Despite the fact that only a fool would surround himself with subordinates who could easily equal him in power, the Emperor found himself growing increasingly irritated at the lack of progress made by his yellowed eyed subordinate.

Despite his best efforts, which ranged from the use of the new I-TO integrator droids to a rather clumsy mental attack, the Grand Inquisitor had made no progress in forcing the young Togrtua to give up her secrets.

And what was more infuriating was that he couldn't rely on the boy's aid for this task since the doctor's had assured him that he needed at least 18 hours to recover from the effects of the operation.

He doubted that the boy could provide any additional information, for he had already divulged what he knew of Tano's fate after her self-imposed exile from the Jedi Order, but he nevertheless could provide ideas that he himself had failed to come up with.

Scowling at the fact that he had been placed in a situation where his patience was being tested, even if it was of his making, the Emperor decided that he might as well kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

"Thank you for your efforts Inquisitor. But I believe that young Tano needs a more…delicate touch to ensure she divulges her secrets".

Gaining only the smallest bit of satisfaction as the former Jedi Guardian immediately bowed to his wishes, Sidious waited until his servant left the room before turning the full wright of his gaze on the still defiant prisoner.

"I'll never tell you anything you piece of Sh..GAAAAHHHHHHH".

Sneering as he bombarded the former padawan with a powerful burst of lightning, the Emperor showed no sign that he enjoyed her screaming before deciding to bring an end to his deadly barrage.

"While I admire your spirit young Ashoka, know that I am in no mood to put up with your pathetic attempts to insult me. I assure you, I have been called much worse during the course of my career, and it would be quite easy for me to bestow on you the same fate I bestowed on those pitiful fools".

Watching impassively as the girl managed to slowly recover from her shock treatment, though he knew from firsthand experience that she was probably still wracked with pain, Sidious proceeded to walk around the bound Togruta in a manner that resembled that of a predator circling its prey.

"You know, I'm rather surprised with you young Ashoka. Most Jedi who leave the Jedi Order would be quite willing to indulge in the emotions they had previously been taught to deny. And yet, despite the fact that I can sense your building rage, I can tell that you still remain sicken in the light. Care to explain how this happened? Or do I have to resort to more….what did your master call them? Oh yes. Aggressive negotiations".

As expected, the mention of the girl's master only served to increase her defiance.

"I don't care what you can sense your majesty. I will never tell you anything, and even if you do have my master imprisoned somewhere he will always be more than twice the man you are".

Cackling at the irony of her comment, for Lord Vader was effectively less than half the man he used to be, the Emperor let loose another blast of force lightening, proceeding to lecture the screaming girl while she endured his lesson in respect.

"Be that as it may child, your master is in no condition to save you now. So I would suggest you cooperate unless you want to end up like the late Master Windu".

Smirking as he recalled the look of surprised horror that had been pasted across one of the agents who had pushed his current apprentice into his waiting arms, the Emperor kept up the barrage for nearly a minute before deciding to cut it off.

"I must admit my dear, your holding up a great deal better than my former apprentice. Makes me wonder how long your master would last given his current state. Not long I suspect given the state of his injuries, but I suppose that there comes a point when the apprentice must surpass the master".

Though she was unaware of it, given the fact that her body was still convulsing from the Emperor's latest burst of force lightning, the Emperor had finally managed to gain a small, almost undetectable foothold into her mind. For while she might not care what happened to her, Ashoka had inherited her master's penchant for forming attachments, something which the Emperor was always willing to exploit.

"Since you seem quite unwilling to cooperate at this point in time, I suppose I must focus my attentions to your master. A shame really since he has already suffered so much during the last few months. But I'm sure he will understand once I explain to him that his current situation is a result of his apprentice once again abandoning him to my clutches".

It always amused the aging Sith Lord to utilize the truth for his own purposes. While he might have left out some details, he had never once lied to the bound Togruta during the course of their little session. And despite her efforts to remain strong, he could clearly sense that the reminder of her self imposed exile had done far more to undermine her resistance than any blast of force lightening.

