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Chapter 4

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Part 3

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Senator Palpatine's aircar

Coruscant

After leaving his guests home to go execute his orders, Palpatine had some time to think. Even now, more than a hundred kilometres away from Republica 500 and the Jedi, he had his improved mask firmly in place. It was a distinctly weird experience – as if he was a new, different person. So much in fact that it got him thinking. Oh, he knew all about being a Sith, of being Sidious, just... that was something distant; as if a part of him was asleep.

For the first time in years, more than a decade really, he could think clearly, without his hatred of the Jedi clouding his mind. Oh, the Order had to go, that much Palpatine and Sidious agreed on. Their fanatical insistence of controlling all Force Sensitives in the Republic who had a shred of Jedi training was problematic... and he was no Jedi. Revealing himself while the Jedi were in power, even by accident would at the very least see his political career see an untimely death, with himself forced into exile if he was lucky. If not... All the Sith histories were clear on that point – as far as the Jedi were concerned, they would suffer no Sith to live outside a tightly locked down and utterly secure cell, then they would throw away the key and pat themselves on the back for a job well done!

However, now the plan had to change. Originally, once becoming a Chancellor, he had to set up the stage for a galaxy-wide civil war, which in turn would allow him to complete the groundwork for transforming the Republic in the First Galactic Empire, with him in charge of course. With those two fossils crawling out of the woodwork and Plagueis vanishing in the ether, there were complications...

Palpatine smiled to himself. When other people might have seen a major obstacle in their path, he saw opportunities! The civil war he desired would have multiple purposes – create fear and chaos, distract everyone and nicely gather most people who would either have the inclination or the means to initially oppose the formation of his Empire, demonize and crush them. In fact such a conflict was vital to his plans... and the means to realize it literally dropped on his doorstep a few hours ago.

As long as his mask held, Palpatine was going to present himself as a friendly and supportive sort. Who wouldn't want to eradicate slavery from the face of the galaxy? He would drum support for the ancients' Crusade and as historical precedent showed, all sorts of hot-heads who might eventually become troublesome would rally to the cause and go fight and die in Hutt Space. It would take some tweaking and careful planning but he might even arrange his new Jedi friends as the focal point of the civil war he needed. Sheev already knew where a lot of the bodies were buried, who buried them and of the skeletons in the wardrobes of a significant number of Senators. With Plagueis at large, his former master was in unique position to take the blame for any of Sidious Sith shenanigans... What would the Jedi do when, not if, the Senate's corruption was suddenly exposed along with some hint from their good friend Sheev that a Sith Lord might in fact be pulling the strings from behind the scenes despite his best efforts to make the Senate and the Republic as a whole actually work? He would need to think about it but there would have to be a way to force those two Jedi to oppose a corrupt and decadent Republic... for its own good of course...

But first, he had to present himself not only to his new friends but everyone else as someone reasonable and capable. Resolving the situation on Naboo in a peaceful and legal way would get him further support when the election day came. That's why he was on his way to have a word or two with Lott Dod – the Trade Federation Senator.

Speaking of the overgrown toad – there was the Neimoidian's residence. Sheev transited lanes and headed for the overly-large palatial building, which while built without sparing any expense demonstrated a startling lack of taste. The place was massive, opulent and an eyesore in this part of Coruscant's skyline.

He landed, plastered a pleasant smile on his face and exited to meet a pair of droid guards. Getting to meet Dod was going to be an exercise of frustration, he just knew it...

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For half an hour until he finally was graced with his colleague's presence, he was proven right. It was an excellent thing he had his mask practically bolted on or he would have been sorely tempted to burn the whole place to the ground with every single occupant still inside. The dumb droids were bad enough. Dod's retainers... Sheev was doing his absolute best to erase their condescending words from his mind before he did something he would very much enjoy until the Jedi came to investigate his handiwork.

"Senator Palpatine." Dod walked from the office where Sheev had to wait while the Neimoidian played a little power-game. The amphibian Senator wore his customary ridiculously expensive robes – made of Tyrian violet cloth, which was possibly the most expensive and hard to obtain natural fabric in the galaxy. Dod had his purple representative mantle draped on too – a not too subtle indicator of his status.

Finally, Palpatine let his mask slip a bit.

"Senator Dod." He nodded curtly. "Let us retire to your office so we can speak candidly." Sidious reinforced his words with a hint of the Force and the tall, spindly toad in front of him stared at him in confusion. Eventually the Neimoidian nodded.

