Sarcev Quest, a male Human, was among the Emperor's Hands, clandestine agents within the Galactic Empire. He reported solely to Emperor Palpatine. Initially, Quest was a member of the Jedi Order in his youth. However, he did not proceed to become a Jedi Knight and was instead assigned to the Agricultural Corps. It was there that Supreme Chancellor Palpatine himself discovered him. Quest then departed from the Order and began working covertly for Palpatine on various projects, gaining the moniker "Chancellor's Hand". When the Republic transformed into the Galactic Empire, with Palpatine becoming Emperor, Quest rose to prominence within the Imperial Court and eventually gained acceptance into the Imperial Ruling Council. In this position, he was also able to spy on Palpatine's political adversaries. However, upon Palpatine's demise during the Battle of Endor, Quest saw an opportunity to seize power. He skillfully manipulated the Ruling Council into endorsing Carnor Jax, a Force-sensitive Royal Guard, as the new leader, thereby accumulating considerable political influence.
When Palpatine made his return in 10 ABY, resurrected through a series of clone bodies, Quest resumed his service but maintained his own agenda. He had grown attached to the power he had amassed before Palpatine's return and resolved to eliminate his former master. Using funds acquired from treacherous elements within the Ruling Council, Quest and Jax bribed the Emperor's personal physician to tamper with Palpatine's clones, shortening their lifespan and hastening the Emperor's death. With Palpatine out of the picture, Quest and Jax swiftly seized power, but their rule was short-lived. Kir Kanos, a loyalist, killed Jax as retribution for his involvement in Palpatine's death. Without Jax's backing, Quest was ousted from the Ruling Council and went into hiding to evade loyalist Imperials seeking vengeance. In 23 ABY, Ailyn Vel, a bounty hunter, captured Quest and handed him over to Jeng Droga, another former Emperor's Hand, in exchange for a 100,000 credit bounty. Droga personally executed Quest for his role in the Emperor's demise.
Sarcev Quest, Force-sensitive, joined the Jedi Order but did not progress to Jedi Knight status, ending up in the Agricultural Corps. However, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine of the Galactic Republic discovered Quest and removed him from his farming career. Quest became Palpatine's devoted servant, earning the title "Chancellor's Hand". He was rarely seen with Palpatine, spending much of his time on Byss in the Deep Core. Alongside Sly Moore, an Umbaran and another of Palpatine's servants, Quest trained Force-sensitive individuals recruited from the AgriCorps. Quest and Moore worked to convert these individuals to the dark side of the Force, building a force of darksiders for their master. Around this period, Chancellor Palpatine secretly employed Shi'ido scientists Mammon Hoole and Borborygmus Gog in experiments involving the spontaneous creation of life. Their initial attempt was rumored to have produced less than ideal outcomes—Niobi, a female subject acquired by Sly Moore, gave birth to a three-eyed mutant. Quest quickly whisked away both mother and son.
Later, Palpatine declared himself Emperor, transforming the Republic into the Galactic Empire. Quest was placed in the newly established Imperial Intelligence and recruited into a special program overseen by Palpatine himself. This program provided Force training and prepared members to become an Emperor's Hand, elite dark side users reporting directly to Palpatine. Quest graduated from this program and joined the ranks of that elite group. As Palpatine's servant, Quest became a prominent figure in the Imperial Court, wearing expensive attire and cultivating a reputation as a playboy. However, Quest's court persona was a facade for his work for Palpatine, spying on his master's political enemies. Among those Quest monitored were Senator Seti Ashgad and Moff Fliry Vorru. As a member of the Imperial Court, Quest became involved with Roganda Ismaren, one of Palpatine's concubines. He and Ismaren conceived a child, forcing Ismaren to leave the Imperial Court and strive to become an Emperor's Hand. Quest and Ismaren's son, Irek, was strong in the Force, and his mother concealed his true parentage, allowing others to believe he was Palpatine's offspring. These rumors, which hid Quest's connection to her son, allowed Ismaren to groom Irek as a potential heir to the Imperial throne. Despite impregnating one of Palpatine's mistresses, Quest's influence in the Imperial Court grew steadily until he was granted a position on the Imperial Ruling Council, the first darksider to be accepted into its ranks. In 1 ABY, Sly Moore, who also maintained a presence in the Imperial Court, vanished from Coruscant. The spontaneous life creation experiments initiated by Hoole and Gog had been continued by Sly Moore. Her efforts resulted in her giving birth to another three-eyed mutant. Moore died during childbirth, and as before, Quest spirited the child away.
