Starkiller

Starkiller is a clone of Galen Marek created by Darth Vader and the protagonist of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II.

Creation and Escape
After Galen was killed in his rescue of the founders of the Rebel Alliance, Vader realized that Palpatine wanted to replace him with a stronger apprentice. Thus he became more determined to find his own apprentice to help him overthrow the Emperor. To this end, Vader had Galen’s body preserved and brought it to the cloning facilities on Kamino so as to produce a more powerful and loyal clone. However the difficulties of cloning Force-sensitive subjects resulted in many freakish and deformed clones. Even after the process was refined, their mental states still needed work, with many going insane in a few months. Vader just kept moving from test subject to test subject and the clone that would take the name “Starkiller” was Subject 1138, coming from a long series of attempts. His training went quickly, mostly thanks to his having memories from his template, but these memories also haunted Starkiller. He was also forced to endure harsh tests at Vader’s hands, once having to spend thirteen days, isolated and without any nourishment, leaving him to try and survive with only the Force. One day, when Vader visited, he told Starkiller that Rahm Kota, Galen’s Jedi mentor, had been captured and imprisoned on Cato Neimoidia. Once the clone completed his training, he would be sent there to kill Kota. Vader then asked about Starkiller’s visions and he told the Dark Lord about what he’d been seeing, asking what they meant. Vader just told the clone they were the memories of a dead man and they were only a temporary side effect of the accelerated cloning. He then gave Starkiller a pair of lightsabers and had him train against a number of training holodroids imitating Rebel Soldiers. Starkiller was able to cut all of them down, almost entering a trance, but as he prepared to take down the last one, he saw it had taken the form of Juno Eclipse, the woman Galen had fallen in love with. Vader commanded Starkiller to strike her down, but he could not and the Dark Lord did it himself. The clone ran to check on the droid as if it were Juno and Vader said that he would suffer the same fate as the other. Starkiller realized he was about to be gotten rid of by the Dark Lord and lost his respect for him. He even doubted that there were other clones that had used the same template, since each any version of Galen Marek would inherit his love for Juno. Starkiller suddenly had a vision of his template being betrayed and stabbed through the chest by Vader. Realizing that a similar fate awaited him, the clone turned on the Dark Lord, blasting him with Force lightning as Vader prepared to kill him. With the Sith Lord’s cybernetics malfunctioning, Starkiller blasted open a wall and leapt out of the tower they were in. He managed to overcome everything in his path as he escaped, before finally reaching a landing platform where he found Vader’s specialized TIE fighter. Starkiller boarded it as Vader himself emerged from the facility and managed to fly off, despite the Dark Lord’s trying to use telekinesis to stop the ship. As Starkiller flew away from Kamino, he knew that he was far from free, but his emotions from Galen made him decide to find Juno.

Saving Rahm Kota
Starkiller realized that Rahm Kota would be helpful in finding Juno and went to rescue him from Cato Neimoidia. Because of the transponder in the ship he was using, the Imperial forces lead by the planet’s governor, Merillion Tarko, awaited him at the landing platform, expecting Vader. Starkiller came out in a ragged Imperial flight suit, immediately tipping Tarko off that something was up. The clone learned that Kota was being held in the arena in the city of Tarko-se, but Tarko asked Starkiller about the Imperial security codes for the sector. Starkiller was of course unable to answer and Tarko’s Stormtroopers attacked while the governor retreated. The clone was able to defeat them and fight his way through Tarko-se and reach the arena, where he found a tired Kota fighting inside. Starkiller approached him, saying he could sit this one out, and the Jedi was overjoyed to see “Galen” alive. As a rancor came out to fight, the clone was confident he could handle it, but the beast was suddenly devoured by a colossal Gorog released by Tarko. Kota left the arena to take care of Tarko, while Starkiller fought the Gorog, succeeding in using its restraints to pin its arms. He then drove his lightsaber into the beast’s head and the Gorog broke its restraints, flinging Starkiller away. As it angrily pursued the clone, it destroyed the arena’s supports and Starkiller let it, so as to let it would fall with the arena. He headed for Tarko’s executive box, meeting with Kato on the way, and confronted the governor. However the Gorog grabbed hold of the box to keep itself from falling. Tarko fell into the beast’s mouth while Kota ended up in its clutches and Starkiller jumped out after it as it fell. He attacked the Gorog repeatedly, finally smashing through its chest using the Force and making it let go of Kota. The Jedi then contacted the Rogue Shadow, which flew in under the command of autopilot and caught them before they landed. Starkiller immediately ran into the cockpit, expecting to see Juno there, but was wrong. Kota explained that since the Rebel fleet had been scattered, he didn’t know where she was. Starkiller got Kota to help him look for Juno and the Jedi gave him the coordinates of a meeting point for the Rebels in the Athega system. But when they arrived, they were caught in an Imperial ambush and had to retreat. Kota tried to convince Starkiller to join the Rebel Alliance to fight back against the Empire and when he tried to tell the Jedi he was a clone, Kota just said that it was impossible to clone Force-sensitives. He also grilled Starkiller for information about cloning facilities on Kamino so the Rebels could attack the planet. However the clone still didn’t believe he was the original Galen, thinking that Darth Vader had indeed discovered a method of cloning Force-sensitives using Kaminoan technology. Starkiller focused on finding Juno, refusing to give out any information, and said he needed to find a quiet place to meditate. Kota was angry that he wouldn’t commit to the Rebellion, since he was putting one person and his own problems above the galaxy. But the Jedi realized he couldn’t make Starkiller change his mind and just gave him the Rogue Shadow, saying it had always belonged to him, and demanded he be dropped off at the nearest spaceport.

