Ysanne Isard

Ysanne Isard's birth occurred into a prosperous and influential family residing on the planet of Coruscant around 30 BBY, during the decline of the Galactic Republic. Her father, Armand Isard, served as the Director of the Senate Bureau of Intelligence, later becoming the Director of Imperial Intelligence when the Republic transitioned into the first Galactic Empire in 19 BBY. The Isard family prospered under Palpatine's leadership, enjoying greater power and prestige compared to their time under the Republic. Ysanne was born with heterochromia iridium, characterized by one red and one blue eye, although she was considered otherwise attractive. She was raised on Coruscant and spent her childhood in the Emperor's Court; as a young girl, she greatly admired her father, often boasting about his influence to anyone who would listen. Armand Isard found it appropriate to allow his young daughter to accompany him to his workplace and had no concerns about her presence around dangerous individuals like High Inquisitor Antinnis Tremayne; however, others questioned the appropriateness of a child being in high-security zones. During the Great Jedi Purge, Ysanne frequently accompanied her father to Imperial facilities on Coruscant, although she showed little understanding of his work: assisting Palpatine's Dark Jedi in hunting down Jedi fugitives. She was also known to attend Imperial party receptions with her father, rarely leaving his side.

Any innocence that Ysanne Isard possessed vanished by the time she reached adolescence, as the coldness and ambition she inherited from her father began to surface. Armand began training his daughter as a field operative from a very young age, hoping she would follow in his footsteps and secure a position in Imperial Intelligence. Ysanne was incredibly ambitious, and, after excelling and becoming a skilled field agent, she started plotting her ascent behind his back. She did not exploit her father's position, instead relying on her own abilities—enhanced by her energy and ruthlessness when dealing with enemies of the Empire—to surpass her peers. She cultivated a wide network of contacts and alliances within Imperial Intelligence, who assisted her in obtaining information that her rank would not normally permit; despite the most stringent security measures, she managed to learn about the Death Star project at least a year before its official announcement. From a young age, Ysanne developed a deep personal devotion to the Emperor, finding his power and charisma appealing; she eventually fell in love with him, particularly after he chose her as his personal spy. By her twenties, Isard had become one of the most accomplished field agents in Imperial Intelligence.

Isard had numerous fellow agents who served as her backup on assignments; while she was a capable and cunning operative, Ysanne lacked physical strength, which these men provided in abundance. Additionally, she personally led a brute squad composed of former stormtrooper NCOs—men selected for their physique rather than their intelligence. She and her squad specialized in "dagger and fist" missions. The male members of her squad were also widely rumored to be her lovers in addition to her muscle. Although these rumors were unsubstantiated, it was known that Isard had little time for a conventional social life due to being completely dedicated to the structure of the New Order. Isard considered agents like Jahan Cross to be more economical than hired guns, such as the bounty hunter, Boba Fett. In 3 BBY, Ysanne encountered Cross outside Armand's office. She revealed to him that his mission to assassinate Adan Dooku was not due to the Count being an enemy of the Empire, but rather at the request of power-hungry factions in Serenno's government.

By 0 BBY, Ysanne was among the leading field agents of her era, as well as Palpatine's personal spy, and Armand was proud to have her as his daughter. Nevertheless, he felt threatened by her ambition, particularly due to her and her brute squad's deviation from his own policy of subtle and civilized ruthlessness and his suspicion that she was a watchman of the Emperor. Fearing that she would attempt to overthrow him as director, the elder Isard decided to eliminate her threat.

One year prior to the Battle of Yavin, Ysanne Isard was summoned by her father to his office, where he detailed the parameters of her upcoming mission to the world of Darkknell. Agents of the Alliance to Restore the Republic had successfully stolen a set of datacards containing the precise coordinates of the Death Star's construction site at Despayre, and a transfer between Alliance agents was scheduled to occur on Darkknell. Isard was tasked with retrieving the datacards, capturing the Rebel agent sent to collect them, and identifying the traitor who had stolen them, although the datacards were the primary objective of her mission. Ysanne was not permitted to bring the usual full complement of Intelligence forces due to the mission's secrecy; however, her father allowed her to take one of her most trusted enforcers—a hulking man named Trabler—to assist her.

Operating under the false identity of Darkknell Special Security agent Katya Glasc, Isard passed through Darkknell's customs and immediately headed to the capital city of Xakrea. She knew that the Rebel would be seeking refuge among Xakrea's fringe population and planned to visit any individual who offered identity-changing services. Knowing that anyone providing him with a new identity would sell her his real identity, she had Trabler drive her to each establishment in turn, beginning with Arky's Emporium of Forgotten Treasures. There, she encountered Hal Horn, a high-ranking Corellian Security Force officer, and enlisted his help in searching for the Rebel. Horn was searching for a criminal, Moranda Savich, whom Isard claimed to have spotted. She ushered the Corellian out of the building, revealing no details about Savich, and guided him back to her rented landspeeder. On their way, they saw Moranda Savich speaking with Trabler; Isard ordered her enforcer to shoot the woman. With Savich dead, Horn was indebted to Isard, although he initially refused to help her in hunting down Rebels. She used the recently reported death of Horn's fellow Corellian Garm Bel Iblis against him, claiming that as the Rebel they were hunting had killed Bel Iblis, it was Horn's duty as a Corellian to help her track him down. She claimed that Bel Iblis was a loyal Imperial, although in reality, his assassination had been ordered by Armand Isard due to the Corellian's anti-Imperial sentiments.

Isard visited numerous criminal establishments throughout Xakrea, attempting to extract information about the Rebel Alliance from them, but none of the meetings were successful. Horn, clearly recognizing Ysanne and her bodyguard as citizens of Imperial Center, grew suspicious of them and secretly sought an opportunity to abandon them and return to Corellia. Eventually, in a cantina called the Continuum Void, Isard learned that the subject of one of the holographs of suspected Rebels had had something extremely valuable stolen from him earlier in the day. The Devaronian barman could not identify the thief, but he told them that it was a brown-haired Human female. Knowing that Moranda Savich was a well-known thief, she secretly had Trabler check local police and hospital records to see if they had recovered Savich; Isard then led Hal Horn back to her safehouse.

Horn had outlived his usefulness, and Isard suspected that he had attempted to conceal Savich's role in the theft of the datacards for unknown reasons. After Trabler reported back and informed her that Savich did not appear in any local hospital or police records, she had him travel to the safehouse before they reached it, ready to ambush the CorSec officer. However, Horn was able to defend himself from Trabler's clumsy attacks and managed to incapacitate him and steal his blaster. He and Isard exchanged several blaster shots, all of which narrowly missed their intended targets, before Trabler resurfaced. Horn was again too quick for the man, stabbing him with a hidden vibroblade. With her enforcer dead, Isard had no choice but to listen to Horn, who destroyed a holograph of Moranda Savich—the only conclusive means Isard had of identifying her. Horn confirmed that it had been Savich who had stolen the datacards from the Rebel at the Continuum Void cantina and offered to help Isard track her down in exchange for his life. Knowing Horn was her only chance at recovering the datacards, Isard agreed to his proposition, on the condition that Horn wear a choke-collar. The irremovable device would cut off the blood flow to the Corellian's neck and kill him at Isard's command, or else whenever she perished. Horn agreed to this and allowed the field operative to fix the collar to his neck.

With few leads to follow, Horn deduced that the Continuum Void was their best bet for locating Moranda Savich, as it stocked Gralish liqueur, a favorite beverage of hers. However, once there, Savich was nowhere to be seen, and the barman was also missing—Horn theorized that Savich had sent him elsewhere, tying up a loose end which could lead Isard to her. They also learned that she was acting with an accomplice—either a Rebel agent or a fellow criminal. Initially, Ysanne suspected that Seb Arkos, the owner of Arky's Emporium of Forgotten Treasures, was the accomplice, although Horn, who'd had dealings with Arkos previously, told her that the information broker was unlikely to get involved with anything as serious as Savich's situation. Isard planned to track down the manager of the cantina and listen to whatever story Savich had spun him; from there, they could backtrack through it and find another lead to the thief and her accomplice.

