Chapter 28
Rachel
"If you're going to fight in this war, you're going to have to get a few things straight,"
Hanukt opened up a rough map of the area and slammed it onto the table.
"The blue marks are the areas taken by the Yeerks. The resistance is in red." She traced a red dotted line with her finger. "This is the path our next battle will take. We will destroy their pool, here, move on to their weapons arsenal, and finally sneak a surprise attack on their camps."
Jake let out a low whistle.
"Drastic, isn't it?" Hanukt said, nodding. "The war has gone on a long time. Too long. We're going to end this. And we will win."
A desperate move, Fi commented. Are you sure it's wise?
"Many will die. But we will win." She responded firmly.
"What makes you so sure?" Marco asked, raising an eyebrow.
She smiled smugly. "The Megami have a few tricks our sleeves. Add you as our final secret weapon and we can't lose."
Amara and Jake looked like they'd had a ten ton responsibility brick dropped on their heads. The last thing they needed more people to depend on them.
"So are we in agreement?" The emperor asked impatiently.
Cassie looked justifiably uncomfortable, but she said nothing. To an extent I was glad. No happy talk before we go into battle.
On the other hand, it kind of worried me that Cassie hadn't objected the ambush. Were her morals beginning to bend??
Jake and Amara agreed.
We all agreed.
All we needed was one more thing to make the decision complete.
"Let's do it!!" I said enthusiastically.
And we did.
"Okay, time to meet the rest of your Squadron," Hanukt said hurriedly, running down the hall.
We followed close behind her, but we were already out of breath.
"Our what?" Amara demanded. "Huh, uh! We work alone!"
We rounded a corner and slid down a fireman's pole type deal. "That's not good enough. You're going to need someone to show you the ropes."
"Hey, we're plenty experienced in the butt-kicking department!" Lani said defensively.
"I understand that, but it's not going to be enough." Hanukt led the team out of the city of dreams and back into the forest.
She jumped up into the trees like a pro, hopping from tree to tree as we followed clumisly on the ground.
"Any...reason...why we're....running??!" Marco panted.
"Something's going to happen real soon, kiddies," She called over her shoulder. "It's my job to get you ready before then. And during a war- time is of the essence."
Nichirasu rolled his eyes. "I thought stupid cliches belonged to Earthers only."
I grinned in excitement. Finally, after all this waiting around, there was gonna be some action.
Chapter 29
Kai
"Here we are!" Hanukt announced.
'Here', was neat little village in the forest. It was totally abuzz with people-running around, always in a hurry. Some were carrying bundles of weapons, some were juggling big buckets of water, and others had medical supplies.
This was a war camp.
I watched them work in awe as Hanukt led us to our squad leaders. I could immediately that the Megami did things the old way-with swords, spears, knives, and martial art like combat. But then they also balanced it all out with their advanced weaponry: guns, lasers, night vision goggles...the works!
I'll tell ya, there's nothing weirder than a jungle dwelling tribes person wielding a laser beam.
We came to a stop between two large trees. A piece of material was stretched to cover the area like an awning.
Three 20-something Megami stood before us.
Hanukt put her hand over her heart and bowed to them. They returned the gesture.
"Battle Senshi. Animorphs. Meet your new comrades." She gestured to a woman with long, dread like hair. "Kamipetra, the weapons specialist." She turned to the man. "This is Denomilan, combat tactics." Finally, she pointed to the youngish looking guy. "And Cub- navigation."
The three of them bowed.
We instantly returned the gesture, but it took a second for the Animorphs to catch on.
Hanukt rubbed her hands together. "Now that you've meet the rest of your crew, it's time for education. Shall we begin?"
Jake and Amara glanced at each other and I got one of my sinking feelings.
Chapter 30
Lani
BOOM!
"YEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!"
BOOM!
"EEEEEEEEEEEEE-"
BOOM!
"Okay, okay! Stop the blowing up of the stuff and the explosions and the yeah!" I said intelligently.
Well, my ears we practically exploding. My thoughts were not collected properly. Kamipetra was teaching us how to use the coconut explosives.
Yes. Coconut Explosives.
Exploding coconuts.
Coconuts exploding.
Anyway, they look like coconuts but their bombs, okay? Let's move on.
