By the Force, it was tempting to go for both. But no. Ahsoka had to accept that she still had limits. More than that, her Master had made it clear that they were still to lie low. Corrupting her fellow Padawan right under the noses of both of their Jedi Masters would be challenging enough.
Frankly, she probably shouldn't even go that far… but Ahsoka knew she couldn't hold herself back that much. She needed to do something while she waited for her True Master to tell her their next move. Bariss Offee would make for an excellent project if nothing else…
Yes. Bariss would be her gift to her Master the next time they met. And if everything went according to plan and he was pleased with the Mirialan Padawan, then maybe they could go after the Mirialan Master together~
-x-X-x-
Padme can't help but be relieved that Anakin… or rather Vader, had gone to the lengths he had in order to shield her mind because the very next day, she finds herself called to the Supreme Chancellor's Office for a meeting. Technically, it was a meeting that Padme's office had scheduled for her and it was simply being moved up to happen earlier… but that was just a cover.
In actuality, the Senator from Naboo's office always had a meeting arranged with the Supreme Chancellor's office, one that might be months or years out. It was set up that way so that if her Master ever needed to speak with her urgently, he could just pull said meeting up. It would look like good old fashioned favoritism. The lightest form of corruption, rather than anything more suspicious.
But Padme knew better. She had her suspicions about what Palpatine wanted from her… just as she had her worries about what might happen during this meeting. In the end though, there was no helping it. Her husband was confident that what he'd done would fool Palpatine. And they had to test it at some point, so why not early on when they could still potentially pivot to another plan?
Showing none of her true feelings on her face, Padme walks into the Supreme Chancellor's Office with her head held high. Of course, the moment that the door closes behind her and she's left along with her Sith Master, she lowers her head and drops to her knees.
"Master. I've come."
Padme is not Force Sensitive, as far as she knows. And yet, she's been an agent of Darth Sidious for most of her life. She knows his masks well and she has become… attuned to his moods. The atmosphere in the office changes as they're left alone. Any warmth in the room is drained, replaced by a cold that Padme refuses to let make her shiver.
Instead, she stays right where she is as the moments become minutes and the minutes drag on and on. It used to be that she saw this part as nothing more than a power play… but thanks to her husband, Padme knows better now.
Through the one-sided bond that Sidious had formed with her, the Sith Lord is able to peer into her mind, access her innermost thoughts, and peruse her memories and experiences. She'd been none the wiser about that until now, but it certainly explained quite a bit, like how he'd known about her and Anakin's marriage within moments of them meeting again. It also meant he knew that deep down inside, she hated him with all her heart for what he'd done to her family.
Of course, what really mattered was what he was 'seeing' now. If he could see past Vader's technique into her true thoughts, then they were doomed. Everything would become far more difficult of Sidious found out that her husband had seen the future and learned the truth.
… But if it worked, if he was only seeing what she and Vader wanted him to see, then that would open up a veritable cornucopia of opportunities.
"Rise."
Padme twitches, managing to mostly suppress the jolt as Palpatine's cold voice finally breaks the silence of the room. Slowly, she rises to her feet, though she keeps her head down in submission. Seated behind his desk, the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic and Master of the Sith Order hums for a moment.
"Your husband came to see you yesterday. How was he?"
Fortunately, she'd discussed this with Vader, among all of the other things they were planning. It was impossible to truly hide his visit to her apartment from Palpatine, all things considered. Just as it was impossible to hide what had happened at the Jedi Temple yesterday. Instead, they would play the two events off of one another.
"He was… disturbed, Master. Upset. But he couldn't explain why. He didn't know what was wrong. I took him to bed and calmed him down. When he left me, he was far more relaxed."
"… Good. Very good…"
Padme can't help but twitch again. And… it was perfectly reasonable for her to ask questions. Sidious had raised her to be inquisitive and even outspoken at times. All for the sake of the roles he intended her to play, first as Queen and then as Senator. She was his very own controlled opposition these days, a spy in the 'enemy camp' so to speak.
"Good, Master?"
He nevertheless doesn't answer her immediately. The Sith Lord could be magnanimous and he could be cruel. He would not damage her in a noticeable way, but he would punish her from time to time if he thought she overstepped. This did not appear to be one of those times, however. And from the look of things, her husband's work was holding just fine.
"Yes. Even now, Anakin Skywalker does not realize the Dark Side already has its hooks in him. He does not understand what forced him to your side… just as intended."
Padme keeps her face entirely blank at that, even if inwardly, she's jubilant. From the sound of things, Sidious truly had no idea the change that had come over her husband. Nor could he peer into her true thoughts anymore. It had worked.
After another lengthy moment of silence, the Sith Lord gestures almost casually towards the window… through which, the Jedi Temple super-structure can be seen off in the distance.
"There was a rather large pulse of Dark Side energy from the Jedi Temple yesterday. That is what sent Skywalker running into your arms, my pet. He could not recognize why he was upset, but I am confident that the High Council recognized what happened. I'm sure that they're on high alert right now."
Yes, Padme and her husband thought the same. The Jedi would be questioning what caused the pulse for quite some time… but Vader was confident in his ability to remain hidden and Padme was confident in her husband. If he said it would be fine, she trusted him.