This was, however, a ploy by Savich intended to distract Isard, while the criminal found the highest bidder for the datacards. Midway through their search for the barman's known associates, the two noticed several occurrences of Darkknell defense airspeeders speeding through the city's streets, which they suspected were related to the Rebel agents running amok. Isard decided to abandon their previous strategy and return to the safe-house, where she could tap into local records to find out what the defense airspeeders were up to. Once there, she was able to confirm that the airspeeders were responding to Savich; almost immediately afterwards, Horn received a comlink message from the woman, who told Isard that she would hand over the datacards for one million credits, and nothing less. Savich told them to meet her with the money at a nearby warehouse, where she hoped Isard and local defense forces would have an auction of sorts. Isard, however, hacked into the local files once again, sending the entire Darkknell security force on a non-existent training exercise to the nearest spaceport. They were then interrupted by a woman named Allyse Conroy—actually Savich in disguise—who claimed to be an old friend of Horn's. When Darkknell Defense Agency officer Nyroska arrived, Savich claimed that she was Ysanne Isard, and that Isard and Horn were Rebel agents. With Isard unable to provide proper identification, Nyroska took Savich's word for it, and had all of them transported to his headquarters. Savich managed to escape soon after Ysanne showed them her identification; the datacards had made their way into Mon Mothma's hands, and Isard had failed in her mission.

The prospect of losing considerable face back on Imperial Center infuriated Isard, so she instead found a way to pin the blame on her father. She eventually found her opportunity when she uncovered evidence that her father planned to overthrow the Emperor. Upon her return, Armand told his daughter that she would not be executed for her failure. Rather than express gratitude, however, Ysanne launched a stinging attack against Armand, claiming he knowingly sent her on a suicide mission, that he was a member of the Rebel Alliance, and that he had prevented the assassination of Garm Bel Iblis from succeeding. Backed up by members of the Emperor's Royal Guards, she accused her father of treason; the Emperor had him executed within the hour. It was rumored that Ysanne herself fired the shot that killed him.

Isard almost immediately took the reins of Imperial Intelligence and the Imperial Security Bureau respectively from her father, replacing him as Director. Now that she had finally achieved the power she craved, she put all her effort into pleasing Emperor Palpatine, the only person who mattered. Isard ruled through the careful use of fear, making sure to let her subordinates know that if they failed she would have them severely punished. While this did not engender loyalty, it worked to keep her minions in line. Sometimes, though rarely, Ysanne used rewards for good performances as a way to motivate those under her command. She was rarely able to keep her anger under control, however, and any promotions handed out were frequently rescinded. Officially, her power was circumscribed by the Ubiqtorate, a group of powerful advisors, although she did not argue with it. In actuality, her real purpose was to monitor the behavior of those of the Ubiqtorate members.

Isard presented the Emperor with numerous recommendations for enhancing the Empire's governance, equipping her with the resources necessary to implement them. One such recommendation involved the construction of a dual-purpose prison and brainwashing facility. Her objective was to capture members of the Rebel Alliance, subject them to brainwashing to transform them into sleeper agents, and then redeploy them to their superiors, awaiting activation at a strategically chosen moment. Palpatine, duly impressed, rewarded her with the second Executor-class Star Dreadnought ever created. While Darth Vader's flagship, the Executor, was built at Fondor, its counterpart was constructed at Kuat. Initially, it was also named Executor to maintain secrecy regarding the existence of a second ship. For years, both shipyards asserted they were the builders of the renowned Executor, but Isard renamed her Kuati vessel Lusankya. Despite Isard's enduring ignorance of the precise method, Palpatine covertly used the Force to conceal the ship deep beneath Coruscant's urban landscape, erasing the memory of its placement from all witnesses. Furthermore, she made certain that several members of the Ubiqtorate, who were found to be exploiting the Intelligence apparatus for their own agendas, were "reassigned" to the Lusankya. As a result, her influence grew steadily until she effectively controlled the entire Imperial security apparatus, suppressing both elite conspiracies and widespread civil unrest. Approximately six months after the Battle of Yavin, Palpatine revealed the location of her new facility, coinciding with the operational status of Vader's Executor. Isard's first prisoner was General Jan Dodonna of the Rebel Alliance, the architect of the Death Star's destruction plan. Dodonna emerged as a leading figure among Isard's prisoners, who predominantly consisted of fellow Rebels, but also included ineffective officers or individuals Isard personally disliked. In total, the Super Star Destroyer housed millions of inmates, and it generally fulfilled its purpose; the mere thought of the clandestine "Lusankya" facility instilled fear in the hearts of most Rebels, and numerous sleeper agents were successfully integrated into the Rebellion's ranks. Isard devoted much of her time to addressing the Rebel Alliance, viewing them as a greater threat than Palpatine did, though she was unable to shift his perspective. Although feared by many, Isard's orders were primarily followed out of respect, rather than simply out of fear. Isard was also sometimes addressed as an admiral.

While most of her activities were conducted in secret, the Empire occasionally called upon Ysanne to undertake more public endeavors. On at least one occasion, she publicly expressed gratitude to civilians on behalf of the Empire, such as Garik Loran, a child actor in holovid Imperial propaganda films. During her tenure as Director, Isard was responsible for naming a new prison on Coruscant, which she named the Armand Isard Correctional Facility after her father. Palpatine also tasked her with monitoring close confidants at the Emperor's elaborate parties, which she regularly attended, to assess their loyalty. At one such event, Isard became aware of Mara Jade, one of the Emperor's Hands. Unable to find any information about Jade, Isard immediately identified her as a potential adversary and questioned Palpatine about her loyalty. Palpatine, however, had no concerns about Mara Jade, stating that he feared betrayal from Isard more than from Jade. Enraged, Isard harbored a deep personal resentment towards Jade, which she made no effort to conceal.

During the Galactic Civil War, one of Isard's agents, Vune Willic, was falsely accused of attempting to assassinate Emperor Palpatine at the Galactic Games on Imperial Center. His attempts were thwarted, and Isard had him imprisoned and scheduled for execution. It was an embarrassment to her that high-ranking Imperial officials plotted to kill Palpatine, though she was able to smooth things over in the end by framing him in their place to downplay the threat. Willic was administered a truth serum, allowing Isard to test the new YI-5 Surveillance/Interrogation Droid. Vune Willic provided a clear confession for the HoloNet, and Isard had him executed the following day.

Around this time, Imperial counterintelligence agents intercepted a transmission from Leia Organa, a leader of the Rebel Alliance, urging Alliance forces to gather in three cities: Bestine on Tatooine, Dearic on Talus, and Keren on Naboo. Isard dispatched a communiqué containing a copy of the recording to senior Imperial naval officers, calling for the deployment of Imperial forces to capture the three cities.

During this period, Isard was also involved in the development of the Conqueror, an Imperial-class Star Destroyer equipped with a superlaser, similar to the one on the Death Star. Upon completion, the Conqueror was stationed in the Mustafar system, where a test shot was fired at an uninhabited planetoid, obliterating it completely. Shortly after the test, Isard visited Mustafar to meet with the Blackguard, a sect of Dark Jedi with whom Imperial Intelligence had formed an alliance for the Conqueror project. Isard and a group of Blackguard Elite Minions traveled by speeder to a landing site where supply shuttles from the Conqueror arrived once a day. Upon arrival, the shuttle had not yet arrived, so Isard took the opportunity to emphasize the operation's critical importance to the Blackguard. Suddenly, members of Renegade Squadron, sent to destroy the Conqueror, emerged from cover, initiating a firefight. Outgunned, Isard ordered the Blackguard to retreat. The Dark Jedi provided covering fire, suppressing the Rebels while Isard retreated to the speeder. The surviving Blackguard then boarded the speeder, and Isard fled the site. Isard warned the Conqueror's commander, Admiral Victor Strang, of the impending arrival of the Rebels aboard the Star Destroyer. Nevertheless, the Rebels infiltrated the Conqueror via the supply shuttle and destroyed the superlaser-equipped vessel from within using explosives.

