The Naboo Moon of Ohma-D'un - Newly Established Rebel Base

Juno looked over the last cluster of reports from the base. Not much had changed in the few days that they had been there. Everything had been established with surprising efficiency. They had friends in the local settlements as well. The Humans were working the spice and plasma mines while the Gungans had aquatic farms and fish nurseries - all boosting the Naboo system's growing economy. The rebel base, which was hidden in what was once a rich mine until it was destroyed by an attack by the Separatist Alliance during the Clone Wars, was also a buffer for it. The rebels, fronting as a private mining company, purchased supplies from the locals and were also looked at as another layer of protection. From what Juno had heard, the Empire cared very little about the moon and its colonies.

With a sigh, she ejected the last datacard from her datapad and set them both down. Keeping herself distracted with these reports was all well and good but in the end, she always had to come back to her personal problem - namely, the man called Starkiller. She watched from the cockpit as he trained with his lightsabers. Really, it was quite fun to watch. Usually, Starkiller wore a sleeveless gray shirt and a pair of fatigue combat pants and combat boots as he went through his forms or trained with PROXY. Even now, the droid was using a simulcron of a Jedi who had a mask over his face of some kind. He wielded two lightsabers, a green and a crimson one. It was clear to Juno that Starkiller was preparing himself for his next fight with Vader's Dark Apprentice. Wanting a closer look, she left her knew ship. The E9 Explorer hadn't been given a name so she had decided to call it the Rogue Explorer, hailing back to her previous, much more desirable ship and to the ship's corporate designation.

Going to a large stone, she sat down and watched. After Starkiller had defeat the masked Jedi simulation several times, PROXY said, "Master, I think that you have taken out enough of your frustration on the A'Sharad Hett simulation. Might I recommend another?"

Starkiller, his shirt soaked and his muscles glistening with sweat, replied. "Absolutely. Just let me get some water."

A canteen flew to his hands and he took a few swigs before closing it and setting it to the side. Juno watched in awe as he struck another combat stance and said, "Alright, PROXY. Show me who you got."

"Of course, Master. General Kota has vastly expanded my databanks. I have over a hundred new simulations that you've never seen before;" the droid shimmered as his holographic 'shell' formed. He was a Weequay wielding a pair of blue lightsabers - one much shorter than the other. Starkiller's eyes widened. "Wow!" he murmured. "Who's that?"

"Jedi Master Sora Bulq - a powerful Jedi Master known for his great skill with twin blades. He is said to have been one of Master Mace Windu's co-creator of an extremely powerful variant of the Seventh Form of Lightsaber Combat known as 'Vaapad'. Eventually, he fell to the dark side and became one of Count Dooku's most powerful Dark Jedi Acolytes until his death during the Siege of Saleucami. Let me see if - Ah! Here we go!"

The figure altered slightly. His skin was more pail and he wore darker brown robes and the lightsabers he wielded were red and not blue. Starkiller said, "Form Seven, huh? I used to use - that is, Galen Marek used to use Juyo form Seven. I wonder what made it so special. Is there any chance your Mace Windu simulation has information on it?"

Still in the dark Sora Bulq form, PROXY shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Master. It has only a basic profile and a perfect copy of the fight style. My programming does not give me much skill of how to explain it, however."

Starkiller shrugged and said, "Ah well, it was worth the ask. Come get me, PROXY!"

"With pleasure, Master!"

This fight was wholly different than the other had been. The style that this Sora Bulq used was vastly more aggressive and even vicious. Starkiller, using his favored Ataru and Niman, seemed to be dancing and swirling around the simulation but wherever he slashed, PROXY's lightsabers met his. The fight went on for some time and to Juno, who had a little experience with fencing from her days at the Carida academy, saw that Starkiller was beginning to flag. His form went from offensive to defensive in just a few traded combinations. Quickly, he seemed to sink back into, if Juno remembered correctly, Soresu, the second form of lightsaber combat. It looked clumsy and out of practice, especially with the two blades but it clearly cut down on Starkiller's exertion. Even so, the pure aggression of the simulation was battering him down. After nearly thirty minutes of straight fighting, Juno called out, "Hold, PROXY. Give him a break."

