(Vader POV)
After showing Palpatine my lightsaber and thereby confirming my success, I finally enter the medical chambers, having prepared various materials to repair my suit. This isn't the finished palette of materials I'll use, but it will have to do for now, until I receive the final items. I will take the time to gather what I will need after this. Coruscant can wait; to warrant such a thing, I have intel on two Jedi fleeing together, which I will use to obtain what I need. I visited specific illegal dealers and ... 'asked' them for some of the most durable and best parts I knew to exist in the galaxy. Mandalore was mentioned, but not just Mandalore, Kyrimorut.
I plan on creating a better suit for myself. One that won't be as susceptible to Force lighting as this first abomination. Currently, I am inside the Bacta tank. A tank that allows me to survive when out of my suit and which helps heal certain wounds. The different pieces of my suit are lying in front of the bacta tank on a table, waiting for me to reassemble them.
"Why, Lord Vader ... you have ruined yourself. But your mission was successful. That is all that matters. You now possess the weapon of a Sith," Palpatine says as he holds my lightsaber in his hands.
"Do not fear, my friend. The droids will have your armour repaired in no time at all," Sidious says, and that makes me angry. There's no way I'll let some droids fix my suit. Never again. This is my body, and I shall fix it and change it to my liking.
"Eh? Ah. I sense your anger. I should have known. This armour is you; it is only appropriate that you should make it your own, especially with your skill as an engineer. Adjust the suit as you see fit, my apprentice. When you are ready, come to me. There is work to be done," Sidious says as he walks out of the medical chamber.
I watch him leave the room, finally, and then close my eyes. The process of recreating my temporary suit now begins. I use the Force to lift various tools that will assist me in my task. I also bring around different materials which I have collected for this moment. While there are still many things to be improved, one material I will go out of my way to acquire ... Beskar. But there are more, of course, which is why Mandalore is my next destination.
.
I am done; after hours of work, I have repaired and improved my suit. It is nowhere near as good as I would like it to be, but it will suffice for my next assignment. I walk out of the medical complex and make my way to my spaceship, carrying a large crate using the Force. A new droid, which I created personally, is already inside and ready for my arrival.
{Welcome, Lord Vader. How may I be of service?}
"To the community district J-392."
{As you command.}
We take flight, and I place the large crate down in a separate room. This crate is special, since I have experienced something interesting when I corrupted my lightsaber. The Force through the Kyper Crystal showed me what would happen if I were to turn to the light side right now, and I still remember the feelings. But miraculously, I haven't grown weaker at all. The Dark Side should diminish somewhat if I experienced such emotions, but it didn't. This further proves my suspicion that I am no longer fully susceptible to what is believed to be 'the way of the Force'. I am no longer beholden to the rules of either Dark Side or Light Side. The Force is present still and strong within me, but I can tell that it is now mine. As if I now 'own' parts of it, all that I have mastered is now truly mine.
This opens up new possibilities for my training. I am not limited to Dark Side techniques, as my progress in Force Healing has demonstrated. Why would I need to use emotions to heal at all? Why not just use the Force as it existed before the Je'daii Order fell apart? Why not use Light Side techniques while being a Sith?
I open the crate and reveal a large quantity of technological components inside. Every moment will be utilised for training, and this is no exception. I lift the pieces and start to build a new droid, a battle droid to be exact. I am going to create a battle droid on the level of an HK droid. I will use it for sparring, and on missions I go on, or when I'm not bothered. However, I will also take this opportunity to train the Force ability Mechu-deru.
I start to assemble the droid and dive deep into this process. I only realise my surroundings when my droid notifies me.
{We have arrived, Lord Vader.}
"Wait for me here, I will return. If someone tries to come close, exterminate them."
{Understood.}
I walk out of Black Tooth, as I have dubbed my spaceship and look around. This level of Coruscant is a bit uncivilised. It was always this way, as the deeper levels of Coruscant are basically a hive for crime and criminals of all kinds. Which makes it the perfect place for the family I am looking for. I enter the building that I was told about by the unwilling men. The front is disguised as a cantina bar, but I am not fooled. I can feel the varying emotions of greed, lust and fear. There are hundreds of eyes on me, as I enter. I walk towards the bar, unbothered by the quantity of hidden weapons pointed at me.
"What can I get you?" the barkeeper asks.
*Kchch puuh*
"I am looking for Clan Skirata."
The music stops, and I feel the many weapons being prepared to fire. They must think I am an enforcer of the newly established Empire. Fools.
"Don't know anything by that na-kakk...ack..." he starts, and I stop him by using Force Choke.
The weapons are drawn into the open and pointed at me, no longer hiding anything.
"Anyone willing to reveal the information to me will leave this place alive," I declare.
