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Chapter 4: Harried and Hounded

After the fiasco at Dex's Diner drew to a close, thank the Force, Palpatine found himself herding the two toddlers back toward the shuttle. Unfortunately, Luke spotted the small park only three city blocks away, and there was no stopping the madcap rush of both twins when they saw the brightly colored youngling playground.

The gently decaying park was mostly deserted, and his guards quickly established a perimeter, removing a few humanoid stragglers. Leia took his hand and dragged him across the green expanse toward the swings.

"Push me," Leia demanded, climbing in, and he complied without thinking, shoving the swing forward each time she floated into reach. He quite failed to see the point of swings and always had. As a tiny boy on Naboo, he had often pondered the uselessness of so much energy expelled with so little to show for it.

After all, progress was the name of the game.

But Leia seemed perfectly content with the back-and-forth motion, and Palpatine found himself drifting quietly on the currents of the Force while Luke dashed with a shout to the magnetic lift wheel-go-round. One of his guards followed, and the boy cajoled him into pushing it. This little detour could actually be quite useful if the twins managed to wear themselves out. He might yet get something accomplished this evening.

In his meditative state, Palpatine heard the crunch of footsteps behind him, and something jarred his momentary peace of mind.

"Women of the galaxy, take notice," the voice could only be described as a low croon. "Not only is he a silver tongue, but he's great with children too."

Palpatine felt his spine stiffen.

Not her.

Not today.

He turned rigidly to face Kakka Freetaan, the infamous Holonet reporter with the perfect golden hair and face, the product of multiple restorative surgeries. She stood with her ever-present datapad, her eyes bright and calculating, her press badge perfectly pinned to her ostentatious clothing. Behind her, a small news crew hovered with cameras and cam droids.

Palpatine sighed. Freedom of the Press really should be the next thing to go. He would have Amedda draft a manifesto and assign it to some hopeless senator's bill. No one would probably notice.

Freetaan beamed at him, blinding white teeth framed by garish red lipstick. "Chancellor," she cooed. "How perfectly lovely that you've brought the Skywalker children to this park. You know we've been trying to promote funding for its upkeep since it was damaged in that dreadful Bando Gora attack nine years ago."

"Have you?" Palpatine edged away and pushed Leia harder than he intended. In passing, she let out a squeal of delighted laughter that left him slightly deafened and rubbing at his right ear. "Commendable," he said. "I suppose it's rather difficult in wartime."

Freetaan was already ignoring him, turning to face the cam droids and beckoning toward the children. "As you can see, my devoted followers, Anakin Skywalker has clearly been claimed. But here! Here we have one of our most eligible bachelors now that Anakin Skywalker is officially off limits."

Oh. He could see the gleam in her eyes, predatory and focused. "I really must insist-"

"Wealthy, powerful, and distinguished, ladies," Freetaan purred into her microphone. "What he lacks in youth he no doubt makes up for in experience." Palpatine's face went red. Trapped. Like a rat. "Who will be the first to set their hooks in this grand prize?" She turned toward him and lifted one elegant eyebrow. "Or does he already have his sights set? What do you say, Chancellor? Is there some fair maiden who has caught your eye? We are oh-so curious…"

He took a deep breath before he did something rash like blasting her with an incinerating volley of lightning. "I say that I really must be going, Madame. Duty calls." He motioned toward the twins; he was not above using Luke and Leia to get out of this. It was the least they could do for him.

Freetaan sighed. "So dedicated! Simply marvelous. What woman wouldn't line up for a chance at this, I ask you, my dear listeners?"

"Excuse me." He plucked Leia from her seat on the swing, ignoring a squawk of protest and turned and began walking in Luke's direction. The reporter slid after them with all the skill and slime of a Hutt crimelord, confident in the safety of her press badge.

"Supreme Chancellor, are the rumors true of a burgeoning relationship between you and your assistant Sly Moore?"

He stopped and glanced back, horrified. "What? No." He looked to one of his guards on the edge of the play area and nodded to him. Several began moving in. Never had he regretted making his office so transparent to the press. It was one thing to gain confidence, quite another to be hounded from place to place by rabid members of a profession loathed nearly as much as his own. He set Leia down in the grass before she could begin to sense his anger in the Force, and she raced right back to the swings. Of course.

Freetaan smiled like a gundark and persisted, "But you've been seen together in so many places. Your office, the opera, the Senate."

"As you intelligently pointed out," he ground his teeth for a moment and offered a pointed smile. "She is my assistant. I imagine it might be difficult to fulfill her responsibilities if she avoided me."

"Oh," she tittered. "Is that a little defensiveness I hear, Chancellor? Is it unrequited, is that it? Umbarans are dreadfully closeminded after all. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

She was close to dying, public spectacle or not. Two of his guards pulled up on both sides of her and took her arms firmly in hand. She smiled brightly at them both. "Maybe these gentlemen have the inside scoop." To their credit, neither guard flinched.

He pivoted on his boot heel and moved toward Luke, who was still spinning around and around on the wheel. One of his guards stood close by, swaying gently from side to side. "Luke, we're leaving," he called.

Luke staggered off the wheel-go-round and straight up to Palpatine, where he promptly lost control of the meal from Dex's Diner and deposited it on the Chancellor's shiny black boots.

Palpatine blinked.

"Oops," Luke groaned.

Freetaan gasped, and a greysor in a pen of voorpaks could not have been more delighted. The flash of her cameraman's recorder went off in quick succession.

The Chancellor began silently counting backward in ancient Sith. The last ditch effort before he –

A new voice joined the madness. "I say, Luke, it looks like you've had a bit too much for an evening." Obi-Wan Kenobi was approaching from the far side of the park, chuckling. The Jedi master strolled to a stop in front of the entire group and offered a shallow bow to Palpatine. "I was in the neighborhood. In need of assistance, Chancellor?"

Palpatine watched him stroking his beard with calm and deeply amused Jedi detachment, and he realized that Kenobi didn't honestly expect "yes" for an answer. The two of them had never truly gotten along and in fact tended to avoid each other like the Blue Shadow Virus. Palpatine thought about it for a long moment and spotted a golden opportunity.

"Of course, Master Kenobi," he smiled brightly, much too brightly. "How kind of you to offer."

Kenobi's own smile faltered.

Hah.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kakka Freetaan is an OC Holonet reporter of mine who wanders around Coruscant terrorizing politicians and Jedi alike. She's made a couple appearances in my stories. Well, our intrepid trio has gained a new member of the gang, quite unwillingly.

Leave a review, as I would love to know what you think. What is that rascal of a Sith Lord up to now?