We crouched on top of a cliff, each holding a cocobomb. Cub would throw rocks and things into the air from the ground, and we would try to hit these targets with our bombs. It was VERY difficult to get the timing right. You had to pull out the little string thingie and then hurl it at the target. Sometimes it exploded before it got there, and sometimes it didn't explode till it hit the ground, and Cub ran for his life.
After our fun explosives training, it was on to combat tactics. Denomilan explained the basics of Guerrila warfare. Every now and then Jake or Amara would nod, and Cassie would shudder. Personally, I didn't like it either.
This was not working. These Megami were trying to change us, make us part of their army. We weren't there as recruits, we WERE an army. We liked how we worked. Nobody was happy with our new management, or our new squad members. I even saw Kai twitch once and a while.
Later, Cub taught us how to navigate using the stars and constellations of the Megami night skies. We also learned the landmarks: rocks, certain trees, mountains, stuff like that.
Some of the things we were learning were useful, but others seemed pointless. When would we even be using explosives? We were the animal morphers the Emperor was so impressed by! Weren't we going to morph in battle?
That night, we camped on a hill above the village, in our own special place. Hanukt and the rest left us for the evening. They had important business to attend too, apparently. But before they left they warned us, that we might be awakened in the night. A battle could take place at any time.
The grass where I sat was wet and cool, and the temperature was perfect, but I still couldn't sleep. How could I? At any moment, we could get snatched away from our slumber, and onto the warfront.
"This sucks," Amara said.
I guess I wasn't the only one still awake.
She sat up on her little grass woven blanket. "We are the Animorphs and the Battle Senshi. That's it. We work alone and we do things our way. What are they trying to do, anyway? Mess up all the team morale I've built? Screw up the way we work?"
"It may be the best way," Jake pointed out, still looking up at the stars.
"Bull crap," Marco said. "I say we break off and do things our way. We don't need no coconut bombs! We GOT all the firepower we need!"
"Will our morphs really work in open battle?" Rachel speculated.
What kind of warfare is this, anyway? Fi spoke up. Surely not grounded battles. There most be airial combat as well as in space,
We all sighed. "So many questions," Kai said. "So few answers."
Rachel
"If you're going to fight in this war, you're going to have to get a few things straight,"
Hanukt opened up a rough map of the area and slammed it onto the table.
"The blue marks are the areas taken by the Yeerks. The resistance is in red." She traced a red dotted line with her finger. "This is the path our next battle will take. We will destroy their pool, here, move on to their weapons arsenal, and finally sneak a surprise attack on their camps."
Jake let out a low whistle.
"Drastic, isn't it?" Hanukt said, nodding. "The war has gone on a long time. Too long. We're going to end this. And we will win."
A desperate move, Fi commented. Are you sure it's wise?
"Many will die. But we will win." She responded firmly.
"What makes you so sure?" Marco asked, raising an eyebrow.
She smiled smugly. "The Megami have a few tricks our sleeves. Add you as our final secret weapon and we can't lose."
Amara and Jake looked like they'd had a ten ton responsibility brick dropped on their heads. The last thing they needed more people to depend on them.
"So are we in agreement?" The emperor asked impatiently.
Cassie looked justifiably uncomfortable, but she said nothing. To an extent I was glad. No happy talk before we go into battle.
On the other hand, it kind of worried me that Cassie hadn't objected the ambush. Were her morals beginning to bend??
Jake and Amara agreed.
We all agreed.
All we needed was one more thing to make the decision complete.
"Let's do it!!" I said enthusiastically.
And we did.
"Okay, time to meet the rest of your Squadron," Hanukt said hurriedly, running down the hall.
We followed close behind her, but we were already out of breath.
"Our what?" Amara demanded. "Huh, uh! We work alone!"
We rounded a corner and slid down a fireman's pole type deal. "That's not good enough. You're going to need someone to show you the ropes."
"Hey, we're plenty experienced in the butt-kicking department!" Lani said defensively.
"I understand that, but it's not going to be enough." Hanukt led the team out of the city of dreams and back into the forest.
She jumped up into the trees like a pro, hopping from tree to tree as we followed clumisly on the ground.
"Any...reason...why we're....running??!" Marco panted.
"Something's going to happen real soon, kiddies," She called over her shoulder. "It's my job to get you ready before then. And during a war- time is of the essence."
