Attack on Cymoon 1

"We aren't here to negotiate."

- Han Solo

The attack on Cymoon 1 took place during the Galactic Civil War, and shortly after the Battle of Yavin when the Rebel Alliance carried out an attack on the Imperial Weapons Factory Alpha on Cymoon 1. The assault began as an infiltration, with Han Solo posing as an emissary for Jabba the Hutt in a weapons deal with the Empire; Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa posed as his bodyguards. Once inside the factory, the Rebels revealed themselves, attacked the Imperials, freed a number of slaves, and set the facility's power core to overload. Their plans changed, however, when Darth Vader arrived at the factory and ordered the facility into full alert. The Rebels hijacked an AT-AT to use in their escape, while Skywalker briefly confronted the Dark Lord of the Sith in lightsaber combat before the walker arrived.

Solo crashed the AT-AT through the factory's walls, giving the Rebels and the slaves an opening to escape from the facility. As they made their escape, the Rebels engaged in open combat with Vader and the Imperial forces, and the Dark Lord killed a number of the freed slaves. Skywalker took out some of the Imperial forces using the weapons on a speeder bike, while Solo used the AT-AT to fire on, but only slightly injure, the Dark Lord.

The assault ended with the destruction of Weapons Factory Alpha, and the Rebels were able to escape. Vader informed the Emperor, Darth Sidious, of what happened, and the Dark Lord was stripped of some power for allowing the Rebels to destroy the facility. Vader soon began investigating who Skywalker was, eventually leading him to learn that the boy was his son.

Prelude
"It would seem the tide of war has finally turned in our favor. In short, I dare say I have a very good feeling about this."

- C-3PO

During the Galactic Civil War, the Rebel Alliance stole the plans to the Death Star, the Galactic Empire's deep space mobile battle station that was capable of destroying entire planets. They used the data, which was brought to the Rebel base on Yavin 4 by Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, to plan an assault against the station. This plan led to the Battle of Yavin, which began after the Death Star located the Rebel base. During the battle, Rebel starfighters mounted an attack against the Death Star in an attempt to destroy it, using a vulnerability found in the Death Star plans. Most of the Rebel forces were destroyed, but X-wing pilot Luke Skywalker&mdash;with help from Han Solo and Chewbacca aboard their ship, the Millennium Falcon&mdash;fired a proton torpedo into the Death Star's exhaust port. The torpedo entered the station's main reactor and the Death Star exploded, giving the Rebellion a decisive victory against the Imperial war machine.

The destruction of the Death Star gave the Rebellion a new hope in their war against the Empire. They chose to press their advantage and strike out again, hoping to destroy the Empire once and for all, this time by attacking Weapons Factory Alpha on Cymoon 1, a moon in the Corellian Industrial Cluster. The weapons factory was the largest in the galaxy, and it was made all the more critical after the loss of the Death Star. The Rebels learned of impending talks between the Empire and Outer Rim crime lord Jabba the Hutt, as the Empire wanted Jabba and the Hutt Clan to provide raw materials to be used in creating weapons and starships for the Empire. A team of Rebels&mdash;Solo, Skywalker, Organa, the Wookiee Chewbacca, the astromech droid R2-D2, and protocol droid C-3PO&mdash;intercepted a shuttle from Tatooine that carried Jabba's emissary. They stole the shuttle and continued towards Cymoon 1, where Solo would pose as the emissary due to his previous connection to Jabba, while Skywalker and Organa posed as his bodyguards. Chewbacca and Threepio made their own way to Cymoon 1 aboard the Millennium Falcon, where it landed in a refuse field that surrounded the factory, while Artoo remained with Solo.

The Rebels arrived in orbit of Cymoon 1 and were given permission to land at Weapons Factory Alpha, where an Imperial delegation awaited them; the delegation included Overseer Aggadeen, a LOM-series protocol droid, and several stormtroopers. Solo introduced himself upon arrival, claiming to still be in Jabba's employ. The protocol droid was able to verify his identity and so-called affiliation, and, at Aggadeen's request, the Rebels handed their weapons over to the Empire. As Aggadeen led them into the facility, Organa contacted Chewbacca and Threepio, telling them to hold their positions.

Infiltration
"This is insanity. What kind of envoy are you?" "The rebellious kind."

