Star Wars: The Old Republic — The Lost Suns constitutes the third story arc within the Star Wars: The Old Republic comic book series, which serves as a companion to the Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG. In contrast to its predecessors, specifically Threat of Peace and Blood of the Empire, this narrative is not a reprinting of webcomic material featured on the Star Wars: The Old Republic website. Instead, it presents a completely original story centered around Theron Shan, who is the offspring of Jedi Master Satele Shan. Initially unveiled in Star Wars Insider 124, the series was comprised of five issues, each released on a monthly basis, with the inaugural issue debuting on June 8, 2011.
The year is 3643 BBY. Ngani Zho, once a respected Jedi Master but now living as a wanderer, reflects on the Great Galactic War and the accomplishments of his former apprentices: Satele Shan, Jaric Kaedan, Syo Bakarn, and Bela Kiwiiks. He recalls the Battle of Rhen Var, where Shan spearheaded their efforts, leading them and the Republic Army to a decisive victory, and personally vanquishing the Dark Councilor Darth Mekhis. Meanwhile, on Coruscant, Theron Shan, an operative for the Republic Strategic Information Service, disrupts a clandestine meeting between the Black Sun syndicate and a Twi'lek smuggler known as Teff'ith. Shan overpowers Teff'ith after dealing with the Black Sun thugs. Subsequently, Shan is summoned by the SIS Director, who tasks him with locating and retrieving Ngani Zho, who has resurfaced near Imperial territory after a decade-long absence. Zho played a paternal role in Shan's upbringing after his mother, Satele Shan, relinquished him to continue her duties as a Jedi.
Concurrently, Darth Mekhis, now bearing scars from her earlier confrontation with Satele Shan, puts the warship Javelin Dreadnought through its paces and dispatches her Sith Knights to apprehend Zho. Theron Shan, accompanied by a captive Teff'ith, embarks on a mission to track down Zho on the planet Taris. However, their reunion is interrupted by the arrival of Mekhis' Sith Knights. The pair make a hasty retreat to Shan's ship, and Teff'ith reluctantly assists them in their escape to evade capture by the Sith Knights. As they depart Taris, Shan presses Zho for answers regarding his disappearance, but Zho experiences a mental breakdown and attempts to force Shan to take them to the Vesla system, one of the seven systems ceded to the Empire under the terms of the Treaty of Coruscant. Shan subdues the distraught Jedi Master with a tranquilizer, and then sets a course for the shadowport of Port Nowhere to acquire the necessary navigational data to reach the Vesla system. The agent also reflects on how Zho had served as a father figure to him, but how the Jedi Order had ultimately requested him to leave when it became evident that Shan lacked Force sensitivity.
At Port Nowhere, Zho and Teff'ith create a diversion by offering to hire a smuggler in one of the ship's cantinas, while Shan infiltrates the smuggler's vessel and downloads the man's Imperial clearances and navigation charts for Imperial space. The trio then sets off for the Vesla system, where Shan lands them on one of the outer planets. Over the next few days, they construct a spy ray to survey the inner planets and ascertain the Empire's activities in the system. Using the spy ray, Shan discovers that the inner planets have been decimated by various weapons technologies. Zho's memories fully return as Shan identifies the Sun Razer: a colossal space station orbiting the system's sun, siphoning its materials and energies to produce devastating superweapons. However, before they can escape the system, the three are captured by the Imperial warship Valor Prevails.
While Zho is subjected to torture by the Sith aboard the Sun Razer, he recounts how he went undercover as a slave to investigate the Empire's operations in the Vesla system following the Treaty. Zho had dedicated himself to protecting his fellow slaves from their Imperial overseers for numerous years, but his mind suppressed his memories of the Vesla system after he witnessed the Empire test their new weapons—a test that resulted in the deaths of nearly all of the slaves who had assisted in the construction of the Sun Razer—and Zho had somehow found his way back to the Republic. Simultaneously, the Imperial captain Eisek attempts to entice Shan to join the Empire's ranks by offering him a tour of the Sun Razer, but Shan rejects Eisek's proposition and is subsequently taken to the torture chamber alongside Zho. However, Shan swiftly frees himself and Zho, and they reunite with Teff'ith, whom Shan had instructed to remain concealed aboard their ship to avoid detection. The three then resolve to destroy the Sun Razer.
Shan attempts to assassinate Darth Mekhis in order to gain access to the controls for the Sun Razer's shields, but Zho selflessly sacrifices himself to protect Teff'ith when they encounter Imperials as the two prepare to return to their ship for departure. Despite Shan's capture, the agent outmaneuvers Mekhis and her subordinates and deactivates the Sun Razer's shields, exposing the station to the sun and causing its destruction. Shan and Teff'ith escape and part ways. After reporting back to the Director and providing him with data on the Sun Razer, Theron visits Satele on Tython and delivers news of Zho's death without revealing his identity as her son.
- Exploring a Broader Universe: The Old Republic in Comics and Novels on the official website for The Old Republic (backup link)
- " Alexander Freed: From A to Z " — Star Wars Insider 226