User:Jensaarai/Exar Kun

'''Same basic rule as always: no touchy without my go ahead. I welcome suggestions on the talk page, but please leave the article itself alone. I know I have probably made a whole laundry list of typos and I will get to them.''' Jensaarai 09:36, January 25, 2011 (UTC)

Opening
"He was meant to root out the Rebels, not give them hope. His sacrifice will only inspire them&hellip;"

- Emperor Palpatine

Galen Marek was a powerful Force-sensitive born on Kashyyyk during the Dark Times to Jedi survivors Mallie and Kento Marek. His mother died defending her family from Trandoshan Slavers, and his father was executed by Darth Vader after they were discovered. Marek himself was abducted by the Dark Lord and taken on as his secret apprentice. Given the code name Starkiller by Vader, Marek forgot his life with his parents, his earliest memories being his tutoring under Vader. The Sith Lord's brutal training regime forged Starkiller into a powerful Force-wielder, and Starkiller was utilized by Vader as an assassin, dispatching the Dark Lord's rivals and enemies. To aid in his missions, he was provided with Cloaking device-equipped light transport, the Rogue Shadow, along with a pilot, and the personal holodroid, PROXY. PROXY became Starkiller's only constant companion and friend, despite the former's programming to continually attack him with lethal force, part of Darth Vader's training regime. The pilot position on the Rogue Shadow had a high turnover rate, as they were either killed in the field or executed by Vader.

As Starkiller's training neared completion, Vader set him with his first test; to hunt down and kill the Jedi survivor Rahm Kota. He also aquainted himself with his new pilot, Captain Juno Eclipse. While Starkiller defeated Kota, he failed to kill him, though Starkiller concealed this from Vader. Dispatched on a variety of other Jedi hunting missions by the Dark Lord, Starkiller completed them with brutal efficiency, all the while growing closer to Juno Eclipse. Finally, Starkiller was summoned by Vader to fulfill his purpose; help Darth Vader assassinate Emperor Palpatine, Vader's own Sith master. However, it was in truth a ruse; Palpatine had discovered Starkiller's existance and ordered Vader to execute him. Starkiller was impaled and spaced, though his body was collected by Vader's droids.

Starkiller was taken to Vader's science vessel, the Empirical, and revived and rebuilt. Awakening from six months of unconsciousness, he was given a new mission by Darth Vader; to create an alliance of Imperial dissidents and rebels to distract the Emperor, allowing Vader and Starkiller to catch him unawares. With PROXY's help, Starkiller escaped the Empirical, rescuing Juno Eclipse while at it, she having been branded a traitor due to her association with Starkiller. Starkiller kept Juno in the dark as to his reason for gathering the rebels, though she became a full participant in it's completion. Their first action was to retrieve Rahm Kota, to obtain his contacts and connections. The now depressed Kota, having been blinded during his duel with Starkiller, didn't recognize him, and joined his entourage. As they went about created the Rebel Alliance, Starkiller became conflicted, growing close to his allies while becoming increasingly disillusioned with the Empire, and he began to consider earnestly leading the Rebels against the Empire, abandoning the Sith. However, before he could take any such action, Vader sprang his trap.

When the Rebel leaders were gathered on Corellia to officially declare rebellion against the Empire, Darth Vader arrived with the Imperial military at his heel and captured all the major players. He revealed to Starkiller that his entire mission had been a sham; nothing more than a tactic to gather all the rebels in one place so as to bring them down quickly. Vader also revealed that he had no intention of using Starkiller to assassinate the Emperor, and moved to execute him. PROXY stepped in and attacked Vader, allowing his master to escape before being disabled. With this final betrayal, Starkiller was finished with the Sith and the Empire. Retaking his birth name, Galen Marek decided to rescue the rebel leaders. Using the Force to track them to the incomplete Death Star I, Galen and Juno kissed for the first time before he leapt into the superstructure. Battling his way to the Emperor's observation dome where the rebels were being held, Galen engaged Darth Vader in a Lightsaber duel, defeating the Sith Lord. Palpatine gleefully offered Marek the chance to execute Vader and replace him as Palpatine's apprentice. While Marek struggled with the decision, Kota escaped from the guards, stole Palpatine's lightsaber and attacked the Emperor, though Palpatine easily fended him off. However, this prompted Marek to attack Palpatine. Marek refused Palpatine's command to execute him, and give in to his own darker nature, instead sacrificing his life to save the rebels, who were extracted by Juno.

Galen Marek died in a massive explosion of Force energy brought on by his battle with Palpatine. The severely injured Palpatine and Vader found his body, lamenting that his sacrifice had made him a martyr to the Rebel Alliance. In honor of his sacrifice, the Alliance took on Marek's family crest as their emblem. Darth Vader, now aware of Palpatine's desire to replace him with a more able apprentice, collected Galen Marek's body and cloned him, creating numerous aberrant monstrousities and two stables clones, Starkiller and the Dark Apprentice.

Early Years
"I sense someone far more powerful nearby. Where is your Master?"

- Darth Vader

Galen Marek was the son of Kento and Mallie, both Jedi and survivors of Order 66 who had traveled the galaxy in search of safe haven until they met the fiercely loyal Wookiees of Kashyyyk. His mother was killed while defending Kashyyyk from Separatist-hired Trandoshan slavers, leaving her husband to raise Galen alone. As a consequence of her death, the Empire became aware of Kento's existence.

Not long after the onset of the Great Jedi Purge, during an Imperial attack on Kashyyyk, Darth Vader landed on the planet in a shuttle on his own mission to hunt the rogue Jedi. Kento met him with fierce resistance, though Vader proved stronger. As Vader was about to deal the finishing blow to Kento inside his hut, his lightsaber was wrenched from his hand. He turned in defense to find a young boy holding his blade, whom Vader sensed had an incredible affinity for the Force.

After the Dark Lord killed the boy's father, the Stormtrooper commander leading the assault arrived. Mistakenly thinking that the child intended to attack Vader with his own weapon, he directed his men to kill him. Vader quickly summoned his saber from the child's grasp and deflected their blasts, killing them to eliminate witnesses of the boy's existence. He then brought the young Galen with him off Kashyyyk and trained him in secret to become his apprentice.

Training Under Vader
"You were weak when I found you. Now your hatred has become your strength."

- Darth Vader



Ensconsed onboard Vader's incomplete flagship, the Executor, and given the codename "Starkiller", the apprentice repressed all the memories of his previous life and spent the next two decades training as a Sith under Darth Vader's supervision, with the ultimate goal of standing at Vader's side against Palpatine. Darth Vader was not a kind guardian, and his brutal training methods bordered on torture. He taught Starkiller to draw on his hate and rage for power, while giving him training in only the basics before forcing the apprentice to develop his own methods through sparring matches and brutal tests. Starkiller was provided with a lightsaber-training holodroid, PROXY, who was capable of credibly imitating Jedi, and programmed to regularly attack Starkiller with lethal intent to keep him sharp; another brutal training regimen devised by Vader. Despite this, PROXY develops a close relationship with his master, providing the Force adept with enough compassion to stay sane.

Despite Vader's cruel treatment, some of the worst horrors Starkiller endured were actually self-inflicted. On one occasion, Starkiller had PROXY chain him immobile in the dark and deprive him of nourishment until he had successfully assembled a lightsaber through telekinesis. While the exercise had been a failure, Starkiller felt it had strengthened him. In meditation, Starkiller took to staring at his ignited lightsaber blade, using the red coloration to make himself think of anger and carnage and draw on the Dark side of the Force. However, Starkiller remained endlessly frustrated by his inability to experience visions of the future, and as such, any break from usual routine would surprise him.

Starkiller took on the role of Vader's personal assassin and enforcer, dispatching problem individuals throughout the Imperial military and government with vicious enthusiasm. Starkiller personally developed into a staunch Imperialist, viewing these assassinations as a form of service to the Empire. To this end, Starkiller was provided with a custom-designed ship, the Rogue Shadow, and an Imperial officer assigned to serve as his pilot, though there was evidently a high turnover for such individuals, as they were either killed in the field or executed by Vader. His first pilot was a dour old sergeant who, according to Starkiller, flew the Rogue Shadow like an oil barge. One of his missions with this pilot involved hunting down a treacherous Imperial aide on Malastare who had run up gambling debts. With PROXY's help, Starkiller had infiltrated the aide's security installation in Port Pixelito, and crawled through the ventilation ducts to his target's private chambers. Starkiller Force-choked the aide while he worked at his desk. The sergeant was later executed for tardiness. Another mission took him to Duro, where the local Imperial despot had grown overly ambitious. Starkiller developed an unending dislike for All Terrain Scout Transports during the mission.



