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

Zekk was well rested when they reached Pyidem. He could only hope he was ready.

They came out of hyperspace far from the planet, hoping their drop from hyperspace wouldn?t register on sensors. The scan of the area showed no activity in the system. They approached Pyidem with as much thrust as The Lightening Rod could produce.

Pyidem was once an active system. The planet had been owned by a wealthy Imperial Lord. The planet itself had no singular value, and its position was not particularly valuable either. However, when the Imperial military wanted to install a permanent garrison in the Fardane sector as a reminder to a nearby sector?s governor to stay in line, a site was required. Typically a garrison was set up where there was a population base to support the garrison, but the Lord who owned Pyidem was able to convince key Imperial officials that Pyidem would be a valuable location for such a base. Perhaps it was not particularly valuable to the Empire, but via kickbacks it would be valuable to the officials themselves.

Upon the death of Palpatine the Pyidem garrison was one of the first garrisons to be abandoned completely. No one inhabited the planet now, and the base stood empty. A commerce station had also been built in orbit above Pyidem, but that was abandoned soon after the garrison was closed.

The planet of Pyidem was windswept, with no animal life, only plant life. About half of the surface was filled with cliffs and plants that gripped the cracks and crags. In the lowlands there were forests of 50 meter tall grass like stalks that were up to a meter in diameter at their base. Zekk and Bulle would only see these grass like forests from orbit, as the base they sought was in the cliffs.



?You ready?? Zekk asked.

Bulle looked stoically ahead, as she nodded. Zekk began a power dive into the planet?s atmosphere. The Lightening Rod began a descent path like a meteor with an engine.

?Scopes clear, Channels clear,? Bulle reported as she carefully watched the sensors and communications monitors.

Zekk did not respond, but watched his flight monitors. The decent monitor was a blur as the distance do ground dropped. The relative speed indicator increased at a rate that could only be called alarming. The ship bucked a little as it cut though powerful wind sheers, but Zekk kept his hand steady on the flight yolk. Warning indicators, blinked red before going solid red and alarms began to buzz.

Zekk watched with a steely focus. He might have preferred to be more calm, but focused would do. The stick fought him, but Zekk held it firm, or corrected for losses. A particularly hard gust torqued them into a tumble, as they continued to descend at speeds that made the skin of the Lightening Rod white hot.

Zekk kicked off the engines, and wrenched the stick counter to the spin. The spin eased, and Zekk let off the counter thrust until the nose of the Lightening Rod was pointed to the sky. He fully arrested the spin, and kicked the main engine thrust to full power.

The ship bucked as the engines cut in, and shook as it fought the momentum of its fall. The engine readings showed high stress. They were at full power and capacity, and safeties were deeply in the red.

Zekk?s face did not even flinch as they passed the 10 kilometer altitude mark. He watched the relative velocity indicator closely, and activated the landing gear the instant the wind speed would not rip the pads off. Zekk was counting on the drag on the skids to help slow their descent.

?Five,? Zekk said through clenched teeth.

?Four,? Zekk said looking at the altitude indicator

?Three,? Zekk said looking at the speed gage.

?Two klicks,? Zekk said tightly as he glanced at the topography monitor.

?One klick,? Zekk said as he pushed the afterburner as far on as the control would physically allow.

At Three hundred meters Zekk cut the main engines, and brought the bow of the ship down so the Lightening Rod could land on its landing struts. Zekk?s hands flew across the controls of his ship as he

 

didn't reply last time...tsk tsk

?You?ve seen that documentary too many times,? Bulle replied dryly.

Quite amusing. And nice scene with Zekk and Bulle at the end of that post.

Action!

Hmm...thrusting a lightsaber into blast doors...where have I seen that before? Cool reminiscence of Ep. 1. And nice cliffhanger.

 

Great post!

?Thank you for flying Zekk starlines,? Bulle intoned, ?we hope you had a pleasant flight.?
?And may all your landings be so inspired,? Zekk muttered.



?It will not happen like this!? she said as she scanned the sheer blast door, set into the mountain face before her.

