Chapter 4 Imperial Middle Earth

"John?" Verana shook him gently. "John, wake up."

She smiled softly as he groaned and rolled over, his much slept on blond hair brushing her fingers gently. Verana shook him harder, and he opened his eyes.

"Hi," he said. "Is it morning already?"

"Yes," Verana said smiling. "Come on. Gabriel wishes to speak with you over breakfast."

John nodded and slowly rose to his feet. Days had passed since he'd first come to Lothlorien. Verana had taught him all about the history of Middle Earth and more importantly she had taught him about the Dark Lord Sauron and his ring. Over the days they had become good friends, but had little time together because Galadriel was always pulling him aside to ask him questions about Darth Vader.

The wound in his shoulder still ached at times, but Verana was always there with herb tea to relieve the pain. She even would rub his shoulders when the poison made the muscles incredibly stiff. She was a good caretaker and a good nurse, but she was more than that to him. She had become a ray of hope during a time of darkness. To John, Lothlorien was a paradise on earth, and he never wanted to leave it.

The Horse Lords of Rohan had been driven from their very country by the forces of Sauron. Now Helms Deep was all that they had. The Dark Lord himself had organized a siege of the walled city and now it wouldn't be long before the King Maximus of Rohan surrendered due to the starvation of his people. But something else happened. Suddenly a mighty army of men in white armor moved North from the direction of Gondor and fought their way through Sauron's forces.

Maximus watched in amazement at the mighty machines that marched upon Sauron's forces, firing bright bolts of light which quickly cut down the Orc armies. Soon the Orcs were in full retreat. Maximus, in triumph, opened the gates of Rohan and marched out to meet their saviors. Much to his surprise immediately after he marched out of his fortress the white armored warriors trained their guns on him.

"I've come to thank you for rescuing us from Sauron's forces," Maximus said. "You have saved us from an unspeakable fate. How ever may I thank you?"

"Surrender," a man dressed in a strange uniform said, walking up to him. "I am Admiral Dugal. You may show us your thanks by surrendering this nation of yours to the control of the Galactic Empire."

Maximus' face paled. He could not imagine the disastrous results if he were to lead his forces into war with these white warriors. Knowing that these guys would do to his army what they did to that of Sauron the King realized that he had no choice but to comply.

"What is it that you want?" he asked.

"You will remain King," Admiral Dugal said. "This is your reward for working with us instead of fighting. But this nation will become a puppet state under our control. We will chose a Chancellor for this country. Do as he commands, and you will not be harmed. Or if you so choose you may refuse this offer and prepare yourself for war."

King Maximus looked at the ground.

"No," he said, tears coming to his eyes. "I will comply. This country... is yours..."

Dugal smiled.

"Good."

A legion of Stormtroopers followed the King back into Helms Deep where he would announce the fall of Rohan. A few days later Darth Vader and Admiral Niem's forces marched into Rohan.

"The western countries are yours," Dugal said.

"Good," Darth Vader said. "Continue the conquest in the North. Admiral Niem, remain in Rohan and defend it against Sauron's armies. I will go with Dugal, for I feel that Sauron will be more interested in stopping me than you."

Sauron and his army did reach Rohan, but it was too late by then. Stormtroopers marched through the cities and across the country, enforcing their rule with an iron fist. The Imperial Chancellor had forced Maximus to abdicate and had banished him from the country. Sauron felt his anger rising up within him, but he knew that at this point there was nothing he could do about it.

"Where are they going next?" he asked his lieutenant Orc.

"They head North," the lieutenant replied. "North towards Fangorn forest and Lothlorien."

"Send a scout ahead to Fangorn," Sauron said. "Find the Ents, and warn them that Darth Vader is coming. See if you can get them to fight him."

The lieutenant nodded.

"Yes master."

Galadriel finally gave John a break, so Verana suggested that they go out for a walk in the woods together. They walked together through the forest talking about Middle Earth.

"To the east lie the mines of Moria," Verana said. "Great Mithril mines controlled by the dwarves. They're supposed to be very deep and dangerous, for it is said that ancient evil sometimes lurks deep under the ground."

"Ancient evil?" John asked.

Verana nodded.

