DHALBRETH SQUARE ---- a jaina & zekk fansite ----

Whether it is because he's that guy from the wrong side of the tracks in love with that upper class girl who cares little for any distinctions between their societal positions, or because they've been best friend for years, or because she alone brought him back from the Dark Side of the Force - well, there's a multitude of reasons to love the relationship between Jaina and Zekk. Although they are no longer together in the latest books (the New Jedi Order series), people can only have one first love, and Jaina and Zekk are certainly each other's.

At some point during their childhood, Zekk met twins Jaina and Jacen on Coruscant (exact details unknown), and the three became fast friends, especially Jaina and Zekk. Often, the twins (or just Jaina) would accompany Zekk on some adventure in the lower levels of the city planet. One such adventure between the two is the namesake of this site - the trip to Dhalbreth Square:

"Zekk, do you remember the time on Coruscant when we slipped out in the middle of the night and went swimming in the fountain in Dhalbreth Square?"

A distant smile curved the corners of his mouth. "And the glowfish we disturbed made so much light that the New Republic Security Forces came running after us." He took a deep breath. "Of course I remember."

During the course of the Young Jedi Knights book series, in which the character of Zekk and the relationship between he and Jaina are introduced, their friendship - and potential love - is tested. Despite their closeness to Zekk, the Solo twins never realized Zekk's Force potential.

In an effort to prove himself to Jaina, as well as others, Zekk was seduced by Brakiss' Dark Side of the Force and the power it entailed, and accepted the Dark Jedi's offer to train at the Imperial Shadow Academy. Jaina was crushed, yet never gave up the determination to save him from the fate of a Dark Jedi. In the end, she succeeded, but only after a dangerous lightsaber clash with Zekk during the battle between the Shadow Academy's Dark Jedi and Luke Skywalker's pupils.

"I won't fight you anymore, Zekk," she said, switching off her lightsaber and tossing it to the ground. "There's still good in you, but you'll have to decide which direction you want to go - starting now. It's your choice, so make the right one for you."

Surprise and anger and confusion chased each other across Zekk's face. "How do you know I won't kill you?"

From the corner of her eye, Jaina saw Lowie step foward as if to protect her, but Luke put a restraining hand on the Wookiee's shoulder.

Jaina shrugged. "I don't know that. But I won't fight you. Make your choice." Jaina pushed back her straight brown hair and looked directly into Zekk's eye with calm assurance - not assurance that he wouldn't harm her, but assurance that she had done the right thing.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" she whispered.

With slow deliberation, Zekk raised his glowing red lightsaber over Jaina's head.

After recovering from battle wounds, Zekk decided to become a bounty hunter, still scarred from his past as a Dark Jedi. Although Jaina was reluctant to see her best friend leave, she remained understanding and promised to always be his friend, no matter what. The galaxy, however, kept conspiring to bring them together. In the search for Raynar Thul's father and during the conflict with the Diversity Alliance, Jaina and Zekk often wound up working together, along with their other friends, and/or saving each other's lives.

As the ship hovered in front of the embattled alcove, the cargo door of the Lightning Rod hissed open. Zekk grinned. "I thought it was supposed to be your turn to rescue me this time, Jaina. Need a lift?"

Soon after the Diversity Alliance was defeated, Zekk finally felt confidant enough to join Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy. Jaina and Zekk's friendship continued to grow until the young Jedi Knights met Anja Gallandro on a trip to Ord Mantell.

The angry young woman blamed Han Solo for her father's death and, in her quest for vengeance, befriended the Jedi, especially Jacen and Zekk. Jaina and Tenel Ka grew jealous of the time Anja spent with Zekk and Jacen. At the same time, the criminal organization Black Sun was rising in power, keeping Jaina, Zekk, and their friends occupied with trying to stop the imminent threat. They succeeded, and after Anja left the academy, Jaina and Zekk returned to their extremely close relationship, their feelings evident, yet both afraid to act on them.

"You're awfully attatched to this scrap heap, aren't you?" Jaina observed with good humor.

Zekk looked into her brandy-brown eyes, raised and eyebrow, and grinned. "Jealous?"

"Maybe just a little." Jaina took a sudden interest in a minute scratch on the hull plating. "Kinda silly, I know. But sometimes I wonder if you don't care about your ship more than, um... more than most people do," she finished lamely.

He gave her a playful look. "Not only that, but it seems like every time I need to fix up my ship, there you are helping me." He paused, as if searching for the words. "So in a way, you - and Jacen and Lowie and Tenel Ka - are all a part of how I feel about the Lightning Rod."

Zekk reached out to push a strand of straight brown hair back from Jaina's face...

At this point, the Young Jedi Knights novels end and the New Jedi Order novels begin shortly thereafter. Jaina and Zekk's relationship takes a turn for the worse. Gone is the cute hand holding, blushes, hugs, or often thinking of the other first as seen in YJK. War changes people, and the conflict with the Yuuzhan Vong made no less of an impact on Jaina and Zekk's relationship.

