Over the course of 20 plus years Darth Vader, the greatest Jedi killer of all time and one of the most powerful force wielders and sith lords to ever exist among being perhaps the greatest red lightsaber duelists to ever live would hunt down many surviving Jedi ranging from powerful Jedi Masters and Knights to even Jedi Padawans but exactly who where his first four jedi kills in his armor?. The answer to that comes from one of my favorite Starwars novels ever, the 2005 legends novel Dark Lord The Rise of Darth Vader. The last quarter of the novel gives viewers an awesome look at a very early Vader in his suit starting from a mere month after order 66

One month after Order 66 Vader was dispatched to the outer rim planet of Murkhana by his Master to deal with some clone troopers who disobeyed order 66, letting three Jedi escape. The three Jedi were Bol Chatak, a female zabrak species Jedi Master who was the same species as Darth Maul, Chatak's Padawan, a young human female named Olee Starstone and a human male Jedi Master, Roan Shryne. Originally there were six jedi assigned to Murkhana but three had already been ambushed and killed during Order 66. All three of them survived order 66 and would later attempt to escape Murkhana by playing mercenaries which were being loaded onto imperial shuttles that were bound for different worlds. That would've worked if it wasn't for the fact that Vader would arrive on Murkhana shortly thereafter.

Once Vader arrived and quickly took care of the traitor clones who disobeyed a direct order from high command, letting Shryne, Starstone and Chatak escape Jedi Master Bol Chatak foolishly revealed herself as a Jedi to Vader. Padawan Starstone and Master Shryne were smart enough to ditch their lightsabers a while back but Master Chatak was not.

A duel was now inevitable and of course Vader was happy to kill another Jedi as he stated to Chatak that she would not be the first Jedi he's killed, though she would be the first Jedi he's killed while in his suit. The duel eventually commenced and by the sounds of the angry clashing of Chatak's and Vader's lightsabers it was a fast and fierce duel. Master Chatak was using her speed and agility, moving with grace and using her lightsaber like it was an extension of her body. Vader was more clumsy as he was not only less agile but was using mostly vertical strikes. So Master Chatak may have been the better duelist by this point since Vader had yet to adapt any of his lightsaber combat to his new body. However Vader still had a slew of advantages over Chatak. Vader was not only taller than her but also had far more strength. As Jedi Master Roan Shryne stated while shortly glimpsing the duel, Vader was a head taller than Chatak and was incredibly powerful. The duel ended when Vader cut off the lightsaber arm of Chatak as he had simply beaten her into submission, she fell to her knees in pain and with a simple swoop of his crimson blade Vader decapitated her, killing Jedi Master Bol Chatak instantly and making her his first Jedi kill in his suit.

As I said before Master Shyrne had shortly glimpsed their duel but he wasn't the only one as Chataks Padawan Olee Starstone among possibly hundreds of mercenaries had seen Vader and Chatak as well. Fortunately Padawan Starstone and Master Shryne were able to escape the area and eventually Murkhana and Vader's wrath for at least the time being with the help of a smuggler. Eventually they met and somewhat joined Roan Shryne's mother and her crew of smugglers aboard her ship the Drunk Dancer. With the help of the Drunk Dancer crew Master Shryne and Padawan Starstone would eventually head to different worlds in order to find surviving Jedi though they found most of them completely ridden but they did find some Jedi. Jedi Knights Iwo Kulka and Siadem Forte, Jedi Padawan Klossi Anno, Jedi Agriculturists Jambe Lu and Nam Poorf. Plus Jedi Master Roan Shryne and Jedi Padawan Olee Starstone.

Since Vader's obsession with hunting down the fugitive Jedi was so great Sidious was trying to figure out what to do to help him extinguish that obsession and bloodlust. Sidious finally had Vader head to the planet Alderaan to capture a human Senator named Fang Zar who was trying to escape Alderaan in order to sneak back to his homeworld undetected but Zar was under investigation so he couldn't leave. Ironically Master Shryne was tasked with helping Fang Zar escape as a smuggling job.

Vader eventually arrived on Alderaan and met with Bail Organa and his members, as a side note Vader came very close to meeting baby Leia Skywalker. It was only the alarm going off at the Royal Palace because of Shryne and a few members of the Drunk Dancers crew had been located after they breached the Palace to find senator Far that stopped Vader from meeting Leia. Once the Royal Palaces alarmed blared Vader immediately knew what it was and left Bail Organa. Stalking the halls Vader suddenly sensed a presence, he ignited his crimson blade and spun, it was Master Roan Shryne. After a few words Shryne started rapidly firing his blaster at Vader while spiriting for the gate. Vader simply angled his blade and deflected every single blaster shot. By jinking and jagging Master Shryne managed to evade the deflected shots.

Vader then leapt, his powerful prosthetic legs carrying him to the top of a broad but short flight of steps in time to see Shryne sprint across a bridge. Vader leapt again, this time to the bridge, and to within only a few meters of Shryne, who spun about, dropping to one knee and firing repeatedly. Vader then decided to show Shyrne who he was dealing with. Holding his lightsaber in his left hand Vader raised his right hand to turn the blaster shots, Shyrne was in awe at Vader's power.

