Chapter Text
Starkiller was bored.
In theory, she was above things like boredom. In theory, she spent every waking moment training, preparing for her next mission.
In theory.
In practice, she was kriffing bored.
Subtly lifting her gaze, she scanned the walls and ceiling above her. But there was no sign of PROXY clinging there like some kind of giant metal spider. While duels with the droid were merciless and often exhausting, at least it would be a break from her current state of doing nothing.
As if someone had heard her thoughts from across the galaxy, a harsh chime sounded, heralding an incoming transmission. Starkiller already knew who it came from. There was only one person who ever contacted her.
Starkiller quickly accepted the call and knelt in front of the transmitter as the image of her Master appeared. Whether in person or in holo form, Darth Vader was the most intimidating presence Starkiller had ever known. Even if she hadn’t seen firsthand what he could do, she would have no doubt that he could end her life with a mere thought. He was the very embodiment of the rage that drove her every action; both the person who’d taught her how to harness and direct it and its true target.
“I am sending you on an assignment to Tepasi.” Vader’s voice carried the same deadly seriousness it had since the first time Starkiller had ever crossed paths with him. It made tendrils of ice circle around the base of her spine. “Your target is the governor of the planet's northern sector. You are to eliminate him and leave evidence linking his death to the Rebel Alliance. And you will leave no witnesses.”
That was the standard for all of her missions. She was to leave no witnesses and make the carnage she left in her wake look like someone else’s handiwork. Usually her Master didn’t specify who should take the blame, but he had a vested interest in seeing the fledgling rebellion crushed. Handing them the credit for her massacres would only make more systems and individuals turn their backs on the traitors.
“It will be done, Master,” Starkiller said.
“You will leave as soon as your new pilot arrives.”
“Understood.”
The word was barely out of her mouth when the transmission ended. Neither she nor her Master were ever ones for pleasantries. Just one of the many ways she took after him.
Fury burned in the base of her throat like bile as she stood. Now that Vader’s attention was no longer focused on her, she let it. Of course, her Master didn’t care if she hated him. In fact, he encouraged it. Pain, anger, and hatred were the source of her power, and Lord Vader wanted his apprentice strong enough to fight at his side and overthrow the Emperor. But Starkiller took care never to show her Master the true depths of her rage lest he discover her plan to turn that power he’d taught her to wield on him one day.
That day couldn’t come soon enough. Every time she spoke to her Master, Starkiller pictured him dead at her feet. Soon, she always told herself. But she knew that “soon” was still years and years away.
Typing a few commands into the console, Starkiller pulled up the star map of the sector her assignment was in. Her hand hovered over the controls, hesitating to switch to the map of Tepasi itself. Against her better judgement, she found her eyes travelling along the Commenor Run until they rested on a large planet cloaked in swirls of blue and green and white.
Alderaan.
A dull ache spread through her chest, growing worse with every second she stared at the image of the planet. Yet she couldn’t make herself look away.
The snap-hiss of a lightsaber echoed off the hull. Starkiller turned, igniting her own weapon just in time to catch the glowing blue blade on hers. A middle-aged human man with red-brown hair stood before her, determined blue eyes narrowed. Starkiller disengaged and leapt into the air, gathering the Force around her and sailing higher than any ordinary human could. She twisted her body, and let herself fall until she landed behind the man.
She brought her saber down, cutting into the man’s arm. It flickered and sparked, but he gave no sign that he’d felt the blow. The man dropped toward the floor, ducking out of the path of Starkiller’s blade and kicking her in the stomach. She stumbled back but quickly recovered, lunging at the man with her blade thrusting toward his right shoulder. He fell for her feint and moved to parry her blow. Starkiller angled the blade downward and stabbed it viciously into the man’s side.
The man’s whole body flickered just as his arm had. His saber clattered to the ground. And all at once, the short-lived fight was over.
The flickering image of the man vanished, giving way to a tall droid with a long metal face. Wiring showed through the rib-like metal cage of its chest, and its unique holoprojectors glowed with purple-white light.
“I haven’t seen that program in a while,” Starkiller said, the thrill of victory, however easy, bringing a grin to her face as she replaced her lightsaber on her belt.
“Exactly why I thought it might finally help me kill you,” PROXY said. The expression on his face couldn’t change, but if it could, Starkiller didn’t doubt he would be grinning as widely as she was. Or perhaps that was just wishful thinking on her part. She’d had to remind herself more than once that PROXY wasn’t actually her friend.
Starkiller turned to look at the map once more. She knew that the odds of PROXY taking such easy bait were slim. Even if he did, she would beat him again. And again. And again. If she wanted to survive, she didn’t have another option.
