SPECULATION State of the Empire

Alright, you asked for it... Let's rock.

0 Years ABE:​

• The Rebels win a decisive victory in the Galactic Civil War, leading to a major turning point in history. Darth Vader and Darth Sidious die, along with at least two commanders and two admirals. The Death Star and a Super Star Destroyer are destroyed, along with many Star Destroyers. The Empire has to retreat after a stunning defeat in spite of their superior numbers.
• Word of Sheev Palpatine's death spreads, and numerous systems celebrate or riot accordingly. Naboo, Tatooine, and Bespin officially join the Rebel Alliance. The uprising on Coruscant, however, is quickly crushed.
• Mas Amedda succeeds Palpatine as Galactic Emperor. While his reign is less oppressive than Palpatine's in terms of the everyday life of Imperial citizens, he is still every bit as ruthless in terms of ensuring control through use of military might.
• The Millennium Falcon's satellite dish is replaced.
• A relative of Biggs Darklighter, Poe Dameron, is born.

0-1 Years ABE:​

• The Empire suffers from a power vacuum in terms of military command, while Mas Amedda struggles to maintain order across various dissenting systems. In the chaos, a variety of planets repel the Empire's control.
• To gain a better control of the situation and to boost support for the Empire, Mas Amedda reinstates the Imperial Senate, including close planetary allies in high positions.
• Han Solo and Chewbacca lead smuggling operations to the dissenting systems, along with those that suffer under increased Imperial occupation.
• The Rebel Alliance succeeds in creating a small union of allied planets (many of which are in the Outer Rim). Desert planet Jakah is among these planets. The Rebel Alliance reorganizes itself under the banner of the New Republic, 10 years after the Rebellion officially began. Mon Mothma places herself and Leia Organa as political leaders for this movement. Meanwhile, the Empire doubles down on protecting key worlds like Coruscant and moves toward fighting a more defensive war of attrition.
• Luke Skywalker attempts to teach his sister on how to use the Force through similar methods of how he learned, but he discovers that what worked for him does not work nearly as well for Leia, even though she has a bit of control over the force.
• Luke subsequently begins a quest to attain a better knowledge of the Force, serving as a disciple to the Force Spirits of Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin Skywalker. He begins to distance himself from the politics of the New Republic, along with the Galactic Civil War, though he keeps in contact with his allies.
• R2-D2 accompanies Luke, while C-3PO accompanies Leia.
• A rogue Inquisitor with personal ties to the Emperor seeks to avenge his death by killing Luke Skywalker. Her name is Mara Jade.

1-2 Years ABE:​

• While Han and Leia are romantically involved, their polar opposite positions in the Galactic Civil War prevent them from being close with one another. They have not yet married.
• Under the Mas Amedda regime, tolerance for nonhuman species increases exponentially, with many alien recruits now being accepted into the Imperial Military.
• The Empire begins a major counterattack. Inquisitors are now used in regular combat operations to regain territories.
• Luke completes his spiritual journey with a considerably better knowledge of the Force.
• Mara finds Luke, and the two have a heated battle. While Luke is able to best her, he sees the good in her and helps her overcome the Dark Side. They fall in love.

2-4 Years ABE:​

• Luke and Mara are formally wed. They then begin the New Jedi Order.
• Leia requisitions a group of searchers, known as Missionaries, to find Force-Sensitive individuals. However, due to a lack of knowledge of the Force, a vast majority of Force-Sensitives remain undiscovered.
• Jakah returns under Imperial control after a major land battle involving AT-ATs occurred. Some cities are completely wrecked beyond recognition, and the planet lacks the resources to have reparations take place.

4-5 Years ABE:​

• Roughly a quarter of all major star systems are allied with the New Republic.
• The Galactic Civil War continues to escalate with a few key victories for the New Republic.
• Luke and Mara's son, Ben Skywalker, is born. Luke and Mara begin training the next generation of Force-Sensitive students while raising their son.
• Kylo Ren is born to a wealthy Imperial family. The family has faint ties to long-deceased Count Dooku.

5-10 Years ABE:​

• Kylo's father is elected Imperial Governor of an important planet. At this time, the young Kylo becomes fascinated with the Force upon seeing many of Dooku's recovered artifacts in his family's estate.
• A Peace Treaty is proposed by Mon Mothma. Mas Amedda agrees to attempt to find a negotiation to ending the war to the Imperial Senate. The Senate is divided.
• Palpatine's war profiteering and involvement with the Sith become public knowledge, inducing outrage from both outside the Empire and from within. He goes down in history as a war criminal.
• Mas Amedda's reputation is severely damaged by this turn of events due to his connections with Palpatine and his knowledge of the deception. The Peace Treaty, which was close to coming to pass, is abandoned due to the call to escalate the war from the New Republic. He announces his plan to resign after making a few reforms and finding a suitable successor.
• All new Inquisitors are strictly prohibited from using the Force (or at least in public displays). They are re-organized and designated as "Chrome Troopers".

