Chapter VI: For the Empire

Vader felt the tremor in the Force, warning him. With nary but a thought, he used the Force as he turned around. The green saber was halted, suspended in the air.

"Master Yoda," Vader greeted, even as he crushed the Jedi Master's saber rather than return the weapon, "I was not expecting you so soon. I hope you know that Imperial Knights are on their way here, now. Jedi who are loyal to me, and are loyal to the Grand Inquisitor."

"Betrayed the Republic, you have, Darth Vader," Yoda responded, holding his cane at his side even as he stared at the remains of his lightsaber. The old Grandmaster continued, "Destroyed the Jedi, you have not. Justice, prevail, it shall. Lose, you will. Become Sith, your children will not."

"My children are under the highest of protections in this Palace, aside from my own. Not to mention that most of my Imperial Knights have sworn an Oath of Obedience, reinforced by Sith magic," Vader responded to the Grandmaster, whose eyes widened. Vader grinned savagely, "yes, even your few spies. It was quite tricky to do so, might I add, but necessary. None of the Knights are aware - and even if they were informed, they would be incapable of betraying me. Killing themselves in any situation that isn't dying for the Empire, or for my family, is a form of betrayal. You have sent your Jedi kidnappers to their doom, Master Yoda. They will all die, and my Knights will die before surrendering or betraying me."

Vader sensed the deaths as they began, as the battle raged elsewhere in the Palace. He also heard the blasters going off, from his Imperial Guardsmen assisting his Knights. Yoda seemed to sense them as well, lowering his gaze.

"You have lost, Old Jedi Fool," Vader said as he approached the Grandmaster. He'd left his lightsaber far away; they would fight a battle of Force power. Which, with Vader's combined experience and full power in the Dark Side as well as the Light from having Skywalker's mostly-whole and unscathed body, well... he was the superior power, compared to the green alien. Vader's voice became hushed, "I have succeeded, Master Jedi. There is balance in the Force, now. Have you not felt it?"

Vader released some of his hold on his presence, allowing his Darkness to coil around Yoda as well as his Light to shine slightly stronger than usual. Yoda looked up at Vader in shock.

"Brought balance, have you? Chaos in a gilded cage, what I only see is," Yoda responded, sounding incredulous.

"It matters not, Yoda. The Old Order has been dismantled. Only my Empire and its new Order will persist. My Grand Inquisitor, despite her... handicaps, will be a worthy apprentice until my children can learn the ways of the Force. Once I have passed on all that I know, all that this Palace holds, and all that knowledge in the wider galaxy... my children will be the most powerful Force sensitives to have existed, after myself, of course," Vader informed him, spreading his arms out wide as he said, "and by the time I am dead, and one of them sits upon the Imperial Throne, there will be no more war, no more suffering, no more crime. There will be only the Empire, and an eternal peace - under my dynasty, which shall stand the test of time."

"Brought you humility, the Dark Side has not, hmm?" Yoda offered as an answer.

In lieu of a response, Vader reached out with the Force and struck like a viper. Lightning danced off of his fingertips and into Yoda's body, at such power and intensity that the Grandmaster was burnt to a crisp instantaneously.

"No," Vader answered the corpse, "perhaps it hasn't."

The Jedi were now extinct. Yoda's last ditch effort to end the Empire had failed. Why Yoda had made it, Vader was uncertain; perhaps Yoda believed he could defeat the Dark Lord? It was a preposterous idea, regardless.

Vader smiled to himself. None could or would stand in his way now. The galaxy was his; he simply had yet to claim it all.

"Citizens of the Galactic Empire," Vader spoke with strength in his voice, even as this was broadcast across the Holonet - throughout the entire Empire, and the entire galaxy at large - to allow his victory to be known by all. He continued speaking after a pause, "Master Yoda of the Jedi Council's Order came into my Palace to make an attempt on my life, with several other traitor-Jedi alongside him. He would have tried to take my children, your Prince and Princess, to use against me and to make into Rebels against our great Empire!"

Vader allowed this to settle among the crowd in front of his podium, along with the Senators watching. An uproar began, one of indignation and hatred for the traitorous Jedi. Vader raised a hand to silence them, and they quieted down after a moment.

"It is lucky that I am far stronger than he could have anticipated. I defeated him, and my only regret is that I could not formally arrest him to make him face all of you for his betrayal. The last of the old Jedi Order and its betrayers are now dead - and any who weren't with Yoda will be joining them soon, this I promise you!" Vader spoke with fervor, to the applause and cheers of his citizens. He suppressed as mile, raising one arm into the air as he spoke, "with the only Jedi remaining being those who have sworn off the Old Order and have sworn loyalty to the Empire in my Order of Imperial Knights, we have need for fear no longer! From now on, this Empire shall prosper and focus on growth! We shall enforce the laws, all of them, and purge crime from all corners of this galaxy!"

That, of course, was meant with a thunderous roaring of cheers and applause from everyone. Vader looked out into the crowd as he lowered his arm, and smiled slightly.

"There will be no tolerance for crime. There will be no tolerance for Separatism under the guise of Rebellion. There will be no tolerance for slaving scum! There will be no tolerance for anyone who would dare oppose this Empire's reach for ultimate prosperity and peace! All who oppose us will be hunted down and defeated, of this I swear in the name of the First Emperor Sheev Palpatine!" Vader roared out, and then he raised his arms as he screamed, "FOR THE EMPIRE!"

The crowd returned Vader's enthusiasm one-thousandfold, cheering and applauding him while a steady chant of 'for the Empire!' grew among them. Vader smiled, brightly, even as he chanted along with them.

Yes, the galaxy was his. First, his Empire's borders would be secured; then, the Hutts and any other slavers would be extinguished and made to suffer, their peoples liberated.

And after? After, his Empire would span the entire galaxy, if he had his way.

For the Empire, indeed...

End of Arc I

Arc II Start - Chapter VII: New Order