Everything proceeded according to the Emperor's design, as he was so fond of saying. As three swift years passed, the galaxy felt the full might of the Empire. Vader's strike fleet pursued the Rebels across the galaxy, never giving them a chance to establish a permanent base. Rebellious worlds were swiftly punished and their resources were fed into the Imperial war machine. Palpatine's vision for the galaxy was becoming a reality. Vader seemed obsessed with finding young Skywalker, but that did not seem to interfere with his search for the main Alliance forces. The new Death Star took shape around the forest moon of Endor.

Then, one day, Vader sent news that he had located the main Rebel base on Hoth, and was proceeding with his full armada against it. The clever Rebels received a lucky break, however, when the fleet admiral brought the entire fleet out of hyperspace too close to Hoth. Had the fleet remained out of scanner range, it could have used the cover of the system's asteroid field to remain hidden until it was too late for Hoth base to react. Instead, the Rebels were alerted and had time to raise a planetary shield that Admiral Ozzel had not guessed they possessed. The end result was a needless and costly ground battle. Sacrificing many lives in a delaying action, the Alliance managed to allow the escape of its command group. It was a rout, but it was not, frustratingly, a final victory for Vader.

Then Palpatine received reports that Lord Vader had committed the entire strike fleet to the capture of one Rebel ship, the freighter that had ended his defense of the first Death Star. His obsession had finally gotten the better of him. There was a scattered, demoralized, and defeated remnant of the Alliance out there among the stars, and the time to finish them was now. There was no time for foolish hunting games. Vader must be brought to heel.

The Emperor stalked angrily through the corridors of the Palace, and his court stayed well clear of him. This made it easy to hide his aging beneath his voluminous hooded robes. His second clone body had aged at an accelerated rate as expected, and it seemed to him that the decay might even have become faster this time. But he liked to maintain appearances. It pleased him to let his people see him and know exactly who their Master was.

Palpatine strode into the Palace's main communications room, a hive of activity. Imperial Navy officers eyed him expectantly. He knew they were angered over Lord Vader's summary executions, and that they felt that the Dark Lord was completely out of control. To mollify them, Palpatine had decided to reprimand Vader in public, thus avoiding a mutiny in the strike fleet. At the same time, he would remind Vader of his responsibilities towards finding the Rebel fleet.

As the Emperor entered, the officers all knelt to him, bowing their heads. A nervous technician worked the communications station, and began the job of contacting the Executor. His fingers stumbled on the switches and he glanced up, sweating, expecting to be disciplined. But no one was watching him. All eyes were on the Emperor, who had suddenly and silently collapsed onto the gleaming deck, to the open-mouthed shock of the entire gathering.

Sate Pestage tended to his Master in the Imperial Medical Center. An entire wing had been cleared to treat the mysterious affliction that had overtaken the Emperor. The resident doctors were baffled when they were told that they would not be needed, but they were easily dealt with. The Rumor Control office would soon have the matter in hand.

Pestage knew that his Master was in a vision trance. It had happened before in his presence, and he knew that all the Emperor needed was rest and privacy. Palpatine lay on a bed, occasionally whispering, eyes shut, his mind clearly elsewhere. This time, though, Pestage found himself disturbed. He knew his Master well, and impossible as it may have seemed, Palpatine was evidently afraid of what he was "seeing"...

A young man stood before the Emperor, clad in black. It was the son of Skywalker. The Force was with him, and he had become a Jedi. He regarded Palpatine with defiance.

The Emperor was falling. He was filled with fear and surprise, and screamed all the way down. His body was ripped asunder by a collision with gigantic energy discharges. His life force was swallowed into the dark side, but this time, it was different. There was no immediate rebirth, only a terrifying chaos with no end...

Palpatine was afraid. Somehow, these two visions were linked, both part of the same possible future. A future in which he would die.

The Emperor's eyes flew open, startling Sate Pestage. The Grand Vizier had begun to sputter an inquiry as to his Master's state when Palpatine sat up and cut him off. "Contact the Executor immediately. I require a conference with Lord Vader. Send the signal to me whenever it comes in."

"A moment, Master," said Pestage uncomfortably, "If you are well, I must tell you that Prince Xizor has been trying to contact you while you were indisposed. He has requested an audience with you. I did not know what to say...he is a criminal of the basest sort..."

"Yes, he is," said the Emperor tersely. "But we will use him for his transport fleet as we construct the new Death Star. Tell him that I will see him now. But if Lord Vader's communication comes in, I want to speak with him immediately, no matter what."

"Yes, of course, Master," said Pestage.

And that was that. Without another word, Palpatine hurried from the room, leaving Sate Pestage gaping.

"What is thy bidding, my Master?" asked Vader, on bended knee. Before him was an enormous hologram of his Master's hooded face.

"There is a great disturbance in the Force," said Palpatine.

Vader cautiously responded, "I have felt it."

Palpatine sternly stated, "We have a new enemy. Luke Skywalker."

So, his dark Master had finally come to understand how it was. Perhaps the great tremor in the Force had finally convinced him. Something important had happened while Vader's forces had been sifting through the asteroid field for the Millennium Falcon. What it was, he didn't know, but all at once, his son had become significant to the Emperor. Respectfully, he intoned, "Yes, my Master."

"He could destroy us," said Palpatine. Vader tried to hide his surprise. His Master must feel that his son was a threat indeed! Vader had, for three years, cherished hidden plans deep inside him, plans for his son. He knew he must downplay the boy's importance.

"He's just a boy. Obi-Wan can no longer help him."

But the Emperor was adamant. "The Force is strong with him. The son of Skywalker must not become a Jedi."

Vader knew this meant death for his son. The son of Skywalker. His Master would not even acknowledge the boy as Vader's own, believing that when Anakin had "died," every last vestige of the man was gone from Darth Vader. But something did remain, something he himself did not fully understand. He wanted his son to live, and rejoin him. Now Vader played his hand. "If he could be turned, he would become a powerful ally."

To his surprise, the Emperor agreed. "Yes. Yes. He would be a great asset. Can it be done?"

"He will join us, or die, my Master." Vader felt relief as the hologram faded. He did not understand why the Emperor suddenly feared that his son might become a Jedi. Could the boy have found a Master? It did not matter. He would be the boy's Master. He would show his son the true nature of the Force. He stood and moved to the doorway. There was much to be done.

After he finished his audience with Prince Xizor, Palpatine sat in his throne, pensive. He wondered what the outcome of their new course would be. He had agreed to Vader's suggestion because there had been a third vision in his trance: he had seen Luke Skywalker kneel before him, pledging servitude. My father's destiny is my own, Skywalker had said in the vision. Vader had been absent in the vision, but perhaps that was for the best. Vader had become...uncertain, of late. It may be time to replace him, with another Skywalker. Perhaps this new possible future, in which Skywalker knelt to him, would negate the other one, in which the boy was responsible for his death. The strange feeling was that he did not know. It excited him, this uncertainty. He had a new enemy, for the first time in years. He looked forward to their meeting. There was much to be made ready for that meeting. Much to be done. Thinking upon it, the Emperor laughed.