When engaging Vader in a sparring match in 3 BBY, Starkiller expected it to be business as usual afterwards. However at the end of it, Vader "knighted" Starkiller, officially recognizing him for the first time as his apprentice. He declared Starkiller's training complete, and dispatched him on his first test; the surviving Jedi Master Rahm Kota was attacking an Imperial shipyard above Nar Shaddaa, and Vader wanted Starkiller to kill Kota, bringing his lightsaber back as proof of kill. Vader also left Starkiller with orders to leave no witnesses and kill everyone, including the Imperial troops, an order the Imperialist Starkiller found disturbing. On his way out to his ship, Starkiller was ambushed by PROXY, who was using his Obi-Wan Kenobi combat module. Starkiller quickly defeated PROXY, though he expressed surprise at PROXY's use of such an old module, one he thought erased. As they approached the Rogue Shadow, Starkiller awkwardly met with his new pilot, Juno Eclipse. The main reason for Starkiller's surprise was that he had never had a female pilot before, and he afterwards became convinced it was some sort of test from Vader.

Rahm Kota
"A boy? Months of attacking Imperial targets, and Vader sends a boy to fight me?"

- Rahm Kota



Departing the Executor for Nar Shaddaa, Starkiller was updated on Rahm Kota by PROXY. Kota was a respected Jedi general during the Clone Wars, but while he was a military genius, he considered Clone troopers unfit for battle, instead relying on his own militia. When Order 66 was issued, there were no clones in his squad to obey, and Kota was able to disappear. Starkiller quickly deduced that his primary motivation for coming out of hiding and attacking the Empire was to attract attention; he wanted to be found. Upon arrival at Nar Shaddaa, Starkiller became increasingly troubled by Vader's order to "leave no witnesses", as many of his eventual victims were loyal Imperial citizens whose only error was to cross his path. Starkiller satisfied himself that this was yet another test from Vader, and steeled himself. As the Rogue Shadow, guided by Juno Eclipse's deft hand approached the TIE Fighter Construction Facility Kota was attacking, Starkiller centered himself in the violence and conflict from within. As they approached one of the facility's hangars, Starkiller activated the Shadow's weapons systems and destroyed the hangar defenses. Leaping out of the ship right into the thick of the battle within the hangar, Starkiller's cut down the fighters within with brutal efficiency, quickly clearing the hangar. The survivors retreated through the heavy blast door at the entrance, Starkiller pursuing.

Informed by Juno via-comlink that the command center had been stormed by Kota's militia, Starkiller made that his destination. With tactical updates from Juno, Starkiller carved his way through the facility, all the while the warring forces became progressively more alarmed by his presense. The militia forces thought he was some kind of Shadow trooper, while the Imperial's merely thought him a Jedi. The militia forces became the primary focus of his rage, due to their disloyalty to the Empire. However, he noted that many of the militia soldiers were equipped with explosives, and had been setting them throughout the facility, motivating Starkiller to hurry before the entire facility was destroyed. Just then, the facility was crippled, and began falling out of the sky. Starkiller picked up the pace, now unceremoniously attacking his foes with telekinesis, either jamming their weapons or simply sweeping them aside. Reaching the entrance to the command center, Starkiller took a moment to center himself before entering.

Within the command center, Starkiller encountered Rahm Kota. Both were surprised by what they saw; Starkiller had been taught that Jedi were soft from a life of privelage, and hadn't expected the hardened soldier that Kota was; while Kota had been expecting Darth Vader to come personally, not to send "a boy". Starkiller opened the contest with a bolt of Force lightning, which Kota deflected, albeit with difficulty. Starkiller followed up by charging, cutting at Kota's throat. The Jedi ducked and cut at the Darksider's legs, which Starkiller evaded by tucking in and flipping. Kicking himself off the nearest wall, Starkiller came on again, chaining a telekinetic blast into his attack. Kota deflected the push, the rebounding energy forcing both combatants apart. Readjusting his tactics, Starkiller circled more cautiously, cutting apart chairs with his lightsaber and blasting their fragments at the Jedi, attempting to provoke an attack. Kota suddenly charged, his speed and determination forcing Starkiller to rely on tight Form III defensive sequences to fend him off. Unable to penetrate this defense, Kota backed off and readjusted his style, fighting more slowly and deliberately, but chaining in sudden and devastatingly quick strikes. As Kota's guard began to slip, Starkiller countered.



Starkiller focused entirely on the duel, ignoring all other factors as he hammered Kota. He came to the conclusion that while Kota was wily, strong and possessed certain unique moves, his age and his rejection of the Dark Side of the Force left him inferior. Kota twice attempted to regain the offensive, but only tired himself out, and the Jedi began taking hits. Seeing that he was being driven back, Kota broke off and complimented Starkiller's skills before telekinetically wrenching the entire command center free of the shipyard and sending it plummeting into Nar Shaddaa's atmosphere. Finally, Starkiller seized the initiative, telekinetically thrashing Kota with chunks of debris before physically assaulting him and throwing him to the ground. Before Kota could regain his feet, Starkiller was on him, initiating a bladelock. As their blades ground against one another, Kota experienced a Force vision of Starkiller's future, expressing shock at seeing himself as part of it. Unconcerned, Starkiller drove Kota's own blade into his eyes, blinding him. As Kota stumbled backwards, Starkiller suddenly experienced his own vision, seeing his forgotten father in Kota's place telling him to run. Pulling back, fearing that Kota was using a Mind trick of some sort, he gave Kota the opening he needed to escape. Kota dropped his lightsaber and unleashed a telekinetic blast that shattered the viewports of the command center. The drastic pressure change sucked out Kota, who dropped spead-eagled into the Nar Shaddaa atmosphere.

Starkiller retrieved Kota's lightsaber before himself dropping out through the shattered viewports, landing on top of the Rogue Shadow as it passed underneath. While satisfied that the gravely-wounded and blinded Kota would no longer be a problem, Starkiller was disappointed by his failure to actually kill the Jedi. Darth Vader was satisfied with Starkiller's performance, but felt that his apprentice remained unfocused and easily distracted, drawing Kota's lightsaber on him to illustrate his point.

Trial of Skill
"Your time is over, I am the future of the Sith!"

- Starkiller to Darth Desolous



In order to develop his skills and focus, Starkiller is ordered by Darth Vader to go to the Coruscant Jedi Temple to continue his training. Juno Eclipse lands the Rogue Shadow just outside the front entrance of the Temple, and Starkiller disembarks, only to be confronted by the local Imperial garrison, which revealed that Emperor Palpatine had placed the Jedi Temple off-limits to the general public. Starkiller had little patience for this, and attacked the troopers. Even with highly trained Imperial guardsman reinforcing them, the garrison troopers were no match for Starkiller's unrestrained destructive capabilities and tactical know-how. Battling his way through the front entryway, he picked his way through the rubble into the main entrance hall of the Jedi Temple, clearing out some of the debris at it's rear, opening up the path into the corridors and hallways further in. Following the corridor he cleared, he eventually makes his way to the Jedi Trials Chamber. Inspecting the room, Starkiller experiences a vision of sorts; hearing his fathers voice warning him that he will need all of his skills to survive the upcoming test. While puzzling this out, he is suddenly blasted by a surge of red lightning; an imitation Force attack from a holographic simulacrum of Darth Desolous.

Darth Desolous was an ancient Pau'an Jedi who rebelled against the Order and assumed the mantle of Sith Lord. Leading a violent insurrection, his army was ultimately drawn into a trap and destroyed, while he was killed by the Jedi Council of the day. Due to his powers and reputation, the Jedi Order created a holographic simulation modelled after him for the training of Jedi padawans during their final Trials. Despite the widespread destruction within the Temple during it's ransacking, the simulation remained fully functional, along with several others within the Temple.

The hologram seizes the immediate offensive, all the while gloating about the accomplishments of the original Darth Desolous. However, Starkiller fought back ably, backing the simulacrum up against a statue of Palpatine erected at the head of the hall. Starkiller then telekinetically pushes the hologram up along the front of the statue before leaping up and throwing it back down. Standing on top of the statue, Starkiller destabilizes it before leaping off, crushing the simulacrum beneath it and completing the trial.

