Starkiller left the cockpit. He needed to meditate, needed to prepare his mind for the mission ahead. Above all, he needed to rest for a while before confronting the Jedi since he had not slept the previous night. He headed for his little bedroom behind the training room and promptly fell on his bunk. He'd have a few hours.
He had no idea how much time had passed when he next opened his eyes, something sifting in the Force and alerting him. He could hear the hyperdrive, a clear indicator that they hadn't arrived yet. Slowly, quietly he stood up. Listening.
He reached out with the Force. He could feel Captain Eclipse, but nothing about her felt out of place. And yet...there was something elusive, something hiding in the shadows.
His hand hovered over the lightsaber as he cautiously approached the door. It could be PROXY attempting to ambush him again. It could be something worse.
He waved his hand to will the door to open. Little light on the lock panel flashed blue and the moment the door opened he lunged forward, weapon at hand. A shadow in the dark room, a shape that was not a hologram turned around and stumbled to back away. Starkiller attacked before the intruded had time to fully react. The figure stepped back with a yelp, narrowly escaping the red blade.
It fell, and Starkiller struck to decapitate the unknown being. And as he did, another red lightsaber activated, just barely in time to block his killing blow.
"Galen, it's me!" the figure called frantically.
The Sith apprentice froze. "Luke..?"
He deactivated the blade at the familiar voice and hurriedly stepped back. With the Force he activated the lights and saw his brother half lying on the floor where he'd ungracefully fallen. The Force signature he could've recognised systems away blossomed as Luke let go of the mental shields that had kept him hidden. He as well deactivated his lightsaber and stood up, adjusting his black robes with an awkward smile.
"Surprise!" the boy grinned with arms opened wide.
Galen didn't feel like smiling. He blinked, his heart kept beating rapidly and his adrenalin filled body itched for action.
"You–you kriffing noski, what are you doing here?" he barked, still clutching the 'saber hilt in his hand. He didn't get an answer, because Captain Eclipse chose the moment to rush into the training room, blaster ready and aimed at them.
"I heard noise–" she started, then froze upon noticing Luke. "How did he get in? I-I swear I checked the entire ship!"
Galen turned to his brother with an angry frown. "It's not your fault, Captain. He knows a few tricks to fool the simple minded."
"Simple minded?" she repeated offendedly, but lowered the blaster. "You know him?"
"Unfortunately..." he muttered.
Luke combed back his hair with his fingers. "Yeah, I sort of slipped in with her... Easy to hide from her, obviously. And well..." He shrugged. "If there's any Force sensitive I know how to hide from it's you."
"Are you mad?" Galen very nearly shouted at him. "I almost killed you!"
Oh, he was dead. Dead if Darth Vader found out Luke was with him.
"No you didn't," Luke huffed amusedly, then sobered a little. "Seriously, you weren't gonna..?"
"Of course I was about to kill you! I thought you were a thief or a spy or worse! What were you thinking?"
"I just wanted to see you in action!" Luke countered stubbornly. The boy folded his arms across his chest. "I won't get in your way, I promise."
Galen snorted, finally clipping the hilt back on his belt. "You're not coming! We're turning this ship around, and you go straight back!"
Captain Eclipse cleared her throat. "Actually, that might not be a good idea."
Galen turned sharply at her, for the first time taking a proper look at her since boarding. She'd changed her civilian clothing for her black uniform. "Why not?"
"Well, I don't know what you've been doing for the past few hours, so you may have missed it, but we are closer to Nar Shaddaa than we are to Tatooine. Lord Vader gave me very strict orders to never take the quickest or the shortest route out of or to Tatooine, so there's no way we'll make it to Nar Shaddaa in time if we turn back now. If we are on a strict schedule, I mean. Which, I might add, I don't know yet because–"
"We are on a schedule", Galen interrupted bluntly.
She shrugged. It looked like their stowaway wasn't dangerous. "In that case I advice we keep our course. We can drop him off later. You haven't briefed me about Nar Shaddaa yet."
"We're going to Nar Shaddaa?" Luke gasped excitedly. "Hutt space?"
"I'm going to Nar Shaddaa," Galen corrected. "You're not going anywhere. If I can't take you back, you stay in the ship."
Luke let out a childish whine of protest, but the fierce look Galen gave him silenced the boy.
"Captain, go back to the cockpit," he ordered. "I need to talk with him."
She backed away to the door uncomfortably. "You aren't going to kill him, are you?"
Galen crossed his arms and glowered at Luke. "He'll live."
Luke rolled his eyes at him. Neither said another word until the door closed behind the Captain and they could tell through the Force she really had gone.
"What were you thinking?" Galen urged between grit teeth. "Do you realise that Vader's gonna end me if he finds out?"
"Relax, he doesn't need to know."
"He'll know the moment Aunt Beru notices you're gone! She'll contact Lekauf and he will contact your father!"
"I'm not a complete idiot!" Luke exclaimed. "I told them he sent me with you. And they believed me!"
"Really?" Galen questioned sarcastically. "They believed that Lord Vader sent you to hunt a Jedi with me? You've never been on a mission before!"
