Star Wars: The High Republic #11
THE HIGH REPUBLIC
JEDI’S END
CHAPTER 1: ONLY FEAR
Sent undercover by Marshal Avar Kriss, the true identities of Jedi Keeve Trennis and Terec have been discovered by brutal Nihil leader, Lourna Dee.
Dee has unleashed a terrible horror that is attacking the young Jedi–Terec’s bond-twin Ceret feeling the effects far away on board the Jedi cruiser, ”Ataraxia”.
As Kriss and Master Sskeer–still battling his own demons–watch in horror, Ceret’s body begins to calcify….
Writer:Â Cavan Scott
Penciller:Â Georges Jeanty
Inkers:Â Mark Morales, Victor Olazaba, Karl Story
Letterer:Â Travis Lanham
Colorist:Â Jesus Aburtov, Carlos Lopez
Cover artist:Â Phil Noto
Editor:Â Mark Paniccia
Publication date:Â November 10, 2021
There are bad days at the office – General Hux getting slapped about by Snoke – really bad days at the office – Boba Fett being swallowed by the sarlacc – and then there’s days like this, when Keeve Trennis is forced to watch the slow calcification of her fellow Jedi Terec as they both languish in Nihil imprisonment. Meanwhile in deep space aboard the Jedi cruiser Atraxia Avar Kriss, Sskeer and Terec’s twin Ceret realise they can no longer hear Terec through the Force. Indeed, as Ceret steers the ship towards their twin, the Force appears to have winked out of existence, its presence no longer felt.
Leaping through hyperspace to Xais, a world in the Rocun Cluster, Ceret’s situation deteriorates, falling into a hibernation that appears to mask their essence, just as Nihil fighters launch an attack from the ground. Sskeer and Kriss board Jedi Vectors and spot Keeve’s stormship on the landing pad, confirming that their fellow Jedi are below and changed by his past injuries and experiences Sskeer blasts the Nihil ships and leaps from his Vector to the ground, taking on the Nihil face to face. Kriss fears he still walks the dark path, but for Sskeer his only concern is the safety of Keeve.
On the ground, Sskeer disables the mechanical suit of Tempest Runner Zeetar after a brief firefight as Trennis appears, taking them to the stricken Terec who appears to be calcifying as he lies immobile on the ground. Even the hulking Sskeer is shocked at the sight, but Avar Kriss is thoroughly focused, realising that Lourna Dee knows the secret of this terrible weapon and grabbing her fleeing ship with the Force as she tries to leave Xais.
It’s a brief, brisk tale, the artwork by George Jeanty, colourists Carlos Lopez and Jesus Arbutov and inkers Mark Morales, Victor Olazaba, Karl Story vividly capturing the terror and uncertainty the Jedi are feeling. There’s not a huge amount happening here, and it feels like 5 pages of story stretched over three times that amount, but it does an effective job of not only underlining the Jedi caution over the actions of Sskeer but to emphasize the enormity of the threat that lies before them. This weapon chills the Jedi to their very bone, and taking time to underline that is time well spent and as always Cavan Scott grabs the characters by the lapels and drags them through turmoil and uncertainty from one side of the galaxy to the other. The Fallen Star is here, Phase One is nearing its end and Phase Two is preparing to take us 150 years further into the past, but for now we have this huge obstacle to overcome…somehow.
Star Wars: High Republic #12 (McKone Variant) @ ForbiddenPlanet.com