Starkiller nearly collapsed with fatigue. "By the force!" he gasped. "PROXY, was that Vaapad?"

"Yes, Master;" said the droid, sounding all too cheerful. "It seems that Sora Bulq developed a Jar'Kai variant for it. This may well be the first time that I've beaten you, Master!"

Starkiller chuckled and stood shakily to his feet. "I wonder if Kota knows anything about it. Hey PROXY, how many apprentices did Mace Windu have during his career?"

"Oh. Um..." and the droid shifted through four different simulations, that of Mace Windu, of two woman and of two men before proclaiming, "Four apprentices Master - Depa Billaba, Devan For'Deschel, Echuu Shen-Jon and of one who's name seems to have been lost. From the record, he only taught Jar'Kai to two if them, however: Master Billaba and Master Shen-Jon. Even so, the simulator says that Shen-Jon actually preferred the second Form Makashi up until the Clone Wars began. He then began to openly practice Vaapad on the battlefield with much more regularity."

Starkiller nodded slowly, considering that. "I wonder if there is a way that I could learn that form. Not just the moves either but the philosophy."

PROXY turned his head to the side slightly before saying, "I shall do a full search of my systems for any who practiced Vaapad, Master, and we shall cross reference it with all other records."

Starkiller stretched his tired limbs. "Just remember to take anything you get from the Imperial records with a dash of sodium, PROXY. We know how reliable those records can be."

"Of course, Master. I will go aboard ship and begin my search."

Juno grabbed the towel and walked over to Starkiller. "How is it that PROXY still has the ability to access those records?"

"If I were to hazard a guess, he can change his droid ID signature from one authorized one to another, or maybe just generate them himself. Few! I cannot believe that he got the better of me that time. Those techniques were absolutely scary."

Juno chuckled, "Well if you could learn them and harness them, maybe they'll give you an edge against Darth Vader and his newest force slave."

Starkiller nodded. "Any word from Kota or anyone else for that matter?" he asked, drinking more from his canteen.

Juno shook her head. "No, I'm afraid not."

They were both silent for awhile and it began to get awkward before Juno blurted. "Let's go for a walk. We can bring our comlinks so they can contact us if they need anything."

Starkiller nodded before throwing his uniform shirt back on. Side by side and in complete silence, they headed out towards the Gungan farm lands. The domes of the city were visible, as were the neat rows of the shallow aquatic plants. Gungan men and women were hard at work cultivating their crop. A half a dozen Gungan warriors trotted by on their strange steeds. Four children ran by chasing a ball in some game, laughing and chattering in the Gungan language. After several long minutes, Starkiller said, "I can tell that something's on your mind, Juno. Is something wrong?"

She sighed and said, "Yes, something is. Look, it's not your fault and I really do know that but something's been eating at me ever since you came back."

The Jedi Knight frowned. "Okay. What's wrong?"

Finally unable to keep quiet, she blurted out, "You! You're what's wrong!"

Starkiller was stunned. He hadn't been expecting that, though it didn't necessarily shock him either. He was just a clone of the man Juno loved, not the man himself. He was about to speak when she lifted a hand and said, "Please, let me get this out. For a year, I thought you were dead - a whole year! I mourned for you! I cried myself asleep on dozens of nights! I dreamed about you! I had to deal with the frustration of the new Rebellion barely doing anything of actual worth because, without you, they didn't have the gumption to take their own rebellion seriously. More work was successfully done by tiny fringe groups and hardly affiliated cells than by the 'grand and glorious' Rebel Alliance! Now I find out that you've been alive the whole time and back under Vader's iron glove? But it isn't really you, is it? No, you're a clone of the 'real' Starkiller. As far as the Rebellion goes, that doesn't matter one milligram. We have our leader back but as far as we - you and I - go, it's got me so messed up that I don't know what to do!"

Starkiller listened patiently until she was done. "I know and I'm sorry, Juno!"