"Sometimes there are things left over from ancient times that continue to haunt our world today. Aren't there things like that in your world?"

She looked up at him. John thought for a moment.

"Wait for it..." the Orc commander Erekai whispered.

The stormtrooper army drew closer and closer, marching through Fangor forest. A bird call rose from far off in the forest.

"They're ready," Erekai told his troops.

The Imperials marched below them.

"Now!" Erekai shouted.

The Goblin's immediately began firing arrows down upon the Stormtroopers. But these arrows were different. They were black, and seemed shrouded in dark energy. On top of all this, they pierced easily through Stormtrooper armor. The white troops fell beneath the barrage of arrows before returning fire quickly.

More Goblin ambushes arose from within the thick vegetation and began loosing arrows into the Stormtrooper armies. Chaos erupted as Stormtroopers fired blindly into the forest before getting picked off by the accurate Goblin archers. Victory was near, but then a dark figure stepped out of the forest holding a bright bar of light in its hands. Darth Vader. The Goblins opened fire, but Darth Vader could sense where they were coming from with the Dark Side, and swung his lightsaber, hacking each arrow to pieces. Then, he dove into the forest and attacked the Goblins, cutting them down as they tried to run.

But then, a mighty Orc warrior leapt down in front of Darth Vader. The Sith Lord began force choking the Orc, before tossing him aside like a rag doll. Out of the forest a legion of Orcs appeared to defend the fallen Orc. They charged the Sith Lord, but were no match for his mighty lightsaber. Cutting swords in half, the Sith Lord single handedly killed over half of the Legion before sending the other half fleeing into the wounds. A shriek was heard over head. Darth Vader looked up and saw a black shape leap out of the trees. A Nazgûl. The Black Rider held its sword out towards Darth Vader threateningly.

"Your shadow weapons are no match for the Dark Side of the Force," Darth Vader said, holding up a hand to force choke the Ringwraith.

With the force he reached out and grabbed the Nazgûl. A wave of terror shot into him unlike anything he'd ever felt. Like electricity darkness clouded his mind, empty blackness scarred him, causing him to tumble backwards clutching his head. The Black Rider, now released from the hold of the Force, sprung forward, swinging its sword in for the kill. Darth Vader's lightsaber was up in a flash, and he deflected the blow.

"Lord Vader!" Darth Vader glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw Admiral Dugal beckoning to him. "We must retreat!"

Darth Vader knocked the Nazgûl forward before marching off into the forest after his retreating forces. The Ringwraith, hissing, charged after Darth Vader. The Sith Lord swung around and parried its attack, before sending the undead King flying into the forest with a flick of his lightsaber.

"Into the mountains!" Admiral Dugal said. "We will lose them in the mountains."

"No," Vader said. "We will wait for them, within the mountains."

"How did it go?" Sauron said, glancing over at Agravas.

"Very good sir," the Goblin general replied. "The Imperial Forces are in full retreat. They have vanished into the mountains. The Dark Arrows worked very well."

"Then we must chase them down," Sauron shouted, his eyes flashing red. "Ready the Orcs and the Goblins."

The Dwarf lords lived deep within the mountain, content in their mines. The Mines of Moria as they were called. The seven rings had been squandered and lost in the mines, for once Sauron took power who knew what you could trust anymore. The nine rings had turned the Kings of men into Nazguls, hadn't they? The Elves were probably the last who kept their rings close and protected, even if Sauron ever gained power over Middle Earth his ring could transform their rings into wells of evil. The Dwarfs lived below the surface, away from the terror and grip of Sauron, but they still feared him.

Imperial forces marched straight into the mines as if they owned them. Stormtroopers with raised blasters shot down any opposition they found. The Dwarf Lords got word, and readied their troops for battle. The Axe wielding soldiers charged out to do battle with the Imperials, but they were no match for the ferocity of the Stormtroopers. The Dwarf Lords retreated further into the mines, taking what was left of their forces with them as the Imperials marched in to occupy the great city of Moria. Behind the army Darth Vader marched forward, all the while looking back over his shoulder, expecting that Sauron and his armies would be coming at any second.

"I know you're out there Sauron," Darth Vader said. "Come and find me!"

