Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

Note: So I played the first game again recently which then inspired me to do this little piece as a break from my main fic. It's set straight after the scene where Juno confronts Starkiller about his still working for Vader. You may want to watch this spot in case I get the time to write another shot or two when I feel the need for another break.

This story is also a gift I'm dedicating to Liisiko for being so awesome and putting in so much time with helping me with Severance.

D e f i a n c e

He didn't know what to do.

He could face down a group of mighty rancor without a moment's hesitation. He could tackle a Jedi Master in combat and emerge victorious. He was swift, dark and deadly and so confident in his art that none but his Master could truly instill fear in him. And yet, with her...

He didn't know what to do.

And it hurt. Hurt in a way he had never experienced before. An unreachable, insatiable ache deep in his chest that could never be consoled with bacta. He didn't understand this pain and he wasn't sure that he wanted to. The prospect of what it could mean frightened him perhaps as much as a condemnation from Lord Vader, himself. A saber wound - though painful - could heal. Death would grant a peace of its own. But this? He didn't like the endless quality of this feeling.

A cold, rigid hand settled on his shoulder and he remembered - quite suddenly - that PROXY was still there, hovering anxiously at his side. The digits tightened to replicate a human gesture of comfort. It was all the comfort Starkiller had ever known; until she had come along and made him realise that a droid's sympathy was empty. A mere replication. An act. PROXY meant well but the gesture only made the hurt worse. Besides, he didn't deserve any sympathy.

Not for this. Not for what he had done.

"Master..." PROXY sounded hesitant. "Perhaps you should go after her?"

"What good would that do?" He snapped, shrugging out from PROXY's grasp. "She was right about me. About everything. She trusted me and I..."

"You did what you had to do in order to achieve your primary programming, Master."

"I'm not-" He caught himself and bit back on his anger. This wasn't PROXY's fault, either. "Just go."

"But-"

"I'm fine. Go. I've got to prepare for our next task."

The droid seemed reluctant, but he did as was asked, backing up towards the door and then taking his leave in silence. The flare of his photoreceptors were brief as he turned back to give the dejected Half-Sith a fleeting glance.

Then the doors closed and Starkiller was alone. Alone with his thoughts and the pulsing pain in his chest. He reached up to rest a hand over its source, but his palm was cold and offered no respite at all.

He hadn't wanted Juno to find out about his allegiance to Vader in the way that she had. He'd wanted a chance to tell her himself that he was still bound to his Master's will. That Vader was still giving the orders. That, instead of working to free the galaxy he was still trying to see to its ultimate slavery. He was luring the rebels to their deaths. There was no way to gloss it over or glorify it. He was a killer and so aptly named. He'd wanted to tell her...but there had never been a good time.

He had been a coward.

Starkiller thought that perhaps it would have been better-kinder-to have left her on the Empirical after all. His betrayal was far worse than Vader's betrayal of her. The Dark Lord was a cruel monster known for his merciless ways. To be turned upon by him was no surprise, but for him, Starkiller, to do it too...

...He wasn't just a work colleague to her, was he?

'Then why did you defy Vader to rescue me?'

Friendship? Could he consider Juno his friend? He wasn't sure. He'd never really had a friend before...well, not one who wasn't always trying to kill him, anyway.

The question repeated itself again in his head, louder and more demanding. Why? Why had he saved her? Why had he chosen to specifically go against Vader's wishes, then, when he never had before? What was it about her that had changed something in him? Even PROXY's reminder of Vader's orders hadn't given him cause for hesitation. He'd said that he hadn't been sure what he was going to do whilst knowing full-well that his mind was already made up.

There had never been any question about it. He wouldn't have left that ship without her.

Starkiller had been pacing and now he paused to lean against the wall by the door. The lights were dim, as they always were and he was sure he could still smell the scent of Juno's worn, leather jacket. Although perhaps that was his imagination...

'I needed someone to fly the ship.'

'We both know that's not true. My being here has never been about my piloting.'

Did she know something he didn't? Had she been giving prompts that he'd failed to notice? He gritted his teeth with frustration and ran his hands up over his face and across his close-cropped hair. It probably didn't even matter now. He'd betrayed her just like Vader had done. There were no excuses for it and he doubted she'd ever forgive him. There had been so much hurt in her eyes and he had been the one to put it there.

What would she do now that she knew?

Would she tell Kota and the others and ruin any chance he had of making amends? And what if she did and they turned to confront him? Would he fight or...would he give himself up? Or maybe she would just leave him. Go somewhere else where people wouldn't keep betraying her.

If only he could make her understand the conflict in him.

He didn't want to serve Vader. He hadn't wanted to serve him since waking up on the Empirical all that time ago. And as time had passed he had become more and more conflicted about his pretend-allies. Somehow, without his realisation, his pretense had become the truth and this guise of 'Jedi' had become the new reality. He liked this new life where people listened to him and treated him as an equal. But nothing came so easy. If he wanted to keep what he'd made for himself, he'd need to fight for it. He'd need to come up with a plan and doing that was not going to be as easy as any of the things he had achieved so far. All he knew was that if he let Vader continue to manipulate him...if he continued to be nothing more than a puppet, he'd lose everything that mattered.

He would lose her.

But how did he put this right? How did he come clean and let everyone know what was going on without them turning on him? How did he go out there, stride into the cockpit and tell Juno what was going on in his head? Tell her how he wanted nothing to do with Vader. Tell her about his internal struggle and his fear-yes, fear-over defying the very man who had held him as a slave for as long as he could remember. Vader had taught him to obey through fear and pain and hatred. That was all he had ever known and those chains bound him even now, though they were chipped and weakened; threatening to set him free.

Vader probably knew it, too.

Without warning, the ship came alive around him and he felt the shifting of its rapid acceleration. Apparently, Juno had already mapped out their route to Raxus Prime. It wouldn't be long now...

He felt suddenly tired and the ache in his chest seemed to resonate with a new, horrible energy.

He knew what he had to do and, when he was 'faced with that moment' he would remember Juno and he would do the right thing. Vader had been his past but that didn't mean he had to be the future. Perhaps if words could not convince of his intentions to do good, his actions would.

And the question came again...

'Why did you defy Vader to rescue me?'

"Because...maybe..." He murmered. "I sort of like you."

fin.