10-14 Years ABE:​

• Mas Amedda officially resigns from his position as Emperor. He is replaced by Sargon Z'ahn, an enlightened dictator who brings several reforms to the Empire in order to make it seem more desirable. Indeed, many systems favor the Empire after he took control.
• Sargon grants greater power to the Imperial Governers. The Ren family gains tremendous prestige.
• Kylo, after collecting more Force artifacts, begins to hear the instructions of a powerful entity on his thirteenth birthday. Both of Kylo Ren's parents are killed by the New Republic on that same day. Having nothing else to live for, Kylo seeks revenge and seeks out this entity.
• The New Republic makes deals with several key criminal organizations in order to ensure that they can keep funding the war effort.
  
• Finn Solfarer is born.

14-19 Years ABE:​

• Two-fifths of the Galaxy are under New Republic control.
• Protests against the Galactic Civil War rise significantly after twenty years of continuous conflict, while morale on both sides wavers.
• Kylo discovers the entity in a sinister castle on a faraway planet: it belongs to Darth Plagueis, Palpatine's former master. Darth Plagueis is kept alive in a state of decay through use of the Force and medical technology in a similar way that Palpatine used to preserve Darth Vader. He is seeking a vessel that carries Skywalker blood, and Ben is ideal for his plan.
• It is revealed that Darth Plagueis unveiled the truth about Palpatine through six resurrected Sith Acolytes in an effort to prolong the Galactic Civil War. He trains Kylo in his ways alongside the Acolytes.
• Han and Leia are married. Leia gives birth to a daughter, Kira Solo, who she sends away to Luke in order to protect her from enemies of the New Republic.

19-25 Years ABE:​

• The final battle of the Galactic Civil War, the Battle Of Coruscant, erupts. The New Republic utilizes an experimental weapon - a massive ion cannon. While it is meant only to disable Imperial capital ships, the weapon malfunctions and disables power to a good portion of the planet, killing millions. To make matters worse, several capital ships crash into the planet's surface, destroying a great portion of the city. The event is derogatorily referred to as the "Coruscant Massacre" by disillusioned citizens.
• While Imperial Military leaders call for blood, Sargon uses his executive authority to set up a Peace Treaty. The Galactic Civil War officially ends with the Treaty Of Coruscant. In terms of territory, the Galaxy is evenly divided, favoring the Empire slightly. The Empire is forced to pay the Rebellion for reparations.
• Both governments are equally distrusted. News of the New Republic's support for criminal activities makes its way to the public eye, further cementing distrust.
• The New Jedi Order reaches its peak with 100 Jedi serving it - including Luke, Mara, Ben, and Kira.
• Kylo completes his training and sets out on a quest to fully revive his master. He and the others are known as "the Seven" and perform covert operations to undermine the safety of the New Republic.

25-35 Years ABE:​

• Control of Coruscant is divided even between the Empire and the New Republic. The Empire is humiliated by controlling the half of the planet that sustained the damage of the New Republic's disaster. The planet is separated into districts via a massive planetary force field. The planet has no major military forces on hand to that ensure another Coruscant Massacre never occurs, although stockpiles of support from nearby systems are readily available in the event that conflict erupts.
• Mon Mothma and Mas Amedda both die of old age. Leia is named Supreme Chancellor.
• Some worlds are designated as "neutral territory". Jakah is among these territories.
• Sargon progressively becomes a puppet leader over time due to the growing influence of the Imperial Military. One such figure, a female Chrome Trooper named Shai Tarkin, becomes a major Imperial leader. Imperial Governors effectively become warlords.
• Several small-scale wars break out over the course of a few years involving Imperials and supporters of the New Republic alike; none escalate into another Galaxy-wide war, and most conflicts only occur between two planets over things such as trade.
• The Seven descend upon the Jedi temple - where more than half of the Jedi, many of them Padawans - are stationed. They begin a slaughter - Ben, Mara, Luke, and Kira manage to kill the Acolytes, but Kylo Ren disappears with Mara, whom he was seen overpowering. Ben is nowhere to be found.
• Luke presumes that he and Kira are the only survivors. Horrified by the events that transpired, Luke travels across the Galaxy in search of answers - and to prevent the return of the Sith.
• Kira is sent to Jakah and is given the alias of "Rey Gordon". She is watched by Montross, who unbeknownst to her, is spying on her on the order of her parents.
• Ben faked his own death and became a Bounty Hunter in order to protect his identity. Mara's fate is uncertain.
• R2-D2 is sent back to Leia, and is then reunited with C-3PO.
• BB-8 is built.
• The New Republic learns of the creation of a new Imperial superweapon. They construct their own weapon - an improvement over the prototype used in the Battle Of Coruscant - in secret. Ben discovers this, and defects to the Empire out of disgust. However, he is serving as a triple-agent to destroy both weapons.
• There are roughly 20 Jedi left in the entire Galaxy. Darth Plagueis tells Kylo to look for new recruits while he tries to resurrect new Sith Acolytes.

35 Years ABE:​

• Finn, BB-8, and Rey all end up on Jakah.
• Imperial occupation of Jakah increases substantially after an incident above the atmosphere of the planet.
• The "Awakening" begins.

That's my fanfic story, and I'm sticking to it.

 

The names were basically placeholders, but I have no real doubt that Luke would name his son after Ben Kenobi. Or at least he wouldn't name him after Lord Byron...