Chapter 16 - The Secret of the Drej
Cale sped in his small Drej fighter toward the mothership. It had been a long journey through space, but it didn't seem so long to Cale. He was too blanked out by the Drej's signals. It loomed there, the large, blue ship. The three towers that were on the top and bottom of the craft made it look very similar to the Alahenena. There were three, quadrilateral openings on each side of the large craft that almost gave the sides an appearance like that of a face. There were two smaller, wider ones side-by-side and one larger, longer one in mid-bottom. The larger opening led to the hanger for the slijah and Cale flew toward that.
Cale flew slowly, inside the ship. The interior was blue, it seemed as if there was a blue smoke that filled the inside of the craft. Pillars that seemed to weave the ship together by attaching to the floor and ceiling, or wall to wall. Cale brought the slijah to rest on a landing strip near the entrance of the mothership. It was very similar to the landing pad Cale had escaped from in the Alahenena.
He fell through the bottom of the fighter and onto the floor of the landing pad. Looking around he saw several other slijah parked not far from where he was. There was an entourage of Droheh standing by Cale's stolen slijah. One large drone, who was deep blue in color, approached Cale and stopped a short distance away. "The Queen has been expecting you," he said in the Drej language, "We will take you to the Shaper of the Will, now." Cale nodded and followed.
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Cale stood in front of an all too familiar looking throne room. There were countless drones lined up in squares on either side of the platform. Cale stood on the platform that had a magnificent design on it. His eyes still glowed with the Drej's energy. The ceiling was high, the room was large, and the stars were visible through a large viewing port behind him.
A swirling mass of energy loomed before him. It all seemed to be emanating from a central point. It sent forth streams of blue and white that shot from it into the nearby walls around it. There was a type of blue ring about it; making it some sort of portal. It was a massive ring that was situated in the wall of the room.
A blue hand grew out of the energy, followed by an arm and another Drej hand. Soon, the entire queen was visible. She stood, looming in great height and power. Her four stilt-like legs held her large body up above the ground. Her back legs came out of her front legs and curved in the opposite direction. Her four-fingered hands were large and thick while thinner arms held them. Her neck curled around like a question mark with a large head at the end of it. Blue encompassed her black nothingness of a face while the eyes glowed menacingly.
"Cale," the Queen began, "awaken my child and embrace the glory of the Drej. Know that I am Hexajava, the new Shaper of the Will. To become one of my servants, you must first learn our ways." Cale still stood with a straight expression on his face. "You must always obey my command and you shall not challenge your queen. By doing so will I ensure your destruction. My vast armies will make sure will not survive in such a case; this is the system of checks and balances."
"As you wish." Cale blankly responded.
"Excellent." Hexajava replied, "General Tigaj," she addressed as she pointed to the large, deep blue Drej creature, "educate young Cale on matters concerning us." Tigaj stepped forward. This time, his eyes were missing from his countenance for again, with a Queen in rule, they had no will of their own. The Queen allowed things to happen, but only to the betterment of herself. Tigaj walked toward Cale and made a gesture to Cale to follow him. Cale nodded and followed him into a room where the General stayed.
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Cale walked into the center of the room and stood with a blank expression on his face. Tigaj followed him and stepped around in front of Cale. Cale began to come out of his blank state and actually looked around the room. His fiery blue eyes beheld all that was around him. His attention was then focused on Tigaj as he stood before him. Cale turned and sat down on the floor with his back set on the coursing wall.
"How did you-" Cale began only to be interrupted by Tigaj.
"Get you?" Tigaj finished Cale's sentence.
"Well, now tell me how you read my mind." Cale blankly said.
"All we Drej are telepathically connected to the Queen. She sees through us when she wishes and determines our path of action. Sometimes, we can channel thoughts for ourselves through her and read each other's minds." Tigaj explained.
"How did you get me?" Cale asked while looking down at the floor before him.
"You've heard of our New Technology. Is that correct?" Tigaj asked with his arms folded behind his back.
"Yes, somewhat, but I do not know how it works." Cale replied.
If Tigaj could smile, he would have. Instead, he began collecting words to help Cale understand exactly how it works. "If you look all around you, you will see mere objects, but it's what powers those objects is what is more important to us. You see, all around you is energy. Of course, you can only see kinetic energy as potential is stationary, but everything has energy nevertheless.
