Chapter Twenty
Drellic had always known that there was something strange about Delendra Fen. But he never would have guessed that she had become a main informant and operative for the insurgency, immediately after her graduation from her academy.
Hours after Drellic had been taken from Halathos against his will and held at gun point by his sister-in-law, he came to learn some very interesting information about his government.
Delendra, it seemed, had come into possession of some very sensitive data files, indicating that the governments of both Siren and Tyrran had been aware of the Architect’s presence in the galaxy for hundreds of years.
Pages of deep space telescope images of Architect Planet Farmers, sea serpent- like shuttle craft and mechanical probes that resembled tarantulas, were handed to Drellic by the stack; each of them centuries old.
Delendra had said that being the sexually appealing sister-in-law of the Prime Minister was all she needed to acquire the documents. She mocked Drellic; accusing him of blindly following the powers that be, while they conspired to enslave their citizens with the help of the aliens.
Drellic called her theories ludicrous, and insisted that it was the Architects who were the true enemy of the people and not the government. But the internal scan that Delendra’s people had performed on the Architect Flagship, was more than enough to convince Drellic that the aliens were a hostile people.
“We will fight for you,” Delendra said. “But only if you truly believe what you are saying. Furthermore, you must announce your beliefs to the worlds and show them the evidence we have given you. It is your only chance to get what we both want; an uprising.”
Despite his many reservations, Drellic knew Delendra was right. He believed that his people deserved to know about the dangers lurking over their heads. But he also knew that it would take a lot of convincing to sway the judgment of the Architects’ many devoted followers.
He also realized that there would be an agonizing backlash at his own home; his mother and his pregnant wife also being adamant Architect supporters. But each time he thought of the hardships he would soon face with his family, he remembered his father’s words. He remembered that he had sworn to his father that he would do what was necessary to protect Siren from any threat.
He did not then, nor did he ever trust the insurgency. But whether he respected them or not, they had just empowered him with the means to change his people’s hearts and minds about his greater enemies. And that was a power that he was not planning to relinquish.
Later that same day, he convinced Delendra and her associates, beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would bring both their evidence and his own before the worlds of man, in order to cast the first stone against the Architect fleet.
Whether or not he would expose Delendra as an insurgency operative, was a question he decided he would answer much later.
After being absent from his work and family two days longer than he had planned, the High Council contacted Moya, asking for the Prime Minister’s whereabouts, as they had been unable to reach Drellic for the previous six days. His unfortunate run in with the insurgency had cost him his alibi.
When Drellic returned to Kail House on the sixth night, he was greeted by a violent slap across the face; courtesy of his mother.
“How dare you?!” Syll shrieked, as she swung back to hit him again.
She looked hopelessly disheveled in her bathrobe, awkwardly swinging her open palms at her son’s face, as he walked effortlessly into the family room, while holding her back at an arm’s length. Syll hadn’t slept in days, but seeing her son after all the confusion and worry he had caused, was enough to fully reenergize her.
“You think because you’re the Prime Minister, you can treat your family like garbage and lie to us?!” Syll screamed, as she finally let her arms fall to her sides.
“I’m sorry, mother. I truly am,” Drellic began. “But there are many things you don’t understand.”
“Don’t even think about blaming the damned council!” Moya hollered, as she entered the room behind Syll.
“I know you weren’t really in any meetings! I was also told that you offended the Architect Overseer and were thrown off his ship! What the fuck have you been thinking?! Are you trying to alienate all the people who care for you and want to help you?!” Moya yelled; her face red with rage and her eyes staring into his with a cold gaze.
Drellic was on the verge of apologizing, before his wife had made the comment about the Architect ship and Drellic alienating those that could help him.
“Who are you speaking on behalf of now?” Drellic aggressively asked. “Are you defending my family, or are you defending them?”
“I’m defending both,” Moya replied. “You have no reason or right to treat anyone the way you have been lately. You’ve been different ever since you came back from Kier-en.”
“She’s right,” Syll added. “Listen to your wife, my son. We can get passed whatever it is you’re going through. But we need the truth!”
Drellic then smiled and replied, “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. I’ve been doing everything in my power, to bring the truth to light. And I’ve finally found what I’ve been searching for.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Moya asked, as she crossed her arms to avoid Drellic’s touch.
