Path of Destiny - Chapter 19
The Path of Destiny
Chapter Nineteen
The roof of the large white stone building
Krysira slid to a stop when the ramp that she, Trip and
Caden were on, changed into a short hallway that ended with a single door.
Trip looked behind him, frowning. �Where�s Elkan?� He
wanted to know.
�Perhaps he became separated from us to investigate
something,� Caden suggested.
Krysira looked thoughtful for a moment. �Or he is
following his own destiny,� she said in a quiet tone. She allowed the Force to
flow freely through her, heightening her senses and reactions. �I will go
first,� she said in quiet command. Without waiting for a response, she moved
stealthily towards the door.
Trip felt the surge in the Force from Krysira. �But,
Krys...� he argued, but trailed off feeling a large hand on his shoulder. He
looked around at Caden.
�Knight Krysira is concerned for our safety,� Caden said
as quietly as his deep bass voice would allow. �Especially...yours.� He smiled.
Trip remembered the incident in the passageway where
Krysira had been injured and pressed his lips in a thin line. �I know,� he said
softly. He took a deep breath, and readying his blaster, followed the beautiful
Jedi Knight with the big Exoian behind him.
Krysira stepped out onto the roof in a defensive position,
scanning the area for any signs of the Exoians that they were pursuing. She
noted that the roof was not fully open. There were a few large structures
scattered over the enormous roof, big enough to hide behind.
She barely began to move, when red beams of energy in
rapid-fire succession came out from behind one of the structures. Instantly,
Krysira ignited both her lightsabres and blocked the blasts, deflecting them
away harmlessly.
Trip and Caden peered out from the doorway the instant
that they heard the energy blasts. Both saw the graceful, yet non-wasted
movements of the female Jedi.
Krysira deflected one blast back near the source, which
caused the blasts to stop. This gave her the chance to race forward and leap
upwards about thirty feet. She performed a somersault up and over the fairly
narrow structure to land on the other side about twenty feet behind the female
Exoian who had been firing at her.
Cluna heard a noise behind her. She whirled around and was
surprised to see the female Jedi standing there, both lightsabres pointed at
her.
Before Krysira could say anything, Cluna snarled at her
and began to fire once again at the nimble Jedi who blocked each blast deftly.
One of the blasts that Krysira blocked came back and hit Cluna in the chest.
The Exoian woman gasped and, dropping her blaster,
crumbled to the ground in a heap.
Crouching down behind a nearby structure, Narset heard a
gasp. Turning, he saw Cluna fall to the ground.
Narset saw red. He sprang to his feet and began to charge
Krysira as he raised his blaster in her direction and began to fire.
At the same time, Trip saw an older male Exoian running
across a fairly large open space, firing a blaster. The young commander knew at
whom the Exoian was firing and ran out of the doorway. Skidding to a stop, Trip
raised his blaster and fired a warning shot at the ground near the Exoian.
Narset flinched as a blast hit nearby. Looking in the
direction of the energy beam, he saw a human male pointing a blaster at him.
�Give it up!� Trip hollered.
Narset merely sneered and whirled to fire at the human
commander.
Trip felt a sudden surge flow through his body. He dove
out of the way, firing his blaster at the same time. He rolled and was
instantly on his feet aiming his blaster once again at the Exoian.
But much to Trip�s astonishment, Narset merely stood
there, a look of surprise etched on the Exoian�s slightly aged features. It was
then that Trip saw the gaping wound in the Exoian�s stomach and watched him
fall to the ground face down.
In the meantime, Caden saw Trip�s maneuver and was
impressed with the human�s athletic prowess, not knowing that the Force had a
hand in Trip�s actions. Caden moved from the doorway in the opposite direction,
hoping to surprise any other of the Exoians that they were pursuing. He moved
to the first structure that he encountered, flattening himself against it. He
went to peer around the corner, but much to his shock discovered the business
end of a blaster pressing against his forehead.
Caden straightened slowly as his foe rounded the corner,
his hands out to his sides in a form of surrender.
