Chapter 10
Zekk searched her room to be certain, though he couldn't feel her anywhere nearby. "Allana?"
There was no answer as he searched, the breeze from the open window drafting across the room in time with the blowing curtains. He straightened after several fruitless minutes, staring at the small window. That was how she'd been taken. He knew it; it was the only thing that made sense. Carefully, Zekk checked the area directly outside the window. Two large imprints were in the soil of the garden below the window. He placed his hands on the sill and closed his eyes, reaching to the Force.
It came at his call, swirling up around him like a cloud, and forming the images in his mind. Images of shapes and figures; images the stone remembered from mere minutes ago. A dark cloaked figure, a small shape rising through the windowsill on a blanket of nothingness only to be grabbed at the peak below the sill. Darkness, malevolence... and a direction.
Zekk's eyes snapped back into focus. He darted for the door, threw it open, and headed off in the direction of the vision.
The trail was still warm, the starlight guiding his steps as he pounded down the pathway, the feel of the malevolent presence a beacon now that he knew what to search for. Zekk had no doubt he was tracking Jacen; a swiftly moving Jacen who was headed for the landing pad. Zekk cut off his pursuit, diving between homes and back into the Academy's hallways. He sprinted, calling on the Force to assist him, taking several short cuts towards the docking bay. He arrived within minutes, stopping outside the main entrance point and turning his back to the door.
He could feel the malevolent presence approaching, Allana's mental cries resounding in his head as she called desperately for help against the stranger that held her. Zekk slipped into the shadows, masking his presence and knew Jacen was yet unaware of his discovery. Or so he hoped.
Zekk waited, crouched, the Force at his fingers tips, coursing through his body as he prepared for his one chance to rescue his daughter unharmed. Jacen came into view, a cloak flying out behind him, barely managing to keep a squirming bundle of fear in his grasp as he ran. Zekk's eyes narrowed and he tensed. Jacen came closer, his Force enhanced speed seeming to slow as Zekk felt his adrenaline pumping. Closer. Closer The thought was a silent urge. If Jacen stopped now he'd never get his chance.
Jacen was suddenly in range and Zekk didn't think twice - he sprang from the shadows silently, arcing straight at Jacen's profile. Jacen was caught off guard, spinning at the last possible moment as he caught movement from the corner of his eye. But it was too late. Zekk crashed into the other man, his hands closing about Allana's torso and yanking her with desperate strength. She came free of Jacen's surprised grip and, curling about her, Zekk landed hard on his shoulder and back a few feet away.
"Daddy!" Allana's relief was palatable, but Zekk didn't have time to reassure her. He could already feel Jacen recovering; could feel him calling on his powers. Wheezing from the impact and loss of breath, Zekk pushed himself to his feet and placed Allana on the ground behind him. "Daddy?"
"It's alright, sweetie." Zekk told her, trying to project as much comfort as he could into his voice as he turned to face his former best-friend. "Daddy's here."
"How touching."
Zekk's eyes narrowed, his hand reaching for the lightsaber he'd tucked into his trousers. It fell into his palm, cool and reassuring, its contours as familiar as his own hand. "I'm glad you think so. Long time no see, Jacen."
"Not long enough." Jacen had pulled his cloak back, revealing features that were familiar and not. A burning need for revenge had twisted him, altered his appearance perceptibly. "You betrayed me, my friend."
"Not willingly." Zekk still hadn't gotten the mental block removed; he still didn't have all of the facts as to what exactly had happened between him and Tenel Ka. "And not intentionally."
"Are you trying to shift the blame to my dearly departed beloved?"
"Didn't you?" Zekk watched tensely as Jacen approached, his thumb fingering the activation switch on his lightsaber but not hitting it just yet. "Isn't that why you killed her?"
"Tenel Ka-"
"Mommy!"
Jacen glared at the child behind Zekk. "She betrayed me as surely as you have." His tone was conversational as he turned his gaze back on Zekk. "It takes two willing participants, Zekk. Neither of you are guiltless. Allana should be my daughter; not yours."
"You won't find me arguing that point." Zekk shifted his stance. "That's far enough."
Jacen stopped, regarding Zekk with a curious expression. "Then you agree with me."
"I agree that Allana should have been yours - and would have been yours, if you hadn't acted like a pompous, bloated ass. If you'd simply gone back to renegotiate with Tenel Ka, this whole situation would have been avoided."
"And now you're blaming me for this." Jacen shook his head sadly. "Still not taking responsibility for your actions, Zekk?"
Zekk's smile was faint. "When I can remember those actions I tend to take better care for them. You can't have Allana regardless."
"I can and I will. I'll just have to go through you to do it."
Zekk's lightsaber flashed to life as Jacen's green blade came towards his head. They traded blows, Zekk immersing himself into the Force, letting it guide his movements as he parried and counter struck against Jacen's blade. Zekk felt a chill creep down his spine even as he left go of his fears; Jacen's pleasant expression hadn't changed.
Jacen spun, coming in front of the left and then the right, tying to force him to move, to gain access to Allana. Zekk moved with him, gracefully and purposefully planting himself between Jacen and the child each time he tried to move by. Jacen was a flurry of light, moving this way and that, a graceful, deadly dance partner.
