Chapter Text
1 BBY
Courscant - Sector 5
A few renegade Stormtroopers raid a fuel depot to steal some coaxium to sell to the highest bidder. They thought it would be an easy hijack after all, the Corporate Republic was dominated by the Star Conglomerate, which was just getting off its feet, just as they were going to enter by blasting the durasteel door down.
Just then thud!
The frightened Stormtroopers began to back away. One of them asked, "What the Kriff was that? I thought our intel said no one was here, right?" Before they could start finger-pointing, a man arrived with blonde hair, blue eyes, and wearing beskar armor that had the corporate Republic's esigna on it.
"Hello fellas, what do you think you are doing here in this refinery? Don't you know you can't take what is yours? Well, it seems Sextus will need to teach you, criminals, a lesson," the blonde man said.
The troopers backed away in fear as the hero smiled and said, "Rejoice, it's me, the Starblast. I am the Galaxy's salvation."
News crews began to pour in and arrive to document this "save," and the Sextus assembled with the Jade, Nero, Vivacy, Streak, and Meta using their powers to beat the Stormtroopers down on the ground.
"The Sextus is at it again. They are our protectors, more efficient than the Jedi, and are truly cleaning up the Galaxy. Soon, Imperial Forces, according to our predictions, will be eradicated," the Newsreporter exclaimed.
When the cameras finally turned off, Starblast's plastic smile turned into a scowl. "Do you know how much time you motherkiffers wasted of mine? I have a festival in MY name in a few hours, and you decide to steal. Meet oblivion, you womp rats."
Starblast's heat vision sliced the troopers into mangled pieces that splat on the cold durasteel ground. Jade viewed the scene in disgust, "Luke, did you have to go that far? The things you define as heroes' business are always a new low every damn time."
Starblast smirked, "Feisty, aren't we, Jade, but remember your place and I'm Starblast to you, are we in understanding. I'm the hero, and you must understand our hierarchy, or I'll drill it into that pretty face of yours. Now shoot me with the blaster so we can frame this as an unfortunate accident. I highly doubt the Big Man cares."
Vivacy stared in shock at the violence Starblast displayed. When her father, Galen Erso, told her about him and this superhero team, he said she had to join it as Courscant's sweetheart after she had Compound S injected into her bloodstream. But she had no idea this was what it entailed, but right now it was better to keep her mouth shut.
30 minutes earlier
Varek Thorne was walking with his parents in Sector 5 of Courscant. Was it the best place to be in Courscant? Of course not, but they had gotten lost as they were refugees from a world that was being starved by Imperial forces. The Corporate Republic to the Thorne family was a beacon of hope, and Starblast seemed to be a true hero, cleansing the Galaxy of the Emperor and Vader's reign.
Valek's eyes lit up at the sight of Starblast fighting the stormtroopers with his team. "Look, Mother, Father, they are defeating the Imp remnants. They are truly heroes, the rebel cells claimed they were but didn't deliver. The Star Conglomerate really is bringing peace." Valek's parents glanced in equal awe and shared their son's sentiment. They soon heard a ....
Splat.
Their awe soon turned into horror as they curiously inched closer through an alleyway and into the compound, where they saw Starblast cut those troopers into little pieces and splat on their mutilated corpses. That wasn't heroism, it was barbarism. In truth, the Conglomerate had desired no one to be here and made efforts to try to keep the public unaware of this event, except for the news which they controlled. But one could say the Thornes were in the wrong place at the wrong time and had the curiosity of lothcats.
Starblast saw them and froze, and his face was painted in a picture of shock. This wasn't supposed to happen; it was a save, these people couldn't escape knowing the truth, and he needed to be adored. They were a threat as they knew too much.
"DIE YOU STUPID MUDBLOODS!" Starblast screamed before lazering Varek's parents' heads off, leaving them to drown in a pool of their own blood. Varek hid behind a cannister of coaxium shipments and slowed his breath while now flowing a stream of tears. That is when he learned a lesson: never trust anyone freely, especially your heroes.
Mara Jade saw Luke approach, "So, boss ready to go?" "Yes, let's get on with it, I have a gala with my fans to attend, all in service of me, of course," Starblast said. Jade knew what a petulant man-child Starblast was; everything had to be in his honor or service, but granted, his power never said anything back but a nod.
2 days later, Gala in the Alderranian Palace
Bail Organa stepped forward to the grand hall to talk to his daughter before the big commencement with Starblast. For the longest time, the Rebel Alliance existed solely to defeat the Empire, but former Grand Admiral Thrawn, now CEO of the Conglomerate, has purged the old military system, while restoring the Republic and allowing reformism, which has allowed corporate corruption back tenfold.
Bail inched closer to "Leia Organa" and whispered, "Be natural at this Gala, just be calm when you face Starblast and Thrawn."
Unbeknownst to anyone, "Leia" was actually Darth Vader, and this was quite a humiliating situation. Months ago, the Sextus invaded the Imperial Palace in an ambush, and their leader, this hedonistic child Starblast, lazered his armor and burst force lightning out of his mouth. What sorcery that was he had no clue, but there was a dark satisfaction he felt when they killed his master, Palpatine, who had kept him as a slave and refused to help him revive Padme; he was now thinking Palpatine must have been keeping that knowledge from him.
For a second, Leia's rich brown eyes flashed yellow as Vader contemplated that he had nothing left as the Jedi and Palpatine had robbed everything from him; the only thing he had left was the Dark Side. For now, Vader knew he had to play this Senator girl he found himself in once an artifact on Palpatine's wall cracked. He presumed his actual body and the girl, Leia Organa, are most likely dead.
