Purple emperor guys

Sean Howard · Post by **Sean Howard** » 2004-09-29 11:42am

Who are those 2 guys with the emperor in ROTJ?

I always thought they were other evil force user people, but now I am told that only the Emperor and Vader are. Their faces kind of look as though they're going to wind up like the Emperor at some point.

Chardok · Post by **Chardok** » 2004-09-29 11:47am

They are....um....royal elite guards. Purple? Or red?

Old Plympto · Post by **Old Plympto** » 2004-09-29 11:48am

The Imperial Advisors? One of them is Sate Pestage, other dudes according to EU lore is Kren Blista-Vanee, or Ars Dangor.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2004-09-29 11:49am

The novel marks them as advisors.

Sean Howard · Post by **Sean Howard** » 2004-09-29 11:50am

Chardok wrote:They are....um....royal elite guards. Purple? Or red?

No, not the red guys. They are purple with sunken in faces. They're like Emperor groupies or advisors or something. You only see them briefly in 2 scenes. The first time is when the Emp is getting off his shuttle, at the end of him and Vader walking it pans out and you see them trailing behind. The second time is at the end of the first scene in the Emperor's tower on DS2. They kind of bow at him and it cuts away.

Sean Howard · Post by **Sean Howard** » 2004-09-29 11:51am

Old Plympto wrote:The Imperial Advisors? One of them is Sate Pestage, other dudes according to EU lore is Kren Blista-Vanee, or Ars Dangor.

So are they like aspiring Sith? Or just normal advisors?

Iceberg · Post by **Iceberg** » 2004-09-29 11:54am

Sycophantic nobles. Any Empire is full of them.

Old Plympto · Post by **Old Plympto** » 2004-09-29 12:00pm

Sean Howard wrote:So are they like aspiring Sith? Or just normal advisors?

No records of them being Sith in my search, just regular humans. Maybe someone else on the boards knows more?

neoolong · Post by **neoolong** » 2004-09-29 12:16pm

Don't the action figures say they're dignitaries?

JME2 · Post by **JME2** » 2004-09-29 01:49pm

Old Plympto wrote:The Imperial Advisors? One of them is Sate Pestage, other dudes according to EU lore is Kren Blista-Vanee, or Ars Dangor.

The issue there is that Pestage had to have gotten off DSII after the Rebels landed on Endor (since they didn't appear again after the briefing with Palpatine) but before the station exploded -- since he played a major role during the X-Wing novels as the one who took control of the Empire before Isard screwed him over and took over.

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2004-09-29 02:14pm

Ask Publius. he probably knows

vakundok · Post by **vakundok** » 2004-09-29 02:26pm

Try this

Lord Pounder · Post by **Lord Pounder** » 2004-09-29 02:28pm

JME2 wrote:The issue there is that Pestage had to have gotten off DSII after the Rebels landed on Endor (since they didn't appear again after the briefing with Palpatine) but before the station exploded -- since he played a major role during the X-Wing novels as the one who took control of the Empire before Isard screwed him over and took over.

Hardly a major role, he wasn't even in the books, just mentioned in one or two of them.

JME2 · Post by **JME2** » 2004-09-29 03:07pm

Lord Pounder wrote:
JME2 wrote:The issue there is that Pestage had to have gotten off DSII after the Rebels landed on Endor (since they didn't appear again after the briefing with Palpatine) but before the station exploded -- since he played a major role during the X-Wing novels as the one who took control of the Empire before Isard screwed him over and took over.
Hardly a major role, he wasn't even in the books, just mentioned in one or two of them.

Heh, my bad. So much information, so little ability to recall everything in great detail all at once.

Darksider · Post by **Darksider** » 2004-09-29 03:09pm

He was a major plot point in the last couple of comics.

Rogue squadron's last mission before being re-formed in the books was to bail Sate's hide out of one of Admiral Krennel's prisions.
The mission failed utterly, a couple of Rogues died, and Pestage was killed by Krennel.

Why the hell the NR sent it's best and bravest after scum like him, i'll never know

JME2 · Post by **JME2** » 2004-09-29 03:16pm

Darksider wrote:He was a major plot point in the last couple of comics.

