A Hero Lost: A Star Wars AU

~The Master~

It will not be finished until they are all dead.

That was what she told herself, over and over and over again.

Palpatine's plan to eradicate the Jedi had been completed, but a few stragglers remained. THey would have to track them down and kill them.

It felt so invigorating to finally take revenge on those who had wronged her. Now, they were on their knees, pleading for mercy. They did not receive anything but death.

The Temple had been all but cleared now. Hardly any remained.

She walked out into one of the main halls, and she saw her old master finishing talking with Palpatine over the hologram.

She approached him.

"Well," she said, "I certainly wasn't expecting to end up like... this."

"You have played your part well," said Anakin, now known as Darth Vader. "And I cannot say I expected this either."

"I am devoted to this cause, master," she said.

"You can simply address me by saying 'my Lord' from now on," he replied. "Whether or not I'm still your master is something still up in the air."

"Makes sense," she replied. "How many Jedi did you kill?"

"So it's a competition?" Vader replied.

She moved her cloak aside to show the collection of lightsabers she had amassed from her victims.

"So you've taken up Grievous's old hobby, it seems?" Vader continued.

"Is there anything wrong with that?" She replied.

"No, I guess not."

There was a pause between them.

"The Chancellor has sent me on a mission to Mustafar to end the Separatist council," Vader continued.

"Am I coming?" She replied.

"No," Vader said. "In fact, the Chancellor wants to meet with you personally."

"Do you think he will kill me?" She said.

"What?" Vader replied.

"I know very well that the Sith have a tendency to stab each other in the back, and nobody wants that happening to them."

"Well, I trust the Chancellor, and I suggest you do the same," Vader continued. "I have to go now. I hope your meeting goes well."

"I hope the same happens with your mission," she replied. "It is about time we end the Clone Wars."

"I heard you blew your speeder on your way in to destroy a ship," Vader said. "If you need a way out, just go to the upper plaza and find a clone gunship. Tell them to take you to the Chancellor. They will obey your orders. If they don't, make them."

"Thank you, my Lord," she said.

Vader turned around and walked out the door, while she made her way to the plaza.

She found and got into a still-working turbolift that took her to the upper levels.

When she reached the top, she saw several clones standing next to LAAT gunships.

They raised their blasters at her, but upon realizing who she was (and that she was on their side), they began to lower them.

"Hey, you," she said to one of the troopers, "I need a flight to the Chancellor, pronto."

"Sorry, but we've been instructed to stay here until further notice," the clone replied.

"This is further notice, you buffoon," she replied. "Now, I'm sure the Chancellor wouldn't be happy if someone was late to see him because a few troopers refused to take that someone to him."

There was silence.

"You heard her," the trooper finally said to a pilot. "Take her to the Chancellor and come back here immediately."

"Yes sir," the pilot said. "You, come with me."

She walked onto the gunship and they took off. There was nobody else in there but her and the pilot. She watched the burning temple recede away from them as they approached the Senate building.

"Gotta admit, this whole thing was pretty abrupt," said the Pilot. "Never thought we'd actually have to execute Order 66, but good soldiers follow orders, so what can I say?"

"Nothing, really," she replied. "You follow your orders, and they'll lead us to victory. That is, unless the enemy is stronger, or whoever you're getting the orders from is a traitor."

"Ah, reminds me of General Krell."

"Oh, that piece of bantha fodder? By gosh, he got so many of us killed and told us it would work when in reality he was pretty much just a Separatist. I hate that guy."

"In all honesty, having Krell around for this purge wouldn't be so bad," she replied.

"What!? Oh you- fine, end of conversation, I do not want to talk about this!"

She smiled to herself. He would've made an excellent Jedi hunter. But still, he was also kind of a loose cannon, so maybe he wouldn't have been. He was dead either way, so there wasn't any need to worry about it.

Finally, they landed at the Senate building.

"Just to make it clear, I still think Krell is an idiot." she said before walking off.

"That's something we can all agree on," the pilot replied.

She walked off, and the doors to the gunship shut behind her as the pilot flew off.

There were clone guards everywhere, and she walked past them and to the Chancellor's office.

The halls on the way there were eerily empty, though she could hear bustling activity from nearby rooms and floors.

Finally, she reached his office.

"Welcome," Palpatine said. "I've been expecting you."

"You sent the droid and the message, didn't you?" she asked.

"Well of course I did!" he replied.

"Very well," she continued, "and why have you summoned me?"

"In mere moments I will create a Galactic Empire which will spread peace and prosperity across the Galaxy. but despite the elimination of the Jedi Order, survivors still remain. And I need some help in taking them down. You, and some others who have joined us, will make the perfect hunters."

He let out a malicious laugh.

"Tell me, how would you like to lead this group of hunters, as the Grand Inquisitor?" He offered.

She took that into consideration. That would probably make her the Empire's third-in-command, behind only Vader and Palpatine himself. But did she really want that responsibility right now? She was literally only a few months away from turning eighteen, and the thought of managing something like that wasn't something you wanted.

"I don't think I want that just yet," she answered Palpatine. "All I want is some Star Destroyers and a task force, so I can do your bidding, my Lord. But I want assurance that I will be next in line for that position."

"Then it will be done," Palpatine said. "The rank of Grand Inquisitor will go to someone else for now, then, and you will now be known as First Sister."