CHAPTER III

As soon as it became evident the Rogue Shadow was safely on course and in the Hyperspace, Vader's agent turned and left the cockpit without a word. Juno's eyes followed Starkiller. It stung a little to think he didn't seem to want her company. They were a team now. The door closed behind him, so she turned to Skywalker.

"Is he alright?"

"Yeah, I think so," Skywalker said. His eyes had followed the assassin leave as well. "He's always a bit weird after missions."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, you know..." The boy shrugged. "Moody?"

"Moodier than he already is?"

Skywalker chuckled. "You've no idea."

Juno glanced back at the doorway, then turned at the consoles. The eerie blue glow of Hyperspace illuminated the cockpit. She rather liked it. It was like calm before the storm.

"He's not really like that," Skywalker suddenly said. "He's not. He's actually nice and funny. Not always, but... When he..."

"Allows himself to loosen up?" she suggested. Based on what she'd seen, she couldn't imagine him ever truly loosening up.

"Yeah," Skywalker agreed. The boy's fingers played with the sleeves of his black jacket. "He just takes this very seriously –as we all should, obviously. With...Lord Vader and all."

"Indeed," Juno agreed.

"Was it hard to get to the Academy?" the boy wanted to know, changing the subject away from his brother.

"Not really," she replied, though she had worked hard to be accepted. At the time she had been the youngest student ever accepted. "The hard part starts after you've enrolled."

She should know. She had graduated with top marks and honours, and it hadn't been an easy feat. Especially for a young woman, considering how male dominated the Empire's military was, and how blatantly misogynist many of his superiors and peers had been. Still were. But she'd shown them all when she'd been picked to fly in the elite Black Eight Squadron. Being promoted to its leader by Lord Vader himself had been perhaps one of the proudest moments of her life. Lord Vader didn't care if you were a woman. He didn't even care if you weren't a Human. All that mattered to him was that you could fly and take orders. And that was exactly what she had done.

"Will you go to the Academy?" she asked. She would happily tell him about it.

"I want to. But I don't think I'll be allowed to." He glanced at the consoles wistfully. "I'd rather be a pilot."

The boy turned to her and grinned. "But what I'm doing now is pretty great, too," he assured. He stood up quickly, as if wanting to end the conversation. Perhaps he'd already revealed too much to her. "I should go see what he's doing."

Juno watched the boy leave and then sagged against her seat, realising how tired she was. The past hours had been intense and not quite what she had expected from this assignment. She hadn't exactly expected to make new friends, but the grumpiness of her new partner was tiresome. His droid was strange, and the life-like holos it projected were unnerving. She kept wondering how much the droid knew of her, how much it had told its masters. It still angered her to think of the droid wearing her likeness, spilling out her private information.

Her fingers brushed against her datapad, stored by her seat. I shouldn't, she told herself, even as she sat up straighter and pulled the datapad out. The less she knew the safer she'd be. She looked over her shoulder, but she was alone.

The truth was, when she barged into the training room, only to find that Starkiller had already found Skywalker, it wasn't because she heard a noise. It was because she saw a hooded figure move in the darkness.

There were cameras on Rogue Shadow. It was of course fairly standard to have cameras, but she supposed they weren't meant for spying. Not that she was truly spying. She hadn't seen or heard anything that wasn't for her ears. Yet. She had just happened to switch the dark training room's camera on night mode, when Skywalker had decided to emerge from wherever it was he'd been hiding. Her fingers had itched to slice into that feed again after Starkiller sent her away, but she had thought it too risky.

Starkiller may have said it wasn't her fault Skywalker had managed to sneak in, but she felt differently. It may not have been her ship, but she was her captain now. She had the right to know what was going on. So she pushed aside the nagging voice telling her this wasn't a good idea, and once more logged in to the camera feeds. The only movement came from the training room. She turned the audio on.

"–found Kota," she heard Starkiller say as he walked towards the centre of the room. "That justice has been dealt."

"And?" Skywalker asked, following his brother. The droid stood waiting.

"And that's it," Vader's agent replied.

"What did he say?" the boy eagerly wanted to know. They must have been talking about Lord Vader. Skywalker truly was a fan, Juno thought amusedly.

"That he wants me in Scarl immediately. He'll probably have more targets for me."

That meant no rest for her, either. Would there be another Jedi for Starkiller to hunt? Before this assignment she had thought them all dead.

