14 BBY, Anchorhead, Tatooine
4-year-old Luke excitedly made his way to the central square, where an Empire Day ceremony was being held. It was mandatory for all citizens to be present, and conveniently Empire Day happened to coincide with Luke's birthday.
The young man was fascinated. White Stormtroopers and Sandtroopers constantly patrolled the area, while officers rushed everywhere, preparing for the Regional Moff's speech.
"Look, Uncle Owen, Look! A Lambda-Class shuttle!" Luke shouted with glee. It was his first time seeing one, but Owen didn't seem interested at all. "Yeah, I see it." Beru just smiled, her heart melting at the boy's smile. "And tons of white soldiers… this is awesome!" His rant continued.
Finally, the ceremony started. "Today is Empire Day, celebrating the fourth anniversary of the galaxy's salvation, when our great Emperor Palpatine ended the Clone Wars and founded our glorious Empire." The Moff started his speech. "His Majesty's brilliant leadership and extraordinary insight has led to the galaxy's peace, security, and stability." Owen snorted, while others cheered.
When he tried to continue his speechmaking, though, he was cut off by an urgent-looking officer approaching him. "Rebels ships approaching the sector, sir. You must evacuate at once!"
The boy heard the panic in the officer's voice, and he himself panicked when alarms began blaring all over the place. Sure enough, a pair of Y-Wings could be seen descending from the sky, their intent apparent.
"Incoming! Evacuate the Moff and protect the citizens!" Luke heard a Stormtrooper commander shout to his troopers. But too late. The Y-Wings were already in attack vector when the white-armored troopers opened fire.
Around Luke, everything exploded in a fiery inferno of flames. He covered his face with his hand automatically, and the world went black.
"Kid…"
"Can.. Hear…"
"Can you hear me?"
"Uh… What? Where am I?" Luke's eyes fluttered open. His entire body ached in pain. He caught a glimpse of female medic working on his injuries.
"Don't worry, it's safe now. You're on a imperial facility." The woman replied consolingly.
"Wha- What happened?" Luke asked. All he remembered was an explosion. How was he alive?
"Rebel bombing run." She replied gravely, with a hint of dislike in her voice.
"What about my Aunt and Uncle? Where are they?" Luke asked desperately, hoping the worst hadn't happened. 'No, it can't be.. No!' He thought.
"I'm sorry. You were the sole survivor in that attack." The nurse confirmed the truth with pity in her voice. Luke didn't know what to do anymore.
His aunt and uncle were dead.
Because of Rebels.
The 4-year-old boy broke down, his grief getting the better of him. The medic hugged him tightly, offering comfort to the lost and pained boy.
After a few minutes, Luke finally calmed down. Then he noticed he was aching all over again. "I really hope I'm not hurt that much." He attempted a conversation with the woman again.
"Oh, don't you worry about it. You just have a couple of cuts, scratches and mild concussions. How did you survive that, by the way?" She asked, still shocked at the unheard-of miracle of a 4-year-old boy surviving a bombing run.
"I don't know." He admitted.
"Well, it seems you've finally gotten better. Need anything more?" The lead doctor asked, coming in.
"No, sir. Thank you for saving me, by the way." Luke thanked him, his tone grateful.
"That's nothing. Those rebels, bombing civilians… they should be wiped out, if you ask me." He said, clearly furious.
"Can't I do anything about it?" Luke asked.
"Do what, exactly?" The female medic asked curiously, anticipation in her voice.
"Well, I wanna be one of those stormtroopers. Help them bring down the rebels."
"Perhaps, when you grow up." The smiling doctor said.
Luke had been discharged from the medical facility, and he said yes eagerly when the Imperials said they were taking him in. They had saved him from terrible fate, and now they were taking him under their wing. He was infinitely grateful.
"We're taking you to Scarif. Some secret project's happening there." The transport pilot had replied with a tired voice when Luke asked where they were headed to. Scarif? Never heard of that planet. Luke thought.
14 BBY, Abrion Sector, Scarif
Scarif exceeded Luke's expectations in every way. It was a verdant and beautiful. A deep-blue world speckled with clouds, the planet was comprised of tropical, volcanic island chains rising from clear, shallow oceans. Deeper oceans teeming with life were surrounded by rocky archipelagos. The young boy had never seen a planet like this. He was fascinated.
"Ah, you're that boy who survived a rebel bombardment, are you not?" An officer asked in a crisp voice.
"Yes, sir. I am." Luke sure was getting used to military life now.
"Excellent. We'll show you your quarters, and training starts tomorrow, don't miss it." The officer turned to leave, but not before asking his name.
"Luke." The young boy responded. "Just Luke? Surely you have a first name?" He asked.
"S… Sky…" When he tried to remember it, his head ached terribly.
"Ah, the trauma must have affected your brain. Don't worry, the pain will be gone in time." The officer said, eyeing the boy sympathetically.
"You said your name started with an S? Then how about Starkiller?" The man suggested and Luke nodded, content to use the name until his memory returned.
"Until we meet again, then, Soldier." The officer nodded, and gave a salute to him. Luke hastily returned it, having witnessed it often.
