Judgement Lapse
by Marinché. Part 2 of 2.
Senator Palpatine was a serious-looking man with greying hair and an air of urbane, self-possessed surety. He raised his eyes from his work as Serin was admitted to his office, but did not rise to greet her, sitting back in his chair to study her instead. His expression completely lacked that controlled darkness which had so frightened her earlier, in fact he looked almost amiable, pleased to see her. He said, 'Serin Tuey. Thank you for giving up your time at such short notice.'
'Sir,' Serin bowed in the greeting due a senator, then said calmly, 'may I ask what this is about?' Whatever Palpatine was, and it scared her that she did not know what he was, she had vowed that he would never see her fear. She would hide it even from herself. And she couldn't wait to hear his explanation for what had happened.
Palpatine waved her to a chair in front of his desk. He said, 'You drew yourself to my attention today outside the Chamber. There are some matters I think we need to discuss.' Serin sat down, wondering yet again what appointments he had cancelled this afternoon to schedule this little meeting. His office was large and deep red in colour, glowing in the afternoon sunlight that filtered in from the tall windows behind his desk, and it was a lot nicer than Talson's. Everything about this situation served only to remind her of what a poor excuse for a senator Talson really was. She thought, there has to be some way I can turn this to my advantage.
Palpatine glanced down at the desk, where there lay a print-out of what looked like a personnel file. His voice was low and pleasant as he said, 'So you are one of Talson's junior aides. My sources suggest you are the reason behind his quota victory last month, and the cause of much of his recent uncharacteristic competence in Chamber. I particularly liked his answer to Bail Antilles' criticisms in the debate last week. It would seem that you have a bright future here.'
Serin hadn't thought that anyone had noticed. She acknowledged the praise without speaking, cool and polite and feeling a lot more relaxed despite herself. How bad could it get after this? And Talson had pretended that he had devised that Antilles strategy himself. He questioned her about that debate for a short time, listening carefully as Serin explained the reasons behind what she had done, and she found that she had to remind herself not to compromise Talson by going into too much detail. She wasn't used to justifying her actions to people outside her own office, let alone to one of Talson's peers, and she was beginning to enjoy this conversation.
Then he changed the subject. Gently inquiring, he said, 'And you have spent time at the temple.'
Serin almost jumped in surprise. His sources had been very effective indeed, her sojourn at the temple wasn't mentioned in that personnel file on his desk, she had gone to a great deal of trouble to make sure that it was not. Despite this she found that she genuinely wanted to explain herself to him, and the morning's events meant that he already knew most of it anyway. She said carefully, 'I was taken from my family for training, as is customary for those who pass the tests. But after a few years I was returned. The Jedi had no use for me.' She said that last lightly, without emotion but easily as if were of no consequence. She no longer cared about what had happened to her as a very small child, she had taught herself not to care. The failures of her past had no bearing on her current situation, or the success she was determined to make of the future. 'I can sense the force, but I cannot reach out to it or use it. That was why I was chosen, they thought I might be trained past this, but they were wrong. Such a situation is rare, I'm told, but it happens.' She shrugged.
The senator was watching her with a level, considering gaze. She suddenly had a very strong feeling that he knew about the rest of it too. Of the years of hatred of the Order that had given up on her, of her plans and schemes to get readmitted, because even though it was unobtainable it was what she wanted more than anything and it was a terrible thing to be able to sense that plane of living energy and to be unable to reach it, to be aware of all that potential but to be unable to manipulate it to her own ends. She had tried to ignore it altogether because of this frustration. But sometimes, as today, it was impossible.
He said as though to himself, 'Interesting. There may be potential here. I foresee... Maybe I can use you after all.'
It was as though he had withdrawn from an act. He was no longer projecting warmth and affability but was appraising her with a dark, shadowed expression as though he had drunk in her hatred and savoured it and the traces of it still lingered in his eyes. It was a coldness which echoed his earlier expression outside the Senate Chamber, and it made Serin desperately uneasy. Even arrogant senators were not meant to act like this. Hiding it as best she could, she said sharply 'What do you mean? What is the purpose of this? Is this some kind of job interview?'
