I don't own Star Wars or any of the characters.
Until the recent Great Rebellion, the Jedi-Bendu were the most feared warriors in the universe. For one hundred thousand years, generations of Jedi perfected their art as the personal bodyguards of the Emperor. They were the chief architects of the invincible Imperial Space Force, which expanded the Empire across the galaxy, from the celestial equator to the farthest reaches of the Great Rift.
Now these legendary warriors are all but extinct. One by one they are being hunted down and destroyed as the enemies of New Empire by a ferocious and sinister rival warrior sect, the Knights of Sith.
To survive this purge, many Jedi had gone into hiding. For years the last remaining Jedi had stayed hidden, but the Empire was growing ever closer to wiping the last of the Jedi out.
On the fourth moon of Utapau, Annikin Starkiller awoke from a wrestles sleep. The eighteen year old yawned and rubbed the sleep from his blue-gray eyes. Stretching, Annikin got out of bed and prepared for the day. After slipping a blue tunic and leggings and a brown vest and boots, partially tying back his shoulder length blond hair in a Kessel knot, and grabbing his lightsaber and blaster-rifle, Annikin prepared to do his rounds.
Just as Annikin was about to head out the door, Annikin saw his little brother Deak try to sneak up behind him. Turning around, Annikin got a better look at his brother. Deak was still dressed in his sleep clothes, his tousled blond hair and the fact that he was rubbing his eyes made Annikin think his brother had only recently gotten up.
"Deak, what are you doing up so early?" asked Annikin.
"The same thing as you." responded Deak.
Annikin sighed, rubbing a hand through his hair.
"Deak I've been over this with you a thousand times. You're only ten, too young to go out on patrol with me. Besides, isn't father going over another test with you today?" calmly stated Annikin.
Deak frowned, his light blue eyes narrowing, the long scar on his left cheek becoming more prominent. Annikin shivered every time he saw the scar on his brother's face. It reminded Annikin of the time his family had to flee from yet another hiding place, and how they came so close to losing another of their family that day. Annikin and Deak's mother had been killed in the Jedi Rebellion, leaving the boy to be raised alone by their father, Kane Starkiller.
Putting a hand on Deak's shoulder, Annikin tried to reason with his little brother.
"Deak if you stay here I'll show you how to shoot a moving target once father is done with your lesson. How does that sound?" offered Annikin.
Deak agreed. While he was far ahead of his brother in many areas of their training, Deak only knew the basics about firing a blaster or lightsaber combat.
With Deak headed back into the metal shake the Starkillers called home, Annikin went out and began his patrol. For the first two hours everything went as usual. Annikin checked the parameter to see if any of the sensors had been set off and replaced the power cells on the ones that were running low. That's when one of the areal parameter senses went off.
Grabbing the binoculars from his bag, Anakin spotted a small battalion of ships headed towards his family's home. Gripping his blaster-rifle in both hands, Annikin made a quick dash back to the house, avoiding fire from the circling ships overhead.
When he got back into the house, Annikin saw his father, Kane Starkiller, giving Deak another lesson on how to use the Force.
Kane Starkiller was a tall man with broad shoulders and heavy set muscles. He had his brown hair tied back in a short ponytail, a thick beard and chilling dark eyes. Kane was a man in his late forties, but looked to be slightly older than he truly was. The legendary Jedi Master dressed in clothing similar to his eldest son, alongside a brown headpiece and cape.
"Dad! They've found us!" warned Annikin.
Kane didn't look up from teaching Deak.
"Dad we've got to—" said Annikin.
Deak momentarily looked up from the problem cube his father had given him to solve. The action earned Deak a hit in the shoulder from his father.
"Continue with the problem, Deak. Your concentration is worse than your brother's." chastised Kane.
When Deak returned to focusing on his lesson, only then did Kane acknowledge his eldest son.
"Annikin, how many?" asked Kane.
"Only one this time, Dad. A Banta Four." told Annikin.
Kane rose from the place he had been sitting on the ground and moved to the wall where he kept his tactical gear.
"Good. They must think this Knight is nothing special. We may not have to repair that old bucket after all. Prepare yourself." instructed Kane.
The father and son each armed themselves with blasters and lightsabers, grabbing as much tactical gear as they could carry. Suddenly, Deak sprang up and gave a small cheer of triumph. The ten year old ran to his father, holding the cube out as if it was some priceless treasure.
