Path of Destiny - Chapter 2
The Path of Destiny
Chapter Two
Part One
Ryvinia’s quarters
Ryvinia came out
of the refresher. She had made herself presentable after crying earlier. She
paced around the main room of her quarters.
“I can not believe
I said that to Malcolm!” Ryvinia exclaimed out loud to the empty room. “He must
think that I am a fool!” She dropped onto a chair, gazing out a window. “He
must have a mate or be in a serious relationship. He is far too handsome not to
have a female companion.” She sighed heavily. “I was foolish to think that any
man, especially a human, would be attracted to me. Besides, I have too much to
do to waste my time seeking a relationship!” She said harshly, but with hardly
any truth or conviction in her tone.
She rose to her
feet and walked over to a console, pressing a button.
Roxx’s image
appeared on the small screen. “Yes, Counselor?” He replied.
“Roxx, please
inform the Jedi and all our guests that we will be meeting in the main
conference room in an hour,” she told him.
“It will be done,
Counselor.”
Ryvinia nodded.
“Good.” She pressed the button again and the teenager’s image disappeared.
The Exoian
counselor then looked at her clothes, scowling, then headed into another part
of her quarters to refresh herself for the meeting to come.
Part Two
Enterprise – Bridge
“Report,” T’Pol
said.
“No damage
reported,” Travis replied.
“Good.” She rose
from the comm chair to stand beside Travis, who glanced up at her. “Now we
follow...breadcrumbs.”
Travis merely
grinned at T’Pol’s usage of a very human expression.
T’Pol nodded to
the ensign that was filling in at the science station. The ensign touched a
button and two vapor trails were seen: one was older, erratic and fading, while
the other one was more recent and smooth. Both headed towards a nearby planet.
“Proceed to that
planet, Ensign,” T’Pol ordered.
“Yes,
Sub-commander,” Travis responded.
T’Pol reseated
herself, as Travis plotted a course for the planet.
Part Three
Quiet corridor
Trip and Krysira
walked slowly down a corridor towards the conference room. Trip took a hold of
Krysira’s hand, feeling her fingers slip between his. They enjoyed this quiet
time alone together.
Upon approaching a
junction in the corridor, Trip saw Malcolm come into view, looking preoccupied.
That was a look that the chief engineer had never seen on the security
officer’s face before.
“Hey, Malcolm,”
Trip called out, releasing Krysira’s hand.
The British
officer jerked his head around to see Trip and Krysira standing nearby. He gave
them a weak smile, running his hand through his short dark hair.
“Ah...Commander...Krysira,” he said a bit nervously. “Sorry...I didn’t see
you.”
“That is alright,
Malcolm,” Krysira replied.
“Is something
wrong?” Trip questioned.
“Um...well...”Malcolm
began, looking down at his feet.
Krysira studied
Malcolm for a moment or two, then turned to Trip, touching his hand. “Trip, I
will go ahead to the conference room,” she suggested.
“Okay, Krys,” Trip
replied, touching one of her soft cheeks affectionately.
The attractive
female Jedi smiled tenderly. She nodded to Malcolm, then continued down the
main corridor towards the conference room.
Trip watched her
until she went around a corner, then looked back at Malcolm.
“So...what’s
wrong, Malcolm?” Trip questioned.
“Well...um...I
guess what’s...bothering me, is...um...about a relationship with...someone from
this...universe,” Malcolm stated a bit awkwardly.
Trip’s blue eyes
narrowed dangerously, as he took a threatening step towards Malcolm. “Are you
saying that I shouldn’t be involved with Krys?” He questioned in a dangerous
tone.
“No! No! I wasn’t
referring to you and Krysira, Commander!” Malcolm quickly said.
Trip relaxed then
looked at Malcolm curiously. “Then what did you mean?”
“I was referring
to Ryvinia and myself.” He cleared his throat. “Earlier, in the conference
room, she said that she was quite...taken...by me.”
Trip grinned. “I
could see that she was. So what did you say to her?”