Ah, cliffhangers. The fanfic author's best friend.

 

Hey DA,
Yeah, I know how it goes. Sometimes posts slip through the cracks.

Quoting ANH amused me too.

And I thought we could use some action in here. And the Cliffhangers really are fun for me because I look through and go, 'oooh, that would be a fun place to break...'

Hi JoE,
Snarky Jedi, is there anything better?

We shall see what comes, shan't we?

---

Hi all,
this is your Interludes author, here. This is more or less a reader service announcement. There are only two more posts left in [u] Zekk - Interludes 6: Confrontation[/u], then we shall begin the next and final Interlude.
My warning from June 28th (before the first post in this interlude) still stands.

 

Thanks for the warning... I kind of missed it the first time. Now I really am curious. This is such an excellent thread as it is and I can't wait to see where the final interlude takes us.

Zonoma

 

Sure thing Zonoma. I want to really display Zekk at his strongest, and that means... well, watch and see. I don't want to give it away either

I'm excited to see what everyone thinks of where the final interlude takes us.

---

And while I have everyone's attention, [link=http://boards.theforce.net/Beyond_the_Saga/b10477/20713993/]Go read this story![/link] Adjectives fail me; it's that good!

 

The clanking stomp grew louder as the AT-ST approached Zekk. Zekk scanned back and forth for some sort of cover. There was none in the passageway he was in, and once the AT-ST reached the corner Zekk would have nowhere to go. Zekk sprinted along the width of the passage till the AT-ST was just in sight. He turned into the walker garage area and ran. The heavy blaster cannons fired, but well short of where Zekk was.

The faster tracking anti-personal cannons mounted on the side of the boxy head tracked faster and the lighter fire trailed Zekk as he ran. Zekk reflected one bolt back towards the AT-ST, but the shock from the blast wrenched him around. Zekk barely held onto his lightsaber, and narrowly missed being hit by a following shot. The walker?s armor absorbed the shot Zekk reflected without difficulty.

Zekk was on his feet in an instant, and made a rolling dive towards the AT-ST, under the path of two blasts from the heavy cannons. Zekk ran towards the AT-ST as the cannons recoiled. He stopped suddenly, and another blast charred the ground in front of him. The crash of the walker?s gait filled Zekk?s ears as it approached.

Zekk sprinted towards the AT-ST, and tried to reach out to the pilot of the walker, but found no one. Who ever was piloting the walker was either not there physically, or a Force sensitive who was very good at shielding.

As Zekk approached the side mounted cannons continued to strafe along his path. Zekk jumped high as the rapid blasts crossed his path. He finally landed between the walker?s legs, and Zekk struck the legs of the Walker with his Lightsaber, doing only superficial damage. The right leg rose up and bent in, preparing to come down on top of Zekk.

In a flash, Zekk transferred his lightsaber to his left hand, and popped his holdout flachet launcher out of its wrist holster. He fired a cartridge of flachets into the ankle joint of the standing left leg before leaping out of the way of the right leg as it landed. Zekk slid the flachet launcher back into its holster and returned his lightsaber to his right hand.

The cadence of the moving AT-ST was now not so even as it turned to follow Zekk. The damage from Zekk?s shot would not stop it, but the hard shards of metal ground into one of the ankle joints, as it moved.

Zekk continued to move around to stay behind the AT-ST. If it was controlled by remote, and the visual optics were front facing, probably tied to the walker?s cannon targeting systems, Zekk could stay in the blind spot if he stayed behind it. The legs continued to try and turn to get Zekk in front of it, and the boxy head swiveled as well.

Zekk didn?t know how long he could keep this up, or how long he would have to. Finally the legs stopped their motion, and the side mounted anti-personal cannons swiveled 180 degrees to track the walker?s blind spot.

?Aw, blast,? Zekk swore. Zekk was quickly running out of options. He looked around quickly, for some sort of cover. There was some by the walker servicing bays, but there was nothing that could repel a battery of any substantial magnitude. Zekk looked up as the whine of the servos slowed and the anti-personal cannons zeroed in on Zekk.

There were officially no options left.