He said almost mockingly, 'It is true your talents could be of use to my future plans. But you would work for me after this morning?'
'Tell me what happened this morning!' Serin demanded, unable to hold back her curiosity any longer.
'Tell me what you saw,' he snapped, and Serin said,
'You know what I saw! That's why I'm here.'
He inclined his head at that. 'Nevertheless. Describe it to me.' His tone was cold, precise and dangerous.
Serin looked away, frowning in memory, and considered her answer carefully. 'I don't know what it was,' she said slowly. 'You used the force, you influenced Elgreve in some way, but it wasn't the usual kind of force manipulation. The patterns were different. You are not Jedi.'
He looked amused at that. 'I am not!'
'Then what are you?'
'I don't think you want to know that. The knowledge might prove to be... dangerous.'
She abruptly realised what he was talking about and was terrified. She said, 'The dark side.' Her voice was still calm but she was standing now, measuring the distance to the door, to the windows. She would never make it in time. 'You are a Sith.'
He sat back in his chair, completely confident and relaxed, and still with that gleam of amusement in his eyes. 'Yes. You are correct.'
'But how? How could you rise to the Senate- how come the Jedi don't know you?' she was slowly backing away now, careful, not too lost in fear to at least try to make a move to escape. She cursed the fact that she was unarmed. As if that would make any difference to a Sith. She thought bitterly, how could I have known? I haven't been trained. The dark side hasn't been used in a thousand years, it wasn't my fault I didn't recognise it in time.
He said, 'The question is rather how you can sense me. The Jedi are not attuned to the dark side, they find it difficult to recognise and perceive. You on the other hand seem to have no problem with either side of the force. Oh, sit down.' Irritably he waved a hand, and Serin whirled to see a dark barrier of energy across the door. It was a tiny disturbance in the force and the doorway had just become unreachable; it was the smallest demonstration because that was all that was necessary; she couldn't fight someone who could do that. When she turned back to Palpatine she could see the force potential around him and she realised with horror that he could have destroyed that Jedi woman from this morning with the negligent act of a second. It was obvious that he wasn't even trying. She looked wildly around for some other form of escape. There was none. Shaking, she sat back in the chair and waited to hear the manner of her death. The dark energy of the invisible wall prickled the back of her neck.
He smiled at her in a way that made her feel even worse. 'So you are able to sense quite subtle manipulations of the force. Interesting.'
Serin felt sick with helplessness and rage. It was all going to end here, all her ambitions destroyed, and it was all due to her stupid talent. It had been worthless to the Jedi and was less than worthless now, and she would die without ever knowing what was going on. The idea was intolerable. Now that she knew what to look for she could sense the dark side clearly, and she studied it with a detached, morbid fascination and horror, wondering how he would use it to kill her. It was a dreadful thing.
Still investigating exactly what she could do, he said peremptorily 'Tell me what you see.' She replied distantly, 'I see the force like a dark cloud around you, twisted, turned inwards, sucking the life out of the room...'
He gave an ugly laugh, then abruptly cut out the door barrier and released the force. He was suddenly nothing more than a middle-aged man with pale skin and steady eyes. Serin was not reassured.
Aware that he had her full attention, he said pleasantly, 'It would seem that I should kill you for your knowledge. I could twist your memory, maybe, suggest that you forget this little episode, but such tricks are notoriously unreliable and you would need to be sent from Coruscant to avoid a repetition of this incident. Your death would appear to be the easier option.'
Serin was disgusted at herself. She had been so stupid, she had thrown away everything in a moment of utter foolishness. She was angry with Palpatine, but was more angry at herself for failing to recognise just what was going on before it was too late.
He said softly, 'You think that you have betrayed yourself. But there may be another option for you, and I think you have a choice to make.'
She said, 'If you're going to kill me then get on with it! I don't want to listen to this.' 'Actually, I was thinking of offering you a job.'
Serin was completely shocked. This was the last thing that she had expected to hear. She wasn't even sure that she had understood him correctly. Through her stunned disbelief, she said, 'What kind of job? To search out Jedi for you?' She began to laugh. This was too ludicrous. She couldn't imagine that he would really allow her to live after this.
