"I cannot create life, but I can breathe on the remaining embers."

Lorien to Capt. Sheridan; Babylon 5.

Prologue

Since the end of the Clone Wars the last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away. The Empire is now the ultimate power in the universe. Under Palpatine's direction, the Jedi, once the celebrated guardians of peace and justice throughout the Republic have been hunted down and destroyed by Darth Vader. Only one obstacle to Palpatine's absolute rule remained; the body of the Senate. Loyalist opposition led by Senator Amidala of Naboo was sweeping the newly christened Imperial Senate. Faced with the loss of control over his newly won Empire, Palpatine realized his failure in not removing such a prominent politician soon enough. The only option left to him was to accede to the demands of the senate, or surrender. He embraced the call of the Loyalists in their demand for a representative of the people in the new Empire and named Amidala of Naboo the Imperial High Chancellor. And yet, while he seemed sympathetic to the needs of the people, the Emperor had been shrewd in his appointment. At the height of the Clone Wars, he had learned of a secret union between Amidala and the Jedi Padawan Anakin Skywalker.

Although it had always been difficult to rein in the idealistic Amidala, the Emperor found the young woman broken and easily guided in the wake of her husband's untimely disappearance during combat. Skywalker had been a Jedi, and therefore a threat to the Empire. When the boy had failed to embrace Palpatine's teachings, he had fled with the rest of the Jedi scum. The loss of Skywalker had been a great blow, he had long intended for the boy to kneel before him. But in the end, it hadn't really mattered. He had already fulfilled the Emperor's need for an apprentice.

He had sired twin children as powerful as himself.