Galen Marek

Galen Marek, also known as Starkiller, is the main protagonist in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II.

History
Galen Marek was taken as a secret apprentice by Darth Vader from his father, a Jedi named Kento Marek, on Kashyyyk during the Great Jedi Purge. For years, the Dark Lord trained him, under the codename Starkiller, in the Dark Side and to eliminate his enemies, including Jedi who survived Order 66. Starkiller was told that he would ultimately assist in overthrowing Vader's own Master, Darth Sidious, Emperor of the Galactic Empire. In reality, Vader and Palpatine only planned to use him to root out those who rebelled against the Empire. In 3 BBY he had begun his missions to hunt down the last remaining Jedi.

Galen Marek is a powerful Force wielder. While it seems as if he is far more powerful than even the Emperor and Darth Vader combined, he is actually not. Vader's training allows him to use his abilities to their best, and with the combination of his naturally strong connection to the Force, he is able to outsmart nearly any opponent he faces.

After killing Shaak Ti on Felucia, he returned to the Executor, his Master's flagship, on which Darth Sidious appeared and ordered Vader to kill the apprentice. In apparent submission, Vader telekinetically hurled him through the viewing windows, into open space. Vader secretly recovered his body and had him "resurrected" six months later on the science vessel Empirical, during which time he was known as Subject Zeta. The Dark Lord convinced Galen that he had saved him from death against his Master's orders, and gave him a new assignment: to rally an alliance of Rebels who would eventually destroy the Empire.

After locating key figures, Marek and the rebels met on Corellia where they formed the Corellian Treaty, an accord that created the Alliance to Restore the Republic. However, Vader, along with Imperial forces, captured the droid proxy, and revealed to Marek that he had only been used to rally the Empire's enemies. Marek tracked the Dark Lord and Proxy to the Death Star, a massive superweapon, on which he dueled both Vader and Sidious. Once his ship landed to extract proxy, Marek stayed behind to keep Palpatine from getting the information, allowing Rahm and Juno to escape. His act of sacrifice inspired them, and the new Alliance would ultimately prove to be the undoing of the Sith. Starkiller was called by Darth Vader to hunt down Rahm Kota, defeat him, and give Vader his lightsaber. The apprentice had to defeat Stormtroopers and Kota's Militia before facing him. Starkiller finally engaged the Jedi in a duel in the station's command center, Kota was a difficult foe of the aspiring Sith. Near the end of the duel Kota stated that he could see the apprentice's future and that Kota was a part of it and at that moment Galen forced Kota's lightsaber down into his own eyes and used the force to throw the Jedi out of the station's viewport.

After defeating Kota, The apprentice returned to Darth Vader and gave him the Jedi Master's lightsaber, Vader turned and launched an attack on the surprised apprentice and berated him for being caught off guard. Vader sent the young man to the Jedi Temple in order to improve his focus by having him undergo the Jedi Trails of Knighthood. Starkiller fought his way through the Temple vanguard and faced down the hologram of a long dead Dark Lord of The Sith called Darth Desolous. Galen was hit by force lightning by the specter but emerged victorious after defeating the specter and using the force to bring a statue down on top of the long-dead Sith Lord. Starkiller was sent to the junk world of Raxus Prime to hunt down the Jedi Temple's former chief engineer Kazdan Paratus. Paratus had gone insane with guilt during the years since the fall of the Jedi and had built a Jedi Temple made out of junk on Raxus Prime. After fighting his way through Rodians and an army of droids Paratus was holding together with the force, Galen engaged the Jedi Master in the "council chamber" of the Junk Temple. After smashing the droid council members Paratus tried to use to attack him, Galen killed the insane Jedi. As he lay dying Paratus muttered " I'm sorry Masters. I failed you again" and a large beam of light emerged from the now-dead Jedi.Galen once again contacted Vader with news of his victory, and believed that he was ready to face the Emperor. However, Vader countered that the boy had only defeated "an old man" and "an outcast", and commanded him to return to the Jedi Temple to participate in more of the trials. Upon arrival in the Rogue Shadow, he again met with and eliminated Imperial on-duty resistance at the Temple's entrance.

