Chapter 7
≺Erek, we have our uniforms, and we're outside the barracks. Now what?≻ Rachel asked.
≺I don't really know,≻ he responded. ≺Cassie and Jessica could be anywhere. I'm sorry.≻
≺We're engineers, right? So we should be able to find out what stuff Visser Three broke,≻ Marco thought to me. ≺That could be a lead.≻
I repeated it for the rest to hear. ≺We could ask Ekfis four, I guess,≻ I added.
≺No need,≻ Ax said. ≺I believe these maps should be able to tell us where the damage is.≻ He walked over to a nearby screen and started pushing buttons. ≺Found it. Follow me.≻
Another long walk. About half an hour left, I guessed.
When we left the final dropshaft, we entered into a hallway filled with Controllers, mostly human, wearing gold-and-black uniforms. Visser One's soldiers.
≺Jackpot,≻ Marco thought to me.
≺I believe this is a science deck,≻ Ax said, as he started walking along the hallway. ≺If the Yeerks are already aware that Jessica is immune to Yeerk control, it is likely that this is where they are investigating why.≻
≺Okay. Let's keep our eyes open,≻ I said.
≺Of course,≻ Ax said, confused. ≺Never mind,≻ he added a moment later. Tobias must have explained that it's an idiom. He's still not very good at those.
Along the way, we passed a closed door with two huge Hork-Bajir standing guard next to it. Like, bigger than normal Hork-Bajir. I stared at the door a little too long.
"What graffar looking at?" one of the guards said.
Hork-Bajir usually talk in a mixture of their native language and English. I think it's because their native language only has a couple hundred words, so it's not advanced enough for Yeerk society.
≺My Hork-Bajir is a little rusty, but I don't think that was a compliment,≻ Marco said. I quickly followed the others again.
≺Cassie, are you here somewhere?≻ I tried using thought-speak, but there was no response.
≺Yeerk cells are shielded, Prince Jake,≻ Ax told me. ≺She would not be able to hear you if she is in one of them.≻
≺Well, with that kind of guard, they're either guarding Jessica and Cassie or Visser One,≻ Rachel noted.
≺Maybe,≻ I said.
≺The damage is over here,≻ Ax said. He was a bit ahead of us. "We have been ordered to inspect the damage. Permission to –"
"Go away," one of Visser One's human Controllers said. Actually, he'd used more colorful language. His hand was already reaching for his weapon.
"Yes, sir," Ax said through his teeth, clearly having a hard time not to let his deep hatred for Yeerks show, and quickly moved on. ≺It appears that Visser One's Controllers are not as easily swayed as Ekfis four,≻ he grumbled. ≺But I saw the inside of the room. It is an operating room designed for human anatomy. There was… I am not sure Jessica is still alive.≻
≺What do you mean? Why?≻ Rachel asked, panicked. I don't know if Rachel cared much for Jessica, but we've never seen a Yeerk survive the death of its host.
≺I saw a severed hand and what looked to be the top of a human skull. They could well have been Jessica's.≻
I was about to pass the room and look inside, but I decided against it after hearing that. Did they… did they try to remove Cassie by force…? Were we too late?
Rachel stopped walking, and yelled something in our minds that I won't repeat. ≺They killed her! Cassie –≻ She squeezed her eyes shut and looked like she was about to lose control and explode.
I quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her along. ≺We don't know that yet,≻ I tried reassuring her. ≺It could belong to some random Controller that got in the way of one of the Vissers. Come on.≻
In front of us, Ax was pushing buttons on a map panel. Then he turned back to us, towards the dropshaft, and gestured for us to follow. ≺There is a maintenance level below this one. We should be able to overhear conversations on this level and access the science computer banks from there.≻
Good. A place without Controllers and surveillance around would be nice right now. Like Rachel, I very much wanted a chance to drop my poker face.
The dropshaft took us down only a few feet, barely more than we were tall. There didn't seem to be a way to disembark at first, but Ax promptly swiped his token along a small device hidden in a corner, which automatically hinged a wall panel open.
It opened up into a huge room. We couldn't even see the walls, and it seemed to wrap around the dropshaft. There were rusty metallic support pillars in a grid spaced about four feet apart for as far as we could see, with all kinds of strange equipment, piping, and wiring between them. We could only barely stand upright, so adults would have to crawl. Lights were few and far between. Everything was caked in a thick layer of dust.
≺Well, isn't this just the perfect place to shoot a horror movie,≻ Marco complained.
≺How do we find our way around here? This is a maze!≻ I said to everyone.
