1 Episode Two: Bug Hunt
Part Five: Prelude To Destruction
Antimorph Flagship, Anubis, in orbit of Yeerk Lunar Base, Terra Firma, May Sixteenth 2000.
RIPPER
Two hours after the drop, the Yeerk base stopped sending transmissions.
By now, the last of the Yeerks had been dragged into the massive hive, probably under the oxy-tarp, in a moist, humid environment. The Queen would be functioning, here drones attending to her every need. And when the Yeerk forces came to investigate, the bugs would make it off world, spread from planet to planet, until the entire Empire was ripped to shreds.
"Dogs got what was comin' to 'em," I muttered to David.
"Exactly, everyone got what they deserved."
The pool ship, the Avenger, was franticly trying to establish a transmission with the moon base, but to no avail. We easily picked up their communications with our advanced hardware.
"Moon base, do you copy? Do you require assistance? Fest, we don't need this right now, human reb's givin' us crap all over the planet…"
"So, what do we do now?" Asked Skorre, nervously looking towards the moon far below, we could only imagine what was going on down there."
"We wait. Soon, Visser 69's fleet will be coming to investigate, and then we can engage as we deem fit."
"Are you sure we can take on an entire fleet? How many ships does he have?" Asked LaRouche, uncertainty tinging his voice.
"We will not need to take on the entire fleet. We must only destroy his command ship, then we take off. Visser 69 will pay for his crimes."
FOUR HOURS LATER, ABOVE GAS GIANT TALORAAN…
Visser 69 watched with a grim expression as the Anti-Fighter-Platforms mopped up the last of the Andalite Fighters that had staged an assault on the Terrellium gas mining facilities of Taloraan. His fleet had been closest to the system when the raid was staged, and within twenty minutes of his arrival, the battle was over, though much damage had been taken due to the foolish action of Admiral Gerraam, more processed gas had been lost than necessary.
This is getting too easy, Efflit 1318 muttered, silently to Rachel.
What did you expect? You outnumbered them ten to one, the odds were definetly in your favour.
It's not just this, you cannot begin to imagine the stress that I will be under, once the high command gets wind of this.
What, you beat them, so they'll get mad at you?
You don't know the half of it, Admiral Gerraam made a critical error, he brought the fleet out of Z-Space to far from the planet, we lost over an hour just getting here on a burn.
Visser 69 punched in on the ships intercom, bringing up an image of Captain Pietta 099, a young Yeerk Sub-Visser in a Naharan host.
"Visser, the fleet has just finished engaging the Andalite task force, the remnants fleeing into separate locations, though substantial amounts of Tirillium gas were lost, nearly eighty percent of total reserves."
Efflit flinched. This was very bad news, indeed.
"Also, we have received a priority signal from the pool ship Avenger, over Terra Firma. They request your presence immediately."
What did Nodnarb 395 want now? Couldn't he solve his own problems?
"Very well, send Admiral Gerraam to my quarters."
"As you wish, Visser." Pietta motioned the tech to cut the intercom off, but Efflit stopped him.
"No, Captain. I want you to take note of this."
Pietta said nothing, waiting silently for a moment until Gerraam arrived, visably nervous.
"What is your will, Visser?" Asked the Admiral, his Hork-Bajir host showing signs of duress.
Without warning, Efflit began to morph to a colossal Grizzly Bear, while the sweaty Admiral backed into a corner.
You are an old fool, Gerraam, Said Efflit, lifting the Admiral up to eye level with him, Have you any idea how much the value of that gas was? Do you know how much your simple miscalculation costed the Empire?
"No…Visser…" Croaked Gerraam, his Hork-Bajir smaller than most, struggling to breath, his face turning dark blue.
Millions of credits, Admiral. Millions. That gas took years to mine, and you threw it away in an hour.
"It…won't happen…again…"
You have failed me for the last time, Admiral.
Pietta gasped as Efflit 1318 promptly broke Admiral Gerraams neck, throwing him to the floor.
Dispatch a garrison, leave several Frigates and Cruisers to guard against further attack, and set your course for the Sol system. You are in command, Admiral Pietta.
"As you wish, Visser," Said the nervous Yeerk, sweat pouring on his brow.
Taggart would not escape this time…
DAVID
LaRouche always had a habit of getting us into shitty situations.
This one definitely counted as shitty.
"There is information in the central computer on the moon base that we could certainly use."
"What? Are you INSANE!?" Bellowed Aleks.
"No, that's your department, Aleks."
"Quit jumpin' 'round, whats in the comps? What? What? WHAT?!" Ranted Ripper, his voice rising to a shrill whine.
"Oh, nothing too major, I suppose. Just the location of every ship in the Empire, every moon base, every bunker, every garrison, every contracted bounty hunter, you know that kind of information, that has no real purpose or use in a guerrilla war," Said LaRouche, with a sarcastic flair to his voice.
A moment of silence, I could see Aleks' face glowing red, Ripper let loose a low-pitched hiss.
"FUCK-BEANS!!!!" Exploded Aleks.
