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"There is only one plan—one great design which shall govern the universe—mine." ―Darth Sidious [src]

Darth Sidious, born Sheev Palpatine and known simply as the Emperor, was a human male Dark Lord of the Sith who reigned over the galaxy as Emperor of the Galactic Empire. Rising to power in the Galactic Senate as the senator of Naboo, the manipulative Sith Lord cultivated two identities, Sidious and Palpatine, using both to further his political career. He masterminded the Clone Wars in order to gain dictatorial powers during the final years of the Galactic Republic. After the fall of the Jedi Order, Sidious established a reign lasting from 19 BBY until his demise in 4 ABY. Death was not the end for Sidious, however, as the dark side of the Force was a pathway to abilities that made his return possible.

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. He had also taken another 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 replace Vader with his 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. 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. The return of the Sith was ultimately prevented when Rey called upon the strength of past Jedi and managed to vanquish her grandfather by turning his own power against him, destroying Sidious and his Sith Eternal cultists.

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Biography

Early life and political career

"My mentor taught me everything about the Force, even the nature of the dark side." ―Darth Sidious, to Anakin Skywalker [src]

A human male, Sheev Palpatine was born to a very influential family on the Mid Rim world of Naboo[3] around 84 years prior to the Battle of Yavin.[2] However, as far as anyone knew, Palpatine had no family of which to speak.[14] Brought up on the planet's capital city of Theed, the young Naboo acquired a great amount of knowledge on governance and the subtleties of power during his early years, eventually joining the cultured city's reputable host of credible politicians produced over the centuries.[17]

Eventually, Palpatine became the Sith apprentice to[3] Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Plagueis and took on the name Darth Sidious. As the Sith Sidious, he learned all his Sith Master knew about the dark side of the Force[18] and studied the Force as their predecessors, including the ancient Darth Bane, knew it.[source?] While training with Plagueis, Sidious was taught that two Sith were required for their perilous machinations. So, if they worked together in accordance to Darth Bane's Rule of Two, with one of them serving as bait for the dark side of the Force and the other as a vessel, they would succeed in acquiring the ability to harness the full power of the dark side and rule immortal for ten thousand years.[3]

Darth Sidious and Plagueis worked together for years, trying to unlock the secrets to immortality.[3] Eventually, Sidious was made aware of Plagueis' ability to manipulate the midi-chlorians to create life, which his master employed to prevent the people he cared for from dying.[18] However, Plagueis ultimately discovered a secret for eternal life, which Sidious later stole: transferring his own consciousness to another body, using bodies as vessels.[6] This obsession with extending one's own life later passed onto Sidious[8] from his time as[19] Galactic Emperor.[20]

In his public persona as Sheev Palpatine, his embarkment on a career in politics was aided by his Master, who raised him to the position of Senator for his homeworld in the Senate of the Galactic Republic. Once elected, the representative for Naboo quickly joined incumbent Supreme Chancellor Skor Kalpana's ruling party, and noticed the fervent bickering and corruption that mired the Republic. He began to establish relations with those who'd become his future collaborators, such as Wilhuff Tarkin. The duo met for the first time when Tarkin was still a cadet of the Sullust Sector Spacefarers Academy, and while Palpatine was still apprenticed to Plagueis. Taking an interest in the younger man, Senator Palpatine resolved to help him to join the Judicial Department, according to Tarkin's desire but advised him to also consider a political career. In the following years, their relationship became more and more confidential. Palpatine often lauded Tarkin for his talents and skills and remarked they were very similar: they both came from planets at the edge of the galaxy but were destined to have great repercussions on the history of the galaxy itself. Tarkin eventually became one of the few people who called Palpatine by his first name.[3]

Keeping his Sith identity a secret from the public eye, Sidious took it upon himself to execute the Sith's long-percolating plan of supplanting the Republic with a new Sith Empire as well as destroying the Jedi Order.[21] Seeking a Sith apprentice, Sidious traveled to the planet Dathomir and met with the Dathomirian Nightsister Mother Talzin. Intermingling his knowledge of the dark side of the Force with Talzin's knowledge of Nightsister magicks, Sidious had considered to make Talzin his apprentice and right hand. However, Sidious chose her infant son, the Zabrak Nightbrother who would become his true Sith apprentice, Darth Maul.[22]

However, by taking Maul under his wing, the Rule of Two had been violated, as it demanded only two Sith.[23] Following the traditions set forth by the Rule of Two and deciding that Plagueis had outlived his usefulness, Sidious betrayed and murdered his Master in his sleep.[18] Now the Sith Master himself, Sidious brutally trained Maul to be a weapon of the Sith, viewing Maul's prowess and combat abilities as an invaluable asset to his master plan.[22][24] Sidious was also able to manipulate Nute Gunray's rise to the position of Viceroy of the Trade Federation.[25]

War on Naboo

Invasion of Naboo

"At last, we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi. At last, we will have revenge." ―Darth Maul, to Darth Sidious Listen (file info) [src]

Palpatine moved to seize power from Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum, who had virtually no political power and counted Palpatine as a close friend and ally, allowing for Sidious to easily manipulate him.[26] Through holographic communication, Sidious conspired with Viceroy Gunray to blockade the planet Naboo in protest of the Senate's taxation of trade routes in outlying star systems. Driven to desperation by the inactivity of the Senate, Valorum secretly dispatched two Jedi Knights—Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi—as ambassadors to negotiate with the Federation's Neimoidian leaders.[1]

Upon learning of the ambassadors' identities, Sidious ordered the immediate invasion of Naboo and execution of the two Jedi; when Gunray questioned the legality of such an action, Sidious simply stated that he would make it legal. The Neimoidians acted accordingly, but the Jedi survived the assassination attempt and escaped the Federation ship. After Sidious terminated his communication with Gunray, Queen Padmé Amidala contacted him concerning the Federation's denial that the Chancellor had sent ambassadors to speak with them as promised. Sidious, as Palpatine, feigned concern at this supposed revelation, but was cut off mid-sentence by the Trade Federation's communication blackout, notifying the Naboo to their invasion.[1]

