Fury: In which no one is furious....well not really, & no Ben doesn't turn Sithly, but this picture is way cooler than the official cover!

This was Aaron Allston's finale to the LOTF series. It was spectacular! 10 out of 10!!! Very energetic and it gave us everything we wanted from the characters. And yes, it was VERY Kyp heavy!!!!

Kyp first is shown basically leading the Order b/c Luke is in mourning and disfunctional. Kyp, with the help of the other master's, puts together a plan to neutralize Jacen. Later, we see the master's spar. It is Kyp who takes on Luke. Luke even uses two sabers at once and it is written that Kyp matches him for speed. They don't win, they just turn off the lightsabers and move on to another topic of discussion.


Later, there is to be a run on Jacen's ship...it does not happen, but it would have been Kyp and Luke storming Jacen.

Finally, we see Kyp disguised as a GAG officier attacking Centerpoint. With the help of the scientist from the first book (Betrayal), Kyp effectively destroys the superweapon and saves the planet!!!!!

And Kyp comes up with the rally: "Let the enemy do the work!"

Allston includes fun props to all his pets including Lando discovering he is going to be a daddy!!!

Excellent book!

ps....crappy cover! So I replaced it with this evil Ben done by Little Zion. Ben is fine in the novel. Showing maturity and acceptance and helping Luke get grounded. And by the end Luke is just fine.

Oh! How can I forget!!! This is where Han and Leia discover Allana is their granddaughter! Very very sweet scene after an energetic rescue scene!

This Poem Echoes the Sentiments of the Master

Invictus

~William Ernest Henley

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbow'd.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.



What a wonderful poem to stumble upon this dreary afternoon.
Kyp is indeed the master of his fate and captain of his soul!

I love how the lines echoed his struggle to fight darkness, and
how incredibly triumphant the author feels at the end!

I used to hate poetry...but I have come to love it when I can
connect it to something tangible.

Review of Exile

So nobody gets exciled okay!!!!

Why must they have such amazingly misleading titles and covers. Yes, Leia fights Alema and Han runs around with his blaster drawn, but that's it.

On to the review.

I like Allston because he has the ability to combine elements from all the stories including Bantam and the movies!!!

He referrenced more things than I can count, but being Kyp centric let me say he gave a nod to Kessel (taras-chi) and Kyp mentioned his darkside pull of the suncrusher from Yavin's planet. Kyp never overtly says what he did, but we all know the story so Allston doesn't belabor it, though he does make an odd hint:

"I felt with absolute cetainty what I was doing was right...." [only sith think in absolutes~ROTS]!!!!!!

It seemed the highlight ofthe book was Wedge and Ben. Wedge was outed from his job and then the corellians attempt to assissinate him [he has a street named after him for goodness sake!]. His escape with the help of Corran, Mirax, Iella, and Myri made a fun way to work everyrone in. so duh...Wedge is the Exile who we leave abord the Errant Venture moving in space near Coruscant. Lando and Booster are there too....and i was excited to see Lando!

Alema does not die even at the hands of several competant Jedi, and this is stupid. At this point I want her down. Lumiya takes most of the book to recover from Luke's three blaster shots. She causes more than her share of trouble by getting the Bothans and the Commenors involved and escallating the war. She can cause more trouble from her asteroid than Jacen from a Statdestroyer...he really needs to step it up, and I think we'll set that from Sacrifice onward.

Jacen is cold to Luke, addressing him as "Luke" in such a way that makes you forget they are realatives or that Jacen was once his honored apprentice. when you really think of it , it is heartbreaking. Jacen isn't very in this book!

Ben's story is exciting to me because he grows tremdously while on his quest. He does not get assigned a master, nor now do I think he will.

A Totally AU Teen Kyp !!!

What if he never returned from his trip to the darkside?

What to Make of the Exile Excerpt on Kyp

Allston took time to develop these pages and his thoughts, why? These novels are brief and concise compared to the NJO, there are few pages lost to random thoughts. So why let us know the following about Kyp:

-He’s contemplative as he thinks of the war and his first thoughts are on the homecoming relief of the soldiers. Allston touches on his empathic side, which is not usually explored. We are in Kyp’s thoughts and that rarely happens.

-He seems enormously peaceful and calm (until he drives a sports car like speeder of course)

-He still is enormously powerful in the Force and frivolously rocks the Jade Shadow with telekinesis.

-He is investigating Ben

-He is privy to the info that Omas and Niathal want Jacen made master, and he doesn’t seem to like that idea anymore. You get the feeling he’s been thinking about Jacen a lot more lately.

