Old Enemy, New Ally

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars; this is merely a fanfiction.

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Starkiller could barely contain his shock as Maris Brood spun her wrist-mounted shoto blades in increasingly fast circles. She revved up, and then charged him head-on. Starkiller angled his vibrosword defensively.

Brood was nearly on him.

And just before her blades made contact, she vanished right before his very eyes.

Up above, Dominic Raynor and his Nemoidian cohorts gloated, while Juno and Proxy watched anxiously.

Maris appeared behind Starkiller, Force Pushing him across the Carbon Freezing Chamber. Starkiller slammed onto his back with a sickening thud. He staggered to his feet as Maris charged again, before disappearing.

This time she reappeared right in front of him, and began unleashing a flurry of devastating blows with her lightsabers. Starkiller quickly fended them off with his vibrosword, but each successive blow drove him further and further to the edge of the room. One slip, and he would fall to the level below.

"What's the matter, not expecting to see me again?" Brood gloated.

Starkiller grit his teeth. "I let you live. I gave you a second chance!"

"And I thank you for that."

And she vanished again.

Starkiller moved away from the edge of the circular platform, his back now towards the center. Brood apparated on the opposite side of the platform, using the Force to rip machinery from their moorings and hurl them at him. Starkiller batted the projectiles aside; Brood was gone again.

She reappeared at the top of the stairs, the orange neon glow reflecting off her pale skin. She leaped off the top, bringing both her sabers to bear. Starkiller caught her in midair using the Force, before throwing her aside. She recovered quickly with a Force Repulse.

The two scrabbled to their feet and faced each other down again.

Above, it was all Raynor could do to keep from laughing. "Things do not seem to be going in your favor," he taunted Juno. "Not only will I take these Trade Federation imps to the cleaners ... but the Empire will pay me a hefty sum for your Jedi friend. Whether he's alive or dead makes little difference to them, I think."

"You overestimate your chances," Juno retorted.

He shrugged. "We shall see."

Below, Starkiller shrugged off another Force attack, before fending off several vicious lightsaber blows. "You've improved much since Felucia," he said.

"You as well," Maris replied. "Though there's something ... not quite the same about you."

"Why are you doing this?" Starkiller asked, parrying a downward slash. "You were given a second chance - a chance to turn your life around! To stop serving the Dark Side!"

Brood seemed indignant. "Who says I've continued serving the Dark Side?"

"I can feel its taint still within you!"

She cocked her head. "And what makes you think the taint you feel is mine?"

"Then who's taint is it?!" he growled.

"No. Not yet. You'll have to prove yourself to me before you can meet ..." Her voice trailed off.

"Meet who?"

"Don't concern yourself!" She vanished again, before blasting Starkiller into the carbon freezing pit.

Above, Raynor cheered. "Yes! Do it! Finish it! Freeze him alive!"

Starkiller burst up out of the pit, bringing his vibrosword down on Maris' head. She crossed her blades in an x-shape, blocking it. "Impressive," she smirked. She suddenly retracted one of her blades, before reactivating it, slicing Starkiller across the hip. She headbutted him, and he lost his vibrosword. With a quick takedown move, she had Starkiller pinned to the floor, both of her blades pointed at his neck.

Raynor was triumphant. "Yes! Finish him! His corpse will catch us a hefty fee on Coruscant!"

Starkiller looked up, preparing for the deadly blow. But yet, he didn't feel the Dark Side within Brood. The taint he felt earlier was an external taint ... one that had latched onto her. Nevertheless ...

To everyone's surprise, Brood retracted both her lightsabers.

"What are you doing?" Raynor roared. "I ordered you to finish him!"

"I surrender," Brood stated.

"What?!" Raynor could almost feel the smirks coming from the Trade Federation gamblers.

Maris shrugged. "I surrender. The Jedi wins. He's thus free to go!"

Juno grinned as Maris helped Starkiller to his feet.

"No! I'm in control here!" Raynor turned to Lobot. "Summon my Wing Guards. If she can't finish this Jedi, I'll have both their heads delivered to the Emperor!"

"Not a wise move," Brood said. "You saw what this Jedi did to the Wing Guards you sent after him earlier. And you know very well what my capabilities are. It's not worth dying over."

Raynor grit his teeth.

"And besides," Brood went on. "Ymile would never forgive me if I disembowled you."

Raynor's whole disposition changed at the mention of his girlfriend's name. He turned to Lobot, defeated. "Give that Jedi back his weapons."

Lobot nodded as he descended the stairs. He wordlessly presented Starkiller with his twin lightsabers, and Starkiller happily took them back.

