The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

Chapter 2738 The Rebellion in the Capital (Part 7)

2738. The Rebellion in the Capital (Part 7)
Three hours before the rebellion, at the Imperial Center, the Imperial Intelligence Bureau.

Lieutenant General Wolf-Ularen, Imperial Intelligence Department.

This veteran, who had experienced almost the entirety of the Clone Wars from the end of the Galactic Republic to the establishment of the Empire, was now standing in front of a huge holographic projection, looking at the projected ultra-fast screen and the large amount of data and videos displayed on it.

Recent undercurrents have been stirring within the Empire's core, and the Imperial Intelligence Bureau has taken notice. Unusual troop movements, unregistered spaceships smuggling into the country, and frequent secret communications between high-ranking officials and core nobles all foreshadow an impending storm.

However, the Imperial Intelligence Agency is now under tremendous pressure. Ever since Aisani Isaad successfully killed her father and took over as the new Director of the Imperial Intelligence Agency, the Imperial intelligence agencies have been facing restructuring.

Because the Imperial Intelligence Bureau was previously under the command of the Black Hole, who was also the leader of the Imperial Inquisition, the Bureau was deeply intertwined with the influence of the Dark Cultists. Much of the work was handled by the Imperial Inquisition, and it must be acknowledged that while the Imperial Inquisitors were extreme and bloodthirsty, they were also incredibly efficient.

However, with the departure of the Black Hole, the death of Hydra, and the demise of Radinar Tobin in the internal strife of the Targaryen family, the Imperial Inquisition's power has crumbled. Therefore, in the subsequent power reshuffle, Palpatine chose to trust Isani Isaad, the influence of the Dark Lords was completely eradicated from the Intelligence Bureau, and traditional powers regained control.

However, this was immediately followed by Palpatine's de facto rule, which involved delegating power to the Imperial Intelligence Service to suppress discontent among the inner circle of nobles stemming from the internal strife within the Tagg family. This forced the Imperial Intelligence Service to expand rapidly, reactivating many previously abandoned intelligence lines and attracting a large influx of unqualified personnel into the intelligence system.

Before the matter was fully resolved, the fortress planet Bilbrin was captured. Faced with the Dawn Kingdom's relentless pressure, the Imperial Intelligence Agency had to allocate more resources to support the fleet operations at the front, leaving the agency stretched thin.

Now, things are even worse—the transport fleet carrying rare alloys from Planet Scipio has been hijacked! This isn't just a slap in the face to the Interstellar Banking Association, it's a direct attack on the Intelligence Department!

In addition to the troop movements of the First Star System Army and the rotation of the capital region defense fleet, the intelligence agency has been working overtime continuously for the past two days, with almost no rest time.

Even so, Woolf-Ularen sighed – if Coruscant were a curtain, then the darkness representing the unknown on that curtain would continue to spread and increase.

As an intelligence officer, what is the thing you fear most?
It is unknown.

They were the unseen clues, the conspiracies yet to surface. Woolf stared at the flashing red dots on the holographic star map, each one like a drop of blood—marked suspicious recent events. Some were clandestine conversations between inner circle nobles and high-ranking military officials; some were unauthorized personnel transfers; some were suspicious individuals the agents had lost track of…

Oh right, and all of this doesn't even take into account the pressure from the Dawn Kingdom's intelligence department—Woolf-Yullaren knows the name 'White Lotus,' but that's all.

This network woven within the empire is what he fears most.

If intelligence warfare is also a war, then the Imperial Intelligence Agency is losing this war as well!
At that moment, an intelligence officer approached and said to Woolf-Ulaanen, "Sir, there is a very troublesome person who wants to see you."

“Who?” Woolf-Ularen frowned.

“Uh… yes… Solon,” the intelligence officer said hesitantly. “He somehow escaped from his cell and now wants to see you.”

Woolf-Ularen said seriously, "General Thron is being held in the prison beneath the Imperial Palace. If he has escaped, there is only one possibility—he was released. Please bring him in."

