Chapter 10
I went back to helping Visser Three fix the Yeerk fighter; however, it was an uneasy truce. As much as it bewildered me, our truce before had been comfortable. We had definitely not been friends however, I had been beginning to think that we were allies. Now, we worked together awkwardly in silence. Visser Three only spoke to me to ask for instructions on how to fix certain components. In return, I only spoke to him to explain what he was doing wrong and to tell him what to do next.
It was not a pleasant working relationship and I found myself wishing yet again that I had not destroyed the Kandrona. Although, I had not enjoyed sniping with Visser Three, it was infinitely better than this silence.
[I'm not sure we have enough fuel,] Visser Three said abruptly. I had told him to check on the fuel levels. These ships were designed to be constantly up in the air and re-fuelled every few days. I was afraid that enough of the fuel had degraded in the time we had been here.
[Let me check.] I stood up and walked over to where Visser Three was peering at the fuel gauge.
[I believe I am able to check fuel levels accurately,] Visser Three said sharply.
I glared at him. Turning back to the fuel gauge, I noted that the ship's computer noted that fuel levels were at minimum. This meant that even if we were able to get the ship up in the air, we would run out of fuel before we managed to complete one Z-space jump. It was very bad news. I could feel my hearts sinking. We had only fixed part of the ship's computer the day before and without that, we were unable to tell whether any of the fuel had degraded.
[Your Andalite fuel is organic, isn't it?] Visser Three asked.
I was pulled abruptly from my thoughts. I stared at him. [What?]
Irritably, Visser Three said, [The fuel in this ship, it's Andalite fuel. Andalite fuel is organic, right?]
I frowned. That sounded right, but I wasn't completely sure. About fifty years ago, in response to intense public pressure, our civilian government had instigated plans to change all fuels to organic fuels, which were supposed to be better for our environment. I wasn't sure if this particular ship was fitted out with an organic fuel creator. It had not proven especially popular with our military. It was far easier to carry around extra conventional fuel than it was to mulch up enough Andalite plants or other organic materials to power up a spaceship. Plus, the organic fuel creator, despite being more environmentally friendly, was a disaster when it came to military missions. No military vessel could spare one staff member per ship to continually feed fuel into the creator in order to keep the engines running.
[Couldn't we find enough organic matter to power the ship? Alloran seems to believe that it is possible, as much as he hates to admit it to me,] Visser Three said impatiently.
[I suppose,] I conceded. [We need specific plants though and I haven't seen any around here.] It had been established that one type of plant in particular was especially good at converting into fuel. The science behind it was beyond me, however, the creators of this particular device had assured the Electorate that it would be a clean source of power, much better than the factories that had previously been used to generate dark matter which was used as fuel for our ships. Moreover, it would rid our planet of a very irritating plant that nobody liked, not even the most insane of our botanists.
Visser Three was looking in the wreckage of the ship. [There is an organic fuel creator in here. It's old but it looks relatively intact. It should be possible to create enough energy to power the ship.]
[I suppose,] I said. [Unless you have any Andalite toys lying around anywhere. I could use the fusion and fission generators in them to power the ship.]
Visser Three laughed silently. [I do not.]
[Too bad,] I said dryly.
[Do we need a specific plant?] Visser Three asked. [Alloran believes that any plant would be able to power the ship.]
[That is technically true,] I said, praying that my memories regarding this were accurate. I wasn't completely sure about that. I didn't think I was listening very well that day at school. [However, we need to carry enough organic matter to feed constantly into the organic fuel creator. There won't be enough room on the ship if we do not get the Neflit plant.]
[Very well.]
I thought we should be able to find the plant. It would be dangerous, because the Neflit plant had some peculiar qualities that had given me nightmares as a child; however, I had seen enough Andalite landscape on this planet to give me hope that they would be growing somewhere. [We need to fix the rest of the ship first,] I said.
Visser Three stared at me for a second and then turned back to work.