For most of his life, the ominous Darth Vader has reached for an ultimate power that he knows to exist but which continues to elude him. Although he has achieved an extraordinarily lethal degree of skill with the Force and is a much-feared commander in the Empire, he continues to burn with a dark, ravenous heat for the power that will satiate the restless hunger within him. A terrible confrontation with his destiny left him horribly scarred and mangled, and it was only by becoming half man, half machine that he continued to survive, filled with hatred. Vader has transformed himself, body and soul, into the menacing outer figure that he presents to the galaxy...or so it seems. A destructive storm of anger, fear and aggression fuels his every act of oppression and cruelty. His destiny is the destiny of the galaxy: the power he ultimately achieves will decide the fate of allies and enemies alike for generations to come. Even though he has devoted his life to the dark side, his true loyalties remain a mystery, for the grasping hand he reaches out to the galaxy may still contain the shadow of the good-hearted and spirited young boy he was long ago.