PT Does anyone in the Republic/ Jedi Council wonder what Palpatine's doing when he's not in his office?

Sidious not sensing Luke has nothing to do with attachment, since Vader doesn't sense Luke four years earlier. Hell, he doesn't even sense Luke is still on Hoth and right outside of the Echo Base hangar. He doesn't even sense that Obi-wan is on board the Falcon, and he's standing right in front of him. He turns around and ******* walks away from him! Force sensing was never an exact science, compared to say, "Highlander" where the Immortals can sense each other no matter what and cannot hide themselves.

 

Vader does sense Obi-Wan on the Falcon. ("I sense something. A presence I've not felt since...") He walks away and is next seen telling Tarkin that Kenobi is on board. Between those moments, he was probably trying to figure out how he'd survived the Jedi Purge, why he was there, and how best to confront him. As far as Vader not sensing Luke at Yavin, he'd never sensed his presence before, so all he could tell was someone strong in the Force. And as far as Hoth is concerned, he may have sensed him and may not have. What mattered was he wanted to face Luke at a time and place of his own choosing, and the Falcon and its crew were the key to that.

 

Yes, but then he moronically walks out of the hangar instead of boarding the Falcon with his Lightsaber ignited. Vader has long suspected that Obi-wan was still alive since he wasn't killed by Protocol 66 and by himself on Mustafar. He's been aware that he might still be alive. So in reality, he should have boarded the ship that just arrived from Tatooine and now senses his former Master and friend. And as to Hoth, he went there to collect his ass. If he had sensed him nearby, he would have nailed him and not needed the Falcon. But he must not be able to sense him, hence the need for the Falcon.

 

First, again, he wanted a confrontation on his terms, away from any interference. Plus, he needs to consider just why Kenobi is there in the first place. He's too experienced to just rush into battle without a plan. So, he thinks about what to do, then makes it clear to Tarkin: everybody stays away from them. Then, he waits and watches and sets things up for the duel. Besides, he knows he's stronger than some old, burned-out fugitive who's off his game, right? What's the hurry?

As for Hoth, yes, Luke was nearby. In the middle of a major land battle. He probably doesn't know exactly where on the planet Luke is; Force-sensitivity is not like having a GPS tracker. So, he went with the best way to lure Luke to where he (Vader) would have the advantage: grab the Falcon and all aboard her, then bring Luke out. That way, he doesn't have to deal with either Alliance or Imperial soldiers blasting away at either of them, creating a distraction. He would set up the scene, and be in control of the situation.

 

Vader does not sense Obi-Wan on the Falcon. He is satisfied by the officer's report of there being nobody onboard. Vader then looks all around the hangar and beyond. It is a tremor he feels. Not a beacon from within the Falcon giving up Obi Wan's position. He then saunters off to immediately inform his superior and to hatch the plan of using the Falcon to discover the rebel base.

 

Not just a "tremor" - a "presence I've not felt since...." So he doesn't have to be completely satisfied with the report - not if the presence contradicts it.

However:

he might have been worried about being ambushed from wherever Obi-Wan's hiding place was (exact location of which, he cannot "narrow down") - perhaps a lightsaber coming out of the floor to slash off his feet. Hence his return to Tarkin, to clarify his position.

 

The familiarity of the presence disturbs him. He's afraid of Obi Wan. It's like when Kylo Ren has his first rude awakening with Rey's resistance to his mind probe. He immediately confers with Snoke, giving Rey opportunity to escape him.

I just think he didn't pinpoint the Falcon as the exact source of his unease, and he had accepted the report. OR he didn't need to at that moment. Whether his old master is on the Falcon at that moment is irrelevant to the plan that's hatching.

 

The point is that it is not precise that a Jedi and Sith can always sense each other, no matter what. It isn't about attachments. It is about using the Force and being detectable within the fog of the dark side.

 

Emperor doesn't sense Luke in ROTJ and seems surprised by that.

As for the Jedi, they're not NSA, they're not in the habit of collecting information on everyone. They don't even where one of their own spends his nights when on Coruscant (not even Obi-Wan).

There's no law that the guard should follow the Chancellor everywhere as far as we know so it shouldn't be too hard for him to sneak out when needed.

 

Whenever the plot requires it.

 

It's always been that way.

 

Yeah like when the "precise" stormtroopers are not so precise...

 

What other things are inconsistent?

