The Order by Spiletta42

Disclaimer: The stolen characters below belong to KA Applegate and Scholastic Books.

Rating: K+™©

Jake/Cassie Tobias/Rachel Ax/other

This story deviates from canon after #45 The Revelation. () indicate thoughtspeak since the angle brackets used in the books confuse some browsers -- if the thoughtspeak seems to have gotten loose, blame ffnet. They're the ones who keep changing the rules.

This was never betaed.

The Order

I'm Rachel, the reckless one. When something dangerous needs to be done, our fearless leader Jake always calls on his tall blond cousin, the Warrior Princess. It's my job not just to take risks, we all do that, but to be enthusiastic about it. To shout "Let's do it!" as we charge forward to look death in the face. I am not allowed the luxury of fear.

It's been a hard fight. There have been tough battles won, lives saved, disasters averted. There have also been narrow escapes, tough choices, and terrible consequences. There have been times when I've hated not just this war, but also myself. Sometimes I am not very proud of who I have become.

Sadly, if something terrible needs to be done, it's "get Rachel." When necessary, Jake takes advantage of not just my recklessness, but also that darkness growing inside me, because honest, decent Jake has learned to use people, for both their good and bad qualities. That is the tragedy of war; it changes people, and brings out their worst qualities.

Look at my best friend Cassie. A few years back she was one of the sweetest people you could ever meet. She'd feel guilt over the death of an insect. Now, even she has killed more sentient beings than we can count. I think it was the worst for her, early on, because she didn't just feel guilt over her actions, but she felt guilt for her guilt as well. She knew, intellectually, that she had done what she had to do, to protect her friends, her family, and her entire planet. But she felt bad anyway. And when she felt bad for doing what had to be done, she beat herself up for feeling bad, too. Now, she doesn't seem to feel remorse when she kills. Don't get me wrong, she doesn't enjoy it. But Cassie is numb inside.

Marco seems like he has kept his sense of humor through all of this. But I know better. His humor is his duty; it is a veneer over the ruthlessness within him. It is his job to be the funny one as we face death, and worse, and he does it. But he isn't really laughing at his jokes anymore. After what this war has done to his family... well, Marco just isn't the same now.

Yet none of us has changed more than Tobias. Without this war, he would have been an artist. He was gentle, thoughtful, and certainly not violent. When we met, that fateful night all those years ago, he was a bully magnet. Now, he has a fierceness which would send any bully alive crying for their mommy. Tobias isn't even truly human anymore. He's a predator, trapped by this war in a body not his own. He witnessed his own father's brutal death. He never even met his mother, thanks to an accident with the space-time continuum. To say this war has been hard on Tobias would be the understatement of the year.

I don't know if Ax has changed; he has been training for this war since birth, so it's different for him. Yet he expected to be fighting beside his own people, instead of with humans, aliens to him. He has absorbed many human habits and mannerisms. He has lost his brother, and in one of his few contacts with his own race, he was forced to take the blame for a crime not his own. Despite all the bravery he has displayed in battle, when he returns home, it will be in disgrace. If he returns home.

I know what this war has done to all of us, and that is why I am glad that the final battle is almost here. Win or lose, it will be over. I just pray that if we lose, we die. We've been to hell and back, the six of us. And I know that each and every one of us would rather die a painful and violent death than to live with the consequences of defeat.


Jake


I'm Jake. I'm the leader. I get to hand out the unfair orders. Don't show fear, Rachel, you'll scare the others. Tell a joke, Marco, before you face your own mother in mortal combat. Bottle up your guilt, Cassie, we don't have time for it right now. Into the torture chamber, Tobias, you might be the only one who can stand it. Risk your neck again, Ax, and cover our retreat.

I get to make the life and death decisions. I get to use those I love, taking advantage of their strengths and weaknesses, and I get to risk their lives for them. But I have no choice.

