Beyond - Legends Zekk - Interludes: 1-7 ~ The Complete Serial ~

I've been looking forward to this post for a long time, and it definitely didn't disappoint. You handled Zekk's emotions beautifully. *wanders off to angst over J/Z*

 

?What more can I do? He?s beaten me, out guessed me, out flanked me, and ?? Zekk paused unable to think of a fourth thing off the cuff. ?He?s not a very nice person.?

Bulle broke out laughing, evoking a shamefaced smile from Zekk too. ?Maybe he just needs a hug,? she said as her laughter died down.

Yes! Hijdi just needs a hug, and then he'll be all friendly and give Zekk a cookie. Not.


The Jaina/Zekk post was well-written and touching. *sigh* If only the njo hadn't happened....

 

We've busted 300!!!

I'm glad you liked it JoE. Plenty to angst about no doubt. Like I said, 7 or 8 on the angst scale. The emotions on both sides were nuanced so I hoped that came out all right. On the other hand, they were compleat honest with each other, and the door is open to be more if the opportunity arises. Hope isn't dead, and that's the best I could do going into NJO.


Everybody seems to like that line DA, it made me smile too. It was just off the cuff, but it seemed to work
Hijdi giving Zekk a cookie? Only if it was a cookie of the Dark Side!

If NJO didn't happen? Well, there's a lot one could hope for. Still, Zekk's a born survivor. If nothing else his fans will take care of him

 

Zhenel-Mi walked past Zekk without any sort of acknowledgement. She was growing bold, bolder than the Darkest Knight could allow. Zekk?s hand snaked out and grabbed the Nightsister?s wrist. He wrenched it up, taking advantage of his superior strength and height. She grunted in pain, and tried to twist away, but could only pull without leverage as Zekk put her in a wrist lock.

Zekk grabbed her opposite shoulder with his other hand, and guided her head into the wall of the hallway, dazing her. Quickly, before she could mount any sort of response, Zekk spun her around, throwing her against the wall, and pressing the point of his elbow into her throat, cutting off her air supply. Other students in the hall stopped and watched to see how the Darkest Knight dealt with Zhenel-Mi.

Zhenel-Mi tried to push Zekk away, but could not match Zekk?s strength. She tried to claw at Zekk?s face, but Zekk pushed harder with his elbow till spots filled her vision. Her lips moved soundlessly as she tried to conjure a spell, but no words came. A piece of her training filtered through her panicked oxygen starved brain, and she tried to access the Force directly, but could not concentrate enough to control it.

?Now you listen to me,? Zekk said coldly, ?I?m only going to tell this to you once. I don?t give two quarks for your warrior tradition. My lieutenant?s orders are not to be questioned, whether they are men or not. This is the Empire, and if you can?t deal with men as your superiors you might as well leap out the nearest air-lock right now. If you have suggestions voice them privately with your direct superior. If you can?t suggest improvements to the orders you?re given, keep your mouth shut. But make no mistake, you will follow the orders you are given.

If you ever again object to one of my people?s orders to undermine them I will not deal with you as kindly as this.?

Zekk let up the pressure, allowing her to gasp for breath. ?Do we have an understanding??

Her mouth opened and stilled for a moment. She saw the look in Zekk?s eyes and visibly shrank. ?Yes,? she Zhenel-Mi whispered hoarsely.

?Good,? Zekk said flatly. ?Now, next time you see me you will pay me the proper respect, and salute.? Zekk?s hand came to Zhenel-Mi?s jaw and turned it aside. With his other hand he injected her exposed neck quickly before letting her go. Her eyes widened and she looked to Zekk with fear in her eyes as her hand rubbed the stinging injection site.

?Something to make sure you do not forget,? Zekk said coldly.

Zekk stepped back, crossed his arms, and watched as the burning sensation began spreading from Zhenel-Mi?s neck. Her face contorted in pain as her nerves were overwhelmed with pain. She tried to draw upon the Dark Side to fight the pain, but her control was overcome. Zhenel-Mi fell to the floor and began shaking uncontrollably as she screamed. Zekk continued to watch for a moment before turning and walking away.



Zekk took a deep breath in, shaking away the memory as he rubbed his eyes. Zhenel-Mi had returned to Dothmar after the failed Shadow Academy attack and lived alone in the wilderness to cleanse herself of the Dark Side before she could return to her clan. She would not join the Jedi; the last time Zekk has seen her, not long before he left as a bounty hunter, there had still been fear in her eyes at his approach.

