"High Republic Adventures #11: The Great Jedi Rumble Race" by Daniel Jose Older

"High Republic Adventures #11: The Great Jedi Rumble Race" written by Daniel Jose Older, illustrated by Harvey Tolibao and Rebecca Nalty

This was another pretty weird one, especially after the heartfelt deep dive into what makes Qort tick (see issue #9 and issue #10). But it was of course enjoyable nevertheless. 

Master Buckets and Master Kantam are hosting The Great Jedi Rumble Race, an, in theory, foot race where there are no rules. It's basically a bunch of Padawans running like crazy through Starlight Beacon to the finish line (see below). Apparently this was a tradition for Buckets and Kantam back when they were Padawans on Endovar and with everything that's been going on negatively for the Jedi, they figure that such an event will give the Padawans something to revel in. Quite thoughtful if you ask me. Especially after all the tension we've been seeing from Jedi elsewhere on Starlight Beacon in the "High Republic" series. Although, Buckets of Blood does essentially rig the race so that he's the one who gets to eat the First Place treats that he made for the winner, lol. See him Force pushing back the Padawans who are about to win the race below. He's such a character!

But Lula is troubled, she doesn't feel like she can be her usual self and holds back when it comes to competitions and fun. She finds it very difficult to enjoy the race because she's caught up in thinking about the Nihil and all the dangers the galaxy is currently dealing with...and for good reason!! She thinks, "There has been so much fighting in the past year. So much death. I try to meditate, like Master Kantam taught me. To release all these emotions. But rage rises within me, then sadness. And finally, worst of all...fear." Regardless of Lula being a Jedi, I don't blame the young girl one bit! She's especially worried about what she would do if anything happened to one of her friends, the people closest to her. She knows Jedi are supposed to remain unattached but she can't help caring for the people she loves most. Which brings us to...

We also get eyes on Krix (Zeen's ex-best friend who has become a Nihil that is quite close to The Eye) as he works out a plan with Sabata (another Nihil). See them below. Turns out Sabata is ready to get rid of Krix (because he's driven by pure rage and not ambition) and makes a deal with a politician on Corellia, Respiler, to ensure finances and political string-pulling. Krix has sensed Sabata's betrayal but of course she won't fess up to it. And Sabata has quite the plan up her sleeve. She's hoping to set up a situation whereby Krix will be forced to kill Zeen, with the intention that the Padawans closest to her (this includes poor Lula) will lose it and attack Krix. Honestly, these Padawans are so close-knit that I wouldn't put it past them to go berserk if anything happened to Zeen, even if the Masters won't allow her to be trained as a true Jedi...

Oh! And I wanted to mention that Qort who couldn't speak Basic for as long as we've known him as a character, is finally starting to mix Basic in with his native language!! Seems like his coming into his own and losing his skull mask has made a world of difference in his confidence, which I love to see!

This series is really playing fast and loose with people's emotions, Jedi and Nihil, and I very much so look forward to seeing how everything is going to pan out!! I will leave you with a "Galactic Data File" image of Starlight Beacon: