Galen Erso stood at attention, his hands clasped behind his back, in the hanger of the Star Destroyer Moonshadow. Much of the hanger had been taken up by a reactor and various equipment to power and control the prototype weapon hanging from the Destroyer's belly, but there was still just enough space to land a Lambda-class T4a shuttle. And that was precisely what Erso was waiting on. Director Krennic stood at his left, and Admiral Oswego, commanding officer of the Moonshadow, stood at his right.

At the appointed time, the shuttle arrived, gliding into the hanger and gently touching down on the spotless deck. Galen involuntarily stiffened as the ramp lowered beneath the shuttle's cockpit to reveal the tall and intimidating figure of Darth Vader. The Sith Lord disembarked from the shuttle to meet the three men waiting for him.

"Lord Vader," Krennic greeted cheerfully. "We are delighted you've come to inspect our prototype."

Galen gulped. Maybe you are.

"The Emperor spoke very highly of this prototype for project Stardust," Vader said. "I wished to see for myself the new power at the Empire's command."

"Of course! Of course! And what we will show you is only a fraction of the power that will be harnessed by the full-scale weapon."

"I eagerly await this demonstration."

"We will not waste any time, then! Come! Right this way, Lord Vader."

Galen felt as though he may as well have not even been there. Krennic and Vader had not even acknowledged his presence.

And he was perfectly fine with that.


"Dinner, guys!" Marco called as he set a bowl of creamed vegetables on the table. It was a rainy evening in their corner of Takodana, so the gang was confined to the interior of the Raventalon. The Padawan stepped back and admired his work. In addition to the vegetables, he had prepared a huge steak cut from some animal he had never heard of. But it smelled delicious, and it was big enough to easily split four ways. He'd also made self-leavening rolls, and jogan sauce. Marco crossed his arms and nodded with self-approval. "I am so good at this."

PY-HD, who had been aimlessly milling about the galley, bleeped something that Marco didn't understand, but he was fairly certain it was a sarcastic jab at his culinary abilities.

Janna was first into the galley. "Mmmm, smells good!"

Star and Tom were close behind. The later yawned sleepily.

"Tired, Tom?" Marco asked.

The Demonicite nodded. "I was taking a nap."

Marco took his seat beside Star. His best friend's long, blonde hair had a number of leaves and small sticks entangled in it. There was a red scratch across her left cheek, and she was damp with rain. "What happened to you?"

"Oh, I kinda...fell out of a tree."

"Why were you-? You know what? Never mind. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, all good! Let's eat! I'm starved!"

The gang turned their attention to dinner, passing dishes around the table to dole out the food.

"I've been thinking about how we could raise an army to help us take back Mewni," Tom said as he swallowed a bite of vegetables. "If King River was able to just straight-up hand us a huge pile of credits, your family must have had…more, right? Like, considerably more?"

Star nodded. "Sure."

"Do you think we could sneak into Butterfly Castle and, uh, 'liberate' some more money, and just hire a bunch of mercenaries to be our army?"

Marco shook his head. "Come on, Dude. You saw how many stormtroopers invaded. The castle will be crawling with 'em. We'll never get in and out of there undetected."

Janna nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and even if we could, we could never hire mercenaries to fight for us. They'd sooner kill us and pick up the bounty the Empire has on Star and Marco." Janna speared a morsel of meat with her fork. "Man, this is awesome. What even is this, Marco?"

"No idea. Whatever that Gotal at the market had for sale. I didn't think it looked too different from bantha and just cooked it the same way." Marco chewed a bite. "I think it came out pretty good." He turned to his best friend beside him. "Whatd'ya think, Star?"

Star wasn't paying attention. She was staring past Janna at the bulkhead, her face writ with a vacant, entranced expression.

Marco frowned. "Star?"

She blinked, her gaze unwavering. "There's a disturbance in the Force."

Everyone immediately set down their silverware, all eyes turning to the young Jedi.

"What kind of disturbance?" Marco asked.

Star shook her head and finally met his gaze, speaking very slowly. "I don't know."

It was Tom's turn to furrow his brow in confusion. "You don't know? Whatdya mean you don't know?!"

