Respect The First and Last Galactic Emperor

Started by Dolos2 pages

Dolos Restricted

Swordplay:

"Pertaining to whether Sidious is right-handed or left-handed with a lightsaber, he's ambidextrous. He's just that good. Sidious' abilities are beyond anything we've experienced. It took a really long time for Nick (Gillard) to work out Sidious' fighting style, and he has a style that's constantly changing. His style is one in which you'll never get the better of him. It is ambiguous --- he'll fight less than you and draw you in; you're a sucker if you think you're going to better him. Sidious is a master of every weapon and every style."
- Gillard comments on Darth Sidious's lightsaber form.
Palpatine quickly disarms Luke - taking precise care not to maim his asset in the process:

YouTube video

Originally posted by GideonChancellor Palpatine was confronted in his private office by four Jedi Masters: Mace Windu, Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar, and Saesee Tiin. They had been informed of Palpatine’s dark alter ego by a shaken Anakin Skywalker and intended to arrest him.
Contrary to the beliefs of some skeptics and most casual fans, Windu’s entourage consisted of three of the Jedi Order’s finest duelists. The Complete Visual Dictionary cites them all as “a trio of celebrated swordmasters,” and Windu himself refer the assembled team as “four of the best [Masters].” The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia mentions that “Kolar was a tough combatant, and diplomacy was not his strong suit,” and that “Tiin was known for his foresight and ability to see the future,” and proclaims Fisto “a mighty warrior.” Indeed, Star Wars: the Clone Wars television series depicts Kit Fisto overpowering Confederacy strategist and feared Jedi killer General Grievous in single combat, despite Grievous’s mastery of all seven forms of lightsaber combat and personal training by Count Dooku. Despite these accolades and the facts that the Masters were armed with knowledge of Palpatine’s Sith allegiance and they had the advantage of having ignited their lightsabers and assumed combat stances, Darth Sidious brandished his own lightsaber, hurtled over his desk, and butchered Masters Tiin and Kolar within three seconds. Soaring headlong into Fisto and Windu, he sparred with both Masters for a few more seconds before bisecting the former and “forcing the mighty Windu back,” according to the official databank. Windu’s mastery of Vaapad and the shatterpoint charism were enough to eventually yield an advantage over the Chancellor, and the duel ended with Windu disarming the Sith Lord as Anakin Skywalker rushed into the office.

Through Vapaad, Windu feeds off of the intensity of his opponent, and is able to go even as far as Sidious' power level, and on even grounds with Sidious.

Originally posted by Lord Lucien
Mace's Shatterpoint revealed Palpatine's weakness--Anakin. His perspective narration says that, even submerged in Vaapad, the fight would have gone on forever if not for Shatterpoint. Palpatine's fear was provoked when Anakin entered the room, something Mace's Shatterpoint ability revealed, and what he used to his advantage to leverage a disarming maneuver.

Originally posted by GideonIt should also be noted that Palpatine’s lightsaber had been secluded in a statue within his office, laying in darkness for over a decade (Revenge of the Sith). This, combined with Palpatine’s increased responsibilities as Chancellor—and Count Dooku’s musings that Sidious didn’t need to bother with lightsaber tutelage (Labyrinth of Evil)—indicates that Palpatine was approximately 13 years out of practice when he squared off against the Jedi in 19 BBY.

At some point after the declaration of the Empire, Emperor Palpatine ordered five captured Jedi to be brought before him. Though exhausted after severe beatings and starvation, and surrounded by Red Guards and stormtroopers, the Jedi were not bound. Palpatine in fact handed each of them a lightsaber, and told them that the survivor would win their freedom. Instead of turning on each other, four of the Jedi attacked him; he cut three of them down simultaneously, leaving only a female Human and the Verpine Beyghor Sahdett. The latter chose to turn against the former in order to save his own life, and, in awe of Palpatine's unparalleled mastery of the Force, became the Emperor's servant. Sahdett was employed as a spy to entrap other Jedi survivors.