You see, this is a war to defend humanity itself from a race of parasitic aliens determined to enslave us all, mind and body. If they win Earth, billions of people will find a fate worse than death as slugs crawl into their ears, take over their minds, and use their bodies to continue their evil conquest of the galaxy. If the Yeerks win, I don't want to live.

Not only would I rather die than be a slave, a prisoner within my own body, but I don't want my body, with its special powers, being used as a tool of destruction by the Yeerks. You see, when my friends and I entered this war, we were given a great gift by the Andalite Prince Elfangor. We were given the power to morph.

With that power, we have slowed the Yeerk invasion of Earth. We have kept them from succeeding with subversive tactics. But now, we have forced the fight into the open. Our success has possibly led to our ultimate downfall. If we fail now, the responsibility for the Yeerk conquest of Earth will be on my head. So, despite astronomical odds, I must find a way to succeed, even if it means the death of everyone I care about.

Cassie, the girl I love. Marco, my best friend. Rachel, my cousin. Tobias, her boyfriend. And Aximili, an alien who calls me his Prince. For years I've had nightmares of the day I would find myself ordering my friends to certain death. I fear that day is now here.


Cassie


I'm Cassie. They used to call me the tree-hugger. They don't anymore. I'm a killer now. For years, I mourned every death I caused. I spent weeks agonizing over the death of a termite. A termite! It sounds stupid, I know. I've ripped the throats out of sentient creatures with my bare teeth. Yet killing that termite was somehow over the line. Even though that action saved the lives of my friends.

I don't think about it anymore. It's kill or be killed, and I accept that. When I cause a death now, I file it away neatly in the deep recesses of my mind. When this war is over, I will mourn them all. I hope. I hope I can still care when this is over. Now, it seems I will find out soon.

If we lose, they will all have died in vain. I hope I won't have to live with that knowledge. I don't hope for a quick and painless death; that would be a selfish desire. I do hope for death, if victory can't be ours. And I hope that Jake doesn't have to see me die.


Marco


I'm Marco, the funny one. It's my duty to point out the insanity of every mission, to point out the absurdity of life, to entertain the troops. Just like it was my duty to sacrifice my stepmother. First, I lost my mother to the enemy. It nearly killed my father. It took him two years to start living his life again. And then, as soon as he found someone new to love, I let the enemy have her. So she didn't die. What did happen to her was far worse; a living death.

But I don't want to talk about that. Not now. I need to be funny for just a couple more weeks. Then I need never joke again. I'll probably be dead. Just as long as I don't have a Yeerk in my head. I want to win this final battle, I just don't see how. We've done many impossible things before. But this... this one might be too much for us all. Even Rachel is scared this time. I could see it in her eyes at the meeting. She was quieter than usual, more thoughtful. She was looking at each of us like she was sizing us up, wondering if we were up to it. When Cassie looks like that, I don't worry. Cassie is always worried about how everyone else feels. When Rachel is worried... well, I can't help but dread a battle that scares Xena herself.


Ax


I'm Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill. I'm an Andalite, but Earth has become my home. I have fought for Prince Jake for several years, defending Earth from the Yeerk invasion. The final battle is here. I believe Prince Jake will find a way to score victory, despite the impossible odds.

I won't live to see the victory, though. It is my duty to kill Visser One, who murdered my brother several years ago. I cannot delay any longer. In order for any plan to succeed, the Visser must die early in the battle. I will meet him, tail-blade to tail-blade, and neither of us is likely to survive. My life is not my own, if the people have need of it. And I would gladly choose death over the alternative, if this battle is lost. I will be proud to give my life for the people of Earth.


Tobias


I'm Tobias, the freak of nature. Part human, part Andalite, part red-tailed hawk. My father was the great Prince Elfangor; I only met him once, and then only long enough to watch him die. I grew up as a human. Now, my body is that of a red-tailed hawk. I can return to human form, but if I don't return to my hawk body within two hours, I will lose my morphing power. Without my power, I would be useless in this war. My humanity is but a small price to pay. After all, I have my freedom. I only wish all of humanity could say the same.

