Ars Dangor found it uncomfortable to look Ysanne Isard, the Director of Intelligence, directly in the eyes. One of her eyes was an icy blue, the other, a volcanic red. He had always prided himself on his reputation for ruthlessness, but this woman truly gave him pause. He suspected that she could just as easily get rid of him as help him gain the throne. Still, it clearly suited her plans right now to have Dangor take command. He wondered how long that would last. Perhaps she even wanted the throne for herself. Dangor knew that the Emperor’s inner circle would be against letting a woman rule over them. They were too much like the Emperor himself with all his prejudices. Thus, Ysanne “Iceheart” Isard would find it difficult to overcome their resistance. The straightforward conclusion to draw from this was that Isard was going to help put Dangor on the throne, and then try use him as her puppet. Well, she would find that it wasn’t that simple. Palpatine had seemed like a puppet to the men who gave him power, but they quickly learned the true nature of the man to whom they had given control. Isard would have to learn the same lesson about Dangor.
“Everything is ready,” said Isard. “They are assembled in the Hall of Address waiting for you. If you use the information I have given you about our departed Emperor, everything should be fine. Just make sure that you deal with Sate Pestage as I told you to. We can’t have any rivals confusing the issue at this point.”
“Must he really die?” Dangor asked. “I have served with him for a long time. Perhaps he could serve me now. It would be a pity to-“
“He has to die. Otherwise, there will be no end to the trouble he’ll cause for us. He has already sealed the Emperor’s archives, just to thwart you. Don’t let foolish sentiment interfere with necessity.”
“I understand the difference,” said Dangor tersely.
“Good. I want this to go smoothly. All right. It’s time to go and claim your rightful throne, Chief Advisor Dangor.”
“I’m ready…Director Isard.”
As she walked with the guard to Dangor’s rooms, Mara’s Jade’s head was spinning. Her headache was terrible, and Dangor’s conception of her was suddenly degrading and humiliating to her, despite all that she had done to contribute to it. She wanted to get out of the Palace, to slip away unnoticed with Kenobi’s lightsaber. For now, she would have to play along with Dangor’s conceited game. It couldn’t be any worse than dancing for the Hutt had been.
The guard let her into Dangor’s chambers, then closed the door, no doubt stationing himself outside. He was a CompForce trooper, fanatically loyal to the New Order. His kind always overdid everything.
Mara stared at the sparse furnishings and austere decor. It was a cheap imitation of Palpatine’s rooms, she realized. Palpatine had tolerated Dangor’s imitation, valuing him for his competence and loyalty, but he had never really thought of the Chief Advisor as being very intelligent. Mara knew that her Master would never have given so much power to anyone with the ability to ever be his rival. She had no doubt that, if he were alive, he would be fairly angry that Dangor even thought he was fit to rule. Mara’s headache worsened, and she groaned a little. She noticed the computer terminal in one corner, and, one hand held to her head, she sat down at it. One thing was for sure, she wasn’t just going to sit in here doing nothing. She would see exactly what the Chief Advisor was up to.
Mara accessed the Palace security cameras, using the access codes taught to her by Palpatine. She scanned through several dozen scenes before one arrested her gaze, a huge hall full of people. It was the central Hall of Address, where Ars Dangor traditionally delivered speeches on behalf of Palpatine to be broadcast to the galaxy over the HoloNet. She recognized the uniforms of the COMPNOR leadership, the militaristic ranks of the Moffs, and the riot of multicultural fashions worn by the hundreds of Imperial advisors. An empty podium faced these rows upon rows of the Empire’s elite. Something major was in store; no doubt she was about to see Dangor’s bid for power.
The crowd continued to murmur with anxiety. She could pick out several discussions focused on the rumors of the Emperor’s death. Then a hush fell over the assembly. Dangor entered, his resemblance to Palpatine rather eerie under the circumstances. He seemed to be using it to his full advantage; he moved like Palpatine and kept his hood over his face. When he reached the podium, he waited for total silence. He pulled back his hood, and his gaze touched each of the major groups present. When he spoke, it was with the practiced, ringing tones he had perfected in countless addresses in this hall.