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feitonglong
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Post by feitonglong » Sat Aug 30, 2008 10:27 am

Star Wars #64: Serphidian Eyes

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Princess Leia Organa learns that the monarch of Serphidi, King S'Shah, is entering into talks with the Galactic Empire to establish an Imperial base on their planet. She sends Luke Skywalker, Cinda Tarheel and Berl to Serphidi on an information-gathering expedition.

As the Rebel pilots reach the Belial system, a squad of Imperial TIE fighters come out of Serphidi's shadow and attacks them. One of the fighters damages Captain Tarheel's s-foil forcing her to crash land on a mountain butte on the planet's surface. Skywalker and Berl follow her down to make sure that she is safe.

After confirming that Tarheel is still alive, the Rebels are shocked to discover several Serps advancing on their position riding atop of large, lizard-mounts. One of them fires a blast from an energy-lance, killing Berl. Captain Tarheel is stunned and taken prisoner. The Serps bring her back to the castle of King S'Shah.

Luke tries to track their movements, but is distracted when he finds a carnivorous plant monster attacking an aging Serp named Elglih. He saves Elglih and takes him to his home in Harmony Glade. Luke learns that Elglih is loyal to the Rebel Alliance and wants to see S'Shah dethroned. The only way to legally unseat S'Shah however is by participating in an event known as a Doom-Joust. Elglih volunteers to partake in the deadly war-games and names Luke as his squire. Luke is offended at the suggestion, but acquiesces.

On the day that the Doom-Joust is scheduled to commence, Elglih finally realizes that he is too infirm to possibly beat the stronger King S'Shah. Luke volunteers to fight in Elglih's place and openly challenges S’Shah. During the competition, Luke succeeds in dismounting the monarch from his lizard-steed. S'Shah however, withdraws a weapon known as a micro-jolt and prepares to fire it at Skywalker while his back is turned. Elglih warns Luke of the danger, and the young Jedi spins around firing his energy lance killing S'Shah.

Elglih becomes the new monarch of the Serp people and pledges to keep Imperial influences away from Serphidi. Captain Tarheel is released from the castle dungeons and the two pilots return to the Rebel base on Arbra.

Star Wars #65: Golrath Never Forgets

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Luke Skywalker is placed on trial for the negligent death of Lieutenant Shira Brie. A small judges panel, presided over by Princess Leia, General Rieekan and General Veertag examine the evidence of the past several days and conclude that Skywalker is innocent of all charges. He is reinstated into the fleet at the rank of commander once again.

Later, a pilot named Gemmer complains about the photoreceptive imagery from a souvenir piece of rock from the old Golrath base keeping him awake at night. Captain Thorben has Gemmer turn the piece over to the Rebel leaders who quickly examine it. They discover that the natural mineral deposits found on the volcanic world record light images of their surroundings and project them as holograms once the mineral cools. They know that the Imperials have recently taken control of Golrath, and are scared that this geological peculiarity might yield the location of their current base at Arbra. Leia decides to personally lead an expedition to Golrath to eradicate any trace elements that might aid the Galactic Empire in their search for the fleet.

Golrath Station is currently presided over by the recently demoted Lieutenant Mils Giel. He soon learns about the bedrock's astounding properties when two stormtroopers report seeing images of a Rebel training exercise. Giel immediately sends a communiqué to Darth Vader and orders a squad of TIE fighters to defend the base should the Rebels return.

Two flight groups of X-wing and BTL Y-wing starfighters converge on Golrath. They engage with a squadron of Imperial TIE fighters and a vicious battle takes place. Princess Leia maneuvers her Y-wing through the morass of fighters and dives down into the clouds above Golrath. She flies down towards the old base using a parabelt rocket harness.

Leia sneaks into the factory compound and heads directly towards the reactor core. Her intent is to overload the core causing the base to explode. Giel finds her and opens fire, causing Leia to seek cover behind some packing crates. Giel seals off all of the exits and primes the overload switches himself. As valuable a prize as this base may be to the Empire, the chance of killing the leader of the Rebel Alliance is of even greater value – even at the cost of his own life. Leia manages to distract Giel by activating her rocket harness and finds a way to escape from the reactor room. He chases her outside, but is unable to stop her. She radios Lando Calrissian in a Y-wing who meets her at a rendezvous point.

