A ruthless new Star Wars crime syndicate is going after the same treasure as Doctor Aphra, and neither is afraid to play dirty to get their prize.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #9 by Alyssa Wong, Minkyu Jung, Victor Olazaba, Joe Caramagna and Rachelle Rosenberg, on sale now.
Doctor Aphra is no stranger to making big enemies. She’s already been hunted down by bounty hunters sent by the Tagge dynasty. Before that, she came face-to-face with Darth Vader and the full force of the Empire. Now, Aphra has angered one of the most ruthless crime syndicates in the galaxy while they’re all hunting for the same artifact.
Aphra was hired by Domina Tagge to steal experimental hyperdrive tech. The tech could drastically change the outcome of the war between the Rebels and the Empire. It would allow for ships to go in and out of hyperdrive extremely close to planets, and even teleport across battlefields. A prize that grand was sure to draw more attention, and the Unbroken Clan were destined to make it their own.
Aphra heard reports that the tech had been smuggled through Corellia and reached out to an old friend, Sana Starros. Starros knew the smuggler that was last reported to have the tech, but they were too late to talk to him. General Vukorah and the Unbroken Clan apprehended the smuggler first and proceeded to beat information out of the man. Aphra and Starros ambushed the Unbroken Clan and stole the smuggler’s datapad which led them to an old battlefield.
The Unbroken Clan tracked Aphra to the battlefield, killing everyone in their path along the way. Vukorah found Starros and Aphra inside an old ship researching the hyperdrive tech that had been sold to an inventor. Vukorah planned to torture Aphra to obtain the information but Starros and Aphra were able to escape before they could be captured. Vukorah blew up the ship and believed he had killed Aphra. Aphra and Starros survived the explosion and traveled to Midarr to steal the tech.
Aphra and Starros disguised themselves as interns to infiltrate De’Rruyet Industries where the experimental hyperdrive was about to be showcased for the first time. Aphra discovers that the engine that the experimental tech had been used to create was a fake, and the owner of De’Rruyet Industries was planning to lie and run off with the money. Unfortunately, his engine also attracted the attention of the Unbroken Clan who threatened to kill everyone inside the building. Aphra is left wondering whether she should risk her own hide to save the hostages or run while she still has a chance
The Unbroken Clan is the newest crime syndicate to be introduced in the Star Wars universe, and they’ve already made quite a few enemies. They made their first appearance in Star Wars: Bounty Hunters #1 by Ethan Sacks, Paolo Villanelli, Arif Prianto and Travis Lanham. The Unbroken Clan had been in a decades-long war with a rival gang, the Mourner’s Wail Syndicate that came to a collision when the Mourner’s Wail hired Beilert Valance and a gang of bounty hunters to kill the heir to the Unbroken Clan. While the heir survived, the events of the assault led Vukorah and the Unbroken Clan on a warpath to Valance.
Vukorah believes the heir to the Unbroken Clan will dethrone her and take away all that she has worked for. Valance’s role in saving the heir and protecting her has put him right in Vukorah’s crosshairs. He now has to work covertly to keep their attention away, forcing him to work with his nemesis, Dengar. Valance’s multiple encounters with the Unbroken Clan appear to have made him more fearful of the syndicate. He remains in the shadows to avoid the clan, but it looks like Aphra does not share that fear and is willing to take the fight against them.
Doctor Aphra is one of the most cunning heroes in Star Wars. There is no doubt that she will come up with a plan to escape from the Unbroken Clan once more. It seems as if Aphra is on a collision course with Valance as they are both high-target enemies of the Unbroken Clan. Aphra has already come close to meeting up with Valance after turning Bossk his way in Bounty Hunters #1. With the War of the Bounty Hunters looming, it seems Aphra and Valance are on a collision course to meet in the ensuing chaos.
About The Author