The Federation's droid army proceeded with their assault. Within a day, the army occupied the planet's capital city and its surrounding regions. Additionally, Amidala and her retinue were captured and presented with a treaty that would bring an air of legitimacy to their invasion. However, the Jedi arrived to rescue them, and they successfully evaded the blockade aboard the queen's starship.[1]

When Gunray informed Sidious of Amidala's failure to sign the treaty, the livid Sith Lord introduced them to Darth Maul, whom he dispatched to find and recapture Amidala. Due to Amidala's ship sustaining damage in the escape, the queen opted to land on Tatooine, an obscure desert world in the Outer Rim Territories, to repair the ship. Maul managed to ascertain the queen's location, and assured his master that his search on the sparsely populated world would be a short one. Sidious told him to move against the Jedi first, and then take the queen once they were dead. Maul left for Tatooine, but he failed to kill the Jedi or retrieve Amidala.[1]

The Senate

"Enter the bureaucrats, the true rulers of the Republic, and on the payroll of the Trade Federation, I might add. This is where Chancellor Valorum's strength will disappear." ―Sheev Palpatine, to Queen Amidala [src]

Despite these setbacks, Palpatine was able to convene with Amidala on Coruscant, where she intended to plead her case to Chancellor Valorum before the Galactic Senate. Bringing Amidala to his apartment for an audience, Palpatine told the queen that the senate was long past caring about the common good, while Valorum was essentially powerless against them. With both the Senate and Valorum closed off to her as options, Palpatine offered her two choices: she could move for a Vote of No Confidence in Chancellor Valorum, and push for the election of a more effective leader; or she could take the matter to the courts, which would take even longer. Hoping still to reach some resolution to the matter in the Senate, Amidala opted to attend the special session of the body the next day.[1]

During the awaited Senate session, Amidala attempted to make her case for Republic intervention to stop the Trade Federation's occupation of her world. However, the Federation representative Lott Dod fervently objected to the"accusations" levied against the Federation, citing that there was no proof that an invasion or occupation had even occurred. He recommended that a commission be sent to Naboo to ascertain the truth of the situation, a motion that was seconded by the Senator from Malastare, Aks Moe. Vice Chair Mas Amedda conferred quietly with Valorum for a few moments, and Palpatine took the opportunity to predict that the Chancellor, shackled to Senatorial procedure at the behest of bureaucrats who were more than likely on the payroll of the Federation, would fail to help Naboo. When Valorum reluctantly admitted that the Federation was within their rights to request a commission, an outraged Amidala realized that Palpatine was right; Valorum was too weak and ineffectual to provide her world with the help it needed. As such, she took Palpatine's advice and publicly moved for a Vote of No Confidence in the Chancellor. Within moments, hundreds of Senators began demanding for an immediate vote, leaving Valorum thunderstruck.[1]

The sudden power vacuum led to Palpatine's nomination as Supreme Chancellor alongside Bail Antilles of Alderaan and Ainlee Teem of Malastare. When he announced his nomination to Amidala, however, the queen declared her intention to return to Naboo and reclaim it from the Trade Federation by whatever means she could. Palpatine made a show of concern and tried halfheartedly to convince her to stay on Coruscant. She left regardless, taking both Jinn and Kenobi with her for protection and wishing Palpatine success in the election.[1]

Battle of Naboo

"Wipe them out. All of them." ―Darth Sidious, to Nute Gunray [src]

Sidious contacted the Neimoidians on Naboo, instructing them to kill Amidala upon arrival, and sent Maul to accompany them with orders to make certain the Neimoidians killed the queen, and that the Jedi fell by his own hand. Even while he managed the election on Coruscant, he made time to go over the Neimoidians' progress. Against his expectations, he learned that Amidala not only managed to escape Gunray's reach but also forged an alliance with the Gungans and assembled an army in the planet swamp in preparation for a strike against the Federation occupation force. He doubted she would last even five minutes in such a contest, and gave his approval to Gunray's plan to meet the Gungans head-on.[1]

Ultimately, Palpatine won the election for Supreme Chancellor. However, the Federation army was defeated, Gunray was captured by Amidala's forces, and Maul met his presumed death at the hands of the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi, though not before striking down Qui-Gon Jinn, whose funeral Palpatine would later attend. Palpatine also learned that the Naboo owed their victory to the unexpected intervention of Anakin Skywalker, a young, freed slave from Tatooine who was highly attuned to the Force, fueling the belief that he was the Chosen One of Jedi prophecy who would bring balance to the Force. After much debate, the Jedi Council decided that Skywalker would be apprenticed to Kenobi as a Jedi. Palpatine personally congratulated the two Jedi during the celebration on Naboo, telling young Skywalker that his career would be watched with "great interest."[1]

Further preparations

"They said Master Sifo-Dyas placed an order for a clone army at the request of the Senate almost ten years ago. I was under the impression that he was killed before that." ―Obi-Wan Kenobi, to Mace Windu and Yoda regarding the Kaminoans [src]

Over the next ten years,[27] Supreme Chancellor Palpatine amassed a favorable reputation as a mild-mannered servant of the common good, and the public remained oblivious to his true, insidious persona. As Anakin Skywalker grew older, his relationship with Palpatine deepened; on many occasions, Palpatine lauded Skywalker as the most gifted Jedi he had ever encountered, one who would surpass even Yoda, the Grand Master of the Jedi Council. Skywalker, who grew increasingly frustrated with the strict lifestyle of the Jedi under his master Kenobi's guidance, appreciated Palpatine's praise and greatly took to his counsel. In truth, this was all part of Sidious' plan to gain Skywalker's trust and groom him into his eventual Sith apprentice.[9][12]

