I do not own any of the Star Wars and DC characters and ideas represented in this work.
The Forbidden Jungle, named by the early Almeracian settlers when they first encountered the region, was a large and expansive jungle that was in one of the large continents in Almerac's Equator. Covering most of the landmass, the jungle is credited as one of the most dangerous areas of the planet due to its dense vegetation and its menacing flora and fauna. Because of this, many attempts to colonize and tame the savage land lead to disaster. While the continent outside of the jungle was settled and populated, with its plains and numerous rivers, it was sparsely populated compared to the other parts of Almerac.
Within the jungle was one particular and irregular object, one landmark that wasn't natural in any shape or form. One obsidian-colored giant monolith that erupted from one cliff in the juggle. A monument to darkness and a fortress of shadow. Animals avoid it like the plague; birds and bugs don't dare to land on it; meandering and grazing Almeracian gazelles don't go too close to it; predators like the two-fanged leopard or even the infamous carnorite could even be considered to be afraid of it.
This monolith of dark matter was none other than Vader's new castle. A structure that ignores the mundane world and does whatever it pleases. This new fortress was very much like the one he had previously on Mustafar, by design and appearance. Vader didn't need any changes to the new one, and so he had the engineer corps construct his hidden retreat.
Vader didn't create his castle out of sightseeing the dangerous wildlife or to see the vast amount of plants; he did it out of the forbidden jungle's strong connection to the dark side. The dark side nexus was a location where Vader could mediate and conduct his dark side experiments. While it wasn't as strong on the dark side compared to the valley of the dark lords that was on Korriban or even to his previous fortress, the jungle castle will have to suffice for now to help him on his Sith goals.
There was a legend about the region the castle inhabited, which gave the fortress a nickname by some Almeracians out of so, 'Thulsa's Doom'. Thulsa, of the same name, was once a figurehead in the early days of ancient Almerac. There was very little actual evidence of his exploits, but his legend in Almeracian folklore was very large. It was said in ancient texts that Thulsa was a powerful warlock who wielded dark magic. It is claimed that he had powers to perform necromancy, summon illusions, transform himself into a giant serpent, and have other terrible powers that no mere mortal could have or comprehend. Thulsa once had a cult surrounded him that worshipped him as some sort of serpent deity. One day, through spiritualism, or prideful moronic thinking, Thulsa and his thousand strong followers ventured to the forbidden jungle so that they could claim the land as their own; none came back, and the legend of Thulsa ceased.
Thus, some Almeracians knew about the castle's existence gave the fortress the title of 'Thulsa's Doom,' for it was speculated that Thulsa died around the area where the castle was in. It was also the centerpoint of the dark side nexus.
Was it possible that Thulsa was, in fact, a dark side adept? Was the dark magic the text claimed he once had actually the dark side? Is this dark side nexus in the jungle created by Thulsa long ago purposefully, or was it made after his death, much like how a supernova is created after a star's life? Was he that strong in the force? There were many questions, but Vader found there were many mysterious that would not be answered. He found it interesting to find possible evidence of a powerful dark side practitioner, but Thulsa had left no records or journals of his teachings, in all the legend of Thulsa was useless to Vader.
He attempted to pierce the shroud that was the jungle's dark side nexus to see if the source of power originated from the exploits of Thulsa one way or the other or was simply a natural creation from the jungle, but Vader had seen no answers through the mist nor the echoes of the force said anything of the nexus' past.
Vader had little care about his castle being nicknamed 'Thulsa's Doom; it had little bearing on his life or goals. If the workers here and other places like to call it as such and respect him for owning it, then so be it.
The castle's workers mostly consisted of a new company of stormtroopers, whose armor looks like a cross between phase II clone armor and Imperial stormtrooper armor.
[Note: They look like Star Wars Force Unleashed Phase III Triton Squad Stormtroopers]
A squad of Imperial Guards, an organization that was reorganized and scanned for any traitors. Staff that was made up of janitorial members and maintenance workers. Then there were a few servant girls, which Vader didn't want, but his wife kept on insisting on them being there to "keep him company.".
The unfortunate men and few women who were assigned to protect and serve Vader at his jungle castle didn't like the idea or find it very appealing. While they didn't need to worry about the jungle, for the animals and plants refused to go near the castle, they worried about their master.
