Animorphs: Galactic War
8: Home is where the war is (Part 2)
Chelrak advance guard
So far, everything was going much better than the Chelraks had hoped for. They had swept through the suburbs and had taken several prisoners already. Two hastily constructed police roadblocks had been overrun and were now in flames. Bullets were no match for high-powered disruptors. Kraal smirked as he and his troops walked past another decimated roadblock. This was easier than he'd dreamed possible. He quickly checked his tactical display map again. They would be approaching the school soon: one of their primary targets. After all there were many prime candidates for cyber-conversion there…
The school
Cassie and Hannah had taken cover in the school along with most of the other kids. They never made it to Hannah's parents' house as the attack had started too soon. Chapman (no longer a Yeerk) and several others were trying to barricade the doors.
Cassie couldn't believe the irony of it. A few months ago he was the enemy and Rachel or Ryan would probably have loved to gut him anytime, now we're fighting alongside him.
"Cassie!"
She looked round to see Erek. "Erek! What are you doing here? I thought you'd be safe in your house."
"Most of us are," Erek replied. "I came here to see if there was anything I could do. It doesn't sound good out there."
"It isn't," Cassie replied. She quickly filled him in.
"So Jake and the others should be here soon?" Erek asked.
"I hope so," Hannah said, pointing at something outside. "Because I think they're headed this way!"
They looked outside to see a large number of Chelrak infantry heading toward the gates...
Lead Striker unit
Ryan was beginning to regret volunteering for the tank force as he wasn't feeling at home inside the Striker's turret. It was a good job he wasn't claustrophobic or else it would have been unbearable. Edullon was beside him in the turret and two other Andalites were 'driving' at the front.
Edullon soon realised what the problem was.
Eager for battle, Warrior Ryan? Don't worry. We'll kill some lizards soon enough!
"I hope so," Ryan snorted. "I feel like a fifth wheel up here!"
Edullon chuckled. Trust me. You'll get your chance soon enough. Edullon looked up at his viewscreen. Maybe sooner than I thought!
There were 2 Hydras patrolling the edge of town. Edullon knew the others wouldn't be far away either. A message came in from the other Strikers.
Prince Edullon, are we going to engage? I don't think they've seen us yet.
The Hydras had made no move towards them yet. They were concentrating on the town.
Edullon replied quickly. Affirmative. Engage and destroy!
With that, the Strikers' turrets turned and launched blue shredder fire at the 2 Hydras. One was hit broadside and it blew up instantly as it sustained a direct hit on its plasma coil. The second turned and fired a red plasma burst in reply. It missed Edullon's Striker by mere inches.
"Shit, that was close!" Ryan said, almost feeling the heat of the plasma.
He had his chance, Edullon said. He won't get another.
All the Strikers fired again and this time the Hydra swerved off to one side, cloaked in flame.
Edullon was glad of these quick kills. He'd seen the schematics of the Hydra tank and it made grim reading. Their weapons were more powerful than his and their only weakness was their long recharge time of about 30 seconds between shots.
Stay alert! There's 3 more out here somewhere!
Outside the school
Jake, Alloran and the main Andalite infantry group had reached the school to find the Chelraks already there and in the process of breaking the front door down.
"Time to party!" Justin said and started to morph to his Jaguar form.
"Hold it, Justin!" Jake warned. "There's 30 of them there with armour and guns. Even you can't take them all out!"
We'll deal with most of them, Prince Jake, Alloran said, arming his own shredder. You protect whoever's in there.
Jake nodded as he prepared to morph himself.
Rachel grinned insanely as usual. "Let's give 'em hell!"
Inside the school
Cassie prepared to morph as the Chelraks broke down the door. She knew the minute she morphed her secret would be out, but protecting lives meant more to her than her secret. However, as the door came down she knew it was hopeless without the others. There were 5 Chelraks breaking in and at least 20 more outside. Still, she knew she had to try.
The lead Chelrak was evilly grinning under his helmet. His record was going to look good once this mission was over. He'd secured a primary target easily and with no losses. "Surrender or die, human filth!"
Let's not and say we did. Cassie had finished her morph and was baring her teeth.
"A human morpher! Finish it!"
The Chelraks never got the chance as shredder fire flew into them from behind. Half their force was decimated before they could fire a shot in return and those who did return fire didn't last long as they'd been caught in the open. The Chelraks inside the school fared little better as an assortment of 'animals' attacked them. After 2 minutes they were all dead.
Who's the filth now, lizard!? Cassie snarled as she finished off the last one.
