One more week of school. I can live through one more week of school.

FYI, my 14th birthday was two days ago. Hah. I remember over a year ago when I couldn't post cuz I was still 12 … Rachel9466 told me to lie about my age … what I wouldn't tell her was that I was too lazy to create an account when I could just use hers …

Rachel, if you're reading this, do NOT kill me. I get people to read your songfics and stuff. And don't get mad at me for being too lazy to create an account when you're too lazy to write your own big long stories that get a million reviews. :P

(Okay, the "million reviews" part was wishful thinking.)

Now I've been trying to create my own account for months, but it's not working. Yeesh.

Falan: Hi! *waves* I wrote the story over the summer. And I wrote the first two or three books of the quintilogy the summer before last summer. Now I'm so busy I can't even post. I'm in eighth grade … for one more week anyway.

Shona, Sherry and Terry Malense: Well … this is set in the same "universe" as IEH. Visser Three's still got … yeah. (Some ppl haven't read IEH here!) And … this has a lot more about Esplin, as in a lot, like he's the main character here!

Rachel: Nope, I haven't. Didja miss me? :) Fortunately, when school gets out I will be posting a lot more.

Nogard: Oh yeah! Duh … she said that I said "kill" 7 times and "killer" once. And like I said, this is set in the same universe as IEH, so all that stuff that happened in IEH will eventually happen, or has already happened, in this story.

DEDICATION: This story is for SJC the other special person, and Shona cuz she's the other Visser Three obsessee.

Wow. Add "other" to the list that already contains kill and probably.

So … prologue and first chappie of ETI. Hope you like it.

___________________________________________________

PROLOGUE

It was a dark night on the Andalite home world.

The Yeerk Escal 946 looked out the window of the small Andalite transport. One shot was all it took. One shot, maybe another, then get out of here. Just enough to scare the Andalites. Possibly kill many of them.

He could do it. He could.

Sebrak 543 walked up to him. "Escal."

Sebrak and Escal were companions. Both were from the Hett Simplat pool, although they weren't siblings. Now they were Gedd-Controllers together.

"Yes, Sebrrrak."

"We arre herrre."

"Rrrr-I can see that."

Escal knew Sebrak wasn't looking forward to this any more than he was. Sebrak didn't have any special ties to the Andalites, but he disliked killing. Even killing Andalites.

Escal, on the other hand, could handle the killing. But he had become a friend to the Andalite called Seerow. Escal had wanted so much to be an Andalite, rather than a weak, blind Yeerk.

Seerow wasn't like the other Andalite warriors. No, Escal thought, he was kinder. More compassionate.

Like Sebrak.

Escal jerked his thoughts back to the present. Soon, Akdor 1154 would order him to take a few shots at the Andalite home world.

Escal stared at the planet. It was beautiful. Much more so than the Yeerk planet.

"Rrr-I can't do it," he said.

Sebrak nodded. "I know I rrr-couldn't."

"Can't do what?" Nalar 712 asked.

Nalar was the exact opposite of Sebrak. She was violent. She had nothing against wiping out the entire Andalite race — except that Escal and Sebrak were bitterly opposed to that idea. Nalar was from the Sulp Niar pool, so she had only known Escal and Sebrak for two years. Yet in that two years she had grown closer to them than any of her own siblings.

Escal sighed. "Look at that." He pointed out the window at the planet. "Akdorrr is going to orrrderrrr me to rrr-shoot at it verry soon. And I can't — rrr — I can't."

Nalar didn't agree. But she understood. And yet ... "But if you rrr-don't ... that means death by Kandrrrrona starrvation."

Escal nodded wordlessly.

"So what arrre you going to do?" Sebrak asked.

"I don't know," Escal said quietly.

Escal had been depressed for a long time, ever since the Yeerks had first attacked the Andalite-Yeerk Peace and Cooperation center on the Yeerk home world. He and thousands of other Yeerks had been loaded onto a few Andalite ships. There were about a quarter million, total.

Sebrak looked into the Yeerk pool that had been constructed by Gedd-Controllers. The Hak Replin pool. He could see Yeerks swimming around. Sebrak had not been depressed, exactly. Still, being a pacifist, he did not approve of many of the things the other Yeerks did.

Nalar looked around, restless. She did not like her friend being forced into a decision like this. Kandrona starvation or killing many members of a friend's kind ... what kind of a choice was that? It was a bad world when one had to make those choices. Very bad.

If Nalar had to decide, she wouldn't have a second thought about obeying those orders. Unless ... unless Escal or Sebrak begged her not to. Then she would have to reconsider.

Suddenly something caught Nalar's eye. "The pool!" she said. "Sebrak, Escal. Rrr-look in the pool."

Three Yeerks were joining. Becoming one.

"Rrrr … Is anyone else thinking what I'm rr-thinking?" Sebrak asked.

"Yes," Nalar said. "Therrre arre thrrree of us. One ... " she pointed at Escal. "Two ... " she pointed at Sebrak. "Thrrrree ... " she pointed at herself.

A slow Geddish smile appeared on Escal's face. "Yes. It's betterrrr than starrving. But you — Sebrrrrak and Nalarrrr — you would ... rrr ... you agrrree to do this?"

"Yes," Sebrak said.