"Or maybe it's time," Skywalker said. What came next shook her to the core. "We can take down the Emperor easily. Maybe it's good I tagged along."

Juno's eyes widened. Surely she had misheard. She must have.

"I won't need you to take down the Emperor," Starkiller boasted. Juno covered her mouth with her free hand to muffle the gasp.

"But yes, it's time. I'm ready," he vowed. His voice was cold and sinister, it sent chills down her spine, and for a moment Juno believed him.

"We should be doing it together," said Skywalker. Even the boy now sounded devious.

"Your fate is different from mine," came a cryptic reply. Juno's heart was hammering in her chest. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. This wasn't at all what she had hoped to learn by spying on her mysterious companions.

Did Lord Vader know? He must not have known. If she contacted him now– But no. It was too risky. Those two assassins would surely kill her if she got caught. Besides, what proof did she have? Why would Lord Vader believe her? Whether she was right or not, she could be killed for accusing Lord Vader's agents of treachery.

She gulped. She realised she had not heard or seen anything that happened between Starkiller's reply and the sight the video feed now presented her: the two fought with red bladed lightsabers. They moved so quickly it was hard to believe they were Human. How strong did one need to be to defeat a Jedi? Her father had told her it had been the clones that purged the Jedi after they had tried to take over the Senate. But what she saw now was something else. It wasn't natural.

Starkiller had gone alone, fought against the Imperials and Kota's terrorists alike. It only now began to dawn upon her what destructive powers such man had to possess.

But Emperor Palpatine was well protected. He was never seen without his Royal Guard. They were the best of the best. And yet...her two companions seemed to have supernatural abilities similar to those she had witnessed Lord Darth Vader to posses. Could the Emperor really be in danger? He was on old man. Ancient, almost. Her father had said their beloved leader had already been old long before Juno was born. She feared for how easily these two assassins might kill him, if they managed to separate him from his Guard.

I must have proof before I contact him, she decided. She would act normal and keep spying whenever she could. Next time she would record what she heard. Then, an no earlier, would she present her findings to Lord Vader.

Starkiller stalked out of the cockpit. He passed PROXY in the training room, but ignored him, and locked himself in his little bedroom. In the privacy of his room he allowed the panic to wash over. He sat on the edge of his bunk, leaning his head against his hands.

Shit, shit, shit.

What if Kota was alive?

He wouldn't really be lying, would he? He didn't know for sure. It was at least an educated guess to assume Kota dead.

He had never lied to his Master. He had never dared to.

He weighed the Jedi general's weapon in his hand. It was proof enough, wasn't it? Vader would not need to know. No one would need to know. Even if Kota was alive, he would hardly be a threat to the Empire now.

He breathed in, attempting calm himself, but calmness never came easy to him. He could meditate hours upon hours, but he would never find the inner peace that'd give him the same amount of concentration it gave Luke.

"But it's not hard at all," Luke had protested. "It's like...an icy peak within you. Above everything."

"What do you know of ice?" he'd muttered. He'd seen Luke rise a veil of sand around himself, a veil moving ever so slightly as if gently flowing in the wind. But it wasn't the wind. It was Luke's effort to keep the sand levitating. And when his concentration slipped it all poured down around him. Starkiller could scarcely muster enough concentration to take apart and reassemble his lightsaber.

"We're good at different kind of things," Luke had dismissed. "Lightnings are much more useful in battle than meditating."

A knock on the door pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Starkiller?" Luke's voice called hesitantly. It sounded strange coming form the mouth of his brother. Luke never called him by his true name. "Will you spar with me and PROXY?"

Starkiller put away Kota's 'sabre and opened the door with a small gesture of his hand. Luke stepped in with an uncertain expression. His brother frowned, sensing all wasn't well. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Starkiller told bluntly. Luke wouldn't know, either. "You said you wanted to spar. Let's spar."

He acted stoic and composed, but right now he was almost happy that Luke had sneaked onboard. He needed something to take his thoughts off Kota.

Luke watched him as he pushed past his brother to the dim lit, windowless training room. PROXY waited in the middle.

"What did you talk with him?" Luke wanted to know as he followed. There was no need to elaborate who him was.

"Just that I found Kota. That justice has been dealt."

"And?" Luke prompted.

"And that's it."

"What did he say?" his brother persisted, but Starkiller knew he would have to disappoint Luke yet again. Master Vader wasn't a chatty person, and he never asked about Luke from him. He only talked about his son with Lieutenant Lekauf.

"That he wants me in Scarl immediately," he told. "He'll probably have more targets for me."

"Or maybe it's time," Luke suggested. "We can take down the Emperor easily. Maybe it's good I tagged along," he said half jokingly.

"I won't need you to take down the Emperor," Starkiller dismissed. "But yes, it's time. I'm ready."

He did feel ready, despite what had happened with Kota. The Emperor was different. Sith or not, he was an old man. Ancient. He had prepared for it his entire life. He had studied Sidious's techniques and style from the few rare videos his Master had managed to get him. There was one he suspected Master Vader must have recorded with his own eyes, so to speak. It looked as if the footage was from his helmet, just as Master Vader had seen it. He knew the Emperor was a master of Sith lightning, but even that didn't worry him. He was a master of Sith lightning himself. If he had any natural talents, then that was it.

"We should be doing it together," Luke said, not for the first time.

"Your fate is different from mine," Starkiller reminded. He ignited his lightsaber with a smirk. "Shall we?"

He did not wait for Luke to reply.

When they arrived to Scarl, Juno could see that Skywalker had not been exaggerating when he'd said the Star Destroyer was huge. "Huge" was an understatement. It was massive. It was many times the size of a regular Star Destroyer.

"It's 19 kilometres long," she marvelled the data the Rogue Shadow's censors picked. Executor, Darth Vader had named it, according to Skywalker. The name fit well. She could only imagine the destruction it'd be capable to leave in its wake once it became operational. Seemed only right that Darth Vader would have such ship in his command.

Skywalker was like a child in a toy shop. He practically drooled as he leant as close to the window as possible. As she watched him, she couldn't help but to doubt herself. She must have somehow misunderstood the partial conversation she had eavesdropped. In this short time she'd come to rather like him. She was warming a little to Starkiller, too, thanks to Skywalker's revelation. She might have even considered the agent handsome, had he smiled.

Starkiller was less enthusiastic. He seemed anxious and restless. "Juno, can you fool the censors if we're scanned? Vader can't know he's here."

"Unless he walks in and sees him, there's no way Lord Vader will ever know he's here," she reassured him. It was the first time she heard him call her Juno.

"It's not that easy," he said sternly. "Skywalker, you need stay in the ship, out of the windows and doors. Keep your presence hidden."

"Don't worry, I'm good at hiding. I fooled you," the boy said, only briefly turning his attention from the ship they were approaching.

"Darth Vader isn't me," Starkiller reminded with grit teeth.

"Hiding's all I ever do. Trust me. He won't know I'm here."

It didn't reassure Starkiller. He worried far more than he let show. He had no idea what would happen if Master found out his son was onboard. He would likely be furious. And while Starkiller now lived comfortably on Tatooine under the name Galen Lars, the threat over his life was still very real. Vader could and would kill him, if he could not live up to his Master's expectations. Luke nor Aunt Beru understood this. Within the family, Uncle Owen seemed to be the only one to accept that.

Luke wasn't his sole concern, either. Kota's lightsaber should be enough to proof he had succeeded, but it was his own skills as a liar he worried for. And then there were PROXY and Juno. Neither knew of Kota, but should Vader suspect something, should he question Juno, Luke would be discovered. She could lie to Vader, but it was unlikely that Darth Vader would be fooled by her. PROXY had promised he would not mention Luke, but the droid could only withhold information, not lie.

They were almost at the hangar when Luke finally could, albeit reluctantly, tear his eyes away from the Executor. Starkiller could already feel his Master's familiar, intimidating presence. It felt good to be home.

The Sith Lord was not in the hangar, nor had Starkiller expected him to be. He was likely somewhere underside of the ship, where the concealed level removed from the blueprints was located. The level was stripped and bare, designed to function with minimal energy and maintenance. Lord Vader had his own hangar, the very same Rogue Shadow used to utilise when Starkiller was a child. His old quarters were about a kilometre away. His Master had his own quarters, chamber and a workshop there, but Starkiller only knew of those because PROXY had told him of them. He had never been allowed there, nor had he had the courage to go there uninvited.

"There are quarters on the forty-first deck you can use, if you want," he told Juno as he prepared to leave to find his Master. "All my pilots have lived there. I don't know how long we'll stay, but you can have an actual shower there. I hear the bed's nicer, too. Just keep your comlink open in case we need to leave quickly."

"What about Skywalker?"

