Zekk

For the initial nine years of his existence, Zekk resided on Ennth, where his parents worked as colonists. As Ennth entered one of its recurring self-destructive phases, Zekk, a clever and promising youth, was evacuated to one of the planet's overcrowded orbital refugee stations. He remained there for months, awaiting Ennth's return to habitability. Tragically, his parents, intending to join him in orbit, lingered too long on the surface to recover their remaining possessions and perished in a groundquake.

No longer wishing to remain on Ennth without his family, Zekk fled the refugee station by stowing away on a supply vessel. For a time, Zekk moved from ship to ship, trying to forge a life for himself, until he encountered the seasoned spacer Peckhum, who befriended and sheltered him.

Peckhum and Zekk shared a mid-level apartment on Coruscant, a dwelling abandoned during the Galactic Civil War. As Peckhum frequently traveled to transport supplies in his worn-out freighter, the Lightning Rod, or worked as a caretaker for the Orbital Solar Energy Transfer Satellites surrounding Coruscant, Zekk enjoyed a level of autonomy uncommon for children.

Zekk often ventured into Coruscant's undercity, where he discovered a knack for locating valuable items, albeit inconsistently. On one occasion, Zekk descended forty-two stories down an abandoned turbolift shaft, only to find that a seemingly glittering object was merely a piece of foil stuck to some slime.

Zekk would give the valuable scraps of metal, trinkets, and lost objects that he found to Peckhum, who knew how to sell them and whom to sell them to in order to put food on the table. However, the things that Zekk found were collected faster than Peckhum could sell them and as a result, they accumulated inside their apartment.

Zekk's familiarity with Coruscant's undercity and his talent for finding things piqued the interest of Norys, the leader of the Lost Ones gang. Despite dismissing Zekk as a "trash collector," Norys desired him as his second-in-command, seeking to exploit Zekk's extensive knowledge of Coruscant's undercity streets. Zekk declined the offer, unwilling to be an accomplice to a bully like Norys. Norys reacted poorly to the rejection, and while he decided that he wouldn't care if Zekk was maimed or killed, he still kept the invitation to join the Lost Ones open.

Around 18 ABY, Zekk encountered Jaina Solo and her brother Jacen. Despite acknowledging and somewhat resenting their privileged status, Zekk befriended the twins. Zekk, along with the twins and their brother Anakin, shared numerous adventures. Eventually, Jacen and Jaina departed for Luke Skywalker's Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4, leaving Zekk behind on Coruscant.

The Solo twins later returned to Coruscant with their friends Tenel Ka and Lowbacca for a month-long vacation. On the first day that they were there, they joined Zekk for yet another adventure into the undercity of Coruscant, where they discovered an abandoned Imperial shuttle and helped Zekk "acquire" a hawk-bat egg. After that, Zekk invited them to a midday meal of stormtrooper rations at his apartment. Jaina eventually suggested that in return, she and Jacen should invite him to a diplomatic dinner that would be held a couple of days later.

Zekk accepted the invitation and had Peckhum help him select some new clothes that would help him fit in at the banquet. Before Peckhum left once again to attend to his duties as the caretaker of an OSETS, Zekk promised the old man that he would find a central multitasking unit that would be needed to make the broken-down station more fit for Human habitation. A day later, Zekk made his way to the Imperial Palace to attend the banquet.

Upon meeting C-3PO, the Solos' droid, Zekk's latent resentment towards the disparity in social standing between himself and his friends resurfaced. The fastidious droid criticized Zekk's "new" attire as outdated and attempted to untangle his long hair. Zekk's embarrassment peaked during the banquet when Jaina pointed out that he had consumed a bouquet, mistaking it for a salad. Leia Organa Solo, Jaina's mother, also had her family eat the bouquets, not wishing for Zekk to be publicly embarrassed.

Following the diplomatic event, Zekk hastily departed the Imperial Palace. Unbeknownst to him, his blunder had inadvertently facilitated a trade agreement and alliance between the New Republic and Karnak Alpha, as the native ambassador, of a species that held children above all, had been impressed with Organa Solo's effort to make young Zekk more comfortable. En route home, he encountered Tamith Kai, seeking Dark Jedi recruits for the Shadow Academy. She scanned him with a Force detector and, recognizing his potential as a powerful Jedi, stunned and abducted him.