He said blandly, 'That is not on my agenda at the present time. I meant the same post that you hold now; junior aide in my office, to begin with. You would appear to have the requisite qualities.'
'And you think I'd agree to that? To willingly work for a Sith!' Despite these words, her sense of appalled moral outrage was not as great as she would have liked to believe. It was undermined by fascination and hope and sheer relief at a potential way out, and he said, 'I think that you might choose not to let that influence your career.'
Serin gazed at him, perfectly balanced in her horror and desire. This was dreadful. Even an hour ago she would have done almost anything for this offer. She would not have hesitated, she'd have looked on it as the best thing that could have possibly happened to her. 'I can't' she said miserably. 'I can't do it.' He shrugged and half raised a hand and the force potential shimmered back into being around him. To gain a little time, Serin babbled, 'Say I agree, how can you trust me? maybe I'd say anything to avoid this.'
'That is not something that concerns me. You will understand once I have your agreement.' She said, 'why do you need my agreement? I saw you with Elgreve, I saw you use the force to make him give up his ambition!'
He shook his head at her stalling tactic, but was unable to resist it. 'I assure you that if it were possible to influence people to that extent I would already be Chancellor. I merely used the power to emphasise the point I was making; that I would withdraw my support from his pet Sluis Van Bill if he continued these unwarranted attacks on my dear friend Valorum.' He paused for a moment, enjoying the memory. 'The dark side is very good at playing on peoples fears. He needs that Bill for his future election prospects and my support means a lot to him. It didn't take him long to realise the error of his ways. It was unfortunate that his little stand proved to be as popular as it did, I must admit that was something I had not counted on.'
'The corruption allegations,' she said suddenly. 'You're trying to destabilise the Chancellor.' Her voice fell in a horrified whisper as she said, 'you want me to work for you while you do that.' She was upset partly because she realised just how much she would enjoy it.
At this realisation his lips curled slightly in the beginning of a smile but he said nothing. The fingers of the hand resting on the table in front of him were gleaming with contained dark side energy as he awaited her decision, and the dark anticipation in his eyes suggested he wouldn't mind too much whichever way it went.
Serin still hesitated. She had no strong loyalty to the Republic, but equally she had never before considered that she could actively betray it, that she could abandon those basic principles that were all to do with not hurting the people and society that she had grown up with.
'Really it is very simple,' he said mockingly. 'You will serve me, or you will die. And then you will never discover what happens next.'
He had seen right through her. A Sith Lord in the Senate, just think of all the trouble that would cause. The Jedi were going to learn a much needed lesson in the dangers of arrogance and pride for a start, and it was unthinkable that she should die here, that she would not be a part of it and would not even be around to see it happen. Serin was no hero, and morality became rather theoretical when she had a Sith sitting across the table preparing to do murder with the force. He was trying to terrify her into agreeing, but she examined her motivations in the light of her feelings, and it was not just fear but a burning curiosity and ambition that compelled her to say, 'Very well. I will do it.'
'Good, good! I am pleased you have decided to be sensible.' He was delighted with her. She couldn't get over the incongruity, the sheer dissonance between the warm, conventional persona and his real nature, which was only truly revealed by the sickening dark swirls of the force pattern around him. That made her abruptly aware that he had not let go of the force, just as he said,
'Now I think just one more detail, a little extra security through this transitional period,' and he raised a hand in the beginning of a gesture that she recognised from the temple.
She got to her feet as if it would help to put distance between them and said quickly, 'There's no need for that. I've agreed! And besides, I think you might find it more difficult than you imagine.' She gazed at him coolly. She was sure that she could fight his coercion, even as a child she had remembered far more than she should after the ritual memory wipes on leaving training, but she did not want to risk it if she could help it. He was very strong.
'Confident, aren't you? But I really think a little demonstration is required.' He completed the gesture and said softly, 'You won't discuss your knowledge of the Sith with anyone else, will you?'
