Mustafar - 19 BBY

"It's over, Anakin;" cried Obi-wan from his position on the slope above. "I have the high ground."

Anakin sneered. "You underestimate my power."

Just before he leaped, Anakin realized that Kenobi was correct. Instead of making the attempt to leap over Obi-wan's head as he originally planned, Darth Vader used the force to propel his little hovering magma harvesting droid along the shore and leaped onto the sure before blazing up and around. Obi-wan attempt to get to his elevation but it didn't work - Anakin now had the high ground and brought all of his strength and skill to bare, driving his former master down the slope towards the river of magma. Obi-wan was off balance now and his skill with the Third Form of lightsaber combat was compromised while Anakin's skill with the Fifth Form of lightsaber combat was brought to bare. Within a dozen powerful blows, Anakin swatted his former master's blade to the side and thrust his lightsaber into Obi-wan's chest. The look of surprise and pain caused Anakin to smirk. With a solid kick, Anakin wrenched his weapon free and sent Kenobi into river of magma. He watched where the body had sunk burning into the magma for several long minutes. With that last action, Anakin Skywalker was completely gone. Only Darth Vader remained now.

Suddenly, the roar of a starship engine overhead drew his attention upward and the Naboo ship took off and headed to space. Vader glared at it as it disappeared. His wife Padme was getting away. His ship was gone. It fell into the lava with the rest of the foundry. It didn't matter though. Lord Vader's master was on the way. He could sense Darth Sidious - the new Emperor Palpatine - approaching in a shuttle. Quickly, he climbed the hill towards an area of flat ground where the shuttle landed. Down the ramp strode two red guards and six Clonetroopers in the red streaked armor of the Coruscant Guard Shocktroopers and immediately behind them was Emperor Palpatine in his black robes. Lord Vader bowed on one knee and said, "It is done, my master."

"Well done, Lord Vader; you have brought peace to the galaxy. Rise;" said the Emperor in his cracked, dry voice. Darth Vader stood to his full height, towering over the old man. Palpatine pulled a lightsaber from his sleeves. It had a black and silver handle and was similar to his Jedi weapon. Proudly, Palpatine proffered it to Lord Vader. "Your new weapon, Lord Vader;"

Darth Vader took it and examined the hilt. It was well crafted but he could do better. Suddenly, on a whim, Lord Vader made a decision and acted on it, igniting the blade and shoving it's red blade into his master's heart. Darth Vader stared into the eyes of his former master as Darth Sidious, the former Emperor, crumpled to the ground. Lifting his left hand, Lord Vader blasted two of the clones with force lightning, cooking them in their armor. He also flung his lightsaber in a wide are, the crimson blade sliced through the remaining four Clones and the two Red Guards neatly before returning to his hand. "This Empire is mine;" said Lord Vader to himself. From there, he strode up the ramp and killed the two pilots before powering up the shuttle and taking off. Emperor Palpatine was dead. Long live Emperor Vader.

Kashyyyk - 18 BBY

Emperor Vader held the Jedi Knight by the throat with the force. "I sense someone far more powerful nearby. Where is your Master?"

"The Dark Side has blinded you. You killed my master years ago;" came the strangled reply. Lord Vader's yellow eyes hardened. He had left the Imperial Palace for the first time since his ascension to the throne of the Empire one year prior to begin his hunt for the Jedi again. That year had been spent educating himself on politics and the history of both the Jedi Order and the Order of the Sith Lords, using his one time master's archives and library to do so. Staring into the eyes of this Jedi Knight, he growled, "Now you will share his fate."

Suddenly, the lightsaber flew from his hand and landed in the hand of a boy no more than five or six years old. It looked ridiculous in the child's small grasp. "Ah, a son;" Vader murmured with interest.

He remembered hearing the news that his wife had died giving birth and had lost the child as well. He had attended the funeral of Senator Padme Amidala and even had permitted himself to weep in the privacy of his own chambers. Since then, his life had been consumed by learning how best to rule his Empire and how to become even more powerful. At the sight of the young boy, a sudden desire for a son of his own filled him and Lord Vader made another sudden decision. "RUN!" roared the Jedi Knight but Vader simply crushed his throat. A quartet of Clonetroopers ran in and leveled their weapons at the boy. "Hold your fire, Troopers. The boy is coming with us."

