Darth sidious

**Darth Sidious**, born **Sheev Palpatine** and also known simply as **the Emperor**, was a human male Dark Lord of the Sith and Emperor of the Galactic Empire, ruling from 19 BBY to 4 ABY. Rising to power in the Republic Senate as the senator of Naboo, the secretive Sith Lord cultivated two identities, Sidious and Palpatine, using both to further his political career. He orchestrated the fall of the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order through the Clone Wars, and then established his reign over the galaxy which lasted until his death at the Battle of Endor. However, the dark side of the Force gave rise to powers which allowed the Emperor to return from the grave.

Born on the Mid Rim planet Naboo around 84 BBY during the Republic Era, Sidious possessed a strong connection to the Force, and was secretly trained in the ways of the Sith by Darth Plagueis. He eventually killed his Sith Master in order to train his own Sith apprentice, Darth Maul, for the Rule of Two limited their ranks to two Sith Lords at any given time. As a result of the Invasion of Naboo, a crisis orchestrated by Sidious, the Senate elected Palpatine as Supreme Chancellor. The Separatist Crisis and the Clone Wars were masterminded by Sidious and his new apprentice, Darth Tyranus, in an effort to achieve galactic dominance. Following an attempt to arrest the chancellor, the Great Jedi Purge commenced with Sidious enacting Order 66.

With the Jedi all but extinct, Sidious installed the New Order in the Republic's place, declaring himself Galactic Emperor and bringing an end to a millennium of democracy. Not too long after betraying and causing the death of Tyranus, he took on a new apprentice, having lured the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker to the dark side and transforming him into Darth Vader. Their reign was virtually unchallenged for a generation until the formation of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. During the Galactic Civil War, the Emperor sought to betray Vader, by replacing him with the latter's son, Luke Skywalker. However, Sidious' plan backfired when Vader ultimately renounced the dark side and killed Sidious to protect Luke. Thus, with the Sith's destruction, the Force was brought back into balance, fulfilling Anakin's destiny as the prophesied Chosen One.

Through his master's teachings, however, Sidious transferred his essence to an imperfect clone vessel that had been modeled on his original body. Anticipating the possibility of defeat, he created the Contingency to destroy the Galactic Empire and replace it with a new Sith Empire, in the event of such a setback. His plans culminated in the destruction of the New Republic and the emergence of the First Order, the creation of Supreme Leader Snoke, who turned Ben Solo—heir to the Skywalker bloodline—to the dark side, and the establishment of the Final Order. When the Emperor announced his return to the galaxy in 35 ABY, the Resistance invaded the planet Exegol, Sidious' hidden stronghold in the Unknown Regions. During the battle, he discovered a dyad in the Force in the form of the bond between Solo and Rey, a Jedi apprentice sired from the Emperor's bloodline. His lifelong dream of eternal rule was finally quashed when Rey called upon the strength of past Jedi to vanquish her grandfather by turning his own power against him, destroying Sidious and his Sith Eternal cultists.

#### **Order 66 and rise of the New Order**

"*Commander Cody, the time has come. Execute Order 66.*" "*Yes, my Lord.*"
―Darth Sidious and CC-2224[src]
When the newly-anointed Darth Vader was sent to kill the Jedi in the Temple, Sidious contacted the clone troopers on various planets, commanding them to execute Order 66, which meant eliminating their Jedi commanders, as they were now seen as traitors to the Republic. Upon Sidious's order, the clones' hidden biochips activated and brainwashed them into turning against the Jedi. Despite serving and forming deep relationships with the Jedi, their loyalty was erased upon Sidious activating their biochips, ultimately leading to them wiping out the Jedi, with the exception of a few, notably Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Caleb Dume. Sidious at the same time used Order 66 to order Clone Commander CT-7567 to eliminate the former Jedi Ahsoka Tano and by the same time his former apprentice Maul who had been captured and brought to Coruscant by the 501st Legion but both attempts were unsuccessful.

Sidious, as Palpatine, meanwhile, addressed the Senate and accused the Jedi of attempting to assassinate him and overthrow the Republic, using his newly scarred face as evidence. He ultimately announced the Republic's reorganization into the first Galactic Empire while declaring himself Emperor of the new regime, with little-to-no resistance from the majority of the senators present.

### **Age of the Empire**

#### **Battle in the Senate Chamber**

"*I have waited a long time for this moment, my little green friend.*"
―Darth Sidious, to Yoda[src]
With Kenobi and Yoda realizing what had happened upon witnessing a recording within the Jedi Temple, Yoda went to face the Emperor personally, while a reluctant Obi-Wan stowed away onboard Amidala's yacht, en route to Mustafar to kill Vader. Upon arriving at the working office of the Chancellery Secretariat, Yoda disposed of the pair of guardsmen by the entryway, surprising Sidious. Within moments, however, the Sith Lord had recollected himself, unleashing a barrage of force lightning at the Jedi Master after a brief exchange of acknowledgement between the two. Yoda quickly recovered and force pushed Sidious backwards. Yoda then engaged him in a duel when he refused to allow Sidious to escape. Sidious declared that Vader would become more powerful than both of them, while Yoda told Sidious that his faith in his nascent apprentice was a mistake, along with his faith in the dark side. The two then dueled in the Senate hall, and Sidious narrowly managed to gain the upper hand through the use of his Force powers by sending numerous Senate pods at the Jedi Master, which he closely dodged. Sidious then unleashed a torrent of Force lightning at Yoda, which he was able to redirect back on him. Yoda fled and was forced to go into exile, but the Emperor did not personally pursue him as he had other, more pressing matters to attend to.

#### **Rescuing Vader**

"*I sense Lord Vader is in danger.*"
―Darth Sidious[src]
As Imperial shock trooper of the Coruscant Guard arrived in the Senate Chamber following the battle, the Emperor stood with Mas Amedda on a Senatorial pod as they searched for the Jedi Master. However, they could not find any trace of a body. The Emperor had more pressing concerns however: he had sensed that Vader, far away on Mustafar, was in danger of being destroyed. He ordered the clones to double their search for Yoda, and that his shuttle be prepared to depart.

The Emperor made haste to Mustafar, accompanied by a squad of the best shock troopers under the authority of Commander CC-4477 "Thire." On planet, he found that Vader had been dismembered, horrifically burned, and left for dead by Obi-Wan Kenobi after the conclusion of their duel. He ordered the clones accompanying him to prepare a medical capsule for his apprentice. As they left to obey his instructions, the Emperor crouched beside his fallen apprentice, determined to find a way to keep him alive.

The Emperor was keenly aware that, without Vader, the foundations of his newfound power would be badly shaken; he needed an apprentice capable of ensuring that his Empire would survive the inevitable challenges that would rise up against it. To make certain that Vader would be capable of remaining a powerful apprentice, the Emperor contacted the boldest scientists he could, those whose practices would have been frowned on by the Jedi and the Republic. Among these scientists was an expert in cybernetics named Doctor Cylo.

The Emperor brought Vader to the Grand Medical Facility, far above Coruscant's surface as a storm raged across the capital. A strenuous night, followed during which the scientists, their droids and their technology worked to save the critically-injured Vader before he died. The new Sith apprentice was kept awake for the whole procedure, feeling the pain that came with saving his life. Cylo and the other scientists designed a suit of armor that would protect his weakened body and allow his scorched lungs to breathe. Cybernetic limbs were added to replace the legs and the arm that Kenobi had taken.

After what the Emperor would call a "long night," Skywalker was surgically reconstructed as a cyborg and encased in the armor and mask that would forever hide away who he had once been from the galaxy. As the procedure ended and the Sith apprentice rose, the Emperor approached him. Vader's first query was to know whether or not his wife was safe. The Emperor told him that he had killed Amidala in his anger. This final loss sent Vader over the edge of pure wrath and anguish, completing his transition into the apprentice Sidious had spent decades grooming. In his rage, Vader used his new limbs to tear away the restraints that held him to the operating table and the Force to destroy the droids who had just saved his life, before stepping unsteadily onto his new legs and screaming his despair to the galaxy as a satisfied Sidious looked on with a devilish smile.

