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In Star Wars: The High Republic #9, the Jedi go undercover to defeat one of their foes, but the plan may test Keeve Trennis and Terec in new ways.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Wars: The High Republic #9, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
So far, the Star Wars: The High Republic comic series has focused on the fight against the Drengir. With the Drengir’s defeat in Star Wars: The High Republic #8, the Jedi of the Starlight Beacon are now turning their attention toward the galaxy’s other threat: the Nihil. In the wake of the Nihil’s destruction at the Republic Fair on Valo, Jedi Master Stellan Gios has been placed in charge of the Republic’s efforts to combat the Nihil threat. However, the Jedi of the Starlight Beacon are taking a more proactive approach, and under Avar Kriss’ direction, Keeve Trennis and Terec are going undercover as Nihil to gain more intel and hopefully defeat the Nihil from within. However, this plan could badly affect both Keeve and Terec as they struggle to balance their Jedi ideals with the actions their assignment requires them to take.
The Jedi have learned that the Nihil helped with the Drengir’s spread throughout the Outer Rim in Star Wars: The High Republic #9 by Cavan Scott, Ario Anindito, Rachalle Rosenberg, Mark Morales, Victor Olazaba, Sean Parson, Marc Deering, VC’s Ariana Maher, Phil Noto, Leinil Francis Yu, Sunny Gho, Carlo Pagulayan, Jason Paz, Rain Beredo, Carlos Lao, Tom Groneman, Danny Khazem, Mark Paniccia and C. B. Cebulski. The Nihil’s plan was to use the Drengir to distract the Jedi from the Nihil’s own destruction, particularly of the Republic Fair on Valo. Therefore, the Jedi of the Starlight Beacon’s decision to create this undercover mission is caused in part by their own feelings of guilt because they were unable to help fight against the Nihil at Valo. Avar and Keeve both feel as though they should be doing more against the Nihil, but their own fight against the Drengir was equally important. Even if the Drengir invasion was encouraged by the Nihil to distract the Jedi, it does not change the fact that the Drengir were a threat, and the Jedi of the Starlight Beacon’s fight against them was crucial to protect the Outer Rim.
In the issue, Keeve and Terec stage an attack on a Jedi vector to establish their cover and make contact with the Nihil. However, the undercover operation may push Keeve to go against her Jedi code as she tries to keep her cover intact. During the fight with the Drengir, Keeve already struggled with the Dark side after establishing a mind link with the Great Progenitor, but Orla Jareni, the Wayseeker, helped her find her way back to the light. This undercover assignment is placing Keeve in a rough position once more, especially since she is being asked almost immediately to attack a bound and gagged Myarga the Merciless. While the Jedi’s deal with Myarga and the Hutts has fallen through with the defeat of the Drengir, Myarga is still someone who Keeve very recently was fighting alongside.
Star Wars: The High Republic #9 ends on a cliffhanger with Keeve potentially having to harm Myarga to maintain her cover, a decision that could have long-term effects on her view of the Jedi. Keeve Trennis is also mentioned in Cavan Scott’s audiodrama Dooku: Jedi Lost, a story that takes place approximately two hundred years after the High Republic era. In a scene from Dooku’s childhood, Yoda takes Dooku and his peers to the Archives, and a Jedi referred to as Master Trennis is amongst the Lost Jedi who left the order after being knighted. Being a Lost Jedi is not necessarily the equivalent of being a fallen Jedi; many of the Lost Jedi never fell to the Dark side. If this Master Trennis is Keeve Trennis, her split with the Jedi Order may still be far in the future. Still, this undercover mission might be setting the stage for her eventual departure from the Order in the future.
Since Keeve is the main viewpoint character of the Star Wars: The High Republic comic series, most of the attention is placed on how she is handling the pivot to the fight against the Nihil; however, Terec also is affected by this choice of mission. During the first arc, Terec’s sibling Ceret was one of the first infected by the Drengir, and their bond caused Terec to also struggle with the Drengir’s influence. While the Drengir arc ended with the twins pledging to not be separated again, they are at least physically separated by this mission. While Keeve is the first one of the duo to be tested, Terec will also be tested as well as they work to establish themselves within the Nihil’s operation.
Thus, this new arc of Star Wars: The High Republic will focus on Keeve and Terec’s struggles to balance their mission with their morals as they try to stop the Nihil once and for all. This arc may be laying the groundwork for Keeve’s future decision to leave the Jedi Order if she is the same Master Trennis mentioned in Dooku: Jedi Lost. As the arc continues, the Jedi of the Starlight Beacon will continue to try new methods to unravel the Nihil organization from within, but the cost could be some of their own.
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