Flaming destruction has come to Trymant IV! Childhood best friends Zeen and Krix try to find safety, while Yoda's Padawans, Lula, Farzal [sic], and Qort are trying to evacuate the citizens, but the Nihil ship won't let anyone onboard. And when a massive battle breaks out, Krix and Zeen get torn apart!
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!
Lula Talisola, her friends Farzala Tarabal and Qort, and new acquaintance Zeen Mrala are surrounded by Nihil, who demand that the Jedi give up as they are outnumbered and outgunned. While Zeen looks for her friend Krix, Farzala asks Lula what they should do. She responds that they do not have a choice: they must fight. A pirate boasts that they will crush the "tiny Jedi" — only to be interrupted by a voice from behind: the diminutive Grand Master Yoda, who suggests that if they are looking for tiny Jedi, he may be of assistance. Accompanying him is Chagrian Jedi Master Torban Buck, who loudly declares that "Buckets of Blood has arrived on the scene!" The Padawans are momentarily discomfited by the nickname, but all of the Jedi quickly leap into battle.
Above, at the base of the Nihil Spider Cruiser, Krix, alongside Elder Tromak, worries that Zeen is down there in the middle of the fighting. Tromak asks him if Zeen really did use the Force just now, but Krix is uncertain of what he saw. However, Marchion Ro interrupts, coldly pointing out that they all clearly saw that Zeen is a Force user, something that is against the rules of the sect Tromak belongs to, and that she has already sided with the Jedi against them.
Ro adds that Krix will be left to the chaos since he continues to defend his "heretic" friend. Tromak speaks up, insisting that the boy is his assistant that he cannot do without, and that obviously the girl is nothing to him. Krix is hesitant, and Tromak adds that he will not be able to find the information Ro sought him out for without the boy's help. Down below, Krix sees Zeen calling his name.
Zeen tells the Jedi Masters that her friend has been captured by the Nihil, but she thinks Tromak has sided with the pirates. Lula backs her up, saying that they have to help her because she used the Force to help them, and offers to sneak around and grab Krix. Yoda overrules her, stating he will find the boy, and orders Buck to get the apprentices to safety. Buck is uncertain, noting that he is a healer, not a combat Jedi, and was only along to teach the apprentices basic first aid. They are interrupted by a warning shout from Farzala, as a Gigoran pirate hurls a deadly projectile their way. Yoda swiftly dispatches the object, to Lula's amazement, before asking Zeen if he can borrow Cham Cham, her pet cru. Zeen warns the Grand Master to be careful with him, and Lula reassures Master Buck that they have "got" the situation. He hopes she is right.
Ro, however, recognizes Yoda upon seeing him approaching, and hurriedly boards the starship, giving orders for the forward team to crush the approach, since they have what they need and can leave. He also orders them to make sure Yoda does not get near the ship, since he could ruin Ro's plans. Tromak is ordered to follow, but he insists that they cannot leave Krix behind. Ro then receives a report from Zagyar that Yoda has vanished, and insists that if the boy is going to stay, he had better make himself useful and find the Jedi. Hidden, Yoda overhears the conversation as Krix wonders, "Where are you…?"
Buck and the Padawans, accompanied by Zeen, battle their way through a mass of pirates. Aboard the Spider Cruiser, Krix is surprised by Yoda. Despite his apprehensions about Jedi, he is told by the Grand Master that a friend of his sent him to help. Yoda, showing Cham Cham tucked in his robe, gives Krix a holoprojector and tells him to use it when he needs help, adding that he will give Zeen the receiver. Krix is shocked to see the Jedi with his friend's pet, proof that Zeen sent him, since she had lied to him.
In Bralanak City, mid-battle, Farzala asks Lula how they are doing, as the two Padawans wield their lightsabers while Zeen Force pushes pirates back. Lula says that Zeen is a natural, which flusters her. Farzala is alarmed, noting Buck surrounded by enemies yelling about how much he hates fighting, suggesting that "Buckets of Blood" might need a hand. Lula calls on the Padawans to attack, and as the pirates retreat, Buck notes they have been saved: a Galactic Republic rescue fleet has arrived.
Aboard the Spider Cruiser, a conflicted Krix raises the alarm about the green Jedi, and Yoda notes that the child is stubborn as he runs off. While sneaking around, Yoda finds a box that intrigues him, remarking on the secrets contained on the ship. He opens the box to find something that glows purple and concerns him, before hiding again, deciding to escape quietly as there are too many pirates. However, Cham Cham foils that plan, to Yoda's exasperation.
Buck thanks the Padawans for coming to his rescue, and Farzala and Lula ask why he calls himself "Buckets of Blood" if he hates fighting so much. He explains that it is because, as a healer, he helps keep blood inside of the body to save lives. Lula and Farzala still do not get it. The Spider Cruiser takes off, concerning Zeen as Cham Cham, Yoda and Krix are still onboard. Buck notes they will not get far as the Republic is setting up a blockade to escort in the medical frigate.
Yoda appears behind them, stating that the ship must be stopped. Zeen and Lula are surprised by the Grand Master and Cham Cham's appearance, and Yoda reveals that the cru ate the fingers of one of the Nihil as he returns the pet. Yoda tells Zeen that she must accompany the Jedi to the Starlight Beacon. She asks about Krix, and Yoda tells her that the Jedi are only able to save those who wish to be rescued.
The Spider Cruiser approaches the blockade, consisting of the frigate and Jedi Vectors. Ro orders the starboard cannons readied as they prepare to break through. The shields are raised, and as Krix expresses concern about the Vectors, Ro orders the frigate targeted with a full-powered blast. As the Vectors converge to assist the damaged frigate, Ro orders the cruiser taken into hyperspace. Krix is shocked that they are leaving the Trymant system, because he does not want to leave Zeen behind, but Ro coldly retorts that she lied to him and sent a Jedi who put half of Ro's crew in the medical bay. The ship enters hyperspace, and Krix lies that Zeen is no one to him.
Aboard the Star Hopper, Lula comforts a crying Zeen. The Mikkian admits that of all the places she has lived, Bralanak City was the only one she had ever called home, but given that the Elders of the Path never accepted her for who she really was, maybe she has never known what a home is. Lula says that she left her home so long ago she does not remember it, but she found a new home with her friends. Farzala and Qort back her up, saying that they have "got" Zeen. As the cruiser prepares to dock with the Starlight Beacon, Lula reassures Zeen that they are going to the best place in the galaxy.
At the end of issue 1, Lula Talisola's lightsaber is ignited as she and her friends are surrounded by the Nihil. This issue begins with Talisola igniting her lightsaber in the second panel as she declares that the Padawans have no choice but to fight.
A previously-unseen model of medical frigate is introduced in this issue. In one panel, the design of one of these ships greatly resembles that of the Pelta-class frigate, a vessel that first appeared in the 2008 film Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
- UPC 827714020656; March 3, 2021; IDW Publishing; First printing
- Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures, Volume One
- Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures — The Complete Phase 1