THE FIND
ABOARD THE HUMAN MOTHER SHIP PLANET
EARTH
STANDARD HMS TIME: 17:15
DATE: 04/06/2020
LOCATION: ASI'S OFFICE
MARCO
"So where are we?" I asked.
Lynn said, "In Asi's office, she's got a computer there, I'm
going to try to hack in."
"You're a hacker?" I said.
"Yeah, something no one knows about, I think I've got enough skill to
pull in level five, classified information, but I don't know if I could get in
any deeper."
Lynn stopped in front of the interface and started to mutter something to
himself, I didn't understand any of it, I glanced at Ax. He shook his head.
I casually looked at Jake, he just shrugged.
What are you saying? Ax asked bluntly.
Leave it for him to say something like that.
Lynn looked up surprised that we asked, "Oh, that? Just a habit I have, I
keep saying that before I hack into a system and by luck, I don't get
caught."
You believe it will bring you luck? Ax wondered.
"Nah," He said playing the interface "But it's better than
waiting for…okay, okay, what's this?"
I watched as counters rolled off the screen and numbers whizzed past.
"I'm in, what do we search for?" Lynn asked.
"I don't know, what do you think?" Jake said.
"Okay…how about…" He thought, "What was his name?"
"Whose name?"
"He said his name, the Sasi guy. The Andalite's name, Prince
Noroa. Yeah, that was it."
He typed that in.
"CLASSIFIED LEVEL ONE DATA, ENTER CODE."
Lynn groaned, "Okay, I need help, this will be easier if I had two
working on it."
Ax stepped forward.
The rest of us waited and waited and waited.
They didn't crack the code.
And we were still waiting.
Eight hours past. Cassie and Rachel had long retired to sleep and I was
nodding off due to boredom.
I looked at Jake.
He yawned.
I looked at Tobias, his head was stuck under his wing somewhere.
"Okay, we got it!" Lynn exclaimed. "And the password is…" his
mouth dropped open, "Okaaay," He said, "I knew the Sasi had a lousy
sense of humor but this is ridiculous."
Your human humor is highly over rated. Ax muttered.
"No kidding." Lynn replied. "Guys, check this out." Tobias
swooped in closer. "The password, the code we've spent just over eight
hours-"
Nine of your hours. Ax said.
"Don't start that." Rachel warned waking Cassie up, "Marco
wouldn't let you hear the end of it."
I glanced at Ax, then at Rachel.
"Technically, he's right, time around here is in standard HMS, human
mother ship, it's actually no different from Earth."
I turned round and stared at Lynn, "You want to get on my nerves
too?"
He stared back at me, not knowing what to make of what I said.
"It's okay Lynn." Rachel said sweetly, looking at me, "He's
touchy about the time. But this isn't his worst, you just see him-"
"People?" Jake said, "Please?"
I smirked, "The two P's, Jake's favorite, if he wants to shut us up
that's what he says, people, please."
"He aims that to us, for you he'd probably say; Shut-up Stupid, the
two S's our favorite." Rachel battered her eyelashes at me.
"I just love t when she does that." I muttered.
"Okay nine." Lynn said, "The code is; No password."
I laughed. "No comments from me, just; hehehehe."
"Guys here it is…I found a file…" Lynn trailed off, he stared,
his eyes scanned the screen, he was reading the words.
I didn't understand the language.
Can you read this? Ax demanded.
"Yes." Lynn muttered, "Yes.." he sounded shocked.
What does it say? Tobias said.
"They've got twenty Andalites on the mother-ship." Lynn looked
puzzled.
"So?" Rachel said.
"So…they're no allowed on our mother-ship, the Sasi say that
there are no Andalites aboard the She-Eagle."
"The what?" I asked.
"That's what they call the human mother ship." Lynn said sounding
distracted. "The military
people."
But you are mistaken, Ax said, Even if we hadn't hacked
into the file there will have still been one Andalite onboard, me.
"Yeah, but you're different." Lynn muttered, "Look, it says that
they're keeping them for experimentation, that doesn't sound like they've
been invited over."
"No." I agreed, "Read on."
"They…they're researching a…" He stopped talking. He stared at
the screen in disbelief. "No."
"What?"
"That's what they meant," Lynn whispered, "If I weren't so busy
thinking about how much trouble I was in I would have took notice…"
"What?" Jake demanded, "What is it."
"You were in trouble?" I demanded.
"Germ warfare, they're mass producing a virus that could kill
Andalites, they're in the first stages, it's probably a year or two before
they could mass produce, according to the document."
Ax stiffened.
"Payback?" I asked, "Is this what they were after when they
questioned Ax? So that they could justify the release of, or at least the
manufacture of this virus?"
"That's sick." Cassie said, "That virus was aimed for the Yeerks,
not us humans, sure it may have caused humans to die once released…but
they're deliberately making a virus that is going to kill Andalites on
purpose? "
I looked up at Lynn. "Lynn? How would they have known about Estrid and
the virus?"
"You were deep-frozen for twenty-years under Sasi supervision,
they must have tapped into your memories, all of you."
"Ax, when you were talking to Estrid, what was it she said? What was it
you told her? You said something like; if you are willing to kill all those that
oppose you, how different does that make us, you Andalites, any different from
the Yeerks." I snapped my fingers, "Our military probably thinks that's
exactly what the Andalites have up their sleeves."
Andalites wouldn't do that.
"No," I said sarcastically to Ax, "Your Andalites probably
wouldn't, but back twenty years ago, what I saw from you Andalites makes me
sick, I don't see why all this is going to change."
"Whoa." Cassie said, "You're just assuming."
Lynn grinned, "Don't Assume, Assuming makes an ass of you and me."
He grinned crazily, "Ass-u-me."
We all stared at him.
He shrugged.
"Look, I don't care how bad the Andalites really are." Jake said
slowly, "Germ warfare isn't the way towards solving things."
I agree with Jake. Tobias said quietly.
Cassie nodded and so did Rachel.
"Yeah, you're right," I sighed, "I was just hopping someone other
than us would have to do something about it."
"Ax?" Jake said.
He didn't reply, he stared at the screen.
"Ax are you with us?"
Ax finally stopped staring at the screen, Yes prince Jake.
"How many times did I tell you not to call me prince." Jake groaned.
Ax didn't give his usual, Yes prince Jake.
He stared at the screen again.
