Chapter 8

Jake wanted us all to get plenty of sleep before the mission took place, but that didn't mean that he'd let up on security. The sentry duties remained intact, and there was never a moment when watchful eyes wouldn't be surveying both the interior and exterior of the ship. With the lights out, I could see the silhouette of Jake's scruffy, unkempt hair against the backdrop of a Kelbrid night as he positioned himself by the wide cockpit visor. Santorelli's snoring kept me firmly awake, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Prince Aximili was still being kept firmly unconscious in the aft compartment, but nobody had seemed to notice the tampered bottle. My Prince had been injected with little more than water over the past nine hours or so. The anesthetic would surely soon wear off.

((Prince Aximili,)) I called out privately. ((If you can hear me, do not move. Do not make a sound.))

I pretended to sleep, only daring to open my eyes when I heard Jake fidgeting with items at the cockpit. He'd been in the sentry position for a little over an hour, and he was trying to fight off the boredom. Presently, he was watching the ship's exterior surveillance through the monitors. The Kelbrid land around the ship was deserted, still as a statue.

((Prince Aximili. This is First Officer Menderash-Postill-Fastill.))

((Me-…))

I had to stop myself from jolting. My eyelids widened, but I restrained myself from any other movement that may have alerted Jake. That was Prince Aximili's faint, barely-conscious voice.

((Prince Aximili!)) I called firmly. ((Do not move! Keep absolutely still and speak only to me!))

There came no response. He must have been flickering in and out of alertness.

((Prince Aximili! If you can hear me… This is First Officer Menderash-Postill-Fastill. Do not move, and speak only to me,)) I repeated.

((Menderash?))

His voice was weak, but it seemed that he'd finally emerged from his deep sleep. At least enough to formulate words. ((Prince Aximili, you must not move, and you must only speak to me, First Officer Menderash-Postill-Fastill!))

((What is… where am I?))

I replied, ((You are restrained under Jake Berenson's orders. If you move, they will know that I have tampered with the anesthetic they have been using on you.))

((Anesthetic?)) He sounded bewildered, almost frightened. I dreaded to think that he wasn't listening to my instructions.

((Tobias is with you right now,)) I informed. ((If he sees you moving; if he even for one second believes that you are awake, then they will put you back to sleep. Do you understand me?))

((I am keeping still,)) he said. ((I am keeping still.))

((That's good, my Prince,)) I replied. My eyes darted to Jake, whose gaze remained transfixed on the surveillance screens. If Tobias had been alerted, Jake would have been, also. ((Remain still. I have a plan to get you out of here.))

Prince Aximili was more interested in how he got there in the first place. ((Jake put me here? Tobias is watching? What is going on, Menderash? Why am I strapped to this table? I can't move my tail!))

((Don't try to!)) I warned. ((You must stay still if I am to free you. The Humans will be leaving tomorrow, and I will have time to remove your restraints. Until then, you must give the appearance of complete unconsciousness.))

((This room is small…)) he commented. ((I don't like this. It will be very difficult.))

((You must,)) I insisted.

((Answer me, First Officer!)) he demanded, the force coming back to his voice. ((Why am I strapped to this table?!))

((They don't believe that you're who you claim to be.))

He fell silent for a moment. ((What?!))

((They believe you to be a clone. Something created by The One to fool our people.))

((That's absurd,)) he insisted. ((The One doesn't have such technology.))

((I've tried to reason with them,)) I explained. ((But they're determined to find the "real" you.))

Prince Aximili went quiet again to contemplate. ((That will take them a long time. Do they expect to keep me for that long? Unless… First Officer Menderash, what are they doing now?))

((We're on Kyritlyp.))

((What?! You need to tell them to stay away from the Kelbrids! They will be searching all over for me!))

((I've tried,)) I grumbled. ((They will not listen to reason. We're positioned beside one of the major Kelbrid military bases, cloaked. We've been here for a few days scouting the base. Jake believes that he has found The One's system mainframe, and he plans to infiltrate tomorrow.))

((They will die,)) Aximili said bluntly. ((The Kelbrids are wise to trickery. If Jake plans to enter a military base, then he will take you all into death, or at the very least, imprisonment. You have to convince him to stop.))

((I've done all that I can to convince them, but it hasn't worked. I will be left on the ship tomorrow with Tobias. However, he will leave briefly to transport the others into the base. That will be my only opportunity to remove your restraints.))

((What is your plan after that?)) he asked.

((We will assume control of the vessel and head to Andal. I see no other option. Once you are back on Andal, I will consider my duty fulfilled. I am of no use in this pathetic Human body.))

((The Human body, I've found, is capable of much more than it appears to be.))

((What does it matter? I am a disgrace. My family will not want to hear from me, and nor will the military after my actions. My best hope is to return to Earth with the Humans, though I doubt they will be so agreeable,)) I said.

