The Galactic Emperor was accompanied aboard the second Death Star by a group of high-ranking dignitaries and grandees. The film itself portrays a group of five advisors, all of whom are identified as dark side adepts by the
Dark Side Sourcebook.
The Essential Chronology adds that some of the Imperial grand admirals accompanied him aboard, and that some actually perished thereat; "Who's Who: Imperial Grand Admirals" names GADM Miltin Takel and GADM Nial Declann -- himself a dark side adept -- as being aboard, but mentions only GADM Declann as having died. The novelization further adds the following description of the courtiers:
The main corridor was filled with courtiers, all awaiting an audience with the Emperor. Vader curled his lip at them -- fools, all. Pompous toadys in their velvet robes and painted faces; perfumed bishops passing notes and passing judgments among themselves -- for who else cared; oily favor-merchants, bent low from the weight of jewelry still warm from a previous owner's dying flesh; easy, violent men and women, lusting to be tampered with.
Vader had no patience for such petty filth. He passed them without a nod, though many of them would have paid dearly for a felicitous glance from the high Dark Lord.
The Decipher customizable card game identifies two of the advisors as
Janus Greejatus, a member of the "Imperial council," and
Sim Aloo, senior political advisor to the Galactic Emperor and "Imperial council member"; in the "class photo" posted on the
Official Site, Aloo is furthest to the right, with an unidentified gentleman visible above his right shoulder; standing to that man's right is Greejatus. Both men were identified as being Force-sensitive, although presumably to a relatively low degree, especially with reference to the levels attained by the Galactic Emperor and Lord Vader.
Unfortunately, this may cause a problem, as the image of the character identified here and
elsewhere as Janus Greejatus was used in the
Death Star Technical Companion with the generic caption "Imperial Advisor"; considering that Lord Vader is similarly captioned "Imperial Emissary," and Ars Dangor is the only Imperial advisor to appear in the book, it seems clear that the image is in fact of Dangor. Dangor is a particularly important character in Imperial history; he began his career as an aide to Senator Palpatine, and continued to serve as one of his most powerful and influential advisors well into the Imperial Era, rivaled only perhaps by the Grand Vizier. Indeed, he appears to have become Lord Chamberlain of the Household, delivered all public addresses on the Galactic Emperor's behalf, and appears to have been
de facto regent of the Galactic Empire around the time of the Battle of Yavin. Dangor remained a major player in Imperial politics even after the Battle of Endor, organizing and leading the Emperor's Ruling Circle, the opposition coalition which drove the Grand Vizier from power and later assumed control of the Empire proper after Director of Imperial Intelligence Ysanne Isard allowed Imperial Center to fall into rebel hands. Dangor was still a leading figure as late as GEN Balan's recapture of Imperial Center in the
Dark Empire Sourcebook, shortly after GADM Thrawn's death.
The gentleman wearing what appears to be a tricorner beneath Greejatus/Dangor and immediately to Aloo's right is
Kren Blista-Vanee. The gentleman to Greejatus's/Dangor's left, above Blista-Vanee, and the gentleman at the far left are both unidentified.
Mme Nu's suggestion notwithstanding, none of the gentlemen depicted in the "class photo" is
Grand Vizier Sate Pestage, the Galactic Emperor's closest and most powerful advisor, who rose from his beginnings as an aide to Senator Palpatine and became not only HIM Privy Secretary, Master of the Household, and Lord Privy Seal, but also ruled the Empire as
de facto regent since the time of
The Empire Strikes Back; indeed, after the Battle of Endor, the Grand Vizier was Galactic Emperor in all but name. He eventually left this position to find Jeng Droga, the Emperor's Hand, and left a clone in his own place; it was this clone that was deposed and murdered by the Emperor's Ruling Circle and Director Isard. The Grand Vizier himself continued to serve the Galactic Emperor as his personal lieutenant and first deputy in all things as late as the
Dark Empire Sourcebook.
It is worthy of mention that the Grand Vizier was originally to appear in
The Empire Strikes Back to act as an intermediary between Lord Vader and the Galactic Emperor, speaking on the latter's behalf. His part appears in even very late scripts for the film before being removed, apparently without having been filmed or casted.
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