“I’m speaking before the worlds tomorrow, to make a very important announcement,” Drellic boasted, with an arrogant and maniacal grin.
“I suggest you both pay very close attention to what I have to say.”
With those last remarks, Drellic left the room and ascended the grand staircase, leading to the master bedroom. There, he found his father waiting for him, while resting comfortably in the master bed.
“I heard most of it,” Morn said, with a quiet laugh. “So, you did find something then?”
“Oh yes, sir,” Drellic proudly exclaimed. “I found something, alright. They knew, father. They knew about them all along. And worse yet, the aliens are hiding something aboard the Flagship. It’s a massive refrigeration unit, containing spikes of intense radiation; the likes of which I have never seen.”
“It must be a weapon,” Morn hastily replied.
“My thoughts exactly,” said Drellic. “The people need to know about this. No more lies. No more secrets.”
“Put it all out in the open,” Morn rasped, as he coughed up small droplets of blood onto the white sheets on his lap.
“Remember. They may hate you at first. But you will be saving them in the end, and be remembered for all time as a hero. You are doing this for all of mankind. But more importantly, you are doing this for the world that has served our family so well. You are doing this for Siren.”
“Yes, father,” Drellic replied with a respectful nod. “We will force the Architects to reveal themselves to us. Or, perhaps they will simply leave. But the most likely scenario is an obvious one.”
“A war,” Morn whispered.
“War, indeed,” replied Drellic. “May the fates forgive us.”
On the following morning, Drellic stood behind a crystal podium atop the stone steps of the Great Hall, and gave a historic speech that was broadcast throughout the hundreds of thousands of cities across Siren, Tyrran, Bouldon and Kier-en.
Even the members of his own council, standing at attention behind him, had no idea what he had been planning to say. But as the elderly members of the council came to find out, Drellic had placed them in plain view of the public, to expose their knowledge of the Architects, prior to their arrival.
Some members proceeded to argue that the government did not wish to cause a panic throughout the worlds, but Drellic quickly silenced their defenses and proceeded to reveal his personal reasons for being suspicious of the Architects.
What amazed Drellic the most, was how little the majority of his people seemed to care about the Architect’s use of holographic digital representations of themselves, before Drellic pointed i
t out. The people had been so preoccupied with the mass celebrations following the aliens’ arrival that they neglected to see the Architects reluctance to reveal themselves physically, as a potential problem.
Drellic then decided to fuel the fire he had started, by discussing the mystery surrounding the number of Architect ships that were circling the worlds of man. He also used an expression that was quickly becoming one of his many taglines.
“Visitors do not come unannounced, wanting nothing,” he said. “They linger like pests. If they truly want nothing, why are they still here? Are we doomed to follow them? Or, are we just doomed?”
He could then hear an argument brewing in the crowd before him. Those still in favor of the Architects’ presence bickered with those who shared Drellic’s suspicions. It was then that Drellic decided to share a projection of the three dimensional map of the Flagship that Delendra had given him. The holographic schematic was encrypted with a special barcode, representing the technology used to create it, which verified its authenticity.
Those watching and listening, including Drellic’s family and council, were shocked by the amount of hazardous radiation being stored on a ship with no practical use for radioactive materials.
There were some in the crowd that were still not convinced, but the majority of those watching Drellic in downtown Siren City, were open to the possibility that the Architects were not as benevolent as they appeared.
Drellic glanced over at Moya, who had been standing beside the podium the entire time, while he waited for the roar of the crowd to die down. He noticed an impassive expression on her face, as if she were no longer conflicted about the aliens but did not know, or did not wish to express whatever opinion she had chosen.
Once the crowd quieted down, Drellic noticed Delendra standing beside Moya and his mother, staring at him intently. He then nervously looked over the crowd, searching for other members of the insurgency, who could have been lurking in the shadows.
His podium was equipped with an energy shield that would react to any weapon’s fire within less than a millisecond, but for all Drellic knew, a would-be assassin from Delendra’s company, might have had access to technology capable of overriding his shield.
Delendra was searching for something in him; something to further prove his devotion to his convictions. But what Delendra didn’t know, was that Drellic had already planned to invite the Architect Overseer, to personally appear before humanity and defend his people.