"He'll have to stay here. The less you can spare thoughts for him, the better. And if you do go to your quarters, don't wander off. This ship isn't finished yet, especially the interiors. The droids don't know we're here, and they'll act like you you don't exist. So if you step in their way, you might get yourself welded into the wall."

The mental image seemed to disturb Juno, for which he was glad. "Thanks for the warning. How do I find there?"

"I'll show you which way to go. PROXY can take you rest of the way."

Juno accepted the offer, and quickly gathered whatever of her belonging she would need, then followed him down the landing ramp. Just to be sure that Luke would keep his word and not wander off, Starkiller locked the ramp.

They didn't talk. Juno followed behind him with PROXY, and the only words exchanged between them were when he informed her which lift to take. She would be heading up, he'd be going down.

He did not know exactly where to go, but his Master's presence would've been hard to miss, and tendrils of the Force guided him towards it. Darth Vader was waiting for him, not hiding from him.

Starkiller opened the doors to the dimly lit room with a wave of his hand. His Master stood on the other side of the room, facing the angular viewport. There's was nothing there to look but the vast emptiness of space. The apprentice knelt down, keeping his eyes on the floor.

"Master Kota is dead?"

Vader's words resonated across the room. His deep, dark voice void of any feelings seemed to fill the space. His presence dominated it, and his steady breathing was like a pulse in the darkness.

"Yes," he replied, risking a quick look at his Master, but the Dark Lord still stood back turned at him.

"His lightsaber," Vader requested.

Starkiller took the hilt from his belt and offered it with both hands. It was snatched away from him immediately, and the apprentice watched it fly across the room right into Vader's waiting hand. His Master examined it, then spoke: "I did not expect you to survive."

Starkiller bowed his head again. The words were nothing new to him. Vader never expected him to, but the fact that he had sparked a flicker of pride within him. Against all odds, he had survived this far.

"I can spare two days to test you further," his Master told, finally turning around to face him.

Any other time Starkiller would've been overjoyed by such privilege. This time the announcement sent him to panic. His face betrayed nothing, he shielded his emotions well, yet his Master could tell something was amiss.

"Or did you have other plans?" Vader demanded sharply.

"No, my Master," Starkiller said calmly, bowing his head even deeper as Vader strode to him.

"Then what is troubling you?" he asked, towering over the apprentice. There was no kindness or worry to his tone, just ire and force, which Starkiller knew could bend his mind to his Master's will.

"Noth–"

"Do not lie to me," his Master warned.

Starkiller closed his eyes and drew a calming breath through his nose before blurting out the truth: "It's General Kota, my Master."

Out of the two secrets, it definitely, hopefully, had less severe consequences.

"What of him?"

"I– I'm not sure he's dead."

"What?"

The instant Vader's wrath flared, Starkiller was violently hoisted in the air by the Force. Vader's invisible hand choked him so that he could scarcely breathe.

"What do you mean "not sure"? Did you kill him, or did you not? You dare to lie to me?" the Dark Lord bellowed.

Starkiller grunted in pain as he was hurled against the door and dropped on the floor.

"Kota fell," he rasped, getting back on his knee. "He shattered the windows and fell. We were at least a few kilometres over the highest traffic lanes. But–"

Starkiller coughed and wetted his lips. "But I know I could've survived that. I blinded him, but I can't be sure the fall killed him."

He didn't dare to risk looking his Master nor say another word. Master Vader would not want to hear excuses. He had failed, simple as that. His Master's anger was tangible and felt nearly as suffocating as the choke hold just moments ago. He felt like a small child again, utterly helpless at his Master's mercy. The next moments determined whether he would live or die. But he would not let the fear take over. He would not tremble or let his voice falter. If he were to die, he would at least die without screaming or begging as he'd seen so many beings do.

"There's a Jedi on Raxus Prime," Vader spoke, turning his back to Starkiller again. He weighed Kota's lightsabre in his hand, then curled his mechanical hand around it, squeezing until the metal bent. He let go and the mutilated weapon fell on the floor with a miserable clunk. A green crystal rolled and bounced off to Starkiller's reach. "Kazdan Paratus is far more powerful and experienced than you are. I had planned on sending you to fight him, to see if you would survive him. Now I know you would not."

The apprentice paled. "No, Master, I'm ready!" he protested loudly. "I can–"

"Ready?" Vader asked as he spun around so quickly that the black cape swirled in the air. His voice was ice and it cut like a knife. "Do you question my judgement?"

Starkiller lowered his head instantly. "No, my Master."

"You will stay here for the two days I can spare. After that, I will determine whether you are ready or not."

"Yes, my Master. I will not fail you."

"See that you won't," Vader seethed at him. "Leave."

Starkiller rose and escaped his Master's presence as swiftly as he dared. As soon as he was at safe distance, he commed Juno.

"Are we leaving?" she wanted know. She sounded surprised, but like she could be ready to make the jump to lights peed within ten minutes.

"No. We're staying for two days at least. Do you need anything from the ship?"

"No, I've everything I need with me here."

"Good. Keep your comlink open, and stay in your rooms," he told, trying to get across the point that she really would be better off staying in her quarters. "I'll contact you when we'll leave."

"Understood. Juno out."

Starkiller sighed. This was possibly his worst nightmare come true. He'd failed and his Master knew it. Luke was still hiding in the Rogue Shadow. Nothing in the Force indicated he was, but the fear of him being discovered turned his stomach. The longer they were here, the more opportunities there were for him to be discovered. Luke might get bored and attempt to leave. He might get curious and leave. He might want to see Darth Vader and leave.

PROXY might reveal him, if Master Vader just asked the right way about his son. Juno might reveal him by just thinking of him in Master Vader's presence.

He did not want to think what his Master might do to him, if he knew Starkiller had brought his son with him. It wouldn't matter in the slightest that Luke had sneaked in on his own accord. He ought to have noticed. It was perhaps worse than failing to kill a Jedi. If he couldn't spot Luke, then what about the Emperor's Force sensitive spies? How could Lord Vader trust him to be able to fight the Emperor himself, if he couldn't even keep an eye on a 17-year old Force sensitive, whose training was nowhere near completed, and whom he had mostly trained himself? No matter how ready he had proclaimed himself, he was far from it.

Lost in his thoughts, he'd ended up walking back to his old room. He still came here every few months to train and meet his Master, but the idea that he had once lived here felt bizarre and distant. He was now so used to the brightness of the two suns, the coarse sand, the inescapable heat of the day...and the presence of his family. Though they often annoyed him, he could not imagine life without them anymore. Strict and reticent Uncle Owen, kind and caring Aunt Beru, childish and impatient Luke. There were even people he could call his friends. As a child he had never imagined to have a friend other than PROXY.

Starkiller turned to leave the room. He had no time for nostalgia. He had two days to prove his Master he was worthy and that he could—

Familiar snap and hiss right behind him. He drew and ignited his lightsaber on pure reflex. His red blade deflected the blue 'sabre faster than even he himself could comprehend. Rahm Kota had locked weapons with him.

As Kota attacked again, Starkiller's mind caught up with his body. The Jedi, that had jumped at him without a warning, was PROXY, acting according to his primary programming. Part of his programming remained locked on Tatooine, and the droid often expressed his sorrow for not being able to attempt to kill him there. But as they had left the planet behind, PROXY's primary programming had fully switched back on again. This time wasn't for practise. PROXY was trying to kill him.

The Kota hologram forced him to retreat, but once they were out of the corridor, Starkiller quickly gained upper hand. That was until the Force warned him to duck. A massive durasteel crate from flew across the storage hall, and passed less than a centimetre above his head. PROXY nearly managed to sliced off his arm because of his momentary confusion, but the blue blade missed him only just. PROXY could simulate telekinesis with his lightsabre and some select objects, but there was no power in the galaxy that would allow PROXY to actually use the Force.

He didn't have time to think it further. The crate wasn't the only thing being hauled at him. But he knew how to handle that. He could fight PROXY and simultaneously deflect the objects. He could have used them as weapons against PROXY, but the droid had nothing to defend himself from being crushed by them, so Starkiller elected to direct the crates out of the way.

"You failed to defeat me once," PROXY taunted with Kota's voice. "What makes you think you can defeat me now?"

Starkiller roared in anger as he seized his most ferocious attack yet. It forced PROXY to back off, and he kept attacking again and again to keep his vantage position. He pounded the blue lightsaber with brutal strikes over and over again, giving PROXY no other choice but to stay on defence. The droid tried to break away from him, but that was a mistake. With a quick twist of his wrist he managed to disarm hologram. The hilt flew from Kota's hands and by the time it clanged on the floor, Starkiller had already stabbed his red blade right through PROXY's chest panel. The hologram flickered and switched off.