We are about to fight our final battle. In a way, I'll be the lucky one if we lose. My friends are praying for death, if they cannot have victory. I don't have that concern. While I, too, would choose death over infestation, it is only a hypothetical question to me. The Yeerks cannot infest a hawk. So, unless I morph into human or Andalite, I am useless to the Yeerks. If I am caught, I suspect they will torture me in an attempt to make me "demorph" to a useful form - they do not know that red-tail hawk is not merely a morph. But they will not succeed at this. I know. I have withstood torture before.

But as for that being lucky? Wrong. If we lose, I have a job to do. I made a promise. If we lose, and my friends are infested... well, Rachel made me promise I'd kill her if she was ever taken. I hope we can win this one. I don't want to be the only survivor of humanity's last stand.


Rachel


It was a normal day. Or as normal a day as any of us have had in four years. Jake had called a meeting, and the six of us were there in Cassie's barn, casually discussing the latest plan to save the world. We were all starting to feel a little desperate. We'd struck some hard blows lately, but we weren't making any progress. We were just holding our own, and the Andalite reinforcements we had been promised years ago were nothing but a pipedream.

Jake was ready to try oatmeal again. Cassie had a complicated and risky plan involving brain surgery that she felt somewhat lessened the moral dilemma involved with the oatmeal solution. Trust me, you don't want the explanation. None of us were enthusiastic, and that Cassie had been actively thinking about such a controversial action scared me. It scared me badly.

Then Erek arrived.


Jake


(Erek's coming) Tobias announced from the rafters. My stomach flipped. Erek rarely brought anything but bad news. And some sixth sense told me that this was it; the ultimate bad news. He cut to the chase.

"The Council of Thirteen has ordered Visser One to begin an all out assault on Earth, to commence in two weeks time."

The news was like a physical blow. We couldn't fight an open assault. We stared at Erek in shock. Cassie moved closer to me; I took her hand absently. Tobias fluttered down and landed on Rachel's shoulder. For the longest minute of my life, no one spoke. Even the animals were quiet, like they understood that the death sentence applied not just to the human race, but to every species on Earth.

"We need help on this one," I said quietly. "We need reinforcements. Suggestions?"

"My dad. We tell my dad. At least the Yeerks would lose the advantage of surprise."

No one answered Rachel. Her plan was desperate and suicidal, as most of Rachel's suggestions tended to be. Yet this was not the characteristic reckless Rachel. She sounded more like a little girl, hoping her daddy could fix everything. Yet we all knew telling Rachel's father, who was a news anchor, was a death sentence for him as well as us. And it a shot in the dark as well. My troops did not need democracy right now. They needed a decisive and confident leader.

"No. Or at least, only as a last resort. We need to go to the government. The president. He can help us organize the type of military operation that is needed here. We are fairly sure he is not a Controller. Step one would be to confirm this. We go from there. We can win this one. We just need to take one step at a time."

Everyone nodded.

"Marco, you'll need to get copies of your dad's research. And your Mom's diary. We'll need to put together a good presentation of the facts," I ordered. Erek, what kind of details do we have?"

"Just the Council's orders, so far." he answered.

Rachel spoke up again. "I think we should kidnap a Controller. We might need to be able to produce a real, live Yeerk for the President. Just demonstrating our morphing powers might not be enough..."

"And we don't have room for failure," I finished.

"OK. So we need to travel to Washington, D.C., with a hostage. And if it takes more than three days, our hostage is useless. What's my line again? This is insane!" Marco joked hollowly.

"We can't fly. We need a car. If we rotate drivers and don't stop too much, we might make it. Now, where do we get the car?" Rachel asked.

"We need a van. We need enough room for Ax, so he won't have to travel in morph." Cassie pointed out.

