Skirmish over an unidentified green planet

"I repeat: Imperial shuttle designation CZ-246 needs urgent assistance. Under attack from pirates, I repeat...''" "The engines are dead." "''Us too. Looks like they're only after the cargo..."

- The pilot and copilot of the shuttle, just before their deaths

During the Galactic Civil War, not long after the Battle of Yavin, an Imperial Lambda-class shuttle carrying weapons and equipment that were supplied by the crime lord Jabba the Hutt was attacked by a robotic CR90 corvette. The corvette belonged to a group of pirates operating out of a space station who were being funded by the crime families of the Crymorah syndicate. They had sent out the pirate ship to procure the Imperial weapons for their own gain.

The robotic ship was after the shuttle's cargo of Imperial weapons. Darth Vader came to destroy the pirates and save the shuttle&mdash;but the shuttle self-destructed just as he arrived; the crew killed themselves rather than let the pirates take the Empire's property. Vader, along with two other TIE fighters, soon succeeded in disabling the robotic pirate ship, and took it captive; in order to find the larger organization behind the attacks. A later attack on the pirates' base of origin led to the discovery that the pirates were backed by the Crymorah syndicate.

Prelude
"Now, we no longer have the Senate to hold order. We do not have the Death Star to force it."

- Sidious to Vader, on the unacceptable state Vader had let the Empire fall in to.

During the Galactic Civil War, the Alliance to Restore the Republic destroyed the Death Star, the Empire's deep-space mobile battle station; and their greatest weapon. The Sith Lord Darth Vader was the only survivor of the disaster. Emperor Palpatine, the Emperor of the Empire, and Vader's Sith Master, chose to hold Vader responsible for the Empire's greatest defeat in its nearly two decade history.

With the Alliance's victory at Yavin, the Empire was low on resources; so as punishment for failing to stop the Death Star and Weapons Factory Alpha from being destroyed, Vader was sent by the Emperor to negotiate with Jabba the Hutt, the leader of the Hutt Clan. Jabba eventually agreed to the Empire's terms and became a supplier for the Empire.

Following the Death Star's destruction, pirates, raiders, and other lawless beings took advantage of the Empire's disarray, with neither the Imperial Senate nor the Death Star holding order, they attacked Imperial ships and other installations at a much higher rate than what was classified as normal. One such group of pirates utilized a robotic CR90 corvette&mdash;that was supplied to them by the Crymorah syndicate&mdash;to enact several raids upon Imperial property&mdash;including stealing weapons Jabba had just recently supplied the Empire with. This angered Grand General Cassio Tagge and Darth Vader, who were working to stop the raids aboard the former's Executor-class Star Dreadnought Annihilator. At that time, the pirates sent the corvette out from their base of operations to engage in more illicit pirating.

The skirmish
"Torpedo destroyed. Have faith. Black 2 and 3 with me. Target is trying to escape."

- Darth Vader, as he enters the skirmish.

Shortly thereafter, a Lambda-class shuttle under the Imperial designation CZ-246, was attacked by the CR90 corvette and was forced to take evasive maneuvers to try and save their shipment of weapons. The pilot of the shuttle sent out a distress call, advertising themselves to the nearby Imperials that they were in need of assistance. The raiders soon disabled the shuttle's engines. This caused the crew of the shuttle to realize the raiders were only after their cargo of weapons. Vader answered the call and was en route to their position aboard his TIE Advanced starfighter with a pair of TIE fighters in tail. The pilot shouted out over the ship's comlink, announcing they were trapped with no way out. He then blew the shuttle up, killing himself and his copilot, rather than have their shipment of Imperial weapons fall into the hands of the pirates; or be spaced when the droid ship shot the shuttle open to quickly grab the contraband and retreat.

Vader arrived just as the shuttle self-destructed, prompting him to change his priorities and to try and prevent the pirate ship from escaping. He ordered Black 2 and Black 3&mdash;the two other TIEs&mdash;to follow his lead. Vader thought it impressive that the robotic ship was smart enough to flee&mdash;and smart enough to shoot down both Black 2 and 3 as the corvette's laser cannons efficiently did. Vader was saved from a similar fate by the grace of his legendary piloting skills, and the power of the dark side of the Force. Vader was soon able to move in to an aggressive position and fired on the fleeing corvette's engine core, causing the engines to explode and putting an end to the violence. He contacted the Annihilator and informed them of the successful mission.

Aftermath
"Whoever is behind this will sacrifice a finger to avoid the Empire's wrath descending on their whole body.''" "''...Which is why I am sending our greatest warrior to head the mission."

- Vader and Tagge conceive a plan to stop the raiders. The corvette was captured by Tagge's Super Star Destroyer, and put into its hangar; where it was kept until Tagge decided it would be repaired well enough to pass a cursory exam. The Grand General then conceived a plan to discover the larger organization backing the pirates. He sent Vader and a squad of stormtroopers to destroy the base; Vader's team quickly boarded and destroyed the pirates, however, the pirates activated the station's self-destruct. Vader had just enough time to retrieve information that proved the Crymorah Syndicate was backing the raiders before retreating from the exploding station.

Behind the scenes
"It is a period of insurgence. The Empire's ultimate peacekeeping force, THE DEATH STAR was destroyed due to an unforeseen design flaw. Without this deterrent, the rule of law is in danger. Chaos looms!"

- The first paragraph of Star Wars: Darth Vader 2: Vader, Part II's opening crawl.

The Skirmish over an unidentified green planet first appeared in the Marvel comic book series second issue of their Darth Vader series; it was released on February 25, 2015. It was written by Kieron Gillen, with art by Salvador Larroca. Gillen has been working alongside the Lucasfilm Story Group to develop the story and events of the ongoing comic series.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Darth Vader 2: Vader, Part II