"Sorry?" she asked, seeming suddenly baffled. "Why are you sorry? You didn't have any more choice in it than I did!"

"I know it's just..." and he shook his head and lifted his hands in a gesture of helplessness. "I guess I just wish I could make this easier for you, that's all."

Juno sighed. "Well, what can we do? I'm sorry, Starkiller. I really do know that it isn't your fault but that's been simmering to a boiling point inside for awhile and I just had to get it out. I don't blame you."

Starkiller chuckled and shrugged. "We're in a unique situation, Juno. I can only imagine what it must be doing to you."

"I can only imagine what it must be doing to you." said Juno. "You have the memories of a dead man, assuming that you are a clone that is. Why is it that you were drawn to me, anyway?"

Starkiller looked decidedly uncomfortable. "Because something seemed to bleed over from Galen Marek - more than just his memories. I fell as though I'm - I feel for you as he did, Juno and that's what makes this whole situation so blasted awkward and strange and borderline unbearable."

Juno nodded slowly as they went passed one of the Gungan aquatic nurseries. The public path went on a long loop between ponds and marshy patches until it connected with itself. "I'm going to say it again, Starkiller: I think you are really Galen Marek."

Starkiller sighed and said, "I wish I could just confirm that. I wish the force would give me a vision or a way to know but it doesn't. It won't. I've meditated on it but the force swirls in unclear patterns and often leaves me more confused than enlightened. How can you be so sure when I'm not evens sure?"

"For the reasons I've already given for one, Starkiller. You are too much like Galen to simply be a clone. You know, I met three of them during my time with the Alliance - three former clone troopers who were working with us. Trust me, they were each as different as could be. But you, you are absolutely the same, body, attitude and reasoning, as Galen Marek. Not only that, but a clone cannot inherit his progenitor's affection. That isn't how it works! Clones are their own beings, even if they all look the same."

"I don't know;" said Starkiller, almost unhappily.

Juno stepped in front of him and placed a hand on his chest, stopping him. "Starkiller, I loved Galen Marek. Now I think you are him but even if you aren't, you are exactly the same, do you understand? Everything about him that I found honorable and desirable, I can see in you. Everything that made me fall in love with him is making me fall in love with you."

Starkiller gazed down into her eyes. They were so sincere and earnest and all but pleading that it twisted his heart. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, he folded his into his arms with a sigh and just held her. "What do you want to do, Juno?"

She suddenly giggled and said, "Well first, I want to get back to base so that you can take a shower because you stink."

Starkiller laughed and said, "Okay, after that?"

"Let's take it slow. We can have dinner together. We can try the whole dating thing if you want, though that would be difficult on a military base like this one. There isn't exactly a lot to do in these colonies - no holo-theaters, no fancy restaurants and no sports arenas."

Again, Starkiller laughed as she laced her arm through his and they began heading back to the base. "That's true, I'm afraid. Well we can figure something out. We can go to Naboo itself if possible."

Juno frowned. "Why would we do that?"

The Jedi shrugged, "Eh, we can call it a sit-rep. You know, see what the situation on the homeworld is for the local administrators."

Juno frowned. "But do the local administrators care?"

Looking both amused and exasperated, Starkiller looked at her and said, "Well I hope so! If they don't we won't have a valid reason to go down there! Good grief, Juno I'm trying to plan a date here!"

She laughed and said, "You're right. I'm sorry."

Aboard the Executor-Class Star Dreadnought Executor

Lord Vader knelt on one knee before his master. The Emperor was not pleased. "You have forgotten your place once again, Lord Vader. You clones the boy Marek and created for yourself another secret apprentice, betraying me and the way of the Sith. This treachery is unforgivable."

"If you will permit me, my Master, I have an explanation for you that will make clear everything that I have done since the incident aboard the Death Star."

The yellow eyes of the Emperor narrowed. "Explain, Lord Vader."

"This clone was created for one single purpose - to find and assassinate the founding members of this Rebel Alliance. He is not inhibited by memories as the rogue clone is, nor is he bogged down by the weakness of either the defective clone or the original Starkiller. What's more, he will have his own private army ready for him soon."