*Tscchhh*
Then all hell breaks loose, and I ignite my lightsaber. I block the blaster fire, deflecting it back to others who aren't using blasters. I throw the barkeeper with a broken neck at a group of men and women, moving in the opposite direction. My lightsaber cuts through the air, killing a woman who was pointing her blaster at me. I Force Push her back, slamming her corpse into another group of men. I hold out my hand and use Force Stasis on several shots coming towards me. Redirecting them, I kill more men and continue moving forward.
*VRROOOMMM*
*VRROOOMMM*
My lightsaber zooms through the air, bisecting men and women left and right and leaving nothing alive. I Force Choke seven individuals and use them as shields against an incoming grenade.
*BOOOM*
I hurl the mangled body parts back and grab hold of the last remaining person alive. He manages to point a blaster at me and fires it off as often as possible, before finally dropping it and clawing at his neck, trying to get the invisible hand off.
*Kchch puuh*
"You were hard to find... Clone Commando RC-1136," I say. "Yet here you are, in a secret base for Clan Skirata. What was it you were looking for here?"
"Kakkk... fam...ack... ily..."
"Family. Tell me, Clone, where is Clan Skirata now?"
"They... kack..."
"I didn't mean with your mouth. Your mind will suffice."
.
"Plot a course to Zygerria. I have business to attend to there, the capital, to be precise," I say to the droid after walking into the Dark Tooth carrying several bodies and a lot of pieces of Commando armour.
{At once, Lord Vader.}
I drop the armour and the bodies on the ground and store the armour in another room, together with the corpses. After that, I get back to work on my droid. The first fight in a more or less functional suit was a success. I would rate the performance as adequate for now. The pieces rise into the air again, and I continue to build the droid in a humanoid shape. No piece is to be wasted; it will be durable and light, equipped with deadly weapons and protocols that I will program myself.
I reflect on the information I've just gathered. The Clone commandos are an impressive batch of soldiers. It took me almost an entire hour of failure to get the information from his mind that I wanted. In the end, my anger and frustration won, and I sort of 'drained' his mind of all his memories. It works, even if it was a very crude way of doing it. However, he is now brain-dead. What a terrible waste it is to have to do this to a fine specimen.
Zygerria is a planet located in the galaxy's Outer Rim Territories, the homeworld of the Zygerrian species. They were once known as the Zygrian Slave Empire, and at their height, the planet experienced success during the thousands of years the Zygerrians and their empire maintained a vast slave labour industry. However, after the Jedi Order cracked down on the slave operations, the Empire faded into glory. However, their empire rose again when the Zygerrians collaborated with the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars, following an alliance formed between the Queen of Zygerria, Miraj Scintel, and Count Dooku.
*Grrrooommm*
{Lord Vader, great pressure detected. Please calm down.}
Reflecting on the past fills me with great rage. Another instance where Anakin Skywalker was weak. His pathetic show of power and adherence to the Jedi Code has never helped anyone. I will make sure they are eradicated.
I refocus on the droid and use the Clone Commando's body as a means to train Force Healing. He is dead already, so he won't be coming back, but the more ridiculous I challenge myself, the faster I seem to grow. The droid has started to take shape, and as I do this, I think back to another place. After becoming Darth Vader and accepting the Dark Side, I was sent to Mustafar on my master's orders. I killed the Separatist leadership as well as every member of their engineering team. And as far as I remember, they were in the process of creating new droids. This is interesting. I will look into that.
.
{We are about to jump out of hyperspace and reach the Zygerrian system, Lord Vader.}
"Good."
We have used the Perlemian Trade route, then the Hydian Way, and finally took the Listehol Run here. We jump out of hyperspace and arrive above Zygerria. It is still as disgusting as before. But this time, I will not be denied.
"Land at the Royal Palace, that's where I am going anyway," I order the droid.
{Affirmative, Lord Vader.}
I observe the surroundings and remember the way I need to take. There is something here... something I need to find. A certain light. A Jedi? I walk out of the Dark Tooth and see myself surrounded by Zygerrian soldiers. This humanoid feline species is filled with arrogance and delusions of grandeur, pointing their weapons at me.
"Who are you?! Surrender yourself and prepare to be sold into slavery!"
*Kchch puuh*
"Take him!" a soldier says.
They throw their electro-whips towards me and try to wound me. Slave traders...
*Kchch puuh*
"Ack! Kkkakk..."
I choke these wastes and pull their highest in command towards me. Time to test my skill at interrogation. I look into his mind, which is quite impressive, admittedly.
"AAAHHH."
After a moment, I stop doing that as I see something interesting. I drop him and allow him to breathe before he suffocates.