Vader whispered stoically, "Of course, Father, I will tread this meeting with utmost caution." Bail nodded. His daughter was more detached and stiff, but maybe that was the stress.
Just then, Starblast and the Sextus entered alongside the many guests. Vader began by stating in a polished but stoic way (he hadn't shown emotion for decades and lost the ability to) "Hello, guests. Today, we welcome the new Galactic heroes, the Sextus. At the forefront of them all is their heroic leader, the Starblast, who recently stopped criminal Imperial remnants hijacking a coaxium refinery."
Starblast smiled and laughed, "That was all in a day's work, Senator Organa, we just do what we can to help the people of the Galaxy after the Tyranny of the Empire fell, after YOU ARE THE REAL HEROES."
Vader nodded, earning a look from Mara Jade, who found this behavior quite stiff for a rising politician. Jade responded, "Starblast is right, we are a part of the Conglomerate, but beyond that, we are citizens of the Galaxy here to support you."
There was applause across the room, and a cloaked figure was in the center of the room. It looked like a Togruta, and they let out an ion grenade into the middle of the procession where no one was in the vicinity, and a female voice from the cloak yelled, "EVERYONE OUT NOW!"
In the chaos, everyone started scrambling out while Starblast was furious and used his X-ray vision to see that the perpetrator was a Togruta. Just as he expected an alien mudblood, in all those propaganda films he'd been shown from birth, these were the troublemakers in the galaxy and not even deserving of worshipping at his feet.
Nero stepped forward and ignited a red lightsaber, shocking Vader, who recognized it as his blade, while Ahsoka ignited her two dual white sabers and began clashing with the silent ninja hero. The clash intensified until her cloak fell off, revealing the enigmatic "terrorist" to be none other than Ahsoka Tano. Only Vader recognized this and was shocked. He hadn't seen Anakin Skywalker's apprentice since Malachor and thought she was dead.
Starblast shot out his heat vision blasts at Ahsoka, but using her agility, she dodged every blast heading towards her. The Streak closed every exit, trapping those inside within the ballroom. The Sextus then began killing the guests still trapped inside, but Jyn Erso, aka Vivacy, was just in place.
"Just do it. Kill the collateral kid." The Streak said in an advising way. "How can you be complacent in this?" Jyn cried out in terror as Nero efficiently sliced through all targets.
Ahsoka swore, "Goddamit, everyone was supposed to make it out of the Gala. Now, Princess, you need to come with your Dad and me."
Vader stared and snarled, "What have you done, Tano? This is a mess because of your slopiness."
Ahsoka looked at Starblast, covered in blood, and he said, "Well, if it isn't Fulcrum, you have been attacking Conglomerate shipments, haven't you? Well, don't think I haven't caught on to your pathetic acts of alien terrorism won't go unanswered, do you understand? You even have alien representation on the Sextus, I thought you'd be more kriffing grateful."
Ahsoka scoffed, "Oh please, you are just the Empire under a new coating, you spread terror, call it order, it's just now instead of filling the pockets of Moffs, you are commodified to fill the pockets of your shareholders."
Starblast snarled, "What did you say you, Gundark?"
As the room was set further ablaze, Bail Organa came to his "daughter" in an attempt to rush her out of the last remaining exit, which had been destroyed in Starblast's inferno and wasn't buried under rubble.
Ahsoka dragged Vader with her and used Force Speed to dash and outrun the Streak, getting Vader past the exit and herself past there. As Starblast was about to chase them, Bail appeared as a human shield.
"I cannot let you pass Starblast, you won't catch them, not today," Organa said defiantly.
Luke's lips quivered in white-hot rage, "You bastard, you think you can stop me."
Starblast lifted Bail Organa and tore through him vertically, his flesh splashing on either side of Luke's direction.
Ahsoka rushed out and asked, "Hey, Leia, are you alright?"
Vader looked up and monotonously responded, "Yes, I am Tano now. Where are you taking me?"
Ahsoka panting, sighed and responded, "I'm assembling a team to take down the Conglomerate. I'd like someone with your political acumen and stubbornness to join. Sorry if I'm sounding kind of snippy."
Vader's lips twitched imperceptibly at that last word, but quickly he composed a poker face. "Understood, Tano, let us part then."
Sextus Tower
"GODDAMIT! Those rats got away, and they know about our activities. They also have incriminating information on us killing those guests. We need to cover that up NOW!" Starblast screamed.
Jyn got up and said, "Starblast, why the hell did you kill those people and Bail Organa. It was unnecessary, and it made the situation worse than it needed to be."
Starblast looked at Erso and asked erratically, "What did you say? WHAT THE KRIFF DID YOU SAY? I am the leader of this team, and I can do as I please. Do you understand Vivacy? They knew something that would jeopardize our integrity; you wouldn't want that, would you?"
Jyn stammered, "Nooo, sir, of course not."
Luke smiled, "That's my girl, now get back to fixing up that good old crime before I need to fire you lot or worse."
Jade came up to Jyn, "What the hell were you thinking. Never speak up, never. Not if you want to die, that is. Listen, kid, in this team and this new galaxy, it's not like the Clone Wars. Heroes don't fight for justice, and they certainly aren't candid about it. They wear masks, whether it be Starblast or Nero. Because inside, they are either psychotic or soulless. You and me need to survive, got it, so we'll do what we must to survive."