Author's Notes: Okay, it's only been a few days, but Palpatine was insistent on getting his two cents in (which I wrote yesterday). And then, something occurred to me this morning while I was driving to church (something they love doing to me … talking to me while I'm driving to church, driving to work, doesn't matter), and I had to write it down as soon as I got home from Mass. I won't say anything more about the reveal in this chapter, aside from this: Star Wars is about family, and also about love, and it's also about parallels. That's true for this story, too. Trust me, when I first started this story nine years ago, this wasn't where I was expecting it to go, but I'm finding that I'm quite pleased with it. So. In this chapter, Obi-Wan and Palpatine meet face-to-face … and it doesn't go as either of them expected (but isn't that a large part of the fun? Of course it is).
Chapter Ten
Revelations
Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's Office
Coruscant
Three Days Later
He was actually a little surprised when he was commed by the Jedi Council, notifying him that Master Kenobi 'accepted his kind invitation,' and would be arriving this afternoon. The Jedi Council knew, and Sheev Palpatine knew that they knew, that this was no invitation, but a summons. However, there were particular political niceties that had to be observed, even though he wasn't permitted to see Kenobi at the press conference. While the Jedi served the Senate, they were an independent group … and had grown ever more independent over the last several years, much to Sheev's dismay. Who could blame him, when theoretically, they could have the Jedi Order at their command at the snap of their fingers? On the other hand, they could also prove to be a horrific headache.
Master Yoda warned when Sheev was elected Supreme Chancellor in Finis Valorum's place, in that horribly mangled syntax of his (really, how did the Jedi manage to understand what he said without a translator? Then again, most of them were at least partially raised by the little green troll, so maybe their translator was built into their minds) that the Jedi would continue to serve the Senate, only as long as they believed the Senate had the best interests of the galaxy at heart. It was also the only reason why the Jedi consented to acting as generals once these new wars began … well, that and they didn't trust that the clones would be treated as sentient human beings. Sheev couldn't really blame them there.
He also couldn't blame them for not trusting him. He'd made several missteps in dealing with the Separatists, which led to this damnable Galactic Civil War … but when a peaceful Nabooian yacht was blown out of the sky, that was the final straw for Sheev. As annoying as he found nearly everyone from his home planet, he wouldn't tolerate such attacks on any citizen of the Republic. He was corrupt, yes … he really didn't like most people, but he was the Supreme Chancellor of this galaxy, and it was his job to protect all Galactic Citizens. He'd ordered immediate retaliation, ignoring the excuses from the Separatist Council that they were informed the yacht in question was carrying a deadly disease (because shooting down a ship carrying a communicable disease totally wouldn't spread that disease. Idiots).
Much to his astonishment, the Jedi Council actually backed him up on that count, the Master of the Order observing drily, "There are such things as quarantines, after all … even if there was a disease on board, destroying the ship likely would have spread that disease even quicker." Indeed. He was well aware that Master Windu didn't like him (that was fine, Sheev didn't particularly like him, either), but that didn't mean they couldn't respect each other. Besides, Sheev knew the part Master Windu played in the Reformation of the Jedi Order. Finis Valorum him the story, not long after he first arrived on Coruscant. He even went so far as to point out not just Mace Windu, but the Master and Padawan (father and son) at the heart of those changes … Yan Dooku and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
And that brought his attention right back to the meeting that would take place here in his office, in just a few minutes. Obi-Wan Kenobi, the young Master who was captured and tortured over the course of six months whilst accompanying the Lady of Telos (yet another of Padme Amidala's titles) on a peacekeeping mission. He still didn't know the nature of the torture … the boy had been back for nearly six weeks, and had yet to make an appearance at the Senate to testify about his captivity. The Jedi Council (indeed, the entire Jedi Order) closed ranks protectively around their returned knight, no matter what the Senate threatened to do. Of course, that drew the ire of the Viceroy of Alderaan, who swore to block any proposal submitted by those parties making such threats. The august body knew better than to ignore such an oath from Bail Organa. While Sheev found him nearly as annoying as Padme Amidala, he also respected the younger man. They had very different viewpoints, but Bail Organa put his credit chips where his mouth was. Sheev wasn't sure if he believed in honor, but he had to respect a man who was willing to do what he ordered others to do. He also knew that on those rare occasions when Bail Organa made such a vow, Queen Breha backed up her husband. There weren't many people whom this particular Palpatine feared, but Breha Organa was among those Chosen Few. A peaceful woman she was, but no less fierce and no less formidable.