-Dark Times: A Spark Remains, Part 3

In 0 BBY, Moff Kalast aided the Rebel Alliance in secret by supplying secret information about the recently-completed Death Star. After the identity of the traitor was discovered, the Emperor dispatched Darth Vader to hunt down Kalast's flagship, the Star Destroyer Avenger. Vader's forces clashed with Kalast's on Thyferra and Atzerri, until eventually defeating him and capturing the Avenger as it was preparing to jump to lightspeed. Kalast was interrogated, revealing that Bothan members of the Spynet had supplied him with the top secret information concerning the Death Star. The Emperor considered this treason on the part of the entire Bothan species, and decided to deal with the situation himself. He traveled to Bothawui in his personal shuttle, accompanied by two of his Royal Guards, and slaughtered hundreds of Bothans. He gathered information that Tantive IV was headed to Tatooine, and informed Lord Vader, who had already learned the same thing in a separate mission.

-Empire at War

Power:

Originally posted by Jmanghan
"The Rebels were turning out to be more troublesome than many had expected. The Emperor had known it would be thus, of course; the resistance had not been a surprise to him. The Emperor was completely in concert with the dark side of the Force. He was the most powerful Sith to have ever existed."
-- Death Star, page 76
"...Yoda could not hope to defeat the most powerful Sith Lord in history."
-- The New Essential Chronology
Page 109 from the Dark Empire sourcebook:
"Palpatine has risen from the dead. The most powerful Sith Lord who ever lived had returned."

Now there's another one that states him as the most powerful in the EU from the Darth Plagueis Novel:

"Plagueis the Wise, who forged the most powerful Sith Lord the galaxy has ever known, and yet who forgot to leave a place for himself; whose pride never allowed him to question that he would no longer be needed."

Here's even more:

"When Yoda crosses sabers with the movie's arch-villain, he doesn't launch into a pinwheeling display of acrobatics, as he did against Count Dooku in Episode II. Instead, Yoda faces the dark side's fury, channeled by the most powerful Sith Lord in history. "Rob Coleman wanted Yoda to feel the power of his enemy," says Wheless, "like a force he's never dealt with before."

--Taken from Insider #86: Yoda's Right Arm

Originally posted by DarthAnt66
[...]"Obi Wan Kenobi and Yoda were the only Jedi left in a position to do something about the disaster. Yoda went after Palpatine in the empty Senate chamber, but could not defeat the most powerful Sith Lord in history."
-From The New Essential Chronology
Plagueis made a soothing gesture and explained in great detail what had taken place. Concluding, he said, "He threatened, too, to place you out of reach.". All the while Plagueis spoke, Palpatine was storming through circles on the narrow path, shaking his head in anger and balling his fists. "He can't do this!" he snarled. He hasn't the right! I won't allow it!". Palpatine's fury buffeted Plagueis. Blossoms growing along the sides of the pathway folded in on themselves, and their pollinators began to buzz in agitation. FourDee reacted, as well, wobbling on its feet, as if in the grip of a powerful electromagnet. Had this human truly been born of flesh-and-blood parents? Plagueis asked himself. When, in fact, he seemed sprung from nature itself. Was the Force so strong in him that it had concealed itself?
-From Darth Plagues Novel
And then there was Palpatine, of course: he was beyond power. He showed nothing of what might be within. Though seen with the eyes of the dark side itself, Palpatine was an event horizon. Beneath his entirely ordinary surface was absolute, perfect nothingness. Darkness beyond darkness. A black hole of the Force.
-From Revenge of The Sith Novel.
"Darth Sidious proved to be the grim culmination of a thousand years of Sith philosophy and teachings."
-From Jedi vs Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force
"When the Sith finally emerged from a thousand years of watching and waiting, they numbered—in accordance with the tradition set down by Darth Bane—only two. The most powerful of these was Darth Sidious, an ice-cold, diabolically calculating genius equipped with the strength of the dark side of the Force, as well as an enormous wealth of Sith artifacts, equipment, and knowledge."
-From the Darkside Source Book
"Vader imagined the power that could be his if he crushed Palpatine and established his own rule over the Empire. But first, he would need his own apprentice. By himself, he could not hope to defeat the most powerful Sith Lord the galaxy had ever known."
-Vader: The Ultimate Guide

