Galaxy One

Finding Olivia Bates' cell was far more difficult than locating the whereabouts of Maria Louise. Technically, I could have stopped and asked any controller on Cell Block D about where Olivia Bates was being held, since I was wearing the body of Visser Thirty-One, but I didn't want to arouse any suspicion. A Visser would have definitely known the location of his or her own prisoner, especially on their own Blade Ship. I remembered that Dana ordered Dax and Zar to bring my team mates to Cell Block D, but there could have been fifty cells in that block alone. I would need to have a controller take me to Olivia, which meant that I would have to find either the Councillor, Dax and Zar, or Leeds; though, I didn't trust myself around Zane Leeds, not when I knew that I would kill him the second the opportunity presented itself. I decided that Dax and Zar would be the best choice, as they were both now members of the Visser's guard, and their Yeerks would most likely carry out whatever order their demented leader gave them.

Dax and Zar were not stationed together, which had been strange enough, as neither Hork-Bajir had been apart from the other in the eight years that I've known them. I never found Dax, but I did see Zar outside cell 1039 with two other Hork-Bajir—though, how I managed to distinguish one Hork-Bajir from the other was beyond me; all three aliens were over six-feet tall, covered in metal blades, and resembled a dinosaur. But I knew that the Hork-Bajir in the middle had been Zar. Maybe it had something to do with his eyes. I've heard, often enough, that the key to every man's soul was his eyes; perhaps that applied to Hork-Bajir as well.

"Good morning, Visser." Zar said, kneeling down before me on one knee and taking a bow. The other Hork-Bajir mimicked their unwilling co-part. "Have you taken care of young David?"

"He's dead." I said, attempting to mimic Dana's cold and manipulative voice. "Now we must tend to the Bates girl."

"Would you like me to assist you, Visser?" Zar asked. "The filth in this cell has no hopes of escaping."

"Yes, that will do." I nodded. "Lead the way."

Zar took me down the hall of Cell Block D, to an unguarded cell marked 1170. It was a cell that looked identical to the many other cells around the Block; circular, metallic doors, guarded by two or three aliens. I found the Prison Block of the Blade Ship to be quite dull indeed, and I wasn't a big fan of chrome.

"The Bates girl has agreed to voluntary infestation." Zar laughed. "These foolish humans will agree to anything if the lives of their loved ones are in danger. Their flaw is our gain."

"Flaw?" I repeated, as Zar swiped an access key through the keypad on the cell door.

The cell door opened with a whoosh, and a cheetah leapt out from within the cell, mauling the unsuspecting controller. Zar threw off the raging jungle cat, but he seemed to have sustained a significant amount of damage. He whipped out a Dracon Beam and began to shoot at Olivia. His first shot missed the Cheetah, but Zar shot again.

Tseeeeeeew!

Zar's massive Hork-Bajir body blundered about for a bit after the Dracon Beam pierced his scaly flesh. A second shot was enough to knock him out. The Cheetah eyed me suspiciously.

"Obviously I am not the Visser." I said, returning the Dracon Beam to its place on my belt. "It's me, David."

((And I thought Sandria had been kidding when she told me that you have morphed into a woman.)) Olivia muttered.

"She told you that?"

((You are mistaken if you think that you had some sort of bond with my sister.)) Olivia said. ((You were just a ship that passed through the night.))

"Well…that's neither here, nor there." I said, impatiently. "We have to get out of here."

((Well, isn't that the understatement of the year.)) Olivia said, coyly. ((I'm not leaving until I get Sandria back)).

"And we will get her back." I promised. "But we need a plan first."

((Here's the plan: we storm the place, and kill anyone who crosses our path)).

"Yes, because that worked wonderfully the last time."

((Do whatever you want, David. I'm going to find Sandria.))

"Olivia, you have to relax." I said. "Right now, I'm disguised as Visser Thirty-One. And I know that you've acquired Zar in the past. We could have Sandria handed to us if we asked. Then, we could sneak her off the Blade Ship."

((And where, exactly, are we going to sneak her off to?)) Sandria asked. ((Deep space?))

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." I said.

((You are starting to sound a lot like Maria Louise.)) Olivia said, bitterly. ((But we don't seem to have much of a choice, do we?))

