and drove through the hangar roof. She lost two others during the battle at Calamari and defending Maw Installation. She limped back to the Core Systems to join the Imperial Warlords.