Zekk leaped.

An Imperial AT-ST walker stood more than two stories in height. Zekk had never made a vertical jump like that before. Zekk?s legs kicked as he willed him self to climb higher. Falling short wasn?t an option anymore, falling would mean death.

Zekk?s left hand reached out, centimeters short of the lip of the AT-ST?s boxy top. Just as Zekk?s upward momentum dropped away to nothing, the toe of Zekk?s boot touched the side of the AT-ST, and skidded against the surface. Zekk kicked down, pushing him up one more centimeter. Without thinking, Zekk continued to run up the rear face of the AT-ST until his left hand stretched a little farther yet, and gripped the toe rail that rimmed the AT-ST?s top.

Zekk hung for a few moments, gasping for breath. The AT-ST took a shuttering step, look

 

Nice battle scene! If Ewoks can take down AT-STs, so can Zekk.

On another note, is the high angst level of this Interlude going to involve Bulle being maimed/killed/otherwise disposed of, or am I just being paranoid?

 

Go Zekk!

And N-P, I have always been interested in the philosophies as well. This is probably why Traitor is my favorite NJO book *ducks for cover as the people mutter darky in my direction*. Vergere is awesome, Jacen rocks *runs in earnest now*, and the "wisdoms" of that book are haunting. I still love your San-ah, though. Please, may we see more of her in this story? I think that she is up there with Qui-gon, Vergere and Sekot. Perhaps a prequel with her as the main character (guess it would be a tragedy, too, huh?)? oh, oh, I know .... she could train with Vergere together in their youth! Oh boy... there I go with the plot bunny again. Bad me.

Anyways, awesome post. I especially like how you show that a two story leap IS an uncertain effort, even for a Jedi (or almost Jedi)...Please keep it up!

Zonoma

 

Darth Double Post

Oh well, I meant to tell you that the story you recommended is awesome (I beat you to it, though). I was so caught up with the obvious tragedies of SbS that I never even thought of Zekk! I just thought he was being harsh and unforgiving and totally judgemental (not to mention hypocritical(sp?). Wow. I actually feel GUILTY now. About a BOOK. *sigh* I need to get a life.

Zonoma

 

hey zonoma, I feel the same way about traitor. I'm a very philosphical person, myself.

anyway good posts, I can't remeber if I've posted here recently. but this stuff is really good. can't wait to see what happens next

 

Cool swift action.

 

Cool, I've got a whole mess of replies!

Jedi of Ennth
Yeah, I should have thought about the Ewoks. Darn teddy bears... I sort of was going for a man against giant scenario. It seemed to mostly work
And you'll find out what the next post brings tomorrow

Zonoma
Yeah, I've heard Traitor had some good stuff like that. From what I've read about Vergere I'm a little hesitant because it sounds like she argues for moral relativism, and I can't support that logically. If you do away with the dark side and light side you negate one of the most important, simple, and powerful motifs of the Star Wars saga of good against bad. I think at times good has to do bad to prevent a worse bad, and determining what good is in the first place is impossible, but I belive it does exist. Of course I haven't read NJO, so my understanding of her philosophy could be completely cracked.

A Bef.t.S. story might be interesting and if I have a plot that can use San-Ah as a vehicle I might give it a run. And plot bunnies are great, so no bad there. It's fun to play with story ideas. I'm actually a little dry when it comes to ideas at the moment. It WI needs to cool down about 15 degrees!

And I'm glad you liked the post. I've tried to keep some Jedi good at certain skills, but not all skills. Maybe Jacen could have made the leap with his eyes closed, but he'd spend weeks trying to find a lost pen using the Force, where Zekk would just reach behind the bed and pick up. Plus super-powered Jedi get a little boaring to read or write. There's no tension if the Jedi can do everything. It's all about overcomming struggle.

And yeah, Lusa did a great job with that story. When I read about that scene (and later read an excerpt) I thought that was exactly what Zekk would do (and the right thing to do), but no one would understand why. But Lusa did a good job illuminating his point of view.

mouf
It has been a post or two since I've heard from you, but I'm glad you are back. I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I hope you check in tomorrow and tell me what you think of the end of Interludes 6. It will be a cliffhanger going into Interludes 7.

