Sagoro Autem is a Senate Guard, charged with protecting the officials who rule the grand Republic. He is a good, solid officer, although perhaps too unyielding in his views; certainly, his family pays a price for his devotion to duty.

But then a senator is assassinated, and Sagoro is assigned to locate the killer. Two Jedi Knights, Obi-wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, are chosen to protect the dead senator's replacement until a crucial vote can be taken.

The Guards don't seem to like the Jedi very much; the Jedi barely notice the Guards.

The story focuses primarily on Sagoro, who spends equal time investigating the crime and trying to hold his tattered family together. At least one of the culprits -- and there are a few, mind you -- comes from an unexpected quarter. In this case, it seems, it's not Jedi tricks that will save the day.

This volume collects issues 46-48 of the ongoing Star Wars series. It also includes issue 78, which is set a few years later after the Clone Wars, when Sagoro serves in the Imperial Navy and meets the emperor's new enforcer, Darth Vader.

Honor & Duty is not about great events that shatter the Republic or threaten the Empire. It's a stand-alone book that looks at an average guy in service to the government, a man who believes in what he's doing to the bitter end. John Ostrander handles the writing smoothly. The first story is illustrated by C.P. Smith in an airy, cartoony style, while Luke Ross handles the closer with a darker, more photorealistic presentation.

by Tom Knapp
Rambles.NET
5 May 2007