Rogue squadron's last mission before being re-formed in the books was to bail Sate's hide out of one of Admiral Krennel's prisions.
The mission failed utterly, a couple of Rogues died, and Pestage was killed by Krennel.

Why the hell the NR sent it's best and bravest after scum like him, i'll never know

Pestage had been in negotiations with Leia and the NR. In exchange for 25 planets to rule as he saw fit, he was prepared to leave Coruscant defenseless for an attack, allowing the NR to capture the galactic center of power.

Isard, of course, found out and a bounty was put on his head by Isard's pawns, the Ruling Circle. The NR went after him because their logic was, although the talks were off, if the NR rescued Pestage, it would serve as an example to other high-ranking Imperials and encourage more defections from the Imperial government.

Crazedwraith · Post by **Crazedwraith** » 2004-09-29 05:05pm

JME2 wrote:
Old Plympto wrote:The Imperial Advisors? One of them is Sate Pestage, other dudes according to EU lore is Kren Blista-Vanee, or Ars Dangor.
The issue there is that Pestage had to have gotten off DSII after the Rebels landed on Endor (since they didn't appear again after the briefing with Palpatine) but before the station exploded -- since he played a major role during the X-Wing novels as the one who took control of the Empire before Isard screwed him over and took over.

Before the X-Wing novels, Pestage doesn't feature at all in them, perhaps you meant the graphic novels?

JME2 · Post by **JME2** » 2004-09-29 05:14pm

Crazedwraith wrote:
JME2 wrote:
Old Plympto wrote:The Imperial Advisors? One of them is Sate Pestage, other dudes according to EU lore is Kren Blista-Vanee, or Ars Dangor.
The issue there is that Pestage had to have gotten off DSII after the Rebels landed on Endor (since they didn't appear again after the briefing with Palpatine) but before the station exploded -- since he played a major role during the X-Wing novels as the one who took control of the Empire before Isard screwed him over and took over.
Before the X-Wing novels, Pestage doesn't feature at all in them, perhaps you meant the graphic novels?

Yes, you were correct. Once again, my bad; my information came from the text of the Essential Chronology 1.0.

Illuminatus Primus · Post by **Illuminatus Primus** » 2004-09-29 06:48pm

vakundok wrote:Try this

I am afraid Jocasta Nu is in error: those men were aboard the Death Star II, and Grand Vizier Sate Pestage and Emperor's Representative Ars Dangor were both on Coruscant at the time. Sate Pestage has been identified with other illustrations both before and after that Ask JC remark.

Anyway, those individuals are Imperial Advisors and Dark Side Adepts.

Many Dark Side Adepts are Imperial Advisors, but not all Imperial Advisors are Dark Side Adepts and not all Dark Side Adepts are Imperial Advisors.

The Imperial Sourcebook, Chapter One (A Primer on Imperial Power), on the Imperial Advisors:

Servants of the Emperor

Advisors

The Emperor acknowledges that he alone cannot run the galaxy. He needs advisors. Secure in the knowledge that an Empire founded through treachery cannot be run through trust, he has surrounded himself with advisors who owe all of their political gains to the Emperor. He has made sure that each advisor has more enemies than allies among the other advisors. Fear and greed serve to bind each advisor to the Emperor. Palpatine finds this arrangement more satisfying than mere loyalty, an emotion on which he will depend only in the case of lower subordinates.

While there are hundreds of advisors, the Emperor rarely travels or consults with more than a few dozen at a time. He sends the others on missions to gather information or spread disinformation through appropriate channels. These missions serve a dual purpose; they provide the Emperor with useful information. They also keep the advisors isolated from each other, a condition which assures their continued dependence on the Emperor.

Advisors perform many administrative functions for the Emperor. They usually appoint the planetary governors, as well as some of the Moffs, and oversee the political machinery of the Empire. To ensure that no advisor builds too large an enclave of political power, the Emperor has devised a system of adversarial administration for advisors.

