I do not own any Star Wars and DC characters and ideas represented in this work.
The words from the Obsidian armored being echoed throughout the ruined landscape as it chilled Pathavim Seth-Ottarak's spine. A heavy moment of silence was instilled in the Garnetian air, even so, the figure's breathing was just as oppressive to the lantern as his masked gaze on him.
Pathavim, as the Guardians and the ring itself put it, has the capacity to overcome great fear and he had shown that in his training on Oa. Fear is the greatest foe the Green Lantern Corps can have. Pathavim, as a Green Lantern and, therefore, a protector of sentients all around, feared no man…but this being in black, gleaming armor was no man.
The tall figure may have come into the situation not too long ago, yet to Pathavim, everything felt so wrong now. The air felt colder, the area seemed to lose its color, and the world felt muted as if the black armor being was a black hole, absorbing light itself in his unnatural presence. Pathavim felt like a little minnow seeing a very hungry and blood-lusted shark that was considering whether to ignore his existence or consume him whole.
The looks of the red-haired woman next to the tall figure didn't help the feeling of the situation either. Her smile seemed to convey that something spectacular and exciting was bound to happen, for her at least.
Pathavim's throat was dry when he tried to gather words to answer the figure's mocking question, but Governor Keyyers, still bound by the lantern's handcuff construct, talked first before Pathavim did.
"My Majesties!" He said in a pleading and almost apologetic voice, "Thank the sacred graces you're here! I attempted to arrest this trespasser th—" The dark figure flicked a black-gloved wrist, and the Moff's words were cut prematurely, followed by a sound of something snapping behind Pathavim. The lantern looked behind and was shocked to see Keyyer's head turned to the side at an unnatural angle. The man's eyes were wide, and his mouth hung open. His body, though originally kneeling to the damaged ground, fell in a heap.
In disbelief, Pathavim could only stare and kneel down to check the man's vitals while the woman next to the dark figure made a theatrical sigh, "Well…there goes another officer this week."
Pathavim pulled out his ring, a ray of green glow scanned the Keyyers, and the ring said in an uncaring voice, "Subject is deceased."
Standing up, Pathavim turned to see the two new arrivals, still standing away from him, and he accused the dark figure in a still shocked voice. "…you…killed him."
The dark figure said in his unapologetic, deep voice, "The price of his hubris, what happened here that led to this destruction around us could have been stopped by him, but that has little bearing right now. What matters is what will happen…to you, Green Lantern."
Recalling back to what Keyyers said about the Galactic Empire and its rulers and how the former Governor addressed the two individuals before him, Pathavim realized who he was staring at. His eyes narrowed, "You are this Emperor and Empress he talked about, Vader.." he then looked at the woman, and judging by her species' features and regal clothing, it only meant she was an Almeracian monarch. "…and Maxima," he finished at last.
Vader did not confirm his name and title, but his supposed wife, Maxima, did. She cocked a smirk while waving her red, flowing hair side to side. "I'm impressed, at least one of your lanterns is observant." She exaggeratedly gestures to herself, "I am Empress Maxima," she then puts a caressing arm on Vader's shoulder armor, "And this is my husband…my Emperor Vader."
Vader, unmoving like a statue, did not move to his wife's touch; he kept his masked glare at Pathavim, which only seemed to deepen every second. He moved his left hand and pointed a gloved finger at the Green Lantern, "Explain for yourself and your masters why you have trespassed on my planet."
"Your planet?" Pathavim said back, astounded and offended.
Vader dropped his arm and discharged from his unnatural, vocoded voice what could be approximated as a laugh. "As if these indigenes here are entitled to own this world after they rolled over and let scum infest it. Your Corps and your Oa overseers, however, lost the privilege of guardians when you all lazily left this world and so many others in abandonment. You only have your lack of will to blame."
"Lack of will?…" Pathavim repeated in disgust over Vader's judgmental statement. He raised his ring, "I and so many other honored beings across the Galaxy have been gifted these rings out of our sheer willpower and commitment! Whatever indolence you speak of is NOT in my corps!"
Maxima entered the conversation with a hand on her hip and scoffed at Pathavim, "So what took you so long to finally get here?" Her voice turned into a teasing and full of derision. "Did the circle jerk on Oa get too big?"
The lantern's eyes twitched but did not attempt to strike back, with words at least. The glow on his ring brightened, and he became committed. "That is a question you will find the answer yourself when I take both of you back to Oa."
Again, Vader laughed shortly while his wife snickered. "Issue the charges of our crimes then, Lantern," Vader suggested.
Pathavim twisted his mouth, "Where do I begin…"
Vader raised a hand, "Perhaps I should offer your crimes first." Then he pushed the hand to the side, and out of nowhere, a massive slab of the remains of the Headquarters ruptured out of a debris pile and collided against Pathavim's right side!
The right part of the Green Lantern's body screamed in agony and pain as he was caught off his feet by the slab and was heading towards another pile, signaling that he would be squashed in between. Despite the pain he was in, he brought his personal shield online, and when the crash occurred, Pathavim's shield took all the force of the collision. Between the pile and the slab, his power ring granted him super strength, so he managed to hold back the slab that was crushing him down, and with one marshaled push, he sent it away from him.
In the shroud of grey dust, Pathavim regained his bearings to locate where Maxima and Vader were. He didn't register Vader's presence behind him until he heard that cold breathing set upon him. He quickly turned and saw Emperor Vader, black as night, towering over Pathavim just three arm lengths away. In quick succession, the silver cylinder on Vader's belt shot into his gloved hand, and a tight beam of crimson energy burst out of the hilt. He reared back the arm and made an arc toward the lantern.
A hair breath away from being struck down, Pathavim conjured a green wall of energy from his ring that halted the Emperor's attack. The red blade stabbed through the wall, though not fully penetrating. Sparks of energy from both red and green crackle, as Vader says to Pathavim, "Your first crime is your misplaced self-righteousness." Vader quickly pulled out his blade from the conjured wall and brought down a heavier strike that fully cracked the construct and made it go into many shards.
Surprised by the attack, the lantern was sent backward by the force of the strike and landed on the ground on his back. The Dark Emperor purposefully strolled forward in a slow pace, as if he were a predator toying with his prey. Pathavim marshaled upright and brought his green ring to bear on Vader, but he was knocked back down to the earth when something struck him hard from his rear.
