The High Republic: Children of the Storm: Chapter 2: Sins of the Past
What is it ? : Keeve remembers her Padawan trials, that she fought and failed, yet Sskeer saw something in her and selected her as his Padawan, she doesn't know what he saw in her, and wonders what he would think of her now as she is interrogated by Masakene who is a mind slicer.
She is resisting, as Skarabda questions her as to what happened to her sister, Myarga, who headed the Hutt forces that allied with the Jedi against the Drengir. Lourna Dee electrifies Keeve, but Skarabda doeesn't appreciate it, as she blames the Jedi for her death, and knows that Keeve was present, so wants to get to the bottom of her sisters death. (Keeve was undercover as a Nihil, and was ordered to kill Myarga, but refused, and Myarga under torture revealed that Keeve and Ceret were Jedi not Nihil).
The battle still rages around the planet, and Terec is shot down, but survives the crash joining the fight on the planets surface. He fights alongside Republic troopers, until he comes face to face with Lycos who knocks him to the ground with his vines before being shot through the chest by one of the troopers.
After discovering that Skarabda is the sister of Myarga, Keeve allows Masakene to see her memories of the death of Myarga who was killed by Lourna Dee. Dee says that Masakene is lying, but Skarabda is sure that Masakene would never lie, so guns Dee down.
Keeve asks that Skarabda spare Dee, and the Nihil Envoy, Affanar, tells Skarabda that the Nihil are here to negotiate, so she should kill Dee, kill Keeve and get on with joining the Nihil. Keeve warns that once their worlds are behind the Nihil Stormwall they'll be forced to grovel at the feet of the Nihil. This enrages the Hutt who uses her bulk to squash Affanar, and attempts to shoot Dee once again.#
Lourna Dee detonates explosives she has planted causing the building to collapse, and Keeve uses the force to protect herself and Skarabda, who then orders her forces to aid in the repulsion of Nihil forces who have attacked her.
Keeve contacts Terec for an update, who tells her he is comforting the Nihil Beserker, Lycos, in his final moments.
Lycos tells Terec that he has seen the Jedi cutting down the innocent and gullty, a Jedi who thinks he is a god, whose mask has slipped, a Trandoshan, a devil, a monster. Upon hearing there is a Trandoshan Jedi inside the Stormwall, Keeve is shocked and remembers her master Sskeer. . . .
High Points : This issue really continues the storylines of Phase 1 of the comic rather wonderfully, the use of Myarga in phase 1 was great, a Hutt who while still being very much a Hutt, was honest and worked alongside the Jedi to help defeat the Drengir. While she had her problems, especially when she wanted to end the Progenitor and end the threat of the Drengir forever, and the Jedi wouldn't let her. She was brought back as a victim of the Nihil, and while Keeve wouldn't kill her (even though was in disguise as a Nihil at the time) and tried to make an excuse for keeping her alive, Myarga let slip that Keeve was a Jedi, but was still killed by the Nihil.
When I discovered this phase was returning back to Keeve Trennis and her story, I was worried that it would be Keeve in name only, and basically it would be the story of a generic Jedi and the past storylines would be forgotten. But it's clear now they really are continuing phase 1 and all of it's plotlines. Fantastic stuff.
Low Points : But one thing in Phase 1 I wish they'd leave behind is Sskeer. Throughout phase 1 they threatened the death of Sskeer, with covers predicting his demise and cliffhangers making us think he was dead. They teased and teased it, until it eventually paid off with his dramatic death fighting the Nameless on the Starlight Beacon to save other Jedi. This tied up his storyline beautifully, with his degenerative illness which made him erratic, and severed his ties to the force ending up making him immune to the effects of the Nameless and therefore the only Jedi who could save the day.
And now here we are, at the end of only the second issue being teased with his return. The only way this might work out, is if the tease of phase III is going to be repeated hints that Sskeer is still alive, but none of them pay off, it's all about Keeve's desire that her master and friend is still alive.
So what do you really think ? : Although it's mainly fighting, this issue is pretty darn good, with lots of movement in the story, especially storylines which are being picked up from years ago. It also is treating the Hutts like people, instead of just using them as bad guys as too often happens, I really like the idea of Skarabda becoming an ally of the Jedi much as her sister, Myarga once was. The Jedi need allies against the Nihil, and it would be great for the Hutts to be those allies once more.
Final Words : So Lourna Dee escapes once again, this time by magic explosives she planted, even though there was no hint she'd planted them, just like her magic escape from the cells on the Ataraxia at the end of Phase 1. She doesn't escape because she's smart, or has planned well, she escapes because the writers put a way of her escaping into the story. Which just makes her incompetent yet lucky, which aren't great features in a supposedly menacing villain.
Score : 8.5/10
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