Palpatine had halted to listen, stunned at what he was hearing. As the two Jedi continued their conversation, they simply turned their backs on Palpatine and started to walk away. That gesture of disdain left Palpatine speechless.
“Our job,” said Denin, “is to go back and tell Lord Brand that the Emperor is here. It’s up to Brand to decide when and how to destroy him. The other Jedi will want their say as well. But don’t worry. The Emperor, and his old servant, will pay for what they did. The Jedi Legion will see to that. Besides…it’s not as if there’s any hurry now.”
Vila thought for a moment as she walked. Then she laughed sharply. “Yes, you’re right. No hurry at all. Let the old man sweat it out for a while. It’s not as if there’s any place for him to go…”
As Denin and Vila strode off, Palpatine tried to follow them. But as always, when his aging was afflicting him, his physical abilities were poor. It was not long before he was left far behind, and he gave up the pursuit. His heart was pounding, but not with exertion. What he felt was fear. Fear that the Jedi might turn around and come back. Fear that they might not, until they returned with a legion of Jedi to destroy him. A little while ago, this world had seemed like an empty prison. Now it felt like an enormous trap. And the Jedi had said there was no place for him to go.
In life, he could have used any of a long list of swift powers to crush the two Jedi ruthlessly. But here, those powers were denied to him. Two Jedi were actually a threat to his existence. Defenseless as he was, a legion of Jedi equipped with the Force would be simple overkill. Evidently, that was the way they wanted it.
Palpatine stared into the distance at the dwindling figures until he could no longer see them. When they finally vanished in the haze, he suddenly became aware that he had to leave this place. The two Jedi had been waiting for him; they had known he was coming. And, they would be back with many more like themselves. When that happened, he needed to be elsewhere. Turning in the opposite direction from Vila and Denin, Palpatine began to trek towards the rocky hills. So what if the Jedi had said there was no escape. Perhaps he could hide from them until he found a way. One thing was for certain. He was never going to surrender to the Jedi order which he had once vanquished. Not in any lifetime.
The jagged hills proved to be a challenge for Palpatine to navigate, and his progress was slow. He evaluated every cave and crevice that he encountered as a possible hiding place, but none seemed deep enough, or concealing enough. His fear of the Jedi Legion goaded him on, however, searching for mind-numbing hours for a refuge. It was moments after he had rejected a small rock overhang which had looked like a cave from a distance, that Palpatine encountered another stranger. He looked up at a ridge he knew he had to climb, and saw someone standing there, darkly silhouetted against the silvery sky. At once, he froze, thinking that the Jedi Legion had found him already. But there was no way he could not have been seen by the shadowed figure.
Then the stranger spoke in a smooth, mature voice which was full of dignity. “You must come with me, if you wish to survive.”
Palpatine stared at the newcomer, unable to make out any details. “Show yourself,” he rasped impatiently. “Come closer so I can see you.”
The figure seemed to hesitate, then descended from the ridge to approach Palpatine. As the man came into better lighting, Palpatine could see that he was fairly tall and solidly built. He was dressed like a Jedi, with gray robes open in the front, over a cream colored tunic. He looked to be late middle aged, with a receding hairline and thin, neatly combed gray hair. The man’s face was round, his features broad and generous. There were many deep lines and wrinkles, especially under the darkly browed blue eyes. His expression was serious, and his gaze seemed somehow haunted.
“Who are you?” demanded Palpatine. He didn’t remember seeing this man before in his life. “What do you want?”
“I’m here to help you,” the man said hesitantly. Up close, Palpatine detected a slight slur in the man’s voice. He also thought that perhaps the stranger was afraid of him. Good. It was about time someone here treated him with the respect he deserved.
“We can help each other,” the man said. “We both have the same enemy: the Jedi Legion. Perhaps if we work together, there would be a better chance of defeating them.”
“Do you know of a place where I can hide?” Palpatine asked bluntly, searching the man’s face intently. There was, he decided now, something familiar about it, but identification eluded him.
“I have a place of refuge,” the man said. “My companions are there now. They sent me to bring you back there to safety. Will you follow me?”