Walking back to his private office without the company of his youthful advisor, who had been dismissed back to his quarters for some well deserved leisure activity, the Emperor mused on the relative success of the past meeting.

Much had been accomplished due to the diligence of his underlings, with only the occasional question being raised to keep him on track, but all in all he was satisfied with the results.

The upcoming campaign against the Hutt clans would not only add new territories, rich in manpower and resources, to his Empire, but would also allow him to further cement the loyalty of the common citizenry while he waited for the completion of the projects that would do away with the need to rely on public opinion.

The construction of the Death Star was ahead of schedule, despite continuing problems in designing the necessary hardware that would make it the symbol of his might, and he had now be alerted that it would be prudent to keep an eye on the man responsible for making his weapon a reality.

And, thanks to some interesting ideas made by his advisor, he had been able to pose some questions that would prove to be of great benefit to his growing Start Fleet.

While it would be some time before the necessary modifications could be implemented, he was confident that once Kuat Yards had finalized on a design, the new Resurgent class Star Destroyers would be more than capable of solidifying his rule across the galaxy.

While greater resources would be needed to construct these new capital ships, the cost of a single Resurgence class destroyer would be at least twice as much as an Imperial class destroyer, the newly constructed vessels would be far more efficient in maintaining his grip across the galaxy.

Improved armaments that would allow a single ship to possess at least triple the fire power of the now obsolete Victory class star destroyers, enlarged hangers that would allow 2 newly structured Imperial Fighter Wings to be carried, and a more heavily armored, less exposed command bridge that would thwart the best efforts of even the most determined suicidal fool.

The boy's suggestion for the new TIE Fighters had also been discussed at length, and for the most part he was satisfied with the finalized plans his military leaders had come up with.

While he would have preferred to have a single type of space craft that could carry out a variety of missions, the Emperor had nevertheless accept that more specialized craft would be needed if he was to cement his grip.

The bulk of his fighter pilots would fly the standard TIE FIGHTER, which sacrificed armor, life support, and a hyper drive to not only reduce costs, but also to make the fighter maneuverable , but for the elite, they would be give a model that would allow them to better make use of their talents.

Increased speed, missile launchers, heavier armament, the TIE Interceptor would prove to be more than a match for anything his few remaining enemies could field against him, and if they somehow managed to achieve qualitative parity, he was certain that the TIE design could be further improved.

The first Interceptor model would be ready for testing in about 2 months time, and he was certain that his mechanically inclined apprentice would be able to improve on the design.

Speaking of his apprentice, the private communication line that he had established for Vader's use was currently beeping.

Suspecting the reason for this unscheduled, but fully expected call, the Emperor schooled his melted features into an expression of curiosity as he accepted the call.

"Ah Lord Vader. I trust your calling to explain why you weren't at today's meeting. While I understand your desire to be an attentive parents, I would hope you realize that the needs of the Empire are more important than looking after a single, if precious, child".

Despite the outward display of submission his apprentice was showing him, the Emperor could still feel the barely controlled rage that was wafting off of his apprentice. And while Vader had come a long way in keeping his emotions in check, he still had much to learn before he could hide anything from his master.

"I apologize for my absence Master. I had a certain matter to attend to, which I regret to inform took up much of my attention".

Humming in thought as he considered the cyborg's apology, the Emperor allowed his tone to adopt a tone of concerned curiosity as he asked a question he already knew the answer to.

"Oh dear. I trust that it wasn't anything to serious"?

Fighting the urge to smirk as he felt a sudden spike in Vader's anger before he managed to get it under control, Palpatine was unsurprised when his apprentice shook his head in the negative.

"It was nothing I couldn't handle Master. The matter has been dealt with, and I will ensure that such an occurrence never happens again".

Nodding his head in agreement with his kneeling apprentice, the Emperor ended his conversation with a final ominous warning.

"See that you do Lord Vader. I would hate for anything to happen to the little princess before she can be of use to the Empire".

Cackling as he terminated the conversation, the Sith Master had to admit that there was something immensely satisfying in having control over a prideful being.

While he would never voice his opinion, it was clear that Lord Vader knew who was responsible for causing him to be absent from the meeting, and that he knew that he knew. But thankfully, his apprentice's failure at Mustafar had managed to somewhat curb his previous tendency to act before thinking, so he wouldn't find himself on the end of a more painful lesson.

The relationship between a Sith master and apprentice was a delicate balance, one that Vader would have to learn in order to guarantee not only his survival but also the survival of his daughter.

For while it was expected that the apprentice would wish to supplant the master, until he possessed the means to do so, he would should respect for the power that his master wielded. And while he had no intention of allowing his own position to be overthrown, especially by an apprentice who was more machine than man, the Emperor knew that he would have to provide Vader with the chance to increase his power to the level he was capable, just to maintain his loyalty.

And that was precisely why he had chosen this particular method to test his apprentice. For not only would the act of trying to kidnap Leia serve to increase Vader's connection to the Dark Side of the Force, it would also teach his apprentice the value of fostering long term relationships with impressionable youths.

Cause after all, the Jedi's fall could be traced back to that brief moment when he extended a fatherly hand towards a 9 year old war hero.

...

An early Merry Christmas to you all :) here is your gift from me to you.

Just saw last Jedi yesterday, and I have to say it was...disappointing. same old material:

WARNING SPOILERS...NOT REALLY XD

Attack on evacuating rebel base, fleet of star destroyers with huge new flag ship tracking down rebel fleet, jedi hopeful seeking training from reluctant Jedi master. attempts to convert darkside/light side counter part to their view points. Rebels playing for time against Walkers...same old same old.

But apart from that (and the fact that the film seems to pay WAAAAYYYY too much attention towards developing a romantic relationship with interracial couples) the effects were good, and the as well as the dialogue.

Hope to update sometime in the early new year. Again Merry Christmas (I dont buy into that Happy Holiday crap)

And as always, Review.