The Formidas were anything but modest. Their residence had thirty rooms, grand ceilings, luxurious furniture, and countless art pieces displayed around the penthouse.
In the dining room, pillars stretched high over their heads. The dining table was large enough to seat an entire battalion and only five people were seated at the table.
Before they had even sat down at the table Bazaron had excused himself and disappeared somewhere in the penthouse.
Bazaron is a curious man. A curious man that Palpatine wanted to know, to speak to. He was much more than an opera writer, of that Palpatine was certain. The mask, the hiding, the odd behavior, it was all so fascinating to the young Naboo. Who exactly is he?
Formidas sat at the head of the table conversing with Rau Amedda in hushed voices. Palpatine, Jaxious and an awkward Chagrian, the son of Rau Amedda sat together at the far end.
"Hey, guys...so you, guys, were at the Model GR, right?" Mas Amedda attempted to initiate another conversation, having his three other topics fall flat.
Palpatine had been relying on Jaxious to bear the burden of small talk for both of them, but Jaxious was uncharacteristically silent. The Gorrento kept glancing at Mas Amedda and poking at his Corellian steak.
Palpatine feigned a friendly face and answered, "Yes." He shoveled another spoonful of Alderaanian potatoes onto his plate. Palpatine cleared his throat and set his utensils down, "What of it?"
Mas Amedda looked at his father then his gaze shifted back to the two young adults, "You see I'm sixteen and well...my father wants me to apply to the Youth Senator program." Anxiety was in his voice, "I saw the whole thing on the HoloNet. You guys got held hostage by the Shadow Skulls. Yikes."
Palpatine leaned back and folded his hands on his lap. "Your father is a governor, correct?" Mas Amedda nodded. "Do you even have a choice about joining?" Mas Amedda gulped at Palpatine's words.
"I guess not." Mas Amedda paused, "Look, I don't want to let him down, but I don't want to die either."
Palpatine let out a bitter laugh. Amedda stared at him. Palpatine continued more cordially, "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. What's happened to Jaxious, and I was very novel. The likelihood of that happening to anyone else is spectacularly low."
Palpatine paused, "Meeting those terrorists was just an unfortunate run in with fate." Jaxious remained silent as Palpatine went on, "I suggest you still apply. It's worth it."
Amedda stared down at his plate, seemingly light years away. The Chagrian muttered, "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."
"It does make sense. I promise you," Palpatine insisted politely.
Formidas stood up with her palms on her table. Her gaze settled on her son and Palpatine. "Jaxious, Palpatine. Leave us."
Palpatine glanced at the two politicians wondering why they were sending the youth out of the room. Rau Amedda nodded to his son, Mas Amedda who stood up alongside the other young adults.
Palpatine and Jaxious departed the room with Mas Amedda following uncertainly behind.
They entered a room decorated in muted blues and reds with a sunken seating area. Instead of walls there were windows including an entrance to the wraparound balcony.
Skyscraper lights shone like thousands upon thousands of glittering stars in the evening. The Opera House was very close and its neon lights could be seen from the Formidas resistance.
Jaxious clicked a button at the center of the seating area turning on HoloNet. Flickering images were transmitted high above their heads.
Thousands of blue pixels formed the famed Coruscanti HoloNet News host, Volar Bling and his co-host Immise Paumer.
"—new information has been leaked that the attacker who exterminated the Shadow Skull terrorists faced little to no resistance from the guards. Speculation suggests that some of the guards were pulled from the Senate building by an unknown official leaving the senate vulnerable."
Immise Paumer, the Togruta co-host, pretended to reflect quietly to herself before she added on. "What unknown official?"
"The exact origin of this directive remains unclear, but our inside sources have reason to believe this action may have had sinister motives in mind. We assure you, our avid HoloNet viewers, we shall keep you updated and uncover the truth to this mystery." Bling turned to his co-host "Immise, what do you think?"
Palpatine scoffed at Bling's words. The HoloNet celebrity's scripted conversation pretending to be spontaneous reeked of artifice.
Amedda pursed his lips, "Interesting." He turned to the other two Youth Senators. "Do you think they're implying...there's corruption brewing?"
Jaxious muttered to himself. "I believe they are."
Palpatine leaned back with his hands intertwined behind his head. "Yes, they are but I would take anything they say with a grain of salt."
Palpatine continued, "Does anyone remember that mess on Slanos with the baroness? The HoloNet instigated so much outrage it ended with a full-scale civil war!"
Jaxious murmured his agreement. Amedda nodded, clearly clueless but trying to look like he knew what Palpatine was talking about.
While the HoloNet hosts droned on, something caught Palpatine's eye. It was a turbolift tucked away into another dim room just off the main room. It was smaller than the turbolifts in the main lobby which was thousands of feet below them.
Mas Amedda's noticed it as well. "What's that?" Mas Amedda pointed to the turbolifts.
Jaxious glanced at the turbolift. "It's not my business and its definitely not yours." He went back to watching the HoloNet News.
The co-host, Paumer was speculating about the rumor that Jedi were leading the hunt for the perpetrator. She offered theories about the mysterious attacker who had appeared in the whole Shadow Skull disaster that Jaxious and Palpatine had been a part of. Palpatine watched the HoloNet with cynicism.
Amedda ignored Jaxious's cautionary words. He stood up and inched closer to it. Palpatine didn't dare get up, but he wanted to.
Amedda edged the door to the other room open a bit more. Jaxious stood up. Concern riddling his face as he warned him. "Hey, Mas, my dad said no one is to go near that thing." Mas Amedda did not heed his warnings and kept widening the gap.
