Palpatine looked up as C’baoth and Lorana entered, his face breaking into one of his famous smiles. “Ah, Master C’baoth,” he said, gesturing them forward. “And your young Padawan, of course—Lorana Jinzler, isn’t it? Welcome to you both.”
“Let’s dispense with the pleasantries, Chancellor,”
C’baoth said stiffly, pulling a datapad from his belt pouch as he strode forward. “This isn’t a social visit.”
The young man beside Palpatine straightened up, his eyes flashing. “You will not speak to the Supreme Chancellor in that tone,” he said firmly.
“Mind your tongue, underling,” C’baoth growled. “Take your bureaucratic trivia and get out.”
The young man didn’t budge. “You will not speak to the Supreme Chancellor in that tone,” he repeated.
“It’s all right, Kinman,” Palpatine said soothingly, holding out a restraining hand to the young man as he rose to his feet. “I’m sure Master C’baoth doesn’t mean any disrespect.”
For a moment C’baoth and Palpatine stared at each other across the wide expanse of the desk, an almost visible tension rippling the air between them. Then, to Lorana’s relief, the Jedi Master’s lip twitched. “No, of course not,” he said in a marginally more courteous voice.
“As I said,” Palpatine said, smiling fondly at the young man. “You haven’t met my new assistant and adviser, have you, Master C’baoth? This is Kinman Doriana.”
“Pleased and honored,” C’baoth said, in a tone that made it clear that he was neither.
“As am I, Master C’baoth,” Doriana replied. “It’s always a privilege to meet one of those who’ve dedicated their lives to safeguarding the Republic.”
“As it is for me, as well,” Palpatine agreed. “What can I do for you, Master C’baoth?”
“You know very well what you can do for me,” C’baoth growled. Without waiting for an invitation, he seated himself in one of the chairs and set his datapad on the desk. “In a word: Outbound Flight.”
“Naturally,” Palpatine said tiredly, gesturing Lorana to the chair beside C’baoth as he reseated himself in his own chair.
“What is it now?”
“This.” Waving a hand, C’baoth used the Force to send the datapad sliding across the desk to stop in front of the Supreme Chancellor. “The Senate Appropriations Committee hascut my funding again.”
Palpatine sighed. “What do you want me to say, Master C’baoth? I can’t dictate to the Senate what it should do. I certainly can’t force a stiff-necked group like Appropriations to see things our way.”
“Our way?” C’baoth echoed. “It’s our way now, is it? I seem to remember a time not very long ago when you weren’t at all enthusiastic about this whole project.”
“Perhaps you should examine your memory more closely,” Palpatine said, a slight edge creeping into his tone. “It’s the Jedi Council, not me, that’s been backing away from Outbound Flight for the past few months. In fact, I was under the impression Master Yoda had even changed his mind about allowing more than one or two Jedi to join the expedition.”
“I will deal with Master Yoda when the time comes,”
C’baoth said firmly. “Meanwhile, you’re the one holding the project’s fate in your hands.”
“And I’ve done everything in my power to assist you,”
Palpatine reminded him. “You have your ships—six brand-new Dreadnaughts, straight off the Rendili StarDrive assembly line.
You have the central storage core you wanted, and the turbolift pylons ready to connect the whole thing together. You have the crews and passengers in training on Yaga Minor—”
“Ah!” C’baoth interrupted, jabbing a finger at the datapad still sitting untouched in front of the Supreme Chancellor. “In fact, I do not have my passengers, not at all.
Some idiot bureaucrat has changed the population profile to consist of crews only, with no families or other potential colonists.”
Reluctantly, Lorana thought, Palpatine picked up the data-pad. “A cost-saving decision, most likely,” he said, scrolling through the data. “Having all those extra people aboard would mean more supplies and equipment.”
“What it would mean is a cancellation of the entireproject,” C’baoth countered. “What sense does it make to send an expedition to another galaxy if there’s no chance of planting any colonies once we’re there?”
“Perhaps that’s the committee’s point,” Palpatine suggested quietly. “The political situation has changed considerably since You and the Council first proposed this project.”
“Which is what makes Outbound Flight all the more important,” C’baoth said. “We need to find out what dangers or threats might be lurking out in the Unknown Regions, or poised to invade us from another galaxy.”
“Dangers?” Palpatine echoed, lifting his eyebrows. “I was under the impression that Outbound Flight’s purpose was to search for new life and potential Force-users outside our borders.
Certainly that was the rationale given in the original proposal.”
“There’s no reason it can’t do both,” C’baoth said stubbornly. “For that matter, I would think adding a security angle to the mission would make it more acceptable to the Senate, not less.”
Palpatine shook his head, his gray-white hair glinting in the light from the window behind him. Lorana could remember when that hair had been mostly brown, with only touches of gray at the temples. Now, after five years of carrying the Republic’s weight on his shoulders, the brown had all but vanished. “I’m sorry, Master C’baoth,” the Chancellor said. “If you can persuade the Senate to override Appropriations’ cuts, I’ll be more than happy to support you. But at the moment, there’s nothing more I can do.”
“Unless,” Doriana put in, “Master C’baoth is able to do something about the Barlok situation.”
“There’s nothing more I can do,” Palpatine repeated, throwing a cautioning look at his assistant. “At any rate, the Council’s hardly going to send him out to Marcol sector when there are so many pressing matters to be attended to here.”
“Not so fast,” C’baoth rumbled. “What exactly is this problem?”
“It’s hardly even worth mentioning,” Palpatine said reluctantly. “A small dispute between the Corporate Alliance and one of Barlok’s regional governments over some mining rights.
Those Brolfi who left as you came in were just presenting their case and asking for assistance in negotiating a settlement.”
“And you didn’t immediately think of me?” C’baoth said drily. “I think I’ve been insulted.”
“Please, Master C’baoth,” Palpatine said with a smile.
“I have far too many enemies on Coruscant already. I don’t wish to add you to their number.”
“Then make a bargain with me,” C’baoth offered. “If I can resolve this dispute for you, will you instruct Appropriations to restore Outbound Flight’s full funding?”
Lorana stirred uncomfortably in her seat. This was, it seemed to her, perilously close to the sort of under-the-desk speeder swapping that was steadily corroding the whole concept of justice in the Republic’s government. But she didn’t dare suggest that to C’baoth, certainly not in the presence of Palpatine and his aide.
“I can’t make any promises,” Palpatine cautioned.
“Certainly not where the Senate is concerned. But I believe in Outbound Flight, Master C’baoth, and I’ll do everything in my power to make sure your dream is realized.”
For a long moment C’baoth didn’t reply, and again Lorana felt the tension between the two men. Then, abruptly, the Jedi Master gave a short nod. “Very well, Chancellor Palpatine,”
he said, rising to his feet. “We’ll be on our way to Barlok before the end of the day.”
He leveled a finger at Palpatine. “Just make certain that when I come back I have my funding. And my colonists.”
“I’ll do my best,” Palpatine said, giving the other asmall smile. “Good day, Master C’baoth; Padawan Jinzler.”
Lorana waited until they had passed through the outer office and were striding down the wide corridor before speaking.
“What did you mean we’d be off to Barlok tonight?” she asked.
“Doesn’t the Council have to approve any such trips?”
“Don’t worry about the Council,” C’baoth said brusquely. “Back there, on our way into Palpatine’s office, you broke stride for those two Brolfi.”