(3rd Person POV)
In Palpatine's room, Darth Vader is currently Force-choking an Imperial Colonel who has spoken out of line.
"Lord Vader. Release him," Palpatine says, so Vader drops him.
"Thank you for your report, Colonel. I hope your division will show improved performance in the weeks to come. You may go."
The Colonel walks out of the office while holding his neck. He feels not only fear at almost dying, but also shame.
"My friend, at times, I think you might kill every being in the Galaxy. With the Jedi gone, very few opponents remain who are worthy of our skill and power. It can be... deadening, I know. We are surrounded by lesser beings who deserve only our hate, our contempt. I feel these things too, Vader, and this is good. These emotions open a door to the great power of the Dark Side. Nothing is more natural than surrendering to that power. Death, pain, rage... these are the tools of the Sith. But I offer a warning. Fall too deep, and the relationship turns. You become the tool, and they... your masters. Think on this, my apprentice. I do not wish to rule over a galaxy of the dead."
"Yes, Master," Vader says and walks out of the office as well.
Vader reflects on Palpatine's words. And to his surprise, he finds that his master is correct. He has been growing more powerful as his fear, anger and especially his hate have become more potent. But there might be a chance for him to lose himself in this. He sees weakness everywhere he goes and hates it with every single charred fibre of his being. He wishes to destroy weakness, starting with himself. That's why he has been pushing himself the most; however, when he's confronted with an officer who has nothing to show for his station and is only interested in political power, he can't help but choke the life out of him.
He has been feeding on the Dark Side for a while now. He is not addicted, but he is not willing to find himself in a position that he is. He will never allow himself to be a slave to another. Not even the Dark Side.
As Vader walks through the halls, he feels something off. He changes direction and goes to his room. He sits down and starts to meditate, making sure of what it is that he just felt.
.
On Coruscant, in the former Jedi Temple, a door of a statue opens, revealing a secret passage. And out of there walks Jocasta Nu. The Lead Archivist knows all the secret passages and hidden paths available in the Jedi Temple. To walk into the Archives like this, during a time when Jedi are the most hunted species in the galaxy, takes a lot of courage. However, her goal is too important; she must succeed.
"By the light ... what have they done? It was... it was so beautiful here."
*Tic Tic Tic*
Her astromech droid Beetoo contacts her.
"Beetoo? What is it? I've infiltrated the Temple. It's lightly guarded. The beasts must believe they've already stripped everything of value. Fools. I should be back to you soon, and we can leave the planet. Why are you calling me?"
[BWOOP BLEET BRRP]
"They found you? Who found you?" Jocasta asks.
[BLEET BLEET!]
"Thank you for informing me, Beetoo. I will adjust my plans accordingly."
.
Outside the door of the hangar, where Beetoo is guarding Jocasta's Delta-7B Aethersprite-class light interceptor. The Underground Police have located the hangar after their sensor grid detected unusual energy readings from within.
"This is a waste of time," one of them complains.
"What do you mean? Sensor grid picked up a weird energy readout down here, so we're checking it out," the second one responds.
"Uh-huh. And you know it'll just be a fluctuation in the city's power couplings or something like that. Why not send a repair droid? Maybe a technician. Not a security force. We've got real work to do, you know?" the first one says.
"You know why. Higher-ups are worried about some sort of insurgency getting going. It's a new Empire, we don't want anything to happen. It'd look bad. If anything unusual occurs, we investigate it," the second officer says and finally enters the clearance code, causing the hangar door to open slowly.
"Please. Coruscant is the most heavily secured planet in the galaxy. No one's gonna start any trouble here. I mean it'd be suicide."
*KRBOOOOOOOMMM*
In that moment, Beetoo plugs into Jocasta's interceptor's engine and detonates the ship, causing an explosion that is supposed to destroy all evidence of Master Nu's presence on Coruscant.
.
Meanwhile, Darth Vader is deep in meditation, having entered the Dark Side, and sees the usual pinkish-red lighting raining down from the dark clouds above, while floating above the abyssal-coloured water below. Around him, he sees light blue butterflies floating about, reminding him that the light side is still present and very much alive. He has already started to learn how to interpret these things better, so when he sees one of the butterflies very close to him, flying just above his head, dodging the black tendrils of malice he releases unconsciously, he knows what it means... A Jedi is close by.
He opens his eyes and stands up, walking out of his office and towards the lower levels of Coruscant.
*beep beep*
"What is it?" he asks.
"I am sorry to disturb you, my Lord, but I couldn't find you.] His assistant tells him.
"I am on my way to the Imperial Security Bureau. Speak."
[I see. That's good, my Lord. We have just received a report from the Imperial Security Bureau. An incident in the city's lower levels. A possible connection to the Jedi.]
"Tell them, I'm already on my way. And have everything prepared on Level 824, 502, 33 and 8. And be sure to station a group of guards nearby."
[At once, my Lord.] The assistant says from the comms.
Vader doesn't take much longer and is already at the ISB laboratory, where the Major is waiting for him.
"Darth Vader, I presume?" the man asks with his hands behind his back.
"Where is it?" Vader asks.
"This way. We have collected all the pieces and are in the process of having them assembled," the Major says, leading Vader to a platform overlooking the hundred thousand pieces below.
"We're finished with our preliminary investigation, ah... do you have a rank? I'm not sure how I should address you. Darth, or-"
"Lord."