"Why not?" Mas Amedda called back. "It seems harmless to me." Amedda circled around the turbolift. Jaxious's face flushed with irritation.
Amedda walked through the door. Jaxious trailed along and Palpatine followed. "Look, I don't know," Jaxious shrugged and looked up and down at the turbolift. "Harmless or not, I think we should just play it safe. Come on back, guys, I just want to relax."
Amedda pressed the button to activate the turbolift. It hummed to life and the door slid open to reveal two seats with harnesses. Fascinating. How peculiar there are...harness? Much different from a normal turbolift...a concerning measure of safety.
Palpatine raised an eyebrow at Jaxious, "You're not even the slightest bit curious about where this turbolift leads to?" Palpatine asked Jaxious.
Jaxious turned to Palpatine and deadpanned. "Haven't you ever heard the phrase curiosity killed the Kaet?"
Palpatine sighed deeply and stepped in front of Jaxious. "Alright, I'll go find out myself." The foolish Naboo stepped in the turbolift and strapped himself in.
Jaxious gaped at him. "You're going alone?"
"Well, yes, unless either of you would like to come with me." Palpatine proposed. Mas Amedda looked hesitant and took a step away from the turbolift.
Jaxious stomped his foot in frustration, glanced at Palpatine, the harness, then the floor. He had a guilty look on his face. Jaxious was faced with what seemed like a simple decision, but it was a dilemma for him. Jaxious had been curious about this forbidden turbolift for years.
"Fine. Fine. I'll come." Jaxious stepped in and strapped himself in. "But just because I don't want you going alone, and potentially get hurt."
"How kind of you." Palpatine remarked. "I'm sure I'd do fine alone but...thanks." Palpatine reached out for the button to send them off. He could barely reach it, but he managed to stretch far enough to hit.
The turbolift hummed to life and the doors slid closed. The turbolift twisted and turned at odd angles. At one point they were turned upside down. They plummeted toward the core of Coruscant.
Palpatine felt bile rise in his throat but withheld it. Ugh...why did I do this to myself?
The turbolift finally jolted to a stop and settled on solid ground. The doors squeaked open. Jaxious and Palpatine undid their harnesses and stepped out together.
The room had a high ceiling. The walls were made of slick green bricks. Springs gushed through the splits in the roof, moss crawled up the walls and wildlife grew from the cracks in the stone floor.
Multiple roots had broken through the flooring and extended its spindly limbs into the great hall. There's so much...life here. An unusual sight on Coruscant.
A grand crimson door stood at the far end. A silver knocker expectingly waiting.
Palpatine felt that same feeling from the opera stir within his soul again. The bridge between folly and wisdom. The presence of the voice, its light timbre. "Come to me..." he heard it once more, less an echo now and more a whisper.
Jaxious tugged at Palpatine's elbow. "We should go back. I don't want to get in trouble," Jaxious said imploringly. They turned back to the turbolift.
CREAAAAAK!
Palpatine's head snapped back to see Bazaron standing before the red door.
Bazaron stood still for a few moments before stalking to his son and Palpatine. "Hello, Jaxious. Palpatine." Bazaron greeted the two of them pleasantly.
"Dad...what is this place?" Jaxious looked around. His gaze settled on his father.
"This place is a secret lair of a dark lord of the Sith." Bazaron told his son flatly. Palpatine blinked a few times at that. Excuse me?
"What?" Jaxious laughed. "Come on, Dad, stop joking. Tell me what it actually is."
"Come, I'll show you." Bazaron ushered his son towards the crimson door. Palpatine followed uncertainly. There was something so utterly strange about this place. Inviting but at the same time alien. A series of conflicted impulses spread through his senses.
They stopped before the crimson door and Bazaron held his hand over the doorknob. His mask concealed any hint of feelings. Bazaron wretched open the crimson door.
Jaxious and Palpatine peered inside to see nothing but darkness. Jaxious took a step into the doorway and almost tumbled, but Bazaron grabbed him by the arm.
"Be careful, Jaxious." Bazaron warned. "As you can see it's an empty cavern. An endless drop to the planet's core."
Palpatine furrowed his brows and inquired, "But that doesn't make any sense. Who would make an entire hall and a door that leads to...nowhere?" Palpatine pondered. "Why are you down here?"
"I'm gathering fauna...for my research. Little to no vegetation grows on Coruscant in natural conditions," Bazaron expressed.
Bazaron took a glass cylinder from his cloak showing Palpatine an exotic looking plant with multicolored blooms.
"Strange looking things, aren't they?" Palpatine eyes narrowed at Bazaron's explanation.
"Why did you forbid me from coming down here, Dad?" Jaxious asked and motioned to the overgrown hall. "It seems harmless enough."
Bazaron put a hand on his son's shoulder. "I only care only for your safety. The turbolift can be...unpredictable and this entrance...is deadly. I don't know what I would ever do if something ever happened to you Jaxious. You're wellbeing is all that matters to me."
"I—uh, thanks, Dad." Jaxious nodded with some hesitancy and glanced at Palpatine.
The HoloBand on Jaxious's wrist began to blink with an incoming HoloGram. Jaxious answered it. A miniature blue figure of a stern woman flickered to life. "Yes, Mom?" Jaxious inquired.
"Jaxious, the Ameddas are leaving. Come up to give your farewells." Senator Formidas told her son firmly. The image flickered as she signed off.
Jaxious waved at his father before rushing to the turbolift. Palpatine followed Jaxious into the turbolift and the doors slid shut.
Alone in the hall, behind the mask, a smile dawned upon Bazaron's face. He swept away towards the door that led to nothing...supposedly.