*Cough Cough Cough*
"You will pa-"
"You will not speak. You will take me to your queen, or I will drop you to the slaves to be devoured," I tell him as I Force Choke him once more to get my point across. I still have much to learn, it seems.
"AAHH... haaa cough cough haaa... what about... my men?"
*CRACK* x8
"No! I surrendered!"
"I only killed these 8. Don't make me rethink my generosity."
"This way," he says, looking at me angrily and starts walking towards the Royal Palace.
I feel his thoughts racing, and thinking about a way to trick me. I focus on the surroundings and notice the anger, disgust and arrogance directed towards me. They wish to ambush me. I use the Force to target those hidden assassins, as soon as I feel their emotions and take them out. All the while, the Zygerrian is leading me further into the Royal Palace. I feel his frustration and confusion after we have walked for a while, and I am still not even being attacked. He can't see the rising body count.
"We have arrived. I have upheld my part so-"
*VRROOOOM*
"Much appreciated," I say and cut off his head.
I push the large door leading to the throne room, using the Force and march into the meeting. On the throne, I see someone I know: Miraj Scintel.
"Who are you?! What do you want? GUARDS!!" she shouts.
The guards rush forward, using their different weapons of electro-whips and blasters. Their armour is good, but not lightsaber resistant, not even close. I block their attacks and grab the large statue of the Queen to the left with telekinesis. As they rush forward, I bring the statue down on top of them.
*BROOOMM*
The ground cracks under the weight and the force unleashed. The statue breaks, and dust rises into the room. The guards who are still alive and not a puddle of blood and gore don't see me, but they see the red light coming towards them.
*VROOOM*
I pull them close and bisect them with my lightsaber. I raise all of them into the air and crush their bodies thoroughly. The meatballs of mangled bodies, I then throw at the Queen's feet and walk out of the dust. She has changed. I didn't expect her to survive Dooku's Force Choke, but here she is, part machine, like me. How poetic to meet like this after all that happened.
*Kchch puuh*
"Who are you? And what do-"
I stop her from talking and Force Choke her.
"I believe you are familiar with this already. So listen closely. I am looking for a slave. A Twi'lek. And you will tell me where she is, or I will end what Count Dooku started," I tell her and pull her towards me, force her to kneel before me and look up into my dark lenses.
*Cough Cough*
"Darn Sith and the Force... I made sure to protect myself from your magic. I survived one of you, I will survive a second."
"You have seen nothing yet, Queen Scintel. Now, back to the slave at hand."
"What is her name?" she asks reluctantly.
"Xina Ciloz."
"She is no longer on Zygerria," the Queen says immediately.
"And how is it that you know that so precisely?" I ask her.
"Because a very wealthy customer already bought her," she answers.
"Who?" I ask.
"A Hutt," the Queen reveals, standing back up and checking her neck hold.
I feel my frustration grow into anger.
"Which one?"
"Which one what?"
"Which Hutt bought her? Jabba?"
"No. Gorga Desilijic Aarrpo. A member of the Grand Hutt Council. He was most pleased with the Twi'lek. I haven't ever seen a Hutt move that fast and secrete so much... fluids," the Queen says, disgusted.
"Why would a Hutt be interested in the Twi'lek? Why this particular one?" I ask.
I am aware that Hutts love Twi'leks and have them dance for them and do all other disgusting things to them, but why her and why now? Gorga serves as the Hutt Council's accountant and ensures the clan's criminal enterprises keep their coffers full of wealth. But if he has taken an interest in this Twi'lek, then there is a chance that the Mandalorians have already got to her. The Queen looks at me as if I were an idiot. There seems to be something I am missing.
"Are you serious? Have you not seen her yet?" the Queen asks. "Even I might grow jealous. If she hadn't fetched such a price, I would have tortured her and ruined her beauty, just like mine was ruined. Here, look at it."
[Picture]
"Where is he now? Is he still on Zygerria?" I ask.
"He has left the capital, that much I know. He seemed most eager to leave, although I'm not certain he left the planet yet. We didn't have her here after all; he may still be at the slave processing facility. That's where we bring rebellious slaves or those who are new, and we need to introduce them to their new reality," she says, sitting back on her throne.
I turn around and walk out.
"Leaving so soon? And all this for a short fun session with some Twi'lek girl... You should have seen me when I was- kaackkkk... no... NO!"
*Crack*
I leave the Royal Palace and move to the Dark Tooth. I need to find the Hutt and fast. If he leaves for Nal Hutta, it would be problematic, as my master would find out about the visit and then ask me why I was there. Relations with the Hutts are not friendly, but the Empire benefits from them. She knows about them, which makes her important. As long as I get her knowledge, the Hutts can have her.
_____________________________________
OC is about to be introduced. She knows something and has connections that Vader wants. Remember, all this is still about Beskar. And something else, but that's a secret.