Vader then turned his rage onto the Emperor, throwing him into the wall of the operating room with the Force. He angrily berated his master for promising that he could save his wife from death. The Emperor conceded that he had failed him in that regard but countered that, with her death, Padmé had given him something so much stronger: pain. This pain would fuel his power for decades and make him the dreaded Sith apprentice that Sidious had always coveted. It would also allow him to live. After a tense few moments, Vader released his master and proclaimed that he would live. Satisfied, the Emperor then assaulted Vader with Force lightning and warned him never to use the Force against him in such a way again, or he would finish what Kenobi would not.

#### **Search for Immortality**

During the Imperial Era, secure in power as Emperor of the galaxy, Sidious pursued his obsession with immortality, and mostly withdrew from the public eye to probe the secrets of the darkside and study his Sith arcana extensively to unlock the ability to live forever. He prepared the ancient Sith world of Exegol, constructing a base of power within the Sith Citadel located on the surface, planning to claim the ancient throne of Sith as his permanent seat of power. His loyal cult following, the Sith Eternal, began to experiment with technology and genetic cloning science to expand his lifespan. Exegol was also home to his most promising experimentations within a vergence of the Force.

#### **Destruction of the old**

After the creation of his Sith Empire, Sidious established himself in the old Jedi Temple on Coruscant, transforming it into the Imperial Palace. The Jedi had built the palace atop an ancient Sith shrine, in order to neutralize and cap the dark power that sprang from its depths. Sidious entrusted the reopening and restoration of the ancient temple to droids under the supervision of 11-4D, a protocol droid inherited from Darth Plagueis. During the early days of the Empire, making a rare public address, Sidious claimed the Empire would do whatever was needed to ensure a lasting reconciliation now that the Clone Wars had ended. During his rule, Sidious sent explorers to unmapped regions of the galaxy to search for the source of the dark side, believing it lay there. These explorers built labs on distant moons and asteroids. As part of his planned Contingency, Sidious had Imperial scouts explore the Unknown Regions while also utilizing extensive resources to seed laboratories, shipyards, and observatories within that same region. This arrangement would continue over a period of decades and would be known solely by him and the elect. At some point during the Imperial Era, Sidious created an Imperial hunter droid named M-OC. The B1-series battle droid R0-GR of the Freemakers claimed to have fought Sidious.

#### **The Tarkin Initiative**

In his early days as Senator Palpatine, Sidious had closely associated with Wilhuff Tarkin, whom he encouraged to pursue a career in politics after his training with the Judicials was completed. Tarkin went on to become Governor of Eriadu and one of the Republic's foremost military leaders during the Clone Wars. Sidious had learned of Tarkin's upbringing on Eriadu, where he had been trained in harsh conditions through a brutal initiation in the wild Carrion Plateau of his homeworld. Tarkin had been taught to hunt savage creatures and emerged from his training with the belief that only the brutal application of the law and the fear of force could keep beings in line with a central galactic government. Although Tarkin lacked Force-sensitivity, Sidious identified him as one whose mindset was very close to that of the Sith.

#### **Mission to Ryloth**

##### **An official visit**

Five years after the end of the Clone Wars, Cham Syndulla, a war hero who liberated Ryloth from the Separatist forces during the war, organized and led the Free Ryloth Movement in order to liberate his homeworld once again, this time from an Imperial military occupation. Sidious summoned the Senator of Ryloth, Orn Free Taa, in order to incorporate the senator into his plan to eradicate the "terrorists." He ordered the Twi'lek to accompany him and his right-hand man, Darth Vader, for an official visit to Ryloth. Once Sidious dismissed Taa, Vader asked him why he couldn't simply wipe out the Senator along with his entire staff, in which the two Sith suspected there were one or more traitors, who provided aid to the terrorist movement. But the Emperor wished to find the roots of the treachery, eliminate them and make of it an example for the entire galaxy. Eventually, he ordered Vader to inform the Moff of Ryloth, Delian Mors, of the arrival of Senator Orn Free Taa, but not of the two of them.

##### **Assassination attempt on the *Defiance***

While on the way to Ryloth aboard the Star Destroyer *Perilous*, Sidious instructed the ship to stop at the Denon system for a meeting on the training cruiser *Defiance* with several Imperial Navy chiefs to discuss a realignment of the Imperial Naval Academy. Sidious ordered Darth Vader to oversee training exercises conducted by Commandant Pell Baylo while the Emperor was in his meeting with the naval chiefs. During one such exercise, Baylo set a hyperspace route that would have crashed the *Defiance* into Christophsis' sun. Cadet Rae Sloane and Darth Vader uncovered this assassination attempt and redirected the *Defiance*. Baylo confronted the Emperor, accusing the Galactic Empire of being a hostile force that had taken over the Galactic Republic. Vader killed Baylo, which upset Sidious, who wanted Baylo to suffer as the Navy becomes something he hated and watch as the *Defiance* was decommissioned and turned into "cafeteria trays." Instead, the *Defiance* was renamed *Obedience* as a final jab at Baylo and a not-so-subtle reminder toward Vader to remember his place, and Sidious and Vader re-boarded the *Perilous* and continued on their way to Ryloth.

##### **The fall of the *Perilous***

The two Sith and Senator Taa came to the Ryloth system aboard *Perilous*. When the ship exited from the hyperspace, they found themselves in the middle of a minefield: Syndulla was waiting for them. The Twi'lek wished to eliminate them to strike at the heart of the Empire. However, Sidious was unperturbed by the ambush, having evidently foreseen such an occurrence. When the shields were overwhelmed, Sidious remained on the bridge, while Vader took off with his fighter leading a squadron to deal with a swarm of vulture droids. The former Separatist fighters released thousands of explosive buzz droids which further damaged the Star Destroyer. Vader returned aboard the *Perilous* where he met the Emperor and Senator Taa after finding that the Emperor's personal shuttle had been destroyed in the attack. Because he suspected there was a traitor in the Senator's staff, Sidious ordered to isolate them in their own quarters and deny them access to any communications equipment.

In the meantime, a Twi'lek task force reached the ship disguised as a repair team and placed explosive charges in the hyperdrive chamber, to trigger a chain reaction. After discovering the sabotage and realizing that the ship was doomed, Vader contacted the Emperor. The Emperor informed Vader that he had prepared a second shuttle either as a contingency or because he had foreseen the destruction of the first shuttle and told Vader to meet him there. However, Vader delayed his arrival by a few minutes in an attempt to find and eliminate the saboteurs. The Twi'lek rebels just barely managed to escape, and so Vader hurried to the Emperor's shuttle, which departed as soon as Vader was aboard. A few minutes later, the *Perilous* exploded. Once in space, the fugitive task force searched for the Imperial shuttle and caught up with it. Vader Force-choked the resistance pilot of the pursuing ship through the shuttle viewport. In a desperate attempt to get free from Vader's grasp and to kill both him and the Emperor, the Twi'leks rammed the stolen starship into the Imperial shuttle, critically damaging the latter. Vader attempted to regain control of the shuttle while Sidious remembered they had already been in situations like this. Thanks to the piloting skills of Vader the shuttle crash-landed on Ryloth's surface, in the middle of a forest.