Crumbling to the ground and turning his head back, he saw Maxima wielding a broadsword with a half-broken blade. It was a weapon that broke immediately after hitting Pathavim's shield. She looked down at the blade and cursed, "Damn!…" she tossed it away as if it were trash and outstretched her hand to the side. A long piece of debris broke out of a rubble pile and landed in her grasp. Then, the piece of wreckage was engulfed by a blinding light, and when the illumination ceased, an exact copy of the broadsword she had earlier was in that hand.
Maxima grabs the handle with two hands and prepares to land a heavy overhand strike down at Pathavim. The Green Lantern stopped her attempt by blasting her away with his ring. A beam of emerald energy bolted to her chest, and she was flung back to crash into a debris pile, disappearing in a cloud of dust.
"MAXIMA!" Vader yelled in distress, letting out some emotion through his heartless words. Suddenly, before he himself could get up, as if a giant, vengeful hand picked him up, Pathavim was flung up high in the air, and he went back down to the ground so hard and so fast that Pathavim didn't perceive it until he was already in a crater he made from his fall. Despite the personal shield protecting and supposedly absorbing shock and blows for him, the landing he was forced to endure by an unknown force roused pain in him.
Stunned by the fall, Pathavim stayed on the ground, trying to recover. The dust cloud that was made by the Lantern's drop was blown away by a strange source of wind, and Pathavim saw Vader looming over him, blocking the Garnetian sun and fists that were balling with rage.
The once powerful aura of profound wrongness that surrounded the Dark Emperor was overcome by a spirit of pure hatred and anger. What was a chilling feeling and discomfort to Pathavim Seth-Ottarak was now a terrifying sensation entering his soul.
In a menacing growl with venom toward Pathavim, Emperor Vader said, "Your second crime is your failure to protect this galaxy's denizens." The Dark Emperor extended his arm to the side, and once again, Pathavim's world blurred while he was dragged forcefully through the ground from the crater by the unknown power. Crashing through mounds of the former administration building.
***
"Come on, An'selm!" Stormtrooper Sergeant Hanius barked through his helmet's voice vocabulator at Corporal An'Selm. Platoon Sergeant Hanius and Stormtrooper Lieutenant Veiss were trying to lift a giant piece of debris that trapped a local Garnetian who was begging to be let out in his own language. An'selm, still shaken by the destruction around him, didn't go out of his stiffened daze until Hanius stopped helping Veiss, stomped over to An'selm, and slapped An'selm in the back of his helmet. An'selm felt like he was suddenly pulled out of a lucid dream, only to be reminded that the reality he was in wasn't any better. "Damn it 'Selm!" Hanius berated the Corporal, "Don't tell me you're gonna be a casualty too!'
An'selm shook his head and slung his DLT-19 around his armored back, "No," he said, still reeling back from his stare.
The Sergeant pointed back at the Lieutenant and the pleading Garnetian, "Then help us get this blue bastard out of here!"
An'selm didn't say anything but dashed with Hanius back to the trapped civilian, and with him, Hanius, and Veiss, they lifted the slab of what used to be a corridor wall and freed the Garnetian. He was an Imperial worker, one in a gray jumpsuit that must've been part of the maintenance teams within the planetary administration building, and got unlucky when the Green Lantern showed up and devastated the local garrison here.
Hanius and Veiss helped up the Garnetian, the blue-skinned man went from crying out for help to giving the stormtroopers an unparalleled amount of gratitude for saving him. In his own language, of course. Lieutenant Veiss held up a hand of appreciation and said, "Thank you, sir, but we need you out of here."
The Garnetian continued to give his thankfulness in what could be described as passable Almeracian, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You save me! You–"
Hanius had enough and brandished his E-11 blaster very, very close to the Garnetian, then at the same time, lifted the Garnetian by the collar, "Get out of here before we put that hunk of scrap back onto you!"
Whether it was a screaming stormtrooper or the blaster next to his face, language barriers can often be objective at times with universal practices like that. The Garnetian's blue face lost its color. Heinous pulled the blaster out of his face and dropped the Garnetian. The blue-skinned worker fell and fumbled to get to his feet. Just before he turned to run and when he put his back toward Hanius, the Sergeant, as if he was kicking a dog, kicked the blue-skinned worker on the butt. The indigene yelped, and he started to run for his life in the furthest direction away from the stormtrooper trio. Hanius didn't stop yelling, "And you better work on your Almeracian, idiot!" The fleeing Imperial Garnetian worker went out of their sight, Hanius shook his head.
An'selm with his superiors, was part of the 451st Stromtrooper rifle battalion out of the 73rd Stromtrooper Regiment, 2nd Corps. It was the only stormtrooper unit present within the system and shared security responsibilities with regualr Imperial Army and Naval units. They were assigned as a security detail in Garnet's capital garrison. After pacification operations and local criminals shipped off-world, the battalion was on garrison duty ever since they stepped foot on now-clean Garnet. There were, of course, drills and training events that occurred, but Garnet itself was now a peaceful world, at least compared to its past version of itself.
Imperial Gendarmerie units and, supposedly, dispatched ISB agents had the pleasure of doing actual work by 'Imperializing' the local Indigenous population that were so used to criminal elements controlling every aspect of their world that they almost forgot how to run a proper society and culture. The 451st was stuck on stand-by duty in case a riot or civil disturbance happened, though if any of that did happen, it was small enough to have the local law enforcement deal with.
Overall, Garnet was one of those worlds that had no action happen on it until now.
Receiving word that a Green Lantern was near the orbit of Garnet, Moff Gotthard Keyyers had the bright idea of capturing the Green Lantern with whatever he could find within the city's garrison. Apparently, what An'selm heard from the lower officers that received the orders within the last minute for the surprise attack, Keyyers believed the number of stormtroopers and Walkers they had was good enough to get the Lantern. This is based on the supposed stories of the criminals that used to make up Garnet, being able to kill Green Lanterns. 'Yellow bullets' was the rumor and alleged weakness of the Lanterns that went around the garrison once the crime population was rounded up.