In the first early weeks of that service to Emperor Vader, they were just as spooked and terrified of the Dark Lord, or what some of the Almeracians called him, 'The Warlock', as the animals and plants were afraid of the castle. Officers did their best to retain their military disciplines while addressing messages to him; stormtroopers and guards attempted to not be fearful of the one who they are supposed to protect with their lives, and servant girls constantly cried from seeing Vader's unparalleled wrath at breaking a few officers' necks.
But as time went on, when weeks turned to months, they have grown accustomed to his dark presence. Officers have learned fast that Vader's orders needed to be followed by the letter and no amount of incompetency was acceptable; stormtroopers and guards became still as statues when he walked by; and the servant girls don't cry anymore when they see Vader snap an officer's neck like a twig.
Within the castle was a large room, made out of the same obsidian-colored material as the rest of the castle, with one straight, long window that shows the massive jungle outside. The only furniture being one black throne chair and a holo-projector on that floor in front of the throne.
At the window stood Vader, now Emperor of his New Galactic Empire. Vader wasn't alone though; behind and in the middle of the room was the Imperial Chancellor, Sazu, who in these months tested Vader's patience with many pointless briefings, reports, and talks about the Empire's economic situations, amongst other things Vader couldn't bother to listen to or remember.
There were meetings with her that he did pay attention to. Warworld, just months ago, was a hapless state of aimless beings who have little to offer to the universe. Now, it is a proud member of the New Galactic Empire; the alien population was given houses, food, and medicine that they were denied by Mongul's greed. By providing them basic services that other beings would call adequate, Warworld's inhabitants dropped all memory of their idiotic gladiatorial games and found a new way of living, providing the Empire with its war material.
Blasters and other weaponry, tanks, vehicles, Stormtrooper armor, equipment, ammunition, and other important materials have been and will continue to be made after the planet was in Imperial control.
Not only was it providing for the Imperial Army, Warworld has also massively contributed to the still expanding Imperial Navy. Constructing a new shipyard around Warworld's moon, the shipyard has, for months now and at the moment, provided the Navy with many Venator-class Star Destroyers along with several Imperial I-class Star Destroyers. With the designs that Vader provided the corps of engineers and navy command, they have been constructing Imperial ships for months.
Gladiator-class Star Destroyers and Acclamator-class assault ships, with the addition of Dreadnought-class Heavy Cruisers, were also constructed, with more being built.
While the Nebulon Escort frigate, that was designed by Kuat Drive Yards, was intended to be used by the old imperial navy, the admiralty didn't use the frigate as they favored heavier ships like the star destroyers. The already-made frigates were sent to junk yards, where the rebellion managed to get them. These, however, will be used in Vader's fleet. Instead of the skeleton-like frame Nebulons are known to have, the ones from Warworld's shipyards were the ones built with the original design in mind, more armored, rigid, and sleeker.
A handful of Lancer-class Frigates, Arquitens-class light cruisers, and Carrack-class light cruisers were also in Vader's expanding fleet.
Not only was Warworld producing warships, but also Starfighters. Vader made the decision of only creating TIE-Interceptors, TIE-Hunters, and TIE Avengers as his fleet's main fighters instead of TIE-Fighters. While the TIE-Figthters were cheaper to build and maintain, TIEs, however, were mostly used in swarm tactics. The fighters were built numerous and were many because the old empire's resources were numerous and many. His empire doesn't have such luxury.
The swarm tactics would be very expensive and resource-draining on his navy; however, it was effective enough for Vader to consider it. So he compromised; instead of training organic pilots, whose replacements would take months if they died, he would use droids. In his starfighter fleet, droid ships like the CIS Vulture droids and Tri-Fighters created by Haor Chall Engineering and the Colicoid Creation Nest, respectively, will carry the burden of heavy casualties when performing such tactics.
Cheaper than TIEs and just as good, if not better, at performing swarm attacks, the CIS droids will be a great addition to the navy, while organic fighters in less-expandable fighters will conduct more sophisticated operations. Though, while the Vulture could be considered 'simple-minded' comparatively, the Tri-Fighter was known in his galaxy for having one of the most complex droid brains, which the navy engineers had a troublesome time reverse engineering. Vader, with his masterful skills in droid mechanics, helped redesign the droid.
TIE-Bombers and TIE-Punishers were also implanted in his fleet. In terms of new ordnance, Vader added discord missiles to the starfighters capable of using them. The former CIS missiles, or "Blue Streaks," when referred to by former Republic pilots, were known to be able to outmaneuver most ships and, when detonated, can unleash a cloud of buzz droids. The Droids were infamous in the late war; they can cause massive malfunctions and untold devastation to starfighter squadrons and can sometimes severely injure capital ships. The small sabotage droids will serve his TIEs, his droid fighters, and missile launches on capital ships well.