"I mean I. Don't. Know. I'm not an expert at interpreting Force disturbances, Tom!"

Janna quickly cut in. "Star, do you think we're in danger?"

"I...I don't think so. I'm not sure. I just...for a second there..." Star shook her head. "I sensed something. But...now it's gone. I don't know what that was..."


As the Mentis Mal slowly approached the surface of Takodana, Security Officer Rosado stepped up between the stormtrooper pilots and looked through the rain-speckled forward viewport. When the landing skids gently touched down, a tall, shadowy figure appeared between the trees past the clearing, a cybernetic, violet-glowing eye the only distinguishing feature beneath the shrouding cloak. It gave Rosado a chill.

The inquisitor abruptly appeared at his side. "Guess that's our contact. Let's go pay him a visit, shall we, Rosado?" It didn't wait for an answer, stalking away with purpose. Rosado sighed and followed the inquisitor out into the rain. Their footsteps squished slightly on the wet vegetation, the soil loosened from the precipitation.

The shadowy figure stood statue-still beneath a tree as they approached. When they stopped a few paces away, Rosado could see the reptilian face beneath the hood of the cloak, watching them through one steely yellow eye and one mechanical violet one. The security officer cleared his throat, his voice raised slightly to be heard over the falling rain. "Rasticore Chaosus Disastervaine?"

A slight nod in response. "That's me."

"You have information regarding the whereabouts of Jedi Padawans Star Butterfly and Marco Diaz?"

"Sure do," he growled.

Rosado brought forth his datapad. "You are aware that you are currently wanted by the Empire, and should be arrested immediately on-site."

"But you won't."

Rosado was doing his very best to stand and talk like the confident, haughty Imperial officers he frequently encountered. His stance and tone were all an act. He had no idea how he should respond to Rasticore's statement. He looked to the inquisitor for assistance, but that black, expressionless helmet was staring at the Septarian, paying him no mind whatsoever. "And, uh...why won't I?"

"Because in exchange for the information I will provide to you, you will erase my chain code from the Imperial criminal database."

"Uh...I can't-"

"Consider it done," the inquisitor suddenly interjected. It took a menacing step forward, its hand clenching into a fist. "Where are those twerps?"

The thunder rolled through the clouds overhead as Rasticore smiled a vicious grin.


By morning, the rain had gone, and the sun shone brightly overhead, shafts of light flitting down through the trees. Star awoke in a chipper mood.

"Good morning, friends!" she happily greeted the crew of the Raventalon as she bounced into the galley. Marco followed, still rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Good morning, Tom!"

"Mor-hurk!" the Demonicite grunted as Star gave him a short but crushing hug. She released him just as quickly and moved on, turning to the blue-and-pink astromech beside the table.

"Pony Head!"

The droid buzzed.

"How's my favorite droid this morning?"

"Bleep-bloop. Werk squeeeeee bop."

"Aww, come here!" Star dropped to her knees and wrapped the droid in a loving embrace.

Sitting behind the table slowly stirring her morning caf, Janna smirked with amusement as she watched Tom panting to catch his breath. "Feeling better this morning, Star?"

The princess hopped into the chair opposite the ship's captain. "I am!"

"No more Force-disturbances?"

"Nope! Everything actually feels...pretty great!"

Marco sleepily slid into the chair beside his best friend, resting his chin in his hands. "I wonder if that's something we should be worried about."

Star grabbed a spherical yellow fruit from a bowl in the center of the table and began peeling the skin. "Hey, the Force has been out of balance practically since we were born. Now there's a Sith Lord ruling the galaxy and all the Jedi are dead. Whatever I felt last night could have been literally anything." She chomped into the fruit. "For all we know, Palpatine sneezed real hard. Probably not worth dwelling on."

Marco squinted. "I don't know...I'm not entirely convinced that-"

Janna raised her free hand and snapped her fingers. "Bantha butt."

Marco fell face-first onto the table, out cold. Star blinked in surprise.

"Janna, how'd you do that?!"

Captain Ordonia smirked as she calmly sipped her caf, leaning back in her chair. "I'm a master of hypnosis."