Luke narrowed his eyes and assumed more assertive stance. "No, I told them I'm here to watch you. And I'm going to."
Galen held his head in despair. He couldn't take Luke back, but having him with them was a huge risk. Just the fact that Lord Vader wouldn't be happy about this was one thing, but it was legitimately dangerous in the way Luke wasn't trained for. Luke was an excellent dualist, but he had never duelled anyone else but PROXY and Galen. He had defended himself against a swarm of little training droids, the Tusken Raiders, pirates and swoop gangs, but none of those were the same as trained stormtroopers or indeed the navy commandos Galen was supposed to face in a matter of hours. It was always different out there.
Vader almost always said he didn't expect Galen to make it, and all those times he truly had to give everything he had to survive. There had been many, many close calls. Sometimes, though he loathed to admit it, it had been more luck than skill that he had come out victorious and alive to tell the tale.
Some of Galen's pilots had died on missions. What if someone managed to invade or shoot down the Rogue Shadow while Luke was onboard? What if the Jedi sensed him and somehow realised who Luke was? There were about thousand things that could go wrong.
And it wasn't even about Luke's training. It was about keeping him hidden. Luke was the only thing the Emperor or anyone else could truly utilise against Darth Vader, or so Galen at least believed. There was no other life Lord Vader valued as much as he valued the life of his son. If someone saw Luke, thought he was a Jedi and investigated, sooner or later they'd run into the name Skywalker. Even if they couldn't attach the name to Lord Vader, it was trouble enough.
Even if Galen hadn't cared for Darth Vader's reasons, Luke was still his brother. And like Lord Vader, there were no other lives he valued as much as he valued those of his family.
His brother sighed and came to his side. "Are you really hunting a Jedi?" Luke wanted to know.
"Yes."
"Prime..!"
"No it's not," Galen argued. "It's serious and dangerous. He's by far the most dangerous target I've ever had," he continued with a slightest tint of pride in his tone. "But you shouldn't be here."
"Come on, I can take any Jedi just as well as you can," his little brother said confidently.
"No you can't. When was the last time you beat me in a duel?"
"Last week," Luke replied without missing a beat.
"Exactly. And how many times have we duelled after that?"
His brother shrugged. "I dunno. A few?"
"A few. A few times which you lost. If I'd been trying to kill you any of those times you'd be dead. You should not be here."
"Well repeating it isn't going to change things," Luke pointed out. "I'm here now, so can't you just be happy about it? Please, Galen. I just want to see what you do. How am I ever gonna become a true Sith if I never get out of Tatooine? If I never get to do the things you do."
Galen breathed out heavily. "Fine. But you're not leaving this ship. And you'll do exactly as I tell you. And don't call me Galen."
"Promise," Luke agreed. "...can I see the cockpit?"
"I guess so," Galen sighed. "I need to brief Captain Eclipse, anyway."
"Prime," Luke repeated with a grin his brother didn't share.
Captain Eclipse turned her chair around upon their arrival. PROXY stood up, its head turning from Galen to Luke and back in a mockery of human confusion.
"Not a word, PROXY," Galen said before the droid could express his surprise.
"Everything alright?" the Captain enquired.
"We've come to an agreement," he stated. "He stays, but is under no circumstances to leave the ship."
"Not even if the ship is about to get destroyed?" Luke wanted to know.
Galen rolled his eyes. "Obviously staying alive is your first priority."
He returned his attention to Juno. "No matter what happens, his safety comes first. You're in charge of him as much as I am."
"Understood."
"Good."
Galen turned the co-pilot's seat with a wave of his hand and collapsed on it heavily. He motioned Luke to take the jump seat.
Juno looked between them. "Okay... I'm Juno. Captain Juno Eclipse from Lord Vader's Black Eight Squadron. What about you?"
"I'm L—
Galen gripped Luke's throat with the Force. "Skywalker. You can call him Skywalker."
He let go and Luke coughed, giving his older brother a murderous look. Galen chose to ignore it. Juno's eyes widened in shock at this small display of his powers. Clearly she was familiar with Darth Vader's signature move.
"Are you...some kind of Jedi hunters?"
"I bring Darth Vader's enemies to justice," he pressed. "And now so do you. He's still learning."
"Hey," Luke protested with a hoarse voice.
"A learner," Galen repeated. "So watch and learn. PROXY, show us the target."
The already familiar image of Rahm Kota formed in PROXY's place.
"This is General Kota," Galen explained. "A Jedi Master who managed to escape from Order 66. Officially dead. He's gathered himself a small army and breaks havoc on Nar Shaddaa's Imperial targets. According to our intelligence he's planning on attacking a TIE-fighter assembling facility in the orbit. He wants to be found. Juno, your job is to stay close, monitor the censors and keep radio contact with me. I'm going in, I find Kota and I execute him. Questions?"
Luke raised his hand, but Galen's attention was still on Juno. She looked worried.
"So we're just walking into a trap? How many pilots have you lost before me..?"
"Seven," he told bluntly, turning to Luke. "Yes?"
"Excellent..." Juno muttered with a slight shake of her head.
"What do I do?"
"You sit there and stay out of Captain Eclipse's way."
Galen stood up. "Until then, I don't care what you do," he told the woman. "But you," he addressed Luke, "are coming with me. PROXY, I need to talk to you, too."
"That would seem necessary," the droid agreed, abandoning the hologram and followed his two masters back to the training room.
"Why did you tell her my name?" Luke barked immediately after the door closed behind them.
"What is master Luke doing here?" PROXY spoke over him.
"Skywalker sounds similar to Starkiller", Galen replied, ignoring the droid for now.
"But that's my real name!"
"And now she thinks it definitely isn't your real name," Galen argued, though truth to be told he had panicked and said the first name he could think of. It shouldn't matter. No one but Juno would know it.
"Why is master Luke here?" PROXY repeated. "Lord Vader–"
"I know what Vader thinks!" irked Galen cut the droid off. "He doesn't know and we're going to make sure he won't find out."
"Oh master," the droid tutted. "Lord Vader will be furious."
"I'm sorry," Luke wailed. With even PROXY saying his father would be angry it finally began to dawn upon Luke why Galen was so distressed of his presence. "I didn't mean to get you in trouble. I promise I'll stay out of the way. And if he finds out, well, I'll talk to him."
Galen breathed out, his tense shoulders relaxing a little. If he could handle Kota, he could handle his little brother. Of Lord Vader he wasn't so sure yet. "Just...stay out of the way. Hide yourself well when he contacts me."
Luke's eyes brightened. "He definitely contacts you every time?"
"Yes. And no, you're not going to be in the same room when that happens", he clarified when Luke's face lit up with excitement. He tried to look certain, but worry gnawed him. What would he do if Lord Vader wanted to see him in person?
Luke spent rest of the flight in the common lounge and a bit later on moved to the cockpit where Captain Eclipse had elected to stay. They didn't talk much, Luke being afraid of getting his brother in greater trouble if he'd reveal too much and Juno seemed to be very wary of him as well. Galen sulked in his room.
Well, perhaps sulking was not the correct word. He meditated, and like sometimes when he went to the Jundland Wastes to meditate, he seemed like a different person entirely. Luke would never admit it out loud, but he was both in awe and frightened by this side of him.
The whole ship seemed to bathe in thick black tendrils of powerful dark side of the Force which both Juno and PROXY were oblivious to. Luke inhaled it with each breath, feeling himself more powerful than perhaps ever before. When they arrived to the Hutt space, there seemed to be very little left of Galen Lars. Starkiller bristled with power and wore permanent scowl on his face.
But Luke could only watch him with admiration and tiny bit of envy. He'd known Galen had done this all his life, but only now he truly realised the difference between himself and his brother. Galen was a Sith and Luke was still far, far behind him. If he would ever fight his brother when he was so truly in control of the dark side, he wouldn't stand a chance against him. In his full dark battle gear he was a fearsome sight.
Outside the window in the moon's atmosphere hung an enormous skyhook. A shipyard manufacturing TIE-fighters, Juno had told him. As they approached, Luke could sense the distress and chaos inside.
"One of the containment fields is turned off," Juno mused. She'd known it was a trap, but hadn't been expecting a trap this obvious. "Hangar 12."
Galen nodded. "Then that's where you'll drop me. PROXY, you know what to do. Keep an eye on the enemy movements. Captain, stay nearby, but out of the way. Skywalker...sit down and don't touch anything. Stay off the com."
Luke collapsed on the jump seat. "Yes, sir..."
"I'll track you with the onboard scanner," Juno told. "We'll be able to keep an eye on you. Any intel you may need I'll give via comlink."
His brother hummed in acknowledgement, completely focused on the mission ahead. He even gripped the lightsabre hilt in his hand already with his favoured reverse grip Luke had never understood. What purpose did it serve? The regular grip felt much more natural and useful to him.
May the Force be with you, Luke sent through the Force.
Galen's frown only deepened. Luke was fond of the Jedi saying, but Galen had little appreciation for it. They both had an extensive knowledge of both Sith and Jedi arts, but out of the two of them Luke was the one with more interest toward the Jedi and their culture. He said he wanted to know the enemy, but Galen supposed it was because of Anakin Skywalker and the late Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Starkiller left the cockpit without a word. Luke turned around quickly to see the monitors. He felt the air move as the landing ramp opened and then closed. Less than a minute passed and then Juno was already flying them away from the facility, out of the range of possible hostile fire.
PROXY had the facility's layout in his memory banks, but it was displayed on the monitor for both Luke and Juno's benefit. The comlink channel was open and it didn't take long for the near silence to turn into muffled screams, blaster fire and the familiar hum of a lightsabre. Luke leant forward, eyes on the monitor.
Galen didn't communicate much with them. He had other things to worry about. Once or twice he asked PROXY for directions, wanted to know where a certain door led to or which corridor to take. He seemed to have an idea where he was heading to, but the resistance sounded heavy. More than anything, Luke wished he could witness it. His body itched for action. He wanted to be there fighting alongside his brother. He could do it, he knew he could.
Juno must have noticed how uneasy he was, for she turned and whispered: "He's in this hangar now."
