Pencils: Mike Mayhew
Inks: Mike Mayhew
Colors: Rain Beredo
Letters: Michael Heisler
Cover Artist: Nick Runge, Jan Duursema, Douglas Wheatley, Jenny Frison, John Cassaday & Ralph McQuarrie

In the aftermath of the Great Rebellion, where the order of the Jedi-Bendu was nearly wiped out by the Knights of Sith, Kane Starkiller and his two sons Annikin and Deak are attacked on the fourth moon of the Utapau system. Deak is killed and Kane decides they need a rest in the Aquilae system. At the galactic capital of Alderaan, the Emperor declares that the Empire will go to war against the last holdout to his treaty, the Aquilaeans, and that Governor Hoedaack will rule there. While Hoedaack confers with his friend Darth Vader, they are warned that General Luke Skywalker will lead the defense of the system, and it won't be an easy fight. At Aquilae, as General Skywalker is preparing the system's defense, Kane and his son enter the war room and he decides to meet in private with his old friend. Kane asks Luke to train his son in the ways of the Jedi-Bendu, since he is mostly cyborg and dying, but before he can agree, they are warned that a large asteroid or comet like object has been found moving towards them. The Jedi take the information to the King, but the object disappears, so the King decides to start making plans for their defense and Annikin is sent to retrieve Princess Leia and protect her. Soon, the general's best agent arrives at the planet and informs them that the Imperial fleet is right behind them, accompanied by a gigantic space station. General Skywalker informs the King who transfers authority of the war forces and the battle begins. It's a short but intense battle, and the Empire is on the verge of being stopped when they learn that the King has been killed and the Senate has signed a peace treaty with the Empire. General Skywalker calls off the attack and his remaining forces are picked off by the Empire as they retreat. As the Imperial ground troops prepare for invasion, a pair of droids who escaped from what they thought was a destroyed space station argue and split up, going separate directions. Artwo Detwo is found by Annikin and Leia and they take him with them, thinking they might be able to get information out of him. As they continue, they come across Seethreepio and rescue him as well, before finally returning to the hidden fortress. With the death of her father, Leia is now the Queen and her mother asks Luke and Annikin to take her and her brothers to the Ophuchi system for safety until she can reclaim her throne. They are apprehended by Count Sandage who attempts to take them into captivity. Luke kills him and they escape from the troops, only to encounter Imperial troops later when they run low on fuel. They try to bluff past the soldiers but end up having to kill them all to escape. Meanwhile the Sith Prince Valorum arrives to help the Imperials hunt down Luke. The group reaches the Gordon spaceport and meet up with Han Solo, Kane Starkiller and the rebellion, and they work out a plan to get off planet, by putting the young boys in suspended animation. They only have enough power for one child, so Kane gives them his power supply, sacrificing himself so that the boy can survive. The team manage to get past security and into their ship, where they are captured by Valorum. They manage to escape from the ship and the Sith and get to a ship they can steal, where they blast out of the spaceport and get away from the planet. As they travel to Ophuchi, Leia confides in Annikin that she is falling in love with him, and he realizes that he is as well. They are intercepted by Imperial Hunter-Destroyers and have to abandon ship above Yavin. Whitsun sacrifices himself to launch Leia's escape pod and they all land on the planet. Annikin goes to find Leia and encounters hunters who have captured Leia and a group of Wookiees. Annikin attacks but is injured and the hunters escape, but the freed Wookiees take him to their village. Annikin earns the respect of the Wookiees by defeating their most powerful warrior, and when he leaves later the warrior follows him. When he finds Luke and Han, Han translates to inform them that the Wookiee's name is Chewbacca and his tribe has made Annikin a god. They track Leia to an Imperial outpost, and learn that the Wookiees have been attacking it for some time. Using superior tactics, they overwhelm the outpost to learn that Leia has been returned to Aquilae. While Luke stays to train a Wookiee force to stop the Imperials, Annikin takes Artwo and they go to infiltrate the space station and rescue the Princess, who is being tortured by Darth Vader. Annikin is eventually captured by Darth Vader and questioned by Valorum, before Governor Hoedaack tells his troops to send Annikin to Alderaan to be executed by the Emperor. Valorum helps Annikin escape because he realizes that the Emperor poses a threat to the Sith as well, and the two of them rescue the Princess. While they escape the station, the Wookiees arrive and attack, eventually destroying it. With the Empire's force defeated, Leia is crowned queen and she designates Annikin as the new Lord Protector of Aquilae.