"I didn't know that," Tom interjected. "And I've known you for years! When did you learn-"

Janna snapped again. "Mynock feet."

And Tom tumbled out of his chair onto the floor. PY-HD squealed with electronic delight.


Finding a place to land the Mentis Mal in thick forest on a mountainside was difficult, especially without scanners to aid their search.

"You sure weren't kidding when you said scanners don't work in these mountains." Rosado smacked the side of the readout screen, but all he got was static. "Everything is jammed."

Rasticore pointed ahead. "I navigate in by landmarks in the trees. Pilot, right there, that rock formation sticking up out of the ground. Turn so that you pass directly over top of it toward point six-six-oh-seven."

The stormtrooper pilot nodded. "Copy that."

Ten minutes more and Rasticore directed them to a clearing about halfway between Zakaras Village and the spot where the Jedi and their friends had parked their ship. It was far enough off the walking path between the two points that the Mentis Mal would not be visible to pedestrians.

"I give 'em props," the inquisitor mused. "This is a clever hideout. They'd never be detected in this scanner blackout zone." It stretched its arms and stood from where it had been seated. "Alright, let's go kill 'em."


"Anything you guys want from the market?" Star asked.

Janna didn't even spare a glance up from the table where she was busy disassembling her DC-17. "Caf. I'm running low."

"Caf, got it. Tom, anything for you?"

"See if they got any meilooruns on the last supply shipment. I've been craving one for, like, three days."

"You got it!" Star grabbed Marco's hand and excitedly towed him out of the galley.

While the Raventalon was equipped to hold a supply of food and water enough to remain in orbit for several months, that was assuming that the food in storage could last that long. The smugglers and their Jedi friends had expended nearly their entire supply of nonperishable foodstuffs during their long stay on Orto Plutonia. Just about all of the food for sale at the market in Zakaras Village didn't keep well, so the gang took turns making trips into town every few days to restock their supply.

They did not alternate evenly. Star enjoyed the short hike through the woods, and volunteered herself and Marco for supply runs often. Marco didn't mind. He was just glad to see that his best friend was happy. They'd stroll along at a casual pace, hand in hand, mill about at the market while they selected their next few meals, and then shlep their packs back home.

The day was warm and the Takodana sun shone brightly. The Padawans held hands as they sauntered down the path, blissfully unaware that they were being watched.

There was a deep rift carved by a shallow stream which ran parallel to the walking path connecting Zakaras Village to the Raventalon, curving as it followed the contour of the mountain. The village of Zakaras had been built along its deep banks, providing the villagers with a supply of fresh water from a spring near the mountain peak.

The rift was plenty deep enough for a full grown human to stand up in and not be seen by a pedestrian walking down the path twenty meters away. It was from this spot that Security Officer Rosado and the inquisitor joined Rasticore in watching Star and Marco stroll through the woods.

When the Padawans were out of sight, the inquisitor raised itself up and sat on the edge of the stream bank. "That's them, alright. No question about it." The Jedi hunter thoughtfully tapped a finger against the bottom of its helmet. "We have the element of surprise. They have no idea we're here," it said calmly. "Let's think about this rationally before we attack and risk losing them again. They've already proven themselves to be difficult to kill."

"No kidding. They didn't use their lightsabers against me," Rasticore growled. "And even so I couldn't come close to hitting them."

"We need to do more than ambush them." The inquisitor stood. "We need to split them up. They won't be able to save each other if we can separate them."

"We-" Rosado shut his mouth. The inquisitor looked at him expectantly, as did Rasticore. I guess I have to say it now... "The village would probably make it easy to split them up. You can drive one of them down an alleyway between the buildings while the stormtroopers have the other occupied."

Rasticore shook his head. "Don't take those bucket-headed soldiers of yours anywhere near Zakaras. The second someone catches a glimpse of them, the whole town will start shooting. You're outnumbered ten-to-one."

The inquisitor nodded. "Okay...so not in the village. But that is a surprisingly brilliant strategy, Rosado, and I think it will work just as well out here in the forest."

Rosado winced and he tried not to.