However, Sidious was well aware that his plan to turn Skywalker to the dark side could not bear fruit for many years to come, and with Maul dead, Sidious needed an apprentice in the interim. As such, he turned to the former Jedi Master Dooku to fill that role. Dooku left the Jedi Order, reclaiming his wealth and title as the Count of Serenno.[28] With the turn of Dooku—anointed Darth Tyranus—the Sith orchestrated the death of Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas and took over his clientele for the commission of a clone army produced on Kamino; the event was subsequently covered up when Dooku erased all records of Kamino from the Jedi Archives.[29] Subsequently, bounty hunter Jango Fett was hired as the clones' genetic template, and the clones were fitted with a bio-chip containing a protocol that would ensure their total obedience to Sidious when the time came for it.[12][30]

Galli and the Contingency

"You will go back to Jakku. The spot there in the dirt where my droids were operating is precious. Not just to me, but to the galaxy at large. It is significant… You will go back there and you will monitor my droids excavating the ground. Then I will send more droids and they will build something there below the ground. I want you to guard this space. Can you do that?" ―Sheev Palpatine, to Galli [src]

In 30 BBY, Palpatine and his Adviser Yupe Tashu traveled to the barren Inner Rim planet of Jakku, which lay at the edge of the Unknown Regions. After landing his yacht Imperialis in the Plaintive Hand plateau, Tashu ordered a detachment of six droids to begin excavating. The yacht soon left off-world but a local twelve-year-old boy named Galli sneaked aboard the Imperialis. Palpatine sensed his presence and gave the boy the choice of dying or serving him. Palpatine then instructed Galli to return to the excavation site and guard it against any intruders. He stressed that intruders should not be allowed to taint the site and ordered Galli to kill them. Palpatine then introduced himself on a first-name basis as Sheev.[14][31]

For the next ten years, Galli guarded the Plaintive Hand excavation site. In 20 BBY, Palpatine returned and invited the boy aboard the Imperialis this time as a guest of honor. By that stage, work on the Jakku Observatory had been completed. Using a game of Shah-tezh as an illustration, Palpatine explained that his future Galactic Empire could not be allowed to outlive its Emperor should he die prematurely. To demonstrate his seriousness, Palpatine Force choked Galli. He tasked Galli with executing his secret Contingency plan and inducted the boy into Imperial service.[32] Galli subsequently joined the Naval Intelligence Agency as a commander[14] and adopted the name Gallius Rax.[32]

Laying the foundations

"I want you to know that there is always a place for you with me. Once your training is complete, of course." ―Sheev Palpatine, to Anakin Skywalker [src]

As Anakin Skywalker grew older, the relationship between Palpatine and the young Jedi greatly deepened. On many occasions, the Chancellor attended the boy's training at the Jedi Temple expressing appreciation for the progress reached by the young Padawan in lightsaber combat. He could notice that he was deeply conditioned by his emotions and he asked Master Mace Windu to send Skywalker to him, saying he could help with the boy's formation.[33] When Skywalker arrived in the company of his Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, Palpatine asked to be accompanied by Skywalker for an errand in the lower levels of Coruscant. Dismissing Master Kenobi's reminder that Skywalker was not yet a Jedi and dangers could lie ahead, the Chancellor brought Skywalker to Level 2685. Both disguised as travellers, Palpatine told the youth that he himself frequents the area when his duties permitted it—to try to do some good. Eventually, the duo arrived at Club Kasakar.[34]

There, Palpatine expressed some form of envy in the life of young Jedi Padawans, that was already decided from an early age, in difference with his political life, one of the troubling choices and difficult decisions. He also explained that the Club was full of Senators. In particular, he pointed out Senator Colandrus, a Tarsunt who often went there for gambling. While the Tarsunt senator was betting at a game table, Palpatine said that Colandrus was corrupt, but there were no proofs of it. Inspired by that unflattering description Anakin used the telekinetic Jedi power to rig Colandrus' last dice, making him lose large sums of money. Hearing the disguised Palpatine laugh at his misfortune, Colandrus sicced his bodyguard on him, but the Chancellor defused the situation by explaining that "his son" had just made a joke, and promised that they would leave at once. Still unconvinced, Colandrus nevertheless allowed the cloaked nuisances to go freely.[35]

Once the duo returned back to the Chancellor's office, Palpatine "apologized" to Anakin for involving him in a Senate matter. Anakin said the Jedi could arrest Senator Colandrus, but Palpatine replied that the Jedi were not required to obey him because if they did, he would be like a dictator and that wasn't his wish. He also told the boy not to talk about what had happened to them with his masters and further asked if Anakin was happy in the temple. When the Padawan answered positively, Palpatine felt the truth of it through the Force. Eventually, Palpatine thanked him for his decisive role in the Battle of Naboo, and said there would always be a place for Anakin near him, and that he could make extraordinary use of a young man like Anakin.[36]

The Clone Wars

Separatist crisis

"I love democracy. I love the Republic. The power you give me I will lay down when this crisis has abated. And as my first act with this new authority, I will create a Grand Army of the Republic to counter the increasing threats of the Separatists." ―Sheev Palpatine [src]

Under Sidious' direction, Dooku rallied several thousand solar systems into declaring independence from the Galactic Republic, instead joining the Confederacy of Independent Systems with himself as its leader.[12] Two years after the Confederacy was founded,[37] civil war seemed to be imminent and the Jedi's numbers were too few to maintain galactic peace. The Senate pushed for a vote to create a Grand Army of the Republic. Keeping his true motives a secret,[12] Palpatine resisted all of the Senate's attempts to create an army and the push to go to war with the Confederacy.[38]

