Step Into the Abyss
Disclaimer: Animorphs belongs to Scholastic, not me, and I am not making any money in any way. So there.
My name is Rachel, and I am a former War Princess of the Andalite military.
I stood on the surface of the seventh moon of the gas giant Sarilc, in a temple that had been abandoned for millennium. The friezes covering the walls are surprisingly human in design. I stood at the edge of a crater, five miles deep. I couldn't see the bottom. A wind howled from within it, echoing hollowly, reminding me of how hollow these last few years have been. Remembering those times, wishing I could see earth again, I leaned back against a wall covered in an ivy like plant, and dreamed.
We, the once Animorphs, with the help of the Chee, the free Hork-Bajir, and the yeerk peace movement, kept the yeerks at bay for six long, bloody, hellish years. When the Andalites finally came, they patted us on the head, told us we had been good little aliens, and that we needed to get out of the way, the real warriors were going to take over now. They got their tails kicked.
If it weren't for the peace movement, they would have been executed on the spot. The told us what had happened, and we rescued them, destroying Visser 3 in the process.
I shuddered as I thought of Alloran's fading Thank You, as he died.
The drove them off earth, finally. The yeerks in the peace movement had agreed to help us on the condition that we help get then leniency when the Andalites came. This we did. We were hailed heroes of the war, and given the title of Warriors, if we joined their military. We did, on the condition that they let the friends that fought with us, come too.
This was by no means a popular decision.
The war had exacted a heavy toll on both sides. It scared the minds of both species. Nothing would satisfy either except the extinction of the other. The Andalites won.
The cost in lives taken was far worse than anyone could count. The only yeerks to survive the war were those that joined the peace movement, and the Andalite world was heavily depopulated. There were a few scattered pools left on the Yeerk Homeworld, and they were blockaded from space.
I was given the title of War Prince after the battle of the Hork-Bajir home world, and so was Jake. We both were given commands on Dome ships. I find it funny that I was called a Prince, but there was never a female given the rank before. Since the war, things changed.
Many of the scientists among the peace movement started working with their Andalite counterparts, and before the war ended, a vaccine was created to keep a yeerk from being able to involuntarily take over a person who had received the treatment. All in the military took it.
A strange thing happened, in the fourth year after the war left earth. Many yeerk and Andalite scientists became 'symbiants', meaning, in a way, voluntary Controller. They worked together, forming a whole that could work on separate problems at once. Many great breakthroughs came of such pairings.
That was, until the massacre.
The Animorphs had become war heroes, and so had many of the other 'aliens' that had come with us. Several hosts of those of the peace movement had decided to stay with their yeerks! How's that for irony? Not only that, but freed hosts came as well. They had proved themselves to be loyal, time and again.
I was on my bridge when I heard the news.
Captain,
"Report, T. O."
I have an urgent message from War Prince Jake came the voice of my T. O., Ax. Of the Animorphs, Ax was my T. O., and Marco was my engineer. Tobias and Cassie crewed with Jake.
My eyebrows went up at this. "Urgent, you say?" I asked, using the calm voice I had learned worked as effectively as any shout.
Urgent, Ax repeated, looking a little worried. He wouldn't say anything else.
I nodded, answering," I'll take it in my office."
Walking briskly across the blue grass, I entered my office. I cued the holo, and an image of Jake immediately came up.
"What is it, War Prince?"
Jake looked calm. I took this as a danger sign. He only looks that calm when something awful has come up.
"I just received a message from the science compound on the Homeworld. Just before it was destroyed. By the Andalites."
"WHAT?" I asked, as my jaw dropped.
"You heard me right. This was a few hours ago, and I needed to get within safe range to get an untapped signal to you. Then, I intercepted orders going to the Elfangor and the Treevoice for them to go the Yeerk world, and annihilate the remaining yeerks. They're being exterminated, Rachel."
I nodded, slowly. I couldn't believe that the Andalites would do something like this. Those scientists were scientists alone! No one could ever accuse them of anything.
"Have you heard the reports lately? Of the Andalites 'liberating' several worlds and colonizing others?"
"Yes," I replied, putting aside my shock. Those warriors that couldn't adapt couldn't survive. And I was a survivor.
"I've heard other things, and- Oh, shit," Jake broke off. One of his Hork-Bajir officers had came up and given him a message. " I just got word that the Liberator was attacked by several Andalite fighters and a Dome ship. Liberator was a cruiser. There was no way she could have made it."
"Damn." I couldn't think of anything else.
Jake had gone pale. "I don't know what has come over the Council, but we have got to be next. The Excaliber and the Xena are the only other ships in the military that have yeerks in their crews. Any mixed crews at all. You know what we have to do," he finished quietly.