"Bull shit! Fuck!" I roared, pounding the wall with my fist, leaving a huge indent, " WHY THE HELL CAN'T ANYTHING EVER GO MT WAY!? WHY, HUH? FUCK!"
Sara said in low voice, "Ouch."
"So, what can we do?" Asked Skorre to no one in particular.
"We can't go down there, we don't have any morphs small enough to get past those fucking bugs! The sensors show that the main nest is right beside the master computers, we cant get that information without one hell of a fight!" I bellowed.
"Unless…" mused Aleks.
"Unless what? We get a miracle?" Spat Ripper.
"No, unless someone can get a bug morph."
SKORRE
"Fuck that! I ain't goin'! No fucking way!"
Come on, Ripper, it wouldn't be that hard, you've taken…missions this risky before, It wouldn't be any different," explained David.
"No way in hell," Ripper growled, " This is total suicide, there isn't any chance of me makin' it out, besides, how would I get around in there? It's fuckin' impossible!"
"I know what you could do," Sara said quietly, in the corner, " You could become one…of them."
"A bug? You out of your mind? You must be loco, kid, no way I'm doin' it have Aleks do it, he's the one who came up with the damn idea, why do I have to go?"
"You're the smallest and the fastest, you're a great climber and you can get around in tight spots easily, I think you'd be fine," Said LaRouche.
"Bah!" Ripper scoffed, " I can't do it alone, plus, I have no clue how to take the shit out the comp when I get to it, I'd be useless!"
"I'll go."
We all turned to see Sara, standing bravely."
"Yeah! Yeah! The kid should go! Let her go, she's expendable, right guys? Right?"
"You both must go, you are the only two of us able to make it," I said.
"Yes, Ripper can provide cover for Sara to get to the computer," Explained David.
"Shit! I do EVERYTHING out here! When does Aleks do anything, besides pump his veins full of Heroin and strut his shit. When does LaRouche ever do shit? All he does it sit around on the bridge. When does Skorre do ANYTHING, I don't think I've seen him-"
"Shut up, Ripper. Remember the Al Qaeda you flushed? That's what I'll do to you if you don't follow orders," said Aleks menacingly.
"Fuck you, you psychopath!"
"Psychopath? I'm not the one who kills and eats dogs, Ripper," Responded Aleks.
"I do the work of GOD!"
"No, you do the work of me," Interjected David.
Silence.
"Alright. I'll go. I'll take the kid."
"Good, good…" trailed David.
"Hey, the Avenger just got response from Visser 69's fleet, they'll be here in two hours," cut in LaRouche.
"Excellent. They will come to us, then everyone will get what they deserve."
Part Five: Prelude To Destruction
Antimorph Flagship, Anubis, in orbit of Yeerk Lunar Base, Terra Firma, May Sixteenth 2000.
RIPPER
Two hours after the drop, the Yeerk base stopped sending transmissions.
By now, the last of the Yeerks had been dragged into the massive hive, probably under the oxy-tarp, in a moist, humid environment. The Queen would be functioning, here drones attending to her every need. And when the Yeerk forces came to investigate, the bugs would make it off world, spread from planet to planet, until the entire Empire was ripped to shreds.
"Dogs got what was comin' to 'em," I muttered to David.
"Exactly, everyone got what they deserved."
The pool ship, the Avenger, was franticly trying to establish a transmission with the moon base, but to no avail. We easily picked up their communications with our advanced hardware.
"Moon base, do you copy? Do you require assistance? Fest, we don't need this right now, human reb's givin' us crap all over the planet…"
"So, what do we do now?" Asked Skorre, nervously looking towards the moon far below, we could only imagine what was going on down there."
"We wait. Soon, Visser 69's fleet will be coming to investigate, and then we can engage as we deem fit."
"Are you sure we can take on an entire fleet? How many ships does he have?" Asked LaRouche, uncertainty tinging his voice.
"We will not need to take on the entire fleet. We must only destroy his command ship, then we take off. Visser 69 will pay for his crimes."
FOUR HOURS LATER, ABOVE GAS GIANT TALORAAN…
Visser 69 watched with a grim expression as the Anti-Fighter-Platforms mopped up the last of the Andalite Fighters that had staged an assault on the Terrellium gas mining facilities of Taloraan. His fleet had been closest to the system when the raid was staged, and within twenty minutes of his arrival, the battle was over, though much damage had been taken due to the foolish action of Admiral Gerraam, more processed gas had been lost than necessary.
This is getting too easy, Efflit 1318 muttered, silently to Rachel.
What did you expect? You outnumbered them ten to one, the odds were definetly in your favour.
It's not just this, you cannot begin to imagine the stress that I will be under, once the high command gets wind of this.
What, you beat them, so they'll get mad at you?
You don't know the half of it, Admiral Gerraam made a critical error, he brought the fleet out of Z-Space to far from the planet, we lost over an hour just getting here on a burn.
Visser 69 punched in on the ships intercom, bringing up an image of Captain Pietta 099, a young Yeerk Sub-Visser in a Naharan host.
"Visser, the fleet has just finished engaging the Andalite task force, the remnants fleeing into separate locations, though substantial amounts of Tirillium gas were lost, nearly eighty percent of total reserves."
