While Prince Xizor and Emperor Palpatine relished their abodes with many treasures and luxurious artifacts, the interior of Lord Vader's Palace was much less glamorous. Despite the vast wealth and resources at his disposal as Supreme Commander, he displayed no riches or decorations, not even holo-framed pictures on the walls; most of the furnishings were simple greel wood structures. The Palace also housed a hyperbaric chamber similar to the one aboard his flagship, the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Executor, where Vader would frequently meditate and cultivate the dark side in an attempt to heal his damaged lungs temporarily. The Dark Lord would also often spar against combat droids to keep his lightsaber skills sharp.
Despite the minimalism of its resident, the Palace did contain a high level of security; surveillance and spy systems were used to analyze all conversations held within and even monitor facial movements and gestures. These were all monitored by body language experts housed within the Palace security offices. Often Xizor would monitor Vader's activities at the Palace using spies, and he always knew when the cyborg warlord was within or away from his Coruscanti residence.
Vader's private quarters were located deep within the castle, behind blast doors and other security features. A small command center was close at hand, through which Vader could keep in touch with the rest of the galaxy. The castle also held the Sith Lord's training chambers, a combat arena in which he could practice his lightsaber combat skills against modified ASP-19 battle droids, and a docking bay for his personal transport, the Lambda-class T-4a shuttle ST 321.
The workers in the landing bay at the Palace were trained to get Vader's private shuttle ready as quickly as possible, usually within the time it took for the Dark Lord of the Sith to use the turbolift to the landing bay floor. There was one account of a time when the Supreme Commander arrived and the shuttle was not ready in which he promptly executed those responsible. Ever since, preparations for Vader's shuttle were always punctual.
The Palace was not Vader's only residence on Coruscant; he also had a fortress retreat on the planet's northern hemisphere, on the shoreline of the Western Sea. In addition to those, he also had a private citadel on Vjun known as Bast Castle.
The structure was built under the orders of Vader's master, Palpatine, after the construction and expansion of the Imperial Palace was completed.
In 3 ABY, Vader met with Imperial spy Jix and his Noghri bodyguard Kohvrekhar here.
- The Secrets of Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
- Shadows of the Empire Sourcebook
- "Filling in the Shadows" — Star Wars Galaxy Magazine 9
- Star Wars: The Art of the Brothers Hildebrandt
- Star Wars Encyclopedia
- Rebellion Era Sourcebook
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. III
- Star Wars: The Complete Vader