Raynor gave the order, and Juno and Proxy were free to go. He motioned towards the grinning Nemoidians, who were rubbing their hands in anticipation. "Come with me ... I'll give you your winnings." He glared back down at Maris and Starkiller, and his voice went from defeated to deadly. "Don't think I'll forget this." He trudged off, the Trade Federation reps in tow. Lobot gave them a nod, and followed after his master.

Maris grinned as Juno embraced Starkiller. "Hey, so you guys wanna see my penthouse? Did I mention I have a penthouse?"

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Juno relaxed on one of Maris' couches as Proxy served them drinks from her minibar. The penthouse had a beautiful white interior with orange furniture. The view of the clouds over Bespin was breathtaking. Juno could hardly take it in.

Maris sat cross-legged on a small, circular chair, as Starkiller paced anxiously. "You are free to sit, you know," she said.

Starkiller turned to face her. "If you didn't want Raynor to kill me, why even fight me in the first place?"

"Hey, a girl's gotta have fun."

"Fun?"

"Hey, lighten up," she replied.

"So how did you fall in with the likes of Raynor?" asked Juno.

"Quite simple. Once I left Felucia, I had no idea what to do with myself. After a series of mishaps, and a couple blunders, I ended up here at one of Cloud City's casinos. Raynor's spies deduced I was a Jedi, and Raynor wanted to hand me over to the Empire. However, I proved my mettle as a competitor in his fighting games, and I brought in more credits as a gambling piece than as a trophy on Vader's wall. But you ... you were a piece of meat too appetizing for him to give up. Good thing Ymile is his weak spot."

"Ymile?" asked Juno.

"His girlfriend."

Juno wrinkled her nose. "Girlfriend?"

"Hey, who said she has good taste? But she is one of the few positive influences on Raynor. Keeps him in check. Kinda like me and my new boyfriend. Did I mention I have a new boyfriend?"

"No," Juno replied. "Does he live here on Cloud City?"

"No. He's ... kind of a drifter. He ended up on Felucia shortly after Starkiller there took off with Senator Organa. He was my ticket off the planet. He was a bit rough around the edges, but I was able to edge my way into his heart. I think."

"Where is he now?" Juno inquired.

"Oh, he's here and there," Maris answered elusively. "He kinda travels, gathers information. Passes it on to me. Then I pass it on to my contact in the Rebel Alliance. Believe me, I'll do what I can to take down the Empire. After what they did to all the Jedi ... and my Master." Her gaze briefly met Starkiller's before dropping.

Juno leaned forward, quite interested. "So you've been working as a spy for the Rebel Alliance?"

"For the past couple months. My boyfriend gave me information on several Imperial targets, and then I passed them on to my contact in the Rebellion. I gotta tell ya', the Empire must've really done my boyfriend wrong for him to be so driven to see it destroyed."

"Starkiller and I have been working with the Rebellion the last couple of months too," Juno said. "If we can't meet your boyfriend, then I'd really like to meet your contact within the Alliance."

Maris shrugged. "Okay. He's at the door now."

The door to Maris' penthouse opened and a grinning General Rahm Kota entered, followed by a quite perplexed Wedge Antilles. "Maris!"

Maris stood up and bowed respectfully before the aged Jedi. "Master Kota."

Starkiller held up his hands in exasperation. "Wait, wait, wait. Kota is your contact? You've been in touch with Kota?"

Brood grinned. "Sure have."

Kotta lovingly slapped her on the shoulder. "Tell your boyfriend that his intel on the Rodian drug ring being a front for the Moffs was good."

Starkiller shook his head. "Any other old enemies you're secretly working with, Kota? Are you going to tell me that Vader is really a double agent too?"

Kota was indignant. "What's the big deal, boy? So she went crazy on Felucia, held Senator Organa prisoner and tried to feed you to her pet rancor. Let bygones be bygones."

"Besides," Maris moved closer. "You're the last person who should be complaining. I mean, you were Darth Vader's own personal executioner. You killed several Jedi - including my old master!"

"Technically, I did not," Starkiller spat. "That was the original Galen Marek. I'm just a clone."

Maris shrugged. "If you say so. Though your Force signature feels exactly the same as it did on Felucia. But maybe I'm wrong."

"Enough of this bickering," Kota interjected. "We need to strategize our next move. That is, after all, why I brought us here to Cloud City. What intel has your boyfriend gathered?"

At this, Brood brightened up. "There's a Senator from Naboo with Rebel sympathies. So far she's toed the Imperial line. But the Emperor suspects her, and for reasons we can't explain, Darth Vader has been spying on her and her family."

"Who is this Senator?" Kota asked.

"Pooja Naberrie. She's the niece of the late Padme Amidala, the Queen of Naboo during that whole Trade Federation fiasco a couple decades ago."

At this, Starkiller perked up. "Did you say Padme?"

"Yeah, why?"

He shrugged it off. "Nothing." Kota gave Starkiller a look that practically said, something's up, and we'll discuss later.