All of the invading and eventually garrisoning units scoffed that something painted yellow could kill one of the universe's toughest opponents. But Keyyers must've bought in the stories yet believed that the Power Rings of the corps were wholly overestimated. An'selm looked around one more time; someone was definitely wrong with that information. All of this, to what gossip spread in the short amount of time, was Keyyers desire to offer the Lantern as a gift to the Emperor and their Empress Maxima.
Now, during the ambush and the eventual battle, the fish Lantern unleashed untold amounts of volley fire and constructs that forced Imperial forces to retreat while he destroyed the administration buildings in search of Keyyers. An'selm's company commander had the initiative to protect the governor. Unfortunately, the admin building fell apart, and the company as a whole was separated and barely any of them could find each other due to signal jamming.
Veiss went to the ground, lifted his helmet off his head, and showed his face. A typical example of a born and raised resident of Teuto-Almerac, Veiss had blue eyes and short, yellow wavy hair. He worked his hands within his helmet's inner components. Hanius asked the Lieutenant, "Anything?"
An'selm heard crackles of comm channels and wires being played within Veiss' helmet, but the Lieutenant, after a while, shook his head. "No," he looked up to the sky, "They're jamming all signals, Imperial or not."
"Why in Maximec's beard would they do that?" Hanius questioned.
"Command probably doesn't want the Lantern to contact his corps in any shape or form. They probably couldn't find the precise frequency, so they said 'hell with it' and jam everything to be safe so he can't hijack a signal…if I can guess."
"Ugh!" Sergeant Hanius let out his frustration past his helmet, "None of this would have happened if we didn't let a Teutonik be governor in this hellhole and pick just about anyone else."
Veiss scowled, went up to his feet, picked up a pebble, and threw it on the sergeant's helmet. "Did you forget that I'm from Teuto-Almerac too? Or is everyone from Almoran just as forgetful as you?"
[Lore Note: In any DC continuity, there is no other planet that has Almeracians as denizens other than Almerac, and named Almeracians in the overall continuities can be counted on one hand. DC has been occasionally consisted of alien names/conventions for the most part but for only high-profile alien races. I decided that on some Germanic/Finnish names and words could be for Almeracian names and places, though they will not be a direct translation. There is no official sound or visual representation of the Almeracian language, so I decided that it would sound something like Crimean Gothic. Teuto-Almerac is in reference to the ancient Germanic tribe, the 'Teutons.' Almoran is an actual planet in DC, yet I cannot find where other than it's from DC's Mystery in Space series and it isn't actually Almeracian in any continuity, but in this case, it is.]
"Well, it's true, ain't it!?" Hanius and Veiss went into an argument they occasionally would do from time to time.
An'selm with the needless talking of the platoon Sergeant and Lieutenant within the background, could only gauge back to see the destruction that they themselves were almost lost in. Fires still burned at a few spots, rubble was stacked here and there that left very little for them to maneuver in, and there was a veil of dust that still lingered in the air. To that, the idea that someone could just defeat a Green Lantern had to be… unfathomable, not unless they did everybody a favor and swiveled their turbo-lasers down and turned this place to glass. An'selm looked upward to the sky; one could imagine why the Navy's garrison here hadn't done that, maybe some command from higher up said so not to?
An'selm felt and heard the ground rumble. He scanned the area and saw a cloud of dust on the other side of the ruins. A demolition team using explosives to free trapped Imperials under wreckage? The Corporal wondered that and did believe it for several moments until another plum of dust erupted from the ground, following another shake. This time, it was closer, and the quake was stronger. When the clouds of eruption started to trail toward them, that was when he tried to warn the others.
"Hey!" admittedly, he yelled when his back toward them from watching whatever was causing those explosions, but neither of them finished arguing. He turned and saw the Sergeant with his helmet off, engaging in a duel of swears and absence languages directed to their respected homeworlds. "Hey!" this time, it was louder, but the explosions that were coming towards them drowned out his warning. "HEY!" he sent out a scream that managed to get their attention.
Lieutenant Veiss and Sergeant Hanius stopped their argument, turned their heads to An'selm, and said in unison and with equal annoyance, "WHAT?!"
Before he could point or scream what was about to happen, it happened. A green object burst out of the rubble pile that was behind An'selm. It didn't hit him, but a rock did collide with his shoulder, sending him to the ground. Veiss and Hanius, with stormtrooper training instilled in their nerves, except when it came to discourse with other troopers or Almeracians, immediately fell to the floor and covered their unhelmeted heads. Rubble went everywhere; the green object landed on the pile next to Veiss and Hanius. A cloud of dull grey went everywhere.
Corporal An'selm struggled to get up as a sharp pain was beating down on his shoulder. He whinched when trying to get up to his knees and stood with one leg down, one leg bracing him. Coughing out the dusty air and only receiving more of it when catching his breath, he saw Veiss and his platoon sergeant get up and survey the damage. Both held onto their blaster carbines to wherever they might show up. Realizing what had happened, they aimed their blasters at the object that did all of this, though it was still cloudy.
When the dust settled, all three Stormtroopers managed to see that it was the Green Lantern that did this. Instead of the being that could cause destruction with his own thoughts, the Lantern was staggered, defeated, and even…afraid.
A nervous yet anxious hold entered the three stormtroopers; they wanted to shoot the Lantern but felt hesitant. They managed to push through their fears and prepare to gun down the Lantern. Veiss and Hanius trained their E-11s to the Lantern, who seemed to be recovering from his ground flight. His rifle castrated away from him due to the explosion; An'selm summoned up the courage to grab his thermal detonator and was preparing to chuck it at the ugly fish.
A deep black voice stopped him–all of them– with a furious command. "NO! HE IS MINE!"
An'selm knew that voice; he heard it from brief transmissions and holo-propaganda reels, yet it felt so unlively, so giant, that he felt like a dragon was behind him. He heard deep, unnatural breaths being made that came closer with heavy boots stomping closer too. The voice, the command actually, flushed any amount of will and free thought out of his soul. He had to follow it; he was compelled to do what it said. He dropped the arm that held the grenade, and Veiss and Hanius, under the same otherworldly command, lowered their carbines.
The footstep coming closer, An'selm begrudgingly turned around to see who halted their attempt at shooting the Lantern. His breath was caught in his throat.