There was a knock at the door, and his assistant poked her head inside. And speaking of annoying people from his home planet … oh, she was competent enough (after he spent the better part of three years training her). In truth, the only reason he brought her to Coruscant with him was because she was his daughter's best friend. Even now, he found it hard to let go of his girl. Most likely, he always would. Kimi Pelonite said in that obnoxiously cheerful, lilting voice of hers, "Master Kenobi has arrived, Chancellor!" Sheev forced himself not to roll his eyes and instead, inclined his head. The young Jedi entered the room only seconds later.
He was … different. Yes, he was several years older than the first time Sheev saw him, naturally. But … he felt different in the Force. Older, sadder … so much sadder, as if the young man before him lived a lifetime full of sorrow. However, he smiled and bowed first to Kimi, and then to the Chancellor. Kimi beamed at him with her most obnoxious smile … oh no, please don't tell him she was about to start flirting with Master Kenobi? He was a happily married man, for Force's sake! Oh yes … there were the eyelashes starting to bat. However, the young man turning his full attention to the Chancellor quickly nipped any attempts Kimi might have made at flirting (even so, he really needed to have a talk with her later on). Sheev nodded to her, and then the door, quietly dismissing her.
He'd known that the Jedi before him was not the same Knight who left with Padme Amidala all those months before. Even so, he was stunned when the young man canted his head to one side, studying him intently, before saying, "I hadn't realized you were Force-sensitive, Chancellor. Your parents weren't interested in having you trained?" Sheev felt his jaw drop in clear astonishment. Yes, he had shields … but not so high or so reinforced that no one could have noticed his sensitivity to the Force. But no one had ever noticed.
Without really caring that he'd lost control of the conversation, he asked, "Who … are you? I knew Master Kenobi … not very well, mind you, but he never noticed that I was Force-sensitive during the few times we met." A small smile touched the younger man's lips, small and sad, and once more, the Chancellor shuddered at the waves of pain, of grief, emanating from a man who was barely thirty-six standard years of age.
"I am Obi-Wan Kenobi … I am a father, a husband, a son, a brother, a teacher, a nephew, a cousin, a student, a Jedi. It's true that I'm not the same Obi-Wan Kenobi that you remember … from a certain point of view … but that's because I've returned from a very long journey. I've seen things that aren't true, things that could be true, and things that have been warped from the truth. I've learned that the most successful of lies are surrounded by pieces of the truth. You are not entirely what you seem to be, Chancellor … but I'm not sure if that's for good or for ill," the young man replied, a frown furrowing his brow. Palpatine wanted to order the Knight from his office. Wanted to rail at him for looking past the end of his own nose.
But he couldn't. He always wondered what he would do if a Jedi, if any Jedi, saw through his shields. While the Order reformed itself when Kenobi was a baby, it still tended to be rather short-sighted. More than that, he had the sense that Kenobi startled himself with his observation … that his first words were supposed to be something else entirely. And speaking of words, Sheev needed to come up with words of his own. The trouble was, those words of his, which he was so good at using for his own ends, deserted him.
But finally, he managed to say, "The same could be said of you." And he could have smacked himself, because really? That was the best he could do? Especially since Kenobi admitted as much. Then again, this was all Kenobi's fault anyhow … coming in here and wrong-footing him so badly. The corners of the Jedi's mouth twitched and Palpatine scowled, adding with more than a touch of petulance, "I've done nothing wrong!" Right, and that will make the boy even more suspicious of him than he likely already was.
That drew a smirk from the young man, who mildly pointed out, "I did tell you that I was different from the Obi-Wan Kenobi you likely remember. And I haven't accused you of any wrongdoing." Yet. The Knight went on, "I just found it strange that I just now noticed that you were Force-sensitive. Your shields are strong, yes, but you're not hiding your Force-signature." Now Sheev was hopelessly lost. No, he didn't hide his Force-signature or his Force-sensitivity. He didn't advertise it, but he also didn't hide it. The Knight added thoughtfully, reaching up to rub at his beard, "It would seem that we have more to discuss than I realized." Well, that was an interesting statement!
SWSWSWSWSWSW
He wasn't sure how he would react when he arrived at the office of the Chancellor. Mace hadn't wanted him to come … Asajj especially didn't want him to come, and he really tried to avoid thinking about what his gran …what his Master and father said about this meeting with Palpatine. While it was steadily becoming easier to call the man he once knew as his grandmaster (and Count Dooku) 'Master,' calling him 'Papa' was taking a little more work. Fortunately, his father was being incredibly patient … as well as protective.
