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A venerable if maverick Jedi Master, Qui-Gon Jinn is a student of the living Force. Unlike other Jedi Masters, who often lose themself in the meditation of the unifying Force, Qui-Gon Jinn lived for the moment, espousing a philosophy of "feel, don't think -- use your instincts." Were it not for Qui-Gon's unruly views, he would have undoubtedly been on the Jedi Council.
At the behest of Supreme Chancellor Valorum, Qui-Gon and his Padawan apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi journeyed to Naboo to settle the trade dispute that threatened the peaceful world. Aboard a Trade Federation battleship, the Jedi were ambushed, but they managed to escape to Naboo's surface.
In the swamplands of Naboo, Qui-Gon rescued a clumsy Gungan outcast, Jar Jar Binks, who swore a life-debt to the Jedi. Qui-Gon's compassionate nature was such that he took the strange alien under his protection. With his help, they journeyed to the city of Theed. There, they freed Queen Amidala and her retinue from the clutches of the Trade Federation, and set off to deliver her safely to Coruscant.
During the trip to the capital, damaged sustained to the Royal Starship forced an unscheduled stop on the Outer Rim world of Tatooine. There, Qui-Gon discovered a young slave boy named Anakin Skywalker, who was strong in the Force. Sensing the boy's potential, Qui-Gon liberated Anakin from slavery. During their departure from Tatooine, Qui-Gon was nearly killed by a dark warrior, whom he suspected to be a Sith Lord.
The Jedi Master then traveled to Coruscant to present Anakin to the Jedi Council. The Council, however, felt Anakin's future seemed clouded and uncertain, and deemed the boy too old to begin training and dangerously full of fear and anger. They refused to allow Qui-Gon to train Anakin, but the Jedi Master nevertheless kept the boy as his ward as he returned to Naboo.
On Naboo, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan confronted the Sith Lord Darth Maul, Qui-Gon's attacker from the desert. Maul proved a deadly and fearsome opponent. Together, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon fended off the Sith Lord's attacks, but as the battle progressed, Master and apprentice became separated. Maul pressed his advantage, wearing down Qui-Gon's defenses and ultimately killing the Jedi Master. Obi-Wan then defeated Maul, but nothing could save Qui-Gon. With his last breath, the Jedi Master asked Obi-Wan to train Anakin, a request Kenobi accepted.
A short time later, the Jedi Master's body was cremated at a funeral attended by numerous mourners, including Anakin, Obi-Wan, Jar Jar, and several Jedi Council members.
Qui-Gon Jinn, StarWars Episode I
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Palpatine was the supreme ruler of the most powerful tyrannical regime the galaxy had ever witnessed, yet his roots seem extremely humble, traced back to the peaceful world of Naboo.
Before his rise to power, Palpatine was an unassuming yet ambitious Senator in the Galactic Republic. Palpatine saw the Republic crumbling about him, torn apart by partisan bickering and corruption. All too common were those unscrupulous Senators taking advantage of the system, growing fat and wealthy on a bureaucracy too slow to catch them.
Palpatine's moment of opportunity came as a result of a trade embargo. The Trade Federation, in protest of government measures that would tax their outlying trade routes, blockaded and invaded Naboo. Naboo's planetary leader, Queen Amidala, rushed to Coruscant for Palpatine's aid. Together, the two pleaded to the Senate for intervention, only to see their request stalemated by Trade Federation filibustering. Frustrated by the government's inability to do anything, Queen Amidala acted upon Palpatine's suggestion, and called for a Vote of No Confidence in the Republic's leadership.
Chancellor Valorum was voted out of office, and Palpatine was soon nominated to succeed him. The crisis on Naboo prompted a strong sympathy vote, and Palpatine became Chancellor. He promised to reunite the disaffected, and bring order and justice to the government.
Little did anyone suspect how Palpatine had engineered his own rise to power. Hidden beneath a façade of wan smiles and smooth political speeches was a Sith Lord. In truth, Palpatine was well versed in the ways of the Force, having been apprentice to Darth Plagueis the Wise, a Sith Lord who was a master of arcane and unnatural knowledge. In true Sith tradition, Palpatine murdered his Master upon achieving the skill and ability to do so. He then took an apprentice himself, continuing the Sith order in absolute secrecy, right under the noses of the Republic and the Jedi.
With his cloaked Sith identity of Darth Sidious, Palpatine made contact with the scheming Neimoidians and plotted the invasion of his own homeworld. The resulting political fallout allowed Palpatine to step into the power vacuum left by Chancellor Valorum.
Despite Palpatine's vocal promises of reform, the Republic continued to be mired in strife and chaos. A decade after his nomination, Palpatine's Chancellery was faced with the challenge of a popular Separatist movement led by the charismatic leader, Count Dooku. Many in the galaxy feared that the conflict would escalate to full-scale warfare, but Palpatine was adamant that the crisis could be resolved by negotiation.
