A decade before the Clone Wars, the Trade Federation escalated a seemingly mundane trade dispute into a blockade of the peaceful planet of Naboo, followed by an invasion with an army of battle droids. The Trade Federation’s Neimoidian leaders took their orders from the shadowy Darth Sidious.

A decade before the Clone Wars, the Trade Federation escalated a seemingly mundane trade dispute into a blockade of the peaceful planet of Naboo, followed by an invasion with an army of battle droids. The Trade Federation’s Neimoidian leaders took their orders from the shadowy Darth Sidious.

A decade later, the Separatist Crisis inflamed the galaxy, with thousands of star systems led by Count Dooku threatening to secede from the Republic. Palpatine sought a political solution, with the Senate debating whether to authorize the creation of armed forces to defend the Republic.

No political solution was possible – the Separatists were preparing for war. On Geonosis, Dooku received promises of armies and credits from leaders of the Trade Federation, Commerce Guild, Corporate Alliance, InterGalactic Banking Clan, Techno Union and the Geonosian hives.

With events spiraling out of control, Naboo Representative Jar Jar Binks proposed granting emergency powers to Palpatine for the duration of the crisis. Palpatine’s first act was to approve the creation of an army to defend the Republic. As it happened, an army was available: The Kaminoans had created a clone force for the Republic, supposedly at the request of a long-dead Jedi Master. Yoda, the Jedi Grandmaster, brought this army to Geonosis, where the Clone Wars began.

The Battle of Geonosis appeared to be a Republic victory. But Dooku returned to Coruscant with good tidings for Sidious. The Republic had mobilized for war, using a clone army engineered by the Sith Lord. The Jedi had agreed to abandon their traditional role as peacekeepers to lead this army. And Palpatine had been granted substantial powers. All was going as Sidious had hoped.

The Confederacy of Independent Systems (as the Separatist Alliance preferred to be called) was led by Count Dooku in consultation with the Separatist Council, which included the leaders of the galactic trade groups that supported the movement with warships, droid armies and credits. But as the war progressed, the council found itself virtually powerless, subservient to Dooku – and ultimately to Sidious.

The Confederacy of Independent Systems was nominally a democracy, with a Senate drawn from its member worlds. Dooku manipulated the Separatist Senate, but the body occasionally surprised him – such as when it endorsed peace talks with the Republic. Dooku and Sidious worked behind the scenes to ensure such efforts yielded nothing.

Many citizens of the Republic – and some in Separatist space -- saw Dooku as noble but misguided. To them, the true face of the Separatist Alliance was the military leader General Grievous, a cyborg commander known for his ruthlessness and cruelty.

Even Republic victories served Sidious’s master plan. When crisis engulfed the InterGalactic Banking Clan, the Republic drove a Separatist task force from Scipio. Palpatine, with apparent reluctance, took over the Banking Clan’s operations. Another galactic institution now answered to Darth Sidious.

Late in the war, the clone trooper Tup murdered his Jedi General, leading to the discovery that all clones had a bio-chip implanted in their brains. The Jedi came perilously close to discovering the true purpose of the army, but in his guise as Palpatine, Sidious managed to calm their worries and defuse the crisis.

The increasingly militarized Republic began to overwhelm the Separatists’ armies, culminating in the Outer Rim Sieges targeting what remained of the Alliance’s territory. The endgame was at hand. Grievous launched a seemingly desperate raid on Coruscant, kidnapping Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. In a confrontation in orbit above the Republic capital, Anakin Skywalker killed Dooku.

Palpatine began his seduction of Skywalker, grooming him to take Dooku’s place as a Sith apprentice. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan Kenobi pursued Grievous to Utapau, where he killed the Separatist warlord.

Skywalker discovered Palpatine was Sidious, but intervened when the Jedi sought to arrest the Supreme Chancellor. He pledged himself to Sidious, becoming Darth Vader. Sidious then issued Order 66 to his clone army. On planets across the galaxy, clone troopers turned their guns on their Jedi commanders, decimating the Order.

Sidious sent Skywalker to Mustafar, where he slaughtered the members of the Separatist Council. The Separatist Alliance was defeated and the war was over. And Darth Sidious was now Emperor Palpatine, the unquestioned ruler of the Galactic Empire and its massive war machine.