IN THE IMPERIAL POLYPTYCH TABLEAU you will see the empire’s hand illuminate the minds of iconoclasts with noble lightblade, abridge vespers in heretical temples, its reach is dependable. not every eye, though, will be as discerning as his optical lenses; a faint pentimento emerges. their work. guerilla information warfare: that which herds glories for the empire. & today it yields a prime selection of persons clutched tightly to the emperor & their personal correspondence with one another. an addendum of recorded in-person meetings & their contents follows in shorthand.
❝ impressive work. ❞ he means it. without sentiment.
❝ that’s the first thing i learned working for you- to listen unseen & to watch unheard. ❞ she could see the advantage in it, of course. no one could discount its wisdom. but with his power, with what palpatine promised him, it’s a handicap. the force, plied in its full capacity, would render their operation meaningless. until then, he won’t find a sharper edge from which to observe the empire in the uncensored scope it merits.
❝ i would encourage you to learn as much from them as you do from me. ❞ he knows she will because she has to. absent ambitions, insofar as she hasn’t asked about higher appointments. to her sense of self-preservation, wisely. he considers that in itself an ambition, one that doesn’t provoke his paranoia, that is.
