1 [This concept for this episode was originally provided by Augestine
Quill, author of One Least Likely. I have elaborated on his original
concept, but the idea is his. Thanks, man.]
Any similarity between the 'Bugs' and 'Xenomorphs', from 'Alien,' 'Aliens', 'Alien3,' and 'Alien:Resurrection,' is purely coincidential. The 'Xenomorph' concept it copyright 1978-2002, 20th Century Fox. Original 'Xenomorph' design by H.R. Giger.
Antimorph is a legal trademark of Colin Mitchell, 1999-2002. All original characters and personalities, histories, vehicles, species and locations are copyright 2002, Colin Mitchell.
2
3 Episode Two: Bug Hunt
Part One: Dark Designs
Antimorph Flagship, Anubis, Wild Space…
May 17th, 2000
DAVID
We floated, aimless, among the stars.
No destination, each of us locked in our own minds. The corridors of the Blade Ship were quiet, everyone pondering their past, and our future.
We had fled earth over a month ago, abandoning it to Yeerk infestation. We had done damage to their outpost's, destroying pool's in Berlin and devastating Tokyo, site of another major pool. I had killed Visser 59, and Sub-Visser 64. Our team had fought the Yeerks hard. And we fought well.
On Terra Firma, we gave them Hell.
But there were too many of them, hundreds of thousands on the ground, hundreds arriving each day.
Sub-Visser Four, Efflit 1318, and Sub-Visser Eight, Nodnarb 395, in the hosts of the Animorphs Rachel and Aximili, had succeeded in taking earth. Even worse, Sub-Visser four had left the Sol system, taking my parents with him as bait.
I resisted the temptations of Visser 59 and Sub-Visser four, ordering LaRouche to punch in a course for Wild Space-an uninhabited zone on the far side of the Sol system. No Yeerk had ever entered the zone, no Andalites, either.
Empty. Totally empty.
I don't think I said more than ten words to Aleks in a month, but he called me down the bridge urgently.
When I arrived, the whole crew stood, watching the central monitor.
A pleasant looking human was delivering a news dispatch, from what appeared to be a normal new anchors desk.
"…And as the processing of Terra Firma continues, one can only hope that the atmosphere adapters will not be damaged by attacks from the human rebel group, 'Brotherhood of Nod.'"
"What the hell is this?" I asked.
"YNN-Yeerk News Net," answered LaRouche, a cigarette dangling in his hand, " Like CNN, just really screwed up. This is the first Imperial transmission we've gotten since we made the jump."
The anchor continued to talk.
"In our top story, the human renegades, the 'Antimorphs," have continued to evade Imperial agents, we spoke with Visser 69, the commander of the task force charged with finding these criminals."
Sub-Visser four, Rachel, filled the screen.
"I am confident that we will soon locate the group. At this time, we are pursuing several leads, all of which point towards Wild Space."
The anchorwoman asked again, "What about allegations that professional Bounty Hunters are being used to track down the Antimorph fleet?"
"At this time, no Bounty Hunters or Mercenaries are being used to locate the Antimorph Blade Ship, Anubis, and it's two Bug Fighters. Representatives from the Gervasid Protectorate and the Skrit Na have assured us that we can count on their support if the need should arise."
"Some have even gone as far as to say that a Yeerk scientist and Sub- Visser, Sirex 4891, was responsible for creating the Antimorphs, giving the leader, David Taggart a powerful clone and providing a Blade Ship, two Bug Fighters, and allowing
Taggart to illegally have them modified while in Imperial custody. Can you shed any light on this?"
Visser 69's face went dark.
"As you are well aware, Sirex 4891 was demoted from Sub-Visser two to Under- Visser 1042, after his involvement in the Pentasera civil war. It is believed that, motivated by animosity towards the Empire, that he has defected to the Andalites. As of late, no information points to his involvement with the Antimorphs. Taggart stole his ships from a pool ship, and was cloned by Andalites."
"What a fuckin' lie!" I shouted. Great, now the Yeerks were lying about me, to the whole damn galaxy.
Great.
