Chapter 3 – The Return of Lord Vader
Disclaimer – I do not own any of the Star Wars works which instead belong to their various owners, I do however own my OCs, the customisations to certain ships and the story, I hope you enjoy this story!
4:00pm; Super-Class Star Destroyer: Omega, Bridge
Darth Eversor could see the addiction in the dealing of incompetent soldiers this way however he watched cautiously as the tense Admiral Paptimus Toros stepped closer to the Sith Apprentice, with an annoyed sigh Eversor dropped the Captain to the desk with a glare and nodded to Paptimus before leaving the room while glaring at most whom stood in his path, Paptimus gave some last moment commands before chasing after the Sith Apprentice to enter conversation with the Sith.
"My Lord, we have information from a Rebel Base on Kashyyyk, they have learned that Nathaniel Skywalker was seen among the Rebel Numbers…" started Paptimus and Eversor spun around with surprise on his face, his Uncle whom was a former Jedi had been sighted fighting for the Rebellion, but for what reason he couldn't fathom.
"Excellent work…send this information to Lord Deus" announced Eversor quickly before marching off.
6:00pm; Byss Sector: Byss, Imperial Citadel: Throne Room
"This information is confirmed?" questioned Deus as he looked at the data on the holographic screen before him which Diabolus nodded tensely at his side "what's wrong, are you…Jealous?"
"And why would I be jealous of your former conjoined Twin Brother whom has been missing for Ten Years?" spat Diabolus and Deus let out a booming laugh.
"Because you know how close he and I used to be, then again you were not that different chasing after him and I like a dog, maybe you are either scared that I'll pick my twin over you or perhaps hopeful for a three way relationship" commented Deus as he looked over his shoulder at Diabolus "regardless, that relationship won't come to pass since he is going to pretend to be a Jedi and combine both Lightside and Darkside teachings discreetly, the Rebels will get a New Republic through his efforts however it won't be as they expected"
"Controlling them like Dooku did with the Separatists?" questioned Diabolus and Deus shrugged uncaringly "is Nathan…attached to anyone?"
"Unfortunately No, there is a unique young Jedi Apprentice that he has taken under his wing that if taught correctly could bring an end to our plans, however you can rest assured that Nathan will follow the plan to the letter" announced Deus calmly as he sat back on his throne "Darth Proditor has yet to fail us and with his genetic relations he never will"
"What about Galen Marek?" questioned Diabolus and Deus frowned as he stood.
"That is exactly whom I was talking about that is apprenticed to Proditor however I leave him to you, he should be a suitable test for your skills, the Force Unleashed Skill that he has is a bombshell but I have found ways to emulate that once in a life time ability" announced Deus uncaringly "you should be able to kill him, I trained you well and left abundant information resources available to you such as both Jedi and Sith Holocrons, you are ready for this final leap from Sith Lord into a Sith Master"
"Thank you, I will set out to retrieve Vader immediately" nodded Diabolus however the Sith'ari raised a hand for him to wait.
"Actually, I would have you take Soontir Fel and Jagged Fel with you, Soontir will be retiring with Admiral Thrawn to the Unknown Regions after this next battle however Jagged whom has recently joined his force needs to be tested to see if he is worth taking his dad's place" announced Deus calmly as he nodded towards the exit near where Diabolus was waiting patiently for Deus to finish "make sure to retrieve Vader effectively unharmed"
"Naturally, you have nothing to fear, I will make sure that your brother is brought back into Imperial Hands unharmed" announced Diabolus with a bow.
"Good, meanwhile, I will assure that our Forces keep their minds closed to Palpatine in case of the moment we will have to turn against his rule" commented Deus with a nod as he turned back to observe the Force and the cries of the Force Compass.
15th July, 12:32pm; Yavin Sector: Yavin IV, Mon Calamari-type Landing Field
"Comfortable, Lord Vader?" questioned Mon Mothma as she stood beside Luke Skywalker and Galen Marek as Vader in his containment device was escorted out of the temple he was held in and over towards the MC80a Star Cruiser that had set down in the middle of the Landing Field.
