I have scrapped my prequel rewrite idea in favor of an approach that allows me to run off the rails a bit more: a sequel trilogy. I pay no attention to post-ROTJ EU continuity outside of references to it that I have heard on forums and the Kyle Katarn PC game series (Dark Forces II in particular), so I am by no means an EU connoisseur. The only existing elements of Star Wars that would be canon with this are the Original Trilogy films. Any similarities with EU plotlines, settings, characters, or ideas are coincidental.........-ish.
To start things off, I have made the assumption that the Rebels form a government called the New Republic soon after the Empire's defeat at Endor. Its primary opponents are rogue Imperial warlords, isolationist planets, and bloodthirsty collections of pirates, mercenaries, and other cutthroats. Despite a slew of potential threats being present on many fronts, most of the Republic has become peaceful under the new democratic system of government.
Our heroine is Jeni Solo. She is the only child of Leia Organa and Han Solo, born in 4 ABY. Han's death in 8 ABY was the first seed of unrest in Jeni. Though she excelled in her Jedi training at the hands of her uncle and mother, she never could settle into the duty-driven, monastic life Luke had devoted himself to, nor could she stand the thought of spending her life in politics like her mother, Chief of State of the New Republic. Jeni always had a rogue streak about her, partly having to do with the suspicion that her mother was lying to her when she told Jeni that Han died in his sleep.
On the crystal-covered planet of Isis, a meeting with her father figure Lando Calrissian reveals the truth about Han's death. This sets Jeni off on a journey of revenge against those who killed her father, filled with twisted intrigue, shattering revelations, and powerful new allies. But as Master Skywalker is apt to warn Jeni, revenge is one of the many fangs with which the Dark Side can poison the mind of a Jedi...
Twenty years after the Battle of Yavin, the new trilogy of Star Wars begins.
How do you folks like the idea? There is more to come if you are interested!
Though it might sound like a petty revenge story now, the story does eventually get to the point where Jeni's actions affect the fate of the galaxy.