Thrawn's Counterattack (Part 2)
However, just as Sate Pestage was consumed by rage, a cool, grim female voice spoke. "Do as he says."
Sate Pestage spun around, nearly blurting out an order to send the speaker to the gallows. But when he saw who it was, he immediately wilted.
The speaker was Isanne Isard, Director of Imperial Intelligence Bureau.
She stood in the shadows, her silver-gray uniform immaculate, staring coldly at Sate Pestage. What she had said was merely an imperative sentence, without any embellishment or hesitation, yet it was more chilling than any command.
Just like the message Thrawn had sent earlier—she could not even be bothered to add a question mark.
Sate Pestage lowered his head. He swiftly understood his place—after Palpatine's death, in the Empire's power structure, he was nothing more than a chess piece shoved around by every faction. Isanne Isard, meanwhile, was a true power holder who could grasp the lifeblood of the entire Core Worlds!
In other words, if Isanne Isard happened to be in a bad mood one day, he, the Emperor, could die within an hour and be saddled with the charge of treason afterward.
His Adam's apple bobbed as he said in a dry voice, "I... I understand. Do as Thrawn says immediately! Shut down the planet's Planetary Shield!"
Isanne Isard nodded and turned to leave.
In the shadows on the other side, a figure entirely shrouded in black robes watched him with a cold, sinister gaze. That gaze made Sate Pestage even more nervous.
Because he knew who that person was—Dark Prophet Kadan!
Sate Pestage knew of this man, and he also knew that Dark Prophet Kadan and Palpatine had, at most, been allies.
Palpatine and Kadan had never shared a master-servant relationship, and Kadan had never truly pledged loyalty