Myriad Reckonings

Spoiler

gotta love how Tarkin needs to hate something to survive. Bro would be a terrifying Sith.

The streets of Coruscant’s Federal District were busier than typical this morning. The great towers, seeming to reach to the sky itself, cast long shadows on the steel ground. The sky was bright and blue, though one did not travel to Coruscant to admire nature. She was the capitol of the galaxy itself, the heart of Imperial Power. That is what made her a beautiful sight. She stood for the strength and glory of the Galactic Empire and was home to the most important people in the entire galaxy. And Killian Arcturus considered himself lucky to call this place home.

The young man, clean shaven with short reddish brown neatly trimmed combed hair dressed in a crisp black uniform walked quickly through the streets of the Federal District. His sharp blue eyes scanned each little detail as he walked, adding it all into the databank in his head. He remembered little things easily. It was part of what made him so good at his job. Each small detail was the building block of a larger thing, and the patterns were nearly always the same. Once one was able to see past the obvious, understanding the world around oneself was easy.

Killian wasn’t late to his job, but he’d been informed of a new project and given the opportunity to head up the research concerning it. He’d not been given all the details, but he’d leapt at the chance for another project. He truly enjoyed doing a good job and impressing his superiors. He always had.

Lieutenant Killian Arcturus. It was not a high position by any means, but he had confidence he would soon rise in rank. He had already excelled in his studies and the intelligence gathering operations he’d been a part of. Small projects, to be sure, but they were all building blocks. He was grateful for them, as they gave him opportunities to learn even the smallest details of his work before moving up. He spent every waking moment improving his skills. It was what he lived for.

Killian had excelled in his classes at the imperial academy. He’d spent time with a group of people of similar interest and often avoided those who seemed to be in the academy strictly for the reason of heading immediately to combat. Many of those young students were brutish and liked to harass the students more interested in intellectual studies. It made them especially frustrated when he constantly scored higher than them during the academic tests. Many of them were good fighters but failed their classes in the finer arts. Killian had passed all of his classes. Passing the combat classes had been more difficult, but he’d done it and not by the skin of his teeth by any means.

As he neared the massive structure that was the Imperial Security Bureau headquarters, he quickened his pace. He was hurrying, but would not be so unprofessional as to go faster than a walk. He commanded a great deal of power with his presence, or so he believed. He was after all an agent of the ISB. They were the beating heart of the Empire, and even high ranking naval officers walked on glass around them. He had quite the reputation to live up to, and was eager to fulfill it.
He stopped at his chosen entrance and scanned his retinal code for entry. He removed his neat cap, ensured there was no dust or lint on it, smoothed back his short hair, and replaced it back on his head. He stepped inside.

Spoiler

There has to be a Tarkin Sith AU out there somewhere.

And I mean considering how he was raised, it makes sense for him to be fuelled by negative emotions.

ISB HQ was a hive on the inside, full of winding corridors and hundreds upon hundreds of operatives from the lowliest janitor to Colonel Wullf Yularen himself. Uniforms of white and charcoal gray intermingled, stormtroopers flanking the higher-ranking individuals and protocol droids stumbling their way through the mass of people. One who was unfamiliar with the building and its orderly chaos would become swept up in it all immediately.

For all the hustle and bustle, the halls were eerily quiet. Nobody talked above a whisper; everyone had some classified business or other that could not be discussed except with their designated departments and their superiors. There was no friendship in the ISB--not really--only competition. That was the expectation, anyway--hostility and suspicion meant that the important secrets got kept.

There was one department that took exception to this rule. The ISB board of Investigations, headed by Major Lio Partagaz, was the subject of many mutterings among those above and below his station. The Major, an academic sort with a no-nonsense attitude, took a...unique approach to authority. He fostered competition among his subordinates, granted, but with a goal of mutual improvement rather than letting any one officer lag behind. It was only when those officers proved themselves to be blatantly incompetent that he allowed them to fall by the wayside while the others advanced.

Nobody was quite sure if they agreed with the Major's pedagogical leadership strategy, but it seemed to get results and so they let it be, chalking it up to eccentricity. Conformist though the Empire was, it seemed the unconventional individuals tended to be the most successful. Just look at Admiral Thrawn--an alien from the Unknown Regions and still a favorite of the Emperor himself. And the enigmatic and terrifying Lord Vader, known for his creative brutality. Partagaz didn't cause nearly as much of a stir as them; in fact, the banality of his actions worked in his favor. He rocked the boat, but only so much as he could get away with.

The Major was in his private office now, scrolling through information relating to the chain code of one Qiall Saraat. The Lieutenant assigned to research and retrieval of this particular individual was due to meet with him in precisely five minutes.

Spoiler

the fact that his mind has remained intact through all the trauma is what would make him so powerful. most Sith end up being driven batty by their rage. Maul and Vader are good examples.

also we've forgotten how iconic the first 2 seasons of rebels are. the young ezra era had so many hilarious moments and Hera using people's government names when they're in trouble and punching Kanan for betting Chopper against Lando's hand in sabacc is just the best. And Zeb is just a great character all around and Kallus and the Grand inquisitor as main villains are also super cool.

Killian was slightly early. He made an effort to be. He was going to be meeting with Major Partagaz himself, who was someone Killian looked up to highly. He admired his brilliance in managing such a large portion of the ISB and his ability to move so many things in subtlety. He had made great changes to the way the ISB and the Imperial Military itself functioned that no average soldier would ever come close to noticing. Killian had a great respect for him.

