The sound of mechanical breathing echoed throughout the chamber while a small band of high ranking military personnel watched nearby. Some were in awe; others, trepidation. And rightfully so - after all, many had heard the tales of this particular individual, but very few who were still alive to that day had ever been in the presence of Darth Vader.
"You say it is I who am now in charge of the First Order," Darth Vader spoke through his mask, a perfect replication of the one the real Vader had worn approximately forty years before.
"Yes, Supreme Leader," one of the generals said, conscientious of not using the word "Lord". Darth Vader, even in clone form, deserved the highest of titles the First Order had to offer. "Darth Sidious perished in the Battle of Exegol four months prior. Therefore, we-" The general began to choke as he suddenly levitated in the air.
"And you waited this long to resurrect me?" Darth Vader asked angrily, dangling the man to prove a point. "If what you say is true, word of the Resistance and their allies' victory has spread beyond the galaxy while the First Order has been left in shambles,"
"We had no choice, Supreme Leader," one of the other generals, a female, stepped in. "The cloning process for your resurrection had not yet been completed when the battle occurred, and even when it had there were tests that needed to be run,"
"What kinds of tests?" Darth Vader asked, still not letting go of the other general.
"Mainly standard procedures," the woman said, trying to hide the nervousness in her voice, "Such as verifying your central nervous system was functioning as it should. Among those required for any clone, there were other more…shall we say, 'innovate'… measures that needed to be fulfilled,"
"Such as?"
The woman swallowed. "You are as you were forty years ago," the woman said, "The only exception is an emotional modification that enabled the removal of compassion. The Vader that first came into this world had too much Anakin in him; the love of his son was his downfall. You, the Vader that was created, will not view the Skywalker lineage in the same way,"
"You speak of the mother on Tatooine," Darth Vader said, "And Padme, along with Luke and Leia,"
"Yes,"
Darth Vader let the choking general crumple to the floor, then was silent for a moment. "It as if they are a dream," Vader said, "From long ago, one that has almost been forgotten with time. Their lives and their deaths mean nothing to me," Vader looked around the room at the tubes of other clones being created. "What does concern me is the array of replicas Darth Sidious felt the need to create,"
"He claimed it was to ensure the survival of the First Order," the female general said.
Vader turned to look at the Spaarti cloning cylinder furthest away. Reaching out with his hand, he clenched it into a fist, cracking the tubular glass as he did so. Half of the cylinder smashed to the floor, along with a partially-formed copy of Snoke.
"There will be no more clones of those empowered by the Force," Vader said. "To continue creating life in this way is duplicitous. It does not make the First Order stronger, but merely proves our scientific advantages. It also enables the opportunity for a usurper, which I will not tolerate. See to it that clones of this nature are destroyed.
"Furthermore," Darth Vader towered over the generals as he stood, "You have the one true Darth Vader among you now,"