THE HUNTER! DARTH VADER is on the hunt for a mysterious criminal syndicate operating outside of THE EMPIRE's rule. But little does he know he's being hunted by a group of the galaxy's deadliest bounty hunters, hired by the syndicate to take out Vader once and for all. Led by fallen Imperial Officer BEILERT VALANCE, this ragtag group of assassins will stop at nothing to kill the biggest bounty of their lives.
Darth Vader causes an explosion
On Fikari, a group of Hidden Hand mercenaries discusses the recent killings of three clans at the hands of Darth Vader. One member, Uro, accepts the risk as part of the Hidden Hand's secretive dealings, but another, Holaq, believes Vader's involvement to be the organization's downfall. As they speak, Darth Vader himself stalks the group, silently dispatching all its members except for Holaq. Crushing Holaq's blaster, Vader demands to know the location of the Hidden Hand, but Holaq claims to know nothing. Vader believes and kills him, then contacts Emperor Palpatine via hologram. Palpatine expresses his disappointment in another dead end, reaffirming the need to eradicate the Hidden Hand for selling weapons to the Rebel Alliance. Unbeknownst to either Sith Lord, a nearby Tarsunt eavesdrops on their conversation.
On Coruscant, bounty hunter Xonr arrives at BG-RT's Tavern and Spirits to find Beilert Valance slumped over at a table. Xonr sits down and points a blaster at Valance, intending to kill him for stealing five of his bounties in violation of the Bounty Hunter Code. Valance asks to finish his drink and points to several other Bounty Hunters' Guild members already standing around him. Xonr questions why Valance would ever let himself be trapped so easily, but Valance replies that he lured the hunters in and kills him with a charge in his cybernetic hand, since the rules of their code "don't apply to the dead." Valance kills the other hunters in the bar before buying another drink.
Valance with the other bounty hunters
As Valance returns to his ship, the Broken Wing, he stops the Tarsunt following him. The alien reveals himself as Gwi, a messenger for the Hidden Hand, and offers to erase Valance's debt in exchange for joining a team for a mission. Valance refuses, citing his personal rules about knowing his employers and working alone, but he is convinced when Gwi explains that their target is Darth Vader. Gwi introduces Valance to the team: Honnah, a Gamorrean tracker; Urrr'k, a sniper; Chio Fain, a "possibly insane" slicer; Arr-Nine-Nineteen, a droid who claimed to have hunted Jedi; and Dengar, whom Valance already knew. Citing his third personal rule against having droids, Valance destroys Arr-Nine and reveals him as a debtor being tracked by the Hutt Clan. With the team safe from rival syndicates, Valance rallies his team and sets off to kill Vader.
Elsewhere, on Yuw, Darth Vader attacks more bounty hunters, who deny any affiliation with the Hidden Hand. Vader spares one survivor, asking for information about a plot to murder him.
In the Fellio Asteroid Belt, a rebel base receives confirmation that the hunters have started their mission, and officer Aeliar expresses her satisfaction with their progress, hoping that with Vader gone, the Rebellion could secure the Hidden Hand's weapons.
- UPC 759606093960; July 3, 2019; Marvel Comics