The Separatists didn't agree. Upon the discovery of a secret army of droids, it became apparent that the Separatists were on the verge of declaring war against the Republic. To counter this, the Republic needed a military, and Palpatine required the authority to activate the Republic's newly forged army of clones. To that end, Senators loyal to Palpatine motioned that the Chancellor be given emergency powers to deal with the Separatist threat.
With spoken regrets, Palpatine accepted the new mantle of power. He promised to return his absolute authority to the Senate after the emergency subsided. What no one realized was that the galaxy would undergo further upheaval, and that a state of crisis would ensure Palpatine's authority for decades.
The Clone Wars were just part of an intricate Sith plan concocted by Palpatine. After the demise of Darth Maul, he needed a new apprentice to carry forward his agenda. He did not have time to train an adept from the cradle, but instead plotted to turn an already proven Jedi warrior onto the path of the dark side. His target, the disillusioned Jedi Master Count Dooku. By appealing to Dooku's civility and disgust with Republic corruption, Palpatine was able to lure him to the dark side. When he became fully enmeshed in the Sith order and pledged his absolute loyalty to Palpatine, Dooku was granted the mantle of Darth Tyranus.
As Tyranus, Dooku put into motion the next phase of Sidious' fiendish plot. He was responsible for the creation of a clone army on the Republic's behalf, selecting a prime candidate as the clone template: Jango Fett. With his public persona of Dooku, he grew to become a political firebrand, leading a militant band of dissidents to wage open war against the Republic: a war the Republic was pleasantly surprised to find they were equipped to fight. The Clone Wars were a sham -- as Palpatine secretly held authority over both sides of the conflict.
The indications of his future regime were subtle at first. Palpatine's term as Chancellor ended during the rise of the Separatists, but that crisis allowed him to extend his stay in office. Once the Clone Wars erupted, the Senate's inability to efficiently wage war on scattered fronts forced him to enact executive decree after executive decree. He added amendments to the constitution funneling more power to him, effectively circumventing the bureaucracy of the Senate.
The public and the Senate willingly gave up their rights and freedoms in the name of security. Under Palpatine's guidance, the war would be won, and the Republic would be safe. The monstrous specter of General Grievous leading an assault ensured that few questioned Palpatine's growing authority.
The Jedi Council was among the wary. As an instrument of the Senate and the people, the Jedi order resisted Palpatine's directcontrol. This tension grew as the war escalated. Some in the Senate also quietly whispered their misgiving. Palpatine knew of a delegation of concerned Senators, and he would deal with them in time.
During the Clone Wars, Anakin Skywalker grew to be a legendary hero among the Jedi. His power was remarkable. Palpatine, who had been fostering a friendship with the unique lad since his childhood, felt the time was right. Darth Tyranus had served his purpose. Skywalker would be the next Sith apprentice.
As a bold endgame to his lengthy plot, Palpatine was architect of his own abduction by the fearsome General Grievous, military commander of the Separatist forces. The Confederacy fleet hammered Coruscant's defenses, and absconded with the captive Chancellor. Predictably, the Jedi order's finest heroes -- Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi -- were dispatched to rescue Palpatine. Aboard their tiny starfighters they infiltrated Grievous' flagship, and worked their way to the shackled Chancellor.
Count Dooku stood in their path. Once again, lightsaber blades crossed as Kenobi and Skywalker teamed up against Dooku. The aged Sith Lord was able to outmaneuver Kenobi, and knocked the seasoned Jedi unconscious. Without his mentor's guidance, Anakin attacked Dooku alone. The Sith Lord goaded Anakin's rage, and the young Jedi took revenge against the warrior who had severed his arm years before. Skywalker cut off both of Dooku's hands, and had the Separatist leader kneeling before his lightsaber blade.
Palpatine recognized the dark side in Anakin and nurtured it. He encouraged Anakin to kill Dooku. Skywalker's blade seared through flesh and bone, and Dooku's severed head soon littered the deck. Though Anakin instantly regretted the act for not being of the Jedi way, Palpatine was quick to console him, and absolve him of any guilt. After all, Dooku was too dangerous to be taken alive, rationalized Palpatine.
It was not the first time Palpatine had encouraged Anakin's unfettered abilities. A young man of Anakin's abilities was constantly chafing under the strict confines of the Jedi Code, and was often being reprimanded for doing what he felt was right. Palpatine never had any admonitions. He was always in Anakin's corner.
Skywalker would remember this as the political fallout from Dooku's death and the continued Clone Wars tugged him in different directions. The Jedi Council had grown wary of Palpatine, and was critical the Chancellor's decrees that redirected power away from the Senate and the constitution and into his office. Palpatine grew to naturally distrust the Council. He appointed Anakin Skywalker to act as his personal representative on the Jedi Council. Surprisingly, the Jedi Council agreed to this appointment -- but only in the hopes of turning Anakin into their spy on the Chancellor.
