The High Republic Adventures (2021) 7

The High Republic Adventures 7 is the seventh issue of the canon comic book series Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures. It was written by Daniel José Older, illustrated by Harvey Tolibao and Rebecca Nalty, and published by IDW Publishing on August 18, 2021.
==Publisher's summary==
As the galaxy prepares for its Republic Fair, Qort and Farzala are sent on a diplomatic mission to negotiate with the Hutts, who have joined them in the fight against the Drengir. But relations turn sour, and it's going to take all of their training to get them out of the situation!
Writer Daniel José Older, bestselling author of Star Wars: Last Shot and artist Harvey Tolibao bring IDW into The High Republic, a massive publishing crossover spanning comics and prose!
==Plot summary==
===Captivity===
Farzala Tarabal reminisces about how his favourite hero of old, Jedi Master Tal Bota, faced down entire armies by himself — at least according to the holos he, Lula Talisola and Qort watched as younglings when their real-life Masters said they should be studying. According to the stories, Tal Bota was never afraid, not even of death, and when the children imagined their futures as Jedi, they had no fear either. But Farzala now knows that back then, they understood little of the galaxy. He and pilot Leox Gyasi have been locked in a dungeon in Bilbousa on Nal Hutta for at least a day, Farzala having lost track of time. Qort and the others were onboard their starship, but something must have gone wrong since it attacked the Hutt palace while Farzala and Leox were in the middle of peace talks. Farzala's Master, Obratuk Glii, is with them, but in some kind of hibernation, leaving Farzala alone.
Below the cage he's locked inside, Farzala can sense something, several somethings, lurking in the dark, and he feels their hunger and viciousness. Sometimes he hears them rustling and gnashing their teeth, and he is afraid. And this troubles him, because Jedi are not supposed to be afraid. Over the past months, many Jedi have gone missing or been killed fighting the Nihil and Drengir: Jora Malli and Rah Barocci dead, Grand Master Yoda and Master Loden Greatstorm both vanished without a trace. Loden is thought to be dead, but no one knows what's happened to Yoda. All Farzala knows is that he misses them, especially Yoda. He realizes he should be turning to his memories of the Masters for guidance, not a holodrama, and remembers that he once asked his own master about fear. Elsewhere and elsewhen, the Parwan Jedi Master Obratuk Glii notes that his apprentice has told him he is afraid, and tells Farzala that fear is not the enemy, leaving Farzala confused.
===Hide and seek===
Onboard the Vessel as it approaches Nal Hutta, Torvor, the leader of the thugs who hijacked the ship, orders that the girl and "little Jedi" who escaped them be found. Gargo adds that they can't forget the rock, while Y-99 makes an odd statement that causes Kvar to wonder what is wrong with the droid. Torvor irately agrees about the rock before snapping that they need to round them all up, return to Bilbousa and make sure the Jedi don't help Skarabda fight the Drengir, reminding the team that Jabba gave them clear instructions and will feed them to his rancors if they fail, before ordering them to split up. Searching the Vessel, Torvor calls for the "little jerks" to come out, making an exception to ask the rock to stay perfectly still, as Affie Hollow and Qort hide. Affie and Qort accidentally make a sound, but manage to move from their hiding spot before Torvor checks it and finds nothing.
Later, Torvor grumbles about how much he hates kids and Jedi when he finds a pair of boots peeking out from behind a curtain. Firing on the hiding figure with his blaster, Torvor pulls aside the curtain to find only a pair of empty boots just as a sock-clad Affie ambushes him from behind and hits him over the head with a pipe.
===Finding courage===
In the past, Farzala tells Obratuk that he thought fear was the enemy, as it led to the dark side. Obratuk agrees that this is true, but adds that fear is also one of the great teachers. Farzala says he doesn't understand, and Obratuk asks him how someone can expect to overcome something they've never experienced or learn about something they have never felt, saying they cannot let fear rule them but are fools if they think they will never feel it. Obratuk explains that each time they feel fear, it is an opportunity to become better at overcoming it. In the present, Farzala reaches out of his cage and calls on the Force as the hanging prison begins to swing, leading Leox to ask him what he's doing.
Farzala remembers Obratuk asking him if he knows why the Parwan Jedi carries so many lightsabers. Young Farzala says he figured it was because of Obratuk's many arms, but Obratuk laughs and explains that each one was constructed in the memory of a Jedi Knight who was once one of his Padawans. Farzala is alarmed, but Obratuk says that when one lives to be a thousand, that comes with learning to watch those you care about grow old and die, adding that part of being a Jedi is meaning that they see the bigger picture. When the Padawan asks what that means, Obratuk reminds him that the statement that those who die become one with the Force is not just a saying, but that death makes people part of the Cosmic Force from which the Living Force springs.
