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Released by: Dark Horse Comics
Release on: February 12, 2014
Concluding the two-part story, Five Days of Sith, the story here is related primarily from the POV of Ensign Nanda and inside Vader's head. She is his pilot as he seeks to uncover the depth of the Bircher deception, where an insider Imperial officer was able to pull off a Rebel victory of sabotage.
The story begins with Vader facing Obi-Wan on the Death Star again, clearly in a Force-vision-type of state. His old master knows that Anakin is still there in the suit somewhere but Vader dismisses this, instead focusing on who the boy was, the one that blew up the station. He gets the name of Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan warns him that his emotions will indeed get the better of him one day.
Nanda wakes Vader from this vision as they enter the remains of the planet Alderaan. They suddenly receive an Imperial-wide broadcast kill-or-capture order for a suspected traitor named Rogaren. The chief architect of the Death Star, he was apparently spotted in conversation with a known Rebel leader. But with this kind of order, Nanda knows that everyone will be gunning for this bounty - even the stormtroopers accompanying them, who turn on Vader after they've captured Rogaren. This provides an opportunity for Nanda to witness Vader living up to his reputation…
Vader questions Rogaren who refuses to relent so Vader kills him. But the dark lord knows that is was Princess Leia he was in league with. But he has one more stop on rooting out this whole Bircher conspiracy, a lead to a quiet farm on a quiet planet. Nanda investigates it on the ground, finding the place abandoned but containing some gravestones featuring the name of “Mothma.†This is sufficient proof for Vader of the Rebel connection and so he goes scorched-earth-policy on the farm, nearly injuring Nanda in the process. But he retrieves her and she's sent on her way, traumatized but thankful to have actually survived her time with Vader which is a rare thing indeed…
Another great story featuring Vader and examining his methods that are left to speculation previously, Brian Wood's script moves effortlessly and just lets Vader be Vader, thankfully. Facundo Percio's artwork accompanies this all pretty well, too.
