Author's Note

I hope some people are liking this. Sorry for the delays. Here we have our fourth narrator. It's harder writing for him than I thought it would be! If you guessed at who it was, you get digital cookies!

Lingo Change

I want to point out I've switched the word used to refer to Exsul's allergy to morph tech. I previously mistakenly used notallssith, which means an inability to control ones morph. While the allergy to the tech itself didn't come with a word I could find, I have opted for the Andalite word vecol. From the Animorphs fanpage wiki Seerowpedia a vecol is defined as an Andalite term referring to a disabled or crippled individual. Since almost all Andalites can morph, and the ones who can't that have been met in the actual series have pretty much always been injured in some fashion, I think knowing an artist is incapable of morphing would plausibly be looked at as a disability and a liability. Morphing heals, but any injury to a non-morpher would be permanent, making them seem inherently more fragile. I can't help but think they would have to work extremely hard to prove they had any real value to the bigoted Andalite people.

Disclaimer

As per usual, I do not own the original concept of Animorphs. That series and any races, characters, tech, or language that originated with it are the property of K. A. Applegate and Scholastic. The ideas that form the basis of this sequel fic are largely influenced by world events. Credit for the idea of a 'Student Exchange' program goes to traycon3.

Word Count: 3687


Chapter 4: Toraan


While most of the Aristh under my command were sparring with one another or working on improving their morphing abilities; I sparred with a particular charge, the single Vecol in the group. It wouldn't do to have him crossing tale blades with other youths who didn't have the experience to know the finesse it took to just barely hold back from injury. After all. This aristh couldn't morph to heal himself. It was foolish for him to even be enlisted.

I am Prince Toraan-Sinfiax-Lanstil; and in the peace that has taken hold since the downfall of the Yeerk Empire, I have been relegated to a glorified tutor with no purpose aside from training young artists. There was a day such tasks would fall to lower ranked officials. At least until the first deployment. But in peacetime, need for active fleet was low, and desire to join still high due to recent triumph.

My stalks swerved to the Vecol I clashed tail blades with, (Stalks alert. You have an even greater struggle than others around you in that you cannot afford the slightest injury! Be 200% attentive!)

(Sir), Exsul, the Vecol, was obviously frustrated as he tried to pin my blade to the ground while I swept low at his front legs, (200% is impossible, you know that.)

(It's impossible,) I conceded, flipping his tail aside and stepping to the left in search of an advantage, (But you must divide your attention, yet miss nothing. You aren't bad when against a single instructor, but in a combat situation with multiple opponents, you would not last a minute.)

And then my blade was quivering a centimeter from his throat, match over in my favor. I angled a single stalk to take in my other students, though my thought-speak was between the vecol and myself, (And, Exsul, any injury for you is more serious...you could be maimed, and then you are useless.)

Turning my thoughts public I addressed the others under my charge, (Kilreg, your morphing is possibly the fastest I have ever seen. You have quite the skill, it will do you well, but I think it high time you focus more on training your Andalite body. You are not getting out of sparring again.)

The youngest of the five aristh averted his stalks with some embarrassment at my stern assessment. I let him reflect on my words and turned to the next, (Ingari, being a female you seem to have a natural advantage in fleetness and balance. That's good. Yet your focus is lax, you treat training like some sort of game! Do you even want to be here, or would you rather prance about in the forests?)

Four eyes hardened in my direction and I could tell she wanted to react, but she kept her thoughts to herself. My main eyes crinkled in a confident smirk, letting her know she made the wise decision.

Now my stalks scanned the room, letting the two remaining aristh fret over who would be appraised next. Each eye landed on a separate individual before both snapped over to Uuret, (You are strong, you swing your tail blade with confidence and force. Foolishness. Confidence is good, but can too easily become cockiness. And the momentum behind each swipe of your tail makes it too hard for you to follow through with another maneuver. Try to use your mind, if you were given one, and plan ahead!)

The aristh looked properly put in place, if angered. Then from the corner of my main eyes I saw the oldest of my charges looking smugly at his friend. Quickly my stalks whipped round on him, followed by my head turning to look on him with narrowed gaze, (Is something amusing, Aristh Hiriin? Because you look amused, despite your wretched performance. I have never seen such sloppy efforts at morphing! You chose entirely the wrong morph for the second scenario, and it took you so long I could have killed you multiple times during the process. Poor attempts at locations to minimize vulnerability...Exsul could have done better, and he's a Vecol! Your next job is to focus on morphing more than fighting. Perhaps you and Kilreg can find what you lack by helping one another!)

