Myriad Reckonings

Spoiler

Tarkin will just straight up deny Sirejj trying to tell him anything I think.

Tarkin settled into that position for awhile, lying on his stomach for about ten minutes to scope out the area. He trailed a finger over a lump of melted soil--what interesting minerals these were--the chemical properties were like nothing he'd ever seen. They made charming jewelry, too. Senators often adorned themselves with rings and necklaces bearing gemstones from the Atoan mines. He could see why, now, studying the strange whorls made by the glasslike material.

Eventually Tarkin was satisfied that there were no traps, and he rose from his hiding place to stride down to the cathedral. He could see Sirejj already; the Zabrak looked ill at ease. Tarkin clasped his hands behind his back and tilted his chin, eyes flickering to the rubble and the empty mosaic space. It was still a bit disconcerting to see that area so bare. It had been dark with his son's blood the first time he'd seen it, but the elements had wiped away any evidence of Garoche's death.

Spoiler

bring it on

90 pages later they are back at the cathedral where it all began. the journey. just wow. actually freaking out over here

Sirejj waited till he was closer and then stood and slid down the tilted pillar, his boots disturbing the ages of sand and dust. Once near the base he jumped down to the solid ground and began walking towards Tarkin. His eyes were set on him and his mind was quiet now as his focus sharpened on the angled old man before him. His age and brittle appearance did nothing to soften his icy appearance. He was as cold as the broken stone beneath his feet.

"You spent quite some time hiding in the rocks over there." Sirejj wasn't quite sure where Tarkin had stopped or how long it'd been, but he sensed him approach and then proceed to take an unnecessary amount of time to enter the cathedral. "

Spoiler

I'm stunned and delighted that we fit it into one thread. It panned out perfectly perfectly!

"Ah." Tarkin glanced back in the direction he'd come from, a wry smile twitching into existence. "I was admiring the landscape." He straightened a little, looking Sirejj up and down. "And making sure you weren't accompanied by any ill-meaning inhabitants." His smile faded, and his face settled into the cool demeanor of a disappointed employer. "In fact, I see you're completely alone. Would you like to speak on that, Sirejj?"

"You won't need anyone else to answer your questions." Sirejj could feel Tarkin attempting to corner him, as usual. It was laughable. "I have found your answers. I know why your son was killed here, and I know what he did during those months he disappeared here." His expression was unflustered and cold. He simply had no time for Tarkin's haughty behavior.

"Then kindly elaborate." Days of impatience and fatigue were laced through his tone. "Concisely, if you please. I've waited eight years."

Spoiler

not me going back and scrolling through what Tris told him to get the timeline right

Sirejj hesitated for a moment. Tarkin would think he was mad. But the history would not change for his feelings.

"Garoche came to make a peace treaty with the Atoan leaders, chief among them the priestess Saro. They turned him away, but he and the priestess continued to communicate afterwards for some time before they both vanished along with many of her supporters." He narrowed his eyes. This is where Tarkin would begin to balk. "He went with them of his own accord."

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That's gonna be me in a few minutes

"To negotiate further, I presume." Tarkin watched Sirejj closely; there was more to this than he was saying outright. "What went wrong?"

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when the lore so advanced even the creators gotta reread the notes

"Nothing went wrong. In fact, they seem to have gotten along very well until Vader arrived, six months later. When he arrived, the Atoan priestess and Vader interacted and seemed to cooperate for some objective that I do not know, but it is mute at this point." Sirejj felt uncomfortable skirting around what he knew to be true, but he had no choice but to share it. "There was a conflict between the two that led to the fall of the cathedral. But Garoche...he did not stand with Vader. Your son stood by the side of the Atoan Saro." The circumstances of the cathedral's collapse were still muddled. Sirejj assumed it was due to some great conflict between the two mighty force-wielders. That certainly would have been enough to inflict the damage.

"Nonsense," Tarkin said briskly. "Remember that your sources are biased, Sirejj." His voice brooked no argument, though it was a conclusion his own thoughts had strayed toward a few times. He had denied it time and time again--his son knew better. He had raised him to know better.

So it simply wasn't true.

"I trusted you to find hard facts. You're bringing me hearsay."

"You see only what you want to see." Sirejj bristled, Tarkin's arrogance finally beginning to wear on his already raw nerves. "If you think I would simply bring you recycled lies then you're sorely mistaken. I have seen these things with my own eyes."

Spoiler

I've begun writing the memory now in anticipation.

It's Garoche's POV but only Sirejj will be able to feel what Garoche feels. Tarkin will only get the visuals.

"Have you." Tarkin crossed his arms. "Through the Force, I suppose? Did you mind probe an Atoan whose language you don't understand?" He, too, was losing patience. This wasn't conclusive evidence at all. This only raised more questions. "What role did Vader play in this?"

Spoiler

I've been going over my part of it too but mostly in my head. Tarkin will certainly have more of a reaction to write out

"They have ways of communicating. Garoche understood the Lady Saro. They understood each other well, in fact." His words were sharp. His green eyes seethed with the anger that was building behind them and his breath formed into tiny crystals of mist as he spoke into the frozen air. He took a step forward, not even a sliver of compliance in his posture. "You shudder on the inside to even think that your son could betray the iron ideology you beat into him. And yet here he fell, his last act in life a pathetic attempt to protect what little peace he thought he'd found."

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Oh I wrote that out months ago It needs some touching up but it's ready to go for afterward

"Watch yourself," Tarkin warned, standing his ground. The implications of that first sentence didn't escape him, and he visibly bristled at the very thought. "You're treading very close to the edge, my friend--you don't want to fall over just yet." He could feel the blaster at the back of his belt, a comforting weight against his coat. He was fairly confident he could reach it before Sirejj could move, but the Zabrak had those extrasensory perceptions. He'd have to be very, very quick if he wanted to get the jump on him.

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its gettin real in here

Sirejj bared his teeth slightly as he spoke, as if he was holding back a snarl. Tarkin was on the cusp of betrayal. There was no telling what he would do with his entire worldview dashed to pieces on the very rocks that had taken the life of his son.

"We are on an even field, Tarkin." He seethed the name, for the first time since they'd met referring to him by his lineage rather than his rank. "Are you so afraid of the truth that you will refuse to see it? Would you like to to back to Eriadu and continue to live your lie? But then you will have to face Thalassa and let her know you've failed yet again." He watched each tiny movement with utmost care, for he would not at all be surprised if Tarkin attempted something drastic.

Tarkin stood stiff as the stone around him, his jaw set. "The truth is the very thing I'm seeking," he growled. "What you are telling me is not true. And I ask you again, what role did Vader play? I've taken risks investigating this at all, and I want to know if it was worth it."