Starkiller has reached the age of ten, and training has not been going as well as hoped. He has been trained in the lightsaber style of Soresu, or resilience. At age seven I had begun to teach him how to control his force abilities, and he learned so swiftly that we found he should use his lightsaber more as a defensive tool, and focus his force powers on their offensive capabilities. Still no one outside of The Emperor or myself has learned of his existence.

There is but one problem. To be a Sith ones training must be relentless and cruel; to invoke the emotions of the trainee, thus giving him strength. But Starkiller saw through my methods. He knows that no matter how hard or dangerous the training program is, he will not put in his full effort, knowing he is to valuable of an asset to lose. I have begun to wonder if I should even try to scare him. But that was where PROXY came in.

PROXY was designed originally to serve Starkiller in his personal quarters, caring for his wounds, and so on. But our best technicians have reprogrammed him. He is now Starkillers new form of training. PROXY still has the same programming, but now his primary function is to kill Starkiller. He will never be able to defeat Starkiller, but he is enough of a threat that Starkiller will be forced to remain on guard constantly, and will have no choice but to defend himself.

Of course, PROXY will need to be reprogrammed to be more hostile in his ways, constantly. It will only be a matter of time before Starkiller reaches a skill level where PROXY is no longer a threat, so we must keep him up to date with Starkiller's training needs.

With this new program, Starkiller will begin his way to becoming my new apprentice. It seems unfortunate that he will leave us... he shows such promise. Perhaps, after all has worked out, he will come to his senses and train in the ways of the Sith once more. Then, perhaps we actually could gain control of The Empire, rule the galaxy as father and son.

Then The Emperor called me to his starship.

"Vader..." he hissed. "I have noticed a certain... lack of effort on your part in training your new apprentice. This new PROXY model is quite impressive, but it cannot teach Starkiller the true ways in how to use the force."

"But master, he..."

"Have I ever told you the origin of the Sith? Of course not, you were raised as a Jedi. The Sith were a species of force wielding creatures who lived on Korriban, a planet at the far edge of the galaxy. All banished Jedi were sent there for punishment, where we lived at peace with the malevolent Sith... for a short time. We soon saw they were weak and conquered them, became their rulers; lords of the Sith. That was the beginning of the Order of Sith Lords."

"Master, I don't understand..."

"We took their world through fear and power, that was how we were able to control them. You must do the same with your apprentice, or he will never have the power to begin weed out the rebels, and our hopes will be crushed. Use his fear to control him, Vader."

"As you wish, master."

"Remember Vader, you must be relentless. Make his fear and hatred fuel his power. Then, only then, will he be a true wielder of the force."

I knew there was only one way to satisfy The Emperor's craving for pain in Starkiller. I sent Starkiller to Mos Eisley, to give him one final test, one that could take years for him to complete. Once we arrived, I notified Starkiller of our location.

"We are in Mos Eisley, the most corrupt and bloodthirsty city in all of the Empire. Do you know why I brought you here, Starkiller?"

"No master, but please inform me."

"Being a Sith requires more than skills in combat, it also requires knowledge of ethics and limitations. We live by a code, and that code is survival of the fittest. See that man over there?" I pointed to the overweight Rodian a few meters away.

"Yes, master." he groaned.

"He is the most powerful mob boss in Tatooine, aside from Java the Hut, of course. He has connections across the planet. The government, mercenaries, merchants, they are all on his side."

"I see, master."

I pulled out a lightsaber from under my belt. "See this, Starkiller? It is a gift I would like to give you, a new lightsaber."

"Master, I... I don't know what to say..."

I hurled the lightsaber at the mob boss, killing him in an instant, then used the force to bring the weapon into Starkiller's palm. "You always seemed like a fit child. Now prove it. Survive." I left him to defend himself as I headed back to my personal transport.