She pointed the location on the layout, then zoomed out to let him compare it to the skyhooks image. She looked at the screen and frowned. She zoomed back and ran a scan, then picked the comlink. "Starkiller. The bulkhead door is sealed," she told. "You'll need to find a way through it."
No reply from Galen came. The comlink frequency was filled with the sound of heavy blaster fire. Juno pulled a headset to muffle the sounds from Luke and turned her attention to the computer. Having no idea what she was doing, Luke looked at PROXY, but the droid, despite sitting motionlessly on the co-pilot's seat, seemed busy. There wasn't much else for him to do than to look out of the large windows and keep an eye on the screen.
It wasn't something he would've ever admitted out loud, but he was scared. This wasn't just them playing games in Beggar's Canyon. This was real. Galen was being shot at and he was killing everything in his way.
"Eclipse to Starkiller," Juno called suddenly, pulling the headset on his shoulders. "I've intercepted a message from the flight tower. The Imperials have mobilised the TIE-fighter squadron in your sector. Keep your eyes open."
"Will do," a muffled reply came from the headset.
"They're sending in a TIE squadron?" Luke frowned. "But we're on their side!"
"They don't know that," Juno replied. She bit her lower lip as if she as well only now fully realised what that meant. Anyone out there, friend or not, considered them an enemy. "But they aren't necessarily mobilising because of him. General Kota's men seem to have taken over the facility."
Luke wished he could've at least talked to Galen, but knowing how paranoid both his father and Galen were, he knew he better keep off the com. His brother had now been inside for almost half an hour.
Luke turned to look at Juno as she spoke something about lifts. She was so focused on her task she didn't notice him watching.
She looked nice. Very different from anyone he'd ever met or seen on Tatooine. She was a fighter pilot, a captain of her squadron. More than that, she had served under his father and not in just any position. She'd been leading the Black Eight Squadron. There were so many questions he would've wanted to ask. How was it to work for Vader? Was he truly so terrifying as the rumours told?
Luke was always among the firsts to speak in defence of the Empire, reminding people of the goods it had done. Wasn't their school funded by the Empire's Education for the Outer Rim Territories program? In turn they would describe the horrendous acts of cruelty and injustice they swore they'd seen the Empire to have spread. Entire planets killed, entire nations massacred from the orbit. Entire races enslaved. But that was the Emperor's Empire. Destroying it was what he and Galen were training for, wasn't it? It wasn't what his father wanted, surely?
Yet the stories told a different tale. Darth Vader was a brutal savage, knew no mercy, tolerated no mistakes. He would kill his own without a second thought on a whim.
Luke didn't know what to believe, although he knew what he wanted to believe. But the undeniable truth was that he didn't know his father at all, nor did his father know him. They'd only ever met twice. First when he was nine, before Galen, before any of this. He'd been terrified, yet curious of Darth Vader, but his father had left without even saying goodbye.
It had been over four years since the second time they'd met in person. Without any warning in advance Erv had knocked on their door late at night, alerting them of Lord Vader's arrival. A part of Luke had wanted to run hug the man when he finally did indeed arrive, but his feet hadn't moved. He'd frozen to place, terrified like a little child again with no idea of what he was supposed to say or do. Beside him his brother had knelt down and for a moment Luke had considered doing the same. Wasn't he an apprentice as well?
His father had towered over him and Luke had felt his eyes on him, felt the magnificent aura of dark side of the Force close in on him. He'd feared it would suffocate him. Then a leather gloved hand was on his shoulder.
"Good to see you, son," he'd said. Nothing more. The hand let go and Vader strode in to speak with Erv, Owen and Beru without even acknowledging Galen. Not that he talked much to Luke either apart from asking to see the lightsaber he'd constructed. Luke had modelled his after Galen's, who in turn appeared to have modelled his after Vader's. His father had turned the weapon in his hands, but commented nothing. He had wanted to see him spar with PROXY, then with Galen. He had pointed out his errors, but nothing else. His visit had been less than seven hours.
Galen would not talk about Darth Vader. If he asked, his brother would just tell what a wise and a powerful man Vader was. Never anything personal Luke so yearned to know. What did his father like? What was he like in person? Sometimes he felt as if Galen didn't even comprehend the question.
With a lot of coaxing and pestering, all he had got out of his brother was that Darth Vader seemed to enjoy flying and building things. He'd built PROXY, after all. But even that was nothing new. Luke had already known his father had built a droid and a podracer when he was still a slave. Luke had even dragged Erv and Galen with him to the Grand Arena in Mos Espa, and he'd seen a recording of the race his father had won.
Each time Galen left to fulfil a mission, he returned as a different person. Colder. Harder. It took weeks for the frown to melt from his face and for him to stop practising so hard. Now that neither of them went to school anymore, especially Galen devoted all of his time for training, whereas Luke still found time to see his friends.
His eyes wandered to Juno's uniform. She'd been to the Academy. He and Biggs and Tank had been talking about applying. Luke knew it was probably impossible for him to go, but it didn't stop him from dreaming. More than anything, he wanted to be a pilot. The Sith business was fun and useful, but he wasn't sure if the way of the dark side was what he wanted for his life. One of the things Galen would never understand. To Galen, his training was everything.
Maybe later when they were back in hyperspace he could ask Juno. Nothing too obvious. Just let her know he was interested in applying for the Academy and looked up to Lord Vader. He couldn't be the only 17-year old whose dream was to be part of the Black Squadron. He could apply under false name or something. Work hard, become a pilot and aim for Darth Vader's fleet.
A tremble in the Force pulled him from his thoughts. Galen had found the Jedi.
Starkiller drew back the lightsabre he'd thrown into the chest of one of Kota's men. The last one alive in the corridor.
The facility was a mess. The Imperials had been busy fighting off the terrorists, but he didn't have the luxury of choosing his opponents. Imperial or rebel, whoever stood in his way had to die. There could be no one left alive to tell who had attacked them.
He'd been inside for at least an hour now, first fighting his way through the hangars into the assembly lines, then through the corridors and lifts to get to the upper levels. Kota's plan seemed to be to wear him down as much as possible before confronting him personally. He wondered idly if the General's men knew they were used as pawns. Kota must have known he had practically signed their death sentences personally. So much for the so called nobility of the Jedi.
While he had certainly needed to work hard to get here, Kota was greatly underestimating him, if he thought any of that had exhausted him. If anything, this fore play before the grand finale had only empowered him. It had been a long time since he'd seen action like this and the warm up only served in his favour. The longer he fought, the more he hated Kota. It fuelled him. He had perhaps a few bruises, but no one had managed to blast him. Most of Kota's men were lousy shots, anyway. It was the Commandos he needed to be wary of.
But time was running out. Captain Eclipse had reported the terrorists had managed to do some real damage and the possibility that the entire skyhook would fall off the sky was looking more and more probable by minute. The gravity didn't feel quite right anymore and the floor was tilted –barely noticeably, but it was good to keep that in mind.
"Starkiller," the Captain called in his ear. "I don't like this. The readings I'm getting from the room to your–"
"Not now," Starkiller snarled. "Radio silence until I'm done here."
His pilot hesitated a moment. "Understood. Good luck."
Starkiller scoffed and turned off the comlink from his side. The Sith needed no luck. He'd felt the presence of the Jedi General from the moment he stepped off the Rogue Shadow's landing ramp, but now they were close. Very close. Only one door stood between then. He gestured with his fingers for the blast doors to open and walked in to the Jedi's den.
He had arrived on a catwalk circling the room below. Windows surrounded the entire space filled with computer stations. A command centre of some kind. A tower. Even the floor was partially a window. General Kota stood alone, lightsabre ignited and ready for the duel. The Jedi must have sensed him. He hadn't tried to hide himself.
The Jedi turned to face him. He looked almost exactly like the image PROXY had created. A bit older and different clothes, but it was him. He didn't look like a Jedi. The clothes he wore and the way he held himself spoke of a soldier. Starkiller hadn't expected that. Compared to Kota the Jedi he'd fought before had been...tired. Barely holding onto life and to the light side of the Force.
Their eyes met and the determination on the Jedi's face turned to disappointment. "A boy..?"
The old man blinked and loosened his grip on the green lightsabre's hilt. "Months of gathering an army and attacking Imperial targets, and Vader sends a boy to fight me?"
He sounded insulted.
"Lord Vader has more important things to do," Starkiller taunted in return, a little pleased that it was him stepping into this trap instead of his Master. If the General thought it'd be an easy battle for him, Starkiller had already won. He hated to be underestimated. He may not have been at Vader's level yet, but looking at Kota now, with the knowledge of his disappointment he was sure he could take the old Jedi with one hand behind his back. He would make his Master proud, he would prove his worth.
Lightsabre ignited, gathering lightning in his hand he leapt down without giving the General a chance to reply.
Kota's lightsabre rose to deflect the lightning and struck him with far more force than Starkiller had expected. He attacked again, but the Jedi pushed him away and all the chairs in the room flew at him. With a wave of his arm the apprentice scattered the furniture across the room. He ripped a large screen from the wall and hurled it at Kota, attacking himself immediately after. He used everything and anything he could pull apart to throw at the Jedi, and the Jedi did the same.
Kota relied heavily on Juyo, one of Starkiller's own favourites. The General's way of using the most aggressive of forms, however, was unusual. He preferred to adopt defensive position, even though this was clearly a battle over life and death. Only one of them would leave alive, and Starkiller was determined that the one would be himself. Despite his defensiveness, Kota's attacks were fierce and powerful. Starkiller wasn't worried, though, not yet. He knew enough Soresu to defend himself and to wear off the old Jedi. He was younger. He knew he would prevail once Kota began to tire.
But Kota realised what he tried. His attacks grew stronger yet, his onslaught forced the apprentice to back away. It wasn't just the green lightsabre beating at him. Rahm Kota kept hurling anything movable at him. Starkiller responded with lightning and tried to drive Kota out of the control centre into the cramped corridor where he could force the Jedi in crossfire, but the Jedi wouldn't fall for that, either.
