Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin #2

An Imperial Star Cruiser orbiting a moon allows a pod to land in its hangar bay.  Surrounded by Clone Troopers, a disfigured man emerges from the pod talking about the "Heinsnake" and pulls open his jacket to reveal a headless snake tattoo and a bomb.  The bomb detonates.  The Imperials discover too late the pod was a homing device and the spacecraft is cut into two by a powerful beam from the moon below but not before the commander issues orders to abandon ship.

On Coruscant Darth Vader is summoned by his master, the Emperor, from his meditation chamber.  Vader enters the throne room and immediately senses danger.  Using the Force, he throws the Emperor to the side and pushes the throne out a window.  As the throne falls, ticking can be heard and it explodes.  An angry Vader throws two Royal Guards out the window as the remaining guards enter.  Five of the guards take a knee and bow to Vader offering their heads as payment for their failure and Vader beheads the two guards standing.  He order two of the remaining guards to evacuate the Emperor and one guard to stay and take charge.  He commands the final two to follow him.  Before he leaves, he asks the Emperor how it is possible this occurred.  The Emperor says something dark and powerful is clouding their vision and Vader vows to track down and crush the traitors.

Days later on another planet, patrons at a cantina are laughing at a joke when one of the participants is lifted into the air by the Force.  Vader has tracked this disfigured man here because he had entered and exited the Imperial Palace without delivering any cargo.  Vader wants to know why and who he works for.  The man opens his jacket, revealing a headless snake tattoo and triggers a bomb.  Before the bomb explodes, Vader hurles the man away from him, killing many patrons in the cantina.  One of the surviving patrons is the ninth assassin hired by the rich industrialist in the first issue.

From his shuttle craft, Vader contacts the Emperor to report his findings.  The Emperor says the symbol of the headless snake is from an ancient cult which utilized powerful dark magic.  He says they have a temple on a moon which was abandoned due to ... abnormalities.  Vader orders the two guards piloting his shuttle to proceed to the moon.

The ninth assassin is barely seen in this issue which instead focuses on the new plot about the mysterious cult.  It isn't clear how the two storylines are related, but there is ample intrigue here for me to want to find out.

The cover artwork for Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin #2 is by Ariel Olivetti who also has done work for Marvel's Star Wars line.  Vader is standing in the throne room in the Imperial Palace, holding his lightsaber and performing a Force push.  Unfortunately the cover is marred by the blurb Don't Mess with the Empire!

Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin #2a - Dark Horse Comics, U.S. (May 2013)