Star Wars: The High Republic #14
THE HIGH REPUBLIC
JEDI’S END
CHAPTER 5: The FALL
Avar Kriss triumphant! The Hero of Hetzal has successfully captured the women she believes is the Eye of the Nihil, but as the Jedi return Lourna Dee to STARLIGHT BEACON, a terrible explosion tears through the gleaming space station.
With communications down and the Beacon drifting dangerously close to the planet Eiram,
the Marshal leads a rescue mission, leaving Dee in the hands of Jedi archivist OrbaLin on board the ”Ataraxia”.But the stricken space station hides a terrible secret. The MYSTERIOUS CREATURES that nearly cost Terec and Keeve Trennis their lives on Xais now stalk Starlight’s darkened corridors….
Writer:Â Cavan Scott
Penciller:Â Ario Anindito
Inkers:Â Mark Morales
Letterer:Â Ariana Maher
Colorist:Â Carlos Lopez
Cover artist:Â Phil Noto
Editor:Â Mark Paniccia
Publication date: February 2, 2022
We open in drama as the Nihil continue to blast their own Great Hall, deep in the ‘safety’ of No-Space and boarded by the Jedi led by Marshal Avar Kriss, Sskeer and Keeve Trennis. Those powerful blasts tear the hull open, almost taking Nihil and Jedi with them as Sskeer comms the Atraxia as the retrofitted ship begins blasting and disabling the Nihil ships. The captured Nihil question why the Jedi why they saved them, when they freely admit they would have let the Jedi freeze in space. ‘Because we are Jedi. We serve life, never death,’ says Goonral.
Meanwhile, Avar Kriss is in the process of proving those words a lie as she swings down with her blade as Keeve screams no, diving between the two to save her master a one-way trip to the dark side. That allows Lourna the chance to pulls her blade to Keeve’s throat, but Avar is too strong, hurling the murderous Twi’lek into the wall and unconsciousness with the Force as the two Jedi talk it out. The Atraxia uses a path to head towards the Eiram system as Kriss – confident that Lourna Dee is the Eye of the Nihil – believes the Nihil will crumble without their leader. Skeer and Keeve commune, the Trandoshan firm in his belief that this is his final mission due to his advancing Magrak Syndrome while Avar contacts Stellan who is furious at her actions, taking the Atraxia and leading her fellow Jedi on what was a ‘wild mynock chase’. She is still convinced she has captured the Eye, but their conversation is broken by an explosion from Starlight, knocking out power on the Atraxia. Leaving the archivist behind on the Atraxia to watch over the prisoners, Avar takes the rest of the crew back onto Starlight, determining that the station is critically damaged as Keeve and Nooran suddenly begin foaming at the mouth and the dreaded realisation that the creature that attacked Terec is present on the station.
Pressure piles on pressure as the situation descends from bad to worse. Enough that Avar has teetered on the precipice of the dark side, now a quick return to Starlight sees the station attacked, as seen in The Rising Storm. Stellan and Avar share harsh words, Sskeer nears the end of his time as a Jedi and Keeve falls to the influence of the creature that attacked Terec; it’s all happening here as we arrive at the 15th and for the time being final issue of The High Republic. Some tricky terrain to convey here for Cavan Scott but he does is with panache as always, and the art team of Ario Anindito, Mark Morales and Carlos Lopez present another quality layout of artwork. We know the destruction of Starlight Beacon is a pivotal moment in the era of the High Republic, and as the ‘Hope Star’ falters towards the embrace of Eiram, the stage is set for a fascinating Phase One finale.
Star Wars: High Republic #15 (Anindito 2nd Printing Variant) @ ForbiddenPlanet.com
