"The Jedi Rebellion has been foiled..."
-Chancellor Sheev Palpatine
Coruscant...
Vader's Lambda-class T-4a Shuttle soared through the smog-filled skies of Coruscant... Falling behind an endless line of similar Lambda-class Shuttles heading towards the Executive Sector. Nearby, there were millions of civilian transports and Imperial EF76 Nebulon-B Escort Frigates guarding them, due to basic Imperial civilian transport procedure.
The tall buildings are massive, the night sky decorating every inch of the planet in extremely bright lights. On the surface of Coruscant, there is no such thing as night... Only a transition in the type of light that smothers the entire city planet... The sight was beautiful to Ezra... He stared out the viewport, trying to look at the scenic view and take his thoughts off his destination...
The Lambda broke from the line, setting its path straight to the Imperial Palace...
"Course set for Imperial Palace..." One of the pilots said...
"One of the last standing legacies of the Jedi... The Jedi Temple itself... Now serving as the home for the Empire's greatest peacemakers..." Vader said directly to Ezra, using his simple voice as intimidation...
"What happened to the Jedi in it?" Ezra said curiously... Kanan would never speak of the fall of the Jedi... It was his greatest demon...
"The Jedi started a Rebellion against the Republic, and joined the side of the losing Separatist Alliance in the final weeks of the Clone Wars... They attempted to assassinate the Chancellor... Despite the act of killing being the greatest sin for the Jedi... I saw how evil the Jedi have become... Killing our only chance at true peace... The Emperor sent me to lead the 501st Legion into a final battle to end the war... Many Jedi and Clones died in a single day... Peace never came to the crumbling Republic... And the Chancellor converted the Republic into the Empire... And was appointed Emperor of the Free World." Vader said... Filling the story of the Empire's rise with misinformation and lies... Everything was from the point of view of an average Imperial... The entire story was done as ordered by Emperor Sheev Palpatine, to give Ezra doubts about his own position in the Rebellion.
"But the Empire isn't free... It opresses its people and rules through fear..." Ezra argued... He saw the Empire's aggression in the Outer Rim.
"Your Rebellion destroyed the Empire's last hope of peace... It has created a feeling of anti-alien and anti-Outer Rim sentiment... Grand Admiral Thrawn is lucky the Emperor placed him in the Imperial Navy, or he would've ended up a slave to a corrupt Senate..." Vader said angrily... He wanted to forget his painful past... And the friends he betrayed...
The shuttle finally reached the landing pad next to the Palace Precinct... Docked in the precinct is an Imperial-class Star Destroyer, likely belonging to one of the Emperor's associates. The Royal Guards lined up to escort Vader and Ezra to the Emperor...
The Imperial Palace...
After several hours of walking through the vast hallways of the Palace... They finally reached the main chamber, in the former Hall of Knighthood in the center tower of the former Jedi Temple...
As the giant doors of the hall opened... They saw a massive pedestal in the far back of the room...
The two stood silently as the guards walked to the pedestal... A lift was in the center of the platform... Carrying the Emperor on his throne... Ezra suddenly felt colder than ice...
They walked to the base of the platform as Sheev Palpatine's chair turned to face them...
"Lord Vader... Is this the young Jedi that has killed so many innocents?" Palpatine said, sounding bored... unimpressed... and weary...
"Yes, master... He is the padawan from the Lothal system..." Vader replied... Breathing with his life support.
"Interesting... What are your thoughts on the Empire, child?" Palpatine said calmly... "Please tell us your testimony..."
"The Empire's a force that opresses the innocent... They will do anything to rule through fear... No one is safe from your reach..." Ezra bravely said, thinking that he has nothing left to lose... Sheev is not amused, but he remains calm.
"You look at the Empire through the tainted lens of the Rebellion... The Empire's oppression is a failing attempt to root out insurgents... Perhaps you should look at a planet without an insurgency..." Palpatine says, still in his calm voice... "Perhaps you would like to see the work of the Jedi... The Jedi that betrayed their Sith allies to gain power over the Senate..."
Palpatine pressed a button... Projecting a hologram of Yoda entering the Emperor's office... Effortlessly knock out the guards... And attack Palpatine...
Ezra was shocked... Master Yoda was the wise leader of the Jedi Order... And here he is... attempting to kill an old man he worked with for years...
"I... I..." He mumbled... No other word left his mouth as the footage played...
Palpatine smiled... The boy was much easier to influence than he thought... It would only be a matter of time until he sees the true face of the Rebellion... On Jedha.
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