Spoilers for Star Wars: Hidden Empire #5!The Rebellion and the Jedi may be seen as the saviors of the galaxy, but the Star Wars miniseries Hidden Empire proves that they wouldn’t have succeeded without Qi’ra. Between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, the crime syndicate Crimson Dawn and its leader Qi’ra have been causing chaos throughout the Galactic Empire with the goal of weakening its forces enough to allow her the opportunity to finally eliminate Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader. Her scheme just finally came to a close, and the result impacts the galaxy forever.
In the miniseries Hidden Empire by Charles Soule and Steven Cummings, Qi’ra has been slowly enacting her plan to rid the galaxy of the Sith. It finally culminates in Hidden Empire #5 where Qi’ra attempts to trap Vader and Palpatine inside an inescapable, ancient, dark side device called the Fermata Cage. Sadly, the plan is foiled by the traitorous Knights of Ren, which forces Qi’ra to go on the run and disappear into the galaxy. However, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa later discuss (in the aftermath of Return of the Jedi) that Qi’ra’s goals were actually achieved, just in a way she never intended. The two recall that Qi’ra’s spies were the ones who informed them of the construction of the Death Star II, and that Crimson Dawn distracted Imperial forces well enough to allow the Rebel fleet to regroup and eventually plan their assault on the planet-destroying weapon. Without Qi’ra, the Death Star II, Palpatine, Vader, and the Empire would have never been destroyed.
Without Qi'ra, Palpatine Would Have Broken the Rebellion After Hoth 
In the preceding miniseries Crimson Reign, Qi’ra manipulated the criminal syndicates of the galaxy into waging war with each other. The war became so disruptive to the Empire that it demanded Palpatine’s full attention, thus allowing the Rebellion to finally rally after the Battle of Hoth, as Imperial resources were spread so thin. In the mainline Star Wars comic, it’s revealed that Qi’ra had Crimson Dawn spies within the secret Death II who were ordered to cause chaos. These agents decided that the best way to do that would be to inform the Rebellion of the top secret project.
