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star wars - Why were the Imperials rude to Vader in the beginning of A New Hope?


It was my understanding that Vader was the second in command of the Emperor in the Empire.


However in the beginning of the movie one of the generals taunts Vader that his abilities in the Force have not been able to help him find out about the rebel base nor help him retrieve the stolen Death Star plans, before Vader force chokes him for his disturbing lack of faith


After this another guy simply commands Vader to stop it, which he quietly obeys.


After this scene, through out the rest of the movie and the trilogy, they all act appropriately scared of him.


However, what happened in the beginning of the movie? Why were they somewhat rude to Vader? Were the generals of equal status to him? Or higher in the chain of command? Vader was still considered a powerful person, they should at least have been scared of him.



Answer






  • Vader is outside the chain of command. He's not in charge of the military, even if he's a powerful member of Palpatine's inner circle.



    • Also, whether he's the second most powerful or not is kind of hard to determine, because (by Emperor's design) power in the Imperial top is a pyramid, not a well-ordered set. Palpatine intentionally set up different competing power centers, as checks-and-balances against anyone conspiring against him (Vader; Xisor; Council; Military-industrial heads; Emperor's Hands; senior military officers; Moffs; Inquisitors are just some of the poles vying for power under him).




  • And, likely, outside their personal political camps (and high level brass, especially in an autocracy, is inherently a set of political enemies, aiming to gain more power). We can see that clearly shown in New Disney Canon novel "Tarkin", and there's merely 5 years after Clone Wars ended.





  • Not everyone is aware of Vaders personal Force-fueled power. We see in New Disney Canon novel "The Sith Lords", where most people have very little clue of just what The Chosen One Creepy Anakin is capable of. There don't seem to be many witnesses left once he's done demolishing opponents (also seen in Tarkin)




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