Obratuk reminds Farzala that as they can feel the Force all around them, he misses his past apprentices but cannot be sad at their deaths, because they have become part of the greatest power in the galaxy and are still present, and so he will not fear the moment it happens to him. In the present, Farzala swings his cage in the Hutt dungeon. As he knocks it loose, he says that he understands what his Master meant and will not fear death when it comes for him, but today will not be that day. Breaking free of the cage, he lands on the vine-covered ground.
===Fighting on two fronts===
Onboard the Vessel, Kvar is searching and grumbling about "inanimate mineral matter aggregates" when the thug is ambushed by Qort, who reclaims his lightsaber from the intruder and forces him to surrender. In the cockpit, Gargo panics when the ship begins moving back towards Nal Hutta, only to find Geode at the controls. An attempt to hold the Vintian at blaster-point gets Gargo ambushed by Affie, but she in turn finds herself ambushed by Y-99.
In the lower levels of Skarabda's palace, Ishnar and her forces fight Drengir, the Kajain'sa'Nikto giving orders for assistance after one fighter, Talzar, is ensnared by vines. Just then, Farzala and Leox enter riding a blixus. Confused, Ishnar snaps that Farzala keeps saving her life even though she's done nothing but chase and imprison him, and he quips about how "confounding" it is before ordering Blixy to attack the Drengir. Farzala asks Ishnar for his lightsaber, easily reclaiming it with telekinesis when she asks what happens if she refuses to return it. The Zygerrian tells Ishnar that they're going to see her master, figuring that if they put their heads together they can get to the bottom of what is going on. Frustrated, Ishnar begrudgingly agrees, and Leox tells her that the kid has definitely got spunk.
On the Vessel, Y-99 makes a flowery speech as it prepares to shoot Affie, only for the droid to find itself run through from behind by a lightsaber. As the droid states that it must have miscalculated, more lightsabers ignite, and an awakened Master Obratuk uses the weapons to reduce Y-99 to scraps, before asking what exactly he missed.
===Saving an alliance===
In her throne room, Skarabda is meeting with Jabba, who suggests that given her inability to stem the Drengir in the Hutts' own capital city, it might be wise for him to bring in some of his own forces to reinforce the palace. The Hutt diplomat retorts to give it time, stating that she thought she could lure some Jedi in to help them but they attacked instead. Arriving in the throne room, Farzala swears that the Jedi had nothing to do with the attack on her palace. Jabba demands to know the meaning of this since this is the alleged saboteur, and Skarabda notes that he was accused of that, but he is with her head of security, and she asks Ishnar if she believes him. Exchanging a glance with Farzala, Ishnar says that she does, and Farzala asks to track down his companions' ship, so he and Ishnar can solve the problem together.
However, Skarabda says that will not be necessary, as the Vessel has just contacted them. Greeting Skarabda, Obratuk says they have some prisoners that might be of interest to them. Recognizing the prisoners as some of Jabba's thugs, Skarabda furiously rounds on her fellow Hutt, accusing him of sabotaging the negotiations with the Jedi so they could not help with the Drengir and saying she should have known he was behind it. Jabba claims it is a lie, but Obratuk agrees with Skarabda's assessment, telling her it appears he wanted to force her out of power and drive a wedge into the Hutt/Jedi alliance.
Stating they will be arriving shortly, Obratuk says that his Padawan is more than capable of speaking to the Jedi in his stead. Farzala thinks to himself that truthfully, the Tal Bota stories have it all wrong: Jedi become masters by facing their fear, not pretending they don't feel it, and the only way to do that is by realizing that a true Jedi is never truly alone. He tells Skarabda that the Jedi contingent there will certainly help her deal with the Drengir infestation, and that the next time she wants their help, she should just ask.
==Continuity==
The Nikto leader of the thugs who hijacked the Vessel is referred to as "Torvor" by Y-99 in the first scene set on the ship, but as "Torgor" upon being recognized by Skarabda in the last scene.
==Media==
===Editions===
*UPC TBA; August 18, 2021; IDW Publishing; First printing
**JUN210483; Cover A; Harvey Tolibao
**JUN210484; Cover B; Ilias Kyriazis
===Cover gallery===
File:TheHighRepublicAdventures7-cover.jpg|Cover A
File:THRA7-CoverB.jpg|Cover B
File:TheHighRepublicAdventures7-variantcover.jpg|Cover B unfinished
==Appearances==
==Collections==
*Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures, Volume Two
*Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures — The Complete Phase 1
==Sources==
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==Notes and references==
==External links==
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