She had thought that she could fight him. She was wrong. She had already agreed to work for him in the full knowledge of what she was doing and that agreement left her defenceless, as he had intended. Her resistance was swept away in a second and she could only stand there, stunned, and say 'No, of course not,' and it was true. She was unable to tell anyone of what she had discovered. It was impossible. She didn't want to tell anyone of what she had discovered. Finally she understood the extent of her situation. She was completely trapped. She found that she was standing with her shoulders bowed, gripping her hands on the chair-back for support. It was as though she had been drained of energy, it took an effort to move. Despite this she raised her head and glared at him, refusing to let him think that he had beaten her. She was not beaten. She was doing this for her own reasons, they just happened to coincide with what he wanted. Palpatine was studying her with satisfaction. He said conversationally, 'Not that I doubt your protestations of loyalty, but they will have to be proven of course.' He glanced at a data screen on his desk, and said, 'Now as delightful as this has been, I have another meeting shortly.'
The audience was at an end, and Serin couldn't quite believe that she had managed to escape it with her life.
'I am glad we have reached a mutually satisfactory agreement.' He gave a slow smile. 'Oh, and Serin, this is effective immediately. I suggest you inform Talson right away, because you have a meeting first thing tomorrow morning with my assistant Alverey to determine your new duties.'
'Talson's not going to like that,' Serin said carefully, glad to offer him even this minor resistance. 'I have a contract which requires me to give reasonable notice.'
Palpatine dismissed this as the irrelevancy it was. 'No, he probably won't. I'll contact him and persuade him otherwise. I'm sure it won't be too difficult.'
He gestured towards the door in an amused, exaggerated fashion, and turned back to his work and said, 'You may go.'
Serin nodded in formal farewell to her new employer, and got out of there as quickly as she could manage. She was nevertheless surprised when she got outside unscathed and paused for a moment in delight and giddy relief at her escape. Until tomorrow morning, of course.
Returning to Talson's office she was overwhelmed by an exhaustion so intense that the only thing that kept her going was the thought of telling the Senator she was leaving. She got back to find Isan slumped over his desk, staring through his work in an attitude of profound dejection. He looked as bad as she felt.
'It caught up with you then,' she said.
'Uh huh' he muttered, and winced. 'I really don't want to talk about it, thanks. How's the report going?' he asked by way of revenge.
Serin had forgotten about the report. She dismissed it with a tired gesture, and saw Ros approaching them with a purposeful frown on her face, probably to warn Isan about taking time off to gossip. She waited until the secretary had arrived, then before Ros could begin, said 'I've just been offered a job with Senator Palpatine.'
Isan bit back his delighted congratulations, and glanced at Ros, who was staring at Serin with deep shock. 'You haven't accepted of course,' she said flatly.
'I had to accept.'
'You're leaving this office? You're betraying your people for the sake of a career move?' Ros was incredulous. This was the most heinous crime in her opinion. Her job was her life, and her loyalty to Talson and the systems he represented was absolute. It was worse because Talson had grown to rely so much on Serin during the last few months.
'I didn't mean to betray anyone.' Serin said tiredly. 'I can't decline this, Ros, I'm sorry if that upsets you.'
'How?' Isan said quietly, rather puzzled at Serin's lack of enthusiasm and willingness to fight Ros, and Serin shook her head and said in pretty understatement, 'I really can't explain it.'
'Getting ambitious, hmm?' Ros said bitchily. 'Personally I would have chosen Aks Moe or Antilles for really high office but I guess you take what you can get.'
Serin just smiled at her coldly and turned to leave, and Ros said, 'Well you can tell Talson right away. See what he has to say about it!' She made it sound like a punishment.
Serin went to do just that. The idea of telling him she was leaving gave her a pleasure that even her exhaustion or Ros' carping couldn't dull. She thought of her unfinished report, and of continually advising Talson that inaction would be the most expedient strategy, and for the first time began to feel a strange sense of glee at the turn of events. She had no doubt at all that Palpatine would succeed in undermining the Chancellor and taking over his position, and she would be a part of that success and whatever future it lead to. Nothing could be worse than negotiating fish quotas, not even helping a Sith Lord to take over the Senate. He was going to do it anyway, right? There was nothing to be done about it at all.