Return of the Jedi – The Empire 1

Publisher's summary

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF THE EMPIRE TOOK OVER? As operations begin to take shape on the moon of ENDOR, a technician must figure out how to live under the control of THE EMPIRE. But if he can't stay out of trouble, what will the Empire do with him? Continuing the 40TH ANNIVERSARY celebration of RETURN OF THE JEDI, JODY HOUSER & JETHRO MORALES pull back the curtain of the Empire like never before!

Opening crawl

As the conflict against the REBEL ALLIANCE
continues, the heavy hand of the GALACTIC
EMPIRE squeezes its citizens for any
resource that they can provide.

With more and more businesses seized and
workforces commandeered for military
purposes, many civilians find themselves
abruptly pulled into the ongoing war effort.

One young technician, RILO GRENTH, has
become a civilian contractor for a
top-secret installation that is currently
being constructed on a distant moon in
the OUTER RIM….

Plot summary

First time off-planet?

Rilo Grenth, the son of the owner of Grenth Technologies, rides in the passenger area of a Lambda-class T-4a shuttle in what is his first time off of his homeworld of Hosnian Prime. After prompting by a scout trooper, Grenth over-indulges, explaining that his father's company goes back six generations, but never quite became a large corporation. Even so, Grenth Technologies became a specialist in intersystem connectivity and communications software. As the Empire grew to need that niche, however, they required more than contracts with the company and ended up taking control of Grenth Technologies and conscripting Rilo to aid in some specific operations. Rilo is cut off by the scout trooper, who grew tired of the rambling. The trooper then collects a number of credits from a stormtrooper as winnings of their bet. This interaction makes Rilo feel a bit like an outcast.

Homesick

The shuttle arrives at the forest moon Endor at the Death Star's shield generator. As Rilo adjusts to his assignment, he writes a missive to his father in which he glosses over his struggles in order for his experience to seem positive. Rilo finds the stormtroopers a bit rude, his room small, and the food unsatisfactory, though he exclaims the opposite in his writings. Whatever portions he does decide to eat, he eats alone, feeling unwelcome by the others.

Rilo works alongside an RA-7 protocol droid by the name of EE-Sevenwhy and under the supervision of an Imperial Navy Trooper. The trooper forces Rilo to re-run tests from the previous day, making Rilo feel a bit frustrated by the intensity of the Empire's thoroughness. EE-Sevenwhy, on the other hand, is eager to re-run the tests.

All the wrong moves

In the mess hall, Rilo attempts to join a group's table, but his attempt falls flat as the other Imperials respond with rudeness. Rilo again eats alone, but notices a blonde-haired individual eyeing the Imperial who bullied him away. This gives Rilo the idea to try to create a love match. He rationalizes his plan to EE-Sevenwhy as a way to make sure that all the systems, even the organic ones, are properly communicating with one another. Rilo sees the apparent crush as a form of shyness that, to rationalize to the droid, might be detrimental to the overall mission. Rilo convinces EE-Sevenwhy to access the pair's personal comms to send a message from the blonde Imperial that they have been watching the other from afar, something romantic.

Later, Rilo sees the recipient of the message clutching the "sender" by the collar, her fist ready to strike. The accused blonde professes their innocence, swearing that they have only respect for her marriage. She warns the blonde not to step out of line.

Rilo again sits alone at the mess, noticing the blonde individual with a few patched-up face wounds. He feels sad and gets the idea to step outdoors for his meal. He soon hears a rustling in the bushes, so he jumps to his feet, arming himself with his utensils. The sound was that of an Ewok, who reveals themself. Rilo finds the Ewok cute and offers them a bit of his food. Rilo soon realizes he dreadfully misread the situation when the Ewok bounds forward brandishing a spear. Rilo falls backwards in fear, and the Ewok attacks the Imperial. Before the spear can strike, a scout trooper fires a blaster rifle at the native, bisecting the spear and grazing the Ewok's fur. The Ewok retreats into the safety of the forest. The scout trooper then checks on Rilo and admonishes him for stepping foot outside the bunker when there are so many hostiles in the area.

A foolproof plan

On a subsequent work shift, EE-Sevenwhy informs Rilo that he has become much more efficient at his work since he has cut out his distractions. Rilo doesn't quite see this as a compliment, and even feels that if a droid is the only one seeing his work, it does not bode well for his career. The droid is quick to remind Rilo that previous observations of him have only created trouble. Rilo Grenth is soon struck with a brilliant idea: Do something bold to get positive attention for his work. He feels inspired to do more than just run the same monotonous tests, but take initiative. His plan is to undo a Grenth Technologies strategy in which they relied on human labor to enter their proprietary access codes for every run of every test; this was valuable for company profits. He figures that if he can generate a quick unlock to enter the code for all major processes, he can automate all of the tests. While this would render his job useless, his job is installation, not maintenance. He reasons that he would prove his systems efficient enough to warrant further installation, so the Empire would send him all over the galaxy for work.

As Rilo attempts his plan, he encounters a primary program he is unable to access, which seems contrary to the protocol of interlinking all the systems upon installation. He asks EE-Sevenwhy to give access so he can automate the entire ecosystem, and the droid reluctantly agrees. Rilo is soon greeted by a hologram of the DS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station schematics. He quickly realizes his error and locks it all back down.

I'm not going home, am I?

Rilo Grenth writes again to his father with a message of his time nearly being up. He packs his things and heads to the shuttle. Before he can reach it, he is approached by an Imperial Security Bureau agent who calls him in for questioning.

Rilo sits in an interrogation room. The ISB agent details back each of Rilo's troubles at the base and reframes them as potential rebel activity. He then shows a hologram of EE-Sevenwhy ratting on Rilo for accessing protected systems. Rilo is formally accused of either being a rebel spy or being dangerously incompetent. Either way, it is made clear that Rilo will not be going home.

Rilo Grenth finds himself in an Imperial factory prison. He speaks to his bunk neighbor Kreb about how he was imprisoned for being too good at his job, which the Devaronian commiserates as being a common theme among the inmates. Another prisoner, Micho, for instance, got in trouble for flying cargo to a particular location, even though he had all the proper codes. Rilo sadly smiles as he introduces himself to his new friends.

Media

Cover gallery

Final cover by Ryan Brown

Solicit cover by Ryan Brown

Textless solicit cover

Connecting variant cover by Lee Garbett

Variant cover by Leinil Francis Yu

Variant cover by Tom Reilly

Collected in

• Star Wars: Scoundrels, Rebels and the Empire

Appearances

This Appearances list is incomplete. You can help Wookieepedia by expanding it.

Sources

• Inferno Squad Strikes Back in Marvel's April 2023 Star Wars Comics – Exclusive Preview on StarWars.com (backup link)
• The Empire Lands on Endor in Marvel's Star Wars: Return of the Jedi – The Empire #1 – Exclusive Preview on StarWars.com (backup link)
• "Launchpad" — Star Wars Insider 219

Notes and references

External links

• Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi – The Empire (2023) #1 on Marvel Comics' official website (backup link)