"So what' so important about this Senator Naberrie?" asked Juno.

"She's very good friends with the Organa family," explained Maris. "Especially close to Princess Leia Organa. You see, Naboo is unique. Its queen, Kylantha, neither supports the Old Republic or the Empire. But because of her popularity, the Imperials dare not eliminate her. At least, not until the Death Star is unveiled. And Pooja Naberrie has been feeding the Organa family intel on the Imperial presence on Naboo. She's been a key informant. But now, things have taken an interesting turn."

"What happened?" asked Juno.

"She's been sent to Onderon to meet with the current Onderonian queen, Ashti. The two are good friends. Onderon is politically split. Ashti wants to stay neutral. However, the populace is split right down the middle between those who support the Empire, and those who do not. The local Imperial Moff, Reeden, hasn't been able convert Ashti to fully support the Empire. So, they sent her friend, Senator Naberrie, to try to talk her into supporting the Empire and crack down on the Rebel sympathizers on Onderon. But this isn't about that - the Emperor wants to reinforce Pooja's loyalty to the Empire. If she fails to get Ashti to support the Empire, Pooja will be arrested as a Rebel sympathizer as well."

"So what can we do?" Juno inquired.

"Moff Reeden has been given the task of making an example of both Queen Ashti and Pooja. If we can disrupt his activities in that sector, it'll throw doubt in the Emperor's mind that Reeden is a capable governor. And if a state of emergency is declared on Onderon, it just so happens that Pooja will be called back home by Naboo's Queen. No harm, no foul."

Starkiller's fingers itched towards his lightsabers. "So what are we waiting for? Let's go?"

"Will you be joining us, Maris?" inquired Juno.

"Nah. I've got to keep tabs on the goings-on of the galaxy here. Besides, someone's got to keep Raynor in check."

Kota grinned. "Alright, kid. Let's get you back on the field doing what you do best."

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The Rogue Shadow took off from Cloud City. Juno and Wedge sat in the cockpit. Wedge flipped some gears, and Juno pulled back the lever. The stars became straight lines around them, and they went into hyperspace.

Starkiller sat in the meditation room, rolling everything around in his head. The name Padme. His dreams of Juno. What could it all mean?

The door opened, and Kota entered. He sat down next to Starkiller in a meditation position. "You know," Kota said. "Meditation is supposed to be done when your mind is clear."

"Am I that transparent?"

"Anymore, boy, and I might just use you as fiberglass."

Starkiller chuckled. "There's been a lot on my mind."

"Care to talk about it?"

"Since when do you talk, General?"

At this, Kota laughed. "Hey, I'm your Master now. You're my Padawan. I may not like doing the whole talking thing, but it's something I gotta get used to again."

"It's just a dream."

"Yeah ..."

"I ... well, I keep dreaming about Juno dying. I think it's the future."

"I wouldn't put too much stock in future-telling boy. An old Jedi I knew would tell you the same thing. Except he'd phrase it weird. 'Always in motion is the future.' Or something like that."

"That's not all," Starkiller continued. "In the latest vision, I was standing over Juno in a medbay ... but she wasn't Juno. And I felt like I was somebody different. But this other person I felt like was so familiar. I can't put my finger on it. And I called Juno by a different name. Padme."

Kota's head perked up. "Curious. Padme was the sister of this Senator Naberrie we're going after."

"You know of her?"

"A little bit. She was Queen of Naboo at 14. She was good friends with two of the toughest damn Jedi I ever met. Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and young Anakin Skywalker. They all had a bunch of misadventures during the Clone Wars. But Padme Amidala died shortly after the rise of the Empire. She was pregnant - probably some lover that she kept secret to keep him from falling under public scrutiny. But then, who knows?"

"What else can you tell me?"

"Well, she united the Gungans with the Nubians, fought the Trade Federation off her planet, and also had some misadventures on Tatooine with Master Jinn. Something about betting on podraces."

Now it was Starkiller's turn to perk up. "M-master Jinn? Qui-Gon Jinn?"

"Yeah, how do you know about him?"

"He ... he came to me. On Dantooine."

"Bah, you're talking like a fool, boy. Master Jinn was killed by a Sith Lord on Tatooine decades ago."

"But he came to me. Like a specter. While I was buried under all that rubble in the Jedi Enclave."

"Well then that explains it! You got a bump on the noggin, and now you're hallucinating!" Kota stood up. "Well, I'm going to go get another drink. That Correllian stuff is fantastic, you want some?"

"I think I'll finish my mediations."

"Bah, you don't know what you're missing. But my advice ... dont' dwell too much on dreams and visions. The past cannot be changed, and the future will come of its own accord. Keep your mind on the here and now."

"I'll try."

And with that, Kota exited and left a confused Starkiller to his meditating.