I didn't say anything in response. I didn't want to think about Maria Louise. Thinking about Maria Louise would make me think about Fletcher, and thinking about Fletcher, and bits and pieces of his flesh scattered all over a cell door, made me think about how Leeds had brought this whole nightmare upon us.

"You'd better demorph, before someone finds out that you aren't really interested in joining the Empire."

((Sandria acquired Zar; I acquired Dax.)) Olivia said, as she began to demorph.

"Then it is a good thing that we have the real Zar at our disposal, eh?" I said. "Hurry up and acquire him."

The now human Olivia Bates bent over the unconscious Zar, and placed a hand on his scaly flesh. I then watched as Olivia had begun to morph into our hostage. I turned to see if any controllers had heard the exchange of Dracon Beam fire, and waited for the grunts and whispers of oncoming controllers.

"We need to find a place to hide Zar." I said, turning to see if Olivia had completed the morph. "The last thing we want is—"

Olivia drove her left wrist-blade into the Zar's skull and twisted it. The sound of the metal blade, and the white bone of the Hork-Bajir blended together to produce a noise that offended the ears; a low, crunching sound that sounded like the bark of a tree snapping.

"What the fuck did you do that for?" I screamed.

"He would have jeopardized the mission if I let him live." Olivia replied.

"But Zar was our friend!"

"He was a controller, David!" Olivia snapped. "It's a fucking shame, and I will live to regret it, but it had to be done."

"Who are you to decide who gets to live, and who has to die?"

You killed Dana, my inner voice reminded me. Don't be a hypocrite.

"Where are we going to hide the body?" I asked, after a moment of silence. "They're going to check the cell eventually."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, Visser." Olivia mimicked. She dragged Zar's lifeless body into her cell and then dropped the corpse. I closed the cell door on my dead friend, who once told me—no more than four days ago— about the old days of the Hork-Bajir planet. I frowned at the cell door for a while, thinking about how Zar will never live to see his home again.

We made our way through cell blocks C through A with great difficulty. I lost track of the cell door numbers, and the Hork-Bajir and Taxxon controllers at every corner made me feel as though we had been running around in circles. Everything was made of steel, and all of the prison guards looked the same. I began to wonder if we had actually been placed in a labyrinth, and that the whole idea of being placed on the Blade Ship had been a rouse. Regardless of where we really were, it had been very difficult to navigate our way out of the Prison Block. Olivia and I hadn't spoken the entire time, and I had lost track of how much time I had spent in morph. Oddly enough, I wasn't too worried about the time limit. Being trapped in the body of another human—especially an attractive and physically fit human being—was not nearly as horrifying or traumatic as spending the rest of my days as a Taxxon.

I assumed navigating our way through the Blade Ship would have been a lot easier than trying to find the exit of the Prison Blocks beneath, but I was wrong; it had been much more difficult than before. While the hallways on the upper levels of the Blade Ship bore the same chrome-steel motif as the cells of the lower decks, there had also been numerous doors to rooms; and any one of them could have been the room where the Councillor could be found. The Visser's access card had given us something of an advantage, but it did not change the futility of our task. I reasoned that, given the Yeerk race's obsession with rankings, the Blade Ship would have been designed similarly to the Titanic, or any other cruise ship; with low ranking Yeerks guarding the lower decks, and the head honchoes located at the very top. It was only when Olivia and I had reached the top deck, some twenty or thirty minutes later that we began to check the rooms.

Prior to my hasty imprisonment, I had never seen a Yeerk Blade Ship, let alone the inside of one. But if the outside of the ship looked as massive as the inside, then Olivia and I had no chance of finding the Councillor. We checked five or six rooms and never ceased to be stupefied by what we had seen in each room. In the first room we had checked, much to our distain, a small swarm of Taxxons had been devouring the remains of small creatures that I had never seen before. In another room we found what appeared to be a training facility, where the highest ranking guards of Visser Thirty-One engaged one another in armed combat. But the fifth room we checked had been the most peculiar of all: a room that had been significantly smaller in size compared to any other room we entered, but looked like it had been the only room that belonged there. There were ten pods placed in the center of the room, and floating just above the pods was a peculiar, silver orb. I stepped closer to the pods and the silver orb that hovered above them; hypnotizing my eyes with its perplexing beauty, and scrambling my brain with its eccentricity. Inside most of the pods had been humans, though their faces had been covered by a hideous metallic mask.

"What an interesting room, Visser."

