The High Republic Adventures (2021) 9

The High Republic Adventures 9 is the ninth issue of the canon comic book series Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures. It was written by Daniel José Older, illustrated by Toni Bruno and Rebecca Nalty, and published by IDW Publishing on October 6, 2021.
==Publisher's summary==
The Padawan are off on another mission! This time to Takodana, to assist the lone Jedi defending the local Jedi temple against the ever-growing threat of the Nihils. But Qort has trouble focusing when he comes face to face with his own past amidst new dangers and old allies.
Writer Daniel José Older, bestselling author of Star Wars: Last Shot and artist Toni Bruno bring IDW into The High Republic, a massive publishing crossover spanning comics and prose!
==Plot summary==
As the Padawans arrive on Takodana, Farzala Tarabal comments on how beautiful the planet is, while Zeen Mrala says it reminds her of what Trymant IV used to look like and Ram Jomaram comments on Nymeve Lake. Lula Talisola asks Qort if he remembers anything about Takodana since he used to live there, causing him to shut his eyes and think.
In the past, the pirate queen Maz Kanata surveys the mess at Takodana Castle while drinking her morning beverage, grumbling that everyone wants to party but no one wants to clean up after themselves. Her musing is interrupted by a knock at the door, but when she answers saying they don't serve breakfast she finds a trio of injured criminals, asking them if they aren't too old to be playing practical jokes. The leader tells Maz that they aren't trying to prank her: they were transporting cargo, but some thing got inside it and tore them up, asking her to do something about the terror. Maz wonders what they're even talking about, before noticing a box on the ground. Grumbling about shenanigans, she opens it up and is surprised to find a blue-skinned baby inside.
In the present, the Jedi starship is met by Maz and Jedi Master Sav Malagán of the local Jedi Temple, with Maz and Sav both exclaiming that they haven't seen Qort in years, Maz adding that the last time she saw him he was knee-high to a flurrg. Zeen and Lula are impressed, while Farzala comments that he had no idea Qort knew the legendary pirate queen, and Ram says he wants to be Qort when he grows up. Masters Kantam Sy and Torban Buck announce they are going on a preliminary scouting run through the nearby forests, telling the apprentices "May the Force be with you!"
Leading everyone inside so they can get started, Sav tells the Padawans about the Krill sisters, Bareen and Sabata, saying they defected from the Nihil and just want to help, but it's up to them whether they want to believe the claims, as she herself is rather skeptical. The Padawans are also skeptical, Ram commenting that today seems just full of surprises.
Years before, Maz leaves the infant with her steward droid, HURID-327, telling him to try and get the child to stop screaming while she fetches some milk for him. HURID comments that nothing seems to work, but is taken by surprise when the child leaps out of his box and onto the droid, before ripping off the loadlifter droid's left arm and attacking him with it.
In the present, the Krill sisters swear that they are really done with the Nihil, and Lula points out that although they don't trust the Nihil and have been fighting them for the past year, the Jedi don't believe in casting people out forever just because they made mistakes. Lula concludes that the sisters should come with them if they really want to help defeat the Nihil, and Zeen adds that they'll be keeping an eye on them. Sav calls for everyone to come along as they have things to set up, leading Maz to laugh in agreement. In the Jedi temple's basement, Sav says that she hasn't had to use any of this stuff since she was a Padawan, which was over a century ago. Maz reminisces that it was back when Sav went "undercover" with her pirate crew to fight in the Battle of Jedha, and the two share a laugh about Sav's Master's reaction and almost dying more than once. Sav says, however, that the past is nothing compared to the adventures they're about to have, unveiling a collection of cannons stored on the wall. Farzala points out this is not standard Jedi temple defence equipment, and Maz points out this is a pirate planet and that she let Sav borrow some equipment in case of trouble.
In the past, Maz arrives with the milk to find HURID in pieces. HURID says he thinks the child escaped to the basement, and Maz follows while commenting on the surprising amount of mess the child created. Calling out to the kid, she finds him in one of her storerooms, wearing a skull.
