Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the
Glove of Darth Vader, but Were Afraid to Ask

The Glove of Darth Vader: Chapter Two
Lightning Power of the Dark Side
 

By

The Falcon soon arrives in Kessel space.  Han and Chewie hide the ship in a huge electrical storm in Kessel's "outer atmosphere" (which isn't much of an outer atmosphere, but it's not bad for what it is).  Han ejects the droid pod, and the crew of the Falcon goes on their merry way to Bespin.  You'd best say your goodbyes to Han, Chewie and Lando now, because we won't hear from them for the rest of the book.

    Anyway, the pod "bounced into a rocky mountainside, rolled into a few bushy Kesselian trees"…

    "WAIT a minute!" I hear you say, "TREES on KESSEL?! This can't be right! It must be Infinities!"[1]

    Well, hold your horses.  In spite of the fact that Kessel only has an artificial atmosphere, Kessel does have a few forms of flora, including trees, bushes, and at least one Giant Fungi Forest.  (Jedi Search also describes "a few hardy transplanted weeds".)  What is not known is whether these plants have evolved naturally on Kessel, or whether they were introduced by settlers. 

    Artoo and Threepio make their way through a secret tunnel, traveling to the capital city of Kessel--Kessendra.  Their destination is a stadium--Kessendra Stadium, the name of which demonstrates a distinct lack of creativity in whoever named these places--where the Big Imperial Gathering is taking place.  The scene in Kessendra is one of the better ones in Glove of Darth Vader: a huge stadium, filled to the brim with Imperial scum and villainy.  You can almost hear the Imperial March resonating throughout the stands.  It makes for quite a dramatic picture, at least until someone starts talking.

 

    Someone does, unfortunately, and that someone is Grand Moff Bertroff Hissa.  We'll probe in depth into Hissa's character in a moment, but for now, let's take a look at his opening speech:

    "...to my fellow grand moffs, and to the grand admirals, other officers, stormtroopers, bounty hunters, slavelords, and slaves, I bid you all Dark Greetings!"

    Wow!  Berty Hissa is quite the orator, wouldn't you say?  What an opening! Note the reference to grand admirals.  Contrary to popular belief, and whatever unprintable things some may choose to say about them, the Davids did do their research (well, aside from the whole glove thing.)   Of the eight surviving grand admirals, at least two and possibly as many as four are present.  Grand Moff Hissa goes on:

    "We have gathered here today to mark a new beginning,"..."The destruction of our latest Death Star was but a temporary setback."

    Long time Jedi Council forum regulars at TheForce.Net may note the similarities in Hissa's speech to the posts of some of the Imperial fanatics.  It’s worthwhile to note that Hissa may not be referring to the Death Star II at all, but to the recently destroyed Death Star III, as seen in the Disney World ride Star Tours.

 

    No, I’m not kidding.

    "The Rebels have yet to see the full fury of our power and our might. We are developing even more advanced weapons, and when we are done, we shall rule the entire galaxy and crush the Rebel Alliance."

    Although the Empire was indeed developing more advanced weapons at this point in time, such development was being carried out in secret; under Palpatine's supervision at Byss and in Maw Installation.  There's no way the Central Committee of Grand Moffs could have known about these weapons programs, and the only superweapon actually produced by the Empire during this period was the aforementioned carbon-copy of the original Death Star, absurd as that may seem. (I'm sure that whoever dropped the torpedo that killed that baby was laughing all the way.)

 

    Which isn’t to say that they haven’t been working on things.  The Moffs had a promising operation on Seoul V before Han Solo ruined it, and presently the Committee has a brilliant mind at their disposal…  But that’s later in the series.

    "The Central Committee of Grand Moffs has summoned you all here for this meeting to announce you new leader,"

    Here we go!  The good stuff!

    "Even though Emperor Palpatine is dead, his line continues.  For many years you have heard rumors that the Emperor had a son.  But our departed Emperor and the Central Committee of Grand Moffs always denied those rumors, for reasons of Imperial security.  However, today I am authorized to inform you that the Emperor did indeed have a son--a son who shall be our new chosen one!"

