Vader kept his blood red saber leveled at the trio of ancient deities standing before him. the father, son, and daughter, ancient force wielders that vader had personally seen die in his past life as a jedi. he narrowed his eyes, watching the three apparitions carefully, "You... I watched two of you die. I killed the son personally. How are you here, and what do you want?"

The Father smilled sadly, shaking his head, "You watched our physical forms die, Skywalker. We are t-"

"That is not my name, Force Wielder!" He caught the Son smirking smugly next to the Father, and scowled. "What have you done with my students?"

Oh, is the evil Sith Lord actually worried about someone else?" the Son drawled, casually pouring himself a drink from what was left of Junior's liquor stock. "That's not like you, Lord Vader. Would you like to talk about it?"

The Father frowned, laying a hand on the Son's shoulder, silencing him, "Anik... Vader. You know that there is a threat on this world. You have felt it. You have seen it in the creatures that these people call 'Grimm.'"

Vader inclinded his head silently, indicating that he had indeed sensed it, "Yes. What of it? It is simply a darkness that must be purged. Much like the old Jedi Order."

The Son snorted, rolling his eyes as he knocked back his drink, "You have fought our kind and are currently standing before three of us, and yet you cannot recognize our presence?"

Vader considered the apparition coldly, "Are you telling me that the darkness was caused by one of your kind?"

The Daughter nodded, speaking in a soft, kind voice, laced with sadness, "Yes… Long ago, there were two brothers… similar to my brother and I as Light and Darkness. The humans of this world have a legend that surrounds it all."

The Father waved his hand, causing the surrounding area to melt away, the colours twisting to form new shapes, and a new land, "Two brothers, one older and one younger, existed on Remnant, filling it with both life and destruction. The older brother created water, plants and wildlife during the day, while at night, the younger brother would discover his sibling's creations and become disgusted. He created drought, fire and famine. Yet life had a strong ability to endure, so the younger God of Darkness decided to create the Creatures of Grimm. He designed them so that they would have an innate desire to destroy everything and anything.

"Weary of feuding, the older God of Light proposed that the two of them create one last thing together, a masterpiece they could both be proud of. The younger brother agreed and together they created a creature that was gifted with knowledge, creation, destruction and choice. Most important was the capability of choosing whether to use these gifts for light or dark. These creatures became known to be Humanity.

"The gifts of the two brothers were also given a physical manifestation, so that four Relics now exist on Remnant, representing each of the four gifts bestowed on humanity. These Relics each contain immense power, and it is said that, if someone were to wield all four, they could change the world. Sometime after, the Gods abandoned Remnant. Each of Remnant's primary Huntsman Academies houses one of the Relics, with Haven housing the Relic of Knowledge, Beacon housing the Relic of Choice, Atlas housing the Relic of Creation, and Shade housing the Relic of Destruction."

The Son frowned, glaring at his elder and sister as the remainder of the story fell to him, "As time went on, two humans came to exist… A legendary hero, Ozma, and his wife, the witch the era when Salem and Ozma lived, the Gods were visited by a young Salem and came to ask for the legendary warrior, Ozma to return from death after he had passed. At first, she beseeched the elder God but was ultimately denied her request. She then turned to the younger God and manipulated him into granting her wish. When Ozma was brought back, the other God appeared in his brother's domain and almost came to violent conflict. The younger was under the assumption that his elder brother came to take away the praise of a follower he rightfully deserved. However, he came to inform the younger that Salem had only come after she had been denied and that her desire would disrupt the balance of life and death. In the end, both brothers came to an understanding. This led to both Gods killing the legendary warrior again and Salem being punished with immortality.

"To her anger and frustration, Salem sought the kingdoms of the world in order to build an army to turn on the Gods. She made false promises and stories that they could take power and authority away from their old masters and rule a world without suffering. When Salem and the forces came upon the sanctuary of the elder god, they were met by both Gods and attacked. The resulting act caused the younger to take the magic from all the attacking humans and exterminate all human life on the planet. In the aftermath, they both deemed the world from Humanity's actions as a failure and a remnant of what their project was. Both departed the world, but not before the younger left Salem with words of disappointment and shattered the moon in the process. Without their presence, magic was gone and Salem was the only human left."

The sister sighed, and the Father let the surrounding area fade away, back to the bar. She looked around at the humans, frozen in place, "After some time, they brought back humanity and cursed the soul of Ozma to reincarnate as punishment for failing to prepare the human race for judgement, while Salem was doomed to live forever. She retained her magic, and became the new mistress of the Grimm as the brothers left this world, shattering the moon in the processess. Now, Salem seeks to destroy all of creation and Ozma, her mind twisted by the Force Magics used upon her mind and body."

