Second Battle of Kashyyyk (Imperial Period)

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Previous Duel in the Carnival Next Ghorman Massacre Second Battle of Kashyyyk Conflict Great Jedi Purge Date 18 BBY Place Kashyyyk Outcome Imperial Victory, Galen Marek becomes Darth Vader's secret apprentice Combatants Wookiees Jedi Order Galactic Empire Commanders Kento Marek † Darth Vader Unidentified Imperial Commander † Strength Wookiees Berserkers Oevvaor jet catamarans Raddaugh Gnasp fluttercraft 1 Jedi Knight † 1 Sith Lord Stormtroopers 5 Imperator-class Star Destroyers 501st Legion Triton Squad AT-STs 3+ AT-ATs Lambda-class shuttles LAAT/i gunships TIE Fighters Casualties Wookiees Kento Marek Imperial Commander 1 AT-AT Stormtroopers TIE Fighters 1 Lambda-class shuttle [Source]

The Second Battle of Kashyyyk was a conflict between the Wookiees and the Galactic Empire, led by Darth Vader, on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk. He sensed that the Wookiees were hiding a Jedi Knight there, and it was during this battle that Vader discovered Galen Marek, who eventually became his secret apprentice.

Contents 1 The Battle 1.1 Discovery of Galen Marek 2 Behind the scenes 3 Appearances 4 Notes and references

[edit] The Battle

At some point, Vader received word of a Jedi Knight in hiding on Kashyyyk. Investigating this, he launched a full scale invasion on the planet. The initial attack was a disaster, as Vader's 501st legion found the Wookiees surprisingly well prepared, and Imperial forces were initially overwhelmed by Wookiee resistance. Vader berated the Imperial commander he left in charge of the attack, Force choking him. However, the Sith Lord allowed the officer to live, as he was ultimately unconcerned with the outcome of the battle, the Jedi being his sole target.^[1]

Taking over the attack, Vader led his troops from the front. Marching through the Wookiee village the resistance was centered from, they brutally cut down any Wookiee in their path, crushing the resistance. Eventually, they made their way to a large hut at the center of the village; the Jedi's home. The Jedi; Kento Marek; resorted to confronting the Sith Lord directly, trying unsuccessfully to make Vader back down, and killing Vader's stormtrooper escort with a telekinetic blast. With that, the two drew their lightsabers.^[1]

Despite his valiant efforts, Kento was ultimately no match for Vader. He was quickly disarmed by a sudden power attack executed by Vader, bashing his lightsaber out of his hand. Before Marek could regain his composure, Vader telekinetically seized him and thrashed him about before hurling the hapless Jedi back inside his hut.^[1]

[edit] Discovery of Galen Marek

The Dark Lord held the Jedi in a Force grip, but paused before killing the Jedi, as he sensed that another, far more powerful, Force user was nearby. Believing the individual to be Kento's master, Vader demanded to know where this Jedi was. However, Kento stated that Vader had killed his master years ago.^[1]

Enraged by the Jedi's failure to cooperate, Vader raised his lightsaber in preparation for a finishing blow. However, before he could strike down the defeated Jedi, the lightsaber was pulled out of his hand. He turned around to find, to his surprise, a young boy holding it. Vader sensed that this boy was the source of the strong Force presence he had previously felt. His father yelled to him to run, yet Vader crushed his throat with the Force.^[1]

As Vader approached the child, the Imperial commander of the attack force rushed in with three stormtroopers. The Commander ordered the boy to be killed, but Vader forced the saber out of the boy's hand and into his, and then killed both stormtroopers and the commander. The boy was named Galen Marek, and was the son of Kento Marek. Vader sensed incredible potential in the boy and adopted Galen as his secret apprentice for use in his plan to overthrow Emperor Palpatine. The child was given the code-name, Starkiller.^[1]

[edit] Behind the scenes

The two versions of The Force Unleashed depict the stormtroopers differently. In the PS2, Wii and PSP versions, the clone troopers are almost identical to their Phase-II armor, but in the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, their armor is closer to that of a the later-used Stormtrooper armor.

Also, in the PS2 and Wii versions, the commander in charge of the operation that Darth Vader force-choked was relegated to a Lieutenant-class Phase II clone trooper while as the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions had him resembling an Imperial-era commander. On a related note, while the Xbox 360/PS3 versions make it clear that Darth Vader spared him, the way the PS2/Wii versions handled the Commander's fate was ambiguous, as the scene immediately cut to behind Vader after releasing his grip.

[edit] Appearances

• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game
• The Force Unleashed novel (Vision to Galen Marek)
• Star Wars: The Force Unleashed comic (Vision to Galen Marek)

[edit] Notes and references