Giel is enraged at his failure. Out of spite, he fires off a shot from his blaster at a passing X-wing fighter before boarding his own Imperial troop transport. Giel evacuates the base just before it explodes. As luck would have it, the ship he fired upon belongs to Luke Skywalker and the small blaster shot causes enough damage to Luke's engines that he is unable to regroup with the fleet. As the rest of the ships enter hyperspace, Luke is left behind with a fresh squad of TIE fighters bearing down on him.

Star Wars #66: The Water Bandits

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Luke Skywalker, having sustained damage to his X-wing fighter is forced to land on the backwater world of Beheboth. He wanders into a moisture farm community in the nearby district of Garrotine. While bartering for food at a local cantina, Luke becomes embroiled in a scuffle with some farmers who mistake him for a brigand. A woman named Darial Anglethorn enters and intercepts them. She takes Luke aside and explains that roving bands of brigands have been stealing their precious stores of water. Luke agrees to help Darial out and she hires him as a bodyguard. She drives Luke out to her moisture farm, which is protected by a gigantic fortified wall.

That night, all of the farmers working at Darial’s installation mysteriously pass out, including Luke. When they awaken, they discover that all of their moisture vaporators are destroyed and Darial is missing. Luke promises to investigate her disappearance and travels across the arid deserts and mountain ranges.

He eventually comes upon the brigand stronghold, operated by a pirate named Gideon Longspar. Longspar’s men get the drop on Luke and bring him into the throne room. Gideon reveals that he has captured Darial and has stolen all of the water supplies from her farm. He has in his possession an alien entity known as Tirrith. The Tirrith entity exists as sentient mystical energy and comprises a hive mind. Longspar has captured half of the entity and threatens to destroy it, unless the remaining half agrees to aid him. The Tirrith has been infecting the moisture vaporators late at night transforming the ambient air moisture into a toxic gas. This is how Gideon has been able to incapacitate people, allowing his brigands to steal the water.

Luke manages to free Darial and destroy the containment pod holding the captured Tirrith particles. The Tirrith then aid him in distracting the guards allowing Luke and Darial the ability to leave the stronghold.

Appreciative for their aid, the Tirrith enter the atmosphere and charge the clouds with electrostatic energy, creating a greatly needed rainfall on Beheboth.

Star Wars #67: The Darker

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As the Rebel leaders discuss a plan to rescue the captured Han Solo; C-3PO, Chewbacca, Plif, and several other Hoojibs venture into the depths of some unexplored tunnels near the hidden Rebel base on Arbra. They are in search of R2-D2 who had wandered off to investigate a faint cry for help, but the cry was a ruse to lure the droid to the home of the Darker. The Darker, a creature made up of dark energies of the ancient civilization of Arbrans, was trapped in an abandoned underground city by a large force field created by the Arbrans. As Threepio and Chewbacca enter the city, they see Artoo has been captured by the dark creature who intends to use the droid's components to develop a mechanism to disable the force field which holds him captive. Chewbacca tries to stop him, but the Darker uses his ability to manipulate emotions to turn the Wookiee against the protocol droid. Threepio is eventually able to free Chewbacca from his possession, and also free R2-D2 from his bonds. He then instructs Chewbacca to capture and hurl the Darker into the force screen realizing this would destroy the creature. Not only is the Darker killed when Chewbacca throws him into the screen, but the cave surrounding the city begins to collapse. The group evacuates the city into a connecting tunnel before it is completely turned to rubble.

Star Wars #68: The Search Begins

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The Rebels continue their search for Han Solo, having just recently learned that Boba Fett was in league with another bounty hunter during the search for the Millennium Falcon. Having narrowed the search down to three different bounty hunters, the Rebels split up into three teams: Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca in the Millennium Falcon, Luke Skywalker and R2-D2 in his X-wing, and Princess Leia Organa and C-3PO in a Y-wing. Of the three bounty hunters on their list, the princess is assigned to hunt down Dengar, last seen on the planet Mandalore. Landing just outside the capital city of Kedalbe, Leia and C-3PO make their way on foot before encountering a caravan of individuals. To their surprise, the procession is a group of slavers, herding a group of enslaved Mandalorians. Before Leia and C-3PO can sneak away, the caravan comes under attack by a group of Mandalorian soldiers led by what looks to be, Boba Fett. During the battle, Leia ends up saving "Fett" from a slaver's attack, and is shocked to find herself fighting by the Mandalorian's side. Following the end of the battle, the Mandalorian leader introduces himself to Leia. He is not actually Boba Fett, but another Mandalorian named Fenn Shysa. Shysa brings Leia and C-3PO back to his base and explains to her how he has spent the past few years trying to free his people from the Galactic Empire's influence in the aftermath of the Clone Wars. Shysa then tells Leia of his role in the Clone Wars, claiming that he fought for the Empire, was led into battle by Boba Fett, and even became acquainted with Leia during briefing missions. Shysa finishes his tale by telling Leia that of all the Mandalorian Protectors, only three survived, his commander, his childhood friend, Tobbi Dala, and himself.