"Go AWOL," I whispered, agreeing with him.
"I'm going to make an announcement to my crew about what I'm going to do. I can't ask you, but if you want to throw your lot in with me, meet me at the Kariba home world. Fare well, my friend."
"You to. Over and out." I cut the transmission.
My hands were shaking. I couldn't believe it.
I hailed Ax. "T.O., any news from the home world?"
I am receiving a message about- That can't be right, captain. I'll try to confirm, but… All the codes are right. I just can't believe that- Captain, the message we are getting is stating that the scientists at the Science compound turned traitor, and they were destroyed following a coup attempt. I know some of those people, captain. They would never-
"I know, Mr. Aximili. I know." I gritted my teeth.
"Anything about the Liberator?"
How would you know that we would get a message about- Wait, here it is. They suffered a malfunction, and self-destructed.
I stood up from my chair. " Hail the command staff. We need to have an emergency meeting. Helm and com, if anyone, and I mean anyone, comes with firing range, get us the hell out of here."
In the conference room, my officers, human, Andalite, and Hork-Bajir, symbiant and not, sat around the large table. I knew that all of them were loyal, not just to the military, but to me personally. I was given this post three years ago, and all my staff are best they can be. No matter the species.
I told them of the official story, and what I had heard from Jake. To my surprise, few asked to leave, only those there a few months. The rest stayed. I dismissed them.
I asked Marco and Ax to stay.
"We're meeting up with Jake on the Excaliber at the Kariba home world," I begin.
"I never heard of it," interrupted Marco.
After several years of his banter, I had actually gotten grateful for it. It means that some things never change.
"You wouldn't have. It doesn't exist. During the war, Jake and I thought it would be a good idea for us to have a fall back point if something happened to either ship. We are actually heading to the seventh moon of the gas giant Sarilc. It has good air, edible life forms, and water. We even laid in a cache of supplies, but we never thought we would need it for this." I felt something warm and wet hit my hand. I never thought that I would cry for yeerks, but I was.
Once the ones that wanted to leave, did, we set course, and made tracks through z-space. I went over to the ship board yeerk pool, and dunked my head. Immediately my friend Joseph, once Aixm 45432 of the Criam-Thris pool, entered my ear. He is the reason I forgave the individual yeerks for their crimes, and learned not to judge others by their kind.
What's wrong? asked Joseph, sensing my distress. I opened my mind to him, and felt him absorb the events.
My, God, I heard him say in response.
One thing that I found hard to get used to was Joseph's faith. He had been the Controller of a Catholic priest for years. When he first took over the elderly minister, he said, he had mocked the man for his faith, asking him, "Where is your god now, when I have your body? You should worship me!" Then, over time, the man's faith started to overcome his contempt. The old man never whined. He just prayed. He prayed for everyone except himself. He even prayed for the creature that took over his life. I was shocked when I found no self-pity, no hatred. That man's faith was so deep, he never hated me. He helped me to realize that I hated myself, for the pain I had caused.
Then, he said, he had a revelation. He couldn't describe it any other way. He felt the sky seem to open up, and he knew that he had to help other yeerks understand that what they were doing was wrong. He had sneered at the idea that one person who had all power would give it up for the sake of anyone. He had felt sheer mockery for those who believe that anything had more power than hate. Now he knew differently. His God had called him, and in that instant, he had understood why a person would care for their tormentor.
I begged and begged for my host's forgiveness. He said he wasn't the person I needed to ask. I needed to ask God's. That is what I did.
I may not have shared his faith, but I had seen the results of Joseph's devotion again and again. He refused to fight, and I had seen how he had healed souls of many, including myself.
That's another story.
After filling my friend in on the situation, he and I went to the bridge. We had exited z-space, and found something worse.
The Excaliber had been attacked. We came out just in time to see the last pod escape, and the fireworks of its destruction. I gasped, then shouted orders.
"Locate survivors, and tell me were they landed. Pick up as many pods are still in space, and salvage teams, try to find any useful parts remaining. We may need them. Begin landing at the plateaus on the equator," I snapped, with too many years of practice.
Don't go down that road, my friend. You are a good commander.
Yeah, right, I think back.
We landed, and got all the survivors into the sickbays aboard my ship. There were several ancient temples on the plateau, and we started filling them with salvage. I showed my engineers where we had but the supplies, and we began working.
I shook myself from my reverie.
That, Rachel, is one very, very deep hole, Commented Joseph.
Tell me about it. It was as dark as our future. Now, the Animorphs have to defend the yeerks against the Andalites, and hope that they wouldn't take out earth out of spite.
Have faith, Rachel. God has seen you this far; he will see you to the end.
"Joseph," I said aloud. "I hope you are right."
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