Now Mara Jade began to despair. She felt awful. Palpatine was dead, and now she had lost the Force, too. Had her abilities all depended on his being alive, somehow? She felt violated, robbed. The Emperor’s greatest gift to her had been torn from her. Without the Force, how could she ever hope to defeat, let alone find, a Jedi? She brooded for a long time, and finally decided that she would indeed leave Coruscant. Perhaps that would stop her nightmares of the Emperor’s death. She would take one thing with her that the Emperor had owned. In his chambers was the lightsaber that had belonged to Skywalker’s mentor, Kenobi. She would go claim it and make her way to the starport. With that weapon, Skywalker’s death would be that much more satisfying.
Sate Pestage was just finishing instructing a team of ISB agents to track down Mara Jade and bring her to him, when he received a summons and a notification from Ars Dangor that the advisors, the Moffs, and COMPNOR’s select committee would be assembled within two hours. Pestage knew it was necessary to organize their response to the fiasco at Endor, but he would just as soon not be directly involved. Evidently, Ars Dangor felt differently. If Dangor was going to announce his candidacy for leadership, he would want Sate Pestage’s vote of approval in front of the other advisors.
Well, he wasn’t going to get it. The Empire could survive without an emperor until the true Emperor was restored. Pestage would attend as required of him, but he was anxious to get back to the task of locating Mara Jade. He chose his most somber looking garment, one with only a few jewels along the hem, and began to get ready. Hopefully, the ISB agents would be successful while he was occupied.
Mara Jade fumed as she waited in Ars Dangor’s office, under guard by a CompForce soldier. She had left the hospital, finally, but before she could reach Palpatine’s suite, she had been cornered by this oafish trooper. “Excuse me,” he had said, halting her and consulting a datapad. “You are Mara Jade, is that correct?”
She had seen no point in denying it. “Yes, what is it?” she had snapped.
“I have orders to escort you to the office of Chief Imperial Advisor Dangor for a private meeting. If you would please come with me?”
She had complied, not wanting to make a scene, and ended up here, sitting in Dangor’s office for the past hour. She turned once more to the guard, who was without doubt a poor conversationalist. “What is this all about?” she asked for the fourth time. “Where is the Chief Advisor?”
“I’ve told you, I don’t have that information. The Chief Advisor will be here to see you shortly.” He stared at the far wall, saying nothing else. Mara tried to bore a hole in his head with her eyes, but instead, she felt as if she had a hole in her head; her headache had not relented, but she had grown somewhat used to it. A few minutes later, Dangor arrived, wearing that black robe similar to Palpatine’s. She regarded him with respect but not awe.
“Mara Jade, my dear, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, but this is a very busy day. Thank you guard, you may leave.” Once the guard was gone, Dangor motioned for her to take a more comfortable seat on a small couch.
“What’s this all about?” she asked, sitting.
“All right then, we’ll get directly to the point.” Dangor stood in front of her. “I’m going to tell you something that only a few hundred people know at this moment. The news will reach the whole planet within another day, but hopefully we’ll be ready for that. You see, our great Emperor has fallen. He is dead in battle with the Rebel Alliance. Someone needs to take his place, and I feel that person should be me-” Dangor looked at her in concern. “Are you unwell?”
Mara had been reacting with convincing surprise at the news of Palpatine’s death, but when Dangor had mentioned his being the new Emperor, her headache had intensified severely. She had grimaced and put her hands to her temples. “Yes, I’m all right, just a headache I’ve been having. Really. Please, go on…so, my Lord is dead?” Mara fought back the pain and put on a solemn expression.
“Yes, well,” continued Dangor, “the Emperor would certainly want his throne to pass to one he trusted as much as myself, who was so much like him, and who he had groomed for power for so many years. If I am chosen, and the throne becomes mine, I want you to know that you will not have to leave. I know how you served Palpatine, and I would like to retain you in that capacity.”
Mara looked at him in surprise. How did he know about the Emperor’s Hand?
“You are quite a prize,” Dangor went on. “Very lovely indeed. I can see why Palpatine enjoyed you so much, and indeed, I have admired your beauty for a long time. With great power comes great loneliness, and someone like you would be wonderful for helping me to avoid that.” Mara was at a loss for words. Her mouth opened, then closed, her eyes wide. “You don’t need to decide at this moment, my dear,” Dangor said, “but you would be wise to say yes. Hard times are on the horizon, and I can give you protection and wealth. Think about it. I shall see you in a few hours. Until then, Mara Jade.” Dangor gave a little bow, smiling, then called for a guard. “Please escort this woman to my quarters and keep her there to await my return. Mara Jade, I have business to attend to, but I look forward to the pleasure of your company.” With that, the would-be Emperor strode purposefully from the room. Mara was relieved to see him go. If he had stayed, she might have thought about killing him.