"Kneel," Vader says and takes his lightsaber.
The young man kneels in front of him and lowers his head. He believes that the time has come, the time when he is no longer useful to his master. The time for him to die. But he's wrong.
"You were weak when I found you. I did not expect you to survive your training," Vader says and lowers his lightsaber to the man's shoulder.
"But not, your hatred has become your strength. At last, the Dark Side is your ally. Rise, my apprentice. Rise, Starkiller."
Starkiller stands up, secretly happy that his master has finally accepted him as his apprentice and even given him a name to go by.
"What is thy bidding, my master?" he asks.
"It is time to face your first true test."
"Your spies have located a Jedi?" Starkiller asks.
"No, I have found him myself. Master Rahm Kota has gone to great lengths to get my attention. He is attacking a critical Imperial shipyard. You will kill him and bring me his lightsaber. The Emperor must not discover you. Leave no witnesses, kill everyone aboard, Imperials and Kota's men alike," Vader orders.
"I... As you wish, my master."
Starkiller leaves the command bay of the Executor, Vader's personal starship and makes his way to the hangar, where the custom-designed ship, the Rogue Shadow, is located. Suddenly, he hears a sound and turns around, igniting his lightsaber immediately.
"Who?"
*Kksssshhhh*
Starkiller blocks a lightsaber strike from what appears to be Obi-Wan Kenobi.
"Has it been so long, you don't even recognise me? I'm hurt."
"General Kenobi. You should have stayed in hiding," Starkiller says and engages the 'man' in a lightsaber battle.
"I defeated you before. I can do it again."
"I've learned a few new tricks since our last duel," 'Kenobi' says and punches Starkiller.
"So have I," Starkiller responds, and unleashes Force Lighting, hitting the droid with it.
The image of Kenobi slowly disappears, and the lightsaber-training holodroid, designated PROXY, appears.
"You caught me by surprise, PROXY. I haven't fought that training program in years. I thought you'd erased it."
{I hoped that using an older training model would catch you off guard and allow me to kill you finally. I'm sorry I failed you again,} PROXY says.
Vader taught Starkiller to harness his hate and rage for power, while providing him with only the basics of training before forcing the apprentice to develop his own methods through sparring matches and brutal tests. PROXY, who was capable of credibly imitating Jedi, was programmed to regularly attack Starkiller to try and kill him, to keep him sharp. Despite this, PROXY developed a close relationship with his Master, providing the young boy at the time and now young man with enough compassion to stay sane. And while it wasn't obvious and he would never officially admit to it, Vader knew this and did it intentionally. His goal for Starkiller was different this time, compared to the last, but he would still use him the same way.
"Proxy, who's that?" Starkiller asks, seeing a woman doing work on the Rogue Shadow.
{Ah, yes. Your new pilot has finally arrived, Master. Accessing Imperial Records... Captain Juno Eclipse. Born on Corulag, where she became the youngest student ever accepted into the Imperial Academy. Decorated combat pilot with over one hundred combat missions, and commanding officer during the bombings of Callos. Handpicked by Lord Vader to lead his Black Five Squadron, but later reassigned to a top-secret project,} PROXY says.
"Do you know why you're here?" Starkiller asks Eclipse who has joined them.
"My orders are clear. I am to keep your ship running and fly you wherever your missions require," Eclipse answers.
"Did Vader tell you that he killed our last pilot?"
"No. But I can only assume that he gave Lord Vader good cause to do so. I will not," she says.
"Let's hope so. I'm sick of training new pilots."
Starkiller walks into his ship and gets an unwelcome surprise.
"What is this!? What have you done to my ship?"
"I've taken the liberty of upgrading the Rogue Shadow's sensor array. Now you'll be able to spy on any suspect ships across an entire system. That is your mission profile, yes? Are you one of Darth Vader's spies?" she asks.
"You don't need to know anything about my missions except where I'm going. Now, we need a jump to Nar Shaddaa,can you handle that?" he asks.
"Of course. Prepare for launch."