Upon arriving in Coruscant to vote on the matter, Palpatine's successor as Senator of Naboo, former Queen Padmé Amidala, narrowly avoided an assassination attempt carried out by Zam Wesell on behalf of the vengeful Nute Gunray. Palpatine had the vote delayed and placed the senator under the protection of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, her old allies from the Battle of Naboo. After a second attempt on the senator's life was made, Skywalker was assigned to protect her back on her homeworld of Naboo. There the two secretly started to fall in love which, coupled with Skywalker's later discovery of his mother Shmi's death at the hands of Tusken Raiders on the planet Tatooine, would bring the young Jedi ever closer to the dark side of the force, and even more vulnerable to Sidious' deceptive machinations.[12]

However, when it was revealed that the Separatists were secretly building a battle droid army with the support of many commercial organizations, including the Trade Federation. Palpatine used the situation to have himself granted emergency powers from the Senate by Representative Jar Jar Binks. Palpatine feigned reluctance to accept this authority, promising to return it to the Senate once the crisis ended. His first act was to allow the use of the clone army, which was discovered by Kenobi on Kamino, to counter the Separatist threat; this resulted in the Battle of Geonosis, which served as the opening salvo of the Clone Wars. After clone template Jango Fett was killed and the Separatist partners escaped the battle, Dooku met with Sidious at the Coruscant tower in The Works with not only good news that the war the Sith had been orchestrating had begun, but with plans for a Geonosian superweapon that may be of use for their future Sith-led regime. Sidious was pleased with these turn of events, and later with the leaders of the Senate oversaw the new Republic army marching towards war, while Skywalker and Amidala secretly wed on Naboo with their two droids, C-3PO and R2-D2, as sole witnesses[12] besides a local holy man who officiated the rite,[17] which Sidious would later use as an advantage to lure Skywalker to become his next apprentice.[18]

Negotiations with the Hutts

"Soon, the Jedi will not only be at war with you, Count, but the Hutt Clan as well." ―Darth Sidious, to Darth Tyranus Listen (file info) [src]

After the Confederacy's Droid Army seized control of the major hyperspace lanes, Sidious had Dooku and his assassin Asajj Ventress kidnap the Hutt Clans' Council leader, Jabba's son, Rotta. After he was taken to Teth, Sidious contacted both Ventress and Dooku. He assured them that the Jedi would be at war with the Hutts as well the Confederacy.[39]

Palpatine then received a message from Jabba, asking for help in rescuing his son. Despite Master Windu's reservations about allying the Republic with the Hutt, Palpatine knew they need the Hutt's space lanes to move their troops. Despite General Grievous spreading the Republic forces thin, Windu told Palpatine that Skywalker and Kenobi could carry out the rescue. During the rescue, Palpatine learned that Jabba believed that the Jedi were behind his son's kidnapping and told Senator Amidala of this. Jabba refused to speak with him, so Amidala decided to speak with Jabba's uncle Ziro at his palace, despite Palpatine's warning. Kenobi, Skywalker, and his new Padawan, Ahsoka Tano were able to return Rotta to his father and secure a treaty with the Hutts. Sidious spoke with his apprentice about this setback. He assured Dooku that the war was turning in their favor.[39]

Gunray's capture

"Gunray's capture could be a serious threat to us, my friend." ―Darth Sidious, to Darth Tyranus [src]

Palpatine learned that Senator Amidala moved through enemy territory into the Outer Rim, causing him to contact her aboard her H-type Nubian yacht. Amidala explained that an old family friend, Senator Farr of Rodia, had asked for her personally, as his people were starving. Palpatine claimed to understand, although he argued that she should have a clone trooper escort. However, Amidala had trust in diplomacy. After Representative Binks tried to talk to Palpatine, he caused C-3PO's chair to move, knocking the Gungan down and causing the ship to veer off course. Amidala was able to regain control, but Palpatine discreetly urged her to keep Binks out of the negotiations, which she agreed to.[40]

Yet once Amidala was planet-side, she learned Farr had joined the Separatists to help his people, and she was captured by Nute Gunray's battle droids. However, Binks helped disrupt the Separatist's plans and Farr decided to side with the Republic. Thanks to a message sent by C-3PO, the 41st Elite Corps arrived on the planet and captured Gunray. Palpatine contacted them via hologram, stating that Amidala had brought Rodia's needs to his attention. The Chancellor had deployed a convoy of supply ships and stated that Gunray's capture was a major Republic victory.[40]

However, the secret Sith Lord saw the danger Nute Gunray's capture posed, as the viceroy would not last under the Jedi's questioning. Contacting Darth Tyranus, Sidious was informed by his apprentice that Asajj Ventress could infiltrate the Republic warship, allowing her to rescue or kill Gunray. While Sidious was apprehensive about using an agent who had previously failed, Tyranus argued that she was a skilled assassin. Ultimately, the Master allowed his pupil to proceed in this plan; Ventress successfully rescued Nute Gunray, denying the Jedi and the Republic the opportunity to extract secret information from the Separatist leader, whilst also demonstrating her ability to handle a Star Destroyer's contingent of clone troopers, a Jedi Padawan, and a Jedi Master all at once.[41]

Chancellor at war

"With the final votes tallied, let it be known that the motion to stop the creation of more clone troops has failed, and the continued manufacturing of clone troopers shall proceed as scheduled." ―Sheev Palpatine [src]

As the war got underway, Dooku crash-landed his ship on Vanqor and was captured by the Ohnaka Gang. Kenobi and Skywalker were sent to verify their leader Hondo Ohnaka's demand for a reward,[42] and then sent Senator Kharrus and Representative Binks to deliver it. Ultimately, Dooku escaped from the pirates.[43]