"Thank you for your time, Visser 69. We remind our viewers of the reward for any information leading to the location, infestation and/or execution of the Antimorphs. Fifteen million Imperial Credits, a rank of Sub-Visser, and commendation from the Emperor himself."
"Holy, man. That's a lot of money!" Said Aleks.
"Yeah, they must really want us, badly," said Sara.
"Once again, the Antimorphs consist of David Taggart, aged fifteen. Taggart is a clone, extremely powerful and intelligent. His second in command is seventeen year old Aleks Stantford, an expert soldier and fighter pilot. Next, a human known only as 'Ripper', age unknown, noted by Hork-Bajir commando's for his ferocity in combat. Another human, Marc LaRouche, fifteen, is the Blade Ship pilot and technological mastermind. He is wanted in connection with the incident in the Tokyo pool on Terra Firma, in addition to Skorre Fett, an exceptional Hork-Bajir, wanted for involvement in the Berlin pool incident. Last, a young female human, Sara Berenson, is believed to be involved with the group, but that information cannot be confirmed. All of the Antimorphs should be considered armed and extremely dangerous."
"Damn straight," said Ripper.
"This is Suram 812, for YNN. Good night."
The broadcast ended.
"Wow. So, what do we do now?" Asked Aleks.
"We must get allies. We have no resources with which to face the Yeerks head on," Said Skorre.
"But who? No one will help us, there's a huge bounty on our heads! They want us dead or alive," I said, "Besides, last time we tried to get some allies, it didn't work our too well for us."
See, recently, we allied ourselves with an Arab militant group called Al Qaeda, who aided us in attacking the Berlin pool, but tried to overtake the ship in our absence, attacking Sara in the process. If was due to the quick thinking of Ripper that the problem was solved, the terrorists being flushed into space.
"True, but the six of us against an empire? It is a battle we can't hope to win," Said LaRouche.
"We should go in fighting, kill 'em all, make 'em pay," grunted Ripper, in his usual raspy tone.
"We need expendable soldiers. Sentient or not, something we can control," pointed out Aleks.
"Yeah, but what can we use?" I asked.
"Maybe, steal a Yeerk biological weapon, unleash it in a spaceport…" responded Aleks.
"No, too risky. Besides, they would have vaccines ready."
"There is another solution," piped up LaRouche, "We could ally with the Andalites."
"No. We will never associate with Andalites. If anything, we are at war with them," I said.
"Yes. The Andalites have done more evil than good. A quantum virus on my home world, creating the Yeerk plague in the first place, abandoning your planet to infestation, they cannot be trusted," Said Skorre.
"Amen to that," muttered Ripper.
"Wait a second…" Said LaRouche, from his console.
"What? What is it?" I asked, suddenly excited.
"A transmission, from a planet. It's really small-only 6000 meters in diameter…I think it's..."
"A what?" Asked Skorre urgently.
"A warning…I think It's a warning."
The six of us stood in shocked silence for a moment. Why would there be a warning coming from a small planet in the middle of un inhabited space?
"It doesn't add up."
"So what do we do?" Asked Sara.
"Dispatch fighters, land and investigate," ordered Aleks, motioning to Ripper and Skorre.
"Wait a damn minute!" I said, " I give the orders here. Don't forget that though you may be Air Commander, you are still second in command, Aleks."
"Of course."
"Now, we will follow Aleks' plan, but cautiously. Whatever is dangerous enough to warrant a warning deserves an investigation, but a careful one."
"So, we go?" Ripper Asked.
"Yeah, we go, but all of us. We land the Anubis. LaRouche, what is the surface like?"
"A wasteland. It looks like a meteor storm hit a few centuries ago-most of the planet is rocky and inhospitable, though sensors show a large network of tunnels beneath the surface."
"Interesting. Whatever we want, it's probably in those tunnels," Said Skorre.
"Enough talking! Let's go! Go!" Yelled Ripper, obviously wanting in. Ripper craved action. He doesn't always work logically, and that factor makes him both valuable and dangerous.
"Alright, LaRouche, take us down."
