One Phantom Menace character nearly doomed the entire Star Wars galaxy after discovering Princess Leia’s most important secret. Having been adopted by Senator Bail Organa and his wife, the truth that Leia Organa was the secret daughter of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala was only known to a very select few. However, a former ally of Padmé nearly exposed the truth about Padmé to Emperor Palpatine himself.
At the end of Revenge of the Sith, Padmé gives birth to twins she names Luke and Leia just before her death. With her husband Anakin Skywalker having been corrupted to the dark side of the Force as Darth Vader and the rise of Palpatine’s new Empire, it was decided by Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi that the children would be split up with their true parentage kept secret in the hopes they would one day serve as the galaxy’s new hope. However, the truth about Leia was nearly exposed by an Imperial Moff, having once been the loyal protector of Leia’s mother in The Phantom Menace.
As seen in The Phantom Menace, Captain Quarsh Panaka served as Queen Padmé Amidala’s royal head of security and was instrumental in her protection as she fled the Trade Federation’s blockade over Naboo. He also aided in the Queen’s efforts to reclaim her world by the movie’s end. Additionally, Panaka had long pushed for greater security measures, including the use of trained handmaids for the Queen who could also serve as decoys in the event of great danger. Although Panaka’s nephew Typho took over as Padmé’s head of security once she became Naboo’s senator, Panaka’s story didn’t end with Star Wars’ first prequel movie.
Following The Phantom Menace, Panaka would continue pushing for Naboo to employ greater security measures in the wake of the Trade Federation’s occupation. As revealed in 2017’s Leia, Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray, Panaka agreed to serve Emperor Palpatine as the Imperial Moff of Naboo and the surrounding Chommell sector. Retaining his loyalty to the former Nubian senator, Panaka truly believed that Naboo would finally be better protected with the planet’s elected royalty becoming nothing more than simple figureheads as he gained complete control over the world.
Surprisingly, Moff Panaka had a significant encounter with young Princess Leia in the years before A New Hope. Engaged in humanitarian work and attempting to secure additional protections for miners in the Chommell sector, Panaka agreed to a meeting with Naboo’s Queen Dalné and Leia, though he was struck by Organa who arrived wearing a traditional Nubian dress, the very same once worn by Padmé years prior. Diverting the conversation to Leia’s background and adoption by Bail Organa and his wife, Panaka came to believe that Leia was the secret daughter of Padmé Amidala, a suspicion he fully intended to share with Emperor Palpatine.
Had Panaka been able to share this critical truth about Leia with Palpatine, the galaxy would have likely been irrevocably changed and doomed for the worse. After all, Palpatine would certainly have wanted Leia and her power in the Force as the daughter of his Sith apprentice Darth Vader, just as he wanted Luke when the truth was revealed in the aftermath of A New Hope. However, Moff Panaka was killed before he could meet with the Emperor due to a bomb set by Saw Gerrera and his Partisans, thus painting Princess Leia’s secret.
It was also revealed that Leia’s adoptive parents had hoped to one day convince Panaka to join their cause. He was the only one in Palpatine’s inner circle they felt they had a chance of recruiting to their cause, though Panaka’s loyalty would likely have made this a very risky bid for the early Rebellion. In any event, the fact that Panaka nearly doomed the Star Wars galaxy following The Phantom Menace is a truly fascinating piece of galactic history.