Despite the fact that his vast armada was currently inspiring very real feelings of terror amongst the inhabitants of the mud covered planet below, the armored Sith Lord nevertheless felt a growing, though guarded, rise of hope spread amongst the inhabitants of the planet.
While the corpulent slugs and their lackeys had every reason to fear the this latest display of Imperial might, amongst the impoverished and enslaved inhabitants of Nal Hutta, the Star Destroyers and other vessels of Vader's fleet meant that perhaps their liberation was finally at hand.
Though the Hutts had done their best to deny their slaves any information from the wider galaxy, Imperial agents had done their best to spread the word that unlike the Republic and the Jedi Order, the Empire possessed not only the will power to bring an end to the criminal practices of the cartels, but also the means in which to accomplish this.
"Lord Vader. All ships have reported that they have reached their assigned positions, and merely wait upon your word to begin the operation".
Turning his sight away from the first planet to experience the liberating efforts of the Empire, the Sith Lord inclined his head forward to show that he was pleased with the young officer.
"Very well lieutenant. I trust that the planet's communications are also offline before we proceed"?
Receiving a brief yet formal nod from the efficient Imperial, Vader fought the urge to smirk as the lieutenant continued his report.
"Yes my lord. All out going messages from Nal Hutta are being blocked. Though I hasten to add my lord that before they were cut off, the Exactor did receive a message from the planet's capital. I have a recording of it if you wish to hear it".
Wordlessly gesturing for the officer to proceed, only the Sith Lord's mechanical breathing could be heard as the holographic image of a Hutt and its droid translator appeared before the bridge.
Though he himself was fluent in the 2nd most spoken language in the galaxy, and thus did not require a translator, the former Jedi chose not to reveal this fact as he listened to the droid's translation.
"To the commanding officer of the Imperial Fleet. The great Arok inquires as to the purpose of your presence above the skies of the great Hutt homeworld. He demands that you…".
Ending the message with a wave of his hand, and satisfied that none of his officers showed the least bit of sympathy for what was about to descend upon the capital of Hutt Space, the man formerly known as Anakin Skywalker issued the necessary orders that would begin to accomplish the dream from his vanished childhood.
"Send the prearranged signals towards Nal Hutta. And prime all primary weapons to fire on my command".
Turning his back on the frantic, yet efficient actions of his crew as they proceeded to carry out his orders, the former Jedi turned his masked face back towards the latest planet that would feel his wrath.
…..
(Personal Account of Sergeant Major T-4231X on the Storming of Nal Hutta).
When people here that I once belonged to the 501st Legion, the first question that is always on their lips is what was it like to serve under the direct command of Lord Vader?
And the answer always manages to surprise them.
Yes he was massively unforgiving of failure, and yes he had no qualms in sacrificing his subordinates if it could accomplish his goals. But the fact remained that the man was more than willing to face the same risks as the soldiers he led.
Though it was readily apparent that he was far more skilled than any solider that had ever graced the fields of battle.
The conquest of the Hutt capital was one such example.
Despite the fact that Imperial slicers had finally managed to hijack the signal that governed the droid armies, not to mention the mass support from recently freed slave populations who could now strike against their former masters without fear of being killed at the push of a button, the fighting was far from easy.
The Hutts still possessed substantial numbers of organic forces that did their best to prevent our LAATs from landing our boys. Oh sure, the new TIE Fighters quickly wrestled control of the skies from those few enemy fighters that had not been caught in the orbital bombardment, but air cover soon becomes meaningless if the enemy can use every piece of rubble as a makeshift fortress.
I can honestly say that there were times when I doubted that my squad would survive to see our inevitable victory, even though our flanking units had been trained nearly to the standard of the 501st, which as everybody knows has the well-deserved moniker Vader's fist.
But just as my boys were about to be overrun by an enemy counter attack, HE showed up.
There has been much rumor over the years of what our Supreme Commander is truly capable of, but let me assure you that they aren't even close.
Dropping down from a transport that was at least 20 stories high, Lord Vader didn't even bother to activate his red blade to deal with our enemies. He merely out stretched his hands, and before we knew it, the enemy suffered the terrifying experience of having an entire building drop down on them.
I'll never forget how I felt as that helmet turned to look at my own, his breathing only barely managing to rise above the constant sound of blasters and explosions. But rather than punish me and my boy's for our failure to successfully deal with the enemy, a fate that had been meted out to many deserving officers and local security forces I might add, Lord Vader simply ordered us to cover him as he stormed deeper into the city.
It astounded me that nothing could stop him.
An AAT blocking a narrow alley way? Lord Vader merely deflected the enemy fire back towards the tank with a flick of his red lightsaber.
An entire company of Hutt soldiers rushing towards us? He simply raised his hands and watched as rubble raced towards each and every last enemy solider and crushed them.
And when it came to dealing with the last stand of the Hutts, the amount of damage he single handedly caused to the enemy forces before literally decapitating their slug masters as they tried to beg for their lives, that was when I realized that I had no reason to ever fear defeat again.
For with men like him leading the military forces of our great Empire, how can we lose?
…
"Young Lady was is this meaning of this? You are supposed to be working on your latest assignment. Not sneaking around our master's palace like the scurrying insect you are".
