Prologue

It has been said that every student must face the master.

This was what was happening with Galen Marek. He just faced, and defeated, the mighty Sith Lord Darth Vader, in an attempt to rescue the future leaders of a rebellion against the Empire. After years of evil throughout the galaxy, including the death of Galen's father, the mighty Sith Lord has fallen, his body lying in the throne room of his master, Emperor Palpatine.

However, instead of lashing out at the young Jedi, Palpatine was actually pleased at Marek's victory.

"Yes! Kill him! He was weak, broken! Kill him, and you can take your rightful place at my side!"

Sensing the Emperor's attempt to lure him back into the Dark Side, General Rahm Kota rushed to the apprentice, using the Force to pull Palpatine's crimson lightsaber from his robe, but was quickly answered by a barrage of purple Force Lightning.

Marek watched his friend and mentor fall to the Dark powers, hearing over Kota's cries of pain to help him, but instead of helping him, he turned towards his former master, seeing him starting to rise again, with his lightsaber ignited. The apprentice kicked him down to a lower level of the room, and soon followed him.

Darth Vader was still somewhat a competent fighter, even after his defeat at the hands of Marek, and another years ago, in the hands of his former mentor and was burning in the lava of Mustafar. He quickly swung his saber, and continued to slash and hack at him, using the Force to pin him in the air. But Marek was trained well, he broke free from his grip and started to dash from side to side, avoiding Vader's Force attacks and responding them with his own.

As the Emperor watched on, he noticed that Vader was nothing but a dead weight hanging onto his foot after the duel on Mustafar. He had long been willing to find a new apprentice, one who will take his place as his apprentice and his successor.

That searched ended today, and he watched joyfully as Marek slashed at his former apprentice.

Marek had been slashing at Vader for a few minutes, his aqua blade chipping off bits of his ebon armor, and started to throw him around with the Force, using Lightning to weaken his mechanical limbs.

Finally, when he decided his former master has had enough of his suffering, he launched a massive Force push at him, forcing him backwards. Vader was starting to collapse, his hand clenching onto his knee for support. Before he knew it, he was being lifted in the air, much like he had done with others numerous times, and thrown from wall to wall, reminding him of betraying the apprentice in his flagship. The final throw was so great that he lost grip of his lightsaber, which fell on the floor and was flying into his left hand.

Finally. the apprentice thought, charging forward, impaling him with the red blade. He then dashed behind him and impaled his own blade into his back, killing him.

As the apprentice made his way back to the Emperor, he noticed Kota crawling towards him, but was stopped by another barrage of lightning, forcing him back down.

"Lord Vader was a broken shadow of his former self. I knew that one day you would replace him. You have just one final test," pointing at the dying Rahm Kota, he continued to speak.

"Destroy your former ties to the Jedi, and at last you will be a Sith Lord!"

Galen raised his lightsaber for the strike, and he suddenly turned and went for the Emperor, who anticipated the attack and ignited his own lightsaber to defend himself.

"You have betrayed your master and your allies both!" he bellowed. "I knew you would betray me as well! And now, you have doomed yourself and your friends!"

The crimson blade went forward, and purple lightning was coming out of his fingers, lifting him in the air and throwing him aside.

At that time, Juno Eclipse decided to stop by in the Rogue Shadow. Palpatine telekinetically grabbed the ship and raised it over Marek. Beside him were the dead Senators, which the young Jedi was grieving for. The last thing he saw was the Rogue Shadow smashing onto his body.

The next thing he noticed was that he was bound to a surgery table on Coruscant, and he himself was wearing an armored suit similar to his former master's.

In front of him, Emperor Palpatine was watching the reconstruction process. His voice was filled with disappointment.

"You had such promise. You could have been my successor, my equal. But now..."

He looked at the metallic exoskeleton covering his body with claws on his fingers. Like Vader, metal was grafted into his body, but he ensured there was still flesh in his arm, allowing him to cast Force lightning; an ability Vader was unable to do. His helmet was a Ubese bounty hunter helmet with a rounded top and the T-visor of a Mandalorian war helmet. He looked away from him in disgust.

"But I may still have some small use of you. I still have enemies to find and destroy. You will do my bidding until I find a new apprentice. And then, like Vader, you will be cast aside."

As the medical droids advanced forward, the subject was struggling to brace himself, but was unable to brace himself from the Emperor's final command.

"Finish him."

Through his helmet's T-visor, he saw the medical droids injecting a serum into his bloodstream, which will bind him as the Emperor's servant for the rest of his life.

He was now, once again, Lord Starkiller, now serving as Palpatine's personal assassin.