Captain Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill stood, tall and proud on the bridge of the Dome Ship GalaxyBlade, looking out onto the vast emptiness of Zero-Space.
He, along with the several hundred Andalites stationed on the beautiful new ship, were pursuing an elusive Yeerk task force. They had been chasing them for over a week, but without success.
He fingered the captain's badge slung across his shoulder. He turned his stalk eyes upward and remembered the battles of old.
One battle in particular came back to him, vivid and real as if it happened only minutes ago.
**********
Go! Prince Jake yelled, slashing at a Hork-Bajir. His powerful tiger morph, graceful as liquid steel, leapt back at the group of Hork-Bajir surrounding him, taking them down one by one.
Rachel, in her powerful grizzly bear morph, roared as she smacked a Hork-Bajir with her paw, sending it cart-wheeling across the floor of the Yeerk Pool.
Marco, the gorilla, was backed against the wall by two Hork-Bajir. He punched one, sending it out cold, but the other one stabbed him in the arm with his elbow blade.
Marco screamed in pain.
SLASH!
The Hork-Bajir no longer had an elbow blade. The Hork-Bajir no longer had an arm, for that matter.
Thanks, Ax, Marco said.
You're welcome, Marco, he replied.
Tobias, overhead, screeched and wheeled as he struck tirelessly at unprotected eyes, blinding them and leaving them helpless to stop the Animorphs' attack.
Ax-Man! Behind you! he called.
Ax wheeled around and came face to face with the Abomination—Visser Three.
Ah, the Visser taunted. Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, correct? Elfangor's little brother. Come to avenge your brother's death? Go ahead, he said with a grin. Try it.
Ax glared furiously at the foul Andalite-controller.
Without warning, his tail-blade fwapped through the air, aiming for the Visser Three's chest. But with a quick motion, the Visser blocked it with his own tail and pounded the side of Ax's head with the flat of his tail blade.
Ax staggered back, a terrible ringing noise in his ear. The Visser cackled gleefully.
You will die! Ax said bravely. I will destroy you for what you did to Elfangor!
Save your breath for the battle, boy, Visser Three sneered. You'll need it. And with that, he sliced through the air with his tail. Ax blocked it, and with a motion of his tail, stabbed into the Visser's arm.
Visser Three cried out in pain, and Ax smiled grimly. He attacked again, but Visser Three dodged the blow and slashed at Ax's shoulder, slicing a small piece of it off.
You're mine, Visser Three informed Ax. I'll destroy you, the way I destroyed Beast Elfangor.
That was it. Nobody insulted Elfangor in Ax's presence and got away with it. With a vengeance that surprised even Ax, he tore at the Visser. His tail flashing with unmatched speed, he created several deep gashes on the Visser's chest.
Visser Three howled in pain.
Ax whipped his tail back and forth, drawing blood with each strike of his tail blade.
Visser Three fought back, but Aximili was winning.
Visser Three took another slice of Ax's shoulder off, and Ax screamed. But he regained control quickly, and with an amazingly swift strike, removed the Visser's stalk eyes from his head.
The Visser, half-blinded, without his stalk eyes, bellowed in rage.
Andalite filth! Die, die like your accursed brother, you filthy grass-eater!
As calmly as he could manage, Ax responded, No, Visser. It is you who will die. And with another strike, Visser Three's arm fell to the ground.
As the battle raged around them, tiger, bear, gorilla, wolf, and hawk battled their own fierce wars. And while Ax was concerned for the safety of his friends, he could not allow their own battles to distract him.
Coming from behind him, Tobias cried the piercing screech of a hawk as he dived, wings back, at the back of the Visser's head. He tore at it with his talons, and was gone before the Visser could react.
Using the distraction Tobias had created, Ax smacked the Visser alongside the head with the flat of his tail blade.
The Visser was dazed, and blue-black blood oozed from his multiple wounds. But still he fought on.
Visser Three whipped his tail at Ax, but it was blocked by Ax's own tail. But in a perfectly acrobatic move, reversed direction and created a very deep gash in Ax's other shoulder. Blood spurted out from the wound.
Ax cried out in pain. But he didn't stop. Focusing his attention on the Visser, he struck him at the base of his tail. The tail fell to the blood-stained ground and twitched.
In horror the Visser looked down at Ax, down to his tail, and back to Ax again.
In a second, Ax whipped his tail and pressed it against Visser Three's throat.
This is for my brother, he said.
Then he plunged the tail blade deep into Visser Three's chest.
Visser Three's eyes widened, and he collapsed to the ground.
Before he died, Alloran took control again, after all those years.
Thank you, he gasped, then fell to his side, in a puddle of blue and black blood, dead.
My brother's death has been avenged. His murderer is dead, at my hand. My honor has been reclaimed, the burden of revenge has been lifted, by duty is done, he said solemnly, speaking the words of the vengeance ritual.
Then he turned his attention back to the battlefield.
**********
Ax sighed and turned back to the white of Zero-Space again. That had been years ago. The humans had managed to drive away the Yeerks from Earth, and allied with the Andalites. Together, the humans and Andalites fought long and hard against the Yeerks, and someday, they would win.
While he was proud and glad that he had finished off the Abomination, and avenged his brother's death, the memory still disturbed him.
True, it was a great moment for him. It brought great honor to himself and his family. It earned him a massive promotion, and was an important part of why he was a Captain now.
But with Visser Three's death, he also ended the life of Alloran. He knew that Alloran was grateful towards him, but his final words would haunt him until the day he died.
His thoughts were interrupted by the cry of his Tactical Officer.
Captain Aximili! he cried. The Yeerks have been located! They have a Pool Ship, and several bug fighters! What do we do?
Then it is time, he said. Launch all fighters. It is time to put some tail into the Yeerks.
The battle was about to begin.
But before it did, Aximili spoke again, words of remembrance, words of fondness.
Let's do it.