Vader called his weapon back to his gloved hand and used the force to put the boy in a stasis. "Complete the operation here and then return to your ships. I will be returning to my flagship with the boy."

The troopers obeyed and Vader returned to his ship. "Take us home;" he commanded to the two pilots. Then, looking at the child, Vader removed the last hour from the child's memories. He had lost his child so now, Lord Vader would raise this young man as his son. For the first time in months, Lord Vader felt a genuine smile crossing his face.

Antar IV - 13 BBY

Emperor Vader descended the ramp to the grass, his Stormtroopers flanking him, the blue streaks shining on their armor. Only the Coruscant Guard and the 501st Legion were allowed to have color on their white armor, distinguishing themselves from other Stormtroopers. All the others were identical though very few Stormtroopers were still clones. Vader had initiated recruiting and conscription several years back. Now, they were striding towards a base of resistance fighters known as the Antarian Rangers. The rumor was that they were housing a small clutch of fugitive Jedi. The base was in shambles already but hundreds Stormtroopers of the 212th Battalion had died trying to take it. Even so, the base was falling. Beside him strode the young boy he had 'adopted' on Kashyyyk. "Stay close, Son. It's time you see our enemies - the Jedi."

"Yes, Father;" said Galen confidently. Vader had pulled the name from the child's mind - Galen Marek. He was now Galen Starkiller - Sith Apprentice and Prince of the Empire. One day, he would be Darth Starkiller, Dark Lord of the Sith. Together, side by side, they strode towards the base. It was a collection of ancient ruins that had been well fortified, hense the loss of nearly a thousand elite Imperial Stormtroopers in taking it.

The outer defenses were shattered and there were groups of prisoners guarded by Imperial Stormtroopers being led out. As they headed towards the citadel, Lord Vader and Prince Starkiller heard the blaster fire become more and more intense and the sound of lightsabers humming and swishing and cracking as they struck. It wasn't long until they found the seen of the Antarian Ranger's last stand. Four Jedi were there with them - two humans, a Twi'lek and a Duros. They were cleaving through Stormtroopers and swatting blaster bolts away with ease. The Rangers were blazing away with blaster weapons. In total, there were probably less than forty of them left now but, thanks to the Jedi aid, they were holding well. "Galen, use the force to bring down the ceiling so that they will crush the rangers."

Galen nodded and reached out, a look of intense concentration on his childish face. Slowly, cracks began to appear in the ceiling and spread. After almost a minute, Galen gasped and dropped his hand and his head. "I can't do it;" he said quietly. Vader frowned. "Of course you can, Galen. If you are to be a Sith Lord, failure is not an option."

With that, Emperor Vader lifted his hand and dropped the ceiling on the rangers, killing many of them. Suddenly, both human Jedi turned and stopped chunks of rubble from landing on a section of the barricade. Immediately, blaster bolts ripped into them, killing them quickly. "Hold your fire."

The remaining two Jedi were gasping for breath. "Stay here, Galen and observe."

Vader strode forward and ignited his crimson bladed lightsaber. "You!" gasped the Twi'lek. "Traitor!" and they both attacked.

The fight was very short. Emperor Vader was not to be trifled with and easily swatted aside the blades before bisecting one of them and then beheading the other. The few remaining rangers surrendered. "Round up all the resistance fighters and group them on the field outside;" commanded the Emperor. Frowning, he saw a flash of flaming red-gold hair. Behind the barricade knelt a girl, no older than three or four, crouched there, crying for her parents. Reaching out with the force, Vader was not surprised to find her very strong in the force. Using the force, he tried to put her in a stasis. The girl screwed her eyes shut and was able to resist slightly. Frowning with mild surprise, Emperor Vader intensified the attempt and the girl fell asleep. As he had with Galen, he erased the last hour from her memories before lifting her. "What do you think, Galen? Should we take her with us back to Coruscant?"

Galen studied her both with his eyes and with the force. After almost a minute, he nodded with a small smile. "Yes, Father. Let's take her home with us."

Turning to the commander in charge of his troops, Vader asked, "Commander Bow, who were those human Jedi? I want them identified."