In the present, a probe droid plants thermal detonators, only to hide when Sav approaches with Qort and Lula, toting a few of the cannons. Elsewhere, in a control room, Bims tells Madoob that what he has to show had better be good, as the Toydarian has a lot to do to get the temple cleaned up after Sav drove off a squadron of Nihil. After Madoob tells his boss to look, Bims asks the human to explain what the two are looking at like he's a simple child, but when Madoob says it's ships, Bims demands more clarification, wanting to know the meanings of Madoob's summons. Madoob finally says that it's because it looks like they are under attack.
In the past, Maz finishes recounting the story of the infant's arrival to her friend Farks while HURID tickles the child, saying that since the kid found the skull he hasn't destroyed anything more, although he won't take it off. Maz says that since Farks was the one who gave her the skull in the first place, she thought the Patrolian might have some idea what exactly is going on. Farks explains that the skull is from a vonduun crab, and the child is wearing it because he comes from the planet Zav Alox on the edge of the galaxy. The Aloxians, Farks explains, are both incredibly violent and born immensely strong, which Farks presumes to be how they survive on a planet with those crabs.
The Aloxians send their children out to hunt the crabs at a very young age as an initiation rite, and the child wears the head of their first kill if they are not themselves killed. Farks explains that the Aloxians believe the skulls fuse with their wearers and conform to their heads, helping them to balance out their aggressive nature. Eventually, normally well into adulthood, the skull stops growing and the Aloxian's expanding head shatters it, which the species takes as a sign that the person has fully become their true self. Supposing that the child was kidnapped by Argoban raiders due to the Aloxians' value as child soldiers, Farks speculates that the child was separated from his helmet in order to increase his aggression. The Patrolian's speech is interrupted by a toy floating through the air, which catches Maz's attention as well. Farks is stunned into speechlessness by the child's display of Force powers, and Maz, commenting that this changes things, says she'll need to call Sav.
In the present, Lula has a question for Sav, who tells her to ask away as they mount a cannon in a temple window, although she can't promise she'll answer. Lula says that when people join the Jedi Order, they typically leave behind all the trappings of their families, lives and worlds, although Lula was in an orphanage so she didn't have a family. Sav asks if she's wondering why she wears a Kyuzo hat even though she's a Jedi, to which Lula says yes. Removing her hat, Sav says there's a story behind it as with most things, but the simple answer is that it's practical: it protects her from the light of Takodana's sun, it comes in handy when she needs to sled downhill fast, and it's a good plate in a pinch. Most importantly of all, Sav explains, it's an excellent weapon, as she tosses it to knock Sabata Krill's feet from under her.
Lula asks why Sav did that, and Sav reminds the pirate that she was warned she was being watched. Sabata says that she's innocent, which Sav scoffs at, saying she's been skulking around the temple since they started, demanding to know what she's hiding. Sav is contacted by Bims, who informs her that the Nihil have already returned and are coming at them full strength. Sabata runs, and Sav yells for her to be stopped as Qort chases her, but the pirate comments that Krix has perfect timing as she activates a detonator, setting off explosions throughout the temple…
==Continuity==
Sav Malagán is the character who introduces the Krill sisters to the Padawans and explains that they have apparently defected, but when they say that their defection from the Nihil is genuine a few pages later, Bareen says that Maz Kanata is the one who said this.
==Media==
===Cover gallery===
File:THRAdventures9-cover.jpg|Cover A by Harvey Tolibao & Kevin Tolibao
File:TheHighRepublicAdventures9-CoverB.jpg|Retailer's incentive cover by Megan Levens & Charlie Kirchoff
File:SWHRA9Lonergan.jpg|by Jesse Lonergan
==Appearances==
==Collections==
*Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures, Volume Three
*Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures — The Complete Phase 1
==Sources==
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==Notes and references==
==External links==
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