Leaving the hanger bay Obi-Wan took the turbo lift up to the Chancellors office. When the doors opened, the sight gave him pause to consider why it was that he didn't like politicians. They flaunted their wealth and yet couldn't care less about unfortunate beings living in poverty.
Glittering Chandeliers hung from the ceiling of the antechamber. This was a waiting room for force sake; crimson lounge chairs decorated every corner of the room and to one side on an ornate bar a selection of spirits and crystal glasses sat.
Obi-Wan glanced unashamedly, at the ice bucket and smirked, 'wouldn't be polite to go in to see our great leader inebriated, but it might help sooth my mood.'
He shook his head and kept walking past bronze statues of ancient philosophers. Unhappy looking souls, he thought.
Crimson velvet drapes hung forlornly either side of the curved windows and stepping through an archway Obi-Wan felt one of his bad feelings developing. He paused and turned around gazing in all directions and he shrugged. I'm getting paranoid. He thought taking a deep breath to calm his suspicious mind.
Arriving at the carved doors to the inner sanctum, Obi-Wan again hesitated;
The Chancellors private chamber doors appeared menacing and an unsettling feeling rushed through him. There was a distinct feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him he should turn around and head back to the temple.
However, he knew that the council would censure him and make him come back, so he pushed his bad feeling away, drawing strength from the Force and the weird new connection he possessed, he built an impenetrable wall around his aura.
Obi-Wan nodded to the door attendant who spoke to someone through a com link and then opened the door for him; Obi-Wan stepped into the room, and stopped.
"Come in my boy, I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long, I know you must be very busy at the moment and I sincerely thank you for giving me a few moments of your valuable time."
Obi-Wan considered the stance and regal outfit Palpatine was wearing. There was that crimson again, this leader of the republic appeared to be rather partial to the deep rich purplish-red colour.
Although it had been several years since he'd accompanied his master here, if he recalled correctly, when finis Valorum was Chancellor, the colour scheme was more sedate with dignified tones.
He sat down where the Chancellor indicated glancing at a wide range of exotic refreshments on the low table. He certainly didn't feel like refreshments, but decided to make the most of the visit and get it over with as quickly as possible.
"I hope Queen Amidala, took care of your needs while you were on Naboo?" Palpatine asked with seemingly genuine concern.
"Yes thank you Chancellor." Obi-Wan said standing up when Palpatine stepped forward holding out his hand. However, Obi-Wan kept his hands firmly in the sleeves of his robe and bowed to the man instead.
Palpatine let his hand fall to his side. "I'm so pleased to see that you weren't injured and I hear that your master Jinn is still alive. How is he?"
"Thank you for your concern Chancellor, my master is a fighter, but is gravely ill."
"I'm certain your healers are taking good care of him." He said brightly, and sat down motioning for Obi-Wan to join him.
There was a moment of silence and Obi-Wan had the distinct impression Palpatine was sizing him up. He made sure his shields were solid, as scrutiny in his personal space didn't sit well with him.
He turned his gaze to the lavishly furnished office and a ridiculously flamboyant velvet covered high backed chair sat in front of a mahogany desk, with intricate designs etched on the legs. Behind it the landscape windows looked out over the planet and at the centre of the view was the Jedi temple.
"Would you care to look around young Jedi, I've just had these quarters renovated, do you like the colour?"
"I'm sorry Chancellor I don't have much to do with interior decorating; nevertheless, you seem happy with the colour."
"Yes, I'm very pleased with my choice of colour; I find it defines who I am and relaxes me."
Obi-Wan rose from the overly soft lounge and made his way to the window gazing out to see the temple.
"As you can see your Jedi temple has pride of place in the centre of our grand city. Your order has been a focal point for the senate for over a millennia and I often stand here and admire the structure."
Obi-Wan felt his words were false, but his voice sounded genuine. "Yes, it is a solid home to the Jedi."
Palpatine studied the stance of the young Jedi, he wanted to reach out and Force-choke the impudent brat and slowly extinguish his presence from the galaxy, but he had a plan and first he would play the concerned father figure, before he showed this upstart the true nature of the dark side.
He'd spoken to the pup on Naboo and was furious that such pathetically mild and overly obedient Jedi Padawan plucked up enough strength to kill 'his apprentice.' It must have been Jedi luck. This Padawan should have fallen to Maul's blade before his over bearing Master did.
Quietly he came to stand next to the Jedi keeping just out if his line of sight and placed a hand on his shoulder. The effect was more than he could have hoped for, the young whelp actually jumped at the touch and sidestepped away.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you Padawan Kenobi; I know it must be difficult for you to nearly lose your Master. I assume that you're not of age to be knighted, therefore I was wondering if he dies will another master continue your training."
He could sense slight aggravation at his assumption and held back a smile. The padawan's shoulders tensed and he seemed to be struggling to form an answer.
"I will leave my future in the hands of the council Chancellor."