##### **Isolated on the planet**

"*We are all of us, always being tested, my friend. Tests make us stronger, and strength is power, and power is the* point*. We must pass all the tests we face… Or die in the effort.*"
―Darth Sidious, to Darth Vader[src]
Once on the planet surface, Sidious noted with mild annoyance that the landing had been far beneath what he knew Vader to be capable of and that Vader's lapse had left four corpses in the rear compartment of the shuttle. Vader admitted to having been distracted by thoughts of his past and attempted to dismiss it as nothing. Sidious however, was unconvinced, though he shelved the matter and proceeded with Vader into the rear compartment. There, three of the shuttle's occupants, Sergeant Erstin Deez, his captain, and another member of the Imperial Guard had survived the crash, though one was badly injured and unconscious. Vader noted with mild surprise that the Emperor appeared to have been wrong; there were only three corpses in the compartment. One of the conscious guards noted that his injured comrade had not strapped himself in during the landing, and as a result had been thrown about the compartment when the ship had crashed. However the Emperor, seemingly having known about the guard, had him executed for his stupidity, leaving the fourth corpse.

The survivors exited in the night, and while the two guards who survived were checking the survival kits, Vader asked his master if he was testing him. Sidious answered they were always being tested, and they must pass all tests to gain strength and power. Meanwhile, the guards had activated the generator and the communication array to call for help. At that moment the Sith sensed that two Twi'lek ships were approaching and prepared themselves for a confrontation. The Twi'lek rebel's ships fired upon them, while Vader, immersed in the Force, deflected the laser beams with his lightsaber.

The captain suggested to take cover in the woods, but the Emperor refused and instead, removed his cloak, and ignited his lightsaber. The two Sith spun their red blades, turning every shot back at the ships. When the enemy ships engines were hit and began to explode in flames and smoke, Sidious unleashed a bolt of Force lightning on their hulls and then, with the Force, drove one of the ships to the ground, while Vader did the same with the other. The two freighters exploded, and Vader sent Deez to check for survivors. They realized the rebels had jammed the communication network and that they were hunting for them.

##### **Hunted**

They walked for a long time into the depths of the forest. Sidious went forward in the darkness seeing through the Force while testing Vader's loyalty once again until he decided to stop for a while. While the guards were eating, the two Sith began to meditate. The Emperor sensed his apprentice's murderous feelings towards him. When Vader ended his meditation, Sidious told him what he had sensed, but the former Jedi pledged his loyalty to his Sith Master. At that moment, the guards, whom the Emperor had sent away, had returned, pursued by a horde of lyleks. The Emperor remained calm, sending torrents of Force lightning against the predators, and began to advance back-to-back with Vader, their lightsabers ignited.

While Vader and the guardsmen held back the advancing lyleks with their weapons, Sidious used the Force to topple trees over the advancing lylek horde. Through the Force, Sidious sensed a tunnel a hundred meters away. The four retreated into the tunnel with the lyleks in pursuit. This tunnel turned out to be the home of the lylek horde, and the four Imperials were forced to fight through hundreds of the creatures. The guards used their blasters and grenades while the two Sith Lords used the Force and their lightsabers to fight through the horde.

As they waded deeper into the cave, Sidious realized that the lyleks were herding the intruders towards their queen. At Vader's instigation, the four resolved to kill all their opponents with the Emperor activating his red blade. After a fierce battle with the lyleks, Sidious and Vader found themselves back to back. When Sidious asked his apprentice whether he had ever toyed with the idea of letting his Emperor die to fulfill his own ambitions, Vader admitted he had entertained such thoughts but reassured his master it was only for a moment. Sidious accepted Vader's loyalty and the two joined forces to tackle the lylek queen.

Following a savage battle, Vader managed to kill the queen; scattering the remaining lyleks. However, the royal guard captain was killed, leaving only Sidious, Vader, and Sergeant Deez. Based on their battle with the lyleks, master and apprentice quickly surmised that Cham and his rebels were trying to kill them to bring about the Empire's destruction. Having triumphed over the lylek horde, the three Imperials found an opening at the end of the tunnel which led back to the forest.

##### **Death and fate**

While Sidious and his companions were traveling through the forest, they encountered a young Twi'lek girl named Drua. Sidious made a move to kill her, but Vader blocked his master's death blow and convinced Sidious that she could lead them to a settlement where they could contact reinforcements. Drua led them to her village, which was home to escaped Twi'lek slaves. When the village head Narmn asked for their identities, Sidious introduced himself, Vader, and Deez as "Krataa," "Irluuk," and the Sergeant. Sidious and Vader alone knew that their pseudonyms stood for "death" and "fate."

Sidious warned Vader that his act of mercy towards Drua would cost both her and her fellow villagers their lives. Vader then managed to win over the villagers by offering to repair an ancient communications device. Once Vader had fixed the machine, Sidious ordered Deez to contact Moff Mors; whom he knew to be loyal. After re-establishing contact with the two Sith Lords, Mors took steps to eliminate the Imperial traitor Colonel Belkor Dray, who was secretly aiding Cham's rebels. She foiled Belkor's plot to order V-wing fighters to strike Drua's Village and the massed Free Ryloth forces in a nearby quarry. After executing Belkor, Moff Mors sent her forces to rendezvous with Sidious and Vader at the Twi'lek village.

Cham's forces, unwilling to harm the villagers, fired warning shots so that the villagers would flee the scene of the upcoming battle. The villagers reacted by fleeing to a nearby mine shaft, a sanctuary in time of danger. However, Sidious, Vader, and Deez stood their ground at the center of the village. Before Cham's forces could launch their attack, Moff Mors' forces arrived in two transport vessels and trapped the rebel fighters. With many of the Free Ryloth fighters killed, Cham narrowly managed to avoid capture at the hands of Vader. Under the orders of Sidious, Mors's Imperial forces massacred the surviving Free Ryloth fighters. Following a brief exchange with Cham's lieutenant Isval, Sidious ordered Vader to execute her and then afterward, the surviving Twi'lek villagers hiding in the mine shaft as well, in order not to leave any witnesses. After a brief moment of hesitation, Vader complied with his master's orders and massacred the villagers.

#### **Berch Teller's campaign**

By 14 BBY, Sidious had placed Moff Wilhuff Tarkin in charge of the secret Death Star project. The battle moon was being constructed above Geonosis and was supplied by a series of marshaling stations. The Empire faced a new threat in the form of Berch Teller, a former Republic Intelligence agent who opposed the Empire. He led a rebel cell consisting of survivors and witnesses of the Antar Atrocity, a mass crackdown on Antar 4 following the Clone Wars that had seen the killing of innocent Gotal and Koorivar loyalists. Teller had a special animus for Tarkin, the architect of the Antar Atrocity. He was secretly aided and equipped by Vice Admiral Dodd Rancit, the Director of the Naval Intelligence Agency and a rival of Tarkin.

Following Teller's attack on Sentinel Base, the Emperor convened a meeting of his Ruling Council to discuss the discovery of a cache of communications jammers on the planet Murkhana. The Imperial Security Bureau had purportedly discovered the cache and feared that dissidents were planning to disrupt the Imperial HoloNet; echoing the Separatist Shadowfeed broadcasts during the Clone Wars. The Emperor dispatched both Moff Tarkin and Lord Vader to investigate the matter. However, this played into Teller's hands and allowed the insurgents to steal Tarkin's corvette *Carrion Spike*, which they intended to turn into a symbol of resistance against the Empire.

After being briefed about the theft of the *Carrion Spike*, Vice Admiral Rancit suggested that the ship's thieves were the same people who attacked Sentinel Base earlier. In response, the Emperor ordered Rancit to divert Imperial forces in the Belderone system to aid Tarkin and Lord Vader. While Tarkin and Vader pursued the insurgents, the Emperor chaired another meeting of the Ruling Council. During the meeting, Rancit advocated diverting more Imperial forces to reinforcing Imperial facilities across the Perlemian Trade Route and Hydian Way. The Council also learned that Teller' insurgents had attacked the TaggeCo mining facilities on Lucazec and were transmitting holovids of their attacks on the HoloNet.

