The next day, Padme sat in front of the mirror, perfectly still as Sabe put her hair through another elaborate hairpiece. She sat perfectly still as that is what she was trained to do, but her mind was racing. It was playing the scenes from yesterday's banquet over and over in her head.

"Something bothering you, my lady?" Sabe asked as she completed another braid.

Padme sighed. "Sabe, do you think that Ryloth has enough resources, or are they just mismanaged?" Padme asked her, looking at her through the reflection in the mirror.

Sabe put a pin in her hair. "I'm not sure, my lady." She took a tentative breath.

"But from what we saw at the banquet yesterday, I would guess it is a mismanagement of resources."

"And why do you think that is?" Padme asked her trying not to move her head unless Sabe moved it to put something into place.

Sabe shrugged. "Some people are greedy, I assume. Not everyone is as selfless as you." Padme sighed again, moving her head from side to side and watching as the jewels in her hair shined in the light.

They weren't as beautiful to her now as they were before last night.

"What do you think Lord Vader wants to discuss with me?" She asked after a moment, her tone soft.

"Perhaps he wants to know about how the banquet went." Sabe suggested. "He was also sent on this mission to try and calm the situation on this planet. Although I am pretty sure that you and him have different definitions of calm."

"What do you mean?" Padme asked, looking away from the jewels and at Sabe again.

She shrugged and bit her lip. "I've heard stories, rumors." She exhaled "That he moves faster than any other man, and can kill you without even touching you."

Padme's shoulders slumped. "I've heard those as well. I don't know how true they are but…" She trailed off, thinking about how Vader didn't hesitate to send his men into the crowd and gun down those who opposed the empire. She thought about how the men of Vader's ship obeyed him without question.

"Do you think his men obey him out of fear, our out of loyalty?" Padme asked.

"It's hard to say." Sabe replied. "Based off of the little I know; I would say it's a mix of both. His captain seems to be clearly loyal to him, and to the empire as well."

"That's a good point." Padme noted. "But are they loyal to the empire because they're loyal to him?" She mumbled.

"It's hard to say. But I'm sure that you could find out more information during your meeting with him today, my lady." Sabe replied. Padme nodded and stood up,

"Hopefully." She said as she walked out the room.

"Lord Vader." Padme greeted, bowing her head slightly.

"Senator," He replied, turning to face her.

"I trust that the banquet went well?" He asked her as the light from the window he was standing in front of cast a shadow over his whole body.

Padme stiffened. "It… not exactly." She began, her shoulders tense.

"Oh?"

"I believe that a part of the problem here on Ryloth is the mismanagement of the planet's resources." Padme began. "At the banquet, people ate until they were sick, and repeated the process over and over again, as many times as their hearts desired. Meanwhile, there were the poor starving in the street just outside of the banquet hall."

"You sound disgusted, Senator Amidala." Vader noted, tiling his head slightly.

"How could I not be?" She retorted; all formality forgotten. "There are people starving and Senator Taa sat there, eating enough food to feed several families."

Padme took a step back, her eyes widening. "Forgive my outburst, my lord." She said, bowing.

But Vader didn't say anything, he only continued to study her. And she couldn't see that he was smiling behind the mask. She amused him. How she had gone so long without falling into the same corrupt traps her colleagues did, was beyond him. But that is what made her so interesting.

"And how do you propose we fix this problem, senator?" Vader asked her after a tense moment of silence.

Padme looked up from the floor in shock that he didn't seem to mind her rudeness at all.

"I suppose…" She began and tilted her head to the side. Vader watched the jewels in her hair glittered and sparkled.

"The corruption seems to be rampant throughout the entire government. It's a clear abuse of power, and the wealthy are hoarding resources and not giving away excess to the poor."

"And do you know how those people became so wealthy?" Vader asked her, genuinely curious about her answer.

Padme shifted for a moment, looking away.

"Slavery." She whispered.

"What?" Vader replied, ice moving through his veins.

"Slavery." She repeated again, louder this time. "The wealthy of Ryloth will sell their women to be slaves for the hutts, and even for other imperial officials."

Vader felt hot fury rise in his chest. "Slavery is illegal in the empire, Senator. Surely you of all people would know that."

"Nothing is illegal if you have enough money, Lord Vader." Padme snapped back. "And what we have seen on Ryloth is clear proof of that."

"The empire will not tolerate such blatant law breaking." Vader replied to her, his voice set in stone.

"Oh?" Padme replied, crossing her hands over her chest. "Then why does the moff of this system have slaves? Specifically, slaves from this very planet?" Vader's mouth opened and closed. He knew that the moff of the Ryloth system was not the best- she could be quite lazy and incompetent at times.

But slaves? What did she need slaves for after the empire gave her so much?

"It seems as though the issue of corruption is not as simple as you thought it would be." Padme noted.

"Watch your tone, senator." Vader growled. He saw her face falter, but surprisingly, she didn't back down.

He wasn't sure if it was because she was brave, or because she was foolish.

"The Emperor has sent me on this mission with you to solve the issue on this planet." She pointed out. "And you said yourself that you are no politician."

Vader grit his teeth. He knew she was right, but it was hearing his own words used against him that made his blood boil.

"We should start by seeing how the local government distributes resources for it's people, and follow the chain of command up from there." She noted, her posture relaxing when she realized that Vader wasn't going to run her through with his lightsaber. Although she was sure that he wanted to.

"You can start there." Vader replied, his tone clipped.

"There is something else that I wish to look into."

Padme bowed her head. "As you wish, my lord." She said, her voice sickeningly sweet. Vader watched as she turned to walk away, torn between admiration and disgust at her actions.

But he didn't dwell on it for long. There were more important things for him to attend to now.