Vader scoffed, shaking his head, "Magic? I know the Sith used alchemy in the old ages, but Magic was just Force abilities confused with some mystic powers."

The Father smiled wanly, "I'm sorry to inform you, Vader, that Magic is very real, though exceedingly rare, even in our own people. The two brothers ended up granting four souls upon this world a set of elemental magics, to be reincarnated through the ages. You have met one of them."

Vader nodded, "Raven Branwen, the Spring Maiden. She never informed be of this… story though. Neither did Ozpin, who I am going to assume-"

"Is the reincarnated form of Ozma? Correct." The Father shifted slightly, steepling his fingers as he stared at Vader, "Now… What are you going to do with this information, Sith Lord Vader?"

Vader's breath was the only sound echoing in the frozen nightclub as he considerred his options, "I… I will not reveal to Ozpin what I know. Now that I know what I am dealing with on this planet, I can plan accordingly."

The Father and Son smiled, though the latter seemed more like a smug smirk, while the sister sighed in relief, "You are not going to join her?"

Vader frowned in distaste, "No. While she may be of the dark side, it feels… Preverse. She is a stain, and needs to be removed. I will deal with Ozma's deception in due time."

The Father nodded slowly, "I suppose that is acceptable. However, I must warn you. Your master knows of your continued existence. Certainly, you must wonder why he hasn't tried to kill you directly at this point, yes?"

Vader nodded slowly, "I have… theorised, but nothing solid."

The Son gestured around them, looking up to the sky, "This world is steeped in the Force, providing a sort of shell around it. It casts a shadow in space, making it nearly undetectable by people such as your master. However your arrival has damaged this shell, causing it to begin deteriorating."

Vader crossed his arms, thinking carefully. His master had discarded him already, and may have already replaced him as well. However, this Salem character… He might drift to her, claiming to be on her side. The two of them together… it could produce a problem. One that he would have to mediate on. "I understand…"

"Understand what, old man?"

Vader blinked, looking around in confusion, realizing that the trio of Force Wielders had left, unfreezing time around him. The twins were looking at him in concern, staring at his lit lightsaber. Vader immediately put the weapon away, shaking his head,"Just a vision. Nothing to worry about."

The twins looked at him uncertainly, before a lone clone trooper limped up, kneeling down in front of them, "TK-70558, reporting as requested, General."

The Sith Lord nodded, gesturing for the clone to rise, "You are one of the last Spaorti Commandos, correct?"

"Yes, sir. My troopers call me Rede, sir."

Vader smirked under his helmet. He had always enjoyed the clones' habit of giving each other names. As Lord Darth Vader, he never considered that the clones under his direct command still did the same, "Trooper, you were the one to lead the Squadron 40 during the attempted theivery at the port, and displayed leadership under extreme pressure. You are being pulled from Squad 40, trooper. I am giving you a field promotion to the rank of Captain. You are being placed in charge of my new Storm Commando squadron. The eight troopers who came with you will be under your command permanently."

The newly promoted captain looked up at Vader. Despite the helmet on his head, the shock running through his mind was evident. He snapped a salute to the Sith Lord, "Sir, yes sir!"

Vader nodded, "Report to my office in beacon at 0800 hours on Monday with your squadron. Ask the headmaster for permission to either use empty quarters for your men, or to use a training ground to set up a field camp. Dismissed."

Rede limped away as fast as he could, his mind racing. Storm Commandos? He didn't know if Tenor would be cursing Vader's name, or celebrating. This was one hell of a promotion, but they would also be taking dangerous missions... Vader was testing him.

Vader stood in the middle of the ruined nightclub, troopers rushing about him as her sank into a moderate meditation. He could feel the force flowing around him. He thought it would feel strongly of the Dark Side, especially after the events and his presence. But no... It was balanced. Yes, the Dark Side of the Force was strong here, but it seemed... natural. It wasn't the twisted, mangled Dark Side presence he felt around Darth Sidious. If anything... it felt like Dooku. A small smile tugged at his face as he realized that he was feeling the very refined presense of his apprentice. He shook his head, "The Force is strong with her... whether she knows it or not."

He was pulled from his musings as someone cleared his throat behind him. Junior was glaring up at him, a rather large looking bat in his hand, "You had better pay up for this damage! I'm not running some sort of charity here!"