"Yes."

The doors opened, and Thrawn, dressed in a white naval admiral's uniform, slowly walked in. His deep blue skin and scarlet eyes made him stand out starkly in the heart of the empire, a place teeming with humans.

Although he no longer wore his insignia, indicating that he had been stripped of his military rank, he still stood tall and walked steadily before Woolf-Ularen, stating bluntly, "A rebellion is about to break out in the heart of the Empire."

If it were any other intelligence officer, Thron would probably have been arrested by now, but Woolf-Ularen asked very seriously, "What evidence do you have?"

"No," Thron answered simply.

“Then what will we base our actions on?” Wolf-Jularen countered.

Thron calmly stated, "To launch a coup, three elements are needed."

He held up three fingers. "First, rotate the garrison; second, take control of the communications center; third, His Majesty the Emperor goes out. That's enough. Prepare to move out."

“The rotation of garrison troops is not something anyone can control; it’s a decision made by the highest levels of the military. The communications center is still under our control, and His Majesty the Emperor… any assassination attempt against him personally would be suicidal,” Woolf-Ularen retorted quickly.

"Oh...? Are you sure?" Soron asked back, his crimson eyes fixed on Yularen's eyes.

Although Woolf-Ulaan had once been a naval admiral, he had been working in intelligence for more than ten years since he was demoted to the intelligence agency. He was first demoted from admiral to colonel in the intelligence department, and then promoted back to vice admiral. His experience and knowledge were unmatched by anyone else. When Soron asked him this question, he immediately connected all the details of what had happened recently!

Indeed, whether it's the rotation of garrison troops or His Majesty the Emperor's outings, there's an invisible hand manipulating everything behind the scenes. No, not just one hand, but several terrifying black hands shrouded in darkness!
Thron reiterated, "Of the factors that led to this outcome, not everyone may have been motivated by the same purpose. But these different purposes ultimately resulted in this most serious consequence. Regardless of whether a rebellion actually occurs, we must respond."

Woolf-Ulaanen jumped to his feet. “That’s right! If the ultimate goal is a coup, then everything makes sense! I’ll mobilize the army immediately! No… wait a minute…”

He paused, quickly recovering from his excitement, and turned to ask, "Do you have any suggestions, General Thoron?"

“First of all, I am no longer a general,” Thrall said calmly, his hands behind his back.

“Once you get through this crisis, you will undoubtedly become the core of the Imperial Navy,” Woolf-Ularen said.

“As for what I wanted to say, you already have the answer, don’t you?” Thron smiled slightly. “First, take control of the situation, then deal with the threat.” Woolf-Ularen said the same thing as Demetrius Zarin, “If we alert them now, the culprits will immediately go into hiding, and such coups will continue to happen.”

“Then I also have three suggestions,” Soron said with a smile: “First, seize control of the military. Second, identify who is on your side. Third, divide the communication zones.”

“Segmenting communication areas?” The other two were easy to understand, but the third one, Woolf-Ularen, was a little confused.

“We can’t just cut off all communications. We need to divide Coruscant, including outer space, into multiple regions, and then only cut off communications between those regions,” Thron said. “This way, their actions will also be fragmented, which will not only increase their communication difficulties but also make it easier for us to conduct targeted investigations.”

“I understand.” Woolf-Ularen nodded. “I’ll go report to Chief Assani Isard immediately. Um… what about you? Are you coming with me?”

Thron shook his head slightly and said, "No, I'll go find someone and assemble a fleet first."

A person with no military rank, talking about assembling a fleet? But... if you consider that this person is Thrawn, then it might not be so surprising.

Wolf-Ulaanen sighed softly, realizing that he might really be getting old.

"Who are you going to see?" he asked.

“Imperial Marshal, Rufán Digorinus,” Thron said.

Woolf-Ularen frowned. "If a rebellion is really going to break out, then Marshal Rufán is definitely one of the biggest suspects. Moreover, he was the one who strongly promoted this troop rotation in the capital region. Are you sure you want to go looking for him? This might be walking into a trap."