Watching the whelp's uncomfortable posture was delightful and he dug another barb in.
"I can't believe Master Jinn succumbed to that monsters blade so quickly. Your Master was a great warrior; and I wonder, if he does survive, do you think he will retire?" he asked patronizingly.
"My Master is a great warrior; he will survive and has many years ahead of him chancellor."
"Oh please forgive me. Yes, yes, he is a great warrior, but surely, this injury will take its toll on him."
"Your apology is accepted Chancellor and I mean no disrespect, it has been a difficult few days and I'm not in the best of moods. I haven't had time to come to terms with what transpired on Naboo, and it has taken a toll on all concerned."
"Ah yes! That is why I requested your presence, as you know Naboo is my home planet and I was distraught to find out that it was under attack, and to realise that a sith was helping the trade Federation sent chills through my body. Please tell me about that evil being?"
"There is not much to tell Chancellor, he was a Zabrak with red tattoo's all over his head and he was well trained. We encountered him in the corridors and our fight with him ended in the power station, it was a long battle."
"A Zabrak! They come from Iridonia don't they?"
"Yes chancellor."
"Do you think there may be more sith on Iridonia?"
"I wouldn't know Chancellor, but the council will look into it."
"Ah, I will look forward to reading the results of any investigation. Now tell me was it easy for you to kill him?"
"No Chancellor, he was very strong and for a time I did believe I would perish at his hands. I fell down several levels and by the time I rejoined the battle he had my master at his mercy and he was draining my Masters life force."
Palpatine wondered if Maul had used his power to delve into the Jedi's mind, he hoped not for if he did the Jedi master may have seen into their plans for the future through Darth Maul; he would have to investigate that.
"I suppose it was a shock for you to see your master at the sith's mercy?"
"Yes, his sabre had already entered my master's body and he was gripping his head, I'm not sure, but I believe he was going to break his neck, he was so intent on gloating about how weak the Jedi were that he didn't see me as I approached him from behind."
"Oh, you stabbed him in the back then?" He inquired knowing that insinuation would hit a nerve.
"Certainly not Chancellor! We wanted to take him alive if possible. I hit his shoulder with my blade cutting his arm off, but he still fought on with his other arm, eventually I caught him off guard and killed him, he fell into the pit and Naboo security retrieved his body bringing it to the surface.
I see; do you know what happened with his body?"
"It was brought back to the temple, but I am not privy to what the council may or may not do with it."
"Well, at least the sith is dead. Do the council have plans to search for any more of them?"
"With all due respect Chancellor; I suggest that you should take that question up with the council."
"I always thought the Jedi council believed the sith to be extinct, it must have been a bit embarrassing for them to admit they were wrong?"
"I'm not privy to what the council believes or does not Chancellor."
This brat is cunning, he won't give anything away; well we'll see how much he tells me when I have him under my control and in my grip!
"I know you're young, but I should think that being the only Jedi to kill a sith in a thousand years would warrant early knighthood, if you like I will give the council my recommendation that they raise you to knight status. After all you helped save Naboo."
"Thank you for the offer Chancellor, but with all due respect I am satisfied to abide by the councils decision in respect as to whether I'm ready or not."
He was squirming and Palpatine enjoyed it immensely. He could tell the padawan wanted to leave. Nevertheless, he wanted to have more fun with this pathetic padawan.
"Yes of course, so tell me about the young Skywalker boy. I heard about him risking his life, and he singlehandedly destroyed the droid control ship. I imagine he was well received into your Jedi order and I heard that you're Master Jinn has asked to train him?"
Palpatine loved to gloat. He knew that Jinn practically pushed Kenobi aside to train the boy when the council first refused to train Anakin.
"Chancellor Palpatine, I do thank you for inviting me here today, however, I do not believe it is my place to discuss any decisions concerning Anakin. I'm certain the council will inform you if they are required to do so."
Palpatine sensed his annoyance rise at the line of questioning and he held back a smirk.
"Yes I'm sure they will." He smiled and walked towards his desk, it was almost time to end this farce and begin the entertaining and enjoyable part of this meeting.
Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the subtle movement as the padawan moved away from him. The boy was scared of him.
"If you have no more questions in regard to the sith Chancellor, I have other duties to attend too."
"Yes, I shan't keep you any longer and once again thank you for your time." Palpatine picked up his timepiece off the table. "Oh my I have been keeping you, I must go now too, I'm running late for an appointment. Please have a safe trip back to your temple." Palpatine said as he headed to the door opening it.
"You're welcome Chancellor." Obi-Wan said bowing and stepped out into the empty corridor.
The door closed behind him, and Obi-Wan breathed a sigh of relief, glancing across at the aide's desk. He was surprised that the aide wasn't anywhere to be seen. He also noted that the two guards weren't at their post. He thought that was strange as security was high in the senate building.
An unsettling feeling came over him as a sound came from the Chancellors office and the door opened again.
"P-padawan Kenobi, help me please!"
Tbc.