Path of Destiny - Chapter 17
The Path of Destiny
Chapter Seventeen
Part One
Recreation/dining area
“I need to speak to Ensign Hoshi Sato,” A male voice came
out over the communicator on the wall.
Hoshi
nearly jumped out of her skin, not only because she heard her name, but recognized
Archer’s voice as well. “Captain Archer?” She questioned aloud.
Gadi
moved to the communicator, touching a button. “Just a moment,” Gadi replied.
Hoshi
made her way over to Gadi, who stepped aside. “Captain!” She exclaimed,
happily. “Where are you?”
Chelz
and Kaylar joined them, listening.
“In
the government center. Listen carefully.” Archer quickly brought Hoshi and the
others up to speed. “And here’s an interesting little tidbit. We found out that
Drayce and Advisor Durriken...are brothers,” he concluded.
Gadi
looked stunned. “I-I never...knew!” He gasped. “Tribune Pallaton must be
informed of this immediately.”
“You
may as well bring him along. You see, we’ve found the computer that Durriken
used to keep in contact with Drayce. “I bet we will find some more
incriminating facts on it,” Archer explained.
“Where
are you?” Gadi wanted to know.
It
was Entok who answered. “Corridor 13, section 23, a small office.”
Gadi
nodded. “We will join you shortly.”
“Excellent.
Archer out,” the captain said.
Gadi
led Hoshi, Kaylar and Chelz out of the area on a run towards Tribune Pallaton’s
office.
Part Two
Hover platform base
Myrek, Riaden and Dalosi stared at the two Jedi,
momentarily stunned.
“STAY
WHERE YOU ARE!” Qui-Gon’s strong voice boomed across the area.
Riaden
glared at Myrek. “Drayce said that no one knows where we are, huh?” He growled
sarcastically in a low voice to Myrek.
Myrek
ignored the snide remark. “Scatter!” He ordered.
All
three Exoians scrambled to their feet, while drawing their blasters, as they
fired at the Jedi.
Instantly,
Qui-Gon and Krysira had their lightsabres in hand and ignited, as they deftly
deflected the blasts.
Myrek
and Riaden went one way, while Dalosi went another way.
“I
will handle her,” Krysira replied and without waiting for a reply, charged
around the hover platform to engage Dalosi.
With
his blaster in hand, Trip cautiously peered around the corner as he watched
Krysira race around the hover platform. “Watch yourself, Krys,” he whispered.
Qui-Gon
moved forwards swiftly towards Myrek and Riaden, parrying the blasts from both
Exoians. Trey followed him, returning fire at their attackers, while motioning
with his free hand for the others to stay put.
Both
Myrek and Riaden continued to fire at Qui-Gon, who continued to block each
blast with uncanny speed. Trey, who had been behind the Jedi Master, saw an
opening. He stepped around Qui-Gon and fired at Riaden, who had foolishly left
himself out in the open in his eagerness to kill these intruders. The blast dropped
Riaden where he stood.
Glancing
aside, Myrek saw the nasty chest wound that Riaden had sustained and knew that
he had very little chance for survival, if he wasn’t already dead. He continued
to fire at the Jedi, who deflected one of the blasts back at him, hitting the
blaster out of his hand.
Myrek
let out a growl of pain, holding his injured hand. The next thing he knew,
there was a glowing green beam in front of him. He looked up to see not only
the male Jedi standing there, but also a space pilot holding a blaster on
him.
“You
are under arrest for crimes against the Exoian government and its people.”
Qui-Gon said, as he motioned Myrek to his feet, then had Trey bind his hands
behind his back. He then led Myrek over to where Elkan was waiting with a
blaster trained on their prisoner. Caden loomed over Myrek, who wisely decided
to stay where he was.
Seeing
that the prisoner was under guard, Qui-Gon then headed around the hover
platform to assist Krysira if need be.
Meanwhile,
Krysira was blocking Dalosi’s blasts with extraordinary ease. She could feel
the pure hatred from this Exoian woman and threw up the strongest mental shield
she could form against it. Krysira bounced one blast back at Dalosi’s blaster,
knocking the weapon out of her hand. Dalosi snarled softly, shaking her hand,
as she glared at Krysira.
Unbeknownst
to either woman, Trip had moved from the doorway and was peering around the
corner of the hover platform to see if he could help Krysira in any way.
“My advice to you is to
surrender,” Krysira said in a no–nonsense tone, moving cautiously towards
Dalosi, lightsabre now off, but still in hand.
Dalosi
said nothing, as she merely glared at the approaching female Jedi.
“Do
not make this any harder than it has to be,” Krysira advised.