1 BBY, Abrion Sector, Scarif
It certainly has been long, but Luke feels time has flown by. thirteen years all dedicated to the Empire, and he didn't regret it. Fourteen years filled with training, battles, and wars, and yet he was not saddened about it. War had forged him into who he was now. War was in his blood.
"Starkiller! You're up now!" Luke was shaken out of his thoughts by an officer shouting his name. He walked up to her, his white armor contrasting with the black of the corridor.
"Are you certain you're ready?" The captain asked, clearly underestimating him because of his young age.
"I spent my whole life preparing for this. I won't fail." Luke snapped in his usual cold voice.
"Very well. You're clear to go in. Good Luck, trooper." The officer shrugged and pressed a button on a command console that opened the door.
Luke has been serving the Empire as a Stormtrooper commander for quite a while, leading a squad of eight troopers, just like him. Their families were mostly killed, or kidnapped by the Rebels. This led to a quick bonding, forming a group automatically.
They were trained intensely from young age, and when they were old enough, they were deployed on the actual battlefield. Then the squad had survived with zero casualties so far, the vengeance and hatred towards the Rebels fueling them.
He entered the black facility, the one all too familiar for him. He turned to look at a stern male officer addressing him.
"Trooper TK-589, you have given lifelong service to the Empire, is that correct?" He asked, with a scrutinizing gaze.
"Yes, sir."
"What do you think of the Rebel Alliance?" The officer asked again.
"They are scum and interplanetary terrorists. They need to be eliminated as soon as possible, if they do not see the truth." Luke replied, contempt apparent in his voice. The officer nodded satisfyingly, and continued on.
"And you have applied to the Death Trooper program, as soon as you gained enough experience. Your abilities will now be tested to determine if they are sufficient enough. Move along, trooper."
Luke advanced to prove himself, with only one sentence in his mind: I will not fail.
The following results astonished the officer in charge, as Luke had scored 100% accuracy in the weapons accuracy test, and he took down all Rebels except one in the demolitions accuracy test. Test of stealth, he owned it. Luke plowed through the rest like it was nothing.
"Well, that was certainly enlightening, TK-589. You have passed the test, with a score much higher than 99% of the rest of the Imperial Army. That will be noted in the future. You may proceed to the second room." The officer declared, his mouth still open slightly.
When Luke proceeded into the second room, which he had never entered before, surprised him greatly. It was some sort of a sinister medbay, with cybernetics all over the place.
"Ah, Trooper TK-589. I was expecting you. You passed the test with extremely high standards, and now you're getting your body enhanced. Come here and lie down." A slightly mad-looking female mechanic said loudly to him.
"I don't need gene modifications or cybernetics, ma'am." Luke scoffed at the woman, who frowned.
"Are you sure?" She said, glaring at him.
"Yes, I'm quite sure." He said it more forcefully.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"We'll see about that. Proceed to the next room, and take another test. If you fail, you're getting the surgery." She scoffed back.
"Fair enough." He replied and walked to the next room.
"Ah, TK-589, how was your modifca… huh?" The officer's eyes grew wide, as the trooper in front of him was not what he was expecting.
"Why was the surgery not performed on you?" He asked, eyeing the Stormtrooper in front of him.
"I refused. I don't need them, sir." Luke replied.
The officer glared at him for a moment, possibly considering if he should scold the trooper's arrogance – but he decided against it.
"Very well, then. Take this test and prove yourself. This is a course that currently-in-duty Death Troopers would usually take, but if you are so confident you should have no problem with it, is that correct?" He said and Luke just nodded.
The officer watched smugly as the arrogant trooper in front of him advanced. The first task was fighting five heavily-armored sparring droids. He would be crushed terribly and hopefully his arrogance would be fixed.
But the trooper, drawing utter surprise from the officer, punched a hole right through a droid with a single strike of his fist. He proceeded to do the same thing to the others, and the test didn't last very much.
Luke was full of adrenaline. He found himself gaining power when he focused his thoughts on emotions like anger and hate. He utilized them, but he did not let them take over his cold, calculating mind. He balanced it with his focus.
After he finished his second test – which was a obstacle course which was relatively easy – the rest of them were nothing.
"I've received Death Trooper training since I was ten." Luke shrugged to the gaping officer and walked out.
"Oh, you never cease to surprise me, do you?" The mad technician before spoke up when Luke returned.
"I said I won't be needing them." Luke gave her a cynical smirk.
"Fine, but you still need some improvements." She huffed.
"What?"
"Just lie down."
Luke found himself waking up several hours later. His body felt disoriented, misaligned. He groaned.
"Shhh.. don't worry. You'll get used to it." She said it in a whisper.
"What did you do to me?" Luke said, his voice still groggy.
"Oh, not that many. Just some growth serums and other things." She replied nonchalantly.
"Exactly what's the 'other things'?"
"You wouldn't want to know." She winked sarcastically.
"Oh, fine." He groaned. Then a door opened, and Luke turned to see another officer approaching him.
"Congratulations, DT-589. I trust you will serve the Empire loyally as you have until now."
"I won't disappoint you, sir."
"I won't disappoint the Emperor."
"I won't disappoint the Empire."
"Excellent, soldier. Your new equipment and armor have been delivered to your quarters. Suit up and meet General Ramda in the main control room." The officer dismissed him.