The New Republic | The New Republic Forces | The Empire
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The Galactic Civil War had devastated entire planets, killed billions, and severely damaged the galaxy's economy and political structure.
Although the New Republic was now the most powerful faction in the galaxy, its actual hold over the devastated and fragmented
galaxy was very limited, and it increasingly had to contend with new centers of regional power which were not Imperial. These included
pirates, powerful criminal syndicates, opportunistic regional despots, and former Rebel Alliance supporters and members who split off
and now styled themselves as the New Separatist Union, intending to revive confederate politics instead of building a new Republic.
The slow integration of Imperial regions which were adhering to the treaty complicated the consolidation of a strong central state
in the Core, and was partially responsible for the New Republic's inability to administer most regions of the Rim. The activities of
anti-treaty Imperial remnants and the many small, competing interests disrupted the reemergence of a larger governmental
structure in the Rim. All other factions were independently working to prevent the New Republic from expanding its power base.

CRIMSON DAWN

Crimson Dawn was an interstellar crime syndicate which had served as the flagship organization of Darth Maul's Shadow Collective,
a federation of criminal organizations which he had united during the Clone Wars. Its influence within the underworld of the Empire
was significant, and grew steadily during the Imperial era due to corruption within the Imperial leadership and the Empire's policy of
tolerance towards cooperative and repressive forces in the galaxy. As a result, Darth Maul became "the godfather of crime" during
Imperial rule. Maul's lieutenant leading Crimson Dawn was Dryden Vos until his death in 7967 (10 BBY), when he was replaced by
Qi'ra, who became its new public face. Maul had lost his Sith apprentice, his brother Savage, near the end of the Clone Wars, and
certainly must have located and trained a new apprentice at the first opportunity, since "always two there are." This apprentice
likely became the secret leader of Crimson Dawn after Maul's disappeared while searching for an ancient Sith superweapon. This
occurred in approximately 7971 (6 BBY), and although Maul lived for several years he was killed in late 7975 (2 BBY) before returning.
Crimson Dawn no doubt retained a significant position in the Empire, and took advantage of its fall to further expand its domain.

According to George Lucas, Maul's new apprentice was Darth Talon, a Twi'lek character first seen in legends material set over
a century later in time. She is the Sith apprentice in the actual Sequel Trilogy, which has not yet been produced. Maul was supposed
to still be alive at this time, as he should have appeared decades later in those films, but disney-Lucasfilm has subsequently killed him
off within their "canon" to prevent this story from being told. Nevertheless, Maul obviously had an apprentice during the Imperial
era, and whoever that was should still be running what is left of his empire, and is probably the only Sith still living in the galaxy.
Naturally, she would probably already be training her own apprentice. Non-canon disney comics and books which they consider
canon have explored Crimson Dawn in great detail, and suggest that they became less evil, worked with the Rebels, and fought
against even more sinister criminal empires. They are unlikely to be seen in canon material, as according to this same material
the organization became weaker and fell apart, and thus cannot play its intended part in New Republic history. The empire they
were to gradually form over the first two decades of the New Republic era under the Sith should have become the greatest threat.

THE HUTT CARTEL

The Hutt Cartel was the collective government of Hutt Space, which served to balance the interests of the various Hutt Clans which
ruled at any given time. The Hutt state represented the remnants of the ancient Hutt Empire, which had slowly waned in influence
and cultural importance over the course of many millennia. The leadership of this state had long ago become dominated by corrupt
economic magnates heavily involved in the galactic black market. As a result, Hutt Space became little more than a special economic
and cultural zone where the Hutt Cartel could govern according to tradition, provided it did not openly violate interstellar laws and
agreements it had signed with the Republic, while still retaining political autonomy. The Hutts retained a fair degree of autonomy
under the Empire, however unlike the Republic, the Empire operated freely near or on planets traditionally considered to lie within
Hutt Space. In many ways, the Hutts benefited from Imperial rule just as they had during the Clone Wars, seizing the opportunity
of the disruption in the interstellar economy to expand their business and influence. At the same time, as the Empire coalesced and
grew stronger, it began to expand and gradually to integrate much of Hutt Space directly into the Imperial domains. As a result of
their leader Jabba being killed near the end of the Civil War, the Hutts remain hampered by internal power struggles and the loss
of some of their influence over the spice trade. Nevertheless, they were still one of the largest and most powerful criminal empires,
and the traditional legal status of their rule over Hutt Space gave their petty, post-Imperial state a legitimacy not enjoyed by others.

THE PIRATE NATION

The Pirate Nation was a contentious organization which threatened the New Republic across all regions of the Rim. It is assumed to
have been a loose association of pirate hordes, fleets, and empires which had created a non-aggression pact in order to concentrate
their resources on expansion and challenging competing states like the New Republic. Each organization's territory and authority over it
was limited by their military resources, and the Nation was presumed to have been internally arranged by an informal balance of power.

THE PYKE SYNDICATE

Pyke Syndicate was a powerful cartel involved in the legal trade of valuable medicines, but which was primarily engaged in the illegal
drug trade. They became important to the spice trade due to their homeworld of Oba Diah lying on the other end of the Kessel Run
hyperlane from the planet Kessel, which was a major source of spice. The influence of the Pykes increased considerably during
the Clone Wars, and continued to grow after the Syndicate became part of Darth Maul's Shadow Collective. During the reign of
the Empire, the Syndicate's trade was virtually unimpeded, and there was an official relationship between the Syndicate, Kessel,
Oba Diah, and the Empire. Oba Diah and its domains' status as a legal political entity, coupled with its position in the relativel lawless
Outer Rim, made the Pyke Syndicate a key regional player, and Oba Diah an increasingly wealthy and influential center of power.