The Councillor stood in the threshold of this strange room. He looked at Olivia, and then directly at me, and stepped into the room. The door closed behind him automatically. He really did seem interested in the room, and looked at each of the pods with an increasing fascination that reminded me of an eight year old child, drooling over sweets and toys, or perhaps a curious-looking frog.

"The pods, as I understand, are designed to place its occupants into a computer simulated world based on the deepest levels of his or her sub-conscious." The Councillor up to one of the pods and laughed. "All of them, placed in a world where the individual may find themselves in the equivalent of paradise…or hell, incarnate. I really appreciate the pure genius of it all, Visser. This way, a prisoner can be tortured repeatedly by whoever is controlling the simulation…very, very interesting, indeed. I am quite surprised that my fellow council members haven't taken notice of your…brilliant creation."

"As you know Councillor, genius goes unrecognized." I replied.

"That is very true, Visser; very true." The Councillor laughed. "I will put in a good word with my co-parts and see that you get a promotion for your competent work."

"I think I would appreciate that very much, Councillor." I lied, smiling.

"Yes, well…we have more pressing matters at hand." He sighed, still observing on of the ten pods. "Your ship is set on due course for our home sector, but I recently received news that a group of renegades are headed towards Earth. We must attend to this matter immediately."

"By renegades, I am sure that you speak of the Animorphs, Councillor?" I asked, with a glimmer of hope.

"One of them…yes. It is the beast who stole the Blade Ship of Esplin 9466 eight years ago. I have been informed that the ship itself is being piloted by two Andalites, while inhabiting a Taxxon, a Hork-Bajir, and a Yeerk."

"Did we approve of the stationing of a controller on an enemy vessel, sire?" I asked.

"No, of course not." The Councillor shook his head like an annoyed elephant. "This Yeerk is the abomination, Deltrix; the Yeerk who disappeared some time ago. I believed him to be dead up until recently…I assure you, he will not escape my wrath a second time."

We followed the Councillor to the ship's bridge, where a large group of controllers were piloting the Blade Ship. Here, through the very eyes of the Blade Ship, I could see entire stars and planets of whatever galaxy we were currently flying in. As a boy, it had been a dream of mine to travel through space, and now that dream had been fulfilled. Unfortunately, this was neither the time nor the place to enjoy the vast beauty of the universe.

"Have we located the renegades, Sub-Visser Seven?" the Councillor asked.

Sandria Bates, now wearing her hair in a ponytail and dressed in a white leotard, turned towards the Councillor from her seat on a black revolving chair; eyes wide, and lips curled into a bone chilling smile.

"Not yet, Councillor." Sub-Visser Seven said. "But do not worry, we will capture the renegades."

"I have complete faith in you, Sub-Visser." The Councillor assured. "And, should we capture them, I will see that you receive a handsome reward."

"Thank you, sire." Sandria smiled. "I would also like to express my deepest gratitude for assigning me this host body… needless to say my Taxxon form was quite unsatisfactory."

"You must be pleased that your twin is successful." The Councillor said. Olivia and I exchanged worried glances as the Councillor observed the controllers below. "Usually, the lesser of the grub is expected to be the disappointment, and the primary Yeerk reaps the reward, but this doesn't seem to be the case for you and your twin, Visser." The Councillor laughed. "You will be surprised to hear that I am a twin as well."

I gathered that the Yeerk currently controlling Sandria's body had been the twin of the Yeerk that had been assigned to Dana. I didn't think that Yeerks could have twins. How does a Yeerk come into being anyway?

"Sire, we are picking up a signal." One of the pilots announced. "We are 98 percent certain that it is the Renegade vessel."

"It must be under concealment." The Councillor said. "Have you pinpointed the enemy vessel's precise location?"

"It is within two thousand clicks of us, Councillor." The pilot replied.

"Then we must open fire." The Councillor ordered.

"Do you think that is wise, Councillor?" I asked, trying to buy my fellow renegades some time to escape the might of the Yeerk Empire. "Should we miss, it may provoke an attack…can we really risk damage to the Blade Ship?"

"Are you disobeying orders, Visser?" the Councillor asked.

"Not at all, Sire." I said quickly. "I am merely suggesting that we wait until we are certain of the proximity between our ship and the Renegade vessel."

The Blade Ship shook violently, but the origins of the attack were unknown by anyone on my ship.

