CHAPTER ONE
Meetings with the Emperor were always unnerving. Malorum just hoped this one wouldn’t be fatal.
Malorum paused outside the airlock to the Emperor’s private office, high on the top floors of the Senate office building. He had undergone the weapons scan. As the Emperor’s most loyal subject, it was a process he found insulting, but he had to submit to it. Once he went through those doors, he’d be whisked in to see Palpatine by Sly Moore, that moonfaced nonentity who managed to slither herself into a position of power. Probably by blackmailing the right beings, Malorum thought, because he could find no other reason for her prominence. The usual jealous surge passed through him as he wondered, once again, why others got what he deserved.
He took a deep breath.
He needed a moment. He needed to remind himself how well things were going. No matter what lies Darth Vader had told the Emperor, Malorum knew the truth. He was the best Inquisitor the Emperor had.
Ready now, Malorum strode through the door. He went through his usual battle of wills with Sly Moore. She glided her way toward him and he kept going to the door to Palpatine’s inner office, so that it wouldn’t appear that he was waiting for her to access it. He just walked right through - slightly ahead of her, of course.
He timed it perfectly.
His small victory died a quick death as Palpatine swiveled in his chair to face him. Right away, Malorum knew this was not going to be a good meeting.
He gathered his courage and walked forward into the grand red room. He loved this office. The bold red color, the bronzium statues of the Four Sages of Dwartii, the access to datafeeds that spewed out information constantly. You felt you were truly in the center of the galaxy, controlling everyone in it.
Palpatine stared at him with his pale eyes. Malorum wished, not for the first time, that Palpatine hadn’t been so hideously scarred by the battle with Mace Windu. It was positively unnerving; you’d think that with all that access to the Force he could find a way to make himself look more attractive. When Malorum became Emperor (a thought Malorum only allowed to cross his mind occasionally; there was so much farther to go) he would make sure to get plenty of rest and a rejuvenating trip to the excellent surgeons of Belazura once a year.
“Why did you give an order to blow up the Jedi Temple?” The Emperor shot the question at him. So much for preliminaries.
“I was following through on an order by Lord Vader -“
“He said that you would claim that.”
“But it’s true.” Technically. Vader had made the suggestion only to see how Malorum would react. Malorum had fallen right into his trap by protesting that he had files that would be destroyed. The next thing he knew, Vader was taking him to task for having secret files that weren’t registered with the Inquisitors’ main databank.
He had taken a gamble, attempting to blow up the Temple. He had actually enjoyed having his office there. To walk into that grand hallway was a thrill. It was visible evidence of the greatness vanquished by the power of the Empire. Proof that a Force connection wasn’t enough; it was how you used the dark side of the Force that mattered.
He knew Emperor Palpatine was frustrated with the apprentice he’d ended up with. He had expected someone with awesome power, but instead he got a rebuilt body in a breath mask. Darth Vader was powerful, but compared to what he could have been … well, who wouldn’t be disappointed?
What Palpatine needed was a new apprentice. Because of his Force-sensitivity, Malorum had been plucked out of obscurity. Palpatine had revealed that he was a Sith. He had explained what the Force was in detail and how, with training, Malorum could use it for great things.
Malorum had expected greater access because of that: dinners with the Emperor and his most trusted aides; confidences meant for him alone; invitations to Palpatine’s private apartments in the exclusive 500 Republica residential tower. Instead, he himself was on the waiting list for an apartment, lined up with Senators and bureaucrats. It was infuriating!
Now he was scrambling to please Palpatine and being undercut by Darth Vader at every turn.
“You exceeded your authority,” Palpatine went on. His gaze was as chilling as a month long vacation on Hoth.
Malorum looked to the bronzium statues for inspiration, then turned his gaze back quickly. He had learned to stand his ground with the Emperor. Never argue. Present your case, then change the subject if you can.
“The attack on Solace and her followers is proceeding,” he said. He unfurled his best piece of information, the one he was holding in reserve like an expert sabacc player. “Everyone has been killed and the community destroyed. She is confirmed dead.”