-He has a girlfriend!!!!!! And it is not Jaina!!! He realizes what he really thought about her 12 years before and Allston attempts to show Kyp as much more mature now.

Will Kyppie make the DP of Exile? I hope so!!!!

Side note: Allstons' physical description of Kyp was amusing. He was wearing the hood up on his Jedi cloak and when it blew off in the breeze of his open speeder his hair was very long and nearly smacked Luke in the face. It is also described as having grey in it. Is Kyp the new Qui gon? I mean that was what I got out of DN when I had no background on Kyp. Kyp the hippie free spirit.

I was a Teenage Sith Apprentice

Thoughts on Ben in light of Tempest and the new exile Excerpt.

OK, Ben is not dark (yet) but he is being taught the kind of sneaky skills associated with the Sith. He comments, what did other Master’s teach?

And Ben most definitely considers Jacen his Master, and he most definitely considers him the strongest Force user. At this point Jacen has the power over Ben because he has twisted Ben’s thoughts and point of view to believe in absolutes. He has developed in him a code of discipline that causes Ben to see his cousin Jaina as a lesser Jedi because she is “undisciplined” (ie. She thinks for herself). He is simply to young to get the big picture.

It wasn’t surprising when the boy tried to arrest Han. He was just doing his job. His duty is to follow orders. He is definitely not Jedi trained to follow his conscience (though he would likely believe he was following it while following orders).

So that leaves the kid in need of a master. Now Allston’s excerpt shows Kyp’s involvement with the Family. Kyp will investigate Ben’s light saber accident. What if it is decided Ben needs proper training and he works with Kyp? After all, Kyp was also a teenage Sith apprentice and I believe those two are the only two. So idealistically there is an understanding. But you know it is too late for Ben. He is loyal to Jacen and his thoughts are so firm it will take years to open his mind.

Jacen’s done a good job with his protégé.


Thoughts on Ben after reading Exile:

Ben has just turned 14 while on a set up mission to test his ethics and his strength. Ben travels to find an Amulet [sounds so hokey i had to read it twice] and he basically follows the hero's quest route. He is on Ziost, a former Sith planet that reaks of the darkside. He gets his Amulet and has to help a 6 year old girl, but in between his ship is destroyed and they are without food. His thoughts are brutal and dark (he'd leave the girl, later he thinks about eating her, and finally he downs a tie fighter with a boulder thrown by the Force). Lumiya ordered him killed by this tie-fighter because he saved the little girl and she thought he'd be too kind to be a Sith. so we see Ben thinking and weighing his choices. He constantly thinks how would my mom do this? (his enoamored by her "spy" stuff) and he thinks what would Jacen think of my thoughts and actions? And basically every time he comes to the conclusion that Jacen would think his actions were qacceptable given the circumstances. (justification)

In the end Ben flies a Sith Meditation sphere which had called to him in his thoughts and which you operate through a Force connection.

I thnk Ben will continue to fall to the dark through his absolute belief in Jacen and his ability to do what needs to be done. But I think he may not fall completely unless something presses him over the edge.

Kyp at 16

Remember "James at 15"? I never got it maybe cause I was like 7 at the time. Kyp arrived in Coruscant aboard the Suncrusher; as he dismounted the space ship he exclaimed "now that's a city!" He was at times described as a boy, teen, young man, and by Han: a kid. He had lived in Kessel so long he had nearly abandoned hope until Han and Chewbacca, and then he had hope, it quickly returned, lots of it and he wasn't going to give it away. After facing death and helplessness at the Maw he discovered something new, he could abandon fear also. Abandon it completely? No, but he seems able to put it off for needed times (such as escaping the Maw and flying past black holes). He also shows limited fear when he meets Exar Kun. (okay so some of it is pure teenage intrepidness).

How is Kyp with Han? He instantly seems to trust him and follow his lead. He is described: "had clung to Han..." They seem to think of each other as friends, but with a 25 year span I'm sure Han had some paternal feelings for him. I'm sure Han must have invited him to stay at his home for the month Kyp is described as being on Coruscant. Heck even Wedge says the kid deserves some vacation after all he'd been through (not that Wedge would be wanting to champioin him for long!).

So Kyp tries to be fearless, yet is nervous Luke won't accept him. It's obvious being a Jedi became very important to him once he realized what he could do with his powers. He is very curious and likes learning (which we all know get's him into trouble).

So what would Kyp's brief time on Coruscant been like? Hmmmm do I hear fanfiction?