Around the same time Bail Organa viewed security cameras that showed Vader with his crimson blade ignited, fending off blaster fire. Organa then ordered the Royal palace to be locked down. Firing on the run, Shryne made a mad dash for the rampart gate as it was clear Vader would not be stopped by a mere blaster. Shryne then came to a halt to take what he hoped would be a last look at Vader who was still on the palace grounds, a couple of meters shy of the gate. An alloy curtain as thick as a blast shield was descending rapidly from the head of the arched entrance. The palace was now being sealed and Vader was at risk of not making it through the gate in time. Understanding as much, Vader was moving faster now. A jump carried him to the rampart, just short of the lowering shield, where he did something unexpected. Vader threw his lightsaber. Shyrne thought Vader did so in anger but he was wrong. Vader was guiding his crimson lightsaber with the force, spinning it like a rapid boomerang.

Seeing the twirling blade, Shryne flew for the top of the stairway, his heart hammering in his chest. Calling on the force he tried to alter the lightsabers trajectory but Vader's overwhelming power was too much as Vader's force abilities had easily overpowered his force abilities. That's why Shyrne couldn't alter the direction of Vader's spinning lightsaber.

Vader's crimson lightsaber passed within a meter of Shryne’s outstretched hands. Vader's blade struck Fang Zar first, ripping a deep gouge across his upper chest and nearly decapitating him, then continuing on, it struck Julla, Master Shryne's mother across the back before completing its swift and lethal circle and slamming into the upper reaches of the fully lowered rampart gate where it switched off and plummeted to the paving stones with a metallic clangor. Rooted in place Shryne could sense Vader on the far side of the gate, a black hole of rage. Shryne commenced a descent of the stairway, deaf to all sound, blind to color, scarcely in possession of his self. He didn’t come to his senses until he reached the foot of the stairs, where he turned and ran to help get his mother and Zar aboard the ship. Senator Fang Zar would die from his injuries caused by Vader's blade shortly thereafter.

Now we will skip some time in order to head to the Battle of Kashyyyk. Eventually Master Roan Shryne and Padawan Olee Starstone plus the other 5 fugitive Jedi would make a big mistake by heading to the Wookiees homeworld of Kashyyyk. Once the Jedi had arrived on Kashyyyk the Wookiees welcomed them in but unbeknown to the Jedi the Empire was closely tracking them.

The Empire arrived soon after with new destroyers in orbit including Vader's personal one the Exactor. The Battle of Kashyyyk started shortly after. Grand Moff Tarkin had come up with a genius plan beforehand, a plan in which both Vader and the Empire would greatly benefit from. The Empire would use the fugitive jedi as a reason to invade Kashyyyk and enslave as many Wookiees as possible to help build the first death Star which by now is behind schedule on the other hand Vader would personally deal with the fugitive Jedi himself since he has the power to do so and it's also his right as well. A win win for Vader, Tarkin and the Galactic Empire.

As the battle raged all across the world of Kashyyyk, in many different cities the empire was taking heavy losses. The Wookiees were fighting viroshisly that added in with the fact that the previous separatist forces left many weapons and vehicles behind which the wookiees greatly used to aid in taking out many troopers. Finally Vader ordered his commanders to commence a full planet wide ariel bombardment of Kashyyyk except for Kachirho which would be saved for last since he is heading there to deal with the jedi personally.

As soon as Vader landed on Kachirho and the shuttle opened its boarding ramp Vader had his crimson blade out and ignited. He was immediately deflecting blaster fire from all directions, three of Vader's men fell before they even made it 2 meters. Now Vader was going to take the fight to the Wookiees themselves who were shooting behind makeshift barricades and from crossbeams high above the balcony. The Wookiees were also good fighters but they had never experienced anything remotely close to Vader before.

Vader just started tearing into the Wookiee fighters like they were absolutely nothing. He slashed right and left with his crimson blade, parrying blaster bolts and amputating the Wookiees heads and limbs and so on. Scores of Wookiee fighters were easily slaughtered by Vader with many of their bodies laying on the ground in his wake. As he was waving commander Appo and other troopers forward Vader saw refulgent blue light and swung to the source, three Jedi emerged from a covered bridge. The first to reach Vader was Padawan Starstone but before she could make a move Jedi Knights Iwo Kulka and Siadem Forte jumped in front of her and attacked Vader.

Forte and Kulka were skilled duelists and they had also heard the accounts of Anakin Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi when they fought Count Dooku just as many other Jedi had. So they went in together, implying radically different lightsaber forms to try and unbalance Vader. It was a very bold and completely wrong assumption thinking they could actually have a chance at doing anything to Vader. So it's not surprising at all when he put a quick end to both Jedi Knights and their pathetic attempt to kill him.

Utilizing his superior strength and height mixed in with some precision blade work and power attacks vader easily disrupted their momentum, sending them reeling. In a panic both Jedi attempted to alter their lightsaber forms but Vader had an answer for every single lunge, parry and repost as his lightsaber style borrowed elements from the highest and most dangerous levels of combat and the seven classic lightsaber forms which Vader incorporated into his own personalized dueling style.