Dolos Restricted

Originally pasted by DarthAnt66"Beyond the vision of the Jedi Knights, somewhere within the darkness, the greatest master of evil ever to use Sith power bides his time. As his strength grows, his plans begin to shape the course of the galaxy, and his snares await the unsuspecting."
-The Complete Visual Dictionary
"The Sith have waited millennium for the birth of one who is powerful enough to return them from hiding. Darth Sidious is that one—the Sith's revenge on the Jedi order for having nearly eradicated the practitioners of the dark side of the Force."
-The Complete Visual Dictionary
"The feeling had begun as a faint stirring in the Force, like the tiniest ripple of something moving slowly through deep water, far away but drawing steadily closer. It intensified, until it felt like the Force itself was boiling, heaving like the sea in the grip of an enormous storm.
"I sense a presence..." Maul warned Savage, "A presence I haven't felt since... No! Master!"
-Shadow Conspiracy
"To most eyes the man in those simple robes of rough cloth was unremarkable, just another being making his way in the universe. But to those who could feel the Force he was anything but ordinary. To them, he was a dark sun blazing with power that was simultaneously hypnotizing and terrifying to behold. Darth Sidious had come to Mandalore."
-Shadow Conspiracy
[/B]

There's more:

It quickly became clear to Luke that this decrepit and seemingly defenseless old man was masterfully adept in the ways of the Dark Side of the Force. Indeed, as Vader had warned, the Emperor had become the Dark Side's most powerful expression.

--Taken from the Dark Empire endnotes

Even Ulic Qel-Droma would be envious of Palpatine. He had succeeded where all others had failed in taming the Dark Side.

--Taken from Dark Empire Sourcebook

He notes that his powers have grown tenfold over the decades he had trained with Plagueis.

Sidious knew that his own powers had increased tenfold over the decades, but he couldn’t be certain he had learned all of Plagueis’s secrets—“his sorcerer’s ways,” as the Sun Guards referred to them—including the ability to prevent beings from dying.

--Taken from Darth Plagueis

Sidious' powers increase upon Plagueis' death.

A tremor took hold of the planet.
Sprung from death, it unleashed itself in a powerful wave, at once burrowing deep into the world’s core and radiating through its saccharine atmosphere to shake the stars themselves. At the quake’s epicenter stood Sidious, one elegant hand vised on the burnished sill of an expansive translucency, a vessel filled suddenly to bursting, the Force so strong within him that he feared he might disappear into it, never to return. But the moment didn’t constitute an ending so much as a true beginning, long overdue; it was less a transformation than an intensification—a gravitic shift.
A welter of voices, near and far, present and from eons past, drowned his thoughts. Raised in praise, the voices proclaimed his reign and cheered the inauguration of a new order. Yellow eyes lifted to the night sky, he saw the trembling stars flare, and in the depth of his being he felt the power of the dark side anoint him.
Slowly, almost reluctantly, he came back to himself, his gaze settling on his manicured hands. Returned to the present, he took note of his rapid breathing, while behind him the room labored to restore order. Air scrubbers hummed—costly wall tapestries undulating in the summoned breeze. Prized carpets sealed their fibers against the spread of spilled fluids. The droid shuffled in obvious confliction. Sidious pivoted to take in the disarray: antique furniture overturned; framed artwork askew. As if a whirlwind had swept through. And facedown on the floor lay a statue of Yanjon, one of four law-giving sages of Dwartii.
A piece Sidious had secretly coveted.
Also sprawled there, Plagueis: his slender limbs splayed and elongated head turned to one side. Dressed in finery, as for a night on the town.
And now dead.
Or was he?
Uncertainty rippled through Sidious, rage returning to his eyes. A tremor of his own making, or one of forewarning? Was it possible that the wily Muun had deceived him? Had Plagueis unlocked the key to immortality, and survived after all? Never mind that it would constitute a petty move for one so wise—for one who had professed to place the Grand Plan above all else. Had Plagueis become ensnared in a self-spun web of jealousy and possessiveness, victim of his own engineering, his own foibles?
If he hadn’t been concerned for his own safety, Sidious might have pitied him. Wary of approaching the corpse of his former Master, he called on the Force to roll the aged Muun over onto his back. From that angle Plagueis looked almost as he had when Sidious first met him, decades earlier: smooth, hairless cranium; humped nose, with its bridge flattened as if from a shock-ball blow and its sharp tip pressed almost to his upper lip; jutting lower jaw; sunken eyes still brimming with menace—a physical characteristic rarely encountered in a Muun. But then Plagueis had never been an ordinary Muun, nor an ordinary being of any sort.
Sidious took care, still reaching out with the Force. On closer inspection, he saw that Plagueis’s already cyanotic flesh was smoothing out, his features relaxing.
Faintly aware of the whir of air scrubbers and sounds of the outside world infiltrating the luxurious suite, he continued the vigil; then, in relief, he pulled himself up to his full height and let out his breath. This was no Sith trick. Not an instance of feigning death, but one of succumbing to its cold embrace. The being who had guided him to power was gone.
Wry amusement narrowed his eyes.
The Muun might have lived another hundred years unchanged. He might have lived forever had he succeeded fully in his quest. But in the end—though he could save others from death—he had failed to save himself.
A sense of supreme accomplishment puffed Sidious’s chest, and his thoughts unreeled.
Well, then, that wasn’t nearly as bad as we thought it might be...
Rarely did events play out as imagined, in any case. The order of future events was transient. In the same way that the past was reconfigured by selective memory, future events, too, were moving targets. One could only act on instinct, grab hold of an intuited perfect moment, and spring into action. One heartbeat late and the universe would have recomposed itself, no imposition of will sufficient to forestall the currents. One could only observe and react. Surprise was the element absent from any periodic table. A keystone element; a missing ingredient. The means by which the Force amused itself. A reminder to all sentient beings that some secrets could never be unlocked.
Confident that the will of the dark side had been done, he returned to the suite’s window wall. Two beings in a galaxy of countless trillions, but what had transpired in the suite would affect the lives of all of them. Already the galaxy had been shaped by the birth of one, and henceforth would be reshaped by the death of the other. But had the change been felt and recognized elsewhere? Were his sworn enemies aware that the Force had shifted irrevocably? Would it be enough to rouse them from self-righteousness? He hoped not. For now the work of vengeance could begin in earnest.
His eyes sought and found an ascending constellation of stars, one of power and consequence new to the sky, though soon to be overwhelmed by dawn’s first light. Low in the sky over the flatlands, visible only to those who knew where and how to look, it ushered in a bold future. To some the stars and planets might seem to be moving as ever, destined to align in configurations calculated long before their fiery births. But in fact the heavens had been perturbed, tugged by dark matter into novel alignments. In his mouth, Sidious tasted the tang of blood; in his chest, he felt the monster rising, emerging from shadowy depths and contorting his aspect into something fearsome just short of revealing itself to the world.
The dark side had made him its property, and now he made the dark side his.
Breathless, not from exertion but from the sudden inspiration of power, he let go of the sill and allowed the monster to writhe through his body like an unbroken beast of range or prairie.
Had the Force ever been so strong in anyone?
Sidious had never learned how Plagueis’s own Master had met his end. Had he died at Plagueis’s hand? Had Plagueis, too, experienced a similar exultation on becoming a sole Sith Lord? Had the beast of the end time risen then to peek at the world it was to inhabit, knowing its release was imminent?

