Cover art
Imperium of Vader
is a Star Wars fanfic by AkumaKami64.
Ten years after the events of Revenge of the Sith, the galaxy is shocked by the sudden news that Emperor Palpatine has died. Darth Vader, having fulfilled the Sith Rule of Two but publicly pinning the blame on surviving Jedi acting as assassins, now takes command of the Empire. Working with pragmatic allies, he seeks to reshape the Imperial system into something actually capable of fulfilling its potential, while navigating the currents of politics and potential rebellion.
This work contains examples of:
- Adaptational Badass: Darth Vader manages to kill the Emperor in fair combat, something he never pulled off in canon.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Vader's killing of Palpatine not only makes him the new Emperor due to the Sith order's tradition of Klingon Promotion, but also cows the entire Inquisitorius out of any thoughts of usurpation when they feel the final duel between the two through the Force and determine they don't stand a chance against Vader.
- Bullying a Dragon: Sate Pestage is stupid enough to suggest to Vader's face that he forged the Emperor's will (which names Vader as Palpatine's heir) and that Pestage should be in charge instead. Tarkin walks into the room just in time to witness Pestage's death by Force choke-induced Neck Snap.
- Child Soldiers: Chapter 3 features cameos by Mara Jade and Starkiller, still as children but now being handed off to the Inquisitorius for more training.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation:
- Instead of being thrown down a shaft onboard the second Death Star, Emperor Palpatine is killed in a Force duel aboard his personal ship.
- Sate Pestage either died via Admiral Krennel breaking his neck, or by being on Byss when it was destroyed by the Galaxy Gun (there was a clone decoy involved, and it's unclear which was which). Here, he's Force choked to death by Vader.
- The Dragon: With Vader taking over as the new Emperor, Tarkin becomes his right hand due to both his already existent power base and because he's the only one who shares Vader's view of the Empire as an end unto itself, rather than a means to one.
- Driving Question: What was it that drove Vader to finally act on the Rule of Two and kill Palpatine?
- Dystopia Is Hard: This is the reason Tarkin agrees to Vader's plan to partially decentralize the Senate to regional civilian authority separate from the Moffs' authority as military governors. Being in charge of large sectors of the galaxy is fine by him, but the minutiae of actually running them on a daily basis is a bit more than he can stand.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Vader, Tarkin, Thrawn and the Grand Inquisitor are all firm believers in the Empire's tyrannical ways, but only because they genuinely believe in it being the only means of bringing order to the galaxy. As such, they're all enraged and disgusted when they learn of the Contingency, which would have destroyed everything they fought for, all for the sake of Palpatine's pettiness.
- Framing the Guilty Party: Vader and Tarkin intend to track down a coup plot amongst the Moffs, destroy it, and then pin the blame for Palpatine's assassination on them. This not only destroys a potential threat and covers Vader's tracks, but also scares off other such planned betrayals.
- Go Out with a Smile: In the flashback of the aftermath of the two Sith's duel, Tarkin notes that Palpatine/Sidious had a smile when he died. It was probably the satisfaction of dying at the hands of his apprentice who had surpassed him, in accordance with the Rule of Two.
- Klingon Promotion: As per the Rule of Two, Vader kills Palpatine in a duel, replacing him as both the master Sith and Emperor. In fact, there's actually a secret clause in Palpatine's will that Vader can only be his successor if he's the one to kill him.
- Not So Above It All: Flashbacks show that when Tarkin and a squad of Stormtroopers arrived on the scene of Palpatine and Vader's final duel, the Stormtroopers were unnerved by Vader's post-victory demeanor, with one nervously asking Tarkin if they all had to share a shuttle ride with him away from the site. It's noted that Tarkin didn't reprimand the Stormtrooper for the unprofessional comment because he was worried about that same thing.
- Not What It Looks Like: Vader says as much when Tarkin walks in on him seemingly getting drunk. He's actually drinking a consumable version of Bacta as part of a medical procedure to finally address his physical ailments, which Palpatine never let him do.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When Vader summons Tarkin to tell him about the Contingency, Tarkin can tell something's wrong even before the conversation starts, because Vader's body language is visibly tense.
- Patchwork Fic: While primarily set in Legends continuity, this story also takes elements from the Disney canon, such as the Inquisitorius, the Contingency, or Vader's pseudo-friendship with Tarkin.
- Pet the Dog: When Tarkin brings Moffs Balfour, Shild, and Mors before Vader to presumably make examples of for their past failures, Vader is surprisingly lenient — the incompetent Balfour is allowed to resign with dignity, Shild's lax attitude towards the Hutts is blamed on Palpatine's own policy, and Vader actually compliments Mors for delegating her duties rather than just shirking them and then taking charge when the time called for it. After the meeting, Tarkin is impressed by the lack of a body count.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Vader proposes to decentralize the Senate by setting up regional Sub-Senates that will manage their sectors and appoint members to a reduced Imperial Senate, giving up much of the central government's (ie, himself and the Moffs) administrative authority in order to streamline the bloated bureaucracy and make things more efficient. He also promises to relinquish some of the emergency powers Palpatine acquired during the Clone Wars, making the Senate more than just a rubber stamp in order to appease them and limit the justifiable reasons for possibly rebelling.
- The Purge:
- It doesn't happen onscreen, but several more troublesome Moffs are eliminated to smooth the transition of power.
- Vader muses that he'll probably execute most of Palpatine's Advisors, since the majority are useless Sycophantic Servants.
- Repressive, but Efficient: This is what Vader is aiming for with his planned reforms, keeping the authoritarian system generally in place but with enough freedoms granted to prevent the resentments that lead to rebellion.
- We ARE Struggling Together: The leaders of the proto-Rebellion are divided over whether to keep building up towards open warfare, or working with Vader's new, more liberal regime.