“I know you can hear me,” Drellic sternly said into the microphone. “I know you are watching me right now and that you have heard every word I’ve said. Now is the time for you to face me in person, without the use of a preprogrammed hologram, and prove me wrong.”
Several minutes of silence followed Drellic’s challenge to the Overseer. Eventually, several hours had passed without any contact from any Architect ship; yet the fleet was still orbiting the worlds of man, blotting out the stars, as night returned.
Many people remained indoors for the next few days; burrowing themselves in their basements out of fear of an alien attack.
Drellic’s mother and wife remained at a distance during the aftermath of Drellic’s speech; making themselves scarce whenever he returned home. Morn on the other hand was overjoyed at his son’s courage. The two of them shared a congratulatory toast, before Drellic retired to bed one evening.
Moya slept in the family room that night, as she had the last few previous nights, allowing Delendra to discretely sneak into Drellic’s bedroom, while he slept.
She gently touched his shoulder, startling him awake.
“What do you want?” he whispered. “You shouldn’t be here now.”
“Now is exactly the time,” she softly replied. “You need only look out your window, to see why.”
Delendra then took Drellic by the hand and led him to his balcony, where he saw that the Architect Flagship had returned and was hovering over Siren City.
“When did that happen?” Drellic asked.
“A few hours ago,” Delendra replied. “We believe it is a message. A message for you.”
“What’s the message?” Drellic asked.
“You left them the next move and it seems they’ve made it,” Delendra whispered. “I believe he is waiting for you; the Overseer. Perhaps you should give him what he wants.”
“Sure,” Drellic said, sarcastically. “I’ll just head on up there and give him a piece of my mind. That worked so well before, remember? No. I gave him my terms. He can come down here himself and face all of us.”
“I was thinking of something a little more productive, actually,” Delendra said with a smirk, as she handed Drellic a small gray metal box with word characters etched into the top, translating to, “WARNING: BIOHAZARD”.
“How did you get one of these?” Drellic asked. “The military stopped carrying these centuries ago.”
“You should know by now that we have our ways, Drellic,” Delendra answered with a smile.
The device in Drellic’s hands was called a “scrubber”, used to eliminate pockets of radiation after a nuclear war. He knew that it could theoretically be used to render the Architect’s secret weapon inert, but he had no idea, as to how he would ever get it near the secret chamber on the Flagship.”
Delendra then proposed a distraction, courtesy of the insurgency cell in Siren City that would increase Drellic’s chances of boarding the Architect Flagship, without being detected.
“It doesn’t seem possible,” Drellic said in a discouraging tone.
“I thought you were committed to this,” Delendra snapped. “I thought you wanted this for your people. This is the only way.”
“But how can you ensure that this will succeed? How can you guarantee that I will even get on board?” Drellic asked.
“I can’t,” said Delendra. “But I can tell you this. If you don’t try, we will kill both you and your family, then replace you with another martyr. You are only the desired candidate because you’ve already been close to the chamber. You know exactly where it is.”
“I somehow doubt that you’d kill your own sister, Delendra,” Drellic scoffed.
“Don’t be so sure,” Delendra replied. “You’d be amazed at how far I’m willing to go to see this through.”
Delendra then quietly left the room, leaving the scrubber with Drellic. When Drellic returned to bed, he contemplated the possibilities of what the insurgency’s plan might be to get him back to the Architect’s secret chamber.
His mind then drifted back to the first time he’d been there; the moment he heard a woman’s voice whispering his name from inside. He heard her voice over and over again, as he fell back asleep.
He then dreamt of floating in space, as the voice continued calling his name. As he slowly turned to face source of the haunting whispers, he found himself drifting into the path of a white star that set his body ablaze, as he briefly saw his beloved Moya’s face, just before he died.
He awoke in a cold sweat the following morning. As he rolled over onto his side, he found a folded piece of paper on his nightstand that hadn’t been there hours earlier, while he was speaking with Delendra.
He unfolded the page and found that someone had left a message for him. The note read, “The rooftop of the Great Hall at midday. Bring the device.”
The Drellic Saga: Books One, Two and Three Page 75