FOREWARD Hello readers. I am sincerely sorry for my absence. AIT keeps me busy most of the time and recent events have made it... Difficult to write. My mind feels dead inside, and what I write is starting to reflect it. It's dark, jumbled, and not particularly my best work. Please, bear with me until I can get things straight here.

Now, onto the story. I had been tossing an idea for Star Wars and RWBY (Vader centric) around for a while, and even had a good amount of it written out. Due to a mishap with my DS (Drill Sergeant), I lost about three chapters worth of writing. So, after a few rewrites where I tried to recapture what I had, I ended up putting it to the side, only to pull it out again when I was in my current funk. The results were... unusual. I decided to call it "The Force of Change" due to both the story I had planned out and how the theme impacts myself. Puns aside, the title is a reversal of the saying "Change is a powerful force." It can change down at the singular, personal level, or an entire country fundamentally. The first chapter itself will be out later, probably tonight, but I just wanted to say a few words before this story actually started.

First, on the subject of Vader. After a little in depth research, I learned a few things that actually helped me to relate to the Dark Lord of the Sith. Darth Vader is a broken man. The traumatic scars of "killing" his wife and unborn child(ren), the Jedi Order (including the children), and overall his failures as a Jedi had beat him into submission as a loyal dog to the Emperor. With his suit, it wasn't just keeping him alive, it was torturing him, reducing his innate Force abilities. His bionics were improperly attached, causing pain whether he was at rest, or fighting. The suit and system itself relied on technology already decades old when it was installed, and the emperor refused to let him upgrade to something more powerful, fearing it would make him too powerful to control. Despite this, he still fought on the front lines alongside his men and the 501st, commanding the utmost respect from all of them. He was still an honorable man, ignoring the Sith motto, "Treachery is the Way of the Sith," and keeping true to his word. Unless of course, you were Boba Fett, who contemplated going back on his own word to the Dark Lord. Vader also hates failure, as demonstrated when he strangled Admiral Ozzel for his failure to prepare an attack on Hoth. As for himself, Vader has trained everyday in both the force and his lightsaber, preparing for the day he finally fought and killed Obi-Wan Kenobi.

However, all of these things contributed to a broken, sad man. Professional psychologists from leading clinics and colleges have actually diagnosed Darth Vader with several mental disorders. Depression, Borderline Personality Disorder, and OCD are chief among them. All in all, Vader is just as human as any stormtrooper in the Imperial army.

Concerning the story. You may notice that my characters are severely AU. That is because I wanted them to be more... Well, like their personality types. Cinder is most definitely a sadist who enjoys the pain of others, that much is painfully obvious by watching her interactions in RWBY. As for Roman... Well, he seems to be just a littletoo attached to Neo Politan. Now, in the show he might not be a pedophilistic bastard, but hey, this is real life. Not some gritty fairy tale that RWBY presents. All of my characters are going to be a bit... harsher. There won't be a limelight, only a spotlight to reveal their minute imperfections. Ozpin is going to be a little more manipulative, Weiss is going to be more of an egotistical prat, but still depressed by her childhood. Glynda is... well, she's probably the only "real" character on the show. Neo is going to be a bit damaged due to her past. Note: This takes place just after the events of the opening scene in RWBY, and a few months before the incidents on Rouge One.

Thanks for being patient with me during this time.

Sincerely, The Author