Assault on Kamino

"I knew it was only a matter of time before you returned. Now you will surrender to me, or you will die here where you were created."

- Darth Vader

The Battle of Kamino took place on the the cloning world of Kamino in 1 BBY during the early phases of the Galactic Civil War.

Background
"I'm not Starkiller! I'm... I'm a clone. I was grown in a vat to take his place."

- Starkiller

The Battle of Kamino was an indirect result of Darth Vader's attempts to clone his deceased apprentice, Galen Marek. One of the clones in particular, known by his template's codename Starkiller, was driven by Marek's memories to go rogue and engage on a single-minded quest to find Juno Eclipse. Despite locating Rahm Kota and eventually finding the Rebel fleet just before an Imperial assault, Starkiller was unable to prevent Juno from being kidnapped by Boba Fett on Vader's orders. Starkiller demanded that Kota launch an assult on Kamino to rescue her. Kota, having received valuable data on Kamino's defenses from Starkiller and aware of the opportunity to rally the Alliance and shake the Empire's hold on the galaxy, agreed to proceed with the attack. Though both knew that Vader was luring Starkiller back to him, Starkiller hoped that Vader would be unprepared for a Rebel attack. Unfortunately, Vader had indeed prepared for this eventuality, and had placed a fleet to protect the planet.

The Battle
"All I can see is my life flashing before my eyes. But that's okay: I always skip the boring bits."

- Wedge Antilles, while carrying Starkiller during the battle



The battle began immediately after the Alliance fleet exited Hyperspace. Both Alliance and Imperial ships exchanged fierce fire. The Imperials were hampered, however, by the fact that Vader wanted Starkiller alive. This resulted in the the Salvation being boarded rather then destroyed when it came out of hyperspace. The Imperial soldiers also made efforts to sabotage the Salvation, including shutting down the communication arrays and the ship's deflector shields. Although Starkiller exerted himself to protect the Salvation, even after assisting Rebel troops in killing every single Imperial trooper and using the ship's main cannon to destroy a nearby Imperial-class Star Destroyer, the Salvation was falling apart. A planetary shield prevented any ground assault, which Kota decided to infiltrate, as there was ostensibly no possibility of the Empire bombarding a critical base. As Kota ordered the crew to abandon ship, Starkiller piloted the Salvation into the shield, overloading and destroying it.

The plan worked and Starkiller, jumping from the ship moments before impact, landed in Timira City as the Rebels stormed the base. Starkiller and Kota's squad fought their way through the cloning facility, occasionally helping each other along the way. In one instance Starkiller aided the Rebels in taking over a hangar by eliminating an Imperial ambush waiting inside, and then opening the gate for the approaching troops. Kota stated that they needed to destroy the cloning facility since the Alliance's survival would greatly depend on it's destruction. Starkiller reminded him that while that may be Kota's objective, but that doesn't mean those are his own. It became clear to Kota that Starkiller's obsession with finding Juno meant he did not care for the battle itself. When Imperial troops retook the security center, Kota requested aid from Starkiller, which he refused as it was too far out of his way to save Juno. As a regrouped Imperial assault soon threatened to wipe out the Rebel forces, Kota's demands grew more desperate, but the clone refused to be diverted from his primary goal, regretfully apologizing. As Starkiller made his way deeper into the city's cloning facility, Kota's forces barely survived the regrouped Imperial assault.

Soon after, Starkiller contacted Kota to inform him of a horrific discovery: thousands of cloning tanks, each holding a Force-sensitive genetic copy of Galen Marek. Starkiller came to realize that Vader sought to grow an obedient army of powerful Force users out of the numerous aberrant clones that failed to become the perfect clone which Vader sought to use as a replacement for his dead apprentice. Pressing forward, the clone made his way to the top of the facility. Kota implored him to wait for reinforcements, fearing Starkiller's emotions would drive him to the dark side without Kota's support, which Starkiller ignored. Shortly afterward, he lost communication with Kota. As he drew closer to Vader, Starkiller experienced hallucinations and visions, though it is unclear if the visions were Force-induced, the work of Vader, or a result of clone madness. After finding Vader, the clone engaged his former master, who was supported by other clones of Starkiller.

After a lengthy battle, Starkiller was almost victorious, but became distracted by another vision. The vision, unlike others, was not of Galen Marek's past but of Starkiller's future: it was a vision of Starkiller cradling Juno Eclipse's dead body. Vader fled while Starkiller stood in shock. After regaining his senses, the clone pursued the Sith Lord until he found Juno Eclipse at Vader's mercy. After applying Force Choke on Eclipse, Vader gave the clone the choice to submit to him, or watch Eclipse die. Overwhelmed with his template's emotions for Eclipse, Starkiller fell to his knees and dropped his lightsabers in compliance, asking only that Juno's life be spared. After releasing his grip on her, Vader declared that the clone would complete his training and yield himself completely to the dark side, or Juno would die. But as Juno attempted to kill Vader with one of Starkiller's dropped lightsabers, Vader responded by Force-Pushing her out of a window onto a landing pad below, apparently killing her.

