Crimson Empire II : Council of Blood Crimson Empire II : Council of Blood was a series of comic books written by Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley , and the sequel to " Crimson Empire " . They were originally released by Dark Horse Comics in 1998 and 1999 as a 6 - issue monthly series , which were later compiled and sold as a trade paperback . They are part of a larger series , the " " story arc . Publisher ' s summary . Following the death of Imperial Guard turncoat Carnor Jax at the hand of the last Guard , Kir Kanos , the Galactic Empire suddenly finds itself devoid of a leader , and an Interim Council is assembled to rule the Empire until a new Emperor can be selected . But when Council members become targets for assassination , Kanos becomes the prime suspect and again stands at the center of a storm ! Plot summary . After Tav arrived , Kanos left the planet in an X - wing , leaving his Skipray to a young mechanic on the world . Kanos had decided to learn how to fly the fighter craft so that he could understand the skills possessed by Luke Skywalker , as he saw him as the true enemy , having believed he killed Palpatine . After making several stops , Kanos decided to use his new persona as Kenix Kil to disappear into the underworld . He had his identity erased to keep anyone from learning of his true identity and took careful precautions that no one would see his face under his helmet . Hearing that a Hutt named Grappa was in need of bounty hunters , Kanos decided to take him up on employment . Kanos flew his X - wing to Grappa ' s base on Genon , and after meeting with the Hutt , he took up a commission to capture customs officer Tarrant Snil . Snil was located on the planet G ' wenee in the city of Lay Pa - Sidian , and Kanos left immediately to apprehend his quarry . After arriving , he was immediately accosted by men loyal to Snil . Several other hunters had failed to capture the customs officer , and he was confident that Kanos would have the same difficulty . However , Kanos ' s skill with his double - bladed vibroblade was too much for Snil ' s men , and he quickly killed the entire band . Kanos took Snil hostage and presented him to Grappa , much to the Hutt ' s delight . Grappa declared a party in Kanos favor , but it was soon interrupted by a mysterious call over the HoloNet . As Grappa quickly departed the celebration , Kanos got a quick glimpse at the mysterious visage of Nom Anor , one of Grappa the Hutt ' s mysterious associates . While working for Grappa , Kanos noticed that Mirith Sinn and Massimo were also under the Hutt ' s employ . He sent Tav to keep watch on Mirith to make sure that she had not discovered his secret . Updates from Tav eventually confirmed that Sinn had probably called off her vendetta against him , as she was certainly not spending her time searching for the killer of her friend . However , Kanos decided that he had overstayed his welcome at Grappa ' s . Someone familiar with the battle language of the guard had deciphered the anagram of Kenix Kil and traced it to Kanos . As soon as Grappa had received word of the new information , Kanos was long gone . At the same time , Mirith Sinn had been betrayed by Massimo and turned over to members of the Zanibar race by Grappa . Although Kanos had said that he held no remorse for killing the Rebel commander ' s friend , he felt that he deserved to repay her for causing her such grief . Commandeering an A - wing from Grappa ' s base , Kanos set out for Xo , the Zanibar homeworld , to rescue Sinn . Kanos followed the Zanibar transport ship carrying Sinn , and landed on the planet , stashing the ship in the dense underbrush outlying the main Zanibar city . Kanos then infiltrated the city and incapacitated a Zanibar priest , taking his place in one of their archaic ceremonies . The Zanibar were known to capture organics and submit them to barbaric rituals , which seemed to consist of cutting up the person and flaying them while they were tied to a large metal hoop . As Kanos arrived at the ceremony , the Zanibar were about to cut up Lieutenant Massimo , the man who had betrayed Sinn to Grappa , but had been betrayed in turn . While the Zanibar were busy with Massimo , Kanos made his way deep into the ceremony building , finally finding Sinn and freeing her . However , the Zanibar quickly realized that their other sacrifice had been released , and they raised the alarm . Kanos opened fire on the Zanibar priests , killing one of them , and inadvertently freeing Massimo from the ceremonial hoop in the process . Sinn and Kanos ran from the Zanibar village and back to the ship , with the Zanibar in hot pursuit . Since the A - wing was only a one - seater ship , Kanos was forced to stand on the wing of the craft while Sinn flew the craft through the atmosphere . Unfortunately the atmospheric flight slowed down the craft , and the Zanibar ' s