An advisor is granted oversight of the administration of systems which are strongholds for one of his rivals. This makes possible deals between advisors more difficult by ensuring that no powerful rivals have oversight of each other’s systems. Advisors with weaker political bases are granted a greater degree of oversight than are strong advisors. This system of checks and balances virtually guarantees the Emperor’s hold on political power within the Empire, but the administration of the myriad worlds is not as efficient as it was during the better days of the Old Republic. This inefficiency is of no concern to the Emperor.

Advisors have taken to dressing in costumes derived from the histories of their home systems, drawn from the greatest empires of their pasts. Unlike the Emperor, many of the advisors wear lavish costumes as conspicuous badges of their status. Palpatine subtly encourages this form of rivalry, giving his advisors a sense of individuality and power which make them aware of their differences from the other advisors.

These displays are muted when in the Emperor’s presence.

And The Dark Side Sourcebook, Chapter Four (the Force), on Dark Side Adepts:

Dark Side Adepts

At the height of the New Order, long before the Rebellion gained its first victories, Palpatine would vacation on Byss and entertain his circle of intimates. Beings of great intelligence, they had proven their loyalty to their master. Guests at the palace were soon indoctrinated into the ways of the Dark Side.

Unlike many of the Emperor's other servants, a number of these were aliens. Most of these individuals had already mastered the unique sorceries of their own species, and the Emperor has brought them to Byss as much to study their knowledge as to train them in his.

While none of them were permitted to advance far compared to Palpatine's own level of power, they did become quite powerful indeed. Some were taught ways of combat and made into Dark Jedi. Others joined the elite of Imperial functionaries, traversing the galaxy and seeing to the proper enforcement of Palpatine's decrees. Still others were courtiers at the Palace in the new capital on Byss.

Whatever they do, they enact the Emperor's will and policies with his total trust and confidence because their link to him through the Force allows him to always observe them. Before the Emperor's defeat, many had been gathered into the Imperial Ruling Council. It had been planned that eventually these adepts would replace the system of Moffs, Grand Moffs and governors, instituting a Dark Side Theocracy.

With his adepts securely in power, they were to participate in experiments on the "Science of Darkness," feeding on and draining the life essence of the citizenry.

The Imperial Advisors are responsible for most of the day-to-day decisions of the Empire - a notable example is Ars Dangor responded to communiques addressed to Palpatine, and signed "Ars Dangor, for the Emperor"; it was he who appointed Moff Tarkin to Grand Moff of the Oversector Outer. The core of them formed the Imperial Ruling Council that would administer the Empire after Palpatine's death. They turned on the most powerful of their number, Grand Vizier Sate Pestage. Madame Director of Imperial Intelligence Ysanne Isard exploited this rivalry to liquidate both the Ruling Council and Pestage and sieze power. After her self-imposed exile to Thyferra, the Ruling Council reorganized and continued to rule (with the Moffs exercising more power than previously) until Grand Admiral Thrawn returned from the Unknown Regions and was officially designated supreme commander of Imperial forces.

Praxis · Post by **Praxis** » 2004-09-29 07:01pm

vakundok wrote:Try this

Wow. That picture makes Sate Pestage look like a Conehead.

JME2 · Post by **JME2** » 2004-09-29 07:22pm

Praxis wrote:
vakundok wrote:Try this
Wow. That picture makes Sate Pestage look like a Conehead.

Or, as I saw it...

...Nobody expects the Imperial Inquisition!

Publius · Post by **Publius** » 2004-09-30 01:07am

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.

PUBLIUS

Old Plympto · Post by **Old Plympto** » 2004-09-30 08:01pm

Even though I'm not the original poster, Publius! THANKS. You are THE man.

Mange · Post by **Mange** » 2004-10-01 03:34am

IP, no offense, but that WEG crap goes against established canon. I doubt that the Emperor trained any "Dark Jedi".

Stofsk · Post by **Stofsk** » 2004-10-01 04:43am

Mange the Swede wrote:IP, no offense, but that WEG crap goes against established canon. I doubt that the Emperor trained any "Dark Jedi".

What are you talking about "going against established canon"? I see no contradiction.