The thirty-eighth installment of the canon comic book series, entitled Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, is Doctor Aphra 38 ([/article/star_wars:doctor_aphra(2016)]). Marvel Comics released it on November 6, 2019, with Simon Spurrier as the writer and Caspar Wijngaard as the illustrator. The story "A Rogue's End Part II" is featured in the issue, and it follows Doctor Aphra's reunion with her father while under the watchful eye of Darth Vader.
A ROGUE'S END PART 2: THE DARK LORD FALTERS…DOCTOR APHRA's reunion with her FATHER would've be a happy affair – if he wasn't a pompous blowhard set to take her job as the Empire's chief archaeologist. Of course, her dear old dad will have to survive Imperial Interrogation first, and which pair of charming psycho-droids do you suppose DARTH VADER has hired for the job? And what happens when the ancient stones of a long-lost Jedi Temple cast their ghostly influence upon the Dark Lord of the Sith himself…?
Aphra attempts to persuade Darth Vader that the captured individual, her father Korin Aphra, is merely a harmless "old kook," in spite of their challenging collaborative past. Vader is initially skeptical because the prisoner had been uttering Jedi phrases. Dr. Aphra succeeds in convincing Lord Vader that Korin is simply a scholar.
Korin inquires as to Dr. Aphra's presence and whether she was apprehended while attempting to dismantle the "evil" Galactic Empire. Dr. Aphra, embarrassed, denies this. General Maximilian Veers informs them that the "interrogation" experts "Triple Zero and BT-1 have arrived and are eager to torture the prisoner. While Korin is pleased that his daughter has "friends," Aphra is dismayed and begs Triple Zero not to torture her father.
Lord Vader commands the droids to interrogate Korin and prevents Dr. Aphra from interfering. General Veers informs Dr. Aphra that the Empire discovered the droids during a sweep of the Ring of Kafrene. As a safety measure, their memories were erased, and restraining bolts were installed. As Triple Zero secures Korin to the interrogation chair, Dr. Aphra implores her father to reveal everything.
Korin informs the Imperials that he was searching for a divine consciousness inside a lump of bantha dung. Dr. Aphra appears frustrated that her father has spent the last two years pursuing religious nonsense following their adventure with the Ordu Aspectu. Korin replies that people do not change and that the best they can do is to get better at shielding those they love form their defects. Even if that means keeping them as far away as possible. He tells Dr. Aphra that her mother understood this "sort of thing." He says that he likes to believe that she never resented him for needing to.
Vulaada Klam discovers a holo-recording from Dr. Aphra at the Kartovian Formation on Ash Moon 1, explaining that she left to protect the young girl. Dr. Aphra believes Vulaada is safer without her.
Aboard the Super Star Destroyer Executor, Triple Zero discusses torture methods as Dr. Aphra pressures her father for information about the Rebel Alliance. The elder Aphra feigns cooperation with the Imperials, claiming to resent the rebels for desecrating ancient temples.
Later, Dr. Aphra informs Lord Vader that Korin had been attempting to enter a ruin on Asteroid Helix 13-v near Karga, which belongs to an ancient Force cult. She asserts that Korin encountered a rebel cell, who provided him with rations and forced him to leave at gunpoint. General Veers supports Dr. Aphra, stating that their sensors confirm his claims.
When General Veers inquires about preparing a scout team, Lord Vader instructs him to continue working on the Executor and announces that he will personally inspect the shrine. He orders Dr. Aphra and her father to accompany him on the scouting mission, intending to determine which Aphra is more valuable.
On Asteroid Helix 13-v, the two Aphras perform their tasks under Imperial guard. Darth Vader assigns BT-1 to guard the father and daughter, instructing him to cripple them if they attempt to escape. Dr. Aphra asks Korin what brought him back and briefly recounts how he gained favor with the Imperial leadership by saving the Emperor's life. Dr. Aphra believes this would prevent Lord Vader from killing her.
Korin Aphra is pleased to find a traditional Archicella of the J'doon school and considers how many pilgrims came to beseech the Living Force for peace and prosperity. Despite what he considers the Empire's "repugnant" policies, the older Aphra views them as beneficial to the field of archaeology. When Korin asks his daughter about Rupo Ud, Aphra simply replies that he became overwhelmed by his work.
Examining the site, Dr. Aphra deduces that the rebels camped here based on traces of offworld silicates and vaporator residue. She notices a top layer of fur, leather, and jootoo seeds. Korin praises his daughter's archaeological skills. Aphra instructs Beetee to inform Lord Vader that the rebels arrived at Helix 13-V on a stopover from a desert world, heading somewhere cold. After negotiating with the droid, Dr. Aphra decides to inform Lord Vader herself.
Meanwhile, Lord Vader experiences Force visions of corrupted versions of Ahsoka Tano, Yoda, Padmé Amidala, Qui-Gon Jinn, Shmi Skywalker Lars and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Vader dismisses them as mind tricks and ghosts that might have once troubled the lost boy but rejects his former identity as Anakin Skywalker. Vader damages an altar with his lightsaber, denouncing the worshipers for praying for what they could not take.
Lord Vader commands his stormtroopers to shut down the site. Dr. Aphra protests, arguing that they have not yet begun the exploration. Vader ignores her and orders BT-1 to signal the Imperial fleet and deploy bombers. Vader states that the rebels are not present, which is all the exploration he requires. Korin objects to Vader's decision to destroy the place, but the Sith Lord throws him to the ground. Before departing, Vader informs BT-1 that he only needs Aphra and to give them no longer than the journey back.
While returning on the Lambda-class suttle, Dr. Aphra attempts to speak with her father, but he is preoccupied with finding the Martyrium of Frozen Tears. He inquires whether Dr. Aphra discovered any clues about its existence. Dr. Aphra shifts the conversation to which Aphra should live while BT-1 holds them at gunpoint. However, Korin avoids the topic and instead entertains his daughter with memories of watching Prayer-oolites form aurorae above Piu when the annual Giganism Sacrifice hit the troposphere.
When Korin asks about what she did, Aphra says that she used a flight school as a battering ram, got swallowed by a Shadowfang Beast and activated a hellhulk guardian. She also regales about preventing an Abersyn symbiote outbreak, blowing up a lot of tooka cats, awaking a fungus that she thought was a Jedi, and saving the life of a monster to get revenge for her mother. Aphra also says that she fell in love but ruined it. Aphra admits that she has made noting better but has run away from things, back-stabbed and swindled.
Being optimistic, Korin points out that Aphra survived and reassures her that she has seen and learnt so much. Despite her mistakes, he tells her that she never stopped feeling. Korin tells his daughter that he is proud of her and wishes that he told her that a long time ago. Korin decides to lay down his life so that his daughter may leave. Before Aphra can stop him, the shuttle is caught in a tractor beam of another starship.
The Imperials prepare for boarders but are overwhelmed by the Rebel Alliance Intelligence Service's Strike Team Misericorde. The rebel strike team is lead by Captain Magna Tolvan, who recognises Aphra's father Korin. Though Aphra has hidden herself, Magna realizes that she is aboard and orders her team to find and kill her.
Aphra mentions in Doctor Aphra 38 that she has not seen her father, Korin, for two years, since the events depicted in Doctor Aphra (2016) 6.
- UPC 759606086290; November 6 , 2019 ; Marvel Comics ; First printing [1] 03811; Cover A; Ashley Witter 03821; Cover B; Tommy Lee Edwards