Sidious paid Cad Bane to steal a Holocron from the Jedi Temple's Holocron Vault,[44] which when used in conjunction with the kyber memory crystal would reveal the location of Force-sensitive infants across the galaxy.[45] He had Bane kidnap these children to his facility on Mustafar to commence the creation of an army of Force-sensitive spies, but the Jedi foiled Bane and rescued the younglings.[46]

During the Battle of Malastare, the Zillo Beast was inadvertently awakened and Palpatine wanted the creature killed, but changed his mind when Doctor Sionver Boll and Skywalker pointed out the beast's indestructible hide could prove fruitful if analyzed. The Zillo Beast was instead rendered unconscious, and transported to Coruscant. It broke out of its restraints and rampaged through the Senate District before being killed with poison gas. Palpatine ordered Boll to clone the animal.[47][48]

During the Senate hostage crisis, Cad Bane demanded Ziro the Hutt be released from prison in exchange for the hostages' release. Palpatine reluctantly complied after Skywalker was subdued by Bane's gang.[49]

The following year, while the Senate was considering deregulating the banks to increase funding for the war. Palpatine was soon informed by Amidala that the Separatist Senate, led by Mina Bonteri, was considering peace negotiations. Dooku had the central power distribution grid bombed, and then staged another attack on the Confederacy, which killed Bonteri and was blamed on the Republic, dashing any hope of peace.[51][52] A bill for more clone troopers was soon passed: Palpatine told a disappointed Amidala that with more troops, perhaps the war would end more quickly.[53]

During the Battle of Sullust, Sidious ordered Dooku to dispose of his general Asajj Ventress, having become aware of her growing power. Dooku complied and ordered his troops to leave her to die during their retreat, but she survived.[54]

Sidious ordered Dooku to ally with the resurgent Zygerrian Slave Empire, explaining past Sith Empires were built on the backs of slaves and theirs would be no exception.[55] They soon plotted for bounty hunters such as Cad Bane and Rako Hardeen to "kidnap" Palpatine during the Festival of Light on Naboo. Kenobi infiltrated the plot and helped the Jedi to prevent it, lulling them into a false sense of security. Dooku showed up the evening after the festival but was defeated and forced to flee.[56]

Return of Darth Maul

"Have mercy. Please. Please!"

"There is no mercy." ―Maul and Darth Sidious [src]

The next year, Maul returned to the galaxy after a decade of hiding, with his brother Savage Opress now acting as his apprentice. The Jedi were concerned but Palpatine disagreed, convincing Yoda that the Separatists should be their concern and that Maul's vendetta was a private matter for Kenobi to resolve.[58] When Maul seized control of Mandalore, the most powerful planet in the Council of Neutral Systems, Palpatine realized that Maul had grown too dangerous and was a threat to his future conquest of the galaxy. Deciding to end the threat personally, Palpatine had his shuttle flown to Sundari, where he confronted Maul and Opress.[59]

Not fooled by Maul's attempts to become his apprentice once again, Sidious engaged the rival Sith Lords in combat. Sidious proved himself to be not only a match for their combined strength but also superior, as after a prolonged duel, he separated the brothers by first bypassing Savage's defense and knocking him away with a kick and then force-pushed Maul, briefly knocking him out. Sidious then briefly toyed with Savage, not even bothering to engage, before he then began battling him again and soundly slayed Opress in single combat. Not bothering to prevent Maul from going to his brother, knowing it was too late for him to do anything to save Savage after Opress finally succumbed, Sidious taunted Maul again, reminding him of the ancient rules of the Sith and how Maul had been replaced before he then once again engaged his former apprentice. Although Sidious found Maul to be far more ferocious than Savage, he ultimately won the final blade lock and brought Maul to his knees, but chose not to kill him, foreseeing that his fallen apprentice could be useful.[59]

Trial of Ahsoka Tano

"I'm sure many of you look at this former Jedi and think, 'Surely she cannot be this murderer or saboteur that they speak of.' And yet think of all the times we have been fooled by the Separatists and how they have infiltrated the Republic, and ask yourself, 'Is this yet another Separatist scheme?' Another way to rip the Jedi, and subsequently all of us, apart." ―Sheev Palpatine [src]

Chancellor Palpatine served as the judge of the trial of Ahsoka Tano, who was accused of masterminding a bombing at the Jedi Temple. Flanked by two crimson-robed guards, he listened while Senator Amidala and Admiral Tarkin made their arguments as the defense and the prosecutor, respectively. When they had finished, the Chancellor delivered a speech warning the court to beware of Separatist schemes that aimed to undermine the Jedi Order, and by extension, the Galactic Republic, from within. Before he could announce the verdict, however, Skywalker interrupted with Barriss Offee, who confessed to the crime. Palpatine ordered Offee taken away, and Tano was acquitted.[60]

Manipulating two sides

"Each day, we grow closer and closer to victory." ―Sheev Palpatine [src]

During the Battle of Ringo Vinda, the clone trooper "Tup" suddenly faltered, becoming confused and killing the Jedi Master Tiplee, before ultimately succumbing to insanity and dying himself. This incident was instigated by a faulty inhibitor chip, inserted into clones for the purpose of enforcing loyalty to the Supreme Chancellor and which laid the groundwork for their execution of Protocol 66. With his plans threatened, Sidious, as Chancellor Palpatine, had Tup's body taken to the Grand Republic Medical Facility for autopsy.[30] Shaak Ti and Nala Se brought the rebellious clone CT-5555 "Fives" to Palpatine, who had uncovered the inhibitor chips implanted in each clone trooper, and believed them to be part of a Separatist conspiracy. The Chancellor had his guards stage an attack, making Fives look dangerous to the Republic and discrediting him. He then informed the Jedi that a parasite native to Ringo Vinda was responsible for Tup and Fives's behavior, for which all of the clone troopers would be inoculated against.[61] Palpatine furthered the beneficiary opportunities from this series of events as he transferred the bulk of his Sith artifact collection to the Medical Facility from an abandoned store-house in The Works district, where the elusive Sith feared the Jedi may discover.[17]

