Vader's second chance

Chapter 36

Vader and Anakin co-piloted a small republic ship onto the surface of Geonosis, with the Sith Lord bringing a bag. Anakin points to it. "What's in there?"
Vader opens it to reveal dozens of thermal detonators. "The plan."
Anakin smiles. "This is where the fun begins."

Sneaking into the base was embarrassingly easy. All they had to do was throw a rock to distract the droids guarding the door. It was sad. Sneaking through the factory, Anakin scoffs when he hears two droids arguing over serial numbers. "I know the federation was cheap, but this is pathetic."
"Tell me about it. Worst quality I've ever seen." They make sure to place thermal detonators every few dozen feet.

They stand near the ship overlooking the factory. "That was too easy. Care to do the honors?" Vader extends a mechanical hand holding the detonator.
Anakin takes it with a smile. "With pleasure." Pressing the button, a massive explosion erupts from the factory, reducing it to nothing but scrap and rubble. "Now that's satisfying." With eveything said and done, they left the planet, the factory burning behind them.

Back on the ship, they laugh together. "That was amazing. I could get used to blowing up the CIS' stuff."
Vader nods. "It's a good feeling." The holoprojector beeps with a recorded message. Vader accesses the message and a Nightsister is seen, seemingly in a panic. "Battle droids have started invading the planet! We're being overrun!" The image becomes fuzzy. "Cutting off ——municat——- help!" The holoprojector goes dark and the force users get into their pilot seats, one with an prominent scowl.

Hyperspace was not fast enough, not for Vader. When they finally exited hyperspace in Imperial space, it was a mess. There was not ten feet without a vulture droid, with command ships hovering outside the atmosphere to dispatch more by the dozens. It was like the entire Seperatist fleet was here. "There's a communication code in the holoprojector, labeled Tanalorr. Call it, tell them we need reinforcements before we pass through the blockade." Anakin nods goes to send the message while Vader dodges and weaves, taking out vulture droids as he goes down.

Landing was a nightmare, what with the droid armies coating the landscape. Vader's desperation forced them into an emergency crash landing. Getting out, they find Acolytes and sparse Purge Troopers holding the line. Vader runs to a Commander Trooper. "Status report."
Still firing, the Trooper responds. "Several dreadnoughts and a lucrehulk exited light speed a few hours ago. A Nightsister managed to send through a message before they cut off the comms, but they've just been dumping droids on us. We've barely been able to keep up. We need a miracle." A blaster bolt nails him in the helmet, knocking him to the ground. Thankfully his helmet held up.

"You alright soldier?"
The Trooper nods. "Fine sir."
"Good, because you're about to witness that miracle." He walks towards the droid army, simply leaving out of the way of incoming blaster bolts with a scowl. Curious, the commander stupid orders a cease fire. Vader stops a short way away from the enemy lines. "I am a benevolent ruler. Leave, or die. This is your first, last, and only warning."
Apparently the droids were not up for diplomacy. "Open fire!"
Vader's scowl deepens. "Have it your way."

Igniting his saber, he dodges, deflects and repels every blaster bolt aimed in his direction. Then he goes on the offensive. He crushes an AAT into a ball and throws it through the droid ranks, demolishing whole rows of them. Every deflected bolt was aimed with purpose, right through a droids processor. Eventually, he brought out his trump card. Force lightning. Granted, when he had his suit, his options were limited with this ability, only able to do it one way. But now, at his physical prime, he was unstoppable. He summoned the force lightning in a grand combination of chain lightning, force tempest and force storm, the energy hitting the droids and arcing between them, with Vader putting every ounce of his will and anger and hate into the attack until every droid he could see was nothing but smouldering scrap metal.

Looking back at his people, he is met with many, many expressions of shock and awe. He hears thudding and turns back to see a spider droid coming over the horizon. "Attack!"
The Purge Troopers, with their training, were the first to react. "For the Empire!"
"Watch those wrist rockets!"
The Acolytes and Inquisitors followed quickly after. "Glory to the Empire!"

What followed was nothing short of a massacre. Nightsisters joined the fight, using their magick to attack and quickly disappear, and Nightbrothers brought their brute strength and feral fighting to the battle. Various fauna even fought with them, a green glow in their eyes. At one point, cocoons dropped living corpses to the ground. Disturbing, but none the less helpful. No droid came within miles of the capital. And after a long and arduous battle, several Imperial Star Destroyers came out of hyperspace, and whoever was in charge decided that this wasn't worth it, and retreated. It was an absolute victory. With the cleanup and funerals in progress, Vader marches towards the capital to make sure everyone is ok. No younglings we're hurt, and the civilians were protected. And Talzin was ok.

The two rulers sat together, wallowing in the great losses the battle had wrought. "...is this what happened to my people?"
Vader nods solemnly. "Something along those lines. Only you died, along with a vast majority of Dathomir. You posed a threat to Sidious plans. He didn't like that."
"Vader!" Padme storms into the room, breaking the sad atmosphere.
The two rulers look up at her in shock. "Padme, what are you doing here?"
She checks both of them over, like they were children that got hurt playing. "Anakin told me what happened. Is everyone ok?"
Vader nods. "For the most part. Considering the size of the army they sent here, casualties could be considered minimal. But none the less tragic."
Sadness shows on Padme's face. "That's awful. I am so sorry this happened."
Talzin shakes her head and rests a hand on Padme's shoulder. "It is not your fault young one. You could not have known."

Seeing Padme now, after such an incident, an idea forms in his mind. "Padme, we need your help."
Padme's resolve hardens. "What do you need?"
"I'm a Grandmaster, Talzin is a ruler, but you are a politician. And this is an opportunity. We can gain support from the wider galaxy with the right words. Think you could organise something?"
"Consider it done."

(Video explaining the force lightnings)

https://youtu.be/XwF7zgyocDc