In 3 ABY, Isard visited the base of Baron Soontir Fel, leader of the 181st Imperial Fighter Group, whom she had noticed at previous events. Isard had been sent to inform Fel of the impending attack at the Rebels' base on Derra IV, orchestrated by Vader and Mitth'raw'nuruodo. She attempted to seduce Fel with both sexual advances and offers of promotions and power. The pilot rebuffed these advances, prompting Isard to claim she had been sent by the Emperor to test his loyalty. Having passed the test, she offered him the opportunity to fly at Derra IV, which Fel accepted. However, Isard marked him as another enemy due to his rejection, a fact Fel recognized and feared. Isard likely played a role in the operations at Derra IV, as she attended the subsequent awards ceremonies. Although no longer an active field agent, Isard maintained her physical fitness through regular workouts in gyms and rigorous holographic training exercises. She was known to train against holograms of her enemies, venting her frustrations in a controlled environment.

In 4 ABY, the Rebel Alliance destroyed the second Death Star, resulting in the deaths of the Emperor and Darth Vader. The Empire was left in disarray, and Palpatine's death created a significant power vacuum, which many, including Isard, sought to fill. Enraged by the Emperor's death and the ensuing celebrations on Imperial Center, Isard deployed her forces and arrested hundreds of thousands of civilians celebrating the Rebellion's victory. While she successfully suppressed the revolt, she also noted that none of the other surviving Imperial leaders had responded to the protests. This led her to conclude that the other Imperial leaders were unfit to lead the New Order, and she subsequently planned to orchestrate the downfalls of Grand Vizier Sate Pestage, General Paltr Carvin, and Grand Moff Hissa. After overcoming the initial shock of her idol's death, Isard recognized the potential advantages of the situation. Grand Vizier Sate Pestage had assumed control of the Empire, but his paranoia and stress made him a weak ruler. Ysanne exploited this by acting as a neutral mediator between Pestage and the Imperial Ruling Council, who sought to seize power. Pestage soon became reliant on Isard, and she began to plot the downfall of both him and the Council.

Shortly after Endor, Isard's agents captured Mara Jade, and the Director had her imprisoned. After consulting with Pestage to gather information about the woman, Ysanne determined that she posed too great a threat to be an ally and initiated a brainwashing process to extract secrets about the Empire that she was previously unaware of. Ysanne Isard, lacking Force sensitivity, did not give it much thought or consideration, so it was unsurprising that she underestimated Mara Jade's abilities with it. The Emperor's Hand employed a mind trick to persuade her interrogator to release her and grant her access to a computer terminal. Isard's men detected this immediately, and she personally began to track Jade through the labyrinthine Imperial Palace. She enlisted a tech specialist named Tal Burren to assist her in tracking Jade's movements. They eventually discovered Jade in Isard's personal office, but she was gone by the time they arrived. The Emperor's Hand had stolen one of Isard's datapads with high-level security clearance, using it to navigate the building undetected. Jade left numerous false leads, ordering dozens of shuttles to various docking bays. Isard dispatched men to each location, while she personally went to her personal shuttle Lokvar. Jade ultimately escaped, a fact Isard took personally. She declared the woman her sworn enemy and vowed to imprison her in the depths of the Lusankya upon their next encounter. Her agents pursued Mara Jade to Kintoni, but her whereabouts remained unknown to Isard after that.

Sometime after becoming Pestage's advisor, Isard discovered Palpatine's personal cloning center deep within the Imperial Palace. She had a single clone created of herself before destroying the remaining Spaarti cloning cylinders. The clone was kept in suspended animation within the Lusankya, and Isard confided its existence to no one. She intended to use it for a task she would only trust herself to perform and always planned to dispose of it.

Over the following months, Isard made Pestage appear incompetent to his peers in the Ruling Council by providing him with poor advice and undermining his authority. She similarly isolated the Cabal, creating significant discord among the remnants of the Empire—all part of Project Ambition. For six months, the Rebel Alliance, now reformed as the New Republic, consolidated their forces, launching few large-scale attacks on Imperial territory. However, Pestage noticed the New Republic becoming more active, and he and Isard deduced that they were planning something against his Empire. Ysanne advised Pestage to use Brentaal IV as bait for the Rebels. She selected this planet because most of the Ruling Council's members had holdings there and, if everything went as planned, they would be enraged by the inevitable loss. Admiral Lon Isoto, considered an incompetent fool by nearly all his superiors, was in charge of Imperial forces at Brentaal, and Pestage pointed out that engaging the New Republic with him in command would be suicidal. Isard informed the Grand Vizier, however, that Isoto was staunchly supported by the Ruling Council, and any failure on his part would reflect on them. Unable to resist the potential opportunity to undermine his rivals, Pestage eventually agreed, but only on the condition that the 181st Imperial Fighter Group was present. Isard, meanwhile, informed the Council that Pestage wanted to keep Isoto in place, to their fury.

Isard ordered Baron Fel, the leader of the 181st, to prevent planetary invasion by the New Republic, but nothing more. Upon learning that Admiral Isoto was tasked with defending Brentaal—a target of Admiral Ackbar's for months—the New Republic launched an attack, led by the Independence, defeating preliminary Imperial forces and capturing Brentaal's moon base. Baron Fel suffered heavy losses, and after the initial battle, he expressed his displeasure to Isard about sending his men to die. Isard, however, was able to keep the furious Fel in check. She had somehow learned of his relationship with Syal Antilles and taunted him with the possibility of killing his brother-in-law Wedge Antilles, the leader of the New Republic's Rogue Squadron. Fel replied that he would not hesitate to kill Antilles, though, clearly caught off guard by Isard's knowledge of his secret marriage, he began to keep his complaints to himself. Isard ordered Fel and the other Imperial forces to Brentaal's surface in the wake of the next wave of the New Republic fleet.

Pestage was unhappy with the unfolding events, but Isard managed to sway him to her way of thinking. She had Isoto withdraw his fleet so that the Rebels could establish a base on the surface—a move that appalled the Ruling Council members. The Councilors demanded Isoto's removal and pleaded with Isard to convince Pestage to appoint a competent officer. Simultaneously, Pestage had Ysanne meet with the Council to persuade them to stop supporting Isoto. Isard manipulated both parties, telling each faction that the other refused to make a change. The members of the Council then began contemplating a coup. Everything was proceeding according to Isard's plan.

With the largest battle to date just hours away, Isard was confronted by Soontir Fel via hologram. Fel was furious at her interference and accused her of treason. Though Isard was offended, Fel stated that he would continue to serve the Empire loyally. Fel knew of Isard's plan to impress local rulers: while allowing the world to fall, she would evacuate the nobles before the Rebels could capture them, gaining her immense favor in their eyes. After the next wave of fighting went poorly for the Empire, Isard issued clearance orders to dispatch an evacuation fleet to Brentaal, overriding Pestage's previous orders. Enraged, the Grand Vizier confronted her, but as usual, she managed to align his opinion with hers. Pestage had finally realized that she was manipulating him and began planning his defection to the New Republic.

Isard personally gave Isoto the order to evacuate; once he had outlived his usefulness, she had Grania, a spy of Isard's who acted as Isoto's concubine, kill him. The loss of Brentaal IV pushed the Cabal over the edge, and they vowed to oust Pestage in the near future. Meanwhile, both Sate Pestage and Soontir Fel disappeared: Fel had defected to the New Republic, and Pestage was in hiding. Isard sent agents after Fel's wife, Syal Antilles Fel, but they failed to capture her. Isard was venting her frustration in combat simulators when she was informed that Princess Leia Organa and an aide had been kidnapped on Eiattu 6. Isard theorized that she could either have been kidnapped or whisked away for a meeting with Pestage. Either way, she vowed to find Pestage and punish him for his cowardice. It was reported that rogue Moff Leonia Tavira was holding Leia captive; Isard sent the Reckoning to Axxila to recover both Tavira and Organa. She planned to use both of them as sleeper agents against her enemies after first interrogating them, but things went poorly, and Leia was able to escape with the help of Rogue Squadron. Pestage returned from his absence, and although Isard firmly believed he had been meeting with Leia, she had no evidence to support her claim.

