Imperium of Vader Chapter 3 Preview

NOTE: Due sudden burst of inspiration for this, chapter will be out by tomorrow. Hero of Naboo's ETA has NOT been delayed, despite allergies kicking my ass.

Not since the death of the Emperor had Tarkin been worried. Concerned, incredibly so. Anxious, he hid it well, but yes. Worried? No. Between himself and Vader, they were keeping the worst of the potential upsupers from becoming a threat.

Now? Now he was worried.

He found himself in what was known as the Inquisitorius Headquarters. A semi-secret facility deep in the Works, most that knew what it was only understood it as the base of operations for the Inquisitors, Anti-Jedi personel that reported only to the Emperor. No one was sure if Vader was technically a member or just weilded the same command over them as the Emperor. What was known to some was that the organization had moved off world after an incident on Imperial Center.

Though, it seemed Vader had taken the liberty of ordering them to relocate back to the throneworld of the Empire, and never before had Tarkin felt more awkward or out of place than in this setting.

He was standing of a bridged leading to a circular platform. All around it were inquistors, blackrobed warriors of various species. Some stood as he did, others were standing or sitting on perches that the average lifeform would find unsafe on. And in the circular platform was two children.

Though, Tarkin had a hard time calling them that.

One was a short haired, nearly bald boy while the other was female with brillaint red hair. Both were human and looked less than ten of age, the girl even younger than the boy. They had small, hopefully practice lightsabers- if such a thing existed, Tarkin wondered- that clashed loudly as they both swung and defended with a ferocity that Tarkin was unused to seeing in young sapients. The boy was more than willing to use his superior strenght, striking his foe in the face with a hailmaker of a punch. Despite the bloody lip, the girl grinned, using her smaller and quicker form to sweep her legs, trying to make him loose balance. It worked, but the boy was able to self correct at the last moment, even as the girl struck with her blade, nearly pushing him over the edge.

Tarkin turned his gaze away from the display. Not out of unease for it, but for the one who truly had his attention: standing on the opposite side of the platform was Darth Vader himself, watching the training session as all the Inquistitors gave him a very respectful amount of space. But there was a tense impatience about his shoulders.

Tarkin didn't pretend to know Vader perfectly, but he had literally hunted the man, managing to both steal his lightsaber and lure him into a trap. Granted, yes, Vader could have still killed him at the end, but that wasn't the point. The point was that Tarkin, through sheer experience with the Sith, recognized some of Vader's behavior and physical ticks. He was impatient, therefore he wanted this to be over. But Vader wasn't one to stand on formality, he would have ended this duel in an instant. The fact that Tarkin had been summoned here meant that Vader wanted to see him, yet didn't end the match even though he was here.

Tarkin's conclusion? Something urgent was going on, Vader needed to speak of it to Tarkin, but needed someone or something else to arrive first.

So, yes, Tarkin believed it was very rational to be a bit worried if Darth Vader himself was feeling a bit anxious.

The blast door opened behind him, drawing the attention of him and the inquistors. The new arrival did not allieviate Tarkin's feeling.

"Grand Moff Tarkin," the newcomer greeted in a smooth, quiet voice.

"Admiral Thrawn," Tarkin returned, raising an eyebrow at him. As if reading his mind, the Chiss shook his head subtly, indicating he had no knowledge of what this meeting was about.

They returned their gaze to the spar as the boy sent the girl flying with a powerful kick to the stomach.

"Enough," Vader stated, his voice echoing with ever needing to raise it.

"N-no! Master, I'm fine! I can still fight!" the girl protest as she got to her feet with gritted teeth, clutching her saber hard even as her fellow trainee deactivated his own own.

"I said enough."

Tarkin remained stoic despite the sweat growing upon his brow, feeling something cold and heavy about the air. But that was nothing to the reaction of the Inquistors and the children. The two non-adults fell to their knees instantly, eyes wide in terror while the inquistorsall looked uneasy to fearful.

And just like that, it stopped, and it was made very, very clear to any too stupid to realize it already.

Vader was not in a good mood.