Vader had also started to toy with the Jedi, Vader grazed Forte on the left shoulder, then on the right thigh; Kulka, he pierced lightly in the abdomen, then shaved away the flesh on the right side of the Ho’Din’s face. Seeing the two Jedi Knights drop to their knees, wincing in pain Jedi Padawan Klossi Anno tried to make a move against Vader but he simply side stepped her attack, slashing Anno across the back and sending her sprawling across the balcony. By this point Kulka and Forte were clambering back to their feet so Vader whirled on them and decapitated both Jedi Knights from behind. Now Vader immediately eliminated two Jedi agriculturists who were not even powerful or experienced fighters at all, amputating a leg from one and an arm of another.

To her horror Padawan Starstone was now alone with Vader who ordered him men to leave her to him and to devote themselves to slaughtering the remaining wookiees on the peer. Calling on the Force, Starstone attacked Vader, striking wildly and repeatedly,and with anger. Moments into her attack she understood that Vader was merely allowing her to vent, as the Temple’s swordmaster had often done with students, allowing them to believe that they were driving him back, when in fact he was simply encouraging them to wear themselves out before disarming them in one rapid motion. So she retreated and tried to come up with a plan but in doing so she left herself open. Shifting to a one-handed hold on his lightsaber, Vader parried her blade and lunged forward. She snapped aside in the nick of time, but he kept coming at her, answering her increasingly frantic strikes with harsher ones and driving her to the rim of the balcony.

Before Vader could finish Starstone off he heard a noise from behind and the dead Jedi Knight Siadem Fortes blood soaked blue lightsaber whizzed past Vader's head and into the hands of Jedi Master Roan Shryne who immediately decapitated Vader's Commander, Commander Appo. Roan Shryne ordered Starstone away from Vader which she did. Vader made no attempt to stop Padawan Starstone from leaving.

Vader was first to make a move against Jedi Master Roan Shryne, stepping forward and performing a lightning fast underhand sweep with his crimson blade that nearly knocked the lightsaber out of Shryne's hand. Shryne countered with his own blows, he then tried to make an upsweep to Vader's neck but Vader spun around quickly with his blade held straight out in front of him as he completed a full circle and nearly cut Shyrne in half. Vader was holding Shryne off easily, not giving any ground but he had also left his lower legs unprotected. Master Shryne tried to take advantage of that but Vader leapt high half twisting in mid air and coming down behind Shryne. As the duel went on it got more and more fierce with Master Shryne managing to land a few hits on Vader. Eventually Vader had enough of Shryne and decided to end the duel. When Shryne was making himself ready for another attack on him Vader stopped suddenly and put his lightsaber away but before Shryne could make sense of it he heard a creaking sound from below and something flew at him from one of the ramps. It was a plank ripped from a wooden walkway that him and Vader had crossed during the fight. Across from Master Shryne stood Vader with his lightsaber hanging by his side, his arms folded across his chest. Shryne hurried forward with Forte's blue blade held high but before he could make it half the distance to Vader a storm of similar planks and hand railing came whirling at him. Vader was using his darkside power to dismantle the ramps. Shryne tried to block as much debris as he could but Vader was throwing them from all directions and faster than he could parry them. He was eventually hit by numerous pieces and was knocked backwards, holding onto the railing before another board hit him in the face making him lose his grip and falling through space.

Vader and Shryne were fighting hundreds of feet in the air as the Wookiees live in homes that are built up high in the trees on Kashyyyk. The lower platform saved Master Shryne from falling all the way to the ground which definitely would have killed him but ironically he was now dying anyways. The fall not only shattered all the bones in his left arm but also ruptured a vital organ. Vader then jumped down to the now defeated Jedi Master Roan Shryne with a grace he had never shown before, igniting his crimson blade while standing right over the dying Jedi. Roan Shryne still hadn't put all the pieces together on the true outcome of the Jedi orders demise. So Vader decided to reveal the truth to him, that Emperor Palpatine was also Darth Sidious the sith lord the Jedi had spent years trying to track down. Vader also revealed that he was Anakin Skywalker the chosen one and finally he revealed that the military build up, the war, everything was just a ploy to rid the galaxy of the incompetent Jedi Order once and for all.

But the most important part of the whole duel was that it changed Vader forever. In Vader's moment of revelry he had sensed a profound change in himself, his bloodlust had been appeased, replaced with a self possesion that even Anakin never achieved. Vader can now feel the power of the dark side surging through him like he's being attacked by icy torrents. Vader has just felt the true power of the darkside for the first time ever.

Jedi Master Roan Shryne died shortly thereafter. Vader then left Kashyyyk with a new found understanding of himself and the darkside. Even Sidious noticed a dramatic change in Vader during a quick holo-net communication following the events of Kashyyyk. Noting how Vader is now starting to tap deep into the power of the darkside. Vader's real apprenticeship with Sidious can now begin. As time goes on Vader would continue to constantly grow his power in the darkside.