Darth Vader, the Emperor himself, husband of their Lady Maxima of Almerac, was before them in all of this black presence. An'selm knew what Emperor Vader looked like, from the marriage ceremony at Tae Tamarac that was broadcasted to Holo-reels to other visual sources found on the Holonet. Yet, it felt so unreal to An'selm; it was like staring into the grim reaper himself.
An'selm heard of Emperor Vader performing and revealing the power that transcended reality. He heard rumors that if one gazed upon the real eyes of Vader, one would be stricken with abject terror, and their worst nightmares would unfold before their very eyes. There had been stories of Almeracian psychics who encountered Vader and described it as though they were freezing next to him. An'selm heard of wild tales of Vader having a castle within the dark reaches of the forbidden jungles of Almerac, and there was conjecture that vengeful spirits and ghosts haunted it. Unconfirmed exploits detailed how he put two hands together and made two enemy cruisers collide with one another, rendered armies to dust by powerful telekinesis rumored to be stronger than Maxima's, and flew a starfighter through swarms of enemy ships and not only survived but won.
An'selm, being born on Neu-Tamarae and being a farmhand, never truly was religious in a sense. Seeing Vader standing like a relic of terrible antiquity, he was now starting to feel like he would be from now on.
"By the divine matron," Hanius gasped under his breath, and he and Veiss only stood and watched as Vader approached past them.
Before any of the stormtroopers could bow, Vader said, "He is not your quarry, Stormtroopers. He is mine."
The Green Lantern marshaled the strength to get up from his chair of jagged debris and rubble; Vader pushed a hand out and made the lantern crash over a pile and land out of their view with his telekinesis. Casually now, he walked in that direction, and any debris was in his way, he shifted a hand, and the obstruction flew away from his surroundings.
After their Emperor left, a sort of aftershock was in the trio of stormtroopers. So much so that they barely perceived the entrance of their fair lady and Empress, Maxima. She was beyond frustrated, boiling with rage, it seemed. The stormtroopers bowed their hands, all trying to forget their Emperor's arrival.
Empress Maxima didn't give the other two stormtroopers attention, but she went to An'selm. The Stormtrooper Corporal straightened himself the best he could and had all of his attention on his Lady. "Trooper! Is it bad!?" She asked him.
An'selm looked over to the Lieutenant and Sergeant but saw that he was on his own. He put saliva down his throat so that his voice wouldn't be dry. "It m-may be like that, my majesty, the lantern—"
Maxima shouted at him, "Not that, you idiot!" She puts a hand next to his face for his sight. "My nails! How bad is my nail!"
An'selm found it more terrifying to face his monarch in such a manner than it was facing a Green Lantern, of all things. "I…" he tried to tell her politely, "It…looks broken."
Maxima's face got a mixture of grief and sadness, "Awwww! I had this done for my hubby…" Her face changed to hot anger and she shot daggers in the direction of where Emperor Vader was assaulting the Green Lantern. "I'M GONNA MAKE THAT FISH PAY!" She screamed out and marched toward where her eyes were targeting.
The three stormtroopers saw their Empress leave while hearing continual explosions and eruptions further in the distance. All three of them looked at each other, then quickly fumbled their helmets and equipment and ran in the same direction the Garnetian worker went.
***
Pathavim was thrown around so many times that by Vader's telekinesis, his world was a constant blur, a hard collision, then rinse and repeat. His body, still being protected by the personal shield, created a long trail of green afterimages across the ruins. His swirling ride ended when his body slammed against what used to be a metal wall. Denting it, Pathavim did his best to get up before Maxima and Vader continued their assaults.
Pain still lingers from being thrown around. He managed to get up to his feet, and he used the power ring to fly upward for a speedy retreat and re-strategize. A hand grabbing his webbed tail didn't even let him go up 2 meters. An angry Maxima halted Pathavim from flying to the sky, yelling a mighty "HYAH!" And swung the lantern back to the ground hard.
Dazed, Pathavim could only twist his head to the fuming Maxima as she pointed at her hand, which was the one that wasn't wearing a white glove. "Do you see this!" She asked with such furious irritation on a horrible face that was contorted with rage. "I just had this worked on today! TODAY!" Maxima grabbed the lantern with a hand and lifted him up above the ground. "You Fish bastard!" She threw Pathavim across the ruins.
Again, he landed on the ground, his rolling being uncontrollable. When his tumbling on the ground stopped, for once, he wasn't being absolutely assaulted and went upright, though in pain. When he stood up and caught his breath, he was greeted by the sight of Vader and Maxima standing together, facing him. Maxima's face still expresses her fuming state. Vader's body language, though masked and armored, indicated that he didn't forget how Pathavim blasted Maxima earlier.
Summoning the strength of his will and ignoring the pain in him, Pathavim brandished his power ring and sent volleys of green bolts to the monarchs. Maxima spun, sidestepped, ducked, and avoided the hail fire that was Pathavim's barrage at tremendous speeds. Vader brought up his energy blade and, to Pathavim's surprise, deflected and redirected energy bolts with his red sword. Even more horrifying was with his other glove, Vader sent emerald beams away from him or even absorbed some shots. All of which he did it almost effortlessly.
Pathavim stopped the barrage only to gather powerful energies with the glowing ring and sent a massive ray of beam in between the couple. The forms of Maxima and Vader were swallowed by a fiery cloud of emerald light and smoke that erupted between them. Debris and dust blasted out of the explosion and didn't settle after a while.
Catching his breath, Pathavim still held up his ringed hand toward the cloud and smoke that still lingered. A moment elapsed, and with no sight of retaliation or event movement, he brought down his ringed hand to try to calm his nerves and made his other hand hold the other arm to stop the vibrating shakes on his ringed hand.
Then, out of the veil of dust and smoke, a swirling disk of crimson flared out of the curling cloud of grey and had a straight, spinning vector toward the Lantern. It spun so fast that Pathavim barely had any time to evade it properly and only conjured a thick wall with a luminous emerald glow. The crimson disk bounced off the surface of the wall though it made a deep penetration line within it, but against Pathavim's hope that the disk would fall to the ground, the swirling red, pulsing energy reverberated back a couple of meters only to hit the wall again. It slashed the wall with so much staggering speed and intensity that it seemed that it teleported.
