Star Wars 24: Silent Drifting represents the twenty-fourth installment within the Marvel Star Wars comic book saga.
Following Han Solo's expert piloting of the Millennium Falcon, resulting in the annihilation of a pair of TIE fighters, Princess Leia remarks that similar tactics were once developed by Jedi pilots. She then proceeds to narrate a specific incident involving Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Kenobi, while traveling as a passenger aboard a pleasure cruiser, receives information from Captain Quasar regarding the presence of Merson pirates within the vicinity of the Merson asteroid belt. Despite the swift destruction of the attacking vessels, Obi-Wan harbors suspicions that the Mersons were drawn in by a signal originating from within the cruiser itself. Other passengers are quick to point fingers at Augustus Tryll, a known criminal, accusing him of conspiring with the Mersons. However, Kenobi refrains from hasty judgment, insisting on concrete evidence. As more Merson ships appear, he deduces that the signal guiding the pirates emanates from an innocuous fermentation device present on the cruiser. Upon destroying this device, the Merson ships lose their lock on the pleasure cruiser, averting potential danger.
This issue marks the debut of Mary Jo Duffy in the Star Wars comic series. She later assumed the role of the primary writer for the title, commencing with Star Wars (1977) 70.
According to a note on the opening page, the framing narrative unfolds after the events depicted in Star Wars (1977) 15. With the exception of the initial four pages and the concluding half-page, the entire story within this issue is presented as a flashback, depicting Obi-Wan Kenobi's active service as a Jedi Knight during the era of the Galactic Republic. Notably, this marks the first published story set within the Galactic Republic timeframe.
Within the letters page of this issue, a letter writer expresses criticism towards the comic series for portraying Luke and Leia as behaving "... more like young brother and sister than sweethearts." Unbeknownst to the creators at the time, Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi would later reveal, four years later, that they were, in fact, siblings.