The concluding installment, issue number six, of the canon comic book miniseries titled Star Wars: Target Vader is Target Vader 6. Robbie Thompson penned the script, while Stefano Landini, Roberto Di Salvo, and Georges Duarte provided the illustrations. Marvel Comics released it on December 11, 2019.
The story, entitled "Free," centers around Beilert Valance's endeavor to outmaneuver both the Galactic Empire and the clandestine organization known as the Hidden Hand.
The final showdown is here! Having broken free from Imperial control, Valance is now on the trail of the real mastermind behind the Hidden Hand crime syndicate. His investigation has also unearthed a secret from his own past. Meanwhile, Darth Vader, along with members of the Rebellion who are desperate for a final arms deal with the Hidden Hand, are also closing in. Can Valance succeed in his mission to eliminate Vader? Will Vader crush the Rebellion once and for all? Or will the Hidden Hand evade capture and escape unscathed? Don't miss the thrilling conclusion to find out!
Following his service to the Galactic Empire, the bounty hunter Cavic pilots the Broken Wing alongside Beilert Valance, evading pursuit from three Arquitens-class light cruisers. Cavic anticipates the Empire's persistence, but claims to know a secure location, guiding them to a concealed outpost within a nearby asteroid field. They witness the destruction of one cruiser by asteroids, and Cavic elucidates that their prior Imperial affiliation granted them an advantage over other hunters, due to their knowledge of the Empire's limitations. Cavic extolled the virtues of the bounty hunter's existence, remarking to Valance that while it may be brief and burdened by debt, it offered the invaluable gift of freedom.
At the rebel outpost situated on Lowik, officer Aeliar voices her misgivings to Gita regarding their reliance on Valance to procure weaponry for the Rebel Alliance. Concurrently, at the Hidden Hand asteroid base, Valance lands and strategically places a tracking device before his capture. The Hidden Hand's operatives escort him to their leader, who reveals his identity as Gwi, the very "messenger" who initially tasked Valance with killing Darth Vader. Gwi, overcome with frustration, strikes Valance, boasting about the years he invested in establishing the Hidden Hand, vowing that it would not fall to either the Empire or Valance. Valance counters, stating that his bounty hunter comrades perished during their pursuit of Vader, and that he located the base by deducing that all of their outposts were in asteroid fields.
Gwi questions Valance's motives for stealing from other bounty hunters and returning after his failure, to which Valance replies that all of his actions were for Chorin. Disappointed by Valance's reasoning, Gwi prepares to execute him, only to be interrupted by the arrival of Darth Vader, who followed Valance's tracker. In the ensuing conflict, Vader apprehends Gwi for interrogation by Emperor Palpatine, allowing Valance to escape. Vader commands the Imperial forces stationed on Chorin to eradicate any trace of Valance, but by the time stormtroopers reach Valance's village, he has already evacuated its inhabitants to Lowik. Gita assures him of his people's safety and extends an invitation for Valance to join the Rebel Alliance, which he declines, returning the lucky gemstone that Yuralla Vega had bestowed upon him when he initially departed from Chorin.
On Coruscant, Dengar boasts to the patrons of a local establishment about his arrangement with Darth Vader, but his story is cut short by the entrance of Valance, who punches him and requests a drink from the bartender. The bartender inquires about Valance's credits, to which he responds that he "blew them all on something stupid," alluding to his secret provision of weapons to the rebels.
- UPC 759606093960; December 11 , 2019 ; Marvel Comics ; First printing [1] 00611; Cover A; Nic Klein