"Me, too!" cheered Deak.
"Do you have the answer?" asked Kane.
"I think it's the Corbet dictum: "What is, is without." Sir, I've out marked Annikin in twelve disciplines. I'm as good—" stated Deak.
"All right, son. Get your gear." told Kane.
Deak cheered and hurriedly put on his gear. Annikin fought the urge to role his eyes. Just because Deak has surpassed him in twelve disciplines didn't make his younger brother better than him in understanding the Force. There was a lot more to being a Jedi-Bendu than memorizing philosophy and learning diplomacy. Being a Jedi and using the Force was something no one could describe, and that was a lesson Annikin knew both he and his brother had yet to learn.
A short time later, the Starkillers were gathered on the rocky hillside a twenty minute walk from their home. Kane looked through the binoculars, seeing the Banta Four down in the valley bellow them. There were no signs that anyone had been around the starship and that worried Kane.
"No tracks. Bilock hasn't been opened. Interior systems are still on…" observed Kane.
"Are we going to wait for them to come out?" wondered Annikin.
"He's not in there. He's baiting us. Stay on guard and keep hidden. I'm going to make my way across the ridge and call his bluff. Better we meet him in open combat than wait for him to ambush us." spoke Kane.
Kane slowly made his way down the rocky hillside. Annikin was about to go after his father when Kane sent a warning to his eldest through the Force. Reluctantly, Annikin stepped back and let his father continue down the ridge on his own.
From their hiding place behind a large rock, the brothers watched as their father moved closer and closer towards the ship. Deak was keeping an eye on his father with the binoculars, trying his best to hold the blaster-rifle he had been given with only one arm. All the while he was watching his father, Deak heard his brother complain about being left behind.
"He should have let me go with him. He's getting too old to make an open challenge." huffed Annikin.
"He's not too old to realise you'd just get in the way." slyly spoke Deak.
Annikin frowned, resisting the urge to whack his brother on the head.
"Cover than weapon. It's shining like a beacon." said Annikin.
But Deak ignored his brother, focusing his attention on tracking his father's every movement.
"He's making his move…" quietly said Deak.
Suddenly, without either brother sensing it, a figure shrouded in dark robes and wearing a metal mask destroyed the rock the brothers had been hiding behind. There was the familiar snap hiss as a crimson bladed lightsaber activated.
"Annikin!" yelled Deak.
Annikin watched in horror as the Sith, for that was the only thing Annikin could think this monster to be, cut down his little brother. Enraged, Annikin activated his own lightsaber. Annikin's own red blade clashed against the Sith's crimson blade. Annikin used every move and form his father had taught him, but the Sith was just too strong. Just as it looked like the end was near, out of nowhere Kane Starkiller appeared.
The Jedi Master let out a scream as he cut the Sith in two with his red blade, saving his eldest from his youngest unfortunate fate. Kane deactivated his lightsaber, clipping it back to his belt without a word. Kane knelt beside his youngest son's body, cradling the dead child in his arms.
"I'm sorry…" whispered Annikin.
Annikin felt the pain and sadness radiating off his father in waves. The young Jedi knew no words could ease his father's pain, or his own. He wished there was something he could have done to save Deak. He should have sensed the Sith coming, but instead he allowed himself to become distracted. And his distraction had cost his brother his life. Annikin swore he would never let his own impulses endanger anyone else he loved again.
The father and son worked in silence as they prepared the funeral pyre for Deak. Once the pyre was complete, Kane set it ablaze as in accordance with Jedi tradition. After saying a few words, the father and son headed to the ship, not once looking back.
Annikin sat himself in the pilot's seat beside his father. Kane, tears still running down his face, gave his son commands to set course as he prepared the ship for liftoff.
"Son, plot course for Aquilae." spoke Kane.
"We're going home?" questioned Annikin.
The last time Annikin had seen his homeworld was just before the Jedi Rebellion and his mother's death. After that, it had been almost a decade of running across the galaxy from the new Emperor and the Knights of Sith.
Trying his tears, Kane spoke to his son in the most controlled voice he could manage.
"We both need a rest after all that has happened." told Kane.
Without another word, Annikin plot the course to his and his father's homeworld.
This is a 'novelization' of the Star Wars comic series, based on the original Star Wars script. I'll be adding onto the scenes in the comic and incorporating some things of my own. Comment if you like the story.
