Chapter Six

Chapter Six

"The Farlan are safe then, I take it?"

"Yes, and we have chosen one of your people to protect them, he's skilled in the Psi area, he just doesn't know it yet."

"I love how you refer to them as my people, even though I'm no longer one of them."

Morpeed joined me outside a Kandastan café, tired from work and holding his glasses in his hands. His face was in a pleased, tired smile, but nonetheless more cheerful than I was feeling. Albia was still burning, and there was nothing we could do at the moment. Tassax said he could find a way, and I believed him, so all I could do then was play the waiting game.

Good to see you, friend. Morpeed said finally breaking the silence, and causing me to dismantle from my daze and my thoughts.

Yes, indeed. It's been quite a few months since we last met. Hectic they have been, eh? I replied, starting to walk. Morpeed kept in step with me.

Oh yes. I was appointed a position to teach the Farlan. I mean, more than they know already. With luck, they will learn to build a colony. Not that I won't teach them the arts, music, and all that. he said.

I nodded, squinting in the bright sun. We walked under an awning, passing a few Kandastan workers, still finishing up shops and housing structures. The air was fresh with the harvest not too far off.

The first one since we've been here. I said, not thinking.

Of course, also unaware of my thoughts, Morpeed gave a confused expression.

Harvest. I mean as Andalites, we never imagined how great it would be, but doesn't the wheat smell good? I asked, inhaling deeply.

I suppose so yes. When's the date of the first gathering? he asked, looking out to where I had my gaze set.

Supposed to be next month, but just the smell tells you that it's near. I broke out of that thought, switching to his newly appointed position. So, when do you go to them?

He shifted in his stance, taking in a deep breath, now noticing the pleasant aroma. Actually, I'm going down to the lake today, he said.

The lake? They had a lake, then? Nodding uneasily, I turned to him. Well, let me know how the first session goes. I heard they're a little cranky, but very thankful nonetheless. As for me, I'm working out how to save a dying planet. Y'know, the one a couple light years from here, burning to death? I said, sarcastically.

He forced a smile. Good luck to you, Spalose. I will see you soon. With that, he walked away, turned a corner, heading to where he kept his speeder. With nothing left to do with my time, I headed back to the fighter.

As always, Rhazori was there, but this time he did not greet me. I took no offense, but wondered what he was deeply rooted in not to notice me. The screen above the terminal was blank, so I tapped his small shell a couple of times. No response.

Rhazori? Are you here? I asked, deciding to turn on the screen. All I saw was binary code. So much for that. Where could Rhazori have gone? He had the potential to travel along the networks connecting the Sstram, Andalites and Kandastan, but not during the day when I counted on him to spend time with me.

I turned the terminal on myself and typed in Rhazori's ID number, the one he was assigned as an X-10 Andalite ComputerSole. When I hit the enter key, the fighter lit up, the instruments turning back on, and the screen switching to the familiar splash screen of the Allied Networks. Rhazori's digital head appeared and his shell body stirred.

Where were you? I asked.

His face smiled uneasily. "I was at a Sstram conference on Gantrithor One. I've been listening in on what plans they have for Albia. It sounds extreme so far."

So give me the dirt. I smiled.

"Tassax would rather you not know just yet, as they are still figuring out details. It will be costly, though."

Costly? How much?

"Oh, well estimated to be around the $2 billion mark."

Not too shafty, but if it works, we'll pay anything. How's Dmitri coming along?

"Sstram psi experts say heis still weak. But with luck, they can get power pumping back into him. It will take a LONG time, they say."

At this point, to save Dmitri and Albia would almost surely save the Andalites from extinction. But they had to be done in a specific order.

"Oh yes, and the Confederatesif we can still call them thatare scheduled to be landing on Platta in the next few hours, so we'll be finding temporary spots for them all. There's a section of forest in the Northern Hemisphere that might be suitable. But then again, we don't own the whole planet, so negotiations are still being made with the Kandastanian owners of each sector."

So many things going on at once. Rhazori finished with his daily reports and went back to the Sstram conference. I took the time to check the satellite display of Albia, but the satellite gave no response. The Yeerks must have destroyed it.

They're next to go. We've got their creators, now its time to wipe out the monsters themselves. I whispered to myself, sending a request to build up a huge attack force to raid the Yeerk Homeworld. Srintraxx later replied with, "When Albia is safe."

Four days later, Sstram and Andalite officials met up at New Antioch. They assembled in the governor's building, and I was invited to attend, so I cleaned myself up and carried Rhazori a small device that Rhazori could see and hear from.

The Kandastan brought their own chairs, while the Sstram sort of hovered there and we Andalites just stood. Governor Debblix stepped forward and spoke the all of us.

"The Sstram have proposed a sure fire way to stop the firestorm on Albia. It will be very costly however, and because they are neutral, they offer it to us at the same price they would any alien species. They propose that a large sunblock be placed in front of the planet to keep the sun's rays from hitting it, causing the temperature to drop below freezing and the fires to wear away. It will do some damage to some of the ecosystems, but I doubt that any of the animals not evacuated yet are dead anyway. What we need is a majority vote from the High Council. The issue will be taken to them after this. All for this idea, please raise your right arm."

There was no doubt in any of it, we all raised our arms. We must save the planet in any way possible. So it was settled here, but now it must be stated before the High Council. The Andalite High Council was the type of government established on Platta. It was a democracy, but just like any democracy, it was a party system. One side, the Liberals, the other side, the Conservatives. And at the top, the Council. So that day, the issue was brought to them. They more than agreed, they offered to pay the Sstram themselves if need be.

So it was a blaring success, in the next month, the final construction of a panel 4,000 miles long and 4,000 miles wide would take place.