"I hope that you are not escorting me, Senator Mothma, otherwise I will never hear the end of you're propaganda drivel" muttered Vader annoyed as he glared at the former Senator "are you surprised that the Empire is still functioning without me, there are other resources that you have yet to see come from the Empire, each being stronger than the last which you angering but the strongest with my demise"
"The Rebellion grows by the Day, eventually the Core will have to bow to our demands for the return of the Republic, and then there will be an end to Tyranny" announced Mon Mothma and shuddered with all but Galen Marek and Ferus Olin when Vader let out an insane but humoured laugh.
"And does that explain the incompetence of the Old Republic, Naboo was once not only blockaded but occupied by the Trade Federation and do you know what the Old Republic did? Nothing, just squabbled among themselves and accepted bribes from the Trade Federation as well as their Senatorial Allies, it was Chancellor Palpatine whom built the Republic a Army and actually did something about it!" countered Vader calmly "though, politically and military wise it was Darth Deus whom gave the Republic their Galaxy wide victory, my brother gave birth to the Galactic Empire and he will not thank you for attempting to ruin his good work!"
"But you will never see the Empire again, you are to be executed on Mygeeto for Criminal Offenses against the Republic, through your actions the Republic became a burning husk" announced Bail Organa over a holographic transmission and Vader laughed again.
"Don't you mean Anakin Skywalker burned the Republic, we Sith couldn't have gotten anywhere without his walk down the Dark Path, he was using the Darkside before even the Clone Wars began" announced Vader as he looked about those gathered "Anakin Skywalker made me what I am today"
"My Father would never help you!" shouted Luke and Vader looked in his direction, with the mask on he couldn't tell the man's expression but he could guess that the man was glaring at him, Bail Organa was surprisingly silent during this whole exchange, then again Vader was sure that the man knew the truth about his identity which means that he would have to be dealt with eventually.
"Its best that we take Vader along to his execution now, Galen Marek and Ferus Olin will be his guards, they will make sure that Vader doesn't escape and that he receives the judgement that he rightfully deserve for that is the beauty of democracy!" announced Mon Mothma as she motioned for the soldiers to take him away which Galen Marek followed after.
"He seemed to know my Father, he stated that my Father helped the Sith end up ruling this Galaxy however Obi-Wan said that Vader betrayed my father, murdering him!" announced Luke with a frown and Ferus Olin smirked slightly as he watched Luke being conflicted over his own thoughts.
"Your father is still alive, that I can assure" dismissed Ferus with a slight smile as he walked past Luke and after Vader "for now anyway"
2:00pm; MC80 Liberty-Type Mon Calamari Star Cruiser: Vigilance, Storage Room
"You can come out now" announced Ferus dully as he reached out with the Force and ripped a number of Crates open, shortly afterwards needle teethed Aliens dropped out of their hiding spots while cloaking fields were deactivated as Blackhole Stormtrooper/Mandalorian armour wearing humans stepped into Light led by Boba Fett, the Imperial and Noghri forces joined Ferus whom explained his intent to them so that they would not attack him believing that he was in fact an enemy.
"Do you have schematics of this ship?" asked Boba as he cautiously stared at the traitor Jedi whom nodded and handed Boba a Datapad with the schematics of the ship which indicated their objective "Vader is two floors up, I assume that it is you cloaking us from your Jedi comrade, my thanks"
"I should be able to keep you cloaked until we get to Vader and begin transporting him off the ship, however I assume that an Imperial Ambush is on the way which will distract the Rebellion well enough, not even Marek is good enough to split his attention between pursuit and leading a fleet" commented Ferus as he nodded towards the doorway where Boba Fett made to move towards with a slight nod of his helmeted head while signalling to the Strike Team to advance.
4:00pm; Vengeance-Class Super Star Destroyer: Darkspawn, Bridge
Darth Diabolus smiled as he looked out at the Fleet he had brought with him to nameless void of space along the Rebellion's predicted route, he had set up the interdictors so that his Fleet were to surround the Rebels own when they were forced out of Lightspeed by the use of a forced gravity well projected along their course, Diabolus' Flagship was a specified ship that was created and designed by Diabolus over Byss however a Dark Jedi had thought up a similar design so Diabolus named the Class of Super Star Destroyer after the man's Star Destroyer in honour of Dark Jedi Jerec's recent success and intended to have one such class built for him. The Darkspawn however was a pre-production prototype and therefore its equipment was stronger than standard issue meaning that Jerec's Vengeance and other limited production Vengeance-Class Super Star Destroyers would have their armament trimmed down to a medium armament for a ship of its size, like Deus' Obedience it was apparent that the best Shields and Engines money could buy was equipped to the custom Super Star Destroyer.