"They've hit us!" the Councillor shouted. "Sub-Visser, begin open fire."

"Sire, there is something else out here!" a Hork-Bajir cried, "We're detecting…but…it can't be!"

"Councillor, we have two Bug Fighters shooting at us on either side." Another controller cried.

"No, wait; there's more…we're being surrounded!"

"Do the Renegades have access to Bug Fighters?" the Councillor asked.

"Sir, we're receiving a message from the Blade Ship of Sarphon 016." The Sub-Visser announced. "Should we accept?"

"We don't seem to have much of a choice." The Councillor snarled. The Blade Ship shook after another round of Dracon Cannon fire from the Bug Fighters.

A man's face appeared on the view screen. Actually, he looked no older than twenty-five at the very least. He was a dark haired young man, whose face was cold from eight years of war, and there was something about the scowling gaze he gave to every living soul aboard my Blade Ship that suggested that this man had a temper.

"It is truly a pleasure to see you once again, Councillor." The man said, curling his pale red lips into a crude smile. Sarphon spoke to the Councillor as if he had been the scum of the earth, and given the look of disgust and, dare I even say, fear, on the Councillor's face, I would have guessed that he was correct. The clothes he wore—some sort of silver battle armour that appeared to shimmer under the light of his Blade Ship—the sound of his voice—both soft and authoritative—and the egotistic look that could be seen in his pale blue eyes gave off the appearance of a dictator. "I believe that I have warned you already about entering my sector of this galaxy…I thought we had an agreement, Councillor."

"I do not cooperate with traitors, Sarphon." The Councillor growled. "Nor do I take orders from my subordinates."

Sarphon 016 laughed at the Councillor's retort. There was something discomforting about this man's laugh, a sound that no other human could make. It was a dry laugh. I could not tell if his laughter had been forced or if it had been genuine, but I knew that I did not like it. "My dear Councillor, my followers and I no longer recognize the ranks and positions of the Old Empire. We have our own ambitions, and a more efficient system of government."

"Your pathetic excuse for an Empire will crumble eventually…and when it does I will see to it that the Empire has your host's head in a sack!"

"Ah, but you are mistaken, Councillor." Sarphon said, silkily. "Presently I have your Blade Ship surrounded by a fleet of Bug Fighters, and each one is piloted by members of my own guard. Sixteen Bug Fighters are flying in the space around your ship, and each has enough power to reduce your vessel apart. Any attempt at retaliation would be futile, to say the least."

I observed Sarphon, and judging by the calm smile he had on his face I could tell that he was being serious. I then looked at the Councillor, standing a foot away from me and looking perturbed by his present predicament; at the mercy of a treasonous Yeerk who had been armed with a Blade Ship and sixteen Bug Fighters. We had no hope of escaping, not when all of Sarphon's Bug Fighters had us completely surrounded, and I doubt if the Councillor was willing to risk a chance at shooting Sarphon's Blade Ship.

"I ask you, Councillor," Sarphon smiled. "Are you foolish enough to fight off my army?"

I heard the Councillor mutter something under his breath, but it must have been in his native language because I could not understand whatever it was he had said. I could tell that the Councillor wanted to object to Sarphon's claim; to shout out this treasonous soldier; to reveal this Yeerk, hiding beneath a smug smile and silver armour, that he was beneath the Council and the Orthodox Empire, but he knew that he couldn't. The Councillor wasn't an imbecile; he knew that Sarphon was correct.

"I didn't think so." Sarphon laughed his demonic laugh once more. "I am going to board your vessel, Councillor. I have already opened the window."

Sarphon's face disappeared from the view screen, and we were now looking at the vast stretch of black that had been outer space. The Councillor, no longer under the watchful eye of the traitorous Sarphon 016, unleashed his furry on the inhabitants of my Blade Ship. He walked up to the nearest controller, a pudgy white male, and pierced his flesh with his wrist blade. Once the controller fell to the floor, the Councillor continued his rampage by slaughtering six other human controllers. "Don't just sit there with your hands on your lap, Sub-Visser; open the window!"

"The window is open, Councillor." Sub-Visser Seven said mere minutes later. "Shall we prepare to defend ourselves?"

"No…surely he will have his guard with him." The Councillor said hatefully.

