Though he was immense pain due to the inadequate design of his mobile prison, Vader could nevertheless feel a great deal of satisfaction as he reported his initial successes to his master.
"The scouring of Nul Hutta goes well my master. The opening bombardment ensured the rapid obtainment of total air supremacy, and I am pleased to report that our troops, aided by the legions of the Hutt's former servants, have sealed off the remaining redoubts of Hutt resistance. I predict that they will fall within the week based on the current levels of Imperial investment".
His report receiving an amused snort of approval from his master, the kneeling Sith Lord remained silent, or as silent as his mechanical breathing apparatus would allow, as he listened to the slightly mocking review of his robed superior.
"Very good my apprentice. However, while I am confident that your…personal involvement on the battlefield will speed up the pacification of the Hutt capital, I'm afraid that I require your attentions elsewhere. For while our victory is assured, the rate of progress in other sectors is less than satisfactory. And since I have no intention of allowing the Hutts a chance, however small, to recover, you are to leave Nul Hutta in 3 days time to another major system controlled by the Hutts".
Knowing that it was pointless to argue with his master once he had made up his mind, Vader kept his head bowed as he gave the only answer that he could give.
"As you wish, my master".
His show of obedience earning another chuckle of amusement from his master, Vader found himself greatly surprised by the older Sith's sudden display of generosity.
"That being said, as long as you and the 501st are prepared to leave at the 3 day mark, you have my permission to personally lead the assault on these last bastions of resistance. I trust my apprentice that you are competent enough to use this time effectively"?
Giving a single nod to the glowing image of his master, the armored Sith Lord found his brief flash of expectation overshadowed by a far darker emotion as the older force user ended the conversation in a sadistically mocking manner.
"Very good. I have every confidence in your ability to swiftly win this war Lord Vader. Cause after all, the longer it takes for you to emerge victorious, the longer it will be until you can grace your last surviving link to your wife with your presence".
The towering image of his master flickering out of existence before he could clamp down on his more violent emotions, Vader abandoned his kneeling position to properly vent his murderous temper.
He was fully aware why his master had allowed him to raise his daughter, but to be reminded of said reason, as well as his failure to properly accomplish the goal that had caused him to fall to the Dark Side, that crossed a line.
However, enraged though he might have been, Vader was nevertheless fully aware that he was too weak to attempt what all Sith apprentices, be they members of Bane's Order or members of the multiple Sith Empires, had dreamed of when first pledging themselves to the Dark Side of the Force.
To murder the one responsible for their subservient position.
But due to the state of his body, which would allow him to approach his master's power, but never surpass or even equal it, Vader was forced to rely on a plan that was most assuredly already apparent to his master.
Relying on his progeny to give him the additional power he needed to claim the mantle of master for himself.
Such an occurrence wouldn't happen for at least 2 decades, but the end result could only end in 2 outcomes.
Either he would be standing over the corpse of his deceitful master with his loyal daughter by his side, or he would be on his knees staring into the merciless gaze of the one that Sidious had selected to replace him.
He knew that in the coming years, he and his master would be involved in a subtle, ever changing game of subtle manipulation to ensure that Leia made what they viewed to be the correct decision once the day of reckoning had come.
A part of him, one that had somehow remained despite everything he had done to strengthen his connection to the dark side, whispered that he should simply take Leia and flee into either the Unknown Regions, or perhaps even into the region that had been labeled Wild Space.
However, such rare musings were quickly squashed due to a variety of reasons.
The most prevailing one being that Sidious would spare no effort in hunting him down should he ever choose to abandon his role in the Empire. At least in the capital of the Empire, Leia, while exposed to the constant danger of being turned into his replacement, would have the very best access to everything the galaxy had to offer.
Food.
Comforts. Though he would teach her that such things were luxuries that should always be her lowest priority.
Loyal and competent underlings.
And perhaps the greatest gift of all, an education, either of the Force or something of a more academic nature, that could be found no where else in the galaxy. He of course planned to teach her everything that he knew, but he reluctantly admitted that there were some things that were best left to others.
There was of course another aspect that he wouldn't properly acknowledge since it's origins came from a source that was highly unwilling to share information if it tarnished their image as an all knowing being.
But on one occasion, while his master was expressing his plan to expand the frontiers of the Empire until it covered the entire galaxy, Sidious had portrayed an emotion that was hard to place when he spoke of the Unknown Regions.
It wasn't fear, nor was it hatred.
The closest Vader could get to labeling the emotion was confusion. For it was almost as if the Emperor sensed something lurking in that largely unexplored region of space.
Which if he devoted much time to thinking about it would make sense.
For it was highly possible that the Sith were not the only people to rebuild their civilizations away from the reach of the Core Worlds.
But since such a thing was highly unlikely given the 1000 year planning that had gone into the Sith's scheme to take control of the Galaxy, such a thought was deemed inconsequential. And thus, easily forgotten.
….
Though he had been ordered to report any failings in the campaign's progress to reduce the desert planet into a glass covered ruin, apart from some secret mission that had beyond his level of clearance, the task force's executive officer /appointed nanny of the young fleet commander could find little fault in his overall strategy.
