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Knights of the Old Republic 34: Vindication, Part 3

What is it ? : Admiral Karath aboard the Swiftsure tries to discover why the fleet is firing on Coruscant, and is told the tactical systems have taken control. He realises that this is all controlled from his vessel, so orders the ship to be abandoned to scuttle the ship and end the systems control of the fleet.
Meanwhile Haazen explains to Lucien how he arranged for the Draay trust to buy the company that was manufacturing the tactical systems for the fleet, and then arranged for a backdoor into their systems to be placed there without the knowledge of the Republic, allowing him to take control and fire the fleets weapons on the surface.
Lucien turns on Haazen, but is repelled backwards by an energy field from a Sith Artefact Haazen is wearing. He attacks with his lightsaber, but is thrown away by the field. He blames Zayne for not attacking earlier when he had the chance, and Zayne says at the time he had no idea who Haazen was or what he had done. But Lucien tells him he never had what it takes to be a Jedi, citing the example of not killing Celeste Morne when he had the chance, but Zayne tells him that she had done nothing. Lucien tells him that to be a Jedi you must be willing to strike the innocent to protect the future, and Zayne throws it back in his face, pointing out how badly Luciens plans have gone.
Haazen tries to convince Lucien to become his Sith Apprentice, but while this is happening, Q'Anilia leaves to find Krynda. Zayne goes to follow, but Lucien ignites the Red Lightsaber he has just been given and blocks his way, saying he will never get close to his mother.
Upstairs in the mansion, Gryph is looting, and sees Q'Anilia rushing past. He follows and finds that Krynda is inside a glass coffin-like box, he watches as Q'Anilia swallows a glass of liquid to be with Krynda once more, telling Gryph that Zayne has killed them all.
Gryph wonders if it was actually him? He blew up the Jedi tower, killing Raana Fey, he stole Feln's lightsaber leading to his death, and Xamar . . . Q'Anilia points out that Zayne was the prophesised one, wearing the Red training Spacesuit, but Gryph explains that most of the group wore it, including himself.
As her life begins to ebb, she comments that at least Zayne's prophecy failed, that the one who confesses lives, but Xamar died. And Gryph tells her that she really didn't know Zayne very well, he had no such vision, and Gryph wrote those words to put fear into the Covenant. And hearing this, Q'Anilia breathes her last.
Gryph is saddened by her passing, but realises that Krynda is in a Oubliette, so is in Stasis, not dead.
Downstairs, Lucien is still attacking Zayne, who is avoiding the attacks, trying to convince Lucien that there is no threat to his mother, when Lucien hears a familiar voice as Gryph helps Krynda down the stairs.
Lucien throws Gryph aside using the force, demanding to know what he has done. But Krynda weakly asks what he has done, she has had a vision of the deaths of the Padawan's. He tells her the visions saw her dead, so he had to stop that, but she tells him that no mission is worth the deaths of children, asking who taught him otherwise.
Lucien responds that it was her, she brought children in and sent them off to fight the Sith, that he thought it was what she wanted. As she breathes her last, she tells him that she was wrong, that he should face the future with humility.
Gryph explains that she was weak when she came out of the Oubliette, which broke when he was taking her out. Lucien is outraged, she was being kept alive in the Oubliette, so blames Gryph for her death turning on him. Zayne tells Gryph to flee, saying he will hold Lucien for as long as he can. . . .

High Points : This issue belongs to Gryph, he gets some of the most thoughtful moments, saddened by the deaths around him, and contemplating his place in the Covenants visions. How they can be read as all pointing to his actions, and that they've been acting on prophecy that he wrote to distract them from pursuing Zayne and himself, as if it was as real as any other vision.
Even though she's been part of the Covenant and been constantly seeking his and Zayne's deaths, he feels sad for Q'Anilia, and genuinely tries to help Krynda. There's a depth to Gryph's portrayal here that really shows us the kinder side of him, while he is a money grabbing oportunist, he's grown far beyond that in his time with Zayne.

Low Points : For everything that's going on, it gives a lot of time for Gryph to do all this. Is the Draay estate still being bombarded? Is the Swiftsure being abandoned and scuttled? What is Haazen doing apart from watching Lucien chase Zayne around? It's perhaps only five minutes or so, but seems like a long time given everything which unfolded in the five minutes before that.

So what do you really think ? : While its a slower issue, allowing the story to unfold around Gryph, but it uses this time well and needs that to give some real emotional power to what is happening. The tragedy of what Krynda tried to do, but it's corruption, and the corruption of her son, at the hands of Haazen.
While I haven't given it a particularly higher mark than the previous issue, it is superior in my mind.

Final Words : And I haven't even mentioned the artwork, the space given to Gryph's contemplation of the room with Krynda's body in the Oubilette, and Q'Anilia lay dead on the bed. The sadness on Gryph's face as he admits that he might be the one that the visions predicted would cause all of this. it's fantastically done, and as I mentioned above, has real emotion.

Score : 9/10

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