"My Lord" announced Admiral Hornbeck as he stepped towards the Sith Lord "we have been assured that everything is ready for the ambush of the enemy fleet"
"Make sure that you don't cheat me a victory, Admiral, you can't cheat death you know" smiled Diabolus cruelly as he stepped away from the viewpoint with a calm pace "I'll prepare the boarding parties gathered on this ship"
5:00pm; MC80 Liberty-Type Mon Calamari Star Cruiser: Vigilance, Bridge
"Why have we come out of Lightspeed, Admiral Carnard?" questioned Galen as he crossed over to the man whom stood before him "and where is half of the fleet?"
"It seems that our half of the Fleet were pulled into a gravity field, it's odd because there are no Gravity Bodies in range…contact, damn it! Imperial Ships, it's an entire Bloody Fleet, the enemy brought a new Ship along with them and its mass is predicted at…19,000 Meters!" announced the Admiral Carnard as he looked at the Tactical Hologram as enemy signals started to show up "hmm, it seems that the enemy Admiral misplaced his Interdictor-cruisers, the rest of the fleet managed to get through"
"That leaves us at a disadvantage however" groaned Galen as he looked towards the Super Star Destroyer in the distance, feeling the thick Darkside Energy there, he shuddered upon understanding that a Secret Sith was among that crew which caused a feeling like a twisting knife in Galen's stomach.
"I'll have all fighters prepare to counter the enemy fighters until we get far enough out of the Gravity Well projection range to make the Jump to Lightspeed" announced Carnard and Galen Marek nodded as he stepped out of the bridge, his destination being the hanger, where he sensed a Darkside presence traversing through space to that location.
Meanwhile; MC80 Liberty-Type Mon Calamari Star Cruiser: Vigilance, Containment Vault
Darth Vader growled lightly as he sensed the death and demise of Rebel or Imperial alike outside of this ship, people dying in a conflict to protect or retrieve his confined state or maybe not, he couldn't tell since some of the Imperials had given into the desire to destroy Rebel Forces with a bloody vengeance. Regardless was the fact that Vader refused to stand here, so to speak, to get blown up with the ship once the Rebel Forces lost the will to fight and so he devised a means of escape as soon as possible. Using the Force, Vader clenched his fists and caused the giant armoured harness around him to rip itself apart which he took two cautionary steps to see if his legs could still support active movement, once he was assured that he wouldn't fall and hit the floor ungracefully he stepped towards the doorway where he heard the panicked mutterings of guards on the other side.
Both Guards stepped up to the doorway and aimed their Blasters at the entranceway expecting Vader to open the doorway any moment, instead Vader channelled a pure sphere of Force Energy into his hand before releasing it towards the guarded Bulkhead causing it to be blown off its hinges and taking the two guards with it which were crushed against the opposite wall, Vader calmly stepped out of the Containment Chamber he had been held in and into a larger containment location to hold high rate prisoners. Vader used the Force and his Suite enhanced hearing to detect countless clangs of metal and cutting causing Vader to breath a sigh of relief at this turn of events, those were boarding ships and since this ship was the one being boarded he could only assume that it was an Imperial Boarding Force that were intent on destroying the Rebellion first hand, Vader turned to the Bulkhead leading out from the Containment Vault where a Lightsaber Blade cut clean through a lock before the Force forced it open to reveal Ferus Olin along with a Nohgri and Boba Fett standing in the doorway.
"Vader" nodded Boba as he stepped into the Containment Vault with a glance around the Vault "it seems the Rebellion hold you in high regard for them to have you put…here"
"Save the pleasantries, Fett, I don't remember paying you to watch out for me or rescue me from Rebellion capture" growled Vader as he stared at the Bounty Hunter "who are you working for?"