Zekk drew a breath in and tried to banish the haunting darkness of the past. Usually episodes like that didn?t haunt him so much in the waking hours. It was more apt to be the night when his control was down. Perhaps he was more tired then he realized.

Zekk sighed and shook his head as he tried to clear his mind. Zekk?s R&R leave was nearly at an end. He had tried to use the last day to just relax and get away from everything. It was not particularly successful.

Zekk had been haunted by memories of episodes from the Shadow Academy since before he left the Lightening Rod that morning and his self-control could not banish those specters. There had been an

 

Great post! I liked seeing Zekk revisit his past, painful as that may be for him. And such an evil cliffhanger!

 

AH! Not a cliffy!!

Cool flashback. And Zekk wandering through Coruscant had such a taste of reality. Impressive.

Okay, and now would be a good time for a rescuer to show up....

ZEKK!!!!!!

 

Hi JoE!
Yeah, I really wasn't sure where to put the break between posts. It ended up in the most evil place possible.

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Hi DA!
I liked the flash back my self. It was meant as an illustration of Zekk's mode of operation in his Dark Knight period.

The walkabout through the undercity was interesting to write too. Fighting a Sith is easy, how does a Jedi fight poverty? I'm glad you liked it.

Rescue? What is this rescue you speak of? :p

 

I turn 24 on the 7th. Write me replies!

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Zekk forced a breath in, and pushed back the darkness. He couldn?t pass out, he wouldn?t allow himself. The ground was cold and hard, his body hurt like hell. He let those things ground him to the moment. If the darkness brought comfort, he would put every iota of will concentrating on the pain.

He felt himself being spun around with a violent jerk. He watched through cracked eye lids as a Force Pike gestured towards him again and picked him up. Zekk hit the wall behind him, smacking his head yet again. A grunt escaped Zekk?s lips.

A striking woman with dark blond hair and hard gray eyes examined Zekk carefully. ?So you?re Hijdi?s special target, hmm?? the woman asked with a haughty Coruscant accent. After a moment more she said, ?You are quick I will grant you that.?

She called Zekk?s fallen lightsaber to her hand and eyed the oddly shaped hilt as she continued, ?A bit unconventional as well. Still, some things never change: if you know how to kill one Jedi, you know how to kill any of them. It?s simply a matter of finding the bruises and pushing.

How did your order survive so long while being so predictable? I can?t imagine why Hijdi has such interest in you.?

?Just lucky I guess,? Zekk said woozily. ?Listen, this is all wrong. You don?t have to do this. It?s different now; it?s not like when Vader put you in storage.?

?Inquisitor Hijdi told me you would claim the Emperor was defeated by one of the Jedi. The idea is so ludicrous I could hardly believe him. We slew Jedi by the dozens, the Emperor is invincible. The idea that I could believe something so preposterous simply is incredible.

Do you really think an idea so brainless would distract me enough to affect your fate? The only thing that can change your fate now is telling me what I want to know.?

Zekk didn?t say anything for a moment, sighed, and then laughed.

?What is so funny?? the woman demanded, pushing Zekk?s back against the wall behind him.

Zekk coughed, and swallowed his laughter and said contritely, ?Please, forgive me.?

?Explain yourself,? the woman demanded.

?Evil,? Zekk said simply.

?You would boil it down to simplified, black and white, melodramatic terms, wouldn?t you? It?s probably all that your little brainwashed mind can comprehend? the woman replied. ?You Jedi are all the same.?

With a sigh Zekk said, ?No, we?re not all the same. You see, I?ve spent a lot of time thinking about light and dark, good and evil, and the boundary where they meet.?

?This ought to be amusing,? the woman replied.

?Turns out its pretty simple, good people do good things. That is why it gets so mixed up, because ?good things,? is a value judgment, and that?s why good beings are so hard to predict. Everyone has a different definition of good things based on their values and point of view. Now evil is completely different, evil you can depend on.?

?Is that so?? the woman asked caustically.

?Certainly, evil you can count on for a few things. First, evil feels entitled to what ever it does. Evil is always certain that the galaxy owes them what they want. The justification is always different, and the motivation changes, but entitlement is necessary. This leads to the second requirement of evil.?

?What is that?? the woman asked, almost in spite of herself.

?The feeling of superiority. They have to feel that they are better than everyone else to maintain the entitlement. This leads to the third thing you can count on Evil for.?

?Which is what?? the woman asked, her tone wavering.

