Krysira’s Destiny
Chapter Sixteen
Hangar Bay
Archer’s head snapped up, seeing a group of unfamiliar Exoians charge in. They began to fire at the Suliban, drawing the blasts away from him. He wondered if they were working for Drayce or if someone was trying to rescue him.
Seeing that the diversion was successful, Krysira turned to Trip. “Come. I will cover you,” she told him. Trip nodded, as he and Krysira dashed into the hangar bay in the opposite direction of the Exoians, staying a few feet away from the wall. Archer caught a movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to see Trip and a beautiful human-looking female run towards him. Krysira slid to a stop a few short feet in front of Archer, facing the battle, lightsabres in hand, but unlit. “Trip!” Archer exclaimed. “Cap’n...you okay?” Trip questioned, stopping next to his captain, as he hauled him to his feet. He untied Archer’s hands. Archer grinned at his friend. “I’m fine,” he replied. “Here. Thought you could use this.” Trip handed a phase pistol to Archer. The captain nodded, taking the weapon. His gaze then rested on the unknown female in front of them. Trip saw where and how Archer was looking and merely bristled. Silik observed the scene angrily. Why had Drayce suddenly turned on him? He had kept his end of the bargain. Dilithium was valuable. Didn’t the Exoian realize that? Then he saw Archer being freed. His eyes narrowed. “I don’t think so,” Silik said quietly, then looked up. “RAAN!” He shouted. Silik’s second-in-command appeared on top of their ship, laser gun in hand. Raan quickly surveyed the scene and saw a pretty human female standing protectively in front of Archer and most likely one of his crewmen. Raan sneered and fired point-blank at Krysira. Archer’s brown eyes widened seeing Raan fire at Krysira. He began to move towards her, but found that Trip was holding him back. He glared at Trip and was about to protest, when he saw Krysira deflect Raan’s blast effortlessly with a beam of blue energy. “What?” Archer exclaimed incredulously. “It’s a...Jedi thing, Cap’n,” Trip replied, a soft smile on his lips. Archer heard the obvious pride in his chief engineer’s Southern-bred voice. Raan blinked, seeing his blast deflected, as Silik joined him. He growled softly and fired once more at her. Instinctively, Archer went to move towards Krysira again, but stopped upon seeing her deflect Raan’s second blast with a white beam of energy this time. Raan blinked again. “Impossible!” He sputtered. Silik had to agree with Raan’s reaction. How could a human female deflect those blasts with such uncanny ease? And what were those weapons that she was holding? However, the more pressing matter was a hasty retreat. “I believe it’s best that we leave!” Silik shouted to his men, watching them hurry back to the ship. He then fixed his gaze on Archer, who along with his rescuer, had come up on either side of the female. “We’ll meet again, Jon!” He yelled with that annoying familiarity. “Count on it, Silik!” Archer hollered back. Silik and Raan disappeared into their ship, which promptly took off, the hangar bay doors sliding open at the ship’s approach. The trio watched the ship depart. In the meantime, the Exoians had stopped firing when their foes beat a hasty retreat. Elkan headed towards the humans, while the others checked on the fallen Rybrillians. Krysira had shut down and deftly belted her lightsabres, then turned to face Archer. “You are unharmed, Captain Archer?” She questioned, then blinked. Even though she had never met this man, she had seen him before in her second dream/vision that occurred while Trip was kissing her on the balcony. He was the one standing in front of them smiling! But what did it mean? Trip moved closer to Krysira and discreetly rested his large hand, lightly yet possessively on her low back. At his touch, Krysira blinked, then focused back on Archer. “I’m