Wookieepedia:Featured article queue/Week 8, 2012/1

A rescue mission to free the Rebel Alliance Jedi General Rahm Kota from the Galactic Empire was performed in 1 BBY, during the early stages of the Galactic Civil War. Captured on a failed raid on the planet Cato Neimoidia, Kota was taken to the city Tarko-se, where he was placed in the Tarko-se Arena, the local gladiatorial stadium, for execution. While Kota endured an onslaught of monsters and gladiators, Starkiller, a rogue clone of the late Jedi Galen Marek, escaped from the Sith Lord Darth Vader on the ocean world of Kamino. Unbeknownst to Kota, Vader had initiated a clandestine project to create a more powerful version of his former Sith apprentice Marek&mdash;a perfect clone that possessed all of Marek's strengths and none of his weaknesses. However, the cloning process was imperfect and resulted in numerous failures, including Starkiller.

Pursuant of information inadvertently provided by Vader, Starkiller traveled to Cato Neimoidia to rescue the captured Kota. However, his motives were more influenced by a desire to find Captain Juno Eclipse, the woman with whom his progenitor had fallen in love. Starkiller fought against Baron Merillion Tarko's forces on his way to the arena, where he found an exhausted Kota. The desperate Tarko unleashed a beast known as the Gorog on the two Force-wielders, and the creature broke free of its restraints as it attempted to kill Starkiller. In the chaos, Tarko was devoured by the monster, and the arena, along with Tarko-se itself, was destroyed. Starkiller and Kota were retrieved from the falling wreckage by the starship Rogue Shadow, which was on autopilot.