With Pestage showing increasing signs of having made a pact with the Rebels, Isard presented her case before the Ruling Council, claiming that Pestage had committed treason and urging his ouster. When Pestage disappeared once again, Isard issued an Imperial arrest warrant for him, though the effort was unnecessary. Leonia Tavira had found Pestage and was holding him captive on Ciutric IV; Isard attempted to bargain with her for Pestage's life, but the Moff's demands were too high, and knowing Pestage's location, Isard refused. She sent several specialist agents to Ciutric to retrieve him, but the cabal had other plans. They dispatched Admiral Delak Krennel, the man responsible for the debacle at Axxila, and his Star Destroyer to Ciutric. Isard was infuriated, though her superiors were adamant. They did, however, permit her to travel to Ciutric to oversee proceedings personally. Isard's primary goal, after killing Pestage, had become to rid the Empire of the cabal, whose interference was becoming more frequent.

Isard traveled directly to the Reckoning's bridge to meet Krennel face-to-face. After exchanging subtle insults, Isard forcefully told him to back off, to do nothing and allow her people to capture Pestage. She offered him protection from the cabal, as well as money and promotions, if he worked for her instead of them, though it took the offer of the Binder, an Interdictor Star Destroyer, to finally sway him. Isard returned to Coruscant while Krennel led another team on the surface, but by the time they reached Pestage's holding place, the Grand Vizier had been whisked away by Rogue Squadron. However, the Binder would prevent any ships from entering hyperspace and leaving the system, giving Krennel a decent chance of catching up with Rogue Squadron and claiming Pestage.

On Imperial Center, Isard was severely reprimanded for disobeying orders; the cabal held her responsible for the Rebels' capture of Pestage, though her decision to bring in the Binder spared her from being sacked. She contacted Krennel again, this time via hologram, despite being told not to interfere in matters. Isard knew that if Pestage fell into the hands of the Ruling Council, he would reveal her treasonous actions, leading to her prosecution, so she was desperate to have him retrieved and returned to her. She told Krennel of her plans to assassinate the Council members, offering him a position as Emperor if he could succeed in capturing Pestage for her.

While Krennel was dealing with Pestage, Isard initiated the later stages of Project Ambition, with Tribune Challer the first to die. Ysanne once again had a man's mistress pull the trigger, though this time she had her agent make no attempt to cover up the killing. She had Plumba killed next, before learning that Krennel had succeeded in finding Pestage. Rather than bring him back alive as agreed, Krennel murdered Pestage and claimed his holdings, the Ciutric Hegemony, for himself. Isard then had General Paltr Carvin, the acting leader of the cabal, sent to the Lusankya. The Ruling Council was now devoid of leadership, and Isard was Empress in all but name. Although she maintained the Ruling Council, it served only as a nominal legislature, effectively powerless. She also began having the Emperor's Royal Guard accompany her as a visible symbol of her acceptance as the quasi-Empress of what remained of the New Order hierarchy.

Although Isard was in power, the Empire was beginning to collapse under New Republic attacks, as well as the increasingly frequent secession of warlords. Eight months after the Battle of Endor, Admiral Ackbar led another campaign that pushed into Imperial territory, prompting Isard to recall hundreds of warships to defend Coruscant and other key Core Worlds, which she suspected Ackbar was planning to attack. In doing so, Isard lost the Black Fleet in a disastrous debacle at Cal-Seti; among the ships lost was the Super Star Destroyer Intimidator. Although many of the highest-ranking individuals in the Imperial navy were loyal to Isard—including Gilad Pellaeon, Miltin Takel, and Afsheen Makati—many sought to topple Isard and claim the remnants of the Empire for themselves. The Central Committee of Grand Moffs, led by Grand Moff Bertroff Hissa, proclaimed Trioculus, supposedly the Emperor's son, as the latest Emperor. In an attempt to take Trioculus down, Isard had Zorba Desilijic Tiure released from prison on Kip, hoping he and Trioculus would eliminate each other in a battle for Princess Leia. The New Republic dealt with Trioculus, but Isard had to take measures to address the troublesome Church of the Dark Side, whose leader Kadann had proclaimed himself the Emperor. The Church had been formed by Pestage, and they were the only religion citizens were legally allowed to practice. In another attempt to counter them, Isard reinstated galactic freedom of religion, depriving the Prophets of the support of spiritually deprived citizens. Grand Admiral Afsheen Makati requested permission from Isard to pursue and kill Kadann; she granted his request, and although he slew Kadann, he perished shortly after. The survivors involved in the Trioculus affair were rounded up and executed. Several months later, an Imperial Inquisitor named Jerec, supported by a band of Dark Jedi, a Super Star Destroyer, and a hoard of financial backers, attempted to usurp her power, but she neutralized the threat he posed. Isard's rule was never seriously threatened, primarily because she controlled Imperial Center, with its nearly impenetrable defenses, as well as the legitimacy it conferred.

During her time in power, she adopted an unadorned, crimson-colored version of an admiral's uniform. Due to her power and physical attractiveness, many officers under her command fantasized about Isard, further enhancing their obedience. At some point during the Galactic Civil War, Isard initiated an operation to reprogram IT droids, aiming to dismantle the New Republic's upper echelons, though it proved unsuccessful.

Isard maintained communication with those she deemed truly dangerous, such as Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo, also known by his core name "Thrawn," and Emperor's Hand Lumiya. She had established a working relationship with both before the Emperor's demise. Thrawn was in hiding within the Unknown Regions, but Isard was aware of his potential to seize her throne. Lumiya's Force abilities also made her a formidable opponent. Ysanne adopted a policy of appeasement towards these two, offering incentives for them to remain inactive. Thrawn requested Baron Soontir Fel, and devised a plan to abduct him from the New Republic, which Isard eagerly executed. To satisfy Lumiya, she reassigned several Imperial Royal Guards to her service, including Carnor Jax.

Inside the Lusankya, Isard oversaw the development of her clone, regularly updating its memory banks. She made certain that the clone, upon activation, would believe itself to be the genuine Isard, performing all tasks as she would. Sometime after Jerec's failed coup, Isard played a crucial role in thwarting a New Republic attempt to infiltrate Coruscant. Pilot Tycho Celchu volunteered to pilot a TIE fighter recovered from Bakura to Imperial Center, but Isard exposed the deception and transferred him to the Lusankya. Celchu proved resistant to her tortures, leading to his frustrated return to the New Republic. While not successfully turned into a sleeper agent, his time in the infamous "Lusankya facility" caused significant distrust towards him within the New Republic ranks.

With her Empire in a state of relative stability, Isard shifted her focus to the Rebel Alliance. Her long-term objective was the annihilation of the Rebels, followed by the restoration of the Empire. Rogue Squadron, which had previously thwarted her plans, had been reformed by Wedge Antilles around 6 ABY, and she considered them a perilous threat that needed to be eliminated. Isard located Kirtan Loor, an Imperial Intelligence operative stationed on Corellia, and summoned him to her Coruscant palace. Loor possessed an eidetic memory and excelled in various interrogation and torture methods. After assessing and refining his weaknesses, Isard assigned him his mission: the destruction of Rogue Squadron. Loor, a Corellian himself, shared a connection with both the squadron leader, Wedge Antilles, and Corran Horn, a member he had encountered before. Isard also successfully placed a spy within the squadron. Erisi Dlarit, a Thyferran from the only planet producing bacta, was selected by the New Republic for political reasons. Despite tight security, she managed to provide Isard with the identities of the other pilots.