Why I still love Kyp

It was fun reading Keyes' book. Kyp had a significant role and his words made a lot of sense to me. This was a pivotal point when he could have torn the order in half, but deep down he is so loyal to Luke, he just won’t do it.

Luke sighed. "I was young, then," he pointed out. "There was much I did not understand. Aggression is the way of the dark side."

This is “Yoda speak” (I absolutely hate the little green toad). Yoda likely could have beaten the likes of Palpatine, but “aggression is of the dark side”. Poor Luke. He never had any decent teachers. Even Owen and Beru were passive and more worried about the binary function of moisture evaporators than nurturing their nephew’s curiosity and critical thinking. I’d like to believe that Kyp learned to think from his mom and dad.

Kyp is an eloquent speaker and very persuasive. Why does anyone follow Luke? His arguments make less sense.

"No!" Jaina whispered to Anakin. "If Kyp leaves, he'll take too many with him.""So?" Anakin said. "Are you so sure he's wrong?""Of course I—" She stopped, paused, started again. " It won't help any of us if the Jedi split. We have to try to help Uncle Luke. Come on."

I love this line because it clearly shows where their instinctual loyalties lie. They just had tough time turning their backs on their uncle.

"It's too bad I didn't take care of Kyp years ago," Mara said.

Why does Luke worry so much about the dark side, but allows Mara to make dark side comments ALL THE TIME!

I recommended Dark Apprentice to a student today. I said, “ the coolest JedI is in this book.” the student said, “Luke? Darth Vader?”

I said “no, Kyp.”

This poor kids gonna go home, read, and think, “how is Kyp cool?” He just mind raped a woman, attacked Luke, and declared himself a Sith and ends the book with his sun crusher attack! Well if the student gets through the book maybe I should encourage COF to get to the Kyp redemption. I think it’s easier to love Kyp when you are an adult rather than 11. It will be interesting to hear the student’s take on this is he actually completes the book.

For the Love of Kyp !!!

So Kyp gives Luke a bit of parenting advice. Luke’s in deep with the screw up’s with Ben. The kid’s just started his teen years and he’s apprenticed to a Sith Adept and has been raised by this Sith since he was nine. I think this is the pivotal point where Luke could still exercise some control over Ben, but past this, I think we’ll see trouble.

People who hate Kyp are likely going to say him recommending Jacen as Master was really dumb and proves he is a fool blinded to Jacen’s evil. I don’t think Kyp is acting the fool. I think Kyp recognizes there is a multi layered situation going on. One, Jacen is popular with the public and any action towards him by the Jedi Order will be scrutinized. Two, he is definitely beyond the Order…”we all know what he can do.” Three, it’s best not to alienate those who might oppose you. [point the old order never got with Anakin Skywalker].

Kyp remembers Luke’s gesture of placing him on the advisory Council and how that reconciled the two men. And I think maybe, but I am not sure, we see some Jedi compassion on Kyp’s part. He knows the benefit of Skywalker welcoming him home after his dark side. He wants to extend that to Jacen preemptively.

Later we see two other references to Jacen as Master. One from the media and the other as Jacen is thinking. So perhaps it will happen in the next book. All Sithliness aside, Jacen is a master of the Force and is older than Kyp was when he was made a master.

Ok, I've read some spoiler stuff on NJOE. Kyp is mentioned in the new book! Thank the Maker!

He makes a dumb comment at a Master's Meeting (well it sounds dumb out of context, we'll see how it sounds when te entire scene is played out).

Jacen gets progressively worse and Sithly! Of course that isn't a shock.

I can't wait to get this book! It is driving me crazy waiting for it.

The authors and Kyp

Kid looks like this, and he hasn't been slashed yet! Pouty Little Jedi Boy! Weird. I forgot where this is from, but I think the artist was trying to show Kyp when he escaped the Maw by posing as a stormtrooper. He looks pretty pissed off if you ask me.

I wouldn't necessarily say his "father" KJA made him pissed. He felt wronged. He was bitter to have had the Empire take so much from him. But mostly he was on a vendetta. He felt self rightous, he was right and he was justified to use an means neccessary to destroy the Empire. He felt omnipotent. And who wouldn't if you just learned to utilize magic powers and had the greatest superweapon at your disposal? KJA gave us impatient Kyp, eager, intrepid, thoughtful, free thinking, over confident, proud, zealous and after he knew he was wrong....contrite, proud, a little afraid of himself, but still all of the above. Even when taken by the darkside he wasn't crazy or manically mean. He was on a mission and fueled by the darkside's power more than anything.