Palpatine exploited this distrust and confusion plaguing Anakin. Skywalker grew to feel that the Chancellor was the only one not asking something of him, the only one not speaking through veiled agendas. It was in this position of trust that Palpatine recounted a Sith legend -- the story of Darth Plagueis the Wise. In the relative privacy of his viewing box in the Galaxies Opera House, Palpatine wistfully recalled the little heard legend of the powerful Sith Lord so knowledgeable in the arcane and unnatural arts that he could even stop those he loved from dying. At the time, Anakin Skywalker was plagued with visions of the death of his wife. He feared them to be prophetic, like so many of his visions. Skywalker wanted to know more about this ability -- it was unknown to the Jedi, supposedly only discovered by the Sith. Knowing that he had the boy sufficiently intrigued, Palpatine later dropped his guise. He revealed to Anakin that he was in fact a Sith Lord, but also that he was the path to the power that could save Padmé Amidala from dying.
Anakin was deeply conflicted. Respecting his loyalty to the Jedi Order, he informed senior Jedi Council member Mace Windu of the stunning revelation. Windu arranged a group of Jedi Masters to arrest the Chancellor. Palpatine did not go quietly.
In the inner recesses of the Chancellor's private office, the Jedi confronted the Chancellor. Palpatine produced a lightsaber hidden in his sleeve and let the dark side of the Force flow through him. It granted him inhuman dexterity and speed, agility enough to quickly kill three Jedi Masters and force the mighty Mace Windu back. The two dueled, transforming the office of politics into an arena of lightsaber combat. Windu overpowered Palpatine the instant Anakin Skywalker came running into the offices.
Skywalker witnessed a stunning sight: the Chancellor, cornered, with Windu looming over him with his lightsaber blade extended. Palpatine unleashed a torrent of Sith lightning at the Jedi Master, but Windu was able to deflect it back at the Chancellor. The evil energies twisted Palpatine's face as they flowed through him, scarring and disfiguring his once handsome features. His eyes burned yellow, his voice grew ragged and deep, and he became a well of dark side energies.
Palpatine slumped in the corner, seemingly too weak to continue the lightning assault. Fearing the Chancellor to be too powerful and too well connected, Windu decided he could not be taken alive. Before Windu could take justice into his own hands, though, Anakin sprung into action. He cut off Windu's weapon hand with his lightsaber. Defenseless, Windu was then bombarded by Palpatine's dark side lightning. With the Jedi Master dead and Anakin Skywalker haven taken his first irreversible step to the darkside, Sidious grinned.
Skywalker knelt before Darth Sidious, and the Sith Lord bestowed upon him the title of Darth Vader. He next tasked his new apprentice to raze the Jedi Temple before the treacherous Jedi could strike back at them. Entrenched in the dark side, Vader marched to the temple with a column of loyal clone troopers, gutting the sacred edifice from within. Meanwhile, Sidious took care of the Jedi scattered across the galaxy waging the Clone Wars.
Palpatine enacted Order 66, a coded command that identified the Jedi Knights as traitors to the Republic. He broadcast this order to the clone commanders on the various distant battlefronts, and the loyal soldiers killed their Jedi generals in cold blood.
The next day Palpatine called for a special session of the Galactic Senate. Despite his disfigurement, he appeared before the assembled politicians of the Republic, and gave a stirring speech of how he narrowly escaped a treacherous Jedi rebellion. He assured the people of the Republic that his resolve had not faltered. He had routed out the treachery that had entangled the Republic in the Clone Wars. He would flense the corruption from the bloated bureaucracy that strangled the august government and reform it, as a new, more powerful, more secure institution.
That day, before thunderous applause, Palpatine declared himself Emperor.
Palpatine instituted a military build-up unprecedented in galactic history. He created the New Order, a Galactic Empire that ruled by tyranny.
During the Galactic Civil War, Palpatine ruled with an iron fist. He disbanded the Imperial Senate, and passed control down to the regional governors and the military. During the Hoth campaign, Palpatine expressed to Vader his concerns over Luke Skywalker, a young Rebel powerful in the Force. Vader suggested that the two convert the youth to the dark side of the Force, an idea the Emperor seconded.
The Emperor was a scheming ruler, planning events far in the future, using the Force to foresee the results. Palpatine allowed Rebel spies to learn of the location of the second Death Star, and foresaw their strike team and fleet assault. Palpatine crafted an elaborate trap that was to be the end of the Rebellion. He also concentrated on converting Luke Skywalker to the dark side of the Force, even at the expense of sacrificing Vader. In the Death Star, high above the Battle of Endor, Luke refused the Emperor's newfound dark side power, and so Palpatine used his deadly Force lightning to attack the young Jedi. Luke almost died in the assault, but his father, Darth Vader, returned to the light side of the Force, and hurled the Emperor into the Death Star's reactor core, killing him.
