Crimson Empire 1 Crimson Empire 1 was the first issue in the six - part " Crimson Empire " series of comics , and was released on December 7 , 1997 by Dark Horse Comics . Publisher ' s summary . Kir Kanos is the last surviving member of the elite Crimson Guard . He ' s on the run - - and the Empire will stop at nothing to destroy him . Featuring flashback appearances detailing the unknown pasts of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader . Plot summary . " It is a time of turmoil . The last of Emperor Palpatine ' s clones has been destroyed by the Rebel Luke Skywalker and his allies , and control of the Empire is up for grabs . A temporary ruling Council has formed behind the scenes to maintain order , but the Council itself is splintered - divided by the conflicting ambitions of its members . Intrigue , deception , and betrayal are commonplace as those who would replace the Emperor pursue their goals . " " One man , Carnor Jax , holds sway over the Council . He knows the secrets about the members of the ruling body that could destroy their control and further weaken the Empire . He uses this knowledge to force the creation of a special position for himself within the Council . " " Jax ' s plan is actually much more ambitious than the Council members know : he seeks to position himself as a new Dark Lord — with the aid of the equally ambitious General Wessel — and eventually acend to Palpatine ' s throne . " " One other knows the Council ' s secrets - and Jax ' s ambitions . Hiding on the galaxy ' s outer edges , he bides his time , awaiting his chance to destroy them all . . . " On the planet Zaddja , far from the Empire , an Imperial task force of stormtroopers aboard the " Destiny " land to attack a lone settlement . The settlement , however , is empty - save for a huge number of explosives that kills the landing party instantly . On the planet Phaeda , closer to the Empire but still relatively unimportant , a cloaked figure lands an common - looking freighter and bribes his way past spaceport security with no trouble at all . The visitor finds his way to a local cantina , where numerous Imperial officers have gathered to discuss current events within the Empire . Colonel Shev , a supporter of Carnor Jax , irritates another officer and attracts the attention of the cloaked visitor . An officer notices the visitor and demands to know why he was being eavesdropped upon . The visitor asks the officer to step away , but the officer draws a gun and the visitor swiftly kills him with a double - bladed sword . Violence erupts as stormtroopers converge on the scene - but the visitor slaughters them all with no trouble . Surrounded by dead Imperials , a local exhorts the visitor to go with him to safety before more Imperials arrive . Reluctantly , the visitor goes with him . Meanwhile , aboard the Star Destroyer " Emperor ' s Revenge " , Carnor Jax discusses with General Wessel how imperative it is to find Kir Kanos . The conversation reveals that Jax bribed Palpatine ' s physician to sabotage his remaining clones after the destruction of Byss . Jax also learned of Kanos ' s survival after an encounter between the remaining Royal Guards and Luke Skywalker and an inexperienced Ysanna Jedi who failed to kill the guardsman who knew of Jax ' s treachery . Jax , who perceives himself to be the next Darth Vader — and , ultimately , Emperor — focuses all effort on killing Kir Kanos . . .