Sate Pestage

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**Sate Pestage** was a longtime ally, advisor, and a right-hand man to Palpatine, and one of few who had truly known who he was. Sate had served Palpatine from his earliest political days as a Senator on Naboo to his ascension to the Galactic Emperor, Pestage rose to power along with him, becoming a advisor to Palpatine while he was Supreme Chancellor, and then as a high ranking official of the Galactic Empire. During the era of the Galactic Republic, Sate Pestage did much of the Galactic Emperor's covert work, from acts like espionage to murder. As a member of the Ruling Council in the Galactic Empire, he held influential power over the day-to-day actions of the Empire. Sate also served as an assistant to Palpatine, managing his schedule, screening his calls, and overseeing his personal affairs. In the time of the Clone Wars, Sate had joined others within Palpatine's circle to oversee the return of Poggle the Lesser to Geonosis alongside other emissaries.

## Biography

### Early Life

**Sate Pestage** was born on the Outer Rim world Ciutric, and eventually he moved to the Galactic Republic's capital world of Coruscant, a world that he would call his home and whose "all nooks and crannies" he claimed to know. The obscurity of Sate Pestage's origins, as well as his closeness to Palpatine, fueled rumors in the late Imperial period that Pestage and the Emperor were related, some saying that Pestage was a clone of Palpatine, produced during his early rise to power, some of the other rumors stated that he was Palpatine's son by some old wedding, who aged naturally while Emperor Palpatine had kept himself rejuvenated. Despite these rumors, it was known that Pestage had a large family of his own, and there was no evidence of any genetic connection between the two men.

### Senatorial Assistant

#### Meeting Senator Palpatine

Sate Pestage and Palpatine first met in a small plaza beside the Parnelli Art Museum on Naboo, when Palpatine was still an Ambassador and a Sith apprentice to Darth Plagueis. It was for the latter Sith-Lord, under his civilian guise, that Sate had worked at the time, carrying out covert and illicit assignments, and he had chosen him to arrange the assassination of the current Senator of Naboo, so that Palpatine could take their place. The power Palpatine had offered Pestage was enough to bring him to the ambassador's side. In spite of this, he was unaware that they were Sith-Lords until Sate had seen the both of them destroying a group of assassins. After the plaza meeting, Sate Pestage had became Palpatine's right-hand man ever since the latter first came to Coruscant as the Senator for Naboo. Pestage first entered into public view some years before the Battle of Naboo, while serving as one of Senator Palpatine's aides, being the one assigned the task of covering up illegal activities the Senator engaged in on his planet. Pestage accompanied Palpatine to events from social affairs to Senatorial Chamber meetings, in the latter of which he sometimes carried messages for Palpatine.

#### Supreme Chancellor Advisor

Shortly before the Battle of Naboo, Sate had joined Palpatine in a meeting with several other Senators at the Coruscant Opera, during which they discussed the shortcomings of Chancellor Finis Valorum. Since Senator Palpatine did not wish his opinions on Chancellor Valorum to be overheard, Sate thoroughly checked the noise-canceling containment field of the box, an act that impressed Passel Argente. Pestage's loyalty and usefulness for Palpatine caused the statesman to keep him on when he was elected Supreme Chancellor. As the Chancellor's personal advisor, Sate had control over who held audience with Palpatine and managed the Senate's executive agenda. Pestage also served as a public spokesman for Palpatine. In this position, Pestage made official statements that ranged from denying allegations of crackdowns by the Republic government on pod podracing to refuting rumors that Palpatine was ill. Aware of Palpatine's double life as a Sith , Pestage carried out the Chancellor's under-the-table dealings. When the Separatist Crisis arose, Sate Pestage arranged several deals with factions of the increasing Separatist Alliance, which in time would escalate into a great war.

After Palpatine's assumption of emergency powers, Sate Pestage was assigned to convince a few reluctant Senators to support the Chancellor. Being adept at persuasion, he was very successful at this. During the Clone Wars, Pestage was present at many meetings of Palpatine's staff. Sate was called in when the Chancellor had called several senior Jedi of the Order into his office to talk about the state of the war in its final weeks. As the manager of the Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's schedule, Pestage also sometimes waylaid Senators from speaking with the Chancellor, claiming ignorance of the appointments they had made through his office. On one of these occasions, Pestage had prevented the Loyalist Committee from keeping their meeting with Palpatine and offered to reschedule them. When Senators confronted Sate on the matter later, Palpatine asked why he had not been told of their presence; Pestage claimed that he did not want to overburden the Chancellor's already full schedule. Pestage made many enemies in this time, including Alderaan Senator and Loyalist Committee member, Bail Organa, who saw Pestage as a thug with no knowledge of legislative processes.

