The final, climactic confrontation of Operation Shadow Hand pitted the forces of the New Republic against the resurgent armies of Emperor Palpatine in the Battle of Onderon. As his latest cloned form rapidly deteriorated due to genetic manipulation, Palpatine sought to seize the body of the infant Anakin Solo—the grandson of his former apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, and namesake. Discovering the Solos had sought refuge on Onderon in the Inner Rim, he deployed his new flagship, the Eclipse-class dreadnought Eclipse II, accompanied by a contingent of Dark Side Adepts and Royal Guards.
During the intense battle, Luke Skywalker and his Jedi team clashed fiercely with Palpatine, his Dark Jedi, and Imperial Guards, leading to the ultimate demise of Palpatine and his protectors. Tragically, two Jedi, Rayf Ysanna and Empatojayos Brand, perished, while several other Jedi team members sustained various injuries.
Simultaneously, a Rebel assault force, commanded by Lando Calrissian and Kam Solusar, targeted the Imperial flagship Eclipse II, successfully disabling the vessel's automated hyperdrive system. This action diverted the warship toward the Imperial throneworld of Byss in the Deep Core, where it emerged from hyperspace directly into the path of the Galaxy Gun—another of the Emperor's devastating superweapons. The resulting cataclysmic explosion annihilated both colossal weapons, and the planet Byss was destroyed by an errant projectile.
The death of Emperor Palpatine above Onderon, coupled with the obliteration of Byss and the surrounding Imperial fleet, dealt a significant blow to the Imperial Remnant for the New Republic, causing it to fracture into numerous competing factions.
Palpatine, resurrected in yet another clone body, continued his war against the New Republic. Wielding the formidable Galaxy Gun and his Eclipse-class Super Star Destroyer Eclipse II, Palpatine compelled many New Republic worlds to submit to Imperial dominion. However, even as his Empire expanded, Palpatine's physical condition deteriorated once more.
The revived Emperor began to suffer from accelerated aging, a consequence of genetic tampering inflicted on his clones by the traitorous Sovereign Protector Carnor Jax. He attempted to clone new bodies to facilitate his resurrection, but Jax had contaminated even the original genetic material.
Even his most skilled scientists and physicians were unable to assist him. As his body rapidly deteriorated, he journeyed to the Sith world of Korriban to seek counsel from the ancient Sith Lords. They confirmed that they could not reverse his degeneration and advised him to consult the Oracle stone, where he saw a vision of Anakin Solo. The Sith warned him that this boy would determine his salvation or his destruction, revealing that he could be found on Onderon.
The Emperor brought the Eclipse II to Onderon, where the Solos had relocated with their children. While the New Republic forces engaged the Imperials, a Jedi team led by Luke Skywalker and Han Solo searched for the Emperor. Brand sensed the Emperor's intense darkness emanating from a nearby shuttle. They battled their way through his guardsmen and stormtroopers to reach the Emperor's shuttle, but he was not aboard. Instead, they encountered a Dark Side Adept, who revealed that they had been tricked and that the Emperor had gone to the Kira Fortress to find Leia and her child.
During the conflict, an assault team under the leadership of Lando Calrissian and Kam Solusar infiltrated Palpatine's flagship by attaching the freighter Millennium Falcon to the Star Dreadnought's lower hull. The astromech droid R2-D2 sabotaged the ship's automated hyperdrive engines, setting it on a collision course with Byss, where it would exit hyperspace directly in line with the deadly Galaxy Gun cannon. Despite the Eclipse II crew's attempts to regain control, the Star Dreadnought jumped into hyperspace.
The procedure went so quickly that the Millennium Falcon crew did not have time to detach, resulting in an unplanned journey to the Deep Core aboard the warship. Meanwhile, on the Galaxy Gun, the engineer Umak Leth tried to assist his Emperor by arming the weapon. As the Galaxy Gun was being prepared, the Eclipse II suddenly emerged from hyperspace, colliding with the cannon and destroying both vessels.
The Millennium Falcon disconnected from the Star Dreadnought before the impact and prepared to enter hyperspace. As the Eclipse II struck the Galaxy Gun, the armed missile was launched in a futile attempt to hit the ship that was on a collision course. The missile was caught in Byss's gravity well, detonating upon impact and destroying the planet, along with portions of the orbiting fleet and the wreckage of the Galaxy Gun and Eclipse II. The Falcon exited the Beshqek system before being struck by debris from the explosion.
Meanwhile, Palpatine confronted Leia, demanding possession of her youngest child, Anakin Solo, stating that he was no longer willing to be gentle. She resisted, using a powerful Force Push to knock the Emperor off his feet, allowing her children to escape. Enraged, Palpatine unleashed a barrage of Force lightning. Leia fought back but was outmatched by the Emperor, and she was eventually rendered unconscious by a bolt of lightning.
With Leia incapacitated, Palpatine attempted to enter Anakin's body. Before he could succeed, Skywalker and two other Jedi—Rayf Ysanna and [Empatojayos Brand](/article/empatojayos_brand]—arrived. Palpatine, along with two Dark Jedi, fatally wounded Brand with Force lightning, despite his efforts to defend himself. However, Palpatine's use of the Force further weakened his already failing clone body.
The Dark Jedi T'iaz engaged Ysanna in a lightsaber duel but was defeated. Rayf was then struck down by the Dark Lord, whom Rayf had underestimated, even stating that a frail old man like Palpatine would be easy to defeat, and that he would protect anyone Palpatine tried to harm. Nevertheless, he could not defend himself from the Emperor's rage and immense power, despite the inferiority of his clone body.
After killing Rayf, Palpatine remarked that it was not the first time he had witnessed a "poor fool" die with Jedi fire in his eyes. Skywalker attempted to prevent the Emperor from seizing Anakin. Ignoring Skywalker's warnings, the Emperor retaliated with all his remaining energy against the Jedi Master. Despite the loss of his adepts, he finally seized the boy.
Leia and Han Solo tried to stop Palpatine from claiming their child. Leia declared that she would only allow Palpatine to take the baby "over her dead body." Han quickly shot the Emperor in the back, an act that Palpatine intentionally did not block so that he could free himself from his physical form and "enter the child as he had promised." Luke knew that this would be the beginning of the end, as they could not fight Palpatine's ghost.
His last clone body destroyed, the Emperor's cackling spirit flew toward young Anakin Solo, only to be intercepted by the dying Brand, who threw himself in the way. The Purge survivor shielded the baby with the light side of the Force and bound the Emperor's departing life essence to his own, taking it with him as he became one with the Force. Cursing and railing against the Skywalkers, Palpatine's spirit was dragged into the depths of Chaos, where he would experience disembodiment in darkness, perpetual madness, and unending terror.
Palpatine, widely regarded as the greatest Dark Lord of the Sith of all time, was finally dead. His death resulted in the Galactic Empire splintering once again into various factions. Consequently, due to this and the previous losses incurred during the Imperial Civil War and the Empire Reborn campaign, the Galactic Empire permanently lost any possibility of reconquering the galaxy for over a century.