Myriad Reckonings

Spoiler

Sirejj just a second ago: "Well, this is how I die..."

"It has. We have been quite productive." He turned back towards the house, satisfied there was to be no more talk of Atoa for now. A small part of him was bothered as to why Tarkin was pressing the matter. He chose not to think of that. He knew that the loss of an attachment often affected people's minds. Perhaps Tarkin had not yet recovered from the loss on Atoa..

Sirejj felt confident that he could play off his discomfort. No one in their right mind wouldn't be concerned about making Vader angry. He followed along again as if nothing had happened.

"Fantastic." He glanced back at Sirejj and lowered his voice. "We should talk alone later. I have updates on the project." The Death Star was coming along nicely, but there were stirrings from some of the lower ranking individusls--concerns about funding being funneled somewhere they didn't know.

"I will be most eager to hear about it." Vader said. "Perhaps before dinner. I'm very interested in your progress." The Death Star would be the solution to controlling rebellious systems. It would be invincible to any starship attack once finished.

"Certainly. Come find me in half an hour and we'll talk. Get some rest in the meantime. Sirejj?" He gestured for Sirejj to follow him and split away from Vader. Vader had been here before; he would know where they put his meditation chamber.

Sirejj followed Tarkin wordlessly. He did not show outwardly the relief he felt getting away from Vader.

Spoiler

Just had several consecutive heart attacks as I realized I was supposed to be dogsitiing. Got there very late but they're fine.

Tarkin walked in silence for a full five minutes, leading Sirejj up several flights of stairs before he felt he could speak comfortably.
"Well?" he said finally, once they were in a small, secluded parlor near the top of the mansion.

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oof that's scary I've been there forgetting to turn waters off when watching my friends horses. Got to get in the car and go all the way back

"Well," he replied, parroting Tarkin's question, "he certainly exceeds his reputation." He crossed his arms, his jawline tense and his eyes distant and thoughtful. He was a little irritated still. Tarkin was playing with fire and using him as a pawn.

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Yeppp and it's even worse because one of these dogs has separation anxiety from spending three years in transit from Russia to America.

"And?" Tarkin mirrored Sirejj's stance, standing at attention. He felt jittery; part of him wondered if Vader could sense him even from here. Best not to think of such things right now. Stars, what was he doing? What had he done?

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poor critter. I wonder if they have the adaptil diffusers or collars. We recommend those for anxiety all the time. They're made with chill pheromones basically

"And I'm begining to think you're mad for bringing him here." He didn't like Tarkin's attitude. He was simply trying to keep his head on his shoulders. "I can see your thoughts, you suspect something of him." He lowered his voice. "He certainly has no desire to discuss Atoa. Whenever you spoke of his defeat there he became...unstable." Well, more unstable than the usual.

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The pups don't wear collars unless they're going for a walk. Seems unwise to me but I go with it.

Tarkin's eyebrows shot up. "Did he? In what way?" This was exactly why he'd wanted Vader here. He'd been right to do this after all! He'd dismiss Sirejj's comment about suspicion for now. He didn't suspect Vader of anything but incompetence and mental instability; surely he understood that now that he'd met the man.

Sirejj thought back to the overwhelming sense of Vader's emotional turmoil. It still felt heavy to think about.
"He carried a great anger about what happened. I imagine it was humiliating for him to be defeated." He wasn't sure if he would mention sensing some of what he thought was pain within Vader's mind. He wasn't sure quite what to make of that. "But his emotions are so tangled I'm not even sure what to make of it all."

"Hmm." Tarkin started pacing, hands behind his back. "Something like that shouldn't have affected him so strongly. He's been through worse without holding onto it. It's been eight years." For Vader to still be sore over Atoa after this long was surprising. "What else? Was there anything else that triggered a reaction? Did I push him too hard?" It certainly felt like he had.

"When he stopped walking I thought he was going to take my head off." Sirejj growled. "You bringing up the unpleasant memories on Atoa irked him for some reason." Sirejj watched the governor pace and began to wonder if he himself was the mad one for agreeing to participate in this. He worried if Tarkin became too fixated on this, he would overlook a detail that would cause them to both lose their heads.

"That was the point. We were supposed to draw him out." He gave Sirejj a sharp look. "I asked you of this would be too much. You agreed to do this, so watch your tone. The risk is shared, here."

Sirejj growled again. He did not take this lightly. "I had some level of trust in you that you knew what you were doing. I wonder really if you do." He made eye contact with Tarkin, his brow furrowed and green eyes flickering. "Something else happened to him on Atoa. I know not what. Something other than just the defeat and the loss of your son, though there are some tangled feelings surrounding that as well that I cannot see." Certainly Vader being trapped in the rubble would be distressing, but there was something else in his head that he couldn't seem to shake. Sirejj only caught a brief sense of it amidst the other tumultuous emotions, but it was there.