The General was far better at telekinesis than any of his previous opponents had been, save for Vader of course. It was new for Starkiller to have an opponent who could hurl large items at him the same way he himself could. PROXY could mimic telekinesis to some extent, but it was a far cry from reality. Luke on the other hand rarely relied on telekinesis. His brother was good, but Kota was better. The Jedi would not give in and to his horror the exhaustion from getting here was starting to seep in.
Juno's frantic voice called for him, but he ignored her, made no sense of her words.
Starkiller grit his teeth and snarled in frustration as their lightsabres locked once again. So close, yet so far. He could have easily reached to touch Kota if he had any free arms. He backed off to gain more space for a new assault, but Kota had other ideas. Starkiller was thrown across the room, his head hit against a console table dazing him for a brief second before the Force brought him clarity. Without the Force, without the dark side such hit would've killed him. He barely managed to stop an entire console station from crushing him and cast it aside as he scrambled up.
"I can't let you live, boy," Kota called though smoke and rubble. He stood on the other side of the room, lightsabre deactivated. "But I'll be sure to send you ashes to Lord Vader."
Too late Starkiller realised he should've listened to Juno. Kota pressed a small switch attached to his wristcom and explosions shook the entire control centre. Windows shattered and glass rained upon them. Wind blew in and wailed so loudly it almost drowned the sounds of explosions further away. No wonder Kota had been keen on staying in this room. There was a horrible screeching noise and the floor tilted. The explosion had almost ripped the room apart from the rest of the skyhook. He expected not to be able to breathe, but the skyhook must have lost more altitude than he'd realised. The air pressure was low, just barely breathable, but it was enough for a Sith and a Jedi.
But the destruction so far wasn't enough for Kota. He raised his arms and grabbed the thin air. He was about to rip the entire tower room apart. The walls crunched and metal wailed. The Jedi was trying to kill both of them. The room turned over, first tilting slowly away from the structure it had been attached to, then quickly and suddenly. Both men fell from the floor onto the wall. White cracks all over the windows that hadn't yet shattered expanded every time their weight on the glass shifted. The tower still somehow hung from the skyhook, but they might not for long.
Starkiller stumbled back on his feet, reigniting his lightsabre immediately. Kota lay on the floor, having lost his footing. Starkiller attacked just as he got on his knees, hoping the General would not have time to reignite his weapon, but the green blade met with his red in front of the Jedi Master's face. The man grit his teeth and forced the red blade on a safer distance.
"You think of yourself a Sith, don't you, boy?" the Jedi grunted, pushing up against Starkiller's blade, trying to get back on his feet. Starkiller could not allow that.
"With your Force lightnings and red lightsabre," Kota scoffed. "You're no Sith. Under all that anger and frustration you're just a frightened little child. I can see you."
The apprentice gasped. Trees. Trees reaching high up towards the sky filled his vision. He could hear bird calls and just out of the line of his vision stood someone. His hold on the lightsabre hilt loosened just enough for Kota to manage give himself five more centimetres of room.
But Starkiller did not let the blades unlock. He would not lose because of Kota's trickery. He kept pushing back, ignoring the words, ignoring the strange psychic assault.
"Vader knows it, too," Kota spoke, strain audible in his voice. His arms were trembling, he sounded out of breath. He couldn't hold on much longer. "He hasn't turned you. Your fate lies elsewhere."
Trees again, yet different. Dense and overgrown. He could smell the earth and feel the humid air against his skin. He was looking for something. Someone?
He had to will the stupid mind trick away. He knew his destiny. He was to kill the Emperor. His duty was to fight and learn and train and master every single thing there was to be mastered of the dark side of the Force. Master Vader had not turned him. He had made him strong, had shown him his path, his future. Had given him a family and home.
"He won't be your master for long," Kota sneered.
Snow blew at his face and icy wind beat against his skin. Snow crunched under his shoes, the cold stung his skin. He couldn't see anything but snow in the raging blizzard. Can't go on, this isn't me, no more. No more!
"Stop," Starkiller growled between his teeth, still feeling the freezing air in his lungs. He half expected to see his breath, but it wasn't real. It was just Kota playing with his head. The thin air must have helped.
And he didn't stop, yet he did not go on with the taunts. His expression changed, his voice softened. "I sense...I sense someone else."
The Jedi blinked. His eyes seemed to look far away and he spoke as if in trance, but his lightsaber was unwavering. "You didn't come alone. I sense a presence so bright and magnificent and...unbalanced. I see shackles and darkness. Rage. So much rage in this one. I see–"
The old Jedi's face was suddenly filled with bewilderment. His eyes widened and they finally really met with Starkiller's again. "Me?"
Whatever Kota saw, it seemed to shock him. His guard went down for a mere moment and it was all Starkiller needed. He pushed, roaring as he did and the green blade went with his red, it pressed against the Jedi's face and Kota screamed in anguish as his own lightsabre ate his flesh and burnt his eyes.
No other sound had given Starkiller such satisfaction in a long time.