Erek spoke up again. "I'll take care of it. I can drive, too. I don't need sleep."

"Good. Thanks, Erek. Now, as for selecting a hostage," I began.

Cassie interrupted, "When is Tom due for a trip to the Yeerk pool?"

"Tonight." I answered, nodding. "We'll grab him and go tonight. Marco, head out for the valley. Ax, we might need the Z-space transponder. Rachel, we need White House worthy attire for everyone. Cassie, we don't want to leave anything strategically important here. Everyone go home. Pack. We'll regroup at Erek's." I guess there never was a question of who the hostage would be.


Tobias


We all dispersed to pack for our road trip. I didn't have to pack. Cassie promised to bring me a supply of frozen mice, and I promised myself I would not waste time feeling bad that I wasn't hunting like a respectable hawk. After all, saving the world was slightly more important than the feeding habits of a bird. We all had plenty of time to think before Tom's kidnaping, but I most of all. I knew that the next two weeks held dozens of risks, followed by the battle we had all been working to delay for years. This had started when we were in middle school, and now everyone was driving. Well, of driving age, anyhow. Ax, Marco and I can't get licenses. For some reason the DMV doesn't issue licenses to hawks and aliens. And Marco, of course, is legally dead.

I made a decision, and flew towards Rachel's. We might all be dead within two weeks, but there was one thing I wanted to do before I died.

Rachel was unsurprised when I flew in her open window. I began my human morph immediately, and I still had feathers when she threw herself into my arms. I hugged her fiercely.

"I came to ask you something. Something important." I took both her hands in mine and dropped to my knee at her feet. Before she had time to question my actions, I began.

"Rachel, I love you. You are brave, strong, smart, beautiful, everything. I know I can't offer you a normal life, but I give you my heart. Will you marry me?"

Tears streamed down my face as I said the words. Rachel's eyes glistened with tears, too, when she answered.

"Oh, Tobias. I love you, too. Yes, I'll marry you. I don't know how, but I'll marry you."

She kissed me, and for that frozen moment in time, there was no room for fear, only happiness. Sure, I had two weeks or less to live. But I would die beside the bravest, most beautiful young woman on the planet.


Rachel


I'm sure Marco would have loved the opportunity to comment on the absurdity of the situation. But I was so happy it barely bothered me when I lied to my mom, giving her a cover story as I left the house with my bag. And why shouldn't I be happy? I was just off to kidnap my cousin Tom on my way to Washington, D.C., where I planned to break into the White House in order to warn the President of a vast alien conspiracy to take over the Earth. I was practically giddy, because my boyfriend, the talking hawk, had just become my fiance, the talking hawk. Not that anything had really changed; we'd been a couple since what felt like the beginning of time. And we couldn't actually tie the knot for a while, yet. But even though I was going to die in about two weeks time, I let feelings of love and romance chase the fear from my heart.

Where I had been dwelling on the negative aspects of this war, I had forgotten the important things. The value of friendship, trust, love, and honor. This war had deepened the relationships between all of us. Sure, it had meant we couldn't trust our own families, our other friends, or anyone. But we risked our lives for each other regularly, and I knew I could trust my friends in any situation. And I knew true love far earlier than most teenagers. This war had given me Tobias, and we had fought our way to hell and back side by side, over and over again. This was no fleeting puppy love. In the last few years we had grown to know each other better than many older married couples, and I realized that we could face anything, as long as we did so together.

I thought back over all the afternoons after school, when we went flying. Normal teenage couples went to the mall; we went flying. Instead of flying tonight, however, Tobias rode on my shoulder while I walked to Erek's house, where we were all gathering. We savored our last few minutes alone together before the mission.


Marco


The old Rachel was back. That was the first thing I noticed when she arrived at Erek's. The haunted look from earlier was gone. Instead, she practically glowed with energy. Her eyes sparkled with her characteristic determination and vitality. I felt a glimmer of hope. One step at a time; that's what Jake had said. And he was right. If Rachel could pull it back together, well, I guess I could, too.

