Now two years have passed, and the galaxy has changed very little from the outside. However, unbeknownst to the Empire, a perfect storm is on the way and dwelling within the galaxy's many worlds. A massive plot against them, but that is only a fraction of the storm.

Currently, Commander Shar waits patiently for a report from his unit sent down to Tatooine. The past two years have been rough to him, though he would not admit it to anyone, not even to himself.

"Commander!" an officer waltzed through the door into his personal quarters aboard the cruiser.

"What is it?' He questioned in a tired and gravelly voice.

"Our ISB Agents have learned of a partnership made between the Hutts, and a man named Maxis. Supposedly this 'Maxis' is quite renowned in the black market for his talent and skill in reverse engineering and repairing"

"How renowned?"

"Very, especially recently. The Hutts offered to pay him a great sum of credits for two things, to repair a power converter of theirs, and to 'deal' with a terroristic group of partisans intruding and causing trouble on the Hutt's territory"

"Is that all?" Shar turned his head towards the officer and away from his unfinished glass.

"And, with him, is a man in golden Mandalorian armor, and a young woman who hardly speaks... They will be the ones ridding the Hutt's territory of the partisans"

Shar rose from his seat to meet the officer face to face. "When was this, and where?" He quietly asked.

"Three days ago. Since then, several of the so called 'partisans' have been found dead. Some still remain. Mos Espa was the last reported sightings of the partisans"

Shar stared at the floor, now riddled with anticipation that will not fade. He returned his eyes to other's. "... Everything we have, I want it all down there immediately! Lord Vader is counting on this... I am counting on this"

"Understood" The high ranked man saluted. He quickly left the room.

Shar was left to himself again, and now his thoughts drift uncontrollably. These thoughts, stacked with the little remaining passion over the incident two years ago, gave him some feeling of hope and anticipation. He thought he lost the drive over the years, and he hated himself for it, even when he knew he shouldn't've. Consistent failure in finding his targets that he knew still lived drove him to near madness, and his fear of Darth Vader kept him pushing to nowhere. He resigned himself to death should he fail again, not as a coward or incompetent fool, but rather as the determined, vengeful man he believed he was. He prayed Lord Vader would see it that way as well.

Now he has informed his ally, Commander Sale, and they soon head to Tatooine. They sit together inside the star destroyer's hangar bay as they wait for the shuttle to be ready for takeoff.

Sale smirks at the other stressed Commander. "Never a dull moment in your mind it seems..."

Shar brushed off the quip. "Don't start with me. We are on the cusp of finally pegging those losers and you want to act like that?"

"Don't lose your composure" Sale brushed him off the same. "As I have said too many times before, relaxing seems to be a lost art for you"

Shar smirked and waved his hand dismissively, getting off his seat. "I will relax when I finally put an end to all this"

"Will you?"

Both men glared at each other. Sale continued. "Or will you find another way to cope? Another unhelpful way? You should have come to terms by now... You know that is what she would've wanted"

"... If she was the Imperial woman I remember, she would do the same"

"To what end?"

"Commanders..." The pilot arrived. "The shuttle is ready. We must leave, right now"

Shar pointed his finger at Sale's head. "We will finish this later"

"Why? There is the entire ride over left. Certainly we can finish it there..."

Sale was ready to argue, but said nothing instead and followed the pilot to the shuttle. Sale was close behind. Once inside, they sat together once again, waiting for other to finish what they started.

Sale was the one to continue. "Once you fail again, then you can tell me if there was a purpose to all this meandering"

"You act like this, and yet you aid me still?"

"We are friends, remember?"

"Hmm..." Shar sighed. "I suppose you are correct"

"You 'suppose'?"

For the rest of the journey to Tatooine, they sat in silence, finally seeing an end to the brief argument. Once arriving at Mos Espa, the streets were unusually empty and devoid of sound, and the oppressive sun beat down on the rocky buildings. Everything was quiet and still. Shar led the intimidation squad through the city, waiting for the message from the agents on the whereabouts of their targets. Also provided to him was the location of the building Maxis apparently resided in. Eventually, the call would arrive.

"We found more partisan bodies. We may be close" The agent called in through the earpiece.

"Stay on your toes. We're nearing the home right now" Shar acknowledged and dropped the call.