"Let's do this," said Aleks.
"This is insane," muttered LaRouche.
Any similarity between the 'Bugs' and 'Xenomorphs', from 'Alien,' 'Aliens', 'Alien3,' and 'Alien:Resurrection,' is purely coincidential. The 'Xenomorph' concept it copyright 1978-2002, 20th Century Fox. Original 'Xenomorph' design by H.R. Giger.
Antimorph is a legal trademark of Colin Mitchell, 1999-2002. All original characters and personalities, histories, vehicles, species and locations are copyright 2002, Colin Mitchell.
2
3 Episode Two: Bug Hunt
Part One: Dark Designs
Antimorph Flagship, Anubis, Wild Space…
May 17th, 2000
DAVID
We floated, aimless, among the stars.
No destination, each of us locked in our own minds. The corridors of the Blade Ship were quiet, everyone pondering their past, and our future.
We had fled earth over a month ago, abandoning it to Yeerk infestation. We had done damage to their outpost's, destroying pool's in Berlin and devastating Tokyo, site of another major pool. I had killed Visser 59, and Sub-Visser 64. Our team had fought the Yeerks hard. And we fought well.
On Terra Firma, we gave them Hell.
But there were too many of them, hundreds of thousands on the ground, hundreds arriving each day.
Sub-Visser Four, Efflit 1318, and Sub-Visser Eight, Nodnarb 395, in the hosts of the Animorphs Rachel and Aximili, had succeeded in taking earth. Even worse, Sub-Visser four had left the Sol system, taking my parents with him as bait.
I resisted the temptations of Visser 59 and Sub-Visser four, ordering LaRouche to punch in a course for Wild Space-an uninhabited zone on the far side of the Sol system. No Yeerk had ever entered the zone, no Andalites, either.
Empty. Totally empty.
I don't think I said more than ten words to Aleks in a month, but he called me down the bridge urgently.
When I arrived, the whole crew stood, watching the central monitor.
A pleasant looking human was delivering a news dispatch, from what appeared to be a normal new anchors desk.
"…And as the processing of Terra Firma continues, one can only hope that the atmosphere adapters will not be damaged by attacks from the human rebel group, 'Brotherhood of Nod.'"
"What the hell is this?" I asked.
"YNN-Yeerk News Net," answered LaRouche, a cigarette dangling in his hand, " Like CNN, just really screwed up. This is the first Imperial transmission we've gotten since we made the jump."
The anchor continued to talk.
"In our top story, the human renegades, the 'Antimorphs," have continued to evade Imperial agents, we spoke with Visser 69, the commander of the task force charged with finding these criminals."
Sub-Visser four, Rachel, filled the screen.
"I am confident that we will soon locate the group. At this time, we are pursuing several leads, all of which point towards Wild Space."
The anchorwoman asked again, "What about allegations that professional Bounty Hunters are being used to track down the Antimorph fleet?"
"At this time, no Bounty Hunters or Mercenaries are being used to locate the Antimorph Blade Ship, Anubis, and it's two Bug Fighters. Representatives from the Gervasid Protectorate and the Skrit Na have assured us that we can count on their support if the need should arise."
"Some have even gone as far as to say that a Yeerk scientist and Sub- Visser, Sirex 4891, was responsible for creating the Antimorphs, giving the leader, David Taggart a powerful clone and providing a Blade Ship, two Bug Fighters, and allowing
Taggart to illegally have them modified while in Imperial custody. Can you shed any light on this?"
Visser 69's face went dark.
"As you are well aware, Sirex 4891 was demoted from Sub-Visser two to Under- Visser 1042, after his involvement in the Pentasera civil war. It is believed that, motivated by animosity towards the Empire, that he has defected to the Andalites. As of late, no information points to his involvement with the Antimorphs. Taggart stole his ships from a pool ship, and was cloned by Andalites."
"What a fuckin' lie!" I shouted. Great, now the Yeerks were lying about me, to the whole damn galaxy.
Great.
