Info:
Title: Andalite Wars
Fandom: Animorphs
Official Genres: Adventure;Drama
Other Genres: Family;Friendship
Rating: T (just to be safe)
Content Notes:
*Working on the assumption that ramming the Blade Ship failed (tragic, but for this story it feels right) Cassie is the only original Animorph.
*This explores the concept that war is perpetual. I've noticed a trend in, for instance, the wars the U.S. fights in the Middle East, we try to help one country, and give them weapons, extremists get a hold of those weapons and turn them on us. In this story, Paranoid humans are the extremists.
*My previous statement is in no way anti-Middle East, or anti Muslim. It's more a statement on human nature. We tend to turn against one another very easily. Look at my own country's government. Even in the same party they tear each other down, when we could be working for a common good.
*I plan to try to stay close to K.A. Applegate's original Animorphs style. Though the way I write may get more intense. We'll see.
*I am trying to work in line with the original Animorphs timeline, keeping that in mind, Cassie would be around 33 when my story begins, that doesn't seem unreasonable to me...I'm figuring that the Andalite Chronicles started around the 70s. I also figured 82 made a reasonable birth year for the Animorphs. That means that Elfangor met the kids around '96, when they were 13 or 14. They fought for three years, so 96, 97, 98. Then three years passed before that final line in the series, 99, 2000, 2001. Take time for peace, and then some build up to the point where our story starts...now it's around 2015, making Cassie 33.
*Not sure yet, but this may be broken into multiple stories.
Summary: It's been more than ten years since the events of Animorphs took place. Peace never lasts, and we seem to be looking for a fight now. Andalites have given humans some technology, some we learned based on Yeerk wreckage; still it might actually be an even match.
Author's Notes: I've been meaning to write this for a long time. I've tried starting an RP around it a couple times, and may have taken some inspiration from characters others made for those RPs. If you see a character based on one you made for an RP, let me know, so I can credit you! I know the idea of an exchange student on the Andalite world is adapted from someone who was part of one of the sites.
Disclaimer: I don't own Animorphs. The are the intellectual genius of K.A. Applegate. (Or are they? Mac[intosh Apple] + Gateway = Applegate...well played Marco...well played...)
Guest Replies: Here is where I will reply to reviews from guests!
Word Count: 2,003
Chapter 1: Cassie
I glanced around as I walked down the street, Toby tall at my side. We were certainly drawing our share of stares, and I'm going to guess it wasn't me they were looking at.
Even if you'd already seen her picture, or spotted her on film, Toby is still something to behold in person. A fearsome sight, nearly eight feet tall, a serpentine neck, sharp beak, blades at her wrists, elbows, knees...all features perfectly adapted to her life of peacefully eating bark. Not that most people would give her the chance to explain that.
"I thought they were sending a car of some sort..." Toby mumbled, casting a cautious glance toward an armed man, she and I could both see him inching for a concealed weapon.
I offered a smile to the stranger, holding up an ID that showed I was supposed to be here, Toby did the same, "I guess they forgot. It's not that long a walk."
"You're not the one they view as a walking weapon." She sighed in return, her history with humans other than my friends and myself not being great.
If you're wondering what's going on, then maybe you slept through history class. Maybe you never heard about the Animorphs, or as Marco used to call us, the "idiot teenagers with a death wish."
It would be nice to hear his voice...hear any of them...but those days are far behind. This teenager is in her thirties now. I'm Cassie...and after Rachel died, after Ax went missing, when Jake, Marco and Tobias vanished trying to save him...I became the last known surviving Animorph.
"Cassie? Are you alright? You look troubled." Toby, a Hork-Bajir who traveled with me now to the headquarters of the International Committee on Extraterrestrial Relations (ICER for short) broke my thoughts.
"Yeah, fine," I sighed softly, "I was just thinking about the others...It's been over ten years now."
It really has been ten over ten years since the war ended. Over ten years that I've been working as an advocate for the Hork-Bajir, along with another job as a veterinarian. More than ten years since Rachel died...and since Jake, Tobias, and Marco vanished.
I still see them in my dreams sometimes...and not always the same nightmares from the war. Sometimes they're dreams of life before everything changed...or of what life could have been. Those are the saddest.