The wall didn't withstand the pressure and broke into hundreds of green shards that disappeared. The shockwave from the collision was powerful enough to send the Lantern backward to the ground. In hindsight, it was a saving grace because if it hadn't blown him back, the deadly swirling disk would have possibly decapitated him where he stood. It passed him above by centimeters and continued to angrily spin several meters behind to turn its route back to Pathavim.
He outstretched his ringed fist to the spinning red wheel and made an imprisoning sphere of green out of his imagination. The ball held and stopped the disk in its place in midair, and Pathavim saw that it was Vader's sword hilt that created the deadly circle of crimson. The hilt was still sparked with a beam of red energy, then, like a whirlwind, it spun, twisted,and became a hazy mess of slashes and cuts within the sphere that trapped it. It overloaded the construct, cutting the ball into pieces that faded away and once again turned into a disk only to land in the of Emperor Vader with his wife next to him.
Angling the blade toward the aquatic green lantern, Emperor Vader said, "Your third crime is your out-of-touch morality that has infected the galaxy for far too long."
The Dark sovereign would have made a step toward the Pathavim, but his wife straightened out her hand to stop her husband. "We can't spoil all the fun, now can we? Besides…" she added on by pulling her focused eyes onto Pathavim. "…I still haven't gotten my way with him yet." She dropped the broadsword to the side and leaped across the distance.
When she landed at an arm's length from Pathavim, the lantern targeted her and sent out a long beam of green light from the ring. She dodged, sidestepped closer to him, grappled him by the arm, and flung him over her head and onto the ground. His crashing onto the ground created a small cracking crater and spewed dust around.
Remembering the hand-to-hand combative training conducted by Kilowag, personal shield still online, the downed Pathavim sent a punch from below to Maxima's face. Despite the super-strength granted by the personal shield, the blow that landed Maxima only staggered her back, but regardless, she easily recovered and, worst yet, was boring holes at Pathavim with a mean glare. She backed a leg and forwarded a mighty kick that connected to Pathavim's chest and made him airborne in the air, which ended in a disruptive collision on a debris pile.
All of this punishment that Pathavim was taking was taking a toll on his body, shield or otherwise. What's more alarming was the warning his ring sent out, "Shield integrity at 16 percent."
In the shock and discombobulation that Pathavim was under, he managed to request the ring in a coarse and pained voice. "Ring…get me…out—"
"Oh no, you don't!" A Maxima stated as she jumped over to where Pathavim was, lowered herself, grabbed one of his shoulders, and cocked back an arm.
She jabbed a fist into Pathavim's face, and his head snapped backward. "Shield integrity at 14 percent." Said the ring with its emotionless announcement.
"I ain't done with you yet, Buster!" Maxima said in a firm tone. Then said another punch.
"Shield integrity at 13 percent."
"That was for hitting me earlier!" Another punch was made. "That was for breaking my damn nail!" Another punch connected Pathavim's chest and sent ripples of pain coursing across his torso. "That was for making MY Hubby mad!" A punch after that started to crack his shield and began to spider web at his chest. "That was for the annoying voice you have!"
Again and again, and again, Maxima created punches that kept on staggering Pathavim to the ground. Each connection was powerful enough to make the surrounding ground shake. It sounded like multiple bombs were detonating one after the other. Vader, from afar, only observed the brutal pounding his wife laid upon the novice green lantern. After every punch, Maxima continued on to explain what warranted it in heavy grievance toward the stunned and wounded Pathavim.
For each and every single punch the stronger and more infuriated Maxima did, Pathavim's ring continued to declare the shields declining failure. "9 percent….8 percent…6 percent…3 percent…warning, shield strength at 1 percent."
On the last hit, she made to cause his shield to be edged in failure, Maxima prepared to make another hit but held her fist as she ran out of grievances and injustices that she told him after every punch. "This was for…" she trailed off, created a punch, and went up to her feet. "…well…because I can blast it!"
Pathavim Seth-Ottarak was now a mess of bruises, broken bones, and a mind barely hanging onto his consciousness as it was drowning in a sea of absolute torment. Before, he had received a few bone fractures from being rag-dolled around. Now, it felt like everything was shattered. His once coarse breathing from the gills was now labored and rough like gravel. He couldn't feel anything in his chest. His flipper was in the same position. His shield faded in and out of existence.
Maxima, looking down onto the mess that was Pathavim, looked satisfied from her venting, turned her back against the green lantern, and started to walk off. "Okay, honey," she said to Vader, "It's your turn."
Struggling through the pain, Pathavim managed to manifest a beam of energy that struck Empress Maxima on the back and sent her collapsing onto a ruined wall. She didn't get back up immediately. Turning his damaged head in Vader's direction, Pathavim saw the Dark Emperor stomping toward the lantern with rage and anger in every stride he took. Now, it seemed like the light itself was waning in the area, and the more that Vader got to him, the darker…and hopeless the situation became.
Green Lantern Pathavim Seth-Ottarak doesn't think he has the strength to fight anymore, not when Emperor Vader seems untouchable or Empress Maxima unleashing her fury onto the lantern and utterly breaking him.
He was just…weak
Hearing the Dark Sovereign's foot coming dreadfully closer and that horrible breathing mocking his fate, something struck inside of Pathavim. A feeling of resistance and vigor never felt before. "No!" He challenged himself. He will not lose or fall here without a fight!
He is a Green Lantern, protector of the stars, he was destined for this life and to do so many good deeds. He will NOT let this monster cast in black armor defeat him!
Returning to his inner thoughts, he uttered the Green Lantern Corps' oath that inspired so many of its members to do good and face evil like this. "In…brightest day…" Pathavim struggled to issue the words into reality. "…in Blackest night…no evil…" he looked at the approaching Vader, "Shall escape my sight!"
His strength and courage seemed to funnel through him again, as if the oath was a prayer, giving him heavenly grace. "Let those who…worship evils…beware…" Marshaling newfound strength, Pathavim braced himself up with one arm and aimed the ringed arm at the black void that was Vader. "Beware my Power!" His ring glowed as bright as a star. "Green Lanterns Light!"
A large beam of concussive, sparkling emerald energy flashed out of the ring and headed toward the Dark Sovereign. Vader brought his crimson-red blade and had it block the green light from hitting him. But the green beam was powerful and filled with Pathavim's willpower to do good; it drove back Vader, making the bracing Dark Emperor slide continuously.