An orange beam of light, in the form of a cylinder, shone from a circular platform that lay behind Councillor Three, and within mere seconds several shapes materialized into three-dimensional beings. The man known by the Yeerk Empire as Sarphon 016 stood in front of five creatures that looked more like demons than any sort of extraterrestrial that I have ever seen. The only thing that came close in comparison to these…creatures that Sarphon had brought with him onto the Blade Ship would be the creatures of classical myth, but even that wasn't sufficient enough. One of the creatures resembled a manticore, in that it was composed of three different creatures; but instead of a creature with a man's face, a lion's body, and a scorpion tail ending with spikes, this creature had a torso that looked as though it had been sculpted from play dough, five spider-like legs, and a mass of eyes and mouths for a face. Beside the manticore-demon had been a blue humanoid with five arms but no face, and two cannons on the arms at the center of its torso. The shortest of the five beasts had been a pair of cat-like creatures with drooping eyes and magma dripping out from the corners of their mouths. The largest of any other in the group was a demon that bore the appearance of a dragon but lacked the wings. I now understood why the Councillor had not argued with Sarphon when he said that he was going to board our ship.

"These are not the same…soldiers that you brought with you the last time we met." The Councillor said, observing Sarphon's guard with a mixed look of disgust, fear and interest. "Where did you ever find these…creatures?"

"I found them from the deepest crevices of the universe, on planets that very few wish to visit." Sarphon stepped down from the platform, which the Councillor referred to as the window. "They belong to planets that were once prominent, but fell to war, famine and pestilence. They are the sole survivors of their race. I have provided them with sanctuary on my Blade Ship, and they have agreed to infestation."

"Do they understand gallard?" The Councillor asked, watching bits of magma drip from the mouths of one of the hell cats.

"I am not really sure of what language any of them speak, to be quite honest." Sarphon laughed. "But they seem to recognize charity when they see it."

"So what is it that you wish to discuss with me?" The Councillor asked.

"I understand that my old friend Darmenian is offering you and the rest of the council refuge if you agree to recognize him as the sole ruler of the Yeerk Empire."

"We have no interest in Darmenian's offer." The Councillor said.

"But perhaps the opinion of the council will change once it is put in a position that demands cooperation with Darmenian…say, for example, the obliteration of the Pool Ship."

"Impossible, I assure you." The Councillor replied. "The location of the Pool Ship is secure."

"I know exactly where it is hidden." Sarphon said. "And Darmenian knows as well. And should that location change, I am sure we will be able to locate the Pool Ship again…effortlessly. You will be surprised by how many supporters Darmenian and I have at our disposal."

"Get to the point!" the Councillor snapped.

"I will offer you the refuge that Darmenian has promised to the Council, as well as high positions reserved for the Council of Thirteen in the new Empire. The difference, however, between Darmenian and I, is that I can deliver."

"Go on." The Councillor said.

"Should the Council agree to cooperate, then I will see to it that each of you will be assigned to the bodies of my deadliest soldiers." Sarphon motioned towards his five demonic servants. "There are plenty more where these come from, Councillor."

I looked at Councillor Three intently. I could see that he had been considering the renegade's offer, and why shouldn't he? Despite the blatantly hideous appearance of these soldiers, one could not help but be intrigued by the raw power and build of Sarphon's guard. Had I been a Yeerk, I would have lusted over the bodies of these hideous creatures.

"You understand that I cannot speak for the rest of the Council." The Councillor said. "Even if I accept your offer, the Emperor will never stand for it."

"Councillor, I am almost certain that I will get the same response from your co-parts." Sarphon smiled. "As for the Emperor, he has no choice but to accept…so, do we have a deal?"

"Sire, something is coming through the window!" Sub-Visser Seven cried.

"You left the window open?" Councillor Three shouted. "Don't just stand there, Sub-Visser, close it!"

I turned to see a brilliant orange light, taking the form of a cylinder, shine from the circular platform placed directly behind me; the outlines of the intruders was already visible to the eye, though I couldn't quite tell what they were just yet. I heard the Councillor shouting at Sub-Visser Seven behind me. Soon enough, perhaps after two minutes, I could clearly make out the identities of the intruders: two Andalites, a Hork-Bajir, a Taxxon and a lion that bore some similarities to the one that I had acquired mere days before.

"The renegades!" the Councillor shouted. "Do not let them escape, or I will see to it that each and every last one of you is executed by the Council!"

The lion roared.

The renegades leapt from the platform.

The battle commenced.