Doctor Aphra #20 marks the twentieth installment of the comic book series Star Wars: Doctor Aphra (2016), published by Marvel. Simon Spurrier penned the script, while Kev Walker provided the artwork for this issue, which debuted on May 23, 2018. The story featured within is titled "The Catastrophe Con Part I," depicting Doctor Aphra as an inmate aboard the Galactic Empire's Accresker Jail.
NOW BEGINS BROKEN, INSIDE! Aphra finds herself imprisoned once more. However, this time, she's in the clutches of the Empire, bound to an explosive device linked to a central hub-droid. One wrong move? BOOM! Normally, this wouldn't be a problem for Aphra to remain still – but what will happen when her Imperial captors send her hub-droid into the heart of a war zone? Oh, and did we mention the rumors of the prison being haunted?
Following her capture a week prior during a Galactic Empire attack against the Son-tuul Pride criminal organization, the renegade archaeologist Chelli Aphra, known as Doctor Aphra, is now a prisoner on the mobile Imperial wreckage-prison, the Accresker Jail. This prison consists of accumulated starship debris towed by a cruiser. As an inmate, Aphra is compelled to serve in the Accresker Penal Legion, a disposable military unit used by the Empire. During questioning by an Imperial officer, Aphra recounts the events of the previous engagement: an attack directed at a Rebel Alliance frigate.
During the conflict, Aphra sabotages the hubdroid overseeing her squad, triggering an explosion. This blast kills every prisoner in the group, except for the apprehensive electrician Lopset Yas. With their hubdroid destroyed, the proximity bombs embedded in Aphra and Yas' necks are on the verge of detonating. However, they are rescued by another hubdroid—Dek-Nil, a droideka modified by Aphra, who had also been seized by the Empire.
Simultaneously, on the planet Son-tuul, 0-0-0, the assassin droid who lost his position at the head of the Son-tuul Pride during the recent assault, stands amid the ruins of the Son-tuul Spaceport alongside fellow assassin droid BT-1. These droids are determined to find Aphra, who previously encrypted the memories of the Triple-Zero protocol personality matrix, which Triple-Zero had coerced the archaeologist to recover for him.
Aboard the Accresker Jail, Aphra guides Dek-Nil and Yas away from the battle, attempting to escape the prison. They discover an undamaged escape pod located at the edge of the Accresker Jail's airshield. However, before they can flee, an invisible force forces Dek-Nil's restraining bolt through the beskar casing protecting his control circuits, allowing Imperial programming to take control. Dek-Nil then destroys the escape pod, thwarting Aphra's plan. As the pod explodes, Aphra glimpses a ghostly figure nearby, speaking of justice. The battle concludes, and the prisoners are ordered back to Accresker Jail. Aphra loses sight of the figure and is forced to abandon her escape attempt, retreating to the prison.
The officer concludes the interrogation, and his lieutenant deduces that Aphra is withholding information from the interrogator droid. With no strategy and no chance of escape, Aphra is escorted back to the prison by Dek-Nil, who remains under Imperial control. Upon returning to her quarters, she encounters Yas, who presents her with a transmitter he assembled from salvaged parts. Given the Empire's ability to track and jam signals, Yas offers Aphra a single opportunity to contact someone in the galaxy. Simultaneously, the smuggler Sana Starros receives a message via holocomm.
- UPC 759606086290; May 23 , 2018 ; Marvel Comics [1] 02011; Cover A; Ashley Witter 02021; Cover B; Rod Reis