Star Wars - Darth Plagueis

suffer more than a hand wound.”
    “I will remember, Master.”
    The silence attenuated. “I want you to leave Coruscant for the time being.”
    Maul looked up in alarm.
    “Take the Infiltrator and your combat droids and return to your former home. There, train and meditate until I recall you.”
    “My lord, I beg—”
    Sidious held up his hands. “Enough! You executed the mission well, and I am pleased. Now learn from your mistake.”
    Maul rose slowly, bowed his head once, and headed for the hangar. Watching him leave, Sidious examined the nature of his unease.
    Might he, in a similar situation, have given in to an urge to gloat and reveal his true identity?
    Had Plagueis done so before killing Veruna? Had he felt compelled to come out from behind his mask? To be honest ?
    Or was Maul’s revelation to Garyn nothing more than a symptom of the dark side’s growing impatience, and its demand for full disclosure?
    “Black Sun is in utter disorder,” Palpatine told Hego Damask as they strolled among the sightseers that crowded Monument Plaza. Hundreds were clustered around the summit of Umate, which jutted from the center of the bowl-shaped park, and mixed-being groups of others were trailing tour guides toward the old Senate agora or the Galactic Museum. “Prince Xixor and Sise Fromm will inherit the dregs.”
    “Again, the Zabrak proves his value,” Damask said. “You trained him well.”
    “Perhaps not well enough,” Palpatine said after a moment. “While I was questioning him about a wound he received, he confessed to having divulged his identity to Alexi Garyn.”
    Angling his masked face away from Palpatine, Damask said, “Garyn is dead. What does it matter now?”
    The Muun’s flippant tone put Palpatine further on edge, but his composure held.
    “This may be the last time I’m permitted to appear in public without armed escort,” he said in a casual way. “When Queen Amidala informed me of Veruna’s unexpected death, she mentioned that her new chief of security—a man named Panaka—will be taking unprecedented steps to ensure the safety of all Naboo diplomats. The Queen, for example, is tobe surrounded by a clutch of handmaidens, all of whom resemble her to some extent.”
    “And you’re be to chaperoned at all times?” Damask asked. “That won’t do.”
    “I’ll convince Panaka otherwise.”
    They stopped to watch a group of younglings at play under one of the plaza’s banners. Plagueis indicated a nearby bench, but Palpatine’s disquiet wouldn’t allow him to sit.
    “Did the Queen express any concern about the presence of so many Trade Federation freighters?”
    Palpatine shook his head. “The fleet is holding at the edge of the system, awaiting word from me to jump to Naboo. As angry as Gunray is about the taxation legislation, I had to convince him that Naboo is significant enough to ensure galactic interest in the blockade. I assured him that Amidala will not allow her people to suffer, and that before a month has elapsed she will sign a treaty that will make Naboo and Naboo’s plasma property of the Trade Federation.”
    The transpirator concealed Damask’s smile, but it was clear that he liked what he heard. “While Valorum dithers, Senator Palpatine garners the sympathy of the electorate.” He tracked Palpatine. “Is it not a measure of our success that we can award worlds as if they were mere business contracts?”
    A group of well-dressed Twi’leks sauntered by, gaping at Palpatine in recognition. That he should openly fraternize with a Muun was an indication of the power and influence of both beings.
    It was Damask who had stressed the importance of their being seen together in public; and so, in the weeks since the Muun had arrived on Coruscant, they had dined on several occasions at the Manarai and other exclusive restaurants, and had attended recitals at both the Coruscant and Galaxies operas. Most recently they had been present at an elite gathering in 500 Republica, hosted by Senator Orn Free Taa, at which Plagueis had overheard the Rutian Twi’lek discussing plans to nominate Palpatine for the chancellorship. Next on their busy agenda was a political rally scheduled to take place on Coruscant’s Perlemian Orbital Facility, where potential candidates for the office of Supreme Chancellor would have a chance to mingle with corporation executives, lobbyists, campaigners, and even some Jedi Masters.
    “A blockade followed by an actual invasion isn’t