The Force Unleashed (2 page)

along to ruin her concentration. Combat drills weren't unknown on large Imperial

vessels, but she'd yet to see anyone on the secure deck-indeed, anyone anywhere on

the ship-apart from Lord Vader. Her appointment was still so recent, and so soon

after the catastrophe on Callos, that she felt compelled to treat any unexpected

development with caution.

Two weapons were in play, humming and clashing, and the harsh, almost percussive

sound was punctuated by noises of physical violence. Metal banged and crashed as

though a dozen troopers were throwing armor at one another. There were many fragile

components stored in the hangar, some of them actively dangerous if handled

carelessly, but a cry of anger stalled on her lips. There was something about the

sound of those weapons... something familiar that she couldn't quite place...

Putting down her welder, she disengaged the safety on her pistol and moved

stealthily out from under the ship. At first glance, the Rogue Shadow wasn't much to

look at: a twin-armed, long-bodied starship with the chassis of a small transport,

two solar gather panels on the starboard side, and a larger weapons pod to port.

That, however, was the point. A prototype intentionally designed to look common,

unremarkable, it was in fact a combat vessel possessing the fastest hyperdrive Juno

had ever worked with, plus a bona fide cloaking system. That, on top of first-rate

scanners and sensors, competitive sublight engines, and powerful deflector shields,

made the Rogue Shadow the most fascinating ship she'd flown.

Or would fly, if she survived her first day on the job.

"Your record impresses me, Captain Eclipse," Lord Vader had told her little more

than a week ago. Barely scrubbed after her return from Callos and still

shell-shocked from what had happened there with the Black Eight, she had felt none

of the pride she might ordinarily have taken. "Few pilots of your caliber also share

your dear sense of duty."

"Thank you, Lord Vader."

"I have a new assignment for you. Some would consider it a reward, were they to

learn of it. They will not. Is that understood?"

Although she didn't yet understand, not remotely, she had nodded. Darth Vader had

given her directions to the flagship's hidden level and described the vessel that

she would find there, which would be hers to pilot.

"You will be working with an agent of mine operating under the call sign Starkiller.

He will make himself known to you shortly. I am placing a considerable amount of

trust in you, Captain. Be sure you don't give me reason to doubt it. The price for

failure has never been higher."

"I do understand, Lord Vader." To forestall his dismissing her, for he seemed about

to, she asked, "But what is our assignment, sir? You have yet to explain."

"That will become clear." The masked figure had already turned away. She knew the

conversation was over.

An obedient Imperial officer, Juno had done as she was told and gone to see her new

command. The ship had impressed her, requiring only a small amount of tinkering to

make it function at its full potential. But now this strange clamor, this rowdy duel

had taken over the hangar and, by the sound of it, threatened to spill out of Lord

Vader's secret spaces and into the wider ship.

Creeping around a cryo cylinder taller than she was, Juno finally caught sight of

the combatants. Her blue eyes widened in surprise.

What struck her first were the weapons: glowing swords of a type she had seen only

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once before, on an old, forbidden holo her father had found in the depths of their

new home's database. He had shown it to her before erasing it with a snarl.

"Murderers," he had declared of the figures she'd glimpsed: brown-robed men and

women of various species, fighting droids with shining swords of pure light.

"Traitors, all of them."

"What did they do?" She had been younger then, not yet fully cognizant of the

frustration and resentment her father kept bottled up inside him. It only fully

manifested when she gave it reason, and it was only ever directed at her.

"What did they do?" He turned on her, tone harsh and disparaging. "The Jedi filth

betrayed Palpatine-that's all they did. What rubbish do your teachers fill your head

with if you don't even know that?"

The memory of his mockery still stung. Juno forced herself to put it aside while she

assessed what was happening before her. Two men-one bearded and solemn, the other

much the same age as her, stubble-haired and thin as a whip-were dueling with

weapons identical to those of the hated Jedi. One blade was so bright and blue, it

burned almost white. Its counterpart was red and just as deadly. When they clashed,

sparks flew in all directions. The men leapt and tumbled with inhuman agility. When

they gestured, metal walls buckled and engine parts flew like missiles.

She didn't dare make a sound. Every muscle was frozen as she crouched in the

shadows, filled with a mixture of fear and awe. In all her years of service to the

Empire, she had never seen anything like it. Heard rumors, yes-of Lord Vader's

arcane powers and of the cylindrical hilt that hung at his side-but seen nothing. It

had been easy to dismiss the rumors as scaremongering and propaganda disseminated to

instill fear and encourage loyalty. She had never needed to be threatened into

service, so she had happily ignored them.

Now she was wishing she had paid closer attention.

Things became stranger still when the younger of the combatants, with a look of wild

satisfaction, rammed his crimson lightsaber through the chest of his opponent.

Defeated, the older man dropped to his knees, a look of shock spreading across his

face.

That expression was shared by Juno when the form of the older man began to spark and

flicker like a hologram-which, she realized an instant later, was exactly what he

was. Arms, legs, torso, and face sputtered and dissolved, revealing the bipedal form

of a droid beneath. He stirred and fell forward with a clatter of metal on metal.

"Ah, master. Another excellent duel." The droid's words were muffled until the young

man who had "killed" him rolled him over onto his back.

"You caught me by surprise, PROXY," the man said with an easy affection that belied

his former ferocity. "I haven't fought that training program in years. I assumed

you'd erased it."

The droid struggled to stand, but succeeded only in losing his balance and almost

falling again. His owner caught him in time and helped him straighten.