The task force of five stormtroopers and Shar leading them arrived at the home, blowing open the front door with ease. Without a second thought they shot the woman inside who was preparing to leave, marched their way through the tiny halls and into work room. It was empty, aside from the ludicrous amount of materials stashed away on the shelves and in the drawers. Shar inspected the room and came to the conclusion that the man was here, but had left in a hurry shortly before the Empire made it into the home. This means he wasn't far away.

"Sale! He's around here somewhere! Send the main force!"

"Understood, we're on our way"

Now it was up to Sale to find the fleeing Maxis. Meanwhile, the agents had the misfortune of running straight into the targets they were looking for, swiftly being shot and killed one by one by the duo. Sale and his forces scoured the empty streets and alleys in search of the engineer. No one dared leave their homes or argue with the Imperial forces. They invaded homes and killed whoever they saw fit, slowly tearing apart the city for their mission.

"Commander!" A stormtrooper called in for Sale. "We're on his tail now! He's already taken a few of us out!"

"Keep with him, we are on our way!"

Sale led a group of ten towards the other troopers following the engineer. Shar was on the other side of the city, but he was also on his way. The one of many bars in the city was where Maxis was found, pinned against a corner holding a case with him. The group of sixteen troopers and Commander Sale all funneled in through the doors and all held the man at gun point.

"By the order of the Empire you are under arrest!" Sale barked. "We'll be confiscating the case. Come quietly"

Maxis stood with his back to the wall, the case held in one hand, and the other hand behind his back. "… This case will survive…" He spouted from his breathless lungs.

"Quiet! Shar, we have—"

The comms suddenly cut off, to Shar's confusion. "What was that Sale?" Shar called in while heading towards the bar, the roof of the building could be seen tens of meters away.

Before Shar could receive a response, the entire building the group were rushing towards erupted in a massive explosion only capable of being caused by a thermal imploder, one of great power no less. The bar's exterior an interior went up in a blinding flash and deafening boom. The shockwave alone knocked the incoming group off their feet, including Shar, and in that moment, he realized his friend had been killed. He had no time to morn however, he had to know what happened.

The squad entered the remains of the incinerated structure. Some walls remained, but most had been vaporized, the roof had been cleanly blown away, and every inch of the interior coated in black, charred remains.

"Right there!" A trooper shouted, alerting Shar to the targets he'd been looking for plucking a small case from the rubble and quickly sniping two troopers before dashing away.

"AFTER THEM, NOW!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, following the troopers closely behind.

After the duo they followed through the alleys, watching as the man in golden armor quickly jetted away onto the nearby rooftops, seemingly abandoning his partner and taking the case with him. The young woman rounded a corner into another lane behind the neighborhood houses, but quickly reappeared and shot the three remaining troopers in quick succession, catching them off guard. Shar managed to reach her just in time to restrain her pistol hand, wrestling with the weapon until both deciding to throw it away. Shar wanted to quickly shoot her and be done with it with his blaster, but that was wrestled away as well. Neither would give a weapon to the other, so it was tossed aside as well.

It was only a matter of time before someone jumped for a blaster. Shar watched the girl's movements, feeling confident in his close-quarters skills. But of course, Gaiis also had confidence in her CQC as well. Shar was the first to throw a strike at her head, but his arm was caught and he was swiftly and efficiently thrown over her shoulder. He latched onto her arm however, giving him time to trip her up by pulling at her ankle. He shuffled over for the single-handed blaster laying in the sand, but was restrained by the girl. He managed to shake her off and pull her to her feet, punching her straight in the face and kneeing her stomach before just as efficiently tossing her over his shoulder. Rolling to her feet, Gaiis spun and sweeped her leg under Shar's, but he jumped over the surprising move, snap kicking her in the head in prompt retaliation. Now, with her stunned, he intended to keep it that way by stomping on her head and kicking her sides. Then he finally retrieved the blasters for himself, now seeing an opportunity to capture her. He kept an eye on the roofs nearby, just in case that Mandalorian returns. Three troopers arrived just in time to aid him in the restraining of the girl. Suddenly, an eruption of smoke blanketed the small posterior area of the neighborhood, and Shar felt a strong and powerful impact against his chest, sending him backwards. As he staggered to his feet, he saw that Mandalorian carry the girl off in his arms, using the jump pack to launch over the buildings and out of sight.

"Keep on them!" Shar barked into his comms to every Imperial in the city. "They aren't hard to see! Lose them or may we all be damned!"