During a diplomatic mission to Scipio, Senator Padmé Amidala learned from Rush Clovis that the InterGalactic Banking Clan had gone bankrupt. Palpatine told her to trust Clovis while hiring the bounty hunter Embo to target them on the Clan's apparent behalf.[62] Palpatine and Dooku agreed to make Clovis the new head of the Banking Clan: the Muun government arrested the Core Five, and Clovis was elected by a Senate majority to replace them.[63] Dooku blackmailed Clovis into raising the Republic's interest rates and sent a fleet to blockade Scipio, to which Palpatine responded by sending a fleet commanded by Skywalker. As Scipio fell under the Republic's control and Clovis committed suicide, the Muuns ceded control of the banks to the Office of the Chancellor.[64]

Queen Julia's request

"Queen Julia, the Republic is honored that you have come to us for aid. We are always happy to support the neutral systems in a time of crisis." ―Sheev Palpatine [src]

When Queen Julia of Bardotta requested assistance from the Senate regarding the disappearance of several Dagoyan Masters, Palpatine offered to send Bail Organa and Senator Amidala, but she insisted the aid of Representative Binks. Palpatine informed the Jedi Council, who deemed it unwise, so Master Windu volunteered to accompany him.[65]

Sifo-Dyas' secret

"Master Sifo-Dyas? Forgive me. I'm afraid I am not familiar with that name." ―Sheev Palpatine, to Yoda [src]

Palpatine was visited by Yoda when the Jedi discovered Sifo-Dyas' lightsaber at the location of a distress beacon: apparently, Sifo-Dyas had died on a mission to Felucia, but details were sealed by the Office of the Chancellor. Palpatine told Yoda to consult former Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum, since he was still a Senator at the time. Sidious then went to berate Tyranus via hologram over this loose end, ordering him to sort it out. Vexed by Tyranus' carelessness, Sidious Force choked his apprentice, warning him to remember the price for failure. Tyranus prevented Kenobi and Skywalker from learning who killed Sifo-Dyas, but they still deduced the Sith were responsible for the creation of the clone army.[29]

Yoda's journey to Moraband

"Save him, Jedi? Can you save him? Why not let him go? Let him die, and you can stop all that I will do." ―Darth Sidious, to Yoda, about Anakin Skywalker [src]

When Yoda entered the Valley of the Dark Lords on Moraband during a quest to uncover immortality, Sidious and Dooku sensed his presence and convened at The Works on Coruscant. Greeting his apprentice once he arrived, Sidious led Dooku to the tower's ceremonial chamber. Exploiting Dooku and Yoda's Force-bond, Sidious used a Balc incantation to cast a dark illusion to ensnare the Jedi Master. Using Sifo-Dyas' visage, he offered to reveal his identity if he would join him, but Yoda refused. The illusion then made it seem that they were in The Works pursuing the Sith Lords with Anakin Skywalker and the 501st Legion. Sidious dueled Yoda on the catwalks outside the tower, with Skywalker arriving outside shortly after. Sidious rendered Skywalker unconscious with Force lightning while he continued fighting Yoda. As the illusion unfolded, Yoda refused to sacrifice Skywalker to pursue Sidious, and instead demonstrated he was willing to sacrifice himself to save the Chosen One. Sidious's illusion faltered: the Jedi Master won. Defeated, Sidious stated that they would need more time to defeat the Jedi.[23]

Battle with Maul and Talzin

Meanwhile, Mandalorian super commandos broke Maul out of his imprisonment in the Spire on Stygeon Prime.[66] Maul called on Mother Talzin for help after General Grievous defeated his forces at Zanbar, precisely what Sidious and Dooku wanted. Talzin foresaw this and ordered her son to draw the Separatists to Ord Mantell, where he defeated and captured Dooku.[67] Maul contacted Sidious and informed him of their capture: the Sith Lord responded he should execute them, saying there were of no more use to him. Maul informed Dooku, goading him into allying with him.[22]

Maul and Dooku flew to Dathomir, where Talzin intended to siphon Dooku's lifeforce to regain her physical body. Sidious and Grievous also arrived on the planet and attacked Maul and the Talzin-possessed Dooku. Talzin regained her physical body and fended off Sidious's lightning, sacrificing herself to allow her son to escape. Taking the opportunity, Grievous plunged two lightsabers into her body, eliminating the foe of Sidious. Despite Maul's escape, Sidious was satisfied that the Shadow Collective had been destroyed.[68]

A Jedi renegade

Later, the Jedi sent Quinlan Vos to work with Ventress to kill Count Dooku. This mission was deemed Jedi business, so Palpatine was not informed. However, Skywalker was unsure if that was the correct decision, and he felt that the Jedi keeping secrets from the Chancellor was wrong. Eventually, aboard the Republic's Venator-class Star Destroyer Vigilance in orbit of Christophsis, Vos, who had fallen to the dark side and tasked himself with becoming Dooku's apprentice so as to discover Darth Sidious' identity, and Dooku, held in captivity of several clone troopers and Jedi, including Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, had enlisted the assistance of Asajj Ventress in their escape.[69]