Efflit flinched. This was very bad news, indeed.
"Also, we have received a priority signal from the pool ship Avenger, over Terra Firma. They request your presence immediately."
What did Nodnarb 395 want now? Couldn't he solve his own problems?
"Very well, send Admiral Gerraam to my quarters."
"As you wish, Visser." Pietta motioned the tech to cut the intercom off, but Efflit stopped him.
"No, Captain. I want you to take note of this."
Pietta said nothing, waiting silently for a moment until Gerraam arrived, visably nervous.
"What is your will, Visser?" Asked the Admiral, his Hork-Bajir host showing signs of duress.
Without warning, Efflit began to morph to a colossal Grizzly Bear, while the sweaty Admiral backed into a corner.
You are an old fool, Gerraam, Said Efflit, lifting the Admiral up to eye level with him, Have you any idea how much the value of that gas was? Do you know how much your simple miscalculation costed the Empire?
"No…Visser…" Croaked Gerraam, his Hork-Bajir smaller than most, struggling to breath, his face turning dark blue.
Millions of credits, Admiral. Millions. That gas took years to mine, and you threw it away in an hour.
"It…won't happen…again…"
You have failed me for the last time, Admiral.
Pietta gasped as Efflit 1318 promptly broke Admiral Gerraams neck, throwing him to the floor.
Dispatch a garrison, leave several Frigates and Cruisers to guard against further attack, and set your course for the Sol system. You are in command, Admiral Pietta.
"As you wish, Visser," Said the nervous Yeerk, sweat pouring on his brow.
Taggart would not escape this time…
DAVID
LaRouche always had a habit of getting us into shitty situations.
This one definitely counted as shitty.
"There is information in the central computer on the moon base that we could certainly use."
"What? Are you INSANE!?" Bellowed Aleks.
"No, that's your department, Aleks."
"Quit jumpin' 'round, whats in the comps? What? What? WHAT?!" Ranted Ripper, his voice rising to a shrill whine.
"Oh, nothing too major, I suppose. Just the location of every ship in the Empire, every moon base, every bunker, every garrison, every contracted bounty hunter, you know that kind of information, that has no real purpose or use in a guerrilla war," Said LaRouche, with a sarcastic flair to his voice.
A moment of silence, I could see Aleks' face glowing red, Ripper let loose a low-pitched hiss.
"FUCK-BEANS!!!!" Exploded Aleks.
"Bull shit! Fuck!" I roared, pounding the wall with my fist, leaving a huge indent, " WHY THE HELL CAN'T ANYTHING EVER GO MT WAY!? WHY, HUH? FUCK!"
Sara said in low voice, "Ouch."
"So, what can we do?" Asked Skorre to no one in particular.
"We can't go down there, we don't have any morphs small enough to get past those fucking bugs! The sensors show that the main nest is right beside the master computers, we cant get that information without one hell of a fight!" I bellowed.
"Unless…" mused Aleks.
"Unless what? We get a miracle?" Spat Ripper.
"No, unless someone can get a bug morph."
SKORRE
"Fuck that! I ain't goin'! No fucking way!"
Come on, Ripper, it wouldn't be that hard, you've taken…missions this risky before, It wouldn't be any different," explained David.
"No way in hell," Ripper growled, " This is total suicide, there isn't any chance of me makin' it out, besides, how would I get around in there? It's fuckin' impossible!"
"I know what you could do," Sara said quietly, in the corner, " You could become one…of them."
"A bug? You out of your mind? You must be loco, kid, no way I'm doin' it have Aleks do it, he's the one who came up with the damn idea, why do I have to go?"
"You're the smallest and the fastest, you're a great climber and you can get around in tight spots easily, I think you'd be fine," Said LaRouche.
"Bah!" Ripper scoffed, " I can't do it alone, plus, I have no clue how to take the shit out the comp when I get to it, I'd be useless!"
"I'll go."
We all turned to see Sara, standing bravely."
"Yeah! Yeah! The kid should go! Let her go, she's expendable, right guys? Right?"
"You both must go, you are the only two of us able to make it," I said.
"Yes, Ripper can provide cover for Sara to get to the computer," Explained David.
"Shit! I do EVERYTHING out here! When does Aleks do anything, besides pump his veins full of Heroin and strut his shit. When does LaRouche ever do shit? All he does it sit around on the bridge. When does Skorre do ANYTHING, I don't think I've seen him-"
"Shut up, Ripper. Remember the Al Qaeda you flushed? That's what I'll do to you if you don't follow orders," said Aleks menacingly.
"Fuck you, you psychopath!"
"Psychopath? I'm not the one who kills and eats dogs, Ripper," Responded Aleks.
"I do the work of GOD!"
"No, you do the work of me," Interjected David.
Silence.
"Alright. I'll go. I'll take the kid."
"Good, good…" trailed David.
"Hey, the Avenger just got response from Visser 69's fleet, they'll be here in two hours," cut in LaRouche.
"Excellent. They will come to us, then everyone will get what they deserve."