 

Ok then. Nothing in Star Wars is as internally inconsistent as the ability to sense the dark side in people, places and things. They can, and then they can't, and then they can again depending on whether or not it's necessary for the plot, and without evolving circumstances provided to justify it. Particularly in the Prequel trilogy.

 

He also left Coruscant to go to the Spire on Stygeon Prime where he collaborates with Dooku and tortures a captive Maul and again to go to Dathomir to finish Mother Talzin.

 

I always thought a good idea for a novel would be about an investigative reporter, hired by the Jedi Council towards the end of the war, that is escorted by a mercenary with a background in counter-intelligence. The reporter, of course, has to die by the end of the book, since he/she uncovers the truth about Sidious, Kamino, Sify-Dyas, the war, and the Naboo blockade. The mercenary, however, goes to work for Sidious in his cabinet, It ends with two Jedi (redshirts) confronting Sidious and Tyranus at a secret meeting. Obviously, they're way outmatched and are killed, so it's a "bad guys win" book.

 

This is a fascinating question I never thought of. Palpatine had a real Superman / Clark Kent thing going on didn't he.

Compared to being in a room with the Jedi Council and successfully hiding he is a Sith Lord, everything else seems easy. My guess is once Darth Sidious becomes Chancellor he almost always stays in the role of Palpatine. Once he falls into a fairly consistent weekly routine it could actually allow him quite a bit of freedom to occasional slip away as Darth Sidious for short periods of time undetected.

For things further away there are probably extended periods of time when the Senate is on recess and Palpatine can leave Coruscant under the guise of vacation or political visits which might also give him some extra freedom from the public eye. And while we see no evidence of this in the movies - we know that Naboo has a tradition of using decoys to help with security for their elected officials. So Palpatine having decoys is something very possible that can also publicly be explained away as a cultural thing.

Bottom line, if the Sith can stay hidden from the Jedi for 1,000 years, then it seems totally believable even as Chancellor one can make the occasional trip to Mandalor or Darthomir when needed.

 

Even more impressive than Palpatine sneaking out of his office to "be" Lord Sidious is that somehow Darth Maul was given access to his office (and balcony) without anyone suspecting!

 

Yeah - that is something in today's world . If it was during World War 2 I don't think even the president having a secret meeting like that would be so improbable. In a lot of ways I think we in Earth in 2017 are more technologically advanced than what is going on in Star Wars.

Another example of tech surpassing what's possible in a plot. I loved the new Spider-man movie, but in today's world it'd be so easy for authorities to follow Peter home just using security footage as he swings his way around.

 

Palpatine controls who comes and goes in his office and the security footage. That's how he is able to present evidence of the Jedi coup without implicating himself as the mastermind of the war.

That's why he has his Spider-Sense, which would warn him of such things. Fortunately, Stark Tech exists and would cover for him. In the comics, Parker Tech does the job. And a similar attempt was made with Superman long ago. It didn't work.

 

This is totally off topic - but I saw something recently where a crime happened and the perpetrators got away. Police used surveillance videos from different business and literally followed the criminals to where they lived or where they switched cars. They did this days after the crime. I don't know how Spidey-Sense would protect Peter from a city with cameras recording everything.

But what fun is that for Spider-man? And what fun is it if Palpatine can't take a vacation to fight Darth Maul and Savage Opress?

 

Vader sensed OB1 on the Falcon. If you pay close attention, the Falcon has a ramp, thereby making it "the high ground". Vader had to lure him out onto a level surface.

That's *racist*.

As far as the OP: Palpatine spent his days getting high and playing video games once he eliminated all the threats.

His BFF, Vader, developed a bad habit where you'd hear him taking bong hit breaths nonstop. They just told everybody it was an iron lung. They'd lay down and look out the Death Star window at the stars where Palpatine would ask "Wait. Wait. What if from the citizens' point of view, we're evil." And Vader would tell him "You just blew my mind. From my point of view ..... "

The video game playing was less fun as Palpatine always won ending with Vader throwing down his controller screaming "it's not fair !!!!"

Every now and then, he'd hop in the shower so he could go out and make it rain. Vader was never invited. He creeped the Twi'leks out.

He also spent a lot of time bailing Vader out of jail for breaking the many restraining orders from the women he "couldn't live with out."

Of course the Emperor was looking for a replacement for Vader come ESB/RotJ.