- Oversseer Aggadeen and Han Solo

Once inside the facility, the Rebels were led through a TIE/ln space superiority starfighter assembly area, as the Overseer explained that the factory was fully automated. Solo boasted that Jabba would be hard to bargain with, to which Aggadeen told him that there would be no negotiations. The Imperial negotiator&mdash;who, unknown to the Rebels, was Darth Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith&mdash;would instead present terms to Solo which the Empire expected Jabba to accept. The Overseer led them to a conference room where he intended them to wait until Vader's arrival, but Solo told him that he was right and that there would indeed be no negotiations. Instead, Artoo sprayed a liquid onto the facility's floor and electrocuted it, which shocked the stormtroopers who were standing in it. Skywalker and Organa fought the stormtroopers who remained standing, while Solo grabbed a blaster from one of the fallen troopers and pointed it at the Overseer. Solo demanded to know where the factory's power core was, but Aggadeen refused to tell him. Artoo threatened to electrocute him, however, and Aggadeen promptly pointed them in the right direction before Organa struck him across the jaw and knocked him unconscious.

The Rebels made their way through the facility and towards the power core. En route, Solo contacted Threepio, who was still aboard the Millennium Falcon, for a status report. The droid told him where they landed and that he was unsure as to whether he could stay hidden much longer, as automated scanners were in the area. Solo nonetheless ordered him to remain on alert, as the plan called for Threepio to engage the ship's autopilot and pick the Rebels up once they were ready to make their escape. They ceased communications once the Rebels arrived at the power core, where Organa told Artoo to hack into the Imperial computer and shut down the safety restraints surrounding the core.

Skywalker, meanwhile, watched for more stormtroopers, and he attempted to use the Force in order to sense any nearby presences. The Force led him towards a cage filled with slaves being held by the Empire, suggesting that the factory was not as automated as the Overseer had claimed. While at the cage, Skywalker was confronted by a guard who demanded to know who Skywalker was. The Jedi trainee attempted to use a mind trick on the guard to manipulate him into leaving, repeating the same action he had once seen Obi-Wan Kenobi use on stormtroopers in Mos Eisley on Tatooine. Because of his lack of training, however, Skywalker failed to manipulate the guard. Instead, Skywalker ignited his lightsaber and cut off the guard's hand, allowing him time to break the slaves out of their cage and lead them back to the other Rebels.

Artoo successfully lowered the safety restraints and Solo set the power core to overload in ten minutes time, giving the Rebels a chance to escape to the Millennium Falcon. Skywalker returned to the group, accompanied by the slaves. Solo ordered Threepio to activate the ship's autopilot so the Falcon could pick them up before the core overload, but the two were interrupted by Chewbacca, who told Solo that an Imperial shuttle had arrived. Vader disembarked from the shuttle and, over Solo's objections, Organa ordered Chewbacca to fire upon and kill the Dark Lord. Chewbacca took the shot, but Vader was able to use his lightsaber to deflect it. The Wookiee continued firing on the Dark Lord, but Vader threw stormtroopers into the line of fire, causing them to be hit while Vader remained unscathed. The Dark Lord used the Force to tear apart the building that Chewbacca stood upon, forcing Chewbacca to flee. On Vader's orders, the facility and the entire moon were put onto high alert. Vader was also able to sense Skywalker, recognizing his presence as the same person who destroyed the Death Star.

Confrontation with Darth Vader
"Ben, he's here. Darth Vader. The man who killed my father. Who killed you. I have to face him. I have to end this." "Luke... Listen to me carefully... Run."

- Luke Skywalker and the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi

The Rebels lost contact with Chewbacca, and Solo ordered Threepio to engage the autopilot and pick them up. The droid was unable to do so, however, as native scavengers located the Falcon in the refuse and began tearing apart its systems, one of which was the autopilot. With their escape plan jeopardized, the Rebels were confronted by a squadron of stormtroopers, forcing them to fight their way towards safety. They retreated, along with the slaves, from the Imperial troops and entered a hangar, one which housed a group of AT-AT walkers. Solo told the others to get aboard one of the walkers, as he intended to pilot one and fight their way out of the factory before it exploded.

