 | |
|---|---|
| Galen Marek | |
| Biographical Information | |
| Born | 22 BBY, Kashyyyk |
| Died | 2 BBY, Death Star I |
| Physical Description | |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Chronological and Political Information | |
| Era | Rise of the Empire Era |
| Affiliation | |
| Known Masters | |
"I can sense your future... and Vader won't always be your Master." - Rahm Kota
Galen Marek (codename: Starkiller) was Darth Vader’s Secret Apprentice during the reign of the Empire. Upon being betrayed by Vader he sought his own path and became a Jedi. He is one of the driving factors in the assembly of the Rebellion and his family
crest was adopted as the Rebellion’s symbol.
Discovery on Kashyyyk
Darth Vader and the 501st Legion (renamed “Vader’s Fist”) launched an invasion of Kashyyyk to quell the rebellious Wookie population. The Wookies were harbouring some Jedi, one of which was Kento Marek who Vader duelled. Before striking the killing blow to Kento, Vader lightsaber was whisked from his hand by the Force. It was Kento’s young son Galen who was unusually strong in the force for a young child. Seeing his potential, Vader chose to spare his life, adopting him as an apprentice.
Hunting Jedi As Vader’s Apprentice
Vader put Starkiller through brutal training, bordering on torture. He emerged as a capable lightsaber combatant and Force user. His initial tasks were to hunt down remaining Jedi who had escaped order 66. Notable among his targets was his first, Rahm Kota, a general who with his militia had hijacked a TIE Fighter construction facility over Nar Shadaa. Kota underestimated Starkiller as being a mere “boy” and lost as a result. After that, Starkiller eliminated both Kazdan Paratus on Raxus Prime and Shaak Ti on Felucia, the latter of which had been a Jedi Council member. He seemingly had proved himself to Vader that he was ready for the two of them to face the Emperor. However, after killing a score of Jedi on several different planets, he was betrayed by Vader who struck his apprentice down in front of the Emperor.
Assembling the Rebel Leaders
After the proving his loyalty to the Emperor, Vader then turned and secretly has Starkiller Marek revived. He told Starkiller that his new task would be to round up the Emperor’s enemies and use their military capital to mount a coup against the Emperor. However, this new task was also a ruse, and upon Starkiller assembling these leaders on Corellia, Starkiller was once again betrayed by Vader. Vader intention was to root out the Emperor’s enemies, get them in one place and capture them. This confirmed Starkiller’s doubts that Vader had really intended to team up with him to take down Palpatine. Vader even admitted to Starkiller that it was “never meant to be him.” (this is most likely an allusion to Luke Skywalker – or Vader’s long-held suspicion that an offspring of his did exist somewhere in the Galaxy, as mentioned in Empire Strikes Back)
Rescuing the Rebel Leaders on the Death Star
Vader then brought these leaders to the still-under-construction Death Star where the Emperor would personally execute them. Starkiller launched a daring rescue mission where he ploughed his way through the Death Star and its imperial forces. He defeated Vader in combat and even nearly defeated the Emperor, whoever he sacrificed his life to save the Rebel leaders, and thus the Rebellion. The newly formed Rebel alliance adopted Galen Marek’s family crest as the Rebellion’s symbol to honour his sacrifice.
Weapons
Galen’s primary weapon is his explosive Force powers which he uses for destructive purposes. His mastery of Force Lightning as well as his ability to harness it in explosive balls of energy is notable for a Force user of his age. This can be attributable to Darth Vader’s rigorous training. Like his Master, Galen will resort to using Force Choke to coax information out of individuals he wishes to get information from.
Under Vader’s tutelage he used a red bladed lightsaber, but upon Kota’s instruction switched to one of the Jedi colours, either Blue, Green, or Purple. (due to the customization nature of the video game, his blade could have been any of these colours, but the graphic Novel rendition of TFU depicts Galen using a Blue blade)