?When they begin to feel insecure, their need to convince everyone of their deeply seated beliefs becomes a mania. Even if they think the rest of the galaxy is below them, evil craves the vindication of others to justify their beliefs. It?s really very ironic, and leads to monologues that go on forever.?

The woman paused uncomprehendingly for a moment before saying, ?What are you talking about?

Zekk sighed, and muttered, ?You can lead a Ronto to wa

 

Very interesting. So now Inquisitors other than Hijdi are out for Zekk? That's never good.

It?s really very ironic, and leads to monologues that go on forever.?

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY neo-paladin!!!!

I've spent the last few days catching up in class. its great stuff keep it coming please

 

Cool! I like the conversation between Zekk and the inquisitor.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Hope it's lots of fun.

 

Hi JoE,
Well San-Ah warned Zekk things were moving faster...

I liked Zekk's whole description of evil myself. I think Zekk has the perspective to see where both sides come from.

Hello M. Mouf,
I'm pleased to see you here. I hope you're not missing stuff in class for this story but I'm happy you're here. I always love to hear what other people think of my stuff.

Greetings DA,
The conversation was a distraction for Zekk, but I thought I could do some interesting things with it. I thought I'd change pace from hack'n slash also. Zekk's a survivor

 

there's not much I could miss in class at the moment, I'm way ahead, and probably one of the highest grades in my class. (I read the book, but don't pay attention in class what does that tell you about my teacher. . .?)

 

Sounds familiar. Ah well, at least you can keep your self amused. I'm glad my story helps pass the time

 

Zekk readjusted the body of the dead inquisitor over his shoulder again. He moved with a limp that was visible. Normally this would have attracted attackers. Weakness never lasted long in the forced evolution that was the Corusant undercity.

The thing that deterred attackers was the force pike visible across the body?s back, and the lightsaber evident in Zekk?s hand. Who ever lost that fight was beaten by a person carrying a lightsaber, and who ever won that fight beat someone carrying a force pike.

The undercity quickly, efficiently, and terminally dealt with stupidity also. Zekk was not bothered.

Finally Zekk reached the com port that was his destination. As there was so much interference from the ancient buildings, com signals usually did not transmit from this low in the undercity. Zekk would need some sort of hard line to a transmitter at a higher level. A public terminal was maintained by the government, and there was always someone guarding it to dissuade vandals.

?Hey, you, what are you?? an older Advozsec guard began.

?I need to use this terminal,? Zekk stated flatly, brooking no argument. Zekk actually recognized the being from his youth; the Advozsec had lived in the neighborhood since before Zekk and Peckham moved there. Zekk hoped the Advozsec did not recognize him. When he was 15 Zekk had once tied up the Advozsec?s son and left him dangling over a drop in retaliation for stealing from him.

?Well, make it quick,? the Advozsec demanded.

Zekk read in the priority com channel for the Solos. He swore as the com reported that line was dead. The Solos frequently cycled their private com channels so they would not be harassed.

Zekk sighed and dialed in Bulle?s com frequency.

?Bulle Thar,? Bulle answered.

?Bulle, it?s Zekk. I need your help.?

?What?s up?? Bulle asked.

?I?m down around my old neighborhood, and I?ve got a body on my hands.?

?Who made it a body?? Bulle asked.

?I did,? Zekk answered.

?Anybody you know?? Bulle asked.

?Not before today, but she knew me,? Zekk replied.

?An old vendetta?? Bulle asked.

?Well, she came out of the Jedi purge, so I suppose you could call it an old vendetta.?

?You?re kidding me,? Bulle said. ?Wait, she? There?s another one??

?There was,? Zekk replied. ?I don?t know if there are more, but the scopes look quiet for now. Look, can you just get here soon? Oh, do you know any Jedi masters that are on Coruscant??

?Well we don?t keep a registry,? Bulle said. After a moment of thought she continued, ?The only one I can think of is President Solo.?

?Yeah, that?s all I could come up with too; can you get me her com channel??



?Yes, I understand Leia left orders?? Zekk tightly replied. Bulle could not find Leia?s private frequency on her registry, so Zekk was trying to navigate a system specifically designed to keep him from reaching the former president.

?Yes, yes, I understand, President Solo left orders she could not be disturbed, but this is an emergency.? After a pause Zekk responded, ?I am a Jedi, I would not take that term lightly, lives may be at stake!?

As she approached, Bulle saw Zekk was practically seething. She had not seen such strong emotion of this stripe in him for years. She motioned the examination droids to wait, and she proceeded forward, exposing her badge.