Pathavim poured more and more energy; he yelled as his body ached in past wounds. The beam managed to finally overwhelm Vader and send Vader tumbling to a nearby ruin behind him. The Green Lantern wasn't done with him yet. Pulling the arm upward, Pathavim imaged one of the largest creatures of his ocean-covered planet, a colossal rock whale, and brought it into reality.
A beam from the ring enlarged a mass of green light that morphed into a giant whale with rocky, hard skin. It was so large that it covered the entire ruins in near-complete darkness. He brought his arm down, and the whole simulacrum followed downward and impacted where Vader lay.
The crash boomed across the city and sent air bellowing throughout the ruins. Piles of debris scattered those heaps as the ground shook. Wind and dust howled around him when it settled after several moments, the giant whale construct, still conjured, lay on the ground.
Pathavim took in major needed breaths into his gills. It was…over, finally. Now, he needs to—
The lantern heard the barely contained snickering and giggles of Empress Maxima, who was far from the impact zone but still close to Pathavim's view. She got up from the pile of ruin she was sent to and covered her mouth in an attempt to stop herself from a full-out laughing fit. She composed herself and looked at Pathavim, "Ohh…you little, dumb fish scale-for-brains…you really think THAT is gonna end my Dark Lord of the Sith?" She pointed at the bottom of the whale without looking in the direction.
Pathavim, painfully, of course, turned his head to the whale and saw what she was talking about. The imagined, green, near-transparent rock whale began to shake as if a giant hand was doing it. The construct itself began to fissure and crack on all sides, even moaning in pain.
Suddenly, the whale ended when it burst into millions of tiny shards caused by a massive explosion of energy from the bottom of the whale. Debris and whatever was left of the planetary administration building that was closest to the burst of energy was atomized, the rest were turned to dust or became blurring specs passing over Pathavim. He grabbed hold of the ground with the fading strength he had to keep himself from being blown away.
The howling winds lost their power after several harsh moments. The miasma of dust and debris parting back to the ground, Pathavim's eye that wasn't covered in blood saw the Dark Sovereign kneeling in the middle of a wide empty circle that was the epicenter of the explosion, and originally the whale construct was at. The Emperor, with one knee bracing and one down to the earthy ground, had a hand up above him as if he were holding the whale from crushing it and sent some sort of powerful shockwave to cause this destruction. Vader went up to his feet, dropped the hand, and began to walk toward Pathavim.
The Green Lantern tried to escape by dragging himself away in the opposite direction, but again, he was gripped by a powerful force from Vader's psionic powers and was flung across the empty circular path expanse and then, at an abrupt stop, hovered in front of Vader who was just a few meters away. Pathavim tried to think of an airborne departure gifted by his ring's levitation functions, but Vader's powers were far too strong to escape.
Emperor Vader balled his gloved hand into a fist, and an indescribable amount of pressure strangled Pathavim's personal shield; it wasn't long after the shield faded, and the Lantern felt naked without it, but instead of being crushed by the overwhelming pressures, it ended. He fell to the ground in a heap.
Face to the ground, Pathavim heard the Dark sovereign's horrible breathing above him, lifting his head up; Pathavim saw the masked face of Vader staring down at him in a cold manner. "Your final crime…" Vader said, "Is your overall pathetic existence." He pulled Pathavim by his ring arm. The lantern, weak now, hung like a ragdoll as Vader hoisted it up in the air. "Now, your punishment is your unworthiness to this vaunted ring of yours…you will no longer need this anymore." With one simple tug away, Vader ripped Pathavim's arm, which held the power ring, by the elbow.
Hot blood spurted out of the mound as cracked bone was twisted and broken. Pathavim screamed in absolute agony as his body dropped to the floor. The mess of his arm kept pooling blood below him as some gore from the arm dropped to the ground. With the other only good arm, he clutched his wound as Vader still loomed over the lantern.
In the cacophony of torment, Pathavim Seth-Ottarak, in one act of defiance, tried to summon his ring through the power of his will. The ring on the arm that Vader held started to glow, but Vader hovered his other hand over it. "This is no longer yours, Green Lantern," Vader said with contempt dripping in his words. Pathavim commanded the ring to come back to him; it moved, even slightly out of the finger.
Vader, though, didn't let the ring go and kept using his otherworldly powers to render it under his control. "I said, I am this ring's master, NOW!" The voice of the power ring was barking disoriented words and prompts as if it was confused about what to do. It tried to get out of the finger to join Seth-Ottarak but then receded back to the finger out of backtracking. Finally, the ring seemed to give up and surrender to Vader; it lost its green glow and couldn't move out of the finger.
Pathavim could only stare at what used to be his arm and back up at Vader. A soulless harbinger of darkness and fear that was now above Pathavim in judgment as in debate to compose what punishment for the lantern's folly. Emperor Vader, studied the power ring and then backed down at Pathavim, whose consciousness was being closed up by darkness surrounding his sight. Before the Green Lantern lost his sight of the terrifying black void, Vader issued out a message. "The age of your precious Corps is over. The time of the Sith has come to be."
***
Ganthet's mind receded out of the darkness as he and the other members of the Guardians of the Universe lost their connection to Green Lantern Pathavim Seth-Ottarak's power ring. Within the tall rotunda of those council chambers, the ancient blue-skinned leaders of the Green Lantern Corps broke out into several arguments, conversations, and chatter as they tried to piece together what happened. They all were somewhat disturbed but, nonetheless, took the experience on what they sensed to be highly irregular, even implausible.
Ganthet, on the other hand, was not only speechless but was…horrified, cold even, as though the lifeless vacuum of space touched him behind the neck. He looked around the rounded council chamber to see his fellow Oans still conversing. The worrying Ganthet placed his small hands that went out of the sleeve of his red robes, put his elbows onto the rounded table that followed the council's chamber, and held his dropping head onto the palms of his hands as if the weight of the entirety of existence bubbled up into his mind.
What he sensed could only be described as a black hole, void of any light, and that effigy of darkness disrupted their connection to Pathavim's lantern ring and…
Ganthet shook his head. The power ring and Pathavim's fate was now in the hands of that terrible figure and the Guardians have only themselves to blame for it and his possible torment. Amongst the talking Oans, Ganthet whispered to himself in concerning terror. "What have we done?"