Following a skirmish in the Phindar system between Imperial forces and the stolen *Carrion Spike*, Rancit convinced the Emperor to deploy interdictor vessels against the insurgents. Grand Vizier Amedda then informed the Emperor that the Murkhana communications jammers had been discovered by an ISB asset tasked with investigating the find by his case officer. Acting on this information, Sidious interrogated the Koorivar ISB asset Bracchia and his case officer Stellan, who revealed that they had been tipped about the discovery by Naval Intelligence. After viewing the holovid, the Emperor determined that the communications cache had been planted by a high–level Imperial official who was aiding the insurgents.

Meanwhile, Lord Vader discovered that Rancit was the Imperial traitor and executed him. While Tarkin led Imperial forces against Teller's insurgents in a space battle near the Gulf of Tatooine, Darth Sidious mediated on his quest for galactic dominance. Following the defeat of Teller's insurgency, Tarkin and Vader spent the next three weeks hunting down Teller's collaborators and contacts in a ruthless crackdown. The two briefed the Emperor, who appointed Tarkin as Grand Moff and Governor of the Outer Rim Territories. The Emperor also reshuffled the Ruling Council in the wake of Rancit's execution. He also folded Naval Intelligence back into Imperial Intelligence.

By 14 BBY, Sidious had also ordered for Project Auger to begin on the planet Zeffo, which had been home to the species of the same name before their hubris nearly destroyed them. The project saw Imperial mining begin on Zeffo to locate artifacts. The commanding officer, Krane, kept one uncovered artifact secret in order to win support from Sidious by giving it to him personally. However, she died when the cave she chose to hide it in collapsed.

#### **The Chiss from the Unknown Regions**

During the Empire's reign, Sidious' interest in the Unknown Regions continued. This came to a head when the crew of the *Venator*-class Star Destroyer *Strikefast*, under the command of Captain Voss Parck, encountered the Chiss known as Thrawn in Wild Space. Many years earlier, Anakin Skywalker told Palpatine of this alien and how they worked together. This alien claimed to have a great deal of knowledge on the Unknown Regions. Thrawn was then brought before the Emperor on Coruscant in order to be questioned. Thrawn told the Emperor of threats lurking within the Unknown Regions and how they might one day find the Empire and offered his military skills. The Emperor then deduced that Thrawn's intentions were to help protect his people from these threats. Thrawn assured the Emperor that his allegiance would be to the Empire. Thrawn then revealed that he had known Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars, thus proving who he was to the Emperor.

For their service, the Emperor promised Captain Parck and his crew rewards. Thrawn however, requested that his translator Eli Vanto stay with him. The Emperor then asked Thrawn to walk with him outside. In his personal garden, the Emperor told the Chiss of his interest in the Unknown Regions. Thrawn then warned that there was great danger to be found there, however, he assured the Emperor that he would share his knowledge of the Unknown Regions. The Emperor ordered that Eli Vanto would be transferred to Thrawn's side and that they would both undergo training at the Royal Imperial Academy.

#### **A new threat**

With the Jedi mostly defeated, Sidious felt secure behind his huge galactic military and dominion over most of the known galaxy. Despite this, remaining Separatist holdouts and surviving Jedi would gnaw at his confidence of the longevity of his new Empire. Seeking to secure the center, the Emperor supported mass military excursions into the Outer Rim Territories in an effort to bring more systems under his fold. With his ultimate goal of bending reality into something of his own creation, an omnipotent Empire would allow all the galaxy's inhabitants to be held in his dark embrace. Despite the Jedi being all but extinct, Force-sensitive children were still being born across the galaxy. In an effort to combat this threat, Sidious created the Inquisitorius composed of dark side adepts and commanded his apprentice, Lord Vader, to contact a Pau'an Inquisitor to hunt them down and destroy them if they did not serve the Empire.

During Vader's hunt for the Hidden Hand, the Emperor contacted his apprentice through a hologram, expressing his disappointment in his failure to track down the criminal syndicate. He stated that they must be crushed at once, as they stole weapons from the Empire and supplied them to the Rebellion.

During the fifteenth Empire Day, celebrating the anniversary of the Empire's rise to power, the Emperor presided over the Imperial Senate on Coruscant with his Royal Guards, and invited Lothal governor Arihnda Pryce to celebrate with him. After the Inquisitor's death, at the hands of Kanan Jarrus and his Padawan Ezra Bridger, the Emperor dispatched his apprentice to Lothal as an "alternative solution" to the growing rebel problem. The Emperor was contacted by Darth Vader after he had defeated the Rebel fleet in the Lothal system. Vader informed his master that he had discovered that his former Jedi apprentice, Ahsoka Tano, still lived. The Emperor was pleased with the news that Tano possibly knew the location of other hidden Jedi, and capturing her would allow the Empire to find them and destroy them before they became threats. Although Vader was more interested in finding his former Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Emperor told his apprentice to have patience and to send an Inquisitor to hunt down Tano and the other Jedi discovered on Lothal.

##### **Thrawn's campaign against the rebellion**

In 2 BBY, the Emperor promoted the Chiss Imperial Navy officer Thrawn to the position of Grand Admiral for his role in suppressing the rebel insurgency in the Batonn sector. During the promotion however, Thrawn questioned Sidious on the practicality of the Death Star. The Emperor questioned if the reason for Thrawn's worries were because of the threat the station posed to the Chiss species. However, because Thrawn had fulfilled his end of the bargain by sharing his information on the Unknown Regions, he let the issue go. The Emperor then introduced Thrawn to his personal enforcer, Darth Vader. Later, Thrawn would be dispatched to deal with the growing rebel threat.

##### **Mon Mothma's treason**

Later, the rogue Senator Mon Mothma incurred the Emperor's wrath when she denounced him as a liar and condemned his complicity in the Ghorman Massacre. As a result, Mon Mothma was designated a traitor and Imperial forces were dispatched to hunt her down. Despite the efforts of Grand Admiral Thrawn to trap Mon Mothma and the Spectres in the Archeon Nebula, Hera Syndulla managed to deliver Mon Mothma safely to Dantooine where she gave a speech urging the galaxy to rise up against the Empire.

#### **Disturbance in the Unknown Regions**

After Thrawn's defeat at Atollon, Sidious sensed a great disturbance in the Force somewhere on the edge of the galaxy. Therefore, the Emperor summoned Thrawn and Vader to Coruscant for a meeting. During the meeting, the Emperor ordered the two to the planet Batuu to locate a disturbance in the Force that he had sensed, testing Vader on his vulnerability to his past and Thrawn on his loyalty.

#### **Machinations on Lothal**

##### **A World Between Worlds**

"*I can't go with you.*" "*Perhaps I can. Ezra Bridger and Ahsoka Tano— Mine at last!*"
―Ahsoka Tano and Darth Sidious, to Ezra Bridger[src]
After the discovery of a Jedi temple on Lothal, the Emperor directed Minister Veris Hydan to excavate the ruins and uncover its secrets. Sometime thereafter, the Emperor was contacted by Hydan, who informed him that they had reached the roots of the temple and uncovered a mural of the Mortis gods, which was reminiscent of art and iconography found at the former temple on Coruscant. The Emperor told Hydan that he had sensed that the death of Kanan Jarrus had altered the fate of Lothal. Vowing to control the conduit between the living and the dead, the Emperor urged his minister to quicken the pace of his work.

Later, the Emperor went to the ceremonial chamber in the tower at the Works on Coruscant so he could use Sith alchemy to open a portal to the World Between Worlds where Ezra Bridger and Ahsoka Tano were. The Emperor taunted them through the portal and unleashed his power against them, which they were able to hold back. He then caught Bridger's leg and pulled him so that he could get through the portal. However, before he could get through the portal to enter the realm, Tano cut the fiery lasso. The Emperor then tried again but failed as Bridger and Tano made it back to their world. In the process, the Lothal Jedi Temple was destroyed.

