"Admiral Ozzel," Vader said, glowering at the man. "Explain your decision."

"I felt the most important thing was surprise," Ozzel answered, his hands behind his back. "The Rebels will react to our presence either way; this flagship is nineteen kilometres long. The longer we give them to prepare, the more chance they will have to escape."

Vader stared at him, implacably.

"Lie," he said.

"My lord-" Ozzel began, and Vader raised his hand.

"I asked for the truth, Admiral," he said, a moment's pressure touching Ozzel's throat, and the Admiral swallowed.

"Well," he said, eventually. "If you want the truth, Lord Vader, it's that… it seemed like a good justification."

"A justification," Vader repeated. "For what?"

"I had a woman I was engaged to marry, once," Ozzel replied. "Years ago… she tried to recruit me to the Rebellion. I refused. She told me that… that the Republic was no more, and that the Empire had destroyed it."

He closed his eyes. "I thought it was all nonsense, but since being assigned as your flag admiral, my lord… I have gained access to clearances that I did not have before."

"Explain yourself," Vader said. "I will not tolerate further delays."

"Our Emperor destroyed the Republic," Ozzel said, calmly enough. "I thought the Republic fell because it was weak, and the Empire was strong – but how true is that when the Republic was deliberately sabotaged? The Clone Wars were all Palpatine's doing."

He exhaled, closing his eyes. "It seems… that I have, in the end, been more loyal to my fiance than to the Emperor."

There was a crash sound, and Ozzel flinched… then opened his eyes, to see what had just happened.

Vader appeared to have thrown the nearest chair through a viewscreen. In fact, by the looks of things, the chair had also gone through the first two walls it had encountered before finally giving up and only denting the third.

"...my lord?" Ozzel asked, not sure if he was about to die.

"Have you ever heard of a woman called Padme?" Vader asked.

"Padme – of course!" Ozzel replied. "Senator Amidala was, well, not liked by the Republic Navy, but always respected. Wasn't she the one who was supposed to be in a clandestine relationship with Anakin Skywalker?"

Ozzel's direct superior, the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Military, stared at him for several long seconds.

"...have I said something wrong, my lord?" he asked, concerned.

"No," Vader replied, with a little shake of his head. "I was just… thinking. About what Padme would have preferred."

He folded his arms. "Admiral. Congratulations. I will be letting you live. You are relieved of command of Death Squadron. Your new job is to work out a way to kill the Emperor."

"...I beg your pardon?" Ozzel said.

"You already have it," Vader informed him. "Begin work as soon as possible."

AN:

Another bit of backstory originating in From A Certain Point Of View, like Tarkin as Eriadu's Greatest Love Machine.