It's time for me to discuss the sixty-fifth issue of Marvel's first Star Wars title. The cover, drawn by the issue's penciler and inker Tom Palmer, showed Princess Leia Organa going up against Imperial Leftenant Giel. The tale was titled "Golrath Never Forgets!" The issue had a cover date of November 1982.
The story started in the Rebel base on the planet Arbra. Luke Skywalker was standing on trial before Leia and Generals Rieekan and Veertag. He'd been charged with desertion, murder, theft, and treason. Several screens throughout the complex recounted the acquisition of several Imperial TIE fighters that were used by Luke and his fellow pilots to infiltrate the Empire's armada. This battle apparently took the life of Luke's wingmate, Shira Brie.
Skywalker's ship fired upon Brie, and he was subsequently stripped of rank pending an inquiry. Luke and Chewbacca then left in the Millennium Falcon without permission for the planet Shalyvane, which Brie had claimed was her homeworld. There, they discovered a transmitter used to contact Darth Vader. The duo then flew to Krake's Planet, made their way into the Imperial data vault, and brought back a recording that confirmed that Brie was an Imperial agent who'd been planted in the Rebellion to discredit her flight commander.
The tribunal examined the evidence and returned with a verdict of not guilty on all accounts. They recommended that Luke be reinstated to his previous rank, which he cheerfully accepted. While many on the base were celebrating Commander Skywalker's return to grace, others, like Milo (who had goaded the disgraced Rebel into a fist fight in issue #62) were unconvinced of his innocence.
Luke's fellow pilot, Thorben, was chatting with his ally Gemmer afterward, when he noticed his friend's tiredness. Gemmer explained that he'd been up all night, after being distracted by lights that had emanated from a paperweight that he'd brought back from their former temporary base on the planet Golrath. Thorben then insisted on examining the bauble personally.
Meanwhile, Luke and Leia were discussing matters in Organa's personal chambers. Their conversation was interrupted by Thorben's call on the viewscreen. He recommended that his superiors report to the analytics lab as soon as possible. A short while later, Doctor Wella placed the stone inside a machine, and those in the room soon saw an image of Luke when he'd been afflicted by the Crimson Forever (which happened back in issue #50). The stones were apparently capable of storing light and playing back images that they had captured.
Leia grew concerned that the rocks might contain a visual history of their time on that planet, and it could be a danger if the Empire discovered them. Fighter squads were hastily scrambled and set off for Golrath. Little did they know that there was already a small Imperial presence on that planet, led by former Admiral Giel.
Giel was the one whose armada Luke and company had attacked. He was guarding a Teezl, which was an organic being that had been captured to vastly improve Imperial communication across the galaxy. Its destruction angered Vader, who surprisingly allowed Giel to live, but demoted him in rank to leftenant and assigned him to less important matters like patrolling this planet. Despite all of that, Giel still took his role seriously and planned to return to his former status eventually.
A short while later, a pair of Giel's Stormtroopers took a break. They were surprised to see a Rebel patrol charging at them, and began firing in retaliation. They soon learned that they'd blasted nothing but stones that had contained images of a Rebel training operation. Giel had been drawn to the area by the shooting and realized what he had.
Not long afterward, the Rebel fighters entered Golrath's atmosphere. They soon found themselves in a firefight. Leia jumped from her Y-Wing and used a jetpack to descend to their former base. She used a small explosive to penetrate the outer shield, not knowing that she was being watched remotely by Giel. The leftenant knew exactly who the intruder was, but decided to see how far she could get.
Organa easily took out the two guards that had been stationed near her before making her way to the reactor room. Once inside, she was fired upon by a shot from Giel's pistol. The two engaged in a battle of wits, one which was determined to destroy the station after the Imperial closed the blast doors, released the overhead damper, and activated the station's self-destruct sequence.
Leia feigned surrender, only to trick Giel. She'd tied the hip from her pistol's holster to a cart that she'd put her jetpack on. She activated the pack and sent the cart careening toward her opponent, who was knocked down instantly. She then opened the nearest door control and escaped.
Giel walked away, unscathed but discouraged. Outside the complex, Leia was picked up via a cable extended from another Y-Wing. Luke's X-Wing flew behind as support, and his ship suffered what seemed to be a minor hit from Giel's pistol. That shot improved Giel's confidence slightly, and it was raised even further when he'd been informed that Vader had already been informed by his transport's pilot on the success of his mission, and that the Sith Lord was waiting for him to make a personal report on his cruiser.
While Giel's vessel was charting a course for the Star Destroyer Executor, the Rebel fighters were fleeing Golrath moments before the station exploded. Having accomplished their mission, the fighters went into hyperspace. All that is, except for Luke's X-Wing. The pistol shot had apparently knocked out its hyperdrive capabilities, leaving him all alone in space with several TIE fighters on his tail.
This issue had a good cliffhanger ending. I just wish that I'd had the following issue when I was a kid, and had to wait until I was an adult to find out what had happened next. This was a nice callback to the fiftieth issue, and I was satisfied seeing Giel redeem himself a bit. It's too bad that this was his last appearance in this title. To the best of my knowledge, he has not appeared in another Marvel comic book since.
Well, that's all for now. Next time, I'll recap the sixty-sixth issue of this series. We'll find out if Luke was able to escape the TIEs and learn where he wound up after the destruction of the Golrath base. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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