The Day after the Death Star ! The Day after the Death Star ! is a short comic that takes place , as the title says , the day after the destruction of the first Death Star . It is in this comic that Chewbacca receives a medal for his participation in the battle . The story first appeared in three parts in Marvel UK ' s " Star Wars Weekly 97 – 99 " , and was reprinted in Marvel Illustrated Books ' " Star Wars " . The story was named after the first original part ; the other two parts were " Space Duel ! " and " Empire Kills ! " . More recently , Dark Horse reprinted the story in " Luke Skywalker , Last Hope for the Galaxy " . Plot summary . An excited Luke Skywalker sneaks off from the celebration following the destruction of first Death Star to go joyriding with R2 - D2 in his T - 65 X - wing starfighter . They encounter a TIE / LN starfighter , a lone straggler left over from the battle , in the sky over Yavin 4 and engage in a dogfight . When Luke discovers his X - wing ' s weapons have no charge , he is forced to collide with the TIE before the Imperial fighter can put him in its sights . Suffering damage , both craft spiral out of control to the jungles of Yavin 4 below and Luke manages to crash nose - first into a lake , but loses R2 - D2 in the process . Scrambling to shore , Luke berates himself for acting so rashly , which has caused him to wind up stuck out in the jungle with no way to call for help . His problems grow worse , however as the TIE pilot Qorl has managed to bring his own stricken craft down nearby and fires a shot at Luke just as Luke is shrugging out of his flight suit . As he lies in wait for the TIE pilot to approach , Luke discovers that in his haste he has left his gunbelt at the party — he is unarmed ! As the TIE pilot rounds the tree Luke is hiding in , he at first thinks the smoking ruins of Luke ' s flight suit are all that remains of his target , and Luke uses that moment to spring from the branches overhead and onto the pilot . The two wrestle for the TIE pilot ' s blaster , but the pilot ' s armor gives him advantage and Luke ' s blows do little damage . When Luke manages to finally get a hold of the blaster , it is at the cost of taking his weight off the TIE pilot , who upends them both into the nearby lake . There the pilot ' s breathing apparatus provides him with air that Luke doesn ' t have , while the weight of his armor helps him hold Luke down until he drowns . However , Luke grabs one of the TIE pilot ' s respirator hoses and the tables are turned . Luke drags the near - drowned pilot to the shore and stands over the unconscious body with a club , intending to take vengeance upon the Imperial for the deaths of uncle Owen , aunt Beru and Obi - Wan Kenobi . But the TIE pilot ' s helmet falls off revealing the face of the pilot and Luke realizes the enemy is more than just armor and starships — the enemy lives and breathes , just like he does . Kill when it can be avoided and Luke would be no better than the Imperials at their worst . When Princess Leia Organa , Han Solo , Chewbacca and the droids arrive , having tracked the wreckage to the lake , Luke is waiting there for them , with memories not only of the day he destroyed the Death Star , but of the day after as well .