It was several long days of blank whiteness before Jennor, Allora, and I tried formulating a plan. We could go and find the Andalites, which seemed like the most beneficial option. Hopefully we could find a ship before we ran out of fuel, or starved to death. Jennor wanted to go back to the Andalites and tell everyone of our 'adventure'. She was convinced that upon our arrival we would be made full warriors instantly. I, however, worried that instead of being praised we'd be reprimanded for stealing the Andalite fighter and nearly getting killed or infested by the Yeerks.
Allora, on the other hand, was hell-bent on revenge towards Visser One. Thanks to Allora we knew the tracking code for the Visser's ship, so finding him would be easy enough. We had no idea if there were even any Andalite fleets left in this sector of space. If we tried to find the Andalites we could be searching for days. But if we went back to the Yeerk ship there was a good chance that we would be dead in minutes.
(We need to stop Visser One.) Allora said firmly. The three of us were gathered in a tight circle, trying to make a final decision. Beyond us, black space could be seen dotted with white stars. We were back in normal space. It was a relief to see more than blank whiteness out the window. One gets a distinct feeling of loneliness in Zero Space.
(And do what? Tell him to please leave your fathers' head so we can step on him? Oh, and before that, if he'd be so kind to hand over the computer log of the Aldrea's Cube?) I responded critically. (It's a miracle we survived as it is. I'm not eager to have a repeat of the other day.)
(It's more than that.) Jennor put in. (We're going to run out of fuel eventually. We need to go back to the Andalites sooner or later; it's inevitable. I'd rather be assigned to something where I have War-Princes backing me up than wandering around space in a stolen Bug Fighter, looking to pick a fight when we're strongly outnumbered.)
(Allora, we'll get your father back eventually. We just have to wait, right now.) I said, shifting my weight impatiently.
(No! Are you complete imbeciles? I'm a scientist by profession, and what's more, Allorans daughter. If we go back to the Andalite's they won't ever let me anywhere near the Blade Ship, if even a Dome Ship! I'll be stationed in the safest place possible, so that I'm not considered a security risk. This is my only chance!)
(Allora I-) A loud beeping sound interrupted Jennor's thoughts, and she turned to the controls. (There's an Andalite Ship! Only .75 light years away, and its hailing! Computer open communications.)
(NO!) Fwapp! A flash of white and blue, followed by a spray of sparks caused me to raise my hands in front of my face for protection. When I lowered them I could see the communications panel, with a large gash in it. A few sparks fizzled to the ground around a small cloud of smoke. Allora stood nearby, tail poised, glaring at Jennor and I defiantly.
(Allora!) Jennor cried, (What are you doing? Now how are we supposed to let them know that we're not Yeerks?)
(You don't. You turn the ship around and head back to Visser One's Blade Ship.) Allora's voice was surprisingly calm. Jennor and I stared at her in shell shock for a moment. I couldn't believe how determined she was to send herself and us to our deaths. It was insane!
(Allora…we can't. We'll be killed.) I said, trying to keep my voice from getting panicky.
(Then so be it. I'd rather die having tried than live a failure.) Allora's voice was determined, and I could tell from her tone that her mind would not be changed. Jennor, however, was not ready to give up this fight.
(No. We're going to find some way to contact the Andalites and get home. I will not lead us into a death trap!) Jennor turned to the controls, seething with anger, and began fidgeting with buttons and thought-speech commands.
(Jennor, if you go back to the Andalite ship it will take several hours of interrogating us, then several hours of talking amongst themselves before they come to a decision about what to do. Have you forgotten your computer file? The Aldrea's Cube is in the Visser's possession. Do you know the implications of that? We need to get those files back.) Jennor did not listen to Allora's reasoning. She was keeping her back to us as she defiantly tried to fix the computer. After a few moments she paused, staring at the computer intently. I could see the determination start to seep out of her body as she relayed what she saw to Allora and I.
(They're powering weapons.) Her voice was dull with acceptance. Nothing we could do now would get us through to the Andalites in time. We had no choice but to flee. She stared out the window for a moment longer, before returning to her work silently.
(Jennor, what are you doing?) I asked, feeling the nervousness growing in the pit of my stomach. Why wasn't she jumping to Z-Space?
(I'm going to get a connection through.) The stubbornness tone of Jennor's voice was weary, but strong. She wasn't going to retreat. She would rather die, killed by her own kind, than allow Allora to win this argument. No. Not going to happen.
(Computer, initiate preparations for Z-Space jump.) I jumped in, my thought-speech out riding Jennors as she looked at me in surprise. (Make immediate jump.) The computer asked for a destination and I hesitated before speaking again, using the identification code Allora had given us. (Track spacecraft ID: BS021. Visser One's Blade Ship.)