***
Lieutenant Sh'ri Valkyr stood quietly as she watched as she saw her superior, Captain Paran Dul, argue, in her composed and temperate way, with the Imperial Chancellor, Sazu. Next to the green-robed, pale-skinned, and black-haired Almeracian was Stormtrooper Commander Radek, standing right beside Sazu, at attention like a statue.
In Sazu's polite and highly intelligent voice, she talked to the Thanagarian attache about the sudden departure of Empress Maxima and Emperor Vader and why they left the holographic forms of the Council of Thanagar on hold. However, by appearance, it seemed like Sazu herself didn't know why the two monarchs left and was seemingly only making excuses at the moment. Radek was pressed by the chancellor and by Dul, but to no avail, as he was unable to speak of the matter without Vader's approval.
Paran Dul having a civil discourse with Sazu, and Rayn Kral helpless next to Captain Dul, Valkyr privately discussed her own thoughts on the matter to herself.
Darth Vader: Emperor of the New Galactic Empire, husband to Lady Maxima, the 'Warlock' as some of the Almeracians she talked to gave him that title, and self-titled Dark Lord of the Sith, this man to Sh'ri Valkyr was…interesting, even, if she can allow herself to express this, appealing.
Encased in shiny black armor, the tall Dark Lord has never revealed his true face or even his real species heritage. There was gossip that supposedly Maxima would know, but that was redundant as it would be obvious that she knew his face to possibly consummating their marriage. It was hard to say if the heavy mechanical breathing that sent chills on Valkyr's spine was truly for effect or medical reasons. Regardless, it was effective in keeping individuals from demanding to regulate that cycling breathing less they suffer Vader's wrath, as she heard rumors, bounding to horror stories, of Vader's rageful executions.
What made Valkyr interested in Vader was his powerful presence anywhere he went. His appearance was one thing, but the feeling of dominance and power that he emitted brought all the people nearby to obey and follow his orders. The Almeracians who made up the majority of the Galactic Empire, respected strength just as much as Thanagarians did. In that, she could tell that they respected Vader with a healthy amount of fear added to it.
Through the diplomatic interactions between Thanagar and Almerac, Vader's exploits and overall success in this part of the galaxy have even gained respect amongst the Thanagarians. Captain Dul may find his bluntness and his lack of interest in socialization to be irritating; then again, Paran Dul's own social skills were also quite similar, and other people who interacted with Paran Dul could say the same thing. Having another person disinterested in 'sugar coated' talk and deploying the same reserved personality as herself would unbalance Dul's way of speaking.
Regardless, Paran Dul was also interested in Vader as well, though in the way of viewing his masterful skills in engineering displayed when showing his works. In a span of a year, the once simply designed Almeracians starships that consisted of their fleets had been abandoned and were replaced by great sophisticated vessels that could outcompete most of the potential competitors in the galaxy. The automated starfighters and their TIE starships were also brilliant inventions.
Apparently, the Emperor himself helped the Almeracians understand the complicated droid brains that piloted these droid starfighters and other advanced robotics. Almerac barely used any automata, but after Vader's proclamation of the New Order, Imperial society began using droid technology in great, effective ways, from the mechanic rover droids known as astromechs to the highly reactive Tri-fighters that can react and coordinate attack patterns in speeds of light speed. That only credited his genius and was another reason why Valkyr was so deeply interested in him.
Female Thanagarians were inclined to favor the strongest male Thanagarians they could partner with. Though he was not a Thanagaran, Valkyr found it hard not to be engrossed in the Dark Lord, not when he could strike fear and respect in the militaristic culture that was composed of Almeracians and, to a lesser extent, the same to Thangarians. Yet not all of Thangar has heard of Vader's powers and strengths, but that might possibly change when he and his Empire enter the Thanagarian-Gordanian war and disrupt the stalemate once and for all.
The Warlock is a mysterious man, one shrouded in abyssal secrecy and covered by his shadowy armor to prevent any possible investigations into his true form. By the stories she heard, he was a pure warrior at heart, who handed out death in an effortless way with his strange powers. If a primitive being saw Vader, their ignorant minds might render him a Lord of Death and worship the ground under him.
Thanagarians have long shredded out the old ways of practicing spiritual belief of that sort, but if Sh'ri Valkr could allow herself to make a scenario within her head, if the people of Almerac had their warrior spirit re-awaken all thanks to Vader's authority over them, then what will happen if he leads the Thanagarians?
The throneroom's doors went open and made Valkyr, Sazu, and Paran Dul see Empress Maxima, with white gloves covered in blood that wasn't of her own. Maxima, was behind Lord Emperor Vader who…
Valkyr had to blink twice before re-engaging her sight to them. Then she realized this wasn't some hallucination. In one arm, Vader dragged a possibly lifeless body of a green lantern by its tail. She could tell it was a lantern out of the uniform that consisted of blacks, whites, and especially greens. From its obvious appearance, the lantern's species was aquatic in nature, with its gills, scaly skin in the shade of orange, and a webbed tail. In the other gloved arm of Vader's, he carried one of the Lantern's ripped off arms. On that one was the power ring with which every Green Lantern is assigned and associated with.
Paran Dul and Sazu were just as speechless when they saw the Emperor and Empress walk in with the body of a Green Lantern. Valkyr was mystified. There were fables and stories about Green Lanterns being killed, but only because of hubris getting them ambushed, their guards being lowered, or extreme amounts of firepower to pulverize them. Could Vader and Maxima have done this to a Green Lantern?
Uncaring of the lantern in his grip, Vader dragged the aquatic being from being; a trail of blood followed the lantern as his limbs were slack. Maxima went to a nearby servant girl and handed her a set of white gloves with blood on them. "Wash those and get a towel for me," Maxima ordered and then looked at the body Vader was dragging with physical disgust. "And tell the kitchen to get me something land-based please, ugh, I hate seafood now."
Sazu went beside Maxima in a baffled manner, "My mistress, where have you been?!"
Maxima shrugged as Vader approached in between the Thanagarians and their holographic superiors, still suspended in the pause he put on the call. "What?" Maxima asked her chancellor, "I can't go on a date with my own husband? Have you ever heard the word 'fun,' Sazu?"
Maxima goes into an argument with Sazu, and Vader drops his body next to his feet. Then, with his now free hand, he beckoned Sh'ri Valkyr to come to his side. "Lieutenant, if you could stand here for the benefit of your council."
