TITAN

AE II

The Secret of the Drej

I do not own any of these characters, settings, and designs (even though I treat them as if I do). They all belong to Fox Animation Studios, therefore, I am not liable. Any plot or storyline that is in the slightest bit similar is merely coincidence; I came up with this all on my own. As a side note all Drej conversation has been written in English for a better understanding for the reader. I suggest you print it out because it is pretty long, just remember to come back and review.

Chapter 1 - New Earth

3044-

Cale and Akima scanned the new landscape that they could now call their home. It was so fresh and inviting, even devoid of life, it was beautiful. The waves crashed at the wake on the rocks below and the rain fell with no seeming intention of stopping; it was perfect. The Andali sun pierced through the mystic clouds that rolled overhead and the air was fresh, so full of life and was filled with the aroma of the rain.

"Wow," Cale said with his arm around Akima's waist. He thought he had never cared about something like a new earth, but thanks to her, he discovered what all other humans knew. Every species deserves a home, and now, the human race had one too.

"What do we do now, Cale?" Akima asked turning toward Cale. She had a mixed countenance of joy and yet, confusion. She stood there with her hair heavy and darkened slightly by the rain.

"I guess we wait here until the colonies arrive." he replied down at her with rain running down his bangs and his hand now gripping her right upper arm. "When they do arrive, what would you like to do?" Cale asked with a large smile on his face. He shot her that smile that reassured her that everything was going to be all right.

"I suppose we should set up some sort of shelter." Akima suggested. The new earth left her not able to think; the idea of having their own planet was not tangible to her, even though she had dreamed about it since she was four.

Cale looked up for an instant and returned to focusing his gaze at Akima, "We can live in the Phoenix; the governor of New Bangkok used it as a home, remember?" Cale said with that familiar smile again. He then noticed that she wasn't just looking at him, she was gazing deeply into his eyes. She then put her left arm around his neck and almost pulled him down to her. He welcomed it by holding her with his right arm around her waist. Their faces got closer and Akima let out a little smile. Then, his lips pressed firmly on hers. The feeling was so wonderful and the embrace so tight, that the rain began to lose its chill. With their eyes closed in this deep kiss there was a feeling of well being among them, and they both felt it.

Cale pulled away from that embrace only to look at Akima as he still held her, and she him. "Akima," he said quietly as he still peered into her eyes, "I've known you for about a year now, and I think this seems appropriate." Cale said as they both let go of each other.

"Cale?" She said, just a little perplexed. Cale just stood there gathering his words. It wasn't too long before he completed his statement.

"Akima, please forgive me, but under the circumstances, this is all I have." Cale said while pulling off his ring and, gently while holding her hand, slipped the gold ring on to her middle finger, "I have learned that in that last year, I want to share this new home with you for the rest of my life." She looked up at him for she had a clue as to what this meant. Her eyes were nearly filled with tears of joy. "Akima, will you be my wife?" He finished as he knelt in front of her.

As soon as he had finished speaking she attacked him with a hug. Their cheeks were both touching and her chin was just over his shoulder. With tears of joy in her eyes she whispered into his ear, "Always." The hair in between was pushed upward as Cale put his arms around her. "Always," she repeated. She slightly just pulled her head away as Cale held both of her cheeks and kissed her again. A ship was landing off in the distance, but they hadn't noticed it. They both were too involved in the moment to notice anything else. The ground was moist and cold with the light sprinkle of the crystal clear rain.

"You're shaking." Cale said with a slight concern. "Come on; let's get you inside." He said getting up and helping her up off the ground. He put his arm around her shoulders to keep her warm and they both ran toward the Phoenix

_____________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, a small ship was docking with the Titan, which was in an orbit around the New Earth. The small spacecraft was in the shape of a rhombus and had diagonal yellow and black stripes painted on it. It crept closer and closer to the docking arm until it finally locked. Onboard was a science team that was to tend to the Titan.

"Haven't seen this thing in a while," said a man with a mustache. He was wearing a brown jacket and had even darker shoes on. He walked down the docking arm opening large, metallic doors. There were eleven others with him.

"Where exactly are these specimens, again?" a woman with black hair and glasses asked the man with the mustache.

"Up ahead; believe me, you won't miss them!" he replied. They opened the door that revealed the DNA specimens that they were to clone. Everything was just the way Cale and Akima had left it. The spacey room was still all gold and the computer console was all lit up along with the holograms on the turret controls. The woman went to go turn these off when she noticed the small blinking icon on the outside of the green hologram of the Titan.

"It looks like somebody is outside!" she said while pointing to it and addressing the man with the mustache. He ran over to it and thought for a little bit.

"I'll have somebody check it out." he said as he walked toward the rest of the team and picked a man to go and identify what it was. He went up and suited himself up in a spacesuit that Cale had used to join the circuit breakers. When he found the room with the faulty circuit breaker, he called in to the man with the mustache.

"Sir, you wanted to know what that blinking light was?" he said as his voice was a little muffled with static.

"Yeah, what is it?" the man with the mustache replied.

"I found a man, dead, he looks about, uh, mid 40's if I had to guess."

"Any idea as to what he died of?"

"Yeah, when I opened the room, a ton of blood was floating around; he appears to have a gash in his side. However, I found him jammed in the circuit breakers; might have died of electrical shock. Uh, anyway, what do I do with him?"

"Bring him to me; I would like to try something." the man with the mustache finished.

"Yeah, whatever." was all the scout had to say.

_____________________________________________________________________

Light-years away, a conspiracy was being planned. The room pulsated with a blue energy and two Droheh stood patiently. Then a third rose up from the floor with one tangled arm higher than the other.

"Molalah, you've finally arrived." the Drej named Lehedihir said with its arms spread.