Inside the Temple, he encountered a specter of another ancient Sith Lord, Darth Phobos. The simulacrum, through a Force illusion, attacked him and probed for weakness in his mind. During their duel, Phobos frequently changed her appearance to one of the few people Starkiller cared for, Captain Juno Eclipse, hoping to cause hesitation and doubt in his actions. However, the aspiring Sith was not fooled for a moment, and stabbed Phobos in the back as she transformed for the last time, ending the program. Afterwards, Vader appeared through PROXY, expressed his approval for Starkiller's success, and informed him of his next target: Shaak Ti, one of the last of the Jedi Council on Felucia.Upon reaching Felucia, Starkilller noticed Captain Eclipse's uneasiness. After questioning her about it, he learned that the planet reminded her of Callos. Like Felucia, Callos had been a world overgrown and teeming with life, until it had been razed during the Bombing of Callos, during which Eclipse had led the Imperial forces. Galen assured her that she had done the right thing by following orders.

Meanwhile, unfortunately for him, the Rogue Shadow had been spotted by Shaak Ti, who mobilized her army of Felucians and sent her apprentice, Maris Brood, to hide at the Rancor Graveyard. As the Felucians were Force-sensitive, and their bone swords were resistant to lightsabers, they proved to be tougher opponents for Starkiller than the stormtroopers, militia, and droids he had previously faced, though their skill still did not exceed his.

In addition, they appeared to be more organized and powerful than Imperial records indicated. The entire planet was alive through the Force, once balanced between light and dark, Shaak Ti had stifled the dark, herself a shining beacon that the apprentice easily tracked in the Force. Killing the Jedi Master would undo her efforts on Felucia.

Starkiller dueling Shaak Ti at the Ancient Abyss.After fighting his way through Felucians and rancors, Galen finally encountered the Jedi Master at the Ancient Abyss; a place of sacrifice for the Felucians, and in reality the only known Mega Sarlacc pit. As he approached her, Shaak Ti appeared to be in deep meditation. Thinking it to only be a facade, Galen ripped a mushroom out of the sarlacc's skin and threw it towards her head, which she deflected telekinetically, barely moving. He then attempted to influence the sarlacc's mind so that it would attack the Jedi, but his attempts proved futile as she assisted it in its resistance. Activating her lightsaber, she leapt toward him, striking downward. The apprentice backflipped and blocked the opening blow, while the force of it surprised him. With that, the duel had begun.

Their duel spanned the length of the pit with both combatants nearing their limits. During the fight, the Jedi told him that light and dark were only directions, before striking three blows, the third of which Galen telekinetically stopped the tip just before it would have pierced his eye, while at the same time stabbing her through the torso. In pain, she released her lightsaber and uttered a fateful prophecy that Galen would eventually learn that the Sith always betrayed one another, before falling into the sarlacc's maw with pity in her eyes. As she began her plummet, Galen, halfheartedly tried to catch her, but failed and was knocked backwards by an explosion of Force energy. The remaining Felucians appeared to lose interest in the apprentice and returned to the jungle. Starkiller's actions would have far-reaching consequences as, with the death of Shaak Ti, Felucia would descend into darkness. PROXY would later remark that he was unsure whether, by reaching for the Jedi as she fell into the pit, he wanted to finish her himself, or because he sensed truth in her words.

Starkiller contacts and tells Vader of Shaak Ti's death. Vader told him that he is ready for his mission (to kill the Emperor)and to return to the Executor. The apprentice travels to Vader's ship and waits for his target along with his master. The Emperor's fleet arrives. Believing that Vader had lured Sidious to them, but Vader revealed that he did not summon him. PROXY (in the form of the Emperor) enters the room. Starkiller is then impaled by his Master, the very man who raised him, as Vader angrily stated that the Emperor's spies had followed him there (from Raxus Prime). Darth Sidious commanded Vader to finish off his apprentice and prove his loyalty. Despite Starkiller's pleadings, Vader turned on him, telekinetically ravaging him around the command bridge before finally hurling him through the viewport windows into space. While his body lifelessly drifted through space, a lone cargo droid swiveled by, picked him up and took him to a hidden location.

