It would be redundant to say it was a dry and dusty day. This was Tatooine, every day was dry and dusty. Palpatine adjusted the sign above his stall and regarded it proudly.

'Palpatines. Genuine Naboo Cusine.' the sign read.

Palpatine noted that other stalls did not have such gaudy signs. "Gotta spend a credit to make two" he muttered. While it was something that boring old fart Demask had always said it was admittedly true. A little advertising went a long way. Palpatine wandered back behind the stall and set to cooking. Soon the air was awash with delicious aromas which were unfamiliar, exotic and hopefully enticing to the locals' noses.

In very short order there was a small crowd vying for Spiced Cress on Chips, Lumaloops and Fried Smeep Dumplings. Palpatine hummed a merry tune as the various currencies flooded over and he cooked fried and prepared food. If someone nearby, who was not either distracted by salivating or stuffing their face, if such a being existed they may have noticed that not every pan, skillet and utensil was physically wielded by the being behind the stall.

As the day wore on the crowd came and went. Palpatine noticed a young girl watching him. He blinked and paused. It was the Queen! She was dressed as a local and had made some effort to disguise herself, but Palpatine was sure it was her!

He was good at names and faces. Always had been. It was an invaluable trait for a restranteer. Nothing weird. Learned skill. That's all.

The Queen was a Naberre. Lakes district. Palpatine whipped up a quick Nelmar on a stick, doused it in sauce, added the kel seeds, walked over and presented it to the girl.

"Here you are. On the house." he said.

The girl eyed the local treat warily. Well, no doubt she was on the alert for assassins and other potential threats.

"Don't worry. I saw a fellow Naboo and you looked hungry." he said, adding a wink.

Hunger quickly overcame caution and the girl took the food. After a few bites she eyed Palpatine again.

"How do you know?" she asked.

"Well, your holo was almost everywhere I turned six months ago, Hard to forget that face even if I voted for the other guy. If you need help, my humble stall is at your service." he said.

"I would like to sit down." she said.

Palpatine gestured towards the stall and the girl moved to sit on the stall, letting out a sigh. Poor thing, he thought. Entire bloody world on her shoulders, who does that to a child? He made her some chips in a bowl, doused them in Gal gravy and handed them over.

"Might I ask, why are you on Tatooine?" Palpatine inquired mildly.

While he had always been good with people he was still unprepared for deluge as the poor child, first name Padme, he noted, recounted the nightmare that had been the last few days.

"...and now I'm stuck here, I need to get to Coruscant, the Jedi have this mad plan, no one is listening to me." said Padme, looking up at him.

"I am afraid I cannot be of much help. I am here primarily for the Boonta Classic. I had hoped to spread my name here, but that is insignificant in light of your troubles. I was travelling to Coruscant afterwards, you could take my is after the Boonta, but still." he said. Palpatine fished in his pockets and pulled out the ticket before giving it to her.

Padme looked at the boarding pass in disbelief. "Why?"

"Let's say you remind me of my niece. Who I also would not leave stranded here. Don't worry about me, this place is a gold mine." he said.

Padme brightened considerably after that and talked of lighter matters until her Jedi handler came to retrieve her. Palpatine then packed the stall and returned to where he was staying. Tomorrow will be busy, he thought as he went to sleep.

The next day saw Palpatine setting up his stall in the Arena. Strategically placed near the start, he would have access to racers, crews, important attendees and all manner of beings from across the Galaxy. As he raised his sign he could feel a dark presence behind them.

"Not quite ready yet." said Palpatine as he turned. He saw it was Demask's chief enforcer, Maul. A Zabrak from Dathomir. What was Hugo's pet doing here?

"I am looking for someone, a young woman." said Maul.

"Oh, well, you'll be waning the stalls over there, look for the red lights." said Palpatine waving a hand as he got the burners going.

"Not that. A specific woman." hissed Maul as he revealed a holo.

Well, well, well. Why was Maul, and therefore presumably Hugo looking for the Queen? Was this something to do with that weird cult they all belonged to? He threw some meat on the fryer as he pretended to think. Spice from here, spice from there.

"Water flush face like that? Can't say that I have, sorry, though she should be easy to spot." he said as he prepared a Dathomiri korma. "Say, how about a taste from home." he added as it completed.

Maul scowled, said nothing, but still took the morsel. He walked away eating it. Palpatine smiled. As made, the Zabrak would soon have a case of Dathi-belly, several nights of chronic pain and an inability to move more than a few metres from a fresher. He then began serving customers, took note of the Queen and also the small boy who proceeded to complete the 'mad Jedi plan'.

A week or so later he caught the holonews of the breaking of the Naboo invasion. The same small boy, named Anakin, seemed to feature again. Well, someone to follow with interest.