Once we had stowed our belongings in the van, we would intercept Tom on his way home from the Sharing. Then we would head off cross-country, just four perfectly normal teenagers, a talking hawk, an alien, and an android hauling a prisoner to the White House.

Erek had agreed to come along and use his hologram to provide cover along the way. We didn't need to get caught with Tom tied up in the van. We couldn't afford the delay.

I had the easy job for the kidnaping. Since I had the only battle morph that both possessed opposable thumbs and fit in the drivers seat, I would drive. Erek's pacifist programming would slow us down in a chase. Rachel morphed to elephant, Cassie went owl and took to the sky, Tobias morphed a Hork Bajir, and Ax stayed his dangerous self. Jake went tiger and hung back as backup. If we moved quickly, grabbing Tom wouldn't be too much trouble. Insane, maybe, but hopefully not too much trouble.


Cassie


I flew overhead, giving the traffic report. Ordinarily, that would have been Tobias' job. But it was growing dark and the owl had amazing night vision. Erek was projecting a hologram which disguised our entire force as a UPS truck. When Tom approached their position, I gave word. With an enthusiastic "Let's do it!" Rachel thundered into the road and slammed into Tom's car.

"Andalite!" He shouted, but as he leaped from the car, cell phone in hand, Tobias stepped from the hologram and grabbed him. Ax neatly rendered him unconscious with the flat side of his tail blade, and the whole kidnaping was over within two minutes. Mr. King, the Chee who posed as Erek's father, produced a hologram of Tom and drove off in the damaged car. Other Chee were already on the way to take the rest of our places. The longest part of the whole operation was waiting for Rachel to demorph enough to fit in the van.

I flew in the open window, and we were off. Erek projected a new hologram; we hoped no one would disturb our perfectly normal minivan. We all settled back shakily. It had been too easy. For years we had wanted to grab Tom and starve his Yeerk. Jake and I had discussed it more times than I could count. Now we had him. He was unconscious, and Jake had tied him up firmly in the back seat. Ax, fully Andalite, stood guard.

Fortunately, Marco's driving skills had improved greatly since he had wrecked my father's truck a few years back. Erek sat in the front with him, projecting his hologram. Tobias was in human morph, with his arm around Rachel. I took Jake's hand, and rested my head on his shoulder.

"Well, is anyone going to say it?" Marco asked.

Silence.

"Okay. That was remarkably easy."

"Too easy."

"We talked about this," Jake answered calmly. "That's what Erek is here for. Even if some Controller cop pulls us over, all they'll see is a perfectly normal van full of perfectly normal suburbanites. We're as safe as we can be."

(We are also armed.) Ax added, holding up a dracon beam he had taken from Tom. (It could be a useful alternative to battle.)

"Set it to stun," Jake said, holding out his hand for the Yeerk gun.

Jake took the weapon, and Rachel reached for it before he even moved to hand it to her. She and Marco were the best shots.

(Prince Jake, he is stirring)

"Don't call me Prince," I answered, more out of habit than anything. I turned to watch Tom open his eyes.

"Good evening, Yeerk, " I said calmly. I had fantasized about saying that line so many times over the years. "Three days, and I'll have my brother back. Tom, I know you can hear me. I'd like you to meet my Andalite friend, Aximili. He'll see to it that your Yeerk's death of Kandrona starvation goes smoothly."

Tom looked confused. "Jake? What's happening? I don't understand."

"Nice try," I answered, "I'm not falling for that. I know exactly what you are. I've been aiding the Andalite 'bandits', as you call them, for years, in hopes of rescuing Tom. He will be free. Free or dead.

"I'm sorry, Tom, but I know you'd understand and forgive me. Try anything, Yeerk, and I'll kill you. Even though that means killing my own brother."