Zekk later found himself imprisoned within the Shadow Academy. His first visitor was Brakiss, the academy's master, who apologized for Tamith Kai's "enthusiasm" and promised improved accommodations. Brakiss then informed Zekk that the talents that he had used to survive in Coruscant's undercity were no small thing, for they were an unconscious manifestation of Zekk's Force-sensitivity. And if the readings of Tamith Kai's Force detector were right, he was especially strong in the Force.

Brakiss then turned to the task of turning Zekk against his friends Jacen and Jaina. Among other things, Brakiss claimed that the twins knew of Zekk's power and consciously decided not to tell him about it. He also cast doubt upon Zekk's belief that his "friends" or anybody else would come seeking for him, given that he was merely a street youth.

Lastly, Brakiss made Zekk question his future. If he chose not to develop his powers, he would be allowed to leave the Shadow Academy and continue his existence as a trash collector and nothing more. Brakiss told Zekk that he would be giving up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make something of himself. After this, Brakiss left Zekk alone with his thoughts and a number of delicious pastries. True to Brakiss' promise, Zekk was eventually assigned better accommodations and given a uniform that he found to be dark and dashing.

The following day, Brakiss escorted Zekk to his office, demonstrating the power he could wield through training at the Shadow Academy. Impressed by his newfound Force abilities, Zekk promptly committed to training. His initial assignment for the Shadow Academy involved recruiting members of the Lost Ones to bolster the ranks of the Second Imperium. Zekk was accompanied to the headquarters of the Lost Ones by Tamith Kai, Garowyn, and Vilas in order to ensure their cooperation, and possibly his as well.

As he recited his speech to a large group of unusually subdued members of the Lost Ones gang, Jacen and Tenel Ka stumbled upon the gathering. Despite Jacen's pleas to him to leave the Shadow Academy, Zekk refused to listen to him, not wanting to squander the opportunity to better himself. He looked on as Jacen and Tenel Ka were stunned and left unconscious on the floor. He left with the new recruits for the Shadow Academy.

Eventually, the Shadow Academy was forced to leave its hiding place near Coruscant, but Zekk managed to keep one last promise to an old friend. Defying his new teachers, he jettisoned a message pod that contained the central multitasking unit that he had promised to get for Peckhum. It also contained a message to his former friends. Zekk's hologram explained his reasons for choosing to train at the Shadow Academy.

After killing Tamith Kai's apprentice Vilas in a forced duel to the death to prove himself, Zekk earned the title "Darkest Knight," and thus Brakiss' right hand man.Zekk then was chosen to lead Tamith Kai and two other Nightsisters to Kashyyyk. There, he came face to face with the Solo twins, Tenel Ka, and Lowbacca. He faced off with Jaina, then warned her about the attack on the Jedi Praxeum. Because of his feelings for her, Zekk spared her life and fled.

Zekk spearheaded the assault on the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4. He demonstrated that he was not completely a Dark Jedi when he refrained from killing Raynar Thul, instead humiliating him in front of other Dark Jedi that were with him so that they would not consider it worth the effort to kill Thull. Most of his Dark Jedi were killed, as was Tamith Kai, and in a last-ditch effort, he walked to the Great Temple, where he had a confrontation with former friend Jaina Solo. She tried her hardest to turn him back to the light, but Zekk refused her efforts, although he did refrain from killing her. After his duel with Jaina, he warned the students to stay away from the Temple, or everyone would die. Shortly thereafter, a bomb inside the Temple went off. Zekk was not as lost as it appeared, for he had saved everyone by keeping them away from the impending explosion. During the explosion, a shard of rock hit Zekk in the head, knocking him out. Jaina and the others cared for Zekk until he recovered from his injury.

Following his recovery, Zekk declined the invitation to remain at the Academy for Jedi training, fearing a relapse into the dark side. Uncertain of his next step, Zekk returned to Ennth during one of its catastrophic cycles. Utilizing the Lightning Rod, a parting gift from Peckhum, he aided in evacuating colonists. However, he soon realized that Ennth was no longer his place. Given his aptitude for locating items, Zekk resolved to become a bounty hunter, confident that his skills would make him one of the best.

Seemingly guided by the Force, Zekk's bounties consistently involved the missing Bornan Thul. This led to encounters with a bounty hunter he believed to be Boba Fett, but was actually Ailyn Vel in disguise. He also took the opportunity to ask about proper business conduct while working bounties.He shared his information with Jacen, Jaina, Tenel Ka, Raynar Thul, and Lowbacca, and together they stopped the threat that was the Diversity Alliance. Zekk then realized that he had too much of a conscience to be a bounty hunter, and finally had enough faith in himself to be trained as a Jedi.