At the end of his story, Leia asks Shysa if he had seen Dengar anywhere on the planet. Shysa leads the princess to a suspended cage, deep within the Mandalorian base, but refuses to turn the bounty hunter over to her. Shysa's friend, Dala had unfortunately been captured a few days before Leia's arrival, and the Mandalorian had made a deal with the Empire, planning to exchange the bounty hunter for his imprisoned friend. As Shysa leads Leia away from Dengar's prison, the bounty hunter calls out to her, promising that he will tell her everything he knows if she will only free him from his cell. Leia decides to take the hunter up on his offer, and when night falls on the camp, she distracts Shysa, while C-3PO sneaks over to Dengar's suspended cell and cuts him free. Before Shysa can figure out what is happening, Leia tricks Shysa into kissing her, using the action to position him next to a large tree. With Shysa off balance, the princess slams his head into the tree, knocking him unconscious. With the Mandalorian leader incapacitated, and Dengar cut loose, Leia and C-3PO make their way back to their ship with their captive, planning to bring him back to the Alliance base and interrogate him there. However, unknown to the princess, when she had freed him from his cell, Dengar had used the time to send a signal to the Empire via a transmitter on his armor. Leia and C-3PO are ambushed by an All Terrain Advance Raider and a group of stormtroopers, leaving C-3PO to claim that the two Rebels are most certainly doomed this time.

Star Wars #69: Death in the City of Bone

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Continuing where the last issue left off, Leia Organa and C-3PO have just been captured by the Galactic Empire, due to the duplicity of the bounty hunter, Dengar. Leia and C-3PO are escorted to the City of Bone in a transport barge where they meet with the Imperial Commander, the Suprema, who assures them that he will soon crush the resistance on Mandalore and kill Fenn Shysa. As Dengar communicates with the Suprema about tracking down Shysa, Princess Leia and C-3PO are led away by stormtroopers. However, one of the stormtroopers is in fact Fenn Shysa in disguise, and he frees the two Rebels. Shysa explains that after Organa had knocked him unconscious, he had awoken to find the princess being captured by the Imperials. Discovering a perfect way to infiltrate the base, Shysa had knocked out one of the perimeter guards and took his place. Shysa tells the princess that he will help her recapture Dengar if she will help him free his friend, Tobbi Dala, from his cell in the City of Bone. After Leia agrees, the group make their way to Dala's cell and mount a rescue. With the two Mandalorian friends reunited, the group decides to mount an attack on the fortress.

Shysa shoots a flare out the window of the city, triggering an assault by his forces. In the commotion that follows, Dala commandeers an airspeeder, and the group make their way back to the Suprema's headquarters. As a shoot-out ensues with the Imperial forces, Organa and Dala destroy the control box powering the energy links of the Mandalorian slaves. Free of their restraints, the Mandalorians rise up against their captors, causing a riot to break out in the city. The rebels use the distraction to enter the Suprema's headquarters, but find the Imperial leader waiting for them. The alien shoots Dala in the chest, mortally wounding him, but the rest of the Rebels are able to stop him from doing any further damage. Dala is near death, but he promises his old friend that he'll open the doors of the city, letting the Mandalorian slaves escape to join up with Shysa's forces who are arrayed outside. True to his word, Dala opens the doors, and the Mandalorians are allowed to escape. As Princess Leia and Shysa escape in their airspeeder, Dala closes the doors, preventing the pursuing Shrike Squadron from pursuing them. The squadron smash headlong into the sides of the city, creating a chain reaction of exploding fuel and ammunition, incinerating the inside of the city and killing both the Suprema and Tobbi Dala. Back at the Mandalorian camp, Shysa forces Dengar to talk by threatening to kill him. Dengar claims that he was not the one working with Fett, but that he overheard someone telling Fett about a hideout in the near the Anga system. Although the mission to find Fett had been a wild goose chase, Leia takes solace in the fact that the Empire's presence on Mandalore has been crippled.