##### **Deception on Lothal**

"*My dear boy, it's you who chose to destroy the Temple. The actions of your Rebel friends require a firm hand to ensure that there is order on Lothal. As for your parents, allow me to offer what might have been, and what yet may be.*"
―Darth Sidious, to Ezra Bridger[src]
Following the defeat of the treasonous Grand Admiral Balanhai Savit and Thrawn losing the funding for his TIE defender program to the Death Star, Sidious spoke with his Chiss Grand Admiral over his private communications display to determine if his loyalties truly lied with the Empire, as Thrawn had worked with members of the Chiss Ascendancy to combat a Grysk Hegemony force that had infiltrated Imperial space. After confirming with Thrawn that Savit had in fact been a traitor, the Emperor turned the topic of discussion to the Chiss officer's loyalties, though Thrawn insisted that his work with the Ascendancy was not treason. Thrawn admitted that the Grysks were primarily a threat to his own people, but he argued that they had taken an interest in the Empire and could want control of the Death Star, a possibility that Sidious instantly denied, telling Thrawn that neither the Grysks nor the Chiss would control his station. Thrawn denied seeking the battle station for his people and instead said he would fight against such a situation, but Sidious, understanding that a servant who held divided loyalties was not an asset, still questioned Thrawn's true loyalties.

Pondering Thrawn's loyalties, the Ascendancy, and the threat of the Grysks, Sidious wondered if Thrawn was correct, contemplating that an alliance between the Empire and the Ascendancy could be useful. However, in such a case, Sidious wanted control of both governments and pondered if Thrawn could be manipulated or persuaded into betraying the Chiss. Deciding such a possibility required additional meditation and turning his attention to a more urgent matter, that of the Lothal rebels, Sidious informed Thrawn that he was sending instructions for a chamber to be built aboard the *Chimaera*. He ordered Thrawn to put down the rebel insurgency on Lothal and bring Bridger to the chamber, which was a portion of the Lothal Jedi Temple he wanted brought aboard "stone by stone." Leaving Thrawn to carry out his duties, he gave the Grand Admiral one last order; once the battle at Lothal was over, he was to return to Coruscant so they could have a "long talk."

Fulfilling his orders, Thrawn brought Bridger aboard the *Chimaera* when, in order to stop the Chiss officer from bombarding Lothal's Capital City, the young Jedi surrendered himself to the Empire. After the officer and the Padawan talked about the fate of the Jedi and Lothal, Thrawn brought Ezra to the room that contained the temple portion, bringing Bridger face-to-face with the Galactic Emperor. Since the Emperor was off-world, he used a hologram projection to present himself in his more benevolent, pre-scarred form. Sidious then ordered Thrawn to leave the room, leaving him alone with Bridger and the temple fragment.

In an attempt to get Ezra to unlock the portal to the World Between Worlds, Sidious tried to tempt Ezra with the opportunity of reuniting with his deceased parents. Ezra, however, recalling his earlier lesson in the World Between Worlds, decided to reject this offer, knowing he had a family and then proceeded to pull down the Temple into rubble. This caused the Emperor's hologram projection to shift from his benevolent persona to his true form. With his plan in tatters, the Emperor ordered three members of the Royal Guard and three stormtroopers to enter the room and execute Ezra. However, after Sidious deactivated his hologram, Bridger was able to use the Force to crush the soldiers with rubble and escaped. Ultimately making his way to the bridge of the *Chimaera*, Bridger, having previously ordered his ally Mart Mattin to summon a pod of Purrgil with Frequency Zero, successfully liberated his homeworld from the Empire, as the creatures defeated the blockade in orbit and proceeded to take hold of the *Chimaera*, dragging it, Thrawn, the rest of the crew, and him into hyperspace. Thus, Bridger unknowingly also stopped Sidious' future plans for Thrawn from becoming a reality.

### **Galactic Civil War**

#### **The dissolution of the Senate**

"*The Imperial Senate will no longer be of any concern to us. I have just received word that the Emperor has dissolved the council permanently. The last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away.* " "*That's impossible! How will the Emperor maintain control without the bureaucracy?*" "*The regional governors now have direct control over their territories. Fear will keep the local systems in line. Fear of this battle station.*"
―Wilhuff Tarkin and Cassio Tagge[src]
Four years after the reveal of a united rebel front on Mustafar, the rebels had reorganized themselves into a larger and more organized movement known as the Alliance to Restore the Republic, or the "Rebel Alliance." Striking from Yavin 4, an elite Rebel Squadron, Rogue One, led by Jyn Erso and a large portion of the Rebel Alliance's fleet managed to steal a complete technological readout of the Death Star, the Empire's ultimate weapon which had been under construction for nineteen years, from an Imperial Research Facility on Scarif. This loss, as the space station neared completion, was a bitter, and potentially fatal, blow to the Emperor's long-term plans. In order to deal with the problem, Sidious sent Vader to find the Death Star plans.

Vader destroyed the rebel flagship and much of the rebel fleet. However, the plans had escaped aboard the *Tantive IV*, a CR90 Corvette, in the hands of Princess Leia Organa, the Imperial Senator for Alderaan and a suspected Rebel sympathizer. Vader soon trapped the corvette over Tatooine, boarding the ship and taking the Princess as a hostage. Although Vader failed to acquire the plans, he arrested Organa as a traitor and, as such, provided Sidious with the excuse he needed to dissolve the Imperial Senate. One of the last remnants of the Galactic Republic, Sidious had always planned to remove it but he needed to wait for the Death Star to be completed so that order could be maintained through fear instead of representation in the Senate. With the space station nearly completed and a Senator accused of supporting the rebellion, Sidious ordered the dissolution of the Senate. Legislative power was transferred to regional governors and select members of the Imperial military, such as Sidious's ally, Grand Moff Tarkin, allowing the Emperor to gain complete control over the Empire with no checks to his power.

#### **The New Order in peril**

"*We kept the skeleton of the Republic for nearly twenty years while the Death Star was constructed. Twenty years, my apprentice. All that planning is now a layer of dust orbiting around Yavin… Now, we no longer have the Senate to hold order. We do not have the Death Star to force it. Our greatest weapon is gone. Our production is in ashes. We are besieged. In all these years, we have never skirted closer to disaster.*"
―Darth Sidious, to Darth Vader[src]
After Vader's duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi, Vader reported to Sidious the death of Kenobi, to Sidious' surprised glee. However, he was still troubled by Kenobi's last words, his body's disappearance upon death, and the still-mysterious whereabouts of Yoda. Sidious resolved to keep the Empire strong and to destroy the Rebellion.

Despite Sidious's careful planning for seizing complete power over the Empire, his plans were jeopardized when the Rebel Alliance launched an attack on the Death Star during the Battle of Yavin. As the Death Star was about to fire, Sidious sensed a disturbance in the Force, merely a blink from his point of view. In that moment, the Rebel pilot Luke Skywalker launched his proton torpedoes, succeeding in destroying the Death Star, killing Tarkin and most of the Empire's high-ranking officers, while also leaving Sidious concerned of the pilot's connection to the Force.

The only survivors were Sidious's apprentice, Darth Vader, who had failed to defend the space station and General Cassio Tagge, who had been sent to investigate Princess Leia Organa's claims about an active Rebel base on Dantooine. The Rebels' victory at Yavin was followed by another victory on Cymoon 1, where a Rebel team destroyed the Empire's main production facility, Weapons Factory Alpha. Several other assaults by Rebel forces, such as the bombing of a supply base on Imdaar and the shipyards at Kuat, harassed the Empire in the weeks following the Death Star's destruction. In addition, the aftermath of the Death Star's destruction saw a rise in pirate activity against Imperial supply convoys as the galactic government was no longer seen as invulnerable. The Empire's hold over vital worlds also began to slip; one of the worlds which began to question Imperial domination was the mining world of Shu-Torun. Ruled by a mercantile nobility called the ore-dukes, Shu-Torun provided important materials the Empire required for its construction projects, including the development of the second Death Star, and the Emperor constantly demanded higher tithes, especially in the aftermath of the Battle of Yavin. Opposing this unsustainable increase, the Ore-dukes convinced their aged King to rebel against the Empire.