DA
I'm glad you thought the action was swift. I actually rewrote it twice because it wasn't tight enough before. Let me know what you think tomorrow.

 

Bulle gripped the rock face tightly as another blast of wind rushed past her. Her ears were numb, and her fingers ached with cold and fatigue. Unwilling to accept that she was locked out and unable to help Zekk, Bulle had looked for another avenue. She had only looked for a few moments before seeing a window set high into the face of the cliff. For Imperial emplacements burned into a cliff, like this one, windows were frequently placed in a command section or a communications office. As Bulle had looked up, she saw this one had not been left with the blastsheild open when the base was abandoned. Bulle had her entry point.

Bulle looked up again. She was only a couple of meters from the window, too far to reach, but close. Gripping the cliff wall with her left hand, Bulle let her right arm hang down for a moment. She forced it to relax, and let blood flow into the extremity. After a moment Bulle pulled her lightsaber off her belt, reached up and carved another grip into the rock before replacing it on her belt. The deep gash cut into the rock cooled quickly, and Bulle reached her hand to it, and pulled herself up.

Like this she had made most of the half-kilometer climb up the sheer rock face. The cuts she was making were not exactly easy to hold, the angle was odd, but there was enough there for Bulle to get a pinch grip or a toehold and push herself up. Bulle now wished she had spent the time playing ?games? with the other Jedi apprentices, climbing the smooth walls of the temple pyramids on Yavin 4.

Still, she was nearly there. Bulle reached up, set her feet, and pushed her self up higher. She looked at the window again. She would have liked to have been closer, but the cold biting wind made every step of the assent more torturous than the last.

Bulle raised her feet up a little farther, and cleared her mind.

She had done something like this before. She was younger then, before she had left for the Shadow Academy. She and her mother had taken a trip to an Imperial resort planet named Respite. It was before Bulle?s mother had married. It was before Bulle had left for the Shadow Academy. It had been a better time, before she and her mother had argued over Bulle?s joining the New Republic and the Jedi. They had been a family then.

It was also warmer on Respite, and Bulle had been wearing a fall arrest belt. Respite?s planetary climate had been tropical, and the facilities provided repulsor belts that would protect a climber from a fall. Here the only thing that would stop Bulle?s fall if she slipped was either the Force, if she could concentrate enough to use it, or the ground.

Bulle shook her head and cleared it again. It was just like the instructor told her, get your feet underneath you, coil up like a spring, keep your eyes on the next grip, rock a bit for momentum, and when it feels right throw your body to the grip.

Bulle didn?t want to think about it any more. Without thought, she tensed and threw herself into the air.



Hijdi sighed as he could no longer track Zekk. He was effectively blind. He watched other monitors. The dead man?s switch indicator blinked to red. Without the frequent parity signal, a thermal detonator inside the AT-ST?s mechanism would explode.

It was standard Imperial procedure to make certain that the enemy could never use equipment that was lost or left behind. The technicians that abandoned this base left behind nearly half a dozen walkers in need of only minor repairs. Much of the base equipment and facilities were in complete working order. If the Rebellion had come here they would have had a fully working base at their disposal. It was irresponsible and those responsible needed to be held accountable, but Hijdi had more pressing concerns now.

Hijdi Qun waited until he knew that the explosive had gone off. A few seconds later Hijdi felt for Zekk?s life force.

Hijdi smiled grimly. Zekk had passed this test. He was very good, perhaps even worthy. If Zekk could Reach Hijdi here in the command center, Hijdi would

 

It was so easy; the murder of Bulle had made it so. He did not have to cross into Darkness, he was already there, immersed in the Darkness. Hijdi had delivered him there.

Don't go dark, Zekk! Bulle wouldn't want you to.

 

NO!!! Don't go dark, Zekk!! And Bulle . . . .

 

*shivers*

What else can I say?

