The armada of the Rakatan Infinite Empire has laid siege to the Tython system—home of the Je’daii Order—one by one conquering the Settled Worlds. The Je’daii have led the fight against the invaders, with former outcasts Xesh and Daegen Lok assuming new roles as commanding generals. The Je’daii slowly gain advantage in the war.
But though Xesh was once a servant of the Rakata, he was blind to the presence of a spy in his own ranks. Trill, one of the Rakata’s Force Hounds, betrayed the Je’daii’s plans to the enemy, resulting in Daegen Lok’s capture.
When Xesh and Trill entered the Rakatan base on a rescue mission, Trill revealed herself, delivering Xesh directly into the hands of the enemy…
The Review
The latest issue of the Force War story arc finds the intrepid Je’daii warriors in the midst of battle with the Infinite Empire’s Flesh Raiders on the planet of Ska Gora. While the Jedi of the movies were defenders of peace, these Je’daii, their earliest predecessors, must draw equally upon the dark side of the Force to power their new weapon of choice, the Forcesaber. This delving into darkness clearly is beginning to affect the Je’daii in a negative way, but it does grant them the power necessary to fight their seemingly unstoppable foes to a near standstill. It certainly doesn’t hurt that the Je’daii seers have the ability to predict the enemy’s movements with clarity. As this battle rages on, Shae Koda reunites with her master, Quan-Jang, who chides her for developing an emotional attachment to Xesh, one-time Force Hound of the Rakata, leaders of the Infinite Empire. Koda disagrees, confident that her love for Xesh will be a strength, not a weakness.
Cut to a flashback, where the reader learns that Xesh, unbeknownst to even himself, has been a traitor all along. His memories suppressed by his true master, Predor Skal’nas, Xesh was forced to seek out Force rich planets for his the Rakata. Upon discovering Tython, the Je’daii stronghold, Skal’nas places a mind block upon Xesh to allow him to infiltrate the Je’daii and learn their secrets so as to later conquer and enslave these Force Sensitive warriors. To dive deeply into this new quest, Xesh destroys the ship of his former master, killing thousands of slaves in the process, but providing a credible alibi for his arrival upon Tython.
Back to the present, Xesh quickly abandons any remaining semblance of “goodness” and after an exceptionally short internal struggle, reverts to a pawn for his Rakatan master. Je’daii General Lok, once the Force Hound’s close friend, has his mind quickly broken by Xesh to learn the secrets he saw in the Chasm of Tython. While delving into the Chasm generally results in madness and/or an unbalancing of one’s personal relationship to the Force, it also happens to house the Lost Infinity Gate of the Kwa, apparently an interstellar wormhole that allows travel throughout the universe akin to teleportation. Naturally, the Rakata decides this treasure must be his to further conquer additional galaxies. Skal’nas infuses both Xesh and his former partner, Trill, with his own Force powers, allowing them to become Force Shadow Warriors. The two quickly make short work of the Je’daii seers, removing their precognitive abilities, turning the tide of the war back to the side of the invading soldiers. As a final vision, however, the seers see Xesh’s dark side and the Rakata bringing their forces directly to Anil Kesh.
Planet side, the ongoing battle is affected by the outpouring of Force powers by the Predor, pumping up the Flesh Raiders to berserker like levels while sapping the will of the Je’daii. The Je’daii retreat, with most cursing Xesh and promising his demise, but not all. Koda is confident her love has not become truly evil.
While this issue, particularly Xesh’s nearly instantaneous reversal to Rakata slave, has parts that seem somewhat out of place in the context of the greater story, the arc continues its frenetic pacing. Battles rage, conspiracies begin to come to fruition, hearts are twisted and the action never stops. Force War remains my favorite arc thus far for these very reasons. What’s more, the artwork in this issue seems a step above some earlier issues. Utilizing this formula, Dawn of the Jedi deserves a long and exciting future (which I suppose will be about a year when Marvel takes over the Star Wars franchise).
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