"Private army? What private army do you speak of, Lord Vader? I know nothing of this."

Lord Vader continued to kneel as he explained. "I have taken three liberties. The first is to reassign Governor Arihnda Pryce of Lothal. Rather than being a Moff, she is now an Admiral of an irregular fleet. The second thing I have done is to create a large force of Dark Stalkers-"

"Dark Stalkers, Lord Vader?" said the Emperor, sounding very intrigued. "Of all Sith Assassins, they were the most effective."

"Yes, Master;" said Lord Vader, keeping the relief out of his voice. "A mixture of the teachings of the Sith of Emperor Vitiate's Empire and the old Republic Power Guard program, they were used to hunt down rogue Sith or the Old Republic's Jedi. These ones are clones of your defunct one-time apprentice Maul. They have been trained in the rudimentary use of the force, much in the way that Shadow Guards are but to a degree of greater efficiency. Thirdly, I have assigned my Dark Stalker and my dark side apprentice to Admiral Price's fleet. Between the two of them, they will defeat the Rebel Alliance."

The Emperor seemed to rub his wrinkled chin. "Tell me, Lord Vader, what makes you think the clones of failed apprentices, as powerful as they were, and the mothball fleet commanded by a failed governor-turned-admiral will succeed where you seemingly cannot."

"Even if they do not succeed, my master, they will reveal where the rebels are and I will move in if they fail and finish off whatever is left. Kota, the failed clone and everyone brought together in this insignificant rebellion will be killed and any other resistance will be crushed."

The Emperor continued to contemplate for several moments before he said, "Very well, Lord Vader but if your apprentice succeeds-"

"I will destroy him and any of the Dark Stalkers that survive, my Master;" swore the Dark Lord.

"Very well, my friend. Proceed with your plan but keep me informed. Do not presume to attempt to hide anything else from me again. Those facilities on Kamino could have been a great asset to us if you had not drawn undue attention to them."

"Yes, my Master;" said Lord Vader.

The hologram disappeared and Vader stood to his full height. With his dark cloak swirling, he turned and left the chamber. He immediately went to the private hanger where four ships were - Vader's personal fighter, a TIE Advanced x1, the Rogue Shadow, a standard Lambda-Class shuttle and the Sith Infiltration ship called the Scimitar. Vader had taken it from the Emperor's personal fortress on Coruscant. Since the Emperor now had a massive palace, the fortress had been refurnished to serve as the headquarters and training facility for the Imperial Inquisition. Down the ramp of the Rogue Shadow, the Dark Apprentice strode. "What is thy bidding, my Master?" he asked with a bow.

"Rise, my apprentice. You are going to be assigned to the fleet of Admiral Pryce. She is under the tutelage of Grand Admiral Thrawn for the moment and will be for a few more weeks or, perhaps, another month. For the time being, you will continue to train. In forty-three standard hours, two pairs of specially ordered strike ships will arrive with your personal team of forty Dark Stalkers. They will follow your commands. Once they arrive and once Thrawn deems that Pryce is indeed ready, I will give all of you your mission."

The dark apprentice nodded for a long moment before saying, "I request a designation of some kind, Master - that way Pryce will know how to properly address me."

Lord Vader nodded and said, "You will be identified as Stalker Prime. The others with you will be designated by team as you see fit."

With that, the Dark Lord turned and headed towards his personal meditation room, leaving his apprentice to train.

Yavin IV - The Primary Rebel Base within the Massassi Temple

Rahm Kota listened to the reports of the Empire's new weapon. Apparently the Death Star, as it was being called, was nearing completion. The superlaser cannon had been installed. However, other than a rough guesstimation of its size and primary weapons system, they knew next to nothing about it or its capabilities. High command had been debating the best course of action since intelligence had brought in several differing reports of where the Death Star plans were being held had been received. After Commander Gorsen had given her report and that particular incident had been thoroughly discussed, she had been dismissed and Kota had been given as detailed a report as possible. The other leaders of the Alliance watched anxiously. "Well General;" said Mon Mothma, "what do you think?"