With the simulacrum deactivated, Starkiller received a message from Darth Vader, via PROXY's holographic capabilities. Another Jedi had been located; Kazdan Paratus, in hiding on the junkyard world of Raxus Prime. Vader admitted that he considered Paratus to be more powerful than Starkiller, and didn't expect his apprentice to survive, but made it clear that Paratus' defeat would bring him closer to his "destiny". Starkiller affirmed that he would not fail. Unknown to him, Juno Eclipse was eavedropping on the exchange.

Kazdan Paratus
"I do not expect you to survive. But if you destroy him, you'll be one step closer to your destiny."

- Darth Vader

As Raxus Prime was in the Tion Hegemony in the Outer Rim, the trip took a considerable length of time, which gave Starkiller a chance to refresh and research the objectives. However, he was distracted, and frequently had to ask PROXY to repeat mission details that he had missed while deep in thought, and eventually retreated to the onboard meditation chamber to gather his energies. There was little information on Kazdan Paratus, and PROXY was unable to reproduce his image. Paratus was accredited by the files as having considerable skill at droid making, and during the Clone Wars, he was lured out of seclusion to study the CIS droid armies, all the while building his own droids to reinforce his troops. During a disastrous campaign, all his troopers had been killed, forcing Paratus to cobble together his own droid army to fight back. With no troopers in his forces, there was no one to obey Order 66 when it was issued, allowing Paratus to escape. Starkiller was called up to the cockpit by Juno just before arrival. Once within the atmosphere, they began searching for Paratus, finding his imitation Jedi Temple on the surface.



Setting down as close to the Temple as possible, given the treacherous junk-pile landscape, Starkiller disembarked and progressed on foot. He focused entirely on the mission at hand, ignoring all other distractions. Updated by Juno of activity at a downed corvette near his location, Starkiller assumed that Vader's orders to "leave no witnesses" still stood, and attacked the Rodian salvagers, though he ignored most of the droids controlled by the planetary intelligence known as the Core. Having Juno check the local Imperial records for information on the scavengers, while he performed recon. The corvette they were stripping was in Starkiller's path, and would take too long to circumvent, so he attacked. Killing a Rodian sentry and entering the corvette, Starkiller made his way to engineering and activated the remaining engine with a pulse of Force lightning, clearing his path to the Temple. When asked by Juno whether he was creating a distraction or simply attracting attention, Starkiller simply told her to take her pick.

Cautiously ascending to the junk Temple's foyer, Starkiller was attacked by Kazdan Paratus' droid sentries. He made short work of them, being used to duels with a sophisticated droid such as PROXY, and finding Paratus' patchwork droids to be child's play. He cleared the foyer by blasting the droids out of the Temple doors, before being attacked by a massive junk golem. His battle with the golem tore through the junk Temple, eventually reaching Paratus' mock Jedi Council chamber, where Starkiller disabled it. Kazdan Paratus then revealed himself, extricating himself from the golem's chassis, where he had been controlling it. Paratus was an Aleena, a small being, but compensating with a four-limbed mechanical harness on his back. With the limbs offering him extra height and mobility, Paratus was able to wield his Lightsaber pike with deadly skill. The mannequins of the long dead Jedi Council masters activated, revealing themselves to be droids, and Starkiller was momentarily distracted by them.



Paratus lunged at Starkiller, scoring a shallow cut along his forearm before the Darksider countered. With the mobility offered by his mechanical limbs, and his own skill with the Force, Paratus simply outpaced Starkiller, blocking all of his blows with his pike. However, Paratus was more vulnerable to Force lightning without the protection of his droid shell, and Starkiller became concerned that the battle would end before it had truly begun, only to be attacked unawares by one of the Jedi Council masters; the Jedi mannequins were combat ready, equipped with vibroblades and utilizing crude approximations the lightsaber styles practiced by the original individuals. Disarmed by "Plo Koon", Starkiller destroyed the droid with a Force push and reclaimed his lightsaber just in time to deflect another of Paratus' attacks. Dividing his attention between Paratus and the mannequins, he fought back and destroyed them. The replicas of Mace Windu and Coleman Kcaj he dismembered; Kit Fisto he melted; Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi he threw together and blasted out the window; Ki-Adi-Mundi, Saesee Tiin, Agen Kolar and Shaak Ti he destroyed with Force lightning; and Stass Allie he beheaded. He flung the Yoda mannequin at Paratus, who was now distraught and weeping with the deaths of the "masters".

Starkiller then gained the advantage over the mad Jedi. Evading and countering against Paratus' telekinetic assault, Starkiller pursues him up onto the upper supports for the Council chambers windows, parrying a lightsaber slash and deflecting a blast of Force energy back at the Jedi. Paratus retreated to the chamber floor, casting a massive chunk of machinery at Starkiller, who in turn caught it and threw it back, crushing the Jedi underneath it. As Paratus lay dying, he lamented on his failure before expiring in a brilliant flash of Force energy. Starkiller was actually moved to pity by the emotional display, though he quickly repressed it and departed. En route back to the Executor, Starkiller devoted some effort towards repairing Paratus' shattered lightsaber pike, so as to present it as a trophy to Vader, but was unsuccessful and abandoned the effort, instead telekenically disassembling and reassembling his own lightsaber while in meditation. However, his repose was interrupted by Vader's communication via PROXY, who again dispatched Starkiller to the Jedi Temple for further training, despite his apprentice's performance against Paratus.

Trial of Insight
"I know your kind. Confused. Alone. And I will learn what you fear most!"

- Simulacrum of Darth Phobos

When Starkiller arrives at the Jedi Temple, he finds that security had been increased after his first intrusion. Now the soldiers guarding the entrance were reinforced directly by Imperial Senate Sentinel, and the garrison within had snipers incorporated into their ranks. Despite the heightened opposition, Starkiller had little trouble decimating the Imperial ranks, even with the continued reinforcements they recieved from other areas of the Temple. As he exits the main entrance hall, Starkiller experiences another vision; his father's voice warning him not to be blinded by anger. Entering the Jedi Archives, Starkiller clears the chamber. As he finishes, he sees Juno Eclipse at the head of the hall, bent over as if in pain. As Starkiller approaches, "Juno" leaps into the air and transforms into Darth Phobos.

Yet another holographic simulation, Darth Phobos was a powerful Sith Lord who fed off the fears of her enemies, assuming the shape of these horrors through various Force-based illusions. Phobos' literal reign of terror made her the enemy of both the Jedi and her own Sith colleagues, prompting an unprecedented alliance between the two to bring her down. As with Desolous, she left such a long-standing impression on the Jedi that she was "honored" with a holographic simulacrum modelled after her, which Jedi padawans were tested against during their trials. Also like Desolous, her simulation remained intact, despite the widespread destruction within the Jedi Temple.



The hologram's aggressive fighting tactics encouraged Starkiller to adopt more passive methods, though he fought back ably, and the simulation retreated into the shadowed archive shelf-stacks. His vision clouded by the simulacrum's imitation Force abilities, Starkiller prowled the stacks, searching. Fending off the hologram's surprise assault, Starkiller sent it crashing into the bookstacks. As the hologram weakened, it began adopting more desperate tactics, teleporting around the room and projecting illusionary copies of itself to double up on Starkiller. It even attempting disguising itself as Juno Eclipse to make him hesitate, though Starkiller remained unfazed. Sending the Phobos hologram crashing through the bookstacks again, Starkiller advances to deliver the finishing blow, ignoring the hologram's final attempt at dissuasion and running his lightsaber through it's chest.

With his defeat of Darth Phobos, Starkiller had faced his fears and completed his trial of Insight. It is then that Darth Vader appears, speaking via-PROXY. Congradulating Starkiller on his success against Phobos, Vader charges Starkiller with hunting down the former Jedi Council master Shaak Ti on Felucia. Cautioning that Starkiller will need the full power of the Dark Side to defeat her, Vader cuts the link.

Shaak Ti
"You have defeated a tired old man and an outcast. You will not be ready to face the Emperor until you have faced a true Jedi Master."