    Hmm...  Chosen One?  The connection to the prequels was probably unintentional, but an EU author could weave an interesting story around this idea.  The Imps present are all surprised at this revelation, while Roganda Ismaren, who had been trying for months to pass her son off as Palpatine's heir, is probably pulling her hair out right about now.

    "The Emperor's son has lived among you on Kessel for many years now, keeping his true identity a carefully guarded secret,"..."And now at last the time has come for the Emperor's son to take his rightful place as heir to the Empire."

    At this point, a Grand Admiral cannot stand the suspense any longer (this guy's no Willy Wonka) and cries out "Who is the Emperor's son?"

    A good question. The answer will not be given for a while yet, but Hissa promptly presents a new character, Trioculus, as Palpatine's son and new ruler of the Empire.  We'll break here for a moment to explain away a point of contention among many EU fans, that is, why the Empire is in control of Kessel when Moruth Doole was supposed to have taken over long before this. The EU has already provided the answer, but I'll summarize:

Spotlight: The Imperial Rule of Kessel[2]

In the days of the Empire, Kessel was ruled by Grand Moff Bertroff Hissa. Hissa was a man of alien blood who, like Grand Admiral Thrawn and General Sk'ar, had managed to rise through the ranks of the anti-alien Empire to a powerful position.  Like Thrawn and Sk'ar, Bertroff was given a backwater assignment--but an important one.  He ruled from the capital city of Kessendra on Kessel, maintaining a stranglehold on the spice mining operations, and controlling the slavelords who dominated much of the planet. Hissa's friends were few, but notable.  One, his trusted correspondent, was Governor Qourl Matrin. Another was the mutant overseer Trioculus.

 

    Hissa respected Trioculus's dedication to the Empire, and was influential in the appointment of Trioculus to the position of Lord Overseer and Supreme Slavelord. At the height of their rule, the atmosphere factories ran at full capacity, enabling citizens of Kessendra to breathe without the aid of breath masks, and permitting the construction of the open-air Kessendra Stadium.  Kessendra and the surrounding area were equipped with advanced technological shielding (a vague term taken directly from the Jedi Academy Sourcebook) to keep the surface-roaming populace safe from radiation (otherwise we'd be seeing a lot more three-eyed people; if you catch my drift).  Hissa and Trioculus evidently planned to move on to bigger and better things quite soon; at the rate those atmosphere factories must be catalyzing the bedrock, Kessel would have become the Kessel Asteroid Belt before too long.

 

    With their attentions focused on improving their own power bases, they failed to notice the machinations of the Rybet Moruth Doole.  Not long after the Battle of Yavin, Doole staged a prison revolt, and took over a good half of Kessel.  Although the planet was still Imperial in name, only the side of Kessel controlled by the slave lords was still under Imperial control. By the time Trioculus could even begin to think about retaliating, the Empire was thrown into chaos after the destruction of the first Death Star.

 

    Following that incident, slave rebellions and discontent among the settlers reached such levels that Kessel became known as a Rebel world in some circles.  Trioculus massacred settlers and slaves alike, but it took a visit from Darth Vader's Captain Bzorn to quash the
uprisings.  By the time the dust cleared, Doole was firmly entrenched on his side of the planet.  Rather than expend his military forces in an attempt to oust the Rybet, Trioculus continued to expand his power base in the Empire at large, earning allies among the other Grand Moffs, waiting for his chance to take center stage.

    And so here he is, the Central Committee's brand new figurehea-er, I mean, Emperor. This is an important moment in the EU; Trioculus is one of only three[3] who would lay claim to the title of Emperor after the Battle of Endor.  (Since the Emperor Palpatine is still alive, more or less, this claim is pretty much baseless, but still notable--you are taking notes, aren't you?)

    Threepio is quite startled by this turn of events: "[Trioculus is a]...mutant--part human part alien,"... ..."Quite surprising.  I've certainly never heard any gossip that Emperor Palpatine had a son by a three-eyed alien woman.  Have you?" he asks Artoo.

    This line has led to some speculation among fans regarding to Senator Palpatine's relations with the Gran delegation, which I cannot explore further without smashing the boundaries of good taste into tiny pieces.  Artoo explains that some old Imperial stormtroopers did believe that the Emperor had a son who lived on Kessel, but no evidence had ever turned up to support their claims.  One wonders how "old" some of the stormtroopers are, and whether they could be clones from Kamino...

