Chapter 8

Kyp sensed the anger before the turbolift even stopped at the tenth floor of the Temple as he returned from his errand. Kyp stretched out his feelings and instantly frowned, his good humor completely gone. He stepped out of the lift and as soon as Ma'lil saw him he rounded the half wall that separated him from the lobby and gushed, "Master Durron, I tried to stop him but he wouldn't even listen to me. He entered your office saying that he'd wait for you. I tried to tell him that I didn't know if you would return today." He swallowed and added, "I'm sorry," but not really knowing why he was.

"Don't worry about it," Kyp said without looking at him. Then he turned and asked, "Is Master Luke Skywalker here?"

"Yes, he's meeting with Master and Valin Horn."

"Good. Please have him come to my office. But," Kyp put warning into his tone, "don't tell him who is here. Just tell him that I need assistance immediately—" The boy took a step away but stopped as Kyp added, "and to come alone. Understood?" The last thing he needed now was an audience of the Horns, no matter how much he liked Valin despite who his father was.

"Yes, Master Durron," he nodded and was gone in the direction of the Grand Master's office, while Kyp headed in the opposite direction to his own.

Before he got to the door, he took a deep calming breath. He knew this confrontation was coming. He just wasn't looking forward to it. He liked the young man inside his office despite the situation. Kyp suddenly was amazed at how many similarities they really had between them.

The door to the office was open and Kyp walked in to find Zekk standing staring at the holo of the Jedi. In the picture Jaina was standing between Jacen and Kyp with her arms around the waists of both men.

"You couldn't stay away, could you, Durron?" Zekk said without turning. "You just couldn't leave her alone even though you will never deserve her." He turned, angry green eyes meeting Kyp's, "What did you do to her? Did you seduce her and prey upon her blind friendship? Or did you just brainwash her?"

Kyp could feel the young Jedi's pain, jealously and anger, but he wouldn't allow Zekk to degrade Kyp's love for Jaina. He needed to defend himself. "She came to me of her own free will. I've never did anything to encourage her. I accepted that she loved someone else and that she made her choice. I've lived with that for a long time, Zekk. Trust me, if it would have been that easy to seduce Jaina Solo, I would have a long time ago and got her from Fel. By now she and I would be married and have a passel of little Durrons running around terrorizing the Jedi Order." Smugness crept into his voice despite his best efforts.

That was the breaking point for Zekk. He moved so fast that Kyp wouldn't have had any warning at all if it hadn't been for the snap-hiss of Zekk's lightsaber igniting. Kyp barely got his off his belt and ignited to parry Zekk's wicked slash.

Kyp could feel the anger rolling around the younger Jedi and could sense the Darkness building within Zekk. Zekk pressed on this time with a lunge. Kyp defended that attack as well. Zekk's next strike narrowly missed Kyp's legs as he leaped over the slash, it too low to parry. The chair before the desk was left in two smoking halves.

"Zekk! What are you doing?" The voice of Master Skywalker rang above the humming and thunderous hissing clashes of the sabers.

"This does not concern you Master Skywalker," Zekk said, his voice dangerously low. Anger and Dark energy nearly crackled around him as he lunged again at Kyp.

X

Luke stepped further into the office closing the door behind him. He watched as Kyp leaped onto his desk, defending yet another wicked lounge. Zekk then sliced through the wood and metal of the desk, Kyp barely missing the strike by leaping over the Jedi. The desk was left destroyed. Zekk turned a feral snarl on his face. Luke could clearly see Kyp was the one being attacked. The Grand Master had a sinking feeling his niece was behind the reason.

"Zekk, you need to stop this before you do something you'll never forgive yourself for. Turning to the Dark Side won't solve anything." Zekk paused just long enough for Luke to press on, "If you kill Kyp it will only scar you and won't change what happened."

Zekk looked at his master and began to lower the lightsaber. Luke took this opportunity to slowly walk toward him, his hands out as if he was walking up to an unpredictable wild animal. "Zekk, put away the saber," his voice was gentle and soothing but full of the Force.

After several moments, Zekk began to tremble and the saber dropped from his hand, turning off as it fell. Zekk looked at his master and tears formed in his eyes. He coved his face and began to sob.

Luke looked at Kyp who finally closed down his own blade and stepped back further away from Zekk. It was better if Luke handled this and both masters knew it.

"Master Skywalker—"Zekk let out a sob. "I'm sorry. I—" He swallowed hard and removed his hands from his face, his tears freely falling. "I don't know what came over me. It's just that the more I thought of them together the more hurt and angrier I became."

Luke looked questioningly to Kyp, "What is he talking about, Kyp?"

