Chapter 10
"It's time for me to go."
Axtana nodded sympathetically. ((In the end, it's probably the best decision for everybody.))
My head was sunk. It was so painful to finally make the decision, but it seemed like the right one. I had made the short trip to Axtana's office after an hour of mulling everything over, and all that was left to fight a losing battle was the thought that I had any further part to play in Ax's rescue. In the end, it fought against logic, and that's an impossible mountain to climb, even when it seems so right.
((I hope you understand,)) Axtana continued. ((That Ax's return is in the most capable hands. Even the War Commander is here to support the mission, and he is well known for getting his way.))
"I trust you," I replied. "I just hope that it gets done as soon as possible. Could I possibly get regular updates?"
((Of course. You have my code?))
"I never got it."
Axtana stepped closer to his computer podium and ordered through some files, searching for his personal communications code. ((Do you have a Ravit device at hand to receive the code?))
I reached into my back pocket and pulled out a notebook and pencil. He was confused when I offered them. "No, not on me. Could you write it down?"
He took the items and briefly fiddled with them. ((Such primitive wr-… Yes, of course I will. Just excuse my handwriting ability.))
He wrote down the seventeen-digit code – which was basically a Space phone number – on the paper to the best of his ability and handed the notebook and pencil back. I slid them into my back pocket.
"Thanks." I said.
((It is our pleasure to have accommodated you,)) He explained with a bow. ((But it is best that you leave now before things get out of hand.))
"Will the War Commander let me leave?" I asked, reminding him of the punishment that had been placed. "He said nobody would be able to leave."
Axtana chuckled. ((You are not part of the crew. And besides, you don't need to prove your innocence to anybody.))
"What about the others?"
((The other Animorphs?)) He coughed. ((I can assure you that the same applies. They just haven't asked to leave yet.))
"Keep me updated on them, too?" I requested.
He smiled and stepped away from his podium. ((You know I will. Anyway, I have arranged your transport. A cruiser will be leaving the ship from Docking Bay 8 tomorrow for Earth. They will happily accommodate you. Just make sure that you are ready to depart within the first working hour.))
"Thank you, Axtana."
I left his office for the final time. A cloud remained over me, but it couldn't block out the ever more torturous glare of the fake sun that filled every corridor and cupboard. Everything was pushing me away. Everyone was pushing me away.
All because I was useful somewhere else. Here, I offered nothing.
I slunk back into my cabin, making premature plans for the trip back and the return to my Earthly duties. There was much to look forward to. Ronnie would be missing me, and wondering why it was I had left all along. I would have so much to explain and so few excuses.
For the first time in a while, I was not alone in the cabin. Jeanne, whose appearances had been flitting and frustrating, was sitting cross-legged on her bedding. She would be the first person to tell.
But before I explained my departure, I was taken aback. I was so used to Jeanne's constant expression of composure and confidence. As if she feared nothing. As if she had everything under control.
All of that had gone. She looked fearful. Distraught.
"Jeanne?" I spoke up. "Hey, is everything alright?"
She gazed to me as I crouched beside her. "Cassie, I have got it all wrong."
"Huh?" I uttered. "What do you mean?"
Jeanne got up to her feet and jogged to the door. Using the control panel, she closed it. "I thought that taking the Kelbrids would stop the war from happening, Cassie!" She whimpered. "But it won't! I was wrong!"
I ran over and grabbed a shoulder, as she had started to pace in the corner. "What are you talking about, Jeanne?"
She stopped her motioning, restraining her franticness. Her eyes met mine and remained. "The war is going to happen. The Andalites and the Kelbrids will make it happen."
I couldn't believe her, and I shook my head. "The Andalites will negotiate for Ax. Once he's back, they won't bother with the Kelbrids. They have no need to!"
"Are you seriously so blind, Cassie?!"
I was utterly flummoxed. My head was spinning, my tongue unable to keep up.
Her endless gaze amplified her seriousness. "How will the Andalites negotiate with nothing to trade?" She seethed.
"I… I don't…"
Jeanne wouldn't let me consider. Whiskers sprouted from her cheeks, followed by the short grey hairs that coated the face of a squirrel. A tail swooped up behind her, just as she turned to the ventilation panel in the wall. She removed it.
Two squirrels were again bound for Deck 12, even more apprehensive than before. Every jump was a leap. Every drop was a canyon. Every turn was an unanswered question.
I couldn't figure it out. Jeanne had been spying, that much I knew. It explained why she was so often missing, why I would find squirrel hairs occasionally popping up in the cabin. What had she seen? What had brought her to such a conclusion?
She showed me herself. We arrived at Deck 12, to the same spot we had observed from the last time.
My first words were completely reactionary. ((Where did they go?))
The cells were empty. Empty and cleaned. All except for one, the furthest away from us, that still showed signs of being occupied. The occupant was chained to the pole in the centre of the prison again, breathing steadily and still covered from head to toe in protective clothing.
There were no Andalites. The Mak translator had gone. It was just him.
((He will tell you.)) Jeanne told me.
She spoke in Kelbrid, and openly so that he could hear. I didn't follow the words, but I saw his body stir, his figure writhe in the constraints.
Through his muzzle, he cried out. It was muffled and weak, and blood trickled down the fabric to the ground.
((Jeanne?)) I said. ((What's he saying?))
She replied, ((The scum killed them. The Andalite scum killed them.))