- Darth Vader



Starkiller barely said a word during the trip to Felucia, instead looming at the back of the cockpit with his hood raised, only speaking to give orders and avoiding all of Juno's attempts to converse. Upon arrival, Starkiller questioned Juno about the emotional disturbance he felt in her. She confided in him her involvement in the Battle of Callos, and how as a consequence of her actions, what was once a verdant jungle world was now dead and barren. Starkiller had read the reports, and assured her that she had followed her orders to the end. Eclipse landed the Rogue Shadow atop one of the massive mushroom grows on Felucia, and Starkiller ordered her to wait while he charged off into the jungle, lightsaber already lit.

Starkiller was quickly engaged by the Felucian natives; an entire race of Force-sensitives who had evidently been trained by Shaak Ti during her hiding on the world. He dealt with them quickly and efficiently, saving his energy for his ultimate target. Starkiller respected Ti's prowess, and her evident intelligence and skill in surviving so long since the end of the Clone Wars. However, he considered her activities on Felucia to be disrupting the natural rhythm of the Force; the flow between the Light and Dark sides. The Felucian natives fought back hard against Starkiller, looking to preserve her "regime". When confronted by a Rancor riding native, he ascended the jungle canopy until he was level with the rider and leapt onto the Rancor. The Felucian resisted Starkiller, though he was quickly brought down, and Starkiller killed the Rancor with a blast of Force lightning. From the vantage of the Rancor's high body, Starkiller saw a landmark in the direction he was travelling; the Felucian village. Using the Force to tame one of the river-dwelling animals, Starkiller travelled by water to the village, occasionally killing Felucians guards along the bank with blasts of Force lightning. Reaching the village, he braced himself against a large standing stone only to discover that it was a massive tooth; the entire village was built atop a colossal living creature. While the Felucian's fled from him, Starkiller made his way towards the village center, finding it to be the maw of a Sarlacc; the entire town was built around a mega-Sarlacc dubbed the "Ancient Abyss" by the Felucians, and awaiting him there was Shaak Ti.

The Jedi Master was perched on one of the concentric gums of the Sarlacc, untouched by either the massive feeding tentacles nor the flexing of teeth, deep in meditation. Starkiller telekinetically ripped a mushroom out of the Sarlacc's skin and hurled it at Ti, who flicked it aside. She stood up, dubbing Vader a coward for sending Starkiller in his place, while Starkiller raised his lightsaber in challenge. Ti opened the duel with a spinning, downwards strike, throwing Starkiller off-balance as he backflipped and blocked. Tearing off his hood as it snagged on one of the Sarlacc teeth, Starkiller could only fend off Ti's assault until he regained his balance. He overleapt her and fell down two layers of gums towards the Sarlacc's maw, before leaping back up. Shaak Ti intercepted him, and her rapid attack prompted him to send a bolt of lightning into the Sarlacc's flesh below them. It's shaking and tremoring caused Ti to loose her footing, and she leapt back from his attack. Starkiller pursued, swinging as he went.



Their fight progressed towards the lower rings of the Sarlacc, with Starkiller slicing off teeth and hurling them at Shaak Ti, or slashing and shocking the flesh beneath to keep the beast quivering underfoot. Ti countered by taking control of the Sarlacc's distributed intelligence and sending it's feeding tentacles after him. As they neared the very center of the pit, digestive byproducts from the Sarlacc's reeking maw made breathing difficult. As they fought on, Ti also lectured Starkiller on Jedi philosophy, to the Sith apprentice's chagrin. As their battle drew to an end, Starkiller drove Ti back into the Sarlacc maw and, expecting her to be devoured, prepared to leave. However, Ti reemerged, perched on one of the Sarlacc's massive tentacle, commanding the Sarlacc to assault Starkiller. Starkiller dodged the first two massive tentacle strikes, climbing onto one of the fleshy masses as it pulled back. However, he was unable to maintain his grip, and nearly fell into the maw, becoming pinned between four tentacles. He blasted them apart with a Force repulse and launched himself back at the ground. When Ti charged off the Sarlacc at him, he deflected her strike and drove her back into the tentacles, blasting the entire mass with a wave of Force lightning.

Shaak Ti managed to regain her feet, but she was already dying. As she expired, Ti stated that Starkiller was nothing but Vader's slave, warning him that Sith always betrayed each other when he declared his loyalty to his master. She then fell into the Sarlacc pit and died, exploding in a massive flash of Force energy. Starkiller quietly left, satisfied that the removal of Shaak Ti's influence would allow the Dark Side to again take hold on Felucia and return life to it's normal rhythms. Starkiller reported his mission's success to Vader, who declared him ready to confront the Emperor with him. Ordered to return to the Executor, Starkiller was congradulated by PROXY for the imminent completion of his "primary programming".

Betrayal and New Mission
"Darth Vader: The Emperor's fleet has arrived. Starkiller: You have lured the Emperor to us. When do we strike? Vader: I did not summon him. (Impales Starkiller) His spies followed you here."

- Darth Vader betrays Starkiller



Starkiller had to suppress a smile as he strode in Darth Vader's chambers. Beyond the viewport, a fleet of Star Destroyers clustered around the incomplete Executor; the Emperor's fleet. When Vader informed him as much, Starkiller assumed that Vader had lured the Emperor to them, and asked when they would strike. Vader corrected him; Palpatine's presense had not been requested, his spies had followed Starkiller there. With that, Vader ignited his lightsaber through his shocked pupil's abdomen, just as the Emperor, communicating via-PROXY, entered the room. Palpatine declared that Vader had forgotten his place, and taking on Starkiller as his apprentice had been an act of treachery. The Emperor demanded Starkiller's death, and after a moment of hesitation, Vader complied, ignoring Starkiller's pleas. The apprentice was thrashed about the chamber and smashed through the viewport into the vacuum of space, to Palpatine's sadistic delight.

While Starkiller passed out, his body was collected from the vacuum by Vader's droids and brought to the Dark Lord's science vessel, the Empirical. While Starkiller's body was rebuilt, he remained unconscious, believing himself dead as he experienced a multitude of visions and memories. When he finally awoke, he was relieved for the end of the visions, but began raging when he realized the nature of his circumstances. He was restrained on a laboratory table, with Darth Vader standing above him. Starkiller was informed by Vader that his "execution" was Palpatine's demand, which forced the Sith Lord's hand. Starkiller was presented with the option of reentering Darth Vader's service, with the assurance that if he refused, he and all witnesses would be destroyed in the laboratory's self-destruction. With no other options, Starkiller grudgingly accepted, and Vader released his restraints.



Darth Vader elaborated that with Palpatine's spies watching his every move, he needed a distraction to divert attention away from him. While the laboratory droids provided him with a new lightsaber, Starkiller suggested an assassination, though Vader dismissed it, as no single act of that kind would gain Palpatine's notice. Instead, Vader made clear that Starkiller would have to raise an army to oppose the Emperor; an alliance of rebels and dissidents. Vader gave Starkiller free rein in how to pursue his objective, leaving only the order that he was to sever all ties to his past, save PROXY, to ensure that no one found out that he served Vader. With a final assurance that the Dark Side was always with Starkiller, Vader cut his transmission, revealing that he was communicating via-PROXY.

PROXY was overjoyed by his master's survival, as it meant that he could still fulfill his primary programming and kill Starkiller himself. Informing Starkiller of their location; aboard the Empirical in the Dominus system; PROXY then hacked into the Empirical's navigation system and set it on a collision course for the Dominus star, and he and Starkiller made their way to the Rogue Shadow. When Starkiller inquired about Juno, PROXY informed him that she was alive and onboard, left in a holding cell after being branded a traitor for her association with Starkiller. As they encountered Imperial forces aboard the dying ship, Starkiller drew his new lightsaber, realizing it was Rahm Kota's former weapon. Despite PROXY's cautions that doing so was contrary to Vader's orders to sever ties with his past, Starkiller made a beeline for Juno's cell and rescued her.

Assuring her that he was leaving the Empire behind, keeping her in the dark about his continued service to Vader, Starkiller brought her along to continue working as his pilot. Explosive bolts severed the umbilical connecting the Rogue Shadow to the Empirical just as they boarded, and Starkiller ordered PROXY to fly the ship away from the science vessel. Juno took control of the ship almost immediately after, Starkiller giving her free rein as to their destination. Once they had escaped, Starkiller shared with her his intention to create a rebel army to oppose the Empire, and his desire to find a teacher to show him the aspects of the Force that Darth Vader couldn't. They resolved to find Rahm Kota, who had survived his duel with Starkiller.

