The Star Destroyer, the Defiance, tense and quiet now, soon saw another ship hailing them.
"Who is it?" said Anakin.
"It's Alderanian… My Lord."
Expecting something like, an officer asked tersely. "Fire at it, sir?"
"No." Anakin said. "We will see what they want."
Tarkin walked up. "Yes, I wonder what they could want, Your Majesty."
"Have you any thoughts, Tarkin?"
"Well, it could only be Senator Organa. I suggest we invite them in, my lord."
Anakin nodded at him and to the men. The message was relayed to the vessel.
"Emperor Vader, do you really wish to submit this new Empire to the Senate?" asked Tarkin.
But without waiting for a response, he went on a speech.
"I am a sworn officer - to my planet, to the Republic, and to the Empire. I believe in the constitutional workings of government.
"But I am not ill-versed with the other matters at play. I know - I have always known - that Chancellor Palpatine had the identity of 'Sidious' and was a member of the cult called the 'Sith'. I have read of their ways. If an Apprentice defeats the Master, he is the rightful Lord himself."
"Therefore, I do believe that a claim for you to be Emperor is just, Lord Vader, General Skywalker. Why leave this position?
"We have met during the Clone Wars. And despite you being a Jedi, I developed a grudging respect for you. We agreed that that the Republic was not prepared to go all the way to meet its ends.
"As Emperor, you have the opportunity to do just that - we have it - "
"I have held high ideals, Admiral Tarkin. I always have. But at the end of the day, I was but a twenty-two year old hot headed and impulsive Jedi knight. At the end of the day, I discarded any ideal for my own end, which of course I have no reason to share with you -"
Tarkin of course had suspicions and deductions of everything, including the reasons and motivations behind Anakin, his turn, and his relationship with Sidious, but he kept quiet.
"- So chasing high and mighty rebellious ideals is not what I'm going to do now. We can go to the basic childlike morality. The Empire was founded on the lies, deception and manipulation of one man, who, good riddance, is dead. The Clone Wars were an artificially engineered conflict by the same man. Let this Empire die with him. The Republic was not perfect, nor was the Jedi, but it was unimaginably foolish, tragic and absurd to overthrow that civilisation in favour of a disorganised mess of power-hungry officers and a genuinely evil and diabolical Sith cultist."
Tarkin took this all in, and his bemused, collected, careless expression changed into something more serious.
"Very Well. If you have no interest in self-preservation, Skywalker, then I will persuade the Senate to reaffirm what is there in itself. Power is not wrong to chase, and the Jedi certainly did not avoid doing so. I hold a Realist position in Galactic Politics and Philosophy, and your Jedi liberalism is clearly doomed to fail. Turn yourself in, and for being the traitor that you are, your story will get over too; the Empire will continue, and I will personally see you executed."
Anakin was glad this conversation was over. But the vessel had now docked and boots could be heard.
"Allow whoever to come unhindered." Anakin said.
Soldiers soon arrived into the hall. Organa was at the front.
"Senator, what brings you here?" Tarkin asked cordially.
Organa, on the other hand, looked dead serious.
"I heard the Emperor has been killed."
"Yes," said Anakin. "I did it."
Organa looked at him, clearly considering him.
"The Senate will have to decide what is next in succession. You are under arrest, Skywalker."
Anakin simply nodded. There was no point resisting.