Star Wars: Starkiller

The Rogue Shadow exited hyperspace with an almost imperceptible whisper, emerging before the massive Star Destroyer that orbited the unknown system. It was an imposing fortress in the void, a projection of the Empire's absolute dominion. Starkiller, seated in the cockpit of his ship, barely glanced at the vast structure. His mind was preoccupied, replaying the events on Terminus, the fight with Quinlan Vos, and the Jedi's last words before falling. 

"You are a tool, a weapon without purpose. You don't fight for yourself, nor for the Force. Only for him." 

Those words had been etched into his mind like recent scars, but there was no room for questioning. He had completed his mission. And that was all that mattered. 

Once in the Star Destroyer's hangar, the ramp of the ship descended slowly, releasing vapor as Starkiller walked forward with firm steps. His cloak billowed behind him, and his expression remained cold and controlled, as always. However, the weight of the completed mission felt like an echo in the Force, like a fire that refused to be extinguished. 

In the center of the hangar awaited Darth Vader, an imposing black figure casting a shadow longer than his own form. His presence filled the space like a cloak of darkness, and his mechanical breathing resonated like a heartbeat in the vast metallic expanse. 

Starkiller immediately knelt before his master, lowering his head. 

"I have returned, Master." 

Vader didn't respond at first. For long seconds, the only sound was the echo of the officers' footsteps and the distant hum of the Star Destroyer's engines. Finally, the Dark Lord spoke. 

"Is the Jedi dead?" 

Starkiller raised his gaze cautiously, remaining kneeling before his master. "Yes, Quinlan Vos was eliminated, as you ordered." His voice was firm, but still carried a trace of exhaustion from the battle. 

"His lightsaber," Vader demanded, without raising his voice. 

Starkiller drew a second lightsaber from his belt, the weapon that had belonged to Vos. Without turning fully, Vader extended an arm covered by his imposing armor. The saber flew into his hand as if invisible fingers had snatched it out of the air. 

The Dark Lord turned toward the window of his chamber, where the stars glowed like silent witnesses to Imperial dominion. In his hands, Quinlan Vos' lightsaber seemed small, insignificant compared to Vader's powerful presence. He ignited the weapon with a characteristic hum, examining the brilliant green blade that illuminated his mask. 

Starkiller remained still, head bowed and hands crossed behind his back. It felt as though time had stopped in that room. Despite his outward calm, he felt the energy of the Dark Side flowing between them like an invisible river, charged with tension and expectation. 

Finally, Vader broke the silence with his deep, mechanical voice. "Were there witnesses?" 

"No, Master. I made sure to slip away unnoticed." 

The Dark Lord remained silent for a long moment, as if evaluating every word his apprentice had spoken. Then, he powered down Vos' lightsaber with a sharp click and dropped it to the floor, alongside the trophies of other fallen Jedi. 

"My spies have located another Jedi," he finally announced. His voice was deeper, as if the mention of this new target had stirred something within him. "Ka-Moon Kholi is hiding on Tund, a world in the Outer Rim." 

Starkiller glanced up slightly, revealing the excitement burning beneath his controlled mask. "I'll do to him what I did to Quinlan Vos," he assured without hesitation, the certainty of someone who has triumphed in the heat of battle. 

But Vader wasn't impressed. He slowly turned to face his apprentice, his imposing figure casting a long, threatening shadow. "Ka-Moon Kholi is much more powerful than you," he said with cold determination. "I don't believe you'll survive." 

The words struck Starkiller like a lightning bolt, but he didn't allow fear to show on his face. On the contrary, he nodded vehemently, as if accepting the challenge. 

"If you complete your mission successfully," Vader continued, stepping one step closer to him, "you'll have moved one step closer to your destiny." 

Starkiller knew exactly what destiny Vader referred to. Excitement and ambition flickered in his eyes as he spoke the next words: "The Emperor." 

"Yes," confirmed Vader, with a barely perceptible tone of conspiracy in his voice. "Only together can we defeat him." 

"I will not fail you, Lord Vader," Starkiller promised, finally rising, his resolve evident in every movement. 

Vader didn't respond, but his silence spoke volumes. He turned his head toward the window, gazing at the stars as his apprentice left. Every mission, every victory, was another step in his intricate plan to overthrow the Emperor. 

