As the Emperor [sic] grip tightens on the galaxy, no tolerance for rebellion can be afforded… especially not when being fomented by a surviving Jedi on Mon Cala.
In Dac City, the Mon Calamari and Quarren forces under King Lee-Char battle an Imperial battalion consisting of AT-AT walkers, AT-PD walkers, and TIE fighters. Meanwhile, Darth Vader, the Inquisitors Ninth Sister, Tenth Brother, and the Sixth Brother, and Purge Troopers secure the landing platform after killing many Mon Calamari and Quarren.
The Inquisitors head towards the palace. The Ninth Sister thinks that it is folly to believe that the Jedi fugitive will be hiding near the King. Vader responds that King Lee-Char knows how to contact the Jedi fugitive. The Tenth Brother thinks that Lee-Char probably fled the moment that the Imperial battalion arrived. However, Vader senses that the King is still here since he is familiar with him. Experiencing a flashback to the coronation of King Lee-Char, Darth Vader reasons that the King will not abandon his city till the battle is done.
In the command center, King Lee-Char views a hologram of the battle. Commander Ackbar informs him that the defenders are holding their own but the Empire has landed substantial forces on all their "above ground" settlements, which the Mon Calamari and Quarren do not excel at fighting. King Lee-Char gives orders for the troops to hold until the evacuation is complete. Ackbar promises that their forces will old and that they have already moved fifty percent of civilians below the surface.
Admiral Raddus is unwilling to surrender Mon Cala's surface cities to the Empire since this is their planet. Lee-Char counters that this is strategic retreat. Once their populations are safe, he says that they will consider their response. He explains that his goal is to convince the Empire to leave without shedding the blood of Mon Cala. He sees two options: war and diplomacy.
King Lee-Char contacts Governor Wilhuff Tarkin, who is aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer Sovereign by holoprojector, demanding that he withdraw Imperial forces immediately. Lee-Char claims that the attack is unwarranted in completed violation of Mon Cala's treaty with the Empire. Tarkin disagrees on the grounds that an Imperial envoy was killed while under his protection. He says that this situation merits a military response and vows to restore order to Mon Cala.
King Lee-Char reassures him that he had nothing to do with Ambassador Telvar's death and that his death would hurt their negotiations. Not believing Lee-Char, Tarkin reiterates his demand that the King order his forces to stand down and allow the Empire to conduct its investigation.
Lee Char counters that the Empire is not investigating but invading. While Mon Cala is loyal to the Empire, he vows that he will not allow the Empire to occupy their lands and and kill their soldiers. He warns that if Tarkin persists, the Mon Calamari will aggressively defend themselves. Rejecting Lee-Char's warning, Tarkin advises the King to stop fighting before terminating communications.
Tarkin orders a lieutenant to inform Major Rantu to expect significant counter-attack from indigenous forces once the Mon Calamari and Quarren have evacuated their civilian population from their settlements above the surface. When the lieutenant asks about the nature of the attack, Tarkin says he has no idea but thinks they are familiar with the locals' weapon systems and believe there are no surprises.
Meanwhile, the Jedi adviser "Master" Ferren Barr addresses his followers, which include several humans and a humanoid. Viewing footage of Vader and his Inquisitors, Barr says that he did not expect Emperor Palpatine to send Skywalker but admits that the Force does as it wills. When Verla asks who is Skywalker, Barr replies that Anakin Skywalker is the "Chosen One."
Barr orders his droid Endee to display files 430 to 459. The droid displays a hologram of several Aurebesh characters including Skywalker. As the droid plays back a video of Anakin fighting B1-series battle droids, Barr explains that Skywalker was the greatest of his generation, who was accepted into the Jedi Temple for training at a later age. Barr recalls sparring with Skywalker but says that the Jedi were wrong to believe that he was the Chosen One.
