.5 BBY
Imperial Star Destroyer Vengeance
Colonel Jerun Redstar sat in his quarters aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer Vengeance mentally preparing his report for Darth Vader. It was discovered that rebel spies had gained access to the plans for The Emperor's secret super weapon project. During a recent attack on one of The Empires advanced research facilities a group had successfully breached the command center and downloaded the plans from the main computer. After months of chasing them from one end of the galaxy to the other he had finally corned the group on Ord Mantell. The Emperor himself had ordered the plans recovered at any cost.
Lord Vader had then tasked him with finding the stolen plans and bringing them back. While not given direct command of the Vengeance the captain and its crew had been tasked with assisting him in whatever way he deemed necessary. They were currently positioned above Ord Mantell preparing to strike when a young lieutenant walked in.
"Sir, Lord Vader wants you to make contact as soon as possible" The junior officer said
"Very well Lieutenant, that will be all" Colonel Redstar dismissed him without even looking up from his data pad as he made a final note.
He got up and made his way to the nearest communication room and walked in and stepped on the holoprojector. Moments later the image of Darth Vader appeared before him.
"Colonel, what of your progress?" Vader asked his longtime aide
"My Lord, a rebel group known as Rogue one is responsible for the theft of the Death Star plans. We have tracked them to the planet of Ord Mantell and are preparing our assault to capture the group as we speak. I have every confidence that we will soon recover the plans and have the rebels in custody" The colonel reported.
"I hope that you do; for your sake Colonel Redstar. The Emperor wants those plans found" Vader said leaving him there as the connection was broken.
Imperial Super Star Destroyer Executor
Once the connection was broken Darth Vader made his way down to his private hold. No one was allowed to enter it without the express permission of the dark lord. When he entered Starkiller was battling PROXY, who had taken the form of Vader's former master Obi-Wan Kenobi, and winning. Once the duel was over Starkiller noticed his master and came to kneel before him.
"What is thy bidding my master" the boy said as he knelt before Vader.
"My spies have located a Jedi on the world of Raxus Prime. His name Kazdan Paratus, I'm told he has descended into madness. This will be a true test of your skill. Paratus is very powerful, I do not expect you to survive" the dark lord said
"I will destroy him and bring you his lightsaber my master" Starkiller said in reply not willing to accept defeat so readily.
Vader looked at the boy for a moment. "I will be most impressed if you do"
With that Vader walked out of the hangar and made his way to the bridge. Once there he gave Admiral Ozzel orders to head to Bast Castle.
Tatooine
Obi-Wan sat in a deep state of meditation as he communed with the force. Lately he had been having visions of his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn. Usually such visions indicated a pending visit from the spirit of the long deceased Jedi. He had communicated with his master a few times in the past when he needed council on how best to train Luke. Without the guidance of the Jedi Council and access to the normal training methods he had some times found himself at a loss.
He went even deeper into his meditations. He found himself back in the palace where they had fought the Sith Lord Darth Maul; only this time he wasn't fighting Maul he was fighting Anakin again. As they dueled fiercely on the bridges; Obi-Wan sensed the light inside his former apprentice though it was just a pinprick of light in the dark, like that of a distant star in the night sky, not the blinding light of the force he remembered. Suddenly he was a young man again and found himself in the halls of the Jedi Temple walking with Qui-Gon.
"Hello Obi-Wan "Qui-Gon said
"Master Qui-Gon," Obi-Wan replied "it's good to see you, old friend"
"And you as you well" Qui-Gon said "I take it you and Ahsoka are having trouble with your training again" he said as they walked along the empty halls that looked exactly as Kenobi remembered from his youth.
"Yes master, Luke has passed all but two of his trials and Ahsoka and I are a lot a loss as to how to he can face them on Tatooine. "He confided in his former teacher.
