When you look through the long list of Imperial officers in Star Wars Legends, you see the usual sea of olive green, gray, white, and black. Those colors are everywhere. But one set of uniforms stands out far more than any rank plaque or cap ever could. Only two people in the entire Empire wore red. And once you understand the family behind that color, the whole picture of Imperial power shifts.
The Red Uniform And The Weight It Carried
Imperial officers normally fit into clear categories. Army and Navy officers wore olive or gray, ISB and Imperial Intelligence field agents often wore white, stormtrooper officers used the sharp black variant.
Red didn’t belong to any of those branches. The only ones who wore it were Armand Isard and his daughter Ysanne Isard, and they did it while leading Imperial Intelligence. So the uniform acted like a family badge. It didn’t follow any regulation nor represent a standard role, it marked the Isard dynasty inside Palpatine’s system.
Legends material never gives an official reason behind Armand’s choice, though his daily work with Darth Vader, the Inquisitorius, and Sith-linked operations offers a clear context. He lived among those circles, handled their information, and delivered the results they needed. The red tone fit that environment and helped him stand apart inside the intelligence hierarchy.
Armand Isard, The Architect Behind Imperial Intelligence’s Foundation
Armand Isard didn’t rise from nowhere. He worked for the Republic long before the Empire. Wookieepedia and Legends sources place him in the Senate Bureau of Intelligence and the Office of Analysis during the years when Palpatine quietly increased his influence. He climbed across several reorganizations, shaped emergency branches, and helped align the Senate’s intelligence work with Palpatine’s agenda.
During the Clone Wars, he sat on the Security and Intelligence Council, a group that advised the Supreme Chancellor directly. He pushed for new intelligence divisions such as the Cryptanalysis Department, brought in slicers through unusual recruitment tests, and tried to keep enemy propaganda away from the HoloNet.
His role expanded even more when Palpatine restructured the Republic into the Galactic Empire. Armand became the first Director of Imperial Intelligence. His job covered Jedi survivors, political rivals, and the internal order of Imperial society, and he controlled how information moved between branches and between dark side operatives and regular officers.
His Influence Over Noble Houses
Armand understood how much power noble families held. He used investigations, favors, and intelligence leaks to shape entire territories. The Serenno case is one of the clearest examples. Through operations described in Agents of the Empire: Hard Targets and other Legends works, he arranged the assassination of Count Adan Dooku, then backed House Malvern and helped them become the new ruling house. He repeatedly acted in similar ways with other noble families, rewarding pro-Imperial loyalty and punishing rivals.
He also handled corruption cases with a selective approach. He pushed for punishments when a family threatened Imperial order, but he handed out mild consequences to powerful houses when their continued support benefited Palpatine. Every action served the stability of Imperial rule and the security of the Isard family’s future.
His Collapse After The Death Star Plans Leak
Everything changed after the Death Star plans slipped into Rebel hands. Protecting those plans was part of Armand’s authority, so the failure put him at risk. He also feared that his daughter’s growing skill would make her a direct rival.
Armand tried to eliminate her politically by sending her on a mission at Darkknell with the expectation she would fail. The novella Interlude at Darkknell shows how this played out. Ysanne uncovered his intentions, reversed the situation, and used Imperial channels to spread false information that Armand gave the Rebels the plans and planned to overthrow Palpatine.
“That’s absurd, completely untrue and absurd.”
But she had already delivered her version of events to the Emperor. Armand was arrested soon after and executed. Some rumors say Ysanne pulled the trigger herself.
Ysanne Isard, The Empire’s Coldest Power Player
Ysanne grew up inside the heart of Imperial power. She walked through Intelligence offices as a child, stood beside Inquisitors, and attended receptions where Imperial leaders gathered. She developed her skills early, and Armand shaped her into a capable field agent through strict training.
By her twenties, she became one of Imperial Intelligence’s top operatives and a personal spy for Palpatine. She gained access to highly restricted information. She gathered her own contacts, learned how to pull sources from inside the bureaucracy, and built a reputation for a sharp and ruthless style. She also earned her nickname from Rebels and Imperials alike: Iceheart.
Palpatine kept her close, though he openly said he trusted her the least. Even with that statement, he continued to rely on her ambition because it helped him maintain control across the Empire.
Taking Her Father’s Place And Reshaping Imperial Intelligence
After Armand’s execution, Ysanne became Director of Imperial Intelligence. She didn’t simply run the agency. She transformed it into a center of political control.
Her most famous operation involved the Lusankya, the second Executor-class Star Dreadnought built, which Palpatine secretly hid under Coruscant’s surface. The novels in the X-Wing series describe how she turned the buried ship into a prison and brainwashing facility. High-level prisoners such as General Jan Dodonna ended up inside it. Many became sleeper agents after extensive psychological conditioning.
Ysanne used Intelligence to watch the Ubiqtorate and the Imperial Court. She shaped internal rivalries, controlled propaganda, and placed spies within the bureaucracy. She monitored others at Imperial feasts, including Mara Jade. When Jade escaped from her confinement during Ysanne’s attempts to interrogate her, Isard marked her as an enemy.
Her Power After Endor
When Palpatine died at Endor, the Empire splintered. Ysanne struck fast. She:
- manipulated the weak leadership of Sate Pestage
- pushed the Imperial Ruling Council into conflicts
- removed rivals through assassinations
- took control of Coruscant
Her work led some Imperials to refer to her as the informal Empress. She was one of the most powerful surviving Imperial leaders, second only to Zsinj in territory and resources.
Loss Of Coruscant And Her Deadly Escape
The New Republic launched its operation to reclaim Coruscant shortly after her rise. She anticipated defeat and prepared the Lusankya for departure. Her escape tore through Coruscant’s deep city layers and killed millions as the ship broke through the surface. This incident remains one of the most destructive single events on the planet.
Despite the terror caused by her departure, she did not escape the New Republic for long. Rogue Squadron hunted her, captured the Lusankya, and forced her into hiding again.
Ysanne’s Later Years And Her Final End
Even after losing her Super Star Destroyer Lusankya and the Imperial capital, Ysanne kept operating in Imperial-friendly space. Her influence weakened as former followers left her. She spent more time planning from the shadows while warlords and surviving fleets fought their own battles.
During the Thrawn era, she avoided most major conflicts. She watched the rising struggles without joining them, convinced that the Empire she knew had already fallen apart.
Years later, during the events of Isard’s Revenge, she returned with a plan involving a clone of herself. She hoped to regain control of the Lusankya, restore her influence, and secure a new base of power. Rogue Squadron disrupted the plan, and the confrontation ended with Iella Wessiri Antilles killing her during a fight aboard the dreadnought.
Ysanne had no children. All other Isard relatives had died long before. Her death marked the end of the Isard name.
Last Words
Across all these events, the red uniform carried one clear meaning. It represented the power of the Isard family, not a branch, not a rank, and not a formal symbol in any military category. The father built the foundation of Imperial Intelligence, and the daughter expanded it into a political throne. Each used information, deception, and direct action to secure influence during the Republic, the Empire, and the chaotic years afterward.
Only two people ever wore red inside Imperial command. They guided the Empire’s greatest intelligence operations, shaped noble houses, managed dark side collaborations, hunted Jedi fugitives, and directed the most feared psychological facility in the Imperial era.
Their position didn’t rely on fleets or armies. They built their authority through secrets and control, and the uniform became a mark of that legacy.