Now this dark sorcerer, the greatest of all warlocks, whose soul burns with an unquenchable thirst for power, shall seek to make himself master of all things in the universe. A wizened old man burdened by the fate of all the needy he shall appear and many shall hearken to him. Few shall pierce the veil of lies, and see that his practiced humility great evil belies. But those who perceive this dark sorcerer's shadow spreading over the universe shall call him the Dark Lord. The strings of the harp by which the greedy and the fools are bound he shall know how to play. His will shall be acted by his great servant, an old battle-scarred Knight, and through him war he shall wage. Much blood shall be shed and many innocents sacrificed on his cruel altar ere the day fatigue and weakness brings down the Knights, the Guardians of peace and justice. In that day, the Dark Lord shall have gained a new great servant, another fallen Knight but younger and more powerful, and he shall cast the older pawn aside. He shall emerge from the crucible of war in the guise of a fierce champion of freedom and the people shall be deceived and look to him to herald the age of peace and prosperity. And they shall crown him their Emperor and soon he shall reveal his true colors. He shall brook no freedom nor any true equal. And through his servant he shall instill terror in the hearts of all, subject and foe alike, and many brave voices shall be silenced and the last embers of the Knights shall be all but extinguished. The Emperor shall be the most dreaded tyrant that the universe has seen and many worlds shall suffer under his yoke. An age of darkness under the dominion of the Dark Lord shall it be, an age of seemingly endless night. But even as the Dark Lord sits on his Dark Throne drunk with power, his mind prey to the darkest thoughts, he shall not be so mighty that he shall be beyond any fear. Fear shall gnaw at the Emperor, fear that a beacon of a new hope for all those who still dare to challenge him might emerge.
—Fragment of an old Jedi text pertaining to The Prophecy of the Chosen One
Darth Sidious, born as Sheev Palpatine, was the prophesied "Dark Lord" and "Emperor": the dark sorcerer that, according to ancient Jedi lore, was fated to plunge the universe into an age of darkness and rule it as a tyrant for many years. In the end, he would defeated by a child of the Force, the Chosen One.
The greatest Dark Lord of the Sith and warlock to have ever lived, Darth Sidious fulfilled the Grand Plan set in motion by the legendary Darth Bane. In the guise of a humble and wizened man, Palpatine maneuvered his way through the political arena, gaining influence and allies, until he had secured his place as Supreme Chancellor of the Republic. Disappointed by the corruption, ineptitude and bureaucracy that plagued the Senate, many desperately looked up to Palpatine as the voice of reason; but they were all deceived by the power-hungry Dark Lord. Through his servant, Darth Tyranus, Darth Sidious secretly ordered the creation of a great army, one capable of vanquishing the Jedi and any other threat to his dominion. Again using his puppet, Tyranus, and aided by greedy commerce guilds dissatisfied by the government's trade policies, Sidious engineered the galaxy-wide conflict known as the Clone Wars between the droid forces of the Separatist Alliance and the new clone army of the Republic. Blood was shed and the reputation of the Jedi Knights, once known as guardians of peace and justice, was tarnished, whereas the Chancellor's popularity continued to grow; this was exactly what the Dark Lord had planned, for the Jedi were the ancient enemies of the Sith and the chief threat to his ascensions. As Palpatine, Sidious also took an interest in the young Jedi Anakin Skywalker, who was believed to be the Chosen One. Although his true desire was to rule all as master of the galaxy, the secret to cheating death still eluded the Dark Lord. Therefore, in the eventuality that eternal life would be denied to him, Sidious deemed that Skywalker had the potential to take up his mantle and even surpass him, and so began grooming him into a worthy successor. Sidious tested Anakin's mettle by arranging for engagements between him and his right-hand, Tyranus, and other agents of the Sith like Asajj Ventress; the Dark Lord was greatly pleased to see the prodigal knight best one adversary after another. At the end of the war, Sidious cast his old servant, Tyranus, aside, ensnared Skywalker and initiated the Great Jedi Purge. Capitalizing on the weakened Republic's poor handling of the chaos and the public's distrust of the Jedi, the Chancellor persuaded the Senate to crown him Emperor. Sidious' masterful execution of the Grand Plan had thus allowed the Sith to rule the galaxy once more.