"Jake, please. I don't know what you are talking about! You're crazy. You've lost it, man. Please, let me go! Don't hurt me..." Tom continued to whine for several minutes, until I finally took the dracon beam from Rachel and stunned him. I felt guilty, but at least we rode the next few hours in peace.

We let Erek take over driving, and the six of us talked. We put the war on the back burner for just a while. Instead, we just enjoyed each other's company, joking and laughing almost like normal teenagers. We discussed everything from comic books to ancient philosophy. It was nice.


Tobias


I spent as much of that night as possible in human morph. I hadn't been human so much in many years, but it just felt right. Maybe, after this battle, I'd just stay human. I would miss flying, but it just felt so good to hold Rachel, to joke with my friends, and just be normal for a few hours. Of course, our discussion had strayed from normal. We ended up doing a great deal of reminiscing.

"...so I'm sitting there listening to Chapman, and bam, grizzly feet. So when I left his office, I asked him if he liked my new boots!" Rachel laughed, and we all joined her.

(Tobias, you have been in morph for one hour and fifty-five of your minutes) Ax interjected.

"They are everyone's minutes, Ax-man," Marco sighed.

His warning reminded me just how far from normal I really was. I returned to my hawk form, and this time did not remorph. It was time to get back to business.

"So the Andalite filth has spread its technology to humans!" Tom said in amazement, apparently both conscious and through with his ploy to convince us he was not a controller.

Jake turned to his brother. "Now we really cannot let you escape, Yeerk. But I thank you for giving up the innocent act. Erek, where are we?"

"Nearly to Colorado," Erek answered.

"We'll stop in the next town for breakfast. Tobias, could you get us a quick traffic report? Erek, cover his departure from the vehicle. Marco, do you still have the dracon beam? When we do stop, cover Tom so Ax can morph to human."

I flew out the van window, flapping hard to gain altitude. There were some nice thermals just starting to rise off the desert highway, and I was soon far above our van. There was no traffic for miles; in the far distance, I could see a small town, with the mountains rising beyond it. I focused my hawk eyes on the desert, and caught myself breakfast. After my quick meal, I returned to the van.


Ax


Tobias flew back in the window. (No traffic for miles. If the yeerks followed us, I don't see them. We're probably within an hour of the nearest town. Ax can stay andalite a while longer.)

"Thanks, Tobias," Prince Jake answered.

Since my arrival on Earth, I had learned a great deal about the culture and values of humans. I had come to understand how my friends thought, and I could predict their behavior in most situations. They could always joke, even in a crisis. That didn't surprise me any more. I wondered just how I would fit in with my people if I returned to my home world.

You'd think that I'd be homesick, maybe even wishing for female companionship of my own species. But I wasn't. I was thinking about how much I would miss Earth if I went back. I'd miss my friends, especially my shorm Tobias. He was my brother's son. Obviously, Elfangor had developed human attachments as well.

Now, suddenly, it was back to business. I snapped to attention.

"Once in D.C., we'll need to keep up surveillance on the president until we can determine whether or not he is infested. We don't have the luxury of watching him for three days; we need our answer fairly quickly. Then we'll make our move. Any suggestions on how we get close?" Prince Jake asked. (Close surveillance of his residence should provide answers quickly. If the Yeerks have him, they'll have a portable Kandrona.) I pointed out.

"Ax is right," Prince Jake said. "It should be possible to make our assessment, with an acceptable margin of error, without the three days. Then we get in, demonstrate our morphing ability, show off Ax, and, if necessary, invite the President to watch Tom's Yeerk die of Kandrona starvation."

"Unless the Yeerk chooses one of the alternatives, right?" Cassie reminded more than asked.

"If he chooses to come out and show himself, we'll let him live," Prince Jake answered. "You brought options?"

"Of course," Cassie said, nodding towards a crate of instant oatmeal. I also noticed a square object wrapped in newspaper peaking out of the crate. I suspected it was Elfangor's Escafil Device.

