When we last left off, Palpatine had begun to train Darth Maul in secret unbeknownst to his master, Darth Plagueis. Palpatine had also masterminded his election into the Galactic Senate, and had taken the guise of a mediocre and insignificant Senator in order to draw attention away from his true schemes. Now we will examine the years leading up to TPM, and will end up just moments before the opening crawl of the first film episode.

Most Jedi and Sith, and certainly Palpatine, would say that there's no such thing as luck, and that a being controls his own destiny. The future may be in motion, but what is foreseen is hardly ever left to chance. Yet something happened that Palpatine had no hand in at all, but was helped nonetheless by it. The year was 44 BBY, just three years before Anakin's birth at the hands of Plagueis. The event was the Stark Hyperspace War.

The basis of the conflict was a bacta shortage, and a pirate group led by Iaco Stark started the conflict by raiding bacta shipments and then giving them to poorer worlds that could not afford the inflated prices. Finis Valorum, Senator of Coruscant and a rising political star, proposed a meeting to be held at a secret location in order to peacefully resolve the conflict. But Senator Ranulph Tarkin of Eriadu, cousin of Wilhuff Tarkin, was a militarist in favor of a formal Republic Army and Navy. He advocated such force decades before the idea returned during the Separatist crisis. Through secret dealings with the Trade Federation, he learned of the location of the meeting and attacked with a fleet.

However, Stark found out he was coming, and set a trap for him and the separate peace delegation, believing he was betrayed by Valorum. The aftermath of the conflict raised the popularity of Valrorum, and resulted in the death of Ranulph Tarkin. But the Tarkin family was still powerful despite that loss, and it was only with Wilhuff Tarkin's support that Valorum was elected Chancellor in 40 BBY in exchange for memorializing Ranulph and declaring him a hero. This would lead to a perception of reliance on the Tarkins on the part of Valorum, and in fact their homeworld of Eriadu would be the base for a scandal that would turn to be Valorum's undoing. One more thing must be noted, however: the Trade Federation agent who sold the location of the conference to Ranulph was none other than Nute Gunray, who became increasingly powerful within the Trade Federation following the war. He would deny involvement, and would not be held accountable at all. Sound familiar?

Now, you may ask, I thought we're talking about Palpatine? Yes we are, but these three figures are vital in his rise to power as you will see. Playing on Valorum's scandal and ineffectiveness, Gunray's greed, and Tarkin's shared viewpoints, Palpatine would be a great impact on these three figures.

Meanwhile as the conflict came to a close, Palpatine had begun to escalate his plans. He published many works of political literature which became widely read, and thus began to become a known figure, though not yet a powerful one. He did not wield his newfound popularity too quickly, or he'd be seen as a threat. Like a snake, he plotted. He began to build a secret power base, one that would eventually become the power core of his Chancellorship and the subsequent Empire. He grew quite close with Tarkin, also a rising star who was a military commander in the Outer Rim and then also Lieutenant Governor of Eriadu. They found that they held similar views on government and power: the notion of central authority, military might, and strong leadership. Tarkin was one of the few people Palpatine befriended genuinely rather than just posing as a friend as he did with many others.

It is not known at what point Tarkin learned of Palpatine's true identity, some would say during his Chancellorship, but I would say he gained that knowledge somewhere in the vicinity of 33 BBY. During this period, a series of terrorist acts were striking the Trade Federation, schemes that were the first step in Palpatine's plot against his homeworld of Naboo. As a result, the Federation wanted rights to expand their battle droid armies and defense fleets to protect their interests. At the urging of Palpatine, Valorum agreed to this but only if the Republic could tax some of the Federation's outlying trade routes. This controversial measure lead to a conference on Eriadu, the homeworld of the Tarkins.

Palpatine weaved a web of deceit with a false plot to assassinate Valorum which was believed by the Jedi, who had become closely involved with the Chancellor and even some of them became his friends and trusted advisors. In fact, genuinely killing Valorum would not help Palpatine at all. But this plot served as a ruse so that the true targets could be assassinated: The Directorate of the Trade Federation. The security breach which enabled this plot was organized by Tarkin, and he was privy to the plot, which is why I believe he had to know Palpatine's true identity. Tarkin was not a cowering fool, nor was he greedy for wealth and as such would not follow an anonymous Sith Lord like Gunray. But he would follow his friend Palpatine in a plot to change the galactic government into something they both preferred.

But that leads to a question: Why would Palpatine want the Directorate killed? That was so the highest ranking member of the Directorate, who incidentally survived, was Nute Gunray. He became Viceroy of the Federation and the Nemoidians took the reigns of power from the other races that had more control before their untimely death. Gunray was a greedy coward and would follow Sidious and cower before him, motivated by fear and by the promise of power. He got to become the boss, so he was more than willing to serve in Sidious' schemes.

As Lord Sidious, Palpatine had brought Gunray to the top and would use him in his plot against Naboo. As a Senator, Palpatine engineered the taxes against the Federation that would be a motivator to blockade an outlying world, the homeworld of one the strongest supporters of the taxes. Palpatine made them choose Naboo so that it would play into his hands when he took down Valorum.

Tarkin also helped Palpatine engineer a scandal to engulf Valorum and reduce his power. Illicit money was funneled into Eriadu-based Valorum Shipping, a company owned by the Chancellor's family. This "scandal" was exposed and diminished the Chancellor into a lame duck. The bureaucrats seized control of the Senate because Valorum lacked the backing or popularity to get anything done. He was mired in false accusations and corruption, and had to go through court hearings which tarnished his image. The time was fast approaching for a new Chancellor, a stronger one.

Only one more obstacle to the blockade remained: King Veruna of Naboo. He was mired in scandal, but was a strong-willed man. Palpatine saw that the scandal continued and engineered his abdication from the throne. Shortly thereafter, Palpatine had him assassinated. A new ruler was elected: Queen Amidala, who was both young and naive.

Palpatine had set things up perfectly: He had control over the Trade Federation and would use them against Naboo. He had become a popular Senator, one who was now considered a good choice for Chancellor, among the likes of Bail Antilles of Alderaan. He had incapacitated Valorum to the point where he would be ineffective to stop the blockade of Naboo. And he had installed a young, naive and impressionable queen who would do his bidding.

The stage was set. The great master plan would be put into effect. Even the last minute betrayal of Hath Monchar, one of the Nemoidians in on the Naboo plot, could not prevent Palpatine's scheme from happening. Lord Maul was dispatched to Coruscant, where he killed Monchar and all who had learned of Sidious' plot. During the mission, Maul even got the chance to take down two Jedi, Padawan Darsha Assant and Master Anoon Bondara. Palpatine's apprentice had been perfected into the ultimate tool of his will, one that would soon be unleashed.

The blockade was enacted, and Naboo was engulfed by Trade Federation battleships, though they were but a figment of the true dark that engulfed the planet: the gathering dark of Lord Sidious. Given his relationship with the Jedi, Chancellor Valorum secretly dispatched two of them to negotiate a treaty. They would find no negotiations. They instead found their destiny.

Next time: Part V: The Phantom Menace. I look at how Palpatine ascended to Supreme Chancellor, and all his plots surrounding that film. Of particular note, I look at the TRUE reason Maul was sent to Tatooine, not to kill the queen, but to check on someone else entirely...........