### Official of the Empire

#### The Imperial Ruling Council

In preparation for a Confederate attack, Pestage and fellow advisor Armand Isard helped conduct familiarization drills to get the Chancellor to safety if it became necessary. When the Confederacy of Independent Systems finally attacked the capital planet Coruscant, Sate Pestage attempted to convince Palpatine to move to a fortified bunker, though Supreme Chancellor claimed it would be a show of weakness. When the Republic transitioned into the first Galactic Empire, Sate Pestage remained one of the newly appointed Emperor Palpatine's servants. In reward for his loyalty, Sate Pestage was named a member of the Imperial Ruling Council. From the very beginning of his reign, Palpatine entrusted much of the daily running of the Empire to Pestage and the rest of the Ruling Council, overseeing the many ministries, departments, bureaus, and offices of the Imperial Bureaucracy. This, to some extent, made him a head of the government, or a "prime minister," of the Empire, but he still reported to both the Emperor and Darth Vader. In the coming weeks, he worked with Emperor to establish the Empire, informing Palpatine when officers with anti-Imperial sentiments were caught and killed.

Pestage also had a part in the institution of policies of the Empire's New Order, including the philosophy that led to wide persecution of non-Human species. Some time after this, within months of the Galactic Empire's rise, Sate had ordered a report on the Order 66 for Emperor Palpatine. As part of the report, Sate Pestage attached a list of justifications for the executions that would appear in the official records; some of them accused the Jedi Order of the same war crimes they were struggling to prevent. He would later be responsible for orchestrating several massacres on the part of the Empire, ones that would in turn lead to the creation of the Rebel Alliance. As a member of the Imperial Ruling Council, Pestage's duties, in addition to being apart of the council running the galactic government, included such tasks as preparing and managing Palpatine's schedule, directing his household, and controlling overall access to the Emperor. Pestage was no less than Palpatine's personal assistant, constantly moving about on his master's wishes, finding an obscure file or the carrying out of another errand. He held a position that gave him access to Palpatine's communications and recordings.

As a reward for his loyalty, the Galactic Emperor Palpatine granted Pestage stewardship of a group of wealthy worlds in the Outer Rim Territories of space, which made Pestage extraordinarily rich. A few months after the Battle of Yavin, Sate requested an addendum to an Imperial Security Bureau report on underworld activities. Pestage needed more intel on a mercenary group, as well as profiles and interrogation records on specific elements of the underworld. With the failures of the Dark Trooper project, Pestage informed the Imperial Department of Military Research that Palpatine was reducing funding to battle droid development. He took the opportunity to gloat, reminding the department that he had told them it would never work. As the Emperor Palpatine withdrew from matters of state more and more, focusing on the increasing rebel movement and the discovery of Luke Skywalker, Pestage began to take up more roles that the Emperor left aside. By the time of the Battle of Hoth, Pestage had a part in effectively running the Empire on a day to day basis—though he still worked closely with Palpatine—while the Emperor Palpatine carried out his studies into the Dark Side of the Force.

All the major decisions made by the ministers or advisors had to have been passed by Grand Vizier Mas Amedda, Sate Pestage, or one of Palpatine's other trusted servants. Sate made few public appearances, but Pestage did have a hand in handling messages to the Emperor. Sate often made those who wished to speak to Sheev Palpatine wait, sometimes indefinitely. When the Emperor was busy, it was left to the members of the Ruling Council to communicate the will of the Emperor. Many of the Imperials came to hate Pestage during these conversations. Though completely loyal to Emperor Palpatine, Sate was not absolutely confident that the Emperor would always rule, nor was he certain of his own ability to avoid the purges of high-ranking officials that occurred often in the Empire. Thus, Sate secretly prepared a safehouse to use if Palpatine were to fall from power and he needed a fall-back. Pestage visited Palpatine on the Death Star II shortly before the events of the Battle of Endor. Sate Pestage would be one of many Imperials filling a vacuum of power when the Galactic Emperor Palpatine died during the events of the Battle of Endor, which would leave the Empire weakened.

### Collapse of the Empire

#### Grasping Imperial Authority

As Sate Pestage had been more or less effectively assisting the running of the Galactic Empire, some saw his ascension to the throne as a given. So it was that upon hearing of Palpatine's death at Endor, Sate Pestage chose to take his place as leader of the Imperial state. Becoming one of the contenders for the new Emperor position, Sate used his position as a member of the Ruling Council to further his own position. Sate Pestage's goal in his rule was to provide a continuity of government to keep the Empire from collapsing, but he found that task to be harder than he originally anticipated. After Endor, Sate Pestage managed to secure some assets of the Kuat Drive Yards, and to raise Galactic Empire morale and spirituality, Pestage attempted to reverse Palpatine's ban on religion and, with the help of Lord Cronal, helped establish one faction of a secret state-sanctioned cult of Dark Side worshipers called the Acolytes of the Beyond, one faction that as Cronal called it the Church of the Dark Side. Pestage also changed the stance of the military after Endor; rather than pursue rebels, Sate Pestage put the forces under his control into a defensive role, fortifying systems to prevent attacks.

