Okay, here's chapter 2.


Hypori

Shaak Ti didn't know how much longer she could keep this up. She silently prayed for a miracle as she blocked yet another powerful attack from General Starkiller, his emotionless helmet giving no indication of fatigue.

The Togruta Jedi was no stranger to lightsaber combat, and actually excelled at it, with many naming her as the best swordswoman in the Order. However, this opponent was a monster of pure power and skill, with every swing and stab from his blade being perfectly executed with flawless precision. He was, without a doubt, the most powerful being she had ever faced in combat.

"I'll admit, you are a worthy opponent, Master Jedi," Starkiller sneered as his left arm shot out and grabbed her by the throat. "But you're tired, and therefore less of a challenge."

With a grunt, he channeled the Force into his strength and tossed her into the air, causing Shaak Ti to slam into one of the walls of the ship. She let out a grunt of pain and landed on her stomach, dropping her lightsaber in the process.

"So how about this: If you don't pick yourself up and fight me with everything you have, I'm going to walk over to that pile of rubble," the Sith general pointed to his left at said pile, "and kill your Cerean friend. Then I'll go and cut off the Twi'lek's head."

Shaak Ti's eyes shot open, and she allowed the power of the Force to flow through and revitalize her body as she stood up and called her lightsaber to her hand, snarling as she activated the blade and allowing her predatory Togruta instincts to fully open up.

"You will not," she growled as she dashed forward and let loose a wide swing full of righteous power. Starkiller blocked it, of course, but his eyes widened under his helmet.

"Now we're talking," the Sith laughed as he allowed Shaak Ti to attack him, allowing him to fall back on his formidable knowledge of Soresu, Form III of lightsaber combat.

Shaak Ti was relentless, swinging her lightsaber in complex motions that showed off her masterful skill in Form IV, Ataru.

Starkiller felt a thrill as he was forced to dodge and block a series of vicious swings that would have been killing blows had they connected. It had been ages since a decent fighter had come along to challenge him.

The Jedi Master threw a quick left swing that Starkiller blocked, which was followed by a swift kick to his helmet, knocking him off balance and slightly disorienting him. Shaak Ti then threw out her left hand and unleashed a large Force Push, sending her Sith foe blasting through another section of the ship before landing on his back.

Not giving him time to recover, Ti lunged into the air, saber facing down, going in for a stab to the heart to finally destroy this fiend. Unfortunately, Starkiller sensed her incoming attack and activated his ruby blade as she slashed down, barely blocking her attack.

Starkiller began laughing as he took in his predicament. On his back, lightsaber currently clashed against the one held by the Jedi currently standing above him, a snarl on her face.

"Watch those emotions, Jedi," he warned. "Wouldn't want to end up like me, would you?"

With that, he gather his energy and released a Repulse, sending Ti flying back, though she recovered onto her feet quickly, lifting her lightsaber to her side and grabbing it with both hands in Form IV's opening stance.

"I would never turn to the dark side, Sith," she growled as Starkiller stood back up, holding his lightsaber once again in the reverse Shien grip he so preferred.

"Of course not," he said sarcastically. "You're far too weak to ever be one of us."

Starkiller then shot out his left hand and fired a stream of Force Lightning. Ti stood in a defensive stance and allowed her saber to absorb all of the Lightning, preventing it from causing her any harm.

After a few seconds, the Sith Lord paused and cocked his head before looked over to his right.

"Your salvation has arrived, Jedi," he stated calmly.

Curious, Shaak Ti turned her head in the same direction, only to see a group of about a dozen clone troopers emerge from behind one of the crashed ship's walls, all of them armed to the teeth.

One trooper, the red stripes on his armor indicating him as the leader, immediately locked eyes with Starkiller and immediately ordered his men to open fire.

Reacting instantaneously, the general took off, dodging hordes of blaster fire, everything from rifles to miniguns attempting to cut him down where he stood.

Shaak Ti, while her enemy was distracted, ran to check on her allies. With the sounds of gunfire and the destruction of the crashed ship going on behind her, she quickly checked on Ki-Adi-Mundi, finding him to be alive, but unconscious.

As she was checking on Aayla Secura, she heard a scream and turned, only to see Starkiller now cutting down the troopers with extreme prejudice, slicing the head off one as he picjed another one up with the Force and impaled him on a section of the broken ship.

"Backup, now!" the leader yelled into his wrist comm. Almost a split-second after that declaration, a Republic gunship blew threw the wall nearby and aimed its heavy armaments at the helmeted Sith general, who stared at the interesting paint job on the front of the ship, which looked like the snarling face of an infuriated predator, maybe a rancor or krayt dragon.

"Bring it on," the Sith said quietly.