--Taken from Darth Plagueis

Dolos Restricted

He becomes more powerful after his death at Endor.

Resurrected in a youthful clone body, Palpatine does not reveal himself immediately. Studying the dark side of the Force to become more powerful, his education results in three manifestos: The Book of Anger, The Weakness of Inferiors, and The Creation of Monsters.

--Taken from The Ultimate Visual Guide

Palpatine knew precisely why the Empire couldn’t last without his dread power: he had designed it that way. No one ever suspected how much he relied on the Dark Side of the Force. He shaped those of his government by using the Force against them. He used it to control his fleets and to drive his soldiers on to victory. He used it to destroy his enemies from a distance and learn of conspiracies against him. Without it, there was no way the Empire could endure, as he had designed it. The Dark Side flowed through him like some primordial ichor and was the key to all his power.
Soon he was ready to strike. Fully healed and in greater control of the Dark Side than ever, he finally acted to end the Mutiny.

--Taken from Dark Empire Sourcebook

Palpatine himself is a Force nexus.

The key to Luke's turning is the moment when he and Leia realize the Emperor is no longer defined by his physical form, but has become a chaotic nexus of dark energies that swell and burst open the fabric of space, tearing apart everything in the vicinity, human and machine.

--Taken from the Dark Empire endnotes

His death over Endor leaves a small Force nexus above the Sanctuary Moon.

Any unusual localization, or vergence, of dark side Force energy. These strange locales emanated the dark side of the Force, and were considered focal points of power for dark side users. As such, they were often guarded by Jedi Knights to prevent their discovery and exploitation. Known dark side nexuses included the twisted tree-cave on Dagobah, Halagad Ventor's hermitage on Trinta, and a "stain" of dark side energy that hovered over Endor following the defeat of the Emperor.

