Legacy 23 is the twenty-third issue of the comic series Star Wars: Legacy. It contains the story "Loyalties, Part 1." Within its pages, the bounty hunter Cade Skywalker and a group of his allies storm the grounded starship Crimson Axe on the planet Socorro and retrieve another starship, the Grinning Liar, from the pirate Rav. Rav afterward solidifies an alliance with the Sith Lady Darth Maladi, and deposed Emperor Roan Fel prepares to send several of his Imperial Knights on a mission to pursue Skywalker. His daughter Marasiah and fellow Imperial Knight Antares Draco discuss their feelings for one another, and the crew of the Mynock arrive at the planet Iego to find the home of their friend "Bantha" Rawk under attack from the criminals of Black Sun. They are pursued to Iego by a masked stranger named Azlyn Rae.
The issue was written by John Ostrander and penciled by Jan Duursema. Its events conclude an existing storyline while simultaneously beginning to move pieces into position in advance of Legacys contribution to the Dark Horse Comics crossover event, Star Wars: Vector. 30,346 copies of Legacy 23 were released to comic shops worldwide on May 7, 2008, which made it Dark Horse's third-highest selling comic of the month. The issue received generally positive feedback across the internet following its release, and the following month's Legacy (2006) 24 wrapped up Legacys Loyalties story arc. In 2009, the comic was included in Legacys fifth trade paperback, The Hidden Temple, and it was later part of the hardcover release Star Wars: Legacy Book 2 in 2013. The issue was released digitally on December 28, 2011.
In the year 137 ABY, Naxy Screeger—a debt-ridden gambler in the service of the pirate Rav—sneaks into the back door of Rav's Golden Gorg Cantina, located within the grounded starship Crimson Axe on the planet Socorro. He is spotted by Rav and chastised for using the unmarked entrance, but Screeger reveals that he has encountered some friends: the bounty hunters Cade Skywalker and Jariah Syn, and the smugglers Chak and Kee, who come in with guns blazing in an effort to retrieve Chak and Kee's starship, the Grinning Liar. Rav has been in possession of the ship since he betrayed Syn to Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire, and he responds by ordering a group of his cronies to attack the new arrivals. Skywalker and his allies make short work of their foes with a lightsaber, blasters, and razor bugs, and Skywalker turns his lightsaber on Rav. Rav offers him death sticks, but Skywalker uses the threat of Force lightning to coerce Rav into swearing the loyalty oath of the Bloody Bones to him in retaliation for Rav's betrayal of Syn, a former member of his crew. Rav releases the Grinning Liar back into Chak and Kee's possession, and Skywalker and his allies depart the cantina as a masked stranger watches them from the back door.
Cade Skywalker shocks Rav into submission.
Rav immediately contacts Darth Maladi of Darth Krayt's One Sith and reports Skywalker's whereabouts to her. She threatens death if he is ever unfaithful to her, and he swears the oath of the Bloody Bones for the second time in several minutes. Meanwhile, on the fortress world of Bastion, deposed Emperor Roan Fel of the Empire-in-exile laments having let Skywalker, at one time his guest, leave the planet. Fel is worried that the bounty hunter betrayed Imperial secrets to Galactic Emperor Darth Krayt during his recent stint as a Sith prisoner, and he sends three Imperial Knights—Ganner Krieg, Antares Draco, and his daughter Marasiah—on a mission. Draco fails to answer his summons, choosing to instead sulk in the palace's greenhouses over his forbidden love for Marasiah. She seeks him out, however, and assures him that his feelings are reciprocated, kissing him to prove the point.
As they prepare to depart Socorro in their respective ships, Skywalker exchanges farewells with Chak and Kee, who advise him to lose himself in the galaxy's underworld. Screeger is desperate for a ride offworld to spare him from Rav's wrath, and Skywalker tosses him into the smelly cargo hold of his ship, the Mynock. He and Syn then prep the ship for a journey to Iego to visit their old friend "Bantha" Rawk. En route, Skywalker seeks out Deliah Blue, the ship's mechanic and a romantic interest of his, who is tinkering with the ship and is resentful of him for having become passionate with the Sith Hand Darth Talon. She eventually forgives him, and Skywalker shoos his astromech droid, R2-D2, away as he and Blue share a tender moment.
The Mynock arrives at Iego, although it is followed by the masked stranger from the cantina. Its crew finds Rawk's home under attack by forces of the criminal organization Black Sun, and Skywalker mans his ship's guns to help Rawk's family fight the attackers off. When the threat is neutralized, Rawk invites them in for dinner. The stranger makes planetfall and reports via comlink to an unseen ally on Skywalker's whereabouts. As she concludes her transmission, she mentions her name: Azlyn Rae.
The issue's cover art
In 2006, Dark Horse Comics' Vice-President of Publishing Randy Stradley conceived of a crossover event occurring throughout all four Star Wars comic series being published by Dark Horse at the time: Knights of the Old Republic, Dark Times, Rebellion, and Legacy. His hope was that events in the crossover would genuinely affect the characters of each series, keeping existing fans satisfied while simultaneously attracting new ones. John Ostrander and Jan Duursema, the creative team behind Legacy, helped Stradley plan the crossover, which was eventually dubbed Star Wars: Vector. They were committed to telling a good story within Legacys chapters of the tale. As a twelve-issue event that would be told in the pages of all four series throughout 2008, Vector would conclude within issues 28–31 of Legacy. Ostrander and Duursema decided that the death of Darth Krayt, the series' primary antagonist, would be the large event that would bring Vector to a close. Accordingly, nearly every issue of Legacy published in 2008 served to build up to Krayt's death, moving various pieces of the story into motion. Legacy 23 introduces the character of Azlyn Rae, a character who would go on to play a large role in Legacys chapters of Vector and deliver one of the killing strokes to Krayt.