Starkiller pulled the weapon back and deactivated it. As PROXY collapsed he was already about to declare himself the victor, but the Force alerted him of danger. He turned around quickly, arm reached out, hand still holding the hilt, to stop the durasteel crate aimed at him. He held it in place for a second, then cast it aside. It landed with a mighty thud.

A door on the upper level opened and Darth Vader stepped to the catwalk. He leapt down with grace no man carrying that amount of metal in their body ought to have been able to do.

Starkiller knelt down when the man approached him.

"You beat PROXY's training module easily," his Master mused. "Yet you failed to kill the real Rahm Kota."

It wasn't a question, so Starkiller remained silent, though he wanted to say it wasn't the same at all. He now realised how different from reality PROXY was. He half expected to be punished in some manner, but Vader didn't even appear to be angry anymore.

"What distracted you?"

Starkiller wanted to say the general got lucky. He didn't want to admit that the Jedi's vision had affected him in any manner, but the truth was, he couldn't stop thinking about it. On the way to Scarl he had meditated upon it, but the Force would bring him no answer. It never did. Like so many times before, he hadn't been able to enter the state that brought the future into his view. It was as if dark clouds hid everything from him, veiled the future so that he could not see.

Kota's words still rang in his ears. And Vader won't always be your master.

He tried to rationalise it. Of course Vader would not always be his Master. One day he would be a Sith Master himself. Perhaps not in the way the Sith code required, but he would be equal to Darth Vader. Once he had fulfilled his destiny.

"Master Kota had a vision," he confessed. "About me, I think."

"What did he see?" Vader wanted to know. His voice was a deep and demanding, the kind you could not refuse to.

"I don't know," Starkiller exhaled. "He said he could see me. That you hadn't turned me, and that you wouldn't always be my Master. That my fate lies elsewhere. He said he could sense someone else. He talked of the dark side and himself. And I saw...a forest. And snow. I've never been to those places."

"Kota was trying to fool you," Master Vader said instantly. "Evidently he succeeded."

"He– I did feel it," he insisted. "He saw something. Whatever it was, he believed it was the will of the Force."

Vader thought of his words for several breathing cycles.

"The future is in constant motion," his Master eventually said. "Whatever Master Kota saw is only one outcome of your fate. Perhaps he was predicting your failure."

"I know my future," Starkiller vowed, anger flaring in his eyes. How could his Master doubt him? "I will serve you, I will learn the ways of the dark side. I will kill the Emperor. I will not fail."

"Then your destiny remains the same," the Dark Lord stated and strode away.

Starkiller watched him go, but waited until he left the hall before standing up himself. PROXY still lay on the floor behind him.

"Marvellously fought, master!" the droid complimented when the apprentice turned around to look at him. Starkiller suppressed a smile and helped the droid up. At least PROXY thought he'd done okay.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes. But I'm sorry to have failed you again, master," PROXY said with regret. "I was certain I would have succeeded this time!"

"I'm sure there'll be other times," Starkiller told and patted the droid's shoulder affectionately. As bizarre it must have seemed, he missed this part of PROXY on Tatooine. Training was never the same when the genuine threat of death was gone. PROXY's naïve attitude towards killing his master worried Aunt Beru, and his good-natured comments on how he would certainly kill Starkiller the next time always made Luke uneasy. PROXY still ambushed him as often as he could, but on Tatooine it was shared attention for both him and Luke, and he wasn't allowed to kill them.

"Is it true you did not kill Rahm Kota, master?" PROXY asked.

"Yes..." he admitted downheartedly, glancing at the direction his Master had walked to. "I'm surprised he wasn't angrier."

"You lied to me, master."

"Sorry, PROXY," he apologised. "But I think you might understand why I did."

"That's not good at all," the droid chided. "You were willing to lie to Lord Vader."

"I'm no less loyal to him," Starkiller snapped. "I don't care what Kota said or thought he saw. I know my destiny. Just because some old Jedi thinks he saw my future doesn't mean I'm going to believe it. What does Kota know of me, anyway? He probably thinks I'm a brainwashed slave like Palpatine's Hands, but he's wrong. This is my life's work, this is what I was born to do!"

"Yes. And I believe you are closing the completion of your primary programming."

Starkiller sighed. At least he could always count on the droid for believing in him. "Thanks, PROXY."

