Chapter 2 – Facing the Enemy

I woke up little by little.

I was still laying in the capsule. My head felt like someone was cutting metal there, but nothing seemed to be broken. The gauges of the capsule showed that it had landed and the atmosphere of the planet had enough oxygen and pressure for a human to walk safely there, so I opened the door of the capsule and staggered out.

For a moment I saw nothing but shades of turquoise and yellow and bright light. I shrieked, pressed my hands on my face and fell down on the ground. Maybe I fainted for a moment, at least in Lee's body… As my consciousness cleared up, I moved my fingers slowly off my eyes and saw blue grass under me. I remembered an important piece of instruction that had been told me in the training – never lay on the ground of an unknown planet – so I got up quickly and shivering.

My eyes began to get used to the light, and I was now able to figure my surroundings. I was in some kind of jungle full of different plants. So that was what the planet we had been passing looked like – the coordinates that flashed in the capsule weren't very different from those which I had read in the ship. There seemed to be nobody near – but, as I knew well, it didn't have to mean that there wasn't anybody. There could be other survivors from my ship in that jungle – or there could be Andalites there as well. And I was armless. If the Andalites found me, I would be vulnerable.

I really understood my situation not before it. A cold lump flowed to my stomach when it occurred to me: I had no way out here. The capsule was disposable. Maybe the other ships had advanced too far for me to reach them with the poor devices of the capsule… I ran back in and pounded out the official code of the military forces of the Empire.

Yeerk ship. Yeerk ship. This is Visser Four. I am abandoned on a planet. My coordinates are…

No respond. I yelled in despair. I might be the last Yeerk left in this part of the universe. Without a pool, without any kind of Kandrona. I had eaten just before the battle but in three Earth days I'd undergo the process my people fears more than anything: starvation.

"I don't want to die!" I cried though I knew it wouldn't help me.

(But you'll die, a painful death), I remember Lee mocking.

(You die in three days), Berryman said in my memories. (But my starvation is going to be much longer! I mean, is there anything to eat here?)

I didn't care of my host's whine.

Then I noticed something glimmering in the corner of the capsule, on the wall. I grabbed it and saw it was a Dracon gun. Now I remembered that modern emergency capsules were always equipped with one. I sighed in joy and took the gun to my hand. Not much but better than nothing. First I had to burn the trees that covered me… that place was almost impossible to land to…

Suddenly I heard noise, and grasped my fist tighter around the gun. You see, I didn't exactly hear the voice but it echoed just inside my head. It was thought-speech, the language of the Andalites. I glanced around myself. Nobody nowhere. But I knew that Andalites were able to disguise themselves well. They had technology that made turning into representatives of another species possible, Esplin always enthused over it. I heard the voice again, and realized it was screaming. It was a desperate cry.

I took cover and began to crawl, the Dracon gun in my other hand. I decided to check the matter out. It could be a trap, but it could be Yeerk troops fighting Andalites as well. I shivered in excitement.

I saw weird-looking huge green bugs creeping on the yellow-orange trunks of the trees and hoped there wouldn't be very many of them on the ground. They had long horns and legs and looked poisonous. That's why you shouldn't ever just lay on the ground – there can be anything there.

My palm pushed against something slimy! I got frightened and pulled my hand quickly off. My palm burned and smarted, and I wiped it to my uniform pants. Then I saw the thing I had leaned against on the ground. It was a purple formless lump that hissed quietly and had thousands of tiny lobes under it. I turned my palm towards my eyes. It was partly eaten. I shuddered and crept on.

I heard the thought-speech voice again.

(Noooo!) it cried. (I do not want to die like this!)

I hurried. If there was really an Andalite dying or captured, I wanted to see it. The voice was so real. That kind of despair and terror couldn't be pretended. Finally I came to the edge of a clearing. The cry was heard from there, up in the air…

(No! No! Leave me alone!)

And there, high between the trees, was an Andalite. He was hanging there upside down, hold by green goo covering him everywhere. He wasn't even able to move his tail. However, the main reason for his horror were the creatures that approached him slowly: like big black centipedes which had two pairs of crotches as jaws. I laughed. What a great end for an Andalite filth!

I waited him to submit to his destiny and let the centipedes sink their jaws to him, but he didn't. He fought though he surely knew he'd lose. That, I realized suddenly, was common for all Andalites I'd heard of. They never gave up, while we Yeerks accepted our share if there was simply nothing to do.