*shivers again*

-Zonoma

PS Read Traitor.... Yes, Vergere says there is no dark side but she argues that the darkness is in each of us... and it is through lack of self knowledge that one becomes evil.. passion isn't wrong but rather uncontrolled, unaccountable passion is dangerous... one must KNOW their limits, resources, strengths and weaknesses so as not to "fall to the dark side" they must face the darkness inside and accept that it is there. it is unconscienable not to accept and fight the personal darknesses on a daily basis. anyways, based on you San-ah character you might really enjoy the book with Vergere in them. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go cry for Bulle in private.

 

So, it appears my readers have not fled. This makes me glad.

I know how you all feel about Bulle, she really is my favorite OC that I've written, and I've got a bunch I really like. As a stand-alone character she was pretty strong, self assured, and had a purpose. I was surprised how much I liked the chemistry that she and Zekk had; it made me wish I was a better romantic writer. On the other hand, I knew exactly what her destiny would be from the first five minutes of her concept; yet this scene was still hard to write, and I struggled with how much warning to give to my readers.

And she had her flaws, which lead to her demise. She was a bit reckless, though not tragically so. Her real weakness, like most Jedi it seems, is she doesn't realize that it is possible to win by yielding.
And now Zekk... well, that's for interlude 7.

It seems Bulle's death has hit you, my readers, pretty hard. I'll admit that was part of the intent, so at some level I am pleased. Still, this line is not over yet, so on the 21st I'll start Zekk - Interludes 7: Beginnings and Ends and that will take us to Vector Prime (the Epilogue will end around the end of VP actually). You might notice I've broken convention on my titling scheme, and that is intentional, the plot scheme will be different too. Actually, it will be based on a common meta-myth; I'm actually rather happy with it. I hope you will be too.

your humble author.

---

I'll keep your suggestion in mind Zonoma. The thing is, I never forgave the NJO for Vector Prime, and so I've refused the read subsequent NJO books. If I ever break my injunction against them (which I imagine I will someday), the Traitor will be one of the ones I look forward to.

 

How come that does not surprise me? Probably because VP was unforgivable in every sense of the word ... it was stiff and boring for the whole stinking book, sans 2 pages where you are crying about Chewie and jumping up and down on the book. Yup, took me two years to pick up another NJO book and I only did because Mara was in them... I barely hung on until Traitor. It only got good at SbS (again, hiding - I love Anakin and the others, too, guys!) but you kinda needed the first books to enjoy the rest. It is a Sith set-up.

Thanks for keeping it in mind and perish the thought of my leaving you over the death of a powerfully written character! It would dishonor the "memory" of Bulle.

Zonoma

 

Thanks Zonoma,

I really am pleased that everyone is around. With Bulle's death I took this story to a place I hadn't taken it before, and I wasn't sure how my readers would react. That's why I tried to give my readers a touch of a warning. Though, if you've read the first story I posted, "Angel's Fall" (linked in my bio), you'd know that I kill characters when the story calls for it.

In this case, Bulle needed to die for a few reasons. It will allow me to show how Zekk deals with it, it brings us closer to 'cannon' as far as the character relationships go, and Zekk's confidence needed to be shaken to also bring him closer to cannon Zekk.
Of course, I belive that when he gets his confidence back he will be stronger than ever.

And yeah, Chewie's death is what really killed NJO for me. Though, you have weakened my resolve against them.

 

Title: Zekk - Inderlude 7: Beginnings and Ends
Author: Neo-Paladin
Timeframe: Post YJK - Pre Vector Prime
Characters: Zekk, OC's, a few familiar faces
Genre: Adventure, humor, angst
Keywords: Zekk, Inquisitor
Summary: Without a master, Zekk makes his way in the Galaxy in the year leading upto the Vong War.
Notes: By way of an explanation, it is kinda sorta a bridge In Zekk's story between YJK and Vector Prime. I haven't read all of the YJK series, or the NJO past Vector Prime, so if I'm not in step with cannon, please forgive or just consider it slightly AU. It's in step with almost everything I've read about said series.

