Starfleet Jedi

Since I haven't done one of these in a while, and I just started reading Force Unleashed, I thought I might as well do the standard analysis thing while I'm at it. I'm leaving this first post separate from the rest for now, since I intend to include a summary here once I'm done.

Chapter 1

During his nightly meditations, kneeling on the metal floor of his chamber while construction droids built the Executor, unaware of his existence, he had seen no visions in the pure, angry red of the lightsaber that he held like a burning brand in front of his eyes.

A mention of construction droids taking part in the building of the Executor.

"He is attacking a critical shipyard above Nar Shaddaa. You will destroy him and bring me his lightsaber."

The TIE factory that Starkiller is about to assault is considered critical. More on this factory later.

Even as he mulled over this new development, a familiar snap-hiss sounded to his right and a glowing blue-white blade sprang into life in a dark corner of the hangar. A brown-robed figure ran forward, weapon raised.

[...]

Sparks flew as the apprentice Force-leapt high into the air and landed with perfect agility on top of a stack of crates. He reached out with his cupped left hand and swept a metal tool kit across the hangar bay, toward his opponent's head.

[...]

So the duel proceeded for almost a minute, with Kenobi and the apprentice dancing like acrobatic Gados from stack to stack, lightsabers spinning and clashing, racks and tools turned into temporary weapons as they hurled themselves from one to the other.

[...]

The men leapt and tumbled with inhuman agility. When they gestured, metal walls buckled and engine parts flew like missiles.

The last bit there is actually from Chapter 2, but I thought putting it in context with the rest would be better. In any case, the above is duel between Starkiller and his droid called PROXY. The droid can take on different shapes and mimic the behavior of others, and so he takes on the form of Obi-wan to duel Starkiller now.

During the fight, Starkiller seems to make a lot of use of force assisted agility, though the novel is a little vague on the exact details, other then to say we're talking about inhuman agility. He force leaps at least once, and there's a lot of force kinetics involved, with Starkiller throwing objects at PROXY quite regularly. What's even odder is that it's implied that PROXY is also capable of something similar to force kinetics, and generally puts up somewhat of a fight for Starkiller.


Chapter 2

Putting down her welder, she disengaged the safety on her pistol and moved stealthily out from under the ship. At first glance, the Rogue Shadow wasn't much to look at: a twin-armed, long-bodied starship with the chassis of a small transport, two solar gather panels on the starboard side, and a larger weapons pod to port. That, however, was the point. A prototype intentionally designed to look common, unremarkable, it was in fact a combat vessel possessing the fastest hyperdrive Juno had ever worked with, plus a bona fide cloaking system. That, on top of first-rate scanners and sensors, competitive sublight engines, and powerful deflector shields, made the Rogue Shadow the most fascinating ship she'd flown.

The basic rundown on the Rogue Shadow, Starkiller's personal starship. It's fast, strong and even has a cloaking device. I found the mention of solar gather panels quite curious too, especially since they seem to be common on civilian ships, judging by what’s said in that paragraph.

That expression was shared by Juno when the form of the older man began to spark and flicker like a hologram-which, she realized an instant later, was exactly what he was. Arms, legs, torso, and face sputtered and dissolved, revealing the bipedal form of a droid beneath. He stirred and fell forward with a clatter of metal on metal.

PROXY's holo-projection system in action.

Suddenly self-conscious, Juno wiped the smudges from her cheek. "I have taken the liberty of upgrading the Rogue Shadow's sensor array. Now you will be able to spy on any suspect ships across an entire system." She waited for some sign of approval, but he only nodded. Her pride slightly stung, she said, "I assume that's part of your mission profile. You can only be one of Darth Vader's spies. Your ship has the most amazing long-range scanners and a cloaking device..."

Some interesting information on the Rogue Shadow's sensor array (and Star Wars sensors in general). Apparently it's considered impressive, and not that usual, to be capable of spying on ships across an entire star system. Of course we don't know what exactly 'spying' entitles.

Chapter 3

The droid who had been his sole continuous companion for most of his life was sitting in a jump seat at the rear of the cockpit, strapped carefully in place. Familiar distortions played across his metal skin and features as he activated the holoprojectors that made him unique. The appearance of a hardened human warrior took form in the droid's seat. Dressed in the familiar browns of the hated Jedi, he possessed high cheekbones and a strong, broken nose. His eyes were deeply recessed and revealed none of his thoughts.

Another display of PROXY's holo-projection system, and it's also noted that the droid is unique in this regard.