After the Diversity Alliance conflict, Zekk went back to the academy to train as a true Jedi. His initial attempts proved difficult, so Luke Skywalker suggested he start using the Force in ways that felt familiar to him. Zekk would go on to participate in—and win—the Ord Mantell Blockade Runners Derby. There, the young Jedi and his friends would encounter Anja Gallandro and be pulled into the rise of a new Black Sun crime syndicate. Zekk, seeing anger untamed in Anja, sympathized with the girl and, along with Jacen, spent a great deal of time trying to help her, much to Jaina's dismay.

Zekk would finally go on to construct a new lightsaber with a flame-colored blade. He would later use it to help his friends defeat Black Sun and escape an underwater glacier on Mon Calamari. After this mission, he and the other young Jedi Knights were promoted to apprentice Jedi Knights in a ceremony at the Jedi Praxeum, and Zekk finally accepted the mantle of a Jedi.

During the initial months of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, Zekk served as a Jedi forward observer, monitoring the invasion's trajectory. He also contributed to planetary evacuations and refugee relocations sponsored by SELCORE.

Two years into the conflict, Zekk was selected for the Myrkr strike team, tasked with destroying the voxyn queen. This reunited him with Jaina, for whom he still harbored romantic feelings. However, Jaina clarified that she viewed him as a brother, not a potential lover. He flew under the callsign "Bounty Hunter."

During the mission, the team rescued two Dark Jedi, Welk and Lomi Plo, but Zekk was instantly wary of them given his past history with the Shadow Academy and his own experiences as a dark Jedi. His fears were proven right when the two stole the Tachyon Flier, a ship that was to be used to extract the strike team. Raynar Thul, injured and badly needing medical attention, was still aboard during the hijacking. With the mission in shambles, the remaining members made a risky attempt to recover Anakin's body. With Anakin's body in tow, Zekk and the others stole a Yuuzhan Vong frigate and forged their escape from the Yuuzhan Vong worldship, under heavy fire from their pursuers. With Raynar, Jacen Solo, and Anakin Solo dead or missing, Zekk watched as his best friend, Jaina Solo, started to turn to the dark side. Zekk feared that if he tried to bring her back, he would just fall with her, and he knew that he would never be able to kill her if she truly fell, so he gave her some distance.

Zekk attended Anakin Solo's funeral on Hapes. He later accompanied the other Myrkr survivors to Borleias, participating in the battle there.

Four years into the war, Zekk officially became a Jedi Knight in a ceremony on Mon Calamari. He then joined Jaina, Tesar Sebatyne, Lowbacca, Tahiri Veila, and Jacen in participating as starfighter pilots for the Galactic Alliance against the Yuuzhan Vong, with fleet action culminating above Ebaq 9.

Zekk was one of many Jedi who bonded with seed partners on Zonama Sekot at the Battle of Yuuzhan'tar, where he helped defend the living planet from Nas Choka and Alpha Red.

In 35 ABY, Zekk was among the Jedi involved in the Chiss border dispute. He had abandoned his post to join other Myrkr survivors in the Unknown Regions, where they discovered Raynar was still alive and leading a colony of Killiks. Due to the amount of time spent around the Killiks, he eventually became a Joiner along with Jaina. The two shared an extremely close mental bond, resulting in the awkward situation of sharing not only thoughts but also feelings, as Zekk was forced to experience Jaina's romantic feelings for Jagged Fel, just as she was forced to experience Zekk's romantic feelings for her. Despite its awkwardness, the Joiner bond caused Zekk and Jaina to grow closer to one another.

The two Joiners, along with the Killiks and Tenel Ka's Hapan fleet, helped defend Qoribu from the Chiss. Zekk and Jaina then helped track down pirates that were smuggling black membrosia just before the Swarm War started. Their actions during the skirmish led them to be expelled from the Taat Nest.

A year later, Zekk and Jaina were assigned to investigate reports of stolen Tibanna gas on Bespin. Upon their arrival at BesGas Three, the two intercepted three Tibanna tappers using siphoning balloons to siphon gas and pursued them into the planet's high atmospheric zones. After the thieves were taken into custody, it was learned that the stolen Tibanna gas was being stolen by Joiners for use in the Killik military buildup. Zekk, Jacen, Jaina, Tesar, Tahiri, and Lowbacca were later tricked by Jacen into attacking a Chiss base, believing that they were the enemy.