Loor tracked the squadrons to Talasea, where his forces killed one of the Rogues, Lujayne Forge, and wounded several others. However, they were ultimately driven back by the New Republic forces stationed there. The intelligence agent concluded that the New Republic sought to capture a strategically important planet, one difficult for the Empire to reclaim, as a staging ground for an attack on Coruscant. Loor predicted that the Rogues would target Borleias and took steps to intercept them. General Evir Derricote, in command of Borleias, utilized his secret reserve forces to repel the initial New Republic invasion. Isard, aware of Derricote's clandestine dealings with Alderaan Biotics, used Loor to monitor his activities. Finding Derricote suitable for her next endeavor, she had him transported to Coruscant and assigned Loor to collaborate with him.

Isard anticipated a New Republic assault on Coruscant, understanding her forces were insufficient for its defense. She accepted the likely loss of the world, despite the potential desertion of much of the Imperial Remnant. However, Isard resolved to make the New Republic's occupation as challenging as possible. She tasked Derricote with developing the Krytos virus, designed to affect only non-Humans, hoping to sow discord and hostility between the Human and non-Human populations of the New Republic. She also requested that the virus be easily curable with bacta, knowing the New Republic would face bankruptcy attempting to purchase enough to treat the infected. This would also fuel resentment among non-Humans towards the New Republic for their perceived inaction.

With Loor and Derricote occupied, the New Republic defeated Imperial forces on Borleias, hastening Isard's impending loss of Coruscant. Isard instructed Derricote to begin work immediately, while Erisi Dlarit provided updates on Rogue Squadron's movements. Soon after the battle at Borleias, Dlarit provided Isard with information regarding Bror Jace's journey to his homeworld of Thyferra. Using precise hyperspace coordinates, the Director of Imperial Intelligence positioned an Interdictor cruiser, the Black Asp, in ambush. She ordered Jace to be captured alive for interrogation aboard the Lusankya, but he was ultimately shot down. Major Wortin of the Black Asp, responsible for the failure, was punished with a reassignment to Thrawn's command in the Unknown Regions.

Isard grew increasingly impatient with Derricote's methods, though she fulfilled his requests for alien test subjects, initially demanding Gamorreans and later Quarren. The lengthy incubation period of the virus also caused significant concern, and despite Loor's reprimands to Derricote for his slow progress, time was running out. Derricote also struggled to achieve airborne transmission of the virus, another of Isard's requirements. She warned both Derricote and Loor that if the Rebels arrived on Coruscant before the virus was fully developed, all involved in the project would be killed to prevent its capture. This served as an added incentive for the two men to accelerate their work. Isard also took steps to further "motivate" Loor. She leaked information that he had murdered Gil Bastra, the former mentor of Rogue Corran Horn, a sworn enemy of Loor. She hoped this would intensify Horn's desire for revenge and further enhance Loor's dedication to assisting Derricote.

The actions of Warlord Zsinj, whom Isard considered a fool rather than a threat, complicated matters. His attack on the New Republic facility on Borleias accelerated their push towards Coruscant. Using information provided by Erisi Dlarit, Isard learned that the New Republic had released prominent members of Black Sun from Kessel and transported them to Coruscant, intending to distract Isard while Rogue Squadron infiltrated the planet. However, the New Republic made a critical error by releasing Moff Fliry Vorru, hoping he would control the criminals. Vorru immediately contacted Isard, becoming another of her operatives on Coruscant.

Isard also disapproved of some of Derricote's species choices for the virus. While she understood targeting the Quarren and Gamorreans, Derricote also wanted to infect the Wookiees and Sullustans. She refused to allow Wookiee subjects, as they were valuable as slaves, but relented on the Sullustan issue after Loor explained that developing a Sullustan strain would pave the way for a Bothan strain. Given the Bothans' crucial role in the Rebellion, Isard wanted them severely affected by the virus.

Erisi Dlarit and her fellow Rogues entered Coruscant soon after the Kessel operation. Although Isard knew their false identities and locations, she refrained from attacking them. She also began to weaken Coruscant's defenses, further enticing a New Republic assault. With the invasion imminent, she set a two-week deadline for Derricote to produce a completed strain of the virus ready for introduction into the water supply.

The Rogues acted faster than Isard had anticipated. The Black Asp, which had previously failed to capture Bror Jace, defected to the New Republic, providing them with a valuable asset: a functioning Interdictor cruiser. With the Black Asp's assistance, the New Republic attacked and captured Coruscant, as Isard had expected. Although the Krytos virus was not as potent as she had desired, a milder strain was introduced into Coruscant's water supply, where it began to take effect. However, in their efforts to disable the shields, Rogue Squadron vaporized a significant portion of Coruscant's water supply, diminishing the virus's impact. Derricote was imprisoned in the Lusankya for his failure. For Isard, the real prize was the capture of Corran Horn. Erisi Dlarit granted Isard complete control of Horn's starfighter, leading it directly into a trap. His squadron believed him dead, and Isard had him transferred to the Lusankya. Tycho Celchu, now the executive officer of Rogue Squadron, was accused of his murder, granting both Isard and Dlarit greater freedom to operate. Celchu's trial also provided Isard with an opportunity to undermine the New Republic government; any preferential treatment for a Human could be damaging, even though Celchu was widely believed to be an unwilling spy for the Empire and therefore a victim.

Despite having long accepted the loss of Imperial Center, Isard was determined to make life as difficult as possible for the New Republic provisional council. In addition to the Krytos epidemic, she had Kirtan Loor and Fliry Vorru establish the Palpatine Counter-Insurgency Front, which served as a constant source of irritation for the New Republic. Meanwhile, Isard took up residence in the Lusankya and began working on Corran Horn. She used flight simulators against his former squadron to try and break him, but initial runs proved inconclusive, suggesting Horn would be difficult to manipulate into a sleeper agent. Isard persisted, and when the simulators failed, she resorted to more conventional torture methods. When these also failed, she had him thrown in with the other Lusankya prisoners, but remained determined to break the former CorSec agent. She also deleted hundreds of records from Coruscant's database to protect the identities of her top spies.

Isard maintained the illusion of being on a distant planet even with Vorru and Loor. She communicated frequently with Loor, but Vorru was generally under too much New Republic scrutiny to contact her directly. Vorru was now working as an agent for the New Republic—or so they believed—and provided Loor with valuable top-secret information, which Loor relayed to Isard. Erisi Dlarit also remained in contact with her superior, providing information about Rogue Squadron's latest mission. Isard chose not to intervene, but Kirtan Loor, who should not have had access to the message, decided to act. He deployed a squadron of stolen X-wings disguised as Rogue Squadron to escort a convoy of bacta to a rendezvous point, intending to ambush the real Rogue Squadron upon their arrival. However, the hunters became the hunted when Zsinj arrived with his Super Star Destroyer and decimated the false squadron. This outcome played out exactly as Isard had planned. She knew of Loor's plan and leaked information to Warlord Zsinj about the convoy. The New Republic was now short of bacta and seeking revenge on Zsinj, while Loor had been caught red-handed disobeying orders.

Events took a turn for the worse in the days following Zsinj's attack. Fearing retribution from Isard, Loor defected to the New Republic, offering information in exchange for political immunity. Isard also discovered that Evir Derricote and Corran Horn had escaped from the detention facility aboard the Lusankya and dispatched teams to find them. Derricote was found dead, but Horn's location remained unknown. Desperate to eliminate Rogue Squadron, Isard had Vorru attack numerous bacta storage sites around Coruscant, knowing the Rebels would send the Rogues to defend them. Loor's threat was neutralized when Diric Wessiri, one of many sleeper agents Isard was using to monitor the Celchu trial, fatally shot him. Isard found it particularly satisfying that Diric's wife, Iella Wessiri, was forced to kill Diric afterwards.

