Mission to Jabba's Palace (Darth Vader)

"...you must finish your dealings with the Hutt. If he cannot bring an agent to the Core, we must go to the Outer Rim. We have no time to open conversations with the Crymorah or any of the other crime lords. He will expect you in two days' time. Make the deal."

- Darth Sidious, to Darth Vader

Shortly after the Battle of Yavin, during the Galactic Civil War, Darth Vader was sent by the Emperor, Darth Sidious, on a mission to negotiate with the crime lord Jabba the Hutt in order to secure critically-needed supplies for the Galactic Empire. Vader also used the mission as a means to hire two bounty hunters, Boba Fett and Black Krrsantan, to investigate Luke Skywalker and an agent of the Emperor.

Prelude
"I am not accustomed to "haggling."" "Then it is time you had some practice. It is a passing phase we must endure. Eventually the Empire will claim the Outer Rim. It is not without precedents to go to the periphery to secure the center. Besides, Lord Vader... A trip to Tatooine? I'm sure it will be sentimental..."

- Darth Vader and Darth Sidious

During the Battle of Yavin, Luke Skywalker of the Alliance to Restore the Republic destroyed the Death Star, a deep space mobile battle station built and operated by the Galactic Empire. This event became the single greatest military disaster in the two decade history of the Empire, and Darth Vader, a Dark Lord of the Sith, was the only survivor of the planet-destroying station's destruction. Shortly thereafter, in order to increase its supply of weapons, the Empire planned to negotiate with an envoy for Jabba the Hutt, one of the most powerful crime lords in the Outer Rim Territories, to enlist Jabba as an Imperial weapons supplier. Vader was tasked with serving as the Imperial negotiator and forcing Jabba's envoy into a deal preferable to the Empire.

The envoy's mission, however, was hijacked by the Rebels, who pressed the advantage they gained from their victory at Yavin and launched an assault on Weapons Factory Alpha, the Empire's foremost weapons manufacturing facility, on Cymoon 1. Vader was present during the assault and fought against the Rebels, including Skywalker. During the battle, Vader learned that Skywalker had known Obi-Wan Kenobi&mdash;Kenobi was once Vader's Jedi Master, when Vader was known as Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker&mdash;and that Skywalker had the lightsaber that Vader once used as a Jedi. Vader, who left Cymoon 1 after the Rebels successfully destroyed Weapons Factory Alpha, became suspicious of who Skywalker was and why Kenobi had given him the lightsaber; Vader did not yet know the boy's identity.

Vader traveled to Coruscant, the capital planet of the Empire, to report to Darth Sidious, the Emperor, in the Imperial Palace. Though others had contributed to the weaknesses that caused the destruction of the Death Star, Sidious held Vader, as its only survivor, personally responsible for the Empire's failure at both Yavin and Cymoon 1. The Dark Lord was demoted by his master and ordered to go to Tatooine, Vader's homeworld, and resume the negotiations with Jabba the Hutt for weapons from the Outer Rim. While speaking with the Emperor, Vader also encountered an Imperial agent who worked for Sidious, but the Emperor refused to tell Vader what the man's purpose was, creating suspicions that the Emperor was hiding things from his apprentice. In order to further his own personal agenda in learning about Skywalker, Vader chose not to tell the Emperor about the boy.

The mission
Vader, who only grudgingly followed the Emperor's orders to negotiate with Jabba from a weakened position, set out aboard a Star Destroyer for the mission. General Veers, who was aboard the Star Destroyer, told the Dark Lord that they would need to travel across the Outer Rim in order to collect trade goods for use in the negotiations, but that they would arrive on Tatooine in time. Vader changed Veers' orders, however, and ordered the officer to bring him to Tatooine first, before they collected the goods. This required the crew to put strain on the Star Destroyer's engines in order to meet the mission's deadlines, but, under threat to his crew, Veers assured Vader that the mission would be carried out on schedule.

Upon his arrival in Jabba's palace, Gamorreans who guarded the Hutt's court attempted to block the Dark Lord's entrance, but Vader cut them down with lightsaber. Bib Fortuna, Jabba's majordomo, also attempted to stop the arriving Sith, but Vader demanded an audience with the crime lord. Fortuna approached a sleeping Jabba and awoke his master, informing him of Vader's presence. Though Jabba was expecting Vader to discuss matters pertaining to the Empire, Vader instead focused on his own mission; the Dark Lord said he would return the next day in his official capacity, but, for now, he wished to discuss his personal issue. Jabba believed that Vader was preparing to form a mind trick to manipulate the Hutt into doing the Dark Lord's will, but Vader said he would not&mdash;mind tricks were the way of the Jedi, not the Sith. Jabba considered collecting a bounty that the Rebel Alliance had placed on Vader's head, and nearly threw him down a trap door into a rancor pit, but chose not to upon the realization that Vader was aware of the trap.

The two continued their discussion, and Jabba incorrectly referred to Vader as a Jedi. This angered the Dark Lord, who ignited his lightsaber and became a target of Jabba's court. Various individuals fired on Vader, but he was able to deflect their blaster fire and kill them. With many of the Hutt's guards dead, Vader used the Force to telekinetically choke Jabba. The attack made the crime lord more amenable to acquiescing to the Dark Lord's demands, so Vader explained he needed two of Jabba's best bounty hunters to work on his personal mission. Jabba agreed to the demands.

The Dark Lord left Jabba's palace to await the bounty hunters. After leaving, he encountered a tribe of Tusken Raiders and laid siege to their camp, killing those within it and leaving their huts in flames; Vader had a decades-long grudge against the Tusken Raiders, a tribe of which had killed his mother, Shmi Skywalker Lars, shortly before the outbreak of the Clone Wars. The two bounty hunters Jabba sent, the famed Boba Fett and the Wookiee Black Krrsantan, met Vader near the camp, and Vader explained what each of their missions would be. Fett was tasked with capturing Skywalker and bringing him to Vader, while Black Krrsantan was tasked with finding and capturing the Emperor's mysterious agent so Vader could question him.

Aftermath
Some time within the next few years, Vader learned that Skywalker was his son and began a massive, galaxy-wide search for him and the Rebel Alliance. He eventually set a trap for Skywalker on Cloud City, a tibanna gas mine in the atmosphere of the planet Bespin, which included capturing and torturing Skywalker's friends, Solo and Princess Leia Organa. To capture Solo and Organa, Vader again hired Fett, who tracked them to Cloud City. Vader laid the trap for Skywalker and told him the truth about his parentage, an event that ultimately led to Vader's redemption during the Battle of Endor. His redemption came through an act of self-sacrifice, in which he gave up his own life to kill the Emperor.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Darth Vader 1