Star Wars - Darth Plagueis

guard—and he’s dead. Everyone’s dead .”
    “We need to return you quietly and covertly to Chandrila. I’m sending help, my droid among them. Offer no explanations of what occurred—even if asked—but follow every command without question.”
    “You’re not coming with them?” Palpatine asked, wide-eyed.
    “I will see you soon enough, Palpatine.”
    “But the ship. The … evidence .”
    “I’ll make arrangements for the ship’s disposal. No one will ever learn of this event, do you understand?”
    Palpatine nodded. “I trust you.”
    Plagueis returned the nod. “And Palpatine: congratulations on becoming an emancipated being.”
    Sleek as the deep-sea creature on which it was modeled, the passenger ship Quantum Collosus plied the rarefied currents of hyperspace. One of the finest vessels of its type, the QC made weekly runs between Coruscant and Eriadu, reverting at several worlds along the Hydian Way to take on or discharge passengers. Draped in muted-green shimmersilk, Plagueis had boarded at Corellia, but had waited until the ship made the jump to lightspeed before riding a turbolift to the upper tier and announcing himself at the entryway to the private cabin he had secured for Palpatine.
    “You said soon ,” Palpatine barked the moment the hatch had pocketed itself in the bulkhead. “A standard week is not soon .”
    Plagueis entered, removed his robe, and folded it over the back of a chair. “I had business to attend to.” He glanced over his shoulder at Palpatine. “Was I simply supposed to drop everything in service to the predicament you’ve gotten yourself into?”
    Speechless for a moment, Palpatine said, “Forgive me for having allowed myself to believe that we were in this together.”
    “Together? How so?”
    “Am I not your agent on Naboo?”
    Plagueis rocked his head from side to side. “You did provide us with some useful information.”
    Palpatine studied him uncertainly. “I did more than that, Magister, and you’re well aware of it. You share as much responsibility for what happened as I do.”
    Plagueis seated himself and crossed one leg over the other knee. “Has it really been only a week? For you seem greatly changed. Were the Chandrilan and Naboo authorities so rough on you?”
    Palpatine continued to stare at him. “As you promised, where there is no evidence, there is no crime. They went so far as to enlist the aid of salvagers and pirates in the search, but came up empty-handed.” Hislook hardened. “But it’s you who have changed. Despite the fact that you saw this event in the making.”
    Plagueis motioned to himself. “Did I suspect that you and your father might reach an impasse? Of course. It would have been obvious to anyone. But you seem to be implying that I somehow divined that the confrontation would end in violence.”
    Palpatine considered it, then snorted in derision. “You’re lying. You may as well have forced my hand.”
    “What an odd way to put it,” Plagueis said. “But since you’ve grasped the truth of it, I offer a confession. Yes, I deliberately goaded you.”
    “You came to Chandrila to make certain that my father’s spies would see us together.”
    “Once more, correct. You make me proud of you.”
    Palpatine ignored the flattery. “You used me.”
    “There was no other way.”
    Palpatine shook his head in angry disbelief. “Was any of the story about your siblings true?”
    “Some of it. But that scarcely matters now. You asked for my help and I provided it. Your father attempted to thwart you, and you acted of your own free will.”
    “And by killing him I’ve rid you of an opponent.” Palpatine paused. “My father was right about you. You are a gangster.”
    “And you are free and wealthy,” Plagueis said. “So what now, young human? I continue to have great hopes for you, but before I could tell you everything I needed you to be free.”
    “Free from what?”
    “From fear of expressing your true nature.”
    Palpatine’s expression darkened. “You know nothing of my true nature.” He paced away from Plagueis, then stopped and turned to him. “You never asked about the killings.”
    “I’ve never been one for grim details,” Plagueis said. “But if you need to unburden yourself, do so.”
    Palpatine raised his clawed hands. “I executed them with these! And with the power of my mind. I became a storm , Magister—a weapon strong enough to warp bulkheads and hurl bodies across cabinspaces. I