Rescuing Rahm Kota
"Rahm Kota: Nobody fights the Empire and wins, boy. Starkiller: You'd better hope your wrong about that, General."

- Rahm Kota and Starkiller

Starkiller's search for Rahm Kota took him across the galaxy, from his last sighting on Nar Shaddaa to the ancient Sith world Ziost, before he found him on Bespin. Rahm Kota, after his defeat and blinding by Starkiller, had fallen into depression, and had fallen to alchoholism to drown his sorrows. Intercepting an Imperial transmission that Kota had been found, and that the Empire was sending one of it's most dangerous agents to retrieve him, Starkiller was forced to rush to Bespin, approaching Kota in the Vapor Room cantina, masquerading as a Jedi. Rahm Kota was uncooperative, and before Starkiller could reason further with the unkept Jedi, they were attacked by the local stormtrooper garrison, backed by Ugnaught contraptions. For the first time, Starkiller actively engaged the Empire as an enemy, rather than merely killing off possible witnesses. While Kota dived under the table, Starkiller drew his lightsaber and attacked, making the heavily armed and armored Uggernaughts a priority. He disabled one with telekinesis and overloaded the other's electrical systems, killing the pilot and scattering the stormtroopers. Starkiller found himself hampered by the need to avoid harming innocent bystanders, to keep up his Jedi masquerade, though he still intended to use his original landing site to extract Kota.



While Kota eventually got moving, Starkiller hoped that the Jedi could look after himself, be he had his work cut out for him. Cutting through the Vapor Room storeroom, Starkiller didn't hesitate to attack the Imperial forces, making short work of them. Dragging Kota along the series of corridors to the Vapor Room's supply dock, Starkiller expected to meet a heavy Imperial presense, but was unconcerned, planning to board the Rogue Shadow via Force jump. Then he saw the Imperial Shadow Guard waiting at the docks. Killing the guard's stormtrooper escort with blast-deflections, Starkiller warned Juno to stay away from the loading dock, and instead go to the shipping balloon dock. While Starkiller engaged the guardsman, Kota made himself scarse, searching out an alternate escape route, and allowing Starkiller to drop his masquerade and draw on the Dark Side. Blasting the guard back with a telekinetic surge, Starkiller engaged with Force lightning, winning the subsequent energy struggle and blowing the guardsman's corpse off the side of the dock.

Making his way to the balloon dock, and hoping Kota was as well, Starkiller puzzled over the Shadow Guard's identity and affiliation, deducing him to be a servant of Palpatine rather than Vader. While he made short work of the Imperial forces in his path, he was attacked by another guardsman. This one was more able than the first, though Starkiller ultimately dismembered him with a giant fan blade. Arriving at the dock, he found it crowded with stormtroopers and Uggernaughts, led by two Shadow Guardsman. During the engagement, Starkiller's connection to the Force deepened, and he fought on pure reflex. Troopers and Uggernaughts were thrown off the dock or into each other, and Starkiller even brought heavy freight raining down from one of the shipping balloon's above. When his enemies regrouped, Starkiller seized one of the entire shipping balloons and sent it crashing down onto them. As he stood in triumph, Kota appeared.

Kota was unimpressed by Starkiller's victory, feeling that it didn't even begin to dent Palpatine's "infinite" army. However, after Starkiller appealed to his warrior's honor, Kota agreed to join him, saying that he had a contact in the Imperial Senate who could use Starkiller's lightsaber, due to his eagerness to kill stormtroopers. After this rescue, Starkiller starts feeling drawn to the Jedi Temple, and returns for a third time.

Trial of the Spirit


Starkiller's final sojourn to the Jedi Temple begins much the same as his previous visits, though this time the security forces attacked him immediately upon arrival, rather than calling for his surrender. Though the garrison had been further reinforced by the presense of Imperial Jumptroopers, he still had little difficulty cutting them down. Clearing out rubble at the rear of the main entrance hall, Starkiller finds a lower level tunnel. Following it, all the while cutting down any Imperials in his path, he reaches an elevator platform. The elevator ascends to one of the top towers of the Jedi Temple, dispensing Starkiller in the old Jedi Council chamber. Once their, he finds Darth Vader in battle with a Jedi; a vision of Darth Vader's duel with Kento Marek, though this time Kento is victorious. Unaware of the nature of the battle, and ignorant as to the Jedi's identity, Starkiller leapt to his master's aid.

The Jedi attempts to dissuade Starkiller from intervening, encouraging him to turn away from the Dark Side of the Force, but Starkiller counters that the Dark Side is all he has. The Jedi fights ably, but is unable to hold his own against Starkiller's raw power. Evasively leaping about the chamber, the Jedi is intercepted by Starkiller, physically assaulted, telekinetically thrashed about, and blasted with Force lightning before being thrown aside. Starkiller then charges the Jedi as he attempts to rise and runs him through. As the Jedi lay dying, he apologizes to Starkiller before vanishing, and only then does Starkiller realize that this was his father.



Looking for more information on his father, Starkiller has the Rogue Shadow ferry him up to one of the other Temple spires, entering by way of it's external landing platform. Starkiller cuts his way through the Imperial garrison, as well as the Temple's own derelict security systems, before entering the Holocron Vault. Approaching the main holocron, he activates a message left by his father, who assures him that his destiny is indeed in his hands, and that he must complete the Jedi Trials. This triggers a Force vision, and Starkiller is forced to navigate the labyrinth of his own mind before entering into a confrontation with a dark spectre. In a brutal lightsaber duel, Starkiller bashes off the spectre's helm, revealing the face underneath to be his own.

The sight of his own visage causes Starkiller to hesitate, and the spectre seizes the opening, driving Starkiller down to a lower level within the labyrinth. The fight continued on with renewed vigor, and Starkiller only gained the advantage when he drove the dark warrior to the brink of the round platform they fought on. However, as the warrior fell, he grabbed Starkiller's ankle, pulling him down while hauling himself back up. Having gained the high ground, the warrior telekinetically wrenched several massive columns from the labyrinth and cast them at Starkiller, who reacted by using them as stepping stones to climb back up. Now again level with the spectre, Starkiller impaled him from behind. The warrior explodes in a blast of Force energy, ending the vision. However, as Starkiller regains his feet within the Holocron Vault, he sees that his left hand had taken on the clawed and emaciated appearance of the warrior's arm, who intones that Starkiller will never escape him.

Upon his return to the Rogue Shadow, Starkiller sits down with Kota and attempts to discuss the events within the Temple, though Kota quickly cuts him off, asserting that it's none of his business.

Kashyyyk
Even in his much-reduced state, Rahm Kota proved to be a valuble ally, communicating with his contact and providing them with another destination; Kashyyyk; with the assurance that if they retrieved what his contact wanted, he would provide them with further help. While Kota busy communicating with his contact, PROXY attacked Starkiller, this time using a combat module based off of Qui-Gon Jinn. While PROXY provided a faithful reproduction of Jinn's fighting style, he was hampered by his inability to use the Force as well as the confined space they fought in. Starkiller ultimately ended the battle by impaling PROXY. With the battle over, Starkiller joined Juno and Kota in the cockpit, seeing the Imperial skyhook being constructed above Kashyyyk.

Inserted into the ravaged Kashyyyk landscape, Starkiller made his way towards the local Imperial base, fending off a giant spider ambush along the way. To avoid further ambushes, and to save time, Starkiller ascended up into the leafy canopy of the forests, leaping from branch to branch. Once he spotted the skyhook from ground level, Starkiller was struck by how it resembled one of the visions he had experienced during his reconstruction on the Empirical. Scouting out the Imperial base from the vantage point of the trees, Starkiller dropped down and intercepted a two-man patrol. Using a Mind Trick, he compelled one trooper to fall asleep while convincing the other that he was authorized to be there. He learned of the identity of the base commander, a Captain Ozzik Sturn, and that a guest was present in the lodge at the center of the base. As his control over the trooper began to slip, he compelled him to fall asleep as well. He then began planning out his attack on the base.