Nichirasu rolled his eyes. "I thought stupid cliches belonged to Earthers only."
I grinned in excitement. Finally, after all this waiting around, there was gonna be some action.
Chapter 29
Kai
"Here we are!" Hanukt announced.
'Here', was neat little village in the forest. It was totally abuzz with people-running around, always in a hurry. Some were carrying bundles of weapons, some were juggling big buckets of water, and others had medical supplies.
This was a war camp.
I watched them work in awe as Hanukt led us to our squad leaders. I could immediately that the Megami did things the old way-with swords, spears, knives, and martial art like combat. But then they also balanced it all out with their advanced weaponry: guns, lasers, night vision goggles...the works!
I'll tell ya, there's nothing weirder than a jungle dwelling tribes person wielding a laser beam.
We came to a stop between two large trees. A piece of material was stretched to cover the area like an awning.
Three 20-something Megami stood before us.
Hanukt put her hand over her heart and bowed to them. They returned the gesture.
"Battle Senshi. Animorphs. Meet your new comrades." She gestured to a woman with long, dread like hair. "Kamipetra, the weapons specialist." She turned to the man. "This is Denomilan, combat tactics." Finally, she pointed to the youngish looking guy. "And Cub- navigation."
The three of them bowed.
We instantly returned the gesture, but it took a second for the Animorphs to catch on.
Hanukt rubbed her hands together. "Now that you've meet the rest of your crew, it's time for education. Shall we begin?"
Jake and Amara glanced at each other and I got one of my sinking feelings.
Chapter 30
Lani
BOOM!
"YEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!"
BOOM!
"EEEEEEEEEEEEE-"
BOOM!
"Okay, okay! Stop the blowing up of the stuff and the explosions and the yeah!" I said intelligently.
Well, my ears we practically exploding. My thoughts were not collected properly. Kamipetra was teaching us how to use the coconut explosives.
Yes. Coconut Explosives.
Exploding coconuts.
Coconuts exploding.
Anyway, they look like coconuts but their bombs, okay? Let's move on.
We crouched on top of a cliff, each holding a cocobomb. Cub would throw rocks and things into the air from the ground, and we would try to hit these targets with our bombs. It was VERY difficult to get the timing right. You had to pull out the little string thingie and then hurl it at the target. Sometimes it exploded before it got there, and sometimes it didn't explode till it hit the ground, and Cub ran for his life.
After our fun explosives training, it was on to combat tactics. Denomilan explained the basics of Guerrila warfare. Every now and then Jake or Amara would nod, and Cassie would shudder. Personally, I didn't like it either.
This was not working. These Megami were trying to change us, make us part of their army. We weren't there as recruits, we WERE an army. We liked how we worked. Nobody was happy with our new management, or our new squad members. I even saw Kai twitch once and a while.
Later, Cub taught us how to navigate using the stars and constellations of the Megami night skies. We also learned the landmarks: rocks, certain trees, mountains, stuff like that.
Some of the things we were learning were useful, but others seemed pointless. When would we even be using explosives? We were the animal morphers the Emperor was so impressed by! Weren't we going to morph in battle?
That night, we camped on a hill above the village, in our own special place. Hanukt and the rest left us for the evening. They had important business to attend too, apparently. But before they left they warned us, that we might be awakened in the night. A battle could take place at any time.
The grass where I sat was wet and cool, and the temperature was perfect, but I still couldn't sleep. How could I? At any moment, we could get snatched away from our slumber, and onto the warfront.
"This sucks," Amara said.
I guess I wasn't the only one still awake.
She sat up on her little grass woven blanket. "We are the Animorphs and the Battle Senshi. That's it. We work alone and we do things our way. What are they trying to do, anyway? Mess up all the team morale I've built? Screw up the way we work?"
"It may be the best way," Jake pointed out, still looking up at the stars.
"Bull crap," Marco said. "I say we break off and do things our way. We don't need no coconut bombs! We GOT all the firepower we need!"
"Will our morphs really work in open battle?" Rachel speculated.
What kind of warfare is this, anyway? Fi spoke up. Surely not grounded battles. There most be airial combat as well as in space,
We all sighed. "So many questions," Kai said. "So few answers."