own craft quickly caught up with the A - wing , crippling it and forcing Sinn to crash - land the ship into a tree . Although the two remained unharmed , they were trapped in the dangerous Xo wilderness with no means of escape . Kanos and Sinn trekked across the dangerous wilderness together . The pair had to constantly work together to keep from being eaten by the hostile wildlife . They were able to survive the day by constantly watching each other ' s backs , eventually reaching an ancient temple in the center of the wilderness by nightfall . Settling down to spend the night , the attraction that Kanos and Sinn had begun back on Phaeda began to blossom again . Sinn tried to convince Kanos once again that the Empire was evil , telling the story of how her peaceful husband was killed by the Empire . Kanos began to slowly show a change of heart , finally thinking for himself for the first time in many years . After spending the night together , Kanos and Sinn awoke to see a Zanibar raiding party that had come to recapture the Humans for their ceremony . Trapped and outnumbered , Kanos tried to hold off the Zanibar , using the ancient temple as cover . Luckily for Kanos and Sinn , Tav Kennede arrived in Kanos ' s X - wing to save the day . Unfortunately , as soon as Sinn had climbed aboard , Kanos was wounded by a stray blaster shot and was unable to get to the ship . Kanos ordered Kennede to leave him and get Sinn away , and despite Sinn ' s protests , Kennede followed orders . Kanos was taken captive by the closing Zanibar as Kennede took Sinn off - world . Luckily for Kanos , even the barbaric Zanibar had heard of the massive bounty on the Imperial Guard ' s head , and decided to turn him in for the reward . The Zanibar brought Kanos back to Grappa and arranged for Grappa to deal with turning over Kanos to the Imperials . Kanos remained in a cell as the Hutt negotiated with the Imperials . However , as Kanos prepared himself in incarceration , a New Republic taskforce led by Mirith Sinn infiltrated Grappa ' s headquarters and rescued Kanos . The Royal Guard was brought back with the Sinn to New Republic space in time to witness the Battle of Ord Cantrell . The Battle of Ord Cantrell was a conflict between ex - Imperial Baron Ragez D ' Asta and self - proclaimed Galactic Emperor Xandel Carivus , precipitated when Carivus ordered the arrest of D ' Asta ' s daughter Feena for treason . With much of the Imperial Starfleet dispatched across the galaxy in the hunt for Kir Kanos , Ord Cantrell was left poorly defended and vulnerable to Baron D ' Asta ' s large private fleet . The Imperial forces were soundly defeated in space , losing at least one Imperial - class Star Destroyer , and D ' Asta ' s fighters began strafing Carivus ' s estate . Seeing that defeat was imminent , Carivus offered to release Feena D ' Asta . The Baron was loath to call off the attack when victory was in sight , but he valued his daughter ' s life over his own pride and agreed to the ceasefire . Kanos followed Sinn to a meeting with Baron Ragez D ' Asta , where she revealed to him that his daughter , Feena D ' Asta , had been replaced with a clone . Although D ' Asta was shocked with the revelation , Kanos reacted immediately . He declared Feena ' s clone a traitor to the Empire for being involved on the Imperial Interim Ruling Council and prepared to execute her . However , Sinn convinced Kanos to spare her life , as she had been forced to participate in the plot by Black Sun . Although he decided to spare the woman , Kanos still resolved to execute the rest of the council . The newly proclaimed Emperor , Xandel Carivus had holed up inside his throne room on Ord Cantrell , and with the help of Sinn , Tav Kennede , and Baron D ' Asta , Kanos infiltrated the throne room and engaged Xandel Carivus ' s Private Guard . They were no match for Kanos ' s skill , and although they were able to wound Tav , Kanos quickly dispatched all of them . Carivus tried to make an escape out the back door , but Kanos cut him off , smashing his face into a bulkhead before accusing him of betrayal to his Emperor . Although Carivus tried to plead for his life , Kanos would hear nothing of it , and he coldly executed the next would - be Emperor . Although Carivus was dead , the rest of the Imperial Ruling Council members had been locked in cells by Carivus . Sinn commented on the fact that they would be easy pickings if Kanos wished to have them killed as well . However , Kanos remarked that there had been enough killing for one day , implying that he would leave the judging of the council up to the New Republic . Kanos ' s change of heart had left him confused , and he prepared to leave New Republic space and Sinn behind . Although Sinn declared her love for him and pleaded with him to stay , Kanos realized that his devotion was still to the Emperor , and he left the scene in his X - wing .