Jennor shot me an infuriated look as I issued the command, but she made no move to retract the order. I saw a look of victory in Allora's eyes. Meanwhile the Bug Fighter was powering its Z-Space engines as fast as possible. I read the display on the Andalite Ship. (Their weapons are at 85. We'll have plenty of time to escape.) I commented. No sooner had I said that than the black space around us became opaque white. And we were alone again. Headed straight towards the enemy.
(We're going to die. You realize that, right Terenia? You just ordered us to our deaths.) Jennor was now angry with both of her comrades. Being in the minority about the one thing she had most of – Andalite pride – was not making her happy.
(We won't die.) I lied mildly. I was sick of fighting with her. An hour straight of Zero Space, and Jennor had not stopped berating me. Allora had not said a word since the fight earlier. Rather she had resigned herself to staring at the nothingness surrounding the ship. The Bug Fighter that we had made our temporary home had picked up on the Blade Ships signal and was tracking it through Z-Space. We had little else to go by, and it is not as if we could do anything until we were back in normal space anyways. Even then, what would we do? We couldn't communicate with the Blade Ship any easier than the Andalite ship, thanks to Allora. The Visser would not be so eager to let us escape again. In fact, odds were that we would be shot down before we got close enough to even think about docking. It was no-win situation.
(How will we not die, Terenia?) Jennor asked, looking at me skeptically. (How could we possibly get out of this situation alive?)
(We have this thing on Earth, Jennor. It's called optimism. Please get some.) I said, sighing impatiently. My mention of Earth won a strange look from Allora, and another glare from Jennor. Jennor hated it when I mentioned my life before the Andalites, and certainly didn't want news of it being spread around. While I could understood why she didn't want other Andalites knowing of my past, I didn't see the problem now. We were light years away from any other Andalite, and odds were these were my last days anyhow. If one more person knew, it wouldn't be the end of me. Besides, I had already told Visser One. If he wanted the news to spread, it would spread. I was pretty sure that sometimes Jennor tried to forget about the fact that I was once human. I know I did. Yet as time went on, I found it easier and easier to accept that part of my life. Mostly because I knew I would never return to it.
(You are from Earth. You are a human. That is what you told Visser One. I was unaware you were being honest.) Allora said.
(Yeah, well. I was human. That was awhile ago, though.)
(Humans are the creatures that the Yeerks are after now. Allora said in her simple short and to the point sentences. Something told me that she wasn't very big on tact.
(Yes, they are the creatures that the Yeerks are after.) I said blandly. As little as I liked Earth, and as glad as I was to be away from my father, I didn't like being reminded of that fact. It was the reason that I was fighting this war: to help save Earth. Every time the invasion of my old planet was mentioned I couldn't help but think to my sisters and brother and wonder if they were safe. How I missed Tammy, my twin. I wondered how old she was now. I had lost track of time in Earth years. I had been away from Earth for one Andalite year, but the Andalite calendar system told me little about Earth. I wondered if Danny had graduated yet or not. Was he a slave to a Yeerk slug? And Elizabeth…was she screaming helplessly in the back of her mind? Unable to control even her words? The thought of it all made me shiver.
(Visser One is the head of Yeerk operations on Earth.) Allora commented mildly.
(He is?) I snapped out of my reverie, looking at Allora urgently with all four eyes. She seemed taken aback.
(Yes…why?) Allora was looking at me as if she were worried. I probably wasn't doing much to help the situation. I was staring at Allora so intently that it was no wonder she looked nervous. Of course, the information shouldn't have been a surprise to me. It was his ship in orbit above Earth when I was taken. It had probably even been mentioned numerous times during training, while I wasn't paying attention. Even if it hadn't been, though . . .I was sure that Jennor would have told me. I looked over at her. She was tense, and looked like she was about to intervene, but instead settled on carefully was avoiding my gaze. She had known. She had known and not told me, thinking it may have impaired my judgment.
It all made perfect sense. Of course, how stupid for me not to put two and two together. I suppose I had always simply assumed that the Yeerks as a single force, without any specific leader, led the attack on the humans. Stupid. Stupid stupid stupid. Thinking like a human, again, rather than an Andalite. At least now my objective was clear.
(We're going straight to that Blade Ship. No matter what. If he's in charge of the invasion, I'm taking him down.) My thought-speech was livid, as I felt all of the pains of battle and training and coping with Andalite life reach a pinpoint in my mind. The cause of all of this confusion and pain was right in front of my eyes. Visser One had taken me from Earth. Visser One had had me thrown in a cage like an animal. Visser One had ordered the Dome Ship I ended up on attacked. If it weren't for him and his attack on Earth I would never have gotten trapped in Andalite morph. I would never have been condemned to never see my siblings again, who I missed with a greater ache every day. I felt my face flushing as I came to the full realization of how much Visser One was responsible for. The very thought of what he had put me through thus far made my hands and tail shake with unrestrained anger.