However, knowing that he would have more success in breaking the young force user if he steadily wore down her resistance rather than breaking it all at once, the Emperor left the dimly left room without another word. Satisfied with his progress in beginning to turn Skywalker's former apprentice to a more….acceptable frame of mind.

….

Despite the fact that he was probably one of the Emperor's most valued instruments in cementing his rule across the galaxy, Tarkin nevertheless always felt a sense of nervousness whenever he was summoned to confer with the man responsible for ending the corpulent Republic.

He always managed to keep this emotion to himself, and indeed the Emperor was always pleased with how he chose to wield his authority, but the military officer turned moff always felt that the Emperor knew about his fear, and derived great pleasure from it.

While he believed full heartedly in the concept of using fear to keep potential dissidents in line, not to mention utilizing it in moderate doses to keep military personnel at the peak of efficiency, that didn't mean that he enjoyed causing fear in his colleagues just because he could.

However, he needn't have overly worried on this occasion, for as he entered the Emperor's office, he could see that his sovereign had just read the latest reports that clearly showed that he had made the right choice in appointing him to his current position.

"Ah Grand Moff Tarkin. So good to see you my friend. As you can plainly see, I have just finished reading through your reports. And I must say, I am pleased to see that your projects are proceeding ahead of schedule, despite the unfortunate loss of Galen Erso's expertise".

Accepting the praise with a single nod of his head, and accepting the unspoken offer to sit down, Tarkin expressed his gratitude.

"Thank you for your kind words of support your majesty. Though I confess that losing Doctor Erso might have been the best thing that could have happened to Operation Star Dust. While possessing a brilliant, if not prodigal mind, the man was far too easily influenced by his more….idealistic wife, who had barely been able to conceal her distaste for the Empire's method of retaining order. So perhaps it was rather fortunate that the good doctor and his family got caught in that unfortunate accident".

Left unsaid was the fact that the accident had been engineered by the Empire's most cunning spies, who had made it appear that the Erso family had been the unfortunate victims of a criminal break in. It was rather sad that their young daughter had also been caught in the cross fire, but as the Emperor knew full well, nothing motivated an impressionable youth than the loss of a family member.

"Nevertheless, since I believe his less than patriotic viewpoints were unknown to his colleagues, I think it would be a good thing if we did something to commemorate the good doctor for his contributions to the Empire. Nothing is more inspiring than a dead hero after all, though I greatly prefer said hero to be remembered as an advocate of what we're trying to accomplish. Don't you agree Tarkin"?

Nodding his head in agreement with the Emperor, the Moff remained silent as the Emperor decided to get to the main topic of their meeting.

"Good. Now tell me, how go the preperations for our upcoming operation? I trust that everything is on schedule"?

Recognizing the hidden warning of what would happen to him if he provided any answer except what the Emperor wanted to hear, Tarkin was satisfied that he could easily avoid the fate of those who displeased the Emperor.

"Indeed they are you're Majesty. Within a week's time, you have only give the word, and Imperial forces will be driving deep into Hutt Space without any fear of those corpulent slugs being able to resist our advance".

Nodding his head in a satisfied manner, the Emperor steeped his fingers as he voiced his approval.

"Excellent. For too long have the criminal elements of this galaxy acted without fear of any real opposition. But no longer. I trust that in your preparations you have created a suitable task force for my young advisor"?

Though he was still somewhat confused why the Emperor was giving the boy a field command despite his lack of experience, the Grand Moff nevertheless nodded his head.

"Yes your Majesty. Since the boy has only been given the responsibility to eradicate a single planet, it was rather easy to assemble his minor task force. I believe that a single Imperial Class Star Destroyer, 2 Victory Class Destroyers, and 5 Imperial light cruisers will be more than sufficient in dealing with whatever opposition he might encounter from the Hutts".