Upon learning of Horn's escape, Isard was forced to act swiftly. The secret of the Lusankya's location had been compromised, forcing her to leave Coruscant far earlier than planned. The Lusankya broke through tons of ferrocrete and departed Coruscant, causing thousands of casualties. Erisi Dlarit also returned to Isard, feigning a tractor beam rescue, but her fellow Rogues quickly detected the deception. Horn's escape deeply affected Isard, and she did not think clearly in the months that followed. To Isard, Horn's escape had tainted the Lusankya, and she no longer cherished it as before. Isard consolidated her forces and relocated the Lusankya to Thyferra, where she supported a political coup by the Xucphra faction, installing them in control of the bacta cartel. Isard then became the Chief Operating Officer and Head of State of the planet, effectively controlling the galaxy's entire bacta supply. As a legitimate ruler, she believed the New Republic would be unable to pursue her.

Although forbidden by the New Republic government from targeting Isard, the Rogues remained determined to exact their revenge. They resigned their commissions and formed a band of pirates dedicated to killing her, but Isard remained unconcerned. Despite constant warnings from Fliry Vorru, now serving a similar role to Kirtan Loor, Isard dismissed their efforts as laughable. However, she was troubled by the capture of numerous operatives on Coruscant by the New Republic following her departure to Thyferra. Despite his death, Kirtan Loor had provided the New Republic with sensitive information, dealing Isard a significant blow. Isard tasked Erisi Dlarit with leading a newly formed Thyferran Home Defense Force to combat the threat of Ashern terrorists, as her own forces were diminished. While she had enjoyed considerable support while controlling Coruscant, many ships had deserted her service after the Battle of Coruscant. She now relied on only a few loyal ships and vessels borrowed from other warlords. The Lusankya—which Isard wanted nothing to do with—Avarice, Virulence, and Corrupter were all that remained of her once-powerful armada.

Despite Isard's dismissal, Wedge Antilles's band of former Rogues was effectively disrupting Isard's bacta shipments, hijacking several and distributing their cargo to needy planets before returning the freighters to Thyferra for restocking and further raids. While Vorru assured her that the financial losses were minimal, Isard's pride was at stake, and each successful raid eroded her respect and prestige. She feared becoming a laughingstock within the Empire for allowing a handful of outdated starfighters to repeatedly steal from her. Vorru proposed a plan to counter and isolate the Rogues: any world accepting stolen bacta from Antilles would be forced to pay Isard for it, and shipments to random worlds would be halted. This would incite anger and resentment towards Rogue Squadron, potentially affecting their conscience. Isard, blinded by a desire for revenge, preferred a more direct approach, but Vorru convinced her to have the bacta shipment customers provide their own protection, with her Star Destroyers only escorting them part of the way.

Isard achieved her first victory in the Bacta War in the weeks that followed, though it was not one she had authorized. Captain Ait Convarion of the Corrupter abandoned an entire convoy to pursue several freighters that had broken away. Following the ships through hyperspace, the Corrupter located the last of the freighters preparing to jump to hyperspace, along with Rogue Squadron and their Twi'lek allies. The Corrupter destroyed much of the Twi'lek Chir'daki squadron and shot down one of the Rogues, Riv Shiel. Isard, accompanied by Vorru, traveled to the bridge of the Corrupter to congratulate Convarion and reprimand him for disobeying orders. She acknowledged his initiative, but was angered by his falsified report. To test his resolve, she asked if he would be willing to execute the families of the defecting freighter crews. He reluctantly agreed, but Isard informed him that she had already taken care of the families. She also ordered Convarion to deal with those planets too impoverished to pay for the bacta Antilles had provided.

Events took a turn for the worse with the Battle of The Graveyard when Isard lost the Corrupter to Rogue Squadron and a mysterious Alderaanian warship that had joined them. Additionally, a borrowed Interdictor Cruiser, the Aggregator, was withdrawn from her fleet after High Admiral Treuten Teradoc concluded that she could no longer be trusted with his vessels. Isard was enraged, as this further damaged her reputation among her peers and rivals. She held Erisi Dlarit and her Thyferran Home Guard personally responsible, as they had been tasked with defending the two ships. She berated Dlarit, but the young Thyferran's responses were audacious, and Isard began to consider executing her. However, Fliry Vorru intervened, shifting the blame away from Dlarit. He also proposed a plan to further weaken the Rogues: flood the market with bacta. He reasoned that this would deprive the Rogues of funding, making them vulnerable. Isard, tired of subtle schemes and political maneuvers, demanded Antilles's head. She ordered Vorru to focus all his efforts on locating the Rogues' base of operations and ordered another mass-killing of planets unable to pay for the stolen bacta.

Isard lost another ship soon afterward. Captain Sair Yonka of the Avarice sent her a holo message, informing her that he was leaving her service to become independent. Isard took things personally when Yonka listed her faults; she ordered the extermination of his family members, his mistress, and her family. The loss of the Avarice put Isard in a difficult position, as she now had only one Star Destroyer available for escort duty, unless she removed the Lusankya from orbit, leaving Thyferra undefended. Isard desperately needed to find Antilles's base, so she provided him with an incentive to attack hastily: she publicized the slaughter of over a million Vratix workers on Thyferra. She would continue to kill two thousand a day until there were no surplus Vratix left not harvesting bacta, or until Antilles intervened.

Isard soon learned the exact location of Antilles's base—Yag-prime, a supposedly uninhabited space station above Yag'Dhul—through the efforts of one of her spies, Melina Carniss, who was working for Talon Karrde, one of Antilles's allies. Isard prepared the Virulence and the Lusankya to eliminate this threat once and for all, although Captain Joak Drysso of the Lusankya was hesitant about the tactic. He believed that leaving Thyferra undefended was risky, noting that X-wings were hyperspace-capable. Isard dismissed his concerns, unwilling to let her chance to be rid of the Rogues slip away. What remained of Isard's fleet departed for Yag'Dhul, while she remained on Thyferra.

Before they left, Isard's clone, now fully grown, was released and tasked with scattering the prisoners of the Lusankya. It was a task Isard trusted no one but herself to complete, so her clone, who believed it was the real Isard, was the perfect choice. Isard intended to kill the clone after it had finished its task.

The Rogues lay in wait for Isard's offensive, having deliberately let Carniss discover the base's coordinates, knowing she was a double agent. Upon the arrival of the Lusankya and Virulence, Rogue Squadron departed the system, ostensibly heading for Thyferra. In the ensuing chaos, Joak Drysso was outmaneuvered and apparently overpowered by contrabandist Booster Terrik, compelling him to sacrifice the Virulence to enable his return to defend Thyferra. However, upon his arrival, there was no indication of an attack; Isard and her forces had been deceived yet again. Shortly after the Lusankya emerged from hyperspace, Sair Yonka's Avarice, now rechristened the Freedom, materialized alongside the Rogues and their Alderaanian warship. The Lusankya held its ground in the engagement, but the arrival of the Virulence, recovered and crewed by New Republic personnel, decisively shifted the balance of power. The Lusankya surrendered, leaving Isard stripped of her former influence. Nevertheless, she still had a contingency plan. Isard seized Fliry Vorru's customized shuttle and launched into space. After taunting the Rogues via comlink, they were convinced she was aboard and pursued it. Tycho Celchu fired the shot that destroyed it. The New Republic, believing Isard to be dead, allowed her to assess her losses and remain hidden. Because she was preoccupied with fending off Antilles, her clone, which she had intended to eliminate after its purpose was fulfilled, survived Isard's assassination attempt and went into hiding.

