The Apprentice
The Ghost flew away from the Outpost as fast as Hera could push the battered ship
"Alright, everyone hang on" Hera called over the coms "we're making the jump to hyperspace, we'll be at the fleet in a few hours." Sabine sat in the Phantom, watching as the stars stretched into the swirling blue clouds of hyperspace. The last few minutes replaying again and again in her head. Ezra's scream of agony and the lightning... Kanan had told her about Sith warriors in the Clone Wars who could produce lightning attacks from the Dark Side. Had Ezra crossed the line? Had he turned? Why did she let him leave? He was clearly outmatched. Starkiller had held the entire Ghost in place! What chance had Ezra ever had?
"Stupid kid!" She choked up, her eyes clouding. How was she going to explain this? They'd never forgive her for letting him go. There was the sound of tapping on metal and Sabine spun around on the Phantoms chair to see Ashoka climbing up the ladder. The Togruta's expression was empty.
"Ashoka" Sabine stood up "shouldn't you be in the med bay?" Ashoka smiled and shook her head
"It's nice of you to be concerned Sabine, but I'll be fine. It's been a long time since I've met a Dark Side user who was proficient in Sith Lightning" The Togruta rubbed her side and winced. "Sabine, Ezra stayed behind didn't he?" Sabine felt a lump in her throat form. She tried to speak, but the words caught in her throat and she just nodded. Ashoka sighed and her shoulders slumped
"Then it's as I feared" the Grey Jedi sighed
"What?" Sabine said after taking a breath "is he dead?" Ashoka shook her head.
"After I got onboard I felt shifts in the Force, like a light had gone out." The Togruta looked at Sabine and took the Mandalorians hands in her own.
"Sabine, Ezra has turned to the Dark Side."
"Your apprentice?" Ezra glowered up at Starkiller
"Why yes" Starkillers voice wasn't as harsh, almost soft without the helmet "I can feel the Dark Side within you, you can feel its power!" The Sith crouched down next to the fallen Jedi "I can teach you to control it! Teach you to be more powerful then you ever could become as a Jedi! Together we can defeat Vader and the Emperor and rule the Galaxy!" Ezra stared up at Starkiller, yellow eyes gazing into each other
"Will we make them pay?" Ezra said through gritted teeth "make them suffer for all the pain and suffering they've forced on the galaxy?"
"Of course" Starkiller straighten up and stood over the boy. Ezra stared up at the Sith before rising up onto one knee with his head bowed
"Then I will follow you, and put faith in your training" he hesitated "my Master" Starkiller smiled and placed his hand on his new apprentices shoulder
"Rise my apprentice" he offered his hand and after a pause the boy took it. Starkiller pulled Ezra to his feet
"Come on" Starkiller looked around him "the Empire will send someone to check into this "incident"." Ezra nodded. Now he could see Starkillers face he realised the Sith was much younger then he'd thought, his face was young. He could only be about seventeen years old. Starkiller raised his hand his lightsaber flew to him, freed from the grip of Ezra's severed hand.
The two of them started off out of the hanger and down darkened corridors, Ezra hugging the stump of his arm to his chest
"We'll get that fixed when we get to my ship" Starkiller nodded at the arm, his gaze unwavering as the boy glared at him. The two jogged through the station, descending staircases until they reached the lowest part of the station and emerged into a second hanger. Ezra slowed to a walk staring at the ship that waited for them. A heavily modified Imperial vessel. The name "Rogue Shadow" emblazoned on the hull
"So it was you that attacked us" the boy said flatly "why am I not surprised?" Starkiller glanced at the boy, but didn't acknowledge the jibe.
"Ah! Master!" A droid was making it's way down the Shadows ramp "I see your mission was a complete success!" The droid said looking at Ezra before turning back to Starkiller
"You're powers of deduction astound me PROXY" Starkiller said smiling. It was the first time Ezra had heard any humour or warmth in the Siths voice
"The ships sensors have detected approaching Imperial ships" PROXY said "should we depart?"
"As soon as possible, tell Juno to prep for take off" Starkiller said, stripping off his heavy robe as he made his way up the ramp. Ezra paused at the base of the ramp for a minute. He looked around him and took a breath before following his new master into the ship.
"What do you mean the kids gone?!" Zeb roared. The Ghost crew was gathered in the common area. Kana was sat with his arm in a cast, staring off into the distance.
