Chapter 2

The Andalites had kindly arranged for our sleeping quarters without hesitation. We watched as our Kelbrid prisoners were taken into their custody, their bodies wrapped in baggy, thick plastic clothing to protect from the toxins we had alerted them too. Prince Erasutt, upon hearing the details of our mission, promised to contact War Commander Torceran as soon as time allowed. He thanked us, and we were dismissed to find some much-deserved comfort in our rooms.

Andalites didn't have beds like us Humans. Nor did their military vessels prepare for our presence, so we couldn't expect Marriott International standards with en suite facilities and room service.

I had gotten so used to comfort that it felt shameful. Even when I spent nights camping in Yellowstone, I was spoilt for comfort. When Jeanne and I found our shared cabin, I hate to say that I felt disappointment that the bed was three cleaning sheets folded on top of each other. I didn't want to appear ungrateful, so I smiled to our escort and said how impressed I was that they could make such pleasing arrangements at such short notice.

((Our pleasure, Ms Roberts,)) He replied with a bow. ((If you have any issues, do not hesitate to inform me. I will be in the dome.))

He left, and the door slid shut behind him. Our room was wide and bright, and the lack of any furniture made it all feel very open. An artificial sun shone from the ceiling, a common technology used in Andalite ships and buildings.

Jeanne chose her bed. Not that it was much of a choice. "I have slept in much worse." She commented, sitting down on the sheets.

I took my place on mine, opposite to her. Her words reminded me of many questions that had skipped through my mind on the journey back, but never made it past my teeth. "What's the worst?" I asked, forcing a much more specific question into a vague one.

She glanced to the ceiling as she thought. "The worst… I once went to a factory in Moscow. There was no other place around, so I had to sleep there. I had to sleep on the floor by a very loud air conditioner. It was cold."

"What were you doing in Moscow?" I asked.

She smiled, and it was one I expected. It had an air of secrecy, the truth somehow lost on the way to her mouth. "I was there on duties."

"That's pretty vague…" I commented, trying not to sound frustrated at her lack of transparency.

When I first met Jeanne, I knew nothing about her. I was told that she had worked for the French secret service. She was in one of Jake's morphing classes, so I assumed she was highly regarded enough by the French government to receive such a privilege… Or curse. They can both apply.

But recently, she had been acting very strange. We found out that she could go straight from one morph to another, something that Jake swears he never taught and was never aware of. Since then, she would either avoid our questions or lie with little care whether we believed her or not. Something was not right.

She shrugged, but retained her grin. "I have slept in many nice places, too. This is somewhere in the middle," She explained, patting the sheets. "My favourite was…" She paused and then giggled, clutching one hand on the sheets. "Did you ever watch Marco's television show?"

"Which one?" I asked.

"The one where he talked to famous people."

It was a talk show, and I remembered it well. I watched Marco's shows religiously. That particular one ran for about a year back in 2003. "Yeah, I know that one."

"Do you remember when he talked to Ben Affleck?"

"I do. That was one of his biggest guests." I recalled.

A sly grin rose upon her face. "That was my favourite."

I thought that maybe I should feel shocked and slightly disturbed. But I laughed. "No! Really?!"

"It is true," She insisted confidently. "That night when he had finished the show. I followed him to the bar, and I got to know him very well."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Wow. That's… That's not something I expected…"

Then suddenly, something in my head flickered. I stopped my light chuckling and stared at her.

"Jeanne, why were you at Marco's studio?"

She kept her smile, but averted her gaze from mine. She had mentioned it on purpose. She was trying to lead me to an answer, but with every lead the direction grew more unclear.

"Jeanne," I sighed. "Please, you have to tell me what's going on. You have powers that we don't. You know how to speak Kelbrid. Now you tell me that you were following Marco around before you went to Jake's classes."

She looked to me again, with not a hint of doubt in her eyes. "Maybe I can tell you some things. Other things, maybe not."

I pulled myself a little closer. "I'm listening."

"I do not work for the French government," She admitted. "I work for somebody else. And I cannot reveal my true identity. Not to you or anybody."

I took a few seconds to process that. "So you're not Jeanne Gerard?"

"No." She answered, shaking her head.

"Are you even French?"

"Je ne suis pas Française. Je ne peux pas vous dire d'où je viens vraiment."

I had enough of a French language grasp to understand. "So if you aren't who you say you are, can you at least say what you want? Why are you here with us?"

For the first time, she was hesitant. She puckered her lips and played with her fingernails, somehow still perfectly shaped and coated in polish. "There is a chance that there will be a war between the Andalites and the Kelbrids. We don't want that to happen."

"We…" I hummed. "These people you work for… They aren't from Earth, are they?"

"No." She replied bluntly.

"Are they Andalites? Kelbrids?"

"I cannot say."

"So you're here with us to stop a war. You think getting Ax back will help?"

"Yes," She said. "We should keep them as far away from each other as possible. The Andalites will negotiate to get Ax back, and we can be safe a little while longer."

"Let's hope so," I offered. "Thank you for telling me. I appreciate that."

"And we appreciate the work you do, Cassie."

Again, that 'we' was used. "Work?"

"Your work on Earth is very admirable. I would very much like to help, someday."

I smiled. "Thanks. I'm sure I could find a role for you in Yellowstone."

"I would like that a lot."

I rose to my feet gracelessly, still tired after our long trip. There wasn't much of a room to settle into, so with the new revelations spinning in my head, I decided it was time to see what Axtana wanted. "I need to go see the War Prince. He wanted to speak to me."

Jeanne craned her neck to look at me as I headed for the door. "Be careful, Cassie."

At the time, I didn't understand what she was alluding to.