"As you know, we Drej are made of concentrated energy in bodily form. It was then that we realized that we Drej are really all across the universe. It is simply that we could not communicate with our smaller brethren before. Every time you saw something move, every time electricity runs through a wire, every time you flick on one of your primitive light bulbs is one of our kind with you. They are used for one's advantage and burn out without ever having a life.
"The weapon was originally designed for ships. It sends out a signal that allowed us to connect with our brethren. We could then tell them to make their own decisions and flow how they wanted to. They could steer ships, shoot with amazing accuracy, and even explode.
"The weapon was redesigned to configure to creatures as well. We hit you with a wave of this energy. We can now control your very synapse fire in your brain." Tigaj explained as he walked closer and knelt down beside Cale, putting his face to Cale's. "We can control your thoughts and emotions. The old you is gone. Cale Tucker has ceased to exist. You are now merely another drone with a human body."
Cale still had some of his human consciousness left. With what little he had, he screamed in his mind. He was kicking and screaming within himself. The Drej side of Cale kept him under control. Restraining him from lashing out at all of the Drej. Then, he remembered the time he was hit on Gianni. That must have been when the energy was instilled into him!
"Is there any way the old Cale can escape from your control?" Cale asked, as his head sank into his knees. He held his legs as he sat next to the wall.
"No," Tigaj answered, getting up from his kneeling position, "Why? You don't want him to come back do you?" Tigaj's voice roared.
"So then, what do I do from here?" Cale again asked.
"I honestly do not know. It is up to Queen Hexajava to determine your destiny." Tigaj told. Tigaj looked around, almost as if he were checking that he and Cale were the only two in the room. He walked up next to Cale and copied his position, sitting down and holding his legs. "Just between you and me, I don't want Hexajava in rule. There's next to nothing I can do about it now, but perhaps you can."
"How?" Cale asked.
"You'll have to figure that out for yourself. You see, the Drej are far too advanced for their own good. Every species starts with a pioneering stage in their evolution. This is when the species is fewer and primitive. The Drej are nearing the end of our climax stage. Soon, we will not have the ability to continue in our evolution and will eventually be destroyed. I fear that the only way for us to continue is to become a lesser species. Mixing the humans with us is one way to complete"
Just then, Cale felt a strong pulling in his mind. He showed it by holding his head. "The Queen calls for you," Tigaj told, "go and don't disappoint her... yet."
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Cale stood in the throne room once more. He was on the large platform that was before the Queen. Countless drones lined up once again in long rows to form squares on the large floor. She stood there in all of her magnificence. Cale had a blank, mindless expression on his face. Inside, though, Cale longed to be free.
"Cale my minion, I have called for you." Hexajava said as she arose from the swirling energy in the portal-like throne.
"Yes, my master." Cale acknowledged. The Queen was pleased at his submissiveness.
"I've read that you have a daughter on the way, do you not?" Hexajava asked.
"I do." Cale responded.
"At the time of her birth, I want you to retrieve her for me." The Queen began, "I want you to have an heir who will not have a knowledge of a life before us. This will ensure that she will not try to overthrow me, but that we might rule together with one accord. The daughter of Tucker must be converted." The Queen paused, allowing Cale to gather what she'd said. "Can it be done?" Hexajava asked.
"Yes," Cale's many voices replied, "she will soon be yours to command, but her delivery is not for a while; a few more human weeks, possibly."
"When the appropriate time comes, you shall dock with the human craft and capture your own blood." Hexajava told.
"Yes, my master." Cale replied. Cale bowed and walked away.
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Cale stayed with the Drej. Their energy fed him as a replacement for soluble food. It told his mind that he was being fed so it, in a way, fed itself. In the time that he stayed he learned all the Drej traditions, customs, and their way of life. He still thought about Akima, though. Whatever remnants of the mind he used to have, he preoccupied with her.
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"I wonder if he still thinks of me." Akima said to herself as she sat in her room. She spent a lot of time talking to herself. To her, it was like he was answering. She thought about all they'd been through together: Sesharrim, New Bangkok, Andali, the Titan, Kronos, Qu'ut Minor, D'amara, and now this. She calculated how long they'd been married. She ended up with the conclusion of ten months altogether.
Come to think of it, that isn't that long as far as marriages are concerned. Basically, they were sort of still newlyweds. Well, Cale treated her like one, but now he wasn't around anymore. Once she thought of it that way, she began to get the concept of being a twenty-one year old widowed mother. That idea scared her. She continued hoping that he'd return to her.