Vader considered the man with some amusement for several long moments, moments in which he could see Junior gettng more and more impatient, "I suppose you are attempting to threaten me with violence if I don't... pay up?"

"A threat? No, you are mistaken, Lord Vader. It's a promise. Pay up, or I start taking collateral."

Vader raised an eyebrow, impressed with the bravery (or sheer stupidity) he saw here, "And what would you consider proper payment, considering Galactic Credits most certainly aren't accepted here?"

Junior jerked his chin towards the twins, who looked both astonished and mildly disgusted by the man, "The twins can pay off your debt. They used to work here anyways."

"Yes, I suppose they did." Vader weighed his options. On one hand, he could just kill the man and be done with this whole debacle. On the other... he still needed an ear to Remnants seedy underbelly. "Girls, you will work for Mr. Xong until reparations are complete. You are to deliver a report every other day, bar emergencies. If he does anything... inappropriate, then let me know. If you are required to defend yourselves, then you have my permission to kill if necessary. Is that understood?"

Melanie looked like she wanted to argue, but stopped as Miltia stepped forwards and bowed slightly, "Yes, General."

Vader nodded curtly, making a small signal to one of his men to wrap it up. A small chatter could be heard through their helmets, and they immediately began filing out of the nightclub. He followed them out, ignoring the pair of troopers who snapped to attention outside the entrance. A frown formed on his face as he spotted a cluster of natives heading his way with recording equipment. Reporters. He was glad his helmet hid the open sneer of contempt, though he crossed his arms impatiently when the leader of the entourage came to a stop in front of him, looking at the camera, "Good evening, Vale. This is Lisa Lavender, reporting outside the popular nightclub owned by esteemed Hei Xong, where it seems our new guests from the sky have caused quite the commotion. With me now is their leader, Lord Darth Vader of the Galactic Empire. Lord Vader, can you tell us the reason you have left the sanctuary of Beacon Academy tonight, and does it have anything to do with the explosion at the nearby docks that occured nly a few hours ago?"

Vader stared coldly at the woman, his mechanical breath only adding to his already intimidating presence. After a few moments, his electronic baritone rumbled, "I had nothing to do with whatever accidents happened at your docks. My reasons for being here tonight involve the criminal known as Roman Torchwick, which I personally captured and delivered to Ozpin earlier this year."

The reporter frowned, obviously catching on to something, "So that means that you have been here far longer than your ship. Am I understanding that correctly, Lord Vader?"

Vader inclined his head to indicate that she was right. This was a perceptive one... She could be useful, "Correct, Miss Lavender. When my men arrived, I offered my assistance in recapturing this... villain. Someone rather close to me was hurt dearly by him, and he has done many... disgusting things to underaged girls. I thought by delivering him directly to Ozpin, that he might face justice. I see where I failed in that, and decided to take a much more... direct approach. He has been punished, and subsequently killed. I do not recommend taking cameras inside of this establishment. Your viewers might find it rather... gruesome."

Lisa's eyes widened in surprise, though she didn't press further. As Vader began walking towards his ship, she called out, "Lord Vader, might you be available for a more personal interview at a later date? The whole world wants to know more about our new guests."

Vader paused, turning to look at her. Interesting... He nodded, "Of course, Miss Lavender. Please contact Beacon Academy if you wish to reach me. I look forward to our interview."

He boarded the ship, followed closely by a platoon of troopers with gold shoulder pauldrons strapped to their armour. With a roar, the ship lifted off, the engines straining to escape the grasp of gravity. The reporter team had to shield their eyes from the backwash, with Lisa being the first to look up at the retreating ship. She could have exploded with excitement right then and there. She was going to have the first chance to interview an alien! She shook her head, turning to her camera man, "Mike, did you get all of that?"

The bear faunus nodded, patting his equipment with a grin, "Yep. This is going to be one hell of a story. Want me to wait out here while you interview the owner?"

Lisa nodded slowly, "Yes. SOmething tells me Darth Vader doesn't idly give warnings. If what he said about Torchwick is true, then I'm not going to be surprised if we find him torn limb from limb in there."

Yeah, I know this is a shorter chapter, but I wanted to get it out there. Nothing really happened in terms of action, though some very important information was passed around. Hey, if you want a more terrestrial story, I suggest reading Operation: Vanguard. Also, don't be afraid to check out my patron page, Writing_Soldier. Donations and pledges can earn you various privilages, including previews of my own book, cameos, and omake/challenge requests.