The inquisitor went on. "We'll do it halfway between their ship and the village, so their smuggler friends can't help them and the villagers won't get wind of our presence. They'll be completely isolated from anyone who might help them." The Jedi hunter looked up at the clear sky through the trees. "I doubt they ever come into the village at night. Perhaps we'll wait a few days. See if we can catch them on a day where we can ambush them when the sun isn't out."

Rasticore chuckled to himself as he hauled his hulking figure out of the ravine. "Sounds like you've got this all figured out. I believe my work here is done." And he turned to head toward the village.

"You aren't going to help us take out the twerps?"

"Hey, I got what I wanted: My chain code out of the Imperial system, and revenge on those stupid kids. Unless you're gonna pay me to assist in doing your job, I'm done. Besides, I am helping. I'm heading back to the cantina to keep washing dishes so nothing looks suspicious or out of place. The old tailhead is expecting me back today. Someone might think something is up if I don't report back on time."

Rosado cleared his throat. "He does kinda have a point. Especially if we're waiting a few days to attack."

The inquisitor stared. "Fine. Go."

Rasticore saluted with two fingers of his cybernetic arm as he headed off for town. "Good luck."


The weather took another turn a few days later. The sun vanished once more and dark clouds flooded the Takodana sky, raining on and off and once again confining the crew of the Raventalon inside the ship.

The rain stopped seemingly altogether on the third morning, the sun peeking out from behind the stubborn clouds.

Janna and PY-HD checked atmospheric scans and barometric pressure readings in the cockpit while Tom fixed some frayed wiring under the control panel. "Hmmm...looks like more rain is coming later on. And it's a pretty significant weather system. We'd better get going to Zakaras now if we don't want to get soaked."

Tom nodded. "Just let me finish with this wiring and we'll go."

"Marco and I will go!" Star eagerly volunteered. "We've been cooped up in here for two days! I want some fresh air!"

"Fine by me." Janna slumped into the pilot's seat and kicked her feet up on the control panel over the spot where Tom was working. "Knock yourself out. Just don't take too long and get caught out in the rain."

"We won't!" And with that, Star skipped out of the cockpit.

"And get more meilooruns!" Tom called. "Janna ate them all!"

"Will do!"


"These are all bruised," Marco lamented as he inspected the spikey red and yellow fruits.

"Best I got right now," the Gotal croaked. "Take or or leave it."

Marco selected what he considered to be the best meiloorun from the bunch. "This one isn't too bad. But it's still pretty beat up."

"If you're looking for a discount, I've got news for you, youngling."

Marco frowned, annoyed, but before he could say anything, Star quickly stepped between him and the vendor. Her arms were full of groceries. "Heyyyy, Marco, did you find everything we need?"

"Yes, but-"

"Great! What's our total, my good man?" Dumping her load out onto the counter, she innocently batted her eyelashes at the Gotal and the vendor's hard expression softened. His eyes scanned the various produce and meats.

"Uh, let's see...seven...twelve...twenty-three...thirty-five, thirty-seven, thirty-nine...um, forty-three credits."

Star waved her open hand in front of her, focusing the Force on the Gotal's mind. "And my adorable best friend can take this meiloorun on the house."

The vendor stared. "Your...your adorable best friend can take this meiloorun, on the house."

"Oh, why thank you! Marco, pay the man."

Marco fished a handful of credit chips from his pocket and counted out denominations totaling forty-three, depositing them into the Gotal's waiting hand while Star quickly loaded the groceries into two packs waiting on the ground. As they walked away carrying their loaded packs, Marco eyed his best friend suspiciously.

"What was that about?"

"Hey, I diffused the situation before it escalated. Just keeping the peace. Technically, that is my job, you know."

Marco just rolled his eyes. Gray clouds overhead were rapidly being replaced by dark ones, and the occasional rumble of distant thunder could be heard echoing over the trees. "Come on. That storm is closing in. We'd better get moving."

"Right behind ya!"

They took to the trail at a brisk jog, the breeze rustling the trees as it picked up.