Palpatine was a gnarled, old man. An ancient-looking human, he had pale skin, and searing, sickly yellow eyes. He wore a heavy dark cloak, and carried a glossy black cane.
The latest character profile of Palpatine from Starwars.com
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It was a great blow to the Jedi order when Count Dooku voluntarily renounced his commission. A strong-minded man, Dooku's ideas were often out of step with those of the Jedi Council, despite the fact that his former mentor, Yoda, held a lofty position in that governing body. His challenging views were often echoed by his former Padawan, Qui-Gon Jinn, another Jedi who would on occasion defy the Council.
Dooku was a political idealist. He felt that the Jedi weakened themselves by serving an institution as corrupt as the Republic. After his departure, he disappeared for years, re-emerging as a political firebrand fanning the flames of rebellion in the galaxy. In an alarmingly short time, Dooku rallied thousands of systems to his cause, building a growing Separatist movement that threatened to split the Republic.
Opportunists working in Dooku's name would start flashpoints of violence, and it was all the Jedi could do to maintain order in these turbulent times. For all the strife, the Jedi Council refused to believe that Dooku was personally responsible for the worst of the conflicts, believing that his Jedi training elevated him above such acts.
But the Jedi didn't realize Dooku's secret. Behind a veneer of elegant charisma and well-tabled political arguments, Dooku had been corrupted by the power of the dark side. After his departure from the Jedi order, Dooku was seduced to the dark side by Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith. By Sith tradition, Dooku adopted the name Darth Tyranus and added deceit and treachery to his already formidable array of weapons.
In both guises, Dooku began recruiting agents for what would eventually amount to the death of the Old Republic. As Tyranus, he contacted the notorious bounty hunter Jango Fett to become the template for a hidden clone army on Kamino. As Dooku, he appealed to the greed of the galaxy's most powerful commerce barons to consolidate their forces to challenge the Republic.
Deep within the mighty spires of Geonosis, Dooku chaired a meeting of the minds to formally create the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Separatist Senators alongside representatives from the Commerce Guild, the Trade Federation, the Corporate Alliance, the InterGalactic Banking Clan and the Techno Union pooled their resources together to form the largest military force in the galaxy. The Separatists were ready for war.
The Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi discovered the treasonous meeting and warned the Republic, but not without being captured. Dooku met with Kenobi in the Geonosian dungeons, and revealed to Obi-Wan the truth about the Republic -- that it was, in fact, becoming increasingly under the control of Darth Sidious. Distrusting of Dooku's words, Obi-Wan refused to believe and refused to join Dooku in rooting out the corruption.
Kenobi was soon joined by Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala, who had come to Geonosis in an ill-fated attempt to rescue him. Dooku placed the three captive heroes in an execution arena, but their deaths were staved off by the timely arrival of Jedi reinforcements.
The droid armies of the Separatists engaged the Jedi, and later the newly crafted Clone Army of the Republic. Dooku attempted to escape but was intercepted by Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. The two Jedi challenged Dooku to a lightsaber duel, but Dooku's masterful skills in old-style lightsaber combat made short work of the younger combatants. As they lay wounded, another Jedi entered into Dooku's secret hangar.
The Jedi Master Yoda confronted Dooku. The two engaged in a titanic struggle of Force powers, neither besting the other. It came down to a contest of lightsabers. In a blurring tangle of speed and light, the two masters of the Force dueled. Unable to find an advantage, Dooku distracted Yoda by endangering Kenobi and Skywalker with a toppling crane. As Yoda used the Force to save his fellow Jedi, Dooku fled.
Dooku escaped, with the Jedi aware of his succumbing to the dark side, but yet still unaware of his Sith allegiance. Aboard his exotic interstellar sail ship, Dooku traveled to a decrepit warehouse district on Coruscant. There, he met with his master, Darth Sidious, and delivered the good news: the Clone Wars had begun.
For three long years, warfare ripped apart the galaxy. The Confederacy and the Republic did combat on a wide variety of planets. Military command of the droid armies fell to General Grievous, the deadly cyborg general that Dooku partially trained in the Jedi arts. Whereas Dooku handled a lightsaber with finesse and accuracy, Grievous used his bizarre mechanical anatomy to wield up to four lightsabers in a blurring haze of brutal lacerating energy.
At the end of the Clone Wars, the Separatists staged a daring strike against the Republic. The Confederacy had penetrated Coruscant's defenses and absconded away with the kidnapped Chancellor Palpatine.
It was all a ruse: Palpatine was in fact Darth Sidious, and Dooku was his apprentice. But Dooku was unaware of Palpatine's master plan. The kidnapping was a test of a prospective new Sith apprentice. Blazing onto General Grievous' flagship -- the vehicle of escape for Dooku and his "captive" -- were the Jedi heroes Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. Once again Dooku dueled with the Jedi pair. He bested Kenobi, knocking the Jedi unconscious with a brutal Force push, but was unable to overpower Skywalker. Goading the fiery-tempered young man throughout the duel, Dooku thought he had the upper hand until Anakin outmaneuvered him.
