It had all spiralled out of control.  Palpatine hadn't intended this purely informational meeting on his planned buyback of the Convergence estate to become a full-fledged negotiation.  What was there to negotiate, after all?  While he might want to burn the whole place to the ground, that would hardly be an issue for anyone else.  What more was there to discuss?  But it seemed that his new roommates were not content to leave perfectly well-enough alone.

The three Nightsisters stood across from Palpatine, the holo of the Convergence estate casting a blue glow on them in the dim room as they engaged in verbal battle with him.

"I really think that some modification of the terms is only reasonable," Atherion said. It seemed she could both lipread and speak, which hardly seemed fair.  He still didn't know any of the Nightsister sign language she used with the others.

He had hoped to avoid direct conversation with this particular Nightsister, but she was apparently intent on needling him. In a last-ditch attempt, he looked over at Dremra, who stood next to her.  "Could you tell your spouse that I am not doing this so I can host a Nightsister coven?  This is for Maul."

Dremra rolled her eyes.  Dremra was hardly his favorite person by any stretch of the imagination, but at least the exchange of unactionable threats between them was simple and uncomplicated.

"I think I'd prefer to discuss this with you directly at the moment." Atherion smiled.

Atherion, on the other hand, affected the appearance of being innocuous, while in truth she waged a full-fledged war to test the limits of the terms of the agreement.

"And I'd prefer not to," Palpatine said.  If there was anything that should be under discussion, it was the fact that Atherion would blast Mandalorian Death Metal during Talzin and Maul's trips to the park.  Apparently she had discovered this 'music' on the Holonet during his Coruscant trip and decided she 'liked the vibrations'.  She consistently denied any use of said ear-shattering vibrations as an offensive weapon.

The dark-haired near-human smiled insincerely and put a hand to her chest.  "It warms my hearts to know how much you care for little Maul, but surely you wouldn't deprive him of the company of his dear aunts?"

Palpatine narrowed his eyes at her.  "You needn't worry for yourselves.  My agreement with Talzin remains unchanged.  I merely wish to make clear that I do not want this to be taken as a general invitation to bring all your friends."

"But surely there would be adequate space for the few of our friends who are already here?" Talzin had decided to try out her new 'entirely harmless' facade on him now, apparently.  He had to admit, the gambit was working, even if he knew it was a complete and total lie.

Palpatine smiled at her despite himself.  "I suppose."  He would regret letting her win this, he was sure, but perhaps his concession here would incline her to consider a few of his own requests.

"Delightful!" Atherion's eyes glittered with friendly malice.  "Not to worry, Sith Lord.  Surely with all that space, you'll hardly even notice we're there."

"I doubt that." Palpatine glared daggers at her.

"I do have one concern," Talzin said.

"Oh?" Palpatine turned back to face her.

Talzin was frowning, her clawed fingers laced together.  "I understand you have unpleasant memories of this place.  I agree with finding a larger residence, but perhaps it would be better to choose somewhere else?"

Palpatine crossed his arms.  "I am Sith. Unpleasant memories are hardly the worst of what I've experienced.  I--"

Palpatine's comm chirped.  He fished it out of his pocket and stared at the name.  "It's Plagueis," he said, shooing them all away.  Talzin nodded, and she and the other two Nightsisters scrambled out of the comm's line of sight.

Palpatine placed the comm on the floor in front of him and activated it.  The holo of Plagueis appeared life-size several feet from him, superimposed on the Nightsisters standing directly behind it.  "Master."  He knelt.  "What do you wish of me?"

Plagueis gave him a puzzled look.  His holo was dressed in his typical business garb of his Magister role rather than his Sith robes.  "Ah, I didn't call to ask for anything, Apprentice.  But I wished to discuss some things with you."

Palpatine stood, his his heart filling with dread. "Oh?"  Plagueis had commed him a few days ago, too, to give him access to books and other materials he'd somehow copied from the Jedi Archives.  He'd drawn Palpatine's attention to the guides on training young Force sensitives in particular.  Because apparently he had independently come to the conclusion that Maul should be trained as a full Sith.

"As you know, it is my will to end the Rule of Two," Plagueis said.

"Yes, Master.  I agree, it is a wise decision.  I will train Maul to the best of my ability."