Then we have Simple Tricks. Kyp's had a little time to think about what happened. Probably had a lot of time while recovering in the hospital with all those broken bones (and don't tell me it was the lightside that saved his skinny ass...he tapped the dark to stay alive and mend himself). But I do digress. So in ST, Kyp is a bit passively suicidal. He is quiet, remorseful, and he longs for society to just forgive him and let him do the good he longs to do as a Jedi. He is strong, skilled, helpful, non-judgemental, full of the Force in a good way, and true to himself. He respects life and tries his best to protect all. Mostly he craves acceotance. He's still young and even carries an air of innocence to himself.

In Darksaber, KJA continues his personality. Impatient and impetous...and again in Leviathan more of the same. We also see some empathy going on

Now we jump forward to Vector Prime and the NJO, let's see if I can abbriviate:

VP: arrogant, daring, flirty, powerful, resilient, protector, active, agressive, independent

Dark Tide: Sithly...sneaky, snarky, spoke strangely to Luke (As you wish it, my Master), organized council of war, still indpendent and big advocate of aggression, hinted it would be better to use the darkside than do nothing...calls Luke, "greatest among equals"

Agent: helpful, much more back to VP style, Rescue is our mandate

Edge of victory: more agressive at those Jedi meetings, went against Luke, but had many followers, Luke worried about the darkside and tracked him. got really snarky & manipulative with Jaina, lied, but only to get the job done. Doesn't do anything for his own glory, but he does think what he does matters and that others should emulate him.

SBS: so independent nearly was no longer a jedi, impatient and wanted to rescue kids, arrogant, sneaky, full of his skills. Denning wanted to kill him, but could not so he tried to put him down by creating "Crusty Kyp":
Crusty Kyp was truly funny. I had forgotten how Denning hated Kyp and wanted to kill him. So Denning wrote about the dirty stinkiness to “get back” at the character. That of course is why he turns up all hygiene impaired in DNT. It’s really quite funny when you think about it. We all know Kyp is the handsomest Jedi in the order!!!

DJ: arrogant, good intentions, powerful, compasionate , patient with Jaina helpful, ready to pay his debt, a little dark, learns about self

RD and RS: team player! compassionate, reflective, patient

Destiny's way: leader, has squadron again, joins council, honest, forthright, suddenly he is the same person, but accepted!

TUF: too weak to beat the enhanced warior's !!! HUH? 5 seed partners, compassionate, worried about Alpha Red, gentle, forgiving of Corran, peaceful

DNT: can't go there at the moment, he lapsed some! Denning was not paying attention!

LOTF: better show up or I'll loose it!

Fictional Future Kyp

This was a piece of a story about Ben Skywalker becoming an Emporer. I chose it because I very well can see Kyp attempting to save the Jedi Order such as in this story.

The strange craft floated amongst the rubble formerly known as Alderaan. "Chu'unthor II" had been constructed by the Galactic Alliance shortly after the liberation of Coruscant. A gesture of thanks to the Jedi Order which had played such an integral role in the entire conflict. The ship was intended to be used to help train new classes of Jedi, and to act as a roving embassy for the order. But the decline of the Jedi during the Five Year War had left the ship unable to fulfill its primary functions, and due to recent events, its caretaker had begun refitting it to serve a new purpose.

"This is the legacy of the Empire. Old, New, there is nothing that truly differentiates this one from the last." Kyp Durron looked across the wide empty room and the assembled masses inside. The design schematics for this ship had this room listed as a gymnasium originally, but it was the only space big enough for these sort of assemblies. "Some of you might be asking if the man who destroyed Carida should even begin to lecture on the Empire's history of devastating worlds and butchering the inhabitants. I am here right now to tell you, that there is no one better at this time. Our galaxy has been in a downward spiral of suffering ever since the Clone Wars began, because of the cycle of violence formed by the founders of the Empire. While I make no excuses for my actions in participating in Carida's destruction, I remind all of you, it was an Imperial weapon that was used, it was the result of my brother's Imperial conscription that I was driven to madness, it was the result of my enslavement by the Empire in Kessel that I did not receive the proper training to resist the temptations of vengeance."