"About the plans or about the station itself?" he asked absentmindedly.

"Both, actually;" Garm Bel-Iblis said dryly.

He and Kota had always had a great raport, something Rahm noted, made Mon Mothma quite uncomfortable, or at least it felt that way. Rahm chuckled and said, "Well the best thing to do would be to send someone after the architect of these plans or perhaps to all involved locations. Who do we have available?"

He heard the rustling and felt the unease around him. "Come, come now, Rebels;" he said impatiently. "We can't just wait until the Empire comes along and annihilates us. Let's start with this - where are the reports stating that the plans are?"

"The reports state that there are plans on Toprawa, Danuta and the newest stated that Eadu might have an available set of plans;" stated Bail Organa, the Senator of Alderaan.

Kota nodded as he began to pace slowly around. "Well then we'll put together four teams. We'll send Bria Tharen and her Red Hand Squad to Troprawa. I'll help them plan the operation."

"Why them?" asked General Dodonna.

Kota shrugged. "They have the numbers, the courage and the skills necessary. We just need to ensure that they have the equipment. Toprawa has a major Imperial listening post. It will take Red Hand Squadron to do this. Now, for Danuta, it's a little more complicated."

Mon Mothma lifted a hand, her expression thoughtful. "Allow me to handle that one, General. I think I have the perfect candidates for that one."

Kota nodded. "Eadu?"

They all looked at one another. "Captain Andor and his team will handle that one;" murmured Mon Mothma again.

Garm Bel-Iblis shook his head, "I don't know about that."

Mon Mothma looked at him, her eyes just slightly narrowed. "What do you mean, Garm?"

"Well for starters, Andor is on his way to Jedha right now with his droid and his prisoner. For another, I don't think he has what it would take to get into the Eadu facility."

Kota interrupted before an argument, even a passive-aggressive argument, could begin. "Andor will do fine. While these are happening, I'm thinking we should get a scouting mission to the Death Star itself. I mean, several of us have been aboard the station but I am blind and you were all wearing blinders until you got to the throne room."

That drew all of their attention to him. "And how are we going to do that?" asked Mon Mothma.

Kota turned to face them all so that they could all see his confident smile. "I have a few men who can get us in. Several members of my militia were Imperial military. Some of them were even stormtroopers. In fact, from what I've heard recently, they've ambushed a shuttle that is on its way to the Death Star with several loads of specialized oxygen cylinders, most likely for one of those meditation rooms that Vader tends to require. I have them preparing to leave as we speak, I just need official council authorization."

"And if we refuse?" asked General Dodonna.

Kota shrugged. "Then I'll have them stand down. All that I'm going to have them do is deliver the tanks, go to a few key areas, the fire control room for one, and then leave, just like any good Imperial cargo crew would do."

They all looked at one another, clearly reluctant. "Couldn't we get a plan from the station itself?" asked Bel-Iblis.

Kota chuckled. "Doubtful! That system probably has its own line of special security clearance and classification. Even trying without the proper tools, or at least a droid who can be given a fake Imperial clearance."

"Then perhaps Andor and his droid should be on that mission rather than the Eadu mission;" said Garm.

Mon Mothma opened her mouth to argue but Kota beat her to the punch. "No, Andor it more of a field operator and not at all and infiltrator. He doesn't have the training for that. No, I think that it would be best if he goes to Eadu. Anyhow, does anyone else have any thoughts?"

Kota could tell that Bel-Iblis had more to say and Mon Mothma didn't feel to happy either. In point of fact, none of them seemed very happy but none of them objected because they also knew that this was the best and most thorough idea.

Since no one else spoke up, Mon Mothma said, "We will give the assigned units their tasks and Rahm and Jan will assist them in making their infiltration plans. This meeting is adjourned."

Before Kota could make his escape, Garm Bel-Iblis said, "General Kota, a moment of your time, please."

"What can I do for you, Senator?"

Kota could sense Garm's displeasure and even resentment. "Do you really think that allowing Mon Mothma to choose two of the three teams is a wise idea?"