"I have been thinking quite a bit and have conjured up a solution to our problem." Molalah said while beginning to pace with its arms folded behind its back. The problem the Drej now had was that they were without a queen, and with no one to guide them, they did not know what to do. The Drej named Tigaj, a general spoke up.

"And what is this you've been thinking about?" Tigaj asked, growing impatient.

"What makes any normal drone a queen?" Molalah asked trying to get them to realize what it was about to say. Lehedihir and Tigaj both knew the answer, but it seemed foolish to them to answer.

"The Orb can make any drone a queen," Lehedihir shouted, "We all knew that, but we don't have it. It was destroyed along with Queen Susquehana when she was destroyed by the Titan." The energy in the walls shook along with Lehedihir's voice. The void that was Molalah's face stared back at Lehedihir. They all had eyes since the Queen was dead and they had their own free will.

"You know that before Octajava, the one that destroyed Earth, that the entire Drej species was originally ruled by a triarchy, three queens," Molalah raised a long, thin finger from its balled fist as if to appear intelligent, "If there were three queens then that means that there was, at one time, three Orbs. We do know that one was destroyed and that another was stolen by a D'amaran which started the war. So, where is the missing Orb?" Tigaj looked at Lehedihir for he understood what Molalah was shrieking about. Then, Lehedihir realized that Molalah had a point. Where is this third Orb if only two were destroyed?

"I suggest we find this third Orb; we are in need of a queen and haven't the Orb to destine a ruler," Tigaj started by walking toward a window, "I am a general, I can send several teams of slijah to discover the position of the lost Orb." He then turned to see Lehedihir who was becoming unsettled.

"I was Octajava's right-hand Drej," Lehedihir said while holding out his hand in a reasoning way, "that means that I should help you in your quest." Lehedihir didn't really want to help Tigaj, but only for the sake that he himself might obtain the Orb. He was originally next in line when Queen Octajava ruled, but when Susquehana ingested the Orb, he felt he was cheated out of being in command.

"You have no more authority, Lehedihir, Octajava is no longer in commission." Tigaj stated rather abruptly.

"But Susquehana never relieved me of my position." Lehedihir argued. Tigaj nodded his head in agreement. All three left the room and went to plan their tasks.

_____________________________________________________________________

"Akima," Cale said while turning on the heater inside the Phoenix while Akima was wrapped in a large, felt blanket, "would you like to keep your maiden name?" he asked. She was laying down in a bed that was connecting to the wall of the spacecraft. She sat up to answer his question.

" 'Akima Tucker,' hmm, has a nice ring to it. Why not?" Akima said while her eyes followed Cale as he walked in the room. It was never her intention to keep her maiden name, Cale just asked.

"Are you sure you're not goin' to miss 'Akima Kunimoto?' I mean, you really want to be a 'Tucker'?" He said while walking up to her and squatting in front of the bed. She gave him a sarcastic look.

"Of course; why wouldn't I?" she replied. He put his hand on her shoulder. She looked at his hand and then looked back up at his face. "Cale, I want to keep our relationship close but still --platonic."

"What do you mean by that?" he said as he stood up and walked back over to the heater and turned it off. He wanted the room to be dry ,but not humid.

"I don't mind living with you 'n all, but I would like to enter into marriage as a virgin; it's one of the things my grandmother taught me." she said while turning to put her feet on the floor. He leaned on the wall with his elbow and turned his head to look at her.

"To tell you the truth I'm one also. I never had a chance to be involved with anybody. Tek always seemed to take me somewhere where there weren't a lot of humans." he walked over to Akima and sat down beside her on the bed. "If you want to, I can wait; no, I will wait, Akima, for you." He gave her a small kiss, simply because he didn't want to get carried away, and stood back up. He crawled up into the cockpit and sat on the back of the pilot's chair for the Phoenix was horizontal. He peered around looking out of the cockpit window at the expanse of the earth. Off in the distance he noticed a small drifter colony ship that had detached from the whole colony and landed. Its shape could only be seen in the light, mystic fog. He smiled to see people other than them on New Earth and jumped off of the back of the seat to find Akima.

"Akima, they've landed! They're here! Come and see!" he rushed into the room to find Akima lying down on the bed again. She sat up once again and removed the blanket from her.

"Where are they?" she asked, full of excitement. Cale grabbed her hand and led her up into the cockpit where he was seated. Cale pointed at the piece of the colony off in the distance. "We need to move the Phoenix over there, Cale." Akima taught as Cale gave her puzzled look.

"Why," Cale asked.

"For things like food. What we have here won't last forever and we need someplace to get more." she said. They buckled up and started the engine. The engines rumbled as they lifted off the ground. Akima slowly flew the Phoenix over to the settlement and landed it a short ways away. The colony ships all landed in a way that sort of made it a city. Cale and Akima opened the door to the Phoenix and climbed down to the earth.

"I wonder what colony this is." Cale pondered as he methodically climbed down the ladder. Akima was first to get off of the ladder and began to share Cale's curiosity, but somehow it was familiar to her and she didn't know how.

"I don't know, let's go ask around," she suggested. They walked up to a oriental man wearing a long, brown cloak. He was rather round with a bald head and green, grimy goggles that hid his eyes. He didn't notice them at first because he was surveying the landscape.

"Excuse me, sir," Akima asked as she caught his attention, "do you know the name of this colony?" The man stood there for a bit taking in what she asked.

"Houston," said he with a garbled voice. Akima turned to Cale who was busy looking at all the people.

"Cale," she alerted as she tugged his arm, "this is the colony I grew up in. I must not have recognized it scattered all over the place like this." Akima smiled to be back home again.

"Really, I guess you want to live here now?" he asked while putting his hands in his pockets. She nodded. They spent the rest of the day getting acquainted with people and telling them that they were responsible for New Earth.