There was very little Palpatine cared for aside from gaining power over both the galaxy
and the dark side of the force.
Nearly every relationship he ever had, whether it be political allies or his sith apprentices,
were all just means for him to advance his ambitions in gaining power.
Despite all of this however, there was a small group of people Palpatine genuinely liked
and considered to be his friends.
They were the select few that made up his Inner Circle known as the Imperial Ruling
Council, and everyone within it was trusted with his greatest secrets as well as having
the opportunity to see the real side of Palpatine without any of his masks that he put on for
everyone else.
Among this already small group was one man that stood out in terms of who was trusted
and liked the most.
This man was known as Sate Prestage, and he’d been a close ally and friend of Palpatine
since they were in their early 20s.
Prestage was first introduced to Palpatine by Darth Plagueis, and he was originally used
for assassination purposes, later being tasked in killing the senator of Naboo so that Palpatine
could take the position for himself.
Overtime, Palpatine quickly came to respect Prestage due to his professionalism in how
he carried out all the under the table tasks the two Sith bestowed upon him.
This respect later turned into trust as the two became closer and realized their ambitions
for the galaxy were very much aligned with one another, and how they both needed each
other to achieve their set out goals.
Palpatine would handle all the public, political affairs; while Prestage handled all the dealings
that involved the criminal underworld; and together they would rise to power.
This trust was so great, that when Prestage discovered that both Palpatine and Plagueis
were Sith Lords after witnessing them use the force when they were attacked by assassins,
he was in fact allowed to live.
For neither Sith sensed an ounce of betrayal in the man.
Prestage was professional in how he carried out his tasks, was unquestionably loyal, and
most importantly, he knew his place.
He was no fool that would ever betray a Sith Lord, a being that in his eyes was far above
him in status he could never imagine to ever come close to.
And Palpatine knew this.
He never had to worry about Prestage betraying him, and because of this he became the Sith
Lord’s political right hand man and most trusted advisor once the inner council was
created following Palpatine's ascension as Emperor of the Galactic Empire .
Once the Empire was fully established, Prestage was given the title of Grand Vizier, which
was the second highest political title one could hold just below the Emperor.
Once Palpatine began to spend most of his time studying and experimenting with the dark
side behind closed doors, nearly all major Imperial political decisions were made by
Prestage who oversaw the day-to-day activities of the Empire, and he was given the power
to implement the Imperial seal on behalf of the Emperor of important legislation passed
by the Senate.
In exchange for his loyalty, service, and friendship, Palpatine showered Prestage with
some of the greatest gifts ever given to any Imperial.
The Grand Vizier was given dozens of planets for him to do with anything he pleased, as
well as countless credits making him one of the richest beings in the entire galaxy.
He also had a few Star Destroyers named after him as well.
When Palpatine died during the Battle of Endor, Prestage was among the very few that knew
the Emperor was truly not dead and was in fact attempting to return back to life through
the use of Essence Transfer.
In the meantime, Prestage took over the Empire as acting-Emperor and attempted to keep it
together while he waited for Palpatine to return.
But such a task ended up being nearly impossible for him to succeed in, as most other high
ranking Imperials dismissed his orders and did what they pleased, with eventually a couple
of them staging a coup against Prestage and throwing him off the throne.
Fearing for his life, Prestage was forced to make a deal with the New Republic in order
to save his life from the Imperial warlords who had taken over and were hunting him down.
But before he could reach to safety, Imperial forces caught up with him and executed him
before his escape.
However, it was unknown if they killed him or an apparent clone of his, as later there
were reports that the real Prestage actually escaped to Byss, the planet Palpatine had
resurrected himself on to through his clone bodies.
While on Byss, Prestage returned to his Emperor’s side and continued his service as a close
advisor, but he would ultimately die following the destruction of Byss a few years later.