Hey Sister

Chapter 20

Sumarry: The Council is brought to a meeting, but little do they know that a sidious plan is formed.

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The sun had officially set on the Coruscant skyline. The last of the natural light dying out letting the planet submerge in a dark twilight with the gloomy darkness of dusk soon to follow. While the sky may be dark signaling for a time of rest the planet was still booming with activity. Airspeeders were zooming through the sky with their brights on high. Buildings and apartments were illuminated in the darkness with their inhabitants to focused on their tasks to recognize the change in the sky. Even on the ground levels, the neon lights of the bars and clubs lit up a pathway down the dirty streets.         

The artificial light from the street lights ranged far and wide, reaching every part of the upper levels. The light even going as far as to reach the Senate Building located in the heart of the Senate district. A building that usually finds itself bursting with activity inside and out now finds itself quiet. Halls that were usually filled with the chatter of senators debating on the newest bill presented to them were now filled with the footsteps of the Coruscant guards working the night shift.           

All the senators had long gone home for the night, except for one. 

The ex-senator of Naboo, now elected Chancellor, found himself staring out the wide window of his office with his arms crossed behind his back. He had spent the past few minutes scanning the city waiting ever so patiently for his private meeting to commence. Palpatine was no stranger to waiting, but he didn’t mind, he was a patient person. Mastering patience had granted him the position of Chancellor. Well, patience and his master intellect but those two factors tend to go hand in hand.

After all, good things come to those who wait. 

So wait he would. Wait and he would watch. Watch the sun set ever so slowly disappear from the metropolis that lay before him. Watch the citizens of Coruscant walk aimlessly on the sidewalks beneath him seeing them as nothing more than the ants they are. Laborers to be led to create something greater than them. Mindless slaves that listen to a power higher than them. Objects to be stepped on if they get in his way. Little pests that stain his shoe forcing him to scrap it off for it to be clean again.

The office was quiet, which Palpatine liked, he was never one to like loud noises. Whether it be the sound of a cannon being fired or the screams of innocence before slaughter. It was all the same just a strain to his ears, an annoying tune that needed to be canceled out. The room was also dimly lit with the only light source being the city lights shining through the window. They were bright enough to let him see the outline of his desk but left the rest of the office shrouded in darkness. Palpatine was no stranger to the dark, in fact, he confided in it, relished in it. Some of his best-constructed plans originated from darkness, it allowed for his thoughts to fully process. Allowed him to think, to plan, to find a solution to a certain little predicament he now finds himself in.   

“Sir, all the other Senators have gone home. Are you sure you don’t need an escort to your speeder?”  

The Commander of the Coruscant Gaurd was good at his job. Loyal, hardworking, and above all else follows orders to a t. He poses no threat, yet Palpatine can’t afford him to be here right now. This meeting was far too important to be overheard by anyone. Especially a clone.    

“No, I find myself with too much work tonight Commander. I’m planning on spending the night here.” He answered still facing the window not bothering to address the clone behind him. “You may go. And could you please clear out the hallway, I’m about to attend a meeting.”

Palpatine knows he doesn’t need to follow up with an explanation as to ‘why’ he needs the hallway cleared out. To explain why a meeting is being taken place at this such hour. Or even explain who the meeting is with. Being Chancellor has its perks. If he tells people to do something it will get done. Doesn’t matter how mundane the task is or if it’s necessarily ethical, someone always manages to get the job done.