    Artoo also tells the life story of Trioculus.  It turns out that Trioculus is not evil, just misunderstood.  Trioculus was born on Kessel, and treated cruely by the other kids because he was...  Different.  Yes, because of his third eye, he did not have a normal childhood.  He was the only mutant in his school on Kessel, and as such he was teased and hit constantly by the other students who made fun of his third eye.  (I am seriously not making any of this up.)  One can imagine Trioculus as a young man, bullied at school, greeted in every class by cries of "Three eyes!"  It's little wonder that he became obsessed with taking revenge.  He became a bully and a tattletale.  Since Kessel was under Imperial rule, there were many job opportunities for a skilled bully and tattletale. And so, with the help of Grand Moff Hissa, the young mutant became Supreme Slavelord, and now Emperor.  Hissa, being part alien himself, undoubtedly empathized with Trioculus, and they may even have met in therapy.

    But Trioculus isn't just a bully, he's also a great speechmaker, as evidenced by this line:
"My father, the Emperor, had many powers of the Dark Side. But without three eyes he could never achieve perfection.  It was known by the ancients that a Dark Lord with three eyes has a secret strength possessed by none other."

    I'm sure that many historians questioned these claims (what ancients, exactly, is Trioculus referring to anyway?  For all we know, he could mean the old geezers at the Tatooine Retirement Home for Aged Aliens.)  I'm equally sure that these historians ended up sleeping with the energy spiders, if you know what I mean.

 

    Indeed, Trioculus is quickly questioned by an Imperial royal guard and a grand admiral.  The Royal Guard has been to the planet Gargon, where Grand Admiral Josef Grunger has massed "a fleet of thirty star destroyers".  That includes both Victory and Imperial class, and does not include the Super Star Destroyer Aggressor, which serves as Grunger's flagship.  Not surprisingly, Grunger claims to be the new Imperial ruler (and how can you argue with a guy with thirty and one Star Destroyers?)  Gargon itself is a major spice-producer in the Mandalore sector, as well as a supplier of Phobium, which was used to coat the power core of the Death Star II.  Grunger is a major power in the galaxy at this point, and a very real threat to Trioculus' Empire.  Trioculus, of course, says that he will deal with Grunger (what else can he say?) but he's not really in any state to do so yet.

 

    The grand admiral, on the other hand, brings up a point about Kadann's prophecy. Really, Trioculus, darling, however can you expect to rule the galaxy without first possessing the glove of Darth Vader?  Tut tut.  Clearly (and predictably) the Prophets are turning on the Intelligence agents who set them up to support to Central Committee ("Imperial Intelligence" being something of a misnomer.) 

 

    Trioculus rewards the inquisitive guard and grand admiral with a dose of blue lightning, though he stops short of killing them.  It is not known who, exactly, this Imperial Guard is.  He could be an out-of-the-loop traitor, he could be someone posing as an Imperial guard, or he could be a guard ordered by Palpatine to disrupt and confuse the various warlords. The grand admiral is easier to identify, but not conclusively. There's only one grand admiral confirmed as having been at the Kessel convocation, and that's Miltin Takel, who doesn't look much like the Grand Admiral in the illustration accompanying this scene.  He could be Rufaan Tigellinus, who was being courted (no, not that way) by Moff Hissa, or Danetta Pitta, ruler of the Corellian Sector.  My personal vote goes for Grand Admiral Syn, a noted devotee of the Church of the Dark Side.

    After this electrifying demonstration, the Imperials present rally around Trioculus, pledging their support to the new Emperor, and, by extension, the Central Committee. Isard is a forceful leader, but she isn't the sort of person one can relate to. By using the "son of Palpatine" as their leader, the Central Committee has gained more support than Isard can afford to ignore.

    Artoo and Threepio decide that they have heard enough for now, and skedaddle back to the secret passage--only to find stormtroopers blocking it up!

    Oh no! Will the dynamic duo escape the Planet of the Three Eyed Slavelord? Is the Alliance doomed to bow before a triopic Emperor? Find out in the next edition of Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About GODV But Were Afraid To Ask, same Moff time, same Moff channel!