His heartbeat quickened in anticipation as he reached the Major's office. He was eager - sometimes too eager - to take on another project. But it was that ambition that the Major encouraged. Killian often worked with high ranking individuals and aspired to pull his weight and more.

Killian reached the door, took a deep breath, ensured that his uniform was a hundred percent presentable, and then pressed a small button requesting entry.

Spoiler

Gosh I miss that show. There were some great times in there.
RIP Kallus's evil era. So glad Zeb was there to pull him out of the darkness.

"Enter," Partagaz said as the little indicator light came on, sliding the data display off to the left where it was out of the way but still visible. He had seen Lieutenant Arcturus during meetings; the young man was an eager pupil and a vocal advocate for efficiency, but he tended to over-commit himself. Partagaz had kept an eye on him, offering vague encouragement but keeping the Lieutenant at arm's length until he got a better idea for what exactly Arcturus had to offer. This meeting and this assignment would hopefully bring that into better light.

Spoiler

Zeb is a fantastic character with some great development. honestly the jokes and roasting are the best.

I also forgot when Tarkin had the grand inquisitor literally behead two dudes in front of the governor of Lothal because they were incompetent. Dude pulled no punches.

Killian entered, carrying himself with an air of dedicated competence. It masked his eagerness. He stood before the major at parade rest, his shoulders square and arms by his sides, with his datapad under one arm. His father had been a military officer in the Republic before moving to politics and had raised him to carry himself with importance.

"Major Partagaz, Lieutenant Arcturus reporting." He said, looking the Major square in the eyes. Though he was young and eager, he still had a slice of sharpness in his eyes alone. It was a mark of determination.

Spoiler

Rip Aresko and Grint

Partagaz leaned back in his chair, looking Arcturus up and down. "At ease, Leftenant." He gestured toward the display. "I trust you're up to date on your assignment?" He should hope so; the boy showed diligence during meetings and his reports were generally on time.

Spoiler

I'd forgotten how different Killian and Sirejj are. in some earlier versions they interacted more and it was great.

Killian: clean freak, nerd, successful career, dedicated to his cause, people pleaser, polite, amazing posture, gifted kid with rich parents

Sirejj: raised in a swamp, believes in magic, literally does only what he wants when he wants, is pretty much homeless, doesn't give a womp rat's arse what you think, definitely drinks milk straight from the container and puts it back in the fridge, absolutely puts his feet on the table when he can get away with it

Killian relaxed slightly but still kept his posture straight and professional.

"Yes Major. I received the files last night. I understand there has been an attack on the Grand Moff Tarkin and that they have the suspect in custody?" An impressive and bold move, to attempt to assassinate the Grand Moff. That in and of itself opened a can of worms. Someone hired this would-be assassin. There was so much more to find out.

Spoiler

They should be stuck in the same area together for an extended period of time to see who breaks first

"As far as I understand it, Governor Tarkin has detained the assassin at his home on Eriadu. He informed the ISB that Lord Vader was dispatched to interrogate her, which means that she will be less than useless to us if we want information." His tone made it clear he did not agree with that particular decision. "We've been asked to retrieve her and salvage what we can. You, Leftenant, have been tasked both with the retrieval of said assassin as well as tracking her connections back to whomever ordered this assassination." He pointed a stylus at the display, zooming in on the Phindian's face. "Her name is Qiall Saraat. We have a record of her on file, but it's sparse. She's been freelancing for twelve years."

Spoiler

Killian would be so upset. Sirejj would think it's hilarious. Killian would probably lose it first but plot some kind of thing to get back at him. Their entire relationship would be bullying each other.

"Excellent." He said, his gaze shifting to the profile pulled up on the holoscreen. He brought one hand up and touched his chin with his forefinger. If that was all the information they had currently even with how far their resources extended, this would be a challenging mission. Luckily, he enjoyed a good challenge.

"Will the information that the Sith may have gleaned be available to us?" Killian had very limited knowledge of the Sith, aside from what was written down. He chose to focus on more rational ways of gaining power, rather than some mystical feeling that nobody could see. Still, he knew enough to know that they could be dangerous and unpredictable. He knew they practiced the bleeding of one's mind, not unlike some of their own methods. However, unlike their own carefully documented methods of questioning, if she'd been questioned by Vader, whatever information he'd gathered was unlikely to be on a hard drive.

Spoiler

Hehehe of course

"If he's there when you arrive, by all means, ask him." Partagaz smiled wryly. "Or ask Governor Tarkin; I'm sure Lord Vader will have relayed that information to him. However you get it, I would prefer that any file in our archives be made more complete. Do you have any questions regarding this assignment?"

Spoiler

Killian shows up on Eriadu and starts asking questioned and literally gets bullied by everyone. Life's hard in the outer rim, Kid.

He will certainly find Sirejj interesting and do some digging on him. Let no stone go unturned. Now to figure out how that information gets to Tzara, either via Killian or otherwise. Tzara is a snake who wouldn't think twice about compromising Killian if it meant he got intel.

Killian thought for a moment. He had access to what he needed. The most extensive database in the galaxy, ships, firepower if need be. He would start with a little research on those involved before departure for Eriadu. He wanted to be prepared and make a good impression.

"Only one. When is Governor Tarkin expecting my arrival?" He wanted to know if he had time to do a little more familiarizing before leaving. If not, he could do it on the way.