Kyp sighed, no longer did the pain of these memories affect him as they used to. The thought of becoming impervious to atrocities such as Carida was sickening. But he couldn't let that show, today he was here to inspire, not to grieve. "I stand before you today on this ship, which was one heralded as a new beacon of hope for us all, to ask for your help." Kyp turned on his lightsaber, a new one fashioned only recently, from the combined parts of fallen comrades. The blade burned with a birght orange light as if a flame bent itself to Kyp's whim. "The light of the Jedi will always shine, no Sith, no Vong, no one can ever extinguish it. But the light alone has never been enough to gain freedom, for there is an even more powerful feeling that exists within the hearts of all good beings no matter their affinity for the Force. It is the sense of justice and liberty that powers the hearts of sentient beings. When the hearts of the righteous are joined as one they create an unstoppable flow that glows brighter than any shadow, even the depths of space itself. If we are to restore the nation that was stolen from us then we must join together! Not for the name of a Republic, and not for the people who would lead it, but for the freedom of all living things! For all species! To fight a true and just cause that will not be beaten! Will you join me?"

Kyp's audience roared with applause, much to his surprise. Many of these men had served opposing factions during the Five Year War, now the joined in unison as one cause united them. Outside of the ship, many more ships joined to listen to Kyp's message, which was being broadcast over local channels via the holonet. In time the Empire would hear of this and move to stop the meeting, but by then there would be nothing left but the Graveyard. Dozens of small to large size capital ships flooded the area. Although there were tensions as Bothan Assault Cruisers and Mon Calamari Cruisers entered from opposing vectors, those soon broke as Kyp gave his speech from his command ship.

"Fellow comrades of all species, I welcome you to the Rebel Alliance." And as he spoke he could feel the Force flow through him like a great river, connecting him to the universe as a whole.

I found this and it's funny...I did not write it...I just like it...

Strange Meeting

They were in some state that wasn't quite southern and wasn't quite midwest, probably northern Kentucky or southern West Virginia by this time, just passing through. But at the full-service gas station a toothless attendant had started telling Sam all about a meteorite crash and the poltergeist (he said "powddargahst," but by now Sam was an expert in translating yokel) that had taken up residence in the area. Apparently things had been just rising up and floating away for a week or more, and people who tried to follow the objects tended to forget what they were doing very quickly.

And so they were still here, two nights later, in a crappy little town in northern Kentucky (or southern West Virginia) with one barely decent bar. And Sam had decided that it was a good time to go powddargahst-hunting. Telekinesis reminded him of Max, of his own newfound skill at mentally rearranging the furniture. Maybe they'd find something of importance out here.

They headed out to inspect the meteor crash site. The woods were so quiet that birdsong echoed. Dean crept up next to Sam and informed him that if they heard so much as a note of "Dueling Banjos," he was going to kill him. Or just trip him and leave him for the rednecks.

They'd been walking for more than an hour when they came upon a long patch of downed trees; further ahead, it turned into a jumbled mess of trees and plowed earth, like a giant had been skipping stones over dry land. In a clearing to the right, there was a glimmer of firelight.

Sam nodded his head in the direction of the thickest underbrush and the two of them took cover behind it, guns held ready. They cut a wide circle through the woods, bringing them much closer to the firelight. They stopped in a crouch only a few yards away from what looked like a makeshift campsite. There was a dark shape sitting beside it, facing away from them.

And abruptly, the shape spoke. "Why don't you gentlemen come out?"

Sam and Dean exchanged surprised glances, then shrugged and stood up, guns aimed in the direction of the voice. The shape unfolded into a lanky figure, then turned around slowly.

He was completely human, wearing a black jumpsuit that looked kind of like a fighter-pilot outfit. Dean was pleased to note that he was himself a couple of inches taller than the guy in front of them. He was even more pleased to note that the guy appeared to be unarmed. "You the one controlling this poltergeist?" he demanded, shifting his aim.

"I beg your pardon?" He looked maddeningly relaxed, considering two larger men had two very well-cared-for guns pointed in his face.

"There's a poltergeist hanging around the town, making things move, knocking out lights. Is it you?" Sam asked.

The man flicked his eyes from one man to the other. "I don't know what a poltergeist is, but I'm not one, nor am I controlling one, and if you two don't get those pop-guns out of my face right now, you're going to find them in your mouths."

Dean cocked his shotgun; the noise rang loud in the silent clearing. "That's not really convincing."

Sam, ever the diplomat--he really would have made a good lawyer--took a less offensive stand. "So if it's not a poltergeist, what is it?" he asked. "Are you a telekinetic?"

"I'm a Jedi," he snapped.

Dean chuckled and adjusted his aim. "Yeah, right. 'S that a lightsaber in your pocket, or are you just happy to see--"

Suddenly their guns were yanked out of their hands. There was a crackling, hissing sound, and then there was a beam of purple light pointing at Dean's chin.

"Holy shit," Dean said.