(Terenia. You are being irrational.) Jennor kept her thought-speech as calm as possible, but there was an underlying tone of urgency to it.
(I'm being irrational! What about you? I hate to break it to you, Jennor, but I might have liked to know this information!)
(Listen you two. We don't have a choice now. Jennor, you will just have to be quiet and listen to us. You are in charge of this fighter, but you are being overruled. We will be going to Visser One's Blade Ship and doing what we can to destroy the Visser. Terenia, please try to remain logical about this. Control your emotions. I don't know what kind of a history you have with this planet Earth and these humans, but we cannot allow your emotions to take over.) Allora injected, reviving from her reverie. Both Jennor and I stared at Allora for a moment. Here was the scientist taking charge over the two military combatants? In any other situation it would be laughable. Even in this situation it was laughable. And that is what Jennor responded with, with all of her well-bred Andalite superiority.
(Allora, Visser One's host is your father. Do you think that you have the mental stamina to lead this mission? Be quiet, scientist. I have seniority over Terenia, and you are no warrior. Beyond that, I have no personal anger against Visser One beyond the fact that he is a Yeerk. Detestable as that is, I am much more capable of executing a mission without getting involved emotionally. So you will listen to me.)
I stared at Jennor in shock. I had never heard her speak so formally and with such authority before. She must have learned it from her father. Dumbstruck both Allora and I only nodded in numb defeat. Jennor looked satisfied and gave us both a grim smile. (So. Now that that's settled, let's make a plan to destroy this Yeerk filth.)
It was a full day before the Blade Ship and our fighter both exited Zero Space. We had yet to formulate a full proof plan. There weren't many options available to us. Allora had spent a good deal of the day trying to fix the communications array. She had had a good deal of success, as we could now receive both video and audio, and although we couldn't return visual feed, it appeared that audio would work. How much use that would prove to us was doubtful, however. What would a communication do beyond proving to Visser One that we were sitting ducks, floating in space, waiting to be shot down?
The closer our small Bug Fighter got to the Blade Ship the less and less we talked, each lost in our own thoughts. Allora was shifting nervously. Looking at her, with fresh scars still on her body, it was no wonder that she was afraid. Only she could know the full extent of Visser One's torment. Jennor was standing still, staring stonily at blank space, probably running through traditional Andalite rituals in her head. I watched the two of them for a few moments. Both of them had their reasons to hate the Yeerks. Allora probably had more reason than anyone else. At least any Andalite. And yet, the animosity that I felt towards Visser One and his kind was so great I could scarcely contain it within my body. I had never felt such rage towards anyone before. This person, this sole individual, was responsible for so much . . . and he would pay for it. I would make sure of that. Even if it killed me in the process, he would feel my pain.
"Is suicide part of the Andalite military tactics nowadays?" A sneering human voice filled the cabin, turning twelve eyes to the communications array. Allora must have left it on, allowing anyone to communicate freely with the ship. The holographic image of a young man, in his mid twenties, was smirking at us. I felt myself growing hot with sudden fury. Tensions were already too high, without this sudden intrusion. At least we knew now that Visser One was certain we were following.
(Just the destruction of filth like you.) Jennor responded, her voice acidic.
"Typical Andalite. So much pride. So much faith in your people. I look forward to the day that you lose your faith." The humans' eyes moved from Jennor to Allora. "Ah yes, Visser One will be quite pleased to have his toy returned to him. You've been quite disruptive lately, child. I fear you will have to be punished."
(Visser One will not be touching me again.) Allora's voice was strong, but one could sense a shudder of fear behind it. Not for the first time, I found myself wondering what the Visser had made Allora endure. My mind couldn't even comprehend the sort of torture that could be inflicted. It was not something that a girl of barely over a decade thought of - even in the military. A small shudder ran through my body as the human's cold eyes turned to me.
"You must be the human." The man's eyes were laughing at me. "The Visser is eager to speak with you again as well. Please, by all means. Dock and make yourselves comfortable. The Visser will personally arrive to escort the three of you." The communication cut, leaving the three of us looking at each other dumbfounded. The Visser was giving us safe passage onto the ship? There were only a handful of possible reasons behind that. Either he wanted to make hosts out of us or he was playing cat and mouse. Either way, as we entered the belly of the Blade Ship it was impossible not to feel as if we were signing our death sentences.