With amazing quickness for her size, Dalosi suddenly
charged Krysira producing a double edged serrated foot long black dagger
thrusting it at the female Jedi.
Krysira dove to her right side, but not before she got
nicked on the left upper arm. She executed a shoulder roll, coming up into a
half-kneel position.
Trip ran towards the two women, as Dalosi charged towards
the female Jedi Knight again. Trip’s blue eyes widened. “NO!” He shouted,
raising his free hand towards Dalosi in hopes of stopping her.
Krysira felt a sudden surge in the Force and saw Dalosi
fall back head over heels, landing face down on the floor not moving. Krysira
saw Qui-Gon looking at her. Both Jedi shook their heads slightly in answer to
an unasked question, each looking puzzled.
She rose to her feet, as Trip reached her, holstering her
lightsabre. Qui-Gon strode over to Dalosi. The Jedi Master’s eyes widened
slightly, upon seeing a pool of lavender blood forming on the floor near the
area of her chest. He realized that the Exoian woman had fallen on her weapon,
mortally wounding herself, and that she was no longer a danger to anyone. He
made his way over to Krysira and Trip.
“Trip,” Krysira began.
The young commander cut in before she could continue.
“Krys!” Trip exclaimed, as he gasped seeing a small blood soaked stain on her
sleeve. “You’re hurt!” He laid his hand over the wound, reflexively trying to
stop the bleeding.
“Trip...it is merely a small scratch. I am...” she trailed
off feeling warmth enter her arm. She glanced over at the fallen Exoian woman
and then at her arm. She eased Trip’s hand off of her arm, seeing that there
was no evidence of bleeding or a wound. She looked at him with a surprised
expression on her face.
He looked puzzled. “What’s wrong?” He questioned.
It was then that Krysira knew that Trip had no idea what
he had just done. “Trip, do you know what just happened?” She questioned.
“No.”
“I felt a surge in the Force and that Exoian woman is now
on the ground.”
“Probably Qui-Gon...” he trailed off seeing Krysira shake
her head. He had a strange look on his face. “Me?”
“Yes. You also healed my arm.”
“Naw...I mean...I don’t know how to use the Force, Krys.”
“You unconsciously tapped into the Force again, Trip.”
“But...”
“Krysira is correct, Commander Tucker.” It was Qui-Gon.
“What was your reaction to Krysira’s situation?”
“I wanted to help her.”
Qui-Gon nodded. “Your need was strong, therefore the Force
responded.”
Trip sighed, looking over at the fallen Exoian woman. “Is
she...” He trailed off.
“I am afraid so.”
“I didn’t mean to.” Trip looked distressed. “I just didn’t
want her to hurt Krysira any more.” He gazed down at his feet.
“No one is faulting you for protecting Krysira,
Commander.” He saw Trip nod, then to Krysira. “Trey and I will take our
prisoner back to the government center.”
The female Jedi nodded. “The rest of us will take this
transportation device to ascertain Drayce’s location,” she told the elder Jedi.
“Good.” Qui-Gon strode back towards the others.
Trip folded his arms across his chest. “But...that doesn’t
make me feel any better,” he said sourly.
Krysira regarded Trip gently. “Trip,” she said, seeing the
handsome chief engineer look up at her. “The taking of a life is sometimes
unavoidable. It occurs when there is no other way to resolve a conflict. It is
never easy to deal with.”
He studied her for a few moments. “You’ve dealt with the
same thing, huh?”
“On occasion.” She smiled tenderly. “Thank-you for your
concern for my welfare.” She touched his cheek. “I will help you understand
what happened regarding the Force when this situation has been dealt with.
However, if not controlled properly, the use of the Force can be devastating. I
know this is new for you, Trip and I will try to teach you how to control it. “
She paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. “You seem to unconsciously access
the Force when your emotions are heightened or you are agitated.”
“So...what do I do?” Trip wanted to know.
“Reach
out to me and I will help calm you for now. Later, I will show you how to
control it yourself.”
“Thanks, sweetheart,” he said softly. “Let’s see what the
others are up to.”
The couple rejoined the rest of the group, as Qui-Gon and
Trey led their prisoner Myrek out of the hover platform base and back the way
they had come earlier.
“Now what do we do?” Elkan questioned.
Trip looked over at the hover platform, then back at Elkan
with a grin on his face. “Let’s see if I can figure out how to operate the
hover platform and go after Drayce,” he suggested.
Elkan nodded, as the group headed over to the hover
platform.
Part Three
Pallaton’s Office
Pallaton sighed heavily as he walked away from Ryvinia to
stare out a window, his hands behind his back.
“I still can not believe that Durriken would do anything
to betray me or the Exoian government,” Pallaton finally said.