Skywalker severed both of Dooku's hands and snatched the Sith Lord's red-bladed weapon. Dooku fell to his knees before Skywalker, who was now holding two lightsabers at his throat. "Kill him," advised Palpatine -- and Dooku fully realized that treachery was the way of the Sith. He was expendable, Dooku realized. Skywalker was the true prize, the gifted apprentice, the new Sith.
This understanding awakened in him as Skywalker crossed his blades, severing Dooku's head.
Count Dooku Star Wars Episodes II and III
Infomation from: Starwars.com
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One of the most deadly and tragic opponents to emerge from the battlefields of the Clone Wars was Asajj Ventress, a disciple of the dark side and sworn enemy of the Jedi. A lifetime of enduring cruel hardships had purged any compassion from her cold heart, and a fierce survival instinct forged in the ceaseless dangers of her bloody homeworld kept her on the dark path.
Much of her past remains shrouded in mystery. Ventress hails from Rattatak, a barbaric world where violent bloodshed is a daily occurrence. The primitive planet is far from the Republic borders, and is ruled by brutal warlords who constantly battle for domination. A warlord named Osika Kirske murdered Asajj's parents when she was very young. Somehow, a young Jedi named Ky Narec came to be stranded on this forsaken world. Cut off from the Jedi Council, Narec discovered Asajj and took it upon himself to train the Force-strong orphan. The two quickly became heroes, vanquishing many warlords, ending wars, and uniting armies until Kirske conspired with the remaining warlords to retaliate. They succeeded in killing Narec before he could complete Asajj's training.
As a result, she had the skills of the Jedi combined with a raw, unfocused talent in the Force. She never controlled her instinctual fury, and when her master died, she developed a hatred for the Republic that had abandoned her mentor, and had ignored the atrocities of Rattatak.
Asajj's rage fueled her power, and she clawed her way up to a position of authority on the lawless world of Rattatak. She conquered and imprisoned most of the remaining warlords, including Osika Kirske, whom she would eventually kill. She could best any of the monstrous combatants in the gladiatorial games held regularly on the world. Shortly after the outbreak of the Clone Wars, Count Dooku came to Rattatak, looking for another world to add to the Separatist fold. What he found instead was far more promising.
Ventress' raw talent and fierce determination impressed Dooku. The charismatic leader of the Confederacy was able to recruit the young warrior by appealing to her disgust with the Jedi and the Republic. Dooku confirmed Ventress' bitter ideas that the Jedi had abandoned their ethics and convictions. Ventress proved her skills by challenging Dooku to a duel. Though Dooku won the sparring contest, he invited Ventress to accompany him back into the Confederacy as a personal protégé.
Though Ventress longed to identify herself as a Sith, she did not receive Sith training. While Dooku helped hone her talents, he taught her none of the knowledge unique to the Sith. Her skills were a combination of incomplete Jedi training coupled with her own techniques. Her raw talents and bottomless well of anger and pain bolstered her dark side abilities. Giving into her rage granted her further powers.
Ventress proved to be a cunning military mastermind, and Dooku made her a commander within the Separatist army. One of her first assignments was disrupting a meeting between Jedi Master Mace Windu and a group of dissident Jedi. Dooku had no compunctions about exploiting and lying to Asajj to meet his ends. He told her that Windu was responsible for the abandonment of her former Jedi mentor. Asajj did battle with Windu on the moon of Ruul, and though Asajj was forced to flee the fight, Windu came to realize that a new and dark menace to the Jedi was at large.
Asajj was in command of a Separatist plot to unleash a deadly chemical weapon on the Gungan colony moon of Ohma-D'un. This was an early test of a chemical warfare program against the clone troopers of the Republic. Though Asajj and Durge had to flee the Naboo moon, they had proven to be formidable opponents against the Jedi.
General Obi-Wan Kenobi followed Asajj to the chemical weapon development plants on Queyta. Asajj was tasked by Count Dooku to once again offer Kenobi a chance to join the Separatists, but the Jedi refused. Asajj again escaped to plague the Republic on other battlefronts.
Four months after the Battle of Geonosis, Asajj joined the fighting on Muunilinst, where Republic clone troopers attacked droid factories on the InterGalactic Banking Clan homeworld. Though the bounty hunter Durge handled the ground campaign, Asajj soared into battle aboard one of her fanblade starfighters. Her incredible piloting skills drew the attention of Anakin Skywalker, the Padawan who was leading the space forces. Despite orders not to pursue, Anakin gave chase, and Asajj lured the young Jedi-in-training into a trap.
