The three-day negotiations had felt to Krul-Vandron as though he were being sliced by a dull knife, over and over, for three full days.
Hari Seldon had trampled all over his bottom line without restraint.
In fact, Krul-Vandron understood as well that the Galactic Empire's bottom line was ensuring that the current regime did not collapse. Because once Sate Pestage's government fell, they would no longer have any value and could only face the most miserable of endings.
At the same time, although someone like Krul-Vandron held no military power and could be toyed with at will by people like Isanne Isard, he still possessed enough political insight to see what the consequences would be if Sate Pestage's government collapsed.
Because Isanne Isard had absolutely no legitimate claim to power. All she had was military authority and the support of the Church of the Dark Side. If she stepped into the spotlight and seized power, she would be setting a classic example for the countless warlords across the Milky Way Galaxy—if I have a fleet, I can establish my own rule.
Once it came to that, what would Dunn Vesex in the Northern Territory think? What would Piett, who temporarily controlled several thousand Star Destroyers on D'ron Planet, think? And what would the Legion Governors whose strength still remained think?
Once that last fig leaf was torn away, the Galactic Empire would truly become a cake for those warlords to carve up.
As someone who had emerged from the Imperial New Order Maintenance Committee, Krul-Vandron was at least deeply loyal to the very concept of the Galactic Empire. He was absolutely not an ambition-driven creature without limits like Isanne Isard. Of course, he embezzled and was corrupt, but all of it had been within the framework of the Galactic Empire.