As if acquiescing to his request, the gunship began firing its cannons at him, forcing him to continue his dodging of blaster fire. He even activated his magnetic boots and began running on the walls and ceiling for better maneuverability.

The ship lowered itself enough that it allowed the troopers to begin loading Mundi and Secura onboard before climbing in themselves, the clone commander and Shaak Ti the last ones to climb onboard.

"Get us out of here!" Ti roared, anxious to get away from the monstrously powerful general. The rest of the Jedi Council needed to know about this new enemy.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a familiar red blade burst forth from the chest of the clone commander, who had been standing near the left opening of the ship. There stood Starkiller, one hand grasping the roof of the ship and his boots on the very edge of the ship's opening.

"See you soon, Jedi," the Sith snarled as he kicked the body of the now-dead trooper off of his blade and leaped away, disappearing into the rubble of the ship, the gunship firing a pair of missiles after him for his deed.

The doors to the ship closed, and it quickly exited through the hole it had made earlier, flying towards the large army of super battle droids. One of the troopers pulled out a small detonator and pressed the red button.

The sound of explosions echoed over the plains of Hypori as the explosive charges that the ship had dropped on its way to the crash site detonated, wiping out legions of droids and clearing a pathway for the ship to escape with its injured Jedi passengers on board.

And down below, General Starkiller was still laughing maniacally.


Coruscant, Jedi Temple, Jedi High Council Chambers, one week later...

"We may have been exhausted, but when was the last time someone stood up to five Jedi, and held his own?" Ki-Adi-Mundi asked, incredulity lacing his voice, as he made his case against Starkiller to his fellow Council members. "We must find a way to deal with this new threat, and quickly!"

With that, Mundi took his seat, allowing Master Mace Windu to speak. "Agreed. This General Starkiller is already turning the tide of the war. He's wiped out large numbers of clones and dozens of Jedi already."

He turned to Shaak Ti. "What can you tell us about this new Sith?"

The Togruta breathed in deep, contemplating her answer before speaking.

"He is unlike anything I've ever seen or fought before. He seems to prefer using Shien and Juyo, though his Soresu is very impressive. But his power is simply monstrous, like staring into a bottomless abyss. His connection to the Force is just as strong as anyone on this Council, maybe even more so."

She shivered as she continued. "But the worst part was how... inhuman he was. No mercy, no fatigue, no fear. He felt like an unstoppable machine of the Force than anything else. If we cannot capture or kill this new Sith, then we have no chance of winning this war..."

The room went dead silent as everyone digested this new information. If Shaak Ti, the mightiest swordswoman in the Jedi Order, believed this new Sith general was that powerful, then how could they stand up to such a mighty foe?

"Which leads me to a related topic: I'm sure you all remember Master Kota's new Padawan, Juno Eclipse?" Obi-Wan Kenobi asked everyone. A series of nods were the answer to his question.

Master Saesae Tiin spoke up. "She's good for him. He hasn't had a Padawan since Kento Marek disappeared from the Order."

"Yes, well, Padawan Eclipse had a nightmare of Starkiller at the exact same time Shaak Ti was dueling him on Hypori. She told Rahm, and he told me. What I heard was very... interesting," Kenobi finished.

"Hm. Bring this Padawan forward, we must," Master Yoda said. "Hear her vision, we should."

And so, ten minutes later, nineteen-year-old Padawan Juno Eclipse stood before the Jedi High Council. Her light blonde hair was done up in a bun, her Padawan braid hanging down on the right side of her head. Her blue eyes were foocused on Master Yoda, as he was the Jedi Master on the Council she knew best, having helped train her as a young child.

"Hello, Padawan Eclipse," the diminutive Master said warmly, giving off a grandfather-like aura as he smiled at her.

She couldn't help but smile back as she adjusted her light brown robes. "Hello, Master Yoda."

"We hear you've had a sort of vision regarding our new enemy," Master Windu interrupted.

"General Starkiller?" Juno asked, a hint of fear entering her voice.

Windu nodded the affirmative.

Juno cleared her thoughts and recalled the memories of that fateful night.

"Yes. I was sleeping and I saw... images. I think of the future," she explained.

"Please, go on," Yoda urged gently.

Juno nodded, then began.


A figure, his face covered by the hood of his dark robes, walked calmly through the forests of an alien world, arriving at a hut with a unique symbol on a banner in the front...

The dark figure revealed a saberstaff with ruby red blades, his new opponent, wearing brown robes and wielding a blue lightsaber, charging at him...

The man with the brown robes lie dead on the floor, a lightsaber stab wound in his chest...

The dark figure's hood was down, revealing the tattooed red and black face and horned head of a Zabrak, his dark gaze on a young child who had stolen his twin-bladed lightsaber...

The Zabrak was dueling the very same child, mercilessly attacking him...