Nar Shaddaa, aka The Smuggler's Moon, the Vertical City, or even Little Coruscant: the apprentice had never been there before, but he had learned as much as he could from history and other educational holos. Its criminal classes and extensive underground networks were famous across the galaxy, with lowlifes by the tens of thousands flocking there in search of ill-gotten fortunes. Although dwarfed by noisome Nal Hutta, the large planet it orbited, it outshone every other world in the Y'Toub system in every conceivable spectrum. Dozens of different species called it home.

Everyone knows Nar Shaddaa by now, it's featured heavily in most EU material, as a bad version of Coruscant. This is nothing but some basic information, except for the tidbit about it being called 'Little Coruscant'. If there are really a lot of Coruscant like planets out there, why would this one get the honor of being called 'Little Coruscant'?

The starfighter facility was much larger than it had seemed from a distance, looking like a stack of round plates hanging high above the Vertical City. What he had assumed were lights flashing across its irregular surface resolved into explosions when viewed from a nearer perspective. Vast balls of yellow-hot gas erupted at irregular intervals from shattered viewports, weakened bulkheads, and burst access tubes...

A basic description of the TIE facility.

His lightsaber was lit before he hit the deck, ready to deflect the shots fired his way by the contingent of troopers sent to investigate their landing. The Force guided his arm-no, the Force was his arm. That was how it felt to him. During moments such as these, he was purely a vessel for the dark side. It rushed through him like wine down the neck of a bottle, joyous with release and the promise of more to come. His blade drew glowing lines through the air, casting energy bolts back at the troopers who'd fired them, sending them sprawling in a shower of sparks.

A dozen open-helmeted men and women in brown combat uniforms-Kota's insurgents, the apprentice presumed-came down the hangar's primary access corridor, sealing the blast door behind them. Baring his teeth, he ran to meet them, eager to take the offensive. Their rifles were no match for the power of the Force. A single, powerful push scattered them like dolls. One he blasted with lightning. A second he choked until all consciousness fled. A third he swept up and pounded against the nearest bulk-head. The rest he dismembered with graceful aggression, ignoring their cries of fear and pain.

Again, Starkiller is demonstrated to be pretty much the most proficient combat oriented force-user I've ever read about. He spams force powers like there's no tomorrow in a token battle.

"The intruders may try using TIE fighter assembly lines as cover," she said. "And I am picking up explosives on my scanners. Be careful."

The Rogue Shadow's scanners are capable of picking up explosives inside a major orbital facility.

A prickling in the back of his neck warned him of a new threat just as a railgun charge exploded to his right, sending bits of TIE fighter in all directions. He deflected the main force of the explosion, but was still stung by tiny pieces of shrapnel down the back of his right hand.

[...]

Anger rose up in him, pure and clean, sweeping all other concerns aside. He vaulted a stack of detached solar gather panels and sent a stream of machine parts raining down on the source of the weapons fire.

Lots of interesting info here, we see some more of Starkiller's force abilities, he can partially deflect an explosion, but shrapnel is still problematic. And like previously, he uses kinetics to throw around physical projectiles with ease.

Some technical information as well. The TIE fighter dishes on the sides are referred to as solar gather panels, which is the second indication in this novel that solar power is something fairly common in Star Wars.

Only when the last was buried under a small mountain of titanium alloy hull plates and reactor shielding did he examine in more detail the equipment they had been carrying.

Titanium alloy hull plating, on the TIE fighters, I’m guessing.

Juno guided him through the quaking facility. Anyone unlucky enough to get in his way was unceremoniously pushed aside by telekinesis. Doors buckled shut and weapons mysteriously jammed. He didn't have time to play games anymore.

Some more information on Starkiller's force abilities. The new addition here is the mention that he can cause weapons to jamm.

He raised his left hand and with the power of the dark side unleashed a bolt of Sith lightning at the renegade Jedi.

Kota only laughed. Raising his left hand in a move that was a mirror image of the apprentice's own, he sent the lightning arcing back to its source. The energy struck both of them, hurling them apart.

[...]

That was a move the apprentice had long ago learned to avoid by tucking his head down closer to his center of gravity and rolling in midair, then kicking himself back at his opponent off the nearest wall. This time he pushed telekinetically as he came, attempting to knock Kota's feet out from under him before bringing his blade to bear.

[...]

More cautiously the apprentice circled him, slicing chairs to pieces as he walked and sending the glowing fragments at his enemy's head.

[...]

He caught the general in a choke hold and maintained his grip even though it turned partially back on him.

[...]

Even as darkness crowded around the edges of his vision, he sent objects hurtling at Kota's legs and face, battling him on all fronts.