Shortly after the Battle of Yavin, Quest was dispatched to Tasariq. Under the Emperor's orders, he seduced Yasinda Bardak, an undercover Imperial Intelligence agent on the planet. Bardak was a Force-sensitive woman who had left an Imperial program designed to train her as an Emperor's Hand, due to her disbelief in the Force. However, despite her departure from the program, the Emperor had further plans for Bardak and assigned Quest to get close to her. Tasariq was home to various Force-sensitive crystals that could grant Force-sensitivity to their owners.
The Emperor was intrigued by the powers of these crystals and wanted to observe their effects on a Force-sensitive individual who denied their abilities. After seducing Bardak, Quest gifted her a pendant secretly containing one of the Tasar crystals. Bardak began to exhibit uncontrollable Force powers, and Quest checked on her every few months to assess the crystal's impact and continue the Emperor's experiment. Although Bardak tried to be reassigned to another planet, frightened by her strange new abilities, her requests were denied as Quest and Palpatine continued the experiment. While Bardak genuinely fell in love with Quest during this experiment, Quest did not reciprocate her feelings, maintaining the relationship solely to study the effects of the Tasar crystals.
In 4 ABY, Emperor Palpatine was killed in the Battle of Endor. The resulting power vacuum led the Imperial Ruling Council to attempt to seize control of the Empire. However, Quest undermined their efforts, assisting Grand Vizier Sate Pestage in consolidating power over the Empire. Pestage eventually decided to abandon the Empire and retreat to the Deep Core world of Byss to focus on dark side experimentation. He left a clone behind to maintain order, but the rapid gestation of the Pestage clone caused the copy to become insane. Unable to manage the mad Pestage clone, Quest withdrew his support, leaving the clone to the Imperial Ruling Council and Imperial Intelligence director Ysanne Isard, leading to the clone's death. Quest assumed the real Pestage would contact him, but when he didn't, Quest allied himself with Carnor Jax, a Force-sensitive member of the Emperor's Royal Guard with ambitions for the Imperial throne. Quest threw his support behind Jax, convincing the Imperial Ruling Council to endorse Jax as the new Imperial leader. Quest's partnership with Jax also involved teaching the Royal Guard new Force powers and granting him control of a military taskforce. Quest's actions in supporting Jax earned him the favor of the Royal Guard and nominal leadership over the Council, elevating him to the peak of his power.
However, Quest and Jax's plans for the Empire were disrupted by Emperor Palpatine's return in 10 ABY. Palpatine's spirit had survived his death at Endor, and he was able to transfer his essence into a clone body. Quest immediately realigned himself with his revived master and helped Jax infiltrate himself into Palpatine's Dark Empire. With Quest's support, Jax was promoted into the Sovereign Protectors, the highest rank of the Royal Guard. However, Quest had no loyalty to Palpatine, as he was unwilling to relinquish the power he and the Imperial Ruling Council had gained before his master's return. Quest and Jax devised plans to sabotage Palpatine's clone bodies and assassinate the Emperor. The Council provided Quest and Jax with enough credits to bribe the Emperor's physician, who agreed to tamper with the clone template. Quest and Jax's machinations hastened the Emperor's death, paving the way for their rise to power.
With Jax as the new leader of the Empire, Quest assumed complete control over the Ruling Council, consolidating his power over the other members and imprisoning those who opposed him. Under Jax's protection, Quest was free to wield his power, but his reign was short-lived. Kir Kanos, a Royal Guard seeking revenge for Jax's involvement in Palpatine's death, killed Emperor Jax in a duel. Without Jax, Quest's hold over the council was broken, and the other council members imprisoned him. After a week of torture, Quest was unceremoniously dumped on Nar Shaddaa, the Smugglers' Moon, stripped of his power and influence.
Without allies, Quest attempted to disappear. Exposed as a member of the conspiracy that had accelerated Palpatine's death, he was wanted by loyalist Imperials seeking revenge. The New Republic also wanted Quest for questioning. Jeng Droga, an Imperial loyalist and fellow Emperor's Hand, placed a bounty of 100,000 credits on Quest's head. He spent years in hiding, returning to the Core Worlds. In 23 ABY, nearing senility, Quest decided to relocate to a more remote area and purchased tickets aboard a luxury liner for a trip to the Corporate Sector. However, the alias Quest used to obtain passage on the ship, despite being rarely used, revealed his location to those searching for him. Ailyn Vel, a bounty hunter assuming the Mandalorian armor and identity of her biological father Boba Fett, reached Quest first and claimed the bounty placed by Droga. Dragged before the vengeful Emperor's Hand, Sarcev Quest was personally executed by the fanatical Droga.
