Chapter 21

As I watched the Bug fighter's cloaking device kick in and cover the burn trails of its departure, I felt like my head was going to explode. It was beyond ridiculous – my friends were fighting Hork-bajir a hundred feet from me, but I had been given one last thing to worry about by our Andalite friends. In a way, I wished I hadn't heard what they were planning to do on their way back to the Andalite home world. They had to be smarter than that, right? They wouldn't really attack Visser Three and the Blade ship, would they?

I saw that Ax had been fighting his way toward me, nimbly dodging blades that were thrown his way and returning slashes of his own. (Ax, how do we get in touch with them? We have to tell them to get away. Your people need the message they're carrying!)

Ax answered my unasked question as he fired his hind legs and leapt over the metal railing that separated us. (Yes, we do need to tell them that. I think that Amora Tomera has been kept out of action for so long that he simply cannot resist engaging a Yeerk target. Especially a target as high-profile as a high-ranking Visser and a Blade ship.)

A tiger roared, and I wasn't sure if it was out of anger or pain. I did my best to ignore the fact that Jake might be in trouble – he could take care of himself. (So what do we do?) I demanded.

I followed Ax's stalk eyes as they drifted toward the row of parked Bug fighters that had already received their repairs. (We will go after them. Let's go.) He didn't wait for me to agree, he just started hauling Andalite butt toward the ships.

Rachel had caught on to what was going on, somehow. As I started after Ax, a tan blur shot by me. (No way are you guys leaving me out of this one,) she said as the two of us caught up with Ax, who was punching seemingly random symbols into the tiny computer by the hatch of the Bug fighter. "Incorrect access – please try again. Incorrect access – please try again. Incorrect access – lockout in ten seconds. Nine. Eight."

Rachel's impatience was getting the best of her as she paced the spot where the entrance ramp would extend. (Come on, Ax! Let's go!)

(Silence, Rachel!) Ax snapped as the computer continued its countdown to locking us out. (I need to concentrate…there!)

The ramp extended, and the computer wished us a pleasant flight and a nice day. Rachel and I ran up the ramp and into the smallish cockpit. Ax squeezed past us and started linking up with the ship's main computer – lights lit up, motors hummed, and the whole ship thrummed with power as it lifted a couple of inches off of the deck. Rachel and I were trying to demorph as Ax pointed the nose of the Bug fighter toward the sky, in the direction Tomera and Coloton had gone.

I was mostly human as we took off. I couldn't feel the acceleration because of the artificial gravity, but I could see the clouds blurring past the window at a ridiculous speed. I tried to wedge into the corner to give Ax room to work – the Bug fighter's cockpit was only a little bigger than the interior of a Range Rover. "What are you doing, Ax? Just send them a message – we're gonna get shot down ourselves if we try to fight with them."

(I can't,) Ax said tensely. (It would be intercepted by the Yeerks. If they knew that the Amora was here, unprotected…) he let it hang, but I could imagine.

"How are we going to catch them?" Rachel demanded as she crowded Ax to stare out of the cockpit window.

(A Bug fighter must remain under 33% thrust in order to stay cloaked. That's how fast Coloton and Tomera are going. We are almost at full burn.)

I let that roll around for a second before I gasped. "That means..?"

(Yes,) Ax replied tersely to my unfinished question. (We are fully visible. Earth radar stations have us on screen, and our ship's computer just detected the launch of a dozen human fixed-wing craft.) He pointed to a row of flashing lights on a panel. (I am also being hailed by the base we just left, the Pool ship, and the Blade ship. Everybody knows where we are. Everybody.)

"So what are we going to do when we catch up with them?" Rachel asked, still scanning the rapidly darkening sky for a trace of the other stolen Bug fighter.

(If I can get a direct line of sight on them, I'm going to shoot them a message. Literally.) Ax realized we were confused and expanded upon his answer. (I can program the Dracon beams on this ship to carry information in the UV spectrum. I will power them down almost all the way, and use the light energy to carry my message. It will work on about the same principle as your Morse code, except using an energy weapon.)

Rachel shot me a look that said, 'Is that even possible?' I shot her one back that said, 'How should I know?' The lights on the panel Ax had shown us earlier stopped flashing green and began pulsating red. (Oh. Um, the Pool ship is still calling us. Apparently, no one has gotten out word of the battle and the stolen Bug fighters. It is worth a try to bluff them. Cassie, stand beside me and act like a controller. Tell them we're on a training mission. Tell them the computer malfunctioned. It doesn't matter, just buy us a little time, if you can.) He tapped several buttons near the flashing lights. (Are you ready?) he asked as I stepped up beside him. I swallowed hard, once, and nodded. He tapped two more buttons, then pointed to me like a cameraman points to the guy he's taping.

Instantly, I saw a hologram of a ticked-off looking guy in a business suit. He adjusted his headset and glared lasers at me through the hologram. "Ground Fighter Thirty-seven, why are you not at your on-planet station?" he demanded. "You are not authorized for this flight, Thirty-seven."

I tried to think fast. It helped that Ax had told me it didn't matter one way or the other if I fooled him. "No, no problems here. The…um…well, we're testing the new hull seals in zero gravity. We're just taking it out of atmosphere for a minute, then we're heading straight back to base."

I hoped against hope that it was going to work, just for a second. The controller in the suit looked confused as he punched data into the computer in front of him. "New hull seals? What are you talking about? I don't see anything about new anything." His eyes narrowed at me. "What is your name?"

Ax shot me a private thought speech message, and I answered the controller almost right away. "Polred Seven Six Eight, Sulp Niar pool. And you?"

The guy didn't buy it. "Sulp Niar is my home pool. And there are no Polreds there. Nice try, Andalite scum." He shouted a bunch of things behind him before turning back to me. "You'll never make it out of the system," he threatened. "We know where you are, and we-" Ax tapped a button and cut him off.

(A good try, Cassie. Thank you.) Compliments from Ax were rare – he didn't believe in patting someone's back for doing what they were supposed to. He knew he'd asked a lot of me, trying to trick the Yeerks, and I appreciated his acknowledgement.

"There!" Rachel yelled, pointing. I followed her finger, and sure enough, I could see the vapor trail the cloaked Bug fighter was leaving through the wispy upper atmosphere. "That's got to be them, right Ax?"

(Yes, it must be. Both of you, please sit against the rear bulkhead. When I start shooting, things may get a little confused.) We did as he asked, Rachel only reluctantly.

"Think this'll work?" she asked me quietly so as not to disturb Ax.

I thought about all we had riding on this, on the Andalites returning home with our message for their people. "I sure hope so, Rachel. I sure hope so."