((I am sure you can find a role somewhere. Rescuing me will go some way to redeeming your prior misdeeds. Still… I can't pretend to have forgiven you. You left me to die on Intrepid. You closed the door… I could have made it.))

I knew what he was saying was right, and I couldn't bring myself to defend the indefensible. ((At the time, it seemed like the right choice. Looking back, I was wrong. That is why I am a disgrace. I feel tremendous guilt for what I did, and I don't expect your forgiveness, Prince Aximili.))

((Not only that,)) he said, anger present in his tone. ((Your undermining of my leadership throughout the voyage was inexcusable. At every turn, you would second-guess and criticize. Don't think that I didn't hear the mutterings of the crew. You told them that I was a lost child! You told them that I was cowering in the War Commander's shadow.))

He was. But I wasn't about to make that statement, especially in our current predicament. ((I always did what I thought was best for Intrepid. She was my ship and had been for years. I knew her, inside and out. To see her set out when she was in such a terrible condition… Nobody in the crew was happy to go, knowing that our machinery was in dire need of repairs.))

((Intrepid's condition was not the cause of her demise,)) Prince Aximili pointed out. ((I don't wish to argue this anymore. We need to figure out what to do here. You say that Tobias is watching me?))

((Yes, my Pri-))

((I am not your Prince.))

That hit me hard. Harder than I expected. It was nothing less than a dishonorable dismissal. I had to bite my Human lips to stop barking out all the stress that had begun to overflow. Jake had moved away from the surveillance desk and was looking back into the ship. I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep.

((Yes. Tobias is in the aft compartment, watching you. His eyes and ears will pick up even your smallest movements. Jake is taking no chances… with me.))

((And so he shouldn't,)) Ax chided. ((Now, tell me, how do you expect to fight off that… oh, I've forgotten his name. The fugitive. The criminal. If you are to take his ship, you should expect him to fight back.))

I searched my memory, and then I recalled to whom he was referring. Groof's Andalite disguise, of course. ((The fugitive was a disguise. It was a lie to trick you.))

((They lied to me? Why?))

((Jake has-… To rescue you, he allied the Animorphs with an isolated ship called Enrich. It is a band of thieves and manipulators, headed by a Yeerk and an Andalite traitor. They wish to remain a secret to anybody outside of their bulkhead, and so the Enrich member of this ship's crew morphed Andalite so that you would not see his true form.))

((What is his true form?))

((Grotesque.))

((I mean species…)) he grumbled.

((I can hardly be expected to pronounce it correctly. It is of some bizarre, alien tongue. His name is Groof, and that's how he's referred to.))

((And how do you expect to overpower this Groof creature?))

((There is no need,)) I explained. ((He, like you, has been restrained. The Animorphs mutinied when Groof refused to head for Kyritlyp.))

Ax paused again. I could only imagine the confusion encircling him. ((Am I in some cruel nightmare? You're talking nonsense, Menderash! What grass have you been absorbing?!))

((I'm speaking the truth. It's just a long, complicated story.))

((Very complicated,)) he commented irritably.

((To the Animorphs' credit,)) I said. ((They have made many sacrifices to save you. They have sacrificed their homes, their livelihoods, and their safety just to find you.))

Aximili sighed, and his frustration seemed to lessen. ((My Human friends may sometimes be naïve, but their hearts are righteous. I am not surprised to hear this.))

((They work for Enrich, now. They're slaves to the whims of its leaders, all for the hope of rescuing you.))

((You mentioned a Yeerk and an Andalite.))

((Enrich was started by a traitorous scientist named Asaccah-Sirivit-Quikerik and his twisted creation – a Yeerk named Surote, hosted by a mechanical suit of Asaccah's making. They steal technology from advanced races, including our own. They have taken a new Escafil Device that is being created by our scientists.))

((We should report them if what you say is true,)) Aximili said matter-of-factly. ((When we get back to Andal, I shall take the matter to the War Commander. How long will it take for this ship to travel?))

I replied, ((The ship is capable of instantaneous travel through space-time. Once we are out of the Kelbrid atmosphere, we can move instantly to the borders of our own.))

Then I stopped. It was perfect…

I continued, ((Aximili, I know what we must do. When I have removed you from your restraints, we will take control of the ship. Groof is pliable enough that he will not resist us in getting to the outskirts of Andal. We'll leave the atmosphere, take you home, and then I shall return to pick up the Animorphs. It will take no more than half-an-hour if all goes well. I shall return the ship and inform Tobias of what I've done. He will tell the others, and they will return to the ship before they have the opportunity to get themselves killed. The only flaw is…))

((What they will do with you, once they've found out that you've betrayed them.))