Visions on Dagobah
After leaving Kota on Malastare, Starkiller set out, guided by his Force visions and hints Kota had dropped. His journey brought him to a number of planets, including Dac, finding the planet in chaos from rebel activity, and Kashyyyk, where he had a vision of Galen’s father, Kento Marek. Starkiller finally realized that everything he’d tried had just been counter productive and went with the only option he had left, heading to Dagobah. When Starkiller arrived, he sensed a strange Force signature that studied him back. He headed towards it and found the Dark Side Cave with Yoda outside, who the clone thought was its guardian. But the Jedi master replied that he was only a watcher and said that if Starkiller was looking for a part of himself, he’d find it inside the cave. The clone entered, suddenly finding himself clad in Jedi robes and wielding blue lightsabers. Inside Starkiller encountered clones of himself, entangled in vines, but managed to force his way past them. In the final chamber, he saw Darth Vader hiring Boba Fett to find him and Juno Eclipse being attacked on the bridge of a spaceship. When Starkiller emerged, Yoda told him to follow his visions and he headed to Malastare to find Kota. He tracked the Jedi to the workshop of Berkelium Shyre, a contact for the Rebels. Shyre, who had become romantically interested in Juno, recognized Starkiller as Galen the man she’d always talked about. When Kota went to meet up with his squad, the clone erased Shyre’s memories of him and the last meeting Shyre had had with Juno. Kota then introduced Starkiller to Ni-Ke-Vanz, the squad medic who had great knowledge in cloning. Vanz explained that cloning was not immortality and that a clone was a different person, only based on the biological structure of the template subject. Vanz also said that a clone of Force-sensitive would become mentally unstable and speculated that the Force was somehow responsible. Starkiller was unnerved upon hearing this, despite Kota insisting that proved he was not a clone. They then headed to Nordra to meet the Rebel fleet and on the trip, Kota gave him a pair of blue lightsaber crystals, which Starkiller put in his lightsabers.

Boarding the Salvation
Upon reaching Nordra, Starkiller and Kota docked on Juno’s ship, the Salvation, ahead of the Jedi’s squad. As they headed towards the bridge, Kota told him about the state of the Rebel Alliance. They were in a deadlock about a course of action, since they didn’t have the forces to deal with a major Imperial target and quick raids just wasted lives. Juno was calling for a more forceful attack, even if it only gave a symbolic victory. Starkiller gave Kota an encrypted code cylinder that had information on the cloning facilities in Timira City on Kamino, which was just what the Alliance needed to attack. However the cargo tram they were on suddenly stopped as the ship was attacked. Starkiller and Kota continued to the bridge, fighting through the Imperial forces as they went. When they arrived, they found the bridge in ruins with most of the people dead and Juno gone. Starkiller also came across PROXY, Galen’s training droid, who told them that Juno was likely taken to the Deck 7 docking bays. Kota remained on the bridge, while Starkiller went to rescue Juno, arriving at the hangar as Boba Fett was taking her aboard his ship. The clone tried to stop the ship with telekinesis, but he was attacked by a Terror Walker Droid and forced to let go. Starkiller managed to destroy it in the ship’s reactor and asked Kota to launch on attack on Kamino so he could save Juno. With his rage building, the clone found himself in a vision, standing victorious over Darth Vader. However as Starkiller prepared to strike down the Dark Lord, he was suddenly impaled from behind with a lightsaber. He saw that his killer was another clone of Galen Marek, this one devoted to the dark side. Darth Vader then threw Starkiller into the oceans of Kamino, before the vision ended.