Makkor had a smirk plastered on his face. �Give me a
reason...not to kill you where you stand,� he hissed in a low voice.
�You would shoot an unarmed person?� Caden replied in
question.
�I have no qualms about doing that.�
Caden studied his foe, thinking quickly. �Where is the
sport in that?�
Makkor raised an eyebrow. He studied his opponent for a
few long moments. He took a few steps backwards and tossed his blaster out to
the side over the edge of the roof. �Shall we?� His voice laced with menace.
Caden�s eyes narrowed slightly, then nodded.
The two big Exoians began to grapple, each landing punches
that would have put most any other Exoian down on the ground almost instantly.
But they seemed to be evenly matched. For the next few minutes, they went blow
for blow, moving across the roof.
Makkor suddenly got the upper hand and was able to flip
Caden hard to one side, watching him roll a few feet away, obviously stunned. A
movement caught Makkor�s eye. He saw the human male holster the blaster he
held, then kick Narset�s blaster off to one side. Then he saw the female Jedi
looking down at Cluna�s still form, belting her lightsabres, her back facing
him.
An evil smile crossed Makkor�s face suddenly as he charged
at the unsuspecting female Jedi Knight.
Caden shook his head and lifted it up to see Makkor run
straight at Krysira. He scrambled to his feet. �Knight Krysira!� He shouted.
However, the warning wasn�t quick enough. Krysira didn�t
have a chance to react before she felt herself being grabbed by the back of her
tunic and lifted easily off of her feet.
Trip also heard the warning and looked up to see an Exoian
in a pale green jumpsuit dash past him and grab Krysira. �NO!� Trip gasped.
Makkor ran towards the edge of the roof and sliding to a
stop, easily heaved Krysira over the edge.
�KRYSIRA!� Trip shouted. �NO!� He sprang to his feet and
was about to charge Makkor, when he felt himself being held back.
�No, Commander Tucker,� Caden said near Trip�s ear. �You
would not stand a chance against him.�
�But...he just threw...� Trip trailed off, then... �YOU
SON OF A BITCH!� He bellowed at Makkor, as tears began to streak his face.
Makkor turned and folded his arms across his chest, facing
them with a smirk on his face. �Who is next?� He asked calmly with an heir of
arrogance in his voice.
At the same time, Elkan�s transport ship moved smoothly
around a tall building.
�The building we seek is down this way,� Trey said.
Qui-Gon felt a sudden warning of danger through the Force.
He looked out the main window of the transport to see a figure falling through
the air from the very building they were looking for. As the transport got
closer, Qui-Gon�s eyes widened upon recognizing the blue Jedi robes.
�Quickly! Fly under Krysira, now!� Qui-Gon ordered the
pilot.
The transport picked up speed instantly as the pilot
maneuvered the craft under the falling figure hovering in the air.
All the passengers heard a thud on the roof. One of the
warriors slid a small portion of the roof open. Qui-Gon, Archer, Obi-Wan,
Malcolm, Trey and Entok looked up anxiously to see Krysira peering down at the
group.
But before anyone could say anything...
�Take me back to the roof,� Krysira said, determination in
her voice, as she stood up, arms folded across her chest.
As the ship rose slowly to the roof of the white stone
building, Krysira suddenly felt Trip�s anguish. She drew in the Force and
mentally sent out a message.
On the roof, Trip glared at Makkor, while trying to get
out of Caden�s hold. �Let me go, Caden!� Trip snarled. �He�ll pay for what he
did to Krysira.�
�Yes, but not by throwing your life away,� Caden replied.
Trip was about to respond, when he heard a very familiar
voice in his mind, briefly. /�I am fine, my love.�/ His heart soared.
Caden felt that Trip had stopped struggling. He looked to
see Trip beaming. He was a bit puzzled, until he saw a figure rising slowly up
behind Makkor. He allowed a smile to spread across his face.
Makkor frowned slightly, wondering why his foes were
suddenly smiling. Hearing a polite cough behind him, Makkor spun around.