The child was older now, and he was lying on a table, a stab wound through his chest disturbingly similar to the one his father suffered...

The teenager's eyes widened as the helmet finished up his new, terrifying suit...

The masked man, Starkiller, stood alongside Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Juno herself...

"Born a Jedi, raised a Sith."

A Separatist ship, being pulled down by the power of a hooded man...

Two men, who looked exactly alike, dueled on a river of fire...


Juno finished her tale, and looked around at the now contemplative looks on the faces of every Jedi Master in the room. She took special notice of the grim look on the face of Master Kenobi.

"And this was everything?" Windu asked.

"Yes, Master."

"I see. Thank you for this, Padawan Eclipse. You may go."

Juno bowed and turned, leaving the room with a quiet grace.

"Hm. Strong with the Force, she is," Yoda noted.

"She's also one of our best pilots. Kota's found himself quite a Padawan," Tiin praised.

"I'm concerned about the Zabrak she mentioned," Kenobi interrupted, leaning forward and clasping his hands together in thought.

"You think it's the same one you defeated on Naboo years ago?" Mundi asked.

"The very same," came the response. "If this General is his legacy, then we're going to need more Knights."

"Have someone in mind, do you?" Yoda asked.

"Of course. I say that we forego the trials and promote my Padawan Anakin to Jedi Knight," Obi-Wan declared.

The room became silent once again.

"Preposterous!" Master Oppo Rancisis bellowed. "We cannot set aside our most hallowed traditions!"

Mundi spoke up. "In this time of need, why do we hold back the Chosen One?"

"Whether or not he is the Chosen One is still to be determined," Windu retorted.

"Well, he is our best pilot, not to mention a mighty warrior," Master Fisto pointed out.

"But he is reckless and headstrong," Adi Gallia added.

"True," Obi-Wan conceded. "But he has become much more mature over time. And he had gone through much more than what the Trials could prepare him for. He passed the Trial of Skill when he defeated that assassin on Yavin IV. Not to mention the atrocious Trial of the Flesh at the hands of Count Dooku."

They were all aware of the loss of Skywalker's hand at the Battle of Geonosis to the nefarious Count. Yoda narrowed his eyes at that, as Dooku was one of his most prized students.

"And he has passed every Trial of Courage this war has thrown at him," Kenobi finished.

"All he has left to do is the Test of the Spirit," Shaak Ti noted.

"And that is what concerns me!" Rancisis raged. "To walk the path of the Jedi, one's spirit must be strong, and that requires discipline. And he has directly defied Master Kenobi in the past, correct?"

Kenobi nodded slightly.

"Did you not disobey me, in time to time in your youth, Master Rancisis?" Yoda asked.

The Thisspiasian Jedi Master was silent.

"Hm. Desperate times, these are. Dangerous enemies, we have made," Yoda began. "Unorthodox, young Skywalker's career has been. So too shall be his Trials."

Yoda's voice was filled with determination as he said his next words.

"A Knight, he shall be."


Outer Rim territories, many months later...

General Starkiller was on board his private ship, the Rogue Shadow, awaiting a transmission from Count Dooku on his next mission. Starkiller and the Count never truly got along, as Dooku saw him as a blunt weapon that lacked finesse, while Starkiller considered him a weakling who would hide in the shadows and run from fights instead of standing his ground.

Of course, after Asajj Ventress's failure with their prototype ion cannon-equipped ship, the Malevolence, which the Jedi destroyed, Starkiller was due a mission to make up for her failure (he despised her almost as much as Dooku).

Soon enough, a hologram appeared of the Count, a frown making up his features.

"Starkiller," he growled unpleasantly. "I have a mission for you."

"I had a sneaking suspicion," Starkiller muttered sarcastically.

"Your attitude is as remarkably annoying as ever," Dooku snarled.

"Just give me my mission. I have some fear to spread," the General said darkly.

Dooku sighed. "The Jedi are launching a strike on one of our vulture droid construction bases above Nar Shaddaa. Master Rahm Kota is leading the attack force. Use the Rogue Shadow's stealth capabilities to get close and sneak in, then kill them all. I'm sending an attack squadron in to distract them while you do your worst."

"Of course," Starkiller said, a smile growing on his face. "Consider it done."

The Count nodded, and the transmission was cut.

Starkiller was filled with excitement. Rahm Kota was considered one of the most dangerous Jedi in the Order, very skilled in Juyo and tough as nails.

The General headed for the cockpit to set the coordinates.

"Time to add a new lightsaber to my collection."


So this was chapter 2. Sorry it took so long, I had major Writer's Block with this story, but now I'm back and more excited than ever to write it. Next chapter includes Starkiller vs Kota, and maybe, just maybe, one Juno Eclipse.

Anyway, reviews appreciated, even criticism!