Most of the ships being used by the navy he personally tweaked and modified with his own skill. There were very few drastic re-designs other than the Vultures having solar panels integrated into their wings much like TIE ships, though their original wing shape is the same. Most starfighters have increased speed compared to the original designs thanks to his input. There were other ships that he ordered the navy to create, and even more designs he could consider, but for the time being, those will do.
But with his armies ready, his Stormtrooper regiments waiting their first opportunity for battle, and warships orbiting in space—all of that wasn't his concern at the moment. His concern was gaining his power back by healing his body.
Months ago, he concocted a plan to sow in the marriage of cloning science and dark side techniques, for those two would be the only way to regain what was rightfully his. In so doing, he thought the Psions and Dominators would be up for the task to clone his force-sensitive body. However, much like how they are emotionally and compassionately inept toward other sentients, they are diplomatically inept.
He sent multiple encrypted deep space messages to their homeworlds, and none were responded to. He got frustrated and sent an imperial diplomatic team to each of their homeworlds for a one-on-one discussion, judging by how both teams didn't contact Vader, that implied that they weren't coming back. Whether they were killed on sight or captured and were currently being experimented on was besides the point; what mattered was that Vader came to the hard conclusion months earlier that he would have to 'talk' to either race personally. With the demanding schedule he had with leading his new order, the trip to the Vega Star System and Dominion will have to wait.
But this hasn't prevented Vader from continuing with his search for manipulating Midichlorians. For months, he has been going into deep states of meditation that usually lasted for days straight. Using the jungle's attunement to the dark side, he is able to strengthen his own power by drawing its energies into his own reserves, making him stronger in the force and the dark side.
During his long meditations in his own chambers, he realized that the force in this realm has not been touched for a very long time. How much time, he could not say or determine. Before he came to his realm, the force must've been in such absolute balance and calm that it was like a still pond. When he arrived and caused the dark side to wake up and ascend, the serenity of that pond broke and the shadows of the water deepened.
He hasn't felt anyone use the force yet, and for a time theorized that he was the only force-sensitive in this new realm. But he scrapped that theory, for he had no proof to say so.
Alongside his deep meditations, he has been experimenting on multiple and different lifeforms with his knowledge of Sith alchemy and bioengineering. He believes that his manipulating and warping the minds and bodies of creatures would start a road that would end with him controlling Midichlorians. Just as cognitively intensive as the deep meditations, Vader, on multiple sessions, experimented on creatures he gathered around the jungle.
From small bugs to man-eating predators, he started by changing their minds at first, then after some time of inducing them with dark side energies and his imaginations, their bodies started to change though slightly. When done, he would release them out to the jungles. If creatures had a fast breeding cycle and produced offspring afterward, Vader would experiment on the offspring as well and would occasionally see that with each generation he tested on, the more drastic the changes would be.
This led to one project that gained interest for Vader. Yes, while it did not pertain to the overall goal of manipulating his life and the Midichlorians that animated him, it was part of the tests he conducted for which the result would be beneficial. The black mercy was a plant creature that would ensnarl itself onto a victim and put them into a manufactured dream of their desires. This attempt to trap Vader was futile to the creature and Mongul; afterward, he had Sh'Kirry's men capture any evidence of the creature and bring it back to Vader. Apparently, Mongul had an entire garden worth of the plant creatures.
The Imperial botanists Vader had ordered them to come to his stored interior garden that contained these creatures. They looked at the plants and couldn't decipher where their original planet was from. Evidence suggested that they were bioengineered at some point, but whether by Mongul or someone else was a mystery. To Vader, it didn't matter what or how the black mercy plants came from; what matters is what they will be.
Telepathic as they were and having a somewhat forged mental barrier, Vader experimented on multiple black mercy plants and found a way to break through their defenses without completely paralyzing the plant. Since then, he has been warping the plants through the dark side, bending their nature from his will. Through selective breeding, the many attempts at taming the plants and domesticating them, letting the plants grow under supervision, and with multiple generations of plants born under Sith control, he created a subspecies of the black mercy that he named the Red Mercy.