"You're brother" answered Boba and the gears in Vader's brain geared to a stop for a moment before they spun again as he considered the possibilities "I'm on an extended contract with him indefinitely, Bounty Hunting has become a Second Job these days, I have worked for Deus on and off for 20 years when there wasn't a Bounty that caught my eye"
"Enough of this" muttered Ferus as he nodded to the outside corridor "we should get going"
"Very well" nodded Vader as he proceeded to march after Ferus with Boba and the Noghri following close behind.
5:30pm; MC80 Liberty-Type Mon Calamari Star Cruiser: Vigilance, Flag Hanger 2
The Mon Calamari Flag Hangers were a Hangers used for the personal ships of the Fleet Commanders which was why it seemed that the Sith had chosen this empty Hanger to be their place for combat, it was private and very few would come to look for Galen here as he clashed blades with the mighty Dark Lord which was still resting within the Shuttle, the Shuttle set down on its landing gears and he felt the Sith Lord move into movement as he stood from his Darkside meditations. Galen stood where he had entered and stared at the shuttle as the ramp descended to the ground, from the top of the ramp movement was seen and Galen sensed as well as saw the black cloak descend down the ramp, in the hands of the Sith Lord was a unique Black and red handle of a Lightsaber.
"It is a pleasure to meet you" announced Galen as he approached while drawing his own Lightsaber to prepare for combat "whom may I ask, do I have the honour of conversing with, Darth something-or-other?"
"Diabolus" was the simple word spoken by the Sith before he was upon Galen with the speed of a Vaspad.
Galen swore as he activated his Lightsaber and blocked the first strike of the Sith Lord whom was seemingly named Darth Diabolus before jumping back as the Lightsaber slammed into the ground, the force of the impact created a melted hole and a dent in the floor which Galen raised an eyebrow to the physical strength displayed, this Sith was not only well trained however he also retained a lot of physical strength and supremacy as the black cloaked individual paced lazily before him, awaiting Galen's counter. Galen did just that, drawing a second Lightsaber and charging to strike at the Sith whom simply sidestepped his efforts as though they didn't exist in the first place before bringing his own Lightsaber around into the X-shaped block that Galen had erected, Galen growled when he felt the force of the Sith's physical strength slam him back away from the man.
Suddenly Galen growled as he felt a presence and ducked as Stormtroopers made their way in through the side entrances to the hanger prior to opening fire on him, he blocked a few shots with his secondary Lightsaber before heading off at a run for the main entrance while sending a message to the Admiral as he did, they would have to abandon ship now and he was glad in a sense that this smouldering Capital Ship would be Vader's grave but speaking of Vader…why was his presence moving! Vader had been strapped to a metal harness that should have contained him until they had arrived at the execution grounds, with Vader being free the plan would have been ruined and one of the most dangerous criminals in Galactic History was now walking about free, Galen was forced to push those thoughts out of his head just in time to sense an incoming attack and slide into a Turbolift as the Hanger Bulkhead was pulled off and flung at him by Darth Diabolus.
7:00pm; Vengeance-Class Super Star Destroyer: Darkspawn, Bridge
"Welcome back, Lord Vader" announced Admiral Hornbeck as the incompetent Admiral turned towards the entering Dark Lord but winced when Diabolus gave him a glare.
"Your incompetence has vexed me" growled Vader as he began to Force Choke the Admiral when he sensed the silent request from Diabolus in the Force "to think that you not only failed to trap the entire fleet, but failed to destroy the Admiral and the Jedi accompanying them when they flew past in a pathetic RM-09 Shuttle, you have failed we Sith for the last time"
Moments later the Admiral was a corpse on the floor and everyone within the bridge had retained their silence as they got back to work however some of the newer crewmembers had stopped to watch this spectacle, to see the returned Lord Vader once again back in his prime was a fascinating and terrifying thing as the Dark Lord haunted the walkway to step up to the viewpoint, looking out at the stars patiently as Ferus Olin and Diabolus came up beside his either side.
"I will need a Sith name" commented Ferus and Vader made a waving gesture dismissively.
"Patience, we need to get back to my brother first" announced Vader as he turned to the Captain "take us to Byss, Captain"
"Yes, my Lord" bowed the Captain before he turned and got to work on his present orders.
Author's Note – And that is the end of this Chapter, the return of Lord Vader at last and soon the Executor will be introduced into the story, finally Ferus will get a Sith name and I wonder what it could be. You'll have to review to find out!