Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: Days of Fear represents the fourth story arc within the _Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic_ comic book saga, initiating the four-part Days/Nights cycle of story arcs. This three-part narrative, titled Days of Fear, divides the main characters of the series and serves as an introduction to Saul Karath and Carth Onasi, figures previously seen in the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic video game.
The Last Resort results in Zayne and Gryph being left on Ralltiir, where Gryph enlists the services of Slyssk, a Trandoshan known for stealing ships, to acquire a new vessel. Regrettably, the ship Slyssk manages to procure, the Little Bivoli, is actually a supply ship belonging to the Republic Navy, drawing the attention of the Republic fleet orbiting Ralltiir. Consequently, Zayne, Gryph, and Slyssk are compelled to integrate with the fleet as it proceeds to the planet Serroco, adopting the guise of fringers to avoid detection.
Concurrently, after separating from Zayne and Gryph, the Last Resort sets course for the Arkanian homeworld, Arkania, with Jarael's intention to discover a remedy for Camper's ailment. They are ambushed by an HK-24 series assassin droid, dispatched to eliminate Camper and concealed within a cargo crate. T1-LB's attempts to aid Jarael (who is of no concern to the assassin) and Camper prove futile against the HK-24; however, Rohlan Dyre, who was secretly on board, reveals himself and neutralizes the droid.
At Camp Three on Serroco, Zayne experiences a Force vision depicting the Mandalorians devastating the planet. He endeavors to warn Gryph, but Gryph disregards his premonitions, preoccupied with the potential profits from the Little Bivoli's fringer operations. In a desperate effort to reach Saul Karath, who now holds the rank of Rear Admiral, Zayne clandestinely boards Lieutenant Carth Onasi's ship destined for Karath's flagship, the Courageous. However, he is met with disbelief and is detained on the Courageous on suspicion of being a Mandalorian spy. Shortly afterward, the Mandalorian fleet foretold in Zayne's vision materializes from hyperspace. Surprisingly, the Mandalorian fleet refrains from engaging the Courageous, instead launching missiles around it toward the planet's surface.
While Carth succeeds in evacuating seventeen of the Stereb cities to underground shelters, the Battle of Serroco culminates in a significant defeat for the Republic. The Little Bivoli is destroyed alongside the majority of the Republic fleet; the fates of Gryph and Slyssk remain unknown following the battle.
With the success of Knights of the Old Republic in early 2006, Miller began planning for 2007, conceiving an extensive narrative that would involve numerous characters but could be segmented into smaller units, enabling the series' artists to alternate their contributions. This strategy led to the creation of four interconnected arcs: Days of Fear, Nights of Anger, Daze of Hate, and Knights of Suffering—whose titles are derived from Jedi Master Yoda's cautionary words in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace: "Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering." These arc titles were initially revealed in the Drawn By The Force section of Star Wars Insider 91, which previewed the upcoming arcs. During the planning of the arc storylines, Miller found it necessary to map out each character's trajectory on a whiteboard to maintain coherence. Drawing inspiration from Roy Thomas's choice to divide the principal characters in the Marvel Star Wars comics in Star Wars (1977) 7, Miller opted to separate the crew of The Last Resort in the opening scenes of Knights of the Old Republic 13. The collective term Days/Knights was initially used informally by Miller to refer to the four arc titles and later adopted officially, as indicated in the publisher's synopsis for issue #23. Miller later verified that Carrick's "camera" look in a scene from Weaver's Days of Fear, Part 1 was modeled after the looks frequently given to the camera by Jim, a character in the US adaptation of the television program The Office.
In addition, issue #13 marked the introduction of Zayne Carrick's phrikite vambraces, the character's first distinctive piece of equipment and a feature that had been incorporated into Brian Ching's design for the character from the outset. Dustin Weaver managed the artwork for issues #13 and #15, while Brian Ching illustrated issue #14, the second installment of Days of Fear. Days of Fear also witnessed the return of the supplementary news organs, with The Admiral's List: Jimas Veltraa Memorial Edition, The Adjudicator Special Report: The Outer Rim, and The Taris Holofeed: Siege Edition accompanying the arc's three issues, respectively. The character of Slyssk was partly inspired by Miller's childhood action figure of the Trandoshan bounty hunter Bossk, which featured wider eyes than in The Empire Strikes Back, and the name of the Little Bivoli—a ship designed by Dustin Weaver—pays homage to a food item in the MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided. The Reliance's name shares its origin with that of the Courageous: a ship of the same class in the British Navy during the Napoleonic era. Miller's grandfather served on a large Landing Ship-Tank during World War II, and the LSTs—used to deploy smaller vehicles and machinery onto battlefields—served as inspiration for the scenes on Serroco's surface, particularly those concerning the Republic Navy's logistics. The Deadweight also drew inspiration from the LSTs; the Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide identified the ship's original designation as CBX-560, a reference to USS LST-560, the ship on which Miller's grandfather served.
Days of Fear, Part 2 introduces Carth Onasi, a companion character from the original Knights of the Old Republic game, and the creative team dedicated themselves to ensuring his portrayal was consistent with his game counterpart while also incorporating elements of surprise. Reflecting on the issue, Miller noted that he inadvertently structured the dialogue similarly to the game, with Carrick—like the player character—receiving lengthy explanations from Onasi in response to brief observations and questions. Miller and Ching collaborated on a vision of Serroco's destruction that closely resembled the actual event, and in the production notes for the issue, Miller addressed fan inquiries regarding whether a bearded crew member on the Courageous from issue #8 was Onasi. Miller had intended for Onasi to be present at Vanquo on the Courageous, but he did not explicitly instruct Dustin Weaver to draw the character, and Miller initially assumed that Weaver had drawn Onasi—only to later discover that the crewmember was actually a depiction of Miller himself. Zayne Carrick's reaction to the Sterebs' deaths in Days of Fear, Part 3 was inspired by Miller's personal response to the events of September 11, 2001. Ching and Atiyeh created the cover artwork for Days of Fear, and the cover for Part 3 was directly suggested by Miller: he mentioned to Brian Ching his admiration for one of Frank Miller's covers for Daredevil featuring Daredevil cowering against a white background. Ching adapted one of Carrick's postures from the previous issue and added Mandalore's mask and flames. An earlier promotional image displayed a redder mask, but the mask was ultimately changed to a brighter gold by the time of release. Issue #15 experienced a two-week delay from its original scheduled release date of March 28, eventually being published on April 11.