- Bounty Hunters on the attack—against the Empire!
- Darth Vader and Aphra continue their alliance – but how long will it last?
- Plus: Who is Tagge's mysterious new agent?
Dr Aphra and her team of mercenaries follow an Arquites-class light cruiser near the planet Anthan Prime in the edge of the Outer Rim Territories. This cruiser is carrying credits confiscated from the Son-tuul Pride syndicate. Her plan involves blowing up a large asteroid to create an asteroid field in order to distract the Imperial crew while she and her team board the ship. While the Imperial cruiser takes a hit from asteroid debris, Dr Aphra's Ark Angel ship disables the light cruiser with an ion torpedo. With the ship disabled, she along with IG-90, Bossk, and Beebox board the ship's hull in space suits and magnetic clamps. The astromech droid Beetee is given a separate assignment.
After entering the ship through a hatch, they head to the treasure vault. While Beebox keeps the Imperial crew door sealed, Dr Aphra uses an electro magnetic pulse grenade to electrocute the Viper probe droids, allowing Bossk and IG-90 to take them down. While Dr Aphra works on unlocking the vault, Triple Zero sends the Wookiee Krrsantan in an Auzituck anti-slaver ship to drag an asteroid onto the Imperial light cruiser, causing a collision that exposes the vault to space. The confiscated Son-tuul Pride credits are sucked out into space while Beetee watches.
Aboard the Ark Angel, Triple Zero congratulates Dr Aphra about the success of her heist but regrets that no humanoids were killed. Meanwhile, Beetee sucks up as many of the credits as he can, accumulating enough to fill two boxes. Back aboard the Ark Angel, Dr Aphra is pleased with their heist. She proposes dividing the loot but Black Krrsantan agrees to take enough just to cover the expenses. Translating for Black Krssantan, IG-90 warns Dr Aphra not to cross bounty hunters, a sentiment shared by Beebox. Triple Zero also opines it is dangerous to hide. Dr Aphra says she has a lax attitude towards property rights but is smart enough not to cross the four deadliest bounty hunters in the galaxy. Bossk warns her not to do it. Beebox reminds her to pay up next time.
Dr Aphra, the droids and Black Krrsantan meet in a rocky cave on Anthan 13, a moon of Anthan Prime. With Dr Aphra's knowledge, Black Krrsantan used a satellite to suck up a large chunk of the stolen credits from the Imperial light cruiser. Aphra promises to help Black Krrsantan with his problem and promises not to cross him. They are joined by Darth Vader, who had hired Dr Aphra to steal the credits to build a droid factory and to pay the bounty hunters. She asks Lord Vader what she will get in payment for her services.
Darth Vader responds that he needs information. When she asks if it is about the boy who destroyed the Death Star, Vader says it is something else and hands her a microchip containing the information. He orders her to contact him when she has succeeded. Triple Zero requests his share of the reward but Aphra tells him to be patient.
Later, Grand General Cassio Tagge briefs Darth Vader and Cylo's followers Aiolin Astarte, Morit Astarte, Commander Karbin, and Tulon Voidgazer about the threat of a rebel group called the Plasma Devils. While the Empire has "disciplined" the criminal organizations and planetary governors and forced the rebels into retreat, the Plasma Devils have caused trouble for the Empire on Mygeeto, Son-tuul, and Anthan 14. Grand General Tagge tasks the Astarte twins with dealing with the generals.
Commander Karbin objects to the Astartes getting the assignment on the grounds that they lack military experience. Tagge reminds Karbin that he outranks him and that he is merely a tool of the Emperor. Tagge instead tasks Karbin with capturing or killing the rebel pilot who destroyed the Death Star. Vader objects on the grounds that he will hunt down the rebel pilot and bring him to the Emperor personally. Voidgazer tells Vader that they are not here to salve his conscience and blames him for the loss of the Death Star. She seeks to capture the rebel pilot as vengeance for the deaths of her comrades.
Grand General Tagge rejects both Vader and Voidgazer's demands, telling them that they are personally invested in the Death Star and warns that their passion can be disruptive. Tagge tasks Tulon with tackling certain research problems while assigning Lord Vader with punish those responsible for stealing the Son-tuul Pride's confiscated fortune. He tasks Lord Vader with delivering the Emperor's justice to the thieves before dismissing the group.
Grand General Tagge also assigns Inspector Thanoth to serve as Lord Vader's replacement adjutant for the late Oon-ai at the Emperor's request. Inspector Thanoth tells Vader that the evidence suggests that the culprits used the moons of Anthan Prime to stage their heist. Thanoth also tells Lord Vader that there is a slight ionization of surface dust from Anthan 13 on his armor. Thanoth warns the Sith Lord that he is not a sycophant, traitor or incompetent but a professional investigator. He vows to have the case resolved within several days. Lord Vader responds that "we shall see."
- Star Wars: Darth Vader Vol. 2 — Shadows and Secrets
- Star Wars: Darth Vader Vol. 1
- Star Wars: Darth Vader by Kieron Gillen & Salvador Larroca Omnibus
- Star Wars: Doctor Aphra Omnibus Vol. 1
- Star Wars: Darth Vader Modern Era Epic Collection: Shadows and Secrets
- The Marvel Art of Star Wars