"Then I know he will exceed all expectations," Plagueis said.  "However, for now, he is very young, and it will be some years before he will be able to make use of his abilities."

"Yes, that is true," Palpatine said.

"And I would like to expand my ambitions in this regard," Plagueis continued.  "I've been thinking about this a great deal, and I've concluded we will accomplish more if we do not impose limits on the number of Sith.  I think we should actively try to increase our numbers.  And to that end, I think a Sith should be allowed to have as many Apprentices as they judge themselves able to train."

"Oh," Sidious said.  "You wish me to take an additional Apprentice?"

"Or more!  Though not if it will place too great a strain on you."

"I could probably manage at least two or three," Sidious said thoughtfully.

"I was also considering finding some additional Apprentices myself," Plagueis said.  "Not that I don't have the utmost confidence in your abilities!" he hastened to add.  "But neither of us can be in more than one place at a time, and I was also thinking that--we may wish to recruit some Jedi into our Order.  As spies for our cause."

Palpatine grinned.  "Yes, I think that would be most useful."

Plagueis rubbed his hands together.  "Then we are agreed!"

"Yes, Master."  

Plagueis seemed to notice the holo still switched on next to Palpatine then.  "What is that all about?"

"This?  Do you remember the old Convergence estate?  I am planning on repurchasing it to give Maul better training grounds."

"Oh," Plagueis said, looking thoughtful.  "I thought you said you hated that place."

"Yes, but--"

Plagueis frowned in disapproval.   "This isn't some kind of attempt at self-inflicted punishment, is it?"

"No, of course not!  I simply--"

"Do you want to be able to concentrate on training Maul, or do you want to drown in your own anguish and guilt?  I'll remind you that the latter is very definitely not in alignment with your duties as a Sith."

Palpatine looked away briefly.  "I'll find somewhere else."

"Good.  I know you won't let this...situation get the better of you, Apprentice."  A smile crept back at the edges of Plagueis' lips.  Palpatine noticed that Talzin was smiling too.  Meanwhile Dremra and Atherion were conducting an animated sign-language conversation.

"Of course.  Thank you, Master."  He was going to miss Plagueis.  No.  No, he had to stop thinking like this.  He had to remind himself why this was necessary.

"How is your research going, Master?  On the Font?"

Plagueis frowned, his eyes widening and shifting briefly away.  "Oh.  That. Well.  I have been a bit busy of late, so I have not been able to focus my full energies on it.  But not to worry!  I have every confidence that I will solve this mystery.  Mark my words--the Nightsisters will rue the day they challenged the Sith.  Furthermore, all their secrets will soon belong to us!"

Dremra made a rude hand gesture at the holographic muun's back.

Plagueis briefly turned his head away then, as if he had sensed the hidden onlookers behind him.   "I would love to explain further, but I have just received clearance to land on Kalee, and I can't keep my hosts waiting."

"Kalee?  I'm not familiar with it," Palpatine said.

"A planet in the same sector as Muunilinst.  Nominally I'm here negotiating a business deal, but in truth I am here to advance the Grand Plan of the Sith.  I will talk with you more later, Apprentice.  Good day."

"Later then, Master." Palpatine nodded.  The holo of Plagueis flickered and was gone.

"I could take him." Dremra looked distinctly unimpressed.

"You sorely underestimate my Master," Palpatine insisted.  He was infuriated with himself, though, because he didn't feel half the confidence the zabrak woman did when it came to killing Plagueis.  Worse, he didn't want to kill Plagueis.  But he had to.  He couldn't allow him to find a way to reverse the Font.

Turning back to the holo of Convergence, he dismissed it.  "Anyway.  Househunting later.  Convergence is out.  But I will find a residence suitable for the heir to House Palpatine."

It was a sunny morning in Theed as Sidious parked his speeder in front of the caf shop.  He squinted disapprovingly around at the lush foliage, fat and contented wildlife chirping or chittering, and vivid blue sky with fluffy clouds scudding across it. It was another picturesque day in the capitol of the kind that tourists swooned over.  Disgusting, he thought.

He entered the shop, his mood improving on taking in the omnipresent scent of caf and feel of rising rage that pervaded the establishment.

Sidious walked up to the counter.  "A large caf with extra sugar and double cream.  With a croissant." He smiled amiably. 