Sam stood gaping, apparently stunned, but the guy--the Jedi--shot him a sharp glance. "Don't even think about it, Sammy," he said.

Sam started. "How did you--"

"Jedi," he repeated impatiently.

"Right, right."

Dean was still staring warily at the tip of the lightsaber blade. It was very close to his face, which made him go slightly cross-eyed. "Uh, hey, college boy? Why don't you give me a hand with some of that weaselly lawyer-speak you were learning. Defuse the situation? Get the lightsaber out of my face?"

"Yeah, um...dude? Jedi Master...sir? Please don't kill my brother. We're not...bounty hunters or Sith Lords or anything. We swear."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Thanks, man, that was brilliant."

The Jedi eyed them both one more time, then shut down the lightsaber and returned it to his belt. "If you were dangerous, I'd have sensed it. You're remarkably difficult to distract, though; I've been keeping the locals away for a week." He paused for a second, apparently sizing them up, then held out his hand. "Jedi Master Kyp Durron."

"Nice to meet you. We're--"

"Sam and Dean Winchester."

Dean rolled his eyes again. "Yeah," he sighed, but his handshake was more or less friendly. "So no offense, but what the hell are you doing here?"

"I crashed. Got winged by a gravitic anomaly and lost all my nav systems. I sent a message back to base and they've dispatched a cruiser to pick me up." He sighed. "Jaina's never going to let me live this down."

"So you've been stealing supplies using telek--using the Force," Sam finished. "Right?"

Kyp shrugged. "Man has to eat. I ran out of rations a few days ago, and had to turn to the, uh, kindness of strangers. My turn. What are you two doing out here?"

"We thought--" Sam began. "We thought you could help us. But I--we were expecting something else."

"Sorry, the guru-stuff is Skywalker's business. And I'm not looking for an apprentice."
Sam just stared at him at the mention of Skywalker--God, what a nerd--so Dean picked up the slack. "Hey, maybe you're a Jedi, Sammy," Dean smirked. "But if we find out that Hayden Christiansen is your dad, I'm totally killing you."

"If Hayden Christiansen is my father? I'll totally let you."

Dean turned back to Kyp. "Hey, speaking of killing people, can we have our guns back?"

"Will you keep them out of my face?"

"Yeah," Dean admitted grudgingly.

Kyp gestured with his hand, and the two guns floated gently off the ground and into their hands. They took them with a nod of thanks.

"Well," Dean said. "Sorry about the whole ambush thing. No hard feelings?"

"I'm not going to stab you when you turn your backs," Kyp promised with a lopsided grin. "That wouldn't be sporting."

Not quite reassured by this, they turned to go. It was getting cold, and a clammy fog was rolling up from the valley. Dean hesitated, then turned back. "It's damn cold out here. Want to go for a drink?"

Kyp grinned, dousing the fire with another sharp hand gesture. "Find us a nice, weak-minded barkeep and I'll keep us in drinks all night."

Dean grinned back and almost slung an arm over the Jedi Master's shoulder. "I think I know just the place."

I just stumbled over someone's musings, but they made sense and finally allowed me to understand why Corran does not like Kyp:

Corran believes essentially that the Dark Side is just like any other criminal mindset. It effects only those who are already messed up in the head to some degree. As a police officer, there are just "good" and "bad people" to a certain extent.

So he would think that Kyp had a criminal mind which caused him to desire vengence and would make him always be corruptable.

Fallen Jedi

I just read Dark Lords of the Sith, which despite not so great drawing (though nothing is as bad as Dark Empire) had a good story. So Exar Kun fell because he wanted to know everything. He was on a quest for the ultimate knowledge. Ulic Qel-Droma fell becasue he thought he could suvert the darkness from within, b ut was beaten by it anyways. And Anakin Skywalker feel becasue he wanted to be able to control situations and became possessive in his loove.

Okay, so Jacen isn't really dark, but he is on a quest for knowledge. After 5 years of traveling he had to have learned some Sith stuff, he had to have visited Korriban, I simply refuse to believe he did just happy lightside stuff. How that plays out later remains to be seen, but still!

Luke never really fell to the darkside. In Dark Empire he did just a little, but his whole point was subvert from within! He only wanted to understand his father better.

Anakin's fall was the lamest only because it should have been more complicated. He was a former slave and way to exceptional. He really needed to control the situations around him. This likely came form the lack of control from childhood, but really he should never have been so easily turned. His love for Padme was obsession with a huge possessive streak.

Kyp, former slave....need I say more...give him a girlfriend and a family and he'll show you over protectiveness bordering on possessive!