X

Kyp frowned and busied his hands and eyes by clipping his lightsaber onto his belt. He didn't want to meet Luke's intense blue gaze. "Jaina came to me last night." He looked over at Zekk who was wiping his nose on his long sleeve. The young Jedi looked a mess and for the first time Kyp smelled the Corellian whisky.

Before Kyp could explain more, Zekk pointed to Kyp and simply replied, "She left me for him. She told me that she loved him and that she never really loved me." He left out an anguished sob and slid along the shelving to sit on the floor. He covered his face and sobbed.

Luke's face was a mask of questions as he looked at Kyp, but he said nothing. He only crouched down beside Zekk, laying a supportive hand on his shoulder.

Zekk removed his trembling hands and looked into Luke's eyes. "I don't know what happened." He then looked up at Kyp, the angry fire replaced with only the pain of a broken heart and the horror of what he almost did. "I couldn't stop thinking about you and her. It drove me crazy. I know she has always loved you. Even during the war when she was supposed to be with Fel. He and I were substitutes for you because she thought you didn't want her or she shouldn't want you. It about killed me to see the two of you together. She and I were never like that." Zekk swallowed and drew his legs up and laid his arms on his knees. He looked at his empty palms and said very quietly, "She would dream of you and call out your name. She did that since we were first together. At first I told myself she was remembering the war. But when I linked with her one night because I needed to know. I couldn't stand it any more." He looked up at Kyp, and Kyp nearly had to look away from the pain that lay within the emerald depths. "I wish I never would have because she was dreaming of kissing you." He closed his eyes and took a shattered breath.

Luke looked up at Kyp while he stared down at the young Jedi, stunned. Kyp crouched down and said his voice soft, "Zekk, I've loved Jaina for over ten years. I only once made a move toward her. And she slapped me and told me that I went too far. It was after she and Jag broke up. I kissed her. But the slap she gave me pretty much told me she wasn't interested in me. So, I left. I made sure Jaina Solo and I were never in close quarters again."

Luke, watching with great interest, asked, "What changed?"

Kyp looked over at him; he had expected to see disapproval in the Master's eyes but there was only understanding. He then turned back to Zekk, "I was miserable. I needed to at least be her friend. When I found out she went off to the Unknown Regions it scared me to death. That's why I went after her."

"Do you love her?" Luke asked.

Kyp turned towards him and sighed, "As hard as it is for anyone to believe that I'm capable of the feeling, yes, Luke, I love her. But I accepted she would never be mine. I even considered it my punishment for the things that I've done. That she would only be my best friend but never anything else. I knew if I truly loved her I could be her friend and be happy with that or at least I could try."

He turned his attention back to Zekk, "When she came to me last night I thought I was dreaming." He reached out to touch the younger man's forearm. "I'm sorry, Zekk, that you had to get hurt, I was your friend. I never wanted you to be hurt. If you love Jaina half as much as I do, I can only imagine how I'd feel if—"

Zekk suddenly stood throwing off Kyp's attempt to show empathy for the pain he inadvertently caused him for being in love with the same woman. "I don't need your pity, Durron." Kyp and Luke stood at the same time.

Luke opened his mouth to say something but before he could Zekk brushed by and said, "I'm leaving and going to Zonama Sekot. At least I hope I still have a real friend there." At the door he turned and added, "Don't bother inviting me to the wedding, friend." Then he was gone.

X

Kyp sighed and moved to sit heavily in the chair behind the damaged desk. Luke stood before it and let out a breath. "She was with you this morning," it was a statement not a question. "That's why you missed our meeting."

Kyp met the older man's eyes, "Yes, she was with me last night."

"Is she moving in with you?"

"No, I'm going to convince her to move in with her parents." Kyp then turned around, his shoulders slumped he looked at the holo of the Jedi Code above his desk. "I never meant to hurt anyone. I quietly loved Jaina and appointed myself her savior and sometimes conscience and she became mine. I couldn't let her fall to the Darkness like I did, nor could I let her flounder in a world where she felt no one but Zekk loved her." He turned his head to look over his shoulder at Luke then turned back to the holo without seeing it.

Silence stretched between them and was finally broken by Luke, "I know that you love Jaina. I've known it for sometime. I've even speculated that it was that love for her that changed you."

Kyp turned his chair around to see Luke smiling at him. "You approve?"

"That's not my decision." Luke's boyish smile never wavered as he went on to say, "I married a woman who not only tried to kill me but nearly half of the New Republic disapproved of and didn't trust, remember? And now look at Mara. She's a GFFA hero." He paused then added possibly something akin to pride in his voice, "Not so unlike yourself despite your past."