Yet Darth Sidious' rise to power would not have been possible without the conversion of the fallen Jedi Skywalker into Darth Vader. But any hopes the Dark Lord had had for his newest servant soon vanished: Vader was maimed in a duel with his former mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, robbing Sidious of the "prized pupil" he had desired. Nonetheless, the Dark Lord decided to keep the broken warrior as his right-hand, at least until he found another more powerful to replace him with. Through his servant, Vader, and other agents such as Tarkin and Thrawn, Sidious oversaw a masssive campaign against his enemies: the last of the Jedi were hunted down, dissident senators were arrested and insurrections were stomped. The Emperor's dominion, welcomed at first as an age of peace and prosperity, had turned into a reign of terror, ruthlessly enforced by the Imperial forces. Sidious largely vanished from public life, keeping to the shadows and acting through his puppet, Vader. While he continued to tolerate the Senate's existence, the Emperor gradually erased the last vestiges of the Republic by appointing his own loyal stooges as governor-generals in charge of galactic sectors. Sidious also secretly entrusted the completion of the dreaded planet-killer known as the "Death Star" to his minion Tarkin; once the battle station was complete, no star system could hope to oppose the Emperor. But, for all his cunning, the thought that freedom fighters would overcome their differences and band together to stand up for those who couldn't had not entered the Dark Lord's darkest dreams. The Rebel Alliance emerged to challenge the Emperor. The disappearance of an agent like Thrawn was a significant loss, but then Sidious would suffer a truly major defeat when the Death Star battle station was destroyed and Tarkin with it.
Alarmed by this growing threat to his power, the Dark Lord and his servant tightened the noose: Sidious tasked Vader with leading the Imperial forces in tracking down the elusive Rebel fleet and eliminating the Alliance's leadership. But another discovery soon troubled the Emperor, namely the identity of the Rebel pilot that had blown up his battle station: Luke Skywalker. Sidious feared that, if not dealt with, the son of Skywalker might herald the return of the Jedi. However, the Dark Lord was also presented with an opportunity: if Luke were to be corrupted, he would be a great asset, perhaps even a suitable replacement for his father, Vader, as Sidious' right-hand. The Dark Lord sent his agents to capture or kill the young knight, but they failed him. He also ordered the construction of another battle station, even greater than the first Death Star, to crush the Rebellion once and for all. Planning a masterstroke, the Emperor arranged for his enemies learn of the new planet-killer's creation and that he would inspect it personally in order to draw them out. Sidious then instructed his servant, Vader, to gather the Imperial forces for a surprise attack on the Rebels and to bring Skywalker before him. Taunting the young man, the Dark Lord of the Sith instigated a duel between the Jedi Knight and his disciple, a duel between father and son. Though Luke defeated Vader, Sidious was shocked and angered when Luke refused to cut down Vader and take his father's place at Sidious's side - as Vader himself had done decades earlier with Tyranus - and so Sidious' frustration turned into a hateful rage. The Dark Lord unleashed Force-lightning upon the young knight, intent on slowly torturing him to death. But something happened then, that the Emperor, who claimed to foresee everything, had not expected. As Vader watched the son of Anakin Skywalker, the man he had once been, wreathe in pain and call out to him as "father" for aid, something awoke within him: regret and yearning at the life he had given up on in pursuit of power, a quest that had ultimately brought him no joy. As he glanced one final time at Sidious, his dark master, whose face was twisted in a sadistic grin, Vader made his choice and the Prophecy of the Chosen One came to pass, for the Dark Knight, offspring of the Force, took a hold of the Dark Lord and cast him down. Screaming in fear and desperation, Darth Sidious plunged into the reactor shaft of the second Death Star and perished, bursting into a whirlwind of flame and raw energy. His reign of terror as the Emperor at an end, the Dark Lord was no more.
