Domus Publica
 |  |
| Who’s Who Sarcev Quest |
Sarcev Quest was a politician active in the Imperial State in the late 30s rS through the early to mid-40s rS. According to “The Emperor’s Pawns,”
Quest had begun his life as a Jedi neophyte, but failed his training and was assigned to the Agricultural Corps; he was discovered and “rescued from
monotony” by Palpatine of Naboo, and later served as an Emperor’s Hand (there are no known details of his activities between being withdrawn
from the Agricultural Corps and the declaration of Empire). Generally seen as a “dashing playboy” known for his “silky charm,” Quest was
Palpatine’s agent-in-place at court, circulating amongst the courtiers and intrigants and quietly gathering details on their secrets and their schemes;
when social interaction was not enough, Quest used his minor Force abilities to act as an infiltrator, directly spying on Palpatine’s “political
enemies” like “Jeti Ashgad [sic] and Moff Flirry Vorru” (note that Senator Seti Ashgad had actually vanished by the time of Labyrinth of Evil, so it is
not clear how exactly Quest is meant to have spied on him, unless one wishes to interpret Ashgad as a common surname and Jeti Ashgad as another
person entirely who happens to have a name resembling the more famous Senator).Quest was the first of Palpatine’s dark side agents to be
appointed to the Imperial Ruling Council.
“The Emperor’s Pawns” states that after the Galactic Emperor’s death in the Battle of Endor in 39 rS, Quest “sabotaged the Ruling Council’s
attempts to wrest control from the Imperial vizier, Sate Pestage”; this statement serves to clarify the scholars’ similar claim in the Star Wars
Encyclopedia that the Emperor’s Inner Circle had attempted unsuccessfully to seize power, and also the discontinuous version contained in the Dark
Empire Sourcebook, in which the Grand Vizier was deposed as regent “within weeks” and sent into exile on Byss. One may take these otherwise
unexplained statements and combine them, such that the members of the Inner Circle, acting through their official mouthpiece, the Ruling Council,
attempted to seize control and impeach the Grand Vizier, but were ultimately prevented by Quest’s treachery, allowing the Grand Vizier to reverse
his earlier offer to retire permanently and thus to remain in power for six more months, as seen in “In the Empire’s Service.”
Quest abandoned the Grand Vizier’s clone when it showed increasing signs of instability, and allied with a charismatic and ambitious former Royal
Guardsman, Carnor Jax, using their alliance to amass even more power for himself. When it was revealed that Palpatine had long since reincarnated in
the Deep Core, Quest “reaffirmed allegiance, advocating the ‘loyal’ Jax’s promotion to Sovereign Protector, positioning Jax to eliminate Palpatine” as
part of a plot by a number of third-rate leaders whose “appetites for power were left unfulfilled while the Emperor was alive”; these conspirators
provided a large bribe to the Emperor’s physician in exchange for tampering with Palpatine’s clones, rendering them unstable and prompting his
departure from Byss to search for a new host body, Anakin Solo (grandson of Darth Vader), in Empire’s End. Unfortunately, the Galactic Emperor’s
final death also coincided with the complete destruction of Byss, and with it, the end of the Galactic Empire as a galactic hyperpower. Jax, Quest,
and the rest of the conspirators seized power in what remained of the Imperial State, installing themselves as the Imperial Interim Ruling Council,
with Jax as Chairman and Quest as Vice Chairman, a position his abused with reckless abandon. When former Royal Guardsman Kir Kanos, having
discovered the details of their plot, killed Jax on Yinchorr, Quest suddenly found himself persona non grata amongst his fellow conspirators; he was
dumped “like refuse” at Nar Shaddaa after “a week-long torture session that prompted uncharacteristically inelegant screams” from the former
Emperor’s Hand.
According to “The Emperor’s Pawns,” he disappeared without a trace after recovering from his horrific torturing, and after many years in hiding he
used an alias to purchase “first-class passage on a luxury liner headed for the Corporate Sector from the Core,” perhaps hoping to start building up
his power once more. In any case, he was positively identified, and was soon followed by a number of interested parties, ranging from New Republic
agents “assigned to apprehend Quest and bring him in for questioning” to bounty hunters interested in collecting the 100,000 credit bounty on his
head. According to “The History of the Mandalorians,” he was captured by a bounty hunter whom he believed to be the legendary Boba Fett,
whereas in reality it was Fett’s illegitimate daughter, Ailyn Vel; she proceeded to hand Quest over to his fellow Emperor’s Hand, the fanatically
loyal master swordsman Jeng Droga, who put Quest to death for his betrayal of their master. There is no known date for Quest’s execution.
Sarcev Quest was a male human with considerable skill in unarmed combat, but he excelled as a swordsman, favoring a short lightsaber but also
skilled with various vibro weapons; he was also a pistol marksman and routinely carried a heavy blaster pistol in addition to his short lightsaber. As
was expected of any courtier, he was extremely knowledgeable of diplomacy, galactic politics, the galactic nobility, and computer use, as well as
having the infiltrator’s skills of bluffing, gathering information, intimidation, moving silently, sleight of hand, disguises, and disabling surveillance and
security devices without detection; he spoke fluently in both Basic and High Galactic. He also possessed a handful of Force abilities, including
clairvoyance, mentalic influence, psychokinesis, and the creation of illusions.
