Prisoner of Bogan Part Four
Two teams of Je’daii have been sent to recapture a pair of escaped prisoners, Je’daii rebel Daegen Lok and the offworlder known as Xesh. On the crystalline planet of Krev Coeur, the fugitives escaped their pursuers when Lok used a mind trick to disable one Je’daii, and Je’daii Journeyer Sek’nos Rath plunged to his apparent death.
But Rath was saved by Trill—an agent in the service of the dreaded Rakatan Infinite Empire. Trill is interested in what Rath knows because she too is on the track of Xesh.
A second team of Je’daii land on the polluted planet Nox, where Xesh and Lok have come to construct Forcesabers so that Lok can fulfill his dream of conquering the solar system—and the Je’daii…
That’s how writer, penciller and scripter John Ostrander and Jan Duursema, inker Dan Parsons, colourist Wes Dzioba, letterer Michael Heisler and cover artist David Michael Beck set up the fourth issue of Prisoner of Bogan, but how goes the hunt?
The Review
At last, this series begins to live up to its potential. Plot lines come together! Assumptions are cast in new light! Action! Intrigue! And a number of other exclamatory phrasings!
Still in pursuit of Xesh and Lok, Je’daii Shae, Hawk and Rori discover that Shae does, in fact, share some sort of bond with the former Force Hound that allows her to track him. The two fugitives have traveled to a rather wretched hive of scum and villainy, Skag’s Cantina, seeking out Lok’s former enemies, the inner circle of the Despot Queen Hadiya, who we learn Lok defeated in the Despot Wars a decade earlier. After a quick fight to demonstrate their superiority, the escaped duo attempt to convince the cabal into joining them as they raise an army to fight the Je’daii and the dark army Lok foresaw in his earlier vision. During the discussion, Xesh realizes he is being tracked, allowing the two to escape and leave the former mercenaries to deal with the pursuing posse. Though they outnumber him four to one, Hawk quickly disperses the warriors through mere acrobatics. Xesh and Lok separate as they return to their hidden ship, Shae taking after the former and Hawk and Rori taking the latter. Hawk engages Lok in a deadly lightsaber duel, Lok insisting their shared vision is true, even though Hawk has come to denounce it. Seeming to jump to his own death, Lok actually plays a mind trick to fake his entire appearance. Shae fares little better, Xesh unwilling to fight her at all. During the midst of their sword fight, a giant Dianoga appears out of nowhere and snatches Shae because, you know, that happens. Xesh, possessed by his unresolved feelings for the fiery female, follows the retreating predator and slays it to free the unconscious Je’daii Journeyman. Claiming her as his prisoner, the two disappear.
Sek’nos finally returns to the action, catching up with Hawk and Rori as they leave for Hawk’s homeworld, Shikaakwa, where they believe Lok has gone to raise his army. The action jumps back to the Holocron introduced in the previous issue. Master A’nang, the spirit that inhabits the Holocron who bears a striking resemblance to E.T., relates the story of the Rakata to those in attendance. The evil race was unwittingly aided by A’nang’s people as they benevolently went about sharing knowledge and technology throughout the universe by way of Infinity Gates that allowed them to travel effortlessly between galaxies. Realizing too late that the Rakata were predispositioned towards evil, A’nang and his race are forced to destroy the Infinity Gates lest they be used by the Rakata for dire purposes. Ominously, A’nang’s warns that if they are on their way, it’s already too late. It dawns upon Temple Master Ketu that Lok’s vision is coming to pass.
Wow. This is the kind of cliff hanger that keeps readers’ juices pumping. Is it possible that Lok is some sort of savior and not the evil madman as which he had been portrayed? This thing suddenly has become a lot more interesting.
Next Issue: Visions and Revelations!
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