Anakin followed Asajj through hyperspace to the ancient Sith temples of Yavin 4. Anakin continued his pursuit on foot, aided by clone troopers. Using the Force, Asajj whittled away the clone trooper guards, and then began a stunning lightsaber duel with Anakin. So skilled was she, Asajj even proved to be a challenge to the fabled Chosen One of Jedi legend. To defeat her, Anakin needed the edge granted by giving into anger. In a furious counter-attack, young Skywalker repulsed Ventress, who nevertheless survived.
After being captured on Jabiim, Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi and the ARC trooper known as Alpha were transported to Ventress' private fortress on Rattatak. There, she tortured the prisoners in hopes of breaking Obi-Wan's spirit and presenting the defeated Jedi as a trophy to Count Dooku. Kenobi foiled her plans, though, and escaped along with Alpha. Adding insult to injury, Kenobi stole Ky Narec's lightsaber, which Ventress kept as a memento of her past, and left Rattatak by absconding with one of her fanblade fighters.
Asajj has perfected a lightsaber combat form that uses paired blades to strike and parry. She carried twin weapons given to her by Count Dooku, and each bears a similar archaic curved handle design favored by the former Jedi Master. Ventress' lightsaber handles are especially modified so that they can connect into a joined, S-shaped handle, becoming a double-bladed lightsaber.
Asajj Ventress, Star Wars
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Piett was a loyal Imperial officer aboard Darth Vader's flagship, the Executor, during the Hoth campaign. As an attentive Captain aboard the Super Star Destroyer, he was more creatively minded than his by-the-manual superior, Admiral Ozzel. After Ozzel committed a fatal mistake during the hunt for the Rebels, Darth Vader promoted Piett to Admiral in his place.
Piett served in this capacity during the Battle of Endor. He perished aboard his vessel when a wayward A-wing starfighter crashed into the Executor's bridge.
Admiral Piett profile from starwars.com
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Born Padmé Naberrie, Queen Amidala was the formal name of the royal leader of Naboo. As a child, Amidala was prodigiously talented and extremely well educated. She had long been interested in public service, volunteering in the Refugee Relief Movement as a youth. Her efforts helped in the Shadda-Bi-Boran exodus. At the age of eight, she joined the Apprentice Legislature and became an Apprentice Legislator at age 11. By 14, she was elected Queen of Naboo.
During the Trade Federation siege of Naboo, the scheming Neimoidians tried to force the strong-willed Amidala to sign a treaty that would legitimize a brazenly illegal occupation. Amidala refused, and was sentenced to a prison camp. En route to incarceration, Amidala was freed by Jedi ambassadors. They took the Queen and part of her retinue to Coruscant, to plead her case before the Senate with the help of Naboo's galactic representative, Senator Palpatine.
On Coruscant, Amidala learned of the inefficiencies of galactic politics, watching as Trade Federation political maneuvering stalemated her plea. Following advice from Senator Palpatine, Amidala called for a Vote of No Confidence in Supreme Chancellor Valorum.
Fed up with the Senate, Amidala returned to Naboo. She requested aid from the native Gungans in freeing her captured capital. During the Battle of Naboo, Amidala infiltrated her own palace, and forced Neimoidian Viceroy Nute Gunray to end the occupation. The cowardly Neimoidians, having their armies defeated, capitulated and freedom was brought back to Naboo.
While Queen Amidala was the ruler of Naboo she had a large staff of advisors and aides that handled the day-to-day affairs. Sio Bibble, for instance, was Naboo's governor. Captain Panaka was Amidala's loyal bodyguard and head of security. Ric Olié was the pilot of the Queen's gleaming Royal Starship and leader of Bravo Flight.
Perhaps most important in Amidala's entourage were her five handmaidens. Saché, Yané, Rabé, Sabé and Eirtaé not only helped the Queen with her intricate gowns, hairstyles and make-up, but they were also trained in self-defense. When in danger, Queen Amidala disguised herself as one of her handmaidens, and adopted her less formal name of Padmé. When disguised as Padmé, Sabé assumed the role of Queen in her place.
When her terms ended, Amidala was constitutionally obligated to step down as Queen, although the public would have easily backed an amendment allowing her to serve longer. Though she had every right to retire and concentrate on her personal life, Amidala continued to be passionate about public service. At the request of the new Naboo monarch, Queen Jamillia, Amidala served as Senator of Naboo, taking the position once occupied by Palpatine. In a galaxy undergoing tumultuous changes, her outspoken nature shone as a beacon of reason and rationality in an increasingly fragmented Senate.
With the rise of a Separatist movement that threatened the stability of the Republic, Amidala was one of the few championing a peaceful resolution to the crisis. Alarmist Senators rallied to create a military force to protect the Republic, but Amidala led the opposition against the Military Creation Act. She believed such a measure would inevitably lead to hostilities against the Separatists.