Now that he was here it all seemed so straightforward and clear. He knew who he was, he knew what his destiny was. But out there... Sometimes he wondered what his "primary programming" truly was. Luke was like a brother to him, and Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen were almost like parents he never had. He would never allow any harm come to them. But at times he feared whether his Master had discarded him. What if he had turned from an almost apprentice to a babysitter? What if he'd become truly disposable? He knew he'd always been disposable, but it had always been in his own hands. As long as he could live up to Lord Vader's expectations he had a future. But now...Vader had Luke.

Luke's connection to the Force was so strong and he learnt so fast. What if when Luke's training was complete, Vader would decide he didn't need Starkiller anymore? And why would he, when the alternative was his own son?

Despite the constant fear that would never truly leave him, and the occasional pangs of jealousy and envy, he pushed those feelings away and hid them into the furtherest corners of his heart. He cared for Luke deeply. Luke was his silly little brother, always head in the clouds, impatient to learn or listen. No matter what the future held, he would never betray Luke.

Juno lay in the bed, awake despite it was already late by the Imperial standard time and she had felt exhausted when she'd slipped under the duvet. Starkiller had been right. The bed here was a lot nicer than on Rogue Shadow. The shower had been fantastic, too.

After a very brief, but restoring visit to the refresher in her appointed quarters, Juno had waited in full alert to leave within a minute should Starkiller contact her. When he did and informed they'd be staying for two days, she wasn't sure what to do. Based on what she'd eavesdropped, she had expected they would leave immediately. She had made effort to sound completely professional, but she was curious of course. Clearly Starkiller wanted to make sure she would not run into Lord Vader. Not that she wanted to meet the man, either, but keeping secrets from her employer, an employer who would have no problem killing her, unnerved her. And what if she was right, and the assassin and his brother truly meant harm to Emperor Palpatine?

By now she was half convinced she had made up the whole thing. It made no sense, and she had no proof. She didn't dare to approach Lord Vader. She must have misunderstood it somehow. Even if there truly was a conspiracy, as long as Starkiller and Skywalker were together with her, neither could act against the Empire. If there was a conspiracy, she would find proof.

If she wasn't thinking of them, she thought of Callos –couldn't help but to wonder what Lord Vader and other of her superiors truly thought of her. It bothered her that the droid knew. When Lord Vader had given her this mission, he had told her others might consider it a reward should they know, but it felt like a punishment. She believed it a punishment.

The bombing of Callos haunted her. It hadn't been right. If she would just have continued the attack like told to, instead of taking Lord Vader's other alternative —an alternative she had thought more merciful, Callos might still be habitable. All those people would still be dead, but at least she wouldn't have destroyed an entire biosphere. If she could go back... But no. Even if she could go back, she would have done it. She would have done her duty. She always did.

Frustratedly she turned on her back. How long had she been lying down? It felt like hours. She would never fall asleep at this rate, not if she kept thinking of ifs and conspiracies. She needed to relax.

Closing her eyes she sighed and slowly slipped her hand between her legs. Slowly, gently at first she stroked through the fabric of her pyjama trousers. Juno imagined strong arms holding her, hands gently feeling her body, a warm breath against her neck right below the ear. She groaned softly, just to hear her own voice, and spread her legs a little more as she moved her hand under the trousers. The hair tickled her palm.

He would take her gently, lovingly, she decided. Tonight she wanted to take it slowly, wanted to savour the sensation as long as possible. Her free hand lifted the shirt with it as she caressed her belly and all the way up between her breasts. She imagined how the man would undress her, how he would trail kisses down her body. His thumb would tease her nipple, just as hers was doing now. Dark hair not quite long enough to cover his ears. Eyes equally dark that would look at her with want and adoration. His voice would whisper her name. Juno... He had a strong jawline. A thick crease ran between his eyebrows, for his expression remained stern even now. Harsh, yet oddly handsome features. If only he smiled...

She halted as she realised her imagination had given him Starkiller's face. Hesitating, she bit her lip. Men like him who travelled across the galaxy on mysterious missions probably laid with a different woman each time, she thought with disdain. And she did not want to think about Vader's agent, not now.

But...it was true she found him somewhat attractive. She wondered if Starkiller had scars other than those she'd seen on his face. He would have, she decided.

Juno wetted her lips. Why not, she thought. The assassin may not have been pleasant in person, but his likeness suited her fantasy. And it added an extra kind of thrill to it. It wasn't exactly proper, was it? She found she liked the idea too much to care.

She slept well that night.