Starkiller left the room, the mission resonating in his mind. Tund would be his new battlefield, Ka-Moon Kholi his next target. As he walked down the metallic corridors of the Star Destroyer, a mixture of excitement and fear coursed through his body. If Vader doubted his chances, it only meant one thing: the next battle would be the most challenging of his life. 

In the hangar, as he boarded his ship, the Rogue Shadow, Starkiller allowed himself a brief moment of reflection. He knew that each mission not only brought him closer to becoming Vader's ultimate weapon, but also to the inevitable betrayal they both planned against the Emperor. 

The Rogue Shadow emerged from hyperspace with a flash, leaving behind the wavering lights of the hyperspace jump. Before him, Tund floated like a dark blot in the void, barely illuminated by a distant and weak sun. The planet exuded an oppressive feeling, an echo of ancient and chaotic power that seemed to strike Starkiller even from orbit. Ashen clouds slowly swirled over a surface marked by deserts and ruins, like scars from forgotten times. 

"The Dark Side is here," he murmured to himself, feeling how a distinct energy filtered through the Force. It wasn't the disciplined and focused Dark Side he knew under Vader's tutelage, but something primitive, wild, almost insane. 

The descent was even more unsettling. As the Rogue Shadow pierced the atmosphere, blue lightning illuminated a landscape of cyclopean ruins, torn mountains, and vast stretches of burnt land. The ship landed on an elevated plateau, far from the larger structures. When Starkiller descended the ramp, the dense, energy-charged air seemed to wrap around him like an invisible cloak. 

He extended his senses through the Force. At first, all he perceived was the planet's chaos: whispers of ancient presences, echoes of forgotten rituals, and fragments of an incomprehensible power. But then, something clearer emerged from that tangle: a dark and powerful presence, one that wasn't simply a remnant of what had been. 

Ka-Moon Kholi was not the Jedi Starkiller had expected. 

He followed the trail to an ancient, ruined temple, a gigantic stone structure with black stone and fractured columns that seemed to twist toward the sky like deformed fingers. The massive doors, covered in worn inscriptions, were wide open. Inside, the shadows seemed to move unnaturally, as if something stirred them from within. 

Starkiller entered cautiously, his lightsaber in hand but still unignited. The air inside the temple was heavy, saturated with an energy so dense it felt almost tangible. The echoes of his footsteps resonated against the walls until a deep voice broke the silence. 

"So, he sent you… his apprentice." 

Starkiller stopped, his gaze searching for the source of the voice. Finally, he saw him: Ka-Moon Kholi stood across the room, his figure barely illuminated by the faint light filtering through the cracks in the ceiling. But something about him was different. He was not the noble Jedi Starkiller had imagined. His eyes glowed with a yellowish sheen, and his scarred face resembled more that of a predator than a defender of the light. 

"I am not the Jedi you think you would find here," Kholi continued, his voice resonating with a mix of disdain and challenge. "Tund showed me the truth. Here, among these ruins, I learned what the Jedi hid from me: true power, unchained, without limits." 

"You fell to the Dark Side," Starkiller replied, igniting his red lightsaber with a flash. The crimson blade illuminated his face with a fierce glow. "You're a traitor to your own cause. You're no better than a Jedi." 

Kholi laughed, a sound that was more of a growl than a chuckle. "The Dark Side has freed me from its false teachings. And now, young slave of Vader, you will also know its true power." 

The fallen Jedi ignited his own lightsaber, but it wasn't just a duel he had prepared. He extended a hand toward Starkiller, and the air around him seemed to vibrate with intensity. Suddenly, the shadows of the temple came to life, wrapping around Starkiller in a wave of tangible darkness that struck him with force, throwing him against one of the columns. 

Starkiller grunted as he rose, his senses alert. The shadows seemed to have a will of their own, swirling and dancing around Kholi as if they were extensions of his body. The fallen Jedi advanced calmly, his blue saber glowing brightly. 

"Do you feel that?" Kholi said, his deep voice resonating in the room. "It's the power of Tund, ancient and forgotten, but now mine. Do you really think you can defeat me with the scraps Vader taught you?" 

Starkiller didn't respond, but his eyes hardened. He charged at Kholi, their sabers clashing in a burst of light and sparks. However, the battle was unlike any he had faced before. Every strike he made seemed to be deflected by the shadows swirling around Kholi, while the fallen Jedi countered with swift, precise attacks. 