"Leave us. We've got important things to discuss." Dod ordered his retainers, who immediately protested being excluded. "NOW!" Lott barked.

The hangers on scattered and the Senators retired to the office.

At least that place was decorated with a hint of taste, though it looked utterly alien to Palpatine's human sensibilities. There was simply something wrong in the way the colours and the shape of the furniture clashed that made him feel a hint of unease. With the Force, he was able to ignore that unusual emotion and concentrate on the important things.

"What do you want?" Dod went behind his desk, sat down and shook his head, before giving a suspicious look to his guest; there was no trace of the usual oily quality that better suited a snake-oil salesman in the Neimoidian's voice.

"I won't mice words." A hint of Sidious appeared as Palpatine smiled at his host. "I would very hard try to remain civil as my upbringing demands and you most certainly don't deserve."

"Don't waste my time, Palpatine!" Dod snapped.

"The Trade Federation in general and your friend the Viceroy in particular, miscalculated. Expecting the backing of a Sith of all people to save you? One of your allies went after my Queen while she was stranded on Tatooine two days ago and got his head cut off for his trouble."

Dod blanched. "There were two of them?!"

"For your sake I hope not. Do you know who did it? I'm sure you've heard of them considering the company you prefer – the infamous Trade Barons of the Outer Rim..." Palpatine shook his head in a mock-disappointment.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." The Neimoidian denied.

"A few thousand years ago, a certain pair of Crusaders vanished while their forces were consolidating after their first round of... liberations in Hutt Space. I know for a fact that at least couple of your friends whose ancestors began as slavers still celebrate that day and you're often a guest there." Palpatine demonstrated a bit of his knowledge of how the Trade Federation worthies spent their times. It was only logical to know such things before choosing them as patsies for not only the Naboo affair but potential figurehead for the planned for civil war.

"Those are respectable businessmen! What people distantly related to them did hundreds or even thousands of years ago is of no consequence. No one chooses their relatives." Dod reasonably pointed out. He was already recovering by the brief touch of the Force Sidious used.

"It's not me you want to convince, my dear colleague." Palpatine laid it thick. "It's the people who turned on Naboo just a day before Viceroy Gunrey began his ill advised blockade." Sheev's smile was all teeth and he knew that it would disturb Dod.

"What people?" Lott asked warily. His whole posture screamed that he didn't like where that conversation was going, yet was curious to see if Palpatine did have a point.

"A pair of lost Jedi Masters. A certain Delkatar and Kira Veil who were very put upon to figure out that some kind of hyperspace accident not only sent them into the future but their cause collapsed. Why, I personally met them just a few hours ago and they're currently guests at my flat along with my dear Queen. The tales they told me..." As he continued to speak, Sheev's smile grew more and more cheerful.

"That can't be..." Dod shook his head.

"Jedi. They do weird things all the time." Palpatine shrugged. "But it gets better!" He declared with a flourish. "Those two aren't bound by the laws that keeps the Jedi nice and safe as long as the Chancellor doesn't request their help. They also pledged their help to liberate Naboo and bring the Trade Federation to justice." He leaned forward and whispered conspirationally. "They really don't play by the rules. Here just for a few days and they already tortured a few slavers while stuck on Tatooine and raring to go on another Crusade, though before that happens they are keen on making a dry run against the Trade Federation."

"The Senate won't stand for that!"

"The Jedi Order apparently refused to sanction them... and the next Chancellor might not be friendly to your interests. Nor would they be mired by accusations of corruption... not to mention that they wouldn't have spent all their political capital already, very much unlike Valorum." Palpatine explained as if to a child, though it was redundant.

Whatever else you could say about Dod, the man was a slick political operator; it was just that this time he was stuck fixing a mess that was already without salvaging. That was the case the moment Palpatine met the old Jedi in person and decided to cut off his Trade Federation related losses.

"We'll see about that!" Dod suddenly stood up. "There are laws keeping the Jedi in check for a reason!"

"Keeping the Jedi Order in check you mean. Those two aren't members and from what I gather, their unnatural powers might very well make them two of the most powerful people in the galaxy." Palpatine added salt to the wound.

"That's quite enough." Dod finally took control of his wits. "You didn't come here to gloat. What do you want, Palpatine?"

Ah, finally. "Your Sith backer, Darth Sidious, also known as Hugo Damask, made himself scarce the moment when he learned about the ancient Jedi turning up. They cut apart his apprentice without braking sweat too. You won't see any help from that corner and with him gone, I'm free to run for Chancellor without his influence mucking things up."