"He stayed behind to defend the Ghost from Starkiller" Sabine said quietly "he knew the defences wouldn't keep him out" the Mandalorian shook her head "I couldn't stop him" she looked down, she had Ezra's cadet helmet in her lap.
"Well we have to go back and get him!" Kanan said
"Kanan" Rex said sadly " I'm so sorry but there's no way Starkiller left him alive" Kanans head snapped around glaring
"So quick to give up on a friend!" The Jedi got up "how like a Stormtrooper!" Rex's brow furrowed into a frown. He took a breath
"You're grieving." He said slowly "so I'll let that slide"
"He's alive!" Kanan yelled at the clone "I can feel it!"
"He's right Rex" Ashoka said quietly
"Exactly!" Kanan said looking Ashoka in gratitude "so let's go back for him!" Hera shook her head
"Kanan, there's no way to go back until we drop out of hyperspace"
"Then drop us out!" Kanan snapped at Hera. The pilot folded her arms and frowned at Kanan. The Jedi took a breath
"I'm sorry Hera, but we can't leave him!" Sabine looked up from Ezra's helmet
"Kanan, there's something you don't know" she said quietly
"What don't I know?" The Jedi said frowning. Ashoka cleared her throat
"Kanan" she paused "Ezra has turned to the Dark Side." There was silence on the Ghost. Each crew member silently processing the information.
"No" Kanan broke the silence. "He can't have, I would have felt it!"
"You do feel it Kanan" the Togruta said gently. "You just don't want to" Kanan sat with his head in his hands
"No" he whispered "no..."
Ezra sat in the Rogue Shadows med bay as the droid PROXY worked on fitting him with a replacement hand.
"You humans are so fragile" the droid said as he worked
"You don't look so tough droid" Ezra snapped, wincing slightly as PROXY adjusted the circuity in his wrist
"Oh appearances are deceiving young one, I hold several combat modules that allow me to imitate highly respected lightsaber combatants"
"Huh, every day's a school day" Ezra said rolling his eyes, then flinching again as PROXY continued work on the hand.
At the Shadows controls Juno Eclipse sat with her arms crossed staring at Starkiller with a raised eyebrow. Starkiller sat in the co-pilots seat flipping through maps in deep thought
"I see the look Juno" the Sith said without looking up "care to tell me what it's about?" Juno rolled her eyes
"You've taken an apprentice, an apprentice that happens to be Ezra Bridger, who happens to be on the Empires most wanted list." Juno sat forward "Galen, what part of this is a good idea?" Galen looked over at her
"Juno, you know what the Sith are like. They betray each other" Galen twirled his chair around to face her "he already has once, and when he does it again I'll want back up" Juno shook her head
"Yes we've been over this" she said annoyed "but why him?" Galen looked over
"Two birds with one stone" he smiled "I do have a plan you know!" Juno scoffed
"That'll be a first, so what is this plan?" Galen sat back and folded his arms
"The only way we'll be able to get close to Vader and the Emperor is if the Alliance can cause enough trouble to cause Vader's involvement. With Ezra I'll be strong enough to take him. But I'll need to strengthen and embolden the Rebellion, I can earn the Alliances trust as Galen Marek after training Ezra in the Dark Side" Galen went back to looking through maps "and what better way to win their trust then returning their precious Ezra Bridger?" He glanced over at Juno smugly. The pilot shook her head
"Not the worst plan you've come up with" she shrugged "that's not saying much though" Galen looked over at her with a raised eyebrow before tapping commands into the navigation systems
"That boy hates you" Juno said it simply "you took his hand off" Galen nodded
"And I hate Vader, it's the way of the Sith" Juno shook her head
"So where are we going?" She asked as Galen finished tapping commands into the navigation system
"I need somewhere to train Ezra that's already strong in the Dark Side, somewhere Vader or his friends won't sense his presence and come looking" Juno glanced at a monitor
"We're going back to Felucia?" She looked over at Marek in shock
"Since Shaak Ti died the planets natural affinity for the Dark Side has returned, it's the perfect place" Galen pulled a few levers and dialled commands into the ships controls
"Get her ready to go" he said to Juno "I'm going to see how he's doing" Juno nodded and went to work.
