Aboard the Infliltrator, Coruscant, 32 BBY

The City Planet of Coruscant was always on the move. At every hour of the day, thousands of cargo freighters, civilian ships, speeders and repulsorcraft of all kinds cut through the sky of the capital world of the Galactic Republic, each one with a different destination, a different imperative. Far below, beings of all species and social stratas went about their daily lives, blissfully unaware of the large picture, of the greater drama that was unfolding around the Galaxy and sometimes, mere feet away from them. They walked besides the ancient landmarks of an institution that had existed for the last twenty seven thousand years, the Senate, the Judicial Headquarters, the Jedi Temple, even the Opera.

It was all as beautiful and as intoxicating as Darth Vader remembered it, almost five years ago, when he came to the Center of the Galaxy. His Master had told him that he would get used to it all, come to treat it as mere scenery. To an extent, Sidious had been correct. The City Planet didn't overwhelm him as it used to but he still looked at it with the fascination of an Outer Rim kid, even if nobody would attribute that title to him now. His accent was distinctly Coruscanti while his clothes could feed a family on Tatooine for a few months. And of course, whatever his background had been was now inconsequential. He was a Sith and that title mattered to him more than any other designation that could be attributed to him, especially now that it was probably the only one that he had left. In one fell swoop, he was no longer a Chancellor's adopted son or a young luminary in the Youth Legislative Program. That person was dead and would stay dead until he was once again of use.

"The stealth drive has been engaged, Master. I have set a course for Tatooine. Once we have engaged our hyperspace drive, we will be there in 7.3 hours", 11-4D informed him, breaking his train of thought. Vader would have preferred to do his own piloting but he had reluctantly allowed the droid to perform the necessary maneuvers. He didn't have time to familiarize himself with the controls of the ship that the droid had called Infiltrator. It was a well-made craft, sleek, fast and most of all, silent. 11-4D had informed him of its prototype stealth system. An excellent ship to run away from danger on, he thought.

Vader looked at the Coruscanti skyline for one more time, taking it all in, burning it in his mind. I will return. "I will meditate for a while, droid. Alert me if anything comes up." After the droid acknowledged his command, Vader moved to the lift that led towards the ready room, the only place that he could be alone in the craft. It's made for stealth, not comfort, he reminded himself. It will suffice.

He kneeled on the metal floor of the craft, placing his hands on his knees in balled fists. Vader usually channeled his anger, hate and more recently, the perverse pleasure that came with taking the life of another being during these sessions. Those emotions came to him the easiest and he was all too happy to indulge them. They made him feel strong, powerful. They allowed him to feed his power, push himself further than a mere child of a similar age. But this time, all he felt was anxiety and fear. Anxiety over his future enemies. He knew that he possessed the will to survive and thrive, the willingness to sharpen his skills and train his mind and body in preparation of the task.

The fear came from that part of himself that believed it wouldn't be enough. The Outer Rim slave that had been suppressed by the cuts, scars and hits that he had received during his training, the slave that had been elevated by the philosophy of the Sith Code and by his tutors, that slave who annoyingly persisted told him to run and hide not as a means of preparing for the next stage of the fight but to merely keep drawing breath, to be a useless nobody in a sea of useless nobodies.

Fear is an emotion too, the teachings of his Master came to the fore. A powerful and useful one. It tells us what will happen if we falter in our resolve, if we make a mistake. Listen to it for a singular moment, then beat it down, establish your Dominion over it. You are a Sith. Even now, the old man was still with him. Vader knew that he would always be with him. He closed his eyes and proceeded to put his messed thoughts in order, to exert control over his being.

It began as a whisper, a few hours after they had entered hyperspace.

Vader…

Vader…

VADER!

Darth Vader screamed at the ceiling of the Starship that he was in as the Force demanded his attention. He kept his eyes closed but he was far from blind. The air around him grew colder as the Dark Side began reverberating, its baleful energies moving and rearranging themselves to fit pattern of the disturbance that Vader now knew could only mean one thing. A Dark Lord of the Sith was passing from this world and the Force moved to locate his successor. He could see it, hear it and smell it. Moving his head slightly to the left and then to the right, Vader tried to bring himself back in control.

Come on then. I am worthy, I killed him. Do what you must, he thought, annoyed that the Force remained silent.

Yes…

Yes…

VADER!

The Force shrieked in response, meeting his challenge readily. Pinches of electricity touched his skin, starting from the crown of his head and then moving down Vader's neck, then to his arms and finally coming to a rest on his fingers before what was intangible became reality. His skin burned as heat built up and then externalized in the silvery current of lightning. The pain forced him to open his eyes just in time to watch the current leave his fingers and dissipate on the floor.

"HE IS DEAD!", Vader exclaimed in triumph. "HE! IS! DEAD!"

The Force confirmed it with its tacit approval, with the invisible anointment that he had received. It was now assured. There was no other Sith but him in the Galaxy. And it will remain this way for a little while longer. There was a lot to be done, many paths to explore, many weaknesses to eliminate.

The longest journeys start but with a single step, he thought, another quote that his former Master was fond of. Again, another thing that the old man was correct about.

With a smile on his face, Darth Vader kneeled once again and closed his eyes. Fear and anxiety were gone. Only the sweet feeling of Victory and the welcoming sensation of anticipation remained.

Author's note:

-A short and sweet prologue for the next step of our little Darth Vader.

-For those coming from my previous work, welcome back and thank you for passing by. For those that discovered this one first, I would urge to read Rising from his Shadow. This 32 BBY is quite different from the one that you know from canon.

-As you know I am open to all kinds of feedback and comments

-I am reminding the powers that be that I regrettably do not own Star Wars

-Till we meet again