Star Wars: Secrets of the Jedi (AU)

Chapter Twenty-Six

The Following Morning

/

Obi-Wan used every ounce of control he had not to fidget as he and Siri stood waiting for Palpatine to invite them into his office. Beside him, Siri was as calm as could be.

"You may enter now," his assistant told them after a brief communication from Palpatine.

Obi-Wan and Siri entered the opulent office and were invited to sit.

"I must tell you, I was quite surprised to hear from you, Master Kenobi," Palpatine began. "I feared you would not even consider my offer."

"I'll admit, Chancellor, that at first I didn't consider it," Obi-Wan said. "A chat with a friend changed my mind."

Palpatine smiled. "Ah. Anakin Skywalker, no doubt. It was Anakin whom I contacted about the positions. He had come to me and asked if there might be anything I could do to help."

Obi-Wan could sense that Palpatine was hoping the news of Anakin's visit with him would come as a surprise. "He informed me that he had asked. I...we appreciated his effort."

Palpatine smiled politely. "Yes. Anyhow, I'm sure Anakin told you that I have two positions open to which I believe the two of you are uniquely suited. If you accept, Obi-Wan...may I call you Obi-Wan?"

"Of course," he answered. "Master Kenobi is hardly appropriate any longer."

"Then Obi-Wan, should you accept the position as my personal bodyguard, you would in effect be in charge of the entire Red Guard, who are tasked with my daily protection," Palpatine explained. "As of right now, I have one of them guarding my person while the rest protect the offices and other areas I enter. With you on board, I would have a fully trained Jedi guarding my person, which I see as infinitely more...advantageous to my protection. You would go where I go during the daytime hours, all of the time, no exceptions. In the evenings, after I retire to my private quarters, you would be excused and a member of the Red Guard would take over until the following morning. Does this sound like something you'd be interested in undertaking?"

He flashed back to his conversation with Anakin about getting close to Palpatine. He admitted then and still believed now that perhaps it was a good move to make. So, having already discussed it with his wife, he did the only thing he could.

"I accept," he said, sharing a sidelong look with Siri.

Palpatine beamed. "Wonderful. I'll have my senior guard give you a datapad containing all of the information you'll need regarding my daily schedule and routine. Welcome aboard, Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan shook the offered hand and then watched as Palpatine quickly turned his attention to Siri.

"As for you my dear, I have a position within the leadership of the Senate Intelligence Bureau," he said in his sickeningly sweet voice.

Siri's brow rose. "The leadership? I was under the impression that I was only being offered a position within the organization, not with the leadership."

Palpatine looked thoughtful before speaking. "Do you not want to work with the leadership?"

Siri shrugged. "To be honest, Chancellor, I prefer to simply work within the organization. I'm...eager to leave behind the majority of the responsibility I had while I was a member of the Jedi Order."

Inside, Palpatine was pleased with her answer. "Very well. The intelligence analysts will be pleased to have another member on their team. I understand you undertook a long undercover mission as a Jedi that required covert operations and intelligence gathering."