Sate Pestage was not suited for leading the Empire, though, and when Imperial Director Ysanne Isard had come to offer advice, he took it. Ysanne Isard had her own ambitions toward the throne, though, and had secretly been arranging the downfall of Sate Pestage. Moffs, advisors, generals, and other power-brokers, also sought to remove him, and Ysanne posed as a neutral party between the two factions. But though he attracted enemies, Pestage had also found new allies in this time. Following Palpatine's death, some of the Royal Guard chose to serve Pestage. When Director Ysanne Isard caught Mara Jade after the Battle of Endor, she informed Pestage of her plans to sway Jade to her side and learn if she held any state secrets. Pestage knew no more about the Emperor's Hand than Ysanne did, and so gave his approval to her plan. He was, however, wary that she had taken these steps without informing him first, and chided her for it. As the other Imperials had moved against Sate Pestage, the several Imperial Remnants of the Galactic Empire turned on each other in the coming months following the Battle of Endor in their respective bids for the galactic power over the Empire.

#### Manipulated by Director Isard

Months after Endor, the rebellion, now the New Republic, had begun encroaching on more and more territory and were making a series of victories over Imperial forces. Later that year, Sate's safe house was seized by New Republic forces, and with little escape options, this left him all the more vulnerable to his enemies. Ysanne Isard began making her move against Sate Pestage in the months after the Battle of Endor. Having maneuvered herself into a position as a seemingly neutral intermediary between Pestage and other Imperials, Isard now began to arrange for Pestage's destruction. The New Republic had been scouting the world Brentaal IV, where Imperials had held property and some stake in its wealth. Pestage realized that the New Republic was building up for an attack. Isard proposed to use Brentaal in a same manner that Palpatine had used the Death Star II, inviting an attack so the Empire could lay an ambush for the invaders. Isard proposed to Sate that he make his stand there, and leave the planet defense to a naval Admiral. Though he considered the navy Admiral an idiot, Isard claimed Imperials supported him, and leaving him in place would reflect poorly on them.

As Sate did not want to directly attack the other Imperials, fearing it would break unity, he agreed to her proposal. Isard promised to have an elite fighter wing on hand to defend the planet, so the plan did not backfire on Sate Pestage. New Republic forces soon took the moonbase of Brentaal, though, and Pestage was concerned that he had made a mistake with the Admiral, commenting that he would give an Imperial Super Star Destroyer to the New Republic if they took the Admiral too. Isard assured him that it was all to plan, and that the Imperial Admiral and his supposed supporters would lose further ground when the Republic took the battle to Brentaal itself. This concerned Pestage, but Isard again lauded the skill of the elite fighters, claiming that they would not lose Brentaal. The Republic, however, took the spaceport at a city west to the capital. Pestage grew even more concerned with the Admiral's incompetence, and asked Ysanne Isard to convince the other Imperials to remove him. Ysanne, however, was playing the opposite game with the others, telling Imperials Sate supported the Admiral and that she was unable to convince Pestage to turn away from the planet battle.

Isard's next phase of her plan was to circumvent Pestage's command, issue an evacuation order for Brentaal, and send a fleet to aid in it, which would be as good as admitting the world was lost. Sate Pestage did not learn of this for twelve hours, but when he did, he was furious, and began to realize that she did not have his interests in mind. Ysanne still was able to sway Pestage into supporting the evacuation, and issued an order under Sate's name requisitioning skyhooks to hold the displaced Brentaali. Sate issued an additional order compensating those who would have their skyhooks taken away, not wanting to lose their support too. Though Isard reassured him that she would keep their enemies at bay, Sate was no longer certain of his own safety. He considered for the first time defecting to the New Republic government. The plan of Ysanne Isard went as she had intended; Brentaal IV was lost, and though Sate Pestage made an announcement welcoming the evacuees and assuring them that those who had been responsible for losing the Core World were dealt with, other officials of the remnants had decided Sate Pestage would ultimately lose what little was left of their Empire.