Kyp's personality was formed through the infinite sadness

"What good is being a Jedi if we don't act?"
He wouldn't have been who he was in the Old Order. there he would have been taken as an infant and trained away from his parents. He would have become an ordinary Jedi. This would have been a NR time and thus his parents wouldn't have be dissidents and wouldn't have been mprisoin ed or killed. So thus Kyp would not have known Kessel, imprisonment, and the sheer hopelessness of an uncertain fate and indefinate slavery. With none of these things to build on and no mistraining by Luke he would have been a very differenent person. He most certainly would have lacked the anger and thus even the level of passion of Mace Windu.

Think about what shaped him:

1. Being raised by dissidents during an oppressive empire
2. Arrest and immprisonment at age 8
3. Working in a spice mine with your parents who can't protect you
4. Losing your parents at age 9, opossibly seeing their murders
5. Spending 7 mnore hopless years imprisoned, starved, beaten, mentally abused and uncertain if you would live or die
6. Escaping to only find that you are interrogated and sentenced to death by Imperialists

All these things would lead you to feel helpless and one way to combat the helplessness is to find empowerment. How?

As a Jedi Kyp could help the enslaved, the oppressed, the exploited and the helpless. So he might be zealous about it, but he feels it is his obligation. It is likely he would be behaving this way even if he had never turned dark. Kyp acts out of a need to protect the galaxy, not to neccessarily atone for his crimes. Having once been so limited with little hope , it is understanding that Kyp would develop the mindset:

"What good is being a Jedi if we don't act?"

He'll carry this ideal throughout his life and choices.

Destiny's Way

Well this book had a lot going on at once. We will focus basically on Kyp of course.

p. 47 "Kyp's reflex..was to project concern. Since Jaina's involvement with Jagged Fel, Kyp had been a nurturing presence, almost parental, and neither he nor Jaina knew how to reconcile his new persona with his earlier smoldering identity as the angry young man of the Jedi."

So Kyp had to just step back and let the younger guy get the girl!!! Poor guy! Yet, he's still her friend.

p. 190 Jaina and Kyp discuss Jacen's return and Jaina asks how does she explain her fall to the darkside to which Kyp responds, "you may as well tell him the truth". Good "Be true to yourself Kyp. He may be a murderer and aggressive, but he tells it like it is. That's why he irritates everyone and disagrees with Luke. Not to be a jerk for jerkiness sake, but becasue he is honest to his conscience. "Anger is dark, but the love of justice is light." Kyp is using an analogy to drive home the point that aggression can be justified.

Luke asks him to be on the Jedi council. I thought that was the best! Finally the man gets the respect he deserves. Of course Luke's motive was more to keep an eye on him because it is easier to have control when you let the enemy into the inner circle rather than alienating them.

p.259: "Wouldn't it be greivous to have Kyp running around loose where the council can't control him?"

Kyp is called in to the first council meeting and is surprised. He asks why he is there, but once he realizes he is on the council he begins to do a good job, though there is the oner funny point where Luke admits he needs to be more aggressive and Kyp says: "Am I the only one here who simply wants to punch Skywalker in the nose?"

Kyp is justified in his anger, though by the time he says this statement he has cooled down and is half joking. Luke had been so adament that agression was darkside. The nhe totally changed. Here's Kyp thinking he was wrong and sliding more towards Luke's way of thought. As he saus, "Being a good little Jedi"

Luke defines agression as an unprovoked attack, taking something that is not yours or helping someone take something that is not yours.

By definition Kyp's actions against the pirates and smaugglers were not agression because the pirates were attacking others too weak to defend themselves and Kyp only defended the innocent.

Finally this story has the knighting of the younger Jedi. Kyp knights Jaina becasue she and he are pilots (and well he was her master) and he and Luke knight Zekk because all three knew the darkside.

Overall I liked this book because Kyp was in character as a more mature person who still voices his opinion yet is honored to have his opinion sought after. He is somewhat thoughtful and mentors Jaina.

Rebel Stand

Poor Kyppie! He will never be lucky in love. In Rebel Stand he contemplates his feelings for Jaina and thinks:

He could make her happy.

I have always found that line so sad because he isn't all that happy himself and yet she's in even worse condition. They are sort of two of the same kind.

I love how they fly together in this novel. It shows that Kyp is really a good guy because Jaina clearly likes Jag better and yet Kyp thinks he doesn't really dislike the other guy. He flies perpendicular to the ground while holding two shadow bombs with the force behind Jag. Jaina is impressed since she can't fly with that much control. So there is Kyp in a physical position to kill his rival and that doesn't even come into his head. He really is not a dark side kind of guy!

