Myriad Reckonings

Tarkin nodded, considering whether to mention Vader as they reached the stairs. Vader had been the entire reason Tarkin sent Shale on the mission in the first place, in case the Sith got distracted or distressed in some way. That hadn't worked well. He supposed he ought to make mention of it, since Vader had been in the room when the cathedral came down.

"I should also say," he began, "that the individual I sent after Garoche was Darth Vader."

Sirejj stopped in his tracks and looked him in the eyes, unblinking. He found his voice again in a moment.

"And Vader was unable to save your son from some Atoan priestess?" This was a genuine question. "He was the only one who walked away, or were there others?"

That would have been helpful to know beforehand... Vader had more than a reputation. The galaxy quivered at the mention of him. A Lord of the Sith, more powerful than all of the inquisitors put together. And Sirejj wanted nothing to do with him or any of the true sith who were left. The inquisitors didn't count.

Tarkin found himself truly hesitating to answer this question, uncertainty filling his mind. Vader was unstable, but he surely could have prevented what happened. Unless he was already unconscious? Unless they had manipulated him somehow...he knew Anakin Skywalker to be a fragile, temperamental person.

"...He was the only one with Garoche aside from the priestess, when we removed the rubble," he said slowly. "Captain Shale and an array of stormtroopers accompanied him to the moon, but they were all dead when we arrived. The Atoans weren't forthcoming with information, either, but we didn't look into it in the beginning. Vader told us what happened." He rubbed his chin, chest tightening. "It was only after everything settled down that I started to wonder..."

"Someone isn't telling us everything they know," he said, his voice lowered to barely audible. He was loath to suspect Vader, but the Sith were brilliant liars.

Even if the Sith were responsible for this, which wouldn't make much sense at all but anything was possible at this point, he would still find out. Undermining the Sith had been something he'd practiced for some time. He could do it again.

"On an unrelated note..." his tone implied otherwise, "...does Vader know about this venture?"

"No." Tarkin shook his head. "He and I have an amicable relationship, we trust each other, but even I'm not fool enough to tell him I'm questioning his story." The fact that Emperor Palaptine backed Vader was enough to put him off the notion completely.

Sirejj felt an uneasiness creeping into his mind. He could sense Tarkin's hesitation and that did not help.

"He should probably not find out about this." His mind drifted to the inquisitors and he frowned. "Would the Grand Inquisitor have said anything to his master of us being on Atoa?"

"It's possible. He fears Vader more than he fears dying. I had considered it...I believe Vader will believe a lie if he questions me." He wasn't entirely positive of that, but he felt that he was good enough at hiding his thoughts that he could get away with it.

"Hm." He grunted. This would make things a little more complicated.

"Doesn't Vader directly serve the Emperor?" Not much was known about Emperor Palpatine to the common people other than he was ruthless and terrifying. There were rumors, that wove stories of him being something more than just the dictator of the galaxy, but Sirejj had spent little of his energy exploring those tales.

"He does." This was all Tarkin said; he had no intention of giving up much more to Sirejj. He'd already basically committed treason by expressing his doubts to the Zabrak.

That did not do well to settle his concerns. However, he was determined to find the answers to his own questions on Atoa and Tarkin provided him with some protection and resources to do so. If he could discover how the Atoans has hidden for so long and if he could replicate that spell or power, he wouldn't need to be concerned about the Sith discovering him or anyone else aligned with him.

It would be a valuable strength to bring back to his homeworld.

They had reached their rooms by now. Sirejj had brought one hand to his chin, thinking. "You'd best make sure none of your friends find out about this mission. I have a feeling their knowledge of our plans would be ruinous."

"I've done my best to keep it quiet," Tarkin replied. "If Gideon knows, I can trust that he won't say anything. Garoche was his nephew; they got along relatively well. I'm sure he'll want answers as much as me and Thalassa."

He stepped to his door and opened it. He had a feeling they would discover information that would be unexpected. He needed time to settle his thoughts.

"Let us contact the Lady Tarkin tomorrow if she is available. I have questions."

"As you wish." Tarkin nodded to him and opened his own door. "Try not to wander in the night, Sirejj. Sleep well."

He scoffed. "I'll do my best to remember the rules." He disappeared into his room. Now to ponder.

Tarkin entered his room and slumped down in his chair by the bed, running his hands through his thinning hair. What a mess he was in.

He ended up pacing not long after he left Sirejj, walking the perimeter of the room and then outlining the bed. Trying to tamp down on his increasingly rapid thoughts so Sirejj wouldn't overhear them, he forced his shoulders down and took a few deep breaths. Eventually he sat down again and tried to clear his mind, to sort through all the possibilities. There were a few ideas he actively shied away from, but his working theory, the one he was currently most comfortable with that was as likely as could be within those parameters, was that Vader had lost control and dissociated. This would have allowed the priestess to attack and kill Garoche as well as bringing the cathedral down on them all.

That didn't explain her willingness to do so, though. Sirejj had pointed out that Atoans were extremely spiritual beings. Tarkin knew people valued religion to an irrational level. If she was one of those, then why would she destroy her site of worship?

Thinking about it all made his head and heart ache. What he needed was a distraction.