A pair of eyes, one reptilian and the other cybernetic, watched them vanish into the forest from the tiny window of the cantina's kitchen. Rasticore chuckled to himself. He wiped off his wet hands with a rag and pulled a flare gun from his holster. He stepped out the cantina's back door, pointed the barrel toward the darkening sky, and pulled the trigger. A glowing red orb shot skyward, rising above the treetops before exploding with a brilliant flash.

The timing was perfect. The threatening rain and late evening hour had driven nearly all of Zakaras's inhabitants indoors, so there was no one around to see the signal flare and wonder about its purpose.

And with a satisfied nod, the bounty hunter calmly went back inside and resumed his dishwashing duties.


Catching sight of the red flash of the signal flare, the inquisitor lowered its scopes.

"They're coming."

It calmly jumped down out of the tree, using the Force to cushion the landing.

Nine stormtroopers stood at the ready before it. The single remaining stormtrooper, one of the pilots, had been ordered to guard the Mentis Mal. "The targets are inbound. Shoot to kill."

"Yes, sir!"

"Take your positions."

The stormtroopers turned and moved off, leaving Rosado alone with the inquisitor. "Um, sir-"

"I am reminding you, Rosado, that should these younglings escape again, you will be held personally responsible. So I suggest you stand back."

Rosado nodded slowly. "Understood, Inquisitor." He quickly retreated to the safety of cover behind the largest nearby tree.

The inquisitor grinned through gritted teeth beneath its mask. I've got you this time.


Thunder rolled through the heavens again, louder this time. The chill in the air grew colder as the breeze turned into a steady wind and dark clouds rolled in to block out what little sunlight remained.

"That storm's getting closer," Marco observed. "We'd better pick up the pace."

"How 'bout a race?" Star suggested, already gaining speed. "Come on! Let's go!"

"Hey, no fair!" Marco called as he gave chase. "You're getting a head start!"

"Catch me if you can!"

With a flurry of giggles and good-natured taunts, the two best friends ran through the darkened woods, hurrying along the path back to the Raventalon. Star looked over her shoulder to see how far ahead of Marco she was and tripped over a shallow root, causing her to stumble. "Gah-!"

"Haha! I gotcha now!" Marco drew even with her as Star caught her balance and they sprinted along the path side-by-side.

Ahead was a small rise, and they crested it simultaneously.

Then came to an abrupt halt as they found themselves staring down the barrels of nine blaster rifles, each held by a stormtrooper, waiting for them in the center of the path on the other side.

"Uh-oh."

"Open fire!"

It took only a split second for a pair of lightsabers to find their way into their owner's hands, emerald and azure blades illuminating the dark woods as the stormtroopers opened fire. The Imperial troops charged up the hill as the Padawans deflected their blaster bolts away. But, surprisingly, they seemed to be focused almost entirely on Marco. Advancing toward him at a blind run, they forced the young Jedi to retreat backwards off the path into the trees.

Star was confused. "Huh?"

She turned to pursue the charging stormtroopers, already thinking to herself how easy it would be to defeat them from behind while they were focused on Marco, when some tremble in the Force alerted her to danger overhead. Clutching her lightsaber with both hands, she raised it horizontally above her head as a dark figure wielding a pair of red lightsabers attacked from above. Three blades collided, nearly knocking Star's hilt from her grasp. She yelped in surprise and Force-pushed straight upward, blasting her opponent backwards into the air.

The black-clad figure spiraled as it flew and landed squarely on its feet, knees bent, several meters down the path, blades turned away behind its back for safety.

Star's eyes widened. It was that thing that had chased after Marco back on Coruscant, all those months ago.

The inquisitor slowly brought itself up to full height. "Star Butterfly. At last."

Star adjusted her grip on her lightsaber, taking her ready position. "Who are you?"

"Oh, no one. Just your doom."

With Force-assisted speed, the inquisitor erased the distance between them, attacking with both blades. Star brought her weapon up to counter, and the collision nearly knocked her off her feet. She recovered just in time to block again, and the battle was on.

Star had fought many practice duels against Marco, and her skills had improved immensely, but this was nothing like fighting her best friend. She now had to defend against two blades at once, something she had never experienced before, and the twin laser swords dealt attacks in rapid succession. The slashing, dual attacks seemed to come from every direction at once, and Star found herself walking backwards away from her opponent just to give herself time to react.

