Star Wars: The High Republic #12
THE HIGH REPUBLIC
JEDI’S END
CHAPTER 2: The Spirit of Disunity
The Nihil have unleashed a terrible weapon on the Jedi, a horror only glimpsed on Grizal in the aftermath of the disaster at the Republic Fair.
Jedi Knights are being reduced to crumbling husks. First Loden Greatstorm and now the bond twins, Terec and Ceret of Starlight Beacon.
Avar Kriss believes that Lourna Dee, mistakenly thought to be the Eye of the Nihil, is behind the attacks and will stop at nothing to bring her to justice. However, cracks are starting to show between the Jedi, Avar increasingly at odds with her old friend, council member Stellan Gios.
And all the time, Jedi Knight Keeve Trennis, the sole survivor of the Nihil’s unknown terror, wonders if she could have done more to save her friends….
Writer: Cavan Scott
Penciller: Georges Jeanty
Inkers: Karl Story
Letterer: Ariana Maher
Colorist: Carlos Lopez
Cover artist: Phil Noto
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Publication date: December 15, 2021
With the beacon of light that is Starlight Beacon able to be ferried around the galaxy to assist where needed, it’s presence over Eiram to assist the populace after a devastating cyclone is of no surprise. However, with the Jedi ragged after weeks of arduous work fighting the Nihil, they are at the edge of their abilities and the visible weariness of Avar Kriss hits home. As the story begins, we flash back to Avar attempting to halt the escape of Lourna Dee, holding her vessel in place using the Force, but as the Tempest Runner escapes and we return to the present it’s clear that despite the great efforts of the Republic to help the Eiram people, Avar’s only concern is using the captured Nihil path drive to head to the Nihil base and begin an assault, something Stellan Gios is less than keen to do.
Our narrator is Keeve Trennis, guilt-ridden by her failure to help Ceret and Terec who lie in silent, stony hibernation trances. Avar is ready to fight, her usual steady hand apparently replaced by one thirsting for vengeance. We step back again, as Avar angrily judges Master Sskeer, ordering him hand over his lightsaber. It seems her own guilt and grief is controlling her actions, something Master Maru asks Keeve to watch closely.
We move to a sombre scene. As Keeve seeks her former masters guidance, he tells her he is struggling with a Trandoshan disease that he must control, otherwise he would lose control and give into his anger. Because it takes so much effort, he is unable to access the Force, but Keeve believes he is giving up and tells him as much as we swing back to the Atraxia as Avar prepares to launch. In a surprise move, Sskeer arrives to join them, Keeve’s words clearly weighing on him and together they launch using the integrated stolen Nihil patch drive.
An interesting issue that certainly moves the story along, there are moments that shine and others that don’t quite land (and I’ll never get used to ‘crap’ and ‘ass’ being used in the Star Wars realm, or the word ‘Jedi’s’ – surely that word, no matter the tense or usage, should always be simply ‘Jedi’). Sskeer clearly has serious health issues beyond his encounter with the Drengir and his limited access to the Force, but that is roundly condemned by Keeve and Avar, albeit in different ways. Ever the team player, he guts it out, but that clearly leaves the Jedi open to an attack from within, something Sskeer patently wanted to avoid. The rattled Avar makes for some great storytelling opportunities as yet another beacon of the Jedi struggles with the weight bearing down upon them, and right now it feels like the war is as much about the Jedi squaring things off within their ranks as it does battling the Nihil. The threat of the Leveller has unbalanced the Order – how that plays out over the rest of Phase One will be fascinating to read and watch.
As always, a tight script from Cavan Scott and neat artwork from Georges Jeanty, this zips along and while not having the impact of the earlier issues, it’s definitely not resting on its laurels. If Phase Two does take us back in time, then Phase Three can’t come quickly enough when – presumably – we return to this time period and resolve this huge storyline which is teeing up to be something very special indeed. Epic-scale storytelling is no easy task, and with so many moving parts, making individual issues shine is an unenviable task, so hats off to Cavan Scott and the art team for making each issue an engrossing read.
Star Wars: High Republic #13 (Anindito Variant) @ ForbiddenPlanet.com