"There. Complete" PROXY said. Ezra raised his new hand. The gears and circuits were vaguely visible under black armour plating. Ezra made a fist.
"How's the new handing suiting you?" Starkiller was standing in the door with his arms folded
"It'll take some getting used to" the boy didn't even look up "it's not exactly elegant" he opened his hand listening to the sound of gears turning as the joints moved.
"Wear that over it" Starkiller tossed Ezra a leather glove "you won't be able to tell the difference" the two didn't break eye contact as Ezra pulled on the glove
"So what's the plan then? Master" Ezra said coolly. Starkiller shook off the boys hostility. He hadn't expected the start to be easy
"We're heading to a planet called Felucia" he said sitting down across from Ezra
"Sounds wonderful" the boy drawled sarcastically. Starkiller tilted his head to one side, then raised his hand. Ezra choked, he felt a hand close around his throat again, his new hand flew to his neck and he glared at Starkiller
"Let me make this clear Bridger" Starkiller said softly but firmly "I am not Kanan Jarrus. I will not be as lenient or soft." He tightened his grip and the boy tried to gasp "if you disobey me, or vex me, there will be consequences" he released his grip and Ezra slumped forward gasping. "Is that understood?" The Sith said calmly
"Yes, master" Ezra said glaring, massaging his throat
"Good" Starkiller straightened his tunic "your training will be as unpleasant as you make it" Ezra glared before nodding
"Understood" he said coldly. Starkiller cleared his throat
"Felucia has a natural affinity for the Dark Side, it will greatly increase the speed of your training" the boy nodded.
"PROXY, we need to send a transmission" Starkiller glanced at the droid before walking out of the medical bay. The droid set down it's medical tools and turned to Ezra
"He can be difficult." The droid said in the same optimistic tone he always used "but given time he will grow on you, just as he grew on Captain Eclipse" PROXY started to leave "I wouldn't judge him so harshly, you are not so different" the droid said as he made his way
"And how is that?" Ezra snapped still massaging his throat
"You both lost everything" the droid said without turning "you both learned to survive." The door shut behind him.
The Ghost had returned to the Rebel Fleet, Hera and Ashoka had volunteered to give Sato a debrief of their failure.
"I see" Commander Sato said rubbing his chin "this is regretful Captain Syndulla, he was a useful asset to the Rebellion" Sato paused "and he was a good kid"
"The best" Hera said wiping her eyes
"How long will it take for Kanan to recover from his injuries?"
"A few months at most" Hera said glumly
"And how long will it take the rest of your crew to recover?" Sato asked gently. Hera sat down with her head in her hands, Ashoka put her hand on her shoulder
"I don't know Commander, we've never lost anyone before" Hera didn't even look up
"Then I think it best if you spend some time away from the Rebellion" Sato said "you're free to take leave until you're ready to return"
"That's very generous of you Commander" Hera said gratefully "I'll tell the rest of the crew."
After Hera had left Sato turned to Ashoka. The Togruta had stayed quiet through most of the debriefing.
"Commander Tano" Sato said carefully "do you believe the Ghost crew will be able to function effectively with out Ezra?"
"You mean will they still be valuable to the Rebellion" Ashoka said coldly
"We have to look at the bigger picture" Sato said stubbornly "one boy is not worth an entire galaxy."
"He wasn't just a boy!" Ashoka snapped "he was a Jedi, I'd have thought you'd have been at least upset to learn there was one less in the universe." The Togruta gave Sato a withering look, the man fidgeted
"Yes... Well..." He started to say
"Don't bother" Ashoka was already on her way out, the door sliding shut behind her.
Juno was sat at the Rogue Shadow controls, watching as the swirling vortex of hyperspace rolled outside the ship. Despite Galen's reassurances she was still wary of his decision to take the boy as an Apprentice. It was too much unwanted attention.
"I can't beat Vader and his emperor alone" he had insisted "always two there must be, a master and an apprentice." Before she'd met Galen she'd never believe the old stories about the Sith and the Jedi, "a bunch of superstitious nonsense" she'd always thought to herself. That was before she'd seen Galen pull a Star Destroyer out of the sky with his mind, once you seen things like that, you become a believer quickly.
A door opened behind her and she turned her chair expecting to see Galen, instead Ezra was stood in the doorway. He was wearing a leather glove over the new prosthetic hand PROXY had grafted to his wrist, he was still hugging his right arm to his chest, the new fingers twitching every so often.
