The massive door hissed open, and Starkiller entered Darth Vader's sanctum, radiating a confidence that hid his fatigue. Despite the scars from his last battle, his steps echoed with determination in the cold metallic room. The apprentice looked up toward the large window, where the glow of the red sun bathed the scene in an ominous hue. However, something different adorned the horizon: an imperial fleet surrounded the flagship like predators on the prowl.
Darth Vader stood motionless before the window, his imposing and enigmatic figure like a shadow that defied the crimson light.
"The Emperor's fleet has arrived," Vader said in his deep, emotionless voice.
Starkiller felt a knot form in his throat, though he didn't allow doubt to show on his face. He stepped forward, passing his master, and placed a hand on the cold transparisteel of the window. His lips curled into a tense smile as his eyes analyzed the scene.
"I see you've called him," he said, his tone attempting to sound confident, though uncertainty gnawed at him inside. "When do we rebel?"
"I did not inform him," Vader replied, his tone expressionless, but carrying a weight that made Starkiller shudder inwardly.
The tension in the air became almost palpable. Before Starkiller could react, a familiar sound echoed through the room: the snap of a lightsaber activating. The red light of Vader's weapon illuminated the window, casting a flash that seemed to trap Starkiller in an eternal moment.
"His spies have followed you here," Vader declared.
The apprentice turned to face his master, his mouth about to protest. But before he could utter a word, he felt the burning edge of his master's saber pierce his back. The pain was indescribable, a fire consuming his body from within. His eyes widened as he saw the tip of the glowing blade protruding from his abdomen.
With a snap, Vader deactivated the saber, and Starkiller collapsed to his knees with a strangled gasp. The room seemed to shrink, and darkness began to invade his vision.
"Master... why?" he whispered, his voice broken by pain and disbelief.
The sound of footsteps interrupted the scene. Starkiller lifted his gaze with effort, and his heart sank further when he saw Palpatine enter the room. The figure of the Emperor moved slowly, his face contorted with anger and disdain, while his black cloak swirled with each step.
"You've forgotten your place, Lord Vader," Palpatine said, his tone severe yet hypnotic, as his gaze fixed on the wounded apprentice. "You took this boy as an apprentice and you have betrayed me."
A bony hand, more like a claw, emerged from the sleeve of his cloak. His voice became sharper, like the edge of a knife.
"If you don't kill him now, I will destroy both of you."
Starkiller tried to move, but the pain had him paralyzed. His gaze shifted from his master to the Emperor, searching for an escape, a response.
"No, Master," he gasped, with all the strength he had left. "Together we can defeat him!"
The Emperor let out a cold, cruel laugh.
"Do it now, Lord Vader," he commanded, his voice a whip of authority. "Kill him and show me your loyalty."
Vader stood motionless for a moment, as though considering both of their words. Starkiller looked at him desperately, searching that cold, mechanical mask for any trace of compassion, of the loyalty he thought he had forged with him. But he found nothing.
Suddenly, a wave of the Force slammed into him, pinning him against the window. The transparisteel cracked with a deafening sound but didn't break completely.
"Yes, Vader!" Palpatine shouted, a triumphant smile twisting his face. "Kill him! Kill him!"
Vader gripped him again with the Force, lifting him as though he were a broken puppet. For a brief moment, Starkiller thought his master was hesitating, that perhaps he had changed his mind. But then, with a violent movement, he hurled him against the window with devastating force. This time, the transparisteel shattered into a thousand pieces, and the vacuum of space claimed him.
The suction was immediate, pulling Starkiller into the infinite abyss. His last scream was lost in the icy silence of the void, but in those final moments, as the darkness enveloped him, his mind was filled with echoes from the past.
The voice of Quinlan Vos rang clearly in his mind:
"When the Sith no longer need you, they'll discard you like an old rag."
And then, like a fresh wound, the words of Oppo Rancisis returned with the same intensity:
"Maybe not for you... but your fate will catch up with you, apprentice. Your master will betray you, as all Sith do, and that will be the moment you wish you had listened to me."
The realization hit him harder than Vader's saber. He had been a tool, nothing more. His whole life, all his training, had been nothing but an illusion. Hatred and despair intertwined as the infinite cold wrapped around him.
But even in death, a spark of defiance remained within him. Vos and Rancisis' words were not only a reminder of his failure, but also a seed of something more. Not everything was over. It couldn't end like this.
As he fell into the darkness, a new promise arose in his mind: if he survived, he would use his fury and hatred to forge a new destiny, one that escaped the cycle of betrayal the Sith had created.
And above all, Darth Vader WOULD PAY!!
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Hello there!! Did I surprise you? Of course I did, nobody knew I liked Star Wars enough to do a fandic, isn't it? Well I hope you all like this first 5 chapters. Goodbye and see you all other time.