The Arisths: Book Two: The Escape
Part 4
I crash landed the escape pod near the Yeerk base named Hilderat. The moon was a red, windswept rock, which had a surface covered with jagged crags and giant plateaus. There were no clouds in the sky, so I could see the stars clearly. According to the pod's readouts it had breathable air. I stepped out and took a deep breath. The oxygen was dry, with almost a stale taste. I seemed to get thirsty every time I took a breath. The base was easy to spot, since it was gray against a black and red background. It wasn't much, just a collection of small, rectangular buildings. I remembered Terace saying how heavily protected the base was, and I saw now how right he was. Automated Dracon turrets, Dracon cannons and even anti- aircraft missile launchers bristled from it.
But that didn't matter. My friends' murderers were in that base, and so was the information they had died trying to get. I would have that information.
I needed to get into the base undetected, so walking was out of the question. My Soggor battle morph would be blasted to atoms if I tried the direct entrance.
Walking was definitely out of the question.
That left flying, and a kafit bird would definitely be noticed, so that left only one option: the Saccronian Beetle.
The Saccronian Beetle was a small winged insect with a spiky, red exoskeleton. It was usually found on the planet Saccronia, a planet devoid of sentient species. It flew as stealthily as a cloaked Andalite fighter and was very small.
I saw the Beetle in my mind's eye, and concentrated. The first thing that changed was my skin. The blue- tan fur hardened and became red. Then, the many spikes of the beetle exploded from my back, monstrously inflated from their normal size. Then, my arms shriveled into their sockets, and almost simultaneously…
SPROOT!
SPROOT!
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!
Two thin, insect legs sprouted from my chest!
SPROOT!
Antennae shot out of my head! Suddenly, the lower portion of my face stretched forwards into a pair of wickedly sharp mandibles! Then, reality was split into a thousand different pictures as the compact beetle eyes grew on my face. My stalk eyes darkened and disappeared, my upper and lower body became one and my tail was sucked into me. Then, there was only one step left in the change: I began to shrink.
It was almost like falling off a mountain and then landing softly on the ground. The instincts were easy to control, almost nonexistent really. I spread my wings and took off.
Turbulence! No, turbulence couldn't even begin to describe it. It was like being strapped to an Andalite fighter flying on maximum burn!
AAAAHHHAHAHA!
I pulled a mid air flip, rolled and U- turned away from the base! I laughed in elation! But then, the mission came back into my mind, and I resumed my flight.
The base was no more impressive up close than from far away. I flew to the front entrance, a thick, blast proof door. I flitted around the edges trying to find… what, was that… yes! I had sensed a breeze. The source was a small crack in the door, small, but just large enough for me. I squeezed through the fissure and into the Yeerk base. Suddenly…
LIGHT!
LIGHT!
DANGER!
RUN! RUN!
The beetle instincts hit me like a steel wall, striking so unexpectedly that I almost lost control! I veered back towards the crack. Had to escape from the light!
NO! I yelled at myself as I struggled to gain control. Finally, the beetle instincts subsided and I was in control again.
I couldn't gather much from the room, but it was very small. There was a door on the other end. I hovered for a second before…
"Welcome to Hilderat Base." A disembodied voice speaking in Galard said. "Please close your eyes for a bioscan."
A bioscan? Like a bioscan from a Gleet Biofilter?
I turned back to the crack in the door. A Gleet Biofilter would incinerate me in less than a second.
"Bioscan in One…"
I was halfway to the door, straining my wings to the limit.
"…Two…"
The crack was in sight. I could feel the dry moon air.
"…Three."
A sudden, silent flash!
AAAAAGGGHHH!
I plummeted to the ground, slammed into the hard floor! I felt two legs snap off, felt my exoskeleton crack and saw my yellow- brown blood form in a sticky pool around me. I tried to move but my wings and remaining legs weren't working.
They must be broken, I decided.
And then, without the slightest indication, the door across the room opened with a soft whoosh. And then they came, looking around slowly, taking in every detail. They were Hork Bajir, but not just any Hork Bajir, huge ones! They were like seven-foot tall piles of muscles and sinew, covered with blades. Muscles rippled down their arms and legs. Their tails were like bull whips. But their two most distinguishing traits were the heavy Dracon cannons they carried with ease and a single blue, cloth band adorning their arms, obviously an insignia of some sorts. And there were eight of them.
Eight pairs of red eyes scanned the room and then, slowly, eight pairs of eyes focused on my shattered form.
"Andalite." The tallest one spat. Obviously there weren't any other beetles on this moon.
Then came a noise:
Click
CLANK
Click
CLANK
The first was the sound of talons on the floor, followed by what sounded like something heavy and metal hitting the ground.
The blue banded Hork Bajir all stood at attention, I noticed their Dracon cannons were slung casually over their shoulders. They must have decided I wasn't dangerous anymore. But then again, I was a paralyzed beetle, lying broken on the ground, so they were right.
Then the Hork Bajir in front of the door stepped away, and he walked in.
Click
CLANK
Click
CLANK
He was a Hork Bajir, that was clear, and obviously high ranking, judging by the way every other Hork Bajir stood at attention. But his most distinguishing feature was that exactly one half of his body, his right side, was cybernetic, robotic.
Now, we Andalites have cybernetic prosthetics technology, but we barely ever need it, since 95% of our warriors are morph capable. But this was amazing. The cybernetic side was a well-polished silver color, shaped to replicate the Hork Bajir's body perfectly. His eye was glowing yellow, with a black slit of a pupil. It's arm blades had vague outlines of rectangles on them, hinting at secret weapon compartments. The three half horns each had a laser targeting device, all of which had turned their red beams on me. His tail was completely cybernetic, with two more blades and a few more hidden compartments.
"Ah, an Andalite terrorist. I see. Come to sabotage the database, eh? Let me introduce myself. I have the rank of Visser 10, but you already knew that." His voice had a metallic ring in it. His eyes… well, they weren't maniacal, not insane, just pure hatred. "You knew that when you destroyed my ship. That's what made me like this, you know." He indicated his robotic side with a wave of his real hand.
Then, with a look of mock surprise he said: "What? You aren't demorphing? Oh yes! The paralysis. Here try this." He pointed his metal arm at me, and one of the blade compartments opened. Something like a tiny radar dish came out. The round part glowed yellow, and then the color traveled to the stem. I braced myself for the seering pain of the Dracon Beam, the incomparable suffering of having each of your molecules blown apart. The radar dish fired a red beam and… nothing happened. Suddenly, I felt the changes begin, I was demorphing!
Of course, I said to myself An anti-morphing ray.
In a few moments I was fully Andalite, but I was still paralyzed.
"You're lucky the Gleet BioFilter was on low setting. And now Grath and his Blue Bands," He pointed to the blue banded Hork Bajir. "Will escort you to your… 'quarters.' But, unfortunately, you'll be unconscious. Grath," Grath, the largest of the Blue Bands stepped forward. He put one taloned foot on my neck and pushed down.
No air!
I choked and sputtered but Grath didn't flinch. My lungs started to deflate and I became dizzy. The room spun and faded into black…
Author's Note
PLEASE READ THIS NOTE!!!!!!!!!
As you know, last time I started a Character Poll. Well, since I got only 3 votes I'm extending it till the end of Book 2(Only one part left) So PLEASE PLEASE VOTE AND REVIEW!!! I NEED LOTS OF VOTES! PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAASSSSSSSEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
John