Facing Vader
Starkiller returned to the hangar as the Rebels attacked Kamino and fought the Imperial forces boarding the Salvation. Kota and PROXY told the clone that the battle was going badly, since the Empire had been waiting for them and a deflector shield around Timira City prevented their forces from landing. Starkiller told Kota to have the ship abandoned, then he could crash in through the planetary shield and destroy the shield generator. The clone sent the Salvation crashing towards the planet, breaking through the shield and splitting the ship in half. One half hit the shield generator, while the half Starkiller was in almost hit the spire where Vader (and as the clone realized, Juno) was. Starkiller managed to use the Force to prevent the Salvation from hitting and briefly fell unconscious. During this time, he remembered Galen Marek’s mother, Mallie, and how she’d given her life to protect Galen and Kento from Trandoshan slavers. Starkiller finally awoke and focused on his current objective, getting the rebel forces into the city. He fought his way through the Imperial forces and rendezvoused with Kota and his squad. Starkiller managed to open the hangar doors of an Imperial command center and used a Y-wing piloted by Wedge Antilles to reach the cloning spires. As Starkiller headed through the spire, he was horrified upon seeing the cloning tanks contained more Galen clones. At one point, he came across the tank containing Subject 1157 and blasted it with a Force push, killing the clone inside. As Starkiller continued on, Kota tried to tell him to wait over comlink, but he didn’t listen. The clone was then attacked by Vader and fended him off, but experienced a violent vision before he could keep fighting, letting the Dark Lord disappear. Starkiller continued to be tormented by his unstable mind and was attacked two more times by Vader, before finally facing off against his former master. The Dark Lord demanded that Starkiller surrender to him or perish, but he just engaged Vader. The Sith Lord took a defensive strategy, fending the clone off while sending out training droids imitating various people from Galen’s past to fight. Starkiller managed to defeat them all, before finally fighting Vader himself, but it turned out this was just another holodroid. He finally found the real Dark Lord, but was also forced to face an army of twisted clones of Galen, proving that Vader had been truthful when he said he’d created other clones of his former apprentice. Starkiller sensed that all these clones were like him, possessing the same abilities, natural skill in the Force, and identity crisis he’d faced. As Starkiller fought the clones, he truly accepted that he too was a clone and he became more reluctant in his fight, thinking they too had a right to life. Finally, Starkiller killed all the clones with a powerful wave of telekinetic force, and asked Vader one question, “Why me?” The clone engaged his former master and as they fought, he realized that the Dark Lord was still testing him. Starkiller tried to keep his emotions in check as he fought and tried to take an opening, only to see a vision of himself holding a dead Juno in his arms and saying “I should’ve stayed here.” Confused for a moment, Starkiller was knocked away by Vader, who withdrew with the clone in hot pursuit. Eventually Starkiller caught up to the Dark Lord at the top of the tower and demanded to know where Juno was. Vader revealed that she was standing right behind him and put her in a telekinetic chokehold, threatening to kill her if Starkiller didn’t surrender. The clone dropped to his knees and Vader commanded him to kill Kota, complete his training in the Dark Side, then kill the Rebel leaders and if he failed, Juno would die. But as Vader was speaking, Juno took up one of Starkiller’s lightsabers and attacked him. The Dark Lord dodged and blasted her away with the Force, seemingly killing her. Enraged, Starkiller threw himself at Vader and as they fought, he realized that this had been what the Dark Lord had intended all along, kill Juno to make him fall to the Dark Side. Starkiller tried to reason with Vader, even suggesting that he join the Rebel Alliance to take down Palpatine. However the Dark Lord made it clear he didn’t want to associate himself with the Rebellion, attacking more ferociously. Vader told Starkiller to forget his “fake” feelings for Juno, saying she was nothing and only held him back. But the clone continued to attack, trying to reach Juno, only for Vader to stand between them, saying that Juno loved the dead Galen, not the clone. Starkiller finally managed to cut off Vader’s robotic right hand and engaged in a battle of Force powers, defeating the Dark Lord with a powerful wave of Force lightning. As Starkiller prepared to kill Vader, Kota and his squad arrived and the Jedi told him not to kill the Dark Lord. Kota wanted to take him prisoner and interrogate him, before officially sentencing him to execution, also pointing out that Vader was the only one who could really tell Starkiller if he was a clone. In the Dark Side ending, Starkiller attempted to kill Vader, but was suddenly stabbed through the chest from behind. As he fell to the ground, his assailant killed Kota and his men and Vader approached Starkiller, saying that he’d been lying about not perfecting the accelerated cloning process. His assailant removed his hood to reveal he was another clone, but this one had given in to the dark side. After looking at Juno’s body one last time, Starkiller died. In the Light Side ending (the canon ending), Starkiller spared Vader, rather than giving in to the dark side. He ran to Juno’s side as PROXY attempted and failed to revive her and apologized for doing so. Starkiller said it was his own fault for trying to find Juno, but as he held her in his arms, she awoke. As they kissed, Boba Fett was preparing to shoot the clone from afar, but chose not to out of sympathy. Vader was imprisoned on the Rogue Shadow to keep his location a secret with Kota supervising. The Jedi told Starkiller that Vader hadn’t said a thing during the process and the clone noted that he didn’t think the Dark Lord would say anything, having already been pushed beyond his breaking point. Starkiller then noticed PROXY carrying parts scavenged from the Sith Training Droids Starkiller destroyed and found him swapping components with them. The holodroid explained that he was trying to find new primary programming to replace his own, which had been erased long ago. Starkiller told PROXY to instead figure out a set of principles, before heading to the meditation chamber, where Vader was being held. Despite having a confident air in front of the Dark Lord, the clone was still confused and uncertain, but told Vader that since he’d let him live, he’d broken Vader’s hold over him. However Vader replied that as long as Juno lived, Starkiller would always be under his control as the clone left the room. Unbeknownst to Starkiller, as the Rogue Shadow left Kamino, they were followed by Boba Fett. Vader would eventually escape and Starkiller was advised to keep a low profile by Juno and Kota, not sure how the Rebel leaders react to him.

