"Things are getting worse... Just as they did when I was your age..."
-Kanan Jarrus, Jedi Knight...
The Death Star... In the Abrion sector.
Ezra looked up from his gaze at the cold, hard durasteel floor... Obviously very confused. The Stormtroopers had missed their target completely, and he sensed that it was done intentionally... What were they doing? Or should he say: What was Vader doing? Thrawn obviously didn't really care about Vader's plan, but had little choice due to his status. And Tarkin... The Grand Moff looked at him with his cold stare... This time much scarier than usual.
"Lord Vader, you are now free to present him to the Emperor..." The cold-hearted Imperial said calmly... Ezra knew that by doing letting Vader complete his plan he wouldn't be a problem to Tarkin anymore... Especially now that everyone thought he was dead... The Emperor wanted to see him? Why? Whatever it was... it wasn't good.
The stormtroopers dragged Ezra through the miles of turbolifts and hallways leading to the hangar, followed closely by Vader. During the ordeal, Ezra repeatedly tried reaching out to Kanan for help... But there was nothing... To the others, he truly was dead. Vader had severed his connect with Kanan by persuading Tarkin to 'execute' him.
The Stormtroopers and Vader stopped when they entered the Lambda-class shuttle... "Your assistance is no longer necessary. You may return to your posts..." Vader replied in his booming, mechanical, unchanging voice...
"Yes, my Lord..." The Stormtroopers said, leaving the area to return to their duties of escorting Grand Moff Tarkin. Unlike Director Krennic, Tarkin did not need Death Troopers to assert his dominance. And he didn't need them in battle due to his position being political, not military... No matter how effective they were, Tarkin would not use them.
"Now... I am taking you to Coruscant to present you to my master... There he will tell you the truth about the Jedi..." Vader said to Ezra, who sat in the shuttle in handcuffs... There was no way for the boy to attack, because Vader was ready for any retaliation. In addition, the shuttle was guarded by Royal Guards... And its TIE escort consisting of special TIE Interceptors... Piloted by Royal Guards.
The shuttle went for several minutes... Flying through empty space until it entered the hangar of the Devastator... Which had already isolated itself from the Seventh Fleet for the jump to Coruscant...
The Royal Guards dragged the boy into the destroyer's solitary confinement... And Vader went to the bridge... Where he was greeted by another of the Emperor's best pawns... Commodore Gallius Rax... Who Vader knew would be instrumental in the Contingency, a plan that would be carried out should the Emperor die...
"Commodore Rax, I assume the Emperor has already informed you of our new destination?" Vader said, once again his voice unmoving and intimidating... But not to Rax.
"Yes, my Lord... I reget that I must also inform you that my time on the Devastator is at an end... The Emperor is promoting me to Vice Admiral, and I will be next stationed on the Praetor II-class Battlecruiser Intimidator, to protect Jakku and the Observatory." Rax calmly said... Vader's breathing and voice did not scare him. Not much could... The Emperor himself regards him as a 'friend' after all.
"Congratulations, Commodore. I hope your replacement will be of similar competence to you..." Vader replied, his tone unchanging... But his words are indicating respect...
Rax walked out of the bridge as the Devastator entered hyperspace... And Vader simply stood and stared through the transparisteel at the stars turning into long streaks of light.
This is honestly my shortest chapter yet. And I need some ideas for the theft of the X-Wings and Ezra's ordeal on Coruscant.