Crimson Empire 3 Crimson Empire 3 was the third issue in the 6 part " Crimson Empire " series of comics , and was released on February 18 , 1998 by Dark Horse Comics . Publisher ' s summary . Mirith Sinn ' s band of Rebels is under siege by the Empire as their hideout is discovered ! But who should come to their rescue but . . . Kir Kanos , the last member of the Crimson Guard ? ! Is he on their side - - or is there another reason he is fighting with them ? This issue finally reveals just why the Empire is after Kanos - - and why Kanos is after Carnor Jax , the Imperial who covets the Empire ' s throne ! Plus , at last , you ' ll learn just what happened to the Crimson Guard after the death of the Emperor in " Empire ' s End " ! Plot summary . The New Republic forces on Phaeda are under attack by Colonel Xexus Shev ! An assault force of AT - ST ' s , Juggernauts , TIE crawlers , and TIE Interceptors bears down against the limited defenses of the Rebels . Although they put up a vicious fight , their mysterious visitor proves to be an unimaginably deadly warrior - Kir Kanos single - handedly slaughters the Imperial forces . After killing dozens of stormtroopers , Kanos takes down a TIE Interceptor with a single blaster bolt to save the lives of Mirith Sinn and Sish Sadeet . In the face of disaster , Shev orders an emergency retreat , disgraced at failure and terrified by the consequences of disobeying Carnor Jax . Following the battle , Kanos shares with Mirith the events that transpired that brought him to Phaeda . Following the death of the cloned Emperor , the surviving Guardsmen gathered on Yinchorr to decide on a course of action . Only a handful of Royal Guards were alive , most having been killed on Byss when it was destroyed by the Galaxy Gun or aboard " Eclipse II " . A number of survivors were also killed by Luke Skywalker and Rayf Ysanna . However , one guardsman survived the encounter with Skywalker and learned about the intrigue surrounding the Interim Ruling Council - including Carnor Jax ' s scheme to become Emperor and the sabotage of Palpatine ' s clones by his physician . On the tenth day of their mourning , the survivor reached Yinchorr and informed his comrades of what he had learned . Then and there , the guardsmen swore to avenge their Emperor and kill the traitor Carnor Jax . Moments later , Imperial forces loyal to Jax attacked them . Jax had not only seen to the death of Palpatine , but to all those loyal to him as well , including the Royal Guards . Although the guards were nearly unparalleled in combat skill , the sheer number of stormtroopers overwhelmed them and all but two were killed , leaving only Kir Kanos and Kile Hannad . They both knew that only one of them could survive so that the other might live to eventually kill Jax . With the flip of a coin , it was decided that Kanos would be the one to live . Kanos eventually found himself wandering the galaxy , contemplating and planning on how to kill Jax . Kanos decided he needed to lay low once he realized that Jax was hunting him just as eagerly , first on Zaddja and then on Phaeda . Following the discussion between Mirith and Kanos , the New Republic forces are moved into the mountain base at Collo Fauale , fearing a second Imperial attack . Sadeet begins to suspect that Tem Merkon may be the traitor he has suspected to be among them . In the Imperial base , Colonel Shev is in a panic because he understands the consequences for having deliberately disobeyed Jax . However , an intelligence report concerning a recently - landed freighter revives his hope that he will be able to capture Kanos . Meanwhile , Jax is en route to Phaeda aboard the " Emperor ' s Revenge " , and swears that if Shev has compromised the capture of Kanos , he will crush Shev . . .