Pencils: Agustin Alessio
Inks: Agustin Alessio
Colors: Agustin Alessio
Letters: Michael Heisler
Cover Artist: Dave Wilkins & Tsuneo Sanda

Laurita Tohm is the valedictorian of the first graduating class of officers under the new Empire. In the evening after the graduation ceremony, his friends take him to a hangar full of prototype fighters to celebrate, and lock him in one to keep him safe. He escapes into a major attack and takes command of a group of stormtroopers to give assistance to Darth Vader. As he fights, he comes across one of his dying friends who urges him to assist in killing the Emperor. Tohm learned that many of the cadets had been recruited to this plan, and when he learns all he can, he kills his friend, turns and sees Darth Vader there and swears loyalty to him. They make their way to the Emperor who is at the center of a biological attack. He is using the Force to hold the virus at bay, but he and Moff Trachta believe that he needs to go into hiding. While they try to keep the Emperor safe, Vader takes Tohm to the Jedi Temple to find a safe place for the Emperor to hide, and they watch a recording of Anakin Skywalker asking the Jedi Council where all the prisoners Anakin brings them are disappearing to. Watching the recording, they learn the location of a hidden Jedi prison and decide to take the Emperor there, where he will be safe from the coup attempt. At the prison, they stabilize the Emperor, and while they wait for him to recover, Moff Trachta finds the records for the prisoner who destroyed his body and goes there to punish him, and Tohm suggests to Vader that they release the prisoners in order to raise an army to take back Coruscant from the insurgents. Vader agrees, and then pits them against one another, only wanting the best. When they have their team, they begin training while the insurgents put in place plans to capture Grand Moff Tarkin. Tohm comes up with a plan to find Tarkin before the insurgents can and together they destroy the insurgents. Setting the prisoners free in a ship on the understanding they will go to the Corporate Sector, Tohm then destroys the ship, killing them all and earning himself a promotion to Admiral while Trachta is promoted to Grand Moff. The Emperor comments to Vader that Tohm would make a worthy replacement should anything ever happen to Vader. Vader then invites Tohm over for one final lesson and tells him to "Never suffer rivals" as he throws him off the building.