Registered: Nov 2005
Location: Outer Rim Territories
Agreed - F.F.S.! Remember that things are kind of unstable at the time of A New Hope, changing. Who says that Sith lords are officially above or below certain military ranks when the Sith didn't originally have such titles beforehand? This is a new relationship that has to be worked out, and is possibly evolving, subject to the caprices of the Emperor. It may very well be an abritrary decision on the Emperor's part who he imparts his authority to to see Vader stays in line. This is not the Sith we're talking about, it's the Empire AND the Sith, and the way the two interract (one is religious, the other militant, and the two, of course overlap). And especially since the Sith had all but vanished but for Vader and Palpantine, who's to say where Sith titles fit into everything? Isn't that for the Emperor to decide? This might be why, in the original script for Jedi (and a cut scene), Vader strangles an officer keeping him from seeing Palpatine, because Vader considers it such an insult to be bowing down to who he sees as a subordinate.
Registered: Feb 2005
Location: Hiding from zombies
Interesting idea. No doubt Vader's command of the Force was not held in -that- high regard in the military circle, or else he wouldn't have choked that one guy in ANH. Tarkin had a detached respect for it, but obviously he is a practical man with no real use for the Force (Unless he could find out a way to blow up planets with it.)
Tarkin had more authority than Vader, at least on the Death Star and within Oversector Outer, the latter of which he was given command over, upon attaining the rank of Grand Moff. The Death Star was Tarkin's masterpiece, and he was given full authority over its construction and operation, which is why when Vader is Force Choking an officer due to a lack of faith, Tarkin commands the Sith Lord to 'Release him', and is obeyed without issue. Tarkin and Vader both answered to the Emperor alone, however, Vader would have had to account for any unnecessary Imperial dissension that arose from his juvenile quenching of anger aboard Tarkin's Station. The Grand Moff was a master of political and military affairs, whose policies and philosophies were held in the highest regard by the Imperial Court, second only to the Emperor, who personally expressed a powerful love for what became known as the Tarkin Doctrine. Contrastingly, Vader, was a devout religious disciple of Darth Sidious, and served and studied the dark side of the Force after becoming a member of the Sith. As a Sith Lord, he was the Emperor's personal champion and protege and so, didn't deal expressly with Imperial politics and or military strategy; rather, he carried out special tasks related to countering the Jedi Order and acted as the Emperor's steward/emissary to ensure that his orders were being effectively carried out by Imperial officials, such as Tarkin. However, that didn't place him above Tarkin in rank, it merely meant that if Tarkin started to make missteps or disobey orders, the Emperor would know instantly and be able act, through Vader, as quickly as he deemed necessary.
Simple. Vader simply respects Tarkin. Perhaps even sees him as somewhat of a father figure. And from what we see of Tarkin in the Rebels series, this respect has been well earned.
This is true. At that point, Sidious had abandoned the rule of 2, so there's not really a reason for Vader to be second in command without him earning it.