The only thing physically made under the new subspecies was its coloration changing from a purplish black to a blood red. The real changes happened under its mind. Instead of plunging the victim into a desirable dream they wished to have, they will be put into a horrible nightmare that they can never truly escape. The illusion could be anything; it could be the victim's worst childhood fear happening in front of them, their worst nightmare they have ever slept becoming seemingly real, or the worst moment that occurred in their lifetime happening again in an endless loop.
While Vader could perform these tricks of the mind with a flick of a finger, a creature able to do so with no break could be used as a torture device so that he wouldn't be needed, and him being able to control these creatures was telling of his manipulation on lifeforms.
The Red Mercy was now a Sithspawn.
In between warping the creatures at the first stages of the experiment and changing their nature, Vader used sentient test subjects so that he could gauge the effectiveness of the red mercy's telepathic hold between generations. Using pirates, spice smugglers, murders, molestors, and other scum his navy and law enforcement would get from their patrols, their lives were better spent in Vader's dungeon being literally paralyzed by fear from his experiments than just being executed.
Although he supposed, subjectively speaking, that whatever fate they found themselves in Vader's castle could be considered a fate worse than death, for the early stages of the red mercy's development haven't been very clean. In the early to middle tests of having the red mercies latch onto the criminals in his torture chambers, the results varied from either a heart attack to the criminals dying from a slow, painful death with their organs melting. Vader finally achieved a stable generation of red mercies after one hundred and sixty criminals were used, and half of that number were red mercies being tested.
Another characteristic he made of the red mercies was their telepathic grip on their victims. From his experience and from the variety of test subjects, one can escape sleep if they believe the dream to be fake or have the willpower to do so. Vader, after many attempts as well, created a failsafe. He manipulated the red mercy species to the point where they are hundred percent obedient to him. From this, they made a failsafe where if there was any attempt to escape from the victim's side, the plant, with its telepathic control on their bodies, would start shutting down organs and reduce the victim's mind to mush. If there is an outside attempt to have the red mercy let go, telepathic or physically, the plant will do the same.
The only way the plant could let go or attach itself to another creature was through him. He had made it where the plants would recognize his mental signature through telepathic communication, meaning if the victim wanted to leave the horrid dream, Vader is the only one to command the plant to let go, for he has the keys for them to leave. Any attempt of releasing the plant's mental hold onto the victim without Vader's approval will result in death.
This was a start, for he manipulated life; it will be a foundation he will have to continue building upon. It will be a tricky and long road for sure, but he is sure controlling the Midichlorians was close.
Still, in all of the months, he has been cooped up in this fortress of his, doing many failed experiments, dealing with many visiting officers, and mind-tracking his wife into thinking he was 'normal.' The annoyance and frustration in him was at a critical mass that he thought it could not be contained anymore. While he had a training room to keep his lightsaber skills sharp, with the ASP-19 droids he created himself to duel that he had uploaded new dueling forms present in this galaxy, he was still bored. Even with a personal workshop in the castle where he had built and designed those ships and droids for his empire, he could not find comfort anywhere. It also didn't help with the failed diplomatic effort to the Psions, and the Dominators were still in his mind, festering.
He wanted an outlet.
"My Emperor," the voice of Chancellor Sazu was heard throughout the shell of a helmet, though it did not disrupt his thoughts. "My emperor, are you listening?"
Still having his back to her and her ramblings and holo-projected reports, he answered to his chancellor while still overlooking the window in his throne room. "Yes, Sazu, I have been listening to your speech for a long time, and I came to the summary of what you should've said in one word: food."
Yes, food rationing has been a concern of Sazu for some time now. With the induction of the Warworld territories and the growing population of the Imperial military, Sazu had shown multiple projections of Almerac's food stockpiles, growing centers on worlds, and hydroponics labs could only support so much of an increasing population. Eventually the stockpile will run dry, and the output of food production will not be enough.
Sazu has recommended outside sources of securing the empire's food security, like trading with other interstellar nations and systems. Vader had no intentions of such things. As easy as it would be, relying on an outside source could be used against the New Empire by an enemy or even by the supplier in question. In order to survive the coming campaigns and wars that will happen, the New Empire will need to achieve complete autarky in resources, which includes food production.
He could lessen the food rations from the civilian population and force food suppliers to contribute most of their harvests and gains to the Imperial military first, then manufactorium workers second, and finally whatever was left to the civilian population in that order of precedence. But that could lead to the Imperial population becoming very irritated, which could lead to multiple food riots, then a full-blown uprising of a sort that Vader would like not to have.
An outside source of food will be needed, but not from trade.
"My apologies," Sazu said, "I just wanted to make sure you know the importance of the crisis."