Malcolm cleared
his throat. “I actually...well, I...didn’t say anything. I just stared at her.
I didn’t know what to say. I was...stunned.”
“You didn’t
say...anything? Then...what happened?”
“She thought that
she offended me and ran out of the room.” Malcolm sighed heavily. “I-I really
don’t know what to do, Commander.”
Trip thought for a
few moments. He realized that there was only one thing for Malcolm to do, for
he had just done it himself. He laid a hand on one of Malcolm’s shoulders. “The
best thing that I can tell you, Malcolm is to just listen to your heart,” he
replied, then smiled. “Like I did.”
Malcolm stared at
his superior officer, then nodded in realization.
“Let’s get going
to the conference room,” Trip suggested.
“Yes, sir,”
Malcolm replied.
The two Enterprise officers proceeded down the corridor.
Part Four
Conference room
Archer sat in one
of the oversized chairs at the table. He knew that he was early, but he just
needed to be alone with his thoughts. Besides, Hoshi was still trying to decide
what to wear. He had to admit that Hoshi was right about being grungy. He
glanced at himself and allowed a faint smile to appear. Not
exactly...regulation.
He looked up as
the door slid open to see Krysira enter. “Hi,” he said.
The attractive
female Jedi Knight saw Archer sitting at the table. “Greetings, Captain Archer,”
Krysira replied, bowing slightly. “I trust I am not disturbing you?”
Archer rose to his
feet. “No...not at all. Please...join me.” He motioned to a chair.
“Thank-you.”
Krysira seated herself.
Archer sat back
down. “Where’s Trip?”
“He is speaking
with Malcolm. They will be along shortly.”
He nodded.
She studied Archer
for a moment or two. “Are you rested, Captain?”
“Yes, I am.” He
paused. “I want to thank-you for helping rescue Hoshi and myself.”
“You are welcome.
Trip helped as well.”
Archer gazed at
Krysira for a few long moments after hearing an extremely deep affection in her
soft voice for his chief engineer.
“Yes, he did,”
Archer agreed nodding. He paused for a beat. “I’ve noticed how very...close you
and Trip are.” He saw Krysira gaze back at him. “In fact...” He leaned forward,
resting his arms on the table. “If I didn’t know any better...I’d say that the
two of you are in love.”
Krysira studied
Archer intently for a few brief moments, then allowed a soft smile to appear on
her soft pink lips. She merely nodded. “You are quite intuitive, Captain. A
skill that you no doubt rely on in your position, as do Jedi.” She was quite
impressed with Archer’s perceptiveness of the situation between herself and
Trip.
Archer was about
to continue, when the door slid open again to reveal Hoshi. The attractive
communications officer wore a slightly oversized blouse and skirt.
Although he wanted
to talk further to Krysira, Archer felt that that could wait for now, even
though he briefly wondered how deep their love ran and what would that mean to
himself, the crew, and Enterprise.
Part Five
Conference room
The door slid open
to allow Ryvinia to enter. The Exoian woman nodded politely to the three
humans, as she took her place at the head of the table.
Moments later,
Malcolm and Trip entered. Malcolm noted that Ryvinia did not acknowledge his
presence. Both men looked curiously at their captain.
Archer raised a
hand. “Just needed a change of clothes,” he told them.
Both men merely
grinned at each other. Trip made his way over to Krysira’s other side, while
Malcolm, along with Hoshi sat on Archer’s other side.
Soon, Obi-Wan,
Qui-Gon and Lonan entered, followed shortly by Caden, Trey and Chelz. Finally,
Elkan, Kaylar and Gadi came in.
Once everyone was
settled, Ryvinia stood.
“First of all, I
want to thank everyone for coming,” Ryvinia began. “And I also want to
thank-you for apprehending Drayce.”
“What will happen
to Drayce now?” Elkan questioned.
“He will stand
trial for the deaths of ten Exoian women, Noble Vartan, Honor Zarnay and
warrior Vallen. If convicted, he will receive the death penalty.”
