Emperor's Hand

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
This article or section describes a work of fiction in a primarily in-universe style and may need cleanup.
Please help rewrite this article according to the guidelines on writing about fiction, or discuss the issue on the talk page.
Mara Jade and Kogo Vess, two Emperor's Hands
Enlarge
Mara Jade and Kogo Vess, two Emperor's Hands

The Emperor's Hands, in the fictional Star Wars galaxy, were Emperor Palpatine's secret, private Force-sensitive agents and assassins throughout his reign. Along with the Prophets of the Dark Side, they were considered to be among the "dark side elite" (not to be confused with the Dark Jedi of the Dark Side Elite who carried out the Emperor's will during the events of the Dark Empire trilogy).

Since the Emperor's Sith apprentice, Darth Vader, was a very public agent of the Empire, some missions (the likes of which Palpatine had been accustomed to assign to Darth Maul) that required a stealthier touch were assigned to these elite operatives, who answered only to the Emperor himself. They assassinated the Emperor's enemies, typically high-level politicians, despots who were a threat to the public in some way (and thus to Palpatine), rulers of rebellious worlds, or Rebel Alliance leaders. The Emperor's Hands could be viewed as a type of Dark Jedi, though it should be noted that the Force powers of most of them paled in comparison to the Imperial Inquisitors or Prophets of the Dark Side, and that motivation varied considerably from Hand to Hand (some served out of altruistic motivations, other simply enjoyed it, and still others hungered for power, either political or in the Force).

Hands were recruited and personally trained by the Emperor himself. They were inculcated into a mystique of the "Emperor's Hand." All Hands were misled to believe that he or she was the only Emperor's Hand; this solo belief led to a wide variation in technique—some would strike stealthily, with a well-placed blaster shot or a knife, another would simply pack a place full of powerful explosives to kill his target. As far as the Emperor was concerned, the means was irrelevant, as long as the goal was achieved. To this end they were trained in the ways of the dark side of the Force and were kept a secret institution even from Imperial high command (though they had access to extremely high priorities/clearances within the systems, to speed them on their way). It is unknown precisely how many of these special agents there were. One of the best known Emperor's Hands, Mara Jade, went on to become a member of the New Jedi Order, while another, Shira Brie, eventually succeeded the Emperor and became Dark Lady of the Sith.

Sometimes unaware or unconvinced of the Emperor's malicious intentions, the Hands performed their missions because of their loyalty to Palpatine. Many viewed their killing as a way of defending the citizens of the Empire from its most dangerous enemies, although in most cases their targets were political enemies, rather than rogue commanders or governors. As a result of their extreme loyalty and mental connection established through the Force, the minds of many Hands were deeply affected by his death.

[edit] Appearances

The position was first mentioned in Timothy Zahn's novel Heir to the Empire, though they were retconned to have appeared in the 1980s Marvel Star Wars series. There is no indication in HTTE that there were multiple Hands; this decision was made later. Much of the history of the Emperor's Hands has been developed through RPG sources.

[edit] Emperor's Hands

High Inquisitor Tremayne was rumored to number among the Emperor's Hands, but this, while plausible, remains unverified.

A previously unknown Emperor's Hand, Aralina Silk, appears in Star Wars Galaxies following the destruction of the Rori city of Restuss.

[edit] References

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../e/m/p/Emperor%27s_Hand_50d4.html"
In other languages