Finally, Star got her bearings and gathered her focus, and managed to parry one of the inquisitor's strikes, shaking her opponent off-balance for just a moment. Star held her ground as the battle continued, managing to add in a few attacks of her own here and there, but the inquisitor blocked them easily.

A bolt of lightning crackled across the sky, the flash briefly illuminating the forest as if by the sun. Star did not allow it to break her focus. As the blades clashed again and again, she was beginning to decipher her opponent's technique. There were patterns to the inquisitor's attacks, and Star could see them. Just as when she defeated Jedi Mater Kit Fisto during a practice duel at the Jedi Temple so long ago, the tiny vulnerabilities that would leave the inquisitor open gradually presented themselves.

Star could defeat this hunter of Jedi. She only needed time.


Marco grunted with exertion as the azure blade of his lightsaber plunged through the chest plate of a stormtrooper. Two more had already fallen to his sword, and just six remained. He spun backwards around a large tree and listened to the laser fire punching holes in the bark on the other side. In the stormtroopers' initial attack, he had completely lost track of his best friend.

"Where are you, Star?" he whispered to himself. Peeking around the tree, he searched for her emerald blade glowing in the dark woods, but he could not spot it. That scared him. If he couldn't see her lightsaber, then she likely wasn't a part of the fight, and that meant there was a strong possibility that she was in trouble.

"I gotta finish this and find her, fast."

Leaping out from behind the tree, he was immediately bombarded by blaster fire again, and he deflected the shots with his blade, trying to direct them back at their point of origin. One found its mark, and the stormtrooper fell backwards, dead.

Five left.

Marco leapt high into the air, using the Force to propel himself upward. He was aiming for the nearest stormtrooper. He deflected a few shots while airborne, slashing downward from over his head as he landed directly in front of the trooper and vertically bisected it.

Deflect-Deflect-Deflect-Deflect. One more crimson bolt of energy returned to its sender, and another stormtrooper fell.

Three more.

Reeling back his arm, Marco pitched his lightsaber like a spear toward the nearest trooper, off to his left. The instant it left his hand, he spun thirty degrees to the right, already focusing Dark Side energy. A powerful Force-push sent the final two stormtroopers flying backwards into the air and eventually into a tree, dropping to the ground, lifeless.

Marco called his lightsaber back to his hand with the Force, and the blade was wrenched from the stomach of the fallen stormtrooper, sailing back to him. He switched it off.

"Star?"

He turned all the way around, scanning the dark forest. A flash of lightning brightened up the landscape for a brief second, but it revealed nothing.

"Star!"

He listened. Rustling leaves in the wind were drowned out by a rumble of thunder. But, when the noise died down, another sound reached Marco's ears. It was far off, difficult to hear, but unmistakable.

The sound of clashing lightsabers.

"What the...?"


Star was gaining.

Just as Marco had taught her, incorporating Form III techniques into her lightsaber handling allowed her to withstand battle for an extended time, and that time allowed her to listen to the Force, feel the energy around her, and pick out the flaws in the inquisitor's defenses. It were almost as if the entire fight were occurring in slow motion. Dueling an opponent with twin blades made the vulnerabilities few and far between, but they were there, and Star was beginning to take advantage of them. Back and forth the blades crashed, and with every attack Star dealt, her confidence grew.

The inquisitor knew it. It backed away, placing the fight on a brief hold. "You're a much more formidable opponent than I ever would have anticipated," droned its synthetic voice.

"I've had a lot of practice." Star gave her lightsaber a flourishing twirl, showing off just a little. "And I had a good teacher. Two of them, actually."

The wind swirled around them. Another flash of lightning, another crash of thunder. Star felt a raindrop on her cheek.

"So did I. You have some skill, I'll give you that." The inquisitor stepped forward. "But not enough." It went on the attack again, but Star ducked beneath the humming lightsaber and then quickly struck back. The inquisitor had to abruptly jump back to block it.