Approximately six months later, Starkiller awoke once more. As it turned out, Vader had rescued him, sending out a droid to recover his body, and brought him to be rebuilt on Vader's personal science vessel, the Empirical. Vader, through PROXY, told his apprentice his new objective: to distract the Emperor's spies following Vader by giving them something else to focus on, like a rebellion. Galen was given a new role, no longer appearing as Vader's assassin, but instead as a Rebel hero. In addition to healing his many scars, Vader also gave his apprentice Kota's old green-bladed lightsaber to replace his, which had been lost when he was thrown out the view port. PROXY then warned Galen that they needed to escape quickly as his orders from Lord Vader were to fly the ship into a sun to destroy all evidence of Starkiller's existence. Right before reaching the lift to the Rogue Shadow, Galen found Juno held captive and freed her, bringing her along onboard the Rogue Shadow. There she told Galen that Vader had branded her a traitor to the Empire. Taking the first step into his mission from Vader, Galen told her he didn't care, that he was leaving the Empire for good.

After escaping from the Empire, the apprenctice felt compelled by the Force to return to the Temple a final time to finish the Jedi trials. He infiltrated the Temple and made his way to the lobby of the High Council Tower and entered the ancient turbolift that would transport him to the summit chamber. When the turbolift stopped and emptied into the Council Chambers, Galen gazed upon his next adversary; a robed Jedi, yet another opponent selected from the Trials program’s memory bank. Galen began to hurl the Council chairs around the room, pulling the columns from the wall and slashing with his lightsaber. Lifting his opponent with the Force, Galen tossed the phantom Jedi towards the high windows of the chamber, shattering them. Only a computer program maintained by the Archives, the "Jedi" could not exist outside the building and thus was not so easily defeated. Using the Force and other techniques to subdue the Jedi phantom, Galen eventually pulled the Trials’ ghost down and impaled him with his saber. Before the program cut out, the Jedi revealed itself to be Kento Marek, Galen’s father. Shocked by this revelation, Galen watched in horror as his father’s image faded away. Leaving the ruined Chambers of the High Council, Galen made his way out of the Temple for the last time, on a personal mission to find Rahm Kota.

Galen, PROXY, and Juno began planning the creation of a Rebel Alliance. Galen recalled Rahm Kota's words, that he would be in the assassin's future. The three of them decided to seek out Kota for help in forming the alliance, tracking him down in a bar on Nar Shadaada. Following a trail of rumors about a drunken Jedi, they learned that one of the Empire's most dangerous agents was also after Kota. Moving to find Kota quickly, Galen found himself tangled with local bar patrons and compelled to subdue them. After Galen met up with the blind Jedi, who appeared not to sense who he was, the two fled the bar when they were assaulted by more ruffians and also a squadron of Imperial stormtroopers led by one of the Emperor's Shadow Guard. They managed to escape aboard the Rogue Shadow after wiping out more ruffians and the Imperial squadron, freezing the guardsmen with carbonite gas.



Kota became a valuable comrade to Galen. Kota, blinded and supposedly without his connection to the Force, told the group that he had a contact in the senate who could help with their rebellion. Pursuant of this contact, but maintaining the contact's anonymity, he directed the group to Kashyyyk. Upon arriving, the group found that a large skyhook had been constructed in orbit.

Setting down according to Kota's directions, Galen eventually reached a hut that felt strangely familiar. Despite Kota's warnings, he entered the hut. He was then visited by the Force Ghost of Kento Marek, his father who was slain by Vader. Then he envisioned a masked Sith Lord covered in metal spikes dueling a Jedi Knight. After stabbing the Jedi repeatedly with the various sabers attached to his belt, he took the Jedi's own lightsaber and struck him down. When the vision passed, he was left in confusion. His father apologized to him, saying that he never wanted his son's life to end up the way it was, revealing his true name: Galen Marek. When this last vision ended, he found the blue lightsaber crystal that had once belonged to his father. Upon emerging from the hut, Galen fought his way through the Imperial forces stationed on the planet surface, and eventually met Bail Organa's "daughter", Princess Leia, held captive by Imperials. Initially believing Galen was there to assassinate her, Leia was quickly convinced otherwise when she heard Kota was with him. However, when Galen attempted to get her to leave with him, she refused to go, demanding that if he was truly a Jedi then he would destroy the skyhook used to transport Wookiee slaves offworld. Should he destroy the moorings anchoring the skyhook to the planet, she would leave. Galen reluctantly agreed and set off into the forest once again. After fighting through heavy Imperial resistance with the help of several freed Wookiees, Galen eventually reached the base of the skyhook, guarded by Captain Ozzik Sturn piloting his personalized AT-KT. After dealing with Sturn and his Imperial troops, Galen used the Force to rip out the moorings of the skyhook and caused its collapse before returning to the Rogue Shadow amidst Wookiee celebration.