I dream of Jake a lot...I guess you can't fall out of love; even when you find the person isn't who you loved anymore, you still love who they were. So I dream of what we might have had if the war hadn't changed him, hadn't changed us.
I've been through counseling. It helps, but I know part of me is keeping it from helping entirely. I'm the last one, I hold all that's left of them, and I know it's silly, but I'm afraid to move on entirely.
So much has happened in the years since they've been gone. For six of them, there's been an exchange program where earth students travel to the Andalite Home World to study. It's one sided, but Andalites still think we're primitive. College students were the only ones allowed at first, but last year they opened it to high schoolers too. There are fifteen students there now, ten college level, and five high school.
Rachel's sisters have grown into beautiful adults. Jordan is a lawyer, like their mother, full of fire like Rachel always was. Sara is a teacher, middle school history. She says passing on our story is the best way she can honor her oldest sister's memory. They both look so much like her.
Morphing has become common in our military. I think it's a good thing they're keeping it out of civilian hands. While it has great potential to do good, the idea of a person with morphing technology going on a murder spree is frightening.
Myself, I've become a bit more cynical, I suppose. When you're the last survivor of your friends that can happen. When you've watched tensions growing over ten years between humans and Andalites, despite your best efforts to make peace, and for no reason other than unfounded suspicions, it draws out your cynical side.
I looked up as Toby and I stopped walking. Before us stood the ICER compound, far larger than likely necessary, mostly for show. Guards stood outside the gate, hardly noticing me, a shorter than average African American woman with silver streaked hair kept short.
Their focus was on the Hork-Bajir at my side, and it was easy to see all the fuss was making Toby upset.
"They were supposed to send a car," I spoke to grab the guard's attention, showing my ID, "Apparently they forgot. I'm Cassie, this is Toby Hamee, we're supposed to speak at the Summit."
"Right...of course." The guard on the right gave a jerky nod, muttering into a Bluetooth device. I couldn't hear the reply, but he offered an annoyed sigh before signalling to his friend on the left, "Alright, you two are cleared to enter."
"Thanks." I gave the pair a small smile as Toby and I passed. Inside, we were greeted by a committee member.
"There must have been a mix up with the car," The man smiled in a way that didn't feel genuine, "How very devoted to your cause, walking all the way here."
The silent glance at Toby was enough to know he meant walking with her at my side, "I've told you before, the Hork-Bajir are peaceful by nature. If you'd just let Toby mingle with people on occasion-"
"So you've said. Thank you for coming to discuss your position, anyway," He sighed, smiling ruefully, "Of course we can't be sure when we will get to your statements."
"Peace should be everyone's position," Toby spoke up gently, "Fighting is a last resort, or so it should be. If we can help to stop unneeded violence, then we will wait however long we must."
"Toby's right, of course." I nodded, "Even if we have to walk every day, we'll be here. Of course, a ride is preferred."
"Cassie?" I turned to see who was calling me and saw a tall, full figured woman with olive skin walking our way. Her dark hair was twisted into a neat bun behind her and she wore a pantsuit in a color I remember Rachel once calling salmon. Strange the things you remember.
"Senator Hill, thank you for contacting me!" I smiled, glad to see a friendly face instead of the man I had just been speaking to, who still scowled nearby.
"Call me Gloria, and who else should I go to? When Eva said there was an Animorph left, I thought, 'This is my only hope!'" She paused, sadness in her eyes, "I know it's already been a long time, but I am so sorry about your friends...I didn't know the others, but Marco was a good boy...a dork sometimes, but we'll assume he inherited that from his father."
"You're Marco's cousin, right? So it's your loss too. I'm sorry..." I wasn't sure what else to say.
"He's the one who got lost in space," she puffed a laugh. "You don't apologize for that! Besides, space is big, he's probably still out there somewhere! Hey, Eva was, and she died on earth!"
"Yeah, maybe," I smiled, wanting to believe what she was saying.
"Oh!" Gloria turned to Toby with a grin, "Apparently I forgot my manners! You must be Toby Hamee. It's a real pleasure to meet you."
"The pleasure is mine. I'm glad to help." Toby gave the Hork-Bajir version of a smile, and dipped her spiked head.