Kota dropped his lightsabre and the man stumbled backwards, wailing in shock. There was hardly anything left of his eyes or the bridge of his nose but burnt red flesh. It smelt disgusting. He would've fallen straight on his back had Starkiller not wrenched him into the air. He could've snapped the man's neck with a tiny flex of his fingers, but that would've been too easy. He wanted to shatter every single bone in the Jedi's body. Preferably many of them before he died or lost his consciousness.
Kota grunted in pain as Starkiller smashed him against the railing of the catwalk, calling the fallen Jedi's weapon, his price, in his free hand. He hooked both weapons on his belt with a smirk. This time, surely, Master Vader would be proud.
He hauled the man against the roof, then smashed him against the floor. The glass cracked some more. Kota's breath was a pained whine. Even so, he tried to get up. Or so Starkiller thought. The Jedi got on his knees, pressed his palms against the glass and the glass shattered under his Force push. Kota fell, almost taking Starkiller with him, but the apprentice managed to hold onto a window frame and pull himself on it. He peered down, but couldn't tell which of the falling debris was Kota.
"Starkiller? Come in, Starkiller," Juno's voice called. She'd been calling for a while now.
The highest traffic lines couldn't have been more than a few kilometres away. The skyhook had been slowly falling and listing all this time, but amongst the duel he hadn't even noticed. Its failing repulsors couldn't keep the structure in the atmosphere.
"Come in, Starkiller!"
"Stop shouting, I can here you just fine," he snapped. Frantically he tried to search for Kota. Was he dead? He couldn't tell, he couldn't feel him. Terrible, hollow fear settled in his stomach.
"Finally!" Juno exclaimed. "Have you paid attention to anything I've said?"
"I've been a bit busy," he said, carefully standing up in the wind. There wasn't much surface left to stand on in here.
Worry gnawed at Starkiller. There was no way for him to be sure. The wound he had inflected wasn't necessarily life-threatening. It did't bleed and the cut wasn't located on anything vital. A few centimetres deeper and it would've gone through Kota's skull and brains, but as it was now...
But there was the shock and the fall as well. Surely he'd be dead? It had been a suicide, a final desperate attempt to kill the apprentice.
And yet...had it been him, had he fallen. Even blind like Kota he knew he would have survived. He'd have taken advantage of the ships below, or let himself fall until he'd reach the surface traffic. If he could do it, so could Kota.
He's dead, surely he's dead, he tried to reassure himself. He was blind, disoriented by pain. He must have had some broken bones, too. Possible internal bleeding. The fall must have killed him, the apprentice reasoned.
He breathed long and deliberately to calm himself, before speaking to Juno again. "I'm done now."
"About time. That whole thing is coming down. The systems will fail permanently any minute now and then there'll be nothing stopping the factory from crashing down. You need to get out."
"Fly under. I'll get in from the ceiling hatch."
"I'll do my best, but I don't think I can get close enough."
"You don't need to get close."
He shut his eyes, reaching out with the Force one last time in search of the Jedi Master. Nothing. At least he had the lightsabre. He didn't want to lie, but he couldn't report a failure either. The lightsaber would have to be enough proof for his Master.
He opened his eyes just in time to see the Rogue Shadow appear below him and jumped without hesitation. The rush of a free fall lasted less than a second. He slowed down his fall and softened his landing as his feet and hands touched the sleek metal of his ship. The wind blew in his ears, ruffling his hair.
The hatch opened and Luke's head peeked through. Two quick steps and he grabbed his brother's outreached hand and let himself be helped back in.
"That was so wizard!" Luke exclaimed as soon as the hatched closed and the wind couldn't catch their words anymore. "Did you rip the control tower?"
"No, that was Kota," he replied, running fingers through his hair. Broken glass fell down and cut his fingers.
"Oh..." But Luke's good spirits weren't disturbed that easily. "You killed him, though? Tell me everything!"
Starkiller rolled his eyes. "We met, he talked, we fought, I ended it."
"Not like that," his brother whined. "What style did he use? What colour lightsabre did he have? Did he manage to surprise you? How did you kill him? Did he say anything?"
"Juyo, green, no, I threw him against the roof and he said he'd ship my ashes to Vader."
Blatant lies and he had no intention to mention Kota's last words. His weird prediction and the visions. It gave him uncomfortable chills for some reason. Luke opened his mouth for more questions, but Starkiller raised his hand to silence him.
"I don't want to talk about it," he grunted. "Catch."
Luke caught Kota's weapon easily. "This his?"
He turned the hilt around in his hands. It was slender and had a leather band tied around it. Luke ignited the blade and gave it an experimental wave.
"I prefer mine," he denounced and handed the weapon back.
"Yours looks sloppier built," Starkiller remarked, just to annoy his brother.
"Speak for yourself, yours is made of actual scrap metal..!"
"True," he admitted a little more cheerfully. Luke could always lift his spirits.
"Starkiller," the Captain's voice called in his ear. "I'm taking us out of Nal Hutta's space. Anywhere you want me to go?"
"I'll be there in a minute," he replied and then turned to Luke. "I hope we'll have time to ditch you. Come on."
"Quit worrying."
Luke followed him back to the cockpit. Both Juno and PROXY turned to welcome them back.
"Excellent, master!" PROXY praised. "I'm glad to see you in one piece. It'd be shame if you died before I could fulfil my primary programming."