The trooper consulted a datapad containing a list of Jedi who were still at large. "The man is Jedi Master Droggan Sar-jade and the woman is Amara Karddine, my Lord."

"Cross them off the list along with those two. We will return to my flagship, the Exactor and then to Imperial Center."

"What will we call her, Father?" asked Galen quietly.

"We will call her Mara Jade - your sister, Galen."

Galen was smiling broadly, enjoying the thought of having a younger sister. "Will you teach her too, Father."

"To some extant, though not, I think, to the same intent or in the same way that I will teach you. I will reflect on it. You are my Sith Apprentice and will be a Sith Lord some day. Her - I don't know. Perhaps instead I will do the same that Emperor Vitiate did millennia ago. I think I shall make her the Emperor's Hand. You will destroy the exterior enemies of the Empire when you grow up and she will enforce my will within, hunting down the corrupt and holding the government accountable."

Galen nodded with a smile. Again, Emperor Vader found himself smiling with true pleasure. Now he had a daughter and he felt as though his life was complete. All that remained was to rule his Empire and maintain the peace he had made.

Imperial Center - 1 BBY

The Emperor stood in his throne room of the Imperial Palace. Before him knelt his son Prince Galen Starkiller, Dark Lord of the Sith. He had killed off almost all the remaining Jedi Knights and even several Jedi Masters. Rahm Kota, Kazdan Paratus, Shaak Ti, Calub Dunn and many more were on the list of names of those he had destroyed.

Beside him knelt Princess Mara Jade, Emperor's Hand - Vader's daughter. She had enforced his will. Whenever her Star Destroyer, the Devastator, dropped out of hyperspace above any world, the local government officials would blanch. Most of the time, however, she would operate in the shadows, disguised or completely unseen. When those she investigated were found guilty, she would gather the evidence and arrest the man or, if the situation called for it, execute them.

The only threat to the Empire was an alliance of rebels and dissidents formed by a number of Imperial senators that had fled. The Jedi were gone now and the Rebels were the only remaining threat. "Well done, my children;" said the Emperor with a proud and sincere smile. "Thanks to your tireless work the Empire is free of the threat of the Jedi and free of corruption. You have both made me proud. Rise."

They both stood and he descended to embrace them both. "You will work together now to eliminate this Rebellion. When they are gone, this Empire will truly have peace - true, un-conflicted peace."

"Of course, Father;" said Galen.

"We will not let you down, Father;" agreed Mara. Vader smiled at them both fondly. "I know you won't. Keep me informed. Now go."

Side by side, the children of the Emperor strode from the throne room, ready to enforce his will and inflict his wrath on the galaxy.

Bespin - Cloud City - 0 BBY

She strode quickly though the fumes and smokes of the lower city. It stank down there but the last report she had heard had indicated that he was here. As she entered the bar, she was relieved to see that she had been correct. There he was, still wearing the same battle armor. A strip of dirty cloth was over both his eyes. "Master Kota, I've been looking for you for a long time."

"Who are you and what do you want?" slurred the old man. She lowered her hood, revealing her mentrals and lekku. "My name is Ahsoka Tano and you and I are two of the only remaining Jedi in the galaxy. We are needed now more than ever."

"If you didn't notice by the rag, I'm blind. My sight was taken by Vader's pup;" groused the old man. Ahsoka sat down across from him. "You and I both know that there is no blindness for the Jedi. The force is our sight."

"We can't fight the Empire, girl. No one can, not with Vader and his children ruling this Empire. There is no hope."

Ahsoka smiled and said, "Really? Jedi Master Yoda seems to think differently."

That got his attention. "Yoda still lives?"

"He does and he sent me to find you."

Kota was silent for a moment and then took a deep breath. "Alright; let's hear what you have to say, Padawan Tano."

Ahsoka sighed with relief and said, "My story goes back to the end of the Clone Wars just after Master Kenobi was killed by the Emperor and at a medical facility on the asteroid Polis Massa..."

This is an update to correct as many of the egregious spelling errors as I could find. Sorry about that. It was awful and, frankly, I am pretty embarrassed. Anyhow, I hope I got most of the glaring ones and please continued to let me know if I missed any.

Updated 12.12.2017