ONCE there was an Old Republic, a just and benevolent government that united the galaxy for a thousand years. Under its grand democracy, peace reigned supreme. Science and technology expanded. New star systems were discovered and settled. The arts flourished. Citizens openly spoke their minds. A Galactic Senate was established, giving each member world a voice in the government. But as with anything that grows old, the Republic began to decline. Parts decayed. Its core turned rotten. War became a daily tragedy. When the Republic was finally pronounced dead, it was already a faded memory in the minds of its former citizens.

Once there was a mystical order of Jedi Knights, the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Legends told that they possessed abilities beyond the ordinary, including powers of the mind, of invisible strength, of foresight and wisdom. But as wise as they were, the Jedi were not wise enough to see the evil within their beloved Republic. Those whom the Jedi had trusted as friends and allies betrayed and murdered them.

Once there was a Galactic Empire, born from the ashes of the Republic, yet the opposite of everything for which the Republic had ever stood. This was no grand democracy; a tyrannical Emperor ruled with an iron fist. Liberties were abolished. Obedience was mandated. Propaganda infected the arts. Science and technology expanded only for the benefit of the military. Star systems new and old were conquered and plundered. Citizens lived in fear of punishment if they spoke out against Imperial abuse. The Senate was disbanded. The Jedi were exterminated. The only voice that mattered was that of the Emperor. But try as he might, he could not extinguish all the flames of hope.

Once there was a Rebellion, sparked by a passionate few who cherished the principles of the Republic and despised the Empire. At first it was a ragtag alliance of defiant freethinkers, maverick artists, enlightened nobles, and restless youths. It began its fight against the Empire unorganized. Small and weak. Unable to win a skirmish, let alone a war. Though the losses piled up and victory seemed impossible, these rebels did not surrender. They found hope in the heroics of a young man named Luke Skywalker. By learning the way of the Jedi, he helped bring an end to the tyranny. So as quickly as the Empire rose, it fell. A New Republic was founded in its wake.

Once a war starts, however, it is almost impossible to stop. Such was the case when the New Republic struggled to keep the peace. For not all were swayed back to democracy. Civil war had hardened many hearts. Worlds that championed Imperial discipline broke away from the New Republic and renamed themselves the First Order. Their goal was to destroy the New Republic and return the galaxy to the false glories of the Empire. But few in the New Republic saw the First Order as a serious threat. Those who did mounted a counteroffensive; yet against the rising military might of the First Order, the Resistance seemed too little, too late.

And the one who might have the power to aid their cause, a man by the name of Luke Skywalker, was nowhere to be found.