"The Mines of Moria," Sauron said quietly, upon entering the great caves. "It seems that this Darth Vader has more in mind than just taking the One Ring. But I swear that he will never take Middle Earth from me!"

He looked ahead and saw that the gates of the mines had been blown open by some sort of bomb.

"Shall we follow after them?" General Agravas asked.

"No," Sauron said. "Stay here and guard the entrance. If any of the Imperial Forces try and retreat through these Gates then kill them. I will enter the mines alone."

"But Master," Erekai protested, "you will enter the mines of Moria without even a body guard? Take a squad of Orcs with you at least."

Sauron turned, his red eyes flashing through the eye holes of his helmet.

"Ancient power will protect me," he said, before turning and vanishing into the heart of the mountain. "Ancient power that answers to the name of Morgoth."

"Sir," an Stormtrooper said to Admiral Dugal. "They've retreated deeper into the mountains."

"Keep following after them," Dugal said. "Show them no mercy."

Admiral Niem walked up behind Admiral Dugal.

"Where is Vader?" Niem asked.

Dugal looked up in alarm.

Sauron crept stealthily past a legion of stormtroopers and made his way into the depths of the mountain. Scaling walls and ducking into caverns the Necromancer finally reached what he was looking for. The shrine of Morgoth. The dwarves never came down here, for dark rumors had circulated about the chamber around it. A golden table stood before an alter carved of ivory and set with ruby jewels. Sauron stepped forward to perform the spell.

"The powers of Udûn are with you Sauron," Sauron jumped in alarm, and saw the silhouette of Darth Vader standing beside the altar. "But you will fall before the powers of the Force."

Sauron hissed through his helmet.

"How did you-"

"Know?" Darth Vader stepped out of the darkness. "The Force tells me everything."

Darth Vader walked up beside the altar and looked deep into the glowing gold.

"I sense dark energy within," Darth Vader said. "Not of the Force, but of something different. A word comes to my mind. Morgoth, Udûn. A great power."

"Not something you would ever understand," Sauron hissed again. "You serve an energy field, and I serve something much greater!"

Darth Vader ignited his lightsaber.

"We will see which is greater. You use you're magic... and I'll use the Force."

Sauron drew forth his mace.

"The Ring of Power," he said. "That is what I will wield."

He struck first, his mace slamming against Vader's lightsaber. The Sith Lord drew his blade back and reposted into Sauron's shoulder. Dark Energy clashed against the Dark side of the Force as the two Lords called up the demons within them and grasped their power. Sauron lashed out, sending Vader tumbling backwards. Sauron Darth Vader then reached out, using the force, and began lifting up a large boulder before flinging it across the room.

The boulder slammed into Sauron's chest, sending him tumbling backwards. Darth Vader marched forward quickly, sending a wave of the force against Sauron when he tried to stand back up. Sauron threw his mace up in defense, charging dark energy to hold back the powers of the force. The tensions grew stronger as the two energies pushed against each other, so different, yet so alike. Finally Sauron, in his weakened state, felt his strength beginning to leave him.

Immediately Darth Vader took hold of him with the force and tossed the Dark Wizard across the room like a rag doll. Sauron hit the wall and slumped to the ground.

"Now give in Sauron," Darth Vader said.

The Sith Lord then drew his lightsaber and sliced through the singled foundation in the middle of the room. The roof caved in now that it had no support. Large chunks of stone fell from the roof to the ground as the walls began crumbling under the intense pressure. Darth Vader dashed out of the room quickly, as Sauron was buried beneath the rocks.

"In the name of Morgoth I command you!" Sauron shouted, before he was burried.

Darth Vader waited until the sound of falling rocks ended, and silence took over. But then he heard another sound. The table in the room had not been touched by any of the falling rocks. The growling continued as the gold table began to glow red. Sauron slowly crawled out of the wreckage and smirked at Vader.

"How is this possible?" Vader asked, his eyes widening behind his mask.

"Give in Vader," Sauron hissed, before laughing darkly.

Darth Vader reached out with his mind and felt a dark power rising forth. Without a word he turned and ran down the corridor just before the ground beneath him split open and a mighty shape of both flame and Shadow emerged from the depths of the earth.