Making his way towards the entrance of the base, Starkiller finds his path blocked by an AT-ST and a contingeant of stormtroopers, and engaged. Dodging the walker's heavy weapons and ordnance, Starkiller closed the distance and leapt at the legs and the bottom of the cockpit, damaging both knee joints, three control junctions, and the drive engine. The walker managed half a step before it dropped nose first to the ground. As Starkiller set to work on the troopers, he saw two more AT-STs moving in to hem him in. Drawing deeply upon the Force, Starkiller deflected the walker's heavy blaster fire right back at them, and telekinetically deflected their concussion grenades into the massive gate protecting the base entrance. As the Imperials intensified their attack, Starkiller allowed the Force to completely guide his movements without any conscious thought. As the walkers advanced on what they thought was Starkiller's corpse, he telekinetically took control of their systems and directed them to collide with one another, before using a concentrated blast of Force lightning to ignite their ammunition stores.

Entering the main lodge at the center of the base, he began searching for the thing that Kota's contact wanted. His instincts guided him towards the rear of the lodge, and he entered a long, wooden corridor lined with ceramic artwork. The door at the end was guarded by two stormtroopers and an Imperial guardsman. The troopers were killed quickly by their own deflected blasterfire, and the guardsman lasted only barely as long, felled by four swift lightsaber strokes and a blast of lightning. Starkiller took care not to damage any of the ceramic artwork on the walls, calling it his "good deed for the day".

Entering the guest quarters, he found himself facing Princess Leia Organa, in a scene that precisely matched one of his visions while on the Empirical. Leia was initially under the impression that Starkiller was an assassin for Emperor Palpatine, and dismissed his assertion that he was here with Rahm Kota, believing that Kota had died above Nar Shaddaa. When she off-handedly mentioned her father, Starkiller suddenly realized that he was Kota's contact, feeding him information about Imperial targets. When he managed to convince her of Kota's survival, she charged him with destroying the Imperial skyhook before it could be used to shuttle Wookiee slaves off-planet. While Leia commandeered an Imperial shuttle and left the planet, Starkiller took a tube transport down the cliff the lodge was built on to the forest floor below.

As Starkiller made his way through the ravaged undergrowth, cleared by the Imperials, he found a dillapidated old hut, permeated by a great darkness in the Force. Despite the objections of Kota, Starkiller entered the ruin. Within, he found the evidence of a lightsaber duel in the form of burned slash marks on the walls, and he found a small, blue crystal on the floor. As he rose, he was suddenly caught in the throes of a violent Force vision. He witnesses his own abduction from his home by Darth Vader, and the murder of his father. Then his vision took on a different tone, now a contest within himself rather than an image of the past. Embodying the grisly Sith Warrior he had fought in his vision back at the Jedi Temple, he was pitted against a Jedi version of himself. The ensuing duel was brief and brutal, both combatants thrown apart by a backfired blast of Force-lightning. Starkiller, as the Sith Warrior, ultimately triumphed by grasping the Jedi in a telekinetic stranglehold and impaling him with the plethora of trophy lightsabers hanging from his own waist. He delivered the coup de grace with the Jedi's own lightsaber, stabbing him through the heart. Then Starkiller was back in the hut, confronted by the ghost of his father. As he had back on Coruscant, Kento Marek again apologized to his son for all that had happened to him, refering to him by his birth name; Galen.

Starkiller exited the hut a changed man, his newfound knowledge of his origins shocking him to the core. Arriving at the groundside moorings for the skyhook, Starkiller plowed his way through the security and fortifications. Approaching the first of six moorings, Starkiller resonated with the structure, probing it's strengths and weaknesses before channelling massive amounts of Force energy into the structure. When he was done, the mooring was unrecognizable. As he moved on to the others, he saw that the Imperials were rallying, this time calling in air support from a trio of TIE fighters. He destroys three more moorings by telekinetically nudging the fighters into them. A fifth was destroyed through sheer collateral damage. As Starkiller turned to the last mooring, the base commander, Captain Ozzik Sturn, took to the field.

Ozzik Sturn piloted a heavily modified All Terrain Kashyyyk Transport, which he used to hunt Wookiee slaves, though he was eager to hunt a Jedi. However, their contest was brief, as the rain of rubble and debris from the seriously destabilized skyhook above began coming down. Sturn and his walker were crushed while the sixth moor was completely destroyed. The skyhook exploded seconds later.



Despite his success, Starkiller was furious at Kota for his vagueness and withholding of information, confronting him about it. Kota revealed that his contact was Bail Organa, who had tried to recruit Kota to rescue his daughter. Kota had refused, so Bail went in search of Shaak Ti. As Kota revealed this, he accidentally let slip that he knew Shaak Ti had been on Felucia, almost giving himself away, though he managed to cover it up by claiming that Kota was simply easily read. Starkiller retreated into seclusion afterwards, and was approached by Juno. He refrained from opening up to her, but took over piloting duties for the trip to Felucia so that she could rest.

Rescuing Bail Organa
"I've seen her kind before. A young Jedi who turned to the dark side, corrupted and evil, murderous..."

- Bail Organa

During the trip to Felucia, Starkiller researched Bail Organa, and found himself struck by how familiar he seemed, though he wasn't sure where they had crossed paths before. Upon arrival, Starkiller drew on his experience as Vader's assassin and found Bail Organa's landing site by searching for his ship's Senatorial transponder code. As they descended, Juno detected signs of a large Imperial presense groundside. When they landed alongside Organa's shuttle, Juno had Starkiller accompany her to the other ship, ostensibly to check that it didn't contain the Senator's corpse. Once alone, she made a quick inquiry as to how he would find Organa, before speaking of their need to avoid raising Rahm Kota's suspicions as to who they were. Starkiller attempted to reassure her by saying that if Kota found out who they were, he wouldn't live long enough to tell anyone. Juno's worry was only increased, so Starkiller turned to the matter at hand; his primary concern was convincing Organa of his "sincerity", as the Senator would be much harder than blind and alcoholic Kota or the teenaged Leia.

As Starkiller trekked through the Felucian jungle, he found that the world's balance had shifted towards the Dark side in Shaak Ti's absense, though Starkiller was surprised by how uncomfortable it was now. As he made his way, he was attacked by a plethora of predators, and the now unrestrained Felucians fought him every step of the way. Even the plant life attempted to kill him; on one occasion Starkiller managed to dodge a tree that had split itself from it's roots and attempted to crush him before growing an entirely new root system to feed on the imprisoned creature. Faced with this chaotic scene, Starkiller reflected on the nature of the Dark Side, and how harmony in nature was practically non-existant. The resulting conflict was where the power of the Dark Side came from.

As he travelled towards the Ancient Abyss where he had last encountered Shaak Ti, he happened upon a squad of scout troopers, who had evidently seen the Rogue Shadow flying overhead. While he dealt with the troopers quickly, he drew the attention of many in the area. He was promptly attacked by a trio of Felucian warriors hiding in a pit of quicksand, though he made quick work of them. Hurrying to the Ancient Abyss, Starkiller found the Felucian village run down and abandoned, while the mega-Sarlacc itself was restrained by an Imperial Sarlacc Stabilizer. Freeing several of the beast's tentacles to relieve some of it's pain, Starkiller descended through the stabilizer elevator into the Sarlacc's digestive system, where the Felucians had taken refuge against the Empire. Starkiller searched around before being spewed out the creature's lung when it exhaled.

Following a deepening in the Dark Side, Starkiller travelled northwards from the Ancient Abyss towards the Rancor Graveyard. En route, he was relentlessly attacked by Felucian natives, some riding Rancors, with an intervening force of Imperials only adding to the chaos. As he fought them, he reflected that he was quickly becoming accustomed to Rancor death cries, a sound that had previously disturbed him, sometimes cropping up in nightmares. After one particularly furious encounter, the Felucian ambushes ceased, and Starkiller was able to enter the graveyard unhindered. As he searched the graveyard, he suddenly realized that his familiarity with Bail Organa came from one of his Force visions. He began sensing the Senator's presense, but also the presense of the Dark Side concentration that he had been tracking.



Finding the Senator, Starkiller freed him and explained that he was here with Rahm Kota. Organa informed him that Shaak Ti's former apprentice, Maris Brood, had since fallen to the Dark Side, leading the Felucians and keeping Organa in hopes of trading him to the Imperials in exchange for leniency. Before they could escape, Brood arrived, with her "pet" Bull Rancor in tow. Starkiller was struck by recognition, as he had seen her in a vision as well. Demanding that she stand aside, Starkiller was instead set upon by the Bull Rancor.