Suppressing a sigh, Rahm took Garm's arm and ushered him away from the conference room. "Garm, we need to be careful. I know that you're worried about Mon Mothma consolidating too much power but I promised that I would try to keep an eyes on her. The truth is that I think that Andor and his new friend Erso will be more of than capable of handling this mission. You see, Galen Erso, the girls father, helped engineer the superstructure for the station. If anyone can give us something, it's him. Hell, I'm worried that he may make the risk of the other missions unnecessary. Trust me, Garm. This is for the best and I'll keep watching Mon Mothma."

Bel-Iblis chuckled. "Yes, you go on and keep watching her, Rahm."

They both chuckled as they headed towards the main hanger.

The Naboo Moon of Ohma-D'un - Rebel Base

Juno Eclipse had changed her mind. She did not want to take it slow with Starkiller. Unfortunately, their trip to Naboo was a no go. The local administrators didn't want anything to do with the main world at the moment and Commander Gorsen, who had recently returned, had all but begged them not to go. They were stuck there with nothing much to do. They both had decided to stay aboard their new ship rather than obtain quarters in the barracks section but of course, that meant she saw him everywhere - training with PROXY, meditating, eating, sleeping or just walking around looking amazing. To make it worse, he would where the Alliance uniform rather than his unassuming and unflattering robes most of the time and they would be filled out completely. Sometimes, she wondered if he had started doing it on purpose to tease or torture her. If so, it was certainly working.

She sat reading another boring report in the cockpit when PROXY came in and said, "Do you know where the master is?"

Juno blinked and looked around. "Um... last I saw him, or rather, heard him, he had gone into the main lounge area. Why?"

"According to records, I think I may have found someone who can teach the master the techniques of Vaapad."

Juno put aside her datapad and followed the droid into the lounge. Starkiller was reading his datapad while a cafe maker bubbled and hissed beside him. "Master, I have news that you might be very interested in."

"What's that now?"

"From all the records I've found, there is one that I think may be our best lead. Almost eighteen years ago, a Jedi Master named Vos was being pursued by the clone troopers during Order Sixty-Six. They came upon a Devaronian who was standing next to a funeral pyre. The devish claimed to have killed the Jedi but according to the action report, the clone unit commander's body was never found. They assumed that, since it was Kashyyyk and on the planet floor rather than in the trees, the body had been taken and devoured by scavengers. Apparently that happened often enough."

Starkiller nodded. "Okay but how does that help us?"

"After gathering all of the evidence, I do believe that Master Vos is alive;" said PROXY. "Where he is, however, I can only guess. I doubt he moved back to his homeworld. The good news is that if we can track down that Devaronian, we can probably find Vos. His name is Vilmarh Grahrk by the way."

Starkiller grinned. "Now that is some good news. Do you think that we can get clearance to go?"

Juno snorted. "We were sent to help by Kota, not assigned here. Let's contact him."

They went to the bases main comms array. When Kota appeared, he looked a little annoyed. "Is everything alright, you two?"

"Yeah, we're fine, General;" said Starkiller, "but we found out that there might be another Jedi out there one who can teach me something that will give me an edge in this fight against Vader and his most recent 'secret' apprentice."

"I'm all ears but make it quick."

Juno replied, "There is a Jedi Master named Vos out there somewhere, or so we think. We just want permission to investigate."

To their surprise, Kota's face went dark. "You can go if you want but don't get your hopes up. I found Vos once already and he refused to help. He was hiding on Nar Shadda, using his powers to earn a modest living in the casinos there."

Starkiller and Juno looked at one another. "We'll go check it out anyway. Thank you general."

"Go with the force, kids. I have to go. We have quite the operation going on here."

Before they could ask, the General cut the comms. From behind them came a sigh. Turning, they noticed Commander Gorsen. "I take it you have an assignment."

"Afraid so;" said Starkiller, proffering his hand to her.

She shook it and then Juno's. "Thank you for all your help. Good luck and... uh... may the force be with you."

Starkiller smiled. "Thank you."