Suddenly, Kholi raised his other hand, and the ground beneath Starkiller trembled. Rocks and debris lifted into the air, hurling toward him with lethal speed. Starkiller rolled to the side, narrowly dodging the projectiles. With a quick motion, he extended his hand and launched a powerful Force push, scattering the shadows just enough to advance. 

"You're strong, but not invincible!" Starkiller growled as he threw a blow that almost severed Kholi's arm. 

Kholi staggered back, the yellow glow in his eyes shining with supernatural fury. The shadows around him seemed to stir as if sharing his rage, spinning and enveloping him in a dark whirlwind. "The Force here feeds me, apprentice," he spat, his voice laden with hatred. "I won't fall to someone as insignificant as you." 

Starkiller, panting, could feel the weight of the Dark Side permeating every corner of the temple. The whispers tempted him, offering power, limitless strength, but he pushed them away with determination. He already had everything he needed: his fury, his hatred, and his unyielding desire not to fail his master. 

"Then I will destroy you along with this place," Starkiller declared coldly, raising his lightsaber and adjusting his combat stance. 

Kholi let out a guttural roar and charged toward him with inhuman speed, his blue saber leaving a bright trail in the air. Starkiller spun on his heels, narrowly dodging the strike before launching a devastating counterattack that made the temple walls shake with the clash of the blades. 

The battle was frenetic, brutal. Kholi, empowered by the chaos of Tund, seemed to fight not just with his lightsaber, but with the environment itself. Fragments of stone rose from the ground and hurled toward Starkiller, while the shadows tried to ensnare his legs and knock him down. Starkiller countered with his own skill in the Force, disintegrating the shadows with precise blasts and deflecting the debris with calculated pushes.

But he knew he couldn't defeat Kholi in a prolonged confrontation. The fallen Jedi was completely in sync with the planet's dark energies, and with every passing moment, it seemed to make him stronger. Starkiller needed a different strategy. 

Closing his eyes for a moment, he concentrated. He felt the cracks in the temple's foundation, the swaying pillars, the walls worn by time. He extended his hands and let the Force flow through him like a torrent, channeling his will into an explosion of power. 

The ground trembled beneath his feet. The ancient columns began to crack, the walls crumbled in cascades of rubble. The roar of the collapse echoed throughout the temple. 

"No! What have you done?" Kholi shouted, his voice filled with desperation as the shadows around him writhed frantically. 

"Created your tomb," Starkiller responded coldly, turning off his lightsaber and heading toward the exit. 

Without wasting time, Starkiller began to run as stones fell around him. The temple's structure was quickly collapsing, entire columns falling like felled trees and blocking the path behind him. However, Kholi was unwilling to surrender. 

The fallen Jedi followed, leaping over the debris with agile movements, his eyes glowing with hatred as he extended a hand toward Starkiller, trying to catch him with the Force. "You won't escape me!" he roared, launching a burst of dark energy that struck near Starkiller's feet, making him stumble briefly. 

But Starkiller immediately regained his footing, using his own fury to propel himself forward. With every step, the temple collapsed more around him until he finally reached the entrance and jumped out just as an explosion of dust and rocks pushed him forward. 

Kholi, however, was not so lucky. The temple completely gave way just as he was about to reach the exit. A massive column fell from above, striking him and throwing him to the ground with brutal force. 

Despite his injuries, Kholi didn't give up. Beneath the rubble, his hand emerged shakily, trembling as his lightsaber still glowed with a faint light. Starkiller, turning around, watched him without expression while extending his own hand, invoking the Force. 

Kholi's lightsaber flew toward Starkiller, ripping from the fingers of its dying owner. The young apprentice easily caught it, switching off the blue blade with a snap before attaching it to his belt next to Quinlan Vos' saber. 

Kholi lifted his head with difficulty, his face marked by pain and rage. "You think… you've won…" he murmured, his voice weak but laced with venom. "But Tund… always takes… what is his…" 

Starkiller silently watched as the shadows, still swirling in the temple's ruins, seemed to rise as though trying to engulf Kholi completely. Finally, the fallen Jedi let out one last breath before becoming still. 

Without looking back, Starkiller turned toward his ship and began walking with steady steps. He had completed his mission. Another Jedi had fallen. But as he ascended the ramp of the Rogue Shadow, he couldn't shake the feeling of Tund's darkness still clinging to his mind, as if the planet were watching him even as he pulled away. 

"Master," he said quietly, thinking of Vader. "I hope this was enough." 

He ignited the engines and left Tund behind, knowing that his next mission would be even more dangerous.