≺Look at the ceiling,≻ Ax simply said, and started walking. ≺The walls of the level above us are clearly visible.≻
I looked up, but I had no idea what Ax was talking about. There were all kinds of patterns in the metal frame, and there was wiring everywhere, but nothing reminded me of the hallway above us. It'd have been a lot easier if the hallway had been straight, but it wasn't.
Behind us, the panel clicked shut. It was just an automated system, I'm sure, but I jumped nonetheless. So did Rachel.
≺Hah, look, even Xena is scared,≻ Marco said. ≺If only I could tease her right now. That'd make me feel a lot better. At least that'd be normal.≻
I ignored him. I really wasn't in the mood for his jokes anymore.
Eventually Ax took a right turn and then stopped, still looking up at the ceiling. ≺I am now underneath the operating room.≻
≺No kidding! Look!≻ Rachel pointed.
I gasped when I realized what she was looking at. There was blood dripping from the ceiling. Human blood.
≺Okay, correction, we are in a horror movie,≻ Marco joked.
≺Marco, shut up!≻ I shouted back at him. ≺This isn't funny.≻
I was genuinely upset. Who wouldn't be? Marco was, too. I knew this was just his way of dealing with it, but I just couldn't take it at the time.
≺Okay, look, man. I'm sorry,≻ he said after a couple seconds. ≺I'll be honest, since I can't lie to you right now anyway. I don't really know how to deal with this situation. And this girl's instincts are messing with my mind. I'm really just trying to distract myself from… pretty much everything, yeah. But if you need to talk, I'm still your best friend. Okay?≻
≺Thanks,≻ I said, and involuntarily sighed. ≺But we have a job to do right now.≻
≺I believe I should be able to access the computer banks from this panel,≻ Ax said a moment later. He didn't seem too fazed by the blood, and had been looking at the various instrument panels and machinery around us. ≺If the Yeerks have already found out what substance is making Jessica immune, I should be able to learn what it is from here.≻
≺If I'm following along right, you're underneath the lab right now, because the Yeerks are guarding the lab itself?≻ Erek pitched in. ≺The mothership has three laboratory decks. They're hardly ever used, so chances are good you won't face any resistance in the other two. If the Yeerks have already figured out the substance, you could use the replicator in one of the other labs to make more of it in the form of injection patches. Then you may be able to use that as a "weapon," for lack of a better word.≻
≺Great,≻ Rachel said, clearly upset. ≺Can we focus on getting Cassie back first, please? If she's even still alive?≻
≺I agree with Rachel,≻ I said. ≺How much time does she have left before she has to morph?≻
≺Cassie has used up eighty-three percent of her time,≻ Ax said.
≺A little over twenty minutes left,≻ Erek quickly translated for us.
≺Can you take us to the area underneath the room with the guards, Ax?≻ I asked.
I'll be honest, that was the only idea I had. I'd figured we might get lucky and overhear something.
≺Yes, Prince Jake,≻ he responded, and started walking. Rachel and I followed.
A minute or so later he stopped again. ≺I am now underneath the room with the Hork-Bajir guards.≻ He hunched down and started examining some of the equipment around us.
I stared at the ceiling. I could have been staring right at Cassie and Jessica, both probably mortally wounded or dead, with only a metal frame to separate us. So close, yet so far… But it could just as well have been Visser One who the Hork-Bajir had been guarding.
I focused my hearing. But all I could hear was the whirring of nearby equipment. There wasn't even any sci-fi beeping like you always hear on TV. Just a low, eerie hum.
≺So, what now?≻ Rachel asked me.
≺I don't know…≻ I said helplessly.
Rachel sat down on the ground and covered her face. I half expected her to be angry with me for not knowing what to do, but then I heard her sniff. She was trying not to cry.
I sat next to her and put my arm around her, but she shook it off and looked at me, trying to act tough again. ≺This is ridiculous, there has to be something we can do, right?≻
"Yes?" we heard above us before I could respond. I recognized the voice. Marco definitely did.
≺Mom!≻ he yelled in my head. ≺She's still alive!≻
"Visser One, incoming transmission from the Council," a voice said over an intercom. "Shall I patch it through?"
"Go ahead."
"Visser One, report," a distorted voice said a few seconds later.
"I have successfully assumed control over project six-five-three. The subject is still alive, but barely. I have instructed my best science personnel to keep her that way until we find an antidote. That is all."
A loud click hinted that the connection was dropped immediately after she finished.
"That incompetent moron will be the end of all of us," Visser One added, seemingly to herself.
≺Prince Jake, the room above us houses several Yeerk prison cells,≻ Ax said immediately after Visser One finished. ≺Look.≻
I tiptoed over to him and looked at what he was pointing at. A monitor. Ax had managed to get it to display a video feed from one of the cells.
What was left of Jessica was lying inside of it.