Maty, Aer-ki Jyr [top 20 books to read .txt] 📗

stasis chamber and released the single survivor by the name of Zeno’dor. He is the current leader of the Zak’de’ron, because he is the last of the originals. All others were born from the eggs and future offspring. The time the Zak’de’ron were missing and the Voku were on their own, was because they were all dead except for Zeno’dor.”

The sadness and growing anger were still there, but curiosity was beginning to override it. Hightower could feel it as he quickly searched select minds below to get a better assessment. Information about the Zak’de’ron was so scarce, they couldn’t help but be intrigued even if they did not like what they were hearing.

“Zeno’dor rebuilt the Zak’de’ron, and reclaimed the Voku as their servants, as well as any others who had managed to survive on their own without them. And to be clear, the Zak’de’ron taught the Voku how to survive, along with many other things of value. I will never pretend otherwise. You owe them a great deal, but they are not benevolent the way you have been taught. And truth must now surface. The future depends on it.”

“Once the Zak’de’ron rebuild their strength in secret, they came forth and joined in an alliance with the V’kit’no’sat and Star Force when the Hadarak surge began, knowing that it would not matter what they did or did not do if the Hadarak destroyed the entire galaxy. This was a noble gesture, but also self-serving. They fought against the Hadarak along with us, but then something occurred that no one expected. Another Zak’de’ron emerged, one from long, long ago. Millions of years ago, and one that had been found and incorporated into the Bond of Resistance as an apprentice who was to look after this galaxy and preserve those races worthy of one day being used to fight the Hadarak.”

“He did not consider his own race worthy, but when the V’kit’no’sat acquired the Ysalamir technology and the ability to kill Hadarak more easily, they garnered his attention. When he came to them and demanded they follow him, the V’kit’no’sat refused. He then murdered their leadership and attempted to take direct control over their empire…nearly succeeding…but the V’kit’no’sat fleet guarding their capitol was able to finally kill him.”

“The enraged V’kit’no’sat used this dead Zak’de’ron as an excuse to resume their war of annihilation against Zeno’dor’s Zak’de’ron and began the second war. A war that the V’kit’no’sat did not win. Star Force absorbed the pieces of the V’kit’no’sat that survived, protecting them against annihilation while adding them to our own empire. The Zak’de’ron were broken again, but they survived and rebuilt a second time…but by then Star Force was too powerful to dominate, and the Zak’de’ron realized they could no longer call this galaxy their own. They did not want to share it, or to continue the fight against the Hadarak. So when the opportunity came to leave this galaxy and start over, they welcomed it. And are abandoning you and every other servant race in the process.”

“Star Force is happy the Zak’de’ron are leaving. We won’t have to fight a war against them now to stop their bad behavior. We knew one was coming, for they would not learn to be true protectors. Everything they did was in their own best interests, and they do not hesitate to kill or destroy others who get in their way or whose deaths are useful tools for them. You have probably never seen this, nor been told it, but the Zak’de’ron are not trustworthy, and some of the stories from the Bo’ja will confirm this, but they don’t know as much as we do. And I am here to rescue you from the Zak’de’ron’s abandonment.”

“I know you do not want to hear this, but you must. They would leave you behind without orders, or with fake orders while they run away. They do not care about you, but Star Force cares about everyone. So even while we are fighting a war to protect the galaxy against the Hadarak, we are devoting some resources to the assimilation of the Zak’de’ron’s former servant races, though most of the work to be done will be your responsibility. The Grand Border must hold, for all our sakes, and there isn’t enough of us to come here and remake the Voku into what you deserve to be quickly. I will lead you, but it is you that will have to do the building. It will take time, but unlike the others we will be handling the Voku differently.”

“Our typical protocol when incorporating new races is to put you into indoctrination. We use this word because it is accurate, though not matching what others use it for. We do not torture, we do not mentally alter, we do not compel through anything other than boredom. The race in question is put into a prison camp designed to train you in isolation. You have no access to others. No opportunity for them to affect your thinking. You are alone and must learn to think for yourself. If you wish to sit and do nothing, you may. But you are a prisoner and cannot go elsewhere. Eventually the boredom convinces many to use the training mechanisms we provide, and alone with nothing else to do, most reluctantly begin to learn…and once their eyes are opened to the truth, they devour it rapidly.”

“When they learn enough they are released and join our empire as free individuals. If they wish to live under our protection and not contribute, they may. Those that wish to do more also may, if they earn it. Indoctrination is meant to teach you what you need to know in order to be part of our empire rather than be prisoners in it. It is a difficult transition for many, and those that are truly malevolent never make it out. They live the remainder of their lives in indoctrination as prisoners, but they