Lore[]
You're heartless, ambitious, arrogant, insidious, and without shame or empathy. More, you're a murderer.
—Darth Plagueis to Darth Sidious
The son of Cosinga Palpatine, Sheev Palpatine was born into Naboo's aristocracy and was groomed for a career in politics within the Republic Senate. Early on he was approached by Hego Damask, the public persona of Darth Plagueis, who took the young man under his wing - Sheev, being ambitious, cunning and lacking a proper mentor because of the frictions with his father Cosinga, did not require much persuading. So it was that Sheev soon learned of Plagueis' true identity and became Plagueis' apprentice, being anointed as Sidious. At the same time, the young man's family connections gained him the position of Associate Representative to the Chommel sector's humble Senator, Vidar Kim. Whereas generations of Sith Lords before them had done little to advance the Grand Plan, Plagueis instructed Sidious on how to set the board for the overthrow of the Jedi Knights and the Republic they defended. Their allies and servants they drew from among the galaxy's most powerful: commercial empires including the Trade Federation, members of the Five Syndicates such as the Pyke Family and even delegates of the Senate; all of them were promised power and profit in exchange for their support. The two Sith Lords even worked together in an attempt to unlock the secrets to immortality, but they ultimately failed; nonetheless, the apprentice never gave up. Still feigning loyalty to his new master, Sidious deemed he had learned all that he could and plotted to usurp Plagueis' place as the Dark Lord of the Sith. Sidious arranged for the death of Vidar Kim and, in his alter ego of Palpatine, stepped in as Senator; on the night of that success, the apprentice got his master drunk than killed him in his sleep.
Having assumed the mantle of Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious sought an apprentice of his own: Darth Maul - ripped from his mother Talzin's arms - was a talented "animal", but an "animal" nonetheless, useful as a tool but hardly a worthy legacy; years into Maul's training, Sidious took an interest in Dooku, a battle-scarred Jedi Master, as another placeholder apprentice. Sidious had not given up hope that he would one day become immortal, removing any real need to leave power to one of his disciples, but up until then none of his experiments had yielded results and so Sidious was entertaining the notion of a successor. By this time, the Dark Lord of the Sith conceived the idea of the Clone Wars as the ideal context for the Empire to rise: this large-scale conflict would devastate the galaxy, weaken the Jedi Order and shake the public's confidence in the Republic; the only real threats that he faced - in his eyes - were Yoda and Mace Windu, the most powerful Jedi Masters of his time. Living a double life, Palpatine cautioned against the inaction of the current Chancellor, Finis Valorum, while Sidious stirred dissension and disarray with the help of his servants, Dooku and Nute Gunray, the latter being the Trade Federation's Viceroy. Learning of Sifo-Dyas' desire to arrange for the creation of a clone army to protect the Republic from the imminent conflict, the Dark Lord of the Sith had the Jedi Master assassinated by the Pyke Family and placed the order for the clone army - one which he could control - on the dead man's name to cover his tracks. The breaking point of tensions within the Republic came when the Chommel sector and likeminded star systems pushed for the taxation of the Free Trade Zones at Palpatine's advice: Sidious then commanded Gunray to retaliate by blockading Palpatine's homeworld, Naboo. Although the crisis ended with the planet's liberation, the Senate was convinced of Valorum's inadequacy and the vote for Chancellorship resulted in Palpatine's election.