Elkan folded his
arms across his chest. “If convicted? Are you saying that there is a
chance that he could be...freed?”
“I do not wish to
make assumptions for the Tribunal, Elkan. They are fair and just people.
However, I do know that they do not tolerate treachery against the
Exoian people, such as the kind Drayce committed.”
The resistance
leader looked thoughtful for a few moments, then nodded.
There were a few
moments of silence, then Lonan spoke: “Counselor Ryvinia?”
Ryvinia looked at
the young page. “Yes, Lonan?” She questioned.
“I was wondering
how we are to get Prefect Ca-Yanne and her people back home to Rybrill.”
Ryvinia gazed
gently at Lonan. “Unfortunately, I have no idea how to accomplish this, unless
we can find a ship big enough to carry them all.”
Although
disappointed, Lonan merely nodded.
Archer leaned
forward and was about to speak when the communication console behind Ryvinia
started beeping.
Ryvinia turned and
touched a button. The screen burst to life to reveal a female technician.
“What is
it?” Ryvinia questioned her tone a bit hard.
“Forgive the
intrusion, Counselor,” the female tech began. “But our sensors have detected a
large ship heading towards the planet. Its configuration is unlike anything we
have ever seen before.”
Ryvinia looked
concerned. “Do you have a visual?”
“Yes, Counselor. A
moment please.”
The screen went
dark, then a few moments later, burst to life. The group saw a large
saucer-shaped vehicle moving gracefully through space. Two large pylons were
positioned in a “V” shape and each was perpendicularly attached to the saucer
section.
Archer allowed a
big grin to cross his face. “I think I can help you with the Rybrillian
situation,” he said motioning towards the screen.
Trip grabbed
Krysira’s hand under the table, holding it tightly, as his thoughts found their
way to Krysira’s mind.
/”Krys!”/ There
was anguish in Trip’s thought.
/”Calm, Trip,”/
Krysira soothed over their bond. /”Trust in the Force.”/
/”I know,
sweetheart, but...”/ he trailed off, not knowing what else to say.
/”I know, my love,
but let us see what will happen.”/ She squeezed his hand in comfort.
Trip willed
himself to relax. /”Okay.”/
Upon feeling
Trip’s anxiety level drop, Krysira squeezed his hand again. /”Good.”/ She
sounded pleased, as she closed the connection between them.
Caden looked
curiously at Archer. “What do you mean?” He questioned, his deep bass voice
resonating in the large room.
“That’s my
ship,” Archer replied with a smile.
Part Six
Holding cell
Former chief of
staff Drayce threw up his hands in disgust, as he paced angrily around his
small cell the best he could.
“I do not
believe this!” Drayce growled under his breath. “The technicians did a far more
thorough job building these cells than I had anticipated!”
He stood facing
away from the cell door with his arms folded across his chest, glaring at
nothing in particular. He could not believe that Ryvinia and the rest actually
had defeated him.
Then...
“My lord Drayce,”
a smooth refined voice said softly with respect.
Drayce whirled
around to see that his cell was open and an extremely handsome Exoian man with
short hair stood in the doorway. “Myrek...how?” It was all Drayce could ask. He
was surprised to say the least.
Myrek merely
smirked, something that he learned all too well from being in Drayce’s service.
“I have my sources, my lord,” he replied. “I had assumed that you did not want
to stay in here any longer than necessary.” He tilted his head slightly to one
side. “Was I...mistaken?” His eyes glinted slightly.
Drayce caught the
expression and allowed a slow smile to spread across his face. Had it been
anyone other than one of his personal guards Myrek or Jeyzen, they would be
dead. “Do you really think I wish to remain any longer in
these...accommodations?” He said the last word in disgust.
Myrek’s smirk grew
slightly. “I thought not, my lord.”
“I assume that
my...path is unobstructed?”
“Of course...but
there is enough time to make good your...departure.”
“Excellent.”
Drayce moved over to Myrek, laying a hand on the other man’s shoulder.” Meet me
at my place in the city...however this is what I want you to do first...”