Sighing as she was knew that her current situation meant that she couldn't ignore the inane ramblings of her sadistic droid nanny, Aphra put on her best innocent smile as she turned towards C3PO.
"What does it look like I'm doing 3PO? I'm enjoying some much needed fun time after you gave me that rather dull assignment. I mean seriously? How is a girl supposed to keep her edge if all you give me are files that only take 2 minutes to hack into"?
Though the droid lacked any capability to do so, Aphra was sure that if he possessed the ability to do so, 3PO would have his eye's twitching in annoyance at her answer.
"Then I will do my best to ensure that you are given more challenging material. But regardless, that still does not explain why you are currently in an off limits area. I'll be sure to inform Lord Vader about your little…adventure. And believe me, I believe he will be most displeased with you".
Rolling her eyes at the largely empty threat, for she had quickly learned that Vader was more likely to put up with her antics instead of 3PO's whining, Aphra returned to her task with a smirk.
"Considering that Vader hasn't specifically listed this corridor off limits, I don't see why me being here would pose a problem to you. Or did something happen with your memory banks that made you forget that little detail"?
Smiling as she heard the droid give his equivalent of a huff of annoyance, Aphra was prevented from offering further commentary thanks to her sudden success.
Ever since she had discovered this door, which appeared to have no visible ways to open it, the 7 year old girl had developed an obsession to see what laid behind it.
Surely it must be something incredibly secret and interesting, it was Vader's palace after all. But upon seeing her prize, she was somewhat disappointed by her discovery.
For the only thing that was in that room was an offline blue colored astromech that had clearly seen better days.
Still, she supposed the day wasn't a total loss. For she had just discovered a little project that would keep her busy for days, if not weeks on end.
Sure she would have to take precautions given the droid's ability to hack into any mainframe, but she was certain that once she was finished, this little droid would become something that would put even 3PO to shame.
….
Extending his senses outward as he made his way down the ramp of his personal shuttle, the Emperor had to admit that there was something poetic about the sight that greeted him.
While the bodies of long deceased Jedi littered the ground before the great Sith Temple, the bodies of numerous Sith were also present.
To the reigning Sith Lord, this sight only brought a sense of disgust in his forbearers, as well as a sense of pride in his accomplishments. For here was clear proof that his methods were the correct ones in achieving power.
For countless millennia, his ancient predecessors had tried to combat the Jedi order by building entire civilizations of their own in an attempt to match the power and numbers of their hated enemies, but they always failed because Sith lacked what the Jedi possessed.
Unity.
The Jedi, for all their weakness, nevertheless understood that victory could only be achieved by abandoning their selfish desires to undertake a common mission, something that was far more difficult for a regular Sith to accomplish.
Darth Bane had correctly identified this problem amongst his Sith brethren, and thus had sought to create a new order that would serve to better channel the ambitions of future Sith, while at the same timing limiting the chance of conflict between the remaining Sith.
Yes it was expected that the apprentice would overthrow their master once they had learned everything there was to be taught, but it was that possession of knowledge that ensured that the Master wouldn't have to worry about a premature end.
Sidious's apprenticeship was an excellent example of how the system worked.
Once Plagueis had nothing more to teach him, or at least nothing that he was willing to teach him when it came to immortality, he had worn out his use, and thus lost the master's mantle.
Unfortunately, upon successfully ending his apprenticeship, the Sith Lord quickly found himself lacking the very thing that would have ensured that his victory was perfect.
A loyal and competent apprentice.
Maul's supposed death had resulted in the precarious position of having only 1 Sith Lord in the galaxy, even if the Zabarak's training had been lacking in the more mystical aspects of their order. And though the situation had soon righted itself thanks to Dooku's conversion, that still hadn't lessened his rage at Maul's failure.
Yes, the planet best exemplified his current perception of what his former apprentice had become.
A useless relic who desperately tries to reverse his fortunes by trying to discover a power that will forever be beyond his reach.
Smirking at that last thought, and easily sensing his former apprentice despite his frantic efforts to cloak himself, the Emperor decided to move his little performance forward.
"It seems that I have underestimated your perseverance. My former apprentice".
…..
ANNNNND that's enough for now XP
Hope you all enjoyed this, and pleased to see that this story is still very popular XD.
Remember that day over a year ago when I thought to myself "Why not do MY own Fan sucked into a popular universe Fanfic)? And look at what I've managed to accomplish since then XD.
Anyways….some good news and some bad news.
First the bad news. Thinking of bringing this story to a close since I have managed to effectively ruined any chance for the Ultra PC Li….I mean the Rebels/Jedi to restore the Republic. Have a couple of more characters to kill off/change their fates (not sure if its canon anymore, but Solo WILL still have his stint in the Imperial Military), but that can be done soon.
Good news is…I am thinking up ways for a sequel. Including elements from the no longer cannon Legends universe (Which is LOADS better than the new direction Disney has taken them) as well as the cannon Universe. And since we STILL don't know the origins of another aged Dark Side user, could always include him along with the Vong.
Anyways, keep reviewing, flames will be shot down/deleted.
All hail the Empire =)