Personality
Starkiller inherited much of his personality from Galen Marek, though with some traits more dominant than others. He was at first was loyal and determined to prove his worth to Darth Vader and tried to use his harsh training to help him deal with the memories he got from Galen. Starkiller also accepted his identity as a clone and that he was meant to replace his template. However he was constantly haunted by the visions of Galen’s life and felt some self-doubt about his purpose. While Starkiller did inherit his template’s feelings for Juno Eclipse, he did not care at all about Galen’s allies in the Rebellion or dead parents. He continually insisted that he was not the same man as Galen and refused to be called by that name. Starkiller at first didn’t believe that there could be other clones of his template, thinking that there couldn’t be one that didn’t love Juno. But when Starkiller was faced by the other twisted clones, he realized that while he was superior to them, he was just another failure. This made him even more determined to hold on to his feelings for Juno, afraid that they were fake. Starkiller also felt extremely guilty for killing his fellow clones, having seen that they were having the same inner conflict as him. Starkiller also mainly utilized the power of the dark side, though his feelings for Juno let him resist it, but when her life was threatened, he proved willing to give himself over to it.

Abilities
Starkiller is a master of dual lightsaber combat and utilizes the forms of Ataru, an aggressive, fast-paced style, and Niman, a style that used one blade for offense and another for defense. Starkiller is also good at disarming opponents and improvising with other weapons, as well using brutal physical attacks when in a state known as Force rage, where he converts his negative emotions into anger to strengthen his abilities. Starkiller, like Galen, is a powerful natural with the Force and his skills have been refined thanks to Vader’s training and Galen’s memories. He can use powerful telekinesis, which lets him do things such as direct his lightsabers through the air and unleash powerful waves of force, which can even disintegrate foes. Starkiller can also unleash waves of Force lightning, as well as channel it into his lightsaber, and it can also disintegrate his enemies. Starkiller is able to use a unique version of the Mind trick, completely controlling his target’s mind, to the point he can make them attack their allies or even kill themselves. Starkiller can control up to three opponents at a time and when the effect wears off, they explode in a burst of Force energy.