?Ranger! Ranger!? an Advozsec said came up to her as she approached, ?He won?t get off the com, and it sounds like he is trying to contact the president. Abuse of the public com station is prohibited! He won?t listen, he won?t leave! And? I think he killed someone, there?s this body??

?It?s all right, I?ll take care of it,? Bulle assured the terminal caretaker, with a slight force projection behind it.

?It? it?s all right,? the terminal guard nodded and nervously scurried away.

?Yes, I understand what a diplomatic incident is,? Zekk growled, ?But this is an issue of classified importance.? After a pause he responded, ?I know the line it?s not secure, but it doesn?t mater in this context,

 

Let me say, first and foremost, that Bulle is awesome.

Zekk actually recognized the being from his youth; the Advozsec had lived in the neighborhood since before Zekk and Peckham moved there. Zekk hoped the Advozsec did not recognize him. When he was 15 Zekk had once tied up the Advozsec?s son and left him dangling over a drop in retaliation for stealing from him.

I always love seeing glimpses of Zekk's youth.

After a moment more Zekk finally shouted into the com, ?Go jump in an event horizon you self-important, diluted, bureaucrat!? before slapping the com off.



?He?s fixated on you,? Bulle said after shutting off her comlink. ?He?s sent this one to capture you alive for one thing, out of all the Jedi in the Galaxy, you were the target."

I'm sure that makes Zekk feel very special.

 

Yeah, Bulle is about my favorite OC of mine, and I've had some who I really like. Zekk's falling for her pretty hard, so she had to be the right combination of characteristics for it to work. Strong and assertive without being domineering. Also, she couldn't be a retread of Jaina Solo. She's not perfect either. She did do a fair bit of rationalizing in this post. She's not one to accept what she doesn't want to accept, and well... she's not strong on patience.

I liked that little blurb about his past because it was fairly gritty, and yet Zekk didn't kill the kid for stealing from him. Zekk accomplished what he wanted to do, but he didn't cross some fairly important lines.

Special? Oh, that only begins to cover how Zekk feels about Hijdi's attention.

Actually look for another post later tonight. I've just about reached 1000 posts, and in celebration I'm going to post another addition of Interludes.

 

After a moment more Zekk finally shouted into the com, ?Go jump in an event horizon you self-important, diluted, bureaucrat!? before slapping the com off.

Whoa.

Cool post. Now they're off to purposely walk into a trap . . . it has a nice sense of action to it.

 

I can't imagine why Zekk doesn't have more patience for bureaucrats I swear the boy never gets a break.

And of course, Jedi aren't known for sitting around. Bulle had to goad him into it a bit, but we'll see how it turns out. Zekk isn't sanguine about this by any means...

 

this is my 1000th post on these boards!

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?Did you get any intel on the inquisitor?? Zekk asked once they had jumped to hyperspace. Zekk was so busy prepping his ship he wasn?t sure what Bulle had been doing with her time.

?Actually yes, there was some luck there. Her body is under Ranger jurisdiction, and I had a positive ID so I was able to request the pertinent files from NRI, namely her dossier summary from the Project Inexorable files that Lowbacca decoded.?

?Have I told you that you are brilliant?? Zekk asked.

?Not as such, no,? Bulle replied with a devilish smile.

?You are more brilliant than the nova of a first magnitude star,? Zekk said.

?I know, but a girl likes to hear,? Bulle said lightly.

?So, what have you got?? Zekk asked.

?To tell the truth,? Bulle said with a pause, ?it?s pretty interesting. Her name was Lida. She was a candidate to be a Jedi when she was young, but it seems that she didn?t make the cut. The Jedi sent her to be part of something called the Agricore, apparently that was typical for the Old Republic Jedi washouts. She lived there long enough to come of age, and disappeared for awhile. The file indicated a lot of the Inquisitors had this sort of background. She was wanted in a few systems for running frauds. That was when she got picked up by the Empire and Project Inexorable.?

?So the Jedi washouts became the Jedi hunters,? Zekk said with a sigh.

?So it seems. It makes sense, Vader had to get a cadre of force sensitives from somewhere.

It seems Lida was a bit of an anomaly in the Inquisitor core. The intel synopsis reports that most of the inexorable inquisitors put on ice were hunter-killers, that sort of thing, but a few had more specific expertise. The report I received had a lot of the other specifics censored, but it seems your Lida was more along the line of ?post processing?.?

?Post Processing?? Zekk asked.

?She was a top rated interrogator,? Bulle said. ?She apparently set the scale the Imperials use to rate their interrogators for effectiveness.?