Qui-Gon stopped and turned to Kenobi "I'm afraid he won't be able to face both of them on Tatooine. While he can do the Trial of spirit in a deep meditative trance, as you well know, he simply does not have enough inner darkness to do so effectively"
"Yes master, that's where the problem is. I believe it is time for Luke to bring the fight to the Emperor and his father. It's the only way for him to face his final trials"
Qui-Gon studied his student for a momen,t appearing to be lost deep in thought "It's not time to leave Tatooine yet. I told you several years ago that you would know when it was time. It's coming soon but not yet. As for the trials, the boy will face the trial of flesh before you leave. As for the trial of spirit he will face that in due time." The former master told his former apprentice "Trust in the force"
Obi-Wan turned and continued walking down the hall "I understand; the force will guide us has as it always has. Even when we don't understand why it leads to the places it does"
"You have far exceeded any expectations I ever held for you my former padawan." Qui-Gon said
"Thank you master; I feel the same way about Ahsoka. She has exceeded the expectations I had for her in training Luke. I think leaving the order when she did was better for her than if she had stayed."
"You may be right. I have been watching her with the boy, once you leave Tatooine I believe you should send her to Master Yoda on Daghobah. Once the boys training is complete I think she will be ready to hold the rank of Jedi Master, but that will be up to Yoda and yourself to decide." They stopped again and this time Obi-Wan saw they were standing outside the doors leading to the Jedi Council chambers.
"Send her to him if you think she's ready. Her and the boy will be the ones to rebuild the order after the Sith are defeated" Qui-Gon continued
"I understand Master" Obi-Wan said
Qui-Gon placed both of his hands on Obi-Wan's shoulder "I have to join council now. I won't be visiting you anymore my old friend. You know what you must do to complete the boys training. Follow your instincts and listen to the force. Both have served you well."
With that Qui-Gon turned and entered the council chambers. As the doors opened Obi-Wan looked inside and could scarcely believe his eyes. The entire council sat before him; save the chairs Anakin, Yoda and he himself would have occupied. All the Masters were there Stass Allie, Kit Fisto, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Plo Koon and Master Windu. All of them were there and they were all looking at him as Qui-Gon took the seat Anakin last occupied.
"I'm just holding it until the rightful owner comes along" Qui-Gon said to Obi-Wan with a wink as he adjusted his robes.
Confused by what his master meant he took in the room one more time. He met the gaze of Master Windu who nodded his head at Obi-Wan just as the doors closed.
Vjun
Leia was in the sparring room with PROXY2; she had mastered the first six lightsaber forms with both a single and double bladed lightsaber. The droid was explaining to her the intricacies of form VII while projecting the image of a bald dark skinned jedi with a purple blade similar to her own.
"This is Master Mace Windu" PROXY2 said "He was master and creator of the Vapaad lightsaber form; a variation of the form known as Juyo or the ferocity form"
He continued to explain how the form worked. It was a purely aggressive form that had no defensive aspects and was thus perfect for use with a double bladed lightsaber. For the jedi it required them to walk the fine line between light and dark without giving themselves over to the dark side. For a Sith it allowed them to call more deeply on the dark side for power. Attacks using form VII come from unpredictable angles making it hard to defend against. After the droid was done explaining this he demonstrated it for her. Watching the droid, she grasped the concept fairly quickly. When he was done Leia practiced it herself with a singe blade of her lightsaber.
Just as she felt she was getting the hang of it the door to the sparring room opened and Darth Vader walked in. Turning off her lightsaber Leia fell to one knee as her father approached.
"Hello father" she said
"I see you are learning form seven" he said slightly impressed. It was a hard form to learn and even harder to master.
"I have mastered all the other forms" she said
"Indeed you have, you have become a most effective instrument of our revenge. Rise my daughter" he commanded as she rose to her feet. "I have a new test for you, one that will prove your worth to our cause"
"Yes father" she said
"General Rahm Kota has seized the TIE Factory above Nar Shaada, the very factory whose creation you helped secure when you assassinated Gardulla the Hutt three years ago. He is a Jedi Master who refused to use clone troops during the war and thus escaped order sixty-six." Vader told her "Do not let him escape again"
"Yes father" she said before turning to leave.
Raxus Prime
Juno Eclipse brought the Rogue Shadow down to the surface of Raxus Prime. It was a highly industrial planet with factories everywhere. The surface of the planet was littered with toxic debris and pockets of poisonous gas. She shuddered at the thought of having to spend time on the surface and didn't envy Starkiller in his task of hunting down the insane Jedi that Lord Vader said was hiding down there somewhere.