Everyone else was stunned except for Rachel. He was giving you a hard time?
You could say that, Cassie replied.
Chapman and the rest of the kids were staring in amazement. It didn't take them long to figure out that these were the 'Animorphs' that had been talked of for so long. They got an even bigger shock when Alloran galloped in behind them.
Prince Jake, get everyone outside. More Chelraks are heading this way!
Hardly anyone protested as they were led out. Ex-controllers realised that trusting Andalites was a better bet than facing gun-wielding cyber-lizards.
Chelrak advance guard
Kraal's eyes narrowed as the reports came in on his communicator.
"We're under fire! We're taking casualties!"
"We can't push forward. The damned Andalites have us pinned down! We need reinforcements!"
Kraal quickly opened a channel. "Morak! Move the Hydras into the town. We're under attack!"
"Tell me something I don't know!" Morak angrily replied. "I'm engaged with Andalite armour here and I've lost 2 tanks already! I can't disengage now!"
Kraal cursed angrily. His attack was falling apart: broken up by the unsuspected Andalite force in the town. How they'd managed to get there undetected was a complete mystery. He'd scanned the planet several times from orbit and detected nothing. Still, that was of no importance now. He had to stabilise the situation and prevent the Andalites from pushing them off the planet until the main invasion force arrived. Kraal's eyes narrowed again as he looked up at the sky and considered this point. The main force should have arrived by now. Presumably they'd run into some unexpected trouble as well. He switched his communicator on again.
"We've no choice now. Bring the new unit on-line! Let's see how the Andalites defeat a sonic tank!"
Lead Hydra unit
Morak wasn't in the best of moods either. He had lost 2 tanks in almost as many minutes. Still, he was now in a position to avenge that loss. His other two Hydras were diverting the Andalite Strikers' attention while his tank concealed itself in the trees nearby. He quickly targeted the lead Striker. Andalites always put their leaders up front and when they lost their head…
Morak sneered in pleasure as he fired his plasma cannon.
Lead Striker unit
Ryan didn't like the way things were going. After their easy victory over the first 2 Hydras a second pair had exposed themselves quickly, almost as if they'd wanted to be seen. His suspicions were hardened when they started retreating almost immediately.
"This is too easy," he eventually said. "I don't like it."
I know what you mean, Edullon said. Then it struck him. The fifth Hydra! Where is…
His question was cut off by Morak's plasma shot that slammed into the front end of the Striker, killing the drivers instantly. With the helm and the front legs disabled it was impossible for the crippled Striker to remain upright and it crashed to the ground on its side.
Lead Hydra unit
"Got him! We killed the Andalite bastard!" Morak could barely conceal his glee.
"Squad Leader!" Morak's co-pilot sounded scared.
Morak turned and soon found out why. He was practically staring down the turrets of the other two Strikers! They were powering up to fire and there was no time to retreat. "Bail out!"
Morak just managed to jump from the Hydra before it was vaporised by dual shredder shots. His co-pilot wasn't so lucky and died with the tank. The Strikers quickly turned away to engage the remaining 2 Hydras, leaving Morak alone beside his blazing tank.
Morak picked himself up in a fit of rage, nursing the burns he'd sustained. For all intents and purposes, the Chelrak armoured wing of the advance force was out of action. He looked over at the wrecked Striker nearby and pulled out his disruptor pistol. He couldn't reverse the result of this fiasco but he could get a little revenge.
Lead Striker unit
Ryan's leg had been crushed by falling equipment when the Striker had tipped over and now he was trying to morph despite being in immense pain. Eventually he managed to morph into his Harrier form and then demorphed, erasing his shattered leg and freeing himself. He quickly got up and helped Edullon to his feet. Edullon had been cut in several places but he was not too badly hurt.
We had better leave now or we may get some unfriendly company.
"You already have."
They whirled round to see Morak training his disruptor pistol on them.
"So. A prince and a human morpher. I've done better than I expected!"
"You've already lost, scaly!" Ryan snapped. "The rest of us are hitting your troops as we speak."
"Perhaps. But you will not live to enjoy the victory!" Ryan braced himself as Morak raised his gun. "Farewell vermin!"
"You took the words right out of my mouth, lizard!"
Morak turned to see another human holding a shredder rifle. It was the last thing he ever saw as Tyler fired into his head.
"Are you two ok?" he asked as Morak's body crashed to the ground.
"Uh, yeah," Ryan replied in surprise, looking at Tyler with suspicion. "How did you get out and why are you helping us?"