Now Star had the advantage. She struck again quickly, and then again, and again, not giving the inquisitor a chance to gather itself up and resume its barrage of attacks. With every collision of the blades, she forced the inquisitor backwards.

This was her chance. She needed a power strike. A hard enough hit and she might just knock one of the inquisitor's lightsabers from its grip and even up the odds.

Power attack time. Lightsaber prepared to slash and gripped tightly in her right hand, Star spun on the ball of her foot to build up some momentum-

"AAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

A searing pain engulfed Star's arm. She screamed in agony, her legs buckling beneath her as she crumpled to the ground, her lightsaber blade extinguishing as it landed beside her, still clutched in her right hand.

Her righthand. It was attached to her right arm, which had been sliced from her body just below the shoulder.

It had all been a trap. The inquisitor had been sandbagging, tricking Star into thinking she was winning. The instant Star turned away to build up a power strike, it slashed upward. It had been aiming for the Padawan's spine, but so fast was Star's maneuver that the lightsaber missed its intended target. The crimson blade had gone beneath Star's right arm and severed it halfway between the shoulder and elbow.

Star landed in a heap on the ground, the momentum from her spin carrying her back around to face the inquisitor. The Jedi hunter stood over her, red lightsabers crossed behind its back. It chuckled.

"Looks like the butterfly lost a wing."

Star could only watch as it slowly brought its blades up over its head, poised to strike. She desperately tried to push herself away by feebly kicking at the ground with her feet, but there was no escaping the inevitable.

Star shut her eyes.


Marco clipped his lightsaber to his belt and jumped, pushing off from the ground with the Force to propel him up into a tree, landing on a sturdy branch. He hopped from tree to tree, using the Force to guide him to his next perch. His connection to the Force was still weak, but months of practice had taught him to utilize the energy of the Dark Side to strengthen his abilities. He followed the sound of the clashing blades, the din of battle growing louder with each advancement he made through the treetops.

And then, just as he caught a glimpse of green and red through the branches up ahead, there was a blood curdling shriek. There was no doubt that it came from Star, and it sounded as though she were in great pain.

"Star!"

Marco picked up the pace. Now he could see the crimson blades of the inquisitor's twin lightsabers clearly through the branches. But where was Star's blade?

One last jump and Marco perched upon a branch. Down below him, about fifteen meters further ahead, was the inquisitor. It had its back to him, and was standing over Star, sans her own weapon. It raised its swords to strike.

Marco reacted. He hadn't the time to even unclip his lightsaber from his belt. He leapt from the tree, diving toward the inquisitor, leading with his near-indestructible cybernetic leg.

"HIIIIIIIYAAA!"

Hearing his attack cry, the inquisitor turned around just in time for the heel of Marco's boot to collide with the faceplate of its helmet.

"Gawwwwww!" it groaned in pain as it was knocked to the ground.

The harsh collision with the inquisitor's helmet flipped Marco forward. He crashed haphazardly to the ground, rolling and bouncing several times before coming to a stop beside Star.

"Marco!"

He sat up, holding a hand to his temple where it had struck the ground. "Ugghhhh...I'm gonna be feeling that in the morning." Then he noticed Star's missing arm and his eyes widened. "Star...your-!"

A low noise drew their attention. It was garbled, the inquisitor's growl of pain and anger distorted by the damage to its helmet. It rose slowly from the ground, turning toward the Padawans. The faceplate of it's helmet had been split cleanly in half by Marco's cybernetic leg. It took the head covering in both hands and slid it off, tossing the destroyed armor to the ground.

And Star and Marco saw the inquisitor's face: Skin as white and pure as new fallen snow, a pair of yellowed horns protruding from long hair matching the color of her lightsaber blades, and a pair of small fangs poking out from between her lips.

The Padawans stared in disbelief, for this agent of the Emperor was someone they recognized.

"Master Hekapoo?!"

Way back in September of 2019, (wow, this story has been ongoing for a long time) reader "ReviewerDWJ" guessed that the inquisitor would turn out to be either Higgs or Mina. After chapter 44, an unnamed Guest reviewer correctly guessed that it would be Hekapoo. Anyone else think the inquisitor would Hekapoo?