Darth Sidious

"Execute Order 66."

"Yes, Lord Sidious."

―Darth Sidious, to CT-7567 "Rex"Darth Sidious, born as Sheev Palpatine and commonly known simply as the Emperor throughout the last days of his life, was a Force-sensitive human male and Sith Lord that lived throughout the last years of the Galactic Republic.

Early Life
A human male, Sheev Palpatine was born to a very influential family on the Mid Rim world of Naboo around 84 years prior to the Battle of Yavin. However, as far as anyone knew, Palpatine had no family of which to speak. 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.

Eventually, Palpatine became the Sith apprentice to 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 and studied the Force as their predecessors, including the ancient Darth Bane, knew it.

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.

Darth Sidious and Plagueis worked together for years, trying to unlock the secrets to immortality. 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. However, Plagueis ultimately discovered a secret for eternal life, which Sidious later stole: transferring his own consciousness to another body, using bodies as vessels. This obsession with extending one's own life later passed onto Sidious from his time as Galactic Emperor.

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.

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. 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.

However, by taking Maul under his wing, the Rule of Two had been violated, as it demanded only two Sith. Following the traditions set forth by the Rule of Two and deciding that Plagueis had outlived his usefulness, Sidious betrayed and murdered his Master on his sleep. 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. Sidious was also able to manipulate Nute Gunray's rise to the position of Viceroy of the Trade Federation.