The trio, however, crash-landed onto Christophsis under Republic pursuit, with the Count of Serenno suffering grievous injuries. Having sought shelter in a hidden Confederacy fortress, Dooku contacted a long-awaiting Darth Sidious within a hologram communications chamber in seek of help, yet not before Vos and Ventress slipped in. Dooku was thus forced to introduce Quinlan Vos, presenting the former Jedi as his "new assassin" to Sidious, who had customarily hidden his facial features behind his dark cowl, whilst Ventress remained hidden in the shadows. After expressing disapproval with his apprentice's new employ, Darth Sidious listened to Dooku's plea for an evacuation ship as a second battle of Christophsis ensued with Skywalker leading the ruthless Republic onslaught. Giving only a vague answer, Sidious ended the holo-communication as the Christophsis Separatist tower fell to Republic gunship fire. The battle resulted in an inevitable Separatist loss, and with Ventress' redemption through sacrificing herself for her lover, Quinlan Vos, Dooku's "new assassin" chose to allow Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi take him back to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant for reassessment. Meanwhile, as the Jedi took Vos, a ship sent by Darth Sidious arrived to retrieve Dooku, letting the Separatist leader return to safety.[69]

Battle of Coruscant and death of Dooku

"You did well, Anakin. He was too dangerous to be kept alive." ―Sheev Palpatine, to Anakin Skywalker, on the execution of Dooku [src]

Sidious devised a plan for Palpatine to be captured and Anakin to rescue him and kill Count Dooku, in order to tempt Anakin to the Dark Side and replace Dooku as his next apprentice. Sidious ordered Grievous to capture Palpatine and Dooku to hold him hostage. Grievous and Dooku however were unaware of Sidious's true intentions.

During the Outer Rim Sieges, Grievous commanded a massive invasion of Coruscant, accompanied by Dooku. While the Republic and Separatist fleets clashed above the planet, Grievous went to the ground in order to capture Palpatine Shaak Ti and Roron Corrob, along with a clone task force were sent to protect him. Corrob and the clones fell to Grievous, while Ti managed to fight further. Grievous took the upper hand by electrifying the Jedi Master with cables, knocking her unconscious in the process. Grievous took her lightsaber and fled with the captive Palpatine to the Separatist flagship Invisible Hand.[70]

Kenobi and Skywalker, who at the time were in the middle of making preparations to take Mandalore, were called upon to rescue him. After landing in the Invisible Hand's hangar, the two found Palpatine bound to a chair on the bridge. They were confronted by Dooku, who they entered a duel with. Dooku took out Kenobi with ease and then focused on Skywalker. They continued the duel until Skywalker cut off his hands. Disarmed and on his knees, Dooku was bested. Palpatine commended Skywalker on his accomplishment. However, he then betrayed Dooku by urging Anakin to kill him. A shocked Dooku looked to Palpatine pleadingly, only to be met with another, more sinister urging. With one swift move, Count Dooku was beheaded. Anakin was conflicted on his actions but was comforted by Palpatine, who told him that it was a simple act of revenge in return for Dooku cutting off his arm. Skywalker went to pick up the unconscious Kenobi, to which Palpatine pleaded with the Jedi to leave his master. His plea was denied, and the three began their descent to the hangar.[18]

Meanwhile, the Invisible Hand was attacked by the Guarlara, with the former taking extensive damage and losing its position, momentarily falling towards that planet's surface. With the ship on its side, the three began running down an elevator shaft, only to lose their footing as the Invisible Hand regained its position. They managed to get out and to a hallway, where they were then captured in a ray shield. They were brought before Grievous in the control room, where R2-D2, who was also a captive, gave a distraction that allowed Kenobi and Skywalker to take control. With nowhere to run, Grievous broke open a window and found his way to the escape pods, which he activated as he fled. The ship then became caught in Coruscant's gravity well and began barreling towards the surface. Skywalker and Kenobi attempted to land it, but only managed to ease the crash. Following the crash, Palpatine and the Jedi were escorted to the Senate Building.[18]

The seduction of Anakin Skywalker

"Soon I will have a new apprentice, one far younger and more powerful." ―Darth Sidious, to Grievous [src]

Palpatine soon began preparing for the war's end. Sidious instructed Grievous to move the Separatists to mustafar. Skywalker, who had just been hailed as a hero for killing Count Dooku and rescuing the Chancellor, began having visions of his wife dying in childbirth. Palpatine decided to use that to his advantage. Throughout the next few rotations, their relationship kept growing. Ultimately, Palpatine appointed Skywalker to be his representative to the Jedi Council.[18]

Meanwhile, the Jedi began to distrust and resent the Chancellor's accumulating power and control. The Council, who was not happy with Skywalker's appointment by one not of their order, denied him the rank of "Jedi Master." This turn of events simply furthered Palpatine's plans. The Council, however, decided to use this appointment as a chance to spy on Palpatine. Skywalker, who felt insulted by that demand, regretfully agreed and began to devote his time to getting to know the Chancellor better. Some Jedi, such as Mace Windu, were concerned about their relationship, seeing that it could be dangerous putting the two together. Windu ultimately noted that the dark side of the Force surrounded the Chancellor.[18]

At an opera show, Palpatine and Skywalker discussed the situation with Palpatine revealing to know that the Council wanted Skywalker to spy on him. At the same time, Skywalker, who was dealing with the fear of his wife's loss was beginning to distrust the Jedi Council. This allowed Palpatine to orchestrate Skywalker's downfall by telling him the story of his Master, "Darth Plagueis the Wise." According to the story, Plagueis possessed such strength in the Force that he could use it to prevent the ones closest to him from certain death. Skywalker, enthralled by the story, wished to know more about this power, asking him if he himself could learn it with Palpatine stating that, though possible, such things could not be taught by members of the Order.[18]

As the situation grew worse, Skywalker went to speak with the Chancellor regarding the Battle of Utapau. Anakin expressed his disappointment that he was not chosen for the assignment. Palpatine told Skywalker that the Council did not trust him and that the Jedi were plotting to take control of the Republic. Palpatine then revealed that he was trained in the ways of the Force, "even the nature of the dark side." This led to Skywalker concluding that Palpatine himself, was the Sith Lord the Jedi were hunting down. With this, Palpatine told Skywalker that he would teach him to save his wife from death. Skywalker, who desired to kill him, went to the Jedi Council with this information.[18]

Duel in the Chancellor's Office

"In the name of the Galactic Senate of the Republic, you are under arrest, Chancellor."