Meanwhile, on the Wheel, Lando Calrissian and Chewbacca are pursuing Bossk, believing that he might be the bounty hunter who had worked with Fett during the search for the Millennium Falcon. The duo have found a patron, Vorol, who knows where Bossk is, and Chewbacca threatens him until he gives up the information. After hearing the location, Calrissian is shocked. "Aw, no. No! Not…there!" he proclaims.

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Post by feitonglong » Sat Aug 30, 2008 10:42 am

Star Wars #70: The Stenax Shuffle

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Following the revelation in the previous issue, Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca, R2-D2, and Luke Skywalker make their way to the planet Stenos in the Millennium Falcon, hoping to find the bounty hunter that worked with Boba Fett during the search for the Millennium Falcon. The group hopes that the search will lead to Fett, who is still in possession of Han Solo, frozen in carbonite. Both Calrissian and Chewbacca's search for Bossk and Skywalker and Artoo's search for IG-88B have led them to the same location. Lando is uneasy about both searches ending up in the same place, and he expects a double-cross. Skywalker jumps on the mention of deception and begins to recount a story about how he and Han had been double-crossed on Stenos right after they joined the Rebellion.

The story segues to several years ago on Stenos, where Leia Organa, Chewbacca, Han Solo, C-3PO, Luke Skywalker, and R2-D2 have just arrived in the Millennium Falcon. The group is on a mission to make contact with a Rebel outpost that had dropped out of communication with the larger Alliance. As the group makes their way to the rendezvous point, they spy Imperial Governor Quorl Matrin, a former contemporary of Princess Leia in the Imperial Senate. The group duck out of sight of the Imperial commander, and eventually make their way to the Rebel outpost. However, when they arrive, they are greeted not by Rebels, but by the Rik Duel gang, a group of smugglers, former acquaintances of Han Solo. Rik Duel, Dani, and Chihdo explain that they have joined the Rebellion as well, to the disbelief of all around. However, Rik is able to convince the group by mentioning the name of the commander the Rebels had been sent to contact, Colonel Kindar. Duel claims that his group was left on Stenos to search for the statue of Vol, a sacred artifact to the native Stenaxes. Rik claims that finding the statue will earn the Stenaxes' eternal gratitude and that the Rebellion hoped they could recruit them as allies if they found the statue.

Duel organizes the group in clearing away the rubble from the Rebel outpost, claiming that the statue is buried somewhere within the ruins. After a long day of digging, the group finally discovers the statue. However, Duel double-crosses them and reveals that he had been working for Governor Matrin, who hoped to add the statue to his personal collection. As the gang leave the Rebel outpost to rendezvous with the Imperial Governor, a large group of stormtroopers, sent there by Chihdo, arrive to attack the Rebels. The group is hopelessly outnumbered but are miraculously saved by a group of Stenaxes who have come to claim their idol. Solo sends them in Rik Duel's direction, and the Rebels prepare to leave the planet, lucky to be alive. As the Millennium Falcon departs Stenos, Rik Duel and his gang arrive at Duel's ship, the Moonshadow, hoping to escape with the artifact, and sell it to someone who will pay more than Matrin. However, the Imperial Governor had predicted the double-cross and cuts off the smugglers at their ship. As Matrin prepares to execute the traitorous con artists, a swarm of Stenaxes descends upon the Imperials. As the spears of the natives began to cut down the Imperials, Duel looks up into the sky to see the tiny silhouette of the Millennium Falcon, knowing that they were responsible somehow for his misfortune.

Back in the present, Luke Skywalker finishes his tale by telling Lando that he assumes that Governor Matrin and the Rik Duel gang were all killed by the rampaging Stenaxes. Calrissian asks Skywalker if he thinks the Stenaxes will be thankful and help the Rebels find the bounty hunters they are looking for. Luke responds with a wry look, causing Lando to respond with, "Uh…maybe we'd better park the ship out of sight of the city."