Back onboard the Rogue Shadow, Galen questioned Kota, demanding to know where Bail was. Kota told him that Bail had originally asked himself to rescue Leia, but he refused, so Bail went to Felucia to seek out Shaak Ti, not knowing she had been killed.

Galen and the group went to Felucia to track down the Alderaanian senator. Once they reached the planet, Galen saw a difference in the world now devoid of Shaak Ti's influence. The planet seemed even more hostile than during his first visit, with the native Felucians corrupted by the dark side, and even the plants attempting to kill him. In addition Imperial troops were clashing with the natives throughout the jungle, forcing Galen to fight against both sides to continue. After searching the familiar sites of his previous visit in vain, he followed a dark side Force-signature he detected along another treacherous journey which led him through the gullet of the Sarlacc before being ejected into a rancor graveyard where he found the imprisoned Senator Organa. Maris Brood, Shaak Ti's apprentice, had turned to the dark side, in step with the rest of the planet, and was holding Bail prisoner in hopes of trading the Senator for lenience from Vader. After slaying her pet Bull Rancor, Galen quickly subdued and defeated Maris Brood. She begged for mercy saying that when Shaak Ti was killed, the planet and all its inhabitants were corrupted. Galen let her go despite the protests of the rescued Bail Organa and she disappeared with a wink into the jungle.

Bail told the group that there had been talks of rebellion among other senators, but no one had begun anything because they needed to be shown that the Empire was weak and vulnerable. Galen said he would meditate on a target to attack to rally the needed support. In reality, aboard the Rogue Shadow, he communicated with Darth Vader through PROXY. Vader directed him to attack an Imperial shipyard above Raxus Prime. Juno inadvertently walked in on the transmission, and immediately after it ended she confronted Galen about it. She challenged him, demanding he make a decision over whether he would continue as Vader's slave or actually help them with the pending rebellion. This encounter with her led him to some serious introspection, not unlike the ways of a Jedi.

During the journey back to Raxus Prime, Galen contemplated his new found origins along with his destiny. Ruminating over his identity, he replaced one of the green crystals of Kota's lightsaber with the blue crystal he had found on Kashyyyk, changing the saber's hue from green to aqua, and making it his own. On Raxus Prime, Galen fought his way through the local Imperial troops as well as a trap set by Drexl Roosh and reached an ore cannon that was being used to launch metallic refuse into space for use by the Imperial shipyard. Galen reprogrammed the cannon to fire directly at the shipyard instead, utterly obliterating the facility. Unfortunately for Galen, it also damaged a nearly completed Star Destroyer causing it to give in to the planet's gravity. As it careened out of orbit and closed in on Galen, Kota told him to use the Force to crash it into the ore cannon. Galen succeeded, incredibly surviving the crash and the ensuing destruction.

Meanwhile, unfortunately for the crew of the Rogue Shadow, Raxus Prime's core, a super intelligent computer, had corrupted PROXY while the droid had been slicing into it. PROXY knocked out Juno, locked the ship's launch codes and took off for the core's mainframe. Upon contacting the ship and learning what had transpired, Galen vigilantly pursued his friend. After a fierce duel with innumerable droids, the Core, and PROXY in the guise of Darth Maul, Galen successfully defeated the core and recovered the droid. However, PROXY insisted Galen leave him behind as the core had deleted his primary programming. Galen refused to leave his childhood friend behind and brought him back to the Rogue Shadow.

In order to build the Rebellion further, Kota directed Galen to Cloud City in search of another powerful ally, Senator Garm Bel Iblis. With his military resources, along with Bail Organa's financial resources, there would be sufficient support for the creation of the desired resistance against the Galactic Empire's rule. However, upon reaching the Cloud City, Galen discovered that Bel Iblis was captured by a criminal, Chop'aa Notimo. Fighting his way through bounty hunters and mercenaries, he reached Notimo and defeated and killed him. He freed Garm, who told Galen that he would join the Rebellion.