Zekk blocked, parried and, occasionally, counter struck, using his greater reach to his advantage and keeping Jacen out of reach. His movements flowed easily, the Force giving him speed and accuracy as he shifted his feet, ensuring he never gave the opening Jacen was looking for. They traded blows for several lightning quick minutes before Jacen backed off, his eyes shining with cunning and malice despite the easy smile on his face. "You've been practicing."
"So have you."
Jacen shrugged away the compliment. "I've had more of an opportunity than you have. Give this up, Zekk, you can't win."
"Neither can you. If you haven't noticed, we're at a stalemate."
"Not for long." Jacen made a gesture towards him.
Zekk felt the force slam into him, something in his mind cracking and crumbling in an instant. Repressed memories flooded into his conscious mind and for a moment he saw, clearly and for the first time, what had happened the night Allana had been conceived. The memories were full of warmth, and pain. For he could now remember the sound of her voice, the scent of her skin; the feel of her hand. He could taste her on the tip of his tongue. He now understood, really understood, the circumstance of how Allana had come to be.
And he knew that Tenel Ka had been honest with him from the start. Honest enough to name her terms. Terms that included the mind block. Terms he'd agreed to.
Jacen moved in that moment of distraction, following up with a strike that should have severed Zekk's head from his spine. Allana screamed and Zekk reacted without thinking, the move purely instinctual as he fell prone, ducking well beneath the blade, and coming up swinging. The memories were pushed back, as Zekk focused on the here and now. Jacen flipped neatly backwards as Zekk's blade passed through where he'd been standing a moment before.
"Impressive."
"Not too shabby yourself, Solo. You should give up now, before someone gets hurt."
Jacen laughed confidently, striding back in, his lightsaber swinging confidently in a circle. "You and what army?"
Zekk let a slow smile cross his face. "The one that has you hopelessly out numbered."
"What, you and an infant?"
Zekk made a motion behind him. "Masters?"
Corran Horn stepped from the shadows almost directly behind Zekk. Mara Jade stepped from another corner, Luke off to her side. Slowly, surrounding them, Jacen's smile died as he realized the trap. Kyp and Kyle quickly followed, Tionne and Kam not far behind. Slowly, Jacen was hemmed in by a circle of Masters and strong Knighs with he and Zekk in the center.
Jacen's face twisted into an ugly grimace, his hand outstretched towards the toddler Zekk was shielding. "She'll be dead before anyone can help her!"
Allana's eyes widened in surprise as she suddenly couldn't breathe. Her eyes crossed as she almost comically tried to see what the problem was as small hands moved to claw at her throat. "No!" Zekk lunged for Jacen, breaking his concentration, thinking only to save his daughter's life.
Jacen's move had been costly. He made no sound as the lightsaber blade sliced through his upper arm, sliding through bone and sinew as easily as a hot knife through frozen sweet spread. He didn't react beyond igniting his blade and spinning it to deflect the attack Zekk aimed at his chest.
"You can't win, Jacen."
"Ever the good Samaritan, Zekk."
"Let us help you."
"It's not me who needs the help!" Jacen's blade arced forward. Zekk deflected the blow, coming in wide from his left side; the side now crippled. Jacen spun away, and Zekk advanced, giving Corran the chance to dart in and collect Allana.
"No!" Jacen saw his prize getting away. "Don't you understand, Allana is mine! Mine! Tenel Ka said so!"
"She lied to you." Zekk deflected a hard strike and retaliated with one of his own. He was surprised when the powerful, over handed chop drove Jacen to his knees. Twirling the blade, he sent the other Jedi's lightsaber hilt flying.
Jacen snarled, his face now a twisted mask of rage and pain. Zekk barely reacted in time as Jacen lunged for him, light glinting off a knife he'd pulled from his boot. Zekk's lightsaber slashed downwards, cleaving through the outstretched arm and straight into Jacen's chest cavity. Jacen jerked and shuddered, slumping forward. He fell, as if in slow motion, forward and then to the side, the expression on his face now one of peace.
Zekk stared down at the corpse of the man who had once been his best friend. Partners in crime, they'd enjoyed teasing Jaina before they'd hit puberty. They'd shared hopes and dreams, loves and losses. Jacen had known him better than even Jaina in some respects. But that Jacen had been buried deep within this shell of a monster that hadn't been able to reach for his own redemption. Jacen's death - the real Jacen - left a void; one that wouldn't be easily filled.
A child's cry brought Zekk back to reality. Looking down once more he shut off his lightsaber and turned, walking straight towards the source.
Allana, her face tear streaked, was being held in Corran's firm, but gentle grip. "Daddy!" She wailed, reaching her arms towards him, begging for him to come to her. "Daddy!"
Zekk walked right up to Corran and took his baby girl in his grasp. He sank to his knees, hugging her close and being hugged in return. Comforting and being comforted. Allana's tears died as she burrowed into his embrace and Zekk felt a feeling of peace overtake him.
It was over.
