Chapter 14

The ship became a dangerous place. Only a day had passed since our confrontation with Axtana, but in that time the atmosphere and the personnel around us switched like light bulbs. Rather than looking at us like pre-schoolers on a field trip, the Andalite warriors would scowl and watch for far longer than would normally be welcomed. Axtana surely hadn't given away our secrets without handing us a chance to make our minds, but we got the impression that rumors had begun to spread.

But the Andalites would say nothing, so the origin of the new attitude towards us was going to remain a mystery, and that made it far more concerning.

It was happening to everybody, too. As a collective, we had become the cursed outcast of the ship. In light of that, we kept ourselves close to our quarters. More especially, Menderash was banned from leaving his room. Both I and Tobias moved in with him.

Despite all the praise that Axtana and others had heaped onto me, my treatment was no different. I suspected it as a continued effort to remove us, to get rid of just another minor problem for the Andalites. They had their plans, and we were an irritating fly buzzing around it.

I was immune. The others, however, weren't.

Menderash's room therefore became our gathering place, and we did that frequently. Much more so than before. The fear of prosecution was enough of a force to push us back together like a group of repelling magnets in a vice grip.

This latest meeting was to be a decisive one. Ideas had been wrung dry and conclusions polished. It was time to make the choice. We locked the door and waited in silence again for those slow two hours, and then it started.

"We've had time to think it over," Jake announced as we all sat in a circle like campers around a dying fire. "Realistically we have two options: We stick around for an opportunity to rescue Ax, or we leave Steadfast and return to Earth. The latter means that we can return without the risk of being prosecuted. If we stay, we could potentially take the Kelbrid and make this trade."

"I say we go for it," Santorelli immediately jumped in. "We take that Kelbrid on The Shadow and run for the border."

"Suicidal. They would have us the moment we attempted it." Menderash countered.

Marco was on his side. "Plus, there are eleven decks between the cells and the docking bays. That's basically the whole ship."

Santorelli wasn't ready to back down so easily, though. "One Kelbrid made it that far, wrapped up like a mummy in some crap B-movie. We've got fast morphs! We could plough through these walls and smack down any Andalite that gets in our way!"

I responded to him. "It takes one shot from a Shredder to take you down. A Kelbrid on his own can be a lot sneakier than something as big as an ox or a gorilla. We wouldn't all make it out."

"And the Andalites are on full alert after his last escape." Marco thought to add.

"Did they find out who disabled the security measures?" Santorelli asked.

"Not that we know of," Jake said. "They never got to the bottom of that."

There came a strange moment of collective realisation of what that possibly meant. Heads were raised, and curious eyes exchanged glances.

Marco voiced the concern. "Will we actually be allowed to leave?"

"Axtana told me that we could," I recalled. "He said that we were exempt from the investigation."

Marco rolled his eyes at that. "Sounds legit."

"We should assume that it was true," Jake decided. "At least until we find out otherwise. As far as we know, we just have to say the words and we're out of here," His focus then switched to Menderash, and he spoke directly. "What do you think, Mendy? From an Andalite's perspective."

Menderash had been understandably elusive in his opinions, but he tried to hold a firm posture and appear unfazed. On request, he was happy to speak up. "War-Prince Axtana would not offer a false promise. He will let you go, and so will the War Commander."

"I mean what's your opinion on our actions?" Jake elucidated.

Menderash fell into consideration, trying to pull what he could from his shrivelling pride. "I will always strive to do as my duty demands. I have failed to do that before, and that's why I am a disgrace and a nothlit. In this case, I can't decide which path my duty takes me. My duty is to my people and my military, but my duty is also to serve Prince Aximili, who I believe is still alive…"

"You should go with the people who didn't lie to you." Marco uttered harshly.

"This is his decision, Marco." Jake said, pushing him back.

Menderash continued, facing down to the grass once again. "It's true. I hate to admit it, and curse myself for doing so, but they sent us out on a lie. I went with you so that I could redeem myself and rescue my Prince. That is still my duty, and that won't change."

"Is there a chance that we could still save him if we leave Steadfast?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I can't see a way. Not yet."

"Yet," Jake repeated. "That could change."

Marco cleared his throat in preparation for a quick summary. "So, option 1: We stay and try to steal the Kelbrid, which we've established is an impossible task. Option 2: We leave and try to come up with another solution, which may or may not be possible."

"Marco, dude," Santorelli grumbled. "These Andalites like to pretend that it's impossible. They almost lost a dude wrapped in toilet paper!"

Menderash rose to his feet, as per usual. "Are you mocking my people?"

"Mendy, chill." Santorelli laughed.

Menderash didn't want to chill, but in light of the conversation he slowly sat back down.

Then, suddenly, Jeanne popped into the conversation. Reappearing was becoming her forte. "I don't know if war will make it easier to find Prince Aximili."

"We will not be at war!" Menderash snorted. "Neither side is willing to breach the border."

"The Andalites and Kelbrids both have what they want," She argued. "The war will happen. There is no stopping it now."

"What do you know about all this Jeanne?" Jake asked in a very confrontational tone. "What exactly is it you're hiding from us? We're all done with secrets. It's about time you shared yours."

"I work with people who are very interested in the Andalite and Kelbrid war," She explained. I was surprised how she came out with it so unabashedly. "We've been trying to avoid this war for a long time."

Jake, for the first time in a while, grew visibly angry past the cold, calculating exterior. "So you work for somebody else?! Okay, you need to tell me who you work for, and you need to tell me right now."

This time, there was to be no distraction. No way to avoid the pressing questions. She stroked back her dark brown hair, unashamed to explain. "We work for justice. I am here to stop a war from happening. And I have failed."

"Who's this 'we'?" Marco asked.

"It is no official group," She replied. "And we have no real name. Nor are we your enemy. The reason I am with you now is because we can trust you, the Animorphs, to do what we believe is right."

"When are you going to start making some goddamn sense?!" Santorelli blasted.

"So you aren't here for Ax," Jake determined, ignoring Santorelli's outburst. "You're here because you think we can stop this war?"

"Not anymore," She sighed. "It is too late now. But I will do what I can to help save Prince Aximili."

"How do you propose we do that?" Jake asked, seemingly intrigued by what she'd said.

"I don't know."

He exhaled with what I could only assume was the last remnants of his built-up anger. "I want to see these people you work for. As soon as we're out of this mess."

Jeanne stared long at him, and it was clear that she wanted to say no.

"I mean it," Jake uttered forcefully. Then he returned attention to the room. "Okay, let's put this to the vote. We stay, or we go. Who's for stay?"

Santorelli raised his hand immediately. From above the door, Tobias lifted his right wing.

I had to think about it. Logic told me that we had no chance on Steadfast. My heart told me to stay. I raised my hand.

"Three," Jake counted. "To go?"

He raised his hand, as did the remaining members of the group.

"Four. Looks like we're going home."