"Thank you for your time, Visser 69. We remind our viewers of the reward for any information leading to the location, infestation and/or execution of the Antimorphs. Fifteen million Imperial Credits, a rank of Sub-Visser, and commendation from the Emperor himself."
"Holy, man. That's a lot of money!" Said Aleks.
"Yeah, they must really want us, badly," said Sara.
"Once again, the Antimorphs consist of David Taggart, aged fifteen. Taggart is a clone, extremely powerful and intelligent. His second in command is seventeen year old Aleks Stantford, an expert soldier and fighter pilot. Next, a human known only as 'Ripper', age unknown, noted by Hork-Bajir commando's for his ferocity in combat. Another human, Marc LaRouche, fifteen, is the Blade Ship pilot and technological mastermind. He is wanted in connection with the incident in the Tokyo pool on Terra Firma, in addition to Skorre Fett, an exceptional Hork-Bajir, wanted for involvement in the Berlin pool incident. Last, a young female human, Sara Berenson, is believed to be involved with the group, but that information cannot be confirmed. All of the Antimorphs should be considered armed and extremely dangerous."
"Damn straight," said Ripper.
"This is Suram 812, for YNN. Good night."
The broadcast ended.
"Wow. So, what do we do now?" Asked Aleks.
"We must get allies. We have no resources with which to face the Yeerks head on," Said Skorre.
"But who? No one will help us, there's a huge bounty on our heads! They want us dead or alive," I said, "Besides, last time we tried to get some allies, it didn't work our too well for us."
See, recently, we allied ourselves with an Arab militant group called Al Qaeda, who aided us in attacking the Berlin pool, but tried to overtake the ship in our absence, attacking Sara in the process. If was due to the quick thinking of Ripper that the problem was solved, the terrorists being flushed into space.
"True, but the six of us against an empire? It is a battle we can't hope to win," Said LaRouche.
"We should go in fighting, kill 'em all, make 'em pay," grunted Ripper, in his usual raspy tone.
"We need expendable soldiers. Sentient or not, something we can control," pointed out Aleks.
"Yeah, but what can we use?" I asked.
"Maybe, steal a Yeerk biological weapon, unleash it in a spaceport…" responded Aleks.
"No, too risky. Besides, they would have vaccines ready."
"There is another solution," piped up LaRouche, "We could ally with the Andalites."
"No. We will never associate with Andalites. If anything, we are at war with them," I said.
"Yes. The Andalites have done more evil than good. A quantum virus on my home world, creating the Yeerk plague in the first place, abandoning your planet to infestation, they cannot be trusted," Said Skorre.
"Amen to that," muttered Ripper.
"Wait a second…" Said LaRouche, from his console.
"What? What is it?" I asked, suddenly excited.
"A transmission, from a planet. It's really small-only 6000 meters in diameter…I think it's..."
"A what?" Asked Skorre urgently.
"A warning…I think It's a warning."
The six of us stood in shocked silence for a moment. Why would there be a warning coming from a small planet in the middle of un inhabited space?
"It doesn't add up."
"So what do we do?" Asked Sara.
"Dispatch fighters, land and investigate," ordered Aleks, motioning to Ripper and Skorre.
"Wait a damn minute!" I said, " I give the orders here. Don't forget that though you may be Air Commander, you are still second in command, Aleks."
"Of course."
"Now, we will follow Aleks' plan, but cautiously. Whatever is dangerous enough to warrant a warning deserves an investigation, but a careful one."
"So, we go?" Ripper Asked.
"Yeah, we go, but all of us. We land the Anubis. LaRouche, what is the surface like?"
"A wasteland. It looks like a meteor storm hit a few centuries ago-most of the planet is rocky and inhospitable, though sensors show a large network of tunnels beneath the surface."
"Interesting. Whatever we want, it's probably in those tunnels," Said Skorre.
"Enough talking! Let's go! Go!" Yelled Ripper, obviously wanting in. Ripper craved action. He doesn't always work logically, and that factor makes him both valuable and dangerous.
"Alright, LaRouche, take us down."
"Let's do this," said Aleks.
"This is insane," muttered LaRouche.