The comic is the twenty-third issue of Legacy and the first of two issues in the series' Star Wars: Legacy: Loyalties story arc. However, the "Blaster" department of the 101st issue of Star Wars Insider, released on May 6, 2008, asserts that the arc covers Issues 22–23 and is titled Home. It is the first issue of Legacy since its nineteenth to feature the bounty hunter Cade Skywalker, the series' principal protagonist. The nineteenth issue saw Skywalker escape from the clutches of Darth Krayt, and Legacy 23 focuses on his actions and decisions immediately thereafter. Skywalker speaks several words of Huttese in the issue, and a short glossary appears within the comic's letters column. Ostrander consulted the Galactic Phrase Book & Travel Guide, published in 2001, in order to accurately portray the language.
The issue was written by Ostrander, penciled by Duursema, and edited by Stradley. Dan Parsons inked, Brad Anderson colored, and Michael Heisler provided lettering. Duursema and Anderson also designed the cover, which features a photograph of Skywalker, Jariah Syn, and Rav. While penciling it, Duursema attempted to invoke the feeling of a photograph from the American Old West, hoping that it would reflect a happy time from Skywalker's past. Sean Cooke was also credited as Designer, Mike Richardson as Publisher, and Freddye Lins and Dave Marshall as Assistant Editors.
First announced in January 2008, Legacy 23 was originally scheduled for a release date of April 16, but its publication was delayed by nearly one month due to compounded delays from previous Legacy issues. After a three-page teaser preview was published online by Dark Horse, the issue was eventually released to comic shops on May 7, 2008. Including advertisements, the issue is forty pages long; the story itself is twenty-two pages. The comic was later included in the trade paperback Star Wars: Legacy Volume 5: The Hidden Temple, released on January 21, 2009, and the hardcover omnibus Star Wars: Legacy Book 2, released on September 18, 2013. On December 28, 2011, the issue was released digitally.
In addition to setting up the events of Vector, Legacy 23 also brings a storyline to a close. Chak and Kee had first appeared in Legacy in its fourteenth issue, where they revealed that Syn and Blue had borrowed the Grinning Liar before going missing. Issue 16 established that Rav had betrayed Syn and Blue to Darth Krayt's Imperials and taken the Grinning Liar for himself. Loyalties, Part 1 sees Chak and Kee retrieve their ship from Rav, and marks their final appearance within Legacys pages.
Legacys nineteenth issue had seen Skywalker impale Darth Talon with his lightsaber. Although The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, later released in December 2008, claims that the act killed her, Legacy 23 depicts her floating in a bacta tank behind Darth Maladi. A fully-recovered Talon had previously appeared in Legacy (2006) 22, however. The planet Iego's appearance in the comic marks its first appearance in the Star Wars Legends continuity after first being mentioned in the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace.
30,346 copies of Legacy 23 were shipped to comic shops worldwide for its May 2008 release. It was the seventy-second highest-selling comic issue of the month, and the third highest for Dark Horse. Following its release, the issue received positive reception among fans at both the Jedi Council Forums and the DarkHorse.com message boards. A reviewer called "Graceland Geek" at the website Geeks of Doom felt that it was a filler issue where not very much happened, but praised the cliffhanger ending for leaving the reader wanting to read more. They asserted that the issue's best quality was that it felt like a genuine Star Wars story, but believed that the art was rough in some places. On TheForce.net, reviewer JF Boivin awarded the issue 7.5/10, praising its personal story for balancing out the galaxy-shattering events of previous issues, yet still depicting the Sith as manipulating events behind the scenes. Boivin also asserted that the artistic team were at their top form and encouraged readers not to miss the issue.
Azlyn Rae is unmasked in Loyalties, Part 2.
The various plotlines introduced in Legacy 23 continued in subsequent issues of Legacy, affecting its story throughout 2008 and beyond. "Bantha" Rawk is revealed to be Skywalker's Uncle Nat in the subsequent Legacy (2006) 24, and Azlyn Rae an Imperial Knight and childhood friend of Skywalker's. The mission undertaken by Draco, Krieg, and Marasiah sees them follow Skywalker to the Jedi Order's Hidden Temple and join him on a mission to assassinate Darth Krayt. Rae plays a large role in Legacys remaining 2008 issues, also joining the assassination mission and rekindling an old romance with Skywalker during its course. She stabs Darth Krayt during Vectors climax, directly contributing to his apparent death. Rav's partnership with Maladi sees him lure Skywalker into her clutches on Wayland during a 2009–2010 story arc, and the Grinning Liar helps evacuate residents of the planet Dac after the world is poisoned by the Sith.
- Star Wars: Legacy Volume 5: The Hidden Temple
- Star Wars: Legacy Book 2
- Star Wars Legends Epic Collection: Legacy Vol. 2