The following is an excerpt from Star Wars Insider #113, which is on sale now!
Palpatine
A Biography by Daniel Wallace
Little is known about the man who was inarguably the most important political figure of the last thousand years. By design, all records of Palpatine's early life have been purged from public records, and historians are forced to judge the man by the impact of his creations. No figure created more grandiose works than the Galactic Emperor.
Palpatine is believed to have been born on Naboo, a quiet Mid-Rim world in the Chommell sector. Apparently never trained by the Jedi despite his Force sensitivity, Palpatine instead fell under the influence of a Sith Lord, Darth Plagueis. Under the Rule of Two -- one master, one apprentice -- Plagueis sought to continue the tradition through Palpatine.
After receiving the Sith title Darth Sidious, Palpatine studied the secrets of the dark side including his master's ability to generate life by influencing midi-chlorians. Plagueis may even have succeeded in this aim, given the strange circumstances surrounding the birth of Anakin Skywalker of Tatooine, but this did not matter to Palpatine, who had already taken his own apprentice in secret. Knowing there could never be more than two, Palpatine murdered Plagueis in his sleep, and concentrated on teaching the Zabrak boy called Maul to become the perfect killer.
A Double Life
Palpatine maintained a double life all the while, winning an election for senator of the Chommel sector and relocating to Coruscant. His fellow politicians believed the new provincial could be safely ignored, but Palpatine possessed a gift for forging alliances and isolating his critics. His friends included Wilhuff Tarkin and Jedi Master Jorus C'baoth, while his aides Sate Pestage and Kinman Doriana covered up any evidence of impropriety.
Palpatine helped engineer the assassination of the Trade Federation directorate on Eriadu, and in his guise as Sidious he convinced the surviving Trade Federation leaders to blockade Naboo. The blockade and subsequent invasion brought Queen Amidala to Coruscant, where Palpatine convinced her to introduce a vote of no-confidence in Supreme Chancellor Valorum.
When the crisis ended, Palpatine had lost Maul to Obi-Wan Kenobi's blade, but had gained something far more valuable -- the chancellorship of the Republic. The Naboo incident also saw the public emergence of Anakin Skywalker, who Palpatine saw as a potential future apprentice.
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