The apparent death of Darth Maul during those events had allowed Darth Sidious to do away with him and anoint Dooku Darth Tyranus, his second apprentice; appealing to the former Jedi Master's pride and greed, Sidious promised Tyranus they would rule together, but he made this vow lightly and did not intend to keep it. Indeed, Sidious had become acquainted with Anakin Skywalker at the time of the Naboo crisis and was watching his career with great interest, sensing his potential. Eventually he became convinced that the young man, who the Jedi Order believed was their "Chosen One", was in fact the long-expected "Sith'ari", the mighty champion that would help the Sith Order seize power, and plotted to make him his new apprentice - perhaps even his successor. As Palpatine, Sidious cultivated a friendship with Skywalker, but faced some opposition from Skywalker's mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, who soon joined the small list of individuals Sidious deemed a threat right after Yoda and Windu. As the Dark Lord of the Sith had expected, the dissension and disarray he had caused coalesced into a secessionist movement, with star systems and commercial empires breaking away from the Republic. Through his right-hand Tyranus, Sidious gathered all these factions under his dominion as the Separatist Alliance. At this time, Sidious reached out to another new servant, Poggle, the Archduke of Geonosis, and tasked him and his people with constructing him the Death Star: a superweapon capable of blowing up entire planets. Building up the Separatist Alliance as a threat by supplying them with fleets and droid armies, the Dark Lord of the Sith had created the demand for the Republic to form its an army to protect itself: the time had come for the clone army to step out of the shadows. With the Battle of Geonosis acting as the first military engagement between the Republic and the Separatist Alliance, the galaxy had officially been plunged into the Clone Wars and, with the help of his servant Tyranus, Sidious was pulling the strings of both sides.
Correctly guessing that some of the Jedi Knights would survive the Clone Wars or evade execution in the Great Jedi Purge he had planned for them, the Dark Lord of the Sith understood the need of Jedi hunters in his service. Sidious contracted one of the best bounty hunters, Cad Bane, to retrieve a holocron - containing a list of Force-attuned chidlren - from the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and then capture Bola Ropal, its Jedi Master keeper. Aware of the Republic task force pursuing the mercenary, Sidious commanded his servant Gunray to dispatch a Separatist fleet to cover Bane's escape. Provided the list, the Dark Lord of the Sith then instructed the bounty hunter to kidnap the children and bring them to a safehouse on Mustafar; although Bane accomplished his task, the interference of Anakin Skywalker and his apprentice, Ahsoka Tano, resulted in the children's rescue. Undeterred by this failure, he recruited disgruntled Jedi Knights instead; Pong Krell, a veteran Jedi Master, was one such agent of Sidious and acted out his will during the Battle of Umbara. While Yoda, Windu and Kenobi remained the chief obstacles in Sidious' way, another, more sinister, threat emerged: Maul. While initially pleased that his training had yielded such a strong "animal" who would harass the Jedi Knights, the Dark Lord of the Sith soon realized that his former apprentice was a loose end that the Jedi Council could trace back to him. As civil war broke down on Mandalore, Sidious confronted Maul, who had taken on his brother Savage Opress as his own apprentice; Sidious killed Savage and then defeated and captured Maul. There was another variable that the Dark Lord of the Sith did not control and that he wished destroyed: the Nightsisters of Dathomir, especially their matriarch, Talzin - Maul's mother. Sidious used Maul to draw Talzin out and, though Maul escaped him, Talzin herself was dealt with.
Living a double life, the Dark Lord of the Sith orchestrated the Clone Wars and the rise of a new Sith Empire.