#### Dealings with the New Republic

The situation had eventually escalated further, when other Imperials began openly speaking of abandoning the influence of Sate Pestage influence and joining warlords. Some proposed pooling their resources to remove Sate from the throne, insisting that they act immediately. Pestage overheard the rumblings, but wasn't able to do anything about them. At last realizing the danger of Isard, he realized that the time had come to speak with the New Republic. Pestage arranged for a meeting with Leia Organa, accompanied by Royal Guards and other Imperials, Sate met with Organa and her guards. He made a surprising offer to Leia: in exchange for sanctuary and membership in the New Republic, and some planets for himself and his friends, he would leave the territory that was still under his control undefended. Pestage told Organa that Isard would not let him live long, and Leia had agreed to the deal, pending the details that still needed to be worked out. When Isard got word that Sate had vanished, she was concerned, and realized that he must be dealing with the officials of the New Republic. Upon hearing current whereabouts of Organa, Isard assumed she had already met Sate.

Pestage and Organa proceeded to work out the details of their arrangement; in the completed deal, Sate was under the supervision of the Republic allowed to keep ten worlds, and four of his friends to keep fifteen. Leia promised to speak to the New Republic Senate and finalize the deal once the prior terms were met, but Leia was not able to secure the entire support of the Senate, and before matters could progress further, a Star Destroyer arrived in orbit and the crew ordered the surrender of all traitors to the Empire. When Pestage returned to Imperial territory, he confronted Director Isard and attempted to shift the blame onto her for not properly informing him, and when Isard accused him of meeting with Leia Organa, he implicitly denied it and reminded her that she had no proof. Isard was not to be thwarted, however. Within a month, she went before a tribunal of high-ranking Imperial officers, and accused Pestage of collaborating with the New Republic. She claimed to have proof of this from confidential sources, and reminded the tribunal that Sate Pestage had allowed Leia to escape, lost Brentaal, and informed them that he planned to turn over his territory to the New Republic.

The Imperial tribunal of high-ranking officials agreed with her, charged Pestage with treason, and issued an order for his arrest. Some members of the tribunal feared Isard enough to warn Sate Pestage, though, and Pestage prepared to flee from the planet. Pestage did indeed flee, and traveled to his home planet of Ciutric. But do to circumstances relating to insufficient payments, Pestage was taken into custody, promising him the best cell that they had and attention to all his needs. A New Republic agent was present upon Pestage's arrival, and informed the Republic that he had been placed under arrest. The Senate, meanwhile, was split on the issue; on the one hand, Pestage was complicit in the actions and crimes of the Empire, and on the other hand, rescuing him would both save another life and send a message others in the Imperial leadership that they had the option of defecting. In the end, they agreed to send a mission to Ciutric to free Pestage, and when the New Republic struck the ground teams found Pestage's cell and freed him. With Pestage gone, the balance of power in the Empire soon became uneasy. High-ranking Imperials had called themselves Imperial rulers.

#### Fall of Pestage's Imperial Faction

It was in the view of Director Isard that the Imperial Ruling Council member Pestage had outlived his usefulness to her in regards to her seeking of vast influence and power within the Imperial Remnants and also to the Contingency plans that were put into place by the late Galactic Emperor. Prior to his demise, Emperor Palpatine had formed a Contingency that would lead to the collapse of the Galactic Empire so no one else would seize what he had created, and only a few such as Isard were made aware of these plans as she was working with Gallius Rax. As part of the Contingency, Ysanne had worked to undermine Sate Pestage's authority and control within the remnant factions of the Galactic Empire while also displaying her own authority and power to other high-ranking Imperials. Though Sate might have outlived his usefulness in regards to leaving Imperial territory vulnerable, Isard sought to remove him from the equation entirely to eliminate him as a threat permanently, and as such when she was told that Pestage had gone to his home planet of Ciutric, Isard then sought to send her own operatives to take Sate dead or alive, but preferably dead so as to cover her tracks thoroughly.

However, officers within the ranks of Imperial Remnants had wished that Isard would hold her people back, though, and sent an operative of their own to retrieve Sate Pestage alive. Ysanne in turn had went to the operative in question, then promising him that if he gave her Pestage dead or alive, she would give him a place of power. After Pestage's liberation, he made the fatal mistake of taking his chances with the Empire, and comlinked the New Republic plans to the Admiral. The space battle, however, went as planned for the New Republic. As the Empire forces approached on the ground, the commando teams prepared to launch, and Pestage was ordered to get to a shuttle. It was not until the shuttles lifted off that the soldiers realized Sate was not aboard any of them. Knowing that Pestage had made his choice and would have to live with it, they left Ciutric. Sate had promised the Admiral operative in command wealth and a position as warlord in his new empire, but the operative saw the offer of Sate as weakness, and decided he would become his own ruler and take control of Sate Pestage's holdings for himself. Grabbing Sate by the throat, the Admiral broke his neck, killing Sate.