Knights of the Old Republic 14: Days of Fear, Part 2
What is it ? : We pick up with Jarael under attack by HK-24, when Elbee suddenly attacks against the droid threatening the crew, but HK-24 knocks him down only to find Jarael now armed and ready for combat. However the droid proves a lethal combatant and is poised to defeat her when it is blasted by the Mandalorain Rohlan, who reveals he has been hiding on the ship for some time as he found Coruscant not suited to a Mandalorian.
Meanwhile at a staging camp for the Republic fleet, a starship lands erratically, but dock workers comment on it being piloted by the hottest pilot in the fleet. The pilot leaves the ship, chatting casually to Republic officers on the ground, who take him to a catering vessel, which they describe as having the best food they've ever tasted, the Little Bivoli.
They are greeted by Gryph, who explains that Trandoshans are brilliant cooks, it's just that no one ever asked them to. In the kitchen, Zayne is meditating, and Gryph tells him off for not managing the droids which are clearing the tables. He puts on a pair of goggles to disguise his identity, and finds one of the droids has spilled food on a Republic officer, but while he tries to tidy up and apologise, he in turn spills food on another officer who threatens to report him to Admiral Saul Karath.
As he tidies up, the pilot of the transport tells him that Karath won't be interested, asking Zaynes name, which Zayne tells him is Shad Camper. The pilot likewise introduces himself as Carth Onasi.
They chat about the camp, and Zayne questions why it has been set up so close to the Stereb Cities on the planet, and Carth tells him that he doesn't know. As they speak Zayne spots a Stereb going through the trash for food, so sits him down at a table and serves him some food, which Gryph complains will come out of his wages.
Carth tells Zayne that when they first arrived, the Stereb welcomed them as the Republic satellites could warn them of incoming storms which they would shelter from in the catacombs beneath their city. Until it became a running joke to issue the warnings to clear the streets whenever they wanted, but once Carth had met a few of the population the joke didn't seem so funny.
As he leaves, Carth warns Zayne that the Mandalorians will arrive tomorrow, but not to worry as the fleet will stop them, and even if it didn't they'd be best to assemble for an invasion on the plains on the other side of the planet.
Zayne passes the warning onto Gryph, who ignores it as he believes they are well protected, plus the money they're making is good.
Zayne leaves, but has a vision of the city being bombarded and destroyed, he quickly returns to Gryph, asking the name of the planet which he is told is Serroco, and warning Gryph to leave as the Mandalorians don't plan on invading the cities, but destroying them outright. Gryph asks him to help start stripping down the restaurant, but Zayne says he can't as he has to talk to Admiral Karath. . . .
High Points : While it seems strange, for the overall storyline of this series it makes so much sense that Zayne is now getting visions. Not only because most of the Jedi masters that trained him were seers, but also so he can begin to understand the power of the visions that the Masters received and acted on.
And as always the banter is great between Zayne and Gryph, and while Gryph is foolish where profit is concerned, there is a strong feeling of comradery between the two as they've developed trust for each other.
Low Points : It feels a little cheap to put Carth Onasi into the storyline, having Admiral Karath involved, made some sense as we knew he was involved in battles around Taris, and having Revan turn up at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant didn't seem out of place. But encountering Carth on Serroco just makes the universe seem small, where you can't go anywhere in this Republic of thousands of worlds without encountering the same couple of dozen people.
So what do you really think ? : The story is moving on, but I'm not being gripped by it, I'm missing the overarching plot, we seem to be taking a while to get back to Zayne's quest against the Jedi Masters that framed him. And while these sidequests are fun enough, it just feels a little inconsequential at the moment, but perhaps it's all set up for later on.
Final Words : So Zayne is about to go face to face with Admiral Karath, who is currently hunting for him, so his warnings will probably be dismissed. Zayne is continuing to be a Jedi, no matter how hard that organisation betrayed it's own ideals.
Score : 8/10
Comments made about this Article!
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12/Jul/2024 11:50:40
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Posted by josejay00@gmail.com
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The previous issue was the beginning of a year-long arc or theme or whatever you want to call it where the pivotal points of what Yoda once said to Anakin were in the titles.
Days of FEAR
Nights of ANGER
Daze of HATE
Knights of SUFFERING.
As for this issue, while Gryph is exercising discretion in trying to keep a low profile, you'd think he'd exercise more common sense and get out of there.
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