References:
Quest had begun his life as a Jedi neophyte, but failed his training and was assigned to the Agricultural Corps; he was discovered and “rescued from
monotony” by Palpatine of Naboo, and later served as an Emperor’s Hand (there are no known details of his activities between being withdrawn
from the Agricultural Corps and the declaration of Empire). Generally seen as a “dashing playboy” known for his “silky charm,” Quest was
Palpatine’s agent-in-place at court, circulating amongst the courtiers and intrigants and quietly gathering details on their secrets and their schemes;
when social interaction was not enough, Quest used his minor Force abilities to act as an infiltrator, directly spying on Palpatine’s “political
enemies” like “Jeti Ashgad [sic] and Moff Flirry Vorru” (note that Senator Seti Ashgad had actually vanished by the time of Labyrinth of Evil, so it is
not clear how exactly Quest is meant to have spied on him, unless one wishes to interpret Ashgad as a common surname and Jeti Ashgad as another
person entirely who happens to have a name resembling the more famous Senator).Quest was the first of Palpatine’s dark side agents to be
appointed to the Imperial Ruling Council.
“The Emperor’s Pawns” states that after the Galactic Emperor’s death in the Battle of Endor in 39 rS, Quest “sabotaged the Ruling Council’s
attempts to wrest control from the Imperial vizier, Sate Pestage”; this statement serves to clarify the scholars’ similar claim in the Star Wars
Encyclopedia that the Emperor’s Inner Circle had attempted unsuccessfully to seize power, and also the discontinuous version contained in the Dark
Empire Sourcebook, in which the Grand Vizier was deposed as regent “within weeks” and sent into exile on Byss. One may take these otherwise
unexplained statements and combine them, such that the members of the Inner Circle, acting through their official mouthpiece, the Ruling Council,
attempted to seize control and impeach the Grand Vizier, but were ultimately prevented by Quest’s treachery, allowing the Grand Vizier to reverse
his earlier offer to retire permanently and thus to remain in power for six more months, as seen in “In the Empire’s Service.”
Quest abandoned the Grand Vizier’s clone when it showed increasing signs of instability, and allied with a charismatic and ambitious former Royal
Guardsman, Carnor Jax, using their alliance to amass even more power for himself. When it was revealed that Palpatine had long since reincarnated in
the Deep Core, Quest “reaffirmed allegiance, advocating the ‘loyal’ Jax’s promotion to Sovereign Protector, positioning Jax to eliminate Palpatine” as
part of a plot by a number of third-rate leaders whose “appetites for power were left unfulfilled while the Emperor was alive”; these conspirators
provided a large bribe to the Emperor’s physician in exchange for tampering with Palpatine’s clones, rendering them unstable and prompting his
departure from Byss to search for a new host body, Anakin Solo (grandson of Darth Vader), in Empire’s End. Unfortunately, the Galactic Emperor’s
final death also coincided with the complete destruction of Byss, and with it, the end of the Galactic Empire as a galactic hyperpower. Jax, Quest,
and the rest of the conspirators seized power in what remained of the Imperial State, installing themselves as the Imperial Interim Ruling Council,
with Jax as Chairman and Quest as Vice Chairman, a position his abused with reckless abandon. When former Royal Guardsman Kir Kanos, having
discovered the details of their plot, killed Jax on Yinchorr, Quest suddenly found himself persona non grata amongst his fellow conspirators; he was
dumped “like refuse” at Nar Shaddaa after “a week-long torture session that prompted uncharacteristically inelegant screams” from the former
Emperor’s Hand.
According to “The Emperor’s Pawns,” he disappeared without a trace after recovering from his horrific torturing, and after many years in hiding he
used an alias to purchase “first-class passage on a luxury liner headed for the Corporate Sector from the Core,” perhaps hoping to start building up
his power once more. In any case, he was positively identified, and was soon followed by a number of interested parties, ranging from New Republic
agents “assigned to apprehend Quest and bring him in for questioning” to bounty hunters interested in collecting the 100,000 credit bounty on his
head. According to “The History of the Mandalorians,” he was captured by a bounty hunter whom he believed to be the legendary Boba Fett,
whereas in reality it was Fett’s illegitimate daughter, Ailyn Vel; she proceeded to hand Quest over to his fellow Emperor’s Hand, the fanatically
loyal master swordsman Jeng Droga, who put Quest to death for his betrayal of their master. There is no known date for Quest’s execution.
Sarcev Quest was a male human with considerable skill in unarmed combat, but he excelled as a swordsman, favoring a short lightsaber but also
skilled with various vibro weapons; he was also a pistol marksman and routinely carried a heavy blaster pistol in addition to his short lightsaber. As
was expected of any courtier, he was extremely knowledgeable of diplomacy, galactic politics, the galactic nobility, and computer use, as well as
having the infiltrator’s skills of bluffing, gathering information, intimidation, moving silently, sleight of hand, disguises, and disabling surveillance and
security devices without detection; he spoke fluently in both Basic and High Galactic. He also possessed a handful of Force abilities, including
clairvoyance, mentalic influence, psychokinesis, and the creation of illusions.
References:
- Horne, Michael Allen. Dark Empire Sourcebook. West End Games, 1993.
- Luceno, James. Labyrinth of Evil. Del Rey Books, 2005.
- Peña, Abel G. “The History of the Mandalorians.” Star Wars Insider No. 80. IDG Communications, Inc., 2005.
- Peña, Abel G. and Juan Schwartz, with Pablo Hidalgo. “The Emperor’s Pawns.” Star Wars Gamer No. 5. Wizards of the Coast, Inc., 2001.
- Sansweet, Stephen J. Star Wars Encyclopedia. Del Rey Books, 1998.
- Stackpole, Michael A. “In the Empire’s Service.” X-Wing Rogue Squadron Nos. 21 - 25. Dark Horse Comics, Inc., 1997.
- Veitch, Tom. Empire’s End. Dark Horse Comics, Inc., 1995.
| This site is for informational and entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement of any kind is intended. Star Wars and related materials are © Lucasfilm Ltd., which reserves all rights thereto. All original material is © Julius Sykes. Please do not use without permission. |
| This biography was originally added in 2005. It was republished on 7 October 2007. |