Galen Marek and the founders of the Rebellion and The destruction of the shipyard worked to prove to Senators Iblis and Mon Mothma that the Empire could be defeated. Bail Organa and the other senators met with Galen and Rahm Kota at an ancient monastery in the mountains of Corellia to officially create the Alliance. While Bail's expansive wealth would fund the rebellion, Garm Bel Iblis would provide their starships while Mon Mothma would support their soldiers. Bail also stated, with much dignified veneration, that with Galen as the rebellion's leader, The power of The Force on there side.

The Emperor ordered Vader to capture and gather up all of his enemies to be brought in for personal execution. Vader then told Galen that he never planned on killing Palpatine with Galen and hurled a heavy table at him, knocking him out of the building and over the side of a cliff. As Vader prepared to finish his former apprentice, Galen was gone.

After the Imperials left, Juno searched for Galen, found that he had miraculously survived the fall and brought him onboard the Rogue Shadow. She asked, if Vader never planned to kill Palpatine with Galen, why he let them destroy Imperial targets. Then the truth suddenly hit Galen that everything was set in order to sell the deception, that all, including himself, had been disposable tools for Vader to accomplish his own ends and those of his master. When Juno inquired about their next destination, Galen replied, "We're going after Vader…and Proxy." Galen Marek was reformed, the makings of a Jedi, like his father before him.

Galen meditated to find his former master's location and, finally achieving the power of foresight, discovered the Death Star I under construction in the Horuz system. After Juno expertly piloted the Rogue Shadow, utilizing the cloaking system to get close enough to board, Galen bid Juno farewell, both knowing they would probably never meet again. The two embraced, and Juno left him with a passionate kiss. He then leaped from the gangway and fell down a long tunnel into the station. Galen slaughtered all Imperials who crossed his path, desperately focused on reaching the Emperor, even inciting a revolt by freeing Wookiee slaves, who then guided him in the right direction. Palpatine sensed his presence and sent Darth Vader to pursue him, not more than a hundred meters from Palpatine and Proxy. Galen engaged Darth Vader in a massive lightsaber duel, confronting Vader between blows about the truth of his past. He came to the conclusion that it was Palpatine pulling the strings all along; that he ordered the death of his father, that he ordered Galen to be raised in darkness, by Vader, a slave to the emperor's will. The duel ended with Galen using the Force to throw columns, support beams, and anything he could find at Vader. After defeating his former master, leaving him near death, Galen felt strong impressions of destroying Vader, and eventually also of serving Palpatine as the emperor's new apprentice. Palpatine telekinetically summoned Galen to strike down Darth Vader, and take the Dark Lord's place. Sensing Palpatine's tactic, Kota defiantly used the Force to snatch Palpatine's lightsaber, dispatched the Imperial Guards who held him and the other rebels prisoner, and then assaulted the Emperor. Palpatine, turning to bear down on Kota, began electrocuting him with Sith lightning. Galen struggled internally for a moment, but, deciding to protect his friend and mentor, intervened at last. They began an intense force duel. Galen finally prevailed when he threw Palpatine around his throne room and forced him too his knees. As Galen approached Palpatine to finish him, the Emperor goaded him to give in to his hatred and pursue his Sith destiny by destroying him. With Kota's urging, however, Galen resisted the seduction back to the Sith way and spared the Emperor's life. As Galen turned to leave, Palpatine leapt to his feet and again attacked Kota with Sith lightning for speaking out. Galen, in response, dove in front of his friend and deflected what he could. The Emperor's lightning was so intense it felt like a "star igniting" within Marek's chest. Meanwhile, Darth Vader returned to the battle leading a squadron of stormtroopers. With lightning illuminating the entire room, Galen, seeing his friends in trouble, opened his body to the Force and released everything he had within him. This resulted in an explosive blast that shredded the stormtroopers and all but destroyed the Emperor's tower, allowing Juno, Kota, and Proxy to escape aboard the Rogue Shadow. The explosion combined with Palpatine's Sith lightning culminated in the end of Galen's life, though it failed to kill Palpatine, who emerged from the explosion relatively unharmed, along with Vader, crippled in his battle-torn armor. Despite this, however, Galen had thwarted the Emperor's plans and died a hero.