"Proxy, give me the target."
{Of course, Master. According to Imperial records, Jedi Rahm Kota was a respected general in the Clone Wars. A military genius. His one flaw was that he felt that clone soldiers were not fit for battle. Instead, he relied on his own militia. It saved his life: there were no clones in his squad when Order 66 was issued, and after he learned that the Jedi Order had been destroyed, Kota vanished. Official records actually claimed he was dead, but clearly, the records are wrong.}
"A Jedi General? You're hunting Jedi?" Eclipse asks.
"I bring Darth Vader's enemies to justice, and now, so do you."
"Understood. But why would Kota come out of hiding and attack the Empire now?" she asks.
"He wants to be found," Starkiller deduces.
"Then we are walking into a trap. How many pilots have you lost before me?"
"Seven."
"Shields have dropped on hangar twelve," Eclipse says, ignoring that number.
"Take us in."
The Rogue Shadow gets into position, and Starkiller jumps out. He blocks incoming blaster fire and throws a TIE fighter towards them, killing many men.
"Captain Eclipse, back out of the hangar and keep me on your scanners. I might need a quick extraction," Starkiller says into his comms.
And after that, he gets to work. He moves through the shipyard with brutal efficiency. There is nothing about his way of fighting that would prove joy or satisfaction. He does what he was ordered to do. He utilises everything Vader taught him, along with what he has taught himself, to defeat the militia forces he encounters. But he doesn't just encounter men belonging to Rahm Kota, he also encounters Troopers loyal to the Empire. Starkiller was increasingly troubled by Vader's order to 'leave no witnesses', as their only error was to cross his path. But he calms himself, believing that this is just another test from Vader. Finally, after tearing through the entire shipyard, he reaches Rahm Kota.
"A boy? Months of attacking Imperial targets, and Vader sends a boy to fight me?"
*Kksssshhhh*
"You're a waste of my time," Rahm Kota says.
Kota uses a powerful Force Push and damages the command centre, causing it to fall off the rest of the facility and plummet to the planet below. However, the fight is not yet over.
"You've never fought a real Jedi, have you, boy? You're not prepared for this," Kota proclaims.
It is true that Starkiller has never fought a true Jedi, but he has fought against the most skilled and powerful lightsaber user in the galaxy: Darth Vader. And from this, he has learned a lot, even if it is not the same as fighting a real Jedi. But compared to Vader, this was a piece of cake for the young Starkiller. He grabs hold of a large chunk of debris and shoots it forward, forcing Kota to jump into the air to dodge it. Thinking himself smart, the Jedi uses Force Speed and swings his lightsaber down, but that was Starkiller's plan. He raises his arm and unleashes his most powerful Force Lightning towards Kota.
*ZZZZZZZZZZ*
"AAAAAAAAAGH!"
"Vader things... he's turned you..." Master Kota says as he tries to recover from the blast.
*Kksssshhhh*
He blocked another strike from Starkiller. The pain he experienced from the Force Lightning hurt him, but it wasn't as powerful as it could be. Nevertheless, Kota has trouble keeping up with the fast and strong young man, Starkiller.
"I can sense your future, boy... Vader won't always be your master... I sense only... Me?"
Starkiller pushes his lightsaber forward and hits Kota's eyes, blinding him. The fight is over, Starkiller walks forward but stops, as he feels the ground breaking away. He jumps back and watches as Rahm Kota falls through the ground and towards the planet. The command centre is still falling as well, though, so Starkiller also needs to leave. He knows that he didn't kill Kota, he knows that the General has survived, but he grabs the Jedi's lightsaber nevertheless. And then, he jumps out of the command centre, landing on the Rogue Shadow and leaving Nar Shaddaa.
.
"Master Kota is dead?" Vader asks as Starkiller returns to him.
"Yes," Starkiller says.
He didn't see him with his eyes, but he knew that the man survived. He also knew that they would meet again, so the question is, why did he lie just now? Only one knows the answer: because he was made to do it.