Dod's eyes widened. "You made a deal with him too!" He declared.

"A deal? No. I was offered help to save Naboo from your friends and all I had to do in exchange was owe him a few favours once I became a Chancellor. You were played, my friend."

"We were set up, weren't we?" Dod lowered his gaze in silent contemplation. "What did the Sith want to accomplish?"

"I can make an educated guess – he wants control over the Senate. If he was really behind the Trade Federation invasion and then his support turned out to be instrumental for my election, why he would own me or I would see myself facing charges of treason." Palpatine smiled wryly. "That still leaves you with a big problem."

"Why did you tell me all that?"

"The truth shall set me free. I will be no ones pawn, my friend."

"We both know that statement has very distant relationship with the truth."

"Is it so hard to believe that while I may be as selfish, power-thirsty bastard as they come, I do care for my home and want your invasion gone yesterday?" All cheer was suddenly gone from Palpatine's face and voice and he glowered at the Neimoidian who quailed under the glare.

"I see... What do you expect me to do? Without the Sith's backing our position is likely to become untenable!"

"You did well to imply that either the Viceroy went on the deep end or there was a major malfunction in the mainframe controlling your droids and ships at Naboo. I'm afraid that while Gunrey might be a lost cause, the Trade Federation doesn't need to go down in flames with him."

"You're going to make me an offer I can't refuse, aren't you?"

"Oh, you can most certainly refuse!" Palpatine's smile was back, but no one could accuse it of being a nice one. It was all Sidious.

The Neimoidian squirmed. Sheev knew what was passing through the man's mind – he was weighting pros and cons, available political support that could be blackmailed or bought, the odds of getting away of accusing him of working with the Sith... something the Jedi might not believe yet considering their dismissal of Maul as a Dark Jedi with delusions of grandeur...

Palpatine knew he was playing a very dangerous game. If Dod actually went spreading tales of him working with the Sith... he was actually going to admit to the ancient Jedi the same thing he "confessed" to his host, perhaps along with admitting that he was a Force Sensitive who was somewhat self-taught and that Plagueis wanted him as an apprentice as well as the next Chancellor. With a bit of luck he could be able to occasionally operate as a Sith too and blaming his acts on his former master. He thought it was a nice touch of accusing Plagues of being Sidious... When all was said and done, he was planting the seeds of his future plans, which admittedly were far from finalized. In fact, it might even be for the better if the ancient Jedi figured he was a Force wielder sooner rather than later, especially once he could demonstrate that he was not only in position to help continue with their Crusade but eager to do it in fact. All to remove slavery from the face of the galaxy, heh. Unless he was very much mistaken, that would exacerbate the rift forming between the Council and the old pair. He knew his enemies well enough and it was more likely for the Jedi Order to shatter under internal strain than the Council voting to end their self imposed hermit ways. Of course, then there were the laws governing what the Jedi could and couldn't do, which would eventually be a nice point of friction between everyone...

"You want to throw Gunrey in the spawning pits to be eaten by the Grubs." Apparently Dod got to a decision already. "I might reluctantly agree with that sentiment. The Trade Federation can't be led to ruin over his actions."

"I'm glad we see eye to eye on this. Speaking about the Federation, are there any junior directors on Coruscant or close enough to get here before tomorrow at noon at the latests?" Palpatine inquired.

"Ilroth's been planet-side ever since the board got assassinated. He should be in the building as we speak."

"Good. We'll need to present an united front for the Senate. Please do call him in once we've decided what to do with Gurney."

"It's we now?" Dod smiled mirthlessly. "I'll repeat myself, what do you really want, Palpatine?"

"A great many things, my new friend. A great many things."

"What do I get out of this?"

"Well, lets start with the obvious – if we preserve the Trade Federation you can continue to represent it to the Senate with all the privileges and bonuses that entails. We can probably keep you off the radar of a pair of Jedi with no restrain and nothing really to keep them in check, though if you try backstabbing me, I'll gleefully throw you to them." Palpatine leaned forward and whispered couple of sentences to Dod. "I don't think the Crusaders would approve, not at all. Why, they might think it's for the best they handle that before even thinking of going problem solving in the Outer Rim."

"I'll play along." Dod glared. He was the one supposed to be blackmailing people, not the other way around. While he might be able to use Palpatine's admission against the man... the truth was he was the one with more to use. So he would bid his time and seek better opportunities. However, first he had to make sure that Gunrey went down hard or he would be the one thrown as food for the Grubs.