To Isard's surprise, the New Republic did not question her demise; they assumed she was in the shuttle, and did not conduct a follow-up investigation. In the years that followed, the only individual to speculate that she might still be alive was Wraith Squadron aviator Garik Loran, but no inquiry ever commenced. Roughly two months after her presumed death, Isard infiltrated a clandestine Imperial base under the command of a General named Arnothian, whom she assassinated and replaced. The facility housed two squadrons of TIE/D Defenders, led by Broak Vessery: Interloper Squadron and Stranger Squadron. Although Isard recognized its potential for launching a campaign of terror against the New Republic, she opted to wait and dwell on her past failures. She also secretly gathered various Loyalists and warlords who had persisted in challenging the New Republic despite the death of Grand Admiral Thrawn. Eventually, Isard recovered from the psychological trauma of Corran Horn's escape from the Lusankya and regained her ability to think clearly, unclouded by a thirst for revenge. After several months in concealment, Isard discovered that Palpatine had returned, as he had promised after his supposed "death". Subsequently, the resurrected Emperor, through his agents, instructed her to personally recapture the Lusankya from a New Republic dockyard at Bilbringi. Fearing retribution for losing Coruscant, she pledged to reclaim the Lusankya, which was being refitted for New Republic service, although she secretly acknowledged that such an undertaking would likely be a suicide mission.

When Thrawn emerged from the Unknown Regions and initiated his own offensive, Isard chose not to become involved. By this point, she had come to terms with the fact that the Empire she cherished was gone, and instead of engaging in more battles, she simply watched as the New Republic nearly collapsed. Following Thrawn's defeat at the Battle of Bilbringi, Isard's clone resurfaced, aligning herself with Delak Krennel in the Ciutric Hegemony. The clone had spent the entire Thrawn crisis gathering up the Lusankya prisoners, and had them imprisoned on Ciutric IV. After Thrawn's death, the New Republic turned its attention to the increasing number of former Imperial warlords and decided to target Krennel first. Isard, no longer content to remain in the shadows, devised a plan to seize back her beloved Lusankya in order to appease Palpatine.

The New Republic's initial target in the Ciutric Hegemony was the planet Liinade III; Isard had a state-of-the-art laboratory and research center constructed there, hidden in the mountains. Within the facility, she developed plans to create a superweapon similar to the Death Stars, called a Pulsar Station. As she anticipated, the New Republic discovered the base and accused Krennel and Isard's clone of plotting to build the superweapon. The warlord accused Head of State Mon Mothma of fabricating the entire facility, which further exacerbated discord and confusion among Isard's adversaries. The laboratory included the station's purported construction site, Distna. The rogue clone had set a trap there for Rogue Squadron, and Isard needed to ensure they fell into it.

Isard dispatched Vessery and his men to Distna to rescue the Rogues, who had been ambushed by swarms of TIEs, and had them brought back to the hidden base. To all outside observers, the two sides appeared to have destroyed each other, and the Rogues were now presumed dead by everyone. Back at the base, Isard met with Wedge Antilles, offering to help the New Republic defeat Krennel in exchange for her freedom. In reality, Isard was seeking a way to rebuild her power base and hoped to steal back the Lusankya; she also wanted to have her clone killed. Antilles took her plea for peace as sincere and agreed to have his squadron go in undercover and join Krennel. They would make contact with Admiral Ackbar, taking down Krennel's forces from inside, and providing him with an opportune moment to strike the Hegemony. Isard was once again in a position of power.

As it was crucial that neither the New Republic nor Krennel realize that the Rogues were safe, Isard blocked any attempts at communication on their part, although Corran Horn tried to defy her repeatedly. The Rogues began their training piloting TIE Defenders, and Vessery was impressed by their abilities. Isard confronted Corran Horn while they worked out in the holo-gym, telling him that his attempts to send messages to his spouse were futile and that she would intercept them all. Horn taunted Isard about never having loved anyone, and she retorted by mentioning her time with his father on Darkknell.

Rogue Squadron's infiltration into Ciutric went smoothly; acting as Requiem Squadron led by Colonel Antar Roat, they offered to join Krennel's fleet. The warlord accepted, and Admiral Ackbar was sent information regarding his defenses and where best to strike. Isard and her TIE Defenders were supposed to assist the New Republic in their attack, but Isard had no intention of doing so. She provided Krennel with information that Ackbar was going to strike at the Hegemony, which meant he further defended Ciutric. She and Vessery made preparations to travel to Bilbringi; with the Lusankya on her side, and if circumstances went well, Coruscant was ripe for the taking.

Using the freighter Swift and a set of codes procured by her spies in the New Republic, Isard embarked on the Lusankya at the shipyards in Bilbringi and sent her crew up to the bridge to seize control of the ship. She herself traveled to her personal command room, maintaining contact with Captain Wintle as she went. His crew were unable to operate the ship from the bridge, as power had been transferred to the auxiliary bridge. They traveled there instead and Isard was just moments away from once again becoming a force to be reckoned with. It turned out, though, that Horn had managed to get a message out of the base and had told his wife Mirax about the situation, as well as his friend Iella Wessiri. General Airen Cracken, head of New Republic Intelligence and an old foil of Isard, responded by giving his subordinate Iella as well as Mirax and her father Booster Terrik the mission of figuring out exactly what Isard's endgame in the current scenario was, with Booster ultimately figuring out that if her goal was to regain her former power, the logical immediate step would be to re-take control of the Lusankya, which he had figured out the New Republic has not broken up for a mountain of spare parts as had been publicly claimed, but had been repaired to be put back into service. Hurrying to the Bilbringi shipyards using Ultra-Level clearance codes provided by NRI, the trio took command of the Star Dreadnaught before Isard arrived, transferred command to the auxiliary bridge and waited. Iella Wessiri confronted Isard in her private office at blasterpoint, telling her that she had her own people on the auxiliary bridge and that her boarding party would be sealed into an area of the ship and dealt with by manipulating the ships life support systems, taking them out of the equation. Desperate, Isard used the internal communication system to offer each of them twenty-five million Imperial credits to turn the ship over to her people, an annoyed 'Acting Captain' Booster Terrik responded to the offer by asking Iella to just shoot Isard and be done with it. Isard knew the New Republic would never try her in a court, as she knew many secrets about the government hierarchy, and goaded Wessiri, telling the woman to be done with it and kill her.

Wessiri however had little interest in killing Isard in cold blood nor humoring her attempts at manipulation. Instead she threatened to simply imprison her on her own Super Star Destroyer, locked away in some part of the ship serviced and manned only by droids; an anonymous prisoner who would never again have contact with anyone she could manipulate for the rest of her natural life. Confronted with such a fate, the former Director of Imperial Intelligence panicked. She attempted to kill Wessiri with a holdout blaster. Wessiri was shot in the shoulder, and retaliated by shooting Isard in the stomach. As Isard lay dying, she realized that she had failed the Emperor, and resigned herself to her fate.

During the battle at Ciutric, Ackbar managed to outmaneuver Krennel, and the warlord was killed when his command ship was destroyed. Isard's clone attempted to use the same tactic Isard had used to fool Rogue Squadron on Thyferra, pretending to flee in a remote controlled shuttle. The clone had not lived through the Bacta War, so was unaware that the ruse had already been used. Wedge Antilles figured out the clone's location, and he, Gavin Darklighter, Tycho Celchu, and Myn Donos killed the clone and destroyed the shuttle. Horn managed to free the Lusankya prisoners, and Jan Dodonna continued to serve as a military advisor to the New Republic.

Ultimately, Ysanne Isard was regarded as no better than the likes of the Emperor and Darth Vader, due to the vast number of atrocities she committed. It was estimated that several million people were killed on her orders, as well as thousands who spent years aboard her Lusankya facility. She would continue to haunt Mara Jade in nightmares for over a decade after their encounter. Isard's Lusankya became part of the New Republic fleet, and Wedge Antilles served as a commander on it for a time. It served for over a decade, fighting in the Battle of Phaeda, until it was destroyed during the Battle of Borleias in the Yuuzhan Vong War.

Ambiguous statements made by Iella Wessiri during the celebration of the release of the Lusankya prisoners alluded to the possibility that Isard survived Wessiri's shot, and was given a secret military trial and then imprisoned, as Wessiri threatened she would be, in a special section of the Lusankya crewed entirely by droids. This section served as a bio-containment facility devoted to scientific and medical research such as that which would have thwarted Isard's Krytos Virus plot, and included a containment cell designed to vent immediately to space were it ever breached—potentially a perfect holding cell for Isard. These statements eventually became a widespread rumor. Although New Republic officials had strenuously and publicly denied these rumors, the same officials in private also conceded that, whether the rumors were true or not, the "idea does offer a certain poetic justice."

