This article refers to two individuals named "Derek". One is the young boy that was rescued by Xar Kerensky and his team in Glimpse of Shadows. The other refers to Xar and Zalaria's future son.
Young Derek[]
Derek was a young boy orphaned when he was still only six years old. His mother had always been on the run with him, and even afterward he continued to pass from one foster parent to another. He finally found himself on the planet New Cov, where in Ilic City he became as street urchin, using his innate Force powers to survive life on the streets. He kept a low profile, hoping to avoid the Empire's agents, who he knew would love to have him and exploit his amazing, budding powers.
He couldn't hide forever, however. The rogue Jedicon Turles, seeking a way to obtain immortality apart from becoming Shok'Thola, used the Scepter of Karanishma to try and find a way. It led him to this boy, and to the Kaiburr Crystal, and he formulated a heinous plot to utilize Derek's powers for himself. Finally a group of men under Turles found Derek and brought him back to their leader. Turles forced Derek to draw on the crystal's power and transfer those energies to himself.
However, a team of Jedi under Xar Kerensky followed Derek and rescued him from his captors, killing Turles and bringing Derek back to the Royal Palace on Varnus for training as a Jedi. Xar took Derek in as a son, and a bond instantly appeared between the two of them. He was one of the few that Xar openly showed love for. Derek's powers grew by leaps and bounds, and he discovered many new Force techniques and even taught Xar a thing or two. Kerensky believed that Derek was a so-called "avatar" of the Force, and that he had no limit to his Force Potential. Derek continued to grow, showing remarkable insight and wisdom. In addition, Derek longed to help Xar fight the Altarin'Dakor, but the Grand Master adamantly said no; he was too valuable, and not yet old enough.
However, when the Altarin'Dakor under the Shok'Thola Nimrod attacked Varnus, things were taken out of both their hands. Though Derek hid safely in the Treasury during the battle, both he and his close friend Bren ventured outside before all the enemy Jedicon had been eliminated. They were ambushed, and Derek was slain. Bren went mad and killed all the Jedicon, then fled Varnus in shock and shame.
Xar was devastated by the loss of Derek. He had placed all his hopes on the boy, and combined with the fact that he knew he was supposed to die on Varnus in the battle, his hopes for the future and his sense of destiny was crushed. He sank into depression and nearly lost the will to live, turning even on his own friends. At that point, it was discovered that something was in fact wrong with his mind, though even Zalaria could not determine exactly what. The only person with an idea of how to help Xar was Icis Novitaar, though to do so he would have to take him into Kajeat space, a place he had been banned from for life.
Future Derek[]
Future Derek is the son of Xar Kerensky and the Shok'Thola Zalaria. He was born in 15 ABY and was named after the young boy killed during the Battle of Varnus. In the future that he knows, his father was killed by Nimrod in the Battle of Varnus. He was then raised by his mother Zalaria in secret locations around the galaxy. Even as a toddler, it was clear to Zalaria that her son was no ordinary Force-Sensitive. His powers continued to grow exponentially beyond anything she'd ever seen, eventually eclipsing even her. When he was a teenager, Derek was visited by an old man who bore a striking resemblance to himself. It was, in fact, himself, come back from the future. Derek had learned, using his incredible Force abilities, how to traverse through time. However, in the future that Derek knew, a new enemy had emerged, known as the Ones. They had completely taken over the galaxy and were on course to consume the entire universe. This older version of Derek taught the teen-aged version how to travel through time, so that he might get a jump-start on fighting the Ones in the future.
This younger Derek then traveled throughout space and time to try and find some way to stop the Ones. He even went as far back as to visit the Celestials, and as far forward as the time when the Ones had consumed everything. Nothing he found could tell him a way to defeat this enemy, yet he did have one clue: a name called Malduke.
However, Derek had no way of knowing how to find this Malduke. Despite warnings that altering history could have devastating consequences, at his mother's advice he finally decided to make a huge change: to save his father from death at Nimrod's hands.
Derek traveled back to the moment that Nimrod had killed his father, with Xar lying on the floor, injured and dying, at the feet of the Warlord tyrant. He then dispatched the Shok'Thola with ease, healed his father, and briefly explained to Xar why he had come back to save him as well as the situation fighting the Ones. He then left before anyone else could see him, promising to return again one day and help his father in the fight. He told his father to stay alive, and that one day soon, he would be back.