Masters of the Game

Chapter 1: Helium

Masters of the Game and  Midnight in the Garden have a joint playlist on Youtube, playlist?list=PLyXt6P7d1IjUO-m8nsVSPZivqdDfn6S9_ . You'll notice a lot of Fifty Shades tunes. The music and lyrics work, and if I hadn't been listening to this you wouldn't be reading this.

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TWENTY DAYS TO ELECTION DAY, CHOMMELL SECTOR, YEAR 48 BBY

"Oh, protestors." Tomal grabbed Sereine Lumisol's arm and pointed. "There."

"Of course, they couldn't wait til they reached the stage." She blew an irritated sigh. This tour was the longest and the toughest she'd run yet, and her candidate was in no mood for the heat and the crowds to begin with.

Now this.

Too bad he'd brought it on himself.

Several people in tattered tunics, dull against the fashionable wear usually seen in downtown Ariaru, Chommell Minor, closed their distance to incumbent Senator Erasmesheev Palpatine waving homemade signs and shouting. The candidates had emerged from the Civic Center, walking to the outdoor stage, ready for yet another of the hundreds of debates and public appearances on this six week tour, flanked by the blue-robed Republic Senate guards who accompanied Palpatine everywhere.

"Mmm, I'd better get down there," Sereine said. "Stay, watch the monitors for me." Tomal Gilio had a level head even at the young age of twenty-two. She'd made him her deputy campaign manager at the start of this and hadn't regretted it for a second.

Sereine raised her hood to cover her russet hair and dashed out into the hot sun, headed for the stage. She'd hoped to stay by the monitors in their makeshift command post this afternoon, but it wasn't to be. Slipping past latecomers to the candidates' debate, she hurried down the walk as the Senate guard surrounded the protestors and pushed them to the side, out of the candidates' way.

She had more fears for Palpatine's mood than for his safety. These people didn't look scary. They would do more damage to Palpatine's demeanor than to his person.

And they were too close. Of course, her candidate had to be closest to the sidewalk. Sereine flashed her credential and slipped behind the barrier.

"Incompetent!" someone screamed.

"Murderer!"

Already the guards were moving them away, and their shouts grew muffled behind tall bodies in long robes and full helmets. The local constabulary came over to meet them and take the offenders into custody.

Palpatine looked in her direction but not at her. Before this infernal campaign, her presence in the front rows of any audience would have helped to focus him. Not so much anymore. He knows I'm here, she thought. Sheev, look at me.

Palpatine stubbornly refused to make eye contact, and for the briefest instant Sereine had had it. If he wouldn't look at her, there was no point placing herself front and center as she usually did, as a focal point for him. If he had a moment of temper and said something untoward, perhaps it was all for the best. The protestors, now meters away, were being put into patrol speeders; she couldn't do much if he wouldn't even look at her.

Sereine turned and made her way back to the huddle, where five of her staffers and three of her interns crowded around the monitors, waiting for the debate to start. As she drew closer, she saw them all pull together in a knot around one screen.

A collective cry went up. "Kriff! Stars!"

Tomal's voice rang out above them. "Where's Sereine?"

Sereine broke into a run. Then she heard, "Oh, my gods! She slapped him!"

Tall Tomal was easy to spot. His dark, longish hair stood out against their cream-colored tarps. He raised a hand and spun around, spotted her, and frantically waved her over. As she drew close, he said, "They missed a protestor! She just jumped over the barricade and spat in Palpatine's face and then slapped him!"

Sereine's heart dropped into her stomach, even as she realized that anything she might do would be too late. The instant he was slapped, it was all up to Palpatine. Every twitch of his reaction was already on the holocams in excruciating detail, and everyone had seen it but her.