"That will be 5 credits," the server said.  As usual his order had been anticipated and placed on the counter, the coffee mug and croissant placed on top of a small silver tray.  Sidious paid, grabbed the tray, and then dropped a ten credit chip into the tip jar.

The server, an orange gungan, twisted her eyestalks to look at the anomalous tip, then looked up at Sidious.  "Have a nice day, sir," she said, her fake smile and cheerful lilt giving no hint of her deep antipathy of him.  Her face said how delightful to see you but her feelings said I hope you die.  Palpatine marvelled at the complete disconnect between the two, accomplished as adeptly as any politician.

He smiled back, and walked with the tray to sit in his usual seat alone by the window.  Most gungans disliked Palpatine, but this was no surprise to him, as gungans and Naboo rarely got along in general.  But the server in this shop did not hate him in that vaguely generalized way.  Oh, no, her hatred was personal.  Which was what made it special, of course.  Though Palpatine knew there were other gungans who hated him just as much as this one, he certainly did not encounter them regularly.

He had no idea why that particular server hated him so completely, but such a degree of antipathy was not something he could otherwise usually expect to encounter, and so he'd made a habit of coming to this particular shop before work ever since he'd accidentally discovered her, even though the place was slightly out of his way.

Finding strong emotions to feed off of could be such a challenge.  So many people had lackluster emotional responses.  Especially in the mornings, but really, all the time.  They were calm, content, tired, sad, resigned, apathetic, or depressed.  Boring!  Of course, that was the nature of things, that emotions tended towards equilibrium or entropy.  Sometimes you just had to stab a being with a lightsaber to get an actual emotional response out of them!  But not here!  Oh no! Here there was pure, undistilled rage.

Of course, beings could be manipulated to feel anger or fear for each other, but it was generally at odds with Palpatine's plans for them to feel that way about him, and either way he had to be careful about using such things for short-sighted personal reasons. While such a level of resentment directed at him might in some cases indicate a threat to be either pacified or destroyed, Palpatine thought himself quite safe from the retribution of a lone caf server.  It was the feelings of anger and aggression this atmosphere was marinated in that really helped to wake him up in the morning, much more than the substandard caf.

As he sipped the sour caf and gazed out at the grandiose Theed architecture, he considered his Jedi problem.  Of course, in the grand scheme of things, two Jedi were insignificant.  Still, Mace's ability to see shatterpoints was... concerning.  It would be his luck for the first Jedi he met to have a one-in-a-million talent like that.  Not, of course, that Sidious believed in luck.  But worse than that, what kind of Jedi used Juyo, even as incorrectly as Mace had?  Not a normal one, that was for sure.

Plagueis had told him about all the different kinds of Jedi.  They had an extensive hierarchy, much as the Sith had once had.  The most interesting position the Jedi maintained was one called 'Jedi Shadow'.  These Jedi were apparently a type of spy whose entire purpose was to hunt and destroy Sith.  Officially, they no longer existed.  But Sidious was sure they did, in fact, still exist unofficially.  He had no proof, but a group such as that, full of paranoid beings for which the ends justified the means, and which operated outside of most official sanction, was unlikely to have ever disbanded itself voluntarily.  Was Mace a Shadow?  Except, if he was, he certainly didn't seem to make any effort to appear ordinary in any way.  No, that didn't add up.

Anyway, the Jedi believed the Sith to be extinct.  Even if the Shadows still existed, Sidious had no reason to believe they had any awareness of the Sith of today.  Their purpose would be different than that of their ancient forebears.  Sidious wondered idly what a Shadow would hunt if they were not hunting Sith. 

As intriguing as he found that digression, though, it was not as important as unravelling the mystery of Mace Windu.  He had learned that Mace was a Jedi Knight, though Sidious understood that it was unusual for a Jedi to obtain that rank so young.  Though Plagueis' declaration that they should turn Jedi to the Dark Side had almost immediately caused Sidious' thoughts to turn to Mace, he had to admit that he didn't think this Jedi would be easily swayed.  Even his inexplicable affinity towards the Dark Side seemed more like a deflection of it than an embrace of it.  And despite his youth, he did not seem particularly uncertain in his worldview, or inclined to change his mind about such major matters as his opinions on the Jedi Order.