There was no doubt I touched a nerve for Hiriin, but he need knocked down a peg, for certain. Moving towards the training rooms exit I stopped long enough to give them orders, (When we resume, training will be as such: Kilreg, you are to help instruct Hiriin in what he is lacking in morphing ability. Ingari, you help Uuret with fleetness and balance. Show him that being nimble is a valuable skill. Half way through,the student and teacher switch. Hiriin will help Kilreg with sparring, Uuret will help Ingari with focus and drive. Exsul, you will be with me...again.)

Even with my back to them I could feel the irritation they had toward Exsul. That Vecol needed sheltered, though. So I needed to be his sparring partner, (You are dismissed, go and eat. We will continue afterward.)

I stepped out of the training room and decided to head toward the quarters that served as an office for my use. There I could make data entries on my underlings latest progress. No sooner had I stepped into the new room, however, than the thought speak of an announcement targeting myself and certain other squad leaders filled my mind.

(you are hearing this, you are too dismiss those under your command and report to Command Room A immediately.)

My blade twitched at the curious call, how interesting. Of course my plans shifted gears instantly as I set a quick pace to the command center.

The others in the meeting were an array of Princes, like myself relegated to training recruits with the lack of combat. Our stalk eyes shifted, assessing one another in hopes that someone might possess a clue as to why we had been summoned.

(Good, you are all here,) War-Prince Jothorr-Horix-Apudiin, a battle hardened Andalite who had witnessed historic battles beginning the time of the Hork Bajir planet's downfall entered the room, his stalks sweeping over half of us as his main eyes took in the rest, (There are important things to discuss.)

We did not dare to even glance at one another. Jothorr was a veteran that commanded respect, and we gave it to him, remaining silent as he delivered his reason for our summons.

(As you know, since the victory over the Yeerks those many years ago we have had a cautious peace with the humans,) Posture commanding, main eyes locked forward with stalks slowly capturing our reactions he continued, (And I am sure you have heard, and accurately believe, the claims that we are monitoring certain human broadcast waves.)

War-Prince Jothorr paused for effect, my stalk eyes met his in the moment he spoke next, (Our caution seems to have been wise, these broadcasts have grown more disturbing with each day. And now the humans have gathered a counsel of war!)

The burst of jumbled thought speak responses filled my mind, but for me there was only silent contemplation of what this meant for my aristh. They were still far from ready.

(They have not yet declared their intentions, or openly admitted to the purpose of their gathering. But there is much of hatred towards us, and there are many of them hoping for war,) His four eyes narrowed, (As such, we must prepare. It is time we bear down upon our young aristh. We must see that they are fit for the inevitable conflict that will occur within the near future.)

(War-Prince Jothorr...sir...) One of the other attendees of the gathering ventured, the nervousness he held at being so bold as to interrupt the declaration of the wise elder clear. I shifted my stalks to look his way, and though the younger warrior stood tall and alert his tail was slung low and twitching in a sign of submissive caution.

With four narrowed eyes the great warrior looked to the disruption, (What is it? Something important, I trust?)

Though he was an Andalite and a hero; Jothorr had, in some circles, earned a reputation for being nearly as frightening as the old Yeerk Abomination himself. I doubted he could be that vile, but it spoke to his temper for certain. It was why very few dared to question his authority.

(I...think so, War-Prince Jothorr, Sir...) As the other's courage began to fail under the withering glare of his superior his tail slung lower. I didn't envy him, trying to recall his name as he rapidly projected his comment into our minds, (What-sort-of-threat-do-the-humans-pose?They've-limited-technology-and-are-physically-without-claws-or-blades?)

(Don't jumble your thoughts like a school boy.) Jothorr scolded as though talking to a child, (And I would have gotten to that. The humans are not as helpless as we once presumed. True, they are rather backwards compared to us, however; they are capable of adapting far more quickly that we suspected.

(As you know, they have access to an escafil device, given to them by our own Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul in violation of Seerow's kindness. His action has been forgive and overlooked quite often. Because the children to whom he was foolish enough to bestow our technology happened to be capable of playing a role in ending the war with the Yeerks. This small group, however, was only the beginning,) With a sigh he continued, (And the escafil device fell into the hands of a human society known as the 'United States of America' which uses it to provide our technology to warriors for their causes.

(On top of this,) He continued amid the angered thoughts of our gathering, (The Humans have had access to Yeerk ships left stranded on their planet. Ships built based on Andalite technology from the original mistake of Seerow's Kindness. These, combined with Skrit Na ships that have crashed upon their world through the years, have allowed them to build their own battle capable space fleet.)

He closed his main eyes, turning his stalks skyward, (They are clever little thieves, they may have adjusted the space travel technology in unexpected ways. Plus they have the advantage of a planet filled with animals we've only begun learning about. Aximili did give us some information from his time on earth, but who knows how much we've yet to uncover.)

