Star Wars_ The Dark Lord Trilogy - James Luceno [102]
A distinct disturbance at the crest of the Senate District’s defensive umbrella meant that continued bombardment by Separatist forces had rendered the shield permeable. Beyond the superhot edge of the shield, light flashed within banks of gray clouds.
Lightning or plasma, Shaak Ti told herself.
Scarcely acknowledging her presence, Palpatine paced into the room like a caged animal, hands clasped behind his back, Senatorial robes trailing along the richly carpeted floor.
Additional Red Guards and several of Palpatine’s advisers stood watching him, some with comlinks plugged into their ears, others with devices Shaak Ti understood to be vital to the continued operation of the Republic military. Should anything befall the Chancellor, authority to initiate battle campaigns and issue war codes would pass temporarily to Speaker of the Senate, Mas Amedda, who, Shaak Ti had learned, was already safely ensconced in a hardened bunker deep beneath the Great Rotunda.
She couldn’t help noticing that Pestage and Isard—two of Palpatine’s closest advisers—looked nervous.
“Why is he still here?” Stass Allie directed at Isard.
Isard made his lips a thin line. “Ask him yourself.”
Shaak Ti practically had to plant herself in Palpatine’s path to get his attention.
“Supreme Chancellor, we need to escort you to shelter.”
They were not strangers. Palpatine had personally commended her for her actions at Geonosis, Kamino, Dagu, Brentaal IV, and Centares.
He stopped briefly to regard her, then swung around and paced away from her. “Master Ti, while I appreciate your concern, I’ve no need of rescue. As I’ve made abundantly plain to my advisers and protectors, I feel that my place is here, where I can best communicate with our commanders. If I were to go anywhere, it would be to the holding office.”
“Chancellor, communications will be clearer from the bunker,” Pestage said.
Isard added: “All those familiarization drills you so despised were conducted for just this scenario, sir.”
Palpatine sent him a skewered grin. “Practice and reality are different matters. The Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Senate does not hide from enemies of the Republic. Can I be any clearer?”
The fact that Palpatine was flustered, confused, possibly frightened was obvious. But when Shaak Ti attempted to read him through the Force, she found it difficult to get a sense of what he was truly feeling.
“Chancellor, I’m sorry,” Stass Allie chimed in, “but the Jedi are obliged to make this decision for you.”
He swung to her. “I thought you answered to me!”
She remained unfazed. “We answer first to the Republic, and safeguarding you is tantamount to safeguarding the Republic.”
Palpatine deployed his signature penetrating gaze. “And what will you do should I refuse? Use the Force to drag me from my quarters? Pit your lightsabers against the weapons of my guards, who are also sworn to safeguard me?”
Shaak Ti traded looks with one of the guards, wishing she could see through the face shield of his red cowl. The situation was becoming dangerous. A shiver born in the Force moved her to glance out the window.
“Supreme Chancellor,” Pestage was saying. “You must listen to reason—”
“Reason?” Palpatine snapped. He aimed a finger toward the window. “Have you gazed into our once tranquil skies? Is there anything reasonable about what’s occurring there?”
“All the more reason to move you to safety as quickly as possible,” Isard said. “So that you conduct Coruscant’s defense from a hardened site.”
Palpatine stared at him. “In other words, you agree with the Jedi.”
“We do, sir,” Isard said.
“And you?” Palpatine asked the captain of his guards.
The guard nodded.
“Then