Determined to prevent the destruction of his Empire, Sidious reorganized Imperial High Command by appointing General Tagge as Grand General with command of all military matters. Tagge had argued against the strategy of having the Death Star as the Imperial military's sole weapon, believing that the military was all that was needed to safeguard the Empire and that depending on a single weapon was inviting catastrophe. Vader, who had failed to protect either the Death Star or Cymoon 1, was demoted and ordered to serve under Tagge as the Grand General saw fit. The Emperor gave orders that the military was to focus its attention on the conquest of the Outer Rim until the time when the second Death Star was completed. Tagge and Vader begun targeting the pirates for destruction as well as cracking down on criminal elements which had gone unchecked in the past, such as the Son-tuul Pride.

The only ones spared the Empire's wrath were the Hutts, who had entered into an alliance with the Empire. Needing raw materials for Imperial military production and knowing that the Hutts could provide them for the right price, Sidious sent Vader to Tatooine to negotiate an agreement with Jabba for their support in exchange for the Hutts being allowed to maintain their power base in the Outer Rim and the underworld. The destruction of competitors, such as the Son-tuul Pride, also allowed the Hutts to profit from the alliance as their position in the underworld fell to them.

When Shu-Torun rose up in open rebellion against the Empire following Darth Vader's brutal suppression of an assassination attempt made against him by the King, Sidious sent his apprentice back to the mining world with a large military force at his command. His orders were to end the Ore-dukes' rebellion and preserve the Imperial-backed government led by Queen Trios, whom Vader had placed on the throne after her father's treason.

At some point following the Battle of Yavin, the Emperor's luxury yacht *Imperialis* was stolen by the gambler Lando Calrissian and his associates while it was undergoing repairs at Sienar Fleet Systems' Orbital Shipyard CC-24 above the planet Castell. Grand Vizier Amedda informed the Emperor of this loss. In response, the Emperor dispatched three Star Destroyers commanded by Commodore Idel, Captain Shan, and Captain Conro to recover his ship. These Star Destroyers destroyed CC-24 to punish the base's Commander Pasqual for failing to protect the Emperor's property. After the Star Destroyers failed to recover the ship, the Emperor dispatched the bounty hunter Chanath Cha to recover the vessel. Should she fail to recover it, he instructed her to destroy the *Imperialis* to avoid letting its secrets fall into the hands of others. Unwilling to harm her former friends Lando and Lobot, Chanath opted to destroy the vessel instead. The wreckage of the *Imperialis* eventually ended up on Quantxi, the junk moon of Ord Mantell.

#### **Eliminating the competition**

"*I was intrigued by the scientists. What could they achieve if unfettered by the hypocritical morality of the Old Republic? We would see. For is it not my duty to chart the possibilities? […] Cylo grew powerful. His tendrils were deep in Tarkin's Initiative. His cancer was one with its flesh. If I simply tore him free, I would risk a schism of the Empire's great minds. While the Death Star was being constructed, that was unthinkable. After its destruction, it was even more so. I had to make him overplay his hand.*"
―Darth Sidious, to Darth Vader[src]
In the aftermath of Darth Vader's failure to prevent the Death Star's destruction, Sidious was approached by one of the scientists involved in the Tarkin Initiative: Doctor Cylo. One of the specialists who had saved Vader's life after sustaining his fatal injuries on Mustafar, Sidious had kept him on and funded his research into upgrading organic species into cybernetically-enhanced subjects. Cylo believed that organisms could only survive by adapting with technology, and eliminating weaknesses. He also believed that in the new world he foresaw, the Force would be rendered obsolete. Although Sidious dismissed these thoughts by saying that everything was of the Force, he was curious to see what these scientists could do unconstrained by the presence of the Old Republic or the Jedi.

During the twenty years which had passed since the end of the Clone Wars, Cylo had worked to create several subjects which possessed the best genetic and cybernetic upgrades that he could provide, preparing them as potential enforcers for the Empire. With Vader's disgrace clear and the Emperor's need for strong elements to prevent further damage being done to the Empire, Cylo suggested that he replace his apprentice with one of his subjects. Vader's role would be reduced to a ceremonial one, while the doctor's subjects would enforce Sidious's will throughout the galaxy. Intrigued by Cylo's proposition, Sidious agreed to provide his subjects with a chance to impress him.

However, unbeknownst to the scientist, the Emperor had come to believe that Cylo had grown too powerful as a result of his involvement with the Tarkin Initiative. He could do nothing about it because of the doctor's connection with several of the Empire's greatest scientific minds, and removing him could cause a splint among them. When Cylo presented him his plan, however, Sidious knew that he could cause him to overplay his hand which would make him a traitor to the Empire. Knowing that Vader would be the perfect foil to Cylo's subjects, the Emperor made sure the two men met. The day he informed Vader of his punishment for his failure at the Imperial Palace on Coruscant, he also summoned Cylo for a private meeting. When his apprentice asked who the scientist was, Sidious refused to answer him, leading Vader to conduct his own investigation into the Emperor's secrets.

After Vader's hired bounty hunter Black Krrsantan successfully apprehended Cylo in his fourth body, he revealed under torture the location of his secret research base. The Sith Lord made his way to the base where he began an assault to find his potential rivals and destroy them. However, Cylo-IV's death at the hands of Vader's torture droid 0-0-0 had not killed the scientist: having recreated himself as an immortal system, whenever one of Cylo's bodies died, another was activated on board his research base. Cylo-V had guessed that Vader had discovered the location of his base and that he would be coming when he was activated. As such, he contacted the Emperor so that he could give him a demonstration of his subjects. Sidious arrived as Vader was about to kill the scientist. Only his intervention saved Cylo-V from suffering his predecessor's fate. With all the elements for his plan to begin, the Emperor demanded Cylo start the presentation.

As they fought with Vader, Cylo presented to him the subjects that he had been working on over the past twenty years: Aiolin Astarte and Morit Astarte, twins born to a family which had supported the Separatists during the Clone Wars, who had been upgraded genetically and cybernetically to possess abilities similar to the Jedi and Sith of old without having to use the Force; Tulon Voidgazer, a genius scientist involved with high-level R&D development before she was upgraded with a cloud of drone-droids, connected directly to her brain, who allowed her to see and fight through them; Commander Karbin, a Mon Calamari veteran of the Clone Wars who had spent eighteen years on life support after his ship crashed, and who had been upgraded into a model resembling the late General Grievous and trained in lightsaber combat. Finally, Cylo had created a system which could possess various hosts, tested on a Trandoshan, and remove any traits the Emperor would not desire, such as pain and emotions. Sufficiently impressed, Sidious demanded a real demonstration of their abilities. Vader and the subjects began to fight to the death against one another, and the Trandoshan was killed by Morit before the Emperor called a stop to the fight. He announced that he would find a use for every one of them, but that only one would win a place as his enforcer. The sole rule he established was that they not kill each other; or make sure if they did that he not find out. As he made to leave, the Emperor called Vader to speak to him privately.

#### **A worthy apprentice**

"*Do not underestimate how much you disappointed me on Mustafar. I saved you, but you showed how much off the mark you fell. […] The dark side is strength. If they defeat you, they are stronger. If you defeat them, you prove you are. This is the way of the Sith. I named you "Vader" after you pledged yourself to the Sith. You proved yourself worthy of it then. I am certain you will prove yourself worthy now.*"
―Darth Sidious[src]
When they were alone, Sidious complimented Vader on his ability to discover Cylo's project. He was also impressed with his apprentice's ability to act beyond his knowledge, and how he had been able to acquire a private army of Separatist-era commando droids to use for his own ends. Vader was displeased with being forced to prove himself against Cylo's subjects, especially as he considered them blasphemous to the ways of the Force. Sidious chastised him for reprimanding him, reminding him that he was the teacher while Vader remained the apprentice: his task was to learn what Sidious knew, and Sidious's was to discover what there was to teach. The Emperor also revealed that he needed Vader to overcome the disappointment he had caused in him when he almost fell on Mustafar, and prove himself worthy of carrying the name Sidious had given him when he had pledged himself to the Sith. With his business concluded, the Emperor left Cylo's base and returned to Coruscant.

