The comic continues the story of the Rebel assault on Cymoon 1's Weapons Factory Alpha, as the Rebels race to escape from Darth Vader and his Imperial forces. Luke Skywalker destroys the factory and the Rebels escape aboard the Millennium Falcon, while Vader resolves to corrupt Skywalker and make him his apprentice. The aftermath of the assault is depicted in Darth Vader (2015) 1 and the Star Wars (2015) 4.
On Cymoon 1, Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa battle against Imperial stormtroopers in their hijacked AT-AT walker. They are aided by several liberated alien slaves, many of whom are killed in battle. Luke Skywalker rides a stolen Imperial 74-Z speeder bike, gunning down stormtroopers. Darth Vader strides into the battle.
Princess Leia uses the AT-AT's laser cannons to shoot down a TIE fighters. Leia plans to take the AT-AT walker to the trash fields where the Millennium Falcon is parked. Solo says the Falcon has been through a lot but worries about C-3PO. Meanwhile, tentacled aliens ransack the Falcon, helping themselves to C-3PO who has been dismantled into several parts.
Chewbacca comes to C-3PO's rescue and fights off the aliens. Hearing the Wookiee over the comlink, Solo tells Chewbacca to get the Falcon airborne. Leia and Han find their path blocked by several AT-ST walkers, Assault tanks, and Imperial combat speeders. Solo asks Luke where he is. Luke, who is being pursued by stormtroopers on speeder bikes, replies that he is not far.
One of the pursuing stormtroopers crashes his speeder bike into the foot of an AT-AT walker. Luke manages to fight off a second stormtrooper with his lightsaber, causing his enemy to crash into the legs of an AT-AT walker. Solo tells Skywalker to avoid the factory because the reactor is going to overload. However, Leia realizes that the Imperials must have stopped the meltdown.
Meanwhile, Overseer Aggadeen tells Lord Vader that he has managed to halt the reactor's meltdown, saving the factory. Vader says the Overseer may live to see tomorrow but orders him to send more troopers to his location. Vader then slices off the right rear ankle couplings of the AT-AT with his lightsaber. Solo contacts Chewbacca to ask about the repairs and tells the Wookiee to hurry up. A damaged C-3PO thinks that they are all doomed and thanks the Maker that his eye circuits are not connected, saving him from seeing the carnage.
Skywalker slices off the laser cannons of an AT-ST walker. Meanwhile, Vader slices off a second set of the hijacked AT-AT's ankle couplings. Luke wants to intervene but Solo tells him to stay back because they have taken too much damage. Vader then slices off the remaining legs of the AT-AT walker, causing it to topple. He orders his troops to move in for the kill.
However, Skywalker attacks them with his lightsaber. This allows Solo, Princess Leia, and the liberated alien slaves to fight their way into the trash fields. Leia tells Skywalker to come with them but he refuses to get off his speeder bike.
Later, Vader and his stormtroopers observe that the rebels and slaves have entered the trash fields. Before Vader can order his troops to pursue the fugitives, Skywalker attacks them with his speeder bike. Lord Vader pursues the rebel pilot in an Imperial combat speeder through a tunnel. Skywalker takes the opportunity to destroy Weapons Factory Alpha's reactor, causing an overload that destroys the factory.
Skywalker barely survives the explosion. He apologizes that he will never be a Jedi like his father. Lord Vader watches over the burning factory and the fleeing Falcon. Aboard the Falcon, Skywalker has rejoined his rebel comrades and the liberated slaves. Solo tells Chewbacca to get the hyperdrive working. Reaching the upper atmosphere, they see a fleet of Imperial Star Destroyers. The rebels manage to flee into hyperspace before the Star Destroyers can attack them.
Captain Kronn of the Star Destroyer Adjudicator apologizes that the rebel ship has eluded their blockade. A displeased Vader Force chokes him. Vader taunts his late mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, telling him that Skywalker is untrained and that he will train Skywalker into a weapon of the Empire and the dark side.
While the liberated alien slaves celebrate, C-3PO remarks that this was the strangest diplomatic mission that he had experience while R2-D2 repairs him. Princess Leia reassures an upset Luke that what he did was crazy and insubordinate but that many people including her are grateful to him. Leia likens Luke's exploits on Cymoon 1 to his heroic actions during the Battle of Yavin. However, a despondent Luke replies that he should be dead and that Vader was right that he was no Jedi and will never be.
Meanwhile on Tatooine, two aliens transport the corpse of a Rodian in a landspeeder. One of the alien asks why they did not just drop him in the middle of Mos Eisley. His companion responds that doing so would attract Imperial questions and Jabba's murder tax. They dump the body near Ben Kenobi's home, dismissing him as a crazy old wizard. Inside Kenobi's home is a box with the inscription "For Luke."
- Star Wars Vol. 1: Skywalker Strikes
- Star Wars Vol. 1
- Star Wars by Jason Aaron Omnibus
- Star Wars Modern Era Epic Collection: Skywalker Strikes
- The Marvel Art of Star Wars