"The power on the cell went down when we tipped over," Tyler explained. "And why shouldn't I help? You Animorphs and Andalites were the good guys last time. It's safe to assume you would be now. I know you've no reason to trust me but not all of us want to carve you up."
Shall we discuss this elsewhere? Edullon suggested. I don't want to be here when more Chelraks arrive.
The three of them clawed their way out of the wrecked Striker to meet up with the others.
Outside the school
Jake and his team, still in morph, had just finished clearing out the school when Tobias reported in from overhead.
Guys! There's another tank coming down the street! This one looks different, it looks like it's got a satellite dish on its back!
Satellite dish? Alloran was puzzled for a moment. Then the realisation hit him. Prince Jake, fall back! All units fall back!
Fall back? What's he talking abou…
That was all Tom had time to say before they were hit by an intensely powerful and intensely painful ultrasound blast. Everyone seemed to scream at once as it hit them.
Fall back! Jake managed to scream out as his tiger form started to run.
Overhead Tobias could do nothing but stare in shock. Even he had felt some of the soundwave despite being up so high. All the Andalites, Hork-Bajir and his friends were reeling backward, covering their ears as they did so. Many were dying as they were picked off by the revitalised Chelrak infantry who seemed unaffected by the sonic blasts. Tobias winced in disgust as he noticed a group of humans dying as the sonic tank got closer to them. Blood was streaming out of their ears as they died screaming in agony.
Tobias! Tobias quickly snapped out of it as he heard Rachel's voice. We're pulling back to the valley. Get back here now!
I'm coming!
Rachel saw Tobias fly away toward the valley and resumed following the others.
Man! I never thought I'd envy Marco! He's having an easy time while we're getting mauled!
Earth orbit
Rachel didn't know it but she couldn't have been more wrong. Marco and Ax were also fighting for their lives and the Earth.
"Ax, break left!" Marco screamed.
Ax hit his control pad and their fighter turned hard left as a disruptor beam missed them by mere inches. The Chelrak pilot hadn't expected to miss them and, still at maximum burn, flew right by and straight into Marco's sights.
"So long, reptile!" Marco fired his shredders and blew the Raptor fighter into a thousand pieces.
They had no time to celebrate as another Raptor swooped down on them. All around them was absolute pandemonium. War-Prince Breeyar had eventually decided that the Earth was worth saving. He had no sooner made that decision than Alloran's warning signal came from the Earth and they'd been forced to leave immediately. They'd come out of Zero-Space to meet 12 Chelrak destroyers who were just launching their fighter squadrons. They only had 10 Dome Ships, including the Tailstrike, but they'd had no choice but to engage. Now it was every man, or Andalite, for himself as Chelrak disruptors burned Andalite fighters and Andalite shredders burned Chelrak Raptors.
Marco wondered if his friends were doing ok without him as he turned back to his targeting screen.
The Ellimist's valley
For once the great valley was getting overcrowded as the Andalites had herded every survivor they could save there. Chapman, the other high school kids and nearly everyone else in town were staring in awe at Jake and the other Animorphs who had demorphed and were listening to Tobias's report.
It's some kind of sonar tank, Tobias was saying. None of the Chelraks are affected by it. They must be wearing soundproof battle gear. Even if we somehow plug our ears we're not going to get near it without trouble.
"Can't we use the Strikers?" Jake suggested.
I'm afraid not, Alloran said. We destroyed the Hydras but the Strikers aren't battle capable now. Two are in need of repairs and the third is in the fields burning.
"Then what do we do?" Tom asked in despair. "Even my Predator morph's no good against this thing!"
"I've got one morph that might do it!" Jake suddenly said. He grimaced as he started to morph. "This is one morph I never wanted to use again!"
As everyone watched in disgust, Jake's skin started to turn black and erupt in pustules and his hands started to grow claws. Lines of bright red were starting to grow out in his flesh too.
Cassie was the first to catch on. "Oh no, he's not thinking of…"
Rachel nodded and then grinned. "He is."
What in the bloody tails of Crangar is that? Alloran asked.
It's called a Howler, Tobias said. One of the most evil life-forms in existence.
It looks repulsive. How does it aid us? Alloran wondered.
Rachel smiled. "For one thing high sound doesn't hurt it…"
Near the mall
By now the Chelraks had got over halfway across the town, burning and killing everything before them. Despite their earlier losses their confidence was at an all-time high as the sonic tank continued to bombard the area with lethal ultrasound blasts.