"Ah, fair enough. We believe it was a bomb. Our working theory is that it was originally intended to be used in a more target-rich part of the city. Its builders detonated it prematurely when a Corsucant Security Force Patrol discovered them. The Jedi insignia was part of a calling card - a bit of rabble-rousing graffiti, if you will."
"You are wrong," Vader declares, already having pieced all of the rubble back together in his head and knowing what it is.
"Wrong? Lord Vade, I am a trained investigator with years of experience. I reported this incident to you because regulations required it, but that does not mean you can tell me how to do my job," the Major says.
Vader ignores him and uses the Force to start piecing the thousands of pieces back together.
"Be present if you must, observe. I will not fight it. But remember, you are here as a courtesy."
"No... You are."
In the air, he has finished assembling the different pieces back together to show the rough shape of the Delta-7B Aethersprite-class light interceptor and a droid next to it. This, in turn, makes the Major swallow once.
"Lord Vader... we were only getting started. In time, I'm sure we would have-"
"Do you know what is worse than incompetence?"
"I-"
"Arrogant incompetence — when someone is bad at their job but convinced they're a genius."
"I-"
"There is no time. A Jedi is on the planet. Take your teams, search every level. Avoid only the former Jedi Temple," Vader orders and walks away.
"The Temple? But if a Jedi is here, it seems likely they might head there. Surely someone should search it?" the Major asks.
"Someone will. And Major."
"Yes, Lord Vader? Kakkk..."
Vader Force chokes the man, striking fear into his heart.
"Talk to me like that again, and I will present the Emperor your pieces similarly to the interceptor down there," Vader says and drops the Major again.
.
Meanwhile, Jocasta Nu has made it through the temple without being seen. She observed the Grand Inquisitor going through the archives and was tempted to fight him. Her common sense prevailed in the end, and she didn't do it, instead prioritising the mission. She uses the Force to move a few archives around, triggering a secret door hidden behind the bookcase. She enters a secret vault containing numerous relics from across history, which the Jedi Order has collected. As she walks in, she is greeted by a droid.
{Master Archivist Jocasta Nu. You have returned at last.}
"I have Cator. Is it safe?" she asks.
Of course, I have kept my watch. Everything is exactly as you left it.}
"Good, it's still here. Thank the light."
{Of course, Master Nu. As I said, all remains safe. I know my duty. Even during the battle in the temple... I stayed here, guarding these treasures.}
"I know. You have done well, and I will ask you to continue your vigil for some time to come. The Sith have taken power in the galaxy. It will take generations for the Jedi to return in force to depose them... perhaps longer. But return we will, especially now that I have this. The Order's database of every Force-sensitive child we knew of in the galaxy, as of just before the purge. A seed, from which we will grow again," Jocasta says and places the datacard in a secret compartment.
"Goodbye. Thank you for your service. If fate wills it, we will see each other again."
{Of course. May the Force be with you.}
Jocasta walks out of the vault and makes her way through the corridors of the Archives again. She sees the Grand Inquisitor again and tries to restrain herself from confronting him. As she wants to leave, she sees him callously throwing away a book and is overcome by rage. She leaps down from the corridor and onto the table, igniting her lightsaber and pointing it at the Grand Inquisitor.
"Get your filthy hands off my books," Jocasta growls.
The Grand Inquisitor raises his arms in surprise. How fortunate that the person they were looking for the most arrives at their doorstep.
"Who are you, and how dare you defile this sacred place?" she asks.
"Why, Jocasta, don't you recognise me?" the Inquisitor asks with a cruel smile. "After every time you denied my requests for access to the higher archives... the satisfaction you took in preventing me from learning the deep secrets of our Order, you don't even know who I am?"
"You... you are a Jedi?" Jocasta asks, shocked.
"I was. Now, I am an Inquisitor. The Grand Inquisitor, in fact."
"Then you are a traitor. You have even less right to the knowledge in these Archives than I had imagined. Prepare to meet a traitor's end," Jocasta says and raises her lightsaber.
"A traitor's end. Yes. I like that. But perhaps you have not heard, Master Archivist. These days... the Jedi are the traitors!"
*TSSSCHHHHH*
The Grand Inquisitor slashes his lightsaber against Jocasta Nu and forces her to block.
"SITH!" she exclaims as she sees the red lightsaber.
"No. Not yet. And after I have seen true darkness in the form of Vader, perhaps never. But close enough," he says.
*VROOOOOOOM*
He slashes his lightsaber through the air, attacking Jocasta. He would be enough to defeat her, as Jocasta is not a physical fighter at first. She guards the knowledge, that's her job and nothing else. She blocks another strike and jumps through the air.
"There is such power in the Dark Side, Jocasta. Such strength to be found in fury. And I have so much fury."
"But why? Why would you betray your Order? Your brothers and sisters in the Force?" she asks and jumps up to a corridor.
"What brothers and sisters? The Jedi took me when I was small, and never showed me anything but the Light Side of the Force. I never felt at ease here. Never felt right. I always felt that something was being denied to me. Now, at last, that void has been filled with the purity of the Dark Side. But, back then, I thought perhaps I could find what I was missing in these Archives, and you would not let me look."
Jocasta uses Force Push to smash the Grand Inquisitor against the wall. As these two are fighting and absorbed in their discussion, they don't realise that the true darkness is approaching and the invisible hand is closing in on the Jedi Archivist's neck. Her vanity of not being able to leave when seeing the Grand Inquisitor handling her books has already placed the noose around her neck. She simply doesn't know it yet.