As the Clone Wars neared their end, the Jedi Council closed in on the Dark Lord of the Sith. Investigation on the death of Sifo-Dyas by Kenobi and Skywalker almost allowed Sidious' enemies to glean into his scheme with the clone army, but luckily for him his servant Tyranus found the loose ends and eliminated them. This did not stop the Jedi Council, however, who began seeking out the Dark Lord of the Sith among the upper echelons of the Senate, particularly the Chancellor's Office; their search led to the discovery of Sidious' safehouse on Coruscant where he sometimes met with Tyranus. In the guise of Palpatine, Sidious continued to groom Anakin Skywalker to replace Tyranus at his side by preying on the young man's pride, need to prove himself and possessive love for his wife Padmé Amidala. With the Jedi Order nonetheless weaked by its losses in the Clone Wars and the success of an elaborate scheme by which control of the Banking Clan had been ceded to none other than the Chancellor's Office, the Dark Lord of the Sith was ready for the Grand Plan's finale. Staging his capture by the Separatists and the Republic's rescue operation in the Battle of Coruscant, Sidious discarded Tyranus by goading Skywalker into killing him. Learning that Palpatine and the elusive Sidious were one and the same, Windu confronted him, but was prevented from dealing justice by Skywalker, allowing Sidious to execute him. Promising the young man that they would rule together - as he did with Darth Tyranys years before - and that he would also help save his wife from dying, Darth Sidious anointed him as Darth Vader, his third and last apprentice. The Dark Lord the Sith then falsely accused the Jedi Knights of treason and ordered the clone army to turn their weapons on them. Now that Gunray and the rest of the Separatist leaders had outlived their usefulness, Sidious sent his new servant Vader to wipe them out while he himself addressed the Senate's delegates.
With the Clone Wars at an end and the Jedi Order all but destroyed, the Dark Lord of the Sith announced the transition of the Republic into the Empire with him as "the Emperor". But Sidious' victory was far from complete: Yoda and Kenobi had survived and Vader had been grievously injured in a duel with Kenobi. Although the Dark Lord of the Sith saved his apprentice by encasing in a life-support suit, he felt cheated: instead of the prize pupil that could surpass either Yoda or himself, Sidious was left with a broken shadow of what Vader could have been. Sidious, nonetheless, chose to keep Vader as his right-hand, but kept his eyes open for another strong apprentice to replace him with. Stripping the Senate of its authority, the Emperor invested much of the Empire's power into twenty regional governors which he personally appointed: Wilhuff Tarkin was the first and most notable of those and was recognized as one of Sidious' most loyal servants. Sidious also persecuted Senators belonging to the Delegation of 2,000, who had challenged him in the late years of his Chancellorship, though some like Bail Organa, Garm Bel Iblis and Mon Mothma were clever enough not to give him any reason to move against them. Through his servants Vader and Tarkin, Sidious encouraged the militarization of the Imperial forces to stomp any insurrection and hold the majority of the galaxy in an iron grip. Sidious also ensured that the Great Jedi Purge continued: he assembled his Jedi hunters into the Imperial Inquisiton and unleashed them on the remaining Jedi Knights; in addition, he instructed that any Force-attuned children discovered by his agents be brought back to Coruscant so they could be corrupted to his service. As insurgent cells began to flock to the Rebel Alliance, the Emperor grew impatient with the completion of the Death Star, believing that once the battle station was operational all his enemies would be silenced. Having come to question Vader's status as the "Sith'ari" and a worthy inheritor, Sidious returned to his quest for immortality and renounced any real intention of relinquishing his power to his apprentice. One of his clandestine attempts concretized in "Project Necromancer" which sought to transfer a Force-wielder's midichlorians into a host body that the donor could then possess at will; early development had been halted by a ragtag rebel clone team called "the Bad Batch", but the Emperor secretly kept backing the program. The Dark Lord of the Sith later sought control the portal to the World Between Worlds concealed within the Jedi Temple on Lothal, but his plan to gain absolute temporal control over the universe was foiled by the rebel group known as "the Specters". Having tolerated his right-hand Vader's training of his own pupil, "Starkiller", Sidious considered "Starkiller" as a possible replacement for Vader himself. During a battle aboard the unfinished Death Star to decide the fate of the captured Rebel leaders, Dark Lord of the Sith attempted to ensnare the young man, but "Starkiller" denied Sidious and sacrificed his life to ensure his allies' escape.
Still unable to cheat death, Darth Sidious sought a worthy successor in the form of Darth Vader, Galen Marek or Luke Skywalker.
