Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison #3

Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison #3 begins with Laurita Tohm and Darth Vader at the Jedi Temple watching a hologram recording of the Jedi Council.  Anakin Skywalker is inquiring about the prisoners he has captured during the Clone Wars.  The council is obviously withholding information from Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi enters the chamber and attempts to calm an upset Anakin as he is leaving.  After he is gone, Obi-Wan asks the council why they did not tell Anakin about the secret prison they call the Prism.  The discussion continues and the council reveals the Prism is in the Diab system.  After the hologram ends, Vader is angry and vows to raze the Jedi Temple when they return to Coruscant.  The Jedi Council keeping the Prism secret reinforces Vader's belief that the Jedi were traitors and justifies his turning on them.

They return to the transport holding the Emperor in a statis pod and depart Coruscant for the Diab system.  Tohm and Moff Trachta trade stories on how they each received their injuries.  Trachta was injured by a thermal detonator used by a Jedi Padawan that had defected to the Separatist while Tohm was caught in a blast set by Separatist that killed his whole family.  Back on Coruscant, Headmaster Gentis is holding a remote meeting with other Imperial officers.  He lies to the other officers in an attempt to keep control of Coruscant.  Grand Moff Tarkin asks why the blockade and communications blackout has not been lifted.  Gentis continues to lie as he tells him he does not want the terrorist responsible for the attack to escape and the Emperor is being treated at one of the medical facilities.  He goes on to explain that Darth Vader and Moff Trachta are missing.  Tarkin tells Gentis that he will be traveling to Coruscant to assume command.

The Emperor's transport arrives in the Diab system.  As it approaches the Prism, the sole Jedi warden and several security droids gather on the docking platform.  No transmissions are allowed in or out of the Prism, so the Jedi warden is surprised when Vader departs the transport and strikes her down along with her contingent of guards.  The Emperor is moved to the medical facility and Vader tells the others the Emperor will recover from the virus in time.  Tohm, Vader, and Trachta are reviewing the prisoner manifest and records and learns more than half of the 208 prisoners on the Prism were captured by Anakin.  Vader confirms the reports and says he killed Anakin.  He then orders Tohm to transfer the records to the transport and to wipe the system clean.  After Vader leaves, Trachta ask Tohm to find something before he carries out the tasks.  Back on Coruscant, Gentis is attempting to convince a capture officer to join his cause as they both overlook an Imperial crematorium.  Back on the Prism, Tohm leads Trachta to a prison cell housing the Jedi Padawan that threw the detonator that caused Trachta's injuries.  Tohm leaves as Trachta begins pummeling the prisoner with his fists.  The issue ends with Tohm suggesting to Vader they use the prisoners as an army to take back Coruscant.

The cover by Dave Wilkins is a close up of Darth Vader's helmet as it appears in Return of the Jedi when Emperor Palpatine uses Force lightning on him.  Bathed in blue light, the inner mechanisms of the helmet along with portions of Anakin's skull can be seen through the momentarily translucent shell.  The cover serves as an analogy for the story inside.  The story delve into Vader's head, revealing his thoughts on past and current events.

Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison #3a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (July 2012)