Sheev was a corrupt senator from who, through guile, treachery and military might, wrestled control of the Republic from the Galactic Senate and reformed it into the First . While still a senator, Palpatine founded the Confederacy of Independent Systems and utilized an army of clones to begin his takeover. This led to a galactic civil war, also known as the , that went on for almost four years. During this time, Anakin Lars was a freighter pilot from who took the name Skywalker and enlisted in the Republic Navy to aid in the defense of the Republic. He was a skilled pilot who caught the eye of Ben Kenobi, a knight, who began training him in the ways of . While stationed on , Anakin had an affair with a young woman named Padme, who unbeknownst to him, became pregnant with twins. Only a few days after meeting Padme, Anakin left Alderaan and returned to the front, where the horrors of war caused him to fall to the dark side and join Palpatine. Padme, who had no idea what had happened to Anakin, soon became a casualty of the Clone Wars, and her children were orphaned. Anakin betrayed Obi-Wan, became (which is a name not a title) and began helping Palpatine hunt down the remaining Jedi. Palpatine was an extremely powerful dark side adept who had no formal Jedi training at all and was unknown to the Jedi Order. Anakin, on the other hand, interpreted the dark side through his knowledge of the Jedi’s ancient religion, and retained many of the techniques of the Jedi, including the use of the . Together, Darth Vader and Palpatine were almost unstoppable. The dark side demands a price from those who use it, and Palpatine had been using surgery to hide the deterioration up until this time. Palpatine had also developed a force technique that allowed him to strengthen his allies and weaken his enemies, which gave him a decisive edge in battle. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan, sensing that the war was almost over and that the Republic was going to fall, returned to Alderaan (while fled to ) and made plans with senator to hide Anakin’s children from Palpatine. Luke and Leia, who were less than a year old at that time, were separated. Obi-Wan took Luke to Tatooine where he was raised by his uncle. Leia remained on Alderaan and was adopted by Bail Organa. Darth Vader continued his crusade against the Jedi, and his use of the dark side and numerous lightsaber wounds eventually left him more machine than man. The Imperial Senate continued as a way to keep the various systems in line, but was eventually made obsolete by the assignment of local governors, or Moffs.

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