"We have many casualties, Sir!" The familiar voice of an agent called in. "Every other agent is dead, and the partisans have taken to killing other troopers. Also… We have received nothing from the Death Troopers as of yet, they won't respond!"

"I don't care! Find the girl and the Mandalorian!"

"Yes sir!"

Shar continued onwards, watching the skies for his loathsome enemies. He would soon return to the Imperial shuttle; however, he was shocked to said shuttle in charred pieces, flames bellowing from the destroyed cockpit. Looking all around him, there were bodies of fallen imperials, and even the soldiers that followed him had disappeared as well. The comms rung silent, leaving the agitated Commander all alone. He wondered what had happened, but his attention turned to another shuttle taking off and jetting off into space. Something was different however, it was no Lambda class shuttle he had ever seen, with old paint and… Finally he realized what he was seeing, his targets escaping him once again, leaving him in a fit of frustration and despair.

The day would pass and the twin suns would soon be under the horizon. Shar waited in a depressive state for the rescue unit to arrive along with the undoubtably unpleased Lord Vader. The distraught but still standing Commander witnessed the dark Lord arrive, and he had no choice but to face him.

"My Lord…" He stood face to face with his death. "I have failed you… For no other reason than my own incompetence… I have no excuse. But I will not apologize, for I have worked the hardest I ever have for my late wife… And I am certain she would forgive me"

Silence rang from Vader's helmet, aside from his echoing breaths. He reached out his mechanical hand, Shar waited for his imminent death, but instead, he felt the dark Lord's hand pull at his uniform. The rank insignia pin, Vader ripped the plaque off the Commander's chest, demoting him and dismissing him in one swift motion. Still, he said nothing, and walked past Shar with the insignia clutched in his fist. Shar watched as Darth Vader walked through the corpse-ridden street, the dual sunset in front of him, creating a dark silhouette the further he walked away.

Despite his firing, Shar stood tall, as he believed he could do nothing else. Eventually the night came, and he still stood there, watching the light fade from the city.

Darth Vader in the meantime, walked the streets, witnessing the dead soldiers and being unpleased with the pointless crusade and its results. He found it all pointless, wasted forces, wasted resources, and wasted time. He thought of simply killing that incompetent commander when he arrived, but somehow those words he said struck a chord, a chord he did not wish to feel, but he couldn't help himself. He almost immediately regretted his decision to let him live, but still he did nothing about it, a moment of unhelpful empathy that surprised even him.

Already he was tired of wasting his time on this planet, he saw no reason to stay. Eager to leave as fast as possible, Vader ordered the rescue squad to return to their respective medical vessels and get out of this place. Darth was recently informed of the completion of his personal fortress on Mustafar, and was interested in seeing the finished design. A place to himself, finally.

Once arriving on Mustafar, he could see the finished design from above the molten moon's surface, and was impressed by the architect's craftsmanship and patience. The craftsman was an interesting specimen, a magical and powerful mask called Momin, whom possessed an imperial and began construction on the castle. Several times had the designs failed, and that many times did Vader kill the body that Momin possessed, but still strange creature returned with another design and another body. Once Vader's craft landed, Momin's mask, having control over a helpless soldier, greeted him.

"Your personal abode has been completed. I'm sure you will be quite satisfied" The spirit bowed to the Sith Lord.

"Pray it is sufficient this time" Vader was uninterested in the spirit's attempts to appeal to him. He was only invested in the castle's completion and striking silhouette.

Once inside the tall obsidian central tower, Vader immediately headed towards the focusing chamber to allow himself time to think, a process he has had very little of over the years. He was prepared to meditate, and ordered Momin to leave him. The spectral mask attached to a braindead stormtrooper bowed and did as he was asked.

Now the Sith Lord was alone once again, and he appreciated the quiet within his mind as he meditated. His thoughts turned to many unexpected places, places he hoped to have forgotten. His old masters, his late wife, the padawan he grew fond of during the clone wars, and every memory associated with those beloved people. He found that his anger had settled to a manageable place, which indicated to him finally a change, perhaps a return to his former self. There was no way to explain it, the once offensive thought of returning to Anakin Skywalker now resembled an infinitely more promising possibility. But he couldn't, his loss no longer allowed it, and already he has done far too many terrible acts. In the end, he believed it impossible to redeem himself, as there was nothing he could do that would even partially justify every minute he has spent as the dark lord. The memories and emotions flooded through his conflicted mind and shattered soul, forcing him to confront the relentless spewing of visions into the red glare of his helmet's eyes. Soon he began to ignore the blood-tinted vision and see these memories with clear eyes.