But Sidious would never shy away from a challenge.  And he would much rather have Mace on his side than fighting against him.  Sidious had seen how fast he was with a lightsaber and how incredibly efficient he was.  He would have to make the attempt.  As young as Mace was, Sidious also got the impression that he was one of the brightest rising stars of the Jedi.  That was worth some additional effort on his part.  Sidious thought he still possessed some wisdom that no teen, no matter how skilled, would have picked up.  And certainly Mace would not possess the perspective of his Order that an outsider might.  Yes, he could work with that.

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden premonition, and Sidious, sensing a mini melodrama about to play out just for him, discreetly directed his gaze to watch.  Sure enough, within moments the only other customer, a blond haired Naboo man, dropped his tray onto the floor, shattering his glass.

The gungan server came out from behind the counter to clean up the mess.

"I want my caf replaced immediately," the Naboo man said to her.

"Of course," the server said.  She rose and walked back behind the counter.

"What are you doing?!" the man said.  His anger was absolutely incandescent now.  "This needs to be cleaned up!"

"Not to worry, sir," the gungan woman said.  "I'll get right back to it."  She looked over at the other server, a pale dark-haired Naboo woman.  "The customer needs a replacement caf and grey tea mix on ice, no sugar."

The other server looked up from her datapad.  "All right." Her expression was bored.  She began to busy herself with reproducing the order.  The gungan woman went back to cleaning up the spilled beverage.

After a minute, the Naboo woman returned with a new tray and glass.

"Ah, thank you," the man said to her.  He began to drink the beverage only to immediately spit it out.  "My order was for no sugar!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry," the Naboo woman said, her expression concerned.  "I'll fix it immediately."

"Nevermind," the Naboo man said.  "I'll take my business elsewhere."  He rose and left.

The Naboo server looked down at the gungan woman.  "You told me the wrong order."

"I said no sugar," the gungan woman protested.

"I know what you said.  The shop can't afford to lose customers like that.  You're fired."

"What? Please, no, I--"

"Return the apron immediately and leave," the Naboo woman said.

The gungan woman dejectedly removed the apron and walked out the door.

I suppose there is nothing left for me here, then.   Palpatine rose, and giving the Naboo server a polite smile, he abandoned his cheap caf and stale croissant and walked out of the shop as well.

Outside the shop, he focused his senses on one particular individual who was currently alternating between numb despair and anger.  Pinpointing the source of the emotions, he turned down an alley to the side of the shop, passing the sides of buildings festooned with vines and surrounded by neatly manicured trees and multicolored flowers, and walked briskly until he caught up with the gungan woman.  It was curiosity that motivated him, he told himself.  Nothing more.

"You did say no sugar." He was right behind her now.

"Augh!"  The gungan woman jumped, her long limbs and floppy ears briefly flying in all directions, and turned around on the cobblestone street.  And there was the pure rage again.  "You!"

Palpatine smiled in uncomprehending bemusement.  "Me," he confirmed.  Stripped of the duplicity of the caf shop, there was something vaguely familiar about her, but still that answer lay just outside his reach.

For a moment, the gungan was absolutely still, her expression contorted in fury.  Then she punched him in the face.

Palpatine yelped in surprise and staggered backwards, putting a hand to his nose.  A sharp pain emanated from where he'd been hit, and he blinked as his eyes immediately began watering.  Palpatine felt his face.  Some of the bones had been slightly… rearranged, so he should probably get a bacta patch on it soon.  He looked over at her.  "What was that for?"

"It should have been you!" she said.  "She hadn't done anything!  It had nothing to do with her!  It should have been you!"

Bewildered now, Palpatine said, "I am not following this at all."

"Milena!  Your sister!" 

Sudden comprehension dawned on Palpatine, the puzzle pieces all arranging themselves into one coherent whole.  Those three words had been considerably more painful than the physical attack.  Palpatine knew exactly who this was now.  And he knew exactly why she hated him.

Cos leaned in the doorway as he watched Milena walking up the path with a gungan girl.  They were laughing about something. She'd finally come home from boarding school, and she was going to spend the short holiday with some charity project?  It incensed him.

When they arrived at the door Cos had closed it and stood in front of it, crossing his arms. "Animals aren't allowed inside."

"Ew," Mil said.  "Stop being gross, Cos." She turned to the gungan girl.  "Just ignore him.  He's the worst."

