Myriad Reckonings

Spoiler

Vader doesn't eat solid food; most of his day to day needs are taken care of in the meditation chamber.
It would definitely be an uncomfortable time for everyone else XD

Qiall's eyes stared sightlessly back, her chest rising and falling with shallow breaths.

"Excellent." Tarkin glanced over his shoulder to make sure Sirejj was following and paying attention, then lowered his voice. Time to set out the bait. Carefully, though...very carefully. "I do apologize for encroaching on your business with the Inquisitors. Sirejj has proven quite useful to me--more so than I think he would have in their line of work. It was fortuitous I happened to be in the area."

Spoiler

Sirejj would definitely be mad he can't cause problems as usual. He'll be even more mad if Tarkin leaves him behind to go galivanting off with Vader to the Carrion.

leaving Sirejj unsupervised is asking for problems haha

Sirejj turned away. She was a pitiful sight.

"Particularly since I hear they were planning on disposing of him." Vader glanced back at Sirejj briefly before turning his focus again to Tarkin. "My inquisitors are quite focused on the task at hand- so much that they sometimes overlook potential opportunities." There was a hint of disapproval in his tone. He controlled his inquisitors with an iron fist, but even so, they still found ways to disappoint him. If Tarkin had found a use for this vagabond, so be it. But he would like to discover more about this force sensitive who'd appeared as if from nowhere, from a dying world with dying religion. His kind had almost always given the rule of the empire trouble, as they considered themselves separate from the rest of the galaxy. Their will to survive despite all odds was annoying at best.

Sirejj maintained composure completely, but he realized where Tarkin was going. He thought he felt Vader's attention shift slightly, like his interest had been piqued. He listened carefully, not only with his ears but his mind. He ever so carefully focused his attention on Vader's actions, even though his eyes drifted between the two as they spoke. He would maintain his silence around Vader unless addressed directly. No, he'd seen enough of Vader's power for one day.

Spoiler

Heehee I'll have to think about how Tarkin would handle that

"I admit I was surprised to find them on Atoa," he said casually. "I hadn't realized it's significance for Force users, but Sirejj tells me the magic there is quite potent." It took effort to keep his mind neutral. The danger of what he was doing was right beside him, dark and foreboding. A grim reminder of how badly this could go for him.

"Nowhere in the galaxy is unreachable for them." Vader mused. He wondered what Tarkin had been doing back there of all places. He knew of the magic there, but did not ever dwell on those thoughts. "The sorcerers there died out long ago." He said, as if reaffirming his own belief. "The few that were left were effectively purged, thanks to you." Tarkin had always been excellent at revenge.

Sirejj felt Vader's attention shift from him to...somewhere else. He must be careful. If Vader caught him picking his thoughts he would be relieved of his limbs one at a time. He had seen that there was a magic on Atoa, even if there were few or no sorcerers left.

It helped that he was a sort of sorcerer, by Vader's definition.

"Most of them," Tarkin corrected. "It seems the culling was not quite so effective as I had hoped. A few of the insurgents remained." He allowed a shred of bitterness into his voice. "They were dealt with in no uncertain terms."

Spoiler

forgot tarkin said that earlier oops

"I assume that's why you were there. Hunting the last of them." Vader said. "Has the nightbrother been of help in finding the remaining insurgents?"

Sirejj didn't sense any suspicion in Vader. Simply curiosity. For now.

"Indeed he has. We were forced off-moon by pirates, unfortunately, but we had dealt with the last of them at that point." His face darkened. "I'm content, knowing they all paid for what they took from me."

"Good." Vader seemed as solid as ever on the outside. "I have heard there were some that escaped offworld. Have any of those stragglers been located?" He was making conversation now.

"One or two. I took time away to deal with them." Tarkin exited the kennel building and held the house's door button for Sirejj and Vader. "Most of them seem reluctant to leave their home world. I can't imagine why; there's hardly anything left."

Sirejj knew why but kept silent. Atoa's moon had a strong presence in the force that called to her people. The religious ones, anyhow.

"Their rebellion has been eradicated. Whatever few stragglers may survive will have nothing to build on." Vader said as he stepped outside into the heat of the day. Atoa's moon was well on its way to being a dead world. Anyone who could possibly have survived there has nothing left to return to and therefore were not a threat.

They had paid for their crimes. They were a rebellious, insolent lot who had become too powerful for their own good. Tarkin had done the galaxy a favor by destroying them.

"That's certainly the idea." He sighed heavily. "I'm just glad to finally put this to bed. I'm not a young man anymore, you know--galavanting off to exact revenge for my son's death isn't something I can do for much longer." A lie, of course. He was an incredibly dedicated grudge-holder. But he wanted to dance around the issue of Garoche for as long as possible without actually saying his name outright. "They did you wrong, too," he mused. "You were trapped for--what was it?--three days. I can't imagine that was pleasant, even with your armor."

Vader's gait seemed to stiffen a little as they walked. "It was certainly less than ideal." He said deliberately, his words ever so slightly venomous. That was a memory he'd worked hard to remove.

Sirejj felt a surge of emotion beneath the surface of Vader's calm exterior. Anger and humiliation boiled from under his armor, but there were others. Deep within him, so far that Sirejj barely caught a glimpse of it as it flickered, was great anguish. Whether it came from the event that happened on Atoa or from further back in his history, he couldn't tell. But it was there, seething beneath the rest of his volatile emotions.

Vader's thoughts were stifling. Sirejj felt his chest tighten as if a massive weight has been added to his shoulders. He kept a straight face and kept walking in silence, but as he began to know Vader, he began to realize how risky backtracking his steps on Atoa was. Vader was a ticking time bomb.

"I'd have invited you, of course," Tarkin said idly. "In any other situation, I would have. You're beyond useful in a fight and I enjoy our talks. But I feel this was...personal. And I imagine you wouldn't want to dredge up that unpleasantness."

Vader stopped walking and slowly turned towards Tarkin. He studied him, for a moment wondering why the conversation had drifted this direction. He noticed the Zabrak had frozen in his tracks when he stopped and sensed a sudden spark of fear in his mind. Good. The mercenary was less likely to misbehave if terrified. These lot of hired guns were never completely trustworthy.

"It is not something either of us should dwell upon." He said quietly, regaining control over the boiling emotions under his helm.

A tiny spike of anxiety stabbed through Tarkin, and he self-consciously relaxed his shoulders. Time to reel it back--he was suspicious, now, or at least ill at ease enough for him to become suspicious with any more prodding.

"No," he agreed, resuming his previous gait. "You're right, of course." Careful, Sirejj. He could see how tense the Zabrak was. "Your work has gone well these past few weeks, I trust?" he asked, opting for an abrupt subject change. It seemed it was time to talk of other things. They could try again at dinner if Sirejj had gotten nothing.