Star Wars_ Death Star - Michael Reaves [7]
Once the station was fully online, then the Tarkin Doctrine—officially recognized by the Empire and named as such—would hold sway throughout the known worlds. The Tarkin Doctrine was as simple as it was effective; fear would keep the galaxy in line. Once the power of this “Death Star” had been demonstrated, its very existence would be enough to maintain peace. The Rebel Alliance wouldn’t dare risk facing it. An insurgent who would gladly accept his own death in the cause would quail at the thought of his entire homeworld being turned to incandescent plasma.
Tarkin turned away from the viewport. Already there had been sabotage and setbacks, and more would occur; it was inevitable on a project this size. Slaves had tried to escape, droids had malfunctioned, and men who should have known better had thought to gain personal power through political machinations. In addition to these annoyances, Darth Vader, the Emperor’s pet, was wont to show up unannounced now and again to lay his heavy hand upon the whole process. Vader, unfortunately, was beyond Tarkin’s command, even though, as the first of the new Grand Moffs, he was a man whose whim was law in the entire Outer Rim Territories. It was true that Vader’s own manner of function was essentially the same philosophy as the Tarkin Doctrine, albeit on a smaller scale; still, it was … disquieting … to see the man cause an admiral or a general across the room fall over with a mere gesture as if shot. Vader called it the Force, that mystical power that had supposedly been unique to the Jedi and the Sith. Tarkin had seen him knock blaster bolts from the air with his lightsaber—or even, at times, with naught but his black gauntlets—with no more effort than swatting flitterflies. Vader was something of a conundrum: the Jedi were extinct, so it was said, as were the Sith, and yet the man in black possessed one of the signature weapons favored by both groups, along with the skill to use it. Puzzling. Tarkin had heard it said that Vader was more machine than man underneath that armor. He knew that the cyborg droid General Grievous had been able to wield four lightsabers at once, so perhaps it was not so surprising after all that Vader was adept with one. No one could say for sure, of course, since no one, except possibly the Emperor himself, knew the identity of the face behind the black helmet’s visor.
Tarkin, however, had his own theory about the Dark Lord’s former life, based on information he’d gleaned from privileged files and conversations, as well as from public records. He’d heard about the supposed death of Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi war hero, on Mustafar, and knew that no body had been found. Of course, it might easily have disappeared in one of the white-hot lava rivers … but was it really just a coincidence that Darth Vader, encased in a life-support suit and demonstrating a mastery of the Force supposedly only attained by the most powerful of Jedi, had become the Emperor’s new favorite immediately after Skywalker left the scene?
Tarkin shrugged. Whoever or whatever Vader was, or had become, he was not without great personal power, and it was well known that he had the Emperor’s trust.