Sidious sat patiently at his seat in the outdoor cafe.  He'd strategically chosen a table which looked out on a less than picturesque corner of Coruscant which gave him the space he sought between himself and the other patrons.

Talzin had, of course, insisted on coming along.  They were married now, a quick elopement performed by an efficient, if not especially attentive, Coruscant official.  The Trandoshan had congratulated them on their marriage and wished them many happy hatchlings.

"Are they always this late, do you think?" Talzin asked.  She sat to his right, wearing a green dress in a popular Coruscanti style, and hiding her characteristic Nightsister tattoos.    Her mahogany hair was pulled back into a simple braid.   

Sidious took a sip of his glass of water and frowned.  "I wouldn't have thought so."  He found the tardiness of the Jedi somewhat concerning at this point.  His recent visions had all indicated a certain pair of Jedi arriving--on time.  And while it was true that the future was always in flux, such a divergence from an event he had so consistently foreseen as recently as this morning concerned him.

Talzin placed a hand over his.  "I'm sure they'll turn up shortly."

"You're right, of course," Sidious said, smiling.  They couldn't speak in more detail to each other here, but Sidious had already discussed his expectations for this meeting with her extensively.  

But if the Jedi take any longer, this could get very awkward, he thought.  Sidious hated to think that such a minor thing might throw off his plans so thoroughly,  but in this case, it very well could.  He had to admit, he was worried.  

He turned his head casually towards a nondescript building in the distance. He had done so five times in the past ten minutes. He wondered how long he would have to endure this charade.

Earlier, he had tried to teach Talzin how to use the Unified Force.  She had not yet picked up the ability, but Palpatine was confident she would learn it in time.  He'd also asked if she was sure she wanted to attend this meeting, to which she smiled and asked him if he was worried about her.  He had replied that it would interfere with his plans if she died.

Then the two Jedi finally appeared.  He noticed them almost as soon as they came into his sights.  They were disguised, as he had requested, though he worried they were still too obvious.  

He squinted.  One of them was a neti--the same species as the Sith librarian Dail'liss, a favorite historical figure of Plagueis’s. Sidious knew they were a plant species with moderate shapeshifting abilities.

This neti had somewhat approximated human form, though perhaps that was exaggerating the resemblance.  No clothes, of course, since there was nothing which needed concealing or protection from the elements.  Perhaps twice as tall as Plagueis, the neti had two long, thick stilt-like legs, a short 'abdomen' and a vaguely humanoid  'face' surrounded by a tangle of branches with bright green foliage.  Sidious found the diagonal their eyes made across their face slightly offputting.  Also there was the disconcerting lack of any sort of arms or hands.    The business-casual morph, perhaps?   Sidious mused. The neti wore A Very Serious Look.

The other Jedi was a human teenager who, for whatever reason, was bald. He was dressed in clothing vaguely resembling that of a university student and wore a satchel on his back, though his posture was far too stiff for any normal teenager.  He also wore A Very Serious Look.

Palpatine stifled his annoyance at how incredibly obvious they were being and gave them both warm smiles as they approached.  At least neither of them wore robes or visible lightsabers.  He'd have to hope it was enough.  The Jedi he'd seen in his vision had seemed more prepared for this.  He wondered again what had happened, though of course he couldn't ask.

"Ambassador Palpatine of Naboo," the teen said, his voice as serious as his expression.  "You asked to meet with us."

Palpatine made a show of widening his eyes.  "Oh!  Please, have a seat." He gestured to the chairs across from himself and Talzin.  "This is Kycina.  We've recently married."

"Ah," the neti said.  "Congratulations.  My name is T'ra."

"And I am Mace," the human teen said.

"A pleasure to meet you," Talzin said, smiling politely.

"I apologize for taking up your valuable time," Sidious said, looking between the two Jedi.  "And for requesting such subterfuge.  But I believe it to be a prudent precaution, given the situation."

"Understood.  What is your concern?" T'ra asked, eyes wide. A bird landed on one of the neti's branches.  No move was made to dislodge it.

"I have been looking into a tragedy which has befallen our unfortunate Senator, Vidar Kim--" Sidious said, leaning forward at a very particular angle.

And that was when it happened.

