Ferric Obdur Ferric Obdur was a human male officer who served the Galactic Empire . Originally a member of the Grand Army of the Galactic Republic , Obdur was placed in charge of the official media output during the transition into the Empire . By the late Galactic Civil War , he had been named Grand Admiral Rae Sloane ' s chief informational officer by Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax , the " de facto " leader of the fragmented Empire . In this role , he was later appointed to Rax ' s Shadow Council . During this time , Obdur was served by a female assistant . After Rax seized power as Counselor to the Empire , Obdur accompanied the rest of the Shadow Council and Rax ' s Imperial forces to the Inner Rim world of Jakku . As the months dragged on , Rax found little use for Obdur ' s work as a propagandist . Obdur was assassinated under Rax ' s orders prior to the Battle of Jakku . Biography . Propagandist . During the Clone Wars , Ferric Obdur was a young officer in the Grand Army of the Republic . He was involved in propaganda work and helped facilitate the transition of the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire . Due to his skill as a propagandist , Obdur found himself appointed as Grand Admiral Rae Sloane ' s chief informational officer a year after the Battle of Endor . Sloane commanded the largest Imperial remnant which was based in the Vulpinus Nebula . The remnants of the Empire were locked in a war of attrition against the New Republic , the successor to the Alliance to Restore the Republic , which had gained control of large areas of the galaxy . As Grand Admiral Sloane ' s chief informational officer , Obdur headed the Office of Imperial Promotion , Galactic Truth , and Fact Correction ( OIP ) , a remnant of the former Commission for the Preservation of the New Order . Obdur was based aboard Sloane ' s flagship , the Super Star Destroyer " Ravager " . Obdur ' s work included producing propaganda posters attacking the New Republic and managing Sloane ' s propaganda broadcasts . Obdur ' s posters depicted the New Republic as criminals who murdered Imperial cadet s and consorted with criminal elements including the Hutt s . Grand Admiral Sloane disagreed with Obdur ' s exaggerated propaganda and urged him to rely on facts . Obdur was unapologetic and insisted that facts were flexible . He added that images and graphics could be used to lead viewers to the truth even if they did not precisely portray them . Obdur then laid his hand on her foream but Sloane moved away and grabbed his wrist . She then reasserted her authority and warned him that she was not a " girlish assistant " that he could toy with . Obdur apologized for his indiscretion and asked Sloane if he had her permission to publish those images . Sloane reluctantly approved Obdur ' s " distorted " posters . Shadow Council . Due to his skills as a propagandist , Ferric Obdur was invited by Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax to join his newly - created Shadow Council , a secret high council that sought to restore the Galactic Empire . Rax was the former commander of the " Ravager " and the true leader of the Imperial forces in the Vulpinus Nebula ; with Sloane serving as his figurehead . During the Shadow Council ' s inaugural dinner , Obdur and Sloane fraternized with the other Council members : the former Commandant Brendol Hux , Grand Moff Randd , and General Hodnar Borrum . When Grand Moff Randd remarked that the Empire pick itself up and fight back , Obdur gestured with his cutlery and responded that they would show the rest of the galaxy how it would be done and why they were still needed . Turning to Sloane , Obdur asked her to tell a rousing childhood story . When Hux interrupted her , Sloane retaliated by embarrassing the former Commandant about his illegitimate son Armitage Hux . Later , Obdur urged his fellow delegates to propagate the narrative of the Empire being the wounded loyal hound that had been brutalized and kicked out by its deadbeat father . Obdur ' s words pleased Fleet Admiral Rax , who joined the dinner . He informed Obdur and the others that he had convened the Shadow Council to ensure the survival of the Empire . During the meeting , Rax revealed that he secretly commanded other Imperial forces in the Almagest , the Recluse ' s Nebula , the Queluhan Nebula , the Ro - Loo Triangle , and the Inamorata . Rax also announced his plans to use the Outer Rim worlds of Zhadalene , Korrus , and Belladoon to produce weapons , starships , and vehicles for a renewed Imperial offensive against the New Republic . Following the attack on Chandrila , Obdur and his fellow Shadow Council members attended a meeting with Fleet Admiral Rax , who informed them of the " loss " of Grand Admiral Sloane . Obdur claimed that Sloane had been captured by the New Republic on Chandrila and that every effort would be made to recover her . Obdur listened as Rax proclaimed himself Counselor to the Empire and ordered the Imperial remnant fleets to marshal for a showdown with the New Republic above the desert planet of Jakku in the Western Reaches . Obdur and his fellow Council members were unaware that Rax was secretly planning to eliminate them with the exception of Hux , whom he viewed as necessary to revitalizing the Empire . The Contingency . Following the Attack on Chandrila , Obdur and the Imperial remnants traveled to the desert planet of Jakku in the Western Reaches under the orders of the self - proclaimed Counselor to the Empire Rax , who had taken charge in the absence of Sloane . In the months after their arrival on Jakku , Obdur and his fellow Shadow Council members attended a meeting at the Imperial headquarters on Jakku . During the meeting , Obdur tried to raise the matter of propaganda but was shushed by Rax . Rax regarded Obdur as irrelevant since the late Emperor ' s posthumous Contingency called for the destruction of the entire Empire . As part of the Contingency , Rax ordered Hux ' s new child soldiers , who were recruited from local children on Jakku , to assassinate the propagandist . Obdur was killed in his bed aboard the Super Star Destroyer " Ravager " . During the Battle of Jakku , Rax claimed that Obdur was ill in order to cover up his death . Personality and traits . Ferric Obdur was a human male who was older than Grand Admiral Rae Sloane . By the aftermath of the Battle of Endor , he had silver hair on his cheeks , jowls , and chin . He was a skilled propagandist who worked for both the Galactic Republic and the Galactic Empire . Obdur had a habit of constantly smiling and also thought that he knew more than his colleagues . Obdur was known to have a beautiful female assistant who had pale skin and dark veins . As a propagandist , Obdur was not above distorting facts to suit the interests and agenda of his masters . He thought that images and graphics could be used to lead viewers to the " truth " even if they did not precisely portray the facts . Obdur apparently fancied Grand Admiral Sloane and once touched her under the pretext of comforting her . However , Sloane did not take kindly to his indiscretion and warned him that he would lose his arm if he dared to touch her again . Sloane despised Obdur as an opportunistic sycophant who dabbled in lies and falsehoods . Despite disliking his methods , Sloane still regarded Obdur as one of her favorite Imperial colleagues . Obdur ' s skills as a propagandist won him the praise of Fleet Admiral Rax , who liked Obdur ' s cunning manipulation of the facts to create a pro - Imperial narrative . Obdur ' s talents secured him a place at Rax ' s vaunted Shadow Council , which the latter intended to use to " thin the herd . " After Obdur had outlived his usefulness as a propagandist , Rax arranged for his assassination . This was part of the Emperor ' s posthumous Contingency plan to weed out the weak and bring a small elect of worthy Imperials into the Unknown Regions to rebuild the Empire anew . Behind the scenes . Ferric Obdur first appeared as a secondary character in Chuck Wendig ' s 2016 novel " " and its 2017 sequel " " , which is set a year after the events of " " .