The room was eerily free of projected thought as we absorbed this information. The humans might actually have a chance if they were as creative as they seemed.

(Now,) Jothorr gained our attention once more, (We will begin by increasing the numbers in training groups...each individual here will be paired two others, those under their command shall be trained together in a unit. Get them ready to work work well together, soon they will have to be in close quarters on a Domeship. For now, they will be assigned to a wing of the training barracks together so they can adjust. I will personally be checking on your aristh in a few days time to see how they're progressing.)

He move to a consol, calling up a display of the names of those gathered and the aristh we worked with. Beside that he summoned the layout of the training barracks. His main gaze studied the information steadily, his stalk eyes occasionally swiveling round to glance at one or the other of us.

There were twelve of us total; each having four to six aristh under our command. He was trying to figure out how to best situate us into four wing based on those numbers, and our reports on our charges. Compatibility as a squad was important, and though it could be learned and forced, natural chemistry was better.

(As I tell you which barracks wing you will be in; you will meet with your fellow wing commanders to discuss arrangements,) Jothorr's authoritative thought speak ordered, (Take time to figure out how many aristh you have between you, when you will all meet up for team introductions. Then retrieve your aristh and report to the barracks wing. Quarters assignments will be posted when you arrive.)

The first wing assignments were named, I was not among them but the warrior who had questioned the threat humanity posed was. I watched with my stalk eyes as the group of three gathered. Jothorr immediately continued, (In the second wing: Prince Toraan-Sinfiax-Lanstil, Prince Awera-Medaff-Tooshin, and Prince Baslar-Axela-Cenriann.)

I looked to where I had seen Baslar standing as I moved forward. His eyes were all focused elsewhere; and I knew even before I followed that narrowed gaze with my stalks who it was trailing. He had been my friend in our aristh days, I could read his prejudice.

Awera-Medaff-Tooshin was the first female to reach Prince status, making her a well known Andalite. The only female in the room, she held herself with confidence as she met the contempt in my friend's eyes. Her tail curved elegantly, relaxed behind her in a stance that said she felt no threat from him.

It wasn't uncommon for females to still be regarded with disdain by the males in our ranks. They were typically meant to pursue the sciences or arts, not military. I was probably in this arrangement as a stabilizing factor...friend to the male, with a female aristh under my command that gave me a point of connection to Awera. It wasn't a pleasant role to think about.

(Prince Baslar, Prince Awera, I look forward to seeing what our aristh can do together,) I spoke to both of them as we grouped at the back of the room. Switching to private thought speak I singled out Baslar, (My friend, try to control your prejudices...your eyes are quite telling.)

One of Baslar's stalks swerved toward me, acknowledging he understood; though he made little change to his expression as he greeted us, (It will be good to work together again, Prince Toraan. Hello, Awera.)

(Oh, my,) The female stopped a couple feet from my friend, regarding him with her stalk eyes as she shifted her main eyes to focus on me, (Despite Prince Baslar's apparent dislike for me, I look forward to training our aristh together as well. I hear you have a young female in your ranks, Prince Toraan?)

(Yes, Ingari. She's good with agility and speed, but lacks in discipline,) With my stalks I watched Baslar glare at Awera.

(Hmm, we can work on that. I believe that she is the only female other than the two I have. That explains why you and I are in the same wing,) Turning to the last of our trio, appraising him with her full sights, (Then there's you. Are we going to have a whole team of bigots to put up with?)

(My team can make the best of whatever their dealt. Do not worry,) Baslar responded. He shifted his stalks to me, (Toraan's got the weakest link. How's the non morpher doing?)

(A vecol?) Awera looked at me in surprise, )I'd heard one was among the aristh...he's on your team?)

(Exsul-Issill-Impator...he is. With enough work we might get him ready...) I closed my eyes in thought.

(I suppose we have a notion of our group now, )The female Prince split her gaze between us, (If there are no objections, I suggest we retrieve our teams, head to the Barracks wing and give them some time to get used to their accommodations. We can meet in the wing's briefing room for introductions in forty-five, that's plenty of time.)

(Who says you give orders?) Baslar took a step toward her.

(Well, I did ask for objections if there were any...this is a group effort,) Awera letting her eyes smirk, (So, tell us what you suggest, and we can get Toraan's opinion, we'll compromise.)

(Let's just get our aristh,) I interjected, (Forty-five is plenty of time to get everyone ready. No one is trying to give orders.)

With that, I was the first to depart, leaving no room for objection. Baslar was going to be insufferable throughout this, I could tell. I wasn't thrilled at working with a female Prince, but those were our orders. I planned to follow them without question.

