Emperor ' s Hand An Emperor ' s Hand , or Hand of the Emperor , was a Force - sensitive operative recruited , trained , and employed by Emperor Palpatine to perform missions that were impossible , secret , or both . Their counterparts included the Emperor ' s Reach , Emperor ' s Voice , and the Emperor ' s Eye s . History . Prior to his ascent to Galactic Emperor , Palpatine used a number of assassins , spies , and operatives to achieve his objectives as the Sith Lord Darth Sidious . It was his use of Darth Maul , trained specifically to kill Jedi , who proved effective at handling other tasks , that convinced Palpatine of the usefulness of extremely loyal , effective , and secretive agents . Thus he began developing the Emperor ' s Hands to create a group that were operatives , not apprentices . During his reign , Palpatine used the Emperor ' s Hands to kill enemies where his more obvious tools , like Darth Vader or the Imperial Navy would be ineffective , too public , or inappropriate . Common targets included rogue governors , traitorous commanders , rebellious leaders , or other internal or external concerns . The exact number of agents is unknown , but following the death of Palpatine , many former Emperor ' s Hands went on to become independent menaces to the Alliance to Restore the Republic and New Republic . The two most famous Hands , Lumiya and Mara Jade , took wildly different paths from each other ; the former founded her own group of Sith , while the latter became a Master in the New Jedi Order and married Luke Skywalker , whom she once had sworn to kill in an act of revenge for killing Palpatine and destroying the Empire . By 40 ABY , the Hands ( particularly Mara Jade , though this narrow viewpoint could be partly fueled by Ben Skywalker ' s admiration for his mother ) were considered the best assassins of their day . In 44 ABY , Imperial Head of State Jagged Fel reactivated the Hands to give his bodyguard , Tahiri Veila , the authority to command a raid on Hagamoor 3 . Methodology . Selection . Often targeted at infancy , potential Emperor ' s Hands were tracked with keen interest by Palpatine until they reached maturity . Preferring to begin their training after they had developed , Palpatine waited for a potential Hand to impress him . Some began as thieves , some as warriors , some as assassins , some as entertainers , but each managed to demonstrate their resourcefulness , skills and loyalty without incurring his wrath . Training . After selection , an Emperor ' s Hand went through comprehensive training in varied combat techniques , intelligence gathering and assassination . Each Hand operated independently and was often under the false impression that he or she was " the " Emperor ' s Hand . During training , Palpatine cultivated the Hand ' s latent Force abilities , but avoided providing Jedi or Sith training . Thus , Hands who did not have any Force training prior to their training were not expressly dark side users . The most important of their abilities was a direct telepathic connection to Palpatine that allowed them to communicate across the galaxy . Operations . Once given the title of Emperor ' s Hand , the agent was granted almost unlimited access and authority to accomplish their missions . Without naming themselves as physical manifestations of the Emperor ' s will , Emperor ' s Hands could take command of military units , starships or weapons as necessary . To preserve their effectiveness , only the highest echelons of the Imperial command structure were aware of the Hands ' existence . The methodology varied by agent and mission , with styles ranging from silent sniper strikes to destructive rampages . Regardless of their method , each Hand operated as a ghost ; striking and vanishing , which elevated them to near mythic levels amongst those who dared cross the Emperor . Psychology . Unaware , unconvinced , or unconcerned of the Emperor ' s malicious intentions , the Hands performed their missions out of sheer loyalty to Palpatine . They viewed their killing as a way of defending the citizens of the Empire from its most dangerous enemies , although in many cases their targets were political enemies , rather than rogue commanders or governors . Many , if not all , of the Hands were under the impression that they alone held their particular position , and thus believed their relationship with the Emperor to be a special one . As a result of their extreme loyalty , and mental connection established through the Force , many Hands were deeply affected by his death . Emperor ' s Hands . Tahiri Veila briefly assumed the position of Imperial Hand to Jagged Fel , the Head of State of the Imperial Remnant , in 44 ABY .