Enraged to the point of madness, Starkiller completely gave into his anger and attacked his master. Vader tried to convince the clone that he needed to rise above his emotions and that Juno's life was meaningless. He implored Starkiller to realize that Juno's death gave him strength and that he should embrace it. But Starkiller could not be shaken from his determination to finally kill Vader. After cutting off Vader's right hand with Vader's own lightsaber, Starkiller utilized a massive amount of Force Lightning to drive the Sith Lord into submission. Defeated and on his knees, Vader urged the clone to understand that his feelings for Juno were only artificial, but the clone readied his lightsaber to deliver the final blow. Unknown to Starkiller, however, Vader had two contingency plans in case Starkiller chose to strike him down; waiting in the shadows to act were Boba Fett, targeting Starkiller with a sniper rifle, and a fellow successful clone of Marek who remained hidden from the battle in accordance with his Master's orders.

But before he could strike Vader down, Kota arrived with his squad and implored Starkiller to spare Vader's life so that the Rebel Alliance could interrogate him, convict him of crimes against civilization and then execute him in order to show the galaxy that Vader was no longer worth fearing. After a great deal of inner conflict, Starkiller reluctantly complied. As Kota's men arrested Vader, the clone walked over to Eclipse, who PROXY was unsuccessfully attempting to revive. Cradling her in his arms like his vision, Starkiller was stunned when Juno, injured but alive, silently kissed him. A while later General Kota and Captain Eclipse reported to Princess Leia of the outcome of the battle, saying they would send Vader to the Rebel base on Dantooine, and also several dozen other freighters in different directions to confuse any possible Imperial searches for Vader.

Aftermath
"As long as she lives, I will always control you."

- Darth Vader

The battle ended with the Rebel Alliance claiming their first significant victory in what would become known as the Galactic Civil War, though their losses were great. Vader was heavily restrained and set to be transferred to Dantooine for trial and execution. Shortly before leaving Kamino, Starkiller declared to Vader that whether he was indeed a clone or if Vader had been lying the whole time and he was the real Galen Marek, all that mattered to him was that he chose to spare Vader's life, thus symbolizing his freedom from Vader's control. As Starkiller turned to leave, Vader simply reminded him that as long as Juno Eclipse was alive, Vader would always control him. Soon after, Starkiller met up with Juno in the cockpit of the Rogue Shadow and left Kamino with the rest of the Rebel fleet. Juno readied the ship for hyperspace, unaware that Boba Fett's Slave I had detached from a piece of wreckage from a Star Destroyer and followed them into hyperspace.

Behind the scenes
In the alternate ending of the Force Unleashed II, Starkiller chose to execute Darth Vader. As he readied the final blow, he was suddenly stabbed from behind by a hooded figure. Kota attacked the new arrival, but after a brief duel, was slashed across the stomach and pushed into the ocean to his death by the shadowy figure, while Terror Troopers slaughtered the remaining rebels. Weak and dying, Starkiller could only stare at Vader as the Sith Lord walked up to him, stating that he had lied when he told him that the cloning process hadn't been perfected. The hooded figure revealed himself to be a stable clone of Galen Marek, deeply immersed in the dark side of the Force. Starkiller looked at the dead body of Juno Eclipse for the last time, and died in despair.

Vader turned to Starkiller's perfect counterpart, congratulating his apprentice on completing his final test. As the Dark Apprentice knelt on one knee in anticipation of his new orders, Vader commanded the clone to take the Rogue Shadow, and hunt down and kill the remaining Rebel leaders. As he left, the Dark Apprentice looked at the body of Juno Eclipse, showing no feeling for her, thus having totally freed himself from any of the original Marek's emotions. Soon thereafter, the reborn Starkiller left in his template's former starship, ready to execute his Master's command.

In the Wii version, the final battle was done differently: When Starkiller attempted to submit to Vader, Vader places Juno down on the ground, instead of being knocked out of the window, causing Starkiller to feel enraged. Starkiller then fights Vader as well as several Marek Clones that Vader summons. After the battle is two-thirds of the way through, Vader hurls a Marek clone at an energy tower, causing the surface to explode and expose a bluish-white energy ball. Starkiller then attempts to finish off Vader, but Vader manages to trap him in a force choke, and attempts to hurl him into the energy ball, but Starkiller manages to jump back and then throws Vader into the energy ball, electrocuting and seriously injuring Vader in the process before Vader collapses.

Appearances

 * The Force Unleashed II novelization / comic
 * Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II