Palpatine was looking out over the planet of Wiltang from a viewing platform, a planet that was consumed by a sea of dense foliage. Small starships were racing through the trees, lines of red laser bullets soaring through the mass undergrowth and causing mini explosions when they reached their targets. The Sith Lord smiled with apparent pleasure as a Jedi Speeder capsized and smashed into a thick, scaly trunk. Order 44 was running smoothly, as he had foreseen.
Palpatine's features were smooth, but his face was somehow twisted and warped and sunken. He had flat prominent cheek bones, but they were subtly lined with small creases and marks. His eyes were shiny and alert, but they were somehow sunken and older-looking than they should have been for his age. For Palpatine was a Sith Lord still very much in his youth. He was wearing a light brown cape, the hood of which covered most of his curly blonde hair, which was already streaked with grey.
Palpatine watched closely as a small green man wearing brown robes raced past on a Speeder, leaving a trail of coiling smoke behind him. The force was strong with this one, Palpatine thought carefully.
A small boy wearing loose-fitting clothing and a small shabby helmet suddenly appeared at Palpatine's side. His face was dotted with freckles.
"Ah, Master Tarkin, you have news for me young one?" Palpatine slurred, smiling down at the youngster and revealing a set of crooked teeth. The boy nodded quickly.
"Yes Uncle Palpatine. One of the Jedi Knights has escaped death and plans to kill you," the youngster said anxiously, staring up at Palpatine with wide eyes.
"Indeed, young one. I have foreseen this. He will not fight me and walk away alive," Palpatine said calmly, looking back out over the planet. "Order 44 will be the extinction of the Jedi Knights. Nobody will survive this, my young friend. Not even your father. You were right to join my allegiance."
"My father is a traitor. The Jedi are scum," Tarkin said coldly, adjusting his helmet and grimacing. Palpatine laughed harshly.
"One day, when my dreams of an Empire are realised, I will make you a fine General," Palpatine said fondly, watching as four or five speeders raced past down below.
Two agents of the Sith, both wearing black outfits, marched towards Palpatine and Tarkin from the opposite end of the platform. Both were clutching guns.
"Your Majesty, a small cruiser of Jedi Knights has escaped into the atmosphere," said one of the agents in a rough monotone. The Sith Lord scowled, glaring up at the darkening sky with his sunken eyes.
"Aboard the cruiser included the valuable Jedi Padawan, Mace Windu," the other agent informed the Sith Lord with the same rough monotone.
Palpatine moved smoothly past Tarkin and the agents, dipping his pale, clawed fingers into the inside of his robes and pulling out a small, metal tube.
"I will make sure that no more Jedi are as fortunate," he spat, and soon his figure was swallowed up by darkness.
Yoda felt a tremor in his heart. A dark force was approaching.