Slaves Of The Empire {1}

| Interlude |

Perhaps grief was bringing out the worst in both of them.

"Admiral," Anakin greeted him with a polite nod as they drew near. Tarkin didn't so much as glance at him. Anakin crossed his arms, miffed, but didn't comment. Obi-Wan may have been the fabled Negotiator, but even Anakin could feel the tension in this moment – tension he'd only worsen by calling Tarkin out.

"Might I have a word?" Obi-Wan said, hooking an arm around Tarkin's dusky green sleeve and towing him back out into the foyer. The second they'd left the servants' earshot, his charming, fatherly demeanor began to thaw. "What in blazes are you on about? Admiral Tarkin, I cannot condone this approach with individuals who may be witnesses to the chancellor's death!"

Tarkin's eyes were chips of polar ice. "You dare question the competence of my approach after the way the Order's prized Hero With No Fear bungled the simple task of escorting an errant Senator away from our investigation?"

First Tarkin ignored him, and now he insulted him? Anakin's patience was thinner than usual today – not that it was ever particularly generous to begin with – and he couldn't let that kind of talk stand, even for a grieving man. "Hey, you're–"

An elbow to the side cut him off halfway through the next word. Calculating the angle and its likely origin, he shot Ahsoka a glare. She glared right back before shifting her gaze pointedly to the back of Obi-Wan's head. Anakin growled and sent an image of a rude gesture through their bond. Ahsoka's reply was to move behind Obi-Wan, the closest cover from Tarkin's sharp eyes, and execute it.

"It's hardly incompetent, Admiral," Obi-Wan said, sounding appalled by the accusation, but the indignant flicker in his aura betrayed him to his fellow Jedi. His voice softened, regaining some of its lost diplomacy. "Merely... heavy-handed. These are not Republic officers sworn to obey your orders; they're private citizens whose job security has become questionable at best, who now have to explain their every move to law enforcement. You cannot know how they'll react to blunt coercion."

"They may not be under my command, General Kenobi, but they swore an oath to serve the Republic when they came into the chancellor's employ." Tarkin's eyes narrowed. "That counts for much, as you'll soon see."

"As the Council's choice of investigator, Anakin may have something to say about that," was Obi-Wan's only retort.

Catching Obi-Wan's drift, before Tarkin could interject, Anakin said, "While the both of you have my utmost respect, Admiral, you and General Kenobi are here only as observers. I welcome your advice, and hey, you can even badmouth my way of doing things if you want. But unless you take it up with your superiors, you're not here to get involved." Anakin allowed himself a sharp smile. "Seems to me that observers are only meant to do what the word implies: observe."

"In that case, I anxiously await your report," Tarkin bit out, and stalked toward the grand, twisting staircases. Based on the noises Anakin heard coming from above, he assumed Tarkin was hoping to rendezvous with the forensics crew before Anakin and Ahsoka could start watching him too closely.

Well, tough luck, Anakin thought, grinning. Serves you right, thinking you can slight me and get away with it. "I'm going to check out that bloodstain we heard about. Someone had to keep an eye on Tarkin, anyway."

"Right." Obi-Wan nodded to Ahsoka. "Come along, Ahsoka – someone should console those poor servants, too."

"You're the nicest by a long shot." She frowned. "What could I do?"

"I may have the gentlest manner of the three of us," Obi-Wan said with a longsuffering smile, "but you, Padawan, have the advantages of youth and a less threatening size than an adult Human male. That may set some people at ease."