Originally published on Patreon
So, the Rebellion have received word that the Empire is building a second Deathstar, and know that death and destruction on an unrivalled scale is looming on the horizon. And this time they have no idea where it's being made, or how to destroy it. So in this situation what can you do other than go on holiday?
The opening of this issue is, at first, incredibly jarring, as Leia, Luke, Lando, and Chewie, join Holdo for a bit of a vacation getaway, lounging around a pool and relaxing. It doesn't really feel like it makes much sense to begin with, and feels very jarring, until Holdo reveals that they're on the planet to get hold of something that will make a lot of the Rebellion's supply issues vanish.
It's at this point that the issue began to sit better, when we realise that they're not really on vacation, but on a mission, and that Holdo was just giving them a moment to relax before they got on with things. If it wasn't for the mission it would have felt like a huge misstep to do; but perhaps I should have trusted Soule to not just give us a beach episode in the middle of such important events.
The mission, that the team have sprung on them, is to get hold of a Nihil ship that's up for auction. Well, specifically, data from the Nihil's starpath computer, which Holdo thinks could be used to help locate a huge shipment of fuel and supplies that vanished during the Hyperspace Disaster. A kind of ghost tale about the shipment having survived has been around ever since, but no one ha ever been able to find it.
After trying to outbid the head of the Imperial museum, the gang go to plan B and break into the ship to steal what they need. After fleeing the planet they use the starpath data and jump through hyperspace to No-Space, where the remains of the Nihil Great Hall float in space before them.
I'm really enjoying it when things from the High Republic get brought into the older canon. The small nods and connections to the previous eras of the Star Wars universe are always enjoyable, and the fact that it's actually being used to shape the stories makes it feel like a bigger, more connected galaxy. Soule, who wrote the opening chapter to the High Republic, has been doing it really well, and any time stuff comes up it ends up feeling very natural, and quite rewarding to those who've read the High Republic, without it feeling like those who haven't will end up alienated or lost. It's a fine line, but they're doing it really well.
The rest of the issue is pretty fun too, with some of the vacation stuff being quite enjoyable, seeing how the group spends their down time. Lando and Chewie playing cards by the pool whilst Luke reads his Jedi books feels fitting for the three of them. Though, Leia and Hold sunbathing whilst talking about men feels a bit of a misstep to me.
The auction scenes are decent and entertaining, and the mystery as to what's messing with Luke isn't answered in this issue, so I'm expecting that it could possibly be related to the Nihil, as the ship was there when he was having Force issues, and that this will be explored a bit further now that they're at the Great Hall. The fight to get on the Nihil ship was a particularly stand out moment, and shows how effective the team are together at taking down multiple opponents in a surprise attack.
Overall, this is a pretty decent issue that sets up some interesting things to come. The more connections that we have between the different eras like this, and the more new and interesting stories the better.
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