"You have done well. I didn't expect you to perform this well. Now, there is but one more test before you face your destiny," Vader says.
"The Emperor."
"Yes. Only together can you defeat him," Vader says.
"I am ready now. I've-"
"You have done nothing! You have defeated an old man, a recluse! First, you must face a true Jedi Master - a member of the Jedi council, before your training will be complete."
"A council member? Who?"
"Shaak Ti. You will find her to be more of a challenge than Rahm Kota was. Far more, in fact. But it will serve you well. I want you to kill her personally. If she does not die at your hands, I will know, and you will have failed this test. Am I understood?" Vader says.
"Yes, my master."
Vader watches his experiment leave. He has spent a long time training Starkiller. But he didn't form him the way the Emperor wanted, not even the way his Legends counterpart would have done. He had other plans for Starkiller. In a way, he was Vader's own final test. To see how well he did and how well he will do against the source of his hatred. So Vader observes his apprentice as he makes his way to Felucia to confront Shaak Ti.
.
"Life signs are overwhelming the scanners. The plane must be completely overgrown," Captain Eclipse says.
"Something else is bothering you," Starkiller remarks.
"How-"
"You can't hide your feelings from me, no matter how deeply you bury them."
"This place reminds me of Callos," she admits.
"That's right. You were part of the Imperial invasion there."
"No, I led the Imperial Forces at the Battle of Callos. Callos was like Felucia, overgrown, teeming with life. And we razed the planet. It's a dead world now."
"I read the reports. You followed your orders to the end," Starkiller says.
"Yes. Where do we land?" she asks.
"Near the equator. There."
Starkiller makes his way through the planet's flora. For a Force-sensitive individual, the entire planet feels like a single living organism. Felucia is strong in the Force, but it is chaotic, wild and is now sliding towards the Dark Side. All of the Felucians were susceptible and on the verge of being corrupted and becoming monsters. Starkiller moves through the jungle and swipes his lightsaber through the bodies of several Felucians. He strikes them using Force Lightning and kills their monsters. Eventually, he found Shaak Ti.
"Vader's assassin. Welcome to the Ancient Abyss. A place of sacrifice for the Felucians, since time immemorial. Are you prepared to meet your fate?" she asks and ignites her lightsaber.
Shaak Ti is like a beacon of light in the darkness. Starkiller can tell that she is far more powerful than Kota was and that this fight would take more out of him than the last one did.
*Kksssshhhh*
Their lightsabers clash. Having fought a Jedi previously, Starkiller is better prepared than he was previously. Fighting against Vader his entire life was to fight the unpredictable. Vader never seemed to have only one style; he could switch things up, make the battlefield his ally and attack from unpredictable angles and directions. This was different, and because of that, Starkiller needed time to adjust to this new style of fighting. Rahm Kota was a practitioner of the lightsaber combat form Juyo, the most aggressive of the seven forms. But Shaak Ti was a Master of legendary power and strength in the Force as well as among the finest and most cunning swordsmen of her time. She is an exceptional lightsaber duellist.
Shaak Ti is well-trained and skilled in all forms of lightsaber combat. She is particularly accomplished in the use of both the Makashi and Ataru forms. She moves with grace, and it does make sense that her skills were compared to Count Dooku.
Starkiller is being pushed and hasn't had one single moment of respite. He uses all of his attention to predict where her attacks are coming from.
"You have the stench of the coward Vader about you," Shaak Ti remarks.
"My master is afraid of nothing!"
"If that were true, he would never have fallen to the Dark Side," Ti remarks, and uses the lapse in attention to Force Push Starkiller away, causing him to hurt himself on the sharp spikes protruding from the ground.
"I knew him when he was just a frightened boy," Ti says, gathering a lot of power between her hands. "Not unlike you."
A powerful repulsive force, a special variation Ti has created, slams into Starkiller and hurts him, making him shoot through the air.
_____________________
For those wondering, I did not make a writing mistake in this chapter. It's very subtle but will be important later.