While Solo and Organa boarded a walker, Skywalker remained in the facility, where he searched for Vader; Skywalker was unaware that Vader was his father, just as Vader was unaware Skywalker was his son, and still believed&mdash;as Kenobi had once told him&mdash;that Vader had killed Anakin Skywalker. As the Jedi trainee approached Vader, Kenobi called out to Skywalker from beyond and warned him to run from the Dark Lord. Despite the warning, Skywalker briefly engaged the Dark Lord in lightsaber combat, but the young Rebel was quickly and easily bested. Vader used the Force to disarm Skywalker, but as he was preparing to kill him, Vader recognized that Skywalker's lightsaber once belonged to Anakin Skywalker&mdash;Vader's former self&mdash;before falling to the dark side of the Force. He did not yet know, however, that Skywalker was his son or the Rebel who destroyed the Death Star.

Skywalker was able to escape from the Dark Lord when Solo brought the AT-AT's foot crashing down into the middle of the confrontation. The slaves Skywalker freed also rebelled against the Imperial forces, and Solo piloted the walker through the facility. The Dark Lord, meanwhile, killed the slaves who were in his path&mdash;using Skywalker's lightsaber&mdash;and ordered all stormtroopers to his position so the Rebels could be eliminated. Inside the AT-AT, Artoo and a pair of freed Jawas attempted to enable the walker's weapons, which had not yet been fully assembled inside the factory. The Rebels contacted Threepio in the hopes that the threat to the Falcon had been ended, but the native scavengers were still ripping the ship apart. Following the Rebels' orders, Threepio went outside of the Falcon in an attempt to stop the scavengers, but he surrendered and was captured after dropping his weapon.

The slaves and Skywalker continued fighting against Vader and the stormtroopers, but the Dark Lord was able to kill many more slaves. Skywalker doubted his ability to protect the slaves, questioning whether a farm boy from Tatooine could be a Jedi, until he saw a speeder bike he knew he could pilot. He mounted the bike and sped towards Vader and his forces, taking out the stormtroopers in his path. Vader remained standing, however, and was confronted by the AT-AT. Solo, at Organa's urging, aimed the AT-AT's foot at the Dark Lord, but Vader used the Force to hold the walker's leg in place and prevent it from stepping on him. As the power Vader used began tearing the walker apart, Artoo and the Jawas successfully enabled the AT-AT's weapons. Organa fired on Vader's position, but the Dark Lord, although slightly injured, survived the encounter.

Skywalker retrieved his lightsaber from where Vader dropped it and sped towards the AT-AT, which exited the factory. After he did so, Aggadeen contacted Vader and told him that they were unable to stop the power core's meltdown. Aggadeen requested permission for his forces to evacuate, but Vader denied the request, saying that if the factory was to explode, the Imperials would explode with it for their failure. Vader intended to kill the Rebels, but had other plans for Skywalker.

Escape
As Organa and Solo continued on, they encountered more Imperial reinforcements. Solo contacted Skywalker, who was busy fighting several pursuing stormtroopers and walkers, for assistance. Organa then realizes that the factory hasn't exploded yet and that the Imperials must have stopped the meltdown. Just then, Aggadeen contacted Vader and reported that the meltdown has been halted. Vader then ordered Aggadeen to send troops to his location to prevent the rebels from escaping. Vader proceeded to attack the AT-AT Organa and Solo are in by slicing its legs. Skywalker looks on in horror as the AT-AT's legs are destroyed, causing it to collapse with Solo and Organa inside it.

With the AT-AT down, Vader orders his troops to move in for the kill. Skywalker quickly arrives and strikes down Vader's troops. Organa then pulls an injured Solo out of the wreckage and orders the slaves to head for the trash fields. Vader orders his troops to ignore the slaves and capture the rebels. As Organa, Solo and the slaves head to the Falcon, Skywalker decides to go back and destroy the factory. Vader then orders his troops to go after the rebels and slaves while he deals with Skywalker. With Vader in pursuit, Skywalker re-enters the factory and fire his speeder's blasters on the power core, causing it to overload. Skywalker's speeder gets hit by Vader. Believing this to be his final moments, Skywalker apologizes to his father for not being the Jedi he was. The factory explodes, and Vader emerges from the wreckage and sees Skywalker's destroyed speeder. Vader then sees the Millennium Falcon flying off. With an injured Skywalker in tow, Organa pilots the Falcon out of Cymoon 1. Coming across the Imperial blockade, Leia activates the hyperspace drive and makes the jump to lightspeed.