Escal understood. Sebrak was tired of all the violence. But Escal wasn't so sure about Nalar. "Nalarrr?"

She smiled a freakish Geddish smile. "Wherrre you go, Escal, Sebrrrrak, I go."

Escal shouldn't have worried.

All three Yeerks left their hosts.

***

Chapter 1

Their names were Esplin 9466 of the Hak Replin pool.

Both of them.

They were twins. One was primary, the other secondary. Only based on the fact that one was slightly bigger than the other. The fact that the primary twin was bolder and the secondary was more passive was pure coincidence. After all, they had been designated right after birth.

They had been born in the titanium-alloy Yeerk pool aboard the Andalite spacecraft. That's what the Hak Replin pool was. Nothing more than a tank full of Yeerks and Yeerk pool liquid.

Neither of them had host bodies. They were young, low-ranking Yeerks. Although sometimes Esplin the primary wondered what having a host would be like.

Then came the day he would find out.

An old Gedd was being used to train hostless Yeerks to handle a host body. Esplin the primary twin was fourth. Tarak 9375, the Yeerk he had become close friends with, was third.

Esplin was impatient. Very impatient. He swam around in circles, over and over.

He was beginning to grind Tarak's last nerve.

"Stop that," Tarak said sharply. "You are making me nervous."

"I can't help it," Esplin protested. "I'm nervous too. Your turn, Tarak."

It was indeed Tarak's turn. Esplin watched enviously as Tarak slithered into the Gedd's ear.

Esplin swam in ever-tighter circles as Tarak began to connect to the aged Gedd's brain.

As soon as Tarak understood the sense of sight, he noticed Esplin.

"I rrr-told him to stop going in cirrrrcles," Tarak said to himself.

Tarak decided to try out his three-fingered Geddish hands.

Esplin felt something close around him and pick him up.

"Aaaaaaahhh! Tarak, if that's you, I'll kill you for this!"

Of course, Tarak couldn't hear him. He laughed. "Hrrr-hrrr-hrrrr."

Esplin's Yeerkish instincts were going crazy. No water! Out in the open!

All of a sudden, he was falling.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU, TARAK!!!"

Spuh-LOOOOSHH!

The impact startled Esplin. Suddenly he was back in the pool.

"I'm going to KILL YOU!" he repeated.

"Hrrrr-hrr-HRRRR!" Tarak laughed again, although he still couldn't hear his friend.

"Tarrrrak," Janath 429 said, "you are not rrr-supposed to be doing that."

"I was rrr-only having fun."

Janath shook his head. "Yourrrr time is up."

Tarak left the Gedd.

"I am going to kill you," Esplin said. Again.

"Your turn, Esplin."

"I am going to do that to you, you annoying parasite."

"I am the annoying parasite? And you are ... "

"I am GOING to KILL you."

Tarak couldn't hear the last words because Esplin had slithered into the Gedd's ear.

Esplin didn't notice when Tarak swam away.

Esplin forgot all about Tarak as he began to experience the shock and wonder of infesting a host for the first time.

Meanwhile, Tarak was at the opposite end of the pool.

When Esplin's fifteen minutes were up, he crawled out of the Gedd's ear. "Tarak?" he called. "Tarak, where did you go?"

"Esplin," Hekliss 8275 said. Hekliss was Esplin's older sister.

"Oh. Hello, Hekliss."

"Have you done training yet?" Hekliss asked.

"I just did."

"I had it yesterday," Hekliss informed him. "It was scary."

"It was?"

"I didn't like it at all at first. But then I got used to it, and then it wasn't so bad. In fact, it was fascinating. Almost enjoyable."

" 'Almost'? Hekliss, you're insane."

"Most of the other Yeerks I have talked to found it frightening as well," Hekliss said defensively. "Some even said it was awful."

"Then they're insane too. Where's Tarak?"

"I picked him up on sonar a few minutes ago. He was heading across the pool as fast as he could go. I asked him why, but he didn't hear me."

"Oh, he was just scared that I was going to kill him."

"Were you?"

"Yes, but I forgot."

"Tarak was fortunate then."

"Yes," Esplin grumped.

It didn't take long for Esplin to find Tarak.

"There you are," Tarak said. "You didn't come looking for me."

"I forgot to kill you," Esplin explained. "Because that was so — "

"Weird?" Tarak filled in.

"Yes. It was weird. But it was also ... I can not wait to get my own host!"

"I can't either. It was frightening at first, though."

"Frightening? How can something that wonderful be frightening?"

"Wonderful? I thought it was exciting, but wonderful? It was weird."

"I wish there were more Gedd hosts."

"Yes. Me too."

"I have talked to my sister, Hekliss. She found the experience frightening as well. Other Yeerks said it was awful. My opinion is, they are crazy."

"They are the crazy ones? What about you?"

"I am perfectly sane."

"Perfectly insane," Tarak muttered.

Esplin ignored his last comment.

___________________________________________________

So … what do you think? Review! See … this story has NO reviews cuz this is the first chappie! Unless someone already read this chappie and reviewed.

Freakish Geddish … I like that.

I'm getting yelled at to get off now. Just review. Please. Pretty please?

-Salad Shooter *is too lazy to make the little HB head thing*