Juno Eclipse

"When he came to me in the bar, among all his dark thoughts, I glimpsed one bright spot. One beautiful thing he held onto, even at the end."

- Rahm Kota

Captain Juno Eclipse was a female Imperial pilot during the Great Jedi Purge. Following the Bombing of Callos, an early battle in the history of the Galactic Empire, she was tasked with piloting the Rogue Shadow, transport ship of Galen Marek, Darth Vader's secret apprentice. After being branded a traitor by the Dark Lord, Juno joined Marek on his mission to create a Rebel Alliance. During their adventures, Juno and Marek fell in love, but Marek seemingly died fighting the Emperor. Juno was present at the birth of the Alliance to Restore the Republic and went on to become one of the first commanders of the Alliance and the captain of the Salvation.

Early Life
Juno Eclipse was born on Corulag, the daughter of a teacher and civil engineer. Early in her life, her mother was slain in what was said to be crossfire between Imperial loyalists and insurgents on her home planet. Her father became increasingly strict and aloof after the death of his wife, and became fiercely enamored of those who served the Empire. Juno was raised to believe the ideas passed on by her father, including a villainous portrayal of the Jedi Order. It was largely because of her father's admiration of Imperial service that Juno became the youngest cadet to be accepted into the Corulag Academy at the age of 14.

Imperial Pilot
"My orders are clear; I'm to keep your ship running and fly you where ever your missions require."

- Juno Eclipse upon meeting Starkiller.

After graduating with high honors, Juno flew many successful combat missions throughout the Outer Rim, bringing the admiration of her peers and commanding officers. Through quick promotions, she eventually gained command of Black Eight Squadron, Darth Vader's elite unit of eight TIE Fighter pilots. It was during the Bombing of Callos that she proved her loyalty to Vader after, despite obvious misgivings about obeying her orders, she continued her assault on the already beaten and defenseless planet, leading to the genocide and, for all intents and purposes, destruction of the planet.

In addition to her loyalty, Vader also realized that she lacked the ruthlessness he found vital to the command of Black Squadron and Juno was reassigned to pilot the Rogue Shadow, a state-of-the-art starship and transport of Darth Vader's secret apprentice, Starkiller, and his droid companion, PROXY. Although mistakenly believing that the man was a spy, she quickly discovered that he was, in fact, on a mission to exterminate the last of the Jedi. Juno assisted in this by flying him to Nar Shaddaa, Raxus Prime, and Felucia all the while trying to get to know and understand Darth Vader's enigmatic enforcer. In addition to these missions, Vader ordered his apprentice to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant many times, in order to undergo metaphysical training. It was during one of these stops, that Starkiller fought the long-dead Darth Phobos who used the love he felt for Juno as her weapon by forcing him to deal with the idea of her death, his greatest fear. Starkiller overcame his fear and returned to the ship with Juno none the wiser about his feelings.

It was during this time that Juno discovered the plot against Emperor Palpatine while spying on the apprentice and his Master. Although torn between her duty to her immediate superior, Lord Vader, and her duty to the Emperor, Juno continued to fly Starkiller around until he had completed his mission. After defeating Jedi Master Shaak Ti on Felucia, Starkiller returned to his Master, only to discover that the Emperor had learned of his existence. Starkiller was betrayed, and seemingly killed, by Lord Vader at the behest of the Emperor. Afterward, Vader would declare Juno a traitor and have her imprisoned inside his science vessel, the Empirical, for six standard months.

Forging an Alliance
"You're still loyal to Vader! After he branded me a traitor and tried to kill you.."

- Juno Eclipse upon discovering Starkiller's betrayal.