Star Wars #71: Return to Stenos

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Lando Calrissian, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, and R2-D2 land on the planet Stenos in the Millennium Falcon, intent on tracking down IG-88C and Bossk, who they believe one might have been working with Boba Fett during the search for the Millennium Falcon. They hope that one of the hunters will lead them to Fett, who still has Han Solo captive, frozen in carbonite. As Lando and Luke prepare to enter the capital city, Chewbacca and Artoo stay behind, as droids and Wookiees are uncommon on the planet, and they don't want to draw unwanted attention. The duo decide to start their search in the nearest bar, but as soon as they settle in, Lando is recognized by Barpotomous Drebble, a former enemy of Lando's who yells out that he will give 10,000 credits to the person who captures him. Although Calrissian assumes that no one will take up Drebble's offer, the tavern is soon ablaze with blasterfire, as every patron tries to claim the bounty. As the two Rebels cower behind a table, Skywalker decides to take action, using his lightsaber to cut through the support pillar of the cantina, collapsing a good portion of the building. As the duo make their escape, they inadvertently spot Bossk among the crowd and begin to pursue him. However, their chase leads them right back to the front of the bar they had just vacated, and a new group of people, who want to claim Drebble's bounty.

The two Rebels take of running, but get split up. Skywalker finds himself in an alley, where he is surprised to see Rik Duel and Dani, alive and well. Rik explains how he and his gang escaped from the Stenaxes by blaming Quorl Matrin and running when the Stenaxes attacked. Although Skywalker is immediately distrustful of Duel, the smuggler claims that he holds no grudge against him and that he needs his help in finding Chihdo, his Rodian partner who had inexplicably gone missing. Skywalker, Dani, and Duel make their way through the streets of Stenos, but before they have even begun to search, Luke is pulled aside by Lando, who was hiding in a different alley. Lando explains to Luke that he's found Han. Lando points out a carbonite slab being hauled through the streets of the city, and the two Rebels begin to tail it, hoping to see their friend at last. The two follow the carbonite block into a large building, where it has been set down in a large room. However, as they approach the slab, they find that the person trapped in the carbonite is not Han, but instead, Chihdo. Bossk and IG-88C had used the carbonite block as a lure, to draw the Rebels into their camp. As Luke and Lando turn to leave, they find that they are surrounded by a large group of bounty hunters led by Bossk, who points at the two Rebels and states, "You're surrounded."

Star Wars #72: Fool's Bounty

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Following the events of the previous issue, Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian are surrounded by a group of bounty hunters led by IG-88C and Bossk. Before the bounty hunters can capture them, Rik Duel and Dani jump out from their hiding place behind Chihdo's carbonite slab, firing their blasters wildly. Using the element of surprise, Luke, Dani, Lando, and Rik are able to fight back the bounty hunters. However, IG-88C is able to signal several other hunters, and they quickly overwhelm the opposition, capturing Lando and Dani. Rik and Luke are able to escape from the assault and begin to plan a rescue. Luke attempts to contact Chewbacca and R2-D2 with his comlink, but the two have left the Millennium Falcon to explore the city. Chewie and R2 begin to search for their friends and come into contact with a local Stenax. Meanwhile, Lando and Dani are being led to a carbon-freezing chamber. Lando attempts to bribe the guard who is escorting them, but his attempts are thwarted by Barpotomous Drebble, who has paid the guards to freeze Calrissian and transport him to his home planet. Dani, distraught over their impending doom, attempts to seduce the guard but is also unsuccessful. However, as the guard pushes her away, she responds with a kick to the face, knocking him unconscious. Drebble notices their escape attempt and orders the hunters to chase them down, and Lando and Dani begin to flee through the city streets. However, the hunters are able to herd the two directly to their carbon-freezing chamber and recapture them.