Starkiller barely avoided the beast's blows, being forced to adopt evasive tactics against it, as it's heavy armor plates provided effective protection against all his powers and attacks. However, Brood got wise to this and intercepted him, trying to force him towards the Rancor's jaws. Unable to attack it from the outside, Starkiller attempted a desperate tactic and leapt into the creature's mouth. Using the Force to keep the Rancor's mouth shut, Starkiller cut up it's tongue with his lightsaber and shocked it's brain with a blast of Force lightning. Despite this, the Rancor continued to cling to life, forcing Starkiller to resort to telekinesis, exploding the monster's head. Starkiller luckily retained hold of his lightsaber as he fell off the creature in a mess of gore, because Brood was on him in an instant.

Starkiller initially only defended himself, using Soresu moves against Brood's raw attack, struck by how much alike she was to him. However, he quickly came to the conclusion that if she could turn to the Dark Side so easily, then she could turn back to the Light just as quickly, accepting something that Shaak Ti had explained during their duel; that the Force was fluid, and Light and Dark were just directions. By fighting against Maris Brood, he wasn't turning his back on the Dark Side, she was simply in his way. With this revelation, Starkiller changed over to the Juyo form, seizing the offensive. Starkiller began rapidly gaining ground, and an increasinly desperate Brood began to lose concentration.



As they charged one another, Brood managed to evade Starkiller's attack, hiding herself with the Force while throwing her dual Guard shotos at Starkiller. Starkiller managed to dodge the blades, and turned to see Brood catch them as she leapt at him. Starkiller caught her in a telekinetic grip and slammed her against the ground. She managed to evade Starkiller's attack, again concealing herself as he rammed his lightsaber into the ground. As he looked about for her, she ran at him from behind before dropping down and sliding at his legs, throwing Starkiller off his feet and disarming him. Starkiller only barely managed to reclaim his lightsaber in time to block her scissoring strike, driving her back and acrobatically flipping onto his feet. As he searched about for her, she again attacked him from behind, though this time he was ready, striking at her leg and knocking her to the ground. He didn't give her time to recover, telekinetically grasping her, raising her up and slamming her against the ground.

Beaten and exhausted, Brood surrendered, promising to turn away from the Dark Side. Starkiller was skeptical, seeing that her talents and skills were poisoned; inwardly focuses towards survival. He considered her not worthy of the Dark Side. However, he relented, though he refused to transport her off-planet, and she fled the scene. Bail Organa disapproved of letting her go, as she reminded him too much of another fallen Jedi that he had known. Starkiller asserted that she wasn't truly free, carrying the memories of her actions with her. Starkiller then broached the subject of revolution, though Organa asked to speak with Kota directly about this. Starkiller had Juno retrieve Organa and he directly from the Rancor Graveyard, barely avoiding a horde of scavengers eager to devour the Bull Rancor's corpse. Meeting with Kota, Organa asserted that open rebellion was too dangerous at this point, and that any potential members had to be shown that the Empire was vulnerable. Starkiller agreed to "meditate" on this, and find a target.

In truth, he sent a message to Darth Vader inquiring about such a target. While he awaited the Dark Lord's response, PROXY attacked. Starkiller was impressed by PROXY's latest combat module, based off of Anakin Skywalker, but his heart wasn't in the fight, his experience battling real Jedi left PROXY's assassination attempts feeling empty. Starkiller backed PROXY into a corner and impaled him. However, that was when Vader's response arrived, and the Anakin Skywalker hologram bizarrely morphed into Darth Vader. Vader was satisfied by Starkiller's progress, and provided him with a target; a newly constructed Star Destroyer shipyard above Raxus Prime. However, Vader also admonished Starkiller for his developing emotional attachments to his allies before cutting the link.

PROXY commented that he disliked "being" Vader, with Starkiller mentioning that Vader probably did as well. Then PROXY noticed that Juno was in the chamber, having witnessed the entire exchange. While Eclipse was furious that Starkiller was still loyal to Vader, she stayed with him, believing that in the end, he rather than Vader would decide the fate of the rebellion. After the confrontation with Juno, Starkiller replaced the crystal in his lightsaber, formerly Kota's, with the blue crystal he had found in his ruined family home on Kashyyyk, making the weapon truly his.

Return to Bespin
With the successful destruction of the Star Destroyer shipyard, word of revolution was beginning to spread. Rahm Kota managed to set up a meeting with Garm Bel Iblis of Corellia on Cloud City. Iblis was a firebrand in the Senate with no love for Palpatine, and he wished to discuss an alliance with Starkiller. Upon arrival at Cloud City, they found it overrun by criminals. Starkiller made contact with Lobot, the city's chief administrator, who informed him that Garm Bel Iblis was attempting to negotiate with the leader of the criminals, the Mandalorian Chop'aa Notimo. Kota encouraged confronting Chop'aa as a way of proving his worth to Bel Iblis.

As Starkiller made his way into Cloud City, he was quickly confronted by Chop'aa underlings, though they were no match for his power. Making short work of the mercenaries, he ascended to one of the rooftop landing platforms and destroyed one of Chop'aa's dropships. While Lobot and the Cloud City guard secured the area, Starkiller moved on. As he crossed a large, circular platform, Starkiller is ambushed by a group of Mandalorian jetpackers. He manages to defeat them, though with difficulty. Cutting his way up to one of the rooftop walkways, Starkiller fought alongside Cloud City security forces against a massed force of mercenaries. With Starkiller's help, the mercs are quickly dealt with, though the security team does suffer casulties. Clearing the rest of the building, Starkiller approached Lobot and asks for Bel Iblis' specific location, only to be informed that the Senator had been captured by one of Chop'aa's underlings; a bounty hunter named Kleef. Starkiller went after him.

Fighting his way to Kleef's location, Starkiller confronted him, only to learn that he had handed Bel Iblis over to Chop'aa. Kleef himself drew his blade and activated his two H-TFU droids.

Infiltrating the Death Star
"Juno Eclipse: I have a really bad feeling about this. Galen Marek: Then maybe we're doing something right. Eclipse: Will I ever see you again? Marek: If I can free the rebels, then they're going to need extraction... Probably not, no. Eclipse: Then I'll never need to live this down."

- The last words between Galen Marek and Juno Eclipse.

Rejecting the name "Starkiller", the apprentice reclaimed his birth name Galen and for the first time, considered himself a Jedi. Entering into meditation in an attempt to track Vader and the Senators, Galen experienced a vision of the Death Star. Travelling to the Horuz system, they used the Rogue Shadow's cloaking devise to approach the massive battle station, entering the thin atmosphere maintained for the workers and slaves building the behemoth. Standing on the open boarding ramp of the Shadow, Galen and Juno exchanged their last words. When inquired as to whether or not he would survive, Galen answered probably not. Juno then rushed forwards and kissed him, reasoning that she would never have to live it down. Galen then said farewell and leapt into the Death Star's extensive superstructure.

Lightsaber training
Galen Marek was trained in lightsaber combat by Darth Vader and sparred frequently with his master. He also had many vicious duels with his training droid, PROXY, and won every single time. An incredibly skilled lightsaber duelist, Marek was able to defeat the droid's training programs replicating some legendary duelists such as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul. Marek was also able to defeat Rahm Kota, Kazdan Paratus and Maris Brood and even managed to overwhelm Shaak Ti and his former Master Darth Vader, who were both two of the greatest duellists of their time.

Marek had a basic familiarity with all seven forms of lightsaber combat, able to recognize them in his opponent's style and technique. For himself, he specialized in Juyo, Shien and Soresu. His usage of Juyo was highly focused and aggressive, his style being randomized and unpredictable, laced with sudden Force-based attacks in the midst of complex lightsaber sequences. His focus and concentration allowed him to bring down opponents through sheer tenacity, though it also led him to ignore his surroundings and left him open to attacks from other directions.

Whenever forced onto the defensive, he would fall back on his practice of Soresu. Marek's Form III usage was largely self-taught, his skills acquired through imitation of PROXY's Obi-Wan Kenobi combat module. Despite his lack of formal training, Marek's prowess in Soresu was considerable. A notable application of his improvised Form III usage was during his duel with Rahm Kota, where Marek's skill enabled him to hold off Kota's Juyo frenzy long enough to tire out the Jedi. Marek also proved able to defend himself against other highly aggressive duelists such as Kazdan Paratus and Maris Brood, ultimately allowing him to defeat them.

Marek was also highly skilled in the use of Shien and frequently weilded his lightsaber in the unorthodox reverse grip. He practiced a variant of the form known as "Sith Shien", a style which relied on sudden and rapid attacks to bring down an opponent quickly.

