Star Wars 83: Sweetheart Contract

Star Wars 83: Sweetheart Contract is the eighty-third issue in the Marvel Star Wars series of comics.

Plot
Lando Calrissian has come to the planet Drogheda, under the summons of Queen Sarna, an old flame of Calrissian's. Upon arriving, he and his contact, the Queen's sister, Danu are attacked by men in sky-sleds. As the two flee their attackers, they are rescued by the head of the Drogheda Royal Guard, Harlech, and brought back to the Drogheda Citadel to meet with the Queen. Queen Sarna claims that the men who attacked Calrissian were part of the Drogheda Revolutionaries, a hostile group that is attempting to depose the Queen. Sarna tasks Calrissian with flushing out the revolutionaries from their base at the Mount Meru Mine. Calrissian leads the Royal Guard to the mine with several sky-sleds. He orders the men to wait at the entrance of the mine and to capture the revolutionaries after Calrissian has driven them out of the mine. Calrissian makes his way to the back exit of the mountain and discovers several water tanks being used by the rebels. As Calrissian prepares to destroy the tanks with a thermal detonator, in hopes that the water will flood the mine and wash the revolutionaries out of the mountain, he is confronted by several of the Rebels, who have been alerted to his presence. In a tense stand-off, one of the revolutionaries jumps at Calrissian, and he drops the detonator, exploding the tanks. The water washes both Calrissian and the revolutionaries out of the front entrance to the mine, where Harlech's guards are waiting.

However, to Calrissian's horror, the guards begin to massacre the helpless rebels, and Calrissian is only able to stop the slaughter after most of the revolutionaries have been killed. Calrissian, now suspicious as to what side he should really be on, brings one of the rebels back to the citadel for questioning. Upon gaining the man's trust, the man begins to inform Calrissian that now that the Empire has been defeated, all the people want is to set up their own government. However, before he can finish, Harlech quickly executes the prisoner on the pretense that he believed Calrissian was in danger. Calrissian goes to the local cantina to try to figure out the situation, and he ends up overhearing several of the royal guard talking about the uprising. Sarna and the Royal Guard have only been attempting to keep the people from setting up a democratic government, so that Sarna can retain full control over the planet. Angry that he had been deceived, Calrissian goes back to the citadel to confront Sarna. After Sarna confirms that she did hire Calrissian to stop those who were pushing for a democracy, the Rebel hero decides to leave, exclaiming that Sarna can "find [herself] another sucker." Unfortunately for Calrissian, Sarna is not about to let Calrissian just abandon her, and the Royal Guard arrive to capture him. Calrissian is able to escape from his attackers, and he runs straight into Danu. The Queen's sister had been the one helping the revolutionaries all along, and it was she who had tipped them off about Calrissian's attack at the mine.

Danu has decided the time is right for the revolutionaries to overthrow the Queen, and she signals her allies by detonating the citadel's munitions room. As the revolutionaries storm the palace, Calrissian makes his way to a sky-sled to join the attack. However, several of the Royal Guard, equipped with jet packs recognize their one-time commander, and they are able to disable his craft. In a desperation move, Calrissian pilots his sled back to the citadel, jumping from his craft through an upper-story window and into the Queen's throne room. Lando tries to take the Queen hostage for leverage, but Harlech is disinterested in saving the Queen, claiming that they "can make do with a King" instead. However, before the guards can kill both Sarna and Calrissian, the revolutionaries arrive in the throne room. Harlech attempts to fight back, but he is immediately stunned, ending the showdown. Danu congratulates Calrissian on helping them overthrow the monarchy, but she is resistant to his proposition of a celebration reward. Danu gives Lando ten minutes to get back to his ship and leave Drogheda. Before he leaves, she offers him some money if he will take Sarna with him, since she is to be exiled. Against his better judgment, but enticed by the offer, he agrees, and the two depart Drogheda in the Cobra, bickering over a possible new business venture.

Characters

 * Lando Calrissian
 * Danu
 * Harlech
 * Sarna
 * Sarna's father
 * Ladra
 * Lugus
 * Dar

Species

 * Human
 * Duck

Locations

 * Drogheda
 * Drogheda Citadel
 * Mount Meru
 * Mount Meru Mine
 * Caltinia
 * Arbra

Ships/Vehicles

 * Sky-sleds
 * Cobra

Equipment

 * Sunglasses
 * Thermal detonator
 * Crystal transmitter
 * Jet packs

Organizations

 * Alliance to Restore the Republic
 * Drogheda Royal Guard
 * Drogheda Revolutionaries
 * Drogheda Mining Company
 * Galactic Empire
 * Mercenary

Events

 * Drogheda Civil War

Behind the scenes
The timeline of this comic is difficult to pinpoint. Calrissian claims that he came from Arbra to Drogheda, denoting a placement before Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, as the Rebels had a base on Arbra before going to Endor. However, when Calrissian interrogates one of the Drogheda Revolutionaries, the man claims that the Empire has been defeated, placing the comic after the film. Due to this comic taking place after two previous issues that were set after Return of the Jedi, it's likely that this comic takes place after the film. This may mean either that the mention of Arbra is an error, or that Calrissian had visited Arbra sometime after the previous issue, where Lando was seen on the forest moon.

Collections

 * Classic Star Wars: A Long Time Ago... 6
 * Classic Star Wars: A Long Time Ago... Volume 6: Wookiee World