Meanwhile, Rik and Luke have made their way to the top of the city buildings, directly above the bounty hunters' carbon-freezing chamber. As Dani is about to be lowered into the chamber, Luke and Rik ambush the hunters but are quickly subdued by the overwhelming opposition. However, Chewbacca comes to the rescue, having co-opted the Stenax into helping him. As the hunters are cut down by Stenax spears, Bossk and IG-88C try to make a quick escape out the back exit only to be stopped by Chewbacca who incapacitates them. With their leaders defeated, the rest of the bounty hunters are quickly subdued. Lando and Luke thank Chewbacca for his help and apologize to the Wookiee for having met another dead end in the search for Han Solo. Chewbacca playfully lifts his two friends, and the Rebels make their way back to the Millennium Falcon, leaving Rik Duel to postulate how to emulate Chewbacca's feat of recruiting the Stenax and unfreeze Chihdo from the carbonite. As the Millennium Falcon departs from Stenos, they are surprised to find a stowaway. Dani, infatuated with Luke, has decided to accompany the Rebels and leave Rik to his ponderings.

Star Wars #73: Lahsbane

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Following Dani's joining of the Rebels in the previous issue. Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Lando Calrissian, R2-D2, C-3PO, and Dani have come to Lahsbane on a mission to recover the datatapes of a crashed Rebel pilot, Yom Argo. As Luke tries to converse with the native Lahsbees using C-3PO to translate, he is thwarted by their less than serious demeanor as well as Dani's amorous advances. The Lahsbee eventually explain that both Argo and a Lahsbee that was helping him were killed in the crash, and the natives had taken the tapes to the Forbidden City to honor their fallen comrade. The city is separated from their landing zone by a large canyon, but the Rebels are unable to fly there due to the Millennium Falcon's intake valves becoming clogged by a fine pollen present on the world. R2 begins work on removing the pollen, but it will be a day-long job. Unfortunately, a shuttle of Imperials were also on the trail of Argo, and had also landed on the world, making the retrieval of the tapes much more urgent. As the Imperial officer begins to question the local Lahsbee, Lando and Luke scramble to hide their presence from the Imperials, leaving Leia and Dani feeling useless. The two women begin to insult each other over their apparent lack of importance, eventually challenging each other to retrieve the Argo datatapes to prove their worth. Both agree to set out for the Forbidden City at nightfall.

At dusk, the two women acquire a pair of hot air balloons to cross the canyon. As they prepare to cross, they are nearly discovered by the Imperials but escape detection through Dani's quick thinking. The two eventually make their way to the city and begin to explore, surprised that the doorways of the city are quite large, since the native Lahsbees are a very diminutive species. Meanwhile, back with the Millennium Falcon, C-3PO tells Lando and Luke of Dani and Leia's mission, who are both shocked, fearing for their safety. Luke immediately sets out to find them, using a primitive glider. At the same time, Lando is suddenly attacked by a Huhk, the mature form of the Lahsbee race, an aggressive, hulking beast. Chewbacca attempts to fight off the Huhk, but is slowly overpowered by the larger creature. C-3PO explains that once Lahsbees become Huhks, they go to the Forbidden City to live, giving Lando another reason to fear for Leia and Dani's safety. Right before Chewbacca is about to succumb to the Huhk's stranglehold, Lando is able to hit the Huhk with a stun blast, knocking him unconscious.

Meanwhile, at the Forbidden City, Leia and Dani eventually locate the datatapes among a huge treasure trove. As Leia secures the tapes, Dani takes the time to steal a large amount of the treasure in the room. However, as they leave, they are confronted by a large group of Huhks, who quickly back the women into a corner. Without weapons, the two are helpless, but are saved at the last moment by Luke, who stuns the Huhks with his blaster. With the tapes in hand, the group makes their way back to the Millennium Falcon which has been repaired by R2. The Lahsbees are content to let the Rebels take the tapes after learning that they are related to advanced technology, something that they detest. As the Rebels prepare to leave, they are shocked to see the Imperial shuttle flying through the sky, as the Lahsbees had reported the Imperials to still be out on patrol. On the Imperial shuttle, Dani is surrounded by a load of treasure that she had stolen from the Forbidden City and on a course back to Rik Duel.

Star Wars #74: The Iskalon Effect

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Following their expedition to Lahsbane in the previous issue, Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, C-3PO, and R2-D2 have been sent to the planet of Iskalon to track down Yom Argo's partner, Tay Vanis, who has gone missing. Leia is irritated that they have been diverted from their search for Han Solo, but Luke assures her that Alliance High Command have other people continuing the search. As the group descends into the depths of the city of Pavillion, they meet with the School's leader, Primor, his son, Mone, and Mone's wife, Kendle. After questioning the locals about the whereabouts of Tay Vanis, Kendle mentions Vanis' droid, K-3PX, who apparently contains all the information Vanis had gathered on the Empire's secret plans. The last known whereabouts of the droid was at the Gamandar Citadel, a huge structure erected by the Empire on the planet of Gamandar. The Rebels decide to split up, with Lando, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2 going to Gamandar to search for the droid, while Leia and Luke stay on Iskalon, as they are too likely to be recognized. Mone decides to go with Lando's team, despite the objections of his father and wife.