"Aren't you forgetting something, Mil?" he asked.

"The opera," Mil said, her eyes widening.

"Yes, we're going with Mother to see it!" Cos said, bouncing up and down in excitement.  "Just you and me!"  Mother had felt Markon and Mayelle would be too young to enjoy it, and likely too disruptive besides.  And Ricar, being an infant, wasn't allowed in the Opera House.  Most importantly, Father was away on some unspecified business.

Mil grimaced.  "I can't believe I forgot!"

"Me, either.That is not invited," Cos pointed to the gungan girl.

"I'm going to ask Mother to add her to the ticket." Mil narrowed her eyes at him in challenge.

Cos frowned.  "I don't think she can do that."

"Of course she can," Mil insisted.

And Mil was right.

Of course, that hadn't been the end of it. Oh, no. Cos had decided that his night was not going to be ruined by this interloper, and that she must pay a price for her intrusion.

Mil was away, being dressed for the opera by Mother.  Cos, on the other hand, was already dressed for the evening and ready to go.  The gungan girl sat warily across the table from him.  He noticed she'd eaten all the scones.  Not that he cared.

"I'd like to apologize," Cos said, imitating a look of genuine remorse.  "I was most rude."  He held out a hand.  "I'm Cos.  What's your name?"

"I'm Danai," she said, frowning at his extended hand.

"Nice to meet you, Danai," Cos said, smiling blandly.  He held out his hand a little further.  Eyeing it warily, she took his hand and he shook it, then released her hand.

She seemed to untense a bit on finding that the handshake really was just a handshake.

"I can't wait until the opera tonight," Cos said.  "Are you excited to see it?"

"Yeah." She smiled shyly.  "Milena says it's a great story about a witch."

"Yes, her name is Cora Vessora and she's the best!  I hear they have all sorts of special effects." Cos lit up with an enthusiasm he didn't need to pretend to.  "There's even a scene where they fill the whole opera house with green smoke!"

"That sounds fun," Danai said. 

"It's going to be incredible," Cos said.  Then he frowned, scrunching up his features in concern.  "I see you're not dressed for it yet, though."

"Not yet," Danai agreed.  "I'm sure Milena will find me something, though."

"No, there won't be enough time!  But we could find something now," Cos suggested.  "I know just the thing!"  He gestured for her to follow him and then ran off.  She rose and ran after him.

When he finally stopped inside an empty bedroom, she doubled over, gasping. "This place is huge!  How do you not get lost in here?"

Cos shrugged.  "You get used to it."  He walked over to the closet in the room and opened it, gesturing inside to an ornate chest in the back.  "Why don't you take a look in the chest?"

Danai stepped into the closet and knelt down in front of the chest, opening it.  She frowned back up at him.  "There's nothing in there."

"No, there's not," Cos said, grinning maliciously.  He slammed the door shut and locked it.  Then he closed and locked the door to the room as well.  She was screaming really loudly, but the two doors muffled the sound a lot, and no one used this wing of the house, so Cos didn't think anyone would stumble on her any time soon.

He'd been right about that.  Cos had returned to the foyer and when asked about Danai, had said she'd gotten mad at him and left.  Milena had been suspicious, but Mother had taken him at his word and they'd left for the opera without the gungan.  She wasn't found until the next day, when a cleaning droid discovered her.

"Alright, I deserved that," Palpatine said, using a handkerchief to wipe the blood out from under his nose.  "And you're right, Danai.  It should have been me.  But it was not.  And I can't bring Milena back.  But I can help you.  With your employment problem."

Danai barked a short laugh.  "Oh, no way ," she said.  "How're you gonna help me this time?  By putting me in a body bag?!"

"That's a valid concern." Palpatine sighed.  "I was such an unpleasant youth."

"I doubt that's changed." Danai scowled at him.

"The youth part changed," Palpatine said.  "Anyway, about your employment.  I seem to recall you studied politics.  I presume that didn't work out for you?"

"What a genius observation," Danai said acerbically.

"What if I told you that I could get you any political office on Naboo that you wanted?"

Danai scowled and looked as if she was about to tell him off again, but then stopped.  Palpatine could sense the gears in her head turning.

She suddenly smiled sweetly in a way that didn't reach her eyes.  "What about Ambassador?"

