Desert Moon-A Star Wars Story ( discontinued )

VI - End of an Era

The dreams were getting worse every time Vader took a small step into unconsciousness, they overtook his mind. Eventually, he gave up sleeping entirely and it helped tremendously. He put every ounce of focus on the Empire and whatever Tarkin and Krenic were working on. It was only in the early stages, just an idea and an initiative that could easily be popped like a soap bubble. Krenic was always around and constantly talking about the whole idea, which was making Tarkin more stiff than usual which made him more annoying, which made Vader angry. It was a chain of events that couldn't be avoided. The chain of events also lead to excessively long board meetings that made Vader question his very existence and made him very, very tired. Sleep deprivation had it's downsides he now realized and he realized it in the middle of one of Tarkin's lectures.

Krenic had gone off about how this was his idea and Tarkin had no part in the project and Tarkin would come back and say that Krenic didn't know what he was doing, or at least that's what Vader thought they said. He wasn't really listening. Half the time he was just trying to stay awake and make sure nobody addressed him. So far the other two men in the room were too busy arguing to care what he thought about the matter. Drifting off provided two problems for Vader: he would miss the meeting, and he would eventually find out what happened next in the progress of the Desert Moon. The second one was not something he wanted to focus on and, thankfully, just as Ahsoka's face began to obscure his vision, Krenic and Tarkin were at his side, shaking him vigorously. 

"Lord Vader?"

"I can attend to him Krenic, thank you."

"Oh, so you want to take over this too?"

"SILENCE!" Vader rose and glared at the two of them from behind his mask. Though they couldn't see it, both men seemed to shrink and look up timidly. "I do not need to be attended too."

"With all due respect my lord, you don't seem well," Tarkin chided. 

His concern was the only reason Vader didn't want assistance. "I am perfectly fine."

Krenic raised an eyebrow doubtfully. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Vader snarled, his voice dripping with venom. With a incomprehensible mumble, he exited the room and stormed down to his chambers. The door slid open and the room shifted in and out of focus. Fumbling around for a bit, he managed to open a transmission to his master. Thankfully the Sith lord answered almost instantly; Vader thought he might pass out.

"My master..."

"Lord Vader. I sense much unease within you. What is the problem?" 

"I fear the toll these dreams have taken on me."

"But you said they hadn't been occurring as frequently." Sidious' eyes narrowed under his hood. "We're you lying?"

"No my master. They weren't occurring because I...stopped resting."

Sidious was quiet for a moment. "I see..."

Vader hated when he said that. It added unnecessary tension, which was the last thing Vader needed. "My lord?"

"Get rest," Sidious ordered. "If the dreams come, use your willpower to drain them away. I did not train a weak Sith."

"Yes my lord."

As the hologram image flickered away, strong feelings of dread and relief rushed over Vader. Relief that he could now rest, in fact it had been ordered to him by his master, and dread because he knew that the dreams were most definitely going to come back if he closed his eyes. If only Krenic and Tarkin were here to bore him awake and bicker until he shouted at them. Shouting at those two had become especially fun. Before he had the chance to rise and move to his quarters, the door to the room slid open and Tarkin stood in the doorway, irritating and shriveled as ever.