Knight Errant: Escape #5 marks the conclusion of the Escape story arc, a miniseries within the larger Star Wars: Knight Errant comic book series penned by John Jackson Miller. Furthermore, this issue represents the absolute finale of the entire Knight Errant saga.
The solitary Jedi Knight, Kerra Holt, may have inadvertently endangered an entire planet of innocent beings, and potentially the entire galaxy, due to her personal quest! As the truth regarding her missing family nears revelation, Kerra frantically searches for a way to rectify the situation she has created. The conflict between the three Sith armies escalates, and one Sith lord is on the verge of acquiring a dangerous artifact that will grant him immense power derived from the suffering of others...
The pursuit of Jedi Knight Kerra Holt to locate her missing relatives takes her to the Odionate, which is the territory controlled by the Sith Lord known as Odion. This journey intersects with Odion's own mission: to retrieve the Helm of Ieldis, an ancient Sith relic with the ability to drive sentient beings into a state of homicidal madness. With Kerra's unwitting assistance, Odion successfully locates the Helm and employs it to destroy the armies of his rival Sith Lords, Daiman and Malakite, on the planet Skarpos. Following the events that transpired on Skarpos, Vilia Calimondra, the head of the Calimondra family, manages to persuade her family members to temporarily set aside their differences in order to combat the threat posed by Odion's destructive ambitions. Consequently, his adversaries, including Daiman and Arkadia Calimondra, gather their respective fleets, aiming to prevent Odion from bringing ruin to the galaxy.
Having relished his triumph on Skarpos, Odion now intends to utilize the Helm of Ieldis on a grand scale. His plan involves harnessing dark side energy from the negative emotions of the captive children on Vanahame to plunge the entire Grumani sector into a frenzy of homicidal violence. Furthermore, Odion intends to eliminate his fellow Sith family members, thereby ending the deadlocked Second Charge Matrica, and ultimately seize control of the entire galaxy. Odion's ultimate goal is to become the sole surviving being in the universe by using the Helm to annihilate all other sentient life. As a first step, Odion commands his staff to plunge the planet-sized orphanage into darkness, inducing widespread fear and panic among its inhabitants. He then employs the Helm to transform their negative emotions into pure dark side energy, which he unleashes upon the entire sector.
While unleashing the Helm's power upon the galaxy, Odion has Kerra restrained and also uses the Helm to incite his Novitiates into a murderous rage. However, Kerra succeeds in convincing Beld Yulan, Odion's second-in-command, that life possesses meaning and that the lives of the children on Vanahame are valuable. Disenchanted with Odion's nihilistic philosophy and worldview, Yulan enters the Cloister's control room and compels the crew to restore light to the Cloister and free the children from their bubble-like prisons. Yulan's actions immediately alleviate the children's suffering, thereby halting the Helm's homicidal rampage. Simultaneously, Kerra manages to escape her restraints and confront Wayman, one of Odion's recruiters who was responsible for bringing her to the Odionate. Initially, Wayman gains the upper hand and is about to kill Kerra when his master is overwhelmed by the sudden influx of positive emotions emanating from the relieved children. Taking advantage of Wayman's distraction, Kerra impales him with her lightsaber.
The surge of positive emotions causes the Helm to overload, resulting in Odion's death by incineration. In his final moments, Odion attempts to persuade Kerra to spare his life by claiming that he can assist her in locating her missing younger sibling. However, Kerra has come to believe that all the captive children are her true brothers and sisters and allows Odion to perish. With Odion's demise, his territory collapses into chaos as his rivals, including Daiman, rapidly seize large portions of land from the former Odionate. Having rediscovered his humanity and capacity for love, a reformed Yulan departs for Republic space with thousands of the freed child inmates aboard a fleet of transport ships. Meanwhile, Kerra pledges to continue her struggle to liberate the sector and the children's parents from the clutches of the Sith.