"Easy, PROXY. You're malfunctioning."

"It's my fault, master," the droid said with an electronic sigh, looking down at the

smoking hole in his chest. "I had hoped that using an older training module would

catch you off guard and allow me to finally kill you. I'm sorry I failed you again."

A concerned smile flickered across the young man's face. "I'm sure you'll keep

trying."

"Of course, master. It is my primary programming."

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Droid and master began moving through the maze of debris across the hangar. Juno

remembered herself in time. Before they could see her, she ducked down behind cover

and hurried back to the ship. Their voices were growing louder as they approached.

She frantically reholstered the pistol and reached for her welder.

"Well, you won't be ambushing me again until we get your central stabilizer

replaced-and that could take weeks, this far from the Core..."

She didn't look up as the odd pair rounded the cryo cylinder she had been crouching

behind just seconds before, but she could feel the young man staring at her and hear

in his sudden silence the double take he had performed. She kept her head down,

hiding a flush of embarrassment-and a small amount of fear. What this unknown person

might do if he found out that she'd been spying on him, she didn't know.

A faint patter of footsteps told her that he and the droid had pulled back out of

sight. She fought to make out a furious exchange of whispers.

"PROXY, who is that?"

"Ah, yes. Your new pilot has finally arrived, master."

"But who is she?"

"Accessing Imperial records..."

There was a moment of silence during which she told herself not to be so curious.

That only ever got her into trouble.

But then she heard her own voice speaking in the hangar and her temper got the

better of her.

"Captain Juno Eclipse," said the holodroid in Juno's clipped tones. "Born on

Corulag, where she became the youngest student ever accepted into the Imperial

Academy. Decorated combat pilot with over one hundred combat missions and commanding

officer during the Bombing of Callos. Handpicked by Lord Vader to lead his Black

Eight Squadron, but later reassigned to a top-secret project..."

She stormed around the cryo cylinder and caught the strange sight of herself

standing directly in front of her-an exact doppelganger supported by the man whom

she now realized was Darth Vader's agent, the so-called Starkiller. Her face burned

at the indignity and the invasion of her privacy.

"Is there a psychological profile in there, too?" she asked.

Young man and droid stared back at her. With a look of barely concealed

embarrassment, Starkiller let go of the droid and stepped away. The droid, PROXY,

wobbled on his feet, and then snapped to attention in a fair imitation of

her-complete with neat blond hair, regulation uniform, tricolored insignia, and a

smudge of grease just forming on her cheek as the droid updated his image files.

"Actually, yes," the machine told her, "but it's restricted." To Starkiller as an

aside he added, "Master, I can tell you that she's going to be impossible to

reprogram."

Juno suppressed an urge to take the welding tool and ram an other hole through the

droid's perforated chest. Coming face-to-face with herself was a disconcerting

development, one for which she had been completely unprepared.

The young man gestured. The droid dropped his simulation of her and went back to

being just a droid.

"You know why you're here?" Starkiller asked her.

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Remembering herself, she lowered the welder and took a deep breath.

"Lord Vader gave me my orders himself," she said. "I am to keep your ship running

and fly you wherever your missions require."

Starkiller seemed neither pleased nor displeased. "PROXY," he instructed the droid,

"get the Rogue Shadow ready to launch."

The damaged machine stumbled off to do his bidding, while Juno and his master

followed at a more sedate pace.

"Did Lord Vader tell you that he killed our last pilot?"

Juno studied him as closely as he was obviously studying her. He was dressed in a

worn black combat uniform that looked as though it had been mended many times. His

arms and hands were a mess of scar tissue. "No. But I can only assume he or she gave

Lord Vader good cause to do so." She paused, then added, "I will not."

"We'll see. I'm sick of training new pilots." His eyes slid past her to where she

had been working on the Rogue Shadow. His brows crinkled on seeing the new panels

she had welded into place. "What's this? What have you done to my ship?"

Suddenly self-conscious, Juno wiped the smudges from her cheek. "I have taken the

liberty of upgrading the Rogue Shadow's sensor array. Now you will be able to spy on

any suspect ships across an entire system." She waited for some sign of approval,

but he only nodded. Her pride slightly stung, she said, "I assume that's part of

your mission profile. You can only be one of Darth Vader's spies. Your ship has the

most amazing long-range scanners and a cloaking device..."

"You don't need to know anything about my missions except where I'm going."

"Where are we going?"

"To Nar Shaddaa. Can you handle that?"

"Of course." She bit her lip on an angry retort and brushed past him to the ramp

leading into the ship.

In the cockpit she found the droid fiddling ineptly at the controls. "Leave that

alone," she snapped. "I'll do it."

"Yes, Captain Eclipse."

The droid backed away with a series of creaks and sparks from his damaged midriff.

Only then did she remember his strange remark to his master-about ambushing and

killing him-and wondered if she shouldn't perhaps have been more polite.

The Rogue Shadow's sublight engines surged with smooth acceleration as its new pilot

deftly manipulated the controls. The apprentice watched her closely as she worked,

assessing her qualifications as well as her other qualities. Of the pilots he had

worked with so far, none had been women. She was barely his age and very beautiful

with it, but in the pilot's seat she was a consummate professional. Confident and

precise, she moved as though she had been born in a cockpit.

Once he was certain that he and PROXY were in safe hands, he turned his attention to

the details of his mission.

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"PROXY, give me the target."

The droid who had been his sole continuous companion for most of his life was