Barr shows footage of a fallen Skywalker leading the 501st Legion during the siege of the Jedi Temple. Barr explains to his acolytes that he obtained the footage from a slicer who pulled them off a backup up archive. Reflecting on Order 66, Barr says that they should have been focusing inward rather than outwards. Barr talks about how Vader killed younglings and that he continues to hunt Jedi with the Inquisitors, former Jedi. While Skywalker has embraced the dark side and become Vader, he says that even the power of the dark side cannot erase the past.
When Daren asks why doesn't Barr reveal to the public that Palpatine's former enforces are Jedi, Barr opines that this is futile since the Emperor is skilled at lying. Barr says that this is why they are here. Once the galaxy sees what the Empire is capable of, he believes that they will resist. Barr regards the Jedi and Sith as relics of a lost age but believes people can understand oppression and freedom.
Rebb says that the Jedi must be avenged and asks Barr to send them to destroy Vader. Barr opines that taking on Vader will be too dangerous but says he has another plan could bring down the Sith and their Empire if they succeed. When Rebb asks how, he replies that it depends on the King.
Barr contacts King Lee-Char via holoprojector and tells him about his plan. The King is unsure whether he could take such drastic action since he has completed the evacuation of his people from the surface cities. King Lee-Char proposes letting the Empire continue their investigation and is confident that they would find that his people did not kill the Imperial Ambassador. Barr advises the King that the Empire will not leave.
Barr claims that the Force has shown him what the Empire will become and that the aggressions on Mon Cala are the beginning of a relentless erosion of freedom across the Empire. He claims that his visions show him that the Mon Calamari will be the center of the galaxy's liberation from the Empire. He implores Barr to take action to save his people. The King agress and activates something that brings great whale-like creatures out of the ocean depths.
Briefing Commander Ackbar and Admiral Raddus by holoprojector, he orders Ackbar to coordinate the defense of the northern hemisphere and Raddus to lead the defense of the southern hemisphere. When Ackbar asks if he has taken action to counter the Empire's escalation of hostilities, Lee-Char responds that he had two plans to push back the Imperials. Since the first failed, he plans to launch his second plan.
The King plans to make an address to his people but is interrupted by the arrival of Vader, his Inquisitors, and Purge Troopers, who have killed his guards. Vader hurls Lee-Char against the wall and orders the Ninth Sister to do her work. Before the Ninth Sister can probe Lee-Char's mind, an Imperial signals officer aboard the Sovereign detects strange signals across Mon Cala.
Several whale-like creatures surface, creating giant tsunamis that swamp the above surface cities. Vader and his Inquisitors are caught in the tsunami, which also overwhelms the Imperial battalion on Dac City. The Inquisitors and Lord Vader struggle to hold back the tsunami but are swept away.
Aboard the Sovereign, a shocked Colonel Bergon remarks that the Mon Calamari have destroyed all of their cities. Governor Tarkin disagrees, saying that Dac City and the others were merely surface outposts. He says that the Mon Calamari and Quarren's true civilization lies underwater. While the enemy is barely hurt, the Empire is unable to use their surface cities as staging grounds.
With the loss of Major Rantu's forces, Tarkin orders Colonel Bergon to lead the next assault wave, which consists of aerial landing platforms. When Tarkin asks the Imperial Security Bureau Commander Jordo why they did not know that the Mon Calamari possessed the capability to sink their cities, he apologizes that he did not know but vows to redouble his efforts. Tarkin agrees but warns that it is a long fall to the ocean. Tarkin asks the lieutenant aboard Vader's whereabouts but they have lost contact with Vader. Vader sinks into the depths of Mon Cala's oceans.
In one panel of the issue, Colonel Bergon appears to make a statement, but Wilhuff Tarkin replies to Commander Jordo.
At one point an Imperial officer calls Tarkin "Grand Moff Tarkin." However, Tarkin was not made Grand Moff by the Emperor until 14 BBY, after the events of the Tarkin novel.
"Tyranus" is misspelled as "Tyrannus" in the images of Ferren Barr's files.
- UPC 759606086665; April 11, 2018; Marvel Comics
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