"Ah yes," Vader remarked with mocking amusement, "It is only a crisis because you believe so, chancellor." He turned around and walked to the holo-projector, "It is a minor problem that will be easily solved."
Vader played with the buttons for a moment and summoned a blue simulacrum of a hermit system not too far from Almerac on its galactic west. While investigating and researching Almerac's bordering systems months ago, he found one system that he believed could solve their problem.
Talcyion Omega.
The last and furthest planet from the star bearing the name, Talcyion Omega was a multi-continental planet with a lone moon. Recorded by passing traders, the planet's environment had few hostile regions to foreigners and inhabitants. From flat plains to lush forests and mild oceans, the planet usually lacked any predators that were capable of being any threat. Because of the lack of predators, perfect climates, and periodic flooding that increased the fertility in a good portion of the regions, the planet's inhabitants, or Talcyioners, as they were called by visitors, took advantage of their paradise-homeworld.
Talcyioners were bipedal, feline-like, and short as human children. No space-ferrying technology to speak of, no spaceport to begin with; their current stage of their civilization was at a pre-industrial point where their hut-homes were constructed of clay and wood. There was no noticeable amount of crime, if not any. Their culture consisted of fishermen, who regularly have bountiful gains; artisans, who create artwork made out of the mineral-rich soil; and farmers, who grow the society's crops and harvest meat and milk from their domesticated livestock. Their total population was approximately three hundred million.
It was a primitive planet that could benefit from Imperial rule, and the Empire could benefit from having it as well. The plain regions could easily become fields of crops or farms for massive amounts of livestock. Fish could be regularly taken without denting their numbers, while the oceans can be converted to aquatic farms for edible underwater plants.
All of this while Talcyioner society is brought to the modern galaxy. Schools can be created, roads and infrastructure built, hospitals put in place, a spaceport for travel, modern medicine and technology introduced into their society, and a sense of purpose in the new galactic system they will help create with their food. They will also gain the benefit of Imperial protection from piracy and banditry, for both of those details have plagued their society.
While not enslaved or totally threatened, some pirates from a specific nearby star system have occasionally entered the planet to take whatever few valuables the Talyioners have; it was a matter of time before they capitalized on the Talcyioner's lack of violence.
To save these pathetic creatures against these criminals and their own weak sense of non-violence, while protecting a future Imperial asset, Vader will need to take care of this specific star system in order to take and properly secure the Talcyion system.
"Talcyion Omega?" Sazu stated the obvious when the full simulation appeared. She rubbed her chin. "Well, that certainly wouldn't be my first choice, but if you feel they could be better off under the Empire's rule, then I could have one of the ambassadors sent there."
Vader made no attempt to answer her question and cycled through the holo-projector to a different simulation that showed that one particular and troublesome star system he thought about. Sazu was fairly surprised. "Rimbor?"
Rimbor, homeworld of the Polygloture of Rimbor, that only controlled the star system in the respected name, was an orange rocky planet with a few oceans. Between the cavernous valleys were the handful of cities that the majority, if not all, of the population of the planet resided in. There were no records of any original inhabitants; the world consisted of multiple sentient species that mainly stayed in the valley cities.
But the multicultural side of Rimbor doesn't end there; the planet is a wretched hive of smugglers, pirates, scoundrels, slavers, hapless spacers, and other filth that find comfort in numbers. The government of Rimbor is notorious for being incredibly corrupt, from bribes being accepted by the lowest lawmen to judges having rigged hearings in its high courts, and it seemed more like a congregation that consisted of crime bosses than an actual body of elected representatives.
This corruption, this filth, has simply allowed pirates and bandits to operate freely around the Rimbor system, including the Talcyion Omega in exchange for some cuts of the profit. The drug and spice trade was flowing freely in the world, slavery was abundant, and piracy ran amok with impunity. Though not directly, Rimbor has allowed piracy to go wild around the region to the extreme point that some of the pirates the Empire captures and detains have somewhat originated there or had some ties in the system.
While Talcyion can be claimed with Rimbor being taken, with shipping lanes being open around Rimbor, the hive of piracy in that ugly system will cause several problems.
If the Empire wants food, then they will have to fight for it. Rimbor will be civilized by Imperial hands.
"My emperor," Sazu continued, "I do not understand."
