Novamorphs #2: The Search
Summary: After the Novamorphs destroyed the oatmeal research, Jeff prepares to embark on a journey to find an ancient starship that the Yeerks want in order to maintain his cover as a Controller. He and the rest of the Novamorphs need to find the ship but at the same time keep it from ending up in the Yeerks' hands.
My name is Jeff. I can't tell you anymore than that. Hell, just telling you my first name is a risk. The Yeerks know who I am; I used to be a Controller. You see, evil parasitic alien slugs are invading the Earth . . . again. The Yeerks crawl into your ear and then attach themselves to your brain, where they can control your every move. I was finally freed recently, and I joined a group of six other kids who began to fight the Yeerks.
I was attempting to keep the Yeerks unaware that I had turned against them, which was why I was currently sitting in the Yeerk Pool complex having a meal with about 50 Controllers of all shapes and sizes. To my left was a Javrakari, to my right a Hork-Bajir. They were voluntaries, and their names were Szlisstransi and Neft Valtak, respectively. Their Yeerks were Veznal 2357 and Rentas 2468, two close friends of my former Yeerk, and Imperial Knights. As such, to maintain my cover, I had to socialize with them and their hosts, who were currently free while the Yeerks were feeding.
"All I'm sssaying iss that the Leeranss are ussseful hosstsss and that we ssshould clone an army of them." Szlisstransi said. I nodded.
"Unfortunately, we can't get close enough to them to get a DNA sample. We'd have to get through the Andalite defenses in place. Those new Z-space inhibitors prevent any ships from entering the system except through normal space, giving the newer, more powerful Dome ships they've recently developed plenty of time to detect and destroy any ships we send there. Well, in any case, I have to leave; I need to prepare for my upcoming mission."
"I heard about that. Locating and retrieving a Kalmra sship. An interessting missssion. I heard you are assssembling a team to accompany you. Who iss going with you?" Szlisstransi said.
"I haven't fully decided yet. I am, of course, going to take my six new trainees with me. I am also going to be taking Malizath One-Zero-Five-Three, as she is an expert on the Kalmra and should be able to help in locating the ship. In addition, I am considering taking Kaldar One-Five-Three-Six and Meltas Four-Nine-Seven-Eight, as they are scientists who can study the Kalmra technology."
"You not take us?" Neft asked.
"I might take you two, but my concern is that Sevrak will not risk three Knights on this mission due to the fact that Kalmra technology is frequently heavily guarded and booby-trapped." I said. My Yeerk, before he died, had been an Imperial Knight, a special Yeerk that only obeyed Sevrak 434, known to the Andalites as the Demon Lord. Sevrak, in turn, only answered to the Yeerk Emperor. Some people even suspected that Sevrak was the real Emperor and that the person thought to be the thirteenth member of the Council was really a decoy. Imperial Knights were used for special ops work, but risking multiple Knights on a single dangerous mission wasn't something Sevrak was likely to do. He was cold and evil, but he also regarded the Knights as his children and cared for them as such.
After the meal, I headed to my personal quarters, which I had been living in for the past week-and-a-half after Alex, the leader of our group, and I had decided that, in order to help maintain my cover, I had to live at the Yeerk Pool complex for a while, at least until the mission to the Kalmra ship was over because I would be expected to stay at the Yeerk Pool complex to flesh out the details of the mission. After that, I could ask for permission to remain off base for a time.
Sevrak apparently had great faith in my ability, as he had already ordered construction to begin on the ship that I would be given upon my promotion. I had provided a detailed schematic that Aldrea, one of Alex's friends and an Andalite, had helped design. It was expected that the ship would be completed by the time I returned and was promoted.
I pulled out my cell phone and contacted Alex. He'd been really freaked out after he'd escorted Aldrea home twelve days ago after she'd narrowly escaped being killed when we'd destroyed the Yeerk research that would have allowed them to live without Yeerk Pools, an advantage we couldn't allow them to have. However, whenever I tried to talk to him about it, he always changed the subject. His most recent response had been the exclamation 'NOTHING HAPPENED!!!! NOW DROP IT!!!' followed by him promptly hanging up. Despite this, I was determined to figure out what had happened
When Alex picked up the phone and a three-dimensional image of his head appeared on the holographic interface, he said, "What is it now, Jeff?"
"Alex, what happened between you and Aldrea?" I asked.
"Jeff, why won't you listen to me? NOTHING HAPPENED. Why can't you drop it?" he said.
"Alex, I just want to know what happened. That's all." I said.
"I don't want to talk about it, okay? Now could you leave me alone? Darren's here, and we're trying to decide who'd win: Batman or Iron Man."
"That's easy: Iron Man would use his vast array of weapons to kill Batman." I said.
In the background, I heard Darren say, "Wait, something happened between you and Aldrea? What was it?"
"Shut up, Darren." Alex said.
"Holy crap. She morphed a human male and did . . . things . . . to you, didn't she?" I heard Darren say jokingly.
"Go to hell, Darren!!" Alex yelled, and I saw the hologram shift to the side, followed by an unmistakable THUNK and a cry of pain. I realized that Alex had punched Darren full in the face for that insensitive joke.
"Jeff, I'll call you back later, okay? I've got an idiot to maim." Alex said, and hung up.
"Darren, I pity you." I muttered. I expected that Darren would have to morph to avoid permanent injury. Alex was extremely sensitive to things regarding Aldrea, and Darren's smart comment wouldn't sit well with him.
