Having battled and slain hundreds of opponents across his life, including full-fledged Jedi
Masters and gigantic beasts the size of mountains, Darth Vader became completely
accustomed to his life as an unkillable warrior and one who brought unnerving fear to those
who faced him.
But there was one opponent in his life that returned the same fear the Sith Lord was known
to bestow upon his victims.
His name was Stauz Czycz, a survivor of one of the Empire’s military
campaigns which resulted in his people being nearly wiped out as Emperor Palpatine wished
to make them an example to other resisting systems.
Having lost everything, including his entire family and any hopeful future he may have
lived had the Empire not invaded, Stauz embraced his
newfound rage and devoted his life to revenge in
killing the man who led the Imperial attack: Darth Vader.
With nothing else left living for other than revenge, Stauz removed all forms of Humanity
he may have had to his sole goal of assassinating
the Sith Lord.
This included transforming the majority of his body into a machine meant for killing,
outfitting himself with numerous cybernetics such as
energy blades that emitted from his arms, enhanced body movements and durability, and
mechanical claws attached to tendrils that ripped through his body with deadly force.
Following his cyborg augmentations, Stauz became a ruthless bounty hunter under the
alias Awarru Tark, achieving a reputation high enough
to be added to Vader’s personal list of hunters
he wished to employ in the capture of Han Solo and Leia.
As a result of being added to the esteemed list, Stauz was personally summoned to meet
with Vader for the job, as he had planned from
the start.
When the bounty hunter arrived to meet with the Sith Lord in person, he wasted no
time to begin his attack once they were left alone.
As his Imperial escort left the room, Stauz immediately threw charges at the entrance
that he had entered from, denying the guards to reinforce
their master while he was being attacked.
Right after, Stauz charged at Vader with his embedded energy blades drawn with intent to
kill.
Vader was able to react quickly enough to deflect the first strike, but underestimated
his opponent who was able to instantly counter
the defensive move by jumping over the Sith Lord
and striking him from behind, landing a direct hit on the back.
Slightly staggered by the hit in the back, Stauz was able to land another successful
attack by launching Vader with full force into a wall.
Despite the Bounty Hunter’s early blows on his target,
the fight was far from over.
Vader swiftly regained his composure and chucked his opponent
directly into the ceiling with the Force.
But once more Stauz was prepared, using his hidden compartment of grenades to rain down
explosions upon the Sith Lord.
This attack allowed the assassin to get close to Vader, but
before he could continue his assault with his energy blades, his arms were grabbed and
stopped in their tracks.
During this standoff Vader decided to peer into his attacker’s mind, hoping to take
control of it with the dark side of the Force.
It was at this moment when the Sith Lord realized the true evil
he was facing, the endless pit of hate and rage that overflowed within his opponent.
Through the Force, Vader saw the true lengths Stauz had gone through in this act of revenge,
the devastation he felt over losing everything he loved and the deep hate it quickly had
turned to, one that matched and perhaps even surpassed
his own.
Such overwhelming hatred the two emitted was able to stun both of them as it paralyzed
their linked brains, leaving the two simply facing
each other without movement.
But Vader was able to unfreeze first, using the moment to make
a final strike against his opponent by decapitating the bounty hunter with his lightsaber, freeing
Stauz from his torment and preserving his own for
years to come.
After the fight, Vader was simply stunned by what he had faced.
Never in his life had he met someone who held such rage and dedication
to kill like himself.
It shook him to his core to feel the same dread he himself had imposed on his
countless victims throughout his life as a Sith
Lord.
This unnerving feeling left a deep cut within Vader’s psyche, as for the first time he
witnessed someone just like himself.
A man who had lost everything and sacrificed his humanity for his
need for revenge.
A self-reflection he had not experienced in a long time, and one that would
remain in his mind until he was able to overcome the chains of guilt and self-hate he imprisoned
himself with through Luke’s help.