"Captain Eclipse, I presume" the boy said as the door closed behind him
"Juno" she said, her eyes running up and down the boy, sizing him up "should you be walking around? Shouldn't you be resting?" The concern was legitimate but Ezra shrugged it off
"He cut off my hand not my legs" he said flatly as he wandered around the Shadows communal area that that was attached to the cockpit in a sort of open plan. Juno shrugged, Galen had the same attitude, but Galen hadn't lost a limb, yet.
"So you're the pilot I guess" Ezra said turning back to Juno "you're good"
"Thanks" Juno said, unsure of where Ezra was going with this
"So what were you? Imperial? Pirate?" Ezra asked as he slumped down in the co-pilots seat
"I graduated from the Imperial Academy as the top of my class" Juno said firmly "what were you before you waved a glow stick around and ended up on the Imperials most wanted list?"
"I'm on the Imperial most wanted list?" Ezra looked up as he peeled the glove of his new hand "I was a lot of things, con artist, thief, loft rat" he went back to examining his new had, clenching and unclenching his fist over and over.
"Yes you are" Juno leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms "care to tell me why one of your listed aliases is Jabba the Hutt?" Ezra almost laughed at that, his mouth shifting into something that was almost a smile.
"Well I got captured right after I met the others" he paused for a moment "and I was trying to be as uncooperative as possible"
"And you said Jabba the Hutt when they asked your name?" Juno almost chuckled
"First thing that came to mind" Ezra shrugged "so how'd the top graduate of their Imperial Class end up flying a Sith around?" He leaned forwards "I'm just assuming that Vader assigned you to him?" Juno froze slightly
"Oh calm down, who else could train him? None of the Inquisitors are close to as powerful as him" Ezra shrugged
"You're oddly calm" Juno said sarcastically
"If you were going to take me to Vader you wouldn't have given me this" Ezra said plainly, raising his new hand, his yellow eyes drilling into her "so I'm going to assume Starkiller is being partially honest when he says he plans to destroy Vader and the Emperor"
"We will destroy the Emperor" Ezra and Juno both jumped at the unexpected noise and turned to see Starkiller standing in the doorway "Vader murdered my father, raised me to be nothing but a weapon" the Sith made his way into the common area "I want him dead just as much as the rest of he Galaxy"
"Good" Ezra said, a smile appearing on his face, his yellow eyes shining in the dark.
"So Sato's given us time off?" Zeb said scratching his head, the Lasat looked over at Sabine "well I guess that's good of him" he almost expected to hear Ezra make a joke, the fact he was gone was still sinking in.
"We should use it to search for Ezra" Sabine said immediately, there was a murmur of consent from the crew and they all turned to Kanan, who'd remained silent during the discussion.
"Of course we should" the Jedi said after a while "but there's something we should all bear in mind when we start looking." The crew exchanged worried glances. Hera frowned, ever since Kanan had accepted that fact Ezra had turned to the Dark Side he'd been strangely quiet.
"Bear in mind?" Sabine said suddenly "Kanan, it's Ezra!"
"Yes Sabine" the Jedi snapped. He took a breath before continuing "but he's embraced the Dark Side, we have to be ready to accept the possibility that the Ezra we find won't be the one we lost." There was silence in the Ghost. Hera looked sadly at Sabine, she was staring across the room at Ezra's cadet helmet again, a far away look on her face.
"What does that mean?" She asked quietly
"The Dark Side changes people" the whole crew jumped and looked at the door, Ashoka was standing in the doorframe "it's unstable, addictive." She stepped into the room, the door closing behind her "passions set you free, but they change you." She looked at Kanan who nodded
"You coming with us then?" Zeb said leaning forwards. The crew looked at Ashoka. The Togruta took a breath
"I'll help you look, but for now you all need to rest"
"What?" Kanan snapped, "that's crazy"
"She's right Kanan" Hera said from across the room
"I can't believe I'm hearing this!" The Jedi growled glaring at Hera "it was your idea to let him join the crew"
"Yes it was Kanan!" Hera snapped "but look at at yourself! You're arms in a cast!"
"She's right Kanan" Ashoka said gently "do you really think you'd stand a chance against Starkiller in this condition?"