When the Death Star was complete, the Emperor erased the last vestiges of the Republic within the Empire by dissolving the Senate. What he failed to anticipate was retaliation from the Alliance. The destruction of the Death Star and the death of Tarkin was the first real strike by the Rebels against Sidious, proving that the Empire was not invincible. Troubled by this reversal of fortune, Sidious commanded Vader to lead the Imperial forces in hunting down the Rebel fleet while construction of a Second Death Star was still ongoing. The Dark Lord of the Sith also discovered that, for all the Inquisitors' efforts, the Jedi Knights had endured: Luke Skywalker, the son of Vader, had been kept a secret by their old enemies, Kenobi and Yoda, to be trained as the last Jedi Knight. Sidious perceived Skywalker's existence as a threat to Vader and himself, but also as an opportunity he could not let pass: Sidious recognized that Luke had the potential to surpass the maimed Vader; therefore, the Dark Lord of the Sith plotted to cast his broken apprentice aside and replace him with another. To quicken the development of the Second Death Star, the Emperor brooked a partnership between the Empire and the Black Sun: although Sidious was aware of his new servant Xizor's true designs, particularly his vendetta against Vader, he resolved to tolerate his presence until he had outlived his usefulness. Fearing that the Rebel Alliance might have an actual chance of winning the Galactic Civil War, the Emperor arranged for the contingency known as "Operation Cinder", an orbital bombardment campaign to punish the Empire for failing to prevent his defeat; Sidious was unwilling to suffer the Empire's survival without the Sith Order, namely Vader and himself. At the end of the war, the Dark Lord of the Sith made a gamble: the Emperor allowed the Rebel Alliance to learn about the Second Death Star so that he could lure them into a trap. Further, Sidious instructed Vader to bring Luke before him and arranged a duel between father and son: Sidious hoped that either Luke would kill Vader and take his father's place, or that Vader would kill his son and finally prove himself a worthy inheritor; the Emperor's attempts to cheat death had failed, forcing him to turn to a successor. As Imperial and Rebel forces engaged one another during the Battle of Endor, Sidious watched as Luke brought Vader down and urged him to slay his father. The dismay of the Dark Lord of the Sith at the young man's refusal and defiance turned to anger, as he grimly acknowledged the young man to be the last Jedi Knight. But when Sidious tried to end Luke's life, something snapped in Vader and some paternal instinct deep down awoke: as Vader "died" and Anakin briefly "returned", Sidious cried in fear as his former prize pupil grabbed him and threw him down the nearby reactor shaft to his death.
In the Veteran series[]
A new servant[]
Bast: “As I am yours to command, Your Highness. With Your Highness' permission, I shall take my leave. There is still work to be done. Long live the Empire!”
―Darth Sidious and Lazarus Bast
Following Lazarus Bast' victory over Garm Bel Iblis in the Battle of Corellia, Darth Sidious summoned Bast to the Imperial Palace on Coruscant. The Emperor was most pleased with the Admiral's eradication of the Free Corellia Movement, even though he was fully aware of the Rebel General's survival; nonetheless, Sidious was willing to encourage rumor of Iblis' apparent demise to demoralize his enemies and instructed Sate Pestage to leak battle footage to HoloNet News for public viewing.
Sidious, surrounded by members of his inner circle - Wilhuff Tarkin, Armand Isard and Janus Greejatus - greeted Bast as he entered the throne room. Congratulating Bast on his success, Sidious noted Vader's respect for Bast and the Empire's - even his own - need for men like him. To the surprise of his servants, the Emperor appointed the Admiral to be his personal representative on the Circle of Twelve. With the death of Nils Tenant having left a vacuum within that elite group, Sidious simultaneously promoted Bast to Tenant's place as Grand Admiral of the 8th Fleet. Pledging his service to Sidious as the 8th Fleet was pledged to his own service, Bast took his leave of Sidious and his retinue to continue his hunt for the remaining Rebel cells. The Emperor smiled approvingly - another useful servant had been added to his collection of "assets".
