“Cal-com said I should expect more of you, and that you can take more responsibility than others. He said you are blinded in your loyalty, but your loyalty is a powerful asset that should not be destroyed through indoctrination. He said you work together as a group, and that that should be your guiding direction. But the question is, will the group do what’s necessary?” he challenged.
“You’ve been ordered by the Zak’de’ron to follow my orders, but here I am telling you they are not to be trusted. Do you still follow their orders, or take my counsel and don’t? You no longer have the option of blind loyalty. You must make a choice. A war for the fate of the galaxy is ongoing. Do you wish to become true protectors? The role the Zak’de’ron began to groom you for but then denied you? You can achieve it with Star Force and rise to become a power worthy of kindship with us, or you can cling to the departing Zak’de’ron and continue to be their dupes. Your usefulness to them is over, so they are abandoning you. Soon there won’t be a single one of them left in the galaxy…so what is to become of you?”
He let that question hang in the air a moment.
“Cal-com said if I called you to duty you would respond, so that is what I am doing. I call upon you to join us as protectors of this galaxy. To rid it of the Hadarak and all others who would pillage and destroy, and threaten the peaceful with annihilation or other evil. If you answer this call we can skip indoctrination and start building immediately. The war isn’t going to wait, and the sooner you join us in the fight the worse it will be for the Hadarak. So the question is now before you. Will you cling to the memories of the past and the lies of the Hadarak that have now left you behind? Or will you answer the call to war, and learn from us how to truly fight with honor and loyalty. The Zak’de’ron did not teach you everything, for they feared you might grow powerful enough to threaten them. Cal-com began to, which is why they had to get rid of him, and he says you can as well if given the opportunity.”
“I am giving you that opportunity now, so what say you? Must I break you of your bad habits first, or will you rise above the lies of the past to answer the call to greatness. To become protectors of the galaxy, as has been your fake destiny all along. Now you have a chance to make it a real one, and I will show you how. Star Force doesn’t fear you, and doesn’t fear strength, for we are not manipulators like the Zak’de’ron. We truly are dominant, but we have not claimed this galaxy yet. The Hadarak stand in our way, and we are trying to protect as many people as we can against their might, which extends beyond this galaxy to many others. The Hadarak have reinforcements they can draw from other galaxies, so even if we claim this one the war will not be over. We must first take it, then we must hold it. A task worthy of any protector, but one that is only feasible for the most elite.”
“Cal-com said you had the potential to become elite, and after meeting him I agree. The Voku are worthy, I believe, but ultimately that will be determined by your actions, not my imagination. So I call upon all Voku and the newly returned Bo’ja. Join us willingly, and I will complete your training as we go along the path of transforming the breeding ground into a full-fledged Faction of Star Force, and one that will join the ranks of the other elite protectors already doing battle against the Hadarak.”
“You are not ready for that now, but we must begin preparations now…or we can go the indoctrination route and lose a thousand years in the process. Do you have the mental fortitude to analyze the situation for what it is, or is all you possess blind loyalty? Cal-com thinks you can rise above this limitation. Break this last chain the Zak’de’ron enslaved you with. Will you join me in freedom and answer the call of the Protector? What say you, Voku? What is your true merit?”
The rumbling was there, and louder than before, but other than that it was still silence…and this time Hightower refused to break it, waiting for their answer as he scanned their minds. There were many different thoughts, confused, hurt, defiant…but sooner the rumble of audible confusion had competition. A song was being sung by a few, and it quickly began to spread.
Hightower didn’t know what it was, so as it began to grow clearer he searched the Voku database via his armor at a thought, finding it to be an ancient song from before the Zak’de’ron had found them. It had survived all this time as a lesson, for it was a crude song that showed strongheaded defiance was the path to destruction. Loyalty and obedience were the path the Zak’de’ron provided and that had elevated the Voku. This song from the past, called Nuri’tu, was an example of what no to do, and it was the only bit of history from before the Zak’de’ron that still survived.
And now they were singing it. A war song. A song dedicated to total attack. Never retreat, never surrender, to the death. At first Hightower thought it was defiance against him and Star Force, but then he started