Isard's personality and traits were often compared to her two mismatched eyes. She could be icily cold, heartless and cruel, but was also prone to fiery, temperamental fits of anger. These traits asserted themselves at different times in her actions. Even as a field agent, Isard was ambitious, calculating, and ruthless. She ruled the Empire in power, if not in name, and had a deep desire to control things, a weakness that would help lead to her defeat in the Bacta War. Her entire Lusankya prisoner complex was devoted to the torment of prisoners and then turning them into tools to bring down the Rebellion, though many observed that while she was talented at engineering opponents' downfalls politically, when she had to wield the hammer and deal with them in a more direct fashion, she did so rather clumsily.

From the time she entered Imperial Intelligence until the time she died, Isard was possessed of an unyielding lust for power. She conspired against her own father in order to usurp him as Director, and the only person she would never betray and steal power from was the Emperor, who she saw as the man who had brought order to the galaxy. Isard claimed all her actions were done for the benefit and continuing survival of the Empire, though she rarely thought about anything other than herself when making a decision. After the catastrophe at Endor, Ysanne did not show any hint of loyalty to the new rulers of the Empire, but rather, she immediately began planning on how to be rid of them. After the loss of Coruscant, Isard found another equally influential planet to rule, and even after her supposed death she found it difficult being virtually powerless. Even when she did not wield any significant power, Isard always liked to be one step ahead of her enemies; in the aftermath of the Battle of Coruscant, she took comfort knowing the New Republic were searching the galaxy top to bottom for her, while she was actually hidden right under their noses.

Throughout her life, Ysanne Isard showed an utter disregard for the lives of others, often killing hundreds to send a message to just one; Isard was ultimately responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of individuals. She had the people of Toprawa, a planet that had aided the Rebels in destroying the initial Death Star, punished for their actions through starvation. Many Toprawans died during these "rituals," whereby Isard had them beg for food and praise the Emperor's memory. In removing the Lusankya from underneath Coruscant's multitude of skyscrapers, she killed thousands upon thousands of people, many of them Imperials themselves. On Thyferra, she massacred the Ashern rebels by the thousands, and would have continued slaughtering the surplus million Vratix, all so that Wedge Antilles would feel rushed to attack her. Isard often had her own people killed, even for simply performing below her expectations. Her harsh methods for punishing traitors included killing all of their families, a punishment utilized by Darth Vader before his death. She often had officers in whom she was not entirely confident perform these executions, as a way of testing their mettle. Particularly during her youth, Isard had a very short temper, and often entered a sort of bloodlust, satisfied only by the mass killing of her enemies. When in a rage, Isard would happily execute even her best officers for even attempting to disagree or argue with her. Additionally, any whiff of insubordination she sensed was duly punished, often by death.

Isard had considerable pride, and hated to be made look bad in front of her superiors, allies, rivals, or enemies. After her failure on Darkknell, Isard was not able to return to Coruscant and face the music, so she instead fabricated evidence linking her father with the Rebel Alliance, and accused him of sending her on a suicide mission. During the Bacta War, when Isard required as many usable vessels as she could get, it pained her to have to go after people like Teradoc and plead with him for the service of one of her ships. The whole war with Antilles and his people taxed Isard severely, as she envisioned the rest of the galaxy laughing at her and mocking her for being unable to stand up to a company that numbered no more than thirty individuals.

Throughout her careers, rumors of a relationship between Isard and Emperor Palpatine continually resurfaced, although, like much of her personal life, actual proof could not be found by New Republic intelligence agents. When queried about her relationship with Palpatine by Corran Horn, she did not deny it, and told him that she found his power and wealth difficult to resist. Isard was under the assumption that Palpatine loved her in return, though the Emperor always had fears of her trying to overthrow him. Horn noted many similarities between Isard and Palpatine, namely, their lust for power.

Isard was a master of the arts of interrogation and torture, using a variety of methods to get the information she craved. During the interrogation of Vune Willic, she used a YI-5 Surveillance/Interrogation Droid to great effect. The droids were equipped with a variety of torture and interrogation equipment, though Isard always oversaw proceedings herself, she preferred to torture the prisoners personally, forcing any information out of them. Usually, she was able to get a full and clean confession out of subjects within the day; this allowed Imperial Intelligence to use an individual as a public scapegoat for something, while the real conspirators were dealt with behind closed doors. Isard was also known to use several truth serums in her questionings. When she was not looking for specific information or a confession, but when she was looking for information in general from a prisoner, Isard was able to force from most subjects all sorts of personal and private information and memories. She would use this information against the prisoner, goading and taunting them over past mistakes or horrific memories.

In her Lusankya facility, Isard subjected prisoners to all sorts of mental trauma, pitting them against allies and loved ones in simulators; she also found a way to keep the prisoners in line, punishing all of a particular group if one stepped out of line. Jan Dodonna, Ysanne's prize prisoner, was dissuaded from ever escaping by the Director of Imperial Intelligence, who told him that should he flee, she would severely punish the Rebels aboard the Lusankya. She also used illegal objects such as choke-collars to control allies whose loyalty she was unsure of.

As well as interrogation, Isard was skilled in a multitude of ground and intelligence skills; she was an adept slicer, blaster combatant, and unarmed combatant. During her escapades on Darkknell, she managed to hack into a planetary government system, and redirect an entire police unit so that they would not get in her way. Isard's talents at a computer terminal were not as great as they might have been, though, and she often had to rely on the talents of her subordinates to accomplish a task relating to slicing. Isard kept herself in peak physical condition at all times, even after she was no longer an active field operative. To ease her anger or frustration at any given time, she went through blaster simulators, worked out in holo-gyms, or practiced unarmed combat with a practice droid. It was a testament to her abilities that she hardly ever missed in the simulator runs. Isard was also a talented linguist, speaking Basic, Huttese, Durese, Mon Calamarian, Geonosian, Rybese, and Twi'leki.

Isard was adept at making her subordinates do what she wished. During the Emperor's time, offers of promotions were usually enough to buy one's cooperation, though after Endor, Isard often had to resort to offering people a position in her Empire, sometimes even as Emperor. She was not above using her good looks to seduce people, though this was usually driven by her own agenda. Isard also used personal grudges or life-long hatred between individuals as another means of motivation, hoping it would give her people more focus. Ysanne frequently had people perform extremely unsavory tasks, such as killing a family member, executing families of traitors, or razing undefended planets which had opposed her rule, as a means of testing their loyalty and dedication to the Imperial cause.

Ysanne Isard was conceived by Star Wars scribe Michael A. Stackpole for the X-Wing series of novels in 1996, debuting in X-Wing: Rogue Squadron. As the series unfolded, Isard evolved into a more pivotal figure, although none of the books presented scenes narrated from her perspective, with the exception of her concluding scene in Stackpole's final X-Wing novel, Isard's Revenge in 1999. Following Isard's apparent demise in X-Wing: The Bacta War, she started making appearances in Stackpole's Rogue Squadron comic books, which were set several years before the novels. In the comic book series, Isard occupies a more significant role, and her inner thoughts are revealed to readers, whereas in the books they largely remained concealed. In the concluding story arc of the series, it is disclosed that Isard possessed a clone; this clone, along with the genuine, surviving Isard, featured in Isard's Revenge. In 1999 Isard was featured in a joint short narrative penned by Stackpole and Timothy Zahn; since that time, her sole appearance was a cameo in Paul Ens's webcomic, Evasive Action: Prey. Consequently, nearly all of Isard's appearances have been within works authored by Michael A. Stackpole. In Aaron Allston's novel Fate of the Jedi: Outcast, her name is misspelled as "Ysane Isard".