Hyperspace Stories 5

Hyperspace Stories 5 is the fifth issue of the canon all-ages anthology comic book series Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories. The issue was written by Amanda Deibert, illustrated by Riccardo Facinni and Dan Jackson, and published by Dark Horse Comics on May 24, 2023. The issue contains the story "The Betrayal".
==Publisher's summary==
From the darkest days of the Clone Wars, comes a tale of evil and intrigue.
Dispatched by the nefarious Count Dooku, the Sith assassin Asajj Ventress stalks her prey from the Outer Rim all the way to the tranquil world of Naboo. But just what is her target? And can even the Jedi stand in her way?
Take a walk on the Dark Side, in Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories #5!
== Plot summary ==
At Outpost 716, a Republic command center, several clone troopers are ambushed and killed by Asajj Ventress while patrolling the perimeter. However, she is soon met by Jedi Master Mayanka Catrine who engages in combat with her lightsaber, and she taunts Dooku’s apprentice by saying that she’ll be the least Jedi she meets before her capture. Catrine is successful in capturing Ventress as she uses her padawan Agustin to trip her and leave her incapacitated. Ventress is locked up in a detention cell, and days later, several clones attempt to deliver her food but one mentions that it’s not worth it since she stays alive through sprite alone. As they leave and bring up the fact that General Catrine wanted Ventress to be well taken care of while she was away on her mission, Ventress comes to the realization that the Jedi are absent from the base. 
Elsewhere in the galaxy, Count Dooku speaks with his master Darth Sidious and assures him that the outpost will soon be captured, as Ventress will prevail where Grievous could not. Sidious doesn’t have the faith in Ventress that Dooku does, but Dooku reminds his master that she is expendable if failure were to occur. Just then, Ventress arrives, and after confirming that the outpost has been secured, she demands the title of Sith Lord. Dooku thinks otherwise as she hasn’t proven herself worthy yet, and so he tasks her with hunting down an ancient Jedi artifact that even Sidious hasn’t been able to get his hands on. When Dooku instructs her to use the dark side to show them the way, Ventress becomes outraged as this is all that they have to go off of, but Dooku punishes her for her insolence by shocking her Force lightning. As she tries to lash back at her master, she suddenly feels an energy pulling her towards the artifact due to her hatred which pleases Dooku.
With this, Ventress travels to the ruins of a Jedi Temple on the Moon of Staggec, and inside she senses that it was once there. She contacts Dooku to make him aware of this, but he isn’t interested in her attempts and doesn’t want to be contacted again until the artifact is in her possession. When Grievous' failure is brought up, Ventress realizes that she was Dooku’s second choice, and so she is warned that her life lies in her success. After leaving the temple and heading outside, Ventress finds herself surrounded by a squad of clone troopers who were informed of her location by Chancellor Palpatine. Ventress has no trouble in dealing with them, and afterwards she contacts her master about a theory that there is a spy within their midst. Dooku only supposes that she’s being tested, and using her connection to the Force, Ventess tracks the artifact to Naboo. She is led to a young Gungan girl, but when she attempts to steal the girl’s doll, she is attacked by Jedi Anakin Skywalker which forces her to flee. She takes off to the rooftops causing Anakin to recklessly follow despite Obi-Wan’s warnings, and this allows her to escape from the Jedi. As she watches on from a distance, she hopes that Anakin is punished by his master, but is surprised to see that Obi-Wan only instructs his padawan to slow down and trust others. Ventress finds this pathetic and she relocates the young Gungan girl, but when she has the doll within her grasp, she decides against it and leaves Naboo empty handed. 
Returning to Dooku, she explains that she was closer than ever to having the artifact, but she is punished for her failure and told that she’ll never be a Sith Lord. Dooku tells her to get out of his sight as the only thing that matters to him is her success, but once alone, Ventress responds that that’s why she never give Dooku what he wants, and this is why she left the artifact behind on Naboo.
==Continuity==
The novel Brotherhood features Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi adopt the appearancesBrotherhood they have in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars series, cycling out their designs from Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones. Such implies that stories in which Kenobi and Skywalker have their Attack of the Clones designs are set before Brotherhood. However, Hyperspace Stories 5 must be set after Brotherhood, even though Skywalker and Kenobi possess their Attack of the Clones designs, minus the Padawan braid in Skywalker's case: Skywalker meets the Asajj Ventress face-to-face for the first time in Brotherhood and recognizes her in Hyperspace Stories 5.Hyperspace Stories 5 As such, Skywalker and Kenobi must have returned to their clothing and hairstyle choices at some point.
==Media==
===Cover gallery===
File:Hyperspace-Stories-5-Final-Cover.jpg|Final cover by Riccardo Facinni
File:HyperspaceStories5.jpg|Solicitation cover by Riccardo Facinni
File:HyperspaceStories5Updated.jpg|Updated solicitation cover by Riccardo Facinni
File:HyperspaceStories5Solicitation.jpg|Placeholder cover
File:HyperspaceStories5Variant.jpg|Placeholder variant cover
File:HyperspaceStories5-Nord.jpg|Reveal cover B by Cary Nord
==Appearances==
==Collections==
*Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories Volume 2 – Scum and Villainy
==Sources==
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*Hyperspace Stories 4
==Notes and references==
==External links==
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