Krysira leapt from the rising transport and with the aid
of the Force punched a thoroughly surprised Makkor in the face, knocking the
big Exoian escapee back about five feet. Makkor fell backwards onto the ground,
unconscious.
Krysira landed lightly on her feet, looking satisfied.
Trip made his way over to Krysira. �Serves the bastard
right,� he said, giving Krysira a brief but heartfelt hug.
Krysira smiled. �Indeed,� she agreed.
Caden joined them, merely grinning.
In the transport, everyone was witness to Krysira's
action.
�I would hate to have Krysira come after me,� Malcolm
commented.
There were murmurs of agreement throughout the transport.
Meanwhile, Drayce and Jeyzen made their way out of the
white stone building and onto a dead end side street. They paused briefly to
get their bearings.
Jeyzen cocked his head slightly to one side, hearing something.
�Go, my Lord,� he urged. �I will follow.�
Drayce grunted in acknowledgement and ran towards the open
end of the street, while Jeyzen peered back into the building to see a figure
following them. He pulled his blaster and fired through the doorway of the
building at their pursuer, who narrowly avoided the blast by diving to the
floor.
Jeyzen whirled on his heel and tore off after his
superior.
Inside the building, Elkan scrambled to his feet and moved
towards the doorway cautiously. He peered out carefully to see a figure running
towards the main street. Pulling his blaster, Elkan dashed down the side street
in pursuit.
Jeyzen had just about caught up with Drayce, when he
instinctively looked over his shoulder to see that they were being followed. He
slowed to a stop and turned raising his blaster. Drayce slowed to a stop,
watching Jeyzen.
Elkan only saw the blaster pointing in his direction and
instinctively fired his own blaster before his foe could fire.
Drayce saw a blast hit Jeyzen in the chest, dropping the
young Exoian where he stood. �NO!� He shouted, starting to move towards Jeyzen.
However, hearing footsteps coming in his direction, the former chief of staff
spun and ran down the deserted street.
Moments later, Elkan ran onto the street and caught sight
of his fleeing quarry. Elkan raced after him, barely keeping the rage he had
towards Drayce barely in check.
Neither man was aware of the ship that hovered near the
roof of the building that they ran out of.
The pilot of the transport had seen blaster fire and
summoned Qui-Gon, who had joined him immediately. Both of them saw one man run
away from the seen and other man run out onto the street moments later.
�It is Elkan!� The pilot shouted.
Qui-Gon thought quickly. �I need you to descend towards
Elkan and open the boarding ramp entrance when you are thirty feet above the
ground. Once Obi-Wan and I have cleared the ship, pull up and head back to the
roof of the building and assist Krysira and the others,� he instructed.
�As you wish, Master Jinn.�
Qui-Gon moved towards the boarding ramp entrance with
Obi-Wan joining him. He exchanged looks with the others and no words were
needed. He knew their concern for his and Obi-Wan�s safety and it touched him.
Everyone felt the transport descend swiftly. Moments
later, the entrance to the boarding ramp slid open. With a barely perceptible
nod to Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon leapt out of the transport with his Padawan following,
the Force flowing through both of them.
Both Jedi hit the ground running swiftly to catch up with
Elkan, as the transport flew upwards and around in a large sweeping circle back
towards the white stone building.
A small group of young Exoian children followed three
Exoian women down a fairly empty street. They were looking in all the large
windows at various items on display.
One of the women pointed to a toy store. Squeals of
delight filled the air as the group of children ran to the toy store
window...all except one little girl, who hung back, gazing through a different
window at the exotic small animals that played in their cages.
Drayce raced around a corner and onto another street. He
knew that he couldn�t escape without some sort of leverage. But what, he
wondered. He quickly scanned the immediate area and saw a little Exoian girl
standing off a bit by herself, playing with her long braid. Drayce allowed a
sinister smile to cross his face as he ran towards the little girl. He slowed
down a bit and grabbed the unsuspecting child under one arm, then continued to
flee.
