Star Wars Insider Review | Tales From The Occlusion Zone: Pathogen
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Max Nocerino 
Max detours into the galaxy far, far away to review the latest short story from the pages of Star Wars Insider.
Star Wars Insider 225 dropped on April 30th, 2024, and gave us the latest chapter in the “Tales from the Occlusion Zone” short story series. The last issue had our favorite “High Republic” couple, the Adrens, stranded behind the Nihil Occlusion Zone and encountering three other beings on a ship, also stranded in space. The Adrens are a part of the Republic Defense Coalition, and these individuals are also.
Visma Tarko is an Arkanian female lieutenant with a cold and robotic demeanor, and Elping Tsoo is a young and optimistic human male corporal who had previously been an ecologist. The third character is an annoying protocol droid who serves as comic relief in this series, and I feel he isn’t worthy of character dissection.
DISTRESS CALL
The unlikely team received a distress call from a prison ship and debated whether to answer it. One prisoner onboard is still alive. The group is torn about risking their own lives for this unknown being. It makes a lot of sense why they would be reluctant. I fall into a flow zone mode while reading the back and forth between the characters. Joss Adren (the husband) does not want his wife in danger as she is pregnant with their first child. Visma seems reluctant to help anyone! Eventually, however, they decide to take a risk (with the condition that Pikka (the wife) stays behind) and don protective gear in case of danger.
Elping insists on this. I love that he takes charge despite his lower rank in the RDC than his compatriots. Since he is a top scientist and they are encountering science, Elping can use a loophole in the chain of command that allows him to call the shots for this boarding expedition. This turned out to be an excellent decision. There was some biological weapon or plague that ravaged the ship and killed most of the crew. For readers of “The High Republic” YA and Adult novels, we are sadly all too familiar with what happened.
VERDICT
Once again, I love how the “High Republic” storytelling initiative seamlessly connects with all the other stories. They find the survivor. I would have never seen it coming, who it was. The fact that I was surprised earns top marks for this little tale. I am excited to see what happens next. Solid A!
Star Wars Insider 225 is published by Titan Magazines and is available to all on May 1st, 2024.
FORCE FACTS
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Elping accidentally sees Pikka Adren’s prenatal report and discovers she is pregnant. Whenever Star Wars mentions obstetrics and pregnancy, my ears prick up because of the long-standing complaint of Padme dying in childbirth and the lack of childcare and women’s health in the Star Wars galaxy.
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Elping speculates on the nature of the white bio-agent they find on the ship. He speculates it could be an abiotic parasite or something similar and that it may spread by feeding on the ship’s micro-bacteria. I love science, but these two terms were unfamiliar to me, so I looked them up, and they indeed exist in the real world.
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I won’t spoil the prisoner’s identity, but if you have followed the High Republic Insider stories for the last few years, you may be able to guess who this character is. It’s amazing that this being survived the white plague we first saw in the Defy the Storm YA novel and their biology might have played a role in their survival. Perhaps this will be important in later stories.
Max Nocerino is a regular Staff Writer for The Future of the Force. He is a passionate Star Wars fan and loves the literature of the galaxy far, far away. Follow him on Twitter where he shares his love of the Force frequently!