--Taken from The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia

^Anakin and Meetra were also thought of as Vergences because one had been created by the Force and the other had temporarily become wound like Nihilus.

Sidious' power upsets the balance of the Force on the dark side world of Vjun and causes a weather storm merely by the emergence of a holographic image of himself.

Outside, the wind picked up another notch, shrieking and groaning among the eleven chimneys as if to announce the arrival of a hideous guest. Dooku's comm console chimed. He glanced over, expecting the daily report from General Grievous, or perhaps a message from Asajj Ventress. He reached over to open the channel, ecognized the digital signature of the incoming transmission, jabbed the channel open, and snapped to his feet. "You called, my Master?"
The hologrammic projector on his desk sprang to life, and the wavering form of Darth Sidious regarded him. As always the picture was oozy and unclear, as if light itself were uneasy in the presence of the Lord of the Sith. Dark robes, purple shadows—a patch of skin, pale and mottled under his hooded cloak like a fungus growing under a rotten log. From under heavy lids the Master's eyes, snake-cold and serpent-wise, regarded him.
"What would you have of me, Master?"
"From you? Everything, of course." Darth Sidious sounded amused. "There was a time when I wasn't sure if you would be able to overcome that...independent streak of yours. After all, you were born to one of the wealthiest families in the galaxy, with gifts and abilities far, far greater than any amount of wealth could bestow. Your understanding is deep; your will, adamant. Is it any wonder you should be proud? Why, how could it be otherwise?"
Dooku said, "I have always served you well and faithfully, my Master."
"You have. But you must admit, your spirit was not made for fidelity. After all, a man who will not bow to the Jedi Council, or even Master Yoda...I wondered if perhaps loyalty was too mean, too confining a thing to ask from so great a being as yourself."
Dooku tried to smile. "The war progresses well. Our plans are on schedule. I have dealt out your deaths, your schemes, your betrayals. I have paid for your war with my time, my riches, my friends, and my honor."
"Holding nothing back?" Sidious asked lightly.
"Nothing. I swear it."
"Excellent," Darth Sidious said. "Yoda came to the Chancellor's office this morning. He is going on a very special mission. Top secret." He laughed, a harsh sound like the bark of a crow. The wind rose again, shrieking around the mansion like a creature in torment. "When he arrives, Dooku...see that you treat him as he deserves."
Darth Sidious laughed. Dooku wanted to laugh along, but couldn't quite manage it before his Master cut the connection and disappeared.

Dooku paced his office. With the end of Sidious' call, the storm had slackened, and the shrieking wind outside now only sobbed quietly under the gables of Château Malreaux.

--Taken from Yoda: Dark Rendezvous

Leia records that she felt palpable discomfort and fear simply by being in the presence of the Emperor on her first meeting with him.

"But I was also overwhelmed by the knowledge that Vader was not only Luke's father, but mine, too. My memories raced to my first encounter with Vader. It was during my first trip to Coruscant, when I'd accompanied my father—that is, Bail Organa—to a reception for the Emperor. In hindsight, I'm surprised I was allowed to go, as it exposed me to both the Emperor and Vader. Granted, I'd never demonstrated any Force powers at that point, so perhaps Bail Organa thought it was relatively safe. I never knew anyone who guarded his secrets as well as Bail Organa.
The reception was at the Imperial Palace. As things turned out, it seems neither Sith Lord sensed anything about my true identity, for if they had, surely they would have done something. That's not to say their powers were weak. I'd meant to confront Palpatine and tell him what I thought of his xenophobic Empire, but as he approached me in the reception line, I was struck numb with fear. I remember thinking it was as if he were pitch-black inside. Vader loomed behind him like a malevolent shadow, and there was no doubt in my mind that if I had found the courage to speak my mind to the Emperor, Vader would have killed me on the spot."

--Taken from Jedi vs Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force

The Emperor has learned virtually every application of the Force there is from all different eras.

Palpatine has spent decades studying the most arcane and esoteric Jedi disciplines. It is believed that he has mastered nearly all the known powers, previously unknown powers, and devises new ones at his pleasure.

--Taken from Dark Empire Sourcebook

Dolos Restricted

Originally posted by Gideon
The most interesting and powerful demonstration of Sidious’s abilities is the one that took place throughout the backdrop of the prequel trilogy: the so-called “shroud of the dark side.” In Attack of the Clones, Jedi Master Mace Windu mentions to Grand Master Yoda that the Jedi should “inform the Senate that [the Jedi’s] ability to use the Force has diminished,” with the rise of the dark side of the Force. As the official databank’s entry for Mace Windu notes: “Something was clouding the future, and the order’s very connection to the Force was weakening. That a Sith Lord existed in the galaxy was not in doubt, but could this shadowy villain really bring this much imbalance to the Force?”
...Labyrinth of Evil notes that “for two hundred years prior to the coming of Darth Sidious, the power of the dark side had been gaining strength, and yet the Jedi had made only minimal efforts to thwart it.” The same source notes that “the Battle of Naboo had revealed that the Sith were back in the open, and that a Sith Lord was at work somewhere. The Sith Lord: the one born with the power needed to take the final step.”
In addition, the Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia notes in the entry concerning the Jedi Knights that “the nature of the Force was considered to be a constant, but this belief changed some 200 years before the Battle of Yavin, when Jedi Masters began to find that their connection to the Force had become nebulous or darkened. This change culminated with the ascension of Emperor Palpatine to power, when the Sith were finally able to gain complete control over the galaxy.” The entry on Chosen One similarly states that “the Force was in balance due to the rise of the Sith orchestrated by Darth Sidious.”
Indeed, so powerful was the shroud of the dark side that Palpatine had placed on the Force that it clouded the capabilities of Windu’s shatterpoint charism; an ability to detect weaknesses and “see how people and situations fit together in the Force, to find the shear planes that can cause them to break in useful ways, and to intuit what sort of strike would best make the cut” (Revenge of the Sith), as demonstrated by the following statement in the novelization: “Though [Windu] could not consistently determine the significance of the structures he perceived—the darkening cloud upon the Force that had risen with the rebirth of Sith made that harder and harder with each passing day—the presence of shatterpoints was always clear.”
The result was that Windu was able to sense Palpatine’s significance within the Force—“On the day of Palpatine’s election to the Chancellorship, he had seen that Palpatine himself was a shatterpoint of unimaginable significance: a man upon whom might depend the fate of the Republic itself”—but not the source of the significance.
The comic Sithisis depicts Palpatine “[conducting] Sith rituals on Coruscant that radiated unnerving ripples in the Force, which caused anxiety among most Jedi throughout the galaxy, but also served to increase Anakin Skywalker’s hunger for power” (the Ultimate Visual Guide). This particular feat is interesting to note because it is one of the major ones that puts the scope and scale of Palpatine’s powers into proper perspective; in short, the ritual he conducts manipulates the Force on a galactic scale—affecting the thousands of active Jedi across the galaxy—including the powerful and noted Jedi Grand Master Yoda.

In these rituals, he also darkened the skies of coruscation in creating powerful Force storms (weather). This was before DE.

The most powerful destructive ability demonstrated by Palpatine was the ability to create hyperspace wormholes called Force Storms. The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia defines a Force Storm as “a tornado of energy created by great disturbances in the Force.” The Dark Empire Sourcebook states the following:
“This is perhaps the single most destructive Force power known. This power allows [Palpatine] to twist the space-time continuum to create vast storms of force.” It mentions that Force Storms are powerful enough to “swallow whole fleets of spaceships and tear surfaces off worlds.”
Palpatine’s control over the Force Storm technique was such that he was able to transport Luke Skywalker from Coruscant and place him within a Lictor-class dungeon ship. When he turned his power to kill, however, Palpatine was able to obliterate a New Republic fleet—powerful ships with shields capable of resisting gigatons of damage—before the combined power of Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa Solo, and her unborn child, Anakin, disrupted Palpatine’s control of the Force Storm—causing it to rebound and devour his flagship, the Eclipse, which is the most powerful capital ship in the mythos. The technique of Force Harmony is described by the sourcebook as “manifesting the power of the Light Side.” It took the combined, latent power of the three powerful Skywalkers to sever Palpatine’s control over this storm.

Palpatine describes the creation of his Force Storm in his Book of Anger.

