How One Of Padme Amidala's Most Trusted Allies Betrayed Her
“Et tu, Brute?” Those are among the final words of Julius Caesar in the titular play by William Shakespeare and have become a phrase for betrayal. And in a franchise like Star Wars, you can’t be too safe from betrayal, not when the Dark Side’s around. With this dark force enveloping the galaxy, it’s almost guaranteed to destroy a Jedi and create a Sith in their place. But what about the non-force sensitives? Are they not liable to turn their backs on their allies and side with their former enemies? Unfortunately, it is possible, and it has happened to even the best of them and us.
Captain Quarsh Panaka was one of Padme’s most trusted allies. Serving as head of security during her reign or tenure, Panaka aided her and the Jedi during the Naboo Crisis. However, by the time of the Galactic Civil War, Panaka had become a Moff, one of the governors of the Empire, and firmly on Palpatine’s side. What happened? Well, one must remember the actions of Panaka during the events of The Phantom Menace, as they actually paint a picture of what he would eventually become. It’s subtle, but it is there, and it can help us understand this seemingly out of nowhere change.
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We must remember that Quarsh was a member of Naboo’s Security Forces, the closest thing to a military they had. He held firm and unwavering opinions and opposed the Jedi on a few occasions, like when they had to land on Tatooine. He was, however, a staunch supporter of Palpatine’s nomination as Supreme Chancellor of the Galaxy and of his desire for a stronger military. But, of course, no one knew Palpatine’s true ambitions except for Darth Maul, so we can’t blame him for following the man.
However, when Palpatine destroyed the Republic, Panaka sided with him. Though he never acted against Padme, his support of Palpatine included the support of a stronger military presence, which was a betrayal of her ideals. When Padme died, and Sio Bibble retired as Governor of Naboo, Quarsh Panaka would replace him as Moff of the Chommel sector. This is shown in both the Legends and current continuities. We don’t know what his rule was like, but he had become part of the same system his former Queen had fought to prevent, and he was one of its leaders.
Panaka tried to warn The Emperor about Princess Leia, secretly the daughter of Padme, which didn’t end well. For him, as anyone who’s seen the movies can guess. Panaka was assassinated by Saw Gerrera’s radical rebel cell, the Partisans. They placed a bomb in his chalet on the planet Onoam, which was the end of him and his story. The end of one of the untold tales of betrayal in the galaxy, before we could move against the daughter of his former ally. This was a tale told behind the scenes, between the lines, and not in front of our eyes.
If Panaka had succeeded, Leia would be in a heap of trouble. Thanks to the Partisans, she was able to stay under the radar until Darth Vader attacked the Tantive IV. Of course, Leia probably never knew the story of her mother and Panaka, nor did she have much knowledge of his betrayal. But now you know. You can stand to learn a few tales of treason, but can you teach us? We would like you to tell some untold stories, either from Legends or the Expanded Universe. Until we learn, we’ll just jump to lightspeed and return to the unknown regions of the internet.
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Source(s): ScreenRant