After he reawakened, Juno was freed by the newly resurrected Starkiller. Though she had no idea how he had survived, she followed him on his new mission to gather all of the enemies of the Empire in one, cohesive Alliance, unaware that this was yet another undertaking in the service of Darth Vader. Juno, Starkiller and PROXY set about trying to find the first Jedi Starkiller had been sent to destroy, General Rahm Kota. After searching Nar Shaddaa, the site of that fateful battle, the crew of the Rogue Shadow were able to track him to the Vapor Room, a bar in Cloud City. After battling their way off of Bespin, with the now blind and inebriated Jedi, they set a course for Kashyyyk where Starkiller would rescue something of value for Senator Bail Prestor Organa. That something turned out to be his daughter, Princess Leia Organa. During his time on the planet, Starkiller found a hut that resonated strongly in The Force. Though Juno did not know it at the time, it was in this hut that Starkiller began to uncover the mystery of his past and learned his true name. After saving the Princess and destroying the Skyhook being used to transport Wookiee slaves from the surface, the Rogue Shadow set a course for Felucia to rescue Bail Organa, as he was pivotal to forging Starkiller's alliance.

After being rescued from the fallen Padawan Maris Brood, Organa was willing to join the Rebel Alliance, though he was convinced that to entice other dissidents, the Empire would have to be shown to be vulnerable. Starkiller, passing as a Jedi Knight, agreed to meditate on the subject, in the apparent privacy of his ship however, he contacted Darth Vader and received instruction to attack a Star Destroyer shipyard above Raxus Prime. Juno was spying on him however, and was distraught to find that Starkiller was still Vader's slave. After confronting him she informed him that the Rebellion's fate would be his to decide, not Vader's nor Palpatine's. It was during this time that they both began to realize they had feelings for one another, though they were unlikely to lead to a future together. On Raxus Prime, Starkiller was able to destroy the shipyard, pull down a Star Destroyer by will of the Force and save PROXY from the Core, a planet wide computer mainframe. His efforts in saving his oldest friend, even just a droid, made her realize that Starkiller was conflicted on his true loyalties.

The Empire had been shown to be vulnerable and hence the first meeting of the Alliance to Restore the Republic was held on Corellia. Present were Starkiller, Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, Garm Bel Iblis, PROXY, projecting the form of Princess Leia, Rahm Kota, and Juno Eclipse. Unfortunately, before the Alliance could be formalized, Darth Vader arrived revealing that the alliance had been a ruse by himself and the Emperor in an attempt to gather all the Imperial enemies in one place. Starkiller confronted Vader and engaged him in a duel while PROXY led Juno away stating that his Master would need her later. After defeating his former apprentice in a duel, ordering the Senators under arrest, and seemingly destroying PROXY after the droid had attempted to save his Master, Vader left Corellia, not realizing that Juno had survived and would come back for the apprentice. Come back she did, and discovered him at the bottom of a precipice seemingly dead. He had miraculously survived however, and revealed to Juno that his name was Galen Marek.

Battle on Death Star I
"Am I going to see you again?"

- Juno Eclipse speaking to Marek for the last time.

After discerning the location of the would-be Rebels, Juno and Marek traveled to Despayre, the current build site of the Empire's new super weapon, the Death Star. Using the Rogue Shadow advanced cloaking system, Juno was able to get just inside of the thin atmosphere around the Death Star. Marek prepared to take the leap to the surface, but Juno stopped him, asking "Will I see you again?" "Probably not, no." was the response, and with that Juno kissed him saying that she wouldn't have to live it down. After he finally made the jump, Juno took the ship to safety waiting for the extraction notice from the Rebels. When it finally came, she was dismayed to find that Marek was not among the rescued. Kota informed her that he had died, or so he and the others thought, fighting Vader and the Emperor and that he had chosen death over the eternal darkness of the dark side. Juno commented to herself that death was infinitely preferable to a life without hope. Shortly before formalizing the Alliance, Juno and Bail Organa traveled to Corellia to try to recover PROXY. They found him still functional, though in need of repair and were informed that upon the death of his Master, he would transfer ownership to Juno Eclipse. In an attempt to record the founding of the Rebel Alliance, and therein discover more about Galen Marek, they asked PROXY to relay all the information they knew about his past.