"I have learned that Anger and Will, joined together, are the greatest Power.
I have learned to meditate upon Anger and Will with clarity and precision, and I have learned to open the hidden reservoirs of Dark Side Power.
Anger concentrated by Will in the vital center of the body creates a portal through which vast energies are released—the energies of the dark side of the Force.
Standing watch with the mind, in my meditation of Anger, I have slain my enemies from great distances, through the dark side Power that permeates the galaxy. I have created lightning, and unleashed its destructive fire.
Using this knowledge, I can unleash the dark side energies that are all around us, even to shatter the fabric of space itself. In this way, I have created storms.
Through a simple act of Will, I can generate Force Storms, energy storms that are vastly destructive and virtually unstoppable. Although triggering such storms requires merely thought and inclination, I admit I am not yet able to completely control the phenomenon. Among my goals is to perfect this control."

--Taken from Jedi vs Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force

"The churning energy mass of a Force Storm can consume everything it touches, for at its eye is pure hate. Just as a black hole devours a star, this storm can swallow armies and fold space."

--Taken from Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side

The effect of Force Storm is explained.

This is perhaps the single most destructive Force power known. This power allows the Jedi to twist the space-time continuum to create vast storms of force. The power also allows limited control of these storms. Capable of creating annihilating vortices, the storms can swallow whole fleets of spaceships or tear the surfaces off worlds.

--Taken from Dark Empire Sourcebook and Tales of the Jedi Companion

"The Force Storm is truly an awe-inspiring demonstration of pure natural energy. After using the Force to open a hyperspace wormhole, tremendous shockwaves will ripple through the fabric of space. Due to the Force Storm's potential for abuse, the Council has recently classified it as a dark side power."

"The Reborn Emperor used this at Da Soocha. It has the power to kill worlds."
—Luke

--Taken from The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force

Vast energy storms that connect wildly disparate spots across the galaxy, hyperspace wormholes are unpredictable and devastating. It was to the Rebel Alliance's detriment that Emperor Palpatine was able to not only control these storms, but to create them.

--Taken from Handbook Volume Three: Dark Empire

The shore of the western sea had been a glittering playground, a gay and glorious world that never slept, before the clone Emperor's Force storm had ravaged Coruscant. It had yet to fully recover.

--Taken from Before the Storm

Dolos Restricted

Luke: He's created another energy storm.
Leia: It’s descending on Pinnacle Base, consuming all the ships in its path. (Sound of comlink activating.) Mon Mothma, can you hear me?
Mon Mothma: Princess Leia. There’s an energy storm. It’s suddenly taken over the planet! We have twelve ships lost already. All our hands are being lost. We’re being wiped out!
Han: Leia, Leia! (Sound of comlink deactivating.)
Leia: You’re going to slaughter all those people.
Palpatine: Yes. Did I not warn you? I’ve played along with your Jedi dueling games long enough. Now, you will experience my full potency. I live as energy. I am the dark side!

--Taken from the Dark Empire audio drama

"One of the Emperor's Force Storms destroyed the Alliance base on the moon of Da Soocha and the entire fleet above it. Every day I'm reminded how lucky we are that Palpatine is lost to Chaos forever."
—Luke

--Taken from Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side

He summoned up a huge Force storm, far more powerful than the one that had swept Coruscant. But this time, when Skywalker and his sister turned their combined resistance against him, Palpatine could no longer control what he had unleashed.

--Taken from The Essential Chronology

Before even fully mastering the technique, Palpatine creates a Force Storm with enough skill and precision to transport his body to Kaal from the second Death Star II without causing noticeable damage to the Death Star.

The moment the Emperor "died" at the Battle of Endor, Droga fell into an inexplicable insanity, butchering his crew and causing the Emperor's Shadowto plunge into Kaal's oceans. Even as he perished, Palpatine used the dark side knowledge the Sith Lords had granted him years earlier to rend space itself and transmigrate his essence across lightyears to Droga's body.

--Taken from Gamer #5

After Luke is funneled through the wormhole, Mon Mothma comments on the incident, saying that there have been Storms sent to multiple planets.

Mon Mothma: The energy storm that took Commander Skywalker, this is not an isolated event. Similar Storms have been detected in several systems.
--Taken from the Dark Empire audio drama

Palpatine, without any visible effort or concentration, opens a wormhole more powerful than the one he sent to Coruscant that overtakes the moon Da Soocha V and consumes a fleet of capital ships as it descends on and destroys a New Republic base. Luke, Leia, and an unborn Anakin then join together in Force Harmony to loosen the Emperor's control over the Force Storm, causing it to tear apart the Eclipse along with Palpatine.

Force harmony was a technique that allowed many Jedi to exponentially increase the power of one - id est, in Darksaber, when Dorsk 82 drew on the power of 30 Jedi to pull 17 Imperial Star Destroyers into one another.