When Luke Skywalker called all the Jedi to Ossus, Zekk and Jaina ignored the call, choosing to remain on Tenupe and help the Killiks win the battle there. They were forced to work with the Jedi traitor Alema Rar to destroy the Chiss' weapon against the Killiks, parasites. During the battle, Zekk led airborne squadrons of Qeeq and Aebea, providing aerial support to the ground forces of Jooj and Rekker, led by Jaina. Zekk and Jaina engaged Jag in a dogfight, but Jag ejected before he could be shot down. At the end of the Swarm War, Zekk and Jaina were rescued by the Millennium Falcon from the shelter they were holed up in on Tenupe. As the war came to its conclusion, both of them were recovering in the infirmary, and were quite worried about Jagged Fel's fate. Shortly afterwards, Jaina and Zekk decided to go through a reconditioning process under Jedi Master Cilghal.

Zekk and Jaina's bond, although they were later un-Joined, persisted in 40 ABY; they maintained a strong connection and shared thoughts to some extent. While both, especially Jaina, downplayed their relationship as merely friendship and partnership, Jaina's family perceived a deeper connection. Along with Kolir Hu'lya and Thann Mithric, they participated in the strike force tasked with capturing Prime Minister Aidel Saxan on Corellia. During this mission, they encountered a trap where Zekk sustained burn injuries to his leg and back from an explosion, and was rescued only through the joint efforts of Kolir and Jaina. Subsequently, they fought together at the Battle of Tralus, commanding Hardpoint Squadron.

Following the Battle of Tralus, which marked the beginning of a new galactic war, both Zekk and Jaina became members of Rogue Squadron, with Jaina assuming the leadership role. Jacen Solo was promoted to Colonel and given command of the Galactic Alliance Guard. During the Blockade of Corellia, Jacen's appointment as the new Rogue leader caused discontent among Zekk and Jaina. Zekk, observing Jacen's aggressive handling of the situation, began to suspect that Jacen had succumbed to the dark side.

After Jaina's suspension, Zekk and Jaina suspended their military duties and instead served the Jedi Order, which included a reconnaissance mission to the Kiris Asteroid Cluster, where they detected the Millennium Falcon's jump towards Hapes.

Not long after their scouting missions, Zekk confided in Jaina that he had come to realize that they were better suited as friends than as lovers, a sentiment Jaina had been trying to convey for years. Ironically, this realization seemed to spark a newfound respect and possibly even attraction from her. Later, Zekk and Jaina were assigned to investigate Ducha AlGray's estate, which turned out to be a trap. The Ducha, having joined the Hapan insurrection, unleashed YVH 1 droids upon them. After a close escape, Zekk and Jaina were eventually rescued by Ben Skywalker, who had been dispatched by Jacen to retrieve them. As they approached Hapes with the crucial intelligence, Zekk, Jaina, Ben, and another crew member were forced to abandon their skiff in escape pods as it came under attack by insurrection forces.

After being rescued by the Millennium Falcon, Zekk and the others boarded the ship amidst heavy fire from the Anakin Solo, acting on Jacen's orders. While Han assisted them in boarding, Ben attempted to arrest Han, but Zekk intervened. Witnessing the extensive damage to the Falcon, Zekk assisted in repairing it. However, Ben persisted in his attempts to take Han into custody and force him to surrender to the Galactic Alliance, even drawing his lightsaber on Jaina. In response, Zekk restrained Ben from behind, but Ben retaliated by slashing Zekk's side with his lightsaber.

Zekk, seriously wounded, was jettisoned in one of the Falcon's escape pods along with Jaina, Ben, and the other crew member; they were later rescued by Hapan vessels. Upon arriving on Hapes, Zekk was taken to the infirmary for surgery and was expected to recover from his injury.

Zekk subsequently joined forces with Jaina and Jagged Fel in the pursuit of Alema Rar. During this mission, Jagged confessed to both Zekk and Jaina that his jealousy of Zekk, rather than any perceived lack of skill on Zekk's part, had been the reason he had excluded Zekk from Jaina's Twin Suns Squadron during the Yuuzhan Vong War. Despite the evident rivalry between Zekk and Jag over their supposed interest in Jaina, Zekk and the crew nearly apprehended Alema aboard the Errant Venture before she managed to escape on the Duracrud.