Humming in approval, for he seriously doubted that the criminal scum of Tatooine could stand against the might of 8 Imperial warships, and nearly 200 TIE Fighters, the Emperor decided to take the opportunity to deal with another problem he had been contemplating for some time.

"I couldn't agree more Tarkin. I believe that the boy's upcoming performance will determine whether or not he has a more active role in the Empire. One cannot simply hope to survive in this galaxy if they are not able to take their ideas and put them into action".

Nodding in full agreement with his sovereign, for he too believed that only those who possessed the will to act on their ambitions deserved to advance their careers, Tarkin found himself greatly surprised by the Emperor's thoughts regarding potential rewards for the boy's performance.

"Should he provide to be able in wielding his given forces in an inefficient manner, not to mention the results he gains from using them, I do believe that it might be prudent to ensure that his success reflects positively on the image of the Empire. Cause afterall, I do believe the masses would be quite taken with the image of an adopted war orphan actively working towards a better galactic future. Don't you think"?

Though he had to admit that there was some merit to this idea, especially since it would do wonders in fostering greater amounts of patriotism for the lower classes, Tarkin still possessed some weariness in adopting this idea. For while the boy's input had significantly decreased the amount of time it would take to consolidate the Empire's grip on the galaxy, his military record was still nonexistent. Which meant that their existed a relatively high possibility that his current reserve of good fortune would come to an end.

Sensing his minion's carefully guarded pessimism, but reveling in the fact that Tarkin knew that he had no choice to obey him despite his views, the Emperor couldn't help but think that since the boy's appearance, he had been presented with numerous opportunities on how he could cement his control of the galaxy by taking advantage of the ties between a parent and a child.

His careful manipulation of Lord Vader had not only served to strengthen his injured apprentice's connection to the dark side of the force, but had also ensured that he gained a future replacement apprentice once her cyborg of a father tried to do unto him as he did Plagueis.

And while he held no illusions that Tarkin would develop anything but a professional relationship with his potential adopted son, the Emperor was certain that it would nevertheless result in unexpected benefits for him and his Empire.

Best keep the knowledge to himself for the moment however. Cause after all, the potential future Tarkin had to fully recover from his latest trip under the knife. And though he had begun to take steps in order to ensure that the boy's intelligence was not lost to him should he meet with an unfortunate accident, the Sith Lord would prefer to have the original article with him rather than some construct grown in a lab.

…..

ANNNNNND that's enough for now :P. Feel like I'm spoiling you all with another chapter so soon after the last one.

I know that having it a 3 parter is preferred, but drawing a blank/other stories need my attention…etc have interrupted the thought process. So HOPEFULLY…you can forgive the cliff hanger XD.

Anyways...hope you enjoyed Ashoka's interrogation session. Tried to make it realistic as possible (i.e. combining pyshcial torture with good old psychological torture). And as you may note…technically the Emperor didnt really lie about her master's current condition. Just left out the fact that Anakin is Vader. Certain point of view every body :P

And yes….FINALLY…moving to give the BOY a name in this series. Not sure whether or not I'll mention the family Tarkin possessed in the Legend…but thought it was a good way to give the boy a name…even if it's a last one lol.

Not sure yet if I will mention the Yuuzhan Vong in this story..or if I've already mentioned them not sure if they WILL make an appearance, but will keep it in mind since I do have Thrawn in this story afterall lol.

And yes…the Emperor does have a nasty habit of planning rid of those who he is nice to. However…I believe there are some exceptions…provided they have unshaken loyalty to him (i.e. Sate Pestage, Mas Amedda Ysanne and Armand Isard to name a few). So as long as the boy can be useful….i.e. as long as I feel the need to continue this story…which I do :P…the boy will be spared the USUAL fate of Palpatine's more…disposable minions.

Anyways…hoped you enjoyed this. Pleased to see the reviews (OVER 300,Over 600 Faves, nearly 700 follows, and part of 10 communities now XD..makes me VERY VERY happy X). BUT…I need more lol

So reviews…and Hail the Empire.