That Andalite was a fool. But… a brave fool.

I don't know what got into me. If I got some kind of mental disturbance. I lifted my Dracon gun and shot.

Not the Andalite but the green goo.

The slim sizzled and disappeared around the Andalite, letting him drop down to the ground, to the bush under the trees. I slunk closer with the gun ready to shoot again. I knew the Andalites were fast, their tails especially. I had seen Esplin in action. I also kept on glancing around. Who knew if there were other Andalites there who had heard their mate's cries…

The bushes swished as something blue jumped out towards me! I shot and dived aside. I heard a painful yell inside my head and smelt the stink of burnt flesh. Then something hit me to my back. I gasped and dropped my gun as I was hurled a short way off. I saw the Andalite lifting his tail.

Where was my gun?

I noticed it in the grass, grabbed it in one blink of an eye and pointed at the Andalite right when he was going to lash me.

For a moment we just stared at one another.

(Yeerk), the Andalite said with his thought-speech voice full of acid-like hate.

"Andalite", I answered in at least as despising voice and panted.

(Yeerk… Visser), the Andalite added, obviously recognizing my dirty uniform. His tone of voice turned a little more respective but the hate stayed. (I do not know the species of your poor host but I know what you are. You are from the ship I shot down. Come on, call your subordinates to take me as your prisoner! You can torture me forever if you just want to, but you will never get any information from me!)

Was it true?

"Do you mean there are no other survivors?" I asked simply.

(I do not know anything), the Andalite answered. (And if I knew, I would not tell it to you, Yeerk filth.)

I estimated my alternatives. I had full three Earth days of time to get away from that planet and to my people. If I had a living Andalite prisoner with me, it would mean a certain promotion. So the Andalite was extremely invaluable for me. Right. I'd take the Andalite and go back to the emergency capsule. If someone was looking for me, they would probably notice the weak signals of it.

If someone was looking for me. If the low-ranking Vissers in the other ships had realized early enough that my ship wasn't following them anymore. Otherwise I would go through the Kandrona starvation in front of the eyes of an Andalite. But what else could I do? Submit to the Andalite? Never. Let the Andalite go and leave to the capsule alone? No, if there was any chance I'd return to my people. Besides that, the Andalite could find his fellows - if there were them - and they'd come to me all together. And the Andalite didn't even know I was alone… I decided to shoot him and then myself, if nobody would find me.

"Go before me", I said in a shivering voice.

(I told you there is no use for it!) the Andalite shouted out. He kept his stillness but I could sense his fear.

"I don't care", I said. "I'll do it all just for fun. Don't try anything."

Heck, had I spent too much time with Esplin? He tortured Andalites for fun, not me. In fact, I had never had a real Andalite as a prisoner. Then I realized I had never even been so close to an Andalite before.

This individual wasn't very young, it could be seen from his face. It had scars and a few lines. His eyes were quite small for an Andalite and they were blue. His fur was also blue but it had brown hairs that had spread all around it like creepers.

I shook my head and turned my thoughts to the essential.

"Go before me, Andalite filth", I repeated, and the Andalite obeyed. Fine. Now I just had to take my bearings to the capsule…

But where was it?

Panic flamed in me again, as I realized I had no idea where I had come from. The jungle looked the same everywhere.

(What is the matter with you, Yeerk filth?) the Andalite smirked. (Problems? And where are your subordinates then? You… yes, you don't even have a phone with you. I know you Vissers. You would never crawl around on a strange planet alone voluntarily.)

Oh shit. He had guessed. But…

"And what are you going to do then?" I snapped. "I'll fry you before you've moved your tail, Andalite filth! Or are your little friends somewhere? Fine! Hopefully they shoot me fast with their Shredders, so that I don't have to starve to death!"

(I do not know where my fellows are or are they alive, as I already told you, but I hope they will find us soon! We will watch your death, Yeerk filth!)

"I've got a name!" I yelled suddenly. "I am Esaren One-Nine-Nine, not some Yeerk filth!"

The Andalite stared at me. For a moment none of us said anything. Then the Andalite said quietly:

(And I am Samilin-Corrath-Gahar. The Tactic Officer of Prince Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul. Not some Andalite filth either.)