"But we can't oleave him out there!" Kanan said helplessly
"We won't" Ashoka said firmly "I'm taking an A-Wing and I'm going to start looking now. I only came here to tell you that" she tossed Hera a long range communicator "call me when you're all ready." The Togruta turned and walked away, but paused before walking out the door and looked over her shoulder "we'll find him" she said firmly. Then she left.
The days since they'd arrived on the dark planet Felucia had started blur together. A routine was quickly established. Up at the crack of dawn, he'd spar with PROXY, duelling legendary Jedi, reincarnated through PROXY's combat modules. Starkiller lent him the green lightsaber he'd used slice off his hand for these sparing sessions, stating plainly that he wouldn't return Ezra's own lightsaber "until he was ready". Juno would spend a few hours after that teaching him to fly the Rogue Shadow, teaching him how to maintain the ship and make upgrades. It wasn't until midday that Starkiller would train him in the Dark Side. Much like with Kanans lessons in light the lessons in the dark had started off small. Learning to control and channel his anger
"Hatred and Rage can give you great power" Starkiller had said in their first lesson "but don't allow it to blind you with arrogance, unchecked it can make you sloppy and unbalanced" the Sith smiled humourlessly "and that can cost you a hand." As the days stretched into weeks the lessons had stepped up a notch, the sparing sessions had become more ferocious. The boy quickly learned not to hesitate. When Starkiller had presented him with a Felucian native, a Wookie like creature and ordered him to practice a force choke on the creature he had faltered. A spark of compassion left in his heart. Then he'd felt a hand around his throat and Starkiller had calmly told him that until he choked the Falucian he wouldn't be released. After letting go of his throat Ezra had raised his right hand and closed his fist. Hate in his eyes. He'd grown used to his replacement limb, to him it was the same as his original hand.
The training was gruelling. But he felt it making him stronger. As weeks stretched into months he could feel the darkness of the planet feeding him strength. He started to win against PROXY more and more, cutting down Jedi with cold determination. He'd taken to wearing black. Boots, trousers and a simple leather tunic over a loose shirt, his hair had grown out, his eyes had hardened, turning from sickly yellow to gold. He'd grown a few inches.
One morning Starkiller was stood with PROXY in the clearing outside the Rogue Shadow.
"You're doing well" Starkiller said "but to truly grow powerful in the Dark Side you must let go of the compassions that held you in the light" next to him PROXY flickered, after the flash has dissipated the image of Ashoka Tano stood in PROXY's place. Ezra stared at the image, there was something twitching in his chest, it almost made him hesitate.
"Destroy what you once held dear" Starkiller called from across the clearing. He tossed Ezra Rahm Kota's lightsaber which he caught cleanly. He paused for a moment, then activated the green blade. Ashoka activated her twin white blades and charged.
Ezra waited until she was feet away before rolling under her first strike and aiming his own at her back, Ashoka blocked the strike with her second lightsaber and swung again with her first which Ezra ducked under and aimed a telekinetic push at her torso with his free hand. The Togruta skidded backwards, managing to stay on her feet, Ezra charged the disoriented Ashoka and jabbed his green blade under her guard. Ashoka moved one of her lightsabers to block the jab, falling into his trap. Swinging his blade to the right he cleanly cut her right lightsaber in half and thrust his gloved right hand out sending her tumbling back with another well aimed telekinetic push. Starkiller watched from the sidelines. A smile slowly spreading across his face. The fight was quickly turning in Ezra's favour, without her second blade Ashoka was having trouble fending off Ezra offence. In a ditch effort she swung at Ezra in offence. Ezra dodged to the side and caught her wrist in his right hand, squeezing until she dropped the lightsaber. With a final push he forced her over onto her back and advanced, raising the green blade over his head
"Ezra! Don't!" He froze. None of PROXY's projections had talked before, he stood over her, blade in the air.
"Strike her down!" Starkiller roared from across the clearing. Ezra closed his eyes, gritted his teeth and drove the blade downwards. The Togruta screamed as the blade entered her chest, after a second the projection faded and PROXY had taken Ashoka's place
"Very good sir!" The droid said climbing to it's feet "you have improved considerably in such a short time!"
