Science Fiction   Star Wars: Knight Errant: Influx Author: John Jackson Miller Reviewed by Melissa Minners               There’s a new comic book in town and it’s called Knight Errant.  Taking place in 1033 B.B.Y., the comic follows the path of Jedi Kerra Holt in a time where the Jedi of the Old Republic are in a bitter power struggle with the Sith.  This is a period of time where the Sith are plenty, long before the Rule of Two was put into effect by Darth Bane.  Writing the comic book is Star Wars veteran John Jackson Miller.  He’s also writing a full length novel based on characters from the comic book and now, he has written a short story to introduce us to the Knight Errant storyline.             We come upon Jedi Kerra Holt as she and her group infiltrate the Sith as a part of Vannar Treece’s Jedi team.  Treece was somewhat of a rogue Jedi.  Although he had the unofficial consent of the Jedi Order, the war Treece was waging in the Grumani sector was not openly sanctioned by the order.  The Jedi on his team are all volunteers, including Kerra, his former Padawan, and their job is to infiltrate Sith Lord Daiman’s operation and use one of Daiman’s own battle cruisers to sever the already strained ties between the Sith Lords in the area.  The ultimate goal -  to prevent Daiman from distributing baradium, a material necessary for use in thermal detonators and other weaponry.             The infiltration begins without much of a hitch until the team realizes that they are missing one key piece in their plan, the activation cylinder which allows their stolen vessel to access hyperspace.  Without it, their plan will have to be scratched, meaning Daiman would be able to mine and distribute baradium at will.  Kerra blames herself for the mishap, but can she rectify the situation before the Sith airspace control discovers their vessel has been captured by Jedi?             Kerra Holt makes for an interesting hero.  She not your average Jedi.  For one thing, she doesn’t put much stock in tradition.  For another, she was found by Vannar Treece in Sith space.  She possesses enviable organizational skills, but lacks field experience and this makes her a tad reckless.  Although she respects her mentor, I doubt there is anything Vannar can do to rein in his former Padawan.  Reminds me of the relationship between Anakin and Obi-Wan, without the resentment.              The amazing thing about John Jackson Miller is his uncanny ability to create Star Wars characters from scratch and make them as interesting as Princess Leia, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.  Despite the fact that you have just met the characters Miller has created, you find yourself wondering about their past and what will happen to them as the storyline progresses.  I don’t collect a great many comic books anymore, but I can promise you that I WILL be checking out the Knight Errant novel.  Check out Star Wars: Knight Errant: Influx at www.starwars.com - you won’t be disappointed.   For more Star Wars reading materials created by John Jackson Miller, check out: Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith: Precipice Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith: Paragon Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith: Skyborn Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith: Savior Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith: Purgatory For feedback, visit our message board or e-mail the author at talonkarrde@g-pop.net.