After disappearing for the first two years of the series, Zekk finally shows up again in Star by Star. As Jacen notes, instead of the close friendship they previously had, Jaina and Zekk drifted apart. she had become busy with her career in Rogue Squadron, and Zekk had disappeared until the authors thought convenient to reintroduce his character. Furthermore, Zekk now seemed to act more like an annoyance than a friend to Jaina.

Soon after, Jaina and Zekk were sent on a dangerous mission to the planet Myrkyr (along with their friends from the Jedi Academy, Tahiri, Anakin, and others) to destroy the voxyn queen, the original creature that was created by the Yuuzhan Vong to hunt and kill Force-sensitives (the other voxyn were clones). At one point in this mission, Jaina and Zekk shared a could-have-been moment but Jaina pulled away, refusing to acknowledge the "sentiment much deeper than friendship" in his eyes. Instead, her thoughts turned to Jagged Fel. Although Zekk was disappointed, he didn't seem to expect anything else.

"Another success for Zekk," Jaina said. She turned and found herself looking directly into his green two-tone eyes, a sentiment much deeper than friendship evident in the way he held her gaze. Jaina waited a moment for him to look away, and, when he did not, passed the detector film back to him. "Hold this while I get the cutter."

Though hardly blind to the disappointment that clouded Zekk's face, Jaina was careful to maintain a neutral expression as she reached for the lasicutter. Her reaction was not because she lacked feelings for Zekk- in fact, a few years ago she had found it difficult to keep her thoughts off him- but over time her feelings had changed from infatuation to something closer to what she felt for her brothers. It was love certainly, but nothing physical- nothing like the spark that had passed through her on the Tafanda Bay, when Jag Fel had ignored Borsk Fey'lya's entire cabinet to introduce himself to her.

Although the mission was a success, many tragedies occurred, the foremost being Anakin's death, Jacen's capture (assumed to be his death) and Raynar's kidnapping by Dark Jedi. This led to Jaina's short but damaging fall to the Dark Side.

After the mission, Jaina and Zekk, along with the remainder of the team, escaped to the Hapes cluster. Zekk tried to reach out to Jaina but was continually rebuffed. She caught his intense worry about her trip down the Dark Side, and became angry with him. Although they never all-out fought, their friendship was definitely at their lowest point.

Jaina took time to consider her next words. She wasn't introspective by nature; this had been in her mind since Anakin's exploits on Yavin 4, and she still couldn't get her hands around it.

"With Anakin's death I lost a brother, but the Jedi lost something I can't begin to define. My feelings tell me it's something important, something we lost a very long time ago."

For a long moment Zekk was silent. "Maybe so. We have the Force, and each other."

Simple words, with a layer of personal meaning offered like a gift, if only Jaina chose to take it.

"Each other," she echoed softly. "But for how long, Zekk? If the Jedi keep having 'successes' like this last mission, pretty soon there won't be any of us left."

He nodded, accepting her evasion as if he'd expected it.

When they reached Hapes, Zekk realized that if Jaina fell to the Dark Side it would be his duty as a Jedi to kill her before she could harm others. Knowing he cared too much to hurt her, let alone face her in a Light vs. Dark duel, Zekk left. Their last exchange took place at Anakin's funeral. After that, their interaction, and the fate of their friendship was kept to a minimum throughout the rest of the series.

"We're returning to Eclipse tomorrow morning with master Skywalker."

She folded her arms and nodded acknowledgement. "So this is good-bye."

"You're not coming?"

"Not for a while."

He simply stood there, awaiting some word of explanation. Inspiration struck and Jaina seized it at once. "Kyp asked me to be his apprentice." She swept both arms out wide, inviting inspection of her borrowed robes. "I'm thinking about maybe taking it for a test flight."

Zekk regarded her silently. "Then you're right- this is good-bye."

He turned abruptly and strode away.

At one point during the stand at Borleias, Jaina wanted to invite Zekk to join the Twin Suns Squadron - indicating that to some degree she still had thoughts of her friend on her mind. But Jag disagreed with her decision, and reluctantly, Jaina agreed.

"I was thinking of asking Zekk."

"He's not that good." �

"Do you have a pilot in mind?"

"Shuttle pilot named Beelyath�."

"I'll talk to him." She could feel her spirits sag just a little, could feel the smile leave her face. "I have to go. We just can't seem to find much time, can we?"

The fate of their friendship is still unknown. Although the New Jedi Order books have reached and end, new books are due to arrive out this summer - taking place five years after The Unifying Force. As of the last novel, Jaina became single again - breaking up with Jag to give herself some time to figure out her life and place in the galaxy. Zekk, as far as we know, is still running around, doing his duty as a Jedi. Both will be in the upcoming book The Joiner King, written by Troy Denning. And maybe then, we'll get an answer to the fate of their relationship.