Star Wars (2020) 11

Publisher's summary

OPERATION STARLIGHT GOES SUPERNOVA! The mission to reunite the REBEL FLEET is countered by a deadly trap sprung by the cunning COMMANDER ZAHRA! How will WEDGE ANTILLES, SHARA BEY and the other elite pilots of STARLIGHT SQUADRON survive? And then there's LANDO CALRISSIAN… forced to choose between THE REBELLION and one of his oldest friends!

Opening crawl

The cunning Commander Zahra has cracked the
rebel security codes and will stop at nothing to
crush the Rebellion once and for all.

In response, the rebels stole an ancient
protocol droid from the Imperial Museum. With
it, they hope to create a new unbreakable code
and bring the scattered fleet back together. With
the hybroid Lobot's help, the rebels managed to
communicate with the droid and strike a deal.

The other key to rebel survival is the newly founded
Starlight Squadron, led by Shara Bey. But
Starlight's first mission could be their last....

Plot summary

On a rebel ship, Kes Dameron aims a blaster at Lando Calrissian, insisting they must keep the "talky droid" running to contact Starlight Squadron. Lando argues that continuing the transmission will kill Lobot. Nearby, Leia and C-3PO decide to prioritize the fleet over Lobot's life, and Leia orders the droids to continue the transmission.

In space, Starlight Squadron is cornered by the Imperial fleet. Their communications are jammed and they cannot jump to hyperspace without their astromechs. Despite being outnumbered three-to-one, L'ulo notes the TIE fighters are herding them rather than ganging up on them.

Aboard the Tarkin's Will, Commander Zahra confirms the X-Wings are boxed in and orders the activation of the tractor beams. The rebel ships are pulled toward the Star Destroyer, and the pilots realize they are being reeled in for capture. Wedge has an idea: accelerate. Back on the rebel ship, Lando continues to argue for Lobot. When C-3PO says the transmission is almost complete, Lando punches Kes, then attacks the talky droid. Kes aims his blaster at Lando again, accusing him of being a saboteur. Leia has Lando locked up, but C-3PO announces that the transmission is complete. He explains that he has learned the Trawak language, making the talky droid obsolete. C-3PO notes that the droid's self-interested behavior explains why its model was discontinued. Leia regrets the situation but says she saw no other alternative to save the fleet.

In space, the rebel ships ride the tractor beam toward the Star Destroyer, leading Imperial technicians to believe they intend to ram it. Instead, the rebels wait for the ship's shields to drop, then fire a barrage of missiles and torpedoes to deactivate the tractor beam and attack the hangar bay. While fighting the Imperials inside, they manage to slice into an Imperial astromech to help with their hyperspace calculations and download Imperial intelligence, a plan devised by Shara, Kes's wife.

Although most of the rebels escape the hangar, Shara is trapped.

Lando visits Lobot in the med bay, concluding that the rebellion would not protect them if faced with a similar choice. Later, on Tatooine, Bib Fortuna takes a call from Lando, who has contacted him about selling the new rebel codes. Lando admits he can't get the codes as they're now locked down, but offers to give Jabba the Hutt the talky droid that makes them instead.

Meanwhile, Leia and the rebels receive a new transmission from Starlight Squadron. Captain L'Ulo reports that the mission was a failure: they found the remains of the Sixth Division and had to leave their leader, Shara, behind as she sacrificed herself to save them. A distraught Kes Dameron is devastated by the news. L'Ulo adds that the only good news is that they captured an Imperial astromech full of valuable data, which was Shara's idea. Leia tells the crew that the Empire is wrong to believe they are beaten.

Continuity

In the issue, L'ulo L'ampar refers to himself as Starlight Two when he was using the callsign Starlight Three in the previous issue.

Media

Cover gallery

Cover A Cover A (not final) Cover B Cover B (not final) Cover B (unlettered) Cover C Cover D

Collected in

• Star Wars Vol. 2: Operation Starlight

Appearances

Sources

• Hard Choices in Marvel's Star Wars #11 - Exclusive Preview on StarWars.com (backup link)
• "Launchpad" — Star Wars Insider 200

Notes and references

External links

• Marvel Comics February 2021 solicitations and covers revealed on GamesRadar (November 19, 2020) (backup link archived on November 19, 2020)