Jake, concealed in a nearby doorway, waited cautiously as the lead infantry passed by. As the sonic tank drew level with him he ran out and slammed the grenade he held under the sonic dish. A few seconds later it and the tank exploded into a thousand parts. The Chelraks whirled round as their ace-in-the-hole became a nothing-at-all, and gaped in shock at the hideous creature standing nearby. As they raised their weapons to fire, Jake fell back on instincts and did the worst thing he could: he howled.
All the Chelraks started screaming in agony as the howl hit them. Even their battle gear didn't protect them from the Howler's force. Blood oozed through their armour as they literally died on their feet. Jake managed to stop howling after about 60 seconds, although to him it seemed like 60 years. Cassie and the others ran over to him as he demorphed.
"Did I…actually do all this?!" he asked in shock and revulsion as he stared at all the bodies around him.
It would seem so, Alloran said in amazement.
"Holy shit!" Justin couldn't find anything else to say as he surveyed the carnage around him. Nor could anyone else.
Single-handedly Jake had killed off about 100 Chelraks. They'd all clustered around the sonic tank for protection and had all been caught by the howl at point-blank range. Now they were all dead in pools of their own blood.
Jake staggered away slowly. He'd only gone five paces when he collapsed to his knees and threw up. Cassie helped him to his feet and put her arms around him.
"That is one morph I am NEVER going to use again!" he sobbed.
Looking around at the gory scene around them, everyone easily understood why.
Chelrak advance guard
Kraal didn't know exactly what had happened at the town but it didn't take much to work out that he had lost. The few horribly wounded survivors that were filtering back said it all. In desperation Kraal deactivated the damper field and sent out a distress call from his shuttle. Commander Izlyr appeared on his viewscreen a minute later. The sounds of a massive space battle could be heard in the background but Kraal did not care about that.
"Commander, I need reinforcements! You must send help!"
Izlyr's face twisted in contempt. "You'll find there's surprisingly little I must do, Kraal! I warned you about the price of failure, did I not? Well, you have failed us for the last time!"
"Please! Don't leave me down here! I'll do anything!" Kraal was getting hysterical.
"Don't bother begging, worthless filth! Only victors get what they want! I hope the Andalites show no mercy on your useless carcass. Enjoy the fruits of your failure!" With that, Izlyr cut the connection.
Kraal screamed in impotent rage. He was reaching for an object he had hoped he would never need when the doors of the shuttle exploded behind him. He looked round to see Alloran and the Animorphs standing there grimly. "So you've finally come," he said as calmly as he could.
"Let me have him!" Rachel snarled, preparing to morph again.
No! Alloran said. He'll be of more use to us alive. The information we'll get from his interrogation should help us avert any more invasions like this.
"That will never happen, Andalite," Kraal said defiantly.
"And what's going to stop it, lizard?" Tom sneered.
"Actually…now that you mention it…" Before anyone could stop him, Kraal pulled out a needle and jammed it into his neck. He convulsed in pain for a few seconds and then crashed to the floor unmoving.
Alloran cursed while the Animorphs looked at the body in shock. Alloran quickly ran outside to find the few other Chelrak prisoners dead also.
"Why the hell did they do that?" Justin asked in disgust.
They're just showing us how far they're willing to go, Alloran said as he started to walk back to the valley.
Izlyr's command ship
Izlyr was cursing too as he cut Kraal off. Things were not going as he'd planned. The advance force was destroyed and, at the moment, the space battle was a bloody stalemate. Each side had lost a capital ship apiece and a lot of fighters and he knew that it could still go either way. He shrugged his doubts aside. He would not fail as Kraal had failed. This invasion would succeed one way or another.
"Commander, there's an incoming transmission for you!"
"Not again! I'm in the middle of a battle! Who is it this time?"
Slaar's face appeared on the viewscreen.
Izlyr paled. "Emperor! I'm sorry I…"
"Forget it, Commander. I have new orders for you. You are to withdraw at once."
Izlyr couldn't conceal his surprise. "What? Why? Emperor, we may have lost the advance force but their victory there can be reversed. We can still win!"
"I'm sure you can," Slaar said calmly. "But it is no longer necessary due to the information I have just received. We'll come back for this world another day. As of now, our priorities have changed. Now begin withdrawing!"
Izlyr sighed in defeat. "At once, Emperor."
The Tailstrike
Galuit couldn't believe what he was seeing as the Chelrak fleet disengaged and jumped to Zero-Space. Nor could Marco and Ax and everyone else.
Why are they running? Galuit said in confusion.
Should we pursue them? a bridge officer asked.
No. They still outnumber us by 2 ships. I wouldn't recommend it.
Sure enough, War-Prince Breeyar ordered the fleet to stand down. For the moment it was over.
The Ellimist's valley: several hours later
Marco, Ax and Galuit came down to the valley soon after the Chelraks left. They weren't prepared for the scene that awaited them. Although victory was theirs the cost had been high. Half the area looked more like Sarajevo than a typical American town. Bodies of all the races littered the streets and many buildings were in ruins. Over half the Andalites and Hork-Bajir were dead and so were all the Chelraks as the few who had survived had all committed suicide.
"If this is a victory I'd hate to think what defeat would have meant," Jake said bitterly.
"It could have been worse, Jake," Tyler said, looking at the damage grimly. "If you hadn't come it would have been a lot worse!"
Jake nodded. "I know. It doesn't make it feel any better though."
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry for what we did when we first met," Ryan said, looking apologetically at Tyler.
"Me too," Rachel broke in.
"Yeah. All of us," Tom said.
"Don't be. You had good reason to hate me," Tyler said. "That's why I came looking for you in the first place."
"What will you do now?" Justin asked worriedly.
"Good question. I don't have a clue," Tyler said truthfully. "The government's certainly going to want answers. I don't think I can innocently explain a devastated town. Still, there's one good thing about all of this. You'll be able to come out to the world as heroes at last! You've stopped 2 alien invasions. Even the government's going to find it hard to treat you as enemies now."
"Coming out? Who said we were staying here to come out?" Jake said.
"What do you…You can't be serious!" Tyler spluttered. "You're leaving the Earth and just walking away from this?!"
"No, we're not just 'walking away,'" Rachel replied indignantly. "You're making a big mistake. You think it's all over. It's not!"
The Chelraks were not defeated. They merely withdrew, Ax said. They could just as easily come back.
"Why are you doing this?" Tyler asked in amazement. "You don't have to do this!"
"Yes we do," Cassie said. "I wish we didn't have to, but we do because there's no one else who can."
"We can't stay here and have a normal life now anyway," Jake added angrily. "If we stay we'll be hunted by every mercenary and government control freak for the rest of our lives, and don't give us any bullshit that it won't happen. It will!"
Tyler sighed. Jake was right and he knew it. "Ok, it's your decision. I suppose the government doesn't deserve you after what it did. Give those lizards hell for me!"
"You've got a deal!" Ryan grinned. "But do us a favour too. Don't tell the government about this valley. Tell them everything else but leave that out."
"Deal," Tyler said solemnly.
With that, the Animorphs left for the shuttle back to the Tailstrike.
The Tailstrike: one hour later
"I never want to go through anything like that again!" Cassie sighed.
I wouldn't lay any bets on that, Tobias said bluntly.
"Do you think Tyler will keep his word?" Marco asked.
"I think he will," Ryan said. "He seemed a good guy in the end. Even if he doesn't, do you really think Mr non-interference will let the government find the valley?"
"Good point," Jake said. "It's going to be a day of big disappointment for the government."
Everyone chuckled at that. After the battle Erek and the Chee had relocated their base to the valley as their house had been ruined in the attack and, before they'd left, the Andalites had gone over the town and removed all the advanced weapons. What they couldn't take with them they had burned. The Andalites didn't intend to repeat Prince Seerow's mistake. If the humans were going to reach the stars, they would have to do it on their own.
"Are you ok, Jake?" Cassie asked in concern. She knew he still hadn't got over his Howler experience.
"I'll be ok. I can't back out now anyway, Cassie. There's too much at stake."
Everyone knew he was right. The Chelraks had become too great a menace to leave unchecked. The Keldorian victims and all the dead people from their hometown were proof enough of that. In the end Hannah had stayed on the ship. She had nothing left on Earth now. Her parents were dead: killed by Chelrak infantry in the attack. Now she wanted her little brother back more than ever even though there was no guarantee that the Andalites could undo his cyber-conversion. He probably wasn't the only one either. Many other people had ended up 'missing' from the town. The Animorphs had a bad idea that they'd be seeing them again as cyborgs.
"I don't care what it takes," Jake said with grim determination. "We'll make the Chelraks pay for what they've done!"
"I'm with you all the way on that, midget," Tom said.
"We all are!" Rachel said and the others all added their agreement.
Whatever it took, they would win this war…
TO BE CONTINUED…
Author's note: Sorry this has taken so long but I've had a serious case of writer's block! (if anyone's got any ideas for the next part, let me know!) –Scorpion.