Following her escape, Zekk, Jag, and Jaina tracked Alema to Ossus, where they discovered her abandoned vessel in the forest treetops. After an initial disagreement between Zekk and Jag regarding who would accompany Jaina to the academy to protect the younglings, Zekk agreed to remain behind and guard Alema's ship. Upon arriving at the academy, Jaina and Jag discovered that Major Salle Serpa had taken the Academy hostage on Jacen's orders, and Jaina warned Zekk to remain hidden in the forest. When Serpa halted Jaina's offensive by holding one of the children, Vekki, at blasterpoint, Zekk emerged from the trees in a surprise attack, severing Serpa's arms and rescuing Jaina and the younglings.

After encountering Alema Rar's Force phantom aboard the Love Commander, Zekk, Jaina, and Jag tracked her to Lumiya's asteroid habitat. While there, Zekk was injured by one of Alema's phantoms; shortly thereafter, he and Jaina were attacked by Ship, Alema's Sith Meditation Sphere. Zekk realized that he could communicate with Ship using the dark side techniques he had learned at the Shadow Academy, and chose to sacrifice himself by once again tapping into the dark side to save Jaina's life. By buying time for Jaina to escape, Zekk successfully persuaded Ship to abandon Alema Rar and the asteroid. However, with his defenses now compromised, Zekk was overwhelmed by the dark side energy of the asteroid, making it impossible for him to escape. Jaina located Zekk, dazed and emotionally scarred, and managed to pull him out of danger, leaving Jag behind on the asteroid, where he found and killed Alema Rar. Although still traumatized, Zekk began to recover once he was away from the dark side energy present on the asteroid.

Zekk remained at the Jedi base on Shedu Maad, recuperating from his encounter with the dark side, eventually regaining enough strength to spar with Jaina. Zekk was present when Ben and Tenel Ka Djo arrived, accompanied by the Queen Mother's cousins, Trista Zel and her identical twin [Taryn](/article/taryn_zel], who immediately took a liking to the "handsome" Zekk.

During the preparations for the Jedi attack on the Anakin Solo, Zekk was unaware of Jaina's thoughts as she pondered their relationship, which had become more strained while she had been with the Mandalorians. During the actual battle, Jaina and Zekk drew the Anakin Solo's fire long enough for the Hapan fleet to arrive. With their ships severely damaged, Zekk vanished during their last and most perilous pass on the Anakin Solo. He was no longer present in the Force, but Jaina did not sense his death. Following the death of Caedus, Jaina ordered a search to be initiated for Zekk. He resurfaced six months later, romantically involved with Taryn Zel and refusing to disclose his whereabouts, leading Han and Leia Solo to speculate that he had undertaken a secret mission for Tenel Ka.

Zekk's reappearance coincided with a period of upheaval for the Order: the Galactic Alliance citizens were displaying increasing hostility towards the Jedi, Chief of State Natasi Daala was determined to exert control over the Order, and Luke had been exiled. Zekk returned to offer his assistance, and he was also romantically involved with Taryn Zel.

Having been raised as an orphan, Zekk developed a strong sense of independence. Consequently, he consistently relied solely on his own abilities, scavenging what he could and navigating his way through the galaxy and the lower levels of Coruscant, unaware that he was being aided by his connection to the Force. This talent enabled him to discover valuable items that others could not and even encounter individuals such as the Solo twins, who would alter his destiny. Zekk was a devoted friend and possessed a distinctive sense of humor; he was the only one who found Jacen Solo's jokes amusing. Despite this, he harbored resentment towards his upbringing without parents and his lack of access to the luxuries enjoyed by his friends.

Enticed by the promises of a better life, Zekk became a student at the Shadow Academy, where he proved to be a diligent learner. He rose to become the academy's top apprentice after defeating his rival, Vilas. After his redemption, he sought his own path in life and became a bounty hunter, although he ultimately abandoned that path after realizing its inherent amorality. Upon becoming a Jedi, he vehemently opposed acts of revenge and consistently attempted to highlight the flaws of such actions to his friends.

The release of Legacy of the Force: Betrayal raised questions about Zekk's age. While previous sources consistently indicated that he was approximately two years older than Jaina, Betrayal stated that he was a few years younger. Aaron Allston, the author of Betrayal, has acknowledged this as a continuity error, confirming that the older age is the correct one.