I like the idea of Kyp as the awesome pilot. I love the idea he won't fly under military command and he won't wear military clothing. He prefers that the government has no say in what he does. He's his own man and I like that in people in general.

I love his loyality to Jaina and his willingness to sacrifice to help her and Jag. This was truly the pinnacle of Kyp's character arc. I think after this point he was Kyp like, but never again did you question his motives and think he would fall to the darkside.

The Beginning of "Partners Whatever that Means"

When they land at Borelias Luke remarks, “You look tired.”
“Not tired, just different. “ Answers Kyp. Han and Leia notice the difference too. “It looks like Jaina’s not the only one who went through changes.”
“Obviously a fake Kyp, you distract him and I’ll shoot him under the table ,” Han jokes back.

He has been humbled by his experience, which oddly only lasted one month. He decides to fly under Jaina’s command as she plans to wage psychological warfare on the Vong. Unfortunately another green eyed man is going to join them, Jag Fel. The three end up making a team that flies quite successfully tricking and damaging the Vong ships.

Jaina and Kyp use a force meld, but she won’t let herself fully open to him because she is afraid they will grow too close. She believes it is just a matter of time before she is killed and she feels her death would torture Kyp especially if they built too close a force bond. Read it as you want. I think she wasn’t able to fall in love with him because at the time she felt she would die and she couldn’t risk hurting someone. She decided to keep Kyp as her mentor so she could insist he maintain a Master-Apprentice relationship and stop showing her personal interest. So Kyp is abandoned by Jaina. He is abandoned even more later when she decides to try on a relationship with Jag.

First there is some interesting flying in which we see Kyp demonstrate the two things he excels at: piloting and mental control. He launches a shadow bomb and flies it along behind Jag. He does this effortlessly, and Jaina can also, but it isn’t as easy for her. Then Jag is in real trouble and Kyp saves him by turning a dovin basal in on itself which causes the Vong ship to implode. He does this through an incredible amount of Force strength and while he does this he thinks:
He was stronger in the Force than Luke Skywalker. He had known that since they met-that he had more pure power than the legendary Jedi Master. But this was the first time he’d been able to say it to himself without a thrill of pride. He was just stronger and that was all.

Jaina's not so dark journey with Kyp

During Dark Journey Kyp uses the force to move a freighter to destroy a Vong ship. It works, but the ship’s dovin basal pulls several of his pilots into it and kills them. He once again has made mistakes with the best of intentions. This is common for him. He escorts the Falcon to Hapes where he learns that Jaina is landing with the stolen YV ship. He escorts her down as a favor for Leia and Han, but also because he greatly admires Jaina.

Kyp’s first really interaction with Jaina is when he shows up at the palace to escort her to Anakin’s funeral. He shows his desire for her when he sees her in the sexy red dress and states, “You couldn’t channel the force in that dress. There’s no room for it to squeeze through.” After the funeral a grieving Jaina avoids her friends by stating Kyp has asked her to be his apprentice. This fully repulses Zekk who basically flees the planet. Kyp and Jaina work together to figure out how to use the stolen ship to create tricks that will fool the Vong and perhaps strike a blow.
Jaina is turning to the Darkside slightly and is fueled by grief, despair, and anger. She needs to do some very questionable things to get information. She wants to use a pirate in prison who has an implant. She asks Kyp to help her. He teaches her how to mind wipe so others don’t know what happened and they can keep it a secret. Since the guy is a pirate Kyp has no problem using the force to overpower him. Jaina on the other hand is more cruel than he. At one point she is so mad at him she tries to shoot him with Force lightening, but he is able to make it fade. “If I can summon it, I can dispel it.” he says.

Later, Jaina is sending up missions and Kyp is angry. They duel and he flies for her. Then they fly together and she has a vision. Kyp intrudes into her visions and brings her back around. It is evident his mind powers are fairly extraordinary with his mind wiping and his ability to get within her visions and bring her back to her senses even though they were in space in separate ships. Despite his toying with the dark, Kyp remains honorable because at the end he realizes:
“Perhaps it is you who is saving me”

Dark Journey marks Kyp’s turning point. He helps Jaina overcome her grief and make safer choices. He faces the Darkside and realizes how close he is to falling to it. They use the battle meld together and become quite mentally in tune with each other. Kyp of course also begins to fall in love with her. At the end they join together to go to Borelias to join up with the rest of the Jedi. Kyp is more willing now to be a team player. He states he wants to help form a Jedi Council.