Due to his location, the first vision centered on his most crushing defeat. He felt the anger seep in again, and it was almost relieving.

"YOU'RE WITH HIM! You brought him here to kill me!" Vader shouted the accusation at his distressed wife as his former Master descended the ramp.

"No! I—!" Padme suddenly clutched her throat. Not even Vader himself could believe what he was doing and immediately released her. She fell to the ground unconscious.

Vader pointed at his calm Master. "YOU TURNED HER AGAINST ME!"

Obi-Wan reached the bottom of the ramp. "You have done that yourself…" He spoke calmly.

"YOU WON'T TAKE HER FROM ME!"

"Your anger and lust for power have already done that"

"I can save her! My new Empire has that power!" Anakin paced back and forth as his Master abandoned his robes.

"Save her from what?"

"I've had visions Obi-Wan… Awful nightmares. She dies in childbirth! I need the Emperor to save her!"

"The 'Emperor'? Anakin, Palpatine is evil!" Obi-Wan stood walked the platform, facing with the disgruntled Skywalker.

"The Jedi are evil!" He shouted in his Master's face. "They've done nothing to help me! They spout lies, they're held back by useless ideals!"

"For that, I have failed you—"

"You don't get to apologize…" Anakin ignited his shining red lightsaber, the crystal he had bled glistened well with his old hilt. "This is where you die, my Master"

Kenobi did the same, and two master dualists collided blades against each other for the first time. However, without even realizing it, Vader found his thoughts brush past the battle, and to the end, where he lost everything.

"It's over, Anakin! I have the high ground!"

"It doesn't matter…" Anakin felt the growing resentment prepare to move him against his will.

"… Don't try it"

Skywalker couldn't hear those words; his mind had already filtered a reality where he would succeed. And with a swift jump, immediately did he realize his error, and suffered losing his limbs for it. As he rolled down the hill onto the edge, the lava had caught his leg, and he began to burn to death on that hill. He screamed in agony, the most pain he had ever felt in his life. Anakin believed Obi-Wan would leave him there, as he simply stood there with a saddened look on his face, but to Vader's his surprise, and as the flames engulfed him, Obi-Wan descended the hill and pulled Anakin up to flat ground. Kenobi managed to rid Anakin of the flames that burned his entire body, but the damage had been done. If Anakin survived, he would never return to who he was before.

As the tired Jedi Master carried his fallen student on his back, Skywalker screamed in relentless pain, and the tremendous pain-induced insanity caused a fit of rage. "I HATE YOU!" Vader roared into the open Mustafar air.

Vader had closed his eyes, succumbing to fear and hatred, and when opened then again, he found himself lay next to an unconscious Padme on the platform she arrived on. He had only his metallic hand left to hold hers as Obi-Wan fetched something to put Anakin on. However, as Obi-Wan carried Padme into the ship, ten clone troopers had arrived sooner than expected, but his slow return to the ship with Anakin on his back likely led to this. They shot at the Jedi while quickly retrieving the torn-apart Skywalker. The weary Kenobi could do nothing but retreat into the ship with Padme, allowing the trooper to retreat themselves with their Lord Vader. The Emperor was not far behind, watching the vessel fly off the desolate moon.

"Get the stretcher, immediately!" He commander the troopers next to him.

Those were the last words Vader heard before he found himself looking up at mask that was about to be connected to him for the rest of his life. The red visor covered his eyes, and the helmet was adorned to his head. He heard his own mechanical breathing for the first time as the table he was strapped to moved up to face his Emperor.

"Lord Vader? Can you hear me?"

"Yes, my Master" Anakin replied solemnly. "… Where is Padme? Is she safe? Is she alright?"

"… It seems, in your anger, you… Killed her…"

"Ahhhggg!" Vader awoke from his dream in distress. That memory terrified him, and he wanted nothing to do with it anymore.

He thought for a moment, rationalizing his next course of action; would it be possible, what could he do? Regardless, he knew he must somehow hide his true feelings, which is a tactic he remembered he is familiar with, even if he couldn't recognize it before.