At the Emperor's directive, Cylo's subjects were placed at Grand General Tagge's disposal, while the doctor acted as a consultant for the military. The rivalry between them and Vader eventually led to the confrontation with the Rebel Alliance on Vrogas Vas. As a result of Karbin's manipulation, Vader crashed on Vrogas Vas when he confronted three Rebel squadrons. One pilot chose to crash his X-Wing into Vader's TIE fighter to bring him down. On the surface, Vader confronted a large force or Rebel soldiers assembled by Leia Organa to eliminate his threat. The confrontation culminated in a battle between the Sith Lord and Karbin, which resulted in the latter's death. The Rebellion suffered important losses on Vrogas Vas, and Karbin's disappearance led the Emperor to search for him. Vader eventually made his way to Coruscant where he presented his master with Karbin's corpse. Although Sidious was annoyed that his apprentice had violated his rule, he was impressed when Vader challenged him to provide him with another way to prove himself worthy of his trust. The Emperor gave his apprentice command of the military force he was sending to Shu-Torun to preserve Queen Trios's hold on the throne. However, he also sent Cylo and his remaining subjects, apparently on Grand General Tagge's request. Before Vader left the Imperial Palace, Sidious warned him not to disappoint him, as he relied on him more than he let on.

Vader's campaign on Shu-Torun was a success, and the rebellious Ore-dukes were brought down. In the middle of the battle, Cylo attempted to have his rival killed by forming an alliance with Baron Rubix, the leader of the Shu-Torun rebels. Vader evaded the trap and, with the help of a dying Aiolin Astarte who had been betrayed by her brother, secured the proof needed to prove the doctor's treachery from her memory circuit. Once Vader's business was concluded on Shu-Torun, he informed the Emperor of Cylo's betrayal and told him that he had fled with his remaining subjects. Pleased that his plan had worked, Sidious summoned Vader to him on the shipyard where the *Executor*-class Star Dreadnought *Executor* was being built.

#### **End of Games**

"*The fleet will be yours. The* Executor *will be yours. I leave you to educate your subordinates about this brave new era.*"
―Darth Sidious, to Darth Vader[src]
At Kuat, the Emperor revealed his fear of Cylo's growing influence to his apprentice, the doctor's role in rebuilding him, and the purpose of the contest for his position as an enforcer. Vader recognized that, should one of his rivals had been the last one standing, the Emperor would be having the same conversation with them. However, he

declared that he had succeeded and that he represented the strength of the dark side. Sidious was pleased with his apprentice's success and ordered him to find Cylo and destroy him.

While the *Executor* was still under construction, Cylo's fleet attacked the dreadnought. During the assault, one of his creations, Tulon Voidgazer sabotaged the vessel. Sidious contacted Tagge, demanding to know what was happening, however the general and his crew were knocked unconscious by toxic gas. The Emperor was then informed by one of his guards that they were trapped.

After Vader killed Cylo's minions and destroyed his current body, he informed the Emperor of his success. Pleased with his apprentice, Sidious told him to finish his mission then return. At that moment, the archaeologist Dr. Aphra entered his private chambers. She then claimed they had a "mutual friend" and that she had things the Emperor needed to know.

After Vader finished off Cylo for good, he returned to his master. It was then that Sidious told Vader that Aphra had informed him of all of his secret endeavors, many of which had been technically treasonous. However, rather than chastise or punish Vader, the Emperor told his apprentice that he was impressed with his ambitions and that he was everything he could have hoped for. He then left Vader to deal with Aphra as he pleased. Due to Tagge's failure, the Emperor demoted him and transferred command of the *Executor* and its fleet to Vader. Pleased with his apprentice, he left him to "educate" his subordinates of the future.

#### **"A great disturbance in the Force"**

"*There is a great disturbance in the Force.*" "*I have felt it.*" "*We have a new enemy: the young rebel who destroyed the Death Star. I have no doubt this boy is the offspring of Anakin Skywalker.*"
―Darth Sidious and Darth Vader, about Luke Skywalker[src]
Three years after the Battle of Yavin, the Empire had managed to gain a major victory by capturing the Rebel base on the ice planet of Hoth. However, something bigger was growing. Sitting within his Imperial Office, Sidious sensed a great disturbance in the Force. It was not unlike that which he had sensed within the moments before the Death Star's destruction. Sidious sought to see within the disturbance, which brought him to a vision of a boy holding a crimson lightsaber, having seemingly decapitated the Emperor's Royal Guards within his very own Imperial Office. As he watched, the boy approached a seated Sidious within the vision, calling to the Force to choke Sidious' doppelganger. The doppelganger attempted to electrocute the boy with Force Lightning, but failed to stop him. The doppelganger attempted to call upon his lightsaber but instead the boy commanded it and turned the saber on midflight, eventually overpowering the doppelganger when the Sith Lord's own saber struck him down. A familiar voice then called to the boy, who proceeded to walk to the same spot the real Sidious now occupied. The boy knelt in front of the hidden figure as the voice noted that the boy had done well. Sidious then realized who the voice belonged to: That of Anakin Skywalker. Sidious concluded that this must be a dream of Anakin's.

Probing deeper within the vision, Sidious witnessed the scene of the unmasked and unburnt Anakin Skywalker walking beneath the sight of endless Star Destroyers, walking together with a figure that seemingly resembled him as well as the looming figure of the long deceased Senator Padme Amidala, now alive once more. The figure referred to Anakin as Father and to Padme as Mother. Anakin then motioned to the fleet, referring to the boy as Luke, stating that the fleet that flew above them was now the most powerful in the galaxy. Having witnessed this, Sidious was thrown out of the vision, but he had witnessed enough. From these pieces he deduced that Vader's prior actions made supposedly under the guise of destroying the Alliance leadership were actually motivated by a desire to find his son and shape him to his vision. Sidious then resolved to give Vader the resources to do just that while waiting for Vader to make a mistake. When he made that mistake, Sidious would be ready to take advantage of it for his own purposes and ensuring Vader's simultaneous downfall. With Darth Vader aboard his command ship, the Super Star Destroyer *Executor*, the Emperor ultimately contacted the commanding officer of the vessel, Admiral Piett, telling him to have Lord Vader contact him immediately. Vader did as he was instructed and was told of his son, Luke Skywalker, fully aware that Vader was knowledgeable of this information. The Emperor then proceeded to state his desire for the elimination of this threat, yet Vader suggested that young Skywalker could become an ally. With calculated words of approval, the Emperor allowed his enforcer to pursue this possible "asset." The cloaked master then left Vader to find Luke Skywalker after his apprentice pledged to confront the offspring of Anakin Skywalker and either bring him to the Emperor or have his son destroyed.

#### **Vader's quest**

"*Join me, and together, we can rule the galaxy as father and son!*"
―Darth Vader, to Luke Skywalker[src]
Darth Vader eventually lured Luke Skywalker to Cloud City on Bespin, where the Sith Lord attempted to capture Skywalker in carbonite and transport the Jedi-aspirant to the Emperor. However, Skywalker evaded capture and was confronted by Vader in a duel on Cloud City. There, with the Jedi-aspirant beaten by a precarious ledge, Vader divulged knowledge of his relationship with Skywalker, his son, and gave an ultimatum for the youth: to join forces—as said to be destiny—with his father, Darth Vader, or die. However, Luke Skywalker rejected his newfound father, and allowed himself to fall into the abyss.