In Thrawn's stead[]
Sidious: "The Death Star was a crucial part of my plans to end this war. Its destruction by this so-called ALLIANCE is a significant loss to the Empire. It seems that we have underestimated the audacity of these Rebels. We have allowed them to run unfettered for too long. Now the time has come for the Empire to strike back. Lord Vader will hunt down the elusive Rebel Fleet. But he will require adjutants. Admiral Thrawn would be perfect for this assignment. But he is gone."
Vader: “But there are others that would act out your will just as well, Master. ”
Sidious: “Yes, Lord Vader. That is in truth why I have summoned you here, Admiral Bast. You have single-handedly eradicated Rebels on Onderon, Panna and countless other worlds. Few in the Empire rise to your level of skills. ”
Vader: “Yet your task is not complete, Admiral. The Emperor has even greater need of your services. You will be joining my efforts to hunt down these Rebels. You will hound them wherever they are found. You will be provided with all necessary resources.”
Sidious: “The 3rd Fleet has already received my instructions join the 8th. Admiral Declann has been given a SPECIAL assignment that requires him to remain on Dromund Kaas. There is no need for his fleet to sit there idly. You will report to Lord Vader, or to me directly. I expect your part in these efforts will prove most fruitful, Admiral Bast.”
Vader: “As do I. But make no mistake. Others as skilled have failed in the past. This is either your greatest opportunity or the worst moment of your life. Time will tell. Dismissed, Grand Admiral.”
- — Darth Sidious and Darth Vader
Alarmed by the growing number of rebellions in the wake of the Liberation of Lothal, Darth Sidious and Darth Vader summoned Lazarus Bast once more to the Imperial Palace at Coruscant. Deprived of Thrawn, the two Sith Lords assigned Bast to join Vader and Tarkin in the hunt for insurgents as one of their adjutants; the Grand Admiral's victories on Onderon, Panna and other planets had convinced the two Sith Lords of his continued usefulness. Having secretly dispatched Nial Declann to the ruined Sith Temple on Dromund Kaas to complete his training with the Prophets of the Dark Side, Sidious revealed that Declann's 3rd Fleet would be joining Bast's own 8th Fleet. Making it clear that the Grand Admiral's assignment to the hunt for the Rebel Alliance would either be the shining moment of his career in case of success or his demise should he fail, the Emperor and the Supreme Commander dismissed the Grand Admiral.
Setting an example[]
Bast: "I regret to report, Your Highness, the mutineers from the Far Orbit have... escaped. Imperial Intelligence is doing its very best to track them down. Probe droids have been dispatched to every system within range and all owners of nearby refueling or medical stations have been provided with the mutineers' description. As soon as we locate them, the Imp..."
Sidious: “My disappointment in your performance cannot be overstated. When I granted you the rank of Grand Admiral, I did not think that a petty band of traitorous brigands would slip through your grasp. Have you at least liberated Lord Veshiv? ”
Bast: “No... Your Highness. His Lordship was still aboard the frigate when the mutineers fled. ”
Sidious: “I see. It is not the first time one of my servants has failed me. And yet, the reoccurrence of such failures hardly makes my mood any less foul. No one, not even a man of your station, is beyond reproach, Admiral.”
Bast: “I accept full responsibility for my failure, Your Highness. But I assure you, I will not fail again. I will do whatever is within my power to find these traitors and bring them to justice. ”
Sidious: “No. That will be unnecessary, Admiral Bast. I leave the punishing of these traitors and the recovery of Lord Veshiv to Admiral Takel. There is another task that I have in mind for you. The Hapan Consortium has been infringing on the Empire's borders. I trust you to remind those fools of their place. In fact, my dear Admiral, I trust you so much that I hardly think you need the entire 8th Fleet to complete your mission. Your command ship - the Veteran was it - and some gunships and fighter squadrons will do. I have great interest in receiving your next report. Now leave.”
- — Lazarus Bast and Darth Sidious