"Rimbor, my dear chancellor," Vader replied to Sazu, "as you know, is an endless pit of debauchery and villainy, along with pirates that flock to this pathetic system." He points at the small blue holographic orb that was Rimbor, then squeezes his fist. "Talcyion Omega, systems around Rimbor, and even the borders of the Empire have been dealing with these bandits for far too long! If we want Talcyion and its resources, we must rid the pests that reside on Rimbor."
Worry was shown in Sazu's eyes: "My emperor, I am well aware of the…state of Rimbor, but the way you are saying, the only way we can access Talcyion is to conquer Rimbor, I see no need to such a thing, and furthermore—"
Vader raised a hand to cut her off. "I will assume, by the way of your words, you will believe that diplomacy will bring Rimbor to heel. Then let me tell you the privilege that will not happen. I have seen gangsters like these before; they run planets out of their extreme desires and greed. These criminals will hold little value to your words; what matters to them are profits from their anarchist ways."
"I understand, my emperor, I don't have high opinions on Rimbor either, but bloodshed doesn't need to be spilled if there is a peaceful way of doing so."
Vader narrows his eyes. "What do you think will happen if we take Talcyion without crushing the criminals on Rimbor, Chancellor?" He moved close to where he looked over her, and she stiffened. "Do you think they'll not notice the shipping lanes we will establish? The resources that will be coming out of Talcyion? Do you think that they'll happily watch to the side and not harass our convoys?"
Sazu looked down defeatedly with Vader's lesson coming to her: "No, my emperor."
Vader stepped back. "Good. Talcyion is the priority; the Empire will gain the food it needs. But we must take Rimbor first in order to achieve this goal. Get in contact with army and navy high commands; they are to prepare a force that will be up to the task of taking Rimbor; they have five hours to do so."
She slightly bowed to the waist, "Consider it done."
He turned and faced the hologram of the Rimbor system, folding his arms. "Let this be the first test for the New Empire, Sazu. It will be a test to see if the Imperial cause is up to the challenge of taming this savage galaxy. More so, when completed, the new order will prove itself that it will be this galaxy's future main source of peace…" He paused and spat with disgust, "Not the so-called 'Guardians of the Universe' and their vaunted Lantern Corps, for they allowed this galaxy to devolve into chaos."
"Of course, Emperor Vader. Excuse me, but speaking of the Lantern Corps, what if word gets out that we take Rimbor by force? They will not be pleased about it."
"What about them?" Vader said with no concern, "They already show to the Milky Way that they do not care of it's inhabitants and this end of space. Their complacency led to the suffering of sentient life for far too long. Our new order shall bring civilization where they have not."
Sazu thought about his words, "I may agree with you, my emperor, well…to an extent, and the Empire will always follow you." She paused, "But the Lantern Corps might not see that way; they will see an independent nation being overtaken by an aggressor and could respond regardless of Rimbor's involvement in the piracy."
Vader lifted a finger and said, "Not if we say it is a liberation."
"Liberation?" She cocked her head to the side.
"Yes," the Dark Lord answered and explained, "If the Lantern Corps do appear, we will show them how their lack of responsibility has made the people on Rimbor and the surrounding systems suffer. The Polygloture of Rimbor is in fact a state that could not care for its citizens, nor is it an innocent government. We tell the Lanterns the truth: Rimbor will be better off under Imperial rule, and we have given the Rimbor people freedom. We will show them the crimes the Polygloture committed, and they will not be able to deny it."
"I suppose..." she trailed off. "That could work, albeit risky. But nonetheless, I will have to relay your desires to the military." She left the room, leaving Vader alone. After some time in silence to himself, he decided that he should attend to his red mercies and see if his latest test subject wasn't paralyzed, unlike the last time.
***
Despite the mouthwatering, absolutely delicious plate of lavishly made meals in front of Kristoph, he wasn't hungry. Granted, he took a few bites but nothing more. His cousin, though, across the long table in the Imperial Palace's dining room, didn't share his state of mind. She was just finishing her plate that was provided by the palace's own chef.
The reason why he couldn't eat was simple: he was tired.
This was the only day he just got back from training. The new military reforms in the navy and army that Vader implemented months ago practically turned his world upside down, and a few others as well when he came to think about it. Standard Almeracian strategies and tactics that he was used to for almost a year in the academy were thrown out of the window for new ones Vader wanted. Ships and starfighters that have been created by the Almeracian Royal Corps of Engineers have been scrapped or sent to reserve positions as Vader orders new designs to be used.
