“Journalists are more than welcome to visit,” he said.
Valorum cocked a silver eyebrow in doubt.
“Now that you’ve gotten them accustomed to transparency and accessibility,” Palpatine added.
Valorum laughed without mirth. “For all the good it has done me.”
Sei Taria broke an awkward silence. “You certainly make no secret of your favorite color, Senator.” The lids of her oblique eyes were colored to match the burgundy of her septsilk robe; her dark hair was twisted into an elaborate bun behind her head, while in front, bangs bisected her flawless forehead.
“Scarlet figures prominently in the crest of my ancestral house,” Palpatine explained evenly.
“And yet you favor black and blue in everything you wear.”
Palpatine’s thin smile held. “I’m flattered that you notice.”
Taria’s expression turned devious. “Many have taken notice of you, Senator.”
Servants hurried over to take Valorum’s and Taria’s veda cloth cloaks.
“I hired them expressly for the evening,” Palpatine said quietly. “I’m a solitary man at heart.”
Taria spoke before Valorum could. “The title of the latest HoloNet piece about you, if I’m not mistaken. The Senator who turned his back on a vast fortune to devote himself to politics. Who worked his way up from Naboo’s legislative body to the ambassadorship to the Galactic Senate …” She smiled without showing her teeth. “A heartwarming story.”
“And every word of it true,” Palpatine said. “From a certain point of view.”
The three of them shared a laugh, and then Palpatine led them deeper into the press of guests, all of whom were well disposed toward Valorum. There was no one in the suite the Supreme Chancellor didn’t know, and he greeted every one of them by name. The ability to make beings feel as if they mattered to him, personally as well as politically, was one of his few strengths.
A protocol droid delivered drinks on a tray, and Valorum and Taria helped themselves to glasses. When Valorum’s trophy excused herself to make conversation with the wife of Alderaanian Senator Bail Antilles, Palpatine steered Valorum into the suite’s main room.
“How is it that you manage to enjoy the support of both the Core and Rim Factions?” Valorum asked in genuine interest.
“A consequence of Naboo’s location more than anything else. Mine is something of a displaced world — located in the Rim but sharing the sensibilities of many of the Core worlds.”
Valorum gestured to a figurine in a wall niche. “Exquisite.”
“Quite. A gift from Senator Eelen Li.”
“From Triffis.”
Palpatine reoriented the figurine slightly. “A museum piece, actually.”
Valorum continued along the wall, indicating a second piece. “And this?”
“A ceremonial Gran wind drum. Over one thousand years old.” He glanced out of the corner of his eye at Valorum. “A present from Baskol Yeesrim.”
Valorum nodded. “Senator Ainlee Teem’s aide. I didn’t realize you were on good terms with the Gran Protectorate.”
Palpatine shrugged. “For a time I wasn’t — owing to a long-standing feud over Naboo’s abstention in a Senatorial vote of some significance at the time, but ancient history now.”
Valorum lowered his voice to ask, “Do you think you could bring Malastare over to my side?”
Palpatine swung to look at him. “Regarding the embargo of Yinchorr? Possibly. But not on the matter of taxing the free-trade zones. Both Ainlee Teem and Aks Moe have become allies of the Trade Federation.”
“An even more bewildering reversal.” Valorum sighed. “Friends become enemies; enemies, friends … I suspect I’m going to have to call in every political favor I’m owed to succeed at Yinchorr.” He compressed his lips and shook his head. “I fear my legacy is on the line here, old friend. I’ve only one year left of my term, but I’m determined to see things though.”
Palpatine conjured a compassionate tone. “If it’s any solace, I support the use of a paramilitary force — even at the risk of escalating the crisis — if only to silence those who have accused the Republic of being spineless.”
Valorum clapped Palpatine on the shoulder. “Your support is appreciated.” He looked around the room, then asked even more quietly, “Whom can I count on, Palpatine?”
Palpatine’s eyes scanned the crowd, alighting briefly on two human males, an Anx who wouldn’t have fit in a room with lower ceilings, an Ithorian, and finally a Tarnab.
“Antilles. Com Fordox. Horox Ryyder. Tendau Bendon. Perhaps Mot-Not-Rab …”
Valorum eyed them in turn, then let his gaze settle on a Rodian. “Farr?”
Palpatine laughed to himself; Onaconda Farr thought of politics the way his Rodian brethren thought of bounty hunting:
“He’s a militant, but I may be able to persuade him, as he enjoys close ties with House Naberrie, of Naboo.”
“Tikkes?” Valorum asked, gazing covertly at the Quarren Senator, whose facial tentacles were manipulating snacks into his mouth.
“Tikkes will want something in return, but yes.”
Valorum’s pale blue eyes found Wookiee Senator Yarua.
Palpatine nodded. “Kashyyyk will support you.”
Valorum drained his drink glass and set it aside. “And my opponents?”
“Aside from the obvious ones? The entire Ryloth group — Orn Free Taa, Connus Trell, and Chom Frey Kaa. Also Toonbuck Toora, Edcel Bar Gan, Po Nudo … Do you want me to go on?”
Valorum looked discouraged as they stepped out onto the balcony. A tone sounded, indicating that the noise cancellation feature had been activated. Valorum continued to the railing and stared off into the distance.
“A rare dark night,” he said after a moment.
Palpatine joined him at the railing. “Weather control is brewing a storm.” He turned slightly to adjust the noise cancellation system. “Listen: peals of thunder over The Works. And there,” he added, pointing, “lightning.”
“How unnatural it seems here. If only we might be as easily cleansed as this vast sky and these monumental buildings.”
Palpatine glanced at him. “The Senate has obstructed you, but you’ve brought no dishonor to the office.”
Valorum considered it. “I knew when my first term began that I would face opposition; that events had been spiraling out of control since the Stark Conflict. But since then I’ve sensed a darkness approaching from the outer reaches of the galaxy to shake Coruscant to its foundations. You would think, after a thousand years of peace, that the Republic would be unshakable, but that isn’t the case. I’ve always placed my faith in the Force, believing that if I acted in accordance with its guiding principles, the galaxy would act in kind.”
Palpatine frowned in the dark. “The Republic has grown unwieldy. We are coerced and cajoled into deals that compromise our integrity. We are criticized as much for what we do as what we don’t do. Most beings in the Core couldn’t point to Yinchorr in a star map, and yet the crisis there becomes your problem.”
Valorum nodded in a distracted way. “We can’t stand by and do nothing. The Jedi express as much in private, and yet even they are divided. If Master Dooku becomes any more vocal in his criticisms of the Senate and the Order, the Council may have to restrict him to the Temple.” He fell silent, then said, “Well, I certainly don’t have to tell you. People tell me you’ve become his confidant.”
Instead of responding to that comment, Palpatine said, “And Master Yoda?”
“Inscrutable as ever,” Valorum said. “But troubled, I think.”
Palpatine turned away from him slightly. “The Jedi have faced down darkness in the past.”
“True. But a study of history reveals that they have been defeated by it, as well.”
“Then the outcome is not in our grasp.”
Valorum raised his gaze to the night sky. “Whose, then?”