Captain Kronn of the Adjudicator then informs Vader that the rebels have escaped the blockade, to which the Dark Lord responds by telekinetically strangling Kronn. Vader realizes that the boy is Kenobi's last hope and why he sacrified himself to protect him. Vader reminds Kenobi that the boy was still untrained and that there was no one left but the Dark Lord to train him and he vows to find Skywalker and make him his weapon, assuring Kenobi that the Dark Side always wins.

Aftermath
"Our greatest weapon is gone. Our production is in ashes. We are besieged. In all these years, we have never skirted closer to disaster...thanks to you."

- Darth Sidious, to Darth Vader

After the assault ended, Vader returned to the Imperial Palace on Coruscant, where he delivered a report to the Emperor, Darth Sidious. He also informed his master that the Rebels were able to destroy Weapons Factory Alpha. Sidious berated Vader for his failures, both for having let the Rebels destroy the Death Star and then Weapons Factory Alpha, causing a setback on Imperial Military operations. Vader, who brought Overseer Aggadeen with him to Coruscant, brought his master before the Overseer, who was being tortured for his failures to stop the Rebel assault. As a result of his own failures, Vader was relieved of some of his authority and sent to Tatooine to deal directly with Jabba, rather than using an envoy as a middle-man. The Dark Lord did not, however, tell his master about Skywalker or his suspicions about why the boy had been trained by Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Vader traveled to Tatooine one day ahead of schedule, using the earlier time to negotiate a personal mission with Jabba: the acquisition of two bounty hunters. One, Black Krrsantan, was hired to track down an Imperial agent that the Emperor was withholding information about from Vader. The other, Boba Fett, was hired to find Skywalker. Vader returned to Jabba's Palace the next day and negotiated the Empire's terms for gaining Hutt resources. Jabba agreed to the demands in exchange for compensation that the Empire deemed appropriate. The Empire was able to use these supplies to further their war machine in the wake of the disasters on Yavin 4 and Cymoon 1.

Fett tracked Skywalker to Tatooine, where he learned the pilot's name and reported it to Vader. The Dark Lord concluded that Skywalker was his son, and he gained further proof of this when his associate, the rogue archaeologist Aphra, learned that Vader's deceased wife, Padmé Amidala, did not die while still pregnant as Vader had been led to believe. Eventually, Vader began a massive search across the galaxy to find his son. The Emperor further ordered that Skywalker either be converted to the dark side or destroyed, though Vader intended to convince Skywalker to join him and overthrow the Emperor. This led to another confrontation between Skywalker and Vader on Cloud City, a tibanna gas mine in the atmosphere of the planet Bespin, where Skywalker learned that Vader was his father. One year later, Skywalker redeemed his father during the Battle of Endor, and Vader sacrificed himself to kill the Emperor.

Behind the scenes
The Rebel attack on Cymoon 1 first appeared in Star Wars 1: Skywalker Strikes, the first issue of the Marvel comic book series Star Wars. The comic, released on January 14, 2015, was written by Jason Aaron, with art by John Cassaday; Aaron worked with the Lucasfilm Story Group in developing the comic's storyline, including the assault. The assault continued in Star Wars 2: Skywalker Strikes, Part II, which was released on February 4, 2015; and ended in Star Wars 3: Skywalker Strikes, Part III, that was released March 11 2015.

The events of the story were written by Jason Aaron for the Star Wars comic, with art by John Cassaday. Chronologically, the battle takes place after the events of the novel Heir to the Jedi by Kevin Hearne. It also marks the first confrontation between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.

Appearances

 * Star Wars 1: Skywalker Strikes
 * Star Wars 2: Skywalker Strikes, Part II
 * Star Wars 3: Skywalker Strikes, Part III
 * Darth Vader 1: Vader
 * Star Wars 4: Skywalker Strikes, Part IV
 * Star Wars 5: Skywalker Strikes, Part V
 * Darth Vader 6: Vader, Part VI
 * Star Wars 26: Yoda's Secret War, Part I