Having failed in recruiting or destroying Skywalker, Vader returned to the *Executor*, only to be interrupted by its crew, which reported the *Millennium Falcon*'s escape from Cloud City. Upon the *Executor*'s bridge, Vader sensed the presence of his son aboard the *Falcon*. Calling out for the young Skywalker to join himself in vain, the father of Skywalker watched as the *Falcon* slipped past Imperial forces with its fully functional hyperdrive.

Angered, Lord Vader left his flagship aboard an Imperial shuttle with a forensics droid and a unit of death troopers for revenge against those responsible for withholding the knowledge of his offspring's survival, altering the droid's systems that would force its motivator to trigger a self-destruct sequence should the droid reveal any information to anyone—including Imperials and the Emperor himself—regarding their quest.

Meanwhile, the Emperor had Grand Vizier Mas Amedda contact Admiral Piett by hologram. After Piett's confirmation on the escape of the *Millennium Falcon*, the Grand Vizier relayed the Emperor's demand for Vader to contact him immediately, yet an officer alerted Piett of the departure of Lord Vader's shuttle as the admiral reached for his comlink to Vader. Cautiously wording his response, Piett told Vizier Amedda of Vader's unavailability. Hearing word of Vader's failure and his leave from Imperial command, the Emperor began to laugh before the holo-transmission of Piett while he sat on his throne in his palace on Coruscant as Amedda stood next to him.

#### **Downfall of the Sith**

"*The Force is strong with him. The son of Skywalker must not become a Jedi.*" "*If he could be turned, he would become a powerful ally.*"
―Darth Sidious and Darth Vader, about Luke Skywalker[src]
In the months after the events on Bespin, Luke Skywalker would continue to hone his skills in the light side of the Force; nonetheless, Sidious still believed Skywalker liable to turn to the dark side.

In an attempt to gain a new Sith apprentice as well as end the Galactic Civil War, Sidious purposely allowed the Rebels to obtain the plans of the new Death Star under construction over the forest moon of Endor. Following the presumed destruction of a vast majority of the Rebellion in a doomed confrontation against an unknowingly armed and operational Death Star, Sidious planned on commencing the deployment of some of the largest invasion fleets known in galactic history to blockade the known rebel strongholds of Mon Cala and Chandrila until the Death Star II could destroy them, permanently ending the Rebellion and all those that would oppose his rule through sheer terror.

The Emperor went to the second Death Star intending to oversee the ultimate defeat of the Rebellion and the Jedi, using himself as additional bait to draw the Alliance out. A massive amount of Imperial personnel, including two astromech droids, witnessed their Emperor's momentous arrival. Shortly before his meeting with Luke Skywalker, the Emperor sensed the existence of a mysterious, malevolent force in the farthest reaches of the unexplored regions; he suspected it to be the possible source of the dark side of the Force, but even the Emperor wasn't sure who or what he was sensing.

#### **Meeting Luke Skywalker**

"*I'm looking forward to completing your training. In time, you will call me master.*"
―Darth Sidious, to Luke Skywalker[src]
Whilst on the Death Star, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Chewbacca managed to sneak past the shield and land on the Sanctuary Moon. Vader, who had been told to dispatch the fleet to the moon and to remain on a command ship, sensed his son's arrival. Because of this, he journeyed to the Death Star, where he told the Emperor that he sensed Luke's arrival. Surprised that he himself was unable to sense it, the Emperor commanded Vader to go and wait for him, saying that he had foreseen Luke seeking Vader out and surrendering to him personally out of compassion for his father.

Shortly after Skywalker and the rebel strike team landed on Endor, the Emperor summoned his secret protégé, Admiral Gallius Rax, for a secret meeting aboard his throne room on the second Death Star. Sensing a shatterpoint approaching, Darth Sidious warned Rax that it may soon be time to implement the Contingency. He then ordered Rax to take the *Executor*-class Star Dreadnought *Ravager* into the Vulpinus Nebula and hide until the events of this shatter point had resolved. He also told Rax that there would be others he had to call to his side.

Once Luke surrendered, Darth Vader brought his son to the space station and his master's throne room. The Emperor greeted Luke, dismissed the guardsmen and removed his chains. Luke was told that the Emperor planned to turn Luke to the dark side and that all that has happened on the Moon was all his plan. The Emperor also managed to explain that his father was irredeemable and could never be turned from the dark side. Sidious also had a surprise in store for the Rebels. When the Alliance Fleet arrived, the Death Star's superlaser was operational, contrary to what the Rebels had been led to believe. The Death Star was able to destroy several of the command ships, but the Rebels both on the surface and in space managed to press forward with their attack, as Lando was counting on Han to destroy the Shield Generator.

Luke was then manipulated by the Emperor, who told him of his friends' impending doom and Luke was told that he would soon become his apprentice. Luke at first resisted, but as the Emperor continued to taunt him, Luke grew angrier and then grabbed his lightsaber to strike the old man down. Darth Vader intercepted Luke's strike and the two began to engage in a duel much to the Emperor's delight.

Luke was first able to calm himself, refusing several times to continue fighting his father. Luke attempted to hide from Vader as their fight became more intense but Vader was able to sense his son's thoughts and learned that Luke had a sister. With this knowledge, Vader told Luke that if he did not turn to the dark side, perhaps Leia would. The threat of losing his sister enraged Luke and drove him to angrily attack Vader.

After Luke cut off Vader's mechanical hand, Sidious betrayed Vader by instructing Luke to take Vader's place by his side. However, Luke began to see what had happened and that he was dangerously close to becoming like his father was now; a slave to the dark side of the Force. Luke threw away his lightsaber and turned to face the Emperor. He told the Emperor that he would never turn to the dark side and that he was a Jedi, like his father before him.

#### **Demise**

"*If you will not be turned, you will be destroyed!*"
―Darth Sidious, to Luke Skywalker[src]
Angered by Skywalker's defiance, the Emperor unleashed a torrent of Force lightning upon him, forcing him onto the floor. The Emperor then proceeded to torment Luke, remarking that his rudimentary skills were no match for the power of the dark side. Meanwhile, Darth Vader watched his son struggle and plead for him to intervene, with Sidious threatening to kill the defenseless, young Skywalker; unbeknownst to Sidious, this was troubling Vader. Ultimately his concern and compassion for his son caused the former Anakin Skywalker to wake up and save Luke. The redeemed Anakin grabbed the Emperor, and threw him off a ledge down the Death Star's reactor shaft to his imminent death. Firing his lightning upward as he fell, the Emperor apparently could do nothing but scream as he went the long way down towards the second Death Star's reactor, causing a great explosion upon hitting it and releasing a light blue wind which encompassed the throne room before falling back down the shaft.

Having killed Darth Sidious and been reborn as a Jedi Knight, Anakin Skywalker had brought the destruction of the Sith. With his armor badly damaged by the Emperor's lightning, Anakin's decision to save his son's life would cost him his own. Before passing away into the Force, a dying Anakin requested Luke to remove the helmet Sidious forced him to wear all those years so he could finally see his son's face with his own eyes. Luke tried to convince Anakin to let him be saved by him, but Anakin told Luke that he already did and that he was right about there still being good in him, despite all that he had done. With his death, Anakin had fulfilled the ancient prophecy as Qui-Gon Jinn had believed he would thirty-six years earlier. With this his nightmarish era of tyranny died with him. Or so the galaxy believed, as Sidious was not so easily destroyed.

While he died in every natural sense of the word, even death wasn't the end for Sidious. When betrayed by Anakin Skywalker aboard the second Death Star, Sidious had little time to realize that his apprentice had turned on him much like he once did with Darth Plagueis, but unlike his former master, he had prepared himself for Skywalker's betrayal. Calling on all the power of the dark side of the Force, the Emperor transferred his consciousness far, far away as his empty body kept falling towards the battle station's reactor to his death.