Zekk

"This won't be like the time you left me to deal with that unwashed vent crawler she brought home..."

- Leia Organa Solo

Zekk was a street-smart, Force-sensitive orphan from Ennth who befriended the Solo twins Jaina and Jacen. After a fall to the dark side of the Force, he trained to be a Jedi Knight. Later on he seemed to be romantically involved with Jaina Solo.

Early life
Zekk spent the first 9 years of his life on the planet Ennth, where his parents were colonists. When Ennth self-destructed as it does every 8 years, Zekk lost his parents. The other colonists wanted to send him to an orphanage, but Zekk sneaked aboard the freighter of a man named Peckhum, who took him in after they arrived at Coruscant.



While out and about one day, he met Jacen and Jaina Solo, and became fast friends with them. Later on, when the twins returned to Coruscant for a visit, he met their new friends Tenel Ka and Lowbacca.

Dark Jedi
Zekk's talent at finding hidden things were the glimmerings of untrained Force talent. This ability caught the attention of Tamith Kai, a Nightsister who was second-in-command at the Shadow Academy. Following an embarrasing state banquet hosting the Karnak Alphan ambassador and his family, Zekk was kidnapped by Tamith Kai and her two apprentices Garowyn and Vilas. He was taken to the orbiting Shadow Academy where he was twisted to the Dark Side by its leader Brakiss. He also turned Zekk against his friends. After killing Tamith Kai's apprentice Vilas in a duel, Zekk earned the title "Darkest Knight".

Zekk then was chosen to lead Tamith Kai, and two other Nightsisters to Kashyyyk. There, he came face to face with the twins, Tenel Ka, and Lowbacca. He faced off with Jaina, then warned her about the attack on the Jedi Praxeum. He then spared her life and fled.

Zekk then lead the assault on the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4. Most of his Dark Jedi were killed, as was Tamith Kai, and in a last ditch effort, he walked to the Temple, where he had a confrontation with former friend Jaina Solo. She tried her hardest to try to turn him back to the light, but seemingly Zekk was lost. After his duel with Jaina, he warned everyone stay away from the Temple, or everyone would die. Shortly after, an explosive inside the Temple went off. Zekk was not as lost as it appeared, for he had saved everyone. During the explosion, a shard of rock hit Zekk in the head, knocking him out. Jaina and the others cared for Zekk until he was better.

Bounty hunter
After recovering, Zekk was asked to stay at the Academy and train as a Jedi, but he refused, fearing he'd fall to the dark side again. After a return to Ennth, which was in the middle of its destructive phase again, he then decided to go out and learn to be a bounty hunter.

Maybe it was the will of the Force, but Zekk's bounties always seemed to be connected with Bornan Thul (who had disappeared), which nearly cost him his life after several dangerous encounters with the infamous bounty hunter Boba Fett (actually Ailyn Vel in disguise). He shared this info 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.

The Yuuzhan Vong invasion
During the opening months of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, Zekk acted as a forward observer for the Jedi in monitoring the invasion path. He also assisted in several planetary evacuations and refugee relocations sponsored by SELCORE.

Two years into the conflict, Zekk was one of the members of the Myrkr strike team meant to destroy the voxyn queen. 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 knight." 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 Raynar, Anakin Solo, and Jacen dead or missing, Zekk watched as his best friend, Jaina Solo, started to turn to the dark side. He knew that if he tried to bring her back, he would just fall with her, so he gave her some distance.

Zekk survived the Myrkr mission and was present at Hapes for Anakin Solo's funeral. He later accompanied the survivors to Borleias, where he participated 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, Jacen, Tenel Ka, and others to fight the Vong 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.

The Dark Nest crisis
"Our boyfriend means business."

- Zekk to Jaina Solo about Jagged Fel.

In 35 ABY, Zekk was one of 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, and the two shared a close mental bond, to the point that he actually began to develop some of Jaina's romantic feelings for Jagged Fel in himself. Additionally, he and Jaina started to get a little close. 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. Zekk then joined Jacen, Jaina, Tesar, Tahiri, and Lowbacca on a mission into the Chiss's territory and destroyed their base, under the influence that they were the enemy. They later found out that they were tricked by Jacen. While Luke Skywalker called all the Jedi to Ossus, Zekk and Jaina remained to help the Killiks win the war against the Chiss on Tenupe. They were forced to work with the Jedi traitor Alema Rar to destroy the Chiss' weapon against the Killiks, parasites. During the Battle of Tenupe when he and Jaina were engaging Jag in a dogfight, he confessed to Jaina that he was jealous of Jag not because Jaina loved him but because Jag was a better flier than him.

Legacy of the Force
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. They were later unjoined, but were still in a relationship as of 40 ABY. Both denied they had a relationship, but to their families, they did. They both were part of the strike force to capture Prime Minister Aidel Saxan on Corellia with Kolir Hu'lya and Thann Mithric. They later fought together at the Battle of Tralus.

Behind the scenes

 * With the release of Betrayal, Zekk's age was called into question. Previous sources all state that he is older than Jaina, but Betrayal states he is a few years younger. This has been stated by Betrayal author Aaron Allston to be a continuity error, and that the older age is correct.

Appearances

 * Junior Jedi Knights: Anakin's Quest
 * Young Jedi Knights: The Lost Ones
 * Young Jedi Knights: Lightsabers
 * Young Jedi Knights: Darkest Knight
 * Young Jedi Knights: Jedi Under Siege
 * Young Jedi Knights: Shards of Alderaan
 * Young Jedi Knights: Diversity Alliance
 * Young Jedi Knights: Delusions of Grandeur
 * Young Jedi Knights: Jedi Bounty
 * Young Jedi Knights: The Emperor's Plague
 * Young Jedi Knights: Return to Ord Mantell
 * Young Jedi Knights: Trouble on Cloud City
 * Young Jedi Knights: Crisis at Crystal Reef
 * Star by Star
 * Dark Journey
 * Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream
 * Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand
 * Destiny's Way
 * The Unifying Force
 * The Joiner King
 * The Unseen Queen
 * The Swarm War
 * Betrayal