Ryvinia frowned slightly. “Why would he be any different
than Drayce?” She wanted to know. “Drayce was a trusted official and look at
what he has done.”
Pallaton stiffened, not wanting to believe that there
would be anyone else as devious and treacherous as Drayce. But before he could
comment, the doors to his office hissed open. He turned to see Gadi rush in
followed by Kaylar, Chelz and Hoshi.
“Tribune Pallaton...” Gadi began then trailed off, seeing
Ryvinia. He broke into a huge smile. “Ryvinia! You are safe!” He went over to
her, squeezing her hands in greeting.
Ryvinia couldn’t help but smile in return. “Yes, thanks to
Lieutenant Reed and Sedona,” she replied.
Hoshi made her way over to Malcolm. “Lieutenant!” She
exclaimed.
Malcolm grinned. “It’s good to see you as well, Ensign,”
he replied.
“Captain Archer is here in the government center.”
The British armory officer frowned slightly. “Why? What’s
going on?”
Gadi heard the question. “Allow me to explain.” He paused
until he saw that he had everyone’s attention. “Captain Archer has relayed a
great deal of information regarding the past few hours, but none so critical as
what he and the others have discovered.” He gave the group a synopsis of what
Archer had told Hoshi and the others earlier. “But the most important discovery
is the connection between Drayce and Durriken.”
Pallaton scowled. “We are aware of that,” he said in an
even tone, his eyes hard.
“I see. However, there is another fact that is still
completely unknown to anyone here in the government center.”
“Whatever would that be?” Pallaton sounded bored.
“Drayce and Durriken are, in fact...brothers.”
Pallaton’s bottom jaw dropped open, as he stared at Gadi
in undisguised shock. It took him a full minute to find his voice.
“That...is...impossible!”
“Why?” Ryvinia questioned.
“Durriken would have said something about that to me.”
“Not necessarily. Not if they wanted to keep that
relationship a secret, which they obviously wanted to,” Malcolm suggested.
“There is no hard evidence. Only hearsay,” Pallaton
replied, not backing down from his position.
“Well, there is only one way to find out,” Gadi cut in.
“Come with us to see the proof for yourself.”
“Very well. But you will see that all of you are wrong.”
He looked at Gadi. “I will follow.”
“The rest of us will accompany you, as well,” Ryvinia
said.
“If you so wish.” He looked back at the elder healer.
“Gadi.”
Gadi nodded and turned on his heel, heading out of the
office with the rest of the group following.
Part Four
Secondary Dwelling
Drayce sat in a chair, drinking a cool beverage, as he
gazed out a nearby window. He was beginning to feel slightly concerned that
Myrek and the other two Exoians that were with him had not yet arrived.
Jeyzen walked into the room. “Myrek and the others have
not arrived, my lord,” he said in a quiet voice.
Drayce grunted in response.
“Do you believe that they were discovered?”
Drayce sighed softly. “It is highly unlikely that they
were found,” he finally said. “The hover platform is well hidden.” He paused
for a moment. “I want you to keep an eye out for them.”
Jeyzen bowed slightly. “As you wish, my lord.”
The younger man turned and strode out of the room.
Drayce’s gaze went back out the window, as he began to
feel a sense of uneasiness come over him.
Part Five
Small side office
Obi-Wan stood in the doorway keeping a watch out for the
others, while Entok sat in front of the computer. Archer rocked on his feet
impatiently behind Entok.
The Exoian guard peered over his shoulder at the human
captain, allowing a smile to cross his face. “Patience, Captain,” he said. “The
others will be arriving shortly.”
Archer merely grunted.
“Captain Archer, the others are here,” Obi-Wan said from the
doorway.
Archer looked at the young apprentice, nodding. “Finally,”
he replied.
Obi-Wan stepped aside as Gadi came in, followed by
Pallaton and the others. Obi-Wan remained in the doorway. The three pages stood
near him out of the way of the adults.
Archer smiled first at Hoshi, then Malcolm. Both officers
returned the sentiment.
Pallaton moved forward. “Where is this proof that you
speak of, Captain?” He questioned in a hard tone.
Archer stared back at Pallaton, but it was Entok who
answered.
“Tribune, we have traced Drayce’s and Durriken’s
communications to this computer,” the guard told him, motioning to the machine.
Pallaton crossed his arms over his chest. “And you intend
to access this computer that supposedly belongs to Durriken?" He wanted to
know.
“Yes.”
“I think not. You should know the law. This is private
property. Consent for search from Administrative Officer Ronig is required.
However, he is away on sabbatical at this time. You can do nothing until he
returns.”
Everyone else’s shoulders slumped, except for Ryvinia. The
Counselor moved forward to stand next to Entok and Archer, facing the Tribune.