“I assume you heard the transmission,” she said.
“I did,” PROXY said. “Hopefully this pilot will last longer than the others.”
Starkiller nodded wordlessly. She’d executed the last pilot herself on orders from her Master. Years ago, she might have regretted it. But now she understood that it had to be done. The pilot’s recklessness had nearly revealed her existence. And as much as she despised her Master, she knew that disobeying him wasn’t an option.
Starkiller studied the maps of Tepasi, plotting out all the potential ways this new pilot might get her close to the target’s residence. PROXY slunk off somewhere to repair the damage from their duel, but Starkiller still kept herself braced for another attack. At least if he tried to kill her again, it would stop her thoughts from wandering off the edge of the map to the planet that had grabbed her attention before and was still stubbornly refusing to let go.
Her memories of Alderaan were faint. A warm sunbeam reaching across a floor. Waves lapping against sand. Steady, gentle hands tucking a blanket around her…
Starkiller dug her nails into her right wrist, snapping herself out of her thoughts before she became lost in them. Her Master had done everything he could to convince her that this was the only life she’d ever known. And it was always easier to believe it.
Gritting her teeth, Starkiller switched off the projector. The star maps were only distracting her. If she wanted her mission to succeed, she needed a clear head. Singular focus on what her master expected from her.
She drew her saber again, fingers curling tightly around it for a moment before she forced her grip to loosen. The moment she ignited the blade, she lunged at an imaginary opponent. The red flashes of the blade slicing through the air were mesmerizing, clearing the distractions from her head with each strike. Alderaan was nothing but a distraction. Those “memories” probably weren’t even real; just dreams she’d had as a child, before she was old enough to understand that her situation was for the best.
The moment she finished the sequence she transitioned into another one. She worked through one kata after another. With each step she took, she told herself she was preparing not just for the mission, but for the inevitable battle with her Master. She refused to think about whether she was just kidding herself.
The harsh sound of a proximity alert snapped her out of her trance. She lowered her saber, turning toward the door that led to the hangar. With her Master on Coruscant, there was only one ship that would be approaching. The one her new pilot was travelling on.
Returning her weapon to its place on her belt, Starkiller darted through the door. She stayed where she was, not moving as she watched the Lambda shuttle glide through the shields and land with a creak on the hangar floor. It was an older model, one that wouldn’t be missed if it never returned to wherever it was originally stationed.
Starkiller hung back at first, watching from the shadows as the pilot stepped off of the shuttle. The first thing she noticed was that the girl appeared close to her own age. All her past pilots had been older.
The girl had skin like dull copper and black hair that hung just above her shoulders. Her brown eyes cast around the seemingly empty hangar, somewhat disinterested until her gaze rested on the Rogue Shadow. Starkiller could sense the thrill that shot up the girl’s spine as if it were her own.
The young woman made as if to circle the ship and admire it, only to stop in her tracks after just a few steps. She glanced over her shoulder, those brown eyes narrowing as she looked somewhere off to the left of where Starkiller actually was.
“I take it you’re the operative I’m supposed to be shuttling around?” she called. Her gaze slid across the far side of the hangar, searching.
“I am,” Starkiller called back. She stepped out of her hiding place as she spoke.
The pilot’s eyes widened slightly, a spark of surprise leaping through the Force. Starkiller grinned.
“Not what you were expecting?” she asked.
“No.” There was a note of trepidation in the other girl’s voice, and Starkiller quickly schooled her face back to a neutral expression. She had no idea what her facial expressions looked like to other people, but for some reason she couldn’t comprehend, she didn’t want this girl to be intimidated by her.
“Lord Vader said you wouldn’t be briefed about me,” the pilot said, her tone suddenly businesslike, “that I’d have to prove myself to you.” She straightened her shoulders. “My name’s Sabine Wren. I graduated second in my class from Skystrike a year ago and was recruited to Lord Vader’s squadron.”
Starkiller nodded.
“We’ve already been assigned a mission on Tepasi,” she said. She brushed past the other girl and led the way toward the Rogue Shadow. The pilot followed her, her anticipation of seeing and flying the ship overwhelming her confusion about this new assignment. “Perfect chance for you to prove yourself.”
She could feel Sabine’s eyes light up as they entered the cockpit. The other girl slid comfortably into the pilot’s seat and powered up the ship with ease, as if she was born to fill that space. Within moments, they had lifted off and were easing through the Star Destroyer’s shields. Sabine powered up the navicomputer and entered their destination into it, eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Setting course for Tepasi.”