"Are you threatening me, Master Jedi?"

"The Senate will decide your fate."

"I am the Senate."

"Not yet." ―Mace Windu and Darth Sidious [src]

Mace Windu, after learning about Skywalker's claim went to confront the Chancellor along with fellow Jedi Council Masters Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar, as well as Saesee Tiin. Windu and the three other Jedi boldly ignited their lightsabers and declared that he was under arrest. Igniting his own crimson lightsaber, Sidious lunged forward and slew Kolar and Tiin in mere seconds, and Fisto slightly later, leaving Windu to face the Dark Lord alone. Sidious and Windu then engaged in a ferocious one-on-one duel. Though Sidious initially had the upper hand, Windu eventually disarmed him, knocked him to the floor and held him at blade point. Anakin soon arrived after this and both sides tried to persuade him that the other was a traitor. Windu taunted Sidious in his defeat which prompted the Sith Lord to attempt to kill Windu with Force lightning, but Windu managed to deflect it back at Sidious, causing the Sith Lord's face to take on a hideously disfigured appearance in the process due to the Dark Force energy emanating from the lightning. As a result of this, Sidious then switched his strategy to pretending to be a defenseless old man, dropping his lightning attack and proclaiming that he was too weak to carry on. Skywalker told Windu that Sidious had to stand trial, though Windu claimed that Sidious possessed far too much influence to be left alive. Deciding that his wife's survival was more important than his loyalty to the Jedi Order, Anakin intervened, cutting off Mace Windu's lightsaber hand and giving Sidious the opening to drop his feigned weakness and assault Windu with a full barrage of Force lightning, throwing him out the office window.[18]

Skywalker, although initially stunned by what he had done, ultimately viewed Windu's transgressions as the final act of hypocrisy that would be tolerated from the Jedi and knelt before the now-scarred Chancellor, agreeing to join the dark side on the condition that he was be shown how to save Amidala's life. Sidious bestowed on the young man the Sith name of Darth Vader, promising the young apprentice that together they would discover the hidden art of preventing death. Sidious then immediately instructed Vader to wipe out the Jedi, whom Sidious believed were plotting to overthrow not only the Galactic Senate, but the Republic as a whole, as well as to wipe out the Separatist leaders on Mustafar.[18]

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]

Prior to the start of the war, Sidious had instructed his apprentice, Darth Tyranus, to implant the members of the clone army they created with organic chips in their brains. This would allow them to order the clones to do anything they told them to, with the ultimate goal of executing the Jedi. With one simple command, the clones would enter a trance-like state and perform whatever orders they were given.[30][71][61]

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. Due to the existence of the organic chips within their brains, the clone troopers, who had formed deep relationships with their Jedi Generals, turned against them with no hesitation and managed to wipe out most of the Jedi with the exception of a few, notably Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda,[18] and Caleb Dume.[72] 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.[73]

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.[18]

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.[18]

Rescuing Vader

"I sense Lord Vader is in danger." ―Darth Sidious [src]

As shock troopers 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.[18]

The Emperor made haste to Mustafar, accompanied by a detachment of clones. There, 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.[18]

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.[74]

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.[18]

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.[18]

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.[75]

Age of the Empire

"There is only one plan—one great design which shall govern the universe—mine." ―Darth Sidious [src]

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.[3] 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.[76][77] 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 Palpatine.[78]

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.[3]

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. Emperor Palpatine 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 Emperor Palpatine 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.[79]

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.[80]

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.[79]

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.[79]

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.[79]

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.[79]

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.[79]

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.[79]

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.[79]

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.[79]

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.[79]

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."[79]

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.[79]

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.[79]

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.[3]

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.[3]

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.[3]

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.[3]

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.[3]

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.[82]

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.[82]

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.[3] 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.[83]

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.[84]

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 an Imperial Guard escort, and invited Lothal governor Arihnda Pryce to celebrate with him.[85] 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.[86] 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.[87]

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.[89] 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.[82]

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.[90]

Disturbance in the Unknown Regions

After Thrawn's defeat at Atollon, the Emperor 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.[91]

Machinations on Lothal

A World Between Worlds

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 Jedi 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.[92]

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.[93]

Deception

During the battle to liberate Lothal, Bridger surrendered to the Empire aboard Grand Admiral Thrawn's flagship Chimaera in order to stop Thrawn from bombing Lothal's Capital City. Thrawn brought Ezra into a chamber aboard the Chimaera which contained a portion of the Lothal Jedi Temple, which the Emperor had ordered to be painstakingly excavated "stone by stone." Since the Emperor was off-world, he used a hologram projection to present himself in his more benevolent, pre-scarred form.[94]

In an attempt to get Ezra to unlock the portal to "the World Between Worlds," the Emperor 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 from. With his plan in tatters, the Emperor ordered three members of the Royal Guard and three stormtroopers to execute Ezra. However, Bridger was able to use the Force to crush the soldiers with rubble and escaped.[94]

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.[95]

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.[95][96]

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.[97]

Despite Sidious's careful planning for seizing complete power over the Empire, his plans were jeopardized when the Rebel Alliance succeeded in destroying the Death Star during the Battle of Yavin, killing Tarkin and most of the Empire's high-ranking officers. 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.[96][98][99][100]

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.[96][99][101]

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.[101]

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.[100][102]

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.[103] 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.[104] Unwilling to harm her former friends Lando and Lobot, Chanath opted to destroy the vessel instead.[105] The wreckage of the Imperialis eventually ended up on Quantxi, the junk moon of Ord Mantell.[14]

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.[74][106][107]

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.[106][107]

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.[74][96]

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.[108][106]

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.[107]

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.[107]

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.[102]

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 le