Nikolai Palpatine would not have found his only child's career choice either surprising or disappointing.
The respected Colonel and wing commander in the Royal Naboo Fighter Corps and his wife, Kira, had long believed that she was unable to have children, so it had been indeed to the surprise and delight of both when she informed her husband that she was pregnant.
Perhaps it was from the father that his quiet, unflagging ambition derived. Nikolai had no impressive family connections or wealth, being descended from modest artisans from Theed, yet through perserverence and commitment to becoming a superb pilot, he eventually rose to command of the King's personal fighter escort, the most prestigious post a Naboo flier could attain. Following that, he was given command of a fighter wing, which represented fully one-eighth of the small Naboo military's fighter strength.
His son proved to be blessed indeed. He was – to say the least – a precocious young boy. He learned to read at a very early age, and did so voraciously throughout his earlier years. However, it was not the subjects which other young boys were interested in – tales of the famous Jedi Knights, or serial adventures about fictional smugglers and starpilots, but rather history, philosophy, and biographies of great warriors, savants, and statesmen which captivated the boy's interest. It was these great men of history whom Ruk Palpatine came to admire almost to a point of obsession. He hoped to follow in their footsteps some day.
He was regarded as something of a loner by his peers, one who had a great many acquaintances, but few true friends. Instead, he preferred to be a detached observer of his schoolmates, one who found the intricacies and quirks of sentient behavior both amusing and educational. His intellect and aloof behavior sometimes singled him out as a target for bullies, but he learned quickly how to handle his adversaries, how to outwit and manipulate them. Many times he felt as though he could guess, with remarkable accuracy, the true motives and intentions of others, although he paid such abilities little mind, except to slowly learn to develop his unusual intuition, to control it and better use it to his advantage.
In his adolescent years he retained this detachment, not caring for the company of his peers and instead that of his own thoughts, and his studies, which he found genuinely interesting.
He graduated from secondary school at the top of his class. When his father had asked him about plans for the future, the son replied he would follow in the footsteps of his father and become an officer. However, Palpatine found little future in the small and little-used armed forces of a isolationist and pacifist planet, instead seeing a route for fulfilling his ambition to become a great figure within the Republic's navy. His parents were pleased, for they knew of Ruk's potential and that it was, in fact, entirely capable of fulfilling the young man's ambitions. So, then, when he applied for entrance into the Fleet Academy with one of the highest scores on the Entrance Exam in history, it was little surprise that he was accepted.
Once at the Academy, his abilities continued to serve him well during the grueling four years of the course. While not particularly saavy in the more technical subjects, his almost intuitive grasp of command, tactics, and strategy, as well as naval history, was seen as remarkable by his instructors and fellow cadets alike. Again, he graduated first in his class with a record score on his final examinations.
His standing in the Academy offered him a wide choice of the best assignments where rapid promotion was to be expected. As an Ensign he served as an Assistant Tactical Officer on board the Dreadnaught Furious, and his ability to predict the tactics of the opposing force during excercises with uncanny accuracy saw a promotion to Lieutenant, to Tactical Officer, then to First Lieutenant, and finally to Lieutenant Commander, where he was offered either a ship of his own, or the post of Chief Tactical Officer on Furious.
By all accounts, he was regarded as one of the Fleet's most promising young prospects.
Oddly enough, no one, not even Ruk Palpatine himself, suspected his peculiar abilities were the result of a surprisingly formidable ability in the Force.
The respected Colonel and wing commander in the Royal Naboo Fighter Corps and his wife, Kira, had long believed that she was unable to have children, so it had been indeed to the surprise and delight of both when she informed her husband that she was pregnant.
Perhaps it was from the father that his quiet, unflagging ambition derived. Nikolai had no impressive family connections or wealth, being descended from modest artisans from Theed, yet through perserverence and commitment to becoming a superb pilot, he eventually rose to command of the King's personal fighter escort, the most prestigious post a Naboo flier could attain. Following that, he was given command of a fighter wing, which represented fully one-eighth of the small Naboo military's fighter strength.
His son proved to be blessed indeed. He was – to say the least – a precocious young boy. He learned to read at a very early age, and did so voraciously throughout his earlier years. However, it was not the subjects which other young boys were interested in – tales of the famous Jedi Knights, or serial adventures about fictional smugglers and starpilots, but rather history, philosophy, and biographies of great warriors, savants, and statesmen which captivated the boy's interest. It was these great men of history whom Ruk Palpatine came to admire almost to a point of obsession. He hoped to follow in their footsteps some day.
He was regarded as something of a loner by his peers, one who had a great many acquaintances, but few true friends. Instead, he preferred to be a detached observer of his schoolmates, one who found the intricacies and quirks of sentient behavior both amusing and educational. His intellect and aloof behavior sometimes singled him out as a target for bullies, but he learned quickly how to handle his adversaries, how to outwit and manipulate them. Many times he felt as though he could guess, with remarkable accuracy, the true motives and intentions of others, although he paid such abilities little mind, except to slowly learn to develop his unusual intuition, to control it and better use it to his advantage.
In his adolescent years he retained this detachment, not caring for the company of his peers and instead that of his own thoughts, and his studies, which he found genuinely interesting.
He graduated from secondary school at the top of his class. When his father had asked him about plans for the future, the son replied he would follow in the footsteps of his father and become an officer. However, Palpatine found little future in the small and little-used armed forces of a isolationist and pacifist planet, instead seeing a route for fulfilling his ambition to become a great figure within the Republic's navy. His parents were pleased, for they knew of Ruk's potential and that it was, in fact, entirely capable of fulfilling the young man's ambitions. So, then, when he applied for entrance into the Fleet Academy with one of the highest scores on the Entrance Exam in history, it was little surprise that he was accepted.
Once at the Academy, his abilities continued to serve him well during the grueling four years of the course. While not particularly saavy in the more technical subjects, his almost intuitive grasp of command, tactics, and strategy, as well as naval history, was seen as remarkable by his instructors and fellow cadets alike. Again, he graduated first in his class with a record score on his final examinations.
His standing in the Academy offered him a wide choice of the best assignments where rapid promotion was to be expected. As an Ensign he served as an Assistant Tactical Officer on board the Dreadnaught Furious, and his ability to predict the tactics of the opposing force during excercises with uncanny accuracy saw a promotion to Lieutenant, to Tactical Officer, then to First Lieutenant, and finally to Lieutenant Commander, where he was offered either a ship of his own, or the post of Chief Tactical Officer on Furious.
By all accounts, he was regarded as one of the Fleet's most promising young prospects.
Oddly enough, no one, not even Ruk Palpatine himself, suspected his peculiar abilities were the result of a surprisingly formidable ability in the Force.