As the DE Handbook reads:

"Resisting the dark side one last time, Luke was able to destroy almost all of the Emeror's clones in waiting before he succumbed to Palpatine's strength." Although Anakin and Luke's potenital were proven great than Palpatine's, Luke's levels were far too underdeveloped to combat a being that can ravage worlds as impressively as NJO Luke moved the infinitely heavy Vong singularity.

The DE Handbook continues to read:

"But Palpatine could not foresee the strength of the light side as Leia finally got through to her brother and pulled him out of the dark side and the malevolent energies he had spawned. Finally, the Emperor was consumed by his own hyperspace wormhole."

However, if they'd battled him on Byss, they may not have proven so lucky:

"Despite his clone's rapid deterioration, Palpatine seemed invulnerable while on Byss, and his use of Force power there was more of an afterthought than an exercise. [url=]When Leia Organa Solo brandished a lightsaber at him, Palpatine waved his fingers and the ancient weapon shattered[/url]. When Leia tried to kill the Emperor by dropping a cooling unit on his head, Palpatine shrugged of the impact of a ton of machinery."

The DE Handbook excerpt goes on to state:

"Even were Palpatine's dark side adepts not at his disposal, the planet was populated with and army of the Emperor's most loyal subjects." Indeed, for the DE Sourcebook concurs: "[...] Palpatine planned for millions to permanently reside here, where he and his minions could use their Dark Side skills to feed off their life energy."

Sith Lightning:

Reduces a Sith spawn to ashes.

Palpatine burns three Prophets of the Dark Side to bones with a burst of Lightning.

Lets his Royal Guards kill 6 Storm Troopers out of an assault team of 30, drops the other 24 instantly with his Sith lightning:

Galen Marek can bring down a Star Destroyer his power:

Yet he cannot even make Sidious flinch with his strongest lightning:

And end the end proves to be no match for the Master:

While weakened, Palpatine emits Lightning that incapacitates Leia; fatally wounds Brand, whose prosthetic body can sustain him in extreme temperatures and even the vacuum of space for a year; and kills Rayf instantly.

Brand: I realize our steam-powered technology looks barbaric to your eyes, Solo, but it's quite servicable and very solid.
Han: Yeah, like that walking droid suit you're wearing?
Brand: This "droid suit" is a sophisticated survival system. It can keep me alive on the hottest, or the coldest, planet in the galaxy. I could live for a year in the vacuum of space...without eating.

--Taken from the Dark Empire II audio drama

Sidious releases bolts of Lightning on Darth Plagueis, which dismantles Plagueis' breathing apparatus and leaves him disabled on the floor.

Crackling from his fingertips, a web of blue lightning ground itself on the Muun’s breathing device. Plagueis’s eyes snapped open, the Force gathering in him like a storm, but he stopped short of defending himself. This being who had survived assassinations and killed countless opponents merely gazed at Sidious, until it struck him that Plagueis was challenging him! Confident that he couldn’t be killed, and in denial that he was slowly suffocating, he might have been simply experimenting with himself, actually courting death to put it in its place. Momentarily taken aback, Sidious stood absolutely still. Was Plagueis so self-deluded as to believe that he had achieved immortality?
The question lingered for only a moment, then Sidious unleashed another tangle of lightning, drawing more deeply on the dark side than he ever had.

--Taken from Darth Plagueis

Dolos Restricted

Sidious’ Lightning impacts Mace's lightsaber forcefully enough to bend the blade back toward Mace's face in spite of lightsaber's capacity for repelling Force Lightning and Mace's efforts to deflect it with Vaapad.

Lightning blasted the clouds above, and lightning blasted from Palpatine's hands, and Mace didn't have time to comprehend what Palpatine was talking about; he had time only to slip back into Vaapad and angle his blade to catch the forking arcs of pure, dazzling hatred that clawed toward him. Because Vaapad is more than a fighting style. It is a state of mind: a channel for darkness. Power passed into him and out again without touching him. And the circuit completed itself: the lightning reflected back to its source.

Palpatine still made no move to defend himself from Skywalker; instead he ramped up the lightning bursting from his hands, bending the fountain of Mace's blade back toward the Korun Master's face.

Mace's blade bent so close to his face that he was choking on ozone. "Anakin, he's too strong for me—"

This was beyond Vaapad; he had no strength left to fight against his own blade.