Luke grimaced at the droid. "Do you have to?"
"Inform Lord Vader that the mission's complete," Starkiller told the droid, ignoring entirely his musings of getting to kill him. To Juno he said: "Take us out of the system. Doesn't matter where. I'll be in the training room."
"Can I come?" Luke asked.
Starkiller shook his head. "I'm going to contact Vader. Stay here. And keep yourself hidden."
Luke pouted discontentedly, but accepted his fate and sat next to Captain Eclipse as his brother left, PROXY following like a faithful shadow he was.
Juno fed coordinates to the computer, but her eyes wandered to the young man on the co-pilot's seat. A boy, really. He was shorter than her, had blue eyes and light hair slightly longer than Starkiller's. This boy, Skywalker, didn't share the athletic built with Starkiller, but was clearly trained in similar arts. She hadn't yet seen Starkiller smile even once. The young man was stern and serious, constantly radiating anger and annoyance. Skywalker, on the other hand, had an expressive face. She hadn't had much time to pay attention to him during the mission, but just enough to see that. His eyes and stance spoke of his feelings constantly, whereas she could not read a thing of Starkiller. They looked like night and day, but were dressed in similar dark clothing, and Juno had not missed the lightsabre hilt on Skywalker's belt.
"So how do you and Starkiller know each other?" she risked a question.
The boy straightened himself a little on the chair he'd collapsed on. "We're brothers."
"Really?" She blinked, taken completely aback by the reply. Brothers would have been the last thing she'd suspected, considering how different they looked and how their bickering had made her think they were bitter rivals.
"Oh kriff, I probably shouldn't have told you that. Please don't tell Ga—him."
"I won't," she promised. She knew she shouldn't even have asked. In this line of work, it was often safer the less you knew. But she couldn't help but to be curious. "You both work for Vader then?" she inquired carefully.
The boy's face lit up a little. "Yeah! Well, he does, anyway," he said less enthusiastically. "I never get to see him."
"That might be better. He's quite a fearsome sight."
"Is he? You've met him, haven't you? You flew in the Black Squadron, didn't you?."
"Black Eight Squadron," she corrected "Yes, I did."
And then she was reassigned here after Callos. She still didn't know if it was a reward or a punishment. She feared it was the latter, even if her friends thought it was the former.
"So you've met him? You've actually talked to him?" Skywalker pressed.
Juno had known Vader had fans, but this was the first time she'd had the honour of meeting one. The over enthusiastic types never made it to actually serve under Lord Vader's direct command.
"Many times."
"Tell me about him. Please," the boy asked.
Juno wasn't sure what to say. She admired Lord Vader greatly, felt immense pride for working directly under his command. But like anyone in their right mind, she also feared him. Even if this boy didn't get to meet Vader, he still was an agent under his command. She ought to be careful with her words.
"He's...quite extraordinary," she said. "Intimidating. I could work with him the rest of my life and I'd never get used to being in his presence. I don't think anyone gets used to it. He's the best pilot I've ever seen. A great leader in battle. He's ruthless and won't tolerate failures, but he would never ask anyone to do anything he wouldn't do himself. He fights in the front lines when other commanding officers would stay in the orbit. Him arriving can change the course of the battle in moments. Sometimes the enemy just flees at the sight of him. He doesn't talk much and I've seen him just storm out of the room in the middle of a conversation. I don't think anyone knows much more than that about him."
Skywalker nodded, but looked disappointed. He'd probably heard all that before. Evidently out of the two of them, Starkiller was Lord Vader's favourite. But Starkiller also appeared to be several years older. It made her want to tell Skywalker he was still young, he still had time. Lord Vader would notice him if he worked hard.
What a silly thought.
Starkiller, she assumed, was about the same age as her, perhaps a year or two younger. It was hard to say about Skywalker, but clearly still in his teens.
She almost asked, but Starkiller chose the moment to return. He reached over her, and keyed something to the computer.
"Our new coordinates," he told.
Juno examined them. "That's in the middle of nowhere," she concluded, aligning them with the galactic map. "Scarl? I've never even heard of it. Are you sure you weren't supposed to type in Fondor's coordinates? It's only a few parsecs away."
"No, these are the coordinates and "in the middle of nowhere" is exactly why we're going there."
Skywalker's jaw dropped. "Are we going to that Star Destroyer?"
"Star Destroyer?" Juno repeated.
"There's this huge Star Destroyer the Empire's building," Skywalker explained excitedly, emphasising with arms spread wide. "It's going to be Lord Vader's new flagship when it's ready. Starkiller used to train there."
"I still train there," Starkiller remarked. "And it's a secret."
Skywalker rolled his eyes. "She's gonna see it anyway."
Now that she knew they were brothers, she could see where their bickering originated and it was more hilarious than frightening. She turned away to hide her amusement. It was a good thing to have Skywalker on board, she decided. The boy forced the grumpy Jedi assassin out of his comfort zone and made his company much more bearable.
The computer finished calculating the route. Juno pulled the lever, stars stretched before them and the Rogue Shadow jumped to hyperspace.