"So, how do we get in? Suggestions?" Prince Jake looked at each of us.

"We shouldn't have to worry about a gleet biofilter or even any Controllers on the lookout for animals. We're fairly certain the President is not infested. Getting in should be easy, for a change." Cassie answered.

"But to be on the safe side, we need to move cautiously. I say we go in as our charming selves. They have a tour, right?" Marco asked.

"We carry in a couple of bugs. Real bugs. If they live, no biofilter. We're free to return as flies or cockroaches and investigate further. If they die, then we know there IS a gleet biofilter, in which case we don't need to investigate. We need a new plan." Rachel suggested.

"Yeah, like how to kidnap the President," Marco said darkly, "Pardon me, Mr. President, how would you like to see the inside of our van?."

Jake ignored him. "That sounds reasonable. The next thing we need is a battle plan to present to the President. Once we have convinced him that the problem exists, what are we going to ask him to help us do about it?"

"Step one: We need a fighting force to provide defense against a full scale Yeerk attack. How do we keep the element of surprise on our side? How do we make sure there aren't any Controllers on the force we recruit?" Marco asked.

"Cat scans," Cassie suggested, "Maybe yeerks would be visible with a CAT scan."

"I can help out there," Erek said. "The Chee have designed devices that expose Controllers, and I don't believe it would be too difficult to modify human medical equipment to do the job."

"Sounds good. But how do we use it?" Rachel asked.

"Well, we are going to the President. He has the full resources of the government at his disposal. If he really listens, that will open up our options considerably." Cassie answered.

"A group of military guys aren't exactly going to argue with Presidential orders for a medical exam. Unless they are Yeerks, in which case they might guess." Tobias added.

"If a Controller even heard about such an action, they might suspect we had gotten to the government. There has to be another way." Prince Jake said.

"Leerans." Cassie whispered.

"We could skip a lot of surveillance if we could get the President alone and use a Leeran morph." Marco said with enthusiasm.

"I hate to do that, but it might be the safest strategy," Prince Jake admitted.

"We can't go around peering into the minds of thousands of people," Cassie said firmly. "I agree that it may be the best option in some ways, but we have to use that morph conservatively."

"Cassie's right. We use the CAT scan on the majority of troops. We only use the Leeran on key people early on. Once we are in a secure position for the use of the CAT scan, no more Leeran." Prince Jake sighed. "The secret is to move cautiously. But I'm sure the government has procedures for handling a need to know situation. Once we have military aid, what are we going to do with them? We need to have a strong plan of action to present to the President."

"You mean we can't just go in and say 'The Yeerks are coming! The Yeerks are coming! Fix it?'" Marco laughed.

"OK. The Yeerks have more advanced weaponry. Hopefully, we have taken away their element of surprise, and will instead surprise them. What else can we do to gain the upper hand?" Prince Jake asked.

"What are the odds the Chee can get us the Yeerk battle plan?" Rachel asked.

"We are trying," Erek answered, "although we do not believe one has been drawn up yet. I will keep you informed."

I had little to add when we were discussing the meeting with the President. Now that we had returned to my area of expertise, I broke my silence. (It is likely that much of the actual battle will be directed by Visser One. If we attack him directly early in the battle, it will lead to confusion. Also, the Yeerk battle plan is probably not likely to be fully formed, as they will not expect a strong defense.)

"Good point, Ax," Marco said, "I'm finally starting to think this might just be insane, and not completely suicidal."

"Jake, we have reached the town." Erek informed us.

"OK. Our next step is breakfast. Marco, watch Tom. Ax, morph to human. Erek, find us a restaurant or gas station to stop at. Tobias, watch our backs," Prince Jake ordered. "Everyone, keep a low profile and don't let your guard down."

"Our boy Jake is going to miss giving orders," Marco joked, "Lighten up, it's just breakfast!"