Palpatine smiled back.  "Of course.  Though that one is not immediately available.  And there are better options!  Just think: Governor Danai of Theed!  Queen Danai of all Naboo!"

"You can't just make someone Queen!  Or even Governor."

"I can, and I will.  Just name the position."  

Danai narrowed her eyestalks at him.  "Ambassador. Of. Naboo."

"If you insist." Palpatine shook his head. Truly incomprehensible. "Though as I said, that position is not immediately available.  But I could offer you an administrative position until I can vacate the role.  I believe the Governor of Theed has several openings--"

"If I'm going to be an Ambassador, It would be more useful to me if I was administrating for the current Ambassador."

Palpatine was deeply puzzled by this statement.   "You are aware that I am the current Ambassador of Naboo, right?  You did catch when I said that I must vacate the role?"  He would think that the last thing Danai would want would be a position under him.

"Yes," Danai said.  She crossed her arms.  "So what's it going to be?  Can you do it?"

"I do believe there is suddenly an Assistant Ambassador position available."

"You just made that up." Danai eyed him skeptically.

"Yes, I did.  But I'm allowed to do that.  Do you want the job?"

"Yes."

"You're really sure?" Palpatine asked.

"Absolutely." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Alright.  You start tomorrow."  He handed her a card.  "Here is the address and Holonet node for the Ambassador's office."

She looked it over.  Her expression was... calculating.   "See you tomorrow, then."  She left the alley.  Palpatine lingered in the tree-lined alleyway, ruminating on the exchange that had just occurred.

What just happened here? Palpatine hadn't meant to do all that.  He'd only meant to solve the mystery.  Except that the answer to the mystery had upset him, and then he'd had to do something.  He'd felt a sense of obligation... but to who?  He barely knew Danai--she'd avoided him as much as possible after that first disastrous experience.  And Milena was dead.  She was dead and gone and nothing he did for her friend now could ever matter to her again.

"Truly incredible!" a low voice rumbled appreciatively.

"Argl!"  Palpatine jumped, looking frantically around the alleyway.

And that was when one of the trees opened their eyes.

"T'ra Saa!  What a pleasant surprise!" Palpatine smiled brightly, his heart still racing.What is a Jedi doing skulking around an alleyway?!

"I apologize for startling you," T'ra said.  "I took the liberty of following you to look after your safety.  You know, because of the attempt on your life and all."

"Oh, of course!  I must say, you are remarkably good at blending in!" Palpatine silently cursed himself for not anticipating this.  Then he mentally rewound his conversation with Danai, trying to work out what the Jedi might have been able to learn, and what they might conclude about him based on what had been said.  "How much of that conversation did you, ah, overhear?"

"Oh, the whole thing," the Jedi said.  "It was so beautiful!  Some of my friends are so terribly jaded, you know.  You wouldn't think a Jedi would be jaded, but it's true!  Some of us are!  There are no good politicians, they say.  Non-Jedi are never truly generous, they say.  People can never turn over a new leaf, they say!"

"Oh?" Palpatine said.

T'ra Saa's entire body shook excitedly as if they were the only tree caught in a windstorm.  "Yes.  But they are wrong!  You are proof of that!"

"Ah."  

"Although I do think you may have overstated what you could offer.  Governor!  Queen!"

Time for damage control. "Yes, in a technical sense, I did overstate that," he lied.  "However, I know Danai, and I know she could succeed at anything she put her mind to.  But first, she needs to believe it is possible.  I only meant to help her see that."

"Oh!  Yes, of course, I understand completely!"  

"Glad to hear it," Palpatine said, internally breathing a sigh of relief.

The Jedi chattered on like that for some time, though they did also update Palpatine on their progress for the investigation.  Apparently the ruse had been successful, and Bon Tapalo believed that Mace was an agent of a rival corporation who had come to bid on the plasma.  They had not been able to uncover any evidence yet, but T'ra Saa was confident they would soon have the answers they sought.  Palpatine fully intended to let their little investigation play out however it would.  He would only get involved in the aftermath.

When T'ra Saa finished their report, Palpatine left the alleyway and returned to his speeder, glumly pondering what his life was coming to when Jedi were praising him.  It was one thing for them to do so when he was manipulating them into believing he was a person he was not, quite another for them to express admiration for any of his entirely candid or genuine behavior!