Between 3 ABY and 4 ABY,[3] a battle was fought on a planet between the Orphans; made up of Chanath Cha, the droid Ladybright, Sear, and Imara Vex; and the Sith Lord Darth Vader. The battle was a culmination of years of training and research conducted by Cha, who led the Orphans and sought revenge on Vader for the deaths of her parents Bhada and Ramat Cha two decades before. It was fought after the Orphans had been sent by Lady Qi'ra, the leader of the criminal syndicate Crimson Dawn, to rescue her allies, "The Archivist" and Kho Phon Farrus, as well as the Fermata Cage, which was central to her efforts to destroy the Vader and his Sith Master Darth Sidious.[1]
The battle[]
Darth Vader charges the Orphans
Arriving on world, the Orphans were able to prevent Darth Vader from killing "the Archivist and Kho Phon Farrus. Chanath Cha revealed herself to Vader,[4] telling him of her years of studying and training to counter Vader's abilities. When Vader attempted to strike at her with his lightsaber, Cha had Ladybright damage Vader's vision whilst she threw a ball of acid at the Sith Lord. In response, Vader Force pushed all four Orphans, as well as destroying the machine which housed the Fermata Cage, before he went into the ocean to neutralize the acid. In the time Vader was in the ocean, the Orphans and their Crimson Dawn allies managed to retrieve the Cage, and then Cha instructed Vex and Ladybright to get Farrus and the Archivist, as well as the Fermatag Cage, out of Vader's way whilst she and Sear fought him. Vex was reluctant but ultimately followed Cha's orders. As Vader made his way out of the water, he informed Cha that she would not avenge her parents or Qi'ra. The mention of Qi'ra's name surprised Cha, which Vader sensed, and allowed him to realize that she had not been killed as he and his Master had previously believed, and he informed Cha that Sidious would be fascinated to hear that fact as he drew his lightsaber.[1]
As Sear and Cha fought Vader, Vex, who had since returned to Cha's ship, the Siroto with Ladybright and the Archivist and Farrus, went to the top of the Siroto, in the hopes of killing Vader from afar. As she made her way up, Vader pushed Sear into the wreckage of Farrus' machine, and she was killed. Vex then shot at Vader, but she missed her shot at his head and instead hit his hand. Vader then swung his lightsaber to create a turbulence which knocked the Siroto out of balance, causing Vex to fall into a jungle below, ending her role in the fight. After stabilizing the ship, Ladybright made contact with Qi'ra, and requested that she send the Dawn Fleet so that they could rescue Cha from Vader. Qi'ra declined the request, and ordered Ladybright to return to Dawnfall Base. Ladybright refused the order, adding that whilst Qi'ra had provided employment, Cha had provided her a home, and turned the Siroto around to help Cha.[1]
Vader and Cha saw the Siroto head towards them, and Cha urged them to go, with Vader commenting that them returning simply meant more wasted lives. The ship then turned away and escaped, and Vader stated to Cha that perhaps she was not as important to them as she had thought. Cha said that the ship going was good, knowing that the Fermata Cage had escaped and believing that Ladybright had also escaped, as she was stabbed in the chest by Vader, killing her. Unbeknownst to Cha, because of her decision to return to help Cha, the Archivist had destroyed Ladybright, and then taken control of the Siroto. As they escaped, Farrus told the Archivist that they could not carry on with the attempts anymore, and that they wanted to be let go, to which the Archivist stated she would drop Farrus off on the way to Dawnfall Base.[1]
At Dawnfall Base, Qi'ra spoke with Cadeliah about her decision to not send the Dawn Fleet and about Cha's mistaken view about her saw her life. Sometime later, the Archivist recorded in a holocron about the first time she had seen Vader. The Archivist stated she was only alive because Cha had saved her, calling Cha very skilled and very brave.[1]
Appearances[]
- Hidden Empire 2 (Indirect mention only)
- Hidden Empire 3 (First appearance)
- Hidden Empire 4 (Indirect mention only)
Sources[]
Sana Starros Strikes Out on Her Own and More from Marvel's February 2023 Star Wars Comics – Exclusive Preview on StarWars.com (backup link) (First mentioned)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 Hidden Empire 3
- ↑ Hidden Empire 4
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The events of Hidden Empire 3, including the battle against the Orphans, take place after the Escape from Cloud City and before the Rescue of Han Solo, which are dated to 3 ABY and 4 ABY, respectively, by Star Wars: Galactic Atlas.
- ↑ Hidden Empire 2