"I wonder how they will feel once they realize that the sensation was one of their own falling to the Dark Side."
… What?
Padme keeps her confusion off of her face, but whatever Sidious is feeling from the facsimile Vader has layered over her mind must give off something similar all the same, because he looks to her with a cold smirk.
"Yes, my dear. Another of their vaunted Jedi Masters has Fallen. A member of the High Council this time in fact, I suspect. The power I felt could be nothing else."
Hm. Now that was interesting. Was Sidious simply incorrect and misjudging things, or could he possibly have felt something beyond what Vader did? Or was it possible that Vader's mere presence had been enough to cause more Jedi to Fall than just Ahsoka?
The thought makes her internally squirm in delight, even as Padme keeps herself in a state of outward calm and supplication. Again, silence falls as Palpatine considers things for a long moment and Padme does as she's expected to. She awaits orders.
Finally though…
"It would be quite useful if we could discover who this Fallen Master is before the Council can uncover them. But your usefulness in such an endeavor is admittedly limited. Your place as Anakin Skywalker's secret wife is far more valuable to me… mm, yes. You will stay away from the Order, outside of supporting your husband through this difficult time, of course. Instead… focus on the Senate."
Looking at her with those piercing eyes, Padme almost feels like Sidious is peering into her very soul. Fortunately, she knows he's not. Not anymore.
"Tell me what progress you've made on that task since we last spoke."
It's actually rather irritating having to do so now that Padme knows the Sith Lord can just peer into her mind and see everything she's done since their last meeting without her having to say a word. But alas, it's not as though she can let on that she knows about that.
Instead, she quickly begins regaling her Master with the inroads she's made with numerous Senators. Its all about the long con with Sidious. It always has been. By having her work alongside the likes of Bail Organa of Alderaan and Mon Mothma of Chandrila now, they were setting her up to be a central figure in what would be the growing resistance to Palpatine's rule even as he took more and more power for himself throughout the coming years.
The Clone Wars and the Separatist threat would allow Palpatine to make all sorts of excuses for why he needed this or that emergency power. And his own allies in the Senate would of course make sure that what he wanted always happened. Meanwhile, Padme was to head the 'conscientious objectors' or at least make a show of being one of their leaders.
Right now, that meant meetings about the cruelties of the Confederacy and just how they might be able to sidestep the likes of Dooku to try and bring an end to the hostilities so that a lasting peace could be achieved. The Senators that Padme was working with at the moment didn't even perceive the Supreme Chancellor as a threat to their ideals yet… but Palpatine was nothing if not prepared.
Still, even as she informs her Master about what her fellow Senators are up to and the sort of things they've been saying about both him and the war so far, Padme's own thoughts drift to the side just a bit. She finds herself reminiscing about how her and Vader had dominated Ahsoka Tano between them. How they'd taken the tasty Togruta and made her their pet.
Padme had to admit; it had been quite the enjoyable experience really. One that she wanted to partake in again as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Ahsoka was not her husband's Jedi Padawan. She was currently training under Master Kenobi, and that meant the chances of all three of them being on Coruscant to enjoy one another's company would be few and far inbetween in the coming months.
But then… it didn't have to be Ahsoka, now did it? There were other options. Options that were closer to home and not likely to go anywhere any time soon. There were women that Padme could work on now and have ready for when Vader eventually returned from his missions. Even if Ahsoka wasn't on planet, Padme could still have a 'feast' of debauched delight waiting for her husband.
It was just a matter of who to target. There was the aforementioned Mon Mothma of Chandrila. She was an outspoken advocate for peace and democracy so far, but she was also young, almost as young as Padme herself. Eventually, Sidious would probably want to use Senator Mothma for his schemes, either to make an example of her or to build her up first as a rallying point for dissent.
But Padme didn't care what her Sith Master wanted anymore. Why not turn Mon towards her purposes first instead?
After Mon, there was also Riyo Chuchi. She was younger than both Padme and Mon Mothma, a Pantoran Senator who represented the moon of Pantora. She was idealistic, but also had a natural submission to her, mostly because everyone knew she was just a mouthpiece for Pantora's militaristic leader, Chi Cho.
Padme was confident in her ability to manipulate Riyo Chuchi. She could have the alien woman eating out of her palm in no time.
Ah, but why just stop at the Republic Senate? Why stay close to home? There was also the idea of reaching across the aisle. Palpatine had Padme reach out to one of her counterparts in the Confederacy's Parliament just last month. One Senator Mina Bonteri of Onderon. It was all for the sake of some scheme of Palpatine's, but Padme could also turn that on its head, couldn't she?
Mina Bonteri was older and more experienced than the other two women, and she wasn't nearly as close to home either to be fair. But she would nevertheless give them an 'in' with the Confederacy that might pair quite nicely with Vader's plans to turn General Grievous and Asajj Ventress. Whether he succeeded or not was still up in the air, but this was a way Padme could support him.
Eventually, she's done reporting to Sidious and the Sith Lord lets her go. As Padme leaves the Supreme Chancellor's Office behind, she considers her options. Even once they did overthrow Sidious, there would still be quite a lot of politics to deal with.
It would be best to have Senators in their corner that they could count on… and if those Senators also knew how to kneel and open wide for her husband, well all the better, wasn't it?