The little girl looked up at the person who grabbed her,
an expression of terror on her little face. �HELP ME!� She screamed. �LET ME
GO!�
�Silence, urchin!� Drayce snarled, as he covered her mouth
firmly with his free hand.
As Elkan, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan ran onto the street, they
heard the screams of help from a little girl.
Elkan�s expression was one of shock, as he recognized the
voice. �EBBY!� He shouted.
Qui-Gon looked at Elkan, knowing who Drayce�s captive was.
�We will do what we have to, to save her,� he said.
It was then that Elkan realized that Qui-Gon was allowing
him to do what he needed to do. The resistance leader merely nodded.
Qui-Gon saw the irony in the situation. He had made Elkan
promise not to do anything to Drayce because of the possible retribution that
could occur. Now, he was rescinding that promise, allowing Elkan to act in a
manner that he saw fit to save Ebby.
Drayce ran into a smaller courtyard that was between two
large buildings on either side of it and led out into another street. He
skidded to a stop and whirled, as he set his squirming captive on her feet in
front of him. His hands held her head as Ebby sobbed with fear.
Elkan stopped dead in his tracks, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan next
to him, about fifty feet away.
�I will kill her, if any of you try to stop me,�
Drayce told them in a haughty tone.
�The child has does nothing to you, Drayce,� Qui-Gon said.
�Release her.�
Drayce gave the Jedi Master that coldly superior smile of
his. �If I have her, you will not attempt anything against me, lest you injure
the child,� he shot back smoothly.
Obi-Wan looked at the ground around Drayce realizing that
it was dirt. The young Jedi apprentice got an idea. He could not distract his
master to tell him of his plan. The youth quickly drew the Force in and making
a small movement with his hand caused some dirt to fly up into Drayce�s eyes.
Drayce snarled in pain and anger, as he released Ebby to get the dirt out of
his eyes.
Obi-Wan had been in motion the second the dirt hit
Drayce�s eyes. The young Jedi quickly covered the distance between them and
grabbed the still crying Ebby, carrying her to safety away from the potentially
volatile situation.
Drayce was successful in getting the dirt out of his eyes.
Realizing that he had been duped, the former chief of staff pulled out his
blaster and began to fire in rapid succession at Qui-Gon. The Jedi Master
instantly had his green lightsabre in hand deflecting the blasts easily.
Drayce began to back up quickly to try to put some
distance between himself and the Jedi Master, knowing that he was definitely
outclassed. He was so centered on trying to find a means of escape that he was
unaware that he had stepped into another street and into the path of an
oncoming transport.
The driver of the transport tried to stop, but was too
late in doing so. The transport hit Drayce so hard that he was thrown backwards
by the impact, landing hard on the ground with a sickening thud.
Qui-Gon and Elkan ran over to where Drayce lay, critically
wounded and bleeding. His breathing was shallow and raspy.
Drayce�s eyes fluttered open at that moment to look at his
adversaries. He had a spasm of coughing, then said in a wheezing voice:
�I...do...not...believe...this.� His eyes closed, as his head lulled to the
side, his life expiring at that moment.
Elkan took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. All
the rage that he had for Drayce was gone. �Justice has been served,� he said
with certain satisfaction.
�DADDY!� A little girl�s voice filled the air.
The resistance leader spun around to see a little girl
running towards him with Obi-Wan right behind her.
A smile lit his face as his daughter leapt up into his
arms.
Krysira saw a troubled look on Trip�s face, then gently
touched his shoulder.
�Trip?� She questioned, concern lacing her voice.
His eyes met her eyes. �When one of those Exoians fired at
me, I fired back while diving out of the way and was back on my feet,� he began
quietly. �The thing is...I just thought about getting out of the way, feeling
this...surge go through me and...I just did it! I�ve never done that before. I
mean...my shot was...right on target. I was just firing to protect myself.� He
pressed his lips in a straight line.
