Vess Kogo Vess Kogo was a Human male Emperor ' s Hand . After his mother was injured as a bystander during a Rebel protest against Imperial taxes on the planet Hanofar , Kogo developed a burning hatred for the Rebellion , which he fueled with the dark side after becoming one of Emperor Palpatine ' s Hands . As an agent of the Emperor , Kogo often carried out missions requiring little subtlety but a substantial amount of destruction . His obsession with the Rebel Alliance often caused him to take detours during his missions , during which he pursued agents of the Rebellion in acts of vengeance . Biography . Vess Kogo was a Force - sensitive Human male who lived during the period immediately surrounding the Battle of Yavin , when the Rebel Alliance was still an unorganized effort conducted by many disparate groups . After the Empire began taxing the citizens of the planet Hanofar , one Rebel group conducted a protest that soon went out of control . This incident ended in the injury of many innocent bystanders , including Kogo ' s mother . Kogo blamed his mother ' s injury on the Rebellion and developed an extreme hatred for the group . Kogo was soon recruited by Emperor Palpatine to serve as one of his Emperor ' s Hand s , a secret group of Force - sensitive operative s loyal only to the Emperor . Palpatine used the dark side to fuel Kogo ' s hatred of the Rebellion and turned him into a killing machine . Like the other Emperor ' s Hands , Kogo thought that he was the Emperor ' s only operative and swore complete loyalty to him . Palpatine often used Kogo for missions requiring pure force , but Kogo sometimes deviated from his objectives to hunt down agents of the Rebellion , a habit that once almost ended in him failing the Emperor . Sometime shortly after the Battle of Yavin , Kogo came into conflict with a group of individuals affiliated with the Rebel Alliance . Personality and traits . Vess Kogo was a ruggedly handsome young man with deep black hair and a disarming smile , all physical traits that he used to seduce enemy female agents . He harbored a deep hatred for the Rebellion and often diverged from his assigned mission in order to hunt and kill Rebel operatives and sympathizers . This obsession never caused him to fail the Emperor in his assigned duties , but at one point he came close to doing so . Palpatine never used Kogo for subtle missions , but when he required pure mayhem and destruction , he often turned to the young Hand . Powers and abilities . Under the tutelage of Emperor Palpatine , Vess Kogo learned to augment his hatred for the Rebellion through the use of the dark side . Although he received the same training in advanced combat and espionage as the other Emperor ' s Hands , Kogo was notably more developed in his Force talents than some of the others , including Mara Jade . Despite serving the Emperor for a shorter amount of time than Jade , Kogo possessed the potential to surpass her in almost every area . Kogo was proficient in many Force abilities in the realms of Alter and Sense , including affect mind , telekinesis , telepathy , Force valor , and Force fear . He often carried a blaster pistol and a vibro - ax with him on missions . Behind the scenes . Vess Kogo was first referenced in the 2001 " Rebellion Era Sourcebook " written by Bill Slavicsek , Steve Miller , and Owen K . C . Stephens . In 2008 , he was given an entry in " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " .