A Tear In Space
Disclaimer: Animorphs belongs Scholastic, and Star Wars belongs to the Lucasfilm. I am not making any money from this.
Lory had been a student at the Jedi temple all her life. Now, all she could imagine herself doing was becoming a Jedi, and protecting the galaxy. At the age of ten, she had become the Padawan, her Master one of the few Camaasi Jedi that ever left their world. She had just turned fourteen, but had the experience of Padawans many years her elder. She was a wiry girl, with hair that couldn't be called brown or blond, and in the usual Padawan cut that was customary for humans. She had green eyes, and had a normal face.
Currently, she and her Master had been on pirate duty, one of the less glamorous jobs that Jedi had to do. It was patrol duty, no more, no less.
They were on the convoy ship, the Republic, and they had been there for the past month. It was boring.
Even as she thought that, she berated herself for it. It was necessary work, and her Master would chide her for such self-pitying thoughts. Just because they were on the dullest assignment ever, didn't mean she had the right to complain. Many of the Jedi she had talked to would have given their hands to be able to rest on such a mission.
She was about to continue that line of thought, when the alarm sounded. They were under attack!
She rushed to her Master's quarters, and he was already on his way to the bridge. She joined him, and with the practice of a long partnership, they smoothly took command of the situation.
"What's the situation?" asked her Master.
"Pirates, two o'clock. We picked them up, just as we came out of hyper," stated the Captain.
Lory could barely contain her excitement. Action!
Her Master had followed the trail of her thoughts, and gave her a stern look.
"Go to the engine room. We've already sustained damage in the area. You will be needed to make repairs."
Suppressing a sigh, she obeyed. Whirling around, her robe flapping, she sped on her way.
She entered the engine room, and called some repair tools to her hand, and went to work.
While she worked, she could feel the ship buck and pitch under her hands. She could feel the way the ship was supposed to work, like a living thing, and it wasn't. It was dying. It was all she could do at that moment to keep the life-support going. Her comrades, the other engineers, worked as furiously as she did, but they were also showing the strain.
When a stray blast accidentally activated the self-destruct mode, she felt a flash of fear. She would have to eject it, and the automatic eject had been damaged already. No one else would have the speed to do it.
Thrusting her mind deeply into the Force for speed and guidance, she dashed into the control room, and sealed it off. Working madly, loosened the drive from its moorings, and used her lightsaber to open the hatch. All of the atmosphere in the room rushed out, pulling her and the hyper drive with it.
She began to feel the effects of decompression, as the dissolved gases in her blood began to come free. She was blowing up from the inside out!
Then, the hyper-drive exploded.
Blackness
She woke up in a forest. It was similar to many of those she had been in at various points of her career as a Padawan. Stretching out her senses, she felt the living force pulse through her, and was grateful for its presence. She couldn't feel the reassuring aura of her Master anywhere. In fact, nothing on this world was familiar at all.
Wincing as she sat up, she tried her best to make it to her feet. She was still suffering from the effects of decompression, and the sharp pain of having all the dissolved gases in her become un-dissolved was still with her. Lying back down, she touched the Force, and started the process of healing.
It was later that day that she was able to get up enough strength to go out and look for food. She still didn't have any idea where she was, and that bothered her. Unsheathing her light saber, she started to edge her way through the forest.
It was nearing dusk when she found a stream with water she thought she could drink. Using some of the equipment she had on her utility belt, she tested it, and greedily drank, when she saw that she could. Thirst slaked, she sat back on her heels. Then, she saw an alien.
Ax had just finished the evening ritual. He was going back to his scoop, when he caught sight of a human female drinking from the same stream. He expected her to run screaming, but she just looked at him calmly, like she saw aliens all the time. She would, if she was a Controller.
He stood there, waiting to see her reaction.
She got up, and walked over.
"Hello," she said, bowing.
Uh, hi, he responded.
"I, er, don't mean to sound rude, but, what is the name of this planet?"
Earth. Ax answered her, feeling confused. She was human, why would she have to ask what planet she was on?
"Are you a local here?" she asked, still calm.
No, I live in a different part of the forest.
"No, I meant, are you a native of this planet?"
No, he exclaimed. I am an Andalite. Of course my kind are not native to Earth. You are a human; that should be obvious.
"What does being human have to do with anything? I have never been to this world before. If I don't know the native species, that has hardly anything to do with my being human."
But, he heard himself sputter. Humans are native to Earth. They don't have space travel. You could not of come from any other world.
"Humans have not had a 'native planet', as you call it, ever since the discovery of the hyper drive. We don't know what planet we came from. Some humans wouldn't have space travel, if they came from an isolated colony world, but that happens only rarely."
What are you talking about?
"What are you talking about?"
Lory was starting to loose some of her Jedi cool. She had been decompressed and hadn't eaten in nearly twelve standard hours. Was it any wonder that her temper was fraying?
"Look, is there a space port any where? Someplace I could contact the Jedi Temple? I just want to find out what happened to my Master." She could feel tears prick her eyes at the thought of loosing him. What would she do then?
Space port? Miss, you are very strange, even for a human.
He thought for a moment. It was fairly obvious this human was insane, and he needed to get her to someplace where she wouldn't hurt herself. The only problem was, he didn't know where these places were.
Miss, would you mind coming with me? If you are lost, I will try to find someone who can help you, he said in a calm, talking to the crazy person voice.
"Thank you," she answered.
He led the way back to his scoop. She followed along docilely enough, but every so often, she would look at the trees that were growing around her in wonder. Like she had never seen them before. She had to be more ill than he thought.
When he reached his scoop, he started looking for Tobias. He needed his advice, badly.
Not seeing him, he decided that it would be worth the risk to go looking. He began morphing into his bird of prey morph.
"Amazing," said the human girl. "Is that natural, or is it technology?"
Technology, he said, and completed the morph. He took off, and went in search of Tobias.
She looked around. This was clearly some sort of dwelling. It was not as primitive as she might have expected. It had a feeling of safety, but also the sense that the one who lived there was quite young.
Not knowing how long she would be waiting there, Lory sat down, and began to mediate.
She wanted guidance more than anything, and she tried with all her will to grasp at a vision to tell her what to do. Finally, exhausted, she felt an image flick through her mind like a sunbeam.
A building, and on the front of it was a sign, written in a language similar to basic, that said, "The Sharing". She needed to go there, because…? Something from the Dark Side lived there. Something she needed see, and help destroy. Not alone, she needed to find help. Get help from the alien she had met. Later, after seeing for herself.
With a jolt, she came out of her trance. Never before, had the Force given her such a clear vision. She had always only been given vague warnings, or hunches. Well, now she had a focus, and a direction. Rising to her feet, she pulled up her hood, and set off.
Ax found Tobias in his usual hunting grounds. He had just caught and killed a squirrel. He was tearing at the meat with his beak, when he heard Ax land nearby.
What's up, Ax-man? he called.
The sun. Tobias, what do humans do with those that are insane among your people?
Tobias preened a little, and answered, We usually lock them up, and get them as much help as possible. Why?
I have a human girl that claims not to be from this planet, and is looking for the space port, and is trying to contact the "Jedi Temple", whatever that is.
Whoa, boy, it sounds like we have a winner there. She must have watched Star Wars a little too much. I'll go get the others, and ask them what they think. We really should get her in an institution, but she has seen you, right?
Yes, and didn't panic, the way a normal human would have. This is when I thought she was a Controller, but a Controller would have run from me, as well. I began to wonder about her sanity at that point.
Well, go check up on her, to see if she is all right, and I'll go tell Jake.
They separated, and when Ax got back to his scoop, he found she was gone.
Lory was wondering around town, using the mind trick called 'Alter Mind'. She only used it so that she would go unnoticed by the general population. It only made them think there was nothing out of the ordinary about her. Judging from the styles of clothing they were wearing, it was a good thing she had done so.
This planet was obviously 'civilized', by most standards, just technologically unsophisticated. No wonder that alien had been so confused when she had asked about a spaceport. He had most likely never met someone from off planet. She needed to apologize.
She was near her destination. She could feel that in her bones. She had occasionally met with humans that had a bad feeling in their minds. It was as if they had someone controlling them. The Dark side rolled out of their heads like tropical breakers. She shuddered. Rarely in her time as an apprentice had she ever been this close to true terror, but whatever was causing those Dark side effects chilled her marrow.
There it was. Pulling back her hood to get a better look, she wondered if she should just march in, or take a more sneaky approach. She could guess what her Master would say right then. "Lory, you rush in where Masters fear to tread." In this case, she supposed, a little caution would not be a bad thing.
Wandering down an alley, she pulled her hood back up. Local night had fallen, and the cover it would give her would certainly be an asset. The roof looked vulnerable enough. Scanning the roof and the surrounding areas, she tried to see if there were any traps, sensors, anything else that might get her killed, again.
Wait. A type of electronic device, watching… It hadn't spotted her, but it was definitely a hurdle. Deciding that a good look at the situation from an alternate view would be helpful, she jumped to the fire escape, and climbed to the roof of the adjacent building. The roof, and anywhere else put the front door would be like trying to break into a Hutts spice vault.
Nope, she decided, maybe just walking in would be the best tactic.
Tobias had gone to Cassie's first, because she was the closest.
Cassie! he called.
"Tobias?" she answered him softly.
Yeah, we have a situation here. Ax met some girl who claims to be looking for the Jedi Temple. She didn't run when she saw him. He thinks she's crazy, and I tend to agree with him. I knew that when Episode 1 came out, so would a lot of whacks, but this is ridiculous.
"I'll call the others. Where's Ax?"
He's gone to look for her. If you're going to be calling, I go catch up with him.
"Good. Let's get going."
Tobias left Cassie's and went in search of Ax.
Ax , while Cassie and Tobias had been talking, had acquired a dog morph, and gone looking for her, using the dog's keen sense of smell. The only problem was, the happy dog morph was making him go off and chase cars. He would gain her trail, only to loose it again.
Some quirk of fate, though, had led him outside the Sharing. Upon scenting it, his hackles went up. Then, he caught her smell again. He felt vaguely disappointed to find out that she really was a Controller. He followed her trail a little farther, and found that it led to an alley to the side, and then up it.
So, she may not be a Controller.
He saw her on the roof. She was looking at the Sharing building like one of the seasoned warriors aboard his old ship. She was going to try to infiltrate it. Giving it another glance, he could see how frustrated she was.
She jumped off the ledge.
With a frightened woof, he bounded over, to see that she was perfectly all right.
That was impossible.
He knew that there was no way that a human could have made that leap. He began to demorph. If she was a Controller, she would have to be eliminated.
Lory thought that it would be extremely stupid to go into a building filled with the Dark side without knowing what it was she faced, but that was better than just standing there. Grimacing, she walked to the door, and carefully waved her hand. The bouncer asked for her name.
"You don't need my name," she told him softly.
"I don't need to know your name," the man repeated.
"Let me pass."
"You may pass," he said, stepping aside so she could enter.
Gripping her lightsaber, she strode in, like she belonged there. Carefully keeping anyone from noticing her, she realized how she stood out. Well, she thought, I guess stealing someone's clothes wouldn't be the strangest thing a Jedi's ever done. Picking a target, she followed a young female human into a closed off room, and saw the reason the Force had called her there.
She had not been raised in a religion that had a hell, but she had heard plenty about them. This was such a place.
There were rows and rows of people, all of them screaming for help, death, anything. Their pain bowled her over. There was a huge pond of silvery water, and in it, were more of the creatures that she had sensed in people's minds earlier that say. Oddly enough, she felt that there were humans that wanted this. It made her sick, but she also sensed a redeeming quality in some of the creatures. Some didn't cause pain.
That idea is shot, she thought, as the girl she had been tailing turned at corner when she had been recovering from the shock of seeing the pool. I guess this calls for a plan B?
Get the sith out of here! Was the best she could think of.
Too late! She'd been spotted.
Several aliens, like walking knives, saw her, and gabbled something in a language she didn't know. Suppressing her panic, she turned around, and tried to walk out as calmly as she could. Trying to touch their minds, and make them think she disappeared wasn't working. Their minds were too different. Running madly now, she thumbed on her lightsaber, and carved the door open. A beam weapon got her from behind, but she absorbed most of the energy from it, so it only slightly scorched her clothes.
Finally, out in the street, she made a leap to another roof top, and skipping from building to building, using the Alter Mind technique, she made her get away.
Ax had watched all of this. Why she was running, he didn't know, but from the way she was being chased, she couldn't be a Controller. He morphed to owl, and went to find the others.
Rachel and Tobias found him, on the way back to the barn.
Ax-man, any luck?
No. I mean, yes, I found her, but she was in the Sharing,-
So she was a Controller?
I don't think so. She was being chased the last time I saw her, when she jumped from the side walk to the roof of the building in front of her.
Did I hear that right? asked Rachel. Ax, you've been watching too much TV recently.
No, I know what I saw, and she jumped, first from off a building, and landed safely, then to a building. I know that she shouldn't have been able to do that, but I saw her.
Where was she going? Tobias asked.
Probably to the last safe place she was at; your scoop, Rachel suggested.
Why? I mean, she could have gone anywhere with the speed she was making. retorted Ax.
Where else did she have to go? was her answer.
Rachel had a point. Turning around, he flew to his scoop.
She was there, all right. She had her head between her knees, panting.
I told you, gloated Rachel.
Lory raised her head. "Am I (gasp) that (wheeze) predictable?"
Rachel , still in owl morph, responded in shocked tones, YOU can hear me?
"Wasn't I supposed to?"
I spoke privately. You shouldn't have been able to hear me at all.
"This has got to be the strangest planet I have ever been on. I just wish I knew how the Sithspit I got here. One minute, I was ejecting the hyper drive into space, and, the next I wake up here."
Right, said Tobias, soothingly. As Ax told you, we'll get you help. The best help that we can. We just want you to understand something: No matter how good Star Wars was as a movie, it wasn't real. Jedi don't exist, hyper drives aren't real, and this is Earth, the only planet humans have ever come from.
"I don't know what species you are, but I think you flew into one too many trees. I don't know what this 'Star Wars' is, but I am a Jedi apprentice, and there is such thing as a hyper drive. How else could you travel from planet to planet? Plus, the origin of the human world was lost so long ago, that there is only myth left. I mean, in ten thousand years of the Republic, and space travel so old before that, and with so many planets colonized, how could you possibly have kept track?"
Ask her to do something with the Force, Ax, Tobias whispered privately. If anything could snap her out of this, it would be failing to do that.
What is the Force? Ax asked, but decided to ask the girl anyway.
If you are a Jedi, as you claim, do something with a Force.
She gave him a look like he was the insane one. "Well, we usually aren't supposed to do it like a prank, but if you want me to…" She gestured.
Ax's TV rose about three feet into the air.
The shocked silence could have been cut with a knife.
The Animorphs began rapidly demorphing.
"We, um, I , um, we, um-" Rachel said, feeling rather weak.
Ax, now an Andalite again, asked, How did you do that?
"I used the Force," she answered, and shrugged.
"You used the Force," Rachel repeated.
"Haven't you ever heard of the Force?" she asked incredulously.
No, I haven't, replied Ax.
"You must me far from the Galactic Core, then. Is this world even a member of the Republic?"
"Um, no," said Rachel.
Ax, we need to talk privately, and with the others, said Tobias, as privately as he could.
I agree. Maybe she isn't insane after all.
Ma'am, we need to go talk to our friends. Do you mind waiting here, and actually staying here, this time? asked Ax. What is your name, anyway?
"My name is Lory, apprentice to Master Gelian. My I know what you are called?"
I am Aximili, and these are my friends, Rachel and Tobias. There are others like us, who have the same abilities as we do. We are going to them, to ask them for advice.
"Very well, I will stay. I sense no deception from you."
Thanks loads, answered Tobias.
The Animorphs remorphed into their owl morphs and went to Cassie's barn. She and the others were checking in. They had searched, but had had no luck.
Demorphing, Rachel announced, "We found her."
"You did?" asked Cassie. "How is she? Where did you find her?"
Actually, she came back to the scoop. Want to know what else? She may not be crazy. We saw her move something; she is a Jedi.
"Now who's the insane one?" Cassie laughed.
"I saw it too, Cassie. She moved Ax's television. There was no way she could have done that, without the Force."
"Could she have been a telekinetic?"
No. There has been only one reported case of species with telekinesis. Traits like that tend to be species specific. The entire species either has it, or they don't.
"Is there a chance that humans may have some sort of latent telekinetic ability, and when she found out what she could do, drove her mad? Star Wars is just a movie, for God's sake!"
Marco and Jake showed up at this point. The debate was getting rather heated.
There is a theory that there are several different universes. Each one is a branch from the other, each representing another line of possibility. There is the possibility that there is a universe out there similar to or exactly like your movie 'Star Wars'. She may have come from one of those.
"Ax, I hate to have to say that, but that sounds more than a little insane in and of itself," commented Marco.
Well, the theory itself was first proposed by an Andalite that was eventually committed to an institution for those that were mentally incompetent.
"Yep, what did I tell you."
Lory had been waiting for Ax and the others for a while now. She wished she knew where they had gone. Her knees were still trembling from her meeting with those creatures. She needed rest. Putting herself into Restful-Sleep-In-Danger, she tried to keep a part of herself alert at all times. She dreamed.
In it, there were horrible worm-like creatures that were taking over people's minds. Those were the creatures that she had seen earlier! They were attacking Coruscant! They had to be stopped!
Waking up with a horrific falling sensation, she awoke.
Gasping for breath, she got a feeling like she had swallowed some Hutt slime.
She felt a disturbance in the Force.
Lory knew she had to leave, now. She was endangering those who were helping her.
Ax came after her when the debate was over. Jake wanted to meet her, to see for himself if she was crazy. Lory was no where to be found. He morphed to owl, and returned to the barn. Not bothering to demorph, Ax reported, She's gone again.
What? exclaimed Tobias. She said she would stay put!
"Maybe something Jedi like came up, and she had to leave," added Marco.
"This isn't the time to make jokes, Marco," griped Rachel. "She could be anywhere by now. Ax said that her speed was impressive running from the yeerks. There is still the chance she could be one of them, you know."
"You think I don't?"
"Guys, calm down. Your right, we have no clue where she might have gone. The thing is, what do we do about it?" Jake asked sarcastically.
"I guess we go looking again," said Cassie, softly.
"Guys," came a voice from the barn door.
Turning, they all saw Erek standing there.
"What's wrong?" answered Jake.
"We have a big, big problem," Erek said seriously.
Lory was racing to the place were she had sensed the disturbance coming from. It was near an ocean, she thought. That was the clearest impression that she had. The rest she could tell were important, but they were so blurry. She wished that she could do this with the ease of her Master. As she thought this, she squashed it. If she let herself get distracted from what she had to do, she would crack. She knew it. All she had to do, she kept telling herself, was finish this, and then she could worry about getting home. Just till then.
Suddenly, Lory was being torn open.
A place in her shoulder felt like a knife had gone through it. The shock of it sent her to the ground. It took her several minutes to realize that it wasn't her that was being torn. It was the fabric of the Universe; a hole was being made in the Force!
She understood now, what was occurring. Those, those things were trying to get out of this Universe! She had to stop them, before they damaged the very substance of time and space.
With renewed vigor, she ran on to her final destination.
Jake couldn't have heard that right.
"You're saying, then, that Visser 3 is trying to open a gateway to another dimension? That he intends to send through troops, and make Controllers of whatever he finds there?" he said incredulously.
Erek nodded. He looked like her didn't quite believe it himself.
"Well, we knew that Visser 3 was loony, but I never thought he would do something this stupid," said Marco.
Does he even know what he is doing? added Ax. You could do serious harm to the space time continuum with something so stupid! He could change the past of this Universe so that he might never be born, or stop there from even being a Universe!
"I think his scientists tried to tell him, but he beheaded the first dozen that told him that," Erek continued. "His first trial of the machine is scheduled for tonight."
"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" demanded Rachel.
"Because I couldn't get away in time. I and the other Chee managed to sabotage the first efforts he made, but know one but his most trusted assistants knew about this one! I found out when that crazy girl with the laser sword went into the pool and caused havoc!"
She wasn't a Controller? Tobias asked.
"I never saw or heard of her in my long life. I think she must have come directly from a Star Wars fan club meeting, because she was dressed in a robe and had the pig tail."
"We don't have enough time for her, you guys," Jake interrupted. "We need to find this thing and destroy it, now."
They all chorused, "Yes, Prince Jake."
They all got into there bird morphs, and made tracks to the area that Erek had said was the lad for the breaking machine, as Visser 3 called it.
Once there, they demorphed, and got into battle morphs. Rachel elephant, Cassie polar-bear, Jake tiger, Marco rhino, and Tobias in Hork-Bajir.
They had pretty good information on how to get in. They disabled the alarms, and got in. They saw many dark halls.
Well, oh fearless leader, which hall? asked Marco.
Jake sighed, and took a good look around. One to the left, one to the right, and one straight down the middle.
We split up. Tobias and Rachel, go right. Marco and Ax, go left, Cassie and I, go center. Go.
They broke apart, and walked down the halls.
Tobias and Rachel went as quietly as they could in their morphs, but that wasn't very. Neither had good night vision. Thus, when they walked into a trap, they weren't very surprised. It was the classic tiger trap. The floor opened up beneath them, and they plunged into blackness.
Ax and Marco went a little more softly than their counterparts in the right hall. There were several adjacent doors on their corridor, and they both wondered what that might mean.
I'll look in this one if you look in that one, okay? whispered Marco.
Why should I look in this one, and not that one? asked Ax.
All right, then. I'll look in this one, and you can look in that one.
They both quietly crept over to their chosen doors and looked in.
What do you see?
Cassie?
Ahhahha! Jake, don't do that! You scared ten years off my life! she said, jumping about a foot.
Sorry. Did you notice the breeze in here?
Yeah, now that you mention it.
Well, I was wondering- he gave a huge tiger's yawn. If it might, (yawn), be…
He had fallen asleep.
Gas, she agreed, before she too, fell asleep.
They woke up in a cage.
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Marco yelled.
Whatisthat? Rachel replied.
Uh, I think we happen to be captured, answered Tobias.
The rest of the Animorphs woke up, and they had similar reactions. They were all in a box of organic metal, that was currently opaque.
Ha, ha, ha, my brave Andalite bandits. I have you at last!
Was this all a trap? asked Jake, calmly.
Humorously, the Visser replied. No, but I could guess with a reasonable margin that you find out about my latest project, and that you would come to try to destroy it.
Kill us and get it over with, Visser, Rachel trumpeted.
What? And loose my audience? And six valuable, morph capable bodies? I am not a fool.
The cage became transparent. They could see a massive arched machine in front of them. There was a faint orange glow coming from the under the arch. Visser 3 walked over to it, and caressed it lovingly.
This little devise will be my ultimate triumph. The conquest of another universe will put me back in good graces with the Council of Thirteen. I will finally get the title of Visser 1! Bwahhahahah! he laughed insanely.
Okay, commented Marco. We can stop worrying about putting Lory in an institution, and get Visser 3 a nice, padded room and a straight jacket.
They watched in fascinated horror as the generators that powered Visser 3's monstrosity started up with a faint whine. It started slowly, and sped up, and was about to peak,-
When the massive hanger doors opened.
There was Lory, standing, with her hood shading her expressionless face.
Bum-bum, bum-bum, bum-bum, bum-bum-bum. Man, you guys are right. This girl has seen the Phantom Menace way too many times, remarked Marco.
Seize that human! shouted Visser 3.
The Animorphs watched helplessly as several Hork-Bajir, armed with Dracon beams, raced over to the apparently defenseless human.
Confidently, Lory shrugged off her cloak, and pulled out her lightsaber.
Lory had been had found this place by the noise from the generators. It had taken her far longer than she had liked to get to this room, but now she saw the humans and the alien she had met earlier. She had sensed their distress, and was grateful she could find them in time.
She thumbed on her lightsaber.
The Animorphs saw the Hork-Bajir hesitate.
If you can't handle her, I will! snarled Visser 3.
Several of the Controllers were goaded into action. They began firing at her. Flicking her lightsaber, she deflected them.
Now taking the fight to them, she charged into the middle, and split kicked. Two went down. She jumped over the heads of several Taxxons, and sliced them open. Locking her blade on, she used the Force to send it to cut open the box containing the Animorphs, but before she could finish, a Dracon beam hit her from behind. She skittered across the floor. Grunting, she got back up. She had sensed it a half second before, and absorbed it. Using the spare energy, she threw it into a wave that sent the Controllers coming toward her off their feet.
In that spare moment, she sprang up, and went back over to her saber, and finished the cut.
The Animorphs went to work.
Rachel engaged a group of Hork-Bajir, while Tobias started after some Taxxons. Ax went directly to the machine, which was still heating up.
While Marco body guarded Ax, Ax tried to get into the computer system, and shut the thing down.
The fight went on, while again and again, Ax was thrown out. The gateway started to open.
It was a place Ax had never seen, and never thought could exist. It was a city the size of a planet. It was huge, and hideous.
Lory looked over in time to see the gate open to Coruscant. Home!
Bug fighters were standing ready, to go through the gate. At the sound of them heading for the portal, Lory knew what she had to do. She again locked on her lightsaber, and threw it at the machine.
Ax looked up in time to see what looked to him like lightening strike the control panel in front of him. He lurched back, and it continued to slice through the metal. Turning an eye stalk, he saw Lory standing there, with her hand outstretched, staring at the blade. She didn't see Visser 3 behind her.
Visser 3! he shouted, hoping to distract him. He leaped, and blocked the Visser's tail blade barely in time.
Lory finished the cut. It was over.
Seeing his precious machine in ruins, Visser 3 called out Just you wait, my dear Andalite bandits. I'll get you yet, and your pet human, too! MWAHAHAH!
The Animorphs and Lory made a break for it.
When they finally reached safety, Lory asked, "I'm not in the Republic anymore, am I?"
Gasping, and starting to laugh at her unknowing joke, Marco answered, "No, Dorothy, you're over the rainbow."
Rachel mimed a punch at him.
"Lory, we have a lot to tell you," said Jake, "but first, welcome to earth."
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