One moment from Darth Vader (2017) #8 captures the early days of the Empire in a way few stories do. The Jedi had just fallen, the Imperial system was still adjusting, and Darth Vader himself was carving out his role as the Emperor’s right hand. In the middle of this, an Imperial Security Bureau major came face-to-face with Vader for the first time. What followed was a clash between routine military procedure and the overwhelming reality of the Sith Lord’s power.
Jocasta Nu’s Dangerous Return
After the purge of the Jedi, most survivors disappeared into hiding. Jocasta Nu, the former Chief Librarian of the Jedi Archives, made a bold choice. She went back to the destroyed Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Her mission was not to hide but to recover the database of Force-sensitive children, a seed she believed could one day rebuild the Jedi Order.
She entered the Temple with her astromech droid B2. Things went smoothly until Coruscant security forces approached her ship. To protect Jocasta, B2 detonated the vessel, killing three officers in the blast. The explosion drew immediate attention from Imperial authorities.
An Imperial Security Bureau major arrived to oversee the investigation. To him, it looked like a simple bombing case. His men collected debris, scanned for traces, and concluded that rhydonium fuel had been turned into an explosive device. Their theory was that insurgents planned to target another part of the city but set it off prematurely.
Then investigators uncovered a piece of wreckage with the Jedi emblem. Some officers dismissed it as graffiti, but regulations demanded that even the smallest Jedi connection be reported. The major followed the rules, forwarding the finding to someone whose name sounded strange and unfamiliar at the time: Darth Vader.
Vader Steps In
Vader received the report while meditating and left immediately for the ISB office. When he arrived, the major wasn’t even sure how to address him. The exchange went like this:
Major: “We’re finished with our preliminary investigation, ah… do you have a rank? I’m not sure how I should address you, Darth, or—”
Vader: “Lord.”
Major: “Ah. Fair enough.”
The major then delivered his conclusion. He explained the blast as a failed bombing attempt and labeled the Jedi insignia as nothing more than a calling card. In his mind, Vader’s role was only to observe. He reminded Vader that he was the trained investigator, and regulations required him to handle this situation.
Vader responded not with more words but with action. He raised his hand, and the broken pieces of Jocasta’s starfighter floated into the air. Before the major’s eyes, Vader reassembled the ship and its droid B2 with the Force. The message was clear: a Jedi had been here.
The major scrambled for excuses, saying they had only just begun the reconstruction and would have reached the same conclusion with more time. Vader refused to listen. He ordered the major to deploy search teams across every level of Coruscant, but told him to leave the Jedi Temple untouched. When the major questioned that choice, Vader stated plainly that the Temple would be his responsibility.
Somehow The Major Survived
At the start of this issue, Vader actually nearly killed a colonel during a report, only stopping when Emperor Palpatine ordered him to let go. So it’s not as if Vader was soft or restrained in general—he was already using the Force to punish Imperial officers when he felt challenged.
That makes the major’s survival even more striking. The man openly questioned Vader, dismissed the Jedi evidence, and even tried to reassert his own authority as the investigator. Later in Vader’s career, behavior like that would almost certainly have ended in a broken neck.
The difference came down to context. This was still the first year of the Empire. Vader was powerful, but his role within the Imperial hierarchy wasn’t fully defined yet. Officers didn’t know how to treat him, and Palpatine himself was still shaping how Vader should operate in public. Instead of killing the major outright, Vader used the moment to prove his power beyond argument, reconstructing Jocasta Nu’s ship with the Force. The major survived not because Vader lacked the will to kill him, but because Vader needed to show the truth and let fear grow in a different way.