Jake


Marco was right. Not that I would miss giving orders, but that it was second nature, now. I was used to it. And I did need to lighten up. I hoped I'd be able to, as soon as this was all over. I wanted normality. We gassed up the van, used the facilities, and bought some breakfast. We were on the road again very quickly.

We stopped again in a less populated area. Ax needed to feed as an Andalite. Tobias played lookout while Cassie and Rachel accompanied him in horse morph. Marco and I had the delightful task of guarding our prisoner while he, well, you can guess.

Then, once again it was back to planning. I wanted to be sure we discussed every possibility; every angle. One mistake, and that might be it for planet Earth.

"Now, the Yeerks will not expect a strong defense from planetary forces, but they will be expecting an Andalite attack on their command center. We need to find a way to catch them off guard despite that. Any ideas?" I asked.

(Prince Jake, I am not sure that it will be possible to surprise them. As you said, they will be expecting us. The time for stealth attacks is past. We are prepared for sacrifice. We hit the command center hard and fast.) Ax answered.

"Oh no! Rachel has taken over the Ax-man's brain!" Marco exclaimed in mock terror.

"That may be true, Ax, that may be true." I struggled to keep defeat from my voice. "But let's see if we can come up with something. We've done some pretty impossible things, and there are still six of us." (Jake's right. And it won't do us any good to get killed before we even get into the command center.) Tobias added.

"Jake, I think we could all use a break from this. We aren't going to make a very good impression if we fall asleep in the oval office." Cassie pulled me into her arms, and despite my protests, I was asleep within minutes.

I woke with a start. I looked around. Tobias was watching Tom, Erek was driving. Everyone else was asleep.

"Erek, where are we?" I asked.

"Kansas," he answered, "We will be crossing the Mississippi into Missouri within minutes. I expect to reach Washington by mid-morning tomorrow."

"How long have we been sleeping?" I asked. (Ax and I have each taken watch shifts. Everyone else has slept for about six hours.) Tobias answered.

"Good. Thanks, Tobias. I can watch Tom if you want to catch up on some lost sleep. We'll stop for a meal when everyone wakes up."

(I had a thought while you were sleeping.) Tobias said. (Cassie has a Yeerk morph. Tom here will be on our side in a couple more days. They could get into the Yeerks' command center fairly easily.)

"I'm not sure Cassie..." I started, but Tobias cut me off.

(I'm not completely sure Tom is asleep. I know it might make Cassie uncomfortable. But I can't imagine Tom wouldn't agree.)

Cassie stirred beside me, almost as if she sensed we were talking about her. "What are you two planning?"

"What, no 'Good morning, Jake. Sleep well?'" I joked.

She smiled and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. Within minutes everyone was awake. We stopped at a McDonald's, and were soon back in the van munching fries while Tobias ripped into his mouse. It's amazing what you can get used to. We were all perfectly happy to eat while a hawk sat in our midst and disemboweled a mouse. In fact, the situation has become so normal to us that Marco didn't even bother to point it out.

Tobias repeated his suggestion to everyone. Cassie nodded. "If that's the only way, I'll do it," she said solemnly. "But it will really be up to Tom."

"I'm sure we won't have trouble convincing Tom," I answered, not sure if that was good or bad.

(It will take more than the two of you to defeat the Visser.) Ax pointed out.

(No one answer me; We don't want him to catch on. Several of us may have to morph Tom's Yeerk.) Tobias suggested.

Everyone was silent for a moment while we mulled over that suggestion. We had all done many creepy things over the years, but so far that particular horror had been reserved for Cassie alone.I nodded, and glancing at Tom, I whispered, "We'll all acquire it, just in case. But only three of us will have to use it."

I looked at everyone else. They all understood what I was suggesting.

"That would work," Cassie said simply. There was no emotion in her words or her face. Her eyes seemed empty. And I asked myself, how could I do this to her? But I couldn't leave Earth to the Yeerks, either.

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