The Emperor's Shadow was the private shuttle and personal yacht of the Galactic Emperor Palpatine. The New Republic Intelligence Service believed the Shadow was equipped with a full cloaking device and considered it untraceable. The yacht was rumored to be as big as the CR90 corvette.
Jeng Droga was the captain of the Emperor's Shadow
During the Imperial Period, the Emperor's Shadow was guarded by the Emperor's Hand Jeng Droga, who shared a psychic connection with Palpatine.
In 4 ABY, the Dark Jedi captain Droga piloted the Shadow to the Mid Rim planet of Kaal in the Yushan sector, where he was to await his master's instructions. When the Emperor died his first death during the Battle of Endor, Droga felt his master's death through the Force. At that moment, aboard the Emperor's Shadow, Droga's body wrenched in pain, and he began screaming. He then fell into a state of insanity, crushing the windpipe of one of his crew members before taking his dual lightsabers to the rest of his subordinates. In his rampage, he smashed the bridge controls of the Emperor's Shadow, causing the ship to plummet into one of the oceans of Kaal. Palpatine's spirit, which had survived Endor, journeyed all the way to Kaal and entered Droga's body. Now infused with Palpatine's tremendous dark energy, Droga was driven to madness. In time, Grand Vizier Sate Pestage was able to extract Palpatine's essence from Droga's body, allowing the Emperor to inhabit one of his clone bodies.
Talon Karrde, posing as Syndic Pandis Hart, heard the rumor that the Emperor's Shadow had crash-landed on Kaal
In 6 ABY, Talon Karrde heard a rumor that the Emperor's Shadow, had crash-landed on Kaal. The rumor also said that the ship was equipped with a cloaking device. Karrde and his associate, Quelev Tapper, traveled to Kaal to investigate; while Karrde posed as Syndic Pandis Hart, chief purchasing agent of the Sif-Uwana Council, Tapper purchased a submersible craft from a local dealer and began searching for the yacht near the Unis Islands. Tapper had located the likely vessel submerged near the Unis Islands and relayed its location to Karrde. Meanwhile the negotiations with the ruler of Kaal, Tirgee Benyalle, for the Sif-Uwana Council to be allowed to conduct its own harvesting operation in a specific area fell apart, and Karrde communicated with Tapper, and told him to rig the ship to blow. Tapper complied, setting charges throughout the wreck. It was unconfirmed whether the vessel destroyed by Tapper was the Emperor's Shadow, nor there was any confirmation that a cloaking device was installed aboard.
Following the Thrawn campaign, the Emperor's Shadow was believed to have possessed an advanced cloaking shield and thus attracted the attention of the New Republic, who intended to examine the technology. The Galactic Museum Artifact Recovery Office was willing to fund an undercover expedition to Kaal in order to retrieve the vessel.
- "From the Files of Corellia Antilles" — Star Wars Adventure Journal 14
- "The Emperor's Pawns" — Star Wars Gamer 5
- The New Essential Guide to Characters
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia