Kaelen and Laurel had been involved in an extensive game of catch when Em and Juno found them. In fact, they had been working so hard that sweat was pouring off of them. Of course they played catch using the Force and the "ball" was a boulder the size of a small house. They looked rather miniscule in their attempts to move it but move it did and with the ease of one who had years of training.
Again Juno wondered with awe at little Kota in her arms who would someday learn to do all of the things she was seeing in front of her.
"Girls let's go!" Em called. "It's growing dark…"
Grinning they dropped their boulders and raced home.
Vader's apprentice located the entrance to Starkiller's home. He was still mystified as to why Starkiller had chosen this place. This planet of all places. It had a low population of mixed outcasts. While it was sustainable there wasn't much to it.
And if the Rogue Shadow ever broke down there would be no leaving this place.
He moved toward the home. He knew Starkiller and the eldest boy were not in the residence. That had left Em, alone with Juno, the infant and the younger children.
She stood as he approached. She'd known he was coming. He could see her face in the dim light as night was falling. There was no fear… only calm.
She knows, he thought.
Em knew she was about to die. She had accepted it.
What she did not accept was that she would die quietly without giving Juno or the others a chance to escape. She had known she would die the moment she sensed his presence near the home. Em was no match for Vader's new apprentice.
Through the Force she managed to send out "Run! He's here!"
Why drag this out? The Apprentice thought. There was no need for it. There was a certain amount of respect for an enemy who knew they didn't stand a chance and still stood in the way. He would give her the gift of a quick death out of respect.
At least there was one fighter among them who deserved it. But Starkiller?
He reached out with the Force and snatched Em up by the throat in a tightened grip. Starkiller did not deserve any mercy.
The Apprentice gripped his hand into a tightened fist and immediately there was an audible snap. Em was gone.
Briefly an image from the original Starkiller's memories flushed through the mind of the Apprentice. "Poor boy." It was the Jedi Shaak Ti, killed by the original apprentice before his discovery by the Emperor. Her voice wafted through his brain. "The Sith always betray one another –but I'm sure you'll learn that soon enough."
He pushed the thought away suddenly angry with how easily the memory had surfaced. He knew they were what had pushed the clone before him over to the Light. But the Apprentice did not have any reservations about whose memories they were. Briefly he wondered what was the true difference between himself and Starkiller. One had chosen Juno, the other had stayed loyal to Vader. The other's choice seemed to be a weakness, considering the path the apprentice was about to take to finish off Starkiller. He would never let himself fall to such a weak emotion, or become entangled as Starkiller had done.
Juno he reasoned must have been some sort of test. One that had been failed badly.
He would not make the same mistake.
He sensed the sudden anguish by those in the room. Hurriedly he searched for the one he had come to take and by extension bring Starkiller to a field of his choosing.
She was in the front room coming towards the front door. There was no one else in the house only a bunch of Force Sensitive children who suddenly cried out in fright and anguish. Her concern radiated to him but she kept coming towards the door. Right to him.
He opened himself up fully to the Force, letting his presence show even more. Starkiller had to have seen him, had to know he was there. Even the untrained children would be able to see him. The only one flying blind in there was Juno Eclipse.
Juno had seen the crying children and had only gotten one phrase out of them. Em was gone.
She hurried to the front door with Kota strapped to her chest. The infant was fast asleep until suddenly he woke up and started wailing. She wrapped her arms around him as she moved, there was a sudden quiet in the house.
Juno did not need to have the Force to realize what was wrong. She opened the door hoping against hope that her friend was not gone.
She found Em lying on the ground in a sprawl on her back. Glancing up she caught sight of Starkiller's face staring at her from ten feet away. It wasn't him but the effect of having the exact same face made her dizzy. She didn't move, and for a moment neither did he.
"You are not Galen," she said in a loud whisper to break the silence while he stared at her.
"No," He said in a loud voice, lifting his hand, "I'm not." The Apprentice heard the name. Oddly enough he reacted the same way the original Galen Marek, aka, Starkiller had. A thrill shot through him, this had been his name…his original name.
Not mine, HIS. He pushed the sensation away angry with himself. Aware he was standing there with his hand uplifted and the time was passing by he reached out with the Force. He could sense Starkiller and the older boy, BJ?, returning as swiftly as they could. He cloaked himself within the Force so he was hidden once again. It would take a very talented Jedi to pick him out.
He snatched Juno up with the Force and dragged her along behind him. She clutched Kota wildly as she was dragged along. Wisely she kept silent. There was nothing she could do and while he may have the face of the man she loved he wasn't him and he would never had fooled Juno into thinking otherwise.
Besides he wanted Starkiller on a field of his choosing. He could not bring Starkiller back into the Empire now, the boy had seen to it. He mused on the scene. Not even Vader had prepared him enough for the abilities displayed by the boy Caohdan. He would certainly make a prodigal apprentice. The Apprentice checked himself suddenly as the words of Shaak Ti once again played through his mind. "Poor boy, the Sith always betray one another. I'm sure you'll learn that soon enough."
A rock flew up and hit Juno in the forehead knocking her unconscious. She could hear Kota wailing as she slid into darkness.