fine. Thank-you,” Archer replied, grinning. Krysira smiled. “That is good. I am Jedi Knight Krysira Antilles,” she told him. “You’re Qui-Gon’s Jedi companion that he mentioned,” Archer said in realization, as he saw her nod. “Thank-you for keeping Trip and Malcolm safe.” Krysira merely bowed slightly in response, enjoying Trip’s closeness. “Speaking of which, where are Malcolm and Hoshi, Trip?” “With Qui-Gon and the others,” Trip responded. Archer nodded. “Good.” Trip frowned. “Cap’n...why was Silik here?” “Well...from what I was able to drag out of Silik, it wasn’t the planet the Suliban were trying to keep us away from. It was the gateway!” “What for?” “Evidently, they found a huge deposit of dilithium on this planet.” Trip’s blue eyes widened. “Dilithium?” By this time, Elkan had joined the humans, but didn’t interrupt their discussion. “Trip, what is dilithium?” Krysira questioned. “Simply put, it’s a substance which, once refined, we use to power our ships,” Trip replied, then remembered the data padd that he had retrieved earlier, pulling it out. “I found this earlier, but never had a chance to look at it,” he explained reluctantly removing his hand from Krysira’s low back, as he turned it on. He studied the readout nodding. “Yep. Big deposit of dilithium in a mountain range somewhere.” Elkan was peering over Trip’s shoulder and scowled. “But Commander Tucker, those are the properties of Kraygoryte,” Elkan said suddenly. “A common rock found on Exoia.” Archer, who also had been studying the readout, looked up at Elkan. “Trip’s right. These are the properties for dilithium,” he stated. “Hmm.” Krysira said thoughtfully. “Two names for the same element, it seems.” Elkan looked up to see the unfamiliar human peering curiously at him. “I am Elkan,” he introduced with a slight bow. “Captain Jonathan Archer,” Archer replied, then looked thoughtful. “Would Drayce know the properties of this Kraygoryte?” “Most likely. Why?” “That’s why he thinks that Silik cheated him.” Archer snickered softly. “That was the reason for the battle we came upon?” Archer merely nodded. As Krysira listened, she felt someone trying to contact her through the Force.Open Area
Trey and Chelz skidded to a stop, seeing that the corridor spilled into a large open area. Trey pulled out his blaster, as he took the lead, entering the open area. He felt Chelz right behind him.
“She is not here.” It was the deep bass voice of Caden, laced with obvious pain. “Caden!” Chelz exclaimed, deftly maneuvering around Trey and running over to the large Exoian. She fell to her knees, noticing that Caden had his hand clenched on his thigh. She gasped upon seeing purple blood seeping through Caden’s large fingers. Chelz gently eased his hand away and gasped seeing the nasty wound. By this time, Trey had reholstered his blaster and joined his companions. Upon seeing Caden’s injury, he took off the sash that he wore around his waist and handed it to Chelz, who used it to bandage the wound. Trey bent down on one knee on the other side of Caden. “What happened?” Trey wanted to know. Caden grunted. “The little traitor shot me, when I was about to catch up with her here,” he growled softly, wincing. “Do not worry, my friend. We will find Ori and she will pay for her treachery.” Chelz finished bandaging Caden’s wound. “We need to get you back to the transport, which has medical supplies in it,” she advised. “This should hold until then.” Caden merely grunted in response, obviously still furious about Ori. He allowed Trey to help him to his feet and leaned on the rugged space pilot for support. “Hopefully, we will rejoin the others along the way,” Trey commented. They left the open area, going back the way they came, but much slower, due to the wounded Caden.Corridor outside cavern
Ca-Yanne nodded to each person, as Lonan made quick introductions. She turned to Qui-Gon, her large amber eyes bright.