On the day of the Military Creation Act vote, Amidala's starship was attacked upon arrival at Coruscant. Seven people, including her decoy Cordé, died in the explosion. Some suspected that disgruntled spice miners from the moons of Naboo were the culprit, but Amidala believed that it was actually Count Dooku, leader of the Separatists, behind the attack. In truth, it was an old enemy, Nute Gunray, who was behind the bounty hunters hired to finally silence the young woman from Naboo, though that would go undiscovered for some time.
At the behest of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, Amidala was placed under the protection of the Jedi Knights. Amidala was once again reunited with Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker, whom she had not seen in a decade. A second assassination attempt by the bounty hunter Zam Wesell revealed just how gravely in danger Amidala was.
Anakin escorted Padmé to Naboo, where she would be sequestered while the Jedi investigated the attacks against her. In moments of quiet solitude against the beautiful landscape of Naboo's Lake Country, Anakin and Padmé bonded, rekindling an affectionate friendship that had been interrupted ten years ago, and falling into a deeper love.
It was a love forbidden to both. As per the tenets of the Jedi Code, Anakin could not enter into a romantic relationship, and Padmé needed to focus on her career. Despite their strong feelings, it was Padmé who remained the realist, rebuffing Anakin's overtures while attempting to still her own heart.
Anakin's love for Padmé was not all that was troubling him. He suffered from terrible nightmares of his mother in danger. When he could bear it no more, Anakin returned to Tatooine, with Padmé in tow, to find Shmi Skywalker.
Anakin did find his dying mother, and lashed out in vengeance against the Tusken Raiders that had tortured her. When he returned to Padmé, he confessed his actions, and he collapsed with shame and despair over what he had done. Padmé saw the wounded, sobbing youth, and let her compassion guide her heart as she comforted him.
Shortly thereafter, Anakin and Padmé voyaged to Geonosis, to rescue Obi-Wan who had been captured by Separatist forces. Padmé hoped to use her diplomatic skills to parley with the Separatists, but she and Anakin were captured by the Geonosians. Placed on trial for espionage, Amidala and Anakin were sentenced for execution.
Faced with overwhelming evidence of her mortality, Padmé lowered her emotional guard and professed her love to Anakin. The two were then placed in an execution arena alongside Obi-Wan, and three deadly beasts were unleashed upon them, much to the delight of the Geonosian spectators. Though sustaining a glancing slash from a ferocious nexu, Padmé held her own, and disappointed her would-be executioners.
The spectacle was cut short with the arrival of Jedi reinforcements, and then the opening battle of the historic Clone Wars. Despite her initial objections to a Republic army, Padmé nonetheless fought alongside the newly created clone troopers against the Separatist droid forces.
After the Battle of Geonosis, Anakin escorted Padmé Amidala back to Naboo. There, at a secluded lake retreat, the same place where their forbidden love began to blossom, the two were quietly wed in a ceremony witnessed only by C-3PO and R2-D2. This tranquil expression of love preceded some of the darkest moments to be faced by Amidala and by the galaxy as a whole.
Amidala continued to serve the Senate faithfully, though she was often distracted by the growing career of her secret husband. Anakin was becoming a war hero known throughout the Republic, and while the citizens thrilled at his exploits, she was deeply worried for his safety. The few moments they could snatch together were all too brief. The war was concentrated in the Outer Rim, far from Coruscant, and Padmé saw very little of Anakin. By the time the Outer Rim Sieges ended, Padmé had stunning news to deliver to Anakin --- he was to be a father.
The war years saw the continued transformation of the Republic. To efficiently battle the Separatists on numerous fronts, Chancellor Palpatine enacted executive decrees that saw more power funneled to his office, stripping away the last of the Senate's lackluster ability to wage war. Many welcomed the handover of power, particularly the corrupt politicians.
A small group of Senator grew increasingly wary of Palpatine's amendments. Senators Bail Organa and Mon Mothma spoke of drastic alternatives in clandestine gatherings. Padmé was one of these secretive idealists, along with Senators Fang Zar, Giddean Danu, Chi Eekway, Terr Taneel and Bana Breemu. They swore to keep their discussions absolutely secret, even from their closest associates. Padmé agreed, even though she feared Anakin would sense her duplicity... and perhaps misconstrue it for something else.
Though early talk of action against Palpatine was carefully couched and measured so as not to border on extreme acts of sedition, Padmé favored a diplomatic solution within the boundaries of the law. She even asked Anakin to use his relationship with Palpatine to press for a peaceful resolution to the war, but her beleaguered husband resented the request. He wanted such overtures to remain in political circles, where they belonged. Her doubts about the system troubled Anakin. To his ears, she was starting to sound like a Separatist.
Padmé began collecting the pledges of what would become the Delegation of 2,000, a group of disaffected Senators formally critical of Palpatine's rule.
She presented the Delegation's concerns to Palpatine, who disregarded them. Palpatine carefully planted seeds of doubt of Padmé's intentions in Anakin's mind, even as he continued to exploit Skywalker's fears about losing her.
