Darkness
"You have served your purpose well, my apprentice. But I have no further use for you."
If Lord Vader had said these words to CT-881 instead of the chained boy in the middle of the chamber...well, suffice to say the lower part of his stormtrooper armor wouldn't need lubricating. Cut out the second sentence and he might have been able to maintain his composure in the presence of the Emperor's servant. As proud as the recruit was to serve the Empire and by extension, Lord Vader, he certainly didn't want to receive the type of attention that the "apprentice" was receiving right now. Even without the chains.
I'm just an observer... the human reminded himself, watching on with the rest of his squad at what he supposed was an upcoming execution. I might as well not be here.
If only that were entirely true...
Although it was a thought he wouldn't willingly express, CT was confused. He didn't know why Vader had taken a Force-sensitive as an apprentice in the first place, nor why that had led to the need to dispose of him. Perhaps he had conformed to what had been revealed to be the norm for the Jedi, attempting to betray the Emperor's servant and send the New Order into the same anarchy that the Old Republic represented. Maybe Vader had shown uncharacteristic mercy, the type that inquisitors would never even consider. Maybe he was simply nothing more than a tool, used to when he was no longer needed and subsequently disposed of when that use expired. Or maybe it was time to stop asking questions and-...
"Kill him."
Two words. Two simple words that were almost as horrifying as Vader's first sixteen. Observing an execution of a criminal was one thing, but to actually carry it out? CT had never killed anyone, not even an alien and now Vader was ordering him and his fellow squad mates to kill the most dangerous type of enemy in the galaxy?
No, this can't be right, thought the recruit desperately, watching as Vader made for the door. He'll dispense justice himself. We're just here for...for...
Whatever they were here for, they were now alone. And as Vader walked out of the room and the stormtroopers moved forward, their white armor shining in the darkness, CT-881 knew that he would have to follow suit. And readying his E-11 blaster rifle, desperately hoping that he wouldn't have to use it, the stormtrooper approached the boy as well.
Maybe I won't have to use it. I mean, Jedi or not, all it takes is a single shot...
Or not. Because when Sergeant Grono made his first shot, followed by numerous others, it hit nothing. And with darkness having suddenly enveloped the room, the "apprentice" nowhere to be seen, it became clear to the recruit that there was defiantly more shooting to come.
"What happened?" the sergeant asked, voicing the question that was on CT's mind and no doubt in that of every servant of the Empire in this room.
"Where is he?" murmured Corporal Alkon, effectively asking the same question. Only difference was, he received an answer.
Being stabbed in the back by a lightsaber was the source of it.
Stars and galaxies! CT thought, somehow having enough discipline not to voice his surprise...and terror...out loud. He couldn't see anything yet opened fire, as did the rest of his squad. And while they were hitting something, all that something was the walls of the room. And as if to add insult to injury, the freak was darting in and out of the gloom, slicing them to pieces.
Lightsabers, just like lasers, cauterized wounds. Watching Loko go down with a slash across his chest no longer made that a reason for comfort.
Oh god...CT thought, his prayers actually directed to every human and alien deity he could think of. Someone hit him, please...
No such luck. The darkness enveloped everything, the only lights to illuminate it the twin glow of the Jedi's lightsabers and the red bolts fired by CS-999. And as he too joined his fellow stormtroopers on the cold hard floor, his armor slashed in half a dozen places, only the blue light remained. Because CT-881 was now the only stormtrooper left in the room and backing away to the door Lord Vader had exited, he was too terrified to add any red light of his own to the gloom.
I...I'm not a threat, the stormtrooper thought to himself, his gaze meeting that of the monster. You...you don't have to kill me. Please...
Clearly, the Jedi had other plans, advancing on him with the slow, methodical grace that Vader used for those who failed him. Terrified, CT let off a shot, followed by a second that was just as useless. He had no idea how the psychopath could move as fast as he did, reflecting his lasers into the walls, but deep down he knew that he wouldn't live long enough to find out. And backing against the door, it was clear that the Jedi knew that as well.
"N...no," the stormtrooper stammered, feeling the darkness close in on him, darker than he would have thought possible. "Please...no..."
It was to no avail.
And as two beams of light ripped through his chest, CT-881 realized how dark his world had become.
A/N
Regardless of how good The Force Unleashed II turns out to be, I have to say, Lucas Arts certainly knows how to make a good trailer for it.