“Master Jinn, perhaps I could have a few moments to contact my people,” Ca-Yanne requested. “So that I may inform them of my release and not to follow Drayce’s orders any longer.” Qui-Gon nodded once. “Of course,” he replied. Ca-Yanne closed her eyes and sent out a telepathic message to her people. At the same time, Qui-Gon closed his eyes and using the Force, reached out with it to contact Krysira. /”Krysira?”/ Qui-Gon said along their bond. /”Qui-Gon? What is it?”/ Krysira replied almost instantly. /”We have rescued Ca-Yanne. She is contacting her people as we speak.”/ /”This is good. Captain Archer has been rescued, but we have yet to encounter Drayce.”/ /”I see. Where are you?”/ /”A hangar bay.”/ /”Stay put. I will find you.”/ /”But Qui-Gon, if we remain here, Drayce will certainly escape. Perhaps we can leave someone behind to send you in our direction.”/ Qui-Gon was silent for a long moment, thinking. /”Very well. I will agree with your suggestion. May the Force be with you, my young friend.”/ /”And you as well, Qui-Gon.”/ Qui-Gon closed the connection, opening his eyes. He looked at the group. “Krysira and Commander Tucker have rescued Captain Archer,” he announced. Hoshi and Malcolm looked at each other relieved. “Where are they?” Malcolm wanted to know. “In a hangar bay.” “So...how will we find them?” Vallen demanded. “Backtrack to where the group split earlier and head in their direction. Come.” Qui-Gon led the group down the corridor back the way they came at a brisk pace.Hangar Bay
Krysira opened her eyes to see Trip gazing at her. She smiled reassuringly.
“I have been in contact with Qui-Gon,” Krysira began, noting the puzzled look from Archer. “They have found and freed the Rybrillian Prefect, who has contacted her people to inform them not to follow Drayce’s orders.” “So...Drayce truly is behind this,” Elkan stated. “So it appears,” she paused. “Qui-Gon wanted us to stay here to allow them to find us.” “I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Archer put in. “Drayce might get away.” “That is what I told Qui-Gon,” she told them. “But we have no idea where he went,” Elkan pointed out. “Oh yes we do,” Archer answered. “He went through that doorway.” He flung out an arm in the direction of an entranceway across the hangar bay.” Trip stood behind and slightly to the side of Krysira, who welcomed his proximity by discreetly leaning back into him. “Since Qui-Gon’s group is coming, may I suggest that someone stay here to direct them to follow us.” At this point, two of Elkan’s warriors: one male; the other female approached their leader. “Pardon, Elkan,” the male warrior began. “We have finished checking on the Rybrillians.” “And...?” Elkan urged. The female warrior looked particularly disturbed. “The four that we found...are all dead,” she said in a soft voice. “Damn those Suliban,” Archer muttered under his breath, his arms crossed over his chest. Krysira could feel the sorrow coming not only from the female warrior but from Archer as well. “Elkan laid a large hand gently on the female warrior’s shoulder. “Any kind of death is hard to take,” he told her, seeing her nod. “I need you two to wait here for Master Jinn’s group, then bring them to us. We are pursuing Drayce,” Elkan ordered. “It will be done, Elkan,” the male warrior replied, bowing slightly. “Good.” “Let us be on our way,” Krysira said. “But caution is strongly recommended, for we know not what awaits us, since this is Drayce’s territory.” “You thinking that Drayce could have a few traps set for us, Krys?” Trip questioned. “We must be open to that possibility, Trip.” “I wouldn’t put it past him...from what I’ve seen of the guy,” Archer grumbled. Krysira turned and headed across the hangar bay with Trip beside her, while Elkan and Archer followed. The remaining warriors fell in behind them, as the entered the entranceway that Archer indicated earlier.Corridor
Qui-Gon’s group came upon the split in the corridor where Krysira’s group had gone earlier and proceeded down the same corridor. Shortly, the group came upon a door within the corridor.