Anakin was plagued with terrifying nightmares of Padmé dying during childbirth. Given his prophetic dreams that predicted the death of his mother, these visions greatly unsettled Anakin. He could not stand to lose Padmé, and would do anything to keep her with him. A gateway to dark powers that could unnaturally preserve life beckoned to Anakin -- it was a power that could be achieved by allying himself to Darth Sidious, Dark Lord of the Sith.
Padmé, like the rest of the Republic, was unaware that Chancellor Palpatine was in fact a Sith Lord. He lured Anakin to the dark side, and Skywalker knelt before him, becoming Darth Vader, his apprentice. As Vader, Anakin led an ambush on the Jedi Temple, and traveled to Mustafar to kill the leadership of the Separatists, effectively bringing an end to the Clone Wars.
It was Obi-Wan who told Padmé the truth. He had seen evidence of Anakin's transgressions. Padmé was stunned. Unable to grasp this dark reality, she traveled to Mustafar to confront Anakin. Unbeknownst to her, Obi-Wan Kenobi stowed away aboard her ship.
It was just as Obi-Wan described. Padmé could not reason with Anakin. In his twisted perception, he had done all of his wicked deeds to better the galaxy for their union, to make the corrupt Republic into a just Empire for their children. Deluded with power, Anakin even promised that he could depose the Emperor, and make the galaxy exactly what he and Padmé wanted it to be.
Padmé was devastated by Anakin's transformation. When her enraged husband witnessed Obi-Wan emerging from her starship, he jumped to the worst of conclusions. Anakin saw the most stinging in a long line of betrayals -- now his wife had brought his former mentor to Mustafar to kill him. Anakin raised his hand and caught Padmé in a telekinetic chokehold. Padmé gasped for breath as life began to escape from her.
Anakin released his grip as he faced Obi-Wan, and Padmé collapsed. As Kenobi and Skywalker dueled in the Mustafar collection facility, C-3PO and R2-D2 faithfully carried her inert form aboard her starship. Despite the abbreviated medical suite aboard her ship, or the full medical facility at a refuge on Polis Massa, her life signs continued to dwindle.
Padmé never knew what had become of Anakin. She never saw the damage he suffered from Kenobi's blade or the lava of Mustafar. She still felt there was good within him. With her dying breath, she tried to convince Obi-Wan of this.
Before slipping away, Padmé remained strong enough to give birth. In the strange alien facility of Anakin's nightmares, she gave birth to twins -- Leia and Luke Skywalker. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Bail Organa vowed to keep the children safe.
Amidala's body was returned to Naboo. At a state funeral, thousands of Naboo citizens came to pay their respects to their beloved representative.
Padmé Amidala, Starwars Episodes I, II and III
starwars.com
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Darth Maul was a weapon forged by the hateful energies of the dark side to ensure the victory of the Sith over the Jedi order. A creature of pure evil, Maul had no personality beyond his ultimate devotion to his master, Darth Sidious. His goal was singular -- to exact vengeance upon the Jedi for the decimation of the Sith ranks.
The Republic first came to know of Maul only as a mysterious attacker. While Qui-Gon Jinn was escorting the fugitive Queen Amidala from Tatooine to Coruscant, Darth Maul swept down from above, lunging at Qui-Gon from his rocketing Sith speeder. Maul's attack was relentless; he hammered down lightsaber strikes against the accomplished Jedi Master, forcing him back time and again. It was only the timely interception of Qui-Gon by the Queen's Royal Starship that spared him.
Qui-Gon was utterly surprised and unprepared for such an attack. The Sith, everyone knew, were extinct, disappeared from the galaxy for a millennium. Yet the evidence was there -- a dark attacker, trained in the Jedi arts, brandishing a lightsaber no less.
Maul was dispatched by Darth Sidious to track down the Queen, a feat he accomplished through mysterious yet effective means. Traveling aboard his sleek Sith Infiltrator, Maul scouted the galaxy for the missing monarch, and reported his findings to his master. When Amidala returned to Naboo, Maul was there, waiting to face the Jedi once more.
As an undeniable example of his skill and devotion, Maul plunged headlong into battle against two Jedi warriors. Using his double-bladed lightsaber, Maul held off both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn in the heart of the Theed Royal Palace. When the Jedi became separated, Maul killed Qui-Gon with a well-placed saber strike. Kenobi, enraged, attacked Maul. This barrage was deflected by Maul who used Obi-Wan's touching of the dark side as a conduit for a Force attack; using the Force, Maul pushed Obi-Wan into a deep mining pit. Kenobi held onto an outcropping for dear life. Calming himself by calling upon the light side of the Force, Kenobi was able to surprise Maul, and cleave him in half with his saber.
A pained look of bewilderment crossed Maul's tattooed face as death overtook him. His body fell into the melting pit, splitting in two as it tumbled into oblivion.
It was only a matter of time before Sidious acquired a new apprentice.
Darth Maul
Star Wars episode I
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