Imperial scouts locate a Jedi named Kento Marek hiding on Kashyyyk. Darth Vader kills him but senses someone far stronger nearby: Kento's son Galen, a child with an extraordinary Force connection. Vader takes the boy secretly as his apprentice. Years later, the adult "Starkiller" is deployed to eliminate Jedi survivors across the galaxy. Three of his targets — Rahm Kota, Kazdan Paratus, and Shaak Ti — each suggest Starkiller's destiny lies elsewhere before he finishes them. The Emperor then discovers the arrangement. To prove his loyalty, Vader apparently kills his own apprentice and sends him into space. Starkiller does not stay dead. When Vader contacts him again and proposes they work together to assassinate the Emperor, Starkiller begins to understand that the question is not who to serve — but whether both of them deserve what he does next.