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.