Jedi under Siege

24

The buzzing hum of Zekk’s lightsaber filled Jaina’s ears as her former friend brought it slowly down toward her neck. “You never understood, Jaina…. You can’t understand. You’ve always been so protected. The dark side is like a scar that’s on the inside.”

Zekk’s eyes locked with hers. His hand remained steady, and he began speaking in a low voice, his words barely audible. “But these are scars that can’t be healed,” he went on. “You can try to cover them up”—hum; buzz—“but they’re still there … underneath.”

A swarm of angry insects buzzed near Jaina’s right ear—but it was only the lightsaber, no longer above her head but continuing its excruciatingly slow descent.

Then, as if from a distance, Jaina heard new sounds: a crackle of static, and then a booming voice coming from a comlink.

“This is the Lightning Rod, callin’ anyone who can hear me. Better clear everyone from the landing field real quick. We’re comin’ in. Oh, and if you got any of those energy shields back up, you better put ’em down now—we’ve had more’n our share of problems already today. My arm’s broken, so the young Solo kid is flying—but our wings’re clipped, and I’m not sure how maneuverable this baby is.”

In that moment of delight and surprise, Zekk’s lightsaber wavered and lifted away from her. A droning sound caught his attention, and Jaina glanced back over her shoulder to see the Lightning Rod coming into view above the treetops, sputtering and wheezing.

“Come on in, Lightning Rod,” Jaina heard Luke say into his comlink. “You’re clear to land.”

Zekk stared in amazement to see the battered old ship still intact, then shook his head. He reached out his free hand toward her. “Jaina, I didn’t mean to—”

Just then, a concussive boom split the air, obliterating all other sounds. The ground vibrated beneath Jaina’s feet, lurching with tremors and shock waves.

“Get down!” Zekk shouted.

She dove toward the courtyard wall and hit the ground, gasping at the jolt of pain that speared through her. She rolled, looking upward to see the gouts of smoke that erupted from a huge explosion inside the Great Temple. The crumbled remnants of massive stones tumbled down its sides in an avalanche.

Zekk ran for cover, too, but the hailstorm of rock moved faster than he could dodge. A large chunk of stone struck him in the head, while other fragments pummeled his body. As Jaina watched the dark-haired young man sink to the ground, it came to her in a flash: he had known.

Zekk had known the temple was going to blow up.

And he had saved them all.