Shortly after his death, Quest's executioner was killed in the Third Battle of Yavin, reducing the ranks of the Emperor's Hands. Following his death, Luke Skywalker, a Jedi Master, kept information on Sarcev Quest in his database of Force-sensitives. Quest's son Irek continued to live with his mother, who maintained that her son was Palpatine's heir, although some, such as Leia Organa Solo, doubted her claims. Quest's parentage of Irek was included in Skywalker's database entry on Irek. Irek and his mother survived the Empire's fall and were on Coruscant in 27 ABY during the Yuuzhan Vong War. Irek was severely wounded in a clash with Cronal, another Emperor's Hand, being stabbed in the head with a lightsaber. Robbed of his intellect, Irek killed his mother and went on a rampage before being defeated by a taskforce led by Luke Skywalker.
Sarcev Quest possessed Force-sensitivity and was recruited into the Jedi Order. However, he ultimately failed to complete his training and joined the Agricultural Corps. Upon being noticed by Palpatine, he was elevated to the position of Emperor's Hand, receiving training to become a powerful dark side user. Quest was skilled enough to be placed in charge of training other AgriCorps members in the Force, helping to turn them to the dark side. He owned a short lightsaber and a heavy blaster pistol and was proficient in their use.
Sarcev Quest was a handsome and charismatic individual who used his charm to achieve his goals. While working for Palpatine, he leveraged his natural abilities to gain respect and influence within the Imperial Court. This influence eventually allowed him to infiltrate the Imperial Ruling Council, a feat never before accomplished by a darksider. As Palpatine's servant, he was known as the "Chancellor's Hand" and was involved in secret experiments conducted by the Supreme Chancellor. Although grateful to Palpatine for rescuing him from the Agriculture Corps, Quest did not remain loyal when Palpatine returned in a clone body. As a member of the Ruling Council, he exploited the power vacuum following Palpatine's death at Endor and resented losing this power upon Palpatine's return. This led him to participate in the plot to sabotage Palpatine's clone bodies, ultimately leading to the Emperor's final death. However, this betrayal ultimately led to his downfall when the loyalist Imperial Jeng Droga executed him to avenge Palpatine's death.
While presiding over the Ruling Council, Quest was a ruthless leader, imprisoning those who opposed him. His cruel behavior caused him to be betrayed immediately when his ally, Carnor Jax, was killed. His control over the council immediately vanished, and he was tortured as retribution for his actions as head of the council. While being tortured, Quest's composure broke as he screamed in pain. Quest had a reputation as a womanizer in the Imperial Court, and he had a relationship with Roganda Ismaren, one of Palpatine's concubines, fathering a child with her. During his mission to Tasariq, he successfully seduced Yasinda Bardak, causing her to fall deeply in love with him, despite only seeing her every few months. Quest had gray hair and light skin and was able to speak and write High Galactic.
Sarcev Quest first appeared, though unnamed, in Tasariq: The Crystal Planet, a role-playing supplement in Star Wars Adventure Journal 15 by Tom Moldvay and Steve Miller. The unnamed character was only mentioned in connection to Yasinda Bardak, but it was stated that he was a member of Imperial Intelligence and had undergone secret training to become an Emperor's Hand. An illustration by Jeff Menges of the character romancing Bardak was included in the article. Abel G. Peña later used this unnamed character in his article, The Emperor's Pawns in Star Wars Gamer 5, which detailed several different Emperor's Hands. The illustration of the character in Tasariq: The Crystal Planet was used as a reference for the illustration by Joe Corroney of Quest used in The Emperor's Pawns. Peña again used the character in his article, The History of the Mandalorians in Star Wars Insider 80, which detailed the character's final fate and death. More details on Quest's character were provided in two articles in the Hyperspace feature on StarWars.com, Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties and Aliens in the Empire, Part 1: Hierarchy of Power. A further article by Peña on the Star Wars Blog Barely Tolerable: Alien Henchmen of the Empire also detailed Quest's early life.
Following the expansion of his backstory in The Emperor's Pawns, Quest was mentioned in several different reference guides, including The New Essential Chronology, Jedi Academy Training Manual, and Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force. The Essential Guide to the Force also pinpointed the date of Quest's death, which was not explicitly stated previously. In The Emperor's Pawns, it is stated that Quest betrayed the dark side councilors Nefta and Sa-Di following Palpatine's final death. However, both characters had already been killed in Star Wars: Dark Empire II, before the final death of Palpatine shown in Star Wars: Empire's End. This discrepancy has not yet been addressed.
Sarcev Quest's name was inspired by Miloš Šarcev, an IFBB pro champion and Mr. Universe.