Darth Vader paced alone the bare corridors. Hands clasped behind his back, his endless breathing echoing from the empty walls, he pondered the situation. Starkiller's failure had come as a complete surprise to him. Although he would never say it, he had believed Starkiller to beat Rahm Kota easily. After his initial anger had died down, he became curious to find out why. Had he truly underestimated the boy's abilities so greatly? Was the training Starkiller received on Tatooine inadequate? Was his apprentice making progress slower than he had estimated?

Although he constantly made threats on the boy's life, the truth was he could not afford to lose his apprentice. He needed to know why Starkiller had failed to decide upon his next course of action. If the boy's skills weren't enough to kill an old, bitter man, Vader would not dare to risk the apprentice's life by sending him to face the mad Kazdan Paratus.

Of course, should Starkiller fail, there were others. But none so serious, and none of them secret from Sidious. They were all excellent potential apprentices, some more than others. One especially excelled above the others, but even she was no match for the raw power Starkiller possessed.

For now, he would test the boy. In two days time he would decide what to do. Either he would keep him here training, send him back to Tatooine or, should Starkiller prove him wrong, send him to continue the Jedi hunt.

It wasn't just any Jedi hunt, either. He had planned for months how to execute this. These were to be his final tests for Starkiller's skills and loyalty. It would be disappointing to be wrong about the boy he'd been training for over fifteen years, but he could be patient with this. Few more years of training would be nothing. Yet now, as the Death Star was closing to its completion, would have been an ideal moment to really start planning the assassination. But if Starkiller wasn't ready... He could not risk it. He could not face Sidious, if he could not rely on his apprentice. Loathe as he might to admit it, he needed the boy, not only as a weapon, but as protection. He was well aware of his own vulnerabilities because of the cursed life support system.

He needed to test Starkiller himself, and the best way to start was to see how he fought. So he had given PROXY instructions to use his Rahm Kota module. Because telekinesis was something Kota apparently utilised often, Vader had observed the duel nearby and added an extra dash of realism to it in a way the combat droid could not provide.

His apprentice did not let him down. He fought with ferocious speed and accuracy, far better than Vader would've expected considering he had failed. He drew his power from the dark side, he committed himself to it fully. His attacks were fierce and precise, his reflexes quick and unmatched by PROXY who could not see the attacks beforehand like a Force sensitive could. While the droid did gain an upper hand several times, Starkiller was never truly in danger of losing. He even went as far as to protect PROXY from Vader's attempted distractions. The heated duel was fought in less than fifteen minutes. His apprentice unarmed the droid and killed the hologram. Even with his "enemy" dead at his feet he did not lose focus, and easily deflected Vader's final telekinetic attack.

PROXY of course was a far cry from reality, but Vader himself had programmed the droid. It had the capabilities to be just as deadly as his own training droids were, except that PROXY was far more adaptable and sophisticated.

So the problem certainly did not lie in Starkiller's physical abilities. Something unexpected must have happened. After seeing Starkiller defeat PROXY, he was certain it had to have been more than exhaustion because of Kota's pitiful army. Starkiller may have been inexperienced at fighting true Jedi Masters, scarce as they were, but Vader had thought him ready to face one. He still remained certain the boy could have killed Rahm Kota.

That you wouldn't always be my master, Starkiller had said. That my fate lies elsewhere.

Kota's alleged vision didn't worry him, but he would meditate on it. Darth Vader knew better than to dismiss a vision, and he knew how real they could become. But whatever it had been, Vader had no reason to doubt Starkiller's loyalty. Kento Marek's son still feared him, still idolised and respected him. And having sent the boy to Tatooine had come with an added bonus: he had grown to care for his adoptive family. It secured his loyalty better than fear of execution ever would.

Perhaps it was other kind of motivation the boy now needed. He knew well that Starkiller regarded himself an apprentice, yet Darth Vader had never acknowledged this notion. The desire to be recognised for what he was drove his apprentice to succeed and overcome each obstacle Vader would throw in his path. Vader had never praised the boy, had never encouraged him, so he would not grow too confident or proud, or think of himself too important. Vader had needed the boy to believe he was expendable. Devotion and loyalty he had inspired by fear, by isolating the child from the world. But all that had changed when Fett had found Obi-Wan. Undoubtedly the life on Tatooine had softened Starkiller, but on the other hand it must have taught him lessons Vader could not have provided.

There was in fact very little he could teach to the boy anymore. All Starkiller needed now was experience to hone his skills to perfection. Vader's hand brushed against the lightsaber hilt. Perhaps it was time.