"He did alright" Starkiller said shortly. He'd made his way over to the combatants "you hesitated" he said as he held out his hand. Ezra deactivated the green blade and handed it to Starkiller
"Yes master" he said looking down
"Compassion is a weakness" Starkiller urged taking the boys shoulder "don't let it blind you!" The boy looked up and nodded
"Yes my master, when the challenge is real, I won't hesitate"
"Good" Starkiller said after a pause. "Go, take some time off" the boy nodded and started back towards the Shadow. The Sith and the droid watched him go
"Master, I am curious. Why did you not have me use the avatar of Kanan Jarrus?" PROXY asked turning to Starkiller
"Killing Jarrus will be his ultimate test PROXY." The Sith said simply "there can be not practice or training for that."
Hours later Ezra was sat out in the clearing, he was making adjustments to his artificial hand, it was never as quick or manoeuvrable as flesh and blood. There was pull in the Force. He looked up, eyes scanning the edge of the jungle. There was something out there, the environment on Felucia throbbed with Dark Side energy, but this was different. It was concentrated, it was being focused, used. His eyes narrowed, he set down his tools and pulled his glove on. Letting his senses guide him he walked into the forest.
He stepped carefully through the under growth and in between trees, the plants had fed on dark side energy and started to take on a life of their own, eerily feeling around them for prey. He walked slowly with one hand raised in front of him, letting the Force guide him, telling him where to put his feet, when to duck and which way to turn. Pushing aside foliage he emerged into a new clearing, it was smaller then the previous, he could feel the disturbance in the Dark Side.
There was something behind him! Trusting his instincts he dived to the right. A young Zabrak had leapt through the air wielding a pair of short red lightsabers, swinging then at where his head had been seconds earlier. The hilts were shaped like batons. Ezra frowned, PROXY had used weapons like that once, what had he called them? Guard Shotos? The Zabrak had skidded to a halt after missing him, growling with frustration she charged him again. He was ready for her this time. Her strikes were off balance and fuelled by fury, he dodged them easily. Ducking underneath and around them, laughing as he did so. His laughter enraged her further, her strikes growing more and more desperate. He ducked under her latest blow and caught the hilt of her guard shoto in his metal hand. Their faces inches apart he grinned
"So, what brings a nice girl like you to a place like this?" The Zabrak snarled and tried to yank her saber free, Ezra held on though and thrust his free hand out, sending her back with a telekinetic push, she let go of her lightsaber.
"What I can't even get your name?" He smirked
"My name is Maris Brood" the Zabrak snarled "not that it will do you any good" she charged again, the two clashed with the shortened blades, Ezra fell back into a defensive form observing Broods technique
"She obviously fell to the darkness with no one to teach her" he thought to himself, watching her wild and unbalanced strikes, easily parrying her attacks it was clear she'd had no training.
"Is what it was like for Starkiller when I turned?" The thought crossed his mind as he knocked her blade aside and kicked her hard in the chest, sending her flying backwards, she landed with a grunt, sprawling out on her back
"Stay down" he said coldly. Brood ignored him, climbed to her feet and charged again.
"This is getting boring" Ezra thought to himself, rolling his eyes as he leapt cleanly out he way of Broods next attack.
"Time to end this." He said coldly and raised his hand, focusing on the hilt in Broods hand. The guard shoto was plucked cleanly from Maris's hand and sailed through the air, Ezra caught it and ignited the second blade. Brood stared at her empty hand before starting to back away. Ezra darted forward and slashed across both her knees. Maris Brood fell to her knees screaming in agony, she looked down to see both her own lightsaber blades crossed at her neck.
"Please" she whimpered looking up at Ezra. He regarded her with cold yellow eyes
"Compassion is a weakness." He said flatly and slashed both blades forward. Maris Broods headless body fell to the side and lay still. Ezra stood there panting, a slow clap echoed through the clearing. Ezra turned and saw Starkiller.
"Very good" the Sith was grinning
"Did you know about her?" Ezra glanced at Broods body
"Oh I've known about Maris since before we arrived" Starkiller shrugged casually "I knew she have to be removed at some point, but I thought I'd leave it up to you" Starkiller smiled "consider it a test. Which you past. You're almost ready.
There is just one more trial"
"And what's that?" Ezra asked
"Why, a rematch of course" Starkiller laughed and activated his crimson lightsaber. After a moments pause Ezra raised the two guard shotos. A grin spreading across his face.