The whole military revitalization Vader started months ago has uprooted the old Almeracian military tradition from the ground up; the New Imperial military was something completely different compared to the Almeracian armed forces that have been protecting Almerac for generations. Now, there wasn't technically an Almerac, just the New Galactic Empire; as well, there wasn't a royal house, just an Imperial house. And because of that, Kristoph had to get with the times.
Kristoph was based in the 4th Fighter Squadron in the 21st Naval Patrol Squadron. The squadron was assigned to patrol and protect any shipping lanes between Almerac and Neu-Tamarae, which neither saw pirate activity for decades. After Vader's reforms started, the patrol unit was recalled to the Waworld naval yards to be refitted with new equipment, vessels, and starfighters. Kristoph's fighter squadron was reassigned to one of the newer ship designs, an escort frigate in the classification of a 'Gladiator Class-Star Destroyer' in the name of 'INS Hunter-Seeker'.
[Note: INS stands for, Imperial Navy Ship; I can't find any prefixes the Empire uses, so I made my own.]
After being assigned to the new ship that was heavily armed despite its size and comparatively to the other old Almeracian designs, Kristoph and his fellow pilots were assigned to new starfighters called 'TIE-Interceptors', 'TIE-Hunters' and 'TIE-Bombers. The acronym 'TIE' is based on the TIE series propulsion system, "Twin Ion Engine", not really a fancy name, Kristoph thought.
The TIE-Interceptors, the starfighter Kristoph was assigned to, while faster, more maneuverable, and having more armaments than the decommissioned X-31 Starskippers he trained for a year to be in, were less comfortable to be in and had no life support systems at all. Which meant all TIE pilots had to wear an all-black environmental suit in the cockpits.
With all of the new equipment and tactics, Kristoph spent these past weeks retraining alongside his unit to keep up with the modernization efforts. He was happy that he got back from a naval exercise a week ago and finally returned to the palace, but he wasn't too sure how long he'd be here.
Maxima, noticing Kristoph has barely eaten his food, stops her meal. "Cousin, is everything alright?"
He rubbed his forehead. "Yes," he said tiredly, "I'm fine, just not hungry."
"Is it the food?" She asked, overly concerned. "If it is, I'll go over to that chef and—"
He laughed and shook his head, "No, it's not that. I just don't have much of an appetite after all of the training I've been going through."
Maxima's concern washed away, "Oh, well, I hope Darthy isn't working you too hard."
"Ah, yes," he thought inwardly. His "stepcousin," Darth Vader, husband to Kristoph's cousin and Emperor of the New Galactic Empire. Kristoph never liked the man. He was emotionless like a machine, except for the times when he heard Vader show his anger at an unfortunate officer. He has never seen Vader show any sort of passion or love to Maxima—nothing a husband should show.
Though he would like to do something about it, due to how non-callant he was rude to her, he was overall powerless, telepathically, physically, and position-wise. Vader, though not a normal telepath in a sense, was probably the strongest telepathic being Kristoph has ever met. The Duke wouldn't be able to physically challenge the Sith either; there were always stories of Vader breaking the necks of some officers. Then there was Kristoph's position in power; he was a duke. Vader, on the other hand, was Emperor.
Even if he had an advantage over him, Maxima was blindly in love with her new husband, and any transgression with Vader meant attacking her. Then he felt that similar, unpleasant feeling, one that was cold, and he realized who it was.
The doors were opened by two servant girls; the person who came out when the doors closed was one of the elite troopers Vader created under his reforms—an Imperial Stormtrooper. In complete white armor, having a black body sleeve under it, the Duke heard some rumors of the new addition to the Imperial Guard about how they go through a nightmare-like training regimen. The red pauldron on the troop's right shoulder indicated that he was a captain. Kirstph stood upright and saluted the higher officer as he approached his direction. But the captain ignored Kristoph, and the duke simply got down to the chair.
The captain went attention to where Maxima sat and bowed, "A thousand apologizes for interrupting your dinner, my Empress," the Stormtrooper captain said through his helmet's vocoder. "But I came here to inform your majesty that the Emperor will be coming here very shortly."
Maxima slightly lifted herself up, "Dathy's coming?"
"Yes, my Empress."
"Well, what are you waiting for, trooper? Let him in!"
"Yes, my Empress." The captain left with no acknowledgement of Kristoph's presence.
The doors go open, and Vader strides to the dining room. Despite being Emperor, Kristoph, from what Maxima told him, Vader barely stays at the Imperial Palace. He instead regularly goes to a newly built castle in the forbidden jungle. He rarely comes to the palace unless urgently needed. How or why? He didn't bother to ask; it was already mysterious as it is, especially when it came from Vader.