?So Vader thought she might become useful later, and kept her on suspend.?

?Seems like,? Bulle said. ?It?s not that she couldn?t hunt, but she was at the top of her ratings in psychology, as well as mentally focused Force abilities; that was her game. Hijdi must have woken her and ordered her to go after you.?

?She had been playing head games with me all day,? Zekk muttered.

?Head games?? Bulle asked.

?She kept my connection to the Force disturbed, uneasy. I couldn?t pin it down, it just didn?t feel right. She finally sprung her trap on me at the site where Tamith Kai captured me.?

?How did you beat her?? Bulle asked.

Zekk shrugged, ?I gave her a chance, tried to convince her to come over to the Jedi. When she refused I bridged the detonator circuit a sonic grenade clipped to her belt. Once her attention was off the real danger I owned the fight.?

?Like your fight with Vilas,? Bulle said.

?I was caught unprepared, but I?ve always been good at surviving and adapting. Master Skywalker calls it being fluid; I?ve always said ?Think like water.? Find the path of least resistance, and adapt your actions to the situation.

If she had just taken me out from the beginning I wouldn?t have had a chance. That was what Hijdi did the first time I went against him; this one stopped to talk to me. She opened herself to a counter attack.?

?Well, she was trained to fight the old Jedi. In the histories I?ve read the Jedi never seemed particularly good at subterfuge,? Bulle pointed out.

?Makes sense,? Zekk said, ?The ones with undercover experience would have been the hardest to hunt. If a one on one hunt wasn?t her specialty she wouldn?t be as experienced at keeping all her variables in check.?

?So despite the fact that we agreed we need to face this inquisitor now, we never did discuss how we?re going to deal with whatever trap he?ll have waiting for us,? Bulle pointed out, changing the subject.

Zekk looked out into the swirl of hyperspace. The ans

 

Again, I have to say how much I like Bulle. Usually reading Zekk/someone-other-than-Jaina is an extremely painful experience for me, but you've made Bulle such a great character that I really enjoy reading Zekk/Bulle.

?Alright then, ?we?re going in, and we?ll go in full throttle?,? Bulle said with a smile.
?But, what about that tower?? Zekk quoted from the final trench run at the battle of Yavin with a smirk.
?You?ve seen that documentary too many times,? Bulle replied dryly.

Again, I love how you include GFFA pop culture.

And congratulations on reaching 1000 posts!

 

Hi JoE!
I'm really pleased you've taken both to Bulle and the Zekk/Bulle pairing. When I first wrote the post with Bulle chewing Jaina out I wasn't even sure that they would be together that way. Until now I think they had some doubts about how serious they were too. As for me, from when I first thought up Bulle I knew her fate, but I wondered how people would take to her.
I'm glad you approve

And you know the GFFA History channel would have endless documentaries on either Darth Vader, the Clone Wars, or the Galactic Civil War. I still think one of the funniest things I've ever seen on the Internet was a film on Atomfilms that had a 'Battle of Hoth' bit that was done like a Ken Burns Civil War documentary. Hilarious!

 

?You can and you will,? San-Ah insisted. ?It is the transition that is important, that is where the battle is fought. Positions are responses to attacks and defenses, the transitions between the positions are what make a swordsman. How quickly can you respond to a prompt from an opponent? That is what keeps you alive in a battle.?

Zekk nodded, but said nothing.

?In life as well. Every moment is strung together by connections. Those connections are how one makes sense of those moments. What connects each moment? How does one moment cause the one following?

[/quote]

*NEW READER*

I have been thoroughly enjoying this and even though I'm not caught up yet I just HAD to stop and say "wow". This is so well spoken and true to form I can see it play out in my mind in full color. I can't put my finger on exactly WHY this affects me this way but it is beautiful and speaks wisdom.

Okay... moving on... time to get caught up!!!!

-Zonoma

 

okay... I just got caught up (finally) and this is awesome. I can easily see why it was nominated so many times. Keep it coming!

 

Hey! New reader, color me thrilled!

Thank you for telling me that part stood out for you. For as long as I can remember I've been fascinated with wisdom, from the pithy saying to the sublime. I try to put some wisdom into everything I write. Sometimes it actually works! I am truly pleased something reached you.

I was rather surprised how many noms and nodds I got actually. I don't have my hopes too far up, all the Bey.t.S. fics I've put up revolve around a character that doesn't have a huge following, but it validated my faith that I have a covert readership

And welcome again.