As the Empire reels from its critical defeats at the Battle of Endor, a fledgling New Republic presses its advantage by hunting down the enemy"s scattered forces before they can regroup and retaliate. But above the far-flung planet Akiva, an ominous show of the enemy"s strength is already unfolding, as lone Rebel Alliance pilot Wedge Antilles watches Imperial Star Destroyers gather like birds of prey circling for a kill. Meanwhile, on the surface, a former rebel fighter has returned to her native world - war-weary, ready to reunite with her family and eager to build a new life in some distant place. But when she intercepts Wedge Antilles"s urgent distress call, she realises her time as a freedom fighter is not yet over. What she doesn"t know is just how close the enemy is - or how decisive and dangerous her new mission will be. Determined to preserve the Empire"s power, the surviving Imperial elite are converging on Akiva for a top-secret emergency summit - to consolidate...