Star Wars 63: The Mind Spider marks the sixty-third installment of the Marvel Star Wars comic book series.
On the world of Shalyvane, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, and the Em'liy called G'hinji find themselves confronted by an image of Darth Vader. Reacting instantly, they assume a defensive posture, only to learn the Vader figure is a mere holographic projection. Vader's message reveals to Luke that his deceased friend, the Rebel pilot Shira Brie, was, in actuality, a spy for the Imperial forces. Luke is stunned by this revelation. The holographic device self-destructs after delivering Vader's shocking news. Unconvinced, Luke and Chewbacca decide to travel to the databank vault situated on Krake's Planet.
Later, aboard the Executor, Vader confers with Admiral Mils Giel. Giel recently failed in his mission to capture a rare creature known as a Teezl – a non-sentient alien that could have given the Empire a significant advantage over the Rebels. Despite the failure, Vader acknowledges Giel's honor; instead of executing him, he reduces his rank to lieutenant.
Concurrently, Luke and Chewbacca make their way to Krake's Planet. They infiltrate the Krake Data Vault – a structure formed from the remains of a colossal Mind Spider. Luke proceeds to the kitchen area where he manipulates an Imperial officer into downloading data from one of the computer systems. He confirms that Vader's statement was true: Shira Brie was born on Coruscant and was genetically engineered to be the perfect spy. Vader personally chose her to infiltrate the Rebel Alliance. Although devastated, Luke finds solace in the fact that the Force had warned him of Shira's true nature as an enemy.
A squadron of stormtroopers suddenly enter the kitchen and open fire on Skywalker. Luke cleverly uses one of the troopers as a shield and eliminates the remaining soldiers. He meets back up with Chewbacca, and they board the Millennium Falcon. Chewbacca employs the Falcon's deflector shields to obliterate the military installation.
In the depths of the Executor, Darth Vader enters a specialized medical chamber. Suspended within a bacta tank is the barely living form of Shira Brie.