And Obi-Wan couldn't even call him 'overprotective.' Given who Sidious was in the other world, his father had every reason imaginable to not want Obi-Wan anywhere near that man. Never mind that Obi-Wan was thirty-six, and was under serious consideration to become a Master … he was Yan Dooku's son, and that drive to protect him would be there for the rest of his life. Looking into the eyes of his own children, Obi-Wan had known that truth, and it was no different for his father. (Anakin's reaction was even more explosive … and expletive-ridden)
But standing here now, in the Chancellor's office, Obi-Wan was growing more and more convinced that Sheev Palpatine was not the Sith Lord in this reality. He wasn't necessarily a good man (he was a politician, after all), but Obi-Wan didn't believe he was the Sith Lord. He acknowledged that he was Force-sensitive, rather than hiding it under several layers of shielding, for one thing. And for another … Palpatine wasn't behaving like the man in his false memories. That didn't mean that he trusted him. He didn't. He couldn't.
The man surprised him again, when he said quietly, "I've shielded my Force-sensitivity since my daughter was killed." Daughter? Obi-Wan tried to think if the other Sheev Palpatine had a daughter, but he didn't remember hearing of her. The Chancellor went on, "It's not exactly common knowledge. Her name was Jasleen. She was twenty-two years old, and she was the most beautiful child in the galaxy. She was the entire universe to me."
"What happened?" Obi-Wan asked softly and he was rewarded with a sad smile as the Chancellor gestured for him to have a seat, before sitting behind his desk. Obi-Wan did so, wondering if he was wrong to even ask. No … no, the Force was quietly urging him on, telling him that this was important, more important the simple loss of a beautiful young woman. Jasleen Palpatine's death was important … tied-to-the-Sith important.
"It was … something that should have never happened. I hope you can forgive me for not giving you the details, but Jasleen was badly injured. There was … if she'd gotten help, she wouldn't have died, it was a survivable injury. But … that was the problem, wasn't it? She just … sometimes, she would lay where she fell, and other times, she would try to crawl, try to save herself. But no one would help her. Not a single, solitary person. So much for the great people of Naboo," the Chancellor said bitterly. Now that did come as a shock to Obi-Wan, but he disregarded his shock and horror over that revelation to sift through what else the Chancellor said. A survivable injury … but no one stopped to help her.
The Force urged him forward, and he closed his eyes, focusing on what he was told about Jasleen Palpatine's death, and what he witnessed in the false reality. There was something important here … wait. He was vaguely aware of the Chancellor opposite him, but right now … focus. Just … focus. He 'saw' himself as the old 'wizard,' Ben Kenobi in that other reality, mind-tricking Stormtroopers. He saw the other Chancellor burying his Force-sensitivity and projecting the mien of a gentle, sad man trying to hold together a world falling apart. And then he knew. Obi-Wan's eyes snapped open.
"Chancellor," he said, choosing his words very carefully, "I can't imagine how deeply that wounded you. However, the Force has revealed something to me, something that it wishes you to know. I cannot say for sure how it was done, but I suspect that the reason no one stopped to help your daughter … was because no one saw her." Palpatine's lips parted, and Obi-Wan could see the pieces starting to fit together in the other man's mind. He also saw the moment the conclusion was reached. However, Obi-Wan inclined his head and said with as much gentleness as he could gather, "Yes, Chancellor … your daughter was murdered. Not by the people of Naboo, but by a Sith."
And then, Palpatine's Force signature escaped its restraints, flooding the room with rage, hurt, grief, and oh yes, guilt, too. But no disbelief as he rose to his feet and ranted in a language Obi-Wan didn't understand. Not a hint of it. That's when the Force offered another revelation to Obi-Wan, as he breathed, "You've been contacted by Sidious." The Chancellor collapsed back into his chair, nodding as he ran his hand over his face. In the other reality, Sidious reached out to Master Dooku in the wake of Qui-Gon's death … and in this reality, he reached out to Palpatine after the death of his daughter's death. And Sidious had a hand in both deaths.
The Force warned him that it wasn't yet time to tell the Chancellor about the other reality. He wasn't ready to hear it, and Obi-Wan wasn't ready to trust him. There were other things that needed to fall into place. For now, however, there were other things that should be said. Obi-Wan reached his hand across the desk to gently lay it on the Chancellor's wrist as he said softly, "I am so … so very sorry for your loss. Can you tell me about her, about your Jasleen?" There was a soft little gasp, as Palpatine raised his head to look at Obi-Wan.
His eyes were filled with unshed tears, and he whispered, "You're the first person who has ever asked me that. Damn you to the Sith hells, Kenobi … I wanted so much to hate you. The Jedi got their lost son back, and I will never get my Jasleen back. Damn you for not letting me hate you. Especially since Jasleen would have loved you. She was so beautiful, like I told you. Tiny. She had the most beautiful copper hair, and a smile that could turn night into day. And oh, her heart … she had such a big heart. She would do anything for anyone, whether she knew them or not. And the Sith took her from me … my beautiful baby girl, and they took her from me." His voice turned cold and determined. Whoever Sidious was in this reality, he had just made a powerful enemy … one far more dangerous than the Jedi.
TBC