She regarded him gently. �As I told you when I first met
you, a Jedi can manipulate the Force to do different things,� she began, seeing
him nod. �It also can control your actions, especially in self-defense.�
Trip sighed. �Guess I have a lot to learn, huh?�
Krysira nodded. �And I will teach you what you need to
know to control the Force.�
Trip grinned at her. �I guess we�ll be like Qui-Gon and
Obi-Wan.� He saw a curious look cross her delicate features. �Y�know...Master
and Apprentice.� His blue eyes twinkled in amusement.
Krysira caught the humor in Trip�s Southern-bred voice.
She smiled tenderly, as she nodded. She knew that it was impossible for Trip to
be her Padawan, but she understood the reference. She would do all that she
could to help Trip adjust to his Force sensitivity.
Suddenly, the sound of an approaching ship not only caught
her attention, but Trip�s and Caden�s as well. They moved back as the ship
began to land.
Despite the few structures that were on the roof of the
white stone building, the transport was able to land without any difficulty.
Some of Elkan�s warriors came out to gather up Makkor�s unconscious form and
his two dead companions, taking them inside the transport.
Krysira, Trip and Caden also went inside the transport.
Trip joined Malcolm and Archer, while Caden went over to Trey. Krysira scanned
the interior of the ship, frowning ever so slightly, as she moved towards the
front of the ship.
�Where are Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan?� Krysira asked.
�They are with Elkan,� Entok told her.
�Then we should assist them. Drayce has already escaped us
twice. We should not let that happen again.�
�I agree, Knight Krysira.� Entok turned to the pilot.
�Head back in the direction that we last saw Elkan going in.�
The transport lifted off.
The driver of the ground transport had leapt out of his
vehicle, after hitting Drayce. He looked horrified at the site of the Exoian
lying on the ground.
�I...I...am terribly sorry!� The man said in a trembling
voice. �I will face my punishment for what I have done.� He recognized the
clothing that Elkan wore, depicting him as a resistance warrior.
Elkan turned to face the man, still holding Ebby. �You
will not be punished,� he told the man.
The man stared at him. �But I have...killed a man!� He
gestured at Drayce�s still form.
Elkan smiled gently. �This man was a traitor to the Exoian
people. He deserved his fate.� His smile grew wider. �It was an accident. No
one will fault you.�
�But...�
�I assure you that there will be no repercussions from
this incident.�
�Thank-you...� He got back into his vehicle, driving away.
Qui-Gon, Elkan and Obi-Wan heard the sound of a ship
moving closer to their location. The young Jedi apprentice signaled the ship by
waving his hands, as the ship came into view. The ship began to descend nearby.
The ship�s ramp entrance had barely opened, when Krysira
leapt out, sprinting towards the small group. The ramp descended and two
warriors followed.
Elkan set Ebby on her feet.
Krysira joined them and looked at Qui-Gon. �Where is
Drayce?� She questioned.
Qui-Gon motioned to the figure lying on the ground. �He is
dead,� he told her. �He was trying to escape from us, when he inadvertently
stepped into the path of that transport.�
The female Jedi folded her arms across her chest. �I see,�
she replied softly. �I had hoped that we would take Drayce alive.�
�As did I,� Qui-Gon agreed. �However, that was not meant
to be.�
Krysira nodded, while the two warriors gathered up
Drayce�s lifeless body, taking him back to the ship.
�We should return to the government center,� Krysira
suggested.
�Can I go too, pretty lady?� Ebby blurted out, tugging on
Krysira's tunic, not seeing the pained expression on her father�s face.
The female Jedi gazed down at the little girl�s innocent
face. Krysira blinked, realizing that this was this was the same child she saw
playing with Porthos in her latest dream/vision and smiled gently. �Of course,
little one.� Krysira touched Ebby�s cheek.
Ebby beamed a smile up at Elkan. �I get to go on the ship,
Daddy!�
Elkan picked up his daughter. �I would never dream of
leaving you behind, Ebby.� He headed towards the ship.
The three Jedi exchanged a look, knowing that their
mission was just about over. They followed Elkan and Ebby back to the ship.