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My Empire.

Darth Vader stood with his arms folded on the walkway looking out over the horizon of Mustafar, standing in partial meditation; he had needed time to think to himself and to focus on the dark side; he had submerged himself into the dark side, felt it welcome him into its cold fold like a lost lover, but this was the first time that Vader had the chance to meditate and while it wasn't a full meditation as he needed to be conscious to focus on his other plans, it was more than enough.

There wasn't much to see. From space the planet looked like a fiery world of seas of lava was the domain of particularly angry gods. From above in space, the planet looked like a throbbing creature was alive, and as you descended from space you saw the streams of lava which widened into strings. While there were lifeforms on the planet, very few came to the planet while mining corporations took advantage of the high mineral contents within the lava to extract the ore and transform it into useful minerals and metals, but very few people arrived on Mustafar. The heat from the lava falls was so harsh it was said to be a killer. In short, the planet should have been perfect for the Separatist council to hide from the Republic.

At least it would have been had Darth Sidious not sent Darth Vader to the planet where he would slaughter them all in cold blood. Vader knew that his new Master, the very same Sith Lord who had been in hiding, manipulating events from the shadows ever since the blockade of Naboo - such a long time ago now; the Clone Wars had felt like forever - and was behind the Clone Wars themselves, wanted him to show no mercy and to give into the same emotions Jedi like himself (and ironically enough, Mace Windu; the arrogant bastard had spent years deriding him for his emotions, only for him to have much the same problems but instead of teaching him how to master Vaapad, Windu had left him to struggle with the criticisms whenever he became aggressive instead of being level-headed), and throw himself into the dark side.

Now Vader felt stronger than he had ever done, and as he stood on the balcony, relishing in the strength of the dark side of the Force, Darth Vader formerly known as Anakin Skywalker stood in idle partial meditation where he delighted in feeling the strength of the dark side after he had killed the Separatists on top of slaughtering the Jedi in the temple on Coruscant after betraying Master Windu.

For the first time in his life, he could feel the freedom of the Force, after spending so long following the doctrine of the Jedi, but now he had turned away from the Jedi and was now a Sith Lord after he had submerged himself in the blood lust of slaughtering Jedi and separatists all night, he felt he was stronger in the Force than he had ever been before.

Master Yoda and the rest of the Jedi Council and Jedi Masters told him over the years that the Sith were monstrous beings, hellbent on conquering the galaxy, pillaging and enslaving all around them, but Vader no longer cared for their opinion any more than he really cared about Darth Sidious's opinion, the new Sith apprentice was already believing himself strong enough to deal with Palpatine so he could rule the galaxy with Padme.

As he stood on the walkway Darth Vader thought of his wife. He knew already that his Master had dissolved the Republic and transformed it into the first Galactic Empire, and Vader didn't care. The Republic had failed dismally to protect and look after the people of the galaxy from the core to the Outer Rim from the Separatists, and it was like he had always said when he had been Anakin, the strongest government was one where someone told you to do something and you did it.

It was a strong point of contention between himself and his wife, but Vader saw now the Empire was the only way for the galaxy to be ruled, and he could see that thanks to the dark side, and he was amazed he saw that as clearly as he found it strange that they said the dark side was not as strong as the light; he found they were lying deliberately, theorising that the Jedi were jealous of the power the dark side brought to the user.

Was it the reason why they were so afraid?

It didn't matter. Vader found he didn't care anymore, and as he meditated on the balcony, feeling the shockwaves through the Force as more Jedi were slaughtered by Order 66, Vader relished his new strength and he meditated in order to prepare his plans for Palpatine. He had known from the moment he gave himself to the Sith, that he would be Palpatine's new apprentice - and after what happened to Maul and Dooku, the last thing Vader wanted was to be a slave again to someone else. He wanted to the Master, he had thought of little else at the back of his mind.

But when he had seen the holo recording of Palpatine tearing down the Republic, Vader's ambitions had merely grown and the plan he'd formed was altered slightly. He had it worked out; he would cooperate with Palpatine and submerge himself into the dark side of the Force and begin his reign as a Sith Lord, growing stronger as he went, giving himself to the dark side until he was strong enough to transform his raw Force abilities and he used them to save Padme. Once he had saved her and the baby, Vader would then have no use for the so-called Emperor, and together he and Padme would rule the galaxy together and spread peace through the galaxy.

Under their rule, Vader would make the galaxy worship his wife as the angel she was while their children forged a great dynasty, beings like the separatists were punished for their treason, and crimes like smuggling, war, assassinations and slavery were punished its turn.

In Vader's mind, it would be the perfect way to run an empire.

So why, when he touched his face as he came out of his meditation, and rubbed his face he felt tears on his face?