"Coming in for drop off" she yelled back to the waiting Starkiller
"Get me in close Juno" Starkiller replied as he waited by the ramp.
She piloted the vessel down to the surface and when she was about two meters away from landing she dropped the ramp and Starkiller jumped off.
As he landed Starkiller could see a junk tower in the distance that resembled the destroyed Jedi Temple on Imperial Center. As he made his way across a toxic lake filled with floating junk he was attacked by a few Rodian scavengers that offered little in the way of a challenge. Once across the lake he made his way through the junk fields encountering a few more rodians once again dispatching them with ease.
The closer he got to the junk tower he encountered less scavengers and more junk droids. The junk droids proved more of a challenge than the scavengers but he still defeated them, though not quite as easily. Lord Vader was right, this was proving to be a tough test for the aspiring Sith. After battling several of the droids through a small valley he finally came to the tower. Reaching out with the force and ripping the doors off he battled his way inside to the elevator.
TIE Factory above Nar Shaada
The Sith interceptor piloted by Leia approached the orbital TIE Factory and landed in one of the lower hangars where the containment shields had been destroyed and the blast doors had not deployed. Landing her shuttle Leia reached out with the force and shut the blast doors that would allow atmosphere back into the hangar before exiting the craft. Once making it out of the hangar she encountered a squad of storm troopers, not knowing who the figure in black robes and battle armor and Mandalorian battle mask was, they assumed she was one of the rebels attacking the factory and opened fire. Leia dispatched them quickly and battled more of the troopers as she made her way up the many levels towards the control tower.
She had just made it to the manufacturing section and entered the area where the twin ion engines were fabricated. As the door opened she saw rebels and storm troopers in pitched battle with an AT-ST in in the middle firing at Kota's troops. She leapt into the fray striking down rebels and imperials alike while also dodging fire from the AT-ST. Once the ground troops from both sides had been destroyed she reached out with the force and picked the vehicle up and crushed it like a can. Once that was done she looked for a way up to the next platform to continue her mission.
As she looked around she couldn't spot any stairs or turbolift. She must have passed them on her way through the station. She did however notice the elevators that took the TIE fighter wings to their next destination had stalled with several wings still on them. With a running leap, Leia, aided by the force, jumped from wing to wing until she was on the next level. As soon as her feet landed she took off running along the platform. Once through the door she battled her way through the station once again until she found herself at the bottom of the control tower where Rahm Kota waited.
Raxus Prime
As Starkiller exited the turbolift what he saw slightly disturbed him. Seated around a facsimile of the old Jedi Council chamber sat junk sculptures of the old Jedi Masters. Lord Vader had been right once again, Kazdan Paratus was clearly insane. Waiting in the middle for him was another giant junk droid and no sign of the jedi, though Starkiller could sense he was close.
As he stepped into the makeshift chamber the droid came to life and swung at him with one of his giant arms. Dodging out of the way Starkiller hit the droid with a sustained blast of force lightning until it flew apart.
"Paratus! You're going to have to do better than that. Come out and face me coward!" he yelled attempting to draw out the Jedi
Just then a male Aleena with four robotic arms on his back appeared behind him. "Don't worry masters. I'll defend you from this Sith scum"
With that the Jedi flew at Starkiller with a yellow bladed force pike. He was able to block the blows easily. As he fended off the Jedi's strikes Starkiller realized the Jedi would not be as formidable as Vader thought. His lightsaber skills far exceeded what he was facing. Finally deciding he need not defend anymore Starkiller started to attack. Just as he was about to penetrate the Jedi's defense, the aleenian flew into the sky just outside of the makeshift council chamber and began hurling pieces of junk at the Sith.
"You're not welcome here Sith!" Paratus yelled before hurling the first piece of debris
Starkiller was far too powerful to be beaten with such a tactic and he reached and grabbed the junk pieces being thrown at him with the force and launched them back. The Jedi grew frustrated when he realized the only way to defeat Starkiller would be to come back in and lock blades with the aspiring Sith once more. Coming back into the junk chambers he once again attempted attack Starkiller who slipped out of the way. Starkiller brought his crimson blade down across the Jedi's back severing the robotic arms. He brought his red blade back around and through the back Kazdan Paratus.
"I'm sorry masters I've failed you" Paratus said with his last breath.