Maxima, when noticing her husband entering, jerked upward and rushed Vader to give him a giant hug that he didn't return. "Hubby! You're back! Did you miss me?"
Vader didn't say for a moment that unsettling breathing cycled in and out, "Yes…dear."
"Did Sazu bore you with her ramblings?"
"Partly, but there was one detail that came to my attention that I cannot ignore and thus made the appropriate decision."
"Ooooo, what would that be?" She rubbed his chest, Kristoph rolled his eyes. "…My emperor?"
"The Empire, my dear wife, will be going to war." He balled a gloved fist.
Kristoph was surprised, and so was Maxima, but only for a moment. She then got excited. "War?! Well, Vader…" she smiled at him, "Who is it, darling?"
"The Polygloture of Rimbor and their abhorrent system." Vader replied to Maxima with noticeable disgust in his electronic voice. "That system is a nuisance to this side of the galaxy and could be a threat to the Empire. I will crush them like the pests they are and rebuild Rimbor as an Imperial world."
"Vader…" passion entered her, "What commitment you have. When are you going to declare war, then?"
"Now," Vader said bluntly.
"Now?" She looked disappointed. "I would like to come with you, but I have a manicure appointment tonight." She motioned to her fingernails, and she rubbed his chest again. "But maybe…after you're done conquering, you and I could have a little celebration of our own in my room."
Vader didn't say anything for a moment. "If you want such a thing, wife, it can happen later. I came here to only warn you of the coming conflict."
"Of course, my love," she caressed his black mask.
Wanting to rid himself from the awkward situation, Kristoph sneakily pulled his chair out of the table and began to walk away towards the nearest door, away from them. But his attempt to escape was futile when Vader said, "I am also here to make sure your dear cousin follows his call of duty."
Kristoph stopped and turned around, his face in starstruck. "I…you...what?"
"You heard me, boy, you are coming to Rimbor, for your squadron is assigned to the coming campaign."
Kristoph's mouth was wide open. Maxima unclung herself from her husband and clasped her hands in joy, "Oh, how exciting, Kristoph! You're finally going to deploy, just like you wanted! Aren't you happy?"
"I am, but…" words were stuck in his throat. "But I'm not ready yet."
Maxima curled an eyebrow while Vader shifted his hands onto his belt. "You are not ready? On what?"
"I mean," Kristoph did his best to explain, "With all of the new training and equipment, I'm not ready to go into combat; I just started to get accustomed to the ships."
"So you are refusing an order to take up arms for your own nation?"
"Hold on a second," he held a finger to object. "I didn't mean like that way; I just don't want to be a—"
"Do you know what the new punishment is for deserters, Lieutenant?" Vader's voice had no sympathy or compassion to it. "Since you are an officer of the Imperial Navy."
"I…am." Kristoph knew this, but Vader saying this with the implications made it seem a revelation to the duke.
"Would you like to know what will happen if you don't answer the call to bear arms for the Empire and her subjects?"
"I think so," Kristoph lied.
"Execution on the spot," Vader answered coldly as ice. "And for this particular case, I have a feeling that I would have to do it personally."
For a moment that seemed like a lifetime, Kristoph couldn't move or find any words to speak.
"Now hubby." Maxima said, trying to please Vader while not showing any real recognition of Vader's threat. If anything, she seemed more annoyed than scared for her cousin's life. "We don't have to do a thing like that." She looked at her cousin and said, "Kristoph is a brave man that will do anything for his country. Isn't that right, cousin?"
"I…" speechless, Kristoph could only conjure up, "Yes…I'll do my duty, our course," he said, it was more him he telling himself that than telling Vader or Maxima.
Maxima made a satisfying face, "Great!" She turned to Vader and said, "Now, darling, I hope you'll protect my dear cousin; I can't have Almerac's royalty dying left and right just like before."
Vader glanced at Kristoph for an uncertain moment and back to Maxima, "As you wish."
Maxima stood on her toes so that she might kiss Vader in the grill part of his mask. Red lipstick clung to the mouthpiece as she turned around to the main door. "You boys have fun at war!" She said it with such great excitement.
Kristoph realized that he and his stepcousin were now alone. Soon, he'll be going into a war he has no control over or any proper preparations. The only person he could lean toward for protection and guidance was the very same man in front of him who had the personality of a machine.
He really had a bad feeling about
***
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