CHAPTER 6: KARRASS
It had been a few weeks since Karrass had met Mariel. She came around the base often. It soon became habitual for him to take a break from work to talk to her for a minute or two. It was understood that she would be there when he walked by.
He saw her on and off this way, and to him, she became prettier every time that she came around. He was thinking about when he would see her next when the thought-speech call for him to report to docking bay 0033 drug him from his thoughts. It was a call for special assistance.
I wonder who got into a fight this time, Karrass thought as he made his way to the designated hanger. He usually was a top choice for breaking up fights. Probably because I have been in so many of my own, Karrass smiled to himself.
In the ship's cradle of dock 0033, was a Skrit-Na raider. There were already several other Andalite warriors surrounding the bucking, howling ship. That must be one hell of a disagreement. Karrass stopped around the outer edge of the group forming a semi-circle around the loading ramp and the portal.
What's doing? Karrass asked one of the warriors standing near him.
Those thieving Skrit-Na tried to make off with a Hork-Bajir, the Anadlite spat.
A Hork-Bajir? Where the hell did they get one of those?
The Yeerks of course. The cowardly Yeerk left the poor beast to fend for itself at the first sign of trouble. Filthy fucking Yeerk.
Karrass was about to reply when the Hork-Bajir tumbled out of the doorway and down the ramp. The Andalites had time to back up a little, but not fully react, when the Hork-Bajir started swinging.
She struck with full force. Many, if not all of the warriors, incurred stinging flesh wounds. Karrass, being larger than a lot of the warriors there, was perfect for them to hide behind. The end result was a very irritated, beaten, and battered Andalite male. The most noticeable of his wounds were a gash on his arm and a knick in his ear.
Three harassed looking warriors appeared from the raider. It was obvious to Karrass that they meant to do the Hork-Bajir harm. He would have wanted to kill her also if she'd done to him what she had done to those three. They looked as if the had been chewed up by a beast. One of them was Timo, his shorm.
Before they could get close enough to the panic-stricken Hork-Bajir, Karrass, numb, shot her, on low power. She sank unconscious to the ground.
Karrass tossed the shredder to the ground and watched it fall. He was disgusted about how the poorly handled situation had turned out. For that Hork-Bajir, generally a peace-loving people, react so violently, she must have felt threatened by their approach.
They probably came after her too fast; Karrass came to that conclusion based on personal observation while on Earth. He thought about his time there. He arrived at the beginning of the Yeerk invasion. Karrass was new to the area of being a spy. He found it easy enough as he spent more time on the job. His career ended when he got caught stealing classified information and barely escaped with his life. He got away with the downloaded disk because of the godly timing of the "Andalite bandits." It was the confusion that they caused that allowed him time to flee.
He was pondering this fact as he made his way home. He had to walk through a shallow wood to get to his property. When he reached the open field of his land, he ran the rest of the way to the water. The pond was the first place he always went when he came home. It felt really good to run.
It was warm. The pool was fed by a warm spring. It was a concession to having the government inadvertently ruin your life, kill you family, socially isolate you. He was thankful for the property nonetheless.
Karrass was usually generous, so he didn't care who used the pool. He was glad that no one was there at the moment.
He dropped down to the water's edge. The liquid burned for a split second when it made contact with his wound. It was enough time for him to hiss in reply. He clenched his teeth.
When the water stopped stinging the laceration. He seriously debated walking into the water and laying there, with his head at the edge, just soaking there without a care in the world. Karrass was about to do this when he heard the leaves rustle. He turned slightly, but decided to wait for the person to move again. It smelled like a person anyway.
The snap of the twig was sharp against the hum of afternoon. He stood and turned fast enough to deprive the person there time to react. His plan backfired when he turned and saw Mariel.
Hi. Karrass said, relieved.
They talked the rest of the day and into the evening. It was the best time that Karrass had had in a long time. She actually played with him, as in the stupid tag games little kids played. He was falling head over tail in love with her.
It was a crushing weight when she said she had to leave. It took Mariel a few minutes to persuade Karrass to let her go.
It's late, Mariel said regretfully.
Yeah…sooo, Karrass reached out to touch her. He suddenly needed to feel her fur. To commit her smell to his palm.
I have to go, she said, edging away.
Why? It's not that late, Karrass was pleading with her to stay.
I'm sure somebody saw me chase after you,
I'm glad you did, Karrass interrupted her.
She smiled and continued; I've been here for hours, far longer than I should have ever been. Accusations from my parents will be flying left and right. Plus tomorrow's gossip will be hell for me, she sighed as she rubbed the back of her neck with her hand.
Karrass was completely under her spell, Okay, okay. I'll take you home.
He was disappointed when she refused, but eased into understanding as she explained to him why. He liked making her explain things. It made her talk. He felt like he had a little control over her- making her explain herself caused her to stay with him longer.
Finally, he decided to let her go, Alright, Els. I'll see you again, right? Karrass brushed his knuckles against her shoulder.
It's a given, she smiled and put her hand on his face quickly and dashed off.
Karrass shook his head as he watched her disappear. Then he turned and ran as fast as he could. He dashed into the water, causing it to leap in a spray around him. He jumped with the drops, out, away from the pool and ran home. He could still feel her hand on his face. You see, that's the equivalent of a kiss. She was in too much of a hurry to even know what she had just started.