---

Zekk did the only thing he could. He did it to hold on, to ground himself, to remind himself that he had survived this and worse. It was not much, but it was something. He went back to the worst feeling he had ever had in his life that spanned just over two decades. There was a lot of pain in those years.

Times that he had been convinced that friends were lost and had died. Confronting Jaina outside the Jedi Temple, hoping she would strike him down and end his pain. His time in the Shadow academy. His fall to the Dark Side. His hard life in the Undercity of Corusant. Fighting fear and everyone else to stay alive. Fleeing the refugee camps. Being transported from refugee camp to refugee camp all of them on worlds Zekk had never heard of before, never being allowed to stay in one place, never feeling safety, security, or love.

All that paled before the most painful memory he held in his soul.



The thing about this memory was Zekk didn?t actually witness it. He couldn?t, he wasn?t there. Yet he remembered it and experienced it all the same.

The planet of Ennth was overdue for its quake. The massive major moon had passed the quake point, and the quake had not come. It was known that the massive moon made its? near pass every eight years triggering a planet wide quake, but it was hardly an exact science. Tectonics were a tricky thing. Every planet had different dynamics, and a grain of sand a displaced by a millimeter could be the difference between devastation and a whisper of a tremor, all on the scale of tectonic plates. This quake was late in coming, and everyone feared the worst.

The leaders of the planet made arrangements for series of bulk cruisers to house the residents of Ennth until the quake passed. Space, food, and necessities had to be paid for by the evacuees, but it was by far the best option. The arrival of the ships signaled the beginning of the frantic evacuation. Arrival on the ships was followed by breathless anticipation as the moon passed the trigger point on its? extremely eccentric orbit. The moon began to recede from the planet again and the quake had not happened, but the seismologists warned the planet was not yet stable.

So the residents of Ennth waited in orbit. Weeks passed. The farmers of Ennth, who were used to having hundreds of kilometers between neighboring farms, were suddenly cheek to jowl in the tightly packed bays. Walls were no more than fabric; private space had never been more imaginary.

Then supplies began to run low, and the time the farmers had paid for began to run out. Tempers flared, and some farmers even returned to the surface, willing to face the massive quakes due rather than the tight and uncomfortable quarters on the cruisers.

Finally, with some anxiety Zekk?s parents decided they needed to get home long enough to get crop from the stores on their farm to pay for their continued stay on the ship until the quake passed. They would both go so they could work faster together, and minimize time on the planet. The decision was a grave one, but they signed onto the cue for inhabitants who would take the next available shuttle down.

The morning came when they would leave, and Zekk awoke with a feeling of dread. ?I don?t want you to go,? Zekk declared.

Zekk?s father, already tense with said with a warning tone, ?Zekk, don?t

 

"returned him......to the twilight between light and dark"

N-P,

That was beautifully put. I love your posts, did you know that?

Zonoma

 

Beautiful post! Horribly sad, but one of the most powerful posts you've written so far. I absolutely love seeing Zekk as he was before and/or right after his parents' deaths.

 

Neo-Paladin: Well, between graduating, out of state trips, job-hunting, irregular internet access, and other stuff, I have fallen pretty far behind in my replies. Someday I will get my reading and replies caught up together.

Happy (very belated) birthday for your birthday back on the 7th.

Finishing up replies for the 4th Interlude:

5-12

Jaina had been home alone in their suite, and had contacted security, apparently reporting that she had felt someone die. Security asked that she remain in a secure position, but she left to investigate anyway.

General Solo had received a message that there was a disturbance, and was requested to wait for a signal that the building was safe, but he entered the building to investigate anyway.

Like father, like daughter? It does fit both of their characters very well as I don?t see either of them being the type to sit on their laurels and wait for someone else to take care of a situation.

When Han still had to do things the old way, no questions asked, Jaxxam was who Han went to.

Is this supposed to be Jaxxon, the green bunny from the Marvel "Star Wars" comics? Talk about a blast from the past. Personally I used to think of the Marvel ?Star Wars? comic series as being AU/infinities until they were re-released in tpb and not labeled as infinities.

?She rather convincingly explained to me that Hydrogen and ignorance were the most common elements in the Galaxy, and Hydrogen was a far second.?

