Chapter 91
Coruscant, Corusca System
Corusca Sector
How are you going to weasel your way out of this one?
That was the sole thought running through Jedi Master Adi Gallia’s mind as she carefully observed the Supreme Chancellor. Palpatine’s gaze lingered over shoulder, and Adi itched to glance behind her to see for herself what was just so interesting to Sith Lord. She heard the doors of the suite slide open, and the knocking of a dozen more armoured boots storming into the residence.
With each passing moment, more and more of the Coruscant Guard was entering the building. And it was evident some were losing their patience.
“Answer the question, Your Excellency,” ARC Commander Valiant ordered in a tone that brooked no choice, as if he was not speaking to the most powerful man in the galaxy, “Cooperate, and we can all get this over with.”
Something dark flashed through the Chancellor’s eyes, unnoticeable to all but the most perceptive of Jedi. Blink, and one would miss the minor slip, seeing only the fabulously feigned face of confused concern he wore. Even right then, Adi Gallia could scarcely believe the man was a Dark Lord of the Sith, if not for one single reason. Once, Adi could read the surface-level emotions of Sheev Palpatine, as all emphatically talented Jedi were to do, and now no longer. The Supreme Chancellor had completely shielded off his mind, and all Adi could find was a sinister fog that obscured everything within.
For an utterly fleeting moment, Palpatine’s irises flicked to her, then back to Valiant. The Tholothian Jedi Master’s flowing head tendrils stilled, her lips thinning to a pale sliver. Shaak Ti moved, the Togruta Jedi soundlessly gliding away under the guise of conferring with a shocktrooper captain, but in reality flanking into the Supreme Chancellor’s blindside. Adi Gallia doubted the Chancellor didn’t notice; but if he did, he made no show of it.
“Forgive me, Commander,” the Supreme Chancellor demurred, placing a hand over his chest, “You must understand, my schedule has been filled for quite some time, and I am astonishingly busy these recent days. The Works, you say? The name is of some passing familiarity–may I ask you to… jog my memory? Is it on Coruscant?”