First, his youthful charge had given the order to have imperial slicers hack into the droid control signal that controlled Tatooine's droid forces.
Once that had been accomplished, he had given the order to strategically place almost all of his ships over what passed as major urban centers of the planet. The sole remaining vessel, the task force's flagship and only Imperial Class destroyer had been ordered to hover over what scanners revealed to be some sort of monastery.
When questioned why he would use the most powerful ship at his command to destroy this antiquated building, his youthful superior had revealed that this was in fact the most important target of the entire Tatooine campaign.
For sequestered in the halls of this building resided the loathsome slug who thought he could subvert Imperial authority by not only preying on the feebleness of the more pathetic citizens of the empire, but by supplying the remnants of the so called Confederacy of Independent Systems with the resources they needed to remain a credible blight on the galaxy.
After that explanation, the executive officer fell back into his observational role, for it was clear that the young naval commander had everything under control.
Something which he would be sure to put into his report to the man who all denizens of the galaxy should acknowledge as Emperor.
….
Having completed her list of appointed, and self-appointed tasks for the day, which ranged from strenuous exercise to the more fun activity of trying to figure out how to exchange her project's cigarette lighter into a full fledged flamethrower, the 7 year old girl decided to spend the rest of her evening in a manner that was similar to how other children spent their free time.
Watching the Holo Net.
Of course most shows that were on were either heavily censored news broadcasts, or shows that were either subtle or blunt in their indoctrination attempts, but since her father had lacked access to anything resembling modern day entertainment, she happily put up with whatever the imperial propaganda machine could turn out.
"I must say Miss Aphra that I am quite surprised at how readily you abandon your more useful endeavors to partake in such…laziness. Surely you could have found more…productive methods of entertainment. Master Vader was quite specific when he instructed you to make yourself useful. And I fail to see how your current actions fulfill this requirement".
Rolling her eyes as she listened to yet another one of 3PO's insulting observations, Aphra quickly sported a look of innocence as she sought to convince the the droid that watching the holo was beneficial.
"That's where you're wrong C3. While it may look like I'm simply wasting my time on this admittedly comfy piece of furtniture, I'm actually doing something that his lordship would approve of. Cause in case you didn't notice, all of the channel's I've been watching are about the news and other relevant sources of information that are out there. Or do you think its not important to keep abreast with current events"?
Smirking as she heard the modified protocol droid give a reluctant huff at her answer, the AGE year old agent in training soon sported a wide grin as her robotic nanny agreed with her answer.
"I suppose that such an excuse is valid. However I believe your time could be better suited to improving your slowly budding physical abilities. Intelligence has its use after all, but if you lack the body to pair it with, the results will be far from adequate".
Waving a dismissive hand at the insulting droid before turning her attention back to the holovid, Aphra waited before 3PO was out of sight before changing the chanel to a station that she suspected would cause her robotic nanny to malfunction from sheer stress.
For while she had been truthful in her explanation that she was seeking knowledge, or at the very least trying to teach herself on how to read between the lines of what Imperial mouthpieces tended to drone on and on about, she had let out the important detail that she had access to some of the more unofficial broadcasts that existed on the Holo network.
Wasn't her fault that Vader had left the codes to access these channels in some easily broken into file.
But she suspected that 3PO would fail to see that way.
And of the two, she'd rather deal with explaining her actions to the man who encouraged her to develop her skills instead of too a droid that was the picture definition of prissy.
For she got the sense that Vader would forgive a minor slip in protocol if his minion had proven to be competent.
And since she had no desire to get on the wrong end of a Force Choke, she would strive to ensure that her skills remained hand for the Dark Lord's use.
…..
AAAAAANNNND I think I'll leave it here for now XD.
Apologises for the long wait, actually had 2/3s of this chapter done for quite a while now, but writers block, and interest in my other stories have prevented me from giving this too much attention.
To reclarifiy to both my faithful readers, and myself XD, this story takes aspects of both the Legends/former expanded universe, and the mess of a timeline that was created by Disney XD. Restating my admiration for the Clone Wars series, but hatred for the Rebels, and a dislike for the new trilogy. Was great when I saw Force awakens in theatres, but last Jedi, and rethinking about TFA, sort of ruined it for me XD. Have some hopes for next film, but only cause Palps is back. (either in clone or spirit form is yet to be seen XD)
Anyway, once again apologises for the long wait, and the short chapter, but hey, better than nothing lol. Will try to ensure that the next chapter isn't toooo long in coming XD.
Plz review. No flames/grammer Nazis.
Til next time.
Ps.
In my Disney story, have a chapter that follows the idea that had been posted to me some time ago (i.e. spoiling the plot to Dooku during the Clone wars) Unsure if I will ever do a full blown story for that idea, but happy that I at least managed to get a chapter in XD.
PPS.
Check out my Star Wars/Goblin Slayer Crossover story. Featuring everyone's favorite Asthmatic cyborg in a world that is plague by creatures that remind him of the Sand People (or as they now have to be called…Tusken Raiders XD).