(How long will we have to wait?) I asked impatiently. It had been fifteen minutes since we had docked, and I was getting irritated. The fear I had felt at the pit of my stomach was threatening to spill over, and I was worried that if made to wait any longer I would not be able to pull of even a slight façade of bravery. We had docked painlessly and left the ship, each of us armed and with tail blades at the ready. However, once we got off the Bug Fighter it was quite evident that we were in a completely empty room. So we waited.
Our plan was simple. The three of us pretty much figured that our fates had been sealed. So Allora would do everything in her power to get to the computers and erase the log of the Aldrea's Cube, while Jennor and I fought to destroy Visser One before we were destroyed, as we were all certain that we would be.
It was almost as if Visser One had heard my exasperated cry, because it was not a moment later that the door opened into the docking bay. Flanked by two Hork-Bajir guards, Visser One stepped into the room almost daintily. My hearts started beating double-time, and I clutched my shredders tightly to keep my hands from shaking.
(Well well well. If it isn't the three miscreants, back for round two.) The Visser was smirking, overjoyed at such a quick chance at revenge against those who had outwitted them. He stopped about ten feet in front of the three of us, who were shaking in anticipation. One stalk eye was surveying each of us in turn, while the other swiveled to and fro, looking for a nonexistent threat.
His main eyes bore down on me.
(Teresa. A pleasure that you should make your return. I don't believe that I got a chance to properly thank you for the details on the Aldrea's Cube. Quite a fascinating device, really.) His sneering words struck me deep, and I felt red-hot anger rising in my chest.
(Terenia,) It was Jennor, in private thought-speech. (Terenia, he thinks he can get to you. Don't let him. Don't do anything stupid.)
(I took the liberty of looking up your status back on Earth) The Visser was continuing, his smirk never fading. (It's been nearly four of your years since you left our next conquest. That would put you at how old? Fourteen, in human years? Such a child. Far too young for the hardships of war.)
(Shut up.) I responded, my thought-speech as steady as possible. I could feel my entire body vibrating with a mixture of anger and fear. I didn't need to be reminded of my life on Earth. Not now. I didn't care, I wasn't a part of that world anymore.
(Wouldn't you like to know how your brother and sisters are doing, Teresa?) the Visser mocked. (I could provide you with all of the information you desire.)
(My name is Terenia.) My voice was trembling less and less as I grew more and more infuriated. (And information in exchange for what? My volunteered slavery under your Empire? My death? Well I have already accepted that I will die today, so you will have to drive a harder bargain than that.)
(Sooner die than risk assisting a rising Empire? That isn't what your actions before stated. You had the choice of dying or of submitting to us. You chose to submit.)
(We escaped.) I said defiantly, trying to ignore the truth of his statement.
(That is not the point I am trying to make, child.) The Visser looked mildly agitated that I had reminded him of this information. Good. That only meant that I would be able to push his buttons. Not that that fact would do me much good, because, in truth, everything he said to me was hitting close to home. Did I really want to die? No, of course not. Did I want to know what had become of my family? More than anything. Would I give myself up to the Yeerks to protect my life? I wasn't so sure that I wouldn't.
I looked at Jennor, standing in such defiance. She was the epitome of Andalite virtue. Her pride and arrogance shone like radiant beacons of malice towards the Yeerk foe. She was a true warrior. A glance to Allora and I saw pure determination; the result of unknown amounts of mental and physical torment. Neither of these two Andalites would ever succumb to Visser One. Myself? I was a human child, playing war. I was no Andalite – I had none of that unwavering pride in my race. Nor did I have such a personal history of hatred with the Yeerks. I had a handful of negative experiences to base a lifetime of military dedication on. And in the meantime I was one of a kind – a human trying to pass as an Andalite in an intergalactic war that the humans knew nothing about.
My only connection with Earth was my family. Not so much my abhorred father as my beloved twin, Tamara. Or my big sister Elizabeth. And most of all, the eldest sibling, Danny. Danny, who I had spent most of my childhood trying to be like, was my role model. I had grown up idolizing him. And I had never even wished him a farewell. Now, years later, Visser One was offering me an opportunity to find what had come of him. It was a moment of indecision that shook me to the core. What was more important? Jennor and Allora, whose number one priority was a people that I didn't even feel like I belonged to? Or those who I had cared for more than anything in the world?
(I want to know what happened to my family.) I said, stepping towards Visser One in a moment of decision. The glee on the Visser's face was revolting.
(Excellent. Follow me, all of you.) Without another word the Visser turned and led us out of the docking bay. I followed a few steps behind, my tail and stalk eyes held low in defeat. Jennor walked next to me, so enraged I wouldn't have been surprised if she had killed me herself. Allora was a few paces behind, looking utterly confused at my actions. I ignored them. It didn't matter. I would find my way out of this situation, as I had others.
But would Visser One allow me to slip through his fingers a third time?