I quickly made my way to the area where my aristh were grazing, easily noticing Exsul stood isolated from the others as they all turned to look at me. My stalk eyes glances to see what had previously been holding their focus, a human girl sat in a wheelchair, her hand slowly lowering as she cast a disappointed look in Exsul's direction.

(Break time is over,)I informed my group, looping the single human into my thought speak. A cripple girl wasn't a large threat, but the thought of what lie ahead between our races had my eyes narrowing in her direction. The expression she returned was hard to interpret as she set off for the human dormitories. It concerned me that Exsul seemed to have been interacting with her, he was vulnerable to forming sympathies for a human like that due to his own weaknesses.

(Come on, aristh,) I turn back into the base, knowing they would follow, but keeping a single stalk eye tuned in to Exsul's movements, )We're heading to an important meeting.)

I noticed the quick glance the non-morpher cast over his shoulder to where the human had been. I wouldn't call him out on it, yet. The situation would need monitoring, though.

Curious gazes were cast my way from my students' stalk eyes as I lead them past the wing where our normal trading area was located. They weren't bold enough to question me out loud, but I could feel them wondering, (This isn't just our little group. There are going to be big issues discussed at this meeting.)

I turned my stalks round to take in their reactions. They appeared nervous and yet excited as the glanced among each other, clearly engaged in private thought speak. Exsul met my gaze then looked down in thought, trying to puzzle out the possibilities on his own as I lead the group down a hall into the barracks , toward the wing we would be staying in.

(Today could be the beginning of the rest of your lives.) They understood that, the excitement at the chance of potential deployment showing, (Starting today, we transition to quarters living, accompanied by two other aristh teams and their leaders. You will first be assigned quarters in the barracks, then allowed some time to get used to the new setting. When you are summoned, you are to immediately report to the Training Hall at the end of our Barracks Wing.)

I waited for a sign that they understood the explanation I had given, and was met with a chorus of, (Yes, Prince Toraan.)

(Your quarters have already been assigned, the entrance to each has been programmed to display the occupants name. After you are settled, we'll get to know your know training partners and the other Princes on the wing.) I finished the rundown of our plans for the time being before dismissing them with a warning, (Now go on. And no trouble with any other aristh!)

When the aristh dispersed with an excited trot to their step, Exsul trailed behind. I felt a pang of sympathy at the way the others treated him, but I also understood that as determined as he was this was really not a place for a vecol. Perhaps if we started him on technical tasks he would be at least safe, fighting as a last resort.

That in mind, I headed for the Training Hall to reunite with Awera and Baslar. Of course, they seemed to be engaged in heated debate again as I arrived. Well, Baslar seemed heated judging by the fire in his four eyes as he glared at the female Prince. Awera, for her part watched him him with a cool confidence. If they were exchanging thought speak, I wasn't privy to the conversation.

In fact, I'm not sure they even noticed my presence. I moved to tap my blade against the door frame, a subtle way of drawing their attention, but Awera's keen senses caught the movement and her stalk eyes shifted toward me.

(Ah, Toraan, welcome,) She greeted, interrupting whatever tensions I had walked in on, which only seemed to upset my old friend more, (Now that you are here, we can begin talking training strategy for our combined aristh.)

(Obviously the females will be paired together,) Baslar demanded.

(Obviously they won't.) Awera returned with a cool glance in his direction. I had a distinct feeling this was what they had been discussing previously, (My female aristh are just as capable as your males. In the same way I am just as worthy of my title of Prince. Perhaps more worthy...I did have to work harder, after all...didn't I?)

That set Baslar's tail twitching in anger,( You are a fluke. Your precious little female aristh are misfits. I will not have my aristh forced to stoop-)

(Perhaps,) I interjected, attempting to sound impartial and calm, though my friends disrespectful behaviour was becoming annoying as he deliberately caused trouble, (By setting up the three female aristh against the males you might settle your own dispute. If Prince Awera is correct about the prowess of our females; then your males, having never faced a female before, would learn a valuable lesson about underestimating their opponents. If Prince Awera is wrong, however; there is no wound to your pride, Baslar, and your point is only proven.)

Baslar shot a stalk eyed glare of betrayal in my direction while Awera's eyes formed a triumphant smirk. The female spoke confidently, (That sounds fair enough...unless Prince Balsar is too embarrassed by the possibility of being proven wrong.)

(We will see who's wrong, Awera,) Balsar challenged, rising to the perfectly thrown bait. I had to admit that the way she led his reactions was superb, (Don't blame me if you aristh go prancing home in tears, though.)

At least that was one hurtle cleared. I only hoped things would eventually run more smoothly.