In mere moments it was over, but Sidious had observed everything that had taken place,  both through his normal senses and through the Force.  Sidious had made a show of pulling Talzin and himself down as the laserbolt rang out--a bolt which came from the same nondescript building he had been casually gazing at earlier.

Mace pulled out a purple lightsaber and deflected the bolt.  T'ra stood and ignited a long, green lightsaber with one of the branches extending from their head.  Several more shots rang out which were deflected by both Mace and T'ra.

There were screams from the other patrons of the cafe, and Palpatine rearranged his features into a suitably shocked expression, though in this case he actually had been surprised--but by Mace, not the attack.

"What--what just happened?!" Palpatine exclaimed.

Mace grabbed his arm and pulled him out of his seat, while T'ra ushered Talzin out of hers by snaking a branch around her arm.

"It looks like you were right to be cautious," Mace said, his eyes on the building the laserbolts originated from as he pulled Palpatine from the cafe.  "Someone was watching you.  Looks like they don't want anyone to hear what you have to say.  Don't worry, we'll get you to safety.  Then you can tell us everything."

Palpatine gave him a bewildered look, and again it was easy in this case to channel his real feelings into the expression.  But it wasn't from the assassin's attack, which had gone exactly as he'd planned, but rather because he'd just witnessed this Jedi use some bizarre and broken form of Juyo to deflect the bolts.

He'd also felt the undercurrent of the Dark Side from him, which had just as suddenly vanished once he'd begun pulling Palpatine away.

Just what kind of Jedi was Mace, anyway?

"I--I never imagined there would be assassins involved!" Sidious said.  "I just didn't want some reporter making it obvious I'd gone to the Jedi!"

"We believe there was only one assassin," Mace said.  

"Only?!" Sidious said, scowling.  "Someone could have died!"

"I believe that was their intention," Mace said, his face expressionless.  
"But we've already dispatched another Jedi to seek them out."

"Yes, you are safe now," T'ra said gently.  "We can help you, but you must tell us what you know." The neti gestured to an armchair behind him. "Please, have a seat." They'd taken him and Talzin directly to the Jedi Temple.  T'ra was right.  There was no way his hired assassin would attack him in here, even without another Jedi searching for him.  This place was like a fortress.

"Sorry," Sidious said, settling into the cushioned seat.  "This has just been overwhelming for me.  I was so worried for Kycina."

"I'm fine, dear," Talzin said.  "I was worried for you!  I'm no one important--they were clearly after you!"

"I suppose," Sidious said.  "But I never thought anyone would--"

"You should tell the Jedi why you're here," Talzin said firmly.

"Hmmm, yes, you're right," Sidious said.  He craned his neck up at T'ra's lopsided features, then turned to Mace.  "Perhaps you've heard of the tragedy that befell Senator Kim recently?"

"I'm afraid not," Mace said.

"His entire family died in a speeder accident," Sidious explained.

"I saw something about that," T'ra's deep voice said from somewhere far above the seated Palpatine's head. "It's very unfortunate."

"Yes, and it's why I'm here," Sidious said.  "Vidar believes that foul play was involved.  I thought perhaps that he was mistaken, but it seems I was the one who misjudged the situation.  I was going to ask you to investigate simply to help placate his concerns, but it now seems they are quite real."
Sidious gave Mace a concerned look.

"Not to worry," Mace said.  "We'll definitely look into it now.  In fact, we'd like to escort you back to Naboo, where we will search for the culprit  of this attack."

"Oh, thank you.  I'm sure we don't need an escort, though--"

"We insist," T'ra said.  

Mace nodded.  "It's for your safety.  Both of you."

"All right," Sidious said.  He had brought his ship out to a public landing pad near the cafe they’d been to before meeting with the Jedi in anticipation of this.  

So far, despite the fact that the Jedi had been late and not the ones he had foreseen, everything had gone roughly as expected.  The Jedi had not suspected anything of him or Talzin, and he had successfully gained their continued attention with the assassination stunt.

Now he would have a chance to learn more about these Jedi, and more about their Order as well.  He was especially interested in Mace, though he did not have any way to directly ask the questions that burned foremost in his mind about that one.  

Of course, unfortunately for the Jedi, they were doomed to failure in bringing the murderers of Vidar's kin to justice.

Fortunately for Vidar, a Sith Lord would be doing that instead.