As the Millennium Falcon departs Iskalon, Primor decides to entertain Luke and Leia, equipping them with rebreathers and showing them the beauty of his world. Primor teaches Luke to swim, and shows them the Iskalonians' primary weapon, the Stinger. As Primor decides to lead the two Rebels to Tay Vanis' favorite grottoes, Luke spies a struggle taking place inside Pavillion. As the group moves closer to the windows of the city, they see Kendle sprawled on the floor suffocating, her water tank smashed. Luke scrambles to the surface to enter the city and save the struggling woman. Meanwhile, on Gamandar, Admiral Griggor Tower has received word from his spy on Iskalon. In an attempt to destroy the Rebels, Tower fires an interplanetary missile at the city of Pavillion. The Millennium Falcon narrowly dodges the missile but continues towards Gamandar. Back on Iskalon, Luke and Leia are able to reach Kendle but believe it may be too late to get her back into the water and save her. However, the missile strikes the planet, near Pavillion, creating a large tidal wave, which smashes into Pavillion and floods the city.

Star Wars #75: Tidal

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Following the destruction of the city of Pavillion in the previous issue, Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker, and Kendle are swept out into the oceans of Iskalon by the Iskalon effect. With only one rebreather, Luke and Leia are forced to share the device as they try to make their way back to the surface. As they spot Kendle underwater, the two Rebels begin to follow their friend. However, they are cut off by a Chuhkyvi warrior who scares Kendle away and destroys their rebreather. The warrior leads Leia and Luke out of the wreckage to the surface where they spot Primor, killed during the destruction of Pavillion. As they grieve over the dead Inleshat, Kendle arrives to lament the death of her father-in-law. However, the mysterious Chuhkyvi warrior arrives again to chase Kendle away. Before the Chuhkyvi can attack Kendle, Luke grabs the warrior and forces him to explain his actions. The Chuhkyvi, who identifies himself as Kiro, explains that Kendle had betrayed the Rebels' location to the Empire causing the Imperials to attack Iskalon and destroy Pavillion. As Kendle is to blame, Kiro is attempting to kill the woman for her treachery. As Luke and Leia ponder her words, Luke realizes that Kendle's betrayal has endangered Lando Calrissian's mission to Gamandar.

Meanwhile, Lando, Chewbacca, Mone, R2-D2, and C-3PO have gone to Gamandar to search for Tay Vanis' droid K-3PX, who apparently contains all the information that Vanis had gathered on the Imperials' plans. As the group begins to approach the Gamandar Citadel, Lando puts on a disguise, complete with a beret and an eye patch. R2 takes the time to plug into the local computers to download information. However, as he attempts to catch up with the rest of the team, he is grabbed by an Imperial officer who believes him to be part of the droid crew on Gamandar, sending him to help the Imperials with inventory. Lando meets with Admiral Griggor Tower, using Drebble's name as his alias. As Lando claims that he is searching for Tay Vanis to resolve a debt that Vanis owes him, Lando picks up information on K-3PX, getting Tower's permission to search the droids who are on work detail. However, as the disguised Rebels leave, Tower's spy confirms his suspicions that they are the same Rebels who were on Iskalon.

Lando, Chewbacca, Mone, and C-3PO make their way to the droid work area to search for K-3PX, where they find R2-D2 working hard among the Imperial droids. As Lando searches the droid inventory, he finds K-3PX and purchases him from the Imperial officers who are supervising the droid detail. With their mission complete, Lando tries to lead Vanis' droid back to the Millennium Falcon, but after dropping several hints to the droid, the droid refuses to follow them. However, after Lando mentions Luke Skywalker, K-3PX immediately betrays them, having only been a ruse to capture the Rebels. Kendle had sent them after the wrong droid, hoping to get them captured. All the Rebels save R2-D2 are sent to a prison cell within the citadel to await the arrival of Darth Vader.

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