……

After Emperor Palpatine boarded the shuttle and left the Imperial Palace, it was as if a switch had been flipped, revealing something within the heart of the Empire…

It's activated.

First, a large number of gangs from the lower levels of Coruscant suddenly gathered and launched an attack on banks, vaults, and upscale clubs. They seemed to be desperate for money and rushed out to make a big score.

This is actually quite normal. After all, on Coruscant, a planet rife with materialism, wealth is extremely concentrated and the gap between the rich and the poor is enormous. Such robberies happen from time to time and are quite common.

Security forces were immediately dispatched to deal with these people.

The security apparatus on Coruscant comprises a staggering 15 billion personnel, along with nearly 30 billion security robots of various types. Only such a massive force can ensure the safety of this superplanet with a total population exceeding one trillion.

These personnel are scattered across different layers of the planet. The higher the layer, the stronger the security force. Below the 2000th layer, it is difficult to see any security personnel, as most of the security is maintained by robots.

However, such a massive security organization also significantly increases the difficulty of command and coordination. While sporadic security incidents are manageable under normal circumstances, the sudden outbreak of violence by a large number of gang members has nearly overwhelmed the security organization.

Just as a large number of military and police personnel from the Public Security Bureau were heading to the riot sites, many areas were immediately ambushed!

During this period, a large number of mercenaries infiltrated from outside and ambushed the military and police on their usual routes, launching surprise attacks with various heavy weapons, causing extremely heavy casualties.

At the same time, almost all communication centers on the planet were attacked! Some were suddenly instigated by internal rebellions, some were directly occupied by disguised mercenaries, and others were attacked by pre-planted electromagnetic pulse bombs, causing communication to be paralyzed.

Several other spaceports were also attacked. The guards were quickly eliminated, and mercenaries, appearing out of nowhere, swiftly took control of the flight control towers and closed the flight paths, preventing spacecraft from taking off.

Meanwhile, as if it had been pre-arranged, with the support of several core powerful families, many high-ranking imperial officials and members of the Imperial Diet arrived at the Imperial Diet building and announced that the Imperial Diet would immediately convene a meeting!
Without a doubt, this series of deployments, like countless bombs planted within the empire, are all in place. They're just waiting for a single spark to detonate them all!
And this fire was the news that Palpatine had been taken into custody!
……

Thron was handcuffed and brought before Imperial Marshal Rufon-Digorinus.

At this moment, the Imperial Marshal sat at the table, a glass of fine wine in his hand, sipping it with an elegant air. A black communicator sat before him.

“I’ve already heard about it from Aisani Isaad,” Rufán Digorinus said casually. “But coincidentally, I’ve also received several invitations. Guess what they want me for?”

“For an Imperial Marshal, there is only one thing that can tempt you…” Soron said calmly, yet uttered the most treasonous words, “…the Emperor’s throne.”

“To be honest, I am quite interested,” Rufán-Digorinus said. “Don’t be fooled by the Empire’s seemingly invincible exterior; we all know that what supports this powerful facade is only one lone pillar—His Majesty the Emperor himself. If that pillar falls, the entire Empire will collapse. I have indeed been thinking that if I could step forward at this moment, perhaps…”

He gave a mysterious smile, raised his glass and waved it at Thoron, saying nothing but conveying a profound meaning.

Thrawn nodded and said directly, "Then, now that you've made your decision, you need to act immediately. Take control of the situation and completely eliminate these rebels. Now, we need a fleet."

Rufán-Digorinus gave a cold laugh and said, "How do you know I've already made up my mind?"

“First of all, you’re not stupid. Secondly, if you really intended to participate in the coup, you wouldn’t have let me see you,” Thrall said.

“Hahahaha…I think if I really intended to stage a coup, you wouldn’t have come looking for me, right?” Rufán-Digorinus laughed. “I like dealing with smart people.”