Force powers
"You are Vader's slave&hellip;but your power is wasted on him. You could be so much more."

- Shaak Ti on Galen Marek's incredible Force potential



Galen Marek was exceptionally powerful in the Force, with the potential to become one of the most power Force-users of all time. Darth Sidious believed that Marek had the potential to become an equal to himself.

Marek's skills with Telekinesis were such that he could catch TIE fighters in mid-flight, or clear entire hallways and rooms with powerful Force pushes and repulses. Proficient at telekinetic lightsaber combat, he would often direct his lightsabers to seek out specific enemies and impale them, often killing them instantly. He was even able to redirect fired missiles and ballistics. His abilities with telekinesis were such that he could, albeit with great effort, rip an Imperial I-class Star Destroyer out of the sky and force it to the ground. However, he was also able to apply it in a more precise manner, dismantling and reassembling his lightsaber during his meditations.

Marek was also a master practitioner of Force lightning. He could cast energy so powerful that it would kill an opponent with a single blast, and he was able to target more than one foe at a time. He was also able to chain lightning attacks into his lightsaber strikes, even amplifying blade attacks with sudden arcs of energy. He also applied lightning in a more tactical manner, charging up or shorting out certain types of machinery. Not only could he conjure incredible amounts of lightning, but he was also an expert at deflecting it, as demonstrated when he battled Sidious aboard the Death Star.

Marek also demonstrated a proficient grasp of Mind trick, able to compel subjects to do his bidding, ignore his presense, or even fall asleep. In battle, he would use this skill to confuse enemies and spread disorganization and chaos.

Despite his incredible combative Force powers, however, Marek had great difficulty with voluntary Farsight, until his eventual conversion to the light.

Personality and Traits
"PROXY: My master leads a solitary life, Lord Vader insists that it is essential to his development." "Juno Eclipse: Development into what, exactly?"

- PROXY and Juno Eclipse

Though he was brutally and continually punished by his master, Darth Vader, Galen Marek submitted willingly to the teaching method of the Dark Lord, essentially because he knew nothing else. He was also of the belief that whatever did not kill him would make him stronger, more adept in wielding the dark side. Such was Marek's state of mind towards the end of his training with Vader that a part of him almost wished for death. His subjugation to Vader even displayed itself in his voice, as he affected a faintly aristocratic accent whenever he was in Vader's presence, in stark contrast to his usual accent. In addition, due to his life-long isolation from all but a few individuals, Marek was rather reclusive to anyone but PROXY, and only began to open up to Juno Eclipse after a great deal of time, though his feelings of compassion for her would continue to confuse him. Rahm Kota said that when Marek approached him on Bespin, his love for Juno was the one bright spot among all his dark thoughts that gave him hope that Marek could be redeemed.

When hunting down and dispatching his targets, Marek was always satisfied that he had helped defend the Galactic Empire and fulfill his master's will. To that end, he was disturbed by the fact that he would have to cut down Imperial troops during his mission to kill General Kota, feeling that their only crime had been to cross his path, but he was careful to conceal his feelings from his master. At the same time, for much of his life he had craved a confrontation with a Jedi Knight, and was excited by the prospect.

Marek was raised by Darth Vader, who was not a very kindly father figure, creating turmoil, anger, and apathy in his mind. He was trained to be loyal, but also a ruthless assassin and an unstoppable force. While powerful and confident, he demonstrated many different sides to his personality. He was wary of his purpose in life and what he was meant to be doing; he began with a sure focus on the Sith destiny trained into him by Vader. However, his exposure to both Jedi, the light side of the Force and also to the reality of Sith life caused his focus to waver. Ultimately, his innate sense of loyalty proved incompatible with Sith philosophy, and he gradually made his choices in life accordingly.

After Vader's second betrayal on Corellia, Marek displayed not only anger, but also pity for the Dark Lord, remarking that if he were to die there, then Vader would never be free from his master. With this last betrayal, Marek rejected the Sith and the Dark side, and finally admitted his love for Juno Eclipse, and held on to it until his death. When Marek converted to the light, the last of his persona as Starkiller ceased to exist, and Marek fully accepted his destiny in the makings of a Jedi. During his battle with Darth Vader, Marek stated that he did not hate the Dark Lord, but pitied him, declaring that he would kill him to free him.

When the Emperor tempted Marek into killing Vader, Marek struggled briefly with his emotions, but in the end decided he would not return to the dark side, and so made his choice to attack the Emperor instead, saving himself from the dark side.

Relationships
PROXY "Darth Vader provided me with my prime directive - routinely try to kill the boy. It was his concept of "training"."

- PROXY

Galen knew PROXY from a young age, the droid providing him with the compassion and nurturing needed to stay sane. While Galen cared for and confided in his droid companion, he needed to remain constantly wary of him, due to his primary programming. However, even in this, Marek remained caring, sometimes prolonging battles merely to allow PROXY pride in his combat modules. In the end, Marek's attitude towards PROXY went beyond his mere functionality, PROXY was his friend, and Marek refused to abandon him. Just as PROXY's compassion helped ground Galen as a child, his compassion helped his friend out of his despondency after the erasure of his programming. They saved each other.

Darth Vader "I understand you now. You killed my father and kidnapped me from Kashyyyk, not just to be your apprentice, but to be a son to you. Was that how your father treated you?"

- Galen Marek to Darth Vader

For much of his life, Marek lived in fear and terror of Vader. Having experienced nothing but Vader's cruel treatment, Starkiller thought of it as only natural, especially for the development of a Sith; learn, or die was what he took from it. He vested a great deal of trust and loyalty in the Dark Lord, coming to fear failing his master more than death. He was left deeply shocked by Vader's betrayal of him, and only reluctantly agreed to reenter his service. Left distrustful of his master, and developing compassion for his allies, Marek began to genuinely consider betraying him in turn, using the rebellion to take revenge and take over the galaxy for himself. However, Marek still believed that Vader's mission for him was genuine, and pragmatically judged that Vader wouldn't risk that.

He was left shocked and enraged when Vader betrayed him again, this time actively seeking to kill him. However, as Marek fought Vader, he realized that his master was a product of the same manipulations and abuse as he himself was, and Marek came to pity him. Marek resolved to end the Sith Lords life as a way of "freeing" him from Palpatine.

Palpatine "Galen Marek: Darth Vader was never my master, it was you all along." "Palpatine: Of course, Lord Vader has never plotted alone."

- Galen Marek and Palpatine

Marek's initial attitudes towards Palpatine were very detached; on one hand he revered him as the Sith Lord who destroyed the Jedi, on the other seeking to help Vader assassinate him in order to become a joint ruler of the galaxy. However, this changed when Palpatine discovered Marek and ordered his execution, taking sadistic delight in his suffering. Marek came to hate Palpatine, and seeking revenge became his primary motive. Marek's hatred became further strengthened by his horror of Palpatine and his excesses; the Death Star proved that the Emperor was no longer satisfied with misinformation and oppression to control the galaxy, and was willing to resort to all out genocide; and he saw how Palpatine had created Vader through deception and brutality.

Marek learned how Palpatine had ordered the death of his father and his own abduction, and how he had in fact been Marek's true master, using Vader as a proxy, and all of this proved the final straw. Attacking Palpatine, he drew heavily on his anger to subdue the Sith Lord, almost falling to the Dark Side all over again. However, he repented in the end, rejecting his hatred and turning away from the Sith.

Juno Eclipse "Master, I can tell you that she's going to be impossible to reprogram."

- PROXY

When Marek first met Juno Eclipse, he was unsure what to think of her, as she was his first female pilot. His initial interactions with her were awkward, though he slowly grew more relaxed. He noted her effort to seem lighthearted towards him, and he eventually started to enjoy her presense, something he chided himself for. As they grew closer, he began to fear that he would have to take action lest they develop a rapport. After his reconstruction onboard the Empirical, Marek rescued her, for reasons he himself wasn't sure about.

To a certain extent, he desired her approval, and her anger when discovering his continued service to Vader genuinely hurt him. However, with his secret out, he was able to bring her fully into confidence, and he began desiring to keep her in his life, to the extent that he started considering leading the Rebel Alliance in earnest rather than returning to Vader and the Sith. However, the choice was taken from him when Vader betrayed him again, and he finally admitted his love for Juno. This compassion was what ultimately pushed him to reject the Dark side.