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan had their lightsabres in hand, but not lit, as they approached the door which slid open at their presence. Master and apprentice entered the cavern and relaxed upon seeing that the room was empty. Both belted their lightsabres. Seeing his master nod, Obi-Wan motioned for the group to enter. Lonan looked at Hoshi and Malcolm, seeing the two non-Jedi humans breathing on the heavy side. The young Exoian page approached Qui-Gon. “Pardon, Master Jinn,” Lonan began. “May we take a break for Lieutenant Reed and Ensign Sato?" The Jedi Master glanced over at the two Enterprise officers, then nodded. “We shall take a small rest, before continuing on,” he announced. Both Malcolm and Hoshi sighed with relief, leaning against a cavern wall. Vallen sighed heavily and walked over to the far doorway, leaning on the nearby wall. He crossed his arms over his chest, grumbling and muttering to himself. Lonan moved to Obi-Wan. “I am very happy to see that you are unharmed, Obi-Wan, ” he began, then looked down at his feet. “However, I am truly sorry that I could do nothing to prevent you from being kidnapped.” “Lonan, I am just thankful that you were not hurt...my friend,” Obi-Wan replied, smiling. The Exoian page looked up to see the Jedi apprentice smiling at him. He grinned back. Vallen glanced over at Lonan, who was still in quiet conversation with Obi-Wan, then over at Hoshi, who looked less winded than earlier. He tilted his head to one side, as his sharp hearing picked up a sound coming from the corridor next to him. He whirled, while drawing his blaster at the same time, as he stepped into the corridor. Seeing his reaction, Qui-Gon and Malcolm joined Vallen; both had their weapons in hand. Vallen found himself staring at the space pilot. Trey, who had also drawn his blaster, stared back at Vallen. Both men looked at each other. Rolling their eyes, both sighed, reholstering their weapons. Caden and Chelz each let out a sigh of relief. Vallen turned to see Qui-Gon and Malcolm nearby. “It is Trey and his friends,” Vallen replied, coming out of the corridor. Chelz came out first followed by Trey assisting Caden. Qui-Gon’s eyes widened upon seeing that the big Exoian was injured. Trey allowed Caden to lean against the nearby wall. “Padawan!” Qui-Gon called, as he bent down next to Caden. Obi-Wan hurried to his master’s side. After about five minutes, the two Jedi were able to Force-heal Caden. The big Exoian rose carefully to his feet and found that the bleeding had stopped. When he tested his weight on it, he found that his leg was completely healed. He nodded his thanks to the two Jedi, who nodded in return. Ca-Yanne quietly observed all from a remote corner of the room. Trey surveyed the group, then smiled at Qui-Gon. “I take it that your missions were successful,” the space pilot’s raspy voice broke the silence in the room. “Yes,” Qui-Gon replied. “We are on our way to rejoin Krysira and the others in their pursuit of Drayce.” Trey’s eyes widened, then narrowed, understanding the situation. “I see. Then let us not delay any longer.” “Agreed.” He turned to the others. “Let us proceed quickly.” With that, the tall Jedi dashed through the corridor that Trey and the others had just come through with Obi-Wan and Trey right with him, as everyone else followed.Corridor
Krysira and Trip led the way down the corridor.
“So...how are we gonna find Drayce, Krys?” Trip asked. “I don’t see anything to tell us that he really came this way.” “Be patient, Trip. The Force will show us the way,” she told him. Trip grunted. “Well...patience has never been one of my strong suits.” She merely smiled at the handsome chief engineer. One of the warriors at the rear of the group noticed something on the ground. He stopped, and bending down, examined the ground. “Elkan!” He called. Elkan paused, looking over his shoulder. “Yes?” He replied. “I found something.” Elkan walked over to the warrior, bending down as well. Krysira, Trip and Archer joined them as well. “What is it?” Archer questioned. “It’s a spatter of purple blood.” A beat. “Exoian blood.” “One of the Suliban must’ve shot Drayce,” Archer assumed. “Serves the bastard right,” Trip growled softly, looking aside at Krysira to see her give him a look of understanding. He then saw Elkan nod in agreement. Both Exoians stood up. “Seems that we have a trail to follow,” Elkan pointed out. “Indeed. Let us proceed, then,” Krysira said. The group continued down the corridor.
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