“That is untrue, Pallaton,” she began. “Since I have returned, I have the
authority to allow the search.” She allowed a small smirk to cross her lips.
“You know this to be true.”
Pallaton scowled. “You accept responsibility for this?”
“Fully.”
The Tribune sighed. “Do as you will, but you will see that
all of you are quite mistaken about Durriken’s loyalty to the Exoian people.”
Ryvinia looked at Entok. “Proceed, Entok,” she ordered.
“Yes, Counselor,” the guard replied, as he began to work
on the computer. About a minute later, a series of sentences in a form of a log
appeared.
Archer peered over Entok’s shoulder, then frowned. “What
does it say, Entok?” The captain wanted to know.
“Drayce says: ‘Brother, I hope that you were able to take
care of our little problem. We unfortunately had to relocate. Also the
Counselor met a tragic end.’ That is all.”
“Is there a reply?” Pallaton snapped.
“No...Tribune.”
Pallaton smirked. “Then there is no proof that this is
Durriken’s computer!” He looked satisfied.
Archer and Ryvinia exchanged a worried look.
“Wait!” It was Entok. “There is a voice log as well.”
“Play it,” Ryvinia directed.
Entok touched a button.
[“Durriken?” A female voice questioned.]
Pallaton paled. “That is...Nayda’s voice,” he said in a
soft tone.
[“What are you doing here?” A male voice demanded.]
“Durriken? No.”
[“What was that all about?” Nayda questioned.]
[“None of your concern!” Durriken snarled.]
[“I did not know that you had a brother.”]
[“And no one else ever will.”]
They heard the sounds of a scuffle, then a sickening snap.
“Turn it off,” Pallaton ordered, as he turned away from
the others.
Entok touched a button and the room was quiet.
Ryvinia moved over to the Tribune, laying a hand on his
arm. “I am sorry, Pallaton,” she began, softly. “Betrayal of one’s trust does
not bode well for anyone, especially that of a trusted colleague.”
Pallaton’s eyes were wet, as he looked at Ryvinia.
“Durriken killed Nayda. He must pay for that. Where could he be?” His tone was
cold.
“Tribune,” Entok began, then continued after seeing
Pallaton look his way. “Advisor Durriken also attempted to kill Master Jinn. He
is in the holding cells.”
Pallaton nodded. “There he will remain until it is time
for him to accept the consequences of his actions. As will Drayce, when he is
captured. Is there anyone still pursuing him?”
“Yes,” Archer replied. “Qui-Gon, Krysira, Trip and three
Exoians.”
Pallaton nodded, still stunned at the overwhelming proof
about Durriken’s connection with Drayce.
At that moment, Obi-Wan felt someone trying to contact him
through the Force.
Part Six
Outside Ryvinia’s Chambers
Qui-Gon and Trey stood on either side of their prisoner
Myrek, after coming back through the secret passageway. Trey had his blaster
trained on him.
The Jedi Master closed his eyes and reached out through
the Force to his Padawan.
/“Obi-Wan,”/ Qui-Gon thought.
/”Yes, Master,”/ the youth responded immediately. /”I have
much to tell you.”/
/”As do I.”/
Padawan and Master relayed the recent events that each had
been involved in.
Qui-Gon sighed along their bond, as Obi-Wan finished.
/”So, Pallaton now knows about Durriken’s treachery and his relationship with
Drayce.”/
/“Yes. He appears to be taking that very hard,”/ Obi-Wan
replied.
/”Understandable. Ask Entok if he could send guards to
Counselor Ryvinia’s chambers to pick up a prisoner. And your location”/
/”Just a moment then, Master.”/
The elder Jedi felt his apprentice pull away from their
bond for a minute or two, then...
/”Master, Entok said that he will send two of his guards,
Akar and Isak to your location,”/ Obi-Wan replied. /”We are at corridor 13,
section 23, a small office. One of those guards will tell you how to find
us.”/
/”Excellent.”/
/”What of the information that you shared with me,
Master? Do you want me to pass it along or do you wish to do that yourself?”/
/”Inform them, Padawan. It will save time when Trey and I
arrive after our prisoner is taken care of.”/
/“Of course, Master.”/ Obi-Wan felt a wave of satisfaction
from his Master and it warmed his heart that Qui-Gon was beginning to trust and
rely on him more.
Qui-Gon closed the connection and opened his eyes.
Myrek looked down at the Jedi. “What are you doing?” He
demanded.
Qui-Gon met Myrek’s glare with an impassive look of his
own. “We are waiting.” That was all the human would reveal.
Myrek sighed heavily, but said nothing else, especially with
the blaster that was pressed against his side.