Chapter 1: Helium

Palpatine's first run for Republic Senate from the Chommell sector. As the appointed incumbent, it should have been an easy victory. However, a ghastly blunder by Palpatine makes the headlines at exactly the wrong time. Then, the decisions of the beloved Sio Bibble and the electric Olivia Sen to enter the race opposing him plummet a chagrined and anxious Sith Lord to the bottom of the polls. Welcome to Republic politics, where one wrong move can derail an entire career ... and, for a Sith Lord, a lifetime of work. But what Palpatine learns from his failures will truly make him Master of the Game.

This is the first prequel to Midnight in the Garden. The sequence goes as follows: This story; then What Lies Beneath; then Midnight.