Nice. It?s a little sad how true that is, though.

I loved how Jaxxam dealt with the Niktoan; someone who is smart about when or when not to fight is just as interesting to read about as it a well choreographed fight scene.


5-16

The beginning was very intriguing; while there?s the simple question of whether or not Zekk should ?fire up? his lightsaber for Jaxxam, there?s also the deeper question of when Jedi are supposed to act or what could happen if they don?t. I?m glad that Zekk hesitated to go along with the plan because I?ve gotten the impression that most people in the ?Star Wars? universe don?t really see lightsabers or very rarely ever see them in person (its sort of a silly thing to think that we may have seen more lightsabers and lightsaber battles than John Q. Public of the SW universe) so it is a serious thing when a Jedi turns on their lightsaber (or at least it should be).

Jaxxam spun the prone figure over, and picked him up by his shirt. Who ever he was found him self nose to nose with a two meter tall, green, bucktoothed, long eared, tower of furry.

?Tower of furry?...I like it.

Zekk let a half smile play across his face as he responded, ?If only lightsabers could break the ice at parties so easily.?

I could just imagine that scene: a bunch of the YJK are standing around uncomfortably in a party they can?t leave surrounded by politicians they don?t like and then they decide to start comparing lightsaber blade colors as if it were a new and absolutely engrossing topic.

While Brakis spoke to an Imperial Governor Zekk had overheard the term ?Eclipse Conservatory Project?. It was a code name for the Shadow Academy itself, used by the Imperial structure. Someone was checking up on his history, and that history ran through the Imperial structure.

Ooo? Very intriguing.



5-18

Porshi?s cute; she reminds me quite a bit of Tahiri. I think Streen?s an under-used character in the profics, so its nice to see him get a little bit of the spotlight here. I don?t think he ever got mentioned in the NJO at all (and if he was, it was so small and insignificant that I don?t remember it).

San-Ah is as fascinating as always, and her views on the Force are insightful. I also like how Zekk brings some understanding of the Dark Side to the table (so

 

Zonoma
Thank you Zonoma, I'm rather fond of your replies too.
And I'm glad that line rang fully for you. It was one that struck a full cord for me.

JoE
I'm glad the power of this post reached you. It had to be strong to compete with the last post. It was something that I played with for awhile before I got this.

Carenix
Long time no see. I hope your travels bring you reward. I just put off the real world with grad school

I can't belive I spelled Jaxxon wrong I never caught that! Yeah, what I know of the Marvel comics they have always seemed like goofy infinities to me too, but I thought having Jaxxon would be a fun nod. I'll admit Jaxxon's inclusion is mostly because I really like the "Jaxxon's 11" comic they have in the TF.N humor section
I think I stole part of the hydrogen line from I, Jedi. I'm such a hack.

Barnois is a NP original. I wanted something different, so canyons it was. The planet where Obi defeated Grevious in Ep III wasn't too different in terms of terrain. The culture was a good bit different though, and they had the holes in the ground, were I had huge canyons.

And my thought was, how weird would it be if everyone started doing themselves up to look like your ex?

I'm glad you liked my Scout-trooper back story. It wasn't completely invalidated by Ep III, just kinda. A rewrite put things too good.

And as a part of Leia's general awesomeness, I can't imagine her being anything but the most 'on the ball' mom in the galaxy. I have to imagine that getting one past Leia would be like trying to tickle Darth Vader. You might try, and it may even work, but I wouldn't advise it under any condition.

And Zekk has his Jedi moments, I really wanted to show him becoming maturing in his role as a Jedi in this story. That was another goal of this whole mess.

Yeah, I explained the dream thing earlier, I didn't realize it for awhile either, it just didn't make sense that I hadn't put in a scene with Zekk calling up Luke and saying, 'Oh, by the way, I see dead people.' The dreams that were forgotten fit perfectly and I ran with it. I'm glad it didn't occur to my readers like it didn't occur to Zekk either.

Just three Interludes behind? Well, five and six are shorter, so it may not take you as long as you think