Alright, lots of force-related stuff here. I found the tactic of slicing chairs and using the hot metallic bits as projectiles fairly interesting. Kota's ability to hurl everything from force lightening to choke grips back to its source is also something new to me. Force lightning was done by Yoda, of course, but channeling back force choke...


Chapter 4

Her skin felt oily and covered in grit, as though she had been the one running around in the smoke and the mess above Nar Shaddaa instead of watching it from the feeds she'd managed to slice into from one of the facility's security cams.

Apparently Eclipse was capable of slicing into the internal security cam systems of a TIE fighter manufacturing facility from the Rogue Shadow.

Together they checked over the ship in a record time, noting only a few small carbon scores on its port side and, near the aft sensor array, a blaster burn that had been weakened so much by the shields, it would barely have fried an egg.

This was interesting. The shields are apparently capable of weakening a blaster bolt before it impacts. It would go a long way in explaining some of the problems from the movies.

A shock of adrenaline rushed through her. Only one person in the galaxy breathed like that. She must have patched by accident into Lord Vader's private chambers. Her hand reached up to cancel the feed lest she be discovered spying on him, but before she could complete the command, the door hissed open and her curiosity was caught.

Apparently Eclipse accidentally hacks into Vader's security cam, onboard the Executor, from the Rogue Shadow. Security seems a bit lax, all in all.

Chapter 5

Raxus Prime welcomed them in all its decrepit glory. The gray, synthetic world's surface was covered by almost as much metal as Nar Shaddaa, but there the similarity ended. Whereas one was alive with light and commerce, the other was a steaming rubbish dump inhabited by scavengers and scum. Juno had never been assigned here during any of her previous missions, and had never felt an urge to visit. It had a noxious reputation.

She could immediately see why. It wasn't just the filthy atmosphere and the mountains of decaying rubbish. This world was no moon, like Nar Shaddaa; it was a proper planet, one with a startlingly strong magnetic field. Every orbital lane was filled with junk, and so were a series of complex magnetic field-lines sweeping near the surface itself. These lines carried iron-bearing fragments aloft in a grim parody of a gas giant's rings. They were crawling with tiny vessels, either automated or single-pilot, searching for anything of value. Every now and again lasers flared, cutting at hulks or at rivals homing in on a nearby trinket.

Then there was the Core, the artificial intelligence built by the Republic to guide the refuse world's operation. PROXY said that he would try to patch them into its announcement system once they were within range, but she didn't see what help that would be if the Core turned on them.

A basic description of Raxus Prime, and an AI called 'the Core' that controls it. It's interesting to note that the Core doesn't exist in the game at all. It'll play a larger role in upcoming chapters.

Chapter 6

He had treated his most recent injuries with bacta patches so they would no longer trouble him.

Sith apparently still need artificial medical help to heal their wounds. Not sure exactly what bacta patches are, but the name is rather suggestive.

He ignored them, used Sith lightning to blast a dozen droids that rushed him with electric claws raised, then turned left where the corvette had formerly rested to resume his approach to the strange parody of the Jedi Temple.

Again, blasting a dozen targets with lightning is something not all that common in what I've read/seen, and highly impressive.

He had been dueling PROXY all his life; knew the weaknesses and strengths of droids, even one capable, by a clever use of repulsor technologies and a specially adapted antique training lightsaber, of imitating a Jedi.

Ah, it's explained how RROXY can mimick force push and grab, he's got inbuilt repulsors.

Soon the foyer was full of the twitching, smoking bodies of the temple's hapless guardians. He began to tire, not from exertion but from the tedium of knocking down droid after droid, to no apparent end. There might have been thousands of them.

Deactivating his lightsaber, he took a deep breath. With one mighty exhalation of power, he blasted all of them-those in pieces and those approaching with needle-tipped fingers and vibrosaws upraised-out of the foyer doors. Then he blasted the rubbish piles after them. He kept pushing until a dark cloud toured out over Raxus Prime's hideous landscape-an artificial hurricane full of droid golems.

More awesome-sauce.

Then something struck him from behind, breaking his concentration and knocking his lightsaber from his hand. He turned, ducking robotic limbs and a sudden swipe from the light-pike. The mannequin of Plo Koon had risen from its chair and attacked him, holding a vibroblade in a crude approximation of the long-dead

I'll Master's renowned lightsaber style. The Way of the Krayt Dragon, it had once been called. It looked ridiculous now in the hands of a patchwork droid.

Still, it had taken him by surprise.

Precog seems to have failed on this point, against a robotic opponent. He was fighting a Jedi at the time though.