Why didn't the Empire stake out Jabba's Palace?

In between ESB and ROTJ, the viewer presumes that Darth Vader continues his search for Luke. DV obviously knew that Luke and Han were friends, with Luke traveling to Bespin to try and save him (and the others). Vader had also given Han's frozen body to Boba Fett, who was then going to Jabba's palace to exchange it for Han's ransom. So Vader knew at some point Luke would try to rescue Han.

So why not have secret Empire agents waiting on Tatooine for Luke's arrival? There would be plenty of time after Luke's capture for the Empire to bring a fleet or two to get him.

I think Lucas tried to overcome this question by having Palpy state that Luke was going to come to him and everything was going according to plan, but wouldn't it have been easier just to capture him on Tatooine?

Please, no replies about how it would shorten the movie if this came to pass. I am really curious to see what possible reasons there might have been.

 

So why not have secret Empire agents waiting on Tatooine for Luke's arrival?
Maybe they did, but were corrupted by Jabba ?

 

This question allows the opportunity for every fan to invent his/her own answer. There is also no doubt some EU material -- a shorty story or a comic book issue -- dealing with the question. My own response is that Vader did indeed send troops to Tatooine to stake out Jabba's Palace, but the men turned up missing after Klaatu, Barata and Nikto got their slimy claws on them, and Vader thought twice about deploying any more troops to the area.

 

Wasn't that why Mara Jade was there? To kill Luke at the Emperor's orders?
Perhaps the Emperor ordered Vader not to chase Luke after the way he bungled it on Bespin.

 

Vader didn't think that Luke would risk going to Tatooine, in case the Empire was waiting for him. So Vader believed that Luke went somewhere else and thus didn't go for Han. Or he believed that Han was already dead and thus Luke wouldn't go. Vader didn't know that Jabba kept Han alive for his own amusement.

It should also be noted that originally, Imperials were waiting for Luke and he was taken after rescuing Han. As seen in the early draft for ROTJ.

 

Vader didn't think that Luke would risk going to Tatooine, in case the Empire was waiting for him.
Hmmm, I think Anakin would have risked going after Han, given the same relationship. He should have thought his son would do the same. Maybe besides getting sliced and burned on Mustafar, some brain cells were damaged too ? There is that large gash on the head.

This question allows the opportunity for every fan to invent his/her own answer.
Yep. And my gut feel is that there is a sensible and logical answer somewhere.

 

Darth Vader had to figure that Luke, after attempting a rescue on Bespin, would try to do something for Han, even if Vader assumed Jabba killed Han. Vader really didn't have any other leads. With the number of people in Jabba's palace, couldn't he have sent at least one agent there, just to be sure?

I do like the theory that the Emperor forbid Vader to do so. Maybe Palpy figured Luke was too powerful at that point to take him one-on-one. Or Palpy knew how conflicted Vader was and thought that he needed to be there next time Vader and Skywalker met. Hence his plan that Palpy/Vader would wait for Luke to come to them.

 

VadersPappy
I do like the theory that the Emperor forbid Vader to do so. Maybe Palpy figured Luke was too powerful at that point to take him one-on-one. Or Palpy knew how conflicted Vader was and thought that he needed to be there next time Vader and Skywalker met. Hence his plan that Palpy/Vader would wait for Luke to come to them.

Yes that. "He has grown strong. Only together can we turn him...".

 

Oh, there's a good deal more than a short story or comic about that.

The Emperor's Hand

 

I always assumed Vader paid Boba Fett to hang out at Jabba's Palace indefinitely after the delivery of Solo was completed, just in case Luke showed up.

 

I like this idea. I mean we see Boba going after Skywalker.

Also if you read EU, Fett tries to tell Jabba to give Luke to the Empire, after killing the rancour. He even says he will give half the bounty to Jabba.

Also, as stated, Mara Jade was waiting for him, but that didn't go to well...

Also, I doubt Jabba would have liked Vader waiting in his palace, and most normal imperials wouldn't be able to hold Luke for long...

 

I like the idea of Fett being paid by Vader to wait for Luke.

And he does try to immobilize him at first when they fight-with his capture cable.

 

There are some reasons that theory doesn't work:

1. Why didn't Fett contact Vader when Luke arrived? There was certainly enough time for Vader to send in the fleet, especially when the Barge was in an isolated area near the Sarlacc.
2. Why didn't Fett rescue Luke when he was dropped into the Rancor Pit? Fett would certainly lose his reward had Luke been killed/eaten.
3. Fett fired his cable at Luke b/c Luke was swinging a lightsabre. If Fett first fired at him, Luke would have deflected it, with the shot probably coming right back at Fett!

 

He could have just started firing rounds from his blaster from the Sail Barge. Why get in close to a guy with a melee weapon?

 

I really like the Fett doing double duty theory. It also fits his character nicely and makes him less of a Jabba monkey.

 

In the Radio Dramatization, there already was an Imperial fleet orbiting Tatooine (which was the explaination why the Rebels simply didn't send a strike team to rescue Solo). However, R2 did some hacking and tricked what remained of Jabba's empire by making them think the Empire had warrants for their arrest. So while Jabba's guys were breaking through the Imperial blockade, Luke & Company slipped away.

But that's what the EU says. Maybe Fett was simply cocky enough not to call for backup.

 

One reason that comes to mind when Anakin was little (TPM) he seemed to know about the Hutt's. I think that made him think twice about stakeing their place out.

 

I think that made him think twice about stakeing their place out.
Hmmm, I dont know about that. You would think he would want pay back.

 

In Boba Fett's Tale from Tales From Jabba's Palace, it shows Fett trying to convince Jabba to hand all of the Rebels over to the Empire rather than feed them to the Sarlacc. In fact, when they're at the Great Pit of Carkoon, Fett's thoughts are furious that Jabba is wasting all of that potential money.

 

Why didn't Jabba consider that? It would seem logical to me, considering his personality.


Then again, perhaps Vader was in too much of a funk to consider Tattoine as a trap for Luke.

 

As was mentioned previously, Mara Jade was sent there to kill Luke, but she failed. The Empire likely assumed that one Jedi apprentice wouldn't be able to stand up to one of the Emperor's Hands, hence why they only sent Mara (that we know of).

 

Jabba was more interested in seeing Han and his friends suffer. That's the revenge mindset for you.

 

The Wook entry linked above offers a pretty cool explanation, IF one accepts Mara Jade into one's own personal STAR WARS mythology. I'm on the fence about it myself, but I must admit this is a neat little story:

 

Tattoine is supposed to be out of Imperial control, so I'm going to have to guess Vader wouldn't risk having all of Tattoine against him. And Jabba's wouldn't like Imps hanging around his palace waiting for someone who may or may not come. Also, the droids (Threepio and Artoo) were sent before Luke, so Jabba could have said yes from an unknown Third Party.

 

While everyone is entitled to have their own personal mythology for the saga, if one is looking for a canon answer, which the original poster seems to be looking for, then that's the one.