Episode 47 of The Trigan Empire
The Secret Assassin
aka The Assassin
De eerzame moordenaar (Dutch title)
The Honourable Killer (Dutch title, translated)
Written by Mike Butterworth
Illustrated by Philip Corke
The Secret Assassin was originally published in 8 instalments in issues 653 (20 July 1974) to 660 (7 September 1974) of Look and Learn magazine.
It is reprinted in Volume 4 of The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire (Rebellion).
Plot summary
In Tharv, Zith is given the mission to assassinate the Emperor Trigo for half a million thullars. He accepts the offer and takes a trans-planetary air-cruiser to Trigan, but the air-cruiser crashes in the jungle of Daveli. Janno is also on board and, like Zith, survives the crash. Zith says he must get to Trigan City as quickly as possible. Janno says he must also get there as soon as he can. A tip-off has told Janno that an attempt on his uncle Trigo’s life will be made the next day. Janno doesn’t know that Zith is the one who is supposed to carry out the assassination. Zith doesn’t know that Janno is Trigo’s nephew.
Janno and Zith are attacked by a Daveli dragon. With his assassin’s weapon, Zith saves Janno from the dragon. Among the survivors is also Kittu. He needs to get to Trigan City as soon as possible because his friend is scheduled to be executed the next day for the murder of his uncle—but Kittu knows his friend is innocent because he was with him when the murder took place.
When Janno climbs a tree to see how they can get out of the jungle, he is attacked by a large winged predator. Once again, Zith saves Janno’s life with his weapon. They find another survivor, a blind old man. The four of them head toward a nearby river. On the way, Zith is attacked by a monster with long tentacles. This time, Janno saves Zith’s life by killing the monster with Zith’s weapon.
At the river, they build a raft and float downstream. Along the way, they are attacked by a Caton patrol craft, but Zith shoots it down. When they reach a fishing village by the river, Janno contacts his family, and a transport craft of the Trigan Air Fleet soon arrives to take them to Trigan City.
Zith and the old blind man are allowed to attend the Imperial Assembly. Kittu goes with an escort from Brag to reach his friend and stop the execution. When Trigo takes his place on the throne, Zith wants to shoot him from the balcony, but Janno is in the way, and Zith cannot bring himself to shoot Janno as well. Behind Zith sits the old blind man—but the man is not blind and draws a pistol. He insists that Zith shoot Trigo.
Zith refuses and even offers to return the money to his client. The so-called blind man then says he was supposed to kill Zith after Trigo was dead. Now he wants to shoot Zith, but Zith attacks him and throws him off the balcony. Janno and Trigo witness this, but when Janno runs to the balcony, Zith is already gone.
Zith leaves without a word and throws his weapons into the river. He will never kill again.