Starkiller pulled out his comlink. "Juno, I'm done here"
Once back aboard the Rogue Shadow he had Juno take them into orbit so he could send his report to Darth Vader before returning to the Executor. Once they were off planet he went back to the hold and told PROXY to contact his master. Once the image of Vader appeared he dropped to one knee and help up Kazdan's force pike.
"Kazdan Paratus is dead my master, we are just about to head back to the ship" he said from his kneeling position
"Impressive, most impressive" Darth Vader said "Do not return the Executor just yet. Go to Korriban, there you will find The Valley of the Dark Lords."
Starkiller looked up and his eyes met Vader's "What is my mission master?"
"There is a test that awaits you there. If, you survive you will have proven yourself worthy to be my apprentice." Vader said
"Yes master. I will prove myself worthy" Starkiller replied.
"We shall see" The image of Darth Vader said before flickering away and leaving only PROXY behind.
Once the transmission had ended he walked back to the cockpit where Juno informed him they had received the coordinates for Korriban. Starkiller instructed her to put them into the navigational computer and head there immediately.
TIE Factory above Nar Shaada
Rahm Kota waited patiently in the command center for Darth Vader to meet him. He could feel the dark lord's presence nearby coming up the turbolift. He had his men spread out and ready to engage Vader as soon as he stepped off the lift. For months he had been attacking imperial targets trying to draw the Sith Lord into combat. The moment was finally here. He centered himself in the force as the turbo lift stopped and the doors opened. Instead of Vader, a female figure dressed in black robes and battle armor with accompanying Mandalorian battle mask stepped off instead.
"A girl? Months attacking imperial targets, and Vader sends a girl to fight me?" The general said when he realized he hadn't sensed Vader at all.
Leia walked into the command center and noticed the troops scattered around the command center. They were unsure whether or not to fire on her.
"You must be General Kota" she said her voice slightly distorted by the battle mask.
She came to a stop just in front of the turbolift as she pulled her lightsaber from her belt. At this moment one of the troops ran forward to hit her with the stock of his blaster rifle. She grabbed him with the force and flung him across the room and snapped his neck with a sickening crack. As the body landed the rest of the troops opened fire. She activated one of her purple blades and deflected all the shots back in the direction they came from, killing the remaining rebels.
"Is that how you normally greet your guests?" she asked in a reprimanding tone.
Kota drew his green lightsaber and leapt at the intruder who activated a second blade on her lightsaber and slipped into a Vaapad form.
"Vaapad, haven't seen that in almost twenty years" he said as their blades locked.
"Don't go getting nostalgic on me Kota. I didn't come here so you could relive the good ole days. I came to make sure you never bother the empire again" she retorted.
With a quick spin Leia tried to bring her second blade up to strike the Jedi in the back but he was ready. She aggressively pushed forward with her strikes trying to wear down his defenses. She was far stronger than he realized and he began to tire. She went to strike him with an upward sweep of her second blade but he managed to dodge out of the way. As he did she clipped one of his shoulder pads though. He tried slipping into a defensive form but it proved to be inadequate against her more aggressive style. His lightsaber went flying out of his hands just as he felt himself being lifted up by the throat. Leia started choking him and throwing pieces of debris, leftover from their brief battle, at him at the same time.
"I really thought you would be more of a challenge. I really hope you're not the best of Jedi. My father said you were one of the greatest fighters in the order. No wonder you Jedi fell so easily" she mocked him
"Your…Your father…Vader" he managed to choked out as he felt his windpipe closing
"Correct" She said just before she buried her violet blade into his chest and closed off his airway at the same time.
Dropping the Jedi's body to the floor she called his lightsaber to her hand and left the command center. She encountered no resistance going back through the station as she made her way back to the hangar. When she reached her ship she got in and once again opened the blast doors and took off. Once in open space she opened a com-channel to Bast Castle. Moments later a small figure of her father appeared before her.
"Father, General Kota is dead" she informed him
"Very good. Go to Korriban, there you will find the Valley of the Dark Lords. If you survive the valley you will prove yourself and we can begin the final stage of our revenge" He told her
"Yes father" with the that the connection was broken had the small Sith interceptor leapt into hyperspace.