Blinking, the senator seemed to register that the man first greeted us still stood there, "Oh, thanks for greeting them for me. I can take it from here, bye!"
After a final scowl he departed, Gloria folding her arms and watching him go, "That would be Clyde Rogers. He's not too happy with me. I'm still pretty new to Washington, and he seems to think my connection with Marco is the only reason I'm on this committee. He also happens to be a creep who thinks anyone outside the human race is a threat."
"And you don't think that," It was a statement of fact, she didn't, or I wouldn't be here. I was opening the door for her to elaborate, but I had a feeling she had the same reasons as Marco's parents for wanting peace.
"The Andalites might have screwed up, but humans have wreaked our share of havoc too. If Elfangor hadn't met you guys...Eva would have been a slave of the Yeerks forever," She gave a small smile, "We all would have had weird slugs in our heads eventually. The Andalites had a big problem, they were trying, right? And Marco knew what he was doing when he flew off to play hero one last time, I'm not going to blame Ax."
Marco's family had probably dealt with the overall situation best, accepting things in a way even I was having trouble with. I guess they had Eva's perspective as former host to Visser One to thank in part.
Maybe if Tom had survived to tell the Berenson's how terrible being a controller was, their family wouldn't be so divided. Jake's parents seemed to hate the Andalites now. Rachel's family was split down the middle. But at least none of them seemed to put blame for Tom and Rachel's deaths on Jake.
"Well, ladies, I hope you're ready for a fight," Gloria sighed, gesturing that I should follow her, "We aren't completely alone in our position, but Clyde has gathered a check of a lot of support."
"What do you think our chances are?" I asked, honestly curious but wary of the answer as Toby and I walked along with her.
"If we can hear from an Animorph and a Hork-Bajir, it might get people to see things our way," She sighed, turning down a long hallway, "But honestly, we're grasping at straws..."
"Then we do what we must to make as many see as possible," Toby responded, one clawed hand clenched in determination.
"Exactly," Gloria smiled in reply, coming to a stop and opening a door to a large room full of people from around the world.
The crowd began to murmur as they saw us, and we followed the Senator to where she was sitting. Leaning into her microphone she spoke, "Sorry for that delay, it seems my guests arrived a bit late. Somehow there was some confusion over their transportation, so they walked. May I introduce Cassie, who fought as one of the Animorphs; and Toby Hamee, the first Hork-Bajir born into freedom since the Yeerks enslaved her people, and a seer to her kind."
More murmurs erupted, though she silenced them quickly by continuing with a commanding tone, "And yes, they will be speaking here, for the record. See to it that it's fit into the schedule."
Nearby I could see Clyde, gritting his teeth so fiercely it was almost audible. Clearly he wasn't a fan of Gloria's easy confidence and command of the room.
"Then let's resume, shall we?" A woman who looked to be in her seventies spoke in an British accent. I was informed she was the chairperson of the Summit.
"As I was saying, these Andalites refuse to give us more than what they consider rudimentary technology," A translator let us know what a Russian man was saying across the room, "Why? They want to be able to crush us!"
"That's not right..." I mumbled, "After the Yeerks they're being cautious..."
"Ssh..." Gloria cast a weary smile at me, "We get our turn, but they get to spout this nonsense first."
And that's how things proceeded. We were stuck listening to them talk about things they didn't understand. Gloria gave me some paper so Toby and I could frantically scribble notes on what counterpoints to make when the time came.
Post Notes: There's Chapter one. As you may have guessed from Cassie's name on the chapter, I plan to write in a Megamorphs style. The narrator's will include one more canon character, and four OCs. Six narratives total, in balance with the original Animorphs structure. For now, this story is just 'The Andalite Wars' but if I decide to divide it into multiple stories, I'm subtitling this one "The Break." Who knows, maybe I'll use this to launch stories entirely from one character's Narrative, and make a series of Andalite War fics in six character rotation. Any opinions?
Post Note 2: Also, since I'm working with the concept of official war, I was hoping to maybe get some help with rank terms and such from someone. My main fighters for the humans will be considered part of the air force, though they will work in space via adapted Yeerk tech. It's very important to me to be accurate in my use of terms, ranks, and their adaptation to a space division.