| “ | Is it so wrong to be a murderer? Or a liar? Or an inhuman monster? I may be all of those things, but I still have a heart. | „ |
| ~ Trioculus trying to woo Princess Leia. |
Trioculus is the main antagonist of the Star Wars: Jedi Prince series of novels, set in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. He is a three-eyed warlord who falsely claims to be the son of Emperor Palpatine, intent on taking over the galaxy and forcing Princess Leia to marry him.
Biography[]
Background[]
Trioculus was created in an experiment by Galactic Republic scientists on the orders of then-Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, part of his plan to discover the secret of eternal life. Palpatine and his crony Sarcev Quest, who oversaw the experiment, were disgusted by the mutant child and condemned him to a slave's existence in the spice mines of Kessel, where the boy was subjected by frequent beatings and ridicule for his appearance.
Trioculus became obsessed with power and revenge, and learned to punish his abusers and curry favor with the slavemasters by spying and reporting on the slaves who bullied him. Eventually, the overseer of the mines, Ruskell Twane, took Trioculus under his wing, impressed by the boy's keen intelligence, charisma, and utter ruthlessness.
As a young man, Trioculus studied politics and military tactics, intent on joining the Empire and using it to seize power. He allied himself with Grand Moff Hissa, a powerful figure in the Imperial Military, who pulled strings to make him Lord Overseer of the very mines he had been imprisoned in. Trioculus' cruelty was legendary, at one point flooding the mines and drowning dozens of slaves, simply because he thought they were not working fast enough.
Star Wars: Jedi Prince[]
Following Palpatine's death, Hissa and his fellow Moffs exploit the power vacuum left by the Emperor's demise and try to take over the galaxy themselves, and plan to put Trioculus on the Imperial throne as a figurehead. To that end, they present Trioculus to the galaxy as Palpatine's son and heir. Trioculus imprisons Palpatine's real son, Triclops, in the spice mines, subjecting him to especially brutal torture in order to drive him insane and prevent him from ruining the Moffs' plan. In order to silence dissent, Trioculus publicly tortures anyone who questions him with what appears to be Force lightning (actually lasers surgically inserted in his palms).
Trioculus plans to cement his hold on power by locating the lost glove of Darth Vader, which had supposedly survived the destruction of the Death Star. He eventually finds it on the oceanic world of Mon Calamari, and tries to retrieve it in a submarine. However, Luke Skywalker, who had been secretly following Trioculus on a mission from the New Republic, infiltrates the submarine and destroys it, nearly killing Trioculus, who swears revenge.
Trioculus meets with Kadann, the leader of the Prophets of the Dark Side, to gain his blessing; instead, Kadann sees immediately that Trioculus is a fraud. Kadann nevertheless endorses Trioculus' rule and warns him that the Jedi Prince Ken poses a threat to his rule, intent on both Trioculus and Ken destroying each other and leaving him to rule the galaxy. Trioculus tracks Ken to the New Republic base on Yavin 4, and burns the planet's forests in order to draw the boy out. Trioculus himself is badly burned in the process. The New Republic's army, led by Princess Leia Organa, fends off Trioculus' attack; while retreating, Trioculus becomes obsessed with Leia, and vows to make her his Empress. He kidnaps her on Bespin, and sets about "courting" her while holding her prisoner.
Trioculus meets with Zorba the Hutt, who has recently taken over Bespin and is holding Ken prisoner. Zorba offers to turn Ken over to Trioculus in exchange for Leia, who killed Zorba's son Jabba. Trioculus refuses, and sends his troops to attack Bespin. Zorba's men repel the attack, however, and capture Trioculus, whom Zorba freezes in carbonite. His plan complete, Kadann declares himself Emperor, and rewards Zorba with possession of the frozen Trioculus.
Trioculus' allies attack Zorba's ship and take their frozen leader back to their base on thawed him out. Trioculus swears revenge on Zorba, who bargains for his life by offering to let Trioculus take possession of Leia, whom he is holding prisoner. Trioculus agrees, and strong-arms Leia into agreeing to marry him, threatening to return her to Zorba if she refuses. Trioculus then turns on Zorba, throwing him into the Pit of Carkoon.
On the day of Leia's forced wedding to Trioculus, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo infiltrate her prison cell and replace her with a robotic duplicate, which fools Trioculus. As he leads his "bride" to the altar, the duplicate shoots lasers from its eyes through Trioculus' chest, killing him.