On Kashyyyk, the Rebel Alliance was finally formalized and more of Marek's history was revealed. The Alliance chose to rally behind the Alliance Starbird, the former Marek family crest in honor of their fallen leader. Kota told her that he knew all along about Marek's identity, for when he approached him in the bar on Cloud City, there was one bright thing in his dark thoughts that he held onto, even at the end: her.

Joining the Rebels
Inspired by Marek's sacrifice, Juno stayed with the newly formed Rebel Alliance. To keep his memory alive, Juno dedicated herself to service in the Rebel Alliance, becoming an officer. . She eventually came one of the first commanders of the Rebel alliance and even became the captain of a starship called the Salvation. . After Marek escaped from Kamino, Darth Vader hired the bounty hunter, Boba Fett, to capture Juno in an attempt to lure in Marek.

Personality and traits
"Oh Master, I can tell you she's going to be impossible to reprogram."

- PROXY commenting on Juno Eclipse's personality.

Juno Eclipse had a strong sense of morality, going so far as to question the orders of Darth Vader during the Battle of Callos. Her conscience would ultimately play a large part in the formation of the Rebel Alliance and the fate of the Galaxy.

In addition to her strong moral guidelines she was also a gifted student, skilled pilot, talented mechanic and model officer.

Behind the scenes
Juno Eclipse was created for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and in the game, the player character shares a love interest with Eclipse. Juno Eclipse is portrayed by British actress and former model Nathalie Cox.

A leaked Hasbro computer database was the first source to reveal Juno's name. Her name was later confirmed by the March issue of Game Informer. The name Juno Eclipse is a reference to the Roman Goddess Juno, who was essentially the queen of the gods in the Roman Pantheon. The name was also originally considered to be the name of Asajj Ventress, but was rejected as "not villainous enough."

In the Wii and PS2 releases, the player can enter ECLIPSE as a cheat code to play as Juno Eclipse.

Alternate Dark Side Ending
Marek chose to give into his hatred and take his revenge on Vader for the years of abuse he had experienced at the hands of the Sith Lord. After an intense battle, Vader was slain, in typical Sith fashion, by his former apprentice. Afterward, Marek returned to the Emperor's side where the Sith Master proclaimed Marek his new apprentice. When Marek refused to kill Kota, as his final test to become a true Sith apprentice, he turned on the Emperor, attempting to strike him with his lightsaber. The Emperor easily disarmed him, killed the Rebel Alliance leaders, and subsequently grasped the Rogue Shadow, which was orbiting the Death Star, with the Force. Sidious pulled it through the window of the throne room and onto Marek, severely injuring him and, presumably, killing Juno in the process.

Non-Canon Appearance
"Starkiller! I need you here and now. You're the only one who can steer us through this storm!"

- Juno requiring Starkiller's assistance.

Sometime before the death of Shaak Ti, a nebula in the Cowl Crucible drew the attention of Darth Vader. The Cowl seemed to be a portal to a world filled with power. While Lord Vader was communicating through the Force with his apprentice, telling him of the power inside the Cowl, the crew of the Rogue Shadow became trapped in a storm near the nebula. Juno called for Starkiller's assistance as only his powers would be enough to avoid a catastrophe. Unfortunately, the Sith Acolyte could not assist as he was experiencing visions of his own. Ultimately, the ship crashed and while Juno attempted to make the necessary repairs, Starkiller took off, following his visions. Vader eventually found Captain Eclipse and asked her where his apprentice had gone. She told him he had left, obviously agitated and that he'd left no indication as to why. Vader's only comment was that he wouldn't have, as she was blind to the Force.

Appearances

 * The Force Unleashed novel
 * Star Wars: The Force Unleashed comic
 * Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game
 * Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
 * Star Wars: Visions of the Blade

Notes and references
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