Paran Dul and Rayn put both of their eyes on Sh'ri, as now the Emperor wants her for a strange intention. Valkyr was hesitant at first, but she was also willing to do so. How could she say no? She walked to the spot next to him where he inclined her to be at. This was the closest she had ever been to him; the unnatural feeling that was often around him had doubled. A mortal being, Sh'ri Valkyr noticed, to be this powerful by just presence alone was something to behold. Or…was he mortal to begin with?
Lifting a hand, Vader unpaused the holographic feed. Originally, the sitting holo-graphic impersonations of the ruling council were present there for a long time; now, after Vader had unpaused it, the elder Councilors were up from their chairs, arguing and debating one another. Commander Hro Talak's hologram also went into motion; from looks alone, he seemed to have been made to endure the debate between the council and kept his thoughts on reserve.
The councilors, while in argument, registered that the holo-call had been restarted and that they all poured their frustrated, helmeted gazes at Vader. "Vader…" High Councilor Krandor Vat said in great disrelish and umbrage, "Why did you!—"
Vader was quick to snap back, so much so that his offensive retaliatory attack stopped the arguing Maxima and Sazu into disbelief and made the jaws of the present Thanagarians hang. "Silence, bird!"
All of the councilors' bodies stiffened, and they glowered at the Dark Lord. Talak was just as dumbfounded as Paran and Rayn were. Vader continued when no one else was talking from the shock he delivered. Keeping his masked face at the holograms, he pointed down to the body of the green lantern, "Lieutenant Valkyr, tell me and to your council, with your hawkish sight that your species is renowned for having. What is at my feet?"
Valkyr was somewhat startled as Vader's question took her away from the blow he said earlier. The councilors looked down at Vader to see the limp lantern before the Emperor. "That is…" she trailed off as she was still trying to manage herself if it was really real, then concluding that it was. "…is a Green Lantern, my lords."
Some of the Councilors talked to themselves in hushed tattle. Vader went on, "And, pray tell, Lieutenant…" he lifted up the Lantern's arm into view, "What is on this arm?"
Valkyr saw the power ring in the lantern's dismembered webbed hand. "The Green Lantern's power ring, your highness." She stated.
"My power ring now…" he corrected, "Regardless, the Thanagarian's claim of great sight has been proven right once again, and your observation is greatly appreciated." Keeping sight of the council, he dislodged the power ring forcefully, Sh'ri heard the ringed finger snap like a stick, and Vader dropped the hand and finger on the body carelessly. He balled the hand into a fist that held the ring while continuing his rant. "Perhaps another boastful claim the Thangarians race should include is their tenacity to act untruthfully that went against their actions!"
He pointed a hand, and collectively, Paran, Sh'ri, and Rayn cringed. "You say that the war against the Gordanians is fairing well to your terms, yet your eagerness to want my ships and the stagnation of the conflict says otherwise. You claim that Thanagar has no need for allies, but your presence here disputes that. You want to partake in a fair trade. However, you want to cheat us with a scant amount of Nth metal as you reap the benefits of my ships!" He dropped his hand. "Hear my words and have it hatch a thought in those thick skulls of yours; I do not compromise, Councilors."
"We will see eye to eye, or we will not. We could be partners or rivals. We could be friends or enemies, and from a certain point of view, you don't want to make another foe in this time you are in. Regardless of your decision from this point, My Empire will destroy the Gordanians whether you are with us or not." He showed the power ring to the councilors, "The Corps and their Oan masters will come, but just like the fool under my foot..." Vader lifted a heavy boot and placed his foot onto the lantern's chest; several bones broke. "…They will be dealt with."
"In basic terms, councilors," he looked at every Thanagarian councilor. "My terms of this deal are final. Ally with me, and we could be part of something greater; your complaints can be issued after the Gordanians aren't at your throat. If not…then getting out of my way will be the best of your options."
Silence of a tense and uncertain sort came into the throne room. The council of Thanagar went from looking at Vader with eyes of discontent to giving each other looks of quiet comprehension they shared between their hardened faces.
High Councilor Nul was the chosen member to tell Vader to his face, from hologram, of course. He parted way out of the group, and his holographic body was visualized as he walked toward Vader, face to face. Being a Thanagarian male, Nul was taller than most sentient beings, yet he was still dwarfed by Vader's height. Valkyr, though, knows very well that Nul and the rest of the members of the council have gone through battles and conflicts that strengthen their resolve, like nth metal, and that no one like Vader could instill a sense of unease in them. At least, that was what she thought at any rate.
The stare-off that Nul engaged with Darth Vader was just as tense as the silence was. The Thanagarians at the present didn't know what to expect or to do. Maxima felt awkward in the way she pressed it. Sazu could only clench the temples of her head to soothe the headache she probably had.
After what felt like an eternity had to be no more than some uncomfortable minutes, Null commented, "You're the greatest bastard given shape before us, Lord Vader, and at that, audacious." Nul's form eased, "Yet…Thanagar's eyes rest only on those who gain it by those strength and power that possess it." Nul dropped his head to look at the power ring Vader still grasped and said with earnestness. "Before and afterward, you have that strength, Lord Vader."
"That is noted, Councilor," Said Vader. "And to what it means to you, I respect your people's commitment to strength above all else."
Nul nodded, "Then it's settled. The Thanagarian Empire will come to a pact of an alliance with your New Galactic Empire. Our own enemies are each other's now, and the struggles we each have are now one…until otherwise."
Vader agreed as well, "Until otherwise."
Nul stepped back to the four other councilors. "Hopefully then, Lord Vader, we could have another conversation like this though…" he stopped to summon up the correct words to say, "less dramatic."
"I can agree to that notion."
Nul and the ruling Council of Thangar made understanding expressions. One of them gestures off-camera to cut off the transmission, and the blue simulacrums of the Council and Talak fade away. After their conversation ended, the strained grip that held onto the trio of Thanagarian diplomats washed away in breaths of relief. Maxima and Sazu did the same.
Vader beckoned Commander Radek to appear before him quickly. The warlock took his boot off the lantern and said to the stormtrooper, "Inform my droid in my castle that he must prepare the operating room within the next 5 minutes; otherwise, this fish will start to rot for good."
***
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